5 Ways to Reduce Living Expenses and Save Money

As adults brace for their fiftieth birthday and continue to grow older, they worry more about the unlikely possibility of comfortable retirement. Although the economy slowly grows and unemployment rates drop, many older adults find themselves forced or willing to work into their 60s and later in life.

They still have mortgages to pay, college tuition for their children, car payments, and other bills that reduce their savings accounts or retirement funds. Those individuals not able to consider or not wanting to retire must readjust their long term life plans.

That’s why now presents an ideal time to change your lifestyle, lead a healthier life, count your pennies, live within your means, and save. The cost of living will not cease to rise while annual salaries and benefits remain stagnant.

The only way for these older adults to brace for change, prepare for a possible delayed retirement, and to save is through changing the way they live in small, significant ways.

1. Conserve Home Utilities

Reduce the utility bills and save energy at home. Often, especially during the winter or summer months the heating and electric bills paralyze home owners, especially those still paying mortgages.

Take the tiny steps to decreasing that utility bill by shortening the length of showers, washing the dishes, the number of times you wash clothes per week. Turn off lights when possible. Unplug power adapters to computers, tablets, and cell phones that can consume costly electricity. During winter and summer, keep the thermostat at a reasonable temperature and do not change it often. Maintaining a consistent temp ensures less electricity, gas, or oil usage.

If possible, perhaps invest in an energy efficient dishwasher, washing machine, or other household appliances. More energy efficient homes and eco-friendly houses are popping up everywhere. Consider the investment of roof solar panels if you have the necessary funds or think the investment is worthwhile after a consultation.

If you’re not overly reliant on cable television and internet within the home, then eliminate that costly monthly bill. Most individuals have internet access via their smartphones when home. Save the long computer tasks for a couple hours at Starbucks, the local public library, after hours at work, or any places of business that provide complimentary Wi-Fi.

2. Rent to a Tenant

After the kids moved away from home and went off to college, it’s time to start considering renting their rooms. A tenant will help pay the utility bills and even their extra rent contributes to a mortgage. When maintaining a house, the living expenses can grow out of control quickly.

3. Downsize

As individuals grow older, maintaining a larger house proves more difficult. Older parents don’t have the time, money, or resources to maintain a large house that was once necessary for their families.

Fight the urge to keep every piece of furniture, old stationary bikes, and anything you might find useful one day and downsize your home. Those individuals in their 50s or older lived through countless shifting economies that leave them with a frugal mindset. Instead donate, sell, or trash the unnecessary items in your home. Rent or sell the house and move into a smaller condo or apartment.

4. Credit Card Benefit Programs

If you failed to do so already, apply for one or two credit cards that boast fantastic reward programs. There are countless credit cards offered through VISA, American Express, Discover, Capital One, and Chase that provide numerous cash back opportunities on daily purchases such as gas, food, eating out at restaurants, online shopping, and even going to the movie theatre. You can earn redeemable points on travel for cash or free flights.

5. Short Term Loans

When entering old age, it’s important to know your financing options, especially in the event of unemployment that creates financial emergencies. Absorbing unemployment in your 50s could very well be nightmarish initially. Don’t let that unfortunate experience side track you financially.

While searching for a new job or in between jobs, there are lending options available to help pay for living expenses such as groceries, gas, rent, or utility bills. Explore the options of personal loans through lending institutions such as the ones available at Instaloan.com or with friends, credit cards, payday loans, and short term bank loans. These borrowing options save money in late payment fees, late rent payment charges, and related expenses.

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Save Yourself the Headache: Five Tips for Financial Security

Everyone dreams of the day when they can finally retire from work and have the freedom to travel, pursue hobbies, and spend time with loved ones. These dreams can become reality if you are willing to follow some simple steps to attain the goal of financial security.

1. Save When You are Young

The single most important thing a young person can do is start saving right away. It may be tough to have the discipline, but saving now guarantees that your investments have decades of compound interest to help them grow. For example, if you put away $5,000 at the age of 20, that money will grow to $160,000 over 45 years at a steady eight percent interest rate. But put away the same amount of money at 39, and your money only grows to $40,000. That is the magic of compound interest.

2. Don't Get Divorced

Splitting a household of assets diminishes wealth like few other major events. Granted, there are times when staying married is unthinkable, but faced with the prospect of spending tens of thousands of dollars in attorney fees, dividing the family's assets, paying child support, and possibly dipping into retirement funds, couples therapy can be a much wiser investment for your financial future. This may not be a very popular point but nontheless you can save money by actually staying togther.

3. Refinance to a Shorter Term Mortgage

A traditional 30 year mortgage costs a homeowner, on average, hundreds of thousands of dollars in interest. Refinancing to a 10 or 15 year mortgage through a reputable company like Legacy Lending Group saves you money in two ways: The interest rate is lower, and principal payments on the loan are larger. This combination of factors allows you build equity faster, helping you to achieve financial security.

4. Make a Budget

It is hard to deny the real cost of your daily muffin and espresso if the figures are entered in a spreadsheet. If you chart every single expense for one month, you will have a much better idea of how to trim back your expenses. It is extremely surprising to me how many people don't do this because the money that you save, in turn, can be invested in an IRA or used to pay down your home mortgage faster.

5. Avoid Spending Habits

At an average of six dollars a pack, cigarettes are an expensive habit, hampering an individual's ability to save while they are young. For an older person, the loss of income due to smoking-related health problems and the higher cost of health care itself pose even more serious challenges to financial security. Other expensive habits include drinking alcohol or even frequent trips to the gas station for their daily coffee. Simply put, you can't afford not to quit these habits.

