An elderly couple upgrades their ride and trades in my dream car.

My local car salesman calls me because he knows its in my price range. The month is coming to a close and he has bills to pay.

The mechanic says it’s clean and mechanically sound with a great price.

The owner of the dealership says he’s hoping my husband’s company makes it because his car dealership is dependent on its employees. He’s also running for school board and wants our vote. He thanks us for buying the van – and he means it, he doesn’t want his business to go under.

We stop and buy insurance from our friends from church. They thank us for getting the loan locally, they’re also on the bank’s board.

My husband calls a local bank, he does freelance work for them, the manager gave us an interest rate at 6%, 3% lower than other banks we asked.

They make plans to play golf in the future.

We spent $7,500 for our dream van.

The salesman made a commission, the car dealership made a profit, the insurance broker made a commission, the bank manager made a commission and the bank took its cut.

That’s at least 5 families and 3 small local businesses whose economies were positively impacted by the purchase of my van.

Hopefully, all of them will look to my husband in the future for freelance graphic design and advertising and it will come full circle. We’ll be needing another car eventually.

That’s what we did to affect the unemployment rate and the economy yesterday.

Post from: Blisstree

Economic Dominos – Buying Local

Today we’re going to stimulate the economy.

Car dealers are hurting, nearly bankrupt. If George Bush were still president he’d tell us to be Good Americans and go buy a car. It will help the banking, credit industry and the car industry.

Our van, our only car, died last week. DEAD. There’s no fixing it. It has 238,000 miles on it and needs a new engine, a new air conditioning system and a new electrical system.

I’ve written that having one car is not an emergency. I’ve been riding my bike around town for months. It’s fun. It’s good exercise. All that sunshine and exercise is good for the positive attitude.

Plus, seeing my kids and I on our bikes makes everyone smile. I feel like an ambassador for happiness, exercise and joy.

No car at all in rural America actually IS an emergency.

We have no money saved for a car. We were too busy bailing water out of the sinking ship that was our van and our other money suck car from the 1990s for the last 2 years. A lot of our savings – our master plan – tanked this year.

Can anyone think of better option than to buy my Dream Ride at 8-9% interest?

This 2005 Dodge Caravan is the Mac Daddy of all minivans. It’s a moving hotel as comfortable as my living room.

The leather seats heat your bootie.

The two side doors and the hatch back open and close electronically with a key clicker.

It beeps when you get too close to something behind you.

So, we’re going to do our part America. We’re going to do our part to stimulate the economy.

Post from: Blisstree

Saving the Car and Banking Industries or Being a Good American

Forget Punxsutawney Phil …

Whether he comes out and rushes back because he’s afraid of his own shadow or not doesn’t tell me much.

A far better indicator of whether spring is on it’s way is the fact that I’ve changed my hairdo, cleaned out the refrigerator, wiped out the microwave, scrubbed down all three bathrooms and looked for the oven cleaner. I’ll probably mop the kitchen.

I have an incredible urge to cover my lawn with grass seed, weed killer and fertilizer.

Yep, Spring is on her way.

Post from: Blisstree

Punxsutawney Sioux

I’ve compiled a list of the products I’ve recommended on Blog Fabulous in a special page —-> over there in the side bar.

Click here on the Blog Fabulous Giving Guide. < -----------

I’m truly grateful for the opportunity I’ve had to try all these wonderful products, read the great books and discuss all this fantastic information with you. I will be working on the list over the holidays, but for now it’s some skin products and some books.

I’m waiting to be approved for some of the other recommendations.

That’s about Black Friday.

But, Thanksgiving – today. I want you to try this … look around and realize that whatever the news is blathering on about in this economy your heat is still on, you still have a television and a computer, you still have hot water and a car no matter how beat up. And if you don’t have those things right now, there is still plenty of time to get them.

You still have people you love or who love you – if you haven’t driven them away already, and if you have – just remember, you can always evolve and find more.

You’re you and you is good enough.

You have all the power you need inside – it just takes a few skills to find it. What else is New Year’s for?

I am Thankful that YOU are here.

Post from: Blisstree

Happy Thanksgiving ( Black Friday)

I want to introduce you to my Frugal Guru, Jen from Jlogged.com.

She recently redid her website to help people use their money wisely. If I want inspiration to stay on track with the family budget she’s my “go to.”

Jen’s one of the few people I can compare detailed notes with about income and out-go and saving and financing, etc.

She knows her business. Her business is living a larger life within her means.

And she lives a pretty good life, eats organically and reduces her carbon footprint, etc.

She’s doing Nablopamo and she’s writing about money for all 30 days. You don’t want to miss it. She’s got good stuff.

She has this one on cars.

This one on books you should read to change your thinking about money.

This one about those damn Jones’.

This one about lunch boxes.

This one on costumes for Christmas.

Her ideas are always worth stealing (I steal them all the time) so I’d sign up for the RSS feed if I were you.

Post from: Blisstree

Frugal Guru

We keep hearing from heads of state, political candidates, senators, congressmen, businessmen, mainstream media and Wall Street that the United States is suffering from a labor shortage.

I call bullshit.

Look across the dinner table and see that beautiful wife? See your brazen sister, your wise mother and the really smart neighbor?

