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My best money saving idea is to stay organized. I believe that disorganization wastes more money than any other behavior. Letting good coupons expire, forgetting to use gift cards or send in rebates, not to mention poor planning for meals which result in eating out. To stay organized, I have a 3 ring binder ( which my kids affectionately call my "brain") In this notebook, I have sections to help stay organized. I have a calendar where I keep everyone's schedule (work, school activities, etc) so that I can look each night to help plan the weeks needs. I keep a section for meal planning and groceries, I have a monthly calendar of meals, a list of easy meal ideas for last minute meals for those days when life falls apart and I can't manage my menu for the day. This prevents us from eating out when life gets hectic, I have preprinted grocery lists, a folder to keep new recipes that I find until I can try them out. A folder for my coupons, I have a section for household information, listing anything from phone number of repair people to the size of my heater filter. This saves me from having to hunt down the same information over and over. I also have a section for bill paying with a folder to keep bills as they come in until payday. I keep a running page of information for odd and ends such as how much I have on a gift card, or ideas for new crafts or money saving tips I get from this site so I don't forget them before I get a chance to try them. I have made it a habit to keep all my important and household information in this notebook and in the evening after dinner, I spend 5-10 min to look through each section to stay on top of everything. This gives me a chance to think about tomorrow's schedule, dinner, any special work or kid activities, any bills due which must be addressed right away, etc. I believe this has saved me a fortune by preventing late bill fees, eating out when we are on the run, missed money from lost coupons or cards. In the same cabinet that I keep the notebook, I have a small plastic container. In this I keep things like shirts and the button which has just fallen off, items which may need repair or attention. Once a week I drag out the box and repair anything which needs it and deal with all the items which need attention. I am a single working mom, and without my "brain" I would be a lost cause!
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This sounds way too easy and sensible! I feel like I have tried so hard to come up with ways to organize and am still, well... unorganized! I have a binder for coupons, and one for recipes, but having one for all the stuff I normally use on a daily basis... I'll have to try it!
Thanks and good luck!
Darci
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I have a question trekkie 2 this idea is awesome - I was wondering what type of notebook you use did you make this or buy it . I would really like to try and get this going for myself -thanks Robin
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This is a wonderful idea. You are right, so much money can be wasted by disorganization -- for example, my mom wasted thousands of dollars last year by not being organized enough to file the FAFSA for my younger sister! She's lost receipts for things she wanted to return to the store, and also bought a new pre-paid cell phone because she couldn't be bothered to find out where my father's old one was that she could have activated for $20 less.
Your binder/brain is very similar to FlyLady's Control Journal, a very helpful tool as well.
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First off I would like to say hello.....I am very new to this site! and by reading through some of the posts it seems very informative.
I love this idea of the organizational book....but I can not seem to combine my own idea of one. the meal planning and grocery list just drives me crazy ...do you have a website you use to plan one?
Do you use any type of programs that design these pages for you?
I must be a very clueless unorganized person ....
AMAZING idea thought I am going to try to accomplish this one!
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I have a three-ring binder, 2 inches wide, that holds papers and folders like the ladies who posted before me. You can get printable templates for this at Organizedhome.com. Let us know how you did with this project!
Jane
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Excellent!!! Thanks for the idea!!!
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Sounds like the "brain" is a good tool. I love being organized so might try this myself.
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What a great idea! I think that I need to start my own "brain"
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The notebook idea is a great tip. My mother had one so I developed one as well. I love mine!
I have a finance and family notebook that has all information that falls into those categories. It has all bills, calendars, even checkbook registers I made in Excel. It has really been a great help.
Everything that falls outside of those categories I have different notebooks for. Otherwise my notebook would be huge and I wouldn't want to take it with me anywhere.
So I have a notebook just for dh's job, to track locations and receipts and a notebook for my business.
I also have a notebook for decorating and home building ideas I've come across. Since we are wanting to build a house and my dream is to remodel and flip houses.
I also have a personal notebook that no one is allowed in. I use it for anything i want that is not in another category. I have a book list of books I'd like to read, information on places I'd like to go, a personal wish list, inspirational stories I like, etc.
I couldn't do without them! I know having several notebooks would seem disorganized to a lot of people but its much easier on me. I know what is in each one so I never have to worry about searching to locate something. Plus some of the info doesn't need attention regularly such as the remodel ideas and since it has nothing to do with work, there is no need to have it in the same book.
Mine are all 1" 3--ring binders except my finance one is only 1/2" for easy portability.