Category: Budgeting

By David

With a struggling economy, everyone is looking for ways that they can save money in order to weather these difficult times. Most are familiar with the idea of looking for cheaper monthly services or removing ones we do not need to reduce our bills, but sometimes there is just no way to cut back in these areas enough to get us where we need to be. To answer the question “how can we save money,” here are three different methods to help you find more room in your budget.

Shop deals and off

The first step in answering the question “how can we save money” is taking a look at your grocery bills. To make sure you spend the least amount of money in the grocery store you will want to make a list and stick to it, to make sure you are not swayed by those temping end cap “offers.” Often, grocery stores will send out flyers and emails detailing their deals and when they are in effect. If you can find things that you actually need on sale, go ahead and stock up as much as you will be able to use before the merchandise expires. If there are no deals you can take advantage of, try comparing prices and finding the lowest one for what you are getting. Sometimes it is worth the extra dollar for a superior product, but often, all you are paying for is the brand name’s advertising budget.

Cut your entertainment budget

If you are still asking the question “how can we save money,” then you may want to take a look at your entertainment budget and try and find some ways to cut back. While there is certainly no experience quite like the movie theater, for the price of a ticket and your snacks you could pay for a couple months of an online media network allowing unlimited movies and shows. If you are heading to the movies more than once a month, cutting back here could help you save. Other areas like eating out and personal hobbies can also drain your wallet very quickly. Limiting how often you do these things can save you quite a bit of money without hurting your social life too much.

Kick bad habits

You may not believe it, but bad habits are typically very expensive habits and often contribute very little if anything to the improvement of our lives. If you are trying to figure out the answer to the question, “how can we save money,” then you may need look no further than your bad habits. Smoking, heavy drinking, overeating, and the consumption of soda or even coffee can become a budget draining bad habit very easily. Removing or at least cutting back on these types of activities can not only free up some room in your budget, but improve your health as well.

Of course these are just a few suggestions to get you started. Now that you have got your feet wet, you can implement these ideas and come up with even more of your own.

By John

Saving money at home or work is one of the most important functions in almost every individual’s life. There is so much advice available online offering excellent and nitty-gritty tips on how to save money in each area of your life that it’s a puzzle to work out where to start. Here is our view on taking a logical approach to saving money.

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A small saving on a big item is likely to be equal to or greater than big savings on small items, right? So let’s work down the scale:

Go for the big ones first

Housing probably comes top of the list. It’s a big decision, of course, but renting can actually be cheaper than owning when mortgage interest rates are high. Or you could consider moving to a tax-free state, and to an area with a low cost of living, meaning out of town, or just moving to a smaller house.

Insurance premiums usually consume a large chunk of your annual income. You should consider all your policies to see if they continue to meet your requirements or if you can renegotiate the terms to get a better rate. It may be that your circumstances have changed since you took a policy out.

You should definitely consider the way you look at transportation if you are serious about saving money. If you have more than one car, can you scale back to one? And can you degrade that to a smaller and cheaper one? The savings you will make on the license fee and cheaper insurance as well as gas come to a tidy sum in a year.

Any annual subscriptions you have need questioning. Do you get full value out of those magazines? Which memberships can you do without? Golf clubs and gyms often have different rates according to usage. Can you find cheaper ones that still fit your schedule? You should also enquire into discounts.

If you are serious about saving money at home, especially on your monthly bills, consider comparing offers from several companies. Save on credit cards, cell phones, long distance, Internet, insurance, and so much more. Free comparison tools.

Prudent expenditure

At this stage you need to consider your monthly expenditure to make sure that you are spending money wisely on things you need rather than simply want; buy things at the best possible price while getting value for money; and are using less and wasting less. Again, let’s go for the big items:

• Utilities. You can cut your utilities bills by a significant amount through being energy-conscious. Turning off running water when not using it, switching off electrical appliances when not using them, switching off lights in empty rooms, adjusting heating and cooling thermostats for acceptably comfortable conditions.
• Transportation. You can save money by keeping your car in good running order, doing more basic maintenance jobs yourself, and driving conservatively. Cutting out unnecessary trips with better planning, and walking or biking more will save more money.
• Groceries. Comparison-shopping and coupon-collecting will not only save you a lot of money but will also help you to get the best value for what you pay. You should always shop with a budget and a list.
• Entertainment. Bundling all your internet, cable and TV services with one provider saves money. Drop services you don’t really need or use, like extra channels. Do you need the landline if you have a cellphone? Does your data plan fit your cell usage pattern? The library can provide books, movies and music. You can probably save $60 or so by not eating out just once – that’s worth a lot of scrimping and saving at the grocery store. Make more of your own meals and that includes a baggie for lunch, and make and take your own coffee.

