-
One Piece of the Financial Freedom Pie-Cutting Expenses
There’s earning more money, saving more money, and another piece of the financial freedom pie is all about cutting expenses. I probably don’t have to tell you that things have gotten more expensive this year. Don’t know about you, but each time I open a bill, like one from a utility company, a piece of paper drifts to the floor. It’s the one saying they’ll be raising their rates later this year. And it’s not just energy costs. Just the other day, I went online to order some of my favorite green tea (it’s my mid-morning pick me up), and had to blink three times just to make sure I…
You May Also Like
50 Products Worth Over $3000
-
Where to Stash Your Rainy Day Fund
You’ve heard me mention my maternal grandmother many times here at BSG. She’s one of my money mentors. She was widowed at 50 and was an independent woman who believed in taking care of everything (including all things financial), her way. (Stubborn is often what my mom called her). One of the many things she taught me was to have money to fall back on, the rainy day fund, that emergency fund I talked about last week. She was the one who took me to open my very first savings account at the ripe old age of eight. She deposited money to open the account and then told me when…
You May Also Like
50 Products Worth Over $3000
-
Friday Ramblings-The Great Thing About Online Grocery Shopping
Another heat advisory today! It’s hard to believe that just two days ago it was in the 60’s and I had to go grab a sweater. Now it’s not much fun stepping outside. One thing I’m loving that not only saves time, but I think money too, is online grocery shopping. Supermarkets are in the business of making you buy more than you intended but if you don’t see the can of gourmet this and that, the artisan bread or the cupcakes that are on sale, they don’t find a way into your cart. Another thing I love about shopping for groceries on my laptop is I can see the…
-
Emergency Funds-Do You Have One?
Do you have enough money set aside should some major happen like losing your job, or even a everyday thing like needing a new set of tires for your car? My maternal grandmother (one of my money mentors), always had a rainy day fund and she taught me the importance of having one too. I’ve always set money aside for the just in case scenarios that always seem to happen when you least expect it. Take for example something that happened this week. Sunday lunch time I was eating leftover pizza and bit down and knew something wasn’t quite right. I realized I’d lost part of the filling in one…
You May Also Like
50 Products Worth Over $3000
-
Recession Proof Yourself, Your Business and Your Life
What’s happening in the world reminds me of the old saying about not putting all your eggs into one basket. I work in the creative field and every day I’m hearing about people losing contracts, clients canceling projects, and people generally not knowing how they’re going to make it through the months ahead. Proactive measures are always better than reactive ones so now is the time to think about businesses that are sort of polar opposites of one another. It’s the way successful entrepreneurs have always done it. If one business gets hit during a downturn, you have one or more other ‘different’ businesses to keep you afloat. Say you…
You May Also Like
50 Products Worth Over $3000
-
Summer Money Makeover
It’s not yet ‘officially’ summer but Memorial Day’s been and gone so I thought we’d kick off a summer financial makeover. What gave me the idea? Over at my writing site, I’m setting up a summer writer’s retreat where we’ll get books started or half-finished ones will get completed. It’s running from June 1st through September 1st. Three months to get something done that maybe you’ve been talking about or even just dreaming about doing. So I thought how about something similar here at BSG. What would your financial makeover look like? Maybe you want to finally set up a budget? Perhaps you want to get started on saving…
-
The Added Cost of Fear and Uncertainty
What if it breaks, what if the car breaks down, or I lose my cell phone… We all have one of those days, sometimes one of those weeks. Put it down to bad luck or the universe not being on our side. We’re human so that makes us worry and companies know that. Sometimes it’s the fear and uncertainty of everyday living that costs us more money than it should. What got me thinking about this? I’ve been reading a couple of financial books (I’ll be reviewing them here on BSG at a later date), and both of them mentioned that oftentimes we pay more because a company…
-
Compound Interest-Friend or Foe?
Compound interest… Two words that make me think about my maternal grandmother. I know what you’re probably thinking why would something connected to money make her think about grandma? Let me explain… My grandmother was widowed when she was just 51 years old. She was a very independent lady, didn’t rely on her family, didn’t want to burden my parents so she’d adopted a mindset that made sure she was financially secure to the day she died (at 87). She had two ways of looking at money and debt. First one was, make money work for you and save up for something you want and then buy it. Never buy it and…
-
The Added Cost of Being on Auto-Pilot
We all know being disorganized can cost us money. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve rushed out to buy something I know I already own but can’t remember where I put it. I’m getting better at being organized but one thing that can also eat away at your budget is payments that are on auto-pilot. I’ve signed up for services, memberships to sites etc. without thinking about how payments are made during the second year. A couple of times I’ve been sent e-mails saying thank you for staying on as a customer for another year. But what, you say, I didn’t make a payment to you. In fact, I wanted to…
-
Going Green Means Saving Green
Earth Day is this Saturday and here are five easy ways I’ve found to go green and save money at the same time- Showers You can buy low water flow shower heads or even buy adapters to go on your current one. Neither are that expensive and if you’re think the water will just dribble out of the showerhead, you’d be surprised how the new versions are so good that you hardly notice the difference. Dirty Laundry Where I live, putting laundry outside to dry isn’t something I can do year round but when the temperature heats up a great way to save money on electricity (and your…