Tag Archives: Financial Goals

{Financial Goals} Tackle Your Credit Card Debt Today

Posted on by

2

Slow-and-steady-moneyHave you ever heard the phrase, “a goal without a plan is just a wish”? Well I’m starting to think that is true. Like many of you, I always have financial goals… some I have shared on this blog and others I have not. As we start this brand new year, I have to ask myself, were my goals of last year actual goals or just wishes for the future? I started reflecting on this the other day while looking at older posts about financial goals. Sure, I can list some of my goals but without a plan, how can I help you as readers follow my financial journey? Isn’t that the point of all of this? I also started wondering how much is too much to share? The answers to these questions will unfold throughout 2013, but for today, getting a plan together is the priority.

The Problem: In my pre-She Makes Cents life, I worked every month and in a short amount of time, I paid off my credit card. Then the bottom fell out and I was using my credit card to simply…live (very honest moment). Long story short, my balance of about $5300 (rounding up) is nowhere near, where it should be. Why, you may ask? Because I was caught up. I started swiping to get the “cash back” deals that I told myself I would pay it off at the end of the month and didn’t. I wasn’t using my envelopes as I should have and I might not have fully realized the my new financial situation.

The Solution: In reading some of my older post, I remembered a period where I locked my credit card up in a safe deposit box.  Initially, I just wanted to see how long I could go without credit card spending.   I wasn’t swiping, I wasn’t living beyond my means, and the balance was slowly decreasing over time. I am a very goal oriented person, so I know adding the component of an end goal date, one of the tips featured in the post How to Make and Achieve Your Goals, will help.  Thinking back, why did I ever take the card back out?

The Plan: If you are in a similar situation, this is how I plan on making this wish into a goal and a goal into a “been there done that”. While I would like to have this paid off in a year, I know I may need cushion. My end goal date for credit card payoff is August of 2014. That means, with my interest rate, I will need to be making a payment of $294.36 per month to be credit card free by next August (check out the credit card payoff calculator at the bottom of my sidebar to figure out yours).  Instead of paying the minimum, which is NEVER a good look, I will pay the fixed rate listed above or more.  Also, whenever there are cash back deals through my bank, I will use the “rewards” to pay down my credit card. In my research, I have heard the advice to pick up the phone and call your credit card company for a reduced interest rate but depending the company, they may label you as a “high risk” customer and close your account, so do your research first. 

How Are Your Eliminating Your Credit Card Debt?

FACEBOOK, TWITTER, RSS Feed,

Email SMC: shemakescents@gmail.com

{Got Goals} How to Make and Achieve Your Goals for 2013

Posted on by

4

My TV best friend, Carrie Bradshaw, once stated that, “as we drive along this road called life, occasionally a gal will find herself a little lost. And when that happens, I guess she has to let go of the coulda, shoulda, woulda, buckle up and just keep going”. I coulda lived without that purchase, I shoulda saved more, and I woulda done it like this if… Well folks, one of my favorite things about going into the New Year are the ability to reflect and refresh. It’s time to move toward your goals/resolutions for the future.

Replace Your Coulda, Shoulda, Woulda with Been There Done That!

• Write your goals out. Sometimes putting pen to paper makes things so much more real. Mental goals will always stay within the mind if you don’t take this first  step.

• Let’s Be For Real. Sure, I would love to save $1,000,000 in a years’ time…wouldn’t everyone? For my lifestyle, though, that would be a highly unrealistic goal. Impractical goals are the enemy of progress. I’m not saying lower your standards. I’m saying that setting attainable goals and completing them makes you want to push forward while setting unrealistic goals simply enforces a defeated attitude.

•Set a Goal Date. There are many procrastinators in my life…me being one of them. Setting a goal date is like doing crunches and knowing you have five more to go… it just pushes you to complete it. Now imaging just doing crunches without knowing how many you have left to go. After awhile, you will abandon your goal, right? Set a date and strive to hit it.


• Tell Someone. Find someone or several people and tell them your goals. Not only will you have someone to help keep you accountable, but if you have someone who actually wants to see you succeed, they will help eliminate triggers that will get you off task. This may mean that you will hear the word “no” when you need to hear it but aren’t ready to accept it.

