Well I made it to day one!

I've decided to start a new style to my blog too. I'm one of those people that needs structure so I'm bringing it to my blog too. It should allow you all an easier reading experience too.

My blog will now feature

1. A commentary beginning. This might be a gripe, a vent, a complaint or an exciting victory, just depends on my mood and the day :-) You know how that goes!

2. Next will be a call to action to better your financial future.

3. Will be an insight into my work life.

4. A recap of last nights dinner. I know this sounds crazy but as a self proclaimed "foody" who can't cook and doesn't eat meat, I love to read about other peoples dinner happenings and I figured I can't be the only one, right?

5. Will be the main guts of the blog and in this series tips, info, and ways to save your home or save money on home ownership.

I'm excited to see how this will play-out over this next month. I hop you all will join me with your thoughts, questions and opinions!

Here we go!



Today's thoughts is brought to you by Mc Donalds! I'm trying to understand why Mc Donald's would allow a check casher/ pay day loan company to open a kiosk inside one of their restaurants. Better yet, I'm not sure why I care so much. I drove by a Mc Donald's and actually started laughing when I saw it, and I still don't know why it's still in my head. I really do not care for these pay day loans. I believe that in a true emergency everything is fair game, but they just seem to be the worst ones out there, and then to see it in a Mc Donald's, well, I guess it bothers me because it just makes it too convenient. Enough said.

The action for today is to call your creditors:
Here's how it's going to work.I know I've said this before but the first step to financial freedom is to pick up the phone. How many phone calls do you need to make that you've been putting off? I admit to needing to having calls that need to be made too. It seems like the majority of the time I remember that I need to call someone after business hours. I've been keeping a running list of "to do's" but I often joke in my mind that I should keep another list of places that I keep my master list!

So your list of people to call should include the following people.

1. All creditors- including your credit card company, mortgage company, and anyone else you owe money too. This is especially important if you are having problems paying all your bills. The point of your call is to ask in every which way if they can lower your rate and payments.

2. Utility companies-phone, cell phone, cable, dsl, dish, propane (you get the picture) You want to ask if there are any specials or different programs that lower your monthly bills. You'll be surprised how eager they are to help... many people on the other end of the line are feeling the pinch of this economy too, and who better to "know" the ways to a discounted bill than them.

3. Your insurance companies- This might not be on the top of your list of places to save, but it should be! With the right agent, who knows what questions to ask, you can save 20% or more by either switching companies or making small changes with your existing policies.

4. Your pharmacist and doctor- Both of these medical care professionals either have samples or know of programs that can help you save on your prescriptions.

Today's work activityis not too exciting. It seems we are having a problem locating a property that a bank needs some info. on. I've tried every which way, but everything I can find says it's vacant land and all the maps (and me driving for hours) don't show the house even exists. We'll figure it out, it's just frustrating. On another note, since the fires in October, I have done reports on house that truly no longer exist. Saddest one was a person who's escrow closed the day before the house burnt down. Talk about bad luck... their solution was to never make a payment. I know there's more to the story, but there were no winners in this deal, except for the sellers, I guess you could say they had really good luck, but even that sounds wrong.

On a happy note, we received another bank owned listing today. We'll be going out and checking to see if it's vacant. If someone is still living there we'll be offering them "cash for keys" which is paying them money to leave the property in a good, clean condition within a certain about of time. I'll blog more on that later.

Dinner last night was spaghetti and turkey sausage. It's amazing how cheap spaghetti can be. But do you ever wonder why Italian food at a restaurant can be some of the most expensive when the ingredients are the cheapest? Same goes for Chinese food. So the spaghetti was $1, the sauce $1 and the sausage was on sale as it was purchased on the sell by date for $3.45. So $5.45 for a dinner of 4. Not bad. Had this been at a restaurant I'm sure we would have been looking at at least $50 and that includes no beverages as we only drink water!

Deed In Lou of Foreclosure is the real estate topic for the day. First of all a deed in lou of foreclosure is when the bank agrees to take title to the property by the homeowner signing over ownership back to the lender. The former homeowner then walks away from the property and the loan (in most cases). I chose to talk about a deed in lou today because this is one of the most asked questions I get. On first look it seems that this could be a great solution to both the homeowners problems and the banks. You would think that the banks would jump at just taking the asset (the property) back without having to spend the time or money with a foreclosure. Unfortunately for anyone hoping to do this, I have only seen one property where the bank agreed to this and I've seen thousands of tax documents on different properties. From what home owners have told me the banks will say it's a possibility and request that you send in the financial packet and then say that they are not doing deed in lou's. Here are the reasons that banks are not open to deed in lou's even though it would save them money on the whole foreclosure and eviction process.

1. The banks don't want to make it easy to walk away from your home. Can you imagine if they said yes to every homeowner that has negative equity in their home regardless if they can afford the payment? By saying yes to one homeowner they are opening the floodgates to other homeowners requests. Which leads me into reason #2.

2. Banks try hard not to flood certain markets with foreclosures. They know that if they were to accept a deed in lou then the home would become instantly marketable and if they already have an over abundance of properties they are trying to sell, then they would further bring down the values of all the properties. If they can slow the process they can possibly slow the devaluation of their assets.

3. Banks hurt their balance sheets and financial worth every time they have to add an asset back under their ownership. It's in their best interest to slow down the acquiring of properties and clear out the ones they have on the books before they take more.

As you can see there's a lot more to the deed in lou for the banks. I think everyone would agree that it would be easiest and best for the homeowner to do a deed in lou, but the banks have decided that it's not in their best interest. If you are hoping to do a deed in lou, please contact your lender and explain your situation. Your best chance is to send them their packet filled out with your financial situation outlined, but just be prepared for a battle. There are other options available and be open to what they can offer. Just remember not to accept an offer from the bank that puts you in an even worse position.

Tomorrow we'll dig into short sales!

