Budget and Savings Briefs

10 smart money-saving tips for 2010

admin — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 10:57:00 +0000

By Greg McBride, CFA • Bankrate.com

As consumers face an uncertain future in 2010, they will be looking to lower their costs, to save more for the future and to stabilize their financial lives.

Here are 10 money-saving tips to reach those not-so-lofty goals.

To read the complete article, please click here.

Budget Tip of the Week

admin — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 10:56:00 +0000

Take a packed lunch to work every day for two weeks, and save the money you would have spent on buying lunch.

IRS Information Returns: An Identity Thief’s Dream?

admin — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 10:54:00 +0000

It’s a new year and you may already be thinking about filing your income tax return. Perhaps you have received your tax forms in the mail from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). You may be in a hurry to file if you are expecting a refund. Before you file, we want you to understand about IRS “information returns”. These important documents are mailed to you not by the IRS, but by other organizations. To read the complete article, please click here.

Budget & Savings Term of the Week

admin — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 10:52:00 +0000

Annual percentage yield is the amount you earn on an interest-bearing investment in a year, expressed as a percentage. For example, if you earn $60 on a $1,000 certificate of deposit (CD) between January 1 and December 31, your APY is 6%.
When the APY is the same as the interest rate that is being paid on an investment, you are earning simple interest. But when the APY is higher than the interest rate, the interest is being compounded, which means you are earning interest on your accumulating interest.

Budget Tips for the holidays

admin — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 10:14:00 +0000

Make your budget and gift list now.

Budget & Savings Term of the Week

admin — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 10:12:00 +0000

Fixed Expenses - Fixed expenses are expenses such as a home loan payment, rates, insurance, school fees, etc that are generally a fixed amount and are bills that have to be paid.

Optional Expenses - Optional expenses are expenses such as entertainment, groceries, holidays, hair cuts etc that are not a fixed amount and can be reduced or trimmed down if required.

Budget Tip of the Week #55

admin — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 10:11:00 +0000

Create a budget: Figure out how much money you have and where it needs to go each month.

Financial principles you need to know

admin — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:26:00 +0000

Whether you’re running a Fortune 50 corporation, or just trying to keep your household expenses from exceeding your salary, the same basic financial concepts apply. Invest in mastering fundamentals like these:

Opportunity cost. What do you need to give up in order to get something you want? It’s a question of money, but also time and value: Pursuing an advanced degree may take years—are you willing to put in that amount of time? Will a sports car give you enough enjoyment to offset going into debt for it?

Sunken costs. This is money you can’t get back—a non-refundable airline ticket, for example. Keep sunken costs in perspective. It’s easy to start thinking “Well, I’ve already spent $100, what’s another $25?” You’ve got to be willing to walk away sometimes.

Time value of money. According to this principle, a dollar you receive today is worth more than a dollar you’ll get tomorrow. You’ll have opportunity to invest that dollar immediately and begin earning more revenue from it (and also avoid losing value because of inflation).

Budget Tip of the Week #54

admin — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 08:18:00 +0000

Leave your wallet at home: Take only the cash you need.

Budget & Savings Term of the Week

admin — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 08:17:00 +0000

“Pay Yourself First.”

Instead of saving whatever is left at the end of the month, you pay yourself first’ at the beginning of the month. Your spending will automatically adjust without any real effort. You have a little less in your pockets and so you spend a little less.