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Shelley Elmblad's BlogPosted by Shelley Elmblad Coupons have helped me to stick to my budget for years, and if I have a high-value coupon on something that is on sale, I have to restrain myself from doing a happy dance right in the store aisle. Yes, I get that excited about saving so I can stick to my budget! Is clipping coupons worth your time? If you keep coupons organized, it probably is. Lena Gott has some great ideas for getting coupons organized and finding the best deals in How to Save Money with Coupons. Add a price book to couponing to realize some substantial savings in your personal budget. Posted by Shelley Elmblad I'm finishing up my Christmas shopping, almost all of which I'm doing online on sites that offer free shipping, which is good for my budget. I found these deals so far and I'm passing them on to you so you do holiday shopping from home and stick to your budget. Amazon.com 4-for-3 promotion:
JCPenney Free Shipping and Discounts:
HearthSong $4.99 Shipping:
Target 10% Off:
LLBean Free Shipping, $10 Gift Card Offer
Posted by Shelley Elmblad FiveCentNickel.com has a great analysis of three methods of paying off debt. FiveCentNickel took a hypothetical couple with two credit card debts and a car loan, each with a different balance and interest rate, then posed the question, "Which debt should you pay off first?" From there, Nickel compares three methods of debt reduction: Dave Ramsey's debt snowball, paying down the debt with highest interest rate first, or concentrating payments on the debt with the lowest ratio of outstanding balance to minimum amount due. Normally, I would pay off the debt with the highest interest rate first, but I like I like how Nickel analyzed the alternatives and I'll refer back to his blog post, Dave Ramsey is Bad at Math then next time I need to decide which debt to pay off first. The post is from a couple of years ago, but the methodology never goes out of style. For more debt-reduction ideas be sure to read Paying Credit Card Debt Creatively, where Felicia Williams discusses how to pay off debts sooner without paying a higher monthly amount. Great idea, Felicia! Posted by Shelley Elmblad Chances are good that you have some Thanksgiving turkey left overs in your freezer. If you don't, you need to get out and shop the sales for Christmas turkeys to save money by having left overs and an extra turkey or two in the freezer to enjoy later in the year. My Healthy Cost-Cutter Turkey Soup is a simple, healthy recipe with directions for freezing some of the soup to further stretch your budget dollars. Vary the seasonings in the broth, add a splash of wine or use white and wild rice or barley in place of the pasta to make the soup a little differently each time you serve it. In my house, no meal is complete without dessert, and this time of year we are topping off our delicious turkey soup meal with very easy and budget-conscious Christmas Pretzel Cookies. Yum! The turkey soup recipe is a meal-stretcher because you get many meals from one main course. Can you share any meal-stretching recipes or ideas? Please post them in the Personal Budgeting Food Stretchers Discussion! Posted by Shelley Elmblad Have an IKEA store within tolerable driving distance? Go Christmas shopping at IKEA! Save scads of cash shopping at IKEA for Christmas ornaments, lights, Christmas trees and other low-cost holiday decorating. Also check out IKEA for low-cost, high quality holiday gifts like toys, dishes, candles, wall art and all kinds of quality, low-cost kitchen and bath paraphernalia. I recently did some early Christmas shopping with friends at IKEA. My group arrived at IKEA before the merchandise floors were open, but IKEA's restaurant was open. I had a delicious cinnamon roll with a cup of coffee, with the coffee being free until 10:00 a.m. I noticed that IKEA's restaurant had some good healthy choices and the food prices were all ridiculously low. What a great way to start off this holiday shopping excursion. I was confused about how to get between three floors with my large shopping cart until one of the IKEA staff showed me the cart escalator that moves between floors right next to the "people escalator". I put my cart on the escalator and held my breath, hoping it would stay upright - which it did! The selection and variety IKEA offers for furniture and supplies for home and office is nothing short of amazing. There were even some toys, indoor plants, pet supplies, and packaged foods that made great Christmas and holiday gifts. IKEA furniture is so inexpensive that I expected it to be flimsy or shaky, but everything I sat on or tried to shake was solid. Read more about IKEA and see how you can save money on Christmas shopping this year. More Holiday Shopping Help Frugal Toy Shopping for Christmas Track Your Christmas Spending with Free Personal Finance Software Posted by Shelley Elmblad Whether you had to take the plunge into declaring bankruptcy or you are considering doing so, you can recover financially starting with some simple measures.
