Fix Your Finances – Page 11

{Financial Cents} 4 Smart Ways to Spend Your Tax Refund

Published on February 20, 2013February 4, 2016 by Danielle YB Vason2 Comments

Have you ever gotten your tax refund and thought to yourself, it’s time to go shopping? I have. Growing up, my mom would take a large part of her refund and she and I would go on a shopping spree…even if it meant driving from mall to mall to find a wider selection or hanging out on a school night. That is how I grew up thinking about refund checks… like some sort of magical windfall of new shoes, purses, and dresses. Now fast forward to the present, I now know it’s better to try to break even than to get a fat refund. In reality, if you are receiving a large refund then you are paying too much in taxes throughout the year.

Divide and Conquer Your Money

If you are like me and you know you will be getting a refund of some sort, it is important to find a better way to spend your money than blowing it on a new tv or handbag. Before you even receive your refund, you should already have an idea of what you may be getting back. Take this time to divide your money, so when you actually received it, you will be less likely to blow it recklessly because you have already decided where it is going. For some, this will take some serious financial discipline, but in the end, it’s worth it! I plan to make my money work for me by using these four categories below to get me started.

Fund your funds. If you don’t have an emergency fund of at least $1000, now is the time to start paying yourself. You should think of this fund like those Chinese finger traps that kids used to pay with- it’s easy to put stuff in and difficult to take things out! If you already have at least a $1000 Emergency fund, then you should take a percentage of your refund and put aside for your savings account.
Pay Down Debt. This is the time to give your “snowball” effect an extra boost. Putting a portion of your refund toward your debt with the lowest APR (annual percentage rate) or lowest balance will help you pay get out of debt faster and feel good about your accomplishments. Remember, you don’t have to have thousands of dollars all at once to start getting out of debt. Every payment above the minimum helps you get closer to your goal.
Take Care of Things You Have Been Putting Off. If you have been meaning to call the plumber over to fix that leak you can’t find (raises hands) or get the brakes on your car checked out (raises hands) or even get the shoes with that weird heel repaired (raises hands) then take this time and money to do it. These are things that people put off because they don’t have the money or time. You now have the money, so make the time.
Prioritize Fun. When budgeting your money, you have to remember to prioritize for things that bring you JOY. Set a goal and when you accomplish it, tap into this category and unleash your fun fund. This could mean buying those shoes you have had your eye on, a spa day, or planning that impromptu weekend with your loved one(s), girlfriends, or even by yourself! It doesn’t have to be big, but it does help if it is something that brings happiness and drives you to work toward your goal.

How Do You Divide Your Refund?

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{Smart Money} Is Education a DEBT Sentence?

Published on February 9, 2013April 19, 2013 by Danielle YB Vason8 Comments

There is a quote that states, “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance”. Unfortunately, this quote is true on SO MANY levels. While many people associate the word ignorant with being dumb or stupid, it’s simply the condition of being uneducated, uniformed, or unaware. After graduating from Spelman College, I made both smart and dumb decisions regarding my student loan debt. I was told by my aunt that paying your student loans is a great way to establish credit. I put in an extra effort in paying Sallie Mae, so much that I had it paid more than year in advance. This was smart, ignorant, and sometimes dumb at the same time. It’s smart because I really never had to worry about forgetting to pay the bill. I felt extremely proud of myself for not being another “irresponsible” 20 something. It also revealed my ignorance because I should have been using that extra payment every month to pay down the balance NOT pay it in advance. I ended up paying interest when I could have been slaying the balance, which ultimately shortens the life of the loan. However, it wasn’t until I was in between jobs and not paying on the loan at all because the next due date was a year from then that I started digging a hole that I am still trying to get out of four years later. For one, my interest was accruing at about $8 a day, so a lot of the money I thought I was saving was now been tacked back on to the overall balance. It got worse when after the year was up, I still wasn’t working and I accepted an offer to postpone my payments for a year. That was back in 2011 and after yesterday’s phone call to Sallie Mae, my decision to postpone is still hurting my finances.
I pay about $200 a month for my student loans and recently got a series of letters saying that if I qualify I should sign up for automatic billing, which would let Sallie Mae automatically deduct money directly from a specified account every billing cycle. The incentive you ask? A .25% reduction in my student loan interest…equaling about $50 a month and $600 per year. I called Sallie Mae on yesterday, only to find out that I did NOT qualify. Apparently, if you post pone your loan at ANYTIME over the life of the loan, you lose eligibility for any interest rate reduction. Had I known this I would have been the never postponed my loan, but this secret penalty was never in any of the documents I agreed to. Looking back I would have rather roughed it out. So I guess the quote rings true. My education was expensive but my then financial ignorance could cost me more in the end.

