Hello, and welcome to Enemy of Debt. I just want to let you know that if there is any topic you want to see covered on this series please leave your thoughts in the comments section. I will do my very best to find 10 of the best posts on that topic.

Now for a quick recap.

This was a pretty good week for me.

My Guest post on The Centsible Life – 7 Habits to Highly Effective Budgeting – appeared in the Wisebread roundup.

Manage Your Money Week 2: Teamwork, Accountability, and Kids

Great Financial Advice From The In-Flight Safety Handbook (Probably my favorite post EVER!)

That’s Right, The American Dream Is Not What It Used To Be!

The Benefits Of Becoming A Minimalist Are Starting To Sink In

Debt Free News From A Debt Free Reader #7

Why Saving For Retirement Is Your Responsibility – The Self Reliance Exchange

Now I want to say thanks to some great bloggers and friends!

Top 10 11 Blogs Referring New Enemy of Debt Readers

To return the favor, you can help by going and checking out their sites and even subscribing.

LAST 6 MONTHS (9/11/2009—3/11/2010)

1. Budgets Are Sexy – (1,818 Visitors) $100 Lottery Project!<~READ BOTH!~> PF Comic #3 – Mo’ Money featuring J. Money from Budgets are Sexy
2. Climbing Out – (524 Visitors) Credit Card Déjà Vu – Oh Yeah, That’s Why We Don’t Get Along
3. Life Excursion – (491 Visitors) Financial Reform in Your Own Home
4. Frugal Dad – (414 Visitors) Never Pay Credit Cards Before Your Mortgage
5. Stumble Forward – (343 Visitors) How The John Cummuta Transforming Debt Into Wealth System Works
6. Bible Money Matters – (296 Visitors) Dave Ramsey’s 7 Baby Steps By The Numbers: Getting Started
7. MSN Money – (256 Visitors) Saving Money – You Can Do It!
8. Engaged Marriage – (196 Visitors) What’s the Secret to a Happy Marriage?
9. My Super Charged Life – (190 Visitors) Being a Good Steward: Its About More Than Money
10. KelsaLynnFitLog – (177 Visitors) We’re Debt Freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!
11. Honorable Mention: Man Vs Debt (176 Visitors) BRAND NEW E-BOOK!! Unleashing “Unautomate Your Finances” Into The Wild!

To the rest of you, I still love you too, I just couldn’t put all of you in this post.

P.S. Thanks for linking to Enemy of Debt and helping me expand my debt free horizons!!

I love you…like a blogger,

Previous I Love You…Like A Blogger Carnivals

I Love You…Like A Blogger – First Edition

I Love You…Like A Blogger – Yakezie Edition

Upcoming…

I Love You…Like A Blogger – Extraordinary Life Edition (3/20)

I Love You…Like A Blogger – Top Frugal Blogs Edition (3/27)

I Love You…Like A Blogger – Cool Money Tools Edition (4/3)

I Love You…Like A Blogger – IH8 DEBT Edition (4/10)

I Love You…Like A Blogger – EOD On Tour Edition (4/17)

I Love You…Like A Blogger – Best E-Books Edition (4/24)

Hello everyone. Time for another Debt Free Friday!! Today we have with us the author of Debt Free Hispanic. Be sure to check out Fabian’s debt free call to the Dave Ramsey Show. It’s debt free calls like this that kept us motivated throughout our journey. As I’ve mentioned before those calls are why I wanted to start this series. Actually, it’s not the first time I tried putting something like this together. The first time I was a little too optimistic with what probably amounted to 10 or so readers. It was only my 5th post, but I sure was pumped up!!

Fabian has me wondering why I have not called the Dave Ramsey Show yet. You’d think I’d be all over that right? I may surprise you here soon with a real debt free scream from Enemy of Debt and the Fam! Stay tuned!

Oh yeah, today you will not see much of me, it’s my wife’s birthday!

Fabian’s Debt Free News! ENJOY!

I have also put together a page, where YOU can fill out the Debt Free Questionnaire. I’d love to share your story.

The Enemy of Debt Questionnaire – Debt Free Hispanic

How much debt did you have and how long did it take you to pay it off?

The highest debt I have ever had was $21,000. My wife brought in about $1,000 of that and the rest were from my school loans and business debt.

How does becoming debt free actually feel? Does it feel better than you imagined it would?

Being debt free feels liberating. I can breathe a lot better. The feeling is overwhelming sometimes, just knowing that every check I receive goes into my bank account and stays there until I choose to spend it.

What were some of the struggles that you had to deal with along the way? Was there ever a time where you almost gave up?

The struggles came when I wanted to pay off my last $5,000 because that was about the time that I was wanting to save up to buy a ring so I could propose to my girlfriend, who is now my wife.

What would you consider to be the most important key to becoming debt free? What helped you the most?

The key to getting out of debt for me was traction. When I sold a bunch of Houston Astros jerseys on eBay that I was collecting. That money helped me to pay off some smaller debts so that I could have those small victories. What kept me going was that I was constantly telling my girlfriend how much I was paying off month after month.

It seems a lot of people have bought into the idea that debt is essential in order to prosper, what do you have to say to those people?

I’ve never been wealthier in my life than I am now and it’s all due to cutting up credit cards and paying for everything I own with cash. Credit does not lead to prosperity, it leads to a financial crisis.

What was the biggest sacrifice you would say you made in order to become debt free? What about you changed the most?

During 2007, most of my income went to paying off debt. It was hard to see all that money go straight to banks. It’s always easier to get into debt than it is to get out of it.

Did your friends and family give you a hard time about your new mission to eliminate the debt from your life? If so how did you deal with it? Do you think you inspired others by your journey?

Yes, people didn’t understand why I would want to drive a paid for vehicle. They didn’t understand why I had to bring my lunch every day just so that I could pay off more debt. But that’s okay because today I’m debt free and I continue to build wealth since I get to keep my income.

What is next for you? What financial goals do you plan to accomplish?

Next I want to speak to different people groups of all ages about staying out of debt and how their lives could change if they break the habits of using a credit card to pay for their purchases. I plan to continue building my income by adding multiple streams of income. I will continue blogging as Debt Free Hispanic so I can reach as many people as I can with the message of living debt free. I want to be able to make enough money to stay home with my wife and one day raise children. I want to be able to give away money to students so that they can attend college but I want them to learn about staying away from school loans.

photo credit

Debt Free News From A Debt Free Reader Series

Debt Free News: The Kick Off - yours truly @enemyofdebt
Debt Free News From A Debt Free Reader #1 – Kelsalynn @KelsaLynnFitLog
Debt Free News From A Debt Free Reader #2 – Nick @Nickfro
Debt Free News From A Debt Free Reader #3 – Paul @fiscalgeek
Debt Free News From A Debt Free Reader #4 – Peter @MoneyMatters
Debt Free News From A Debt Free Reader #5 – J Money @BudgetsAreSexy
Debt Free News From A Debt Free Reader #6 – Dustin @EngagedMarriage
Debt Free News From A Debt Free Reader #7 - Fabian @debtfree
More to come…

Hey everyone! Since yesterday’s post was so long, and I have two posts for you today, this one will be brief. I just wanted to talk about something that I have been thinking a lot about lately. GETTING RID OF STUFF! I have come to realize that you actually have more by owning less. Getting rid of stuff is almost as liberating as paying off debt. And of course, just like with our debt, it took us a while to realize that it needed to go.

We have recently decided to put our house on the market. That’s right, if you’re like me when you hear that, you’re thinking COMPLETE debt freedom. We’ll save the “it’s better to own than rent” talk for another day, even though I would love to point out why that’s not true on so many levels.

Last week, we were running around at crunch time trying to get rid of as much of our stuff as possible. Why? Well, for one we know we have too much crap, and secondly, this is the first time we have ever sold a house while living in it. So you could say that it was our decision to sell our house that forced us to do the dirty work a little bit sooner. My wife entered about 180 items in a local consignment sale, we gave Goodwill about 8-10 BIG bags of toys and clothes, and took to the dump, a whole truckload of crap.

We feel the benefits already, and we are excited to take it to the next level. We still have one major room to go (the office), and a few spaces here and there to hit with a fine tooth comb. I wanna get rid of anything that I have not seen or used in the last month. Now my wife is not quite that hardcore, but she is definitely on board. Like with our debt, we are sick and tired of being sick and tired of being…surrounded by stuff.

