"Fear of the unknown
is always worse than a fear you face head on. You get caught in the
vicious cycle of not knowing how much you have so you procrastinate
about paying bills. Then you pay things late and all of a sudden your
fear is costing you real money." - FlyLady
All week, FlyLady has been sending out new essays to help us conquer the CHAOS and Clutter in our finances! All of them are posted below. Remember to join us starting on Monday, March 3 as we begin our very first Financial Super Fling Boogie: 2.7 Million Dollars removed from our credit card debt! Wow! That is just over $16.00 per person. We can do it! If you are already in the habit of paying off credit cards in full each month - way to go! And yes, you can post that total! Keep your eyes open this weekend for more information!
Everyone Read This One!
Dear Friends,
Just because you don't have any debt doesn't mean you get to delete
the FLY Sense Essays, missions or testimonials. Here is why!
Our attitudes are the problem. A drug addict can usually hide their
addiction as long as they have the money to feed their habit. It is
when they get desperate for their fix and they have no more money or
they have maxed out every available credit card that they start to
steal and lie. Let's think about this one for a minute from a money
addiction prospective. If you can afford to spend, spend, spend then
you are probably surrounded by clutter. That could be the first sign
that there is a problem. It is not that you have debt; it is that
your spending is out of control. Yes you think you can afford your so
called pretties, but all you are really doing is not paying yourself
and planning for the future. Right now you don't have debt and you
are feeling a bit smug that you don't owe any money to creditors.
This goes for those of you that are over generous in your giving.
Giving is not a bad thing, but giving to get attention and to look
good to others is. You can't give till you have paid your bills and
paid yourself first. This goes for birthday gifts and donations too.
If not you are going to be living on the kindness of others when you
retire and run out of money.
So you see your attitude about money does more than build up credit
card debt it robs you of your future. Now if you have been upset that
we are focusing on financial matters and not on the house, because
you joined our group to get your home organized; then you have to
realize that we are about more than just cleaning up your home. All
of the stinking thinking just happens to be under the roof that you
call your house. So as far as I am concerned then it is fair game and
I will sing it loud and clear. Any crisis that is causing you CHAOS
can be eliminated if we will look at the root of the problem instead
of just putting a band-aid on it. Your clutter is a symptom as is
your messy home, money problems, overeating, chronic illness, guilt
levels, stress, and anger. When we deal with the heart of the matter
then you will find yourself FLYing! That heart is your attitude!
Are you ready to FLY and FACE your attitudes toward Money with a
Clean slate! It is all connected.
FlyLady
P.S. For those of you that have found the PEACE that we have been
telling about by getting all of your house in order not just the
messy part; I am so proud of you. We love hearing your testimonials.
Keep FLYing!
****************************************
Dear FlyLady,
Thank you so much for all the testimonials. I am retired and have
cut up credit cards, still in debt, however paying off at little at a
time. I went to Debt Management and am working diligently to reduce
this stress in my life. Thank God I am able to continuing working. I
run a business out of my home and work outside that means two jobs.
I am single now, divorced and widowed after 33 years of marriage.
I bless the day I found your organization. Continue to help us with
our credit card debt, I STILL NEED ALL THAT HELP BESIDES WHAT I
HAVE. My problem is I am too generous and then when it comes time
for me to fix things I need like brakes for my car, I am sometimes
short.
I never learned how to write a budget. Can you believe that one?
The Ultimate Renewal of Spirit!
This is an essay I send out every few months. We are addressing our
spending habits and I believe that Clutter and Money problems so hand
in hand. We are killing ourselves with stress. I want to relieve this
stress so you can find some peace. Just replace money problems for
clutter; The message is the same.
Dear Friends,
Why do we torture ourselves with our clutter?
You know exactly what I am talking about.
We have piles everywhere. Stuff we are going to need one day and we
might not be able to afford it then. So we had better hold on to it.
Do you hear this "Oh Poor Me" attitude.
This stuff is going to kill you. Are you listening to me? All the
piles of clutter are filling your life with guilt and this guilt is
hurting your body and spirit.
I have found that many of our members suffer from chronic illness.
Immune diseases: Stress and guilt are contributors to these illnesses.
