Managing Christmas Expenses

Today was exactly 34 days before christmas and I saw this very timeley video of one of my favorite personal finance blogger Ms. Salve Duplito of Moneystories.ph in ANC Shop Talk.  The episode tacles about how to manage your chistmas expenses.

I'm an avid follower of  her blog Moneysmart in Inquirer.net until it was signed off.

What to do with your christmas bonus?

1.Spend

It's good for the economy buy on if:

• You are not in debt
• Your emergency fund is sufficient or fat enough
• Your savings is in good Health
• Your investments are not losing
• You're fully covered against risk

2. Use it to give yourself a unique gift, a debt-free chrismtmas

3. Fatten up your emergency fund

4. Buy some mutual fund /UITF Share

5. Get your feet we in the stock market

6. Set up an "Antartica Fund"

7. Start an Education Fund

8.Support an advocacy

Tips on Managing Chrismas Bonus

1.Shop Early - But know how to manage inventory and store the items well. and be sure not to

"Dip your hands in the cookie jar"

2. Know where to shop

3.Keep track of the hidden cost of Christmas like packaging.gas, time etc.

4. Evaluate yourself after the christmas holidays. Take a pen and paperand write down how much you have overspent (or how good you are at keeping within the budge and why. Analyze!)
 
4.Trim the gift list. Don't let the commercialism win!

5.Do not Buy Happiness, Make Happiness!

Enjoy watching the video!

Top 10 Lottery Horror Stories

Not very many people win the lottery, but of those who win, many lose all their winnings and end up with less money than before they won. Some winners were simply foolish, some were greedy, some had greedy relatives and friends, and some fell prey to thieves and crooks. Here are the stories of 10 people who won the lottery then lost it all.

1. Evelyn Adams
In 1985 AND 1986, Evelyn Adams won the lottery - equaling a total winning of $5.4 million. However, today - she has no money "Winning the lottery isn't always what it's cracked up to be," says Evelyn Adams, who won the New Jersey lottery not just once, but twice (1985, 1986), to the tune of $5.4 million. Today the money is all gone and Adams lives in a trailer. She lost money in slot machines, and couldn't seem to say no to relatives and friends. Evelyn's big win ended in a big loss.

William Post
In 1988, William Post won $16.2 million in the Pennsylvania lottery but now lives on his Social Security. Post's former girlfriend sued him for a share of his winnings and one of his brothers was arrested for hiring a hit man to kill him, hoping to inherit a share of the winnings. His relationship with his other siblings was also strained and he spent some time in jail. Within a year, he was $1 million in debt and eventually declared bankruptcy. He now lives on only $450 a month and food stamps.

Suzanne Mullins
In 1993, Suzanne Mullins won $4.2 million in the Virginia lottery. Now she's deeply in debt to a company that lent her money using the winnings as collateral. She borrowed $197,746.15 from this company, but eventually stopped making payments on the loan. She blamed the debt on the lengthy illness of her uninsured son-in-law, who needed $1 million for medical bills. Needless to say, her lottery win did not end in happiness.

Ken Proxmire
Ken Proxmire won $1 million in the Michigan lottery. Within 5 years he filed for bankruptcy after moving to California and starting a car business with his brothers. He has now returned to his job as a machinist.

Willie Hurt
In 1989, Willie Hurt of Lansing, Mich., won $3.1 million. Only two years later he was broke and charged with murder after spending his fortune on a divorce and crack cocaine.

 Janite Lee
In 1993, Janite lee of Missouri won $18 million. Lee was generous to a variety of causes, including various political organizations, education programs and the community services. According to published reports, eight years after winning, Lee had filed for bankruptcy with only $700 left.

 Southeastern Family
In the early 1990s, a Southeastern family won $4.2 million. In almost no time at almost all of their winnings were spent on a huge house, cars, and various requests from family members. They bought a huge house and succumbed to repeated family requests for help in paying off debts. Eleven years after winning, the couple got divorced, the house was sold and what was left of their lottery winnings had to be split.

Kenneth and Connie Parker
Kenneth and Connie Parker won a $25 million jackpot and quickly watched their 16-year marriage disintegrate just months after they became rich beyond their wildest dreams.

 Jeffrey Dampier
Jeffrey Dampier won a $20 million jackpot and was then kidnapped and murdered by his own sister-in-law who hoped to inherit the winnings.

