Archive for the ‘Savings Accounts’ Category
Sunday, January 23rd, 2011
Parents mostly complain that teenagers do not listen to them. The opposite is true when it comes to advice regarding ‘money matters’. Teens actually welcome their parents input about their finances.
In the past few years, teenagers have earned billions of dollars with part-time and summer jobs.
Some have spent most of what they earned, while others saved most or even all of it for a big purchase, or for their college education.
Kids these days are becoming more and more aware of their family’s source of income and financial status. They apply these money-spending principles when they venture out on their own.
Thus, it becomes more of a parents responsibility to start training their teenage kids to use their money wisely.
Here are some ways on how you, as a parent, can teach your teens to save those hard-earned bucks:
1. Lead by example.
With your lifestyle, the children will see how you spend your money.
If they see you allotting a certain amount for a specific household need, they will eventually do the same when they get to earn their own keep.
2. Help your teens get a bank account.
Establishing a bank account under their name would give them an instant financial responsibility.
Sit down and explain to them how to manage their own account, and the rewards that they get once they save enough.
Their savings could go to their college tuition, or a big purchase like a car.
Additionally, it gives them a sense of accomplishment once they have saved up, with something concrete to show for it.
You may check out the special benefits that banks offer for teens who open their accounts at such an early age.
3. Construct a spending plan.
Once they hear the word ‘budget’, teens tend to cringe at the mere thought of having to restrict the spending of their money.
Instead, you and your teen son or daughter could build a spending plan. This would get them excited, and think of ways on how they can wisely spend their savings.
Also, have them list down their earnings versus their expenses.
Let them know the difference between the items that they need and the luxury items that they want, which they can actually do without.
4. Make a mock investment in the stock market.
Make them aware of the options that they have financially.
Casually introduce to them the business part of your daily newspapers and have them make mock investments for companies who manufactures products that they like.
Monitor the stocks together and this would give them another option of investing their money in the future.
Tags: Accomplishment, Banks, Billions Of Dollars, College Education, College Tuition, Earned Bucks, Education Kids, Financial Responsibility, Household, Kids These Days, Lifestyle, Money Matters, Money Parents, Part Time, Rewards, Summer Jobs, Teenage Kids, Teenagers, Young Parents, Young Teens
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Wednesday, January 19th, 2011
For some, the idea of a budget is often a blur. It is frustrating to see how hard it is to do a budget and realizing that with one wrong purchase, you can actually ruin the entire thing. And this has been a perennial headache for most homemakers.
It is about time to overhaul the way people look at budgeting. It can actually be a great way to keep track of your family’s expenditures and help you evaluate the things that you spend the lion’s share of the family’s earnings on.
What is a budget? A budget is a tool for handling your finances by controlling the family’s expenditures in a way that money is enough for paying up bills, and still ensuring that savings are set aside for future expenses – vacations, or children’s education, or even for retirement.
Try these simple steps in preparing a no fret family budget, and see the benefits of intelligent spending.
1. Gather three months of your pay stubs and get your average monthly earnings.
2. Get out three months of your monthly bills. Do this for the fixed expenses like the rent, phone bill, car payments and other loans that come monthly. Add them up and get the average. Do the same for other expenses like groceries, and credit card bills.
3. Evaluate the results of your computations. Looking at your average monthly earnings against your monthly fixed expenses and other monthly expenses, think of some ways to economize. Cut back on some items that are somehow unnecessary.
4. Knowing the facts of your income and expenses, develop a family budget and try to stick to this monthly budget.
5. Now that you have a monthly budget, set up a savings account. Save up by making regular deposits to this account.
6. Keep track of this monthly family budget just to see if it is working for you. Try to fine-tune the “rough edges” of this budget as you go along.
7. If you can get hold of a personal budgeting software or spreadsheet application to keep record of your budget, the better. This will make organizing your expenses very easy.
These are the basic steps in developing and implementing a no fret, easy to stick to monthly family budget. Of course each family has diverse needs and wants. You have the freedom to develop your own monthly family budget, depending on your familys financial background and needs. No matter how you do it, just focus on the end result, which is building a savings that leads to a bright and financially stable future for your family.
