With the downturn in the economy, it's very possible that your "secure" job isn't so safe. Here are a few things to consider when heading for the worst.
1. Unemployment Office. Go to your local unemployment office or file online for unemployment benefits as soon as possible. It may be possible to get up to one-half of your old wages.
2. Emergency Savings. While you still have a job, make sure you are contributing as much as you can afford to your "emergency" savings account each payday. If you have it done automatically through your bank or employer, you won't even notice it being taken out. Ideally, you should have enough in the account to provide for you for a few months.
3. Other Work. Get a part-time job or work as a consultant.
4. IRA/401(k)/CDs/Investments. Tap into these only as a last resort. The tax implications of early withdrawal can be pretty hefty.
Jan 29, 2009
Unemployment
Jan 28, 2009
Ways to Make Cents at Home
In the midst of all these skyrocketing prices, come the how's, ways and means to save money and earn extra.
There are creative but practical ways you can engage in to help the family save and at the same time earn extra. The things that have been sitting in your attic for sometime and those that become all too familiar and useless might mean extra bucks. This way, it saves you space, cleaning materials and containers. This reduces maintenance expenses.
Garage sale at home is a save-and-earn endeavor for starters. Look at the success of flea markets where people can buy almost anything at a lower price but large amount of income for vendors.
How to maximize the potential of flea markets and bargain sales to help you save? Primarily, a flea market is a place where almost all who have something to sell can sell for tremendously lower costs but good quality items. If you have the right tools and enough preparation for a day's trip to a flea market, then you are ready to go with some handy tips:
1. Ready your tools, maps, measurements and cash:
- easy-to-carry tool kit with screwdrivers, pliers, tape measure, pencil, ropes, set of swatches, paper and plastic bags and boxes;
- floorplan measurements;
- maps, directions and phone numbers;
- bring enough cash and checks for high-priced items;
- dress yourself appropriately for bargain hunting.
3. Keep a critical eye during shopping.
- Be ready to negotiate and haggle on the prices of items.
- Items sold here have greater possibilities, either you can redecorate or repaint them to make it look unique and attractive.
Bear in mind five things crucial to garage sale success: location, date and time, variety of goods, organization/presentation, advertisements and prices.
- Spot a strategic location where people can access and drop by easily. Your house is the perfect venue for this. Weekends are the best to schedule your sale.
- During your cleaning session, take note of candidate items for the sale, label them (keep, for repair, must go) and give them a brand new look.
- Organize them well according to prices, use arrangement styles, decide on the tables, baskets and boxes for the items and decorate your venue with fabrics and other helpful materials.
- Lower your prices. The idea here is to dispose of the things but earn from them reasonably.
Essential Money Saving Tips for Students
It is easy to get caught in the rush of things when you are in college. In the midst of studying, part-time jobs, socializing and extracurricular activities that you have, you are most likely to forget one of the most important things, which is straightening out your finances.
Here are some tips on how you can save money as a student:
1. Plan ahead.
If possible, do this even before you move into your dorm room. Check if you are eligible for scholarships and other grants before signing up for any form of student loan.
Construct a cash flow. First, where do you expect to get money from? Make a list of your “income”, be it from your parents, your student loan or your part-time job. Then forecast your expected monthly or weekly expenses for food, books, etc. Once you have set aside a budget, be strict with yourself and stick to it. You will never know what unexpected expenses would come your way so it is better to have a downfall for financial emergencies.
2. Save on food.
One of the major expenses that you have as a student which you might have ignored when you were still living with your parents is your food allowance. Avoid eating at fast food outlets, as this is most likely to ruin your budget. Pack your lunch and plan your meals as much as you can.
3. Take full advantage of student discounts.
Those ID’s in your wallet are not just for show. Student ID’s and memberships in organizations are honored in several establishments which offer discounts. Also, patronize a certain establishment regularly and you are bound to get bonus cards for being a loyal customer.
4. Use your cash as much as you can.
Since you already have a draft of the items where you will spend your money, it is easier to monitor your cash flow. Avoid using your debit card when you have cash with you. Use your credit cards or write checks only in emergencies. Having debit cards, credit cards and checks handy might lead you to overspend.
5. Keep yourself busy.
Join clubs according to your field of interest. Keeping busy will let your mind wander and help you stay away from things that you are likely to spend money on when you get bored. Examples of these are snacks, movie tickets or game rentals.
You will be surprised at the amount of money that you will actually save by spending less on luxury items, following your budget plan and saving for financial emergencies that you are most likely to get as a college student.
Credit Card Debt Elimination
Taking a step towards credit card debt elimination
So you have decided to go for credit card debt elimination and are wondering on what the methods for credit card debt elimination are. As they say, let's take the bull by its horns and lay it all flat on the ground. There are generally 2 recommendations that are most common for credit card debt elimination: controlling the expenditures and consolidating debt. Let's check both of these credit card debt elimination recommendations and check the list of things that you can do for achieving credit card debt elimination using these recommendations:
1. Control your urge to spend: The first thing to do for credit card debt elimination is to control your expenditures. Here we are talking about the payments you make using your credit card. Remember that the main reason being your getting into credit card debt is uncontrolled expenditures using your credit card. So if you are really serious about credit card debt elimination, this is one thing that will help in credit card debt elimination by preventing accumulation of further debt. Here is what you can do to control your expenditures:
- You need to stay away from attractive offers that are put-up by various shops and stores. Don't buy anything that you don't really-really need. After all you are looking for credit card debt elimination not supplementation.
