Month: March 2021

DeStress During Holy Week

This is the beginning of Holy Week for many of you so I want you to take a few minutes this evening or tomorrow to map out what you need to get done. By taking a hard look at your traditional Holy Week and Easter activities, you can decide what is most important for you to do this week.  By analyzing what is most important to you is necessary to destress during Holy Week. 

We want to continue to work on protecting our ‘me time’, practicing self care while ensuring that last minute spending doesn’t wreck our budget for the week.

One of the financial goals for many of you this year is to preplan your activities and trips so that you can anticipate what it will cost you. This allows you to save your money for these items that occur every year so that you don’t end up in debt creating the perfect celebration so Easter week is a great time to practice this new habit.

Preplanning allows you to decide how much you truly want to do this week. Your schedule for the week allows you to write down your menus, church schedules, and Easter activities.  Once you decide on your activities, develop your budget. Shopping lists are a must so that you can minimize your trips to the store in order to decrease your impulse purchases.

Now that you have mapped out your activities, are you over scheduling yourself? Are you building in ‘me time’?  Are you going to be able to truly enjoy yourself? Are you spending the weekend with other adults?  If so, this is a great time to map out the chore list so that everyone is helping with each activity.  Working with others ensures that everyone can spend time reflecting on what is truly important.

It is better to back off on commitments now rather than trying to decompress afterwards.  

6 Tips to Combat Mindless Eating

Mindless Monday….

I had to take a picture of the situation I found myself in last night. I was all excited about getting Dr. Fung’s book The Obesity Code and was settling in to begin reading it. I wanted a sweet snack and was about 3 bites in when I realized that I was my own worst enemy!

Ughhhhh! I looked into what was left in the container, freezer burn and all and thought, you cannot eat bad ice cream while reading about why you are struggling with your weight! Especially when it is a flavor that you are not crazy about.

OK, you shouldn’t eat good ice cream either while reading this book but this was such a perfect example of mindless eating.  I have worked to eliminate added sugars in my diet and this just creeped in.  I told myself not to do it and then talked myself into 5 spoonfuls.  It is such a mind game.

I put the ice cream container away and reminded myself about how I eliminated added sugars to begin with.  Food is the fuel my body needs and I work to ensure that I am eating healthy and nutritious foods the majority of the time.  

Here are 6 tips to combat mindless eating:

  • Don’t buy it to begin with.
  • Buy ice cream flavors that I don’t like so that my husband and kids don’t get mad at me.
  • Hide it.
  • Throw it out when it gets freezer burn.
  • Read nutritional labels to look for hidden sugars.
  • Be intentional and serve an exact serving or portion of a serving so that I don’t eat the whole thing in one sitting.

Being intentional with our foods and remembering that they are a fuel should help keep us on course.  

Is a Tax Refund or Stimulus Check Coming Your Way?

 

 

 

 

Is there a tax refund or stimulus check coming your way?  If so, what plans do you have for this money?

 

 

 

 

 

This past year has impacted so many parts of our lives. Many of you lost your jobs, had your hours reduced, you found another job or you found yourself working overtime due to the work that you do. Some of us had to ‘pivot’ and create new jobs to support ourselves.

 

Many started working from home which brought on many different challenges. Parents and children became common fixtures all day, every day. Technology challenges to be able to work or complete schooling from home created new expenses.

 

What lessons have you learned about your finances over the last year? If you lost your job, did you have enough money set aside to pay your bills until you started working a side gig, found an online, remote job or began drawing unemployment?

 

If you kept your job, what savings were you able to see due to reduced family activities, remote work or were your expenses increased due to new expenses?

 

Regardless of which category you fall into, I hope that you have been able to increase your financial knowledge.  Is a tax refund or stimulus check coming your way? If so, consider these four ways for how you can use it to build up a reserve to cover your future expenses.what will you do with your stimulus money or tax refund?

 

I use Dave Ramsey’s recommendations when I am working one on one with individuals who are working through what to do next. He recommends that you prioritize your expenses with the following four categories.

 

  • Groceries–who depends on you for their source of food? Do you have enough money put aside to feed you and those dependent on you for the next 3 months?

