Life Shapers

I recently watched a docudrama on Netflix, "The Social Dilemma".  It was very eye opening and it is definitely giving me a lot to think about. I encourage you to check it out.

This made me wonder if this show would be a life-altering show or just something that will pass out of my mind soon.  This made me wonder what things from my past helped shape my life.

As I sat thinking about this, I jotted down six items that came to mind immediately.  I pondered on my list and realized that maybe sharing them would be a good blog topic.  

So, here are the six, in no particular order.

• Information shared with me from family and friends (and even enemies)
• I figure my friends and family have information to share and it is worth my time to try and learn from them. I have found that most of the time, they really are only trying to be helpful.  If I have an open mind,  I really can learn from them.
• I have also learned from my enemies.  Did I bring on their anger by something I should have done differently? I need to learn from that mistake. Or, are they just a bully? I need to learn to have a thicker skin and ignore them.
• Getting Things Done (GTD), a David Allen Company
• I have certainly talked about my note taking, time and task training, and my two minute rule.  Almost all of these were learned from attending GTD trainings or reading the books.  I really do believe learning these skills early on in life helped me in all aspects of my life.
• Erma Bombeck
• I realize that she is no longer "current", but I still think of her fondly.  She put things in perspective.  Even though I never had kids... a lot of her "life lessons" were wonderful and I still quote her.  She made me realize: life would never be perfect and didn't need to be; engage in life; and, don't sweat the small stuff.  And, she taught me the importance of laughing at life.
• Super Size Me and Morgan Spurlock's 30 Days concept
• Watching Super Size Me when it first came out was so eye opening.  It really made me realize how horrible processed foods could be, when eaten often. It changed my eating habits. I am not saying I never eat fast food or things that are bad for me, but I am careful and consciences about my eating habits.
• I also caught a few of his 30 Days shows (though, not all of them).  It is impressive how doing something for 30 days (or giving something up) can become a habit. I have put this into practice and I usually do find that if I make a change for 30 days, it sticks.
• Consumer Credit Counseling
• John and I used their services early in the 1990's. We were in debt and needed help. Back then, they not only helped you work with creditors, but they helped you learn skills to keep out of debt in the future.  We learned budgeting, money management, cash flow and how to save money. These lessons really did change our lives and our marriage.  We still comment often how grateful we were to them for things they taught us.  We hated it while we were going through it - but it really did positively effect us both in the long run.
• Real Simple magazine
• I received this magazine for years (though, I must admit, I no longer receive the magazine, but I do still read some of their articles online). I learned a lot from their suggestions and helpful articles.  During the time I faithfully read it, they taught simple and inexpensive ways to do a ton of things.

Do you have a life shaper?  I would love to know the things that you consider life shapers.

Working From Home - Saving Money

My company recently announced that most of the local area employees would permanently work from home. The offices were originally slated to open back up in early 2021, but the decision has been made to continue with the virtual offices.  

Some of my friends and co-workers were disappointed with this decision.  They enjoy the interaction of their fellow employees. They like being part of a larger community during the day. I get that. Even though I have always preferred working from home, I understood that I was in the minority with my thinking most of the time.

I want to give you all food-for-thought on working from home.  You save money.  And, possibly more than you think.

• Eating at home
• John and I generally took our lunch to work, but we estimated we ate out once a week, which was normally $15. Eating at home (or even taking your lunch to work) is approximately $2-5. Let's estimate that at saving $12 a week.  That is $600 a year (with two week's off for vacation).
• Gas
• We used to fill our tanks at least once a week, sometimes twice a week.  Working from home, we fill up maybe once a month.  We estimate a tank at $25 for ease of the math.  This is a savings of $75.  For our two cars, that is $150 per month or $1,800 per year.
• Clothes / Accessories
• Let's face it, neither of us gets dressed up to sit at the computer at ome.  We might toss on a polo or dress shirt for video calls, but we are not putting on dress pants, socks and nice shoes. Our clothing allowance was approximately $1,500 per year/per person.  I think last year we maybe spent $500 for both of us.  For me, working from home also means buying less makeup, purses, jewelry, and hair products.  We estimate we save approximately $2,800 per year.
• Insurance
• My car and home owners insurance gave me a discount when I informed them we were working from home.  We bundle all of this with other policies, but we believe we save approximately $250 a year.
• Car Maintenance
• We need fewer oil changes since we base our oil changes on mileage. There is less chance of getting a flat tire, needing brake repair or just general wear/tear on our cars. We also don't pay to wash our car as much, since they don't leave the garage as often. This one is hard to put a dollar amount to, but based on rough estimates, we save about $1,000 a year.

Overall, we estimate that we are saving at least $6,450.  One year end financial report I ran, when we both worked from home originally, we had actually saved right at $9,000 that year. 

I hope maybe this helps ease the pain of working from home for some of you.  

If you want to review some other helpful hints for working from home, please check out my blog, "Working From Home - Simple Helpful Hints".

Don't be afraid to schedule important notes, emails and cards

Have you ever realized too late that you forgot to wish a good friend a happy birthday or anniversary?  Or, missed sending a note to someone to remind them of something they needed to know.

Schedule them. 

Usually on Wednesdays, I go through my personal and business calendars for the following week.  I check them to see what birthdays, anniversaries and important events/meetings are coming up during the next week.  Then, as needed, I go ahead and create an email wishing the person a good day. I then use the scheduling/delay delivery feature of my email program to set the date and time to schedule the email.  

I use this same process to remind people of things they need to know. I have even used this to schedule an email to myself, to ensure if it is something very important - that an email reminder hits my inbox.

If it is an event that I should send a snail mail, I go ahead and get the card together.  I put the date it needs to go to the mailbox where the stamp will go.  Then, I set them where I will check them each day.  On the day it needs to go to the mailbox, I put a stamp over the date and mail it out.

I know that some people feel like this is "cheating" and that I should care enough about each person to send the notes on the actual day of the special event.  

To them, I say - hogwash.  

I care about my friends and family enough to take extra care to ensure I don't miss their special day.  Just because I might do this a few days prior, doesn't mean I care less.  If the email shows up on the right day, what difference does it make when I created it?   The smile it brings to recipient's face is all I care about.

So, plan ahead and make great use of scheduling features.  It saves you having to send out a "belated" note.

Picture Your Stuff...

The other day I was speaking with a friend about taking pictures of my stuff every year.  She did not know exactly what I meant by that.

A little history ... years ago, I helped a friend clean up after her house fire. What a horrible nightmare.  The forms you had to fill out were extensive and terrible. You were expected to list everything you owned and the quantity of those items. We would stand there with me filling out the form and her trying to remember how many of what were in each of the burned out drawers and closets.  It was all in ashes or in a wet pile. It is a vision I will never forget.

As you read this, try and think about what is in your closets and drawers.  How many t-shirts do you have? How many kitchen gadgets do you own? What is hidden in that basement closet you never look in? 

So, once a year, we try and walk around the house and take videos and/or pictures of everything.  I open drawers, cabinets and closets.  I capture shots of library and curio shelves. I grab shots of the pictures on the walls.  I put a flash drive with these pictures/videos in the fire safe. I also keep copies on the network, if space allows.

This would by no means give me a true count of everything I owned, should the worse happen and we have a house fire.  But, I figure it will help jog my memory.

And... there is a fun, extra bonus.  Occasionally I glance at old pictures and enjoy seeing the decorations I used and the way things around the house have changed over the years.