This morning started off okay. I managed to pick up some more work which is always nice and the pay is starting to climb. Still haven't made my goal for just one normal day, but it is improving. Every dime counts at this point so I am happy.
Now on to dinner. I thawed out a bag of meat that my husband had used the FoodSaver on. He doesn't label these bags, but I thought it was chicken. I even had a new recipe to try. Well, it turns out the chicken I had thawed was actually turkey so I had to find another recipe and make sure I had all of the ingredients. I am bound and determined to not go to the grocery store. I managed to do so although I won't be using the slow cooker today. I love a slow cooker as it seems to save so much time.
Next I headed out to our family room to play Wii with the kids. For some reason, our Wii Sports game will not work. It won't go all the way into the machine. Every other game works so it appears to be a problem with the disc. Now, if my son can find the receipt, we have to take it back. I hate returns.
As there was nothing left to do other than declutter my daughter's room (which is a total disaster), I sat down to force myself to work. I managed to pick up a few new projects, including one with a bonus as another writer had let it expire. I love those where you get a huge bonus for a two minute job. After doing two more projects, I was pleasantly surprised to find that one of the projects was at the new pay. Our company recently raised the price of certain projects to those clients not under contract. Although this pay raise was not significant, over time it will add up.
Overall, I would say today is off to a great start. I know what we are having for dinner so I don't have to go to the grocery store. Work is picking up and the pay has gone up in some areas. Now if the magic fairy would appear to clean my daughter's room, it will be perfect. One can hope.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Monday, January 3, 2011
Where Did My Motivation Go?
Warning!-Some negativity in this post, but it does have some up points too.
Okay, I am a freelance writer by trade and today I just have no desire to write anything. I've managed to do a few small articles, but nothing close to what I would normally have done. We finished school, played on the Wii together and I have dinner ready as we are eating leftovers to clean out the fridge. I even have 3-1/2 bags ready to go to Goodwill so I'm staying on track. It's just work that I can't seem to get moving on.
I keep telling myself that I can whip out most of these projects in 15 to 20 minutes, but it just isn't helping. I know I will end up making myself sit down and do them before we head to Cub Scouts tonight. I think part of the problem is the fact that I have three writing gigs and all have slim pickings right now to choose from. The projects just aren't there so I find myself avoiding the sites altogether. This isn't going to help me get out of debt.
Some good news this morning though. My husband got his W-2 and it looks like we will get a refund from the IRS this year. That is always nice. We can use some for debt and some to make our house more airtight. That will help to cut down on our energy bills, leaving us more each month to pay on debt.
So how do you stay motivated when you just don't feel like working? I think this is often why so many find a work-at-home job is just not for them. I've been writing for 15 months now from home and before that I had a work-at-home phone job so I know I can do this. Even the prospect of making money isn't helping today. Does anyone have some good advice that can get me through this rough spot? I can't remember it ever having been this bad before.
Okay, I am a freelance writer by trade and today I just have no desire to write anything. I've managed to do a few small articles, but nothing close to what I would normally have done. We finished school, played on the Wii together and I have dinner ready as we are eating leftovers to clean out the fridge. I even have 3-1/2 bags ready to go to Goodwill so I'm staying on track. It's just work that I can't seem to get moving on.
I keep telling myself that I can whip out most of these projects in 15 to 20 minutes, but it just isn't helping. I know I will end up making myself sit down and do them before we head to Cub Scouts tonight. I think part of the problem is the fact that I have three writing gigs and all have slim pickings right now to choose from. The projects just aren't there so I find myself avoiding the sites altogether. This isn't going to help me get out of debt.
Some good news this morning though. My husband got his W-2 and it looks like we will get a refund from the IRS this year. That is always nice. We can use some for debt and some to make our house more airtight. That will help to cut down on our energy bills, leaving us more each month to pay on debt.
So how do you stay motivated when you just don't feel like working? I think this is often why so many find a work-at-home job is just not for them. I've been writing for 15 months now from home and before that I had a work-at-home phone job so I know I can do this. Even the prospect of making money isn't helping today. Does anyone have some good advice that can get me through this rough spot? I can't remember it ever having been this bad before.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
A New Year Means Big Changes
Okay, it's a new year and some things will be changing around my house. Life has been way too hectic and it has to stop at some time. This is the year we will make it happen. I'm looking at reducing our debt, decluttering our home and making more money. I've gotten off to a good start and hopefully can keep this up. I also plan on exercising more with the kids so the Wii is back out and we have been using it for the past two days. I had forgotten how much fun it is.
