I took a look at your website, and I can help you with your SEO. I have some great ideas for increasing the traffic to your website. Does that sound familiar? I get one of these emails almost weekly in my inbox. Delete! Well, not only do I receive these emails, but I also have individuals reaching out to me to partner with me for my services. This is how it all went down. Referral Partners Many agencies attempt to partner with my business for credit repair services as a financial coach. Well, with the word coach in my title, I'm a support teacher and not a person who fixes things quickly. I want my clients to learn using a systematic approach. The first business reached out to me to refer potential clients if they were having difficulty paying their student loans. They offered student loans with interest rates that were below the industry average. I looked them up, and they were a legitimate company. In addition to my clients getting a better deal, I would also receive a fee for each client I referred to them if they signed the loan agreement. Okay, cool. However, I am cautious about these things, and it's not all about the money for me. So, I wanted to ensure that my clients were protected and that this was not just another agency trying to get them to finance their outstanding student loans. Next thing you know, the interest rate might increase after the first year. When I received the contract agreement with the agency, everything seemed legit except for the requirement for me to teach two courses a year, post on social media about the company, and, to top it all off, the jurisdiction was out of my state of residence. First, before I put my name to anything out in the public, I want to see others doing the same. It was minimal. My biggest issue, though, was the jurisdiction. See my feature in Richmond Score for 11 Steps to Protect Your Business Name. So, if any disputes occurred, New York City was where jurisdiction prevailed. Well, I'm down south, and I'd rather give up the case than have to travel back and forth to a New York court. In addition, New York law is out of my league, and the company would most definitely win their case. What did I do? I asked them to change the jurisdiction. What did they do? They resent the contract to me twice without making a change or communicating with me. The scoundrels! I declined to sign the contract. See my feature in Score to find 9 Resources To Help Black Owned Small Business. Coach Masterclass In the spirit of collaboration, another financial coach reached out to me to teach a masterclass on career advancement skills. Employment is within my professional wheelhouse, so we set up a call and discussed a plan for a month-long masterclass. I would teach two classes, and another coach would open and close out with a fourth session. This partnership would have been great exposure for me, and the agreement would have lasted a year. It was a paid agreement for teaching each class. When I was told the rate, I was shocked that it was so low because initially, I was going to coach the candidates and not present a course. I would have received 2% of the profit if 15 participants had enrolled in the class. I calculated this after our call, and that didn't add up. The Non-Disclosure Agreement The agreement stated that I would have to create the course, present it, and provide all course material and social media content to the business to promote the course. There was no mention of paying me for my time to develop the course. Their third-party agencies would use the content for marketing the masterclass after the one-year agreement was over; I would lose all rights to the videos and documents they received. They could also use my likeness for an undetermined amount of time after the one-year agreement was over. Jurisdiction Again, it was out of my state, and I would have to travel if any disputes occurred. When I brought this up, I was informed that they could not change the jurisdiction because the business was located in that particular state with the attorney. They would not feel comfortable in the jurisdiction of another state. Well, that's exactly what I said. So, I'm supposed to agree to something that even you are not comfortable with either? See my feature in When to Say No in Business: 8 Signs to Pass on Opportunities in Atlanta Score. What Happened To The Classes? They were put on hold for that month until I had time to consider the opportunity. Well, it was considered and not accepted, so that's that. Business Owners Beware Beware of other established business owners who may have more experience than you. Beware of business owners who have attorneys and provide NDA, contracts, or agreements. If you do not have the expertise to review these agreements, spend a few dollars to have an attorney take a look. It will be in your best interest to spend a couple of hundred now instead of paying thousands later.

