Candace called in to our radio show and was wondering when to begin talking about a credit card for kids. Candace, that is a great question, because it’s never too soon to talk to kids about money, and as for a card, it’s best to start them on one before they leave home.

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What Velona Got part 5 in Adventures With Velona

 Velona, my evil twin, isn’t getting everything she wants. She sniffs because she wanted to lease an Audi convertible, but has decided to put it off so she won’t have a new car payment (her Honda is almost paid for.) She swears that once she’s out of credit card debt, she’ saving for the convertible. We’ll see. But Velona is calmer now, and she’s got big plans.

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How Much Do I Have to Save to be Rich? part 4 in Adventures With Velona

 Depends on your idea of rich, but how does saving 20% of your income sound? Impossible? Not even? Well, how about 10%? Even if you just save 2 to 5% a month, the practice of it will take hold, and you’ll be amazed by what consistent saving will do for you.

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Why The Mattress Doesn’t Work part 3 in Adventures With Velona

            If you’re stuffing your savings under the mattress or in a hole in the backyard, get thee to an MMA, (money market). Velona got one and is earning 5.23%. She confided that until now she thought it stood for some sort of Masters in Modern Art, and so she never got one.

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Yes, But Does It Work? part 2 in Adventures With Velona

            Women often ask if saving is worth it~~if it really works. Ask Velona, my evil twin, and she’ll tell you it’s made her very happy due to the fact that she’s actually increased her spending power by saving for the right things (in her case a weekend in New York). Also she doesn’t have to dodge any more phone calls during supper from collectors, although one of them was really nice and asked her out, but she fears that would be sleeping with the enemy.

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You Get What You Need part one in Adventures With Velona

            Meet Velona, my evil twin. While I’m planning and sensibly saving, Velona lives the high life, seeking thrills in a glittery world of pleasure and fun with her friends. Velona has a seriously good time, but she’s fairly insane.

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The Way to Pay

            “I just don’t pay my bills, even though I have the money.” A very successful woman said that to me the other day. Julie Andrews never mentioned bill paying along with her favorite things in the Sound of Music, but it doesn’t have to be a constant pain either.

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Stop the Madness!

            How many times have you gotten top of your bills and paperwork, felt incredibly proud and competent, only to be dashed back down to earth again under towering piles of paper chaos? We’re all in this syndrome to some degree, and here’s how I deal with it.

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Empire Builders

            Have you ever had the feeling money is just frittering away, and you don’t have enough to cover bills, much less to save? Girl, it’s time to realize you are an empire builder waiting to happen, not an innocent bystander, or worse yet, a victim of circumstance. You can take control with just a simple plan.

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Who Holds The Purse Strings?

            Janine wrote in saying her husband treats her like a child with money, giving her an allowance, and always checking up on how she spends. “how do I get him to respect me?”

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Account For It

            If you’ve got one checking account, cash in a jar, and hope for tomorrow, you may want to ramp things up a little to keep up with changing times. Knowing which accounts to have, what they are and what they do will build confidence and help you feel more secure.

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CHAOS

            Can’t Have Anyone Over Syndrome. This was dubbed by FlyLady and most of us get this right away without explanation. Why? Because anybody will tell you they have more than they want or need anymore. CLEAN: Can Let Everybody Around Now ~ that’s my motto.

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Clutter Out and Power Up

            Did you know that decluttering opens the way for new wealth in your life? Once your personal space is cleared of too much stuff, and once your emotions are freed from their attachments to too many things, you become lighter, you feel better, and you become more energized. You also become more efficient.

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Two Kinds of Clutter

            Peter Walsh, clutter expert, says we have 2 kinds of clutter: memory clutter, and “I might need it someday clutter.” I have both kinds, but a whole lot less than I used to. Dealing with it has allowed me to live in the present instead of being locked in the past or the future.

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Flee the Clutter Money Pit

            Here’s an irony: in our attempt to enjoy and manifest wealth, we attract poverty. Buying too much of what we don’t need, and then hoarding it drains us financially, but putting an end to clutter will enable those coffers to fill right up again.

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From Clutter to Riches

            Do you have too much stuff? I do, and I purge every week. Clutter is a national malaise, so this week we’ll be talking about ways to balance our relationship to “things” so we can be happier, richer and more powerful.

