Step by Step Tutorial - Week 2 - Day 5

Now that we seem to have tackled all the difficult stuff...getting prepared, lowering our home bills, etc, it is time to get into a weekly routine of earning and saving money.

They say it normally takes 21 days to form a habit, so if you can put a plan together, stick with it for 3 weeks, you should find it easier and more natural to find ways to earn and save!

So, to begin...you need to make a list. First, I sat down and wrote out all the things I needed to do WEEKLY to continuously see benefit. My top picks were:

1. Coupon Shopping & Rebates
2. Reading Valuable Blogs
3. Surveys
4. Mystery Shopping
5. Online Offers
6. eBay
7. Sale Shopping
8. Freebies

Obviously, your list might be a little different. And, that is fine. But, the goal here is to figure out what you enjoy that saves and makes you money and begin doing it regularly. When I had my list compiled, I then set a separate email up for each of them. Why? Because it makes it easier for me to log in and tackle that days activities when I don't get sidetracked reading other emails.

Once you have your list, you need to figure out how much time you have to devote daily.

So, for me, I know I have, at best, 2 hours a day to devote to these items. This is when my two youngest nap, so I can tackle these items. How much time do you have free during the day ( you still need to make sure you have enough time for cleaning, cooking, hobbies, kids, etc ) to "work", as I like to call it? Once you have a set amount of time, you can begin your schedule.

My week looks like this!

• Daily - Mystery Shopping Applications & Read my top 5 Blogs
• Monday - Freebies, Check ALL my favorite blogs, pull my grocery game lists and pull coupons
• Tuesday - Online Offers, Evening Grocery Shopping
• Wednesday - eBay
• Thursday - Surveys. Thursday Mornings while my daughter is in preschool, I do my Target, Walgreens and CVS shopping
• Friday - Free Day ( catch up on paperwork, etc )
• Saturday - Family Day
• Sunday - Family Day ( except I cut my new coupons in the evening )

So, decide what activities you want to take part in and put your schedule together. Obviously, if you have more time than me, you can fit more in. But, the importance when doing this is to treat it like a job. If you want to make and save money, you need to be committed and you need to be efficient. You need a schedule.

But, with that mentioned, I also want to bring up the point of flexibility. I love being a stay at home mom and running with my kids. Whether that be a play date, museums, Kings Island ( woo, hoo...they open this weekend ) or the pool. My main job is being a Mommy right now.

So, go with the flow, as they say. For example, Thursday I am meeting some other Mommy's and we are taking the kids to a park. Did I even give it a second thought since that is my shopping day? Nope...I am going to the park! Shopping will be there next week, and the week after and the week after that, too! :-) Spending time with my kids will be gone before I know it!