Budget Tips

• If you see something in a store and can't make up our mind if you should buy it or not, You don't need it! If you have to think about it pass it up, saves time and money.
  
  
• Collect grocery ads from area stores & circle the best buys. Make a list with price & store names, then shop at one store that price matches.
  
  
• When you find a really good deal on a clothing item for a child, buy 2 of them. One the size that you need and the other one size up for when they grow out of one.
  
  
• Before you head off to the grocery store, make a menu for that week. Family members can offer ideas for meals they want. Take inventory and make your list. Not only will it save you from buying groceries you don't need, but you'll save time trying to decide what to have for dinner each night.
  
  
• Be sure to check your receipts for accuracy before you leave the store. Make sure you received the sale price or immediate refund you are supposed to receive.
  
  
• Make a "want" list of things and place it in your wallet. You may see a great deal while you are shopping, or you'll have it handy when someone asks what you want for your birthday.
  
  
• Instead of buying expensive department store make-up, buy from the drug stores, they usually have the same ingredients. It is the name you are paying for.
  
  
• Buy clothes at a thrift shop or consignment store. They usually only except good quality items. End of season or sale items are good buys also.
  
  
• Cheaper is not always better. Quality is better so you don't find yourself buying a new "something" sooner.
  
  
• Reuse those water bottles! You can wash them out and keep them in the refrigerator filled with any kind of drink. You may also fill them with water and freeze them, makes for slow melting, ice cold water on a hike.
  
  
• Don't throw away already read magazines and books. Sell them to a bookstore that sells new/used books. With that money, you can buy little extras that are not in your budget.
  
  
• The best toys for kids are empty boxes or containers. It's their imagination that makes those objects fun. For example: giving the kid's your junk mail to play mailman with.
  
  
• Library, library, library, and of course the internet. They provide the books and magazines for free. If you don't see a certain book in the library, ask the librarian to check the other area libraries, they do it via computer, and have it in a couple of days usually.
  
  
• Prepared food tends to cost alot. Don't buy prepared, learn how to make it. You benefit also health wise as alot of prepared foods tend to have alot of sodium (salt) in them.
  
  
• Trade toys, clothes etc. with your friends rather than buying all new stuff, this works well with toys that the kids are "bored" with.
  
  
• Be sure to shop around. It may take a little time, but it could save you money.
  
  
• Try to plan in advance. By knowing what you need, you will be able to buy in larger quantities (almost always less expensive) and cut down on convenience food purchases (always more expensive).
  
  
• When it is on sale, stock up. Of course this only applies to those items that you use on a regular basis. Stocking up on an item which you use once a year doesn't make sense (and robs you of spending money, not to mention shelf space).
  
  
• Buy next year's winter clothes at the end of this season and save. The styles won't change that much (if at all) and you will pocket a big difference in the price.
  
  
• Put something into savings out of each paycheck even if it is Re. 1.00. It is a start and the beginning of a really good habit.
  
  
• Spend only what you available in cash. When you purchase gifts with cash or with money from your holiday savings account rather than using a credit card, you will spend less and shop smarter.
  
  
• Set aside money monthly, for bills that are due quarterly, semi-annually, or yearly.
  
  
• After a loan is paid off, keep paying the loan amount to yourself (make a vacation fund, or next car fund).
  
  
• Involve the whole family. Remember to turn off lights, take shorter showers, and cut down on long-distance phone calls.
  
  
• Quit the fast-food habit. It's expensive. Start by cutting out one fast food meal a week, and go from there.Take a look at your month-by-month expenses. Note which months have extra expenses and which are fairly easy. Budget and save in the easy months, to help get through those difficult, expensive months.
  
  
• Think low-cost menus at home. Try serving soup and subs for dinner once a week, or pasta with meatless sauce. Compete to see who can come up with the least expensive meal.
  
  
• Avoid the mall. Try trips to museums, parks, the beach, the ballpark, or just a walk around town.
  
  
• Avoid ATM machines. They encourage impulse buying, and often have finance charges.
  
  
• Don't collect credit cards! Limit your card collection to one or two major cards, and keep spending under control. Pay off the balance every month, if possible.
  
  
• Plan and budget for unexpected emergency expenses such as car repairs or medical bills.

Seven Benefits of Budgeting

Know what is going on.
Personal budgeting allows you to know exactly how much money you have-even down to the penny, if you so desire. Furthermore, a budget is a self-education tool that shows you how your funds are allocated, how they are working for you, what your plans are for them, and how far along you are toward reaching your goals. "Knowledge is power," as the oft-quoted saying of George Eliot goes, and knowing about your money is the first step toward controlling it. That leads us to our next benefit.

Control.
A budget is the key to enabling you to take charge of your finances. With a budget, you have the tools to decide exactly what is going to happen to your hard-earned money-and when. You can be in control of your money, instead of having your money limit what you do. This bears repeating: you can be in control of your money, instead of letting it control you!

Organization.
Even in its simplest form, a budget systemizes, or divides, funds into categories of expenditures and savings. Beyond that, however, budgets can provide further organization by automatically providing records of all your monetary transactions. They can also provide the foundation for a simple filing system to organize bills, receipts, and financial statements.

Communication.
If you are married, have a family, or share money with anyone, having a budget that you both (or all) create together is a key to resolving personal differences about money handling. The budget is a communication tool to discuss the priorities for where your money should be spent, as well as enabling all involved parties to "run" the system.

Take advantage of opportunities.
Knowing the exact state of your personal monetary affairs, and being in control of them, allows you to take advantage of opportunities that you might otherwise miss. Have you ever wondered if you could afford something? With a budget, you will never have to wonder again-you will know.

Extra time.
All your financial transactions are automatically organized for tax time, for creditor questions, in fact, for any query which may come up regarding how and when you spent money. Being armed with such information sure saves time digging through old records.

Extra money.
This might well be everyone's favorite benefit. A budget will almost certainly produce extra money for you to do with as you wish. Hidden fees and lost interest paid to outsiders can be eliminated forever. Unnecessary expenditures, once identified, can be stripped out. Savings, even small ones, can be accumulated and made to work for you.