Show Me The Money » Saving

8 Money Saving Tips – by Tony Longbottom

showmoney — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 05:39:24 +0000

**** WARNING ****
Before reading any further:
This document does NOT constitute financial advice. Before implementing any of the below ideas, you must consult a licensed financial advisor. This information is of a general nature only. These statements represent actual examples that the author has applied to their own financial situation. Everyone’s financial circumstances are different. It is essential that you take responsibility for seeking advice from a qualified financial professional who fully understands your specific financial situation and needs before applying any of the below tips.

1. a) If you have a mortgage – Make sure that you have a 100% offset account and put every cent you have into it. Do not put it in a savings account! Currently in Australia home loan interest rates are reaching 10% and above for a lot of people so anything to reduce the interest bill is a help. Lets say you had $50,000 in savings (that would be nice) and you have it in a high interest online savings account at approx 8%. That’s approx $4000pa in interest (not compounded). At 48. 5% tax ($1940) that leaves you $2060). If you put that same $50,000 into your offset account you would save approx $5000 in interest or effectively earning you 10% interest and no tax to pay.
1. b) If you don’t have a mortgage – Set up an Automatic deduction online bank account. You can set up managed funds and savings plans that you can control. They link into your existing bank account and pay a higher rate of return than your everyday account with no fees for most of them. If you can manage it try to save at least 10% of everything you earn. If you get a bonus, take 10% and put it away. If you get a tax return, take 10% and put it away. Never touch this money!! You only add too or invest it when you reach a high amount. Call this your Financial Freedom Account. Important – Do not buy a Plasma TV with this money, Do not spend any of this…Ever!
2. Fuel – Fuelwatch websites can save you a lot on the pump price of your fuel. If you look at the price cycle of fuel then Tuesdays is a pretty good time to buy on average. When you combine a few savings tips it gets better. Buy your fuel from the cheapest site close to you on the Tuesdays and use your shopping dockets to reduce it down by a minimum of 4 cents per litre. By combining these you will save up to 10 % or more per litre.
3. Negotiate – Everything is negotiable. If you remember this alone you will save heaps. I have applied this rule for pretty much everything for a whole year and have saved thousands! Purchasing a business, vehicles, clothes, property etc nothing is off limits. What is the worst that can happen? They say no. . Did you really want the item anyway?
4. Fill the Piggy – Remember back when you were a child and saving for the occasional sweet or movie tickets (well that was me anyway). Go back to the times of old and get a piggy bank. Every day you come in the door, empty your pockets and put it in the piggy. When it gets full, count it and take it to the bank. The banks do have counting machines, but they do often get it wrong, so make sure the amount they tell you is always in your favour.
5. Keep your receipts for a month – Not just some of them all of them! If you buy fuel, shopping, a meal, a night out, a taxi, parking, a bottle of water, a coffee etc. Doing a real cash flow analysis of what you spend will surprise you. Some times getting a receipt for a can of drink might be a bit silly, so keep a cash flow notebook in your pocket and note down every purchase. At the end of the month calculate every spend and see where you could minimise the next month. Do this for three months and you will find your spending reduce dramatically, if only to reduce your record keeping.
6. Vouchers/Coupons – I eat out a lot, and purchased a diners coupon book. This does a couple of things. I get to try a lot of places I never would have thought of and I save money every time I eat, sometimes up to 50%. It cost me $65 and paid for itself in less than a week. (I did say I eat out a lot). Frequent coffee buyers cards, keep them in your purse or wallet.
7. Credit Cards – Review your credit cards often! If you have a high credit limit and it’s near it’s maximum, then find the current offers on balance transfers to help reduce the debt and pay it of as fast as possible. Some offer 0% interest on balance transfers for 6 or 12 months, or even the life of the transferred amount (Check the ongoing fees). Work at paying it off as fast as you can in the time limit. Don’t up your credit limit when offered! Banks will entice you by saying, Congrats, you can now increase your limit by $3000 or $6000 etc. You don’t need it. If you have more than one card, pay off the the one with the highest interest first. Then add the monthly payment to the next one along with the minimum payment amount. This will speed up the payment of each subsequent card and reduce your annual fees.
8. Financial Advice – The man over the back fence does not represent credible financial advice. The Taxi driver does not represent financial advice. The well advised unemployed brother in-law does not represent financial advice. When implementing any financial strategies, make sure they have been tried and proven, represent specific tailored advice based on your individual circumstance. Any thing else is just gambling!
Tony Longbottomwww. JourneyToWealthClub. com

Co-Founder and Director of JourneyToWealthClub. com, 2nd Dan Black Belt, Business Owner, Contact Email: tony@journeytowealthclub. com

Why Bother Saving Money Now?

showmoney — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 17:43:32 +0000

Teen Money Tips – Why bother saving money now?