I shared that my website (www.noexcusebudget.com) is getting more and more visitors as the economy goes farther into a recession (yes, I've decided to call it what it is, regardless if the "experts" call it one or not) but the cat's out of the bag as to what my day job is (bank owned property specialist) and I've been receiving emails from people wanting to buy a foreclosure and from those wanting to avoid one. Here's my first post in my month long real estate series.

When I started this blog I had really strong feelings about budgeting and being responsible for your own actions. Well, I still do, but I've realized over the past couple of years that I live in a glass house, especially when I use this blog as a diary of sorts.

Real Estate has been my passion and means of financial support and when the market tanked I went into shock. I long said that it couldn't keep going up at the rate it was. Around here the median home price would have been 2 million dollars in a few short years. What I didn't expect was for it to crash in the way that it did. It was practically overnight when the sub-prime mortgages dried up and loans were nearly impossible to get. Thankfully my shock was short lived and I had to change directions. I was able to "get with the game" before it was too late for me and I now sell bank owned properties in Southern California.



Back to my glass house... surrounding myself with bank owned sales (REO's, real estate owned) has opened my eyes to the fact that nobody, no matter how well prepared you are, is immune to loosing your home. Now you can say "what if it's paid for", well what if you have no money for taxes? In my area you have 3 years before you loose your home to unpaid taxes, but still there are people who stay in financial shock for years. It can be debilitating and so can major medical issues, death, divorce. etc. There are so many scenarios that I have seen where people loose their homes in scenarios I never though imaginable. Even people who have owned their homes for 20 or 30 years and refinanced their homes during the peak can become homeless. These people will never "recover", they are retired and on a set income. Who's to blame, they are and maybe others too. It's not my place to place blame and it's won't change anything at this point. I just hope we all learn from this. Don't get me wrong, these homeowners made a very poor choice in taking out all that money and agreeing to a repayment term that they could not afford, but who knows what they were told. Maybe someone swore to them that they would be able to refi. to a better rate and term that they could afford, and when that time actually came to refi. these same people told the homeowners that the loans were no longer available. Again, I've learned not to judge.

To keep me from getting down and depressed about all these different senarious, I focus on the good side of my job...and that is to get new owners, who can afford to maintain their homes, to buy these empty homes thus helping the neighborhood recover which is good for all the other homeowners.

Here's a few tips if you are facing any type of default on your mortgage.


#1. Consult a real estate professional for a current market value of your property. We call these "CMA's". You need to know if you have equity or how much you are upside down.

#2. Re-do your budget (be sure to use my free budget worksheets) to see where your money is going and where it needs to go.

#3. Call your mortgage company and explain your situation and see what they can offer you to help you save your home.

#4. Don't go into shock. Remember to eat and sleep. This is a temporary situation. No matter what the outcome is, this will not last forever. I'm hearing more and more about people ending their lives over their housing problems. If you feel depressed and need help, please get help. Call your local hospital for a referral to a mental health professional. If the situation is acute, call 911!

#5. Don't use all your money to pay bills... sounds strange, but keep some cash around incase of a real emergency. Prioritize your bills.

1. Food
2. Personal care products (toilet paper, toothpaste, soap, etc.)
3. Gas and car payment (especially if you work outside the home)
4. Utilities
5. Mortgage (if you rent this might need to be higher on the list)

July brings a new month for us all. My goal is to blog everyday. Every time I try to do this some disaster gets in my way (literally, death, fires, you name it) but I'm going to try again. This month will be dedicated everything real estate. I'll be posting about short sale, what happens if you do loose your home and ways to save your home.

If anyone has real estate questions please feel free to send me an email. Please note that our brokerage (Sale Pros Realty) is in California. Laws vary by state. I'm more than happy to offer assistance and/or referrals outside of California, but it will generic in nature as I am only licensed in Ca.

I haven't visited budget basics lately, and I think it's time to take a step back and go there again.

Budget basics can be thought of in 2 different ways. Planning and surviving.

If you are in planning mode a budget takes you through a journey into how much money you make and how much you CHOOSE to spend. You can allot a percentage to housing, transportation, food, medical, entertainment, etc. Your in good shape here. You are in control of your financial future. Enjoy the freedom and relief that comes from this. Use this time to really plan dream about the future. You can make anything a reality!

If you are in survival budgeting you list your exact expenses, then list your income and you either smile or cry! After that it's action time. My budgeting plan says to tackle every bill or expense one at a time and either cancel it (if you can) or somehow reduce it. Asking for a discount in the interest rate or service works. Whatever it takes. If it means renting out a room in your house to taking any and all odd jobs, do it.

Some people will find that they start in survival budgeting and end up in planning budgeting. By reducing expenses and increasing income you can get back on track.

Money trouble shock is a common accurance in a down economy. You might feel desperate, stuck, and ill when it all catches up to you and you realize just how bad it all is. Don't go into shock. Do everything you can to keep on going. When you get through this period your only regret will be why you didn't start recovering earlier.

Do whatever it takes to get through the day. Make a list of what you have to get done and what you should get done to better your situation. Sometimes it helps to have someone else directing you towards a better future, and your list can be this "person". Be sure to get sleep so that your awake hours are as productive as possible. Don't give up. Nothing is forever.

I think everyone needs to visit budgeting basics at least once a year just to make sure that you are on the road that you want to be, if not regroup and take a new road!

My backyard. Well maybe not exactly in my back yard... but too close. This whole economy has taken a big step in the wrong direction. Anyone who thinks that it's not that bad must live in a shell on a far away island. Restaurants are closing, food is becoming more expensive and gas... don't get me started!

I actually sold my car and got one with better gas milage. Not only is my monthly payment 1/3 less but I can use regular gas instead of premium too. I love it!

