Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Top Tips To Live A Frugal Lifestyle

Tired of spending all of your money paying the bills and buying the boring necessities? Tired of having nothing left over to treat yourself with? Need to reduce your spending to make ends meet? If so then you need these top tips to live frugal:

Get into the 'make do and mend' mindset. People throw so much stuff away these days, and often buy a replacement or hire a professional whenever there is a problem. Learn to sew and you can fix or even make your own new clothes. Invest a few dollars in a manual for your car, and learn to do the maintenance and minor repairs yourself. And find as many people as you can that have some skill in mending things - someone who can fix computers, someone who can do DIY jobs that you can't and so on, and then try to trade with them. Offer to do favors in return for favors and then you won't have to pay for so many things.
Try to anticipate your needs. If you know that you are likely to need something in the future, then start looking for it right away. Then you can buy when there is a super cheap special offer on, rather than buying the best thing you can find on the day when you actually need it right now.
Have a vegetarian day each week. Meat is generally the most expensive component of any meal, so leaving it out at least some of the time will save you cash. If you have a local butcher then you can also ask them about cheap cuts of meat, and there are some bits of an animal that people just don't usually buy, but which are still good to eat, and you may be able to get yourself a bargain.
The internet is a great place to find coupons as well as using price comparison websites. But as in step one, when looking for coupons it is a good idea to take a look on a regular basis, perhaps once per week, to keep an eye out for things that you might need in the future, rather than just trying to find something that you need now.
Organize a party amongst your friends where you all bring in your old stuff and swap with each other! Alternatively sell you old things that you no longer need or use online and get yourself some extra cash.
Use natural alternatives to brand name cleaning products wherever possible. There are 1000 different ways to do this so I'm not going to list them all here, but a simple Google search will throw up loads of great stuff and if you are willing to put in a bit of extra elbow grease it can save you money.

Budget and Get Financially Organized

A benefit of budgeting is that it helps to get you financially organized. Often when we are in debt a side effect is that we are disorganized with all of the paperwork, bills, and information. Getting on a budget changes that. Here are 3 ways that budgeting gets you financially organized.

1. Wasn't There a Bill for That?

We have all been there, searching for a bill that you have misplaced in the large pile of bills on your desk. Or shoved it into a kitchen drawer only to find it months later. Most people in debt have misplaced their bills or monthly statements on many occasions. Or if they do know where they are those bills have not been opened and still sit in their original envelopes in a big pile of other bills.

But creating a budget will force you to go through those monthly bills and to start organizing them by filing them in folders and placing them as line items on your budget worksheet.

Start by going through your avalanche of bills. Open the envelopes. Pull the bill out and organize them in piles. Group credit cards together in one pile. Utility bills in another. Auto and school loans in a third pile. And so on. Next place those piles into individual folders and stick them in a filing cabinet or hanging folder box.

Finally get those bill amounts and what you owe onto your budget sheet. Then file the bills in your filing system. You will now know where every bill and statement is and it will force you to get organized.

2. Eliminate Paper Waste

Part of getting organized is knowing what to keep - the actual bill statement - but also knowing what to throw out. You do not need the envelope the bill came in. You do not need the return envelope if you pay your bills online. And you do not need all of the ad inserts they stick inside every envelope with the bill statement. Make it a point that when the bill comes in the mail that you open it right away, remove the statement and file it as described in step 1 above, and then throw out all of the remaining paper in hand. Organizing by eliminating the waste will make the whole bill payment process seem easier. And you won't be distracted by all of the extraneous paperwork.

3. Use Bill Pay

Most banks offer a bill pay service. Where you can pay your bills online from your bank's website. Take the bills you have gathered from Steps 1 and 2 and start entering them into your Bill Pay service. Then once or twice a month when you have to pay the bills, pay them all at the same time from that one location. This will save you time. And it will save you the cost of a stamp. Most bill pay sites just require the company name and the account number to set up the service. Some can even be set up to do automatic bill pay.

Also, if your bank does not include the credit card or company you owe money to, then go to that companies own website and take advantage of say a credit card's own online bill pay service. Most credit card companies are capable of taking payment online and will even send you an email confirmation of the transaction.

By taking these steps - gathering up all your bills, eliminating the unnecessary paper waste, filing the statements, filling the amounts in on your budget, and taking advantage of a bill pay service - you will finally get financially organized and will easily be able to erase debt.

How to Write a Budget - How to Calculate Which Debts to Pay Off First

One of the most important ways to achieve financial freedom and erase debt is to write a budget. In writing your budget you need to calculate which debts to pay off first. Let's take a look at the steps to take.

When you write a budget it will have the effect of making you aware of your spending. If you are badly in debt this is probably something you have not been aware of for a long while. Credit card debt, for example, is very often made up of lots of smaller purchases that you have been unconscious of.

