Category Archives for Saving Money & Frugal Living
Buy Generic and Stay Out of Debt
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The following is a guest post. Enjoy!
Everyone knows that they can save some money if they buy the supermarket’s own brand instead of the pricier alternatives that are marketed to you on a regular basis. But, it can come as a surprise to many people exactly how much they can save. There’s absolutely no reason to buy products that you are told are “scientifically formulated” when you know full well that the generic looking own brand version is concocted in a laboratory too.
Here are just a couple of budgeting tips that can save you from paying a visit to your bank manager.
Medications
First on our list is medication. There are only a couple of ways to make things like painkillers. You can pay literally ten times as much for something that is literally the same product – you might claim you can tell the difference between the supermarket’s own brand of breakfast cereal and the expensive one that you remember being advertised to you when you were a kid – but you probably can’t. You LITERALLY can’t when it comes to aspirin, because it is LITERALLY the same chemical composition, no matter what packet it comes in.
Razors
Second: razors. If you don’t remember ever seeing your grandfather with a beard, do you ever recall going in his bathroom and seeing a razor with five blades, that vibrates, and coats his chin with aloe vera? More likely he had one blade – he probably didn’t have a post shave balm – and he probably cut himself less often than you do. A disposable razor can last pretty much the same amount of time as a single head for your expensive branded version, and costs 1/50th of the price.
How about you all? What items do you buy generic and save a lot of money on?
Are there any items that you ABSOLUTELY will not buy generic?
Share your experiences by commenting below!
***Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/krossbow/4477728568/sizes/l/in/photostream/
Helpful Tips for Managing your Debt
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Welcome to My Personal Finance Journey! If you are new here, please read the “About” or “First-Time Visitor” pages to find out more about us. If you would like to receive free updates on articles like this by email, then sign up here or you can subscribe to the RSS feed. Also, check us out on Twitter or Facebook. Thanks for visiting! Keep on learning!
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Click here to enter my free $60 giveaway for a chance to win 5% of My Personal Finance Journey blog income and give another 5% to a charity of your choosing! Deadline to enter is November 30th, 2012.
The following article is by MPFJ staff writer, Miss T from Prairie Eco-Thrifter. If you want to learn how to live your dream life in a sustainable, healthy, and money savvy way, check out her site here.
Personal debt has unfortunately become a way of life in the 21st century, with levels reaching all time highs.
Easy credit, a have-it-now mentality, and the consumer-driven society have all created this situation. A recent survey in the US showed that increasing numbers of people are filing for bankruptcy, as their debts reach levels they simply cannot service. Managing your debt is vital if you are to avoid going down this road.
There are some simple ways to manage your debt, and you will find four helpful tips here in this article. I learned many of them from personal experience when I realized that I had to do something about my credit card debt that was spiraling out of control. I was spending more than I earned, using my several credit cards to buy just about everything, and paying off one balance so I had enough credit to pay another. Does any of that sound familiar?
When I came clean with a couple of my friends, I discovered that they were in a similar situation, and they knew others who were also struggling with high debt levels. We made a pact to gather information and share ideas for managing debt. I’ve got to say, talking about the problem really helped, and I felt good knowing I was doing something about it.
Tip # 1 – Keep Debt Payments to Less than 30% of Your Take-Home Pay
One of the things we found out was that debt, in itself, isn’t necessarily a bad thing; it’s the volume of debt that becomes a problem. I mean, debts like mortgages, student loans and car loans are almost a necessity in this day and age; the trick is to keep your repayments below 30% of your income or things can get unmanageable. The total of all your repayments on loans, mortgages, and credit cards must be less than one third of what you bring home in your pay packet. This is the first tip for managing debt; do the math and work out exactly where you stand financially, how much you owe and what your repayments are each month.
Tip # 2 – Create a Budget and Stick to It
The best tool for getting a very clear picture of your financial situation is a personal budget. If you don’t have one, create one; it’s the best way of seeing at a glance what you have coming in and what your commitments are. A budget also shows you where your money goes; some spending patterns might come as a bit of a surprise. Look for one or more areas of spending where you can cut back to help you get rid of excess debt sooner.
