Hot Tip

Last year Luke & decided to budget for our Christmas presents a lot earlier than we usually do, which took a lot of pressure off the closer it got to Christmas. In the past we have always left it until the end of November to start thinking about presents, and two weeks before Christmas we actually go to the stores and get the presents we aren't 100% happy with because of our lack of planning. So mid last year we started putting $20 each a week into an envelope that would be our 'present fund', for Christmas and birthday presents. And it was a raging success! By cutting down on impulse purchasing, and buying things I just don't need on a weekly basis, I was able to contribute that money to our present fund each week instead. That is $1040 a year (or $520 if you budget $10 a week)! And if you have left over after Christmas it sure wouldn't go astray with the end of year sales you could treat yourself to!

Hot Tip

Every now and then during a conversation, or in a situation where something unfamiliar arises, you pick up tid bits of advice that are either entertaining, informative or helpful. I personally love when the person you're talking to throws in a little hot tip that they have picked up along the way, whether it is relative to the conversation or not I have picked up some pretty interesting tips here and there. Not all of these tips however are as applicable  as they are interesting, but should I ever need to get the smell of seafood out of my hands I'll know to rub lemon all over them! I thought that every now and then when I come across something really neat & helpful that I would share it with you!

A helpful tip I picked up from a book I read recently, The Happiness Project, was to take ten minutes at the end of each day to tidy up. I implemented this helpful hint the first evening after reading it & awoke the following morning feeling pleased with myself that I had done so. I didn't start my day off cleaning up from the one before and it certainly made the morning run smoother. While it seems like such a basic concept and thing to do, Luke & I can be a little too relaxed at times, especially when Romy is teething - anything goes! So committing to making the time to tidy up and get things organised for the following day has been one of my favourite helpful hot tips I've picked up in a while.