My 2Cents!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~A Newsletter all about Living with Abundance, Ditching Debt and Collecting Cash.
Welcome to the Frugal Friends Network where We turn the Middle Class into Millionaires. Sponsored by SmartCents, Inc.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Janine Bolon, Editor janine@smartcentsinc.com
[NAME] Welcome to MY 2Cents!
You are receiving this newsletter compliment of SmartCents, Inc. To opt out, please scroll down to the bottom of this newsletter. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In this issue -- Note from the Editor -- Tracking Elusive Prey: Pesky, Petty Purchases -- Money…It’s Not Just for Rich People! CD set -- Clearing Clutter: Disposing of Prescription Medications -- Read Along with Me: God wants You to be Rich -- Charity Highlight: Happy Hats for Kids -- WHO WE ARE
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note from the Editor ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dear Frugal Friend, I hope you are ready for the excitement that’s brewing specifically for you in this week’s newsletter! There are new additions to My 2Cents that will contribute to your ability to save and communicate with the large community that makes up The Frugal Friends Network. To start it off we have an article on the value of tracking expenses. You know that part of the financial principle that we want to avoid at all costs? Well, “Tracking Elusive Prey: Pesky, Petty Purchases” will give you a few tips and tricks to use while bringing home those elusive expenses! Next, a quick review of safe tips for Medication Disposal procedures. We’re focusing here on prescription pharmaceuticals that have expired and languish in your medicine chest. Since you are busy decluttering your cupboards and closets(spring cleaning time is here), I thought we’d discuss what to do with those pesky pills that were for an illness oh, so long ago. Two new segments have been added to My 2Cents. The first “Read Along with Me” will focus on the book that yours truly is currently reading and will be discussing on The Money Muse Blog. (http://themoneymuse.blogspot.com) Each month you can choose to read along with the rest of the Frugal Friends Network as we discuss financial stability topics while reading various books. If you have a suggestion for future books and topics, email me! I’d love to hear from you, Janine@smartcentsinc.com. The second addition this month is Charity Highlight. This suggestion came from Amber of Southern California. She has been working with a local charity and asked if I would start highlighting different philanthropic organizations in each newsletter to give other frugal friends ideas on where their philanthropic dollars can be donated. As we move out of the April Showers and into the May Flowers, set your fingers to the keyboard and join the Frugal Friends Network as we inspire one another to greater efforts on the discussion boards. Keep your momentum going by chatting in the virtual world with real people about the successes, challenges, emotions and fun that makes the journey to financial independence so exciting. Wishing you abundance, Janine Tracking Elusive Prey: Pesky, Petty Purchases ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Face it most of us don’t know where our money is going. The simplest and easiest way to get a handle on what is happening each month is to track those daily, pesky purchases. Many of the clients that I have coached over the past three years found this exercise the most difficult! Why? Because they expected this daily drill of tracking to be difficult. Trust me, people, this doesn’t have to be challenging. This isn’t like tracking a buffalo across the plains before you get dinner. This is just tracking the money that leaves your possession. Here are a few pointers that I have learned to make it easy. 1- K.I.S.S: This small acronym single handedly keeps me from creating complex systems of tracking. What does it stand for? Keep it simple silly! Whatever system you use to track your expenses, please, please keep it simple. You don’t need a detailed map of every little penny and what it bought. What you are after is a spreadsheet that will allow you to see patterns in your spending behaviors so that you can delete those purchases that don’t give you value added for the money spent. 2- Change is good. Sometimes you create a system for tracking that just plain doesn’t work. Remember you want to see your financial spending patterns so rather than totally giving up on tracking, change the system you use! Instead of saving up all your receipts to the end of the month and entering all of them in one block of time, why not spread the effort out by entering your expenses on a weekly basis. As for me, I have to enter my expenses daily; otherwise I’ll let them sit for a month or two before entering them. 3- Should you be the one entering the data? I have had many clients over the years tell me that one of the major stumbling blocks for them entering the daily expenses was they weren’t the ones that should be doing it. As soon as they gave the responsibility over to a spouse or older child, the expenses were soon being done quickly and effectively without the stress being upon their shoulders. All they had to do was make sure the information was available at the end of each week. 4- Never Give Up. The single best advice I can give on tracking expenses is never stop trying to find a simpler system or a better way. No matter how many times you try this exercise and end up getting frustrated with it, keep on tracking. Don’t worry about the past; just keep on recording and looking for patterns in your spending. As one mom told me, “Janine, I was all upset one month that I didn’t have as much money for groceries then I saw that we had spent over $450 on medical expenses!” That single bit of data was enough for her to see why she had run low on disposable income that month. The quickest way to save money and lower your expenses is to know where your money is going. By having that information at hand, you can see the spending patterns of your life. How your spending is determined by your emotional state will also become clear to you. You will then be able to avoid or delay your impulse purchases or angry buying sprees because you have hunted down those elusive expenses and you are now purchasing items that are in line with your goals and reflect what you find most important in life. Money…It’s Not Just for Rich People! LIVE! