MONEY MATTERS WITH SHEILA--BUDGETS

As many of you know, when Karl, my dead louse of a spouse, permanently cashed in his chips in Vegas, he left me in debt up to my eyeballs. Our finance guru Sheila Conway has been helping me formulate a plan to dig my way out of debt. Today she offers some tips to aid anyone mired in budgetary woes. -- AP

Thanks, Anastasia! It’s hard to chip away at debt when it seems overwhelming, but the biggest hurdle many people face is their own denial of the situation. You have to accept that you have a problem before you can take steps to solve it.

So the first thing you need to do is put it all down in black and white. Make a list of everything you owe, what you’ve saved, and what you need to spend each month. Numbers don’t lie, and they don’t make excuses.

Now, formulate a realistic budget based on those black and white numbers. If you need to whittle down debt, study your monthly expenditures. What can you do without or downgrade or cut back on? Most Americans spend far more each month than they realize and spend it on items that are non-essential. If you got yourself into debt by spending more than you earn, now is the time for a bit of austerity.

Once you accept that you need to change your lifestyle in order to keep having a life, you’ll be amazed by what you can do without. The kids want pizza for dinner? Fine. Throw a frozen pizza from the supermarket into the oven instead of picking up the phone for take-out. Borrow a DVD from the library for a home movie night instead of piling the family in the car for a trip to the multiplex. Get together with a girlfriend to do each other’s nails instead of that weekly trip to the nail salon. If you’re a smoker, stop. Not only will you save money, you’ll save your health. And most of all, step away from the mall. Too many Americans spend a good chunk of their free time on weekends at the mall where the temptation to buy, whether we need something or not, is too great.

Brutal as always, Sheila. But totally on the money. What do you think, readers? Are there things you spend money on that you could just as soon do without? Let’s hear from you. Remember to post a comment to be entered into the drawing for a book from this week's Book Club Friday guest author. -- AP

MONEY MATTERS WITH SHEILA CONWAY--YARD SALE SAVVY

One woman’s junk is another woman’s treasure. Sheila Conway, American Woman’s Go-To Money Saving Guru talks today about how to pull off a successful yard sale. -- AP

Thanks, Anastasia. As you all probably know by now, decorating editor Jeanie Sims is our yard sale queen. Jeanie loves hunting through yard sales to find all sorts of discards she can turn into useful treasures. If you’re one of those people who would make Jeanie drool if you let her loose in your basement, attic, and/or garage, why not put all that stuff you no longer use up for sale and reap the cash benefits?

Yard sale season is in full swing. Like Jeanie, many of your neighbors spend their Saturday mornings traveling around from one yard sale to the next. It only takes a little bit of work to entice them to fill your coffers while cleaning out your piles of unwanted clutter.

Here are some tips for having a successful yard sale.

*Display the items you have for sale in such a way that they entice people to take a closer look. Make sure everything is clean and set out on tables and benches.

*People will drive by without stopping if they see you’re only trying to get rid of what amounts to trash. Don’t offer dirty or broken items.

*Make sure all electronics are in working order. Have an extension cord and/or batteries handy so items can be tested.

*Display items either by category or price. All housewares together, all electronics together, etc. Or a $1 table, a $3 table, a $5 table, etc.

*Mark prices on all items. If someone has to ask about price, that person might walk away instead of asking.

*Don’t overprice items. You’re having a yard sale, not opening a designer consignment shop. All items should be at least 50% off their original price.

*Be willing to negotiate. Remember, accepting a few dollars less for an item you don’t need or want is better than not selling that item at all. You’ll only have to haul it back into your home or trash it.

*If items aren’t selling, don’t be afraid to drop the prices. Again, if you don’t sell it, you have to keep it or trash it. Isn’t it better to sell something on the cheap than not at all?

*Make sure you have lots of change. You don’t want to lose a sale for a $2 item because the prospective buyer only has a twenty dollar bill and you’ve run out of change.

*Get the word out. The night before the sale post signs in strategic spots around the neighborhood where drivers will see them. Use poster board and thick marker. Write a very big, bold SALE and an arrow pointing the way. Add address, date, and times below. The morning before your sale, post it on Craigslist.

*Plan to get up early to haul everything out and set up. Die-hard yard sale devotees often show up well before the start time. You want everything set up before they start arriving.


Hmm...maybe I need to root through my attic. Thanks, Sheila! What about the rest of you? Anyone ever had a yard sale? How did it go? Post a comment to be eligible for a free book this week from our Book Club Friday guest author. -- AP