Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!

We just want to take a few minutes and wish all our readers a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!  For some of you 2010 may have been challenging with budget cuts, layoffs and cutbacks, but lets look forward to a bright and prosperous 2011 as we set new goals and resolutions to become more physically, emotionally, and financially fit.  We'd love to hear from you so let us know how your new year is shaping up and if you have some specific topics you'd like us to discuss.  Once again, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

Sincerely,

Greg and Jody Roche
Be Frugal Live Wealthy

Check your receipt, it may save you money!!

We went out at 5 am to brave the crazy drivers, determined shoppers, and door busting sales to save some money on our Christmas shopping.  After all we can sleep later right?  After we spent several hours at 3 different stores, making sure the items were marked right and the rebates were correct and going over item by item I asked Jody if she would mind going over the receipt with me to make sure we weren't overcharged.  It was well worth it to take a few minutes to scan our receipt for errors.  Below I've given some tips on checking your receipt.

• Don't throw away your receipt!!! - If you throw away your receipt you may regret it later.  If you choose to take back your item you may only get an in-store credit instead of a full refund.
• Check you receipt right after you go through the checkout stand - If you wait until you get into the car or at home you may forget or think it's not worth it and throw your receipt away.   You may have passed up pennies or maybe even dollars
• Make a mental note or write down the prices of the items as they are checked - My wife keeps a good tab on the prices of the items and likes to monitor them as they are rung up.  This way she's able to make corrections before the money even comes out of her pocket
• Make sure you can see your discount on the receipt - If the checker charges you full price make sure you see a discounted amount.  Some stores put their discounted amounts right after the respective item and others show the discounted value on the bottom of the receipt.  We like to see them right after the item because this allows you to see it right away.  If it's at the bottom of the receipt it's difficult to keep your discounts straight and accurate.

We had an experience the other day that emphasized the need to check your receipt.  We had purchased some Christmas lights and made sure we kept the receipt.  We paid a certain price for the lights but thought we had paid more, so when we took it back we received less than we expected.  We checked our receipt and found it was our mistake.

If you have an experience or a tip that allows you to save money by keeping and checking your receipt, make a comment on this blog.

Thank you,

So you want to have a holiday party…and not go broke

As part of your holiday experience you may want to invite a few friends over and have a little get-together.  This can be a major expense or you can plan carefully and save money, but still have a classy party.  Here are some suggestions that might help you be terrific, smooth, and have a great time also.

• Set a budget for the party.  Setting a budget will keep you from overspending and help you make sure you have enough in your spending plan for the rest of the season.
• Schedule your party in the evening after dinner or in the afternoon after lunch, then you won’t be expected to serve dinner. You can serve appetizers or snacks to your guests.
• If you choose to have dinner invite your guests to bring a salad or side dish and you provide the main course. This won’t only cut down on the money you spend but also on the preparation time for your party.
   
• If you choose to decorate your home keep it simple yet homey.  Use simple decorations or even  homemade ornaments.
• For entertainment have a game night and ask everyone to bring their favorite game or create an opportunity for everyone to mingle. It may be more fun to be able to reconnect and create new friendships.

A site I recently learned about has a neat article of how to prepare for holiday entertaining.  Click this link and see some more great tips.

Save Money over the Holidays

As we prepare for Christmas with its parties, baking, and of course-gifts to unwrap, I'd like to discuss with you some ways we can be live within our means and still have a Merry Christmas.  I love Christmas but it can be hard on your spending plan unless you prepare for it.  Those of you who have prepared for it, give yourself a pat on the back!!  For those who haven't we have some tips that might help.

Holding fast to the idea of a cash only policy which I wrote about a few weeks ago, I'd like to discuss with you a possible hurdle that you may experience at Christmastime.  You may be tempted to use credit because you don't have enough money to purchase all the gifts you wish.  I've heard of families that put all their Christmas purchases on a credit card and spend the next year paying them off...with interest.  The challenge with this is the excitement of the gifts received goes away long before the feeling of paying things off.

Don't be like the young man in the hurdle video and follow these simple tips:

• Analyze your budget and set a target price on each of your family members.  Keep track of your spending on each person so you're not tempted to go over your target price.
• You may have to cut down on the amount you spend on Christmas gifts, but if you explain to your family and stick to your plan it will be easier for them to understand.
• Instead of buying for each person in your extended family draw names and buy one gift for the person whose name you've drawn.
• I know it's early in the morning but Black Friday has proven for us to be a good day to get good deals, and also get started on your Christmas shopping.

Here are some more tips from one of my favorite personal finance websites, to keeping your costs down and avoiding overspending at Christmastime.  With that I'd like to wish you a Merry Christmas and a peaceful Happy New year because you stayed within your spending plan.

Next week we'll talk about how to entertain over the holidays and not go broke.  Please send in your frugal Christmas or Holiday ideas so that all of our readers may benefit.

Now that Halloween is over...

