In my Living Debt Free ebook, I suggest that readers visualize their goals to help them stay motivated on their journey to getting out of debt.

Joan Sotkin of Prosperity Place takes this a step further, and says visualizing with feelings is a more powerful way to change your money thoughts and will help you achieve your goals faster.

For more about visualizing your goals, check out Prosperity Quick Tip: Visualizing with Feelings.

…why not ask “how can I afford that”?

While browsing the The Carnival of 20-Somethings Finance, I saw a post called Tori Spelling - Unsung Financial Hero? that caught my attention.

If you like reality shows (me, not so much, but I actually caught part of this episode on one of my ‘unable to sleep’ nights), you may be familiar with Tori and Dean - Home Sweet Hollywood.  On a recent episode, Tori and Dean were looking at new houses to buy, and they were looking at one that was twice their budget.

One of my Twitter buddies recently asked what a blog carnival was and if it was a good idea to participate in one.

What a great question! According to BlogCarnival.com, a blog carnival is a blog community where articles on a particular topic are linked to on a blog host’s page. A blog carnival is similar to a magazine in that you have a topic, editors, contributors and readers. Blog carnivals are typically published on a regular schedule (can be weekly, monthly, etc.) and generally include editor comments along with links to all of the articles contributed.

Money is one of the biggest sources of worry, anxiety, and divorce among adults. So many people struggle to make ends meet and incur thousands of dollars in credit card debt along the way.

This week on Mom’s Love Shopping guest host Carrie Lauth interviewed me about two strategies that anyone can use to pay off their credit card debts.

There is no one perfect way to eliminate debt; the important thing is to choose a payment plan that you can live with and commit to.

You can find more great ways to eliminate your debt in the Living Debt Free ebook.

I never expected to see a personal finance blog post by Seth Godin, but I am totally lovin’ it!

Urgent personal finance advice

by Seth Godin

If I could only share one piece of personal finance advice to grads or to just about anyone, it would be this:

Only borrow money to pay for things that increase in value.

It’s a short list: your business, your house and your education, mostly. Stocks if you’re smarter than me. That’s pretty much it.

If you have credit card debt, you’re in big trouble. Your bank account has a huge leak in it, and it’s getting worse. Hence the urgency.

There are many resources out there for those who are deep in debt. There are credit counselers and debt consolidation companies. There are lawyers offering to have your debt reduced for a fee, and in extreme cases, there is bankruptcy. With all of these choices, one might think that a person can’t get out of debt on his own.

The truth is that it IS possible to get out of debt on your own. Even those who think there is no room in their budget to pay down debt are often surprised. It takes willpower and determination, but you CAN get out of debt on your own.

So… how do you get out of debt on your own? Here are some tips:

Continue Reading You CAN Get Out of Debt On Your Own

Marie Ynami, of MommyCommunity.com interviewed me this week about my free teleclass, Get Your Top ‘How to Get Out of Debt’ Questions Answered Once and For All!

I always enjoy talking to Marie, and am thrilled that she invited me to be on her podcast (again).  Thanks Marie!

To listen to the interview, please click here.

Related Posts:

Create a Visual Debt Reminder
Motivational Movie - Debt Free at Last!
New! Living Debt Free Ebook - Learn How to Get Out of Debt and on the Road to Financial Freedom!

One way to cut the sting of the post-holiday credit card bills is to set a new agenda when it comes to credit.  So consider the following ideas when setting your credit resolutions for 2007:

Set dates for getting your credit reports: Each year, you should check each of your credit reports from annualcreditreport.com directly.  You should spread out your requests, making requests quarterly so you can catch errors that might come up at different parts of the year and spot identity theft.

Get your credit score once a year: A credit score is a three-digit number that reflects the credit history detailed by a person’s credit report.  Go to www.myfico.com to retrieve your credit score once a year from one or all of the three credit bureaus.

Continue Reading Credit Resolutions for the New Year

When you’re working towards a big goal, it’s easy to lose focus and not follow through.  That’s why so many people make New Year’s Resolutions and never meet them.

In order to actually meet your goals, you need to keep the prize in mind.  Here’s an example… 

Lets say you want to lose 15 pounds.  To lose those 15 pounds you need to make some changes to your eating habits and you need to exercise regularly.  Most people will focus on the pain - not being able to eat what they want, having to get up early to go to the gym - and they won’t lose the 15 pounds.

Angela Wills at StarVA.com has a great feature on her blog called ‘Free Tool Friday’.  This is a weekly post where she features different tools that online business owners can use to help grow, or just streamline their business.

I’m a big fan of ‘Free Tool Friday’ and have decided to adopt my own version.  My version of ‘Free Tool Friday’ will feature financial calculators and tools to help you make financial decisions.  Look for tools on budgeting, debt management, saving for retirement, and more.

This week, I want to feature a debt reduction planner at CNNMoney.com.