Top 10 Money Saving Resolutions For The 2009 New Year
- By Norm Deplume
- Published January 6th, 2009
- Finance
- Unrated
Norm Deplume
Norm Deplume is a contributing editor for billeater.com, a site dedicated to providing money saving tips that help lower your bills. His most recent article is entitled Ways to save money...10 fresh ideas.
View all articles by Norm Deplume
With the overall economy in a serious slump, the upcoming new year provides a great reason to turn your own personal finances around.
Try out these ten simple tips and turn over a new financial leaf:
1. Deal with your debt, especially credit cards. You can easily save $700 by transferring a card with an 18% interest rate and $2,000 balance to a new card with a lower 8.25% rate. Even better, apply for a new card with a 0% balance transfer offer, and save even more.
2. Stick to a budget for just one week. It takes serious willpower to stick with a budget, but you could probably manage it for a week, right ? If you track your spending for just that week, you'll gain some insight into where your money went. You may also find an obvious item to cut back on. As an example, you might decide that your daily mocha-latte isn't worth the $20 you spend each week.
3. Pay a bit extra on your mortgage and save tens of thousands later. Paying just a hundred dollars additionally a month on a $200,000 mortgage will save you over $60,000 over the 30 year life of the loan, and you'll pay off the loan five years earlier!
4. Use your company's flexible health-care spending plan. Just put a set amount into the plan each month, then you can pay for items like copayments, chiropractors, prescriptions, common over-the-counter drugs, air purifiers, and more. And, those payments are made with your PRE-TAX salary, which saves you 10-30% or more.
5. Clip those coupons! Takes a bit of work on your part...but it's not as time consuming as you think. Plus, you will save hundreds. Coupon fanatics save over 50%, and sometime 80% on their grocery bills. With much less
effort, you can easily save at least 20%. Since the average cost per week of food for a family of four is $225 (source USDA), you can net back over $20 a week.
6. Do those little projects that save energy around your house. You Replace the weatherstripping on your windows and doors, put more insulation in the attic, brush out the fins on your air conditioner's outdoor unit, or just switch out your light bulbs for CFL's. Compact Fluorescent bulbs save around $9 each per year, and last 7 years. That's $63 saved with one minute of effort!
7. Don't eat out as much. Sure, it's convenient, but it's very costly. Eat out just one time per week and use some of the savings to prepare something special at home. You can have a great steak every week and still save money.
8. Save money on your 2008 tax bill. Consider a little professional help this year...it's worth it. If you can't afford the help, at least try one of the major software packages. They all have a module that will help you find deductions and credits that you are due. And...don't wait until April...if you do it now, you'll have your refund sooner.
9. Take a close look at your insurance policies. The new year is an ideal time to look at your auto, home and life insurance, and consider some money-saving changes. Perhaps you have too much coverage, or could benefit from a higher deductible. Or, you could look at combining your auto and home insurance under one company for the additional discount.
10. Stop Smoking. At $4-5 a pack, a one pack per day smoker can save around $1500 a year. That's not even considering the discounts on life insurance, and your health and well-being. If your aren't ready for that big of a step, consider switching to a generic brand, and save $350 in 2009. Or...just cut back to half a pack and save $750.
Try out these ten simple tips and turn over a new financial leaf:
1. Deal with your debt, especially credit cards. You can easily save $700 by transferring a card with an 18% interest rate and $2,000 balance to a new card with a lower 8.25% rate. Even better, apply for a new card with a 0% balance transfer offer, and save even more.
2. Stick to a budget for just one week. It takes serious willpower to stick with a budget, but you could probably manage it for a week, right ? If you track your spending for just that week, you'll gain some insight into where your money went. You may also find an obvious item to cut back on. As an example, you might decide that your daily mocha-latte isn't worth the $20 you spend each week.
3. Pay a bit extra on your mortgage and save tens of thousands later. Paying just a hundred dollars additionally a month on a $200,000 mortgage will save you over $60,000 over the 30 year life of the loan, and you'll pay off the loan five years earlier!
4. Use your company's flexible health-care spending plan. Just put a set amount into the plan each month, then you can pay for items like copayments, chiropractors, prescriptions, common over-the-counter drugs, air purifiers, and more. And, those payments are made with your PRE-TAX salary, which saves you 10-30% or more.
5. Clip those coupons! Takes a bit of work on your part...but it's not as time consuming as you think. Plus, you will save hundreds. Coupon fanatics save over 50%, and sometime 80% on their grocery bills. With much less
6. Do those little projects that save energy around your house. You Replace the weatherstripping on your windows and doors, put more insulation in the attic, brush out the fins on your air conditioner's outdoor unit, or just switch out your light bulbs for CFL's. Compact Fluorescent bulbs save around $9 each per year, and last 7 years. That's $63 saved with one minute of effort!
7. Don't eat out as much. Sure, it's convenient, but it's very costly. Eat out just one time per week and use some of the savings to prepare something special at home. You can have a great steak every week and still save money.
8. Save money on your 2008 tax bill. Consider a little professional help this year...it's worth it. If you can't afford the help, at least try one of the major software packages. They all have a module that will help you find deductions and credits that you are due. And...don't wait until April...if you do it now, you'll have your refund sooner.
9. Take a close look at your insurance policies. The new year is an ideal time to look at your auto, home and life insurance, and consider some money-saving changes. Perhaps you have too much coverage, or could benefit from a higher deductible. Or, you could look at combining your auto and home insurance under one company for the additional discount.
10. Stop Smoking. At $4-5 a pack, a one pack per day smoker can save around $1500 a year. That's not even considering the discounts on life insurance, and your health and well-being. If your aren't ready for that big of a step, consider switching to a generic brand, and save $350 in 2009. Or...just cut back to half a pack and save $750.