Tags: Blur, Car Payments, Computations, Credit Card Bills, Earnings, Expenditures, Family Budget, Fine Tune, Fret, Groceries, Homemakers, Monthly Budget, Monthly Expenses, Pay Stubs, Personal Budgeting Software, Rough Edges, S Education, Simple Steps, Spreadsheet Application, Three Months
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Saturday, January 15th, 2011
The high cost of living in today’s society, wherever you may be, has made budgeting a priority among families. In today’s inflationary world, nothing is more important than knowing how to wisely spend the meager income that you get.
Financial problems usually arise due to lack of proper budgeting skills, or failure to keep to the proposed budget. No matter how much income you may have, it is still important to keep track of your assets and liabilities, your earnings and expenses.
It is ironic but a person who earns thousands will have the same problems with the person who earns by the hundreds. Most often, different kinds of people, with diverse income levels, have budgeting problems. Others who may have been successful in making a budget, usually fail to keep within such a budget.
A budget refers to a financial plan, taking the incoming and outgoing monetary resources into consideration. A good budget should not only mean a balance or equity between income and expenditures. It also means lesser expenses, and making an allowance for savings.
If you earn a thousand dollars per month, you should map out all the necessary expenses you will have to incur during the month such as payment for your house, food and transportation. Of course, this is presuming that your tax liabilities have already been settled. What remains after you deduct your total expenses from your income is your savings.
What you do with your savings will make a difference later on, when the need arises. You can choose to keep your savings in a piggy bank or place it in a bank where there is minimum interest rate but at least your money is safe from you and from intruders. With a bigger savings, you can get the services of a financial adviser who can give you higher-yielding investment options
Here are tips to make sure that you keep within the family budget:
1. Maintain a logbook where you can list your income and expense account on a weekly or monthly schedule.
2. Buy your groceries at one time. To do this, make a list of all the things that you would need for your target period and purchase them at one time. Sometimes, there are discounts if you buy by the dozen so take advantage of this.
3. Avoid going to the supermarket and shops if you do not need to buy necessary items. This will keep you from making unnecessary purchases and keep you from straying away from your budget.
4. Think twice before you buy something. By doing this, you will realize that it is not really a necessity but a whim.
Tags: Assets And Liabilities, Budget Plan, Different Kinds, Earnings, Expenditures, Expense Account, Family Budget, Financial Adviser, Groceries, Interest Rate, Intruders, Investment Options, Logbook, Meager Income, Minimum Interest, Monetary Resources, Necessary Expenses, Piggy Bank, Tax Liabilities, Thousand Dollars
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Sunday, January 9th, 2011
Whenever the school season is just around the corner, there’s only one thing that parents are thinking about – the impending costs. Education is a primary right and a pertinent need of every child but it can become very costly. Availing of scholarships and education grants for your children is the best way to get them through schooling. But of course, only a small percentage of children can be given these privileges.
There are simple and effective measures that parents can employ in cutting the costs of their children’s schooling, especially during the back-to-school season. Most often, these measures are often taken for granted, but don’t miss out!
Organize and Save
Keep an inventory of your children’s school supplies and keep it organized. If you are not organized, you will be spending more money on replenishing your supplies. Small things like pencils and crayons may not cost too much, but if you replenish your supplies unnecessarily, you are losing valuable money.
You should also try involving the kids when making the inventory. This will give them a sense of ownership for their things and would know where to take and put their things.
Tax Holidays
Tax holidays are often offered by many states during the back-to-school season. Price ceilings will be put on different school gears. You might want to do a little research and ask about the schedule and the details of the tax holidays in your area.
Bulk Buying
It’s a basic economic principle – “the more you buy, the more you save”. Well, this is applicable if you are buying a specific item which you will really need in the near future. In buying pencils, for example, you might want to buy a box rather than buying one for each of your kids. Face it, you will be needing to replenish these after some time, so might as well avail of the lower price by buying in bulk.
