3 Steps to Getting out of Debt

By Cindy Morus, Create of the Pay Debt Quickly System

Are you struggling with debt? I’ve been there (and it was a major cause of my divorce). This is information I wish I had known then.

Step 1: Draw a Debt Picture Gather all your statements and enter your information in the Debt Payoff Info worksheet. You’ll need to know your balance, interest rate and current payment. Total the balances and the payments. Acknowledge that you used your credit cards to fund your lifestyle and move on to debt-freedom.

Step 2: Stop using your Credit Cards The credit card companies are masters at this game and if you’re carrying a balance, you’re on the losing end of the deal.

* Did you know that new purchases don’t have a grace period if you have a balance?

* Did you know that new purchases don’t usually get the existing teaser rate?

* Did you know that if you have multiple interest rates on the same card that most or even all of your payments will go to the balance with the lowest interest rate while the balances at the highest interest rate just keep compounding?

These are all great reasons to stop using your credit cards now!

Step 3: Convert Minimum Payments to Fixed Payments This is the beautiful part! Let me explain. When you get a home and auto loan, you pay the same amount of money for a specific amount of time and then you’re done and the debt is paid off. With a credit card, though, your payment is a percentage (usually around 4%) of your balance. As you make payments, your balance drops and so does your minimum payment. This is what will keep you in debt jail for a very long time.

However, you don’t have to make just the minimum payment. I recommend that you take the minimum payment from this month and pay that same amount every single month until it is paid off. Converting your credit cards payments to fixed payments can save years and years and thousands of dollars. Let’s see how much this method can save by looking at one client’s debt information:

Name Interest Rate Current Balance Minimum Payment

Visa 32.24% $970.86 $29.00

MasterCard 19.49% $1,506.00 $128.00

Cap One 16.24% $11,700.00 $277.00

Store Card 13.07% $1,407.00 $42.00

Auto Loan 8.09% $10,356.00 $237.00

TOTALS n/a $25,940.00 $713.00

Paying the minimums only will take 350 months and cost $49,007 (total interest is $23,067 almost double the current balances!). Changing the payments to fixed (paying the same amount every month as listed above) will take 47 months and the total will be $33,272 ($7,332 in interest). Total savings is $15,735 and over 25 years!! AND they didn’t pay any more than they paid this month.

Get More Help:

Eliminate your debt and save your money using the Pay Debt Quickly System. It comes with the software and strategies you need get rid of your debt without making an large payments or making any significant lifestyle changes. Click here to learn more and get started right away.

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Now days, more than ever children should be eating healthier. For millions of children in America consuming junk food and increased inactivity has led to obesity and an increasing number of children being above ideal weight. Not only is it important to teach your child which snacks they should eat, but educating them during the early, formidable years may help them sidestep obesity and becoming overweight in the future when they are adults. Here are some tricks on tasty, nutritious snacks for children.

One way for your children to eat nutritious snacks is to get them started on naturally sweet foods. Since most kids crave sweets for snacks, naturally sweet foods such as fruits are ideal. Encourage them to enjoy a banana, orange, apple, cherries, strawberries and other berries whenever they have a sweet tooth. You can mix in yogurt or even make a fruit smoothie for them with some milk and a drop of chocolate or other natural flavors.

Another great way for your little ones to enjoy nutritious snacks is to give them fresh nuts. Kids love peanuts, walnuts, sunflower seeds, almonds, etc. One of the things to recognize about children is that if they try enough types of natural and healthy snacks, they will find one that they love. The problem is that many times parents give up trying to find the snacks that their kids enjoy and settle for popular junk foods instead.

When deciding on a healthy snack, what you want to avoid are products with boatloads of sugars, unwanted preservatives and empty calories. While most kids will fight you tooth and nail if they have to eat wheat germ and tofu, most children will be more than happy to eat snacks if they have a sweet taste and are presented in the right way.

Other nutritious snacks that many children like are dry cereals. For example, there are many breakfast cereals that are derived from corn, wheat, bran and include nuts and honey. These cereals when consumed at breakfast usually include milk; however, you can easily serve them without milk to your children. One of the most popular dry cereals which are healthy and nutritious for your little one at almost any age is Cheerios. Cheerios are lightly sweetened and tasty either moistened with milk or dry. If your little one craves a delicious snack for lunch or to take along for camp or little league, dry cereal is not only nutritious, but delicious.

For those children that are terribly picky and only want junk food, one strategy to use in order to get your child to eat nutritious snacks is to buy premade natural snacks. Today, there are tons of prepackaged snacks that might look like junk food, but are actually healthy and nutritious for your little one. They include certain fruit roll ups, string cheese and granola bars. Many of these snacks look like junk food, but are actually made from natural ingredients and include relatively little sugar and empty calories. If you are looking for a great way for your child to remain healthy, check out the above mentioned tricks on nutritious snacks for little ones.

