Five Steps That Will Change Your Finances

Five Steps That Will Change Your Finances

Do you ever feel like your paychecks are gone before you even get them, and you have no idea where they went? Or maybe credit card payments have taken over your life and you feel like you can’t even get ahead. Whatever your situation, there’s no better time than now to take control of your finances. Here are five things you can start doing today that can change the way you handle money.

1. Create a budget. It’s imperative to have a plan for your money. Start with a zero-based budget, meaning every dollar you make is assigned a category (food, housing, gas, etc.) until you have zero dollars left. If you’re married, make sure you sit down and do this together with your spouse. Having a budget in place is very liberating – it allows you to see where each dollar goes and can show you where you’re overspending or underspending.

2. Start paying off debt. Debt is always a burden. It prevents you from saving money because you’re making payments to someone else instead of yourself. It also hinders your ability to invest and give. Add up your total debt, excluding your mortgage. If the total is greater than 50 percent of your gross income, you probably need to sell something, whether it’s a car, boat or something else.

3. Build an emergency savings account. A job layoff, medical emergency, car repair or anything else that pops up is far less stressful when you have money in the bank to pay for it, instead of living off of credit cards.

4. Check your insurance policies. Not having adequate coverage or the right coverage could cost you. For example, if you live in an area prone to flooding flood insurance is a necessity, as this past summer’s rains proved.

5. Adjust Witholdings. If you’re expecting a big tax refund this year, adjust your withholdings so you take more home each paycheck. Otherwise you’re giving the government an interest-free loan each year when you could put that money to better use paying off debt, paying expenses or funding your emergency savings account.

Team USA Going for Gold in Vancouver

Go Team USA! Georgia Athletes You’ll Want to Watch

If you’re not planning on tuning into the 2010 Winter Olympics, you’re making a big mistake. With two athletes from our great state competing, it’s time help cheer them onto victory. Here’s some background on each one to help you get even more excited about Team USA!

Tanith Belbin
Figure skating
Born in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, and now training in Pennsylvania, the 26-year-old ice dancer made Atlanta her home when her parents moved here. She spends most of her time traveling but enjoys seeing Atlanta’s sights and shopping when she can.
In September 2009, she and partner Ben Agosto made America proud when they won silver at the Torino games, the first time since 1976 that a U.S. team won. They also won silver at the 2006 winter games in Torino, Italy.

Elana Myers
Bobsled
It may seem ironic that Douglasville native Elana Myers is now an Olympic bobsledder, considering the only snow she ever saw growing up was the “blizzard” of 1993. But she didn’t let that stop her and is now the brakeman for Team USA, along with driver Shauna Rohback. In 2009, the team won gold during the Whistler World Cup and silver at the World Championships.
Her parents, who still live south of the city, aren’t strangers to the athletic world. Her dad, Eddie, was a running back for the Atlanta Falcons.

There are other Georgia athletes that have competed at the winter Olympics throughout the years and many memorable moments that have occurred, thanks to all our athletes.

Do you have a favorite winter games memory? "The Miracle on Ice", Eddie "The Eagle", or is there a sport that captured your attention or a particular athlete? If so, we’d love to hear about it. Share your Olympic memories on our Facebook page at www.allgoodpestsolutions.com/facebook.html.

Name that Movie!

With Valentine’s Day just a few days away, it’s time to break out the classic romantic movies. You may have seen them all but how well do you remember them? Test your movie lore with our romantic movie quote quiz.

Quotes: (choices below)

1. “Don't you love New York in the fall? It makes me wanna buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address. On the other hand, this not knowing has its charms.”

2. “I love that after I spend the day with you, I can still smell your perfume on my clothes. And I love that you are the last person I want to talk to before I go to sleep at night. And it's not because I'm lonely, and it's not because it's New Year's Eve. I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.”

3. “I am NOT going to New York to meet some woman who could be a crazy, sick lunatic! Didn't you see Fatal Attraction?”

4. “Well, I won’t kiss you for it either.”

“Open your eyes and look at me. No, I don't think I will kiss you - although you need kissing badly. That's what's wrong with you. You should be kissed, and often, and by someone who knows how.”

5. “From the first moment I met you, your arrogance and conceit, your selfish disdain for the feelings of others made me realize that you were the last man in the world I could ever be prevailed upon to marry.”

6. “I love you. You complete me. And I just...”

“Shut up. Just shut up. You had me at hello.”

7. "It was nobody's fault but my own. I was looking up. It was the nearest thing to heaven. You were there."

8. “Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine. But what about us?”

“We'll always have Paris.”

Movie titles:

A. Price and Prejudice.
B. An Affair to Remember.
C. Gone With the Wind.
D. Jerry McGuire.
E. Sleepless in Seattle.
F. You’ve Got Mail
G. Casablanca.
H. When Harry Met Sally







(Answers: 1. F; 2. H; 3. E; 4. C; 5. A; 6. D; 7. B; 8. G.)