"Pay By The Hour"

February 21, 2011

Today’s Bit of Advice….

“Pay by the hour”

I know that sounds a little bit strange to some people as images of sleazy hotel rooms and loose women may pop up in the mind, but I assure you that this blog is not headed in that direction.  Though to be honest, I did hear recently about  friends who found a room for rent at an hourly rate in Europe where they could sleep off their jet lag.  Nice, clean room that did the job of getting their sleep back on schedule.  Not all hourly rooms are sleazy I guess!

But, back to the topic at hand.  When you have the choice, pay by the hour.  Or by the week.  Or by the month.  Or just by the visit.   There is no need to lock yourself into long-term commitment and pay for things you aren’t using.

For example, if you could join a gym and pay by the workout, think of the money you’d save.  Most people who sign up for an annual gym membership rarely get the number of workouts they pay for and then feel guilty about the money wasted.  Problem is, pay by the hour gyms are pretty hard to find.

We’ve chosen to rent movies for our family through Time Warner Cable’s “On Demand” service.  Sure, we pay $1.99 - $3.99 a movie and only have it for 24 hours, but we only rent a movie two or three times a year.  I love the idea of Netflix but we still end up paying less for what we actually use doing it our way.

Our cellphone texting plan works in the same manner.  For Valentine’s Day last year, I got my husband a cell phone.  Prior to that we had shared a phone and it was difficult to call each other when we were away from home or work.  Actually, it was impossible to call each other since only one of us could use that phone at a time.  The new phone took some adjusting for him but he’s come around to the point where he turns it on now and then and can actually check his messages now.  When I purchased the phone I was offered a texting plan.  Haha – if the guy can’t even figure out the voice mail how is he going to send and receive texts?  Well, I sent him a text last week and he was able to reply to me!  We’ve moved into a new era!  If I had purchased a texting plan we could really develop our texting skills but, no.  We have the pay as you go plan where each text costs money.  And that’s okay since I have sent a total of 3 texts in the last year and he has sent one.  I know there will come a day when we need to change the plan to accommodate for an increase in texting but, for now, this is a good fit.

We are fortunate to have a Before and After Care program at the girls’ school that allows us to use it on a drop in basis and pay by the hour.  The program at our son’s school requires a long term commitment and you have to pay for days it is not used.  The drop in pay-as-you-go is such a blessing for a family that only needs it sporadically.

There are times when pay by the hour is not an advantage, however.  We got our first internet service in 1995.  I remember sitting at the computer in our little guest room and thinking “this internet invention is the most amazing thing I’ve ever experienced!”  (I still think it is the most amazing thing!).  We used a phone line based service that included a set number of hours per month – I think 30 hours were given with the plan – and then you paid for each additional hour.  Back then, when we had to share the computer line with the phone line, we were much more limited in our internet access.  Today, we pay for unlimited cable access to the internet that still lets our phone calls come through.   I cannot begin to imagine what our bill would be if we still paid by the hour!  I’d have to get a second job just to support my habit!

Speaking of second jobs….. I don’t just pay by the hour, I also get paid by the hour.  For years, I worked at a contract salary and put in the necessary hours - some weeks more hours than others but the pay always stayed the same.  When I left full-time teaching in 2006, I entered a world of hourly pay.  I have many part-time jobs now.  My two days of teaching are still contracted but everything else is by the hour and by the job.  I teach private French horn lessons to local students for an hourly rate.  I do piano accompanying for talented high school students performing at state evaluation festivals for an hourly rate.  I play piano for choirs at three local schools for an hourly rate.  I do staff development and student enrichment presentations at an hourly rate.   The nice part of all this is that the more I work, the more I get paid. 

But there are some jobs I don’t get paid to do.  I do an awful lot of computer work for the various “volunteer” positions I hold.  Sometimes I look at the hours I put in and how much others are paid for the same type of work.  If I collected an hourly rate for that work, I’d be rich!

Others ask for my computer help as well.  Just yesterday, I spent three hours working on a project for my mother.  She is the lead person on a book project with a local group.  I volunteered to do all of the layout and editing of the book for the group.  I have spent many, many hours on this project.  She commented yesterday that I have probably put in $3000 of time and work on the book.  I probably have.  Then my father asked me to help him with a different computer project and we put in several hours over the last two Sundays.

