Tightening Up!

-by Lyrik08

With gas prices soaring and the cost of food rising, are your daily finances affecting your wedding finances? How do you plan on paying for your wedding costs when everything around you seems so expensive?

Read some tips on how you should - and shouldn't!- finance your wedding on TheStreet.com. Also click HERE and HERE to find out how other brides are funding their weddings.

Protect Your Money Machine…YOU!

-by Pocahontas, who continues her series on managing your money as a bride-to-be, newlywed, and beyond.


Let’s say you had a money machine sitting in the corner of your house spitting out 60K, 75K, even 90K a year for you to live on. Would you want to “protect” that money machine from being broken? What about stolen? How about burned up in a fire? Well, guess what? If you have anyone relying on your income, then you ARE a money machine! Doesn’t it make sense to “protect” yourself? Don’t understand what I mean? Then ask yourself this, based on the amount of money you now have saved, how long could your family survive without your income? If the answer is “not long”, then that’s a sobering thought, isn’t it? If you feel it’s important to protect the future financial security of your family, then you need to be sure you and your spouse are properly covered by income protection. Yes, that’s just another name for life insurance. So why do many families not have any? And why is it that the ones who do are UNDER-insured?


There is one main reason for this and that is the average consumer simply doesn’t understand that there are 2 types of life insurance. On the one hand, there is term. Term insurance works just like your auto insurance, homeowners insurance, even health insurance. That means term is pure protection. When a death claim is made, money is paid out. A December 1997 issue of Smart Money magazine said it is “deservedly popular among parents because it offers the most coverage at the lowest cost.”



On the other hand there is Cash Value, which also goes by other monikers such as Whole Life, Universal Life, or Variable Life. Cash Value is any life insurance with a savings attached. Of the Americans who do actually have life insurance a high percentage of them report having this kind. For most of them it is because their agent didn’t offer them anything else (since Cash Value costs more than term hence agents make a greater commission selling it). There are agents who will not explain the differences to you and if you aren’t diligent, you’ll never know.



Don’t let having to face your own mortality keep you from doing what’s right by your family. As we move on in life and into matrimony, this is an issue that should be tackled just like combining households, figuring out finances and dealing with wedding planning stress. You are becoming “one” unit after marriage, which means you are now responsible for another human being. If you don’t come home one night that person is not only emotionally devastated but you may leave them financially in a quandary as well.


If you’ve never witnessed a family where the deceased left no life insurance and they had to “pass the hat” to afford to bury them, keep living because unfortunately (especially in our community) it is more common than you think. Do you really want YOURS to be that family? Remember loving your family is not just SAYING it. It’s doing something about it. Otherwise, it’s just a bunch of lip service.

Pocahontas is a licensed Financial Coach and has been in the industry since 2005. If you need help with your finances, don't go it alone. Contact pfslynette@gmail.com for more information.

$10 A Day Can Make All The Difference

In our continuing series on money, we've talked about big ways to save money for your wedding, for the Summer, and for the rest of your life. But today's little nugget of wisdom is about saving a little, for big returns later on. An article from TheStreet.com explains why it's important to stop whatever daily habits have you spending $10 a day on things you don't need. You've heard it a million times, but with everything going on in your life right now you have more reason to pay attention to the tips in Spend $10 Today, Be Out Of 100K Tomorrow. It makes you wonder, "do I NEED to stop by 7-Eleven every morning?", "Is this caramel chocco venti-venti chino really worth 5 bucks?", "Wouldn't it make more sense for me to start bringing my lunch?" or "Could we wait to see that movie on video?" Just some thoughts.
But, what do you think? Let us know in the comments section. Have a great day!

Settling Into Newlywed-hood

Quick! What's the number-one cause of divorce? The latest figures show it's money problems and financial hardship. That's why relationship experts say it's important to get your ducks in a row before you tie the knot. Couples spend months planning the wedding, but almost no time discussing their finances or planning a budget. There are several online resources (like YesYouCanOnline.info) that can give you some steps to reaching financial harmony.

Controversy: Only ONE guest per invite?

With the economy down and food prices up, brides-to-be are doing everything they can to keep reception costs down. Cutting costs at the reception usually means keeping the number of guests down. Afterall, you're really just paying for everyone's dinner (and sometimes drinks). So is it OK to tell your single guests they can't bring a date? I've seen that simple question cause terrible arguments. The New York Times tried to work out this hot button issue last year. What it comes down to is that for the guest, it means having to come to the wedding as a "lone wolf". But for the bride and groom, it means potentially paying to feed strangers.

What do you think? Is it a big deal? Would you go to a wedding where you couldn't bring anyone with you? Click on "comments" to let us know!

What You Don’t Know Can Hurt…Your Kids

-by Pocahontas

I’m a teacher by trade…so let’s take it back to school for a second, ladies, shall we? Raise your hand if you were ever told any of these things growing up:

“Get a good education and a college degree.”
“Work hard and move up the ladder.”
“Save your money in the bank because investing is too risky.”
“Get a good job with benefits and a pension.”

Now do any of you whose hands are up know people have done all these things but are still struggling financially? Here’s a better question…do you think this is what the Rockerfellers or the Rothschilds are teaching their children? Since my sistahs are without question some of the most astute women in the world, obviously you can surmise the answer to that is a resounding, “No”. Granted we all believe in the value of a first-rate education, but just because you have X many degrees and/or letters after your name does that really guarantee your financial success?

As I said, my sistahs today are savvy enough to recognize that the wealthy are giving their kids something most people are not...and that is the “REAL” keys to financial freedom (after all, aren’t “they” the ones able to play golf at 9 am on weekdays while the rest of us grit our teeth through rush hour to go to a J-O-B? Clearly, they know something many of us do not.) So what IS it that they teach their kids? They tell them to own their own business so they can be in total control of their time and their income. Easier said than done, you think? Well, ask yourself this, “Can you honestly say you’d want your little one to grown up and do the job you’re currently doing?” Actually, do you own your job to be able to pass it down to your kids even if you wanted to after your retire from it like you could a business?

Truth be told, most people would rather be the boss than answer to one, but they just have no clue how to make that happen. So allow me to share a few books with you that might give your “entrepreneurial spirit” a prick. First, you may want to invest in “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” and “Cashflow Quadrant” both by Robert Kiyosaki. The former will certainly change your life and the latter will definitely shed some light on the common mistake novice entrepreneurs make in distinguishing between self-employed and business owner.

One book I will highly recommend for your children if they are in middle or high school and you want to start them off right with the rules of money is “The ABCs of Making Money 4 Teens” by Alan Lysaght & Denis Cauvier. It features many inspirational stories from teens who found success yet gives your child practical advice like how to escape credit card traps, how to reduce debt, and how to invest wisely.

Arm your children with the knowledge you may not have had at their age. After all, isn’t your goal for them to have more than you were able to? Share this quote with them and then maybe you, too, should hang it on your mirror and live by it every time that fear of failure comes creeping up to keep your from taking that step of faith, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, famous or successful?’ Actually, who are you NOT to be?” ~ Nelson Mandela

Pocahontas is a licensed Financial Coach and has been in the industry since 2005. She can be reached at pfslynette@gmail.com.