We all love brand spanking new stuff, but we can’t all afford it.  So if your credit card is almost at its limit, and

the money in your account is running out, then its obvious that you will need to stop spending.

If you really need the necessities, like a fridge or washing machine, then I suggest you buy them second hand.

Buying a new fridge on credit is going to cost top dollar, plus interest charged on your credit card.  Admittedly

second hand won’t look as good as new, but the minute you walk out of the store with your new fridge it

becomes second hand anyway.  So try looking around for a second hand fridge that is in great working order

and looks in a reasonable condition.  Your visitors won’t even notice, so its pointless trying to impress them.

Its easy to become dazzled by a good salesman, but buying within your means will give you a lot more peace of

mind.

If you are strapped for money, try shopping in one of the charity shops.  You would be amazed at the quality

and price of some of the clothes.  No-one will know where you bought your outfits.  The clothes are still

fashionable, because some people who donate to charities, like my sister for instance, wear their clothes for 3

months, become bored with them, and give them away to charities.  I am sure there are plenty of well off

people out there, who have more money than sense, and pay exorbitant prices for clothes with a brand name,

and then get sick of them after a few months and donate them to charity.

Second hand clothing

All it takes is a bit of spare time to sort through the clothes and find something you like.  My 9 year old son

bought me a $3.50 blouse for Christmas at a Charity Shop and I loved it and wear it all the time.  It had a brand

name and looked new, and I have had a number of compliments when I wear it.  My son was very proud of

himself that he had found such a good bargain.

I also have a friend who always looks stunning and when I asked her where she buys her clothes, you guessed

it, she said from Charity Shops.

So why not go into the Charity Shops like St Vincent De Paul or Life Line and see for yourself.  They don’t just

sell clothes, they sell furniture, books, toys, cutlery and crockery, etc.  You can save yourself a heap of money

and plus its beneficial to you and the wider community who may need help desperately.

This is a guest post from Deb Diplock from Woodford Newspaper.

Only buy or fill up your car with Gas (petrol) in the early morning when the ground  temperature is still cold..thus saving money on Gas

When you are filling up do not squeeze the trigger of the nozzle to a fast mode.

If you look you will see that the trigger has three (3)  stages; low, middle and high.

In slow mode you should  be pumping on low speed, thereby minimising the vapours that  are created while you are pumping..   All hoses at the  pump have a vapour return.   If you you are pumping on  the fast rate, some of the liquid that goes into your tank  becomes vapour.   Those vapours are being sucked up and  back into the underground storage tank so you’re getting less  worth for your money.

Fill up your car in the morning and save on gas

One of the most important tips is to fill up when your tank is HALF FULL.

Savinging money on Gas

The reason for this is, the more fuel you have in you  tank, the less air occupying its empty space.   Petrol  evaporates faster than you can imagine.   Petroleum  storage tanks have an internal floating roof.  This roof  serves as zero clearance between petrol and the atmosphere, so it minimises the evaporation.   Unlike Service Stations, every truck load is temperature compensated so that every litre is actually the exact amount.

Another reminder.   If there is a fuel  truck pumping into storage tanks when you stop to buy, DO NOT  FILL UP.   Most likely the petrol/diesel is being stirred  up as the fuel is being delivered and you might pick up some dirt that normally settles on the bottom.

Hope this will help you get the most value for your money.    Remember to always fill your car when the tank shows ‘half’.    Always fill up in the early morning.   Always fill  up in slow mode.

This  actually works. Try it and let us know how much of a saving when fueling up in the morning than in the afternoon.

This is a guest post by Deb Diplock from Woodford Newspaper.

Are you looking for cheap ways to bake something extra for the kids lunch box that doesn’t cost a fortune? When you go to the cake mixes and check out the prices of the pre-mixed packets you will find the prices range from $2.50 to $4.50 and have illustrations of delicious looking cakes. they look very temping, but for that price you could just buy a cake or a packet of lammingtons already cooked for you.

I can’t bring myself to buy these packet cake mixes because they are an absolute rip off so I look to the bottom  shelf in the cake mix isle for my famous 67c cake mix.   Coles or Woolworths have these cake mixes at this price along with other Supermarkets like IGA and so on. I have previously written articles about whats wrong with name food.

