The Save Money Blog

Posts Tagged ‘saving-money’

It really doesn't matter if you are ahead or behind in your savings plans, it's always a good idea to try to save a little more. I know I feel better about myself and my life when I look at my bank account or my credit cards and know that I am winning the battle to save and get rid of my debt. Here are a few easy tips to help you start saving money today.

Examine your priorities and ask yourself if you really need the items you are thinking of buying. Especially those big ticket items. Do you want them because somebody else has them or because you are trying to fill a void or are you just bored? Prioritize and spend your money on things you need and seriously think about things that you want.

Set spending limits and stick to them the best that you can. You have to realize that you can't always meet your goals but try to come as close as possible. Don't get depressed or upset when you don't meet your goals but feel good that you made the attempt and came as close as you can. Things happen in life that are beyond our control like flat tires and a car that won't start.

There is that old saying about keep it simple stupid. Life can be complicated. Sometimes we try to make things more difficult than we have to. Do you need to join an expensive gym when you can take up jogging or walking for a fraction of the cost? Can you get buy with your existing car without having to sink into massive debt to have the latest model?

Take stock in what you have and be happy. Some people place too much importance on having the latest gizmo's and toys. Does this make a person happier? Not really, especially if you can't afford it and it bogs you down in debt. Be happy with what you have and enjoy life. Work towards the goal of saving money, getting out of debt and enjoy life one day at a time.

I love the picture below. Don't you with the prices were the same as when they were using these types of gas pumps? The prices always seem to be up when I cruise in for a gas fill up. Here are some general tips you can use to save money next time you have to fill up at your local gas station.

1. Find a credit card that offers cash back or has a rewards program and use it for your gas purchases. I recently just switched to a credit card that utilizes Air Miles so I can get some swag from their rewards catalogue.

2. Find a gas station that offers membership savings for using their credit cards. I know of a petro station nearby that offers a couple of cents on the litre if you use their special credit card to make purchases.

3. Check the internet for local gas prices and compare stations to see if you can find one that has cheaper prices.

4. Turn off the AC when driving around in the city. You will save gas by not running your cars air conditioning. You just have to sweat it out a bit. On the highway however having open windows might cost you more in gas because of the drag. You might want to have the a/c on in this case.

5. It's okay to use the cheaper priced gas. This day in age who would pay for premium? It's just money down the drain.

6. Get in the habit of checking your tire pressure. Most stations offer a free air pump for customers. Just check your tire pressure on your tire and give it quick check once a month. You will save money.

7. Clean the garbage out of your car, especially heaving items. A lighter car uses less gas. You aren't a transport so stop hauling heavy loads.

8. Avoid idling. If you are going to be stopped for more than one minute, you will save gas by turning the car off and restarting when you are ready to go. Our town has a law that cars can't idle for more that a minutes.

I have reached a point in my life where I am in a need to update my skills and pad my resume with some courses. For the past few weeks I have been looking at some Online Schools to take some distant learning courses. It's not something I want to do but I started to look at it from a saving money point of view.

Here are some benefits of taking some online courses:

• the cost of the courses themselves are generally less expensive than going to school
• you save money on travel expenses such bus passes and gas money
• books can be cheaper depending on the courses you are taking.
• you can save on food, when I was going to school I spending tons on junk food and eating in the cafeterias or restaurants
• start and stop courses when you want so you don't have to drop tons of money on taking 4 or 5 courses at a time

Updating your job skills can't be a bad thing. I blogged about it once before. You can't take courses to try and get a job in a dead industry. You have to research the field that you are interested in otherwise you could be throwing your money away right from the start.

I love to save money. This week I did some bargain hunting on a few items we needed for the household and I saved quite a bit of money on my purchases. The reason I saved so good coin on my buys was because I had a plan right from the start and never deviated from that plan. I sat down and wrote out what I wanted to do, what I was going to spend or what I could spend and I planned how I was going to go about it. It was document management at it's finest.

Saving money is all about having set goals and then planning on how you can reach those goals. You can't just say I am going to try and save money. This is especially true if you have lots of debt to work off. You have to have a plan to get yourself debt free or save money and stick to it. You also have to carefully watch your plan and if it's not working then revise or adapt until it does work.

Saving money is at the heart of all of your financial goals. Want to get out of debt? Want to save for retirement? Want to just make ends meet each month?

You are going to have to learn to save money. It can be hard to learn, but is actually quite easy once you get the hang of it. Here are a few tips for getting started.

First, you have to start organizing your finances. This will help you in seeing your true financial situation. How will you be able to get out of debt if you don't know how much debt you have? How can you save if you don't know what you are spending? Gather all of your financial documents and calculate what your monthly bills are. Take the time to create a budget. Be honest and include everything — otherwise your budget won't work.

In order to truly budget, you are going to have to know what you spend each month. This helps you see where all the money is slipping out. You can use a computer and personal financial software or a small notebook. The key is to write down every penny you spend. This sounds time consuming, but can be a lot easier if you simply get receipts for every purchase. Then write them down every couple of days. Anything you don't get a receipt for you will need to write down immediately.

Now the savings begin. You look at what you are spending and see where you can cut things. You may need to be extreme and cut out everything but the necessities. Satellite TV and cable can go. You can reduce your cell phone plan and use it for emergencies only. You can look for ways to reduce your utilities and grocery bills. If you are buying coffee each morning, stop buying it and make it at home instead.

