Healthy Moola

I know times are tough and the last thing anyone is thinking about is tucking money away for a the so called “rainy day” fund. I was watching Oprah and Suze Orman was one and she said something that really resonated with me “think of your savings as a bill.” She recommends saving 10% of your take home pay. After taxes you bring home $225 then put in $22.50 in a plain old savings account. Of course if you are bringing home $225 every two weeks try saving $5 or even $10. Really any money you can save is worth it. I try and put away 10% every time I cash out from paypal but things come up.

Also if you have a goal for saving your money, the more apt you are to put money in an account. So if you would like to pay off a bill or whatever. Get a goal. Right now I am saving some money for a camping trip in August hopefully.

My own tip: if you get a savings account make it accessible but not too accessible. Once you pay yourself, go to the bank and deposit the money. Then don’t think about how much in there. Try not to get ATM cards because you might spend the money.

I used to be a saver then I was a shopoholic now I am trying to save money again. It may not be much in savings account but I am glad that I have a little something in there.

I have been hearing this on the news especially with housing market crisis. But I had no idea what even subprime is. I never bought a home before. I did some research and from what I can see, if I were to try and buy a home, I would probably have to go through a subprime lender.

Subprime lending is for people who have poor credit or limited credit history. In some cases a FICO score less than 620. Some things that affect your eligibilty is late payments on credit cards. Lenders who do subprime charge a much interest rate, their also maybe hidden fees and charges, incredibly high over the limit fees. It seems like you would feed to death.

I saw on PBS earlier tonight they are other alternatives to subprime mortgages. If you can see a credit counselor and see if they can help you find something other than a subprime mortgage or loan.

With crude oil soaring and summer is now here, there are ways to have a great vacation without spending too money.

~ For a great time, look no further than your own state. Every state wants a piece of tourism dollars. Maybe you never thought of it but go to the nearest welcome center or online and see what your state has to offer. Yes,you will be driving and if you plan it right you can somewhere near a lot of the activities you are interested in. Sure visiting another place where you have to fly is fun it is also expensive.

~ Go camping. With a little research you can find a campground with tons of activities for you and your kids. If you are lucky enough to have a camper, use it. You could be adventurous and buy a tent. Most campgrounds only charge around $20 a night for tent sites. There are always cabins if you look around at a variety of campgrounds they may offer extended rates at a discount.

~ The cheapest? Do nothing except for small outings. Vacations are a time to be together and create memories regardless of what you are doing. Just spending time with the kids as a whole family, perhaps going to the local state park for a picnic, hike and maybe a swim. Going to the drive in sitting outside in the dark and playing with fireworks. Horror movie till late.

Happy Vacationing

For those of us who are not blessed with a speedy metabolism, we have to struggle a little more to lose weight. Obviously, weight loss takes a lot of trial and error and patience. I have hard time giving up all my bad ways at once as well and this is why I fail many times when I want to lose weight. I found some tips on the internet that will help lose some weight one thing at a time:

*Drinking 1% or skim instead of whole you will lose 5 pounds a year. This is a pretty easy change especially if you use milk in coffee and cooking and don’t really drink it. No one will no the difference.

*Cut out soda or switch to diet. You could lose up to 25 pounds a year. I don’t drink much soda now, I might have a soda every couple of weeks. So I haven’t gained weight but I haven’t lost either

*Use mustard instead of mayo. I like my mayo but I really like spicy mustard as well. There is no fat in mustard.

*Enjoy your food. Take an orange for an example you peel it deliberately then seperate the smiles and eat one smile at a time and chew each peice noting the flavor and texture. You will find you will get full faster thus eating less and eventually lose a pound or two

*Keeping a food journal. I have tried this before and I even shock myself to see how many calories eat a day and how many I could cut out if I drank more water instead of snacking.

These are just a few tips. I am thinking about trying the eating slower and writing my foods down and see how I do. What I need to really do is exercise more and eat more fruits and vegetables. I know what to do I just need motivation or a swift kick in the ass.

Hello and welcome to Healthy Moola, a new blog dedicated to all things money and health. Money may never buy true happiness however money does play a huge role in your over all health. For example if you lost your job and now the bills are coming in, this may cause stress and stress piles up causing health problems to arise such as insomnia, weight gain and all sorts of other problems.

I am not an expert in either but I live and that should be enough to know something. I don’t want to have a boring blog with lots of information. I plan on keeping it personal, talking to you and I have an opinion on something.  Sometimes you will find websites that you might find interesting and other times you will find my opinion on an article on health or money. Or I will in throw some frugal tips.

I hope you enjoy the material here, comments are always welcome.