My mother had Rheumatoid Arthritis for 20 years. I have studied
this disease and it is a result of an immune system going crazy. Many
other diseases have the same basis: Fibro Myalgia, Lupus, Thyroid
problems, and some types of diabetes. There are colds, flu, sore
throats and allergic reactions that are also caught because our
immune system is not working well.
The stress that is in our lives from our clutter, our chaotic homes,
and our hectic lives is slowing and painfully killing us. Are you
prepared to die this tortured death? Do you want to sit on the
sidelines while your husband and children enjoy life without you,
while you sit home and suffer with this clutter draining your life's
energy.
This clutter pushes your family away. Your home should be a safe
haven for you and your family, but when it is cluttered all of you
find ways to be away from home. You dread walking in the door to face
this wall of stuff and undone jobs. Let's face it, It is guilt. So
you enroll your children in extra activities, any thing to get away
from this guilt that surrounds you at home. You all know what I am
talking about. With our lives filled with this clutter, we are unable
to have anyone over.
You all know the C.H.A.O.S. Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome. This
pushes the people we love away. It also keeps us from taking care of
things we need to have fixed: Leaky faucets, heating problems and
stopped up drains. We are ashamed to have anyone in the house to fix
them, because of our clutter. I had one member that would not call an
ambulance because she was too afraid that if they saw her mess, that
the drivers would report it to Dept of Social Service and they would
take her children.
What are we doing to our children? They are growing up in a home that
they are unable to have their friends over to play and do school
work. They don't want anyone to see how they live. They are
embarrassed by their home. Do you know what happens, they end up
playing at someone else's home and you won't we fully aware of their
activities or even worse you keep them secluded in their own home.
You are keeping secrets and these cluttered secrets are going to be
the death of you and your family.
Now let's look at our marriages. We have insulated our lives from the
love that we need to survive. The clutter puts stress on our
marriage. I don't care how strong your love is, clutter whether it is
your husband or yours is stealing the affection you have for one
another. Fights, harsh words and even abandonment have slipped into
this once loving relationship. Do you want this? Are you ready for
Peace?
This is a decision that we have to make. If we want to live in a home
that is not conducive to love: I mean love of self, love of husband,
love of children and love of God: Or do you want to clear your
clutter so that the love that is in your life can bloom and grow.
Right now you are living a life of fear.
Fear is the opposite of love as far as I am concerned. God is love;
Fear is of the Devil: Fear of being without, Fear of not being
understood, Fear of not being loved. Fear is lack of faith in God.
The Devil puts this fear, guilt and worry into our lives. He puts
these obstacles in our path, so that we will not find the peace we
deserve. He wants us to suffer. Do you want him to win? Put your
faith in God and get off your Franny and start to get rid of this
clutter.
I have given you the tools: All you have to do is listen and start
with small jobs. I don't expect you to get it all done at once, but
you have to start somewhere. Many members need to see results
immediately; this is our nature. If we don't, we give up and go back
to our slovene way of life.
I am here to tell you that your home did not get cluttered over night
and it is not going to get clean in one day. We are working on
changing life long habits; this is going to take some hard work and
consistent routines. It will not be a cakewalk, but as you start to
see progress, you will want to go gangbusters.
This is something that we have done to ourselves many times. We work
till we are burnt out. Then we don't want do clean or declutter
anymore because we are so tired. This kind of turn around in your
life is like going on a crash diet. You get the house clean and
before you know it, the place is trashed again. We are putting our
homes on a diet: A diet of behavior modification. I am teaching you a
new way of cleaning and it starts with establishing routines one
habit at a time and decluttering your home 15 minutes a day. Anyone
can do this: Mothers with children, Members that work out of the
home. It is so simple; you just have to start.
Are you tired of living this way? You must be, or you would not have
joined our group. Kelly and I can't help you, unless you want to help
yourself. We can't come to your house and tell you what to get rid
of, as much as we would love to be able to physically assist you. All
we can do is hopefully touch something deep within you that will get
you away from the computer and the TV, and begin your new way of
looking at your life. WITH NO MORE GUILT!
You have found the answer. It is within each of you. Your clutter is
suffocating your true spirit. If you will release this clutter, you
will find the peace and health that you have been yearning for all
your life. It is not just a matter of wanting peace. We have been
WANTING all of our life. This is a matter of actively working toward
our goal of a clean and peaceful home. You can do this by using the
tools: Your routines, basic weekly plan, zone cleaning, 27 fling
boogie, the reminders as well as all of mine and Kelly's Rants on
Attitude adjustment.
