Getting to Success

Here's some nice advice:  "Action Trumps Everything" from http://startupbros.com/the-only-thing-that-will-determine-your-success/

The things you measure are the things you get good at.  Constant awareness is the way forward.  I'm a bit obsessive at looking at my checking account & budget.  Even though I can't make any payments on whichever bills need to be paid, having that budget constantly in my face a nice reminder to take action in the form of not spending.

Ugh...  I hate having $200 worth of stuff in my Amazon cart.  To buy or not to buy is the question.

$63 12 sheet shredder
$24 Brita 5-pack of filters
$31 Swiffer Wet Mopping 12 Count 6 pack.
$25 Land o Lakes Cocoa
$33 Dog Pee Pads 150 count
$27 33 Gal Trash bags 90 count 1.2mil

Now to figure which items I can justify...  The question to ask is, "What is the impact of not getting it, and is there a work around?"

Shredder
The Shredder isn't urgent, but is needed one day.  For now, I can continue to bring my shredder headed items to work.

Brita
Ugh, I hate buying marked up filters.  This link shows how to replace the carbon for cheap.  The eBay store on the article looks dead, so I'm going to hunt around for some cheap NSF carbon.  I really just need to bite the bullet and buy a reverse osmosis unit for the ~150-200 it costs.

Swiffer
This is my wife's doing.  These things are way too expensive for my blood, but since she's the one that does the cleaning, I guess I will have to cave on these.  Personally, i'm a fan of just getting a pack of microfiber towels and some water & soap to clean the floors.  Actually, now that I'm thinking of it, a water soap mixture on a microfiber towel should be a perfect replacement for the swiffer mop!  My wife is totally going to object...

Land o Lakes Cocoa
36 packs for $25.  At first I thought this was a huge 500 pack or something.  Only 36 packs, coming in at 70 cents a packet.  Seems a bit steep for my blood.  Now to go hunting for a better hot cocoa deal.

Dog Pee Pads
150 pads for $33.  This is definitely justifiable.  I just got a second companion, and now they are pooping and peeing at 3x the rate of when it was just 1 dog.  I'm flying through pee pads now.  The impact of no pee pads?  Urine EVERYWHERE.

Trash Bags
The kirkland brand had excellent reviews.  90 bags for $27 sounds like a deal.

So looks like the only items I can really justify are the pee pads & trash bags.  I might have to pick up the swiffer & cocoa at my wife's request though.  Wish me luck.