Where Do You Keep Your Savings?
Whether it is in an emergency fund or your savings for that upcoming vacation. you need a safe place to keep that money. There are several options available, each with their own advantages. Where do you keep yours?
Cookie Jar- Close to home, but you’re not making interest and you’re out of luck if something happens to it
CD-Certificate of Deposit is offered by a bank and yields a good interest, but the money has to stay in the bank for the specified amount of time or you’ll face penalties. This isn’t a good idea for an emergency fund.
Savings Account- Whether you have one at your local bank or in an online account, this is a great option for keeping your money safe and having easy access to it. Online savings accounts like Electric Orange from ING DIRECT and HSBC Direct Online Savings
offer great interest rates that are much higher than those of traditional savings accounts from your local bank.
Money Market Account- These are very similar to savings account, only you can write checks against the account. They also tend to have higher interest rates which is good for you. Online accounts, just like savings accounts, have higher returns so they may be your best option.
Whichever method you choose for saving, just make sure you are saving. Learning to save is an important skill and will help you out of trouble many times in your life.
Saving Money On Your Car Insurance
Thanks to some popular commercials, we all know that we could be saving money on our auto insurance, but have you actually checked to see how much you could be saving? Many people don’t actually take the time to shop around and realize that they really could be saving money on their insurance. I recommend shopping around fairly often so that you’re certain to be getting the best deal. Here are just a few other things that can help you save money on your auto insurance.
Increase Your Deductible- by not having the lowest deductible, you will save money. You do have an emergency fund to cover it, right?
Lower Your Coverages- Be careful with this one. You want to be covered, but sometimes companies will try and sign you up on levels of coverage that you really don’t need. Just evaluate what you have and make sure your coverages aren’t excessive.
Avoid Tickets- This one is obvious, but those tickets count against you when it comes to the cost of your insurance.
Minimize Claims- If you’re making a lot of claims on your insurance then that will count against you. Insurance companies will see that you are collecting money from them frequently. If you can afford to pay to fix the damage, then do it rather than filing a claim.
Join Auto Clubs- Being a member of a club like AAA is a great way to save money on your car insurance, not to mention on many other things.
Here are some sites you can visit to help you find the best deal on insurance. You may even want to use them all so that you’re sure to get lots of quotes, after all they are free and you’re not obligated to use any of them.
Gone For A Few Days
My wife and I are headed to the Promise Keepers event up in Boulder this weekend, so I won’t be able to write any blogs for a few days. In the meantime, check out some of the hubs I’ve been creating on Hubpages recently.
Four Methods for Making Money Online
How to Get Yourself Out of Debt
How Adsense Works and Why You Should Use It
Can You Live Without Your Credit Card?
Don’t Be a Slave
“The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.” Proverbs 22:7
Long before Dave Ramsey, someone knew that debt was bad. The proverb above should be all the proof you need that debt should be avoided. Even those that don’t necessarily believe in the Bible can see the wisdom that is found in Proverbs, and this is no exception.
Debt really does put us in bondage to the lender. We’re forced to work to keep paying them, and until that debt is paid, we’re not free. Unfortunately we’ve gotten things so backwards in the last 100 years that we think that debt is a fact of life. The truth is, debt is just as bad now as it was when Proverbs was written. I wish that I would have thought about it several years ago before I started spending money that I don’t have and buying things that I couldn’t afford. But now that I’ve learned this little nugget of wisdom, I don’t want to be a slave any longer. When I’ve paid off my debts and am free, I am NEVER going back to being a slave.
If you haven’t already gotten rid of your debts and freed yourself of that burden, then now is the time to get started. Pick up a copy of “The Total Money Makeover” by Dave Ramsey, read it and put it in to action today! Time is of the essence when it comes to freeing yourself from debts, so start now, be diligent and escape from the bondage of debt. Then, when you’re free, and you know how good it feels, don’t ever go back to being a slave!
Saving Money When Going to the Movies
The big screen, the rumbling sound, the smell of popcorn, who doesn’t love going to the movies? Unfortunately the regular price tickets for movies has gotten to be so expensive that it keeps many of us from going. Lucky for us, there are ways to see movies for less. Here are just some ways to save money on your trip to the movies.
Sign up for mailing lists- By getting the latest news from the theaters around you, you’ll know when the best deals are offered and maybe even get a coupon here and there. Also, you will know of all of the special rates that the theaters offer. By signing up for one of the mailing list of a theater near us, we found out they have a program that lets you see movies for $5 anytime after they’ve been out for 2 or 3 weeks.
Go to the matinee showing- You’ll save a few dollars just by going earlier in the day. Some theaters around me actually have even lower prices for one showing during the day. During the summer, one theater even offers a free family movie on Tuesday mornings. By knowing what the theaters in your area are offering, you can save a lot of money.
Find a discount theater- There are often times theaters that show movies that have been out for a month or two and charge less than if you had seen it as soon as it came out. While these theaters aren’t generally as nice as the others, you do get the big screen, rumbling sound, and popcorn smells.
Sign up for rewards clubs- Many theaters have rewards programs that offer free popcorn, candy and even free movies. The more you go, the more you save.