Are you willing to work? Ask yourself if you ready to get your Franny
out of that chair and change your life. We don't expect you to do all
of this right off the bat. You are only expected to get dressed to
shoes everyday, keep your sink clean and shiny and declutter for 15
minutes each day. This is it. Anyone can do this!
I want for you what I have, PEACE. I received this PEACE from my
routines. You have all read my testimonial. If not it is on the
website. It takes time and effort on your part. This is not a magic
pill I am giving you. It is a recipe for Peace and you are the
Chef. So let's get ready to for the biggest feast of all: A
celebration of your love of God, Self, Husband, and children. Enjoy
the preparation. It is not a chore; it is a gift of love!
It's Time for you to FLY!
FlyLady
FLY Sense Awakening!
Dear Friends,
Our homes are being attacked on all fronts by outside forces. Let's
look at our lives for a quick moment.
The CHAOS that we have allowed to take over has a life of its own. It
all starts with us. I know you don't want to look at this, but
knowledge is power!
It all goes back to the eternal question; Which came first the
Chicken or the Egg!
I am just going to run with this and see how far back we can go! You
have been running around like a chicken with its head cut off for
years. Some of you may be just starting out and feel the lack of
control starting to sweep over you! We have to nip this in the bud
right this minute.
- Clutter is running rampant in your home; where did it come from!
- Your credit cards are maxed out, what have you got to show for it:
Clutter in your home?
- You are afraid to answer the phone because of bill collectors, so
you screen all your calls.
- You hide the unopened bills from your mate out of fear!
- When you look back on what you have spent; for the life of you, it
is hard to know why you spent these virtual funds. Could it be your
perfectionism or martyrdom?
- Can you hear yourself saying; You deserve to have nice things. I
work as hard as the next person. So guess what: You by the best
regardless of the price and your ability to pay.
- Do you feel in control when you spend? Does it give you power that
you don't have when you are at home looking at a pile of dirty
laundry or sink full of dishes?
- Are you trying to look good in other people's eyes; By buying
gifts and mementos of your affection.
- Were you deprived as a child and now you are filling up that empty
hole with the stuff you never had? Or were you spoiled as a child by
getting your way all the time. Are you feeling sorry for your self
because you are home alone stuck with the kids? Did you not get
enough attention growing up?
- Are you feeling left out because you are no longer the center of
attention in your family? Are the children the priority in your
spouse's eyes or your parent's eyes. So in order to fill that empty
hole are you spending to your hole's desire?
- As a result of the lack of control, other parts of your life are
being hurt. We have to bend over backwards to always set up things
the way we want it. We can't let go. It is our way or the highway.
Perfectionism once again takes over and fear steps in to help. Our
relationships suffer: Husband, Wife, Mother, father, sister, brother,
children and let's not forget our in-laws.
- Our clutter alienates us from our family. What happens when they
decide to visit? You spend days getting rid of the evidence of your
spending(your clutter and your CHAOS) and some times you even pick a
fight to keep them from coming back again. If that happens your dirty
little secret is safe! You don't have deal with them coming over
often do you?
My heart is breaking for what Clutter, CHAOS, Over spending,
Perfectionism, and Martyrdom is doing to you as a person. Your peace
is being pulled in all of these directions. So we have to start
someplace. At this point it doesn't matter if you were a spoiled brat
or a deprived child! What doesn't matter just doesn't matter! Now
that we know we can do better we can stop these home wreckers in
their tracks.
That empty hole can only be filled by you and by you alone. All I can
do is run my mouth and try to get the message across in our emails. I
want you to FLY! Finally Loving Yourself but you are going to have to
FACE (Financial Awareness Continually Empowers) your spending habits
and other negative habits in order stop some these culprits once and
for all!
Are you ready to FLY?
FlyLady
P.S. If you haven't shined your sink yet, then go do it now! If you
have, then go polish it again just so you can feel you heart smile!
This is just the beginning.
Financial CHAOS to Financial FLYing
Dear Friends,
When you found our little group you were searching for help with your
home. For years I have been preaching that your homes did not get
dirty in a day and it is not going to get clean over night. I have
taught you to take babysteps to gain control over the CHAOS in your
home. Those babysteps started with your shining your kitchen sink and
getting dressed to shoes. Slowly as you got rid of those ineffective
habits and replaced them with simple routines you started to find
peace. You found that we didn't teach you how to clean, but we
motivated you to get up and spend 15 minutes at a time doing
something. We addressed your stinking thinking and banished your
perfectionism, martyred attitudes to help you learn to bless your
home and FLY; Finally loving yourself.