Attaining financial security is a goal within everyone's reach. You just have to plan carefully and make judicious short-term sacrifices to achieve those long-term rewards.

Tips for Saving When On a Low Income

If you are on a low income, you may be struggling just to pay your monthly bills and have not even considered starting to save. As difficult as it may seem in your specific situation to start saving money, it can be done, even if it is a little at a time. Having a savings account set aside can reduce your financial stress level and help you be prepared for emergency money situation. There are several great tips listed below to help you get started on your own savings plan.

Set Up a Budget

The first step to saving money is to set up a monthly budget for your household. This will quickly let you see if you have enough income coming in each month to cover the costs of your bills. A budget may also alert you to any areas where you may be spending more money than you realized. It will also help you monitor your spending habits. Try to incorporate a savings category in your budget, even if it is a small amount because it will add up over time.

Seek Out Government Benefits

The government offers a wide selection of benefits to low-income families and seniors. Some of these benefits include a Baby Bonus and Parental Leave Pay for after the birth of a child or an adoption, childcare rebates and benefits, Single Income Family Supplement, and Parenting Payments. These payments are made through Centrelink through the Department of Human Services. To find out what benefits your family may be eligible for, you should go to the Department of Human Services’ website. Obtaining some of these benefits will take some of the financial pressure off of you and free up some money in your budget for savings. 

Take Out a Low or No Interest Loan

The government offers no interest loans through the No Interest Loans Scheme that allows qualified people to borrow up to $1,200. The also offer the StepUP low interest loan that provides loans up to $3,000 to eligible people. Depending on your specific situation, taking out one of these no or low interest loans may help you pay off some outstanding bills or loans, so you do not have to keep paying interest fees each month. It can also consolidate all of your unpaid bills into one low monthly payment and can help save you money each month. This is also a better option that a standard bank loan that comes with higher interest rates. 

Set Up a Savings Plan

Setting an account up that is just for your savings is a great idea. This allows you to keep your savings separate from your disposable money and may make it easier not to spend. The government also has several savings plans that will match your savings dollar for dollar up to a set amount. This can help you save twice as much money in a shorter period of time. The AddsUp savings plan is designed for those who have successfully paid of a StepUp loan or a No Interest Loans Scheme loan. Once you are able to save $300 they will match your savings up to $500. The Saver Plus plan allows you to set a financial goal and once that goal is met they will match your savings up to $500.

If you are trying to find ways to save money to secure your future, you should try all of the suggested tips listed above. Combined a few of these savings tips will provide you with more disposable income each month. You can then use a portion of this income to set aside into a savings plan. When setting up your savings account, be sure to look for matching funds from the government, this will help you save faster and make more money available to you in case of an emergency.

Dealing with Debt as a Couple

If you’re currently in a relationship with someone it’s likely that you will have encountered some kind of conversation about money. Depending on how serious your relationship is you may have a joint account, or have agreed with each other about who pays what. If you live together, then conversations about money are a must, as rent/mortgage payments, bills and food costs will all have to be shared fairly. As obvious and as simple as it sounds, it’s not actually that easy to have conversations about money, even with the people you are closest to. It’s for this reason that many couples find themselves in debt, and in some cases one partner has no idea of the extent of it until something goes wrong.

Recent research has shown that women are the most ‘in control’ of the household finances, with 11% more females than males being able to answer correctly when asked the balance of their bank accounts and how much is owed on a credit card. Just 33% of men were able to answer correctly to both of the questions, which is worrying when you consider that 68% of men said that they are in control of the family finances. It seems that communication is not always clear either, as 63% of women said they were the ones controlling the cash.

Gender has no influence when it comes to racking up debt, however, as neither malesnor femalesare discriminated against when it comes to taking on credit. Some couples are struggling under the actions of one of them, whereas others may not yet understand the extent of their partner’s debts. If you’ve found yourself in money troubles, no matter how hard it may be on the other person, you must talk about it. This is especially important where there are joint finances involved, or if you would be at risk of affecting their stability due to owning a home or business together.

Talking through your money issues is not only a good way to hold yourself accountable, but it can also mean you could get some sound advice about how to tackle the problem. Two heads are better than one, and although your partner may feel upset at first, the fact that they know would hopefully prevent you from making it worse by burying your head in the sand. Struggling with problem debt in private can be extremely stressful and may put a strain on your relationship.

According to debt help charity Step Change, 45% of people wait a whole year before seeking help about their money problems. This is a long time to be having issues for, and the stress could take its toll as mental health problems if not kept in check. If you’re struggling with debts, the sooner you can reach out for help the better. This can simply be speaking to your partner or a friend or other family member about it – a problem shared is a problem halved.

6 Ways To Save For Your Retirement

Anyone already in the 60s will know exactly how important it can be to save for your retirement whilst you're still young. Those who’ve made adequate arrangements will be looking forward to finishing work and living the life of luxury, whilst people who’ve made bad choices will start to feel rather stressed about what their future may hold. 

Thanks to the new workplace pension schemes being rolled out across the UK at the moment, most young people should have a more substantial cushion when they reach their twilight years, but that doesn’t mean that keeping some cash aside for a rainy day isn’t a good idea. 

Here are the top 7 ways you could save for your retirement before it’s too late:

1. Get An ISA - The first thing you should all do right away is take a trip to see your banking provider and open an ISA account. These provide high rates of interest and depending on whom you use, could allow you to save anywhere between £3000 and £5000. With no tax to be paid on any of the money accumulated, this makes for a perfect rainy day fund.

