Good Money In Bad Times

Maintaining in a rough economy takes planning, consistency and effort. It doesn't happen over night and it won't happen if you don't take the time to try. Last Christmas I received a wonderful gift from one of the parents at the day care where I used to work. It was a book about personal finance, how to get out of debt, save your money and generally live better. Lifting The Burdens of Debt by Lisa Cherry is a wonderful book, not only is it really informative but it's very inspirational. This is the book that kick started my life change towards living debt free and money wise, here are some of the things I learned and basically how I live my life now. It's a real simple formula.

*Make Sure Your Expenses Do Not Exceed Your Income: Obvious, but I see people who find themselves in this situation month to month.

• If you live on your own, get a roommate to split expenses.
• Renegotiate your cell phone, insurance, cable etc contracts. I call my companies periodically to check for better promotions and sometimes it works out. You never know.
• Smart shopping. Do the research before you buy anything. There always a deal or bargain out there. Take the time to look.
  

*Create Passive Income: Passive income basically is making money with little to no work. That's the best way to make money to me. Some ways to make passive income.

• Surveys, I've made a pretty good amount of money this way. I usually use the money to buy splurge items like over priced cosmetics and treat myself.
• Interest earned, this is a slower way but it's still free money. Put your money in a high interest bank account or CD and chill.
• Sell items you don't need anymore.
• Make money from your hobby. If you're good at something turn it into a side hustle.
  

*Create A Budget and Stick To It: A budget is a a tool to help you prioritize your spending and manage your money. A good budget helps you see and achieve your goals. All you need to know is how much you make, subtract your expenses, after that, see where you can cut costs. With this you can visualize where your money is going when you see it on paper, it makes it real. Don't forget you have got to be honest with yourself and your spending. After you know what you're working with budget for saving or debt reduction.

At the end of the day, your success is up to you. As long as you maintain consistency, adhere to the changes and keep pressing forward you will see positive results.

HSBC Direct 3.50% APY Extended

Yeah, HSBC Direct recently announced that there 3.50% APY savings account is extended to September 15, 2008 (3 days b4 my b-day *wink*). I haven't been with them long but so far so good. It's a great place for an emergency fund, with high returns, no fees and you get an ATM card for withdrawals.

The Smartest Advice I Ever Got

Cnnmoney has a great article from the 40 'great' minds about wealth building. It was a good read, I'm always one to take good advice and since all the folks on here are rich I'ma listen to what they got to say. The best ones I thought were:

1. Be Frugal Not Stingy
2. Swear off Debt (wish someone told me this sooner)
3. To Excel at Something, Immerse Yourself (always love to learn)
4. Live Within Your Means
5. Stocks Build Wealth with No Work (thanks ShareBuilder)
6. Don't Follow the Herd
7. Know Where Your Money Goes

There pretty common sense things but its always good to be reminded.

Do you have an emergency fund??

In these tough times with gas and food prices killing our pockets and wages going nowhere having an Emergency Fund is absolutely necessary. In my industry (child care), summertime is super slow. Either parents are shipping there kids off to family is other places, summer camps or just staying home. Having that security blanket in place when life gets critical makes a lot of sense.


What is an Emergency Fund you ask, well lemme break it down for you:

An emergency fund is cash that is available to you only in times of an emergency. This is not like damn, I gotta get my eye brows waxed for this date money or big ticket item spending. Nope!! This is money just for emergencies in the event you lose your job, get injured and are unable to work, your kid gets sick, etc.

Most experts say you should have at least 3-6 months salary stashed for your emergency funds. I'm working towards that, but you can cap it at $1,000, its up to you. But you don't have to start with much, little by little and consistency is what counts. Start by putting at least $20.00 per check into a savings account, if you don't have one get one ASAP. You're probably saying it may be hard to give up any extra per check into an emergency fund, but trust me its easier than you think. Try it for a few weeks and see how it adds up, and after a little while you'll adjust and you won't even miss the money. Right now mine is chillin at HSBC Direct.

Remember thought, this money is not to be spent on purchases that you can just save for and get or get on one check, this is to be stashed do not spend it.