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My Own Story

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What are you up to, Khristian A. Howell?

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At Monicalee's website smartcreativewomen.com you can listen to interviews of women who have harnessed their creative energy and turned it into revenue.  What do you think about finding time out of your busy schedule to explore your creative side and the potential revenue that can come from it to help you in your journey to financial responsibility?



Khristian A. Howell shares her start-up experience in her interview with Monicalee back on February 7, 2013. Is your February this year going to be different from last February?

What is Your Tax Strategy?

Will you get a tax bill or a tax refund on April 15th? If you were employed in 2013 and you did not have sufficient tax withholdings, you will get a tax bill come April 15th. If you have over-withheld then you will get what a lot of Americans look for, a 4 digit refund. That 4 digit refund is your hard earned money that you earned during the preceding year but did not get in your regular paycheck because you asked the government to hold too much of your money.

Public Domain Photo see link below

Odds are you could have used that excess money to pay down monthly bills during 2013. If you get $2,000.00, yes you could paydown that holiday credit card bill, but in the alternative you could have had that money in your paycheck in October, November and December and purchased your holiday gifts with cash. Of course, if you got through those months on a shoe-string then you know those extra dollars in your paycheck (if you had one) could have stretched your budget that much farther.

If you are consistently, year after year, getting a 4 digit refund, I challenge you to think about taking a look at your W4-withholdings. Have you claimed all of your dependents (if you claim your dependents), have you adjusted your marital status since your divorce? Do you file your taxes claiming standard deductions or itemized deductions? If you have significant deductions year after year, for example, mortgage interest deductions, dependent childcare deductions, charitable deductions, student loan interest deductions and various child credits, you really might want to consider your options. Remember, you do have options. Happy tax season!

Humor and Feed Yourself

Can you spot the difference? Well aside from the fact that this was my lunch at work and it does not necessarily look like the average lunch one would have at work.

I have to admit this lunch threw me for a loop. Coming off my slow paced holiday break from the office, I thought I had finally adjusted back to my work schedule. Part of that schedule entails prepping and bringing morning, snack and lunch items to work. Apparently, in my mind when I brought/bought this lunch bowl on sale for $1 it was nothing more than a glorfied ramen noodles in a plastic bowl.

A big pat on the back goes to the marketers of this brand because I was really reeled in by the tantalizing chicken pieces and the vibrancy of the fresh green onions. The morning of my meal prep I thought nothing of tossing this along with my teas, chocolates, yogurt, snack bar, spoon, fork, papertowls and tangerines into my lunch bag. Had it have been the ramen noodles I would have 1) been mentally prepared for ramen noodles 2) I probably would not have brought it for lunch and/or 3)I would have brought some embellishments to add to it.

Point being, there are great ways to prepare your "away from home meals" for the day and save yourself money in the long run by not buying breakfast, lunch, and snacks at the corner deli, food chain, or other franchises that like to beckon for our daily dollars (the ones we really don't have to waste). Just like any discipline, there are times you are going to splurge, but consider what is going to be your norm. I honestly can say after seven (7) years at my day-job, I can probably count the times I have bought lunch(and for that matter breakfast too as a lot of people at my job buy breakfast).

Besides, if you are in the business of lunch networking you can save those splurges for those times where you are building your future/brand at a luncheon event or a networking lunch; eat at your desk or lounge on the rest of the work days with the satisfaction of knowing your hard earned dollars are not being eaten up by inflated store prices. And for those of you readers who are thinking "I skip lunch or breakfast" or "I cannot afford them so I don't even eat," think about how that is working for you and how that is working for your body. Divorced moms (heck, all moms) have to stay healthy because there is so much to juggle.

Survival of the Financially Fittest

Is this your second Pay Day of the month? I pray for you and for me that on payday we do not have that shared feeling that payday is spending spree day.



Red-tailed Hawk feasting on gull-1/15/14 (c)

 

If we are serious about paying down our liabilities then we need to resolve and resort back to our written payment plans that we prepared at the beginning of the new year and follow through on our respective commitments (whatever those are) to chipping away at our liabilities or in some cases making that 'payment due' to keep things going. What's your survival strategy this Pay Day?

The Restart Project -on AOL

I happened upon a program hosted by Gwyneth Paltrow and Tracy Anderson called The Restart Project. Perhaps you have seen it, but this was my first exposure to it when I logged onto AOL today. Yes, I still have the same AOL account I had since college, thanks to my mother.

If you get a chance check it out. There are eight (8) episodes on there currently and each episode runs about 7 minutes long. I hope you find the same inspiration and emotionally moving thoughts when you catch an episode. Imagine, each woman had to work to keep or get her financial house in order while overcoming and facing the obstacles she shares in each of these viniettes.

Temptations

In your quest for financial stability after divorce you will be faced with many temptations-financial that is. Less than one week into my 2013 resolve and I had endured being tempted by the Home Improvements magazine that always comes with some huge sale enticement. I perused through that thing like a junky peruses the ground looking for a slightly used cigarette butt, (Yes, I have witnessed this on many occasion).

Note to self...back away from the wood composite sidetable with built-in power strip for oh...$179.99 on sale. But, it matches perfectly with my bedroom furniture and could replace the Rubbermaid contraption. Yes girls, Rubbermaid. To all of you cringing, if it's any aesthetic conciliation to you, I never did attach the four black rolling wheels.

Rationalization (that saved me from credit purchase): "It's not real wood."

Other tempations I dodged that week were Friday night fastfood and "kamakazee grocery shopping." Kamakazee grocery shopping, as I have defined it, is going into the grocery store without a clear agenda (some folks like to make a list-I am not one of those folks-a mental agenda will suffice)and getting to the cash register and realizing that you spent more than you had mentally or actually budgeted on items that some how miraculously ended up in your shopping cart.


Maple Wood Side Table Later Purchased for $29.99
at local Department store-odds and ends section.



What temptations are you struggling with? Consider writing some notes to yourself on how you can overcome these temptations and/or put them on a schedule of "to do/wishlist items" that you can work your way towards during the course of the year.

Perhaps a Friend in Need is a Friend Indeed

Looking back at 2013, I learned early on in my quest to be financially responsible that the needs and desires of others would come into play during the course of my journey. Just two days in to the New Year and I had been approached for financial assistance/support from a friend. Hopefully, what I am sharing may resonate with some of you. While I am on my personal journey to right my ship, others on the outside may see circumstances differently and call upon you, as I was, for some help. In the words of Judge Judy:

"Don't cosign,ever."

But, if someone looks at you as responsible to lend a hand, consider that an ego boost for your own goals. Sit and brainstorm with the person about the help they are looking for and if it comes down to monetary help consider 1) if this is a situation where this is clearly intended to be a gift 2) if this is a situation where you are fairly confident you will get paid back (I'll talk about the method in a future post) and 3) ask yourself what this person has done for you in the past that makes him/her confident to ask you for help now. Number 3 is what sold me on helping my friend.

Thankfully, I can say nearly one year later that I am one month shy of being paid back in full (again I'll talk about the method in a future post.) Happy 2014!