Work:

• Car Pool – Now that my wife and I car pool, we actually drive 5 miles more per day, but save $10/day in parking. There’s also more freeway driving, so we get better gas mileage.
• Bag Lunches – My wife takes food to work rather than eating out now, which saves a lot. I eat lunch at home & take care of leftovers, so we don’t waste food.

Utilities:

• Cancel Home Phone – Not really necessary these days with skype, cell phones and email, unless you need to use a fax machine, but then there’s always eFax.
• Cut Cell Phone Bill – I realized that I don’t text enough to need an unlimited plan, so I switched. Of course, once I’m eligible for a new phone, it will be hard to resist a Blackberry with a data plan.
• Cancel Pest Control – We had it for a while and it seemed to have worked, but now we’ll see how we do without it. So far so good.

Entertainment:

• Cancel SIRIUS – Two recent rate increases made this an easy decision & I don’t listen to it for more than an hour or two a day.
• Cancel Book/Movie Clubs – My wife loves these and even though she sent books back, it was still a charge on our credit card and wait for a refund. I’m glad to be rid of these.
• Don’t Renew Magazines – I’m a firm believer that everything in magazines can be found for free online. They’re a waste of money and trees. My wife is letting all subscriptions lapse.
• Lower Netflix Plan – One movie at a time is enough for us right now, especially with a RedBox around the corner. We may cancel it entirely in the future.
• Record Movies – I took advantage of free Showtime this month on AT&T U-Verse and recorded a bunch of movies that were on our Netflix queue.
• Buy Used Books – Many used book stores will also buy books in turn for credit, so you can then buy books at half price.

Home:

• Switch to CFLs – Almost every light in our house is a compact fluorescent and those that aren’t don’t get used much.
• Cover Windows – During the heat of the day, block it by keeping blinds and drapes closed.
• Open Windows – When it cools down outside, open windows and turn off the air conditioning.
• Recycle – We saved our aluminum cans and plastic water bottles to take the recyclers. We don’t buy those anymore, but family members save theirs and the CRV goes to our son’s account.
• Sell Baby Stuff - Craigslist is great – you can get barely used baby items at great prices & turn around and resell them for about the same price. You, basically, got to use it for free. A local Craiglist type site is SactoClassifieds.
• Swap Baby Stuff – If you have a baby, chances are you know others who do as well. We swap, or rotate clothing & toys among friends & think of it as free off site storage.

Food:

• Veggie Garden – Its fun and worthwhile not having to buy lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, etc. It’s also healthy and educational for our son! He loves picking tomatoes, even if they’re not ripe…
• Eat Less – Generally, we over indulge, so if you split a meal in half or leave enough for lunch the next day, you can save money and lose weight.
• Generic Food – Many name brand foods have identical generic counterparts that cost much less & taste the same.
• Ditch Bottled Water – Our fridge has a water filter, so why not use it? We refill bottles and rarely buy them anymore, which is also better for the environment.
• No More Soda – A while back I stopped drinking soda. I’ve had some a few times at BBQs, but I don’t buy it.

Other ideas that we could implement to save even more money:

• Cancel Cable – We would still have Internet, but I think we’d be miserable without decent TV
• Cancel Netflix – Getting rid of the lowest level they offer would save almost $10/mo
• Turn Off Computers – I tend to leave my desktop PC on all the time as I never know when I can jump on and get some work done
• Change Thermostat – Since my body tends to run warm, I’d be miserable during the summer
• Reduce Water Usage – Once they start metering water, we’ll need to decrease our sprinkler timers.
• Change Auto Insurance – I’m a faithful kind of guy, but if I need to, I’ll shop around for cheaper insurance, like at esurance.

What is the increase for? According to the rep I spoke to, it’s for copyright fees imposed on them, that they previously absorbed, but have now decided to pass on to customers. This is simply the cost of doing business for them. Not only do we have phone and cable companies passing on taxes and surcharges, now the radio I listen to in the car wants to tax me!

I politely informed the representative that it is a poor business decision, because they will lose more customers because of this, which they can hardly afford in this economy. Either they can absorb a couple bucks a month like they used to, or they can lose many times that amount for each subscriber who decides enough is enough. They will likely lose us as customers and will need to refund what we’ve paid for the next three months of service – over $60! The next payment would include the fee & be around $75! Multiply that a few hundred, or thousand, times and that’s going to hurt.

