Christmas is over and many of you have most likely spent a bit more than you planned on those gifts.

Much of that spending was done on credit cards, cards with the “promise” of zero interest for so many months, or a low interest rate as long as you make your payments on time. But is it really that cut and dry? No is is not.

Credit card companies play games with you, well, they actually just play dirty. They have tiny small print in this great interest rate promotions that end up costing you thousands of dollars (late fees, over-limit fees, transfer fees, and so on), after all, we all know it is the interest rate that costs you the most….right? Well, the tricks are worse that you may know.

There is a completely legal game credit cards companies are playing, and it could wipe you out financially if you’re not careful.

It’s called “The Default Clause”

If you have a credit card, you know that if you are late with a payment on that specific card, the credit card company will charge you a late fee in addition to raising your interest rate. Now here is the catch, did you know that they can raise your interest rate if you’ve made a late payment on any of your other cards, regardless of what company issued the card?

It gets worse, your interest rates can jump to 25 percent or possibly more if you make a late payment on your car loan, mortgage, or even your phone bill!

“This can’t be legal” you say, Sadly it is. It is in the tiny find print of your credit card agreement, called universal default clause, that you agreed to as soon as you used the credit card. There is not a lot of credit card issuers with this policy but it pays to be aware

Late Payment “Gotchya”

A universal default clause generally states that a creditor reserves the right to penalize you with an increased interest rate if you’re late (in default) of your re-payment terms — of a payment to any other creditor not just that of the issuing company. They justify this because, in theory, if are late with one creditor, you are a greater credit risk and are more likely to pay other debts, including the issuing card late.

Creditors also have the right to routinely monitor your credit file. So a creditor with a universal default clause will be watching, waiting, time is on their side. Remember, credit card companies are not your friend, there are in business to make money….Your money!

So assume your Visa card has a universal default clause. Any late payment — your make, whether it’s your utility bill, home equity loan, or gas credit card — acts as a “default gotchya” allowing the bank that issued the Visa card to double or even triple your interest rate overnight without warning.

The top three default triggers that cause your interest rates to spike are a decline in credit score, paying your mortgage late, and paying your car loan late.

There are other “gotchya’s” to Worry About

Under the universal default clause, your interest rates can be increased for many other reasons, including exceeding your credit limit, bouncing a check, having too much debt, having too much credit, getting a new credit card, applying for a car loan, and applying for a mortgage loan. Once you signed up for a credit card with a universal default clause, you gave the credit card company an unfair advantage over you, and your money.

This effects your financial future in a bad way. Let’s look at this example. You’re an average American household, with $8,000 of credit card debt. Assuming you make no additional purchases on your card, you have a 9 percent interest rate, and you make the minimum monthly payment, it will take you 218 months (18 years) to pay off your debt and you’ll end up paying $3,334 in interest. Who wins here? (credit card company…you loose)

Now let’s assume that for whatever reason you were late one month with your car payment. They gotchya, the late payment triggers the universal default clause with your credit card issuer, and now your penalty rate gets increased to 26 percent. It will now take you 679 months (56 years) to pay off your credit card debt, and get this — you’ll pay $30,813 in interest. Can you see this is a no win situation for you and a win win for the credit card company?

Imagine if you had three other cards with a universal default clause..interest rates go up on all of them due to one late payment on your car.

Beat the Clause

Well if you have been reading my blog for any period of time you know what I am going to say about beating the universal default clause….”Don’t use credit cards!”

However, I know most of you out there already have credit cards, and many have the clause so here is some ideas to protect yourself from the “gotchya” of interest rate increases.

1. Stay away from credit cards with a universal default clause.

If you’re looking to open a new credit card account, be sure to choose one without a universal default clause. This means you have to truly read the fine print. If you’re confused by the fine print, as most of us are, they write it that way to confuse you on purpose, call the credit card company and ask what specific circumstances will affect your interest rate.

Sites like Bankrate.com let you compare credit card offers, so visit them before you apply. But keep in mind, this is a fluid market and changes are made fast. Even if you have a card without a universal default clause, that doesn’t mean that they can’t or won’t change the agreement terms. Read those little bill inserts, or specific letters from your issuing companies, they are sending them out for a reason…something changes and it won’t be to your benefit.

2. Know your current obligations.

Check your current statements and credit card agreements to find out your current interest rates, and to identify which cards have a universal default clause that you weren’t aware of until now. Again, if you’re uncertain after reading the fine print, call your credit card company.

