How to pay off debt and save money! Part 3

Tips for saving money on food:

•         Milk always going bad?

–        Buy Nonfat dry milk powder and make cups as you go

•         Fruit always going bad?

–        Freeze grapes

–        Buy canned (in light juice) or frozen

•         Vegetables always going bad?

–        Buy canned or frozen (these are equally as nutritious and if you have high blood pressure look for canned with  no salt added)

•         Buy generic

•         Eat leftover’s or only make what you eat

•         Plant a garden

•         Buy in bulk (long shelf life or frequently used)

–

Tips for saving money on your car:

Lighten Your Load - Remove any heavy items from your car, particularly items in your trunk. This excess weight will slow you down and waist more energy.

Remove Luggage Racks - Anything on your roof will cause wind resistance, including the metal racks.

Keep Your Tank Half-Full - By keeping your tank full at all times, you are always carrying around extra weight. Sometimes, you can reduce 50-100 pounds by avoiding a full tank.

Comparison Shop - No, don’t drive around town looking for the best prices. That wastes gas! Instead use an online guide to the cheapest fuel in your area.

Choose Gas Wisely - The cheapest gas may not be your best option for saving money. Conduct some research to determine what the proper grade is for your vehicle.

Fuel Up Early - It is believed that when you fuel up your car during the coolest part of the day, this prevents expansion and you will ultimately purchase more gas for your money.

Plan Your Route - Be smart in your driving by making a plan to avoid high-traffic, congested areas, as well as areas with a large fluctuation in speed limits.

Don’t Top Off - By overfilling your gas tank, you may cause gas to spill out, thus losing more money.

Tune Up - Routine tune-ups and oil changes may help to prevent major engine and transmission issues that can affect your gas mileage.

Change Air Filter - When was the last time you changed out your air filter? This can greatly affect your gas mileage.

Check the Tires - Proper tire pressure can help you drive more effectively and save gas by preventing undo strain on your engine.

Save Fuel Receipts - By tracking your fuel consumption, you will learn what techniques works best for getting the most gas mileage.

Consider a Fuel Economy Monitor - Believe it or not, there are high-tech gadgets available that effectively track your fuel usage. Some people even build their own. Knowledge is power when hypermiling and every little bit helps.

http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/tip-2-turn-your-thermostat-down-3-degrees/

General Driving Tips

These hypermiling tips are useful for any driving situation, regardless of location or weather.

Leave Early - In order to prevent both speeding and traffic, you should leave for your trip with plenty of time to spare. If you have normal office hours, try to beat morning traffic by an hour and get your international real estate from the car radio rather than at home in the mornings.

Drive Steady - Try to keep your car at a consistent speed. Unnecessary acceleration and late braking is both dangerous and fuel inefficient.

Pretend You’re on a Bike - When you are bicycling, you coast down hills and conserve as much energy as you can while going uphill. Accelerate your car as if you are riding a bicycle.

Avoid 4-Wheel Drive - This function, although handy for getting you out of tough jams, uses a lot of gas. Try to avoid using 4-wheel drive as much as possible.

Avoid Aggression - Do not drive angry and do not try to keep up with those who are speeding. As a hypermiler, you must adopt a calculating, zen attitude about driving and leave the emotion at home.

Do Not "Rev" - Never "rev" your engine if you can help it. This just expends unnecessary gas.

Avoid Drive-Thrus - Avoiding these will improve your waistline and your bottom line. Drive-thrus require a lot of idling from your car. Just park and go into the restaurant if you must have fast food.

Keep Your Hands and Feet Still - The more you weave in and out of traffic or move your foot back and forth between the accelerator and brake, the more gas you waste.

Use Only the Right Foot - You should have learned this in Driver’s Ed, but some people use both feet to pedal. This can cause you to hit the brake and accelerator at the same time, wasting gas.

Keep it Under 40 - Whenever, possible, that is. Driving over 40 miles per hour pits your car against gas-guzzling wind resistance.

Turn of the A/C - While this isn’t practical in some areas, turning off the air conditioner can save gas. If it is hot outside, try turning it off for only a few minutes at a time.

Avoid Rocky Roads - If you find yourself on a rocky road, you may be wasting gas. Seek out the smoothest surface possible to drive on.

Use Overdrive - If you have an automatic vehicle, that is.

Mind Your Fuel Cap - Many people lose gas from evaporation because their fuel caps are loose or missing.

City Driving

Keep Moving - While this isn’t always advisable or safe, you should try to keep your car in constant motion while driving around the city. Avoid areas where you know there are lot of stop signs and traffic lights.

Pay Attention to Light Changes - You may wish to slow down for a red light ahead of time so that by the time you reach the car behind you, the light turns green and you don’t have to stop completely. Do not do this if it holds anyone up behind you, of course.

Reduce Idle Time - If you must leave your car idling for several seconds or more, you can put your car in neutral and turn off the engine. This can be a bit dangerous in certain situations, however.

