
Photo Courtesy of Roland Tanglao.
Is it time to say no?

Photo Courtesy of Roland Tanglao.
Is it time to say no?
The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey is a classic text on how to eliminate debt step by step and why you would want to do such a weird thing.
The book is broken up into the seven baby steps which are:
* $1,000 Starter Emergency Fund
* Paying Off Debt with the Debt Snowball
* 3 to 6 months of Expenses in Savings
* 15% of Household Income to Retirement Accounts
* College Funding
* Pay Your Mortgage Off Early
* Build Wealth and Give
Dave not only give you instructions that work but also explains why he recommends doing things in the order given. There are several examples of families that have gone through the steps woven into the book so you can see that real people have made a real difference in their life.
I can’t say enough good about this book. It is a game changer for many people and I have seen the principles here turn on light bulbs for people through Financial Peace University. It is a common sense approach for managing your money written in a quick and easy to read style. It has budget worksheets in the book that you can use to help you along the way.
With all of that being said I will tell you that even following the plan the journey isn’t always easy. There will be difficulties here and there and when that happens you just have to keep pushing forward. I promise you it is worth the effort! I ordered my first edition of this book in 2010 somewhat by accident. When it arrived I read it anyway and it began a change that has lasted ever since in my family. It taught us how to be much more financially responsible and for that I thank Mr. Ramsey.
Lastly, this book is not for everyone. You really do need to be ready to take charge of your finances before this book will be of help to you. Also, in full disclosure, while I agree with 98% of what is taught there is that 2% that I think people need to make their own judgements on. That being said, his plan does work and I would recommend for anyone to try it and make adjustments where they feel it is needed in their own life.
For more information, other reviews or to purchase check out the book on Amazon.
*Note: I received a copy of this book at no charge in exchange for my honest review.*

Image Courtesy of Woodley Wonderworks
This Saturday, September 21, is World Gratitude Day. It is a day to express appreciation for the wonderfully awesome things groups and individuals do in the world.
Take a minute to think of something someone did for you that you are grateful for. What is something you can do for someone so they have the same feeling about you?
You can find out more about World Gratitude Day and it’s history at Holiday Insights.

Image Courtesy of M4D Group
Think about your life as a television show for a moment. Season after season (year after year) you are the director, producer, editor, and caterer. You are the star and you get to control just about every aspect of what goes on. But would you like to know what your most powerful job is? You get to work in casting and decide who gets a spot in your show!
You get to choose the people who play a lead roll and those that are the extras in the background. Each role is your decision. You are the boss when it comes to casting and this task should never be given to anyone else. While characters will be introduced by other people you have full authority whether to give them a spot.
Choose carefully who you add into your life show. Audition those that you are considering for your cast and think about the role they will play carefully. Be gentle with those that you won’t be allowing to return next season and always keep open the possibility of a return spot if circumstances change.
And remember, give an award winning performance that you are proud of! Your life show is your legacy for other generations!
“My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure.” -Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln wanted to know if you were okay with your failure. Are you?
I hope you are okay with having failed. However, being okay with failure and also being just fine staying down are two different things.
Get up. Dust off. Correct errors. Start again.
Do these four things often enough and success will come to you.

Photo courtesy of Ian Muttoo.
“The world is full of Mondays.” Charlie Brown
If the world is full of Mondays like Charlie Brown says then it is time to make Monday your day to start off fresh. Leave the bad things that happened the previous seven days behind and take the good things with you into the next week. Go do good work and celebrate the greatness you have put into the world. Start a Monday Morning Routine and think about what you are going to do great that day and kick off your week with a bang.
It doesn’t matter whether your work week starts on a Monday or a Saturday the same thing applies. Go do good and serve others and Mondays can become like a day off.
What is something you do at the start of your week to get motivated?
I know it is odd to be talking about Christmas and the holidays in August (or maybe it isn’t if you check your stores). However, the earlier you start and the better you plan the less stressful and budget busting the season can be.
Last year I wrote a review for “100 Days to Christmas 2012” by Jennifer Tankersley which you can find here. Well, the 2013 edition is being released today which you can find here.
The last couple years I have talked about the importance of setting up the Christmas budget and planning ahead. This book allows you to do that a little each day from September 16 until December 25. It takes a lot of the stress and guesswork out of holiday planning and provides you plenty of time to enjoy the season with family without worrying about the odds and ends of what you need to get done
The book is an instant download and along with the book you get 28 interactive lists (3 additional over last year) and 60 days free on ListPlanIt – Jennifer’s main site with all kinds of organizational goodies.
How much do I believe this book can help you? Well, I am giving it away! All you need to do is follow the instructions below and you’ll be entered. You have until Sunday to enter and winners will be contacted by e-mail.
Form removed. Giveaway has ended. Congratulations to Michael D. and Emily C. for receiving a free copy of the book!

