Follow Me Out of Debt | Get out of debt and get into prosperity!

Many folks consider home improvement projects to equate to big bucks, and rightfully so. Many of them are expensive. When you are in the process of getting out of debt, you may have to let home improvement projects to stay on hold for a while because of this reason. If you're itching to do something to your home even while you're getting out of debt, I came up with a great list of inexpensive home improvement ideas that won't break the bank.

Many of these projects were found by simply doing a few Google searches. I haven't completed all of these projects yet, but I did do a few of them and were happy with the results. It will require some resources in order to complete the projects, including time and money, but it is totally reasonable to be able to do these projects without having to spend a ton of money. It will help to keep your spirits up by being able to take care of your home even while you are currently focused on your personal finance goals.

If you know someone who may benefit from this show, please feel free to share it by sending them to http://followmeoutofdebt.com. If you're on Twitter, follow me at @fmoodpodcast for all of the latest tips, updates, and strategies to get out of debt and get into prosperity. I'm also on Facebook at http://facebook.com/followmeoutofdebt.

What do you do when times are plentiful versus when times are more lean? Many folks have to ask this question several times a year, especially those who have inconsistent income throughout any given year. Perhaps your situation is similar to mine where one spouse doesn't work the entire twelve months of the year, so there is a time when things are a bit tight for a while.

Regardless of the situation, your attitude and preparedness makes all of the difference. If you're willing to set money aside during times that are more plentiful, you'll have what you need to get by when times are more lean. It's similar to certain animals that pack away food for the winter months; they know when times are going to be more lean and prepare accordingly in order to survive. Obviously, we're smarter than those animals in many ways, so we should be doing what we need to do in order to survive as well.

If you know someone who may benefit from this show, please feel free to share it by sending them to http://followmeoutofdebt.com. If you're on Twitter, follow me at @fmoodpodcast for all of the latest tips, updates, and strategies to get out of debt and get into prosperity. I'm also on Facebook at http://facebook.com/followmeoutofdebt.

Whether it's shaving in the shower or getting our clothes ready the evening before for the following day, we're always looking for ways to shave some time in our already busy lives. There are plenty of ways to save time, and sometimes it's a matter of simply being more organized. These time-saving methods will allow us to be mindful of saving time and also be mindful of not wasting time.

To-do lists are a personal favorite of mine. This, along with other methods mentioned in this episode, help me to stay on track with what I need to do any given day so that I'm using my time wisely. Many times, I'll take some time on my lunch hour to be more productive and keep up on things. Other times, I'll take the entire lunch hour for myself. This is yet another way that we can squeeze a few more minutes out of each day, and surprisingly, this alone helps us to keep the mindset of being a time saver.

If you know someone who may benefit from this show, please feel free to share it by sending them to http://followmeoutofdebt.com. If you're on Twitter, follow me at @fmoodpodcast for all of the latest tips, updates, and strategies to get out of debt and get into prosperity. I'm also on Facebook at http://facebook.com/followmeoutofdebt.

What are your ten things to aspire towards? This list can be quite significant and can serve as a useful blueprint to living out the life that you want to live. This isn't just about money; there's much more to life than that. Instead, this list of ten things to aspire towards is similar to the question that you may have been asked as a child. You know the question that I'm referring to. What do you want to be when you grow up? Yes, that's the question.

There are going to be several ideas that come to mind, especially if you haven't given a lot of thought to these types of scenarios. Making a list of things that you want to aspire towards can touch the physical, mental, spiritual, and financial aspects of your life. Once you have your list of aspirations, then you can align your goals and the tasks associated with those goals so that everything is properly in its place. You'll find that your chances of meeting or exceeding these aspirations someday will have increased tremendously simply by completing this very exercise. It's that important.

If you know someone who may benefit from this show, please feel free to share it by sending them to http://followmeoutofdebt.com. If you're on Twitter, follow me at @fmoodpodcast for all of the latest tips, updates, and strategies to get out of debt and get into prosperity. I'm also on Facebook at http://facebook.com/followmeoutofdebt.

How many multiple streams of income do you have coming in? There are ways to change your thinking so that you're on the lookout for opportunities rather than just letting your life go by. These opportunities can turn into resources of income, and no matter how small the stream seems to be, multiple streams of smaller amounts can eventually add up to quite a bit. Plus, you'll get better at doing this in general over time.

The obvious source of additional income for most folks would be a part-time job. This is a great way to earn some additional income and does count as a separate stream of income, but you may find that some of your likes and hobbies can also be turned into sources of income. It takes a bit of self-reflection, but you may find that you've let a lot of time pass you by without capitalizing on something that you are naturally good at and interested in doing. The only way to take advantage of this is to identify what you want to do, and get started today!

If you know someone who may benefit from this show, please feel free to share it by sending them to http://followmeoutofdebt.com. If you're on Twitter, follow me at @fmoodpodcast for all of the latest tips, updates, and strategies to get out of debt and get into prosperity. I'm also on Facebook at http://facebook.com/followmeoutofdebt.

It's the new eBay (or Craigslist). It's the Facebook Marketplace. If you haven't checked it out yet, I definitely suggest doing so. I have sold on this platform, and what's great is that I usually talk to and sell to people I already know. That's a nice bonus when you have folks coming to your home to already know the individuals.

It's a surprisingly easy way to sell the stuff that you don't need. The time that it takes to sell items is usually pretty quick, assuming that your item is priced right. It's a way to earn a little on the side from the stuff sitting around your house that may not be of any use to you but possibly could be for someone else. The best part? It's completely free.

If you haven't had a chance to try this out yet, and you already have a Facebook account, I suggest searching for the buying and selling groups near you. I advise joining several of these groups so that you can cross-post your items for greater exposure. You may also find some great discounts on items that you need that you can purchase used instead of having to visit your local retail store and pay retail prices. Yuck.

