50 money saving tips smartasset doc

Income: The easiest way to increase your savings is to increase your income. Here are a few tips to help you maximize your revenue by improving your number one revenue generator, yourself. 1. Increase your income by asking for raise: In the majority of cases your employer will not give you a raise (or the raise you really want) unless you ask for it. But before doing so you need to take an objective look at yourself and the marketplace for employees with similar skill in similar roles. Before approaching your boss yourself the following: a. Do you realistically deserve a raise? Have you added value to the company in a significant way? Identify the key performance indicators for your job, how are you doing? You should be meeting expectations or exceeding them in all aspects. b. Are you underpaid relative to employees with the same responsibilities in your area? c. Have you been asked to take on additional responsibilities? It may be wise to ask for a raise. Sites like Glassdoor.com and job boards can help you understand how much jobs similar to yours are currently paying. You can use that to negotiate, or leave for a position with more pay. d. Have you kept your skills up to date? The best way to move forward in your career is to keep learning and become smarter. Generally the more awesome you are, the more money you can potentially earn. Did you recently finish a master’s program or certificate program? According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics the skills you learn from grad school can net you an extra $162 per week over an undergraduate degree on average. Of course this is an average because a Master’s degree in Philosophy will probably still earn less than an Accounting degree. However unemployment is much lower among those with a graduate degree, and a major contributor to the 30% difference in salary. e. If you haven’t, you can update your real world value through a site like Skillshare. Skillshare classes are a great short term substitute for an advanced degree, and can help you improve skills directly related to your current job. This can help you produce results at work starting tomorrow and make your boss take notice. Some of these classes are conducted online while others are held at physical locations. In either case it’s a great way to make yourself more marketable to your employer, and to network. Don’t forget connections are also incredibly valuable. 2. Supplement your income with freelance, consulting or a hobby that pays - If you’re in a particular field you probably like it, so why not do more of it. a. Freelance Freelancers have been shown to have higher quality of life relative to their fully employed peers. Why? The pressures of not being in an office and having the freedom to do what you want when you want is liberating. However it comes at the cost of work sometimes being slow, and having to “hustle” to find new work. However if you already have a full-time job freelancing could be a great way to not only increase your pay, but take on more interesting short-term projects. Not only can you do this from your home in your pajamas in most cases, but it’s a great way to build your resume quickly. b. Consulting: Sort of like freelancing but for adults, consulting allows you to the advisor to a company or a team within a company looking to meet specific goals. You have the benefit of having your opinion be respected as well as the flexibility to work remotely and command a hefty salary for your services. Consulting, like freelance work is not for everyone as the added responsibilities can conflict with your current job, however if you can make it work you maybe be able to double your income. c. Get a hobby that pays: If you’re like most people you have something that you care very deeply about that isn’t your job. So why not try to make that your job? If you like to bake, repair things, sew or are just good with your hands you can generate extra income through an Etsy store or by selling your goods on eBay. But getting paid for your hobbies goes even further than creating artisanal goods. If you’re really good at a sport, enjoy working out, love math or have knack for languages you can make money sharing your passion through teaching. These won’t turn you into a millionaire but they will give you the satisfaction of sharing your expertise, probably allow you to engage your nerdiness in a new way, and provide you with a decent amount of supplemental income. We’ll show you what to do with that extra income in the following sections. 3. Over prepare for everything you do, the money will follow: One of the most often over looked aspects of successful people is the time they spend preparing. There are a lot of blogs and books that spend time highlighting the methods of the rich and powerful. Really those strategies only worked for that person, it’s also one of the reasons why personal advice is overrated. The only thing that can lead to continued success in the work place is patience, and continued preparation. Unless you are a genius rushing to complete projects or tasks is a sure way to create mistakes and more work for yourself. Taking the time to analyze the task into small pieces, setting an initial plan, and then refining that plan over and over until you’re satisfied is the path to success. One example we love is Remit Seth’s anecdote about he spent four months writing one sales page. Just one. He even spent $13,000 on feedback for this one page. The page made his business millions of dollars. So the time invested was well worth it. http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/how-i-learned-to-believe-in-myself/ By applying this to your professional life you can increase the chances of making a bigger impact with your projects, command a higher salary or even get a promotion. The idea of preparedness throughout many of the tips, by preparing you can save time and money and begin putting those resources towards investments and other activities that improve your well being. 