My husband does not know how much money we have. Can you believe that he hasn't paid one household bill in the past 19 years? When we met, he was very savvy with his money, which attracted me to him. We both were excellent money managers, and at the time, we were both in the U.S. Army. One year later, we were married, and two months later, he went to Iraq while I stayed home with my son and soon-to-be-born daughter. Needless to say, I was glad I didn't have to go back to Iraq. He Left Me With The Money With him going on his second deployment to Iraq, I managed the household and the bills. We combined our financial resources but also maintained separate accounts. I had to set some boundaries, right? At 22 years old, this was my first time managing a household and paying bills, but I knew I could do it. I set up automatic bill pay, budgeted our funds using an Excel spreadsheet, and set up a joint savings account. I Made One Mistake Okay, so no one's perfect. We searched for a desk online, and I was trying to find the best deal. Picture this, a solid mahogany wood desk with drawers for only $500. We were on a budget as newlyweds, and we thought it was a great deal until it wasn't. I purchased the desk and mistakenly used a debit card instead of a credit card to make the purchase. When the desk didn't show up, we were out $500 because it was a scam website. He questioned why I didn't use the credit card instead. If I had, we would have recouped the majority of our funds. Beware! See my feature in How To Get An 800 Credit Score. He Returned Home When he returned from Iraq, he asked me if I wanted him to take over the bills. I said no, I got it, and the rest is history. While he was away, we relocated to a new duty station, and I purchased our new home, managed the closing process, and bought much-needed furniture. I continued to pay the bills and save money. I left the military in 2008. When he retired from the military, we had enough money to purchase land and build our final family home. What Happened To The Money We've always had conversations about money and continue to have them semi-annually to reassess our finances. After our move, we had a 30-year mortgage, two vehicles, and his retirement boat that he had to have. I managed the repayment process for all of these and the furniture for the new house. We paid off all of these items in 8 1/2 years by doubling down on our payments. After one thing was paid off, I would add that payment to another debt and continue until all of the money was going towards an additional principal-only payment for the mortgage. See my feature in Veterans Build Debt-Free Life After the Military. Financial Independence We have achieved financial independence! But, he still doesn't know how much money we have. I have money in different investment accounts, savings accounts, and even my separate savings account. Ladies, keep a separate savings account at all times. Also, every time we get a pay increase, we save a portion of the money in our retirement and savings accounts. Now, we're able to plan for and pay cash for our vacations, invest in our future, and not have to worry about the threat of a job loss. See my feature in How Lifestyle Creep Impacts Your Family Budget. Will He Ever Know Where The Money Is? I doubt it, and he doesn't really mind, either. He has confidence that I managed our money well, filed our taxes annually, and no one has come knocking at the door to repossess anything. As long as we can go on our vacations, I think he's happily semi-retired. Originally published at https://www.harriscashcoach.com on May 22, 2022.

To help employers with celebrating Women's History Month, I asked women-owned small businesses and successful entrepreneurs this question for their best insights. From sharing personal accounts of female leaders to supporting and networking with female entrepreneurs, there are several tips that may help you celebrate Women's History Month within your company. What is one thing employers can do to celebrate Women's History Month? Ideas for Celebrating Women's History Month Share Personal Accounts of Female Leaders Start a Micro-Fund to Support Female Entrepreneurs Identify Unconscious Bias Against Women Involve Every Employee Conduct a Fundraising Campaign Support and Network With Female Entrepreneurs Share Personal Accounts of Female Leaders Presenting portraits of successful female colleagues adds a personal touch to the celebration, making it more relatable for fellow employees. It also keeps the conversation light and focused on internal affairs. Both internal and external audiences like to see businesses speaking about what they can do and are doing rather than seeing firms judging the choices of others. - Michael Sena, SENACEA Start a Micro-Fund to Support Female Entrepreneurs Since the pandemic hit in 2020, there has been an explosion of new small businesses, side hustles, and startups, many run by women. One cool, unique way employers can celebrate Women's History Month is by starting a small fund to finance these women-owned ventures. Encourage employees with side hustles and their female friends and family members who have started a company to apply for a grant. Such grants, even if just a couple of thousands of dollars, can go a long way toward helping female entrepreneurs launch the business of their