Consider transferring your balance from a card that has the universal default clause to one of your cards that doesn’t. But don’t cancel the card to quickly, it could have a negative effect on your credit score.

3. Run your credit report.

Not only do you need to know exactly what your current interest rates are, you also need to know exactly what’s on your credit report. Visit AnnualCreditReport.com to order your credit report and credit score today. You should make a practice of this every quarter with a different reporting bureau, this way you can make sure what is being reported is accurate.

4. Common sense, Pay your bills on time.

If you can’t pay ontime, chances are you are over extended and are not properly managing your money. Read Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover.

5. Be proactive — call your lender for relief.

Call your lender to see what options they might be able to offer you. They might be able to adjust your monthly payments so that they’re more manageable.

Check today and see if you have the universal default clause on your credit cards.If you do, be careful to stay on top of your credit card agreements. Better yet, make a plan to become debt free and pay cash. — you’ll sleep better at night.

We all have life changing experiences. I believe that each life changing experience happens for a reason. I also believe that once the initial shock and hurt subsides it is a good time for self reflection. It is a good time for self evaluation, to determine how this change can improve who we are as individuals and how we can better contribute to our personal and professional relationships.

Many times these life changes involve relationships. Sometimes we are naive and trusting to a fault, and/or we have no real education in how to identify safe people verses unsafe people that come and go in our lives. Wouldn’t it be so much easier if we knew ahead of time if a person was safe or not before we invested our time, love and energy and sometimes money into them?

In order to have continued success; spiritually, personally, professionally and financially, we have to be able to identify what type of people we are allowing into our lives. Are the people close to us, those in our spiritual, personally and professional lives safe or unsafe? Do the people around you help you improve who you are as a person? Do they help improve you professionally? Do they help improve you spiritually?

Do you help improve those around you? You see, not only do you need to identify safe people to be around, but you too must identify if you are a safe person for others to be around. It is important to correct areas in your life where you are unsafe.

We are all unsafe in some form. Nobody is perfect. However, the first thing that starts to identify you as a safe person is that you can recognize you are not perfect, that you are open for self improvement and personal development. As we improve who we are, we also help improve the safe people around us. Those who are unsafe many times are unable to admit their flaws or if they can admit a flaw, they seldom, if ever, focus on personal development, behavior change or self improvement, they instead focus more on the flaws of others.

As you have probably figured out by now, I am a big fan of personal development/self improvement books, especially those with a Christian perspective. Recently I came upon a book by the same authors of the exceptional book “Boundaries.” This book, “Safe People: How to Find Relationships that are Good for You and Avoid Those That Aren’t” is also a must read.

I have always believed that there is good in most people, especially Christians. I also believed and know that life if full of hurts, people will hurt us , it is part of relationships. One thing that many of us sometimes get caught up in is that even someone who knows the word of God and professes to be a Christian can hurt and be untrustworthy. Sadly, even people who professes to be “Christian” can be unsafe.

Many of us do not recognize or acknowledging the signs of an unsafe person. Many of us just don’t know how to recognize an unsafe person. Instead we may focus on who a person may portray themselves to be rather than who and what their actions show they are.

Safe people help you to grow. They are constantly pushing you to extend yourself in new ways, and you are pushing them as well, a one-sided relationship is also unsafe.

The following are 7 key characteristics present in safe people, keep in mind that only time truly will tell if a person has these traits or not, many unsafe people will mask themselves for a period of time, but time will always show true character, and character is who a person is when no one is looking.

1. Safe people are non-judgmental.

When you get serious about dealing with a problem of any kind, you need people who are not spending their time judging you for your mistakes. Safe people don’t judge you.

2. Safe people listen.

When you reach out for help you need people who will really listen to your struggles. Safe people let you share your story and all the difficulty you have faced in carrying a burden. There is empathy with safe people. While they may not have experienced your specific trouble, they listen with their heart and want to truly help.

3. Safe people maintain strong boundaries.

One of the dangers of seeking out safe people is that you might be so amazed at their compassion and care that you begin to move too close too quickly, they encourage you to make a quick decision to commit to them, to make an investment, or something else that may truly need some distance, time and/or research before making a final decision. Safe people, however, also know how to establish and maintain healthy boundaries that represent appropriate interaction and assistance. They won’t push you to make a decision you are not ready to make.