Ironically, my son has been walking around the house singing the Bare Necessities of Life song from the Jungle Book movie. He did not like the prospect of becoming a minimalists at first. He was rather upset, so we talked. We talked about how much stuff he had, how much stuff he would still have, and that another kid would be able to have some really fun toys because of his kindness. Pretty soon he was carefully digging through his stuff picking out things he could put in the bag, but also paying real close attention to what mom and dad were picking up.

ME: “EVERYTHING GOES! Arggghh!!” (except for his beloved Lightning McQueen toys of course.)

HIM: “No daddy pleeez, any toy but that one…take this one pleeeeeez!”

ME: “That’s quite enough son, get in the bag!” LOL (totally kidding)

Well come on, Dave Ramsey does say, “get rid of so much stuff the kids think they’re next.” How else would we make him think he’s next? haha!

The next day Isaac was collecting a pile of books. When I asked him what they were for, he said he was giving them away so another little kid could read them. Isn’t that perfect? Maybe he won’t act like that every time, but for a 3 year old to part with any toys at all can be a challenge. Let’s hope my micro-minimalist remembers the song he was singing earlier this week. I’ll have to remind him about the bare necessities of life if he starts to give me any lip.

So that’s all I have for you. Tomorrow don’t miss a brand new Debt Free News From A Debt Free Reader featuring Debt Free Hispanic. For those still in my Manage Your Money challenge, you need to leave your comments to enter by midnight tonight. The challenge has been great and the ones that are participating are making great strides. Won’t you join them?

Don’t forget to vote for yours truly in the Plutus Awards for BEST DEBT BLOG of 2009! See you tomorrow!

Yesterday in a comment left on EOD, I was introduced to this website. I thought it looked interesting enough to share with all of you. Thanks Jude!

The American dream is no longer about finding a 9-5 and doing what you hate in order to make it to that retirement utopia you’ve always been told about! Nope! It’s about doing what you love and loving what you do. It’s about using your passion and your strengths to enjoy your place in life—to make a difference. As this video points out; “The time is now to say YES to your success…what are you waiting for?”

What are YOU waiting for?

If you are one of the many, that hate your job, start brainstorming now! If money was no object, what would you do? Next figure out how you are going to make it happen. I did, and my plan is unfolding nicely.

Go get yours!

No…You Don’t Have To Go Book A Flight To Learn This

I know what your thinking. “How in the world can an in-flight safety handbook help me financially?” I want to focus today on one specific part of those instructions. Skip ahead to the part about securing your oxygen mask in case of changes in the cabin pressure. Now I know you’re really confused, but bare with me. After hearing many stories of financial struggle, and dealing with the raw emotions that come with it, I want to discuss something that seems to be a pretty common issue among struggling families. I have received more than a dozen comments about this issue just over the past six months, so I finally decided to write about it.

Do you tend to worry more about those around you? No, I’m not talking about your husband, your wife, or young children. I’m talking about other family and even friends. One of the most common reasons I hear for people not being able to save an emergency fund, or keep one once they have it, is that they are constantly helping others. Every time they turn around, they see someone in need and feel obligated to help. Their compassion and guilt will not allow them to look the other way. They feel there is no choice.

So if we have figured out that the reason we cannot help ourselves, is because we are too busy helping others, then at least we recognize the problem. You have two choices—you either keep helping or stop helping. Here is where the rest of the oxygen-mask instructions come in handy.

“Remember to secure your own oxygen mask before assisting others with theirs.”

Why do they tell you to do that? It’s not because they don’t care about the person you may have to help. It’s because you have a better chance at helping them once you are sucking back some oxygen. You are no good to anyone, if you pass out. Secure your own mask, and then be compassionate! You will be in a better position to do so.

Secure Your Own Mask First!

So how can you apply this to your financial situation? That’s easy! Save an emergency fund for yourself before you start passing out money like you don’t need it. Secure your own future first because before you know it, that oxygen mask won’t be enough, and retirement will be right around the corner.

Wait just a second though. Once you have that Emergency Fund in place it doesn’t mean you’re home free. Your oxygen mask is not yet properly secured. There is more work to be done. Your emergency fund is to be used when YOU have an emergency. If you have extra money in your budget to help out that month, and it doesn’t require the use of your security fund, then by all means help out. Using your emergency fund to help out, is like putting your oxygen mask on someone else. Where does that leave you? Think about it.

You want to help, and Lord knows I want you to help, but you have to do it right—so you can be the most effective.

What about Compassion?

Am I asking you to let your elderly parents starve to death? Absolutely not! What I am asking you to do is consider other alternatives. Is there another way to help that doesn’t include playing financial Russian roulette? Sure there is, you just have to find it. You certainly won’t find it if you don’t look for it.

I volunteer with my church’s Mercy team, and when someone needs a financial push in the right direction, I’m right there. That’s not all they do though. They help people with rent/mortgage, groceries, electric bills, other utilities, and more. I also happen to know that there are so many other churches and organizations that are ready to step in and help out in tough financial situations. If your elderly parents fail to pay the rent, call around. Someone, somewhere will help you!

Dealing With Leeches

There is another component to this topic. Leeches should be the easiest to deal with, just for the simple fact that they live off of the sweat of others, which sometimes makes it easier to pull the plug. They most often are kids, which makes it tough for the parents because they feel even more guilty. Leeches play off of that guilt, and will suck it dry until it’s time to find their next unsuspecting host. I’ve seen it so many times—heck, it’s in my family. I’ve sure been irresponsibly immature with money before. I was always broke too.

Typical story: child/adult is bad at managing his money. When he does have money, he is too busy buying things to make him happy instead of acting responsibly. Perhaps said kid, still lives with mommy, and mommy continues to wipe his mouth every time he makes a mess. The parent in that situation is enabling bad behavior and even encouraging it. What that kid needs is a job, and some financial management classes, not someone to coddle him in the name of “helping” him.

One of the best books you can find on setting boundaries in your relationships, was written by Dr. Henry Cloud & Dr. John Townsend and it is called, you guessed it—BOUNDARIES! This book will show you how to help in the right way, at the right time, and as you see fit. You must set boundaries!

P.S. Boundaries are not having your 40 year old son, who still lives at home, running to “mommy” every time he gets a cell phone bill!

Conclusion

You cannot be there for everyone—all of the time—no matter how hard you try. Sometimes you just have to take a step back, and find another way to help those in need. Sometimes people need to be allowed to help themselves, you know….LIKE YOU for instance!

You are not blessing others by destroying yourself! If you don’t have the money then you just can’t do it, and I would personally qualify not having your own emergency fund as not having the money. You need that first, then you need some extra money to help save those around you. It’s equally important to know when you’re hurting someone rather than helping them.

Work harder at getting yourself in a position to offer assistance. As they say, “SAVE YOURSELF!” Now you can save the world. Until then, learn how to say NO.

Give it a try. I bet you will make great progress, and you’ll feel a lot better about your situation after you do.

Good luck!

Since this is such a common thing, I was hoping to hear your thoughts and comments on this issue. Have you been there? How did you deal with it? What’s your story?

WOW! Out of the 44 that signed up, only 12 showed up, leaving 32 people MIA. That’s alright though, there is still a chance to redeem yourself. Don’t give up before you even start! How are you going to change things if you don’t do the work? I know it’s hard! I know you’re scared! I know you’re intimidated! But you have to make some changes, and you may as well start now. You are still welcome, and can win some prizes. Make the changes now!

To the ones that showed up, and blew me away with their honesty and willingness to examine themselves and their habits, CONGRATULATIONS!! I hope that last week’s lesson inspired you to think a bit more about what you spend your money on each month. There really is no right or wrong answer, as long as you accept that your decisions will take you where you end up. If you don’t like where you end up, you have to make different decisions.

This Weeks Prize Winners!

(via Random.org)

1. FPU DVD Lesson: Cash Flow Planning – DOROTHY
2. Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey – JULIE
3. $25 Staples Gift Card – JULIE (GO JULIE!)
   
4. $25 Amazon Gift Card - CHRIS HOLDHEIDE
5. BONUS SURPRISE BOOK: This week, KIM, was hand-picked for quoting me almost exactly:

“You can avoid a potential crisis, by understanding that saving money for your future is not going to keep you from enjoying life, it will instead give you a life to enjoy.”

There were a few of you that also got the right answer but I was looking for the exact phrase from the article. Thank you all for being so awesome in taking this challenge seriously. I am proud of you all!

