50 Things I Want To Do When the Lockdown Ends

It's another day in lockdown land.  We didn't do much today but while I am sitting here not doing much, I am looking forward to the end of this lockdown at some future date.  As soon as things get back to normal, I want to...

1. Get my license renewed (our DMV is closed until further notice so our expired licenses are still good for now).
2. Renew my car registration (ditto)
3. Play bingo.
4. Go to the Goodwill.
5. Go on a dinner cruise (which we have been putting off for ages).
6. Get my concealed carry license (ditto)
7. Have dim sum at Ping Pang Pong (my favorite dim sum place).
8. Get a haircut!
9. Get a mani/pedi (my feet are soooo rough!).
10. Go to the Neon Museum.
11. Go to the Clark County History Museum (my favorite in the Vegas area).
12. Go to the drive in movie (we still have one of these in Vegas).
13. Do the Summerlin walk (with my walking club)
14. Do the downtown Vegas walk (ditto)
15. Do the North Strip walk (ditto)
16. Do the South Strip walk (ditto)
17. Do the UNLV walk (ditto)
18. Do the Sunset Park walk (ditto)
19. Do the Seven Hills walk (ditto)
20. Do the Green Valley Ranch walk (ditto)
21. Do the Boulder City walk (ditto)
22. Do the Lake Mead walk (ditto)
23. Go to the Valley of Fire State Park.
24. Go to the Big Bend State Park.
25. Take a trip around Nevada to visit all of the other state parks for the Passport Challenge.
26. Have an Indian buffet for lunch (my favorite was shut down by the health department so I need a new place).
27. Throw a dinner party for the cousins we haven't been able to see in ages.
28. Go to the Grand Canyon (I got my National Parks stamp book a week before everything shut down and I want to get some stamps!).
29. Go to Zion National Park (ditto)
30. Go to Death Valley National Park (ditto)
31. Go to Joshua Tree National Park (ditto)
32. Go to Great Basin National Park (ditto)
33. Do a stay-cation in downtown Fremont.
34. Go to a casino buffet (mainly to see how things have changed; I don't think buffets will be the same after this).
35. Go to Red Rock Canyon.
36. Go to Springs Preserve and the Nevada State Museum.
37. Go to the Ethel M Chocolate Factory.
38. Go to the museum and take a ride at the Nevada State Railroad Museum.
39. Go to a Cirque du Soleil show.
40. Go shooting at the Clark County Shooting Complex.
41. Go to a LV Aviators baseball game.
42. Go to the CSN Planetarium.
43. Enjoy a big stack of pancakes at the Blueberry Hill Diner.
44. Have lunch at the Roadkill Grill.
45. Go to Mt Charleston.
46. Play pinball at the Pinball Hall of Fame.
47. Play mini golf at KISS Mini Golf.
48. Go bowling with hubby.
49. Go to the Peppermill Classic Diner.
50. Go to the Kipling Outlet (my favorite bag place). 

10 Things I am Doing This Weekend

In no particular order...

1. The first order of business this morning was to do a 12k walk along the north Las Vegas Strip (see photo above) with my walking group.  The weather was perfect!
2. I will be filing our taxes this weekend since I've finally received all of our W2s and 1099s.  I'm using Taxslayer because it is cheaper ($17) than the H & R Block tax filing service that I was using before ($39).
3. I got an email from my boss at the World Series of Poker telling us the job posting for the gig that I do each summer will be online this weekend so I will be applying as soon as the application is up.
4. We will, of course, be watching the Super Bowl.  We aren't big football fans--I'm more of a fan of people not enduring traumatic brain injuries for the entertainment of the masses--but hubby likes to watch the Super Bowl each year so that will be the activity of the day tomorrow.
5. My birthday is coming up in a couple of months so I will go through this list and sign up for some freebies we might use.
6. I'm going to check into this interesting opportunity to earn some side money--narrating audio books.
7. We bought some more items for our balikbayan box which we will send to family in the Philippines so hubby will finish packing and taping up the box then we can send it this week.  We used to haul these super heavy boxes to the store that ships these boxes but then we found out they will pick it up for $5 so we opt to spend a little extra to avoid the hassle of schlepping the box to the store.
8. I saw a post about Altspace VR which looks interesting so I will check it out if I have time this weekend.  It's supposed to be some sort of virtual reality space where you can take online classes, do online gaming, and otherwise use virtual reality to do stuff with other people.  Fascinating!
9. While we are watching football I will be sorting through our emergency/disaster supplies and gear.  First, I like to multi task, and second, when hubby cleaned out his van before he sold it, we realized he hadn't looked at the emergency supplies in the van for nearly a decade!  Yikes!
10. Then there is the usual stuff like house cleaning, laundry, washing the bedding, cleaning out the pantry and fridge, etc...

