I’m back from vacation and there is a building list of to-dos in my life.
Do you ever feel that way?
I am hoping that if I write them all down, you folks will provide me with the motivation and accountability to get them all (even some?) done.
A decent number of them fall into the category of Financial To-Dos, and some are things that I have been putting off.
Given that this site is about money, let’s start off with my financial to-dos.
My Financial To-Dos for July/August 2015
Activate the new USD cards – Got the new US dollar visas. The one in my wallet has expired. Obviously that doesn’t help me much. Then I have to shred the old ones.
Put the medical claim form in the mail – As I’ve mentioned before, we have private medical insurance which is normal in Canada. I printed off the forms and addressed the envelope for some things that I can’t submit online, before we left, but need to put it in the mail.
Forward the non-profit’s mail – The current mailing address for a non-profit board I sit on is my house. I need to put the last few statements in my work bag to give them to the treasurer.
Dump our Visa transactions into my file – Every two or three months I dump our visa transactions into a spreadsheet and take a look at our spending my category. I’ve been trying to drop our food bills lately, because we are so good at spending an exorbitant amount, and I want to see if I am making much progress.
Research and buy some stocks – I have cash waiting to be invested and need to get on that. Like, really need to get on that.
Update my resume – Someone asked for a resume while I was at a party lately. It would be dumb to not get my name out there!
Shred some old documents – Before we left on vacation, I started working on my rather neglected filing cabinet. I made half a recycling bag worth of paper shredding and only dented a small portion. This is a project I would really like to see be done, but have no interest in actually doing the tasks. There is a big pile of unfiled papers on top and it is running out of room on the inside. I only have to keep receipts for medical insurance for a year…. and have only ever gotten rid of those pesky papers once before!
Make frozen burritos – Wait, what?! I thought we were still in the financial to-dos section Anne, what are you doing talking about burritos? Well, I have this plan for a post about burritos. You see, I am sure I have mentioned it before, but we are allergic to all sorts of things. That means that we can’t eat 99% of fast food or take out. Even grocery store sushi is usually full of our allergens.
So we end up getting Subway. The combo we have to get there is mediocre, usually their salads. So, I want to see how much money we can save by having grab and go food at the ready.
Buy a new microwave – Once upon a time, not too long ago, I was making steamed green beans in the microwave for lunch, at the fun hour of 9:30 pm. The Tupperware steamer was making its leisurely rounds in the microwave, ensuring I would have some al-dente green beans as a healthy feast in the coming days.
9:30, for those not in the know, is about when I try to be in bed, messing around on twitter with y’all. So far I have only covered a weekend “Day in the Life,” but an early bedtime is a key ingredient for a happy and healthy Anne. And bed time had just stopped in its tracks! The microwave light was on, but the rotating journey to edible green beans had stopped.
Getting them to boil on the stove would take at least 15 minutes, probably longer. I wanted to be in bed already!
So… I called a friend who lived in my building and asked him if I could borrow his microwave. Thank goodness he was also still awake, and talk about a weird neighbourly thing to ask. Upstairs I went, half-baked-beans in hand, and bedtime in the rear view mirror. Thankfully I was able to finish assembling lunches and head to sleep by 10. (For the record, my spouse was out of town, so this was an all-Anne, all the time kind of problem. There was no sending my spouse off while I utilized the remaining four minutes of microwave time to do other things.)
What’s the big deal? Microwaves are about $100, no?
Nope. I’ve got a built in one above my stove, that includes the exhaust fan. I’m looking at $400-1200. Stayed tuned while I figure out how to buy such a thing and what I should be looking for in a microwave? (lights? spinning? plugs in? Is it more complicated than that? I shall investigate!)
Non-Financial To-Dos
Well, there are a boat load of these, so I will cut to the chase with the next few.
Take some clothes to the drycleaner.
Attempt to unclog the bathroom sink. (It still drains, just barely.)
Send some cards.
Clean the kitchen floor. Ick.
Do some laundry.
Pick up my bike from the repair shop.
Get some exercise.
Write some blog posts – high priority!!
Do you have any tricks for getting things on your to do list done? Does internet accountability work for you?
It seems like you have a long list of things. If you take a day off from work, you can probably get all of these done. Most jobs give you 14-21 paid days off a year, to do anything you desire. When my list is long I do that, and I feel productive. Good luck.
