Travel

The rising costs of fuel translates to more spending when it comes to using our cars on a regular basis and a bigger chunk of our budget goes to motoring expenses. The cost for commuting thru public transport has also risen. It will be more practical to join a car-sharing program and also opt for a bike if your destination is just a few blocks away.

Food

The prices of food went up by as much as 5% this year. Before hitting the supermarket, plan what you need to buy so you will not be easily distracted with special offers. You can also ask the shopkeepers when they will be having price cuts or if you can get discounts for the regular items you are buying.

Holidays

If you are hurting because of the exchange rates, make most your money by looking for destinations where you can spend less for more. You will be able to find interesting cities, fascinating cultures, great weather for better prices.

Telecoms

You might be tied to a contract for your mobile phone and internet but if you are not, you can make use of comparison websites and see which deals will give you what you need for a monthly fee which will not hurt your pocket.

There are certain times in the calendar when you can buy refrigerators, washing machine, dishwashers, gas ranges, and other appliances. Here are some helpful tips to guide you:

When is the right time to get a new appliance

When planning about your large appliances at home, you might want to have a rough idea of its life span and try to plan a purchase before they breakdown. This strategy will allow you to get the best value out of your money. So when you buy your appliances ask for an estimated lifespan and also monitor if they are starting to perform poorly.

Matter of timing

Consider following the suggested calendar below on buying appliances

1. January
   A lot of stores will have new models coming in by the start of the year so most likely they will need to clear their inventory. And as the new year kicks off, you can even find more discounts.
2. May
   During the spring, you can find a lot of refrigerator models on discount. New models are usually rolled out during the summer
3. September thru October
   This is the best time to do major appliance purchases. Manufacturers release their new models during these months so the models of last year will be discounted.
4. Holiday Weekend
   Name any holiday weekend and appliance stores will most likely have a sale on that weekend. You will most likely find a great deal during this holiday weekend appliance sales.
5. Anytime over the internet
   All year round you can find a great deal as long as you search for them well.

- The first thing is that you need to decide what kind of savings you are going to use. Is it going to be a savings account, a mutual fund, or an IRA? Whichever way you are going to save make sure that you stick to your goals and start saving, even it you have to start out small and then add more to what you are saving over time.

- You also need to know your what your retirement needs are going to be because it can be expensive. It is estimated that in order to retire you are going to need about seventy to eighty percent of what your pre-retirement income is to be able to be able to maintain the standard of living that you are now use to.

- Check to see if your employer has a savings plan for retirement and contribute to that. This would most likely be a 401K plan and it is possible that the company will either match or put in another percent above what you are putting in yourself. Since the contribution is taken out of your paycheck before taxes are taken out, your take out taxes will be less.

- Find out if your employer has a pension plan and then make sure you are covered by the plan. Make sure that you find out what your benefit would be once you retire. You also need to see what would happen to your pension benefit if you change jobs or you lose your job to downsizing.

- Once you start saving for retirement make sure that you do not touch your retirement savings. If you do you will not only loose interest and principal, but you may also have to pay penalties for early withdrawal and loose tax benefits. If you do change jobs you can either leave your savings in your current plan, put them in your new employer’s plan, or change them over to an IRA.

These are just a few ways that you can start to save for your retirement and make sure that you will be able to maintain the type of lifestyle that you are accustomed to. You should also find about what your Social Security benefits will be at the age of retirement because that information will help you know just how much extra you will need to have a month to maintain your current lifestyle.

Keep in mind though, this is only for the state of California…

With the financial crisis that the United States is experiencing this means that families have two choices. They can either deal with the situation or they can apply for assistance from the government, but the question is, will they qualify for any assistance? The government considers that if you make over twenty-two thousand one hundred and thirteen dollars with four people in the house, you are at poverty level, but one dollar more and you are above poverty level.

Another way that the financial crisis is impacting the American families is that many of them do not have any type of health insurance. With the jobless rate around ten percent people are having to decide whether to eat, have a roof over their heads, water and heat, or have health insurance.

