Freebies in the Mail

You can get freebies in the mail, just for signing up! Here are a couple of freebie sites I have used and have had no problems. You have to be careful with some sites. I made an email account for these sites as they tend to sent out a lot of spam.

http://freebies.org/

http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/free-stuff/

Happy Savings!

Eat for 2 at McDonald's for $4.61!!

I met my husband in town for lunch the other day. There is no need to break the bank for a lunch date. I ordered 2 McDoubles, which are larger burgers than a plain cheeseburger (but are about .50 less than the double cheeseburger) for a total of $2.98. We split some fries for $1.39 and then got 2 waters for a total of $4.61.

When we were younger, we would not have done this. We simply would not have been able to afford it! For an even less expensive lunch date, a brown bag PBJ lunch in the car is even less! However, most people order meals for each person which can run about $5.00 or $6.00 each. No need to do that! The truth is, I think my husband would like to do that and when I'm not around, he usually spends more. When I am with him, I usually have a coupon of some kind (no matter where we go to eat) and he tolerates my frugality because he knows it's for the greater good. He will say (with resignation) "What can I get?" or sometimes, he just has me order because I know what he likes and what will fit in with my cheapskate ways. In the long run, he is usually appreciative.

Happy savings!

What are Your Financial Goals?

It is my belief that people who learn to grow the money they have usually think differently than the rest of the populace. First of all, you don't have to be rich to grow your money. Anyone can do it. So, the first rule of growing money is to know that you can grow your money with whatever you are starting with. Many people have a defeatist attitude to start with: "I'll never have anything". "Why bother?" "I was born poor and I'll die poor." With this type of thinking, they are right. They will die poor.

Rule #1 I can grow my money.

The next step in growing your money is to decide why you want to grow your money. Is it because you want to be able to buy a lot of things? People in this category need to be careful that they do not fall into a catch 22. To some people, having a lot of things is important. For this type of person, the challenge is to discipline yourself long enough to save. And this type of person will also probably need to "reward" themselves along the way sometimes in order to not feel discouraged.

Rule #2 Figure out why you want to grow your money.

For some people, they want time to do what they want. Having the time to do what you want can be a great measurement of success. If you don't have to sell all your time for a paycheck, you can have the time to do what you want more often.

Some people want to be popular and have lots of friends and this means having money to do things with people and sometimes to impress them. So, each type of person needs to figure out what their goal for saving money is and then fill in this blank:

When I grow my money I can.......




This will help you stick to your goals. This will also help to motivate you to work hard.

Rule #3 Figure out how you are going to grow your money.

This will vary widely for different people depending where you are and what your goals are. For some, this might mean paying down credit card debt and stopping from getting any late fees on phone bills etc. For this type of person, self discipline is usually where it starts. Stop buying that Dr. Pepper at the convenience store. Stop buying on impulse. Take on a second job if need be no matter how small and use that to pay down debt and pay your bills on time.

For those who already have those parts under control, it is about saving what you have. That also takes discipline. Many people can pay their bills from month to month and have no overdraft fees etc, but they have no money saved. They spend what extra they have on going out to eat with friends or taking vacations which are needed and well and good, but you could have friends over for a movie and popcorn instead and explain to them what you are doing. (Maybe they will join you!) You will need money for retirement and other emergencies. 6 months of living expenses is what is usually recommended for emergency purposes.

Once you get your 6 months of emergency expenses, it's time to live it up, right? Wrong! Now is the time to save for investing. Once you have saved enough money for some investments it is time to figure out how to invest that money. There are a number of ways people choose to do this. You could open that business you've always wanted to but never had the money to do it. You could invest in the stock market. You could buy some rental properties and gain some cash flow and equity all paid for by other people while you do what you want to do with your time!

Different people will have different goals for their lives but I think one thing remains true for most people....most people don't like having to punch a clock for someone else who makes more money than you for your work and gives you a part of it for your time. So, what are your goals? What works for you? How can you make the most of what you have and grow what you have and ultimately feel happier with your state and choices in life? Making these decisions will help set you on a good path and help you stay motivated to save.

Happy Savings!