Tip # 3 – Contact Your Creditors and Negotiate Your Situation With Them
Like me, you were probably way over the 30% figure when you realized that you were heading for financial trouble. So, the next thing you need to do is look for ways to reduce your commitments. I was told by a financial advisor to contact my lenders and credit card companies and negotiate a better deal. He said that credit companies want their money back, and most are prepared to cut you some slack to help to get your debts under control. They have a better chance of getting their money if you can manage your debts rather than declare bankruptcy.
I tell you, this was one of the scariest things I’ve done but I was amazed at how kind and helpful every company was. I simply explained my situation and asked how they could help me meet my commitments. So this is tip number three – contact your creditors and ask for their help. What I found was that some were prepared to waive repayments for a few months; one restructured my loan and reduced the repayments, while one company actually lowered my interest rate. I would never have believed this could happen. When I shared this finding with my friends, they all did the same and got similar results.
Tip # 4 – Shop Around for Better Interest Rates
This tip led one guy to investigate different interest rates. He found one company which offered a competitive rate and was prepared to consolidate some of his debts into a lower interest loan. He reduced his monthly commitment as well as saving big time in interest. It certainly pays to shop around; I started looking for credit card companies that offered a better rate than I was paying. I found one company with a really good interest rate and I was able to transfer three of my biggest balances and pay a really small rate for the first six months. It felt great to cut up those three cards, knowing how much money I was saving! The fourth tip, therefore, is to shop around for better interest rates and look for companies that will consolidate several loans into one.
Use these four tips to start to get some control over your finances by managing your debt. Use any money you save to throw at other debts to help reduce them faster. Make debt reduction your focus to get the fastest results. Good luck!
How about you all? Have you used any of these strategies to help you better manage your debts?
What percent of your take-home pay do you currently put towards debt repayments? Is it less than or greater than the 30% target mentioned in this article?
Share your experiences by commenting below!
***Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/59937401@N07/7214450550/sizes/l/in/photostream/
Do You Spend Rationally or Emotionally?
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Click here to enter my free $60 giveaway for a chance to win 5% of My Personal Finance Journey blog income and give another 5% to a charity of your choosing! Deadline to enter is November 30th, 2012.
The following post is by MPFJ staff writer, Greg Johnson. Greg is a proud husband, father, and debt crusader who is in the process of becoming debt free. Along with his wife, Greg co-founded the personal finance blog Club Thrifty, where they encourage readers to “Stop Spending. Start Living.”
When it comes to doing simple math, most of us are more than capable of handling the basics. We know that 3-1=2 or that 1-4=-3. For the most part, we do these formulas without even thinking about it. It is almost second nature.
Furthermore, many of us deal with simple math problems every day at our jobs. Some of us even deal with complex mathematical problems that the average person would find difficult, if not impossible, to solve. We are obviously intelligent people.
So, why is it that so many of us have difficulty making the math work when it comes to budgeting and our personal finances? Isn’t budgeting simply a basic math problem?
While it is true that budgeting one’s finances doesn’t take a math genius, the fact is that our personal finances are more complicated than just looking at the numbers in a vacuum. If we look at it from a purely objective viewpoint, it is easy to see that spending $1,000 more per month than we are earning is going to put is deep in the hole. Rationally, we know that this is not a good thing. However, when it comes to money, there are other things/elements in play.
Rational vs. Emotional Spending
Ideally, we would all love to be rational spenders. However, emotions play a huge part in how we deal with our personal finances. The way in which we handle our emotional reactions to money can have a lasting effect on the security of our financial future. Some of us may decide to go shopping in order to lift our mood. Others may be experiencing a midlife crisis and decide to splurge on a new convertible. There are a range of different emotions that can effect the way that we save and spend money. However, the biggest emotional driver of our spending and saving is fear.
