Save or Spend?

Growing up I was a saver.  Even after I got married, we saved.  Then somewhere along the line we started spending. And then Dan was born, and we spent more for co-payments and medical supports that weren't covered by insurance.  And now Shelby.  Thankfully we have been blessed with a basement full of toys, some of which were Dan's, others were hand me downs.  We have also been blessed with family and friends from near and far who have purchased clothes and diapers.  We did not ask for these, people just love us and love Shelby.

Which leads me to a question, or a few questions.  Would you be able to ask for financial help?  Or admit you are a saver or a spender?  Would you be able to pull youself out of a financial hole without bankruptcy?

If you've read my blog for awhile, I've written about Lauren and her website I Am THAT Lady.  Lauren started her website about 6 years ago as another piece in her quest to get out of the credit card debt that she put her family in.  Lauren has also been on Dr. Oz, the Today Show, and Good Morning America, among other shows.

Well, Lauren has a new book out, The Recovering Spender which I was thrilled to be able to preview.  In it, she details how she got into the debt (and it isn't as simple as "I charged everything on my credit card.").  After she very candidly opens up about her life, and her spending addiction, she walks you through 12 steps that she took to get herself out.  And stay out.

It's one thing to be in debt and get out.  It's another to understand why you got in debt in the first place and how you can stay out.  Lauren walks you through all the steps to understand your reasons for spending.  She makes you evaluate every dollar spent.  She helps you assess what are need and what are wants, and are your needs really your wants?  She gives you actual practical steps to take.  This isn't theory or "pie in the sky" advice.

For example, Step 5 has you printing all your credit card and bank statements for a few months and categorizing each transaction so you get an average amount of spending per category.  Later steps help you identify where you can lower your spending in certain categories.

These steps are easy enough for anyone to do them  - from a fresh out of school college student, to an established career person, to a family, to grandparents.

Even if you consider yourself a saver, or are on good financial footing, reading through her book and going through the steps if well worth it.

And for a limited time, Lauren is giving away over $100 worth of freebies if you buy the book.   These freebies include budgeting and planning worksheets and her other books!  After you buy the book, head on over to the book's website to claim your goodies.

Start the New Year off right!

This is a post I have been meaning to write all week - but I was spending time with my hubby and daughter - which was soooo worth it!

Now it is the end of the year/beginning of the year and we have all made some resolutions to help us be the best we can be in 2016. 




Lauren and Mark Greutman (from I Am THAT Lady) are offering a FREE 4 video series on restructuring your financial lives called The Financial Renovation. Here are the details on the 4 videos:

• Friday January 1st - HOW TO START A BUDGET
• Monday January 4th - HOW TO STICK TO A BUDGET WHEN THEY HAVE FAILED IN PAST
• Thursday January 7th - A COMPLETE FINANCIAL BLUEPRINT FOR 2016
• Monday January 11th - WHY NOW IS THE TIME TO START  

Head on over to her website and sign up for this free video series!  This free e-course is for you if:

• You want to learn how to budget and stick to it.
• You want to save more money on your bills.
• You want to learn how to get your spouse on board with your finances.
• You feel like you are stuck and don’t know where to turn.
• You want to get out of debt.
• or… you just want a refresher on your financial health.
• I will also give you an opportunity to go much deeper into learning how to get financial freedom in 2016.

I know that after you watch these videos you will want to sign up for her continuing 7-week video course.  She is offering some great bonuses in the 7-week course. But don't wait until February to start thinking about this.  These videos are only available until January 11th and the 7-week course is only available until January 15th!

Lauren was also on the TODAY show this morning sharing some of her favorite tips.

Both Lauren and Mark amazing people, whom I have had the pleasure of meeting a few times.  Lauren has also created these amazing $150 Aldi meal plans!  Following her over the years has helped us pay off some of the bills we had from Dan and helped us find some good deals for Shelby.


*Affiliate disclosure:  I may receive compensation if you click on the links in this post.

March goals (and an update on February)

This year I am going to do monthly goals instead of weekly.  But I will still follow the same pattern, reporting back how well I did.

So my February goals were:
Blog
1. Finish the draft blog posts. Nope.
2. Go back and finish some of the writing challenge posts, even though the Challenge was to write them that day. Nope.
3. Clean up some of the clutter on the blog page. Nope.
Didn't even blog much in February

Jamberry
1. Expand my team. Yes, added 1 team member.
2. Get a promotion. Promoted back to where I was, so I'll take it.
3. Use my Jamberry commissions to purchase the next item on the household wish list. Not exactly on the wish list, but used the commissions for the airfare for the NNPDF board meeting.

Life
1. Read the newspapers through the end of September. Got through August.
2. Finish cleaning Dan's room. Nope.
3. Take care of some Elk and NNPDF items. Oh yes, this has been all consuming!

Here are my goals for March:

February Goals (and an update on January)

This year I am going to do monthly goals instead of weekly.  But I will still follow the same pattern, reporting back how well I did.

So my January goals were:
Blog
1. Finish the draft blog posts. Nope.
2. Participate in the January writing challenge at least 2 times a week. I did good for a few weeks, but my real job took over.
3. Clean up some of the clutter on the blog page. Nope.

Jamberry
1. Expand my team. I had someone excited to join on Feb 1
2. Get a promotion. Nope.
3. Use my Jamberry commissions to purchase the next item on the household wish list. Should be able to do that shortly.

Life
1. Read the newspapers through the end of August. Nope.  Got through July and into August.
2. Finish cleaning Dan's room. Nope.
3. Post items on the Garage Sale websites to sell some stuff.  Did sell a few things.

Here are my goals for February:

January Goals

This year I am going to do monthly goals instead of weekly.  But I will still follow the same pattern, reporting back how well I did.

So my last set of weekly goals were:
1. Enjoy Christmas!  Done!
2. Finish the draft blog posts. Nope.
3. Submit the Flexible Spending Receipts. Done!
4. Start some deep cleaning/organizing. Yes!
5. Finish the July newspapers by 12/31 Nope.

My goals for January: