One of the biggest concepts that leads to true success in personal finance is developing a plan and sticking to it. Setting goals for your finances is one of the best things that you can do to keep yourself motivated and investing in your future financial freedom.

I’m sure many of you are sitting back and saying “yeah, yeah. I’ve heard this theory of setting goals a million times before, but it never works”. Well, there are two main reasons that people don’t succeed in accomplishing their goals.

1. We Don’t Organize Our Goals Well - People have a tendency to set a broad goal, follow it for a few weeks to a month, and then drop it and forget it until they’re making their next new year’s resoultion list. A major part of accomplishing goals is to split them up into short-term and long-term goals. Short-term meaning things like buying a car or making cosmetic repairs to a home. Long-term goals can be more along the lines of saving money for a child’s college fund or purchasing a home. Breaking your goals down into less broad categories can help you obtain them more quickly and you’ll be less likely to ditch them a few months down the road.
2. Budgeting Accordingly - Most of set goals for ourselves. Whether they be small or large we all find ourselves in situations where we need to make goals. What most people don’t do is budget their earnings properly to make it possible to obtain their goals. This is a big reason why even people who stick with their goals end up failing. You have to come up with a plan to achieve the goals you set. This means cutting back unnecessary costs and setting aside enough money on a regular schedule in order to obtain what is that you want in the time frame that you want.

If you can manage to overcome sheer laziness and make yourself determined, you can achieve a lot more than most people think they can. Just like a business developing a business plan to further it’s success in it’s market, we have to develop a life plan to succeed in the areas that we strive to succeed in.

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If you’re looking for school supplies for your kids or even office supplies for yourself, now is the time to start buying. There are tons of sales going on right now. I know most of you are waiting for tax free weekend which is right around the corner, but, in all honesty, you will more than likely save more money by buying now.

The sales that are going on for the next week or so are tremendous and they probably won’t last through tax free weekend. So, go grab cheap stuff while ya can!

Here is a list of links to some great savings that are going on right now:

• OfficeMax- A couple big highlights in this sale are the 25 cent four pocket poly folders, $9.99 backpacks, Avery 1″ binders (4 for $13), and the desks on sale.
• OfficeDepot- 5 cent protractors, 20 cents for glue stick 4-pack, 75 cent 1″ school binders, and backpacks as low as $4.99. (sales good through August 1st except where noted)
• Target- 50 cents each for 12 count PaperMate Eagle pens in either black, blue, or red ink. 50 cent pencil pouches or pencil boxes. $1 for selected Mead 1 subject poly notebooks in either wide or college rule. $4 for 10 count Sharpie permanent markers in assorted colors. $2.50 for 3 pack Scotch Magic tape with free pop-up dispenser or 3×3″ 3M Post-it notes. Sale prices good through August 1st.
• Best Buy- Notable sales here are a Toshiba laptop for $299.99, 8GB PNY usb flash drive for $24.99, 4GB PNY camera memory card for $17.99, 8GB iPod Touch that comes with a free $20 gift card for $229.99, and much more. Prices good through August 1st as well.
• KMart - $9.99 each for Dane Elec 4GB usb flash drives. $14.99 Route 66 and Athletech backpacks and messenger bags. Buy one get one free MX notebooks. $5 of all Mead zipper binders. Also, if you purchase $15 worth of participating brands you get a $4 off coupon for your next purchase. And if you buy $25 worth of participating brands you will receive an $8 off coupon for your next purchase. Sales are also good through August 1st.

Those are just a few examples. There are many more sales going on at each store. Just follow the links to find what you’re looking for.

A lot of these are pretty good sales. So if you’re still shopping for the kids or even just want a notebook for yourself, go ahead and buy now while they’re at low prices.

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Just wanted to give an update on the topic of minimum wage. One little thing that our federal government has done occurred yesterday, July 24th, 2009. The national minimum wage was raised up to $7.25 per hour.

What does this mean for us? Not much, honestly. In my opinion wage raises aren’t very useful. They change when cost of living costs change. It doesn’t do much for anyone other than bring your salary back to the government’s idea of a pay to cost balance.

