Don’t let sleep deprivation compromise your safety, productivity, and budget. Explore the effects of lack of sleep and find strategies for better rest.
Time To Get Some Sleep Zzz’s
There’s only so much coffee and tea that I can drink to keep me going before sleep deprivation takes over.
Sleep deprivation effects can be severe whether you are behind the wheel of your vehicle, at work, or doing something that could potentially cause an accident and injure yourself and others.
There is also something else that lack of sleep may compromise, and that’s your budget if you allow it to.
Sleep Patterns
Not sleeping enough may cause you and I to spend more money because when you are tired you just want to go to bed and sleep which means saving money might not be at the top of the priority list.
These days daytime sleepiness has found a place in my life even though previous to my new sleeping routine I was used to working long hours with odd sleeping patterns.
Whether you have trouble sleeping at night due to insomnia, late-night work hours, illness or like us have a newborn in the house being tired can take its toll on your budget.
Parenting And Sleep Habits
Our sleep patterns are now in sync with our newborns sleep patterns which means we sleep most of the day and are up all night.
We are hopeful this craziness will switch over on its own but for now baby rules just about everything in the CBB household.
Too bad I can’t get him to pay the bills, write blog posts, clean and do other chores around here.
All in good time.
Medication To Help You Sleep
For those of you who think taking sleeping pills will help solve the problem perhaps it will if you don’t have kids at home and are having trouble sleeping at night.
To be honest, I’ve taken them before because of my typical work hours, and they help me sleep better.
One of my favourite over the counter sleeping pills is Advil Nighttime but there are many different kinds available.
As long as the medication did what it needs to do which was help me sleep I was happy.
It’s not something you want to take every night.
Always talk to your doctor if they are not suitable for you.
Don’t Sleep Away Your Savings
Just because I write about budgets and finances doesn’t mean we are perfect, far from it.
We make financial mistakes just like everyone else, but we hope to learn from them so I can write about it.
Sure it’s great if you figure it out without making errors but we all know that’s not always the case.
Mrs. CBB and I have noticed that we have shopped with a sense of urgency lately, meaning we get what we need and get out.
It’s not necessarily the best price, but we don’t have the time, with our son being so small, to go to different grocery stores like we used to.
Sadly none of the grocery stores in our area price match so we’d have to cross town which we have opted not to do the past couple of weeks.
Getting Out Of The House
We have been going out as a family just so we can all get some fresh air away from our house.
Yes we still somewhat make a grocery list but lately we’ve been just skimming the deals.
Taking out all of our flyers to price match with a baby in tow seems a bit tedious, to be honest.
Since we don’t own a smartphone, the only other option is for one of us to go grocery shopping so we aren’t rushing.
We’ve also been walking around the block when we can, as Mrs. CBB is still sore and struggling to walk long distances.
We have also found ourselves walking through the mall with our son as it will likely be something we do come winter just to get out of the house.
Not Spending Money
Considering our recent trips, we haven’t bought anything over the top from the mall other than coffee and muffins, which hasn’t been so bad but something we usually would not do.
My wife also finally used a gift card the other day which I gave her for her birthday over a year ago for Boathouse.
That tells you how often we go to the mall.
Buying New Mattresses
Another trip took us to a mattress store, costing us thousands of dollars to buy our new mattress.
We had options where option A was standard and option B was all the bells and whistles.
You can likely guess which option we chose. I’ll be blogging about this budget-crunching expense soon.
I wasn’t sure if they took advantage of how tired we were being new parents because they encouraged us to nap on the beds so we could find a mattress that suited us.
I’m sure it was simply part of the marketing plan of selling mattresses but it sure did work.
Mrs. CBB nearly fell asleep a few times, but in the end, even though we “slept on the idea” (no pun intended) of buying a mattress, we decided it was time.
Our main concern was whether we bought it because we needed or wanted it.
It was a case of us talking about it recently, but at the moment, we were walking by the store and looking in the window.
I don’t know if our lack of sleep pulled us through the door, but something did, and we spent some serious cash.
It seems like lately, anything we are doing takes longer than before, which is expected given the situation.
However, now we must learn how to handle our budget when tired.
Spending Our Savings
Just because we have savings in the bank, we have to eliminate the notion that spending more on items just because we don’t have time or our son with us is the smart thing to do.
We both are at the point we are clapping our hands for those parents with more than one child or children that are very close in age.
It’s been a rough start, but we are certainly hoping that we can continue to keep our finances in mind when we are tired rather than paying the total price for items we know we can find on sale.
Upcoming Budget Update
Our budget update for September is coming up soon.
I’m a bit nervous to see the final numbers, but given the month we’ve had, it’s been a learning experience.
I guess the only way we become experts is by experiencing things firsthand.
