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We all know that budgeting money is important. However, how often do we think about budgeting time? Time is much more valuable than money, in my opinion. We can always earn more money, but we can't earn time. We're all given the same amount of hours each and every day, and how we spend those hours is completely up to us.   For me, clutter slows me down. When I have a desk that's messy or an e-mail inbox that's congested with low-priority items, I have a difficult time focusing. It slows me down, and the best way to resolve this is to clean things up and get organized.   I also like to line up my tasks for the following day before I hit the pillow. That way, I already know what I'm going to do the next day before the day begins. I organize my time into doing what's most important first, and I find that budgeting my time this way allows me to accomplish much more each and every day.   There are several other time management tips that I'll talk about, and if you can implement some of these changes in your life,

If you're in the process of getting out of debt, there are certain things that you shouldn't be paying for. You should be redirecting the monetary resources for these items towards getting out of debt instead.   I feel that you shouldn't be paying for someone to mow your lawn or any other services that are related to yardwork while you're still in the process of paying off debt. I do understand that it may be necessary to pay for larger projects that a contractor needs to be hired to do, but other than that exception, you should be doing all of your yardwork yourself.   I also don't believe in cell phone insurance or extended warranties. Both of these are a waste of money, in my opinion. I'd also stay away from banks that like to get fee-happy; you shouldn't have to pay for a place to park your money. I'll also talk about a few more things that rob us of our resources without us even realizing it, such as landline phones, cable/satellite television, newspapers, magazines, and even bottled water!   If you've b

If we're in debt, it's difficult to imagine an ideal budget. Many of us are budgeting for multiple credit cards, a couple of auto loans, and perhaps some personal loans. All of this debt makes it very challenging to realize what an ideal budget would actually look like.   While you may not be able to implement this budget right now, I think it's important to realize what an ideal budget looks like. It may help you to continue to stay motivated if you can plan to use this template for your own budget someday.   I'll explain these in more detail on today's episode, but here'a a high-level overview of how I define what would be an idea budget, based on percentages: housing (25% of your monthly take-home income), transportation (10% of your monthly take-home income), savings (10% of your monthly take-home income), food (10% of your monthly take-home income), utilities (5% of your monthly take-home income), insurance (10% of your monthly take-home income), recreation (5% of your monthly take-home income), clothing

There are plenty of ways to spend little or no money at all and have fun at the same time. While this list won't apply to everyone (we all have different personalities and preferences), it will at least get you thinking about ways that you can find things to do that won't cost much.   You may be someone who enjoys going for a hike, riding a bike, having a picnic, or even going swimming at the beach. If it's not the right weather for outdoor activities, stay inside and play some board games. We don't talk about board games as much in this day and age when technology is practically surrounding us. Unplug and have a family game night or invite some friends over for board games and refreshments.   There are tons of ideas here, but you may want to consider some ideas that best suit your personal preferences. The point is, there are usually plenty of options to choose from that will help you to spend some time without spending a dime.   If you've been enjoying this show, please share it with some friends! Copy, pas

If you're loyal to certain brand names, you may want to rethink your shopping strategy. Companies spend tons of money to get their brands in front of your eyeballs, and understandably, they want a return on their investment. That return on investment typically comes to them in the form of higher prices.   What's interesting is, if you're willing to experiment here and there, you may find that you can purchase off-brand or generic products and have almost the same experience with a nice savings at the same time. This isn't limited to just grocery items, either. We purchased a chest freezer several years ago and saved $100.00 by purchasing an off-brand freezer, and guess what? It's still humming along in the garage and keeping our food frozen as expected.   If you've been enjoying this show, please share it with some friends! Copy, paste, and share the following address to give them direct access to every single episode that I've recorded so far (including this one): http://followmeoutofdebt.com/podcast

Today's a good day to take a look at your resume. See if it looks a bit outdated. Are you still using the tired Word template resume that was popular in the 90's? Do you need to spruce up your resume a bit and bring it more current and up-to-date? You'll want to take some time to do this, even if you're not currently on a job hunt.   There are certain qualities of a resume that Human Resources managers and other managers look for. You'll want your resume to stand out without being too flashy. You'll want to whet the appetite of the potential interviewer without going into too much detail to bloat your resume to the size of a small book. A one-page resume is best that simply highlights your accomplishments and prompts the reader to want to know more about you. That's how you get the interview.   Also, take some time to proofread your resume for grammatical or spelling errors. This will prevent your resume from hitting the bottom of the trash can immediately after receipt.    If you've been enjoying this show,

I'm starting a new segment of the show that I'll be doing from time to time where I sign up and try out various work from home opportunities and let you know what I find out. Well, to be more specific, if the opportunity makes it as a subject of an entire show episode, it can be assumed that said opportunity is rated five out of five stars on my end.   I heard about and checked out Rev.com. They don't allow just anyone to join; you do need to have a good grasp on grammar and spelling. You are tested, and if you pass the test and end up getting approved, you can start accepting transcription opportunities right away.   You can preview the job before accepting it, and you can take on as many transcription jobs as you would like. You can work at any time, and you are not required to put in a set amount of hours. There are no requirements other than a computer, a reliable Internet connection, and (optional, but recommended) a set of headphones. The web interface used for transcription is not difficult to understa

