Post Christmas

Hello Swarm Single Moms

Today is the day after Christmas and people often laugh at those who go out shopping the day after this holiday.  It may seem funny, however, it is a great way to save on holiday paper, boxes and accoutrements for gift wrapping.  It is actually a good day to save on indoor and outdoor lights, artificial Christmas trees, wreaths and ornaments.  But it is not the only way to save on holiday decorations.  In fact, throughout the year, estate sales and yard sales will have great savings on decorations.

You should keep some things in mind when buying second hand, though.  First of all, if for any reason an item you purchase second hand has been recalled, you may not know about it and could end up purchasing an item of iffy quality.  Secondly, items like lights may not work properly and/or not come with replaceable lights.  So the money you think you may be saving, may not end up so.  I do suggest making second hand purchases for items such as ornaments, wreaths, dinner ware, table cloths and other clothing/material items.

Since I work the day after Christmas, I make plans to hit the stores after work.  I have a plan and don't usually deviate from it.  I know what I want ahead of time so I can maximize my shopping.  This year I am looking for electric candles for the windows.  That's all!  But I know as I make my rounds I will pick up tape, ribbons and labels.  There are always plenty leftover from the early bird shoppers and this is my way to ensure that Santa has new and unseen paper with which to wrap our gifts.

Happy shopping and savings SwarmMoms and remember the savings do not end the day after Christmas   . . .  nor should the joy of the season . . .

Consider staying home if you can and visit with the loves of your lives!

Holiday Helpers

Good Morning Swarm Moms

We are just days away from Christmas and this is a high pressure time for us.  As the head of household during this holiday season we are often in a position of fulfilling last minute holiday preps.  There is shopping, cooking, baking. wrapping and decorating to do, but mostly there is merriment to be created and sustained in the midst of all the chaos.

If you have planned according to the SWARM suggestions, your finances will remain intact if you have set yourself up by planning ahead.  Keeping a list of what you need, making purchases ahead of time and remembering to gather your kids for chore assignments.  Assigning chores will allow the kids to really feel as though they had a part in your family's celebrations.  If you know your children's strength, this will also give them the opportunity to shine.

When I was a child of 12 or so, I began to take on the cookie baking for our holidays.  I was a bit quirky and often strayed from using the traditional color for sugar cookies and might make purple trees and green stockings.  Nobody was there to interrupt my creativity so I was very empowered to do what I wanted. During the celebration with extended family I brought the cookies out proudly and could not be knocked down by disgruntled comments about non-traditional colors that were used.  In fact, I was prouder of my cookies because 1) they tasted great 2) they looked fabulous and 3) there were adults at the celebrations who I knew enjoyed my adventures in baking.

My mother did not specifically give me this chore of baking.  I took it. My older sisters either removed themselves from the baking because of school work, after school jobs or plain disinterest.  My oldest sister was very handy at wrapping and sewing and made us all new (and larger) Christmas stockings one year.  Another sister liked to clean.  She didn't mind cleaning up to prepare for the Christmas party and she was the first one to pull the plates off the table, post meal.

All children have chores they may gravitate toward, often not even thinking about them as chores.  Watch your children and pay attention to what household 'chores' they gravitate toward and allow them the gift of not interfering.  You may need more help from them then they are willing to offer so write down what needs to be done and depending on the number of helpers you will have, let them pick the number of tasks that will allow for even distribution.

Using the helpers you have on hand will keep your holiday time less stressful and it will allow for active participation in the holiday season.  This will make your children feel valued and that is the best gift you can give anyone.  Enjoy! Enjoy! Enjoy!

Love and Peace,

Sharon, Director at Swarm

Christmas Day

Hello Swarm Single Moms

Happy Holiday . . .  Merry Christmas

The holidays can be bleak some years for some single moms.  Usually that happens when your children are with your ex and his side of the family and you are alone (or not alone, but still missing your kids).  Sometimes there are barriers to celebrations (i,e, travel prohibitions, financial constraints, etc) and when you can not have the holiday you want, make the best of where you are and keep in mind all the blessings and joys there are in your life.

It can be a challenging time for Swarm Single Moms if you haven't taken some time to plan ahead.  Believe it or not, spending a holiday on your own can actually make for a positive experience.

Plan a different day to celebrate the holiday with your kids when you are together and spend the day you have in gratitude and thanksgiving.  Think about all the blessings in your life (job, health, having your needs met ...) and give of yourself in thanksgiving to your community.  Seize the day and volunteer at a non-profit that is open and in need of helpers.  (Try to contact them ahead of time so they can plan the day around your help and reschedule someone who may want the day off).  There are many non-profits out there, you just have to do some digging.

Another way to spend your holiday is by volunteering to switch work days with a co-worker who is scheduled to work, but who would appreciate the day with their family.  This plan works well in hospital settings, airports, emergency service workers...  or any organization that is open during the holidays.  It also is a great gift to a co-worker who may have been scheduled to work because of low seniority. Switching may give you a better day to share with your loved ones.  Also consider that working the holiday may give you double pay (holiday pay) and a comp day at a later date.  These are two really big reasons for switching as is the gift you give the co-worker with plans they wanted to keep.give holidays off to those with the most seniority.

So Swarm Single Moms I hope this post finds you in good spirits and with happy thoughts.

Merry Christmas and Good Tidings to You!!

Holiday budget and social gatherings

Hello Swarm Single Moms

As you may have read in a recent post, we have decided to move the book reviews posts to just after the new year, and because of this adjustment, the plan is to take this opportunity and practice what you have learned about finance planning and protecting your finances.

One of the big lessons we learned this past year focused on being honest about your money.  What can you afford?  This holiday season is a great time to revisit your finance plans and to be proactive in safeguarding your savings.

This is a time of gift giving and celebratory meals with family, friends and even co-workers.   But you should tread carefully during the season.  Money zappers are everywhere.  You must be mindful of them. And with your finance planning in place, you will be able to make it through the season, savings plan intact.