How Fear Affects our Financial Health
Fear is something that is the driving force behind many of the financial decisions we make in life. It is also an extremely effective marketing tactic used to get people to do or buy things. All you have to do is turn on the television to find out what sort of havoc fear is wreaking today. Oil prices may rise or fall based on fears of conflict in the Middle East. Markets may drop drastically, citing fears over government defaults. Lately, there has been a lot of talk mentioning a fear of the U.S. government falling off the fiscal cliff. Yes, those who would profit from fear can use that emotion to manipulate the financial markets…and there seems to be a lot of fear mongering going around lately.
On a smaller scale, fear affects many of the purchases and financial decisions that we make as well. Many of us fear aging, which is why botox procedures have become so popular. The fear of intruders propels the growth of the firearms and home security industries. Some folks will spend all of their money buying goods to prepare for whatever the next version of the apocalypse is. Still others decide to hoard their money out of a fear that they will never be able to make any more – or worse yet, fear that they will somehow lose it all. While it doesn’t relate directly to spending, many of us fear not being able to pay our bills – which is why we stay in jobs we don’t like rather than trying to find work that we do like. The emotion of fear pervades most of our financial decisions whether we like it or not.
While fear may seem like a bad thing, the fact is that fear can also motivate us to make good purchases. Fear of dying and leaving your dependents with nothing may motivate us to buy life insurance. Exercise and diet programs are the products of fearing an unhealthy lifestyle. The fear of not being able to keep the lights on or having a place to live also keeps us making mature decisions.
The next time that you make a financial decision, remember that there are a lot of people and companies out there who are looking to take advantage of your tendency toward emotional spending. In fact, many of them may even help to create fear in you so that you may decide to buy their products. Try and remove emotion from your financial decisions. Be rational. The better you become at removing the emotion, the better handle you will have on your financial health.
How about you all? Do you find yourself spending rationally or emotionally? Why?
Share your experiences by commenting below!
***Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/21313845@N04/2397388906
It’s Black Friday – I Slept In!
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As I made my way to the check out lanes, I saw a Nintendo Gameboy display. My son loves video games, so I tucked one under my arm. It took us another ninety minutes to get through the checkout, and when it was all over I was so exhausted that I felt like death warmed over for days.
***Photo courtesy of imagerymajestic / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Do You Really Need X to Live?
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But, how many of the things on our monthly budget are really must-haves? Consider these five things that you may not need after all:
1. TV service. With things like Hulu and Netflix streaming, there is really no need to pay a hefty cable or satellite bill every month. Few people ever watch TV live anymore, between our hectic daily schedules and our impatience with commercials thanks to skip-forward options. So, rather than storing a ton of episodes on your DVR, why not just watch them as you get a chance through a free (or drastically reduced) service?
2. A music collection. I know, I’ve added hundreds of tracks and playlists to my iPod, too…but maybe I can cross updating that data off my future to-do list. Because thanks to sites like Spotify, you can save as many songs as you like on your own customizable playlists (and share them with friends) for free if you’re willing to put up with ads or for a nominal fee if you’re not. (You can also get rid of your Sirius XM subscription thanks to sites like Pandora, which also offers free or paid options.)
3. A gym membership. Unless you absolutely have to have that pricey membership fee hanging over your head to force you to keep exercising, there’s no need to pay exorbitant prices for access to workouts you can just as easily do at home. Invest in a movement-sensing gaming system like the Xbox Kinect or Playstation Move, and you can do any number of workouts, from Zumba to yoga to your own personalized, digital-trainer-led fitness program, on your own time and in the comfort of your own home. Or, just go the good old-fashioned DVD route.
4. A second car. Plenty of couples with kids, jobs, and the whole shebang manage to survive with just one car. One spouse will carpool with coworkers or take public transportation. Spouses will work different shifts so sharing is easier. You realize you can walk to the corner store in 10 minutes instead of driving there in 1, and you will be okay. (It may even be fun to get out in the fresh air!)
Cars eat up a huge amount of our budgets. Between gas, maintenance, insurance, and parking, having one less car can save you tons of money.
That said, who says you even need one car? If you live way out in the country and have to drive 20 miles to get to anything, then yes, I would consider it a necessity. But, if you live in a city or suburb with readily available public transport, you may not need a car at all. Should you find you need one on occasion (like to pick up a friend from the airport), plenty of car-sharing services like Zipcar are springing up all over the country to meet this occasional need.
