Your Time Archives - Prioritized Living

How to Make a Habit Stick: Secrets & Tools to Reach Your Goals

November 4, 2019

All of us are creatures of habit. Those hundreds of little things we do on autopil0t and even our bigger routines make up our habits.

Of course, hopefully, most of those actions are good habits! But each of us has not-so-great habits we’d like to eliminate . . . or replace with better ones. And there are good habits we’d all like to adopt. But how?

First things first . . . how long does it take to make a habit? For the simple stuff, it can be as little as just 21 days! On average though, research shows it’ll take you 66 days to create a habit.

So, if you want to start and build a habit, you need a few tips and tricks to get you across that finish line two months down the road. And maybe a tool to keep you motivated along the way!

Ready to take your desired habit from pipe dream to reality? Here’s what you need to make it happen! [Read more…]

How to Organize Your Passwords: My LastPass Review

October 8, 2019

Note: This post contains affiliate links. Read my policy here.

How many passwords do you have?

Until relatively recently, I didn’t realize just how many login credentials I own — more than 100!

Think about it: You have logins for your E-mail accounts, bank accounts, credit cards, investment accounts, your streaming video accounts, online retailers, travel sites, social media sites, utility providers . . . the list goes on!

And you might think you’ve got it under control by using variations of a few passwords across all these sites . . . uuuuuntil the day that there’s a security breach.

Yeah, that happened to me.

One day, one site was compromised. So my logins at a bunch of sites were suddenly potentially vulnerable. I knew I needed to beef up my passwords and have different passwords for every site I visited. But how on earth would I keep track of them???

The answer is a password manager.

I latched on to one out of necessity, but I will seriously never go back. Here’s why I’m obsessed with LastPass, an awesome password manager. [Read more…]

How to Get Clarity on Your Fuzzy Goals

September 1, 2019

Have you ever taken a look at your life and wondered why you never reached that one particular goal?

What was it that stopped you from getting there? And could you start now toward fulfilling that dream?

Surprisingly often, what’s holding you back is an astoundingly simple problem — lack of clarity. And the fix is wonderfully simple! Here’s why you need to get clear on your goals (and how to do it): [Read more…]

How to Manage (and Master!) Your Money with a Budget Binder

July 30, 2019

Money is . . . well, it’s messy! And complicated.

Just think about all the pieces that make up your financial life! You may have multiple sources of income, savings accounts, retirement or investment accounts, bills for your home, bills for your family, expenses that are coming up, and things you want to do with your money!

How on earth do you keep it all straight and get it all done?!

A budget binder, like My Budget Binder from Prioritized Living, is an amazing tool for mastering your finances. It takes the mess and stress of money management out of the equation and gets you moving toward your financial dreams.

CLICK HERE to grab your copy of My Budget Binder from Prioritized Living!

Here are just a few of the many things a budget binder can do for you when you incorporate it into your life: [Read more…]

Meal Planning for Beginners: How to Save Money on Your Family’s Food

July 8, 2019

For average Americans, roughly 15% of their income is spent exclusively on food. And, with the average household income sitting around $60,000, the typical family spends $9000 to keep everyone fed.

That’s no small chunk of change.

But what if you could slash your food expenses? What a massive difference that would make with your money!

After all, what could you do with the extra cash if you could whittle your food costs down to 12% every single month? To 10% month after month???

That’s precisely where meal planning comes in — a simple exercise that takes just minutes a week. And doing nothing more than sticking with a meal plan can keep your food budget small while freeing up your cash for other financial goals!

And it’s great for everyone — supermoms, busy retirees, cash-strapped students, kitchen-loving dads, and anyone looking to save money and save time.

If you’re new to the scene, you may not even know how to meal plan. No worries! This guide will take you from beginner to meal planning expert in no time. [Read more…]

It’s Time to Take Some Time Off (Without the Guilt)

May 27, 2019

As a business owner, die-hard numbers girl, and a productivity junkie, I obsessively track my time at work. After all, it pays to know how many hours go to marketing, client work, invoicing, training, etc. And analyzing those hours is invaluable in assessing the value of each client and in pricing my services.

But, when I looked into my numbers a few weeks back, I noticed something shocking: Even though I was well into May, the number of hours I hadn’t worked amounted to just two (work) days off this year.

Two days off in nearly five months. During that time, I’ve seen national holidays, day care holidays, contractors milling around my home, a bad cold (that got passed around the whole gang), a mini vacation for my family, and more. But I’ve compensated by sacrificing my personal time on nights and weekends.

And most of those times I was working . . . I didn’t have to. There was no looming deadline or immediate need for me to tackle whatever project I was doing toward building and sustaining my business.

I just didn’t bother to take time off!

So I recently forced myself to close up shop on a Thursday. It was amazing! With beautiful weather, my son and I threw coins in our town’s fountain, laughed over ice cream at a streetside table, and strolled the town before hitting the library together.

