The Budget Author Blog – Eliminating Debt, Budgeting, Investing, and Couponing

Our insurance sponsor for the summer series is Mernice Oliver of American Family Insurance.  She is my personal insurance agent, and someone I love referring my clients to as well.  Here are just a few things I love about this company:

1) they’ve got amazing rates (if you don’t shop your insurance often, you should!)

2) they install cameras for FREE in the cars of their teenage drivers (how cool is that?!)

3) they give back to the community (& not everyone does anymore!)

The next two Saturdays, Mernice and her crew will be giving away 50 backpacks & loads of school supplies to children in need. They have teamed up with other local businesses to make this possible, and I love that.  If you know of families that could benefit from this event, please feel free to forward this link.  (All they have to do is stop by their office; no strings attached.)

For additional details, here’s Mernice’s contact info and office location:

I’m excited to introduce you guys to one of my favorite gals that I’ve been networking with for years!  She is magical, really, with the way she connects people to each other.  I have learned so much from knowing her.

Erika Page is our realtor sponsor for the summer series workshops, representing Keller Williams Realty.  You can tell as soon as you meet her that she’s having a blast with her business.  Don’t you just love that?  I do!  Most realtors I know have had an understandably difficult time during the last couple of years with our lovely economy.  Erika has risen above the storm, and she’s rockin’ it.  I cannot tell you how much I love working with people who love what they do, too.

She loves her job b/c she’s able to help people in so many different situations, and it’s never, ever boring.  She helps buyers find the perfect home and the perfect financing to fit their needs. Some of her clients are investors looking for a foreclosure, while others are families that need the space of a home, but aren’t quite ready to buy.  She has found rental homes, ranging from small town homes all the way to large 5 bedroom homes with basements! There are huge opportunities out there for people looking to buy or rent, and her team can find the perfect home to fit each need.

Erika also helps families that are looking to sell due to job changes, family changes, or even just to ditch some stressful debt. Her team prides themselves on doing all they can to make the process as quick and profitable as possible.

In addition to local buyers and sellers, Erika can also help with commercial properties and out of state moves.  If it’s real estate related, she can help.

Knowing Erika and the loads of referrals she is always giving to others, I also know that the number one source of her business is the referrals she receives in return.  It’s refreshing to work with someone who really gets the art of giving in networking, and she’s not afraid to give all she has to others.  It’s no wonder her business continues to grow, and I love the confidence I have in sending my clients to her.  Need a great realtor, or know someone who does?

Here’s how to get in touch w/ Erika:

678-360-6370
myfavoriteagent@kw.com
http://myfavoriteagents.com

For those of you who own iPhones, you can use it for SO many other things than just Facebook and Twitter! There are a ton of great applications that have been developed to help you save money. When you think about it, getting the best deal on anything you buy is SO much easier as technology progresses, and these applications below will help you save money even if you’ve already run out of the house.

Yowza iPhone App

Yowza is a new iPhone application that helps the user find local coupons and deals. The company behind the application has partnered up with a lot of big and small companies to offer exclusive digital coupons. Simply pull up the coupon on your phone and present it to the business, and they will scan the barcode on your phone to apply the discount. If you’ve ever been to one of my workshops, you KNOW that I love coupons! What’s better and easier than a digital coupon?

Cost: FREE!

Barcode Scanner iPhone App

There are a lot of barcode scanners in the iTunes store, but this one has one of the highest ratings at 4.5 stars out of 5 from 229 reviews.  I paid the $.99 for the app to try it out, and I quickly saw why it got such good reviews.  Most barcode scanners are not very accurate or they have a limited database.  I’ve used it five times, and it’s worked great, showing me the lowest price for that item from other retailers, including online retailers.  It’s definitely worth the buck!

Cost: $.99

Cheap Gas iPhone App

Cheap Gas does exactly what it says, it finds you the cheapest gas in town without using a ton of gas to find the cheapest gas in town!  Why waste your time searching around for the cheaper gas in your area, when you can sit in a parking lot, pull up this app, and instantly find the cheapest gas.

Cost: FREE

Kids Eat For iPhone App

Kids Eat Free costs 2.99 cents, but you’ll recover that cost the first time you use it. A lot of restaurants offer “kids eat free” days, but it’s tough to remember who offers what and when. Restaurants like to do this promotion, because typically kids meals don’t cost the restaurant much money, and they know that the parents will eat too. Still, this is a great way to save some money when you already planned on eating out, and this app helps you locate these local deals.

Cost: $2.99

Gift Planner iPhone App

Find yourself spending a lot of money on gifts? This app will help you plan a budget, set an amount, and track the performance. It’s easy to forget how much you are spending on someone if you are buying them multiple gifts for an event such as a wedding or baby shower. This app will help you stay within your gift budget.