dreams. Then once the grants are doled out, do a company luncheon to highlight the small businesses the company has helped to fund. Perhaps even include short testimonial videos from the women who run these companies to share how the money has helped and what they plan to do with it. This is a great way to directly support female entrepreneurs and raise awareness during Women's History Month. - John Ross, Test Prep Insight Identify Unconscious Bias Against Women Employers should identify and eradicate any forms of unconscious bias against women for women's history month. This type of bias can manifest in various ways, such as how organizations hire, promote employees, or assign projects. Employers should carefully scan through their operations and processes to determine if discrimination is made against women. Unconscious bias is unintentional, making it hard to spot, which is why the process of identifying should be done meticulously. Women's history month is about celebrating women and their contributions. Eradicating any bias against them is an appropriate way to celebrate the month. - John Tian, Mobitrix Involve Every Employee When it comes to Women's History Month, employers can go the extra mile and ask every employee to plan and participate in different activities and events. Moreover, since these events are distributed over a month, participation will not impact productivity either. One reason why this is essential is that one of the reasons behind observing Women's History Month is to promote gender equality in the workplace. And this goal is achievable only when everyone is involved and plays an active role. - Azmaira Maker, Ph.D., Aspiring Families Conduct a Fundraising Campaign Women's History Month is all about bringing the world's attention to the many challenges associated with women's empowerment. So what better way to support and commemorate the occasion than to provide financial fuel to a nonprofit organization fighting for these causes? A fundraising campaign with top leaders promising a donation on behalf of the organization and encouraging employees to add to this amount proves highly impactful. This campaign can enable employees to participate proactively and gain deeper insights into various programs and services that help keep women in the conversation. - Eva Taylor, WP Buffs Support and Network With Female Entrepreneurs Whether big or small, every company does business with a wide range of service providers, suppliers, and the like. In line with observing Women's History Month, employers can make a concerted effort to do more business with brands led by women entrepreneurs and let employees know of these positive efforts. Often, such occasions are spent only in participating in activities and celebratory events. In comparison, this move will prove highly practical and make some real impact. - Larissa Pickens, Everfumed

Do you have a large group of family, friends, or coworkers? Are there birthdays or other significant events coming up? I searched the internet for budget-friendly gift boxes, and each box on Etsy or Google was going for $40 or more, which doesn't include delivery fees. So, I said I'm going to make my own gift boxes and created them for under $40. Here's how! As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Gift Box On A Budget I scoured the internet to find exciting and valuable gifts. I didn't just want to come up with some random non-useful items, and luckily, I was able to purchase everything from Amazon and read reviews for everything. No cheap stuff here, even on a budget. Gift Box I wanted a sturdy gift box and found a pack of 12 Moretoes White Gift Boxes that included the string to tie the box. It's one long string, so you can cut as much or as little as you need. It assembled in less than thirty seconds. I also added a little character to the box by purchasing 100 stemless rose flower heads and placed two inside the box and one on top as a cute accent. If you have males you're gifting, find some cute bow tie decorations. What went inside the box? I bought a 24 pack of Kombucha tea because I figured this was a little healthier than a wine spritzer or a bottle of alcohol. However, I did find a package of wine tumblers that can be used in multiple gift boxes. The gift recipient can purchase the wine at a later time. The tumblers even came with a straw. Fancy! Now, when you're drinking wine, what's better than to relax with something that smells nice. So, I found these soy wax melts made by veteran-owned Farm Raised Candles. This is an excellent gift for your friends or family members with allergies. Trust me, I know. Finally, my ultimate touch was this unique Triple Protection Bracelet. This particular bracelet brings luck and prosperity to the gift recipient. Depending on what the recipient needs in their life, you can find other types of handmade bracelets that bring confidence, motivation, or happiness. My entire cost was about $200, and I'll be able to make multiple boxes. I will have to replenish a couple of the items, and the price will vary, but after creating my first box, the total cost was $39. Now, I couldn't beat that or the ability to personalize the box with the bracelet. You can find cheaper options at the Dollar Tree or on Amazon to decrease your spending. However, don't forget quality. Here's the gift box.