Little by little you have peeled away the layers of guilt and shame
and your home has become huggable. You have been enjoying the fruits
of your consistent decluttering. Some of you are finding rooms that
you love again, starting to paint and fix up and not become
overwhelmed by the process. There are others that are still
struggling with this shame and guilt. Our SHEness has a way of
invading all parts of our life.
As a result we have not only lost control of our homes but our
finances. While trying to escape from the CHAOS we dug ourselves
deeper into debt by continuing to buy our way to feeling better! By
not wanting to face what we have done, we procrastinated paying bills
and looking at our credit card statements. We got deeper and deeper
into debt and depression. Guilt eats away at us; so does hiding our
dirty little secrets from our loved ones.
When we were at our worst with our homes we could not see the
clutter. We became immune to it and to what the clutter was doing to
us. What we couldn't see was that clutter is a symptom of the disease
not the disease itself! Another symptom is our inability to control
our spending habits. This is one of the reasons we have so much
clutter. Do you see this vicious cycle! We have to treat the disease.
If I can talk you into loving yourself just a little, you will start
to see changes in your life. As you replace your bad habits with
effective routines, the clutter will go away! But what do we do about
our spending habits?
All of this fits together! Fear, guilt, anger, depression, messy
homes, chronic illness, clutter, CHAOS, and OVER SPENDING. They
feed off of themselves; all the while killing you! It is time that we
finally took control of our lives.
I have given you the simple babysteps that help you gain control over
your homes; many of you are finding the peace that I have promised
you. But the peace could fade if you don't nip your out of control
spending habits in the bud! If not, the clutter will be right back
and your disposable income is going to get flushed down the toilet.
We get emails every day from people wanting help with their finances.
We have decided to address these issues the same way we have
addressed the clutter and the lack of self love! One babystep at a
time. I can't say it enough! All of this is part of the same disease!
If we can change our attitudes, establish new effective routines at
the same time we banish our old bad habits then we have a chance at
filling up the empty cancerous hole that eating away at our self-
esteem, our homes and our peace!
Last week we declared a whole week as Anti-procrastination Week; This
next week we have proclaimed: Financially Loving Yourself! It won't
last one week though, just like with your home, it did not get dirty
over night and it is not going to get cleaned in a day. It took me
nine months to give birth to a new way of living without clutter and
I had to find ways to keep it from invading my life again. This is
how I curbed my spending habits. I did not want to give up my peace!
Some of you are still searching for this peace because as your home
gets clean, your finances are trying to destroy you! We are going to
stop this financial monster from eating you alive.
Are you ready to FLY? Financially Loving Yourself?
FlyLady
P.S. We know this is hard and we are going to make this fun and
doable. The first thing we have to do is shine our sinks? Yes your
finances have a shiny sink too. What do you think your Financial
Shiny Sink is?
Send your answer to FlyCrew@flylady.net with FLY Sense in the subject
line. We will be posting your answers on the website.
This is going to kick off our Super Financial Fling Boogie!
Congratulations! You are a CEO!
Dear Friends,
I had a God Breeze today and it sparked me re-sending this wonderful
testimonial from a couple of years ago.
Dear Flylady,
Wanted to let you know about the wonderful B & B my husband and I
stayed at this Memorial Day weekend. The small but simply furnished
kitchen was well stocked with delicious healthy snacks and meals.
Homemade waffles with blackberries were served
from a beautiful clean kitchen. The living areas and bedrooms were
furnished with fresh plumped pillows, lovely matching sheets and down
comforter and scented candles everywhere. The bathroom - ah ...
bubble bath, lotions and fresh white towels. The library was stocked
with books, magazines and yoga videos.
Best of all, my husband and I spent time together with no
interruptions, chores or traffic. Okay - you guessed it ... thanks to
you - this is my home. Thank you, thank you.
FlyLady here again:
This testimonial had me wanting to know where this B & B was located.
I have tears in my eyes. Shouldn't all of our homes treat us like
guests?
