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BUDGET HELP | ||
Budgeting 101 |
| Money Saving |
| Money Saving Categories |
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Auto Insurance Banking Fees Credit Cards Long Distance Miscellaneous |
Auto Insurance Your suggestion on watching out for ATM fees is an excellent one. I
have an addition to it: we live 1/2 hour from our bank and further from
any of their ATM machines. (We plan on changing banks soon, but it's
hard to find one closer that has less fees.) For the meantime, we use
direct point-of-sale transactions to get cash. For example, when we
shop at the supermarket we use our ATM card and ask for $10 extra cash.
Each store has a different limit on what they will give you in cash, so
it takes some research and planning, but it pays off in the end since
there is no fee for point-of-sale ATM transactions. Of course, this
could be specific to our bank, but I think not. It's worth a try! And
it works even better if you are out of state and there is no hope of
finding your bank's ATM.
Check your statement. Do you pay a checking account fee each month? Fee for using a check card? Banks are really socking it to the customer these days. There are a lot of banks that have very few fees. Might be time to change banks.
Carrying a Balance? Cut the Blooming Things Up!!
Cut up your plastics and pay off your balances. If your balances are too high
to pay them off, instead of depositing money into a savings account, pay
yourself by reducing the balance each month on your credit card accounts. If
you receive offers for low APRs for 6 months or a year, "surf" the rates and
call to effect a balance transfer (read the fine print, though). Revolving
high credit card balances each month costs you hundreds of dollars each year
... dollars you could be using to go on a dream vacation, donate to a charity
you love, or help out a family member or friend who is in need.
Pay on Time!!
Pay your credit card bills on time and in full. It sounds obvious, but
many people do not pay on time, thus incurring a $10-$20 late charge.
MANY people do not pay in full, thus incurring interest charges on the
remaining amount. Companies like VISA and MasterCard already charge the
seller about 5% on each purchase made with their card. If you think the
seller eats the 5%, you're probably wrong. Many sales outfits pass on
the 5% charge to you (i.e., "cash discounts"). Why should credit
companies make more money by charging you interest on your bill when you
already paid for the convenience when you bought the product?
Need some extra cash?
Whenever I recieve a solicitation by
mail from a long distance company (other than my current provider), that
includes a check as an inticement to switch services, I call my current
service and ask them what they can do for me if I don't switch. They always
give me some kind of credit, and have even matched the amount of the other
companies uncashed check! Last year I recieved $70 in long distance credit,
and the year before that $150!
On-Line Coupons!
I have just recently figured out that even the $0.10 coupons can be a help
when shopping for groceries. I go to a website called Nesteggz.com. You have
to be a member which is "Free", and then you can start getting some coupons
to print out on your printer which can be used at your local stores. I have
recieved coupons so far in the amount of $5.oo and I just started this week.
They even have samples you can get by answering surveys. I have recieved
coupons for free stuff by doing this and believe me this helps tremendously.
I think your readers will enjoy the site and pass on the information just
like I will about this site for people who want to watch their money closer.
Do you have any good money saving ideas you want to share? If so, E-Mail me and I'll post them (giving you full credit of course).
Raise your deductible
What's your current deductible? It should be at LEAST $250, unless you're one of those drivers that gets into an accident every year, then there is no hope for you in this area . Call your agent tomorrow and find out what the difference is in your premium if you raise your deductible. If it costs you say $75 to have that low $100 deductible rather than having a $250 dollar deductible, then you are effectively buying only $150 of coverage with that $75!! That is bad. If you only file a claim every 3 years, it is actually costing you an additional $75 for that low deductible. BEWARE, don't raise your deductible high if you don't have the money set aside incase you do have an accident.
Shop for a new company
Have you been with the same company for a long time? When was the last time you shopped for a lower rate? If you have a good driving record and are currently insured with a major insurance company, call a couple of other reputable companies. Make sure you have a copy of your existing policy when you call so you can be sure to get a quote based on the same coverage. BEWARE some agents will give you a quote based on lower levels of coverage to lead you to believe their rates are a lot lower, MAKE SURE YOU ARE GETTING A QUOTE FOR THE SAME COVERAGE. If you do get a quote that is lower, have them fax or mail a copy of the quote, then call your existing insurance company to see if they will match it. Many times they will. You will have saved money and avoided the hassle of switching companies =)
Bank Fees
Cash Machine Fees
Does your bank charge you a fee for each withdraw you make from a cash machine that they don't own? Most do anymore. Not only will your bank charge you a fee but the bank that owns the cash machine you are using will most likely charge you as well. If you pull out $20 from one of these machines and have to pay fees of $3, that is a 15% charge. That is robbery and should be a crime. Check your last bank statement and see how many of these charges you had. These can really add up quickly. There is really no excuse for incurring these fees month after month, you're just giving your money away. A little planning on your cash withdrawals, and you can avoid these.
(Thanks to Daniel and Joanne Steinhart for this tip!!)
Overdraft Fees
So you forgot to deposit that check and were overdrawn. The bank is sure to charge you at least $15, and if they returned the check to the person you wrote the check to, many times that person will charge you as well, usually $20 or more. Now that little oversight cost you $35. Ouch. Solution: check to see if your bank offers overdraft protection. This is usually very cheap. It works like a credit card. If you are overdrawn, the bank puts money into your checking account and charges you interest on the money you borrowed from them. Some banks will automatically pay off the balance when your checking account has enough money in it, but others will require you to call and make the transfer from your checking account to the loan account. Sometimes the interest rate is high (18%), but paying 18% on $500 is only about 25 cents a day! So you get overdrawn and pay the loan back in 5 days it only costs you $1.25 rather than $35.
Other Fees
Credit Cards
(Thanks to the anonymous user that supplied this tip!)
(Thanks to Ben Allfree for this tip!)
Long Distance
(Thanks to "Wavey" for this tip!!!)
Miscellaneous
Thanks to Kimberly Clements