As we gather around our homes and give thanks for the year’s blessing the holidays season is kicked into full gear. This is one of my favorite times of year when we think about peace, of how fortunate we have been during the past year and how we can help others who may not have had our good fortune as the year comes to a close. Unfortunately the holidays can also be a very hectic and very impersonal time of year when so much of the season has been commercialized. But there are some simple and enjoyable ways to personalize the holiday season this year. The following ideas give you seven great ways to make your holidays personal and share that joy and creativity with you friends, co-workers, neighbors, and loved ones.

Send Handwritten Holiday Cards

Whether you are spinning a dreidel or waiting for Santa to come down the chimney most people send holiday greeting cards during this time of year. In fact thousands upon thousands of cards are sent every holiday season. This year, instead of sending the impersonal standard greeting cards, take a moment to hand write a personal note in each card, or even design and print your own custom greeting cards for everyone on your mailing list using desktop publishing or greeting card software.

Adding a personal touch gives much more warmth and depth to your holiday greetings than merely sending the same generic greeting to everyone that you know. You can also add festive touches such as snowflake stickers to the envelope to use as seals and to give your holiday greetings that little extra touch that lets the people on your list know that you were thinking about them and took the time to put a little extra effort into it.

Bake Don’t Buy Your Holiday Treats

Just as adding that handmade touch to a greeting card can let someone know that you cared enough to make the extra effort just for them, so to can making time to create a tasty treat instead of just picking one up at the local market. Bringing a freshly baked item to any party or holiday dinner is always a nice touch and a warm thank you to the host of the event. You can also deliver homemade goodies to the neighbors, local nursing homes, or local firehouse as a way of showing your thanks and gratitude and make someone’s holiday season just a little sweeter.

And if you’re not a natural in the kitchen, you can buy several simple packages for cakes and cookies and other treats that you can make in only a few easy steps. You can also find reduced sugar or no sugar added options for those who want to make a holiday treat that is a bit more health friendly.

Decorate With Handmade Ornaments

Ornaments are another widely spread tradition during the holiday season and they come in all shapes and sizes from glittery balls to playful snowmen and delicious candy canes. But all of your ornaments do not have to be family heirlooms or fancy glass in this year’s latest colors. Making handmade Christmas ornaments for your tree is a great way to add a personal touch to the holidays. You can also make good use of the time making the ornaments for some quality family time and since the kids are home for the holidays it is the perfect time to plan family craft activities that will build memories to last you far longer than the holiday cheer.

Most craft stores carry wooden and ceramic ornaments that you can hand paint and add to your tree. You can also choose to make something a bit more original such as a sparkling sequin Christmas ball which can easily be made with a little super glue,straight stick pins, sequins, and ribbons on a Styrofoam ball for a wonderful hand made touch to the holidays.

Go Caroling

Caroling, a time honored tradition of going from door to door or out and about in your community singing the traditional tunes of the holiday season, is a great way to put a little of yourself into the holidays while getting together with your family and loved ones to spread a little personal holiday joy around your neighborhood. It would be a delightful surprise for your friends and neighbors and a lot of fun for you as you create memories that your family will cherish for years to come. You can even use photos of your family caroling to make great personalized photo greeting cards for next year.

Scrapbook

Scrapbooks also make wonderful holiday gift items, especially for parents and grand parents. You can make fun themes with cut outs and stickers to decorate the pages filled with photos of their nearest and dearest that tell a personal story just for them.

This is also a fun idea for a project that you can share together with your family and even younger kids can help add some special touches to the scrapbook project to make each gift a unique treasure. You do not have to include just photographs but hand prints of the little ones, brochures from a special place you went on vacation, rose petals from a wedding, a movie ticket from the first movie your kids saw with their grandparents, or any number of other things could be added to make the scrapbook special. And do not forget to leave plenty of blank pages in the back of the scrapbook so they can continue to use and enjoy this precious gift for years to come. Use your imagination and create a one of a kind gift that will be cherished much longer than any thing you could have had gift wrapped at your local department store.