You always hear that writing out a list and sticking to it, prevents you from overspending.  It is true, but I think it is the planning ahead that really prevents overspending.  You need to plan how much you have to spend on the whole holiday season; gift giving as well as all holiday festivities.  If you have a number to work with you can make smart finance decisions. When you have a number in mind that you can not go over, anything you find that is over that number, can be disregarded. You do not need to think about it at all.  Just walk away. That is the beauty of having a plan.  It empowers you to walk away. And... it empowers you to look for new and more meaningful ways to celebrate.

Consider forgoing the gift giving amongst adult family and friends.  Find ways to hang out and share time that keeps you on your budget and honest about your money.

Celebratory meals do not have to take place in a restaurant.  Celebrate at home, buffet style.  Have folks bring a dish to share.  Tell stories and share your life without a server standing by wanting to usher you out to bring in a new group.  Save the tip for a food bank! You can have a really great meal with friends and family at home at your leisure.  Be prepared with games and cards, karioke and good old fashion singing around the piano.  Get help with the clean up and connect with your peeps.  Holiday meals present the best opportunity for happy memories for yourself and your family.  You can spread the happy times throughout December and into the new year by gathering at different homes.

If you are intent on dining out, consider luncheons instead of dinners.

If you are planning on dining with friends and you want to stick to your budget, check online coupon sites, (i.e. Groupon) for deals.  They often will sell coupons that are good toward food at various local restaurants for up to half off.  You can also get a two for one coupon to share.  I like this approach for times when you absolutely, positively must go out.  Because sometimes... you just do!

One last thought on the holiday celebration meal is to omit the meal and volunteer at a local food bank -  then go out for beverages, (coffee, hot cocoa, etc...). This is actually my favorite way to hang out with friends.  It is time well spent, with a feeling of accomplishing something good. It is my selfish gift to myself.

Happy day to all you Swarmn moms! May your day be filled with pleasant and insightful ways to save and spend!

My Money Memories

 Hello Swarm Single Moms

You have had some time to consider your 'feels' about money. What did you uncover?

I uncovered two distinct 'feels' about money that may still influence my money habits.

I uncovered the memories of loving to make money.

When I  was a child I would go up and down the streets in my neighborhood to do chores so I could grow my savings.  I was a workhorse.  I would babysit regularly for couples on their date nights, I would cut grass, rake leaves, do the dishes of my neighbors just so I could add to my savings.

I was the kid in the neighborhood who organized carnivals, horror houses and lemonade stands.  I had a neighbor, Mr. Klemowitz who would see me at my lemonade stand and would bring me a box of candy bars to sell, from one of his stores's inventory.  It was a rush for me to wake up Saturday morning and go down to the bank to make my deposit.  This was the seventies, a time when the bank teller actually wrote the new figures into your bank book and then initialed it.   I would leave the bank thinking about where and how I would earn my next deposit.  Happy Memories!!

I also uncovered unfair and unequal pay.

I worked very hard for my money always hustling to make more.  And then one day I discovered that my neighbor, who paid me $1.50 to cut his grass, paid my brothers and the other boys in the neighborhood $2.00.  Instead of demanding the same pay, I quit cutting his lawn.  When it snowed I went to the other houses, but I would not go back to his.

The same sort of thing happened when I took a job as a pharmacy runner at a local hospital.  One of the guys that I worked with was making 25 cents an hour more than me. We were doing the same job and our previous work experiences were similar. But I was a workhorse, always trying to better my times and my deliveries, while he spent time on long breaks, called in sick - (often) and wasn't interested in being there.  He and I became great friends however, as did the whole team, so one night when we went to the bar after our shift,  I was jolted to learn of the earnings discrepancy, and in retrospect, am remembering being humorously vocal at the fact that my my female co-workers were not!

This exercise in focusing on childhood (and young adulthood) memories of money made me realize a few things about my self:

In my youth I quit more than one promising job over wage discrepancy and unfair work practices.  I am passionate about fairness.  I can say this now as I recognize this characteristic in myself because I have a child with the same intense passion for fairness.  Some people just don't care and others really do.

I also uncovered the fact that I do love to work.  I love the physical aspects of some jobs and I love to create things, events including this Grassroots organization, 'Swarm for Single Moms'.

(I may have left jobs over pay inequality, but I have also left high paying jobs when I felt like the corporate values were too different from mine.)

At the very core of my self-discovery these past few weeks, was the reminder that I work best in a position where I feel valued and as such, am paid equally for like work (or better than equal if I go consistently above and beyond expectations).  I also thought about the fact that your employer needs to understand your value - if they do not see it, help them see it.  If they still don't see it,  then you should begin looking for opportunities elsewhere.

This was a good exercise to help us think about money and memories of money, but it is also a good exercise to get you thinking about how you make your money.  Are you happy in your job??? Carl Jung the psychoanalyst said (and yes, I am paraphrasing...) If you want to know what you should do with your life, think back on your childhood and what made you happy.  What did you do when you were young that brought you joy. Very often you can translate a childhood happiness into an adult focus...within reason!

your 'feels' about money

Hi Swarm Single Moms

How do you feel about money? Do you have plenty or do you never have enough? There are some theorists who believe that your 'feels' about money can be traced to your experience as a child with money.

Some of these theorists, like Suze Orman, believe that if you are struggling with money and have money issues, if you think back to memories of money from your childhood, you may be able to transcend the problem and correct it.

But, you need to take the time to really think about and capture possibly long buried thoughts about money.  Some people remember not having enough money as a youngster while others remember parental conflicts over money issues.  Suze Orman suggests thinking about what you currently do in your adult life that is counter intuitive to successful money management.  If you over spend, under save or if you have to be the person to pay for your friends when you go out, you might have a problem.   Once you get that in check, you will be able to achieve the financial plans that you dream of.

Swarm Moms...Take some time over the next few days to think about how you really feel about money.  Then, think about ways to be vigilant in making sure you do not sabotage your future because of hauntings from the past...

