by Elisabeth Donati | May 29, 2015 | Financial Literacy, Uncategorized, What you can do
Have you ever spent hours tearing your house apart trying to find a receipt, form, or slip of paper? Chances are you need that piece of paper to do your taxes, to submit a health claim, or for a work reimbursement. Many people miss out on the opportunity to get money back when they discard their receipts, or don’t keep good financial records. It is possible, however, to actually save money when you develop a well-organized system for sorting and collecting financial records together.
The best way to save receipts, statements, and sales slips is by purchasing a large accordion-style file folder. There are a ton of different styles on Amazon.com. They are generally made from cardboard and may have alphabetical letters in each tabbed slot inside, or you may be able to make your own with labels. There is a lid that folds back down and secures to the file container when not in use. There come in different thicknesses, depending on whether you’re collecting personal financial records, or for a business. These folders are around $10-$30, making them a worthwhile investment for when you don’t have a lot of space to store items at home.
You may wish to file papers alphabetically, such as “P” for pension plan, or “S” for school loan. Or, you may wish to create your own labels and stick them to each tab in your file. For example, “Bank”, “Income Tax”, “Insurance”, etc.
Each time you receive a receipt, invoice, misc. slip of paper or statement as you go about your daily life, place it in your bag, backpack, or purse. Later, you can put it into your file folder. It’s best to develop a ‘system’ or habit of doing this the same way each time.
As an example, do it the same day each week or every time you clean out your wallet. Developing a system is one of the most powerful financial habits ever.
Don’t ever discount those slips of paper. You never know when they may come in handy. A store receipt may come in handy if you’ve purchased a product, but it ends up being faulty. Without the receipt you won’t be able to return it. You’ve now lost money because you’ll have to fork over cash for a new one.
A receipt for school books or a seminar may be used as a deduction on your income taxes. Don’t get caught up in the bustle of the moment. When you’re handed a slip of paper, tuck it away and take care of it later.
Income taxes can be extremely complicated. As you work through them each year, you may realize that you could claim more tax breaks, if only you had kept the receipts. This is where your file folder and filing system will come in handy for the future. You’ll have all receipts right at your fingertips, and you’ll never miss out on a deduction ever again.
Do you ever buy supplies for work and then they reimburse you for them? Have you ever lost receipts, and then lost out on reimbursement? That will never happen again once you have your records conveniently stowed away.
You’ll not only save money by storing receipts that could potentially be a tax deduction, or work expense, but you’ll also save time. All your financial records will be conveniently stowed safely in one place.
A note about electronic filing systems that let you scan receipts and important papers and then ‘throw’ away the original. Don’t do it. What would happen if you scan hundreds of receipts and other bits of information over several years and then your computer dies? Just something to think about before you invest your time and energy into yet another device that requires you to sit in front of your computer more.
Favorite Receipt Tips:
Receipt Tip #1: As you probably have already discovered, many types of ink on receipts fade over time. Simply write over the information that is there in pen before you file it and the information will always be there.
Receipt Tip #2: For expenses like meals and taking clients out to dinner and such which is called Entertainment, it’s critical that you write who you went out to dinner with on the top or back of the receipt and what you talked about during the meeting. If you are ever audited, the auditor is going to look for this information.
Receipt Tip #3: This tip is especially important to you shoppers out there (and you know who you are). When you buy a piece of clothing, shoes, purse, etc. and you’re not going to wear it the next day, leave the tags on the item or in the box along with the original receipt. If you find that you haven’t worn or used the item in a few months, even though you might not be able to return it for cash, you may be able to return it for credit and get something you might actually wear!
Receipt Tip #4: One of our favorite saying at Creative Wealth is “How you do anything is how you do everything.” It’s a quote by Cheri Huber and this is only one of the thousands of applications of the quote. I had a friend whose business was audited years ago. The original audit period spanned three years but after looking at all of my friend’s receipts and systems for the first year, he told my friend he didn’t need to do the remaining two years. Why? Because it was obvious that he had a very tight system in place and that he was sure that the rest of the years were in order as well.