We would LOVE to hear your thoughts?

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Fashion Cents} Brand Loyalty or Brand Validation?

Published on February 4, 2013April 19, 2013 by Femi HillLeave a comment

Danielle and I have discussed how the psychological obsession with expensive products and luxury labels can lead to financial trouble. While setting up shop for the most relaxed SMC meeting ever, we discussed our favorite brands. Danielle likes O.P.I. nail polish and has a shoe game that would blow you away. I, however, have recently recovered from a serious infatuation with True Religion brand jeans and the both of these are pricey for the types of products they are. Sometimes within one’s own living circumstances, it makes no sense to step out of one’s’ budget for the sake of feeling validated by a brand. So why do so many people do it? Which has more value, brand loyalty or brand validation?

Let’s begin the conversation by defining these terms. Brand Loyalty is your devotion to a particular brand because of its proven usefulness. This is a tried and true product or brand that has won you, the customer, over for its merit or quality. (THINK: I’m loyal to Charmin tissue because of its thickness.) Brand validation, as its name suggests, is when a product’s mere reputation trumps the importance of its merit; thus fueling one’s desire for the label more so than the product. Yep, we let a brand validate us without proving itself worthy of its cost.

Brand names and their reputations are impossible to evade. Because of this, it is almost too easy to get lost in a particular brand so much so, that we allow it to eat out our pockets. The place where both brand obsession and financial logic intersect is where I am in my journey to financial freedom….SMC too, since she has repeatedly admitted that Chanel makes her feel pretty. In no way am I discouraging splurging for yourself or investing in expensive products that will hold you down in the long run. I, for one, own expensive jeans that have lasted years. When operating on a budget, though, it is imperative to think critically about the items you choose to spend your money on, and why. Are you loyal to your brands because they actually fulfill their purpose, or are your brands validating you while nipping away at your money? Granted, there is no cookie cutter way to address the issue of our obsessions with luxury brands. However, acknowledgment of this issue is a surefire way to begin searching for smarter ways to shop for the things you love…while staying within a budget, of course:)

Have you ever allowed a brand names to validate your purchase?

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{Broke is the New Black} Are You Paying for the Fake Life with Real Money?

Published on January 21, 2013December 22, 2016 by Danielle YB Vason9 Comments

Welcome to the Good Life!

Over the past few years, social media has become a game changer. Its created jobs that did not exist even ten years ago, helped people connect who may not have had access to each other, and became a major catalyst for our cultural need to document everything. But what exactly are we documenting? – The life we live or the life we want people to think we live? All too often, I see people around me going into debt trying to rock the same fashion piece that they saw on one of the Kardashians. I asked this question a few months ago and I will ask it again, whose lifestyle are you funding? They can afford it, can you?
Fashion writer, Suzy Menkes called 2009 the “end of the statement bag” in a blurb for the 2009 autumn edition of H&M Magazine. She adds, “Insane shoes that mangle your feet, laughably expensive bags that no-one can afford; who can afford such extravagances in times of [financial] crisis?” If 2009 was the end of the expensive statement bag, then this must be the year of the appearance of luxury, where people are funding a fake life with real money. The reality is, even four years after the “fall of the statement bag”, we are still in a financial crisis.
Don’t get me wrong, I love fashion and will spend money when I have it, but I refuse to waste money staging a lifestyle for the world to see. I’m am not one of those people who are offended by the finer things in life, rather I feel sorry for those who mishandle their responsibilities in hopes of material possessions. This is not just a twenty-something problem either, as I witness people of all ages spending in excess to portray the good life…and for what? Public validation? Likes from Facebook, Twitter, and most notoriously Instagram from people you don’t even know in real life? Be yourself, rock what you love, but don’t go into debt doing so. Trust me, none of the people who “liked” your photo of those oh-so-fly out of your budget shoes, will help you save for that house you have on your vision board.

