Posts Tagged ‘budget’

Saving Money in 2010 Family Guide – Part 4

March 30th, 2010

Save Money on Bills

In previous blogs I pointed out some ideas that will help families save money with their grocery bills, entertainment and dining out bills, and much more. Today I am going to focus on the “fixed bills” – the ones you can not get rid of such as utilities and more. If you missed the previous posts please take some time and read them here.

How to Save Money on Your Phone Bill…

  1. First thing you need to do is decide if your household needs both traditional and cellular phones.  Many modern households have done away with landlines and have gone strictly mobile, unless you absolutely have to ditch the land line.
  2. If you do want separate mobile and house phones consider the Magic Jack.  I know the thing looks like a TV gimmick but it’s really a VOIP that uses your internet connection to place calls and can save you tons of money on your phone bill.  You can replace your phone bill and pay less than $30 a year. » Read more: Saving Money in 2010 Family Guide – Part 4

Ways to Save Money in 2010 – Part 3

March 23rd, 2010

Family Summer Fun

To continue our coverage of the 8 simple ways to revamp your home budget and save money in 2010, this post will cover savings on your Travel, Vacation and Entertainment category. If you have missed our previous posts about saving money in 2010 please read our previous entry (part 2) here.

Spring is here and summer will come around the corner in no time. Most American families will soon start planning for their yearly summer vacation and I think this post will really be helpful with this planning as far as saving some money. So without further delay here are some of the most important and effective ways to save money on your next summer vacation.

How to save money on your Vacation:

  1. Vacations are a necessary part of a balanced and sane life but they can be expensive. You can cut the cost of a vacation significantly by planning and booking ahead of time. Bookmark travel sites for finding inexpensive airfare, hotels, rentals and so on.  If you know your schedule try to book months in advance to save money.
  2. Look online for sales and discounts before making a purchase. For example, use travel deal sites like Priceline, Expedia, Travelocity, and Hotels.com before booking so that you can make some comparisons. » Read more: Ways to Save Money in 2010 – Part 3

Ways to Save Money in 2010 – Part 2

March 11th, 2010

Save Money at the Grocery Store

A few days back I started a series of posts highlighting ways to save money in the new year. It is a more of a family guide to savings more than a list of unrelated and irrelevant corner cutting techniques.

In the first post I have talked about saving money in your commute/ automobile budget area and if you missed it you can read that post here.

Today I’m gonna cover one of the largest expense that a family budget has – food.

Saving Money on Food

Saving on Groceries:

  • Never go to the grocery store without a list. This is the best way to control impulse buying, buying unnecessary things, things you already have or even worst not getting what your family needs.
  • Coupons, Coupons and More Coupons. Having a list also allows you to look in the paper for coupons you will needs. Group them together with your list and it will make using coupons and saving money a breeze.  Don’t just settle for the coupons you get in your bulk mail, do a search online or visit manufacturer’s websites and see what they have. There is not one time that I have went to Goya’s website (a specialty food manufacturer I tend to buy a lot) and not find a good recipe or a great coupon. » Read more: Ways to Save Money in 2010 – Part 2

Ways to Save Money in 2010 – A Family Guide

March 5th, 2010

Saving Money in 2010

A sluggish economy, even worst employment market and an escalating national debt all add up to one thing – it’s time we all find ways to save money. Personal finance is at the forefront of everyone’s mind these days and saving money is probably the most important topic at the family dinner table.
Most find it impossible to cut down spending but that is only because they are looking in the wrong places. Nowadays it is time to be creative when it comes to saving money, it’s time to be informed and well educated about the choices you have.

As a rule of thumb each and every household should have a budget. It’s how fortune 500 companies operate and it’s how your family should too. Get a list of your bills and expenses for each month ( in the business world those are your liabilities). Also put together a list of your salary and all other revenue sources (much like a company has an income chart). This will be able to paint a pretty good picture of where you are financially and what you have to work with. » Read more: Ways to Save Money in 2010 – A Family Guide

Reasons Why Coupons Are Still a Great Way to Save

February 10th, 2010

Courtesy Associated Press

With all the buzz in our daily lives, one begs the question, “who has times to clip coupons and for what – save a dollar on cat food or some off brand detergent?“. Well guys, The Wall Street Journal published a great article  with in depth statistics and numbers on the matter of coupons. According to the article, surprisingly a lot of families! More and more Americans are going back to the coupon – mostly due to the American depression we are in. Last year alone the american people have used 3.3 billion coupons a staggering 27% rise since 2008, while online coupon redemption have rose by more than 360 %.

So why is the “Great American Coupon” so popular again?
To answer that question one would have to first find out why have they ever fell out of style. Answer is really common sense – you have to collect a bunch of fliers from your mailbox, read every single one and find items you usually buy, remember to bring those coupons with you at the store when you go shopping and remember to also use them at the cash register. I for one have done all except for remembering to use them at the cash register and only realizing it when I get home and empty my pockets :) . Well not much of what I wrote about has changed nor will it ever change, so then again why did we as a nation increase the use of coupons so dramatically?
Let’s deal with this in the old fashioned way – simple math.
According to Inmar Inc, the largest coupon processing agent in U.S., the average savings per coupon is $1.44. » Read more: Reasons Why Coupons Are Still a Great Way to Save

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