  • Roof over your head–are you current with your rent or mortgage? You need to have a safe place to rest your head.

  • Electricity, water, gas, internet--you have to keep warm or cool depending on the season. Internet is included here especially if your income depends on being able to work remotely.

  • Transportation expenses–you have to be able to go to work or school. What does that cost you?  Do you need new tires or have you delayed any maintenance work?  This is a great time to have work done so that you can extend the life of your vehicle.

 

As you are anticipating this next round of stimulus money or an upcoming tax refund, consider how you can use it to build up a reserve to cover the four categories listed above. If you don’t need it for these categories, start a savings account so that you have something to fall back on if an emergency comes up. ($500-1000) After that start working down any other expenses that you have not been able to tackle this past year. 2020 was a crazy year and I hope that 2021 brings more stability.  

 

There are many ways to move forward.  Visit Dave Ramey’s website for more information on this topic and to read about his approach to reducing debt so that you can create wealth.

 

 

 

Happy International Women’s Day

Happy International Women’s Day to you!

“The theme for International Women’s Day 2021 is ‘Choose To Challenge’.  A challenged world is an alert world. And from challenge comes change.” So let’s all chose one of the ideals to focus on. While there are many things to celebrate on this date, I focus on ‘Uplifting Women’.

I chose to celebrate the women who came before me and gave me a (gentle) push to continue reaching for the stars. I celebrate my Mom. She was the first in her family to attend and graduate from college at a time ‘when Mexican-American girls were told to go to secretarial school.’ She became a teacher and touched the lives of thousands of girls in her forty years of teaching. She has been my inspiration and I hope to touch the lives of other women and girls who cross my path.

Who gave you an extra nudge or two?  What was it that helped move you along in your journey?  What do you now bring to the table to continue the work that has been done?

I have chosen to work on ‘Uplifting Women’ and look for opportunities every day to share my knowledge and expertise in the arena of women’s health.  I share information on the topics of well woman preventative health screenings, education, self care which includes ‘me’ time, and basic financial literacy topics.

Why do I touch on financial literacy?  I do not want women to stay in toxic personal or work environments because they cannot afford to leave.  I do not want them to make poor financial decisions if their partner leaves or dies because they did not acquire the knowledge they needed to access or understand their bank accounts.  

Why do I touch on education?  I believe that the path to a better future combines your financial literacy and a marketable skill that allows you to provide for yourself.  I would love to see all who want a partner seek a partner for the love and companionship that they provide; not for the financial security they may bring.

Who do you celebrate?

What do you bring to the table?

Who will you lift up?

So Happy International Women’s Day to each of you!  #ChooseToChallenge 

10 Prompts To Help You Tell Your Story

March is Women’s History Month

 

What is your story?  Do your loved ones know about your childhood or why you decided to pursue your chosen profession?  I love genealogy and am always encouraging others to journal their experiences and family stories.

 

Let’s start with your early life.  Do your family and friends know your history.  Where were you born?  Did your family move around?  Who raised you?  What did you enjoy doing as a child?  Is there a deep secret that you have been keeping?  

Here are 10 prompts to help you tell your story for future generations.

  • What city, state and country were you born in?
  • Were you born in a hospital or at home?
  • Do you have brothers and sisters?  If so, where do you fall in the lineup?
  • Ask your mom, dad or an elderly relative if they have a favorite memory of you.
  • What is your earliest memory?
  • Did you have any pets?  Write about one of them that was extra special to you.
  • What is one memory that brings a smile to your face every time you think about it?
  • What was the name and location of the elementary school(s) that you attended?  
  • What was the name of your first grade teacher?  What is your favorite memory of her?
  • What sports or activities did you participate in? Which one was your favorite and why?

Once you are done with this time period, begin working on the next one.  Break it up into decades or schooling or other milestones that give you a timeline you can work with.  There are many ways to break down the time periods so that it does not overwhelm you.

I prefer that you use a paper journal to document your story since your loved ones may not have have access to the electronic versions.  You can also publish these works.  Pairing them with any photos you may have is even better.

The hardest part is deciding where to start.  Start with the prompts above and let them guide you as you travel back in time.   

Your story is worth sharing!