2. Clear Your Debts - There’s hardly any point in saving if you’re just going to be forced to hand the money over to cover your debts, so you should work hard to clear these as soon as possible. Just paying a little more than the minimum amount off your credit card can make a significant difference.

3. Join A Private Pension Scheme - Although you should be automatically enrolled in a workplace pension scheme soon, there are no laws surrounding how many of these policies you can take out, so doing some research online and locating a reputable private solution could also be very beneficial.

4. Cut Down On Luxuries - We all want to have a good time whilst we’re of working age and earning the cash, but it’s even more important that you raise the quality of life you’ll experience during the twilight years, and this is why cutting back on luxuries you don’t really need like designer clothes and flash cars would make sense.

5. Make Sound Investments - If you have a lot of money lying around not doing very much, it could be wise to seek out fruitful investment opportunities to increase your pot. I realise that most people have no experience with this kind of this, which is why I’d like to point you in the direction of a blog called MoneyStreetSmart because they have some fantastic advice articles that deal with all elements of personal finance.

6. Stop Moving House - You know; thanks to my family and their lack of foresight, I’d moved house over 11 times by the age of 16, meaning neither my mother or my father have a great deal of money within their properties. Picking one home and sticking to it will provide you with the best opportunity to accumulate equity that can be released when you retire by simple selling your home.

Well, I hope now you understand the importance of making early preparations for your retirement and ensuring you don’t have to rely on the ever dwindling state pension of only £110 per week.

Good luck with everything!

7 Steps to Wealth

The bills are piling up. You keep trying to save money, but every time you get a little nest egg going, something happens (a car repair, a broken appliance, etc.) to wipe it out. And to top it off, your employer has hinted at layoffs.

When times are tough financially, it can be difficult to even think about amassing wealth. You’re so busy trying to keep your head above water and pay off your debts that a life with a seven-figure bank balance may seem like nothing more than a pipe dream.

While almost no one becomes a millionaire overnight — and no, playing the lottery is not a legitimate wealth strategy — it is possible to rise above your circumstances and attain considerable wealth. All you need is a strong commitment to achieving your goals and some knowledge of the proper steps involved. 

1. Develop a Written Financial Plan

The first step to achieving any goal is to develop a plan. You wouldn’t try to drive to a destination in an unfamiliar city without a map or GPS, so why would you try to make it to a major “life destination” like considerable wealth without similar navigational tools? Regardless of whether you’re at the beginning of your career and earning an entry-level salary or already have some experience and the paychecks to prove it, you can change course and get on track to wealth. Meet with an experienced financial adviser and get professional advice and feedback on how you can meet your goals — and then act on those plans.

2. Eliminate Debt

As long as you are paying a significant portion of your income to someone else, you will struggle on the path to wealth. Live below your means, and never charge anything you can’t pay off in a month or two; some advisers suggest never charging anything you consume, including clothing, as you’ll be paying interest on it long after it’s outlived its usefulness. If you must finance a home or car (which most people do), don’t max out your budget. Choose the loan terms that allow you to eliminate the debt as soon as possible.

3. Make Your Money Work for You

One reason the wealthiest people are so well-off is they make their money work for them. Even if you invest a modest amount of money in the stock market, you can expect to earn a rate of return of around eight percent annually. As your investments grow, so will the amount of money you make. 

4. Start a Business

According to one study, almost three-quarters of all American millionaires are entrepreneurs. While it is possible to build wealth working for someone else, you are far likelier to have success when you are your boss.

5. Change Your Mindset

Many Americans, even those with steady incomes, operate under a “poverty mindset” in which they fear they could lose everything at any moment, so they must hold on to every penny they get. Or, they feel they will never attain the highest levels of financial wealth, so why even bother? They become complacent, and while they may be comfortable, they are never going to be wealthy. If you want to be wealthy, you have to think wealthy, and emulate the thoughts and actions of those people who have reached the upper echelons of wealth. 

6. Create Multiple Income Streams

Few millionaires have made all of their money from one income source. Most have income from multiple streams. When you’re earning money from multiple sources, you don’t have to panic when one dries up and you can better leverage your resources to keep the money coming. 

7. Save Money

The best way to amass wealth is to save money. An emergency fund is a must, should things go awry, but you should also find ways to save money wherever you can. The wealthiest people are not generally spendthrifts; while it’s easy to imagine them dropping thousands of dollars on shopping sprees and parties, most are far more careful with their money. As money comes in, make saving a priority. As your income increases, so should the amount that you are saving.

Becoming a millionaire takes hard work, perseverance and a focus on the goal at hand: a healthy bank balance. By changing your approach to money and taking cues from those who have already achieved that level of wealth, you can write your ticket into the “millionaires’ club.”

About the Author: Isabelle Fontaine holds a marketing degree and has started several successful businesses in the course of her career.

Money Forecast: Six Budget Steps That Will Be Useful Year-Round

In these tough economic times, it is more important than ever to make sure that you have budgeting skills. The ability to keep a good budget is the first step on the road to financial health. Here are six tips you can use year-round to keep your budget on track.

