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If Your Money Ain't Happy, Ain't Nobody Happy by Triste Horrell

Organizing Your Money

If you have the urge to splurge way too often or haven't reconciled your bank accounts in a long time, then your money is misbehaving and you are feeling the effects of your misguided, mismanaged money. One of the major four building blocks of becoming organized is taking care of what is taking care of you…your money (getting financially organized). Because we all know even the most expensive band-aid can't fix money problems! I am going to give you three "first-aid" money tips to start now which if put into practice will help you and your money get back into a good standing relationship again; because if your money ain't happy, ain't you or anyone else in your family happy!

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Gift Cards...Perfect or Not So Perfect? You're making your list and checking it twice and can't figure out what to buy that one that's not so nice. A gift card will make a great gift and give that picky one a lift. Was that gift the right choice? Let me lend you my opinion and voice. Ok, that was just a fun introductory for one of those gifts that are so easy to buy and give and are usually readily received. However, after watching a video on my bank's website it made me wonder. The woman speaking talked about how gift cards are easily forgotten to be used by the recipient and if they are forgotten for an extended amount of time their value starts to decline or goes completely away after a certain date. You also have to be... Read more... posted on: 11/18/2009 11:30:00 AM by Triste Horrell category: Finances

What's the Difference Between Good Deals or Retail Therapy? It's good to be back! I've taken some time off for the summer and back-to-school time was hectic, but I'm ready to bring you some good advice to help you with your finances once again. Please feel free to give me some feedback if you'd like. Or any suggestions with what you would like some advice on. With the economy the way it is many of you are dealing with many different aspects in your finances. No matter where you are, I will try to give you some practical advice to make your financial decision making more cooperative with your financial status. I Hope you enjoy today's blog. Well if you are a woman like me I love to find a great deals while shopping. It feels... Read more... posted on: 10/7/2009 11:30:00 AM by Triste Horrell category: Finances

Need A Little Extra Cash In Your Pocket? How YOU can do it yourself! It may be hard times out there but there are so many things that you can do to beat the odds. I, for instance, am a military wife living in a civilian area, not on a base. There are many of us that need help while our husbands are going to be deployed or while they are getting ready to deploy. There are so many others out there that are needing some help too that if you put your name out there to help people with yard work, sewing, house cleaning, child care, meal preparation, etc. you might just find yourself with more work than you can handle. Here are some guidelines to go by if you need some extra cash in your... Read more... posted on: 8/5/2009 11:30:00 AM by Triste Horrell category: Finances

Good Advice for Vehicle Ownership and Buying Tips in Today's Economy The auto industry has been in the news on a daily basis recently. Car manufacturers going through crisis they haven't faced before. It made it much more interesting in buying our vehicle just a few weeks ago. Yes, we are one of those consumers that were in the market for a vehicle and had to sift through the car "muck" going on to make a wise decision. Here's some tips on buying or keeping a vehicle in this economy right now. So here is how my husband and I have approached buying vehicles in our 13 years of being together. First, I will share the details of my car owning career. My first car was a Dodge Omni then I had two Chevy Berettas, the last one being a very nice sport GTZ. ... Read more... posted on: 6/10/2009 11:30:00 AM by Triste Horrell category: Finances

Sneaky & Savvy Ways to SAVE Money Yesterday a friend called me, one who I have advised regarding her and her husband's finances over the past few years, hoping I would have some answers for her in regards to the points she earned on her check card. So we discussed the matter and came to some conclusions that I would like to share with you in case you might have some of the same questions. If you have a check card that you can earn points or cash from, here are some suggestions and hints to maximize the benefits. First, she shared with me an interesting fact which was signing for her debit card purchases instead of using her pin earned her more points. She had already earned some points that she wanted to use the cash back option which would... Read more... posted on: 4/8/2009 11:30:00 AM by Triste Horrell category: Finances

How to Stop Living ON a Financial Bubble We've all heard the term "living IN a bubble." However, the financial status we as a nation are in is quite conclusive that most have been living ON a bubble. Let me explain. If you are living in a bubble you are protecting your finances and making sure you are doing everything you can to foresee the future…lately it has been quite fuzzy to see what the future holds…or is it? What if the same rules could apply whether the economy is good or bad? That is the difference I'm going to explain and hope to shed some light on. What you could be doing to help shield your finances rather that have them burst like a bubble under you. The national market of commerce doesn't just encourage us... Read more... posted on: 3/11/2009 11:30:00 AM by Triste Horrell category: Finances

The Results of my "Cash or Credit Card Experiment" I have concluded my eight week experiment, however it has felt more like an adventure instead, of using my credit card instead of my cash envelopes. I have written many points on how using cash is so beneficial and helps you stick to a budget better. I got curious and wanted to change things up a bit in the beginning of January so I decided I would try using my credit card instead of taking cash out for my everyday expenses like groceries, gas, household items, clothing, dining, etc. What if those credit card points are worth it? To get the points quickly, what better to do than charge those things I buy most often. I let my husband know that I was going to start my experiment so he wouldn't wonder what in the... Read more... posted on: 3/4/2009 11:30:00 AM by Triste Horrell category: Finances