Personal Budgeting Tools Budget Templates for Spreadsheets ~ Create Your Budget on Paper ~ Budgeting in College Posted by Shelley Elmblad Retail analysts and Wharton School scholars both have proclaimed early Christmas sales for everyone! That's because with the economic downturn in the United States, many consumers are either strapped by debt, burdened by energy costs or less confident about future earnings -- or all three. This leads the majority of consumers to spend less or at least to take more time shopping around for the best prices. When people do not buy, retail inventories pile up and this cost combined with the lack of sales does not make for profits. In response to this situation, the best thing the retail industry can do is to follow Wal-Mart's lead and slash prices by offering holiday sales in hopes of generating profits. I have noticed more free shipping offers from mail order and online retailers as well (great news for someone like me who avoids stepping into a bricks-and-mortar store if at all possible). Price-slashed Christmas and holiday sales bring in less profit, but price cuts give retailers a chance at some profit at the end of the holiday shopping season. Sounds kind of dismal, doesn't it? That is not the case for you as the consumer. Watch for great holiday sale prices and for drastic after-holiday clearance prices, and enjoy less expensive holiday giving. And take advantage of lower holiday sale prices by stocking up on items you use or plan to give later in the year. The advice in How to Shop Clearance Sales applies to this frugal shopping strategy, and to get into the nitty-gritty of finding the best holiday sale prices, start keeping a price book now. Read The Holiday Shopping Outlook: I Saw Mommy Dissing Santa Claus from Knowledge@Warton to learn more about holiday shopping trends. Knowledge@Wharton is the online free-access business journal published by Wharton University. Posted by Shelley Elmblad Have you noticed the free personal finance software popping up all over the Internet? Using online software means you never need to download or install software, and you never install updates and need to restart your computer when you are in the middle of working. This is because online software is used through your web browser like Firefox or Internet Explorer. Some free online personal finance software automatically downloads your financial account transactions and they require you to enter your financial account information to do so. These sites generally maintain the tightest security, but if you do not want to enter financial account information, you can still use free online financial software to manage your money. Read Free Personal Finance Software: Top 3 Free Online Personal Finance Software to learn more and to read about the differences between my favorite online money management software. Posted by Shelley Elmblad The Freecycle Network™ started to reduce waste in landfills and save the environment, which is a very worthy cause, but online Freecycle communities can save you a lot of money while providing a way for you to get things out of your house that you no longer need. I read about Freecycle communities a year or so and joined the online Freecycle group in my community. The free stuff being given away includes coupons, computer monitors, furniture, clothes, a sand box, toys and perennial plants. Really, you can find anything for free with a Freecycle group, as long as that free stuff is legal. I moved several months ago and had planned to sell an entertainment center that did not fit in with my new decorating scheme. Months passed and I never got around to putting an ad in the paper, so I decided to just post it on my Freecycle group and give it away. It was in great condition and someone would be happy with it. While I was at it, I posted the bike my daughter grew out of last year which also was practically new. Within hours, the free entertainment center and bike was out of my garage, freeing up space and being used by someone else. Today I gave away VHS work out videos I did not need just because I updated to DVD versions. There are Freecycle communities in over 70 countries, so chances are there is one close to you and if there isn't, you can start one for your area. Get the details about how Freecycle groups work. Related: 20 Ways to Go Green: Preserve Our Ecosystem Using These Environmentally Friendly Ideas Posted by Shelley Elmblad Alright, I have an admission to make as I hang my head in shame: I, the personal budgeting feature writer, have allowed my daughter's savings account to languish at a local bank while it collects 0.5% interest. This week, I will move this savings account to an account at an online bank. Why would I want to use an online bank? Primarily for the higher interest rates these banks are offering - up to 5%, which is a significant difference compared to what a savings account earns at the local bank we are using. This Week's Best Online Savings Account Offers:
More Info: Online Banking - Get the Facts | How to Choose a Bank Posted by Shelley Elmblad I was on the Lillian Vernon web site yesterday to investigate buying an item that would charge three small electronics at once and noticed Lillian already had a Halloween sale going on. It seems a little early for a Halloween sale with up to 60% off, but any time is a good time for a sale. Check out Lillian Vernon's Halloween Sale for some decent savings on costumes. BuyCostumes.com is also offering deep discounts with the Blowout Sale, and my favorite candle seller, Yankee Candle, already has Halloween clearance items. You will undoubtedly start finding sales on Halloween and fall items at stores in your area, and you can get creative and easily use those bargains throughout the year. Read Halloween and Your Budget: Get Creative with Halloween Clearance Sales for ideas to use fall and Halloween sale items, including Halloween candy. Have fun saving money this fall, but don't eat too much of that sale candy you will be saving for Christmas cookies! Posted by Shelley Elmblad For those who are unfamiliar with the term "dumpster diving", this refers to the activity of going through someone else's trash to retrieve