Final Week #8-Decisions, Decisions

Well, here we are at the last week of the Financial Fast. Those of us that "stuck it out" are hopefully better financially now than we were just 8 weeks ago.

I thought about what to have as our final week challenge. So here it is, your last challenge is to make sound decisions about the future of your financial status. One thing that I tell my children is to pray everyday to allow God to help them make good decisions. Our decisions, whether good or bad will change our lives forever. For example one bad decision can totally ruin your life and send your life going downward. However, one good decision can also change your life and have you moving upward and in the right direction.

This week you must decide your future. Ask yourself the following questions:

1. Do I want to continue to live paycheck to paycheck for the next 10 years?

2. Do I want to own an expensive car and rent an apartment?

3. Do I really want to continue to stress each month over how I am going to make payments on items that I can't afford.

4. Can I continue to live the lie of my lifestyle for the sake of my family and friends?

5. Will I continue to remain "disconnected" with my spending and my debt?

These are just a few questions that we should ask ourselves. I am sure that you can add to this list. You must awaken from your zombie state and deal with your financial issues. And yes, some of you may have "more important" things to deal with in your life. However, if you take time to deal with your money issues, it may help in other areas of your life.

So again, this week take time out to make a declaration about your finances. Such as, no more late payments as of today!, no more bounced checks after today. It is decision time!

Week #7-Start Saving

Okay, we all know that times are now extremely tight financially for everyone. In watching the news, we understand that this may just be the beginning of the financial crisis. We have a long way to go to recovery. And unfortunately most of us only have enough in our savings accounts to purchase movie tickets and 1 shared popcorn!(smile). This does not include your 401 or retirement account money.

So Week #7 is about starting to really build up your savings account. I know Suze Orman suggests we have an 8-month emergency fund, but lets just start with having a 2-week emergency fund and build from there.(lol)

I would suggest two types of Savings Accounts or Plans: An Emergency Fund Savings Plan and a Look-A-Head Savings Account:

The Emergency Fund:

1. This fund is not to be touched but in the case of a true emergency. When no other options are available.(ie, loss of employment, car breaks down, hot water tanks exploses!, etc...)

2. This account should not have an ATM/Debit card for easy access.

3. If married, both parties must agree prior to any withdrawals from this account.

4. No "borrowing" from this account until payday!

5. Decide how much money you are able to contribute each paycheck and stick to it. No excuses!

6. A great way is to establish a payroll deduction with your employer to have money automatically placed in this account each paycheck.

7. The amounts can be small (25.00) a paycheck, just start somewhere.

Look Ahead Savings Account

1. This account is to cover extra, planned expenses to avoid credit card use.

2. As a family plan a vacation for the summer, then decide how much money you will need to take the vacation. Then start saving!

3. Stay focused on the intent of the account. Do not start using for other items, unless agreed upon by all parties. Example: If you need new furniture for the guest bedroom, start saving now and buy the furniture with cash. You know every August school clothes will be needed, so this account can have $300.00 for new school clothes.

6. Decide how much money per paycheck you can place into this account and try to stick to it.

7. Even if you don't save all of the money needed, at least 1/2 of the money can be used to pay cash for a vacation, versus a full credit card vacation.

A good thing is to set a goal for your Emergency Fund Account. How much money do you want by the end of the year. Okay, so if you don't currently have a saving account, go today and open a savings account. Remember being consistent is key to saving money.

If you have other saving tips, please share.

Week #6-Challenge Making Budget Cuts

Today in the Sacramento Bee there is an article which speaks of the price of cotton, leather, copper, polyester and other items that have reached record high prices. As we all know, if the prices go up for the manufacturer it is only a matter of time before the cost increases are passed along to us. This article states that items such as cold cuts, shoes, clothes, etc are expected to increase up to 20% by the fall season. This is crazy in our economy today.

So we shall battle back! Our Challenge for Week #6 is to cut your grocery budget by 10%. I know this seems difficult, but it can and must be done! Here are a few tips to help you achieve this goal.

1. Set a goal for your new budget. Look in your cabinets and find items, that you REALLY do not need to purchase monthly. Be real about it, do you really need 3 types of popcorn?(Kettle, homestyle, movie theatre butter). Eliminate a few of your want items from your grocery list. We all need to make sacrifices. Have your hubby and children make a sacrifice as well.

