Posted on: 05th Nov, 2009 12:53 am
All of us have realized the importance of savings in a hard way. The only good that recession has done to us is that it has helped us understand the necessity of savings. With severe unemployment and loss of homes, it is better to adopt a frugal lifestyle for the time being. People are considering it irresponsible to spend more in these days of financial crisis.
We have to agree that savings is a good habit. If you haven't started savings yet, check out the given tips which may help you start saving:
Consumer Debts: It is a debt used to fund consumption rather than investment and is outstanding. This debt includes automobile loans, student loans and credit card balances. These loans mainly come up at a high interest rate. So, getting rid of these debts would be a better option during recession. Try and pay off your existing consumer debts.
Secondary source of income: An extra income source will help you in paying off your existing debts or help you increase your savings. Thus, though small, a secondary income source would ultimately help you in a great way. Unemployment has become very common these days. This secondary source of income would help you avoid the financial crisis in case you lose your job.
Maintain a budget: Plan your budget with the starting of a new month. Make a list of all your expenses and distribute the required money for it. Start a small emergency fund and allocate a certain amount of money into it every month which may help you during any financial crisis.
We have to agree that savings is a good habit. If you haven't started savings yet, check out the given tips which may help you start saving:
Consumer Debts: It is a debt used to fund consumption rather than investment and is outstanding. This debt includes automobile loans, student loans and credit card balances. These loans mainly come up at a high interest rate. So, getting rid of these debts would be a better option during recession. Try and pay off your existing consumer debts.
Secondary source of income: An extra income source will help you in paying off your existing debts or help you increase your savings. Thus, though small, a secondary income source would ultimately help you in a great way. Unemployment has become very common these days. This secondary source of income would help you avoid the financial crisis in case you lose your job.
Maintain a budget: Plan your budget with the starting of a new month. Make a list of all your expenses and distribute the required money for it. Start a small emergency fund and allocate a certain amount of money into it every month which may help you during any financial crisis.
That's a great topic that you've started Sara. These are few tips from my end:
- Cars and gases: We can save quite a lot of money on cars and gases. Walk as much as possible and do not use your car for traveling short distances. You can even use the public transport. Also, take the most efficient route while you're traveling in your car. Use the discount cards available at the grocery store to buy gas. It will help you save quite some dollars.
- Cooking and Eating: We spend a lot of money on cooking and eating out, isn't it? Cutting down on fast food will help us in saving our hard earned money. Rather than eating out every alternate day, you can eat out once a week. You can carry your lunch when you go for work. This will help you utilize the leftovers of the last night and will also save your money as you won't have to buy your lunch.
- Utilities: Using the utilities efficiently can also help us in saving our hard earned dollars. Electric goods should be efficiently used. Switch off the lights during the daytime and turn off all the electrical items when you're are planning to go out. You can line dry your clothes when it's summer. Most of us have the bad habit of leaving the water running when we're brushing our teeth or rinsing dishes. Change your habit and save water.
Thanks Sara and Rebecca for the tips. I would like to add some more to those tips:
Make a list: Before you go out for shopping, make a list of the items you would like to buy. When you reach the mall, stick to the list rather than get tempted to purchase whatever you see around.
Buy generic items: All of us like to purchase branded goods like Christian Dior, GAP, Cheerios, etc. isn't it? But if we start buying the generic items, we could save around $20-$30 on each of the items.
Cancel memberships: If you are not using the gym or the library, then cancel the membership. This will help you save the membership fees. You can rather go for jogging or biking to keep yourself fit.
Make a list: Before you go out for shopping, make a list of the items you would like to buy. When you reach the mall, stick to the list rather than get tempted to purchase whatever you see around.
Buy generic items: All of us like to purchase branded goods like Christian Dior, GAP, Cheerios, etc. isn't it? But if we start buying the generic items, we could save around $20-$30 on each of the items.
Cancel memberships: If you are not using the gym or the library, then cancel the membership. This will help you save the membership fees. You can rather go for jogging or biking to keep yourself fit.
Well, experts say that the recession is over. But the aftereffects continue to influence us in one way or the other. So, one should have better control over his money to survive the aftereffects of recession. Here are a few tips on how you can do it.