PLEASE NOTICE: I moved the list of sponsors and prizes to a special page here on EOD. Please be sure to check out who made this first Manage Your Money challenge so very special!

Winner of $100 From the EOD Subscriber Challenge

SHERRY!! Congratulations on completing the Improve Yourself Challenge, and participating all the way through. Only 5 out of 11 participated at all. Sherry is $100 richer!!

Be sure to thank the sponsors!

Manage Your Money Challenge #2

By now you should have budgeted your money on paper on purpose, closely analyzed wants versus needs, and today we will be focusing on teamwork, accountability, and kids.

TEAMWORK

Anyone who has followed this blog for more than a month, has likely heard me talk about the importance of teamwork. I believe it is the glue that holds any financial plan in place, and I could go even further by saying that it can even keep your marriage in place. It’s not the only solution to your money problems when dealing with your marriage, but it does give you lots of room to grow together. If you are not walking together, you are walking away from each other.

The problem with teamwork is that it requires TWO responsible adults to work together for the common good of the family. Unfortunately, many times, one or both parties involved can be immature, and do not really understand the gravity of their role in the financial affairs. If you are the one who puts all of the responsibility on your spouse, then you are acting very selfishly, and may not even realize it. To prove this point, go ask a single person how hard it is to do it alone. Ask them if they would prefer to have help when it came to their finances. Chances are you will hear pain and frustration coming through. Is that what kind of pressure you want to put on your spouse?

Read a guest post from me at Engaged Marriage that gives you a plan of action: You May Be Married, But Are You Truly United? Pay special close attention to the list of things you want to practice daily near the bottom. You will need to, for your personal challenge.

ACCOUNTABILITY

Married folks have accountability, and even they struggle with this money stuff. How do you think single people feel? They certainly have it harder than us married folks. I have to answer to my wife, and that’s not always pleasant, especially if I do something stupid. Just that fact alone makes me LESS LIKELY to do something stupid. If you are single you do not have that built-in accountability so you have to WORK HARDER at it.

You have to hold yourself to a higher standard, because if you don’t, no one else will!! However, there are some things you can do to hold yourself more accountable. One of them being to pick an accountability buddy. Someone you love, trust, and that will be honest with you. Don’t pick your shopping buddy!! Talk with the person and ask them if they mind h0lding you accountable.

The other thing is to set up some questions for yourself that YOU MUST answer before making a purchase not in the budget.

Something like:

1. Can I wait?
2. Will buying this keep me from reaching my financial goals?
3. Can this money be better spent on something more important?
4. If I buy this how will it impact my budget?

Sometimes you just need a healthy reminder of what your goals are. Remind yourself as often as possible!

WHERE DO THE KIDS FIT IN?

Now whether you are married or single, kids can have a huge impact on your money. Is that an understatement or what? Haha! There are lots of ways our children tend to affect our budget, and a lot of times, in order to cope, we say things like YES, when we really should be saying NO! Are you guilty of that? (my hand is raised high, because sometimes I am a complete sucker. My wife will tell you that!)

Your kids want this and they want that! That will NEVER change! What can change though is using the word NO more often. It is kind of hard when you are standing there looking at that beautiful, but very manipulative smiling face staring back at you, but we can’t let our kids spend our money. They are innocent and have no clue as to what it means to be on a budget. Sometimes they do though, and have learned that you can be pretty easy to persuade. You have to stop that!

I hear more stories of people claiming that the budget was busted due to not being able to tell their kids NO! We cannot let our children dictate how the money is spent, and we can’t let them bully us into submission. If they have you feeling guilty every time you try to say no, they are in control. Gain control of your money, YOU are the adult.

The #1 BEST way to teach them the value of a dollar, is to teach them about money. Teach them about income, expenses, taxes, and explain to them the benefits of budgeting. Welcome them to the short budget meetings every month. Help them understand early on, why you cannot just have everything you want, just because you want it. Isn’t that why most of us got into our financial predicaments in the first place?

Perhaps the combination of credit cards, and parents not talking to their kids about money is why American households have a negative savings rate. We grow up to think that we can have anything we want, when we want it, so we never even consider saving money as an option to living paycheck to paycheck.  STOP THE CYCLE, OR IT WILL CONTINUE!

TODAY’S CHALLENGE

If you are married, you must go to my guest post over at Engaged Marriage, and start working on that list immediately. Leave a comment below answering these two questions: (worth one entry)

1. What do you struggle with the most on the list? (ex. being patient etc.)
2. How do you plan on getting better at that one thing?

BONUS:  Set aside 15 minutes to get to know your spouse. (worth 5 extra entries)

Find out whether you are on the same page. Get to know your spouse! It’s important! Leave a comment outlining how it went.. Remember to be honest here. Your goal is to change things, not pretend you participated in a family meeting.

====================================================

If you are single, you must write yourself a list of at least three accountability questions in the comments section below. (worth one entry)

BONUS: Find yourself an accountability buddy! That simple. (worth 5 extra entries)

Make your accountability buddy count. Make sure they are willing to hold you accountable. Make sure you can call them when in stress. Make sure you trust this person and will be able to open up.

====================================================

If you have children: (worth one entry)

1. Do you give into them more than you should?
2. Have you ever talked to them about money?

====================================================

Oh yeah, you have until midnight on Thursday to enter to win prizes!!

That’s it. I look forward to hearing your thoughts and answers on this. This is an area of financial management that can make or break you. If you are not on the same page as your spouse, can’t hold yourself accountable, and let your kids spend your money, you are going to struggle with your budget. You may as well get better at it!

Be sure to visit the Sponsors page to learn more about the folks that were kind enough to offer such great prizes!!

OTHER MANAGE YOUR MONEY POSTS

1. Manage Your Money Sign Up
2. Manage Your Money Pre-Challenge Post: On Paper On Purpose
3. I Love You…Like A Blogger!
4. WEEK ONE CHALLENGE: Manage Your Money – Wants Versus Needs (Mandatory participation to win prizes)
5. WEEK TWO CHALLENGE: Teamwork, Accountability, and Kids (Mandatory participation to win prizes)
6. WEEK THREE CHALLENGE: TBA March 15th (Mandatory participation to win prizes)
7. WEEK FOUR CHALLENGE: TBA March 22nd (Mandatory participation to win prizes)
8. BONUS CHALLENGE: TBA March 29th (Mandatory participation to win prizes)
9. FINAL POST: TBA April 1st

Welcome, and Happy Sunday! Consider this new series to be a “best of” carnival of sorts. Every time I post the I Love You…Like a Blogger series, I will include the best 10 articles I read during the week.

This week, I have decided to focus on blogs participating in the Yakezie Challenge. I am looking into having this become a regular weekly carnival, but we’ll see how things shape up!

Yakezie Edition

Some of you may know about the Yakezie Challenge, which was started by Sam from Financial Samurai, but for those that have not, it’s basically a group of personal finance bloggers who want to increase their traffic ranking. As a blogger, who doesn’t want to have their message reach more people, so it really makes a lot of sense. It has been more fun than anything watching the participants climb the ranks each week.

When I first started the challenge back in December, I was at 324,054 and have now reached 179,856, & 22,256 in the United States. You can help me by installing the Alexa Toolbar, if you like, since that is the only way Alexa can track visitors. You can also head over and write a review for Enemy of Debt, to share with others how EOD has helped you, and why you LOVE this blog so much.

Enjoy this week’s I love You…Like a Blogger!

(My number one choice get’s the write up.)

1. I’m a friend whore – Posted by Debt Ninja at Punch Debt In The Face. If you have not gone over to check out this blog, you are truly missing out. I’ve been following Debt Ninja for about a year now, but in the last few months, he has become one of my favorite bloggers to follow. If his post images do not crack you up, you may have to go have something surgically removed. Check out his about page to learn more about him, and be sure to subscribe to receive his hilarious updates.
2. 5 Ways People Waste Money – Posted by Lean Life Coach over at Eliminate the Muda.
3. Kids and Money – It is Never too Early to Start – Posted by Kyle over at Suburban Dollar.
4. Financial Lessons Learned From Hiking – A guest post by Aaron from Clarifinancial on Canadian Finance Blog.
5. Cash Flow: Managing and Improving Ours – Posted by Elle over at Couple Money.
6. Can You Be Content While In Debt – Posted by my buddy Jeff, at Deliver Away Debt.
7. Financial Do-Overs – Posted by SGM over at Single Guy Money.
8. Cheap Meals: Dine for Less but Keep the Great Taste and Healthy Foods – Posted over at PT Money.
9. Tip #7 – Slash Your Grocery Bill by Cutting Out Junk Food (series)- Posted by Jason at Redeeming Riches.
10. How To Know If You Are Saving Enough For Retirement – Posted by Neal Frankle at Wealth Pilgrim.

