Crystal Raven
March 20th, 2007, 07:34 AM
DO NOT REPLY IN THIS THREAD, GO TO LESSON 1 REPLIES
I thought the Home Journal was the best place to start as it is essential.
As the weeks go on we will add more bits and pieces to it, but these are the basics.
So here we go...
The pencil case in the very front makes everything easier:
MUST HAVES: a pencil, stamps, a book of cheques and a pen, and some letter size envelopes in the front flap
OPTIONAL: small post-it notes, paper clips, stickers etc.
Add your dividers and paper next, app 10-12 sheets per section and the rest of the paper in the back for when you need it.
The sections you MUST have are:
Routines
Don't worry about filling this section up as yet, we'll be working on this next week.
To-Do's
You guessed it, your to-do list; have sheet(s) for Daily lists...like grab milk, call the doctor for appointment etc..cross them off and/or write the date of the appointment in your date book/calendar sheet
Now here's a wee secret... use a seperate sheet for Monthly lists for bigger things that you need to do within a reasonable amount of time that you wouldn't normally have penciled in anywhere like finishing that quilt, bringing out the next seasons clothes, doing a spring cleaning etc. Now here is the catch, even though it doesn't seem urgent, give yourself a Goal Date for each (the date these other things will be done by) and put it in beside to to-do as well as in your date book/calendar page.
Budget
I know everyone hates budgets, but to save ourselves time, money and stress we need to deal with them no matter how low or high our income may be. There are fancy smancy computer programs, books and sheets for this, but honestly a good old pencil and paper work best and you can flip back and see it all easily.
First thing we are going to do is make a list of our bills and their due dates, just so we know what is coming out when, use previous months bills to see when they are due, I also want you to, over the next month, keep track of when the bills actually arrive and note this down as well! It will end up looking something like this:
Bill Comes In Is Due
telephone around 12 25
electric around 3 15
heat around 4 16
rent/mortgage payment 1
Another thing we can now do, and it really does help, is figure out which day of the month is best for all the bills to come out on (most people choose the 1st because rent/mortgage payments can not usually be re-arranged) and call all those other people and arrange for your payments to be shifted to that day, at which point your list will look like this:
Bill Comes In Is Due
telephone around 23 1
electric around 23 1
heat around 24 1
rent/mortgage payment 1
if we can get to this point we can pay all our bills at once and on the same day.
Now on a seperate sheet of paper do the same for your income, but do this one every single month:
Income Amount Pay Day
my job 730.00 March 6
hubbies 500.00 March 9
my job 730.00 March 20
hubbies 500.00 March 23
now that we know what is what we can plan and budget ahead!
With the example above we can see what money we need to use when for what bill in advance and if at all possible avoid those nasty late fees.
Flip to your date book or calendar page and mark these due dates in BUT mark it in three to five days before it is due!!!
so with my example the telephone is due on the 25th, but my money comes in on the 20th, so I will mark the 20th for paying this bill and actually write in the 20th square PAY TELEPHONE BILL
OR
I will mark the 27th of each month for all my bills if I have them all on the same date.
Tracking
You may end up with several lists in this section. The most important is when in conflict with someone/something.
For example, you have a guy in to fix your dishwasher, start a fresh sheet and mark down the date/time/cost/service; hopefully you will never have to add to this sheet and can give it to you kids to colour on in app 3 months...BUT what if 3 days after the dishwasher stops working again and you have to call the guy back...you guessed it, write it down as the next entry, maybe you have to leave a message and he doesnt get back to you and starts giving you the run around etc. Write it all down so you know what was done when by whom it, here is an example, though an extreme one.
March 1 Joe Blow came to fix dishwasher as it wouldnt drain 1-3 pm $50.00
March 3 Dishwasher won't drain again, called and left Joe a message 2:30 pm
March 6 Joe still hasn't called back, called and left another message 10:30 am
March 6 Joe called back finally at 4 00 pm and said will be here tomorrow at 9 am
March 7 Joe called and cancelled for today at 8:45 am, now says tomorrow at 9
if this did go on, for one thing you can tell Joe, the Better Business Bureau and maybe even the judge exactly how many times you called, how many messages were left, how many cancellations etc and this increase your own confidence, help you remember important details and hopefully help to resolve whatever conflict you may be involved in.
Other lists can be kept in here as well, maybe a list of books you want or gifts you'd like. Keep track of gifts you have given or cards sent. Keep a running list of things you'd like for the house like a new blender, whatever you would like to keep track of.
Misc
This is the section for stuff you want to keep a record of but do not fit anywhere else, like that pamphlet of a garden layout you'd like to do or poems and quotes you like o anything else.
Please remember that as essential and practical this binder is, it can also be pretty, funny, decorative!
Cut out cartoons, poems, clip art or whatever and paste them onto your dividers or cover. Or use some pretty stickers here and there. Make it your own.
Last but not least, give it a HOME! Somewhere out in the open, that you have easy access to and near to where you usually do all your planning/thinking etc and USE it!
