According to www.dictionary.com, want is defined as “to feel a need or desire for; wish for.” Whereas, need is defined as “a requirement, necessary duty, or obligation.” I know that may seem obvious, but it is amazing how frequently people get those two things mixed up. Unfortunately, this may very well be one of the main contributing factors to the economic situation we are currently in as a country. And, trust me, I am not immune to this either. I think we have all been there.

The reason I wanted to write about this to you today is because I want to stop this cycle we are in. I want to help you put procedures in place so you can decipher a want versus a need. When times get tough, you have to cut expenses somewhere, this will help you decide where.

Look at the bills you pay monthly. Needs may be your rent or mortgage, electricity, water, sewer, garbage, gas, etc. Those are some of the pretty obvious ones. Wants may be cable, pest control, pool service, etc. Some of you may be screaming at your computer monitor right now. Yes, cable is a want… :0) You need a roof over your head, you need to stay warm in the winter and cool in the summer, you need gas in your car to get to work and pick up the kids. You do not need to have someone take care of your pool, go to one of the local pool supply stores and get a kit to do it yourself. You do not need cable, I know this may be hard, but with cable bills going through the roof, it is a choice you may have to make. You do not need pest control, you can go to your local hardware store to get the stuff you need to do it yourself. Just make sure to follow the directions exactly and take the appropriate precautions with handling the chemicals.

Sometimes your brain might try to fool you into thinking something is a need instead of a want. Don’t let it do that to you. Take 24 hours to think something over, write out the pro’s and con’s to the purchase, call a friend to discuss and see what they say. All of these things put space between you and the item. Quite frequently you will find you don’t “need” it as much as you originally thought you would. Try it and see!

This could potentially save your child’s life, but it will also give you peace of mind knowing they are safe around water.  Here in the Sacramento Valley it averages in the mid-90’s during July and August.  There are lakes, rivers and swimming pools everywhere. 

I have found many parents do not know which direction to go when it comes to swim lessons.  Make sure you research your options.  I have done both the city swim lessons and the private.  Private works better for my children, but I have run into the problem of the swim instructors being a little flakey.  If you know a good private swim instructor, share that information with your friends, it is very valuable information.

Private lessons work better for some children, but they tend to be pricey.  I have found they average $1 per minute.  For a 30 minute session with one child, it is $30.  Check out what your city or town has to offer.  Here in Roseville, you can get nine 30 minute group sessions for around $50.

Summertime is a fantastic time of year to plan your travel.  The kids are out of school, the weather is nice and you have probably been itching to get out of Dodge.  I think one of the biggest mistakes people make is that they tend to plan their vacations on one of the three big weekends during the summer, Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day weekends. 

I know it is a lot of fun to be out on the lake with lots of like minded people.  But, seriously, it could be costing you a bundle!

Plan Travel Around the Holiday Weekends – Have you ever noticed how gas prices seem to increase during the summer, especially around those holiday weekends?  I am sure you are aware of the fact that is not a coincidence.  Instead of taking that road trip you were planning on Memorial Day Weekend, go in mid-July when it is not a peak weekend.  You might find better deals all around if it is a low point in the season.

The money factor is only one part though.  When I was younger, I loved going camping on those big weekends.  I always used to feel the more the merrier.  Well, now I am older.  All those people just really stress me out!  Not only is traffic a complete nightmare on the road, but if you are camping or boating the nightmare does not end on the roads.  I remember waiting for more than an hour just to get a shower at a camp site.  Not to mention how dangerous the lakes were with all those crazy boaters on the water at once. 

It will be much cheaper and less stressful if you find a nice weekend around the holidays instead.  There will be fewer people and it should cost much less. 

Happy travels!

Do you ever find summer rolls around and your cash is gone?  Whether you have children or not, you will find that summer is just more expensive…period.  From little things like gasoline going up to bigger things like wanting to take a family vacation or the cost of putting your children in summer camp, it just costs more. 

Tip number three in my series is to: 

Establish a Separate Savings Account for Your Summer  – Rather than trying to scrounge up the money at the last minute, go to your bank and create a savings account just for your summer season.  You can earmark this money for anything summer related.  With online banking now, you can even change the name of the account to “Summer Savings”.  This will take some of the heat off you when many of your expenses have increased.  Take a percentage of your income every pay period and put it into that account.  You have to be consistent about it though.  If you establish the account and don’t put anything in there, it really isn’t going to do you any good, is it?  It doesn’t have to break the bank, start with just 1% of your take home pay.  You will be amazed at how your money grows throughout the year.