This season let's concentrate on making our homes huggable places
that we never want to leave and that we are always glad to come home
to. Maybe we can even pretend to go on vacation for a few days. With
the price of gasoline, many of us are opting to stay a little closer
to home for holidays. Let's enjoy our home just like it was a
vacation hid-a-way.
This could be great fun.
FlyLady
*******************************************
Dear Friends,
Now for the God Breeze! What if we ran our homes like 5 Star Hotels?
The funny part is we already do a lot of it! Pam and Peggy have made
us Home Executives of our hotels, granted we tend to get Sidetracked
occasionally, but that is getting better! So let's look at our homes
in comparison to a hotel!
We have bedrooms and bathrooms.
We provide a place for our people to sleep comfortably and get ready
for their day.
We have a laundry service.
The dining room is always open.
The concierge is ready to plan any excursion.
The limousine service is at their beckon call.
The lounge has nice reading material and comfortable places to relax.
So as you can plainly see our hotels already offer the best! You are
the Chief Executive of this hotel; it is your responsibility to keep
it running! But how do you do this?
Every business has to know where their money is being spent and to
keep track of their (ugly word here)Budget. Do you know what a budget
really is? It is a projection of what you have coming in and how much
you think it will take to operate your hotel. That doesn't mean you
spend everything that comes in either. When we continually do this we
eventually go bankrupt. You can only rob Peter to pay Paul just so
many times.
At this point our hotels are struggling to stay afloat in a sea of
problems. As we fix one problem another one rears its ugly head. We
are working on the cleaning problems. We have established routines
for getting things done on a daily basis. The kitchen is coming
together too. Menus are posted and purchasing lists are ready for the
buyer. But this is only part of keep our hotel running.
When we have financial problems the stress hurts everyone involved
with the operation. We have to learn to find a balance in our hotel
and look objectively at how much we have coming in and how much is
going out. Some people would automatically say we need to charge more
for a room in our hotel! WRONG! Higher rates mean you could run off
customers. More is not always the key to having enough to operate.
Last year as a county commissioner, we were facing trying times with
our budget. We had to get creative in order to save jobs and not
raise taxes. Our income was being cut by forces outside of our
control. What we did have control over, we did not want to abuse by
raising our rates. When we look at our homes from this prospective
this would be like going to your boss and demanding a raise and
getting it! Now that is not going to happen. We have to learn to run
our little hotel operation with what we have. In other words live
within our means.
In order to address these issues we had to start with a zero based
budget. Now I don't quite understand this, but I think it means start
with nothing. Each department head wrote down what they needed to run
their department; from paperclips to payroll! In other words we
started fresh! I love it; we do this every morning when we get up!
Just because we spent it last year doesn't mean we can spend it this
year or this month or today. Money is like spilled milk. Once it is
gone it is gone; all we really have control over is what we have now
and what we plan to do with it.
Last week someone asked me what my greatest asset was! Without
hesitation I replied me! Do you want to know why? It is because of
my "can do" attitude that keeps me learning and doing. You want to
know something else! You have that attitude too! Knowledge is the
answer! Why do you think you keep looking for those answers! Why do
you think you found us? You were searching for answers to problems.
You know deep down inside that the knowledge is out there, but having
the knowledge and using it are two different things. We are going to
teach you how to use what you know.
Our whole lives we have been told! You are woman and you can do any
and everything! The problem with this type of brainwashing is it made
us go after what we wanted(we wanted it all), but it didn't teach us
how to keep what we have and prioritize what is important to us. This
is what I want help you with.
As SHEs we are smart savvy people! Our greatest asset is ourselves.
When you take care of you in even the simplest ways you are taking
care of your hotel! I know you equate this with being selfish! But it
is not! In order to keep your hotel running smoothly and efficiently
you have to be happy and healthy!
SHEs fall into all types of people, some of us are better at certain
things. I like to call them savants SHEs! There are lots of our
member that don't have mountains of laundry or dishes piled high, but
their clutter is over taking their homes and they can't let go. There
are some that are good with their finances while others that can't
find their bills. We have members that can literally run a 5 Star
Hotel but have trouble finding things, just not at the office! At the
office our members look totally put together! They just Can't Have
Anyone Over . Syndrome. Their dirty little secret about their home
has been kept from their friends and co-workers and I'll bet their
financial dirty little secret has been hidden from their loved ones.