Walking through the grocery store was a reminder of how great coupons are. It is definately hard to find the time to use coupons when you are working, being a parent and just living life, but they are too great to pass up. There's nothing like the feeling of getting something for a huge discount, or free, especially when it's food. I remember when I started using coupons, I'd have family over and they thought I was the biggest money waster because I always had all of the newly released convenience foods and normally multiples of them... finally someone actually asked me about it and I explained that the best coupons were for new products and that I used them at a store that doubles the coupon and it was all free!

Even when I don't have the time to use coupons as I should I still shop the loss leaders, spagetti sauce for $1, pasta for .33, yes, I'm there loading up!

Hope you all are hanging in there. I think we're in for a ride with the real estate market, gas and food for a while... and yes the stock market too! Remember to call up you creditors and ask for a lower interest rate and also remember that nothing last forever!

My personal guide to surviving any bad situation is to “Control what you can and plan for what you can’t“.

Before you tackle this temporary financial situation (yes it is temporary no recession has ever lasted forever), access your emotional well being. The psychological effect of financial troubles can sometimes be debilitating. You need to take any and all steps to break out of the fog and start taking action. If you are really feeling blue please see a doctor or other mental health professional. Depression goes hand in hand with your inability to conquer this situation. If you need help, again please seek it.

Typically recessions last 8-16 months. Some say that this one will last 3-4 quarters or 9-12 months which would be similar to the recessions in 1969-1970 and the latest one in 2000-2001. I tend to feel that this one will last closer to 16 months, at least. During the last recession we were sent into even deeper turmoil by the events of September 11th (can you believe that was almost 7 years ago?), the already slow housing market and the internet stock market crash. Some would say that Sept. 11th helped with the recovery from the stock market crash, but I would tend to differ on that one as I know people who lost their businesses soon after due to consumers not spending for awhile after Sept. 11th, they saw no relief soon after these events.

This recession is different in many ways, especially in one big way. We are having a major credit crunch. Home loans and credit lines are not available. It’s one thing not to be able to afford the prices of homes in your area, but it’s another thing to be able to afford to buy a home but not be able to get a loan. Unless you have a very strong credit history and a hefty down payment loans are going to be too expensive, if you can even get approved. That’s not to say that it can’t be done. You can still get a mortgage, but it’s a lot harder and more expensive. The new FHA rules were a move in the right direction but I’ve yet to see it help the real estate market… maybe as we move into the spring/summer buying season we’ll see more market movement. I believe that the credit crunch is the fuel that is continuing to ignite this recession and until the credit crunch is over the recession will continue.

So what can you do to not just survive but thrive in a recession? I posted basic, easy and common sense ways in PART 1. But let’s take it up a notch and see what you can do to thrive in this economic environment.

1. Stay dedicated to your financial goals even after the media declares the recession over. Keeping at it will give you a head start on the next recession. Recessions can also be local instead of national, some areas will recover a lot sooner than others. Don’t get caught letting loose and then realize that you area is last to recover.

2. Buy a rental property is you can afford to and if you learn through research that you can come close to breaking even. Why would I recommend buying a house now? Easy, this might not be the lowest point in the real estate market, but it’s still a lot lower than it was before. As more people loose their homes these same people will need rentals to live in. There will be a need. The best part is that if you can make it “cash flow” then the payments you get every month will go towards the mortgage on the property, therefore paying it down AND during the next high market you’ll be able to sell at a profit or just let it keep getting paid down.

3. Consider changing to a recession proof job. The medical field is booming as the baby boomers age. The outlook for job retention and new hires in the medical field is very good. Why not consider going back to school to learn a new skill in the medical fiend.

4. Think of ways to make money that people always need to buy or do. Opening a restaurant would not be a good idea right now. Restaurants always feel the pain in a recession because customers cut eating out of their budgets first. But there are other business ideas to consider. Among them Debt Collection, Medical Transcribing, Handyman, and Ebay sales, etc.

See also my list of 50 Ways To Make More Money

5. Make yourself invaluable to your employer. Give your boss 150%, not just 100%. Work harder, smarter and more. Make yourself invaluable for job security. Make yourself invaluable and make your company more money. Make yourself invaluable and ask for a raise.

Here is the first part in my "surviving a recession" series... As always I like to hear your thoughts and comments! You can find more on tomorrows post and at http://www.NoExcuseBudget.com


With all the the recent turmoil in the housing market, stock market and the rise in gas prices it's normal to wonder how you and your family can survive a recession. You should be happy to hear that you are already on your way to not just surviving, but thriving in a recession, "why" you ask, because you actually have taken time out of your life to read this and care. The first step to learning how to do anything is to want to know and to search out answers.

From here there are many ways to survive any adverse economy. Lets look at some basic ideas.

1. If you have a job do your best to keep it. If you don't have a job, get one, even if it's not your dream job.

2. Consider taking on odd jobs to either pay down your debt or to build a safety cushion fund in case you do end up loosing your job.

3. Redo your budget. Write every expense you have on the No Excuse Budget Forms. Go line by line and eliminate or lower every possible expense.

4. Contact all your creditors and ask for lower rates. Call your credit card companies, your phone company and your bank, ask them all to lower your rates or fees. If they say no call them once a week until they give you something.

5. If you have a high interest rate loan or one that is about to reset, and you plan to stay in your home for any amount of time, call a trusted mortgage broker and see if your mortgage can be refinanced into a fixed, lower rate mortgage.

6. Don't put all your eggs in one basket. Don't count on your job always being there. Don't count on your credit lines still being available and if you are self employed don't count on always getting work from your biggest client. There is a reason that you hear the saying "diversify" and "multiple streams of income". Think of other ways you can bring in money and do it now. Start right now. I can't tell you how many times I have heard people say they wish they had started ____________ sooner. It takes time and money to make money, start right now.

7. Save any extra money in a high interest savings account. I like The Orange Savings Account It all adds up and every penny counts. As interest rates are lowered your local bank will offer lower and lower rates. Put your money in the highest interest account you can find. If you have more than 6-12 months living expenses you can afford to put the remainder above your emergency savings into more aggressive places like stocks and bonds.

