~Budget Tip=Don't Chase Every Deal!~

Budget tip:

Don't go after every deal!

Shocked?! Don't be. If I went after every deal that I see, I would not ever be on budget. There are just too many deals to stay within my budget. Plus, I crave peace of mind and I don't find any peace in racing around town trying to find all the deals at multiple stores. No thanks.
Instead, only go after the deals on the products that you love when they are on sale & you can combine the sale with a coupon. It really is that easy!

Happy Day~

SHO

~Budget Tip=Stick to a list!~

Budget tip:

Make a list and stick to it!

Don't go into the store without a list and a plan. ONLY buy those items on the list and get out. The faster you can get out of the store, the better. Remember to make sure to use what you have on hand first.

Blessings~


SHO

~Budget Tip=Get a Mentor~

Have a financial Mentor!

Think of someone who has their finances in order. Think of someone who you can ask questions and who will hold you accountable. Ask that person to be your financial mentor for a season to help you reach your goals.

I did this a couple of years ago with one of my financial/spiritual mentors. It was awesome! I would report to her each month how much money I saved. That year I ended up saving several thousand dollars above my goal and I think it had to do with the fact that I was reporting to her each month. It was exciting to exceed my goals each month!

If you can't think of anyone to be your mentor, please email me.

Happy Wednesday!

SHO

~Don't Overextend Your Raise!~

*photo credit-Ron Niebrugge*

A very common mistake...

Did you get a raise or are you expecting a raise for your household?
Do you have big plans for that money already?
Will you be playing catch-up due to living outside your current income?

I've found that raises (usually minimal) really don't help most people that much. It is almost as if people get a false sense of security and go overboard, but in little ways. Example: You typically spend $100 per month eating out. Now that you have a raise you don't think twice about eating out a couple more times per month. At the end of the month you have spent $200-$300, when you really only had $100 to spend still.
Or
Your hubby gets a $200 raise per month and decides he needs new truck. The new truck payment is $450. Technically, he is getting a $250 pay cut now that he has a payment instead of driving the car that is paid for. Ouch!
Or
You get a somewhat substantial raise and decide that you need to upgrade your home by doubling in size & payment. Most people forget to budget for the utilities and other expenses that come with a larger home. Being home poor is no fun! Trust me!

I've seen this mistake in almost everyone I know. No joke! I can say this because we have made the same mistakes too. Not proud, just honest.

It is really hard to get ahead when you don't budget every cent. I'm not saying to not enjoy the raise. Go out for a special meal, but then get back on track. Don't go out and get crazy. Plan out that raise to truly work for you and for your family. As always, give your first fruits to the One who gave it all.

Be blessed~
SHO

~January Spending FREEZE!~

Spending freeze in January!

Sorry, I meant to mention this to you all earlier this week. (No sugar or caffeine has made me NOT on my "A game" this week.) My household is on a "spending freeze" for the month of January.

What does "spending freeze" mean?
We don't spend any money on anything other than groceries & gas (aside from regular bills). This cuts out small purchases that add up, meaningless shopping, eating out, etc.

Why?
Starting a new year off by saving a chunk of money dramatically increases your ability to keep the momentum going throughout the year. I try to always make January one of my big savings months.

Is it too late to start?
Absolutely not! Start today!

Can't wait to hear how you all do. It is a new year and this is the time to make some changes in your financial forecast. You can do it!

Friday Blessings~
SHO

~3 Principles We Live By~

Hello Sassy Savers!

Hope everyone is having a great Friday! Boy, has this been a crazy busy week. All of my freezer cooking meals paid off big time this week. I didn't spend more than 20 minutes on any meal and we ate at home. I've found that if I have something that I can whip up in around 20-30 minutes, we will eat at home. After all, it takes about that long to go get takeout. Plus, you have to spend your precious money on fuel. No fun! Anytime we eat at home my hunky hubs calls it a "prepaid meal". In our house those meals are wonderful! Especially, since we are saving for Disney World!!!


Part of the reason that I started this blog was to encourage people. I'm asked all the time how we live off a teacher's salary. People are beyond curious. My answer is that we don't just "live", but we live in the "overflow blessings". Honestly, we live better now than we did with 2 full-time salaries. Part of the reason is that I'm not constantly worrying about money. Now that we live on such a strict budget, I know where the money is going. It is amazing the peace that I have felt since living on a written budget (of course, sticking to it is key).


