That’s right. I said “extreme couponer” and “bachelorette” in the same sentence :) Because any of you who watch either will recognize Chrystie in a second with her trademark tattoos and feistiness. All stuff that made me reach out to her for this interview! (You’re welcome.)

But for those who may be out of this “cool” group who’s “in the know” (I freely admit I’m a Bachelorette fan – I won’t pretend to blame it on my wife!) , here are some quick tidbits before we get started…

1. Chrystie Vachon (formerly Corns) made waves on The Bachelorette Season #7 when she came on in the finale to help her sister, Ashley – the bachelorette – figure out who her best match was of the remaining guys. She pretty much told her sister she disapproved of J.P. because he was too old for her, and they got in a nice drama filled fight on national TV. Ashley chose J.P. in the end :)
2. Chrystie was also featured in TLC’s Extreme Couponing Season #1, episode #9 as “A woman who started couponing to save her family business [that] now has a stockpile worth more than $35,000.” Hot damn! I’d chime in with more here, but sadly I only watched a few of the shows when my A.D.D. took over… Of course now I have to go find her episode ;)
3. Chrystie blogs, and shares her passion of couponing, on her website, CouponKarma.com. Formerly ILoveToGossip.com, which some of you may know. Her main goal is to give people the tools, education and motivation to get their life back together by taking control of your finances (she was recently divorced). This is one of my favorite quotes of hers: “Your money is the one thing you can control during the times when your life seems to be spinning out of control.” Preach on, sista!

Okay, enough of the rambling… to the interview!

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#1. Let’s just get this one out of the way – are you and JP now cool? :)

Ha! Of course! JP and I made up really quickly after I left Fiji. We skyped after he and Ashley got back from the TV show and we are totally cool now. I blame my initial negative reaction to Ashley & JP’s relationship on the fact that it’s like a billion degrees in Fiji..I was hot and grumpy. Ashley & JP were just at my house this weekend, we have really gotten close and of course…I have no problem admitting that I was wrong about him!

#2. You’ve been famous for The Bachelorette, but now also for TLC’s Extreme Couponing. What are three of the most extreme things you’ve done to save money?

Gosh… what haven’t I done to save money? ;)

1. The craziest thing I did to save money was get a tattoo to get a FREE trip to Affiliate Summit in Las Vegas this year. They had a promotion, where if you got the Affiliate Summit logo you would get a full expense paid trip to the conference in Vegas including airfare, hotel & the ticket to the conference. I got the logo tattooed on my bicep and got the trip for free! :)

2. When I first started couponing, I learned quickly that you were only allowed to print 2 of each coupon from each computer in your house. So I went on a little buying spree and cruised Ebay and Craigslist for used computers used only for printing coupons. There was a time that I had 8 computers in my house. But the computers paid for themselves with the amount of coupons I was able to print.

3. In 2011, I tried to go clothes-free. No, not naked! I tried to go an entire year without buying any new clothes…which, let’s be honest…is hard to do for a woman! No..I did not make it an entire year, but I did pretty darn good and lasted 6 months before I made my first clothing purchase.

#3. A little birdy once told me that you thought coupons were “for poor people.” How would you convince your old self differently if you could go back in time?

I’m embarrassed to admit that I really did believe coupons were for poor people before I got wise (and divorced). I don’t know..I think there was a stigma associated with coupons that made me feel uncomfortable with using them. In my younger days I was more focused on projecting a certain image, than being financially smart. It was only after my divorce, did I start to realize coupons weren’t for poor people, they were for smart people!

[Editor’s note: Check out this hilarious video of hers I found :) “Sh*t Couponers Say”]

#4. Something that’s quite evident by looking at you is that you sure love yourself some tattoos (which are actually quite sexy, I must say). Have you figured out a way to save money on those too??

My philosophy when it comes to saving money is to “Save where you can to enjoy money how you want”. Tattoos are a luxury that I afford myself by saving in other areas in my life. Tattoos unfortunately, aren’t one of those items that I am willing to scrimp on or try find the best deal. These things are permanent, so I want to make sure I’m getting the best work possible. I’ve stuck with one tattoo artist and don’t even worry about the price.

#5. Finish this sentence: The only thing better than coupons are _______.