Do you want to know why?
FEAR! FEAR OF REJECTION! Could that be why we spend ourselves into
countless credit card debt; Living beyond our means? Fear of not
being worthy because of a flaw. Fear of not looking like we are worth
something. Fear of what other people think! Fear of not living up to
our ideals of what life really is? Do you see the stinking thinking
in all of these attitudes? Are you trying to keeping up with the
neighbors. The FEAR of not knowing is worse than actually knowing.
When you know your enemy you can work out a battle plan!
Now back to your assets! You have them and we are going to utilize
them. Even our SHEness is an asset! Think about this! We love to plan
and scheme and scheme and plan; oh and let's not forget our love of
making lists, but we are not really good at implementing these
plans. We are going to do all of this one babystep at a time.
Here is what you are going to need! Pencil, paper and your control
journal! Now isn't this fitting: A control journal for gaining
control over our spending habits. Put the paper in your control
journal and with our financial FLY Bys we will begin to look
realistically at what we spend, what we have, and what we need, where
we are and where we go with this knowledge! I will not overwhelm you!
We will take babysteps!
Your finances did not get messy over night and your debt is not going
to get cleared up in a day!
Are you ready let knowledge give you the power to FLY?
FlyLady
Financial Balance=PEACE!
Dear Friends,
This week we are embarking on a journey to find financial peace! We
can't find the peace we are searching for until we find balance in
our lives.
We have all seen a scale of justice. Now imagine that this is your
financial life. On one side you have your spending habits and on the
other you have your checkbook and your credit cards. Look at what
happens when you don't watch your spending habits: Your spending side
goes up and your debt/lack of money gets heavier and weighs you down.
Then you quit looking at the heavy side by not opening your bills and
reconciling your bank statements. Your spending gets completely out
of control and you don't know what to do to get your financial life
back in balance.
We have two things we are going to address at the same time. One is
facing our fears of where we really are and the other is establishing
new spending habits. As you quit spending you will have more money to
put against your debt and eventually you will be back in balance and
control.
Your lack of control is caused by being panicked. Fear of the unknown
is always worse than a fear you face head on. You get caught in the
vicious cycle of not knowing how much you have so you procrastinate
about paying bills. Then you pay things late and all of a sudden your
fear is costing you real money. When your spending continues to
exceeds your money then you rack up credit card debt to cover your
losses. Yes it is just like throwing your money down the toilet with
a gambling habit. You are trying to fill an empty hole; you just do
it with stuff that doesn't amount to anything when you really look at
it. Now for those of you that have not gotten into credit card debt
and overdrafts; your time is coming. Don't think that you have enough
money keep those people off your back. They are hounding you every
day with new credit card applications! It is just a matter of time
till you are in the same boat. We have to change our spending habits
now!
Are you willing to do the face these demons and let go of your
mindless spending and as a result have more money! This doesn't
happen over night, but it will come about one babystep at a time.
Get ready your next essay will be filled with FLY Sense!
FlyLady
11 FLY Sense Commandments for Shopping
Dear Friends,
During the month of March we are planning another Super Fling Boogie,
this one will not have to do with pounds of clutter in our homes as
we have from the past. Most of us have already gotten rid of that,
but we are going to tackle is the credit card debt that accumulated
as the clutter filled our homes.
Here is our goal: 2.7 million dollars paid against our credit card
debt. This is money over and above our minimum payments. We can do
this and your Fly Crew is going to help you come up with the few
dollars that we need to pay toward this debt! All we have to do is
save $16.16 per person to reduce this debt. Usually our Super Fling
Boogies last for two weeks, but we wanted to cover a full month to
learn how to curb our spending habits and a full month of billing by
our nemesis.
Here are 11 FLY Sense Commandments for shopping:
- Plan your meals before you get into the grocery store! Make your
menus, clean out your refrigerator and make a grocery list. Only buy
food at the grocery store!
- A shopping list is your best financial friend. It produces focused
shoppers, not mindless wandering and mindless buying with virtual
money!
- If you can't handle malls, catalogs, shopping television, those
800 numbers or internet stores go cold turkey and turn them off or
toss them out and stay away from them.
- To reduce spending stay out of the stores as much as possible.
Limit your trips by planning your errands. Every time you walk
through the door they have you! Don't fall victim to their marketing
traps! You are strong! You can do this!