Highway Driving

Find a Slow Buddy - Amazingly, driving below or at the speed limit can sometimes get you run over on the highway. Find someone else who is driving as slow as you and get behind his or her car (at a safe distance, of course).

Do Not Speed - Not only will this save you money on citations, you will get more miles per gallon at 55 miles per hour than you will at 70 miles per hour.

Keep Your Windows Up - This reduces wind resistance and makes your car more aerodynamic.

Turn Off Your Lights - Granted, you should only do this when it is safe, but it can save gas on the highway. 

Close the Sunroof - Yes, the weather might be beautiful, but high gas prices are not. Keep the sunroof closed at high speeds.

Set Cruise Control - Although this function can actually waste gas on hills, it is very useful for those of us with a naturally lead foot. If you can’t keep yourself under a certain speed and you are on a somewhat flat road, set the cruise control.

Parking

Yes, even the way you park can affect your gas mileage. Below are few easy tips to follow.

Park Backwards - In other words, you should park so that you can drive away in the forward position, thus eliminating the need to use the reverse gear.

Park in the Shade - Parking in the shade keeps the inside of the car cooler and makes it easier to keep the air conditioning off. In older vehicles, parking in the shade will also reduce gas evaporation.

Time Your Departure - Do not start up your engine again until you have the opportunity to pull out and drive. Otherwise, you will idle.

Park Far Away - How much gas are you wasting at the mall or grocery store while driving around, searching for the closest spot? Just park the car and walk it — you know you could use the exercise anyway.

Adjust While Parked - Don’t wait until you start your engine to put on your seatbelt and adjust the seat and mirrors. This wastes unneeded gas.

Bad Weather

Driving conditions change during bad weather and so must your hypermiling techniques.

Avoid Driving in the Snow - Snowy roads are not only dangerous, they cause heavy resistance and will affect your fuel economy.

Use Snow Tires Wisely - If bad weather calls for snow tires and you have to travel, be safe and use them. However, be sure to remove them promptly when the weather clears.

Remove Ice from Car - Ice is heavy and can accumulate on your car quickly. Knock off any icicles in order to prevent more drag.

Don’t Warm Up - Most cars today can start and drive in cold weather immediately. Therefore, you should just bundle up and leave rather than idling in the driveway until the car is warm.

Postpone Cold Trips - When your engine and tires are cold, they lose fuel efficiency. If you can help it, avoid trips in the cold.

Save money by keeping cool in the summer:

•         Raise your thermostat to 78º. This is the number one way to conserve energy.

•         When you are away from home for more than eight hours, raise the thermostat setting and you can expect to see a 1% savings for each degree of setback. This will reduce the amount of energy used to cool your home while you're away.

•         Keep shades closed when the air conditioner is on. Sunny windows account for 40 percent of unwanted heat and can make your air conditioner work two to three times harder.

•         Check and clean filters. Cleaning and replacing air conditioning filters monthly allows the system to run more efficiently.

•         Install ceiling fans. Don't underestimate the importance of ceiling fans. Moving air over the body provides a cooling effect. The use of ceiling fans can mean savings of around 25% on cooling costs and can make the temperature seem 10 degrees cooler.

•         Make sure ceiling fans are blowing down. Most fans have a switch to change the fan direction. Make sure ceiling fans are blowing downward (in a counter-clockwise direction) to send air past your body.

•         Run appliances with large energy use late in the evening. Use the dishwasher and clothes washer late in the evening. When used during the day, these appliances produce additional heat, causing your air conditioner to work harder.

•         Use cold water to wash dishes and clothes. This will save on water heating costs.

•         Unplug equipment not in use. Electric chargers, televisions and audio/video equipment use electricity and produce heat even when they are not in use. Running an older refrigerator can use up to three times the energy of a modern one. Unplug any appliance when it's not in use.

•         Turn off lights. Turn lights off when exiting a room. Consider replacing incandescent bulbs with energy efficient compact florescent lights (CFLs). And remember to recycle CFLs whenever possible.

Sneakers and the American Dream

Each year Jordan Brand schedules releases of past sneakers, they call them retro, and every year these releases cause mass hysteria. Case in point, the December 23rd, 2011 release of the Concord XI's. We all know how that turned out.  Everyone from the "average Joe" to the sneakerhead rushed out to buy this overpriced, replica of a shoe that had been released previously. Imagine Black Friday, but everyone is after the same thing. Seems pretty silly, but these releases have become an eye opening look at the way Americans view material items. This overhyped need for a pair of shoes has lead to injuries, theft, and even killings...over a shoe. And, this happens almost any time a Jordan Brand sneaker is re-released, or some other shoe that has been made to be the next Holy Grail for sneaker collectors and those who simply want to keep up with the "Jordan’s'".

All for some shoes!