Bitcoin is not the answer for beginner investors. The wide world of investing can be challenging to decipher and a little daunting when trying to figure out all the market options. Some beginner investors start with a savings account to see what earning a return on their income could be in the future. With a savings account, you earn interest on what you put into it, resulting in compound interest monthly. Savings accounts can be good for saving for a goal like a car or a vacation. A savings account is also reasonable for short-term goals where you're not looking to make a big profit. So, how do you make a more significant profit through investing? What's the Difference Between Saving and Investing? When saving your money in a bank, it's protected by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation up to a certain amount. The bank does have to be an FDIC-insured bank for you to receive this protection in case the bank fails. When you save your money in a bank, you earn a small amount of interest on your deposits. As you transfer more money into your savings account, you earn compound interest on the money you've deposited monthly. With investing, there's the possibility that you could earn gains on your money, or there's a risk that you could lose your money. Money put into investments does not have guaranteed returns because of the unpredictability of market fluctuations. Predicting a company's sustainability can also be challenging due to unknown financial information not being released in real time. What You Need To Know As A Beginner Investor Investment Options Stocks - When you purchase a stock, you buy shares of ownership in a company. You can buy a stock split, one stock, or numerous stocks in a company. Stock splits are used if you don't have the funds to purchase an entire stock. Owning company stock means that you own a percentage of the company itself. Bonds - With bonds, you loan your money to a company or the government in return for interest. The most popular type of bond is a savings bond. These come in EE or I series bonds. You can purchase these independently or when filing your tax return. Savings bonds can also be purchased as gifts for children. See What are Savings Bonds to learn more. Advertiser Disclosure Retirement Accounts - There are many types of retirement accounts available. A few options are a 401(k), 403(b), IRA, or Roth IRA. You can invest in these independently or through your employer, and there are pre-tax and post-tax options. Pre-tax means that you will pay less in tax now on your contributions and income. When you reach retirement age and decide to withdraw your funds, you will pay taxes on the distributions. Post-tax means that you've already paid taxes on your investments. Invest Early It's essential to invest early in your financial future. It's never too late to start contributing to a retirement plan. If you start contributing $100 per month into a retirement account when you're 20, you could have $600K when you turn 65. If you contribute the same amount at age 30, you could have about $310K at 65. So, starting and continuing to contribute to your retirement early makes q big financial difference. See my feature in How To Make Yourself A Retirement Millionaire. What's Your Risk Tolerance It's essential to assess your risk when investing. When you assess your risk, you determine your risk tolerance. When investing, there's the possibility that you may lose money, so understanding, if you have a low, medium, or high-risk tolerance, can help you make the best decisions on what to invest in. A financial planner can also guide you in determining your investing risk tolerance. Make A Plan After assessing your risk tolerance, you want to determine how you want to invest. Do you want to put your money in a savings account, stocks, bonds, your retirement fund, or real estate? And how do you want to portion out your investments? If you are risk-averse and have a lot of debt, you may want to keep your money in a safer option like a savings account. Or, you may pick a combination of two or more investment options. It's essential to weigh your options and plan for your financial future.

It's essential to have a healthy diet that doesn't bust your budget. Healthy eating on a budget can be done using The 3 P's method. The 3 P's are planning, purchasing, and preparing. Planning your meals, purchasing cost-effective grocery items, and preparing your meals at home can help you eat well on a limited budget. Here are a few tips on saving money when grocery shopping. Steps to Take to Plan for Grocery Shopping Clipping Coupons You can save lots of money on couponing if the coupons are for things you usually buy. Coupons for staples like rice, canned vegetables, and freezer items can help you save money on your grocery shopping if they are in your meal plan for the week or month. If you see a coupon in an advertisement, but it's not something that you usually buy, try to avoid purchasing these items that you rarely or may never use. I'm sure you've probably seen a preview of the show Extreme Couponing, and they save hundreds of dollars and spend $20 on their grocery bill. However, those items stay in their garage or pantries for months, or the shoppers end up giving the food away to their neighbors. So, skim the ads and select the coupons for items on your grocery list. Use A Grocery List Creating a weekly or monthly meal plan can help you build your grocery list. You may already have some meals that you eat regularly. For me, my lunch stays the same every day. So, when I create my list, these items are at the top because I know I will need to restock. When you make your grocery list, check your pantry, refrigerator, and deep freezer to see what items you already have. This can reduce the need to spend extra money on food you already have. The most important aspect of taking a grocery list into the store is eliminating wandering around in the aisles because you can't remember what you need to buy. Related: See 4 Strategies To Save Money on Groceries Don't Shop Hungry Now that you've entered the store with your coupons and grocery list, it's time to shop. But, try not to shop while you're hungry! Shopping while you're hungry can make everything look so tempting, and you can fill your grocery cart with food that you don't even need. Typically, when I shop hungry, I fill my cart with quick snacks or junk food that I did not plan to buy initially. A good rule of thumb is to shop after breakfast or lunch so you'll be back home in time to prepare dinner at home. Purchasing Groceries Name Brand or Generic Are you loyal to name brand items when it comes to grocery shopping? Name brand items may have a generic version available on the grocery shelf. You may not notice them initially, but if you look on the bottom shelves of the grocery store, you can find a comparable item at a lower price. Name brand and generic items have very similar ingredients and nutrients, but the cost differs. In searching my Walmart app, I found name brand Quaker Oats for $2.38 and the exact size generic oatmeal for $1.56. This is just one example of name brand versus generic, and there are many other comparisons. The cost of being loyal to name brand items can add up in one year. Preparing Your Meals Meal Prep At Home Preparing your meals at home can be more cost-effective than eating out. You can also end up with leftovers that can be eaten the next night or frozen for future meals. Eating out may be quicker, but is it better for your health or wealth? Eating out is expensive and should be used as an occasional luxury even when you're not on a limited budget. A Meal Comparison Eating a home-cooked meal for a family of four could cost about $3 per person compared to $7 per person for fast Food. Here's a price comparison. Home Cooked (family of four) Great Value 3lb bag of chicken breast: $7.14 Uncle Ben's Box of Rice Pilaf: $1.98 Del Monte Can of Asparagus: $2.98 Total: $12.10 Fast Food (for one) Whopper Meal: $7 Plus Tax (7%): $0.49 Total: $7.49 Cooking at home for a family of four could save you money and leave you with leftovers for another meal. If you ate out twice a week for a month, you could spend approximately $119. So, what's on your plate?