Family Cookbook

Remember that special recipe that your grandmother received from her mother and handed down to you or the unique blend of spices that always made her holiday dressing just right? Nearly every family has a collection of recipes handed down from one generation to the next or that they have picked up from friends and added their own special touches to it and what better way to collect those memories for your entire family to treasure and enjoy than compiling them in family cookbook.

You can collect recipes from everyone in your family and put them together in cookbook that you can give as gifts to your family, friends, co-workers, or anyone who enjoys the art of cooking. You do not have to be a book publishing whiz to create a beautiful and professional family cookbook since there are several companies out there that can help you do this easily and affordably using either existing desktop publishing software that you may already have on your computer or through proprietary software that you can download directly from the book publishing service that you can use to print your Family Cookbook.

You can find several great choices of online companies that can assist you in making your family cook book project a reality this holiday season including LuLu, Blurb, and The Heritage Cook Book company. What a better way to make the holiday season personal than giving a gift that shares your passion for cooking with your own unique family recipes that can not be found anywhere else?

Start a Family Tradition

Whether you are celebrating Chanukah or trimming the Christmas tree, the holidays tend to be all about traditions, so why not make it personal by creating your own family tradition. There are several great ideas that you can work with for creating unique family holiday traditions, here are a few possible ideas to get you started:

• Create a theme for each year: Before the holidays season begins, having a family meeting and decide on a specific theme for the year and then all of your holiday gifts or decorations, etc. will relate to that specific theme. For example, you could make winter sports your theme for one year and give gifts related to skiing, snow boarding, ice skating, etc. then take the family to a great winter location to celebrate the holidays. Or have a arts and crafts theme where everyone makes some of the ornaments and decorations and gifts can include painting supplies or craft kits etc. Get creative and think of ways that you can use a theme to create a unique holiday experience.
• Personal Ornaments: A simple tradition than can hold a lot of memories for your family is to create a special ornament for each member of the family with their name on it and on Christmas Eve or whatever day that you choose, each member places their ornament one at a time before you light the tree. The same idea could be used for creating Chanukah decorations that you place before you light the first candle on the menorah as well. 

These are just a few ideas for ways that you can make the holidays personal and more meaningful this year and create memories with your family that will reach far beyond the holiday season. So this year, instead of finding your holidays in the department stores, give a part of yourself to make the holidays joyous.

With fall in full force, Thanksgiving is just around the corner and will be here before we know it. While the holiday season is kicking off, it can be a great time of warmth, compassion, family memories, and reconnecting with loved ones. Unfortunately; however, it can also be a very stressful time full of last minute shopping, hectic travel, lost directions, awkward parties, and a lot of juggling to fit in all of those events and last minute appointments. As hectic as it can seem, with a little planning and these 10 simple tips you can sit back, relax, and keep your sanity during the Turkey Day chaos.

Confirm, Don’t Assume:
Be sure to double check on your plans and confirm everything instead of merely assuming that everyone else in on the same page as you. This is particularly important if your family is like so many who alternate locations every year for the big day. Do not just assume that everyone still remembers the plans that you had made last year, or even last month. If someone else is hosting the dinner and festivities this year, double check with them to make sure that you have the right time, address, etc. This is also a good time to get into the holiday spirit by asking if there is anything that you can bring or do to assist the host on the big day.

If you are the one hosting the event, send out an invitation to everyone on the guest list now to remind them of your location and what time they should arrive. This will help you by making sure that you do not have guests arriving too early and simply getting under foot while you are preparing your Thanksgiving dinner masterpiece, but it is also a nice way to set the mood for your dinner and to get people thinking ahead and remind those who may have forgotten about the location in time for them to make arrangements to travel if need be. And when in doubt about any of the plans, simply ask- it is better than worrying about being in the wrong place at the wrong time or dealing with the hassle of having to switch your plans at the last minute.

Make A List:
Whether you are traveling out of town or cooking dinner you need to plan ahead. Make a list of everything that you will need and keep it with you as you shop or pack. Doing this now before the hustle and bustle sets in will give you a chance to make a thorough list while you have the time to think about everything that you might need. Go back and revisit the list a few days before Thanksgiving to make sure that you have not forgotten anything.