5. A big house (or a house, period). The longstanding American dream of owning a home has shifted, thanks largely to the skepticism caused by the mortgage crisis. But, it’s more than a matter of concern over buying more house than you can afford—it’s a matter of all the expenses and obligations that go along with home ownership, which many people are beginning to rethink.
Yes, some may argue that renting is like pouring your money down the drain (or into someone else’s pockets), but when you rent, you have your maintenance (indoors and outdoors) taken care of for you. If something breaks, someone else foots the repair bill. If it snows, someone else plows the driveway. Plus, you have much more freedom to pick up and move than you do when you’re locked into a 30-year mortgage and have to face the hassles of selling to “get out.”
Home ownership is a big commitment, with many ongoing costs (always more than you expected, as any home owner can attest to). So think twice before adding that white picket fence to your “every grownup should have ___” list.
How about you all? What things in your life do you currently pay for but think you could probably live without to save some money?
Share your experiences by commenting below!
***Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/brizzlebornandbred/4934882110/sizes/o/in/photostream/
Best Ways to Save Money During the Holiday Season
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Click here to enter my free $60 giveaway for a chance to win 5% of My Personal Finance Journey blog income and give another 5% to a charity of your choosing! Deadline to enter is November 30th, 2012.
This is a post by MPFJ staff writer, Jeff. Jeff writes about Sustainable living and finances at his website, Sustainable Life Blog. Jeff also really loves the holiday season!
For me, the holidays are one of the most expensive periods of the year.
There’s money spent traveling to visit family and for gifts for loved ones. It seems like that gets me in the “spending spirit,” and I start to buy more things for myself as well. Of course, some of those are purchases that would have been made at some point, but that’s not always the case. Sometimes, I just buy things because I’m spending money anyway, and think to myself, “Well, what’s the harm in spending an extra 10 bucks?”
In order to make the holidays enjoyable (and easy on the pocketbook), I thought long and hard about the best ways to save some money this holiday season. While there are things that have to be paid for no matter what and whose price is largely outside our control (mostly plane tickets and gas), there are still plenty of ways to save this holiday season.
Share the Cost and Time Commitment of Making Meals Among Members of the Family
In my family on Thanksgiving, everyone above the age of 12 or so is responsible for a dish to bring to the table. This was one of my favorite traditions growing up, because it was fun for me to make a dish for Thanksgiving, and it really gave me a sense of ownership of the meal. I had something I could be proud of to serve (typically, I made the cranberry-orange relish). As I’ve gotten to the ripe old age of almost 30, I also have noticed that this is a great way to communicate and spend time as a family while working on a large project. Now, my uncle, dad, and I cook the turkey every year, and I look forward to spending some time with them (typically outside) chewing the fat, and babysitting the turkey that we are cooking for the year.
Go See Free Parades!
The day after Thanksgiving, there’s always a parade downtown where my aunt lives. The parade for me is kind of like the kick-off to the Christmas season, and is always fun to see. The best part about the parade is that it’s free, of course! We all dress warm, pile into the cars, and head downtown and find a spot to park along the parade route. There’s usually a group giving out free hot chocolates, and we are able to have a fun, free and entertaining night, after all the stress of putting together a huge meal.
Most towns that I’ve been around on Thanksgiving have a parade. If you’re unsure about your town, check the website for the city, or ask some friends. Those that have lived in the area a while will know. If you look hard and come up with nothing, there’s always the classic Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. The parade is typically live on TV.
Take Advantage of the Leftovers
Don’t forget about the staple of everyone’s Thanksgiving, the leftovers. When I was younger, I used to really enjoy the leftovers, then after about a week of turkey sandwiches, it got old fast. One of the best ways to make the leftovers more palatable is to find some unique way to use them in other dishes. There are plenty of great recipes out there, but one of my favorite collections of recipes is from the New York Times Mark Bittman, and here are his 20 favorite Thanksgiving leftover recipes.
Another great place to look is the Food Network. My wife is a vegetarian, so we usually leave the turkey leftovers for some of my other family members, but at our table there’s always plenty of food, and plenty of leftovers!
