Personal Finance and Investing » Saving Money

Discount Code Shopping

admin — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 18:26:36 +0000

Discount codes are offers also known as promotional codes, coupons and e-vouchers. These coupons are used to get discounts when you shop online. Through using the vouchers and coupons, you get special offers from the companies and save some money. Voucher codes are available from various ecommerce sites and also from collectors of discounts and coupons. There are some companies which collect the voucher codes offered on various sites and then directly offer them to the customers.

A good way to save money whilst shopping is to do a quick search for the site you are shopping on before you check out. Just a quick search for ‘discount codes and (the shop you wish to purchase from) should enable you to see what discount is available to use. The discount codes allow the shopper to enter a specific code when they reach the online checkout whilst shopping; the relevant discount is then applied.

The good thing about online discount codes is that the are usually reusable, meaning that if you buy an item and decide you really like it and would like a different colour for example, provided the date is still valid you should be able to use the same discount code again.

One of the more common discount codes is the ‘free delivery’ code.

This is usually a really good deal as if you are shopping online for something because you wish to save money then the delivery cost can sometimes mean in reality you only break even. However if you get free delivery you really are saving money.

Lots of people don’t pay attention to these discount codes assuming that they all come with strings attached, which is rarely the case. Any high profile retailer/ restraint chain who offers these vouchers will usually be offering them as a way to retain and tempt new custom and promote themselves in a positive way.

Do You Have A Long Term Savings Plan?

admin — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 17:36:57 +0000

There are as many ways to save money as there are to spend it. Being able to live by that principle is key to saving money for the long term. Ultimately, implementing a long term saving plan is an integral part of any financial plan. Becoming a successful saver is all dependent upon the desire to reach financial goals.

Saving money sounds simple enough, but saving for adults isn’t as easy as when they were kids. Putting spare change in a piggy bank simply won’t suffice now. So, what should adults do to not only contribute more money into a savings account, but also create and implement a long term savings plan?

First, it’s important for adults to recognize that often times their mindset about money is flawed and that is the first thing that needs to be changed. A person’s view about money is as important as the actual savings aspect. Expecting to save money is a lot easier if the person is mentally committed to the long term savings plan.

Being honest about how money is spent is an important part of saving money. It may take writing down and reviewing all expenses made within a certain time frame to realize how money is being spent and perhaps wasted. This is sometimes a necessary step in changing wasteful spending habits. Actually watching the amount of money earned and then the tallying the money spent wastefully can be just the wake up call that some people need to save more.

After identifying exactly how income is spent, it’s imperative to review the numbers. Memorializing how much is earned and then determining monthly expenses is an easy way to create a financial spending plan, better known as a budget. Budgeting isn’t a very popular word, because most people interpret that to mean they will be deprived of something. Rather, budgeting should be looked at as fiscally responsible, and if done properly, there is enough money to do whatever a person may want to do. It is learning about the wasteful spending that prohibits wealth creation. To have wealth creation, however, committing to a budget within a long term savings plan is essential.

Once wasteful spending habits are eliminated and a budget is created, identifying financial goals is the next step to becoming a smart saver. Whether the goal is big, like saving for a down payment on a home, or something smaller like a new digital camera, knowing what you’re saving towards is important. After figuring out how much should be set aside, from there it’s simply a matter of implementing the long term savings plan.

Learning a few helpful savings tips could make the saving process go a lot quicker. Many people spend money without realizing how much they could save on certain items and services. The most savings can be discovered simply by refinancing or renegotiating current debt. Lowering credit card interest rates, refinancing mortgages and lowering insurance rates by increasing deductibles are a few ways people can quickly discover more funds to save.

Saving money for whatever reasons is a simple enough process to embark upon. Having the fortitude to continue is usually the most difficult part of saving. Reviewing spending habits, creating a budget and creating savings goals are all important parts on the road to reaching and attaining a long term savings plan and ultimately, wealth creation.

How Recent Trends in College Planning and College Admissions May Affect Your Family

admin — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 18:12:38 +0000

By now, most students have made up their minds about where they are going to college in the fall, although a few are still on waitlists. In recent years, some interesting trends have become apparent in college planning and college admissions. Here are some observations that may affect your student:

1. High school counselors are being cut at many public schools causing the counseling loads to increase. The average high school counselor works with 450 students and spends 28% of his or her time on college planning. More families are turning to educational consultants and college planners because of the individual attention they can provide.

2. Public universities have become more expensive due to budget cuts and rising tuition. In addition to rising tuition, many state universities are saving money by limiting classes. Some feel this is why students are taking an average of 6.2 years to graduate. For parents, this means an additional 2 years of college expenses. Many students are including some private schools that are committed to seeing their students graduate in 4 years on their college lists.

