Pamper Yourself for Less

Balancing Your Crazy Life

First Things First

Keeping a busy life in balance requires a strong awareness of what is truly important in life, knowing what your priorities are, and not allowing superficial things to get in the way. Today’s family faces a million demands on their time. Often, the most pressing demands aren’t that important in the larger scheme of things, and we make the mistake of putting more important things on hold to accomplish minor things. For example, reading to your kids may not be as urgent as answering the phone, but it may be more important in the long run. By putting these things at the top of your priority list, you’re increasing the chances they’ll get done. You will, in turn, improve the quality of your family’s life.

Is your life overly stressful? Take this stress quiz to find out.

Put Yourself Back on the To-Do List

As parents, we often put our own needs on the back burner to ensure our kids and families are well taken care of.

Elimintate Time Wasters:

• Shop online as much as possible to save time, gas money, plus wear and tear on your car. Anticipate future needs such as wardrobe additions or replacements, birthday/holiday presents, teacher appreciation gifts, etc.
• Plan your family’s meals ahead of time and make sure you have the ingredients on hand to avoid unnecessary trips to the store. If you plan meals around the grocery stores’ sales, you’ll save money and time. Keep a few meals in the freezer to avoid the takeout temptation.
• Put your finances on autopilot. Set up automatic deposits to accomplish saving and investment goals, which helps take the time and worry out of managing your finances. Using your bank’s online bill paying feature not only eliminates the time it takes to write out a check, but also saves you money on postage.
• Keep the television turned off. It helps create a more peaceful environment and helps eliminate wasted time. Use a DVR (such as TiVo) to enable skipping through commercials. Channel surfing becomes a thing of the past and you can watch an hour-long show in 40 minutes or a half-hour show in 20!
• If you have an answering machine or voicemail, put it to use. Set a designated time to return phone calls. Using a caller ID service can help you avoid taking calls from telemarketers; you can also register your phone number on the National Do Not Call Registry to avoid those unwanted calls.

Life can be fast-paced and stressful. Take some stress out of your life by thinking ahead. According to FuelEconomy.gov, the quality of a few important vehicle components can help drivers improve their auto’s gas mileage as much as 40 percent. Here are some tips to ensure fewer headaches in the future.

• Don’t let the stress turn you into an aggressive driver! Aggressive driving (weaving in and out of traffic, tailgating, etc.) can compromise safety and lower gas mileage.
• Replace clogged air filters. Clogged filters can have a big impact on gas savings.
• Make sure your vehicle’s wheels are properly aligned. Proper alignment can mean big savings on gas mileage and prevent irregular wear.
• Monitor the pressure in your tires each month to save on gas.

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Other articles from this issue:

• Quick Tips to Exercise for Less
• Ways to Make Your Environment More Relaxing and Less Stressful
• Balancing Your Crazy Life
• Frugal (Healthy) Habits
• Dressing For Your Body Type to Look Fabulous
• Fashion Savings Strategies to Save You Money
• Fashion Splurges and Budget Buys for the Savvy Shopper
• Best Beauty Buys
• 5 Homemade Spa Treatments and Facials Anyone Can Make
• Host a Girl’s Night In for Less