Have a great weekend!

100 Things to Do Before the End of the Year

If you have a lot of down time before the end of the year and want to get everything in order so you can start the new year (new decade too!) with a clean slate, consider doing these tasks...

1. Put away Christmas stuff (recycle the tree, take down lights, etc) before the new year.
2. Deep clean your house from top to bottom (wash bedding, clean carpets, dust everything, etc).
3. Make a list of all home improvement tasks that need to be done in the new year.
4. If you didn't change the batteries in your smoke detector in the fall, do this now.  Also check to make sure your fire extinguishers are still fully charged.
5. Change the furnace filters (this helps extend the life of your furnace).
6. If your smoke/CO detectors are more than seven years old, consider replacing them with new ones.
7. Determine if you should contact your local utility company to schedule an energy audit.  These tests are best done in the winter when your home may be actively losing heat due to air leaks and lack of insulation.
8. Clean out your closet and get rid of all clothes that you don't love and which don't fit you (yes, even those pants you are still trying to get back into...years later).
9. Clean out your linen closet and replace any linen (towels, sheets) that are frayed, stained, etc).
10. Clean out your medicine cabinet and get ride of old/expired meds, medications you no longer need, old make up, etc.
11. Clean out the pantry and get rid of food that is expired/you no longer want/don't fit with your healthy eating resolution.
12. Clean out the refrigerator/freezer and do the same.  Restock with healthy, nutritious food.
13. Clean out your spice and herb rack and toss/replace spices and herbs you have had for years.
14. Clean out the garage and get rid of the junk that has accumulated there.
15. Clean out all of the cupboards and drawers in your kitchen; get rid of duplicate items or things you never use.
16. Donate any things you don't need to a non-profit and get a receipt for your taxes.
17. Clean up your yard (if it isn't buried under feet of snow!).
18. Get a calendar for 2020 (paper or digital) and write down birth dates, anniversaries, holidays, and other important info.
19. Check your important documents and see if any of them will expire in the coming year (passport, driver's license, credit cards, library card, etc).  Put a reminder on your calendar to renew any of these that will expire.
20. Clean out your paper files and get rid of any papers you no longer need (info here).
21. Clean out your digital files and get rid of any files you no longer need; be sure to back up all of your digital files (documents, photos, videos, etc) on a thumb drive or external hard drive and put this back up in a safe place.
22. Review your Will, Living Will, Medical and Legal Power of Attorney forms, etc. and schedule an appointment with your attorney if you need to make any changes to these.
23. Get your tax information ready for your tax preparer and make an appointment with them in February or March (info here).
24. Check out this list, or ask your financial adviser, about last minutes things you can do by the end of the year to positively impact your taxes.
25. Make appointments with your doctor, dentist, vision clinic, etc. for the new year.
26. Make sure you (and your family's) vaccinations are up to date.
27. Make medical/dental appointments for your kids, pets, and anyone else you are responsible for.
28. Renew your prescriptions, if possible, before the end of the year; use up any HSA funds if possible.
29. Update your list of prescriptions/medical history/list of surgeries/allergies/etc.  Take this list to review with your doctor each time you see them.
30. Make a budget for 2020 and vow to stick to it (go cash-only if needed).
31. Consider setting an auto-withdraw from your paycheck that goes directly into savings.
32. Review all of your bills and determine if there are any that can be stopped (like an unused gym membership) or reduced (like your cell phone bill).
33. Put a list of your debts up in a place where you will see the paper everyday (like your bathroom mirror) then begin a "debt snowball" to get rid of them.
34. Calculate your net worth; endeavor to increase this number by the end of the year.
35. If you don't intend to use credit in the following year, consider freezing your credit for added safety.
36. Work with your investment adviser to rebalance your investment portfolio.
