Tips To Saving Money In Hard Economic Times

Recently, with the current economic and debt crisis, saving money is being encouraged throughout the country. Despite the economy having prospered in recent decades, there still exists the possibility of being out of employment for both yourself and your partner. If you wish to ride out such a situation, it is highly recommended that you save 2-3 months worth of salary to cope with such a dire situation.

Nonetheless, have you ever thought about why both you and your partner find it difficult to save any money despite perhaps earning good salaries? You feel that money passes through your account pretty quickly. you are really trying to save money but you find pretty much an impossibility.

Being able to save money isn't as impossible as you may think. The first major obstacles that is normally faced by those trying to save money is simply organizing their finances. I can pretty much guarantee that you are actually spending more money than you think and that you are oblivious to most of this spending.

An excellent way to start saving money is by keeping track of what you spend. All you need to have do this is a notebook of some kind and a pen or pencil. You must carry this everywhere and everything you purchase must be written in it, even the last cent. Even if the purchase may still small and meaningless, you must keep track of it.

You should try to do this exercise over a 2-week time frame. This exercise can be tough to complete but just remember that it is one of the most effective ways to get rid of bad spending habits. After doing the exercise for 2 weeks, you will have to examine all your spending. You will quickly realize how your money disappears because of bad spending habits.

It's perfectly normal to be shocked by how much you may be spending on what are seemingly small items. For example, spending 1 dollar on a newspaper each and every day may seem small, but it amounts to 365 dollars over an entire year.

Once you find out how much money goes towards what seem like insignificant items, 2 things will take place. Firstly, you will not be too happy about your spending habits. It isn't uncommon for people to spend thousands of dollars in a year on objects such as newspapers, coffees and small treats. As a result, people get angry with themselves about this. After getting angry with yourself, you will react by seeing how to reduce your spending. As a result, you will make a decision as to what items are necessary and what aren't.

If you want to really start saving money successfully, it is imperative that you keep track of your spending. This is important because it will show you clearly where your money is going and show you how to make a plan to reduce your spending.

About the Author:

Jenni Snook is the chief columnist of http://www.HealthyWealthySoul.com, a website dedicated to giving people advice and tools on personal finance planning to have both financial and spiritual bliss in their lives.

How To Survive The Current Credit Crunch

Recently I have been receiving an inordinate number of enquiries from customers asking for advice on how to survive the credit crunch. It is because of this new influx of queries that I am putting together this brief guide as to what is the best action to take. However, before you read on, you must be aware that this is not a quick fix. A quick fix for the situation we are all facing simply does not exist. We live in a world where to borrow is the norm and to save is not, hence the current financial situation. In order to survive it will take a lot of adjustment, a lot of sacrifice and probably a lot of time.

One of the first steps to take if facing financial difficulty is to look at it for the problem that it is. Borrowing can be like a drug addiction, as the more you get into it, the more difficult it can be to get back out of and the more difficult it can be to stop. As such, the first step to recovering from debt is to admit you have a problem. Only by recognizing the situation can you seek adequate solutions. So before you go any further, you must "kick the habit" of borrowing. Only spend the money that you actually own and only spend it on the things that you really need. Deal with your obligations first and foremost. By doing this, you will feel better at the end of each month instantly and will grow to respect the true value of money once again.

The reason why people are finding the going tough at present is because they have been spending what they don't have and borrowing far more than they should. Things might be different if the markets were not so unstable but that is not the case. Borrowing is much more difficult now due to more stringent checks and if you find yourself in the position for a loan it will undoubtedly be at a higher rate.

So the very first thing you should do is make what is known as an income and expenditure sheet. This will detail all your income such as income from employment any tax benefits and allowances. In addition all your outgoings such as mortgages loans HP and credit card payments fuel costs such as electricity gas, and also food and other expenditure. Things that should be detailed on this list are things you have to pay and not things you don't have to pay such as going on holiday etc. If you follow this plan you will be able to reap the benefits soon enough and mark my words you will appreciate them far more if you do wait as you will be able to fund them without having to resort to debt to cover them.

