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Newsletter to Your Friends (Use this link only if you receive this newsletter by email) Week of October 19, 2009This 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! In the uncertain times we are going through right now many of us are looking for ways to cut our expenses, both out bill payments and our household expenses. One of the best ways to do this is with a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC). Like any other personal finance decision you should investigate carefully before signing on the dotted line. There are pros and cons of making a loan like this. Steve Bucci of Bankrate.com has an excellent article giving you several things you need to consider. Paying off credit card with home equity Our "Secret Offer" may be a free download or a program that I recommend for you that costs a little bit of money. This is not a gimmick or a trick and you make the final decision whether you want the offer or not. Many of you feel that it's necessary to keep track of every penny you spend at least for a month or two. While I believe that this is entirely too hard to keep up with I realize that for some it may be necessary for them to develop an effective budget. I developed this simple Excel form for that purpose. It's laid out so that you can easily customize the form to fit your spending habits. Click on the link to download yours: Download Monthly Spending Log I still need your tips!! I received a few tips last week but there are three tips that appear in each newsletter. Please keep them coming... Just visit the below page and fill out the form: Your Subscriber Benefits Page 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 AdvertisementTHE FASTER YOU CAN PAY THEM OFF! Paying 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: http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/aftrack.asp?afid=107959 Grandpa Terry's Tip of the WeekIf I had to give the most important aspect of managing your money and the first thing you should do, what would it be? Would it be: Paying off your credit cards? Making a budget? Cutting your spending? While all of those are very important they would not be my top recommendation. Actually, there are two things that you should do before you try anything else. The first is determining where you stand now. How much money do you have coming in and how much of that money is obligated toward your bills. That may sound like a budget but it's not. You can do this on a sheet of paper by listing your income in one column and bills in another. Then subtract your bills from your income. By doing this you be able to see whether or not you have enough money to cover everything. The second part is control. Most money problems are caused by what I call Financial Complacency. That simply means that you know there is a problem but either don't know what to do about it or are unwilling to make the sacrifices necessary to change your situation. You need to be in control of your money instead of the other way around. Pay attention to your finances and make it part of your daily routine to know what's going on. Make a plan and stick to it. If you accomplish these two things first you will be ready to set up your budget and have a much better chance of it working. Sponsor AdvertisementAre you frustrated trying to get by on the money you make? Would you like to get a good view to where all your money is going? Would you like to start saving your money, or save even more? Looking for something easier then software like Quicken or Money? Would you like to teach your children about finance? Click Here to check out My Budget Planner Today Grandpa Terry's EmailOn the government taking over health care, I couldn't agree with you more. If Medicare is going broke, then how can they give health care to everyone without the country going broke. I realize there are a lot of people that for some reason cannot afford health care, but there are also some people that will not give up their life-style and their expensive cell phones to purchase health insurance and they whine about it. People have their priorities all screwed up. Also why bring this up now when the country is in such a bad economic state. Our #1 priority should be getting people back to work, getting rid of the illegal aliens.Terry, I cannot begin to tell you how much you have helped me with your newsletter. Your advice is so simple, down to earth and common sensible that I am always amazed at how well you zero in on the problem. Thank you for all you do. I really appreciate you. I'm adding your name to my personal prayer list (if you don't mind). I really do pray God's blessings for you. You are helping so many people when there's so little love in the world. Thank you. Nancy GT~ My routine is just like the one you gave in the newsletter except I leave out the third step. We get paid, I pay bills, I do NOT give spouse any money, and we wait until next payday. I’m not complaining. I’m having a chuckle! (We do this by choice so we can pay off our bills!!) Brenda Featured ArticleBy Joyce Pierce Are you one of those millions of people who could use some extra money each month? Maybe it's not so much about how much you bring in, but what you're paying out. I received this email from a friend recently, and have added some of my own comments to the suggestions. Hope they're helpful to you. Looking to shave a few dollars off your budget but don't know where to start? Here are some tips on stretching your funds during these challenging economic times. 1. Change to those fluorescent coil light bulbs. 2. Sign up for your company's commuter benefits. Many employers allow you to purchase public transit at a significant savings, as much as one-third. But be careful: Choose the transit card that best fits your commuting needs, and don't pay for it with a credit card, where high interest rates can wipe out any savings. 3. If you have to drink alcohol, drink before you go out (but don't drive). Instead of having that first drink at the bar, enjoy a pour at home with your dining companions. Better yet - drink water or a soft drink at home and more water while you're out. You'll be happy you did when you get up the next morning! 4. Do breakfast or lunch out instead of dinner. Prices are less during the day, and you don't go to bed feeling miserably full. 5. Pump regular instead of premium. Many cars run just fine on regular gasoline. In fact, engines designed for regular fuel may run worse on premium blends. 6. Fall back in love with plastic bags. No, not the demonized grocery store variety. Re-use the ones that weasel their way into your house - wrapped around your bread, shredded cheese, tortillas, cereal, newspapers - and you'll never spend another penny on Ziplocs. I have recently been using my glass bowls and wrapping them with the bowl covers. Works great and I can just put the bowl and food in the microwave without worrying about the toxins from the plastic leaching into my food. 7. Accessorize. Give new life to last year's frocks with cheap jewelry from teenybopper stores like Forever 21, or discounters like Wal-Mart and Target. 