Margaritas, Sex, Starbucks… I could go on….

#6. You’ve now been living the dream as a full time blogger going on 3 years (congrats!). What were some of the things you did to help you take the plunge?

As soon as I started my blog, I knew that I eventually wanted it to become my full time job. The first thing that I did to make that happen, was work my butt off and earn as much money as I could… I also cut back on my spending dramatically.  I taught coupon classes, I continued to consult on social marketing, and blogged at all hours of the night.

I told myself that when my blog started making $100 a day, I would quit everything else and focus on the blog. That happened at just around the 1 year mark, and I made the transition and never looked back.

Now if you are doing the math (and I know you are)… that was only $36,500 a year. Not enough to raise myself and my two kids on, and less than I was making as a social marketing consultant.  But since I was couponing and had tucked away some money, I was able to get by until the blog started making more money..and now here we are 4 years later and I’m still doing what I love!

#7. What’s inside your purse right now?

Purse: SeaBag (Seabags.com)

Contents of Purse:

• Laptop & Earbuds
• Notebook & Pens
• Lip Balm
• Baby Diapers & Wipes (I’ve got an 11 month old!)
• Keys
• Earrings
• A Bunch of business cards from the last conference I attended
• Zone Perfect Bar (Because I frequently forget to eat)
• Thirty One Coupon Clutch (Filled with dozens of coupons filed by store)
• Cepacol Lozenges (It’s cold season)
• Lots of crumbs (not shown) LOL.

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(I of course had to get in some Wallet Crashing action up in here ;) )

But there you have it! One-on-one with my first TV star! Haha… And one who’s a bad ass blogger too (well, as bad ass as you can get with couponing of course). It’s a good thing for those tattoos – ya gotta stand out in this quick online world of ours!

Thanks for stopping by today, Chrystie – much appreciated :)

Stay tuned for the next one-on-one where we interview the infamous Juan Pablo… Just kidding… I’m pretty sure he’ll be laying low for *quite* some time… And if you don’t know what I’m talking about, you run out and get yourself a TV, foo!

——
PS: But only if you use a coupon for it, right Chrystie?
PPS: Like these one-on-ones? Check out the last one we did with Hip-Hop’s Financial Adviser, Rob Wilson.

#WORD

[This post, One-on-One with Extreme Couponer (and of Bachelorette Fame), Chrystie Vachon!, was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]

We’re baaaaaack!!! Getting our crash on again with super successful people in our finance world. Up this time is my new best friend sorta-kinda friend, and #1 selling author, Tom Corley from RichHabits.net! Yayyy!!!! Crowd goes wild!!!

Here’s a quick intro about Tom for those who don’t know of him:

At age 9 his family went from being multi-millionaires to broke in just one night. For five years, Tom studied the daily activities of 233 wealthy people and 128 people living in poverty.  He discovered there is a difference the size of the Grand Canyon between the daily habits of the wealthy and the poor.

If you haven’t checked out his blog or his book before, you seriously need to. As I mentioned the other month, I am quite A-D-D-I-C-T-E-D to this man’s stuff. Mainly because his research is just super fascinating and makes you think, but also because it’s all broken down in super easy chunks to understand and digest. Here are a few of them:

• 6% of wealthy say what’s on their mind vs. 69% for poor.
• 6% of wealthy watch reality TV vs. 78% for poor.
• 81% of wealthy maintain a to-do list vs. 19% for poor.
• 79% of wealthy network 5 hours or more each month vs. 16% for poor.
• 88% of wealthy read 30 minutes or more each day for education or career reasons vs 2% for poor.

If you like this sorta stuff, you’ll like his book: Rich Habits – The Daily Success Habits of Wealthy Individuals. Where he shares the ten principles created through years of researching the daily success habits of his wealthiest clients (he’s also a Certified Public Accountant, a Certified Financial Planner, and President of Cerefice & Company, btw).

It took him 9 years to fulfill this dream of his, and his book is now taking off all over with the help of people like Dave Ramsey. This guy’s the definition of a hustler if I’ve ever seen one.

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Now Onto Tom’s Wallet!

