::Texas Conference for Women:: Prudential #OwnMyFuture

::Momma Disclosure:: This is part of a sponsored collaboration with Prudential and DimeMedia. However, all opinions expressed are my own. 

This year I had the amazing opportunity to attend the Texas Conference for Women which is held in Austin each year. I was in a "dual role" as I was not only a Social Media Roundtable speaker but also as a sponsored Prudential representative. The experience as a whole was very unique for me this year. I have attended the Texas Conference for Women in the past and their a message and what they represent for women not just in Texas but all over the US is I feel very important, powerful and empowering. It empowers especially Momma’s like myself who have a full-time career and who also pursue "side-hustles" or  "side gig", as we call them. 

Of course, partnering with Prudential meant thinking about my finances, which is a good thing trust me. It meant really thinking about the messages that are sent to not just the women in our lives but ourselves and how we can own our future as financially successful women.

I have to admit I’ve worked my whole entire life since I was in my teens and money has always been something that I knew I would have to work for. Everyday. But, just like I worked hard and I spent hard. Sadly, that’s exactly how I spent a big part of my teenage years and most of my 20's, singlehood and no kids made that easy. But fast-forward 15 plus years and now as a Momma, it's kind of hard to go without a real money plan, because of well; gas, food, daycare, food, diapers, etc. 

Photo credit: @texinmiami

When I met my husband he was very much about his credit score, owning a car, owning his own home, having a savings account, just about anything that I wasn’t he was. He was in his 20's, and already very financially responsible. We were raised completely different and now that we’re married adults with kids we totally see where balance is needed and we realize that we really need to educate our children about finances and being responsible and wise about their money. We, of course, instill in them that an education would be your first and foremost source of income because having an education leads to a career that is stable and brings in a good income. That's not to say that along the way some challenges and/or obstacles might come up. And, that sometimes no matter how much you plan or you think you have your finances in order sometimes life, well, happens! 

In those small but very worrisome moments where you think that maybe you should’ve planned or thought more about my finances is where partners like Prudential come in. They have trained advisors and the right tools or resources to help you plan, prepare and establish financial freedom. We can be part of this process and walk hand-in-hand with an advisor that will allow us to develop a plan that works for us and is tailored to our needs. Which is why I love Prudential and how they can assist with this roadmap... into your financial freedom. 

I've been ready to own my future, now I just need a little-added guidance... Gracias Prudential! 

To Coupon or NOT to Coupon..that IS the question?

I have started a series that has now generated more questions than I thought it would....in myself.

If you missed the past few post then let me update you; HERE and HERE and from last year HERE & yes...HERE.

This week I will tackle coupon clipping! {In some sense.}

Yay. I love coupons!!!

But, that wasn't always the case. I was never a bargain hunter or "sales" kinda person. Oh Boy, has that changed, as many other things have as well.

Like always saving accomplishments have come from my Husband. He was one to NEVER buy store brands but still find good deals. Now that we have kids we try our absolute best to find good deals and more importantly look for good coupons.

Being that I am an Internet Junkie! My more effective source of finding coupons has been online. While I was pregnant with my son I signed up for Momma sites which then generated TONS of good brand sites where I could register for not only coupons but samples as well! Once I started receiving samples and knew what I liked I then looked for coupons for those brands only.

What I do is register on their sites:

1. Pampers
2. Similac-Strong Moms
3. Huggies
4. Enfamil
5. Johnson and Johnson
6. Gerber

Or if you don't know about specific brands another way to get great coupons is by registering for specific stores they feature coupons and savings on their sites; here are some of my favorites:

1. Babies'R'Us
2. Target
3. HEB
4. Kroger

Another online source is specific everyday brands:

1. Kraft
2. Proctor and Gamble {Which feature many brands}
3. Scott Tissue Paper
4. Bounty Paper Towels
5. Colgate

Truth is it takes some research but it's worth it.

Some of the websites offer sections for you to only print coupons and do not require you to sign up for their communities or sites but it's like a "preferred customer" deal if you do. And, you end up getting more offers that are  not otherwise advertised on their pages. Also, sites like Pampers and Huggies have a reward system where you accumulate points and can then redeem them for really cool items, my favorite have been FREE prints from Shutterfly! {My favorite online Photo sharing site!}

Like with everything you must read all the fine print but most of these sites are very straight forward and only want your business. I know most of us are weary about entering too much information on websites but I NEVER share my SS# or Telephone number and if my DOB is not needed then I don't add that either. Plus I use my nickname and not my real name. You do want to enter your address if you want to receive the coupons to your mailbox  otherwise the standard is that they will email then to you and you can print them at home AND you  DON'T have to accept any extra offers just make sure to read them all. Some are really good.