8. Put your kids in public school if you have decent schools. Buy a better fuel economy vehicle if you can get a loan that has a good rate and/or you drive a lot.

9. Rethink your insurance. Make sure you have enough and that you are getting the best rates. Shop around. Nothing can be a budget killer like not having or not having enough insurance.

10. Watch for signs and act before they act for you. Is your current job showing signs that you might not have a job for much longer? Are your paychecks late? Are sales down? Start putting together your reseme and possibly even start interviewing. If you do lose your job immediately file for unemployment and start looking for another job. This is no time to feel sorry for yourself. Act immediately.


Remember it's all about money. Money coming in and money going out. Your goal is to bring in as much money as possible while, save as much of that and limit what goes out. Easier said than done at times, but you get the idea.

Here are more easy ways to save without crimping your style :-)

Get rid of any reoccurring charges that are not absolutely necessary. How many subscriptions to random things are on your credit card?

Consider getting your hair cut at a discount chain instead of your normal salon, even alternating between the two can save you money. Just for the record I get mine cut for less than $12 ($7 if I have a coupon) and I never thought I could leave a salon and a long time hairdresser, but I like the way the budget salon cuts it more... same with my nails!

Make your coffee at home. Even if you have to have Kona coffee or another expensive type making it at home at save.

Eat at home.

Use your coupons.

Buy an entertainment book.

Find a mechanic that is not only good at fixing cars, but does it for a good price.

Indulge in small ways. If you see flowers on sale for a cheap amount buy them every once in a while. Seek out ways or places to buy things that make you happy that offer them at a good price.

Use a reward credit card and actually use the rewards. My favorite credit card gives me rewards to book stores and animal supply stores... needless to say I never "buy" books or pet food... I love the library but sometimes I want to buy a reference book, or a special book for my kids, and I save the gift certificates for these reasons.

Don't become the local animal shelter. A lot of animal lovers are faced with this real problem. Once the word gets out that you are animal friendly, your home suddenly becomes a zoo. Don't let this happen to you.... it's expensive and counter productive. Instead make arrangements with an area non-kill animal shelter to bring in these homeless pets and spend your time helping at the shelter. The shelter has arrangements with Vets, food suppliers and more so your donations can go farther than they could if you opened up shop in your home.

Shop at thrift stores. This is the hardest for most people. There is a bad connotation with shopping and using stuff from thrift stores. As long as you really clean your finds you can get absolute bargains! When my children where younger I was able to buy those big plastic play structures for about 10% of their "new" cost. I cleaned the heck out of them till they shined like new.... and then sold them for a profit when my kids where done playing with them!

I started this month blogging as much as I could. I really like to blog, but then life caught up with me and I had to take a little time off.

Now I'm back! So why did I stop blogging? Well my wonderful husband was hit by an uninsured motorist. Not only did he not have insurance, but he also provided fake insurance which just messed up the whole thing. Thankfully my husband is alive. Hurt but alive. Since this is an ongoing issue I won't say more about the accident, but lets just say it has given me more to blog about.

It's amazing how it all amounts to money. If the party at fault had paid for insurance, (like the law says you have to) our life would be different. Thankfully we have uninsured motorist, but this is still costing us big! Talk about taking a hit to the budget...

Anyways, insurance is up there with housing and food for me on my budget... just wish it was for everyone else!

So what have you all been up to?

Do you think about money all the time, good or bad? Do you think most people do?

What's the old saying... "Money makes the world go round"? Most of my friends and family are to some degree self employed so the majority of what I hear is from their point of view and it seems that money is always the conversation. How to get more, how to spend less and how to save more. I often wonder if those who work for others think about money as much as the self employed.

It makes sense that money would be on their mind as there is no guaranteed paycheck (although is there ever a guarantee that your paycheck will always come). But I wonder if the S.E. are always thinking of ways to make more where is the other is thinking more along the lines of saving more and spending less.

If you are S.E. or not which way do you think about money... as a way to make more, a way to spend less, or a way to save more.

It will be interesting to see the comments.

I'll go first. I'm the responsible party (along with DH) for bringing home the bacon, and I think predominantly about ways to make more money. I definitely think about saving and spending less, but the biggest thought is making more... what about you?

I am a recovering restaurant eater. My problem stemmed from a lack of cooking skills (I'm a horrible cook) and a lack of time (I work every second I'm awake).

I expected the "normal" perks of eating at home like when I started eating at home as much as possible but I was surprised at the end results:

• save money on expensive eating out
• save time not waiting in lines
• eat healthier by knowing exactly what is going in your food

But I did not expect to actually save money on my grocery bill. After a few months of eating at home I tallied my receipts and I actually am saving money on my groceries compared to when I would eat out. These are the only explanations I can come up:

• I am more realistic about how much we really eat, I purchase accordingly, so there is less waste. I hate to throw out spoiled food.

• Planning our meals based on sales

• We're not eating as much, home cooked meals make us fuller?

Whatever the reason I'm enjoying the benefits and realizing I might not be the worst cook... I actually might be an okay one... not great but okay!

I'm curious are there any other cooks that might not be the best but are trying like me? Any secrets?

You change your website. http://www.noexcusebudget.com

What do you think? I think the changes make it easier to read and follow. I'm taking the email's I get and let those lead me. I'm going to be adding a section on budgeting for children, teens and young adults as this seems to be a big area of questions I get and another about doing debt settlement yourself. I'm also rewriting the budget itself. The features will be the same but I'm rewriting the instruction and adding video of it actually being done. I'm excited about it... I'll let you all know when it's done.

