by Shawnee Johnson | Jun 20, 2020 | Goals and Planning
Do you find yourself falling into the habit of thinking you deserve better, or you deserve more? Last week, I decided to drive through McDonalds to grab a sweet tea. I love sweet tea! Since I was hungry, I thought I should just get something off the dollar menu to...
by Shawnee Johnson | Jun 7, 2020 | Debt Elimination, Goals and Planning
If you’ve never heard Dave Ramsey say something like “you’re going to be living on rice and beans until you crawl out from under this debt,” then you probably haven’t listened to his podcast very long or read any of his books. It’s one of his standard comebacks. Of...
by Shawnee Johnson | Jun 6, 2020 | Budgets
What is a sinking fund and why do you need one? Well really, you will need more than one, but the short answer is this. A sinking fund is just a mini savings account or money bucket where you temporarily stash some cash for upcoming needs or expenses. It’s not like a...
by Shawnee Johnson | Jun 5, 2020 | Debt Elimination, Goals and Planning
Right now, in 2020, the national average monthly amount collected for Social Security is $1503. If a married couple retires, and both have paid in enough to receive the full amount, they could have around $3,000 per month coming in. If one spouse did not pay in...
by Shawnee Johnson | Jun 4, 2020 | Budgets, Goals and Planning
Are you tired of living a mediocre life and ready to do something big and adventurous? Is limited money holding you back? It’s time to strip your budget bare. We are talking about getting to basic. What does that even mean? Bare Bones First, getting to basic means...
by Shawnee Johnson | Jun 3, 2020 | Goals and Planning
If you are as old as me, you can remember K-Mart’s blue light specials and their layaway program. My friend’s parents used the layaway program every year to buy Christmas gifts. For you younger people, with layaway, you could pick out items, often at a sale price, and...
by Shawnee Johnson | Jun 1, 2020 | Budgets, Goals and Planning
When my son got his first real job, we sat down and talked about budgeting. About what he should do with his money. How to set goals and make plans for the future. Lucky for him, he only had one medical bill and a few monthly expenses. But working at an entry level...
by Shawnee Johnson | May 26, 2020 | Debt Elimination, Goals and Planning
If you’ve ever set a long-term goal, such as losing weight or running a 5k marathon, and actually accomplished that goal, then you probably created some habits to get you there. Sheer willpower is not enough day in and day out. A habit takes time to form, some say 21...
by Shawnee Johnson | May 26, 2020 | Debt Elimination, Goals and Planning
How would it feel to know that every paycheck you brought home was yours to spend however you wanted? You know, like when you were fifteen. Nice! But really think about what you would do if you could make your money your own again. An Extra $1000-$1500 each month...
by Shawnee Johnson | May 26, 2020 | Goals and Planning
A few years ago, my job went from part-time to full-time, and my husband got a raise shortly after that. We decided to take all the new income, plus any other we could find and get intense about paying off our house. Our goal was to do it in fourteen months and, by...