The more conventional ways are daily specials in the newspapers or in your mailbox which I believe come automatically.

Another good idea would be Coupon trading? Save your coupons meet up with your favorite Momma friends and trade coupons! Who knows you may get a good deal...


{PLEASE NOTE: I am in NO way affiliated with ANY of these websites and I do NOT receive any kind of compensation for naming them here. I am in NO way to be held responsible for any personal information that you wish to disclose on any of these sites. These are all merely suggestions and you NEVER have to use any of the sites that I have mentioned here.}

{Money Matters Monday}

This is a follow up to my "Finances and Such" post from last week...

Here are some tips and things that we  have "downsized" on. Over time, you don't realize they are gone but it makes a difference.

PLEASE KNOW THAT WE ARE IN NO WAY BITTER ABOUT OUR CUT BACKS AND THIS IS NOT A COMPLAINT POST...We realize that right now...we are in a time of downsizing, for the good of our little family. Plus we realize that it's a little more "do-able" since the kids are little and will not remember that we didn't have extras as they grew up.

Let's begin.... 

We no longer have:

1. Cable {Only Internet for Ric's school}
2. A home telephone {Does anyone?}
3. Someone who cleans our house {Shame on me..I know...}
4. A Yard guy {We limit the amount of times the yard guys come}
5. A Car note {and we don't plan on having one until next year when Ric' God willing finishes school!}

Things we no longer do:

1. Go to the movies {we Red Box baby!}
2. Go out to eat {Rarely}
3. Have people over constantly {We used to host pretty large crowds at our house but we don't anymore}
4. Have long vacations {We do shorts trips here and there, when we can, only}
5. Go out with friends {Not that we don't love you guys, just that we can't afford it right now..that's all}
6. Go shopping {We don't buy clothes or shoes often or on a whim anymore...}

We only shop:

1. For needs not wants {house and kids; food and school}
2. If it's on sale {we stock up!}
3. With coupons {We are DEFINITELY Coupons clippers, and I will be that person holding up the lane, so move on please...}
4. With lists and meal plans in minds {My Husband is the King of list making....more than me!}

We just don't:

1. We don't have Internet on our phones or expensive data plans. {My only splurge is $10.00 a month for unlimited texting...}
2. We don't have fancy phones or gadgets {We did spend on an electric can opener...::shrugs shoulders:: HA.}
3. I don't go to the hair salon and have not gone in years...except for a trim, I don't get my nails done {rarely I get a pedicure}, I don't get my eyebrows done {I do my own}, and I don't shop for clothes or shoes unless it's for work.

Don't get me wrong, we are NOT totally deprived of these extras and there are times when we do try to gets things that we want, and as much as we try not to eat out for dinner, we do spend on lunch. We definitely try our best to live within our means and according to our budget. Also, we are so very Blessed to have amazing Mom's who can help us. Ricardo's Mom watches our kids...FOR FREE. Nuff said! My Mom serves as my car pool, she lives close to my job so I drive to her house park there and she brings me into downtown, that saves me about $6 to $12 a day on parking.

{PLEASE NOTE: Ricardo and I are NOT financial experts and what we do may NOT work for everyone. I am simply sharing our system in hopes that what we do does help someone out there.}

Next week.... Coupon Clippers!

Finances and such. {Money Matters}

Finances. The word makes me blah...all.over.this.page.

No really it does. Luckily I married a man who LOVES the word, not like he will marry it or anything but more so like he tolerates it and knows he has to live with it, so he embraces it.

Therefore, what I have learned about finances. I have learned from him. It's true that habits, especially bad ones are inherited. {In a way.} We grow up with our parents and we see what they do, how they live and where they spend. We are taught by behaviors that certain things are "OK", but I think it's up to us to break those cycles and habits by learning better and improved ones.

My spending. For example. I was taught that if you have the money you should spend it...in so many words. My parents grew up; "without", so when they became working adults with children, they decided that they would live "with". Not always a good thing. I believe we can't give our kids EVERYTHING we didn't have. I learned that with TIME. Lots of time. And through my Husband.

Ricardo is a budget watcher and savings creator. He doesn't like animosity when it comes to money and he doesn't like to think he has more than he actually has.

When we got married. I was the opposite. Never, EVER, knowing what was in my bank account and not knowing what tomorrow, may or may NOT bring! I know. I sound like a monster...or do I?

Truth is. That's how I grew up, so there are more than ONE of me out there.

