Having ADHD Co$T$ Money

[Fabulous]

Ooops, what I was trying to say was there are some apps out there that gps-locate your phone if you lose it. I am hoping this will help me reduce the number of phones I burn through. Not much help though when your phone is on the ocean floor.

 

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[Patte Rosebank]

Always put your keys, phone, etc. in the same place (like a bowl at the front door).  Get into this habit, and they’ll always be where you put them.  Also, only carry the bare essentials with you when you go out.

I almost never carry a purse, and when I do, it’s one of those small “organizer” ones with a cross-body strap.  This is because whatever the size of your purse or tote bag, the amount of stuff you have will always expand to the full capacity of the bag, and that’s how you hurt yourself—and lose things in the depths of the bag.

The same goes for wallets, so I use one of those small accordion wallets, that they used to advertise on TV.  It holds only the cash & cards I use most often, and forces me to leave the rest at home.

Instead of a purse, I wear a coat with deep pockets, and I put only my essentials (wallet, phone, keys, pen, lipstick) into them, and leave them there.  When it’s time to go, I just put on my coat, and I have everything I need.  And there’s no purse to lose!

It takes discipline, if you’re used to lugging around a huge purse (as I did, from the time I was a teenager), but it’s well worth getting into this “minimalist” habit!

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[Anonymous]

One thing I do to keep fines and late fees under control is to subscribe to things like Netflix for movies (I realize this is not available everywhere, but some movie-rental places have a program where you can rent as many movies as you want for a monthly fee.) and for books, for me it’s cheaper to buy the paperback version and if I don’t like it, re-sell it. By the time I paid all the late fees, the library books were costing me more than owning it.

…As for my car, in rural Iowa I don’t think anyone ever forgets their car. Once I did spend about 20mins looking for my car when I walked. But I’ve never left my car. I imagine that’s different in places where there’s options like public transport, and/or nicer weather, but not so much an issue here.

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[Fabulous]

LOL, @Larynxa  I wear so many different coats and purses that forgetting anything in my pockets is bad bad news! And switching purses helps me keep the contents from getting too built-up. I turn the whole thing upside down and shake until every last pen, lipgloss, and egg McMuffin falls out. I envy your lean efficiency.

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[Anonymous]

@Fabulous, I agree about the coats and envying the efficiency! I only own one purse and need a new one, but that’s how I keep the amount of stuff down. If I start feeling like I’m hauling around an extra kid, I empty it and repack only my neccessary stuff. But if I carried it all around in a coat I would leave it all exactly when I needed it. But I live a changing seasons area of the world too. I do LOVE my cargo pants I wear at work. I only can fit what I need for my job in them, but there’s enough pockets I can have all I need. Best of both worlds (Until I do the wash and forget to empty the pocket that has my box-knife in it.)

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[Patte Rosebank]

There’s a pretty big variance in seasons where I am, too. So my routine cbanges a bit, throughout the year.

I only have two winter coats (both of which, I made), but only one of them gets worn nearly every day. The other is more for special occasions. So, it’s easy to just leave everything I need in the pockets of my “everyday” coat.

Spring & autumn are trickier, becausee I have several coats, of varying warmth & varying pockets. And summer is fiendishly hot, so I can’t wear long sleeves—let alone coats! That’s when I use my little organizer purse.

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[Fabulous]

DUH! The “Strategies for Success” that I mentioned in the first posting??? They are the Mastering it Video. Can’t believe I forgot that. Anyhow, the video is required viewing in my opinion. Totally worth it, guys — buy and watch and have a pen and paper handy.

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[Fabulous]

Well, this morning has given me a reminder of yet another item I should have added to my grievance list in this ‘costs’ category: food left out of the fridge overnight. I just found the pound of bacon that I bought yesterday in the bottom of my purse.

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[Patte Rosebank]

@Fabulous, only overnight?  I once forgot a pound of bacon in the bottom of my shopping trolley for a whole week!

Maybe the solution is to use clear purses and shopping bags.

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[Fabulous]

A week! Did you eat it? 😉

Clear bags!!! Yes!!! That is genius. The strategy I had told myself I would use is that from now on no perishables go into the purse while shopping. But I like yours better.

BTW I ate the bacon so if this is my last post I guess it will be no mystery what happened.

 

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[Patte Rosebank]

@Fabulous, nope, I didn’t eat the bacon.

My one experience with food poisoning (and the defiling of a literary shrine) many years ago, taught me that it’s something best avoided, whenever possible.

As for clear plastic shopping bags, Dollerama stores sell XXL Zipper Lock storage bags that have carrying handles. They’re much larger and way more durable than the flimsy shopping bags supermarkets use. Plus, they have a ziplock closure at the top, to keep everything dry, if the weather is wet.

The one drawback with clear bags is that everyone can see what’s inside.

This also makes them very rich in possibilities, if you happen to own books like “Who Cut the Cheese? A Cultural History of the Fart”, “A Field Guide to North American Roadkill”, and “The Poisoner’s Handbook”, along with some (in)appropriate little items to go with them…

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[Fochaosed]

You have forgotten the monies wasted on

– impulse purchases
– “planned” projects that don’t get done which result in a stockpile of supplies
– half-created or half-wrapped gifts that you intended to give but didn’t follow thru
-things you meant to return but lost the receipt or never got around to it before the deadline due to forgetting, over scheduling, or distractions

 

 

 

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[Fabulous]

Aaah, yes, all of those bring flashbacks.

Or how about damaged/broken stuff? I used to buy expensive wine glasses but no longer since they all end up as shards in the bin. I just bought a lovely hardcover gardening book and managed to spill coffee all over it. Every plant I ever buy dies anyhow. My dry-clean-onlies have a way of sneaking into the washer with the regular washables…

 

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[Fabulous]

@Larynxa, I like where you’re going. Maybe chicken livers and hearts and a sticker on the front of the bag reading “Hearts and Minds: Toronto’s Only Privately Operated Organ Transplant Centre.”

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[marr]

I lost my calendar book that may be in the piles of stuff at home. I had my boss check at work, I’ve done restbit care for his Mom. He didn’t see it. I write my appointments and webinar information into with passwords. I called my beautician to check on appointment which she couldn’t find and thought she hadn’t recorded it, but when I had color on my hair she found it was a month later just before my birthday next month. So I spent $80 when it wasn’t necessary yet. I missed my paid Art class when she scheduled me for the day after because my brain was on my calendar and my trap door memory was closed at the time. I knew the was something I was missing. (If you ever go to Scomas resturant in San Francisco, don’t leave anything behind as they have a no return for lost items sign. My husband while on our Honeymoon made the mistake of giving me the camera and I left it under my chair. No pictures for us just post cards.)

I’ve not been able to figure out a good planner/calender system for me. My life is so flexible work wise and other things, that with I have to many blank pages or not enough room. I hate transferring things I don’t complete to another daily page. Haven’t figured a work around for that, as the week at a glance type have to small of spaces most of the time. I also want something that fits in a medium sized purse. Don’t know what to do.

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[Author]

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