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Where Angels Fear to Tread

            Yes, Julia, and you have to watch bills or they take over our living spaces and our peace of mind. Alicia wrote in asking “Why do I put off paying bills? It’s not that I don’t have the money to pay them, but they pile up on my living room table, and I’m late paying them. Plus I have to pay late fees? Why don’t I just take care of it?” All I can say, Alicia, is you’re speaking for millions of us who procrastinate. Here are a few things I do to get me moving.

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The Credit Card Two Step

            Do you get offers in the mail all the time for 0% credit cards? Do apply for them, or do you even know what they’re offering? On a trip the other day I fell into conversation with a friend about shifting maxed out credit cards around on these 0% cards. I’ll admit I do it, but you have to know how to play this game, or you will get burned. Here’s how I do it.

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The Stuff of Dreams

 What are dreams made of? Born of desire, they are information and energy; and money is one of our most powerful symbols of energy, ergo a necessity in manifesting dreams~~yours and mine. What does your dream~o~rama look like?

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Mission Accomplished

            Operation Sort of New Car has come to a successful end: we got a shiny red number at a great price. It was hard work, but worth it. We learned some lessons, and overall it was a great adventure~one I hope we don’t repeat too soon!

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Crazy

            There’s a reason we don’t go car buying very often~~because it’s crazy out there. Somewhere between the rush hour traffic, thunderstorms, sleaze, and ineptitude we knew we’d find our dream car, but we came home empty handed. For us, yesterday’s shopping was just all too much.

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Pay That Debt!

            Marie wrote in asking “Should I use my savings to pay my credit card debt?” Great question Marie, and congrats on dealing with your debt. If you have a lot of debt and a lot of savings, then yes, spend some of your savings. But you need money in the coffers for emergencies, especially if you’re supporting a family; most say 6 months living expenses will do. Just don’t leave yourself vulnerable to the “slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.”

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This Season’s Must Have~Money Market!

            We’re answering questions this week, so get yours in under Contact Martha. “What is a Money Market and how does it work?”, signed Tracey. A Money Market, or MMA, needs to be in your portfolio because it has form and function; it will help organize you as well as bring in extra money, and who doesn’t need a little extra dough?

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What I’m Driving At

            This week I’ll answer your questions and provide updates on our Operation Sort of New Car, the quest for the perfect car for my daughter. If you are looking too, or will be sometime soon, give a look at Teresa’s Tips, and also Tell Me About It! (Baby You Can Drive My Car.) We have found some fantastic deals by researching online. The hunt is well afoot and we’re having a blast test driving Hondas, Toyotas and Nissans. We should do a BMW just for fun~~haha!  (p.s. tune in to http://www.radiosandysprings.com/ on Fri. the 13^th! when I will air a special radio show just for you. Call in at 3 p.m. 404.943.1620 and say hello, ask a question or voice an opinion.)

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Attracting More

 Have you got that feeling that the dollars drift in way slower than they ship out? Is your paycheck spoken for before the ink dries? Take stock of that moment of critical mass~~say a day like today, Friday, when you finally get paid: yay! Your money powers towards you, safely arrives at port, only to . . . what? Have the cream skimmed off straight away at the mall or your favorite bar? Dumped mindlessly into your checking account and then God knows what from there? If you want to attract more, be aware of what you have now, and what is happening to it.

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Money is Power and Options

� � � � � � � � � � � Have you ever stopped to consider this? That really is the essence of what money is. It allows you to manifest your will. I’m going to help you organize yourself so you can reach this aim.

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Be Free, Be Happy

 Today as I think about freedom and independence, and what it cost early Americans to obtain it, I’m grateful and excited to live in a country so geared for individual opportunity, for the “pursuit of happiness,” which I heard was originally penned “the pursuit of property.” The chief goal of the website is to help women become financially free and independent, and this always renders an amount of happiness, but of course that requires action and attitude. Being free and standing alone often means not fighting and resisting, but being open to creative possibilities.