I am sure I missed a lot of great posts this week, but these are the ones that grabbed my attention. I hope to soon allow you to submit your best post of the week for consideration into my new “carnival” ride!

ENJOY!

Carnivals I participated in this week:

The Best of the Best in Money and Personal Finance #12 – Hosted by Len Penzo.

Carnival of Financial Planning – Edition #131 – March 5, 2010 – Hosted by The Skilled Investor.

Carnival of Personal Finance 246: March is the month for … what?!? – Hosted by CreditCards.Com/Blog.

Yakezie Challenge Carnival – Hosted by CJ Bowker.

I love you…like a blogger,

Hello everyone, Happy Friday! As you know I have been trying to put together this book review for a few weeks now. I have been very excited about sharing my thoughts on this magnificent book. Most of you will already know that I am a huge fan of John G. Miller’s work, and have talked about him more than once on this blog. He is the go to man when it comes to personal accountability, and personal accountability is what can give us the ability to resolve anything by asking the right questions.

Today I am happy to announce that I will be giving away a free hardcover copy of this book to one of you lucky readers!

OUTSTANDING – 47 Ways to Make Your Organization Exceptional
by John G. Miller

If you are not familiar with John G. Miller you really should be. He has certainly changed the way I look at any situation that I find myself in, by showing me the importance of asking the right questions. The book that made it undeniably clear to me was called QBQ The Question Behind The Question, and it was so good that I bought a copy of it on audio cd, so I could listen to it while I was delivering pizza! Yep, I turned my Honda CRX into a college on wheels, and John G. Miller was my professor.

QBQ was written to empower YOU to take control of your life by taking action and responsibility for the things that YOU can control. This book uses that foundation and takes it to the next level by giving you the tools necessary to make your company or organization run with absolute efficiency. You see when your team asks the right questions—as opposed to looking around for something, or someone to place blame—things magically get done.

John starts off the book by relaying a story from an email where Steve Chamberlain, an executive with Husqvarna, wrote this: “Do people fire companies? Yes they do!” The email went on to talk about how he fired an airline that he had been flying with for years because of the attitudes and actions, (or non-actions) of the employees. He explained that it was because the attitude of the employees suggested that, not only did they not care, but it was obvious that they were not willing to make his experience a good one.

The point is that good service is the cornerstone of an great exceptional company and when everyone goes out of there way to make the customer (their real boss) happy, then they better ensure that customers return business. A business class I took in college calls that kind of company “customer-centric”. When the focus of the business or organization is to make the customer it’s number one priority, things get done, and customers not only spread the word, but they return and become loyal customers. That sounds like so few businesses these days, which means John has his work cut out for him.

Outstanding gives you 47 ways to make your company exceptional! Let’s take a peak shall we?

I have had many bosses in my 20 years of employment, and I can honestly say that if any of them practiced even 1o of these very simple, yet practical ideas, I may have never left. (That’s not to say that I was always a QBQ employee, because honestly, I can look back and see where I should have been let go a few times.) This book is about helping you LEAD your team to be more unified and solution- oriented. Sometimes all a problem needs is that one person that’s willing to go the extra step to resolve it.

Here are a just a few of the 47 ways John suggests you make your company exceptional:

Get Actions in Line With Values – This chapter really hits it out of the park by suggesting that having company values, means little to nothing, if the actions of the employees are not aligned with those values at their core.

Give People Tools Not Slogans – I love this chapter so much because if you’ve ever looked around, you’ve noticed that most companies love slogans. In some cases you’ll find that those slogans are empty statements no one ever pays any attention to. He suggests that slogans do nothing for productivity, at least not as much as giving your employees the right tools to meet your expectations. Giving an employee the right tools can make a huge difference. I really enjoyed the opening few paragraphs where he illustrates what he means regarding a hard-working lumberjack.

Value Ideas Over Politics – Have you ever been in a position where your ideas where ignored because you weren’t the “right” person? I can think of a few instances in my work career that I have seen this happen to others. Guess who’s not going to be giving it their all when work needs to be done? Make your employees, and their ideas, as important as they should be!

Forgive Mistakes – Now I had to put this one in this review for two reasons. One, forgiveness is essential and should be considered when someone makes an honest mistake, and two, the founder of Papa Johns, John Schnatter had this to say: “I’ve always found that people who struggle are hard on others, but those who do well in life are hard on themselves.” That is just perfect, and makes me proud to say I worked for that company for 4.5 years. People make mistakes, sometimes even more than once, so it’s simply wrong to expect perfection from anyone. Miller points out that “no one thrives in an organization culture that is quick to attack people when mistakes are made.”

Believe or Leave – Put simply, if you don’t love your job, or believe in the work that you do, then quit, and find one that you will love and believe in. When someone doesn’t love what they do, it’s hard to sound excited, enthusiastic, or happy to be doing it. Customers pick up on that, and even if there are no buying customers around you, your fellow employees will notice it. I’ve seen how easy the workplace can become poisoned by negative, unhappy people. I am ashamed to admit I used to be one of them, but happy to admit I realized it.

Make No Excuses – Excuses are like opinions, everyone has them. As John so humorously points out, there’s always an excuse as to why something did or didn’t happen, but the key is to look past the excuses and get right down to business. Solve the problem instead of spending so much time trying to relieve yourself of any blame. Chances are you can do something to make it better, but you’ll never even get to that point if you’re too busy giving excuses.

Some other chapters focus on:

• Developing Managers
• Never Forget Who Pays the Bills
• Importance of Training
• Encouraging One Another
• Listening In All Directions

Okay so you get the point. Before I let you go, I want to say that you don’t have to have a company, or even plan to have a company to learn what this book has to offer. You can apply this book and it’s core principles and ideas to your personal life to help you better deal with the relationships around you. Let it help you build your communication skills, and further empower you to be someone people look up to. Let it turn you into the best leader/employee that you can be. You don’t have to wait for your boss to make you outstanding, you can take responsibility for YOU and become outstanding all on your own.

This was an excellent book to read, and it was literally fun to dig into each chapter to learn a new aspect of how I can better myself, my future employees, but most importantly my future business. You can do that by having outstanding employees who have the passion and desire to make things happen! You can have more control of the success of your company by coaching those around you to be OUTSTANDING too!

Good Luck!

In order to win this excellent book:

• You must be a subscriber
• You must comment below: Has anyone recently, or not so recently, gone out of their way to make sure you received the best service possible? Did that make you want to go back?

I can’t wait to pick a winner! Because I was so late getting this up I will give you until next Tuesday, (March 9th) until midnight to enter.

Have a GREAT weekend!

One of the most common phrases that people use to validate wasting their money is that they “only live once”. Without getting into any theological and philosophical arguments, let’s just assume that statement is true. You only live once, so my question to you would be this. What are you waiting for?

What does it mean to live life to the fullest? It’s obviously a relative statement, and would depend on what someone considers to be “living a full life“. What it means to you, could be far from what it means to me. For some people, it means constantly seeking the next best adrenaline rush, right up until the very end. For others it’s getting married, having kids, working hard, making it to retirement where the beaches are endless, and the views are plentiful.

That’s great, but here’s what it means to me. It simply means to live my life being as happy as I can be, helping as many people as I can help, and loving as much as I can love. There are a lot of ways to get there, and there are a lot of obstacles in my path. My goal is to make that path as obstacle-free as possible. You probably already know where I am going with this don’t you?

“Hmmm…well this is a personal finance blog, and the guy really does hate debt.”

YES IT’S DEBT!!!

Debt is an obstacle that was keeping me from experiencing that “living life to the fullest” feeling, I was desperately seeking. It definitely took my hope, slammed it on the ground, and stomped on it tirelessly. It kept me from helping a lot of people too, and for the purpose of this argument I am referring to money. Being in debt kept me from being able to give the way I know God wants me to give. I think people have misinterpreted it to mean, “give” all your money to the banks!

The banks don’t help your neighbors.

It also kept me from loving and protecting my family as best I could. The best I could was not ignoring the fact that we had no emergency fund, and $26,076.75 in debt. The best I could was not giving my each and every paycheck up, to pay for something I enjoyed in memories past. And that’s just financially!

