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What are you waiting for?

December 8, 2014 by

Procrastination. It is soooo human. It is sooo seductive. If we  just put something off, we feel like we don’t have to stress about it. But, if we delay, dawdle, postpone, ignore, we actually deceive ourselves.

Why? Procrastination is magic. It is based on illusion. 

Illusion?

Yes. Because  you think that it costs you nothing to drag your feet.

But procrastination is amazingly costly!!!!!!

The longer you wait, the more you lose. The longer you dawdle, the more you squander your self respect.

This is especially true if you put off focusing on your money and its role in your future. The longer you wait to take steps to improve your finances, the more money you lose.

Good news. If you stop procrastinating, you could have your money working for you. Your Hot Flash Stash of Cash could be building up for you.

Bad news. If you continue procrastinating, for instance ignoring your credit card debt, you will squander amazing amounts of your money on interest payments and fees.

Sooooooo………….Stop procrastinating. Start to take control.

If you, yourself,  can’t get past the seduction of delay, (and can’t DIY within a month of reading this), consult a professional.

Conferring with a professional should not be a strange idea. After all, you turn to a professional to cut and style your hair, or paint your toenails. You go to  a professional to take care of your teeth…….So, if you don’t floss daily, that dental professional can help you, no matter how challenging the problem.

Your money challenges, right there on your procrastination list, can be deftly handled by a trained, experienced professional.  S/he can clarify what you need to do, give you a set of steps to take, and support you while you get you get your finances under control. And s/he can help you with that huge challenge– having enough money to pay for everything you need for the rest of your very long life. If you want the dignity and self respect that financial security brings, it is time to consult a professional.

So what are you waiting for?

 

Filed Under: debt reduction, Divorce and its risks, Hot Flash Stash, Longevity Risk, Motivate you to ACT!, Vulnerability, Widows, women and money Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Help a friend?

September 13, 2012 by

Do you have a sense of humor? Do your friends? Do your friends have a sense of humor about their own behavior?

Well, here is a new sweepstakes with a great idea, Help your friends. That is, help one of your friends who has some trouble with her/his finances, especially spending.

Now, the page introducing “Help a friend” clarifies that we all make mistakes and waste money. But, the one you “help” would merit, as they say,” an Olympian gold medal in money squandering.” So, the argument on the site goes, do your friend a favor and enter this friend into this sweepstakes. (At the same time you enter yourself into the sweepstakes). If you win, you get…… money.

There are videos associated with this program, and they tend to feature young, college age folks discussing the varied ways they spend money on “stuff” –memorial swords that are probably plastic, ugly designer jeans, myriad internet purchases, parties, taking a girlfriend to the “Jersey Shore” …………You get the point.

I decided to see how this works. So I pressed the HELP A FRIEND BUTTON and sent the email to myself. (I chose not to send a photo to post on the FACEBOOK  page of the site. It would show my friend posing with at least one incriminating impulsive purchase.)

I did receive an email. The email is well worded and raises some really good issues to consider. When I clicked on the  link, I was really pleased with the quiz that you can can take. It raises “your consciousness” on some spending habits that can be problematic. The  site itself has wonderful tools, such as calculators that help you budget, pay off debt, etc.

Now, I am a big great fan of NEFE—the National Endowment for Financial Education that created the site, and the Help a Friend sweepstakes. And I am a great fan of using humor to make a point.  And this Help A Friend Campaign uses humor to accomplish an important goal, help friends who waste money.

What I don’t know, is how my friends would respond. I mean, how would this work with “women of a certain age and distinction?” Would my friends be offended if I entered them into this sweepstakes? Or would they take it in stride, see that you can use humor to make some important points, and change your behavior?

What do you think?

Filed Under: Budget, debt reduction, middle age, Motivate you to ACT!, Risk, Save money, Track Spending, women and money

So,…………why not consider saving more money?

February 4, 2012 by

How can you do this?  

HERE ARE SOME EASY STEPS TO FOLLOW:

1. SET A GOAL FOR YOURSELF.  It can include adding to a savings account, or reducing your over all debt. Did you know that –in the past year, 1 in 6 American Savers selected paying off consumer debts as their goal?  

2. MAKE A PLAN that you can FOLLOW.  If you want an easy one, that does not take much of your time— increase your contributions to your retirement account. Go On-Line and change your contribution level, by a certain amount of dollars or a percentage (like 1%).  You will be in very good company if you increase your retirement savings:  44% of those who reported having a retirement savings goal made a change to their retirement plans.

If you feel you can do more than one thing, and want some guidance,  click on our site.

  • Select the ASK & ANSWER button and look at the drop down menu. Select Extra money? Is she kidding? and also read about Trade Offs.
  • There is more for you, if you would like.  Select the  ACT button and look at the drop down menu and select Build you Stash.

3.  LEARN A FEW GOOD SAVINGS TRICKS.

  • Think carefully about what  you will do with your tax refund.  Did you know you can use your #tax refund to buy US Savings Bonds? It’s an easy, safe way to diversify your savings.    Check out the Tweets at   #ASW2012           http://ow.ly/8IUNX
  • Join @AmericaSaves for tips, news, and advice to help you save. Reach your savings goals.  Follow #ASW2012  on Twitter, or go to http://ow.ly/8dnzz

 

Filed Under: Budget, debt reduction, Hot Flash Stash, Save money Tagged With: , , ,

New Year’s Resolution

January 9, 2012 by

Here at Hot Flash, we  LOVE  New Year’s Resolutions.

