With spiralling fuel costs and interest rates on the way up, many of us are finding ourselves having to stretch the ends until they meet.
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9 Ways to Stretch Your Income ... continued from above
By Susie Cortright
Here are some great tips for
stretching every dollar.
1. Save a penny, keep a penny.
Dump your pocket change into a
jar each night.
Invest it in a high-interest
bearing account at the end of each month.
Woman's Day magazine recently
suggested this money-saver, adding that if a couple puts just one dollar
each into the jar every day, the sum will top $700 at the end of the year.
Invested at 10 percent
interest over 10 years, that pocket change will grow into $12,000.
2. Use your computer.
You can save big money by
shopping online, if you know where to look.
Do a Google search for coupon
codes before you start shopping from online merchants.
You can also purchase a local
coupon book for offline purchases (The Entertainment Book, for example.) I
use mine all the time for groceries, oil changes, and dining out.
3. Write letters.
Whether you love the product
or hate it, write the manufacturer a letter.
A company that receives a
complaint is bound to make amends.
On the same token, many
companies will acknowledge--and encourage--your satisfaction with coupons
and discounts.
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4. Shop smart.
Look at the grocery store ads
before heading off to the store.
Maybe you can reserve a few
items for purchase at a nearby store that is offering unusual bargains.
5. Ban impulse buying.
Make it a family policy: if
you see something you like, write it on a wish list and wait at least three
days before buying.
6. Watch out for "nickel and
dime" expenses.
Those little snacks and coffee
stops can easily add up to more than $500 per year.
7. Shop around.
Research purchases on the
internet.
Before making a big online
purchase, visit http://www.dealtime.com
and http://www.mysimon.com.
8. Refinance your home.
Signing a few papers can save
you big money on your mortgage payments. In fact, if you refinance and
consolidate your debts into your home mortgage you'll find that your monthly
outgoings can decrease dramatically.
It's really not as big a
hassle as you might think.
Ask your friends and family
for the name of a good mortgage broker
Editor's Note:
Better still, get a
professional opinion by applying online at
www.financialservicesonline.com.au/homeloansonline.htm
for a free mortgage assessment and comparative home loan offers from a huge
range of Australia's leading bank and non-bank lenders.
9. Examine credit card use.
If you're paying credit card
debt, you're paying not just 17 percent more for your purchases than you
need to, you're also missing out on the money that the sum could earn for
you if you had invested it.
Try calling your credit card
company and ask if there’s a way to lower your rate.
One two-minute phone call
recently reduced our rate by 4 percentage points. That was one call I wish
I'd made a long time ago.
The most important thing is to
recognize that you control your finances. Empower yourself with smart
spending.
Susie Cortright is the founder
of Momscape.com - and Momscape's Coupon Codes and Online Promotions, which
provides the best deals on Susie's favorite online stores, including Target,
Dell, Overstock, Photoworks and more.
Disclaimer:
The information contained above has been provided as a general
service. Any references to specific financial, legal, accounting, or
taxation issues are done so in the context of general information
and should not be relied upon as fact or construed as advice by the
us in any of these areas. You should consult a relevant financial,
legal, tax or accounting professional to assist in your particular
circumstance. |