37. Review all of your insurance coverages to ensure they still meet your needs.
38. If you don't have an emergency fund, put aside $1000 as quickly as possible for this purpose (take a side job, have a garage sale, use money from your tax return, etc).  If you already have a small emergency fund, work on making this bigger (to cover at least six to nine months worth of expenses).
39. Pre-pay any annual bills that you can (property tax, HOA, car insurance, etc).
40. Plan for your retirement (no matter how young you are or how much money you don't have at this point in your life).
41. Choose one physical activity to do daily/weekly next year and sign up (walking club, yoga class, etc).
42. Choose one hobby activity to do next year and sign up (genealogy club, community theater, etc.).
43. Choose one skills you want to learn next year (knit, play piano, code, etc) and figure out how you will learn this (online, a local college class, etc).
44. Determine what your "theme" for the year will be (minimalism, zero waste, positivity, etc).
45. Consider how you will give back to your community in the new year (volunteer at a homeless shelter, pick up trash on your daily walk, using Charity Miles, volunteering at your kid's school, etc).
46. Update your resume and consider ways to increase your income in the new year.
47. Use the video camera on your phone to make a video inventory of all of your possessions/rooms of your home to use for insurance purposes if needed (be sure to save this video on your backup hard drive).
48. Make a "When I Die" file or list.
49. Plan a weekly "date night" or weekly family activity and add these activities to your calendar.
50. Clean your vehicle inside and outside.
51. Review all of the items in your vehicle's emergency kit and make sure things still work (like batteries in flashlights) or aren't expired (like food and water).
52. Make an appointment with your car mechanic if you need maintenance done (like an oil change, 50k mile service, tires rotated, etc).
53. Start planning any vacations you will take in the coming year.
54. Update and clean up your cell phone (update software, add or delete apps, transfer photos and videos to your computer, etc.).  Be sure you have a list of your medications/health history information on your phone to use in an emergency.
55. Update your phone's lock screen to include: emergency contact name/number, allergies, pertinent health info, etc.
56. Update and clean up your tablet (update software, add or delete apps, transfer photos and videos to your computer, etc.).
57. Update and clean up your laptop/desktop (update software, add or delete programs, organize files, defrag the hard drive, etc).
58. Clean up your email (try for inbox zero).
59. Update your blogs/websites/social media accounts; make a social media plan for 2020.
60. Change all of your passwords (or use a password manager service).
61. Consider getting a VPN service if you often access the internet outside of your home.
62. Pull your free credit reports and correct any wrong information on them.
63. Plan you spring and summer gardens and order seeds.
64. Review and update (or make) each family member an emergency evacuation bag.
65. Review your EDC (everyday carry) bag (purse, briefcase, daypack, messenger bag) and update/add/remove contents as needed.
66. Scan/digitize all important papers (wills, birth certificates, marriage/adoption/deeds/etc) and photos.
67. Make a small "home office are" area in your home.  Use this place to keep all mail, bills, stamps, spare birthday/blank/thank you cards, gift cards for last minute gifts, etc.
68. Review your home security plan and make improvements.
69. Create a family emergency plan.
70. Sign up for a Community Emergency Response Team class in your community.
71. Hit up after-Christmas sales to replace linens, clothing, and other items you need for your home.  Also use the after-Christmas sales to buy a couple of small treats for yourself (bath bombs, nice journal, warm booties or socks, etc).
72. Set your new year's resolutions (make them simple, measurable, and not too many).
73. Set one huge (specific) challenge for yourself for the coming year.
74. Try batch cooking.  This way you can cook an entire's month's worth of breakfasts/lunches/dinners at once and save a lot of time throughout the month.
75. Fix a problem you have been putting off (relationship problem, problem at work or school, etc).
76. Check your financial accounts and see if there are ways to improve these (moving a bank account that charges a monthly fee to a free credit union account, moving high interest credit card balances to lower interest cards, etc).
