"You know deep down inside that the knowledge is out there, but having the knowledge and using it are two different things. We are going to teach you how to use what you know." - FlyLady
In case you missed some of FlyLady's FLY Sense Financial Missions I have reposted them here (Number 1 is at the bottom). Enjoy! And Happy FLYing! One BabyStep at a time!
FLY Sense #11: Fine Print!
Dear Friends,
The enemy invades your territory on every front! He comes in your
daily mail trying to tempt you. When you are checking out at a
department store the clerk tries to entice you with a 10% discount on
your purchases if you will only fill out these papers. Now the
grocery stores have a little bonus card if you will give them your
pertinent information for their database. Why do you think they are
gathering this information: to send you a birthday card. NOPE they
are trying to keep up with what you purchase. The cynic in me says
that they are going to use all this data on you, your family and your
buying habits against us. Either with denial of coverage for
insurance because we didn't buy the proper healthy foods or they
intend to temp you with more credit cards or ploys to get you in
their store so they can collect more data. The maddest I ever got in
a grocery store was over that bonus card. They had advertised a huge
savings on dog food and I went in to purchase a 20 pound bag; because
I did not want to fill out the paperwork for their bonus card, I was
required to pay an additional $6.00. This was all because I didn't
read the fine print! For this savings of $6.00 they wanted me to give
them the keys of my personal information so they could bombard me
with more ads and deceptive practices exactly tailored to our
preferences. They wanted to pay me for selling out my family. I
refuse to be a traitor!
One of your assignments today is to read the fine print. In your
Sunday paper there will be lots of advertisements. Pull out one for
furniture and where they tempt you will 0% financing and one year is
the same as cash; you will find and * then take a magnifying glass
and find the * somewhere else in the sale paper. Now read it. It
will be very difficult without a magnifying glass. You will find
that you have to jump through the right hoops. I feel that these
companies are no better than loan sharks. They lure you in and tempt
you with their offers and then hound you till the debt is paid; all
the while bombarding you with more sales literature that comes
straight into your home via the mail.
While you have your magnifying glass out, find one of your credit
card statements and read the fine print on the back of it. Do you
know what percentage rate you are being charged for your credit card
debt? Oh and don't forget your installment agreement on your car
debt; Read page two! This fine print is the part that is hard to read
and most of the time we just sign away and don't realize what we are
doing. All we are really interested in is the monthly payment. Have
you ever taken the payment and multiplied it by the number of months
of the agreement to get the full amount of money you will be paying
for the car when you have finished. By the way that amount should be
written out for you in the agreement you signed. Now do it for your
mortgage payment. I know that we need long term financing for our
homes, but do the math for yourself. Knowledge is power.
Now here is the tricky part about your credit card debt! It is hard
to figure when your last payment will be and how much of your hard
earned money has gone to pay it off. This is not that easy. This
difficulty is the reason that they have us captive!
So you see that FACE (Financial Awareness Continually Empowers) can
help you be vigilant against these ploys that the enemy has to steal
your money! Next time someone wants to give you a 10% discount on
your purchases; then you will know that they are not really giving
you a discount, you will pay them back and lose your hard earned
money the first month you only pay the minimum payment.
We have been looking at our spending for a whole week. Do you know
how much you have spent this week; on groceries, food eaten out of
the house, household items, entertainment, bills, on gifts, donations
and interest on your debt? How much money did you save for the
future? Knowledge is power! Take 10 minutes and total this up. If
you can't separate it then that is OK. You can start doing it this
week. Jump in where we are, you are never behind. In your control
journal write down in your FACE section what you have spent. Tape
your receipts in there if you have to, in order to keep up with them.
We are not going to do this forever; just until you get a feel for
what you are actually spending your hard earned money on.
One good rule to shop by is: If you have to charge it; it is not on
sale!
Are you ready to FLY by FACEing your spending habits head on?
FlyLady
FLY Sense #10: Attitudes of Enough!
I got this reply to my message of saving things for Good:
The reason I keep everything is I don't want to have to end up buying
it again. It has always worked for me. Just because you don't need it
now, doesn't mean you won't need it in the future. I figure I am
saving money that way!