Transportation
You might want to consider buying your child a bicycle for him to bring to school. This, of course, is not always feasible. Finding a cheap and safe way to bring your children to school daily is an important thing. Car pools and school transportation services are options that you can look at.
Snacks
Whenever you have the time and energy to prepare food for your children, do so. You will not only be saving on the pocket money that you will give to them but you are also secured that your children are eating healthy and safe meals.
Getting your children through school is a hard task and a costly one. Saving money through practical and simple means can assist you in this endeavor. The benefits will eventually add up to bring a brighter future to your children.
Tags: Back To School, Bicycle, Ceilings, Crayons, Cutting, Economic Principle, Education Grants, Gears, Measures, Money, Parents, Pencils, Privileges, Scholarships, School Supplies, Schooling Costs, Tax Holidays
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Friday, December 31st, 2010
Are you craving for the newest designer clothes, a pretty tank top, and that pretty dress? All this fashion comes at a price you choose.
Buying clothes these days is always a choice between the designer-made outfit or those cheap but quality items that you could pull together and express your personality in many different ways.
Most experts contend that clothes can definitely make or break a person. They say that your personality is usually reflected on how you dress up. But it does not necessarily mean that good fashion would absolutely mean expensive clothes.
Hence, you can still make a remarkable fashion statement without having to spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars just for your clothes.
Here is a list of some money-saving tips when buying clothes that would turn other peoples heads to you but would not definitely break your wallet.
1. Do the math
Choosing fashionable clothes can be really tricky, not unless you know how to do the math! So before you buy three sets of clothes that would cost you hundreds of dollars, try to go for the budget-friendly dozen of items that you can even match alternatively.
The number of expensive items that your money can buy is definitely doubled or even tripled when you buy cheaper ones but can still make a good fashion statement.
2. Know what you want
Saving money is definitely based on knowing what you want whenever you spend your money on something. If you know what you want, this means that you have researched the item, have compared them with the other items, you will be able to come up with the lowest price of the product.
3. Drive your way to a thrift store
Usually, these thrift stores are non-profit organizations. This means that they are usually operating for charity. They give their proceeds to some charitable institutions.
Hence, the prices of the clothes being sold in the thrift store are absolutely cheaper than the ones being sold in the department store. So that would mean many savings for you.
Best of all, you do not only get to save more money, you get to do some charity work as well.
The bottom line here is that when shopping for clothes, do not shop for the brand name, shop for the quality.
Nowadays, you just have to be practical. Better spend your money on more important things than those designer clothes.
Tags: Charitable Institutions, Department Store, Designer Clothes, Expensive Clothes, Fashion Statement, Fashionable Clothes, Many Different Ways, Money Saving Tips, Personality, Pretty Tank, Proceeds, Profit Organizations, Remarkable Fashion, Savin, Tank Top, Thousands Of Dollars, Thrift Store, Thrift Stores, Tips On Saving Money, Wallet
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Tuesday, December 14th, 2010
You have long known the credit card. It is said to be your ultimate gear when you go shopping. The plastic can even be a best friend to a happy shopper.
Considering the times nowadays, this plastic seems to be the least practical option out there. It is actually the most convenient tool used for consumption when you are out of cash. It lures you to spend.
Is there anyway for your credit card to be useful for your saving endeavors?
Yes, actually there are ways that the plastic can be helpful. You CAN actually save money with that credit card.
0% Balance Transfers
If your present credit card has high interests, you can transfer your balance to one with a low-interest or no-interest at all. It can offer you a 0% interest for a certain period and then a lower regular rate later on. A 19% interest rate can be transferred to one with 16.1%. The 2.9% difference means a lot, especially in the long run.
Lower Interest Rates
Look for one with the lowest rate among others to further maximize having a credit card. This definitely spells savings. If you do not have a balance yet, it is best to look for a card without annual fees.
Take extra precautions, too, in assuming that the lowest interest rate is the best for you. Factor in your buying habits. You may be attracted to the low rates, but the end result may not be desirable if combined with the annual fees and the like.
Rewards Program
Reward points system and cash back programs are offered now. This can save you money. Maintaining a low balance despite your frequent buys will give you at most 5% off on purchases.