OK, now it’s your turn to get your system on!
by Elisabeth Donati | May 7, 2015 | Financial Literacy, Money Camps, Uncategorized
It’s that time of year again when you start thinking about what your kids really need to be learning outside of school (aside from everything?) as well as what they’d like to be experiencing during their summer break.
One of my own personal beliefs is that when you give kids a three month break, they actually lose learning momentum and it takes weeks just to get them back up to speed again…especially since what they ARE learning isn’t relevant to their lives at all and so much of what they are learning won’t actually help them in life anyway. But that’s a completely different conversation that we don’t want to get into right now.
The Need for a Financial Education Foundation
I don’t have to convince you that it’s critical that our kids learn about money and investing while they are younger. Virtually every adult I talk to comments that they wish they’d been able to attend a ‘money camp’ when they were young. Many of our parents literally ask if we have a program for them.
My response to the parents? Come Join Us!!! As a matter of fact, parents are actually required to attend the last hour of each day this summer and we are very excited about this. We’re gearing up to offering one day Family Money Game Days so stay tuned!
Back to this summer…
Here in Santa Barbara, you have two options, depending on your child’s age.
Camp Millionaire for ages 10-14
When: July 27-31, 2015
Location: 112 W Cabrillo Blvd., Santa Barbara, CA 93101
Cost: $395/25% sibling or best friend discount 🙂
In Camp Millionaire, your kids will learn how financial freedom happens first hand in these week -long summer programs. They’ll learn how to earn, manage, save, invest and donate their money wisely and they have a great time doing it.
Go here for more information and to download the flyer: http://www.innerwealthpublishing.com/campmillionaire.php
Moving Out! for Teens for ages 14-20
When: July 24-26, 2015
Location: 112 W Cabrillo Blvd., Santa Barbara, CA 93101
Cost: $295/25% sibling or best friend discount.
Moving Out! for Teens will teach your teens everything we wished we’d learned BEFORE we moved out on our own: how to budget, how to plan, how to rent apartments, apply for jobs, start businesses and save and invest for their futures.
Don’t you wish you could attend? It’s going to be a blast. Moving Out! will use our proprietary game called The Money Game to teach your teens the value of money and a whole lot more.
Go here for more information and to download the flyer: http://www.innerwealthpublishing.com/movingout.php
Free free to register for our money camps online Or you can just pick up the phone and give us a call. We love helping you sign your kids up for a great financial future. Call us at 805-957-1024 or send us an email.
We can’t wait to hear from you!
Oh, and we promise your kids will have a great time. I think we have as much fun teaching as they have learning!
by Elisabeth Donati | Dec 18, 2013 | Financial Literacy, Latest News, Train-the-Trainer, Uncategorized, What you can do
December 18, 2013
Happy Holidays!
I’m currently in the Caribbean, about to be the matron of honor for the lady I stayed with a few years ago. She’s experiencing a lot of stress before the wedding and in a lot of pain. It is so interesting how we human beings interpret our lives in ways that bring pain instead of joy.
I wanted to touch upon the holidays to invite you to check in with your own experience this season. How is you feeling so far? Are you enjoying your days, getting ready for however you do this season? If you aren’t, you might want to stop, regroup and choose differently. Remember, it really is all about choice and only you can choose to create the experience you want.
I personally don’t celebrate the holidays in a traditional way. I do, however, enjoy the time to reflect on the past year and think about the year to come…and find my way to warm waters in the south that I can swim in and enjoy.
I did want to share one of the things I found myself teaching this year to all sorts of people…Rarely is anything an emergency.