- Leave your credit card at home. If you really-really need something, then you can fetch your credit card from your house. This will prevent you from yielding to the too-attractive-to-resist sale offers (that are actually there all the year round). This credit card debt elimination technique, again, works on the principal of "prevention is better than cure." This will prevent unplanned expenses from happening.
- Prepare a monthly budget and stick to it. This is really a very important credit card debt elimination measure. This budget will form the basis of your credit card debt elimination plan. So if you deviate from your budget, your credit card debt elimination plan will go for a toss.
- Do not go for the first balance offer you come across. Analyse various offers and choose the one that best suits you. This will be an important thing on you credit card debt elimination plan. Initial APR, Initial APR period and standard Apr, all need to be considered.
- Read the fine print on the balance transfer offer and check the terms and conditions on these. These might affect your overall credit card debt elimination plan.
- Compare other benefits e.g. rebates, reward points, etc, before you actually decide to go for one of the offers.
jessiemccloudmarketing.com
Keep Them Handy: Budgeting Tools that Work
Budgeting your monthly expenses in order to get the greatest return on your income (and perhaps, even put aside some for saving!) doesn't have to be extremely hard.
Various budgeting programs are available for use. Money management programs provide you with a usual package that allows you to enter your cash inflows and outflows, categorizes your expenditures, and at times, presents to you analysis of your spending behavior. Through these programs you can also input the various payments you have to make monthly, and subsequently track if you've paid your dues on time. Moreover, some programs also offer you a tax form draft that will help you make sure you're not missing out on any dues or any deductibles, for that matter.
Another budgeting tool that you can utilize are coupons. Various stores and magazines contain coupons that you can use to get discounts on various products. Should there be a need to purchase a particular product for which you have a coupon for, you will end up saving a fraction of what you might have had to spend on a regular purchase.
Lists: whether on a piece of paper, on your cellular phone, or on your personal digital assistant (PDA) will help you keep focused on what you have to buy, and in effect, keep track of the purchases you make. A classic example is your regular grocery trip. Prior to making the trip, plan out the week's entire menu and identify what food items and materials you need to purchase that are unavailable in your pantry. Then, make a list of other household items that you've run out of (or are eventually going to run out of before you can make the next trip to the grocery). Armed with these lists, you can go to the grocery and know exactly where to go and what you're going to buy. Without these lists, you will walk idly along aisles, and will likely pick up various food items that you won't likely need in the immediate future, or already have at home.
A filing system is perhaps one of the best budgeting tools you can have in your home. With simple, labeled file folders, you can put together your bills, your receipts, and whatever bank documents are issued to you when you save or pay. By putting together your bills, your credit card receipts, and the like, you are able to keep track of how much you owe and when your payments are due.
Effective budgeting tools are those that best address your needs as a consumer. Create your own budgeting tool or find a program to do it for you; just make sure it suits your lifestyle.
Self-Discipline And Saving Money
A great way to save money is to be aware of the fact that one has the power to define the state of his finances specifically through a conscious effort of disciplining the way one spends and controlling one's expenditures.
Self-discipline will most definitely be the key to reducing one's debts therefore increasing the possibility of growing one's savings. And in the long run, improve one's standard of living.
According to money management book author Robert Hastings, "Undisciplined money, usually spells undisciplined person". Therefore, if one notices how his hard-earned money seems to slip away so darned easy, then it is about time that he rethinks his ways and try to discipline his unpleasant spending habits.
One of the essential keys to successful money management, specifically saving money is to possess proper attitude. Self-discipline is at the topmost of this proper attitudes list, of course.
Only with self-discipline that people recognize that they do have the freedom and power to do the right thing over doing as their impulses dictate.
Sounds complicated? Well, not really. Knowing fully the fantastic rewards of disciplined money in a disciplined person's hands should be motivation enough for one to do all that is humanly possible to achieve that elusive financial stability everyone hopes for.
Here are some helpful money saving tips.
- Realize that the most convenient method of building one's wealth is through saving money. Money is the only sensible material to save.
- Focus expenditures on the things one needs. Live day-by-day knowing that you have enough.
- Avoid buying on impulse. Take your time when buying, especially the expensive items. If you really need it, it would most definitely not slip your mind. Otherwise, if you go along forgetting all about it, then it isn't really worth the money you have to spend on it at all.
- Credit card debts hold the number one slot as the cause for financial drains these days. Control your spending by using your credit cards less. Or for unavoidable circumstances when you really have to use the credit card, consider using the ones that charge less interest. Then dump the high interest ones for good.