How am I attempting to break that cycle? By going to the school of life...and finances given by Ricardo G. my Hubby. {Ladies, he cooks too!}

So, here is what we do:

Hubby:

•  Is a note maker. He makes all kind of written and mental notes about our spending. Never missing a beat. 

• He has BILL time. He makes time at least ONCE a week to sit down and go over bills. {When they are due and how much is due.}

• He has an organized system of balancing his check book. {He prints his current bank statement and verifies that all his current spending, he saves all receipts, is being cleared. He does this at LEAST once a week.}
• Once he has verified EXACTLY how much money he has in the bank and when the specific amounts are due on bills, he starts writing checks. Once those checks are mailed {or amounts are paid online}, he subtracts that money from his account and ONLY spends based on the amount left. So, if his bills are $250.00 and he has $500.00 in the bank until all the bills are cleared he assumes that he ONLY has $250.00 in the bank and works from that. NEVER over spending.

Me:

• I am the supporter. I make sure all the bills get to Ricardo in time. That means. I am the mail keeper. I only keep bills and important mail. Throw everything else away. Immediately. So, I sort mail everyday. 

• I also keep my receipts and balance my checkbook weekly. I do everything online so I don't really print much. 

• I assure that I have extra money by not over spending or spending on things I don't need. {I try not to spend cause I want. And make sure I keep tabs on what I do spend on.}

• When Ricardo sits to do bills, I stay close by with my check book and exact amount of money in my bank account to help with the check writing. {We do this together every week if possible, if not at least every other week. TOGETHER.} 

One thing I have learned is my partnership with my Hubby. We live together, so we spend together. It's the only way. Of course he knows that I deserve some me time which usually consists of spending, when I have extra money, at Hobby Lobby or getting my pedicure and eye brows done. I am pretty low maintenance.

In all we watch what we spend and try not to over self~indulge.....and we know after almost 5 years of marriage that COMMUNICATION is key!!!! 

Hebrews 13:5 (NIV)

⁵ Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,
   “Never will I leave you;
   never will I forsake you.”

{PLEASE NOTE: Ricardo and I are NOT financial experts and what we do may NOT work for everyone. I am simply sharing our system in hopes that what we do does help someone out there.}  


**Next week...we talk about downsizing.

{Had to Share}

Times are tough...People are scared...but no worries..God is always there for you. 

From my Saturday Devotional today: 

{Purpose Driven Life} "A good example for us is in 2 Corinthians 8. Paul says this about the churches in Macedonia: “Though they have been going through much trouble and hard times, they have mixed their wonderful joy with their deep poverty, and the result has been an overflow of giving to others” (2 Corinthians 8:2 LB). Joy and generosity always go together."~ Rick Warren

Downsizing (Part II)

I didn't think I had so much input about this subject but I think it's important to know our story, our situation and our reasoning. I may be helping someone gain perspective or simply realize, you are not alone!

Needless to say, Ricardo and I had very different mindsets and were in a "bad" situation.

Well we made it through 2008, again Ricardo is very money savvy. He had savings, 401k, and got unemployment for 8 months. He then landed a job with Baker Hughes. He was unhappy there and after a year and a week before my son was born he found himself hitting that unemployment line one more time. This time, with more insight as to how it would all work out. We now had to factor in our son, the extra person to care for. So, we downsized even more! NO worries here. I was already used to it. What does that mean? We don't just spend. And even though it may seem sad to most; we have not done Birthday, Anniversary or Christmas presents for myself or Ricardo in the last 2 years. You simply, do without. At this point. I don't miss it. We have a Blessed extended family and amazing friends who give us their endless love and support, which is what God wants us to focus on right now.

So, today it's December 2010, we have had a rough and very, very meager last 3 years. Still we manage and even as penny pincher's we managed to afford to do enough and have just enough. I really don't mind that I have been wearing the same pair of shoes for over a year or that I haven't bought a new outfit in over a year, that I clip my own nails and avoid the hair salon... It's NOT that bad...I can do without! Trust me. I know how at this point. We know how and we pull through!