4. Banking: So you’ve upgraded your revenue stream to align with your personal finance goals. The question now is where do you put that extra money, and how do you manage it. 5. Setup automatic payments save and make money while you sleep : Having automatic payments setup it’s convenient, requiring no action on your part to avoid late payment fees. There’s nothing to mail and no logins or passwords to remember. If you treat auto-pay with caution it can be a great tool. a. Pay with a credit card first: If, and only if, you use credit cards and pay your balance off every month, consider auto paying with a credit card when possible. It gives you extra time to dispute charges and keeps your cash safe in the meantime. b. Set up automatic payments for the non-variable: This works great for bills like Netflix and car payments. It’s also pretty low-risk to set up auto-pay for minimum payments, such as on credit cards that way you will avoid accidental late fees. c. Save automatically: d. You can also send money automatically to your investments: 6. Open a high yield savings account online: Savings account interest rates are at an all-time low, which means if you put your money in a traditional savings account it won’t accrue any interest. Essentially that money is being wasted since you can’t put it to use purchasing things or growing it through investment. Your only option in this case may be to open a high yield savings account. You can earn up to 10 times the national average just by looking online. If you bank online, you give up the ability to physically walk into a bank branch and talk to someone. But you can easily manage your account online, or speak with a customer service rep by phone or chat. i. Barclays Online Savings Account: The British banking giant, Barclays, launched an online bank for U.S. customers in May 2012. Their savings account rate is currently one of the best in the nation. There’s no minimum balance requirement or monthly fee, although they reserve the right to close your account if you have less than a $1 after 180 days. ii. Ally Online Savings Account: Besides being a pretty shade of purple, Ally’s online banking system has some of the best perks in the business. In addition to sending checks by mail, you can scan and upload them yourself with Ally eCheck Deposit, or just take a picture with your smartphone and deposit the check via Ally’s mobile app. Ally also lets you link to an unlimited number of external bank accounts, just in case you happen to have, like, ten. iii. American Express High-Yield Savings Account: American Express Bank has a nice, clean website that’s easy to navigate. Your account doesn’t come with anything special, but signup is a breeze if you already have an American Express card. You’ll also have the added benefit of managing your savings account and credit card from the same site. iv. Sallie Mae High-Yield Savings Account: The Sallie Mae savings account already has one of the top rates in the nation, but it gives you an even better value if you’re saving for college. If you have a Sallie Mae Upromiseaccount, which is a cash back education rewards program, you can link it to your savings account to be eligible for a 10% match on your earnings. Sweet! v. CIT Bank High Yield Savings Account: CIT’s savings account offers a tiered interest rate structure, so while their regular yield is already competitive, you can boost your interest earnings even more if you can maintain $25,000 in the account. At that level you’ll earn a whopping 1.00% interest. vi. FNBO Direct Online Savings Account: An FNBO Direct savings account is as simple as they come. It doesn’t have a minimum balance or monthly fee. If you $1 to your name that’s more than enough to open an new account. Plus, you can use Popmoney to send payments to friends or family members. vii. Bank of Internet USA High Yield Savings: If you hate don’t trust the U.S. Postal Service then Bank of Internet is a great option. Like Ally, Bank of Internet allows customers to deposit checks to their savings account via mobile phone or home office. viii. Discover Bank Online Savings Account: Like American Express, Discover makes it easy to manage your savings account and Discover card online. You can access both from the same mobile app, too. It’s also super easy to set up automatic transfers from non-Discover accounts. ix. Everbank Yield Pledge Account : The Everbank savings account may have the most restrictions, but they’re also the only bank on our list that guarantees interest rates within the nation’s top 5%. Interest rates fluctuate all the time, and chasing the top rate is a major nuisance. With Everbank, you’re guaranteed to always earn highly competitive interest, even if it’s not the absolute best. All you have to do is meet their minimum monthly requirements. x. Capital One 360 Savings : ING Direct was recently acquired by Capital One. Which is great because ING’s high yield accounts are now combined with Capital One’s credit cards and other financial products. You can expect the same level of service and low fees that ING Direct proudly featured. Although they no longer have the highest rate, the savings account still has nifty perks. They have all sorts of ways to organize your accounts, perfect for the super organized saver. 