That’s the real cost of doing business…

As a U-Verse customer, I can safely recommend the service. It’s been great and I really enjoy the dual TV DVR and the ability to record shows from anywhere with an Internet connection.

Click here to sign up and be sure to use “ER1011849“

1. You find that a pacifier in your pocket when you get to work
2. You get the theme song to Wonder Pets stuck in your head
3. You have no problem discussing your child’s bodily functions
4. You buy furniture, not based on looks, but stain resistance
5. Your clean black shirt isn’t clean (and you don’t care)
6. You can’t find a suitable place, anywhere, for your dart board
7. You somehow “lose” every show recorded on your DVR
8. You plan your day around naps and bed time (yours too)
9. Your cupboards now have bottles and cups vs. pint glasses
10. You’re still singing, “wonder pets, wonder pets, we’re on our way…”

To all the other dads and dads-to-be, Happy Fathers Day!

I’ve been big on lists for a long time, but I recently implemented a twist on the list idea. I create a weekly calendar, of sorts, subdivided into my “free time” allotments. For example, for each day of the week, I have a list for what I can do from the office or at lunch. I have a list for what to do after work, while my son is awake. Finally, I have a list to finish the day with items to do once he’s asleep.

This has proven to be a vast improvement over my other lists, which include one for house projects, relatively organized in the shape of our house with tasks for each part of the house and yard. I have another list with everything related to web sites. And I have a general all-encompassing list of miscellaneous things I need to do, purchase, sell, etc.

Of all the lists, the new calendar format seems to be working the best. I can focus entirely on each task and go down the list. If I knock them out early, I can either work on other tasks, freeing up time later in the day/week, or I can relax and enjoy the free time for the remainder of that period. Of course, you can use a physical calendar, an Outlook calendar, or a Google calendar, but I already have too many calendars that I use for calendars. My daily task list is created in Excel, and I’m able to easily drag and drop cells to rearrange tasks, as needed. As I complete a task, I shade the cell. It also helps in tracking my productivity throughout the week.

If you haven’t supported this cause, I sincerely urge you to do so! I have several family members who have been victims of this devistating disease, so it really hits home. Also, remember that yearly mamograms and self examinations are extremely important for early detection!

Saturday, I worked in the yard to try and tackle the weed situation now that it’s Spring and things are really starting to take off. I may have overdone it, but the sense of satisfaction was worth it. Our yard is looking somewhat back to normal, which means that I can take on another project or two. My wife wants to hire a gardener because we don’t have much free time, but I really enjoy doing the work. Time is the issue and now that our family is started, it’s become so much more important.

Sunday, we went over to my parents’ house and cooked dinner for my dad while my mom is away on vacation with her sisters. Already exhausted from the previous day, it didn’t take much to tire me out, even though I was only barbecuing rosemary lemon chicken & zucchini kabobs. We then decided to give our son his first haircut, which was trying… Later that night, unhappy with the results from our first attempt, we broke out the clippers and made it look a lot better.

I took Monday off. Rest? No. Relaxation? No. Fun? Not hardly. Yesterday was our CPA appointment, which I went to solo. It turned out that I was missing a huge chunk of information that was put in a different filing system than the one I was using. I spent all morning getting that ready and then an hour at the CPA’s office being grilled, and feeling stupid for not having some important documents. It would turn out that that was to our benefit – my wife and I ended up finding more deductions and corrected some errors.

After the appointment yesterday, I worked on a new vegetable garden in our side yard, which at this point is still a large square hole in the ground. I gave myself some pretty nasty blisters working with a mattock to hack out some big roots. We used to have four large trees in that yard, which we had removed and the stumps ground. Apparently they missed these roots. Next up is the brick border and drip system.

A good night’s sleep would have done me wonders, but I had to get up early this morning and go to the dentist. Oh the horror! I’ve done so much better, I thought. I’ve tried flossing more. Really! I’m almost a month free of my Pepsi addiction. I’m brushing and scraping my tongue according to the Periodontist’s instructions. It wasn’t enough to save me from a day-ruining visit full of x-raying, scraping, flossing, spraying, rinsing and bleeding… Great, something else to work on.

