While I'm all about spending money wisely and being good stewards of the money we have, I think some folks tend to be cheapskates when it comes totipping. As a friend pointed out to me the other day, TIPS stands for To Insure Prompt Service. If you tip a server poorly who provides good service, you may not get the same quality service the next time. Besides that, I believe it's a character issue as well. Are we so stingy with our money that we can't reward good service?

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I saw an article on bankrate.com comparing penny-pinching versus drastic changes as solid financial strategies for financial well-being. Towards the end of the article, they mentioned combining the two ideas

The truth is, families need to create a budget to account for where the money is going, and how they will pay off their debts. When you are debt-free, and even debt-free plus a mortgage, you have plenty of opportunities to follow your dreams and passions. Creating a monthly zero-based budget takes little time and gives every dollar a name. This allows you to maximize the money designated to pay off debts. Just think how many people would be able to pursue work and dreams they love if they didn't feel tied to jobs that pay bills for things they don't have time to enjoy!

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Too many people live one paycheck at a time which creates an "actual" risk of having severe problems once an actual emergency arises. 29% of bankruptcies are attributed directly to medical costs, and the news reminds us frequently of how the loss of jobs has increased the number of foreclosures. It's a shame that folks would lose homes and vehicles as a result. The best way to avert these risks is to create a financial plan (risk mitigation) and to develop what I like to call "different streams of revenue". This is also a risk mitigation strategy.

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Many local TV news departments offer consumers help by going after companies that have done them wrong in some way, like failing to deliver on services paid for. A local story this past week in the news featured a woman who discovered she had been charged $900 for purchases she hadn't made. The bank refused to refund her money, so she called the news station. No explanation was given for the bank's refusal, but they relented and refunded the money after the station got involved.

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When a family determines the need to bring in more income, work-at-home options appear very desirable. They can be; however, you need to be cautious before you proceed.

I received an email from an individual asking about a particular company that touted working from home with a company called incomeathome.com. The warning flag to me was her statement that the company does want some money in order for you to work with them. In my eyes, any company that requires an investment is an automatic NO. I did a web search to learn more about this particular company. While legitimate, it is a Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) firm for a vitamin supplement company. MLM is workable for specific personality types, but if you are not a strong sales type individual, this will be a poor fit for you. There are other jobs out there for you if you want to work from home, but do your homework first.

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