Money Saving Mom®

Someone asked me the other day, “If you’re feeling overwhelmed and discouraged by everything in your life, what is the one of the most important things you can do to change your life?”

I thought of a lot of different practical things I could encourage someone to do, but at the heart of your success in anything in life is your attitude. If you have a can-do, creative, committed attitude, you’ll go far in life. If you have a can’t do, won’t do, too hard, whiny attitude, you’ll probably never go anywhere.

Change your attitude and you’ll change your life. This goes either way. You can choose to look at a situation with positivity or negativity.

The choice is yours. But your choice will have a ripple effect.

For instance, when Jesse started law school and we committed to stay out of debt during his three years of law school, I won’t pretend that it was an easy choice. Because it wasn’t.

We knew that the road ahead of us was going to be rocky and rough. We have a choice to feel discouraged and disheartened or we could approach it with all the courage and heart we could muster up (with God’s help).

We chose the latter, seeing the law school journey as an opportunity to learn, to make short-term sacrifices, to get wildly creative, and to look for the blessings along the way.

There were many days when it wasn’t easy. There were many set backs, curve balls, and disappointments. But we kept choosing to make the most of the experience. To do the best we could with the time and resources we had.

Looking back, every single one of those years of struggle and working so hard to try to make ends meet was worth it. Oh so worth it!

• If we hadn’t struggled financially, I wouldn’t have been highly motivated to learn how to pinch every penny.
• If we didn’t have to worry about how we were going to afford groceries, I probably would have never taken the time to learn how to play the Drugstore Game.
• If we hadn’t wondered how we were going to pay our rent and utility bills, I doubt I would have never spent hours and hours and hours of time trying to figure out how to make money online.

And it’s because of those lessons, that I started this blog. Writing books, speaking, growing as a person, and meeting so many, many dear people who are a part of the MoneySavingMom.com community… none of this would have happened without those lean law school years.

When the road ahead of you looks bleak, don’t give up.

When it feels impossible, keep going.

When you want to throw in the towel, hang on.

You never know what the struggles and difficulties you are going through might be preparing you for in your future. Don’t lose heart!

Crystal, I’m curious if you worked out as regularly as you do now with young children? How did you manage your time when your kids were in a more time-demanding stage? I am pregnant and have a 2-year-old at home — the former keeps me up all night with dance parties in my stomach & the lovely toddler still doesn’t sleep through the night.

I’m working 2 days a week now (down from 5-7 in residency… hooray!), but still can’t manage to pull myself out of bed before my child wakes up (usually 5:30-7:30 a.m. time range) after being up 2-3 times a night. I’m just wondering if you have any tips on how to fit it “all in” when exhaustion & time aren’t on my side right now? -JLyn

I thought this was a great question to address as exercise is the focus for January as part of the 12 Months to a Healthier You Challenge. Here are some of my thoughts:

Make It a Priority

If you don’t make exercise a priority, there’s a very good chance it’s not going to happen. It takes dedication, motivation, and commitment to stick with consistent exercising. But it is so worth it — not only because you’ll probably feel better, but you’ll also have more energy!

When I had young children, I found that I had to exercise first thing in the morning or it just seemed like it wouldn’t happen. Before I knew it, the day would be over with, I’d be exhausted and ready for bed, and I hadn’t exercised yet again.

Practical Ideas For Making Exercise Happen With Young Children

• • Use a Playpen — When I had a baby or a young child, I’d often put them in the playpen with a few special toys to play with in the same room while I exercised. This will usually buy you at least 10-20 minutes’ worth of exercise time if your child can’t climb out of the playpen yet!
  • Do It Together — If I don’t get exercise in before my children get up, they often exercise with me. In fact, just this morning, Kaitlynn and Silas did my entire hour of P90X with me. They had a blast trying to do the exercises with me and it was so fun to do it with them — and I got in a great workout, too!
  • Take Advantage of Naptime — If you are energetic enough to not lie down and take a nap while your child naps, this can be a good time to get in a quick workout.
  • Turn on a Movie — When my children were really little, I sometimes would plan their movie time to coincide with my exercise time.
  • Have a Basket of Special Toys — Another fun way to keep children occupied is to put together a basket of special toys that they can only play with while you exercise. You could even create Day of the Week Tubs specifically for them to use during your exercise time.
  • Play Outside Together — Go outside and get some fresh air. Play tag or swing on the swing set at the park. It might not be a strenuous workout, but it will be something. And something is always better than nothing!
  • Go on a Walk — Strap your child in a stroller and go on a brisk walk around the neighborhood. Too cold to walk outside? Head to the mall or another indoor location and walk.

Give Yourself Grace

Now that I’ve given you some ideas that worked for me, I want to leave you with this reminder: give yourself grace in this season, JLyn. You have your hands full — and you are nurturing a baby inside of you.

If you’re exhausted, sleep. If you only have energy to do a 10-minute workout DVD or play with your child at the park, that’s okay.

Don’t beat yourself up over what you can’t do. Just do the best you can do and be free from guilt!

What advice and ideas do the rest of you have for JLyn? We’d love to hear!

Crystal, when do you fit in personal reading into your daily schedule? -Brenda

Ever since posting my 12 Books to Read in January post, I’ve been getting asked this question. And it’s a very valid one since I used to wonder how on earth people could manage to finish more than a few books per month.

However, I found that when I stopped saying, “That’s not possible!” and started looking for opportunities to fit more reading into my life, there were many nooks and crannies where I could fit more reading in.

Here’s how I’m currently finding time to read in the midst of a full schedule:

1. First Thing In the Morning

The first thing I do in the morning is to spend time reading my Bible, praying, and journaling. I also read a chapter or two of a devotional book of some sort.

I’ve found that by reading a chapter or two of a devotional book every morning, I can usually finish one book per week just in this early morning time. The thing I love about reading first thing in the morning is that it starts my day off on a great foot and it also guarantees that I always get a little reading in every day.

2. On the Treadmill

When I walk or run on the treadmill, I often read. I can’t hold a book while running, but I discovered I could prop my iPad up on the treadmill, make the text larger, and read while running. Yes, I don’t speed read, but it’s a great way to get through some of the free ebooks I download and I can usually read at least one ebook per week if I run 3-4 times in a week.

3. While Waiting

I pretty much always a book with me just in case there’s a little pocket of time that opens up while I’m waiting somewhere, riding in the car, waiting for the water to boil on the stove… you get the picture. 🙂

4. At Night

If I’m not really tired at night when I crawl into bed, I’ll often read a chapter or two of a book. I so try to limit my reading to something that’s not so interesting that I have to read “just one more chapter” and then end up staying up until the wee hours of the morning to finish the book! Been there, done that and it doesn’t work out so well if you want to be coherent the next day! 🙂

5. On the Weekends

One of my very favorite times to read is on the weekends — especially on Sundays. We take Sundays “off” from our normal routine and I usually am completely offline. So Sunday afternoons are the perfect times to curl up with a good fiction book and read for a few hours.

For more ideas and suggestions, here are a few posts from the archives:

• How Do You Find Time to Read?
• Change Your Life and Challenge Your Mind By Reading Good Books
• 15 Ways to Fit More Reading Into Your Day

Your turn: how do you find time to read? I’d love to hear your tips and tricks!