• Check In. Last year, I was able to accomplish many of my goals/resolutions because reader, Audrey from Just Add Paris, asked for an update. Little did she know, it made me reflect on the goals that I wrote about and published for the world to read (steps 1 and 4) and made me want to follow through on those long-lost goals. In fact, I ended up writing two update reports for those that follow SMC.

I challenge you to push forward.  Maybe you need to revisit a goal that was abandoned.  Maybe you have new goals.  Take a day or two and really think about where you want to be and thing create a road map on how to get there.  Good Luck!

Let’s Connect!

FACEBOOK, TWITTER, RSS Feed,

Email SMC: shemakescents@gmail.com

{Honesty is Free} What Does the “Fab Life” Mean to You?

Posted on by

5

So I took a little hiatus…okay, well a longer one than expected, but I am back with a vengeance. I needed some time to have new experiences so that I can have something exciting yet honest to write about. To be honest, the original idea behind this site was to inform and inspire ways to use your “cents” to live a fab life. Along the way, I believe I got off target.  So as we prepare for our upcoming one year mark (March 1stJ), I want to take things back to basics.  To do so, I’ll start with a simple question; what is the fab life?  My answer could be ever-changing, but at the moment, great people, great food, great fashions, great adventures, great love, great leaps of faith, and a greatly styled place to come home to.

Fab People


Fab Fashions


Fab Adventures


Fab Love


Fab Faith


Fab Home

 So that is what I’m going to write about…how to get the fab life without breaking the bank, my budget, or my financial integrity. I hope you join me along the way and learn from both my successes and my failures. That’s life and sometimes, you don’t learn the lesson until you fall on your face and have to get back up.

Talk to me! What is the “fab life” to you?

FOLLOW: FACEBOOK, TWITTER, RSS Feed,

Email SMC: shemakescents@gmail.com


{Fab Alert} Honesty is Fabulous& Free!

Posted on by

1

022612_0536_FabAlertHo1.jpg

So I took a little hiatus…okay, well a longer one than expected, but I am back with a vengeance. I needed some time to have new experiences so that I can have something exciting yet honest to write about. To … Continue reading →

August Financial Goals

Posted on by

0

On April 13, 2011, I gave my SMC readers an update to my Spending Diet from the month before. For an entire month, I wrote down everything I spent my money on and doing so revealed so much about my spending habits. I now have to confess that my April Spending Diet was the last time I took part in tracking every expense. Since August 1st is right around the corner, I have decided to get back on the financial hot tamale train, and take back control of my finances. First, I will make a budget for the month and then I will keep up with my version of Catey Hill’s Spending Chart.

For the month of August I plan to:

Cut Back on Eating Out

(except birthday celebrations, of course)

Consolidate Trips

Stick to my Grocery List

Eat Before Leaving the House

Lock Up the Credit Card for the Entire Month

Review My Finances Daily

Sharing is Caring!

FOLLOW: FACEBOOK, TWITTER, RSS Feed,

Email SMC: shemakescents@gmail.com

Budgeting 102- Spending Diet

Posted on by

3

I saw the movie Eat Pray Love not too long ago. In it, is a reference to an old Catholic joke that I have become very fond of. In a voice-over, Liz, played by Julia Roberts, recalls the following:

I remember an Old Catholic joke about a man who spent his whole life going to a church every day and prayed to the statue of a great saint begging, “please, please, please, let me win the lottery.” Finally the exasperated statue comes to life and looks down at the begging man and says “my son, please, please, please, buy a ticket”.

Sometimes I find myself in situations where I am the one begging and sometimes I am the statue. Today, I come to you as the statue. I once heard it said that we buy what we want and beg for what we need. Is this you? Have you put you financial security at risk with things you wanted and now you are begging for a financial miracle? Be a part of your own miracle…buy a ticket. I am taking the points mentioned in Budgeting 101 step by step. Like dieting and working out, budgeting takes time, restraint, and accountability. I invite you to join me on my Spending Diet.