Finance: more ways to increase your finance knowledge

Hello Swarm Moms

In one of my recent posts I wrote about helping yourself to increase your financial knowledge.  While I have graduated from college, my background is not in finance, so in order to learn about finance I must make the concerted effort every week to learn more.  I do this in many different ways.  I will read the New York Times and my local paper for finance advice and news.  I read magazine articles and sometimes watch financial 'experts' on the tv.  One thing I have found is that there are finance (or money saving/spending) tips everywhere I look.

There is so much information out there it can be overwhelming (where do you start) and it can be tough to know what is for you and what you should ignore.  My advice is to read and listen and then see what you can apply to your life.  Experiment with the information you find and see how it works for you.

I find experimenting with advice to be a good way to implement some changes into my life.  I 'experiment' for a couple of weeks, maybe a month and then I try to revisit the changes to see how they worked.  Was it a positive change, is it something I need or want to continue...

When I started what I now refer to as my challenge to increase my knowledge in finance, I had some financial constraints, so I needed to learn as cheaply and effectively as possible.  Since I was taking my child to the library at least once a week,  I began to seek out information in the finance section of the library.  I would take some books home and read through them.  I would take them to work and read on my lunch hour and I would even take them with me to my child's activities and while she played, learned the piano or practiced volleyball, I would sit in my car or in a waiting area and ingest the information.

There were two immediate changes in my life that I noticed: 

1) I was less stressed because I wasn't feeling like I was just sitting around wasting time and

2) I was actually learning and formulating ideas and plans for myself and my financial life.

Reading while I was waiting evolved into listening while I was driving or listening while I was knitting, cleaning, etc.  What I am saying, is that I began to get books on tape out of the library and as I drove around. as mothers do, I found it very convenient to listen on my way to drop offs, pick ups, etc.  It proved to be a useful strategy with benefits to my child as well.  She was now learning from the experts and as she grew we could add new subjects to our conversations.  Kids are sponges so why not help them learn passively and actively?

As an aside...I began to get out books on all sorts of subjects as we travelled around.  Some were chosen because the title sounded interesting, some were chosen for their subject matter (finance, sports, etc) and some because they were biographies of people either of us were fond of.  One day I chose Benjamin Franklin.  I always liked Ben and was happily surprised to discover his rules for living.  This was a really wise man; disciplined, smart and savvy.  I have learned something from every book I read and from him, I found that discipline might be the most important element in success.

In other books I have found that the advice is not for me or not for me now.  And with other, added information, I have found that I can weed out information much sooner and I can differentiate between the 'not now' or 'not ever' information, much quicker.

Let's get started. . .

Today I want you to go to the library and go to the books on tape section.  Find the finance gurus and choose one that speaks to you. Some of my favorites are Warren Buffett, Suze Orman, Richard Kiyosake and even, Benjamin Franklin, (good advice is timeless!!!)

Choose one book for the upcoming week or weeks if necessary, and get learninag.  Keep the cd in the car, in your kitchen, or where ever you will take the opportunity to listen to it.  I like to keep a notepad nearby so I can keep notes.  I mention the above finance people only because I have listened to them and found the advice to be helpful and I can take immediate actions to make some good, new financial choices.

So... Swarm moms,  TODAY... choose to be better educated.  Action creates more action.  A body in motion tends to stay in motion and I believe that goes for the mind.  Keep it active, keep learning, keep mentally growing!    Happy Learning...   from Sharon . . .A Swarm Mom

Well, I did it

Hello Swarm Moms!

Well, I did it! I actually signed up on a fundraising site to generates funds to

become a non-profit. 'Swarm for single moms' can be located at the following web address: http://www.gofundme.com/4w3078.  

I used a picture of candles because I really am inspired by the Thomas Jefferson 

quote, 'He who receives ideas from me, receives instruction himself without 

lessening mine; as he who lights his taper at mine receives light without darkeningme'. This is what Swarm is all about. Teaching, educating, information sharing...

with the goal of improving the quality of life for single moms and their families.

I am hoping to reach a goal of $7500 over the next few months and want to 

make this happen by reaching single moms (and the ones who love them)

with your help. Please share the address for the site. It is user friendly and you 

can watch us make this goal. 

If every single mom could give $1.00, (yep that is just one dollar), I believe this 

goal is achievable in the time frame of a couple of months. I will need your help toget the word out. Please help us reach this goal.

Sharon, Swarm (for single moms)

Increase your financial knowledge

Hello Swarm Moms

Lets talk finance and ways to increase your finance knowledge base.  How does one, with limited time learn about finance? How much time can and should you devote to your finances?  Let's answer that with a profound, how much do you know and how much time are you currently spending on your finances? And...to steal Dr. Phil's trademark question, 'How's that working for you'?

If you are not happy with the state of your finances and you know you must know more so you can do more, there are a multitude of options for you.

1) Take a class

2) Buy or rent (think library) a cd from one of the 'buzz' finance experts of the day (Suze Orman, Warren Buffett, Richard Kiyosake...) and put their suggestions into practice

3) Start doing something... (401k, stocks, etc)

4) Hire a financial planner if you  can afford it.

5) Start a stock club or a finance club with others who are interested in growing their money

Think of some other ways you can increase your financial knowledge and then, get started.

Consider sharing with this blog what plan you have implemented that worked and what was a disaster.

Finance: Living below your means (part 3)

Living below your means (continued...)

Living below your means, in this case, relating to your housing and living arrangements, is about spending your money in a way as to allow for other necessary spending. Your need that must be met with housing is that you live in a safe and healthy environment.

