Since we have a snow day today and expecting about 15 inches of snow, I thought it would be a perfect time to post my numbers for 2010. Then after I finish writing this, I will have to get some work done and get the kids outside to play in this wonderful snow! I'll freeze but it will be sooooo worth it to see them happy and throwing snowballs at each other. Who knows, maybe I'll join in and throw some at them!
Anyway, back to last year. My numbers include food, pet stuff, health and beauty products and household cleaners and products. After sales and coupons, I spent $7433.53, which averages out to $619.46 a month. My savings, with the sales and coupons, totaled $3218.35. Not too bad, but I would like to see the spending number go down this year and the savings number, especially the coupon part, go way up. We were still under the national average for how much we spent on groceries last year, but I know we can do way better. I know part of the issue is the fact that I am the only person in my household that is not a picky eater. I will eat just about anything. The rest of my crew however, will not eat a lot of different veggies, fruits, beans of any kind and not too many casserole dishes. This really makes it hard to eat on a strict budget. I can't buy things in season, produce wise, all of the time and I can't plan pasta or rice and beans for meals a couple times of the week. I know these things would significantly decrease our food bill and I'm going to continue working on these things with my family.
I guess you can say that that is another one of my goals for the upcoming year.
How much did you save on coupons and savings last year??
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Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Stress in a mom's life
I have made a startling discovery! Stress is not a good thing for a mom with rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia to have. The bad news of figuring this out is that I really don't have a way to never have any stress in my life. I mean, hey, I'm a MOM!
I'm sure all of us struggle with stress on a daily basis. Between the kids, husband, work, bills, finances, holidays, birthdays, etc, etc.....what are we suppposed to do???? I find that if I'm getting too stressed, it actually makes me even more stressed out, when I realize that I have stress. Last week I had a revelation along with my stress. It is actually wiping me out a whole lot more that it used to. I decided that I really need to find a way to deal with the stress and try to keep it in check at all times (well, most of the time).
My plan is this:
1. Take time everyday to exercise. I think this will be important in many, many ways.
2. Take time everyday to do something that I enjoy. If I crawl into my bed at night with a good book after the kids are in bed, that will definitely work for me. And I might get the huge stacks of books, that need to be read, out of my bedroom.
3. Spend extra time playing with my kids and snuggling with my husband. Nothing cures stress like the closeness of family.
4. Spend time working on my breathing techniques and try to start meditating. I've heard that this works really well....................
5. I'm also not going to worry about whether or not I'm getting everything done that needs to be done, because it will be there tomorrow. I will also try to learn to say "no" on occassion, so that I don't get totally overwhelmed, when I'm trying to juggle a million things at a time.
Hopefully, I will succeed at a few of these and learn to manage my stress once in a while. Rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia are tricky diseases to actually manage, but with a little tweaking here and there, it is possible.
I'm sure all of us struggle with stress on a daily basis. Between the kids, husband, work, bills, finances, holidays, birthdays, etc, etc.....what are we suppposed to do???? I find that if I'm getting too stressed, it actually makes me even more stressed out, when I realize that I have stress. Last week I had a revelation along with my stress. It is actually wiping me out a whole lot more that it used to. I decided that I really need to find a way to deal with the stress and try to keep it in check at all times (well, most of the time).
My plan is this:
1. Take time everyday to exercise. I think this will be important in many, many ways.
2. Take time everyday to do something that I enjoy. If I crawl into my bed at night with a good book after the kids are in bed, that will definitely work for me. And I might get the huge stacks of books, that need to be read, out of my bedroom.
3. Spend extra time playing with my kids and snuggling with my husband. Nothing cures stress like the closeness of family.
4. Spend time working on my breathing techniques and try to start meditating. I've heard that this works really well....................
5. I'm also not going to worry about whether or not I'm getting everything done that needs to be done, because it will be there tomorrow. I will also try to learn to say "no" on occassion, so that I don't get totally overwhelmed, when I'm trying to juggle a million things at a time.
Hopefully, I will succeed at a few of these and learn to manage my stress once in a while. Rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia are tricky diseases to actually manage, but with a little tweaking here and there, it is possible.
