Money Wise Blog

This final part to our series on stretching a dollar is going to examine how to get more for your money when buying gasoline.  Everyone knows that gas prices go up and down.  No matter what the price is today you still want to make sure you get the most out of each gallon.

If you are like most people you are spending a large chunk of your budget on gasoline each month.  To help you get more from your dollar you can try the following tips:

- Car Pool.  This may or may not be an option for you.  Look into it because if you can car pool you may end up saving a lot of money on gas.

- Get Regular Tune Ups.  Keeping your car in good running shape will help it to get better gas mileage.  The money you save will more than pay for the cost of the tune up.

- Shop Around.  Many people have a favorite gasoline station, but it pays to shop around for gas.  Figure out where the cheapest prices are and get your gas there.  Always watch prices and look for the best deal.

This series has, hopefully, helped you learn some great tricks to making your dollar go a little further. With all the money you are saving you may just be able to splurge every once and while on something fun with the family.

This second installment in the series teaching you how to save money and make a dollar go further will talk about how to save on household items.   Everyone needs the staples – toilet paper, paper towels, cleaning supplies and laundry supplies.  Not everyone knows the trick to getting more for you money, though.

If you still buy these things from the grocery store then you are wasting a lot of money and not really getting the best value for your money.  The best place to go to buy things like this is the local dollar store.  Almost every town has a dollar store.  They sell name brand items –just like those you get at the grocery – for less.  You can save anywhere from $1 to $5 if you shop smart at the dollar store.

Many people think they will have to buy a cheap brand, but that is not true.  You can get all the brand names you trust right at the dollar store.  Give it a try and you will see just how far you can get that dollar to stretch.

This three part series will review the many ways you can stretch a dollar and get more for your money.  The first part is going to examine how to get more for your dollar for entertainment.

Nobody wants to spend all their hard earned money on bills.  Everyone takes some money to spend on entertainment and fun things to do.  Entertainment can range form Friday night movies to theme park trips.

When you are living on a budget you need to find ways to get the most for your money when it comes to entertainment because when things get tight this is the first thing that is cut.
One thing you can do is start to look for specials.  If you usually get pizza and a movie on the weekend then you should find the pizza place with the best deal.  You should also take advantage of special offers from your local movie joint or consider joining an online video rental where you will get more for your money if you get a lot of movies every month.

Another way to entertain for cheap is to seek out those free deals.  There is a lot of free fun if you only look for it.  May towns have festivals and other fun events that are free to enjoy.  You may also find fun at your local library where you can even get videos for free.

You have to be creative when it comes to entertainment because it is too easy to overspend and then end up having to cut entertainment from your budget all together.

You have probably heard the stories of these women who go into the grocery store, buy $500 worth of groceries and end up paying only $200 because they used coupons.  You probably have even given coupons a try, but fell short of saving huge cash.  The reason you failed is because you are not using coupons to their maximum effectiveness.

Using coupons is actually a bit more complex than simply pulling them out at the register. You actually need to plan when to use coupons to get the best deal.

It all starts with gathering up coupons.  You should look in the Sunday paper for the coupons that generally come in the inserts.  You may also find coupons requests online.  You can try online coupons that you print off but many stores refuse to take them, so that could end up being a time waster.

Once you have your coupons you need to coordinate coupons with sales.  You want to use coupons on items that are already on sale so you get a major discount on the item.  Also remember that if you do not need it then you should not buy it just because you have a coupon.

There are actually some websites online that will help you learn the best way to use coupons.  It is really a type of game that can be fun once you get into it.  So, go ahead and see what you can do with coupons.  You may be surprised at how much money you save when you do it right.

Prioritizing your expenses can be a difficult process. However, if you put expenses into three categories you should find it much easier to do. Once prioritized you should find it much easier to manage your expenses.

The first category of expenses is those essential expenses. Your essential expenses include shelter and food. These are expenses that you must pay or there will be huge consequences to pay.

The second category of expenses is those that should be paid. These expenses include things like cable television and credit card debt. While not paying these expenses will not have dire consequences, like losing your home, they are still important expenses that should be a priority to pay.

The last category of expenses are everything else. In this category are all the extra things you spend money on that are not vital to your existence or otherwise really necessary.

You will prioritize your expenses by paying the first category first followed by the second category and third category.

Not all banks are created equal. Many people simply run to the nearest hometown bank or a big name bank, open an account and assume everything is fine. However, in this time of financial turmoil you need to be a bit choosier about where you do your financial business.

It is true that your money is safe in a bank due to the FDIC guarantee, but that is only up to a certain amount and even then you are not covered for everything. It is important that you do a little research into a bank before doing business there.

Fees and charges are not really that regulated and banks take every opportunity they can to charge you money for doing business with them. It is very important before opening an account that you take a good look at the fees and charges that the bank has in place. You should shop around and try to find the bank with the best policies and lowest fees.

Choosing the wrong bank can mean hundreds of dollars in fees and charges when you make one simple mistake on your checking register. You need to look out for yourself. Make sure you always check into a bank before you start doing business with them.

Balancing a checkbook is a simple money management task that everyone should know how to do. Some people think it is complicated, but balancing a checkbook really is not that difficult. All it takes is understanding the process and a calculator.

To start with you will need a calculator, your checkbook and your account statement.

You need to begin by comparing your checkbook and account statement. You should mark off every listing in your checkbook that is also listed on your statement.

When you have went through the whole statement and checkbook you then need to list all the outstanding transactions – the things listed in your checkbook that are not on the statement – and write them down. Be sure to note if they are a deposit or a withdraw (this could be an actual withdraw, a check or debit card purchase).

You should subtract all withdraws from the account balance listed on your statement and add all the deposits to the account balance listed on your statement. The final total should match what you have in your checkbook.

If the totals do not match you need to go back through and check to be sure you did not forget to write any transactions in your checkbook or that you did not miss matching any transactions from your checkbook to your statement.

That is all there is to balancing your checkbook. After a few times you should find it is a simple task that does not take very long to do.

Out of control spending habits are normal, but that does not mean they are okay. Spending money you should not spend is a great way to end up in financial trouble. To avoid over spending and to better manage your money try these three tips for taming spending:

1. Keep a spending log for a week. Write down everything you spend money on. Make sure to note what you bought. At the end of the week look back over it and you will probably see some wasteful spending. You may not have even realized just what you really spend money on. This can be a huge eye opener and for many people is all they need to stop spending needlessly.

2. Stop eating out so much. Eating out is a common way that people overspend. Even the quick trips to grab something to drink add up. Plan ahead and start eating before you leave home or carry a cup with you that is always filled with your favorite beverage.

3. Give yourself an allowance. If you simply can not seem to tame your spending then you should try giving yourself an allowance. Once your allowance is spent then you can not spend anymore. It is a simple concept but it works for many people.

When developing your household budget you know you have to figure income and expenses. It is common to have to budget expenses that vary month to month, but some people have the added challenge of having to budget a varying income.

When your income varies from month to month it can make things very difficult. In the case of a varying income you have to do budgeting a little different.

You need to try to get an estimate of your average monthly pay. You should also note the lowest pay. You can not guarantee that you will get paid the average so you can not rely on that, but it will give you a starting point.

Once you have an idea of your average pay you can start working on your budget. You should also consider your budget if you were to make the lowest pay.

You need to have a savings fund set aside for those months when you make under the average pay. The months where you make over the average pay you will take the amount over the average and put it in that savings fund.

By using an average pay and setting up the savings fund you should be able to regulate your budget just as someone does with a set income.