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[In his own words…]

Very boring CPA-type wallet:

• Insurance cards
• License
• My get out of tickets “200 Club” gold card
• My AMEX card
• Financial Planning Bank of America card
• Some business cards

What you will notice is unique about my wallet is that I have a customized wallet. My wallet has a little notebook to write down names, facts, info, happy birthdays etc.

As part of my Rich Habits, I take this info and transfer it over to my Outlook database. This database is linked to my cell phone. The database includes information about all my contacts that I gather using the wallet notebook strategy.

This wallet notebook strategy helps me do the following:

1. Birthday notifications
2. Name recognition grouping strategy
3. Gather facts about every one of my contacts.

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Thanks for playing, Tom! Here’s to more success of your book and future projects :)

To check out our previous Wallet Crashes, see below:

• Wallet Crash #4: Kathy Kristof
• Wallet Crash #3: Mr. Money Mustache
• Wallet Crash #2: Jean Chatzky
• Wallet Crash #1: J. Money

[This post, Wallet Crash #5: Tom Corley – Author of Rich Habits, was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]

Wallet Crashing’s back! This time to the ladies and their purses :) Specifically, my dear friend – and AWESOME journalist – Kathy Kristof from the L.A. Times, Kiplinger Mag, and more. She’s one of the few personal finance “experts” that actually crack me up (See: the Liz Weston vs. Kathy Kristof blogger showdown), which is why I thought she’d be perfect for this ;)

Here’s some background on her from her bio for those not familiar:

About Kathy Kristof

Kathy is an award-winning personal finance writer, who blogs for CBS MoneyWatch and serves as a contributing editor at Kiplinger Personal Finance magazine and Kiplinger.com.

She’s also the author of three books:

1. Investing 101
2. Taming the Tuition Tiger
3. Kathy Kristof’s Complete Book of Dollars and Sense.

Formerly a staff writer with the Los Angeles Times, Kristof’s awards and honors include being the former president of the Society of American Business Editors and Writers; the recipient of Consumer Federation of America’s Betty Furness Media Service Award; the California Alliance for Consumer Education Award for Excellence in Consumer Education; the ICI/American University Award for excellence in personal finance writing; and a John Hancock Award for excellence in news reporting.

Now Onto Her Purse!

[As copied/pasted from her email to me ;)]

OMG.

I knew I might be a little horrified to see what was in my purse, but Lordy…..

Okay, a little explanation is required. I got a really huge purse a few months ago because I was going on a business trip and I wanted a bag that could fit my laptop. The problem becomes that when you have a purse that huge and you’re not traveling with a laptop, you somehow find a way to fill it up anyway.

So, here’s what’s in my purse, in categories:

Financial: 

• $87 and change, $17 of which is in ones. Don’t ask me why. I am not a waitress.
• a check register and checks
• 2 credit cards (Capital One’s Venture because I love the points that can be used for any travel and a Costco/American Express card because it’s the only one they take at Costco)
• a debit card
• an auto club card
• a health care card
• a Starbucks card

Practical:

• driver’s license
• three pens and a pencil
• an iPhone/iPad charger
• headphones
• a notebook
• sunscreen (I drive a convertible)
• keys
• Washington, D.C. subway map (refer back to comments about the business trip)
• assorted business cards

Whimsical:

• my passport because you never know when you might need to leave the country
• high-heeled shoes (Dancing, later?)
• make-up, to freshen up before dancing, perhaps…or after
• a scarf, in case it gets cold when I’m out dancing
• notes from a writer’s workshop (I live in LA. We all have a screenplay idea. It’s a rule.)
• bracelets. I don’t know why they’re in my purse.

And I got rid of the assorted grocery store receipts before taking this picture. They were too messy and this pile of debris was humiliating enough.

Haha… gotta love a whimsical woman :) You can follow Kathy’s articles in Kiplinger Mag here if you’re not already subscribed to it (You should be!), or you can check out her blog at CBS MoneyWatch.