Take a step back. Look at the way society has financially risen and fallen, all in the name of material items and keeping up with the Joneses (Jordan’s'). We all want a piece of that American Dream we have been sold and have bought into. We want the next best thing and we want it before everyone else. Even if we cannot afford to keep up the appearance, we try. The housing and automobile industries were first, then the banking industry, then went the jobs (and the houses and cars and money), next, possibly, student loans. All because we want to give the illusion that we are living the American Dream when our dream has turned into the American Nightmare.

The American Dream, few ever truly reach it, most fake it well, and the rest of us - we get caught up in the hype and overextend our finances on material items with the promise that if we play the part people will believe we actually live the part. We forget our priorities and choose to spend on our wants leaving little money for our needs.

Our generation and generations following us, just like generations before, have bought into another form of the American Dream, without knowing how to responsibly reach it. The dream of the dream is possible. Take something like the Jordan Concord XI's for example; these shoes (and others) have always been a status symbol for urban youth. Our shoes are our houses, cars, retirement funds...literally. We spend our rent, grocery, and gas money on shoes in order to keep up with what our friends and celebrities. We place shoes at the top of our priorities because we do not always see our family, neighbors, and people we associate with placing their priorities in order of importance of their needs, not their wants. This is fine if you are content to live that life, but if you want more out of life you must change your priorities and how you reach them.



Shoes but no gas...smh



If I said with some planning, we can have everything we want in life. Jordan Brand always sets release dates months ahead of the actual release. Enough time to SAVE for the shoes. Saving lets you get the shoes AND make sure your priorities are met. Let's say you need $300 for the shoes, and a new outfit to rock with them, of course. You find out about the release four months in advance, more than doable. You would only have to save $75 a month to have the $300 by the time the shoes are released. You can even reserve the shoes with your favorite sneaker store since you have been saving and do not have to deal with the craziness of the release, unless you want too.

The same is true for big, more important items like a car, house, or vacation. The key is to set your priorities and stick to them. Get a jar. Plan for what you need, save for what you want.

When the next shoe is released will you be among those who can easily buy them with a clear conscious or will you be taking for your needs to fund your wants?

Priorities. Where it all Starts

You know that decision you have to make when you want to buy something but you have to use that money for something else? You can choose to use that money for your needs or your wants. Of course, we all want to buy our wants but that little voice in the back of our thoughts telling us we have a need to take care of makes us feel guilty and most of us do the responsible thing. It's not always fun, but doing the right thing isn't always fun.

This struggle over our priorities...what we want vs. what we need. Sometimes we can squeeze alittle of what we want in with what we need, but most times we can't do this. So, what do we do? 

We plan for what we need and save for what we want. Trust me, it makes those decisions so much easier when you have planned and budgeted for what you need and saved for what you want. You don't have to rob Peter to pay Paul all because you have set your priorities and planned, as best as you can. 


If you follow this rule to the best of your abilities, you will start to see some small changes in your life and your finances.

Plan for what you need; save for what you want!

The Definite Dozen and Personal Finance

Anyone who knows me knows I am a huge basketball fan. I can watch anyone play and spend time just watching and analyzing, with the ocassional "OH!" or "Right there!" when I see something on the court that might lead to a basket for either team.

I was reading an article about my favorite basketball coach - college, NBA, WNBA - Pat Summit is it. If you know anything about Pat Summitt and The University of Tennessee Lady Vols, you know the school, coach, and players (past, present, and future) are synonimus with success. What makes Summitt and the Lady Vols so successful is their dedication to hard work. Summitt has the ability to reach each player in a different way to get the best of out them.

Look a little closer and see that when she breaks a player down and builds them back up, this is essentially the same as unlearning bad financial habits and building a repouritre of good financial skills. You wont win a National Championship, but you WILL reach YOUR financial independence.

Summitt emphasizes the "Definite Dozen" - a list of principles that EVERY Lady Vol must adhear to.

These principles are used not only to mold her student-athletes into better basketball players, but more importantly good people.


What does Pat Summitt have to do with finance?

Nothing, on the surface.

But let's take a look at these principles in terms of personal finance and see the connections ...

1. Respect yourself and others - Respect yourself and your money enough to know your worth. This knowledge and respect of your financial situation forces you to treat your finances and yourself as if you deserved the world...because you do!

2. Take full responsibility - We all make mistakes, financial or otherwise, in life. One thing we don't usually want to do is admit our mistakes. But like they say in Alcoholics Anonymous, the first step is admitting the problem. You messed up, so what. We all mess up. Take responsibility for wasting the money you needed to pay the electric bill on a new outfit. You got caught up in the moment, it's ok. Now you know what you did wrong and can fix it for the future.

3. Develop and demonstrate loyalty - Loyalty to yourself and your money. Being loyal means you treat yourself and your money accordingly. You know what you want out of your life and you focus on it, respect your dreams and your goals and don't let anything stop you. Things will come up but be loyal to your plan and stay on task.