Let’s Connect!

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{Money Challenge Remix} How to Save $1300+ On Any Budget

Published on January 18, 2013January 3, 2016 by Danielle YB Vason28 Comments

Click here for the updated 2016 version!

Okay, so we are just 3 weeks in and I started falling behind for my 52 week money challenge. I decided at the start of week one to try this challenge in reverse. That means I will be saving more money at the beginning of the year and less the closer we get to the holiday season. In my mind, this worked well. In reality, it could work well. So far, though, my results haven’t been all that great and the fact that the fiscal cliff has chopped a chuck out of my check, hasn’t helped. I thought to myself…”Danielle, how can you find a way to honor the challenge in a way that will not hurt you financially?” Then I came up with the idea to create a “bingo” style format. At the end of the year, I would still end up with the same amount of $1378 and if I am having a tough financial week, I can pick a lower amount to save. I crossed off 52 on week one, and I will cross of 5 and 4 to represent weeks two and three. I decided to share this to maybe motivate someone who may have been thinking about “giving up”.

{What’s Your Preference} Numerical Order, Reverse, or Bingo Style?

Email me if you want my handy Bingo Style Sheet!

{Women, Money, & Cosmo} The Debt Crisis No One Is Talking About

Published on January 15, 2013May 25, 2016 by Danielle YB Vason7 Comments

My favorite professor and teacher of all things “deep”, Dr. Michelle S. Hite, once told me that when you are fully engaged in research, you will start to see inspiration everywhere. I was researching women and business, but more specifically the salaries gaps of women in business, when I found inspiration in an old “habit”. My name is Danielle and I am an admitted magazine junkie and Sunday evening… Cosmo was my latest hit. While reading the February LOVE issue, I came across a very informative article from Rachel White entitled The Debt Crisis No One Is Talking About! In it, White discusses the vicious financial cycle of women, higher education, and student loan debt. You see, it is easy to say that women have more debt. That’s a statement I hear all the time from men and women. It’s a blanketed generalization because the mind tends to lead one to the stereotype of women and financial incompetence not the FACT that more women now have more financial responsibilities. For example, women now outnumber men in college, which means women are more likely to start their careers in debt. In her article, White used a real life example of a woman by the name of Brenda Errichiello, who “found herself with a $947 monthly [student loan] bill and only a $27,000 annual salary”. In all, Errichiello ;graduated with a fabulous 3.9 GPA and $92,000 in debt. OMG, I thought to myself while reading this because Rachel White could have very well been telling my own story. I, like Errichiello, graduated with honors from Spelman College and thousands of dollars in debt before I even earned my first adult check.

What is Errichello to do?

She Makes Cents You might be surprised by the answer. She had actually considered going back to school with the hope that more education means a better paying job, job security, and a bump up the corporate ladder. This is something I very well considered myself, getting back on the law school grind, but I had to remind myself that money doesn’t equal love and that hard work doesn’t always pay off in the currency of one’s choosing. Is this the epitome of spend more make more? This, SMC readers is that start of the Debt Crisis no one is talking about.

Things to Consider!

Women come out of the gate making less than our male counterparts for the same positions (18% less according to the article), are less likely to ask for raises at review time, have more student loans, and generally take maternity leave to start a family. How are we going to catch up? Why isn’t anyone talking about debt? According to White, it affects out relationships or lack thereof, career choices, and forces drastic decisions that hurt us even more in the end and if you follow SMC, you have read of other real life examples that support White’s point.

Do You Consider This A “Debt Crisis”?

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{52 Week Money Challenge} The Easiest Way to Save $1,000+

Published on January 3, 2013December 28, 2018 by Danielle YB Vason15 Comments

Click here for update and a “remix” to this MONEY CHALLENGE! Can we say…so much easier to save, than the original!!

SMC- 52 Week Money Challenge

Today I was introduced to the 52 Week Money Challenge by a fellow blogger, DLWinfrey from Pretty Girls Rock Dresses (PGRDresses). The challenge is to make a weekly deposit that reflects the number of weeks of the year. For example on week one you deposit $1.00 and on week 27 you deposit $27.00 and so on. It sort of reminds me of when I was little and my big brother would give me money that corresponded with my age ($5.00 for my fifth birthday and $10 for my tenth birthday). This is week one of 2013, so if you are interested, you better put your dollar to the side. I plan on using the money saved throughout the year for holiday purchases and paying down credit card debt. Just think, by this time next year, I could have saved $1,378 just by participating in this challenge. While I don’t know who came up with this challenge, I do thank them. It’s easy, it’s fun, and it won’t break the bank. Plus the remix of this money challenge makes it so even easier.