Dine Without Whine is a great menu planning service for active families. Visit their site to discover even more rewards to menu planning.

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The PDQ Factor

By Cindy Morus, Create of the Pay Debt Quickly System

It’s just about the beginning of a brand new year: a time to set goals, make plans, and start afresh; a time to dream of making more money, having a more beautiful body, and experiencing more love. I can’t help you with your body or your love life but I can show you some tools for making more money this year.

Have you ever heard of the PDQ Factor? Probably not, but you probably have heard of the acronym PDQ, which means “pretty darn quick” and that can be expensive: think fast food, fast cars, and fast women. This PDQ, The PDQ Factor will save you money. In fact, it can even make you wealthy over time.

To illustrate…take an empty glass and set it under the water faucet. Now turn the faucet to a single drip, or a slow trickle if you’re really impatient, and watch the glass fill up. It takes a while but it does get full. If you were thirsty, it wouldn’t have been nearly as fast as turning the faucet to full force but it was just as effective. The PDQ Factor is the slow trickle equivalent in the world of money. It stands for Pennies, Dimes and Quarters. Nickels count too, they just messed up the snappy title so we left them out; but don’t you leave them out of your investment toolbox.

Here’s an easy plan to make an extra $1000 this year. It won’t take much time or energy-really none at all. By investing just $2.74 a day-the cost of a designer coffee drink; a bad drive-thru meal; or 8 quarters, 5 dimes, 4 nickels, and 4 pennies, in just 365 days you will have an additional $1000 in the bank. Did you know that accumulating wealth is this effortless? Make a plan, stick to it and watch success sneak up on you in teen-tiny increments.

With no pain and all gain you’ve just set a financial goal; a goal that can be effortlessly reached by making a very minor tweak or two in how you live your daily life.

Break down your goal and see how many PDQ’s it takes! And don’t forget to start today!

The same thing applies to debt. If you’re struggling with debt and it feels like you’ll never see the end, you can apply the same principles.

Get More Help:

Eliminate your debt and save your money using the Pay Debt Quickly System. It comes with the software and strategies you need get rid of your debt without making an large payments or making any significant lifestyle changes. Click here to learn more and get started right away.

(For republishing rights to this article, join the affiliate program)

Did anyone catch Niecey Nash’s (Reno 911! and Clean House) new t.v. show called Do Not Disturb?

Its first airing was on September 10th on the Fox Network and then by September 29th Niecey’s blog had announced the show had been canceled.

I have a different theory…the show was not good! Niecey is talented, we can blame the writers or maybe the whole sweeps schedule that we have to endure every Fall. I feel like each season they move my shows around and get rid of ones that I enjoy (still mad that Fast Lane isn’t on t.v. anymore!) and put on shows that I hate (Arrested Development, yes, I know it’s over now but I still didn’t like that show).

A lot of new shows are saying that reality t.v. is the culprit behind traditional sitcoms NOT making it. Maybe they are right? Reality t.v. stars are way cheaper and face it, generate some pretty darn good ratings.

I mean at this rate maybe we can get rid of Hollywood altogether…everyone can just pick up a home video camera and film whatever they like and see who will pay to see it. I like Niecey Nash and I hope she returns to what really really works for her…kooky Reno 911! And wearing that trademark flower of hers in her hair on Clean House. Not that I begrudge her for trying something new, but better luck next time.

If you’re looking for some new recipes for Thanksgiving, try these out. Inside this printable, you’ll find:

• Family Favorite Thanksgiving Stuffing
• Creamy Holiday Mashed Potatoes
• Classic Green Bean Casserole
• Pumpkin Pecan Muffins

All brought to you by Dine Without Whine, the perfect menu planning service for busy families. 

Download Your Free Printable:

• Full page printable recipes (PDF) OR…
• Print & cut recipe cards

Enjoy yours and Happy Thanksgiving!

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In today’s world, a two-income family is often the norm. And in the case of single parents, the option to stay home with the kids isn’t always available. But many mothers are learning that it is possible to have the best of both worlds and they can bring that work home by starting their own successful home businesses.

The Full Time WAHM Success Blueprint offers the stories of 22 full time work at home moms (WAHMs) as inspiration and advice to other mothers who hope to do the same.

