Frugal Patti

I read an account of a lady that didn’t get along well with her mother-in-law the other day. She was told by her aunt that “10% of life is what happens and 90% is how you react to it.” I’m not sure if I completely agree with the percentages, but do feel that most of what we go through on a daily basis is how we decide to react to the stressors in our lives. We all have difficult things happen in our lives (although some more than others). When we have a difficult person that we work with or in our family, getting laid off from a job, a personal or family illness, or something horrible happening in the news; we have to deal with these situations the best we can. Naturally, we have to grieve losses in our lives, and I’m not saying that we shouldn’t deal with our feelings. On the other hand, we can’t let a bad situation take over our lives. Consider if your actions are productive, are they making you feel better or worse? Write a list of productive things you can do to help the situation. What can you learn from this? If you don’t know how to deal with your feelings, often putting your feelings on paper will help. If laid off, what can you do to find another job or train for another career? There are always options, but it may take some soul searching to find the one that is right for you.

I have to say after watching the festivities of the day; I do have hope for our new President. Although I did not vote for him, I was impressed by the actions of our new President and First Lady. They showed grace and elegance. They show so much value in their family, you can only feel how blessed their children are to have these parents. During President Obama’s first speech he blamed our countries financial situation on “greed and irresponsibility” of some. I loved hearing his optimism for the American people. We have been a great people in the past and we can be in the future, but this must be earned. America is full of risk takers and doers, and we can bring this country back to what we all want it to be again with some hard work. Our new President has some views I agree with and others I don’t. Please join me in praying for both our new President, and our wonderful country. God Bless the USA!

Yesterday I found out that a family friend has been diagnosed with Lymphoma, and are having a very emotional time while the family waits for the Oncologist’s appointment. While this family goes through this difficult time, they are thankful that they have such a wonderful family and support system. Investing your time and emotions into friends and family (and don’t forget yourself) is so important. These are the people you have to rely on during difficult time, and they need you when they go through these times. We all have hard times at one time or another in our lives. Having a strong support system is so important to our lives and happiness. We need to place ourselves and those we care about as a top priority in our lives. I urge everyone to take time for themselves and those they care about every day. If it’s only 30 minutes, life is too short to not do what is import. Working hard (although important) is not the only thing we should have in our lives.

I heard some great tips the other day on reducing stress from work. Although these days much workplace stress is trying to get or keep a job, I though these were some great tips to make life less stressful. First, before you leave work get ready for the next day. Make tomorrow’s to-do list (to get these items of your mind) and return any calls or emails that you need to. Then on the way home, take this time to relax from the day and decompress. Use this time to listen to the music or audiobook that you’ll enjoy. Then lastly when you get home, take some time (if only 30 minutes) to enjoy friends and/or family. Have fun with them. Play catch with the kids, walk around the block and chat, or relax with a glass of wine (or tea) and the TV off. It is so important that we take time for ourselves, family, and friends. Life is short, and we get so busy that we don’t always make time for the really important stuff.

I finished the Disney Half Marathon yesterday. My time was not as good as I would have liked, but I did finish and was feeling good enough to walk around EPCOT afterwards. I only say this as a consolation because after doing a full marathon about 3 years ago I did have problems walking and was actually pushed around in a wheel chair (from dinner to the car). So with that history, I’m healthy enough to keep training for the next event (Disney’s Princess Half Marathon) in a few months. My ultimate goal is to accomplish finishing the Goofy Challenge (Half Marathon on Saturday, then Full Marathon on Sunday), but not really sure when I want to attempt that. We all need short term and long term goals, and these will at least help me stay fit!

As you compile the goal lists of the past few days, look over them one more time. Do they all meet the SMART criteria? Make any changes need to make sure all the goals are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely). Are there any other goals you want to add to your list for the year? Something that is special to you? First, we need to make sure you have goals in all the categories that are important to you, but not too many goals that would make your list not attainable for the year. Consider your list and make sure you are being realistic. Next, look at each goal. Can you break it up into smaller pieces? If you want to walk 600 miles in the year (one of my goals), write down 50 miles per month in parenthesis. This way you will be able to easily see if you are on track during the year. Each month, take out your goals and make sure you are on track for each one. By reviewing your goals each month, you will be able to adjust your energies accordingly.