What about psychologically? The best I could do was be stressed out most of the time. The best I could do was point fingers and blame others. Being stressed and fighting about money will most definitely keep you from living life to the fullest, if it doesn’t flat out ruin it all together. Debt can bring your whole world crashing down in an instant.

When it does, will you be able to say you truly lived life to the fullest?

One minute you are on top of the world, and the next minute you are shaking hands with life. What would your conversation with life sound like? Let’s listen and see.

Welcome to the very first episode of the “EOD Shorts”. (as in short story)

EOD SHORTS

Episode 1: Behavior Meets Reality (Guest starring – Life as himself)

(You are trying to live life to the fullest, but something is stopping you and you just don’t know what it is. Your finances are in shambles, bill collectors are blowing your phone up while telling you you’re not a man, and the word divorce is starting to creap into each and every conversation with your spouse. Let’s face it, you are about to hit rock bottom.)

That’’s when you are introduced to LIFE…again.

YOU: Hey life. Man, where did you come from? We were just about to live life to the fullest.

LIFE: Yeah well, I tried to hold off on stopping by until you were better prepared, but I just couldn’t wait anymore.

YOU: I wish you could of waited just a little bit longer, because we just cannot get any traction. Our debt is killing us, causing us to fight, we can barely put food on the table, and me and the wife (or vice-versa ) are talking about getting a divorce. What am I supposed to do now?

LIFE: Ever considered living debt free? There are tons of free resources to help you, but the main thing is that you have to change your behaviors. You are broke, and it has everything to do with the decisions you’ve made. If you were out of debt, it wouldn’t solve all your problems, but it could certainly give you an advantage that you currently don’t have.

YOU: (head down, depressed) I guess you could be on to something, but where in the world do I begin? I’m just not motivated.

LIFE: Well there’s been some talk about this guy that runs a blog called Enemy of Debt. It sounds like he means business, and from what I’ve heard he tells it like it is. I’ve heard stories of him getting in people’s faces and actually slapping them with the cold hard truth. They say it works though,  if you’re really ready for change. Here, take this business card and go subscribe. It’s free, what do you have to lose?

YOU: Man, I am so sick and tired of being sick and tired. You really think he can motivate me to get this resolved? I can do nothing and hit rock bottom, or I can turn things around. Common sense says to….

LIFE: (Rudely interrupts) Yeah yeah okay, but you still owe me $1800 for the caved in plumbing.

MORAL OF THE STORY:

Get out of debt so you can live your life to the fullest, because like they say, “you only live once”. Oh yeah, one more thing. Life doesn’t care if you’re prepared or not, it’s going to happen regardless. You may as well do the work to prepare for when it does.

GO LIVE BY LIVING DEBT FREE!! Enemy of Debt can help!

As always, I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments section. let’s talk about living life to the fullest, shall we?

Manage Your Money 2010 Budget Challenge!

{{{{{{Trumpets Blaring}}}}}}

I am very happy to announce that we currently have 40 people participating in this challenge, including myself. That is AWESOME! New sign ups will be permitted until midnight on Wednesday March 3rd. If you know any procrastinators out there that planned on joining you better let them know.

Before I fill you in on the first challenge, I want to be sure everyone is clear on eligibility.

In order to be eligible for the wonderful prizes that are available, YOU MUST, I repeat, YOU MUST participate in the comments section. Drive-by comments that do not add to the discussion or the challenge will not be accepted for eligibility. This massive giveaway was intended to give you incentive to reach your financial goals, not to pat you on the back for signing up. Your comment should reflect your participation in this process and show to be helpful to the discussion. That’s pretty simple right?

In order to be eligible for the bonus prize or the grand prizes, YOU MUST participate in EVERY challenge! It’s not optional. To give you even more incentive I plan to offer bonus challenges so that you may be entered to win more than once.

Just like with anything else I know there will be some drop-outs, and even some no-shows right from the start. I want to encourage you to STICK THIS OUT! There was a time in the last few weeks where you felt this was a needed challenge in your life, and I am sure that is still the case, so be sure to hang around. If you want your financial situation to look different than it does today, you are going to have to do something different. Now is that time! I am not on the sidelines cheering you on, I am on the field, on your team, and I want you to succeed.

Manage Your Money Challenge # 1

This challenge is quite simple but oh so hard for so many! It’s something I used to struggle with before common sense introduced me to contentment. So often we rationalize our wants by calling them needs, and then wonder why we don’t have enough money at the end of the month to cover something more essential. We have got to stop justifying our bad spending habits by declaring them worthy. The minute you stop doing that you will find that you actually do have enough money to save that emergency fund! You do have extra money to pay off debt! First, you have to stop lying to yourself.

So here is your challenge for week one. If you’ve been paying attention then you’ve probably read my prerequisite post, Manage Your Money Pre-Challenge Post: On Paper On Purpose. It wasn’t a requirement, but it was intended to make this journey of yours to be a little bit easier.

TODAY’S CHALLENGE: I want you to look over your paper budget, and label every item a WANT or a NEED, as YOU see it. Now I want you to go to the comments section and share your thoughts.

1. How many “wants” did you incorrectly classify as “needs”?
   
2. Do you have any “wants” that you labeled as a “need” that could be eliminated from the budget? How many?
3. How much extra money would you have each month if you eliminated the “wants”?
   

If you did the “On Paper On Purpose” suggestion then you should have already prioritized your budget in order of more important to least important. Do you have any “wants” on the list, that are above obvious needs?

BONUS CHALLENGE (For 5 extra entries to win one of the four prizes)

Read: People Need An Excuse To Spend Money, And They’re Eager To Find One.

1. If you understand __________________________, you can more likely avoid crisis-living. (Fill in the blank)
   
2. Share a story of when you knowingly bought something you know you shouldn’t have bought, but did, because you wrongly rationalized it as a need. (Don’t be shy, we’ve all done it.)

That’s it! Your homework (this challenge) should be completed by Thursday at midnight. That’s four days to answer 5 simple questions that will empower you in the process. Good luck!

Current Prize Schedule

Weekly Prizes

• Financial Peace University DVD Lesson: Cash Flow Planning (8th)
• Total Money Makeover (Dave Ramsey) book (8th)
• $25 Gift Card (Staples) (8th)
• $25 Gift Card (Amazon) (8th)

• Financial Peace University DVD Lesson: Relating With Money (15th)
• Financial Peace Junior Kit (ages 3-12) (15th)
• iPhone “Pay Off Debt” Debt Snowball App (15th) US, UK and Australia
• Android “Pay Off Debt” Debt Snowball App (15th) US and Australia

• Financial Peace University DVD Lesson: Dumping Debt (22nd)
• Financial Peace Revisited (Dave Ramsey) book (22nd)
• Dave Ramsey’s Town Hall For Hope Live Event DVD (22th)
  
• No More Dreaded Mondays (Dan Miller) book (22th)

• Financial Peace University DVD Lesson: The Great Misunderstanding (29th)
• A Gift To My Children (Jim Rogers) book (29th)
• iPhone “Pay Off Debt” Debt Snowball App (29nd) US, UK and Australia
• Android “Pay Off Debt” Debt Snowball App (29nd) US and Australia

More prizes below!

Bonus Prize

• Financial Peace University Membership Kit (March 31st)

More Prizes below!

Grand Prizes

• 12 MONTH PREMIUM MEMBERSHIP to Pocketsmith (March 31st)
• 12 MONTH PREMIUM MEMBERSHIP to Pocketsmith (March 31st)
• 12 MONTH PREMIUM MEMBERSHIP to Pocketsmith (March 31st)

Proud Manage Your Money Sponsors

Now to highlight the amazing Manage Your Money Sponsors.

The guy that got it all started was Francois Bondiguel from Pocketsmith. He sent me an email, detailing his offer to give three premium memberships to my readers.

I was immediately interested, so I started brainstorming. I asked myself how could I make the giveaway fun, informative, and motivational all at the same time. Viola! It turned into a 31 day challenge. Connect with Francois on Twitter: @Kaedron.

Dave Ramsey and his team over at the Lampo Group agreed to sponsor this by giving away a Financial Peace University Lifetime Membership Kit. As many of you know, in my opinion,  Dave Ramsey is the man! I like him, I trust him, and I support him, in case you didn’t notice the large assortment of Ramsey material above.

