How to Use this Site:

Hi! Welcome. I hope you find the information on the site useful, and if there's anything you're looking for that you can't find feel free to drop me a note using Your Questions.

Before you send me a question, have a look around the site to see if I've answered your question before for someone else… Yes, I know you're all individuals, but lots of your questions are quite similar. And if I take time to answer the same questions over and over I don't have time to answer new questions.

To find what you're looking for, look for the little magnifying glass up in the top right hand corner of the screen beside the little house, which takes you back to the home page. On my Blog, the search box is on the right at the bottom on the screen; you may have to scroll down a bit. Search both areas to see if you can find the answer you're looking for.

Be as specific as you can when you use the search. If you type in "mortgage" you'll get every article that mentions the word "mortgage." If you type in "mortgage" and "prepayment," you'll get far fewer responses and that will save you having to wade through stuff you're not looking for.

People have been asking for a discussion board but I can't possibly monitor it myself (time) and I don't believe I can leave it unmonitored (too many potential yucky things said). So I set up the Have Your Say and you could use that as a discussion board to share ideas, hits, and success stories.

There are some spots on the site you absotively, posolutely should check out. First, there's the budget worksheet and guide:

Gail's Guide to Building a Budget
Gail's Interactive Budget

Some people who are using the Interactive Budget don't understand how the numbers for the jars are arrived at. Since the jars are "weekly" and there are 52 weeks in a year, the program takes the monthly amount, multiplies it by 12 to get a yearly amount and then divides by 52 to get a weekly amount. (FYI, on the show, we simply divide by 4 because that's how long we work with a family.)

A LOT of people are writing to ask about the percentages I recommend for things like housing, debt repayment, and transportation. Go look at the Interactive budget, which has the percentages on it. As for how much you should be spending on individual lines on your budget, I don't know. Since I don't know how much you make, how many people are in your fam, and what your other expenses are, I couldn't even guess. Don't be lazy. Do up a budget, stay within the LIFE PIE guidelines - the percentages - and as long as it balances (you aren't spending more than you make) you're fine.

The other big problem for people is debt repayment. So take a look at:

Face up, 'Fess up, Get out of Debt
Own up to Your Debt Worksheet

There is a ton of great information on this site. And, over time, there will be more. I blog as often as I can but at odd times since I'm often on the road shooting with families. So sometimes I blog at the crack of dawn, sometimes when I can find a signal outside a coffee shop, and sometimes late in the evening when I hit my hotel, if I can keep my eyes open. People have told me they've set up RSS feeds to get a notification of a fresh blog, and if you know how to do this, you can too.

Whenever I put up new articles, I usually blog what's new on the site as a head's up.

Enjoy the site. I love hearing from y'all, and if I don't respond to all your questions, it's because, well, there are only 36 hours in a day!

BTW: I don't do private consultations… hours in the day thing… and I don't have any control over whether we do a follow-up show. Email SLICE if you feel strongly about this.

Keep well, keep smiling and remember this: money is only a tool. You can use it to your advantage or you can misuse it to your detriment. You decide.