The Soon-To-Be Debt-Free Diva

Hey Divas! Hope you're all having a fantastic Tuesday! I wanted to let you all know about my newest venture. Personal finance has been a struggle and fascination of mine for quite some time. While I incorporate budgeting and savings posts here from time-to-time, I really would like to keep those to a minimum and focus more on the inspirational and motivational portion of Divas With A Purpose.

Recently, I began a new blog entitled, The Soon-To-Be Debt-Free Diva! I'm still wheedling down the specifics of which the direction I'll be taking that blog and I would love your input and support over there.  Currently, I'm blogging daily on the series 31 Days to Financial Freedom courtesy of My Pretty Pennies. There are tons of deal savings and coupon blogs but I would like to focus on ways to pay down/off debt and managing personal finances.

I'm by far no expert and will be reaching out to those who are where I'd like to be and have the expertise for interviews, guest posts, etc.  If you have a success or not-so-successful story that you'd like to share, I'd love to hear. You know my motto - you never know how your words, experiences and views may help inspire and motivate someone to make a change or difference.

2012 Holiday Savings Tips

Good Morning Divas :) I hope you all had a fantastic Thanksgiving weekend. I took a much needed break from all things technological and enjoyed time spent with family and friends.  And...refrained from the Black Friday shopping madness.  The highlight of my shopping weekend was stumbling upon a teapot with flowering tea balls for $5 - well, that was the ONLY purchase I made.  I've made a commitment this year to shop local and support small businesses and direct sale consultants for my holiday gifts.

The holiday rush is definitely upon us! There are so many deals running rampant and it is so easy to overspend even while attempting to be thrifty.

Those that shop online know that a good deal comes up quick and you have to jump on the bandwagon to ensure you don't miss out.  However, make sure you're not spending money just to save money - hopefully you caught that :)

I did a post similar to this last year and decided it was information well worth sharing and adding on to.

My suggestions:

• Create a master budget.  I have separate bank accounts for different spending. Make all your purchases out of a "gift account" that is separate from other budget items.  Do not transfer more than you have pre-planned into the account.  If the deal exceeds what's in your account, then it is not a good deal for you.  Pass on it, but be a good friend and "gift" the information to others by passing the deal on to other family and friends.
  
  
• Keep a list of people you have decided to shop for somewhere handy - next to your computer, on your smart phone, etc - and refer to it whenever a great deal comes up.  If it's an awesome deal - see who you can check off your list by purchasing it.  If you can't match it up to someone, then pass on it.
  
• Make your own wrapping paper - reuse newspaper, sales ads, store bags, etc.
  
• Do a family name exchange. Rather than buy for everyone, exchange names and buy for just one person.  This is especially helpful if you have a large extended family.
  
• Homemade, sentimental gifts are great! You can do gifts in a jar, photo collages...Pinterest has tons of great ideas to implement within your holiday gift giving.

Source: mnn.com via Michelle on Pinterest

 
Ok, Divas, sharing time....what are your tips for staying frugal during the holidays? Do you have any divalicious homemade gift ideas to share? Post your comments below. It's the holiday season and I love to give, so two commenters will be chosen to receive a $5 Amazon gift card or Pay Pal cash. Comments must be posted by 11:59 PM EST on Friday, December 7, 2012. The winners will be announced the following Monday and chosen by Random.org

Be Blessed Divas and remember to be a blessing to others!!!

Michelle

Holiday Savings Tips

What's the most unique or quirkiest way you've saved money during the holiday season?

For me, it was doing my Christmas shopping the day AFTER Christmas.  Say what you want, but there are some awesome deals and I'm sure I saved about 50-60% if not more.  Typically, if I know I'm not going to see someone until after Christmas that's usually when their gift is purchased.

I learned the art of buying throughout the year from my godmother.  She has things stashed all over the place that she collects throughout the year when they are on sale.  Her biggest struggle is finding them all when it's time to start putting gifts together. She's one of my favorite persons to receive gifts from because you get a very eclectic grouping of items and, often, you'll recall the shopping excursion where you ogled the very same item or saw her buy it thinking it was for someone else.

Honestly, my favorite gifts to put together AND receive are the ones from the heart - whether it's homemade or a sentimental card.  This holiday season for my family we will be focusing on the reason behind the season rather than having a "I want" or  "I need" attitude.