items that are still perfectly usable or that require a minor repair that you can do yourself. Many people engage in dumpster diving while living a frugal lifestyle. Most Germans who dumpster dive have adequate income to buy what they need or want, but they see no point in buying something new when you can get it for free (makes sense to me!). The German culture does not reinforce paying full price for much, either. German flea markets are very popular each weekend, and Germany is eBay's second biggest market. Even Wal-Mart folded in Germany after being unable to compete on price in that country. I think it's great that Germans are embracing getting the most for their money. And while I would not actually pick through a dumpster for sanitary reasons, I see nothing wrong with picking up items someone left out with a 'Free' sign. I enjoy a good rummage sale with quality, lightly used items and while I don't find so many good deals on eBay any more, I am tickled when I do. I was thrilled last night to buy two boxes of cereal with a high-value coupon for each only to find another box on the shelf with a "buy 2 get one free" coupon stuck to it. I got my three boxes of cereal for less than I would have spent on one. I love it when I find deals like that. And I do not even have any German blood in my veins! Dumpster Divers Go Mainstream In Thrifty Germany from The Wall Street Journal. Posted by Shelley Elmblad OpenOffice.org, the very powerful and free office software suite, celebrated its seventh birthday on October 13, 2007 with an announcement that Open Office had been downloaded 104 million times. I have been using OpenOffice Calc, Writer and Base in recent months and I am impressed with this free software. In fact, if I had not been using OpenOffice applications myself, I would never believe such awesome functionality and versatility could be offered in free software. The OpenOffice.org Project is headed up by Sun Microsystems with an international community of volunteers and sponsors working together to create the ever-evolving free office software suite. OpenOffice has features that are similar to mainstream office suite software, and it will save your work in formats that other software will read (such as .doc for Microsoft Word) so compatibility is not an issue. In a recent announcement, IBM said that it was joining the OpenOffice.org community to contribute technology and engineering resources. The free OpenOffice suite available in over 65 languages and runs on multiple operating systems such as Windows, Mac OS X (X 11), Solaris, and Linux (including PPC Linux). OpenOffice Calc is a free spreadsheet I recommend in Spreadsheets for Your Budgets. Using a spreadsheet template makes it extra-easy to create a budget in a spreadsheet and you will find free budget templates for OpenOffice Calc at the bottom of Budget Templates for Spreadsheets. Download free OpenOffice office suite software and get more information on this exceptional free software at OpenOffice.org. Happy Birthday OpenOffice.org, and many more! Posted by Shelley Elmblad I have always heard about how donating a car or boat to charity could help out a nonprofit organization while giving the donor a tax deduction, but than I read about problems with these types of charitable contributions. Carroll Trosclair explains how third party brokers are coming between the donor and the charity in Donating Cars, Boats to Charity: IRS and Better Business Bureau Provide Tips to Avoid Tax Problems. Because of increased competition for donated vehicles, boats and recreational vehicles, some charities that accept such donations are opting to let brokers find donations. This means less of the value of your donation goes to the charity. So, how do you know how much of your donation will go right to the nonprofit organization you choose? Find out how to determine how financially responsible a charitable organization is and find tools for rating charities in How to Choose a Charity: Find a Non Profit for Charitable Donations. Related Charity Information: Posted by Shelley Elmblad Ice cream sundaes, banana splits and milk shakes can be a very expensive treat at some ice cream shops. I visited Maggie Moos for the first time recently, and it will be the last because my small strawberry smoothie and my daughter's regular-sized ice-cream-with-smashed-cake-concoction put me back over $9. Even with the recent price increases in corn and gas having driven up milk prices (corn to feed the cows, gas to transport raw materials and finished goods), $9 for two small servings is crazy! Given my love for ice cream and my disdain for overpriced frozen dairy treats, I was delighted to be reminded that I can have two weeks of milk shakes for under $10 from the E-Offers Blog. I really never stopped to consider how much money I could save making shakes at home compared to buying a shake at an ice cream shop or restaurant. You need to buy two quarts or liters of ice cream on sale to get the price under $10...that is, if you can find a true quart of ice cream. Have you noticed how ice cream containers in your grocer's freezer section have been shrinking? Links from this post:
More Money Saving Ideas Posted by Shelley Elmblad Last week, I opened my email to find a reader had contacted me about how to start a budget. She had more than one source of income, but it looked like one job would be ending soon and she would have to tighten up on her spending. As I thought about my most successful budgeting endeavors, I came to the conclusion that before anyone even starts writing a budget out or punching numbers into a budget spreadsheet, having the right attitude and setting goals is the key to successful personal budgeting. My tips and methods for starting a budget are part psychology and part common sense with a healthy dose of reality tossed in. Read How to Start a Personal Budget: Successful Budgeting Starts with Goals and Resolutions and Develop Personal Budgeting Habits How to Make Budgeting a Money Management Habit to learn how to start a successful personal budget. And, I urge readers to use the Personal Budgeting discussion forum to ask me questions rather than contacting me via email. If we communicate