A Place To Call Home -Why Single Mothers Should Own A Home

Written by: Dina Harbour

Women Obtaining Wealth
Women Obtaining Wealth Internet Talk Show


I can’t put my finger on it exactly but it is something special about going home. A home can represent a lot of things but for me, home is my security blanket. It is the place that I grew up, ran up and down the street, learned how to dance, skate, and ride my first bike.

My parents bought out home shortly after I was born. My Mom still lives there to this day and it makes me smile. Buying a home is something I always wanted to do. It just made sense to me. It took me 31 years before I could buy a home. Why did it take me so long to purchase a home when I wanted one so badly?

Well, no one taught me how to buy a home. I was employed and made a decent salary but I didn’t know all the rules and/or requirements. When I did find out what was required I hadn’t saved up enough money for the down payment. Plus I was carrying to much debt.

Later in my discovery I learned that ALL wealthy people own real estate. Most Millionaires make their money from buying, renting and/or selling this asset. It took me 31 years to own my first piece of property and it was the best investment I could have made back in the year of 2000.

Since then however, I’ve experienced and learned so many valuable lessons about owning real estate. Because of my knowledge, I became a Real Estate Agent and Investor. Also, in sadness I’ve watched good people loose their homes while the housing market took a crazy dive.

Regardless of these unfortunate situations people are still using real estate as one of their most popular vehicles to building wealth. They have the REAL information needed to make real estate much more than a home, but also a pertinent asset. Just because the economy is not in the best shape doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t own real estate. People still need a place to call home more so now than ever before. Do you have one to call your own?

Why Good Credit is more important than Money!

Today, I had lunch with one of my Money Management clients. I went over the results of her Financial Evaluation. She was “shocked” at my findings.

I basically explained to her, that she was loosing over $5,000 a year due to low credit scores. She is a professional woman with a low 600 FICO score. After college, she carried some understandable debt and made her payments on time. But after purchasing a home and other items she started falling behind on some of her bills.

This is when her scores started to decrease. Her credit card interest rates jumped up, some over 20%, her car and homeowners insurance increased, and she experienced outrageous bank fees and over draft charges.

I know many of us get into situations where we can’t pay things on time and late fees are unavoidable. However, when you do have the money pay more than the amount due to the next dollar. For instance, if a bills $106.24, pay $107. You may think this doesn’t matter but it does. If you ever fall behind, it will show that you usually pay your bill on time and more than the amount due. Creditors will normally waive the fees. Also create and stick to a monthly budget, learn about credit bureaus and reports. Try very hard to keep your FICO scores above 680 and keep your debt as low as possible.

Now SCORE big!

Dina Harbour, CEO
Budgeting & Money Management Coach
www.womenobtainingwealth.com

Your Money Reflects Your Mind

Just last month I was teaching a budgeting class and one student bragged about how she was doing better than a friend of hers that made more money than her and had no children. This same student later admitted that she had purchased a new car and confessed that the payments were causing a burden on her finances.

As a Budgeting & Money Management Coach this information alerts me that something is going on with this individual. Since this wasn’t a one-on-one session I didn’t ask more questions, but I wanted to.

There is a direct correlation between how we think about ourselves and how we spend our money. I’ve noticed that many people buy things to “look” wealthy but financially they are a step away from bankruptcy.

Personally, I am on a mission to help other women educate themselves about money, but it is a very hard battle. When people are unwilling to change they keep the same belief system that they were taught years ago. They also don’t want to take the necessary steps to improve their lives until a crisis happens.

Maybe this housing crisis will be their wake-up call.

Dina Harbour, CEO
Budgeting & Money Management Coach
www.womenobtainingwealth.com

Motivation vs. Inspiration

I try to meet new people daily because I am in the business of "connecting people with purpose”. Sometimes I have a brief conversation with people but often it turns into a somewhat deep/lengthy discussion about purpose and passion.

This is how I explain what I do and/or believe in. “I do not try to MOTIVATE others.” Motivation is temporary and it often requires some type of outside reward such as money to help a person stay focus. However, INSPIRATION is a long lasting feeling. It is a wake up call to something that is already inside of you. Regardless of money or fame, you can be inspired. When I am pursuing my passion/purpose I cannot give-up totally because something inside of me keeps me going.

So I leave the conversation by saying this, “if you’re living this precious life only using motivation (i.e. getting a paycheck, buying a nice car etc) and not using inspiration you are cheating yourself from a felling that wealthy people experience everyday. The joy of living a purposeful life is a life worth living."

Dina Harbour, CEO
Budgeting & Money Management Coach
www.womenobtainingwealth.com

Being Successful Is A Direct Link To How You Deal With C.H.A.N.G.E.

As an Entrepreneur I'm often faced with making decisions. However, after making a decision and seeing that something didn't quite work, I have to be willing to make changes.

We all know that there aren’t many things we can count on, with the exception taxes, death and change!

C.H.A.N.G.E (Choosing Hope And Never Greed or Envy). What does thins mean?
Well with change you must do something different and sometimes it can be uncomfortable. When making these decisions, you need to embrace it but use this Acronym to make sure your decisions are positive and well thought out.

Don't make a drastic change on the premises that it's going to gain you a lot of money but end a valuable relationship of cause total disrespect with your colleagues.

Money can leave just as fast as it comes but once you destroy a worthy relationship, it's hard to get back the trust and the respect.

Dina Harbour, CEO
Budgeting & Money Management Coach
www.womenobtainingwealth.com

The Importance of Creating A Realistic Budget

I was interviewed on by AASAP radio by Alonzo Brown. He asked me a very important question, and I rushed to respond. His question was "What task could you give someone looking to start the budgeting process?" My answer was this.

When you are trying to generate a realistic budget, the first thing you should do is keep all of your receipts. Take a plastic container or shoe box. Keep it in an area that you see everyday. I recommend by your front door, bedroom dresser, or kitchen counter.

Every time you spend money on ANY item, make sure you keep that receipt until you can drop it off into your designated "box". Continue this process until the end of the month. At that time take out all the receipts and write a category on them. For example, a cup of coffee could be given the category of snack or food.

Total all these receipts and think about if these items are out of control or not.
To learn more about creating a household budget, send me an email on our website's "Contact US" page and I will send you a Newsletter on the subject.

Happy Budgeting

Dina Harbour, CEO
Women Obtaining Wealth
www.womenobtainingwealth.com