Inspired Savings

One in five women in our study said she had a secret stash of money her partner didn’t know about—that’s twice the number of men with a secret stash.

According to Dychtwald’s study, 70% of women who kept a secret stash said it was a hedge against economic disaster—specifically, against financial emergency (52%) or desertion by her partner (18%). I found similar results for women in a study I did interviewing men and women about managing money within a marriage.

Initially, women told me they believed in being open and honest about money, but after nineteen minutes many stopped saying what they consciously believed and shared (frequently without realizing it!) what they really felt! Many said they didn’t trust their husbands to be responsible and, while most had no specific reason, others had trust issues related to abuse of alcohol or drugs, gambling, lack of impulse control or always needing to be the big spender to impress others.

Many women simply resented their husbands questioning their spending, especially when the woman was the primary earner. If husbands knew there was more money available, one woman said her husband would just get more “toys” and another said her husband would interpret that as him having more freedom to just leave his job.

When women felt their values differed from their husbands, especially with regard to children and parents, they hid money so they could secretly do what felt right to them. Examples included paying on the sly for their children’s education or providing extra living expenses, giving financial help to a parent and splurging on their daughter’s prom dress or wedding. Are you hiding money or keeping money secrets from your significant other? Would your relationship benefit from being more open and trusting?

Money Saving Tips

Inter-generational socializing and shopping can have big benefits. Not only does it provide opportunities to share experiences and build memories, it can save money! Some supermarkets and department stores offer senior discounts of 5-15% one day a week. Seniors can get a lifetime pass for $10 to National Parks that covers everyone in the car. Check for senior bargains at state parks as well.

What made you smile today?

What made you proud of your money choices today?

Money is like manure; it’s not worth a thing unless it’s spread around encouraging young things to grow.

Maimonides, a 12th century Jewish scholar, developed the ladder of giving. There are eight rungs on the ladder each representing a higher degree of virtue:

• The lowest: Giving begrudgingly and making the recipient feel disgraced or embarrassed.
• Giving cheerfully but giving too little.
• Giving cheerfully and adequately but only after being asked.
• Giving before being asked.
• Giving when you do not know who is the individual benefiting, but the recipient knows your identity.
• Giving when you know who is the individual benefiting, but the recipient does not know your identity.
• Giving when neither the donor nor the recipient is aware of the other’s identity.
• The Highest: Giving money, a loan, your time or whatever else it takes to enable an individual to be self-reliant.

How do you use your money to help yourself, others and ideas to grow? You can make a difference.

Money Saving Tips

Save a little energy and money when you cook more efficiently. By cooking in the smallest pan possible and using a lid, food heats, boils and cooks more quickly.

What made you smile today?

What made you proud of your money choices today?

There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself

When I went back to my elementary school twenty years after moving away, I was shocked at how small it was. I remembered long hallways, cavernous stairways and so many rooms that it was easy to get lost. In fact, I had recurrent dreams of being lost in this huge, confusing building. Being an adult gave me such a different perspective! Have you had that experience?

A different story about changed perspective happened years later when I reconnected with someone from high school. She was a lovely woman and very successful in her field. At first, I thought she had changed dramatically. Then I realized that although she had developed her skills over the years, she had always been powerful and influential. I just didn’t have the experience and perspective to recognize it back then. When you revisit a place or reconnect with a person, what do you learn about yourself? I bet you will see your own growth and development as you look at things from the perspective of being older, more experienced and wiser.

Money Saving Tips

If your car is more than five years old, you may be paying more in premiums than you could get back in claims. According to Kiplinger’s Reports, if you car is worth less than ten times the cost of the annual premium, consider canceling collision and comprehensive coverage. It could save you 25-40% on your insurance. (If you are still paying for your car, your lender may require collision insurance.)

What made you smile today?

What made you proud of your money choices today?

You are in control of your life. Don’t ever forget that. You are what you are because of the conscious and subconscious choices

Think about having to go to a job you dislike, visiting your least favorite relatives or waiting in a long, slow line at the store. First, see yourself annoyed, feeling put-upon and focused on all the unpleasantness you associate with the situation.

What do you look like and what does your body language say? What will you say and how will your voice sound? How will people react to you? Then replay the same situation in your mind but with the attitude that you are okay and even happy to be there. How will you look and sound? What will you say? Do you think people will react differently to you?

Now see yourself in a situation where you would normally spend money in a way you will later regret, either being too cheap or too impulsive. While you may have done that subconsciously in the past, picture yourself doing it differently next time. What will change about how you look, sound and what you say and do? By making choices ahead of time, it will influence your outcomes. You’ll be prepared to act differently. You can choose to make choices you will be proud of!

Money Saving Tips

The U.S. Dept. of Energy reminds us to clean air filters and registers regularly. It makes your heating and air conditioning more efficient and avoids bigger problems later. They also recommend minimizing the use of your kitchen and bath ventilating fans since they can draw all of the heated air out of a home in just one hour.

What made you smile today?

What made you proud of your money choices today?

There is no security on this earth, there is only opportunity.

Being resilient means being able to bounce back. Our jobs, health, relationships and financial situation—none of them are guaranteed for life. Just being aware that we can’t predict the future gives us the opportunity to do some positive “what if…” thinking.

So, think about a time when you suffered a loss, experienced a rejection or failed. What helped you move on? Did you need to pull back for a while and let others take care of you before you could venture forth again? Did you jump into something new and, if so, did that work or was it a disaster? Was a particular person supportive and what type of support did you find most helpful? What did you learn about yourself and what strengths did you find? By being aware of what personal resources you bring to any challenging situation, you can be more resilient. That knowledge can help you turn adversity into opportunity.

Money Saving Tips

Don’t throw away that old leaky garden hose! Punch holes in it and use is as a drip hose to water your plants or lawn. Sprinklers will require 50-60% more water than a drip hose because of the loss of water to sun and wind as the sprinkler water goes into the air.

What made you smile today?

What made you proud of your money choices today?