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How to Handle Financial Stress in a Relationship

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Handling financial stress with a loved one, in many ways, is far better than suffering through it alone. However, stressing out about money can have a heavy impact on a relationship, whether it be romantic or platonic. So, how do you go about handling financial stress without adding stress to your relationship? 

There’s no 1-2-3 answer to this really. In many cases, the dynamic of the relationship will determine how financial stress is handled. However, there are some steps you can take to ease the stress on your relationship and place it where it belongs: on fixing your finances.

How to Deal With Financial Stress in a Relationship

My significant other and I have been living together for about a year and a half. Up until recently though, we were pretty strapped financially. It took a lot of discipline and hard work. We paid off debts, saved money, and made things happen quickly. One of the main contributors to our success in doing so was not allowing the financial stress to damage our relationship. Here’s how we did it:

  1. Be open and honest about money. One key step in our success to overcoming our financial stress was communication, and it will be on your journey as well. If you are sharing finances with this person, and plan to do so the rest of your life, you can’t be afraid to talk to them about it. A huge thing for us and many other couples is being able to find a tool that we could use to monitor all of the finances in the house. We did this by sharing a Mint budgeting account. We added all of our accounts and reminded one another of due dates, savings goals, and had a good idea of where we were financially at all times.
  2. Talk about areas you messed up and discuss your losses. Before we got to that great place where we were communicating about our finances well, we messed up. A lot. Don’t be afraid to admit when you’ve messed up, but also work with your partner on ways to prevent it from happening again. Talking about where you messed up and how it happened can prevent financial stress down the road. For instance, we went over budget at Christmas time and, subsequently, had a really tight budget at the beginning of the year. We discussed having additional savings this year for Christmas (because we both love the holiday). Discussing it took the stress out of the relationship and placed it back on the finances like it should be.
  3. Always appreciate the little things. When you are broke or seriously working on your finances, you don’t have money to spend on spoiling your significant other, and that sucks. You can still do a lot of little things that will make a world of difference though. When dealing with financial stress in a relationship, focusing on the little things can make-or-break it. While we were experiencing hard times, my other half brought home $1 coffee mugs (I love coffee), or he would bring home my favorite snack. Although these things didn’t cost much, they meant a lot.

Don’t Be Afraid to Get Help

Whether it is relationship counseling or financial counseling, always remember that reaching out for help is a possibility. Don’t be afraid to reach out to a financial advisor or relationship counselor to help you navigate these tough times. There are many affordable counseling services available.

Dealing with financial stress in a relationship can be tough but as long as you keep communication open, work together, and reach out for help when you need it, you and your partner will be on your way to financial success in no time!

Read about how to maintain your financial momentum. 

Is the Secret to Growing the Economy Canceling Student Loan Debt?

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The United States economy has seen better days, that’s no doubt. The stock market recently saw one of its worst trading days in recent history. Many economists have been debating what could help mend the current climate. Could the secret be forgiving student loan debt?

A recent report says yes. The easiest way to ease the pressure being felt by more than 44 million Americans is to forgive all student debt. (And I’m not just saying that because I’ve got about $24K in student loans…)

A group of economists at the Levy Economics Institute of Bard College found there could be some great benefits if the federal government were to forgive student debt. The report details how young people struggling to pay off a massive amount of debt from college will help the economy as a whole.

While it may sound like a fantasy, it is possible, and it could have a significant and positive economic impact. The report found that canceling all student debt could potentially lead to an increase in U.S. GDP (gross domestic product). How big of an increase, you ask? Economists predict the increase could land anywhere between $861 billion and $1,083 billion over the next 10 years.

In addition to increasing the GDP, economists predict that canceling student debt would also lead to an increase in new jobs (an estimated 1.18 to 1.55 million).

Why is Canceling Student Loan Debt Such a Big Deal?

Why would forgiving student loan debt have that kind of impact on the United States economy? Well, the answer is pretty simple. There are more than 44 million Americans with some type of student loan debt hanging over their heads. Giving 44 million Americans a clean slate, where student debt is concerned, could help the economy greatly. The collective student loan debt in the U.S. is $1.3 trillion, which is higher than credit card debt and auto loan debt held in the U.S.

Who Would Pay the Student Loan Debt?

If the federal government decided to go about canceling student loan debt, it wouldn’t be that difficult. The problem, economists seem to believe, is that government officials consider paying the student loan debt as a zero-sum game. However, canceling student loan debt will free up tons of money to be put back into the economy.

