Category: Fix Your Finances

{Money Journal} The Pros and Cons to Credit Card Upgrades

Published on by Danielle YB Vason2 Comments

On a given week, my mailbox is flooded with credit cards upgrade offers that I immediately place in the recycle bin. It wasn’t until about a month or two ago that I received two separate offers that made me go hmmm…, maybe I should find out more. So off to the bank I went to speak with a representative about the Limitless Card and the Cash Back card.

The Limitless Card

The first offer that intrigued me was one the limitless card, known to me as the Discipline Tester. I sparingly use my card anyway, so a limitless card would actually help boost my credit score because it eliminates the debit to credit ratio for that card. There are several downsides to this type of card, though. For those who are not careful, the limitless factor could entice one to live beyond one’s means; thus, putting the cardholder further into debt. Another disadvantage to this type of card is the higher interest associated with the card… like say around 22%, which would skyrocket even more if you were ever late for a payment. In my opinion, this card is a NO GO!

The Cash Back Card

A cash back credit card is one that offers a percentage spent back to the card holder. It’s great because you can get money back for things you would buy anyway, like gas, groceries, and sometimes travel expenses. It’s also great, because you can have the cash received applied to your credit card bill, into a checking or savings, or in some cases applied to your mortgage. It’s downside- some people get so caught up in the cash rewards that they spend more than they were initially planning on saving. Therefore, you are basically spending money to get a deal…again, NOT GOOD!

Between the two cards, I did choose to upgrade to the cash back card. I found myself briefly falling into the spending trap of the cash rewards card. On a positive note, the cash back rewards seem to be accumulating much faster than the reward points system of my previous card and I will use that money to in turn, pay down my debt.  More updates to come as I feel how it is working out.

Questions About Credit Card?  Contact Us!

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{B-day Swag} How To Get Free Stuff on Your Birthday

Published on by Danielle YB Vason1 Comment

 Calling all Birthday Girls!
As I sit at the computer looking for a birthday dress, I realize that my birthday is right around the corner. But enough about my b-day. I know so many amazing people who are August babies that by the time mine comes around, I am exhausted from the celebrations! This post is for all everyone out there celebrating birthdays, especially those celebrating birthdays today: Kaylah, Nicole, Amanda, Tanika. Last year to the day, I wrote a post about birthday freebies . Now I am here to tell you what actually worked and what didn’t.

My Highest Ranked Birthday Freebie
Hands down- the best freebie I have EVER signed up for is the Chef’s Table from Bennihana! I happily used my $30 gift certificate and enjoyed an amazing evening with one of my really good friends. In addition to the amount of the gift certificate, I can’t help but love that you get an entire month to use it. With my busy work/social schedule, I can sometimes be difficult to try to claim all of the free deals in one day….especially when you should be out painting the town….well PINK!

My Own Epic Fail
I called myself signing up for the birthday club at Moes and for whatever reason, it did not workL. I’m sure this doesn’t seem like a big deal, but I was really looking forward to my FREE burritos (I crave Moes all the time). This year, I will make sure I have a paper copy of my birthday email to show.

Other Companies That Offer Birthday Freebies

Tips from the pros
There’s an art to grabbing gratis goodies. Keep these strategies in mind:

  • Set up a dedicated email account for birthday swag. Even if a business promises not to sell your info to marketers, it will likely send regular messages about sales and promotions.
  • Sign up for multiple offers, then s-t-r-e-t-c-h that celebration by dining or going out for dessert out as many times as you can in your birthday month. It helps to have friends who don’t mind being the buy-one half of the BOGO offers.
  • Call to make sure the local store accepts an offer (some franchisees opt out of national promotions).
  • Bring your ID and a printout of the offer, and tell the server ahead of time, not after the check has arrived.
  • When dining out, base your tip on what you would have paid, not what you actually paid.
  • Once your child ages out of the kiddie offers, sign him or her up for the appropriate grownup ones.
  • If it’s a “no purchase required” offer, such as a free bath product, don’t feel obligated to buy something. Just say “thank you” and go.

Happy Birthday!