But when gift shopping, here are a few tips to help cut down on your final total. I'd love it if you'd chime in with your own ideas in the comments:

Online Shopping. During the holiday seasons, online retailers offer great incentives and flash sales.  Check your favorite deal saving site regularly (I enjoy Hip2Save and SouthernSavers) for "get 'em while it's hot" deals.  Be careful on overspending - as it's easy to start buying things you don't truly need because of rebates or super low prices.  Create an online shopping budget and stick with it. Once it's gone - you're done.
 
Use cash back websites like Ebates.com to earn money back on your online shopping.  Many banks, also, offer this service.  Remember to check the fine print because there are often limitations on what is eligible for cash back and what isn't.  Typically you may have to wait up to 8-10 weeks to receive your funds in your account.

Use a list and keep track of your spending.  Keep track of who you're shopping for and how much you've spent.  Seeing it in black and white will help you stay on track and, hopefully, within your budget.

Avoid impulse buys.  This is where most of us overspend.

Give back to someone less fortunate. Whether it's donating a toy to the Salvation Army or food to a local pantry. Help someone out this holiday season.

Teaching our Children How to Give

 

The "giving season" is quickly approaching us. I say that somewhat sarcastically because I truly believe that giving should be a year-long affair - not just something focused on from Thanksgiving through Christmas but that's another soapbox for another day ;)

Seriously, there is more focus on giving during the next few months. Especially to make the holiday seasons more bearable and enjoyable for those less fortunate than many of us - whether it's financially, emotionally, and/or physically.

Teaching our children to be givers at an early age helps instill in them a behavior that will follow them through their lives.

First and foremost, we must not FORCE our children to give.  This totally defeats the purpose.  Making it a chore or punishment takes away the unselfishness and "feel good" feeling that should be associated with giving.  By giving them options and engaging them in the giving process, you will get them excited about helping others.

Give to organizations they can relate to. For example, during Christmas, I have my children pick a child from our local Angel Tree that's their age.  They are given a budget to spend and shop based on items they would like to have but understand that there's a child out there that they are helping to have a happy Christmas morning, too.  (This is a two-fold lesson on giving and budgeting...win-win!)

Children learn patterns and behaviors by patterning themselves after the adults in their lives.  Show your child how to give by being an active giver. Let them see you volunteering and giving back to your community.

Give thanks on a regular basis for what you have. Keep a family gratitude journal or establish a ritual of listing something you're thankful for each day at dinner-time.

Find children's books that teach about giving (my favorite is The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein) and read them to one another.

Support local food and clothing drives by giving out of your closets or pantry with your children's help.

These are just a few suggestions we try to implement in our household. What traditions does your family have to include your children in the giving process?

Divas Night Out and #GracoSafety

Last week, Miss V and I got a much-needed girls night out! We were invited to Charlotte to learn all about Graco's newest product - The SnugRide® Click Connect™ 40.

This is the only infant car seat to provide rear-facing protection for our little ones from birth all the way up to 2 years old! I'll be honest with you divas, my youngest two were turned around way before they should have been. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends they remain rear-facing until 2 years old or 40 pounds - mine probably didn't make it to 6-9 months.  Mainly because it was difficult to find a seat they could sit in comfortably based on their height.  However, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, toddlers are five times safer riding rear-facing! 

We've been using the SnugRide® Click Connect™ 40 for a little over a week now and Miss V has had no issues at all. Honestly, I believe she's more comfortable and content - especially when we're making longer trips since she's in a reclining position.

Back-to-School Savings & Tips

After lots of thought, discussion and planning, I've come to a major decision that I plan on following through with - returning to school to complete the degree program that I've been working on for longer than I care to dwell on.

Two of the struggles with returning were time away from home and the costs associated with returning.  

I was attempting to not take out any additional student loans and pay for classes out of pocket using the payment program my school offered.  The payment plan does not account for books so that's an expense that I'd have to pay upfront on my own - one that I was definitely dreading.

From previous experiences I knew that purchasing textbooks could be a headache - a very expensive headache.

One of my textbooks this semester brand new is $202. Used will run me $151.50. Honestly - that's still a bit out of my budget. We're talking almost a week's worth of daycare for a book I'll use for 3 months and then never look at again!

