www.freecreditfixes.com : hypnobudgets

I’ve had ENOUGH - Jul 31, 2007

Enough: Lifestyle and financial panning for a simpler life.
Betty Jane Wylie

Published in 1998 this book covers many subjects and is a fairly easy read. While it’s over all theme focus is on simplifying our increasingly chaotic lifestyles, it offers some sound budgeting and money saving strategies for every lifestyle.

While discussing consumption there is one quote she uses that sticks with me the most. “Nothing that costs only a dollar is worth having’—Elizabeth Arden. How many of use truly believe this? Maybe without even realizing that we do? Probably the majority. And that’s a great place to start. Our attitude towards life in general and our relationship with money. Where did the idea that bigger, more expensive products equaled better? Advertisements. The subtle and not so subtle message are aimed at us practically from the time we are born. Telling us that brand name is better. Trying to make us feel inferior or deprived if we don’t buy their often over priced items that we don’t really need and in far too many cases don’t’ even use after the first month or so. Advertisers spend big money thinking up new and subtle ways to try and make us believe we need their product and their brand. Breaking their hold on us and our idea that more is better is essential to simplifying our lives, and our expenses as well.

Once we begin to learn and believe that …

Budgeting 101: The secret of the Envelopes - Jul 22, 2007

It’s Sunday and I’m counting down the hours until I can pick up my check tomorrow and have money again. I planned poorly for paying my dental bill upfront and so this week has been much harder then it needed to be. I knew better too. Do you also sometimes have trouble covering bill, scrambling at the last minute to come up with the money? Living on oatmeal and Ramen Noodles for a week isn’t much fun. And yet we do this to ourselves over and over.

At least we aren’t alone. It is estimated that 40% of the population lives paycheck to paycheckwith very little, if anything at all, leftover after covering basic expenses. With little in savings and credit cards an all too convenient temptation to cover the basics, getting ourselves in deeper debt it may be time to try and change our ways a little bit. There is hope. It’s something called ‘the envelope method’ and I have personal experience that it does work. When I use it that is. I don’t know where it originated, or who used it first, but it sure can make life easier to manage for those us who aren’t in the Forbes Four Hundred. Although this method may not work for some, it does seem to work for most people that stick to it.

Its basically a cash payment system an envelope is used as the payee. Several envelopes. …

Page 1 of 1 pages