Financial Fitness for 2009, Finances Get Fit With These Tips! We all are at a loss for what will happen in the New Year for the financial outlook. I don't think even the savviest could have predicted all the events of 2008. Questions on people's minds are many. Is gas going to stay down or go up? Are my investments safe or are they going to take even more losses? How many more local merchants are going to have to close their doors before this is all over? I know some of my favorite coffee shops closed and some of my favorite shops downtown this past year. Being a business owner for 12 years this February, I certainly have seen how the economy can influence business in positive and negative ways. One facet that is starting to draw more attention again... Read more... posted on: 1/14/2009 11:30:00 AM by Triste Horrell category: Finances

How Simplifying Will Save You Money In 2009! My theme that I am trying to live up to this year is "Simplify" which I am using to save money as well. I have two children, 5 and 1, they are about to have birthdays this month. After just organizing toys from Christmas I am not looking forward to more stuff. So I concluded on being a tornado of simplifying around my house after Christmas and am doing something almost everyday that will simplify some place in the house. I am realizing, like my clients realize, the more you simplify the more money you will save and want to save. Let me expand on this. Remember my "Three Steps to Systemize" are (do in this order): 1) Eliminate the Excess 2) ... Read more... posted on: 1/7/2009 11:30:00 AM by Triste Horrell category: Finances

Quick & Easy Food Ideas during the Holidays that Make Your Money Stretch! This one is for you Dee. Dee asked me to write a blog about making food stretch which helps save money. If your family is like mine we are not too keen on leftovers. However, whether my husband or I think of it we usually come up with some good ideas to make the leftovers seem new again. So here's some quick ideas for some of those items that you'd throw or stick in the freezer until you throw it out. Please remember I am no Martha Stewart or Betty Crocker so these are simple ideas that anyone should be able to do without much effort. Tools to help with leftovers: Crock pot Vacuum sealer – this comes in handy! Now they have Ziploc bags that you can vacuum too. Freezer... Read more... posted on: 12/10/2008 11:30:00 AM by Triste Horrell category: Finances

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About Triste:

Being an organizing expert makes one want to be a "showroom" in all areas of life. However reality can hit hard when you're a mother of small children and a military wife and own an organzing business. Of course Triste would like to have a picture perfect Better Home and an even Better Garden. Throw a Pottery Barn in the backyard for exceptional creative time to become the wiz-woman for all the ideas and inventions that the world could not live without. But Triste has settled on the fact of telling herself "I can be perfect in my mind and no one can mess up my space there!" In reality Triste is very self-motivated and has true business accomplishments like having SYSTEMIZE since 1997, the first home and business organizing firm in the state of South Carolina. She has been repeatedly recognized in her Greenville, SC area for her organizing expertise and makeovers on local NBC and FOX news, Greenville News, local magazines such as Greenville Magazine and Upstate Parent and NPR radio. She has turned people's lives around by focusing on what she calls the "four building blocks of being organized" consisting of space, time, financial and personal. This is even represented in her business logo. "That's what I'm in business for, turning people's lives around!" Also applying her popular 3 Steps to Systemize have not only organized her clients but KEPT them organized for years.

Triste's Website:

www.systemize4u.com

Downtime Activities

Reading Magazines
Spending time at our cottage
Keeping our Westie pretty
Putting tealights around after the kids are in bed
Adventures with my awesome hubby
Making microwave smores...just for me
1 graham cracker, broken in half 1 small piece of chocolate 1 big marshmellow On one side of cracker put piece of chocolate and marshmellow on top. Place in microwave and heat for approx. 17 seconds (while cooking replace marshmellow on top of chocolate if needed). Put other half of cracker on top, eat and enjoy and watch out for oozing chocolate!

My Organizing Tool-Box

Time - Outlook
This is a great way to keep papers off the desk and track where you need to go, task list, jot down quick notes on the virtual "post-its, keep up with contacts in the virtual Rolodex
Personal Finances - Quicken
This simple yet practical program keeps your bank accounts in tact...did I mention simple?!
Business Finances - QuickBooks
I have used this program for years and have set many clients up on it. It is a must for keeping track of business transactions and keeping tax time easy...push a few buttons and out come the reports, your done and your tax preparer loves you.
Space - turntables
I love these things! You can put them in cabinets, the fridge, garage, and closets. They are inexpensive, easy to find and available at any discount store and you can even find fancier ones. If you are not sure what they are, they are the white (or other fancier kinds) and spin around like a lazy susan, you can have a single or double-tier one for spices.
Personal - Magazines and Internet
I love to look at magazines and the internet for good articles on personal development, pictures for decorating inspiration and fun projects to do with my family. I keep my magazine subscriptions to a minimum (3) so I can read them and enjoy each one. I look for things on some of my favorite websites for whatever fancies me at that time.
Online Recipe Boxes
Use these on some of your favorite websites, bring the laptop into the kitchen while the recipe is up and you never have to have the paper clutter. One of my and my husbands favorites is Williams-Sonoma.