Enter textbook renting! I love this concept and wish it was more popular when I first began taking courses umpth years ago! The cost to rent the same book for the semester is $77.06 on Campus Book Rentals:

Another trick I learned a few years ago is to speak to the professor about using a previous edition.  Many times the difference between one edition and another are barely noticeable and doesn't affect the your ability to use the book and follow along with lectures and complete assignments.  Most professors will let you know if it's okay to use the older edition because they understand that most adult students have so many other expenses they are attempting to balance in order to complete their educational goal.  The previous edition of this same book is only $12.62 to rent for an entire semester! I will definitely be reaching out to the instructor for this course to see if she's okay with me using a previous edition!

Another reason I enjoy renting textbooks is that you're allowed to take notes and highlight in the books as use them - meaning that I often get valuable information from previous users of the books that help provide extra insight into the course objectives.

Campus Book Rentals has been in business since 2007 and there's no shipping costs involved with receiving or returning the books!  They, also, offer:
~ No membership fees - you pay to rent the book(s) you need and there aren't any recurring monthly costs
~ 30 day risk free returns
~ live customer support
~ flexible rental periods (you can set your return dates if you need the book for a specific date range other than a semester or quarter!)
~ they give back to the community by partnering with Operation Smile and setting aside funds for textbook scholarships in our communities

As far as time away from my family - this upcoming semester I will be doing a mix of traditional face-to-face and online courses.  The face-to-face course will be during my lunch break three days a week.  I'm open with my kiddos and they know the long-range benefits of Mommy finishing this degree and we're all willing to make the short-term sacrifices.

Any other divas taking the back-to-school plunge this year? How do you balance work-life-school-home? Have you used an online book rental service before? Any tips on how to cut costs with back-to-school expenses?

Wish me luck, Divas!!!

~~Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post, but all experiences, scenarios and opinions are mine.~~

September No Spend Challenge

Happy Monday Divas!

For those of you that follow Divas With A Purpose on Facebook, I put out a challenge this past weekend for the month of September - to not purchase anything new (excluding food) for the entire month.

What's the point? For me it's to focus on what I have, use it and appreciate it more.  I'm pretty frugal to start off with, but by putting myself on a serious spending diet I see areas in my budget that I can cut even more or eliminate.

Anyone up to the challenge with us? Even if you can't do the entire month, perhaps you'd like to join in for a week or weekend? If so, please chime in either here or on our Facebook page to let us know. We can cheer each other on and share ideas and tips to make it through the month of September.

Financial Friday: Money Fix

My husband and I recently had the opportunity to work with two financial counselors and receive a plan to help us with our finances as part of The Money Fix sponsored by DailyWorth. If you're not familiar with DailyWorth, you are missing out! It's a financial website with tips and stories geared towards women. They discuss real life topics that apply to real women - from savings to investing to entrepreneurial ideas.

A little back story - my husband and I have been married for almost 6 years and never successfully combined our finances. Neither of us really knew what personal bills the other had and it often led to misunderstandings and, sadly, arguments over what needed to be paid or wasn't.  We even got off to a very rocky start with The Money Fix with my husband missing one of our sessions. I was angry, disappointed and embarrassed.  That opened the door to us having a very serious heart-to-heart and beginning to repair some of the communication issues we'd let simmer (and finally boil over) in our marriage.

Blogger Series Part 4: Organizing Your Finances

This image is used by permission from Hobbies on A Budget

Many people start a blog with hopes of making money whether it's to supplement their income or even replace an income. Some can do it and are quite successful, but most bloggers will tell you that their real satisfaction and "payment" is reaching others and sharing with other bloggers and their readers. Making a small profit is lower on the list of priorities but does help out when it comes to supplementing website hosting, giveaways, and the many hours spent updating our blogs, Facebook pages, Twitter, the list could go on and on.

Any income that you generate should be tracked and accounted for accordingly. As bloggers, this includes ad revenues and the value of review products.  We should, also, account for all of our expenses - web hosting, giveaway fees, shipping of prizes, etc.

