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Happiness Comes When You Can Look At Yourself And
Like What You See...
Gas prices continue to be at all time highs, meaning that car travel is taking a larger portion out of each of your paychecks.
Tips for Your Credit
Beware of scams. There are a lot of scams that deal with credit. Debt suspension offers, paying fees in advance, buying credit protection, and rebuilding credit usually sound too good to be true. There's a reason for this: they are.
Don't use your credit card for cash advances. It will harm your credit score and the interest rates are outrageous.
Consolidate your loans. Especially those student loans. With a student consolidation loan, you can lock in several loans at a fixed interest rate and have just one lender to pay each month.
Avoid payday loans. Bottom line: they're scammy and they charge high interest rates. If you do need an emergency cash loan, just be aware of the risk of high interest rates.
Be cautious with home equity loans. If you can't make a payment toward a home equity loan, you could lose your house.
Pay off your credit card debt. Credit card debt is usually the debt with the most interest. So pay it off first. Better yet, don't accumulate it in the first place.
Make A Personal Budget
Before starting any household budget plan, you must know
where your money is being spent. It is a tedious process and
can be a real eye-opener!Learn How to Make a Personal Budget--->
Frugal? Thrifty? Tightwad? Penny Pincher?
Whatever you call it - it means to SAVE
part of your hard earned money. Sounds good, but how?
Being frugal and thrifty in our
everyday lives is something we have to learn - it
just does not come naturally to most of us. The idea of saving and living within our
means has somehow been lost in our generation when actually
we need to live below our means and
save more!
Some families can barely afford basic needs
(food, clothing, and shelter), but most of the time
there are ways to save money on everyday
purchases. We just need to examine where we spend money and
find ways to reduce expenses.
Then a decision has to be made to implement
the saving ideas.
Remember that spending habits are sometimes hard
to change. Start slowly but remain
committed to your new thrifty lifestyle.
After tracking your spending and learning to
live more thrifty, you need to make a
budget. A budget is simply a spending
plan. You need to list all your income
sources and expenses. Then you will know how
much money you will have for the things you need.
It also helps you to save for things you want and
be able to get them without adding to your
credit card debt.
Some of us may have already learned to cut back
because of necessity, perhaps from "corporate
down-sizing". For others, having more financial stability and
freedom is part of our cure for the harmful
stress in our everyday lives.
Whatever your reason, we hope that this "411" site
will bring useful resources to your
fingertips (and wallet!). Check back often so we can give you the most
current thrifty living, budgeting, and frugal money saving tips.
Budget Guidelines
How much of your income should be budgeted for your housing expenses?
How about for paying on debts?
Here's a list of "recommended budget guidelines" for
percentages of your gross monthly income:
Housing 35%. This includes mortgage or rent, taxes,
repairs, improvements, insurance and utilities.
Automobile or public transportation 20%.
Vehicle loan payment, gas, oil, repairs, insurance and parking.
Debt 15%. Credit card payments and personal loans.
All other expenses 20%. This includes
food, insurance, medical, clothing, personal items and childcare.
Savings 10%. Stocks, retirement accounts, real estate and savings accounts.
It’s easy to accumulate clutter!
Clutter and disorganization can cause stress,
frustration, and make us waste precious
time and energy.
Here are a few simple ways to start to
un-clutter your life and regain your
sanity!
Get rid of something that is
damaged and you are not planning to fix
it.
Keep a "donation box". When you
find something you are not using, put it in
the box. Then make regular trips to the
donation center.
Gather up old board games your
family no longer uses. Discard ones with
missing pieces and give away ones you
family no longer uses.
Medical cost has grown more than
inflation for the past 20 years.
We have to do all we can to save on
medical cost - even if it appears to be a
small savings.
Ask your doctor for generic
prescriptions.
Give up a bad habit such as
smoking or alcohol. A pack-a-day smoker
will save over $1000 in a year!
Have regular checkups. Use
clinics or the local health department when
possible.
Ask your doctor for sample
prescriptions. Most doctors have
samples, especially for new products.
Here's a few simple thrifty ideas for the beautiful Christmas cards
we all receive. Works just as well for year-round greeting cards.
(Nice for the environment too!)
BookMarks. Laminate to make it more sturdy if necessary.
ScrapBooking projects. No need to buy the "store made" supplies.
Donate to your local school. The cards can be used for many projects.
Inexpensive but beautiful gift tags..
Placemats and coasters. Create great, attention getting placemats. May need to laminate.
Be free of the stress of Christmas shopping
and use some common sense ideas to cut your holiday spending
(and enjoy the holiday more).
Spending less money at Christmas--->
