No More!

A divorce is final and a wife who always left the finances up to her husband is now left to fend for herself financially.  A husband for thirty years suddenly passes away from a heart attack and his widow has no idea where to start to put her life back together financially because she always let him pay the bills and invest on their behalf.   Both of these women and both of these situations I know personally. Both of these situations happen too often and women are always on the losing end!  When I write it is usually to inform the reader about how to manage their money better so that in the future they will have wealth and not debt.  Rarely do I write about subjects that are intense in nature, but as Women's history month is upon us I feel that I need to address an important issue that is affecting 4 in 10 households in the United States. 

Women are the primary breadwinners in 4 out of 10 households in America which means it is more important than ever for women to know how to manage their finances. Not only for themselves, but also for the children they have or hope to have. Whether a woman is married or not she has to be in control of her money! Gone are the days where a husband or a father would handle the finances of a wife or daughter. Whenever this took place in the past, all it did was leave that women in a vulnerable position with her finances if that father or husband died. More commonly today women are finding themselves in a divorce and completely lost afterwards because they spent their entire marriage letting their husband control the bank account and other financial matters. 

Today all of that CHANGES!  No longer as women will we sit on the sideline and wish that our finances just fall into place.  We will take the necessary steps needed to control our own money and stop letting our money control us!  So what can we do? First, we decide what we want in life. What goals do we have for our household in the short term (6-12 months) the intermediate (1-3 years) and long-term (5-10 years). These goals which I like to call dreams are the fire to our match and they are going to get us to where we want to be financially. When my family was $48,000 in debt we created our own dreams and we wrote them down on a piece of paper and put it up on the refrigerator so that it could be seen each and every day. Believe it or not that sheet of paper full of our dreams kept us focused the 2 1/2 years it took to pay off all $48,000 because every time that we wanted to buy something we didn’t need we would look at that sheet and say we want that dream more!  After women figure out what they want in their life going forward it is now time to take your head out the sand and figure out if you are in debt and if you are how much debt you are in. The only way that you can begin to become debt-free is to know who you owe money to and how much you owe them. Only then can you take action to pay off that debt!

Getting a spending plan (budget) down on paper is essential because you have to know how much money is coming in and going out each month so that you can start to make the needed adjustments. If a woman finds herself living paycheck to paycheck each month she can start her financial recovery by looking at her spending plan and seeing what she can cut out. Cutting out unnecessary expenses leaves money available in each paycheck to start paying off debt. If after cutting out all that you can in unnecessary expenses you still find yourself struggling financially then it is time to find extra income to pay off debt. That may mean adding extra job or selling anything that you can for the extra money. When we were getting out of debt we sold everything that we could. If people wanted to buy it, we would sell it to them!  We also found out what we were good at which was tennis and basketball and started training kids in each sport for $25/ hour!  Do whatever it takes to find the extra money to pay off what you owe!

Why is it important for ALL women to be debt-free and use their money to work for them and not someone else? The reason is that women on average make $.77 for every $1 a man makes, so we can’t afford not to be in control of our money! Even with the income disadvantage women can still come out on top by controlling their finances.  The secret is to make it up in your mind that you deserve better and you are going to do whatever it takes to get to that better!  No more spending money on stuff you don’t need! No more staying in debt because society said “that is how it will always be!” No more not having an emergency fund!  No more letting someone else tell you what to do with your hard earned money!  Today is the day you say “NO MORE!” 

Eating Healthy On A Budget

With all the recent talk about Medicare not being around in the future it is becoming imperative that those age 50 and under start taking better care of themselves.  This can be a challenge on many fronts, but two that come to mind are exercise and diet.  Exercising becomes difficult for most because of the lack of will power and determination.  It has been many times I have attempted to get up in the morning to exercise only to roll back over and go back to sleep.  Another enemy of exercising is time.  With the busy world we live in it is becoming more impossible to go to the gym or run around a track.

Now food is a different story all together because majority of people can control what they put in their mouths.  Instead of me eating that piece of pork bacon I could choose turkey bacon or instead of that 200 calorie frappucino that I love I could have a nice glass of calorie free water.  People who try to eat healthy often do find themselves fighting an uphill battle thanks to the inexpensive food and quick service at fast food restaurants.  I can get a cheeseburger and 32oz Sweet Tea for $2 in less than a minute!  Unfortunately sticking to this kind of diet will have me at a hospital in the future fighting for my life.  On the other hand it is a perception out there that eating healthy can be expensive.  So how do you eat healthy on a budget?   James Davis, a reader of the blog recently shared with me a link to a blog about eating healthy on a budget and it gave different foods to eat that are nutritious and not expensive. The article pointed out that the best buys were bananas, watermelons, broccoli, romaine lettuce, turkey and tuna.  It also pointed to eggs, but I would leave those out since eggs lead to high cholesterol.

There are other tips that will help you to eat healthier food.  One option is to buy local at farmer markets where the food is fresh and always cheaper than the store.  Buying local helps you give back to your community as well.  Another option is to buy produce in season because this is when the food is at its lowest cost.  You find yourself paying higher prices when you crave strawberries, etc out of season.  Think about growing some of your own food in your yard if you have one.  A garden is a great stress reliever or even a fun project for the kids to help with.  Last, but not least have a meal plan when you go to the grocery store because if you are able to save on other items you have the option to buy even more nutritious items for your home!  Let me know how you save on the food that keeps you healthy.  Now I must get back to my spaghetti made with whole grain noodles, ground turkey, and turkey sausage!  

WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?

When attempting to get out of debt you have to take actions you have never taken before and go places you have never been.  Sacrifice is the key word in becoming DEBT FREE and for many that is a brand new concept because before sacrificing to win financially sounded like punishment and abuse.  On the journey to getting out of debt I hit the problem of debt from all possible angles.  Of course our family found new ways to bring in additional income, but the most beneficial changes came from cutting back on certain items and services.  One area that I cut back on was clothing for not only me, but for the entire family.  I use to be the person who wore only name brand clothes and shoes and the same was true for my husband as well.  We had been dressing this way ever since we were in college.  That all changed once I was on unemployment and $48K in debt.

At that point shopping at Goodwill and consignment shops became a new hobby.  I could no longer justify spending $20+ on a pair of jeans or $40 on a pair of shoes because we didn’t have the funds to cover it.  For those of you who don’t know what Goodwill is it is a store that sells used clothes donated by others and the proceeds go to career training for individuals in need as well as other services.  Before I started shopping there I use to look down my nose at Goodwill and you wouldn’t catch me dead in there.  That all changed one day when I went to one of the local stores and seen multiple BMW’s and other luxury cars in the parking lot.  Before going in I said to myself the drivers in these cars must be here to donate clothing, but once I was inside I seen a couple of the ladies actually buying for themselves!  At that moment I realized that these women are just continuing the spending habits they had before they owned the luxury cars and there was no shame to them to be shopping at Goodwill.  This store was allowing them to save money in their clothing budget so they could spend in more important areas like college funds, retirement, and vacations.  Right then and there I said to myself “WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?”  “These wealthy individuals don’t think they are so much better that they can’t shop in Goodwill why do you think you are?”  From that point on I have been finding great deals at Goodwill and consignment sales and tell you the truth it is those clothes that I get the most repeat compliments on. 

I attend consignment sales mostly for my son’s clothing and shoes because if you have kids you know that they don’t care if they drag their shoe until it is a hole at the toe.  They don’t care about crawling in the dirt until the jeans they are wearing are no longer recognizable.  That is exactly why their clothing shouldn’t cost you a lot of money.  I hate to see parents spend $100 on a pair of sneakers when they could just spend $8 or less at a consignment sale and put the rest in a 529 college fund.  Kids are not hard to impress in fact every time I bring home clothes or shoes from a consignment sale my son always says “mommy you got me some new shoes, thank you mommy!” They don’t care where the shoes come from as long as they light up and they can play outside in them.  We as adults are trying to impress other adults when we buy our kids expensive clothing and all we are doing is depleting our own bank accounts for the future.  When I was employed in my first pregnancy five years ago I bought all of my son’s items brand new. Brand new changing table, crib, stroller, car seat all of it was coming out of my bank account at full price.  I know I spent thousands of dollars before he was even born.  I am now eight months pregnant again, but this time I bought the stroller, car seats, changing table, diaper bag, bath tub, etc, from church consignment sales and saved thousands!  The point of all this rambling is that you don’t have to care what people say if they see you shopping at Goodwill or consignment sales because they may be laughing, but if they saw your bank account the laughing would surely stop!  I actually brag about the deals that I get now because I want people to know that there are more important things in life than clothes.  So the next time you find yourself sticking up your nose at Goodwill and consignment sales while at the same time in debt do what I did and say to yourself “WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?”

Have you ever saved money by buying used clothes?

Let’s Celebrate!

April is more than a month where we get to play practical jokes on unsuspected victims, it is also designated as Financial Literacy Month!  During Financial Literacy Month there are events taking place daily that attempt to educate the public about money management.  The goal is to help both young and old realize that Financial Literacy is nothing to be afraid of, but instead embraced and conquered.  I know that your own financial life can be overwhelming at times, but hopefully I can give you a few starting points that you can implement during the last thirteen days of April.  April is just the beginning, the idea is to keep going until you master your own financial life!

Steps:

1.    List your short (3-6 months), intermediate (3-5 yrs), and long term (10-15 yrs) goals for your life on a sheet of paper and put it on your refrigerator.

2.    Open a savings account and start saving a certain amount each paycheck. Even if it is $10 just save something!

3.    Write down all your debts both small and large. (Face the fear of knowing the total)

4.    Determine how much money you have coming in (paycheck) versus how much money is going out (bills). Write it all down on a piece of paper.

5.    From that piece of paper (budget) determine which are needs and which are wants.  Determine what can be cut back or cut out.

6.    Once you figure out in your budget where you can save money start adding that extra money to your smallest debt and pay it off fast! Then repeat with the next smallest debt until all debts are eliminated.

7.    Find an accountability partner.  Someone who will encourage you to keep going when times get tough and remind you of those goals you have on your refrigerator.

I know that personal money management can be overwhelming.  It can feel like you are trying to eat an entire elephant all at once. Just remember to take one piece at a time and eventually that elephant will be completely gone.  That is why I put seven steps instead of thirteen for these last thirteen days so you can take your time and get it done by or before April 30^th.  The steps are simple all you have to do is say to yourself “I am ready to make a change for the better in my financial life” and the rest will take care of itself.  Don’t give up; complete the journey because in the end all of the financial strife that use to be a part of your life will just look like a bad dream and all that will be left is financial success!

Will you take the first step TODAY?