Money Monday: Budgeting

Good Morning Divas! I hope you all had an enjoyable weekend and have a chance to rest and relax today.  I urge you all to remember the reason behind today - Memorial Day - and keep the families and comrades of those that have made the ultimate sacrifice for us, our country and our freedoms.

This Friday I was able to host my first budgeting get together with an awesome group of divas.  My intent is to have this become a bi-monthly or quarterly get together to help keep us on track, learn from one another, and have some much needed girl-time!

One of the topics we discussed were the budgeting pitfalls many of us face and how to overcome them.  Many confuse budgeting with balancing their checkbook or just keeping track of how much they spend and where.  This is a key step in creating a budget and sticking to one, but it is not the same thing.

Budgeting helps you to spend wisely, pay down debt and plan for large or special events.

Preparedness = Savings

This morning was rough for me.  Neither my 4 year old or my 6 month old were cooperating with leaving the house.  Normally, I attempt to get everything ready the night before but lately that has just not been happening.

I dropped them off to the sitter’s to realize that my 6 month old’s diapers were not in the bag. Great!  


Option 1 – drive all the way back home and be about 30 minutes late to work

Option 2 – swing by the Dollar General around the corner from the sitter’s and my job and be about 15 minutes late to work

Financial Friday: Debt-Free Tips

Happy Friday Divas :) I hope everyone had a fantastic week. I'm definitely looking forward to the weekend and spending some time with my family.  My mom, sister and new niece are headed this way for the weekend. #EXCITED

It's been a while since I've done a Financial Friday post and received an email that piqued my interest.  I'm signed up for Dave Ramsey's Personal Finance Newsletter.  I can't wait for the day I can call in to his show and yell I'M DEBT FREE!!! My money management style is a combination of money different "experts" and my own personal preferences.  I've come a long way, but I've still got some work to do.

This email linked back to 29 Ways to Leap Out of Debt (it was sent on Feb 29th).  Here are a few of the ideas that I really liked, and of course, feel free to check out the whole list:

~Start couponing. It's definitely worth the time and can save you a lot of money!  Especially when you match the sales, store rewards, and bonus savings many stores offer.  Don't go all crazy, but you can get the basic necessities for your family for very little out of pocket.  I have my oldest help and we use real world application on his basic math skills.

~Stop eating out. Hard for some I know, but it's definitely a money saver.

~Visit the library.  These days you can check out books, DVDs, magazines, etc.  Some even let you "check-out" electronic books on your Kindle, IPads, etc.

~Learn how to say "NO".

~Use EBay or Craigslist - to buy and sell!

~Get on a budget. Knowing where and how you spend your money will help you determine what to cut and how to change certain behaviors.

~Build your emergency fund

~Give more...sounds weird, but I truly believe the more you give, the more you receive.

Feel free to share your thoughts on the article and chime in with your own ideas that have worked (or haven't worked!) for you.

Be Blessed Divas and remember to be a blessing to others!!!
~Michelle

Know Your Number, Divas!

Woo-hoo!!! Most of us are almost half-way through the work week! I had the most interesting email exchange with one of my divas today that made wish we were just a little closer to the weekend...

Many of us have **that** friend...you know the one that you make sure you're stocked up on Tylenol and wine when they call because it's going to be highly special and, often times, entertaining depending on how much wine you've consumed!  Anyways, this financially-challenged diva called me upset that she was trying to get a new car but had been turned down by a car dealership that's known for pretty much approving anyone.  I had to ask what her credit score was and what her credit report looked like and...wait for it...she had no clue!!! 

I was absolutely floored...how she thought she was going to get a new car without knowing what her credit score was or what was on her credit report is beyond me. My advice to her was to find out quick, fast and in a hurry.  These days it is so easy to get a free credit score and monitor it and the items on your credit report.

In today's economy, it is critical to know your credit report and score.  If you have work to do on it, you have to know where to start and ignoring it will not make things better (I'm a witness to that!).  We have to learn how to read our report, dispute errors, and make corrections.  By being proactive and managing our debt wisely, we save ourselves so much time and money in the long run.  Be informed Divas and know your number!

Be Blessed Divas and remember to be a blessing to to others!!!

~Michelle

Money Monday: Why? not How?

Think “why.”

You’re more likely to reach your goal when you concentrate on why you’re saving  (and less on how), according to a study in the Journal of Consumer Research.

