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Time Management

There will never be enough hours in the day to get everything I need to get done. My “to do” list for today looks something like this:

  • Work all day till 6pm
  • Lead Community Group 7-9pm
  • Between Work and Community Group I have to find time to pickup/try on my tux for a wedding this week and stuff my face with some dinner…riiiight!
  • Do laundry
  • Pack for Phoenix
  • Write a best man speech
  • Sleep so I can wake up and get to the airport tomorrow morning

Obviously there is not much time in there for a few of the items on my list. But there is a great app that I use to schedule my life called Week Calender. It has really helped me get my schedule together. The $1.99 it costs is well worth it. You can download it here.

How do you keep track of your schedule? Digitally or old school?

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Free Stuff Friday

Hello Free Stuff Friday! Here’s a question for you. Who’s American and doesn’t love shopping at Target? Answer…NO ONE! Everyone loves shopping at Target. It’s like Wal-Mart, only way better!

Today I want to help you get free money from Target. Yes FREE money. 5% of your total bill free money. Who doesn’t want to save 5% of all their Target purchases? You don’t? Then send me 5% of everything you buy you money waster.

The REDcard by Target is awesome! It works like this. You save 5% on everything you buy at Target using your REDcard. Simple.

I don’t like credit cards, they are evil! Yes I agree, but you don’t have to sign up for a credit card. You sign up for a debit card! The debit card takes your purchase straight out of your checking account that you would be paying from already but it saves you 5%. It’s like magic. Free money magic.

Of course Target would rather you sign up for their credit card to get your interest payments, but that’s no way to live. I am sure they also think people will spend more using the debit card since they are saving 5%. You don’t need to do that either. You just need to buy your normal stuff, groceries, shampoo, diapers, etc at Target and use your REDcard and save 5%. It doesn’t get much easier than this.

The only downside is you have to carry another card in your wallet or purse. I am more than happy to do that to save 5% on my Target purchases. If you like saving money, you should be happy to do that too. So get a REDcard here. You can thank me later.

*Note: I was not paid by Target for this wonderful advertisement of their services, but if Target would like to contact me and hire me to speak highly of them, they are more than welcome to do so. My name is Chris Loach and I approve this blog post.

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Daylight Savings Time

Daylight Saving Time is a wonderful thing in the fall, but a terrible thing in the spring. DST is meant to give evenings more daylight and mornings less daylight. Every state but Hawaii and most of Arizona practice DST. Why they don’t I don’t really know.

I think most of us love DST in the fall because it means an extra hour of sleep. Losing an hour in the spring makes most people hate it. If you have to wake up early Sunday morning, you really hate it. And by the end of the day you want to spring forward another hour so you aren’t going to bed so dang early.

Do you like DST? Do you think we should or shouldn’t spring forward and fall back? Are any of you as tired as me?

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Free Stuff Friday

Fridays are normally Free Music Friday, but this week I am starting something new. Free Stuff Friday. So yes it could be free music, or it could be something else for free, or it could be free advice on saving money. Today it’s free advice on saving money. That’s kinda like getting free money!

Of course this has to do with Amazon. Amazon is amazing! They have a service called Subscribe & Save that I’d like to share with you.

It works like this

  1. You find something you normally buy.
  2. You “subscribe” to order it once a week, month, every 3 months, or however often you want it delivered to you.
  3. You get your items delivered to you for free with a 5-15% savings off the normal low price.

Here’s what I like about Subscribe & Save:

  • I can buy things that I use like Scrubbing Bubbles Shower CleanerDegree Deodorant, or Oil Free Acne Face Wash at the same or cheaper prices than at the store.
  • I don’t have to go to the store…high five!
  • I can hold, move, or cancel my upcoming orders easily…Amazon even sends an e-mail reminding me when something is going to ship soon so I can change it if need be.
  • I save money!
Here’s what I don’t like about Subscribe & Save:
  • A lot of things still cost more even after the savings. #fail
  • I don’t always know how often I should set my subscription to order. (I normally just go to the store when I am low or out of something)
  • Sometimes I just enjoy pushing a shopping cart down aisles of rude, unaware people…not.

So it may take a little time to adjust your order times and finding out what’s cheaper vs. what’s more…but I dig Subscribe & Save.

