5 Ways To Save Money

I'm always thinking of ways to save and make money. Recently I had been sitting around browsing online at amazon.com and ran into some things that I would like to have for myself. Not having the money to buy want I want sometimes can be very disappointing. So sitting on my couch, I started to think about the different ways to save money, and decided to get on it to see how much I can really save. Having money set aside not only provides emergency funds when needed, but also provides you with those extra funds that always comes in handy during the holidays.I like to spoil myself when I can which is another reason I wanted to find ways to save and make money. Below I've listed five ways that you can easily follow that will allow you to save some extra cash.

1. Grocery Shopping - The next time you head to your local grocery store try the following tips. Before you even start to list the items you need, think about what you would like to eat that week. Next find recipes for the dishes you decide upon. After you get your recipe, you are ready to write down what you will need to buy from the grocery store based on the ingredients that your recipes calls for. Doing this will avoid you going to the store and buying things you don't need, which will reduce throwing food away that have reached their expiration date. Clipping coupons can be time consuming and too much of a hassle, but with technology improving they are ways to speed up this process and make it a lot more rewarding to use your coupons. Some grocery stores have features online that allow you to scroll through coupons then add them to your cart,  when you arrive at the store all you do is scan your member card and it automatically uses your selected coupons for you. This makes it so much easier checking out at the store, and not worrying about everyone looking at you because you are slowing down the lines with your coupons.
2. Movie Night - Going to a movie these days can be expensive. You arrive at the theater and buy two tickets and you are paying $12 to $15 depending if it's a 3D movie or not. Then you might want to buy popcorn and some drinks, probably another $15, already you're down about $45. Let's say you do dinner that same night which might let's just say $20 if you go to any sit down restaurant, meaning not McDonald's, Burger King, etc, basically any restaurant that you'd be leaving a tip for the waitress. Okay, so now you have spent roughly about $65 for your typical dinner and a movie night. I love getting out the house and having a good time, but sometimes going with cheaper option can be the way to go. Instead of going out, you could always rent a movie from the redbox $1 or get one from Amazon, Vudu or any other services you might use for about $5 or so. For food you could order in at one of your favorite local restaurants, probably spend about $20, and overall about $25 instead of $65 for a date night. Now if you still want to get out the house but don't wanna spend much, you could also go to a drive in movie theater. You'll get to see two movies for the price of one and you can take some food and drinks with you, enjoy the night skies at the same time while watching your movie. Another little trick I use to cut down on my night out with my girlfriend is by using Groupons, Groupons basically allows you to try out different restaurants at half the price or even more sometimes. Check out www.groupons.com for more info.
3. Piggy Bank - Go out and buy yourself a piggy bank. My sister and brother in law came out with the idea that whenever they come home, whatever pocket change they come home with goes into the piggy bank, no questions. Sometimes one of them will get caught with $50 or more and they would have to drop it in into the piggy bank. You would really be surprised how much you could end up saving at year end. Personally, I usually would drop whatever silver coins I have into my piggy bank and sometimes some bills if I feel I could go without it. Even though you might think it is stupid to have a piggy bank, cause it doesnt earn you interest. I think of it this way, how many of us are going to make a trip to the bank to deposit some coins or a few dollars? Having that piggy bank at your house makes it easier to just drop it in, just make sure you can't get into your piggy bank easily. 
4. Sell unwanted items - Look through your closet, storage, or garage to see if you have things you haven't used in quite some time and see if you can sell them. Start by finding friends who will buy your unwanted things. Host a garage sale if you have the time, list your items online on craiglist, ebay, amazon, or even your blogging website and see if they will sell. No need to let your unwanted items sit there and collect dust, so get rid of them. Anytime I get a new cell phone, I list my old one on ebay and it never fails to sell.
5. Get a second job - Working a second job sucks by all and any means, but having a second job when you don't actually need it can be very rewarding. If your main job provides enough income to comfortably pay off all your bills without any struggle, then getting a second job will do justice for you. The second job will allow you to save your extra income and deposit to a savings account, or you could use it to pay off your debt much faster. Plus since that second job isn't really needed to pay off your main bills, you could quit whenever you don't think you can handle working the extra hours any longer.