in the forum, everyone who visits the forum has a chance to learn from your questions and answers you may have for others who post budgeting questions. More Personal Budgeting Blog Posts Get new Personal Budgeting articles as they are published: Personal Budgeting RSS Posted by Shelley Elmblad There are so many options these days for checking and savings accounts that it is almost as difficult to choose an account as it is to choose an allergy or cold remedy off the shelf at your local drug store. Do you choose an online bank, a local bank or a credit union? Are interest bearing checking accounts beneficial for everyone, or is there a catch with these accounts? And what about free checking accounts or free savings accounts? How can a bank offer totally free accounts? To find out how to answer these questions, and learn about the difference between a bank and a credit union read Opening Bank Accounts: How to Choose a Bank and Open an Account in the US by Estela Kennen. This article gives good fundamental advice on choosing a checking or savings account, and tells you what documentation you need to have to open an account. Posted by Shelley Elmblad I noticed some grills being sold on clearance this week, which reminded me that end of summer clearance sales are not over yet. You can really save a bundle and stay within your personal budget by shopping end of season clearance sales, but you need to do some planning first. You can be lured into buying more than you need or more than you can use in a reasonable amount of time at clearance sales because the prices often seem too good to pass up. This is where a "plan of attack" comes in. To get ideas for planning for end of summer clearance and back-to-school sales read Summer Clearance and School Sales. Not only will you get ideas for what you need to buy, but you will also learn how you can get your closets, garage and other spaces freed of clutter while making your clearance sale plan. It is not too late to find summer clearance deals. Although summer clearance merchandise is now more scarce, what remains in stores is likely marked down even more than it was two weeks ago. You can still find summer clothes on clearance, and Summer Clearance and School Sales includes a list of other summer items you can still catch on clearance. Now to do some research on that grill I saw earlier... Posted by Shelley Elmblad Are you taking college classes? Do you have an email address that uses your school's domain ending with .edu? You can catch The Ultimate Steal! The Ultimate Steal is Microsoft's offer of Microsoft® Office Ultimate 2007 for $59.95 to college students who are taking at least .5 credit - that's right, half a credit. You also may have to provide proof of enrollment. Microsoft® Office Ultimate 2007 includes:
Microsoft's Ultimate Steal Promotion runs until April 30, 2008 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Daylight Savings Time on Pacific Standard Time. Considering that Microsoft Office Ultimate 2007 retails for around $470 on up to $680, I don't know why any college student who uses a PC would pass up this deal. Get the details on how to buy Microsoft® Office Ultimate 2007 for $59.95 from The Ultimate Steal web site. Posted by Shelley Elmblad Yesterday was cold and a rainy in the midwest U.S. town I live in, and it definitely felt like fall. Another sign of fall was how my garden annuals are looking a bit worn, so I'll need to shop for garden mums and pansies and get those planted in the next few days for fall color. Pansies, also known as Violas, get particularly vibrant in cool temperatures and they often overwinter under the snow well making them great for your budget because you can get two seasons of bloom out of them. My article on the right way to overseed and restore a lawn is gaining in popularity, and with good reason. Now is the time to overseed lawns in many parts of the U.S. and Canada. Get a start on a lush lawn and save money by overseeding your lawn yourself. Another great fall yard care tip that saves money by stretching the season for fall plantings and remaining summer annuals is to keep these plants adequately watered if Mother Nature does not cooperate with rain. Do not assume that the water in the plants will freeze. If plants are not plump with water when freezing temperatures hit, their vascular tissues (in stems and some roots) freeze and they die. More Fall Landscaping: Cool Season Containers Posted by Shelley Elmblad Last week I found a great deal on ground beef and was only 10% fat - great for grilling yet still healthy. Other grocery shoppers began to swarm around ground beef, so I quickly stacked five pounds of ground beef into my cart and rushed off to avoid the crowd. Then I noticed a ground developing in the produce section. There was a 2-for-1 sale on blueberries so I reached in between the greedy hands of my fellow grocery shoppers and snagged four pints of blueberries. I passed the bakery aisle as I made my way to the checkout and was brought to a dead stop by kaiser rolls that were reduced for quick sale. Those rolls were just baked the day before and would perfect for turning the ground beef in my cart into gourmet creations. Twenty four kaiser rolls were added to my sale bounty for that week's grocery shopping. As I unpacked the groceries I felt good about having taken advantage of some really great deals at the grocery store. But then I wondered out loud how I would use those grocery deals before they spoiled. While my family loves blueberries and enjoys burgers I could not serve blueberries and hamburgers all week long. While it had been some time since I did some creative freezing to fit more food into my freezer, I quickly remembered I knew how to freeze the food I bought in bulk so it would not be wasted. Read How to Freeze Food and Save Money to learn tips I have picked up over the years for safely freezing food more compactly so you can fit more grocery store sale treasures in your freezer. Posted by Shelley Elmblad My personal budget includes socking a bit away every month to pay for Christmas gifts. I put Christmas gift purchases on a credit card (with spending rewards, and balance paid in full every month). so I