Pulling out my hair

Why is it that when you decide to do something to get your finances in control, something comes along and throws it at least 3 steps backward??  I am so frustrated.  I gathered all my bills.  I made a budget.  I made a plan to systematically start paying off debt.  And what happens?  somebody comes out of the woodwork and demands a large lump sum payment.  The car breaks down.  The toilet cracks and is leaking all over the floor.  Why now??  Couldn't all of that crap have waited another couple of months just so at least a little progress is made?  NO.  What can I do?  There are no savings to dip into.  I guess the cards have to go back to the limit.  All there is to do is pray, grit my teeth and keep going, even if it's just on fumes.  Aargh!!

Cheap Trick Tuesday

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It's Alive!!!

One way I've learned to cut corners is to make my own stuff.  For example, I experiment with making my own cleaning solutions.  It's actually pretty fun.  I get to play mad scientist! I'v discovered I can make cleaner that works well and smells good. We're having a pharoah ant problem right now, and I found that my cleaner also appears to repel ants!  Bonus!  My recipe for my general purpose cleaner is below.  I'm still experimenting, but I like this one so far:

To a spray bottle add
4 Tbs OdoBan (from Sams)
3 cups warm water
1 tbs washing soda

One tip:  Do NOT get the washing soda on your skin.  There are some nice cleaner recipes at thebudgetfashionista.com.  I'm probably going to add a little borax to the recipe next time.  This stuff removes odors like nobody's business!  The OdoBanis an awesome odor remover.  It's also a disinfectant, and works as a fabric softener.  It's a fab multipurpose solution.  I Lurve that stuff!

Getting organized

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Is there someone you know who always seems to have their stuff together?  They're just naturally organized.  Everything has a place and their homes are always tidy.  My mom is like that.  I, on the other hand, am definitely NOT like that.  If you're like me, then organization is a real challenge.

I tend to feel really overwhelmed when I look at all that has to be done around the house, and I freeze, or I run around haphazardly, never really getting done adequately. I've been surfing around blogger land, and I know I have to work on organizational issues in my home.  So, I have decided I am going to start building a home management binder and doing daily tasks and weekly zones in my house.  I've seen both ideas on Flylady and Justorganizeyourself.blogspot.com.  Flylady and Joy are my go-to divas for getting organized.  Basically, it means I'm going to work on developing daily routines, and worry about deep cleaning and organizing one area at a time.  I'm starting with the bedrooms for this week.  There are a lot of things I feel need to get done in the bedrooms, so I might as well get moving.   I'm hoping doing this will help me move toward getting my house the way I want it.  I bought Flylady's book, too.

I know I need to be careful not to try to do too much at once.  But, I am eager to get my house in order.  I tried this before a while ago, but I fell off the wagon.  I'm hoping that blogging about it will help keep me on track.  I really want to succeed this time.  Guess I'll be shining the sink tomorrow.

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I'm Psych-ed

I love this show

Cheap Trick Tuesday

You know, everyone thinks cheap tricks are a bad thing.  I don't think so.  At least not when it comes to saving some cash.  I'm trying various little things I can do to save money.  Cheap tricks, I call them.  Today is Tuesday, so Cheap Trick Tuesday it is!  Dare ya to say that three times real fast...

Trick #1 Save money on hand soap.

I've got four little ones, one bigger one and a big old mess hubby in my house.  So, there's a LOT of hand washing that goes on around here.  Of course, I have to order ask them to do it.  We use the foaming hand soap because otherwise there is a perpetual layer of soapy slime on the bathroom counters.  Ick. Drives me nuts!  I found that there is much less slime when using the foaming hand soap, but that stuff is expensive!  So, what to do when you have no money?  Improvise!  Get a big refill container of regular hand soap (I get mine from Sams).  Fill a foaming dispenser with water, add about 2-3 tablespoons of liquid soap and shake.  Voila!  Foaming soap! Cheap!  You get more mileage out of the soap this way and you're recycling your dispenser.  Whoo-hoo!

HOW BAD IS IT?

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Well, I sat down this weekend and did what all the financial experts tell you to do.  I made a list of my expenses and debts, including interest rates.  I was not a happy camper.  Are you supposed to have an anxiety attack immediately afterward?   And every time you look at the sheet?  I wish I could say I was relieved to find that things weren't as bad as I had thought.  But, they WERE as bad as I thought.  Maybe I should be glad things aren't worse than I thought.  Anyway, I made a budget to try to start paying stuff off.  Well, to my horror and disgust, after bill paying, there was very little left for any incidentals- like buying school supplies or saving.  Aargh!  So I decided to find ANYTHING I could cut out.  I actually found a couple of things we can do without, at least temporarily.  And that did ease the palpitations a bit.  A bit.

Unfortunately, that means that I will have to be extremely cheap frugal  as I go about decorating my home.  I already knew this, but it looks like I'll have to be even cheaper than I first thought!  Every dollar has to count.  That means dedication to coupon clipping, discount shopping, and bargain hunting.  But, where to start?  It seems the best place to start is with the grocery bill.    That's where most SAHM's can begin to cut corners. If you want-or need- to tackle this task for your family, you can join me.  Check your newspaper and any circulars you get.  Another good place to look is Coupons.com and Deal seeking mom, which helps let you know what specific deals are in your area.  I use the CVS deals the most since I have to go there for prescriptions anyway.  I'll be on the lookout for any other websites offering useful deals or advice too. Any suggestions are welcome.

So, the first step away from the Border is to see how close you are to it.  It is quite unpleasant (believe me), but it really has to be done.  Write it out.  Then, after you have a drink, or a few drinks, or a pill, you can come back and look for things you can do without for a while.  Its a start.  And we all have to start somewhere.

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