Why Repeat Business Is Not an Accident

**this post was originally featured on ConstantContact.com/blogs**

 

While a customer may find your business by accident, whether or not they return is a conscious decision.

 

These days, when there are so many options to get what we need online or around the corner, what can really inspire customers to come back is you. Or more specifically, it’s the experience customers have when they’re at your place of business.

It doesn’t matter if you’re selling exotic vacations or tax consulting services, if you can create a WOW! experience for the customer, you’ll make an indelible imprint on their memory.

The next time they’re thinking about the products and services you offer, or a friend mentions that they need something you sell, the memory is triggered. This is how first-time customers become repeat customers and your own personal word-of-mouth marketers.

Creating a WOW! Customer Experience

How do you create that wow experience?

It’s easier than you think. It doesn’t need to be a grand gesture and it doesn’t need to cut into your profits. You can create a memorable experience for customers in lots of different ways. Here are some of my favorite examples.

Allegria Spa in Beaver Creek, Colorado is dedicated to providing customers with a personal touch every time they receive a spa service or an email. By focusing on delivering a personalized experience both in person and online, Allegria has a keen understanding of the needs and interests of its customers on an individual basis. This knowledge continues to grow through face-to-face customer interactions and by analyzing email marketing results.

Allegria applies this knowledge to improve the customer’s onsite spa experience and create even more targeted messages and offers that clients look forward to receiving. Not only are Allegria’s response rates double the industry average for salons and spas, their personalized touch and high customer satisfaction ratings have landed them in the pages of Forbes, CNN Travel and Travel & Leisure magazines.

Another great example is the law firm Rains Lucia Stern, PC. The firm’s approach to marketing is all about building strong client relationships. They do this with an integrated marketing approach that includes email, events, and surveys.

The firm’s emails provide helpful information to clients in the form of snippets of articles written by attorneys that link back to the firm’s website. As part of a full engagement marketing cycle that’s designed to continuously improve the client experience, the firm regularly checks in to make sure its content is covering the topics that are of most interest to clients.

Through regular communications and a dedicated feedback loop, the firm is able to attract upwards of 200 attendees at its monthly educational events. Also, by providing clients with an opportunity to share their insight and opinions, Rains Lucia Stern, PC is able to strengthen client relationships and foster positive word-of-mouth while ensuring every event and email that clients receive is engaging and valuable.

There are many other tried-and-true practices that sway customers to choose you over the competition.

 

These include gift-wrapping, complementary wine tastings, or free product assembly. Some smart entrepreneurs even thank their customers by presenting them with an offer that has absolutely nothing to do with their business. For example, customers that spend a certain amount at Urban Elements furniture are presented with a gift certificate for a free massage offered by another local small business.

Getting to Know Your Customers

The key to creating wow experiences is getting to know your customers on a personal level.

Now you may be thinking that you couldn’t possibly get to know every single customer individually. For many small businesses, that’s true. What you can do, however, is focus on engaging your most active customers. It’s the old 80/20 rule where 80 percent of your business comes from 20 percent of your customers.

When you engage your most active customers, they’ll buy more and they’ll buy more often. Not to mention that they’re also more likely to refer business to you.

There are several ways to learn more about your customers without coming across as intrusive.

You can start by recognizing the different types of customers your business most often attracts and creating experiences that reflect their particular needs. For example, an urban kitchen supply store may attract a lot of first-time apartment dwellers. The business owner can engage this audience by making recommendations on products, offering cooking classes, or putting together a “kitchen starter-kit” that includes all of the essentials.

 

Other ways to learn about your customers are to analyze your newsletter content to see which articles and offers are most clicked on, shared and forwarded. You can also take a poll on your Facebook Business page or simply engage in good old-fashioned face-to-face conversation.

Engagement + Wow Experiences = Your Secret Weapon

Small business owners that engage their customers have a huge advantage over chains and big box stores. This is because they’re able to get to know customers on a personal level, which results in better service.

Take advantage of this distinct differentiator and bring it to the next level by creating a wow experience and then personalize it whenever possible. The more personalized the wow experience is, the more memorable it becomes, therefore fueling your repeat and referral engine.