4. Safe people are reliable and respect the commitments they make.

Trust, is critical in any relationship of any kind. Trust is easily broken when an unsafe person does not follow through on the commitments they make. Safe people can be counted on, keep their promises, maintain your confidence in them and don’t give you reason to doubt their words.

5. Safe people are honest and tell the truth in love.

Some people who may appear to be safe are really just looking for a way to present themselves as superior potentially to get what “they” want. Safe people know how to tell you the truth in love. They are not pointing out your weaknesses to pump themselves up, but rather to help you move toward improvement and personal development and a life that truly brings satisfaction.

6. Safe people pray for wisdom and are humble.

Anyone willing to help another person must understand that they need wisdom. And gaining wisdom requires humility. You can often spot the safe people by how often they ask God for wisdom, knowing that apart from His leading they could lead you astray. These are the kind of people you want around when traveling the road to recovery from any form of hurt or other problem you are attempting to solve in your life.

7. Safe people help you get help.

Finally, safe people know their limitations and have a heart of willingness to get you the help you need. They will walk with you as you expand your network of support to include a counselor, a good investment advisor or other individuals to help you reach your goal toward life success.

To put it all in one small package, safe people are not critical, but can lovingly point out areas where you can improve as well as suggest how to make those improvements when needed. They are reliable, trustworthy, honest, and consistent. If they have done something to hurt you, you should be able to share with them that hurt and have them understand and assure you the behavior will not occur again and it not occur, rather then them act out defensively, or “promise” it won’t happen again only to have it happen after a few weeks or months. Safe people can only be found over time, with proven, consistent behavior. Safe people are people with a good character, they are not perfect, they are open and honest about who they are.

After reading this book I have learned that unfortunately there seems to be more unsafe people around us then safe people. Many unsafe people are very good at portraying themselves to be safe. People who seem to be safe, sometimes have such emotional issues that they are unable to share their lives with others in an honest trustworthy relationship, these people many times go through life mimicking what they think a safe relationship should be rather than emotionally connecting. For these people time is their enemy as they can not keep up the “appearance” of a safe person for long and many times they hurt those who invest in them, those who are not educated in spotting an unsafe person.

“Safe People: How to Find Relationships that are Good for You and Avoid Those That Aren’t” should be required reading for everyone and I highly recommend it. It will help in all areas of your life, spiritual, personal, professional. And even though this book is in no way related to finances or money, it will help you in those areas as well because there are many “unsafe” people who are out to take money from those who can’t spot the unsafe person who may be out to scam you.

This book will also help you improve your own “safe” factor in how you relate to those around you, the more safe you are as an individual, the more you will be drawn to other safe people and the easier you will recognize unsafe people, maybe even those in your life right now.

As you walk through life, keep your eyes open for safe people. They will become your greatest asset next to God.

Many people in debt think “I’ll just file bankruptcy and start over, it’s easy”, the truth is that bankruptcy is a life-changing event that causes lifelong damage, and most bankruptcy lawyers won’t tell you that, they just want the dollars from you to file the paper work.

The word bankruptcy is a scary word to me. If you are thinking about filing for bankruptcy or maybe in the middle of it right now, you know it is a scary event. But did you know that it could effect your job? Yes it can, many employers frown on bankruptcy of their employees, thinking “if they can’t manage their own finances how will they handle those of the company?” Also, many employers consider financially distressed employees as a greater risk for embezzlement or theft. When searching for a new job if a credit report is run and a bankruptcy shows up, that could eliminate your changes for employment in some companies.

Bankruptcy can destroy your marriage, how can a spouse have full and complete trust in the relationship if money is so badly handled that it comes to bankruptcy? What effect will it have on the kids when you try to enroll them in certain events, if you think no one will know, think again, it is public record.

Bottom line bankruptcy steals your peace of mind, your comfort level in looking at yourself as well as society as a whole.

A client of mine came in ready to file bankruptcy. Her debts were overwhelming to say the lease, her husband had left her for another girl. The house and the debt except for $14,000 was in his name. She was 46 years old, her dads friend, a lawyer told her to file bankruptcy. This poor lady was broke down and worn out and felt she had no where else to turn except to go bankrupt. The truth is, she was not bankrupt. You see, her soon-to-be ex-husband will end up with all the debt in his name, he may be bankrupt, but this lady was not.