do not pay for the last Christmas gift until January. It's September 3, 2007 and my child hasn't even started school yet, so why am I thinking about holiday shopping and Christmas gifts? Blame it on Wal-Mart. I ran out of a common liquid fertilizer today with another month left in the growing season for landscape plants in these parts, so I was off to Wal-Mart to buy the fertilizer. My plants did not get that one last shot of nutrients today, though. You see, I could not find the fertilizer at Wal-Mart. The yard and garden care merchandise had been trimmed down and the doors to the garden center were locked as well. One of the long aisles that held bird food and lawn hoses last week now displayed...Christmas decorations! Good grief, it was just August a couple of days ago and Wal-Mart has the holiday junk out already? What about Thanksgiving? It is bad enough that Wal-Mart had Halloween decorations out in August....now are we skipping straight to CHRISTMAS? Well, Wal-Mart does not really have me thinking about holiday shopping just yet. I'm still enjoying 80-degree weather, shorts and sandals and haven't even purchased fall school clothes for my child yet. So, Wal-Mart won't bust my Christmas shopping budget by enticing me to stock up on tinsel and plastic holly just yet. What do you think? What is the earliest Christmas display you have seen? In the mood to Christmas shop early? Know of any good holiday shopping deals? Share it with all of us in the Personal Budgeting Discussions. Posted by Shelley Elmblad Many home owners have parents who are at the age where they could use some help either physically or with making decisions. Helping parents when they live miles away can be a real challenge and may require a lot of time in phone calls and travel. An interesting option is to have your parents move in with you, but you immediately ask, "where will I find room for mom and dad and their belongings?" I did some research on this topic and found more benefits - and possible financial pitfalls - to having parents move in with adult children. Building a small in-law apartment on your property or even moving to a bigger home can be affordable if you work out the finances with mom and dad and could easily let them keep more of their retirement savings than paying an assisted living facility or other retirement community. With the proper financial advice and with enough forethought, having mom and dad move in with you is a win-win situation. Read more about how to go about setting up a household with your parents in Is Assisted Living Affordable - Planning to Share Your Home with Aging Parents. Get up-to-date money saving information from the Personal Budgeting Blog Posted by Shelley Elmblad I found a long list of ideas for saving money and still eating healthy while traveling on vacation or for work on the Cheap Healthy Good blog. I agree with many of the suggestions for eating well and sticking to your personal budget while traveling, but do not assume that the ideas presented in Cheap Healthy Vacation Food: 61 Tips for Travel Eats on a Budget are true for every situation. For example, verify the cost of a vacation package with and without a "meals included" option will be less expensive rather than signing up for the all inclusive deal right from the start. Some of the tips Cheap Healthy Good offers are:
What Do You Think? Share your tips and thoughts in the Personal Budgeting Forum. No topic started in the discussion forum yet? Speak out: Start a discussion! Posted by Shelley Elmblad The last time I checked my credit score was when I was applying for a mortgage last year. Two recent credit score articles contributed by Stephanie Gallagher reminded me that I need to check my credit score again, and if you have not checked your credit score within the last year you need to do so too. Stephanie explains credit scores, how they impact loan packages you are offered and how to check your credit score in Your Credit Score: How This One Number Can Save You Thousands on Your Next Loan and Do You Have a Good Credit Score? Related Articles for the Curious about Credit Scores:
What Do You Think? Share your tips and thoughts in the Personal Budgeting Forum. No topic started in the discussion forum yet? Speak out: Start a discussion! Posted by Shelley Elmblad I just pulled email addys out of a hat for the Quicken drawing. I keep things real simple around here! I have notified the winners of the drawing for a free copy of Quicken 2007 Deluxe. Should one or more of these individuals not respond to my confirmation with a mailing address by August 22, 2007 I will hold a second drawing with the email addresses of those who did not win in the first round. Didn't enter the drawing? Check out prices forr Quicken 2007 Deluxe. You can see all the responses entered for this drawing in the Personal Budgeting Discussion Forum. Congratulations to: 1. Ryan 2. Deb 3. Dick 4. Kevin 5. Russ 6. Richard 7. Elizabeth 8. Frank 9. Ashok 10. Anne Posted by Shelley Elmblad Writing How to Budget College Expenses: Reduce College Debt with a Budget brought back memories for me. I paid for four years of college entirely on my own with federal college loans and summer jobs. I did a couple of work-study stints as well. Although I counsel college students to be prepared for the finite nature of their funds by preparing a budget, I admit I did not have one in college. I was so afraid of not having enough money and having to quit college that I spent very meagerly. I even graduated with money in the bank because of my extremely frugal ways which was nice, but if I had a budget I could have enjoyed some entertainment other than David Letterman on late night TV every once in awhile. Most college students need a budget to be sure they don't blow all their bucks during the first academic quarter and most, like me, do not think about a budget before they head off to college. Having a college budget not only ensures that you don't overspend, it also can help you to keep your expenses down so you need to take out fewer student loans. Less debt after college will make your life much easier. Posted by Shelley Elmblad The 112th Carnival of Personal Finance hosted by Frugal Law Student