Want more money? Declutter your space!

Ok I just had to write a quick post on the power of decluttering! And no this is not about Feng Shui (spelling?).

I am in the process of cleaning my room as I prepare for my move out West and in doing so I've already "found" $600 and I'm not even finished! How did I find so much money from just cleaning my space? Well for starters I sold a bunch of unwanted items on ebay. These were things that would have been trashed but instead I chose to give them a chance to make me some money by placing them in a kind of 'virtual garage sale'. Remember one person's junk...you know the rest. I made about $100 total from the stuff I would have thrown out. If ebay is not your thing I also sold some things on Craigslist so try there as well.

Next way to make money by cleaning is by going through all of your papers; any old letters laying around, 'important documents' collecting dust, envelopes you haven't opened. You'd be surprised how much money you have there! Trust me you will find some useful things! I found a few gift certificates I never used, a few money orders never redeemed; in one day I found about $400 worth just laying there waiting for me. Not to mention the change you have lying around! If you were to place all those coins in a jar and then take them to a Coin Star or Penny Arcade, I'm sure you would walk out a happy camper!

Now on to the 'woo-woo' stuff. Decluttering your space, especially the area(s) of your house and/or business dealing with money, opens your door to abundance. Do you ever wonder why you try and work so hard but don't see your financial situation improving? Or do you feel like you're in an uphill battle? The money is right there in front of you, just sitting waiting for you to use it. Plus how can you expect abundance and prosperity when your space is filled with money you're not even aware of or using? Why would more money enter your life when the money you have is not being put to good use?

Even if you think you have nothing of value in your home or business, try clearing out the space. Go through each and every one of those items you haven't used or looked over in a while. Believe me I think you will be pleasantly surprised by what you find.

Win Free Groceries for Christmas!

Prevention Magazine has a contest to win free groceries for the holidays!  You can win up to $1500 in gift cards to shop till you drop!  This will definitely help you save money!  ENTER HERE.

Shecky's Beauty Night Out SALE!!

Goldstar(.com) has a 1 day sale going on now for Shecky’s Beauty Night Out tickets (for NYC, but they also have events in other cities as well)!  You can get them for $10-$12 (regular price is $30+)!  If you’ve never been to a Shecky’s event, let me tell you they are worth going to no matter what you pay!  I’m featuring this event on my blog because even though the event is not free, you get back more than your money’s worth so in essence it is free because you get so many goodies for nothing! 

First off the drinks are free and flowing!  The bar is open (and free) from open to close and the drinks are all by sponsors (which means you won’t get the cheap stuff).  BEWARE!  Make sure to eat something first because there is rarely any food at their events; there may be some snack samples from the vendors but not nearly enough to be considered a meal.

If you go you MUST purchase a ticket to receive a goodie bag; the goodie bags are the best part!  The bags are filled with all kinds of items from the event sponsors and they are always worth about 3 times the amount you paid for to even go.  The bags are not just filled with sample sizes, many times they include the full size products.  The items range from cosmetics, to skincare, etc…all good stuff!  A tip for you: pick up the goodie bag at the end (when you’re about to leave) because they are usually heavy and you don’t want to lug it, along with your purse, while trying to walk around.  These events are usually packed, and it can get hot in there.  Plus there is usually more than 1 level so you’ll be doing quite a bit of walking.

And finally, there are TONS of vendors, most of them offering samples and/or raffles.  So aside from your swag bag, you’ll also pick up some awesome freebies from the sponsors and vendors.  Just make sure to walk around to each and every table, and sometimes they might not have the freebies visible so just ask for them.

Shecky’s hosts events all year round, but in my opinion Beauty Night Out is the best one; it doesn’t happen as often as the other events and the products/samples offered are usually higher quality.  You do not want to miss this! 

Freebies for Veterans!

Our Vets deserve much more than this but here are a couple of sites which list some cool freebies for you!  Have a very Happy Veterans Day!

Freebies for Service Members

Veterans Day Specials

FREE Weight Watchers??

