Be Amazed at What You Can Do

photo by brionv

1. Start your day earlier.
   There are numerous benefits to arriving at work early. For me it all comes down to being mentally prepared and starting my day peacefully, well-fed, and fully awake.
2. Plan your weekly menu around Superfoods.
   These so-called Superfoods are believed to lower your cholesterol, ward off disease, improve your appearance and even make you feel better. When I’m creating my grocery list I make it a point to get as many of these as I can: Beans, Blueberries, Broccoli, Oats, Oranges, Pumpkin, Salmon, Soy, Spinach, Tea, Tomatoes, Turkey, Walnuts, Yogurt. These are all delicious (in my opinion) and it’s not at all difficult to plan meals around them. You could plan a menu for one day that contains every one if you so desired:

   Breakfast: oatmeal, yogurt with blueberries, and a cup of tea.
   Lunch: a turkey sandwich with fresh spinach and tomatoes, a cup of bean soup, followed by an orange.
   Snack: a handful of walnuts with a glass of soy milk.
   Dinner: grilled salmon with steamed broccoli and pumpkin pie for dessert.

3. Remove a money drain.
   Identify one thing you buy regularly that you don’t really need and live without it for a week. It might be Starbucks, going out to lunch, renting movies, or clothes shopping. Add up how much you saved at the end of the week and put it in your savings account or envelope for a rainy day.
4. Re-establish contact with an old friend.
   In the fast-paced, individualistic world in which we live it’s very easy to fall out of touch with friends whose paths have diverged from our own. Give someone a call or email and let the friend know that you’re still around and interested.
5. Get Ready for Memory Month.
   I’m writing articles like mad. Are you ready? 30 days, 30 articles on remembering names, faces, phone numbers, playing cards, grocery lists, and just about anything else you need to recall. And there are still a few days to get in on the book giveaway.

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IttyBiz, a marketing firm for really small businesses, is running a series of tutorials on home business over the next 4 weeks. Maybe you’re already working from home and are struggling to take it to the next level. Perhaps you’ve been thinking about starting a home business but don’t know how to get past the hurdles of managing your time, money, and marketing. Or you’ve just tossed the idea around in your head but haven’t given it much serious thought. These tutorials might just give you that impetus. Here is the breakdown of the topics covered:

• Week One: Managing Your Time
• Week Two: Making and Managing Your Money
• Week Three: Marketing Your Home Based Business, Online and Offline
• Week Four: The Psychology of Working From Home.

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I’ve always wondered exactly how money is created. This is extremely disturbing.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

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A few years back I was struggling to teach myself to manage money better. I made a decent living but was never satisfied with the rate at which I was paying off my school loans and other debt. I rarely had any money left over at the end of the month to save. I was living like millions of others: month-to-month. I tried various finance applications, read various books on the subject but nothing seemed to really help me get control of my finances. Then I came across one book in particular which changed the way I thought about budgeting and debt. More about that later.

My basic strategy was as follows:

1. Write down all my monthly expenses, savings, assets, and debts
2. Every payday withdraw cash for groceries, entertainment, and spending money: put into envelopes
3. Build an emergency fund of $2,000 for unexpected things such as car repairs
4. Finally, concentrate my extra money every month on debt, starting with the smallest balance

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