Activity – Suzanne Oldham – Ambassador

Suzanne Oldham – Ambassador replied to the topic Making The Most Of A Pay Raise in the forum Grow your savings 7 years, 6 months ago

First, congratulations. A raise is always great news. I applaude your restraint. After a raise, we rush into spending a raise on a wish list item immediately then we wonder why we feel no impact from the raise. You, on the other hand, will really appreciate the raise later in the year when you do the fun stuff you have planned.

Suzanne Oldham – Ambassador replied to the topic Saving for a New Car in the forum Manage your debt 7 years, 6 months ago

We learned a hard lesson recently. We bought a used car for under $4000 for our children. We thought we got a great deal. Instead, we bought a headache. We spent twice that in the first 18 months fixing major issues that were not uncovered in the inspection. My warning is it pays to spend a little more and absolutely check that warranty!

Suzanne Oldham – Ambassador started the topic My Spending Hiatus – What I Learned in the forum My journey 7 years, 6 months ago

I just completed a 30-day spending hiatus. I refrained from buying anything that was non-essential. Here is what I learned:

I DO buy impulsively: I am not a shopper. In other words, I do not go out and shop for fun and run up shopping excursion tabs. I am, however, a buyer. So when I do errands or pass by a shop, I will “add on” purchases tha…[Read more]

Suzanne Oldham – Ambassador replied to the topic Making saving sexy in the forum Grow your savings 7 years, 7 months ago

Boost your creativity! When I don’t run out and buy a new dress, shirt or necklace, I am forced to use my right brain and dig deeper in my closet. Inevitably, I find a long forgotten top that is back in style or a bracelet I have not put on in years but LOVE. Not only do I look as good as I would have with that new outfit, I am “richer” for it!

Suzanne Oldham – Ambassador started the topic Tax Refund – How to allocate the "found money" in the forum My journey 7 years, 7 months ago

For the first time in a long time, I received a sizable tax refund. I returned to my Sum180 plan to determine the best way to allocate the refund dollars. I have three choices: I can pay down credit card debt, store dollars away for emergencies or save for next year’s college tuition payment. Or I can do a little bit of all three. Is there a r…[Read more]

Suzanne Oldham – Ambassador replied to the topic Our penny jar investing in the forum Build your investments 7 years, 7 months ago

Do you use a web based stock investing company? If so, which one? I love this idea and want to give it a try?

Suzanne Oldham – Ambassador replied to the topic 7 Reasons You Should Take A “No Spend Month”? in the forum Grow your savings 7 years, 7 months ago

I am in the middle of my one month “no spend month” and actually find it empowering and enlightening. As you point out, it forces you to be creative in so many ways. I put together new outfits from old favorites, reach for a book on the bookshelf that I never got around to reading, and use other “found objects” from around the house.

Suzanne Oldham – Ambassador started the topic My Money Personality in the forum My journey 7 years, 7 months ago

Recently a friend asked if I knew my “money personality.” Money Personality, I thought, I have no idea. Apparently, we all have one and it can easily be tested through a series of questions. She pointed me to the website, Moneyharmony.com which guided me through a money personality test. I came out as an “avoider.” While I hoped it would tell me…[Read more]

Suzanne Oldham – Ambassador replied to the topic A bit of advice from my mother about spending in the forum My journey 7 years, 7 months ago

One month/year my Mom took a spending hiatus. During the month she would not buy ANY extras – only essentials. I have adopted the same yearly hiatus. While it seems easy, it actually is not. You find that you buy “little things” all the time on a whim: a beautiful candle or bouquet of flowers. The problem is that these purchases can add up. I find…[Read more]

Suzanne Oldham – Ambassador started the topic WHEN 0% INTEREST CARDS GO BAD in the forum Manage your debt 7 years, 7 months ago

In an effort to consolidate debt and pay down my card balances more quickly I received two 0% credit cards with 10 months of no interest. That was the good part. Over 10 months, I paid a higher monthly payment with 100% of the money paying down the debt balance. I loved seeing $0 in the “monthly interest” column. However, I fooled myself a few tim…[Read more]

Suzanne Oldham – Ambassador replied to the topic Money Well Spent in the forum Grow your savings 7 years, 8 months ago

I have found that meal delivery services like Blue Apron and Hello Fresh are an economical option for meals. We pay $60 for three nights of meals. We are a household of three and the meals can usually stretch to feed all of us. We figure we pay about $6-7/person for each meal. And for an added bonus, you can try most of the services for a deep discount.

Suzanne Oldham – Ambassador started the topic Travel Planning – Research Pays Off in the forum My journey 7 years, 8 months ago

With summer on the horizon many of us turn our attention to summer vacation. I am no exception but I am also very frugal when it comes to paying for airfare. For me, the thrill of the hunt is the name of the game. I spend lots of hours trolling the internet for airfare deals. Here are a few of my favorite strategies:
• Google Flights: Put in y…[Read more]

Suzanne Oldham – Ambassador replied to the topic One of My Money Mistakes: I Treated My Home Equity Like A Personal Piggy Bank in the forum Manage your debt 7 years, 8 months ago

I often wonder the same question. We have borrowed to pay for college tuition as the home equity APR is lower than any loan we could have secured toward tuition. I am not sure it is a great idea but we hope that the house continues to appreciate and we won’t regret the choice.

Suzanne Oldham – Ambassador started the topic COLLEGE TUITION AND WHAT I LEARNED WHEN I STEPPED OFF MY SUM180 PLAN in the forum My journey 7 years, 8 months ago

After a solid 10 months of following my SUM180 plan with good success, I had to side-step my plan to get through some hefty tuition expenses. I have two children in college and my 529 ran out in late 2015. The six-figure bill took my breath away. I did not have much of a choice but to use every bit of cash (and more) to pay the bills. Here’s is w…[Read more]

Suzanne Oldham – Ambassador started the topic Tax Day Planning Solved in the forum Manage your debt 8 years, 11 months ago

As a business owner, saving for taxes was a real challenge. When the end of the year rolled around I was caught off guard by my tax bill. My intention was to add to my retirement but never had the luxury of “left over” cash after the tax bill was paid. Finally after 10 years I have found the trick that prepares me for the end of the year and…[Read more]

Suzanne Oldham – Ambassador started the topic Tax Day Planning Solved in the forum Manage your debt 8 years, 11 months ago

As a business owner, saving for taxes was a real challenge. When the end of the year rolled around I was caught off guard by my tax bill. My intention was to add to my retirement but never had the luxury of “left over” cash after the tax bill was paid. Finally after 10 years I have found the trick that prepares me for the end of the year and…[Read more]

Suzanne Oldham – Ambassador started the topic Holiday Gifting + Savings in the forum Build your investments 9 years ago

For many years the day after Christmas left me feeling drained and disappointed — way too many gifts of fleeting value. Several years ago in an effort to combine gifting with a lifelong lesson, we gave our children the gift of stock. We chose stocks related to each of our children’s interests. For our son, we purchased sports and ent…[Read more]

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