I know what you are thinking! Oh yuck! This cake is going to taste awful and you are right! There is a little secret to using this 67cent cake mix. You have to get creative and make it look and taste expensive!. I hate to tell you I have been selling homemade cakes in cafes for years. (In my own businesses) The compliments I have had from these cakes is not far from extraordinary!

The basic cake mix requires 3/4 of a cup of milk and one egg to mix it up and make a simple cake. I always use this as a base but here are a few amazing thing to add to this 67 cent cake mix. I also use a slab tin as I never do things by halves and this takes two packets for starters. The cake will take around 40 minutes to cook so you might as well make it a bit bigger.

Apple Tea Cake

1.  Make the basic cake mix with two packets of 67c cake mix, 1 1/2 cups of milk, and two eggs. (We have doubled it)

2.  Line the cake time with baking paper. Proper baking paper to avoid any sticking.

3.  Peel and slice 6 apples. Or use tin apples if you like.

4.  Spread some cake mixture into the tin to make a base..

5.  Add some slice apples, a sprinkle of cinnamon spice on the layer, and some brown sugar, the sticky stuff. Make a one centimeter layer of this sugar as it will make the cake caramelize.

6.  Then add more cake mixture. Keep doing this, layer apples and mixture.

7.  When you are finished we need to decorate the top of the cake. Sprinkle uncooked Julianne apples pieces and cinnamon sugar on the top. The apple bit should look like match sticks.

When this cake is cooked it will look like a professional cake simply because of the decoration. I used to sell this for $4.95 a slice!

67c Cake Mix

How does this 67cent cake mix save money?

1.  Well it costs 67 cents…Derr!

2.  You can use fruit that is not going to be eaten to stop wasting food.You can also freeze the fruit until you are ready to make a cake. See what food can you freeze?

3.  It is easy to Jazz up with any ingredients in your cupboard.

Other variations for this money saving cake mix:

Chocolate Mud Cake

Add good cocoa powder and an extra 2 eggs for a great chocolate mud cake. If you add chocolate made with butter and melted chocolate then this is to die for!

Carrot cake

Add a cup of grated carrot, some chopped walnuts, 1/2 brown sugar, 1 tsp of all spice…Add an extra 2 eggs to make up for the dry stuff.  If you add cream cheese icing this is so yummy! I used to make these in cup cake papers. When i iced them i would sprinkle some more walnuts for decoration….totally professional.

Sultana and coconut (My invention)

Add 1/2 a cup of sultanas to the mix, some chopped walnuts and half a cup of dessicated coconut and an extra egg. for the topping you need to take the cake out..and while hot spread jam on it… then add a mix of 1/4 cup caster sugar, SHREDDED coconut, and two eggs ( mix all together) and spread on the cake. Put it back in the oven and bake with the top element on cooking to cook the topping.

Your friends will think you spend your life in the kitchen, when all you need is 5 minutes to make the cake and 40 minutes to bake it. I have been selling cakes like these for years. I do not have a cafe at the moment and can share these crazy ideas. This 67 cent cake mix not only saves loads of money, but saves you hours of time! Of course it can also make you money as well. If you happen to have a cafe then you must give this a go!

No Fret Family Budget

For some, the idea of a budget is often a blur.  It is frustrating to see how hard it is to do a budget and realizing that with one wrong purchase, you can actually ruin the entire thing. And this has been a perennial headache for most homemakers. 

Tips For Setting Up A Family Budget – Money Saving Tips

It is about time to overhaul the way people look at budgeting.  It can actually be a great way to keep track of your family’s expenditures and help you evaluate the things that you spend the lion’s share of the family’s earnings on. What is a budget?  A budget is a tool for handling your finances by controlling the family’s expenditures in a way that money is enough for paying up bills, and still ensuring that savings are set aside for future expenses – vacations, or children’s education, or even for retirement.

Try these simple steps in preparing a no fret family budget, and see the benefits of intelligent spending.

1.  Gather three months of your pay stubs and get your average monthly earnings.

2.  Get out three months of your monthly bills.  Do this for the fixed expenses like the rent, phone bill, car payments and other loans that come monthly.   Add them up and get the average. Do the same for other expenses like groceries, and credit card bills.