Thanks again for participating, Kathy! And stay tuned for the next wallet/purse/clip/? crashing to come… If any one knows of some fun celebrities who’d be up for it, please do tell ;)

———-
Our previous Wallet Crashings:

• Wallet Crashing #1: J. Money
• Wallet Crashing #2: Jean Chatzky
• Wallet Crashing #3: Mr. Money Mustache

[This post, Wallet Crashing #4: Kathy Kristof – Kiplinger Editor and Award Winning Journalist/Author, was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]

Welcome to another rousing game of Wallet Crashing! Where we snag as-close-as-celebrities as my nerdy clout allows, and then showcase the contents of their sexy little wallets ;) And this time we actually *have* a wallet to show too! Woohoo! No more money clips or tote bags for a hot minute.

And today we hear (see?) from none other than the extreme retirement/blogger extraordinaire himself, Mr. Money (freakin’) Mustache – woot, woot. This guy’s a beast in the “living life on your own terms” department, and has been featured everywhere from NPR, to The Washington Post, CNN, Yahoo!, Huffington Post, The Economist and more… Never one to turn down the opportunity to share his secrets of retiring early so OTHERS can do so too. Love it.

For all those interested in these “secrets,” start your journey with MMM here:

• Getting Rich: from Zero to Hero in One Blog Post

It’s a mighty fine read – as are most of his articles. Who’s better to learn from than someone who actually puts his money where his mouth is? Mr. Money Mustache has been “retired” at the ripe age of 30, and he wants you to wake up and join him too. SO WAKE UP PEOPLES!

And now, the moment you’ve been waiting for…

The Secrets of Mr. Money Mustache’s Wallet:

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All right, here’s Mr. Money Mustache’s wallet and what is inside it.

The wallet is one of those nylon/velcro foldy deals. Decidedly non-prestigious, but really useful because it holds lots of stuff, has a zipper area for coins and other valuables, and folds flat.

Cards:

My Golden Library Card is the most valuable one, of course, but then you’ve also got

• Costco membership card – this saves a load on groceries
• Safeway card, because Safeway shafts you on prices if you shop there without one.
• Travelocity Amex, because it gives me 2% back on purchases and 10% on travel – (although rewards are redeemable only in more travel).
• An Amazon.com Visa, for those few places that only take Visa (1% back, 3% at Amazon)
• Chase Ink card for my business expenses (it had a $400 signing bonus and 1% back)
• Capital one 360 ATM/debit card
• King Sooper’s grocery store gift card (cycling all groceries through this gives 5% back to my neighborhood school)

Other stuff:

• Driver’s license (that clean shaven boy in the picture is me waaay back in 1999)
• Some receipts from home improvement stores since I’m currently rebuilding a house.

I buy everything with credit cards, and just have them automatically pay themselves in full at the end of each month from the bank account. Because of this, the cash supply is usually pretty low:

• 22 bucks of US currency
• 10 bucks Canadian

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The contents of your wallet can tell a lot about who you are as a person. And what this stuff tells us about Mr. Mustache is that he’s one financial bad ass. He maxes his cards out for optimum success, takes advantage of his memberships and groceries, frequents the good ol’ (FREE) library to save on $hit, and rocks a bike instead of a car everywhere he goes (okay, I didn’t get that from his wallet, but it’s still sexy. I mean true.).

AHe also apparently loves the 80’s too with that nifty velcro contraption, haha.. But I ain’t hatin’!

So thank you kindly for playing, Mr. Mustache. You are both a gentleman, and a scholar, and it’s always fun to peer into the lives of those we admire and respect. Keep on keeping it real, brotha.

———-
To see all the wallet crashings we’ve done, click here.

[This post, Wallet Crashing #3: Mr. Money Mustache, was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]

Welcome to our 2nd round of Wallet Crashing! Last time you got a sneak peak of none other than Mr. J. Money‘s wallet money clip, and this time I’m proud to show off the contents of personal finance expert and author, Jean Chatzky‘s bag! Apparently none of us use old fashioned wallets any more :)

For those not familiar with Jean, let me help pimp her out a bit. She’s been helping people manage their money for more than two decades, and has written a number of books on everything from money and happiness (The 10 Commandments of Financial Happiness) to women and money (Make Money, Not Excuses) to how to thrive in a tough economy (The Difference – one of the books in my own collection!). She’s been a columnist in publications such as Forbes, SmartMoney and Money Mag, partnered with Oprah a number of times, and is currently the financial editor of The Today Show.

