Organized Diva

See How Much You Can Afford with Suze Orman's Expense Worksheet

When it comes to our money, most of us have sadly realized is that we have to change the way we manage it. To gain control, we need to know how much cash is coming in and how much is going out. Suze Orman has made her expense worksheet available online for us to clearly see the state of our household budget.

With good oversight of our finances some of those very important questions will be answered: What are our total expenses and income? Are we overspending? Can we save any money? Where can we cut expenses? Can we pay off more of our debts? How much can we afford to spend on Holidays? The questions can feel complex and the answers may be unwelcome. But they need not be. With the online tools available now, such as the free online Quicken accountI wrote about recently and this Orman expense worksheet, you can see your household budget and available money much more clearly.

If you haven't started yet, this may be the right time to begin using a financial management tool, no matter which one you prefer. Knowing in advance how much you can afford before the upcoming holidays will make everything less stressful. You will also limit high credit card bill surprises come January. And, just think, if good money management has been on your New Year's resolution list, starting now will give you a head start.

Download the Suze Orman Expense Worksheet.

The Suze Orman Show at CNBC.

Further Reading:

How Does Your Household Budget Compare to What's Recommended? Try CNBC's Budget Calculator.

Manage Your Personal Finances with Quicken Online - Now Free

Layaway Instead of Credit - A New Trend?

Is Sarah Palin Really Impressing the Right People With her $150K Clothing Budget?

Not to choose political sides, although I'll admit I'm definitely a Democrat, I'm thoroughly appalled by the clothing budget that the Republicans have overspent on Palin. How can a woman who says she represents "Joe the average plumber" and the small-town hockey mom spend more than $150,000 on a clothing budget? How many plumbers, small business owners, maintenance people, and homemakers do you know that can afford to spend so much money on their clothing, make-up and hair in such a short time? Who is really being impressed by this and paying for these extravaganzas?

We already know that Palin isn't paying for these items herself and the RNC has claimed responsibility for these expenditures! Now we know where our tax dollars are hard at work. That would make her the first candidate to not pay for her own clothing. One can understand that a working mother on a limited budget can't afford such expensive outfits, especially a mother of a child with a severe disability, such as Downs Syndrome.

What does a soccer mom or even a father do with such a fancy wardrobe, other than attend a single Convention? I certainly haven't seen any on the soccer field sidelines. And, I can't imagine any of them not spending that money on their disabled child.

How can she justify spending all that money on over-expensive clothing, when most people with a disability or a child with a disability can't afford to pay for healthcare of any kind?  In her blog article: "Sarah Palin: Disability Advocate or Rhetorical Cloud?" Emily Elizabeth summed it up very well when she criticized McCain's push to reduce government's spending on Medical Benefits for the young, old or disabled, including our War Veterans, of which he himself is one.

It makes me furious to think that McCain and Palin think that spending all this money so frivolously will be erased from our minds by telling us that it will be donated to "charitable purposes" as stated in the MSNBC article. Who in their right mind would spend any amount of money for something Palin wore at an obscure event, especially if she may not get elected.

Time for a reality check for the McCain/Palin Team. Start thinking of the average Joe who doesn't have health care, electricity, heating, food, clothing or even a roof over their head and stop spending their hard earned tax dollars on $2500 Jackets worn only once!

Let me know what you think of this type of wasted money spending. Hope you have better places to put your money these days. Good luck in finding a more affordable outfit. DivaAnke

Photo: AP

Layaway Instead of Credit - A New Trend?

Guess what is making a comeback? The Layaway Plan!

On a layaway plan, you buy something over time and then take it home with you. If you think about it, it makes more sense than buying on credit and paying high interest rate fees. It also makes sense if you want to buy a higher priced Holiday or birthday presents now, but don't need them immediately. Once you have the item paid off, you also don't have to encounter the credit card bill shock in January.

Large discount retailer Kmart has made layaway buying available for their customers this month. They see that their customers need to purchase some higher priced products and get ready for the holidays, all while having to strictly watch their spending. More frequently, their customers are worried about maxing out their credit cards, paying hefty interest, and are living paycheck to paycheck. It's cash crunch time, people!

Some other stores, such as Burlington Coat Design, TJ Maxx, and Marshalls also have layaway plans. On the internet, elayaway.com and lay-away.com already cater to the layaway customers. Let's see if other large discount stores will follow. This would be a great alternative to credit cards.

Source: cnbc.com

Manage Your Personal Finances with Quicken Online - Now Free

We all know an overview of our income and expenses is very important to financial health. To help us see our finances more clearly, the personal finance software company Quicken has now eliminated their online access fees. Anyone can now open a free personal account online and begin tracking their income and expenses.

Much of what we spend or not spend our money on comes from our gut feeling. But to really see what we could change in our spending habits, we need to see where our money is going. There really is no other way around it. In Quicken they group our personal spending expenses into major categories, such as housing, food, and entertainment. We can then compare our personal pie chart with the recommended spending pie chart that I had recently talked about in How Does Your Household Budget Compare to What's Recommended? Try CNBC's Budget Calculator.

Please remember that the recommended pie chart at CNBC should really only serve as a guideline. Expense percentages are going to vary, depending upon the size of your family, any health situations, even what type of business attire you have to wear, for example.

Please let me know how you feel about this.

Source: Lifehacker