So it was almost 2:00 am when I finally made myself step away from the computer. I really wasn't tired but I made myself stop. Now I'm tired and this is going to cost me money as I already feel an emergency coffee stop this afternoon after my meeting is over... I guess it's not that bad since I can't even remember the last time I actually went to a coffee shop... my coffee pot works just as well at home!

Have you all had nights like that? What do you do when you can't sleep?

*I have edited this post for clarity*

I’ve had this on my mind for weeks now. All this talk about the “hope” or “lifeline” plans to help homeowners and the stimulus checks to boast the economy has me going crazy!

First the checks. There are so many flaws with this mass amount of cash being flushed into the hands of America. A very large percentage of people that responded to various polls said that they would not spend it, that they would indeed save it or use it to pay off bills. Now I am all for saving and paying off bills with extra money, but how will this help the economy? It was explained that the money would help the economy by allowing people to splurge and buy more consumables… therefore giving the economy a boost with this explosion of cash. Hmmm, who really thought that this would work. Aren’t we facing a recession (if we aren’t already in one) partly because people are scared to spent?

Second, the “miracle programs” that are going to save homeowners from loosing their homes. What a load of crap they are serving. Without getting into my personal thoughts on how this housing mess started, or whose fault it is, the reality is that there is a problem and it needs to be solved as cleanly as possible. The truth is that these programs were created with and by the lenders. They help the lenders… oh and a very, very, very small percentage of the homeowner they “claim” to help. The paperwork alone that the homeowners have to fill out is almost impossible to complete and the end result is almost always going to be frustration on the homeowners part. My favorite part is that you have to be at least 60 days late but not more than 90 days late. I want to know how many homeowner are current on their mortgage payments, but are maxing out all their credit cards and living in poverty levels just to pay their mortgage and minimum payments on their credit cards. In order to qualify they would need to let their mortgage go late. If they did that then their credit scores will tank, making their insurance payments higher and triggering “universal default” on all their credit cards… and then what if they still don’t qualify for the mortgage rate reduction or other “miracle programs”? Oh and let’s not forget the late payments fees on their mortgages! There are so many restrictions to these programs, and once again it is a “reactive” solution as opposed to a proactive solution. Pretty much it offers to possibly help the ones that are already in deep trouble but offers nothing to the ones that could easily be saved before it reaches emergency status. Why not help them both? Both are deserving, if only to help the whole countries economy.

I’m one that always says that if you are going to complain about a problem you better have a suggestion for a solution. I will admit that I do not have all of the answers for this problem, but I do have a few suggestions.

1. Don’t send out the checks. Our government does not have money to be sending out in hopes that it stimulates the economy. What part of “don’t spent what you don’t have” are we missing? If I thought it would work it might be a good idea, but it most likely won’t and then were will we be? More in debt. Let’s spend this money on something that will really help.

2. Make a real plan to help homeowners keep their houses. Ask a large amount of homeowners what it will take to help them save their houses. Is it a lower rate, making their loans into 40 or 50 year loans, putting anything in the rears onto the end of the loan, or all 3 or different things? It’s hard for those of us that are not in the position of loosing our homes to know what these homeowners really need. I can only imagine how “hard” it was for the writers of this plan to “know” what would help the HOMEOWNERS, when they just collected a HUGE cash bonus!

3. Here’s the kicker. Use the money that was to be sent out in checks to the masses as bonuses to the lenders when they save a person from foreclosure. Offer assistance to all homeowners who need it. Limit the eligibility to homeowners that are owner occupied, not just those with owner occupied loans, conventional, non-conventional, prime or sub-prime, arm or not loans. Offer assistance to all home owners that actually live in the property regardless of the type of loan they have.

Possible solutions for owner occupied properties include:
- rate cap of 6% or even 7% (there is still lot’s of profit in those numbers) for 5-10 years
- you do not have to be late to qualify
- no financial qualifying, no forms, or berating by lenders. You already qualified to purchase the property. You want to save it, and you live there. That’s enough “qualifying”. This will greatly reduce the amount of REO’s (bank owned properties) and will help stabilize the real estate market.
- you are “kicked out” of the program if you ever go 90 days late and foreclosure proceedings can resume exactly where they where when you entered (if you were late).
- the program participation will not be noted on your credit report. It is very important that the homeowners credit is not negatively impacted or we will need another program to save homeowners from credit card and loan “universal default” or raising rates on insurance and other credit score driven products. There is already a credit crunch, let’s not add to it.

Sorry investors (I’m one too) but we need to save the houses we actually have owners living in… can’t ask for too much, but I did include the provision if you choose to move into a prior investment property… this could help!

Lastly, we need to remember that this needs to be an incentive based program to the lenders. The lenders are in it for money, it’s a business. It would be un-American and down right illegal to force lenders to do any of this. The choice must be theirs to make and we need to be able to reward them financially for doing this. We could use the money from the checks and offer tax incentives to encourage their participation. They would need to calculate if it would be better for them to take the loss from a house through foreclosure or short sale, or the loss associated with offering a lower interest rate and lower payment and a longer return on their money. The pinch will be felt hardest by the private money lenders than the large corporations. It might be a huge loss for the lenders today, but with a stabilizing real estate market they can get the REO’s off their books and get back to lending money like they are supposed too! For the homeowners, they would win today and in the future.

*Added-

POINT 1. I wrote this from the point that the government had decided that they will be offering some sort of assistance and that not offering assistance was not an option. I felt that if they were set on offering "help" than these were my thoughts on the help. Not offering help at all was something I actually thought *might* be a better option (I would need to think that through more), but I wrote this from the view of it's already going to happen, so at least it should be done in the best possible way.

POINT 2. By no paperwork I am speaking of the typical qualifying paperwork, i.e.. bank statements, tax returns and the loan application. NOT the disclosures. Disclosures ABSOLUTELY must still be provided. My feelings were that the borrower already qualified for the loan and that it's obvious that the borrower now can't make the payments regardless of what the paperwork will show. At this point if the borrower is wanting to save the home than who cares about the qualifying paperwork. It would be great for everyone if they could save their home, including the borrower, lender and the local real estate market. By not having to do the qualifying paperwork more borrowers will be able to save their home. Again all disclosures must still be completed and signed. Disclosures will state the terms of the loan modification and the borrower must read, sign and more importantly understand the terms.

