SAVING MONEY TIPS (VOLUME I) SECRETS TO FINANCIAL FITNESS
NATHANIEL KIDD THE FRUGAL SOLDIER
http://www.frugalsoldier.com
SAVING MONEY TIPS (VOLUME I)
Disclaimer: This e-book has been written to provide information about its topic. Every attempt has been made to make this ebook as complete, and accurate as possible. This e-book is current as of to the publishing date. Therefore, this ebook should be used as a guide. The purpose of this ebook is to educate. The author and publisher shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by this ebook.
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SAVING MONEY TIPS (VOLUME I)
Table of Contents Introduction ......................................................................................2 Why You Need a Budget..................................................................4 Money Saving Tips We Ignore.........................................................6 Make Money from those Old Electronics.......................................8 Practical Home Saving Tips ..........................................................10 Conclusion.......................................................................................12
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SAVING MONEY TIPS (VOLUME I)
Introduction In today’s economy, more and more people are seeking out ways to save money. Whether it is your car, your home, or just your every-day living and spending habits, there are always real ways to conserve on cash. You can always find the most current and tested ways to save money and be frugal at The Frugal Soldier. It has been documented that the average adult in the United States has several thousands of dollars worth of credit card debt. Combined with monthly car payments, rent or mortgage payments, and other obligations, it can make day-today living tough and even depressing at times. Fortunately, there are ways you can save money that may seem small but can really add up over time. Being vigilant about spending money can do wonders for your wallet. Following a few tips contained within this guide can mean more money in your wallet at the end of each month.
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I: Why You Need a Budget First and foremost, in order to save money you must establish a budget. Getting off of the financial rollercoaster and establishing long term financial stability can seem like a daunting task. In reality, setting up a budget through the utilization of budgeting tools can help you see how much money you’re bringing in, how much you are spending, and how much you can save. Whether you are planning for big life events such as retirement or college, or simply saving money for a rainy day, establishing a budget is essential to reaching your financial goals. Budgeting Tools Really Do Help The “You Need a Budget” tool is a great place to start. “You Need a Budget” is a program available for your desktop and features apps compatible with your iPhone or Android device. The You Need a Budget program allows you to input your income and track your spending, giving you a clear and accurate picture of what you are, or are not, actually saving. People tend to underestimate how much they are spending each month, but with You Need a Budget’s “living budget” concept, everything that you input into the program adds to its accuracy. You can input data straight from the checkout line! Tracking your monthly expenses has never been easier. The Tool Has a New Way of Thinking
“You Need a Budget” works off of the premise that each dollar you earn has a purpose, and once you assign that dollar amount a task, you stick to it. It’s a new and different way of thinking about money. You Need a Budget’s goal is to get your money to use your money wisely. By allowing the user to look at their money in smaller, task-based increments, the program aims to help you make better decisions when it comes to spending. The Greatest Things about the Tool One of the greatest things about “You Need a Budget” is that the budgeting tool presents its concepts in a straightforward, guilt free way. It allows for overspending by allowing the user to adjust their budget because the developers understand that no one is perfect, and if this happens to be your first venture into the world of
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SAVING MONEY TIPS (VOLUME I) budgeting and finance, they don’t want, or intend, for you to feel bad about a few bumps in the road. They encourage you to adjust course and stick to it.
Free Webinars Are Provided An additional feature of the “You Need a Budget” tool is that the company provides free webinars to help you learn to use the program and get the most out of it. The forum allows new users to ask questions and interact with others who have used the program successfully. Each of the instructors is an expert on the You Need a Budget program and has personally used the tool to better their own financial situation. Each webinar is an hour long and classes are offered on a regular basis. The company also offers webinars on credit card management, improving workflow, and dealing with different pay cycles all within the You Need a Budget program. You Need a Budget is a convenient and reliable way to track your spending in real time, giving you the most accurate picture of your overall financial situation.
