I have spent the last few months watching what it happening in our government and in our economy with great concern and fascination. I hold a degree in political science with a minor in History. I have also traveled to 3 European Countries as well as Russia [both Moscow and Central Siberia]. I have seen how other people live. I have lived in other countries as a citizen of my socioeconomic class would [lower middle class for much of my life]. I recognize many of the dangers people are marching towards out of fear of “what if”.

I received this email forward today and it gives an incredible example of what it happening. It is simple to understand but profound in its impact. I wanted to share it with you as we prepare to revive The Balanced Life with a new format. I do not pretend to be an accountant, financial expert or wealth management professional. I am a person who was living my life frugally, saving for the future and building a business and career. Then within 6 months time we added to our family through adoption, my husband was diagnosed with cancer and all of our income dried up. Actually, those things happened within 7 months, 1 week and 6 days of each other.

Over the next 4 years we had 7 full months of unemployment [with ZERO income] and then 3 years of underemployment where our income was about 1/2 of our bills. We saw our total income reduced by 60% of what it was, and we are still at that level. We manage each month by my writing projects. We store up during high months and draw from reserves in low months.

I understand where many people are now, because I’ve been there or I am there. That is why I made this website. I had to pull back to decide how I could best help and encourage people during these unique times. I am not Dave Ramsey, Dr. Phil, Oprah or Suze Orman. I don’t wear $3,000 suits and acrylic nails and presume to know what you’re going through. I am a regular person who was on the way up when life happened. Just like you, I have had to change my lifestyle and adjust my expectations. I’ve wondered what I did wrong to ‘deserve’ all of this.

The bottom line, however, is all of that doesn’t matter. I am where I am and you are where you are. The only way to get out of it is to have some changes. So, read this short story below and try to recognize your part in this system. How can you improve it? How can you grow as a result of it.

Shaking your fist at the storm won’t make your life better. Tearing down other boats won’t either. You  need to focus on making YOUR sail the right size, shape and strength to ride out the storm and get across the lake.

$100 Example

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.

Sale
Ground Beef- $1.88/lb
Buy 1 box of Rice-A-Roni [beef flavor]

Brown ground beef in a large skillet. When it is completely brown drain off fat leaving a tablespoon still in the pan. Pour in the Rice-A-Roni and cook according to package directions. Add a salad, vegetable and drink and you have a quick meal your kids will eat and you will enjoy. If you want leftovers use more ground beef &/or Rice-A-Roni.

Sale
Eggs 98 cents a dozen
Kroger Value Bacon $1.71/package

For a quick breakfast brown up the bacon the night before. Then, in the morning, toast an English muffin and fry your egg. You can enjoy a relaxing breakfast at home for less than $1 by adding some Jam to your muffin and brewing a cup of coffee.

If you need to eat on the run use a small sauce pan [the kind that holds about 1 cup of liquid. Calphanon has a great one for this.] butter it and crack the egg. Put the burner on medium and cover. Turn once. The egg will be done about the same time as the English muffin. Check to be sure the yolk is solid, build your sandwich with some cheese and out the door. Save money and time from the Fast Food places.

Chicken
Whole Chickens are 89 cents a lb at Kroger.

Buy a chicken [about $5] and put it in the crockpot before you leave. Throw in a bag of those mini-carrots and a can of broth. When you get home add a salad and rolls and you have a meal for the whole family waiting in 5 minutes for less than $8.

And tomorrow the left over broth and pieces of chicken will make a great base for Chicken Dumplings.

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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.

I’m going to have to read that story to get a fuller grasp of what they’re saying inside but, on the surface, I’d have to say that optimism is necessary to get out of tough times and live in balance.

The Balanced Life is about Realistic Optimism or, to use what has become a cliche, hope. I don’t mean Obama’s “Yes we Can” political slogan. I’m more in line with the Biblical hope “Confident Expectation of Good.” Sometimes it’s not a matter of what we can do “Yes, I can” but rather it is the understanding that all of life works in cycles. Unfortunately, that means that there will be times of market correction.

For the individual reading this blog, what does it mean? It means using some of the things I’ve taught. Money saving ideas, ways to trim your food budget, fun nights at home are all proactive manifestations of hope.

I can tell you for a fact that you feel way better about your prospects when you have a good day at work vs. getting a collections call. So, while optimism and hope alone will not produce change they can be the fuel of enginuity that takes your idea forward.

So, with all this theoretical, let’s bring it to a practical place.  What is your actual financial goal. I want you to think about this beyond simply “getting by”. Where is it you’d like to be in 3 years? Is what you’re doing conducive with that? If you want to be debt free then your first task isn’t making more money-your first task is spending less. While on the surface that seems to be worse when you recognize your long term goal…it is exciting. Just like a spoiled child who receives everything it asks for, we get no joy if we get everything we want the moment we want it. There is joy that comes with hard work and building toward a goal-then accomplishing it.

Write out your goal. Now start to do it.

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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.

Honesty isn’t always accepted with wild enthusiasm. We all say that we want people to be honest but what we mean is we want honesty to a point.