Have you tried it yet? Does it work good for you?

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To Do Lists

Back in January, I posted the top 5 books I wanted to read. A goal I set for this year is to finish one book per month…12 books. So far that hasn’t happened, but it’s on my “to do” list.

I make a lot of “to do” lists. I generally make my to do lists in Evernote. They are normally broken down by today, this week, this month, and sometime.

Today – what must I do today? (sleep, read, book rental car for Phoenix trip, do laundry, make dinner, write tomorrows blog post, etc, etc)

This Week – what must I do this week? (work on sundays message, plan service, send thank you cards, grocery shopping, make doctors appointment, make dentist appointment, don’t let daylight savings time ruin my week, mail packages, drop clothes off at gospel mission, etc, etc)

This Month – what must I do this month? (pay bills, pay more bills, etc, etc)

Sometime – what must I do at some point? (do easy shifts, clean car, clean room, etc, etc)

When I look at my huge to do lists, I kinda freak out. But the part I love is when I start checking off all the different tasks and the 25 things becomes 5. It makes me feel like I am getting a lot done.

How about you? How do you organize or make your to do list? Or do you need to start making one?

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Tipping

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How do you tip? Is there such a thing as too low or too high of a tip?

Last night I picked up some takeout from a local burger place in town. I had called in my order on my way home from work just like the lady standing next to me who was also picking up her to go order. She signed her credit card receipt slip and bolted out the door.

I looked down at her receipt to see how much she had left for the tip and saw a big fat 0. It made me wondered if I should leave a tip?(I generally do) But how much is appropriate to tip for takeout? I also thought that lady was kinda rude.

There was a single server working the counter, answering the phone, ringing up to go orders, basically doing everything besides cooking. She was obviously pretty busy and working hard. And this lady didn’t leave her a tip for her service.

I see the argument on both sides. She doesn’t wait on me during my meal so she doesn’t deserve a tip vs. she still takes my order, gets it ready, and rings me up so she does deserve a tip.

I tipped her what I feel is pretty decent for a to go order. It probably didn’t make up for the lady who gave her nothing, but it was still something. I don’t think you should tip 20% on a to go order, but how about you? Do you tip on to go orders? If so, how much?

I found this “tips on tipping” guide below, but it doesn’t include to go orders.

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My Pastor

He might kill me for this, but I love my pastor. Andy VomSteeg has been a leader and a mentor to me. He has also provided me with plenty of entertainment. Like the video below. This took place mid afternoon during an all-day staff meeting. Enjoy!

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FREE eBook!

My buddy Micah Foster (who sings and dances) just released a new eBook. It’s called “Social Media Tips for the Church” and if you work at a church, you should download it here. It’s free…come on!

Micah wrote this book after  having learned a lot about social media and how to grow a platform, specifically for churches and non-profits and he wants to share that knowledge with you.

If your church or a non-profit is looking for a little help with social media, I highly recommend you contact Micah. At least take 5 minutes to read this great FREE resource!

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Happy

The video below is my buddy Micah singing this morning in large group for K-6th grade at church. It’s been stuck in my head all day…enjoy!

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Baseball Is Here

Spring Training baseball is in full swing. I love baseball. If I could watch baseball all day, I would. A few years ago I did just that. I had been in a car accident and wasn’t working so I could watch baseball all daylong. #winning

The first game would start at 10am, the 1pm east coast game.
At 1pm I’d watch the 1pm west coast game.
4pm was the 7pm east coast game.
And then 7pm was the 7pm west coast game.

It was 4 games of baseball awesomeness everyday. I am now lucky to watch a single game a week since I am so busy. But the thing is, I love baseball. I don’t just love watching my teams (A’s and Dodgers with a combined 9 World Titles, 0 splash hits) but I love watching baseball in general.

The year the San Francisco Giants won their first World Series, I watched more Giants games than 99% of my friends who are Giants fans. That’s not to say they are lesser fans, but that I really don’t care if it’s the team I hate, I love watching baseball! That year I watched or attended over 150 A’s games and about 70% of the Giants games. That’s a lot of baseball, and I love it!

So who’s your team and why?

PS Have you picked up some new gear for the season yet? Amazon has a lot of great gear at cheap prices! Like the MLB Classic T-Shirts like the ones below.

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