gives my Quicken give away a mention. We have some entries for the Quicken 2007 Deluxe random drawing, and I've been enjoying reading the responses. Haven't used Quicken personal finance software before? Read up on the best personal budgeting features in Quicken 2007 to see how easy it can make organizing your financial details. Check out the Free Quicken rules for this drawing to get a chance to win and read up on why others like Quicken or want to try Quicken. Posted by Shelley Elmblad Cap at Mint.com recently interviewed me (that would be a Minterview at Mint.com) and asked for my thoughts on some personal finance topics. You can read the interview on Mint.com - and you can see what a mess my wallet is! Mint is up-and-coming online personal finance software that promises to show you not only where your spending stands against your budget, but also will show you where your money is going. Mint will give you ideas for how to save and make more money, too. Mint is not yet available to the public and I have not had a response to my request to beta test the application, so I have not seen it in action. But, I have spoken with representative from Mint and it sounds like Mint will be unique. When I know more, you'll know more because I will get the details posted as soon as it becomes available. In the meantime, the Mint blog is full of personal finance information that will entertain you while you learn. What Do You Think? Share your tips and thoughts in the Personal Budgeting Forum. No topic started in the discussion forum yet? Speak out: Start a discussion! Posted by Shelley Elmblad This Drawing is Now Officially Closed. Thanks to All Who Participated! I have 10 new, sealed copies of Quicken Deluxe 2007 personal finance software to give away, and you can win one of them by entering a random drawing. Responses are being posted in the Discussion Forum. How to Win Free Quicken Deluxe 2007 Please read these rules carefully. By submitting an entry you indicate you agree to all terms and conditions. The U.S. version of Quicken Deluxe 2007 is being awarded.
Free copies of Quicken Deluxe 2007 courtesy of Intuit and Access Communications. Quicken® is a trademark and copyright of Intuit Inc. All rights reserved. What Do You Think? Share your tips and thoughts in the Personal Budgeting Forum. Don't see a related topic? Speak out: Start a discussion! Posted by Shelley Elmblad Do you feel deprived or left out socially when you are going without some nonessential items because your personal finances ran short and you refuse to incur more debt? You need to stop allowing these feelings to cloud your judgement and the article, Conscious Simple Living Benefits: The Difference Between Simplicity and Poverty will help you to put your financial situation into perspective. Sandra Williams reveals how choosing simplicity over extravagance allows you not only to save money but allows you to take steps toward improving the world, your community, your family and your health. It's amazing how a few small trade-offs can impact so much. Along with Sandra's observations, you will also get a couple of links to two great resources on the 'net for more tips and ideas on simple living, eliminating debt and spending less. Those interested in learning more about how poverty effects everyone and how to fight poverty need to check out more of Sandra's writing. And be sure to read my piece on How to Choose a Charity to actively fight poverty through a reliable non profit organization. What Do You Think? Share your tips and thoughts in the Personal Budgeting Forum. No topic started in the discussion forum yet? Speak out: Start a discussion! Posted by Shelley Elmblad How many times have you shopped for hours to find the best price on something only to realize that you burned up an entire afternoon and half a gallon of gas to save a few bucks? Do you get so stuck in bargain hunting mode that you cannot make a decision on what to buy because you fear that you'll find a better price after your purchase? Comparing prices and getting the most for your money is a must when you are budgeting your money, but your time matters too. Read Saving Money or Time: Is Your Bargain Hunting Stressing You Out? to learn how to strike a personal balance between saving money and saving time. Five Steps to a Balanced LIfe adds more food for thought to this topic, and be sure to add tips you have on saving time while saving money in the discussion forum. Your ideas can help others to save money without spending a lot of time in the process./pWhat Do You Think? Share your tips and thoughts in the Personal Budgeting Forum. No topic started in the discussion forum yet? Speak out: Start a discussion! Posted by Shelley Elmblad When I decided to quit working in the corporate world to stay home with my child, I looked for options for generating some extra income with part-time jobs but really, the only workable solution was to become self-employed and to work out of my own home. Working from home to help pad your finances requires self discipline and agreement from the entire family regarding times that you cannot be interrupted. And, you need to know where to go to find work-at-home opportunities because there are a number of scams artists waiting to take your money instead of pay you money. KC Morgan writes from a realistic viewpoint on finding those good work-at-home opportunities. See what she has to say and what opportunities she suggests trying in Where to Find Work at Home: The Trouble with Being Self Employed. What Do You Think? Share your tips and thoughts in the Personal Budgeting Forum. No topic started in the discussion forum yet? Speak out: Start a discussion! Posted by Shelley Elmblad Never heard of a price book? It's a great resource for tracking where you routinely find the best prices on groceries, household items or anything! You can also use a price book to track what stores have cyclical sales so you know when to plan to stock up on items you use when they will be available at lower prices. We have all the information you need to put together your own price book:
What Do You Think? Share your tips and thoughts in the Personal Budgeting Forum. No topic started in the discussion forum yet? Speak out: Start a discussion! Posted by Shelley Elmblad It is so easy to fall into credit card debt. The convenience of using a credit card can become a burden when you do not keep track of your spending during the month. Don't wait to be surprised by credit card bills at the end of the month, keep a register of all your expenses or use personal finance software to keep an eye on credit card charges. How to Get Out of Credit Card Debt Stephanie Gallagher gives excellent advice on whether you should use debt management plans along with some great alternatives for using credit cards. You can be a smart consumer who uses credit cards in your financial plan instead of falling into the trap of letting credit cards use you. Related: Credit Cards That Earn Money What Do You Think? Share your tips and thoughts in the Personal Budgeting Forum. No topic started in the discussion forum yet? Speak out: Start a discussion! Posted by Shelley Elmblad This week's Carnival of Personal Finance is being hosted by Broke-Ass Student, a title I can relate to! I financed 98% of college expenses including living expense by working while in school and saving money where ever I could. It was not the easiest time of my life (although it was a fun time), but it taught me to analyze my spending and to consider options for each purchase I made so I could stretch my income. I do not need to think quite so carefully about every purchase I make now, but knowing how to use those spending and cost analysis skills makes all the difference with bigger purchases. Thanks to Broke-Ass Student for including my post about wedding dress rip-offs and cheap chic bridal gowns in the 108th Carnival of Personal Finance. What Do You Think? Share your tips and thoughts in the Personal Budgeting Forum. No topic started in the discussion forum yet? Speak out: Start a discussion! Posted by Shelley Elmblad When I was getting married, I did some research on how to save money on a wedding and in the process I learned that most wedding dresses are not worth nearly what they cost. When you select a gown from a bridal shop, it needs to be ordered and it may take some time for it to come in. That's because the manufacturer of the wedding dress holds orders for one size of the dress together and when enough orders come in, several layers of fabric are put on a punch press machine and many dresses of the same size and design are cut out at once. If that does not destroy romantic visions of busy seamstresses with elegant foreign accents carefully cutting out your gown, then knowing that machines do most of the sewing, including bead work, will. Many brides pay thousands of dollars for a designer wedding dress, and some brides are even opting for Disney Princess wedding dresses (unfortunately, these dresses are not a joke), but not all brides are able to or want to spend that kind of money. A dress that is special and beautiful is important on your wedding day, but the wedding is a celebration of the commitment you and your spouse are making and money saved on a wedding dress can be used for a better honeymoon or a bigger down payment on a house. The Wall Street Journal reports that you can find stylish wedding dresses at much lower prices from David's Bridal, JC Penney, J Crew and Target. The dresses at Target are Ann Taylor and Isaac Mizrahi creations, with Mizrahi's creations being showcased online (I love the Cowl Sheath and Point D'Esprit designs!). I have also seen a few bridal gown possibilities from Chadwicks, which has a wide variety of bridesmaid gowns at great prices (and that don't have that polyester froo-froo "I was a bridesmaid" look to them so they really can be worn again after the wedding). What Do You Think? Share your tips and thoughts in the Personal Budgeting Forum. No topic started in the discussion forum yet? Speak out: Start a discussion! Posted by Shelley Elmblad It can't be...the IRS used humor to get a point across! The Mint Blog gives their take on 10 reasons to put off saving for retirement from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. Combining the word "humor" and "IRS" in the same sentence sure caught my attention. The list uses dry wit to demonstrate the results of spending all your funds now and saving nothing for retirement. Hey, I actually know people who behave or think just like some of the listed items - scary stuff! I like the Mint guys' commentary on each of the 10 items on the list, so give From the IRS: 10 Reasons to Put Off Saving for Retirement a read....and start saving for your retirement now. Oh, and keep an eye on Mint.com, where some nifty new online personal finance software is being developed and will be released to the public soon. Although I'm still waiting on getting in on a beta test... What Do You Think? Share your tips and thoughts in the Personal Budgeting Forum. No topic started in the discussion forum yet? Speak out: Start a discussion! Posted by Shelley Elmblad Finding a vacation destination is just the beginning of spending sensibly for a little R and R (rest and relaxation). Planning Activities on a Budget by Michelle Snow tells you step-by-step how to identify resources for planning a vacation on a budget, then goes into whittling down those resources to find what works for you. Gas prices are high, and the prices seem to peak just before holidays and during traditional vacation travel times. If you are driving to your vacation destination, be sure to read Kelby Carr's advice on how to save on gas on road trips. Posted by Shelley Elmblad I just received an email from a friend that reminded me of something I haven't done in some time: stretched a chicken three ways. "Stretching a chicken" makes me think of the comedic rubber chicken, but as humorous as that vision is, I'm talking about something altogether different here. My friend had purchased a roasted chicken at a Sam's Club store and served it up for supper, then used leftovers for chicken salad the next day and then used the bones and scraps along with whatever vegetables she had on hand to make chicken broth. What a great way to stretch a $4.50 chicken! I used to save the liquid from microwaving frozen veggies and would add that to my chicken