Author:

Christopher Litster

I'm the Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing. Been around Constant Contact for 9 years and have had an amazing time as we have... 

See the full original article:  http://blogs.constantcontact.com/repeat-business/

Connect with Constant Contact experts at the Unlimited You Weekend April 10- 12, 2015. www.unlimitedactions.com We're thrilled to have Constant Contact as a sponsor. 

The Major Mistake You’re Making with Personal and Business Money

If you have a business or a side hustle you want to turn into a business, then let’s talk about a major money mistake that happens often and how to avoid it. Revenue from a business is a great way to rake in more income or the path to living life on your own terms. Perhaps you’re selling a product or offering services. It’s been hard work, many sleepless nights, and skipped outing with friends, but now you’re bringing in revenue. Great! Here is where many start to make this major yet common mistake with their money.

Whether you started the business to supplement income from your primary job or you’re full-time working your business, you may be using some money from your personal account to purchase things for the business and using business funds to handle personal expenses. You’re likely using personal money or income to fund the business anyway right, especially as a new entrepreneur. You’re the first investor. I know I was my first investor. I started my business with personal savings, but I avoided a major mistake when doing this and I want you to avoid it too or correct it if you’re already doing it.The major mistake is mixing your personal money with your business money. Here is why this is a big mistake and can cost you money later.

1) You can’t show positive cash flow. If you’re consistently mixing your personal funds with your business income to make business and personal purchases, it’s hard to show positive cash flow into your business. You won’t be able to properly assess the health of your business and adjust your strategy to ensure continuous revenue and growth. This looks very sloppy and high risk to investors, so they’ll want no part of it. You have to be able to see exactly how much revenue is coming in and the amount of expenses the business has. You should know the exact dollar amount of how much it takes to run your business every month. Are you making that? What’s your profit margin? Will you have enough floater money for your slow months?

2) You’ll pay more in taxes. The IRS will think you have a hobby not a business that means money lost as they deny legitimate deductions. They will only allow deductions if you can clearly show that the expenses were for business. You don’t want the nightmare at tax time of sorting through old receipts and combing through bank statements trying to determine if something was a real business or a personal expense. Definitely not.

How to AVOID this:
1) Have separate bank accounts. You should have separate savings and checking accounts for your business. Only use the business account for business expenses and only use your personal account for personal expenses. It looks more professional, you will look like a real business owner if the business name is on the check or debit card. The money can be clearly tracked and the IRS is less likely to audit you or deny deductions. One of the first things I did after officially filing my paperwork was to go to a bank and start a business checking account. I felt so official once I got the debit card. I kept looking at my business name on it and smiling.

2) Pay yourself a salary. If you’re thinking but the whole reason I started this business is to supplement my income, no worries. You will be cutting yourself a check like an employee. You own the business so simply write yourself a check or transfer the money from your business checking account to your personal checking account. Start off with however much you need $25, $300, $3,000. Just be sure not to go overboard. Leave funds in the business to cover operating costs at minimum.

3) Create separate budgets.  Design a personal budget that is completely separate from your business budget. Of course include your salary line item and if you give funds to your business every month include a business line item as well. Also, account for the salary and income in your business budget. Budgets will help you see what your operating costs are for the business and operating costs for your household. You can then make sure those aforementioned line items make sense.

4) Use separate tracking software. You know I’m a big proponent of tracking your money. Track your personal and business income and spending, just don’t use the same account or system. You can use something like Excel and have separate files and folders for the business vs. personal funds. Or use accounting software such as Mint or Quicken for personal and Quickbooks or Xero for business funds. I like Mint for personal and Quickbooks for business.

About Dr. Maria James
Dr. James, The Money Scientist, has expertise with designing income management, debt management, and wealth strategies to help you live your best life. She is the founder of Pocket of Money, LLC and the creator of The Wealth Protocol™. Dr. James has also been a guest financial expert on ESSENCE, WEAA, Madame Noire and more. Connect with Dr. James in Baltimore, MD at the Unlimited You Weekend, April 10-12, 2015. Visit www.unlimitedactions.com for more details.

