Tracking my Spending with MDS

I will start by telling you that spending money is something at which I excel.  My favorite things to shop for are clothes, home decor and Stampin' Up supplies.  I also LOVE to shop for birthday presents and Christmas presents because those expenses are justified and I don't have to feel any guilt!  My DH, on the other hand, is extremely good at saving money.  I'm always thankful for him each time we encounter an unexpected expense.  If it were just me, there would be absolutely no savings and we would still have a dishwasher that doesn't actually wash dishes.  For quite some time, I have tried to have a budget and track our (or should I say MY) spending.  My youngest sister, who is a CPA, even gave me her household spreadsheet and helped me set it up so that I could just plug in numbers and everything would be calculated for me.  It worked for a couple months and then it became a headache.  I have even tried some of the budget sheets that I have found on Pinterest but they would work for a little while and then I would lose track.  I think I have finally figured out what was wrong.  None of what I was working with was pleasing to look at.  A spreadsheet makes my stomach hurt just looking at one because my mind doesn't work like that.  So, I started thinking of what I could make to help me and decided to try something in MDS.  I first came up with all the categories in which I spend and created a framed space for each one.  The picture below shows the first page of my project.

I have a zippered pouch in which I keep all receipts until I record them on my new creation.  Let me start by saying that I am only tracking what I am spending so that I can set up a budget.  I just needed to have something with which I WANTED to work!

A Big Day

Today was a big day in our house.  My kiddos go to school on a year-round calendar which means they go to school for nine weeks and then have 3 weeks off.  It is a great schedule because we get 4 3-week breaks throughout the year instead of a long summer vacation.  Our summer break is during the month of August and today was their first day back.  Of course, they were not excited and I was sad to see them go.  We have had a fun break but it was time to get everyone back into a routine.

For the last couple months, I have prepared myself to live a more purposeful life.  I am tired of running around with my head cut off and always feeling that I am too busy to do the fun stuff.  As a mom of 3 boys, I have my hands full but I have never focused on finding balance in my life.  TODAY is the 1st day of my improved life and I am excited to share with you how I plan to do just that.  Now, I know you are wondering what any of this has to do with stamping but it has a LOT to do with it.  There are so many things that I want to make and share with you but I just never find the time.  My stamping business has always fit into the "empty spaces" in my life and how many of us really have any empty spaces?  We always manage to fill that time with something that has to get done.  Not anymore for me!  I actually have a schedule of when I get to stamp and it doesn't matter how many loads of laundry are waiting for me.  They can wait!!!  The first thing I needed to do was make a calendar of my weekly schedule.  I know it may sound silly but if it isn't pretty, I won't use it.  I have to want to look at it.  I had so much fun creating my calendar.  I just went online and searched for a weekly schedule and found this template at the Scattered Squirrel.  She has some awesome printables that you should check out!  I printed the calendar on Whisper White cardstock, added washi tape to make it pretty and then laminated it!!!  The different patterns of washi tape represent different parts of my day.  For example, you can see that the calypso coral tape represents my Stampin' Up! time.

Now, I must focus on using it which will be the hard part for me.  Check back this week for more projects using washi tape.  It seems to be my favorite thing right now.  I've even warned the boys that if they sit still long enough, they may be washi taped!

More Organizing

Since I posted the menu board yesterday, I thought I would share another organizer that I made.  This one was done in MDS.  I made a 12x12 sheet for each boy and placed them in their own 12x12 frames.  I then used Crystal Effects to glue a few clothespins onto the glass of the frame.  We have been using them to keep track of chores, allowance and other stuff.  The boys like them and I am more deliberate about keeping track of their chores.