Being in the Caribbean, you really get a good sense that nothing much is an emergency. Everyone is very laid back and relaxed and I find myself falling into afternoon naps, slow walks with an 11 year old I could bring home in my suitcase and just overall, slowing down. I’m not sure why we Americans (especially) get into a pace that’s not healthy for our bodies and spirits, but most of us do. I’m planning on bringing that peace back with me again.
Now for my little gift to you…
If you’re sitting there reading these words, you probably understand that there are many things you can do during the holidays but the things that bring you the most pleasure and joy are the things you do to bring others pleasure and joy. Isn’t it fun how that works?
And because most of you are on my email list because you really care about making sure your children and students learn how to handle money wisely, I wanted to make sure you had the opportunity to save a little moolah this season making that happen since often times it does take money to bring others pleasure and joy.
2013 HOLIDAY COUPONS for you!
Since I’ve made our Camp Millionaire Curriculum available online, we’ve had a lot of people take advantage of it. No traveling, no flight. Just sign up, log on, watch the videos at your leisure and start teaching the program in your classroom, youth group or for any group of kids ages 10 and up.
Use coupon code HOLIDAY2013 to receive $100 off this new Camp Millionaire Online Program.
OR, if you’ve been dying to get your hands on The Money Game to teach your kids about money, use Coupon Code MONEYGAME2013 to get 25% off either the Downloadable Kit or the Ready-to-Play version.
And if there’s something else you have been wanting from our financial literacy store, use Coupon Code HOLIDAY25 to get 25% off!
That’s all for now.
Miss E (aks Elisabeth)
Your Financial Literacy Lady
by Elisabeth Donati | Sep 12, 2013 | Financial Literacy, Financial Literacy Principles, Uncategorized, What you can do
Because I am the proud owner of many financial education websites and several financial literacy blogs, I receive, almost weekly, requests from other website owners requesting that I post a link for their sites on my blogs and sites.
My usual response back to them is, “OK, show me the link.”
Side bar: I have a policy of never posting links to websites that deal with credit scores, credit ratings, mortgages, loans, or debt consolidation.
Invariably the person is asking me to post one of the many links I refuse to post on my sites and blog.
Occasionally it’s a legitimate link and I’m happy to do it…especially if they’ll reciprocate and post a link to my sites from theirs…but this is rare.
Back to the point of this post…
I find it intolerable that we have become a country that is primarily focused on credit scores and credit ratings. I never hear people talking about how much money they’ve saved or invested but I DO hear people talk about their credit ratings.
Do you realize that almost everything we see on TV, hear on radio and read in the papers and in magazines is designed to get us to BUY something? And that credit score that a lot of financial educators think it’s so bloody important to teach our kids about plays right into the hands of every one of those companies trying to get us to buy something.
Don’t get me wrong…there’s nothing wrong with buying things…and there’s nothing wrong with learning how to borrow money wisely in order to acquire assets that pay us passive income over time…it’s just that so often we either don’t need the thing we’re buying or the thing we’re buying isn’t going to affect our lives in a positive way. Go ahead…think about the last few things you bought…especially if you borrowed money (from anyone) to buy those things.
That’s all…just wanted to pop in and remind you that it’s WAY more important to be saving and investing instead of borrowing, buying and getting into debt and I think our kids need to learn why everyone wants them to have a high credit score!
Oh, by the way, I invest between 10-15% of every dollar I earn and make into individual stocks. I also continue investing in my companies (I have more than one:-).
How about you? Let’s start talking, and teaching, about what’s really important!
Just something to think about as usual.
by Elisabeth Donati | Mar 25, 2013 | Financial Literacy, Uncategorized, What you can do
By Jim Garnett, a/k/a Ask Mr.G, a member of the ICFE’s Board of Educational Advisors.
As a veteran financial counselor I have counseled multiple hundreds of smart people with serious financial problems. These people had different incomes, different occupations, and were from different social status. Yet their financial problems seemed to be the results of making very similar “money mistakes.” I have attempted to list these “money mistakes” below.