Why Avoid Bankruptcy? Bankruptcy is not something I recommend any more than I would recommend divorce. Are there times when good people see no way out and file bankruptcy? Yes, but my job is to help you avoid that if given the opportunity. Few people who have been through bankruptcy would report that it is a painless cleaning of the slate, that you go off and start fresh when it is over. Many people go that route because they just plain don’t want to work hard enough to work it out…just like many people enter divorce, they just don’t want to “work hard” to fix things.

Do not be fooled. Although I personally have not gone through a bankruptcy, I do have many friends who have and it is not a fun ride. Bankruptcy is listed in the top 5 of negative life-altering events that we can go through, along with divorce, severe illness, disability, and loss of a loved one. Although I don’t believe that bankruptcy is as bad as losing a loved one, it is certainly life-altering and leaves deep wounds both to the psyche and the credit report.

There are two types of bankruptcy. Chapter 7 which is total bankruptcy, stays on your credit report for10 years, and Chapter 13, which is more like a payment plan and stays on your credit report for 7 years. Bankruptcy, however, is for life. Loan applications and many job applications ask if you have ever filed for bankruptcy. EVER, not in the last 7 or 10 years but EVER. Could you lie to get a loan because your bankruptcy was so long ago? Yes, but technically if you do, you have committed criminal fraud, and I don’t know about you, but I have a higher power to be accountable to.

The good news is most bankruptcy cases can be avoided with proper help, such as a certified financial counseling, or even reading the book by Dave Ramsey “The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness“. Now to be honest, your money makeover will take some hard work and time, it may involve extensive amputation of stuff, it will be painful, but bankruptcy is much more painful.

Also one last consideration, the reason most people are even contemplating bankruptcy is usually do to poor money management habits, many people who file for bankruptcy to “start over” end up in debt again within two to five short years, why? Because the debt wasn’t the real problem, managing money was.

If you take the a good step backward to get on solid ground instead of looking for a quick fix that bankruptcy “seems” to offer, you will win more quickly and in the long run be far better off financially.

We have all done it, bought more car than we could really afford. For what ever reason we try to use in our mind to justify the purchase. I need a SUV to haul the kids around. My car was to small for the three car seats so I bought a new mini van. I just wanted a new car I was sick of the old one.

We get car fever and the dealers love it. Now I firmly believe you can get a great car with no car payments, you just have to be patient and look around a bit.

The average car payment in America today is $487 a month, think about it, that is $5,844 a year. For many people that would pay of a credit card or two. To make matters worse, most of those payments are financed out for 60 months, that is just for a $29,000 car. Once the car is paid for is usually only worth just shy of half that amount if you are lucky. As soon as you drive a new car off the lot, and I do mean the second you enter the road with your new car, it dropped in value by $2,500 or $3,000 and went from new to used all within a matter of minutes.

So what is a person to do. Well, first you have to look at a car for what it is, transportation, that is it. When you start looking at it as a “status symbol” or you go in for the “bling” factor you are going to get taken by some nice sweet talking sales person, you will throw money away instead of using that money to work for you. Take emotion out of the equation. Purchasing a vehicle is a business transaction. You need a ride to get you from point A to point B safely and successfully. And that can be done with a used vehicle, really it can, I do it everyday.

Oh I know what you are thinking, but I want it to be reliable and only new cars are reliable, they have a warranty if something goes wrong. If I buy a used car I will be fixing it all the time, throwing money into it to keep it going.

NOT!

Think about this, could you ever put $487 a month worth of repairs into a vehicle for 60 months? Of course not. Sure a three to five year old vehicle will have things go wrong, but repairs on a car you paid cash for will still be far less than a consent car payment for 60 months.

Now that you have the right mind set, focus on paying cash for the car. Do you know how many reliable cars there are that are $5000 to $7000, loads of them, they are all over the place, someone else has paid the depreciation, they are coming off of lease, they are really all over the place. And yes, they are reliable too.

Also, here is a little known trick, did you know when you walk into the dealer with cash in hand, you can get that $5000 to $7000 car for even less. These sales people work on commission, and when sales are down and they are looking at cash in hand they will make you a deal. Know your numbers as they relate to the car you are shopping for, look it up online at Kelly Blue book or NADA. When you shop with knowledge and cash, you shop with power.

