Burnout!!!

The last couple of months have been crazy as it is with everyone.  Working a full time job, going to school, studying to pass certification tests, growing 2 small businesses.  Oh yah, and dealing with family.  I have so many things I need to do, but I just want to veg out in front of the TV, which is very unlike me.  I usually don't watch TV.  I thought that maybe I was depressed, but I didn't feel depressed.  Looking through my emails this morning I found an article from O Magazine by Martha Beck about being burned out.

Within the first paragraph I finally figured it out.  I am suffering from burnout.  Yep, I do this every so often, but this time it was different.  I didn't feel like I was stressed out, but I had every second of the day scheduled.  I didn't have any downtime to re-energize.

Martha states that burnout and depression is sometimes gets mixed up.  But depression medicine will not work if you are actually burned out.    Here are some of the signs of burnout:

Driven
You're working flat-out, in a nonstop blur of accomplishment. You feel you can go on like this forever! You can't!

Draggin
You're sucking up sugar and caffeine to fight fatigue, maybe popping over- the-counter sleep aids to help you "sleep faster," and feeling unpleasantly chubby.

Losing It
You're definitely tired, visibly plump (or alarmingly preskeletal), and perpetually grumpy. You lie awake nights, thoughts racing, longing for sleep. At work and at home, you've developed a charming habit of biting people's heads off.

Hitting the Wall
You're racked by aches and pains, gaining (or losing) weight, prone to temper tantrums or crying jags, hard-pressed to remember things like computer passwords or your children's names.

Burned Out
By now you may have a serious illness (heart disease, an autoimmune disorder) or have been in a car accident. To stay marginally functional, you depend on drugs you obtain either from a shrink who innocently believes you're just depressed or from a man you know only as "Viper." Nobody likes you. The silver lining? As Hanley writes, "If you do not die during this stage, there is no place to go but up."



Things you can do to help you deal with burnout are the same things you do for stress or just to balance your life.  Just as a reminder here they are:

1. Eat small meals of healthy foods, not sugar or more caffeine.   
2. Get some sleep.
3. Exercise, but not to the point of exhaustion.  See the full article for more details.
4. Unplug from your normal schedule.  Take a walk or read a book or dance to your favorite high school song.
5. When things go wrong and you are about to blow a gasket, take a deep breath and close your eyes for a few seconds.  This will help you keep your head and not make things worse that they really are.

For more in-depth help go to O Magazine article "What to Do When You're Burned Out."  

So, now I don't feel so bad for taking a couple of hours to just sit and watch some TV and crocheting a blanket.  I things on my to-do-list, but they are not crucial and don't have to be done today.  So, I will get some stuff done, but no worry about the things I don't get done.  There is always tomorrow.

Stacking Coupons and More

The last few months I have been busy teaching others to save money using coupons and more.  Now I am really getting the extreme couponing.  Not as much as Margaret yet, but I am well on my way.  So, how do you not go crazy, but still maximize the savings using coupons?

First thing is to find out what the policy is for the stores that you normally go to.  Do they double coupons?  If so, is it only on certain days.  Do they only double certain coupons?  Do they have an electronic or digital coupon program?  What about a card carrying rewards program?  Do you get extra coupons, discount codes, or savings if you belong to their Facebook, Twitter, or website programs.

The next thing is to subscribe to the Sunday newspaper in your area and All You Magazine.  I found so much good information in both of these products.  They both have great ways to save money and plenty of coupons.  And if you are looking for a job, the Sunday paper is the best place to find out when and where the next job fair is, and some great tips on how to find a job, networking, and resume writing (in the St. Louis Post there is this information).

Then you can find plenty of places to find printable coupons online.  All You Magazine website, and there is a list on the right side of this blog.  I found 3 coupons on a bag of goodies that I received from my dentist (good until December 2012).  I also found coupons in the packaging of products like inside of cereal boxes and the inside of the cardboard wrapping of microwaveable rice.  The online coupons are free.  You will need to download the printer program to your computer.  Sometimes you have to do it a couple of times in order to get it to work.  You can also buy the the 2012 Entertainment book.  For this week only you can purchase it for only $19.99 and free shipping.  I found it at Walgreen for $35.00, so you have a significant savings if you buy it within the next couple of days.