10 Ways to Make Yourself Save More Money

Saving money can be difficult as you’re usually putting money away for an intangible item, out of sight out of mind problem, for a future occurrence that may never happen. Maybe you make a general statement such as I’m going to start saving because it’s important. This is not motivating enough to consistently save money. You may save for a week or two, but then you’re going to fall off.  Ask yourself: Why is it important? What exactly are you saving the money to buy? Here are a few more ways to make you save more money.

1) Write down your goals (previous post about resolutions and goal setting). In order to achieve something you first have to state what it is. The goal should also be specific and measurably. You should know exactly when you have successfully reached the goal, give it a dollar amount and deadline.

2) Create a visual reminder of your goals. Out of sight, out of mind is a big factor. You’re more likely to spend and not save if you can’t remember why you should be saving, especially when the impulse to buy a want occurs. Create something visual to hang on your wall, place as a screen saver, etc.

3) Break your savings goals into daily or weekly amounts to make it more manageable in your mind and so you know exactly what to aim for every day or week. For example if you want to save $6,000 for the year, then you know you need to save $500 each month, $125 each week, or $17.85 each day. If you’re saving up $1,000 for a trip coming up in 5 months, then you know you need to save $200 each month, $50 each week, or $7.14 each day.

4) Wait and come back. When you want to buy an item, wait for at least a week, come up with reasons as to why you need it, not want but need it. If you can’t think of any reasons then leave it. If the item will no longer be available in a week, then wait at least 24 hours. You’ll be amazed how this simple trick will get you to decrease unnecessary spending.

5) Shop your closets. I don’t know about you, but sometimes when I clean a closet or cupboard I find things that I’d completely forgotten existed. There may be things in your home suffering the same fate. What’s in the back of your closet? Check the clothes closet, hall closet, pantry etc. What forgotten items may be in there? How can you re-purpose them for the new season or a new use?

6) Get a bottle for loose change. When you buy something, put the loose change in a bottle (aka piggy bank for adults), or just get a piggy bank and have fun with it. Once your bottle is filled, wrap the coins in the appropriate wrappers and take them to the bank. It’s better to take them to a bank where you have an account as you can deposit the money in savings right then and there.

7) Only charge items you can pay off in full before the end of the month. Don’t carry a balance on your credit card and you’ll save all the money you would have paid in savings. You’ll also maintain a good credit card history and credit score while not increasing your debt.

8) Make a realistic not extremely frugal budget. One of the top reasons a person doesn’t stick to a budget is the budget isn’t realistic. The budget is so limiting, there are no rewards or real entertainment factored into it. No one and I mean no one can stick to a budget like that one and if you can’t stick to the budget then you’ll overspend. Make sure the budget is frugal so you’re getting the most out of your money and moving towards your financial goals, but don’t make it so restrictive that you can’t enjoy yourself a bit. You won’t overspend and you’ll save money.

9) Calculate how long you have to work to afford the item. Every item you buy you can figure out how much time you have to work to be able to afford it. For example, if you’re buying a jacket that is $200 and you make $20 per hour, you worked for 10 hours in order to get the money to purchase the jacket. Is it really worth 10 hours of work? Do you feel comfortable trading 10 hours of your time for the jacket? Do this before making a purchase and you might just decide the item isn’t worth it.

10) Delete your saved card information on the shopping sites. Major shopping sites will allow you to create an account and save your payment information. This is offered as a gesture in convenience for the shopper. If you have an account you don’t have to take out your card and spend time entering the information. Or looking at it from their view, you won’t spend time thinking about the purchase and potentially deciding that you really don’t need the item. Convenience can and does lead to more spending. Delete the information, take the time and save more money.

What are your biggest obstacles to saving money and how do you overcome them?

Want to learn more about creating your own wealth check out Financial Blueprint for Quitting Corporate.

About the Author: Maria James has a compassion for people that makes her involvement in Heal a Woman to Heal a Nation a sure fit. She is a biomedical scientist who is public health conscience and has always worked for the betterment of others. Maria is the founder of Pocket of Money, LLC which provides tools and tips to help you take control of your money and live your best life. Dr. James is our resident Money Scientist.