4. Learn to be a great communicator - Being able to communicate what you believe to be worth in your employment choices or your relationship. This allows you to be smarter financially and make your money work for you.

5. Discipline yourself so no one else has to - Discipline is one of the 3 D's to Financial Independence we teach. We all have aspects of our lives we lack discipline at, and our finances happen to be an area we lack discipline. When you have financial discipline you have control your life. You have the discipline has allowed you to better manage your. To have enough money saved to be comfortable about emergencies popping up. To be in a good financial situation during retirement. To have the ability to take vacations, buy things you want. To work the type of job you want to work, not the one you have to work. Discipline prepares you for all of this and ensures that you don't mess it up too badly.

6. Make hard work your passion - Make the decision to work as hard as possible to get the life you want, and sit back and relax. I have a set of things I am aiming to make happen and preparing for if it doesn't. If you are in debt, sell your used items; work extra hours or get a part time job; start a business; use your skills to create extra income.

7. Don’t just work hard, work smart - Make your money work for you, but make it work in the smartest way possible. Automate your savings. Build an Emergency Fund. Save for what you want. Budget your money. Smarter, not harder.

8. Put the team before yourself - Put yourself before anyone or anything else. Most personal finance experts preach paying yourself first. this means taking a set amount of your pay and putting it into savings of some type, typically an Emergency Fund. Your needs should be met before you meet anyones wants. You are the only one who truly cares about your money, start putting yourself first.

9. Make winning an attitude - Attitude and money go hand in hand. Having the attitude that nothing is going to stop you from your goals will ensure that you will "win" or be financially independent sooner or at all. Life has its financial ups and downs, you have to rid out the bad times and prepare during the good times.

10. Be a competitor - I dont know about this one. Competing with others financially is a recipe for failure. Competing with yourself is a better way to be competitive. Make saving a game and reward yourself for meeting your goals.

11. Change is a must - CHANGE is a big part of becoming financially independent. You MUST change the habits that have kept you in a cycle of, well, not having any money. Educate yourself. Reach out for help. Make the necessary changes.

12. Handle success like you handle failure - Life has many lessons for us, some personal, some financial, some job related. Learn from what works for you and what doesn't.

I love the Tennessee Lady Vols because of Pat Summit. Her passion, her ability to take any group of girls and be competitive, her championship reputation. Pat's Definite Dozen can apply to anything in life, try applying them to your financial life and see how life changes for you.

You wont win one of these....

But you will earn this....

What do you think?

49 Money Tips from Free Money Wisdom

Over at Free Wisdom, Jon the Saver reached out to some finance blogs to get their best advice on their #1 finance tip. Check out what they had to offer...

Sustainable PF- “Pay yourself first.  By saving 10% in an automated matter you can save for your retirement more easily.”

Money is the Root- ”Spend less than you earn, and you will never be broke!”

My Personal Finance Journey- “My top financial tip would be for college students to open up a Roth IRA and fund it if they have a job in college or during the summer between classes so that they can take advantage of compound interest to save for retirement.”

College Investor- ”Start investing your income from your first job to get ahead.  The power of compounding is amazing!”

Prairie EcoThrifter- “My best tip would be to make your own cleaning and personal care products. You can save a bundle and they are much healthier for you and your family.”

Net Worth Protect- “When developing a savings plan keep it simple.  As soon as you receive your paycheck allocate a percentage towards savings and immediately move the funds out of your spending account.  Out of sight, out of mind”

Funancials- ”Your child can easily get a loan for school, but you cannot get a loan for retirement. I think too many parents have the dream of paying for their child’s education (which is great) but they reduce their retirement savings to make it happen. Big no no.”

One Cent at a Time- “Do not prepare your buying list after clipping coupons rather, get your shopping list and find coupons for each of them.”

20′s Finances-  ”Start saving for your future today! Planning for retirement even in your 20′s can earn you lots of money in the long run and make life much easier.”

DollarVersity- “Failing to plan is planning to fail—you need a roadmap to achieving goals.  Paying off debt, building wealth, or running a successful business may be the goals, but you need to plan your course to reach those destinations.”

Free From Broke- “Don’t spend more money than you have.”

KrantCents- “Savings is the key to success.  I learned how to save early and it, more than anything, helped me achieve success.”

The Jenny Pincher- “Spend Less Than You Earn! It’s so simple yet so effective if we can get ourselves in that mindset!”

The Family CEO- “Be very intentional with your spending. Cut back on or eliminate the things that don’t bring you much value, so you can have in your life the things and experiences that do.”

101 Centavos- “Early is for go, late is for show.  If you want to be successful, get up early.  Getting to work while everyone else is either still asleep or just now brushing their teeth will give you a leg up on the competition.  Staying late is fine if you want to impress the boss, but your productivity decreases along with your energy levels.”

