10 Ways to Cut Down on the Plastic

I thought in this blog I would focus on something I am sure almost everyone is dealing with (me included)....credit card debt.  From research as well as personal experience I am going to give you my top 10 tips for cutting your credit card debt down.

1. Hide your cards.  Like the saying goes "out of site, out of mind".  If you hide the cards somewhere where you don't have easy access to them you won't be tempted to use them.  I have recently done this and it really keeps me from buying items I don't necessarily need.  If you only pay with cash you really see when your money is going

2.Take stock.   Make sure you know exactly just how much debt you have.  In order to hit your target you need to be brutally honest with yourself.  According to "8 Steps to Reducing Credit Card Debt", there action plan is to write down debt and interest rate on every card you have.

3. Choose your payoff method.  There are two possible methods you could use says "8 Steps...".  The first is to put all your extra cash into the highest-interest card while paying the minimums on the others.  This method is the fastest way, overall, to lower your debt.  Once the first card is paid off, you have even more extra cash, and should apply it to the card with the next-highest rate, and so on, creating a debt payoff snowball effect.  The second strategy is to pay off your card with the lowest balance first while continuing to pay the minimums on the others.  Though this is not the most cost-effective way to banish your debt, it's the fastest way to eliminate debt on a single card, and it can be a psychological boost to eliminate a bill for good.  No one method is better then the other and it is up to you to figure which is right for your situation.  For me I focused on paying off the one with the lowest balance and the one lowest interest rate first because I have a zero interest rate credit card which I will mention more about later.

4. Negotiate an interest rate decrease.  Now this is something that I did not know was possible but it is something I will definitely consider doing myself.  Want tips on how to negotiate lower interest rates with your bank, then check out the following links

http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/4-ways-negotiate-credit-card-terms-1267.php

http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/herigstad-lower-credit-card-interest-rates-1272.php

http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/credit-card-terms-negotiate-change-1267.php

5. Consider doing balance transfers.  You can move debt from one card over to another that has a lower or zero interest rate.  This works best when you owe relatively small amounts on credit.  For me I was able to get a credit card with my bank, Wells Fargo, where I had 15 months of zero interest.  Since I really didn't need another credit card I used it to just transfer the debt I had on another card, which ended up paying it off. Now the monthly payments I was making before I make on my Wells Fargo card plus a little more and I have 15 months to pay it off before interest occurs on it.  Other banks who offer this are Bank of America and Chase, with both you get 12 months zero interest.

6.  Use unexpected income towards your debt.  While it make be tempting to spend this money it would best to use it towards paying off your cards.  It is money you normally don't plan on receiving so you know you can survive without using it for something else.  This is a great idea if you receive a tax refund this year. 

7.  Roll over the minimum payment from one card to the other.  Basically this means if you have multiple cards after you pay off one apply that card's minimum payment to the payment you are making on the next account.  Your total monthly credit card payment remains the same however the payments are restructured. ("How to Reduce Credit Card Debt" ehow.com)

8.  Make a budget and stick to it. Look at all the income you are receiving compared to all the expenses you have.  Budget out your income so that it covers all your expenses.  Then look for services that you cut or downgrade on. You then can apply the money you save from these downgrades towards your credit card payments. According to "8 Steps" Write down three ways you can cut back immediately, and cancel or downgrade some services. Divide your monthly discretionary budget into weekly allotments so you'll have a better handle on whether you're staying on track.

9.  Sell old clothes, textbooks and other items you don't need or want anymore.  If you have clothes that don't fit or you no longer want why have them keep taking up space in your closet.  This will help you not only get your closet organize but put some money in your pockets for paying your debt.  And if you have old college textbooks that are now being used as paperweights let those go as well.  While this may only be a few bucks it can go a long way towards being debt free.

10. Paying off credit card purchases right away.  While I highly encourage you not to, if you have to make a purchase with credit make sure it is something you can pay off right way when the credit card bill comes.

So there you have it, my 10 tips that will help put you on track to being debt free.  To get a look at how long it will take you to pay off all your debt go to the following link to use their debt planner module.

http://cgi.money.cnn.com/tools/debtplanner/debtplanner.jsp

Manta: Where Small Business Grows

I recently found this great website that helps you advertise and market your small business.  You can even find other small businesses in your area to work with or purchase from. It's called Manta. This is a website dedicated solely to small businesses.  You should go check it out.  You will even find the Queen of Neat on there!!

http://www.manta.com

http://www.manta.com/c/mxj1dng/queen-of-neat

Queen of Neat is Open for Business

This is a picture of my new business card. Queen of Neat is now open for business!!

Queen of Neat is a professional organizing company. As a professional organizer I work with clients to help clean out clutter and organize their space to better utilize it.  I like to meet with my clients for a consultation to see the area that needs the work, discuss their expectations for the outcome and design a game plan. I organize everything from closets, kitchens, home offices, etc. The consultation fee is a flat rate of $30.  For actual organizing service I charge an hourly rate of $20 an hour.

So, if you live or work in the San Antonio area and need assistance organizing and cleaning your space then send me an email today. You can reach me today,to schedule your first consultation, at queenofneat@gmail.com or www.facebook.com/QueenofNeat

Start the New Year with a Well Organized Kitchen

Hello my fellow neat freaks. Sorry I have been away for a while. It has been a busy time with the holiday season, but that is no reason to neglect being neat and organized.  This blog is going to focus on a very important area of your house, at least important in my house, and that is the kitchen.  This past weekend I finally had the opportunity to begin re-organizing my kitchen.  It is not where I fully want it to be but it is well on its way. I hope to have an update for everyone in the near future.  Below, I have come up with my top 5 tips for a better organized and functional kitchen.

1.       Just like with your closet, store frequently used items in easy to reach places. For example cooking utensils that are used regularly can be displayed on the counter closest to the stove in a cute vase or racket.  This is also an inexpensive and non-space consuming way to add decoration to your kitchen.

2.       If your kitchen is like mine you don’t have many drawers.  To free up drawer space try mounting pot holders and aprons onto pegs on your kitchen wall.  This will free up your drawers to be used for other items like dishes and utensils.

3.       Clear you counters or unnecessary things.  This is your main work space for cooking. In my kitchen I basically have one counter top so I can’t afford to clutter it up.  Utilize all your cabinets even the hard to reach ones. Those can be used to house the items you do not use very often and you can always invest in a stable stepping stool to reach them.

4.       Group similar items together (i.e. all cups together, bake ware in cabinet, fine china in a separate area as regular dinnerware, etc.).  Not only does this apply to your dishes but can work when organizing your pantry or refrigerator too.

5.       Consider investing in storage aid. For your utensils you can use a compartmentalized organizer, and self-organizers for cabinets. If you have open shelves you can place items in baskets and then place the baskets on the shelves to give a level or secrecy to your belongings.

Some other kitchen organizing tips to be aware of are clean your refrigerator and pantry out of unwanted or expire food frequently.  I do mine every time I grocery shop which is every two weeks or so.  Also there is no need to spend large amounts of money on decoration. You can easily just display any fine china you may have or color pots and even nice jars you have that you use to store food such as cereal or sugar.

As we start this New Year let’s all make a pledge to get organize and eliminate the clutter from our lives.  When you have a clean and orderly space, you have a clean and orderly mind and life.

Check out the before and after pictures of my kitchen.

Before

 After