23 Ways to Make Money: Side Hustles

Sometimes you need to supplement your income; you need ways to make money on the side apart from your regular job. Other times you may have gotten furloughed (as so many people have recently with the government shutdown) or laid-off and need to make money to stay afloat until you get back to work. Enter the side hustle. Strap on your entrepreneurial hat and gloves and get to work on different ways to make money. I’ve listed twenty-three below to help you get started.

1) Online merchant. Sell items online at places like Amazon, Ebay, etc. You can sell things you don’t use that are already around your house. Those boots you’ve only worn once that hurt your feet, sell them. The tennis rackets that were only used a few times before being put in a corner to collect dust, sell them. If you have collector’s items of toys, games etc. consider selling a piece or two. If you bought a toy for $5 and it can now sell for $200 online, that’s a nice return on investment and supplemental income.

2) Self-published author. Have you already written a collection of short stories or a collection of poems? Put them together and read it through to make sure there is flow or ask a person you trust to proofread it. Once you’re satisfied, self publish it. Put your new work in the proper format for the site on which you plan to sell it, and give it a reasonable price. This will bring in some passive income, a nice way to make money that won’t require constant work.

3) Freelance writer or editor. If you already have a great knowledge base in your industry you can write about it for others. There are writers and editors for every subject or industry. You can put the word out that you’re available, charge a low introductory price to get feedback and testimonials from the first few jobs to build more credibility. You can also sign-up on sites like elance.com and fiverr.com to promote your services and get clients.

4) Barber or stylist. Styling hair is a great way to make money. If you already have clippers and regularly cut the hair of siblings, friends, or your children then you may be able to expand and make a little money. Let your current “nonpaying customers” know you are looking to expand and what your price point is. You’ll already have positive word of mouth recommendations.

5) Babysitter. I often see ads or hear people asking about babysitters. If you have the patience and the knowledge to watch children then this may be a nice side hustle for you. Determine if you need any certifications to give yourself an extra boost or credibility. Research the going rate so you can be competitive.

6) Dog walker. People love their pets and some would spend all day with their four-legged friend if they could, but they need to go to work. They would love it if you could pop in and take their friend for a walk.

7) Pet sitter or house sitter. Has a friend or relative ever asked you to watch their house or go over and feed their cat? Well this is also an avenue for a side hustle or a way to make money. You could become a freelance pet or house sitter. People will pay for peace of mind and to make sure furry or feathered friends stay in good health.

8) Personal assistant. Busy executives and professionals may need an assistant outside of work to assist with everyday errands such as picking up drying cleaning, grocery shopping, etc. If you don’t mind running around a bit this may be a great way to bring in side income. Some people use the term gopher, but I like the term personal assistant. I’ve seen some charge about $50 per hour for these services. Now just starting, I don’t suggest this pricing until you’ve gained positive referrals and recommendations.

9) Personal shopper. Some people just don’t have time to go shopping. You can do it for them; yes they will pay you for it. Say they need a great outfit for the important meeting or office party, they’ll let you know what they’re looking for and you have to hunt it down. So if shopping is something that you like to do then try this out.

10) Seamstress or quilter. If you’re good with a needle, you can make some money. If you sew, crochet or knit you can sell your creations on sites like Etsy.com where people buy homemade items such as hats, blankets, scarves, gloves, doilies etc. If you sew particularly well you could also tailor clothes for individuals.

11) Scheduler. Busy people who aren’t great with organization or just feel they don’t have the time will pay you to create their schedules. If you’re familiar with programs like Google calendar or Outlook, you can try this side hustle. I’ve seen many ads on craigslist for this.

12) Tutor. People are always looking for others who have mastered a subject to tutor themselves or their children. If there is a subject in which you have higher than average knowledge you can tutor in that subject. The most common subjects are math, science, English and test prep (SAT, GRE, MCAT). However, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t plenty of opportunities for other subjects like foreign languages.