7. Track your spending: Watching where and how you spend your money will help you save more. The most important thing is to log every time you receive money. No matter if it’s from a paycheck, garage sale or picking up change from the ground. Every time you spend money, whether it’s paying bills, buying coffee etc, write it down. Keep track of every penny that enters or leaves your life. In doing so you will demystify money, and begin to see it for what it is. A tool. By tracking your spending your money habits will be sharpened, allowing you to make changes to further improve your situation. This is an essential money skill, and it’s easy. Try this for two weeks and you’ll find that it becomes second nature. When you track your spending, it’s important not to make judgments. This activity is meant to describe your money habits, not to change them. xi. Be careful with transactions that are easy to forget. Some transactions — cash transactions, online transactions, transactions without a receipt — are quickly forgotten. Take special steps to remember these. xii. Get a receipt for everything. It’s easy to forget what you spent your money on just 24 hours later. Make a habit of putting all your receipts in one place so that you know where to find them. xiii. It’s best to process your transactions daily. I find this hard to do. I process my transactions weekly. If I go longer than this, something invariably gums up the works: I can’t remember a transaction, can’t find a receipt, etc. xiv. Make it a routine. If you get in the habit of tracking your spending, it becomes second nature. 8. Open an account at credit union instead of a bank: An excellent alternative to holding a traditional bank account is to open one with a credit union. A credit union is similar to a bank except for one major difference; the owners of the credit union are all the depositors themselves. Power to the people. Can anyone become a member of a credit union? You can, provided you fulfill certain conditions. Every credit union has their own conditions as part of their charter. Unlike banks, which are open to the public at large, credit unions have a limited membership. That does not mean they’re exclusive. A credit union aims to provide financial services to a group of people who share a common characteristic. This could be based on residence in a specified area, where the union is located or undertakes its operations. It could be based on a common trade, such as all members are teachers, or construction workers and so on. First, look for a credit union where the membership conditions match your profile. You can browse through the National Credit Union Association (NCUA) listing for a credit union where you qualify for membership. You can also see more credit unions here: http://www.creditunion.coop/ Credit Cards: You’ve set up your bank accounts now use that well-oiled savings machine to help you make more money. 9. Make the most of your credit card’s benefits Credit cards can be a mixed bag. In the wrong hands it can lead to crippling debt, hence why many are opposed to them. But with some management skills and some shopping they can be a huge benefits. Credit cards can help you keep track of your spending much more easily than cash, and they let you download your transaction history for free. Even the most basic cards can deliver huge benefits in the form of reimbursement, warrantees, and insurance. Most credit cards offer benefits like this: i. Reimbursement for plane tickets- If you get sick and have to cancel your flight, your credit company will cover the cancellation fees. ii. Electronics warranties- When you buy electronics your credit card company will automatically double the manufacturer’s warranty. iii. Car Rental Insurance: Do you ever wonder if you should get the insurance offered to you at the rental checkout counter? Don’t fall for it, your credit card company will cover you for up to $50,000 worth of damage. How do you get these to kick in for you? Just call up your credit card company and ask them to send you a list of your credit card benefits so that you have it on hand. Anytime something goes wrong, breaks, or gets stolen just call up your credit card company they’ll be happy to help you out so you can keep spending more with them. 10.Pay down your debt using a zero interest credit card The worst part about carrying a large balance on your credit card is the interest. But if you have good credit you can secure a 0% interest credit card and use that to pay down your debt by leaps and bounds. In doing so you will reduce the interest and any late fees from your other debt. How to do it: The worst part of carrying a large balance on your card is the interest that accrues every month. By transferring the balance