My Reply to her:
You are also hoarding stuff because you don't have faith in yourself
to be able to provide for your needs in the event of ............
There comes a point when enough is enough. Too much takes over your
home and strangles you. Let go and bless others with your abundance
and live a life that is giving not hoarding.
*****************************
Dear Friends,
This got me to thinking more about this word ENOUGH!
This word is almost as bad as the word perfect. How many times a day
do you hear the word enough come out of our mouth or into your brain.
Let's just look at damage that this word does to all of us.
- I don't have ENOUGH time! How many times do you say this one? We
all have the same hours in every single day. Enough time to clean it
the way your momma made you when you were a child. Enough time to get
it right! So when we believe this lie; we stop dead in our tracks and
DO NOTHING!
- I don't have ENOUGH help around the house! Oh Boy!!! Don't get me
started on this whiny attitude. If you live alone; it is just you:
Single parents don't have any one to whine too or nag either: You
don't hear them complain about this. So get off of your pity pot and
do something. There are no excuses for this attitude. If you will set
the example in love you will have the help. We have thousands of
testimonials to back this up.
- I don't get ENOUGH appreciation from my family for what I do!
Appreciation starts with you! When you start feeling bad because
someone didn't take notice that you cleaned something then you are
cleaning for the wrong reason. Do it for you and it won't feel like
you are unappreciated, because you will appreciate the effort and as
a result you will be blessing your family.
- I don't have ENOUGH money! We have all said this one; over and
over again. Do you want to know the truth of the matter? Rita
Davenport taught me. If money will fix it; it is not a problem. If we
will quit wasting our money on quick fixes we will have all we need.
Say no to buying more clutter! This will happen once the clutter is
out of your home. You will find a new freedom from letting go of your
clutter. Not only will you have more open clear spots in your home,
but you will also have the money that you didn't waste on the
clutter. This goes for fast food, yard sale bargains and department
store sales. When you start filling that hole that is in your soul
with love, you will no longer need to just dump anything in there to
make you feel better.
- I don't have ENOUGH storage: Yes you do, but you have clutter
taking over its space. Let go of the clutter and you won't have to
spend money on those storage units. By only having things around you
that you love and use; your clutter will have to find a new home.
That will release the space for the things you love.
- I don't have enough supplies: This one gets our new members all the
time. They think that they need to go out and buy storage containers.
We have even had FlyBabies recognize each other in the check out
line. Are you a FlyBaby too??? We have all that we will ever need
except maybe garbage bags. :) We go through a lot of those when we
are doing our Super FLING Boogie. As for cleaning supplies; I use
very few. A window cleaner and some soap. That is about it. We don't
need magic cleaning supplies to get us started and this goes for the
things that we have for sale on our website. I don't want to hear
that you can't get started because you have not had the money to
order your timer, duster, book or calendar. The thing that gets you
started is getting off your franny and moving. So quit making excuses
and go shine your sink with what you have. Do what you can with what
you have, where you are! President Teddy Roosevelt said that to our
country once.
- I don't have a house that is big ENOUGH: Whine Whine Whine! If
everyone has a place to sleep then your home is plenty big; but if
clutter has taken over; no wonder you don't think you have enough
room. Clutter is evicting your family. Toss him out on his ear and
make room to live. We have had members that could not believe how
big their home had become once the clutter was gone. It is the best
remodel you can do to your home.
- I don't get ENOUGH respect. Do you want to know why; Because you
don't respect yourself first. You don't need outside admiration when
you value yourself. You have to show a little to get a little. This
goes even farther than this. The more you give the more you will get.
Give it to yourself and reap what you sow!
- I can't dress well because I don't have ENOUGH nice clothes. This
goes back to the respect issue. You don't have to have fancy clothes
to feel good and pretty in what you have. A clean pair of jeans and a
bright colored shirt and make you feel like a million bucks if you
will take the time to dress each morning. Once you quit wasting money
and feel that you are worth it, you will get yourself one new outfit
and a decent pair of lace-up shoes. You can save for them. Learn to
mix and match what you have. This is not hard. As a rule we only wear
a few items in our closet anyway because we can't see what we really
do have for all the fat clothes and skinny clothes that are taking up
room in our closets. Rita Davenport taught me many years ago to not
hold on the your fat clothes because you will get back into them. I
feel that you have get rid of your skinny ones because they make you
feel bad. When we feel bad we usually eat! So cut this out by tossing
this attitude out the door with the clothes that don't fit you!