What are your retirement goals? Have you thought about what your retirement future will look like 10, 20, or 30 years from now? If not, it's never too early to start planning for your retirement. Imagine that your retirement will be a world of new adventures and experiences to keep you active and in the game. Here are a few tips to prepare for your financial wellness in retirement. Your Path to Retirement Planning 1. Envision Your Retirement Envisioning your retirement can consist of imagining and writing down how you will enjoy your retirement future. Will you spend time with friends and family? Will you take up a new craft that you've been interested in for years? Will you travel or spend time at home gardening? Whatever you will be interested in, keeping a log of the top five things that you will accomplish in retirement will help you enjoy your first day and beyond. You won't have to punch a clock any longer, so this will be your time to enjoy your 365-day annual weekends. See my feature in the Retirement Planning Guide. 2. Manage Your Cash Flow When you retire, you may be on a fixed income, and the annual increases you may be used to receiving will stop. So, it's essential to manage your cash flow in retirement. If you are 40 today, the Social Security Administration has found that you may live to be at least 90. If you are looking to retire at 65, you will spend about 25 years in retirement. That's why managing your fixed and variable expenses can help ensure you have enough money in retirement. Your fixed expenses can consist of your food, mortgage, utilities, and healthcare. Your variable expenses can consist of vacations, hobbies, gifts, and charitable giving. Identify now what expenses you may have in retirement and the expected costs of each. Three Ways To Plan For Retirement 3. Will You Need To Replace Your Health Insurance? What do you do about health insurance if you are eligible for Medicare? You may have to obtain coverage through your spouse's employer, find an individual health insurance policy, or enroll in COBRA. An article by Fidelity has found that a 65-year old retired couple could spend up to $285,000 on health care expenses in retirement. It's essential to identify now what benefits you can enroll in when you decide to retire and how you can become eligible. For example, some employers require that you be enrolled in their healthcare plan before retirement to maintain your eligibility to stay on their plan. 4. Determine The Income You Will Need Once you envision your retirement and identify the fixed and variable expenses, you can determine how much you will need. A couple of factors to consider are: Your retirement age and your life expectancy Your eligibility for Social Security benefits and the age you will elect them The amount of all of your retirement income sources The rate of inflation of your retirement years Income tax rates Your healthcare needs or the needs of your significant other or dependents See my feature in How To Make Yourself a Retirement Millionaire. 5. Identify Your Income Sources Where will your income come from in retirement, and how much will it be? You may be eligible for social security benefits at the time of your retirement in addition to your retirement income. Will you be eligible to withdraw funds from an IRA, 401(k), company-funded defined benefit plan, with or without tax consequences at retirement? Are other benefits available such as a military retirement or disability income? And, how much money do you have in savings? Identifying your retirement income sources and the tax consequences can help you determine which sources to use first. 6. Develop a Financial Support Team On your journey to preparing for financial wellness in retirement, it's vital to develop a trusted financial team to help you successfully navigate your retirement. A financial professional can help answer any questions relating to your financial wellness and help you create a household budget, and recommend strategies for your retirement income. A tax advisor can guide you in choosing the best options for collecting your retirement income and any tax implications of your financial decisions. In addition, an estate attorney can help you develop estate planning strategies for your heirs. Whether you value tranquility, adventure, culture, or community in retirement, coming up with a plan today can help guide your decisions in retirement and beyond. So, catch up on that needed R&R, hike the trails, travel, or volunteer the 10,000-plus days of your retirement away with a secure financial plan in mind.

