Ladies Who Launch

Old With The Old/In With The New

Organizing saves time and money.  Look to get organized this year.

For more on credit card balances check out this post.  You can always negotiate interest rates if you are a customer in good staning with the credit card company. I think that if you transfer a balance, then you don't want to keep the old credit card open. There may be a temptation to use the card again, and it is just necessary clutter.

Speaking of clutter and organizing, you may want to check this book, Body Clutter. I just bought and it is great!

Also, we have two Ladies Who Launch here in the New York area who can assist you in organizing.
Erica Ecker, The Spacialist, and Mary Carlomagno, author of Give It Up, My Year of Learning  Better Living With Less.

Transfer Those Credit Card Balances!

, by FashionMista

Happy New Year, everyone!

This is just a friendly reminder/encouragement to be aware of those 0% APR offers you hopefully get in the mail and transfer credit card balances to them - and keep track of the expiration date of the 0% APR so that you can think about moving again when you start to pay finance charges.

I'm spending this Saturday night tackling my bill stack, and I'm starting with the personal bills, then moving to the Katie James sales/expense stack. What I've been a pro at is keeping my Excel spreadsheet for personal expenses each month, of which some are expensed, so that by Tax Time, I can easily submit it all at once to my accountant. Same with receipts. All are saved in a purple plastic file thing that I keep in my kitchen cupboard (apartments are small, and the kitchen is filled with cabinet space).

I still address my bills via paper bills. I pay them quickly over the phone or online, but I need the visual stimulation/intrusion of white bills glaring at me until paid to remind me to devote a Saturday to it. That said, I know all of my balances for scary credit cards, and keep track via electronic calendar reminders of when the 0% APR ran out. So, my Amex Blue was giving me a 0% APR for all of last year, thank goodness, but it ended this past September. I got charged $40/month for the finance charge, which meant that if I paid the minimum payment of $70, I was really paying $30. Yuck!!!

I get 0% APR offers all of the time, but toss them until I'm close to the end of my 0% APRness. Then I start to hold onto them and wait for the perfect one. This December, I got one from Chase (for the 5th time), and as Chase is my bank for personal and for business, I grabbed it. I waited until I made the most recent payment due for my Amex, then called Chase to make the transfer to their card, which is 0% APR for one year. I figured out the payments I would need to make to kill the debt for one year, and boy did that light a new fire under me! It's manageable, but I feel much better now that I'm not paying finance charges. Maybe Keeping Nickels can weigh in, but I believe that it's good for your credit NOT to close the credit card after you transfer from it. I think it's good to leave them open, but don't quote me.

Because I'm so visual, I had to make a chart to reminde me every day about those quiet little debts that can become so ferocious. Check out my Debt-O-Meter that super-novas when a debt is closed (SOO exciting).

Financing Your Launch: Mary Waterhouse

Mary Waterhouse is a member of the Seattle Incubator and a breakthrough coach. Her website is
http://www.thebreakthroughcoach.net/.

Ten years ago I started a business with four other women where we facilitated Critical Thinking training for welfare recipients.  We managed to assist hundreds of women  to successfully transition from welfare to work.  While saving the government hundreds of thousands of dollars, we struggled financially under the government contract system.  As a result, I was personally in a lot of debt, but was extremely well versed in Critical Thinking.  I decided to start my own company as a private coach.  To finance this venture and to support myself, I returned to interior house painting.  I painted during the day, and coached at night.  Now, five years later I am coaching nearly full time and am living my true passion.

Financing Your Launch: Amy Holbrook

Amy Holbrook is the creator and owner of AMH Design, and she is a member of the New York Incubator. Her select of needlepoint kits would make a great gift for the holidays.

Before the offers run out, get yourself a 0% interest rate credit card. They are currently offering terms of 0% for up to 18 months! Just be careful to read the fine print. Some cards charge a flat 3% fee (so it isn’t a true 0% card). Others have a 3% fee but they cap it at $50. Yet other cards
have a true 0%. I have been running my business off of these cards for 2 years. Just make sure to write yourself a HUGE note with the expiration date of your 0% offer. Once the account starts to accrue interest, the costs really add up. So, make sure to open another account in advance so that you can transfer your balance before having to start paying interest. Or, even better, set yourself
an 18 month goal towards becoming profitable! The looming deadline does wonders
for making you hustle!

Financing Your Launch: Julie Lazarus

From Julie Lazarus of Elezar who is a member of the New York Incubator.

Well, my partner and I have invested our own money. I borrowed from my family as well to put in what I needed to. Our goal is to find outside investors but we want to sell the company for something rather then just to give it away which we feel means a department store or well established boutique store.