Money Saving Tips

Whether you live in costly California or inexpensive Iowa, you can benefit from money saving tips aimed at helping you get the most bang for your buck during the recession. It’s not quite like the seventies, where we had to limit our driving due to insane gas prices; and it’s not quite like the forties, where we’re rationing out food. However, there are probably some money-draining activities that you don’t even know about, even though they’re affecting your budget as we speak! Naturally, there is no substitute for bringing in more money, so if you need to take a second job, start a home based business on the side, or change your stock market investment portfolio, then by all means do it. Once you have a steady stream of income arriving, you can then focus your efforts on saving nickels and dimes elsewhere in your budget. However, in some cases, consumers must start with cutting expenses because it’s this hemorrhaging of finances that is the source of their unhappiness.

“Getting organized” tops the list of money saving tips because, without organization, you can’t get anywhere. Many consumers end up paying late fees, reactivation charges, interest and penalties all because they missed a due date when their papers got shuffled into a pile. Not surprisingly, “Getting Organized” was right up there with “Losing Weight” for Top New Year’s Resolutions in 2009. A quick stop at Office Depot to buy a $30 filing cabinet is a great way to get started. You might want to have hanging files of different bills (credit card, car loan, taxes, utilities, mortgage, etc) and you might want to demarcate a section for “unpaid bills.” Next, invest in accounting software like Myelopes, Quicken or Microsoft Money. Why test out your amateur mathematician skills when you can use a computer’s expert accuracy every time to ensure no mistakes are made on your annual budget? You’ll find all your financial information is neatly filed and printable for your convenience. These programs can even remind you to pay bills, allow you to check your finances online, track your purchases and lets you know how much you have left to spend in each category based on the initial budget you set up!

The next batch of money saving tips revolves around saving. This realm is much easier said than done and it requires a bit of honesty to proceed. While you may say, “I don’t spend that much going out,” you might need to crunch those numbers to be sure. Even though you feel you “deserve” that dinner out, you’ve got to be realistic about how many times a month you can afford that sort of luxury. Look at your habits. Are you getting enough hours at work? Could your wage be higher? Are you saddled with credit card debt? Are you paying over 38% of your income on your living space? Are your utilities bills higher than your neighbors’? Are you a compulsive shopper or fast food junkie? Do you spend lavishly on your lover, even when you really don’t have the money? Look out for these trouble areas.

Following these money saving tips, and especially during the current recession, may feel like a culture shock at first. You might instinctively want to rebel against the plan the moment it’s written. The best way to adhere to your plan is to leave in some allowances for fun. Instead of seeing the $10 movies, you can opt for the $1.50 cheap shows, for instance. Or you can dine out once a week — but at lunch time, instead of dinner time. After a while, you’ll find that saving money can be quite liberating, actually. As former US President Calvin Coolidge once said, “There is no dignity quite so impressive and no independence so important as living within your means.”

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