• Shop
  • Free Newsletter
  • Videos
    • Our Favorite Christian Resources – Bible Translations, Christian Speakers And More!
    • Show Notes
    • Amazon Recommended Items
  • Recipes
    • Beverages
    • Breads
      • Quick Breads
      • Yeast Breads
    • Desserts
      • Cakes
      • Candies
      • Cookies
      • Pies
    • Meats And Main Dishes
    • Side Dishes
      • Dips
      • Pasta And Rice
      • Salads and Dressings
      • Sauces
      • Soups
      • Vegetables
    • Gluten Free
    • Cooking Tips
    • Miscellaneous Recipes
      • Breakfast
      • Homemade Cleaners
      • Kids Recipes
      • Mixes and Gifts In A Jar
    • Quick and Easy Recipes
  • Saving Money
    • Bath and Beauty
    • Organizing/Cleaning
      • Cleaning
      • Decorating
      • Laundry
      • Organizing
    • Managing Money
      • Budgeting
      • Getting Out Of Debt
      • Kids And Money
      • Saving Money Everyday
    • Gardening
    • Holidays
      • 4th of July
      • Christmas
      • Easter
      • Halloween
      • Thanksgiving
      • Valentine’s Day
    • Miscellaneous
      • CFS/FM
      • Moving
      • Staying Home
  • Free Bible
  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Search

Mobile Menu

  • Menu
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Before Header

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube

Living On A Dime To Grow Rich

How To Save Money, Get Out Of Debt And Grow Rich

Header Right

Search This Site
  • Shop
  • Free Newsletter
  • Videos
    • Our Favorite Christian Resources – Bible Translations, Christian Speakers And More!
    • Show Notes
    • Amazon Recommended Items
  • Recipes
    • Beverages
    • Breads
      • Quick Breads
      • Yeast Breads
    • Desserts
      • Cakes
      • Candies
      • Cookies
      • Pies
    • Meats And Main Dishes
    • Side Dishes
      • Dips
      • Pasta And Rice
      • Salads and Dressings
      • Sauces
      • Soups
      • Vegetables
    • Gluten Free
    • Cooking Tips
    • Miscellaneous Recipes
      • Breakfast
      • Homemade Cleaners
      • Kids Recipes
      • Mixes and Gifts In A Jar
    • Quick and Easy Recipes
  • Saving Money
    • Bath and Beauty
    • Organizing/Cleaning
      • Cleaning
      • Decorating
      • Laundry
      • Organizing
    • Managing Money
      • Budgeting
      • Getting Out Of Debt
      • Kids And Money
      • Saving Money Everyday
    • Gardening
    • Holidays
      • 4th of July
      • Christmas
      • Easter
      • Halloween
      • Thanksgiving
      • Valentine’s Day
    • Miscellaneous
      • CFS/FM
      • Moving
      • Staying Home
  • Free Bible
  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Search

Check Out Our Dining On A Dime Cookbooks!

Check Out Our Dining On A Dime Cookbooks!

Get 25% Off Now! (No coupon required.)
Get Them Here!

Get Organized and Get Out Of Debt – Where Do I Begin?

December 17, 2020 //  by Jill//  19 Comments

How To Begin To Get Organized and Get Out Of Debt
Print Friendly, PDF & Email

How To Begin To Get Organized and Get Out Of Debt

It’s almost New Years Day and many of us are already starting to think about making resolutions. Most resolutions sound something like: “I’m going to eat healthy and lose weight“, “I’m going to get out of debt” or “I’m going to get organized.”

 
Get Organized and Get Out Of Debt – Where Do I Begin?

 

These are great things to WANT to do but I’m afraid that about 90% of us won’t keep these resolutions. Here are a couple of things to think about that will hopefully give you greater success in keeping your resolutions.

I can’t, in this one sitting, give you all the details about how to handle every situation but I can give you some things to think about that will help you in all of these areas. Then for more details check out LivingOnADime.com, or our e-books to help you in each specific area and to give you practical ways on how to accomplish what you want to do.

It helps to understand why we do the things we do. Most of us want to lose weight and eat healthy on New Year’s Day because we have just spent the past month gorging ourselves so that we now feel bloated and sick and can’t fit into our clothes anymore. Like a pendulum that swings from one extreme to another, we think that the answer is to eat carrot sticks for the rest of our lives. That usually lasts about 3 days and then we give up.

The same applies to the idea of getting out of debt. Most of us have just spent the past few weeks spending more money than we had planned and now we feel guilty. We’re determined that we are not going to spend a penny on anything. Then we will panic every time we have to buy something like food or gas because the price is so high.

