My 2Cents!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~A Newsletter all about Living with Abundance, Ditching Debt and Collecting Cash.
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------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Janine Bolon, Editor janine@smartcentsinc.com
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In this issue -- Note from the Editor: Try out our Blog -- Spring Cleaning Your Finances -- Clearing the Cobwebs of Clutter -- Reader Question: Can I Donate to a Charity in a Family Member’s Name? -- WHO WE ARE
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Note from the Editor ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dear Frugal Friend, Finally, taxes are done and I can focus on other things! First off, it is time for a major spring cleaning in my home. We have a wood stove that we use to heat the house during the winter. For any of you who have wood stoves as a primary source of heat you know that such creatures belch dust and ash like a volcano no matter how you try to contain the emissions. Now that the weather has warmed up it is time to open windows and give the whole house a shakedown from ceiling to baseboards. There are two articles this week on clearing out the old and bringing in the new. The first is “Spring Cleaning Your Finances” that gives several tips on how to rework your financial savings goals. How are you doing on your short and long term financial goals? If you’re not accomplishing your goals, then what is the break in the system you’re using? Do you need to change your system or your goals? The second article deals with the Battle of the Bulge. That is the bulge of cupboards, drawers and closets from being packed with too much stuff. “Clearing the Cobwebs of Clutter” will guide you through some techniques I use to attack and manage the amount of stuff that wanders into my home in the dark of the night. I am still amazed that I can clear out a closet and within a year it is back to bulging again. Here are the tricks I use to keep stuff in my life to a minimum. This month was also the beginning of my blog! The Money Muse is now in action for those of you who wish to participate in a virtual discussion. Stop by: http://themoneymuse.blogspot.com/ Join in as we wealth accumulators chat about savings, debt and hope. Wishing you abundance, Janine Spring Cleaning Your Finances ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The spring rains have started in my area of the country and with it comes a refreshing perspective and view out of my living room window. I have an apple tree that is in full bloom and it reminds me that it is time to do a bit of cleaning as spring makes its presence known. Part of that financial refurbishment is to look at last year’s numbers and compare them to what I plan on doing this year. I realize many of you have already gone through the pain of taxes and you really don’t want to dwell on all that occurred in 2006, but I highly recommend that you look at the money that you spent and what it purchased along with the money you saved and how your investments turned out. Now is an excellent time to change your financial focus for the better. If you are at all displeased by last year’s numbers, then here are some steps that can assist you in evaluating what financial goals you need to set for the rest of 2007. 1- Give your accountant another week to calm down after tax season and make an appointment to discuss your financial situation. What can you do to lower your tax burden? Are there any investments, accounts or decisions you need to make within this quarter to change your financial assets for the year? If you own your own business, are there some new systems you could use to make your accounting go quicker, etc. Now is the time to make changes so that your 2007 tax season isn’t so hectic. 2- Look over your financial statements for the past two years and see how your situation has changed. This is a big eye opener for many folks. Often we focus so heavily on the financial challenges we’ve had (lost job, medical bills, increased debt, etc.) that we forget all the great things we’ve done this past year (saved more money then expected, opened an IRA, or donated money to charity in larger quantities. By looking over what you have done you’ll see that you’re actually doing really well in your financial life considering the challenges you’ve faced. 3- Establish fresh financial goals. How are you doing on your savings account? Have you put as much money in your IRA as the government allows? Do you have an opportunity to save enough money to open a Money Market Account? Create a new goal sheet for your savings and set about making it happen. Forget what you told yourself you were going to do in January of this year. The point is this, set a new goal and continue striving toward it no matter if all you can save per paycheck is $20. Set a reasonable goal and do it. 4- Determine what you want. Much of the over consumption that we engage in is due to our lack of focus. What is it that you really want? Is it a $6,000 piece of art? Is it a Mickey Mantel baseball card? Is it a $14,000 antique? If you sit and really consider what you want, then you will find your savings goals easier to achieve. It is even better if you place a picture of the item you are saving for in a conspicuous place to keep you inspired to reach your goal. By obtaining advice from financial professionals, going over your past financial statements and focusing on new goals you will give yourself an opportunity to change your financial situation by changing your choices. To change your choices, you are required to have a different perspective and if you want a different perspective you need data. So, give yourself the time to gather the data that is so near to hand. Instead of filing all those tax returns into a box and ignoring them as a necessary evil, pull out the last few years and see what adjustments you can make that will change your bottom line. Clearing the Cobwebs of Clutter ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The joys of spring cleaning are upon us. As I start to dig my house out of the dust and dirt of winter (we use a wood stove for heat) I understand the importance of this annual exercise. Not only do I cringe at all the little spots around my home that are harboring dust bunnies in rampant run away populations, but I also see just how much stuff has accumulated in cupboards, on top of book cases and inside closets. Aside from the obvious dust, there is the sudden realization that during winter my family was busy packing away stuff into nooks and crannies that were all cleared out last summer. Sigh. It is the semi-annual battle. My own version of the battle of the bulge! I have noticed in the lives of my clients that the amount of stuff one has in the home is an indirect relationship to the amount of money they have in their savings account. It is an amazing bit of math, but it holds true. In my travels I have seen that the wealthier a person was the