Are you a money manager or a money watcher? Step 2 "How do you feel about money?"

Growing up, my mom was pretty savvy with money.  She was responsible with her finances and did fairly well for a single parent on a secretary's income.  It seemed as though we always had enough money and I didn't go without.  My mom also did her best to teach me the value of a dollar, if I wanted something extra I had to buy it myself or pay the difference.  I delivered newspapers from the time I was 13 and then worked a more glamorous job at McDonald's when I turned 16.

I grew up when Star Jeans and Moon Jeans were in style.  These jeans were $25-30 and my mom wasn't going to buy them for me, they were just too expensive and in her eyes, unnecessary.

Another time when I was 14 my mom bought me a bike for my birthday.  It was a great bike, but it didn't have the coolest looking parts.  As soon as I brought it  home from the store I started making changes to it, and this took up a majority of my discretionary money.  I started with a new set of handlebars and then a new seat and pedals until eventually I had an entire new bike.  All of my money went into transforming this bike into the coolest bike in the neighborhood, or so I thought.  The unfortunate thing, with such frivolous spending I never really learned how to be more disciplined with my money.  All my money went to me, and I spent every last penny.

Looking back on that time in my life I wish I was a bit more disciplined.  Not only would I have more money but I would have learned earlier to save money no matter what the scenario.

Jody was raised a little differently.  She didn't work a regular job but if her and her siblings kept their grades up they would have the right to ask for money if they needed it, within reason.  If they needed some money for a movie or some clothes he would give it to them.  Her dad was a salesman and some months were more plentiful than others.  He would tell them at the beginning of the month if they could ask for money or not.  This worked for their family.

Growing up there's a scripting that happens in your home depending on how the financial decision makers, usually your parents, made financial decisions.  In some cases this will affect you the rest of your life, for good or not-so-good.  If you grew up with some bad financial habits you can make necessary changes.  I want to ask you How do you feel about money?  Or, what is your relationship to money?  The way you answer this series of questions can change your life and turn your finances around.  I found a quiz online that will help you answer these all-important questions.  Please take a few minutes to respond to this quiz and I promise it will help you determine your relationship to money and help you make some necessary adjustments.

Thank you for your continued support, we work to assist you in getting your finances in order.  If you would like to see a particular topic covered please let us know.

Greg and Jody Roche
Be Frugal Live Wealthy
http://www.befrugallivewealthy.blogspot.com/

Are you a money manager or a money watcher? Step 1

My family loves to go beachcombing and we also love lifting up the rocks and seeing all the living things that scurry out from under them.  One of the things that I notice at the beach is how constant the tide is, it effortlessly goes in and out bringing new life to the beach.
Several years ago I used to be a money watcher.  I would watch money go in and watch it go out, much like the ocean tide, but never really managed it.  Every night I would come home from work and call the bank and check my bank balances.  It made Jody crazy because it seemed to be the focus of my life.  This was before the days of online banking and it seemed to take a bit longer to get the desired information.  The problem was I never really did anything about it.  It was because I really didn't know what to do.  So as a result, even though I was watching, we overspent.  I wonder if it's because we were caught up in a shallow tidepool, not able to and we just didn't know how to get out.  Does this sound like some of you?  We want to show you how to stop the ebb and flow, keeping more in and less going out, and give you control back so you can be a money manager instead of a money watcher.  Over the next few posts we'll show you how you can be a more effective money manager.

Step 1 - Make a record of all your expenses
For the next 2 weeks or even a month keep track of everything you purchase.  Carry a small notebook and a pencil around with you; wherever you go write down all your expenses.  If you go out to lunch, write it down.  If you pay a bill, write it down.  Even if you buy a pack of gum or a can of pop, write it down.  At the end of the 2-week or 1 month period review the items in your list.  You'll be surprised what you discover.  This will establish a spending baseline for you and help you to see where your money is going and where you need to make adjustments.  We encourage you to start making a record and let us know how it's going, including the challenges and triumphs.

Thank you,
Greg and Jody Roche
Be Frugal Live Wealthy

I need your help with an experiment!!

Good Evening!
Over the last couple of weeks Jody and I have been doing an experiment to see if we can save money on having our kids bring homemade lunches.  The girls had been having school lunch for the past 3-4 months and it's been very nice because we don't have to shop for lunch food or make lunches which makes it easier.  I suggested to Jody, why don't we do a real test and see if having the girls bring their lunches from home would save money.  Jody's a terrific sport in trying to make things work that I suggest.

The first week we tried it.  Jody bought some lunch food and before we knew it Jody had spent $40 even before we had enough food for lunches.
The second week was similar and it seemed like in order to have lunch for 3 children with a variety it seemed to cost about $50.

We are looking for things our readers have done to keep the costs down for lunches and made it more cost effective than buying lunch.
What have you done to keep your lunch costs down and have you made a decision to feed your children school lunch or homemade lunch?

I'd like to get your thoughts on what you've done to feed your kids homemade lunches on less and still give them a variety.  Please make a comment in the comment section and let me know how you've beat the homemade lunch game.

Thank you,
Greg and Jody Roche
Be Frugal Live Wealthy

Greg and Jody's vacation tip 3 - H2O is great for you-and for your wallet!!

This is one of Jody's great ideas.  One of the things that we did as part of our pre-vacation food purchases is bought a couple of gallons of water and got the girls water bottles for the trip.  This did a couple of things, it saved us money on drinks plus it didn't allow them to continually sip on juice and pop the entire trip, thus saving long-term on dentist bills.

There were times when they would get tired of water and so we would splurge and purchase a soda or juice but if you keep it cold with ice it seems to work better.  Usually when you fill up on gas you can fill up on ice to refreshen your H2O.

Send us your vacation tips that helped you or your family.  We look forward to hearing from you,

Thank you,

Greg and Jody Roche
Be Frugal Live Wealthy