Budget Advice

Why We Want You to Be Rich should have been better than it was. It was inspiring, yet the ideas conflicted.Kiyosaki is a millionaire who made his fortune from educational products. Trump is a savvy billionaire who can reach further.I did enjoy it, but the true inspiration came from Trump. Half the book was just ‘fluff’ which was interesting, but not if you were already familiar with both Trump and Kiyosaki.

The last 50 or so pages proved to be truly inspiration. I haven’t stopped since reading it! I have subscribed to business feeds from the magazines both writers talked about so as to familiarize myself with the concepts better.

I was disappointed with Kiyosaki stating how he didn’t understand computer technology. This one missed skill is what separates himself from Trumps. Trumps educational products and branding are far superior and his message is a lot stronger.

If you are still a fan of Kiyosaki, this book will help you. If you are bored of his tired writing and falsifications of his past, you may struggle through his half of the chapter. By falsifications, I am referring to an issue of Wealth Creator in which he stated his ‘Rich Dad’ is influenced by 7 people.

Further resources:

• Make sure to check out the free audio available through the books website.
• Look at Trump University. The free blog and podcast are well worth a look at.
• Check it out at amazon: Why We Want You to be Rich: Two Men - One Message

 Seth Godin spoke some time ago about creating an Internal blog.

He said:

Use it as an internal diary, a way of tracking each day so that a month or a year from now, you can look back at where you were and how you dealt with the issue of the day.

This quote resonated with me. Since starting blogging I have little time to physically write in a diary. It was an expensive hobby due to constant replacement of pens and exercise books. It was also quite time consuming.

I have an internal blog. Its about my journey to hopefully become a professional blogger. I love being able to ramble not caring about grammar and use of space. Its quicker and more efficient. You can go back and check your progress more easily. Many thoughts and ideas don’t fit in with any of my blogs themes thus I can articulate them and solve problems quicker.

If your in need of organisation I highly recommend an internal blog.

Simple Savings recently offered a ‘Wealthy Habits: Its Time to Change Calender.’

While I don’t need a calender, I did download it to structure my life better. The monthly themes are as follows:

• January: No Impulse Buys Month
• February: No Spend Month
• March: Retrain Your Brain Month
• April: No Landfill Month
• May: Fix It Month
• June: National $21 Challenge Week
• July: Decluttering Month
• August: Buy in Bulk Month
• September: Grow Your Own Food Month
• October: Cheaper Cleaning Month
• November: We Have the Power Month!
• December: Conserve Water Month

The first three months mean nothing to be as I never spend unnecessarily nor impulse buy. I am in the correct mindset in this regard.

I have thus decided that my the end of the year, I will have implemented all my Wealthy Habits .

This means:

• Create rules to save electricity
• Organize the $21 notes to create, for me, a healthy weekly plan
• Get this years garden up and going and create the plans for next year
• As part of the $21 challenge, create some rules to buy monthly and fortnightly
• Ascertain what items will be bought in bulk, and when.
• Declutter the entire house.

:gulps:

I shall be quite busy! If you haven’t checked out the calender, I recommend you do so.

Alternatively, start working on your New Years Resolutions early! If you get started early, you get set the guidelines in place to ensure you achieve your goals.

There is some talk around the frugal blogosphere, and in savings forums, that Deli Staff will constantly ask if you want more to get you to purchase additional meat. While it wouldn’t allow for massive profits on an individual basis, it could nationally.

I was under the assumption that the items are difficult to measure up. Friends who work at the supermarket agree - rather than waste time fiddling around on the scales, they check if rounding up or down is ok.

It is worth being aware of the potential upsell as this can affect your budget over the long run. My belief is that it all gets eaten and if you want precise measurements, pay extra for the prepackaged meat.

I conduct most of my work online as well as store most of my data on the computer. Important docuements are scanned and it contains gigabytes of various digital outputs (homemade movies, pictures)

I bought this prior to my computer crashing and am so glad I did. Its a Seagate model with 160 gig space, brought from Digital Yes.

Its proven that useful I’ve inspired two people to look at getting their own. Mine hasn’t resided in my house for a month.

I’ve gotten the landlords into many computer functions including watching movies on the computer. I often download shows from the past that haven’t been released on DVD - many obscure titles from Sci Fi’s past.