3.  Evaluate the results of your computations.  Looking at your average monthly earnings against your monthly fixed expenses and other monthly expenses, think of some ways to economize.  Cut back on some items that are somehow unnecessary.

4.  Knowing the facts of your income and expenses, develop a family budget and try to stick to this monthly budget.

5.  Now that you have a monthly budget, set up a savings account.  Save up by making regular deposits to this account.

6.  Keep track of this monthly family budget just to see if it is working for you.  Try to fine-tune the “rough edges” of this budget as you go along.

7.  If you can get hold of a personal budgeting software or spreadsheet application to keep record of your budget, the better.  This will make organizing your expenses very easy.

These are the basic steps in developing and implementing a no fret, easy to stick to monthly family budget. Of course each family has diverse needs and wants.  You have the freedom to develop your own monthly family budget, depending on your family’s financial background and needs.  No matter how you do it, just focus on the end result, which is building a savings that leads to a bright and financially stable future for your family.

Secrets of keeping to the family budget

The high cost of living in today’s society, wherever you may be, has made budgeting a priority among families.  In today’s inflationary world, nothing is more important than knowing how to wisely spend the meager income that you get.

Secret Budgeting Family Money – Money Saving Tips

Financial problems usually arise due to lack of proper budgeting skills, or failure to keep to the proposed budget.  No matter how much income you may have, it is still important to keep track of your assets and liabilities, your earnings and expenses.

It is ironic but a person who earns thousands will have the same problems with the person who earns by the hundreds.  Most often, different kinds of people, with diverse income levels, have budgeting problems.   Others who may have been successful in making a budget, usually fail to keep within such a budget.

A budget refers to a financial plan, taking the incoming and outgoing monetary resources into consideration.  A good budget should not only mean a balance or equity between income and expenditures.  It also means lesser expenses, and making an allowance for savings.

If you earn a thousand dollars per month, you should map out all the necessary expenses you will have to incur during the month such as payment for your house, food and transportation.  Of course, this is presuming that your tax liabilities have already been settled.  What remains after you deduct your total expenses from your income is your savings.

What you do with your savings will make a difference later on, when the need arises.  You can choose to keep your savings in a piggy bank or place it in a bank where there is minimum interest rate but at least your money is safe from you and from intruders.  With a bigger savings, you can get the services of a financial adviser who can give you higher-yielding investment options

Here are tips to make sure that you keep within the family budget:

1. Maintain a logbook where you can list your income and expense account on a weekly or monthly schedule.

2. Buy your groceries at one time.  To do this, make a list of all the things that you would need for your target period and purchase them at one time.  Sometimes, there are discounts if you buy by the dozen so take advantage of this.

3. Avoid going to the supermarket and shops if you do not need to buy necessary items.  This will keep you from making unnecessary purchases and keep you from straying away from your budget.

4. Think twice before you buy something.  By doing this, you will realize that it is not really a necessity but a whim.

Priorities  Bring Focus to Family Budgeting

Often times, the family budget is a source of conflict.  Most of the time, the major earner makes the final financial decision, which isn’t always a welcome deal for the rest.  Since money is such an intrinsic part of family life, families need to achieve accord in this aspect.  There is a four-step cycle in budgeting the family money to maintain peace and harmony.

Priorities Bring Focus to Family Budgeting – Money Saving Tips

1. Set your priorities. 

Priorities are different from goals.  They are aspects in your family’s life that you, as a family, want to set focus on, say health or children’s future.  While goals are specific targets that support priorities. In setting priorities, do not set too many as it defeats the purpose.  Ideally, there should only be one, but because life is not ideal, 2 to 3 are reasonable. As the priorities are set and agreed upon, write them down.  Post the paper where everybody can see them to remind them of what your family is focused on for the next few years.

2. List down your goals.

Once the family has set and agreed on priorities, the next step is to set the goals.  Goals are specific and measurable conditions that, when achieved, will support the priorities.  In setting goals, establish a target that is both challenging yet achievable.  A 10-15% of the family’s income is a good savings target for a child’s future education: stretching yet reachable. Try to limit your family into setting 1-2 goals per priority, to maintain focus.

