We are having an artic blast here in NW PA that might make Siberia shiver. It is not the kind of day where kids can go sledding riding to celebrate having the day off school. It leads to the question, what can we do on a snow day? Because of where we live, we go to school pretty much no matter what. It is a cultural thing here, strange but true. To have the day off is unheard of in my town.
I am a teacher home for the day and my kids are high school boys that want to celebrate by playing video games, so I am going to focus on what people without small children can do to pass the time. I didn't spend hours thinking about this, I am just writing what pops into my head.
Here we go!
1. Make homemade soup and/or bread.
2. Make a batch of freezer meals - I am making chicken penne pasta today and will make some extra for the freezer.
3. Call your TV provider and ask for the cancellation department. You might be surprised at what they will do to try and retain you as a customer!
4. Try and find XX number of items to toss or donate.
5. If you have credit card debt, call and try to negotiate a lower interest rate.
6. Make a meal plan based on what you have on hand, write a grocery list filling in what is needed to complete the menu and STICK TO THE LIST next time you go to the store.
7. Go online and transfer some money from your checking to a savings account. How much might you have spent if you would have left the house instead of staying home today. Would you have gone to the movies, eaten out, etc.? Estimate an amount of money and transfer it! It would have been gone had you left the house and you would have figured out how to live without it, so transfer it to your savings!
8. Watch a movie with your family at home.
9. Play a board game.
10. Make an appointment with a lawyer to start the process for a will if you don't have a will.
11. Research term life insurance if you are underinsured.
12. Find some blogs that will improve your life based on your interests and start following them. Make reading them a habit. Blogs have improved my life immensely! Finance, cooking, homemaking, freezer meals, sewing - anything that you are interested in. There is a wealth of information out there. Just be careful with finance! You want to read to improve your life, not to become a captive audience to someone that is trying to sell you something!
13. Watch a few old episodes of Suze Orman on CNBC.com
14. Organize a room - or start small and organize a couple of cupboards or junk drawers.
15. Watch a youtube video that teaches you how to do something useful.
The list can go on and on, but you get the idea. I better life starts with a few small changes made one at a time that eventually turn into habits.
Those are all pretty good ideas, especially the one about transferring money from checking to savings. I have not left the house since Sunday, so I have saved lots, even if just gas. However, this enforced "not spending" won't allow me to put any in savings. It will allow me to make to closer to the end of the month without panicking. I like your blog.
ReplyDelete