Friday Finance Challenge

Having Little G has certainly tightened our finances. In an effort to make this all make sense we will be taking a hard look at our spending. Where is our focus? Where does the money go?

As opposed to trudging through all the chaos we now have with bills, shopping, groceries, take out and all of the other madness we spend on. We are going to start off with a clean slate.

Here’s the challenge: For the month of February we will be taking a spending hiatus.

This means no cute toys for Little G, no new shoes for me, no bought lunches at work, no video games, no dinners out and even no gift card spending.

We will have a few allowances – groceries, bills and one date night.

The date night, although it may not seem like it, is a necessity. The point of the spending hiatus is to help us to focus on our family both in finances and time. If the spending hiatus were to come between us that would defeat the point of it. We have not had a date in quite a while and another 28 days would be tough. I will try to find a free date night, but it is February in Connecticut, enough said there.

Also in addition to starting this, look out for Finance Fridays where I will own up to the difficult, the good and the bad of the week.

I hope that you join this challenge with us, I think it will be a great time, and certainly eye opening.

*Update*

You can make the rules that you need for this. If you have a birthday to buy for, then by all means, go ahead. The idea is to follow the spirit of the challenge and learn from it.

Also, on my Friday Finance post I will try to figure out how and put up a Mcklinky for you to add your blog posts to.

If you decide to participate with us, it would be great if you would paste the button below into your Friday post and put a link back to my page. Good luck!

Join me everyday for a different meme.

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

How To Say 'No'

Learning to say no – Moms Secret Weapon

Are you suffering from mom burn out? Do you struggle just to make it through each day? Moms everywhere are breaking down because they are too chicken to say, "No".

"No" may be a tiny, two-letter word, but it can be your secret weapon. And you can say it. Here are some ways you can say "no" without feeling guilty about it:

Sorry, I’m taking a break.
The number one reason why you should say, "no" occasionally is simply that you deserve a break. You are chef, chauffeur, dish washer, and more. You job never ends on any given day of the week. You deserve a break. If you feel bad for saying "no", say, "Sorry, I’m taking a break".

My schedule is full.
We tend to jam-pack our schedule full of activities, leaving time for nothing. Cut back on your kids activities. Start a car pool and share driving responsibilities. Do whatever you can to free up some time in your schedule.

I don’t have time.
You’re headed out the door, rushing to the next appointment when the telephone rings. What do you do? Do you come to a screeching halt and answer the phone? Let’s say you do, and it’s a family member, calling to dump their latest woes on you. Do you stand, tapping your foot impatiently while you roll your eyes and listen to the sob story? This is a typical scene for many moms.

I have another commitment that day.
Say it and mean it. Regularly schedule in time with your family or time alone and if someone ask for your help during that time look in your planner and tell them you have another commitment.

Instead of rushing to be everything to everyone, stop. Ask yourself if you truly have time for whatever comes up. If not, say no by walking away, turning off the ringer on the phone, or not answering the knock at your door.

Always remember that you are a mom—not a super hero. When you have to say no, people will understand; if they don’t at first, they will get used to it eventually.

First Day of Class

Today Aeryn went back to classes at John Robert Powers. There weren't that many kids there for the first day back; not sure if it was because of the cold, or if they were still out of town due to the Christmas break.
Anyway, both of Aeryn's teachers want a new commercial and a new monologue. Aeryn has been stuck on either doing a commercial for McDonald's, or her Disney Clothing one.
Her monologue should be alot easier; we bought her a book that has nothing but monologues for kids. She can choose to take on the role of someone from the Civil War Era, all the way to Alice In Wonderland as she comes upon the white rabbit for the first time.
Hopefully her singing teacher will be there next week, and Aeryn can get on with learning how to breathe from her diaphram.