- I don't have ENOUGH energy; Enough energy for what! To run a
marathon? That is not what I am asking you to do. All I want is for
you to start with simple morning babystep routines and evening
routines and to declutter 15 minutes a day. It does not have to all
be done at one time. Last year we got a testimonial from a member
that was overweight. It was hard for her to stand for even a minute.
Now I am in purple puddles(tears) as I retell this story. So in order
to get her sink shining; she set her timer for 1 minute and then she
would rest for 15 minutes. It took her all day, but she shined her
sink. In her testimonial she told us how getting up for 1 minute
turned into 2 minutes and then into 3 and eventually after several
months of FLYing she was even able to leave her house to go shopping
for her children's home schooling material. So what is your excuse?
Even people with chronic illnesses can do just a little from where
they are. People with MS, FM, CFS and cancer have all figured out
ways to do just a little at a time and pace themselves. That is what
we all need to do: Take babysteps so we don't burn out!
- I don't have ENOUGH Love; Well for once you may be right about
this one. You joined our little cyber family to get your home
organized. You never dreamed that our messages were more about your
attitude toward yourself. You don't have ENOUGH self love! Now don't
email me complaining that this is not what the Bible teaches. I think
it is. Don't forget the Golden Rule! To love thy neighbor as thyself!
I feel that you can't love anyone else till you do! If I can teach
you to FLY; Finally Love Yourself, then your home and life come
together. Have you ever been on an airplane and heard the flight
attendant tell you that if the oxygen masks come down to secure yours
first before you help your child or others. When you give, give, give
and don't save any for you then you are left wanting. As Kelly says:
If momma ain't happy then nobody's happy! Take care of yourself; If
you don't then who is????
Are you ready to FLY with just ENOUGH!
FlyLady
FLY Sense #9: Making a List!
Dear Friends,
Do you go to the grocery store and come out with more than just food?
Do you buy cleaners, shampoos, makeup, utensils, and paper products
at the grocery store?
WHY?????
Just how many cleaners do you need anyway? There is no magic potion.
Quit buying them at the grocery store. If you will use what you have
on your endless shelves then you may not have to buy these kinds of
products for several years. SOAP is SOAP! I only use window cleaner
and an all purpose cleaner. That is just about it. I clean my tub
with bath soap. Who needs harsh cleansers and chemicals when you do
it every time you are in there? You can save yourself a ton of money
just by changing your attitude. Now don't send me all your recipes
for cleaning products. They are all over the web and plain water does
a pretty good job along with a little elbow grease! (a little
scrubbing) Did you know that you can get soap scum off your shower
doors with the soap that put it there. LOL This was a tip from one of
our members.
Watch yourself closely in the grocery store and stop yourself from
picking up those bottles of shampoo and conditioner. You know those
prices are always higher than the discount store and don't even think
about getting make up there. They will temp you on every corner with
those gadgets and impulse items. Don't fall victim to their ploys!
Be strong and stick to your list! Plan what you buy and only buy what
you have on your list! This will keep your impulse spending in check.
Put in big red letters at the top of your list! PURCHASE ONLY ITEMS
ON MY LIST: FACE
Have you made out your grocery list yet? If you have we would love to
know about it.
Please send an email to: Cindy@flylady.net and put I Did It! In the
subject line!
Are you ready to FLY by FACEing your spending head on!
FlyLady
FLY Sense #8: Financial Home Blessing Hour!
Dear Friends,
Every Monday we do a weekly home blessing hour. It only takes us a
few minutes on each little blessing to get our home gleaming. After
an hour it is done and we are smiling! We already use Wednesdays as
our day to get ready to run our errands on Thursdays. Each Wednesday
we get out our calendars and look at our schedules for next week as
well as clean out our refrigerators and plan our menus. Then we are
able to put together that empowering list for our trip shopping. Your
list can be your best friend if you will allow it to guide you in
your choices.