Sign up for Fandango- I got a coupon recently for a $1 ticket to a new movie if you were one of the first to use it. They offer discounts like this from time to time and it could give you just the reason you need to go to the movies.
Check local TV and Radio- Many times local tv and radio programs will have contests for free tickets. You can get free tickets just by calling in or answering a trivia question.
Search the net- Watch bargain sites, and check bargain forums. Many times you can get discounts for ordering online, or from the film’s production company.
Bring your own snacks- this one may be the most controversial, but you can save a lot of money on your trip to the movies if you aren’t paying the high prices for movie concessions. Some would argue against the ethics of this, but I’ll let you determine that for yourself.
Those are all my tips, how do you save money when you’re going to the movies? Any other tips?
Making Money Online with Google Adsense
There are many different ways to make money online. Some of them are easier than others. One of the most common ways is to use Google Adsense ads on your web page. You’ve surely seen these ads before, They are the little text ads that are usually in a frame that says “Ads By Google.” In fact there are a few on the Money Sessions page if you look around. Whenever someone visits your page and clicks on one of these ads, you make a little commission. The amount you make depends on the ad that is shown and the content on your page, but with enough traffic, you can make a decent amount of money off of these ads. In fact, if you search around you can probably find pictures of people holding checks for 5 and 6 digit figures. Here are a few steps that will get you started using Google Adsense.
1. Get a website- it can be a page, a blog, it doesn’t really matter, you just need somewhere to drive traffic to and to put the ads on.
2. Sign up for Google Adsense- Visit the Google Adsense site and sign up. it is free to sign up.
3. Place the Adsense code on you website- When you’re logged in to your Adsense account, you can get the source code to place the ads on your page.
4. Get Visitors to your Site- use SEO tactics, pay-per-click advertising, and any other method you can think of to bring people to you site. You can’t tell visitors to click the ads, but with enough traffic, you will get people that will click them.
5. Collect your check- when your Adsense account reaches a certain level, they will send you a check for your earnings.
Good Luck implementing Google Adsense on your site. If you need any help, let me know and I’ll do my best to help.
The Advantages of Working from Home
I am very fortunate to have a job that allows me to work from home. No, I’ve not moved to “making money online” full time, but my day job IS a work from home job. Eventually I’d like to be making a full time living on the Internet, but until that day comes I’ll keep enjoying working for someone else from home. Here are some of the reasons I like working from home and that you may want to consider doing the same should the opportunity present itself.
1. No commute- Enough said!
2. Easy to get some chores done during the day- I like being able to go throw in some laundry during a break or something.
3. Can listen to TV or Radio- And do it as loud as I want!
4. I can work outside- I’m sitting on my patio today, enjoying the weather, helps the day pass.
5. No special arrangements needed for service people- I’m not having to reschedule when the delivery man is coming between 8 and 5.
6. Low clothing budget- I don’t have to get dressed up, or even dressed at all if I don’t want to.
7.Don’t have to leave pets alone- My dog loves being out all day and not in her kennel.
8. Less tempting to eat out- There is always food here and no pressure from colleagues to eat out.
9. Can work remotely- I can work from home, or anywhere else, if I needed to.
10. More time for me- No commute equals more time for other stuff!
What is Frugality?
Wikipedia defines frugality as
“Frugality is the practice of
- acquiring goods and services in a restrained manner, and
- resourcefully using already owned economic goods and services, to
- achieve a longer term goal.“
In the times we are in, it has become all the rage. Being frugal and living on less is one way that people are surviving this recession. A search on Google will return results on gardening, repurposing old items, finding bargains, making your own soaps and cleaners, and many other great resources for saving money and being less wasteful with what we do have.
My wife has been reading lots of blogs on the topic of frugality and frugal living and has started implementing some of the ideas around our house. I must say, they are some great ideas and they are saving us money. Some as small as pennies here and there, but if you add them up the savings are significant.
If you haven’t looked in to it yet, why not start now. Find some blogs on the topic and start saving some money today! If you are an expert in frugality, or if you are just beginning, what are some of your biggest frugal living tips?
Who Balances Your Checkbook?
I was listening to Family Life Today on the radio this morning and they were talking about gender and money. It was interesting to hear about how men and women look at money differently. They were talking about how the partner that is stronger in handling the checkbook should do it, but that the man should be in charge of the overall finances of the family. I thought this was an interesting statement in today’s culture and was wondering what others would think about it.
In our family, my wife usually balances the checkbook and pays the bills. She is much more organized than I am and the work will definately get done and on time. She keeps me informed of our situation and we both make the decisions on where the money goes. Overall if it came down to it, I would have final say in the matter, at least thats what she tells me. I think that the man is the head of the household and that includes the finances, but it is absolutely fine for either person to do the day to day managing of the finances. Whoever does it should make sure to include the other partner, because they are just that, the partner. Decisions should be made together and an agreement should be made as to who will have the final say.
How does it work in your house? Does one person handle everything without consulting the other? Does that work? I’m curious to hear how things are done in other families and how well that works for them.
Gangster Government
Someone sent me this video the other day. It’s an interesting statement she makes. Unfortunately, its not far from the truth. It is good to know that someone in politics is saying it.
Top Commentators