I’ve decided that the only way this site will serve the people I created it for was if I was honest.

So, here I start. I realize some of what I’ll say will be contraversial, but I hope everything I say will make you think.

First, THIS is completely out of balance!! [Follow link to story in the Washington Post]. For those of you who don’t want to go to it, the story is about a local councilwoman who is being overrun with requests for help.

The title of the story is, “A Hundred Anxious Days: In a South Carolina Town Where the Downturn Has Deepened Since the Inauguration, Two Obama Supporters Have Struggled, Going From ‘Fired Up’ to Tired Out”

I have a degree in Politcal Science and have followed Politics closely since I was a sophmore in High School. It fascinates me. One thing I learned in college was that many constituents contact their congressmen/women with problems.

Since WHEN is Government the solution to our every ill?

I hope that with this website people will begin to learn the JOY and FREEDOM inherent in self-sufficiency, self-denial and self worth. I know what it feels like to go hat-in-hand to the government. When my husband was diagnosed with cancer he was our sole income earner. We had four young children. We received food stamps but were told we could not have any other aid. That lasted a few months and then he was back to work, and we were on our own again.

I understand what so many thousands of people are facing right now. We were 8 days from foreclosure. We were missing meals, my husband more than anyone else. Despite that I’m glad we were not given more aid. It forced us to learn how to function without the government asking us to to provide documents if our income went up $10. The system is designed to keep people from getting out.

I want to help you build up your reserve and get in balance. It is a hard road but one worth walking. You don’t have to answer to bureaucratic red tape. So, right now, try to find one problem that you can address without looking to outside help. If you do need outside help, see how you can work together with your neighbors and individuals in your community to help each other. During World War II people had “Victory Gardens”.  My grandparents’ generation knew what it was to be a good neighbor because people still helped each other.

In our increasingly fast moving society we’ve lost a sense of community. Why not take the initiative. If you are really good at making bread and another neighbor is great at growing beans why not swap services? I’m a writer and I’d gladly edit someone’s resume if they’d watch my kids for a couple of hours so I can work.

Each of us has gift, talents and interests. Charging money gives the perception of increased value, any maybe some things are worth more, but if we will take the time to try to USE our abilities to help each other…We can start to get in balance.

Stop running to the government for help. Who cares if your taxes paid for it. The only way things will change is if we start changing ourselves.

All this talk about bailouts, subsidies, shovel-ready projects and unemployment projects are meaningless if you’re hungry. The government wasn’t put there to insure you got everything you want. It was not there to make sure I get everything I want.  It is time for us to start to pursue the life we want in earnest.

I’ve started by planting my garden and reading books on business. What are you doing?

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.

We plant about a row of lettuce [bib or whatever you prefer], a parsley plant, a rosemary plant, a basil plant and cilantro [if you like it].

What is great about these is all of them are small enough that you could grow them inside in a series of pots. We live outside Toledo, Ohio which is pretty far north. It is where Lake Erie, Ohio and Michigan all touch. Even this far north these things are grown in June and ready to eat. The following recipe works for us a couple times a week and ends up costing about $1.50-$2.00 TOTAL for the meal for 6 of us.

I buy the boneless/skinless frozen Chicken Breasts when they go on sale. I also buy the baguettes for $1.00 when they go on sale at the grocery then I cut them in 1/2 and wrap them in aluminum foil and freeze.

To assemble this quick and easy meal do the following.

1. Pull out a Frozen Chicken Breast and put it in a skillet with a tight lid. Put in enough water to go 1/2 way up the piece of chicken. Cover tightly and cook on high.

2. While that is cooking grab basil leaves, Rosemary, Parsley, Cilantro [if you like it], Lettuce leaves from your garden. Grab a clove of garlic from your fridge. Wash everything well and dry it on paper towels or in a lettuce dryer.

3. Check the Chicken and flip it over. It is still frozen in the middle. Add water if necessary.

4. Chop up the herbs and pull out 4 tablespoons of butter [I don't use margarine. I use real butter.] Put the butter, herbs and minced garlic in a bowl and set it on the counter so the butter can soften.

5. Pull a baguette from the freezer and warm it in the over.

6. Pull the chicken out and slice it thin [or even chop it if you prefer.] It is still raw in the middle and that is fine. Dump the remaining water from the skillet. Put the chicken back in the skillet, add about 1/4-1/2 cup Italian dressing to the chicken and cook until it is completely done.

7. Pull the baguette out of the oven and slice it long way.

8. Stir the butter and put it on the bread.

9. Put the lettuce leaves on a plate, spoon chicken on top and serve with the buttered bread.

Despite all the steps you see here this is done in 15 minutes or less. Fast, easy, healthy and filling.  I serve this for a quick meal or when I have friends over for dinner in the summer.

Save money without depriving yourself.

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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.

I read a story over 10 years ago that said that, while women are perceived to be spenders, it is actually men who tend to spend larger amounts of money on “toys”. This was because women will buy a $200 outfit with accessories, but men will by a snow mobile.

The key to being able to buy both of these things without destroying your relationship is to NOT buy stuff on credit and to set money aside for it.