Write Down Everything You Spend Your Money On. Since April 1, 2011, I have been writing down EVERYTHING I have spent money on. I included this advice in Budgeting 101 with the suggestion to do this for two weeks. I would now like to retract that advice and tell you to extend it for an entire month. Every financial and money management writer will tell you to do this. Honestly, it wasn’t until the beginning of April that I actually did this myself. I thought between my memory and online banking statements, that I had an accurate grasp on how, when, where, and with whom I spent my money. SMC readers, I couldn’t have been more wrong. My spending chart has revealed that I am an emotional spender who blows a great deal of my food budget on eating out with my sister because I believe we don’t see, talk, or interact as frequently as we once did. My spending chart personified aspects by my sometimes-narcissistic personality. I made a donation to my alma mater that I really couldn’t afford, because I didn’t want to be the 5,999 person who comes shy of the 6,000 donor goal for the Founder’s Day scholarship fundraiser. I also learned that while there are aspects of my personality where I am admittedly spoiled, I also spend and give the a great deal of my money to others to make them happy. Hi, my name is Danielle and I am an emotional spender. Buy the ticket. I am putting myself in financial rehab to get back on track like my Rah Tiffany did years ago. I have locked my credit card away and most importantly, I am learning to say no to others. Catey Hill, the author of Shoo Jimmy Choo created a Day to Day Spending Chart that I particularly like. I used Hill’s chart as an example and made one that fits my own financial goals and spending style. Buy what you need and you will not have anything left to beg for. Buy a ticket and let’s start our financial journey together.

If you are interested in my own Spending Chart, please email me at shemakescent@gmail.com
subject: Spending Chart  

 

Like what you saw? Share the knowledge with the “share” buttons below.
Subscribe via email or RSS Feed for FREE updates.


The Benefits of Teaching Children About Money

Posted on by

0

 

“I now realize that the greatest power in the world is the power of knowledge” (insert lol here if you already know where I’m going with this). The quote, was something that every student from my elementary school and I had to say at the start of every day. Nevertheless, the quote holds true– there is much power in knowledge and the sooner one understands a concept the better. Yesterday, in The First Piggy Bank, I posed the question: how do you introduce the concept of saving to children?  To take that question a step further, when is the best time to introduce the concept of saving to children? The earlier the better. According to Y!Finance, “the benefits of teaching your children about money early on are both immediate and long-term.” It helps in the development of smart saving habits earlier in life and also teaches discipline and self control. Understanding that just because you want something right now doesn’t mean that you can afford it, will save children and parents in the end. I’m glad I shared the tidbit of my first one hundred pennies because it allowed me to dig deeper into my memory bank of children and saving money. One memory definitely comes to mind. I was in high school and my best friend at the time had a little sister in elementary school. Instead of spending her money on snacks and little kid things, she decided one day that she was going to save her money for a limo. I thought it was extremely funny at the time, but admittedly, I didn’t realize how financially mature she was. The little sister, maybe around 5 years old at the time, decided on a goal and chose to cut her spending to save so she could one day afford her dream car, even if it was a limo. Some adults still haven’t mastered this concept in their endeavor to keep up with the Joneses, but that’s for another post.

While tweeting, I came across a link that directed me back to a site that is becoming a quick favorite of mine and a financial must: www.mint.com. Mint and the Scholastic have teamed up to teach kids the basics of money management. Mint education has figured out a way to make learning about personal finance fun with how to articles to interactive games that guides kids to adults through the ends and outs of money management. Personally, I can’t wait to read More Education, More Problems? The Myth of Grad School.. Teaching kids about saving early will help them to respect your hard-earned money earlier in life. Just remember, adults, it is never too late to learn about personal finance and money management. See The 5 Golden Rings to Your Child’s Financial Success to start the conversation with your child/teen or a child/teen that you care for.

  

Like what you saw?  Share the knowledge with the “share” buttons below.

 Subscribe via email or RSS Feed for FREE updates.

