Happy Fiscal New Year!

I am one of those people who love to reflect on the past year and then set goals for the new year on January 1. I realize that it is summer now but today is the last day of the quarter and for some that means the fiscal year end. I think that the end of each quarter is a great time to see how your investments are performing and check the pulse of your finances in general. Take some time this week to review statements and be sure to note how much you invested & how much it grew as well as your goals for the coming quarter or beyond. I am personally excited about having reviewed and revised our insurance coverage as well as having found a traditional savings account that bears 3.3% interest. Looking ahead I am excited about teaching more classes as well as getting rid of our student loan debt faster than before (see previous post, Baby Steps).

Check your Pride at the Door

The other day I wanted to go to Target, just to get out of the house given my broken foot. However, it is simply too tiring to walk through a store of that size so my dear husband Brett reminded me that it would be best if I used one of their motorized wheelchairs. Ok, how about "no way"! Needless to say I was unable to let go of my pride and we did not venture out, which may have saved us a few dollars anyways. However, my point here is that I will need to sacrifice some of my pride along the way, asking for help to reach something or for help around the house etc. I need to let go of my pride in order to move forward (literally).

I saw an analogy here with finances. Sometimes we need to check our pride at the door and make some unusual and perhaps seemingly "embarassing" choices. This might mean bringing a brown bag lunch when meeting with a friend instead of buying lunch, it might mean shopping at the Grocery Outlet instead of Metropolitan Market, or it might mean saying no to the latest designer clothing or accessory. These ideas may challenge your pride but they will move you forward towards your financial goals much faster than your need to be cool or hip or simply status quo. Dave Ramsey has a quote that I like which fits in nicely here, "Live like no one else now so you can live like no one else later." These potentially pride-challenging financial changes will be worthwhile in both the long and the short run. Take charge and take positive pride in the new decisions you are starting to make. For me this will mean sitting in the wheelchair with a smile, as I stick to my short shopping list.

Give Yourself a Pat on the Back

I think all of us deserve a pat on the back for the step(s) we have already taken, like attending last week's class. That was no small step, to be interested in learning something new in the financial arena. Also, as I was talking with a friend yesterday I was thinking that it might seem like "no fun" to constantly be reducing expenses. However if we take stock of what we have accomplished once in a while we might be more excited about moving forward in a similar manner.

At the end of 2007 I took some time to write down all of our financial accomplishments. My list included how much we had invested, by how much we'd reduced our student loans, how much we saved on groceries, the fun trips we took, as well as some intangibles like the financial freedom we were feeling because we brought all our financial issues into the light. This list was such a boost and proved to me that yes, all of our hard work was worth it.

Take 15 minutes and think of the good things you are already doing, whether that is trading babysitting time, shopping at consignment stores, or investing. I bet you have a few tricks already in place. Now write these down, there is power in the written word. The goal is to add a few more and to begin to think more creatively of ways to spend less money. In another month or two write an updated list of all the things you have accomplished this summer, perhaps those discussed in class. You are worth it and this "work" will be worth it!

Baby Steps

This weekend I took some baby steps on our household finances. I have decided that it is time to kill our student loan debt. Without making any changes we were on track to pay off our biggest loan in 23 months (a major accomplishment since we have been paying for it since 1996) and the second, more recent loan, in 8 years. By redirecting our ROTH IRA money into our student loan repayment we will pay off the big one in 12 months! At that point if we add all of the money we were paying to loan #1 to our loan #2 then we should be done with that one in about 2 years. I am excited and figure the extra years of peace without that debt hanging over our heads will be worth it. We will continue to invest through our work 401k programs as we are today. Baby steps, one day at a time one new thing at a time.

Let us know what your baby steps are.

First class was a blast!

Thursday night's class was my debut as an educator and purveyor of financial wisdom and tactical "secrets" to Living Large with Less. The introductory overview class was attended by nine ambitious women and I had fun sharing my knowledge as well as hearing the various financial challenges as well as goals.

I want to use this blog as a place for those who attended the class to share ideas, resources, and encouragement. (As my business gets rolling I hope to open it up for more folks but for now just those who have attended.) I am a newbie blogger so I look forward to learning how to best use this forum as the summer progresses.

I would like to host 1 or 2 additional LLWL introductory classes this summer. If you have a friend who would be interested in attending please send me their email address and I will include them on the summer intro Evite list. If they attend you will be entitled to attend one of my new classes for free.

Looking forward to your lessons learned along the way.