Being comfortable with debt.
It is hard to understand how anyone could choose to be a slave. Yet, history tells us that some slaves chose to stay with their masters after they were freed. That’s what they had known for generations, and they were used to it. Some of them went on living just slaves even though they were free. Why? Because over time they had developed a “slave mentality.”
Proverbs 22:7 warns us, “The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave of the lender” (NRSV). Debt enslaves us. It takes away our freedom to choose to do with our money what we wish. Constant exposure to debt cultivates a “debt mentality.”
But imagine what it would be like to not have a mortgage payment or car payment? Wouldn’t that be freeing? Think what you could do with that money if you were out of debt! You would not need much money to live, you could seriously put money aside for the future, and you could give money to people, your church, or other organizations that are important to you.
It’s time we stopped thinking about debt as an old family friend that has moved in to stay with us forever! We need to kick him out and send him on his way!
Not knowing what we spend.
The only part of the budget process most of us know is “what we make.” The part we do not know is “what we spend.” This money mistake results in 40% of Americans spending more than they make each month, with most of them being unaware that they do.4
How can this be? Because when they run out of money, they use credit cards to continue spending. An illusion is created that actually keeps them from knowing how they are doing financially. Bills are paid on time so they assume they are doing fine.
It is absolutely essential for us to know how much we are spending each month. Without that knowledge, there is no way to know if, where, and how much to adjust our spending so that it is less than we make.
To know how to get to a destination, we must know where we presently are. That’s why the first step in money management is knowing what we spend.
Acting like credit cards spend money instead of borrow money.
The illusion created by such convenient credit card usage blinds us from the realization that each swipe of the card is very similar to securing a loan at our local bank. Money has been borrowed, not spent, and each transaction is one in which we have created a debt.
Reality is not as the college student recently told me, “I am so glad I have a few credit cards, ’cause no matter how broke I am, I always have money.”
Focusing only on monthly minimum payments.
Focusing on the monthly payments to the exclusion of the entire debt will usually lead us to purchase things we cannot afford and pay double or triple for them.
This money mistake caused the single mother of three to think she had paid $24,000 for her new SUV when in reality she had paid $45,360! To “help her afford it” the dealer let her pay for it over a 7 year period instead of the usual 5 years!
Borrowing to “pay off” debt.
Borrowing to pay off debt normally does not work. It is similar to digging a hole in our front yard in order to fill in a hole in our back yard! This “money mistake” yielded some pretty disastrous results:
- Their borrowing did not actually “pay off” debt – it merely moved the debt to a different location. Now they had a 2nd mortgage on their home or a loan from their 401(k).
- The debt they paid off (usually credit cards) reappeared within 3 years. This occurred because their borrowing made it unnecessary to change their spending habits.
- Equity borrowing turned an unsecured debt (credit cards) into a secured debt (2nd mortgage). That’s why the interest was less – the bank would rather loan against your house than loan against your name.
- 401(k) borrowing often had a 10% penalty attached if the person was not 59-1/2, plus the monies borrowed were taxed as income. At times 40% of the monies withdrawn “disappeared” in penalty and taxes.
- When it came time to move, their house produced very little profit and there was nothing to put down for the down payment on the next home.
- When it was time to retire, they could not because they still had house payments because they had borrowed against their home and it was not paid off.
Co-signing a loan.
Co-signing is a promise to repay another person’s debt if for any reason he does not. The liability assumed is for 100% of the debt, thus, if $5000 is the total amount borrowed, the co-signer is responsible for the entire $5000 if the other person defaults.
The co-signer’s credit score can be affected if the primary signer makes late payments or misses payments on the loan. Presently, 75% of student loan co-signers end up making payments on the student loan.
Having no emergency savings.
