Make a date with a friend to meet you—don’t worry if she/he can come. Go—if she shows fine—if not, read, write, eat, exercise, take some time.

Making dates can be a great strategy for many things. When we want to do something, the chances of being successful are MUCH greater if we have a very simple, clear, non-negotiable plan. Be incredibly specific—when will you do something, who will be involved, where will you do it and exactly what will you do?

Mary needed time to write grants as part of her job but other things were always getting in the way. She began scheduling meetings in her calendar with Grant W., which was really her grant writing time. Her assistant would see it and not schedule anything else for that time period. If someone was looking over her shoulder when she was checking her calendar, they would see it. Her husband eventually asked who Grant W. was!

Sandy told her friends that she was scheduled to take a cooking class every Tuesday and Thursday night for 10 weeks. In fact, she was successfully carving out time to write a cookbook but didn’t think she would have the will to resist them pressuring her to join them at the gym or to go for dinner. Be creative. What an you schedule to give you time to accomplish what you want to do.

Money Saving Tip

Speaking of scheduling…You’ve heard of “job jars”? Well, you can trick yourself into building an emergency fund by having an “emergency jar”! Cut a sheet of paper into small pieces. On each piece write down an emergency expenditure that might occur in the course of your daily life. Examples might be: need two new car tires ($200), plumber fixed the leak ($130), son’s class trip to NY ($225), owe $75 on a medical bill, etc. Each month pick an emergency expenditure from the jar and put that money into an emergency savings account. Your emergency fund will grow so when there really is an emergency, you’ll have the money to pay for it without being stressed or going into debt.

What made you smile today?

What made you proud of your money choices today?

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?

Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.
Carl Sagan

Remember how you felt when you got wonderful unexpected news? It changed everything! You smiled, laughed more easily and literally felt lighter. Everything seemed possible.

Remember your sense of satisfaction and pride when you did something you didn’t know you could do and it turned out great? What about the time you learned something that gave you a whole new way of looking at something or a new understanding that was like turning on a light?

Sometimes when we’re going through a tough period we can forget those times and can lose hope that something positive can happen. That’s exactly when it’s time to recall those wonderful moments and look for ways to create openings for those moments to happen again.

How to do that?

• Eat a good, nutritious meal you love. Get some exercise and sleep!
• Take a break to get some perspective.
• Ask for some help or another opinion.
• Do something really crazy (not dangerous or illegal but out of your comfort zone)!
• Read your wish list and your what-if-I had no obstacle lists for ideas to break the difficult momentum.
• Give yourself permission to shelf the problem for the next day, week or few months to focus on other things and maybe gather other resources.
• Ask yourself, if something wonderful were to happen tonight that was a breakthrough, what would I be doing tomorrow that would be different?

When we make space for answers and position ourselves to hear them, hope will be right around the corner waiting to brighten your day.

Money Saving Tips

Do you have a credit card that offers travel miles but you don’t use the miles? You may do better with a different credit card that offers gifts, discounts at restaurants or other purchases.

What made you smile today?

What made you proud of your money choices today?

People need joy. Quite as much as clothing. Some of them need it far more.
Margaret Collier Graham

Sometimes it makes sense to do things that seem impractical because they feed our soul. As the popular commercial says, they are “Priceless!” For example, when I lived in a small town in the Philippines as a Peace Corps Volunteer, I was incredulous that very poor people would spend so much on the annual Fiesta activities. Then I realized it was the one day they looked forward to each year when they put aside the normal life stresses, celebrated and took pride in being able to share their food with relatives and friends. Priceless! I’ve seen families pinch pennies to splurge on a beautiful painting, a piano or a special family vacation. The trick is that they saved until they could pay for it and didn’t go into debt. Their choices may have seemed frivolous, but it brought them joy that was priceless! Joy isn’t about money. It’s about touching a place deep within and making a difference for yourself or others. What can you do to have a little joy in your life today?

Money Saving Tips

If you develop pictures and have extras, instead of throwing them away, use them for bookmarks, write your grocery list on the back, use them as a reminder note or an “I love you” message to put in a child’s lunch or your partner’s pocket. Looking at the picture will make you smile and bring
you joy.

What made you smile today?

What made you proud of your money choices today?

Sure I’m for helping the elderly. I’m going to be old myself someday.

Jim thanked us when we delivered a hot meal to his home. He looked to be in his 90’s, had limited mobility and had himself delivered meals to the elderly when he was able. Although he needed some help with his meals, Jim’s life was rich. He had developed many relationships over the years and those friends routinely stopped by and cared about him.

Preparing for your future is about more than just money. A big part of it is having a lifestyle and attitude that includes people in your life who are important to you and to whom you are important.

Some great advice I heard many years ago was to have friends in every decade throughout your life. Do you include older people in your life, whether they are blood relatives or “adopted family”? Their perspective and company may add a wonderful dimension to your life. Sometimes the challenges that come with aging, which you can see firsthand when you are spending time with an older person, can remind you to slow down, be more patient and enjoy the day.

Becoming friends with people 10, 20, 30 and 40 years younger than yourself can also add another wonderful dimension to your life. Maybe it will just be a wonderful friendship or perhaps you’ll play the role of a mentor or the understanding mom or grandma who provides a safe haven. You’ll likely learn new things, gain new perspectives and have experiences and conversations that are important and meaningful. You can shape your future now by the way you create and appreciate your relationships. They can be wonderful resource in so many different ways.

Saving Tip Moneys

Professionally framing your photos or artwork can be very expensive. Instead, get great ideas by looking at professionally framed pieces that are similar to your photos or artwork. Buy pre-cut mats which are much less expensive or, if need be, purchase a custom mat….but not the whole framing package. Look for frames (and framed pictures that you can remove) in thrift stores. Clean them up or paint them and enjoy your new masterpieces!

What made you smile today?

What made you proud of your money choices today?

Money is always on its way somewhere. What you do with it while it is in your keeping and the direction you send it in say much about you.

When you get money, where does it go? If you can’t quickly answer that question, grab a pad or piece of paper and a pen, keep them handy and vow to keep track of every penny you spend for the next four weeks. Write down all the bills, the dollar you gave to someone collecting for charity, the $38 spent at the supermarket (when you were only going for milk!) and all other expenses no matter how small or routine.

The idea is not to judge your spending, but to be aware of where your money is going. Then you can look at your what you are spending on utilities, food costs, eating out/take-out costs, clothes, entertainment/recreation, etc.

After a month, you may be surprised—good or bad—by the results!  Put a star next to things that you were happy with what you spent or it was necessary.  Then look to see if there were some things that looking back, you were sorry you spent your money that way.

And lastly, see if there are some places you can cut by 10% or more to have more money to save or use differently.  It will make you feel much more in control. Once you know where the money is going, you’ll either be happy about your choices or you can look for ways to change what you’ve been doing to get the the kind of results you want.

Money Saving Tips

Students can save you money! Frequently, specialized schools offer greatly discounted services provided by students who are supervised by professionals as they are gaining valuable experience. Check out schools near you that are training students to be dentists, massage therapists, beauticians, nutritionists or dieticians, physical fitness professionals, etc.

What made you smile today?

What made you proud of your money choices today?