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{The Green Experiment} How Going Green Can Save You Green

Published on by Danielle YB Vason1 Comment

The Green Experiment, have you heard of it? If not, let me be the first to introduce how “going green” with your finances could really save you money. At its most basic level, it is doing away with your debit and credit cards and living off cash for a specified period of time. Did you know that most people spend more when they pay with cards over cash? One psychologically reason for this is that people can’t “see” the money dwindle down when using cards. If you are using the oh so fab, envelope system, you are already living a green life. For others, this experiment might not be as easy as it sounds.  For those of you up for the challenge, let’s see how you do for ONE week with cash only.  My thoughts… you will start saving money because you can physically see your wad dwindle with every purchase.   Hopefully, this will cause you to determine to spend or to save. Sophia Banay from Glamour magazine adds, “all you need to determine whether you can afford something is peek in your wallet.”  If you are down for the challenge, She Makes Cents is going green starting Sunday, August 5th.

Are You Down for the Challenge?

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{Update} Confession of my New Year Resolutions

Published on by Danielle YB Vason1 Comment

New Year’s Resolutions???  That’s so January… Save more money. Eat right. Exercise more. I remember having to try at my goals again after an epic fail the first time around. I think the problem with New Year’s Resolutions is that people set either too many goals or a couple of unrealistic goals. This is why after a couple of days, resolutions seem impossible. Throughout the year, I promised to share my game plan to accomplish some of my goals and resolutions for the year- so here you go!

Check out some of my favs!

Start Putting Money Away for Emergencies

She Makes Cents

January 24, 2012: Since I’m being honest, I might as well go all in. Currently, my emergency fund looks like the sad little piggy pictured above. That’s right, even She Makes Cents, has to get her own finances together sometimes. I almost depleted my fund when… an emergency came up. I am so glad that I got myself into the habit of saving for the unexpected because life would have been so much harder without one.

April 4, 2012:  I have started my emergency fund again and I must say it feels good.  I really hope it will be a long time before I have to tap into it since there isn’t much in there and two, no one likes emergencies.

Cook More, Eat Out Less

January 24, 2012:The Mr. and I love trying new restaurant spots; consequently, we have gotten in the habit of going to restaurants multiple times a week. Sometimes, I even eat out multiple times a day. While examining our finances, we both concluded that we can’t save if we are constantly spending on dinners out every night, plus tips for the servers, plus parking. Do you see how quickly it can add up? Not only are we spending too much, but it is counteracting to my bangin’ body goal.

April 4, 2012: Well….we still eat out, but we are now more conscious of it.  Using the envelope system has really helped with this one.  I set aside a certain amount of money per check for non-grocery food expenses.  For example, I stopped at Smoothie King this morning for a Pineapple Surf and used my “restaurant fund” to essentially…fund it.  The envelope system, regarding eating out, has also forced me to really think about my motivation.  Am I really hungry?  Am I going to be social?  Now, I need to work on the “cook more” portion of this resolution.


Bangin’ Body 2012

January 24, 2012:I think this one is a little self-explanatory. I will just let these swimsuits be my inspiration. I say show it while you got it…so I have to get mine tight. Get it right, get it tight 2012!!!

April 4 2012:  I am pleased to announce that I am actually starting to see a difference in my tummy. I started jogging, stretching, and taking the dog out for longer walks.  I am also trying to eat a little better, so once swimsuit season officially begins, I hope to have accomplished my goal of losing 2 to 3 inches.  As of yesterday, I’m already down an inch.

She Makes Cents get abs

She Makes Cents


Reduce Impulse Shopping


See the World

She Makes Cents svae money
April 4 2012: So my Dad and I are getting our passports updated this week.  This is very necessary since I will be celebrating the Mr.’s 30th birthday in Germany among other places. 

Overall, I’d say that I’m not too far off of my goals for 2012.  While I could be doing better in some areas, I could also be doing A LOT worse.  In fact, as I accomplish my goals, I will start replacing them with new goals.

Let’s Connect!

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Whose Lifestyle Are You Funding? Yours or HERS?

Published on by Danielle YB Vason6 Comments

Are you trying to keep up with the Joneses?
How about the Housewives on Bravo? If so, you are probably guilty of spending money on the life you thought you lived, rather than the life you are actually living. The number of adults who try to emulate and even compete with their friends, foes, and even strangers on television is appalling. As a child of the entertainment industry, my parents told me at a rather young age that the majority of things you see on television are not real. What is real, though, is the increasing amount of debt that people are incurring doing this.


I was reading an article last week by author by April Dykman of Get Rich Slowly. The premise of the article was that idea that people spend for the lifestyle they want as opposed to the lifestyle one currently has. Dykman maintains that, “If you’re paying for a life you have only sometimes, you’re stealing from your most-of-the-time life. And breaking that habit can make you a whole lot happier”. This got me thinking… am I doing this? Am I spending for the lifestyle I want versus the lifestyle I have? In being honest, I’m not entirely sure. Dykman continues, “I tend to give too much thought to what I do once in a while and not enough weight to what I do every day. For example, I wear running shoes 29 days out of 30 days a month, yet I have three pairs of black flats and only one pair of running shoes.”

