This Blog Is For Women

4. Use your credit card wisely.

image: flickr.com/photos/76657755@N04/

Credit cards are convenient and they are a good way to develop a positive credit score.

But, and this is a big “BUT”…. only if used properly.

If you use a credit card, don’t buy anything with it that you would not pay for with cash.  And….and this is a big “AND”…pay it off monthly, never have a balance carry over from the previous month.  Credit card interest rates are ridiculously high and as soon as you miss your payment, or leave a balance unpaid, they charge you interest on the amount going back to the first purchase you made during that billing period.  And any balance that remains unpaid compounds the interest.

Only use your credit card if you have FOR SURE got the money to pay the bill.  If you’re not sure, don’t buy it.

3. Eliminate Debt.

image: flickr.com/photos/donkeyhotey

If you have credit card debt, a car loan, a student loan, or a mortgage you are paying money to someone else for the privilege of using their money.

One of  the smartest things you can do after paying yourself is to pay off your debt.

Start with your highest interest debt and chip it away with any spare coin until it’s gone.  Then apply that whole payment amount to your next highest interest loan.  For example if you have a car loan, a student loan, and a mortgage try this:

• Put an extra $50 a month on your car loan until it’s paid off.
• Once your car loan is paid off, pay your entire car loan payment  (including the extra $50) on your student loan, that’s right I’m saying add $300 a month to your current student loan payment, this might double your monthly repayment on your student loan, maybe you’re paying $600 a month now on your student loan.
• When your student loan is paid off, take the $600 a month and put it on top of your mortgage payment.  So maybe you’re paying $1600 a month on your mortgage….You’ve been paying $1600 a month in debt servicing all along,  but now you’ve eliminated 2 bills: your car loan and your student loan.  That extra $600 a month will go directly toward principle repayment and will slam your mortgage down faster than you can imagine!

2.  It’s YOUR money, make sure you keep some for yourself!

Think about it.

It’s YOUR money, so you should really make sure you keep some of it.

A good rule of thumb is to put 10% of everything you earn into a separate savings account.  Be diligent.  Be vigilant.  Without fail.  Once you’ve acquired “3 Months Salary”  this will become your ‘Emergency Fund” (for a roof…furnace…car repair).   This should take you about 30 months to achieve.  If you make $2000 a month, then you will have amassed $6000.

But don’t stop!

Continue to pay yourself first indefinitely and this will become your nest egg.  And at the rate given above you’ll be tucking away $12000 every 5 years.  If you start this young, and increase it with your increased earnings you will create a very comfortable cushion and a real sense of accomplishment.

There are a few pearls of wisdom that have helped me be successful when it comes to money management.  I’m going to share those with you during the next series of blog posts.

image: flickr.com/photos/60891720@N06/

1.  Live below your means.

This is something that began with my grandfather, and maybe his father before him.  My grandfather was bringing children into the world during the depression.  He had it tough.  Living below his means meant that he was able to tuck a little bit of money away every month.

By following this piece of advice, you will set yourself up for financial success.

Have you ever struggled to wake up to your morning alarm clock.  I certainly have. Waking up in the dark is not something I do well.  Not at all well.  It makes me cranky and I feel groggy and I really, really, really want to hit the snooze button on my alarm clock.  And in fact very often I did.

Enter the Wake Up Light with Sunrise Simulation.  A better invention there could not possibly have been.  Ever.  This lamp is designed to set your room aglow with the natural lighting effects of sunlight.  So whether you need to wake up at 6 am or 4 am, you body will believe that it’s waking up a reasonable hour.

Kiss tired groggy early mornings good bye!  This beauty will gradually wake you up with sound and light and have you feeling more refreshed and ready to greet your day!

You can read all the product specs here and see for yourself the science behind this concept.

Have you tried a wake-up light?  What do you think?