13) House cleaner. If you don’t mind scrubbing and using a little elbow grease then you can try house cleaning. House cleaners or housekeepers are still quite common. Do the same mentioned above to gain credibility and get the word out.

14)  Lawn care specialist. Cutting grass and hedges around the house is often outsourced to others. So if you know what you’re doing and have the tools then this may be an option. You could also do things like rake, bag and haul leaves. Clean out gutters etc.

15) Photographer. Already have the equipment and have taken pictures at friends’ events for free? You could start making money here. Turn your hobby into a moneymaker. This is definitely for the person who is already doing photography as a hobby and has the necessary equipment and skill. I do not suggest offering to take pictures at someone’s special event without some experience.

20) Clinical trial subject. You can sign-up for clinical trials that are offering compensation for participation. The description will tell you what is expected of you and the time commitment that is required, usually the longer the commitment the higher the compensation.

21) Workout coach or personal trainer. If you’re really into fitness and health and offer advice to friends and family anyway, you can begin to get paid for this also. Many individuals who are ready to get started working out, want an accountability partner who knows what he/she is doing…and yes they’ll pay you for it.

22) IT troubleshooter. Technology is very important in our daily lives. When it works awesome, when it doesn’t …well you know. So if you’re technologically savvy and know how to fix most problems or problems tied to a specific device or machine then people will definitely pay you to help them.

23) Landlord. If you have an extra bedroom or a part of your house than can be used as a mini apartment, then rent it out. Renting out rooms can bring you in an extra couple hundred a month. Be careful and make sure to check backgrounds and other items to maintain your safety.

A few notes:

As you may have noticed there is a running theme throughout this article. If you have a hobby or a passion that you’re already involved in, you have the knowledge necessary to make money from it. Be creative and think outside the box. Start with an introductory rate and get great recommendations and testimonials.

For every site mentioned check the rules and fees to make sure that it is a lucrative option for you. For each side hustle, do your research so you’ll know exactly what it entails (advantages and disadvantages), how to get started, how you can be competitive and will know what you need for credibility. You can also look up companies that are already hiring freelancers and sign up with them.

Prepare to pay taxes on your side hustle. Fill out a 1099 estimated income tax form to state how much money you’ve earned from your side hustle. Unfortunately or fortunately (depends on how you look at it) the government wants to get paid too.

Do you have a side hustle? What is it and how did you get started? I would love to hear from you.

About the author: Maria James has a compassion for people that makes her involvement in Heal a Woman to Heal a Nation a sure fit. She is a biomedical scientist who is public health conscience and has always worked for the betterment of others. Maria is the founder of Pocket of Money, LLC which provides tools and tips to help you take control of your money and live your best life. Dr. James is our resident Money Scientist.

Is Your Money Prepared for the New Season?

Summer is coming to a close. Every year you prepare yourself for cooler temperatures, getting children ready for school, school buses on the road, and to rake leaves and warm the car in the mornings. As you prepare for the changes to your routine you also need to get your money prepared for new expenses and do a financial fitness check up.

1) Check your home. Check the insulation on windows and doors. No or insufficient insulation will allow heat to escape and your heating bill to climb unnecessarily. Can we say major money leak. Also check the insulation in the walls of your home, that is important to trap the heat too. If you're renting have your landlord do a check. I once had two months of a $300 gas and electric bill. The culprit? A living room window was cracked at the top and was letting my heat escape. If you see a crazy jump, something is wrong, start checking.

2) Do a financial check up. There are several things that would be good to check during this time. Do at least these three.

Net worth. You've been steadily working on growing your money for several months. Calculate your net worth to see how you're doing. Is the number a little bigger? If so you're moving in the right direction.

Spending plan. How well is your spending plan working? Determine if you need to shift your plan, such as increasing or decreasing target amounts for specific categories. Did you plug all money leaks? Perhaps you decided to keep a subscription when you made the plan, but looking back realize you really haven't been using it. Well then cancel it, cut it from the plan and shift the money towards something else. Put the money towards a category you're struggling with sticking to the allotted amount, savings, paying down debt or investments.