EL @ Moneywatch101 recently posted…Why Do We have Unexpected Expenses
I need a clone to get all the stuff on my list done. I am officially switching from Summer mode to Fall mode. And things are ramping up in the household!
Michelle recently posted…Girl Gone Frugal Podcast Episode 4: Taalat and Tai from His and Her Money
Have you considered getting a hood + just having a separate microwave unit so you don’t have to shell out big again when the next microwave dies?
And, yeah, accountability does little to nothing for me in terms of making sure I get things done. Pretty much I’m either motivated or not motivated.
Taylor Lee @ Engineer Cents recently posted…Can Supporting Your Aging Parents Bankrupt You?
Yes, for a fraction of a second. Our kitchen is very small, adding a microwave would remove at least a quarter of our available counter space, so I tossed that idea quite quickly.
I hear you on motivation. It’s more important for me to go through waves of being motivated, that’s when I actually get stuff done.
My to-do list is overwhelmingly long this week. Sigh! Just have to get through the next few days without losing my mind and then I’m home free!
Kayla @ The Jenny Pincher recently posted…How Minimalism and Money Go Hand-in-Hand
Yay home free!
You can do it, you can do it!
To do list is really important and should be an effective strategy to cross those tasks out at the soonest time possible. What works for me is that I either use to-do list application or make my list appealing by making it more artistic or using different colors, or making it more fun to do.
Jayson @ Monster Piggy Bank recently posted…Questioning the value of education during a downturn
This was a fun article! I know it probably wasn’t supposed to be, but I love this kind of stuff. 🙂
I’d leave the microwave for decoration and get a cheap one. I’d put it on the counter or on a stand of some sort. Bur for the record, I’m pretty cheap. 😛
kay ~ the barefoot minimalist recently posted…Liebster Nomination? Moi? :O
Haha, I wish. If I put a microwave on my counter top, I would lose at least 1/3 of my counter top. Totally not worth it to me.
Glad you liked it 🙂
Accountability is a good thing…I think I need the extra motivation too. I have a checklist staring at me right now and I constantly ignore it. I need to get on it! I tend to do the easy ones first because…they’re easy! =)
Andrew@LivingRichCheaply recently posted…I’m Frugal…Now What?
I usually focus on the most important ones first. But determining what those are is not always easy.
Brian@luke1428 recently posted…7 Popular Work at Home Schemes and How to Spot Them
I can’t even begin to think about tackling a load of jobs without writing up a to do list first. It can sometimes work best to put the main jobs at the top so that they are out of the way quickly. Obviously a few cups of coffee doesn’t go a miss either. 🙂
Abi@Bunnyonabudget recently posted…How to Give Your Children More Outdoor Space on a Budget
Internet accountability doesn’t really work for me, which is hilarious. That’s the whole reason I started my blog 😉 It does seem to work for some people – and other times I feel like people are just sharing their to do list with me half heartedly. The blogger says it’s for accountability, but I think they are just following the trend.
I love making to do lists and crossing things off… That’s the way I work best.
Kirsten recently posted…7 Staycation Ideas for Summer Break
Ha, that is hilarious! I have never tried it before, so I am sort of curious if it will make a difference for me or not. Honestly, I hadn’t planned to write a follow up post, so it’s probably not going to do a thing for me. Unless, of course, someone brings it up again in the future!
US Visas…..do you mean visas that don’t charge the extra foreign exchange conversion fee? If so thats a good plan since the dollar is so low right now
Yes, we have a USD account and a USD card as part of our regular banking. It gets rid of both the Visa conversion fee and the bank conversion fee, as I can store my US earnings (aka from blogging) in the US funds. I have thought about it, but haven’t yet converted any funds to take advantage of the spread.
Yikes I was exhausted reading that! The only trick I use is prioritize. Do what’s MOST important or difficult first, then work your way down…and maybe some of those things really aren’t that important, or can be outsources, or at least wait longer so you don’t have to do everything at once?
Tonya@Budget and the Beach recently posted…BATB TV: TimeCast Cable
I have a few weeks to tackle most of these things. I was actually able to knock two of the easier ones out yesterday, which are easy but a pain because I have to make it to the businesses before they are closed for the evening. On to the next things! Thanks for the tips Tonya 🙂
That’s how I handle mine, too, Tonya! Getting back from vacation is always such an endorphin crash when you look at that must. Heck, even putting the list together can be exhausting! Best of luck, Anne!
Femme Frugality recently posted…What to Do About Your Rising Energy Bills This Summer