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SAVING MONEY TIPS (VOLUME I)
II: Money Saving Tips We Sometimes Ignore Have you heard the quote “you don’t have to die in order to make a living”? I am a firm believer of that! I am a retired soldier and I plan to stand and fight this debt revolution every step of the way by educating myself and others on the little things. Financially speaking, we can live a very happy and full life by tweaking how we think about money and being mindful of the little things that can over time build our wealth. Here are a few money saving tips that we sometimes easily overlook. TRACK YOUR SPENDING: Track your spending by using a debit card and a good budget software tool. As I mentioned earlier, the tool we use and found to be the most effective is YNAB. Here is a special discount code. You also want to take a good look at your bank statement for the month. I have found countless fraudulent charges more times than I care to say by taking the time to check my bank statement. I am finding that as our lives get busier and busier we seem to forego thoroughly reviewing our bank statements. This is truly a mistake especially in a world filled with hackers and others awaiting the opportunity to defraud us. Be diligent and start checking your bank account consistently. DEBT: Pay your monthly bills on time and avoid costly late fees. There was a recent article at Creditcards.com that discussed this topic and it was even surprising to me just how outrageous late fees are these days. Along with paying your bills on time it is imperative that you review your credit score and make sure the information is accurate. Having inaccurate information could cost you more in interest. Try to eliminate your credit card debt altogether or transfer any high balances to a 0% interest credit card. You can find a lot of deals on this at Nerd Wallet. A Quick Tip – Credit card companies are very aggressive when it comes to getting your business, so use this to your advantage. INCIDENTAL AND HOUSEHOLD EXPENSES: Do you buy bottled water? I suggest you stop if you do. More than anything you are paying for the convenience. At an average cost of $1.50 per bottle and lets’ say you
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SAVING MONEY TIPS (VOLUME I) drink an average of 20 bottles of water in a week; you would have spent an average of $1560 annually. That is a lot of moolah! Use a water bottle and fill it at home from the tap. Not only save on your pocket book but save the landfills as well. Use power strips to plug in your printers, DVD players, and stereos. You can save up to $50 a year if you take the time to power off the strip when you aren’t using these. It is simple to do and saves you money. Your clothes dryer is the second most energy swiping appliance behind your refrigerator. Hang up your clothes instead when you can. The upside is your clothes won’t shrink and look worn out by using the dryer. I can’t tell you how many times as a single man I have messed up my clothing by allowing it to stay in the dryer too long. Bundle your phone, internet and cable bills. It goes without saying in this modern age, but you would be surprised how many family members have 2 to 3 different cell phone plans while living under the same roof. This is a great way to save money and it averages on saving you anywhere from $100-500 a year. Save money and lower the number of bills you get ever month all in one. Avoid the daily coffee runs and the convenient store snacks. Lets’ say for example you spend an average of $27.40 a day on incidentals this adds up to spending an astounding $10,000 a year. That number may be a little high for some and even a bit low for others, but you get the point. This alone should have you taking notice just how much money you actually waste in a day and even a year. I could use $10,000 right now, how about you? You should attempt to use coupons, online coupon codes, and in store rebate coupon cards. A great place that even offers money back that I use all the time is Ebates.com. Coupons are also a very good way to save on your grocery bill and even your retail shopping sprees. My rule of thumb is why I need to pay full price when I can get it at a discount. I encourage you to take these helpful tips and try to implement them into your everyday life. As we get caught up in our busy lives, we can easily forget some of these small money saving tips. If we add up all of the ways we can save money, we quickly see that we can add an easy few hundred to a few thousand dollars to
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SAVING MONEY TIPS (VOLUME I) our net worth each and every year. What are some of your money saving tips that seem to work effectively for you?
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III: Make Money From Those Old Electronics: Let me ask you, how many of your electronics are just lying around the house and of no use to you? I must admit I love my electronics. I am no geek, but when a new cell phone comes out it does excite me a little, what about you? Who Wants My Old Electronic Devices? 1. Amazon is a great resource. They actually have a trade-in program and it offers credit for the return of your electronic devices.
• Tip: Amazon will require you to provide them with an accurate description of your electronic device. Once you do that they will give you an offer. If you accept their offer you then mail Amazon your electronic device and they even pay for the shipping. Once your electronic device reaches them and is inspected by their staff, you will receive an Amazon gift card. How awesome is that! 2. Another great option is Nextworth.com. They are not as well-known as Amazon they offer a great service as well with even more additional payment options. Nextworth offers you to receive your payment for your electronic device by check, through paypal, or even a Target gift card.
• Tip: If you have a local Target store near you, you do not even have to go through the hassle of mailing your electronic device. You can drop it off and receive a gift card from Target that very same day. 3. An option that most of us are familiar with due to its popularity is eBay. A great thing about eBay is that your device does not even have to work, they still will accept it. You can also choose to receive your money through paypal by using the eBay. It takes about 5 business days to receive your money. You can also request a free paypal debit card through paypal and get your money even faster. 4. Of course an obvious option is to sell your electronic device directly. You can sell directly to another individual online and probably get more money this way. Usually when you sell to a business they have to resell it and make a profit so you most likely won’t always get a better price than if you sold it to an individual.