POINT 3. I removed any reference to the war. It was not my intention to start a dialog about the war. I mentioned the war as a reason as to why the government can not afford to throw away money. I understand that the war also creates money via jobs and I also want all of our soldiers back. I am not against the war. I am not "for" our soldiers being gone for so long. I am not "for" the huge amount of money we are spending there. I am not "for" a specific withdrawal date as I fear it would put our soldiers in more danger and create a new threat. Thank you for all the emails requesting my view on the war. I hope I confused you even more with these comments. I do not feel more view of the war is warranted in regards to my very strong view on personal finance.

POINT 4. Again, I am very pleased that this post got people thinking. I really do appreciate everyone's views, and I want to thank you all for reading my blog. Please keep the comments coming.

Last Monday I started a new project. A friend has been asking me for help for months now and I finally said yes, but I knew it was going to be a big project that would take time... time I really don't have. So here's the scoop... she is a very busy executive that spends her "free" time working/volunteering for various non profits. She owns 2 companies and numerous real estate properties and her office was a mess! No, REALLY a mess. I think she was scared to use the trash can because she was worried she would need whatever she threw away, but when she did need something she couldn't find it.

The thing is I really like organizing offices. It's a sickness I have and I don't often advertise this side of my "hobby". If I got paid for it maybe I would, but making paper go where it is supposed to makes me happy. I'm thinking it's some sort of a control issue on my part... I can control paper... and it never talks back.

Back to the crazy office...So I blocked off 4 hours on Monday. I really thought that I could get everything sorted in 4 hours. I was so wrong. I only got through about half of the office. I will take pictures today and post them later. After the 4 hours were done I was exhausted but happy to see the floor. I am not kidding.

This is a perfect example of what I've been preaching for years. They need to teach budgeting and personal finance in high school and college. Not text book teachings, but real life lessons. How many of us started our bad money habits in the college aged years of our life? It's the 18+ years that we develop an unhealthy use of credit cards when we should be saving every penny. I see very successful people that could use a basic lesson on personal finance and organization. It's not that these people are on the verge of bankruptcy (although some are) but it's just that they are time pressed and overwhelmed by the piles of papers so their options are to hire a CPA or bookkeeper to do the sorting and bookkeeping or put up with the mess.

After organizing quite a few offices, the most frustrating thing I've noticed is that people often pay their bills late, but not so late that it affects their credit. I hate seeing someone pay a bill a day or two after it was due. They know that the long term affects of their laziness (it's different if you don't have the money to pay the bills on time) is JUST a late fee, but what if you saved all those late fees in an investment account? You could have a large nest egg... yikes, it's easy to pay your bills on time, especially with the No Excuse Budget... oh well!

So how organized is your office? Mine stays pretty well organized, except my overflow box. I have a box that I put papers and magazine and coupons in. Anything that I want to look at or might need in the future I put in this box. I've found that I end up throwing most of it out without having looked at it though. I always have such great dreams of having time to read it all, but I never do.

I'm going to try and take pictures of this crazy office and I'll post them later. We're expecting a big storm so it just depends on timing. I laugh at saying a big storm as a So Cal big storm is like a drizzle to everyone else!

I had resolved to write a post for my blog everyday. By the 2nd of January I had already failed. The truth is that I did actually write the posts, they just didn't get posted. I'm the type that once I write it I'm over it... I'm already sick of the "idea" I wrote about. Are any of you like that? So I'm saving those posts for a time when I'm without inspiration.

It's funny everyone thinks that April is the busiest time of year for money stuff, but in reality I think it's January. I've been bombarded (in a good way) with questions about my budget system and that's why I never posted my articles... just ran out of time.

So here is the number one question and answer I've received over the past few weeks.

Question: What's the most important thing I can do to help me with organizing my finances now?

Answer: I think the most important thing you can do today is to get a box and an envelope... and a pen!

I actually gave this as gifts this year (along with a real gift). At first my friends and family thought I was really weird... but now they get it. This is so easy but for the beginning budgeter or the un-organized it really helps and works.

Large Envelope- The type that can hold an 8x10 piece of paper. Write TAXES on the front. This is the time of year when all of your important tax papers are mailed... your CPA will send your planner (if you use a CPA) your mortgage company will send your interest paid statement, your bank will send your interest earned statement and you'll get any 1099's from any independent contractor work and your employer will send your earning statement. You should receive all by the first week of February, if you don't call! You don't have to do anything with all this right now, just having a place to put all of this will help tremendously when it's time to do your taxes.

Box- I don't care if you use a fancy plastic box or a card board box, as long as it holds papers, a large amount of paper... your good to go! You'll need to put every important paper and all receipts into this box. Even if you have no time to file or do anything else... you'll be set when you do have time to do more because everything will be in one spot when you do.

So those are the 2 most important steps to take now. All you old budgeting pros I'm sure have already done this, but for you beginners this is a good place to start!

By Heather D. Reese


This is a follow up to yesterdays post, why I love credit cards.

I find that in my life there are things that I have a love hate relationship with, credit cards are definitely one of them. I love the benefits they offer, and I’ve weeded out the bad cards in my “portfolio”, but hearing others horror stories keeps the memory of the bad cards fresh in my mind.



Here are my top 10 reasons to hate credit cards.



1. Two cycle billing. Some credit cards still do this and it’s amazing that consumers let them. Two cycle billing is often discovered by the consumer when they pay off their credit card. The next month they get a bill for interest even though they paid off the card in full last month. Not only does two cycle billing eliminate your grace period, but With two-cycle billing, the average daily balance used to calculate interest charges is calculated from two billing cycles rather than one costing you more money!