Plan for Alternative Diets:
You may want to review your guest list for any obvious dietary concerns. For example, do you have family members who are diabetic, lactose intolerant, allergic to nuts, vegetarian, or who require a kosher diet? While you can not likely make a meal that entirely caters to every possible dietary conflict, you should be mindful of possible dietary concerns and try to make at least a few alternative dishes that will avoid any uncomfortable situations with guests who would otherwise arrive and be unable to eat anything during dinner.

Provide some vegetable dishes and perhaps one healthy alternative dessert that does not have any sugar added to it. This can be a great option for diabetics but also for any of your guests who are trying to count calories and watch what they eat which can be so difficult during the holidays, so this simple gesture of thinking ahead about other’s concerns can be a great way to help people feel welcomed in your home during the holiday season. Low fat and sodium dishes are also good ideas.

Shop Early:
This should go without saying, but you do not want to get stuck with a house full of hungry people waiting for someone to run around town trying to find one store that, by chance, may still be open because you realized at the very last moment that you did not get something that you really needed. So be sure to get to the store a few days before hand and get all of the shopping out of the way.

Have a Trial Run:
If you are hosting the grand event, go through the motions a day or so before and pull out everything that you will need for one last check to make sure that you do not need another run to the store. Doing this a day or two before will not only help you make sure that you have everything that you need, but can also give you an idea of how you need to pace yourself timing wise to have everything running smoothly.

Get a Pop-Up Bird:
When it comes to Thanksgiving, the turkey is often the crown of feast. Many companies now include a self timing pop-up indicator that will, well..pop up when the turkey has cooked at the appropriate temperature for the appropriate amount of time. This is a simple and easy way to know when it is ready without having to drag the entire thing in and out of the oven and test the temperature every so often since you can simply peek in the oven and see if the timer is up or down.

Of course, you will still want to double check once you retrieve it from the oven to insure that everything is properly done; however, this simple little tip can end up saving you a lot of time and hassle.

Place the Butter Rub Under the Skin:
There is nothing worse than presenting a dry turkey to a house full of friends and relatives on a day when it is taking center stage, but how can you keep your turkey tender and moist in a simple and easy way? Many cooks will prepare a mixture of butter and herbs and rub the turkey down with it before baking. This is great for getting the turkey golden brown but often the butter simply runs off of the turkey in the pan. So, here is a great little trick that I use every year, place a good chunk of that butter rub under the skin of the turkey where it can be trapped by the outer layer of skin and really permeate the meat beneath for a sweet juicy taste.

Placing the turkey in a baking bag with 3-4 tablespoons of water or broth before putting it in the roasting pan is also a good idea, just keep in mind that you may need to tear the bag open and let the turkey brown for the last few minutes of cooking.

Have Assigned Seats:
This may not be an issue for small crowds or if there are no obvious conflicts among the family circle, but if you know that Uncle Joe and Aunt Betty tend to go at each other then arranging the seating before hand lets you separate problematic dinner mates and place them with those whom they might share more common interest,or at least with whom they may not be as inclined to get into a heated tiff with. Sometimes you have ex-spouses and new spouses or old feuds that can make for a tense evening, but a little careful planning may help you to keep things civil.

Take Along Some Non-Essential Work or a Good Book:
Have you ever found yourself at a holiday gathering where everyone was off doing their own thing and you were bored out of your mind or where you found the points of view so opposite from your own that you were trying to dodge the conversation at all costs? Hopefully this will not happen this holiday season and you will stay busy and interact among other holiday guests, but if you should find that you are sitting somewhere twiddling your thumbs and looking rather uncomfortable while doing so, or if the crowd is one that you find yourself at odds with, here is a simple little fix for it-be too busy to notice.

Bringing along a good book to read or some “work” to catch up on will occupy your time while making you look busy instead of antisocial. Of course, do not bring along any work with you that you actually have to get done on a deadline because you will end up only feeling frantic. This is a tip just to help you cover those uncomfortable situations with the in-laws or distant relatives that you may not know or get along with that well so you can say “I would love to engage in this conversation (in which I think you are all arrogant buffoons) but I simply have to get this work done”. Peace of mind is the best holiday accessory.