of one card to another with 0% interest you keep your debt from growing larger, effectively putting more money towards paying down the balance. This method only works with cards 0% interest cards and not low interest (that defeats the purpose). Thankfully there are many credit cards that offer a promotional 0% interest for up to 18 months upon opening the card. If you're carrying a large debt burden that you intend to pay off within the 0% period, you can do a balance transfer. Basically you’re paying off your old card which has an interest rate of some form with a new card to pay down your debt interest free. Like anything else, there is a catch. You will be charged a balance transfer usually around 3%. So the larger the balance being transferred the more beneficial this system is. The idea is that your would-have-been interest payments cost more than the balance transfer fees. You can determine the numbers according to your own situation using a credit card balance. It’s also worth noting that your credit score will get dinged when you open a new card. But this is more of long term strategy anyway and pales in comparison to carrying a massive balance on a credit card. 11. Pick the right credit card for your lifestyle : The best rates are offered to consumers with good credit. The first step is to figure out the state of your credit and then find credit cards that match your lifestyle and the benefits you’re after. Best Travel Rewards: Do you like to travel a lot or want to travel more? A mileage card could be the best way to Capital One Venture Rewards: You don’t need to travel to earn miles with this card. And you won’t be tied down to one airline or run into blackout dates when using those miles. American Express Starwood Preferred Guest Card- You’ll get the equivalent of a domestic ticket for roughly every $20,000 you spend or about 1.25 miles per dollar. e. Best No-fee, Cash Back Rewards Card: i. Capital One Cash Rewards: $100 Cash Back Bonus, which offers a great rewards rate as well as no annual fee. It earns a full 1.5% cash back on all your purchases 1% regularly and a 50% anniversary bonus. You also receive $100 just for signing up. More than that the card has no foreign transaction fee, so you aren’t getting gouged 3% of every purchase you make abroad. ii. Citi ThankYou Preferred Rewards Card offers up to 15,000 bonus points when you spend $1,000 during the first 3 months. Earn one point for every dollar you spend on your card. You can earn unlimited points that never expire. You receive an annual bonus equivalent to a percentage of the points earned throughout the year. f. Best Low Interest Rate Card: i. Slate from Chase (Balance Transfer): The free balance genre was resurrected with the Slate Card. Chase offers 0% for 15 months, with no annual fees or balance transfers, making it perfect for paying down large debts. The savings on interest and fees would save the average American household save up to $1,000. ii. BankAmericard for Students: College is one of the leading causes of debt in America. For students who need a few extra months to pay down the expenses of higher education, this BankAmericard offers 15 months of 0% interest rate and no annual fees. However, there is a significant bump in rates after the initial period so be prepared to pay this card off quickly. g. Best Cards for Rebuilding Your Credit: i. Capital One Secured (Partially Secured): Generally, the more credit you have available the faster you can improve your credit. It’s technically a partially-secured card, so you might be able to get a credit line in excess of your security deposit. The other nice thing about this card is that Capital One does not charge annual fees. Housing: The number expense for Americans is housing. Here are some great ways to save money in and around your house. 12. Reduce your utilities - Reducing the utilities in your home is one of the easiest and most consistent ways to save money. a. Cut off your cable: Use Hulu, Netflix, and ITunes to cut down on your massive cable bill. Also not having a thousands of channels to stare endlessly into will help cut down your electricity bill. b. Reduce heating and air conditioning with programmable thermostats. Chances are if you have job, you have a pretty set schedule. You’re at work for large chunks of the day leaving your apartment or home empty. Why not turn down the air conditioning or heat while you’re away and set it to turn back on again around the time you normally come home? You can do the same at night and save while you sleep and make a major dent in your gas and electric bill. c. Use a space heater or fan to cut down on heating or cooling your entire home. This may seem redundant but chances are you can only be in one place at one time. Why are you paying to keep your entire home climate controlled? d. Reduce electric by using LED bulbs, using energy saving bulb, buying more energy efficient appliances, and unplugging electronics that aren’t in use. 13. Get Renters Insurance - Renter’s insurance is something every renter should have. It is inexpensive, depending on the amount you take out and your area you will likely pay between ten to twenty dollars a month for the coverage. Renters insurance protects you if you are robbed, or if your apartment burns down. Additionally, renter’s insurance includes liability protection. This protection