How to avoid this- Check the fine print in that little booklet that the credit card company sends you every year. If this is not your oldest most established credit card, or your highest limit one, consider replacing this card with a friendlier, single cycle credit card.



2. Universal default. This topic alone deserves it’s own post, but the skinny on this is that if you default on any obligation your credit card can impose a default rate. It can be quite a shock and surprise when you open your credit card statement and find your minimum payment doubled and your interest rate is now 30%. The ultimate betrayal is when universal default causes unrecoverable damages. Everyone has gone through issues in life, a birth, a death, a natural disaster, etc. One late payment and all your credit cards can raise their rates and what was a temporary situation that can be fixed is now a situation where you are forced into bankruptcy.

How to avoid this- Many credit card issuers are moving away from universal default… are yours? Time to call them up and ask! If you can ditch the ones that still do universal default all the better. Now before you ask why I didn’t simply say don’t pay your obligations late, let me say that all care should be taken to pay your bills on time (more are http://www.NoExcuseBudget.com ) but there are times when these things are out of our hands as in life events, and credit card processing errors, and it takes much time and heartache to straighten out the mess. By avoiding cards that use universal default you avoid the whole mess.



3. High interest rates- Not too much to say on this one other than charger be ware! There is no excuse for such high interest rates. Even with less than stellar credit you can find a card with a descent interest rate. Credit unions are the best for this. Last I checked Navy Federal has a card with a regular non-promotion rate of 7.9 for purchases. That’s a great purchase rate… and it comes with rewards!

How to avoid this- Shop, shop, shop! Not for things, but for a good card. Call or surf the net to your favorite financial institution and see what they have to offer. Be sure to inquire about the rates for different uses. If you are often taking cash advances you’ll need to consider that rate too!

4. Rewards that are hard to use- Can you imagine a rewards card that only lets you use the rewards on the third Tuesday in February, but only on leap years? Okay, so this is an exaggeration, but there are some cards that make it extremely difficult to ever even use the rewards.

How to avoid this- Reading the rewards fine print will help, but a good internet search for others experiences redeeming rewards will bring the biggest insight into how easy it really will be to acquire and use your rewards.




5. Yearly membership fees- Another crap fee, pardon the expletive. Today there are so many cards out there that a yearly fee is a thing of the past, or should be. It used to be the cards with the best reward would always charge a yearly fee, this is not the case anymore. You can find a really good rewards card without a yearly fee.

How to avoid this- Sometimes it may make sense to pay a yearly fee. Often this will be with a business card or line of credit, not so much with consumer cards. If you are really happy with the benefits your card offers and the benefit way out ways the cost of the yearly fee, keep your card, but do call up your credit card issuer every year to ask them to waive the yearly fee even if you have to threaten to close the account. They will often waive the yearly fee each year, even when they say “ this year only”!



6. Pathetic fraud protection- Credit card issuers declining charges for ridiculous reasons all in the name of fraud protection. A few years ago we were traveling for business. It was a 6 hour road trip. We filled up on gas in our home town. About 4 hours later we filled up again. I’m one of those people who hates to get too low on gas so we really just got about ½ a tank of gas then. When we reached our destination we again filled up the next day before a day of driving around. I figured we didn’t know the place too well so it was best to fill up by the hotel. Went to fill up and the charge was declined… called the issuer who told me they suspected fraud. No problem I appreciated their vigilance against unauthorized charges. I assured them with every security question that I was me, and that all was well. They said no problem, you’ll be receiving a call shortly, answer the questions and your card will be good to go again… “okay, do you want my cell phone number”, I asked? No the customer service rep responded, we’ll be calling at your home phone number… needless to say, I did not use that card for the rest of the trip!

How to avoid this- Call your credit card issuer before you travel or make out of the normal charges. Do not assume that one card is enough if that is going to be your only payment option, always bring one or two or even three cards for trips. Always try to make a photo-copy of the cards you bring when traveling incase your wallet is stolen, you’ll then have the 800 #’s of the cards that were lost and you can call and have them re-issue you a new card with a new number.



7. They make it hard to actually dispute a charge and get your money back. When you really need the fraud protection they make it as hard as possible to get your money back. Aside from the normal questions, do you have your card in your possession, when was it last used… the questions get more and more ridiculous and the credit card issuers try to side with the business more and more often, and it makes sense when you think about how much money that the businesses pay to even take credit cards, but it doesn’t make it right. Jumping through hoops is an understatement when it comes to the forms you have to fill out and then have notarized (a cost you have to eat). You’ll feel like they think you are the one committing fraud not the true criminal.

How to avoid this- Keep good records when it comes to using your credit card. Follow the disputed charge rules very carefully and write down the name of the customer service rep. you deal with along with notes of your conversations. Most importantly, check your credit card and bank statements at least monthly… if you have quicken or other money management software you should be downloading your charges daily and looking for inconsistencies.



8. American expresses financial review- Few have heard of this fun little game that Amex. plays until they ask you to play! Normally Amex. only issues a financial review when you have both a charge card (no set limit, pay in full monthly) and a credit card. This combo seems to set them off. An Amex financial review will include providing them with pay stubs, bank statements, your blood type and your first born. Well maybe not all those things, but by the time your done you’ll feel like you did give blood and not only will they likely still close your accounts, but it’ll hurt your credit report to have an account read “closed by credit grantor”.

How to avoid this- Consider having either a charge card or a credit card through Amex, not both.


9. Non existent customer service. You need an answer to a simple question. You Can’t log -on to your account online, you need to change your address… there are lot’s of reasons to need to call your credit card issuers, and you have been on hold for over an hour and all you can do is keep going through their automated system, yet they promise your call will be answered by the next available rep… of and your call is REALLLLLLYYYYY important! Customer service is just not like it used to be and credit cards seem to have the worst!