A single mom must provide a home that is environmentally safe as well as one that is affordable.  I'm sure you have heard the phrase 'house poor'. This means that the money it takes to pay your rent or mortgage causes you to have very little left over for other things.  Sometimes those other things include food, utilities, gas, insurance... you get the picture.  There is a formula for how much you should spend on housing and it is about 1/3 of your take home pay.  1/3 !!!  To get this figure you would divide your yearly salary by 30% and divide that by 12 (months) this figure is the amount you must attempt to spend in order to have money to actually live on and be able to grow a savings account.   Reality suggests that the cost of living in some cities would make it impossible to pay out 30 percent of your earnings and still have a safe and comfortable living space.  You may find that it is impossible to stick to the 30% figure suggested above, but it is truly at this number where you can provide healthy food, pay utilities and save for the proverbial rainy day.  You may find that figure is unrealistic in your current neighborhood, and if it is, seek other living arrangements or come up with ways to supplement your income so you  can stay!  The truth is that spending more than 30% of your income on housing will directly affect your quality of life as well as your future in a negative way.

I know some single moms who refuse to move out of a costlier living environment because they want some consistency for their children.  There are also those moms who must adhere to court orders and stay in a certain locale until their children reach age 18.  If you are a single mom and you are struggling financially and the cost of your housing is stressing you out.  Do consider speaking with the friend of the court, an attorney or even your ex.  No decent human being wants their children growing up in a financially strained living environment, someone will listen, even if nothing can be changed immediately.  It is the power of sharing your stress that will help to alleviate it.  Always look for healthy ways to deal with your financial stress.  Always look for ways to improve your financial situation.  Always look to increase your financial knowledge so the financial decisions you make, will help you!  SWARM

Living below your means (part 2)

Hello Swarm Single Moms

Living below your means...

Living below your means is another way to say spend less than you make and ... even if you can afford the more expensive item, (but the less expensive item is just as good and will do the job), buy the less expensive.  This goes for houses, cars, food, etc...

To live by the motto, 'live below your means' is to allow your decision making skills to rely on reason and not emotion.  Reason will tell you to purchase what meets your needs while emotion tells you to go for your wants.  Living below your means helps you differentiate between the two.

 For instance, when you need to make a big ticket purchase, (i.e. an automobile) you should research makes and models and come to understand what your auto needs are (big family, efficient gas consumption, good mileage, good resale value, etc...)  Once you have determined your auto needs, you should monitor auto sales to understand prices of autos that have the features you require. Your next step would be then, to check the bluebook prices (a book which provides information for autos, including prices, makes, models, features, etc. various autos), The bluebook information is key for learning to recognize what you should be paying given the type of auto your needs.  If you are living below your means you would then purchase an auto that meets your needs, but one that is not extravagant.  This would the auto that you can easily afford to buy, run and insure.

Living below your means will help you save money because you are not spending everything you can.

For those of you who do not normally save enough money to purchase an auto without a loan, I have two tips that may help you after your car has been paid off:
Tip #1:  Continue to bank the same amount of the payment that you had been making, only now put it into your savings account.  This will help you when you need to have work done on your car and/or when you get ready to purchase your next car.
Tip #2:  I have read many books on how to save money and each and every one mentions that when you do need to get a new car, do not buy a new car, instead purchase a 'pre-owned' car.  This goes against everything I learned growing up in the motor city, and I am reluctant to endorse this mind set, but it will be the way I approach replacing my current car when the time comes.  If I can get a great used car, I will most likely do so, but I will approach dealers with my plan and see what kind of a deal they can get me on a new car.  (But my plan is to buy used.)

Tracking your spending Part 1

Hello Swarm Single Moms

If you are following the finance focus for this grassroots organization, Swarm, you may already know how important I feel it is to track your spending.  You must take time to find out where your money goes so you can reign in the spending that is detrimental to your financial health and future and begin to find ways to make your money grow for your future.  Tracking your spending is a finance focus!!

There are many ways to track your spending. For instance, I spent 2012 paying for almost everything with a personal check.  I kept receipts and monitored the spending so that I could fully understand where the money went.  I was not very pleased to find that much of the money I was making was going toward food and way too much of that was either going to food that was not getting eaten or to food that was not healthy.  I could have had a snapshot of my spending, by monitoring it for much less than a year, but I found it convenient to pay by check... I had direct deposit and was paying my bills by check, so why not everything else.  There was an additional cost to paying by check, and that included the cost of the checks, ($22.00 every 6-8 weeks) and another $1.00 anytime I needed to withdraw cash for cash only situations (there aren't that many of those!!!)

During that year it became evident that using a spreadsheet to monitor where the money was going could be very helpful.  As I began to categorize the checks, comparing them with my bank statements, I discovered just how much was getting thrown out and how much junk food was bought (and eaten, such a waste!!!)  Junk food is called junk for a reason!!! Plus, junk food can be expensive.  $6.00 bucks for chips and salsa?  really!!!

Now, I know I have covered the cost of using coupons in another post, but it is important to note that I got very serious about food spending during this year and began the rule of buying less junk food and absolutely no junk food purchases without a coupon and it must be on sale to get the double whammy of savings.

The spread sheet also revealed the cost of heating/cooling and our basic electrical usage.  Since we use electricity for our heating/cooling, cooking,  etc., our electrical bills were high.  But, something I did learn that year, that we still to this day do, and that is to unplug everything that drains electricity when we are not at home.  Everything, that is, except the fridge and stove.  The refrigerator must maintain the same temperature to save energy and the clock on the stove uses very little electricity. One note about the fridge, however...if you use the compartments in the fridge for items like dairy, veggies, etc, your food will stay fresher, longer and if this helps keep the fridge uncluttered there will be savings there as well. A cluttered fridge uses more electricity (wattages) than an uncluttered fridge.  Also, for more savings, fill up pop (soda) bottles with water and freeze.  Once they are frozen, place in your fridge to help maintain a more constant temperature.  If your children, or you, like to open the fridge door and stand there looking...just looking...for something to eat, stop this now...

I took a year to track my spending (aka follow my money trail) and it took me to many money savings ideas along the way.  Most of the changes I implemented that year are habits now, that I do without thinking.  I fill up pop bottles and place in the freezer, not too many though, maybe one at a time.  I freeze one bottle, then when frozen, place it in the fridge until thawed.  When thawed I replace it with a frozen bottle of water until that thaws. It takes no time at all and if I wasn't so busy,  I would find a way to monitor the savings on the wattage usage for the fridge.  But I have other things to do, so if any of my readers want to monitor this for us and share the results, it would be interesting information to have.

