The Penny Pincher Primer

Car is almost paid off!!!

2009-05-31T09:25:00.001-07:00

Well, I was able to refinance my car and now I don't have a whole lot left on the loan. With that, I have decided that I want to start saving for a house. I'm using the savings help of Smarty Pig to help me stay focused on my goal and I'm tracking my progress very publicly (see the side bar). I've also been tracking my credit score, for free, at Quizzle and Credit Karma so that I know when my score is looking high enough to apply for a loan. My plan is to have a sizable down payment (I'm starting with a goal of 20,000 at this time) and have a better score than I do now (it's not so hot) and qualify for a loan before I start looking at houses, so I know exactly how much money I have to work with.

Resume Help!

2009-03-08T08:28:00.001-07:00

With times being especially tight, I know many who are working on resumes, trying to figure out what they "really" want to do, and learning to live more simply. I'm posting some links for those of you who fit into that group. ;-)

ResumeBear
JobHuntersBible
How to find your passion
How to Network: For Introverts
Simple Living Manifesto: 72 ideas to simplify your life
21 easy hacks to simplify your life

Tips for 2009

2009-01-01T11:16:00.000-08:00

Now that 2009 is here, I wanted to put up some links for how to manage one's money in the current financial state our country is in. My Two Dollars has some wonderful tips to share. I really like their idea of recording everything. I do this to stay on track with my weight loss, it only makes sense that this would help me stay on track with my budget. Sound Money Tips suggests using a money management software. I use Mint, a free money management option that is completely online. MSN has some money tips for the self-employed and 10 ways to save money in 2009. Their biggest suggestion is to save for one month's expenses. The National Foundation for Credit Counseling has a lot of advice for how to pay down your debts. If you have credit cards that you'd like to pay down, I suggest to you take a look there. Get Smart also has some tips for paying down debt. Good luck!

Blogs, Blogs, and More Blogs

2008-08-31T13:45:00.000-07:00

As I began my journey of taming the money-stealing shrew, I discovered a lot of great blogs and websites related to money management. I wish I could have had all the information at my finger tips THEN, that I have NOW. I particularly like The Passive Dad and Not Made of Money.

Something that I am going to start doing immediately is cook at home more frequently. I know, I know, I know; eating out is expensive! I eat out at least one or two times per week, but what I'm really talking about here is cooking REAL food instead of making the frozen dinners. I eat frozen dinners almost every night. At three or four dollars per dinner, this is about $20.00 per week. Although cheaper than eating at a restaurant, I could save even more money by cooking items that are more "from scratch." I found a wonderful article at The Simple Dollar that breaks the myth (that I BELIEVED) that the dollar menus found and many fast food joints are cheaper than cooking at home. I also found a great article at Get Rich Slowly about how to cook healthful meals on a tight budget.

So, beginning this week, I will stop with the frozen dinners and start cooking. I'm going to make a shopping list and post my actual savings at the end of the week. What sort of frugal recipes do you use? How do you cook on a budget?

The Envelope System

2008-08-29T16:37:00.001-07:00

I'm going to try something with my next paycheck. It's called the envelope system and a good description can be found here. I've done it before and it worked well for me. For some reason, I still have a terrible time keeping track of a debit card or a check book. If you're having a similar troubles, but aren't quiet as ready to chuck the debit card as I am, here are some sites to help you out.

Checkbook Balancing
Financial Musings
Checkbook Control

My Power Mall and Yuwie

2008-08-20T20:00:00.000-07:00

I have taken on a new venture to try out for everyone. I'll be excited to see what happens so that I can report back to you. As you may recall, I signed up Yuwie, the social networking site that promises you'll get paid. I am generating an income here, but it is taking a very long time via normal social networking use. My goal was to use this site the exact same way that I use Facebook and My Space. That means, no random adds or anything. I've been using it since June and I've earned about $ .39.

The newest venture I've decided to try for you all is My Power Mall. According to the website, this is a nine-tier shopping rebate system. My only requirement is to shop from my own store monthly to remain active. I'll keep you all posted and let you know how it goes. In the mean time, stop by and do some shopping (otherwise, how will I know if it works or not?)!

Tuesday Inspiration

2008-08-19T04:29:00.000-07:00

From the wonderful staff at Tools to Life

Focus on Empowerment

Effort only fully releases its reward after a person refuses to quit. - Napoleon Hill

Have you been looking for a while and wondering whether you will ever find that perfect job, or any job for that matter? Are things just not happening as fast as you would like? Are you starting to wonder if you will just give up? Sometimes looking for a job can feel like waiting for Christmas when you were a kid – it’s never going to get here. The good news is, Christmas does come and eventually you will get a job. What you first need to do is refuse to give up!

Second, maybe it is time to reorient your thinking in terms of your search. Let’s do some comparing. What can you influence? What not? .

What you can’t control:

The number of job postings

The type of job postings

The timing of decisions to hire

The decision to hire

Where the jobs are located

Shrinking job markets in your field or geographic area

What you can control:

How much time you spend focused on your search

Creating quality resumes and cover letters

Proactively going after positions you really want

Doing your homework before interviews

Networking with friends and colleagues to flush out new job leads

Relocating to stay in your field

Commuting farther than you are used to

Traveling for your job

Taking a part time or temporary position

Going back to school to update your skills

Changing careers to use your same skills in a new and growing field

Starting a business

Seek support and counseling for encouragement, if you wish.