Have a Back-Up Plan:
Last but not least, have a back up plan. Whether it is packing a back up suit or buying that extra easy to make dessert, have a back up for the essentials that you will need just in case something goes wrong. You never know when something will tear, get spilled, or burn and end up leaving you in a tight spot if you do not have a back up.

Hopefully your holiday season will start off smoothly with all of the warmth and joy of this special time of year but you can rest easy knowing that with these 10 simple tips you will be prepared for a stress free Thanksgiving season, and that is something to truly be thankful for.

When done properly, business meetings can be very productive for any small business or corporation by helping you to stay on top of the financial direction of your business, plan projects, and chart progress, but did you know that these same great benefits can help simplify your life at home to? Scheduling regular business meetings for your family can be a great way to streamline your home life and connect with family members on important issues. Family business meetings can keep you organized and gives everyone an opportunity to feel like they are an important part of the family and that they have a role in the goals and achievement of the family unit.

What are the Benefits of a Family Business Meeting?
Making the time for regular family business meetings can have several benefits for you and your family by helping you to:

• Control finances and stay on budget
• Reduce waste and save money
• Plan for major events such as vacations, college, or a new home purchase
• Catch potential problems before they become a major crisis
• Stimulates communication between family members
• Avoid scheduling conflicts
• Keep an eye on potential credit problems
• Insures that legal details are taken care off
• Keep you on track for personal and family goals
• Gives you a chance to discuss issues that might not otherwise arise
• Helps your organize your home life
• Keeps your priorities in line
• Can teach kids about being a part of a team

What Sort of Topics Do You Need to Include in a Family Business Meeting?
The various topics that you will need to cover at your family meeting will vary to some degree based on the size of your family and your current goals but there will be some basic areas that you need to touch upon at every meeting that are very similar to traditional business meetings such as finances, goal development, and long term planning.
Budget and Finances:

This is the area that you should cover in every single meeting that you have. Setting a budget is very important; however, if you do not make a point of going back and reviewing your finances throughout the month how can you be sure if you are actually keeping to that budget? This is particularly important for couples who may be spending out of the same account and it is also useful if you have multiple accounts that you are trying to juggle.

By having a regular review of your budget and other financial matters you can be sure that you are sticking to your budget. This is also extremely important for managing your credit as well because it helps you to keep track of due dates and spot any problems early on. Imagine if you had a fraudulent charge on your account but you did not bother to balance your accounts until several weeks later. That one charge could wreck havoc with your financial situation, cause massive overdraft fees, returned checks, and negatively impact your credit. However, caught early you have a chance to deal with it immediately before it affects other funds and to alert your bank or credit card companies early enough to stop any future transactions.

How often have you failed to pay a bill because you thought that your spouse had already taken care of it? Simple over sights like this happen more often than you might think and can end up making your payments late. But by simply coming together for a regular business meeting you can see what has been paid and what is due next to insure that your bills are always paid on time.

Do not get caught unaware or endanger your credit because you were not bothering to have a regular meeting with your partner on this important issue.

Scheduling:
Keeping an eye on your schedule when you are single is a lot easier than juggling the schedules of other people. Taking a brief moment to compare schedules and make a note of what is going on with the kids, events that you need to attend, or simply scheduling that all important quality time together can keep you from getting to that point where you want to pull your hair out when things get too crazy. This is also a great way to make sure that you never miss an anniversary or birthday.

Meal Planning:
Families that plan out their meals before they go shopping can often save money while eating healthier as well because it cuts down on impulse buys or random shopping that may not end up making healthy meals. Plan your week and make a list of what you will need, then vow to buy only what is on the list. This can also help you save time during the week if you already know what is for dinner and have those ingredients lined up.

Goal Planning:
It is also important for you to look at your goals and to periodically evaluate the progress that you are making on those goals to insure that you are making progress towards fulfilling them. This is true for both long range and short term goals. Some of the goals you may have as a family involve saving for a vacation, building a home, or even fun projects such as building a nursery or creating a family tree that requires a lot of research. Whatever your goal, visit it periodically and discuss your progress as a family.