Swarm Moms I hope you find these posts helpful.

Finance: Pay your bills on time

Hello Swarm Single Moms

Today I want to share a true story that reiterates how important it is to keep tabs on your bills; the history of your payments and when each specific bill is paid off.

My co-worker is in the process of trying to purchase a home.  She went to her credit union six months ago to get pre-qualified so she would have an advantage should she find a home that she wanted to put a bid on.  Only recently did she find a house, so she contacted the credit union mortgage banker, and the broker, Paul, did a quick check and to her dismay, she found that she had been nicked for letting a medical bill fall into collections.  Because she has a bill that is now in collections, her credit score has dropped and she will end up paying more in interest.  She will not be able to afford the same amount of house she would have been able to had she not a bill in collections.

This is a woman who is very conscientious in her bill paying, yet she has found herself in a position where she was sent numerous bills for a emergency visit, including physician, radiologist, ER fee and x-rays, etc.  She was sent five bills for this visit and even though each bill had a unique billing number, she transposed numbers for two of them and paid off one, but not the other.  The hospital called for payment on two occasions and she insisted both times that the bills were paid.  She never bothered to double check. Months later, this bill is biting her in the wallet and even if she pays the outstanding bill tomorrow, her credit score will not rebound for six months or more.  She will have to wait six months to purchase a home unless she wants to pay a higher interest rate.  This true story is a heads up to all the Swarm Moms to be vigilant in bill paying so you will not be penalized for late payments or for bills that get sent to collections.  You must protect your money and your future.  Realize please, that most hospitals (or anyone who you owe money to) only want payment and they will work with you so this doesn't happen. Be Vigilant!!!

Finance - auto insurance

SWARM  

Improving the quality of life for single moms and their families through education and philanthropy.

Hi Swarm Single Moms

Auto Insurance! I do not like paying for auto insurance because I feel like I am just throwing money out the window.  And...depending on what state you live in, you may feel the same.

But this focus is about saving money and I can share the following tips that make it a bit easier to pay for auto insurance.

1) Make sure you are adequately covered for your needs.  If you have a car that is over five years old you may want to begin to adjust your coverage so that you are now covering an aging car.  If you car has dings and scratches that you never fixed, you probably are not going to do so now.  Instead, call your agent and/or insurance company and change your coverage to whatever the coverage is necessary to have in your state and nothing more.

2) Call different insurance companies about once every three months and if you are accident and ticket free, they can often lower your rate for insurance.  In fact there area companies that will offer a rebate when you drive for a certain length of time and haven't had an accident or ticket.

3) Look to auto insurances that offer other discounts that relate to you. Are you a member of a credit union? Does the company you work for offer discounts on group policies.  These are some avenues to investigate as you renew your auto (or other insurance policies).

Saving money is paramount, but so is having adequate insurance coverage.  Make it a habit to update your coverage, especially as your car ages and your driving record improves.

Living below your means part 1

Hi Swarm Single Moms

Have you ever heard the phrase, 'live below your means?'  Do you understand what it means?  It's quite simple. Do not spend more than what you have and instead, spend as little as possible while making sure your needs are met!  Live frugally, spend wisely.  

Living below your means implies that you know what your means are.  You know how much money you have coming in so you completely understand what you will save and what you can spend.  This is the sort of finance advice that can help you to grow your savings, though it does take discipline.  Are you ready to grow your life, improve your quality of life

Finance - Credit Cards

What's in your wallet?  If you are like the average American,  you have more than one credit card in that wallet.  In fact, according to a variety of sources, most Americans have  3 (+) credit cards.  This is insane, isn't it? Or is it?

Time was ... if you had a visa or mastercard, you could make purchases with either one, where ever you shopped.   Today it is a different story.  Some stores accept one or the other, but not both.  Costco, for instance, does not accept Visa.  I only have Visa, so when I shop at Costco, I pay cash or write a check. It is to the credit card company's benefit to work with a retailer to ensure that only their cards are accepted.  Is it a benefit to the consumer?  Maybe!  Because you do not need more than one or two (at the most) credit cards and limiting the number of cards you carry, can work to your advantage, especially if you earn reward points.  Consider this, if you are consistently pulling out the same card to swipe, you will earn points quicker than if you were using two cards interchangeably.  Also, having a limited number of cards on hand may limit the amount you spend and if overspending is an issue, this may be an easy way to avoid that.  Another angle to consider when deciding whether or not to increase your card holdings is  your credit report.  If you can charge on your cards and pay the bill every month you will improve your credit score and get the best interest rate when making large purchases (i.e. automobile), but if you carry too much debt, it will serve to lower your rating and your score, which will make it costlier to get a loan.

Today, check your wallet.  How many cards are in there?  Which ones have a low interest rate?  Which ones have a high rate?  Do you earn tangible rewards with any of the lower rate cards and are any of those accepted at places where you shop the most, including gas stations?  This is your finance challenge today.  It should not take too long to investigate the numbers, since the last focus was organization and you should have all your credit card information filed away, nice and neat and in a place where it is easily retrieved.  Until next time... Sharon - Director at Swarm

Finance - The Beginning

"An investment in knowledge pays the best interest." - Benjamin Franklin
When it comes to investing, nothing will pay off more than educating yourself. Do the necessary research, study and analysis before making any investment decisions.

Good Day Swarm Single Moms

For the next few months the focus of these blog posts will be finance and money.  How to make money, how to save money and how to grow money.  Financial information is important to everyone, but it is even more important to single moms.  Too many single moms are so busy and life is going by so fast that if you are not working a financial plan you could end up struggling in your later years.  No one wants to see that happen to you!

The information I share will be from many sources and I am hoping that some of you, my readers, will also join in and share your experiences.  Every single mom is different and all of our stories and experiences are different, but there are some underlying connections that will help the life of another single mom if you share it.

