Laughing Squid / Flickr
This is a post by BargainBabe.com writer Yazmin Cruz.
This spring don’t just focus on having a squeaky clean home. Like your closets, your finances also need an overhaul and these six steps will help you keep your financial life in order. Keep this check list handy and check off items as you go.
1. Organize paperwork – Clean up your finances by trashing old ATM receipts, paycheck stubs and bank statements. Make sure to shred these documents to avoid identity theft. Signing up for paperless billing reduces clutter so check with your bank or credit card company to see if they offer this as a free option. File other documents in a safe place. For really important documents that you must keep forever like birth certificates and wills, invest in a water and fireproof safe.
2. Check your credit report – Make sure everything in your credit report is accurate by downloading the free credit report you are entitled to receive every 12 months. You can ask for a free copy at (more…)
Alan Cleaver / Flickr
This is a post by BargainBabe.com writer Yazmin Cruz.
What is the best program or website to organize and track personal finances? And are they safe?
Below I compare three big names in financial organization: MyJibe, Mint, and Quicken. The following programs meet or surpass the encryption levels that banks are required to use, which are considered sufficient to protect your personal financial data. Perhaps one of these options works for you. Disclosure: I am a Mint user.
MyJibe
MyJibe.com is a web-based budgeting system that uses virtual envelopes to separate money for $8/month (try it first with a 10-day free trial). After you deposit your income, fixed expenses like rent and utilities are separated to keep you from spending that money and to allow you to see how much you have for other things. You can add other accounts and import info from your bank, Quicken, and Microsoft Money (which has been discontinued). MyJibe tracks your income, fixed, and flexible expenses, and savings goals.
What is different about MyJibe is that you can (more…)
This gardening post was brought to you by the UK’s Pond Liner Website. Bradshaws Pond Liner company stock a wide selection of garden pond filters and pond pumps including the Oase Pond Pump and the Hozelock Pond Pump. Check it out for some seriously good bargains on any garden pond liner or automatic fish feeder.
By Bobbi Burger Brunoehler of Bobbisbargains.
Muffet/Flickr
One of my greatest pleasures is working in my garden. Not only do I get Vitamin D from the sun, but I also get exercise, fresh air and the occasional fresh fruit or veggie. Although each individual seed packet or plant doesn’t cost a lot of money, the expenses DO add up.
Here are five of my favorite sites to help you with your garden schedule and budget:
- KinderGARDEN is a wonderful site chock full of links to help you garden with kids. I had a great time (more…)
Start early, and your IRA will grow into a mature account. Credit: Rev Stan/Flickr
I want to give my little brother his very own IRA retirement account as a college graduation present. Just what every new grad needs!
He just started a new job and is working on creating a budget that fits his $513 a week salary. One of his main goals is to get his car on the road, but I’m gently trying to persuade him to buy a monthly bus pass and contribute to an IRA retirement account. This may well be his quickest way to become a millionaire. (In case you wondered, he said my post about his new budget was “legit.”)
I waited far too long to establish an IRA (mid-20s) and regret I did not begin contributing as early as possible. In fact, I don’t know of any age (more…)
First paycheck. Credit: bigburpsx3/Flickr
My little brother just graduated college in December and landed his first “real” job two weeks ago. When I asked him if he had a budget, he said “Don’t worry, Uncle Peter and [cousin] Sean already called me and told me to save money every month.” Living frugally really IS in my blood! Hehehe.
To help my brother follow through, I created a sample budget for him. The idea is to identify what will make saving money meaningful to him. In other words, it might be easier for him to save money to buy a (more…)
Dottie Mae/Flickr
This post is brought to you by Savings Account Comparison, finding the best savings account online.
On the way home from a ski trip my friend Emily told me she saved $800 over two years without thinking. WHAT?!?
Emily signed up for a Bank of America program called Keep the Change. It puts aside the change rounded up to a dollar from every purchase she makes with her debit card. So if her groceries comes to, say $32.50, Bank of America takes $.50 from her checking and puts it into a special savings account. If she spends $12.03 on lunch, $.97 is deposited into her special account. If gas cost $28.46, she automatically saves $.54.
Each time she makes a purchase with (more…)
By Bobbi Burger Brunoehler of Bobbisbargains.
FinancialFellow1/Flickr
Last year, Bargain Babe challenged herself to not use credit cards for a month. At the time, I was feeling all kinds of awesome because I didn’t have any credit card debt and always pay off my cards each month. However, when I organized my financial New Year’s resolutions, I realized I was using my ATM card WAY too much and irresponsibly buying items that I didn’t really need. I resolved to go back to my previously successful budget strategy of using cash only for my weekly purchases. I wanted to share with you my insights from my first week after I banned my ATM card.