3. The Ivy League schools are now accepting less than 10% of their applicants. This means that students who aim for these schools cannot expect to get in with only top grades and test scores. A niche is almost always a necessity. Guiding students in their extracurricular activities can make a difference.

4. International students are being sought after by colleges in the U.S, This is increasing the competition in college admissions for all students. Many colleges are actively recruiting international students who come from wealthy families who can pay the full tuition.

5. Students whose families can pay the full amount are having more success with college admissions than those who require financial aid. Some schools are no longer able to be need-blind in accepting students. Paying for college has become a problem for a much larger segment of the population. Many parents, however, are turning to college planners who are providing some very valuable guidance to help make college more affordable.

6. Applications have continued to rise at almost every school in the U.S. It has become quite common for students to apply to a large number of schools. Applying to as many as 15 or 20 schools is not out of the question for some. Many students feel they need the additional colleges because of the competition.

7. More students are applying Early Decision even though they are not always sure it is the school they want to attend. Since Early Decision is binding, this is a problem for both students and colleges. Early Decision and Early Action continue to be debated as to whom they benefit the most.

8. More students are considering a gap year to give the economy a chance to rebound before they enter college. A gap year can be beneficial to students who may not be quite ready for college. It is also an opportunity for students to participate in a unique experience that they might not have otherwise.

9. Women continue to have a bigger struggle in college admissions than men. Many schools today have a ratio of 60:40 women to men. Therefore, more men seem to be accepted at schools with lower grades and test scores than women.

While these are observations from the 2010 college admissions period, it is important for parents to know about these trends in order to guide their children as they begin to think about college.

Auto Insurance Rate Quotes

admin — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 13:13:28 +0000

Auto insurance rate quotes are information given to the consumer by the insurance company regarding the price they would have to pay for a specific amount of coverage on a policy. A consumer who is in the market for new insurance should get several competing auto insurance rate quotes in an effort to make sure they are getting the best deal possible on car insurance.

Getting that best deal can be a very simple process if you take the time to do your homework on what several different companies would charge for your desired level of coverage. Vehicle insurance companies will offer instant online quotes to those who desire speedy information regarding a new policy. By obtaining several auto insurance rate quotes you can compare the strengths and weaknesses of each one in an effort to find the ideal coverage for you.

The best place to receive these instant car insurance rate quotes is online. By utilizing a website that does the work of gathering insurance information pertinent to your area you can get the information you require in just a few minutes. It is as simple as filling out a form for each company that could accommodate you at your level of coverage. The forms are short, easy to understand and do not cost a penny to complete.

Intelligent shoppers who get several auto insurance rate quotes online invariably end up saving money on car insurance. It takes a few minutes of your time in order to possibly save a significant amount of money.

Life without wheels

admin — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 23:48:29 +0000

I did not pass my driving test until I was 23. Up until that point it never bothered me that I didn’t drive. I lived a full and busy life. I went to the gym, enjoyed nights out, visited the city and had days out in the country. Life was fine. I used trams, buses, trains and I was even the proud owner of a push bike. The seven mile bike ride to work kept me in superb physical condition, although I only did it in the summer.

Once I passed my driving test, I started saving money to buy myself a car. I bought a Citroen Saxo in metallic silver. The insurance was a little expensive but I could just about afford it. Since then I have always had a car to drive and have never had to rely on public transport.

Recently however, our family car broke down. The effect it had on our family was unbelievable. We could not afford to replace the car straight away, as money was a little tight. We had to wait for my husband to receive his quarterly bonus before we could buy a new one. The children found it utterly disgraceful that they should be expected to walk one mile to their football coaching. I told them they were being ridiculous but I must admit that I hated catching the bus to work each morning. I had forgotten buses were always late and when they did arrive were absolutely jam packed.

Thankfully we have now replaced the car. We bought a http://www.hodgsons-newcastle.co.uk/”>Car Dealer Newcastle Ford Mondeo from a car dealer and it is the ideal family vehicle. Everything is back to normal again but it just shows how pampered and spoilt we are these days. Especially the children.

Once I passed my driving test, I started saving money to buy myself a car. I bought a Citroen Saxo in metallic silver. The insurance was a little expensive but I could just about afford it. Since then I have always had a car to drive and have never had to rely on public transport.

Recently however, our family car broke down. The effect it had on our family was unbelievable. We could not afford to replace the car straight away, as money was a little tight. We had to wait for my husband to receive his quarterly bonus before we could buy a new one. The children found it utterly disgraceful that they should be expected to walk one mile to their football coaching. I told them they were being ridiculous but I must admit that I hated catching the bus to work each morning. I had forgotten buses were always late and when they did arrive were absolutely jam packed.

Debt Consolidation Online – Is It Smart To Consolidate Your Debt?

admin — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 18:07:04 +0000

With a multitude of bills piling up, debt consolidation can appear to be an easy way out. Claims of reduced rates and one payment convenience can seduce just about anyone. But before you commit to such a plan, make sure that you have weighed the pros and cons to make certain that you
will actually save money in the end.

