Lots of people have been taught from a young age to save their change. Quarters, dimes, nickels and pennies are saved in piggy banks. Adults can do the same thing by saving their dollar bills. Every day I take my dollar bills and place them in a jar. Then once a week I will go to the bank and deposit them. If I started the day with a 20 dollar bill and spent 6 dollars the whole day; I take 4 of the 14 dollars left over and save it. All 5′s, 10′s and 20′s go in my wallet and I only save the singles. It’s an easy way to build an emergency savings account without really feeling the hit.
Banks bid for your business
December 7, 2008 By 1 Comment
I stumbled across a new website called Money Aisle http://www.moneyaisle.com/. Money Aisle is a live auction site where banks bid for your banking business. Money Aisle is a site for consumers looking for the highest rate on CD’s and savings accounts. It seems pretty simple to use. You enter your state pf residence and deposit amount. The minimum deposit is $100. Member banks bid by offering higher interest rates for your business. The winning bank is the one that offers the highest interest rate. Money aisle then puts you in contact with the winning bank. I have never used the site so I can’t speak for its results. It is something that I may be interested in trying out to see how it works.
Put more cash in your pocket
December 6, 2008 By 3 Comments
During these turbulent times of rising unemployment and scarce credit; smart money management is becoming increasingly important. Here is a money management tip to help you keep more cash in your pocket this upcoming year.
Eliminate your huge income tax windfall. If you received a big tax refund last year then you are withholding too much money. Think of it this way: A big tax refund is an interest free loan to the federal government. This is money that you could use to build your savings or pay off some bills. Consider changing the number of withholding allowances that you claim. It’s simple and easy to do. Ask your employer for a W-4 form and just switch your number of personal allowances. You will get less money back at tax time but have more money added to your paycheck. This will be useful in helping you to make it through a tough 2009.
Build your savings on lower gas prices
November 23, 2008 By 1 Comment
Each week I will offer a savings tip to help you save some extra cash. This week’s tip: Use the extra money that you are saving on gas and place those savings in a high yield savings account. Gas prices have dropped sharply from their highs of this past summer. The average price for gas in my state has dropped from over $4.00 a gallon to $1.89. Just 6 months ago I was paying $75 to fill my gas tank up. Today $35 will give me a full tank of gas. I am taking the difference between what I used to pay for gas and what I am paying now and using it to build up my savings account. This tip can be used by anyone with a car. Pretend as if fuel prices are still $4.00 per gallon and deposit the extra money in your savings. This is a quick way to save some cash. So far I have been able to save $160 a month. Try it out. It works!