Penny-pinching

There are thousands of ways to avoid spending a penny here and there. These are a few of our favorites:

• Try never to pay the full price for anything. Don’t be afraid of asking for discounts – anywhere.
• Time your shopping. In the evening many food items are heavily discounted – bread, cooked chickens, fruit, vegetables, cheese, salads and more. You can freeze what you don’t eat at once.
• Shop for clothes at sales, auctions and thrift shops. Have shoes repaired rather than buy new ones.
• Find free entertainment locally or stay home and develop your hobby.
• Go meat-free one day a week.

Not all of these tips will work for everyone but the three-step approach to saving money at home is a good starting point to identify areas where you could be saving money.

If you are serious about saving money at home, especially on your monthly bills, consider comparing offers from several companies. Save on credit cards, cell phones, long distance, Internet, insurance, and so much more. Free comparison tools.

By Dr. Kavita

Money management is a topic that makes most of us feel squirmy and uncomfortable. The reason is that the task requires extreme involvement and constant updates. Unfortunately, even a little carelessness here could cost a lot in the long run.

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So without wasting much time, let us directly get on to some useful and easy money management tips that all of us can follow and put in to practice:

Getting started

The first step to managing your money properly is to know exactly how much you earn and how much you need to spend it. You could make a list for this. Make two separate columns and list all the activities that earn an income for you in the left hand column and then list out all the activities that need money to be spent on them in the right hand column.

Both the income and outgoing column details should be relevant to every single month of the year. I am sure you would argue that not every single month of the year comes in with exactly the same amount of expenses. Yeah, I thought of that too. So just add an item called ‘miscellaneous’ at the end of the expenses column. Any unexpected expenses can be adjusted here.

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Sort the essentials and non-essentials

The expenses column needs more work than the income column for obvious reasons. Income is often fixed and does not waver much. Okay, so now you will have to sort out the essentials from the luxuries from all the items listed in expenses.

Make sure that you list out your utility expenses, credit card bills, travel expenses, food and all such things in the essentials. After you have done that, just add in another item named ‘savings’ in to the essentials. The miscellaneous item also goes in here.

The rest of the expenses can be categorized under non-essentials.

Funding the expenses

Now you will first need to fund the activities listed under essentials in the expenses category. Make sure that you put in maximum amount of funds into savings and about 35% of that in to the miscellaneous funds. Any income remaining after all this, can be put into fund the non-essentials. The idea here is that non-essentials can wait. Even if you cannot find enough money to get your non-essentials done this month, wait until your money management schedule puts in enough money in to this category.

By doing this you have not only paid all your bills on time each month, but also have made provisions to long term saving of money each month and also funded a separate account that will pay for the sudden and unexpected expenses that may crop up each month. The non-essentials have also been taken care and will not encroach upon your savings.

Finally, what you need to make this money management process a success, is discipline and determination to stick to the rules.

Click here to compare multiple offers and see how much you can save every month on credit cards, long distance, Internet, insurance, cell phones, mortgages, and so much more.

By David

In the current economic climate, we are all looking to find ways to reduce our expenses. Many of us have started taking another look at our bills to see if there is anywhere we can cut back. Below are just a few ideas of ways to reduce bills to help you through these difficult times.

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Cut features

Many people have little extra features that they signed up for when they first started using certain plans or services that may have been nice at first, but perhaps do not serve much purpose any longer or are just too expensive for what they are. Thankfully, you can typically opt out of such additional features at any time. All you need to do is call up the company in question and let them know that you would like to cancel the features you are no longer using. They will still probably try and talk you into keeping them, but stand firm and realize that it is one of the best ways to reduce your bills.

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Combine services

Several companies offer multiple services and will typically offer deals on packaged services that will save you quite a bit of money versus purchasing each service separately. As far as ways to reduce your bills goes this is one of the best ones out there. This option is most prevalent with companies that offer internet, phone, and television services. All of these can be provided through one connection allowing the company to save money on wire installation and maintenance costs. This savings is then passed on to those who choose to go with one of their bundles.