Once you get your coupons and sales advertisements you can go to work to figure out the best place to use the coupons to get the most out of the deal.  For instance if you have a coupon for Domino Sugar.  Kroger, Walgreens, and Shop-N-Save all have Domino Sugar on sale.  Does one have a better deal than the other?  Then what is their coupon policy.  Lets say that Walgreens also has a store coupon and you have register rewards to use before they expire.  In this case you will use the manufacturer coupon, the Walgreens coupon, and register rewards to save more and more than likely get the sugar for free.

If you don't want to buy a paper or get the magazine, you can still print off coupons online and go to the store website and print off the coupons.  Most stores also have the sales advertisements online so you can do everything on the computer.

To maximize your time there are websites that will stack all your deals for you.  In the St. Louis Missouri area you can go to Coupon Phenomenon.  Coupon Mom will give you the best deals by state, store, etc.  If you only have a few minutes to print coupons or cut them out of the newspaper and/or magazines then I suggest going to a website that will help you stack the coupons to get the most out of your money.

This is a great way to stock up on food, cleaning supplies, and other items especially this time of year.  If you are not able to get out because of bad weather, you will have plenty of food and supplies to keep you comfortable for a long time.  I know many people are glad to have a stock of goods to use after they were lost their job.  They didn't have to worry about how to pay for food.  They could use the money from unemployment to pay for other bills.

Happy Couponing and Merry Christmas.

Happy Thanksgiving and Black Friday

This month has flown by and Thursday is Thanksgiving. There have been some really heated discussions on the radio on stores opening earlier this year to try to get a jump on the competition.  Families are not able to spend the time together on Thanksgiving.  I know that I tried the Black Friday thing one time and decided it was not for me.  I hate shopping this time of year.  I get to cranky with crowds in stores.  If you don't want to deal with the crowds or just don't have the money this year to buy gifts here are some suggestions:

• Make the gift.  Most cases you can work on a schedule to make the gifts for people.  Crochet a blanket or make home made candy.
• Create coupons for a home made dinner, baby sit for a night, pet sit for a weekend, house sit for weekend or a week, or run errands.
• If you have the technology and skill create a video of pictures for a family or scrap book a photo album.
• Spend a special day with someone by just hanging out.
• Offer to teach someone a skill that you are good at.
• Or instead of exchanging gifts have your friends and family donate their time to a food bank or homeless shelter.
• Don't forget about re-gifting items.  Just make sure you don't give the gift back to the person you received it from.

No one says that you have to purchase a gift.  What about the gift of quality time spent together doing something fun that is free.  Create new traditions that don't cost money.

If you just have to buy a present or Christmas just won't be the same, here are some thing to help you keep the cost down:

• Create a budget and don't go over that budget.  You can shop through sale ads and get coupons for just about anything these days.  With the paper and internet you don't have to spend a lot of time and gas to find the best price.  Do research before you hit the stores.
• Stick with your list and don't browse and end up buying more for yourself than for those on your list.
• If you are shopping online, make sure that it is a reputable store.  Check the Ebay ratings before buying from anyone. The same goes for Craig's List and any other auction website. 
• Make a list of the people you are buying for and as you buy that person a gift mark them off the list and/or write down the gift next to their name.  This will keep you from buying more than necessary for one person and nothing for another.

Try to think outside the box and be creative when trying to find or create a gift for someone without going into debt.  Christmas is about Jesus Birthday, not the cost and the amount of the gifts.

Stretching Your Dollar

Well, it is way past next week, but this is a perfect time for this subject.  I can't believe that Christmas commercials are started before Halloween.  So, how can you purchase more for your dollar?

Using manufacture coupons, store coupons, and sales.  Margaret does this very well.  She was very excited about her trip to Target yesterday.  She was able to use coupons and store sales to buy hand soap for free.  Actually she made a few pennies from the purchase and used the money toward other items.

Walmart and KMart are now offering lay-a-way plans again.  Instead of waiting for Black Friday to make your purchases, use the sales adds to put items on lay-a-way.  This way Christmas will be paid off instead of paying more for the items by using the credit cards and making payments throughout the year and having to pay interest charges.

If you go out to eat, use coupons.  More and more restaurants are offering coupons in the newspapers.  They are also offering discounts by signing up as a member to their website, Facebook page, and/or Twitter.  Some restaurants will give you a free meal for birthdays and anniversaries. 