For those out there who are making minimum wage it’s a small bonus. Sadly $7.25 an hour doesn’t compensate for living costs in much of anywhere. If you’re living on $7.25 an hour, I commend you. And believe it or not there are people in this world who are, indeed, living on this low rate of pay.

For those of us who make more than the minimum, we should count our blessings. Many of us complain that we don’t have enough money, but there are so many out there that have much less than we do.

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We all come upon days or even whole weekends where we want to get out the house or just have some fun with friends. But we don’t always have the money to do so or we just don’t want to partake in wasteful spending.

The good news is that we don’t have to break the bank to have some fun once in a while. There are many things that we can do that are very low cost or even free. It’s all a matter of being creative and having the diligence to look for things that we can participate in.

Maybe you’ve tried to figure out something to do and need a little help. Here is a list of 10 free or low-cost things to do:

1. Movie Night with RedBox: Many people overlook the big red movie displays that often showcase in grocery stores and gas stations. The fact of the matter is that if you want to go out to see a movie it’s going to cost you around $10 per person. Not cheap by any means for a couple hours in front of a screen. RedBox has changed that. You can rent a movie for a mere $1 and some change. And the selection is usually pretty good and recent. So get together with some friends and hit up your nearest RedBox and make use of cheap entertainment!
2. Local Entertainment: Most decent size cities almost always have things going on. From free concerts to public picnic days, the list can be endless. Research your town online or find local publications. They will more than likely contain information on events happening around your area.
3. Start Up A Blog: If you’re into writing and connecting with people starting a blog can be a very entertaining project for a weekend. If you’re new I’d suggest starting on a free blogging platform like Wordpress. It’s free and simple to use. Blogs can be made just for fun or even for profit. You’ll learn more as you go along. For more information on blogging check out my post on the subject: Get Paid - Blogging
4. Make Videos for YouTube: If you have a camcorder or even just a cell phone that takes simple videos this can be easy entertainment. You can be as creative, professional, or as stupid with it as you want. Make a few videos with your friends, edit them if ya want, and then post on YouTube. You never know, you might even find yourself becoming a viral video sensation online.
5. Sports: The oldest past time of American culture. Just grab a football, frisbee, volleyball, or whatever suits your interest and get together with a group of people for some recreational scrimmages. This is completely free and can be entertaining for hours on end. Or until you pass out
6. Hold A Yard Sale: This is more along the lines of making a weekend productive and profitable. What better way to spend a weekend than making it a weekend that puts more cash in your pocket? Grab your old belongings that no longer hold value to you, slap a price sticker on them, and reap the rewards.
7. House Cleaning: If you have nothing else to do, make your day productive and get some cleaning done. This may not sound like a blast, but it does invest in your family’s good health.
8. A Day At The Park: Take a trip out to your local public park and have a good time. Bring along some sports equipment, pack up a picnic, or just go to relax.
9. Game Night: Organize a night of gaming fun. Get together with a group of friends, break out the cards and board games, and enjoy yourself. It’s free, it’s easy, and it can be great time to spend with friends and family. You can also use this for a couples activity and make the night a fun double date.
10. Go Bowling on Discount Days: Check out the schedule for your local bowling alleys and find out what days they offer specials on. At our local bowling alley Tuesdays are $1.50 a game nights. Makes for a cheap way to have a few hours of fun.

These are just 10 ways to entertain yourself and friends for a night or a weekend. There are many more that you can find, especially if you live in larger cities or near natural attractions such as lakes and beaches. If you look well enough, you can find tons of ways to have fun for cheap or even for free.

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For years wireless service providers have been cleaning out consumer wallets with pricey cell phone contracts and hidden fees. Why continue to throw out money when it isn’t neccessary? With the rise of prepaid cell phone services, you don’t have to.

Many think of prepaid phone service as the poor man’s option and that the service and features are less than adequate. This isn’t true at all. Prepaid wireless services have come a long way since their introduction. Most prepaid phones receive service from the same exact towers that provide reception to your contract phone.

Most major wireless providers such as AT&T, Verizon, Alltel (now Verizon), Sprint, and many others offer prepaid cellular services now. And you’d be surprised by the rates they offer.

