Why Not Make It Yourself?

You know - there are those "cheapskate" shows.  There are also those shows that show how people
are into couponing and saving big bucks (and no whammies for those of you who remember that and can't say, "Big Bucks" without following it up with, "No Whammies!").  I have not been a good couponer. I convinced myself that I'd subscribe to the Sunday paper so I could get the coupons and I have a stack of coupon ads at home where probably more than half of the coupons are expired.

Who I am is a creative guy who loves to make things.  So why not make things that, in the long run, will save me money?

I'm sure I'm not the ONLY person that balks at the notion of paying so much for detergent.  It's like, you want HOW MUCH for some soap powder?  I saw a few posts about making your own laundry detergent on Pinterest and it peeked my interest. I've read up on it and now I'm ready to try it.

There are recipes for the powdered detergent all over the internet but generally they are all the same. I plan to make a batch on Sunday. Of course, there will be a follow-up. :)

Recipe 1

Recipe 2

Since I happen to love Dr. Bronner's soaps - I will be using a bar of the almond scented soap (love, love, love almond scent).

A dollar saved is a dollar earned. With this recipe, I will have earned $100 a year.  I think that way better than a $2 coupon every other month, don't you?

Educate. Empower. Economize.

Paychecks and Payments

This week I discussed trying to pay bills on time with one of my friends.  We were talking about getting paid twice per month and how it can be a challenge. We had slightly different reasons of why it's challenging but the one resounding reason is that it's hard to budget yourself and still have a spontaneous social life.

Over the years I've received my pay in several ways - Weekly, bi-weekly, semi-monthly, and monthly.  Of all of these types, I had the best experience with my budget, bills and on-time payments when I received my paycheck on a monthly basis in my last job in Nevada.  Why?  Because once I was paid for the month I'd sit down and write out all of my upcoming bills.  I'd pay my rent, do any car maintenance, pay my credit cards, etc.  Whatever was left was mine to manage for the next few weeks. It helped my credit score quite a bit because many of my bills were paid early and I always paid a little extra. Two great things to boost your FICO Score.

When I moved to Virginia, this semi-monthly pay was a hard pill to swallow. I had to think about how and when I would pay my bills. I had to maneuver varying "pay by dates", car insurance, credit card and rent payments.  Trying to figure out which pay period my payments would be taken from was trial and error - AND involved quite a few bouts of that horrendous feeling you get from seeing an insufficient funds notice from your bank! Aaack!!! That's not mentioning that I hadn't begun paying back my student loans - How would I manage a nearly $500 monthly student loan payment on top of a car payment that was just over $400? I have paid off my car since then, thankfully!

During the 6 years since I've started receiving my salary on a semi-monthly basis, it wasn't until this past year that I felt like I got it figured out. You really have to budget with more intention - It. Takes. Work.

What I had to do was look at my bills and see when the due dates were and balance them out as well as I could between pay periods. That required a couple of phone calls to companies to move some dates around.  Common sense, right? Now, if you've read my older entries, you know I've entered into a money management firm to deal with all of my creditors. Clearly what I was doing wasn't all that effective and I still ended up in trouble (Pay Day Loans anyone?). The experience of this all has lead me to having a better understanding of my money and myself.  Consequently, all those credit cards and lines of credit I once had have been closed. Not that I could have used them anyhow. They were all pretty much maxed out and even attempting to use them was a game in itself.

No one really teaches you how to be financially responsible. It's a skill most people learn through trial and error (and sometimes humongous errors). 

Which way do you receive your pay check? Do you have a specific plan to pay your bills on time?  If not, why don't you?

Continuing on my journey - and yes, it's the first of the month and I've already made my payments for this pay period. YAY!

Educated. Empower. Economize.

Using Your Talents to Help Debt Disappear

I've always had an entrepreneurial spirit. As a kid I sold other kids "bicycle insurance". The insurance got them a flat tire fixed without needing to buy a patch kit or to do it themselves.  I'm pretty sure I stole that idea from Triple A.  In high school I created hand-painted sweatshirts that my mom would sell for me at her job at the Post Office.  As an adult, I've always been interested in art and became an art teacher years ago before I started working as an administrator in higher education.

Art is one of those things I can lose myself in.  Time seems to fly and I won't even notice or remember to eat lunch or dinner. A few years back, I started selling things on Etsy. I find a lot of happiness when I am creating something for others.  It wasn't until I ventured into the world of graphic design while working at a university in Nevada that it all made sense.

Graphic design is something that people use or see everyday and these days, more and more people request the services of a designer.  I took notice of this last year when a graduate student I supervised talked about how she was getting so many clients as a freelancer that she was struggling to keep up.  That conversation spawned more discussions over the next couple of years and with a lot of thought and consideration, I took the plunge and entered the world of freelancing with my site Diablo Design.

Taking something you love and figuring out a way to make money doing it is something that can help you get out of debt.  I've had friends ask me how I find time to do all of these things and work my full-time job. The answer is that I'm motivated.  Motivated to be out of debt and motivated to make money to pay my bills on time.  Motivated to have money in my pocket to do more things for fun.

