My 6 year old nephew is my nerd mini-me. He is very observant, inquisitive and strategic. However, at times, he gives up too quickly if a situation is not as easy as he thought. Recently, his strategic side overtook his quit easily side.

Last week, my sister took her children to Target. While in the store they went into the toy section. Of course my nephew fell in love with a new shiny toy. But what happened next made me especially PROUD.

He looks at the toy then checks the price. The toy cost $29.99. He asks his mom, my sister, if she had money to buy him the toy immediately. Does this sound familiar? She does as she always does and tells him, “Son, I don’t have money for that today.” Well like any kid who so desires a new shiny toy, my nephew starts pondering ways to pay for it. His thought process and rationale are those of a financially focused adult.

#1: Cost Cutting Method – Not discouraged, my nephew turns to my niece. He says “Mom spent that amount on us to eat out last night. We should have bought wings, cooked them and eaten at home.” If you can’t make more money to get the things you need and want, find ways to cut your expenses to afford them. My nephew is willing to cutout dining out…except on his birthday.

#2: Savings – My nephew then turns to his mom and request they go home immediately so he can count the money in his piggy bank. His piggy bank was about $20 too short to buy the new toy. Saving for the things you want is important.

#3: Delay of gratification – My sister asks my nephew if he is going to ask his aunt to purchase the toy for him since he doesn’t have enough money. He says “No. I’ll wait for Christmas.” If something is NOT a necessity then you can WAIT to get it.

#4: Earn Money – My nephew decided he could make money to buy the toy. He inquired about a “game” my mom played with my niece. For every 3 sentences he writes, my nephew earns a dollar. Too bad for him my mom lives an hour away so he won’t be collecting his cash anytime soon.

#5: Don’t Give Up – My nephew never gave up! He knew there was a solution to his quest to get that new shiny toy. Find the tenacity to get what you want without going into debt.

I’m so proud of my 6 year old nephew. I wonder who is going to buy the toy for him because if he is like me that money he earns will sit in his piggy bank…LOL

Just in case you didn’t notice, children pay close attention to adult behaviors!

The holiday season has begun! Financially speaking, this is a critical time NOT to accumulate DEBT. This includes Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. They can take an unnecessary financial toll if you do not prepare.

For Halloween costumes, decorations, candy, etc. be sure to set a budget.  When invited to Halloween events, don’t be afraid to say NO! This is saying YES to your finances and goals.  Your children, friends and family maybe mad but they will get over it. It is NOT about them because you are responsible for your money.

Thanksgiving is a family oriented event which can mean feeding a large number of people. These are a few Thanksgiving Dinner Tips.
#1 – Be sure to do your BUDGETS for November.
#2 – To cut costs of Thanksgiving dinner go to your auntie’s house LOL Well go to the one who can COOK for Thanksgiving dinner.
#3 – Have dinner wherein people bring their 1 or 2 best dishes. And Uncle Earl comes with all the liquor. Aunt Betty gets all the paper products.
#4 – Use COUPONS, discount cards, sale ads, etc. to save on groceries.
#5 – Change your nationality to avoid celebrating the holiday. (Only HARDCORE people do this.) Seriously volunteer to feed the homeless. You will see your abundance when you give to others.
#6 – Start stockpiling for the extra meals your kids will eat because they are out of school (Please don’t cry about it.)
#7 – Look for tips to cut your electricity and gas bills for winter heating.

#8 – Eat your leftovers for the next few weeks and from Thanksgiving. Take the time now to find recipes for leftover turkey, cranberry sauce, etc.

#9 – You couldn’t avoid attending the big family Thanksgiving dinner, so be sure to carpool to save on gas.

What other suggestions do you have to SAVE money for the Thanksgiving holiday? Do these suggestions seem reasonable and achievable?

Emergency fund or savings is essential for your finances. There are at least two types of emergency funds you need to have. One is an emergency fund, which can be $1000, in a separate account from your account for your living expenses. Once you have paid off your debt aim for 6-12 months of living expenses (not income) as the amount to have in your emergency fund.

Why $1000 emergency fund? Most times an emergency doesn’t exceed $1000. So keeping this amount of money covers most but not all emergency repairs or expenditures. Yes there will be times an emergency will require more than $1000 but more than likely you don’t have anything for emergencies so $1000 is better than what you have now ($0.00)!