A recent survey asked people if they could get $2000 for an emergency? The results revealed that 55% of the respondents said they could get the money within 30 days, but 92% of those people said they would need to borrow the money from family, friends, bank loans, or credit cards. Another survey revealed that 28% of the 1000 people surveyed have absolutely nothing in savings (Blake Ellis – CNNMoney June 25, 2012).
In other words, many people are simply not prepared for emergencies.
Creating debt for tax benefits or to establish credit.
Debt for Tax Benefits. It is good to claim every deduction that you can on your taxes, but it is often not good to spend money in order to get a tax deduction.
An example would be the deduction one is allowed to take for interest paid on a mortgage loan. If I paid $10,000 of interest and was in a 25% tax bracket, I would receive a tax deduction of $2500. If I absolutely had to pay the interest, I would surely deduct it. But if I had the choice of paying my home off and having no interest to pay, that would be my choice by far.
I would far rather have the $10,000 non-spent money in my hand than receive a $2500 tax deduction. I may pay more tax, but on the other hand, if I gave monies to charities, I would receive the same deduction.
Remember, you usually have to spend your money to receive tax deductions. If you are not careful, you can tax deductible yourself into the poor house.
Debt for Establishing Credit. One of my clients followed the advise of her financial counselor and bought a house in order to build up her credit score.
In order to establish credit, you need to pay your bills on time, but you do not need to maintain debt to do this. You can establish your credit just as well by paying your credit card balance in full each month as by paying minimum payments (and interest) on a revolving balance.
Thinking that good credit is the most important thing in life.
There is certainly nothing bad about having good credit, and there is nothing good about having bad credit. Credit is most important to people who are going to borrow money. Then it can literally save us thousands of dollars by getting good terms!
But if one plans to get out of debt and stay out of debt, good credit is not nearly so important. To those people it is viewed more as the ability to go into debt with good terms. For people who very much dislike debt, good credit is not nearly so important or necessary.
We do not have to be enrolled as a “student in the school of hard knocks” to learn valuable lessons. We can simply obseve the money mistakes others have made and be sure we do not duplicate them.
© Jim Garnett.
The information on this broadcast should be understood to be a general discussion of the subject matter and DOES NOT constitute a legal opinion about the situation. For further information please consult a qualified attorney.
© Jim Garnett, The Debt Doctor
AskMrG Consulting, LLC
2216 SW 35th Street
Ankeny, IA 50023
515-577-1799
askmrg@yahoo.com
AskMrG.com
by Elisabeth Donati | Mar 8, 2013 | Financial Literacy, Uncategorized, What you can do
Back by popular demand, parents this summer have the rare opportunity let someone else make sure their teens know exactly what it’s going to take to move out and live on their own.
Most parents admit they wished they’d learned this stuff when before they moved out. This summer, teenagers can spend 3 fun-filled days at Moving Out! for Teens learning how to find an apartment, take care of a car, buy groceries and more and stay within their budget. They’ll also explore different ways to make money, explore the truth about credit cards and oh, yeah, how to manage and grow their money so they can be productive, contributing members of society. Moving Out! for Teens is presented by Creative Wealth International, June 28-30, 2013 in Santa Barbara.
“Every year I get calls from parents all over the United States begging us for our Moving Out! for Teens program.” says Elisabeth Donati, creator of Camp Millionaire,® The Money Game® and founder of Creative Wealth International. “By empowering our teens with the information they need to be fully responsible for themselves when they move out and live in the adult world, we’ve done our best to prepare them to live life fully.
This 3-day financial and life-skills workshop is open to parents as well (if their teen is willing to have them join in the fun). Participants not only get hands-on experience with things like filing out applications, buying cars and groceries, cleaning apartments and creating budgets, they also get first hand experience from the parents who often share some pretty valuable ‘been there, done that’ stories.
Space is limited to 25 teens ages 14-19. We promise to deliver teenagers back to their parents far better prepared to face the financial challenges of being an adult. For more information, visit www.campmillionaire.com or call Elisabeth Donati at 805-957-1024.