This is alot to chew, so the second part of Lesson 1, That Extra Hour, will be posted in app 3 days.
I thought the Home Journal was the best place to start as it is essential.
As the weeks go on we will add more bits and pieces to it, but these are the basics.
So here we go...
The pencil case in the very front makes everything easier:
MUST HAVES: a pencil, stamps, a book of cheques and a pen, and some letter size envelopes in the front flap
OPTIONAL: small post-it notes, paper clips, stickers etc.
Add your dividers and paper next, app 10-12 sheets per section and the rest of the paper in the back for when you need it.
The sections you MUST have are:
Routines
Don't worry about filling this section up as yet, we'll be working on this next week.
To-Do's
You guessed it, your to-do list; have sheet(s) for Daily lists...like grab milk, call the doctor for appointment etc..cross them off and/or write the date of the appointment in your date book/calendar sheet
Now here's a wee secret... use a seperate sheet for Monthly lists for bigger things that you need to do within a reasonable amount of time that you wouldn't normally have penciled in anywhere like finishing that quilt, bringing out the next seasons clothes, doing a spring cleaning etc. Now here is the catch, even though it doesn't seem urgent, give yourself a Goal Date for each (the date these other things will be done by) and put it in beside to to-do as well as in your date book/calendar page.
Budget
I know everyone hates budgets, but to save ourselves time, money and stress we need to deal with them no matter how low or high our income may be. There are fancy smancy computer programs, books and sheets for this, but honestly a good old pencil and paper work best and you can flip back and see it all easily.
First thing we are going to do is make a list of our bills and their due dates, just so we know what is coming out when, use previous months bills to see when they are due, I also want you to, over the next month, keep track of when the bills actually arrive and note this down as well! It will end up looking something like this:
Bill Comes In Is Due
telephone around 12 25
electric around 3 15
heat around 4 16
rent/mortgage payment 1
Another thing we can now do, and it really does help, is figure out which day of the month is best for all the bills to come out on (most people choose the 1st because rent/mortgage payments can not usually be re-arranged) and call all those other people and arrange for your payments to be shifted to that day, at which point your list will look like this:
Bill Comes In Is Due
telephone around 23 1
electric around 23 1
heat around 24 1
rent/mortgage payment 1
if we can get to this point we can pay all our bills at once and on the same day.
Now on a seperate sheet of paper do the same for your income, but do this one every single month:
Income Amount Pay Day
my job 730.00 March 6
hubbies 500.00 March 9
my job 730.00 March 20
hubbies 500.00 March 23
now that we know what is what we can plan and budget ahead!
With the example above we can see what money we need to use when for what bill in advance and if at all possible avoid those nasty late fees.
Flip to your date book or calendar page and mark these due dates in BUT mark it in three to five days before it is due!!!
so with my example the telephone is due on the 25th, but my money comes in on the 20th, so I will mark the 20th for paying this bill and actually write in the 20th square PAY TELEPHONE BILL
OR
I will mark the 27th of each month for all my bills if I have them all on the same date.
Tracking
You may end up with several lists in this section. The most important is when in conflict with someone/something.
For example, you have a guy in to fix your dishwasher, start a fresh sheet and mark down the date/time/cost/service; hopefully you will never have to add to this sheet and can give it to you kids to colour on in app 3 months...BUT what if 3 days after the dishwasher stops working again and you have to call the guy back...you guessed it, write it down as the next entry, maybe you have to leave a message and he doesnt get back to you and starts giving you the run around etc. Write it all down so you know what was done when by whom it, here is an example, though an extreme one.
March 1 Joe Blow came to fix dishwasher as it wouldnt drain 1-3 pm $50.00
March 3 Dishwasher won't drain again, called and left Joe a message 2:30 pm
March 6 Joe still hasn't called back, called and left another message 10:30 am
March 6 Joe called back finally at 4 00 pm and said will be here tomorrow at 9 am
March 7 Joe called and cancelled for today at 8:45 am, now says tomorrow at 9
if this did go on, for one thing you can tell Joe, the Better Business Bureau and maybe even the judge exactly how many times you called, how many messages were left, how many cancellations etc and this increase your own confidence, help you remember important details and hopefully help to resolve whatever conflict you may be involved in.
Other lists can be kept in here as well, maybe a list of books you want or gifts you'd like. Keep track of gifts you have given or cards sent. Keep a running list of things you'd like for the house like a new blender, whatever you would like to keep track of.
Misc
This is the section for stuff you want to keep a record of but do not fit anywhere else, like that pamphlet of a garden layout you'd like to do or poems and quotes you like o anything else.
Please remember that as essential and practical this binder is, it can also be pretty, funny, decorative!
Cut out cartoons, poems, clip art or whatever and paste them onto your dividers or cover. Or use some pretty stickers here and there. Make it your own.
Last but not least, give it a HOME! Somewhere out in the open, that you have easy access to and near to where you usually do all your planning/thinking etc and USE it!
This is alot to chew, so the second part of Lesson 1, That Extra Hour, will be posted in app 3 days.