How much closer are you to your goals? The numbers will show if you're making progress towards your goal. Are you on track to complete your goal by the deadline that you set. If not what can you adjust to stay on track.

3) Shop smart. We know the best times to purchase clothes is at the end of a season when there are big discounts as stores prepare for the change in inventory for the new season. However, if it is unavoidable and you have to buy new fall gear for yourself or family members try this. Shop at thrift stores and discount chains. You'll be able to find cool new things at a much lower cost. Many times there will be items with the tags still on them. You just have to dig around a bit. Look for online deals and coupons. Don't use your credit card. I repeat don't use your credit card. 

About the author:

About the author: Maria James has a compassion for people that makes her involvement in Heal a Woman to Heal a Nation a sure fit. She is a biomedical scientist who is public health conscience and has always worked for the betterment of others. Maria is the founder of Pocket of Money, LLC which provides tools and tips to help you take control of your money and live your best life. Dr. James is our resident Money Scientist.

Three Feet from Gold

Excerpt from THINK AND GROW RICH by NAPOLEON HILL

THREE FEET FROM GOLD

One of the most common causes of failure is the habit of quitting when one is overtaken by temporary defeat. Every person is guilty of this mistake at one time or another. An uncle of R. U. Darby was caught by the "gold fever" in the gold rush days, and went west to DIG AND GROW RICH. He had never heard that more gold has been mined from the brains of men than has ever been taken from the earth. He staked a claim and went to work with pick and shovel. The going was hard, but his lust for gold was definite.

After weeks of labor, he was rewarded by the discovery of the shining ore. He needed machinery to bring the ore to the surface. Quietly, he covered up the mine, retraced his footsteps to his home in Williamsburg, Maryland, told his relatives and a few neighbors of the "strike." They got together money for the needed machinery, had it shipped. The uncle and Darby went back to work the mine.

The first car of ore was mined, and shipped to a smelter. The returns proved they had one of the richest mines in Colorado! A few more cars of that ore would clear the debts. Then would come the big killing in profits.

Down went the drills! Up went the hopes of Darby and Uncle! Then something happened! The vein of gold ore disappeared! They had come to the end of the rainbow, and the pot of gold was no longer there! They drilled on, desperately trying to pick up the vein again-all to no avail.

Finally, they decided to QUIT. They sold the machinery to a junk man for a few hundred dollars, and took the train back home. Some "junk" men are dumb, but not this one! He called in a mining engineer to look at the mine and do a little calculating. The engineer advised that the project had failed, because the owners were not familiar with "fault lines." His calculations showed that the vein would be found JUST THREE FEET FROM WHERE THE DARBYS HAD STOPPED DRILLING! That is exactly where it was found!

The "Junk" man took millions of dollars in ore from the mine, because he knew enough to seek expert counsel before giving up. Most of the money which went into the machinery was procured through the efforts of R. U. Darby, who was then a very young man. The money came from his relatives and neighbors, because of their faith in him. He paid back every dollar of it, although he was years in doing so.

Long afterward, Mr. Darby recouped his loss many times over, when he made the discovery that DESIRE can be transmuted into gold. The discovery came after he went into the business of selling life insurance.

Remembering that he lost a huge fortune, because he STOPPED three feet from gold, Darby profited by the experience in his chosen work, by the simple method of saying to himself, "I stopped three feet from gold, but I will never stop because men say v no' when I ask them to buy insurance."

Darby is one of a small group of fewer than fifty men who sell more than a million dollars in life insurance annually. He owes his "stickability" to the lesson he learned from his "quitability" in the gold mining business.

Before success comes in any man's life, he is sure to meet with much temporary defeat, and, perhaps, some failure. When defeat overtakes a man, the easiest and most logical thing to do is to QUIT. That is exactly what the majority of men do.

More than five hundred of the most successful men this country has ever known, told the author their greatest success came just one step beyond the point at which defeat had overtaken them. Failure is a trickster with a keen sense of irony and cunning.

It takes great delight in tripping one when success is almost within reach.