Open Discussions:
During your family business meeting it is very important to allow time for open discussions for everyone in your family. Whether it is a camp that your child is interested in going to or taking suggestions for next year’s family vacation destination you need to make this a time for any questions or issues to arise. This not only helps you handle things in an orderly manner and make life much less hectic but it makes everyone in the family feel like they have a role and that what they have to say really matters to you. Remember after all, that the heart of the family business meeting is the family. Use this meeting as a time to connect with one another and to communicate as a family instead of just a few chaotic people living at the same address.

Quarterly or Yearly Reviews:
In addition to the regular issues that you will consider during a family business meeting there are also a few things that you should put on the agenda for quarterly or yearly review.

Taxes:
If you own a business or perform any contract work through the year and have to pay income tax you will want to review this information to see where you stand and consider paying those taxes quarterly to make it easier on you and your budget.

Insurance:
Your insurance rates and policy benefits should be reviewed on occasion to make sure that you have the best policies that work for you and that you have updated any essential information. Changes such as address, number of cars being insured, installing a security system, etc. can all affect your policy needs. You may need to decrease or increase your coverage or may qualify for additional discounts. For example, some auto insurance companies offer discounts if you have a security device on your car of if it is housed in a secure facility instead of being parked on the street. So it is a good idea to glance over your insurance policy from time to time and evaluate whether your current policies are meeting your needs or not.

Long Range and Emergency Planning:
Certain topics may not come up at the dinner table but still need to be dealt with such as end of life decisions, wills, funeral arrangements, etc. While they may not be the most pleasant topics, dealing with them now when they are not an issue will be a lot easier for everyone than waiting until tragedy hits.

You also need to review emergency planning information as a family so that everyone knows the plan and will know what to do in an emergency. Where will you meet if there is a natural disaster? What are your feelings about being kept on life support? Would you prefer to be cremated or buried? Do you have a burial plot already? What about a will? Do you have a stocked first aid kit? Where are your emergency numbers? These are all important issues you need to discuss and review on a periodic basis. Having a family fire drill to kick off these meetings is also a good idea.

Repairs and Maintenance:
Take a quick moment to discuss any house hold repairs or up keep that you may need to take care of such as painting or calling an exterminator so that you do not wait until the last minute and end up paying for more costly repairs.

Whether you hold weekly or biweekly family business meetings, this will give you a great opportunity to work together as a family unit and to take charge of your life instead of letting the chaos take over until you are stressed out and your family gets trapped in a rat race of confusion. Just remember that every family is different and what you need in your family meeting may not work for someone else and that is ok; tailor it for a custom fit to your family and remember that above all, connecting and communicating with one another is essential and the most rewarding part of having a family business meeting.

If you’re like most parents, the peaceful moment after getting your kids on the school bus is your favorite time of the day. Fighting and tantrums regarding unfinished homework, breakfast choices and that ugly purple shirt can get the day off to bad start for all involved.  Fear not, a peaceful morning is just a few hacks away.

1. Wake Up 30 Minutes Before Your Kids

Parents like to sleep late. We day dream about the days before kids when we could sleep as late as we want without having to wake to coordinate backpacks and referee arguments. Still, waking up at the same time as the kids will only create more confusion and chaos. When you’re awake before the kids you can take some time to have a cup of coffee and prepare for the impending chaos. Parents who wake early get to take their time in the bathroom without rushing and prepare for the morning already having shaken away the morning cobwebs. This puts them in a better mood when the kids wake and keeps the crankiness at bay.

2. Do Homework After School

There’s only one way to avoid the morning homework fight – make sure it’s done the day before.  Many parents prefer having their children do their homework first thing off the school bus. Leaving homework until the last minute means it’s done in a hasty manner, it also means your children’s attention is spent concentrating on getting the task done rather than doing it to the best of their ability.

3. Pick Out Clothes the Night Before

If your kids take too much time choosing the day’s outfit or if they don’t like the clothes you choose for them, have them decide the night before.  Don’t wait for the last minute, the last thing you want is for wardrobe consideration to cut into bed time. Making it a part of the evening routine will save a considerable amount of time in the morning. This will also give parents enough time to mend or iron clothes that are in need of an adjustment.