Sit Down and Do the Math

The only way to keep a budget is to create a budget. To do this, you need to add up all of your income. Next, add up all of your monthly expenses. Subtract the expenses from your income. The remainder is the money that you can use for optional things like entertainment. Although this step seems easy, if you are not in the habit of doing this it is easy to overspend in small areas that don't seem to make an impact. However, if we are looking at the overall year, small purchases can begin to grow overtime.
Know Your Expenses

Many people do not really know their expenses, which throws the math off on their budgets. If this sounds like you, then you should carry around something to add up your money whenever you spend it. If you do this for one month, then you will know exactly how much you spent that month. Knowing this will make it much easier to set your budget.

Use Computer Budgeting Software

Don’t make it hard on yourself to keep a budget. If you use a budgeting software program like Quicken, it will save you’re a lot of headaches and make it a breeze to keep track of your budget. This will help you get a visual of where your money is going and how you can cut back.

Stop Eating Out

One of the biggest spending leaks people have in their budgets is eating out way too much. If you are guilty of this, try making your lunch at home. Skipping paying for lunch from a restaurant everyday will save you a ton of money.

Protect What You Have

Unexpected expenses can ruin your carefully planned budget. Make sure to avoid this disaster by protecting yourself with insurance. This will prevent you from destroying your budget when the unexpected occurs. Also, be sure to check out home security system to protect your valuables at home. The security will then provide a discount from the insurance companies because you are more likely to be covered during a natural occurrence or a theft, making sure you are covered from every angle.

Treat Yourself

Part of that budget you drew up should include savings, and a portion of that savings should go to buy you something big you want. It could be a car, trip or any other big thing you crave. You need this type of positive reinforcement to keep you on track with your budgeting.

If you follow these six tips, you will find it easy to keep your budget all year. Take it step-by-step and always look for ways to improve your budgeting. The rewards of fiscal responsibility are wonderful.

How to Overcome a Personal Finance Crisis in Retirement

retirement (Photo credit: 401(K) 2013)

Having financial troubles when you're retired is the pits. A financial crisis can strike at any time, however, and completely wipe you out. You've got little or no savings, and you just don't know what you'd do if you had to pay for a major car repair, a new furnace, or if you had to loan money to a friend in need. 

Go To Work Part-Time

One option that many seniors consider these days is going back to work part-time. Part-time work can include anything from a dietician or nutritionist to a mediator to Santa Claus during Christmas time. Now, dressing like Santa might not seem like it would rake in the big bucks, but it can. If you negotiate a 40-day season contract, you can reasonably earn between $10,000 and $50,000, depending on where you live.

That's more than some people make in an entire year. Of course, it all depends on your expertise. Entry-level Santas only make $10 per hour. 

Sell Your Annuity Payments

If you're desperate for cash, selling an annuity payment can help. This is mostly a last-ditch effort kind of thing though. Most courts in the U.S. make it difficult to sell payments to a third-party funding company unless there's a good reason for doing so.

Basically, you must prove that you will be put into a better position financially if you sell the annuity. Since annuity payments protect you from the possibility of spending through all of your retirement, many judges are reluctant to allow these transactions to go through. But you can convince a court if you wanted to, say, pay off a large debt or debts, if you were planning on using the money for emergency purposes, or if you needed the cash to pay for health insurance deductibles or an expensive medical procedure. 

Get a Reverse Mortgage

Reverse mortgages were popular in the mid-2000. They've mostly fallen out of favor because they were oversold. Still, for the right person, a reverse mortgage could be the right move. Basically, a reverse mortgage turns your home into a sort of savings account. Your home's equity is opened up, and you're allowed to spend it "at will."

Some companies encourage you to use an annuity in combination with the reverse mortgage, but many do not.

Now, because it's a mortgage, it's technically a loan against the property. The bank charges interest and fees, like closing costs, so there's a lot to consider before rushing out to sign paperwork.

One of the benefits of this type of loan, however, is that it does not need to be repaid prior to your death. If you plan on staying in the home forever, the reverse mortgage will be repaid either by your children or the home will be given back to the bank and the bank will sell it.

You can get around this by buying a life insurance policy that's just large enough to pay off the mortgage when you die. That way, the house stays in the family, but you get the lump sum of cash you need right now.

Anthony Jensen has worked with a number of retirees. He is thrilled to help people through difficult financial times.

How to Successfully Retire at 51

retirement (Photo credit: 401(K) 2013)

Retiring by age 51 will take some significant planning and if you have the inclination when you are in your twenties, it won’t be that hard. Depending on your income at your early age, if you put away $10,000 to $12,000 year, you can have the amount you want to for retirement. http://on-msn.com/xFNNDE 

With age 51 being your goal, you can enjoy your retirement and still have enough body left to boogie on with the best of them. If an illness has hit you or your household, it may take away from the retirement, but at least you have it to lean on when times get hard.

So let’s break that down

If you have the forethought to take care of saving this money, then break it down even more so that your bite sized pieces are more attainable. $12,000 divided by 12 months equals $1,000 a month. That can be a sizeable amount for a coffee barista. So, let’s break it down even more and divide that amount by the days of the month. That is $33 a day. A lot of twenty something’s don’t make that much a day, so we should make this more user friendly for anyone.

Let’s do $50 a week. That calculates to $200 a month and $2400 a year. Multiply that by 20 years for the sake of this example and you get: $48,000. Not a bad haul at all, and if you have the inclination to invest, do it wisely. Meaning, have some help to get started, not just by diving into the market unknowingly.

It won’t

Forty eight thousand dollars certainly will not be enough to retire on, but it’s better than a kick in the patooty and you have the opportunity to help it grow with some aggressive investments; so do it. Be aware in the back of your mind, that you could potentially lose all that money as well. Are you prepared to start over?