 

The 5 Golden Rules to Your Child’s Financial Success

Posted on by

2

  1. Children learn what they see. How can you teach children about the horrors of impulse spending when you are guilty of it yourself? Clean up your act, first. In school, kids are taught the basics: reading, writing, mathematics, and science, rarely are they taught money management. Therefore, as an influential presence in a child’s life, you have the opportunity to shape their thoughts and views regarding personal finance.
  2. Make it fun! If it starts to feel like a school lesson, then you will start to sound like the teacher from Charlie Brown. Several online resources available can make learning more enjoyable. For example, the FREE online video game I played yesterday on Mint’s Education page is both fun and illustrates how smart money decisions equals #winning
  3. Break it down so it is understandable. When I was younger, I couldn’t understand why my mom told me we couldn’t afford a monkey (a pet I was totally obsessed with having), when I saw her simply put her ATM card in the machine and magically receive money back for the things she wanted. Explaining where money comes from is a good place to start in the conversation about money.
  4. Stop reinforcing bad behaviors. Merchants put all the goodies closest to the register for a reason. Not only are all of the goodies close to checkout, they are often strategically placed at a child’s eye level. This sets up the stage for several scenarios that counter-act the concept of smart money management. I worked in retail while in college and I saw kids and parents alike get suckered into buying items they had no intention of buying. I also witnessed, more often than not, the adults who bribed children into good behavior with the promise of a purchase. One way to stop reinforcing bad behavior is to explain that we are going into this store for “xyz” and if a tantrum for an impulse buy comes up, explain that if you want the item, you must save “blank” amount of money…also known as establishing financial goals #5.
  5. Make Financial Goals Together. Want a new bike? Video game? Nail Polish Set? Bracelet? Start saving. Adults if you want a new TV, that cute handbag from the other day, or that iPad 2….start saving. If you save and enjoy it, then they will too. In addition, there is much gratification to be found in accomplishing a goal.
     

    OTHER GREAT RESOURCES

    Mint Education

    KidsHealth

    PBS Parents

    Y! Finance

 

Like what you saw?  Share the knowledge with the “share” buttons below.

 Subscribe via email or RSS Feed for FREE updates.

  

 

Budgeting 101- How to Make a Budget

Posted on by

2

Today I will be visiting my alma mater, Spelman College, to sit in on a class taught by the smartest woman I have ever met, Dr. Michelle S. Hite (seriously, she is probably one of the top ten people who have significantly impacted my life). Just thinking about Spelman puts me back in an academic frame of mind, so for today class, I will be teaching Budgeting 101. In my opinion, budgeting is like using common sense, everyone should do it but not everyone does. The importance of making and sticking to a budget is the freedom of knowing exactly how you spend, what money can be spent elsewhere, and where you overspend. So grab a pen and paper and let’s get started:

  • LIST YOUR SOURCES OF INCOME
  • CREATE A LIST OF YOUR MONTHLY EXPENSES
  1. Fixed (Mortgage/Rent, Car Payments, Insurance, Emergency Fund)
  2. Variable (Utilities, Groceries, Gas, Food, Entertainment)
  • REARRANGE YOUR LIST IN ORDER OF PRIORITIES

    This is the time for you to really think about what’s important. Shelter, Food, Utilities, and Gas are at the top of my list. Although I hate to do it, I can live without costly entertainment.

  • ASSIGN A BUDGET TO EACH EXPENSE
  • WRITE DOWN EVERYTHING YOU SPEND YOUR MONEY ON (for 2 weeks)

    Do not leave anything out in this step. If you spend $1.00 at the vending machine, $3.00 for Girl Scout cookies, and $7.00 for parking downtown when meeting friends for drinks, you already splurged $11.00 on random spending that you probably don’t even consider when mentally reviewing your spending for the day. Writing EVERYTHING out will help you see exactly what, where, and how you spend your dineros.

  • CUT OUT IMPULSE SPENDING

    My friend and Rah Tiffany (hey girl) put herself in a mental shopping rehab back when we were in college. At first, my friends and I thought she was crazy, but in fact she was making the best financial decision as a then single black female addicted to retail (thanks Kanye). She went almost 40 days without random impulse shopping. Following suit, I did the same. I reviewed my spending habits from the previous step that revealed my mindless exhaustion of funds at the mall. I would get up, go to the mall, see something I thought I couldn’t live without, buy it, then after working so hard at shopping I would go for lunch, go back to shopping and finally come home. Now looking back, I have to ask myself, did I really need those shoes, that purse, that book, that phone case, or that expensive lunch….NOPE, I did not. Then I thought to myself, wow, I could have taken that money and put it in my bucket list fund. Trust…skydiving will be more memorable than that cute shirt I purchased sometime last season.