Is Debt Consolidation Always A Good Deal?

Debt consolidation rolls your short term debt, such as credit cards accounts or bills, into one loan. The idea is to reduce your interest payments, helping your monthly payments go farther and eliminate your debt faster. But you have to be careful, because a lower monthly payment or interest rate doesn’t always mean you are saving money.

Time is your enemy with debt consolidation loans. The longer your loan period, the more you will pay in interest charges. For example, $20,000 in credit card debt at 15% for 5 years will cost $8,547.91 in interest. Consolidate that debt into a 30 year home equity loan at 6% and interest charges soar to $23,167.72.

Other Reasons To Consolidate Debt

But saving money isn’t the only reason to consolidate debt. Reducing your monthly payments through consolidation can help you get through a job loss or health crisis. Taking a look at the previous example, the monthly payment on the credit card debt at 15% would be $475.80. Convert that to a 30 year loan, and the monthly payment drops to $119.91 – a difference of $355.89.

The Elements Of A Good Debt Consolidation Loan

To see a savings with a debt consolidation loan, make sure you find a low interest, short term loan. Home equity loans with 5 to 15 year terms offer reasonable rates with few fees. But if you only have a few thousand in debt, opening a new credit card account with 0% on transfers would be a better option. Before signing with any lender though, make sure you do some comparison shopping to ensure you are getting the best available financing.

With more room in your budget, work to make additional principal payments to save on future interest charges. You will also want to check out your credit report and possibly close some accounts to improve your credit score. Just remember to keep your longest held accounts open since
a long credit record improves your score.

Saving Energy – Saving Money

admin — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 17:25:02 +0000

An easy way to save money is to conserve energy.
Not only is it good for your wallet, it’s also good for the environment.

Look for the ENERGY STAR logo. ENERGY STAR is a government-backed symbol for energy efficiency. It is a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy helping us all save money and protect the environment through energy efficient products and practices.

Appliances

When buying an appliance, remember that it has two price tags: what you pay to take it home and what you pay for the energy and water it uses. ENERGY STAR qualified appliances use 10-50% less energy and water than standard models. The money you save on your utility bills can more than make up for the cost of a more expensive but more efficient ENERGY STAR appliance.

Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs

When replacing light bulbs, you should also look for the ENERGY STAR qualified compact fluorescent light bulbs [CFLs]. These light bulbs fit into a standard incandescent socket and use 2/3 less energy than a standard incandescent and last much longer. This translates into a savings of $30.00 or more in energy costs over each bulb’s lifetime.

For more information about ENERGY STAR visit: http://www.energystar.gov.

Other energy saving tips:

oTurn off your computer at night for a savings of $70.00 per year.

oTurning off you television when no one is watching can save $200.00 per year.

oWashing clothes in cold water can save an additional $60.00 per year.

oLower your thermostat. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, during each 24-hour period, you will save about 3% on your energy bill for every 1 degree that you lower your thermostat setting (or raise it when air conditioning is the big cost).

To buy cheap auto insurance, be savvy

admin — Fri, 14 May 2010 19:48:24 +0000

Recently, President Obama made a big speech. He was worried about education standards. He wanted to divert more resources into improving basic reading skills and giving people a better understanding of the world around them. It was interesting to see how many voices were raised in complaint. They did not agree it should be a high priority for people to know more about the world. These are the voices of big businesses like insurance that rely on you not understanding how policies work. There is more profit to be made if people do not read and understand what they are buying. How bad is this problem? The answer comes in a recent survey carried out by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). It seems only 45% of you have any real sense of confidence when you buy insurance policies, more than 60% failed to define simple concepts from health and auto policies, and 86% did not understand the terms being used in the healthcare reform debate. When insurance is so important to financial survival in the US, it is disheartening that people are not making decisions based on the best information.

Here is a quick test:

if some property is stolen from your vehicle, can you claim its value on your auto policy?
is your credit history taken into consideration when you buy a policy?
when you buy a liability policy which insures 100/300/100. what does the last figure mean?

When you want insurance, you could make a policy decision only to buy through an agent. Being able to talk to a person gives you access to their knowledge and experience. It can give you more confidence. Except most agents will charge you a fee or there will be commission deducted out of your premium instalments, so this advice can come expensive. Is it worth it when you can do a little study and learn what you need to know. As a starting point, look at http://www.InsureUonline.org/. Getting more savvy means saving money and getting a better deal by buying a policy online. So long as you shop around, getting as many auto insurance quotes as possible, you should always be able to find a good deal. But, if you are still uncertain, do not be afraid to pick up the telephone before writing out a check or authorizing a credit card payment. Now you make a choice. Your state has a Department of Insurance and all of them run help lines to answer your questions. Alternatively, call the auto insurance company directly. Make sure you understand your policy before you find out the hard way when making a claim. In other words, you should always protect yourself and avoid future losses by asking before you buy.