3 principles we live by:

1) We are good stewards with our money (started using coupons). Started to think and plan ahead before every purchase. We were amazed at what we can talk ourselves out of! (Example: BMW 3 series...yes, it is my dream car...yes, we test drove several of them...yes, we put in offers...THEN we came back to a normal state of mind and decided that we have other goals that come before us driving a pretty BMW. After all, it will be even prettier when we get it AFTER we pay CASH for our home!)

2) We live within a budget. A very detailed budget is key for us! I keep track of where every dollar goes each month on a spreadsheet. That has really kept us on track. We have a game plan every month to make sure that we stay focused and are able to hit our savings goal.

3) Most importantly we HONOR GOD with our TITHE. We believe that God blesses the 90% that we keep and multiplies it. We have seen it in our finances!
Another thing is giving to those in need. I encourage you to pray and see if God is leading you to help someone. I promise, it is the BEST feeling knowing that you are truly helping someone in need. You will be so rewarded.


When we started combining those 3 things we were amazed at how God truly blessed us.
I want to encourage you today that whatever your financial situation is, you can start making changes today. You can get out of debt. You can live in the "overflow blessings". You can leave your children a legacy of financial freedom! Get excited! Change can be a wonderful thing. Change is uncomfortable, but so is living with debt looming over your head. Look forward to the finish line and never lose sight of your goals!

Be Blessed~
SHO

~Life Without a Cell Phone or Facebook!~

My life without a cell phone or facebook account.

Often (every time someone realizes I don't have either) people will GASP and then ask "HOW DO YOU LIVE WITHOUT A CELL PHONE OR FACEBOOK account?!"

My answer is "BEAUTIFULLY"! I have a really great life that is not full of craziness or the overwhelming feeling of having to be in everyone's business 24/7. It is great! When someone tells me something face to face I have a genuine reaction since I have not read it before. I feel really important if I get an email or call before they post on facebook ;)

Life without a cell phone did a take a little adjusting to, but not too long. Honestly, cell phones are sort of a peeve of mine now. I get very annoyed at people who talk on them while driving, text while driving (my hubs was in a wreck recently due to a girl texting while driving...grrrrr) and the most annoying is when people talk on the phone when checking out. Let me just say that if you are using coupons, that is NOT the way to gain favor from a checker! Okay, enough about that!

My point is that you can live without a cell phone. It is such an easy thing to cut out of your budget. Most people pay $80+ per month for service. Imagine if you put that money into your debt snowball??? Or what if you saved $80 per month for 1 year and went on a vacation? You would have saved $960.00 in 12 months for a very small sacrifice. You can do it!

A quick note about why we are not involved with social networking sites...Simple...I don't have time and am not willing to make the time. Nothing against those who do, it is just not for us. I'm doing my best to limit all media in our lives. I'm so much more productive and less stressed when it is limited. I will also add that every person that I speak with about struggling with time to clip coupons has a facebook account. Most people don't even realize how much valuable time is spent (wasted) each day on social networking sites when they could be finding ways to better budget their time & money. I want encourage you to limit your time on those sites and use that time to better your financial future.

Anytime I think I want to add something into the budget, I think about all of the traveling that we like to do and how much that will impact our ability to continue going on trips and vacations each year. It just isn't worth it for us.

Now that I have SHOCKED all my Sassy Savers, I'm going to log off :)

Happy Tuesday!
SHO

~How to Save Money~Part 1~

How to Save Money in 2011: Part 1
Everyone gets excited about saving money, but then they realize that change MUST take place or the same outcome will happen. Yes, it takes determination and a plan. After all, I've never heard of anyone saying "I accidentally saved $100k". Sort of along the lines of never hearing a husband complaining about his wife saving him tons of money by using coupons! It just doesn't happen! :)

Today I'm listing just a few things that I did to insure we were able to hit our 2010 savings goal.

Steps to hit your savings goal in 2011:

Spend Less
*I realize this is not breaking news. However, if you simply spent $25 less per week at the grocery store you could save $100-$125 per month! You can easily do this by having a list and sticking to it. Try to go to the store and ONLY purchase what is on the list.
This would be a $1200-$1500 savings annually!