less “stuff” was in their home, office and properties. I was amazed that they always seemed to have really good quality “stuff,” but they didn’t have an over abundance like I saw in my grandparents and other friends’ houses. The I stumbled on a book called, “Clutter’s Last Stand” by Don Aslett. The King of Clutter. After reading that book and realizing my home was stuffed, I resolved to clear clutter from my life. At the time of this experience I lived in Southern California in a 1,500 square foot town house with 3 bedrooms and two baths and four children. I decided that I was going to do away with everything that did not serve me. If I didn’t like it or if we hadn’t used it in several years, I got rid of it. What amazed me was after spending every day for 2 weeks going through each room, drawer, closet and cupboard; I had 42 large diaper boxes of stuff that I was donating to the local thrift store. I was dumbfounded that I had that much stuff! Some embarrassing things that I found in my campaign on clutter were: 3 hot water bottles/heating pads for muscle pain 4 thermometers for taking a human’s temperature 8 pairs of scissors 8 bread pans (I only made 2 loaves of bread at any one time) 1 tent without poles 1 broken coffee pot (why didn’t I just throw it out?) This list demonstrated to me that I had to stay constantly vigilant against clutter. Before you launch into your own clutter campaign, might I recommend a few tips in preparation? 1- Do Not throw out anything that doesn’t belong specifically to you. I can think of no better way to court disaster than to start working on a mess that is your spouse’s. Right now we are taking care of your clutter. So, stick with that. Even if your spouse has the “Packrat of the Year” award, I hear this all the time from my clients; the point is, keep your fingers off their stuff and worry only with your stuff. 2- Start small and do one area a day. When I first mention decluttering the home the first thing clients tell me is, “Great we clear the garage this weekend!” This is foolhardy because you are attacking a mess that has been around so long roots have formed in the lower regions of the foundation. Start with small things first like, your wallet, your purse or backpack and then move on to the bathroom. Even better work on the medicine chest. How many medications are expired? When was the last time you needed a glass thermometer? Have you ever used that travel shampoo? Get rid of it! 3- After you’ve cleared out your bathrooms then work on the hallway closet or entry way closet. Do you really need 5 jackets for every member of your family? How many t-shirts do you actually wear? I had one client who owned 21 pairs of jeans. She was able to cut her wardrobe by two-thirds over a weekend just by getting rid of clothes. She told me she felt like she had lost 200 pounds that weekend because she could actually find stuff in her closet and drawers. 4- Only after you have gone through every area of your house would I ever recommend that you lay siege to your garage. Plan a weekend for that project and make sure you have lots and lots of garbage bags and boxes to cart stuff away. If you have storage units that are costing you money to keep, then go clean those out next. How much stuff are you keeping for other people? Have them come by and pick it up. It is time for you to start living your life not storing a “would-be” life. By ridding yourself of all the things that do not serve you, you will find that you actually feel lighter. Decluttering becomes addictive after awhile. You see how good you feel without so many material things draining your time, money and space that you actively screen items coming into your home. Have a great time this spring season cleaning out all those areas of your home that have become dark and dank with “too much.” Lighten your load emotionally and physically by getting rid of items that don’t serve you. Reader Question: Can I Donate to a Charity in a Family Member’s Name? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Janine: I recently had a family member pass away. Will I break the flow of money if I donate to a charity in my family member’s name? -Anne Little Rock, Arkansas Anne, You will not break the flow of money by donating in your family member’s name. The issue with philanthropy and the flow of money is do you receive some benefit by donating to a particular organization? I don’t mean the “gifts” that some groups give donors for various sized donations, but rather that your family would receive a direct benefit from the organization. A good example is boy scouts. I have many clients who have sons in boy scouts and they like to donate to that organization, but in order to keep the flow of money cycling, they have to make sure their charitable contributions are for the benefit of the entire organization. They don’t want to donate directly to their particular pack because their sons would receive a direct benefit from this donation. Does this help? As long as you are donating to a charity and your family does not receive any direct assistance from the donation, the flow of money will be fine. Do You Have a Question for the Next Newsletter? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If you've got a question you want me to address in the next newsletter, type it up and please send it to janine@smartcentsinc.com with the subject line "My 2Cents Question." My 2Cents will feature a question each issue from the Frugal Friends Network. If you wish to remain anonymous, not a problem! Just state that in your email. Money…It’s Not Just for Rich People! LIVE! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Here is the simple financial system you’ve been waiting for! No crazy budgets, no incomprehensible financial jargon, just every day language and easy-to-understand exercises to rocket you out of debt and guide you to a wealth accumulation lifestyle. SmartCents is all about changing people’s mentality from financial scarcity to that of abundance. Usually this is done in a two day seminar where you are given exercises and are shown the flow of money and how to partition your money according to the 60/40 Principle. SmartCents has made this two day seminar available on a 5 CD set. It was recorded live so you can hear questions from the audience as well as get a dose of Janine’s wacky humor as she presents the principles she has used to create financial independence for her family and hundreds of others. You can order your set for only $80 (includes shipping) at: http://www.speakupproductions.com/Money_Live.htm
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ WHO ARE WE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SmartCents, Inc. is a company dedicated to bringing the systems of debt-free living to as many people as possible. We wish our students to go out and make their communities stronger by building financial security within their personal lives first and then demonstrating the conserver lifestyle to others.
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