Tag Archives: budgeting

Should You Pass on Rising Costs?

Chances are, you are starting to notice some rising expenses in your home business do, in part to the impending recession. Transportation costs, shipping rates, supplies, and other items are going up and they are likely costing you more and that takes away from your bottom line. As a new or relatively new business owner, however, you may feel reluctant to raise your own prices to cover those growing expenses. But, passing on some of those rising costs may be just what you need to do for the health of your business. If you have a business where you ship … Continue reading →

Can we Expect Kids to Understand a Recession?

Economics are a fact of family life—as much as many of us would like to pretend they aren’t, we know that the every day lives of our families (and its members) are influenced by what is going on with the economy. As more and more of us are affected by rising costs, dropping income, and the general precariousness that a recession brings, it can be tough on our children too—especially since they often do not understand why things are changing and mom and/or dad are more stressed. It can be too much to expect young children to understand a change … Continue reading →

Stress and Money

Stress and money go hand in hand. We stress about money, no matter how much we have. Moreover, when we don’t have enough, our money causes us further stress. It is almost a never-ending cycle. Still, it is a cycle I dare you to break. Stress deteriorates our quality of life and our health. The more you stress, the worse you will feel. Feeling bad and poor health will certainly cost you extra money. Once again, here is another cycle leading to disaster. Don’t let the stress associated with money overtake you. Find ways to make money easier to manage … Continue reading →

Setting Priorities for your Money

Setting your own personal priorities and goals for your life in regards to money is really the very first step. However, many people skip it. They set up savings, investments and even their budget, without really taking the time to figure out their priorities. Very few people can achieve all their goals and desires. Still, if you can narrow down your dreams to a few key ones, the possibility of achieving them magnifies. Start first by making a list of all your financial dreams. Then review them, selecting the top five that are most important to you. If you have … Continue reading →

Too Much “Bottom Line?”

How many times do we hear the term “bottom line” when it comes to business matters? Even those of us who do not fancy ourselves to be very business-savvy know that we are supposed to keep a mindful eye on our “bottom line” as we grow and build our businesses. We are supposed to watch out for budgets, expenses, and revenue and make sure that the numbers show we are actually making money and not spending too much. But, can there be TOO much focus on bottom line? Enough to keep us from taking risks and focusing on the benefits … Continue reading →

Calculate your Payoff

Is one of your New Years resolutions to pay off some debt? This is a great goal! There are some different philosophies about how to get there, let’s learn about some of them. Debt costs us money from the interest we are charged. Let’s use an example… you have $1000 in debt with an interest rate of 20 percent a year; you are paying $200 a year for that debt. You have $100,000 in debt at 5 percent a year; you are paying $5000 a year. Then you have $10,000 in debt where you pay 30 percent for a cost … Continue reading →

What Purchases Can I Make Without Actually Leaving My House?

I always swore I was not going to be one of those online/mail order divas—I was concerned that I would spend more money if I did things that way and did not want to give in to late night impulse shopping. I have found that single parenthood, however, has led me to trying to cut corners and save time as much as trying to save money. Now, I ask myself just what I can purchase and get—without having to make an extra trip! I pre-select my library books via the world wide web instead of perusing the shelves; I’ve learned … Continue reading →

Soup–a Single Parent’s Best Friend

This isn’t really an article about how to make great soup, and I won’t be including any recipes–instead I just wanted to remind all you single parents out there what an amazing blessing a big pot of soup can be! As most of us are always looking for ways to stretch our budgets, nurture and feed our children, cut back on work lunch expenses, and manage our time well–soup can be a way to tackle all those issues. Making a big pot of soup on a Sunday afternoon can serve as a bonding meal for the entire family on Sunday … Continue reading →

Numbers, Numbers, Numbers

I do not particularly like Math. In fact, when I finished my bachelor’s degree, I did everything I could to avoid taking a single math class, or a science class that required much math. I am just not keen on having to work with numbers. Now, as all of you other home business owners out there know–there is just no way to run your own business, without having to do some work with numbers. Even if we cannot stand math and don’t consider numbers to be our friends, we do have to learn some basic bookkeeping, money management and for … Continue reading →

Living Frugally Is The Latest Trend

Living more frugally seems to be the latest trend these days. Perhaps its just my own perception, but if you look around you, newspapers and magazines seem to be publishing more and more feature articles on ways to save and live a more frugal life. The more we expose people to these trends, the more they will take off and become the latest “thing to do” and perhaps the more retailers, shops and others will begin to listen. Saving money is finally cool. What I never understood before is that apparently it is an embarrassment to admit you’re a cheapskate. … Continue reading →