4. Have Kids Plan Out the Breakfast Menu Ahead of Time

Picky kids aren’t as high maintenance when they’re allowed to make the decisions. Let them plan the breakfast menu over the weekend. If you have more than one child, they can take turns picking for different days. Find items that will appeal to everyone and inform all there’s no going back. Now, this may not always prevent a meal time meltdown, but generally if kids have a say in the planning and preparation of food, they’re more likely to eat without a hassle.

5. Make Lunch the Night Before

Making lunches the night before leaves one less thing to do in the morning. Make it part of your after dinner routine, like doing the dishes. Parents with more than one kid can have everyone help in assembly line fashion. Older kids can even make their own lunches. One less thing out of the way at night means one less item to worry about in the morning. Put lunches and snacks in lunchboxes and bags and put them in the refrigerator over night.

6. Set a Timer

If kid are taking too long, set a timer. If they don’t finish breakfast, remove it from the table. If they’re taking too long in the bathroom, tell them their time is up- even if their hair isn’t brushed. If they’re not fully dressed tell them they have to go to school in their pajamas (they won’t but it’s a good threat). You get the picture. After a day or two they’ll get the message.

7. Offer Rewards

If kids get through the morning ritual without incident, offer a reward. Rewards don’t have to be serious prizes either. Try awarding privileges such as having control of the remote the whole night, extra video game time, later weekend bed time or being able to pick out a movie . Stickers and dollar store items also make nice rewards.On another note kids who dawdle or give you a hard time can find themselves facing a loss of privileges such as no television  or dessert.

8. No TV

If you want your children to get ready for school in a timely manner, don’t let them procrastinate in front of the television. Having the TV on, even in the background, ensures at least one child will be standing in front of the tube ignoring breakfast and everything else around him.

9. Schedule the Loo

Bathroom problem? Too many kids and not enough johns? You need a bathroom schedule. Allot each child a certain amount of time, for instance five to seven minutes for young children, 15 to 20 minutes for teens. This helps to eliminate the morning bathroom line, and also, it keeps kids separate and out of each others’ hair.

10. Take a Time Out

If you’re getting stressed because the kids are yelling, or the kids are yelling because they’re getting stressed, someone needs  a time out. Leave the room. Count to ten. Count to twenty if you have to. Walk away, take a deep breath and come back after you’ve calmed down a bit. If one of the kids need a time out, do that too. Start up again when things are calm.

Image via Wikimedia Commons

Most of us would never dream of starting or running a business without a carefully thought out business plan, yet we often live our lives without any plan or premeditation. Without that intentional approach to life we are often overwhelmed and stressed out. We all have goals, whether it is to loose weight, save money, stay healthy, advance our career, or connect with love ones. But how are you going to actually achieve any of your goals or stay on track without a plan to get there? This is where creating a Life Plan comes in.

You may hear a lot about creating a Life Plan in business success circles, but developing a Life Plan can be useful in your every day life whether your are a corporate executive, a college student, or a stay at home mom. Creating a life plan helps you to organize your life in ways that you may never have thought of before.

A Life Plan gives you several benefits including:

• Saves Money by helping you to keep track of your finances, plan your spending, and reduce wasteful spending.
• Saves Time by keeping you organized and putting all of the information that you need right at your finger tips.
• Improves Your Health by helping you to track your weight, plan your meals, remember appointments and needed check-ups, and giving you a proactive plan for tackling health issues and preventative care.
• Reduces Stress in a number of ways. Being organized and in control of your life is one of the most important factors in reducing and eliminating the stress in your life. Creating a life plan will help you to prioritize your life and set goals.
• Improves Relationships by helping you keep track of your schedule and make time for the things that matter most in your life and encourages connections with the important people around you.
• Helps You to Achieve Goals by giving you a strategy for reaching your goals and mapping your success along the way with regular check points to monitor progress.

Creating a Life Plan Gives You a Personalized Plan of Attack. Unlike many tips or guide books out there, a Life Plan is authored by you, so it is customized to get you exactly where you want to be without wasting your time dealing with tasks or chapters that are not relevant to your life or goals.

Creating a Life Plan is a simple and effective way to take charge and create the life that you have always wanted, so let’s get started.

