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As
Seen in Newsweek,
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BetterBudgeting.com
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Black Belt Shopper Learning from the Organizer The three young couples were best friends and
excited about investing together in the Los Angeles real estate market. They
were going to buy and sell and work toward financial independence. It was so
exciting. The excitement faded when the bills provided a
reality check for them. Each couple was in credit card debt. More...
It seemed hopeless until one member of the group–the organizer–took over. She looked at the whole situation and helped the group devise a plan to get them all to a point of financial freedom. She looked at her credit card bills to see where the money was going. She saw several meals out each month, many going over $100 just for her and her husband. That had to stop. She saw going out for drinks and paying $40 several times a month. She saw herself eating lunch out almost daily. Then there were frequent movies and other entertainment. All this added up to many thousands of dollars each year. An office manager and take-charge type of person, she realized it was time to lay down the law. The organizer realized that she could use some of her office management skills to whip her and her friends’ finances into shape. It occurred to her that she used different colored stickers to identify different money-intensive events (red might represent going out to dinner, green, going out for drinks, etc.). She allowed herself one sticker per color per month. She would have to put a red sticker on the calendar when she and her husband ate out to remind them that they don’t get another meal out until next month. The organizer also realized that she and her group were extremely social. They would see each other–often around expensive food and drink–more than once each weekend. She realized that staying home and eating peanut butter sandwiches by herself wasn’t a realistic alternative for them, so she organized affordable social events for the couples to enjoy together. Once a month they would have their big dinner at one of their homes. One couple would provide the main dish and others would bring drinks, desserts, and sides One month it would be girls cook and guys clean up and the next it would be guys cook and girls clean up. They just had their first one and, as you can imagine, the organizer did the main dish. She described the gourmet salmon dish she made and noted that it only cost her about $47 for six people. Everyone loved it! Next month another couple will do the main dish. Quite a bit cheaper–and probably more enjoyable than going to a restaurant. Next week’s event will be a movie night. The couples will bring home a movie they all want to see and each one will bring snacks. Knowing these people, they will bring some interesting dips and other snacks that will be much more enjoyable than the overpriced popcorn, candy, and soft drinks that the theaters sell. They also are planning to integrate a board game night into their social schedule with the different couples providing snacks. I am sure that the organizer–and maybe some of the others–will have other ideas for fun, affordable events. The organizer also realized that she was eating lunch out almost every day–a habit that has to stop. She decided to brown bag it regularly. She realized that brown bagging doesn’t have to be tasteless lunch meat on stale bread. With so many workplaces having microwaves, you can cook more of whatever you had for dinner and bring it for lunch. If you don’t want to have it right away, you can freeze it for a week. I’ll bet the leftovers from that salmon dish make a much tastier and more nutritious lunch than a burger from a fast food joint and costs a lot less. As the organizer was devising her plan, she remembered a visit from an insurance salesperson. The representative brought a pamphlet suggesting that his clients assign a dollar value to each way they save money and then figure out what to do with the money saved. Not going out to dinner, for example might be worth $25. Then, the pamphlet suggests, you use that money to save or invest (of course the pamphlet suggested using the company’s insurance program as the vehicle, but that’s for another article). The organizer realized this was a good plan even though she didn’t want to deal with that insurance company. She assigned a value to each extravagance saved by her plan. Her tech-savvy husband used the Internet to find a good account for these savings. They don’t know yet what they are going to do with that money, but they have discovered an important principle of black belt shopping–taking the money you save and being very intentional about using it to improve your life. The organizer was so excited as she described her plan to me. It sounds great. As I thought about her plan, I thought about how much we can all learn from it even if we aren’t part of the "let’s go out for sushi and drinks" crowd. Here are some points that jumped out at me.
I expect that in a year or two the organizer and her friends will start on an investment program. She and her husband are working on their credit card debts first, though. There’s a lot to learn from the organizer and her friends. Take a hard look at your finances, devise a realistic plan, and then go for it! You’ll move from bondage to freedom and, if you’re like the organizer, may have a great time doing it.
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Copyright © 2004 by Larry Wiener Want more money-saving tips? Get a FREE Subscription to our monthly newsletter!
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