A Flipping Goal

Can the year really be coming to an end?

Our last FFC meeting was another great discussion on goal setting after reading, "The Straight Edge" (Well, a couple of us read it.  I half heartedly tried to find it on my Kindle, but my original search was fruitless, I forgot to try again.  Thanks to Fiscally Fit Chick Julie for filling us in.)  During the meeting we wrote down our usual short-term monthly goals, and I reflected on my accomplishments for 2013.  Luckily, I was able to reach one annual goal, but just barely.

A Flip House Completed

Last December I was in the midst of trying to sell my 3rd flip house.  It had been a few years since my husband and I flipped a house, and this was a HUGE project.  I was proud of the final product and proud of myself for being the lead on the whole thing as well as anxious to sell it and get some cash back. 

On a snowy, gray day, my realtor friend showed me another potential flip full of broken bathrooms, funky stairwells, and crazy floor plans.  It was great!  Luckily it was a short sale, so the bank approved my offer but did not actually take any money for it until June of 2013.  That gave me plenty of time to close on my other flip and get money to fix up this one.

The Kitchen Before

The original schedule was to complete and sell the home in August, but life does not always go as planned.  It teaches us along the way, and boy have I learned A LOT about what I will and will not do for my next investment.  Nevertheless, the home was finally completed on December 19th.  It has been on the market for almost 9 days.  Our open house is tomorrow and a 2013 goal of completing another flip house has been realized. Woo-hoo!

The Kitchen After

 Now we just need it to sell.

The New Living Room- Fiscally Fit Chick Sam Staged It

 I don't know if flipping is something I will always do, but it has been fun to try again.  Not to mention a relief to have a goal reached by the end of the year, well mostly. 

Here are a few before and after pictures for you.  What an adventure.

Another Kitchen Shot- Before

Deck Before

Crazy Half Stairs Before

Entry Before

The Deck- After

A Favorite Feature-Stairs to Bonus Playroom

The Back Yard- Apple Tree Inclueded

Yogamoney Metaphors

As many of you know, yoga is a big part of my life.  I have spent hundreds of hours on a yoga mat and every time I am reminded or taught something new about myself.  Much like running a marathon, there are so many metaphors for life during a yoga practice. 

It was freezing this morning at 6 AM as I walked into my yoga class.  My body seemed to fight me for sleep and the warmth of my bed. During practice I wobbled through some normally easy poses for me but by the end of practice I was so grateful that I had been there. 

Interesting that these financial goals we work on every month are so similar.

It has been HARD to not get fast food for kids on busy days.  In fact, I only made the goal 2 weeks ago and I've already gone through Chick-fil-A twice.  BUT, like my yoga practice I keep trying.  I know I'll feel better if I do, even on those cold, hectic, wobbly mornings. 

Holiday and Habits

Ok holidays, welcome!

For the month of November our FFC group discussed "The Power of Habit" by Charles Duhigg.  We learned about the habit loop and the cycle that all habits have.

All habits have a cue, then the routine, then a reward.

For example, getting ready for bed is a cue for me to brush my teeth.  The routine is to brush my teeth then wash my face, then my reward is feeling clean and fresh before going to bed.  This is my night time habit and sadly flossing is not always part of it.  

If we want to change a habit, we need to adjust the routine.  In my case, I decided to change my routine to floss my teeth BEFORE I brush.  I know that I won't go to bed without my teeth brushed so if I floss before brushing it guarantees flossing. I still get my clean and fresh reward at the end. It has been working pretty well so far.

So what about our money habits?

With Christmas so close, I am worried I'll really let my good financial habits slide.  There are just so many coupons and deals!  

One of my biggest spending bad habits is fast food on busy days.  I know busy days are coming up with holiday concerts and travel and visits and more.  So I am going to work on changing this particular habit loop this month. 

The cue is driving in the car with children around meal times.  Instead of driving through a fast food place, I plan on bringing snacks and bottled water in the car.  Also, I need to plan my meals so I know that when I get home I have a meal idea ready to make.  (Half the battle of making a meal is trying to figure out what to make.)  Unfortunately, I am not so good at this because I need to make the time commitment to plan everything out better.  I guess I'll see how it all goes.

Until our next meeting I will be working on these goals:
1.  Change my drive through habit on busy days
2.  Budget all my Christmas gifts and PLAN OUT MY SPENDING (I gave myself a pile of cash and that is all I have to work with.)
3.  Read "The Slight Edge" by Jeff Olsen.  Another book on habits that we are reading for next month's preparation for New Year goals.

I'll let you know how it goes!

