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Newsletter to Your Friends (Use this link only if you receive this newsletter by email) Week of November 23, 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! Coupons.com Household Savings Expert Jeanette Pavini is here to give you helpful tips on how to navigate the holiday season with your budget, and sanity, intact. Holiday Budgeting Tips From Coupons.com’s Household Savings Expert I have something else that may be fun to list in the newsletter. Every state and many citys have laws that are just crazy. I'm going to list one of those law each week. Let me know what you think!! Illinois Chicago law prohibits eating in a place that is on fire. Compliments of Loony Laws.com "Free Candy Christmas Wreath e-Book" Brad Klontz knows all about the dumb things that smart people do with their money: He’s a smart guy (with a doctorate in psychology) who lost half of his assets in the technology stock bubble. Maybe this can help you with your money decisions... Click Here to read more. This week the topic is: Christmas Savings Submit your tips for this or other topics by using the form on your Your Subscriber Benefits Page to get your free gift if it is used. 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. 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 AdvertisementGrandpa Terry's Tip of the WeekEditor's Note: I have ran this article in the newsletter many times because this is an exceptionally easy way to pay off your credit cards without coming up with a bunch of extra cash. Are you trapped into making only minimum payments on your credit cards? I hope not. Minimum payments decline as the balance on the credit card declines. Let's take a credit card with a $2000 balance at 15% interest to use as an example. You would expect to pay about a $40 (2%) monthly payment when you start making your payments: By making the minimum payment only, it will take you 13 years and 11 months to pay off your credit card and you would expect to pay $2,126 in interest. However, if you continued paying that $40 until the credit card was paid off, it would only take you 6 years and 6 months to pay off the credit card and you would pay about $1,100 in interest. You could save over $1,000 in interest and pay it off in half the time. This is what simply starting with a set payment and sticking to it could save. If you can afford that $40 payment when you start, odds are it won't hurt you later. Now, let's take that a step further. What if you paid just $10 more, $50 instead of $40? That same credit card could be paid off in 4 years and 7 months with only $740 in interest. Here is how it breaks down: Minimum Payments - $4126 total payments - 13 years 11 months Paying $40 per month - $3100 total payments - 6 years 6 months Paying $50 per month - $2740 total payments - 4 years 7 months The fact is that every dollar you add to your payment goes toward the balance of the credit card. I recently completed a Debt Elimination Summary for a couple that had $46,500 in credit card debt on 6 credit cards. Most people would be considering filing bankruptcy in that situation but this couple were determined to pay it off. Here are the results of the Summary: They were already paying $785 per month on the credit cards. They decided they could afford to pay another $200 to eliminate their debt sooner. Minimum Payments - The credit cards would never be paid off. Paying $785 per month - $78,761 total payments - 8 years 5 months Paying $985 per month - $66,059 total payments - 5 years 8 months Would you have thought that you could pay off over $46,000 in credit card debt in just 5 years and 8 months? I've seen this done dozens of times. It can and it does work if you stick to it and quit using your credit cards. If you have multiple credit cards and would like to pay them off as quickly as possible the best way to do this is to write down your credit card name, balance, interest rate and minimum monthly payment. Then you must decide which credit card to pay off first. There are two schools of thought on this. Most experts believe that you should pay off your highest interest credit card first. You would definitely pay less in the long run. However, if you need to see results quick to give you an incentive to keep going you could start with the credit card with the lowest balance. Which ever way you choose, simply add as much money as you can spare to that credit card until it is paid off. Then take the amount you were paying to the first credit card and add it to the next credit card payment and so on until they are all paid in full. Interest, late fees and penalties are wasted money. The only way to avoid this is to use cash to make your purchases when ever you can. Sponsor AdvertisementEditor's Note: I wouldn't trust my computer backup to any other company. Your computer files are not only backed up on their servers but also on your computer. Make a mistake and delete something. Just go in and retrieve it. It's that simple!! Grandpa Terry's EmailThanks for your terrific website. I am hailing from the UK.Can you advise please: what proportion of income should be spent on presents? And how do you apportion spending? For example, I have 14 nieces and nephews that I send cash to at Christmas, but another reader might have only one or two young relatives to buy for. Many thanks, Julia My Response Hi Julia, I like to work Christmas present buying backwards. In other words you figure out your budget between now and Christmas to see if you have extra money to buy