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Getting Through Christmas on a Tight Budget

November 14th, 2009

With the economy in the slumps and consumers leery to spend their hard earned money, it’s hard to imagine a very merry Christmas. However, it’s still possible to spread the joy that comes with gift giving when you use a few tips to get your through the holidays while on a tight budget. Even the most frugal college student can afford something small for his or her parents if certain guidelines are made – and kept.

Here are a few ideas for staying in budget this holiday season.

Whittle Down the Shopping List

Often out of guilt or a feeling of necessity, we buy endlessly each year for the people we know. Brothers, sisters, cousin, aunts and uncles and even distant relatives end up with a gift because you’re afraid they’ll feel left out. This year, try limiting who you purchase for. Together with your entire family, decide to have a “Secret Santa” gift exchange, where each person draws another name and buys only for that person. Or decide to only buy for each others’ children and leave the adults out of it. Chances are, everyone else is on just as tight of a budget and will be happy to try something new.

Stick to a Monetary Guideline

Although you may have cut the list of people you are shopping for, you should still limit what you buy for those people. Having only two people to buy for will not save you money if you spend a $100 on each. Give yourself a budget for each person and be sure to stick to it. For adults, you will find that $40 will go far, while you can find good buys for children in the $25 range. Some inexpensive ideas for adults and children include books, board games, movies, magazine subscriptions or music. Resist the urge to go over budget. The gift recipient will be please to receive anything, and will not be thinking about how much your gift cost you.

Bake Instead of Buying

One popular alternative to gift giving is backing homemade gifts instead. Nobody complains about receiving a tin full of Christmas cookies and fudge. Buy a few empty decorative tins, some wax or parchment paper, and some colored cellophane wrapping with ribbon. You can find these items everywhere during the holidays. Though the cost of all the treat ingredients may seem high, consider how many tins of goodies you can make for less than half the price of buying gifts. Making cookies and bars and fudge is also something the entire family can get involved with. Children will love helping out, and you can truly say your gift is given from the heart, from all of you.

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Ten Habits to Break That Will Add Money to Your Bank Account

November 13th, 2009

There are probably more than ten habits to break that will add money to your bank account, but for now we will just talk about ten of them that can add up to several hundreds of dollars. Not all habits are bad for you but they still cost money. The list below are things you may be able to cut back on or out completely. If you are having trouble making ends meet then maybe a look at some of your habits is in order.

Instead of being depressed about your financial situation or thinking about borrowing money, why not sit down and make a list of things you may be able to do without,or not eat or drink, or even go do. Tightening the belt a little for a few months can put hundreds of dollars in your pocket in some cases.

Here are ten habits to break that will add money to your bank account

Stopping at the local tavern for a drink or beer on the way home.
Driving to the store for one or two items instead of making do until the next trip(fuel)
Not using coupons or watching the sales ads
Eating out instead of cooking.
Using tobacco products in excess
Buying precooked and frozen food to cook instead of cooking from scratch
Sporadic Driving and Speed – takes more fuel
Having car washed instead of doing yourself
Compulsive buying – do you really need it right now?
Professional manicures and pedicures

These are just a few of the things you can cut out to save money. If you put your mind to it and go over your routine for the week you will probably think of a lot more. You may not have to do this forever, but long enough to either get caught up financially or pay something off so your week to week finances will be easier. Don’t feel like you are being punished because you are cutting back. Think of it as a challenge and once you see more money in your bank account it will start to be fun.

What you need to do is keep a positive mental attitude and know and believe that you can get the upper hand in your life. Some of our problems are self made so we can solve them too with just a little brainstorming. Getting ahead of finances is a very good feeling. You can probably think of a dozen more ways to save money.

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Tags: break habits budget ideas finance situations

Small costs for considerable savings-Great Budget Ideas

October 20th, 2009

Small costs for considerable savings, here are six things that won’t cost you a lot but the savings can be substantial.