Lawmakers have been able to provide massive tax cuts, and canceling student loan debt would be about the same. In fact, they’d be spending nearly the same amount of money to do so. Economists also found that canceling the debt could also help alleviate poverty.

As you probably know, poverty tends to be a cycle. Generally, people who grow up in poverty tend to live in poverty as adults. However, many people attempt to break the cycle of poverty by going to college. Canceling student loan debt could help ease racial disparities in debt and education. Canceling student debt would help keep borrowing/loans from continuing to support the racial wealth gap between the number of people in the U.S. looking for career opportunities and better employment through higher education.

Final Thoughts

It is your typical millennial response to be like, “Oh yeah. Cancel all the student debt.” However, it could make a significant impact on the economy. Taking into consideration my own student loan debt, I know it would free up $275 a month (more than $3,000 a year). Of course, some of that would go into savings, but a lot of it would also go back into the economy. (In fact, there are things I know I could buy with that money).

So, what do you think about canceling student loan debt? Would it help you? Do you think it’ll help the economy? Let me know in the comments! 

You may also enjoy reading:

Meal Prep 101: How To Save A Ton On Groceries

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When it comes to saving money and eating well, one of the best things you can do for your diet is to meal prep. Meal prepping can loosely be defined as making your meals during the weekend or really any day that works for you, and using those meals to eat on for the rest of the week. While it does sound simple, it’s also one of the best ways to save a ton of money on groceries, as well as eat better for the whole family. The United States has a big problem when it comes to obesity, and one of those main reasons is because there is a ton of food out there that is for convenience, but also horrible for our health. If you want to get the most out of your money, you may want to consider preparing your meals. Why pay more for food that’s only going to be bad for you? Step up your meals and save big money on those grocery bills when you start meal prepping.One of the biggest epidemics when it comes to the social problems the United States has is food waste. Although it may seem simple, meal prepping does a lot of things for us. It gives us healthy foods, it’s a great way to save money, and it’s SO much better for the environment. There are so many tons of food wasted in the United States every year, and if you can cut down on that by making your food ahead of time and cooking meals that you know your family will love, but won’t cost an arm and a leg, you’re doing great things for so many people.

The first thing you should do when you want to start meal prepping is to make a list of your favorite foods. It’s a good idea to make foods that you won’t want get too tired of by the end of the week, are relatively easy to make, and are cheap. If you don’t have any meals of your own, there are tons of recipes out there for meal prep recipes for just about any reason you might want it. From weight loss centric, to the most frugal meals, you can pretty much find everything you need when it comes to meal prep meals. If you want to get a leg up, find recipes that your family loves, and are easy to freeze, reheat, and won’t go bad quickly.

Once you have a few recipes that you love, you should go on your shopping trip. Generally, meal prep is a great way for busy people to maintain their schedules and save money on food. If you have all your meals planned out, you won’t be wasting money on ingredients that you won’t use and will go bad. So make sure that when you meal prep you’re getting great items that are nutritious for the whole family. Looking for a place to eat those delicious meals? Save even more when you use this Lexmod coupon for huge savings on dining essentials and more.

How to Win Scholarships with Nicole Crosby, The Scholarship Tutor

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Nicole Crosby, The Scholarship Tutor, is here to share her best tips for applying and most importantly, WINNING, scholarships!  In this interview, Nicole shares:

  • How her own experience winning scholarships led to her career as The Scholarship Tutor
  • What makes a great candidate to win scholarships (It’s not just the straight-A students!)
  • Where to look for scholarships online and when the best time is to apply for them
  • And her tips for getting our students noticed in the sea of applicants

There are so many great nuggets that Nicole shares in this interview, and of course, we talk about applying for scholarships for high school students. But as you’ll find out, there are lots of scholarships available for adults who are going back to school because they’re switching careers or seeking advanced degrees.

So if you have a child who will be attending college someday or you think you might go back to school yourself, this is a must watch interview.

If you’re looking for an online resource for finding scholarships, check out GoodCall. I met the founder recently, and the website makes it easy to filter through scholarships.

[bctt tweet=”How to Win Scholarships with Nicole Crosby @ScholarshipTutr” username=”MonicaRLouie”]  As Nicole mentioned at the end, we’ve partnered together, and I’m putting together a course for the students she works with. I’ll also be doing one-on-one financial coaching with them to teach them what they need to know about how to manage their money wisely. I’m super excited about that!