It's too easy to get lazy about staying focused on our target debt. The target debt is the current debt that has almost all of the focus and available resources towards it to eliminate it as quickly as possible. It sounds great on paper, but sometimes life happens and we may forget to do what we need to do in order to make this a priority.   The best thing for us to do is to set out at the start of the month when we prepare our budget to make our current target debt a high-priority item. Don't simply budget for the minimum payment due and hope that you might come in to some extra money during the month to pay more towards it. You have to set out and prioritize this line item in your budget to get a significant amount earmarked in order to get out of debt as quickly as possible.   If you've been enjoying this show, please share it with some friends! Copy, paste, and share the following address to give them direct access to every single episode that I've recorded so far (including this one): http://followmeouto

You've got a somewhat significant purchase coming up, and you might be wondering if you should take out a small loan or save up and pay cash. You might be tempted by a same-as-cash offer or introductory APR offer.   While you may be able to pay it off in time, you'll want to be aware of the fine print to find out what happens if you don't pay off the amount in time. In a lot of these scenarios, you'll usually have to pay interest going back to the first date of the loan.   While you always have the same-as-cash option, I think that saving up cash for the purchase is the way to go. Once it has been paid for, it's a done deal. You don't have the headaches associated with having to figure out how to pay it off, and you can truly enjoy your purchase immediately.   What's more, you'll likely appreciate what you're purchasing more since you'll have to work hard to save up the cash. You'll also naturally want to find ways to reduce the overall cost of the purchase, so you may end up not only saving interest but also

A common trap for folks who are in the process of improving their financial situation is to hold off on giving. The justification that is usually applied is to come to the conclusion that giving can be done once a certain milestone is reached. That milestone might be getting out of debt, saving a certain amount of money, or anything else that can be viewed as a positive personal financial accomplishment.   The problem with this is that we train ourselves to give only when it's comfortable. We stop working that generosity muscle that we're all born with, and we let it atrophy while we work on our own goals and accomplishments. This isn't a good thing.   The generosity muscle needs to be worked even while we're in the process of getting out of debt or any other goal that we're focused on. We need to develop that same muscle so that we become better givers when the time comes that we're in prosperity and have more resources to offer.   I understand that sometimes we find ourselves in desperate situations. Someti

Dreaming is good for you. It gives you hope. It allows you to look forward to the future. It helps to motivate you.   Don't be ashamed of your dreams or assume that they aren't worth focusing on. Your dreams may seem to only be wishes, but once you apply work and action to accomplish goals and tasks related to your dreams, they will eventually come true. Does every dream come true? Of course not. However, the dreams that you have that are in the forefront of your mind will likely come to fruition someday.   Whatever your dreams may be, don't give up on them. Keep dreaming, and keep working towards accomplishing your dreams.   Has this show been a big help to you so far? Would you like to return the favor and help me to help others? It's easy to do. Simply go to http://followmeoutofdebt.com/review and follow the simple steps to subscribe to the show, rate the show, and leave a review.

If you ask most people, they won't see much of a difference between someone who is considered to be frugal and someone who is considered to be cheap. Unfortunately, for most of us in the process of trying to improve our lives financially, we may run into some harsh critics out there who may refer to us as being a cheapskate, a scrooge, etc.   The truth of the matter is that there is a definite difference between being frugal and being cheap. When someone is cheap, it's generally a personality trait that they've had for most of their lives. On the flip side, when someone is frugal, that person has typically learned to be frugal. It wasn't a quality that they were born with.   Chances are, the frugal person is working a plan to get out of debt or doing something else positive with regards to their personal finances. They may have been burned by a bad situation before, and they don't want to go back to what hurt them in the first place if what caused it was overspending. Being frugal is part of an overall plan f

Budgeting in of itself can be a challenge, but what happens when you have payments or other bills that have fallen behind? Adding this to trying to maintain a monthly budget can make things quite difficult. However, you do have to do something about it. You can't bury your head in the sand and hope that it will go away, because it simply won't.   The first step is to open the lines of communication with any entities that you are currently late on paying. Bringing yourself current has to be the focus, and you need to communicate with those you owe money to in order to let them know that you are aware of the situation. Sometimes, depending on the entity, they may help you to come up with a creative or alternative way of getting caught up. It's not guaranteed that they will help, but a phone call with a promise to pay is always better than not contacting them at all.   You do need to have a plan before you pick up the phone, though. If you make a payment arrangement, you need to stick with it. Be realistic when