8. Use the slow cooker and microwave more. They are much more energy efficient than the stove and the oven. 9. Download your workouts. You can download yoga, pilates, cardio and strength-training videos for free at exercisetv.tv. With more than 80 to choose from, you could do a different workout every day for almost three months - without ever setting foot in a gym. 10. Maximize your bank accounts. Spend 15 minutes with your banker to find out if you could be earning higher interest or earn bank rewards. 11. Use the library. But return books on time to avoid fines. Also, if you have books you're never going to read again, donate them to the library. I recently took about 100 books to the library. I decided I'd rather let them collect dust there than at my house, AND, if I ever do want to read them again, I know where they are! 12. Look into your medical reimbursement plan. Talk with your employer's benefits rep to see if you could save money on known medical expenses. My husband and I are self-employed and were paying $1500 a month for medical insurance. By doing a little checking around, we were able to find comparable coverage through AARP with Aetna that will save us about HALF. We got a policy that works with a Health Savings Account (HSA). Check into the HSA for its benefits. 13. Shop only for what you'll eat in a day. Strategic daily grocery shopping means you'll enjoy fresher foods daily and won't be left with bulk that never gets used. 14. Go to freeshipping.org and get promotion codes for free shipping from 800 retailers. Anytime you're ordering something on line, check for coupons. Just do an internet search for the company and coupon codes. I've saved money several times by doing that. 15. Cut your children's hair yourself, or maybe you can barter with your haircutting friend for a service you can provide. 16. Switch auto insurers, or ask your insurer to give you a better rate. We just did this and switched from Allstate to Texas Farm Bureau. There are "farm bureaus" in just about every state. We were able to save over $80 a month. Of course we lost our homeowners discount by removing the cars from our Allstate policy, but we'll deal with that next year when renewal time comes around. 17. Call your utilities and ask for a better plan/rate. Cell phone carriers will tell you if you can change your plan and get a better rate. Cable companies and other utilities may have cheaper plans too. 18. Get a cheaper Netflix plan. We have a plan that's just under $10/month, but we can hardly keep up with the movies. We could definitely downsize on this one. 19. Drive less aggressively. Taking it easy on accelerating and braking is the single most effective way to save on gas, according to the car-buying Web site edmunds.com - an average of 31 percent savings, according to its tests. 20. Take advantage of theater deals. Second-run movie theaters show good films at significant savings. Some first-run theaters offer discount nights. Look for deals on earlier-in-the-day movies too. We rarely go to the movies anymore. I'd rather wait and order the movie on Netflix and enjoy my own buttery popcorn on the couch with my hubby. No lines, no crowds, and all the bathroom breaks we need without missing anything! 21. Stretch leftover takeout. Add a can of chicken broth to the quarter-carton of kung pao or pad Thai, and voila: A delicious bowl of soup. 22. Use your bank's rewards program. You might be earning valuable points each time you use your debit card. Cash them in for air tickets, household goods and more. My bank even offers discounts on eyeglasses! Make sure you know what they offer. 23. Turn the thermostat way down at night. Most thermostats today can be set so your desired temperature can change at different times of the day. 24. Sell the extra gym membership you're not using. Get out and walk or ride your bike, or workout with a video at home. I had a f.r.e.e trial membership at the gym, and used it faithfully for about a month. I quit going when they started spraying cleaning chemicals while I was doing my workout! 25. Skip the vending machine and buy soft drinks at the supermarket. Better yet - drink tap water! 26. Be a group person. Look into deals from your alumni association or any other organization on things like insurance, car rentals or travel. Check your Sam's, Costco, or AARP membership benefits, too. 27. Put your airline miles to use. We once had enough points to fly to Brazil! Another time, we went to Hawaii with our daughter and family, and our son-in-law used his airline miles to pay for all of us to fly. We exchanged our timeshare in Miami for one in Kuwai. The only expenses we had were the exchange fee of about $150 for a 7 night stay. We shared the cost of the rental car. 28. If you have to drink wine, drink Chilean or Australian wine. These regions are still deals in the wine world. 29. Buy the large tub of yogurt and portion it out yourself. Just don't forget about it in the back of your fridge. 30. Challenge your property tax assessment. Go to your county assessor's Web site for guidance. Reductions are not uncommon. I recently realized that our golf course is listed as a country club! When I called our property tax management company, they told me that was nothing new. I think it's time to find a new company to represent us. 31. Shop resell before retail. From books to beds, clothing to cars, think used. Also try ebay.com, craigslist.org, or freecycle.org. I bought a pair of Levis at Costco and paid $15 for them, but when I went back to buy a second pair, they were no longer available. I found another pair on ebay for just $5, and someone else was nice enough to break them in for me. Another idea is to mend or repair instead of buying new, although there are some items that people pay big money for if they're ripped! 32. Put a coffee maker at your desk. Buy the best ground coffee available and treat yourself to a premium cup of joe. 33. Order the bottle. If everyone at your table is ordering wine, don't order by the glass. One bottle yields four to six glasses. You'll usually come out ahead of the per-glass price. 34. Use rags or sponges instead of paper towels for cleaning. Damp sponges may be zapped for a minute in the microwave to kill germs. I also put my dishwashing brush in the dishwasher at night to kill the germs. 35. Call your credit card issuers and ask for a better rate - or to have that late fee removed. Credit card companies usually allow two courtesy removals of late fees (which can top $40) if you call right away and ask forgiveness. Ask for a better interest rate too - you don't have to drive a hard bargain to do this. They don't want to see you taking your business elsewhere. Hope these ideas will be helpful to you in cutting expenses. Copyright 2009 Joyce Moseley Pierce. Joyce is a contributing author to the Chicken Soup for the Soul series. She's the creator of "All They'll Need to Know" and editor of the Family First Newsletter. Visit http://www.emersonpublications.com or http://www.prepareandsucceed.com for more information. |
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