Savvy Toddler Mom

I love the New Year.  Always have.  It’s a fresh start, new beginning, clean slate.  The problem I’ve had with the last two years is all the baggage that I’ve had to carry over from the year before.  Optimism and excitement are difficult to feel with a broken heart, still-healing body, and little inclination to move on.  I am doing my best. :)

I made a list of things to do.  I love lists!  They give you purpose and direction.  They bring satisfaction and fulfillment when you get to cross things off.  Even better, they keep you from forgetting things… important things, like paying your business license fee.  (I did it this morning — whew!)

One of the top things on the list – or more of a global thing, creating items FOR the list — is to unbury my desk.  After about three weeks of just putting stuff on it to “take care of later,” my pile to take care of is daunting.  It’s dwindling bit by bit, but my list is getting longer and longer.  Better yet, though, is that my trash can is getting fuller and fuller!  Yes!  Off the desk and into the trash!

So, amidst my phone calls to the auto insurance company to find out where my claim payment is for the car accident I had two months ago and another to the medical insurance company to find out how much those maternity bills are going to be (it’s cruel — they should give you health care for miscarriages for free, don’t you think?), I did have a few “normal” things on the list I thought I would share, should you like to add them to your own list:

1. FSA Submissions: if you have a calendar year FSA plan and haven’t submitted all your claims yet, you probably have until March 31st to do so for 2007 expenses.  However, wouldn’t it be great to have that money now?
2. Calendar: Get one if you haven’t already.  It makes planning and scheduling oh-so-much easier.  I have my Outlook calendar AND my BlackBerry, but sitting here at my desk, I find that I keep glancing at my wall calendar and getting SO confused by the December page staring back at me.  (It’s in the trash at this very moment.)  I did a really fun photo calendar for Christmas for the relatives on Costco.com — just upload your photos and away you go.  I did almost all photos of the toot and it made the grandparents smile.  (Note to my sis: yours shipped today!)  Since our copy of the photo calendar is in the kitchen, I need to get something else for the office.  I used to get a Paris calendar every year — I LOVE Paris.  I’ll have to hit Barnes & Noble and see what the options are.
3. Thank You Notes: I have a TON to write since everyone I know has been amazingly thoughtful and helpful since my miscarriage, but I also have some to send to out-of-town relatives that sent Christmas gifts. 
4. Estimated Taxes: (These are in total random order, aren’t they?) Yep, 4th quarter estimated taxes are due January 15th.  If you pay estimated taxes, this is a good thing to know.  I use OfficialPayments.com.  They do charge an additional fee, but there isn’t any paperwork involved, you can do it at the last minute, and if you have a credit card that accrues points or money, it ALMOST works out in the end.  Plus, you can defer handing over the cash for a whole other month!
5. Budget: I’m working on my 2008 budget right now… I like to set aside money each month for those big, recurring expenses like… oh, Christmas.  And birthdays.  Oil changes, car registrations, other holidays (Valentine’s, anniversary, Easter, Halloween, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, etc.), and home repairs.  I’ve heard that you should plan on 1% of your home’s value for home improvement/repairs.  Don’t forget long-term savings, investments, retirement funds, etc.  Make those 401(k)s and Roth IRAs work FOR you.  Last year I read Suze Orman’s Women & Money — loved it.  If you need some financial advice (a lot or a little), get this book.

Alright, that’s enough for now.  I promise my next blog to be more about moms and toddlers and less about my crazy paperwork.  We are entering into serious potty training… good times.

Oh, and my favorite new toddler book?  Olivia.  The toot LOVES it.

Happy New Year.