Budgeting & The Basics: When I learned how to CORRECTLY budget my money, it was such as eye opener. I had no idea how money was suppose to work. I earned money and I spent the money I earned, it was that easy. It wasn’t until I started wanting bigger things that I found myself without the money I needed. So I supplemented my income with credit cards. That worked for awhile until the many payments started to become overwhelming. A lot of us get into this trap, keep your budget simple I like to start new “Budgeters” with the 5- finger budget. Put your income into 5 categories, Housing, Debt, Giving, Saving, and Living. Make sure you allocate a percentage of your income into each category (which should total 100%) and over time you will see a big improvement in your financial picture. Warm regards, Dina Harbour, Extraordinaire CEO & Host of Women Obtaining Wealth Founder of Kids And Money Program or K.A.M.P. Office: (678) 310-5131 (Mon-Fri 10a-4p EST) Ezine’s Author Expert! Follow me on Facebook/Twitter It’s time for your child to discover the correlation between math & money. Send them to KAMP! Stay Connected to W.O.W. download our customized toolbar today!

Money & Marriage: The commitment of marriage is a wonderful and powerful bond. Today women are getting married at ages older than previous generations, therefore most have already established a financial identity, meaning credit, bills, and in some cases a home. I, myself was 31 when I got married and had already established a financial life. My then husband and I had very different philosophies about money. It took us almost 2-years to create a comfortable system when we combined our incomes and financial spending habits. I tell my clients I use to cringe when he purchased video games and cigarettes. He thought I wasting money on weekly hair salon visits. Eventually we worked it out. We divorced after 10 years, but are still very good friends to this day. We never let money get more powerful then our relationship. Be honest about your “financial philosophy” with your partner and create a system that will make both of you powerful and equals when it comes to money. Warm regards, Dina Harbour, Extraordinaire CEO & Host of Women Obtaining Wealth Founder of Kids And Money Program or K.A.M.P. Office: (678) 310-5131 (Mon-Fri 10a-4p EST) Ezine’s Author Expert! Follow me on Facebook/Twitter It’s time for your child to discover the correlation between math & money. Send them to KAMP! Stay Connected to W.O.W. download our customized toolbar today!

Budgeting & Bills: Keeping a budgeting and paying bills ON TIME can be tricky. You have several bills due on different days, meanwhile you get paid once a month, or twice a month, and for some every week. I find that people operating without a budget pay most of their bills with one of their paychecks and then spend the other paycheck on things they want, instead of paying half of their bills with each paycheck. You can pay some of your bills early and avoid feeling angry that all of your money is going towards bills. That mindset usually causes you to spend money that you should not be spending and engage in a destructive pattern of wastefulness. Use a budget to help you figure out a half and half system. Make sure to have a “savings” category I’m positive you will feel better about paying bills when you start having money left over. -Try it! Warm regards, Dina Harbour, Extraordinaire CEO & Host of Women Obtaining Wealth Founder of Kids And Money Program or K.A.M.P. Office: (678) 310-5131 (Mon-Fri 10a-4p EST) Ezine’s Author Expert! Follow me on Facebook/Twitter It’s time for your child to discover the correlation between math & money. Send them to KAMP! Stay Connected to W.O.W. download our customized toolbar today!

Finances & Friendships: We all know that our money is a touchy subject, but what happens to a friendship when one friend ask another for money? I operate from a strict policy when it comes to this issue. I DO NOT loan money that I can’t risk losing. I really don’t call it a loan because I’ve watched way to many court battles on TV where one friend thinks the other doesn’t need their money back. Time and time again money has ended years of friendship, which is so sad to me. We give “money” so much power over our lives and our hearts. Money is a tool used to buy goods and services, if we need it then we should not give it to someone else. Be firm about that and don’t let  anyone manipulate you into giving them money that you can’t afford to give. If they can’t respect “NO’ maybe it really wasn’t a friendship in the first place.-Be smart with your money & your heart! Warm regards, Dina Harbour, Extraordinaire CEO & Host of Women Obtaining Wealth Founder of Kids And Money Program or K.A.M.P. Office: (678) 310-5131 (Mon-Fri 10a-4p EST) Ezine’s Author Expert! Follow me on Facebook/Twitter It’s time for your child to discover the correlation between math & money. Send them to KAMP! Stay Connected to W.O.W. download our customized toolbar today!

Money & Traveling: I really enjoy the Fall & Holiday Season. Thanksgiving is my all time favorite holiday. Unlike Christmas, Thanksgiving weather isn’t quite as cold.  My family is in the West Coast, so I travel back and forth a few times a year. I’ve noticed small yet significant increases in flight cost and have came up with a few things that has helped me over the years. Airline companies are very competitive with each other, so I usually compare several airlines going to my particular destination. They have websites that can do this, such as tripadvisor.com and others,however I like going to the airlines direct site. Farecompare.com is another site I use on occasion. They will email me when my flight inquires prices goes down. But out of all the so call “tricks” my best money savers are leaving during the week(usually Tuesday-Thursday), taking what’s call a “red-eye” (leaving between 11p-midnight arriving the next morning), and in the cases of major holiday, leaving before and after the crowd. So a minimum of 4-5 day prior and after the actual holiday. For package deals such as flight, hotel, and car rental, I like the deals I get with hotwire.com. I’ve heard positive things about priceline.com but I haven’t experienced any great deals. For just a hotel, I find great deals with hotel.com, they have a cool point system to get a free room.-Good luck, happy trails, and a safe return! Warm regards, Dina Harbour, Extraordinaire CEO & Host of Women Obtaining Wealth Founder of Kids And Money Program or K.A.M.P. Office: (678) 310-5131 (Mon-Fri 10a-4p EST) Ezine’s Author Expert! Follow me on Facebook/Twitter It’s time for your child to discover the correlation between math & money. Send them to KAMP! Stay Connected to W.O.W. download our customized toolbar today!

When I’m helping my clients restructure or create their household budget I have to become real creative in how i show them ways to save money. Some of these great ideas come from my many years of hanging out with my Mom and Aunt. Some are things I’ve learned along the way and from other people. Nevertheless, I enjoy helping people save money, especially when gas, food, and utility prices are forever creeping up and we all know we can’t do without those important necessities. Below are the seven ways to save, in no particular order.