With the economy being down and people losing their jobs, we are all looking for ways to save money and to save money while shopping. Are you someone who tends to shop on impulse and goes to the store just for milk and then end up spending $100 on additional things? These tips will help you keep your spending under control.
1. Don’t go to the store on payday
Payday is the day you have the most money in the bank. You haven’t had time to put the money in your savings account or pay your bills. Therefore, we think we have more money than we actually do and tend to spend more. Once we do that, we might not be able to make the bill payments that we need to.
2. Don’t shop without a list
This is a fundamental rule when shopping. Write a list before you go to the store whether it is the grocery store or a convenient store. It’s more than writing your list though; you have to have the discipline to stick to your list. You should only buy the items that you need and that are on your list.
3. Don’t shop when you’re hungry
Another fundamental rule for shopping is not to shop for groceries when you are hungry. Eat a little something before you go to the grocery store, so you are less likely to purchase additional items. When you are hungry, you are more likely to buy food because it looks good and your stomach is doing the talking. On an empty stomach, you can be talked into buying more food easier. Also, if you are hungry, the chance that you will stop for fast food on the way home from the grocery store is higher.
4. Get a rain check
Sales are useful in saving money, but when a sale item is out of stock, you might be tempted to buy another item that is more expensive. Don’t do that until you see if you can get a rain check. A rain check allows you to get the item at the sale price once it’s back in stock. Therefore, you will still get your sale price and save money.
5. Shop around
Shopping around is essential when trying to save money. You need to look for the best deals at each store. This goes beyond shopping at the grocery store as you should also shop around for the best deal when it comes to services. If you need a plumber, call around and see what the competitive prices are. Don’t be afraid to tell them you are shopping around to try and get their best price.
6. Shop in bulk only when needed
Bulk prices are more expensive and sometimes these prices have a higher unit price than buying them individually. Take time to calculate the unit price of the bulk item and see if it’s cheaper than buying that item individually. If you are a family of two or three, and you don’t eat the entire bulk item, it’s not worth spending the money on it. If you do need to shop in bulk, consider joining a shopper’s club to get the discounts they offer.
7. Shop at consignment stores and thrift stores
If you have young kids or babies, shopping at consignment stores and thrift stores are a great way to get clothes that have been barely worn at a decent price. It doesn’t take much to look through the clothes and find almost new name brand clothing.
8. Shop for presents year round
Don’t wait until December to purchase all your Christmas gifts or don’t wait until the day before to buy a birthday present for your friends. If you shop throughout the year, you’ll be able to find gifts on sale, and you can put more thought into what to get them. Store all the gifts in one specific location so you know where to get them for these special occasions.
9. Don’t shop when you are upset
Many people use shopping as a retail therapy to help them feel better. But this feeling is only temporary, and those feelings that you are trying to suppress will only come rushing back. This time along with a feeling of guilt for spending extra money.
Saving money can be easy while following these simple tips. Frugal spending is important to save money. Once you implement these frugal spending tips, it will soon become like a second nature to you.
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- 6 Shopping Habits Hurting Your Budget (money.usnews.com)
Filed under budget, Credit Counseling, Finance by Jim Johnson
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Budgeting for many seems like a hard and tedious task. The reality, however, is that budgeting your money is just plain financially intelligent- regardless of how much money you earn. You should budget your money even if your on unemployment! You should have a log for all your money in and money expenditures. If you get a check from work, enter in your log.
You can take the information and deduct the expenses from the income and figure out what your fixed and variable expenses are. Fixed are those that don’t change like rent, car payment, and food. Variable are things that can change like laundry detergent, clothes, and other non essentials (for every month). Once you figure out what your spending a month you can create a monthly budget.
Don’t spend that extra savings other than paying bills. In case you need to learn how to create a budget that you can stick to, try the envelope method at http://hubpages.com/hub/Envelope-Secret-to-Making-and-Sticking-to-a-Budget many debt reductions specialists endorse. When finding out how to budget money, many overlook this easy tool. Pay the minimum on all debts except for the smallest. http://hubpages.com/hub/Simple-Tips-On-Dealing-With-Your-Own-Debt Use the money you were using to pay the smallest debt and start adding it to the payment of the second smallest debt.
More on How To Budget Your Cash
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Families who’ve kids that are looking to move on with the amount may require assist with the cost of school excessive. The stimulus bill addressed a number of other needs within our country for example contributing to our infrastructure and which makes it more powerful. Many areas of the nations streets and bridges happen to be neglected by enhancing them it might include some jobs. The grant in the stimulus bill addressed a few of these needs and it is hopefully causeing this to be a much better place to reside in.
More on Did The Stimulus Bill Money Accomplish Anything?
Filed under Finance by JamesJ
These Debt reduction solutions are practiced every day by debt relief companies. Debt reduction companies are common place in America today. The average amount of debt held by one family in America is $10,000. By reducing your credit card balances, each payment that you make will work harder at reducing your remaining principle. The stimulus package was intended to help reduce the overall debt of America, and to get it back to where it was earlier this decade. The economy will benefit from it, too, through the payment of debts that have been owed for quite a long time.
Often, your creditor will help you resolve your issues with bad debt. They want you to be able to pay off your debt and not file for bankruptcy. Just one phone call can help you in your endeavor to pay off your debt. Your creditors lose if you file bankruptcy and many times will help you by setting up a small plan to help you.
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Filed under Credit Counseling, debt, Finance by JamesJ
Last but not least, we have described the most important steps and advice for a debt free living but for sure, this is not enough, you should always think in a convenient way, especially for larger purchases.
You do not need too many credit cards; one major card with least annual fee or even without annual fees is the best thing to pay your bills at the end of the month efficiently.
Use cash for everyday purchases (low purchases between $10 and $50). According to studies, when stores allowed customers to use their credit card, the average sale increased significantly. No comment! This is very bad, because you will be paying interest even for foods and drinks! This is not acceptable.
More on Most Important Steps and Advice On Debt
Filed under Credit Tips, debt, Finance, Personal Finance by James
Here are few tips that should help:
1 Bear in mind that you can solve your problems by simply contacting the people you owe money and get their advice.
2 Do not ever ignore the problem. This won’t solve your debts.
3 Do not panic, there is a solution for everything is this life.
4 Create a priority list by taking into consideration the higher interest rates.
5 Always have a REALISTIC budget.
6 Keep all your bills and letters and everything related to your debts. Do not throw them away. You need them.
7 As mentioned before, think before you buy!
8 When you take a credit or loan, know the TOTAL COST and NOT the monthly payment only. Do not be fooled with the low monthly payment, know the total cost and the exact interest rate.
9 Use the advices and calculations of this e-book, when you know how to compare the standard repayment schedule and the debt reduction plan, you are on the road to success.
10 Don’t be fooled by those companies pretending to help you get rid of your debts for a small amount of money; this amount logically speaking is added to your total debts. You can do the management yourself very easily.
Filed under Credit Tips, Debt Management, Finance, Personal Finance by James
