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To Your Success!
Ericka Young

FREE FOOD – Last day to sign up!!

Our Dream Dinners night in October was a great success!!  If you missed the free food, fun, and networking be sure to join me for our next Dream Dinners Sneak Peak.  This Wednesday December 6, 2007 at 6:30pm Tailor-Made Budgets will host a Sneak Peak locally at Dream Dinners on Val Vista and Ray.  You will be able to hear a talk about what Dream Dinners has to offer, assemble your own FREE meal that feeds 4 people and have some fun!  Try it once for free and see if this could be a possible way for you to stay on budget with your dining out category.  If you are interested, send me an email now!

TMB Answers

What do you think is the best way to save on groceries?

The size of your family and your household income are big influences on your grocery spending.  Some experts believe that $200/adult and $150/child for the month is reasonable.  Personally I believe that is a lot of money especially given that the U.S. average income is $40,000.  I like to give guidelines to people based on percentages of income.  For instance, all food for the home including groceries, dining out, school lunches, etc should be between 5-15% of your take home pay.  Higher income households will be able to have steak more often if there are also fewer mouths to feed.  Lower income households may spend closer to the 15% of their income on food simply because the income is not as high and still not have steak during the month.  If you use this rule of thumb and your percentage is higher than 15% you have reason to be concerned because the food category is cutting into other living expenses like mortgage/rent, transportation, etc.  But of course you need to eat and you or your children shouldn't feel deprived when doing so.  If you are spending 20% of what you bring home on food each month that is an indication that more income is needed to take care of your size family

You can also try several of the following things to reduce the food budget:

1.      Shop wholesale markets (Costco and Sam's) religiously for items you use a lot.

2.      www.thegrocerygame.com, www.couponsense.com, www.couponmom.com all match the store's sale items to the weekly newspaper coupons. If you clip coupons try these sites once and see big savings.

3.      Always have a running list of items you need in the home so you don’t go shopping blind and overspend.

4.      Plan your meals and write the items you need on your running grocery list.  This way you will only buy what is necessary.

Get Real and Get Ready!

Happy Thanksgiving!  Merry Christmas!  Happy New Year!!!  The holidays are upon us.  Are you ready?  Typically we gauge our preparedness for the holidays by our timeliness of the following things: getting the tree trimmed, buying gifts, sending out Christmas cards, etc.  I’d like to adjust the way you view your holiday planning.  Until you’ve written down a detailed list of what these holidays will cost you aren’t completely prepared.  At the time of this writing I see some areas that I myself have missed and need to prepare more accurately for.  Yes it may sound like overkill, but come January 1, 2008 you don’t want to be experiencing a 2007 Holiday Hangover because you didn’t accurately assess what your wonderful holidays would cost.  The holidays sure aren’t as festive when there’s debt at the end of it.  Create a detailed list of the following items with dollar amounts and come to grips with your holiday spending. 

Your holiday worksheet should have the following categories:

1.      Gifts and gift wrap (family members, co-worker, friends, neighbors, secret santas, teachers, coaches, hostesses, pastors, care-givers, mail carriers, hairstylists, babysitters, maid service, etc).

2.      Decorations (tree/wreath, lights, etc)

3.      Food and beverages

4.      Greeting cards, film processing, family portraits

5.      Postage, shipping and boxes

6.      Holiday events and parties (preparation, attire, etc).

If you’ve already begun your holiday spending simply back track and see how much you’ve spent so far and what needs to happen in the next 28 days.  There is still time to get on track and stay on track.  You need to know what you typically spend each year.  A great goal for starting off the 2008 New Year is to save all your funds for the holidays before they even begin.  Just divide your total holiday expenses by 12 and save that amount each month.  Why wait until 2008 to begin setting goals?  Start now!

A healthier YOU!

Do you want to learn how to eat healthier?  Do you have a goal of losing weight in 2008?  My friend Isabel Canez is a registered dietitian and nutrition consultant offering nutrition classes that will help you accomplish all of these goals.  The classes are tomorrow December 4, 2007 at 10am and 3pm at the Hilton Hotel in Mesa.  Email her today at info@yourwholebodynutrition.com or call (480) 258-3653 to register.  A flyer about the classes is attached.

December 2007

Merry Christmas!!

“Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.”

-         Matthew 1:23

-         As you approach the New Year remember that God is always with you.  You can conquer any goal, financial or otherwise because you never need to face it alone. 

-          

Chris and Ericka Young are Dave Ramsey Certified Financial Counselors! 

Call (480) 200-2516 today for a free 30 minute consultation to see how they can help you achieve your dreams and goals!

Anyone who refers a new client to Tailor-Made Budgets will receive a $20 Costco card.  So get the word out and enjoy my favorite shopping spot!!

TMB Answers!

Do you have questions that need answers?  The issues and concerns you have about money are not yours only.  The answers to your questions can help someone else.  Let me know the questions you need answers to and they will be answered in the next newsletter for everyone’s benefit.  Don’t be shy… no one will know you asked the question but everyone will gain more insight and wisdom from the answers provided.