I came across this quote a few weeks ago and it really spoke to me.  Often times when we're thinking about creating a budget and saving money, we're focused on how to do it.  How to balance your checkbook. How to cut costs.  How to pay down your debt.  We get so caught up on the hows and technicalities of it all, that we may get overwhelmed and go right back to the same to the same financial habits that aren't getting us anywhere.  Been there...done that...multiple times!  

My ah-ha moment came when I realized that I one day my children would come to me for help for something financial and I wanted to have the means and ability to help them.  If it was loaning them money without it being a financial burden or having to co-sign on their first car.  Whatever it was, I wanted to be able to help them and not have my credit be a hindrance.  I, also, wanted them to grow up learning the importance of saving and being frugal.  To know that they could do fun things (often the exact same fun things others were doing) but not spend tons of money doing so.  

I, also, wanted a home of my own.  I wanted a place where my family could make memories and host family gatherings.  I wanted to be able to sit on my back patio and just relax while watching my kids play in the backyard or watch the stars once everyone was tucked in for the night.  Once I started focusing on those things, it became easier for me to make the sacrifices that I had to.


So, divas, why is it that you want to save and make spending changes? Is it to teach your kids so they don't adapt the same financial bad habits you may have had? Is it for a home for your family? Is it for a family vacation to relax and unwind together? Is it to pay off debt so you can have more disposable income in the long-term.  Whatever your reasons are, I wish you much success. Patience, dedication and perseverance will be your friends :)


Be Blessed Divas and remember to be a blessing to others!
~Michelle

Money Monday: Easy Money Saving Tips

Happy Monday Divas :)

I hope you all had a wonderful and relaxing weekend. This is my first official week back at work full-time....yay!!! Ok...I've got a little more enthusiasm than that. I've had a pretty sweet break so I'm ready to rock and roll back into action.

A little over a week ago, I stressed the importance of having an emergency savings and the fun contest hosted by Mint.com and DailyWorth.com to save $1000 in 90 days.  This week I'd like to share some easy and painless ways to trim from your budget and, of course, get your feedback on actions that worked for you.

~~Taking my lunch to work or going home on my lunch breaks. I've always had this thing about taking my lunch to school and work. Even as a kid. I just didn't like it. But when I sat down and really looked at how much I was spending on a weekly basis, I was floored and quickly changed my ways.  I still eat out but I have a budget of $20 a week. Once it's gone - it's gone. This forces me to be very creative.  Now that we've moved about 2 miles away from my job I find myself going home more often and enjoying about 45 minutes of alone time in my house

Financial Friday: Emergency Savings

Happy Friday Divas :0)



Made it through another work week and facing a busy weekend!!! One of the perks of having a large family is that there is almost always something to do and somewhere to go...one of the downfalls of having a large family is that there is almost always something to do and somewhere to go!

Last week's Financial Friday focus was on teaching our kids - not just telling them - how to adequately prepare for adulthood with budgets, savings, bill payment, etc. One thing that many of us struggle with - mainly because it was not stressed as we were growing up and we weren't really held accountable for it is savings.  I'll admit that I've gotten better over the past few years with retirement savings but I still don't have an emergency fund setup somewhere that is easy to access if needed but not TOO easy to access just because.

Earlier this week I got an email from DailyWorth.com - a great money site (in my unbiased, unsolicited opinion) for women.  They send daily emails with tips, ideas and motivation on topics such as budgeting, saving, investing, increasing your earnings, and wise spending.  DailyWorth has recently partnered with Mint.com (another one of my favs!!!) - an online account management site that gives you a snapshot of all your accounts and helps you create budgets and savings goals.

According to DailyWorth, approximately 25% of Americans do NOT have an emergency fund - a cushion to help cover crises that may arise in our day-to-day lives.  DailyWorth and Mint have partnered to encourage their users to save $1000 in the next 90 days for an emergency fund.  As an added incentive, 3 people will win $1000 if they meet the goal!

Sounds daunting, but if you break that down it's about $11 a day.  For many of us, by eliminating some extras for a short period of time, we could easily put aside the additional money that could help provide us with a little extra security and peace of mind.

If you're interested in entering, go to DailyWorth.com for more information and to subscribe to their emails.

