Wednesday, January 2, 2008

A Comprehensive Guide to Smart Spending
If you are spendthrift, it's possible that you have low self-esteem, that your marriage could be in danger and your relationships hampered. Worse, you will lose your ability to live the way you really want to live. Implement these steps to assume control over your finances, and build a secure fiscal future for yourself and your family.
LOOK FOR THE SYMPTOMS
You feel guilty about spending even on legitimate essentials. You lie to your spouse about how much you have spent. Your credit card debts are piling up. You have no idea where your money goes and cannot keep track of how much has been spent on what. If you have any of these symptoms, you need to mend that hole in your wallet, very urgently.
TALK ABOUT IT
Talk to your spouse. If unmarried, speak to a friend or someone you trust. If you've been lying to your spouse about your purchases, confessing will make the burden lighter. Apologise and sincerely express your desire to mend your ways. Your confidant/e will help you in your endeavour.
WRITE IT DOWN
The fact that you have been overspending shows that you never make the connection between your income and your outgoings. Make a note of every purchase will hold you accountable for it. Magically, you will spend less money as you see the figures of your expenditure rising.
CUTUP YOUR CREDIT CARD
When you pay with plastic, you don't see any money leaving your hands and you forget momentarily that you are just deferring payment. The fact is that you have to make that payment tomorrow. You may be having too many credit cards. One is more than enough. Cut up the others. If you can't trust yourself to use even one credit card wisely, destroy that one too. It will ensure that you buy only when you have cash.
STUDY YOUR SPENDING
When do you tend to spend the most? Is it when you are depressed or when you are hungry or when you want to lift your mood? You could be spending to alleviate your depression or satiate your hunger, without knowing it. Check every receipt, record every purchase and detect what made you buy what you did.
ASK YOURSELF SOME TOUGH QUESTIONS
List your priorities. For example, you may need to join the health club or enlist in a weight reduction programme and may have to forego it because you've sent all that money at a mall. Ask yourself how you are going to feel when your credit card bills arrive and whether the items you bought were necessary in the first place. Ask yourself whether you are closer to any of the goals that you set up for yourself. That way you'll think before you spend.
STOP IMPULSE BUYING
Decide that you will not buy anything on impulse. Don't go window shopping or walk into a mall to just 'look'. Doing so will surely lead to some reckless, uncalled-for spending.
WAIT IT OUT
Promise yourself that you will wait for a whole day or two days before you buy something you think you need. Ask yourself time and again whether you truly need it or whether you are indulging yourself. The waiting itself dilutes the urge and helps it pass.
PLAN YOUR SPENDING
You should never carry a burden of guilt for your spending. That can happen only when you plan your spending and buy only what is necessary. Ask yourself, "Do I need this, or do I want this?" Have a personal budgeting system and keep an emergency fund for unforeseen expenses.
CREATE A REALISTIC BUDGET
Put aside some money at the very beginning of the month, when you receive your pay packet, as savings. Then, keep aside money for your fixed outgoings like groceries, electricity, milk, rent, loans, utilities, etc. Then, establish how much you have to spend each week on everything apart from these fixed expenses. Withdraw the money you will need every Monday and make it last all through the week. This will keep you aware of where your money is being spent and you will be more thoughtful and careful about spending it. Fix a spending limit for every week and stick to it.
AVOID SALES
Just because there is a sale in the local mall does not mean that you should attend it. It's foolish to buy things you don't need just because you see a good bargain somewhere, because, in the long run, it's going to be a bad deal for you and only lead to financial disaster.
MAKE A LIST
Even when you go to buy essentials, take a list of things you have to buy. Ensure that you go only to those counters which stock these and don't meander through aisles looking at stuff that's not on your list. That helps you from picking up those extra pickle bottles or the new flavour of drink that you know is inessential. Be clear, focused and undistracted from your intended purchases.
If, after making the effort, you find that you are unable to deal with your spending addiction, seek help. A counsellor will get to the root cause of your problem. Once you identify the problem, you will stop spending as a balm to your mental state. Seek the advice of a financial expert to put your books in order. He/She may have helpful insights that you may not have thought of. Once you rein in your spending, you will sail smoothly towards financial security and wise investments for a well provided for future.
Michael Doglas is a relationship expert and a marriage counselor. He has helped thousands of couples in resolving various marital issues and relationship problems. Visit his website Love-Lectures.com to get the secret for a happy marriage and learn the simple yet most effective ways to make your marriage work.


