Onward we go to not being ashamed for our monetary mistakes in the chapter on No shame, no blame. You are not on sale is a chapter that reminds us not to discount ourselves regarding our time and fees which is generally more applicable to those folks running their own business. This topic has been discussed in books by other authors. Eight qualities of a wealthy woman: Harmonious and balanced, courage, generosity, happiness, wisdom, cleanliness, and beauty.
Now were up to chapter six, the save yourself plan. The first month is about checking and savings. Open up a new checking account. Mentally, I like this approach of shifting toward a beginning as an action item, even though its nothing more than digging deep, balancing your checkbook each month, opening a new savings or money market account. Its related as make it a goal to build up a savings account over however long it takes you to cover up to eight months of expenses. I like this idea because it represents a solid financial grounding during times of turmoil, which mentally will contribute to a sense of financial well-being because youll know you are ready should you ever need to access those funds which are in a separate account specifically for that purpose. Automate the process by using direct deposit into your savings account each pay period.
The second month will focus on your credit cards and FICO score. If married have at least one card in your name only, read the statements each month and check for mistakes. Always get payments in before the deadline. Get serious about unpaid balances and pay off or pay more than the minimum and transfer to a low introductory interest offer.
I will add my own money saving tip here: Stop buying books on improving your financial life. If you must satisfy your curiosity look at them in the bookstore or library and write down all you need to know; the most critical information on index cards. Financial principles dont change, the authors just mix in a bunch of stories to illustrate points. None of the excess information may matter over the long-term, what matters is what you do, not what others do or have done in some feeble story (most of the stories arent prizes in themselves). I love the library, when you consume a thousand books a year at an average cost of $10 to $20 the savings are ten to twenty thousand dollars a year! Make it a point to absorb the info at the library – that is your work area. Avoid taking the books home where they get lost in the shuffle of your life. The priority is to obtain life changing actionable information and handle the priority when you pick up those kinds of non-fiction books. You wont find much of it between the covers of any financial book with bold promises so you can condense any worthwhile information or financial principles onto index cards.