Running List of FTJ Boot Camp Assignments - Page 4

Kim · **FTJ Boot Camp: Day Thirty Three**

Identify Time Wasters

A big part in reclaiming the life you were meant to live is to eliminate things that are wasteful. In prior steps we’ve already focused on eliminating wasteful spending. We’ve also focused on decluttering to eliminate unused and irrelevant things from your home. In doing so, you’re able to use your money and your space more efficiently. But we haven’t yet focused on time – another great resource that is often wasted.

The way we view time is a lot like how we view money: there’s never enough. But yet when we really sit back and analyze how we’re spending it, we’re almost always guilty of being wasteful in one way or another. It’s like money: those who get the most out their time are the ones who see its value.

Don’t let inefficient use of time get in the way of a more meaningful life. The less time you waste the more time you’ll have to spend on things that nurture you: your friends, family, and hobbies.

What are some of your biggest time wasters?

• Computer Set limits on your computer time. Don’t constantly check your e-mail. Instead, pick one or two times during the day to check it and respond back. Spam can also be a huge time hog. Use a spam filter or keep an alternate e-mail account for ordering online and other commercial purposes. Keep surfing at a minimum. Set a timer when you do surf to limit it to a certain amount.

• Turn off the TV Keep the TV turned off if you’re not watching it in order to avoid being sucked in. Use a digital recording service (such as TiVo) that will enable you to skip through commercials. Not only will you eliminate channel surfing, you can watch an hour-long show in 40 minutes or a half-hour show in 20.

• Let the Answering Machine Pick Up If you have an answering machine, let it pick up. Set a designated time to return phone calls. Respond by e-mail if you can to save even more time. Using a caller ID service can help you avoid taking calls from telemarketers.

• Organize Errand Running Organize errands and limit shopping to 1-2 times per week. Plan your family’s meals ahead of time and make sure you have the ingredients on hand avoiding unnecessary trips to the store. Anticipate future needs such as clothing, birthday cards and gifts as well.

• Shop Online Not only can shopping online help you save money on gas, it prevents unnecessary wear and tear on your car. Many grocery stores are recognizing the time demands of families today and are offering delivery service for your grocery order. For example, Harris Teeter now offers “Express Lane Shopping” in southeastern states for only $4.95. Harris Teeter - Error

Assignment: For the next few days, track of the things you do on a daily basis that you would consider time wasters. Then, come up with a plan to eliminate excess time spent on them.

Kim · **FTJ Boot Camp: Day Thirty-Four**

Schedule Important Things First

Are your actions in sync with your priorities? Are you putting your money where your priorities are? Revisit your Family Mission Statement. Then, take a look at your recent expenditures of both money AND time. Are they in line with your values, dreams and goals?

If not, you’re not alone. Many families today act in ways that aren’t congruent with their priorities. They say they value their child's education, but Mom spends $50 a month getting manicures and Dad eats his lunches out while contributing nothing to the college fund. Although they say security and responsibility is important, they don’t have updated wills or are underinsured. Does this ring a bell? By scheduling your top-priority things first, you’re ensuring that they will get done.

Now that you’ve created a mission statement, your family’s priorities should be clear. It will help you schedule important things on your priority list first, and then other things will fall into place afterward.

If you answered this thread If you had an extra hour in your day... is there a way you can schedule these things first in your day? Doing so may also help you eliminate some of your time-wasters as well as allow you to incorporate more time to work on your dreams. In doing so, you’ll improve the quality of your life.

Daily Tasks
Make it a habit to always write down the top 5-10 things you want to accomplish each day. Use whatever method suits your lifestyle best: a notebook, a computer tasks list, or a dayplanner. Research shows that list makers accomplish more. Be one of them!

The “Big Stuff” To Do List
If you’ve been reading the FTJ steps, chances are there was at least one step you realized was important but avoided doing it. Maybe you didn’t have time, it didn’t sound like fun. Maybe there are other less financially focused things on your to-do list as well such as scheduling doctor visits.
Stop procrastinating! Write down all the important things you are procrastinating on and post them where you see them each day. Make it a goal to cross of each and every one as soon as possible. You’ll feel better about yourself after doing them.

The Big Picture
Keep one master family calendar in a central location in your home. Pick a calendar with ample room for writing all events and activities. Schedule birthdays, programs, and everything you know about in advance first. Then, be proactive in scheduling yearly checkups, car maintenance, and other routine appointments.

Keep your family’s mission statement in mind and plan things that reflect your values: donating your time to charity, fitness routines, and family trips. Lastly, fill in things that come up such as parties, school activities and other obligations. Assign each family member a color and highlight the activities that pertain to them.

Assignment: Create a a “Big Stuff’ to do list. Start making it a habit to also create a daily "to do" list.