For many teens whenever they earn or recieve money, they spend it all. Saving money is just not considered cool and is (for most people, especially teens) a difficult thing to do. Some will just say “I don’t want to save” but many will save “Why should I save now, I should leave that until I’m older”. Well today I am going to tell you why you should start saving money now, even if it’s just a little bit. Remember, saving money is fairly low risk compared to investing it in stocks/shares or other things so it will take longer to accumulate.

Basically, you should be saving between 10-20% of everything you earn. For most teens this would be an easy enough amount to save and would not require a massive change in spending habits. Now you might be thinking ‘10-20% of everything I earn, that will never be enough!” well in the short term this may be true, but in the long run (and with the help of our friend ‘compounding interest’) it will be. Compounding interest is where you earn interest (basic definition- extra money given to you by your bank for placing money in their accounts,we will cover this topic more later) on top of your interest.

For example – John puts $100 in his bank account at 10% interest per month (please note this is a high rate of interest used for illustrative purposes only) By the start of next month his $100 has grown to $110 because of the 10% interest. Next month his $110 has grown to $121 because he has received “compounding interest” (interest on his interest as well as his principal – the amount he originally deposited)

So if you were to put away $30 every month for the next 40 years and it was to grow at 5% P. A (per annum- every year) then by the end of the 40 years you would have $45,662. 31. Not enough to retire on but a nice amount anyway for future investments or to go on a retirement holiday with etc. If you were to recieve 10% P. A. compounding your $30 a month investment would grow to $175,266. 65 over 40 years!

Now go out and start saving a bit of money each month so that when you get older you don’t have to worry as much about how you can afford to save! If you would like a free compounding interest calculator then visit http://www. moneychimp. com/calculator/compound_interest_calculator. htm

For free advice on savings, investments, wise spending habits, jobs and online income opportunities for teenagers, visit Teen Money Tips today!

Saving money ideas for singles

showmoney — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 17:40:14 +0000

While it is rather easy to introduce Saving Money Ideas for a family, it is a tad difficult task to encourage the singles- Saving Money Ideas for men and women. The difficulty arises primarily on account of the fact that they are single, so saving money ideas for singles, as a concept does not have a priority for them in their scheme of things. They hold the view that as they are single and they do not have any liabilities there is no encouragement or inducement to imbibe the Saving Money Ideas for singles.
It is precisely for this reason that Saving Money Ideas for singles has a particular relevance for them, as when the cupid would strike and they would decide to jump the alter, and on impulse would like to decorate the house, lack of savings would impede in realizing their blissful married life.
As in most of the cases both would be earning, the first primary requirement would be a roof over the head. To have the roof, money is required, and if both of them have some savings of their own in their account, they would be able to conveniently make cash down payment and would be able to keep the monthly EMIs under control. For this primary reason Saving Money Ideas for singles has great relevance.
Saving money ideas for singles is more so required in as they have impetuosity and tendency to splurge in shopping and dinning out. This is an avoidable expenditure and it can be curbed when the details are provided to them about the immediate expenditures that they are incurring and the savings that they may have if they are able to curb the tendency to splurge. Saving money ideas for singles is based on the fundamental premise of discouraging the tendency to splurge. A logical fallout of the tendency to splurge, among other Saving Money Ideas for singles is to curb the tendency of stepping into the super markets even for buying a needle and to become a local market convert.
Another of the Saving Money Ideas for singles is to get over the fixation of hankering for the branded items. The branded items, more so in the case of consumable products is much more expensive than the local brand, and if a switch over is made, apart from the financial saving, you would also be able to contribute to the cause of the environment as well, by reducing the carbon foot print.

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Money Saving Strategies That Really Work

showmoney — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 11:40:52 +0000

Whether you are well educated or not, everyone who has to work for a living has financial goals. Sometimes they are very big goals and sometimes they can just be small things that you would like to achieve. In order to make any financial goal really happen, you usually have to have a plan. Goals do not achieve themselves. The bigger the goal, the bigger the plan you will have to have and probably the longer it will take to get there.
It has always been a common practice, especially in the past fifty years, for a lot of people to bypass the art of saving for a particular item like a new car or home and head straight to the bank and borrow your way to whatever it is you want when your credit is good enough. When one of your financial goals is to save money, making purchases like these on credit can really put a dent in any money you would like to save. Almost all of us must have a car to drive and must have a home to live in, but which car and what home is the question.
Especially if you are just starting out on your own, it is better to not plunge yourself so far in debt that you never have anything left over to save. In recent years when it has become so much easier to get lines of credit thrown at you from every direction for almost anything, it can be a terrible temptation for young singles or couples to not take advantage of these credit offers. The thing is that by using so many forms of credit, you are going deep into debt and will be using the majority of your income to pay bills. This can make it so hard to reach other goals such as saving money very difficult.
Before you go into debt for a new car or a home that will cost you so every month, consider if you would be better off to drive and live in something less expensive even if it is possible for you to meet the payments. Spending out less of your income for things now that you will have to pay a large amount of interest on to have will be less intelligent than having less expensive things and investing the extra money you have left over into an IRA or other investments that will earn interest for you.