Now I know for some people, they're at a point where saving even an additional $11 a week seems impossible.  I would encourage you to put SOMETHING aside each pay period and not touch it.  You may need to come up with some side ideas to make extra money - a yard sale, selling items on eBay or Etsy, etc.

If you chose to take part in the challenge, share with us so we can encourage each other along!  What ideas do you have to help save an extra $1000 over the next 90 days?  Your ideas and encouragement may spark some interest and motivation for someone else :)

Be Blessed Divas and remember to be a blessing to others!!! Have a fantabulous weekend :)
~Michelle

Disclaimer:

The views expressed in this post are mine and mine alone.  I was not contacted by DailyWorth.com or Mint.com to promote them.  They are both sites that I find useful and chose to share with my readers. I am receiving no compensation of any kind for promoting either site or their contest.

Financial Friday: Teaching Moments

Happy Friday, Divas!!! I hope everyone had a wonderful week and has an enjoyable weekend!


Today I had a great dinner with one of my younger cousins - a chance to catch up, celebrate her successes and discuss her "learning opportunities" from this past year.  She's a senior in college and one of her biggest struggles during her college years was budgeting.  During our talk, it clicked that while I was always told about saving money and being frugal, no one ever actually showed me how to create a budget or balance a checkbook.  I, like most people, had to learn by trial and error.  Lots of trials and tons of errors :)


What are we teaching our children? How are we adequately preparing them to handle their finances as adults?  Just think how different your financial standing could be if someone had taken the time to teach you at 9 or 10 years old how to budget and manage your allowance funds?  If being frugal and saving was a part of your day-to-day routine by the time you became a teenager and had your first real job???


My son currently has to split any money he earns or is given 10-50-40: 10% to church; 50% in savings; and 40% to spend.  If we go to the store and he wants something, he has to buy it if it's something that I hadn't previously planned on buying.  Having to spend his own money often curbs impulsive spending.  If he doesn't have his money (or enough), then he doesn't get it.  We don't do allowance advances - I equate that to loans/pay day advances.


After this evening's discussion, I've decided to take things to the next level with him and begin showing him how to "budget" his money when it comes to his video games, eating out, etc.  Our children definitely need to see us making wise financial choices, but they, also, need to learn how to do things for themselves in an environment where if they mess up it doesn't affect their credit score or have their lights turned off.


What financial lessons are you passing down to your children? What were the best lessons that you were taught growing up that you still implement in your adult life? 


Be Blessed Divas and remember to be a blessing to others :)
~Michelle

Financial Friday: Reality Check

It's amazing to me how many people have no idea where they stand financially and do not care to find out. If your situation is not that good, ignoring it will only make it worse.  Believe me, been there - done that - tried to buy the t-shirt but credit card was declined!  


Seriously though, if you have no clue where the money you are earning is going or who you owe what, then you will stay in a never-ending cycle of being overdrawn, frustrated and, let's face it, BROKE!


Anyone that's gone through the debt elimination and personal finance overhaul should be able to agree that budgeting is truly the first step.  In order to budget, you have to know what you have coming in and what's going out.  


Most online banks have the option to download your transactions to an Excel spreadsheet - do this and sort by payee.  If you're giving your bank a lot of your money bank in overdraft and NSF fees - definitely time to make some changes by seeing what's triggering the fees.  Do you have too many auto-drafts set up that don't coincide with your pay days? Are you overdrawing with your debit card?


Next, determine where you're spending too much money (for me it was eating out with co-workers for lunch) and eliminate or decrease it as much as possible. As hard as it was, I had to give myself $20 a week for lunch (believe me, that was a huge decrease!) and once it was gone, it was gone. It forced me to be more frugal with my lunch choices (I know all $5 or less lunch options on my side of town!) and eat from home more.


Many people don't get pass this step because it involves changing your lifestyle and being uncomfortable for awhile.  I mean, who really wants to eat ham and cheese sandwiches from home in the breakroom??? You have to want to change your financial outlook for your sake and for your children's sake. They are learning by watching you and it will shape how they handle money growing up and in their adult life.


So, divas, let's hear it? What's your reality check? Where do you spend the most that you could definitely trim down or even eliminate? Are you ready and willing to be uncomfortable for a season in order to have financial freedom?


