Secret to making good money decisions

My clients hire me for several reasons, one of the main ones is to give them sound advice to help them get their finances in order.

Have you ever given someone some good advice? For most people this answer is yes.

How many times have you watched talk shows or a movie and yelled out advice to the person that was getting ready to do something crazy!

"Break up with him!" "Forgive her, she loves you!" "Stop drinking and driving!" "There not your friends, stop hanging out with them!"

You know what makes it so easy? It's always easier to give someone else advice because you are not emotionally attached to their situation! Think about, haven't you been in some of the same situations that you've given a friend advice on? When your in the situation emotions will try to take over and make you do crazy things especially when it comes to dealing with your finances! That is why getting advice from someone outside of your situation is so powerful.

So next time you have a difficult decision to make do this: Step back from your situation and pretend that it's someone else going thru it. Then ask your self this question, what advice would I give my friend that's in this same situation. Or better yet seek advice from someone that you respect and you know has your best interest in mind!

There is safety in wise counsel!

Carlos Frank
Personal Financial Coach
Website: www.nextmoneystep.com

2 Simple Laws of Coupons and Sales

I just purchased something online and used a promo code/coupon to save some money. That made me think about several clients that have told me that they use coupons and take advantage of sales but still end up overspending.

Think about it. Have you ever walked into a grocery store with good intentions to sticking to your grocery list (you are using a grocery list, right?) and then end up with $20-$100 more in groceries than you intended? Then you justified this by saying well I just could not pass up a sale like this! Hmmmmm.....

If you find yourself doing this here are the 2 Simple Laws of using Coupons and Sales (Plus a 3rd bonus Law) -

1. Only use coupons on items that you have already decided to buy!
2. Only take advantage of sales on items that you've already decided to buy!
3. Read Law 1 & 2 over again!

Stores create sales and coupons for one purpose only, and unfortunately it is not their #1 goal to save you money, no matter what they say! Sales and coupons are made to do one thing! To make you want to buy, buy and buy!

So the next time you see a sale or coupon. Stop. Breathe. And ask yourself, "is this something that I already wanted to buy?" If so......then what are you waiting for? Throw it in the basket. If not then just keep on walking and keep your money!

Carlos Frank
Personal Financial Coach
www.nextmoneystep.com

Are you an Emotional Spender?

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to give someone else advice for a situation that they are going thru?

Evey wonder why it's so much easier to do this for someone else than for yourself?

One word, "EMOTIONAL"!

The worst time you can ever make a financial decision is when your emotional. And that doesn't just mean when your angry or sad.

Some of the worst financial decisions I've ever made was when I was extremely happy and excited! Have you ever gotten a large sum of money and then the next thing you know your money is gone and you don't even know where it went? Emotional Spending!

Well you had a case of "Emotional Spending". So the next time you catch yourself getting ready to do this, you can do 2 things to protect yourself from making a bad decision:

1. Seek some advice from a friend or coach like myself.
2. Step back, pause, and look at your situation like you were someone else and then ask your self what advice would I give someone else who was in this situation?
3. Wait 7 days to make the purchase. This will give you time to re inventory and see if you still really want to make that purchase.

Remember don't be an Emotional Spender!

Carlos Frank
Personal Financial Coach
Website: www.nextmoneystep.com

12 ways to save money at the grocery store!

Ok it's Saturday so that means time to shop for groceries for the Frank family. So it made me think about a coaching session I just had with a client. One of the things we discussed we're her grocery shopping habits and some things she can do to save money on her groceries.

If you want to save money on your groceries then utilize this list:

1. Have a set amount you will spend on groceries on a weekly or monthly basis and stick to it.
   
2. Always shop with a grocery list.
   
3. Write out your menu for the week and base your grocery list on that.
   
4. Never go grocery shopping hungry! (Your stomach doesn't know how much you've set aside for groceries!
5. Keep the kids at home! I have 4 of them so I know this from first hand experience. They are excellent salesmen!
6. Ok if you have to bring the kids go back and read rule number 4 and keep them out of the cereal aisle! Ever notice how Captain Crunch and all his friends are right at your kids eye level?
7. NEVER, NEVER, ever go grocery shopping at a gas station or convenience store. You will always pay a premium because of "convenience"!
   
8. Only buy what you have on your grocery list.
9. Take advantage of coupons if they are for things you were going to buy anyway.
   
10. Keep a running estimate of how much you've bought so far. For example if the milk cost $3.29 I add $4.00 to my running estimate. Then the eggs cost $1.59 I add $2.00 to the $4.00 for the milk and I now know I'm at $6.00 so far. Rounding up to the nearest dollar helps account for taxes and 99% of the time I'm over the amount I actually spend at check out.
11. Don't buy something just because it's on sale! Only buy it if it's on the list or if you are going to replace it with something else and stay within you grocery budget.
12. At the check out line keep an eye on how much things ring up for to ensure they ring up correctly, then take a quick glance at the receipt to ensure that they didn't ring up 10 of something that you only bought 1 of! Hey...people make mistakes.

What tips do you have to save money at the grocery store?