Another thing to do is evaluate the outgoings that you have at present. Maybe you could change the mortgage you have for another that would better suit your present position. Now whilst I would never recommend an interest only mortgage over a long period of time, the savings in the short term could be a boon for you. You may find that your situation is not as perilous as you fist thought and the savings could be used to ease the pressure of the commitments of your other outgoings. Then, when you are more financially secure, you can change back to a repayment mortgage and continue on from there.

Another way of cutting down costs is to change credit card company. Although many credit card providers have bumped up their rates recently, they still offer good introductory rates to new customers with good credit history. Avoid misplaced loyalty to credit companies as they are only making more money off you the longer you stick with them.

As I mentioned earlier, and I in no way recommend this plan of action, you could lump all your bills together and consolidate them in the form of a secured loan or tacked on to your mortgage. For some this is a quick fix solution but in the long term you just end up paying back a lot more money because although your monthly payments will have decreased, the period of time that you will be making repayments will have increased considerably. Saying that, for some people the situation may have deteriorated that much that it is the only option available to them, and if that is the case, then it is better than losing everything.

In these days of increased competition between companies in the energy and communications markets it may be of benefit to you to check out your utility bills. Now everyone knows that making sure you turn your emersion off when you don't need it and switching off your lights will contribute to smaller bills but check out the competition and you may be surprised by the offers to be had. And the best way to go about this is to surf the net and see what you come up with.

But for some people the harsh reality is that they have reached the point of no return. No matter what option they may resort to, the fact is that they have got themselves into that much debt that there is really no way out of it. Now the cost of living would definitely appear to have increased but the simple fact is that some people have been borrowing way beyond their means and have not stopped to consider the consequences. They now find themselves in a position where that debt has finally caught up with them and they are helpless to do anything about it.

The most important thing that you can do when in this situation and normally, it is the last thing anyone actually does, is get in touch with your lenders. That means all of them credit card companies, finance companies and even your mortgage company. One of the biggest issues I have to deal with when helping clients out of situations such as this is the complete lack of contact the lender has had with the client. It is all well and good me speaking to the lenders on the clients behalf but if that is the first call they have had at the end of a long time trying to recover the debt then it rarely goes well.

So start by get all your statements together along with your income and expenditure and get in touch with the lender. Make sure that all your facts are straight be prepared and you should get the result you want. In addition be realistic, if you are supposed to pay the lender 300 per month don't think you will get away with 10 pm . Whatever you do decide to pay them make sure it is a fair distribution between all the lenders of your disposal income, failure to do this will result in them not accepting your proposal, in addition be prepared to tell them what you are paying other lenders so they understand that you are not short changing them.

You will need to explain to them why you are in the situation you are in, above all you will need to make an agreement to pay them something and that is best done from the basis of some sort of calculation, for example get your income and expenditure worked out, tell them what you can afford to give them and why. In addition try and give them some light at the end of the tunnel in so much as a proposal, once you have cleared one of your other debts you can start paying them more. You will find that this approach will make most lenders far more receptive to any deal you offer them. Remember all a lender wants is the prospect of a full repayment and if you can give them the assurance that this is going to happen in time, they will invariably work with you.

So to summarise, you need to change your spending habits, cut your costs down to the bare minimum you can do this by researching the things you have to pay for such as your utility bills etc. Also research you credit cards and loans etc to get your self on the latest best deals. Consider a remortgage or secured loan to consolidate everything. And finally if you are at the last resort get your debts together and start ringing your creditors and making deals with them, but do your homework beforehand. Above all lenders like contact lots of contact ring them before they ring you and you will be better off straight away.

About the Author:

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Save Money - Stretch Your Dollar With Online Coupons

By Chris Channing

The world is in a money crunch, and more and more people are searching for ways to save more money, and to make their dollars stretch even farther. It may not seem like a dollar can get you much, but if you know where to look and how to buy properly, you can make $100 stretch quite far.

