5 Ways to Find Simple Motivation

I've realized that I am not the most self-motivated person ever. But I've also realized that there are things I can do to work with the little bits of motivation that I do have once in a while.
Here are some simple ways find some motivation (I'm referring mostly to house work/projects, but could be for anything):
1. Set a Deadline. Maybe it's today, or tomorrow, or next week, but it's a deadline and it will help to know when it has to be finished.
2. Set Goals. Make them SMART Goals, but make them none the less. This will help to make sure it really can happen.
3. Use high energy times. I have been finding that if I make myself get up earlier than everyone else, I can use this time to get a lot done. It's quiet and I have energy and excitement for the new day, so it's a great time for me to get things done.
4. Have people over. Whether it's for a meal or a night, this helps me to be more motivated to keep the house cleaned and finish projects we are working on around the house (like the kitchen right now).
5. Make a plan. Just like making a meal plan helps me to stay motivated to make healthy meals for my family, so does making any other plan. It helps to know what I want to do and how I want to do it (could be a to do list or a chore chart, for example).
Bonus. Don't get discouraged. This only leads to feeling less motivated to keep going, even (and especially) when you feel as though you haven't been doing well. There are always rough days, or days when it feels like nothing gets done, but there is always usually tomorrow (if you start the day right!).
This might be more of a reminder for me today than for you, but either way, I am going to go follow some of my own advice...
This is what Works For Me.

More about Setting Goals

Last week I started taking a closer look at why and how to set some goals. Why set goals? It’s just smart to set some. So, how do you go about setting goals? It’s simple. It's all about being SMART.

Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Realistic
Timely

We have talked about being specific, measurable, and attainable. Now we will look at the final two: realistic and timely.

Realistic: This does not mean that you don’t challenge yourself to set bigger goals. But it does mean that the goals are in fact “do-able” and workable. If you do not have the tools to accomplish a goal, then it is not likely a realistic goal.

For example: An unrealistic goal might be “I want to build my own house” whereas a realistic goal might be more like “I want to take some free classes on how to build things on my own since I have never touched a tool before in my life.”

Timely: Putting an end point on your goal helps give you something to focus on. Especially if you are a procrastinator at heart, this is an important one for you! If there is no end time, there is no urgency to get started or to keep going. This will help to give you a better picture of where you are going and when you are going to get there.

What goals would you like to work on? Has this helped you in setting some goals for yourself?

Here is one ultimate goal I have: I would like my house to be ready for someone to stop by at any point of the day. I will do this by working on my organization and finding a home for everything, especially the little things. I will spend a little time during each nap that my son takes to make sure things are put away, making sure I do not have to step over anything to walk through my house.
"By the end of this week, my house will be clean enough to have guests over (what would I want my house to look like if I was trying to sell it?), always, and I will work to keep it this way by continually putting things back into the spots I created for them."

How to set attainable goals

It’s the end of June. It’s just as good a time as any to set some goals. Getting ready to start a new month. Getting ready to start the second half of the year. Maybe you’re on summer break and distracted with kids being home. Maybe your life is no different in the summer. Whatever the case, and whatever your life situation, it can never hurt to set some goals.

We’ve just looked at how to make goals specific and how to make them measurable. Now for the “A” in the word SMART: attainable.

You want to make any goal you have attainable. The key to setting goals is being able to achieve them, not to set the standard so high and ridiculous that you could never in your wildest dreams even try to accomplish it.

An example of a general and non-attainable goal might be: “I want to lose 30 pounds this week so I look good in my bathing suit this weekend.” An attainable (and safe) goal would sound more like: “I want to lose 1-2 pounds each week for the next 6 months so I can ultimately lose 30 pounds.”

It is not healthy to lose 30 pounds in a week. And it is not attainable. If you set goals that you really can achieve then you are more likely to follow through to completion.

How to set measurable goals

So, you’ve decided you want to make some changes. You want to set some goals. You are beginning to think about what they could be. Maybe you are a little overwhelmed. Maybe you are a bit excited. Maybe you are flushed with all sorts of emotions. Maybe you know exactly where you want to go. But maybe you have absolutely no idea.

That’s why it’s good to set goals. Especially SMART goals.
You’ve tried to make it more specific. Now let’s make it measurable.

You need to set concrete criteria in which you can measure your progress.



If your goals are measurable you should be able to answer the following questions:

How much?
How Many?
How will I know when it is accomplished?