It was he who convinced my wife and I that what we had been doing up to 2008 was all wrong. It is because of him that we are debt free right now. We did the work, but he showed us how. You can connect with Dave Ramsey on Twitter at: @RamseyShow

Next we have my good friend Mr. J Money from Budgets Are Sexy. The guy who makes personal finance exciting to read, and someone I have enjoyed getting to know. He is a great guy, and if you are not a subscriber of his already, you need to get with the program. He and I were the masterminds behind Brad and J’s Christmas Stimulus. Connect with J Money on Twitter: @BudgetsAreSexy.

Bucksome who writes at Bucksome Boomer – Journey To Retirement is a 50 year old baby boomer, and fellow Financial Peace University graduate. She admits she is not a personal finance expert, but enjoys sharing her thoughts and stories with her readers, and hopes to retire in 10 years from her current line of work. She has been an enthusiastic subscriber of EOD for quite some time now, and I really enjoy her company. Connect with Bucksome on Twitter: @Bucksome

Dustin from Engaged Marriage, aspires to help married couples achieve the extraordinary in marriage. He is passionate and it shows in his work. We have become great friends, and we worked together on the collaborative free e-book called Love Everyday.  We are both members of The Extraordinary Life Network. Connect with Dustin on Twitter: @EngagedMarriage.

Carrie Burgan from Make Mine Happen, was also a contributor on the Love Everyday e-book, and writes to motivate greatness. She is “a massage therapist, ‘Jill of All Trades,’ lover of life, and a female entrepreneur.” She admits she is especially interested in “seeking better tomorrows”. I look forward to working with her in the future. Connect with Carrie on Twitter: @thegirlburgan.

Blair MacGregor from CostRefuge, the premiere destination for the cost-conscious consumer. The site is still in beta, but shows some real promise. They plan to revolutionize “the way consumers & brands interact with one another”. Be sure to visit regularly as the site will continue to be updated. Connect with him on Twitter: @costrefuge.

And last, but certainly not least we have PayOffDebtApp.com who has so kindly offered to give away 4 free Debt Snowball applications for iPhone (2) and the Android phones (2). If you have an iPhone or an Android phone I am extremely jealous, but if you have debt this app will definitely come in handy, so I’ll sleep good at night knowing you will be ridding yourself of awful debt.

OTHER MANAGE YOUR MONEY POSTS

1. Manage Your Money Sign Up
2. Manage Your Money Pre-Challenge Post: On Paper On Purpose
3. I Love You…Like A Blogger!
4. WEEK ONE CHALLENGE: Manage Your Money – Wants Versus Needs (Mandatory participation to win prizes)
5. WEEK TWO CHALLENGE: Manage Your Money – Teamwork, Accountability, and Kids (Mandatory participation to win prizes)
6. WEEK THREE CHALLENGE: TBA March 15th (Mandatory participation to win prizes)
7. WEEK FOUR CHALLENGE: TBA March 22nd (Mandatory participation to win prizes)
8. BONUS CHALLENGE: TBA March 29th (Mandatory participation to win prizes)
9. FINAL POST: TBA April 1st

Welcome to my new roundup series here on Enemy of Debt. For almost a year now, I have been looking for a great name for sharing the vast amount of awesome personal finance articles floating around out there. I have finally done it.

People like to say, “I love you…like a brother”, so I thought it would be perfect to say, “I Love You…Like A Blogger”. Bloggers have a unique relationship with each other that at times, to me, seems stronger than even some of my closest relationships. Most of us have never even met each other, yet we are like a big family, and often go out of our way to help each other out. I have seen so many acts of kindness and love in the Endless Blog Circuit, it’s one of the many reasons I love blogging so much.  It’s really nice having “virtual” friends that you know you can count on when the time comes. So I just wanted to let all of you know I LOVE YOU, even if only like a blogger!!

Along with my readers, my fellow bloggers inspire me to continue to spread the debt free message! This post specifically is a list of bloggers who helped me spread the word about my Manage Your Money Challenge. I am very excited about this upcoming challenge so I appreciate very much that these bloggers were so helpful in spreading the good word. This was an experiment worth trying. THANK YOU!!

The March 2010 “Manage Your Money” Challenge: Featuring Pocketsmith – Sign Up Post

Manage Your Money Pre-Challenge Post: On Paper On Purpose

Seriously, I LOVE YOU…like a blogger!

A Very Special Thanks Goes Out To The Sponsors

Sponsors: Without all of you, this challenge would not be nearly as fun! Thanks for giving us some great prizes!!

Readers: Without all of you, I probably would still be delivering pizza, and in debt, due to a lack of motivation, because it is you who inspire me to continue. Thanks for the great response so far on what has become my baby! If you can send this tweet to the AWESOME SPONSORS thanking them for sponsoring and offering such awesome prizes, that would be stupendous!

Tweet: Thanks for sponsoring @enemyofdebt’s Manage Your Money Challenge, and thanks for the super awesome prizes! http://su.pr/1xE0i2

If you have a second please follow them on Twitter.

Pocketsmith – (@kaedron)
Bucksome Boomer – (@bucksome)
Budgets Are Sexy – (@BudgetsAreSexy)
Engaged Marriage – (@EngagedMarriage)
Make Mine Happen – (@thegirlburgan)
Cost Refuge – (@CostRefuge)
Dave Ramsey – (@RamseyShow) Lampo Group
PayOffDebt.com

My “Love You Like A Blogger” A-List

Budgeting To Wealth – Setting the Housing Budget – 2010 – 2011

Bucksome Boomer – 4 Steps to Successful Gift Giving (RSS)

Budgets Are Sexy – The Budgets Are Sexy V.I.P. Newsletter (RSS)

Climbing Out – Don’t Mind the Smoke, It’s Just the $2,000 in My Pocket Burning (RSS)

Debt Free Hispanic – Debt Free Dave Ramsey Scream (RSS)

Deliver Away Debt – How to Create Sinking Funds (RSS)

Dinks Finance – Final Tips from The Tax Lady (RSS)

Divine & Debt Free – Being Gazelle Vs Family Trips What Would You Do (RSS)

Engaged Marriage – Reader’s Response: What Is An Extraordinary Marriage? (RSS)

• My Guest Post: You May Be Married, But Are You Truly United?
• My Guest Post: How To Improve Communication And Minimize Money Fights

Evolution You – The Courage to Confront Your Dream (RSS)

Financial Samurai -  How To Get Your Super Motivated Boyfriend To Marry You (RSS)

Fiscal Geek – How to Budget Like an Olympian (RSS)

Free From Broke – Eating Healthy on a Budget (RSS)

• My Guest Post: Do You Have What It Takes To Manage Your Money?

Frugal Dad – The Art Of Saying No (RSS)

Life Gems – Money Help: Become a Financially Free Couple (RSS)

Make Mine Happen – I’M GONNA DO IT! (The day you decide to quit) (RSS)

My Doodle Bop – If you only had one day left on earth, what would you say to your spouse?

No More Spending – Our Zero Based Budget (RSS)

One Extraordinary Marriage – Sex: Quantity vs Quality (RSS)

Out Of Our Rut – New Car or Used Car – Which is the Better Deal? (RSS)

Rainy-Day Saver – Don’t Wait Until It’s Too Late To Cut Back Spending (RSS)

Redeeming Riches – 10 Money-Saving Tips to Help You Stash $10,000! (RSS)

Stumble Forward - The Timeshares Only Scam (RSS)

Suburban Dollar – When Opportunity Knocks, Open the Damn Door! (RSS)

Sustainable Family Finances – Goal #2 – Let’s Talk Money Honey

The Centsible Life - Independently Wealthy Women: a 6 week course on smart money management for women (RSS)

• My Guest Post: 7 Habits to Highly Effective Budgeting

The Marry Blogger – I am Response-Able (RSS)

The Wisdom Journal – 8 Reasons I’m NOT Investing In Gold (RSS)

Well-Heeled Blog – Old Cars: Unsung Heroes of Personal Finance (RSS)

You Have More Than You Think – What Effect Does the Government Have on Your Money? (RSS)

P.S. Trying to track down every post that linked to my challenge was a challenge in itself. It was worth every minute, and I want you all to know that I am grateful for our friendship! If I have failed to mention you, and you should be on this list, PLEASE let me know. Thanks  again!

Love you like a blogger,

Hello all! I hope you are all excited to be taking part in the first ever Manage Your Money Challenge here on Enemy of Debt. If you have not already signed up, please do so now. I am excited to be working beside you on this. Now before we get started I want to say this. I do not inherently love budgeting. BUT, there are a lot of things that I have to do in life that do not thrill me but are necessary. So I do them.