If you know someone who may benefit from this show, please feel free to share it by sending them to http://followmeoutofdebt.com. If you're on Twitter, follow me at @fmoodpodcast for all of the latest tips, updates, and strategies to get out of debt and get into prosperity. I'm also on Facebook at http://facebook.com/followmeoutofdebt.

It's important to not only complete a monthly budget, but it's also important to maintain that budget on a weekly basis. Revisiting the budget weekly allows us the opportunity to make sure that everything is in line and where it's supposed to be, especially making sure that we're not forgetting any budget line items in a given month. This is something that can take us by surprise, but if we're setting aside one day a week to ask ourselves if we may have missed any expenses that are coming up, it helps us to stay on track.

It also allows us to be more flexible with deviations that almost all of us will experience at one time or another. Don't get me wrong; it's good to learn how to budget and stick with a budget, but it's also easier on us to be able to roll with the punches when the time comes. Weekly maintenance of the budget allows us to be more fluid as well as understanding what we tend to forget from time to time.

If you know someone who may benefit from this show, please feel free to share it by sending them to http://followmeoutofdebt.com. If you're on Twitter, follow me at @fmoodpodcast for all of the latest tips, updates, and strategies to get out of debt and get into prosperity. I'm also on Facebook at http://facebook.com/followmeoutofdebt.

This isn’t an official episode per se, but I did want to take a moment to communicate that the show will be moving to a new format and broadcasting every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday starting with episode 200.

I felt that the daily episodes, while providing great content, also had an impact of being too much, all at once. I couldn’t even keep up with my own thoughts as I moved from one topic to another every single day. I started to think that it must be challenging for you guys since you may not even have enough time to apply a strategy that you heard on the show or enough time to plan what you want to personally do from an idea that you heard on a particular podcast episode.

We all need some time to truly digest what we hear so that we’re able to actually learn, and with that in mind, I decided that three days a week would be a good and balanced frequency. You’ll continue to receive only the highest-quality content out there on getting out of debt and getting into prosperity, and you’ll have an opportunity to take a day in-between to do some homework and apply what you just learned. Bonus – two days to apply on the weekends!

I’ve also added a new search functionality on the followmeoutofdebt.com website. Simply click on the search button and search for any topic to be taken directly to all of the podcast episodes that have to do with that topic. It will help you to catch up on some episodes that you may not have yet heard, especially if you are a new listener.

So, let’s try out this new format for a while and see how it goes. If you have any questions or suggestions, I always welcome you go to get in touch with me at http://followmeoutofdebt.com/contact.

Your homework for today is to listen to some previously-published podcast episodes, starting with those that have to do with your current struggles. Go to http://followmeoutofdebt.com and click on the search button to search for episodes related to what you’re currently struggling with. It could be credit card debt, mortgage, job loss, or almost any other topic that you can think of, there’s likely an episode or two on the subject.

If you know of someone who should be following me out of debt and into prosperity, please share this show by sending them over to http://followmeoutofdebt.com. And thank YOU for following me. Together, we will succeed!

Should you keep a credit card for travel purposes? Some folks believe so, and I do agree with some of the valid points offered with doing so. First of all, the fraud protection and ease of disputing a charge is quite easy with a credit card. This is a big deal to me.

If you travel often for work and are reimbursed for expenses, using a credit card is an easy way to keep your expenses for work and for your home budget completely separated. Once you have been reimbursed for expenses, you can immediately pay the balance on the card. It will save you from having to enter a lot of otherwise unnecessary line items and details into your monthly budget for work-related expenses, and to me, that makes sense to keep the two completely separated.

Many hotels also require a credit card on file, even if you are paying with cash. From their perspective, they don't know who you are or if you are going to trash the room. They want to have recourse to recover charges or other damages, and they likely won't accept checks or even cash without a credit card being on file first.

Now, if you're someone who knows already that you won't be responsible with a credit card, you'll want to stay away. You're better off sticking to a debit card so that you're not tempted to overspend. When considering your choices, there is no right or wrong answer; each individual needs to do what's best based on their own perceived credit responsibility level.

If you know someone who may benefit from this show, please feel free to share it by sending them to http://followmeoutofdebt.com. If you're on Twitter, follow me at @fmoodpodcast for all of the latest tips, updates, and strategies to get out of debt and get into prosperity. I'm also on Facebook at http://facebook.com/followmeoutofdebt.

Should you get a pet while you're in the process of getting out of debt? Some folks who are currently in the middle of working through their get-out-of-debt plan realize at some point that they long for companionship in the form of a pet. They may feel guilty about purchasing a pet because they know that the pet will be an ongoing expense that may go in the opposite direction of the goals that are currently being worked on.

In my personal opinion, I think that you can get a pet while you're getting out of debt. At the same time, I also believe that it's not necessary to purchase your pet from the overpriced pet store in the mall. There are likely several pet adoption entities in your area, and while you may not be able to get a baby animal such as a puppy, kitten, etc., you can still find companionship in a pet that needs a good, loving home.

The bottom line is this. Make your decision based on your personal considerations that you need to make. Look into all of your options first, and if you find the pet that you like and the expense is workable in your budget, by all means I say go ahead and get your pet. Be realistic and know that you will have ongoing and sometime unexpected expenses with your new family member, but there are also many positive reasons to pet ownership to consider that will likely outweigh the money side of things.

If you know someone who may benefit from this show, please feel free to share it by sending them to http://followmeoutofdebt.com. If you're on Twitter, follow me at @fmoodpodcast for all of the latest tips, updates, and strategies to get out of debt and get into prosperity. I'm also on Facebook at http://facebook.com/followmeoutofdebt.