For example: a general goal may be "I'm going to clean my house" whereas a measurable goal might be "I'm going to spend 30 minutes each day for the next week cleaning my house."

You want to succeed.

You’ve got to be able to measure that success.

How to set specific goals

So you know you want to make some changes, right? You know you want to set some goals and do things a little differently. But how in the world do you get started. You get SMART. You set some SMART goals.



Step 1: Be Specific.

If you make your goal specific you are more likely to be able to accomplish it. It's as simple as answering the old "W" questions.

Who?
What?
When?
Where?
Why?
Which?

For example: a general goal may be "I want to spend less money" whereas a specific goal might be "I want to spend $50 less each month on groceries."

This second one is much more specific because it has an exact number and a category. If it is just a general goal, what are you really working toward?

Think about some of the things you might want to do differently and think about how you can be specific in the goals you are going to set. This is just the first step, but it’s an important one!

How to Set Goals

I have been talking each month about my goals for saving and spending. I really started trying to focus on our finances back in March, really trying to figure out where and how we could cut back on our spending. For me, I enjoy setting goals because it helps me to focus on where I am going. From staying healthy to saving money, goals are great.

So why Set Goals? Why not just try to change? Why not just try?

Goals can help you:

be disciplined.
stay focused.
see progress.
remain motivated.
be accountable.

So, how do you go about setting goals? It's simple. It's all about being SMART.
You may have heard it before, but it's a good reminder to look at this acronym. I learned this in college and it has been a great help ever since! In all areas of life.

Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Realistic
Timely

Each day this week we will look a little closer at each of these, learning how to set better goals. You don’t have to wait for January to come around again for some New Year’s resolutions. Let’s start fresh in July!

"No Spending" Goals

In this post, I talked about how we were doing halfway through our first month of "no spending." We were spending money, but not on things like shopping, eating out, random desires, etc.

Now I'm back to sum up the month and talk about how June can look as well.

• I allowed myself $5 per week between the drugstores in town and Target. I never went over, and only once did I even come close. I am changing this a little for June and challenging myself to $15 for the month between all of these stores.

• Our garden is blooming quite well, thanks to all the rain we have had. We got to eat some salads this past week with lettuce and sweet basil from our garden and have started picking peaches as well. Can't wait for more fresh food. It tastes so good and fresh and saves us so much in grocery costs.

• I don't know of any more great coffee deals coming up, but I do enjoy the Target brand Espresso, so I will have to watch for it to go on sale sometime soon.

• Our menu plan for May worked great and I am following another one that I made for June. We will also be out of town (with all meals provided for us) for a week in June so I did not have to plan for these days and this will help our grocery budget even more!

• Well, we did eat out once, as I talked about here, but we don't plan to again for June. It's not that hard, really, but I do miss Chick Fil A a bit. And it's a bit more challenging to plan meetings that aren't just grabbing a bagel and coffee at a local shop.

• Still keeping very detailed records of all the purchases I am making, and this helps me to see how I am doing as the month progresses, so I know this will continue for June as well.

Other small ways that we are trying to save:

• Reusing ziploc bags
• composting (saves on paying for our trash to be picked up since we don't have to put it out as often and it will help our garden)
• making our own coffee, and trying to drink less of it so it lasts longer
• using white washcloths as towels to clean instead of using paper towels
• I made my own "wet jet refill" so I don't have to pay for the name brand cleaner
• borrowing movies from friends instead of renting or going to a theatre

I hope this helps to inspire you in some way. If nothing else, it has inspired me to look back and see all the changes we have made to try and live and more simple and frugal life.

May Budget Review

This helps me to see how I have done, whether good or bad...

April was a pretty good month, and I tried to do even better in May, for obvious reasons.

I spent more in May and saved less, but overall I think I had a better month. I mentioned how I thought my numbers were a little off for April, so I could be saying I spent more when I really didn't. But I really did not "save" as much as I did in April. I talk about this saving dilemma here.

My savings % was down to 42% this month. Again, I talk about this in my "dilemma" and why it is a dilemma for me...I would love to be at 50% or higher, but I know there may be other factors involved at times. I did spend $8 less than my goal for the month, though, so this I was happy with!

We had plenty of food, we did not eat out, we had people over a few times, and we still had some food in our pantry and freezer at the end of the month, so I know I am doing better at being able to provide us with more for less, and ultimately I am happy with that.