Millionaire Nurse Blog- “To prevent lifestyle creep, any raises, bonus money, and  gifts can be put into your emergency fund, or added to your retirement savings.  You will hit your savings goal faster and not increase your lifestyle costs, a twofer!”

Your Finances Simplified- “Limit your rent/mortgage payment to no more than 25% of your net income.  The reason why you want to do this is so that you are flexible when life happens or you have the opportunity to invest more money and generate wealth.  This tip alone has given me the income to invest in multiple income producing business that will have me retiring by 40 or sooner.”

The Frugal Toad- “Diversify among asset classes, re-balance quarterly, employ dollar cost averaging, and keep your hands off!”

20 and Engaged- “Don’t keep up with the Joneses. Live your own live beneath your means and you’ll prosper financially.”

Money Beagle- “When setting large goals, make sure to set smaller goals along the way.  Reaching the smaller goals (and giving yourself a small reward) will help you stay on track and minimize the chance of losing momentum and focus on the way toward your larger goals.”

Money QandA- “We spend our entire lives buying things and collecting things. Instead spend your money doing things, gaining experiences, and checking things off your bucket list. Not only is that the way to financial success, it will make your life more rewarding as well.”

Retire by 40- “My top tip is to start saving and investing as early as possible. If you start saving and investing as soon as you start making money, then you will have a lot of time to take advantage of compound interest. It will also give you more time to learn about investing and a lot of time to correct the many inevitable investing mistakes. ”

Wisebread- “Many rewards credit cards pay you a sign-up bonus only after you reach a minimum spending threshold. The best way to reach this minimum is to purchase gift cards for merchants you visit often, or even cash cards from Visa or American Express. Simply make the purchase before the deadline, and use the gift cards later. You can also buy gift cards at grocery stores in order to maximize bonus spending categories. For example, the American Express Blue Cash Preferred card gives customers 6% cash back from supermarkets.”

Free Money Finance- “Spend less than you earn.”

Money Crashers- “It’s really important to focus on cutting expenses and implementing strict budgets to allow us to live our lives to the fullest while still saving for the future. But, beyond that, one of the most overlooked strategies is creating incremental income. For example, do you have a passion or expertise you could leverage into a business? Then consider some of the many side business ideas as an avenue for you to create some valuable passive income. And if you’re lucky, this could potentially turn into a full-time job that you’re truly passionate about each and every day!”

Afford Anything- “Spend lavishly on things you love and cut ruthlessly on things you don’t care about. Money is just a stand-in for your priorities.”

Financial Highway- “Start Investing EARLY! Even at $50/month you can benefit from the power of compounding, it is better to save $50 today then $100 a year from now. ”

Christian Dollar- “Spend less than you make, make more through hard work and patience, and give more than you want to. It’s really that simple.”

Financial Samurai- “To listen to people who are wealthier and older than you.”

GenXFinance- “Don’t sweat the small stuff. So you’ve cut out the daily Starbucks, dropped cable, and clip coupons to save a couple hundred bucks a month. Who cares. You will never become wealthy by worrying about how to save the next five bucks. It is a losing game because there is only so much that can be cut, and beyond the basics you end up sacrificing your quality of life for the sake of saving what amounts to essentially nothing. Instead of spending time dreaming up ways to cut things out of your life to save ten dollars, think about how to make an extra ten dollars. Or a hundred dollars. Or a thousand dollars. Unlike the limited upside by cutting expenses, the upside of potential income is limitless. Yes, you still want to be conscious of how you spend your money, but focusing your energy on earning more has the potential to make a much greater impact on your life.”

Bucksome Boomer- “Choose your life partner well.  Divorce sets you back decades in your net worth and financial health.”

Life and my Finances- “The best tip I could ever give anyone is “put on your blinders”. Your happiness in life does not depend on how shiny your car is or how many square feet you have in your house. Be thankful for what you have and ignore the Joneses.”

Financial Success Young Adults- “Stay on top of the markets! The Wall Street Journal and CNBC are great ways to keep up with the flow of information. The economy does impact your personal finances and keeping up with help you become familiar with the language of finance and help you better manage your money. ”

Narrow Bridge Finance- “My best money tip is to know when to buy and sell stocks. Technical and fundamental analysis sound complex, but once you know the difference you will know how to buy a stock for long run value over the trends of the moment.”

Debt Eye- ”Check your bank statements every month, and make sure there are no reoccuring charges that you’re not familiar with.  These can include: identity protection, credit monitoring, and or services you hardly use.”

Ultimate Smart Money- ”Think wisely before you act.  Make your purchasing decisions based on your need instead of what you want. Don’t allow your emotion to control your decision.”

Frugal Confessions- “Create an End-of-Year Windfall for Yourself: If you max out your Roth IRA every year ($5,000) by spreading out the payments, it would be around $416 per month. Instead, pay $500 per month for ten months and create a small windfall of cash for one of the most expensive times of the year: an extra $500 cash flow for November and for December. Remember to turn the automatic withdrawals back on after the holidays.”