Then there are the usual tips:

• Take your lunch to work, make sure you pack snacks and extra drinks so you don't spend more by going to the vending machines.
• Cook at home.  If you are a busy person like most of us, cook in bulk.  Spend an afternoon and make up two or three meals that can be heated up throughout the week.  Cook large amounts of meat that can be used for multiple meals.  This time of year is great for cooking in the crock-pot.
• Winterize your home.  Make sure the windows are sealed or put plastic over them.  Have the heater repair person come out to do maintenance and make any necessary repairs.  Use a programmable thermostat so that you can program the temperatures to be cooler when you are not home.
• Switch the light bulbs to florescent.  It really does save money on the electric bill.
• Make sure that normal maintenance is  done on the car as well as the heater.  Cold air condenses the air in the tires, so make sure they are aired up to the recommended psi.

You will be surprised at how much you save if you put into action all of these tips.  Just using coupons and store sales, I have saved over $2,000 in my grocery bill this year.  I know that Margaret has save almost double that with just a little more effort than I put in.  Just think how much more I have saved in other areas by doing simple things that not only saves money, but time.

Starting Over Step #2: Balancing My Budget

Well, did you get that notebook and write down all your expenses, income, and spending?  One thing I did forget to say is, next to those loans and credit cards, write the interest percentage being charged.  Now get out a calendar.  It is time to work out a budget.

Write on each date when the bills are due.  Are there to many bills due on the first of the month?  This is were creative accounting comes in.  You can do two things:

1. Call or go to the account website and change the due date.
2. Work it out on your budget to pay it on a different payday.  Just make sure that the payment will be received at least 1 week before the due date.

Why one week?  Even if you mail it before the due date, unless the payment is processed before the due date, you will get charged a late fee.  The company has to have their process complete, they don't care about the date stamped on the envelope.

Do you pay bills online?  Be careful.  I made this mistake.  Just because you told the bank to pay it today, doesn't mean that it will.  I thought that I was paying my car loan in plenty of time.  Only to find out that my bank had to mail or wire a check.  That took two weeks to process.  I was late a couple of times and didn't even know it until I received a notification.  In this case the loan bank was close enough that I could just  make the payment in person.

Now you have all your bills on your calendar.  Pay them at least 2 weeks ahead of time if mailing or paying online.  Check to make sure that your income is more than your expenses for that week or payday.  Make any necessary changes. 

What is left each payday?  You now know how much you have left to spend on groceries and other necessary items.  To stretch those few dollars, use coupons and sales. Split any extra money to pay down debt and add to a savings account.

More on how strategies to stretch a dollar and maximize savings next week.

Help Employees, Help Your Business

Reading an article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch I found an article about a business man who decided to not only help himself, but his employees become debt free.

He went into deep debt to start a business and found out that most of his employees were also deep in debt.  To help not only himself, he decided to help his employees reduce their debt.  He made it mandatory for all employees and their spouses to attend a 2 1/2 hour class every Thursday night.  The results were that cut down $131,000 worth of collective debt.

What did this do for his company?  Employees were less stressed and more positive about their future.  Not only did it get their employees talking to their spouses about money, but helped them figure out the best way to fix the problem.  The business man paid the $8,000 for the materials.  He said it was the best investment he ever made.

The course he bought was Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University course.  I did some research and it is a very good course.  There are other courses out there to help you and your friends, family, and employees to reduce debt.  If this is something that you are interested, do some research and find the best program for you.  I know that Suzie Orman, Jean Chanzskey, and David Bach have a similar program on their websites.

I feel that these programs are very worth the money if you do what is suggested in the programs.  Buying the tapes and books and not doing what is suggested will just put you deeper into debt.

Starting Over Step # 1: Getting My Head out of the Sand

I wanted to get back to my goal of becoming debt free.  In order to do that I had to start with the steps that I used the last time I was in this situation.  I thought that I would share these steps with you to not only remind myself of what I need to do, but to help others as well.

First is to figure out why and how I ended up with a mountain of debt.  My Super Charged Life has a really good article to get started called "Why is My Life So Hard?"  It takes you through 3 steps on analyzing yourself and to get you to realize that life can be hard, but it can also be GREAT!!!

