Christa Wagner

Continuing with our 10 Positive Things About a Challenging Economy Series is #10: Focusing On The Small Things. Remember the book Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff?  How true to life does that feel now?  With so much going on in the world, you have to let go of the little nuances and focus on the small, wonderful things that make life great.  Perhaps it’s a tulip field, homemade cookies, Mom’s pasta sauce, a summer night on the deck, fireworks, etc.  We can’t always change the world around us, but we can change how we react to things and to focus on the small, important things.

To read our previous tips, go to 10 Positive Things About a Challenging Economy, #1:  More time with family, #2 : Better food choices, #3: Exercise, #4: Using What You Have, and #5: Buying What You Need, and #6 Focusing on What Matters, and #7 Boost Creativity, and #8 Getting To Know Your Neighbors, and #9 Reconnecting With Your Space.

Continuing with our 10 Positive Things About a Challenging Economy Series is #9: Reconnecting With Your Space.  I can’t tell you how many times I have heard someone say I need a larger space. But with larger space, comes more stuff and more to deal with.  Reconnect with your home and come to love the home you’re in today.  Declutter and remove items you don’t need, use or love.  Move the furniture around, paint the walls a new color, shift your art, move knick-knacks around, etc.  There are so many ways to reconnect with your space; the important thing is to create a space you love to be in and are proud of. 

If you want some help with your project, contact us and we will make sure you achieve your goals.   There are many great reasons to hire an organizer.

To read our previous tips, go to 10 Positive Things About a Challenging Economy, #1:  More time with family, #2 : Better food choices, #3: Exercise, #4: Using What You Have, and #5: Buying What You Need, and #6 Focusing on What Matters, and #7 Boost Creativity, and #8 Getting To Know Your Neighbors.

Continuing with our 10 Positive Things About a Challenging Economy Series is #8: Getting To Know Your Neighbors. Somehow in the past decades, we started to spend less time with our neighbors.  Such a bummer.  You have to live near these people, get to know them and build a relationship with them.  Perhaps a social hour where everyone meetings in the front yard and then you can build into a Progressive Dinner.  But get excited, get talking and let people into your life.

To read our previous tips, go to 10 Positive Things About a Challenging Economy, #1:  More time with family, #2 : Better food choices, #3: Exercise, #4: Using What You Have, and #5: Buying What You Need, and #6 Focusing on What Matters, and #7 Boost Creativity.

Continuing with our 10 Positive Things About a Challenging Economy Series is #7: Boost Creativity. We all love to be entertained, I do too.  But right now, movies, theater and sports events may be outside your means.  Be creative with your time and think of what you can do that costs little or nothing.  Fly a kite, walk through a local market, work on your photo album, go camping, hike, play frisbee, learn a new sport, etc. There are so many activies you can do that are fun, energizing and cost virtually nothing.

To read our previous tips, go to 10 Positive Things About a Challenging Economy, #1:  More time with family, #2 : Better food choices, #3: Exercise, #4: Using What You Have, and #5: Buying What You Need, and #6 Focusing on What Matters.

Continuing with our 10 Positive Things About a Challenging Economy Series is #6: Focusing on What Matters. We pack so much into our daily lives that by eliminating some tasks and activities that don’t make the cut, this may actually help you focus on what matters most.  You are probably not going to eliminate something that is really important to you, but when purse strings are tight, we tend to cut the fluff.  By doing this we recognize what is most important to us and allows us to focus on these things more clearly.

Think about it for a minute, what can you eliminate that is not adding value to you life or day.  We would love to hear what it is. 

To read our previous tips, go to 10 Positive Things About a Challenging Economy, #1:  More time with family, #2 : Better food choices, #3: Exercise, #4: Using What You Have, and #5: Buying What You Need.

Continuing with our 10 Positive Things About a Challenging Economy Series is #5: Buying What You Need. This goes hand in hand with our last tip, Using What You Have, and that is to only purchase items that are a need, not just a want.  Food is a need.  The new pair of black high heels at Nordstrom are a want.  There is a difference.  Now, I am not saying you can’t buy new things, but look realistically at your situation and buy items that add value to your life now and in the future.  Also, invest in quality items and beware of sale items as they encourage “want” purchases that are not necessary.

To read our previous tips, go to 10 Positive Things About a Challenging Economy, #1:  More time with family, #2 : Better food choices, #3: Exercise, and #4: Using What You Have.

Continuing with our 10 Positive Things About a Challenging Economy Series is #4: Using What You Have. As an organizer, I see how much excess is in every home. I once had a client who had four food processors. Unless you are are starting a baby food or applesauce business, I can’t see much of a use for four food processors.  By using what you have, you spend less and repurpose and reuse the things in your home.  As always, keep only items you will use, need and love.  But I know you have treasures all over your home – get to know them again.

To read our previous tips, go to 10 Positive Things About a Challenging Economy, #1:  More time with family, #2 : Better food choices, and #3: Exercise.

I am hearing a lot these days about spending money wisely and saving money.  Let me first say I am not participating in the recession; instead, I choose to spend money wisely everyday and am always look for ways I can make better choices to spend money.  One very important aspect to this is Getting the Money Side of Your Life Organized.

People think being organized is going to take time and more money, when in fact you can save a lot of money by simply getting your financial life organized.   Here are few tips you can take to get organized and avoid losing money.

• Create a budget. It doesn’t matter if this is in Quickbooks, Excel or on a piece of paper.  Based on what you earn and what your essential payments are each month, create a realistic budget.
• Place all your bills in one location.  We call these action files, and a vertical file called Bills to Pay works great.  By having one location for your bills, you can retrieve them easily and are less likely to pay late incurring additional fees.
• Set up a time to review and pay your bills.  Schedule a time on your calendar, once or twice a month, to pay bills in a timely manner.
• Organize your tax papers.  We recommend a fantastic filing system called the FreedomFiler, which files all your tax papers in one location.  By having your tax papers in one place, you will avoid leaving money on the table from lost or unclaimed receipts.
• Purchase quality products:  If you are purchasing something because its a need, be sure to purchase quality products.  Oftentimes, we overspend when items are deeply discounted buying less quality and something we don’t really need.
• Change is good.  At the end of the day, empty the change in your pockets and purse into a coffee cup, a vase or a piggy bank.  It really adds up.

See our other money saving posts on How to Rejuvenate on A Budget and Positives in a Challenging Economy.

You work too hard to leave money on the table. Take a few minutes to set up some systems to reduce spending, save money and use your money more wisely.