or turkey broth concoctions as well, although I recall that too much broccoli or cauliflower juice did not produce the greatest broth, so don't go overboard on these veggies in the broth. Carrots, celery, corn and peas work well, and a couple of chicken bouillon cubes don't hurt either. Check out Healthy Cost-Cutter Turkey Soup for a meal stretching recipe made with turkey left overs. Do you have a money saving idea for stretching a major part of one meal into two or more recipes? Please share it in the discussion! Posted by Shelley Elmblad I just read a some bad advice on a lawn care web site: overseed your lawn every few years even if your lawn is in good condition, and use a lot of extra seed because you will probably forget to water it often enough to properly germinate. What a waste of time and money! Grass seed does not germinate without good contact with soil, so spreading seed over existing turf without preparation is an exercise in futility. To properly overseed a lawn, you need to first mow the grass very low and then rough up the soil, a procedure that destroys the existing turf. And, if you are not going to remember to water overseeded areas, don't spend your money on the seed and other materials needed to do it right. If your lawn has bare spots or is looking thin, you can overseed the right way and save money by following the steps in Budget Lawn Care - Overseeding. If you live in the Midwest to Northern United States or Canada you will need to get started with overseeding right now or hold off until late in the summer. If you are happy with your lawn, don't put your time and money into unneeded maintenance. Check out how to fertilize your lawn and maintain your lawn to find out what turf maintenance is really necessary. As a master gardener with specialized training in lawn care, I have seen a lot of uninformed or irresponsible advice on the Internet. These articles are usually trying to sell a product, so do not be taken in by scare tactics like you will lose your lawn if you do not overseed often, and don't waste your money on unnecessary lawn care. Posted by Shelley Elmblad Now, this is a find: QuickBooks Simple Start is small business accounting software targeted at those who have not previously used QuickBooks - and there is a free version available for small businesses who have up to 20 vendor and customer accounts. QuickBooks Simple Start is best suited for small businesses with no need for payroll or inventory features in accounting software. QuickBooks Simple Start has a nifty home page that uses a simple visual model of a small business transactions to help the user to decide where to enter those transactions. I found this software to be uncluttered and easy to use with an excellent Help section. If your business grows to beyond 20 customers and vendors, you can easily upgrade to QuickBooks Simple Start Desktop or Online Edition, or other QuickBooks versions. Download QuickBooks Simple Start Free Edition, but remember that although you can enter your day-to-day small business transactions, it is best to have a financial professional answer small business finance questions and help with business tax concerns. Posted by Shelley Elmblad I thought the 5% interest offered by some online banks was great, but online banking just got even better for U.S. residents. FNBO Direct is offering 6% APY on current and new savings accounts and will keep that rate in effect at least until September 28, 2007. After September 28, FNBO promises to maintain a very competitive rate, although that rate will be effected by market conditions just as all bank rates are. You only need to deposit $1 to start an FNBO Direct savings account , and all funds are FDIC insured. Not sure online banking is right for you? Learn more about online banking before you abandon the idea, and be sure to check out FNBO Direct online bank, which services all states in the U.S. and is an online subsidiary of First National of Nebraska. Posted by Shelley Elmblad I have been struggling with whether or not to give my daughter an allowance for some time now. Do I pay her for household chores? Do I insist that she save a certain amount, or do I leave saving up to her and let her learn what happens when you buy on impulse and do not have money to buy what you really want or need? I did some quick research and found unique perspective on helping kids learn about work and getting paid for it with a family garage sale along with helpful nuggets in teaching Money Lessons for Kids. Posted by Shelley Elmblad Bank of America has a new twist on helping customers save money. Here's how it works: each time you buy something using a Visa debit card issued by BOA, the amount spent is rounded up and the difference is deposited into a savings account. So, if you spend $4.25 on a vanilla latte, it is rounded up to $5.00 and 75 cents is deposited into your savings account. To make this savings system more enticing, BOA matches the savings deposit on each purchase for the first 3 months, then matches 5% a year up to $250. Sounds like a great deal, and how can you go wrong with Bank of America's matching? While there is nothing "wrong" with this, you may be able to find another savings program that is "more right". Read the small print for the Keep the Change program and you will find that the required savings account has a very low variable interest rate of .20% (as of today). Compare that to other online banks like Ing and international online bank HSBC paying 4-5% on for checking or savings accounts right now, and the deal doesn't seem so sweet. The Discover card pays a cash-back bonus, and my favorite is the Amazon Visa card deal where I get a $25 Amazon certificate for every $2,500 spent using the card. Pay either of these cards off every month and there are high returns to be had. But if you abuse credit cards and carry a balance, or you don't do a lot of shopping on Amazon.com you need other options. A savings tool that is right for me, or your mom, or one of your friends may not be right for you, so go ahead and get opinions and ideas for savings plans from others but research your options before you sign up. |
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