If you

If you can grow into a six figure income, the $12,000 a year goal is a lot more attainable. Between what you have and what your spouse has, the growth can be enormous. Plug in your social security; if it still exists in twenty years, then you can retire very comfortably.

Keep in mind

Life happens and along the way you are going to lose a few and win a few. You may have a divorce and lose everything. Likely only half, as most states only allow the spouse to take half. You might also have a death to contend with or even an illness. Life throws an amazing amount of things our way. No matter what the lesson is that we are supposed to learn, figure out how to continue putting money away.

If you stop and don’t have an amount put in every week, you are only sacrificing one thing: Your retirement. Remember, your goal is 51. Are you willing to go beyond that? Will you be well enough to do anything when you reach that age? Will you want to travel like you have dreamed all your life? It’s totally up to you and how you do things. 

No matter

No matter what you do with this journey we call ‘Life’. It is up to you to finish the final chapter. You don’t have any more information how long you will be on this planet, than the neighbor or the dog next door. One thing is for sure; whatever you decide make it work for you, remember to do it with a smile on your face and a whistle in your heart. Go enjoy whatever it may be.

About The Author:

Blair Thomas is the co-founder of eMerchantBroker.com the #1 high risk Credit Card processing company in the US. He has been in the electronic payments industry for over 10+ years. When he is not running his business he spends his time writing and producing music, which has been featured in a variety of films. 

Simple Tips to Make Your Money Stretch Further

There’s maybe nothing worse than the horrible realisation that there is no money left in the bank and no way to pay the mortgage or rent on time as usual. Sadly, many people are struggling to cope financially nowadays. If you are finding money stress is causing your hair to drop out in chunks it’s time to take a new approach. It’s a skill to make money go further but here are some of the excellent tips from the financial experts to help you ensure every penny is well spent.

Click here to find out if you’re entitled to more money

You Must Budget

Do you have a budget for all the money that comes in and out of your house? Do you check where you have spent your last wages, reconcile your bank account and check your receipts? If not it’s about time you did. A budget is a valuable tool that should be used so you are fully aware of your current financial position in any given month. It’s boring but when you budget you will be able to see where money has been wasted, where you can make cuts and where you need to deal with urgent problems.

Loyalty Cards are Worth it

How many times have you found yourself being served at a till and the cashier asks you if you have a loyalty card? The next time it happens ask if you can have a form to apply for one. All those trips to various supermarkets can help you raise useful sums of money and earn coupons that will save you cash. Collect all of the cards for all the shops you go to and keep them in your wallet. A free fiver off here and there will add up.

Make Packed Lunches

Packed lunches are much cheaper than buying food on the go. It takes just a few extra minutes in the morning or before bed to make them up so it’s not like you don’t have time to do it. Make your own lunch and stop popping to the canteen or bakery for lunch. It’s not only a lot cheaper it’s often a great way of stopping yourself eating sugary snacks and fatty foods.

Shop for Bargains

Bargain Hunt isn’t only a great antiques programme on television; it’s also a savvy way to shop. When you’re in the shops you need to look for products that have been marked down. When you shop online head straight for the sales and clearances too, it’s amazing what bargains are out there ready to be snapped up. You also need to hunt around for the cheapest petrol prices, special offers and change your suppliers for cheaper tariffs.

See if You Can Earn More Money

If you’re really struggling, the only option is to try and bring more money into the home. Look for a second job or try and raise some funds through your hobby. If you are on a low income you may also be entitled to some extra help, click here for some useful phone numbers to learn about benefits that you might be entitled to.

How to Improve Your Financial Condition in 2013

Finance (Photo credit: Tax Credits)

The year 2013 is filled with uncertainties related to changing tax laws, concern over online security and privacy and challenges faced by each and every demographic group. Even the wealthy group is facing steep increases in tax this year. In such a scenario, it is difficult for you to mange your finances.

However, undertaking some measures would help you to attain your monetary goals for this year. If you are fed up of experimenting with various techniques to improve your financial condition, it time for a change now. This article states some effective measures that would certainly help you to significantly improve your finances in this year.

Tips to improve finances in 2013:

Shop mostly when discounts are offered in the market.

Discounts and special offers are given on a large number of occasions. Massive discounts are offered in various places on Black Friday, Labor Day, July Fourth and other occasions. But, nowadays the retailers offer sales almost for the entire year, even at unexpected times. In 2012, the Christmas sales began in October and continued for the entire season, in many places. The year-round sales are a good opportunity for buyers to get the best deals at relatively lower prices, at almost all times of a year. Shopping when sales are being offered in the market can help you to significantly save money and improve your finances.

Buy only what you need.

Retailers, nowadays offer various kinds of items and goods that are outstanding in every way. But, instead of getting tempted when shopping, it is wise to control your temptation and go for only those items that you really need. Also, compare the prices of items that you need to buy. You may find a store offering the same thing at a lower price, than its price at a different store. This would require you to do a bit of research before buying. Comparison becomes very important when you go for purchasing expensive items. Though these small advices are well-known to most of the buyers, but only of them follow them.

Arrive at a budget after discussing with your partner.

The disagreement between you and your spouse or partner, over how the shared income should be spent, can be quite stressful. But, it is a very important to discuss your budget and spending ways with your partner before going for spending. A budget decided by both of you would be more realistic, which would help you to attain your financial goals.

Pay your debt slowly.

