Declutter Your Wallet – Dave Ramsey Style

Is your wallet full of old receipts, unused gift cards, and uncashed checks?

Does it feel like you are packing around a mini suitcase in your purse?

Perhaps it’s time to declutter your wallet!

Whether it’s clutter on your dining room table, magazine rack, or wallet, it is doing the same thing…….draining your energy.

The negative effects of clutter don’t just affect your energy, it can also affect your health.

There is an interesting article on the Huffington Post that lists five ways clutter can hurt your health. It is quite exciting and something you may want to check out.

I love the saying, “The way you do something is the way you do everything.” 

If you have an issue with clutter somewhere else in your life, you most likely have an issue with your wallet. If you do have some clutter in your wallet, no worries.

I will share a few tips on decluttering your wallet and making it more efficient, Dave Ramsey style.

Who’s Dave Ramsey?

Dave Ramsey is the guy known for helping people get out of debt and how to manage money. I respect what he teaches and have taken his Financial Peace University Class. You can find more about it here.

I am about making things simple, doing things to improve health, and getting out of debt. Who would have thought that decluttering your wallet had anything to do with these? Ironically, they do.

wallet

Here are a few simple tips on how to declutter your wallet:

1-    Get rid of old receipts, grocery lists, and other paper items that are not needed

2-    Go through your wallet and see if there are any gift cards that you have forgotten about. If there are, USE THEM!

wallet

3-    Keep your debit, reward, and membership cards that you use frequently in a handy place.

Place a rubber band around the ones you don’t use often. If you have room in your wallet, you can put them in a different place. I like to store them outside of my purse for less bulk.

4-    Chuck old business cards that you are no longer interested in. File the ones you MAY be interested in.

5-    Get rid of all unnecessary credit cards. Dave Ramsey would have you get rid of ALL of them. I have one connected to my COSTCO membership and another one for my business. We track them with an online mvelopes system. I don’t know what I would do without envelopes. It’s like an envelope system, but online. I pay no interest, and is paid off automatically every month.

6-   Have emergency information where it can be seen, especially if you have a severe health condition.

wallet

7-    Keep a complete set of MONEY FRIENDS available in your wallet. Read more about it here.

wallet

8-    Use some cash tab system inside of your wallet instead of having a separate cash envelope wallet. I love my cash tabs. You can learn more about them here.

9-    If you have had the same wallet for a long time, switch it up for something new and fun. 

I really like the Mundi wallets. They work really well with the tabs. 

There you have it: simplicity, less stress, and hopefully, some motivation to get out of debt.

Life can be chaotic enough; your experience at the checkout stand does not have to be stressful.

Unclutter your wallet and see how it unclutters your life. Remember, the way you do something, is the way you do everything.

So what’s next………… your sock drawer, or your closet?

AHHHHH, it feels so good to let some things go. LET IT GO!

jan3

Jan Howell

Jan Howell

Whether it’s a new recipe, a fun craft, or some handy tips for your garden and home, I hope to empower and inspire you with skills that you can use to create joy, improved health, and to do it in a simple way.

Read More

Money Friends – Rekindle Your Relationship With Money

money friends

What is your relationship with money?

  • Do you always have enough cash on hand?
  • Would you like to have MORE MONEY?
  • Do you just shove cash in your wallet?
  • Do you hate it or love it?

Several years ago I was introduced to Kirk Duncan from 3 Key Elements and have done several trainings with him. One of the things he teaches is that if you want to have more money, then it is up to you to sort out, clean out, clean up, and put in order all your thoughts and emotions about money.

He teaches a system called MONEY FRIENDS. I love it and want to share it with you.

In a previous post, I shared 5 steps to help clear limiting beliefs about money. They are:

  1. Be Aware

  2. Change Your Thoughts

  3. Change Your Talk

  4. Change Your Beliefs

  5. Reprogram Your Brain

If you have any LACK MENTALITY PROGRAMS running in your head, these programs are going to keep you from having money. Do you ever catch yourself thinking, or heaven forbid saying out loud “I don’t have enough money?” If you are thinking these thoughts or speaking these words out loud, that is exactly what you are going to experience, NOT ENOUGH MONEY. It’s time to get rid of those negative beliefs and rekindle your relationship with money. Having a set of MONEY FRIENDS in your wallet will help you take all 5 of these steps in clearing these limiting beliefs. That is why I love them!

money friends

What Are Money Friends?

Money friends are a little set of bills that you keep tucked in your wallet. The set includes one of each bill. A ONE, a TWO, a FIVE, a TEN, a TWENTY, a FIFTY, and a HUNDRED dollar bill. Now you don’t have to have a complete set right away, so just relax. That is something you can work up to if needs be.

How Do I Use Money Friends?

I started using this idea years ago with just a twenty dollar bill. In one of my sessions with Carol Tuttle, many years ago, she recommended I get a high value bill and keep it in my wallet. I wasn’t to spend it, unless I really needed it. It was there for me to KNOW, FEEL be able to say that I HAD MONEY. If I wanted something, I would know that if I really wanted it, I had enough to buy it. When I spent it, I would quickly replace it. I was very faithful about having that twenty or fifty dollar bill at hand. It really did help me be able to start feeling what it was like to HAVE  ENOUGH money. It really did help me change out of that pattern of lack mentality. I switched my thinking to “I always have money.”

Like Carol Tuttle’s recommendation, Kirk has you keep cash in your wallet but just a little more. Now I know some of you may be thinking that is a lot of cash to keep in your wallet, I know I did. I was worried about it getting stolen or lost. I have never had a problem with it and feel more secure having it in there than not.

Other Benefits

Besides the comfort of knowing I always have money, there is another benefit that I love about having some extra cash in my wallet, I always have cash to give to SOMEONE ELSE in need. I have had several opportunities when I saw a need and was able to reach into my wallet and slip someone a few bills, or even a BIG one.  How fun is that? Something I couldn’t have done before.

Another benefit of having a little extra cash on hand, is for those times when your debit card isn’t working or you forgot the checkbook. No need to panic, MONEY FRIENDS to the rescue!
You use the cash and replace it as soon as possible. It becomes like a little game.

money friends

Here are a few little tips:

  • Start with a dollar bill, if that is all the extra cash you have, and build up to a full set as soon as possible.
  • Neatly stack the bills in order and face the same way.
  • Fold the stack in half with the dollar bill on the outside. (That way it won’t be so obvious to those peering into your wallet that you are loaded).
  • Use a paper clip to keep them folded and secure.
  • I like to keep my stash behind my envelope tabs in the back of my wallet. Find a place in your wallet that is separate from all the other cash you have in your wallet. (Hopefully, you are using the cash envelope system)!
  • These guys are your FRIENDS. Touch them, look at them, take care of them. (Don’t just shove them in your wallet somewhere).
  • Use it when needed, then quickly replace it as soon as you can.
  • When you do use your money friends to help someone else, you will be amazed at how fast that money shows up again.

Check out Kirk Duncan’s Audio CD .

Check out all the rest of Kirk Duncan’s audio library here. He is very inspiring.

money friends

Get a paper clip, a few bills and let the magic happen!

jan3

Jan Howell

Jan Howell

Whether it’s a new recipe, a fun craft, or some handy tips for your garden and home, I hope to empower and inspire you with skills that you can use to create joy, improved health, and to do it in a simple way.

Read More