My level headed method helps me reach my goals

My daily book has been helping me save my goals and achieve all year. At the start of the year I bought an A4 meeting book, with section dividers. This gives me a section for my goals, one for 'major lists' that will go through the whole year and lists of different levels. To give you an example, it's this one here: http://www.createl.com.au/buy/meeting-record-book-purple/2578P

I count general housework as Level 1, things like tidying up/sorting, paper cleaning as Level 2 and Level 3 as big things that need other help, such as tax or renovating/new major organisation of the house and so on.

I work full time at a job that has many night and after hour events, so find myself doing a lot of Level 1 on the weekends. However, unless I make a conscious effort, I do not get much of Level 2 or 3 done. Using this book both at work and home helps me to be really organised!

A sticky end to nail biting

We found a low cost and easy solution to helping our daughter stop her nail biting habit. We used good quality sticking plasters and stuck them to the ends of each finger, cutting to fit where needed. It's best to use a 'good' brand like Band Aid, which will stay on for a while. These days, Kinesiology tape would probably be my go-to, as I think it sticks best (when heat activated). Sometimes I would paint the bitter tasting polish over the top of the sticking plaster as a reminder if her fingers got to her mouth. She was motivated to stop, and we promised she could have nice nail polish on when her nails grew out, so there was a carrot as well!

$21 Challenge helps two families

I took on the $21 Challenge, and won! However, my husband was a rather grumpy participant; he loved the savings but not the lifestyle during Challenge week. As he goes away regularly, I decided that every night he's not home for dinner would become a $21 Challenge night for the kids and I - all meals must be made from ingredients I already have at home, and I can only use ingredients that have not been allocated for other meals. This saves money and gives me a night off cooking, as my Challenge meals are usually simple affairs, sometimes as easy as pancakes or toasted sandwiches.

The true value of the $21 Challenge became apparent when a friend was recently diagnosed with a severe form of leukaemia. She is a married mother of four boys and is embarking on a long therapeutic journey that will hopefully lead to a full recovery. As a way of helping her family, the parents at our school have banded together to make all their meals for the next three to six months. As they are a large family, with an above average food requirement, I was unsure how I could afford to help feed them each week. Thankfully, my husband was away the week my friend was diagnosed, so the kids and I lived off the $21 Challenge that week and all leftover money was put into making meals to freeze for my friend's family.

We now do the same thing whenever my husband is away – it's a great gift over the Christmas break to know that I can afford to cook and freeze meals for my friend's family, and look after my family at the same time. Thank you.

Grandma's promising gift

My grandson turned six on Boxing Day, and I came up with a new idea for a birthday present that will bring him lots of fun over the next six months. It's called a 'Promise Photo Frame'; here's how it works.
 
I bought a large photo frame with spaces for six different photos. I then downloaded ClipArt pictures of various activities and put them in the spaces with the following captions:
 
Trip to Beach with Grandma
Trip to Zoo with Grandma
Train ride with Grandma
Trip to playground with Grandma
Dinner out with Grandma
Movies with Grandma
 
My Grandson can choose one activity to do with me each month, and when we go out, we'll take a photo of the actual event to put in the space on the frame. This gift, and the activities, can be modified to suit all children, and even adults.