A no cost anniversary gift, a non crafty wife

Yesterday I celebrated 14 years of being married to my fantastic husband. Woohoo!

(Oh it is amazing how fast time goes!) 

Since we had enjoyed a vacation in Puerto Rico to celebrate my dear friend's wedding less than a month ago- we decided not to spend money on gifts. So, I struggled to embrace my non-crafty, non-creative self and tried to think of a great gift, that cost no money.

I knew that the "jar full of reasons I love you" or the "letter to open every time you feel a certain way" type of romantic mushy gift, wouldn't do. My sweet husband is wonderful, but mushy romance stuff is not really his thing. I, on the other hand would love a jar full of reasons he loves me. :)

 I decided to help him reach our future dreams with a binder. A binder full of information on how we can move to New Zealand, two years from now.

In January this year my husband said, "In two years I think we should move to New Zealand for a few months and do something different in our lives." We have owned a small car dealership for about 11 years, and being a small business owner means that life is often consumed with the business. Also, this career choice does not lend itself well to moving across world.

So, I thought a binder with all the information we need to actually take a step in that direction would be a fun way to get closer to making our dreams a reality. I filled it with quotes like,

"Life loves to be taken by the lapel and told: 
I'm with you kid. Let's go." -Maya Angelou

I researched all of our passport and visa information and picked up applications.  I Looked up blogs from others that have lived in New Zealand and printed off their stories.  I researched ways to delegate in small business and put in information about running your business from afar.  I also made a spreadsheet comparing costs of what it would take to live there 3 months, 6 months, or 1 year.  (so romantic, I know!)

I was really excited after I put it together.  It feels like this dream could become a reality with the first steps taken.  I think Sonny really liked it too.  As a bonus, we got to talk about our dreams and future all through dinner as we went through the binder.  It was really fun for me, and cheap!!

 

101 Donations

I love this poem by Alan Katz.  My son was presenting his book, Poems I Wrote When No One Was Looking for a book report this month and I laughed so much while reading his work.

As a finance fanatic, I liked this one.  Perfect for us to think about as we move into the holiday season.

101 Donations

If you have prosperity,

it's nice to give to charity.

A cent,

a buck, 

a ten, 

a mil.

Give what you can,

give what you will.

If those who have

help those who've not,

then those who've not

will have a lot.

And if the ones who had then lack,

the ones who got 

can give some back.

October meeting marks 4 years!

This week FFC celebrated our 4th year as a group! 

Happy Anniversary!

We celebrated with a meeting and fresh salsa and chips (Courtesy of last month's meeting where we canned salsa from Fiscally Fit Chick Sam's garden.)

It was fun to have a couple new faces at our table.  Welcome Julie and Trish!

This month we talked about some of my earlier thoughts on media and our finances.  We shared a few clips from "I Am" and again discussed the question, "What is wrong with the world and what can we do about it?"  Our fun conversation led us to next month's topic, The Power of Habit.

We are all reading "The Power of Habit" by Charles Duhigg.  We covered this book last September when my fantastically awesome brother-in-law presented as a guest speaker.  This time, Fiscally Fit Chick Aimee is presenting as she and her husband are reading it, trying to find a way to help people make chiropractic visits a habit.  (He just opened his own chiropractic practice.) 

After falling short on a couple of last month's goals, I was excited following our meeting to redeem myself.   I've already gotten 2 of my goals accomplished!  I re-negotiated my cable service to lower my monthly bill and I listed some fantastic items to sell online and bring in some extra dinero.  I can't believe how quickly a lawn mower, table and dresser sold- seriously within hours. 

It's going to be a great month!

What's the Group Benefit?

Another interview with Zions Direct.  I loved talking about Fiscally Fit Chicks and tips on what makes a group so great for becoming fiscally fit.

I hope you enjoy it too!

Finance Group Interview #1

I had a great time at this interview.  It was so fun to talk about FFC and starting our women's finance group!

Money Babies at the Car Lot

 

This billboard is on the edge of our car lot.  (It kindly gives us some positive advertising without even knowing it.)

  

I finally looked up www.feedthepig.org and recommend it to everyone as a good resource for getting fiscally fit.  It is fun, interactive, and even has a Tween site.  You should check it out!

Dishes + Documentaries= $$

This past month I have noticed how much the media I watch/listen/read effects my spending and savings habits.

Sometimes I indulge myself in reality shows.  ( I particularly like Million Dollar Listing, Selling New York, and Selling LA.)  These reality shows have an unnatural lure for me to want to buy gigantic homes while wearing high heels and tight skirts.  A lot of the time I comment on how crazy the agents are or how terrible the buyers are, and pretty much every time I end up wanting to have more.

