Go Ahead And Make Your New Year’s Resolution

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A growing trend has emerged in recent years, I like to call it resolution shaming. Tomorrow is January 1st, the start of a brand new year and many will use the turning of the calendar as an opportunity to put the past behind them and begin working on new financial goals. In response, others will mock resolutions makers because many will abandon their goals within days or weeks. I say screw ’em. January 1st is the perfect time to begin working on a new financial goal. Why You Should Make A New Year Resolution One thing that sets humans apart […] Read more »

Want To Achieve Your Goals? Improve a Little Each Day

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I turned the corner, and the numbers came into focus on the clock counting the finishing times of the 5K I was running on Sunday morning. The clock said 25:55 as I crossed through the inflatable finish line. My first thought was that of satisfaction in finishing under my goal of 27 minutes. The next thought was that I knew I could do better. It’s been a few years since I’ve done a race of this specific distance, so I wasn’t sure of what pace to start at. I started too slow, and then slowly increased my speed. My failure […] Read more »

Complete Transformation: My Next Big Goal

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Registration for the Twin Cities Marathon opened at 9:00am on Saturday, February 1st. I was sitting at my computer waiting for the link to go live, and I hit the final “submit” button at 9:09am. This will be my fourth marathon, but it will be unique. 2014 is going to be a year of transformation for myself. As of last Friday, we have completed our debt management program and $109,000 of credit card debt is gone. But that’s only the beginning, as we have other financial goals that we will accomplish this year. I want to extend that transformation to […] Read more »

Just Say No!

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I’ve always had trouble with the word no even as a child. My mom claims she would have raised my brother ten times before having to raise me again. I was strong willed, stubborn and loved to say, “no”. Not much has changed since then, I am still strong willed and stubborn, the difference is now I can’t say no, to anyone. Extra responsibilities at work? Sure, no problem. We’d like you to be the head room parent this year. Ok, I can do that! Would you mind being the website coordinator for football? Yeah, I don’t see why not. […] Read more »

“No More Frivolous Spending!”

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I have a confession to make…It’s been over a year since I tracked my household’s expenses. Yes I know better, yes that is horrible, and yes unfortunately, it’s the truth. My boyfriend and I have been living together for about a year and a half. Prior to his “moving in” we tracked both of our expenses and built a household budget that was fair and worked for both of us. We haven’t looked at it since. In fact, I pay all of our household bills and manage the finances for his business. He has NO idea where his money is […] Read more »

Don’t Let Debt Hold You Back

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2012 is rapidly coming to a close and it’s time to start thinking about your goals for 2013. If you have debts consider developing a plan to make 2013 the year you get out. Interest Affects Your Bottom Line The exercise of defining all of your credit card debt and the subsequent interest rates should be a top “to do”. Start by pulling your free annual credit report and seeing what you owe and at what rate. Create a spreadsheet, document or put a pen to paper listing your debts. Then calculate how much money you are spending each month […] Read more »

There Is No Magic Pill for Debt Freedom

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I can’t tell you the countless times I have been tempted by the magic pill. You know the one I am talking about; the one that claims you can lose 20 pounds in one month without exercising, get rich working just four hours a day, or the one you can take to get rid of your debt. The magic pill seems like an answer to your problems and the best part is you don’t have to do anything except swallow. Who wouldn’t be tempted? The problem with magic pills is that they are missing the key component to accomplishing any […] Read more »

Turn the Tables on Your Debt to Savings Ratio

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Recent years have been tough on everyone; unemployment, the mortgage debacle, and rising costs on everything from food to gas have caused many of us to re-evaluate our budgets and learn to cut back. One in four Americans has more debt than savings. A recent survey by Bankrate.com found that 25 percent of Americans have more credit card debt than they have in emergency savings. Yikes, that is definitely a scary statistic. But, you don’t have to let it happen to you! While credit card debt may take some time to get out of there are lots of things you […] Read more »

The Lost Subject: Personal Finance

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Were you taught about money and personal finance when you were in school? I wasn’t. Even today personal finance is not taught in most schools or considered a curriculum requirement for college students. How do we expect today’s youth to stop the vicious cycle of debt if we don’t teach them how? The latest report from the Federal Reserve shows that consumers are still using their credit cards in a big way; revolving credit, which is made up primarily of credit card debt rose to $801.0 billion. It’s obvious the cycle continues as millions of Americans rack up debt and […] Read more »

Being Debt Free is NOT the Goal

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I recently registered for the Twin Cities marathon, which will be held in October of this year. It will be my third marathon, so I’ve been through the training before. However, as a refresher, I dusted off a marathon training book I had purchased several years ago and began reading. The first chapter is quite inspirational. It reflects upon the time and effort it takes to train for a marathon. By the time race day arrives, months of work have been put in, and hundreds of miles have been logged in preparation of the big event. The thing that stands […] Read more »

Changing My Money Mind in 2012

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It’s that time of year when we all vow to change our ways and resolve to go on a diet, quit smoking, or get out of debt. How many of us actually have a plan in place to make our resolutions a reality? Unfortunately most of us don’t and this is why we are doomed to fail before we even start. Yes, money is necessary to support our lifestyle, but do we let it determine how we live our lives? The fact is many of us do. We allow ourselves to live up to or above our means which often […] Read more »

Just Say No to Inflatable Santa’s

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“Mommy please can we get one of those inflatable Santa’s?” This is the plea I have heard from my eight year old son since we began to decorate (with our already purchased) holiday decorations the day after Thanksgiving. My answer remains constant, “Not right now buddy, we don’t need an inflatable Santa.”  Unfortunately millions of Americans apparently do feel they need inflatable Santa’s, two Christmas trees, and thousands of twinkle lights to adorn their homes so they can feel the magic of the holidays.  According to a Bloomberg report, “This year U.S. consumers will spend $6 billion on decorations, the […] Read more »

To Be or Not To Be…That is the Question

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Thankful that is…today is Thanksgiving a time to spend with loved ones and reflect on what you are thankful for. It has been a tough year for my family and some days I didn’t feel so thankful, but today I have a renewed attitude of thankfulness and realize just how lucky I am to have my health, my family, and the support of communities like this one. Unexpected Gifts of Thanks Sometimes we are dealt a bad hand and just need to make the best of less than perfect situations. Divorce.  On April 5th of this year my divorce was […] Read more »

Day 1: No Restaurants in November 2011 – Let the Savings Begin!

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Time to break out the cookware!

So today it begins. No Restaurants in November baby! If you missed the rules I am giving myself (and possibly you) click here to see if you have what it takes. Yep those are challenging words! :D Have you decided to be TOTALLY WEIRD by participating in such a thing? WARNING: Your friends may laugh at you. You may get called some names. Your actions may cause people to feel judged. If this happens to you, please tread carefully. Unpredictable behavior may ensue. I get it. It totally sucks to be the only person at work with a bagged lunch, but guess what? It also sucks to be broke and/or keeping yourself from reaching your goals. Read more »