Online coupons are plentiful, and pretty easy to use. There are two types of online coupons, the ones you print off to exchange in physical locations, and then ones that are simply a code to use on virtual shops. "Virtual" coupons, typically a code, are great for getting any percentage off of your order. Remember, even 1% counts. Most code coupons are worth 10-50% off, which can make a big difference in your total. This can come in handy around the holiday seasons as well. Online coupons can be found on almost any website, many offer promotional offers to promote their product.

Printable coupons are gaining popularity. Newspapers usually have an insert with some coupons, but they may not have coupons that you want or need for certain foods or products. Printable online coupons are varied, so that you are sure to find what you want and need. Some people like to scam others though, and they create fake online coupons. Beware of these, and always ask the store you are shopping at about any reported invalid coupons.

Looking for online bargain offers are also a great way to save tons of cash each week or month. These offers can vary from free shipping, or buy a product get one free, or percentages off a total amount. There are generally more online bargains versus physical locations; because there are more "stores" online that will carry what you want and need. You can also shop around to find the best deals before making a purchase, where in a store you have to drive from place to place, and worry that it wont be there next week.

Sometimes shipping can be expensive though, and many people do not want to shell out the cash it takes to have the product shipped. If you consider the gas money you spend getting to that store, then shipping is very cheap. Though, many stores offer free shipping on orders that meet a certain criteria. Look for those to save the maximum amount of money that you can.

A simple way to take full advantage of online coupons and bargains is to not buy things that you do not need. Only use coupons for products that you will use, not things you wont. If you buy what you don't want or need because you have an online coupon, then you negate the benefits.

Closing Comments

Online bargains or online coupons can work to save you hundreds of dollars on gas, clothes, food, electronics, gifts, and so much more! With countless online bargains, its next to impossible not to save some amount of cash!

About the Author:

Learn more on Hidden Bargains and Some good bargains and coupons.

Credit card debt elimination

Taking a step towards credit card debt elimination

So you have decided to go for credit card debt elimination and are wondering on what the methods for credit card debt elimination are. As they say, let’s take the bull by its horns and lay it all flat on the ground. There are generally 2 recommendations that are most common for credit card debt elimination: controlling the expenditures and consolidating debt. Let’s check both of these credit card debt elimination recommendations and check the list of things that you can do for achieving credit card debt elimination using these recommendations:

1. Control your urge to spend: The first thing to do for credit card debt elimination is to control your expenditures. Here we are talking about the payments you make using your credit card. Remember that the main reason being your getting into credit card debt is uncontrolled expenditures using your credit card. So if you are really serious about credit card debt elimination, this is one thing that will help in credit card debt elimination by preventing accumulation of further debt. Here is what you can do to control your expenditures:
a. You need to stay away from attractive offers that are put-up by various shops and stores. Don’t buy anything that you don’t really-really need. After all you are looking for credit card debt elimination not supplementation.
b. Leave your credit card at home. If you really-really need something, then you can fetch your credit card from your house. This will prevent you from yielding to the too-attractive-to-resist sale offers (that are actually there all the year round). This credit card debt elimination technique, again, works on the principal of ‘prevention is better than cure’. This will prevent unplanned expenses from happening.
c. Prepare a monthly budget and stick to it. This is really a very important credit card debt elimination measure. This budget will form the basis of your credit card debt elimination plan. So if you deviate from your budget, your credit card debt elimination plan will go for a toss.

2. Debt consolidation: Debt consolidation or moving from high APR credit cards to a low APR one is generally the first step (the first reactive step) for credit card debt elimination. Here are a few things that you need to do:
a. Do not go for the first balance offer you come across. Analyse various offers and choose the one that best suits you. This will be an important thing on you credit card debt elimination plan. Initial APR, Initial APR period and standard Apr, all need to be considered.
b. Read the fine print on the balance transfer offer and check the terms and conditions on these. These might affect your overall credit card debt elimination plan.
c. Compare other benefits e.g. rebates, reward points, etc, before you actually decide to go for one of the offers.

Credit card debt elimination is about proper planning and discipline. So make your credit card debt elimination plan and stick to it.