2. Make a shopping list prior to entering the grocery store. You can go to http://www.allrecipes.com/ and pick menu items and it will create a grocery list for you to print.
3. Use coupons! Last year I registered at http://www.coupons.com/ and they send me weekly coupons. I save approximately $5 to $7 dollars per shopping trip. One caution, do not use coupons to try NEW items. Only clip the coupons for items that you already use and have a need to purchase.

4. Price compare before you buy. Sometimes the bigger, "on-sale" item is not the better buy. Check the price per oz, and make sure you are getting a great deal. This number is located on the price tag in the store.

5. Take cash to the grocery store. If you only have a certain about to spend, you will not overspend or "splurge" on unwanted items.

If you have further grocery savings tips, please post!

Week#5 Know Your Worth

What is your financial worth today? This is the question of the week. Are you in so much debt that your financial worth is in the negatives. If you were to die today, how much debt would you leave your spouse/family? Does your spouse know how much debt you(and she/he) has?

This week I would like for you to check your credit report/profile. This is a simple task, but it accomplishes alot. Your credit score affects the interest rates you receive on credit cards and other items. It is now used to determine health insurance premiums and other items. You should always check your credit report at least once a year. Check for errors and all negative impacts on your credit report.

You may check your credit report once a year, from each credit reporting agency and when you are denied credit free of charge. Along with your credit profile, it will give you suggestions on how to improve your credit profile.

You may want to check your credit FICO score once a year as well. This is not free, but will normally cost you $10.00 to $20.00 dollars. But this is money well spent. It will let you know your status and how much work you need to do to improve your credit.

So go to annualcreditreport.com and sign up to receive your credit profile. If you are asked for a credit card you are at the wrong site.

Just know that there is no quick fix for improving your credit score. It took you a few years to get a low score, and it takes the same time to improve your score.

With our ecomonic times, you need to know where you stand exactly. After you review your profile, take action to make changes!

Week #4 Challenge-

Conquering Me!

It is often stated that our worse enemy is our self. I believe this statement, due to the fact that we can talk ourselves into doing and saying the craziest things. I am currently in the last week of a 21-Day consecration with my church family. One of the great things about a consecration is the need to conquer your negative self. You have to tell you body that you will not eat chocolate, soda(Coke-a cola), sourdough bread and other great items. In other words, we are to take control over our actions.

We use a lot of excuses for not doing, eating and saying the things that we should. So this week your challenge is to look inside yourself and find every excuse that you use for not being all that you can and all that God created you to be. If you are like me there will be a lot of them.

I would like for you to really focus on the excuses that you say to yourself for overspending, emotionally spending and being bad guardians over your finances each month. You will be surprised as to how much we attempt to justify our bad habits.

Then once you acknowledge your excuses, write them down. Next develop a "buddy" system and have someone hold you accountable for your spending habits and excuses. Then pray about your excuses. Ask God to help you eliminate excuses from your life. Then, every time you make an excuse, correct it immediately.

Change is always hard, but is often needed. Conquering yourself is one of the most difficult things that you will have to do in life.

So let us know, some of your excuses for overspending!

#3 Week Challenge

Track it!

Okay, it's Saturday morning and you need "items" for the "house". You make a trip to Starbucks just to get you going, well your teenage daughter is in the car with you and would like something also. This stop cost you about $12.00. Then you proceed to Wal-Mart for toothpaste, deodorant and paper towels. After 1 hour and $115.00 dollars later you emerged from Wal-Mart with 5 bags of "items" for the "house". This includes your new color of nail polish, a new pedicure set and a new set of kitchen towels just to name a few. You then stop and get gas, and make the weekly trip to your favorite grocery store. Of course you are now hungry and began to shop(#1 mistake). You have made up in your mind that you will only spend $75.00 this week, because you have almost everything at the house. After 1 hour and $135.10 later you come out of "Winco" with frozen pizzas, animal crackers, puzzles and other things that you know you did not need! Does this sound familiar to anyone but me?

We all know the big ticket items in our life, such as your mortgage payment, car insurance and other monthly items. However, are you aware of all of the small items that we spend? These are items in which when we plan our budget, we fail to make an account. However, this unaccounted spending can cost you up to $200.00 or so OVER your budget on a monthly basis.

So your challenge is to track ALL of your spending. So track EVERYTHING you spend for the next few weeks. You will be surprised as to how much money you spend on unnecessary items.

Also, look for "trends" in spending. Do you spend more in the grocery store when you are hungry(like most people)? When you are angry, do you spend more? Are you an emotional spender? Be honest with yourself.

After you track, please post about your spending habits.

Have a Great Week.