Click here to read Dykman’s Save on The Things You Do Daily .

What do you think ?

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The Envelope System Saves $$$

Published on by Danielle YB Vason195 Comments

Someone pinned this picture on Pinterest of them dividing their money into different envelops as suggested by financial expert, Dave Ramsey. His explanation of the envelope system was simple and made cents/sense, so I thought I’d share it. My thoughts are in PINK, of course. I hope you enjoy!

~Danielle

Get on a Simple System

The key component to Dave Ramsey’s, “Total Money Makeover” is the envelope system. What is the envelope system, you ask? Well, according to Ramsey, its “way to handle money still works. People used to always use cash envelopes to control their monthly spending, but very few do in today’s card swiping culture”. I will say that it works and the comments to post prove it. Check out Ramsey’s simple basics for starting a cash envelope system.

  1. Budget each paycheck. Budget is a dirty word to most people, but you must budget down to the last dime if you’re going to successfully implement the envelope system. While I know plenty of people who budget a certain percentage of each check, I budget specific figures.
  2. Divide and conquer. Of course, there will be budget items that you cannot include in your envelope system, like bills paid by check or automatic withdraw. However, you can create categories like food, gas, clothing, and entertainment. I usually work off three main categories: groceries, restaurants/entertainment, personal maintenance (hair, nails, or anything that will help me feel “pretty”). I chose these categories for myself because these are the areas I could be tempted to overspend. I pay my bills off the top and then I budget each paycheck into these categories, which were listed in order of importance.
  3. Fill ‘er Up. After you’ve categorized your cash expenses, fill each envelope with the money allotted for it in your budget. For example, if you allow $100 for clothing, put $100 in cash in your clothing envelope for the month.

From Ramsey

When it’s gone, it’s gone. Once you’ve spent all the money in a given envelope, you’re done spending for that category. If you go on a shopping spree and spend the $100 in your clothing envelope, you can’t spend any more on clothes until you budget for that category again. That means no visits to the ATM to withdraw more money!

Don’t be tempted. While debit cards can’t get you directly into debt, if used carelessly, they can cause you to over-spend. There’s something psychological about spending cash that hurts more than swiping a piece of plastic. If spending cash whenever possible can become a habit, you’ll be less likely to over-spend or buy on impulse.

Give it time. It will take a few months to perfect your envelope system. Don’t give up after a month or two if it’s not clicking. You’ll get the hang of it and see how beneficial the envelope system is as you dump debt, build wealth, and achieve financial peace! See … simple! Truth… I sort of fell of the wagon for a while. I actually, couldn’t remember what purse I put the envelopes in until today, when I found them, and I had $20 in my restaurant fund. I started back on the system TODAY!!! It takes work but most great things do….

photo credit: Tales From the Coop Keeper | content: David Ramsey

What are your categories for your envelopes?

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Negative Job Growth for the Millennials….

Published on by Danielle YB VasonLeave a comment

I can’t say that I agree with HOW the information is presented.  “The Best Generation Ever” statement is one that leaves quite a few to disagree. I always hear people talking about how this generation is so different…and they don’t mean it in a good way.  While some may consider the Millenials the “Best Generation Ever” others are also quick to add that there seems to be disconnect between the work ethic of previous generations and the habits and work product of this 21st century generation.  Advances in technology make almost everything easier which only fuels proponents to the idea of the new “lazy generation” point. What I did find interesting is that this study found the job growth for millennials is in the negative percentile.  Pinned Image

Talk to me! What do you think?

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Confession of my New Year Resolutions

Published on by Danielle YB Vason2 Comments

Question… have you already started to deviate from your New Year’s Resolutions? Save more money. Eat right. Exercise more. I have. Two days ago, while taking the time to make my vision board for the new year, I decided to try at these goals again. I think the problem with New Year’s Resolutions is that people set either too many goals or a couple of unrealistic goals. This is why after a couple of days, resolutions seem impossible. Throughout the year, I will share my game plan to accomplish some of my goals and resolutions for the year.

Check out some of my favs!