To reduce our debt, I plan on doing a number of things. No more eating out or ordering food in. If we do this, it will be a big treat and happen no more than once a month. Since I will be cooking every single day, Joey will have more to take for lunch and he can cut back there also. To start this off right, I made a new recipe in the crockpot. I do have to say we weren't overly impressed with it, but everyone ate.
I also plan on using coupons at the grocery store again to stock up on sales. I have gotten away from that recently and it shows in our food bill. As I would like to have a full pantry and freezer at all times, I think this will definitely help. Food prices are going up so quickly that in another year we may not be able to feed our kids. Just kidding.
A garden this year would also be nice to achieve that goal. It's hard for me to find the time to garden, but I'm going to do my best to make it happen. Joey will help as will the kids so maybe we can have the garden we want this year. If not, I will grow potatoes in a trash can and some tomatoes in a pot. It's a start. I would love to learn to can this year also, but I'm trying not to get too ambitious. One step at a time.
As far as the debt goes, my first step is to put $1,000 in the bank for savings. That will allow us to get through any emergencies with ease. Once that is done we will start working on the medical and other bills we have. As we don't have credit cards anymore, I know we won't be incurring any new debt unless it is of the medical kind. We've been blessed in that area so far and are healthy for the most part.
To help pay off this debt, I have started looking for new writing gigs. I applied with two companies yesterday which pay residuals rather than up-front payments. I applied with a third today and already created my first page with them. You can see it at http://hubpages.com/hub/Preparing-for-the-Future. I plan on posting there at least three times a week. Hopefully this will increase my income and have us completely out of debt within one year.
Decluttering will also be a top priority this year. We started on that today and I am making a pile for Goodwill. Once that load has been taken, we will start preparing for our homeschool support group swap-and-shop. I would like to reduce the items in our house by a minimum of 20% this year and possibly more. We filled up a trash bag full of stuff today and will be able to do the same thing every week if we keep at it.
So now that others know my goals for 2011, hopefully I will be able to stick with them. If I start to falter, I'll post it here so others can get on me about staying on track. We have so much to be thankful for and I think it is time to simplify life. By doing the above things, we will be moving in the right direction. It's a start.
To reduce our debt, I plan on doing a number of things. No more eating out or ordering food in. If we do this, it will be a big treat and happen no more than once a month. Since I will be cooking every single day, Joey will have more to take for lunch and he can cut back there also. To start this off right, I made a new recipe in the crockpot. I do have to say we weren't overly impressed with it, but everyone ate.
I also plan on using coupons at the grocery store again to stock up on sales. I have gotten away from that recently and it shows in our food bill. As I would like to have a full pantry and freezer at all times, I think this will definitely help. Food prices are going up so quickly that in another year we may not be able to feed our kids. Just kidding.
A garden this year would also be nice to achieve that goal. It's hard for me to find the time to garden, but I'm going to do my best to make it happen. Joey will help as will the kids so maybe we can have the garden we want this year. If not, I will grow potatoes in a trash can and some tomatoes in a pot. It's a start. I would love to learn to can this year also, but I'm trying not to get too ambitious. One step at a time.
As far as the debt goes, my first step is to put $1,000 in the bank for savings. That will allow us to get through any emergencies with ease. Once that is done we will start working on the medical and other bills we have. As we don't have credit cards anymore, I know we won't be incurring any new debt unless it is of the medical kind. We've been blessed in that area so far and are healthy for the most part.
To help pay off this debt, I have started looking for new writing gigs. I applied with two companies yesterday which pay residuals rather than up-front payments. I applied with a third today and already created my first page with them. You can see it at http://hubpages.com/hub/Preparing-for-the-Future. I plan on posting there at least three times a week. Hopefully this will increase my income and have us completely out of debt within one year.
Decluttering will also be a top priority this year. We started on that today and I am making a pile for Goodwill. Once that load has been taken, we will start preparing for our homeschool support group swap-and-shop. I would like to reduce the items in our house by a minimum of 20% this year and possibly more. We filled up a trash bag full of stuff today and will be able to do the same thing every week if we keep at it.
So now that others know my goals for 2011, hopefully I will be able to stick with them. If I start to falter, I'll post it here so others can get on me about staying on track. We have so much to be thankful for and I think it is time to simplify life. By doing the above things, we will be moving in the right direction. It's a start.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
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