Nicole’s website once again is TheScholarshipTutor.com, and you can reach out to her about working with her by email at [email protected].

Now I’d love to hear about you!

Will you or your child be applying for scholarships either now or in the future? Were you surprised about anything Nicole shared? Please share in the comments below.

For other people who can help encourage you check out these articles.

How Alice and Scott Paid Off $200,000 of Student Loans in Less Than 7 Years
How a Side Hustle Helped Melanie Lockert Break Up With Debt
How Celeste and Rita Paid Off $49,000 of Debt in 18 Months

Have you joined our free community yet?

Join me in our private Facebook group called Your Debt Freedom Family, where we’ve got an awesome community of people who are kicking debt to the curb so they can break free and live life on their terms.

Click here to join the fun!

I’d love to see you there!

Keep moving forward toward your goals. You really can live the life you dream about!

3 Simple Strategies for Sticking to Your Grocery Budget

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Sticking to your grocery budget can be challenging for a lot of families.

But it’s so important if you want to cut your spending so you can pay off debt and achieve financial freedom.

Today, I’m giving you three simple strategies for sticking to your grocery budget.

If you’ve been following me for a while, you’ll know that in 2015, we had a hard time sticking to our grocery budget.

In fact, in January 2015, we spent more than $1,000 on groceries when our actual budgeted amount was only $500.

No bueno!

But by March, we’d cut our grocery spending to just over $500, and I had a reader ask how we did it.

I wrote this blog post to explain how we did it.

So far in 2016, we’ve been able to keep our grocery spending under $450 per month.

We’ve had to be focused and diligent, but we know that by doing so, we’ll be able to reach our financial goals a lot faster.

Here are my top three tips for sticking to your grocery budget:

  1. Stop buying whatever is on your list when you reach half of your budget, and then be very diligent about buying only those items you need until the end of the month.
    This tip alone has helped us stick to our budget.
  2. When you get home from the grocery store, review the items you purchased and pay close attention to the items that cost the most.
    When you’re getting close to reaching your budget, those are the items you’ll want to put off purchasing until your budget is replenished in the following month.
  3. Keep your meals simple.
    I’ve been following the Paleo diet for over a year now, which can be super expensive. That’s part of the reason we spent more than $1,000 in groceries in January 2015. Plus, we eat mostly organic food, and that definitely adds up.To be able to continue eating healthy while keeping our grocery spending low, we’ve opted to keep our meals simple.For me, I eat eggs or meat with a side of veggies and sauerkraut for almost every meal. The kids eat oatmeal almost every day for breakfast. And my husband takes leftovers to work for lunch. We don’t make fancy meals that require a lot of ingredients.We figure that we can do that when we’re 100% debt-free.

If you follow these strategies and find that you’re still having a hard time sticking to your budget, then maybe it’s time to up it a little and decrease your spending in other areas.

We’ve worked hard to be able to get our monthly budget down to $450, and we know that anything less would be unreasonable for our family. And right now, our kids are only two and four so they don’t eat that much. When they get bigger, we’ll definitely have to increase our budget.

So give yourself some grace if you’ve got more mouths or bigger kids to feed.

Here’s a bonus tip:

Get really clear on what sticking to your budget will allow for you.

[bctt tweet=”Get really clear on what sticking to your budget will allow for you.” username=”MonicaRLouie”]

Maybe it means that you can buy another pair of jeans or save up for your son’s birthday party.

Maybe it means that you can start saving for your daughter’s college fund or give more to your favorite charity.

Or maybe it means that you can pay off more debt so that when you’re debt free, you’ll be able to do all of those things and still have more money for the fun stuff.

When you get really clear on why you’re sticking to your budget, it will be so much easier to make the necessary changes in order to do so.

If you’re on the website because you have debt, consider getting in touch with SoFi. They’ve got an interesting business model and good rates if you have debt you want to refinance. You can visit their site from this link or click on the banner above.

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If you want to see the real world success associated with budgeting, consider these articles:

Alice and Scott Paid Off $200,000
Ron and Thu Paid Off $137,000 in 7 Years
Generate Passive Income With Paribus
Yes, You Can Pay Off Debt When You’re Behind On Your Bills

Have you joined our free private community on Facebook yet?

I invite you to join me in our private Facebook group called Your Debt Freedom Family, where I share more tips like this. We’ve got a fantastic community of people who are kicking debt to the curb so they can break free and live life on their terms.