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Watch What You’re Doing

            I spent much of my life believing money just “happened” and you either came into it or you didn’t. Hahahha. Now I know money is a direct result of choices I make day in and day out, from purchases large and small, to investments large and small. Believe me, it’s a far far better thing we do to recognize we have the power, and that we are constructing our wealth and happiness. This means we can make it go the way we want to. Simple, but not always easy to do, if we just witness our choices all day, we can see brick by brick how our little house is made.

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Ya Gotta Give a Little

 This week we’ll be talking about the energy of money, and how to attract and maximize it in your life, for money is the physical token of what we all exchange every day in order to make our lives, and the world go round. Money is to the world as blood is to the body, and we want to keep it moving and moving to all the right places, and baby, that means you!

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Where Did All the Brain Cells Go?

            Today my refund check from the IRS came, and no they weren’t late. It was me. About a week, a crazy as usual week after the first one came in May, I lost it. I must have thrown it out, trying to be good and clean up, but it was anywhere but thiswhere. So I called the IRS, and believe it or not, they were pretty nice about it. In fact, after telling me they would reissue the check, the guy actually said “you have a great day” and I think he meant it! “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than your philosophies have dreamt of” and one of them is the irs being nice. But watch, because now they’ll probably audit me to try and get their money back. But I digress, because I wanted to mention getting along with less than usual functioning brain cells.

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Because We’re Worth It

 It must be inscribed on a deep cellular level that, after lo these many years of social advancement, we women still underrate and undervalue ourselves. I don’t know why; maybe it’s a native modesty or humility, but the tendency sometimes needs moderating and tempering, and I’m talking about everything from relationships to salaries. I have heard that women are still paid 20% or so below men, (I don’t know if that’s exact) but I would say go to salary comparison under my Learning page and make sure you’re on target. As for relationships... my friend says “make sure they’re depositing enough into your emotional bank account for what you are putting out to them, because these things need to add up!”

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I’m Free!

            You probably don’t realize it, but there are lots of free things out there all around us. Today I received in the mail a free marthascorner tshirt and magnets from vistaprint.com. (and also the replacement for the irs tax refund I lost ~~whoa!) If you allow them to send you emails and sign up, they’ll send you free offers for stuff. I paid @ $4 shipping. Tomorrow I’m returning cds to the library that I downloaded on my computer, and then made a copy for the car. The library is another great freebie. My bank gives me free bill pay online. That has changed my life.

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Buy and Sell the American Dream

            On Friday’s radio show Bright Spot w/Dot Blum I heard a guy who stages houses to sell who sounded like the real goods. This is a tough market if you’re trying to sell, and he goes in and help you get the house ready to go and knock people’s socks off, and that is what it takes. (been there done that.) Have you bought or sold recently. Have any insights to share, examples to set, horrors to provide as dire warnings?

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Money and Friendship

            Have you ever had money come between you and a friend? This can be a very tricky situation. We all have strong feelings about money, and the negative feelings can be powerful enough to wreak havoc between even the best of friends and lovers.

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Paying the Piper and Other Rude Awakenings

            Today I found out that Associated Credit Union (ACU to those of us in the know) will let anybody in. That means there’s hope for me. When they’re letting anyone in, I know I have a fighting chance. This is important for me right now because I’m trying to finance a Sort of New Car for my daughter to replace her vintage Volvo, which if we’re able to sucker a, I mean locate a buyer, will probably net up to $500 since it does have “2 new tires!”

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Status on the Road 

            Today I fell into conversation with a friend who allowed that our cars are an extension of ourselves, and that they fill a vacuum. Now, for me, shopping for clothes fills a vacuum, (albeit for only 20 mins., up to 2 weeks,) but my car doesn’t really resonate for me. It’s not that I don’t have a dream car~~I do~~but it’s way below traveling and eating out so I don’t have to cook.

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Baby You Can Drive My Car 

            Here in my family we are buying a car. Yikes! There isn’t exactly a car fund under the mattress, and one has to ask the inevitable when it comes to paying~~”but how?” We’ve always paid cash for our cars, which explains why they’re all old clunkers. But this is for my daughter, so it has to be safe and can’t break down and stuff, so we’re going to finance. So now we’re into Operation Sort of New Car and it’s actually kind of fun. Teresa will be posting tips on car buying this week, as she is our Buy A Sort Of New Car Guide.