Paying Off Your Credit Card Debt

If you are like most people, you probably have some type of credit card debt. Yes it can be very overwhelming and can have you feeling hopeless. Though you might be embarrassed to discuss your debt with your friends or family, everyone has got to start somewhere. Unless your debt is just ridiculous and out of control, you might need to get help professionally elsewhere, otherwise you can take some simple steps to get control of your debt. With hard work and discipline you can slowly get yourself out of that credit card debt.

First thing you need to do is to put away those credit cards so they aren't easily accessible to you. I don't really recommend cutting up your cards, but putting them away somewhere safe is good enough. This will prevent you from buying unnecessary items that you can go without. Having just a debit card or cash on you will allow you to buy things you can afford and need at the time. Next you need to determine what you can do to earn extra income. Anything goes here, swallow your pride and trade in that expensive chick magnet  of a car that we all love to drive and get a cheaper but still reliable car. Think about anything that you can do that can earn you that extra income, as long as it is legal of course. Maybe you can get some extra hours at your job, earn that overtime pay. Cut down on your entertainment spending, eating out, going out to movies, hanging out at bars with friends. I know all these sacrifices will be hard to make, but for a few months you can do without. You will feel a lot better spending your money on all the above when you know you can afford to.

Finding items that you no longer need or haven't used in quite sometime is a good place to start. You can sell those items on ebay, pawn shops, or even friends that might be interested in them. Old cell phones that you will probably never use could also get you some extra money in your pockets. Donate items if you can't find a place or person to buy them, then later you can file them on your taxes and earn a return for those items. Recycling is another option, might not earn much but recycling cans, plastic, metal whatever you can think of will get you extra cash. If all the above fails, maybe you have a little bit of a savings saved up. If so you can use some of that savings, whatever you can afford to use to pay off some of that credit card balance. The interest you are paying on your credit card will most likely be more then what you earn from your savings account, so it only makes sense to use that money towards your credit card balance as you will still have access to that money if you need it for an emergency.

Okay, now that you have determined a way to get that extra cash to help you pay some of that credit card balance, you will need to come up with a plan. What cards do I need to pay off first you ask? You should start paying off the cards with the highest interest first. You will end up saving quite a bit of money from the interest just by reducing that high interest credit card balance. Continue to pay off the minimum payment of all your other credit cards but pay a little bit more on the one with the highest interest. Reward yourself after paying off that first card, nothing major just a little something that will make you feel good. Continue this over time and you should be good to go. This will take sometime, all depending on how much in debt you are. If you feel like you have too much debt and you don't think that you will make any progress soon then an equity loan http://banking.about.com/od/loans/a/homeequityloans.htm might be another option available to you if you own a home.

Main thing to getting out of that credit card debt is to develop some type of written plan that works for you, follow that plan, stay patience, and over time you will begin to see results. At the beginning it will be very frustrating, but once you start to see you balance get lower and your credit score start to increase, you will know that you are doing something right. Once you get where you want to be financially, make sure you don't slip up and end up in that bad debt situation you were in to begin with. Good luck to all that are working to improve their credit card debt, and whatever plan you choose, hope it works for you. Feel free to share your plans with me here on my blog.

Credit Cards 101

Credit cards, just about everyone has one. They are very useful and provide convenience in your everyday life and those emergencies that are always going to come up in your life. At the same time those little cards can be one of your worst nightmares when it comes to your finances. That in mind I am going to go over some of the basics of credit cards with you, for those acquiring your first credit card the information below could help educate you on the basics of credit cards.