No matter how you look at it, saving money is so easy to do. A little bit of imagination, some creativity and a lot of self-discipline will take you a long way in keeping hold of your hard-earned money.
jessiemccloudmarketing.com
How to Save Money on Utilities
Expenses on utilities contribute to most of your household bills. Did you know that you could save a lot of money through your utilities? Here are some pointers to help you do this:
1. Identify which appliances consume much electricity and contribute the most in making the electric bill cost that much. You can save hundreds of dollars annually by enrolling in a home management load program that offer a 100-dollar savings in a year on electric utility hour rate programs. This will help you lower your electric payments and will teach you on home energy conservation.
2. It is recommended that you have improved appliance efficiency. The heating system appliances are the ones that consume too much electricity. The refrigerator and the water heater consume that much energy as well. Make sure to check these items regularly to ensure their efficiency. A well-maintained appliance will sustain its performance and will give you it's accurate use of electricity.
3. Always remember to give your furnace a tune up at least twice a year. You have to cover the water heater to insulate it and give your refrigerator coils a cleaning at least twice a year as well. You may also set a timer for the heater to have regular flow of electricity whenever it is in use. You may call your utility service to check if there is a low rate offered during any specific time of the day.
4. You may also save money by lowering your heating bills. You may set your thermostat down three degrees to make you save 3 percent on your bills. You may even save more by not using it while you are at work or you can even turn it lower during nighttime when you are asleep. This can help you conserve electricity and save more money.
5. You may want to lessen your long distance telephone calls to lower your telephone bills. If it is a need to call a very important person, you may call during weekends and night hours. Telephone companies offer a lower rate for long distance calls during those times of the day. The best alternative to save money is by using the Internet to communicate with your friends and relatives instead of the telephone.
6. You may want to consider lowering your water bills in order to save money. Check if there are leaks so that you may fix them immediately. You may put a water saving showerhead to lessen the use of water when taking a shower. You can use a big container to stock water in the bathroom as an alternative rather than using the shower in the bathroom.
How to Save Money by Defining List of Expenses
With the institution of malls, affordability of technology, and rising cost of health care, loans, and rising inflation, it has become very difficult for one to spend less and save money for future use.
Current statistics show that banks are showing a considerable decline on each bank account holderÃs savings and have shown an increased in the number of withdrawals per month leaving people little money to spend before the next salary strikes their account.
Along this fact shows a relative increase in the amount of spending made in private institutions marketing different products.
While these facts and a host of temptations are a commonplace scenario in the real world, there are many ways by which you can keep yourself from getting into the hype and aid you in creating and developing your personal and unique habit of saving a few dollars from your basic salary.
Compulsive Buying
In a simulated sociological study, people who originally planned on window-shopping ended up buying personal stuff if they are taking their personal bankcards with them.
If you are doing window-shopping, limit your spending to a few bucks and try making your list the next time you plan on buying such items. Buy only the store items you need and abandon those that do not satisfy an immediate need.
Budgeting
Performing Price Comparison
This is great for you if you are into bulk buying and plan on conducting your malling activity in one place. This will give you a good idea if the usual store from where you usually get all your everyday household needs provides you a reasonable price for specific products.
Take All the Convenience At Home
Jessiemccloudmarketing.com
Jan 21, 2009
Methods of Saving Money
Saving is basically putting aside money or a way to utilize your present income for future use.
One saves for several reasons such as for a college education, buying a new car, for a new TV set you wish to acquire in three to four months time, for down payment on a home, or to provide for yourself when retirement comes.
As much as there are several reasons for saving, there are likewise many methods in which one can save. In most instances, the best method can be determined by whatever plans you have for the future.
1. Savings accounts. When saving for just a short period or for emergency purposes, consider opening a savings account passbook, as it is in this method that you can easily gain access to your funds.
Great for both long and short term savings, you can deposit and withdraw money to your account and earn interest, based on your average daily balance. A minimum balance is required to be maintained though, and you are charged with a penalty should you fail to maintain it.
2. Checking account with interest. Here one can benefit from checking account conveniences, while your deposits gain interests. Generally these types of accounts grants privileges such as limitless withdrawal and check writing, access to ATM and bill payments that can be done online.
This method typically requires a daily maintaining balance of at least $2,000.
3. Money market insured accounts. For long-termed goals, this method is ideal, as it generally offers a much higher rate of interest compared to a regular or standard savings account.
The interest rate usually is dependent on the amount of money in your bank account; larger balance means higher interest.
4. "CD" or Certificates of Deposit. This is a savings method requiring you to "loan" your money to your financial agency for a certain time frame, usually ranging from thirty days up to five years. Here, the longer the time span again, means higher interest.
Keep in mind that usually insurance companies offer better deals on interests compared to banks, so before you invest, compare rates first!
At certain times, when your goal is many years away, it can be a wiser decision to save money in a certain way that you are not drawn on using it other than the main reason for saving it. Deciding on the right financial agency such as a bank, credit union or insurance firm can bring about a lot of benefit in your finances.