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4 Homeschooling Tips That Will Save You Money

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0500

Many parents are choosing to homeschool their children. With all the violence in schools, a lot of parents don't want to take the chance with their most precious commodity.

However, homeschooling can be expensive.

Check out these 4 tips for saving money on homeschooling:

Check books out at the library instead of purchasing them.
Borrow textbooks from other homeschooling parents.
Find out what your local homeschooling resources are and use them.
Sell last year's textbooks to pay for this year's homeschooling books.

Another good resource for homeschooling parents is this article: A Great Way To Teach Kids About Money.

Buying A New Home? 2 Easy Ways To Save Money For A New House

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0500

With the economy being so bad, it's hard to think about buying a home.

However, there are ways that you can save money for a new home, if that is a goal you want to achieve.

2 tips for saving money for a new home are:

Open a savings account and put a percentage of each paycheck into it. Then, don't touch it until you have enough money to buy your home.
Cut costs on other things such as cable for or the extra cell phone, for example. Then, put that monthly savings into your savings account.

Also check out Home Prices... What's Happening?

5 Secrets To Finding The Best Coupons Online

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0500

Coupons, if used correctly, are one easy way to save big bucks.

Finding coupons online is generally very easy. But finding good ones that will actually save you lots of money can be a bit time-consuming.

Check out these 5 secrets to finding the best coupons online:

Search multiple sources online.
Type the brand name and your city and state into a search engine.
Check Twitter for coupons by using the Twitter search engine.
Follow people on Twitter who regularly share good coupons.
Go to deal sites such as slickdeals.net and fatwallet.com to find even more coupons.

Also see The Future of Grocery Store Coupons.

Top 7 Ways To Save Money On Your Pet

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0500

Pets are our beloved best friends, and we want to keep them as happy and healthy as possible.

Believe it or not, there are several ways that you can keep your pet happy and healthy without breaking the bank.

Check out these 7 ways to save money on your pet:

Groom your pet at home. This applies, in particular, to dogs.
Use Bounce dryer sheets in the dryer because they will make your clothes repel pet hair!
Clean your pet's paws as they come into your home. Pets get all sorts of dirt and other nasty stuff on their paws. If you clean their paws before allowing them into your home (especially on rainy, muddy days), you will save on carpet, floor and upholstery cleaning.
Buy your pet's food in bulk.
Walk your dog yourself, instead of using a dog walker. You and the dog need the exercise.
Take your pet to the vet once a year. This will help you to find health problems early on so they can be addressed and ultimately increase the life of your pet.
Adopt pets instead of buying them from pet stores.

Also see Tips For Adopting Your Dog From a Breeder vs a Shelter.

Secrets To Saving Money On Gas ...That Really Work!

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0500

As if maintaining our cars isn't enough, there's also the high price of gas.

Gas is one place that it's easy to saving monoey, as long as you know what to do.

5 secrets to saving money on gas:

Change your car's air filter regularly.
Use the proper tires for the season and make sure your tires are properly inflated.
Don't top off the gas tank. Most of that gas leaks out and winds up on the road.
Take excess stuff out of the truck so it's not weighing down your car and burning more gas.
Don't buy higher octane gas. For most cars, it doesn't make a difference.

Also check out 8 Fun and Easy Ways to Save on Gas!

How To Save Money On Car Expenses

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0500

Everyone is trying to save money these days, and I'm no exception.

One place that people don't always realize they can save money is on their car.

2 ways to save money are:

Don't skip doing everyday maintenance on your car. Over time, those little problems become big problems and end up costing you more money.
Have your car reguarly inspected. This is especially true if you are going to have your neighbor or some other semi-professional work on your car -- because then you know exactly what needs to be fixed.

See also Carfax...Is It Worth It? There are some good tips to help you decide whether or not you should buy a used car that may have maintenance issues -- things that could cost more to fix than the car itself!

Avoid Online Scams: How To Tell If An Online Job Is A Scam Or Not

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0500

One of the most popular ways to make ends meet is to find an online job.