Budgeting can be simple, hard, boring, exciting, or as my good buddy at Budgets Are Sexy puts it; budgets can be SEXY! Believe it or not, the sexiness comes from knowing you have a plan, and watching the fruits of your labor develop into success. That is definitely sexy.

I recall times while we were paying our debt off, that I was actually excited to sit down and figure out the budget. Why? Because I couldn’t wait to see how much money would be put towards our goals and desires! That excited me! It should excite you too, but if it doesn’t, give it some time. I have found that when budgeting, you have to get past the “awkward” phase, which is when things seem chaotic and certainly frustrating, before you can really appreciate what having a budget can do for you. Dave Ramsey suggests that this phase lasts about 3-4 months, and I agree with that, but also think that some people may need a little more time. The key is not to give up.

Before we get started on Monday, I want to go over three things I think are very important, in helping you rock this budgeting stuff. I want to add that I will not be using this Manage Your Money Challenge to tell you HOW to spend your money. I want to focus on YOU having a plan, that is it. How you spend your money is up to you, and should be based on your own families goals and desires.

REMEMBER: To be eligible for prizes for each week you will need to participate in the comments section of each Manage Your Money post. The prizes giveaway starts officially next week.

Budget Your Money On Paper, On Purpose

ZERO-BASED BUDGETING

No matter what budgeting system I use, I tend to adapt that system to allow me to use the zero-based budget that I have come to know and love. What is a zero-based budget? Put simply, it is a budget where you “spend” your money for the month until it is ALL gone. In other words, if your income is $5,000 per month, you would tell every single dollar where to go until you reach $0.

So pretend that you already have your income for the month in your hand. Spend it!

First Task: Spend March’s income until you spend it all.

SPEND IT BEFORE THE MONTH BEGINS

No matter what budgeting system you decide to use, you should always have a very simple budget on paper to work from. Once you do this initially, the rest of the months should be easier since for most people, month to month expenses generally stay the same with few exceptions.

Second Task: Spend your income on paper.

***Task one and two can be done together.

FREE POCKETSMITH (8 EVENT BUDGETING)

Comment from Jo:

“So far so good. Already had a paper budget which made input easy except I am struggling a bit with the 8 event limit as it doesn’t really allow for a detailed financial snapshot. Any suggestions?”

My response:

Yeah I can see how that might make it a bit tough. The only thing I can think of at the moment would be to use the calendar to post categories.

• Housing – Mortgage/rent/insurance/maintenance/repairs
• Utilities – electric/gas/phone/water/sewage/internet etc.
• Food – groceries
• Transportation – fuel/maintenance/repair/bus fare/taxi/auto insurance etc.
• Misc – Toiletries/medication etc.
• Subscriptions – Netflix/blockbuster/cable tv etc.
• Entertainment – eating out/fun etc.
• Debt – credit cards/student loans/car loans/furniture loans etc. (if you had to borrow to get it should go here—except for mortgages)

That’s how I would do it under those circumstances, and I would track individual accounts and spending on my paper budget for the time being.

USING POCKETSMITH

I am still learning the ropes over at Pocketsmith, but I have to say I really like the visualization that using the calendar-based budget gives me. I have been able to combine both systems together in order to take advantage of spending my money down to zero, as well as using the visual instruments that Pocketsmith offers.

Now it’s time to transfer the paper budget done in task one and two, on to Pocketsmith.

• Go to Pocketsmith and login.
• Click on Forecast Calendars.

Now before you start putting in information for the month of March, you may need to input your starting balance in your checking account. Remember you want to spend ALL of your money on purpose. If you have nothing entered for the month of February simply add income on the last day of February, that reflects your balance that will rollover into March. You will notice that when you do so, the month of March will start out with that amount.

• Add your income.

Next, you will want to create income for any day that you will receive a paycheck, OR any additional money that you will earn. If you get paid on the 1st and 15th, then go to those dates and click “create”. Click the income selection and enter the amount of your paycheck. ***If your paychecks are always different then enter in the amount you know you will receive, or make your best guess. Don’t worry this can be updated as you get your paycheck by simply editing the information.

• Add all monthly expenses.

Now go in and click “create” for each of the days you have known expenses. I usually enter them in order of importance. Food, shelter, utilities, transportation, etc. (See example list below.)

• Monthly grocery budget (recommendation: $125 per person)
• Mortgage or Rent
• Electric and Gas
• Phone Bill
• Water/Trash
• Clothing
• Transportation/Fuel
• Household Supplies
• Internet/Cable
• Subscriptions
• Entertainment
• ETC.

For items that do not have due dates for them, like groceries, you have a few choices depending on your habits. Do you buy groceries weekly, bi-weekly, or once a month. (Is there a specific day?) If so, create the expense for that day. If not, pick a day.

Be sure to enter every single dollar you will be spending for the month of March into the calendar. The great thing about Pocketsmith is that you can set income and expenses to automatically show up for following months. In other words, you only have to do this once, with the exception of any small changes from month to month.

Third Task: Transfer your budget information into Pocketsmith’s Forecast Calendar.

That is it for today folks! This is the most important part as it will make your budgeting experience go a lot smoother. Usually the first part is the most time consuming so keep that in mind before you second-guess your decision to do this. PLEASE use the comments section of this post to ask questions or offer any kind of support for others taking this same journey. Let’s build a community around good money management. Let’s start now!

Related Articles I Have Written About Budgeting

• Ideas On How To Give Yourself A Raise May 2, 2008
• The Budget Puzzle June 11, 2008
• The “B” Word! August 22, 2008
• 7 Tips To Make Your Budget Work March 10, 2009
• The Dream Budget: Your Debt Free Potential! What’s Yours? July 28, 2009
• A Written Budget – A Basic But Essential Financial Tool October 7, 2009
• Zero-Based Budget: Spend Every Dollar On Paper On Purpose October 17, 2009
• When Your Financial Plan Takes A Detour It Doesn’t Imply Failure October 20, 2009
• Enjoy Frugal Entertainment Without Breaking The Bank October 27, 2009
  
• Disposable Income: 9 Ways To Give Yourself A Raise December 5, 2009
• Sinking Funds – Are You Prepared For Irregular Expenses? December 22, 2009
• In Order To Succeed Financially, You Must Redefine The Word “Deal” January 11, 2010
• It’s Your Money, YOU Spend It! February 23, 2010

Hello everyone! I want to share with you something that I need your help with. Flexo from Consumerism Commentary put together the Plutus Awards to help showcase the best in personal finance. Enemy of Debt was nominated for the “Best Debt Blog” of 2009, and I can’t tell you how much of an honor that is. There are some really great debt blogs out there so to be in the same company with some of them is truly special.

I thank you for your nomination, and now I must ask you for your vote.

It would be super awesome to win but to be honest I am pretty thankful to even be nominated. Thank you!

I would like to congratulate some of my buddies, and I encourage you to vote for them as well. My boy over at Budgets Are Sexy got nominated for 7 categories with his bad self. (What a PF Rockstar you are J Money!) I would also like to personally congratulate Financial Samurai, Fiscal Geek, Bible Money Matters, Frugal Dad, Punch Debt In The Face, Out Of Your Rut, Redeeming Riches, My Next Buck, The Centsible Life, Budget Pulse, and Well-Heeled Blog for their respective nominations as well.

As you can see I am in great company! I need your vote though and am counting on you to help me out. take a few minutes to vote for your favorites right here. If you could also Tweet it that would be so awesome!

RT @Flexo: Vote in the @PlutusAwards for the best personal finance bloggers of 2009.

Thank you all for giving me a reason to keep on going. If not for you, I would have quit a long time ago, so thanks for all of your support!

P.S. My Book Review: “Outstanding by John  G. Miller” has been moved to Tuesday. My school work has kept me super busy this week, along with all of the other things I am messing around with. Look for it on Tuesday and have a great week! Tomorrow I will be posting the first post to kick-off the March Manage Your Money Challenge, so for all you who felt you were up for it, I will see you then.

Hello debt haters! A few weeks ago I received an email from a reader that suggested I write a post about how other people spend your money for you. I have to admit it is a great post idea, and I am really surprised I had not come up with it earlier. You see, I have my own issue with this very problem.