I could probably get paid for all that work.

I should look for people who WILL pay me to do all this work.

But, I’m pretty sure that the time and work I’ve put in for my family is only a drop in the bucket compared to what they have already spent on my from birth to my fourth decade.   From the cost of raising a child, college tuition, a wedding, and the emotional investment a child requires, my parents have put in more than what I have yet to return.

I think I’ll just keep taking the jobs and completing the gratis work.  I’m fairly confident that collecting “by the hour” in this situation would be wrong.

But, hey, anytime you can pay by the hour and save yourself some money, take the opportunity!

Hope you enjoyed the read.

“Put it on the calendar”

February 12, 2011

Todays’ Bit of Advice…..

“Put it on the calendar”

I ran into a friend last night at a Cub Scout meeting.  She is also a music teacher and I do some piano playing for her choir.  As I was leaving to come home she said “I’ll drop off that music to you sometime soon”.  Inside my head I said, “HUH?  What music?”.  But my voice said, “Sure, that would be great!”  Obviously I had made a promise to play for something for her but I couldn’t recall it to save my life.  No panic, however.  As soon as I got home, I went to my calendar and looked her up.  Sure enough, I had scheduled her into my May calendar for a concert at her school. 

My calendar keeps me from panicking.

My calendar keeps my home running smoothly (well, smoothishly).

My calendar is like a life line.

I keep everything in my Outlook calendar – dates of activities, details, directions, RVSP info, gift ideas, reminders, To-Do’s.  Everything.  And, lest you get worried, I also have a paper copy of the calendar and I pay for an off-site continuous backup of my calendar through an internet based service.  I can sleep at night knowing the all-important calendar is safe.

Because everything (and, again, I mean everything) is in the calendar, I don’t have to worry that our family will get double booked for an activity without our permission.  I don’t find out 10 minutes before the start of a party that we were supposed to bring a gift.  I know which uniforms my children are supposed to wear to school on a given day and when their library books are due.  Life is just easier.

Putting entries into my calendar serves another important service.  If I put it on the calendar, it will happen.  Some people will give you a verbal confirmation that they plan to attend an event but then they forget, change their mind, don’t remember the time or place and don’t attend.  If I put it on my calendar, I will be there.  And if something happens that I can’t be there, I let the person know. 

For example, I am trying to coordinate a meeting with some colleagues from a volunteer activity.  We’ve been trying for several weeks and something has happened each time to force a change in the meeting date.  None of those changes have come from me, however, because each tentative meeting time has been put into the calendar as a firm commitment.  I won’t say that I can meet at that time unless I am 100% committed to it.  When we have to look for a new time, I find one on the calendar that I know will work and I move the meeting to that date (the advantage of a digital calendar – no cross outs!) and commit myself to it.  We think a meeting this week will work.  I know I’ll be there.

I don’t just put activities and events into my calendar.  I have a few other digital calendars linked to my Outlook account.  One is a home tasks calendar that I use to keep track of when things need to be done.   Ever have to ask yourself, “When was the last time I cleaned out the dryer vent hose?  Vacuumed the coils on the refrigerator? Changed the oil in the lawn mower? Checked for expired items in the medicine cabinet?”?  I have enough to remember in life to keep track of all that.  I write tasks for myself into the calendar and they pop up when it is time to do them.  Ta-Da!  Speaking of which, February is clean out the dryer vent hose month (in the Barrow house).  If you can’t remember the last time you checked yours, please do it this month along with us.  No excuses – a dryer fire can change your life for the worse!

We also have a meal calendar where I schedule our dinners for the month.  I can see which nights are busy and require a crock pot or quick meal.  I know when we have more time and I can spend longer preparing dinner.  I can also see when I have served pizza too often and need to mix things up a bit.  Putting the meals on the calendar commits me to preparing them rather than trying to decide at 5pm what I have time to make or have the necessary ingredients to prepare.  Those nights are bad on the budget because the words take out, pizza, and McDonalds usually find their way into the conversation.

