Personal Finance and Investment

Do you often worry about money? Are you trying hard to catch up with your bills all the time? Here are some useful tips for saving money for those millions of Americans who are struggling to pay their debts:

CREDIT CARDS

Pay the balances on your credit cards fully each month.

Don’t buy things like meals and groceries with your credit card for. If you cannot find the money to pay cash for those, you can’t afford them, end of story!

Always check your credit card statements to make sure there are no charges for things you never paid for.

BANKING

Choose a bank, which does not charge a monthly fee for its services. To withdraw cash use only those ATM machines, which are affiliated with your bank.

INSURANCE

Review your health and car insurance policies. Shop around to get cheaper insurances that will save you money by offering a higher excess fee.

SHOPPING

Always do price comparison and only buy something when you have found a merchant that sells the item of interest at the lowest price possible.
Discount Coupons

Give preference to shopping at stores that offer instant rebates on regular basis. Visit discount shops for clothing and toys.

Get rid of compulsive shopping addiction by “sleeping on it”. Particularly, when making any major purchases.
Consider visiting yard sales that can be a great option for certain items you want to buy.

TELEPHONE

Cancel extra features on your home telephone such as call barring, call waiting, 3-way calling and caller ID.

Shop around to find the cheapest long distance service provider. Use affordable international calls companies. Use your mobile for emergencies only.

GAS, ELECTRICITY and WATER

If you have a water-meter installed, reduce your water usage, particularly hot water. Reduce your thermostat setting by 1–2 degrees.

Install ceiling fans.

FOOD AND BEVERAGES

Buy your soft drinks in multiple packs instead of getting them from fast-food restaurants or vending machines. That way you could save a lot of money and also avoid germs.

Make your own coffee rather than buying it at a coffee house.

Stay away from eating out. Put saved money in a fund or apply them to pay a bill.

If you do happen to be eating out, order soft drink instead of alcohol. You can celebrate later, when you get out of debt.

ENTERTAINMENT

Cancel your subscription to cable TV channels that you don’t watch. Stay with the basic plan or cancel the cable TV subscription for a while.

Rent DVDs instead of going to the cinemas or, if you do go, choose matinee rather than evening shows.

Check out if your local library rents movies on DVDs - they could be free!