Start Putting Money Away for Emergencies

She Makes Cents

Since I’m being honest, I might as well go all in. Currently, my emergency fund looks like the sad little piggy pictured above. That’s right, even She Makes Cents, has to get her own finances together sometimes. I almost depleted my fund when… an emergency came up. I am so glad that I got myself into the habit of saving for the unexpected because life would have been so much harder without one.

Cook More, Eat Out Less

The Mr. and I love trying new restaurant spots; consequently, we have gotten in the habit of going to restaurants multiple times a week. Sometimes, I even eat out multiple times a day. While examining our finances, we both concluded that we can’t save if we are constantly spending on dinners out every night, plus tips for the servers, plus parking. Do you see how quickly it can add up? Not only are we spending too much, but it is counteractive to my bangin’ body goal.


Bangin’ Body 2012

I think this one is a little self-explanatory. I will just let these swimsuits be my inspiration. I say show it while you got it…so I have to get mine tight. Get it right, get it tight 2012!!!

She Makes Cents get abs

She Makes Cents


Reduce Impulse Shopping


See the World

She Makes Cents svae money
Stay tuned to see how these resolutions play out. First up in my 2012 Resolution Series will be “Stop Impulse Shopping” in which I will share my game plan to reduce and eventually quit impulse shopping all together. Until then, I’d love to hear what is on your list.

What’s on your list?

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inform and inspire ways to use your “cents” to live a fab life

Changes in Our “New” Economy

Published on by Danielle YB VasonLeave a comment

This morning I replied to the question,What lifestyle changes have you made in our “new” economy?   Here is my reply:

Creating the blog She Makes Cents, has been one way were I am held accountable for my financial decision…since I’m blogging about it. In our “new” economy and for research for my site, I now do the following:

  • I make spending and saving goals for the month. Then I tell the people around me my goals. That way, when I start to slip or go regress to old habits, I have a support system to help keep me on track.
  • I am notorious for going to restaurants multiple times a week. I now make sure I eat before leaving the house and I pack fruit and random snacks in my bag. That way, when I start to get “snacky” I don’t have to make a trip to the vending machine, closet Chick-fil-A, or restaurant.
  • I track my spending. EVERYTHING! I tried it because of a suggestion from this financial writer. It really adds some perspective to your spending habits and it made/makes me think hard about my purchases and the motivation/emotion behind them. (You can download the original template I used from author Catey Hill, here).
  • I opened an alternate email account and I send email coupons and store sign ups here.
  • Before I go out, I check out Groupon Now, HalfOffDepot.com, & Living Social. Why pay full price when you can get a better deal on the same product and service?

    I have more tips; check out SMC Money Journal & Fix Your Finances!

This question got me thinking about you SMC readers.

What changes have you made, if any, in our “new” economy?

Have you benefitted from any advice you read on here?

I’d love to hear from YOU!

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How the Debt Deal Affects You, Your Future, & Your Money

Published on by Danielle YB VasonLeave a comment


President Barack Obama is scheduled to speak on the debt deal today at 12:15 pm. While people are spending quality time giving their opinions on what was decided and placing blame, I would rather take this time to explain exactly how some of the decisions will directly affect YOU! To be honest, I haven’t been following the “debt ceiling crisis” of 2011 because it quickly became childish with Twitter wars and the blame game. One thing I know for sure is that undergrads and postgraduate students will be hit hard. As a means to recover funds to keep the nation from further defaulting on their loans, the government has decided to end subsidized loans for graduate students. Subsidized loans are loans that do not accrue interest as long as you are still in school. Traditionally, you would begin to pay the loan with interest back 6 months after you get your degree. Now, graduate students will have to start paying on their loans while in school. CNN Money adds, “Under the agreement, a special credit for all students who make 12 months of on-time loan payments would also be axed.”

What about the undergrads?

I remember a time when I thought that you go to high school and get good grades so that you will get into a great college. You then go to a great college and continue to get good grades so that you will graduate, get a great job or continue for your Masters, JD, or Med School. Like magic, I thought this was the automatic path for good students. It wasn’t until I graduated from Spelman that I realized exactly how poor the economy was. I also learned during that time that my competition in the work field and for graduate school was not only recent grads, but also older adults who have been in working and building their resume’s for years. That was my first major adult reality check.

What about the undergrads looking for entry to graduate school? Or even people like me looking to go back to school to get another degree. As I see it, education is getting more expensive and unfortunately, students who would benefit from expounding their knowledge in their intended field are forced to place economics over education. Does it make you feel better to know that the cuts are expected to save the government $21.6 billion (with a B) over the next ten years….?

What do you think?

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