If you have your paycheck direct deposited into your account, have your employer split it and deposit a portion into your savings. This can be $10 or $200. It doesn't matter. The idea is to start saving money. When it is automatically put in your savings and you never see it, it becomes quite easy to forget about it. If you get a raise, have the amount of the raise put in your savings each month. When you never see the money, you learn to live without it. It is the easiest way to save.

If you want to protect your budget from disruptions, you need to start a savings account that will handle your annual expenses. These are the things that don't come due on a monthly basis. You need to save for Christmas, holiday spending, birthdays, annual insurance premiums, property taxes and other annual events. By saving this amount, you won't stretch your budget beyond its limits later.

With the same idea in mind, you should start contributing something towards an emergency fund. You never know when something will break down. When it does, it usually puts you in a financial pickle. You can avoid the stress to yourself and your finances by having an emergency fund. Most financial advisors recommend that you have at least three months of expenses in the fund. Don't let this discourage you. Put anything you can in there. Even if it isn't a full month's worth, it will help out in an emergency.

This is ironic. One of the best ways to save money is to get out of debt. And that is why you start saving money in the first place. So I guess you could say that by getting out of debt you can save even more money. Think of how much you are paying in interest. That amount could be going into your savings and earning you interest. Instead of paying a lender, the bank could be paying you. It is important to get your debt paid off first, then work on your savings.

Don't focus on trying to save a certain percentage of your income unless that goal drives you to save. The key in the beginning is to save as much as possible. Have goals that you are working towards. Budget wisely and make saving a habit. It will pay off in the long run.

I am not talking about competition between retailers who are lowering prices and having sales to lure you into buying their goods. I am talking about competition between you and those around you. If you are buying things because your neighbours have them or your friends are buying new items and you can't afford or need them then you need to rethink things. In short, you need to live your own life on your own terms and within your own means.

If you watch people that save money or don't spend money you will notice that they would rather visit a charlotte dentist chair then spend money. I notice with the group of guys I golf with, once one buys some new clubs or a club others will show up with new clubs. I have even been guilty myself. The ones that are good at saving money don't get caught up in the spending frenzy because it is needless spending. They make due with what they have because there is nothing wrong with their clubs.

You aren't in competition with anybody, except maybe with yourself to save a little bit of money.

Are you on a tight budget? Here's a simple solution for you. Being on a budget does not mean that you can stop having that vintage, second-hand jewelry that you have been yearning for. Start looking around and find great bargains at your local pawnshops.  

If you are on the lookout for these luxurious items at easy prices, it is quite easy to find great bargains at pawnshops. It is where many people exchange personal items for quick cash. The pawnshops will store the pawned items until a set time frame for its owners to repay the entire amount owed along with additional interest. The amount of added interest depends on state and local regulations. 

But if one is unable to repay the amount owed with the pawnshop, the ownership of items will be transferred to the owner of the pawnshop. The transfer of ownership includes the right to sell the items at a public auction. It is also more likely that these public auctions will be done at varying periods so it is better to inquire on specific schedules frequently. 

Aside from jewelry items, you will find great bargains for common items like televisions, VCRs, DVD players, video game consoles including games, furniture, cameras, tools, stereos, music, and even, guns. At any given time, these are the items that you will find at the pawnshop. If the item that you are looking for is not among these, you can have the option of having the owner call you when this particular item becomes available. 

Getting such item at bargain prices does not necessarily mean that these are not in excellent condition. You will learn that most items found in a pawnshop are fairly new and comes in very good condition. Those who are in dire need of immediate cash exchange most items; thus, these are usually high value items that can be easily exchanged for a big amount of money. While many intend to come back and repay their debts, others will no longer have any intention to pick up the items they have exchanged for cash. 

As a rule, pawnshops are obligated to record information regarding the individuals who have pawned their personal items. This is used to check the identity of the person and to ensure that the items brought in are not stolen goods. And if you buy the pawned items from a pawnshop, the owner will also get your personal information such as name and contact numbers. This makes it a very transparent transaction on both sides. 

As mentioned, firearms are also available for resale at pawnshops. You can find great bargains when you visit a local pawnshop. When you decide to buy a gun, you will be required in most cases to fill up some papers and undergo a similar process for buying a new gun. It is also required in most states to follow a mandatory waiting period before you will be able to bring the firearm with you.  

Whatever you are in the hunt for, it is important to know that there are items that you can find at great bargains at any of the local pawnshops. You will be surprised that most pawnshops have great selections at very low prices. Find great bargains at pawn shops and this can become a small investment that can save lots of money!

I was helping an old friend clean out his basement last week. He had quite a collection of garbage ready to be hauled off to the dump. Amazingly he had a few boxes of old books. Some of them novels and some of them text books from his old days as a student. I asked why he was throwing them out. He thought that they wouldn't be worth anything. After a brief discussion I convinced him to drop them off at the local used bookstore. He has to drive by it on the way to work most days.

He called a couple days later and thanked me for the tip. He didn't make enough to retire on but he said he made a few bucks. It's one way to get a bit of cash. You just have to sell books that you have laying around collecting dust. Never throw them out. You never know if some of your old text books are worth money. I went through my old boxes and found a few that I am going to sort through and trade in at the used book store myself.