This week I had an interesting 'about face' when I finished an episode of Million Dollar Listing and then tackled the dishes.  Dishes, laundry, and making meals used to feel like a tedious time waste for me, but now I often watch Netflix on a tablet device or listen to books on CD while working on these chores.  I immediately found a documentary called I Am on Netflix.  I remembered hearing an NPR interview with the documentary creator, Tom Shadyac.  He is the famous director of movies like Ace Ventura, Bruce Almighty, and Nutty Professor.  What I heard from the interview was that he sold his huge Hollywood mansion and now lives in a mobile home.  I was curious why he did it, especially since I had just watched a show making me salivate for one of those Hollywood mega-houses.

WHAT A DIFFERENCE!!

Inspired by the message of what we can do to change the world, I completely flipped my thoughts from 2 hours earlier and wanted to start selling all my belongings, build my savings, and serve others.  (Bonus- I also got the dishes done, bathroom clean, dinner made and floor swept.)

For our October FFC (Fiscally Fit Chicks) meeting we will be focusing on the concept of allowing media to shape our spending and saving habits.  I think it will be a great discussion on how we can use the media technology for our financial gain, or our financial failure.

I invite you to explore your media emotions as well.  It has been pretty eye-opening for me.

Self Reliance

"Are you financially self-reliant?"

 

This week I had a couple of discussions with other ladies about self reliance. 

In our conversations all the women agreed that being self-reliant meant we needed to educate ourselves enough to provide for ourselves and our families in all facets of life.  Interestingly, when I asked the women if they felt self-reliant in their family finances, many shoulders shrugged and eyes turned downward in embarrassment.   

In my case, I bring in very little money for my family every month.  I could easily assume that my role is to care for the home and family, but money should be my husband's responsibility because he is the one who makes it.  That type of thinking is the opposite of being self-reliant. 

The ladies I spoke with all agreed that they needed to educate themselves more on their finances, but it is so much easier trusting their spouse with all of it!  I know it is not always fun and it takes a little more time to face the finance world, but the end result is peace of mind and confidence. 

So if you want to work on financial self-reliance this month, start with 3 easy to reach goals:

1.  With a notebook in hand, ask your spouse or find out yourself how much money you have in your accounts.
2.  Write down what bills are paid every month and HOW they get paid (via credit card, online, paper, checking, etc.)
3.  Buy a safe and put your notebook -that you will continue to write in as you go- inside it.

Easy steps that will start you on your way to self reliance. 

 

No Soliciting

About a month ago, I had yet another solicitor successfully rope me into buying a $75 children's book that I have absolutely zero desire to own.  (I still haven't received the book.)  The minute after the young woman in search of a better life where she can support her daughter and live in a safe environment left my home, I had instant buyer's remorse.

"Are you kidding me?  How did I let that just happen?  And I'm suppose to be a strong, confident, woman?"

So, I typed this sign up on my computer and as you can see, very beautifully taped it to my front door with duct tape.

I left it on for a week or so and realized why I was truly upset with myself.

In our last finance meeting, we had just read Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook's COO.  She writes inspiring words about being strong women and speaking up in life.  I loved the book and felt motivated to be even stronger in my conversations and views in personal and professional life.  Putting the No Solicitors! sign on my door was a crutch to make it so I wouldn't have to face an uncomfortable experience that gave me the opportunity to stand up for myself.  I was not "Leaning In"  I was being a coward and "backing up".

So I ripped the sign down (it was also very tacky to have yellow duct tape be the eye catcher for my house).  I vowed to be stronger- and be prepared for circumstances that might push me out of my comfort zones and require me to speak up. 

We'll see how it goes.

Goal!

"You've got to have goals."

...Zig Ziglar

Growing up, Zig Ziglar's southern drawl was a familiar voice on all of our cross country trips.  Dad would put his cassette tape in the 15 passenger van stereo and all of us kids would be forced to listen to Zig Ziglar give supreme advice about business and sales and motivation. 

As a Fiscally Fit Chick, we live by Mr. Ziglar's statement.

The key to financial success with a finance group, is to set goals and then hold each other accountable at the next meeting.  In our meetings we start the year with one BIG goal.  

Example:  Pay off the entire balance of a credit card.  or Our entire group set a goal that we would have our Wills and Trusts together by Dec. 31st.

The due date for that goal is one year from that date. 

The key to reaching the BIG one is setting (and reaching) smaller monthly goals.

For example:  1.  Pay $25 extra to my CC balance.   