From now on we will call this a Financial Home Blessing Hour! You
don't have to do it all at once, but each item needs to be looked at
before you run your errands. It won't take long if you will just sit
down and do it! So get out your timers! Let's do it! 10 minutes on
each item! Don't get bogged down in your perfectionism! Do you hear
me???
- Make menus for next week. Get out your calendar and check your
schedule.
- Make a grocery list.
- Go through the house and look for items you are running low on.
Shampoo and you know that nothing says I love you like toilet paper!
- How much money do you have in your checking account or wallet? How
much are you allotting yourself to spend on the items on your list?
Your friend is going to help you curb your spending! We are only
going to buy what our friend tells us to.
- Are there any bills you need to pay? Write the checks now; while
you are out running around you could drop them off or mail them. Do
you have any deposits for the bank?
- Do you need to return any library books or videos? Gather them up
and get them in the car. We are no longer going to be plagued with
procrastination and the guilt of missing library books and the added
expense of fines. We have our book bag!
- Is there anything that needs to be mailed from the post office? Do
you need to purchase any stamps so you will not have any excuse to
mail your bills on time? Do you have any other errands to run: Pick
up dry cleaning or any other upcoming events to plan for? Check your
calendar. Now put your list in your wallet! This is a valuable tool
to save you money!
Once you get into the weekly routine of doing this, you will feel
empowered. Your food expenses are one area that you can save money.
Make your plan, follow your plan and save money to put against your
credit card debt! We can do this! We are going to reduce our credit
card debt by 2.7 million dollars during the month of March! That is
only $16.16 if each of us will commit to this. I am so proud of you
for wanting to find peace in your financial home!
Are you ready to FLY by FACEing Next week with a clear head!
FlyLady
FLY Sense #7:Disposable Income!
Dear Friends,
Are you feeding another hungry mouth and you didn't realize it? This
is what happens when you don't follow through with your plans and
menus. I have finally figured out what Disposable Income IS!!!
On Wednesdays we always clean out our refrigerators. I want you to
look at how much you are tossing down the garbage disposal and in the
trash. These leftovers and wilted veggies were not used the way you
had intended. Instead of having them for your lunch the next day,
they have been neglected. As for the wilted veggies; It is so sad
that we buy them and forget about them as soon as they go into the
refrigerator.
For years I have heard the term disposable income, I just never
thought of it as being in our kitchens until now. It is time we quit
tossing it out and used it before it spoils. Right now go inspect
your refrigerator for items that still have some life left in them.
If the veggies are just beginning to fade then toss them in a pot of
water and make a veggie stock for a hearty soup. You can put it in
the crock pot over night and tomorrow you can finish it off with the
rest of your fixins'. Take out the yucky overcooked veggies and you
will have a broth fit for pasta, vegetable soup or a pot of beans.
Or you can do like we do and cook it down a bit and pour into 1
cup containers and freeze it; then when you need a cup of broth, you
don't have to open a can.
If we would look at the food that goes into the trash as money we
would never throw it away again. My granny tried to tell me this,
years ago and it is just beginning to FLY with me! Financially Love
Yourself by being aware of what is going to waste!
Everything that goes into your mouth comes out of your pocketbook;
even if it is going down the mouth of your Garbage disposal. Let's
stop the disposal from eating all your grocery money. This is money
that we can use to pay off our Credit Card debt. Credit cards eat our
real money too, but that is another essay!
Are you ready to FACE what you are throwing down the disposal?
FlyLady
FLY Sense #6: FACE-ing your Food Money!
Dear Friends,
Are you aware of what you spend: Every day, every week or every
month? When we FACE our spending habits we are better able to deal
with our money in an informed fashion.
This is why spending your virtual money ends up increasing your debt.
You don't know how much you are really spending do you! This month we
are going to look at what we spend each and every day. This is not
rocket science. All you have to do it keep up with your receipts
while you are out and write down everything you spend online and
write checks for while you are home.
Now get out your control journals and turn to the section for FACE
(Financial Awareness Continually Empowers). Start with March 1st,
just write down what you spent on Saturday and what you spent on
Sunday. This will take 5 minutes. Do it now. Each day I want you to
write this down in your control journal.