My wife just learned from her mother a great trick that she used to do after the Halloween candy was brought home, counted and put away for daily snacks.  She would take 7-10 of their best pieces of candy and put it in a zip-lock bag and put their name on it.  At Christmastime she would take the bag out and use it for stocking stuffers.  The children were never the wiser and with a large family it helped saved on gifts.  Look at it as a candy savings plan!!

Try it and let me know how it works out.

Thanks,
Greg

Do all you can to get and stay out of debt!!

I just want to share with you an exciting experience I had last week!  I was talking with another business owner about me being a financial advisor.  After telling me about one of the financial advisors that he likes and trusts he shared with me the greatest moves he ever made was to get out of debt.  He went on to say that he thinks differently, all the money he makes is his, he doesn't owe anyone.  He doesn't owe any credit card debt, debt on a house, or anything.  I knew that this was one of the goals in order to become financially independent but I had never met someone who had no debt.  I was so excited to share my experience with my readers.  Here are a few suggestions that I have to assist you in getting out of debt.

• Determine your Value System  First of all you should determine your value system.  What makes you tick?  Is it to have security in your life?  Is it to take your family on vacation?  Is it to travel?  If you understand your value system then it makes it easy to create a spending plan, set goals and look forward to debt repayment and eventual financial freedom.
• Keep Track of Your Expenses  Second, is to keep track of all your expenses enough so you can create a spending plan.  Be strict with this exercise because it will only help you in your long range goals.
• Make Tough Spending Decisions  Third, you may have to make some tough spending decisions.  These may include eating out less or getting your nails done once a month instead of twice.  This may challenging and you may not be popular but if you explain to your family or others affected by the decision and help them see the big picture you may have greater success.
• Develop a Spending Plan  Fourth, make a spending plan so you can control your income and your debt repayment.  This will help you see where all your money is going.
• http://vodpod.com/watch/1091778-how-to-get-out-of-debt- Take a look at this video clip, it's a bit light-hearted and kind of funny.  Let me know what you think.

Use Cash and cut down on Overspending!!

Last week I heard a statistic on Komo 4 News that "credit card use has decreased for the 24th straight month.  Amid this economy Americans are using less credit."  This is encouraging to me because with people using less credit that means they're using cash and therefore probably spending less.  They aren't overspending!!

Earlier this summer I listened to John Cummuta's Transforming Debt into Wealth program and I learned several things to increase my financial IQ.  One of the most powerful paradigms I learned was to use Cash in all your transactions.  While this has caused some pains it's helped us to see our financial picture from clear glasses and be in greater control of our finances.

As mentioned earlier, we're going through some growing pains now as we've adopted the cash only policy.  You see, for the past several years we found a "good deal" on a credit card that gave us one point for each dollar we spent.  We could use these points to cash in on airline flights, gifts, etc.  We thought it was okay because we we paid it off at the end of each month and therefore were paying no interest.  We've been able to cash in and get some gifts with our points but they're not nearly worth the extra money because we overspent.  This is the reason why we could never keep money in our savings account.  John Cummuta said you spend an extra 20-30% when you use credit.  Does this sound familiar?  If so...

Here are some things to consider when you make a transition from using credit to using cash for purchases.

• Look at your finances from a bigger picture
  Since you're using credit there's a good chance you are overspending by 20-30% you'll want to check your bank account and check where you are spending your money.  You may need to cut down on some purchases to make your spending fit into your existing salary.
• Make changes appropriately
  Chances are you've been overspending for some time and it may take several months to turn this big ship around.  Implement changes appropriately, including your family or others that may be affected by the decision.  On the other hand, some changes you may be able to make right away, for example, cutting down on the times you go out for dinner each week, or trips to the movies or the mall.
• You may have to make hard decisionsThose affected in the decisions you are making may be used to the credit, overspending lifestyle, i.e. going out to dinner or to the movies a little more often, buying an extra article of clothing here and there, etc.  You may have to say No now when before you may have said yes.  It may sting now but seeing the big picture and getting your finances back on track will provide you with a peace of mind that you may not have felt in a long time.
• Keep track of your finances
  Finally, you'll want to keep good track of where your money is going either by using Online Banking or by keeping your checkbook up to date by writing down all your purchases.  You are used to spending more so you may not be used to keeping as good tabs on your finances.  Get some money in your bank account to minimize any bounced checks or other overdrafts you may incur.
  
  Jody has found it easy to keep track of cash by using a check register and writing down all of her purchases.  A caution to using cash is that it "flies out of your pocket" easier and faster so you have to keep effective records.

I hope this helps you in your quest for financial control and eventual freedom.

Hello, and welcome to our Blog

Hello, my name is Greg Roche and my wife Jody and I represent Be Frugal Live Wealthy!!  We started Be Frugal Live Wealthy to assist others in managing their financial life.  We've set up this blog to be able to freely share information, tips, tricks, and inspiring stories, struggles, triumphs and experiences relating to financial and wealth building success.

Maybe you have struggled for years getting your finances in order and you finally did it!  Share that with our readers.  This could inspire others to make the necessary changes in their lives.  Maybe you're struggling with saving money or some other area of personal finance.  Share that with our readers too!  Maybe they've struggled with the same thing and can offer assistance.