After you are debt free, you should a 6-12 months emergency. The range really depends on your preference. During the great recession, many people were unemployed or underemployed for more than 12 months. When you calculate the dollar amount to save, only include the cost for:

1. rent/mortgage,
2. utilities,
3. food
4. vehicle expenditures (insurance, inspections, fuel, basic repairs, etc.).

So how do you save for your emergency fund?

• Reduce your expenses
  • Cut off cable
  • Take public transportation
  • No clothing shopping unless necessary
  • Do a No-Spend Month
  • Do a Financial Fast
  • Use coupons/ coupon apps

• Make more money
  • Request a raise
  • Work a part-time job
  • A garage sale/ flea market booth
  • Donate plasma
  • Create a job – example: snow removal, lawn maintenance, childcare provider, elderly caregiver, janitorial services, photographer, web designer, copywriter
  • Online surveys
  • Mystery shopping

Remember you don’t have to make these cuts and/or work these jobs for a long period of time. They are a short term method to achieve the goal of funding your emergency fund.  You got this! Go start saving money for your emergencies.

Budgeting can seem very difficult when first starting. Like anything worth doing, it takes time and effort to create a budget you can live with. Many times people quit using the budget they created because it was too restrictive. Uhm…well you created it so you can CHANGE it. Follow these tips to triumph at creating a budget you can live by:

1. Reassess what you didn’t like about the budget. What was too restrictive i.e. not dining out, no ESPN, no cable, no manicures, no boys/girls night out, etc.?
2. Now replace the constrictive or disliked portions from your budget and replace them with more realistic amounts or goals. Example is instead of no dining out, go to dining out 4-5 times a week with a $75 per week allowance. This is a not to exceed amount of course.
3. Try out the revised budget for 7 days. Holidays can be more difficult to navigate so cutback in places like fuel by carpool, making gifts and bringing a bottle of wine already in your home.
4. Evaluate whether the new budget is working or not. If the new budget is NOT working, go back to step 1. If it is working, go to step 5.
5. In 90 days reevaluate your budget to determine if you are getting the results you wanted i.e. reducing debt, saving money, etc. If not, go back to step 1. If it is successful, then keep going forward.

Budgets will never be exactly the same each month. You will need to tweak it from month to month for holidays, special events, emergencies, vacations, education expenditures, homeowner expenditures, etc. Therefore it is important to organize your mail each week to update your budget accordingly. Happy budgeting!

When you develop goals, they are easier to achieve if they are written down and SMART.  Follow these easy steps to achieve your financial plan to become debt free.

1. Schedule time today or the upcoming weekend either update your goals or write your goals as they relate to your finances.
2. Write goals that are SMART. SMART means Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time Bound.
3. Create a budget with all of your expenses and debts.
4. Check your budget to make sure you can achieve the SMART goals you have set. If your budget doesn’t all for you to achieve your SMART goals, you need to redo your goals or find other methods to achieve them. Ex. Getting a part-time job to increase income which goes to paying off debt.
5. Develop an action plan to achieve your goals. This action plan should have daily activities which result in achieve the SMART goal.
6. Find at least (2) accountability partners to help you remain on track with your goals. One accountability partner can be your spouse or significant other. The other accountability partner should be someone who can support but also push you to achieve your goals.

You can tailor these steps a bit to fit your life. No one plan fits everyone. Good luck!

During the financial fast you have said “No” to your desires to shop, dine out, use debit/credit cards, entertainment, etc. Don’t be afraid of the word but know that using it gives you POWER! Here are some popular scenarios:

1. “Mom can we have Chick-fil-a for dinner tonight?” Now you know there is a plethora of food at home, so just say “No!” Besides if your kids are still alive your cooking isn’t that bad.
2. “Do you want to put in $25 for the NFL pool this season?” Think of all the other things you could do with $25 like invest in your business you dreamed of starting. Or you will need it for fuel next week to get to and from work. Say it with me “NO! I’m good. Thanks for asking.”
3. “There is this new (iPhone, nightclub, golf course, yoga studio, etc.). You have to buy/try it.” You know you have debt and the costs for each of these will end up in costly. I will help you say it “NO!”
4. So if it is really difficult for you to say “No” verbally, you can say “No” by
   1. crossing your arms,
   2. placing your hands in your pockets
   3. if you are sitting down you can cross your ankles or legs
   4. raise one eyebrow
   5. screw your lips

It is very important for you to learn to say “No.” The word “No” is not a bad word. You must learn to pause and reflect before you take action. Saying “No” simply gives you the POWER to make better decisions especially with your finances. Say it with me “Hell NO!”