Getting Started

Grab your Day Planner (an essential for getting organized), a pen, and some paper and get ready for a hard core look at yourself. If you do not have a Day Planner or personal organizer, no problem, you can create a calendar easily from your computer or pick one up for plan scheduling with your Life Plan.

The first thing that you need to do is think about how your life is and how you want it to be. Jot down a few notes about your goals, your strengths and weaknesses. As we go through each section of your Life Plan you will be dealing with several questions to aid in creating a plan for your life. You can print off your goals and information and arrange them in a handy binder or even use a notebook for your Life Plan, whichever is the most effective for you.

We are going to take a look at seven key areas that you will need to include in your Life Plan including Finances; Health, Fitness, and Mental Well Being, Career & Education, Family, Community & Personal Relationships, Goals & Lifestyle Evaluation, Emergencies & Long Term Planning, and Special Projects.

Finances

This section will take a look at your current income, budget needs, and future goals and help you to develop a schedule to help you keep track of your budget and financial needs.

In this section you will want to include the following areas:

• A record of all income.
• A list of your current spending.
• A list of all bills and necessary expenses.
• Your financial goals. (Are you trying to get out of debt, save money, plan a vacation, etc.?)

Once you have this information in front of you, it will help you to to make some decisions and create a weekly and monthly budget. Your monthly budget will be an overview of all of the income coming in and the bills due. You will break that down into a weekly budget that will help you control spending and plan pay dates to make sure that you get everything paid on time.

This will also give you a chance to see the areas that are costing you the most and where you might be able to trim some fat. Are you spending a lot of money by eating out? This could be an area to focus on that would not only help you save money but create healthy meals at home with your family. Do you waste a lot of money on late charges because you can never keep track of when your bills are due? Or perhaps you are paying for a gym membership that you never use.

The financial section of your Life Plan will not only be useful in getting your finances under control but will also give you a snapshot of your life, where you are putting your money, and where you could better use your resources. If you are using a binder for your Life Plan this is also a great section to keep track of all of your account information, customer service agreements, warranty information, etc.

Health, Fitness, & Mental Well Being

This is perhaps one of the most important sections of your Life Plan, after all if you do not take care of your health, little else will matter. To get started on this section, take a real and honest look at your current situation. What is your health like? Do you have special concerns such as high blood pressure or diabetes? Then evaluate yourself to see where you are falling short. For example, are you getting enough exercise? Do you need to loose weight? Is your diet appropriate for you and your current health?

The most important things that you will need to do with this section is to include your current status, your future goals, and what steps you will need to take to reach those goals. This is also the section where you need to include a meal plan, weekly shopping lists, and a fitness schedule. Creating a chart to keep track of medications is also a good idea.

Keep in mind, that your over all health is not just about your physical well being, but your mental and emotional health as well. Developing your spirituality, taking time to meditate, or connecting with a religious community are important parts of your health plan. Stress and stress related diseases kill millions of people every year. Taking care of yourself properly means taking time for your inner self just as much as you do your physical body. This is true regardless of which religion or ideology you subscribe to and whether it is taking a relaxing bath, making time for prayer, or playing chess during a rousing philosophical discussion, be sure to feed your mind and your soul just as much as you do your body.

Some of your health and fitness goals could include:

• Losing weight
• Lowering your blood pressure
• Decreasing sugar intake
• Lowering cholesterol levels
• Improving flexibility
• Strengthening your muscles
• Preventing heart disease
• Boosting your immune system
• Improve digestive health
• Increase energy levels
• Make time for prayer
• Learn to meditate
• Connect with a local synagogue, church or religious center

Once you have these goals in place that are customized for you, you will be able to create a meal plan based on those goals. Creating a meal plan with a pre-defined shopping list before you head to the grocery store will also help you save money.

Career & Education

Next up, it is a time to take a look at your career and educational goals. This section will apply to everyone, even if you do not engage in work outside of the home or if you are still a student. The idea of this section is to help you look at what you are currently doing, find ways to do that better, and to help you achieve new goals for these areas. Productivity and goal setting will be important here whether your are writing a novel, starting a business, or folding laundry.

Make a list of what activities you are currently doing. Then, next to that, list the things that you want to do and see how they compare. If they are not matching up then this gives you a starting point to work with.

