New Year Money Management Resolutions

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The roundtable conversation around the nurse’s station today was about Christmas shopping, Bill consolidation and the financial futures of the babyboomer… I’m proposing a New Year’s Resolution for all professionals, inclusive of freelance writers & entrepreneurs on doable ways to become creative money management experts and rise above the financial stress, strikes, and surprises that can follow us well into the new year.

By keeping our smart money management resolutions,we’re bound to see the pot of gold at the end the rainbow, or something akin to it. Let’s face it, many of us allowed the joys of Christmas gift giving to get out of hand. Overall spending skyrocketed, purchase receipts accumulated and overdraft bank fees loomed on the cusp of 2011! The fact that the economy is sluggish and unpredictable, admittedly didn’t stop people from contributing to the economic recovery- reportedly to the tune of billions of Christmas dollars for retailers… 

Formulating a money recovery plan for the New Year can be tricky, but requires a formula for success. According  NBC’s Money Market/Smart Money Report, managing our money need not become another stress factor in our lives if we follow some basic rules:

1. Learn more about your finances

2. Pay Yourself first- Set aside at least 10% of your paycheck

3. Scale back on spending habits-as in daily Starbucks

4.Keep track of your receipts- I keep a receipt drawer (xmas unbelievable!)

5.Get your Insurances checkup- Term Life & Disability Insurances should be at top of your Smart Money checklist

6. Start a budget and get out of the credit card trap.  Avoid your credit card as much as possible and pay for your purchases in cash. People can become proactive and call to lower their interest rates on their credit card. And, according to reports, those unwanted gifts received during Christmas can soon be exchanged via an Amazon exchange gift program! I digress, but…

Somehow, as I’m writing this post, an image of babyboomers afloat on dry land pop into my rearview. Babyboomers, Money management and Financial straits…hmmm AND another 2010 tidbit…

Clara54 weblog described as a useful resource to visit. Alexa ranks among 17 top sites in the world!

Good-bye 2010!

Pleased to make your acquaintance 2011!

Happy Kwanzaa!

Related Articles

• Smart Money Moves For The End Of The Year (blogs.forbes.com)
• The Season of Giving: Why A New Personal Money Management Book Says It’s Essential to Give Back During the Holidays (prweb.com)

Blog Etiquette-“To Comment or Not to Comment?”

And so therein lies the rub. Hmmm, I wonder how Shakespeare would ponder the dilemma? Anyhow, I’ve been riding the waves of the blogosphere of late and something seems to be running amuck on most sites I’ve visited in regards to what I’ve termed “blog etiquette”…the debate on whether bloggers should comment when they visit other folks pearls of wisdom/writings/two cents and so on. I’ve sort of stayed silent on this one, until now in an effort not to offend, or cause folks ne’er to comment on clara54 again, (as if!)

I think that bloggers who blog in an effort to obtain/solicit/garner/response are well off the mark in their purpose for blogging. Let me clarify a bit. I started clara54 well over two years ago; for me. I didn’t take into consideration how folks in the blogosphere would respond to my proverbial rants, pet peeves, ‘aha’ moments, or ramblings of a woman in transiton on a journey to finding her muse; They do. In fact, most people who visit clara54 make it a point to add their voices of inspiration,encouragement and sometimes educational stances-all to a welcoming audience of one…me. I’ve always replied with kind thank yous, followups and such.

When I visit blogs of similar interests, intriguing content , political enticements, I can’t help myself, I feel compelled to respond. Most times if I visit blogs that doesn’t have much to offer in terms of value to my endeavors as a freelance writer, blogger, opinionated woman, I don’t stick around long enough to offer comment. Should bloggers comment for the sake of commenting? In my opinion, that would be a resounding “NO!”…Ok,so just for the sake of community, this is my take on the subject… But, we all know the ideology behind opinions…shine on!

When Friends Grow Apart

A young lady confided to me that she had, “growing pains”. It seems that someone she’d gone to high school and college with; a young lady who went overboard in helping her with her wedding plans, were now, showing some major, ‘Attitude’ toward her and she didn’t expect it.

After listening to this preplexed conversation. I asked if, perhaps, this friend of hers might not have gotten some biased information from someone in their circle who might have a reason to cause ill feelings between the two of them? The young lady answered in hindsight that maybe they both could have been receiving whispers in the form of a he said/she said/ situaton. 

My advice, if taken, was for her to consider if this friendship was worth saving…if so, then, why not become the bigger person/woman and call her friend … ask to meet for a face to face for the sake of clarity? Sometimes, friendships that have survived the tests of sista dramas, petty jealousies, hurt feelings and closed silences can be reworked and turned from, ‘toxic’ to ‘thriving’ friendships. 

When this young lady revealed what her parents reactions were to her dilemma, I thought that sometimes older folks let their emotions get the better of their judgements when it comes to their children happiness. My advice for these types of parents is to try to be objective in these situations. But, if you must speak to your young adult son/dtr, be gentle when voicing your opinion about your child’s friendships…

clara.

Sick And Tired Of Political Hogwash

I just read a post “Obama Lies” where the writer calls Obama ‘liar’ as he’s campaigning for the next president of the USA. His stance, as we all know is that of calling for “Change” in the way this country has been run literally to ‘horse, cow, dog, man pooh’ by none other than George Bush himself! Now, we’re reading all of this backstabbing, lying, and downright biased views from writers who, think that the country would be better off run by , in essence, a direct clone to the present administration…John Mccain!

Yes, this is America, and we all have the right to voice our opinion, but, don’t for a moment think that we, The People of these United States are willing to overlook the state of our world as we’ve come to know it. Mothers have lost their children in a war that Bush deemed necessary. Young men and women whose lost lives have become memories in the minds of loved ones, family and friends…

The economy have seen the absurd rise in gas and food prices. People are losing their homes for failure to pay their mortgages. Healthcare for everyone is completely null and void… Large businesses are declining…People are losing their jobs… Babyboomers are having to work well past their retirement age because the monies from social security is just not there to sustain them in living  out their ‘retirement dreams. The country as a whole is sick and tired of Bush’s ideal of a free America…I wonder why secretive fundraisers by George Bush’s camp for John Mccain hasn’t become a bigger issue, rather than dissing about proposed “lies” by the one man whose mission is to lead the USA out of the smelly situation it’s in…

It’s time for a change people and John Mccain is not it…It’s just more of the same political hogwash we’ve been getting for the last 8 years…

Clara.