Kim · **FTJ Boot Camp: Day Thirty-Five**

Speeding up the Process

By now you should have computed how much money you’ll need to retire, to pay off debt, and build your emergency fund. For some of you, there isn’t enough cash to make it happen. Others may simply want ways to reach financial security sooner rather than later.

We're going to brainstorm some ideas to accelerate your debt payoff by adding income or cutting expenses. Some ideas are more drastic than others, but if you're motivated to become debt-free you know that the feeling of financial freedom outweighs hanging on to material things.

Re-evaluate Monthly Expenses

Cable TV
Instead of subscribing to an expanded cable package, cut back to the most basic package and supplement with other media. Read more. Swap magazines with a friend. Instead of buying new DVDs or renting them, create a queue using library holds and interlibrary loans. This works for books, CDs, audiotapes and other media too. You’ll get a steady stream of new selections each week and it won’t cost you a penny. By saving $50 a month, you’ll come out $600 richer at the end of the year.

Re-evaluate phone plans
Are you using up all your cell phone minutes? Do you have more coverage than you need? Consider switching to a different plan or a pay-as-you-go plan. With your landline, consider dropping the added features such as caller ID and call waiting. If you mainly only use your cell phone, ask yourself if you can do without the landline altogether.

Get New Insurance Quotes, Raise Your Deductibles
If you haven’t re-evaluated car insurance policies lately, you could be paying too much. One quick way to save is to raise your deductible. If you’re deductible is set at $500 consider raising it to $1,000. Yes, you’ll have to pay more out-of-pocket if you’re in an accident, but you could save up to 30% on your rates throughout the year. Or, if you car is worth less than $2,000 you may want to drop collision insurance completely. Consider bundling your auto insurance with your homeowner’s insurance to save even more.

Exercise the Old Fashioned Way
Instead of spending $75 or more per month in Health Club fees, exercise the old-fashioned way and do something productive at the same time. Household chores like mopping, vacuuming are great calorie-burners. Outdoor chores like cutting grass, washing your car, raking leaves and gardening, burn nearly as many calories as a slow jog. Supplement your fitness routine by jumping rope or dancing with your kids and taking your dog for a run and everyone comes out ahead. You can also find free workouts on YouTube as well as rent fitness DVDs and videos from your library.

Focus on the Family: Limit Extracurricular Activities
Families are overscheduled in today’s day and age. While extracurricular sports and activities are important, spending time as a family is more important. If your kids are in several extracurricular activities, you may want to consider dropping a couple. Instead, institute a family game night. Cutting back on 2 or 3 activities can help you save an extra $100 per month as well as strengthen your bond as a family.

Other Ideas:
Become a one-car family
Downsize your house (or apartment)
Move to a less expensive location

Additional Income

If you’ve cut all the expenses you can and still are coming up short, consider adding more income. If you had to think of a way to earn $10 today, what would it be? Is there a way you can use your interests, talents to accomplish that? That’s how many small businesses are born. Many dreams start out small; just $10 here and there and grow into something much bigger.

Get a part-time job (you or spouse) away from home
Babysit or daycare
Participate in paid surveys
Mystery shopping
Create something to sell (scrapbook pages, sew something, etc.)
Sell something via direct sales
Sell something: Hold a garage sale, eBay, Craigslist

For more work-at-home ideas, visit this link:
http://mommysavers.com/boards/work-home-ideas/

Assignment: Make a list of the things you are willing to do to accelerate paying off debt and building savings. What are they? Check In!

Kim · **FTJ Boot Camp: Day Thirty Six and Thirty Seven**

Days Thirty Six and Thirty Seven: Identify Shopping Weaknesses and Find Coping Mechanisms

Mistakes are only bad when we fail to learn from them. Then, if you could go back and identify your shopping mistakes, what would they be? What have you learned about your buying habits over the years (or since starting FTJ) that can help you be more aware of your weaknesses before you succumb to them in the future?

Assignment:
Look back at five purchases – big OR small – that were mistakes. It could be something big like buying more house than you could afford, or simply a trip through the drive-thru for that probably wasn’t necessary. Write them down, and number them one through five. It’s a good idea to choose things with a wide array of price points and categories. Then answer these questions:

What kind of mood or state of mind was I in when I bought it?
What did I think it would provide for me? Did it? Did that feeling last?
What triggered the feeling that you “needed” that item?
What did I say to myself to rationalize this purchase?

You may even want to keep your list of triggers/weaknesses in a small spiral bound notebook in your purse (if you have a price book, you can write these things in the back). When you feel a spending mistake coming on, take the list out and look at it to reinforce the things you’ve learned.

