My son came bounding through the door on a Friday afternoon after school, excited to go with a friend to Super Night. Super Night was a night of activities planned by a local church, including bowling, swimming, and basketball. The fun started at 9:00 p.m. and went until 6:00 the next morning. He stuffed $18 of his own spending money into a tie string bag along with his swimming trunks and towel, and off he went to his friend's house.
When you want to learn something new, don't wait: just start. There are many ways to learn a thing, and it's likely that your path up the mountain won't be perfectly optimal. But so what? That's no reason to let uncertainty keep you from launching yourself toward the summit.
Okay, it's time to take a step back and take a deep breath! We have to stop and remember what we have learned thus far.
We are much better at the communication thing, and we don't have any idea when our last argument was about money.
Technology has grown leaps and bounds and has made it possible to pay bills from the comfort of your own home or on the go on the latest tablet, notebook, or mobile device. What does it all mean? No more stamps or trips to the mailbox or post office, no more standing in line at the bank, and no more waiting for mom or dad to get off the one phone in the house so you can use it to call your lender or creditor.
I cannot believe it. My DMP is paid off. Many times over the last several years, I have thought to myself that time was moving agonizingly slow-that this day would never come.
My mom has been claiming poverty while spending like money grows on trees my whole life. I cannot tell you how many times I heard there was no money for groceries, yet we went out to dinner and to the movies. There were five of us girls, so going out came with quite a price tag. This led to confusion and resentment on my part when life got difficult in my early teens. When I grew up and began to understand finances I got past the resentment but I knew it didn't have to happen that way.
Disagreements can spring up without warning and escalate before we can do anything about it. When that happens, I feel that it's important to not ignore it, but to sit the kids down and address what just occurred.
I've found a lot of peace of mind just being enrolled in the plan because I have a schedule, a date when everything will be paid off, and a growing consciousness of how important it is to live in the "cash only" world.
Surprisingly, I have also found that sometimes it is cheaper to purchase something from a company's website than to go into the store for it.
It's hard to admit to my parents, sister, boyfriend, and friends that my bank account runs low, or even overdraws (with a $105 fee!), on a biweekly basis. Kind of embarrassing.
As much as I do not want to take that money out of savings I'm so grateful that it's there. Money in savings means that my husband and I don't have to lose sleep over these bills wondering "why me". It means we don't have to have a "stress-drawer" full of unpaid bills. It means that once it's done, it's done, and we can get back to the business of living and moving forward.
Some time ago, I wrote a blog about wanting to open a credit card to start to re-build some of my credit. I also wanted to see if I have truly learned my lesson about credit cards and whether or not I understand the good and bad that go with them.
The good news is that you won't receive any bills on the weekend, the bad news is that the week is getting shorter and timing is of the essence when it comes to getting bills out the door and paid on time-a challenging task, already.
The "wiggle room" was gone, and we knew we had to make significant changes to our lifestyle.
You've got to make substantive changes if you want to achieve the Big Things that inspire you.
The most interesting result of the study was how significant the regional factors had on why women sought our debt help.
Home is where the heart is and a place to make memories that last a lifetime.
Wherever you or your spouse might be in that range, sometimes it's just not easy to start come together and agree on how to tackle your financial situation
After a few months into the plan I made the commitment not only to get out of credit card debt, but to open up with those that were close to me about my situation.
No matter your financial situation, it can be awkward to talk to your kids about money.
Now comes the drudgery of paying off all this debt and it is hard! Having no cards means no juggling. It means no wiggle room. It means broke really is broke. Now that the excitement of finally taking charge has worn off, I can tell you . . . THIS IS HARD!
I trembled as I walked into the payday loan store. I had seen commercials for places like this. I knew they were bad news, but out of funds and the next payday a week away, I couldn't think of any other solution. I just couldn't admit to my wife the situation we were in. I couldn't admit how big of a failure I was at handling our finances.
In addition to the blogs, be sure to check out the new CareOne Groups:
Are you finally out on your own and figuring out how to balance your finances? If so, this is the group for you. In Starting Out, you can talk about the challenges you are dealing with in a group of like-minded people.
Do you feel like you are finally understanding what being a "grown-up" is all about and are settling into your adult life? If so, this is the group for you. In Settling In you can connect with others who are just like you.
Struggling to balance all that an established lifestyle has to offer? The balancing it all group is for you. Discuss the challenges you face when your responsibilities at work, at home and with family and friends all compete for your attention.
Are you currently retired or planning on retiring very soon? If so, this is the group for you. Times have changed and so has retirement. Learn how others are redefining retirement.