Fat Guy Skinny Wallet- ”Whenever we are tempted to splurge on an item, or in some other way, spend money on an item for which we haven’t budgeted, we pay that money against our debt instead. For instance, if I get tempted to order a pizza and some wings on the way home from work, what helps me refrain from wasting my money is the thought of using that money to pay off debt instead. So we will not make the purchase and instead we will sign onto our bank’s website and make a payment against our credit card in the amount of the splurge ($20 for pizza in this case). This helps us to fight the urge to spend money frivolously, and it helps us to pay down our debt faster!”

Soldier of Finance- “Find a battle buddy that shares your financial goals to keep yourself accountable (like a workout partner) and help each other succeed.”

Good Financial Cents- “Incorporate the multiple bucket approach when saving for your retirement.  Do this by incorporating Roth IRA’s, Traditional IRA’s, 401k’s, and regular investment accounts to give you plenty of options for your retirement income needs.”

Budgeting in the Fun Stuff- “Keep track of your spending.  If you don’t know where your money is going, you can’t manage it for your present or future.”

Maximizing Money- ”Always make your money work hard for you, but remember to work even harder for your money.”

Roshan Watson- “The Real Golden Rule: He Who Has the Gold Makes the Rules”

ChristianPF- ”For me I think being content with all that we have is one of the smartest things we can do financially. We all know living below our means is a key to financial success, but for many being content with what we have is the first step to living below our means.”

Digerati Life- “My #1 personal finance tip is to prioritize where your money should go.  Many people don’t use a budget or think about where their money is being spent.  But if you take the time to sit down and do some planning (even just a little), by focusing on your financial priorities and on how you intend to parcel out your money (a limited resource), you may be surprised by what you find.  For example, if you’ve got debt, you may decide to prioritize this over saving for a much longer term goal, like a house purchase.  Either way, the exercise of thinking about your income and outgo can be a good first step in making sure your finances are in order.”

DQYDJ- ”Sweat the big stuff.  Automate your retirement contributions and savings and eventually you’ll thank me.”

Thirty Six Months- “My biggest financial tip to budget for everything and don’t buy on impulse. That’s how you get in trouble.”

Frugal Wiz- Financial Tip: “Establish an emergency savings account first before paying off your debt.”

All of these tip may not be right for you, but most will be. Choose wisely!

Persona Finance 4 The People is here to help!

7 Ways to get on Track Financially

Lately, I have been writing a lot about getting out of debt and getting on track financially. We don't realize how simple becoming Financially Independent is. Yeah, it takes work, lots of time, and dedication but it's more than worth it in the long run.

You can live your dreams. You just have to work for them and plan.

1. Stop overspending.


Really, stop! If you can't afford it (and it's a want), you don't need it. Track what you do spend by using something like Mint.com to see where you might be spending too much and change your habits accordingly. Use this information to create a budget.

2. Make more money.


Turn a hobby/skill/telent/passion into extra income. Sell old books. Make Ebay and Craigslist your new best friends. Work more hours. Take on a second job. Become a tutor. Try to bring in at least $100 a month in extra money...

3. Pay down those credit cards and other debts.


With all this extra money you now have coming in, pay down your credit cards and debts. Use Dave Ramsey's Snowball method to pay down your debts. Make a list of all your debts in order of amount you owe and work your way down the list, one debt at a time.

4. Build an Emergency Fund.


Open a savings account with an online bank, like ING, that gives you a higher interest rate than regular savings accounts. You can't immediately touch this money, so plan well! Set ING to take a set amount out of your regular bank account every payday, of an amount that works for you, and forget about it. Before you know it, you will have money for emergencies.

5. Stop using credit cards as often.


Instead of using your credit cards to buy things, save to buy the things you want. Learn to delay gratification and implement a 24 hour rule on purchases over $100. Think it over. Do you really need it? Right now? Make your credit cards work for you...once you have paid them off use them once a month to buy something small and pay off the balance each month.

6. Downsize if necessary.


If you cant afford to live where you live move or get a roommate. If your car payments are too high or gas is costing you too much, sell your vehicle and get a cheaper one. Downsize your life to a life you can afford.

7. Strip away the non-necessities.


If necessary, get rid of everything that isn't a need for the time being. Focus on your monthly bills, debts, and savings goals. As you clear debts you will have more money a month to do what you please with. Get back on track before you spend on wants.

It seems like a lot of work, and it is, but it is worth it in the end to see your dreams come true and to live the life you want....

What Do You Do With Your Spare Change?

You know that spare change you find in your pockets, in the couch, in your car, or wherever? What do you do with it?