                      2.  Talk to my husband about who would take the kids if something happened to us.

                      3.  Call 2 lawyers and get quotes for putting together an estate plan.

These are reachable, small, easy to accomplish goals.  At my next meeting I would report my fantastic success at setting and reaching these goals and my friends would give me praise and cheers- 

"You did it!"

"So Awesome!" 

"An inspiration..."  and so on.

I often hear BIG financial advice that says, "all debt must be paid in full", "IRA's and 401K's must be fully funded", "College savings should have started in utero," "etc."

I believe this advice is very good, but very scary too.  

Setting these small, reachable goals every month with friends that want to see you succeed is the best way to accomplish the BIG stuff.  

Your First Meeting

September has just begun!

Back to school means back to an actual schedule and is a FANTASTIC time to start shaping up financially. (Another perk, kids are in school.  Therefore background noise, whining, and interruptions are decreased by 1/2 for your finance meetings.  You may think you are in heaven instead of at a kitchen table!  Enjoy it.)

So, call some of your friends and invite them to join you in becoming the hottest coupon shopping, college-saving, stock investing, organized, DIY ladies in town.

Keeping your lovely group to about a 7 person max, you will want to have your charter meeting and lay it all out.

Here is an example of what we discussed at our charter meeting.  (Quick sidebar- you may soon realize that your drive to become the best looking billionaire in Forbes magazine may not be the same drive as many of the ladies you spoke to.  Therefore, remind them to come to your first meeting and keep smiling when only one shows up.  It will get better.)

Agenda:

Welcome Everyone!  What were the best and worst financial events that happened to you last month? (This is the time that friends can cheer on successes and sympathize with one another for our failures.)
 Example:

• Best- I did not buy the Crate and Barrel outdoor chaise lounge that was on sale for $999, instead found an entire set of clearance Home Depot outdoor furniture for only $400!
• Worst-  I took that $400 out of my grocery cash budget and therefore only have $300 to last me the entire month of September. 

What are some topics we want to cover in our meetings?
Some of our Favorites:

• Organizing financial paperwork (annoying but so super important)
• Happiness and Money
• Wills and Trusts
• College Savings Plans
• Negotiating (with sales people, bosses, yard sale attendees, etc.)
• Real Estate
• Savings Tips
• Debt
•  Women and Business
• To coupon or not to coupon
• Review a great book!  Check out the Books We Reviewed link at the top of the page, there are a ton of goodies and I still need to add more.

What should we name our group?

What are some ground rules?
Some of ours:

• We only share the personal financial information our spouses would be comfortable with us sharing.
• We do not share our group members financial woes with people outside of the group. 
• We only meet at zero cost locations.
• If you host a meeting, you can not buy refreshments for the group that day- you have to already have it in your pantry.

What should we cover next month?

What 3 goals will you set this month? Make them small and easily reachable.
Examples:

• Keep track of all of my spending.
• Buy a file box to start organizing my paperwork.
• Put $50 in my kids savings account.

When should we meet next month?

Adjourned.

You now have popcorn strewn across your home, toys on the floor by every toy box and possible crayon on your walls, but no matter.  You have just burned hundreds of financial calories by taking the first big step in changing your fiscally fit future.  You are awesome and you have awesome friends. 

Starting a Women's Finance Group

All Women can be Fiscally Fit Chicks.

Almost 4 years ago I started Fiscally Fit Chicks with my good friend Maren.  Feeling the depressing effects of the "great recession" we needed something to boost us out of our funk.  So we became cheerleaders for each other and other women. 

Our group of 5 women meet once a month.  We cheer each other on in our personal finance goals.  We share our successes and failures.  We learn about all kinds of topics and read fantastic books and articles.  We gain confidence, grow friendships, and make MONEY.

I have personally seen great success because of this group.  I started college savings for my kids, opened a Roth IRA, bought Netflix stock at a great price (on my own), started flipping houses again, paid off debt, and confidently had a conversation with my insurance agent about what I believe the best products for my family are.

These are just a few of the big and small successes that came because I had little, tangible, monthly goals to help me reach the big picture items.  Thank goodness my group members have supported me through it.

Throughout this group life I have been encouraged to share information from our meetings with other women- via newsletters, emails, etc.  Now is the time to do it.  In this blog I hope to share the best topics, resources and tips to get you Fiscally Fit. 

Start with a group of your own. 

I'll post more about starting a group in the future, but for now, check out these to articles to help you get started.
Wikihow- 7 steps 
Community Magazine- Fiscally Fit (page 70) 

Get ready to get rich, be confident and have fun!

This is exciting.