Most of us spend as much on food as we do our mortgages. Our food
expenses are a good place to look at reducing our spending. This is
so easy when we plan our purchases and cook what we have in our
pantries and our freezers. When you are examining what you spend on
food, don't forget to count the trips for take out and the stops for
coffee in the morning. All of this adds up. Remember knowledge is
power. When we FACE our spending habits we learn!
Now go write them down! This is how we are going to save 16.00 to put
against our debt.
Are you ready to FLY by opening your eyes to FACE your fears?
FlyLady
FLY Sense #5: Pretend to Be Your Banker!
Dear Friends,
Every month we walk through our home with a pretend exercise in order
to look at our homes through different eyes. We imagine ourselves to
be a Realtor. It is a fun assignment. Today we are going to take the
Realtor game to another level.
Monday I had you run through your home and gather up all your bills
and put them in a bag, then we cleaned off the top of our desk,
yesterday we did a financial home blessing hour and today we are
going to pretend to be banker. Now listen very closely to me! You are
going to have to play nice! This means you cannot be ugly to
yourself. A banker would never be accusing and lay guilt trips on
you. Remember you have to be kind and help the customer look at their
finances. This is your job.
- The first thing you have to do is open up all your bills and sort
them into piles of like bills with latest one on top. Clip them
together.
- Get out your control journal and flip over to your section for
FACE! Financial Awareness Continually Empowers. Then just list them
on a sheet of paper: Grouping utility and phone bills together and
credit card statements together and other in the third section. Also
list your house payment or rent. Make three or four sections. We are
going to have a long term debt section(house payment), utility bill
section, credit card section and other. Do not get caught up in your
perfectionism by setting up spread sheets. Just use pencil and paper
to get it down! This is just an information sheet. Knowledge is
Power!
- Make four columns. Date Due, Who, What the total balance due, and
minimum payment due. Keep the columns in a line so you can add up
each section.
- Then on another sheet of paper, I want you to list how much
tangible money that comes into your home each month. This is your
money after all the deductions for taxes and other things on the
payroll check. If you are self-employed then list your income less
your expenses. (cost of goods sold or what it takes for you to be in
business)
This is all you have to do. Now set your timer for 15 minutes and
let's see how much you can get done in that length of time. After 15
minutes is up then take a break and have a cup of tea. Then go back
to it. Work in 15 minutes intervals. Do not beat yourself up! You are
being objective here! We are just going to FACE our stack of bills
with a loving forgiving heart. Knowledge is power! Financial
Awareness Continually Empowers!
Are you ready to FACE your fears and FLY? Yes just doing this has you
FLYing! I am so proud of you!
FlyLady
FLY Sense #4: You Have to Do This One!
Dear Friends,
I know that some of you skipped # 4 of your Financial Home Blessing
Hour! And I know why! You didn't want to face how much money you have
or the fear of how much you don't have in your checking account or
your wallet!
Fear is compounded by a lack of knowledge. We are going to FACE those
fears right now.
Sit down at your cleared out desk or work area. I don't care how you
do this, but call the bank, go online or get out your latest bank
statement. Remember this does not have to be perfect! Your
perfectionism of searching for the last penny is what keeps you
procrastinating about doing it anyway!
For right this moment, I want you to trust the bank. As you get a
handle on all of this you will be in a better position to check for
bank errors. All you need now is to know what is in there and if
there are any outstanding checks.
So get your bank balance and try to remember if you have written any
checks that have not cleared. The good thing about debit cards is the
money comes out immediately.
Now write your amount of money down in the checkbook in pencil. This
is a starting place. It does not have to be to the penny so don't get
caught by your perfectionism again.
Are you ready to FLY with knowledge as the wind beneath your wings?
Just think you have conquered a major fear! You can do this. I am so
proud of you!
FlyLady
FLY Sense #3: Financial Home Blessing Hour!
Dear Friends,
Every Monday we do a weekly home blessing hour. It only takes us a
few minutes on each little blessing to get our home gleaming. After
an hour it is done and we are smiling! We already use Wednesdays as
our day to get ready to run our errands on Thursdays. Each Wednesday
we get out our calendars and look at our schedules for next week as
well as clean out our refrigerators and plan our menus. Then we are
able to put together that empowering list for our trip shopping. Your
list can be your best friend if you will allow it to guide you in
your choices.