Every week, I give myself an allowance of $20. I use this if I want to eat out or buy something I don't really need. At the end of the week I put all the change into jars. I have a jar for quarters - I use these for laundry, a jar for the remaining silver coins, a jar for pennies, and a jar for for bills. When each coin jar is full, I take it to Coinstar and put the bills in the bill jar and the coins in their respective jar. I have a goal for the money I am using the jars to save with; I use that as my tattoo/shoe fund. When I have the decided on amount I can go and spend it without take away from anything else. 

 Here are some ideas for spare change:

 Stick them in a jar (or equivalent) and (eventually) take them to the bank/Coinstar 





Carry them around in your pocket/purse until you spend them 

Toss them into a fountain and make a wish 

Tell people to “keep the change” 

Give them to panhandlers 

Something else entirely

What do you do with your spare change?

Prepare for Your Next Financial Crisis

Almost everyone is ONE financial crisis away from financial ruin, but we don't have to be. Being prepared financially can take a lot of stress and worry away from your life. Here are somethings you can do to be prepared for that next crisis:



Pay down debt and ditch the credit cards
The interest you’re paying on your debts and especially your credit cards is destroying your long term financial plan and putting you at risk if a crisis does happen. Chances are, these debts are a significant bill every month. Now think about this. What if you didn’t have any debt and could be using that same money to set aside for savings, an emergency fund, or a retirement account. Your money deserves better. Make this the month where you take initiative and destroy your debts and move on with life and secure your future.

Look for extra income streams
The fastest way to build up your cash supplies and better prepare yourself for an unfortunate event is to look for ways to make extra money. Whether it’s through a side business or as simple as holding a garage sale, making that extra cash is key to boosting your income and securing your assets.

Excellent insurance coverage
Insurance is one of those things where there is a very fine line. On one hand, you don’t want to be overpaying for insurance but you also don’t want to go cheap and have missing coverage. It’s up to you to get the research done and make sure you have excellent coverage. Shop around and compare quotes from multiple companies. And don’t forget about disability insurance.

Build an Emergency Fund
This may be the most important thing you can do to prepare for a financial crisis. You don't have to put tons of money away a month, especially if you are paying down debt, but getting an Emergency Fund started and funded is a huge key to being able to avoid a financial crisis. Start buy opening an ING account - to protect your savings from you, since it takes 3 days to transfer the money - and set up automatic deposits from your checking account. After awhile you wont even miss the money and will forget about the EF. One day you will look up and have $100's, maybe $1,000's saved.

Are you prepared?
Anything can happen in life. Being prepared will put your mind at ease in case something drastic happens. The goal of preparation is not to prevent a disaster. The goal is to take a crisis event and turn it into nothing more than a minor setback.

Simplify Your Finances

People seem to think that being financially responsible and organized is something that is hard to do, well it isn't!

Here are some tips to help you simplify YOUR finances:

1. Make Electronic Payments
Setting up electronic payments means that people don’t have to do anything. Their payments will be taken from their bank accounts when they are due and they can never be late. This frees up the time they would have had to take writing checks and mailing these bills every month; it also saves money on stamps.

2. Take Advantage of Electronic Statements
Receiving statements in the mail means that people have to keep track of a lot of paperwork. A better plan would be to have electronic statements. The company would be happier with this arrangement because they save on administrative costs, and the customer can keep everything in a convenient place online.

3. Use Online Bill Pay
Online bill pay with the bank makes it possible to pay the bills online. This makes managing finances simple like in the previous example.

4. The Old Tried and True Spending Budget
Creating a budget helps people tremendously who don’t know where their money is going every month. A budget is a plan, and people who make a list of all the necessary bills they have to pay know they will be able to pay those bills when they give them the highest priority.

5. Reduce the Amount of Money Spent Each Month
When creating a budget, people might notice that they have too many different types of bills to pay each month. This can mean that they will have an unmanageable number of spending categories in their monthly budget. If the budget is too complicated, it’s not going to benefit people who want to make their finances simpler. They need to keep all of their spending categories to a minimum in order to make the budget strategy work.

6. Consolidate Accounts
A big help is to consolidate accounts which will keep them all in one place. For example, some people have more than one savings account. If all of these savings accounts are under one bank then these accountholders can log into that one bank and see all of their accounts in one place making managing money much easier.

7. Set Up a Level Pay System for Utilities
When people set up level pay for their utilities, they know that they will be billed around the same amount of money each month. Utilities can be unpredictable and in some months, people can use more than of one type of utility than another.

8. Give Things Away
By giving things away, the house is much less cluttered and there are fewer things to manage.

9. Purchase a House that Fits the Family’s Needs
When purchasing a new home, be sure that the house is exactly what will be needed and nothing more or less. This will ensure that the mortgage payments will be easily manageable and that the maintenance on the house isn’t overwhelming.

10. Make a List of Things to Accomplish
Making a change from a disorganized state to a more organized one can take a little time. Before getting started on this project, people can make a list of their most important goals down to the least and finish each goal before moving on to the next. Setting a time when they would like to have the goal accomplished will ensure that the item gets done and can be crossed off of the list.