She’s not just a “SAHM.”

She has a masters degree.

She has a doctorate degree.

She’s got 10 to 20 years of experience in the labs, in the newsroom, in the office, in the market, on wall street, in the classroom, in virtually every sphere of industry that exists.

Women hold half the knowledge and a very high level of training and experience, not to mention the creativity and ingenuity this country needs.

This country is FULL of skilled and knowledgeable women who are waiting to be invited back into the workforce.

What are they waiting for?

Family-friendly working conditions and equal pay.

Instead of claiming they have to move their operations overseas or import workers for a qualified workforce, employers would be wise to look at the resource right in front of their face: WOMEN.

Qualified and educated women who are worn out from sexual harassment from coworkers, pregnancy discrimination, lack of family medical leave, working hours that extend 2 crucial hours past the school day, lack of sick days, etc.

Solution – employers should stop being so attached to the workplace policies and the rigid 40 hour work week that shut half their qualified workforce out and invite the women back.

They’ll come.

Visit Momsrising.org for information about what kinds of specific workplace policies will lure women back to their industries.

Post from: Blisstree

Qualified Workforce

Hey Ya’ll – Don’t miss Suze Orman, author of Women & Money: Owning the Power to Control Your Destiny on Oprah today.

The way people have been handling their money has been a hot topic around Blog Fabulous since I got here.

The reason is because my family got in some hot water about 4-5 years ago now and it took a long time for us to dig ourselves out of the hole and learn about money and develop a healthy relationship with it.

Women MUST learn about money. Must. Must. Must.

Else you shall have no power in your own life, Sister. That’s a fact.

Watch Suze today and we can talk about what she says in the comments section.

I must point out that Suze saw this bank crash coming. She told ya’ll to stop whipping out your credit card for every little thing you desired.

If you didn’t listen, know that there is a secret recipe to digging yourself out of your money mistakes: LEARN and Change Your Thinking.

Take Financial Peace University at a location near your home and learn to change the way you think about money. It’s hard, but at the end of the road there’s peace.

Buy Women & Money: Owning the Power to Control Your Destiny and learn about women’s relationship with it and how you can develop a healthier bond.

Read my Women & Money: Owning the Power to Control Your Destiny detailed review and critiques here:

Image Source: Oprah.com

Post from: Blisstree

Suze Orman on Oprah Today

When you joined the Save Yourself movement, you also made a declaration. You said to yourself: “I own the power to control my destiny.” Now I ask you: What action have you taken lately to fulfill your goals?* How close are you to paying off those
credit cards?

* Do you have an eight-month emergency fund?

* Have you opened a Roth IRA?

Use this Independence Day to recommit to your financial freedom.

Well, I did join the Save Yourself Movement by opening my own account.

But, I am overwhelmed by the magnitude of mutual funds there are to choose from and the steep arch of the learning curve to figure out the right one/ones to choose.

How are the rest of you handling your own economic independence?

Tell your husband you want to open your own emergency savings account. What’s a 4th of July without fireworks anyway?

Post from: Blisstree

Independence Day

I took a major action step to Save Myself. It wasn’t easy, there were a few fights and one angry letter to Suze Orman over my using $50, of our already very tight budget, to Save My Self by opening a TD Ameritrade Account.

Rewind: Suze Orman had a Save Yourself Plan in her book Women & Money. Women who signed up for a TD Ameritrade Investment Account before March 2008 and automatically save $50 a month for one year will be given a free $100.

So far I’ve saved $100. But, I don’t know what to do with it. The market is tanking and it’s giving me ambivalent feelings about my ability to make a decision. I’m afraid of making “the wrong one.”

Our investment decision are always surface and ambivalent to begin with.

Did you see Suze rip that couple a new one on Oprah? Do you know how this investment did over the last 10 years? Do you know how much you’re spending on servicing this mutual fund? And a whole bunch of other questions I didn’t really follow. Then don’t tell me you have a good mutual fund because you don’t even know what kind of mutual fund you have! she scolded.

The pressure is causing paralysis of indecision. Have you ever looked at a prospectus?

Prior to my husband working at a chicken company I would have thought chicken was as sound an investment as you could get – everybody eats chicken. (except those with an inexplicable love affair with the soy bean). But even that stock is tanking because of . . . wait for it . . . oil.

The seemingly innocuous development of ethanol – with 1/3 of the United States corn crop – is driving up the price of chicken feed and it’s causing unprecedented worldwide food inflation.

Do you have a crystal ball that explains the safe investment which will quickly grow? Can I borrow it?

(P.S. Stockpile chicken.)

Post from: Blisstree

Saving Self/Tanking Market

People can download the book for free until 8 pm Feb. 14, 2008.

It’s a good book. I’ve read it, deconstructed it and followed some advice. Hurry up! Go now.

Women and Money articles:

• Save Yourself With Savings
• Orman and Ramsey Duke It Out (in my head)
• Unearned Loyalty
• Are You On Sale?
• Blame and Shame
• Virtual Book Club
• Money & Happiness
• Cleanliness
• New Money
• Who Are You?

P.S. There is a promo code included in the book that’s worth a free $100.

Like I said – run, don’t walk!

Post from: Blisstree

Urgent: Free Money Book