These are just a few ways to save on holiday expenses. Remember, the weekend is about family and being thankful for what you have – and that’s always free!
What sort of traditions do you have on Thanksgiving? Do you normally stay at home or visit out-of-town relatives? Do you have any great leftover recipes? If so, please share them in the comments!
***Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/antonellomusina/66644342/sizes/l/in/photostream/
Is a CSA (Consumer Supported Agriculture) Right for You?
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Click here to enter my free $60 giveaway for a chance to win 5% of My Personal Finance Journey blog income and give another 5% to a charity of your choosing! Deadline to enter is November 30th, 2012.
What Is a CSA?
Where Can You Find a CSA?
How to Find Out More
What Are the Risks with a CSA?
Other Types of CSAs
***Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/48424574@N07/5041040139/
Make Public Transportation Work for You (and Save Money)
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Welcome to My Personal Finance Journey! If you are new here, please read the “About” or “First-Time Visitor” pages to find out more about us. If you would like to receive free updates on articles like this by email, then sign up here or you can subscribe to the RSS feed. Also, check us out on Twitter or Facebook. Thanks for visiting! Keep on learning!
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Click here to enter my free $60 giveaway for a chance to win 5% of My Personal Finance Journey blog income and give another 5% to a charity of your choosing! Deadline to enter is November 30th, 2012.
The following is a post by MPFJ staff writer, SK. SK writes about the reasons we get into debt, changing the patterns that get us into debt, and examines small business ownership and real estate investing at her blog, American Debt Project. Please welcome her to the MPFJ family!
I live in Southern California, which is generally synonymous with car culture.
Heck, we even have Cars Land at Disneyland, which looks like an old Western town you might find along the 10 freeway 100 miles east of Los Angeles. We love our cars, and we do a lot of single-rider driving in our vehicles. I grew up here and never rode a bus until I was studying abroad in Spain, when the miracle of public transportation hit me. It’s only 55 cents to ride the bus, and it saves me a 30-minute walk or a 6 euro cab ride? What is this magical bus concept, I must know more! I’ve been much more receptive to public transportation ever since, and the following are a few tips to get over your hesitation to use public transportation.
1) You’re paying for it!
That’s right, you are paying for public transportation in your region already! Whether it comes from property taxes or a special sales tax (in LA, all future rail projects are funded by Measure R, a half-cent sales tax for the next 30 years), taxpayers fund public transportation. And it’s a lot of money! New capital projects are incredibly expensive. Light rail lines cost anywhere from $100 million to $3 billion dollars, and bus rapid transit projects cost up to $100 million dollars. Service costs money as well, and all of these costs are funded in part by local taxpayers and in a smaller percentage with federal funds (still your money). So, if you see a brand new bus line or light rail in your town, try it out and see if you can use it for some of your transportation needs. After all, it’s out in place to serve your community and you paid for it!
2) Use public transportation for simple but long routes
I use public transportation fairly often, but I am lazy. I like to keep things simple. If I see the route I need to take has 4 bus transfers, I’m just going to drive. But, a rapid bus that goes straight from my house to downtown LA? I’ll take it. The $6 Flyaway bus that goes from LAX to Union Station? Nice! If you regularly find yourself traveling across town, research your public transit options—they might be easier than that drive you’ve been doing daily. Plus, it’s more than likely going to be less stressful for you doing the driving yourself!
3) Bring your pets, your bike, and your headphones
Not every bus or train allows pets, but you would be surprised to see that many do. Most buses also now have bike racks in front of the bus and you can bring your bike onto a train as well. Don’t forget music or a book to read- the best part of not driving is that you can actually use your time to do something productive! I recommend listening to a Joe Rogan podcast or Pandora’s Urban Comedy station.
4) Stay safe and alert
No matter what, you should take common sense precautions for safety. Don’t fall asleep on the bus, don’t mad dog anyone, and sit closer to the front. But, be sure to give up your seat for disabled people or seniors.