Best wishes to everyone attaining all they want for the new year!

I would like to wish everyone reading this a very happy, healthy and prosperous New Year!

Many of us are so busy doing things for others that we forget about ourselves. This category of goals will deal with that issue. Think of the things that you want to accomplish around your house, in your personal live, and with your hobbies. Remember to have each of your goals meet the SMART criteria we discussed on 12/28/08. I will present some major categories and examples of goals that some may want to have under each category. Everyone’s personal goals will be so different, but this will give you some ideas to start with.

Around the house:

• Plant a vegetable garden by x date
• Build a deck by x date
• Paint the kitchen (or another room) by x date

Personal life:

• Go to the gym (or another form of exercise) 3x per week
• Go out with friends each week (or month)
• Make a family sit down dinner each week
• Read 1 book a month
• Lose 25 pounds by EOY
• Eat 5 servings of fruits and vegetables per day
• Quit smoking

Hobbies / Entertainment:

• Go fishing 10 times by EOY
• Make a quilt by EOY
• Take a stained glass class by EOY
• Run a Marathon (1/2 marathon, 10K, or 5K) by EOY
• Take a cruise by EOY

Tomorrow: Putting It All Together…

Today we’ll identify and document your work and career goals for 2009. These will vary greatly between people and careers. As yourself questions like: :”Do I like and want to stay in my current job?”, “Do I want to work toward a promotion?”, Do I want another job in my current career path?”, and/or “Do I want a new job all together?” The goals you set will depend on how you answered these questions. Remember to have each of your goals meet the SMART criteria we discussed on 12/28/08. I will present some examples of goals that may assist you further your career.

Complete x online courses covering x subject by EOY

• Complete x course(s) toward x certification by EOY
• Complete x course(s) toward x degree by EOY
• Read x book(s) on x subject by EOY
• Attain part time job doing x to get experience in x

Tomorrow: Setting Personal/Household Goals…

Your financial goals will depend on what your financial situation is currently, and what your future goals are. Remember to have each of your goals meet the SMART criteria we discussed on 12/28/08. I will present some major categories and examples of goals that some may want to have under each category.

Reduce Debt (every bit helps):

• Pay $x extra on mortgage each month
• Pay $x extra on car loan each month
• Pay $x extra on credit card x each month

Increase Income (assists with either debt reduction or savings):

• Make $x extra per month by working overtime
• Make $x extra per month by getting part-time job x

Short Term Savings (savings that you will spend in under/about a year):

• Save $x per month to start a Christmas/holiday fund for 2009
• Save $x per month for a new sofa
• Save $x per month for 2009 vacation

Long Term Savings (savings for the long term):

• Increase 401K contributions by x% (or $x) per month (or pay period)
• Increase retirement savings in x account by $x per month
• Increase college fund savings in x account by $x per month

Tomorrow: Setting Work/Career Goals…

Today we will review criteria for writing our yearly goals (or New Year’s Resolutions) so that they can be easily tracked and achieved. SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely) is the acronym that will help us in our writing. Each of the goals we set will meet these five requirements.

Specific: The more specific you are in your goals the easier it will be to accomplish it. Getting healthy or enjoying life sound nice, but they aren’t specific enough to track or know if you accomplished it. How do you want to get healthy? Add 1 yoga session to your weekly routine? That is something that you can track.

Measurable: Each goal needs to be measurable. The typical New Year’s Resolution of “lose weight” is not measureable. But, if you reword it to “lose 10 pounds” does meet the criteria.

Attainable: Each goal needs to be attainable. Do you have all the resources that you need to meet this goal (such as time or money it may take)?

Realistic: Each goal should be realistic. Are you (or anyone) really able to accomplish this? I don’t think losing 100 pounds in 1 month is realistic for anyone. The typical person can’t complete a 4 year degree in 1 year. You just need to be realistic here, and many New Year’s resolutions don’t meet this criterion.

Timely: This is a rather easy one. You just have to set a time to accomplish the goal by or a deadline. Do you want to lose 5 pounds by June 1st?

Tomorrow: Setting Financial Goals…