Who is the spender in your home?

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There is usually at least one person in the family that likes to spend money. Some husbands have to deal with a wife that won’t stop spending as well as some wives have to deal with a husband that won’t stop spending. Usually in this type of home one spouse is off doing one thing as the other is trying to keep things together. Is this type of home at all capable of gaining financial freedom? I say no. Not unless someone is will to make some changes.

As a couple the journey toward financial freedom needs to be something you do together. It is extremely difficult and even impossible for one spouse to get out of debt when the other is creating debt on weekly shopping sprees.  Strangely enough neither my husband or I are a spender. Sure we would both like to spend money but by nature we are more of the thrifty types. Though neither of us had to adjust our spending habits in a dramatic way, we still had to learn how to join together as husband and wife and change our spending habits.

As I have said many times before, getting out of debt is not easy. It takes deciding your are going to change and acting on those discussions. I encourage you to sit down with your spouse, whether they are the spender or saver, and talk about your finances like adults. By “like adults” I mean, don’t play the blame game. You probably both got yourselves into this mess so it’s now time to talk about how to get out of it.  Of course you probably already know I recommend Dave Ramsey for sound financial advice.

August 29, 2007 | Filed Under Budgeting, Dave Ramsey Financial Freedom, Financial Advice | Leave a Comment 

Baby Steps Lead to Huge Gains

baby-up-steps.jpgSometimes is difficult to take the baby steps necessary to reach long term goals. If we don’t take the baby steps then we may never reach our goals at all. While trying to gain financial freedom we will have doubts of whether it’s worth it. Is is worth it to live with out now so that later you can have more? Are you capable of saying no to your impulses and think ahead? These are question I have to ask myself all the time.

The question I have been asking myself most lately is “Can I be happy with what I already have?”. Yes, I can be happy with what I already have but I need to make a conscious effort not to think about what I don’t have. The baby steps necessary to reach a life of financial freedom are also necessary to reach a content state of mind.

 Check out my other blog iwebis for information on making money online , blogging and social media.

August 22, 2007 | Filed Under Life Goals | 3 Comments 

Things I Never Thought I Could Do.

I think it’s important to recognize progress. Sometimes I think we forget to do this because we are so caught up in the ‘now’ and how bad things are. There are some life goals I have already accomplished but never really labeled them as goals but looking back I can see they are things I wished I could change about myself.

Here is a list of things I never thought I could do but am doing now.

  • I never thought I could stick to a schedule. This has been a goal that has taken a lot of self discipline. I used to hate schedules because I felt restricted. As a ‘free spirit’ I felt a schedule kept me from being creative. What I finally realized is that without a schedule (for certain things in my life) ciaos often took over which didn’t allow for creative or a peace of mind. I still need work in the area of my life but it’s much, much better than it used to be.
  • I never thought I could live without television (by television I mean network, cable, satellite tv). This may seem really strange to some people but those that can relate to this know what I mean. At times the television was my comfort. My husband used to work really late and I was able to feel comfort when watching television. I remember back then thinking about ‘those people who didn’t have television’. I thought there was no way I could ever live without it. Well, here I am, living without it and doing just fine. I still get to watch our own movies but it’s much more controlled and my kids don’t have to be exposed to the ever growing trash being shown on tv. Trash is now shown in commercials which is very hard to moderate. I found that I really don’t miss the television.
  • I never thought I could stick to a budget. Sticking to a budget was as pleasant a thought as getting a root canal. The thought of it horrified me. I would get clammy and pale faced. Ok, well maybe that’s an exaggeration but I think you get my point. I hated trying to budget because it never worked and it never gave me hope, that is until I was introduced to Dave Ramsey. I will try not to sound like a commercial for Dave Ramsey but his financial advice literally changed our lives. I am now able to use a monthly budget and it feels relieving instead of horrifying.

There are still many life goals I hope to accomplish within a reasonable distance from my death :) . By looking back on some goals I have accomplish or have at least made progress with, I can see that things that I never thought I could do I actually can accomplish if I keeping trying to improve.