Verizon Wireless

Plans: Verizon now offers four INpulse pay-as-you-go plans. The basic plan offers minutes at 25 cents each with no daily access fee. With the INpulse Core plan, calls are 10 cents per minute and there is a 99 cent access charge per day. The INpulse Plus plan offers calls at 5 cents per minute, but charges a $1.99 per day access fee. This plan comes with unlimited night minutes (starting at 9 p.m.) and charges 5 cents per weekend minute. The final INpulse plan offers unlimited minutes and one-cent text messages for $3.99 per day. In addition, all INpulse plans comes with unlimited mobile to mobile (to other Verizon customers). All access fees are only charged on the days the phone is used.

Customer Service: Customer service can be reached 24 hours a day, 7 days a week via email, a toll free number and from your Verizon prepaid cell phone without incurring airtime charges.

Credit Check: None

Contract: None

(Details adapted from PrepaidReviews.com. Full article can be seen by clicking here.)

Alltel U Prepaid

Plans: Alltel U Prepaid offers three basic plan types. With the pay per minute plan, all calls are 15 cents per minute. There is a minimum 20 dollar initial balance. For each month of non-use, a fee of four dollars applies. The pay per day plan costs 75 cents per day, so between $22.50 and $23.25 per month. Subscribers can choose two of four feature options: unlimited nights and weekends, unlimited mobile to mobile, unlimited favorite number calling, or unlimited text messaging. Subscribers can add a third feature for an additional 25 cents per day, and can further add a fourth feature for another 25 cents. Calls not covered by the voice usage options are 10 cents per minute. There is also a 20 dollar minimum initial balance. The pay per month options features three plans that resemble regular phone plans, but without the contract. The $29.99 plan offers 200 peak minutes and 1,000 night and weekend minutes. Calls made above those minutes are charged at 35 cents per minute. The $39.99 plan offers 400 peak minutes and 2,000 night and weekend minutes. Calls made above those minutes are also charged at 15 cents per minute. The $69.99 plan offers 700 peak minutes, unlimited night and weekend minutes, unlimited mobile to mobile, and unlimited text messaging. Calls made above those minutes are charged at 15 cents per minute. Unlimited favorite number calling is available on any monthly plan for five dollars extra per month.

Customer Service: Customer service is available 24 hours per day, 7 days per week via a toll free number, email or by dialing a special number from your Alltel prepaid cell phone with no airtime charges. Customer service is also available at retail locations during normal business hours.

Credit Check: None

Contract: None

(Details adapted from PrepaidReviews.com. Full article can be seen by clicking here.)

AT&T Prepaid Wireless

Plans: AT&T offers two styles of prepaid service. Pay As You Go is a traditional prepaid service with three tiers. The first is 25 cents per minute. The second is 10 cents per minute, but requires a 1 dollar per day access fee, which is charged only on days the phone is used. Customers with this plan can enjoy unlimited mobile to mobile minutes, and can add unlimited nights and weekends for $19.99 per month. The final tier is unlimited calling, which requires a $3 per day access fee on days the phone is used. Pick Your Plan allows customers to purchase a package each month, similar to monthly contract plans. The difference is that the money is used for all services — voice, messaging, data, downloads, etc. — so each package is advertised as having “up to” a certain number of minutes. The first package costs $29.99 per month and offers minutes at 15 cents each, so up to 200 each month. The second costs $39.99 and offers minutes at 13.3 cents each, up to 300 per month. Customers with this plan can enjoy unlimited mobile to mobile calling and 500 free night and weekend minutes. The third package costs $49.99 and offers minutes at 12.5 cents each, up to 400 per month. Customers with this plan can enjoy unlimited mobile to mobile calling and 3,000 night and weekend minutes. The final package costs $69.99 per month and offers minutes at 10.8 cents each, up to 650 per month. Customers with this plan can enjoy unlimited mobile to mobile and unlimited night and weekend calling.

Customer Service: AT&T GoPhone offers customer service via a toll-free number or e-mail.

Credit Check: None

Contract: None

(Details adapted from PrepaidReviews.com. Full article can be seen by clicking here.)

Boost Mobile Prepaid

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