We’re dealing with a legit personal finance’er here today, folks ;) And she’s recently launched a passion project of hers too, called Money School. A product that:

“Helps you take control of your money with simple, affordable, virtual classes that I’ll be teaching in real time. Each one-hour live class consists of a 45-minute lecture followed by 15 minutes of Q&A. Then, during the week following each class, the Money School team and I will host virtual “office hours,” so that you can ask any questions you didn’t get a chance to ask after the lecture (or that you didn’t think of until later).”

Click here to sign up and learn more: jeanchatzky.com/money-school – people are enjoying it so far.

But enough chitter chatter… Please to enjoy, the content of Jean Chatzky’s “tote” bag! A nice one I must add too, from Kate Spade (I pay attention to this stuff! I’m hip!). Pictures and words by Jean:

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So — a couple of caveats. I don’t do the purse thing very often. If I do it’s because I’m going out for dinner and there’s very little in there save for a lipstick, driver’s license, credit card and some cash.

My tote is more interesting, so that’s what you’re seeing. Among the items you may not recognize:

• My wallet. I always have one with a zipper because I save receipts to track my spending and for expenses and I don’t want to lose anything.
• Credit cards (4). I have an American Advantage Mastercard — which I’ve had forever. I use it for just about everything, pay it off monthly, and take a nice trip once a year with the miles. I have an American Express Platinum as well. I use it to get into airline clubs and for hotel discounts. And I also have Amex for business. I also have a J. Crew card because I shop there often and like the rewards and special card member deals. But I never carry a balance.
• The white little box is migraine medicine.
• The white connector is called a dongle. If you give power point presentations enough with a Mac you know what this is and to never, ever travel without it — it makes the magic happen.
• The little pink iPod. This contains my music but also my books on tape. I run with them. Currently, I’m working my way through Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch series.

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Thanks for playing our silly game, Jean! Always fun peaking into other people’s things and seeing how they live a little :) Now whenever I hear anyone say “dongle” I’ll forever think of you, haha…

And there you have it! Jean Chatzky’s “things,” ladies and gentlemen…

What do you all think about those cards she uses? Anyone else have the same? Are you making sure to pay them off in FULL every month too?! I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again – if you can responsibly handle them they could be a savior. It’s one time WE can actually take advantage of the banks rather than the other way around!

Till next time, wallet crashers… Be easy.

————-
PS: Click here to see all the wallet crashers we’ve done so far… a whopping two :)

[This post, Wallet Crashing #2: Personal Finance Expert, Author, and Today Show Personality – Jean Chatzky!, was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]

What up, what up! Welcome to the debut of our new series on the site we like to call “Wallet Crashing.” Where I go around and take a peek at the contents of people’s wallets, purses and murses, and then report back all the findings to you fine folks. Equipped with pictures and all or of course it never really happened!

Just one more thing keep all you voyeurs coming back to this site time and time again… Daddy knows what you like deep down inside, no need to be ashamed – you’re in good company here ;)

And to start the series off right, I of course snagged the one, the only, Mr. J. Money Bearded Man himself!! Ooooooh.. Ahhhhh…. The crowd goes wild!!! (I bet you didn’t know I’ve been growing a beard for the past 2 months did ya?? DID YA???) Today won’t be the first time he showed y’all the inside of his pants money clip, but times sure do change and you’ve always gotta make sure you’ve got your system down pat. There’s nothing worse than a sloppy pile in your pockets, I’ll tell you what…

So without further ado, I present: the insides of J. Money’s money clip!

1. Three $1 bills — No, I’m not preparing for the strip club anytime soon ($3.00 won’t get you very far there anyways, from what I’m told?), I just happened to have gone through my usual $200 in cash I take out every month for *extra* expenditures. And I blew my last $10.00 bill at the auctions this week picking up my new, and not-so-shiny, 1868 three-cent piece! A $18.00 score at almost half the price – I was pretty satisfied with myself… And was totally all Auction Kings up in there – raising my card at the last second before the dang fast-talker kept trying to sell it to the other bidder going against me. Never mess with a sexy budgeter! ;)

2. A Virginia Drivers License — Because, well, I now live in the great state Commonwealth of Virginia. Where I hear it’s named after taking all the “wealth” from the “commoners!” Haha… but so far I’ve been able to keep most of mine from the state ;) (Also – you should ALWAYS carry ID on you no matter where you’re going, or what you’re doing… You never know when you’ll need it! (And that also goes with cash too, btw. Forgot to mention that up there at #1)