- When you do go to the stores, set a timer and only spend a few
minutes going in and getting what is on your list. STAY FOCUSED! You
can do anything for 15 minutes! Wear a watch and be aware of your
spending: Time and money!
- If you take the children with you shopping bring water bottles
from home and fruit snacks. This will keep you from having to stop
and buy. Happy children help you. Hungry children whine and want
impulse purchases. Retail merchandisers prey on children too. Just
look at the cereal aisle! All the sugar filled stuff is on the lowest
aisle! Lay down the ground rules before you shop with your children,
give them the hope of reward for helping you after the groceries get
put away at home. Also tell them the consequences if they whine and
nag. There is nothing more satisfying than telling the kids you will
leave if they nag for stuff, and then actually leaving! A good reward
is time with them playing a game.
- Sales are not really sales if they go on your credit card! The
interest rate eats up your savings. With the price of gas, if you
have to drive any distance the bargain is no bargain!
- While shopping get into the habit of questioning your purchases:
Do I need you? Do I love you? Do I have a place for you? Am I going
to fling you soon? Do I have another one of you?
- Quit using your debit card; it is too easy and you are a SHE and
you forget to post your purchases in your check register. Knowledge
is power! Credit cards are virtual money you have to pay them with
tangible money; when we over spend the stress of the credit card debt
keeps us from FLYing!
- While shopping with a cart; do a 27 fling boogie before you get
to the check out lane. Be sure and put back your impulse purchases.
Let your children help you by policing your list and what is in your
cart! Be aware that there are traps on every aisle. Those traps are
set by retailers to take your disposable income. Guess what? Your
money is not something to be flushed down the toilet. Your money has
a value to you and your family. Let it be a tool, not a flush!
- To help you curb your purchases with a credit card, debit card,
check book or cash: put a FLYLADY Cling on your plastic card, checks,
and your money. This will make it harder to use. Each time you use
them this will bring your spending into your awareness. Put all your
receipts in your control journal. Scotch tape them on a sheet of
paper. Know each day how much you are spending!
I want you to FLY! Financially Loving Yourself. To do this you need
to be aware of your spending! Being Financially Aware will open up
your wings to FLY!
FlyLady
Here is Your Financial Shiny Sink!
Dear Friends,
For days now you have been trying to figure out what our Financial
Shiny Sink is? Well I know you are not going to believe me. You
didn't believe me about your kitchen sink either, but you trusted me
enough to follow and you immediately noticed the change in your
attitude just by gazing on that shiny sink.
Every morning your routine involves getting up, getting dressed to
shoes and fixing your hair and face. Then you have begun your day
with a FLYing start.
You all have been sending what you thought your financial equivalent
to a Shiny Sink was. So many of you think that it is your checkbook
balance, but it is so much more than just a number in a check
register!
Your money is just a tool; not the magic pill that is going to save
the day. Rita Davenport taught me that if money will fix it, it is
not a problem. So many times we don't want to face our problem. We
see the Band-Aid fix for the problem but we don't want to address the
real root of the problem.
My job as I see it is to bring to your attention your attitude about
money. Just like we did with your home and clutter! Your spending
attitude and awareness are the key to changing your stress level in
your home when it comes to the lack of money.
Your first impression is to get more money coming in to solve the
problem. This won't fix it will it?? That is just another quick Band-
Aid approach like stash and dash cleaning for company: More money
signals that you can spend more; just increasing the predicament.
Eventually you have to come to terms with your attitude.
You always looked at cleaning your home as a chore or maybe even
punishment, now you see it is a way to bless yourself and your
family. Your attitude has changed. Now why did that happen? You let
go of your perfectionism and quit whining long enough to get off your
Franny and just do something; 15-minutes is all I asked. It was a 15
minute investment in you and your home.
Helping you to find PEACE was worth 15 minutes of your time and it
actually helped the overall appearance and feel of your home. Isn't
the same true for investing 15 minutes a day to FACE your attitude
and FLY Wash it with a little FLY Sense?
Your ATTITUDE about money, spending, saving, and it's usefulness as a
tool is your SHINY SINK! Your Financial Awareness Continually
Empowers you! FACE is your new attitude! Let's put on our FACE each
morning and start our day FLYing! Financially Loving Yourself.
I am so proud of you for FACEing your fears head on!
FlyLady
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