Discussion: Do you find you spend more if you are sleep-deprived?
Please leave comments and questions below.
Thanks for reading.
Mr.CBB
CBB Blog News
This past week has been great on the blog with traffic up which has me smiling especially since I’m not posting as much as I did before our son was born earlier this month.
I’m starting to see more fan questions, which is always appreciated.
If you have a question, e-mail or fill out the contact form on the blog’s home page.
I am working a full-time job right now and part-time until the end of the year, so slowing down the posts has been helpful for me in spending time with family and getting things done.
Do you remember that bathroom reno I was doing? Well, it’s half done and has been for a few weeks now because I had to stop it completely.
I desperately need to get that done and it’s high on my priority list after my wife and son.
CBB Blog Posts This Week
Just in case you’ve missed any of my blog posts this week you can read them all right here.
- Spiced Rum Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
- Re-thinking fashion to embrace personal style and budget
- Why do snacks tempt our budget while waiting in line at the grocery store?
- Five tips for sorting out your finances when moving abroad
Fan Deals and Inspirations
Submit your Brag or Inspiration If you have a brag that you want me to share, email me at canadianbudgetbinder (@) [yahoo] [.ca] or fill out my contact form.
Jen is back this week with garage sale deals she has found this past week which are still going strong even though the garage sailing season is coming to an end for 2014.
Hi Mr.CBB and Fans!
Here are today’s garage sale deals:
- Set of 3 canvas paintings: $3.00
- Shark steam mop pads (says 2 in box, but there are 4): $2.00
- GAP backpack: $1.00 (they were asking $2.00)
- Curious George book: $.25 (they were asking $.50)
- Osh Kosh Jeans for Adam: $.50 (they were asking $1.00)
- Teacher bulletin board boarders and shapes (bought for a coworker): $1.00 (they were $.25 each)
- Total: $7.75
Making A Difference
Hi everyone, my name is Natalya and I blog (and tweet) as Cottage Retreatist.
I’m a Brit blogger currently located in London.
I’m a relatively new blogger-I started in May this year, and I blog about my journey, along with my hubby and our two frugal kitties, to tackle our debt.
We accrued £25,000 worth of debt by May 2013 when I had our light-bulb moment and chopped up all the credit cards one night and managed to pay off £15,000 by April 2014 when my hubby lost his job.
We have been through it all: hiding from bailiffs, ignoring the piles of letters coming through our doors and spending an entire paycheck on repaying a payday loan.
Sharing Our Debt-Free Journey
The goal of the blog is to document our final stages to debt freedom and (hopefully) beyond!
It is to show people who may be in debt that they’re not alone, that the feeling of utter hopelessness can be turned around, and that you can repay your debts.
I’ve suffered from depression as a result of our debts and lack of money so I know how isolating and painful being in debt can be.
I like to feature a lot of money-saving techniques as well – how I use vouchers and cash back, frugal meals and our budget lifestyle – the whole package really.
We’re are currently saving up to make the big move from London to the South-west of England where we can continue our debt-free journey and get that number down to zero.
When not blogging you can find us watching Discovery channel, annoying our two gorgeous kitties and playing Monopoly! (Mr. Retreatist cheats!)
Top Recipe
If you don’t already know I have a second Facebook page called The Free Recipe Depot where I share recipes from other Food Bloggers from around the world.
Once a week, I pick one recipe that has been submitted as my top recipe for the week.
Trust me when I say this is no easy task as some of these foodies can cook up a storm.
I couldn’t pass up the coconut custard pie at Bunny’s Warm Oven this week.
It looks so delicious I can’t wait to make this at home for my wife although I have to find the time first.
Google Search Terms
Thousands of people visit Canadian Budget Binder every week because they have done an online search and found my blog. Keep in mind any spelling errors below are because I share with you the exact way they typed their search engine query to land on my blog.
- What makes Dollarama bread so fresh?– It’s dollar store bakery secrets… you won’t find that online ;p
- What happens if you get OSAP and you don’t go to school?- You better make sure you have the money to give back to the lender.
- I don’t care about debts- Must be nice to live with your head buried in the sand.. it will eventually catch up to you.
- Neighbour bugs me to help with renos– Just say no if you don’t need any help, it’s your financial investment after all.
Thanks for joining me for this edition of The Saturday Weekend Review #90. Join me here again for more crazy stories from around the web and at home!
Hi Mr CBB.
I understand about spending $ just to get it done. Back when my daughter was a baby, I didn’t officially budget but I made sure my bills were paid and the rest was for whatever I wanted. I was lucky that I had my parents to help me out to give me a break from time to time.
As far as the blogging, I don’t think that any of us expects a daily blog but just forget about us 🙂
Lol.. I won’t forget about all of you. I wake up thinking about all of the things I need to get done and you all make the list. Taking a step back has been nice but only time will tell how the blog schedule will change. I’m thrilled with all of the support from everyone. Being a parent is nothing what I imagined it would be and we have only just begun.