When you have a significant amount of debt to pay, it is not possible to pay off the amount overnight. Attempting to pay off your debt in one time can have an adverse effect on your finances. So, it is advised to pay off the debt at a slower pace. Bring some changes to your spending habits and lay emphasis on saving more. Once your expenditure is under your control and you have made significant savings, start paying off your debt.

Conclusion:

These are some primary measures you can take to improve your finances for this year. The current year has a lot of uncertainly and inflation is also a concern at many places. Keeping these factors in mind, the above mentioned tips can significantly help you to build a strong financial status.

Author’s Bio: Alisa Martin is a financial expert who contributes articles on topics like investment types. In this article, she has discussed timber investment and Ethical Forestry as investment giant.

Brits Keen to Make Home Improvements

Those most likely to get stuck into projects to revamp their homes were consumers aged 35 to 44. Among this demographic, nearly four in five consumers (79 per cent) had enhanced their properties.

Commenting on the findings, Avant Homes marketing director Rob Slocombe, said: “The housing market conditions of the last few years has meant that many homeowners have not had the necessary deposit to secure a mortgage and so therefore have opted to stay in their current property and make improvements to it until they can afford to move.

“This research reveals the considerable investment that is required for such improvements and tells us a lot about what today’s buyers are looking for in a home to make it suitable for their current lifestyle needs.”

By researching the log book loans available now, consumers may be able to realise their ambitions of improving their properties. Meanwhile, taking this approach could have positive long-term financial repercussions. Although they will have to spend money in order to achieve the results they are after, people could succeed in boosting the value of their homes, meaning that if and when they come to sell their abodes, they stand to make money.

For the best results, it is vital that consumers choose reliable and competitive logbook loan providers. By researching companies before making any commitments, individuals can provide themselves with added peace of mind.

Meanwhile, it is also important that homeowners are savvy when deciding which projects to undertake. Certain alterations make particularly good investments. For example, adding space to homes tends to be an effective way to boost their value. There is plenty of advice available over the web if individuals are unsure.

Author Bio: 

Anna Longdin is a freelance blogger who keeps up with the latest trends in personal finance. She contributes to a range of websites, including Varooma.

How to Alter Your Spending Behavior

Let's face it; the dollar isn't as stable as it once was. As you age and retirement approaches, it becomes ever more important to save as much money as possible. There is a definite increase in the need to maximize the buying power of your precious income to avoid struggling with a fixed income. 

Smarter Banking

There's an old saying that you will be older a lot longer than you'll be young and the prospect of living on a fixed income is inevitable for most of us. For this reason, people in their golden years should take proactive steps to ensure their financial independence for the future. Perhaps the most important step seniors can take to secure financial security is to transfer their savings to a bank with high yield interest rates such as as ING Direct. There's an old adage that poor people work for their money and wealthy people make their money work for them so learning to do this is paramount for people approaching retirement. Fortunately, there are other ways to stretch your dollar further.

Online Coupons

Virtually every good or service available on the open market offers some sort of online savings program. Even ordering pizza can yield as much as 50% savings with promotional codes. To achieve the majority of these coupons you simply have to do an online search for them. If you were going to go shopping for a particular brand of paper towels, you could simply enter coupons for 'Bounty' into a search engine and a number of different websites such as retail me not will be delivered to you. Some websites even offer coupons that can be printed out right from your home. Everything from over the counter medicines to car insurance can be found online at discounted rates so be sure to take advantage. 

Stopping the Shopping

If you're over 50, chances are you've got several decades worth of high quality clothing so there's no need to go shopping for more every pay period or even every other pay period. That money would be much better served going into your bank account where it can grow. It seems like people become more susceptible to impulse buying as they age but you should keep your impending retirement in mind and avoid frivolous spending to satisfy an impulse. 

Budgeting Your Money

Your golden years should be the most enjoyable time in your life where you reap the benefits of your decades of hard work. But age is supposed to bring wisdom so budgeting your money wisely should become easier with time. You should make a realistic budget for every month and stick to it. The sacrifices you make now will benefit you greatly in the future. Allow yourself X amount of dollars every month for food, gas and leisure and abide by it. Something as simple as setting the sleep timer on your TV can save you a few dollars a month which become hundreds over the years. This may require you to eat at home more often and substitute ground beef for steak but the peace of mind that securing your financial future can bring is priceless. 

Exhibit Discipline

This is the most important step of all because all the financial planning does nothing if you don't abide by your own rules. Resisting the urge to over spend now will now will reward you very greatly in the future. A penny saved is a penny earned and all those pennies will help to finance your lifestyle in the future so use the wisdom that comes with age when spending money and you should have a happy retirement when the time comes.

Author Bio

Joshua Turner is a writer who creates informative articles in relation to business. In this article, he describes how spending behaviors can be altered and aims to encourage further study with UC Applied Behavior Analysis Masters. 

Save Money by Living on Cash

We’ve all done it – gone out for the day and stopped in for a coffee, a sandwich, maybe a few things at the drugstore and used our credit cards for each purchase. Small charges add up and suddenly you’re drowning in debt.

A great solution is to step away from your reliance on credit cards by using cash for all your purchases. 

Credit equals irresponsibility

Of course, we all love using credit cards; they seem more convenient than cash and they offer enticing points and bonuses. But the reality of credit cards is that they’re too easy to use. This makes consumers feel as though they have unlimited amounts of money, but we don’t.

Some people become so in love with shopping that their families are forced to send them to addiction rehab centers. Thus, we need a worthwhile system to track our spending while sticking to a budget. The answer? Cash.