Come up with Coping Mechanisms

Take a look at the prior assignment. Now that you’ve identified some of your thoughts, moods, and situations that get you into trouble when spending money, you can come up with some alternate coping mechanisms. Here are some tips:

Stuck in a rut? Some people are tempted to get new clothing, furniture and accessories to help them dig themselves out of a funk. Instead, shop within your own home and use your creativity to find new ways to use what you have. Try people watching to get fashion ideas that incorporate what you already have. Move your furniture around or try changing out photos/wall décor with other pieces you already have to liven up a room.

Relaxation and Recreation - If you’re shopping for relaxation and recreation, try to find other less expensive ways to unwind. Go for a walk, take a hot bath, listen to soothing music, or get together with a friend over coffee. If you shop with your family on the weekends, find other entertaining activities that don’t cost as much. Take your kids to the park or the library instead of the mall or try a new hobby like Letterboxing.

Shop with a List- When you do shop for items deemed necessary, stick to a list. Only bring enough cash to cover what’s on your list to eliminate the ease of putting those extras on plastic. Don’t let sales tempt you into buying things you don’t need. Instead, channel your bargain-hunting to more practical activities such as grocery shopping or buying things that you need instead of things that you want.

Restaurant Lure- Eating out is a huge temptation not only because it cuts down on household chores, but it’s a great social activity as well. Try to have your freezer stocked with meals you can pull out, thaw, and cook. Keep your pantry stocked with ingredients to make meals that can be made in just minutes (such as spaghetti sauce and noodles). Having a meal plan can also help keep you organized and avoid the take-out temptation. If you’re hitting the restaurants to socialize and spend time with friends and family have a snack or eat beforehand; then just order an appetizer or dessert.

Assigment: Come up with ways to cope with your own common temptations and moods that get you into trouble.

Kim · **FTJ Boot Camp: Day Thirty-Eight and Thirty Nine**

Put First Things First

Are your goals are conflicting with your debt issue? Balancing dreams and goals with finances is always tricky. Often the feelings and emotions you’re connecting to when thinking about your dreams are more real and powerful than the desire to be debt free.

You can’t have everything you want all at once, so achieving your dreams becomes a balancing act with maintaining financial health. A healthy financial life is a building block that comes before going after more lofty goals. It must come first.

Maslow’s Heirarchy of Needs hypothesizes that in order to self-actualize (fulfilling your human potential) you must first meet your survival and security needs. Otherwise, it’s like building a house without laying the foundation first. If your finances are in jeopardy, your security needs are on shaky ground. If you build your dreams on that shaky foundation eventually your financial house of cards will come tumbling down. Keep this in mind as you’re creating your ideal life. First things have to come first, which includes your finances.

You don’t have to deny yourself of what you truly want because you don’t have the money. Those emotions are a good indicator that you’re on the right track when it comes to discovering what you really want. However, you may have postpone them or do a little soul searching to find out if there may be an underlying want.

Assignment: When you look back at your list of 100 dreams, you may need to be more specific about when they can happen for you financially. If it’s your dream to own a home, how much do you want to be able to put down as a downpayment? It it’s your dream to have more children, do you want to make sure your credit cards are paid off first? If you’d love to travel to Disney World with the kids, how much will it cost and will you save for it in advance? Be specific. The more specific you can be with the financial ramifications of your dreams the less likely you will be to get sidetracked from your goals.

Delay of Gratification

There are always a million things that come up on your way to achieving your goals that could distract you. Learning to just say no when you can't afford something is a skill that requires practice, but can be learned.

Financial self control isn’t just a skill reserved for those without a lot of money. In fact, if you haven’t mastered this skill early on in your financial journey your problems are likely to only get bigger when more money comes your way. It’s a big reason why people who suddenly come into a lot of cash find themselves bankrupt a few years later. They haven't learned impulse control and how to wait for the things they want. Their pocketbooks may have expanded, but their temptations also get bigger. Since they've never mastered the skill of delay of gratification they will always have problems with money.

There are all sorts of hidden benefits from delaying gratification. Food tastes better when you’ve waited for it. Buying a piece of furniture feels more rewarding when you’ve saved for it rather than put it on plastic. Relaxing in the evening feels better after putting in a hard day’s work. In short: when you’ve earned something, you derive more pleasure from it.

The harder you work for something, the higher you tend to value it. Quick-fixes are rarely satisfying (think fast-food, shoddy repair jobs, etc.). Imagine your child comes to you asking for a new bike. She’s old enough to earn the money herself by saving birthday money, babysitting, or doing other odd jobs. Do you think she’ll take better care of the bike if she earns the money for it herself, or it is simply given to her?

Delay of gratification is an extremely important thing to put into practice when you have children. It’s one of the biggest indicators of success in life, so begin helping them practice at an early age. Here’s an interesting article on delay of gratification:
One Marshmallow, Or Two?

