It’s January, and all that holiday cheer is catching up with your bank account. Sure you got some amazing deals—25, 50, 75 percent off everything your family ever wanted!—but the magic of Christmas morning is now overshadowed by hefty credit card bills. If only you'd taken a cue from the Grinch and remembered that Christmas doesn't come from a store. So what now? Where do you go after the wrapping paper and twinkling lights are stored for the season but you've got bills you’ll be paying the whole year through? Here are six easy tips you can use for holiday debt recovery, taken from Melaleuca's … [Read more...]
A Home for the Holidays
When Brock Ryan gets in his car tomorrow, scrapes off the morning frost and revs the engine for his morning commute, he'll save 30 precious minutes. That's an extra 260 hours a year—over 10 and a half days—he can spend with his family. He can have breakfast with his daughter, read her favorite storybook or snuggle with his wife on the couch. And it's all thanks to a little extra income from Melaleuca. Last June, the Ryans took a hard look at their finances. They knew they wanted to have another child, but their current income and two-bedroom apartment presented a problem. Rachel started … [Read more...]
Helping Christmas Mean a Little Bit More
For the de Jager family, the most important present this Christmas won't come brightly wrapped with ribbons or bows. There'll be plenty of those, but the gift that matters the most will be spending Christmas together. For the first time since moving from South Africa to the United States, Cornelius de Jager will have the holiday off. "We are extremely grateful to have Christmas together as a family," says Cornelius. "I work in agriculture, and my job doesn't have benefits. In the past, I've always had to work on Christmas because we needed the income." Thanks to Melaleuca, the de Jagers … [Read more...]
Just in Time for the Holidays
Between their bills and a mountain of maxedout credit cards, the Grimleys only had $150 leftover each month to feed their family of four. Forget movies or new shoes or even candy for the stockings—how could they possibly provide basic nutrition for an entire month with only $150? Almost overnight, the Grimleys’ finances crumbled into what seemed an irreparable mess, their once-bright future water-logged by terrible timing. On the very day Josh quit his corporate job, sick of the long hours and hectic lifestyle, Jacki noticed some strange bowing in the wood floors. “I went to check the … [Read more...]
Better Than Winning the Lottery
Nick and Crystal Volk know what it's like to burn the candle at both ends. For 25 years they worked nonstop: seven days a week and double shifts. "As young people, we were taught right away to work hard and save our money," Crystal says. "When we got married, we started with very little. We both worked two jobs and also ran a restaurant." It wasn't an easy schedule, but it allowed the Volks to make extra payments and whittle down their debt. "We started only paying a little extra, but every little bit counts," Crystal says. "That's what we taught our kids: Just pay a little extra and … [Read more...]
7 Weeks To Savvier Spending
No one wants to waste money. The problem is, sometimes what you want and what you actually do don't always match up. Case in point: trying to fit into your skinny jeans and eating a whole pint of Ben & Jerry's. So while we all try to make reasonable spending choices, chances are we've got some holes in our budgets. It might not feel like much, but a couple of dollars here and there can really add up. Tightening your financial belt might feel a bit uncomfortable at first, but the giddy feeling you get from shrinking your debt or adding to a cushy savings account quickly outweights the small … [Read more...]