After thinking about it, I realized that I have been using retail therapy to feel better about things going on in my life.  As we all know, that really doesn't work very well.  The thrill of buying stuff is short lived.  In order to keep the happy feeling you have to continue to buy more stuff.  That will only get you into debt and into a lot of trouble.  Plus you start looking like the hoarders on TV.  I can't blame this on anyone else but myself this time.

To get started, the first thing is to get your head out of the sand and find out how much debt you really have.  Take a notebook and section it off into 3 sections.  Or if you have a computer with a spreadsheet program start with that. 

First section or tab, write down how much you bring in every month.  Take your pay stubs and any other paperwork you have and write down each method of income and how much you brought home last month.  Don't forget to include any interest on bank accounts.  Do not include Retirement accounts or investments.  Only include the income that is readily available to be able to spend at this moment.

Second section, write down every bill you have for each month.  Start with the date the bill is due, the company the payment will be sent to, then the amount you have to pay each month, and if there is a balance, write down the balance.

The third section, is for every penny you spend.  Carry the notebook around with you or keep a small notebook and write down every time you spend cash.  All the experts will tell you to do the same.  Why?  Most people never know how much they really spend in a month because they don't include cash purchases.  Especially that candy bar or soda at the vending machines.  Yep, you have to write those down as well.  In most cases these are the purchases you can cut out to not only help you meet your budget, but shrink your waist line.

Step three is the most time consuming because you will need to do this every day for 3 months.  This will get you thinking about how you are spending money and why.  90 days is what the experts say will help you create a new habit and drop an old one.  So for 90 days you will write down each penny you spend.  At the end of the month you can analyze where all  your money is going and figure out if you can make those purchases with less money or just not buy that item at all.

Once all the income and outgoing money is accounted for, do the math.  Are you spending more than you make?  If so, were can you make adjustments to cut spending so that you do not go further into debt.  Do you really need that movie every week?  Is there a cheaper cell phone plan?  Can you start taking public transportation to work or to the park?  Can you buy that soda and candy bar cheaper at the grocery store and take it to work with you?

For me, I have been using an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of all my finances for the last 9 years.  The problem is that I fill it out, but I don't really look at the numbers.  I have been overspending by a lot in the last 6 months.  I have had my head in the sand and now it is time for a reality check.  Until last year I didn't have to worry about what I was spending.  We always had enough money and plenty of money in the savings account.  After my husband lost his job last November, things have change drastically.

This week I will be looking at ways to cut my expenses and increase my income.  Stay tuned for Starting Over Step #2:  Balancing My Budget.

Forced to Downsize and become Frugal

With the economy still in limbo, more and more families have been forced to move into smaller home because of job loss or cut in household income.  Some families are forced to sell furniture and other household items just to pay the bills.  Others are forced to do both.

The economy not improving as fast as predicted, more and more families are being forced to leave their homes that they have lived in for over 10 years.  Because they are moving into smaller spaces, people are selling furniture and appliances that will not fit into the smaller homes.  The money from selling the items are going to pay off debt.

Layoffs and cuts in income have become the norm.  According to TransUnion paying off debt and become frugal has also become the norm.  People are worried about keeping jobs and there ability to pay bills.  Fewer families are going on vacation or even going out to eat. 

According to the "Debt" article in the St. Louis Post Dispatch, American families' total liabilities now amount to 119 percent of their annual income.  That is down from 136 percent in 2007.  But back in 2000 debt was only 97 percent.  We still have a long way to go to get our debt back down from 119 percent to 97 percent.  I know that because of my own circumstances, my debt has gone way up again.  So, I will be downsizing by getting rid of a lot of items in my home at the my next yard sale.  I will also be spending less. 

The economist in the article says that people are spending but very cautiously. We are in a chicken and the egg dilemma.  People will not spend money while they are worried about jobs, gas, and food prices.  But employers will not hire more employees until there is a higher demand for goods and services.

This is just my opinion. until families have lowered their debt and feel comfortable spending money again, our economy will not grow.  We are in a stagnate situation.  I know that I will be working on a tighter budget for myself in the next couple of weeks.  I will not be able to spend much money until this time next year.  I will be putting my frugal skills to the test this winter to meet my goal of paying off credit card debt and loans.

I am putting together a series of articles to get started with putting together a budget, how to spend less, and ways to make more money.  All to pay down debt as fast as possible and get back to feeling comfortable with our own finances.  That will be the best day ever ( well for me)!!!!