But what about you?

When was the last time you took a day off for real? When you left work behind for an entire day to enjoy your family or relax on your own?

If the idea sounds laughable — or if playing hooky has you racked with guilt — consider this . . . [Read more…]

Lose the Clutter & Get Organized: My 1-800-GOT-JUNK? Experience

April 29, 2019

Note: This post contains affiliate links. Read my policy here.

It was time for a major clutter purge. That was the thinking of my husband and me in mid-2018.

We’d moved into our home a few years earlier, still toting plenty of possessions from before we were married. Up until then, we’d done a decent job of donating the smaller stuff we didn’t want to organizations that would take it. We had dropped boxes at Goodwill, given unused diapers to a local women’s shelter, and scheduled driveway pick-up for donations to the Salvation Army and Big Brothers Big Sisters.

But the big stuff we no longer needed (or wanted) as a married couple remained. The dining room set and recliner from his late, great-uncle. The second-hand love seat that had graced my first apartment out of graduate school. A skeeball table my husband had given me for Christmas the year we started dating! The list went on.

Some of it was moveable — like my husband’s old fish aquarium and a massive painting he had purchased at a discount back in the day. But no charitable organization wanted to take them off our hands.

And other stuff was stuck. Maybe the two of us could have gotten that love seat and recliner out of the basement, but it would have been a major pain.

Finally, some of our junk was simply that. But much of what we wanted to clear out was not only usable but easily would have value to other people.

So we wanted a service that would . . .

Take all of the clutter we wanted removed . . . instead of cherry-picking from our stash,
Actually carry it out of our house . . . instead of forcing us to haul it out to the curb,
Donate, resell, or recycle our stuff, as appropriate . . . instead of sending it directly to the dump,
And do it all professionally and at a fair price!

After plenty of research, we turned to 1-800-GOT-JUNK?, a nationwide, residential junk removal service. And we were thrilled with the result!

If you too are ready to clear out your clutter and get organized, a junk removal service may be something you’re considering! And you’re looking for a thorough 1-800-GOT-JUNK? review.

So here’s what you need to know about the process — how 1-800-GOT-JUNK? works, what you’ll pay, and what I love (and don’t love) about it. [Read more…]

Steal This Trick from Insanely Productive People

April 15, 2019

We all want to be more productive.

Maybe your to-do list is so long that you can’t finish everything. So you want to get it all done in the time you actually have available.

Or you simply want to blast through the stuff you have to do so you can have more time for the things you want to do.

Either way, you could definitely use some time management tips that will cut wasted time and effort and maximize your efficiency.

And there’s one productivity hack that truly productive people turn to religiously — task batching.

So we’re looking today at what task batching is, why it works, how you can get started, and how you can take your task batching powers to the next level. [Read more…]

Skip the Store & Stock Your Pantry with ShopRite from Home

April 8, 2019

This post is part 3 in the series Skip the Store & Stock Your Pantry.

This post was last updated October 2019. Note: This post contains affiliate links. Read my policy here.

In this series, I’ve reviewed and spelled out the pros & cons of some home delivery and grocery pick-up services — Amazon Subscribe & Save, Amazon Pantry, Target Subscriptions, and Walmart Grocery. Today I’m sharing my review of ShopRite from Home, including how it works and how to get the most bang for your buck.

It was during a particularly challenging pregnancy that I discovered ShopRite from Home.

All of a sudden, instead of having the freedom to run off to the supermarket, I was too sick even to walk around my house. For months! But, even now as a busy mom, I’m a grocery pick-up convert.

Grocery pick-up and delivery service is a game-changer!

Part of it is the truth of my time’s value. Yes, I could be schlepping around the store every week to grab food, personal care items, household supplies, baby stuff — you name it. But my time is precious. I want to spend it on my loved ones, my family’s goals, and my own personal goals.

And the best part is that I don’t have to sacrifice to do that.

Most days I use ShopRite from Home instead of hitting the store myself, I actually wind up saving money!

So how does ShopRite from Home work? What are the ins and outs of the ShopRite pickup service? The ShopRite delivery service? And how can you maximize your efficiency and save the most money while shopping for your groceries?

Let’s dive in. [Read more…]

7 Laundry Hacks to Save You Time & Money

February 25, 2019

Note: This post contains affiliate links. Read my policy here.

I’ve heard that there are people who enjoy doing the laundry . . . but I’ve never met a single one.

Odds are, you wish that you had a magical helper — a laundry fairy who would pick up, sort, wash, dry, iron, fold, and stow your family’s clothing without your needing to lift a finger.

But, failing that, it’s up to you to face the never-ending chore of doing the laundry.

But what if you could make doing the laundry faster and easier?

Check out these 7 smart hacks for mastering your laundry pile and getting back to the good stuff of life! (PSST . . . CHECK OUT THE FREE DOWNLOAD IN THIS POST AS WELL!) [Read more…]