Unfortunately, there are thousands of online scams these days.

Here are a few things you can do to tell if an online job is a scam or not:

Do a search on Google and other search engines using not just the company name, but the name of the founder, and the program as well.
Look for patterns. If you notice that all of the comments online regarding the company, the owner and the program are negative, this could mean the online job is a scam.
Check out potential online jobs with the Better Business Bureau.
If you find you can't find any information on the company, founder or the program, then wait. You don't want to be the first person or even in the first group of people to get scammed!

Also see How to Find a Job Online for ideas on how to find legitimate online jobs.

5 Little-Known Travel Tips That Will Save You Lots Of Money

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0500

Whether you're traveling within the United States or abroad, traveling can be costly -- especially if you aren't used to traveling.

Between the cost of the trip itself, the motel, and don't forget souvenirs, you can find yourself spending a lot of money. But it doesn't have to be that way.

Here are 5 tips to save money when traveling:

Know your airfare cycles and alternate routes. Just knowing this information ahead of time can save you lot of money when purchasing airline tickets.
Rent an apartment or do a house swap instead of staying in a motel or hotel.
Don't use a local tour guide. It's not legal, but some tour guides get kickbacks from the businesses they suggest to you. The cost can be much higher than even a few doors down.
If you want to have souvenirs for your friends and family, either take photos or purchase from locally-owned stores. These stores will have lower prices and their souvenirs will actually be made there -- rather than somewhere else as some of the "traditional" souvenir shops do.
Don't use traveler's checks. Between the fees and exchange rates, if you are overseas it can end up costing you big time.

How Wedding Guests, Wedding Date, Wedding Cake & Wedding Flowers Affect Your Wedding Budget

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 09:00:00 -0500

Weddings are one event where it is very easy to go into debt. But you don't want to be paying for your wedding years after the big event, right?

There are several ways that you can save money on your wedding:

Cut down on the number of wedding guests you invite. This can save you a lot of money because the fewer guests you have, the less you have to pay on space, food and other amenities.
Get married in the off-season. Many brides want to get married in the summer. Instead, choose to have your wedding in the fall or winter. It won't cost you as much.
Choose a day and time of day that is not popular for weddings. For example, if you get married on a Friday afternoon, you will get a better rate because not as many people schedule their weddings on that day and time
Don't have a wedding cake. Instead, have candy, cookies, or a small cake. Wedding cakes in and of themselves can be enormously expensive.
Choose smaller and fewer flower arrangements for your wedding. It's not necessary to cover every available space with flowers. Instead, choose a few tasteful but smaller arrangements. It will be just as beautiful, and you won't have the high cost for flowers.
Have a wedding budget and stick to it.

20 Legitimate Ways To Make Online Income

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 09:00:00 -0500

We're all looking for ways to make ends meet these days. Making additional income online is one of the best ways to do so, in my opinion.

However, there are a ton of scams out there that will quite simply drain your pocketbook if you don't know what you're doing.

One of the main things to remember when it comes to making money is that money flows to you, not away from you. If the online job opportunity is asking you to spend money before being able to make money, then there's a 99.9% chance it's a scam.

Here are 20 scam-free ways to make money online:

Amazon Mechanical Turk allows you to make money doing simple tasks. You won't make much more than a few dollars an hour, but it is a great way to save up enough to buy a book or movie you want.
Sell your digital photos to stock photo websites.
Sell your junk on eBay.
Write web content such as articles.
Write articles for magazines and other publications.
Transcribe audio files for companies and individuals.
Help individuals and companies by being a virtual assistant.
Write articles for e-How.com.
Create your own videos and promote affiliate products that you like.
Write your own e-book that helps people answer a problem they have.
Build a small website in your favorite niche. Add some Google AdSense and buy a domain name and you're set to go. Just add new content every so often.
Help local businesses optimize their websites.
Teach yourself Wordpress and then charge to install plug-ins and update Wordpress blogs.
Learn all you can about different software applications and then become the person that people go to for help with the application. You can charge by the hour in this case.
Conduct your own interviews and then sell the interviews.
Become a web geek, and offer to help people with installing online shopping carts and other applications for their websites.
Try your hand at creating logos and designs and then enter contests. Remember though, competition is stiff and you only get paid if you win.
Design and create your own Twitter backgrounds and e-covers.
Submit others' websites and blog posts to social media websites.
Edit audio files for individuals and companies.