A calendar is a great thing.  But a calendar that you use efficiently and committedly is a wonderful thing.  Try putting it on the calendar and see if it doesn’t make your life a little more relaxed too!

Hope you enjoyed the read.

“Don’t Live Down to Expectations”

February 6, 2011

Today’s Bit of Advice…

“Don’t Live Down to Expectations”

In case you think I create all this wisdom and advice myself, I don’t.  I’m more of a vehicle for transmission of advice from one place to another.  Today’s bit of advice came to me through a daily motivational email I receive.  The full quote, by Wendy Wasserstein is “Don’t live down to expectations.  Go out there and do something remarkable.”

I love that quote.

It would be so easy in life to just meet the expectations of your family, your friends, your boss, your neighbors.  But, in just meeting the expectations and going no further, life would also be a little boring and predictable.

For example… we have a neighbor who loves to see our lawn mowed in neat stripes running perpendicular to the road way.  We don’t mind mowing that way so that’s how we do it.  Most of the time.  Every once in a while, though, my husband gets a bit crazy and mows diagonally!  He used to even do circles!  We know that a neat and tidy lawn is an expectation in a nice neighborhood like ours, but it is fun to mix it up now and then and get people looking twice to figure out what is different.

My children expect me to serve them the same foods for breakfast every day according to our meal schedule (Am I really the only mom with a breakfast schedule??).  Usually I meet their expectations. But, every once in a while I shake up the morning and make real French toast instead of frozen French toast sticks.  Recently I purchased toaster strudels.  You would have thought I was serving gold on a platter.  My children were beyond excited and had a wonderful experience at breakfast.  By going beyond the expectation, I created a special moment.

Our families have expectations of us as well.  In fact, most families have lots of expectations of each other.  Taking the time to rise above the expectations and doing something special leaves a lasting impression and is a quiet, unspoken way to demonstrate love for one another.  Think of a time when you went above and beyond to do something for a family member and the appreciation you received.

I chose this bit of advice today because it was very timely.  We decided to enter the 21^st century this past week with the purchase of a 40” flat screen TV.  Our old (huge and heavy) TV was much smaller and this new TV is a joy to watch.  We knew that we would upgrade our cable to HD at some point to really maximize our TV display but were in no rush to make an appointment.  A few days after installing the television, however, our cable box stopped providing us with certain channels.   We might not have noticed it for a few days but one of the missing channels was FOX – no FOX means no American Idol and no 10pm newscast.

I went online at 10:30pm to the Time Warner Cable website for advice on a DIY fix.  They didn’t have a fix for me so I went to the online customer support link.  Within a few seconds, a customer service rep was in an online chat with me.  He asked me for a brief description of the problem, which I gave, them immediately said “I apologize for the inconvenience caused”.  We went through a variety of steps to try to fix the problem but were not successful.  Again, he apologized for the inconvenience and said he would set up a service call.  I figured we’d have someone come out in the next week or two to look at the problem.  Instead, he said “I will send someone out on 2/6 between 1-3pm”.  Not only was that only two days we would be waiting for service, it was also a Sunday.  Super Bowl Sunday.

I questioned the service rep asking “Super Bowl Sunday?”.  “Yes”, he replied.   It wasn’t like my whole TV was dead; I just couldn’t watch American Idol and the news.  They were willing to send someone out on Super Bowl Sunday to fix my small problem?  I gave the okay for the service then went out on a limb and asked if the repair person could bring an HD box to replace the existing (malfunctioning box).  “Sure” was the answer.  Our call then ended with “Is there anything else that I can assist you with today?” and “It has been a pleasure assisting you.”

So today, after church, we came home and ate lunch.  Our service man came at 1:30 and repaired a bad piece of cable before installing the new HD box.  He covered his wet boots with little shower caps (well, that was what they looked like) to keep our floors clean.  He was friendly and personable – and very competent.  The problem was repaired, the new box installed, and then he was on his way.

We have expectations of customer service issues.  When I buy something and it is broken, I expect the store to give me a new one.  When my food at the restaurant is not correctly cooked or served, I expect them to fix the meal.  When a utility isn’t functioning, I expect the company to fix it.  Those are my expectations and I “expect” them to be met.