 Check out my other blog iwebis for information on making money online and social media.

August 18, 2007 | Filed Under Dave Ramsey Financial Freedom, Life Goals | Leave a Comment 

Stupid Tax Stories

Occasionally I go to Dave Ramsey’s website to check out the Stupid Tax Stories. I think I may be trying to feel better about my stupid tax stories by reading others stories. So I read a couple of good ones today that I thought I would share with my readers.

Swept Up in a Wave of Emotion
As my 30th birthday approached, I started looking into “executive” dating services. On my birthday, I met with a representative from “Great Expectations” and, while swept up in a wave of emotion, signed a 3-year contract. They offered me a “discounted” membership at $2,400 and helped finance it at 17% interest.

Almost immediately I regretted my decision but was unable to get out of my contract. Even worse, the dating service had very few women my age in my area! I eventually paid it off early, spending almost $3,000, but haven’t met a single woman through the service.

I have been debt free since March 2007, and women find that sexy and appealing. Dave should be a dating counselor!

 

Volunteering Cost Me $400

 

Volunteering cost me over $400 plus stress and time from work!

I was volunteering at the Scholastic Book fair in my son’s school. On this torrential rainy day, I parked my car in front of the school to help unload the books and got a $42 ticket. At the time, we didn’t even know how we were going to make ends meet, more or less have $42 for a darn ticket. Months went by and I could not get the extra money to pay for the ticket.

Four months later, I got stopped for a defective brake light on my way to take my boys to day camp. The officer told me there was an outstanding warrant for my arrest, and my license had been suspended - all because of the unpaid ticket. In short, I had to leave work, post bail of $186, go to DMV to renew my license, pay the ticket, get the brake light fixed, and pay for the increase in insurance. Over $400, plus time lost from work.

Procrastination and poverty stink. That is why my money makeover is so important to me…. not only money-wise, but weighing the long-term cost of $400 versus paying the $42 ticket.

Everyone has stupid tax stories. I know that I have many of these stories and will probably continue to till I die but my hope is that with training I will become a better handler of money and these stories will be few and far between.

 Check out my other blog iwebis for information on making money online and social media.

August 16, 2007 | Filed Under Stupid Tax | Leave a Comment 

Missing Your Dream Because You Can’t Keep Up with the Jones’

Most of us, at least on a small scale, are trying to keep up with the Jones’. It is almost impossible not to have some feelingss of “I wish I could have” when the media is constantly telling us we need more. As adults we really should be able to know better than to listen to the media because all they are trying to do is sell us something. They don’t really want whats best for us or even care whats best for us.

Those of you who have pets or children may have observed some behavior that is similar to how we act when we want something. You set two bowls of the same dog food down for two dogs and they seem to always want the other dogs food. Horses grazing in a pasture will stretch as far as they can to reach the grass on the other side of the fence which happens to be the same grass on his side of the fence. Two young children will be playing with the same toy but at some point they have to see if the other one is different or better. Is this behavior starting to sound familiar?

I can relate to this type of behavior because I do it all the time but it usually happens in my thoughts not necessarily my actions. I have a great house, I live in a great area, I have horses I have always dreamed of having but still I look over at my neighbors and wish I could have that nice white fencing or that new horse trailer (to name a few). Why is it I can’t be content with what I have? Why do I allow such thoughts to be entertained?

I am actually living my dream. I live in a nice house on a couple of acres, my kids have room to roam. We have dogs, cats, chickens and horses. As a child, I dreamed of this type of lifestyle yet I am here and at times my thoughts turn to “I wish I could have more”. My neighbor who has more things entertains these same thoughts and wonders why. I believe as humans we are generally selfish beings. If our mamas didn’t teach us to share when we were younger we never would have learned it. Our parents had to teach us to be giving and we had to learn selflessness.

So as adults we must train ourselves to be content if we have not mastered it. I must train myself to not entertain thoughts of “want” that take away from recognizing the blessing I already have.  I am blessed and I need to show God my appreciation by being content and thankful.

August 13, 2007 | Filed Under Life Goals | Leave a Comment 

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