Whether it is taking the kids to Disney, a cruise or a family friendly resort, chances are that your family getaway will not happen if you are not able to afford it.

I have learned that one way to make life a little less stressful when it comes to paying the bills is to automate some of my bill paying.

There are a lot of things that go into a credit report.  Is it smart to monitor it?  I believe it is.  Here are a couple of reasons I believe it is important.  First off, it helps you stay on top of any mistakes or fraud on your accounts.  That way, if you find any discrepancies, you can report them to the credit bureau to be investigated and corrected. 

We all handle stress and emotions differently depending on what it is that is causing us turmoil. 

I am not sure how we are going to afford it all. It seems crazy to have to think about money in regards to this. I guess this is why you need an emergency fund because sometimes the emergency is yours even if it isn't. I sure wish we had a fund. 

I applied this same behavior from the gym to our finances. 

My advice is to take a broad view of health that encompasses your whole life -- physical, mental, financial, and otherwise. To me, these different areas of life go hand in hand, and I encourage you pursue health in that holistic sense.

Owning a freezer can save you a lot of money if you are freezer frugal.  Do you know HOW to use your freezer correctly to help you save money? Or are you simply wasting a valuable asset? 

Now that I have finished my DMP, I don't want to get lazy.  I really want to make sure I continue the good habits that I have worked on over the last few years and ensure that I don't do anything stupid to get myself into another financial mess!  It will be really easy for me to get lazy, and when I get lazy I tend to procrastinate and let things "slide" by.  Not good when it comes to finances!  Here are a couple of my immediate "to dos" to ensure I don't get lazy: 

Everyone has a budget but not everyone is "on a budget".  If you earn or spend money you have a budget.  It might not be written down.  You might not know what you earn or where you spend but you still have a budget. Your money is getting spent whether you pay attention to it or not and you live with the consequences of how you handle your money.  Even if you are choosing to ignore how you spend. 

First, "dieting" itself is the wrong idea. You don't need to "go on a diet" as a one-time thing, like you would "go on a cruise to Alaska." Instead, all of us need to adopt healthy eating behaviors that we maintain for many years. It's more like making an enduring career change than going on a short trip.

I have pretty good healthcare coverage, and have managed to limit my hospital stays to maternity stays, and my doctors' visits to in-network providers. Until recently. My now-six-month-old son was diagnosed with conjunctivitis at two weeks old, and had to stay in the pediatric emergency room for two nights. 

It's amazing how we do our very best when we know someone else is watching. 

Well, I think the feature I found most useful, was simply that inventories what I pay each month, what I owe, what I've already paid, and the duration of the loan.

For those of you looking for some cheap fun, try a board game party.  My husband and I get together once a month with a group of friends for a board game party.  There are six couples and we take turns meeting at each other's homes.  On board game night, the host couple decides which board game we will be playing.  We never know what the game will be until we arrive.  Most of us are retired, so the majority of the games we play are those that are familiar to us from our childhood.  

Looking at my situation now, I have a lot more breathing room when it comes to my budget since my DMP has been paid off.  I have added some of my unnecessary expenses, or even luxury expenses, back into the mix.

I have been credit card debt free for over five months now.  In the beginning it was a bit overwhelming trying to figure out how to re-work my budget.  Since I have simplified my budget though, things have been going great!  I love being credit card debt free! 

Before I started working here I really didn't understand much about credit cards at all. I mean I had them. But I really didn't know what to do with them and I definitely didn't like them.

One tool I do know about because it directly affects day-to-day finances as well as the long term financial picture. It is the Credit Report.  Dr. Phil says, "The best predictor of future behavior is relevant past behavior." Well, folks, when it comes to money, your credit report is your relevant past behavior and boy is it important.  

If it's like mine, you're headed in the right direction but it could always go just a little bit better.  I want to share with you an easy activity that I hope helps you as much as it is helping me stay on the right path.  You'll have to stand in front of your bathroom mirror for this activity, so unplug your laptop, or print this post and take it with you. 

For me, getting INTO debt was relatively easy.  I spent impulsively, I spent beyond my means, and I spent without keeping track of how much I owed.  Oh, and I better add . . . I did it all with plastic.  There was a time when I was actually rather proud of my credit card collection 

How fit are you? How fit do you want to be? Answering these questions, and writing down your answers so you can revisit them later, is a great way to kick off a fitness program -- or to take your fitness program to the next level.

So, in other words, each of us needs to learn how to get smart about handling our finances or lack thereof.  It's all about educating ourselves on how to better take care of our money.  Education about personal finances or getting smart about money matters is the basis for financial success!

As one of the more high-strung people you'll ever meet, I can come up with a long list of things that stress me out in life.  While finding the exact right shade of yellow in Excel continues to stress me out on a daily basis, money tops the list of stressors on most days. 

I've heard before that our society as a whole is walking around without the rest our bodies require.  If 92% of us are losing sleep because of our finances I can see why this is the case!   If you are one of those staying up late to pour over the bills and budget then this is your "wake up call"!