presents. This will permit you to spend only cash on Christmas presents and not use your credit cards. Each person's ability to buy Christmas presents is different and a dollar amount can't be set in all cases. Christmas presents should be paid for before Christmas and not after. Sending even $10 a piece for your 14 nieces and nephews will run you $140. It's always easier to make a list of everyone you intend to buy for. Then set a dollar amount for each person. Add this up and see if your finances can handle that expense without using credit. If you can't afford that amount go through your list and make adjustments. I would recommend that you consider joining a Christmas Club and start saving for next Christmas. It's easy and you won't miss a few dollars each week. I hope this helps, Grandpa Terry Featured Articleby Kathy Wilson Let me say the Holidays are my favorite reason to decorate! Here you will find the reason this issue is so special, great ideas for holiday decorating, all of them easy on the pocketbook, and some of them are free! Have a wonderful holiday, and remember to stop every day to "smell the roses"! *For a beautiful outdoor wreath(or indoor) without spending a fortune on craft supplies, try to remember you need not cover the wreath with decoration to make it special. Try just a few craft store "picks" in one corner, with a big bow. Or get some wire star garland (.69 cents at my store)and just wrap it loosely around the wreath. Hot glue some found pinecones to a corner, or try some old wooden ornaments. You also don't necessarily need to buy an expensive evergreen wreath to decorate, and inexpensive grapevine or straw wreath can be dressed up as well. *Spray paint clay pots and saucers a metallic gold for sparkling coasters and utensil or candle holders for the season. *If you have extra lights after stringing the tree, wind some through your potted plants for a special way to bring the sparkle throughout the room. *For a simple but beautiful centerpiece, set three or five candles of different heights in the middle of the table on a tray, then surround the bases of the candles with seasonal items. Low cost ideas? Cuttings from your Christmas tree, or from evergreen trimmings in your yard are a great first layer. Then how about shiny apples, glass ornaments turned hanger side down, found pinecones, nuts, wire star garland, leftover ribbon... By the way, the same idea can be used for Thanksgiving, just substitute fall leaves, squashes, mini pumpkins, etc... *Buy those bags of cranberries when they go on sale for $1, and fill bowls that hold pillar candles, or fill a simple glass of water with them to just a few inches below the top, and put a floating candle in. Nuts can work the same way, but they tend to be more expensive. However, is you have a nut tree in your yard... *Hollow out the center of an apple as a candleholder, and tuck a few tiny greens in between the candle and the apple. Just be sure the flame never comes near the twigs. A little lemon juice sprinkled on the cut part of the apple will help keep it from browning as much. *Have a lot of scrap Christmas fabric from years past? Use it to make a simple square patchwork quilt as a throw for the couch, and add a lot of holiday spirit to the room! (Hint: use old blankets as batting- if you don't have any, check your thrift stores. Just be sure to wash in hot water, and dry at least 20 minutes in your dryer. White flat twin sheets on sale make great backing fabric.) *Cut two of a simple holiday shape from felt, then sew or fuse them together, decorate with permanent markers or fabric paint (if you wish), and hang all over the house! Some very simple shapes could include stars, packages(glue or paint on some ribbon), mittens, snowmen, boots, Christmas trees, stockings, candy canes, gingerbread men (trace them from your cookie cutters) and the list goes on! If you have a rustic theme this year, it's not necessary to embellish them at all! *Place a few inexpensive glass balls in a bowl and embellish with a few sprigs of greenery or some leftover ribbon. If you don't have an extra bowl (it is the holidays, after all!) try decoupaging a box with leftover Christmas wrap, or cover with a little fabric and glue. *Take down your pictures and wrap them like a gift, then hang them back on the wall for great holiday cheer! You don't have to do this all around the house, how about just in the entry, or maybe the dining room? *Place votive or pillar candles on a small mirror used as a tray. Tie sprigs of greens or cinnamon sticks on the candles with ribbon or raffia. Be sure the flame is far enough away from the embellishments! *Make paper trees out of a square of pretty paper, preferably use a paper that is a little stiff. Simply roll the paper into a cone, and glue the edge with a hot glue gun. Perhaps some gold glitter or squiggles of paint to dress them up, and they will be beautiful on your mantel or as a centerpiece with greens. Try experimenting with different colors and textures...this would be a great place to use leftover cardstock or handmade paper! You could also do this with a piece of stiffened fabric. *Tie greens or ornaments to the chandelier with a little Christmas ribbon, just make sure they don't hang low enough for any candles on the table to catch them on fire. Above all, be creative, and have a wonderful holiday with those you care about! Want more free home decorating ideas? Visit Kathy at The Budget Decorator and Decorating Your Small Space. |
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