I hope you find the tips helpful :)
- Cut down home energy bills: Go for a home energy audit using the Home Energy Saver tool available at the website of US Department of Energy. Few changes like setting your thermostat as low as is feasible in winter and as high as possible in summer, bleeding trapped air from hot-water radiators and cleaning furnaces at regular intervals can reduce your energy costs.
- Reduce cell phone bills: You can contact your cell phone provider and inquire about any special plans which can help you trim your monthly bill. If you have landline telephones apart from cell phones, you may use any one to minimize your expenses.
- Manage credit cards wisely: If you have multiple credit cards and can't manage your monthly payments well, then try consolidating your cards into a single monthly payment. You can even negotiate a low interest rate with your credit card issuer. However, if you still have problems making monthly payments, you may enroll in a debt settlement program and clear your bills by paying much less than you actually owe.
I hope you find the tips helpful :)
Personally I've found that two things in particular have helped me in managing my finances more effectively.
1. Budgeting, as mentioned above a budget is a surprisingly simple but effective tool. At the very least it forces you to think carefully and honestly about what you're doing with your money. It also tells you if your missing something or not, because if you're going over budget you've either forgottenn to accpunt for something, been unrealistic or aren't sticking to it!
2. Creating a Bills account. Work out on average what your yearly spend on utilities, insurances and other necessesary costs are. Be honest and realistic and try to include everything that you can think of, then work it out on a monthly, fortnightly or weekly basis depending on your pay cycle.
Set up an automatic transfer from the account your pay goes into over to the Bills account so you dont forget to do it each pay.
this has really helped me as i no longer fear the power or phone bill coming in at a bad time - there's money already set aside for it so when it comes in I'm ready to pay it.
As a side benefit this will help your credit rating as well - everyone loves somebody that pays, in full and on time.
simple tools really, but very effective.
1. Budgeting, as mentioned above a budget is a surprisingly simple but effective tool. At the very least it forces you to think carefully and honestly about what you're doing with your money. It also tells you if your missing something or not, because if you're going over budget you've either forgottenn to accpunt for something, been unrealistic or aren't sticking to it!
2. Creating a Bills account. Work out on average what your yearly spend on utilities, insurances and other necessesary costs are. Be honest and realistic and try to include everything that you can think of, then work it out on a monthly, fortnightly or weekly basis depending on your pay cycle.
Set up an automatic transfer from the account your pay goes into over to the Bills account so you dont forget to do it each pay.
this has really helped me as i no longer fear the power or phone bill coming in at a bad time - there's money already set aside for it so when it comes in I'm ready to pay it.
As a side benefit this will help your credit rating as well - everyone loves somebody that pays, in full and on time.
simple tools really, but very effective.
A lot of people tend to spend a considerable part of their income for the purpose of entertainment. It is a good idea to stop spending too much for entertainment and save the money for future use. Here are a few small but effective tips on how you can save money on entertainment:
Entertainment is an integral part of our lives and it is almost impossible to live without it. But using some small tips like the ones mentioned above, we can save a lot and survive the recession. The amount of money you save this way might not be huge, but such small amounts of dollars can do you a world of good in times of crises.
Thanks,
Jerry
- 1. Many people subscribe to several magazines. While it is good to keep yourself updated with what's happening around you through magazines, it is wise to cancel magazine subscriptions and take them from libraries or read them online. You can even try reading newspapers on the internet.
2. Do not eat out frequently at restaurants. Instead of going out, enjoy home-made special dinner at home with your family.
3. If you visit a place, like an amusement park, etc., too often, purchase a season pass.
4. Make arrangements for entertainment at home, for example, have friends over dinner or arrange a game night.
Entertainment is an integral part of our lives and it is almost impossible to live without it. But using some small tips like the ones mentioned above, we can save a lot and survive the recession. The amount of money you save this way might not be huge, but such small amounts of dollars can do you a world of good in times of crises.
Thanks,
Jerry
make a budget. preparation a budget is a simple and effective method of cutting costs since it gives you a plain image of where the money is being spent….. avoid luxuries. activities such as dining in restaurants, movies, parties will bleed your fund credit cards. make sure that you keep your CC expenditures in check as this can lead to reckless spend go generic. branded products will burn a hole in your pocket.. generic products may be cheaper but this doesnmean they compromise on quality
A simple tip I like is to avoid soft drinks when you do go out to eat. If you are used to eating out and can't cut the habit entirely, you can still save a good amount by drinking water instead of soda.
