Thrifty Thursday-Using Cash Back Programs Strategically

Last week I shared a new program I found called Smarter Bucks. I had a reader who made an excellent point. She said she would rather pay down her loans than do shopping to earn money toward her loan.  For this or any other cash back program, I believe you have to cash back programs strategically to benefit from them.  I am sure there are plenty of people who use cash back programs that don’t think things through. The key is not to purchase anything you wouldn’t normally buy. You don’t shop just to earn. It totally defeats the purpose.

I signed up for the debit card for Smarter Bucks (Smarter Bank). I will do my weekly grocery shopping with it. I also plan to use it for planned major purchases including a new laptop and a plane ticket (in the next year).  I want to be thrifty and earn money to pay down my loans. I never spend money that I don’ have to. [Read more...]

Monday Musing-One Line of Advice

Once again, I am going to “cheat” and use this week’s Trash Can writing prompt for Monday Musing. This week’s prompt: If you could leave one line of advice for future generations what would it be?

Simple: Don’t spend more than you earn!

A little more on the subject: I realize there is more to life than money. But let’s be honest, we need money to survive and thrive for that matter. If you don’t ever save, there is no future. Well, there is a future, but it is grim if you don’t have anything to fall back on. So, to this generation and future generations: Save a reasonable amount of money and chances are you will live a happier and more fulfilling life. There is less stress and anxiety with cash to fall back on! Even the smallest amounts help.

Seven Financial Tips That Could Help You to Save Money

In addition to thinking about how to adjust your daily spending, if you really want to conserve funds it makes sense to reconsider the way that you approach saving, budgeting and certain necessary expenses. These six helpful tips can help you to get into the right frame of mind for saving money.

1) Set goals:
Take a moment to give some serious thought to the main reasons why you want to save money. For example, perhaps you want to move house, have a new baby, or take an important trip. Once you have located your most important reasons for saving money, write them all down. Next, take a note of how much cash you would ideally need to save in order to accomplish all of of these goals, and sketch out some rough time frames that you think accurately reflect how long it will take you to meet each goal. Keeping this list in a readily accessible place may help to keep you motivated when it comes to conserving funds.

2) Consider your credit cards:
Depending on the way in which you currently use credit cards, you might find that you can save money if you stop using them at all. Using cash for all of your payments can help you to focus on staying within your budget, keeping you aware of when you are running low on funds. If you do not use credit cards, you may be less likely to attempt to spend money that you do not actually have.

3) Record all your expenses:
Taking a detached look at your finances may help you to save money by giving you a clearer perspective on where you stand. To see whether this helps you, experiment with keeping a record of all of your expenses for at least several weeks. Try to be as accurate as possible, even when it comes to small or unexpected purchases. At the end of each week, review what you have spent and try to figure out what you could cut out or cut down during the next week. If you calculate roughly how much each possible cut might end up saving you in the upcoming year, this may encourage you to make the most useful sacrifices.

4) Take a closer look at your insurance:
While your insurance company may have offered you a good deal at the time, you might find that you can save money by switching now. Look up some phone numbers and call them in order to confirm that your current insurance offers you the best deal for the best price.

5) Do your homework if you need to obtain additional finances:

Regardless of whether this is a loan you need for a new business venture of if it is simply to help with some kind of unexpected emergency payment it is always worth your while to do some proper research. Do some research on the web to find the best deal – There are literally hundreds of independent companies competing for your business, one example being wonga.com payday loans. The website makes it easy to work out what exactly you’ll be paying in total, so do a bit of leg work, shop around and you will find the most competitive deal!

6) Think about moving money to a savings account every time you get paid:
Instead of only saving the money that is left at the end of the month, why not move a set amount to a savings account as soon as you get paid? This may help you to save more in the long run by marking this money as ‘off limits’ and making you more likely to save the same amount of cash each month. You can decide on a reasonable amount to save based on how much you expect to spend on necessities, and you can even set up an automatic transfer that moves this amount from your main account to your savings account on a particular day of the month.

7) Stay positive:
Finally, if you accidentally deviate from your budget, or if you fail to save quite as much as you planned, do not give up! Instead, just take a deep breath and try a little harder next month.

Savings Saturday-Saving Big on the Cell Phone Bill

I spent well over an hour at Tmobile today, but it was well worth it! I was due for a phone upgrade and wanted to downgrade my web service. I had 5 GB and it was ridiculous for how little I use the internet on the phone, especially since I use wi-fi when I am using the internet on it. I expected to be told I had to keep the 5GB or be switched to a plan that ultimately cost more. In the end, I had a pleasant surprise.

We have 4 phones on our plan with mine having had the 5GB, hubby and son no internet, and my friend having 200mb. We had 750 minutes a month (calling other Tmobile users is free and we never come close to using even half the minutes most months), and unlimited texting. Previous plan was $139.99, but with taxes and fees it came to $165.00.

New plan is 1000 minutes, 2GB for my phone, 200mb for friend’s phone, still no internet on hubby and son’s phones, and unlimited texting.  I also got a brand new phone in the deal and that price is rolled into the new plan. It is a beautiful LG Optimus L9. The new monthly total without fees is $93.97 before taxes. I was so excited earlier when I thought I was saving $30. If I figured out taxes and fees correctly it should come out to $112 and change. I will be saving around $50 a month.

I would stress it is worth the trip to the store and to be adamant about what you want. There is so much competition in the cell phone market now that prices are really dropping. I wasn’t given the same options online. It paid to go and ask questions. I am thrilled to be saving big on the cell phone bill!

Inexpensive Web Hosting

In order for any business to be successful today, an internet presence is crucial. It doesn’t matter whether you own a restaurant, brick and mortar store, or sell a service. A large percentage of the world browses online and also does a good portion of their shopping online. Hosting a website may be an expense you think you can’t afford. The truth is, you can’t afford not to!

As a blogger myself, I waited a year to go to a self-hosted blog. I thought it would be expensive and difficult to manage. I finally made the leap when I came across an offer for $5 a month hosting. My traffic has tripled since then. I have used a couple of different hosts and have been pleased with both. Some of the hosts businesses are most pleased with include Dreamhost, Host Gator, and Twenty70. [Read more...]