52 Week Money Challenge

What Will You Do With Your Savings?

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{Financial Goals} Tackle Your Credit Card Debt Today

Published on January 2, 2013January 1, 2016 by Danielle YB Vason4 Comments

Have 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 posts, 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?

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{Money & Relationships} 5 Money Questions You Need to Ask Your Significant Other TODAY!

Published on November 27, 2012March 14, 2016 by Danielle YB Vason3 Comments

Okay…so a while back I was researching ideas for the Mr.’s 30th birthday gift, when I came across an article about things couples should discuss before taking it to the next level. I read it, thought about discussing it with the Mr., and lost it. Oh well, I thought to myself, until a similar yet more thorough list came across my Pinterest feed. It’s a list of 100 questions from a book called Don’t You Dare Get Married Until You Read This! The Book of Questions for Coupless by Corey Donaldson. Let me now add the disclaimer that I get paid to design andwrite about weddings and other special event, so this type of stuff pops up in my inbox all of the time. This list, however is the most comprehensive I’ve come across, and it includes questions about MONEY. One of the major killer of marriages is MONEY and a couple’s individual and collective attitudes regarding spending, saving, and basic money management skills. One easy example is Teresa Giudice from the New Jersey Housewives, who once famously said, “her money is her money and his money is her money”. If you are in a serious relationship, I recommend you talk through these five questions and the others in the book, which I plan on purchasing today!

CHECK OUT SOME OF THE MONEY QUESTIONS BELOW:

1. What justifies going into debt?
2. What are all your current debts?
3. How should we prepare for a financial emergency?
4. Do you feel that lack of money is a good reason not to have children?
5. At this point in our relationship (pre-marriage), would you be comfortable transferring all of your money into my bank account?

What do you think about these questions?

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{Looking for Money} Simple Suggestions to Start Saving Money TODAY!

Published on October 10, 2012April 19, 2013 by Danielle YB Vason2 Comments

If I walked in a room and asked everyone who is completely debt free to raise their hands and someone did, I would truly be surprised. It’s not because I’m unaware of the fact that debt-free people do exist, it’s just because I see an abundance of people from all walks of life trying to get their finances in a better place. I myself am one of those people. The inspiration for this post comes after sitting down and looking at my finances for this month. A wrench was unexpectedly thrown into my financial pattern when a mistake was made on one of my checks (hey, it sucks but it happens). This caused me to take a closer look at my money. Where is it going and could I save more?

Here’s what I found:

I started the morning trying to pay a bill online that I have already paid. What can I say, at the point in the day, I hadn’t gotten my Starbucks fix. Once on the site, though I saw something about saving money with a FREE online Energy Audit from GA Power, so I followed the link. It took less than 10 minutes and it showed me how the changes I have made over the past year have saved me money in a monthly comparison of 2011 to 2012. It also provided some suggestions for home improvements that can increase comfort while lowering monthly bills. According to Energy Star, “a home energy audit is often the first step in making your home more efficient. An audit can help you assess how much energy your home uses and evaluate what measures you can take to improve efficiency.”

After the Energy Audit, I checked out my credit card balance (insert sad face). Just to give a little background, a few years ago I paid off my credit card by paying a set amount ($200 a month) instead of the minimum payment. During that time, I saw the decrease in the balance move rather quickly. Now, after living off of my credit card for one year + span of not working, then a complete career change with a different kind of salary, my credit card balance hit an all time high. I’ve been working to pay it and the balance is moving in the right direction, but it’s not moving fast enough. So, I decided to input my information into a credit card payment calculator to find out the timeframe of being credit card debt free. I added a credit card calculator on the right panel of SMC, but I really like this one from the Consumer’s Alliance because it reveals just how much that credit card is going to cost you, or how you can pay off your existing credit card debt a bit faster. Now, i have an exact goal date and I understand better how a few dollars can make a big difference in the end.

Lets Connect!

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