How to avoid this- There might be no way to avoid this, but you can at least plan for it. Call your credit cards during off peak hours, normally early morning Tuesday-Thursday. Keep notes of who you talk to and if you are not satisfied ask to speak to a supervisor. If you are still not happy send them a letter. It’s easy to find the head cheeses info on the internet now, the office of the president normally has a “gripe” department that really does try to help and often can and will.



10. Pre-approved offers. I hate pre-approved offers. I’ve opted-out, deleted myself from mailing lists and I still get pre-approved offers… my shredder is overflowing with these offers. My shredder actually overheats and smokes. I hate all the waste and I hate having to sit for hours every month and shred unwanted offers. At least most credit cards offers now come without your name on the fake credit card in the letters, those fake cards were the worst on my shredder, and we all know I’m too money conscience to buy a new shredder until mine completely stops shredding!



How to avoid this- Opt-out, be added to all do not call and do not mail lists, and don’t be like me, buy a bigger better shredder. In today’s world your best defense from identity theft is a shredder and never revealing personal information to those who really do not need it. Carefully read all of the fine print that you are send from your creditors each year and individually opt out to each creditor.



The moral of the story is that it’s all about finding the right card for you.

by Heather D. Reese

Use these steps for a leg-up on the competition!

I am always being asked by people I know if I can let them in on the secrets to selling vehicles quickly. Over the years, I have developed a great track record in selling my personal vehicles. It seems like the longest I ever keep my vehicles is 2 years, and our family always has 2 of them. Many friends and family members have told me that I am "lucky" or that "you are such a good salesman", but in reality none of these are true when considering my track record of selling my personal vehicles.

Unless you are willing to give up the equity in your vehicle to a car dealer, you will most likely want to sell your vehicle yourself. After years of trial and error I have compiled a list that, if followed verbatim, will most likely acheive the result of a quick sale of your vehicle. For the first time ever, I have compiled a list of the top 10 Ways to Sell your Vehicle Quickly. PAY ATTENTION....these techniques work!!

1. Get your car professionally detailed - A clean car appears to be a well maintained car. This also includes cleaning the engine. Although most car buyers have no idea what they are looking at, almost every prospective car buyer will open the hood. If they see a clean engine, they will assume that you took care of the vehicle.

2. Buy some new floormats - If you have the money, buy the factory original floormats for your vehicle, not the Wal-Mart cheapies. A good source that I have used for this many times in the past is www.eBay.com. For some reason, there are a lot of good sellers on this for floormats at good discounts over dealer pricing. You'll be surprised how much this improves the look of the car and makes many buyers have the opinion that it looks barely used.

3. Spray some "new car" scent in your vehicle. Please don't overdo it. Many people are highly sensitive to smell and this will hopefully make your prospective buyer subconsiously think this car is in "like new" condition

4. List your vehicle frequently on Craigslist.org. Place this ad frequently and in the surrounding cities. Best of all, this is free always FREE!!

5. Make sure your vehicle is priced correctly. Do a search on www.Autotrader.com to see what similar vehicles (year, miles, condition, equipment, etc.) are being listed for in your area. Price yours in the middle of the road of the private sellers. Do not pay attention to many of the dealer prices because many of them are artificially inflated to account for the trade ins they receive on these cars and the warranties they will have to provide. If you need to sell your vehicle quickly, make sure it is the cheapest comparable vehicle, and the buyers will find you!

6. Place a photo ad in www.AutoTrader.com. This is the ultimate site for listing your car. This site doesn't always work because of all the competing vehicles, but you have a good shot at selling it from this publication.

7. Put a For Sale sign on your car. You will be surprised how often this works. When shopping or parking, make sure your car is parked in a prominent location to attract the attention of as many people as possible.

8. Run a classified ad in your local newspaper. Many people still look in the newspaper to do their used vehicle shopping.

9. Be flexible with meeting people. Never meet prospective buyers at your house (for safety reasons). If someone calls to inquire about your vehicle, offer to meet them at a safe halfway point (gas station, grocery store, etc.). This will make it easier for them to agree to meet you and ultimately sell the car.

10. Be willing to negotiate. Never approach the sale of your car with a rigid "take it or leave it" price. Most people want to feel like they are getting a deal by buying your vehicle. Taking a little bit off the price will normally do the trick.

by Heather D. Reese

Once a month I take a few hours to look through last months spending. I do my best to go line by line and make notes about where I could have saved more money.

This month I'm calling every creditor (credit cards, phone company etc.) and seeing if they have any better rates or plans. Just by asking I was able to get interest rate reductions on about half of my credit cards. This is regardless if I am actually using the cards or not.

It's good to check-in with your phone, cable, satellite or cell phone company every few months as their promotions change and you can often snag a better plan.

Now I'm no hypnotist, but these two "tricks" work. One of the keys to living on a budget is to not overspend on "wants". It's such a great feeling to make your money work for you... by putting it towards your "needs" and building your savings up for your future.

Trick #1- When you see something you want determine if it is a "need" or a "want". A need is something that you have to have in order to survive. Some peoples "needs" will actually surprise others. One person's view of a need might be strictly basic, like housing and food. Another persons "need" might include housing, food and coffee. You need to determine your "needs" and when presented with a purchase, really evaluate if you need it, or if it would be better to apply that saved money from not buying it towards savings. If you would have to use money that is supposed to be used for another item on your budget, do not spend that money!

Trick #2- Determine how many hours you would have to work in order to pay for the proposed purchase. I was talking to a bank teller once. She really liked having a cafe mocha every morning. After determining that she would have to work 25 min. (after tax's) to pay for her mocha, she decided that flavored regular coffee was a better long term choice for her. She only had to work 3 min. to pay for that!

Today's Question- I'm sure alot of you have tried these tricks or other variations of them... what are/were your favorite tricks to get you into the budget/saving mode?