Big Kev style "I'm Excited!!"

It's amazing how the little things in life can uplift your mood by far.
I posted about shopping for goodies on Monday and I am happy to inform that we are once again the owners of a television that has more colours than purple and green! We are also owners of a new portable hard drive and  surround sound system. Yay Yay!
The Daddy Man worked his awesomely good haggling skills today and hit our budget proudly. 
I love that he got such a great bargain but that's not why I am in such a cheery mood.


See I'm of the thinking - If it isn't required we can do without. We don't own an IPAD or a soda stream or even fancy washing baskets.  I punch out these posts on a computer I would liken to dinosaurs. But it does the trick and I cannot complain.
Today though I decided to treat myself, after reading so many blogs of late I noticed a small necessity that I did not have. A printer!
Jman and I went shopping today and picked up a printer for a smidgen price...on sale! and a gorgeous little laminator.
I have spent the night printing and laminating anything I can get my hands on. I feel very crafty.

2011 ended on a sour and crappy note, but I am taking a running head start on completing my goals for 2012 and I feel great!! Listing and planning my goals seems to be doing the trick. Little things like budgeting better and purchasing items I always put off. 


After reading through Diminishing Lucy's awesome blog these past few night's I am so inspired to drop all my extra kg's. I signed up with a group she recommended Calorie King, so far so good! I even purchased breakfast cereal and low fat milk for myself. Now that's something.


For three days now my house has been relatively tidy, that is a huge goal for me and I am feeling very successful. Organization has never been a strong point for me but slowly I seem to be getting the hang of it.


How are your New Year Resolutions going so far??

Money, Money. Money

We are in the market for a new TV.


After what happened with our last one, we decided to replace it finally.
For the past few months we have been using a TV I bought when Jman was a baby. So thats about 6 years ago now.
A big bulky beast that needs magnets at the back if we wish to watch more colours than just purple and green.
Just after Christmas doesn't seem the best time to buy said luxury right?

Well with a little research and compromise between The Daddy Man and I we have found some great deals.


The Daddy Man is a techno whizz. In his early 20's he was married. They were DINKS*. He thought nothing of heading out and buying a brand new gadget for over $1000 without shopping around.
Then he got divorced, met me, had a hoard of kids and realised we needed to be very smart with our dollars.


Although I call The Daddy Man terms of endearment like "Scrooge Mc'Duck", "Mr Stinge" and "A cheap bastard". Sometimes It comes in handy.

The Daddy Man is gifted in the sense he can haggle. I am the worst haggler ever and so leave this up to him.
I have seen him single handedly haggle items hundreds of dollars lower than their ticket price, and get stuff thrown in for free. Awesome right? He is also very talented in bargain spotting.


So tomorrow he will be putting his haggling skills to the test and not only getting us an awesome TV that has colours other than purple and green, but a Surround Sound System thrown in. For free. He will succeed. He's good like that.

This all got me thinking.
How do you purchase goods?


Do you haggle?
Do you buy cash back items? (these can be good if you read the fine print early)
Do you shop around?
Do you buy when items are on sale?
Do you ask for rain checks?
Having a little bit of courage, bravado and smart thinking can save you money.


We thrive on the fact that we never buy anything (aside from groceries) that aren't on sale or without haggling a discount.


Call it cheap, stingey or thrifty. I call it smart!


# DINKS = Double income no kids.

Welcome 2012

Reading Mrs BC's post today on how to not only make resolutions but to keep them gave me a bit more insight into my own.
I know my biggest resolution is to stop allowing people to trample all over me.
But there are about 10 others I'd love to follow through with.
They will require planning and organization.
The Daddy Man is not a planner. He is happy to wing everything which does result in lots of yelling and cursing on my behalf. I am a planner and a list writer. I like things done a specific way at certain times.
OCD much?

Here is my top 10 list and how I WILL achieve them.

 
1. Like a lot of other people, losing excess weight is number 1. A new 24 hour gym opened down the road from me just before Christmas. My goal is to attend said gym at least 3 times a week. This means that working within The Daddy Mans working hours I will need to rise at around 5am most days to attend the gym for an hour. Then be back in time to dress and feed the chillies before school.
2. To be more organised. Managing school hours better, packing lunches and homework the night before, planning weekend activities etc. These will need to work around The Daddy Mans hours but I'm sure it can be done.
3. Keeping the house neater. I guess this kind of relates to the above resolution but i think it deserves a bullet of its own. I want to get more on top of messes and washing and dishes and folding and mopping. Pretty much anything cleaning related. I will need to stop sitting down after the kids go to bed thinking "ahhh thank goodness" those pesky dishes wont do themselves and its twice as much work the following day.
4. To take more photos. I am not very good at taking pics. They tend to always be blurry or out of focus etc. It sucks but i guess more practice wouldn't hurt. Organisation and confidence will also assist.
5. A firm budget. Money has always been a topic that The Daddy Man and i could never discuss without war erupting. I spend too much, he spends too much on shit. Something amazing occurred in December though, we sat done and did up a budget together minus fighting or arguing. We worked as a team and didn't get stressed. The goal is to work on refining it more so that we live fairly stress free.
6. More family days out. Being that The Daddy Man works in a department store, he rarely gets weekends free. We need to plan activities to do as a family that will coincide with his days off and work hours. A family holiday is something we will be saving for also. Our first!
7. Study. to improve my sad education and enter a course I have only hoped for. Financial constraints aside If i work hard im sure i can achieve this
8. Managing my mental health. I will accept The Daddy Mans offers of help more, I will take deep breaths more and rethink thoughts 3 times before making decisions and harbouring emotions. I will talk more and not bottle so much up to explode. Being unmedicated is no longer scary. Refining my plan to become mentally healthier will help.
9. As sad as it sounds, I am 25 and do not have my drivers license. The medication I was on for many years made it illegal to drive while under the influence. Now I am medication free I can look forward to becoming a more independent version of me. Practice practice practice.
10. To sew. I do not have a sewing machine anymore and i miss it. I will be asking The Daddy Man for one for my birthday (this month) I will attempt to sew masterpieces!

I guess once a new year is upon us we tend to hope for a new beginning.

It gives us incentive to dream and hope to achieve things we havent yet mastered. I really am looking forward to being the ME I want to be. It might take grit and getting off my butt more but nothing worth anything comes easy.

Planning is a fantastic way to ensure success.