Now that you bought your new “used” car, you do have to be smart and put some money away every month for general maintenance and the occasional repair. But you still don’t have to put aside $487 (although it would be nice if you did), you could budget say $250 each month to put in savings earmarked “car” and that can be used for your maintenance, repairs, and even for your new “used” car fund when you want to upgrade to a newer used car.

Again, and I can’t say this enough, it is all about planning and focusing on the big picture. A vehicle is just a hunk of metal to get you from one place to the other and a $7000 car can do that just as good as a $29,000 car.

Let me close with this thought, do you know the average millionaire, and by average I mean first generation, self made millionaire purchases a car that is two years old or older and pays cash for it. Now you know why they are millionaires, they know where to put their money, and spending it on a high priced car is not the place.

Becoming debt free, building wealth and taking control of your finances does not happen overnight, nor does it “just happen”, it takes planning, commitment, and dedication. It is important to set goals as I discussed in Debt Free Goal.

Setting goals requires you lay out and acknowledge your financial priorities, but how do you do that, start here:

1. Be realistic.

You probably won’t be able to achieve every financial goal you have ever dreamed of. Don’t just identify your goals, decide what is most important to you and your family. By concentrating your efforts, you have a better chance of achieving what matters most.

2. First goals are the one’s that matter.

It isn’t about what you want most, but rather what is most important. You may have to postpone the “fun” stuff like a new boat or a special vacation in order to pay off credit cards. This doesn’t mean you can’t have the fun stuff, it just means you have to do them on a different time table.

3. Prepare yourself for multiple goals with the same level of importance.

There may be multiple important goals which conflict with one another. When faced with such a conflict, you should ask yourself questions like: Which conflicting goal will benefit more people? or Which goal will cause the greater harm if it is deferred?

4. Time is on your side.

Building wealth does not happen overnight. Time is on your side. Money in interest-earning savings accounts or invested in mutual funds, stocks and/or bonds grows and compounds. The more time you have, the more chance you have of success. Your age is a big factor.

5. Choose carefully.

In drawing up your list of goals, you should look for things that will help you feel financially secure, happy or fulfilled. Some of the items that end up on your list may include building an emergency fund, getting out of debt, investing, paying off your home and paying tuition for your children. Once you have your list together, you need to rank the items in order of importance to you and your spouse.

6. Include family members.

This is very important, if you have a spouse or significant other, make sure that person is part of the goal-setting and priority process, if married, you cannot do this alone, it just won’t work. If you have children who are a little older, and are able to understand some basic financial talk, include them as well, it will be a good learning process for them in many ways, such as how to set goals, how to improve communication in a family unit, and how to manage money.

7. Tomorrow never comes - Start now.

Don’t put off to tomorrow what you can do today. The longer you wait to identify and begin working toward your goals, the more difficulty you’ll have reaching them.

8. Focus on your behavior.

Once you have prioritized your list of goals, build your budget and stick to it. Whenever you make a large payment ask yourself, “Will this purchase bring me nearer to my primary goals — or will it lead me further away from them?” If a big expense doesn’t get you closer to your goals then it is not in your best interest.

9. It is not all about long term planning.

Much of what I have discussed is based on long term planning and goals, however most of life is lived in the here-and-now. Most of what you spend be for daily expenses - including many that are simply for fun. Fun is okay, and should be part of your plan and priorities. We work hard for our money, and even though we have our financial goals and priorities, that doesn’t mean we can not have fun. Plan for the fun in your budget.

10. You change so should your goals and priorities.

Your needs and desires will change as you meet goals and as you age, I recommend you re-examine your priorities at the end of every year and possible re-adjust at least every five years so you stay in step with your life as you grow.

You will make mistakes, don’t beat yourself up to much when you do, but learn from them, and then get back on track as quickly as possible.

What do you do when a friend or family member continues to ask to borrow money from you?

It’s a great question and one that causes much guilt and sometimes hurt feelings on both sides. One thing I have learned is that if someone is continually asking to borrow money from you they are most likely asking others as well. Personally, I don’t lend money to friends or family, it changes the relationship. “The borrow becomes slave to the lender” Proverbs 22:7, and that is so true, it gets uncomfortable sitting at the dinner table next to someone that owes you money.

With that said, I am all for helping others in a wise way. If you are financially free and have the ability to help a family member or friend out of a tight bind and know they are good with money and are not in the financial situation due to their own stupidly but rather because they just happened to be put into some bad situations, such as a home fire, car accident, serious health issues, etc. then yes, by all means help, but don’t loan the money, give it to them as a gift.