Budget
*Set a budget! This MUST be accurate. Take time to have a budget meeting with your spouse and discuss all purchases. I know this doesn't sound very fun and sometimes it isn't! However, being on the same page financially is one of the best ways to bless your marriage. Even though my hubs completely trusts me with our money, I still let him know about all purchases or check with him if a purchase is more than the norm. Anytime anything is needed outside of our budget, I ALWAYS speak with him and make sure we are in agreement of how we want to spend our money. To me this is more of a RESPECT thing than a budget concern.
*Stick to the budget! A budget only works if you stick to it.
*Document EVERYTHING you spend (even the little items...they add up!) Be sure to keep your receipts and keep up with your budget. If you wait until the end of the month to document things, you've probably already gone over budget and didn't even realize it!
*Budget down to $0.00 each month. This means that every dollar and every dime is accounted for. Any money left over does NOT get spent, rather it goes into SAVINGS!
*Keep the lines of communication open with your spouse. There may be mistakes, but talk about them and try to figure out a plan to avoid the same mistake again.

Don't Go There!
*If you have issues with spending money and buying things you don't need every time you enter the mall, Target, TJMax, etc...DON'T GO THERE!
This is a 100% effective way of not overspending :) So many people I talk with say they can't walk out of a certain store without spending $20-$50. However, if they never enter the store, it can be done!

Hope this helped someone today! I promise, you can do it! You can save money (even if you never have before). Many more parts to the "How to Save Money" series coming soon!

Tuesday Blessings~
SHO

~Organize Your CHRISTmas Budget!~

Today is all about getting your CHRISTmas budget & list organized. Who couldn't use some order in this department?

How many times have you bought someone a gift & forgotten about it until just before the holiday? Of course, by then you have already purchased them something else and then you end up spending & giving more than your budget allows.

There is hope! You all know that I like spreadsheets, so start one! You don't have to do anything fancy. You can even write it down on paper. Simply have a column for the following:
Name
Gift
Budget
Actual Spent
Overage

Here is an example:
Name: Jan
Gift: Make-up
Budget: $20
Actual: $14
Overage: $6

Don't fall into the "Well, I got it on sale...so I should keep spending". Stop thinking like that. Broke people operate like that. Consider the sale a financial blessing and stop shopping. Move onto the next person on your list.

If the item purchased is $25 and you have $35 budgeted, move that $10 into an overage category. That money can be put toward something else or better yet, SAVED.
By doing this spreadsheet, you will be organized and have a grasp on your budget & holiday spending. This way you are in control & are telling your money where to go.

Trust me, this works. It makes life a lot more simple too!

Blessed~
SHO

~Budgeting your time~

I heard on the radio last week that people are spending (wasting) on average of 4.5 HOURS PER DAY on social networking websites. Are you kidding me?! Sounds like employers need to be blocking those sites, GEEZ!

If you don't think that you have time to clip coupons & save money, I encourage you to limit the time spent on the social websites and that will open up some free time. Setting up a daily time budget for social networking will allow you to still be part of it, but also limit the amount of time spent so that that you are managing your time well. After all, time is one thing we can't ever get back!

Wow, I still can't believe that statistic. Sort of sad. I've been limiting my computer time and have found that I can be SUPER productive when I'm not just sitting here in front of the screen. I've been in crazy organization mode around here. Limiting the computer time has helped along with watching our new favorite show....This is going to sound weird, but we LOVE it! "Hoarding, buried alive" (I think that is what it is called). Anyway, every time I watch it I get a sense of major anxiety and want to tackle my entire house. Just last week I organized my toilet paper! (If you know how much toilet paper I have, you know that was a chore!) I've been on top of cabinets & armoires dusting like a crazed lady. Oh, it felt good. I love feeling a sense of accomplishment!

Some of these hoarders can't even walk through their home, they are stepping on things. They can't eat because they can't see the kitchen counter tops, sink,etc. Can you imagine not being able to eat in your own home? The idea that some people are using their fridge to store more junk really upsets my stomach. Pretty crazy!

We (my fav Coach & I) always wonder how you could let stuff pile up like that? A man described it perfectly on an episode we watched the other night. He said "It's like gaining weight...you only gain a few ounces at a time and then you wake up one day FAT!" Wow, that sort of makes sense.

Okay, this post is a bit random...so I'm going to end it. Anyway, my point is to stop wasting time worrying about what your friends are up to every minute of their lives (social sites) and make great use of that time. Budgeting your time is super beneficial. Can you imagine how much ahead of the game you could be if you spent that time working on your finances? Something to think about ;)


Happy Monday!
SHO