From now on we will call this a Financial Home Blessing Hour! You
don't have to do it all at once, but each item needs to be looked at
before you run your errands. It won't take long if you will just sit
down and do it! So get out your timers! Let's do it! 10 minutes on
each item! Don't get bogged down in your perfectionism! Do you hear
me???
- Make menus for next week. Get out your calendar and check your
schedule.
- Make a grocery list.
- Go through the house and look for items you are running low on.
Shampoo and you know that nothing says I love you like toilet paper!
- How much money do you have in your checking account or wallet? How
much are you allotting yourself to spend on the items on your list?
Your friend is going to help you curb your spending! We are only
going to buy what our friend tells us to.
- Are there any bills you need to pay? Write the checks now; while
you are out running around you could drop them off or mail them. Do
you have any deposits for the bank?
- Do you need to return any library books or videos? Gather them up
and get them in the car. We are no longer going to be plagued with
procrastination and the guilt of missing library books and the added
expense of fines. We have our book bag!
- Is there anything that needs to be mailed from the post office? Do
you need to purchase any stamps so you will not have any excuse to
mail your bills on time? Do you have any other errands to run: Pick
up dry cleaning or any other upcoming events to plan for? Check your
calendar. Now put your list in your wallet! This is a valuable tool
to save you money!
Once you get into the weekly routine of doing this, you will feel
empowered. Your food expenses are one area that you can save money.
Make your plan, follow your plan and save money to put against your
credit card debt! We can do this! We are going to reduce our credit
card debt by 2.7 million dollars during the month of March! That is
only $16.16 if each of us will commit to this. I am so proud of you
for wanting to find peace in your financial home!
Are you ready to FLY with the FAA by your side; Financial Awareness
Always?
FlyLady
FLY Sense #2: Clearing A Space
Dear Friends,
When your home is a mess you can't think straight. Why do you think I
want to help you relieve the stress in your life by getting rid of
the clutter. Did you know that when your desk is messy then you will
not feel like sitting down at it to work. Clutter has a way of
zapping your energy. So what are we going to do about this problem?
We have to clean off our work areas. It may be your kitchen table or
your coffee table. It could be your actual desk; what ever and where
ever we are going to do a hot spot fire drill and clear it off. Now
set your timer! We are going for 15 minutes here! If you computer is
in the middle of your work surface then you really don't have a desk
do you. Think about this. We are going to be looking at papers; Lots
of papers! You need a surface to put them on.
What do you need on your desk? Absolutely nothing! No piles of
papers, no books, all you need is an unobstructed surface. If you
have to pull everything off and put it in a box for the time being
then do it. Your clear surface is all that I am concerned with right
this minute. So you can FLY!
Are you ready to Financially Love Yourself by having a clear working
space?
FlyLady
P.S. I am not ready to tell you what your shiny sink of your
financial home is just yet.
Thank you for all of your suggestions: You will find out very soon. I
will say it is not what you think it is.
FLY Sense #1: Bills in One Place!
Dear Friends,
It's time for your first dose of FLY Sense. This is going to be fun
if you will not let yourself get stressed out about it. We are going
to combine two of our favorite tools for getting our homes in order
to get us started on our journal to financial peace. Are you ready??
We are going to start with a Hot Spot Fire Drill with a 27 Fling
Boogie at the same time. The purpose of our scavenger hunt is to find
all those bills, credit card statements, and your checkbook. With
your trash can handy; grab a grocery bag or a canvas bag and start to
clear out your favorite Hot Spots for putting down your mail. Throw
away the trash and put the bills in the bag. Now if you have been
hiding them from someone or yourself; go to those hiding places and
drag out those bags too. Do you have some bills in the car that you
never brought into the house or are they hiding in the side of your
purse. YOU KNOW WHERE THEY ARE!! Now go gather them up! Don't forget
to check your desk and the top of the microwave!
I want them all in one place. This is all you have to do right now!
Later today we will do the next step.
You are on your way! Yippee!
FlyLady
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