Talking to your spouse about money is a sure-fire way to ensure that you're on the same page and positively impact the quality of your relationship. Need convincing? Check out this article, where I share 4 reasons to talk to your partner about money. However, money is a sensitive subject and can easily evoke all sorts of feelings. Some (or all) of those feelings could make for a potentially explosive conversation. What do you do when a seemingly simple conversation about budgeting turns into a fight? In this article, I share 8 tips on how to budget as a married couple without fighting. Goal Setting - Write Down Your Joint Goals What are your goals in life? What do you see your life being like in 20 years? The important thing to remember is that goals need to be based on reality to work. If you have a lower-middle-class earning situation, you’re not going to live the upper-middle-class dream. That’s okay; you can still be happy if you work toward what you want together. If the upper-middle-class lifestyle is your dream. Set it as a goal, and work together to make it a reality. Money Mission Statement - Create a Family Money Mission Statement This can truly help your family develop a realistic budget that is based on your family values and priorities. Do you want to live happily on very little or do you want more? If so, you may need to set up a mission statement that values education and moving up the income ladder realistically. Get Organized - Create a Spreadsheet for Income, Investments & Expenses Don’t try to memorize what you see regarding your accounts. Put it all into a spreadsheet or any system you find that helps. You should be able to see your income, investments, and expenses, at a glance, including both the budgeted amount and the actual amount. In addition, you should see your pay down progress if you’re working toward paying off debt. Prioritize Saving - Determine How Much You Need to Save Using your future goals, you’ll want to determine how much you need to save. If you want to have a certain amount in your account by a certain year, what will that take, based on today’s numbers? You’ll adjust this each year to account for changes. Review Your Budget as a Married Couple Regularly - Review Finances Together Regularly Take the time together to review your finances and how you’re both doing on a regular basis. Some people like to do it every single month, and others do it quarterly. It will depend on your situation and how much control you both need to exert to ensure you stay on track. Get Help - Consider Getting Professional Help One way to cut down on fighting if you are having issues deciding things determined above is to get some professional help. If a financial counselor or coach helps you set up a budget that will help you reach your stated goals, there is no fighting. Avoid Blaming Each Other - Be Considerate and Flexible As you’re creating your budget avoid placing blame for anything from the past. Start fresh from today with what is your reality. If you’re in debt due to poor planning even if it’s just one of you at fault, let it go and work from now to change the future. After all, you really cannot change the past. It’s done and over, time to move on. Be Realistic About Your Budget as a Married Couple - Ensure Each Party Has Their Own Spending Money Regardless, the budget and the plan always work in a way that each of you gets some money that you can spend any way you want to. It may not be very much while you’re trying to pay down debt but try to make it fair and equitable. Conclusion Fighting over money can be eliminated if you get on the same page. The goals you have should be shared jointly. Each person should have a say in how things are handled. Even a non-income earner deserves to have a say in the family budget. After all, they contribute in other valuable ways. Helping to develop spending and saving priorities is just the cherry on top. If you both accept that this is a joint responsibility, fighting will be cut down tremendously.