3. Work towards your goals.

After setting your priorities and goals, start living by them.  All of the family’s activities will be geared towards working at your goals.  Track progress, particularly on financial goals, by using an income and expense-tracking tool.  The simplest way is to get a notebook and list down all expenses and incomes and set a budget for future spending.  There are those that invest in computer software or a family accountant.  Whatever it is, the important thing is to have a system of monitoring the family’s performance towards achieving their goals.

4. Evaluate your family life.

At a certain point in time, when you feel like it’s time to evaluate your life, check how your family is doing against the goals.  Goals that have been achieved can be checked off the list, and new ones can be formulated. 

At times, in major changes, say a career move, or when a family member goes away, it may be time to re-evaluate priorities. When such a time comes, then the cycle begins, just like what it’s for life!

The Advantages of Using Money Budgeting Software

The problem with most people these days is that they get so comfortable with their expenses through the aid of credit cards. They become so indulged with cashless shopping that more and more people are spending more than what they can afford.

Using Money Budgeting Software – Money Saving Tips

For this reason, experts contend that budgeting can definitely alleviate the consumers from “financial strain” by managing their expenses and income instead of falling into the pit of liabilities.

However, some people just contend that they cannot simply do budgeting alone. They insist that they need some help in order to come up with a reliable and workable budget. That’s why some financial experts have created some money budgeting software that will facilitate the creation of a good budget in order to promote wise money-saving strategies. Basically, money budgeting software assists an individual in his or her expenditures and uses the money sensibly. These new technologies will help distribute the money into various aspects and areas and will also help add to savings.

So, if you still don’t know what the money budgeting software can do for you, here is a list of its advantages:

1. It helps you keep track of your expenses

Money budgeting software can definitely allow you to keep track of your expenses. With this kind of technology, you get to understand your cash flow and allow you to be aware of how much money you spend and earn.

2. It helps you to create some probable projections of the future

While some people are comfortable with the usual type of budgeting on paper, utilizing a money budgeting software can give you more than what you expect.  You can even make some possible projections using your integrated money budgeting software. And if you are really into hard copies, you can even print them out for record keeping.

3. It gives you control

The problem with most people who do not have a budget to guide them is that they tend to overspend with what they have. With this kind of help, you can gain control of your expenditures. You will be able to know when you are already overspending or not. Plus, you become attentive of the blow of every money decision that you make.

The bottom line is that money budgeting software can definitely give you the kind of assurance and control that you need to keep track of your expenses. In this way, you can be surer that all of your spending activities are based on reason and plan and not just sheer indulgences.

TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR FINANCES: TIPS ON BUDGETING 

With prices of commodities increasing day by day it is proper to make your very own strategic plan on maximizing your financial resources and making sure that every penny earned is well spent. Make your move on coordinating your finances and list of expenditures that may affect the way you use your income and empower you on your economic stability as a working individual.  Your source of income, lifestyle, spending habits, current job and house location, cost of living, payables and loans determines your level of budgeting needs. Starting to take charge of your finances is one sure way of becoming successful in a field of self-fulfillment and success.

How To Budget Your Money – Money Saving Tips

The following tips and recommendations will provide you details on how you can help yourself manage your finances and assume a new outlook to become responsible in your spending.

1.Treat Math As Your Lifetime Partner – Do the entire math in your purchasing needs. Try to compare prices across your current location for the price of a range of grocery and household items you need in a day-to-day basis. Save as much as you can in an item you are trying to buy. Chinese businessmen exercise effective buying techniques. They save as much as they can and usually purchase in bulk to increase their revenue index on the item they plan on selling as well.

2.Gambling – Gambling tops the chart in making your life as chaotic as it could get. Gambling strips you off your finances and keeps you vulnerable from the threats of bankruptcy.

3.Know Your Wants and Needs – Limit your spending on something which you are not in dire need of. According to a recent study, luxuries are second to gambling in terms of the degree of money-stripping capability.

4.“Do Not Spend More Than you Earn” – Rags-To-Riches stories do not fail to mention this famous cliché. There is always truth to this phrase for you cannot live in a world where you consume more than what you can produce.

5.Keeping A List – Making your own budget list is vital to your success to becoming prudent. A wise buyer needs to consider the amount of a certain commodity and how will it impact his life as an individual.