After the dentist appointment, I dropped off the missing documents and information with the CPA. So that’s finally done. I don’t have to see the dentist for another six months, so I can work on the flossing and hopefully have a better visit next time. And I don’t think I have much on the plate for the rest of the week, besides giving my wife some space, by watching our son, in order to get caught up on some of her work.

The only thing that might be coming up in the next day or two is a site I’m working on – I’ve put in the domain transfer request and once that’s complete, I need to change the name servers. Once that propagates, I’ll be able to get back to work… It’s easy to get used to working for yourself and getting a site up in a day or two. When you’re relying on someone else to provide info, such as changing registrars and hosts, you have to be flexible in order to handle the sporadic bursts of work as it comes available.

Maybe it’s time for a nap…

Here are some ways to help get over a soda addiction:

1. Just do it – lack of will power is a lame excuse. The reality is that you just want to drink soda.
2. Stop buying it and stocking the refrigerator – as the saying goes, “Out of sight, out of mind.”
3. Baby steps – still have one cup of instant cappuccino or coffee in the morning to stave off caffeine withdrawals.
4. Healthier steps – Drink green tea for the caffeine and anti-oxidants and try not to add sugar to sweeten it.
5. Replace it – single serve packets of sugar free lemonade or fruit drink mix that you can pour in a water bottle.
6. Consider calories – one can of Pepsi has 160 calories, which is a large portion of a meal’s worth.
7. Stick to water when dining out – also helps to save money at restaurants, which we’re all trying to do in this economy.
8. Tell others – many people are in the same boat and can give you support, encouragement and suggestions.
9. Exercise – It’s recommended for any type of addiction, and will help you feel better faster.
10. Look forward to being a happier, healthier you. It may take a few days, or a few weeks, but your body will thank you.

I’ll expand a bit on the tips above to explain and provide some specific examples from over the last week… Even though many people consider a soda addiction a relatively minor thing compared to getting over alcohol or drug addiction, it’s far more common and difficult to eliminate than you might think. Heavy soda drinkers can experience withdrawal symptoms when they stop drinking soda due to the high levels of sugars, sweeteners and/or caffeine. Some of the symptoms may include headaches, drowsiness, difficulty concentrating and fatigue.

I was afraid that I’d have bad headaches, which happened in the past when I’d go a day or two without soda. So far, this past week has been pain free. This is most likely due to the fact that my morning cup of instant cappucino is still part of my daily routine. The part I changed is that I no longer buy Pepsi, keep it in the refrigerator, or bring it to work. According to OverCaffeinated.com, the average American adult consumes more than three times the daily amount of caffeine required to create a physical dependence. So, eventually, I may try putting an end to caffeine entirely.

Instead of drinking Pepsi, which can be very syrupy, I’d much rather have a bottle of water with a single serve packet of lemonade mixed in. I’m not a fan of plastic bottles and they adversely affect the environment, so I reuse one, filling it with filtered water. Soon, I’ll probably buy a permanent solution that I can throw in the dish washer.

My wife has recently started counting calories, a practice that I’ve never been fond of. I realize now that it’s smart to, at the very least, consider the number of calories you’re consuming and that soft drinks can provide 1/3 to 1/2 of the calories you should have in a meal, or almost twice as much as you should have in a snack.

Yesterday, I met my wife and her coworker for lunch. We try not to eat out much, so we can save money, but agreed that dining out would be a nice treat. Normally, I’d order a Coke or Pepsi at a restaurant, but opted to stick with water, which not only kept me on track, but saved me $2.00. When I mentioned that it had been almost a week since I’d had a Pepsi, my wife’s coworker said that he had also stopped drinking soda recently. It made me feel better about what I was doing.

If you’re giving up sodas to improve your health, or lose weight, you’re on the right track. Working out, running, or just getting out and doing stuff can also help move you along that path. Drinking soda can actually cause your body to pack on the pounds. Think about the following from EmbraceLiving.Net:

One 330ml can of Coke contains around 160 calories. Assuming you drink one can of Coke everyday: that’s 4800 extra calories every month or 1.4lbs. In a year, that adds up to 57,600 extra calories or 16.8lbs!