77. Sign up for all of the free things you can get for your birthday.
78. Repair small things in your home that need it (hem pants, fix the broken light switch, fix the squeaky stair, etc).
79. Make a list of self improvement books you will read this year (one for each month).
80. Consider starting a daily gratitude journal.
81. Create a morning routine that you will do every day to start your day off on the right foot.
82. Keep a "to do" and "to buy" list which you update at least weekly.
83. Clean up and reorganize your office/desk at work/work files to make your time at work more productive.
84. Try to break one bad habit at a time.  Instead of quitting smoking, drinking, coffee, and sugar all at the same time, pick one bad habit and go all out to quit--up to and including joining AA if you can't stop drinking on your own, for example.
85. Reward yourself for setting good habits.  For example, if you like to watch TV but need to exercise, put the treadmill or exercise bike in front of the TV.  If you want to cut down on social media, take the apps off your phone and only access your social media accounts when you are home in the evening; replace these apps with useful apps like Duolingo, Calm, etc. 
86. If you have decided to start taking your lunch to school/work in order to save money and eat healthier, get the tools you need to make this work including: an insulated lunch bag, insulated soup container, sandwich container, plastic container for fruit, zip lock bags, spork, etc.
87. Consider doing the weekly money challenge in the new year; this would be a great way to save up and pay cash for next year's Christmas gifts!
88. Consider starting a "gift box" in your home.  When you find nice gifts on sale for super cheap, pick them up and keep them in your gift box until you need them for a birthday or special occasion.  Also stock up on gift wrap, ribbons, and tape at the local dollar store.
89. Instead of setting a year-long "resolution", consider doing shorter, more intensive monthly challenges like these.
90. Start the new year looking beautiful, with a mani, pedi, haircut, hair color, facial, new make up, etc.  Many of these things you can do on your own instead of going to an expensive salon.
91. Find an "accountability partner" to work with on your new year's resolutions like a neighbor who you can walk with each morning or a friend who is also struggling to get out of debt that you can check in and share ideas with regularly.
92. Put together a system to save money on food in the new year.  Use store apps, clip and organize coupons, check deal sites, buy in bulk...aim to reduce your grocery bill by at least 25% over this year.
93. Look at ways to reduce stress in your life.  Reduce the amount of news you watch, be organized so you aren't running around like a maniac in the morning, take a deep breath and count to ten before you react to a stressful situation, cut out Facebook if you find it more stressful than useful, etc.
94. Sign up for things that will help you in the new year and in the future including a library card if you don't already have one, apply for a passport if you plan to travel in the future, apply for tax abatements/exemptions offered by your city/county, etc.
95. If your kids came home for the holidays (like driving a long way to visit or returning from college for a few weeks), send them home with gift cards for gas/Starbucks/Subway/etc. which will save them money and provide them treats on their way back.
96. If you bought lots of extra school supplies back when they were on sale last summer, set your kids up with all new schools supplies when they head back to school after the holidays.
97. Take some time during the busy holidays to spend some time by yourself.  Go to a quiet coffee shop and people watch, go to a movie by yourself, get a massage, etc.
98. Make some new family traditions by planning to celebrate holidays both usual and unusual in the coming year (add these to your calendar of course). 
99. If you need to be less sedentary in the new year, consider getting a fitness tracker which not only records your fitness activity but reminds you to get up and move if you have been sitting too long.
100. Do something unique for New Year's Eve.  Go on a night hike with the local hiking club, offer to babysit your friend's or relative's kids while they go out and party, throw a potluck for friends instead of going out, etc.