Here is how I started: (more…)
Here is the clip of the interview I did on Marketplace Money, which runs on NPR across the country. The story is “Tips for staying financially fit.”
As reader Harvey commented on my post Friday about the radio spot, “It is the January 7, 2011 edition. You are near the beginning – the fifth and last blogger to be interviewed. You can listen directly or download the podcast.” You can also read the transcript of the entire clip, though it’s fun to hear my voice on the radio (at least, for me it is!).
Thanks for summing it up and providing a link, Harvey!
There is no “one size fits all” budget, which is why I’m highlighting three very different budgets below. One focuses on paying off debt, a second provides a comprehensive approach to managing your money, and a third budget is a stripped down system that takes 15 minutes to create, start to finish. Which one works for you?
The Get Out of Debt Budget
Personal finance guru Dave Ramsey has a theory about paying off debt that focuses on small successes to create momentum, instead of merely focusing on paying off your highest interest debt. Using his plan, you pay minimums on all loans except the one with the smallest balance. Knock that one out, pat yourself on the back, and move onto to your next victim. As you score knock outs, increase the dollar figure you are paying towards debt each month, building momentum as you approach your last and final challenge.
While Ramsey’s plan is mathematically counter intuitive, (more…)
By online financial tools I mean things like online budgeting programs, websites devoted to reducing debt, and retirement or mortgage calculators. Or are you running a strictly paper-and-pencil operation? It occurred to me yesterday while working on a post about three ways to budget that some BargainBabe.com readers might not use the Internet to save money (aside from reading this blog, that is).
Identity Photogr@phy / Flickr
This is a post by BargainBabe.com writer Yazmin Cruz.
Coming up with resolutions for the new year was difficult. I easily added the No. 1 resolution to lose weight onto my list, but when it came time to think of my financial future, I was paralyzed. While I’ve always saved my pennies, this year is different. In the spring I’ll be graduating into a less than idea economy and assuming the adult reality of earning, managing, and spending money wisely. I would be lying if I said I was not anxious about my future.
My three financial goals, which may be similar to yours, are simple so I can stick to them.
3. Save more money – I’ve been putting aside 20 percent of all my earnings and will start putting away (more…)
By Bobbi Burger Brunoehler of Bobbisbargains.
Thms.nl/Flickr
It’s the beginning of a new year and a great time to assess my financial actions and make new budgetary policy. Here are my top five financial New Year’s resolutions:
1. Make a separate gasoline fund for each car. As gas prices go up and the number of drivers and cars in my family also rises, the money I am spending on gasoline is getting out of control. Personally, I am very good at looking at my errands and piggybacking them for the most efficient route. However, the rest of the family (especially the teenagers) are not as driven to do this as I am. I am going to get them more motivated by giving them a certain amount of gas money per week to get to classes and run errands. After that cash is gone, they will have to pay for the gas with their own money, take the bus, or stay home. This resolution has the most complexities to it, but I really want to get the gas expenses under control.
2. Make weekly menu plans and only (more…)
By Bobbi Burger Brunoehler of Bobbisbargains.
TimParkinson/Flickr
The last few days of the year are a buyer’s market. Stores are trying to make every sale that they can via year end clearance sales. Hopefully at this point every sale they make is profit. This means that you, the consumer, can get some great deals.
The other not-as-well-known reason that there are great sales is because stores have to do a year-end inventory. They REALLY want to get rid of items that aren’t selling because not only are they taking up shelf space, employees would rather not count them. Stores that are seasonal will be clearing their shelves bare before the end of the month because their leases are ending.
Be open to just about anything (more…)
By Bobbi Burger Brunoehler of Bobbisbargains
graymilkn/Flickr
It doesn’t matter if I am going to Disneyland for the day or to a local park for a few hours, I always take a thermos of water and a picnic basket with me. If you follow my advice, you can save well over a thousand dollars a year just like I do.
“But Bobbi, why would I go to all that trouble when I am just going on a few errands?” You go to that trouble because if you don’t, you might find yourself spending up to $50 for a nutritious lunch for you and one or two of your kids. (Or $20 for sugar and fast food.) Buy an unplanned meal at a restaurant once or twice a week and you’ve busted your budget for sure.
“Well, then I will just tell the kids (more…)
koalazymonkey/Flickr
This is a guest post by reader Marie.
Is working at home possible – orjust a dream many of us have? Here are tips to capitalize on your own special interests and talents, and avoid home-based work scams.
How do you separate the true work opportunities from the scams? The biggest indication of a scam is that bogus opportunities will ALWAYS ask for some type of money upfront. A genuine work opportunity will never require you to cough up a fee for information.
Some years ago, a hard-up friend responded to a newspaper advertisement asking for a $25 check for information on profitable home-based work. After her check cleared from her account, she received (more…)