The answers to the questions are: property stolen from your vehicle is covered by your homeowners policy not the auto insurance policy; your credit score is a key factor for setting your premium rate in the majority of states; and the final $100,000 is the maximum amount payable for damage to property.

Save Money By Saving Your Change!

admin — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 20:44:23 +0000

Save money by saving your change can add up to thousands of dollars for your nest egg! That’s right, by taking the change you have in your pockets, purse, vehicle or anywhere you keep change, can help you to start saving money. Think about it, you can start saving your change today and you are guaranteed if you continue to save your change every day, that you will save a significant amount of money over time.

You’ve been saying, that it’s hard for you to save, and you just don’t make enough money to be able to do this. Well, you can start slow by just taking that spare change you have laying around and putting it in a jar and just let it grow over time. It won’t take long before your change jar starts growing and you now have money saved.

Imagine when you count the amount of change you’ve saved, after six months of dropping your change in your jar, you are astounded at how much money you have collected in just a short period of time. You can do it, just start saving your change today! Don’t wait to save, it doesn’t matter that you’re starting out small by saving your change. It only matters that you just start saving!

These five tips should help you when you start saving your change:

1) Get yourself a jar to put your change in. Nothing fancy needed, the idea is get yourself a jar so you can start saving your change now!

2) Make it a goal to collect all your change and put it in a jar on a daily basis from either your purse, wallet, clothing, vehicle or any other place you may have your change.

3) Put your change jar in a special place in your home where it is not tempting for you or anyone else in your home to remove change from your savings jar.

4) Make it habit to keep all the change you receive when making purchases so you can place this change in your change jar.

5) Plan to count your change every six months and deposit your change into a special savings account at your bank. This will assist you in keeping track on how well you’re saving money by saving your change!

You may think this idea of saving money by saving your change may not work. I’m here to tell you that it will! Over the years I have used this method to save money and it has worked very well for me. In fact, I have several change jars around my home that I always use for my change. I have been able to save lots of money by doing this. It is easy and I have trained myself just to drop my change in my jars, which helps me to continuing saving money on an ongoing basis. So, if I can do it, I know you can.

So, save money by saving your change today, so you can help yourself to improve your finances today and for your future.

Nocita Carter creates websites with tips on various subjects including personal finance tips for you
http://www.personal-finance-tips-for-you.com

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Personal Debt Management: Takes Care of your Debts While you Shop With Credit Cards

admin — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:30:54 +0000

Now days, people use multiple credit cards for all their needs be it shopping, paying bills etc. But generally credit cards carry very high interest rate, due to which it become difficult for an individual to manage all your debts efficiently and economically. Personal debt management is approved very easily and carries nominal charges.

BASIC INFORMATION ON PERSONAL DEBT MANAGEMENT

There are many banks, financial institutions and lending firms that offer personal debt management. Personal debt management helps you to consolidate all your debts into one. This way you have to pay only one monthly installment instead of many. Also it helps you to get rid of nagging calls of your creditors. With debt consolidation you will be accountable to only one lender instead of many. If you are having many credit cards all with high interest rate, you can merge all of them into one credit card with zero or very low interest rate with the help of personal debt management. Personal debt management can also be availed by people suffering from bad credit status due to arrears, defaults, CCJ, IVA, bankruptcy etc.

PERSONAL DEBT MANAGEMENT: FEATURES

Personal debt management is a broad term used for many services. These are:

1. Debt consolidation- The Company that offers you personal debt management will merge all your existing debts into one debt with lower interest rate.

2. Counseling- Financial experts on behalf of lender advice you regarding ways to improve your credit status, saving money, expenditure control etc. They also help you to avail a loan that is suitable for your needs.

3. Negotiation with creditors- Your lender will negotiate with your previous creditors to lower the interest rate of your debts on your behalf.

WHY OPT FOR PERSONAL BEDT MANAMGEMENT

Personal debt management helps you to manage all your debts efficiently. It helps you merge all your debts into one debt with lower interest rate. This way you have to pay smaller monthly installments. Also you will be answerable to one lender instead of many. There are many banks, financial institutions and lending firms that offer personal debt management at nominal charges. Personal debt management can be availed online also. For this you just need to fill up an online application form with details, like your debt and financial details, contact details etc. You can search for various companies that offer personal debt management with the help of internet. Personal debt management helps you to get rid of your debts and lead a free life.

Alec Reece has a way with dealing with loans for a long time. Writing articles is just a way to extend this to consumers and provide empowerment through information. All you have to do is read. To know more visit http://www.ezdebtmanagement.co.uk