This Collection Includes:

Written interviews of 22 full time work at home moms (and Schmoozins.com’s own Alice Seba is one of those moms!) that answer the following 5 questions:

1. What are the top 3 things you’ve done to grow your online business?

2. What are the three tools or learning resources that are essential in your business?

3. What is one mistake you’ve made and learned from?

4. Was there a “tipping point” that got you to full time money? What was it?

5. What advice would you give to other work at home moms to help them succeed?

Format:

Instant download in PDF format (use free Adobe Acrobat Reader to download).

Thoughts:

You know what they say, hindsight is 20/20. That’s never been truer than when it comes to starting an online business. Whether you sell your own products, services, or other people’s products and services, you’re sure to find at least one business owner in this report who’s tips and suggestions can save you tons of time and money in setting up and running your own successful business.

Nicole Dean interviewed 22 moms who’ve created a business that makes full time income while still having time for their families, themselves and the fun things in life.

You’ll find moms running all types of businesses including:

Virtual Assistants
Website Owners
Physical Product Sellers
Information Product Sellers
Direct Sellers
Affiliate Marketers
Bloggers
Business Coaches
Podcasters
And more…

Full Time WAHM shows that it is not only is it possible to create a successful business while raising a family, but that it doesn’t have to be harder just because you don’t know where to start or what tools and resources are necessary. Yes, there is a lot of hard work involved, but with the advice you’ll receive from the interviews inside, you’ll be one step ahead of the millions of others out there trying to do the same thing.

Where to Buy:

Full Time WAHM Website

(For republishing rights to this review, click here to join the affiliate program)

The cold weather is here and only getting colder. These tips are all about preparing your family’s winter wardrobe. Whether your buying, stitching, sharing or thrift-ing, you will save a fortune. Take these tips all the way to the bank!

1. One kids’ trash is another kids treasure. Well maybe not treasure–but it works. Of course were talking about Hand-me-downs. If you have more than one child buying winter clothes can be an abnormal pinch in the budget. Never throw away or give away an older child’s winter clothes. It is easy to think that after one winter of snow ball fights and outdoor activity may ruin a jacket. Lets just say that’s far from the truth.

At the rate your children grow you should not invest that much on clothes anyway, and a washer machine will probably do the trick. So before you buy a new wardrobe for your younger child, go through the older child’s dresser and see what doesn’t fit them anymore.

2. Buy early. It is still only November so prepare now for harsher weather. Many stores have pre-season sales on winter clothes, snow pants, jackets, sweaters and boots. Once really cold weather arrives store prices get jacked up. So do not wait any longer. Go out and buy what you need now. Take the life lesson we should all know by now—procrastination equals disaster.

3. Mend torn clothes. If an article of winter clothing only has a mere tear and still fits, see if you can sew it together. A lot of holes in sweaters are created from a little snag and are still in great condition. So take that needle and thread and try to mend it before tossing. Even if you can not sew great, a few stitches do not take much skill.

4. Thrifty moms go for thrift stores. When it comes to winter clothes thrift stores are a good option. Thrift stores carry clothes of all sorts and sizes. Most children grow out of clothes, winter jackets and snow pants quickly. If mothers do not have anyone to hand the clothes down to, moms usually will bring them to a thrift store. So do not be surprised to see snow gear, sweaters and boots that are in close to new condition.

5. Buy for next year. At the end of the winter seasons all winter clothes and outer wear goes for dirt cheap. Most places have sales from 75%-80% off. Buy gloves, hats and scarves that you know you can always use. This time is also great to buy jackets. It may be difficult for you to predict your child’s size, but get a few sizes up. Too big is better than too small. If you think about it, coats are better big anyway. So do not be scared of end of the year sales. These sales could help you save hundreds and next year you will already be prepared.

How to Start a Business Selling E-books to Moms

Ebooks are fast becoming an in-demand product on the Internet. Found on many websites, written by authors of all walks of life and on many different topics, Ebooks can be downloaded for a fraction of the cost of traditional print books. If you are an online business offering products or services to moms or even if you’re new to online business, you can sell EBooks to this already huge and growing population on the Web.

The use of Ebooks is unlimited and because there’s no need for keeping a large physical inventory, you can sell them over and over again and adapt them to your customers’ needs. In short, this is an inexpensive business to start and has a high profit margin.

Why Moms Love Ebooks

In online communities everywhere, there are moms who enjoy learning new things and improving the lives of their families, by visiting websites, libraries and schools. Ebooks can be a great way of sharing that knowledge to this growing market of readers in a convenient format.

Not only are E-books easy to access for quick reference, but they are portable with the advent of Internet-ready cellular phones and iPods. A mom can locate an E-book on any topic of her choice, download to her portable device in a matter of minutes, and take it wherever she’d like to enjoy it later.