Once you start seeing the connection with delay of gratification and increased satisfaction and enjoyment, you’re more willing to exercise that skill and put it into practice on a daily basis. It will not only improve your financial life, but every other area of your life as well.

Assignment: Start to recognize all the areas you put delay of gratification into practice on a daily basis. When do you succumb to temptation? For just one day, notice the times when you delay gratification. It could be working a half hour longer so that you can By working on it on a daily basis, you’ll be creating good habits that can be carried over into your financial life.

Kim · **FTJ Boot Camp: Day Forty**

Put it on Autopilot, Eliminate Cheating

If you’ve found yourself charging things when you know you shouldn’t one too many times, you may need to put systems in place to prevent it from happening again. Putting things on autopilot not only makes it harder for you to cheat, it takes the worry out budgeting. Knowing your finances are taking care of themselves is a great way to gain financial peace of mind.

After you’ve crunched the numbers and know what you need to be doing with your money, automate the process as much as you can. Doing so limits the likelihood that you’ll cheat or fall off the financial bandwagon. Here are some suggestions:

• Have your employer take retirement contributions out of your paycheck automatically. If you don’t see it, chances are you won’t miss it.
• Set up a regular monthly deposit from your regular checking account directly into a savings account that serves as your emergency fund. If your own bank doesn’t offer competitive rates, check out online savings accounts available through Emigrant Direct, HSBC Direct or ING Direct.
• For fun money, put you and your spouse on a strict monthly allowance. Cash only is great, but you can also try a prepaid credit or debit card. What’s not spent can be carried over to the next month, but when it’s gone, it’s gone.
• Use your bank’s online bill paying feature to help organize your finances. Not only do you eliminate the time it takes to write out a check, you save money on postage.
• Having all your records arrive on one statement and paying only one bill can help you simplify your financial life. The best way to do this is to simply pay off the balances of every credit card and use just one, aiming to pay off balances in full each month.
• Keep your finances organized using a software program that allows you to track your spending and investments such as Microsoft Money or Quicken.

Assignment: Put your finances on autopilot and eliminate cheating

Kim · **FTJ Boot Camp: Day Forty-One**

Combining Goals to Create Synergy

Synergy is the term used to describe a situation where different actions cooperate advantageously for a final outcome. the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. If you followed each step in the FTJ Boot Camp closely, hopefully you noticed how one step, when combined with another, increased quality of life more than each step would have on its own. Think of the old saying, "Killing two birds with one stone." With this assigment, use creative thinking to come up with ways to accomplish multiple goals with one action.

For example, maybe decluttering your home lead to earning some money via a rummage sale or selling something on eBay. The end result – a less cluttered home and money in the bank -- is a win-win situation that also creates additional benefits. Maybe you watched less TV in the process of getting the work done, or perhaps you even lost a little weight because you were busy and preoccupied.

Here is an example of how you can use your goals to come up with a synergistic plan:

Goal 1 + Goal 2 = Plan for Synergy

Goal 1: Making new friends
Goal 2: Getting in Shape
= Outcome = Signing up for a aerobics class

Even more synergy is created when you combine more than two goals in the process:

Goal 1: Give back to the community
Goal 2: Spend more quality time with kids
Goal 3: Spend less money
= Outcome = Replace one of the kids’ extracurricular activities with a volunteer activity you can all do together

Assignment: Come up with 10 synergistic plans to incorporate your financial goals, dreams, as well as your family mission statement to create synergy and energize the process. Challenge yourself to include as many goals in one outcome as possible. Write them down and post them somewhere you’ll see them frequently.

Kim · **FTJ Boot Camp: Day Forty-Two**

Reflect Upon What You’ve Learned

I am hoping that you all had a good experience with the Spending Freeze and Boot Camp. I hope this was a good jump-start in getting you to think more about your relationship with money and why you buy things. Saving money is, of course, a nice by-product, but there were more important lessons to be gleaned from this that will help you in your quest for financial peace.

Often other money saving methods fail because problems financial problems are rarely about the money itself. Hopefully as you created your dreams list, your family mission statement and looked at how you are spending (and wasting) your time you gained some insight into how you can nurture your interests and priorities and get back into balance without overspending.

Now that we’ve come to the last day of Boot Camp, it’s a great time to reflect upon what you’ve learned and accomplished. Hopefully you can use this as a reference point in the future.

Was the Spending Freeze easier or harder than you thought, and in what ways? Did you find you were tempted by things you didn’t expect? Was it easier for you to avoid spending in certain areas? What were your main temptations? In what ways did you succeed? What habits will you be carrying over into the future, and what things do you need to continue to work on?

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