I’ve never tried Weight Watchers, but I know friends who have and liked the program.  WW is not free though and for those of you who know me I love getting free stuff!  I knew there had to be a way to incorporate the WW program for free.  I think if you’re not sure if you want to spend the money OR maybe you just don’t have the funds to invest, then this article will help you get something similar for FREE!

First off the very basic nature of the WW program is counting calories.  Anyone can do this without necessarily signing on to a program but what’s great about it is that it makes counting the calories much easier.  3500 calories make 1 pound so if you are eating anywhere near that on a daily basis you are bound to keep gaining weight rapidly.  In order to lose weight you have to cut calories.  This doesn’t mean you have to eat less, it just means you have to be more aware of what you are putting into your body.  If you incorporate some exercise along with lower caloric intake, then you should see faster results for weight loss. 

I found this great, FREE app called “MyFitnessPal” (which I use on my Android phone) where you can log your meals and snacks and keep track of how many calories you are taking in.  When you first set it up, you put your information and level of activity and it will calculate how many calories you can eat on a daily basis in order to meet your goal.  You can choose how much weight you want to lose, how many calories you want to take in, etc…so it is very easy to modify.  Plus you can search for many different types of foods to log into your food diary.  I think what’s great is that when you are putting down what you eat it gives you a moment to really reflect on what you are putting into your body.  This app also breaks down (depending on what you are eating) how much of fat, protein, sodium, etc. you are eating so you start to notice if maybe you are eating foods with too much sodium or sugar, which can lead to serious medical issues.

I think using an app like this can give you a preview of what to expect if you choose to later on try Weight Watchers, or just stick with this to lose weight on your own.  Another thing to note is that if you need extra support, for example if you feel you need to meet with other individuals who want to lose weight, who share the same struggles as you, you can join existing support groups for free.  You can either create one yourself and advertise on outlets like Yahoo groups or Meetup(.com), or join existing groups (on sites mentioned) or check out “OverEaters Anonymous”’; they have free OA meetings across the county.  I’ll post an update in about a month to let you know how this free version of WW is working out for me!

Lastly I will be posting soon about ways to work out for free, so you won’t have to spend money at a gym!

Save more by SPENDING more??

Is it possible? Can you actually save money by spending more of it? The answer is YES!

It's a very simple trick...all you have to do is play around with your budget so that everything you spend is rounded up to the next whole dollar amount. Even if you are really lazy and hate budgeting your money, all you do here is just add and subtract.

First get a piece of paper and write down the amount you currently have to spend. This includes everything; money for bills, for food, recreation etc...if your intention is to spend it then that number would go at the top.

Let's say you just got paid $600 and that's all you have until the next pay period, then $600 is the number which goes at the top of the paper. The next step is to write down all of your expenses until the next pay period below your starting amount. Let's say you get paid every 2 weeks; you would list all of your expenses from this pay period until the next so possibly some bills, lunch, transportation,etc.

The most crucial step after listing all of your expenses is to round the amounts up to the next whole dollar amount. So if your phone bill is $56.75 then you would list it as $57 under your starting amount ($600) and that is what you would subtract.

Every little bit helps and goes a long way especially if you're not very good at saving. By rounding up your expenses you end up indirectly saving. I highly suggest whatever amount is left over after either a pay cycle or the end of the month, you put in a savings account. Keep in mind this trick applies to both debit and cash transactions. For cash, pay only with bills and any coins left over place in a jar (or piggy bank). At the end of the month put everything from the jar into your savings.

If you don't have a savings account, check with the bank you have a checking account with to see what they have to offer for savings. I don't have a savings account with a bank I actually prefer online savings accounts such as Smarty Pig
where you can set savings goals. I think when you have a goal to save for you become more responsible and aware about saving; your success rate is much higher for achieving that goal. Maybe you want to save for an expensive item you've been wanting to splurge on or possibly a dream vacation you've been wanting to take; whatever it is this method will help you get started towards accomplishing that goal.