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