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Newsletter to Your Friends (Use this link only if you receive this newsletter by email) Week of June 21, 2010This is an OPT-IN list ONLY! If you feel that you have received this message in error, please follow the directions at the bottom of this email to unsubscribe. Thank you.Click Here to view this newsletter online. Navigate This ColumnGrandpa Terry's Update Welcome to The Budget Stretcher! Saving Money About.com has a long list of money savers that are easy to use and you can save a bundle. Save on everything from your utilities and cell and landline phone bill to insurance and new appliances. You need to take some time going over this web site. Here is the link: http://frugalliving.about.com/library/bltipfiles.htm I'm not a big fan of credit cards because overall they cause a lot of problems for a large percentage of users. However, some folks can use credit cards, pay the balance each month and reap some very valuable rewards. If you are looking for a credit card that fits your specific needs the below links will give you many options and possibly save you some money: That's all for now. Remember, I really enjoy hearing from you folks. If you have any comments, complaints, suggestions or just want to say Hi, please send me an email to tre2000@midwest.net If you know someone that may be interested in subscribing to our newsletter just copy and paste the below link into an email to them and have them subscribe: http://www.homemoneyhelp.com/confirmsubs.html Have a great week, Grandpa Terry Sponsor Advertisement and Bill Organizer Extremely Easy To Setup and Maintain! Offers Forms & Worksheets (paper & calculating), Money Saving Tips, 35 How-To Articles and Easy To Follow Instructions. Backed By Unequaled Support. You Won't Know How Easy Budgeting Can Be Until You Try "The Complete Budget and Bill Organizer" Click Here For Immediate Download! Grandpa Terry's Tip of the WeekDon't get me wrong. There are many people that can keep their check book up to date, even deducting all of the ATM advances and automatic withdrawals as they make them. However, too many people that write checks for everything wind up not entering a check when it is written or an ATM advance when it is made. The result is a bounced check fee of up to $25 for the bank and god only knows what the store where you wrote the check could charge you. It seems like carrying cash to pay for things isn't the "IN" thing to do. It's also not that popular anymore to devote a small fraction of savings for purchases like groceries. Times have changed but there are reasons. Now, it's about the cards and checks but some proper methods need to be observed to avoid falling in a financial dump. When I'm in the check out line, most people are paying with a credit card, debit card, or check. I realize that carrying cash has it's risks. You could lose it or have it stolen. What are the risks when paying by check? There are absolutely none if you enter each check and properly deduct the amount from your account. However, I have counseled people that have as much as $100 per month in overdraft fees. This isn't just for one month. This is an average over a six month period. That is a lot of money that these people couldn't afford. What's the best way to handle my checking account? If you don't have problems keeping up with your checking account, keep doing what you are doing. If you occasionally have bounced checks, I recommend that you use your checking account only to pay your monthly bills and use cash for everything else. If you have an ATM card, destroy it. With that said, I know you will probably not quit writing checks or destroy your ATM card. So let's look at what you need to do to keep up with your checking account.
Sponsor AdvertisementPaying highest-interest debt first is the SLOWEST way out ... You can laugh at money worries - if you follow our simple plan. Discover savvy consumer money secrets your friends don't know and banks won't tell you. Limited time only. ACT NOW: ///////////////////////////////////////// Grandpa Terry's EmailHello again -Here are my 2 tricks that I use regarding paying bills: The first one only works if you have a computer at home that has a calendar program that allows for pop-up reminders, and you are on the computer on a regular basis. Put a note in the calendar with the name of the bill on a day at least one week before it's due, and set the reminder function at "one day." This has saved me on several occasions when the post office was slow or remiss in delivering a bill, as it's allowed me to call the company & find out how much is due and exactly when. DON'T TURN OFF THE REMINDER UNTIL YOU'VE PAID THE BILL. You can also use a regular calendar, as long as you remember to check it. Me, I need the pop-up reminders. This can also help later, after building up a history of paying on time, if you're late with a payment due to travel or illness. The company is more likely to waive any late fees when they can see you've been paying on time for months and months. My second trick is has been to remind myself that I don't want to make some CEO even more rich, and me more poor, by paying late fees. I've also used this to pay my credit cards in full every month. I also don't want to increase the cost