Be Blessed Divas and remember to be a blessing to others!!!

Disclaimer: I am not a financial adviser or planner. I'm a diva who's real enough to admit that I made financial whoopsies early in life and had to make some serious changes to better myself and my family.  It wasn't easy but it was definitely worth it!

Financial Friday: Holiday Spending

Good Morning Divas :) The holiday rush is definitely upon us! There are so many deals running rampant and it is so easy to overspend even while attempting to be thrifty.

Those that shop online know that a good deal comes up quick and you have to jump on the bandwagon to ensure you don't miss out.  However, make sure you're not spending money just to save money - hopefully you caught that :)


My suggestions:

• Keep a list of people you have decided to shop for somewhere handy - next to your computer, on your smart phone, etc - and refer to it whenever a great deal comes up.  If it's an awesome deal - see who you can check off your list by purchasing it.  If you can't match it up to someone, then pass on it.

• Create a master budget.  I have separate bank accounts for different spending. Make all your purchases out of a "gift account" that is separate from other budget items.  Do not transfer more than you have pre-planned into the account.  If the deal exceeds what's in your account, then it is not a good deal for you.  Pass on it, but be a good friend and "gift" the information to others by passing the deal on to other family and friends.

• Create cute homemade gifts and include a note telling the recipient how much they mean to you. I'm the most un-creative person but was able to find lots of ideas just by using Google. I just love those jarred food gifts (I may be weird, I don't know) but I found the cutest little recipe for White Chocolate Chunk Brownies in a Jar - adorn with a pretty ribbon and cute homemade gift bag.

Ok, Divas, sharing time....what are your tips for staying frugal during the holidays? Do you have any divalicious homemade gift ideas to share? Post your comments below. It's the holiday season and I love to give, so two commenters will be chosen to receive a surprise holiday gift box full of goodies. Comments must be posted by 11:59 PM EST on Thursday, December 15, 2011. The winners will be announced on Friday's blog and chosen by Random.org

Be Blessed Divas and remember to be a blessing to others!!!

Michelle

Budgeting is not a dirty word!

I’ll admit that I struggled with this for years, but as my family grew I quickly realized in order to succeed I had to have control of our finances. How could I expect God to bless me with increases when I couldn’t manage what He’d already given me?



First, I had to commit a plan and realize that I would have to sacrifice some things from time to time in order to get what I wanted in the long range. That meant cutting out eating out as regularly as we did (lunch and dinners) and sacrificing some of shopping splurges – even if it was an awesome sale!


Secondly, I had to figure out what worked best for me. There was some trial and error during this phase. I began reading and studying different budgeting and debt management plans – Dave Ramsey, Suze Orman, etc – to find one that worked best for my family’s situation. I ended up doing a combination of different plans and strategies that I’d read up on.


Next, I had to write things down. This was the hardest for me, because I had to see in black and white just how much money I had coming in on a regular basis and how much I owed to different people. Definitely an eye opener!!! I used an Excel spreadsheet to list all my debt, minimum monthly payments and a running tally of how long it would take me to pay off what I owed.


I make pretty much the same amount each pay period, so I was able to make a monthly spreadsheet showing what was coming out of each paycheck. Sometimes I had to split up payments between paychecks so too much wouldn’t hit one check. I set up a direct deposit to my savings account (at a bank that I don’t have easy access to) so I wouldn’t have to worry about making that transfer myself. It wasn’t a large amount but it was something! When I got paid, I made all my payments immediately! Once that was done, I withdrew my set spending allowance for the next two weeks.


My debt spreadsheet was sorted from low to high and whenever I could I would make additional payments. When something was paid off, the funds that I normally paid on that debt was applied to another debt (Dave Ramsey’s Debt Snowball to some extent).


I will admit that once I began seeing in black and white my debt going down (and my credit score increasing) it became, dare I say, FUN! Yeah, the inner nerd in me came out in full force!


In today’s economy, managing your money and debt is essential. Find what works best for you and stick with it. It’s okay to splurge from time to time – just make sure those splurges done infringe on the necessities your family needs. That’s where a savings account and emergency fund comes in.


Divas, share your best budgeting and debt management tips. We can all learn from one another!


Be Blessed Divas and remember to be a blessing to others!!!