reflection: a thought occurring in consideration or meditation.
I’m not sure about you, sometimes I catch myself reflecting. Not really on purpose, but a past memory will come when triggered by a certain outside circumstance. I think about that memory and wonder, “How did I get from there to here? Is this what I Continue Reading >>
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You can’t succeed by yourself. It takes each other to build a society. – Jim Rohn
It’s happened to me more times than I can remember. When someone hears of my story, I may get a quick little note that goes something like this: “I think it is very brave for you to put your story out there for people to learn from.”
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A few years ago, I decided to set new goals.
It all started when I was introduced to the late Jim Rohn. He was speaking at an engagement in New Orleans back in 2002. I’d just become aware of his motivational style of speaking just a few months prior Continue Reading >>
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Dear Reader,
Can I talk to you about something? It’s been bothering me for a while and I think it’s time to discuss it. See, I’m concerned because it seems that we are continually making the same mistakes over and over again. We’re supposed to learn from our own mistakes and/or the mistakes of others, but I Continue Reading >>
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Note: In the Ask Patrenia articles, I answer questions from readers sent to me by Email, Twitter or Facebook. Feel free to ask your money questions. I look forward to it. 
It hits everyone of us at some point and time in our life. The four letter word…FEAR!
I received a question here on the site a while back from a reader that I have grown to respect and admire not only for her inspiration, but her courage to motivate others. Here’s what she said… Continue Reading >>
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Welcome to part three in this series on Spending Smart. Before you read this article, I recommend you take a few minutes and read the first two parts (if you haven’t already) -
These ideas focus on us as consumers and household managers realizing that we hold the power for financial change in our lives.
We don’t have money that recreates itself as soon as we spend it. Most of us also don’t have a million dollar trust fund to fall back on when our earned income gets a little low.
Over the weekend, I took a look at the Parade Magazine which is a supplement to our local newspaper. The topic? What People Earn: Our Annual Survey. The income ranges for the normal middle class families working full time were between $17,000 to $143,000+. Continue Reading >>
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This is part two of a series I’ve entitled, Spending Smart. These ideas focus on us being more aware of our dollars and cents as we learn to take better control. It’s a continuous process of learning and growing.
You can find part one here – Money and Spending.
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What’s crazy about life is that it is very…shall I say adventurous! There is always some type of cause and effect action.
Let’s see how it works. You make an agreement with yourself that nothing will deter you from taking control of your money. You do well for a short while, but then something happens…
The latest and greatest gadget rolls out, you and a friend go window shopping, you see the shiny new ride a co-worker just purchased, or your cousin just built a 4,000 square foot home and it is beautifully furnished, etc. Continue Reading >>
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This is part one of a series I’ll call Spending Smart. What I hope to accomplish with this series is to raise our awareness of spending and find ways we can better manage it. Learning to control our money does not happen in one day. It is definitely something that is learned over time and tweaked as time goes on. So without further adieu, here we go…
Over the past few years, my family and I have made some drastic financial changes. Not all of these changes were totally financial, they were mental as well. I hope the suggestions here will affect you similarly. Let’s first start with the problem stopping us from Spending Smart.
“Failure to plan is expensive.” – Mary Hunt
Unplanned SpendingThis can happen in many ways. Some unplanned spending we are aware of, but we just do it anyway and deal with the consequences later. Others just kind of sneak up on us and we don’t realize what’s happened until it’s too late.
Way back before we really got the gist of money management, my husband and I spent money kind of haphazardly. We made sure all bills for the month were paid. And because I was a commissioned employee, I made sure I set aside money in savings (for those not so good months). Then we kind of just spent the rest. No real purpose. No plan. Continue Reading >>
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Decisions. Decisions. Decisions. Paying for an education, buying a car, purchasing a home, choosing a spouse, choosing a career, where to invest, how to invest. Where does it all stop?
They are all tough choices with one common denominator. The affect on your financial future.
It’s almost a gamble to trying to predict the outcome of your decisions. Mostly, you hold on to the hope that the decision you make will be a good one. But you realize that a huge swing in the wrong financial direction can cost you years to correct.
Making choices quickly, without counting all the costs, causes the unfortunate circumstances of life to happen. Probably some of which could have been avoided had the decision been thought out clearly. Better choices lead to better results.
The world wants to influence your decision making process. The constant raised hands with “Pick Me! Pick Me! Pick Me!” has become rather persuasive. Continue Reading >>
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“No institution – except the church – does more good for people than credit unions.” -Wright Pattman
Many people are often looking for easy ways to save money, but there is one category that is often overlooked. And that is banking with a credit union versus a traditional bank.
A couple of weeks ago, I participated in the comments of an article written by J. Money over at Budgets Are Sexy. The topic was Top 6 Mindless Money Wasters. The money wasters were general such as convenience stores, cell phone plans, unnecessary bank fees, magazine subscriptions and annual credit card fees.
The answer that J. Money found most interesting from me was in reference to the “unnecessary bank fees”. My answer? “I’m part of a credit union. They pay me to use my money.” He loved the response so much that he actually sent out a tweet about it (see below).
I’ve been banking with a credit union for so long that I guess I’ve taken for granted the benefits of being a member. Continue Reading >>
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