10 Actions Needed for Financial Freedom

The terms financial freedom and financial independence generally refer to the same concept or ideal. However, individuals consider them to mean different things. For some they mean debt free, having the ability to live without working to earn income, or being financially secure and not stressing about money. Whatever your definition of financial freedom, there are some key actions that you should take to get you on the right path to achieving it. 

1) Calculate your net worth
Your net worth is a snapshot of your financial health at a specific point in time, your wealth status if you will. Understanding where you currently stand financially will help you in defining realistic goals. Use the formula net worth = assets - liabilities. You need a baseline to work from as you move toward financial freedom. Calculating your net worth at the start will provide that for you.

2) Define and write down your goals
You need to know the goal in order to achieve it. In other words you can't hit the target if you don't know where it is. Take some time to reflect on where you are currently with money and where you would like to go. Define your goals so you can accurately determine the steps needed to reach them. Some common goals are saving an emergency fund, saving for retirement, saving for a yearly vacation, adding to an investment portfolio.

3) Design a money strategy
A money strategy is a comprehensive plan to detail what you plan to do with your money. This is the action plan to achieve your goals. For each goal detail the steps needed to achieve it, resources you'll use and how much money is involved in each step.

4) Create a monthly and annual spending plan
You need to create a spending plan to determine where your money is going. You should have a clear view of how much you will spend in what categories and how much you will save. This allows you to see where you can cut costs and free up money aka keeping more money in your pocket. Creating an annual spending plan will allow you to also see big picture and determine how much of your money is truly going to certain items. You may decide to skip that Starbucks latte or forgo certain subscriptions after all. The money you free up and save can then be put towards a few luxuries and income generating assets!

5) Create a specific debt reduction strategy
If you still have debt, you need to pay it off to be able to use the full potential of your income. You can't reach financial freedom if you have debt holding you back. Work on paying your debt down, "good" and "bad" debt must go. Debt is debt and you'll save yourself thousands of dollars by getting rid of it. Make a specific plan of what order you'll target the debt accounts. Aggressively pay down one at a time to make the most impact and not spread the money too thin.

6) Freeze your credit cards
Now that you have a plan to eliminate your debt, dont rack up anymore. Put the credit cards away and make them very difficult to use. Literally putting the cards in the freezer is a great way. Take the cards out of your wallet and leave them at home. Spending within your means is a must for financial freedom.

7) Open a separate savings account
You need one savings account for your emergency fund. As indicated by the name you don't touch this money unless it's a true emergency. Did you know you should also have another savings account? This is a small account to house money for non-emergency expenses that are in your spending plan, but may not be used every month. If you leave the money in your checking account it's likely to be spent.

8) Cut costs not quality
When you create your spending plan, you'll see places where you can cut back. However, cutting back to lower expenses doesn't mean sacrificing quality. Think of ways to get equivalent products or services for less e.g. shift providers, eliminate things you don't use, find coupons and deals etc. You don't want to feel deprived, but you want to plug money leaks and free up as much money as possible that can be used for saving and investing.

9) Create side income as needed
You've streamlined your expenses, but may still need a little more money. Whether you just want more money to invest or enjoy luxuries or you need more money to make ends meet, having side income is beneficial. This is income outside of your main income source. Some examples are part-time jobs, freelance work, etc. (check out 23 Ways to Make Money).

10) Open a 401(k) and traditional IRA
We know saving is only part of the journey to wealth. Putting your money to work for you is also necessary to reach your goals. At bare minimum open these two accounts. If you work for an employer, make sure to speak with HR (human services) about reanalyzing or starting a retirement account. In most cases this will be a 401(k) or 403(b). If you started one a while ago make sure you check how much money is going towards it and how you can increase the amount. You should also open a second retirement account, an IRA. You can only add so much to your 401(k) so when you hit that maximum you want to still be able to save. The IRA will allow you to do so.

About the author: Maria James has a compassion for people that makes her involvement in Heal a Woman to Heal a Nation a sure fit. She is a biomedical scientist who is public health conscience and has always worked for the betterment of others. Maria is the founder of Pocket of Money, LLC which provides tools and tips to help you take control of your money and live your best life. Dr. James is our resident Money Scientist.