There are even cash rebates up to 5% when you use the credit card at certain gas stations, convenience stores and groceries. This can be automatically applied to your bill, the more you can feel the savings you are making.
Maximizing the Experience
To reap the rewards, you must avoid the drawbacks. A prudent person will definitely look for the best deals and grab it right away but with some caution.
Thus it is necessary that you read the details. Check the fees that may be charged and the penalty rates in case you delay. This may be the downside of the deal offered to you. For example, be careful of cash advance features of credit cards. Some of them can be very expensive. They can come with numerous fees and higher rates.
Be wary! Spending cannot be avoided at times. Just dont forget your goal, getting a good deal to save.
Tags: 0 Balance Transfers, Best Deals, Best Friend, Buying Habits, Cash Rebates, Caution, Consumption, Convenience Stores, Credit Card 0 Balance Transfers, End Result, Endeavors, Gas Stations, Groceries, Happy Shopper, Interest Rates, Lowest Interest Rate, Prudent Person, Reward Points, Rewards Program, Ultimate Gear
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Thursday, December 2nd, 2010
Less Money and Enjoy More!
Save Money on Groceries
Saving Money is one hard task. There are lots of things to be considered, primarily on how to budget your cash on hand that would somehow, if not manage to have excess left money, be exact of what it should be used for. Budgeting is really a pain in the neck. Allocation of electric bills, water bills, phone bills, etc. is just few of the many things being considered on how to utilize your cash wisely. Food is no exception. Being the most important of all house responsibility, we prioritize on how to budget our money, reducing the money spent without sacrificing the food allocation. We mainly buy necessities in groceries. It would be of help if you list down goods you have to buy together with their prices (if possible) so as to ensure yourself that the budget allotted for food is exact or there is a shortage. If so, you could trim down your list or think of a better replacement. To furthermore avoid shopping shortages, here are some tips.
List goods that should always be found in the kitchen. Examples of which are coffee, milk, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, salt, onion, garlic. These goods are necessary, so they are always being bought.
Plan your weekly meals ahead of time. This would avoid you overspending on goods invaluable or missing some ingredients that are needed. This would not just clear your worries but it would also save your time.
Dont buy branded goods; instead choose a product that has the same quality of those expensive goods. Youll get the same benefit without spending more.
Buy goods that have dual purpose. A good example of which is mayonnaise. You can use it as a sandwich spread or make macaroni salad instead. In a way, you could enjoy eating both without spending too much.
Buy less expensive cuts of meat. List recipes that the cuts wont matter. At least, you wont be sacrificing the taste of the food and at the same time youll have the chance to buy a larger quantity.
Pay in cash. You might be tempted to buy unnecessary goods. This would avoid you from going over your card limit.
Try to be inventive and creative at the same time. Leftovers could be precooked in a way that it would look appealing again to your appetite.
Bring some snacks whenever you travel. This could be a good reliever for your hunger along the way and chances of being tempted to stop in a mini store; if not be impossible, at least be lessen.
Keep a list of prices of goods you always buy. At least, with those products youre sure of how much youll be spending and you could do just a small amount on goods you wish to buy.
Shop only once or twice a month. In that way, less time will be spent on going to a grocery store and at the same time, chances of overspending will be minimized.
Tags: Branded Goods, Coffee Milk, Cuts Of Meat, Dual Purpose, Electric Bills, Garlic, Groceries, Macaroni Salad, Mayonnaise, Milk Sugar, Necessities, Onion Garlic, Pain In The Neck, Phone Bills, Saving Money, Soy Sauce, Vinegar, Water Bills, Wont Matter, Worries
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Thursday, November 25th, 2010
Having a credit card is very convenient since carrying a lot of cash becomes unneccesary and you might even have a hard time leaving your credit card at home. But with its advantages comes also its disadvantages. Since you can always buy things without carrying cash around, you are always tempted to buy something that you come across. If you have excellent control on your finances then good for you. If you have a hard time managing your credit card, then these pointers can help you.