Photo Courtesy of Horia Varlan.
“We are the sum of all people we have ever met; you change the tribe and the tribe changes you.” Dirk Wittenborn, Fierce People
We are all the sum of who we meet, interact with, and let into our lives.
If the two people you hang out with this most are negative and always talking about bad things happening to them guess what your other friends probably hear you talk about the most?
There is also an economic theory that states if you take the five people your are closest to and average their income the result will be close to what you earn. Not only can those around you influence your state of mind but they may also be influencing your income.
If you want positivity and good things happening around you then you have full control to set yourself up for that. Stay away from the negative people. Surround yourself with the cheerleaders who are rooting for you and those that want to see you succeed.
I know this can be hard because the process means you leave people behind or remove them from your life altogether. But the quicker you realize you can’t change other people but you can change yourself the quicker you can move into the life you want.
If you must leave someone behind you can always help them back into your life when they are ready to make a change. Think of it like taking a break rather than leaving them out of your life. Be ready to help those that need your help.
“You are, in fact, a mashup of what you choose to let into your life. You are the sum of your influences.” Austin Kleon, Steal Like An Artist
Question: Are there people in your life that are always negative that you need to take a break from?

Photo Courtesy of Kate Ter Haar
The first step to fixing any problem is to identify exactly what the problem is. Have you ever had someone ask you to do something and your first response is “I’m busy!” yet they haven’t even told you what it is they were wanting? It became a problem for you and you don’t even have the full request.
‘Eliminate all other factors, and the one which remains must be the truth.’
Sherlock Holmes
-The Sign of Four
Anytime you feel like something is a problem take a breath before responding. Figure out exactly what the core issue is. As above, the core issue is you don’t have any free time. If take a minute and respond calmly to find out what they want and you decide you need to provide assistance then your problem is not that they asked something of you but you need to find where you can put it in your day. Now you can work on the problem.
As Sherlock Holmes said, eliminate all other factors to get to your real problem and then you can begin to work on it. Until then you are playing a game with a perception. Go search for truth detective.
I am going to deviate a little from my normal blog and write about a service I ran across a couple of weeks ago. It is call My Job Chart and is a great tool for teaching your kids to spend, save, and give in a technical but easy way. Did I mention it is also free?
My Job Chart was developed to allow the parent to assign various chores and along with that a point value. In their system one point equals one cent towards a reward such as something from the Amazon store (you can set whatever items you want to allow them to save points for), a trip to the movies, eating out, game time and a lot more. You can also choose custom rewards and how many points it takes to receive that reward.
The system also allows the child to select how much money they want to save and can click a button to have you add that amount to their savings account once they earned it.
Lastly, it allows your child to give. You can setup whatever charities you want your child to be able to save their money to be donated to and they choose how much goes the charity. Once they have earned enough points they click a button and you receive an e-mail asking you to donate the amount on behalf of the child.
We use this with our daughter and it is great. She is excited to see her points go up everyday after she does her jobs rather than waiting for the once a week payday that we were doing. She is able to be in control of her points (*cough* money) and learn how to save for a goal, give to those less fortunate, and save for a rainy day.
There is a lot more as far as customization and options you can do. It is 100% free so give it a try. After you do swing by here and let me know what you think!
This is an example of a widgeted area that you can place text to describe a particular product or service. You can also use other WordPress widgets such as recent posts, recent comments, a tag cloud or more.