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Money Saving Opportunities Inside Your Home

showmoney — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 23:39:33 +0000

If you spend most of your time at home, it is safe to assume that your house makes up your largest expense. A hefty portion of your paycheck is allocated to home expenses whether it is for daily maintenance, home repair and improvement, or mortgage or rent payment. Since so much money is spent on it, it makes good financial sense to look for various opportunities to cut down your domestic expenses. ElectricityBuying energy-efficient appliances will eventually shave hundreds of dollars off your electric bill in a year. To know if it’s energy efficient, look for the Energy Guide Label in all major appliances as required by federal law. Request your electric company to give your home a free or low-cost audit as this will identify various ways to slash hundreds of dollars annually off your heating and air conditioning expenses. Energy-saving fluorescent tubes and compact lamps can provide bright, highly efficient lighting to your home. They outlive incandescent bulbs 6 to 10 times longer and consume less electricity. For additional savings, try solar-powered pathway lights to illuminate your yard at night. Another great way to trim your electrical consumption by as much as 30 to 40 percent is to use a heat pump system to heat your home. Heat pumps are more energy-efficient especially in temperate climates and provide 3 times more heat than the conventional electrical heating system. PhoneAsk your local utility provider if they have any programs on cost saving like power consumption management or off-peak hour rate schemes. Participating in these programs can free up a lot of dollars from your home expenses. Examine your phone bill and look for extra features you never use but are charged just the same like call waiting or three-way conference. You can save more than $50 per year if you cancel these unused extra features. WaterConventional shower heads wash money down the drain. You can cut your yearly consumption of shower water in half by replacing your current fixture with a low-flow shower head. Cover your water heater with insulating material and set its thermostat lower by a few degrees to cut down on your heating bill. AppliancesRefrigerator models with freezers on top have more cooling efficiency than models with freezers built on their sides. They are therefore great energy and money savers. Setting your washing machine’s water temperature from hot to warm or cold can drastically cut your laundry energy consumption by 50%. Gas dryers are more economical to run than electric dryers. Drying your typical laundry load in a gas dryer costs 15 cents less than an electric dryer. Try and figure out how it will add up in a year’s time. You can speed up drying denim jeans and jackets in the dryer if you toss in some towels with them. The towels will absorb the water from the denims and decrease the drying time. Combining energy-saving techniques and common sense will definitely save you hundreds of dollars yearly from within your home alone. Start saving on your house expenses and discover how much it translates to your bank account next year.

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Start Saving Money – Find Extra Money in Your Budget

showmoney — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 23:42:04 +0000

The first thing my clients tell me is that they are living paycheck to paycheck and there is no room in their budget to save money. My response to them is that there is always room; you just need to know where to look for it. If you were to write down everything you spend money on in one month, you would be surprised to see how many wasteful things that you buy. Buying one less Starbucks a week is a savings of almost $30 a month. Renting movies instead of going to the theatre will likely save you a good $15. And getting dinner for 2 from the frozen foods isle instead of your favorite restaurant can save you up to $50 a month. It is these types of lifestyle changes that some financial counselors will encourage you NOT to do. They will tell you that you do not have enough self control to make decisions like those. I, on the other hand, encourage anyone who wants to save money to take a close look at where they are throwing money away on unnecessary luxuries that they could do without. And then I ask you to do something even more daring. I dare you to put the money that you would have spent on a new hair color, coffee, or dinner for two and literally put that cash in jar. Then hide the jar in a safe place where only you or your spouse knows where it is. Do that every time you would spend money on something you can live without. This method has so many benefits to it, so let me explain some of them: 1. ) It gets you started on using cash instead of credit cards. It is harder to hand over a twenty dollar bill than it is to give the clerk your plastic card. You will start to see the difference in spending when you work with only cash. 2. ) You will start thinking about every purchase in a new light. You can start off by limiting the amount of drinks you buy each month, but then keep going and limit something else you buy every month, like a new DVD. Your mindset will change into more of a frugal shopper. 3. ) You will start getting excited about saving! When you see your jar starting to fill up you will get excited about not spending money on something so that you can keep adding it to your savings jar. Once you have enough self control developed, then move that jar from under your bed and into a savings account with a high interest rate. Banks may seem like an iffy place to keep your money these days, but remember that your money is FDIC insured up to $100k. To learn more about getting out of debt, consolidating your debt, debt management, finance, and making money, visit the recommendations page of my website at http://www. dianathecreditcounselor. com/index. php?p=1_5_Recommendations. . Click on any one of my suggested resources to get started on the road to financial freedom! And as always, have happy financial days ahead! Sincerely,Diana E. JonesCredit Counselor