Get organized
First thing’s first, obtain your credit card records to have a better idea of your spendings. Be sure to double check the records for errors and ensure its accuracy. A good example would be to find out if you have outstanding debts that should not be there as well as the accuracy of the listing of your former and present address.
Evaluate your credit card
Go over your recent credit card records and look at the interest rates. Some credit card companies have promos wherein they offer lower interest rates for a period of time and this promo may already be over yet you have no idea and are already paying at a higher interest rate. Also take note of the membership fee which they charge annually since some have very high membership fees. Consider cancelling this if you are not using it frequently.
Pay on time
It is important to pay your bills on time since it can have a negative effect on your credit record or rating. You will also be able to avoid getting charged because of not paying on time. Try asking the credit card company to remove the overdue charge if you have forgotten to pay it on time for the first time.
Manage your debts
If you see that you have more debt than what is comfortable, think ahead and plan out how you will repay it or at least reduce your debt. Devise a way to pay more than what is required of you so that you will have a reduced payment schedule. Prioritize the card that has the highest interest rate. Do not bring your credit card always when you go around since temptations abound.
Don’t bite more than you can chew
As the saying “don’t bite more than you can chew” goes, do not spend more than you can afford. True, a beautiful gold bracelet may be enjoyable to wear but its price tag may mean paying a lot for the next months. If you are bent to save money when using your credit card, unnecessary items like jewelry and the like should be at the bottom of your considerations.
Tags: Accuracy, Address, Credit Card Companies, Credit Card Company, Credit Card Records, Credit Rating, Excellent Control, Hard Time, Highest Interest Rate, Interest Rates, Membership Fee, Membership Fees, Outstanding Debts, Overdue Charge, Paying On Time, Period Of Time, Pointers
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Tuesday, November 16th, 2010
Saving money is not as hard as it seems. Here are ten practical tips that you can do to begin saving money, without changing your lifestyle.
1. Replace incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent (CFL) bulbs. CFL bulbs consume 80% less energy than incandescent bulbs, but give the same illumination. Make sure to buy only lamps and bulbs that have the Energy Star rating to ensure quality compliance.
2. Make a list when going to the grocery and stick to it! Anything that is not on the list is not a need, but merely a want so avoid busting your pockets for unnecessary items. Buy non-perishable consumables in bulk to benefit from bulk discounts.
3. Use coupons when available. Take the time and have the patience to clip and organize grocery coupons. When added together, savings from using all coupons in one grocery trip can be as much as $20-$30. Purchase dining and shopping coupons online and print them at home. Doing so can save you at least 50% on the face value of the coupons.
4. Buy online, whenever possible. Online stores pass their savings from rental costs and warehousing to the online consumer, thus they can afford as much as 70% off their rack price. When buying items online, Google it first together with the word, discount code. This can give you further reductions on the item you want to purchase. Try also online bidding: they offer at least 75% off the original purchase price, for practically new (slightly used!) items.
5. Take lunch to work. Buy potato chips and soda from the grocery and make a homemade sandwich and pack them in a brown bag.
6. Eat homemade dinners as often as possible. Plan menus that are practical and easy-to-cook to encourage eating at home. Save money by dining out only on special occasions.
7. Use everyday pantry items for skin and body care. Cucumbers, honey, milk, lemon, salt and baking soda are some items in your home that can also be used to take care of your skin.
8. Avoid shopping to de-stress. Try walking around the park or watching a movie instead.
9. Bring your own sodas and snacks when watching a movie. The cost of sodas and snacks are at least 25% higher in movie houses. Plus, homemade popcorn tastes much better: you can put on all the salt and butter you want!
10. Pay off your credit card balances each month and avoid finance charges. Better yet, use cash as much as possible, unless using plastic will give you a better deal (0% interest on appliance purchases, or cash rebates).
Tags: Baking Soda, Cfl Bulbs, Consumables, Energy Star Rating, Face Value, Further Reductions, Google, Grocery Coupons, Homemade Dinners, Illumination, Incandescent Bulbs, Money Saving, Pantry Items, Plan Menus, Potato Chips, Quality Compliance, Rack Price, Saving Money, Shopping Coupons, Special Occasions
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