Mari's Blog: Virtual Grand Re-Opening coming soon!

My main website is currently being masterfully overhauled, dressed up, refined and perfected by the talented Erin Blaskie of Business Services, ETC. We're launching a combo website and blog: a blogsite, so you can come back and comment on all content!

Meantime, visit my other two active and current blogs at:

Why Facebook: Social Networking for Fun and Profits

Be Free Go Mobile: Ty and Mari's Mobile Lifestyle Blog

RVing Fulltime As Ultra-Vagabonds, Thanks To Tim Ferriss!!

Come visit my active travel blog for regular updates on my journey around the US and Canada in a big motorhome with my hubby!! :)

We sold our beach home in sunny San Diego in July 2007 and decided to take Four Hour Workweek author, Timothy Ferriss', advice: DO YOUR DREAM NOW!!

If you have an interest in social networking, friend me on Facebook!

If you you want to use Facebook for strategic business purposes, join my free online class at Facebook Fortunes!

I *Heart* Facebook... and Why

Are you on Facebook yet? Do you get the power of this incredible platform for both business and personal use? If not, come on over now and check it out! Be sure to 'friend' me!

In less than six weeks of playing around (I literally mean playing - this site is so much fun for those of us with natural people skills), I've built up a friends community rapidly hurtling towards 200 at the time of this post.

It's like living in a gated community where you get to be selective as to who gets the gate code!! Plus, I'm finding it an absolute breeze to network with quality, like-minded internet marketers and other such professionals. Everyone is so helpful and friendly.

If you have your own business, be sure to create a Group or Event and promote to increase visibility and get more traffic to your sites.

See you there!

Ty and Mari Go Mobile!!

Come on over and check out my NEW travel blog... where I'll be sharing all about my adventures traveling around the US/Canada with my honey!!!

http://tyandmari.com

We've sold our beach home in San Diego, along with ALL our furniture and we're heading out into the wild blue yonder in a 34' motorhome!! Yeah!! :)

Out and about with Barbara De Angelis

I just had the great pleasure of meeting Barbara De Angelis in person!



I've admired this amazing lady for the past decade. It was her book, Are You The One For Me, that totally transformed my life back in 1998.



I happened across a copy of Barbara's book, completed ALL the exercises, got real clear on my pattern of attracting and dating men who were no good for me, wrote out SEVEN pages of criteria... then a short time later I got an invitation out-of-the-blue to leave my home of 20 years in Scotland and come to San Diego, California.

I knew in my heart this was a pivotal, defining moment in my life...

To read more about the story of how I ended up meeting and marrying my dream guy, and creating my ideal life with him - see my site at AttractLoveBuildWealth.com.

It's Not The Money: What Married Couples Are Really Fighting About

Money fights: it's one of the major causes of marital breakdown, according to a wide variety of sources and studies. Do we fight because one partner overspends and the other is a tightwad? Or is it disagreements about the use (and misuse) of credit cards? Maybe it's a difference in risk tolerance. Or inadequate planning for the future. Perhaps one partner earns more than the other.

All these are valid reasons for struggles with money in a marriage. But, are they the real cause of the arguments? Is it really the money? We believe not - money is simply the trigger for much deeper issues.

Money is so pervasive - it impacts almost every area of our lives. We have to make decisions about money practically every day. But, money is not our enemy; it's just a form of energy, an exchange. ("Wee bits of paper," as my frugal Scottish dad would always say).

Money gets the blame for SO much trouble and strife in relationships. But the real issue is what's underneath. These issues are typically rooted in childhood, caused by decisions we made as we watched, heard and modeled our parents. Issues like not getting what we wanted, believing that rich people are mean, and that you have to work very hard to make a living. We might've heard messages like, "money is dirty," "money doesn't grow on trees," or "money is the root of all evil."

So, the next time you find yourself knee-deep in an all-too-familiar fight with your spouse about what seems to be money - STOP! Take a moment to look deeper inside yourself at what's really bothering you and then share that with your honey. This is your golden opportunity to take full responsibility, be vulnerable, heal, grow and mature your marriage into the most fulfilling relationship of your life. Period.

Marriage/commitment can be a tough journey, but it's truly worth it. It's only in our most intimate relationships that we have the opportunity to reach our fullest potential. Money is our friend and a tool to help us get there... if we allow it.

For our recommended reading on love, money and marriage, visit http://www.coupleswealth.com/.

Build Wealth: Start By Turning A Few *Bucks Into $1000+!

Are you a coffee drinker? If so, have you ever stopped to tally up how much you might be spending on a weekly, monthly or yearly basis at your favorite cafe?

David Bach, author of Smart Couples Finish Rich, talks about "the latte factor." That is, every time you spend, say, $3.95 on a whoppa-frappo-mocha-chino (not to mention the $2.75 on the low-fat lemon-cranberry-walnut cake and another $4.50 on a pineapple-pina-colada fruit smoothie drink), you're basically robbing yourself of your financial freedom (or retirement) account.

As a recovering Starbucks addict, I tend to agree with Mr. Bach. And so I adopted my own coffee-fix system. I bought one of those nifty little whizzers that froth up your milk. (I paid $20 at Good News kitchen supply store).

I get a mix of delicious flavored coffee beans (like hazelnut and cinnamon - try mixing two flavors!) from my local store. And I use my favorite mug (holds about 16 ounces and has fun zoo animals on it!). Then, every morning I go through my fun ritual of using my French press to brew a yummy cuppa, topped with frothy milk with a dash of freshly ground nutmeg on top. YUM!

So, how much am I saving? At roughly $25 per week, that's over $1,300 in savings over one year! Add that to my ING Direct Financial Freedom savings account at 4.35% interest and I've got an extra $56 on top!

(My hubby, Ty, doesn't touch a drop of caffeine - lucky him! But he sure loves it that I now invest in Starbucks stock rather than drinking their coffee!)

I know, I know. Sometimes home-made coffee just isn't the same as the whole EXPERIENCE of going to Starbucks or Peets or wherever. You can always adopt Loral Langemeier's counter-philosophy. She poo-poo's the latte factor idea. Instead, Loral favors cranking out a great big cash machine (a lucrative business doing something you're good at) and creating MORE money. That way, you can have your whoppa-chino and your cake and your money!

I say, choose whichever method helps you get closer to your goal of lowering your expenses, increasing your income and building long-term WEALTH!