  • PAY FOR EVERYTHING IN CASH

    This tip makes its way into almost every post I write. This is a must for financial empowerment!!!

  • REVIEW YOUR BUDGET MONTHLY

    Things change. Financial situations change. Keeping your list up to date is the only way to ensure that your budget is working for you.

Good Luck and Enjoy!

CLICK HERE FOR YOUR BUDGET WORKSHEET

 

Like what you saw?  Share the knowledge with the “share” buttons below.

 Subscribe via email or RSS Feed for FREE updates.

  

 

5 Ways to Start Improving Your Credit Score TODAY

Posted on by

2

Charlie Sheen has coined the phrase “winning” even though my bff claims she has been saying it for years. The bottom line is that having a great credit score is #WINNING, …duh! I promise, no more Sheen-isms for the rest of this post, but seriously a great credit score can be the difference between being approved for that car you’ve been saving for, that house you’ve been looking at, and even that job that you just interviewed for that is now pulling your credit history. If you have a low score, the people who decide whether you are an “attractive” candidate hold the cards. If you, however, have a great credit score, you hold ALL the cards. I learned this when I was buying my first home just three days after my 24th birthday. In the midst of trying to prove to my parents that I was in fact a real and financially responsible adult, I was unknowingly improving my credit score. In fact, during the contract negotiation period of the home buying process, my score improved by 20 points. A great score also came in handy once I moved because the majority of my utility expenses did not require a deposit and I was offered a lower rate. No matter what your score is, it is never too late to start improving it.

Here are 5 ways to boost your score:

  1. First and foremost, it is imperative that you know your score, that way you know where you stand. By law, you are entitled to one FREE credit history report. In addition to your one FREE score, your state may pay for one more. Georgia residents, for example, are entitled to two FREE credit reports from each reporting agency. I would recommend, though, that you order your report from one of the three credit bureaus because we learned in the first week of She Makes Cents that FreeCreditReport.com is NOT free.
  2. Pay your bills on time. It sounds simple, but I’m going to take a quick flashback to my days as a member of the ESSENCE of CAU dancing on the same field that Drumline was shot. (insert dream bubble here) To be early is to be ON TIME, to be “on time” is to be LATE, and to be late is UNACCEPTABLE (end flashback bubble…now). The same essentially holds true with how you pay your bills. Most people believe that as long as you pay before the due date, you are being financially responsible. Actually, the opposite is true. The earlier you pay your bill, the better. For one, you are certain that your bill will be received by your service provider way before the date. More importantly, paying your bills as soon as you get them can be a quick boost to that credit score. I try to pay all bills within days of receiving my statements and then record the due dates and balance due in my calendar. This allows me a quick glimpse of my monthly financial trends. This is something I recommend to EVERYONE!
  3. Use only one credit card. If you have more than one card, start paying down the card with the smallest balance first by doubling the minimum payment. Once, that card is paid down, move to the card with the second lowest balance. Double the minimum balance and tack on whatever you were applying to the first card, until that card is paid down, and then so on. Next, choose one card to work with, preferably the one with the lowest interest rate and take the other ones out of your wallet. Freeze them, cut them up, lock them away but whatever you do, do not close them. Closing a credit card can sink your credit score faster than you can say “She Makes Cents”. Don’t do it, don’t do it, do not do it…
  4. Increase your credit limit. Now that you have been working towards reducing the debt on your existing card, credit card companies should begin to see you as an “attractive” customer. Call your company and request a credit increase. Again, this is not meant for you to start increasing your spending¸ but rather it is opportunity for you to increase your credit to debt ratio. Can anyone say credit score boost?
  5. Pay in Cash. I have said it before and I will say it again. Paying in cash forces you to really consider whether your purchase is right you. Personally, I find that paying for things in cash acts as a visual aid and helps keep me on track with my spending. In swiping a card, I can’t “see” my funds dwindling, but watching your cash go from thick to thin is definitely a sign that you could be mindlessly spending. When you pay in cash, you don’t have to worry about interest rates and hidden charges because cash is king.

      

Like what you saw?  Share the knowledge with the “share” buttons below.

 Subscribe via email or RSS Feed for FREE updates.