Click here to join the fun!

I’d love to see you there!

Keep moving forward toward your goals. You really can live the life you dream about!

Help! My Spouse Spends Too Much!

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What do I do when my spouse spends too much?

How do I keep my spouse on track?

I hear these questions all the time.

If you’re married or in a committed relationship, then you know that there are a lot of complexities involved when two lives join together.

Your two paths must move in the same direction with similar values, lifestyles, and goals for your future.

While all of your interests don’t need to be exactly the same, the direction you’re both heading in life must follow a similar trajectory.

Of course, there are always exceptions to every rule, but most long-term relationships can’t foresee a future together if one person wants to live in the hustle and bustle of New York City while the other person has their heart set on raising a family in the quiet plains of Montana.

As is the case if you want to live a life of debt freedom and your partner wants to continue living above their means, relying on debt to fund their lifestyle. Those two worlds are not aligned.

Being out of alignment with your spouse in such a huge area of life as financial goals can create a lot of tension, to say the least.

That’s why fighting about money is the top predictor of divorce.

Here are four strategies that you can use if you’re completely committed to kicking debt to the curb, but your spouse is sabotaging any progress you make by spending whatever he wants whenever he wants.

1. Make sure that you’re on the same page.

If you and your spouse haven’t agreed on your current financial goals, then review my article on how to get your spouse on board. Follow those steps to come to an agreement on where your financial life is headed.

2. Make sure that you’re giving him a chance to provide input.

Because I love numbers and spreadsheets, my husband is more than willing to let me run with creating our budget and then tell him how much we have to spend on things.
But he needs to have some ownership of the process too.So each month when I create our budget, I always show him the numbers that I came up with and explain any areas that are different from the previous month. I ask him for his input on what those amounts should be and explain how I came up with the numbers I chose. I always ask if he agrees, and since we’ve been doing this for so long, a lot of times, he does, but there are still times that he changes the numbers.And that is perfectly okay.

Instead of arguing my reasoning further, I agree to his numbers because I WANT him to be part of the process. I don’t want him to think his opinion doesn’t matter because I know that having him share ownership of the budget is more important than a $10 or $20 discrepancy in a spending category.

3. Make sure that you both have spending money built into your budget, and of course, that you AGREE on those amounts.

Whether you come up with a weekly, monthly, or an annual amount, make sure that you both explicitly agree to those amounts AND that you agree on what comes OUT of those amounts.For example, our spending money is used for when we want to buy ourselves something that isn’t included in other categories of the budget like a new gadget for my husband or a mani/pedi for me. Oftentimes, it’s our coffee or lunch money when we’re out by ourselves.I’ve heard time and time again from moms that they often use their spending money to buy things for their kids or someone else. So if you find that you’re using your spending money to buy things for someone else, then consider whether those purchases should be included in another category in your budget, such as gifts. For us, anything we purchase for someone else (even our kids) comes out of our gifts budget

4. Set up a reward system to keep you and your partner on track.

For example, I spoke with a woman whose husband would occasionally buy expensive sports equipment, even though it wasn’t in their budget.He worked hard for his money, and they both felt he “deserved” it, but it was throwing their plan to become debt-free in a few years off track, and it was causing her to have growing resentment because she was doing a better job of sticking to the plan and avoiding “splurges.”I suggested that she have a conversation with her husband about their common goal to become debt-free and set up a reward system. They could add a savings category to their budget for her husband’s sports equipment and add to it each month.

Or they could agree that once they paid off their next debt or reached their next milestone on their journey, he could buy his next piece of sports equipment then. I also suggested that she have some sort of reward at each milestone, too.

Doing so will keep them both moving forward toward their goals and satisfied that they’re making a point to enjoy their money, as well.

She’ll have peace of mind that they’re making progress, and he’ll no longer be sabotaging their hard work.

[bctt tweet=”Set up a reward system to keep you and your partner on track with your #budget.” username=”MonicaRLouie”]

If you follow these strategies, and your spouse is still spending too much, then review your budget categories and make sure the amounts are realistic.

Even if you both agree on the amounts, you might be trying to be too stringent. It’s better to loosen up a bit on the numbers and extend your payoff date by a few months than to get discouraged and give up entirely.

I truly believe that working together on your goal of becoming debt-free will bring you and your spouse closer and make your marriage stronger. I’ve seen it happen in my marriage, and I’ve heard the same from my clients.

Now I’d love to hear about you!