Because our financial knowledge can impact our lives and help to make a higher (or lower) quality of life experience. it is vital that we improve our finances starting today.

Today is Sunday.  Many of us will go to a church or some sort of religious institution to get our fix for the week.  Most of these institutions will want some sort of contribution.  Many in attendance will give and the expectation is that you will too!  How much do you give and why?

Today I want you to explore where your money goes and for the next two weeks, keep a running log of where you spend your money.

The best information you can learn about your finances is how you spend your money.  

Single moms survive medical issues with help from others

Hey Swarm Moms

Did you read the latest news about surviving illnesses? Apparently, if you are married you will have better survival rates than if you are not.  You will also have better medical treatment and ... the odds favor the married woman for early discovery of disease.   Wow!!! Is this crazy or really sad? or both?

We as the single mom community should pay attention to why the writers have determined this to be true.  The fact that there is an early discovery of a disease could be the result of having a loving partner who will notice changes in their loved one that a stressed and rushed single mom may ignore in herself. Some diseases may have obvious disease manifestations such as lumps, observable tiredness, puffy bellies, and mood swings that a single mom may attribute to other issues.  Having a loving partner prod or gently push her to see a physician in a timely manner may make all the difference in the world.

The better care that a married woman receives could be a direct result of having an involved partner helping to research care and treatment.  Just by the very presence of an involved man could tip the attention to the married woman.  Also, I don't know if any other single moms have experienced this but, I have had many instances where I am invisible when I show up without a partner.  On the other hand, if I am getting my car repaired, I receive attention and care above and beyond what me or my car need. Always to the tune of big bucks.  But, back to the medical disparity between married women and others.  Having a caring and concerned loved one who is attentive to your needs during times of illness is probably the biggest reason that married women have better results than others.

Let's face it ... surrounding yourself with people who love you and want the best for you is going to be the ultimate scale tipper when a woman or a man is ill.  If you have someone in your life who will help research treatments, doctors, hospitals and recoveries you will fare better than if you travel the road alone.  These loved ones will also help by being a presence in your life when you are feeling sad, depressed and/or challenged, which means they will be the ultimate stress busters.

SO... the lesson here for all single moms is:
1) pay attention to your body and your symptoms
2) be proactive in your healthcare
3) surround yourself with people who love and care about you
4) learn how to de-stress
5) get yourself a health care provider who you feel is competent and trustworthy
6) friends and family are relationships that must be nurtured in good times and bad, but weed out people now who do not have your best interest at heart
7) **ORGANIZE your medical records and have them at the ready should any issue arise that you need to access them

**Like how I tied this post to the organization focus   :)

Personal organizational focus

It's Saturday Swarm Moms!!!

Yeah! for those who don't have to get up and go into work this can be a day of relaxation.  Some single moms are working today and some of those moms are going into work at a second job.  When a single mom has to take a second job, this puts even more strain on her quality of life.  The money must be important and necessary or else, she is detaching herself from her family.  In either case, this is not going to bode well for a happy future.  How does this play into the Organization mindset that we have been focusing on these last few weeks?

For starters every single mom needs to be organized.  In fact everyone who wants to attain success needs to be organized.  The mom who is working two jobs is working hard, but not working smart.  This mom must start to look up in her work environment and locate the higher paying jobs.  There is good reason to make more money and to move up in your career.  You may only have to work one job and you may end up with more time off.  Strange huh? the higher up you are in a corporation, the more days off you get.  The more money you make within an organization, the more leverage you have.  Is this true always? No, but it is true most often.  Recently, one of my bosses was overheard saying, ' It's crazy! the more money you make here, the less work you actually have to do'. Wow! Pretty honest and insightful!  But the reason to work hard (isn't that a given) and to look up to better positions is because we need to be in jobs that use our gifts and talents.  And one of the ways to uncover your gifts and talents is to get organized in the way you spend your time so that you can spend some time doing what interests you.  If your life is a mess and you spend much of it working, then you will not have the down time to evaluate your likes and dislikes.  The pure enjoyments of life will pass by unnoticed.  Soon, your children will be grown and on their own.  You can not waste any more time in a state of chaos.  This includes a chaotic living space, a chaotic career path and an unplanned future.

Take the time to evaluate your life and your likes.  Where do you feel most connected? What do you feel happiest doing?  Now examine your life and your goals and see if you are aligned.  If not, begin now to seek out better employment, more money, more time off...whatever it will take to open up time for yourself and your family.

Hello Swarm Moms

This week I want you to think about things you can do in your life to make it run a bit smoother.  That's what being organized will do, so as you go through the next few days, be cognitive of what you do and how you do it.  Would it be better to do all your laundry in a single day or over the week as needed? Would making meals ahead of time make for more family time?  If you can pay all your bills in a single day, should you or should you wait and pay them weekly or bi-weekly? (That is also a finance question!)... Think about what is more convenient?

Something that was breaking up my leisure time on a Sunday morning was going off to purchase the newspaper. I like to read the newspaper and I like the coupons.  But I did not like having to get dressed and make my way out to get it.  I solved this 'my time' destroyer by getting a Sunday only subscription.  I wake up on Sunday morning and my paper is right there ... on the sidewalk.  It is pretty awesome to walk out and pick up my paper.  The only caveat is that I have to tip them.  Yuck, I hate to tip for something I should be doing, but it is worth it.

Often, in life we do the same things in the the same way because we are complacent and we figure, 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it'.  Listen up single moms, If we don't stay on the path of continual improvement and growth, then we actually begin to stagnate.  If there are better ways to perform your tasks and live your life, you should.  It is about quality of life... It is about quality of life.  So make it better; the best it can be.  Now is not the time to let things be.  Now is the time to evaluate our choices and how we spend our time.  I realize having my paper delivered is not earth shattering, but it makes my Sundays a lot more enjoyable.

That is what I want for you!  So what can you do to make your life more enjoyable.  What can you do to save time so you can savor time with your family?  Really! Take a few minutes and think about your life.  What aspect of your life do you detest and what can you do to make it better?  As I showed you, it doesn't have to be life altering, just life enhancing!