E-books can be read over and over again and they can be stored for later use. E-books are environmentally friendly; no trees have to be killed in order to print out books that will sit around on people’s bookshelves and collect dust years after they are read. And that’s a relief to many moms who are environmentally conscious and probably already have enough clutter in their house…books in digital format help keep things clutter-free.

How to Research Your Topics

Over the last five years, moms have contributed much to the Internet as a whole. Many moms have created an online presence on social networking sites, specialty forums, and personal blogs. These moms are a perfect source of research on topics you can create ebooks about. Plus, they are perfect candidates to help promote and sell your ebooks for you. Simple set up an affiliate program that allows them to earn a commission on the sales they refer to you.

Sell and Give Away

You can use Ebooks to build your business in many ways. One, as we’ve discussed is to sell your Ebooks, but giving away Ebooks for free can also boost your sales.

For example, a business selling beauty products can publish a free Ebook about how the company’s makeup can be applied to achieve the most desired looks. Or a natural products store may want to offer an Ebook explaining the origins and uses of the organic ingredients – which the store happens to sell.

People are starving for information, solutions to problems and more. Find out what they need and deliver it to them.

Creating Your Ebooks

Publishing Ebooks is not as hard as it may seem. Topics and resources can be found by a simple search online or can be drawn from personal experience. Ebooks are generally around 25-100 or so pages in length and offered in an Adobe Reader format.

But if you don’t want to or don’t feel you can put the ebooks together, you can hire a ghostwriter or…

Get More Help with Your Mom Ebooks Business

To get help with selling ebooks…plus have the ebooks and promotional materials created for you, check out Mom PLR Ebooks. You receive a new ebook to customize and sell each month, plus a ton of great resources, promotional graphics, sales copy and more. It’s a super easy way to break into the business of selling ebooks to moms.

(For republishing rights to this article, click here to join the affiliate program)

If you’ve every wondered how to take better digital pictures, no matter the lighting or subject, here is a handy free guide that will help you with many of your digital photography questions.

It includes answers to questions like:

- What is the biggest mistake made by beginning digital photographers?
- How to decide on the right digital camera.
- How to decide is a picture is worth taking.
- How to get the white balance right.
- How to take clear shots for indoor sports.
- Advantages/disadvantages of raw vs. Jpeg format photographs.
- What are the best settings for low light/nighttime conditions?
- What is hyperfocal distance?
- How to take a photo of a glass sign or a framed picture in glass
- How to get high contrast natural light black and white pictures.
- Time lag from the time you take a picture until it is on the memory card.
- How to avoid redeye in dim light.
- Small object close up pictures.
- How to photograph gemstones and jewelry.
- How to take a picture with both strong sun and shade.
- Capturing personality in photos of people.
- How can I understand depth of field?
- Settings and techniques for photographing birds and wildlife.
- How to take pictures into the sun and avoid lens flare.
- How to take good pictures in the snow or on the beach.

Get the answers by downloading your free 28-page guide:

=> Click here to get yours.

It is a PDF document and you will need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader software to view it. If you don’t have this software, you can get it here.

(To distribute your own copy of this guide, click here)

As always, Sandra has some great holiday management tips for us…

Don’t Overspend this Christmas

Women are asking me for advice on cooking, baking and gift-giving this Christmas. If there’s one tip I can offer you, it’s this.

*GET OUT OF DEBT!!!!
*STAY OUT OF DEBT!!!
*LIVE DEBT-FREE!!!!

Unless you’ve shopped during the year, or unless you’ve diligently saved money to spend at Christmas, you will be tempted to do what many Americans do in November and December: They push prudence and wisdom aside to indulge in overspending.

Is it really worth it?

“The borrower is servant to the lender” is a nugget of wisdom found in the Bible. Have you experienced how awful it is to be “servant to the lender?” I have! I don’t enjoy having bill-collectors call repeatedly. I hate paying interest on loans, and detest paying late fees! The way to avoid the stress of trying to pay back all those credit cards, or catching up on the bills you put off is to stay out of debt in the first place!

Determine honestly how much you can afford to spend on gifts this year, and stick to it! Promise yourself (and your spouse if you’re married) that you will not borrow one penny to pay for “Christmas,” and that you will not put off paying your regular bills in order to buy gifts either.

Get creative with traveling, cooking and gift-giving. Millions of people have done it through the years, and you can too! It begins with the determination that “debt is bad” and is directly followed up with a resolve not to go there.

Decide and act. Decide to enjoy your Holiday Season, even if it means spending less money, then act on it! Do whatever you have to, to avoid debt. I’d rather be a servant to my family than to the credit card companies! How ’bout you?

Be sure to pick up your copy of Stress Free Holiday Entertaining for some tips to help you breeze through the Holidays and enjoy your family and friends!