Desperate times

"Desperate times call for desperate measures." Isn't that how the saying goes? And these times of high gas prices which have resulted in a definite void in a lot of people's wallets are the kinds of times that saying refers to.

My "desperate measures" are really just ordinary, common sense ways to try to stay afloat until my income catches up with the ever-rising prices. Here are some things I do:

• Limit driving as much as possible. I occasionally have to take people to work where I am a manager. I can't eliminate those trips. However, I have informed everyone that they must pitch in for gas money or they will wind up missing work.
• Do more home cooking. Along with everything else, the cost of eating out has risen significantly.Find frugal recipes that you can use to feed your family for less. The internet is replete with them.
• Haunt flea markets and thrift shops for items you need. I always feel a great sense of victory when I find something I really need, and I don't have to pay retail prices for it. Some may view these items as the castoffs of others, but any item that is both useful and needed is really a bargain in the rough. Every item in your home doesn't have to be off-the-rack new for it to have value.
• Adjust your thermostat up in the summer and down in the winter. I realize this is old news to you, but it's still a smart bit of advice. If you have screen doors and screens on your windows, open them at night to let the fresh, cooler air flow through your home. That fresh air will do you a world of good and will save you $$ on your electric bill. Use "draft dodgers" around doors in the winter and add heavier curtains to the windows to help insulate rooms and retain the expensive heat.
• Stay at home for entertainment and snacks. Renting movies from one of the online businesses will keep you from driving to the movie store or to the theater. New releases are only a few months old, and worth the wait so the whole family can have a fun movie night without the expense of going out. That tends to reduce my enjoyment anyway! Serve up home popped corn, kool-aid or juice, and throw some big pillows in the floor.
• Keep desserts simple. Fresh fruit, cut into bite sized pieces and kept in a tight container in the fridge serve as a great substitute for sugary desserts. Fruit is also more healthful, of course, and your family is more apt to indulge in a handful if it's been prepped and properly stored. To add glamor, layer it in stemware with some vanilla yogurt and serve it by candlelight.

This is just a handful of things you can do to help reduce your personal spending. Some things will not change - your rent or mortgage, your car payment, etc. But making a family effort to save money can be as much fun as just going out and spending it.

Too hot for words

The recent extremely hot weather has prompted us to do a few things differently until there's a break in the heat wave. For instance, Son has put black roll up shades and curtains in his room to block the sunlight that heats his room up nearly all day long. His room seems to have the most sun exposure in this house.

As hot as it is, we already know that too many people cranking their ACs down during this hot time is a huge pull on our energy company's resources. This can result in brown outs or even the occasional black out. So, we are moderate in our usage and maintain the thermostat at a slightly warmer temperature reading. It's still nearly 30 cooler than the outside temperature, so it's quite comfortable, especially after we've come in from the heat.

Unless one of us is actually using a room, the lights in that room are turned off and the AC vent is closed. The door is also closed. I see no point in lighting and cooling any portion of the house that isn't in constant or regular use. It's one thing to be going in and out of the room, but it's another if we have no plans to use the room for several hours of the day.

Each of us reducing our pull on resources helps to reduce the carbon emissions our use can cause and it helps our own budget, too.

Detoured, not derailed

Take a clue from those whose time seems the most filled - if you have a lot to do, you get a lot done. It doesn't seem like it should work that way, but in fact, those who seem to have super busy lives always seem to get almost everything accomplished that they planned to, and they do this with such grace that it seems effortless.

While it's not truly effortless, the fact is they don't sit and agonize over every little task that's put before them. They have routines in place and they stick with the routines. Certainly, they aren't immune to the surprises life may toss at them, but they don't allow these surprises to push them too far off track of what their goals are. This is because they know what to expect from the rest of their routine and they know what they have planned to do on a daily, sometimes hourly, basis.

Life surprises are generally no more than a hiccup in their plans. Of course, tragedy will shift everything, and those aren't the surprises I'm referring to. I am referring to those normal interruptions that may send some of you completely off track. Those incidents that pop up and derail your whole day.

Being that easily derailed could mean that you aren't maintaining a good, solid routine to start with. Not a routine that is your dictator. One that you are in control of.

Take time to relax

While it's important to generate income in diverse ways, it's just as important to have ways to relax and refuel your mind. For me, it's watching movies. I love movies and they help me relax. For others, it might be sports or clubs. For some, it could even be in the form of playing games on their xbox 360. That would be my son's way of taking his mind off things for a time and just having some fun.

Whatever you choose, be sure it's not something that's not detrimental to your health.

Thinking successfully

I was fortunate to be invited to work in the position I currently hold. Not many people are asked to apply for a managerial position. In my company, most start as crew. I never had to go through that process, though. In fact, I was offered the job when I was already working for another company. I've worked hard since then to not be a disappointment to the supervisor who placed her faith in me.

Some of the managers have been talking about finding new work. For some reason, they aren't satisfied with their jobs, even though they only recently advanced from crew to manager and got a nice pay raise in the process. They are, in fact, putting their applications in to other places. For all I know, they are filling out San Francisco resumes and moving away. They are just not satisfied with either the job here or the location.

I think they'll find, though, that where ever they work, there are both bad and good things. A job, and your life, is pretty well what you make of it and depends on your own attitude and goals going in. No job can be more than you put into it. Working toward the success of your employer is one way to achieve in better success for yourself.

The other is, of course, developing your own niche business and not having an employer at all.

Travel write offs

Some travel is allowed as a tax write-off if you are associating it with your business. While lately, there have been very few trips I've made that I can use as business trips, the day will come when I'll be sent to further my skills as a McDonald's manager. Part of that is paid for by the corporation, but part of it will be my responsibility. This means that if I am sent out of town and wind up staying in Hilton Head rentals, the company will pay for my stay there but I will have some minor expenses that they won't cover.

At some point in my management experience, these trips will occur. Last week, another manager was sent to Chicago where she stayed for 4 days to attend classes and to meet with people higher up in the company. She went by plane, but I think if they send me there, I'll see if they will give me a gas allowance and let me drive. I am just not wanting to fly..lol

Keeping all receipts

Since I wound up owing income tax this year, I've learned to keep every single receipt. I do mean every one of them. From gas purchases for my car to pens and pencils, they all stay in a file.

I have a 12 pocket file folder I use and the receipts are placed in the pockets for each month. Once a month, I sit down and sort them into categories. This way, I'll know exactly what the purchases are for and will have them well organized when I have my taxes filed next year.

I also download and print my bank statements and my PayPal statements. The great thing about PayPal is that you can actually download the whole month or you can sort the downloads by type of transaction, so you get a better idea of what you've received in PayPal and what you've spent.

Keeping up with every dime spent may seem tedious and unnecessary, but to me it's worth it if I have more that I can deduct as expenses. For instance, I was estimating the miles I drive instead of keeping track of the money I spent on gas, oil changes, etc. I have no doubt that I will come out a little better by having the exact amount spent in front of me.