The Rhythm of Sunday

Good Morning Swarm Single Moms

This is one of those lazy mornings for me. Even though it is thee day that will set the tone for the upcoming week.  I start out by reading the Sunday paper, clipping coupons, creating the food plan for the week and then, grocery shopping.  Many folks seem to make this day their grocery shopping day as the store is always busy, unless I go early in the morning.  The advantage to shopping early is that the sales usually begin on Sundays and the store hasn't run out of sale items.  The earlier I go, the less congested it will be.  Often, the only early morning shoppers are me and the local firefighters who are beginning their three day 'on' shift.

In my kitchen I keep a running list of items to buy that any household member is encouraged to add to.  I ask that they look for and place coupons for their items in a coupon basket that I placed on a desk in the kitchen.  They do not always do this, so I do find myself looking for them as I cut and organize the coupon basket.  This task of organizing coupons is ongoing, as coupons come in the mail, are printed from on-line and even age out of the basket (expire).  Because of this ongoing need for updating, I continue to spend time on shopping day sub-organizing.  My goal with couponing is to buy only what I need and will use.  If I purchase items we will never use or if I have to purchase more than what I will use, it is wasted money and that is the anthesis of my goal.  Always use your oldest and aged coupons first.  I shop weekly for staples and sometimes during the week I may go and pick up fresh meat or fish.  I like my protein fresh and the store where I shop most frequently, the fish are delivered on Tuesday and the meat on Tuesday or Wednesday.  This is information you should know for your favorite store if you are carnivores.

After my meal planning I refer to the list other family members have added for their lunches and snacks for the week.  They pick out their drinks, snacks and meal.  I add the fruits and veggies according to what is on sale.  Rarely are there coupons for veggies and fruits, but when there are, I jump on it.  You can do so much with fruits and veggies and Sundays are a good day to experiment.  I'm thinking pies, cobblers, caramel apples (it is fall after all!).

The Sunday evening meal is a good time to talk about the upcoming week and deviations or additions to our regular schedule.  Doctors appointments, school activities...you name it and we will discuss it.  So when I mention that today is a day of leisure, it really means that we are off the clock.  We set the pace; our schedule - less defined and we can enjoy the day being together, even if that means that some of us are coming and going.   It is a good day to connect!

stress relieving ideas

Hello Swarm Single Moms

I know we have been focusing on organization for the last few weeks and this will continue for about 2 more weeks, however.... I want to take this post to talk about stress and some ideas for releasing stress.

Many moms are super stressed this time of year.  The children are back in school and everyone is adjusting to new things (classrooms, teachers, bedtimes, food prep, frenemies, etc.)

It is challenging to be a mom and often even more so to be a single mom.  It is only you and you have a lot to deal with.  So I want to share what I find helpful when I am under stress.

1) Prayer. Whoever your God is ask for help.  But, remember to achieve the desired results you must exert energy (action) and combine that with the prayer.  Prayer with action.

2) Exercise.  Apparently (and I am not a doctor) relieving stress through exercise is tremendously beneficial.  It keeps your body strong, your heart strong, your mind strong (see where I am going with this) and it helps you sleep better at night.  Sleeping well at night is necessary because that is when your body is repairing itself and preparing you for the next day.  Playing with your kids is a great way to get exercise and a great way to connect with your kids.

3) Laughing. Laughing helps relieve stress and there have been some studies suggesting that laughing helps us to think better and clearer.  Now, I do not have the studies at hand while I write this so you can try it out yourself.  Rent a funny movie, read a funny book, listen to a comedian and then test how YOU feel afterward. :)

4) Books on tape.  This is my 'go to' way to destress.  I have listened to many a fine book in the car on my way to a job that is not my dream job and then home where I credit the books on tape to allowing me to unwind and focus on my family.  I also like that I am entertained or educated via the books on tape. Multi-tasking my entertainment with de-stressing benefits.

SWARM copywrite 2013

Mondays make me tired

Hello Swarm Single Moms!!!

Happy Monday and Happy beginning of the week.  If you are anything like me, when I come home from work on Mondays, I am so tired.  It takes everything I have to get dinner on the table, help with homework and to engage in any other tasks. I would really like to veg in front of the tv.  But that would be the wrong thing to do because minutes are precious when you are a single mom.  You are so busy, so often, that time really does fly by.  I can not believe (I know that sounds so cliche) that my daughter will be heading off to college next fall.

Keeping that knowledge in the forefront of my brain helps me to slow down and be present when I am fortunate enough to be spending time with her.  Too often I feel like I am just a big vocal horn sounding off in the house.  "Did you do your homework", "pick up your clothes", "get the towels off the floor", "put the dry dishes away".. I don't know if she will ever really know how special she is to me and that my life would truly be meaningless if she was not in it.

It has been just she and I for her whole life.  She has not always been happy about that, but that is how the cards get dealt sometimes and you make the best with what you have.  I have always worked with her best intentions in mind.  I have made some big, big mistakes that I will carry with me to my grave, but I have never regretted the road I chose.  It has been a scary ride sometimes and there have been many times I wish I had been better prepared and more knowledgeable, (other than learning after the fact).  But, I love my girl, I am always learning and I hope that she will know and understand that there is no one I love more in this life and no one that can inspire me to be better and to do more. I am thankful that I get to share some time on this earth with her.

*** This post is not what I intended.  I was going to give some ways to stay organized so that Mondays are not so draining.   I  am going to keep this post, though, because  I don't write many 'love letters' to my child. How about we all take some time today and write our kids a love letter.  Sharon

Real life challenges

Hello Swarm Single Moms

Every once in a while I like to remind my readers the reason why I am putting together funding for a resource center for single moms.  I recently related the story of a mom who was renting a house with a potential mold problem.  Today I share the story of my auto insurance agent.  A single mom to one young son.

Her name is Gabrielle and this is a true story.