Also, consider what your traits and talents are. Using your natural talents and abilities throughout your day tends to make you more productive and leads to greater enjoyment in your work. If your current situation is not allowing you to do this, then this is the chance to develop new career goals and to put a plan in action for obtaining that new position.

Education is also important to keep in mind in a Life Plan, but not merely for career purposes. Would learning to sew help you save money by doing minor repairs on clothing and items around the house? Maybe you have always dreamt of a trip to Paris but have never learned French, now is the time to include that goal. Education is a life long endeavor and learning new skills can help you advance your career or begin a new one, achieve life long goals, or simply add enjoyment to your life. Including educational goals in your Life Plan also keeps you forward thinking and gives you many more options to deal with the various aspects of your life, both personally and professionally.

Family, Community, & Personal Relationship

Next is a look at your family, community, and personal relationships. This is one of the key areas in which many people also address stress issues and find their priorities. It is time to think about those people in your life, both positive and negative. Examine your relationships and how they are effecting your life. Is your marriage in trouble? If so this is the time to work on a plan for addressing your issues, strengthening your marriage, or attending marriage counseling. Perhaps your marriage is great, but you just moved to a new town and do not know anyone in the community. This section of your Life Plan can help you to develop some ideas for becoming involved in the community and meeting new people.

Unfortunately, not all of the people in our lives are positive influences. This is the time to ask yourself some important questions and maybe even make some hard calls. If there are people, or situations with those people, that are causing undue stress in your life and hindering you from reaching your full potential then it may be time to deal with the situation, whether it be confronting the person to deal with issues or to develop a plan to facilitate better communication. Sometimes, it may mean eliminating the person from your life all together.

This can come into play in many different areas of your life. For example, if you dread going to your doctor because you always feel that it is a battle to get him or her to listen to you then perhaps it is time for you to find another doctor with whom you can build a better working relationship. If you have been trying to quit smoking but have a friend who always smokes around you, then it is time to talk to them honestly and request that they no longer smoke in your presence. This can be a difficult process but often you will find it is much easier to deal with a situation directly than to let it fester over time.

This is also your opportunity to consider ways to reach out and spend more quality time with those nearest and dearest to you. Institute a family game night or a date night with your spouse. Set a date to write a weekly letter to your sister living abroad or to visit sick relatives in the hospital. Deciding where you priorities are and what social activities you can actually incorporate into your life without becoming over burdened will be an essential part of creating a successful life plan.

Goals & Lifestyle Evaluation

This is a pretty straight forward section where you decide what your goals are and evaluate your lifestyle in order to determine what is working and what needs to change. Since you have already been looking at most of the key aspects of your life, you already have the information in front of you that you will need for this section. Develop your goals and evaluate your lifestyle in relationship to those goals. Do you have bad habits that are impacting your health? Is your spending out of control? Maybe you are feeling a bit isolated and need to find ways to connect to your community. Wherever you want your life to go you can develop a plan to get you there.

It is important at this point to set a series of realistic goals to help you map out your progress. For example, do not merely set a goal of loosing weight, be specific and set a series of goals. If you want to drop thirty pounds, set a date for that goal then break it down into a weekly goal for weight loss that will help you reach your main goal.

Emergencies & Long Term Planning

Another simple part to include your Life Plan is emergency and long term planning. What is your emergency response plan to a house fire or natural disaster? Do you have storm supplies and a first aid kit prepared? Does your family know where to meet should disaster strike? Who will take care of your kids if you need to go to the hospital? Making these plans ahead of time, and having them written down with contact information in your plan will make emergencies much less chaotic and insure that you prepared to handle them.

Likewise, keep an eye on long term planning whether it be preparing for retirement or long range goals for your health care, be sure to include long term planning goals and needs in your Life Plan and update it regularly.

Special Projects

Lastly, we all have hobbies and special interests. Develop a plan to help you incorporate those into your daily life and include an area related to any special projects that you may have. Whether it is writing a book, building a home, or learning to cook make a plan and set milestone goals to help you succeed.

Create your Life Plan and revisit it every week or even daily to chart your progress, ensuring that you are on track and whatever your walk is in life, your Life Plan will help you reach your destination.