By CPA SAM
Keeping Up With Celebrities…
During my lunch break, I usually read news articles and opinions from various news sites. One thing that is always fascinating is the paradox of how many people want to be like the various celebrities in the news, yet how out of touch those same celebrities are with real people’s lives. So many magazines at the checkout stand in the grocery store offer “new” ways to attract men or make yourself more attractive, or drop pounds and even change your body in a few easy steps. Unfortunately, nothing in life is that easy whether it be finances, dieting or your career.
As part of a successful personal financial plan, it is important to keep your focus on your ultimate goal, getting out of debt and planning for both unforeseen problems and retirement. It is also important to ignore the temptations around you that try to get you back into your old ways of overspending. I think the current economic climate has taught many Americans that buying on credit is simply not the smart way to go regardless what everyone else is doing. What happens if you lose your job or your income is reduced? A good budget will help you work your way out of debt while still affording a few small “rewards” along the way to keep you motivated. It also provides a bit of accountability
To get started in a budget, the first thing that needs to happen is to stop reading about celebrities and fashion. They make “crazy money” as Angelina Jolie once said for doing very little. They have essentially unlimited resources that the rest of us don’t! Book after book has been written on how stuff and money simply does not bring happiness. I invite you to spend more time with friends and family. Getting to know people and making an impact in someone else’s life is a pursuit that brings lasting rewards. Soon the stuff you bought will be broken or obsolete anyway. Why bother with more of it?
Fashion houses and designers will tell us that our wardrobes all need to be refreshed each season with the latest styles. Why? Is that pair of pants any less useful now that someone else has declared it “out of style?” I know, coming from a CPA (traditionally fashion-challenged people), it’s hard to take fashion advice. Think how much extra money you could put toward paying off debt if your closet didn’t look like a department store! Wearing clothes for more than one year and dressing in classic styles can save hundreds of dollars. Think how much less stress you can have sitting on your couch watching a movie from RedBox ($1) in last year’s jeans and t-shirt with a cup of hot cocoa (6 pack from grocery store for $4). You have created a relaxing quiet evening in without worrying about how you will pay for all the new stuff you just bought.
One of my recent posts mentioned using software for managing your checkbook and tracking your spending. Several readers have asked for further suggestions on programs that they can use.
Don’t you just enjoy the passing of an old year? 2008 brought many challenges from a financial perspective. Large and small corporations, retailers, stockholders, investors and regular employees all felt some pain. This post will have two major points. First, the biggest question everyone has is why did this happen. Last year, I was reading a book entitled “