Choose where the money goes

Each week or month, create a budget that works for your needs. Take into account what you’ll need to spend on transportation, food, home or medical needs, childcare, entertainment and any other requirements. Then decide what portion of your weekly income should be assigned to each category.

Generally, you should put away 10% of your net income for savings and an emergency fund. Once the money for each expense has been allocated, simply hide the credit cards!

Keep yourself on track

You can’t spend what you don’t have, so try not to cheat. Some over-50 consumers rely on their friends or partner to ensure they don’t take from one category to fill another. Maintain a notebook or spreadsheet to write down all purchases made. This allows you to keep track, in real time, of where your money goes. 

Money-saving apps

These days, almost everyone has a smartphone or tablet computer. And while buying the latest technology can be a huge drain on your finances, there's a number of apps out there that actually help you save money by promoting day-to-day budgeting and make it easy to keep track of your spending.

Here are two of our favorites:

· Expenditure (iPhone): Expenditure gives you everything you need to budget effectively, and then some. Set a budget, log your daily expenses and track your progress over the month. The app also includes a number of handy features such as a built-in currency converter for international travelers.
· Moneywise (Android): Moneywise gives you a powerful suite of reporting and tracking features to manage your budget on an Android-powered smartphone or tablet. Create and adjust custom budgets on the fly and export graphs and tables for review on your home computer. 

Some final thoughts on cash budgeting

The great thing about the cash system is that it forces you to be aware of every penny. This consequently leads to great savings as you’re counting out those dimes and quarters at the cash register. Once you’ve implemented the cash system, you’ll immediately see the savings!

No more mindless shopping – now go out and save those dollar bills!

Old School Finance Tips That Work

English: Debit Card(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There are all kinds of things people can learn from the Great Recession. However, the biggest lesson is that there’s no such thing as a guarantee. While some investments may be conservative, they’re still a gamble. Locked-in interest rates usually aren’t worth the trouble, considering you’re making a large set of funds unavailable for emergency situations. It’s safe to say more people are miss-managing their money (whether it’s a lot or a little) today than they were 100 years ago.

While you won’t get rich from old school investment and savings strategies, you will be relatively secure. How did our grandparents save, invest and manage their money? Maybe they knew a few things that today’s race for high ROIs leaves in the dust. After all, slow and steady has long been the mantra for many things in life, so why not money management?

Actually Budget

Everyone knows you “should” have a budget, but do you actually have one in place? A budget is a written down, line item document that itemizes every single expense and source of income. A budget is something you stick to even if you really want a new BBQ for the summer or if large garden desperately needs an expensive organic rabbit repellant (you should budget-in emergency funds). Despite this knowledge, most people don’t have one or fail to follow its guidelines.

However, most people also have a salary, work the same amount of hours, or get the same benefits each month. It’s no secret how much money you get, and it shouldn’t be a secret how much money you spend. Write down your fixed-costs, such as utilities and actually track how much you spend on everything else. You’ll quickly pinpoint some ways to save money and make sure you re-direct it to savings, emergency funds or retirement.

Use Cash and Precious Metals

It’s simply easier to spend on a debit or credit card than with cash. In an emergency situation, it’s always best to have cash on hand, and maybe even some precious metals bought when the prices were low. However, cash is also easy to steal and most burglars know exactly where to look. Invest in a fire-proof safe that’s bolted to the home and impossible to remove to store vital documents, cash and other precious belongings — that’s what our grandparents did.

Sadly, most banks don’t offer a good enough interest rate to make savings accounts worthwhile. You can easily get disheartened looking at monthly interests that never go beyond single figures. If you have trouble saving, choose an online account and opt out of getting debit cards and checks. You can still transfer funds to make them accessible, but it will take a few days so it stops impulse purchases. 

Reconsider Needs

A big problem many people have while budgeting is their undefined definition of necessities. Few people need a house as nice or as large as the one they live in, or the cars that they have in the garage. If you really want to be financially sound, keep in mind you’ll likely need more than your current income per year when you retire. Suddenly the urge to save is much stronger — and you find downsizing a little easier.

Properly Managing Your Personal Finances

Although the recession may be nearly over – according to some though not all financial experts – that doesn’t mean you can breathe a sigh of relief and go back to your old financial ways. There are some excellent benefits afforded to those who make the effort to properly manage their personal finances, and in fact, many experts are now of the opinion that personal finance should be a compulsory subject taught in high schools to educate young people how to effectively manage their finances in order to avoid – amongst other problematic outcomes – filing for bankruptcy. 

Why properly managing your finances is important

It’s important to learn how to manage your personal finances for a number of reasons, all of which concern your quality of life. Whilst it isn’t wrong to point out that there are more important things in life than money, it is, however, difficult to enjoy life and your relationships when you’re under the cosh financially.

Borrowing – When applying for finance, like a credit card or loan for example, your credit history will prove to be an important factor in how much you repay on what you borrow. For example if you have a poor credit history as a result of managing your personal finances poorly, you’re likely to repay much more than someone who has kept their personal finances in order.

Marriage and relationships – Your personal finances can also affect your marriage or relationship with your partner for better or for worse. Nothing breaks up relationships faster or more destructively than financial strife and indeed during times of financial strife, like the global economic crisis of late, the number of breakups and divorces is often found to increase.

Your future – It’s essentially your future that’s at stake where the management of your personal finances are concerned, and that of your family if you have dependents. This should serve as the impetus required to take a more active interest in properly managing your personal finances. Your retirement and your children’s future are at stake here, which should illustrate the importance of proper personal finance management.