“But that will take years!!” I hear you saying. The reality is either way you go it will take years to purchase. One way it will take years to save up. The other it will take years to pay off [plus cost THOUSANDS more in interest].

To be clear, I’m not promoting a “matress” mentaility where we all stuff our money away and hoard it. What I am suggesting is balance. Don’t buy EVERYTHING you can afford. Make sure there is money left after your paycheck. Have smaller indulgece. I won’t say to avoid eating out entirely, but eat a little less, take advantage of specials and tip your server well. [You can spend $4 on a dessert you'll feel guilty about later OR add that money to a tip and help someone else in a down economy.]

If you’re married or share expenses with a partner you need to have an agreement about how money is spent and STICK TO IT. Make sure each person knows how much spending money they have. Then do with your spending money what you will. Instead of impulse buying and throwing the entire budget off, have a “fun money allowance” for each of you to do with what you will-guilt free and without comment from the other.

Remember, it isn’t spending that is bad, just as eating that isn’t bad. It is the over-indulgence of both that will lead to problems later on.

Do you have a clever saving tip? Share it with us!

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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.

Use these two things to attack the debt.

Now, usually people tell you to go after the one with the highest interest rate or something like that BUT what I’ve learned is ANY reduction in cost can inspire you to keep going. So if you owe $200 on your gym membership and you’re able to skip eating out for a month, round up all purchases and give up a couple of EXTRAS in order to pay that thing off in a month who CARES if it was only $30-$40/month. That is money that you aren’t spending each month that can NOW immediately go towards paying down one of those bigger bills.

So find something with a small balance, maybe only a couple hundred dollars, and create a plan to have it GONE in the next 4-6 weeks. Use the extra you were paying on the instalment to pay the next biggest one [maybe a few hundred].  Then reward youself with a nice dinner out when both are gone. Remember, the balanced life isn’t all about sacrifice-it is also about rewards.

Maybe even paying your car insurance in full. My car insurance company charges a $3.50/month finance fee if I want to pay instalments. That is $35/year I’d save if I was simply able to pay it twice a year when the bill comes!

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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.

1. Rounding every withdrawl to the nearest dollar in your checkbook. I have found this results in an average of 50 cents PER transaction. That means every debit, every check. That can add to substantial amounts of money at the end of each month to get out of debt!!

2. The old “coins in a jar”. When I was younger that was our spending money on vacation. Usually there was about $120-$130 in the coin jar at the end of a year. It was a pretty good way to do things!

3. Take 5% of what you earn off the top and move it to savings before you pay a single bill. This, of course, means you need to be living within your means first.

Today I want to talk about what you’re saving for! One issue people who are out of balance run in to is what to do with that money. Savers see it as a safety net, a source of security, and go in to spasms of fear and guilt at the idea of spending a penny of it.  Spenders get itchy fingers as they see that balance climb. They begin to focus on all the things they’ve been denying themselves.

I suggest having two savings accounts. Longterm and Shortterm. Then name them. If you’re saving for new windows on your house or a new car, decide which account that is and how much of the money you save each month goes to that goal. By the same token decide how much of your money is for “Emergency Fund” and how high you’ll let that go. There needs to be a limit [I'd say a year's expenses] so you don’t become compulsive about it [yes, I'm talking to all the spenders out there.]

Have a goal for all the money in your account. And if you have to use some, build it back up. We’re going to explore this topic a bit more in this week’s webinar. We’re doing final testing the beginning of this week and everyone signed up for The Balance Sheet who indicated “Webinars” will be notified when enrollment is open.

In the meantime, use what you’ve learned here and we’ll look forward to talking to you again 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.

I have known VERY wealthy people who had a poverty mentality. Their every thought was about capturing more and clutching to what they had. They feared every penny they might have to spend and they dreaded each purchase. They were encapsulated by terror. For them, money was to be stockpiled and never spent. It was to be saved “Just in Case”. The problem was when “Just in Case” happened, they screamed and fumed about spending the money. They were out of balance.

This website is for EVERYONE. Having a balanced attitude toward money is crucial whether you earn $30,000 a year or $300,000. It is necessary if you have $1 million in savings or $1. You need to remember that money is a tool. It is neither a savior nor a friend. It isn’t an expression of love. It isn’t the answer to every problem.

We told our kids one day “You know, even as we earn more money we will still have a budget. We will not buy everything we want, even if we can afford it.” Our kids were shocked. They had bought in to the notion that if it is there it is to be spent.

One of the things I’m going to cover in my free webinars in April is the way our family determines how much we can spend on fun stuff. This is very important to keeping EVERYONE in balance, whether a saver or spender.
I have are days I’m just so frustrated with trying. I don’t want to keep track of it anymore! But I’ve seen when I push past that wall, I feel better on the other side.

So I keep working and keep trying.

I hope you will join me.

Make sure if you want to be in the webinar that you sign up for “The Balance Sheet” newsletter and indicate that you’d like to know about webinars. I am limiting each webinar to 10 people so that everyone will have plenty of time to ask questions.

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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.