Archive for Overspending
Do You Have Frugal Fatigue?
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I “pinged” a poll earlier this week about results released by the Naitonal Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) to the question: Do You Have Frugal Fatigue? Here are the poll questions and results:
Do you have Frugal Fatigue?A) Yes, I am tired of pinching pennies, but will have to continue that lifestyle. 66%
B) Yes, I am tired of pinching pennies, and have decided to begin spending more. 5%
C) No, I’ve not made any spending changes in recent years. 8%
D) No, I have made lifestyle changes, but they are positive and I intend to keep them. 21%.
I’m considering that if the A’s could become D’s, it would be an awesome result. Because, really, what is the Law of Attraction and the Secret all about if not acceptance of where we are instead of fighting against what we don’t want? Acceptance allows change. Change can bring success. It feels like the 66% for Question A are complying with the lessons learned but are continuing to kick and scream. The 21% for Question D have chosen a more positive (and rewarding) lifestyle.
This is a choice between wishing things were different and accepting they are not but much good can come from the lessons learned. We will never be free as long as we are slaves to lenders. The lesson to be learned in this economy is to live within our means. It means we track expenses, create a savings plan or budget that is in line with income, and always save for the inevitable rainy day.
The article accompanying the poll summed it up like this: “Anytime a person takes control of his or her financial well-being, it’s a step in the right direction. When one in five people makes a decision to permanently alter their financial habits, presumably spending less and saving more, it potentially impacts the economy as a whole. This could be worrisome to some who encourage increased spending as a necessary component to the country’s recovery. Nonetheless, it can be argued that a financially stable household is critical to a financially stable America.”
Amen.
Why We Love Couples Counseling
Posted by: | CommentsIt’s been said the biggest cause of divorce is money troubles. I did some research last year and found that is not correct. The biggest cause of divorce is marriage!
Nonetheless, money problems rank close to the top, but the real problem is couples’ inability to effectively communicate.
When we counsel couples about money management, a natural outcome is better communication. We usually find that the one who takes care of the money is stressed out and unable to talk about it without getting mad. The other party says, “I don’t understand. I bring home my paycheck, and I expect to be able to buy something if I need it!”
When couples have a “money date” once a month, they look over everything — what they spent the previous month and what they intend to spend the coming month. With that knowledge, we often hear, “Oh, I never understood why she was so upset when I bought some fishing gear,” or “Oh, I never understood why he was so upset when I got that new pair of shoes.”
If you truly understand where your money has gone and where it needs to go, it’s easy to put off a purchase that’s not part of the plan — and it’s also possible to include a little discretionary spending fund, so you can still reward yourself once in a while.
When we do workshops, we always suggest attendees bring their spouse or another family member because the success rate goes up exponentially when you have more than one family member trying to solve the money problems!
To you best money life,
Jude
The Big Picture on Holiday Spending
Posted by: | CommentsI’m abandoning my Kiplinger Financial Quiz project because there’s so much to talk about when it comes to the Holidays… and here we are in the middle of November! 
I happened upon a website that offered a free Holiday Expense Spreadsheet. I really liked it because it considers many expenses that so often get overlooked when we consider what we need to spend this time of year. So, the big picture is not only the gifts (there’s a separate Gift Giving Worksheet you can access from the above link), but items such as a tree, decorations, all the food — not just the Holiday meal — and special entertainment, clothing and charitable donations. This worksheet also considers sources of available money and a plan for meeting any shortfall!
I wish you the best with this and hope you will let me know how it works out for you. In the meantime, I’m getting to work on mine right now.
Happy Holidays to you and yours!