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SAVING MONEY TIPS (VOLUME I) There are a lot of other websites as well that want your old electronic devices. Of all of the options probably the most well know is gazelle.com. Here are some tips to consider so you can get the best price for your old electronics: 1. Once you buy a new item sell your old electronics right away. The longer you wait you risk the chance of receiving less money because your device may not be of use to anyone if it is obsolete. 2. Don’t throw away any of the accessories that came with your electronic device. If you can return the accessories as well to include the charger, instructions and even the box that the device was purchased in, you up your chances of receiving more money. 3. When you buy electronics always try to by name-brand. Did you know that namebrand items hold way more value than do generic brand. You are destined to get rid of your electronic device eventually, so why not put yourself in a position to receive money after you upgrade. One last and most important cost saving idea that I would like to give you is to remember to remove all of your personal information before you ship your item off. Leaving your old information on your device can be a critical cost saving mistake. You do not want to have to worry about someone else having access to your most private information.
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IV: Practical Home-Saving Tips: With money being tight for almost every American these days it is definitely necessary to always learn new money saving tips to fatten your budget. You may need to save money for any number of things. Here are some tips for you to put back plenty if you practice consistently. Put Your Spare Change in an Unused Jar When I was in the military I use to do this for an entire year before I would cash it in. Each time I had saved well over $1,000. It is really important to be consistent with it and not give your spare change to your spouse or children. This may seem like a small thing to do, but if you put change in there at every opportunity by the end of the year you will have enough saved to start a very nice emergency fund. Switch Those Lights Off Save money on power by always switching off the lights when you leave the room. Keeping the TV off as much as possible can be beneficial for more than one reason. Power saving is the first, but as for the second, advertisements can guilt you into making unnecessary purchases. Those infomercials can be a killer on the budget. There is always something new coming out, something you absolutely need, or someone wanting you to apply for credit. Make a List Before Shopping Yep, that is what I said. Don’t make the list when you arrive at the store. Make it before you go to the store. Buy the local Sunday paper or collect coupons to use with your list. Make sure that you only purchase the items on your list. This way there is no purchasing unnecessary items. Make sure you eat before you go to the grocery store, because from experience if you are hungry you suddenly need every food item in arms reach. Too many times I remember leaving the grocery store with a basket of junk. Quit Those Addictions
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SAVING MONEY TIPS (VOLUME I) If you smoke, drink, or have another addiction that is costly and do not want to quit, here is an idea that will help you save money, and maybe even give you the push you need to quit. Every time you go to the store to purchase a pack of cigarettes, beer, or candy put the exact amount into a jar and see how much you have saved. Then think that if you stop or at least cut out some next month you can save more. I like this little trick and it has worked for me. Get in the Mood for Some Spring Cleaning Do a spring cleaning and have a yard sale. There is always something that we have thrown into some part of the house we no longer need. This is a good way to put back some money. Only buy things you need and save for the things you want. Do not max out your credit card to buy the newest gadget. Maxing out a credit card will give you a higher bill and one less thing to use in case of an emergency. If possible hide your credit cards from yourself, this way they will get paid off and you are not tempted to use them. Don’t Go Out to Eat I don’t mean ever, but I do mean not often. Instead of going out to eat two or three times a month consider dropping it down to just once a month. Eating home cooked meals can also help save a few extra dollars. In the end it is not just one big thing that helps save you money it is all the little ones. Start at small and when you see progress you will be inspired to go big. Comment below on some of your practical money saving tips.
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Conclusion: Even the small things we often take for granted can add up quickly when it comes to spending money. By looking at what we spend our money on as well as HOW we spend it, we can better assess how to save cash. These thrifty spending habits are also good lessons to pass down to our children for the future. By setting a good example and paying attention to the money we spend, future generations will understand the value of hard work and of a dollar much better. If we learn how to save energy and water, we can also contribute to saving the earth and keeping her precious resources clean. Just a few simple changes to your lifestyle can add up to hundreds, maybe even thousands of dollars saved each year. Take that money and put it into a scholarship fund, or use it to help downsize some of your personal debt. Or, perhaps you can now save up for that dream vacation you’ve been waiting for. No matter what you do with the extra money, it will no doubt feel great to know that you’ve been able to save cash for other expenses or for something more worthwhile.
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