About two months ago I went to pay my auto insurance and to get some information about insuring a storage unit that I will be using to house SWARM donations.  As she and I discussed the fees and coverage she told me she thought  creating SWARM was a great idea and she might have some gently used items to donate.  She told me about her son and how he had some toys that he rarely, if ever, played with. She thought about donating them. I let her know that when I had secured the storage unit, in about three months, I would contact her about the donations.

Today, about two months later I was back paying my insurance and touching base with her about the quotes I had gotten for the storage unit.  Somehow we got onto the subjects of money orders and I told her how we had just gotten a directive at my work that we won't be accepting any money orders because of a theft that happened at a recently closed bank on the west coast.  That information triggered a story from Gabrielle which is the inspiration for this post.

Last month, Gabrielle was going on vacation and had given her sister some money for rent.  She asked her sister to purchase a money order, place it in an envelope, then put it into the apartment complex's mail box. Gabrielle's sister did as she was asked and placed the envelope with the money order into the rental office post box.  When Gabrielle returned from her trip, she found an envelope from the apartment complex in her mail box and, thinking it was the receipt, set it aside.  A couple of days later, she opened the envelope and discovered that the office never received her rent.  She immediately phoned them to find out what happened.  According to them,  they never received the payment and because they did not get the rent, they were giving her two weeks to pay her rent or move out.  Panicking, she phoned the company that she purchased the money order from and, having saved the receipt was able to trace the cashed money order to a bank (BBT) in North Carolina.

The money order company was able, for a fee, to send Gabrielle a copy of the cashed money order, which she could tell, had been verified as to authenticity by notes the bank wrote on the money order.

Long story short.  Gabrielle was out $950.00, plus she needed to come up with another $950.00 to replace the money that the apartment complex never received and $950.00 for the next month's rent, which was now just two weeks away.  I sympathized with her and asked her how she was able to come up with the money.  She said it was a very difficult time, she was totally stressed and because of the missing rent money order, all her savings are now gone!

How many single moms do you know would have that kind of money set aside for an incident such as the above story?

This is why I want a resource center and the reason why my attorney said I should have small loans as part of the service.  I agree.  Even more so now.  I can not say I would have had, at certain times in my single mom-hood, the money to cover such a disaster.  I applaud Gabrielle for her money saving skills and the prudence and wisdom to save for the proverbial rainy day!!


***   Update   ***
Apparently, the money order was stolen from the mail box at the apartment complex.  It was part of a theft ring that was occurring in many areas and the thieves were able to get banks and other cash checking businesses to cash the money orders they were stealing.

Gabrielle is still using money orders because the apartment complex will not take personal checks, but she is handing it to them and waiting on a receipt.

Organization! What does that word mean to you?

To me, it means that every thing has a place and 'it' can be found there.

It also means (to me) no clutter!  But . . . that might not be the same for you!

Clutter in your home may be organized.

 - It could be the pile of papers on your desk.

 - It could be the clean dishes in the dishwasher

 - It could be the laundry, dirty or clean, that is to be found in the laundry room or in the clothes basket.

 - It could be the 'junk' drawer that you throw everything small(ish) that does not have its own space

Whatever you organization means to you, does it help you get where you need to be?

That is why we are focusing on organization this month.  We are approaching the process in slow and deliberate ways.  One room at a time and/or one focus at a time.  I like the idea of focused organization because it allows me to have recognized improvement but, I am not a fan at the slowness of the process.  In the long run, however, this is the the way that works best for me.

Today's focus is to organize the electronic's cords and adapters and chargers, etc.  As you go through the rooms and drawers in your home, look for cords to gather into a central location.  For this task, I like to use a basket.  I call all hands on deck to participate in this chore AND I ask that the family locate the cords for their specific electronics and with masking tape cut into 1 in x 2 inches they fold the tape around the cord so their is a tail exposed.  On this tail write the name of the product that goes with this cord, (i.e. phone, camera, gps. etc.)

Then, when all the cords have been tagged, make on drawer their home.  You can also use a box or any container really, and store it in a closet or cupboard so it is out of sight.  Just make sure that you store it somewhere that is easy to reach because you will be going into this box daily.  You can also decide to have everyone house their own cords, making them responsible for for finding a storage space, out of the shared living space.

*** Consider using a different color or style of masking tape for easy recognition.

Happy organization to all the wonderful single moms in the world (and to those that love them)!!

some time savers

Greetings Swarm Moms

Today let's discuss some small actions that, over time, help to make life a little easier.

*** If you take something out, put it back when you are done.  If you are not done, but you won't be working on it (whatever IT is), put it away until you have the time to work on it.

*** Clean your dishes when you are done with them,  I like to wash the dishes as I am baking or cooking. However, I will let the dinner dishes sit for two days. In order to have a neat and tidier home,  I am now washing the dishes as I go and have instructed my children to do the same.  In the morning when you have finished eating your breakfast, before you do anything else, I tell them, clean your dishes. They don't even have to put them away, just wash them!!!

*** When you take the clothes out of the dryer, fold them immediately.  I like to use the (clean) dining room table to fold and sort the clothes for everyone.  This makes me keep an uncluttered dining room table.

*** Have a place designated for footwear. Boots on a mat near the door (winter) and other footwear into a closet or the owner's bedroom.  I like to use the hanging plastic shoe racks, but shoe boxes work well, too!  Also consider, if you have many pairs of shoes, printing a picture of the shoes that correspond to the shoe boxes you store them in so that you have a quick reference point when seeking out a specific shoe.

*** Wipe the kitchen and bathroom sink daily. It is a small action that makes a big difference. Do the counter as well!

*** Absolutely no clothing on the floor! Period, end of discussion.

*** Use a bag sealer for frozen foods if you will not be using the whole bag.  This will save you money by preventing freezer burn, so you can actually cook and eat what you have in the freezer.

*** Keep your grocery coupons on your phone or in your car so you can actually use the ones you have before they expire.

Just a few thoughts I wanted to share that involve small actions that create a more harmonies living space. 

Thathatha thats all folks!