Personal finance apps

In recent times there have been some notable personal finance apps released for both the Android and the iOS operating systems, many of which, like Expensify, Mint, Manilla and Slice, are free to download from the Google Play store and the Apple store.

Expensify – Widely considered to be among the best apps for business travellers, this app is aimed at businesspeople but anyone can use it.

Mint – Although Mint takes a little time to set up, the general consensus is that this app is one of the most useful.

Manilla – This personal finance app has been found indispensable by those looking to consolidate their personal finances and stay on top of bills.

Slice – An ideal personal finance app for those with a love of online shopping, Slice supports all the major service providers including Gmail and iCloud.

A few handy tips for better personal finance management when borrowing

There are a number of ways to manage your personal finances more effectively, including shopping around for a personal loan in order to apply for the most competitive loan offered. Where borrowing is concerned, it’s imperative that you shop around for the most competitive products, and if you’re applying for a mortgage the general consensus is that it’s best to put down as large a deposit as possible to reduce the total amount repaid.

Furthermore, don’t overlook the importance of creating a budget when making repayments so that you’re comfortably able to repay what you’ve borrowed without adversely affecting your quality of life.

About the Author:Morgan Finance in New Zealand is a business offering financial products for business or personal needs. To know how to get a personal loan, visit morganfinance.co.nz.

5 Tips for Setting yourself up for Retirement

We often hear stories about pensioners who have so little money that they have to eat dog food to survive. Often this is because circumstances have not worked in their favour, and the fact is that in life there are no guarantees. Having said that there are ways that you can do your best to ensure that you have prepared adequately for when you retire. Here are 5 tips for setting yourself up for retirement.

Have a plan

Just going through life without worrying about the future might work for some, but often it can be a case of the squirrel who did not collect enough nuts for the winter. Thinking into the future, and planning ahead is the best way to ensure that you have set in place a plan that will serve you when you retire from work.

Educate yourself about investment

An investment in your future is well worth the money. There are lots of different courses available for people to learn how to best manage their retirement plan so that they can get the most out of life when they retire. The money that you pay now for information about investing will be money that you have invested into your own future.

Live to your means

There is no point in spending a lot of money to keep up with the Jones’s as this is something that will not bear fruit for you in the future. The money that you waste now in buying ‘things’ to give the illusion of wealth will be money that you don’t have later on when you really need it to live. Having a credit card that you use to buy frivolous purchases could end up being a debt that you are still dragging along behind you later in life. If you are good at saving money but have it too accessible then you might find yourself spending it on things that you don’t need, so put it into a term deposit or investment and make it work for you.

Own Your Own Home

Owning your own home is a really important part of having something to show for yourself in your retirement. When you make each monthly payment it builds to your equity automatically which will work for your future. You can arrange to have your final mortgage payment just before you retire so that you know you will not have any debt as you move into this stage of life.

Use Common Sense

When making investments, use common sense, and most importantly seek help. If you receive dodgy emails asking for your bank details, use your common sense and ask if it is kocher. Asking for help with making decisions about your money will ensure that you are always working with the knowledge of experience that others have already gained. This will help you to maximise what you have, and prepare you better for enjoying your retirement. Meredon Consulting have a lot of experience with maximising retirement plans, so give them a call if you have any questions.

How to Protect Your Credit Standing

A credit card is a payment card issued to users as a system of payment. It allows the cardholder to pay for goods and services based on the holder's promise to pay for them. The issuer of the card creates a revolving account and grants a line of credit to theconsumer . The modern credit card was the successor of a variety of merchant credit schemes 

If we talk about a couple of investment services, now it’s time to talk credit scores! Your credit score is a measure of your financial stability and a key component to approve your loan. So, naturally, we have to keep track of our score. So Credit Sesame is one of the brand names that are designed for credit monitoring. This site actually lets you monitor your credit score for free.

Credit Sesame uses complex algorithms to give you a gauge of your overall credit worthiness in their own, very unique credit score. Although it is not an F.I.C.O. score, it’s still worth tracking. Also, your score is updated every month for monthly tracking of your progress.

Credit Sesame is a free credit score and credit monitoring provider. Not the type of free that only lasts for a week or two but, free for life. Credit Sesame was created in 2010 as a free tool for consumers to monitor their credit reports. They provide various tools that allow you to track loans, payments, credit scores and more and, they never ask you for a credit card!

Credit Sesame Review

Credit Sesame is 100% free, they provide a way to see how much money you owe to whom and great finance management tools and you can get credit score update per month. Credit score provided is not the credit score that you’re looking for. There is a difference between the F.I.C.O. score and any score calculated by anyone else. Credit Sesamedoes their own calculations.

Credit Sesame is becoming so popular with monthly monitoring tools; you can watch your report for security and growth. It’s always good to keep track of your loans. If you haven’t done so in a while, you may be surprised when you open your Credit Sesame account. Their debt and loan analysis tool can help you to prioritize your debts and get them paid off faster!

Credit Sesame has tools that help you save money by reducing payments on loans. You can even customize the alerts so that you get an email when it’s time to save!

When you get to the website ModestMoney.com, you need to give them your social security number and answer a few security questions. Once you’ve answered the security questions, you will be taken to your dashboard which is very user friendly.

My Overall Thoughts about Credit Sesame Review on ModestMoney.com is that it is a great company that has come up with a great product. It provides us a platform that makes the lenders pays for your service through advertisement. The tools provided by Credit Sesame have helped consumers to take control of their financial stability and can definitely help you.