Change a light bulb; the ordinary incandescent light bulb remains the most favorite, yet over 95% of that electric current is turned directly into heat instead of light. People usually associate CFL (Compact fluorescent Light) with the one squiggly design, but the truth is they now have lots of styles and sizes. These can be pretty expensive if you look at it in terms of the entire house so try to do it one room a month. The initial investment can seem daunting but once it is done, your electric bills will definitely reflect the change within the first few months and they last an average of 5 years. As for Duval County, JEA actually has a program called “green partners” that will not only take your used CFL light bulbs; but you can often get up to $1.50 off your next CFL purchase. Check your JEA website for more information on this program.
Change your filters; we change our filters every month due to the number of animals that live with us, but six times a year is good. You could probably find the “permanent” filters at your local home improvement store so that you can just wash instead of replacing them every month.
Washing machines; heating the water is where 95% of the energy is used. Washing only in cold and when you have a full load can save you a bundle. Washing in hot water is considered less efficient and uses as much electricity annually as keeping your refrigerator door open 24 hours a day for a solid year.
That’s a wrap; for about $25.00 you can purchase a wrap for your hot water heater called a tank blanket. This can be found at almost any home improvement store and can save around 10% on your heating costs.
Fix that leak; some scientists actually believe that water will be our next big crisis. I don’t know about that but I do know that a faucet drip however small can account for hundreds of gallons of wasted water a year. Let’s say your small leak dripped 15,140 drips every day which is equal to one gallon of water, now what if 3 of your faucets dripped? At this point you might want to remember that you pay for the water in your home twice, once when it enters and again when it leaves.
Dryers; These are energy drainers, if you absolutely cannot use a clothes line outside because of allergies or neighborhood rules then here are some other ways you can save. String a line in your garage or use a few well placed hangers, if you plan your wash accordingly you can keep all delicates drying on hangers inside, this can save 2 to 3 loads a week on your dryer. When you do use your dryer, clean the lint screen before each use.

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Some Budget Ideas for upcoming Christmas

October 13th, 2009

63 Christmas Present Ideas for under $10

1. Gourmet coffees with a personal coffee cup

2. Pound of pistachios
3. Child’s artwork, framed
4. Journal with special inscription inside
5. Teacup with box of herbal tea
6. Deck of cards and book of card game rules
7. Homemade cocoa mix in a pretty jar
8. Collage of special photos
9. Gel pens and pretty stationary
10. Bottle of sparkling cider
11. Home baked bread, include recipe
12. Disposable camera or rolls of film
13. Basket filled with deli cheese and fruit
14. Craft supplies
15. Holiday serving bowl or platter
16. Pretty basket filled with special jams or mustards
17. Decorative napkins and napkin rings
18. Fancy chocolate bars tied with a ribbon
19. Gardening gloves with a plant or flower seeds
20. Photo album, hand decorated is even better
21. Makeup tote
22. Prepaid photo developing envelopes
23. Homemade cookie mix with instructions for baking
24. Variety of bread mixes
25. Special coffee cup filled with candy
26. Fancy magazines tied together with a pretty ribbon
27. Gourmet popcorn and flavored oil
28. Locally made barbeque or steak sauce with basting brush
29. Pancake or waffle mix and a bottle of real maple syrup
30. Movie theater gift certificates
31. Board games
32. Jar of sourwood or pure honey with biscuit mix
33. Note cards and book of stamps
34. Picture frames, buy them on sale!
35. Specialty cookbook
36. Pretty glass jar filled with candy
37. Collectible sports cards
38. Muffin mixes with muffin pan
39. Books, there are still a few for under $10
40. Set of dish towels and dish cloths
41. Nail polish kit
42. Pretty night shirt
43. Basket filled with kitchen gadgets
44. Video rental gift certificates
45. Pepper mill and fresh peppercorns
46. Handwritten copies of your favorite recipes
47. For the pets, gourmet dog biscuits or cat treats
48. Baking pans and supplies
49. Prepaid long distance phone cards
50. Small clock or radio
51. Pretty box for keepsakes
52. Colorful Post-It notepads
53. Address book
54. Christmas ornaments
55. Puzzles
56. Blank video or cassette tapes
57. Sewing supplies
58. Flashlight with batteries
59. Favorite quote embroidered on a nice handkerchief
60. Makeup brush set
61. Expensive socks, still under $10
62. Special soaps and bath puff
63. and don’t forget home baked cookies!

I hope you will be inspired by this list, after all, it’s not the amount of money you spend for a gift that matters the most, but that you cared enough to give something special.

