Holiday Honey

The World's Most Expensive Cities

 It's list time again, thanks to Forbes.com. This time, it's the top twenty cities with the highest cost of living in the world. My first guess at #1 would have been Dubai. Shockingly, Dubai fell 32 spots from last year (#20 to #52). New York City placed # 22, and there were ZERO cities from the U.S. in the top five, even amidst the current economic turbulence. Here are the top five most expensive cities to live in:

1. Tokyo, Japan

2. Osaka, Japan

3. Moscow, Russia

4. Geneva, Switzerland

5. Hong Kong

Money Honey! One Day Challenge

If you've never found yourself wishing for a little more cash, consider yourself lucky! As for the rest of us, issues with money can be quite a struggle. In order to master your finances, it's important to be cautious.

Holiday Honey challenges you to take one day (pick a day that would be convenient)-- and do not spend one dime on that day. That means no lunching out, no stops at the drug store, not even your morning coffee run- make a pot at home! Do not spend any money on dining out. We all know that eating at home is far more economical, and often healthier anyway.
    Doing this for a day obviously won't make you rich or fix any of your financial problems, but it's a good challenge for yourself. If you can do it, you'll see small changes you can make long-term that will save you money.

Take the coffee thing.
Let's say your morning Venti is cosing you around $2 / day.
That's $10 /week (Mon-Fri),
$40 / month,
and ...eek... $480 / year.

Just somethin to think about.... :-)

Mastering Your Finances: Using Money Jars

I have a slight spending problem. I love shopping, going out for cocktails, fashion magazines, soy lattes, and tons of other luxuries that I probably shouldn't spend so freely on. So out of frustration of living paycheck to paycheck, I began listening to an audio tape called Secrets of the Millionaire Mind by T. Harv Eker. In this audio program, Harv makes many suggestions on how to get your finances in order, earn passive income, raise your net worth, and beyond. One tip he gave that I put into effect right away was to immediately divide your income upon receiving it, after taxes. He claims 50% of your income should go to necessities, 10% to a Long Term Savings Account, 10% to a Fun Account, 10% to a Give Account and, 10% to an Educational Account. Harv also says to create jars for your fun account and your long term account, to get into the habit of focusing on saving money each and every day. I personally love the idea of a play account. It takes the stress out of saving, as it must be spent in full EVERY month. You're supposed to blow this money in a way that makes you "feel rich." Harv claims, "the only way most of us will ever continue to follow our savings play is by offsetting it with a playing plan that will reward us for our efforts...It also makes managing money a heck of a lot more fun."