Cancel services

Though it may sound extreme, canceling some of your services is one of the most impactful ways to reduce bills in terms of its effects on what you are paying each month. Many people do not realize that they are actually paying bills they do not need to be burdened with. Perhaps you have a gym membership that you haven’t used in months. Why not cancel it and exercise at home with friends, family members, or neighbors? On the other hand, perhaps you are paying for both a wireless phone and a land-line, when you could drop the landline all together. Or maybe you have a few favorite shows you watch on TV, but otherwise do not really use it. If you have a decent internet connection you can watch your shows on the network’s website, or if you do not mind being a season or two behind you can sign up with one of the great “media over the internet” sites available these days and cut the cable bill. There are many options available, you just have to be resourceful enough to see them and brave enough to take advantage of them.

Now that we have gotten you started with a couple great ideas, try and come up with some of your own as well. The more ways you can think of to save, the more you can reduce those monthly bills and the more you will have for the other important things in life.

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By John

People are increasingly looking for ways to save money these days. Amongst many useful suggestions, ‘frugal living’ is often put forward as if it were an option for saving  similar to moving to a smaller house, or buying solar panels. But it is more than that. The word ‘frugality’ originates from the Latin word for fruit and is now defined as the quality of being variously restrained or moderate in spending habits, or simply economical. For us the best adjective is ‘prudent’ and as such, frugal living should be the way of life for all of us, especially those looking to save money.

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Here is our list of the top three pillars of frugal living:

Make frugal living your way of life

Frugal living does not mean economizing to the extent of removing all life’s pleasures. It means thinking about your lifestyle and spending habits and finding ways to balance the two against your disposable income. It means identifying the areas where you are unnecessarily extravagant and adjusting them to free up money for other purposes. It means constantly wondering if there isn’t a cheaper or more economical way of doing whatever it is you’re doing.

Make better use of what you have

A good place to start is with managing your money. You need to check that you really are getting the best value out of your insurance policies, for instance. There are so many variations and as your circumstances change, so may your requirements. You certainly need to consider the ways you use and pay off your credit cards. Paying interest on plastic is a complete waste of money and paying off these and other debts should be your top priority and aim in saving money.

Energy consumption is another are where you can save money. Frugal living means only using water, electricity and gas as and when you need to – hence  turning off running water when you don’t need it, and switching off appliances when you’re not using them, and lights when you don’t need them.

You can economize by throwing away less good food and using leftovers in different dishes. The web is awash with recipes for cheap and healthy meals made with leftovers.

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Clothing can be re-cycled, re-worn and repaired.

You should do an honest appraisal of your transport requirements. Do you really need two, or three, cars? Could you manage with a smaller one than you have? And it’s certain you could make less local trips with better planning. While on cars, there are many minor maintenance jobs you can do yourself to save money on trips to the garage.

Your internet, cable and phone expenditure need to be examined. Bundling services with one provider will save you money, as will dropping TV channels you don’t watch. Does your mobile data plan fit your pattern of usage? Can you drop the landline altogether?

As for those gym and other club memberships, if you really need them, can you possibly get a reduction in fees on different terms? Many things are negotiable.

Prudent expenditure

Frugal living means not buying stuff that you don’t need, and trying to avoid paying the full price for pretty well anything, since there is almost always a legitimate way to get a discount. When buying groceries and household requirements this means thorough research, comparison-shopping, and using coupons and taking advantage of freebies whenever possible. You should cut down on prepared meals and snacks and prepare them yourself. The same thing goes for that coffee you stop by to pick up on the way to work – can’t you make it and take it? You probably don’t really need bottled water, do you?

When buying clothes frugal living means examining your attachment to brands and going for value rather than simply low price. It may mean being prepared to buy used items, such as cars and maybe kitchen appliances, at a big reduction in price but only a minor reduction in value.

You can live frugally without sacrificing all the things you like. It basically takes prudence and self-restraint.

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By John

How do I maximize savings through coupons? Almost every e-mail we receive follows a theme along those lines.

More and more people are feeling the pinch these days, and consequently looking for any means by which to make or save money. One of the latest crazes is couponing. Shopping coupons have been around for a long time but were generally used only desultorily. Ever since people discovered that coupons were actually worth money, a whole new industry has sprung up. Increasing competition has compelled manufacturers and stores to issue more enticements to consumers to persuade them to buy their products and consumers, with an increasing number of enticements to choose from, are constantly developing ways to maximize the benefits available.

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Casual couponing doesn’t take much time and will save you a modest percentage on your monthly grocery bills; however to save the REALLY big bucks you have to be organized, very determined and pretty ruthless. Extreme couponing is not for the faint-hearted, but if you are keen to maximize savings to up to 80% or more on your monthly shopping bill, this is the way to do it.

What is extreme couponing?

It means changing your mindset to commit to the ideal of never buying anything at the normal price. The basic premise is that you buy when things are cheap or even free, and stockpile them for use during the times when you would need to pay the normal price for them. It will mean that your choice of menus will be dictated by what you have in stock. It will mean forgetting about store and brand loyalty.

Track down those coupons

Sunday newspapers are a common source of coupons. Buy those with inserts of coupons that interest you and see how you can obtain more of the inserts. From friends maybe, or a seller with unsold copies. Perhaps you could get a discount off the annual subscription fee for multiple copies? The same goes for the stores’ own circulars which carry coupons. Hard-core couponers will go to any lengths to acquire unused coupons, even to the extent of – how to put it delicately? – “recovering’ newspapers and circulars that other folks have discarded.

Innumerable websites exist that will point you in the direction of printable coupons, as well as e-coupons that can be downloaded via links to your store loyalty(!) cards. Smartphone apps mean you can do this on the fly.

You will be collecting a large number of coupons and it is essential to file them immediately in a folder or binder with pockets. Assign them by store, product, effective date and expiry date.

Coupons and discount stickers are also available in stores themselves, on products, shelves and at the checkout counter. A dispenser at checkout may dispense coupons according to value of the items purchased, or per transaction. The per transaction system means you can divide your shopping basket into lots, each lot representing one transaction, and get the additional coupon, which helps to pay for the second transaction and so on. By combining coupons you have collected with additional promotions from the store AND these checkout coupons, it is possible to get some of your purchases absolutely free. But you need to do your sums.

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Learn the system

Coupons contain codes and abbreviations which you must learn to get the most out of them. Together they describe how the coupon may be used, where, on what, its value, and in what time-frame. Several websites give lists these codes and abbreviations.

You must also learn the policies of individual stores regarding coupons. They will vary as to the combinations of use that they allow. You can find these policies on the stores’ websites, or failing that, request one from the store’s marketing department. You should place a hard copy of each policy in your folder in case of disputes at checkout.

Plan your shopping trip

Make your shopping list according to store, department and product with the appropriate coupons pinned together and available. Have a meal, say goodbye to the kids and go!

Redeeming your coupons

Try to make sure you hit the store at an off-peak time as you will be spending a little longer than normal at checkout. It is a good policy to warn checkers that you will be using coupons so they know what to expect. Sometimes checkers may not be fully briefed up on the finer details of the store’s coupon policy, and this is where you whip out the hard copy from your folder and show them. Don’t be afraid to call for a manager if necessary to settle a dispute.

Final word

If you follow these steps you can see how you will maximize savings on your shopping bill. One word of warning: put a reasonable limit on your stockpile. There’s no point in cornering the world’s entire stockpile of canned sardines at a wonderful price if you have nowhere to put them. Besides, their turn will come round again.

Click here to maximize your savings by comparing offers on credit cards, cell phones, long distance, Internet access, loans, insurance, and so much more. Free comparison tools.

By David

In our seemingly never ending recession, people are doing whatever they can to earn more and spend less. There are many ways for people to go about doing this. Today, we will take a look at how to lower your bills by sticking to the old adage “reduce, reuse, and recycle.”

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Reduce

When talking about how to lower your bills it is important to look at how much you are presently using and try and find ways to cut back. This is especially prevalent in connection with your utilities bills. We will take a quick look at these and other common bills and suggest some simple ways to cut back.

1)      Water – water is a precious resource and one that can end up costing us a lot if we are using too much of it. To help reduce your water consumption and thus your bill, try taking a shorter shower, turning off the water when you are brushing your teeth, or setting your lawn watering system to only activate once or twice a week.

2)      Electricity – especially if you live in a particularly warm or cold environment electricity could be one of your highest utility bills. To help reduce this, make sure you always turn off lights and appliances you are not using when you leave a room, make sure the TV is off when you go to sleep, and try getting your home to a comfortable temperature and shutting it off before going to bed, or just opt for lighter or heavier clothing while at home instead of running the environmental conditioners at all.

3)      Groceries – the typical family’s grocery bill can be hundreds of dollars every month. To help reduce this, try purchasing off brands rather than name brands at the store, utilizing coupons or special store sales to save on things you would normally buy, or try eating less. It might help you lose those extra pounds while saving you a few bucks.

Click here to compare offers and lower your bills. Save hundreds of dollars every month by comparing credit cards, cell phones, phone bills, Internet, insurance, and more. Find out how much you can save.

Reuse

Though this idea may sound a bit off putting it really can provide some great ideas on how to lower your bills without significantly affecting your lifestyle. To do this, try wearing shirts and pants that do not get dirty over the course of a single day for a second day in the same week to help reduce your grocery and water bills or try to use the same dishes throughout the entire day, rinsing briefly between meals if necessary to reduce the number of loads you do in your dishwasher.

Recycle

Finally try to recycle or repair things in your home before you replace them. If your car has a problem you get it fixed rather than get a new one. The same should be true for most of your appliances. If they can be salvaged for less than they can be replaced for, why not try and see if you can get a little more life out of them?

Now that we have got you going, you can use the ideas above and even generate your own to lower your bills.

Click here to compare offers and lower your bills. Save hundreds of dollars every month by comparing credit cards, cell phones, phone bills, Internet, insurance, and more. Find out how much you can save.

By John

Coupon shopping (online and offline) has become a perpetual habit for millions of budget-conscious shoppers.

Does couponing save you money? Absolutely! How much? That depends entirely on how much effort you put into it. A casual coupon user can easily knock $10 off the monthly shopping bill but ferocious ones talk about savings of over 80%! If you are the average American family spending between $500 and $1000 per month on shopping, work it out!

Click here to compare offers and save hundreds of dollars on credit cards, cell phones, Internet access, mortgages, and so much more. Free comparison tools. Find out for yourself how much you can save every month.

Coupons have been around for years, in one form or another. Collecting and redeeming them was pretty easy and people were grateful for the occasional small benefit they brought. Now, with prices rising all around and people desperate to save money by all means, more and more people are using coupons as a planned method of saving money and as a result the coupon business has become an industry. You need to know your way around this industry to gain optimal benefits. And it takes time.

Collecting coupons

Coupons are generally provided by manufacturers and store owners. You can usually find them in Sunday newspapers, print them out and redeem them at the checkout counter when you shop. Some people buy several copies of the paper just for the coupons alone, and also regularly swap coupons with family and friends.

Online, they are found on manufacturers’ and stores’ websites, and on dedicated websites, again for printing out and redemption at the checkout counter. Quickly establish which websites are the most useful ones for you in order to avoid wasting time.

Further, there are dedicated outlets for coupons for online shopping as well. Interactive websites now enable e-coupons (including coupons for online shopping) to be linked directly to store loyalty cards. Smartphone apps exist that are particularly helpful with this, as the app enables you to search for coupons, do your math and make your purchases on the ground, as it were, actually looking at the products.

Learn the ropes

The industry has spawned its own language which you need to learn to get the best results. You also need to learn about stores’ policies on coupons – specifically the combinations of coupons that they permit to be used on each product. Doubling-up and tripling-up can produce a massive discount.

Which coupons?

As with all comparison-shopping you need to make sure that a coupon is actually going to save you money. Key question: Were you going to buy that item anyway? Remember — no matter how little you pay for a product it’s not a bargain if you don’t need it in the first place and is not saving you money. Is the quoted price without coupon the regular price or a hiked one? Wherever possible compare unit costs of the product, post-coupon. A valuable exercise too is to learn which products tend to carry the biggest percentage reduction in price post-coupon – for example, washing detergents, or personal grooming products, or food ingredients. This will help you to spend more time searching for deals that will save dollars instead of cents.

Always check the expiry date of coupons that interest you.

Organization

The more coupons you collect the more important it is to collate them, by store, department, product type, and expiry date. Putting them in appropriate envelopes will help you when you compile your shopping list and save you (and all the other customers!) time at the checkout counter.

Yes, coupon-shopping will save you a lot of money but it takes time and effort.

Click here to compare offers and save hundreds of dollars on credit cards, cell phones, Internet access, mortgages, and so much more. Free comparison tools. Find out for yourself how much you can save every month.