Creating Memorable Content If you don't have memorable or helpful content on your blog, your traffic will not increase. Ensuring that you provide useful, memorable, or entertaining content to your readers is the first step in getting readers to your website. If your blog is general and doesn't tailor to a specific target market, it's going to be difficult to keep your readers consistent. Selecting a specific demographic or group of readers that you're righting to can help you tailor future blog posts and create content that helps you maintain consistent readership. Publish Consistently How often are you going to publish? Is it going to be daily, weekly, monthly, or randomly throughout the year? It's important to pick a cadence when publishing your content. Publishing consistent and valuable content will let your followers know when to come back to your website for new blog posts. I publish every Saturday and ensure that I have a consistent slew of articles prepared in advance. So, if I need to travel for a week or two, I don't have to worry about my blog losing traffic. Note: You do not have to publish daily. If you don't have content to publish that's valuable, then don't post it. Collaborate With Other Authors Do you find it difficult to create consistent and valuable content? Well, collaborate with other like-minded authors. This can be on a for-fee basis, or they can post on your blog for free. If they are struggling to create an audience like you are, collaborating can increase traffic to your blog and help them build their brand. There should be a few stipulations when you add authors to your blog. Their content should be similar to the overall content of the blog. For example, if you are blogging about travel, their content should also focus on travel. This helps ensure that the traffic to your website reflects the brand you're building. How did I find other authors? I reached out to them and asked if they would be interested in joining my blog. They said yes, immediately! Wait, what? Yep, they were struggling too and wanted to find a way to collaborate. Ultimately, adding authors to your blog can help you create consistent posts. You can have authors publish on specific days of the week so that your blog has traffic throughout the week or month. Your readers will come back, and you can also pull in readers from the other authors on your blog. Check out my write with us page on my blog: Write With Us. Feature Links To Other Content Everyone can write a blog but is it credible. To increase your blog authority and credibility, create links to other content that you've been featured in. So, if you've been featured in the news, in a Yahoo Finance article, or can plug in a video from a credible site that confirms what your writing is valid, this can help build your trust rating. When you're writing your article, insert a link that says, See my feature in GoBankingRates and list the article's title. Voilà! You are building your brand, and it's easier for Google to pick up your content when adding follow links. However, be mindful that you are not adding irrelevant links and spamming your readers. That's a no-no. See my feature in 10 Tips to Building Your Brand Reputation Online. Share Your Blog Posts Okay, no one's going to find your content if you don't share it. It may be a little nerve-wracking to share your thoughts, but that's why you're writing. This is your outlet to provide your community with valuable and helpful content. Share it on social media, use hashtags relevant to the posts, put it in your newsletter and on your main website! This is how you're going to garner that needed traffic to READ your blog. Get rid of that imposter syndrome and share your thoughts with the world! Be Patient Your blog traffic is not going to increase overnight unless you have a few celebrity friends that can share your posts. But, like most of us, you have to share your content and let your readers come to you. Have you seen the movie Field of Dreams? One quote in that movie was: "Build it, and they will come." And remember, you got this!

As business owners, we focus most of our energy on MAKING money. How can I improve my sales? Do I need to rebrand? How many likes did my post get? Is my copy converting my website visitors? These are all valid and important for the livelihood of your business. Unfortunately, we forget that what we do with the money once it hits our bank account it's equally important. Think about your business income this way. Business A makes 100K each quarter. The expenses add up to 80K each quarter. Business B makes 100K each year, and total expenses are 20K. If we follow the model that profit = revenue - expenses, both end up with 80K in their pockets at the end of the year. Knowing where the money is coming from and where the money is going on a regular basis will help you see those results in real-time. What you can do with that information is transformational. You have now gained control of each dollar. And asking questions tends to be a really good practice when "meeting" with your numbers. Are my effort and load coherent with the money I received? Do I struggle with receiving payments from clients? Is the way I'm spending my money organized and compliant? Is the way I'm spending making sense to me, my values, and my vision? Looking at a screen with your numbers listed clearly can help you answer those questions, making your decision process much easier and less scary or stressful. How can you make this process work for you? Use a system that you like and know you'll use and a system that supports your business in the future. What I mean by that is pick something that can grow with your business smoothly. Keep in mind that whatever goes into this system will come out. Every single transaction you record will show up in financial reports. If you want clear and precise data, make sure you're including Vendors' names, an accurate description, and that you're using the correct account. Reconcile every single month. The reconciliation process is when you match your bank statements to your records. Don't forget to track every account you use, whether it's banks, credit cards, merchant/payment processors. They all need to match and be checked for accuracy. Turn this data into real and useful information. Once you've completed a month (or more) of tracking your money, you'll have the data you need to pull your Profit and Loss. Schedule 15 minutes to look at those numbers. It's going to be weird and uncomfortable in the beginning, but it'll get much easier, and you'll get more out of it as you keep up this practice. You can also use this time to pick up on "clues" or signs that something is off. For example, do you constantly have NSF fees because you didn't get paid on time? This might be a sign that your invoicing/receiving payments process needs a makeover. Perhaps you can automate payments or simplify the way your clients pay you. The easier you make it on them to pay you, the higher chances you'll have at actually getting paid. Another list to consider is your expenses by Vendors. Where is your money going on a regular basis? Remember, the way you manage your money is equally important as making that money in the first place. We all have our own journey, priorities, and goals. Make this process enjoyable for you by truly making it YOURS. And just like any other habit, simplify it and schedule it. Trust me. You'll see a huge difference in your business after you've implemented this. Do you know anyone who could use this help? As a bookkeeper and owner of Liquid Cents Bookkeeping I help women consultants, coaches, and therapists get a better understanding of their finances and keep their finances organized. I'd love to meet you! Book your free consult here.

