May 2019 Archives - Personal Finance (MB)

Do You Do Easy Or Difficult Tasks First?

May 17, 2019May 28, 2019 by Money Beagle

I don’t know about you, but I sometimes struggle to get motivated. There are certain days when getting going just doesn’t seem to be in the cards. For someone like me, this can be a big problem. I tend to be a lot more productive in the morning than during any other part of the day. I started looking at ways I could get more motivated on days when my energy is low. One of the things I thought of was how to prioritize tasks. Specifically, does it help to do easy or difficult tasks first?

Do you prioritize your easy or difficult tasks first?

Making My List Of Things To Do

One of the first things I do at work any day of the week is create a checklist of things to do. Never do I get everything done. But that’s OK. There are a certain number of things that are standing items. Those stay on the list and include things that I want to do every day. These include:

Cleaning out my e-mail.
Organizing my desk.
Tracking my project time sheets.

Then, I have a list of things that I need to do specific to that day. Finally, there are certain things that I do once per week.

The question is where to start. Do I start with the easy or difficult tasks first?

Our Experience Selling A Used Camper

May 9, 2019May 20, 2019 by Money Beagle

Anyone who reads this blog regularly knows that we love to camp. We spend about 25 nights per year camping. We’ve only done Michigan state campgrounds. Luckily they are pretty great places to camp. Well, after seven seasons of camping in our old camper, we decided to upgrade! This all actually took place last year, but I wanted to wait to tell the stories. Why? Well, it seemed more exciting to talk about selling our used camper and buying a new one at the start of a new season rather than at the end of an old one.

I’ll talk about our new camper in an upcoming post. For now, here’s the highs and lows that came with selling our camper.

Deciding To Sell

We bought our previous camper at the end of 2011. We didn’t use it until 2012. The first year definitely had some learning curves. But we learned a lot and fell in love with camping. We kept it for seven years and had some great times. However, we started talking seriously last year about upgrading. Why?

Prevent Costs By Replacing Items Before They Fail

May 9, 2019May 13, 2019 by Money Beagle

It is nearing time for us to replace a couple of critical items. They both live in our basement and they both tie with water. Those aren’t the only things they have in common. Both items currently work well. But, both of them are on my list to get replaced. We plan on replacing both our hot water tank and sump pump. Why are we replacing them if they are working? Simple. We want to get these done before they fail.

Water Heater

Our water heater is original to the house. The house was built in 1999, so it’s now 20 years old. That is past the considered expected age of a water heater.

2019 Goals – April Check In

May 9, 2019May 9, 2019 by Money Beagle

We are a third of the way through the year. Actually, a little more than that. I’ve been tracking my goals all year. I wanted to provide an update for my 2019 goals in April.

As a reminder, I track my goals numerically.

I did make a change to a goal structure this month after realizing I had an error. While correcting it, I decided to simplify things as well.

April Around Our Household

Vacation! Our month started off on a high note, as the first week saw us down in Florida. Check out my post about our wonderful trip. We had lots of familiar adventures, and some new experiences as well.
Rain. It seems like it’s been raining all the time. We have had a few nice days here and there. It seems like each nice stretch lasts for a day or two. Then we get rain by a few cold days. Even though we’re in May, we’re still in that stretch.

7 Steps To Fix Your Overspending Problem

May 1, 2019May 6, 2019 by Money Beagle

If you’ve found yourself with an overspending problem, you’re not alone. Many Americans find that they are spending more than they bring in. This might be a long-term or short-term problem. Either way it really doesn’t make a difference. The fact is that you must address your overspending. Thankfully, it can be done. Here are seven tips to get started.

overspending frustrated — Don’t let overspending problems get the best of you.

Calculate Your Overspending Amount

You will quickly be able to tell that you have an overspending problem. If the money in your account declines month over month, you’re in the red zone.