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Here is the simple financial system you’ve been waiting for on a 5 CD set! 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 my wacky humor. You can order your set for only $80 (includes shipping) from: http://www.speakupproductions.com/Money_Live.htm Clearing Clutter: Disposing of Prescription Medications ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~A few weeks ago I gave a workshop in Virginia. During this two day event, I had a participant ask me an interesting question. “Janine, you mention decluttering as a primary point of wealth, but what do you do with all those expired prescriptions? My knee jerk reaction to the question was what I had always seen my mom do with outdated medicines, “I flush them down the toilet.” Well, that was NOT the correct response. Sigh. I had a few folks quickly point out my error by bringing up statistics on water pollution and how “bad” it is to flush products such as these into city treatment systems. I decided that I needed a bit more education on the topic and did an internet search. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) suggest when disposing of unused, unneeded or outdated medicines one should: • take the products out of their original containers; • mix the drugs with used coffee grounds, cat litter or other undesirable substances to ensure they are not diverted or accidentally ingested by children or pets; • seal the mixture in impermeable, nondescript containers such as empty jars or sealable bags; and • throw these containers in the trash. It is my hope that you, dear reader, are more up-to-date then I was. However, if by chance you too grew up in a rural area and watched your parents use the septic system as a catch all for such potentially hazardous products, then here you go. The official guidelines from major agencies of health on what to do with those little pill bottles that need to be discarded. This keeps the water safe, the children and pets safe and gives you a fresh start on removing clutter from your cabinet. Thank you, Dumfries, Virginia, for setting me on the right path of Prescription Disposal! Read Along with Me: May’s book, “God wants You to be Rich” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~This new section of My 2Cents was the brain child of a student of mine. I had been coaching this 16 year old on money for 2 months when he asked me for the address of my blog. I asked him, “Why should I blog?” He simply stated, “Because that way I can hold a conversation with you that is in writing and ask my friends to join in!” I had many objections to blogging, but as I developed the site and began writing articles it became clear that this was an excellent way to hold discussions with people and keep folks motivated as we all work toward a more financially stable situation. So here is the plan. Each month I read a book about something financial. Prior to each read, I’ll let you know in the newsletter what book has caught my eye and you can join me in the read. The book I’m reading for May is, “God wants you to be Rich,” by Paul Pilzer. (Thank you, Bonnie, for the recommendation)You can get a used copy of this book off the web for around $3-$5. Read the book and join in the discussions as we go chapter by chapter. I look forward to reading your comments and I welcome suggestions for what June’s book should be. Stop by the blog and chat for a bit(or is that a byte?) http://themoneymuse.blogspot.com/ Charity Highlight: Happy Hats for Kids ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Thanks to Amber in California, this new section will focus on a philanthropic organization that is not only doing great work, but is also a “known” entity to the Frugal Friends Network. Amber has been working on the development of the web site for Happy Hats with Kids and I have also had the pleasure of talking with Sheri Schrier the Founder and Executive Director of Happy Hats. Happy Hats for Kids was started in 1991 by Sheri Schrier (a hat designer) after the loss of her younger brother, father and grandmother to cancer. She saw the physical and emotional trauma caused by hair loss from chemotherapy, as well as the unseen wounds of loss of self-esteem, isolation, sadness and fear. Schrier transformed her own grief into a deep desire to bring joy to every hospitalized child. Stop by the web site www.happyhatsforkids.com for more information on the different programs they have along with the really cool hats. I spoke with Sheri this week about the current plans she has for Happy Hats and she mentioned that they will be making a massive print run of a book to hand out with the Hats for each child (The Hero Club)in their sponsored hospitals. If you would like to know if Happy Hats is in your area or if you wish to assist Happy Hats start in your area, write Sheri an email: happyhatsforkids@aol.com. Also, if you have a charity that you’ve seen in action and want me to extol its virtues as well as interview the CEO in a future newsletter send an email with “Charity Highlight” in the subject heading along with the web site and primary contact person to: Janine@smartcentsinc.com. 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 "Newsletter 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.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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.
To schedule a seminar or consultation, send your e-mail to themoneymuse@gmail.com with the subject line "Financial Services Info." You can also visit our Web site at www.smartcentsinc.com.
Reprint permission ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~You are welcome to reprint any items from "My 2Cents Newsletter." However, please credit us as a source with the following paragraph:
Reprinted from "My 2Cents newsletter," a free ezine offering financial systems for debt reduction, wealth accumulation and the conserver lifestyle. http://www.smartcentsinc.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Like this newsletter? Pass it on!
We never rent or sell subscriber lists to any third party. Your privacy is very important to us. Always. To subscribe to this newsletter, click here: www.smartcentsinc.com.
----------------------------Copyright 2006 SmartCents, Inc.----------------------------
Contact Information ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~email: Janine@smartcentsinc.com web: http://www.smartcentsinc.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Your Subscription:
