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How To Build Up Your Nest Egg

17 Aug No comments Saving , , ,

1. Set up an auto deposit from your checking account to your savings account with your bank online. If you get paid on the 1st and the 15th set your auto deposit for the 2nd and the 16th so you don’t have time to spend your money.

2. If you put it into savings, don’t take it out. It can get to be a habit. Your savings account can only increase, even by just a little.

3. Keep your money in an online savings account. They usually pay more interest than your standard savings account.

4. Treat your savings account like a utility bill, make a payment every month.

5.Log into your savings account and see your progress to keep you motivated.

6. Create separate accounts for emergency savings and regular savings. The emergency fund should have 3-5 months of living expenses and is never to be touched.

Give Up Your Home Phone

11 Aug 1 comment Saving , ,

For many, there is little reason to keep your home phone if you have a cell phone. Here’s a few key points.

1. Long distance. Your cell phone gives you free long distance across the country, while your home phone does not.

2. Unlimited minutes. Nights and weekends are unlimited. Calls to customers on the same carrier are unlimited.

3. DSL. You can now get high speed DSL without the need of a home phone line or just switch to a faster cable line.

4. Services. With a cell phone you don’t have to pay for caller ID, 3 way calling, or opting out of the yellow pages.

Saving On Food

09 Aug 1 comment Shopping , ,

1. Plan in advance. Know what you need beforehand. If you go without a shopping list, you’ll end up buying a lot more than what you need.

2. Don’t go to the store hungry. When you haven’t eaten in a while, everything you look at tastes good. By the time you know it you’ll end up with a cart full of junk food.

3. The checkout add-ons. Grocery stores make good money on items at the checkout lane. Things like chapstick, magazines, bubble gum, sodas and snacks. You can always buy these items in a pack cheaper instead of individually.

4. Use coupons. An investment into the Sunday newspaper can lead up to big savings if you buy national brands especially.

5. Buy generic. For things like lotion and many food products, there are cheaper alternatives out there. Sometimes they’re practically identical.

6. Buy in bulk. If something is on sale, stock up. This applies especially if the expiration date is months away and of course if you use these items on a regular basis

Food is a necessity, but you can still save on it. It might only seem like a few bucks, but we all need to eat every day and it really adds up. Just saving $20 a week can convert to saving over $1,000 per year.

5 Reasons You May Be Refused Credit

04 Aug No comments Uncategorized

1. No credit history – Having no credit history is almost comparable to having a poor credit history.

2. Too much credit available – If your current credit cards have outstanding balances you could consider taking out a balance transfer credit card.

3. Too many credit applications – Making a number of applications in a short period of time will probably set alarm bells ringing in the ears of creditors.

4. Not on the electoral roll – Creditors use your presence on an electoral roll as a confirmation of residence.

5. Financially unstable – Length of employment, how long you’ve been with your bank and how long you’ve lived in your current address are considered.

What is a CD?

16 Jun No comments Saving , ,

This is a specialized deposit you can easily make at a bank or other financial institution. Interest is paid at regular intervals until the CD matures. At that time, you get your original deposit plus the earned interest.

Certificate of Deposit (CD)
*Earn interest during the term (most popular are between three months and five years).
*Must leave the deposit in the account for the entire term to avoid an early withdrawal
penalty.
*Option of receiving the principal and interest at the end of the term, or rolling over the CD for another term.
*FDIC insured up to $250,000 per individual.

The great thing about CDs is that they let you get a much higher interest rate than a savings account, while being a much safer option than investing in the stock market.

Water Heating

28 May No comments Saving , ,

Water heating is often an overlooked expense. There are four ways to lower your water heating bill.

Get a new model – Buy an energy efficient water heater. Look for the ENERGY STAR and EnergyGuide labels on new water heaters.

Lower temperature – Easily reduce your water heating costs by lowering the thermostat setting on your water heater.

More Insulation – Adding insulation to your water storage tank will reduce standby heat loss. Insulating all accessible hot water pipes also reduces heat loss.

Use less hot water – Fix leaky faucets, install low-flow fixtures, and purchase energy efficient home appliances to reduce hot water usage.

Basic Savings Account

16 May No comments Saving ,

You should plan for the unexpected. Start saving money today for unexpected financial situations. Most financial experts recommend having three to six months of basic expenses set aside.

A basic savings account is a good place for your emergency fund. Savings accounts are offered by banks and credit unions. Their benefits are:

*Access your money at any time.
*Earn interest on your money.
*Easily move money from one account to another.
*Savings insured by the FDIC up to $250,000.

Adjusting the Thermostat

28 Apr No comments Saving , ,

While you are awake at home set your thermostat as low as is comfortable in the winter. Turn it down further while you are asleep or away from home. Turning your thermostat back 10°–15° for 8 hours, you can save about 5%–15% a year on your heating bill.

Additionally, set your thermostat as high as is comfortable for you in the summer. Keep your house warmer than normal when you are away and only lower the thermostat setting when you are at home. This will lower your cooling bill.

A programmable thermostat is good investment. It changes the temperature settings automatically. The thermostat adjusts the temperature at night and when you are not home.

Simple Budgeting

16 Apr No comments Spending ,

A budget allows you to do 3 things:
* Understand where your money is spent.
* Spend less money than you make.
* Find ways to increase your wealth.

Start with a simple budget. First, total your monthly income. Second, track all your expenses for that month. Lastly, do the following math: income minus expenses.

If your result shows more income than expenses you have a surplus. You can use this money to pay down debt to eliminate it faster, or you can put it into a savings plan. If you are showing  higher expense than income, it means some changes will have to be made to handle the shortage. You will need to lower your expenses, or increase your income, or a combination of both.

CFL and LED bulbs

02 Apr No comments Shopping ,

Immediately replace your five most frequently used classic light bulbs with more efficient bulbs to start saving money on your electricity costs. Over time you can begin to replace your other bulbs, the less frequently used ones, as they burn out.

Two efficient alternatives.

A compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) bulb is a smaller version of the full-sized fluorescent that can be screwed into a lamp bulb socket. Importantly, a CFL bulb has an average rated life of 8-15 times of an incandescent lamp bulb and uses only 20-30 percent of the power of an incandescent  lamp bulb.

New to the market is the Light Emitting Diodes (LED) lamp. These bulbs last up to 10 times as long as CFL bulbs and far longer than incandescent bulbs. LED lamps use an average of 3-5 percent of the power of an incandescent lamp.