10 Random Things for This Week

In no particular order...

1. Turn your clocks forward Sunday morning (if you are in most of the US, it's the beginning of daylight savings time).
2. You have about five and a half weeks until taxes are due (again, in the US).  I know a couple of people who always wait until April 13 to start on their taxes and it is a big panic for them...every. single. year.  If you have already filed you can check your refund status here.
3. Allergy season is starting early this year!  Hubby and I are both wheezy and coughy for no apparent reason then I checked an allergy alert website and all of the allergens in our area are "high" already.  eeekkkkk
4. There is a lot of head shaving going on in Las Vegas this month.  I don't know much about St Baldrick's (it's a cancer fundraiser organization) and I'm not sure if it corresponds somehow with St Patrick's Day, but there have been several head shaving fundraisers around the city this month so far.  Interesting...
5. A cautionary tale about going into debt to become a social media star.
6. And a cautionary tale about HOAs.  We live in an HOA as does most of Las Vegas, something I had barely heard of when we lived in Seattle.  Apparently a big lawsuit can be a huge financial disaster for people living in an HOA which I hadn't event considered.  Double eeekkk.
7. In Uber news: Uber and Lyft drivers often make below minimum wage (bummer), Uber trucks are now driving themselves across Arizona (yikes!), and Uber consistently loses money...to the tune of billions of dollars (how is that possible?).
8. There is snow everywhere this week (examples here, here, and here).  I am immensely happy that is it 65 degrees and sunny here in Las Vegas this week.
9. In financial news, 42% of Americans are in danger of retiring broke. Uh oh.
10. And something to make you say "OMG"!

Today's To Do List

Well we stayed home yesterday and had exactly zero snowfall.  Apparently there was some snow on our local mountains but nothing down in the valley.  Bummer.  That is something I would have liked to have seen since it is such a rarity in Las Vegas.  Anyway, we have a lot to do today which includes:

• I need a Baskin Robbins Blast.  I need some caffeine!  It's been six days!
• I have a coupon for a $7.99 haircut and shampoo which I will use today.  I do the coloring part at home.
• We've been eating "boring food" lately according to hubby so to shake things up I will run by Chinatown and get him a live crab for dinner (we cook it, obviously).  They are only $2.99 per pound (for rock crab which he likes, not Dungeness which are expensive these days) which is a very reasonable price.
• I NEED to get my Christmas shopping done.  Yesterday I received a package from my friend in Japan full of beautifully wrapped Christmas presents (and she has two kids, a very busy household, lots of freelance work, yada yada.  I'm SO lazy...I need to get moving on this!).
• We need to get gas in the car.  We are still using the gas from last month but it is getting low.  Those no spend/no leave the house days really made our gas last a long time!
• I've decided that instead of doing the 50 mile walk I was planning on doing, I will do the Great Saunter (it's a 32 mile walk and held on the same day as the 50 mile walk).  The Great Saunter is shorter (better for me, I'm sure) and easier to get to (downtown Manhattan).  So I will register for the walk today and then use our air miles to make our air reservations.
• Hubby will play poker--it's been four days since he has played!
• I will list/relist two items on Craigslist.

I hope you have a wonderful (warm!) Sunday!

My December Goals

I find that I can achieve more goals when I make the time limit shorter--like a month's worth of goals instead of a year's worth at a time.  So I have made the following list of things I want/need to do for this month:

p.s. One thing I love about Vegas is that my roses are STILL blooming in December! (see photo above)
p.s.s.  While we are still mindful of our spending, today we did hit up the $1 store for a few groceries and I couldn't resist the Black Friday sale at REI (which actually lasts through December 2nd) and bought a backpack for my walking.  It is a Gregory Fury pack which is usually $99 but I got it on clearance at REI with an additional 30% off which made the total price $38.  I hope I like it--I have the very worst luck picking out packs when I am not able to try them on; fortunately REI has a good return policy so if I don't like it, it will go back to the store.  Now on to trekking poles...