Have you experienced one partner in your relationship spending too much? How did you deal with it? What advice do you have for those in this situation? Please share in the comments below.

Have you joined our free private community on Facebook yet?

I invite you to join me in our private Facebook group called Your Debt Freedom Family, where we share more tips like this. We’ve got a fantastic community of people who are kicking debt to the curb so they can break free and live life on their terms.

Click here to join the fun!

We’d love to see you there!

Keep moving forward toward your goals. You really can live the life you dream about!

3 Ways to Make Money From Home

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Imagine no longer having to wake up at 5am by the annoying BEEP, BEEP, BEEP of your alarm.

Think about what it would be like to set your own schedule and not have to work the normal 9 to 5, or more often these days, 7 to 6?

Am I right?

What if instead of getting stuck in rush hour traffic both on your way to work AND on your way home from work, your commute was as short as walking from your bedroom to your home office?

Let’s talk about making money from home!

Whether you’re home with little ones (like me) or simply prefer the convenience of working in your pajamas on your own schedule, as technology advances, securing a work at home position is becoming more and more appealing and more and more attainable.

Today, I’m going to share three ways that you can bring home the Benjamins without leaving your home.

A) Find a Work-at-Home Job

From nurses to call center agents, transcriptionists and even teachers, there are growing opportunities to work from home for a reputable company. Companies like BabyCenter, 1-800-Flowers, and even the Hilton, will pay you to work from home. You may have to stick to a certain schedule and follow the rules of the company you work for, but you’ll have the convenience of working in your own home.

B) Become a Freelancer

The sky is the limit when it comes to the type of jobs you can do as a freelancer. You can be a writer, graphic designer, virtual assistant, or video editor. Whatever skills you have, you can use them to create a side income or even a full-time income. With freelancing, you are your own boss so it’s on you to find the work, but when you do, you usually sign on for one project at a time. Check out websites like Upwork, Fiverr, and Hire My Mom that can help you find projects or ongoing positions. If you want to get out of the house, consider becoming a Tasker for TaskRabbit, where people can hire you to hang pictures, do their grocery shopping, or even stand in line.

Imagine getting a ding on your phone, and someone wants to pay you $25 to drive them to the airport! Well, you can make that happen by becoming a local driver for Uber or Lyft and get paid to drive people around town. And don’t forget about Craigslist! As you likely know, Craigslist is a free forum where millions of people post items to sell, places for rent, and job opportunities. But you can also post on Craigslist if you’re looking for work. List your skills and specifically what type of work you’re looking for, and you might be exactly the person that someone is looking for! It’s completely free, and free is definitely worth a try!

C) Become an Entrepreneur

Becoming an entrepreneur is only limited by your creativity. It’s similar to freelancing, but entrepreneurship is where you focus more on creating a sustainable business rather than performing one-off projects. For example, as an entrepreneur, you can sell new or used physical products, on websites like Craigslist, eBay, Amazon, or Etsy. You can either create the product yourself or sell an item you purchased for a higher price. If you find a company whose products you love, you can often get them at an extreme discount or even for free by selling the products to others who may love them just as much as you!

Do you have a message that you want to share with others? Do you have something you can teach others how to do?

1. You can sell digital products, such as eBooks or online courses and programs. It’s now easier than ever to become a self-published author by uploading your eBook to the Amazon Kindle store and gain access to their hundreds of millions of customers. Alternatively, you could potentially charge higher prices by selling the eBook on your own website.

Websites like Udemy and Teachable, make it easy to create and sell self-study online courses. You create the course, customers purchase the course, and you get paid.

2. In line with that is to become a coach or consultant. Do you have a skill that people keep asking you to teach them or help them with? Are you an expert in marketing, gardening, nutrition, or fitness? If you make it known what you can help people with, you can find clients that will pay you to coach them. For example, my husband and I paid off $120,000 of debt in two years on a single, middle-class income, and now people pay me to help them create and implement their plan to get out of debt!

3. And there are millions of bloggers, podcasters, and YouTube sensations who make a full-time living by sharing their message on the Internet! Usually, they earn money from advertisements or sponsorships, but they may also use the other strategies that I mentioned to create multiple income streams.

 

Gone are the days where the only way to earn a paycheck is by trekking to an office building across town, working for someone you don’t like with people you don’t care for.

Today, there are more opportunities to work from home than ever before. If you long for the convenience of working in your pj’s or you just want to bring in some extra income, then I encourage you to explore some of these options.