1.    Educate yourself. Ask for help when you don’t understand why you are having trouble with your finances. Take a Whatcom Dream class and become a smart and responsible consumer!

2.    Track your spending. It will be nearly impossible for you to plan a realistic budget without knowing where your money is actually going. Look for leaks in your budget- (those small purchases that can really add up by the end of the month!)

3.    Identify your WANTS and NEEDS. Know the difference. Take care of needs first.

4.    Look for less expensive ways to meet your family’s needs: try bartering, shopping at second hand stores, growing a garden, or buying in bulk with others.

5.    Focus on what you have, instead of what you don’t have. Your current financial picture may look bleak, but you may be rich in other ways. Be grateful; try to see the glass as “half full” rather than “half empty”.

6.    Assess the damage. Face the facts of your financial state and make an action plan to begin dealing with it. Whatcom Dream can help you prioritize your debts and get you on the road to financial freedom!

7.    Stop creating financial wreckage. Starting TODAY, commit to becoming a person with financial integrity. Starting TODAY, create no more debt and live within your means.

8.    Give some away. If you think about it, there is always someone who has needs greater than your own.  If your budget is really tight, you can give of your time volunteering, or give of a talent you possess. Later, when you are less financially bound, you can choose a worthy organization or cause to contribute to.

9.    Pass it on. The best way to really learn something and have it “stick” is to teach it to someone else. Help your children, parents or friends learn to deal with their finances.

10.     Set short, medium and long term financial goals. Write them down and break them into incremental steps with deadlines. Check them off as you accomplish them and watch your dreams develop!