May Goals Review

Back on May 1 I set some goals for me and for my family. I'm a little delayed getting back to this, but I want to make sure I look back at how I did with those goals, and even though we are already a little into June, I want to make sure I set some new ones as well.

1. My first goal was to plan a month of meals all at once. No, I didn't make them all at once, but I did plan for the whole month right from the beginning, trying to find the best deals on things that I could buy early (knowing I would cook it later).
This worked great for me, and I am doing this again in June. One thing that is helping me even more now is that we were able to purchase a chest freezer, so now I can cook more in bulk and buy more in bulk when I see a great deal!
I also said we were not eating out for the whole month. We last until the 29th, when my husband wanted to take me on a surprise date. We used a gift card he had gotten for Chili's so we paid $2 for the meal plus our tip, still not too bad. We are planning to not eat out again in June.

2. Clutter is still an issue for us and I hate it! Every time I feel like we do a little bit to get rid of some, more pops up than there was before. My husband says "this is a process and you need to be patient" but I say the process is taking too long. We seem to create clutter faster than we can get rid of it!
I need to work much harder and more diligently at this one in June!

3. I think we did pretty good with evaluating the purchases we were both making. We did buy a freezer, but we had saved enough on groceries and knew it was a good deal.
I know we will need to constantly evaluate the things we are buying and the reasons for buying them.

Not bad for the first month of really trying this. Keeping similar goals for June. Don't want to go crazy trying to change too much at once!

How to Get Started-Part 4

Wanna save money but not sure what to do to get started? This is the place for you.

If you need to catch up on this series, you can find the previous posts here:
Start Reading
Start Researching
Start Finding Coupons

On to Part 4: Start Small

When I start something I tend to go all in right away. I decided I wanted to give this whole saving money/clipping coupons/blogging thing a try and I jumped in head first to the deep end. It worked out OK for me, at least because I have a husband who was very understanding and gracious during this learning period. But I don't recommend doing it this way.

Don’t try to go out the first week and get every deal that is mentioned. The people who write about all the deals don't even go out and get them all, they are just trying to inform their readers of all the possibilities.

Start with one or two things that you know your family will use and you know (because you have a fairly good idea of normal prices from regular shopping trips) is a good deal. In my area, CVS and Walgreens often have very good deals where I can work "the system" to get things for very cheap to almost free. It's a little tricky at first, but again, this is why you want to start small. Find out more about how drugstore deals work from Deal Seeking Mom here or Surviving the Stores here and here.

Don’t worry if you can’t find a coupon for everything. Eventually, you probably will be able to find a coupon for almost anything you want to buy, but don't overwhelm yourself in the beginning, just find what you can.

Don’t worry if you throw away an expired coupon. I am not the most experienced ever, but I have noticed that I usually throw out expired coupons a day or two before I get the exact same one in a paper or on line. It'll come around again.

Don’t worry if you only save $1 on your first try. That's $1 saved! Every dollar counts, and eventually you may be able to save more in coupons than you spend. This is a good goal, but eventually, not right away.

Don't be afraid to take some time to learn the systems, find all the coupons, find the best deals... and eventually you'll be a pro!

New Budget Weekly Goals

I thoroughly enjoy finding great deals at CVS, Walgreens and Target. And I really enjoy trying to use the ECB's, RR's and gift cards that I accrue buy purchasing items in these stores to then purchase more items that will give me more ECB's, RR's and gift cards, and so on...
So with this new month and my new budget (and knowing that many of the things I get at these stores are not always needed at the moment but are always used eventually) I have decided that I will allow myself to spend no more than $5 in a week out of pocket (oop) at all of these stores. combined.
So here is how week 1 is going for me (and I am pretty sure I am done unless I see another amazing deal that just can't be passed up): I got everything pictured below, plus my non-pictured Aveeno travel pack valued at $9.99 (since it is advertised but was not sent to stores in my area...frustrating) for $.90. Yep. 90 cents oop this week.


I got the 3 Aveeno lotions at Walgreens on sale for $2.63 and I used the printable (don't have the link) coupon for $2 off each one. With this purchase I was supposed to get the travel bag, but they did not get them and I had to persuade the manager to give me a rain check showing that I had bought what I was supposed to get without receiving my gift! Weird that I had to ask for it and convince him!
The aluminum foil was my filler, on sale for .59.
I also used a $2 RR. Total oop was .90. I did not walk away with any RR, but still have $11 RR from previous visits.