What is a credit card and how does it work? A credit card is pretty much a loan that is given in the form of a plastic card issued by a bank or credit union. The credit card once issued is assigned an account number and given an initial line of credit that you can use to purchase goods and services where ever your card is accepted. Every time you make a purchase you will be given about twenty-five days (Grace Period) to pay off that amount. If you fail to pay off that amount then the balance you carry will incur an interest charge. You have to make sure pay at least your minimum amount and to not to go over your credit limit. Making a late payment or going over your credit line will result in a late fee and and an over the limit fee to be charged to your account, those fees vary from one bank issuer to another.

If you have just graduated high school and just about to start college, you will most likely start to see a lot of credit card offers in your mailbox. This age group is one of the most targeted among banks issuing their credit card services. Before you apply to one of those offers, think about how you attend to use the card. If you are a student, then student credit cards http://www.creditcards.com/college-students.php are going to be one of the most attractive offers right now. If you aren't a student then some factors you will need to think about is, do you plan on paying of the balance in full each month or do you plan on carrying a balance and pay towards your balance over time? The annual fee will be important to you if choosing to pay off your balance in full, while the APR will be more important if you are going to pay off your balance over time.

If you have excellent credit then credit cards could be your best friend if used wisely. With a credit card you have the convenience of not having to carry cash everywhere you go. You have the ability make purchases online at your favorite retailers, make payments over the phone, and even transfer money between two people via Paypal, Person2Person, Bump Money feature available with some card companies like ING Direct https://www.ingdirect.com/referafriend/?save=3ezNS9rc2f   and other services and features available through other banks. With excellent credit, you will get to enjoy low interest rates, no annual fees, and reward points. If you qualify for a gold or platinum credit card, then you get to enjoy even more benefits like travel insurance, extended warranties on products you purchase, collision insurance when you rent a car, and even personalized deals offered by Capital One where if you spend a certain amount at a retailer, then you will earn cash back to your account at the end of the month.

Now if you have damaged credit, then your experience with with credit might be a little different. Have bad credit or no credit history will make it a little more difficult to obtain a credit card, but you will still be able to get one. The cost to you will be more, and your terms will not be as attractive as those with good credit. Your first card might only have a credit limit of $500 and you  interest rate will most likely not be lower than 20% APR. You will need to do your research and choose whatever card is available to you based on your credit situation. Be smart about it and avoid cards that require you to pay a monthly maintenance fee just to have the card. If all fails and you still can not get approved for a credit card, then you will have to consider having someone cosign for you. Just make sure if you do go with this option and someone has agreed to cosign for you, that you make all your payments on time. If you don't think you will be able to make a payment on time then let your cosigner know ahead of time, so payment arrangements can be made. You wouldn't want to put your cosigner in a position where their credit is in jeopardy of getting ruined just because of you being irresponsible.

In conclusion, just about everyone will need a credit card at some point in their life. So why not start early, educate your self as much as you can, and make smart decisions when accepting credit card offers. You will need to build a nice credit history to help yourself with future purchases of things like automobiles and housing. Continue to make your payments on time and don't get in over your head with credit card debt. Try to limit the amount of credit card offers that you accept. Take advice from those who already made mistakes in the past and that have excellent credit now, you will learn a lot from them.

Secured Credit Cards

      One way you can easily reestablish your credit is by obtaining a secured credit card.

• So what is a secured credit card?

 A credit card that requires that you deposit money into an account as a collateral. Whatever amount you deposit will be your initial credit line. You can add more money into your account to increase your credit limit. You will get rewarded for making timely payments by either getting an increased credit limit without having to deposit more money, or even qualify for an unsecured credit card.

• What fees should I expect pay?

You will typically see an annual fee associated with most secured credit cards. I encourage shopping around because fees will vary tremendously throughout the different bank institutions.

• Where can I get a secured credit card?

A lot of credit unions offer secured credit cards and some banks . I would recommend asking your credit union or bank first, because they offer lower interest rates and annual fees for their member vs non members. Best Secured Credit Cards

• How much will I have to deposit?

This amount will vary depending on who you obtain your card from, but most will start at about $300.

• Will the deposit I make earn any interest?

