The Spending Habits of a Diva

As the holiday shopping season approaches, I thought it would be a good time to let you in on some of my shopping patterns and the ways I save money. All of my family and friends know that I'm extremely resourceful and sometimes I can be down right cheap (I like to think of myself as "thrifty"!).

Last month, Oprah devoted several of her shows to helping families overcome the rough economic times. She hosted Suze Orman and Stephanie Nelson, founder of CouponMom.com. I have to admit that I spend most of my Saturday nights in front of CNBC watching Suze. Do I always do the right thing with my money? Heck no, but she's a great money mentor and gives sound advice along with her infamous "Smack Downs". I'd visited Stephanie's website a time or two, but had never implemented any of her easy coupon clipping strategies to combat skyrocketing grocery prices; I have my own system for using coupons and follow it faithfully. Just between us, I couldn't fathom someone outdoing me in the coupon/saving/thrifty department! However, after seeing her in action I decided to give it a try. I used my store's weekly sales ad and bought the items and brands that were on sale. I saved $24 the first week and $17 the following week. Now for some of you hi-rollers, I'm sure that's small change but for me and my family, that was major moolah (I can buy shoes, a purse, and a bra with the $41 I saved!). The new sales ads come out on Wednesday's and I make it a point to be there. I don't get bogged down with trying to go on a certain day and all that stuff, I just go when it's convenient for me.

I encourage each and every one of you to make just one change in your spending habits. I'm asking you to strengthen the relationship you have with your money. Pick something that works for you and stick with it for 30 days. Track how much you save and let that be your incentive to continue on and implement a new strategy. I said earlier that I could've bought about three things with the money that I'd saved, but that's clearly not the objective. Although I do encourage you to celebrate when you reach your desired savings goals.

I'd love for you to share the creative ways you recession-proof your life. Leave a comment and invite a friend to do the same. Do you need an accountability partner? I sure could use a few more! Call me and let's see how we can better help each other.

Talk to you soon...

Donna Coaches Ty in Chicago and Denise in Texas - Repost

Tuesday, 16 Sep 2008

www.DonnaSpeaks.com

Thanks to Mel Robbins, host of a nationally syndicated radio talk show, DonnaSpeaks is getting around! Don’t get me wrong – I put in my fair share of blood, sweat, and tears but it sure does help to have a CNBC contributor in your corner.

I recently helped Ty in Chicago put an action plan together for breaking into the speaking industry. When she initially called me (yes! I answer my own phone!), she admitted that she had some fears and reservations because she didn’t know how receptive I would be to having a complete stranger call out of nowhere needing help. FYI…that’s what coaching is all about. Ty had a laundry list of audiences and topics that she wanted to speak on and only a few of them were closely connected. She talked and I listened and took notes. By the end of the call, I’d managed to help her define her target audience, gave her a topic that would best suit that audience, and a plan that she could immediately execute.

Denise in Texas contacted me for financial guidance. Like so many of us, she had more bills than she had money. She was in a pickle about who to pay and how much and of all things, how to best allocate whatever would be left over. My advice was to pay the “urgent” bills first – the necessities that you can’t live without – shelter, electricity, water, gas, and food. Everyone else could wait! Put the cable, cell phone, and any other miscellaneous bills on the back burner this pay period, but definitely call the creditors to explain the situation and workout a payment arrangement.

This is what I do – one day at a time – one person at a time – listen, connect, and offer practical real life solutions that guarantee results.

Have a question for me? I’d love to chat with you – contact me today. You are not in this alone.