With this issue and Time Warner Cable, I didn’t have to wait until morning to communicate with the company.  The customer service rep apologized twice for our inconvenience.  He arranged a service appointment himself and set it up for quick service.  We were given an upgraded box without question.  We got free service help on Super Bowl Sunday (and with no additional weekend/holiday charge). 

Time Warner didn’t live down to expectations that they simply fix the problem on their schedule.  They went out and did something remarkable.  Their customer service (in every experience I have had with them) has simply been above and beyond.   When I am asked by others if I like my Time Warner Cable, I find it very easy to say yes.

Don’t live down to expectations.  What will you do today to go out and do something remarkable?

Hope you enjoyed the read.

Keep the Windex under the bathroom sink

February 1, 2011

Today’s Bit of Advice….

“Keep the Windex under the bathroom sink”

Why not keep it with the other cleaning supplies in a closet?  Because then you have to go get it when you need it.  And it’s easy to say, “I’ll just grab it later”.  Or, “I’ll do that on Saturday”.  Or, “where did I put the Windex?”

How do I know this?  Story of my life.

But, since I learned to keep the Windex under the bathroom sink with a cleaning cloth, I no longer have mirrors covered in toothpaste splatter.  The faucets are shiny.  The countertop is clean.  The toilet tank and seat aren’t yucky.  I can walk into any of our bathrooms and say “ahhhh” because I can easily do what needs to be done without giving myself an excuse.  I have what I need where I need it.

Here are a few more things I keep where I need them:

In my car, I always have an extra pair of winter gloves in case the steering wheel is chilly or I have to pump gas and don’t have my regular gloves with me.  Likewise, I also have a spare pair of sunglasses.  You’ll find a $20 hidden in my glove compartment (maybe I shouldn’t have stated that to the world!!) in case I need cash unexpectedly.  The trunk area is always stocked with a blanket or sheet – great for impromptu picnics, laying over a wet bleacher seat, protecting the car mats from potting soil, or covering a nauseous kid and surrounding area in the event of vomit.  (Notice, I cover the child BEFORE the vomit instead of using the sheet to clean it up later - J).  Lastly, I always have baby wipes and a hair brush in the back.  My kids have no excuse to arrive at our destination looking like the just rolled out of bed.  Oatmeal and milk smiles be gone!  Take the snarls with you!

My nightstand has three very important things.  A flashlight, a notepad, and warm socks.  I don’t want to try to find scared children in the dark when the power goes out.  Mommy with a flashlight is a welcome sight in the middle of the night.  The notepad is for my dreams, story ideas, to-do lists, reminders, and love notes.  Not love notes I write.  Love notes my 8 year old likes to write and leave for me in the drawer.  It’s sweet.  The socks are very important.  I cannot sleep with cold feet and I certainly can’t get out of bed and walk across the cold floor to go get them.  The socks must be kept handy.

In my desk drawer at school I have a little box with two of the most important things a teacher can keep in their desk.  A mascara and a deodorant.  Nothing ruins my day faster than realizing I went to work without one of those two things on my body.  I only use them once or twice a year at most but the investment of keeping extras at school pays off every time.  Just sets my day to right.

Last, but not least, I keep a red, plastic carabiner in my purse.  Don’t know what that is?  A carabiner is a clip with a metal loop and sprung or screwed gate that can quickly connect things together.  Comes from the German word “Karabinerhaken”.  (I’m not really that smart - I looked it up on Wikipedia).   Carabiners are used by mountain and rock climbers, sailors, and anyone else who needs to stay attached to a rope like window washers.  They can also be found in less physical settings as water bottle and key holders.  What do I need a carabiner in my purse for?  Well, tons of reasons.  But my favorite reason is to clip all my reusable shopping bags together and hook them to the outside of the grocery cart.  No need to take up space inside the cart and they stay handy.

I have what I need where I need it and it makes my life that much easier.  Some people may wonder why I do the things I do and my answer would be “because it works”.

“Keep the Windex under the bathroom sink”.  It’s a good start to an easier life for you too.

Now tell me what you keep in a particular location and why.  I’d love to know.

Hope you enjoyed the read.