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How Do You Like To Spend? 

            What’s your favorite way of spending money? I love shopping, pure and simple, and yes I have strains of the psycho spender in me, including bargain hunter to excess spender and everything in between. I think the only place I don’t like spending is the grocery store, probably because I don’t like to cook, but I confess to liking the little dinky purchases. Now larger purchases scare me, but they can still be thrilling. What turns you on?

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Imagination Pays 

            Don’t overlook you own imagination when it comes to wealth building. You alone know what you most want. Everyone needs the basic necessities met, and after that, it depends on your desires and intentions. Plan ahead, but plan for you, and don’t let dollar amounts hold you back from getting what you want. Maybe you won’t get everything, but you can get one thing, and that’s a start. When we look around, we can’t help but see supporting hands everywhere, so use them.

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Mutual Funds & Fun Websites 

            I know, I know ... borrrrrring! Well, not if it can make you some money honey. Now I think it’s great to start with the index funds, because over time you’re going to make some money, and when buying stocks, buy for the long run. You’ll get rich, but not quick (sorry.) To get you started, here are my favorite sites that make it just like the real thing, but not scary! It’s fun, and get your kids in on it too.

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How to Choose a Stock 

            Stock picking could be fun a rewarding if you only knew how, right? Well, guess no more, because I’m going to take you through a few basics that will get you started. This week we’re talking about investing, and stocks and mutual funds are a cornerstone of your financial empire

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Six Ways to Sunday

            Yesterday we saw the wonders of investing. Today, let’s talk examples. Here are 6 ways of building wealth. You decide what you’re comfortable with, and what allows you to sleep like a baby at night. (For more details, try fool.com/fool’s school.)

            Savings/Savings Bonds

            Money Markets

            CDs

            Stocks

            Bonds

            Home Buying

Most people have a blend of these. We call them “instruments of investment,” so let’s make some music!

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Who me, Invest?

          Money is power. Money is choices. Money is freedom. Did you know that your money should be working for you? We all plod in a trance of working for money; we do it every day, and we do it for life. But here’s a twist: money works for you. You are a general, and every day you give your dollars their marching orders, and we call it Investing! This week I’ll talk about how to get started. Feel free to write in with questions and comments. Remember, there are no stupid questions.

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What If...?

 I seem to spend a lot of my time saying what if? In fact, as I think of it, I’m living an awful lot of my life under the what if? proposition. What if I had millions of dollars and didn’t even have to get up in the morning if I didn’t want to? What if the world could go on with or without me, and I was free to do or not do, just as I pleased? Would I turn into a lazy blob or would I love it and lead a blissful life?

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What makes you so smart? (Part 3)

            Did you know you probably have hidden talents that endow you with native abilities for making yourself successful with money? Most people overlook their inherent wealth when they think of themselves as money moguls. Maybe you aren’t a mogul, but I’ll bet you’re way more than you think you are. Up to now I’ve mentioned common sense, self knowledge, average intelligence and a lack of fear as qualities ready to boost your wealth. But there’s one more, and it often makes the telling difference in how happy you are apt to be.

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What makes you so smart? (Part 2)

            Have you ever asked yourself, what do I know?   How on earth am I supposed to make all these decisions about money? You may be smarter than you think, and this is fairly common for women. Just because you don’t have an MBA doesn’t mean you don’t possess what it takes to make yourself rich.

            Yesterday I mentioned having a moderate intelligence and a lack of fear were primary indicators of success. Today I’m adding 2 more star qualities you can get without a degree.

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What makes you so smart? (Part I)

            What makes any of us so smart about money? We all have the ability. Of that I’m certain. It’s just not that hard. But what keeps us from being successful with our money? If it’s not that we don’t have the innate ability, then it’s external forces, unless it’s not. In which case, it’s internal. Deepak Chopra says we bring to money what is already inside us; i.e., if you have insecurities or fears, then you’ll have insecurities and fears about money. Well, I’ve yet to meet the person devoid of fears and insecurities, so that puts us all in the same boat. And since each person is dealing with their own personality traits on a daily basis anyway, struggling, or not, towards some measure of self improvement, then let’s look at what each of us already has that is providing us with all we need to be successful with money.