will cover medical expenses if someone is hurt inside your apartment. This insurance will help you to replace items that are damaged or stolen. Renters insurance does not cover floods, you will have to purchase flood insurance. How Much Coverage Should You Purchase? Ideally you should purchase the most possible as theft coverage won’t help in the event of a fire. Also if you have many electronics and your insurance policy only covers you for $500 you may want to shop around. Take Advantage of Discounts for Your Policy: When you purchase your renter’s insurance, it is important to shop around. You can receive a discount when you get it through the same company as your car insurance. You should check for discounts through your job, professional associations, and alumni associations, as well. [...]... max out at $5 ,500 per year for those who are under 50 years old and $6 ,500 for those who are over 50, so be sure that you also have other forms of retirement accounts in addition to your IRA Auto: Cars, like a house, are among life’s biggest expenses The only difference is that they depreciate faster, here’s how to stop losing out on your transportation 29 Sell your used car for as much money as possible... own taxes saves money: a Save money on tax preparation fees- When I used a tax accountant I paid about $ 250. 00 The most recent Turbo Tax program I purchased cost $75 Technically you could save about $175.00 each year just by doing this b Save money by getting real life tax training- Having a better understanding of how general taxes and deductions work could potentially save you a lot of money No one... life situations like: how many kids you have, how you spend your money, who you give money to etc c Disadvantages of only using a tax CPA- You drop off your paper work with the accountant Pick it up Drop it in the mail and you have no idea of the accuracy of the documents Furthermore, you likely won’t have any idea of good tax saving tips for the next year However, when you prepare your own taxes you... than $ 250, you'll need verification from the charity documenting the support you provided If you drove your car for charity in 2012, remember to deduct 14 cents per mile plus You can also tack on parking and tolls 37 Student-loan interest paid by Mom and Dad- If parents help pay back some of their child’s student loans, then the IRS treats the money as a gift to the child who then used the money to... heaters and central airconditioning units installed in your primary residence in 2009 and 2010 It was originally capped at $1 ,500 , but that was $1 ,500 off the cost of the improvements and you saved energy as well For 2011, the credit was cut to 10%, up to $500 , with a cap of $50 to $300 on fans, furnaces, water heaters, heat pumps and central air-conditioning, and a $200 cap on windows Homeowners who... towards cancer prevention (and associated medical debt) c More than that the whole point of saving money is so that you can use it more wisely to improve your quality of life You can do that by investing and saving smartly but also finding more efficient ways to indulge your taste buds Sources: Taxes http:/ /money. msn.com/taxes/10-big-deductions-too-many-of-us-miss-5 http://www.kiplinger.com/article/taxes/T054-C000-S001-the-most-overlooked-taxdeductions.html... http://www.dailymarkets.com/creditcards/credit-card-rewards/ http:/ /money. usnews.com /money/ blogs/my -money/ 2013/01/23/the-13-best-credit-cardsfor-2013 http://californiawatch.org/dailyreport/paying-rent-credit-card-lets-you-rack-perks-haspitfalls-10832 http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323951904578292123014968416.html http://articles.businessinsider.com/2012-01-19/news/30642161_1_housing-costs-livingincome-tax http:/ /money. msn.com/credit-rating/9-fast-fixes-for-your-credit-scores-weston.aspx... convenience of paying it once a month The catch here is that you will be paying in one lump sum You will need to have the money available to pay when the time comes Luckily you can do that using some of the other tips outlined in this eBook You can do this by either using your auto-contribute savings account and put a little bit aside over the course of the year Or you can use zero interest or rewards credit... readjust your lifestyle and saving you money on extremely expensive medication e Don’t worry, be happy- Stress is a major source of heart related diseases, gastro-intestinal diseases and depression Do yourself a favor do more of the things you like especially if they involve exercise, and try to limit the things you hate doing Also take a vacation your body will thank you 51 Use the savings from buying in... how to save a lot of money by shopping at Costco, BJ’s and other wholesale retailers As you know the majority of the savings comes from buying items in large quantity that you can store Buying perishable items in bulk is not a smart way to save, unless you’re a restaurant or have a small army of children b One quick way to improve your quality of life and your health is to take the money you’ve saved . to note that IRA’s max out at $5 ,500 per year for those who are under 50 years old and $6 ,500 for those who are over 50, so be sure that you also have. low, which means if you put your money in a traditional savings account it won’t accrue any interest. Essentially that money is being wasted since you