I struggled for years wondering why I couldn’t get out of debt. Or I would get close to it and it would escape me again. I had read Suze Orman and David Bach’s books. I had watched numerous television shows on debt management, using credit wisely, and good credit versus bad credit. Yet I was still $50,000 in debt. Then I found Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University (FPU). From this program I became DEBT FREE. But I won’t focus on the program but on what I discovered about using the program.

I had to develop a 5 step action plan to reach financial freedom. I had goal the overall goal to become debt free but I didn’t have a SMART plan. I needed an action plan that was Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time Bound. I used FPU baby steps to develop my SMART plan.

I applied the SMART action plan for every single debt I had by doing this:

• I first listed each debt by name, current outstanding balance and minimum payment.
• Then I organized debts from smallest to largest debt amounts outstanding.
• Finally I wrote specific statements for each debt that included monthly payments, when I would complete paying off the date with a reasonable or realistic timeframe.

This is an example: I will pay off my Visa card with the balance of $1287 by December 27, 2015 with 4 monthly payments of $321.82.

• S = Specific – Pay off Visa Card
• M = Measurable – Outstanding Credit Card Balance $1287, so you measure the change in this amount.
• A = Achievable – $321.82 – Select a payment amount that makes sense. You can turn off cable but keep basic internet. You need to make necessary budget cuts to come up with as much cash to pay off debts.
• R = Realistic – Pay off only ONE debt at a time. This way I could focus on it and just make minimum payments on other debts.
• T = Time Bound – The deadline of December 27, 2015 with a 4-month time period

As a goal oriented person, this method really worked for me. As I achieved one goal, I would take it off my list and then “snowballed” that payment onto the next debt. This method kept me focused on accomplishing each goal. It also kept me from feeling overwhelmed and focused. This is a very doable method that you should try.

Most people never seem to have enough money. Enough money is never in their bank account. Enough money is never in their savings account. (Hopefully, they have a savings account.) Enough money is never in their retirement account. (It is better to start earlier than later.) There is never enough money to cover all their living expenses. So what are people to do?

Create a budget. No really! If you want to know where your money goes, you use a budget. I know I know you HATE budgets. To you want to CONTROL your money? A budget gives you the CONTROL over your money. This is a simple budget for you.

Bill	Amount	Due Date
Rent/Mortgage	$
Electric	$
Gas	$
Water	$
Groceries (ONLY)	$
Cellphone/Landline	$
HOA Fees	$
Car Note	$
Fuel	$
Insurance	$
Childcare	$
Student Loans	$
Cable/Internet	$
Credit Card 1	$
Credit Card 2	$
Credit Card 3	$
Other Loan 1	$
Other Loan 2	$
Total	$
Pay Check Week Ending	$
Pay Check Week Ending	$
Amount Remaining	$
Savings (If Balance is not Negative.)	$

This is a simple budget will aid you in seeing where you need to streamline your expenses. If you use your debit card or credit card for purchase, you can run a report in your account to determine how much you spent for fuel and groceries. You can use your most recent utility, credit card and landline bills.

For some you just don’t make enough money. A part time job or a new job will help you cover your expenses and debts. As you can see dining out, entertainment, vacation and any other costs are not included. Remember this is a FINANCIAL FAST. Those items are not necessities to live. Try the budget out to make the most of the money you have.

It is day 12 of the financial fast. I have completed 11 days of the financial fast. It has had its difficult moments.  I’ve learned much about my finances, myself and my money habits. Most important thing I have learned is the most difficult financial obstacle for me is my mindset.

My spending habit to use my budgeted money is too loose. If I decided I didn’t want to eat leftovers, I would go out to eat. If I decided I wanted a new dress, shoes, jeans, etc., I would go buy it. The ease at which I would spend money on a whim because I wanted things really surprised me. While the money has been budgeted, the purchases were not necessary.

I’ve learned my finances could be better. I thought I was doing an outstanding job. I was just doing alright. I thought I was excelling and I was just passing. I am not accustomed to just “passing”! So I now I know I have changes to make. *sigh* I don’t sigh because I won’t be shopping on the whim. I sigh because I have missed valuable opportunities with my finances. I will not get the time lost or opportunities gone by back. However, I have learned a valuable lesson.

While I still have urges to go shopping on a whim, I fight diligently to control them. I try to remain focused on being a better steward of my money. I’m in the midst of a mindset shift when it comes to my money.