If you know that friend or relative just can’t seem to get it together financially due to their own bad decisions and habits then I agree with and recommend you answer that friend or family member similar to how Abraham Lincoln answered his brother when he asked to borrow money. I have included that letter today.

“Dear Johnston:

Your request for eighty dollars, I do not think it best to comply with now. At the various times when I have helped you a little, you have said to me, “We can get along very well now,” but in a very short time I find you in the same difficulty again. Now this can only happen by some defect in your conduct. What that defect is, I think I know. You are not lazy, and still you are an idler. I doubt whether since I saw you, you have done a good whole day’s work, in any one day. You do not very much dislike to work, and still you do not work much, merely because it does not seem to you that you could get much for it. This habit of uselessly wasting time, is the whole difficulty; and it is vastly important to you, and still more so to your children, that you should break this habit. It is more important to them, because they have longer to live, and can keep out of an idle habit before they are in it easier than they can get out after they are in. You are now in need of some ready money; and what I propose is, that you shall go to work, “tooth and nail,” for somebody who will give you money for it. Let father and your boys take charge of things at home, prepare for a crop, and make the crop; and you go to work for the best money wages, or in discharge of any debt you owe, that you can get. And to secure you a fair reward for your labor, I now promise you that for every dollar you will, between this and the first of next May, get for your own labor either in money or in your own indebtedness, I will then give you one other dollar. By this, if you hire yourself at ten dollars a month, from me you will get ten more, making twenty dollars a month for your work. In this, I do not mean you shall go off to St. Louis, or the lead mines, or the gold mines, in California, but I mean for you to go at it for the best wages you can get close to home, in Coles County. Now if you will do this, you will soon be out of debt, and what is better, you will have a habit that will keep you from getting in debt again. But if I should now clear you out, next year you will be just as deep in as ever. You say you would almost give your place in Heaven for $70 or $80. Then you value your place in Heaven very cheaply, for I am sure you can with the offer I make you get the seventy or eighty dollars for four or five months’ work. You say if I furnish you the money you will deed me the land, and if you don’t pay the money back, you will deliver possession– Nonsense! If you can’t now live _with_ the land, how will you then live without it? You have always been kind to me, and I do not now mean to be unkind to you. On the contrary, if you will but follow my advice, you will find it worth more than eight times eighty dollars to you.

Affectionately your brother,

A. LINCOLN.”

Frugal, not cheap, but frugal is an important trait in those who are working toward becoming debt free and living in financial freedom to build wealth. I promote frugality to my clients. It is important to price shop, use coupons, by generic, etc.

There is a time however, when being frugal turns into being cheap and it starts to cost you money. Like the old saying goes, “the bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten.” With that said, it is important to know where that line in the sand is between frugal and cheap.

For example, I have a friend who will drive 25 miles out of her way to save three cents per gallon of gas, now when you think about it, that extra 50 mile round trip to save .51 cents on a 17 gallon tank of gas. The trip most likely used up and extra 3 to 3.5 gallons of gas assuming she gets 12 to 15 miles to the gallon. So that savings of .51 cents for the cheaper gas cost an extra $9.80 if gas is $2.80 per gallon. That is an example of frugal turning cheap and costing you money.

Another thing to take into consideration when being frugal is the value of your time. Many times referred to as soft dollars. Sadly, many people do not actually put a value on their time. But your time is valuable and must be used wisely just as money must be spent wisely.

How do you put a value on your time? One way is to take your gross (before taxes) annual income and divide that by 2080 (number of working hours in a year based on a 40 hour work week) this will give you your hourly rate of pay from your job, so that hourly rate is a good starting point for a value on an hour of your time. What if you are a stay at home mom? Well, it is near impossible to put a value on stay at home moms because your service to the home and family is really invaluable, but non-the-less, your time is of value and must be used wisely to not take away from the kids, and other duties around the home, so you must determine what it would cost if you had a sitter watch the kids for an hour as well as the hourly rate of someone cleaning the house, add those two amounts up and that is a good starting place of your personal hourly value (of course you are worth much more because you do so much more.)

Using this thought process will help you to insure you are actually being frugal and wise with both money and time, verses being cheap and just looking at the dollars involved in spending rather than the whole savings picture.