Assuming a couple of two eats out three times a week, and each orders a soda at an average cost of $1.50, over the course of a year they could save $468 by drinking water instead.
If you have a family, or eat out more, the savings just keep growing.
Not to mention the added health benefit and savings from cavity prevention. And I haven't even mentioned cutting out soft drinks at home! Gold mine!
Assuming a couple of two eats out three times a week, and each orders a soda at an average cost of $1.50, over the course of a year they could save $468 by drinking water instead.
If you have a family, or eat out more, the savings just keep growing.
Not to mention the added health benefit and savings from cavity prevention. And I haven't even mentioned cutting out soft drinks at home! Gold mine!
I think personal finance and saving money is now more important than ever. We've really got to fix our spending habits if we want to even retire by 65. As a student in her early 20s, I can tell you that I spend a lot of money on unnecessary things. So here are my tips to saving money:
1) Skip Starbucks. I know that it's super delicious and even more convenient for us to stop by Starbuck's drive thru but that $4 drink really adds up. Instead, make your own coffee each morning. Shouldn't take more than 5 minutes.
2) Carpool, carpool, carpool! I couldn't stress this enough. Gas prices are seriously going up because it's summer time. Nowadays, my friends and I always carpool anywhere we go if we can. Save money on gas and you're guaranteed a good time.
3) Eat less. Not eat out less(actually that's a good one, too) but just eat less in general. Often times, my friends(some of whom are jobless due to the recession) and I will split our meals. We'll usually share. Portions these days are actually more than enough for two people. Save calories, save money!
4) This might be the most important move-investing. No, you don't have to throw all your money into the stock market. Just simple investments like moving your money from a traditional low interest savings account to a longer 1 year CD. CDs offer much better rates and if you don't need the money for awhile, you could certain leave it in a short term CD. You might be surprised how fast the interest accumulates.
1) Skip Starbucks. I know that it's super delicious and even more convenient for us to stop by Starbuck's drive thru but that $4 drink really adds up. Instead, make your own coffee each morning. Shouldn't take more than 5 minutes.
2) Carpool, carpool, carpool! I couldn't stress this enough. Gas prices are seriously going up because it's summer time. Nowadays, my friends and I always carpool anywhere we go if we can. Save money on gas and you're guaranteed a good time.
3) Eat less. Not eat out less(actually that's a good one, too) but just eat less in general. Often times, my friends(some of whom are jobless due to the recession) and I will split our meals. We'll usually share. Portions these days are actually more than enough for two people. Save calories, save money!
4) This might be the most important move-investing. No, you don't have to throw all your money into the stock market. Just simple investments like moving your money from a traditional low interest savings account to a longer 1 year CD. CDs offer much better rates and if you don't need the money for awhile, you could certain leave it in a short term CD. You might be surprised how fast the interest accumulates.
thank you all for the good advice I have been putting some of these ideas to the test, and it really works saving money is easy when you follow a budget I didn't really know how to go about it until I read some of these ideas thanks again everyone
These are some very good advices and ultimately living with balance of expenditure and more saving can help you in any crisis you face anytime. So manage your money and keep your future safe.
Recession has not left anyone who has experienced it unscathed. Thus, it is essential to have enough wealth and money to thrive during such a situation. In order to save, make sure that you follow decent financial saving habits. Put in some amount of money in investments and monthly savings. Do not miss any installment. Make sure that you do not spend on shopping or go out much for dinners. Instead, stay at home and party with your friends indoors. Also, keep a regular check on your credit reports and credit scores to know your financial stability. Check out for more money saving tips:- http://www.articlesbase.com/personal-finance-articles/10-easy-tips-to-save-money-easily-6328497.html
To save money first settle all credits. Second, have a habit on checking credit balances in your account. Lastly, do not entertain promos that leads to more fees.
A very nice thought,
I want to suggest some more tips that may save you money from daily life expenses.
do Internet Shopping-
as it result out to have saved you a lot of money, you have known about online auction sites it helps in a great way.you can have a lot of discounts, even these service providers give free services to new customers to attract them during recession.
I want to suggest some more tips that may save you money from daily life expenses.
do Internet Shopping-
as it result out to have saved you a lot of money, you have known about online auction sites it helps in a great way.you can have a lot of discounts, even these service providers give free services to new customers to attract them during recession.