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I don’t know about you but I’ve spent a lot of time and money searching for a course or e-book that actually shows you step by step how to make money on the internet. Yes you guessed it, I kept getting scammed by “get rich quick schemes” that are all talk but no show.
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From the opening pages until the end it is full on valuable information, well organized, and easy to understand. It takes you step by step and actually shows you what you need to do and exactly how to do it, to make money on the internet.
This affiliate marketing e-book starts by explaining all the basics of affiliate marketing and how you can get started with very little cash out of your pocket. It shows you how to find and promote upcoming products before the competition does. It also shows you some really neat free advertising methods that I didn’t know about. It has a lot of great tips, tricks and strategies, and it wasn’t the usual stuff I already knew about.
For those of you who are on a tight budget this is an e-book you should seriously consider buying. It does show you ways to make money in a very short period of time with very little money of your own. These are ways he uses everyday to make money. He practices what he preaches. He will also show you to how make money with or without a website. All you really need to get started is a computer and an internet connection which you probably have or you wouldn’t be reading this article.
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To Your Success
Money Man Derek


How To Have Fun Without Spending Much
As young, vibrant, independent women, most of you like to go out to concerts, dinner, movies, maybe even travel a little. You also like to look your best and make an effort to get the best make-up, grooming products, haircuts or manicures. that your money can buy. You want to go out with friends, network with your coworkers, take a cooking or writing class, and meet a hot date while you’re at it. As a young woman, you have a need to experience all the great things that life has to offer. In other words, entertainment and personal grooming are a big part of your life. How do you then, reconcile the added expenses that these fun things bring against your non-existent entertainment budget?
My advice to you is to, first and foremost, prioritize. Ask yourself what is the one thing you cannot afford to miss every month. Make a list of all the entertainment things you would like to do and then go over your budget and find any extra dollars that you can allocate every week for at least one outing a week. If getting a weekly manicure or going to the hair salon four times a month is more important this month than going out to that trendy restaurant or concert, then you know what your entertainment money will be used for. As your priorities change every week, so should your plans for entertainment and pampering.
Once you know how much money you can spend on personal grooming, entertainment and miscellaneous expenses every month, I would suggest that you take that money out of the bank and keep it at home or with you when it’s time to go out. This will allow you to pay for things with cash and avoid getting into credit card debt. If, on the other hand, there is no money left from your expenses to go out once a week, then see if you can go out once every other week. The one week where you cannot afford to go out, you can rent a movie, call a friend you haven’t spoke to in a while, or read a book you have been putting aside for some time.
I know what you may be thinking: “it sucks that I am a young, beautiful, smart, and fun woman who wants to enjoy life and can’t because I don’t have any money. Moreover, one outing a week is simply not my idea of enjoying my youth. It is simply not realistic and cannot be done.” Let me remind you that everything is possible, especially if you set your mind to it. When I decided to move to the United States, I picked one of the most exciting but expensive cities in the world, New York City. I had less than $7,000, no job, spoke very little English, and expected the money to last for 3 years.
It sounds funny, but coming from a small town in Puerto Rico, I didn’t know any better. When the money was gone (a mere 3 months later), I had to get a part-time job paid $150 a week. Needless to say, entertainment was the least of my priorities. In a city with such cultural and artistic diversity, staying home every week seemed to be a sin, a major punishment. I had to prepare myself mentally for my new reality, stop dwelling on what I didn’t have, and concentrate on the opportunities that the city had to offer (which were many) that were available for free or for very little money.
My point with the above story is that living within your means is possible. You must make the best of your reality while you work to build a better one. Keep that in mind while making your budget and learn to take responsibility for your finances. Remember that you are working towards goals that will eventually improve your economic station as well as other parts of your life.