Not everyone has an artistic talent to do something like this but they probably do have a talent that others are willing to pay money for. Have you ever given any consideration to what service you might offer someone? Your talent may be proofreading.  There are tons of people out there looking for that type of service. You might have a knack for writing and really enjoy sharing your words with others - you might want to share your writings by doing some self-publishing like the a friend of mine has done (she's now on her second book - Go Tumika!).  Are you a person who's handy on a sewing machine? Spread the word that you know how to do a few things with needle and thread.  Perhaps you're an awesome baker.  Bake those cakes and pastries and sell them!  The list of talents is seemingly endless. 

I remember how my grandmother hustled.  She sewed. She baked. She catered events.  She used her talents and her personality to sell things she could make and she never had a full-time job that I knew of.  Those things she would sell were her full-time job!

How does someone get started?  Like Nike says, "Just do it". You start by telling friends that you have services to offer. You tell co-workers.  You get on social media and scatter your skill set across the world wide web.  You take risks.  Not financially that is - that's how we got into this mess as it is but you can do what you can with the means you have available.  The rest is all "learn as you go".

When I first started out back in 2002, I felt as though anyone with a serious passion to sell services had a website. I spent money on this (years ago) and failed.  You can't be afraid to fail. You have to believe in yourself and in your talents that you will succeed. And you have to repeat to yourself that you must succeed in order to pay off debt.  At least that's what I told myself.

Take some time and consider what services you have to offer to others. Is it something you'd be willing to pay for yourself?  Is there a demand? Who is your audience?  Here's a great article on this very topic that may give you even more insight on how to begin.

I'd love to have a full-time career as a graphic designer and be my own boss. I'm working on getting closer to that dream. For now, I'm working on getting closer to being debt-free.

Educate. Empower. Economize.

I came across this post tonight and it rings true for me.  Does it resonate with you?

Hmmm.. let's see.  I have done  one, two, four, five, six and seven.  I guess I can't say that this is TRULY me, right? Considering I didn't do the third sign, right?  Wrong!  You had to know that was going to be my response.  

Read through these 7 signs. Even if you've done one of these and you said you'd never do it again... your finances are probably out of order.  Don't try to convince yourself that you did number six to do/take care of/pay off  _______.  There's almost no real justification to what you've done.

This year I'm committing to putting money into my savings.  That will remove the fourth sign from my list. 

Think about what you can do differently so this year can be better than the last.

Educate. Empower. Economize.

7 Warning Signs Your Finances Are Out of Order

If you're missing bills payments and not saving, it's time for a financial check-up.

by U.S. News Jan 15th 2014 12:55PM

By Sabah Karimi

Nearly three-quarters of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck and don't have emergency savings, according to a bankrate.com survey last year.

But you don't have to become part of that statistic. If you want to stay on top of your finances this year, make a commitment to review your budget regularly and take an honest look at your financial standing -- otherwise you could dig yourself deep into financial problems that may not be easy to recover from.

Here are seven warning signs it's time for a financial check-up:

1. You keep missing bill due dates. Late payment fees for services like Internet or cable can seriously add up, and you could get in even deeper financial trouble if you don't pay off your credit card bill on time and in full each month. If you're consistently missing due dates on those credit card bills, utilities or even housing payments, it's time to restructure your budget. Take a closer look at your cash flow, and make sure you are accounting for all forms of revenue and expenses in your budget.

2. You're opening more lines of credit. If you're having a hard time breaking your credit card spending habit or find yourself depending on credit, it's time to focus on your financial health. Opening more lines of credit when you are already carrying a heavy debt load can hurt your credit score. If you find yourself exploring more credit offers or loan options just to get by, stop and re-evaluate your finances.

3. You're making credit card payments ... with other credit cards. While making credit card payments with another card is a convenient payment option, you will set yourself back financially by doing so. Paying off one debt by accumulating more debt -- even if it's lower-interest debt -- will keep you stuck in a vicious debt cycle. Instead, look for opportunities to cut your expenses and earn more money to help pay down your credit card debt.

4. You're not contributing to a savings account each month. Saving at least 10 percent of your monthly income is a healthy goal. However, that's not always possible when you haven't taken the reins on your cash flow or don't have an accurate idea of your monthly expenses. When there's just no room to save money each month, it may be time to review your budget and set some new goals. Even a modest contribution toward a savings account each month will help you develop the self-discipline to save on a regular basis.

5. You have no idea the state of your credit. Even if you don't plan on buying a home or car in the near future, you will want to make sure you have an accurate idea of your creditworthiness. Use annualcreditreport.com to order a free copy of your credit report you are entitled to at least once a year. Checking your credit report can also make it easier to catch signs of identity theft.

6. You have nothing in reserves. If you've been dipping into your savings regularly or have just stopped contributing to your savings and investment accounts, it's time to take a closer look at your spending habits and determine whether you are working with a realistic budget. Having no reserves could set you up for financial ruin in the event of a medical emergency, job loss or other financial crisis.

7. You're paying bills with your 401(k). If you find yourself dipping into your 401(k) just to take care of monthly expenses, it's like you're robbing from your future self -- plus you'll probably have to pay taxes and fees on early withdrawals. Instead of taking money from your retirement account, consider supplementing your income with a second job or scaling back expenses to better manage your money.

Sabah Karimi writes for the financial blog Wise Bread, where you can find resources on how to land more jobs by improving your online reputation.