Kelly in Cleveland Ohio wrote in:

“I’d love to see an article on “When others spend your money for you”. For example, a 50th wedding anniversary for my fiance’s parents. We were just notified that we’re paying 1/3 of a $20+ per plate gala for 60 people. We suggested low cost options- church cost $50 to rent, and we could cook ourselves, do set up and cleanup, etc… but now there’s a rift because we even mentioned that we’d have a hard time budgeting an extra $150 or more per month (on top of a wedding!). They are obviously paying on credit card. I have no credit card debt, but my fiance’ does- 15k or so that we’re attacking already on top of wedding bills. Where do people get the idea that they can spend other’s money for them?”

One of the things that really bug me is when someone else notifies you of an expense you didn’t plan for. Birthday parties, going away parties, work luncheons, etc. They seem to volunteer you without ever considering the alternative, which is asking you. Now to be clear, I am not against celebrating a co-workers departure, a birthday, a wedding, or a surprise luncheon, but I have a big problem with other people—who probably have no plan at all—spending your money for you.

The worst part about these common occurrences is that if you were to choose not to participate, if that’s an option, you look like a big jerk. You may then be labeled as a cheap, stingy, or scrooge-ish person, but even if you aren’t, the pressure to participate is still there. Another scenario that seems to be very common is when friends invite you to go out to eat. If you say no, you might be berated, but if you say yes you may spend more than you should. I’d rather say no.

My wife and I have discussed this many times as she seems to always come home to inform me that we are responsible for buying something for this or for that. What about the budget, I say? Do we really want to adjust our budget by taking from one category in order to account for this forced expense? We do not have a lot of waste in our budget so it may cause us to take away from something far more important. At Christmas time they often do a gift exchange where each person buys something for $20. We generally only buy gifts for the kids in our family, so this means that we spend $20 for someone else when we could of used that money to buy someone in our family something. They would and should be the priority no?

How To Handle These Forced Expenditures

Now that I have stated my case, I do not think this issue will go away. This leaves you with two options:

• Spend the money
  • If you feel that you want to participate in these types of events plan for them.
    • Create a category in your budget each month to deal with these types of expenses. If you don’t use the money allotted for that month, carry it over to the next month.
    • Place an amount you agree on, (for the year) in an envelope and vow to only use it for these surprise expenses. When you run out, you run out.
    • If you want to plan for bigger “surprise expenses”, figure out how much you want to set aside, and put away money each month to fund it.
• Don’t spend the money
  • Say NO, without feeling bad, it is after all, YOUR money.

In conclusion, I will say that you should never spend your money because you feel forced to do so. If you want to participate in an event that causes you to change your budget, do so, but be sure to adjust your budget. Another piece of advice would be to NEVER use a credit card to fund these random expenses. Spend your money the way YOU see fit, not how someone else sees fit. They don’t have to pay your monthly bills, you do.

Furthermore, if someone came to me and “told” me that I was going to be responsible for funding such a big amount, such as Kelly experienced above, I would flat out say no. There is something rather arrogant about someone coming to you and telling you how to spend your hard earned money because they have deemed it worthy. (kind of reminds me of the Government.)

Do you have a similar story to share? Please feel free to discuss it in the comments section. I would love to hear your thoughts.

photo credit

Today Mrs. Accountability from Out of Debt Again and I are exchanging question and answer posts. Mrs. Accountability is a personal finance blogger who is working to get her family out of debt… again!

When you’re done reading her answers here, go on over to her blog to read my answers, take a look around and subscribe to her blog!

photo credit

Is your spouse a spender or a saver?

It’s hard for me to categorize my husband as one or the other, because when I think of a spender I think of someone who is somewhat out of control and buying anything and everything, charging up credit cards like mad. I think of a saver as a person who has a huge savings account with money they’ve saved over the years. Mr. A is not quite either of those, although he likes to collect loose change. I guess I would have to put him into the spender category though because I think he tends to want to spend extra money when he knows about it. But he is a conscious spender. Even for his business if he needs a new tool and can wait on buying it, he will watch the ads and try to get the best deal.

Do you prefer to work for someone or be self employed? Why?

I always used to think I would never want to be self-employed, because I like the idea of someone else paying my steady paycheck. I have known a lot of self-employed people who seemed to constantly struggle to make ends meet. But I have to admit the idea is becoming more and more appealing, and this is in part having seen that my husband is succeeding at having his own business. If I’m able to retire from my regular job, most likely we would set it up so that I would become a paid employee for the business since there are some good perks to setting up a family owned business that way.

Do you buy your own books or use the library? Why?

When my children were little and we lived in the big city, we went to the library weekly. We always had thirty books at any time checked out, keeping a running list so we wouldn’t lose track of any and have to pay fines. When we moved out to the country, I was able to keep a library card from the city because my sister has her land line phone in my name, so technically I can use her phone bill with her address on it to use the library. But it just became too much of a hassle to try to remember to take books with me and I ended up with so many fines. Our little country library out here is tiny and I tried a few times to get books I was looking for but lost interest. Now I participate in Paperback Swap Club, or buy my books from Amazon or Half.com. Oh, and I just heard on the news that the Digital Bookmobile is coming to the Greater Phoenix area which allows downloads of books to personal PCs, laptops or PDAs. I may have to renew that library card!

Prefer to rent or own your own home? Why?

Definitely prefer to own. I have had bad experiences with renting and heard of too many stories of people paying rent only to find the homeowner hadn’t been paying the mortgage. Although, unfortunately, with eminent domain, we have no longer have the guarantee of a “forever home”.

Do you consider a mortgage to be “okay” debt? Why or why not?

I don’t consider mortgage debt to be “okay” debt. I think any debt is debt. Although it might be a more worthy cause, it’s still debt and as long as we’re in debt we aren’t free. I know a lot of people who expect to have mortgage debt for the rest of their lives so they can use the interest as a tax deduction.

Would you ever lease an automobile on a long term contract?

I would NEVER lease an automobile. I have never done it, but I think it’s ridiculous. Actually, I think it’s similar to renting as opposed to owning a home. You’ll never own the place and you’ll be paying on it for the rest of your life.

Do you own pets? Do you feel they are a justifiable expense?

Yes, we do have pets. We justify having four dogs because their job is to alert us to strangers around our fenced property. One time the dogs were barking wildly and we looked out to discover about a dozen people with backpacks and water bottles were walking past. When they got to the end of our fence line they all crouched down, then left after a few minutes. About ten minutes later Border Patrol came walking along on foot, and another on a quad. We wondered how many times are the dogs barking when they deter people from coming into our yard. They also keep coyotes and other critters from coming into the yard after our goats and chickens. We also have four cats. One stays inside all the time, the others come and go as they please. They are great mousers and they also hunt the gophers in my garden. Too bad they don’t seem to catch Mr. Gopher who constantly harangues me in the garden. All of our pets are fixed so they aren’t adding to the population.

Would you ever consider living in a manufactured home?

Yes, we currently live in a manufactured home. I have been in some of the new “chicken wire and styrofoam” homes in the surrounding area, and I find my Cavco home to be of much better construction. But mine along with my 3.5 acres only cost us $53K and the newly built homes are over $125K for a quarter acre or less. There are really cheap ones manufactured homes out there, so if you consider buying one, you should definitely consider a brand that is known for quality construction.

Why did you start your blog?

I had been reading personal finance blogs, and thought since we didn’t have a huge mortgage, student loans and our credit card debt was under $12,000 that I couldn’t compete with the bloggers with giant amounts of debt. But then I found Mr. Debtbeater and poor guy, he was going deeper in debt every month! I thought, if he can blog, I can blog! I also thought having a personal finance blog would help with accountability. Actually that’s how I came up with my pen name, Mrs. Accountability. I have been having fun blogging every since and glad I took the plunge and got started.

Do you ever feel guilty when you buy things that you can probably live without?

I do. Almost everything, even when it’s something inexpensive, because there is that part of me that thinks we need to just buckle down, scrimp to the max and knock out our debt!!

Does your employer have a 401K that you contribute to?

No. Unfortunately, we don’t seem to have a retirement plan at my job at all. Although a couple of people have retired and they were “vested” and got a few thousand dollars. I think my report said I was vested for something like $28. Wow. Can’t retire on that.

Thanks for having me on your blog today, Brad. I think it is fantastic that you got out of debt in such a short time and it’s great that you are able to be a stay at home/work at home dad! My hubby did that for a few years and I know it really helped him to become closer to our children as a result. Thanks again!