The other day, I purchased a large whiteboard for the sole purpose of providing both my wife and me with a high-level overview of our budget. I highly recommend that you do the same, especially if one of you handles the budget for the most part while the other spouse is in more of an advisory role. It's a great way to keep the budget out in the open as well as having the overall debt information in front of your eyes and on the front burner at the same time.   You may set your board up any way that you choose, but for us, we started by adding our monthly income, expenses, and the difference between the two in the upper left-hand corner of the board. Below that we have the major budget item categories along with what we're spending in each category and what we've already spent so far for the month.   On the other side of the board, we listed our overall debt amount along with our current target debt (what we're focusing on paying off at the moment). Below that, we listed any upcoming expenses that have yet to

What is the Worry Bully? I didn't personally make this up, but I overheard it in a conversation. You have to use your imagination, but picture this: a Worry Bully is inside of your mind and keeps you in a constant state of worry. Regardless of the reason, the Worry Bully keeps you worried and raises your level of anxiety. This leads to stress. Stress leads to more worry, and the cycle goes on and on.   The Worry Bully takes what is bothering you and increases it tenfold. Along with that, it prevents you from taking action. The Worry Bully keeps you in a constant state of worry without action, and this will prevent you from accomplishing any of your goals. The best way to deal with and rid yourself of the Worry Bully once and for all is to take action on your own.   Worried about losing your job? In reality, you're actually worried about a loss of income. The way to counter this is to either search for another job that pays more than the one you currently have, start a business of your own to supplement your i

We took a little road trip to an outlet mall. We weren't going to do a ton of shopping necessarily; it was mostly just for the purpose of getting out of town for a few hours. However, I did want to see what kind of deals outlet malls really offer. What I found out was a bit surprising.   Outlet malls do not seem to have outstanding deals for the most part. There were a couple of notable deals that we found, but it was nothing that would be worth the drive and the cost of fuel to get there. I was actually looking for a couple of pairs of jeans, and I couldn't find any prices that were any less expensive than paying full retail at one of our local area stores. They also didn't have the particular cut that I was looking for, but that was irrelevant since I wasn't planning to spend $60.00 on one pair of jeans, anyway.   When we came back to our area, I ended up finding two pairs of jeans in a normal retail store in the cut that I prefer on sale and with a discount coupon. The total price for two pairs of jeans pu

There are four main tenets of personal finance. If you keep these truths in mind, you will always succeed when it comes to your finances. These same tenets apply no matter where you are at in your walk with improving your financial situation.   The first tenet is the budget. The budget is key. I've said this before, and I'll say it continuously: the budget is the core of everything that you do financially. It doesn't matter if you are in debt, out of debt, buying a house, buying a car, saving for retirement, planning for college - regardless of what it is, it all starts with the budget.   The second tenet is debt management. You need to be managing your debt, whether your goal is to pay off debt entirely or simply reduce the amount of debt that you currently have. When you are making moves financially that have to do with debt, you need to consider the big picture of how the new debt will affect your finances.   The third tenet is future-focused goals. These goals would include future-looking scenarios, such

Today's interview with Christina Eanes from QuitBleepingAround.com is truly informative and packed with valuable takeaways that will help you to become a superachiever. If you're not sure what a superachiever is, you'll learn today!   Learn more about Christina by visiting: https://quitbleepingaround.com   As mentioned on the show, I'm also including the link for the backwards bicycle experiment. You'll definitely want to check out this incredible video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFzDaBzBlL0   Has this show been a big help to you so far? Would you like to return the favor and help me to help others? It's easy to do. Simply go to http://followmeoutofdebt.com/review and follow the simple steps to subscribe to the show, rate the show, and leave a review.

Sometimes when you are in the process of working on a goal that isn't popular with a lot of folks, you might feel that you are part of a small minority and your friends and even your family might just find you to be... weird. I recall times when my wife and I would spend more money than we wanted to when we were included in various plans with others simply because we felt that if we didn't, we would have to explain ourselves. Thankfully, we don't do that so much anymore.   The last thing that you want to do is to feel badly about yourself while you are working hard on the goals associated with getting out of debt and getting into prosperity. It's not fair to you, and it's not fair to anyone else. You want to be comfortable in the skin that you're in, and you want to be relaxed and be completely comfortable with yourself and the decisions that you are making for yourself or you and your family.   Has this show been a big help to you so far? Would you like to return the favor and help me to help others? It's ea

All of us will experience income challenges at some point during our journey out of debt and into prosperity. What is the best way to prepare for these challenges and head them off at the pass?   For my wife and me, extra padding in the savings account really helps. We prepare for income challenges that we try to foresee by saving a little more than usual in order to offset those challenges. While we don't have a crystal ball and can't predict the future, we can assess our situations to try to best determine possibilities where we may need to have a solid backup plan in the form of a little extra in the savings.   If you find yourself in a position where you can't save more money because you are currently right in the middle of an income challenge (or crisis!), you have to take the appropriate action needed right now. Get a part-time job if need be. Look into work-at-home options if working for a traditional bricks and mortar establishment isn't for you. Just be sure to do your homework to make sure that the