of something I've spent time trying to get the best possible price on, by paying credit card interest on top of the purchase price. (And yes, I use credit cards - both pay me rewards, and neither has an annual fee) I hope this helps somebody somewhere, Slee Grandpa Terry, Regarding Linda, who was looking for a free credit report, there is also a free web site where you can check your credit score for free anytime you want. It just gives your score, not a report. I don't remember where I read about it,- but I use it a couple of times a month. Catherine http://www.creditkarma.com/ Featured ArticleFood Budget This Year Don't Throw Your Money Away By S. L. Simmons Would you like to help the planet and save an easy $590 this year? It's not a gimmick. Many families can save an easy $590 without even having to give up their lattes from Starbucks, turn down the heat, or ride their bikes to work. All it takes is a little better menu planning. According to research from the University of Arizona, the average American family throws out nearly $600 in food annually, often due to good intentions but poor follow through. Research shows that most food shopping is done on the weekends, when shoppers are fresh and well rested. With good intentions to eat healthy, they buy an assortment of fresh fruits and vegetables with plans to make healthy foods, perhaps a fresh fruit salad and green salad with dinner each week night. Then Monday comes and brutal reality strikes. The enthusiastic, health conscious shoppers from the weekend come home from work tired, hungry and cranky, order carry out pizzas with garlic fries and the family soda special, and forget about the tasty fresh produce sitting forlornly in the crisper. Or maybe they don't forget about the produce. They may even feel guilty about it. But they order the pizza, soda and garlic fries just the same. By the end of the week, the fruits and vegetables, wilted and spoiled, are tossed in the trash. Then the weekend comes, and the tired, fast food aficionados are once again transformed into the enthusiastic, health conscious, well intentioned grocery shoppers, and the vicious cycle repeats. Tips to Avoid Wasting Food Each Week If the above description matches what goes on in your household, how can you stop this cycle of produce and budget abuse and save money on your food expenses this year? Try the tips below. 1. Buy canned, frozen or dried fruits and vegetables instead of fresh. Sure fresh produce tastes great and is highly nutritious, but be a realist. If your family is throwing out perishable food regularly, then cut back on how much fresh food you buy each week. Buy fruits and vegetables that will keep until you really have the time to prepare and eat them. Frozen mangos and frozen strawberries placed in a blender with some apple juice makes a tasty, healthy smoothie. 2. Grocery shop several times a week and just buy enough fresh food for a few days at a time. In my family we have found that it is less complex to plan 2 - 3 days out than it is to plan for a whole week. Plus shopping more often makes it easier to know what is in the fridge and be able to use up leftovers before they spoil. 3. Get a crock pot and make your meals in the morning before you go to work or get tired out from doing housework and taking care of the kids. With crock pots you can start baked potatoes, baked apples, baked winter squash and a wide variety of soups and casseroles with fresh vegetables in the morning and come home later in the day to a house filled with great aromas and a healthy meal waiting for you and your family. 4. Plan your meals in advance and only buy what you need to make those meals. For easy week day meal ideas, I like to buy cookbooks with dishes you can make with 3 - 5 ingredients. I've learned to avoid cookbooks that have "simple", "fast" or "easy" in the titles. What is simple, fast and easy for someone who loves to cook and whose only job is to write cookbooks for a living often means meals you can make in under an hour or two. I'm more into what can I make that is healthy in 15 minutes or less. Simple is a relative term often abused by cookbook authors, but three ingredients is three ingredients. 5. Buy fruits and vegetables with long shelf lives to keep on hand for those times when you find you do have the time and energy to prepare and cook fresh produce. These include apples, potatoes, onions, carrots, cabbage and winter squash. Diced onions and root vegetables, tossed with a little olive oil and roasted in the oven, makes a great side dish in about 10 minutes of prep and 25 minutes of baking time. Sliced carrots, onions and cabbage stir fried in a wok with a little sesame oil is another simple and healthy side for a quick week night meal. A Little Planning Can Turn Into Big Savings If you can reduce waste and save $600 from your food bill each year, in twenty five years you will have saved $15,000 (or more if you invest your savings each year and let the interest compound). S. L. Simmons is a frugal mom of two who enjoys finding creative ways to live simply and inexpensively. Visit her web site for more tips on saving money, household budgeting and living the frugal life. Copyright 2008 Always Frugal. Reprinted with permission. |
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