The money factor

"All I ask is the chance to prove that money can't make me happy." ~ Spike Milligan

"We didn't actually overspend our budget. The allocation simply fell short of our expenditure." ~ Keith Davis

Isn’t that often how we feel? Especially after the first week of the month is over and we have paid all the bills and look at what is left in the bank.

Bo Derek also said Whoever said money can't buy happiness simply didn't know where to go shopping. And oh boy, do we go shopping when we are down/had a bad day/need something to perk us up. And often we buy things we don’t need with money we don’t have and cannot really afford to pay back.

The husband and I have been together for 15 years now, and it is only recently that I can confidently say we no longer worry about money beyond the first week of the month. In fact, we are finally in a position to live comfortably without making debt and even help our friends and family who have been affected by the recent economic meltdown.

It look a lot of hard work, massive sacrifices and about 3 years, but it was so worth it. And, to be honest, we could not have done it without the invaluable advice found in a book called Financial Steps to Freedom.

The good news is that I have 5 copies of the printed book and 5 copies of the e-book to give away. Even better, each winner will also receive a voucher for 4 hours of online advice from the author of the book, Helene Strauss – 2 hours for themselves and 2 hours for a friend.

To win, write a blog post about your best money saving or get out of debt tip, or about your own experience with debt, or why you think you need this book, along with a link back to this post and the book’s Facebook page. Once you have posted your entry, post the link to the book’s Facebook page.

If you don’t have a blog outside of Facebook, you may also use the notes/blog facility within Facebook to post your entry.

Competition closes Sunday 16 May 2010. Winners will be announced both on this blog and on the Facebook page on Sunday 23 May 2010.

And if you don’t win, you can pick up a copy of the e-book for a mere $10 from here.