Its so simple to upload a program, like Itunes, onto it and requires no installation. I know Officeworks has a 500 GB one for $70 more, which I’ve reccomended to the landlords. I like mine and want it back!

Its also proved useful when getting large files from others houses.

Next on the list is the PDA, but I don’t mind waiting for it.

I have been a member of Simple Savings for some time and it has proven to be useful in making long term savings.

Yet you don’t have to be a member to enjoy Simple Savings:

• Their Free Stuff page has tonnes of fab info including the $21 challenge.
• The Newsletter archive has heaps of tips, stories and ideas to change your budget
• Pennys Blog has heaps of information on tips put in use
• You can earn money through the affiliate program to fund a membership
• Theres a Wealthy Habit Planner for those looking to change in the new year

Its flawed, yet an amazing way to turn around your life. Use the free tips to save money over the long run. Subscribe to the Free Newsletter and wait for the next special. You can save a bundle!

Your going to have budget oopsies somewhere along the line. Whether its because you felt deprived, an emergency occurred or etc, it happens. Theres nothing you can do about it except be as prepared as possible.

The first step is to establish what level of emergency you are willing to prepare for. Think of the worst scenarios you could face: setbacks or financial ruin. Be as much or as little prepared as you like.

Once you’ve established potential problems, try to come up with ways to handle them should they arise.. Phone up or research all the welfare agencies that might be able to help you. Ask relatives or friends flat out if they’d be willing to handle certain responsibilities should you be hostpitalised for a period of time including house and pet care.

Emergency stockpile. Emergency stock can be used in an actual emergency (like losing job) to having a minor setback. You can as prepared as you like whether its for a couple of weeks or couple of years. This will be covered in considerably detail as the blog progresses.

Do you have any insurance? Insurance is something one should always be aware of, even if its making the informed choice of not getting it.

Having these plans in place means that you’d be prepared in any emergency and thus more likely to get out of the situation in a better position. There is nothing wrong with over preparing if it means you bounce back quicker.

I was checking out the Student Magazines Website and with my extremely rough math, was able to figure out that the prices on there aren’t always a saving.

FASHION MAGAZINES:

In Style is available through this site for $75.00. Through I-subscribe its $79. Last Christmas, the price went down to $59. Student Magazines price remained at $79. Also, if you have an Ambassador Card (as many Student Union members do) you may be entitled to a %10 discount which offers a greater saving. Vogue Magazine, is $12 less through Student Magazines. The 10% still renders SM cheaper.

ENTERTAINMENT:

Film INK is $15 cheaper through Student Magazines. Through I subscribe however, you get a DVD worth $25+. Encore Magazine is less than half price Rolling stones is $5 less. Inside Film is $20+ less

LIFESTYLE:

Who is less than $10 difference. Delicious has $14 difference. Australian Property Investor is $10 difference.

Trust me to choose the one magazine which had a special on at that time! Before making any decision, decide if your campus or local library stocks this item. If it does, consider reading it that way. If you still choose to purchase a magazine, ensure your getting the best deal. If you decided your not getting your moneys worth cancel the subscription and request a refund.

Branding Yourself: How to Look, Sound & Behave Your Way to Success

This book is a fascinating read that I’d recommend to anyone at any stage of their career.

Firstly, for the students. One interesting idea regarding young people was that:
- They pursue success on their own terms
- Their adaptability misunderstood as apathy by anyone over 40

Essentially, these skills come most handing when it comes to personal branding!

The book contains so many ideas and tips. I was at my radio course on Monday and thought I looked respectable yet was portraying a shoddy brand. Spillane covers all forms of conveying the brilliance that exists within you. Its applicable to both sexes regardless of the formality of your position.

One crucial thing she emphasises is make up. This is something I’ve been trying to avoid for some time yet despite being feminist - make up does convey a higher form of perfection.

‘Branding Yourself’ covers everything including Sex and how you convey meaning with your body. The sex chapter could have been longer, but the content could have easily covered another book.

The body language section was a wake up call. The rare, yet always relevant, case study emphasised all points she was trying to make.

Student or otherwise, get this book from your library. It will make you reassess YOU.

There have been discussions on savings sites on how to be prepared in an emergency. I recall a relative joking about this preparation, saying you don’t have anything to lose in a fire.

Regardless, upon moving in I was rather quick to get both of these:

Post Office - $10

Extinguisher - Free

It was so cheap and easy to get both of these which now prepare me to protect my home.