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Posted in bargains & deals, budget ideas, budgeting, frugal, frugal tips, home budget, ideas, money saving tips, save money, save money tips

Tags: budget ideas christmas ideas frugal living

How to Get Free Grocery Coupons-Budget Ideas

October 8th, 2009

Commodity prices have increased over the last year and several major manufacturers of grocery products both food and beverage are increasing their wholesale prices to grocery retailers. That means the prices at your local grocer will be rising as well. Since your income is not going up and maybe has been reduced due to voluntary salary reductions or involuntary layoffs how do you keep your food costs within your budgeted limits? Here are several ways how to get free grocery coupons. You can turn to private label store brands or you can start clipping coupons. Many grocers offer to double manufacturers’ coupons to fifty cents.

Giant Eagle is an exception and offers double manufacturers’ coupons to ninety nine cents. If you can combine your local grocery shopping to items on sale and with coupons you can keep your grocery expenditures to a minimum. By signing up for their rewards card and using manufacturers’ coupons not only will you save on your grocery bill but you will get twenty ($0.20) cents of a gallon of gas for every $50 you spend at Giant Eagle stores.

There are a number of sites that you can sign up for that will notify you when new grocery coupons like couponmom.com, coolsavings.com and others. One – coupons.smartsource.com is the online version of the coupon tab that comes with the Sunday paper. Instead of having to flip through all the pages and clip which coupons you want to keep, you can view them online and print only the coupons you want to use.

There are four other printable coupon sites that will allow you to print directly from your computer instead of having to use the regular paper versions. Coupons.com says you can print one hundred ($100) dollars of coupons from Huggies, Kelloggs, Kraft, Pillsbury, Betty Crocker and more. Upromise offers e-coupons for sixty ($60) dollars from Huggies, Post, Palmolive, Little Debbie and many more. Smart Source offers seventy ($70) dollars from Dole, Aquafresh, Scott, Betty Crocker, Huggies and more. Finally, Red Plum offers thirty ($30) dollars in coupons from Vaseline, Hefty, Advil and many more.

All of these sites say that there is no registration necessary. When you click on the particular banner ad to get to the coupons you will be taken to a page with coupons you select to print. On the first page at coupons.com you have to enter your zip code to get the coupons allowed in your region. All coupons are bar coded and can be set to only be able to be redeemed in certain areas of the country.

Once you have entered your zip code all of the available coupons are displayed eight to a page. On the first page there is a $1 off coupon for one bottle of Welch’s fruit juice and $1 off the new Oscar Meyer Lunchables with water. To print the coupons of your choice you will need to click on the box at the lower left of each lucky coupon that says “Clip Coupon”. Currently there are one hundred forty seven (147) coupons listed. If you live in an area where your local grocery store doubles coupons like Giant Eagle I would suggest looking at any coupons less than $1. I noticed a fifty five ($0.55) cents off of Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal. That would be $1.10 off at Giant Eagle.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jim_Flannigan

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Tags: budget ideas free free coupons manufacturers coupons

Try This Monthly Budget Planner-Budget Ideas

October 6th, 2009

Many people would like to be able to create a budget. But it can seem like one of the most difficult things on the planet to accomplish. By understanding how to create a budget, you’ll be more in control of your finances. Use these 3 steps below to make your own monthly budget planner.

1. Create a list of your monthly income.

Be sure to include all sources of regular income, including part-time jobs. Add up your numbers and write them down.

2. Determine monthly expenses.

Make sure to include food, gas, clothing, utilities, and housing costs. If you’re not sure how much these are, just save your bills and receipts for the next month and you’ll have a more accurate idea.

3. Figure out if your monthly income is enough for all of your outgoing expenses.

Are you making enough meet all of your monthly obligations? If not, then consider reducing expenses in certain areas. One of the biggest areas where people can save money is in entertainment and eating out.

Also, ask yourself if you’re really using all of those services that are part of your monthly bills. Do you really watch all of those T.V. channels? How many unread magazine subscriptions do you have around the house? You may be surprised to find out how much extra found money you can come up with.

After you figure out you income and expenses, then it will be easier to create a budget.

Start estimating how much your bills cost during the next month. If you’re not sure, save your bills and receipts for one month to get some solid numbers of how much your spending. Making a budget in an ongoing learning experience will take some time to perfect. Just stay with it for about 3 months and you’ll be in charge of your money. Isn’t that the way it should be?

