WHO: Sister duo Talia Bahr Goldfarb and Danielle Bahr Eason
WHAT: Myself Belts; a line of belts for children and adults featuring a one-handed patented belt closure which allows the wearer to open and close their belt easily with only one hand
WHEN: 2003
WHERE: St. Louis, Missouri
HOW: When Goldfarb’s son ditched his diapers, the idea for Myself Belts was born. “We discovered a void in the marketplace when my son was 3 and became potty trained. Without the bulk of his diaper, his pants didn’t fit him correctly anymore and when we searched for a belt, we discovered that there were not any belts on the market that young children could actually use independently,” says Goldfarb.
From there, Goldfarb and Eason took their idea and ran with it. “We did a patent search and discovered that our idea was actually an invention. We patented the Myself Belts’ belt closure and then began the steps of actually manufacturing our line of belts,” says Goldfarb. Using their own personal savings, the sisters took a risk, put five figures into launching the business and ordered 10,000 belts before receiving any orders from stores. Thankfully, trusting their instincts paid off. “By the time our belts arrived, we already had 100 stores that had placed orders from a marketing mailing that we had sent out while the belts were in production. We were pretty relieved that our instinct was correct!” says Goldfarb. Today, Myself Belts are sold in retail stores across the country and on a variety of websites including Target.com. More…
About a week and a half ago, I released a new version of my best-selling book, Pay it Down! The updated version still includes my tried-and-true Rx for getting out of debt on $10 a day, but it also takes into account the changing times, including the CARD Act of 2009, a tighter credit market, and your tighter wallet. Even if you’ve read it before, there’s enough new that you may want to think about reading it again.
But I also took it a step further, and developed an online program, The Debt Diet, that launches today on this website. More…
If you’re here to learn a bit more about the Debt Diet Online, congratulations. You’ve just taken the first step toward learning how to become free of credit card debt. That’s the way you can build a financial safety net and become financially secure. You can do it, and so can a spouse, child, or friend.
This video explains more about what Debt Diet Online can do for you:
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Yesterday, Hoda, Kathie Lee and I sat down with our first mini-money makeover candidate, Kelly Whalen. Watch the video below to see how we helped her to reign in her weekend spending and be sure to tune in next Monday as we help another viewer makeover their finances.
In life, getting from where you are to where you want to be can be tough. It’s even tougher when fear is holding you back. In “The Big Leap,” bestselling author Dr. Gay Hendricks explains how fear can be one of life’s biggest roadblocks. Tune in tomorrow (at 12pm EDT on XM 156 or SIRIUS 195) as Dr. Hendricks shares his tips for overcoming your fears and achieving success in finances, love and life.
Do you roll out of bed eager to start the work week? Roxanne Emmerich does, and she says that you can too. Join Jean tomorrow as she sits down with the bestselling author of “Thank God It’s Monday,” to talk about tricks you can use to get excited about work. Later, Congressman Bart Stupak stops by to weigh in on the ongoing health care debate.
Today, the average undergraduate student leaves college owing over $22,000 in student loans. If you, or someone you know is struggling with paying them back, tune in tomorrow (at 12pm EDT on XM 156 or SIRIUS 195) as Jean talks with FinAid.org’s Mark Kantrowitz about changes that have been made to make repayment just a bit easier.
This week pirates invaded my town. Trust me though; this isn’t as scary, or as strange, as it sounds. Every summer, Alexandria Bay, my small, tourist town in the summertime paradise known as the Thousand Islands (read the NY Times story on the area here), hosts one of the country’s oldest pirate festivals. For ten days, pirate invasions, pirate parades, and skits to reenact the antics of Bill Johnston (seen with me in the photo at left)-an actual pirate who hid from authorities in a cave in one of the Thousand Islands for almost a year- entertain thousands of tourists.
But what does a pirate festival have to do with money? Well, in a word, lots. For my town, this festival is a major economic driver of an economy that relies, for the most part, on income generated during the summer months. While people from all over attend Bill Johnston’s Pirate Days, this year, many people from not-so-far-away see the festival as the perfect opportunity for entertainment while on a “staycation.”
“Staycation”, seems to be the buzzword of the summer. A staycation is defined (yes, I said defined…staycations have become so popular, that they now have their own dictionary entry) as a vacation where one takes time off at or close to home. According to a recent poll by Harris Interactive, almost 60% of Americans say they are looking for ways to find less-expensive activities to fill up their summer days. Nearly 50% of survey participants said they’d take vacations closer to home.
In an economic climate where everyone’s trying to save a little more, staycations are a chance to take a break from the everyday, without spending a bundle of money. If you’ve yet to take a staycation this summer, there’s still time. Here are some tips for finding cheap fun that’s close to home:
Find a Festival: Visit Festivals.com, where you can search for festivals in your area by city or state, many of which are low-cost or even free.
Fun at the Fair: There are very few places where you can eat a deep fried Oreo, take in a concert by a big-name entertainer and marvel at a sculpture made of butter all in one day. Tickets to your state fair will cost around More…
Growing up today can be challenging-but that doesn’t mean it can’t be fun. In “The Double Daring Book for Girls,” the follow up to their bestselling “The Daring Book for Girls,” Miriam Peskowitz and Andrea Buchanan teach readers how to do everything from how to organize a croquet tournament to how to surf. Join Jean (at 12pm EDT to SIRIUS Channel 195 or XM Channel 156) as she talks with the authors about creative ways that girls can have fun in today’s world.
Tune in tomorrow (at 12pm EDT on SIRIUS Channel 195 or XM Channel 156) as Jean and producer John St. Augustine compare their experiences test-driving the Camaro SS. Later, auto expert Barbara Terry stops by to talk about the relationships people have with their vehicles.
