Fabulous Financials

And the winners of Friday’s contest for the Nuru personal finance cards are as follows:

onlinediva34 with the 14th comment

and…

LobotoME (Jenny) with the 18th comment

The question was “share a tip (or 20) on how you manage your finances during this economic crisis.”  Jenny’s comment made me pause for the cause, so I wanted to share it again for those who missed it:

We are planning for simple holidays this year - we are giving our kids 4 gifts only (plus one from santa). The 4 gifts are in these categories.

1 Want
1 Need
1 To Do/Create
1 Read

We are also doing more to help others…while our bank accounts/401k accounts have taken a hit, we still have our businesses and our home..and our health…a lot to be thankful for. So this is a good time to teach compassion and empathy to our kids and help those less fortunate.

When I read her comment, I paused - literally.  I felt selfish for thinking about all the things I will do for myself and my family.  I felt selfish for not thinking about the people who were already struggling, and will now struggle even more.  I felt selfish for thinking about how I can save more, without a single thought about how I can give more.

Then…after I let the comment marinate, I felt motivated, empowered, and happy again.  For one…Christmas depends on BabyGirl’s report card - she’s currently trying to resuscitate that C in trig/pre-Cal.  It aint looking good.  And two…I don’t intend to buy gifts for the entire family like I have in the past - let the fat guy do his job, he gets all the credit anyway. Hmph!  That alone is a savings of at least $200!  In addition, I’m on track with my planned financial changes, so another couple hundred can be used to help a family in need.  I’d already completed the holiday program donor form at one of my favorite charities, so the timing is perfect.  I can’t think of a better way to change my finances by minimizing excess at home and helping those less fortunate.

Wooo weee for me!

…and CONGRATS to the winners!

In the last post, I meant to tell you that the owners of Nuru sent me TWO decks of the personal finance cards and I want to give them away.  So you know what THAT means?  CONTEST!!

Here’s what I’d like for you to do…

1 - Subscribe to my blog (RSS reader - or - email) if you haven’t already done so.

and…

2 - Share a tip (or 20) on how you manage your finances during this economic crisis.

On Monday, I will select TWO winners using the random number generator.  If you win, but are not subscribed to my blog, I will select the next person on the list.  You must do both to be eligible to win. US residents only.  So subscribe and share a helpful personal finance tip.

I think I’ve been using “summer” and “vacation planning” as an excuse to spend. My credit card statement just closed on the 23rd and I paid the balance in full the next day. However, between the 23rd and today, I’ve managed to charge another $1,800. That’s about 2 weeks.

$1,800 in TWO weeks.

Whoa! None of the charges were for necessities or bills - just stuff. Fun stuff, cute stuff, fabulous stuff, house stuff, like to have stuff, interesting stuff, etc. But all “stuff” nonetheless.

So here’s my plan.

I just made a $1,200 payment, simply to make the balance look normal for this time of the month. Now, I am going to…uh…this is going to be hard, but umm…I gotta do it. *exhale*

Unless I am on vacation (two more trips this month), I will not spend another dime in this place or either of these stores:

photo credit: LLudo

• Bath & Body Works - me luvs the smell good (especially cucumber melon and sweet pea) and the spa scrub for my feetsez. *daydreaming*
• Nordstrom - how can I resist a shoe sale when the friggin store is less than 5 minutes from my house? It’s a set up!
• Macy’s - went in for a few spring/summer suits, but the lined suits were 60% off.
• Target - make a list, go in for 5 things and come out with 30. *sigh*
• Ross - see, what had happened was…

Shoot, I won’t even try to explain. These are my favorite stores and I can’t deny it. But you know what? I am banning myself for the month of July! Even while I’m on vacation, my entire “shopping” limit is $100 $200 $300 for each trip the rest of this month. The thought is funny to me too. Ha!

Do you think I can do it? If I can’t, I’m going to give away a $50 gift card to one of the stores.

My crime vacation partners read my blog, so I’m gonna need both of you to keep me focused. M’kay? I can’t afford to give away money, especially when I’m banned from spending. And I sure as hell don’t want to someone else shopping in one of MY favorite stores on MY dime!

I feel the pain already. LOL

UPDATE: As of 8:00pm on 13 May (Tuesday), Ms. Paula hasn’t contacted me to claim her prize. If I haven’t heard from her by tomorrow, I’ll use random.com to select another winner on Thursday morning.

Last week, I posted a review of the Norton 360 All-In-One PC Security software and held a contest to give away a one year subscription. There were a total of 60 valid comments - the comments in this post didn’t count. Then I used random.org to select a winner.

No. 35: Paula who left the comment:

2 kids + 6 of my kids friends + 2 parents (the grandparents who babysit) who click on all neon flashing ads cuz it tells them to + single mother who works too many hours and isn’t available to say ‘don’t click on that’….’stop!’ = unsafe and scary computer situation. right now i’m using the free norton thing, that lasts a month. it’s a brand new computer. my first in the house. my free month is up in days. no clue what to do at that point. would love to win.

Congrats Paula! Please contact me to arrange shipping.

Thanks to everyone who participated!!

Would you like to win a one year version of the Norton 360 All-In-One PC security software from symantec? If so, don’t forget to comment on this post!

Entries will be accepted through midnight Sunday and I’ll use the random number generator to select a winner on Monday.

One entry per person and US only, please.