Now to my list:

• Sell four items on Craigslist (I listed three today) two sold as of 12/6 (only sold two items, will relist the other two next month)
• Get a Christmas tree and decorate it  (decided not to do this as its only the hubby and I, no kids this year)
• Plan something for Christmas dinner (done 12/25)
• Plan something for New Year's Eve
• Get hubby a Christmas gift (done 12/14)
• Get a haircut  done 12/9
• Go to the dentist for a root cleaning (will try to do this in January, need to save up for it) 
• Attend a new genealogy group meeting to see if I want to join  (didnt do this, I emailed for meeting info and got no reply so I will try this next month)
• Attend my current genealogy group meeting this month (done 12/21)
• Pay for my volksmarching membership renewal (done 12/14)
• Attend the annual volksmarching dinner (done 12/14)
• Go to a show
• Try a new Thai restaurant (Lotus of Siam, it's supposed to be really good) done 12/3
• Go to the Galaxy theater
• Go to Mt Charleston and play in the snow
• Do four walks (North Strip VM, Sahara-Russell-Sahara, Mandalay to Golden Nugget, Red Rock Loop) (will put these off til January and February as part of my marathon training)
• Get new walk shoes (I have new shoes but they haven't been great for long distance walking) (done 12/18)
• Get a new day pack for walking (done 12/5)
• Get trekking poles (done 12/20)
• Get a headlamp (I will need it for night walks) (I won't need this until April or May so I will wait on getting it)
• Buy/send small gifts to two friends in Japan  (done 12/10)
• Buy/send four gifts to my friend and her family in Japan for Christmas  (done 12/10)
• Buy/send my friend a birthday gift (this will go with the above gifts in the mail)  (done 12/10)
• Finish a new brochure for my volksmarch group (done 12/26)
• Try to get 60 hours of work done for my friend (not going to happen...unfortunately...will probably get like 20 hours this month)

This Weekend I Need To...

It's been a busy week (uh, month...uh, summer).  Here's a compendium of stuff I am doing/need to do this weekend:

• I stopped the Whole 30 diet.  My kidneys and liver were literally in pain so instead of ruining some perfectly useful vital organs, I decided to hop off the diet plan (but I am still eating healthier than I was before).
• The SIL will leave late tonight so I need to clean the house from top to bottom tomorrow (it's an odd habit, but as soon as a guest leaves I scrub the house...not sure why).
• I like to do at least one activity with the hubby each day so today it will be a cutting horse show (free) and a trip to the Ethel M candy factory (also free).  Tomorrow we will watch the international ten-pin bowling championships (free as well).
• I signed up for tickets to the Ellen Show yesterday.  Her new season starts in September and we had tickets to be in the audience last season but I got sick the day we were supposed to go; I'm waiting to hear if we got the tickets.
• In September we start our weekly hiking trips again.  I need to go through my daypack and make sure I have everything that I need (flashlight batteries work, sunscreen is there, etc).
• I also need to get hubby signed up for a fall bowling league.
• I haven't done anything at all with my genealogy project since the beginning of summer--I need to get back to it.
• Today is library day.  Once a week we hit up the library, return last week's movies and get new movies (about 20-30 of them which hubby watches throughout the week in the evenings).  I also pick up a few books at the library, however recently I have been downloading so many free library books to my Kindle app that I don't check out nearly as many books as I used to.
• I need to make money!  It was wonderful having a steady income during the summer but most of my earnings went into our emergency fund and the rest is, well, gone.  I paid my few monthly bills each month throughout the summer, bought hubby a smartphone, and bought a bunch of books and school supplies to send to a school in the Philippines and that was about as far as my money went.  Now I have bills for September that I need to pay (I pay for the grandson's school, our cell phones, webhosting fees, and tithe each month) and no money in sight to pay for them so I need to get busy making some money!  I also want to fund trips to San Francisco and the east coast this fall.  And if I were to get a windfall we also want to go to the Philippines in the winter.  Again, there is zero dollars to pay for any of these things at this time so I need to come up with some ways to earn money ASAP!
• I also need to finish the book I have been working on and get it published (another project that has seen very little activity this summer).
• And I want to submit a manuscript for a RITA contest in December (its a romance novel contest and the winners usually get picked up for book contracts and it's very prestigious and I probably don't have a prayer of winning but...).  I have a book nearly completed but not even edited (and re-edited and re-edited as the process goes) so I need to get busy with that project as well.  