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Freedom

Home Budgeting Ideas

October 2nd, 2009

Spend Wisely

The Sunday newspaper costs only a dollar or two and normally has a lot of coupons. That small investment could save you significant money on your weekly shopping bill, so it is a good investment to make. Be aware of money you can spend that will help you save money. For example, if you are spending $100 a month on a land line phone and another $50 a month on a cell phone, find out what it would cost to get unlimited minutes on your cell phone. If it costs you less than $100 to raise your monthly cell phone service to unlimited, then get rid of your home phone. Look for situations like this and find ways to spend more money in one place but save money overall.

Shop Online

When you shop online you have the chance to not pay sales tax on items, depending on what state you live in, and you can benefit from the lower prices often offered by Internet retailers. Before you head out to purchase a pair of shoes from the local shoe store, look for those shoes online first. If you find those shoes are less expensive online, even with shipping, than the same pair bought locally, then save yourself the money. Look to Internet auction sites to save money on the things you want and need as well.

Learn from Your Budget

Once you get in the habit of keeping track of all of the money that comes in and goes out of your home, you can then begin to track your spending. Analyze the things you spend money on each month, and determine what items you can leave out. If you notice that you are buying a coffee every morning on the way to work and that is adding up to an extra $100 a month in spending, then make your own coffee at home before you leave the house. A budget should not only be the way you monitor money; it should also be the way you control your spending habits, saving money in the process.

Save Energy

Turn down the thermostat just a couple of degrees on your furnace and you will save money on your heating bill. Replace your regular light bulbs with energy-efficient florescent bulbs to lower your electric bill. Other ways to lower your electric bill are turning lights are off when you are not in a room, not leaving the refrigerator door open for extended periods of time, and turning off the television when it is not in use. If you have central air conditioning then use it sparingly; open a window when it gets hot outside.
To save money on gasoline, drive the speed limit and make sure your tires are properly inflated. Do not leave heavy objects in your vehicle as they can cause your vehicle to use more gas. If you just need to go two or three blocks to the store to pick something up, walk rather than drive.

Entertainment Budget

Use eating out as an occasional treat rather than a regular occurrence. Have meals at home to reduce entertainment costs. If you have an online video rental account then either cancel it and only rent videos from the local video store when you need to, or lower your rental limit to one at a time. If you have a drive-in movie theater near you, try to use that instead of a regular theater. Check to see if your local drive-in theater offers two movies for the price of one; bring the kids and save money by not hiring a babysitter.

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Tags: budget entertaining home budget ideas spending

Save Money Every Month-By Budging ideas

September 29th, 2009

Types of Budgeting Introduction

Budgeting refers to a course of action based upon an estimate of assumed income and expenses. In laymen’s terms, it is simply is a term is defined as a plan of operation where one reviews their income and expenditures, often in the effort to create a strategy in order to achieve some financial goal or goals within a specific period of time.

Not all budgets are created or planned with the same methods. There are many types of budgeting. Personal budgeting is quite different from the budgeting performed by a business or corporation, for example. But even within these different categories, there are still differences which exist. Read on to learn about the different types of budgeting.

Details on Types of Budgeting: Personal & Business

As stated above, the budgets created and maintained by businesses are naturally very different from personal budgets. In order to decide which type of budget is best for each situation, one must define the purpose of the budget. All budgets are typically created with the intent to: take control of finances, create a plan of action, and make adjustments in order to achieve a financial goal.

Personal Budgets
There are two common types of budgeting for private households. In one instance, the planner creates a budget via the Envelope Method. With this method, the planner will separate the necessary funds into different envelopes every month. This way one can conform that all required bill payments will be met. The other type is known as the Spreadsheet Method, where the planner, from the total monthly income, after taxes, subtracts via each line-item a required amount to be paid that month.

Business Budgets
There are three common types of budgeting for business. One of the most popular forms of business budgeting is that of Capital budgeting. With Capital budgeting, the planner will review and estimate the business’ finances through investments and assets. Cash budgeting, another method, deals with the cash-flow: the money going in and out of the business. The third type is Operational budgets, where the operations of the business are reviewed in order to decide how to properly allocate funds and determine, typically within the fiscal year, the total profits.

These are not all of the different types of budgeting, but these are some of the most common types used. It is important for each person to individually decide which type suits their objective best. There are other types of budgeting, such as those for beginning business or for the government, corporations or public services.