An unconscientious consumer would not care about what is being purchased as long as he or she has money to buy for them. Unless you are someone who has a considerable amount of wealth and income resources, you can not afford to disregard this recommendation and go ahead with your practice.

Budgeting For Emergency Funds?

Emergency funds are considered to be a necessity as far as financial security is concerned, since it can provide one with financial resources that one can resort to and depend on when an emergency arises such that when one is sick and have the burden of paying huge medical bills, or unexpected home or major car repair.

Budgeting Emergency Funds – Money Saving Tips

When one has no emergency fund, one can be obliged to acquire debt on your credit card that might take several years to repay with interest that would later cost so much more. However by putting an extra thirty to fifty dollars every month in an individual “emergency savings account” one can be secured with what emergency the future may bring. In doing this, it is recommended that one regards the emergency fund as an additional bill, to be punctually paid each month.

1. Yes, one can and should budget and allocate the extra money for emergency fund, as this is very significant when one refers to his “financial future”. Here, the goal is to create savings from budgeting your income; the emergency savings should ideally be equal to at least three months your living expenditures. What’s important is that you should steadily put a certain amount of money aside, and only use it for real emergencies.

2. Not like an investment, the success of one’s long-term savings funds does not really count on the amount of return or interests but on placing a fixed amount of money away constantly and steadily so to have immediate access to it at all times. In spite of one’s financial status, the initial step in the process of constructing an emergency fund is by knowing where your money is presently being consumed or spent.

3.When one recognizes and determines where one’s earnings are spent, then it will be easy for one to choose and make a decision where to trim down expenses. In other words, budget.

4.Budgeting is putting or setting aside money for anticipated and unanticipated future use.  It is here that one sets up a goal so as to save.  So set an emergency fund as your goal. Checking, savings, money market accounts and “certificates of deposits”, are great places to keep one’s cash that might be needed on quick notice.

5.The amount saved from budgeting can either go to your savings goal, emergency fund or both.  One could utilize the money saved from budgeting financial expenses by saving half of it to your savings account and half of it for emergencies. This way, you achieve your goals in savings and at the same time put in funds for emergency use.  It’s your choice.

Keep Them Handy: Budgeting Tools that Work

Budgeting your monthly expenses in order to get the greatest return on your income (and perhaps, even put aside some for saving!) doesn’t have to be extremely hard.

Budgeting Tools – Money Saving Tips

1.Various budgeting programs are available for use. Money management programs provide you with a usual package that allows you to enter your cash inflows and outflows, categorizes your expenditures, and at times, presents to you analysis of your spending behavior. Through these programs you can also input the various payments you have to make monthly, and subsequently track if you’ve paid your dues on time. Moreover, some programs also offer you a tax form draft that will help you make sure you’re not missing out on any dues or any deductibles, for that matter.

2.Another budgeting tool that you can utilize are coupons. Various stores and magazines contain coupons that you can use to get discounts on various products. Should there be a need to purchase a particular product for which you have a coupon for, you will end up saving a fraction of what you might have had to spend on a regular purchase.

3.Lists—whether on a piece of paper, on your cellular phone, or on your personal digital assistant (PDA) will help you keep focused on what you have to buy, and in effect, keep track of the purchases you make. A classic example is your regular grocery trip. Prior to making the trip, plan out the week’s entire menu and identify what food items and materials you need to purchase that are unavailable in your pantry. Then, make a list of other household items that you’ve run out of (or are eventually going to run out of before you can make the next trip to the grocery). Armed with these lists, you can go to the grocery and know exactly where to go and what you’re going to buy. Without these lists, you will walk idly along aisles, and will likely pick up various food items that you won’t likely need in the immediate future, or already have at home.

4.A filing system is perhaps one of the best budgeting tools you can have in your home. With simple, labeled file folders, you can put together your bills, your receipts, and whatever bank documents are issued to you when you save or pay. By putting together your bills, your credit card receipts, and the like, you are able to keep track of how much you owe and when your payments are due.

5.Effective budgeting tools are those that best address your needs as a consumer. Create your own budgeting tool or find a program to do it for you—just make sure it suits your lifestyle.