Overall it should be a very busy, very organizing kind of weekend!

20 Goals for the Rest of February

I am so goal-oriented it's crazy.  I have a list of annual goals, a list of daily goals, and when things get hectic, I also write down my weekly goals.  Here's what I plan to accomplish for the rest of the month:

1. Do a volksmarch by myself (I missed the group walk in January and want to make it up).
2. Go to the family history center to do some genealogy research (I just got the death certificate for my great grandmother and it says she was divorced at the time of her death.  This was in the 1930s.  Now I'm wondering WHY because getting divorced then was a big deal.  I swear I find a new mystery with every person I research!).
3. Vacuum out the van, get it washed, and get the oil changed (we haven't done this in AGES).
4. Go on a hike in the Valley of Fire petrified forest (free through the park service and going to the Valley of Fire is on my annual goal list).
5. Go on our usual Monday hike in Red Rock Canyon (that's hubby on one of our past hikes in the photo above).
6. Go ice skating (also on my annual list; I am trying to do five of these annual goals a month.  I wish my nieces and nephews were here to go with me but I will go by myself; hubby said "no way" to his doing this goal).
7. Go to Mt Charleston and play in the snow (also on the annual goal list, I just can't believe there is snow only a half hour away from Vegas so I want to see for myself).
8. Doctor's appointments (one for me, one for hubby).
9. Valentine's Day (still have no idea what to do for the hubby for this holiday).
10. Replace the kitchen faucet (it's leaking and I want a nice faucet like this). 
11. Go to my monthly genealogy club meeting.
12. Go on another group volksmarch next Saturday.
13. Do a hike at Lake Mead with the ATBF hiking group (both hiking with this group and hiking the Lake Mead area in particular are both on my annual goal list).
14. Mail 10 copies of my book to friends in Washington (I am still selling a trickle of books each month but I think that having friends help promote it and doing this in the spring which is prime time for tourist actives there will help sales).
15. Order another birth certificate and another death certificate for my genealogy research (these are expensive at $20 to $25 a pop!).
16. Buy and install a shower door for my bathroom shower (I was supposed to do this last month and didn't get around to it).
17. Take a concealed carry class (I have a concealed carry license for Washington but need to get one for Nevada which requires a class).
18. Plan a trip to San Francisco for March (the trip for February with the cousins fell through because we had to be here for our doctor's appointments which couldn't be changed).
19. Get paid by my friend (I did some work for my friend's business and she said she would pay me a month ago and so far, no check.  She has never been this flaky before but somehow I need to get her to pay me...after already asking about it repeatedly :I  ).
20. Decide on a cruise.  We are debating between doing a cruise in March or waiting until the fall (this is also on my annual goal list).

My Want/Need List

I am very list-y person.  When I used to work, I always had a "to do" list on hand and quite often, I would make "to do" lists for my clients as well.  It has always been my habit to write down not only the things I needed to do but also the things that I wanted as well.  I started doing this about the time I learned how to write and I fully believe that these lists helped propel me out of trailer-court poverty and into a pretty good life.
Now, I look back at some of these lists and can't believe that basically everything I wrote down has actually come to pass (my business, my non profit, and our year of travel being some of the "biggies").  So I continue to write lists.  On these lists are the things I want and need regardless of the price; oddly enough, these lists are still being fulfilled even though I basically have no income!  Imagine that.  Even the big box of books and school supplies that we just sent to the Philippines was on my list, never mind the fact that I had no money to make it happen but--surprise--it got done anyway! 
I don't know how it works, I only know that it does work.  Here is my most recent list:

• November tithe $50 (I tithe every month to Unity; it's a habit that I keep whether or not I am working)
• December tithe $50 (ditto)
• December cell phones $60 (I pay for both of our pre-paid cell phone plans each month)
• Web host bill $150 (once a year I get billed for hosting for my websites, this is coming up in December)
• House for hubby's son in PI $1000 (we are helping the hubby's son build a house in the Philippines piece by piece; this is for the roof and supports)
• Camera $200 (I need a new camera, my cheap new camera is terrible)
• Laptop $750 (I want a new, smaller laptop; I think a 14" laptop would be optimal)
• NV PO Box $50 (right now I pay $170 a year for a remail service which is great when we travel as they send our mail to wherever we are, but now that we are going to be stationary in Las Vegas a regular PO box will work)
• NV driver's license $50 (as soon as we move next month and get our own address I will get a license here, I want to establish residency here so I can take some classes at the university at the in-state tuition rate eventually)
• Japan Christmas gifts $800 (everyone in Japan was so wonderful to me that I want to send the entire family some very nice gifts)
• Next year's school for the grandson in PI $480 (I pay for the grandson's school in the Philippines and it costs $40 per month; I like to put the entire year's fees aside at the beginning of the year so I won't have to think about it until next year)
• Clothes and shoes for me $200 (my clothes and shoes have been dragging around with me for a year, they are old and hideous and I want some new stuff!)

That's the list so far.  I have absolutely no idea how all of these things will get paid for but I also have no doubt that they will...somehow. 

How My Giant 'To Do' List Saves Me Money

I am almost always busy. I run a non-profit, I own a business, I volunteer a lot, and I am active in all kinds of community events. Plus I like to travel and this year I have a little list of 400 goals to complete in 400 days. Wow...I am busy. The way that I keep on track (and keep my sanity) it to have a huge daily "to do" list. I recently noted that this list also saves me a lot of money. Here's how:

• I make up my list for the next day before I go to bed the night before (if I tried to keep all of these things in my head I would never get to sleep and the fatigue/stress would certainly cause future health problems thus costing me money).
• I arrange my day in logical order. Nearly every day I end up traveling from one end of the region to the other. If I arrange my day in logical order I save money on gas. I figure out the route I will take, trying not to recross my steps, while dropping off or picking up things along the way so no special trips are needed. With planning, I can often carpool to many meetings (again saving gas money) with others who I know are going to the same place. On less busy days when I have more time, I often opt for public transportation which saves money as well.
• When my day is laid out on paper, I can figure out how/when/where to eat for the day. Generally I start off my day with a good breakfast at home but I may be away from home for lunch and dinner. If I see that this will be the case by looking at my schedule, I bring food from home so I am not caught out without a meal which would mean an expensive stop at a restaurant(s).
• Having a clear schedule allows me to save time and money on errands. Instead of spending money for a stamp, I can pay many bills on my way to and from where I am going (ie: the cable company is next to the post office, the Target bill can be paid when I meet my carpool in the Target parking lot). Coupons for groceries are attached to the to do list with a paperclip so that if I happen to pass by a particular store, I have my coupons with me and then no special trips to the store are needed, thus saving gas.
• Bill payment due dates are included on my calendar and are put on the to do list as they come up. This way I am never late on a payment and don't incur late fees.
• Follow up phone calls and messages are listed on the to do list as well. While this may or may not save me money, there have been a few times where a message was for work from a new client. If I would have let these calls slide, I would have missed out on earning money.
• Birthdays are put on the to do list. This way, I send a simple (inexpensive) acknowledgement of the person's birthday or special occasion instead of the more expensive "sorry I forgot your birthday" gifts that I can sometimes feel guilted into giving.
• If my list is too overwhelming, I can call in reinforcements (the hubby). By letting the hubby know in the morning that I need him to cook dinner, we save money which we would otherwise spend on eating out because we were both too tired or too disorganized to cook. If the yard is getting overgrown, I can either make time in my schedule on a slow day or ask the hubby to do it so I don't have to hire a yard service.

The bottom line is that being organized can save you money. I know people (and I've been the person) who are so disorganized that they end up spending a whole lot of money for things that with a little planning would have not cost them a penny.