3 Investing Tips That Will Save You Time and Money

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 09:00:00 -0500

Investing in the stock market is a risky venture right now with the economy being so bad, but there are many who are successfully navigating this rocky road right now. In order to be like them and be successful, there are 3 things you need to keep in mind:

Understand the type of investor you are, and make your choices based on that rather than on what kind of investor someone else is.
Think for yourself when it comes to making decisions about stock investments, and whether to buy or sell certain stocks. It's easy to get caught up in the hoopla when some big wig is screaming about how they think this stock or that stock is going to do well or fail.
Research all stock tips before doing anything with your own investment practices. Don't rely on tips to steer you one way or the other, do your own research.

Dozens Of Free Budgeting Worksheets

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 09:00:00 -0500

If you've been trying to put together a budget but don't feel as if you've been very successful, one option might be to use some of the free budgeting worksheets that you can find online.

These budget worksheets can actually help you find money to save -- money that you might otherwise just be frittering away. That's easy to do if you don't really have a handle on your finances.

Here are several links to different budgeting worksheets to get you started:

Free Budgeting Worksheets (Scroll to the bottom, there are several)
7 Free Printable Budgeting Worksheets
Free Home Budget Worksheet
Build a Budget Worksheet
Personal Budget Worksheet
Printable Budget Worksheets
Online Budget Worksheet
Personal Budget Worksheet Templates
Free Financial Worksheets
Household Budget Worksheet

Identity Theft Insurance - 9 Things You Need To Know Before You Buy It

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 12:12:07 -0500

Even if you've never had your identity stolen, there is always that very real fear that you could be the next victim of identity theft.

The FTC says that 9.3 million people are the victims of identity theft every year.

Many people purchase identity theft insurance with the hope that they will have peace of mind knowing that someone else is protecting their identity.

Before you purchase identity theft insurance, there are a few things you should know first.

For starters, some financial institutions provide identity theft insurance for FREE. Plus, there are other ways to protect yourself from identity theft without having to pay a thing!

Continue reading...

3 Simple Tips For Saving Money During The Holidays

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 09:00:00 -0500

With the struggling economy, we're all looking for ways to save during the holiday season.

The cool thing is that you can save in ways other than just on gifts!

Here are some ideas to get you started:

Make food serve double-duty as decorations. For example, winter squash, nuts, apples, and even herbs can be used as decorations before you use them in holiday recipes.
Take care of yourself. The holidays are stressful for a lot of people, so take care of yourself by getting enough sleep and exercise. Also concentrate on eating healthy foods during the holidays. This will help to keep you stress free and keep you from getting sick as well!
Use soy or beeswax candles during your holiday celebrations. They last longer -- which saves you money. Plus, they have the added benefit of smelling great!

5 Ways To Save Money Painlessly

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 09:00:00 -0500

Sometimes it feels like saving money is painful, I mean you try to cut back but it seems like you are always doing without something. The good news is there are things that you can do that make saving money as painless as possible.

Here are 5 easy ways to save money, and there are many more!

Combine your cable, phone and internet into one bill.
See if you can slow down your internet speed a bit. This doesn't mean you have to do without speed at all. But often slowing it down a tad can save you $15 dollars or so a month and you won't notice the change in speed!
Consider buying a Mac computer that has been refurbished. For one thing, this will save you on repair and removal software, because Macs don't get viruses or malware or spyware the way PCs do.
Convert your water heater to a gas water heater. Over the long haul, you will save money.
Ask for a reduction in your home equity line of credit interest rate. One guy got his lowered by 50%. It all adds up!