Diana Elaine Jones works as a credit counselor on the east coast financial district in the United States. Her passion is educating people to live debt free and she daily recommends tools to help people get on their way to living financially sound.

Save Money by Saving Energy: Surprisingly Easy!

showmoney — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 05:40:54 +0000

It is good when we talk about saving energy to help our planet. But saving energy to save money give many people a stimulus to do that. Saving money by investing in banks, share markets and trading are preliminary. On the flip side, a few changes in our behavioral and buying pattern could save us a great amount of money. There are enormous ways which could help us save energy. But as big changes begin with a small step, we could start saving energy (and of course money) by bringing few changes at our home. The simple steps, that we overlook many-a-times, are listed here, hoping to be read and implemented. This might not give you a sound ROI, but would certainly lower the electricity bill that slips through our gate. Air Conditioner: Setting the air conditioner on anywhere less than 24 degrees Celsius means increasing energy consumption by 3% to 5%. So by setting the AC temperature at 18 degree Celsius, you raise your electricity bill by 25-30%! Besides, 24 Degree Celsius is the most comfortable temperature range, and you need not use a programmable thermostat to auto-off the AC in every 30 minutes. Task Lightning: Localized Average Lighting or Adjustable Task Lighting aims at reducing the energy used to light a place for only 1 to 2 persons. Task Lighting can be used in bedroom, study room and offices, and can easily be tweaked wherever the work area needs illumination. Power Strip: : Plug all your electronic appliances in one power strip so that you can switch them off at once. This is one of the best money saving tricks for working people who leave their homes from 9 AM to 6 PM. Room Heater: If you know the guests are arriving shortly, you can lower the temperature of the heater by few degrees. More number of people would emanate body heat, causing a rise in temperature. Energy Saver Star: The Energy Star labeled appliances saves a great deal of money and are a perfect way of helping the environment from carbon dioxide. Buying an electric product that has the Energy Star label would cost you the same, or perhaps even less, and would save you a lot of money. Energy Star Product areas include: Commercial Heating and Cooling Appliances Commercial Heating and Cooling Equipment Residential Heating and Cooling Products like Ceiling Fans, Air Conditioners, etc. Consumer Electronics like TVs, DVDs, Cordless Phone Machines, Power Adapters, etc. Office Products like Computers, Scanners, Fax Machines, etc. Construction Products like Construction Heaters, etc. A wise and succinct use of energy saves us a lot of money. Now wait there, you can run your PC on sleep mode if you are getting up.

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Tips for Saving Money While Buying a House

showmoney — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 23:44:20 +0000

In today’s economic scenario every nation is facing recession and it has become a little difficult to cope up with the financial conditions. Therefore taking even the small effective steps will help in saving some extra money. Home is the basic necessity and buying a house looks like a huge task nowadays. Therefore you must do some proper planning before taking a house. This will not only help you to buy an affordable house with all amenities but also help in saving some extra money. Some of the factors to be kept in mind while buying a house are: Remember your actual need: Make a plan matching your accurate requirement. Do not buy a lavish or bigger house than required. If the family is small and the income is low, then go for a small house. This will help you in saving some extra money which you may be able to utilize for interior decoration of the house. Think twice before taking loan: Try to take the loan by evaluating all the home loan companies. If the income is low, go for easy and minimal installments. This will help you to lead a smooth financial life. Realize the maintenance factor: Also keep in mind that you have to pay for the maintenance of the house on the regular basis as well. Making a plan for this beforehand will prove beneficial in the long run. This way you will be able to manage the personal finances more effectively. Well-located: The location of the house should be such that all the basic necessity should be there i. e. market should be near; transport facilities should be there etc. This will help you to save extra money. Other basic amenities: Also keep in mind the basic necessity such as whether the parking space within the housing society is provided or not. In its absence you may have to incur unnecessary expenses incurred for the damage of your vehicle. Keeping the above things in mind and taking some extra precautions you may save money and lead a smooth financial life.