Cost: FREE

Where has July gone!?  I wanted to post this (even in the middle of the night!) because this offer ends on Sunday, and I don’t want you to miss out!  Our good friends over at Costco have been so gracious in providing tons of goodies at our summer series workshops, and we love them. I was a huge Costco fan before I ever started this business, and I find new reasons all the time to love them even more!

One of my favorite things to do is to stock up on the items that are featured in their coupon books.  If you are a member, you’ll get these mailed to you, or you can ask for them at the front desk.  These are the only coupons they take, but they are filled with some really amazing deals.  Here’s a good example.  Before we went on our vacation in June, we needed sunscreen.  We all know that if you go to regular stores for a bottle of name brand sunscreen, you’ll pay $8 – $10 bucks for just one bottle.  While on our monthly Costco run, they had a huge sunscreen pack of 2 spray bottles, a lip balm and a face tube – all for $13.99.  Then, with the $4 off coupon they had running in the June coupon booklet, it made the whole pack only $9.99…same price I would’ve paid somewhere else for one bottle. Reason #437 why I love this place.

Through the end of July (end of this weekend – yikes!) – I’ve got an offer for a FREE $10 cash card when you open a Costco membership at the Duluth, Ga location.  You can print this flyer below and take it in to the store to redeem. Enjoy!

We often assume that everyone makes a fixed monthly income that doesn’t change much. When in fact, many of you are salespeople that earn an income based solely or partially on commissions. One month you might make $10,000, but the next two months you might not make a dime. This can pose a problem for those people who want to stick to a written budget but don’t know how to budget their monthly expenses and savings when they cannot predict their income for that month. Hopefully, these tips will help all of the salespeople out there to stick to a written budget without pulling your hair out!

• Project your minimum income for a given month. If 100% of your household income is based on commissions, then you should make sure that you have some bread and butter commission that come in fairly steadily during the month. And for months where you make a killing on commissions, put the extra money aside to cover you during months that the commissions are low.
• Prioritize your expenses. This is the secret to creating an effective budget with irregular income. List your most important expenses and bills first and get those bills paid FIRST when money does come in. No, this is not your credit card bill. First on your list should be the essentials like food, utilities, rent/mortgage, and transportation. Then, you can pay your debt bills such as credit cards and student loans. In no way am I saying to blow off your debts. You have a legal and moral obligation to pay them as promptly as possible. However, when it comes down to it, you have to care for your families basic needs first. Don’t ever pay the cable bill before buying groceries. That’s the point I am trying to make.
• Put extra money aside for low income months. Let’s say you’re a real estate agent, and you had 3 closings in one month. You might bring in $15 to $25,000 that month, but you might not bring in a dime for the next three months. When you earn a big lump sum like that, pay all of your current bills, get current if anything is overdue, and save enough cash in an online savings account to cover your expenses for the next two or three months. Think of it as a short-term emergency fund to help you stay current with your monthly bills.
• Overestimate your food and household item category. It’s very easy to underestimate this category, so set a general number and be ready to adjust it as you settle into your budget over the next couple of months. I’d rather have surplus in this category than a deficit. But, if you’ve ever gone to one of our workshops or financial counseling sessions, then you should already have some great ideas for how to save money in this category and you may not need a lot of money in it to begin with!
• If you’re married, write the budget together. I am a strong believer that you need to sit down together as a couple to write your monthly budget each month. This doesn’t mean that you both need to be the financial nerds in the family. Only one of you needs to keep the spreadsheet or balance the checkbook, but you BOTH need to communicate about where the money is going and how much is going where. It’s not fair to the spouse that handles all of the finances to make all of the decisions as well.
• Let your budget breathe a little. You must give your budget a chance to work. You can’t drop it after one month, because you spent too much or didn’t get a bill paid. Give your budget at least 3 to 4 months to work itself out. You’ll get a better idea of how much you really spend on groceries, gas, and household goods. Entertainment and eating out are categories that you can control by your behavior, so don’t blame your budget bust on the fact that you didn’t account for how much you eat out. Just stop eating out so much. It’s that simple.

For those of you that work mostly on commission, you may have a tougher time sticking to a tighter budget. But, a little planning and a strategic plan will help you save the extra money during months of surplus and cover yourself during low income months. If you do work mostly on commission, do not be discouraged. You have the unique opportunity to make as much money as you can. Your potential is unlimited. This can be a poweful wealth building tool, because your income is not static. It just takes a little more discipline to make sure you have yourself covered during low sales periods.