It's a new year, and I have new goals. Resolutions are fleeting, so I dumped those a long time ago. In the words of Tony Robbins, "Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible." You want your goals to be visible, and writing them down and tracking them using the SMART method can help you achieve them. You can accomplish your goals by budgeting your income and keeping an accurate record of your weekly and monthly expenses using a budget tracker. Zero-Based Budgeting Using the zero-based budgeting approach, I account for every dollar of income and expenses at the beginning of each month to ensure that every dollar has a purpose. For example, when my paycheck was deposited on December 31st, I ensured that my savings, monthly expenses, investments, and other incidentals were accounted for until my budget reached $0. Creating a budget helps ensure that I don't overspend and guides me in achieving my goals faster. Income & Expenses At the beginning of every month, I use an Excel spreadsheet to track my income. My husband and I have a separate account for household bills and groceries, and we both deposit a portion of our income into our joint account to cover the costs. Every six months, we have conversations to review our expenses and adjust our deposits as needed for changes to our monthly expenses. We also have a joint savings account and separate savings accounts for our individual goals. This helps keep the peace in my household. Calculating My Budget Here's an example of how I distribute my monthly income and expenses: Household Expenses = 15% Utilities, Charity, Tithes, Groceries Joint Savings = 27% Vacation, Home Improvements, Emergency Fund Individual Savings = 18% For Gifts, Treating Myself, and Future Goals Investments = 29% Stocks, Retirement, Wealth Fund Miscellaneous = 10% Gas, Hair Salon, Starbucks! Individual Life Insurance = 1% See my feature in 5 Money Lessons For New College Graduates. What Happens Next? I create a new budget for the next month and continue the cycle. Using a zero-based budget enables me to achieve future goals for myself and my family. We can also pay cash for our vacations and any needed repairs or upgrades to our home. The end goal is that we want to remain debt-free, financially independent, and live life as we see fit.

Do you sometimes find it challenging to save money? If you've set a savings goal, but your account balance never seems to increase, you may need to try a different approach. If you transfer your money to your savings account manually each month, you may forget to make the transfer or not transfer it at all. If this sounds like your situation, then setting up automated transfers can be the solution to achieving your savings goals. Create Automatic Transfers to Savings There are several ways to transfer money into your savings account automatically. The first way is to directly deposit the funds from your paycheck into your savings account. This is one of the easiest ways to save automatically. You can contact your HR or payroll department to get the proper forms or complete them within minutes online. The second way to automate your savings is to set up an automatic transfer from your checking account to your savings account. Many banks offer the option to set up automatic transfers weekly, semi-monthly, or monthly depending on your preference. An essential tip is to have your automatic transfer occur when you get paid to reduce the temptation to spend the money sitting in your checking account. Saving and Investing Pay Increases When you receive a pay increase or a bonus, don't let lifestyle creep get in the way. Lifestyle creep happens when you continually increase your standard of living based on the pay increases you receive. If you could manage your household finances before receiving your pay increase, allocating a portion of those funds into your savings can help you achieve your future goals. See my feature in How Lifestyle Creep Impacts Your Family Budget—and How to Avoid It. Do you have a 401(k) account or another type of retirement account with your employer? If so, you can also increase your retirement contributions based on your pay increase. Investing an additional one percent annually into your retirement account can reduce your tax rate and help you build a solid retirement future. See my feature in How To Make Yourself A Retirement Millionaire. Three Ways To Plan For Retirement Track Your Savings Goals Once you set up automatic savings, tracking your savings goals is essential. If you are saving for a short-term or long-term goal, keeping track of where you are in your achievement plan is necessary. A savings tracker can help keep you motivated and let you know where you are or what you need to change to achieve your goal on schedule or faster. Whether you're saving for a rainy day, a new car, or a deposit on an apartment, automatically saving your money and keeping track of your goals can help you avoid financial turmoil in the future.