Monday, January 3, 2011
A New Year
It is the start of a new year. If you thought that I might be upset with how my 2010 went, you would be very wrong! I learned a lot about myself and my family in that time when everything seemed to be going "wrong". I decided that I could use those experiences and try to turn them into a positive thing! I learned that it wouldn't hurt my husband, if he helped out with the housework, when I was unable to do it. I also learned that if I couldn't do the housework and no one else did it, then it wasn't going anywhere. I learned that I CAN take some time for myself and actually enjoy it! It makes me a better person and I feel much calmer for doing so. All of these things have made some of my decisions for the upcoming year much easier.
For 2011, my outlook will be on the positive side, no matter what comes my way (although, I'm hoping it won't be along the lines of a concussion, broken foot and surgery). I will be trying to at least walk every day, and get some yoga and strength training in a few days a week. I will be making sure that I read and work on my cross stitches regularly, since that always relaxes me and makes me happy. I am going to try to cook healthier foods and make things from scratch more often. I will be trying to eat out less and make sure that we always have quick foods to eat on those busy sports nights. I will be working on organizing the house and making sure that everything has a place and a purpose. If I can't make something work, then I will make sure that I donate it, so someone else can make use of it.
I know that a lot of these things won't be accomplished overnight, but I know with some determination and hard work, I will succeed at my goals! Hopefully, I won't wear myself out too much, by trying to do everything at once. Another goal I have this year is to learn to pace myself and learn the cues that my body is sending me. If I learn to listen to my body, I think I will be more successful all around!
My family is very important to me, so I will be planning on spending quite a bit of time with them and implementing some new ideas in our house. I would like to have family game nights, family movie nights and outdoor activity days. I will be looking for some hiking trails that we can conquer and MANY activities that our community may be holding that are FREE!! :) Our budget is another thing that I would like to conquer this year and working on paying down our debts. My children are going to be helping me with this activity. I think this will be a perfect year to get them started on how to be financially fit.
This blog is another one of my goals and working on getting it off and running. Any ideas that anyone may have, please let me know. I will be working on a game plan of what days we will discuss what topic and I will be making sure that I link this up to other wonderful blogs out there!
I hope that everyone is enjoying this NEW YEAR!
If you are looking to clean out your pantry, freezer, stockpile, before things expire, check out http://www.lifeasmom.com/ or http://www.goodcheapeats.com/ and follow as FishMama (Jessica) helps us accomplish this. She has some basic guidelines and will be offering lots of support.
For 2011, my outlook will be on the positive side, no matter what comes my way (although, I'm hoping it won't be along the lines of a concussion, broken foot and surgery). I will be trying to at least walk every day, and get some yoga and strength training in a few days a week. I will be making sure that I read and work on my cross stitches regularly, since that always relaxes me and makes me happy. I am going to try to cook healthier foods and make things from scratch more often. I will be trying to eat out less and make sure that we always have quick foods to eat on those busy sports nights. I will be working on organizing the house and making sure that everything has a place and a purpose. If I can't make something work, then I will make sure that I donate it, so someone else can make use of it.
I know that a lot of these things won't be accomplished overnight, but I know with some determination and hard work, I will succeed at my goals! Hopefully, I won't wear myself out too much, by trying to do everything at once. Another goal I have this year is to learn to pace myself and learn the cues that my body is sending me. If I learn to listen to my body, I think I will be more successful all around!
My family is very important to me, so I will be planning on spending quite a bit of time with them and implementing some new ideas in our house. I would like to have family game nights, family movie nights and outdoor activity days. I will be looking for some hiking trails that we can conquer and MANY activities that our community may be holding that are FREE!! :) Our budget is another thing that I would like to conquer this year and working on paying down our debts. My children are going to be helping me with this activity. I think this will be a perfect year to get them started on how to be financially fit.
This blog is another one of my goals and working on getting it off and running. Any ideas that anyone may have, please let me know. I will be working on a game plan of what days we will discuss what topic and I will be making sure that I link this up to other wonderful blogs out there!
I hope that everyone is enjoying this NEW YEAR!
If you are looking to clean out your pantry, freezer, stockpile, before things expire, check out http://www.lifeasmom.com/ or http://www.goodcheapeats.com/ and follow as FishMama (Jessica) helps us accomplish this. She has some basic guidelines and will be offering lots of support.
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