For a long time it has always seemed like for a family to survive both parents must work, but there were a few instances where the mother could be a stay-at-home mom, but that option is slowing decreasing as the working spouse is losing their job, they are having to take a cut in pay, work less hours, or lose their job and have to take one with less money. With both parents having to work they may now have to pay for child care services which cuts into the money being brought into the house.

If the family is feeling the financial crunch it can affect their teenager’s ability to go to school with help from the parents. They may have to rely on getting a grant, student loans that have to be repaid, getting a job and go to school or even forgo college altogether. For the ones that are graduating from college this financial crisis is making it harder for them to get a good paying job in their field of study.

The financial crisis is affecting families in their jobs, their lifestyle, where they live and the type of house they have, what food their put on the table because of rising food cost prices, and healthcare. It is not only affecting them directly, but also indirectly in many aspects. For example, on the cost of rising prices on food, this is the result of the people growing the food has to pay higher prices for the seeds, plants, plus they also depend on the weather and if it does not cooperate, the harvest may not be good so up goes the prices. Then, you have the ones bring the food to the stores and the high gas prices they have to pay.

But I mean… Food on the food envelope?

The “that’s what millionaires say” is pretty stupid though, and does take away some of the legitimacy of this video, but hey, I’m assuming most of you are smart enough to see through that…

In order for you to know approximately how much it is going to cost your child to go to college there are some online calculators that you can use to see how much it would cost. Once you have an idea of how much it is going to cost then you need to decide if they will be going to a private, public, or community college. Of course the most expensive college would be the private school with the community college being the cheapest.

In addition to the saving’s account there are education IRA Benefits that have less taxes that you can get for their education. All you have to do is decide just how much you want to contribute to the fund each month and just make a payment to it. When your child gets old enough to get a job have them put a certain percentage into a fund or savings account toward their college fun. You could also consider getting a mutual fund, but it would be best if you stay away from stocks as these can be risky.

Instead of getting a lot of toys for Christmas as their grandparents, aunts, and uncles to give the child a savings bond, which they can get for twenty-five dollars.

In addition to figuring out approximately how much it is going to cost for college you should figure out the number of years you have to before they go which would be at least eighteen years if you start saving when they are born and then figure hour much you would like to have saved up by that time. Once you have that figure you can divide by the number of months so you will be able to see how much you should save each month.

Ever how you start to save whether it be using a savings account, mutual fund, or IRA just for college, make sure that you get the best interest rate that you can. Most of the time a savings account does not have a great interest rate (but some online versions do do pretty good!). Make sure that what you are putting back is an amount that you can afford so you do not feel like you are struggling to put that much away each month.

When you get your income tax refund each year you can also take part of it and put it in the college fund. You can also start a 529 savings plan, which is an investment account and anyone can invest into this fund tax free. There is a penalty if the fund is used for anything but for college.

One of the best tips is a short sale. This is where you will sell your home back to the bank for less than what it is worth. Many banks are taking advantage of this because they are able to recoup a good portion of the money they loaned out. You might have to take advantage of these offers quickly, as they do not often stick on the table for very long.

Second, you need to face the problem. Sometimes people are scared, and you have every right to be. However, ignoring your foreclosure is not going to help the situation. You need to be aware of it and work with the bank if at all possible.

Thirdly, know your rights. Many times the mortgage or collection companies are going to be knocking on your door, calling your at all hours of the night and just making your life miserable. There are certain conditions that they have to obey. If they do not obey them, report it! You might be able to make a case off of this alone to save your home.

Fourthly, talk to a housing counselor. They are often available in your area, sometimes through the government. They have detailed information about what programs can be used to help you in your current situation. If you do not talk to them though, they do not know where you are and will not be able to help you.

Fifthly, make any payment you can. If you keep showing the bank that you are making a good faith effort towards paying the loan, they may reconsider foreclosure. You might be able to get your total loan amount lowered, or have other conditions applied to your loan. Do not worry if they do not sound interested at first, you might not of talked to the right division. Keep calling until someone who cares about your case answers the phone, they will eventually!

Stacie Royer might not be the best “video host”, however…