(photo credit: frontdoor.com)

I can’t tell you how much I LOVE College Nannies & Tutors in Lawrenceville.  If you know me personally, we all know this is no news.  But if you are just checking us out – I am thrilled to tell you about another favorite sponsor of mine!  These guys are handling the childcare for our coupon workshops all summer, and of course have done a fabulous job with all of the children.

Most people think of a nanny as a permanent/full-time addition to the family.  With these guys, they provide on-call nannies as well as part-time and full-time, so you get help when your family needs it.  Babysitter fails?  Trouble finding a sitter?  Call last minute and get way more than a babysitter with these guys.  You’ll get a fantastic, college-aged nanny that will do way more than watch a movie with your kids.  Expect: meals to be made, games to be played, dishes to be done, messes cleaned up, and most of all – happy kids.  Have your nanny drive your kids to the pool, to practice, to the park, or to appointments.  I love that you set up what you want, and that’s what you get.

In addition to the nanny services, these guys also offer one-on-one tutoring, helping students with everything from study skills to college test prep.  Their office & tutoring facility is located in downtown Lawrenceville, and I love that they are plugged into this community in so many ways.

Want to give them a try?  Here’s a deal so you can receive the first two hours of on-call nanny services for free.  Enjoy!

I’ve been addicted to an outstanding buffalo chicken caesar salad wrap for a while now, and I have my friends at Doc Greens to thank!  These guys are located over at the Avenue at Webb Gin, and if you haven’t tried them yet – you must!  We’ve been thrilled to have Doc Greens provide the wraps for our summer series workshops, and I cannot tell you how many amazing reviews we’ve received about their yummy food.

Their tagline is “as healthy as you want to be” – and I love that, because it fits them so perfectly. You can choose between a great variety of healthy food, and you can also splurge a little – all in the same place.  They make the salads and wraps right in front of you, so they are always super fresh.  And my fav part – they’ve got deals that change daily. You can find out HERE when kids eat free along with other fun sales.

Print this coupon and receive $3 off on your next visit. Or, check out our next workshop & taste the goodness!

I love listening to stories, and some of my favorites lately come from the adrenaline rush immediately following a first time couponing trip.

I love this one from Nike Aremu, a sweetheart girl from my NGBC group:

After taking your coupon workshop last week, I bought my first stack of Sunday papers this weekend (2 for the price of 1) and also bought a PINK box to store my coupons in – decided to do it in style.

I took some time to study my store and clipped the coupons that I needed for the sale items of this week. I was BLOWN away at the end of my shopping trip when my receipts showed that I had saved almost $70!!!!!

I was so excited and drove home smiling.

When I pulled into my garage, I had so much stuff that I had to ask my husband to help me get the shopping out of the trunk. He opened up the truck and gave me a look that I know well – the one I get when I go ‘out’ and come back with several pairs of new shoes – the look simply says ‘why did you spend so much money?’.

I didn’t say anything to his look until he said very slowly, “why did you buy so much stuff”. I smiled and showed him my receipt with the saving and total circled and he couldn’t believe it.

I just want to say that from now on, I am truly a very happy ‘couponer’ and can’t wait till next week.

Two more words – IT WORKS!!!!!

Congrats, Nike!  So proud of you, girl

Last week, The Budget Author had the opportunity to speak at the Lake Lanier Chapter of ABWA.  What a great experience with a super fun group of women!  ABWA is celebrating their 60th anniversary this year.  It’s women helping other women – and for decades!  Love it.

A big thanks to Barbara for featuring us in the Northeast Georgia Shopper!  How fun!

Can’t wait to get to know you all better and celebrate as our businesses grow.

Thanks again for having us!

Have you ever done something w/ stupid written all over it?  I did this week.  I went on a Publix trip Wednesday night after prepping for coupons & deals that start on the very next day.  Brilliant, right?  I thought so.  I contemplated just keeping this embarrassing story to myself, cause really it’s not a fun one to tell.  It doesn’t help that I was teaching a coupon workshop the very next night.  I guess we all do stupid every now and then.  Next time, maybe I’ll double check the dates.

I almost walked right out and called it a day, but instead I laughed loudly in the middle of the store.  (The people in there already think I’m crazy – no loss.)  I grabbed the end of the month deals, and finished the rest of my shopping the next day.

So the first trip was just okay – spent $52 for $125 worth of groceries.  The next day’s trip – spent $36 for $154 worth.  So add it up and we’ve got $279 worth of groceries for $88.  Not a bad week.

Here are a couple of my favorite scenarios:  4 toothbrushes yielded a profit of $1.22.  We spent only $.45 cents for 5 sticks ($13.95 worth) of deodorant.  Also got 8 bottles of Ken’s salad dressing ($26.32 worth) – and spent $.24 cents for all.  Fun!

Keep sending us your coupon success stories – we love to hear how you’re doing!