It is easy to get stuck and stay stuck in victim thinking if you focus on the things you can’t control. So don’t focus on them! When you review theses lists, it is easy to see that there are many things that you can influence while job searching. Focusing on the “things I can control” list is what will keep you empowered and motivated to keep going!

Before long, the Get a Job Program is another way to stay motivated and focused on the right list. Christmas will come. Refuse to be a victim. Refuse to give up!

Feel free to share your experiences with the community by hitting the comment button.

Have a great week!

Brenda Griffin

Inspire someone you love...

If you like today's Inspiration send it to someone you care about. Brighten their day!

The Dumb Little Man Blog

2008-08-17T09:39:00.000-07:00

I stumbled upon a great blog post about how to save some money easily. Jay, over at The Dumb Little Man Blog, writes,

"Let’s keep this one simple and clean - just a bunch of relatively easy ways to save money. As you incorporate more and more of these tips into your life, the savings add up and it wouldn’t surprise me if you could save thousands over the course of a year.

It will take a little work on your part but those thousands of dollars in savings are what helped us get out of debt earlier, kept us out of debt for several years and will hopefully help us pay off our recent auto loan soon as well."

He lists some great ways to save money, most of which I'm already doing. This makes me wonder, at this point, is the only way for me to get ahead to move on to a higher paying job?

Getting to that savings goal

2008-07-29T19:01:00.000-07:00

So far, I'm utilizing Quizzle and Mint.com. Now, I'm going to give SmartyPig a try. I'll let you know how it goes! SmartyPig is a way to save for a specific goal and have others encourage me to do so. My hope is that this will REALLY help me make certain I have enough money when David and I head to the Bahamas next summer.

A new way to lend and invest!

2008-06-22T06:04:00.000-07:00

I found a great lending website. It's called Prosper and it is a peer-to-peer lending site, with a twist, the option to invest. One of my new goals is to use a loan, with considerably lower interest, to pay off a loan that I have with VERY high interest. I then plan to reinvest back into prosper, by becoming a lender, to make money. I'm excited to see how this all works!

More information

Mint, Quizzle, Clark Howard, and Saving!

2008-06-09T14:29:00.000-07:00

Okay--I have three favorite money resources. The first is Mint.com. This is one cool place that helps me really keep in line what I have and where I spend my money. I also really like Quizzle. This site helps me keep track of my what my credit score looks like and also provides a FREE credit report all the time. Finally, The Clark Howard Show, has been a super resource. I found out this week that I am paying WAY too much for my internet service. So, today, on my day off, I have started to research other internet options. I'm also comparing prices on auto insurance to see what I can do there. Another show I like to watch is Suze Orman. I have to catch bits and pieces online at CNBC, since I'm WAY too frugal to get cable or satellite.

Yuwie!

2008-06-02T19:56:00.000-07:00

Okay--here's a new one for you. . . .a social networking site that PAYS you to use it. Is this legit? I'm not sure, but I took the leap and signed up. Number one, I'm on FACEBOOK and MYSPACE. Neither of which I use too much these days. I have way to many coworkers on both sites and it really makes it difficult to separate work from home. So, I'm going to give this one a try and see what happens.

My Rocky Relationship with Money

2008-05-25T10:40:00.000-07:00

Okay, so my relationship with money has been on the rocks. It's no one's fault but my own and I'm ready to get working at it. One of the things that I'm doing is working through a program called Tools for Life. It has been WONDERFUL in my realization that I'm in control of my finances no matter how much or how little I make. Although this seems like a "duh!" moment, it really seemed, to me, that something always came up to "take my money." The truth is, if I had been saving just a little bit, all along, I would be prepared when those "things" would come up. The exercises in Tools has been crucial in this journey and I highly recommend it.

Mint.Com

2008-05-24T10:47:00.000-07:00

One of the things that I am doing right now is tracking what I spend my money on. This is pretty easy at this point because I do not use a whole lot of cash and use my debit and credit card for most purchases. The way that I'm tracking my spending is through Mint.com. It's been helpful at this point. I like that it gives me a weekly update of how much money I have in each account and when my balances drop below a certain amount. What I don't like is that I cannot get my credit union account information to show up. I've tired all the tips and ideas they suggest, but no luck.

First things, first

2008-05-24T10:28:00.000-07:00

Here we are together. You're here, I'm guessing, for the same reason that I am: you need to same money, some where, some how, with what you've got. That's partly why I'm here. The other reason is that I've got a dirty little secret. I'm a highly educated person in a great profession. I'm in the non-profit sector, so I do not have a whole lot coming in and my problem is that despite all my knowledge, I'm still no good at keeping what I have. I pay my bills on time, but I continue to end up "in the red." This happens no matter how much money I'm making and that tells me, this is a "me problem" not a problem of how much money I make. So, I'm here to work on that and track my progress. I'm also here to share any tips--what works for me and what doesn't.

Please, feel free to contact me with your own personal stories or tips!!! Let's grow, financially, together!