Then there is the thought of getting organized. Right now you are probably surrounded by a Christmas tree and decorations that are starting to accumulate a thin layer of dust, which is giving a dingy look to everything. The once bright and cheery look of the Christmas lights have dulled. The candles on the mantle have burned down to nubs and look more like they belong in a haunted house or in a horror movie.

There is leftover wrapping paper strewn here and there. Piles of Christmas dinner platters and dishes sit on every counter. You close your eyes every time you open the fridge so you don’t have to look at the piles of leftovers inside it. Then there are all the mounds of new toys, clothes and gifts. How do you stuff them into the already full closet? No wonder you have the urge to clean and get organized. You wonder, “Where do I even start?” Getting organized is a way to give yourself a fresh start.

As I’ve said before, too much of even a good thing can make us sick and frustrated.

Here’s my point: You can get organized and do everything you resolve to do, but you need to pace yourself. It’s like running a long distance marathon. You don’t just shoot out of the starting line going as fast and hard as you can. You will never make the distance that way, so you pace yourself. In the same way, pace yourself in everything and do a small amount at a time, breaking things into manageable pieces.

Have a plan, whether it is writing menus for good balanced meals for each week, making a budget or, even more important, being bold enough to write down and acknowledge what your debts are.  Make a plan. Plan where to cut your spending or to start to get organized, try making a list of 1-2 areas of your home you are going to organize each day.

Next prepare. When you are preparing for a race, you would ask yourself, “Do I have the right shoes”, “Are there water stations?”, “Have I slowly worked my muscles into shape?”, “Am I prepared for some pain?” and “When it hits, will I not be afraid of it but keep going in spite of the discomfort?”  In the same way, you may have to spend some time preparing things like planning good meals, balancing your checkbook or making sure you have cleaning supplies and boxes for when you start to get organized.

Pace Yourself
Plan
Prepare

One thing you must remember – discouragement and a sense of being overwhelmed will hit most of us once we start. Pacing will help but it is especially important to have a plan and be prepared when discouragement sets in so you can overcome it and keep going. Here are some things to think about when you start feeling discouraged:

Have you ever looked up the definition of resolution? I did. It means to have firm determination, to be bold and steady and to reduce something to a simpler form. You need to be steady and pace yourself. Little by little and piece by piece, reduce your mess to something simpler and more manageable. You can’t accomplish any of it in a week or two. You took a long time to make the mess and you may have to take just as long to clean it up but like the tortoise in the tortoise and the hare, keep a slow but steady pace and you will win the race and succeed.

Lastly, get up and do it. Stop blaming everyone and making excuses. You won’t even get out of the starting gate if you spend all your time standing there telling everyone why you can’t run. Even if you have a real excuse for not running then at least start taking baby steps and walk. You’ll at least be getting somewhere but if you just stand bemoaning your lot in life and how miserable the world is in these hard economic times, you will get nowhere.

You may fall (or eat that piece of chocolate cake, spend more than you should have or leave dirty dishes in the sink one day) but pick yourself up, brush yourself off and keep going. The only thing that will keep you from getting there is if you stop (quit and give up), so keep at it.

We will try to do the same and keep plugging along with ideas on how to accomplish all of the above. Now I must quit because I have a messy room that I really need to deal with today! : ) : )

       -Jill

For more help with organizing, cleaning and laundry, take a look at our How To Organize And Clean Your Home e-books.

 

Category: Cleaning, Featured, Holidays, Saving MoneyTag: Add new tag, debt free living, frugal cooking, Frugal Living, homemaking ideas, homemaking tips, money saving tips, simple living, ways to save money

Related Posts

You may be interested in these posts from the same category.

8 Ways To Save Money On Your Heating Bill

8 Ways To Save Money On Your Heating Bill

20 Cooking Ideas To Save Time And Money!

20 Cooking Ideas To Save Time And Money!

Diabetic Diet Menus And Meal Ideas

Diabetic Diet Menus And Meal Ideas

Feed Family Of 4 For $45 Per Week!

Feed A Family Of 4 For $45 Per Week! Cheap Easy Meals Menu Plans

This easy cheeseburger soup recipe is a hearty soup and a classic American favorite that your family is sure to love! Perfect for families with picky eaters and hearty appetites, your family will not go away hungry!

Cheeseburger Soup Recipe

De-cluttering and Organizing Kids’ Toys

De-Cluttering And Organizing Kids’ Toys

Here are some cheap meal ideas and recipes you can use to save money on groceries! If you want to cut your food bill, using just a few of these ideas and recipes can cut your food bill a lot!