In watching this TV show; Downsized, I made the following observations:

• That at times the Mom was more spoiled than her children! She was the one unable to control her urge to spend on that super expensive cup of coffee....You know which one... I mean it's great coffee but seriously, some self control is all is takes.  
• That SERIOUSLY all it takes is a change in attitude! Yours and your spouses; you have to be on the same page...at all times and at all cost.
• That we have to remember that our children resemble us. They mimic who we are and what we do, all the time. Surprisingly in this family though the Mom was very spoiled and of their 7 children, only 1 had the Mom's attitude; he was expectant; expecting more and more and more. Most the other kids made the needed sacrifices, understood what it meant to make them and dealt with it in a healthy manner. 
• The part that upset me most was in an instance when the Mom had to tell their 10 year old daughter that she couldn't participate in all of her usual summer activities; such as Cheer leading and Theater Camp; she had so little self control that she cried in front of the child. It kind of gave the idea that it was ok to be overly upset about loosing materialistic things. I didn't agree with that. She should have held her composure and could have cried about it later. The Mom stated that she was sad that her kids didn't have the life that she had grown up with. She had money as a child. Well as an adult we must be the example of sacrifice. I think.
• The Mom then turns her frown upside down and creates a job for them all to help with; House Cleaning! And, although she states that it was "demeaning"..I would have chosen the word humbling but in the end; she was taught a very valuable lesson and her daughters were there to help her get through it. They all learned the value of earning a good dollar, even the Mom. I loved this part.

In the end the lessons I learned were above all; Communication, Love, Patience, Budgeting and in the end some alone time to relax and knock all the stress out is never a bad idea!


BTW: I like the show but am just taking the good from the bad and applying it to how I am learning things in my own life! If you watch you will learn that the family is a combined family; Mom had 5 children from a previous marriage and Dad had 2. The Mom has MS. The Dad is an unemployed Contract Construction worker. Their story is one to learn from.  

I Can Do WithOUT...CAN YOU? (Part I)

Seems like these days everyone is talking about FINANCES. What to do, what to do? With so little money and so much to pay, buy and get! Well appropriately enough, while I was in the Hospital I saw a show on WEtv called: Downsized.

I am sure a million people have already gone, "THAT'S AN OLD SHOW!" Yes. Well you see, we don't have cable in our home. In many ways my husband and I have taken on this "Downsized" mentality even before an "expert" has to remind us, that it's always good to "Downsize"!

My husband worked for 7 years at the same job. He NEVER thought he would leave that job, at least not until he graduated from college which because of ..ohh I don't know...LIFE...he has taken a little longer than most students to complete.

Well, in 2007 after 7 years the company was sold and guess what, hundreds were laid-off. Laid-off? My husband's mind and world were blown away, he had not been without a job since his teenage years. He was now; 28, still in college, with a mortgage and thoughts of starting a family! Well everything was placed on hold and he set out to finish school and find a new job. At that time, we cut back on a lot. No more parties at our house, no more expensive dinners, no more yearly vacations, no more of  a lot...how selfish and dumb of us to wait for a situation like this to happen to change our mind set! We were humbled to say the least. "Everyone" around us was "moving on up", doing and being. Or so we thought. Here we were, stuck and down about money. ABOUT MONEY? Wow. Needless to say it changed our entire perspective about everything.

I didn't grow up rich and neither did my husband. I have stated in the past that I took my first job at 14 years of age. I cleaned houses and office buildings during my summer break with my Mom and Aunt. All the while my Mom would tell me, "Ya ves, por que te digo que acaves la escuela y que pongas atencion...para que no acaves como yo!" ("Do you see why I tell you to do good in school and to not loose focus...so you will not do what I do for a living!") And yes, I did finish school. I have a college degree but these days, even that isn't enough.

My husband grew up pretty much the same as I did. With very little but just enough! Even so, we both had two VERY different mentalities; mine was "If you have it spend it!", his...not so much. He is a very wise money decision maker. He always has a savings account ...WITH MONEY IN IT [Ha.] and looks for a good bargain... me..not so much... and then we got married. I quickly adopted his money views, he is usually right about money! Another thing that we differed in was about our children. Before we got married, I always said.."I am going to GIVE my children ALL that I never had! And, that's that!" Wow. How selfish on my behalf! To negate my children of learning about selfless-ness, about hard work and good ethic, about earning your way!

I now know that the best way for my children to become wise money decision makers is NOT by giving them EVERYTHING I never had; but by treating them as if I can't give them everything and reminding them that hard work is the REAL way to earn your way in this life. It will hopefully and God willing make them more money conscious and selfless as well as make them humble and Godly human beings.

I didn't always get what I wanted when I was young, and we didn't always have what all the other kids had! But, we never went without food, shelter and love.

When I started working and making money I thought, let me use it up and go crazy, huge mistake! I was quickly in debt and broke!

I didn't get the correct money education, thankfully God knew that and He placed the right man in my life...who would quickly knock me off my high horse and remind me to clean that floor until my finger nails bled to earn my way through life!

It sounds harsh but I appreciate it very much!