Stretch your dollars with some old fashioned ingenuity
These days, most people want to save money in any way they can. And people are working hard at finding the best ways to save – from clipping coupons to shopping online before visiting a store to find the best deals to using sample medications from the doctor – people are pinching pennies more so than ever before.
If you need to make a one-time purchase and you find a way to save a few dollars, it’s always a good thing. At the same time, if you are going to put a lot of effort into finding ways to save money, it is almost always going to be more beneficial to focus your energy on ways to save on recurrent costs.
Saving $10 a month on a purchase is going to be more valuable over the course of a year than saving $100 on a single purchase. It is also going to be more satisfying and more informative to develop ways to cut back on your recurrent spending because most recurrent costs are necessary costs.
Fortunately, finding ways to save is not all that difficult. Here are some suggestions to get you started.
You can save on prescription medications. Drug companies want your business. If your medicines are too expensive for your budget, you can ask your doctor to prescribe something less expensive. Ask your doctor whether he has any money-saving prescription cards you can have. If you doctor doesn’t have anything to offer, visit the Web site of the company that makes your medicine and look for prescription savings there. You can also obtain a card that will give you a substantial discount or rebate on your first month’s prescription and good savings thereafter.
You can renegotiate. You probably pay monthly utility, cable, phone and other bills. Call each of your monthly service providers annually and look for better deals. If your service provider won’t give you a better deal, someone else will.
You can obtain retail discount cards. Sign up for every retail discount program you encounter, and then make sure you keep track of the discounts available to you. You know you’ll have to buy groceries, so make sure to take advantage of the bargains that stores offer to regular customers. Get store rewards cards also.
Look for subscription discounts. If you know you will need to regularly purchase an item, some retailers will give you a discount just for registering regular purchases.
With a little ingenuity and by asking the right questions, you can be sure to get the best deals – and make sure your budget stays healthy.
Setting a budget is first step toward financial success
In today’s depressed economy, many families are restructuring their budgets, making cuts where appropriate and tightening where cuts are not possible. But even in the best of times, personal financial planning is just plain smart.
Personal financi
al planning consists of three general activities: controlling your day-to-day finances, choosing and following a course toward long-term financial goals, and building a financial safety net to prevent financial disasters.
You may ask yourself, why should I set a budget. For many, the very word budget has negative connotations. But instead of thinking of a budget as financial handcuffs, think of it as a means to achieve financial success. Budgeting and tracking your expenses gives you a strong sense of where your money goes and can help you reach your financial goals.
In order to set up a budget, you don’t need to invest in fancy software, but a good software program will make the job easier. Many banks now offer free banking and personal finance software. Give your bank a call or check out its website to see if this is the case for you.
If not, you can purchase software fairly inexpensively, or you can choose to forego the computer and revert to good, old-fashioned pencil and paper. Either way, be sure to record all of your expenses, even the smallest and most seemingly insignificant. You’ll be surprised at how it all adds up.
Next, you’ll want to be sure to set your financial goals. Are you saving for a house? A new car? Your child’s college education? Whatever your goal, a budget will help you get there.
When building your budget, make sure to build in a cushion, or safety net, to help when disaster strikes. Whether it’s a car accident, unexpected medical costs or the loss of a job, you’ll want to build in enough of a cushion to be sure you and your family are still provided for.
Once all of these steps are in place, you’ll gain control of your personal finances. You will control your pocketbook…not the other way around.