Public transportation doesn’t have to be uncomfortable. Check out your service’s website and learn about the routes, schedules and fares. You can find a route to take every now and then or even more frequently to save money and try something different!
How about you all? How often do you use the public transportation in your area? Which mode of public transport do you like the most?
What things have turned you off from taking public transportation in the past?
Share your experiences by commenting below!
***Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/elsie/11834681/sizes/o/in/photostream/
Festival of Frugality # 362 – November 13th, 2012 Edition
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Click here to enter my free $60 giveaway for a chance to win 5% of My Personal Finance Journey blog income and give another 5% to a charity of your choosing! Deadline to enter is November 30th, 2012.
1. Glen Craig presents Will a Late Credit Card Payment Affect My Credit Score? posted at Free From Broke.
2. Teacher Man presents How Much Should I Get In Student Loans? posted at My University Money.
3. Lance presents What Would You Do?: Should I Refinance My Mortgage? posted at Money Life and More.
And now, on to the best of the rest!
Jim presents Are Penny Auctions Scams? posted at Bargaineering.
Christina presents How to Deal With Couponing Fatigue posted at Northern Cheapskate.
Darwin presents Generator Ethics (and costs) Following Hurricane Sandy posted at Darwin’s Money.
Adrienne presents Shopping for Big Ticket Items on Black Friday posted at My Dollar Plan.
Glen presents Debt Snowflaking: Using Small Amounts to Reduce Your Debt Faster posted at Credit Card Smarts.
Donna Freedman presents 13 frugal gift-wrapping tips posted at Frugal Nation.
Emily presents The Cost of an In-Town Move posted at Evolving Personal Finance.
Michael presents Did Somebody Say McDonald’s–As a Career? posted at PT Money Personal Finance.
John S presents Are Rich People Really That Different From the Rest of us? posted at Frugal Rules.
FMF presents Combining Multiple Savings Offers to Maximize Savings posted at Free Money Finance.
Paul Vachon presents 5 Things That Must be on Your Moving To Do List posted at The Frugal Toad.
CF presents Paying off $27,000 in student loans posted at The Outlier Model.
Penny Thots presents When Food Is Low–Throw a Party posted at Penny Thots.
Edward presents Saving Money By Making Homemade posted at Modest Money.
Young presents When You Suck At Democracy It’s No Fun posted at Young And Thrifty.
Jen presents Getting The Most Bang For Your Halloween Bucks posted at Master the Art of Saving.
Ashley presents Just Make More Money posted at Money Talks Coaching.
MR presents Why I Want Rich People To Buy Things And Spend Money posted at Money Reasons.
Miss T. presents Eco Friendly Commuting: What Are Some Options? posted at Prairie Eco Thrifter.
Rachael presents Winter Wardrobe – One for the Ladies posted at Money & I.
Also, let Jim (the Festival organizer) know if you are interested in hosting as well. It’s a bit of work, but a great way to get your blog out there and meet new folks in the process! I just took a quick look at the schedule, and it appears that almost all of the hosting dates are open for the rest of this year. So, there is plenty of opportunity!
***Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/clonedmilkmen/310563889/sizes/o/in/photostream/
What My Debt Has Taught Me About Receiving Gifts
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Welcome to My Personal Finance Journey! If you are new here, please read the “About” or “First-Time Visitor” pages to find out more about us. If you would like to receive free updates on articles like this by email, then sign up here or you can subscribe to the RSS feed. Also, check us out on Twitter or Facebook. Thanks for visiting! Keep on learning!
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Click here to enter my free $60 giveaway for a chance to win 5% of My Personal Finance Journey blog income and give another 5% to a charity of your choosing! Deadline to enter is November 30th, 2012.
The following post is by MPFJ staff writer Travis. Travis is a customer blogger for CareOne Debt Relief Services, and also appears weekly at Enemy of Debt. Travis candidly shares his personal journey to pay off $109,000 of credit card debt and the tips he’s learned along the way. As a father and husband, he provides a unique perspective on balancing debt, finances, and family.
Share your experiences by commenting below!
***Photo courtesy of http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/Birthday_g169-Red_Gift_Box_In_Human_Hand_p35472.html