I remember working nights when my kids were little and thought everything was okay and I was a little tired but who isn’t!! I didn’t know how tired I was till I quit five years later!! I felt guilty for not being 100% awake for every moment with the kids but it was a scrafice I had to make in order to have a job and bring in the money we despritely needed. But at least I was there for them everyday before and after school and all their activities and really that is all that matters.
I understand going out with a little one! For the first six months little miss was only allowed in the car seat for 90 minutes at a time then had to come out for half an hour before going back into the car seat. Being born in Jan normally there is tonnes of snow but thankfully it had warmed up a bit that week and the roads were clear of ice. Shopping became an adventure of get what we needed as quickly as possible or the hubby stopped somewhere on his way home from work since almost all the stores are along the way. I was also thankful of the stash of coupons I keep in my wallet because they really came in handy!!
I think mall walking is a great idea during the winter but dec can be a little too busy for me with all those people. It is really good that the Mrs. is up and moving around and make sure she takes it slow but it is good for her body to keep moving and make sure she askes her dr questions or for suggestions if she feels like the healing ia taking a long time or she isn’t feeling 100% a few months later because sometimes we just say we are soar or not worry about it because we are tired but it could be a problem we just don’t see, they also have excersices they can suggest to help her tummy muscles become strong again since we do forget it is our core that helps keep our posture and balance. I hope I don’t offend just wanted to recommend a few things 🙂
I hope baby CBB figures out his days and nights soon and that you going back to work is a smooth transition.
I love bunnys warm oven recipes right now!!
Thanks for the tips. She is waiting until she can get back to running again once she heals up a bit. I agree the tummy is the core and keeping it strong is important. I hope he figures it out too because it’s been overwhelming but we are very happy he is here and healthy.
You will get there honestly lol! With the three kids here and all their activities it can be hectic but now all three are at school I have time to finish jobs around the house and not just get them half completed. I may even get the sewing machine out to get some Xmas presses done early!
Thanks we will need the support along the way. It’s certainly an eye-opener so far.
Back in the day if I couldn’t leave the baby with hubby so I could get groceries I just took the kids with me as it was the only way to get things done by myself. Hubby worked nights so he slept through the day and was gone at night working. Even weekends he was pretty good at sleeping through feeding time!!If I had to take the baby of the day with me I did a feed and go!! Feed the little one and pop into the car and off we go!!! Worked pretty well, especially for the 2 hour trips to visit family out of town!!They usually slept through most of it but even if they cried while out people tend to be very forgiving of small babies crying…
Hopefully the Mrs will get to feel better soon, she will have that 6 week check up shortly and she can get any questions she has answered then. She might want to make up a list if she has specific concerns to talk to the doctor about. The walks should help her with feeling better and the healing from the pregnancy and the labor and delivery. That would have been quite the workout!!!
They say you should replace the mattress every 10 years I think it is. If you felt like your were not getting the support you thought you should be getting then it was likely time to replace that old mattress. Ours is a pillow top job and it’s close to the 10 year mark but it’s still comfy to sleep on so I’m not looking just yet to replace. Lying down on it before you buy is a good way to see if your body is comfortable on that particular mattress. I tried a few before we got this one. I fully understand how the Mrs could almost fall asleep on them!!!!
Jen got some nice deals again this week!!!! Bunny’s recipes do look yummy!!!!
Have a good weekend and hugs for the Mrs and the Little CBB!!!!!!
Working at nights makes me spend more as I would need more cups of coffee and chips to keep myself focused. Sometimes, I get pizza delivery or burger and fries. I end up spending half of my pay for that day. 🙁 also end up with regrets.
I really don’t know how you do it all! Two jobs and a blog and a baby! I just spent all day Sunday babysitting my grandson (11 months) and I was so pooped when I got home I fell asleep at 7:30 and slept until 6 a.m.! Family First, Job Second, Second Job Third, then blog 4th. How many hours do you work at your second job, if you don’t mind me asking?
When I first started writing it was easy.. then I realized I was doing it all wrong. As the years went on my writing became easier as I learned beyond the basics of blogging through research. Now blogging has good days and rough days depending on the topic, time to research etc. but for the most part it’s like clockwork. It gets easier IF you love to write.
He sleeps alot now and my part-time job is only a few hours twice a week so it’s not a huge amount but that will ramp up in the new year and hopefully go full-time in the next year or so. I’ve been looking for guest posts as you know just so I can be with my family for the first couple of months to work out schedules etc. so we have some sort of idea of how our days will go. Right now they are backwards because our chubby monkey sleeps all day and is up all night… ah well.