 Jack Whittaker
On Christmas morning 2002, Jack Whittaker found out he had won the Powerball lottery jackpot - $315 million - the largest individual payout in US lottery history. Though he began with intentions to do good with his winnings, his world quickly fell apart with the death of his granddaughter Brandi from a drug overdose which was funded by her allowance from Whittaker and the breakup of his marriage. Whittaker did give money to churches and to people who were in need but was soon bombarded with lawsuits, thievery and greed. He turned to drinking as he watched what he called the "powerball curse" destroy his life.
These 10 stories are evidence that winning the lottery isn't always what it's cracked up to be. If you win the lottery, make sure to get a financial advisor and be smart about your winnings. Winning the lottery can be exciting and fun and can change your life for the better, as long as you handle it well!

Anthony Wayne works in the marketing department of online lottery site LuckyLotto in Pennsylvania. He is also editor of the Internet Bingo Blog a great source of internet bingo information.

According toBo Sanchez 's Book (8 secrets of the trully rich), we have different levels of psychological wallet. Some people are not prepared to handle huge sums of money, they are not comfortable with an income that’s so much more than their psychological wallet can take.

What happened if they received a large amount of money instantly? They will go shopping spree, buy a  new car or a big house without knowing that they were losing it all.

They  instantly  got the money so they don't feel the pain of pulling it in their wallet and spend it like there is no tomorrow.

It is much better if you earn your wealth progressively so that you will learn every steps on how to accumulate wealth. For the very simple reason, the process of building wealth is much important than the result. Manny  millionaires go bancrupt but  they can easily regain their wealth again and again because they knew the process of accumulating wealth. Winning the lottery instant jockpot is like putting a newbie boxer in the ring for main event match with the boxing champ Manny Pacquiao.

I'm not saying that all of these disasters will happen to all lottery winners. Maybe, If the lottery winners knew how to manage money or improve their financial IQ,  financial disasters like what the author metioned above can be avoided.

Just because I am sitting on a large sum of money doesn't make me rich. What you know is more important than what you have. What in your head is something no one can take away from you. Even if you lose everything as far as material goods, you can start again with the experience and wisdom.That can guide you to sucess again. - Robert Kiyosaki

Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. Luke 16:10

Effective Money Management System

Do you know where your money goes? If not, try this two money management system
by  Dave Ramsey and Harv Ecker.

Dave Ramsey's Envelope System

1. Budget each paycheck. Budget is a dirty word to most people, but you must budget down to the last dime if you're going to successfully implement the envelope system.
2. Divide and conquer. Of course, there will be budget items that you cannot include in your envelope system, like bills paid by check or automatic withdraw. However, you can create categories like food, gas, clothing and entertainment.
3. Fill 'er Up. After you've categorized your cash expenses, fill each envelope with the money allotted for it in your budget. For example, if you allow $100 for clothing, put $100 in cash in your clothing envelope for the month.
4. When it's gone, it's gone. Once you've spent all the money in a given envelope, you're done spending for that category. If you go on a shopping spree and spend the $100 in your clothing envelope, you can't spend any more on clothes until you budget for that category again. That means no visits to the ATM to withdraw more money!
5. Don't be tempted. While debit cards can't get you directly into debt, if used carelessly, they can cause you to over-spend. There's something psychological about spending cash that hurts more than swiping a piece of plastic. If spending cash whenever possible can become a habit, you'll be less likely to over-spend or buy on impulse.
6. Give it time. It will take a few months to perfect your envelope system. Don't give up after a month or two if it's not clicking. You'll get the hang of it and see how beneficial the envelope system is as you dump debt, build wealth, and achieve financial peace! See ... simple!

Source: http://www.daveramsey.com/

T. Harv Eker's Jar System for Managing Money

1. Financial freedom account (FFA): This jar if for your financial freedom. Each month put 10% of your income in this jar. Money you put in this jar can be used to invest, start a business, create a passive income streams etc.
2. Necessities (NEC): Put 55% of your income in this jar for your necessities. It's for things like paying bills, food, necessary clothing etc.
3. Long term saving for spending (LTSS): Put 10% in this jar. You may have more than one LTSS jar. It's for things like a plasma TV, your family vacation, contingency fund, your children's education etc. If you have more than one LTSS, divide the 10% between the jars according to your priority.
4. Education (EDU): 10% that goes in this jar if for your own education. It could be used to attend seminars, buy books etc. Basically, it's for your continual education and learning.
5. Play: Allocate 10% of your income for you to have fun guilt-free. Use it to go to a fancy restaurant you've been eyeing, or a massage at a spa. Just do something fun. Let your inner child play.
6. Giving (GIV): Allocate 5% of your income to give to charity. If you want to allocate 10% for giving, take 5% off your NEC jar.