Posts Tagged ‘ budget ’

Tame The Gadget-Greedy Monster In 5 Easy Steps

These days, gadgets are high up on people’s wish lists. Thanks to gadgets, a good number of American consumers have racked up a lot of credit card debt. This is an alarming development, but fortunately, there are ways to resist the temptation to buy, buy, and buy more stuff. Here are our suggestions for taming and controlling the gadget-greedy monster in ourselves.

1. Schedule your gadget purchases and follow it strictly. Say you have a weakness for mobile phones. Set a schedule of buying mobile phones that cost over $50 around once every few years. If you’ve managed to stick to that schedule, take it up a notch and see if you can stretch the use of your phone out a bit longer. Should your phone break down before then, replace it with a cheaper version. There are basic Nokia phones up for grabs on eBay. Who knows? You could get lucky and get one for dirt cheap!

How to Control Your Spending Habits and Avoid Debt

The following is a guest post by Kevin Craig

Bad spending habits are something that every spend-thrift American is addicted to. Easy availability of credit cards and quick access to loans has fanned this fiery practice all the more. And the result is deep debt crisis faced by almost every second person in the US. Though there are several debt settlement companies across different states in the US your own endeavors can save you and keep out of debt.

Does your careless spending habit take a toll on your finances every month and leave you at the mercy of creditors? Why not start taking a little initiative to put a check on reckless expenditures and avoid unpleasant debt problems? Breaking bad spending habits is not a Herculean task. It is all about imposing discipline on your expenses.

Just check out the following three tips to kick-start your cost-curtailment plan:

Save Money on Vacations

By Kevin M

Vacation season is upon us and plans are now being laid for what could be the single most expensive week of the year for more than a few people.

Vacations are often the biggest single component in the family entertainment budget, and often (and easily) can run into thousands of dollars for a single one week trip. In many homes, the family vacation has become an annual rite, bordering on necessity.

But in a lot of households, the past few years have been draining on the budget, with one or more periods of unemployment and possibly investment losses as well. Recovery from such hits is often only gradual in coming and it may be best to come out of the gate slowly if you’ve experienced either or both situations.

From a pure financial standpoint the best advice would be to not take a vacation. Vacations are NOT necessities, no matter what the prevailing attitudes in your community or in the culture at large, and you should not be leaving bills unpaid or your bank account empty to make them happen. This truly is an expense that should not be incurred unless all other expenses are paid AND some money has been put away for savings AND the trip can be paid for without incurring significant debt.

With that caveat on our minds let’s focus on ways to take vacations at much lower cost.

A Better Way to Budget?

By Paul Williams

Budget. It’s a four-letter word to many people. We hate the
restriction, the deprivation, and tracking all the little details.
But personal finance experts continue to tell us we need a budget.
Don’t get me wrong. Budgets are very useful tools. I think everyone
should try to use one (or something like it) if they really want to
have control over their finances. But I wonder if we don’t go about
it the wrong way when we try to implement budgets.

For someone who’s never had a budget, the whole process can seem
daunting and mysterious. What’s the right way to budget? Why should
I even do it? How do I track all my expenses? While budgets are
quite simple (a list of income and expenses with goals), there are a
number of questions that can come up for the uninitiated. They find
some answers from people who seem confident and knowledgeable and away
they go. They make up their first budget and set high goals. Maybe
it looks like this:

Take-Home Pay:	$2500

Savings:	$500
Giving:	$200
Rent:	$1000
Groceries:	$200
Auto Insurance:	$100
Gas:	$200
Phone, Internet, & Cable:	$100
Utilities:	$100
Eating Out:	$50
Personal Expenses:	$50
Total Expenses:	$2500

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Posts Tagged ‘ budget ’

Tame The Gadget-Greedy Monster In 5 Easy Steps

How to Control Your Spending Habits and Avoid Debt

Save Money on Vacations

A Better Way to Budget?

Financial Management