 Little steps like this can make an enormous difference and it is really not that hard to do.  Just think of all you will be able to do during the summer knowing you have it covered.

Yesterday I told you to take a vacation in order to survive the summer financially.  Hopefully you have discussed this with your family and have made the decision to go…somewhere.  Trust me I understand money can be a concern, so, today I have decided to give you some advice on how to go on vacation with a budget in place.

The first and most important thing you need to do is take a good look at your finances.  See where you can plug some holes to make it happen.  Once you do that, put a budget in place.  Recently my husband and I gave ourselves a $1,000 budget to go to San Diego for the weekend.  We are going this weekend for our 10^th wedding anniversary.  I will share with you later how it all goes. 

Here are some tips on how to get great travel deals.

Research Your Vacation Options – If money is a concern to begin with, I don’t want you to stress yourself out more with an expensive vacation.  Here you have a couple of options.  If you are a do-it-yourself kind of person, the internet is your best friend.  Surf the web to find the best deals around.  Depending on the economy, you will want to book your vacation way in advance, or the night before you leave.  With the economy in the state it is now, I have heard of a few people booking flights to Europe a few days before and getting screaming deals.  A friend of mine booked a weekend in San Francisco the day they left and were shocked at the enormous discount they were able to get because they were booking it on the spur of the moment. 

If you are more like me, you get a little overwhelmed researching all that information.  I am a big fan of travel agents.  If you find a good travel agent, you can call them with some ideas of where you want to go, when, for how long and give them your budget and you are set!  The best part is this service does not cost you a penny.  Travel agents do this for a living, so, they know the best places for the best prices.  It really is a win, win for everyone.

Have you ever noticed that things seem to cost more during the summer?  Not only that, but there are a lot more expenses.  Between extra daycare costs, summer camp, sports and vacations, you probably feel financially spent! 

Over the next couple of weeks I am going to outline ten steps to financial summer survival.  Today is step one:

Take a Vacation – I know that seems counterintuitive, because that takes money, right?  I am aware of the fact that it takes money.  However, I am one of the worst culprits when it comes to not taking a vacation.  I can always come up with some excuse as to why we cannot, usually related to the family budget.  See if you think my logic makes sense, if you take a vacation, you will be refreshed and relaxed…ready to take on the world when you come back.  You will be less likely to get sick or burned out.  So, now you are ready to conquer the universe.  With all that extra energy, you will perform better at work, impress your boss, maybe you will end up getting a promotion, which all leads to more money in the future.  I don’t know about you, but I like that way of thinking.  It is worth spending some money now to rejuvenate…it will pay for itself in the future.

So, take my advice and go on vacation, even if it is a little one.  Something is better than nothing.  Get creative; you don’t have to go to Hawaii to get away.  Check out hidden treasures in your own back yard.  Living in the Sacramento Valley, I have Lake Tahoe or San Francisco within two hours either way.  Not to mention the Napa Valley or any of the other beautiful vacation spots.  Check out your neck of the woods and see what you can find. 

The most important thing is that you relax.  Go!  Have some fun…

Many of you are probably saying, “Oh, yes, it is!”  Don’t get me wrong, I love money.  It’s great! 

Let’s give a mention to all the fantastic things you can do with money:

• It makes you feel good when you have lots of it.
• You can buy lots of cool stuff with it.
• People respect you more if you have it.
• You feel successful if you have plenty of it around.
• It gives you the ultimate freedom.

Who wouldn’t want lots of money around with all those great benefits?  So, let me just make it abundantly clear here, I am not saying money is bad in any way.  I want people to stop running their lives with it.  MORE

How do you feel when you pay the bills?  Are you excited at the prospect of checking off some items on your to do list?  Are you subconsciously thanking your creditors for allowing you the opportunity to use their money for the month?  Or, are you completely overwhelmed with the task?  Do you procrastinate until you can procrastinate no more?  Are you overwhelmed and exhausted by the time the process is over? 

