Making and Saving Money

With the economy the way it is, everyone is looking for ways to make and save money. I have compiled a list of things that I do to help us stay as debt free as possible. Hopefully you will find something that you can use to your advantage.

Money saving tips:

1. Credit cards are known for putting people further in debt but there are some little known secrets that can work to your advantage if applied right. Watch for offers with low interest. Don't bother with the short term ones as it will cost you more to transfer it than you will save. Look for the offers that are for the life of the amount you transfer. I do not transfer an amount unless it is for 4.99 or below and for the life of the amount. It also needs to have a maximum transfer fee. When I transferred my house loan onto a credit card, I paid a maximum transfer fee of $75 which I saved in the first month. I went from paying close to $200 in interest to about $60 per month. My house is at 2.99% for the life of the amount and will be paid off in about 3-4 years. My car is also on a credit card now with 1.99% interest for the life of that amount and should be paid off this year.

2. I usually pick the smallest credit card to pay extra on each month unless there is another one that has significantly higher interest rate. This enables me to get one paid off completely so I can concentrate on the other ones. Picking the smallest one works best for me because I feel more like I have made a leap in the right direction when I get one completely paid off. I then take the amount I was paying on that one and add it to the next one.

3. There are many things you can do to cut your food budget also. I buy generic whenever possible and shop at the save a lot and aldi type of stores for most of my groceries. I also buy handkerchiefs instead of kleenix now. They were good enough for my grandparents and they work fine for us as well. We have saved a lot by not having to buy kleenix especially when it is cold season. For some cheap meals try soup beans, spaghetti, hot dogs, ramon noodle soup, pancakes, and salsbury steak dinners.

Money making ideas:

1. We live on a fixed income so anything I can add to our budget really helps. There are many sites that offer money incentives for filling out surveys or clicking on sites. I have earned hundreds of dollars by doing this. Some offer gifts instead by building up points. These are great also as they can be used for Christmas gifts or for somthing you normally can't afford to buy for yourself.

2. There is another way to actually make money on credit cards if done right. Discover and some others offer cash back programs. These are great if you pay off the entire amount that you charge as soon as you get the bill so you don't incurr any finance charges. Your cash back will build up and you have paid nothing in interest. The other method is to watch for offers for 0% interest on credit cards. This is only good if there are no transferr fees associated with this. Take out the maximun amount you are allowed and deposit it into a savings account. Withdrawal the money each month from the savings account to make the minimum monthly payment. The rest will be earning you interest at no cost to you. You have to be careful that you do not spend any of this money though as it needs to be there to pay the payment when due and also to pay the entire amount off before the expiration of the 0% interest period.

Hope you can find something in these ideas that will help you get your finances in shape.