I got the 2 glade candles (again this month! since I miraculously had 2 SS inserts in my one paper yesterday! yay!) on sale for $5.99 with 2 $4/1 coupons. I used my $5 gift card from the Special K deal last week.
Then I did the Fiber One deal at Target, buy any 4 and get a $5 gift card. I got 3 of the cereals on sale for $2.39 and used 3 $1/1 coupons. I also got 1 of the toaster pastries on sale for $1.79 and had .50/1 coupon for this. I used the rest of my $5 from the Special K deal and then my new one from the glade deal, and walked away with .11 still on one card plus a new $5 card.

I don't think I will get anything at CVS this week, but have $4 ECB for future trips.

I'm happy with week 1.

Today is the day!

It's Friday.

It's May 1.

It's time to start working a little harder to save money. We like to set a "budget" but you see it in quotes because we do not follow it as closely as we would if it were capitalized and not in quotes. The months usually start off good, but things come up, we get invited out to eat, we get lazy, we "forget" that we had a "budget" to begin with. If it is not set in stone it is very easy to stray from, and this is how it has been for us, it's never come out of quotations.

But not today. Not this month.

And hopefully this will set a better standard for us so we will not just have one good month, but we will be able to make this our natural lifestyle.

I will be doing lots of cleaning this month. Cleaning up our budget. Cleaning up our house. Cleaning up our life. I am excited to get rid of more clutter, challenge myself to spend much less, and to just simplify life a little more.

Some of the things I will be doing this month and the people who will be helping me:

1. Planning a whole month of meals. We will not be eating out and I cannot plan on this once in a while. I usually do this by the week, but the month will be very fulfilling and will help me to watch for sales as meals are approaching. Yes, it will be challenging too! Once a Month Mom has been a great help and inspiration in this area.

2. I have been working on getting rid of some of the junk in our house as of late. So much clutter, so little space. To help stay motivated with this, I am going to join Simple Mom and her Spring Cleaning schedule over here.

3. I will be doing lots of evaluating of the things I buy, especially of my "wants" vs my "needs." It is so easy to find a "need" for everything. Maybe it is today or maybe not, but someday I might really need it! This could quite easily be the most challenging of these steps I am taking in the next month.

Little steps. Simple steps. But hopefully leading to leaps and bounds of change. Hopefully leading to the simple life I am striving to live.

Got any great ideas for this? Want to join me along the way? Leave a comment if you do.

My experience crushed my excitement.

I was so excited.
I had it all together.
I did all my research.
I had my lists,
my coupons,
my notes,
my wallet,
my determination....
But none of these were enough to make my experience tonight a success...
I looked up the stores on The Grocery Game but I wasn't totally sold on just using that, so I also spent much of yesterday and today researching the blogs to the right and the sites below, looking for coupons and ideas and the very best deals around so I could make sure I was well armed.
But to no avail.
At least that's how it seems to me right now after having spent valuable time out trying to begin my new bargain world experience.
I don't know if I waited too long (since it's already Tuesday and most people seem to go out on Sunday right when all the deals start) or I am just new or we live in a smaller area and so the stores are smaller and did not even have the things I intended to buy, or a combination of all of the above. Whatever it was, though, my first experience is not what makes me want to try again. The blogging world is what makes me want to try again. People are so good at it and they have so many ideas, so I think I need to give it at least a month or two to make sure I am getting the hang of it, saving both money and time in the long run...

Goals

I have recently become a part-time stay at home mom. I still work some, though mostly from home, and I also still coach volleyball...but I spend most of my time at home now. In cutting back my income combined with adding a new addition to our family, I began to wonder if there were little things I could do from home to make a little extra income on the side...
I found online surveys, paid email readings, tasks on Amazon and so forth...but more than making extra money, these just made for extra spam in my email inbox...so what else could I do???
My husband and I have always tried to follow a "budget" sort of...but it is in quotes because we always set what we would want to spend and how, but after a few days we would quickly forget anything we had talked about and just become impulse buyers, whether it be eating out or finding something we needed like new jeans...
So now that finances are a little different for us, we decided we would both have closer knowledge of how we are spending our money, thus we now keep track of our spending habits on Mint. This has helped us a lot, especially me and my grocery shopping...thus I have just entered a whole new world...the world of the frugal...and it is my goal to become a card-carrying member of this new-to-me world...