Yes, you will earn interest on your deposit. When you make a deposit, you will be giving different options of where you'd your money to go. Your options would include a savings account, certificate of deposit or  a money market account. Difference between savings account and certificate of deposit

• How does a secured credit card help improve my score?

As long as you continue to make your payments on time, your card issuer will report to all three major credit bureaus just as they would with an unsecured credit card. Make sure you ask your bank if they will report your card as a secured card on your report? If so you will want to go with a different bank that does not report it as a secured card, otherwise you probably will not benefit much from a having secured credit card.

How to improve your credit.

    Your credit score is a numerical number which represents your past credit behavior. It is basically divided into five major categories which are payment history, length of credit, length of credit history, recently new opened credit and types of credit used. The key is to work on each of those categories mentioned above to  improve your score.

    Now I understand that if you don't have the credit score of your dreams or at least a decent one that is, it can be very difficult to obtain the things you need or want in life. Trust me, I have been there, but patience is what I have found to be the best attribute in improving my credit score. Below I will list the steps I personally took to improve my credit score by 150 points in just a few months.

   First thing I did was obtained a free credit report from the major credit bureaus, Experian, Transunion, and Equifax, which you can get for free once a year through www.freecreditreport.com. This is a very important step, because you want to find out what is on your credit report and to make sure that it is accurate and everything they have on file is truly yours. It is important to verify that all three credit bureaus are reporting the same information on your report. I have had instances where I would settle an account with a creditor and it would show up on one credit bureau, but not the other. Be very careful and make sure to thoroughly check this.

    Now that you've obtained your free report from freecreditreport.com or wherever you chose to get one from, you'll need to review it carefully. You want to look for incorrect information, accounts that are outdated, or accounts that aren't even yours. Once you spot any type of error, you should dispute it with that creditor. Whether you are certain or not, think you have already settled that account, dispute it anyway. The creditor will have 30 days or maybe more to verify whatever it is your disputing and get back to you with results. The best thing about disputing something on your report, is that if the creditor does not respond within the deadline they've been giving, then that account gets deleted from your credit report anyway. So I highly recommend you do that, as it will only help you and not hurt your report in any form.

  Once you accomplish and verify everything on your report, which took me literally less then two months to do, you'll need to get any accounts that are delinquent up to date. I understand most of us do not want to talk to creditors or collection agencies and will avoid to at any cost,  it is truly not the way to go when trying to improve your credit score. I had to call each creditor that I had any delinquent accounts with, speak with them, and explain that I was willing to settle the account or at least get it current with them. I asked if any available payment options were available to me. You will be surprised to how many creditors will work with you just because they want some type of payment from you. If you can afford it, you should convince the creditor to let you pay a sum that is lower then what you currently owe to settle the debt. Have them submit the account you are settling with to the credit bureaus as paid or settled in full. If you do take this route I recommend having the creditor provide you with something in writing that says if I pay this amount then my account will be paid or settled in full. Ask them to delete any negative remarks that they had previously submitted on your report too. This works with some creditors but not all and is worth a try if you can afford paying them a lump sum of money all at once.

  Okay, now that you are almost ready to complete your task of improving your score, you will need to follow these next tips. We really need to work on toning down all your bad habits that got you in the situation you are in right now. You will need to work on making your payments on time all the time. If you think you can't make a payment on time, call your creditor and explain why and ask them for any available options that could assist you in avoiding a late penalty and other fees. Some creditors are willing to work with you, so it doesn't hurt to try. Think about it, if you don't say anything to your creditor, chances are your payment will be late anyway. You'll be hit with late fees and your score will take a negative hit. Avoid using to much of your available credit or maxing out your credit cards. I usually try to at least keep my balance to about a 30% balance to credit ratio on my credit cards. Do not open too many or have to many new inquiries in such a short length of time. Try to use the credit you have already, I would probably recommend applying for less then six credits in a span of a year.

  I hope the information I have provided will help you improve you score like it did with me. If you have any tips for improving your credit score that you have used please feel free to educate me on it. I am always looking for ways to improve my credit. Thank you in advance for taking the time to read my blog.