Cheap Meal Ideas And Recipes – How We Ate For $7 A Week

Easy Freezer Meals Made Simpler! 3 Tips And Freezer Meal Recipes

Easy Freezer Meals Made Simpler! 3 Tips And Freezer Meal Recipes

How To Clean A Burnt Pot Or Pan

How To Clean A Burnt Pot Or Pan

This easy honey garlic chicken recipe is a super yummy and easy to make Chinese chicken dinner recipe you can make in 10-15 minutes!

Honey Garlic Chicken Recipe – Easy Chicken Recipes For Dinner!

10 Organizing Secrets – Easy Organizing Ideas

10 Organizing Secrets – Easy Organizing Ideas

10 Ways To Organize A Small Bathroom

How To Organize A Small Bathroom

Previous Post: «Try these 22 easy 2 ingredient Christmas candy recipes that make it easy for you to make rich and tasty Christmas candies with just a few minutes preparation! Why buy expensive store bought specialty Christmas candies when you can make these quick and easy Christmas candy recipes at home? Everyone raves about how wonderful they taste and these candies are perfect for parties and family get-togethers! 2 Ingredient Christmas Candy Recipes
Next Post: Homemade Chicken And Turkey Soup Recipes Homemade Chicken And Turkey Soup Recipes»

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Mary Jane

    December 31, 2013 at 2:36 pm

    Thank you for describing what most people’s homes and outlooks appear to be, at this time of year. I thought I was the only one overwhelmed with the remnants of Christmas past. Your advice is much appreciated. I have started doing a couple of things between Christmas and the New Year, that are becoming a bit of a tradition for me, and they concern organizing and starting fresh. Just some suggestions, and not another obligation for anyone else who would like to try them. On a quieter day, I take down the calendar for the year past, and go through it to mark expected paydays, birthdays, anniversaries, and other regular events (scheduled check-ups, holidays, etc.), on a new calendar, for the year. The old calendar makes a good template. It also is interesting to see what we did do throughout the last year. Because we still keep much of our finances on paper, I also go through our filing cabinet and clean out the folders of old receipts. We keep all important papers (such as past paid taxes, and paid off loans) indefinitely, and keep only the last twelve months worth of receipts for paid utilities, etc. The job can seem overwhelming if it has been a few years since you have done this, but goes very quickly if you do it every year. So while the Christmas clutter threatens to engulf me the last week of December, these two tasks refresh and prepare me for the New Year and I feel like I am ahead of the game, come Jan. 1st.

    Reply
  2. Maria Martinez

    December 22, 2020 at 2:23 pm

    Thank you for opening your lives to us. I enjoyed you and your ideas and your relationship. It was very gutsy to talk about tithing, I do too. I have trouble with buying, I realized it was a way to distract myself. Then I started to buy in thrift shops only to fill up the house with recycled stuff. Now I make a list of “free stuff” to do for distraction.I plan to download your books to read during this holiday time.
    Keep giving us ideas.
    Maria Martinez

    Reply
    • Jill

      December 23, 2020 at 8:16 pm

      Thank you for your kind comment Maria. We love hearing about the great job people are doing with changing things in their lives. Keep up the good work.

      Reply
« Older Comments

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

22 Dinners In 20 Minutes!

22 Dinners In 20 Minutes!

Free e-cookbook

(No strings attached.)

We respect your email privacy | Powered by AWeber Email Marketing

Recent Posts

8 Ways To Save Money On Your Heating Bill8 Ways To Save Money On Your Heating Bill
20 Cooking Ideas To Save Time And Money!20 Cooking Ideas To Save Time And Money!
Quick And Easy Beef Stew Recipe - Mom's Crockpot Beef StewQuick And Easy Beef Stew Recipe – Mom’s Crockpot Beef Stew
Diabetic Diet Menus And Meal IdeasDiabetic Diet Menus And Meal Ideas
Feed Family Of 4 For $45 Per Week!Feed A Family Of 4 For $45 Per Week! Cheap Easy Meals Menu Plans
This easy cheeseburger soup recipe is a hearty soup and a classic American favorite that your family is sure to love! Perfect for families with picky eaters and hearty appetites, your family will not go away hungry!Cheeseburger Soup Recipe
  • Shop
  • Free Newsletter
  • Videos
  • Recipes
  • Saving Money
  • Free Bible
  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Search

Site Footer

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube

Copyright © 2021 Kellam Media And Publishing, Inc. dba Living On A Dime · Privacy Policy · Disclosure Policy · Terms Of Service · Refund Policy · Log in