Today's money saving hint- don't throw away what you will need to buy.
Seems simple, right? But think about the things we buy that we havbe thrown away a perfectly good- and free- replacement of.
Confused? Question- do you get plastic bags when you shop? Do you then throw then away, or return them to the storefor recycling, and the
buy garbage bags? This is a perfecr example. Use those bags for your garbage instead.
On the subject of bags- do you toss out the bags your bread, tortillas, and produce come in, and then buy baggies. Another way to save money-use them for your sandwiches instead! Wax ceral bags, shaken out, also make excellent sandwich bags.
Ask yourself before you throw something away "Is this just like something I will need to buy?" and you will be surprised how much you can save.
Non reactive parenting.
I need to keep reminding myself of the need for this!
Years ago, when I realised my dream of non-coercive parenting was not going to work with the personalities my children and I had been given, I was
recommended to read "The Secret of Parenting" by Anthony Wolf.
While I still haven't achieved his ideal of non
punishment through "extinguishing" misbehaviour, I cannot
recommend the book enough. In a nutshell, the
misbehaving child wants your emotional reaction above all else, and if you give him that, he will continue misbehaving. We make some of our worst parenting decisions and
mistakes when we come from a place of reacting emotionally or taking our kids' behaviour personally. (Don't most of us tend to come down on them harder if they misbehave in public, or stick a knife in our emotional soft spots).
It took me to #2 to realise that "I hate you, you're the worst mother ever, you shouldn't even be allowed to have children!" SHOULD. NOT. BE. RESPONDED. TO.
Because they really don't mean it.
If you punish them for it, they will believe their outlandish
statements all the more and resent you. And if you go for the tried and true, "If I dropped dead right now, you would regret that being the last thing you said to me"...just ask me what that does to
some one's psyche.
So
on a rainy,
cold,
PMSing and
headachey day, it's off to the library website for more Wolf and a self
reminder not to let them get to me.
WA State residents: Save money on prescription drugs.
Go to
www.rx.wa.gov for a WA Prescription Drug Program card. Originally launched to
provide discounts to low income residents, this card is now
available to ALL WA residents regardless of income level or
insurance coverage. It entitles you to up to 60% off generic drugs and 20% off brand name drugs.
Today's money saving hints- You don't need cable
Yes, you read that right.
If money is tight, just cancel your cable.
Ah, but how will I entertain myself, you ask?
I could be a good person and say, You will read, you will play board games with your family, take long walks with the dog and plant a garden.
But the truth is, if you're like me, you will make stabs at those things because they are " the right thing to do" while thinking wistfully of the tube.
That's where your local library system comes in.
Pretty much any movie or show you want to watch will eventually hit your local library system.
Yes, you may have to wait, but you have to save money now so you are willing to do it.
And while you are unplugging, think about your internet service. I use nocharge.com. Now, if I could afford it, I would have high speed internet, believe me. But I don't so I go with the slow but free stuff.
Be sure to also look at whether your family would save money by cancelling it's land line and getting a family cellular deal.
Happy saving !!!
Never enough time!
Time is such a precious commodity right now! There's taking care of myself- about an hour a day to exercise and shower. Schoolwork with the kids. Between the two, I don't have a single moment to spare from the time I finish my coffee to the time I sit down for lunch. Then there is work; it's Lent, so more work ( not that I am complaining about THAT; more work is teh YAY!). MMM, and Starfleet stuff; I need to come up with a cadet protocal thang by next Sunday (Help, anyone?) and get some reviews and a cadet liason report written much sooner than that.
And, and, and good friend thinks I really need to write a book. It's on a subject I am well suited to write on ( living better for less) and timely enough that if I put it off for two years, it wouldn't sell. But in what time? Maybe if I had a working laptop, or didn't need so much damn sleep....
42!
So the DM is 42 today- the answer to the ultimate question of Life, the Universe, and Everything. Although the cake is not fancy it promises to be yummy.
I took advantage of him being home, and the fence guys having pulled out the old pieces of the old swingset where we had stowed it behind the fence, to load it inot the van since the steel recycling place is on the way to dance.
I'm happy it's nicer and look forward to long walks!