If you make a New Year’s Resolution, you are more likely to take action to improve your life (than, of course, someone who has not made a resolution). And that is what Hot Flash Financial is all about—helping women, like you, improve your finances and your economic security.

So, if you resolve to save more money this year, pay down some debt, find out why you never seem to have enough money, or just get your financial life in order, Hot Flash Financial can help you with that. And  you won’t have to do this all alone.

Help is what most people need in January when they make a New Year’s Resolution. Because more than half will not keep their resolutions by July. You can’t just rely on your own good intentions. You do better if you set a specific goal, and use a clearly defined strategy, and follow a set of steps (without reinventing the wheel).

Set a specific goal, like—

    • I want to save $50 (or $500, etc.) from my paycheck every month. That is better than just saying you want to save more money, or
    • I want to track my spending so I know where my money goes. That way you can gain more control over your income and make careful decisions about spending, retirement, and/or other future spending such as a home  or car purchase, or
    • I want to reduce the total balance on one specific credit card by X amount of dollars by the end of this year. That is better than saying  you want to get out of debt.

At Hot Flash Financial, we recommend that you write that specific goal down–on an index card, or sticky note, or in some app. Writing it down just makes it seem more real.You need a clear strategy and set of steps that you can follow. That will work more than good intentions.

Professionals, like those of us at Hot Flash Financial, know what methods work, and can offer a clear set of steps that you can follow. Just click around  HOT FLASH FINANCIAL.com to get the list of steps that you need to :

    •  Save a specific amount of money each month. If you want to jump into this and you have an amount in mind, you can direct that money to a savings account. Or, you might want to direct that to an account that will be most beneficial to you over the long term. So you can click on the link   How to build  Then, if you are saving for the long term, look at Hot Flash Financial’s recommendation of the best account for saving—one with a tax break, Where to Stash it, as well as Start depositing now.
    • If you would like to have more control, and make more intelligent decisions about your money and its use, it often helps to figure out where your hard earned dollars go. Professionals call this process  Tracking your spending. It requires more steps, but has a bigger potential payoff. Because tracking  makes it  easier to make informed decisions about reducing spending in some areas. It has the potential to reduce tension about spending changes within a household or marriage, because you have a lot of numbers to point to, and multiple  points or expenditures to discuss. We can give you the Steps you need. Just click on Track it to find a list of great gismos you can use, or select the “lazy way.”  Then click on Track and Decide to help you select the best ways for you to find money to save or deploy for more important issues.
    • Reducing credit card debt can be a challenge. But Hot Flash Financial has some ways to help you. Follow our Hot Flash Financial Plan. You can skip Steps 1 and 2, and jump to Step 3 and click on How to pay it down. Then continue to Steps 5-8 so that you can use a superb method to pay it down—over time— with the Extra Hot Flash Amount

 

There are a few more secrets to fulfilling your Resolution. Most of us need a few emotional boosts, and some rewards to keep us going beyond January.

Emotional Boost and Rewards. You probably know that change is not easy. You may need a little boost to help you stay on course. So take our silly quizzes and look at our laugh button.

You can turn to a friend, loved one, or our site to ask for support, and gently remind you to get back on track if you stray a bit. In fact, Hot Flash Financial recommends that you  “Go On Record” with that friend or our site. You can Twitter us or use your own Facebook page, or show her/him your index card. Use either the hi tech or low tech method to share your specific goal and the steps you will take.  (Easy cheat sheet: the set of Steps we give you at Hot Flash Financial. Print them out and check them off as you do them). Research shows that you are more likely to fulfill your Resolution if you do that. Then, each month, you can brag about your success on Twitter and/or Facebook or friend. Oh, and when you achieve the goal you set for yourself CELEBRATE! You can give yourself a reward each month for a) saving that amount you resolved to save $50 or $500 or b) reducing your debt by the amount in your resolution.

Penalty. Don’t hesitate to create a little fine if you don’t follow the steps you set for yourself, or fall off the wagon for awhile. Have fun with this “punishment.” You decide what it will be. Here are some ideas:

  • allow a friend to tease you
  • pay a small “price” by giving money (a token amount) to  that friend, or loved one. (Don’t send money to our site. [We are not Soupy Sales.] Send money to a charity that you hate—like a charity that supports a cause opposed to your own preferences. For instance, if you support gun control, send a $25 donation to the NRA [National Rifle Association]. Now that is a penalty that will probably make you focus more clearly on meeting your own specific money goals for yourself.)

We hope the clearly defined steps outlined in this blog help you have success with your Resolution. And if you can’t wait until  2013 to take more steps to improve your finances, click on Hot Flash Financial every week, and Friend us on Facebook, sign up for our Tweets, and follow our blogs.

We welcome your clicks all year long.

 


Filed Under: Budget, debt reduction, Financial Plan, New Year's Resolution, Save money, Track spending