3. My “Gold” Starbucks Rewards card — Which really I don’t know why I carry around anymore since I only go there like once a month these days… I used to go every single work day back in my startup days since we got unlimited coffee and snacks for free there, and because we went all the time, Starbucks gave us even more killer perks like more free stuff and discounts off, haha… Being the smarty pants I am, of course, I volunteered to put the card in my name as to one day take this with me in the unlikely event our company ever shut down ;) Which, not surprisingly, happened a couple of years later (wha wha). On a side note, you may be happy to know that if any of you still have those “free drink cards” they used to give out on your birthday and for swiping that card oh so often, they still accept them even though it’s been literally YEARS since they’ve expired. I just tried it last week :)

4. Credit Card #1: USAA World Mastercard  — My one and only “personal” card where all our expenses go every single month (even our rent – can you believe that??). And which we pay off at the end of every single month too. We can all agree these tools aren’t the best for everyone out there – esp those without any self-control/love for money – but for those of us who can manage them well, those credit cards sure do come with a lot of perks! And I’m all about using someone else’s money to (legally) bring in even more of my own every month :) Between cash-back rewards and the simplicity of budgeting , it sure makes a sweet life even sweeter

5. Credit Card #2: American Express “BLUE” card — My one and only “business” card I have for all my online and blogtastic expenses… Which is like $100-$300 a mo, all depending on how many domains I’ve been suckered into buying from the biggest sucker of all time  – myself. (I have a problem, what can I say?). This card SHOULD be a USAA card too btw to continue with my “all accounts under one roof” policy. But sadly they haven’t gotten around to offering such love to the small business folks out there… So for now I make due w/ the Amex. Which really isn’t that bad to be honest. They’re the rock stars who solved my $75.00 United Airways Fiasco of 2011, if you recall that nightmare. So I really don’t have anything back to say about them, they’re pretty decent.

6. USAA Debit Card — Our one and only debit card for any expenses we ever need. Which, because of our credit card, we only ever use to take cash out of ATMS once a month. Which kills me cuz it takes up more room in my clip and we hardly ever use it! And before you say to just take it out and the put back in when you ARE going to need it, it never works that way. I end up forgetting to grab it 99% of the time thinking it’s still on me, and then I get pissed at myself when I’m standing in front of the ATM without it, ugh…

7. Random note I found on the ground — No joke, I found this note yesterday on one of my walks… It’s not as good as finding money, but it definitely made me smile:) For those who can’t make it out, it says: “The number 1 thing people post on Facebook is about food. What is the number 2 thing they post? A = Workout”. Gotta get this over to the folks at Found Mag.

And that’s it! Only 7 items – not to shabby, right? And three of ’em I can get rid of if challenged to a minimalism duel at some point down the line ;) But for now, the 7 it is. The exact same number as our last money clip pop-in two years ago, though slightly different.

(We used to have personal accounts and cards set up for both the wife and I for our “do whatever” funds back in the day, but eventually we just merged everything to keep things nice and simple going forward… we still have our “own” money to do as we please, but it turns out we rarely need it now since we KNOW we can do it whenever, if that makes sense? Kinda like how we used to sneak beer into our mouths any chance we could growing up, but once we hit 21 and it became OK to do, we’re no longer in a rush to do it anymore … Well, after that 21st year bday bash, of course ;))

So that’s that.

What do YOU guys have in your wallets, purses, murses, or money clips right this second? No cheating!!! Take a look or snap a pic, and then jot it all down in the comments below. And if you’re a fellow blogger yourself reading this, feel free to copy my idea here and share your goodies with all your voyeuristic readers too ;) We can never have too much wallet spying, if you ask me…

Stay tuned for our next adventure in Wallet Crashing… If anyone has contact info for either Mike Tyson or Allen Iverson, I’d love to have ’em. I hear their wallets look quite differently than they used to…

———-
PS: I’ll also take Warren Buffett’s, Dave Ramsey’s, or any other celebrities you may know ;)

[This post, Wallet Crashing #1: J. Money, was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]