If you are miserable when you pay your bills, my guess is, your money is managing you.  You will not have financial freedom as long as that is the case.  I remember when I would pay my bills and I felt like a bird taking a bath.  There was money and paper flying everywhere, not sure where it was going, but it sure was not staying in my bank account.  Since then, I have put in some steps that take that feeling away.  They are:

• Have a specific place you pay the bills
• Make sure you have all the items you will need to take care of everything in one sitting -  If you have to get up to get something, chances are you will find another project to take your attention and the bills will not get paid. 
• Clear the space - You do not want it messy, that just adds to the confusion. 
• Select a day and time each week to pay your bills – If you put it on your calendar, you are more likely to keep the time carved out for that particular task.  If you try to squeeze it in somewhere else, it is much less likely to happen.
• Create a checklist – This way, you make sure you take care of all the things you need to do at one time.  Things like paying bills is obvious.  However, something you might forget to do is transfer money to savings or donate to your favorite charity. 

Hopefully some of these tips can help you create serenity while paying your bills.  I know that sounds like a dream, but you hold the key to making it a reality.

Why is it that when you see your neighbor driving a nicer car than you that you feel the need to get a car that is as nice or nicer?  Have you noticed that feeling more over the last several years?  I was sucked into that vortex.  I grew up in a family that was very money conscious.  We lived in a nice area, but had probably one of the smallest houses, just what we needed, nothing more, nothing less.  My parents drove nice cars, but nothing fancy.  They never had credit card debt, always paid cash for their cars and only bought cars when they needed them (what a concept!).  Since that was the way I grew up, that was the way I thought. 

Then…things changed.  I am not sure if it was just California or the United States, or the entire world, but things changed.  All of a sudden, sufficient was not good enough.  It was like we all caught this disease that made us think we needed and deserved more than we could afford (myself included).  When my husband and I decided to have children, we knew we needed a larger vehicle, so instead of buying a practical larger vehicle, we went for a full size SUV with navigation, DVD, fancy rims and tires.  Did we really need all that…no.  But, why shouldn’t I have the best?  Right?

I remember feeling pangs of jealousy if my friends had a bigger or nicer house than me.  Wanting a new car after buying the last one six months before because the new one had Blue Tooth technology that my current car did not have.  What did all this do for me (and probably the rest of America)?  It got us into a lot of trouble financially.  Why did I feel the need to have the name brand jeans from an upscale store, when I could go to a discount store and get the same ones for half the price?  I look back now and I don’t know what got into me.

One day, I literally just woke up.  I got it.  My material possessions did not define who I was as a person, nor did they define my family.  I don’t think my friends really care if I am wearing name brand clothes, and if they do, then they really are not true friends, are they? 

As a society, we seemed to get really attached to our material possessions and where that placed us in society.  I saw one of the heirs to the Johnson & Johnson fortune on Oprah several weeks ago and he noted that it was not “cool” any more to flaunt your wealth.  Thank goodness!  When you think about it, it is pretty sad that society got to the point where it was cool to basically rub in everyone’s face how “wealthy” they were.  Maybe we have turned the corner and America has learned a lesson.  What is that lesson?  There are a couple I would like to share with you that I have learned from personal experience.

• Material possessions do not define who you are.
• It is more important to have money in your savings account than material possessions.
• Take note of how your possessions make you feel.  (i.e. If you are buried under an enormous mortgage or car loan, consider selling the house/car.  You will be amazed at how much better you feel without the weight of that mortgage/car loan on your back.)
• Who cares what other people have, you need to look at what is right for you and your family.

Now, I am not saying everyone should go out and buy the most economical house, car, clothes, etc.  I just want people to start being conscious of needs versus wants and what fits into their budget.  If you do that, you should be on the right path in no time.

It’s the age old question…  “How much allowance should I give my child?” 

I probably should not tell you this now, but I do not have an answer for you.  But, before you give up on me, I have a couple different options for you as well as some sage advice on what most experts do agree on.

First things first, I am pretty sure almost every expert agrees that all children should be given an allowance.  If you saw my clip on Good Day Sacramento on May 21st, you know that I am one of them.  An allowance teaches children several things, including, how to budget, how to make financial decisions and much more.  So, if you are debating whether or not you should give your child an allowance, the answer is a resounding…YES! MORE