It seems right now many people are stressed. I’m not simply talking about the stress that comes with economic uncertainty, but I’m seeing fewer smiles on people’s faces. I’m seeing more blogs with angry comments. I’m seeing more hopelessness.

Since the focus of this blog is living a life of balance as well as financial principles I decided to take a look at what stress costs each of us.

Now, I’m not an economist. Remember, I started this blog because I’ve lived it. Therefore, I won’t have some speculation based on a fancy equation by a long-dead mathematician. I’m going to look at things all of us can measure.

1. Stress can cost you an entire meal when a bad phone call comes while you’re fixing supper.
2. Stress can cost you an evening of fun with your kids when you allow the office to follow you home.
3. Stress can cost you quite a bit on your grocery bill when you are in a hurry or upset. [You tend to buy more when you aren't paying attention.]
4. Stress can cost you. The money for prescriptions to counter the effects of stress.

But what can we do with these? I want to offer something to think about and something to do.

First, the something to do. When you go grocery shopping or to do your errands, leave the house with a list. Before you leave, estimate how much things will cost and take the cash with you. Do not use credit or debits. If you are writing a grocery list and making your weekly meals based on the sales, this will be even easier to do. Give yourself some pad [if it is in the budget] but not too much. You need to stay within your budget.

Next, listen to a favorite CD or a book on CD on your way to the grocery. I borrow them from the library and listen on my way to the grocery and to do other errands. I have truly found about a 15%-20% decrease in my weekly grocery bill when I combine a list, a good mood and CASH ONLY.

The something to think about is this: it is always something!! While that statement is usually said to imply that there is always something to mess things up I think we need to flip it around and recognize that there is always SOMETHING to be thankful for. We need to stop focusing on the fear and focus on the positive. I say this not for some pie-in-the-sky-let’s-all-hold-hands ideal, but rather because I’ve come to realize that no matter how bad my circumstances, there was always SOMETHING good to be found. When I took the time to recognize those good things I was able to accomplish more, spend less, and generally enjoy life.

This blog is about the Balanced Life. That balance recognizes that there will be times when things are not working out as we’d like them to. Sometimes the weight on the BAD side of the scale is extremely large. That is why an arsenal of recognition of the positive is so crucial. You simply pull it out and bring your life back in to balance.

So take the time to ignore the stress. Focus on what you’ve won and are gaining rather than on what you’ve lost.

Tiffany Colter is a passionate freelance writer whose credits include Today’s Christian, Charisma Magazine, Toledo Business Journal, and the Afictionado E-zine. Tenacious in her approach not only to create a great story, but also to mentor other writers, Tiffany can always be found in the presence of a book or laptop. A former world traveler who is fluent in three languages, she strives to reach those who are hurting around her. She enjoys helping others build a strong business and writes a daily marketing blog for writers called the Writing Career Coach and a common-sense money management site, TheBalancedLife.com. Tiffany lives outside Toledo, OH with her husband, a recent cancer survivor, and their four girls.

With April will come the launch of Free Webinars on both this website and my Writing Career Coach website. I’ve decided to limit each webinar to 10 people so there will be plenty of time to ask questions. If you want to be notified about upcoming webinars and topics FIRST please sign up for The Balance Sheet using the form on the right. If you are already signed up, you will receive word soon on how to register.

Each month I will cover the SAME topic each week so, if you can’t make the first one, you won’t miss out. I will schedule some during the day, some on weekends, and some in the evening.

But until then, what can you do to save money? What can you do to get in balance.

Today I want to address the issue of coupons. When should you use them, and when aren’t they helpful.

For years I was a huge coupon shopper. I used them for EVERYTHING. If there was a coupon, I bought it. I loved the feeling of seeing “You saved $50 on this order” at the bottom of my receipt.

But when we had to really cut back expenses I had to reevaluate the usefulness of coupons. Below are just a few tips on when to use coupons and when it may be better to leave them at home.

Use Coupons when:

-It is a product or brand you usually use [or is cheaper than your usual brand]

-Using the coupon will give you large savings on something you would normally buy [ex: buy 1 gallon of milk and get 1 dz eggs free]

-It can be combined with in-store savings to get a special treat for a low price. [Sometimes it's nice to treat the kids, or yourself, as long as it isn't a weekly habit.]

Watch out when:

-They require you to purchase 2 of an item for 75 cents off. Many stores double coupons these days so using a lower coupon on one item and getting it doubled will save you more money.

-It isn’t something you usually use AND it is not something you’d buy without a coupon.

-When it becomes a compulsion to see “amount saved” rather than actually saving money on your grocery bill.

The bottom line is to make coupons a means to savings, not a game where you try to save a percentage. If you save 30% on your grocery bill but end up paying $25 more than you would have without using coupons [by buying generic or not purchasing the product at all] then coupon-free is your best option.

So sign up to hear about the free webinars and I’ll see you soon!!

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Tiffany Colter is a passionate freelance writer whose credits include Today’s Christian, Charisma Magazine, Toledo Business Journal, and the Afictionado E-zine. Tenacious in her approach not only to create a great story, but also to mentor other writers, Tiffany can always be found in the presence of a book or laptop. A former world traveler who is fluent in three languages, she strives to reach those who are hurting around her.     She enjoys helping others build a strong business and writes a daily marketing blog for writers called the Writing Career Coach and a common-sense money management site, TheBalancedLife.com. Tiffany lives outside Toledo, OH with her husband, a recent cancer survivor, and their four girls.

Money Saving Tips

I’m a mom with 4 kids. I know how busy things are when you’re running to dance, AWANAS, Friends and sports.

For a long time we couldn’t afford fast food. Our grocery needed to remain below $50 per week [yes, I’m serious] and one meal out at McDonald’s meant that there was very little left.

Now that we aren’t quite as cash-strapped I have the resources to occasionally grab food when we’re out. I’ve realized something, however. This fast food isn’t really that fast.

Let’s say we’re a busy mom who earns $15/hour. We run to the house, grab the kids and zip out the door to some event. We need to stop and grab some food on the way. That means that we have to leave about twenty minutes early [that way we have time to get to the restaurant and back and still be on time.] So we get kids meals for each of the kids and a meal for us, Mom and three kids cost right around $22 to eat. Now we drive over to the event and weave through traffic. On the way we’re watching to be sure no one is spilling their drinks or sticking French fries in someone’s hair.

Well, you get the picture.

But what time did you save? If you’d planned ahead the night before you could have packed up something. Then you could have handed out healthier alternatives to the kids. You wouldn’t have burned 30 minutes of gas. You wouldn’t have spent $22 on food. [which, by the way, cost you 2 hours of after-tax work to earn the money for…was it really worth it?]

And, in all likelihood, when you get home your kids will be ‘starving’ so you’ll have to make something to eat any way.

So, how much value did you get from that meal?

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Tiffany Colter is a passionate freelance writer whose credits include Today’s Christian, Charisma Magazine, Toledo Business Journal, and the Afictionado E-zine. Tenacious in her approach not only to create a great story, but also to mentor other writers, Tiffany can always be found in the presence of a book or laptop. A former world traveler who is fluent in three languages, she strives to reach those who are hurting around her.     She enjoys helping others build a strong business and writes a daily marketing blog for writers called the Writing Career Coach and a common-sense money management site, TheBalancedLife.com. Tiffany lives outside Toledo, OH with her husband, a recent cancer survivor, and their four girls.