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Tags: budgeting personal and business budgeting

Supermarket Money Saving Tips – Budget Ideas

September 28th, 2009

To help save you money Supermarket Voucher Codes have produced this essential top 5 list of the latest tips and tricks that will help cut your shopping bill.

By following these simple steps you could save hundreds of pounds every year.

1. Look out for the latest deals and discounts

Loyalty cards which can be a great way to get savings on the items you buy most frequently. Build up your vouchers for special occasions like birthdays and Christmas to help ease the financial pressure.

They will also regularly send out their best discount voucher codes for big savings and free delivery, as well as promotional offers and deals on your favourite items.

By collecting points from different supermarkets you will be able to collect vouchers for a number of partner companies and get discounts on holidays, electrical goods and more.

2. Try the downshift challenge

One of the most talked about money saving tips is the downshift challenge. If you drop one brand level on everything you buy you will see a huge difference once you get to the check out and it’s very unlikely you’ll notice any difference in the quality of your food.

Supermarket own brands are often produced in exactly the same way as leading brands, so once you get passed the label there should be no stopping you!

Sites like mySupermarket.co.uk allow you to easily compare products against each other, not just on price but also how healthy they are.

Throw in the discounts, coupons and promo deals mentioned in tip 1 and you’ll save even more!

3. Eat before you go shopping

It may sound obvious but you’ll be amazed at the difference if you try shopping when you’re not hungry. Those impulse buys for food you want now will be a thing of the past, and you’ll save big!

4. Write a list and stick to it

One of the simplest ways to save on your shopping trip is to go armed with a list and to make sure you stick to it. With a wealth of useful applications for your computer or phone there’s no excuse for not writing your shopping list before you head to the supermarket.

5. Use voucher codes

Get big discounts off a huge variety of items by regularly checking out voucher sites. The discounts on offer can help bring the overall amount of your shop down by a large percentage, or help you to buy regularly bought items in bulk.

You’ll also find vouchers, codes, deals and discounts for things like free home delivery, entertainment items (DVDs, CDs and books), clothing, white goods, electrical items, plus you’ll be able to increase your points with schemes like Tesco Clubcard.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alexander_Powell

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Tags: budget ideas discounts grocery saving tips vouchers

How to Budget-Budget Ideas

September 25th, 2009

Budgeting is hard enough for some without the added financial strain of irregular paychecks, but this is the reality for many families. Small business owners have a fairly irregular income because they may be dependent on sales revenue, or their business may be seasonal. Those who work on contract, or even freelancers, all have to learn how to smooth out their income streams so that they can cover their expenses and live without the fear of being short on cash.

The following tips will help you to do just that.

1. Calculate your monthly expenses. You must know exactly what you can expect if you are to prepare for the future. Look at your bank statements or receipts for the last three to six months and categorize your expenses over the period. You should be able to find an average figure for your expenses, and it is wise to round up to take care of any slight increases.

2. Find your income figure. The next step is to calculate your income for the same period. You should also make a note of how often you got paid over the period as well. This will help you to highlight a payment trend in the future. You may not see a trend in how you are paid immediately, but it is good practice to compare year on year, as this will help you to see if your business is seasonal, and then you can schedule in even greater detail in the future.

3. Open a holding account. If you have not opened a separate business account as yet, you should do this now. Having a holding account through which all your income is passed helps you to track your annual income easily as it is all in one place. It also helps you to stick to a budget as you have physically separated your income from what is available to spend.

4. Pay yourself. Your paycheck should be the minimum that you can possibly live on, taking into consideration all your rounded-up expenses from transportation to food and rent or mortgage.

5. Create a buffer account. After a three month or even six month period, depending on what you used at the beginning, you can transfer the residual into another account. This should be a high interest earning account and this can be used as savings.

6. Give yourself a raise. At some point you should cut yourself some slack. You can think of it as a bonus for all the discipline and hard work of managing your finances; a good milestone might be one year after starting the exercise. Of course you shouldn’t double your paycheck unless your income has actually doubled, but allow yourself some reward for the sacrifice you have made.

Unfortunately, although income streams are sometimes irregular, expenses and other financial commitments generally don’t let up while you wait around for the next paycheck. Luckily, there are steps you can take to avoid getting caught between paychecks without enough left over to cover the bills. The tips provided will help you not only to be on top of your expenses, but eventually you should also be able to put some aside for savings

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Natalia_Jones

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Tags: budget expenses income payments