FYI: I just want to make it clear, it is okay to purchase "special" items(after the fast of course), but you need to plan for these purchases and not buy them on impulse.

Week #2 Challenge

A Pocket with Holes!

Hello, everyone. We now have men that have joined our fast, so welcome to all of the men that want to get real about their finances!!

This week is a "For Real" week. Last week you were to create your SMART goals, hopefully you have completed that task. If not, lets get busy! If completed you should have posted your SMART goals in a place that will be visible to you daily.


This week we need to create a budget. So the first steps are as follows:

1. Write down your ALL of your bills. Yes, the ones that your spouses are not aware that you have!!

2. Categorize your bills into two columns:

* Operations bills-these are bills that are on-going. They will never change such as your electric bill, gas, homeowners insurance, mortgage, cellphone, food, gas, etc...


* Project bills-these are bills that have a balance that can be paid off within 5 years or less such as credit cards, personal loans. (If you owe a family member, please add this to your debt. you need to pay them before the next reunion!!)

3. Total your income, then subtract your operations bills. Then subtract the minimum balances of your project bills.

If you are in the negative, you need to find away to increase your income, or reduce your spending. Look at items and determine which bills can be reduced, such as reducing cellphone minutes, or gas.

Don't get frustrated. You are not alone, I am sure that several people will be in the negative or have about $50.00 left for the entire month to spend. This is the first steps to change and taking control over your spending.

This is just a basic creation of a budget. You need to start somewhere. You really need to understand your financial status in order to make real change in your life.

Okay, take a deep breath and lets start the budget.

Be SMART!

In order to reach a goal you must first create a goal. So your first challenge is to set your goals for the fast. Here are the rules........ Be SMART!!

S=Be specific! Your goals should be detailed rather than vaguely stated or half thought out. They should be complete as well as not bundled with other goals. Make each goal a single, clearly outlined step.

M=Measurable! Your goal should include clear metrics that let you know when you have completed them

A=Attainable/Actionable/Appropriate! Your goal should be something that you can actually achieve and not something that depends on luck or someone else's actions. They also need to be a good fit for your passions, values and strengths.

R=Realistic! Your goals should be in the realm of possible. It should also be goals that can be achieved in a healthy and sane manner.

T=Timely! Your goals needs to be something that you can do NOW. And they need to have a definite start and completion dates(unless the end result is an ongoing habit).

Okay find a piece of paper and write down at least 3 SMART goals. Then post your goals in a place where you can visualize your goal everyday.

If you feel comfortable, please share one of your SMART goals.

You are on your way to being financially free.

2011 Financial Fast Challenge! Here we go again

Well ladies here we are again. Christmas is over and the new year is here, and hopefully your credit cards have cooled off and your checking account can now rise above a $25.00 balance! We have all set goals for 2011 to make good decisions and changes in our lives. This should include our wallets ladies?!! We MUST create balance-figuratively and literally- in our lives. With the economy being at an all time low, no longer can we ignore our wallets, our low checking account balances and our over/emotional spending time and time again. Let's get to the root cause of our financial status and get financially healthy!

Our 2011 challenge for January and Feburary is to stop ALL of the UNNECESSORY spending! I know you are feeling warm and having heart palpitations right now, but trust me ladies no one has ever died from not purchasing their 5th pair of black pumps at the Macy's clearance sale.

So ladies here are the rules:

• Set a S.M.A.R.T goal for the financial fast(see the next post) and pray about your goal during the challenge.
• You may not use ANY credit cards for the month of January and February. WOW!
• You can only spend $30.00 on entertainment for the entire month.Yes only $30.00. You can do alot for this small amount. Go to Redbox and rent a movie, have a family game night, Be creative.
• No unnecessary purchases such as clothes, shoes(even clearance items), new makeup, extra items at the nail salon(no designs).
• Create a spending journal and keep track of your spending by writing down everything that you spend in a day, no matter how small. At the end of the day add your total and find ways to save.
• Balance your checkbook at least once a week. Know how much money is in your checking and savings account.
• You may only eat out twice during the entire month for dinner. Spending limit of $25.00.
• You may only spend $5.00 a week to eat lunch. This includes eating in the cafeteria.
• Spend extra time with your family
• Start a savings account and begin paying extra on credit card bills.

I pray that we are all able to commit to the entire challenge. Let's develop the mind-set of sisterhood and encourage our sisters along the way. Also, invite others to join the fast with you to help your accountability.

This year we are on Facebook.(2011 Financial Fast) join us there also to post your progress and victories!

Okay who is in???