The Budget Smart Girl’s Guide to Saving Time

If there’s one saying that could be the mantra for Budget Smart Girls, it’s ‘time is money’. How often do you waste time looking for lost items and/or backtracking when you run errands? Do you ever think about all the time you waste…valuable time that you could be spending on leisure pursuits or better yet, making money? Here are some tricks I’ve found to shave off a few minutes or even hours during the day.

Make a List
For me, making a ‘must do’ and a ‘try to do’ list, every day is essential to keeping everything in my life running smoothly. Here are a couple of Web sites that have helped keep me on track. www.tadalist.com. And if you have trouble remembering certain dates, try www.memotome.com. You can sign up for an account at both sites, and best of all, it’s free.

Speeding Cleaning
While lots of people say we shouldn’t be overly obsessed with the odd dust bunny or two, I hate letting things get to a point where cleaning the house takes double the time. Keeping up with the chores each day ensures things don’t get out of control. I used to devote my Saturday mornings to cleaning the house, but then opted to spread my chores over the course of a whole week. I end up getting less frustrated with the whole process and I get more done.

Errands
Here’s one of my biggest time wasters, running errands. One day it’s getting the printer cartridge refilled, one day it’s picking up supplies at the pet store, another a trip to the library. I finally decided that the best thing to do was to sit down, make a list of everything I had to do that week and see if any errands could be grouped together. And it saves on gas too!

Oh Those Lines
One thing that gets me really frustrated is the time I waste in line at my local post office. It seems no matter what time I go there, the line is out the door. Here are some strategies you can use. When I do finally muster up enough courage to get in line, I buy stamps in rolls of 100 and make sure I have enough stamps of other denominations to keep me going for at least another month or six weeks. You can calculate postage on line or even buy stamps from this site. www.usps.com.

A Little Help From My Friends
Sometimes we Budget Smart Girls need a little help getting through the day. Hiring outside help to do certain chores can make sense, even for the budget minded. If you’re forced to take time off from work or your business, and hence losing money to get something done, check out the cost of hiring someone else. Compare your loss of income versus getting outside help and see what figure is more budget friendly.

Use the Internet
If I’m thinking about buying something, instead of going to various stores to compare models and prices, I do a search online before I head out the door. It not only speeds things up by narrowing down what I’m actually going to buy, but also gives me an idea of what the average price is, and who’s got the best deal.

Timing’s Everything
I’ve made a note of when all the major stores in my neighborhood open for business. This way I can plan my trip without having to backtrack or wait for a store to open.

Be An Early Bird
It’s a fact of life that you very seldom get to see a doctor or a dentist at the exact time of your appointment. It could be the patient before you didn’t show up on time, or a procedure doesn’t go as planned, and the bottom line is you, the next patient has to wait an extra 15-30 minutes. Even if I have to wait an extra week for an appointment, I try and get the first appointment of the day.

Carry Something with You
Another inevitable thing about life is there are times when you just have to wait in line. I always carry something in my bag to do while I’m waiting. It might be a notebook so I can scribble down ideas for upcoming articles and books. It might be a novel to read, or time spent balancing my checkbook. I feel less frustrated because I’m not thinking about the time I’m wasting and something actually gets done.