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What did you do today w/money? 

            What if you asked yourself every day, what did I do that involved money today? Think about it. Are there any activities that don’t involve money?

            I ate Cheerios for breakfast. How’d I buy them?

            I fought traffic to get to work.  In what? A car you paid money for and pay to maintain? A bus or train you paid to ride in? A bike you bought? (If you walked, you’re a free agent and your life has nothing to do w/money at the moment! Write in and tell us how it feels.) But seriously; have you ever really thought about exactly what your money is or isn’t doing for you?

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Feeling Rich

         I’ve spent most of my life creating a feeling of wealth without paying for it, since I couldn’t afford it, and you know what’s funny? In the times when I could afford it, I spent much less time thinking about my stuff and what I wanted. It’s almost like wanting what you can’t have, because once there was plenty of money, I sort of pooped out on the spending thing. Has this ever happened to you?

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A Waking Dream

            Do you remember how to dream the way you used to when you were a kid? I can recall sitting for hours alone or with a friend, engrossed in the details of a make believe world with props, characters and ever changing plots that suited our needs and whims. When I grew up and practiced musical improv, I learned the term “intelligent play.” It’s a type of free, sharp witted play but with guidelines and patterns. You can use intelligent play to devise your own plans for wealth and success.

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Are We Done Yet?

            Isn't that always the way? We always just seem to want a little more? This is a consumer society, and everywhere under every circumstance someone somewhere is trying to tempt us into buying and spending. I love shopping—it’s a turn on and I love bargain hunting. But I sometimes wonder: are we’re setting ourselves up to never be satisfied? 

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Who Talks About Money?

            Did your parents ever talk to you about money? How often do you talk to your kids? At a party last night a woman said she was never worried about her (newly married) daughter and sex because they had talked about it quite a lot when she was growing up. In fact, they talked about everything but money! She now worries that money may become an issue in her life and in her marriage. Asking around the table, I found that no one grew up in a home where they were taught anything about wealth building or money managing. Well how on earth are we supposed to be a big success, much less teach our kids?

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Memorial Day

            Today I am thinking of the people I know personally who have served in the military, and particularly in Iraq. I am very grateful to you all, and I cannot even imagine what you have endured. We all owe a debt of thanks and respect to our troops. Thank you, and God bless you.

            Friday I mentioned a motto beginning “people first, then money, etc.” Knowing that we are all connected as people, and that we need each other is part of the wealth and abundance which is all around us. There really are things money can’t buy, and love and friendship count. As you build your wealth, remember that together we can do far more than alone. Money and love and friendship are not opposites or very different. Each is a vehicle of energy, money happening to be neutral, but love speaks for itself. Did you know that love for yourself can attract money your way? 

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A Rich Life

 How do you live the life you want at a price you can afford? I’ve asked my dear friend Teresa to help us out on this one, because she is the official save a buck maven. Too much of our money is frittered away on small stuff, and what I want for all of us it to live the rich life, and not screen calls for fear it could be your creditor calling! So start checking in to Teresa’s tips—you’re going to a) laugh your head off, and b) save a ton.

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True Confession

            Yesterday many of you were saying that you go through phases of being on top of paper clutter only to become buried in it, depending on your particular life crisis du jour. Well I fell off the wagon last month when things got crazy and wound up missing my mortgage payment.   Whoa! I actually thought I had paid it, and what’s so sad is that they even sent me a notice saying I was late, and the mail was so piled up I didn’t even open the notice! What a surprise when later, 

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I've decided that having fun is actually critical to getting anything done. Someone once said have fun and get it done, and it’s really true. That’s why dealing with money has to be fun. We have to enjoy the process of taking care of our money, because that’s how we take care of ourselves, and actually it can be extremely rewarding, esp. if you are coming from a low level of functioning, like I was, which rendered my situation chaotic.

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"I think we're just scared of our own power..."

This was overheard in an informal discussion amongst women regarding money, and interestingly, the woman who said it was powerful already. (Of course, if you ask me, women can make babies and raise them into adults, so how much more powerful do you have to be?) But as I pondered it, other women instantly reverberated in the affirmative, so I knew we were onto something. Something big. And something else struck me: fear is powerful, so the statement is really loaded.

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