...And there you have it!

One Dollar, One Million Personal Finance Seminar Aug 27

Contact: Rikki Grooms, CEO
Phone: 202-431-8008
Email: PersonalFinance4ThePeople@gmail.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PERSONAL FINANCE 4 THE PEOPLE TEACHES HOW TO MAKE
ONE DOLLAR EQUAL ONE MILLION WITH NEW SEMINAR

AUGUST 8, 2011 (OXON HILL, MD.) - We’ve always heard the phrase (and most of us realize it’s actually true once we get our first taste of adult responsibility), that “money doesn’t grow on trees,” but that doesn’t mean you can’t make the money you DO have grow... On Saturday, August 27, 2011, Personal Finance 4 The People (PF4TP) will host a 2-hour financial seminar on something more people should know, but don’t: the basics of attaining financial success. Taking place at the Oxon Hill Library (6200 Oxon Hill Road) from 10-2pm (one seminar at 10, one at 12), the “One Dollar, One Million” seminar will be held for just $10 to allow everyone to attend and learn the secrets of successful personal finance - how to make one dollar become one million.

With the current state of the American economy, consumers are drowning in their financial responsibilities, creating empty pockets and extreme debt for the average and below-average citizen. The underprivileged minority members of society are feeling the brunt of the deficit, and PF4TP’s mission is to assist those individuals in making better decisions with their funds to ensure a stress-free financial future for themselves and their families. The August 27th seminar will cover basic financial education, debt reduction/management, savings, and budgeting, and will allow for attendees to speak one-on-one with Rikki Grooms, CEO of PF4TP. Attendees are encouraged to become involved and ask questions, and network with the company and their peers as they take the first steps towards financial freedom.

For more information on “One Dollar, One Million,” please email PersonalFinance4ThePeople@gmail.com, or call Rikki Grooms at 202-431-8008.

###

ABOUT - Personal Finance 4 The People
PF4TP aims to reach out to those individuals who lack financial education while instilling the fundamental principles and importance of being financially independent. With a societal focus, PF4TP focuses on those types of behaviors that are often cyclical and universal to those who are minorities in the general society (i.e. African Americans, women, LBGTQI, Latino, single parents, young parents, and/or under or poorly educated) and underemployed, unemployed, or disenfranchised by the system.

The Importance of Saving and Budgeting

Most people underestimate the freedom that being diligent and saving can provide. Besides building an Emergency Fund (which is important for obvious reasons; and for those that don’t realize how important having an Emergency Fund is really need to pay attention), saving for particular life events such as weddings, vacations, new cars makes doing these things that much easier. The money for the item or occasion is already there, no need to scrape to get the money or take from something higher up on the priority hierarchy.


Most financial people advise to “pay yourself first” but in reality bills should come first because if you don’t pay yourself that month you won’t be punished. Having a budget helps with saving and allocating money for needs, wants, and want to needs and is very important in the overall success of your finances. Once the financial situation is more stable, sure, “pay yourself first” because you have put in the work to make sure your needs are met and most likely have found “extra money” hidden in your spending.


Once the “extra money” is found and allocated, then the best way to save is to set automatic deposits into a high yielding savings account and forget it. You won’t miss the money because you just found that you have it. Until then, saving is based on what is left after the other needs are met. It’s unrealistic to sit down make ONE budget and expect it to work the first, second, third…. time so that all the needs are met and money magically starts to appear in your savings account(s). It takes change on our part.

For people living pay check to pay check budgeting and saving is even more important because there is less money to spread around and being wasteful in any area can lead to a major financial nightmare down the road. The whole point of saving is to prepare for something in the future. It can be a short or long term goal, but you are prepared.

One nemesis of budgets and savings is the need for instant gratification. Every day we are told we can have whatever we want, instantly. Of course we believe it (after all advertisers wouldn’t lie to us just to get us to buy something would they?) and we want what we want, RIGHT NOW! Waiting isn’t something we can do automatically. One way to train yourself to be patient is to set a goal to save for the item. If you have the money but aren’t sure if the item is a want, need, or want to need then take 24-48 hours to really think “do I need to spend $500 for this, when I can use that $500 to pay off my debts that much faster?” Basically, think over the decision and why you MUST have it right now.

Getting on track financially is more than just changing your spending habits – it takes a lifestyle and mindset change. One can’t have the same values as when they were overspending and expect to be successful financially. I stress this to my clients each time we meet because this whole process can be very frustrating and we all may want to give up but we will never get to the point we desire financially.

Don’t give up. Don’t let frustration take your dreams away. Don’t think you are the only one.

Be persistent through the struggles. Be pro-active. Be determined.

And when that doesn’t work PF4TP is here to offer support, advice, tips, and stories of our own….