Master your money. Get organized. Take back your time.
You’re drooling over the idea of a tropical vacation. You’re weighing options for your kid’s education. Maybe you just hate everything in your closet.
Before you buy, figure out whether it’s time to splurge or save with these six questions. [Read more…]
If you haven’t already read it, check out Part 1 of this series!
Note: This post contains affiliate links. Read my policy here.
Two weeks ago I shared three of my favorite kitchen tools for eating fresh, healthy foods without the hassle.
If you’ve got the right gear in your kitchen, it’s so easy to eat high-quality fruits, veggies, meats, cheeses, and more without paying the huge markup that comes with the pre-prepped, bagged and boxed stuff.
So let’s dive in to three more of the best kitchen gear you can get for enjoying good-for-you foods on a budget: [Read more…]
Where is my money going?!
Have you ever asked yourself this question? Maybe it’s when you reach into your wallet and find nothing but fuzz. Maybe it’s when you get a shocker of a credit card statement.
Maybe it’s during tax time when you’re entering your income numbers . . . and you know that most of that money is definitely not sitting in your savings account.
But it’s less appealing than volunteering for a root canal.
If you find the idea of making a budget detestable, it’s probably because . . . [Read more…]
Note: This post contains affiliate links. Read my policy here.
We all want to eat fresh and healthy foods. And we want to serve them to our spouses and kids too.
But eating junk is just so much easier! There’s none of the washing, prepping, slicing, cooking, and storing that you have to tackle with fresh produce, meats, cheeses, etc. Instead, you just grab and go.
And you pay a pretty penny for that convenience — not to mention the toll it takes on your health.
But what if you could enjoy fresh, healthy foods easily, conveniently, and at a great price?
Here are six of my all-time favorite kitchen tools for enjoying good-for-you foods on a budget: [Read more…]
Spending $1 on lipstick or $3 on foundation sounds like a good way to save money in theory . . . until you try it out.
Then you wind up with chalky, patchy lip color and a freakishly orange, dusty face!
So looking our best means shelling out more for higher quality cosmetics.
Even if you skip the department store and hit up your drugstore or supermarket, you’ll still wind up paying $5 – $15 per lipstick tube and more than $10 for mascara. And even if you maintain just a modest cosmetics case, you likely have a handful of lipsticks, some concealer, foundation, blush, mascara, and a few eye shadows.
Boy, can that add up!
Plus, make-up expires, so you have to restock — regardless of whether you still have some product remaining. After all, it’s not worth an eye infection to hold on to your mascara long beyond its shelf life.
So are you tired of shelling out a wad of twenties for your beauty products?
Here’s my secret for saving 50% or more on my favorite make-up brands: [Read more…]
What is financial planning?
Simply put, financial planning is the process of creating and following a conscious strategy for your money.
Financial planning means making sure you have the resources to meet your needs while pursuing your goals. You align your money decisions with your customized financial blueprint to make those goals a reality.
If that approach to money sounds incredible but you don’t know where to get started, you’re in the right place. Transform yourself into a pro by working through these four key steps. [Read more…]
Note: This post contains affiliate links. Read my policy here.
You’ve got the vacation bug!
You’re ready. To ride the waves, relax in the mountains, or take in the culture of a new city.
But eating out on vacation is a major expense. If you’re used to planning your meals and sticking to a food budget at home, heading out to restaurants three times a day is bound to give you palpitations!
Think that you need a big budget for your family’s vacation meals? Think again!
Food-related costs are one of the easiest to minimize when it comes to travel. Even better, there are some painless ways to do it without feeling as though you’re pinching pennies!
[Read more…]
Do you know the secret to accomplishing big dreams and achieving major goals?
Believe it or not, scientific research has been performed on that very subject. Dr. Gail Matthews at Dominican University of California completed a study on why some people reach their goals and others don’t.
She discovered that something very simple could make all the difference: writing down your goals.
Dr. Matthews’ study revealed that people who wrote down their goals were 50% more likely to achieve (or make significant progress on) those ambitions than people with no written goals.
Imagine what you could accomplish if your dreams were 50% more likely to be realized.
Don’t think you have goals? Consider what you yearn to achieve in your marriage, relationships with family & friends, spirituality, health, professional ambitions, finances, home, hobbies and interests, community involvement, and more.
What do you want for yourself in life? For your children?
Organize your garage. Land new clients. Complete a marathon. Live comfortably in retirement. Learn a new language. Nurture your children’s skills.
These are all dreams you may want to reach soon or at some point in the future.
Thirty years ago, Ron Shaich co-founded a little restaurant that became the worldwide phenomenon known today as Panera. In a 2014 interview with Business Insider, Shaich stated that he devotes time every Christmas toward writing down his big goals for the next year.
Today, his business brings in billions of dollars in annual revenue, and he estimates that he gets results on 75% of his written goals.
Whether you want to build a global empire or simply long to finish that project that’s been gathering dust, you can tap into the proven power of a written goal list. If you’ve never created a goal list for yourself or you don’t know how to make it work, follow these 8 steps to success. [Read more…]
Who wouldn’t love to boost her savings? And right now too?
Saving a bundle of money doesn’t need to require a huge sacrifice in your lifestyle. Or a major time investment to find extra pennies here and there.
Here are three super easy ways you can rapidly increase your savings. [Read more…]
Ahh, the laundry. That never-ending chore that no one loves to do. It feels as though you need to do it . . . all . . . the . . . time.
And that can add up to a lot of money.
You don’t always see the cost of doing laundry, since it’s hidden in your budget:
If you’re looking for an easy way to save every single week, take a look at your laundry habits. Let’s see how we can spend less money getting your clothes clean and smelling great! [Read more…]