Your budget

Gather all of your financial data. This includes all of your sources of income, your bills, bank account and credit card statements.
List your expenses either on paper or on a spreadsheet. These expenses should include your essential commitments such as living expenses, utility bills, food and groceries, loan repayments and transportation.
Other expenses such as entertainment and spending on gifts are more flexible and can be reduced to fit your budget. It would pay to keep a notebook and record everything you spend for over the month.
All expenses are added and then subtracted from your income. If your income covers your expenses with extra available this is known as a surplus. If your expenses exceed income you will have a deficit and must make adjustments to keep your spending in line.
In order to pay off your debt you will need to reduce spending. It is important to reduce where you can.
Any surplus can be paid towards debt.
Your debts

List all debts, noting the balance, the interest rate and the loan payment. Also include who the debt is payable to.
Prioritize your debts. Are any past due? Are creditors making demands? Consider which debts have the highest interest rates. These are your highest priorities.
Pay the minimum on any loan that has the lowest interest rate and always pay on time. Do not miss any payments.
Firstly update the payments that are overdue. Negotiate with the lender if required.
Apply the surplus you have calculated in your budget to the debt with the highest interest rate.
If there is a small loan sometimes it is useful to get that paid up for the satisfaction it brings. Generally you should concentrate on the high interest debt as a priority.
Stop spending on credit card. Do not increase your debt.
Once you have paid off one debt pay the same sum to the next debt. It will get easier.

Christmas Gift Buying on a Budget

Even though the majority of men and women appreciate the spirit of gifting during the Christmas season, it is also a reality that Holiday gift buying can become a major financial encumbrance for many due to today's economy. This is particularly true for individuals who have large families or groups of close friends that they normally exchange gifts with. Christmas gift buying may also become a debt predicament for those who feel obligated to buy costly items for every person on their checklist. Yet, there are strategies to cope with the monetary problem that often results through Holiday shopping. One of the tactics to come to terms with this money challenge is to establish a spending budget in advance. Another approach to deal with the money tension of Holiday store shopping is to make purchases right through the calendar year rather than everything at one time.

Individuals who have problems with the sum of money they may be shelling out on for this Holiday should think of placing a budget on their buying before they commence their shopping adventure. To begin the strategy of setting up a spending budget for The holiday season, it is crucial to first make a checklist of everyone you plan to shop for. This checklist ought to include all of the close friends and loved ones you generally buy presents for along with any co-workers or employees. This list may include your postman or your kid's teachers. You may also want to budget with regard to gifts contributed to toy drives and other charitable groups in the event that you make contributions for these types of events.

Once you have got everyone on your list, there are a few techniques to help you go about creating a spending budget. Maybe the easiest way is to choose how much you plan to spend on Holiday purchases and divide that amount by the quantity people on your list. This will certainly result in a price range in which you are to spend the same amount of money for those fortunate enough to make it on your Christmas shopping list.This particular kind of spending budget technique may be acceptable if you plan on buying similar presents but it might not work out well if you desire to invest in something more unique for a couple of your closest friends or family members.

One particular technique for putting together a Christmas shopping budget is to figure out exactly how much money you may like to invest and then divide the persons into distinctive groups. Some of the groups you may desire to include are good friends and family members, work associates, acquaintances and presents which are bought for individuals you do not know well. When you have got all of the people in your list grouped you can figure out the portion of your overall price range you would most likely spend for each group. For instance you might choose to devote 50% of your overall spending budget on close friends and family members, 25% of your budget on co-workers, 15% of your overall spending budget on acquaintances and the leftover percentage on charities. After that you could use all these numbers to figure out the overall dollar amount of money you will be devoting to each group.

A remaining tactic for establishing an expense plan for your Holiday purchases is to start off by simply identifying how much you plan to spend on a few of the most significant people on your Christmas list. This will most likely consist of your dearest loved ones. Once you established dollar amounts for your dearest loved ones, it is time to separate the remaining amount of funds in your Christmas gift buying spending budget. This can either be carried out randomly by simply dividing the left over sum in your budget by the quantity of individuals left on your checklist or you may continue to go through your checklist choosing a dollar amount for every individual until you achieve your spending budget. If there are still people left on your list you may have to either lower your spending budget or think about removing some individuals from your Christmas shopping list.

Three Easy Ways To Save Money

Living in a recession is not easy. You are never too sure of where to spend money, invest money, or save money. Well, saving money everywhere would be nice but it is never as simple as it sounds. A Texas bankruptcy attorney might be able to help you, but not without a fee. So where do those who cannot afford debt relief do? Well, if there was one right answer for that, there would be no more recession. However, there are lots of little ways you can change the way you live to lighten your financial burned.

The first and biggest money waster people do not realize is food. Whether it is eating out, buying soft-drinks, or buying too many groceries, there are a lot of families who waste thousands of dollars each year on food. When you go to make a grocery list, really examine your cabinets first. Make sure not to purchase something you already have and not to get food that you do not need. If you have three unopened bags of pretzels, do not go purchase goldfish just because they look more appealing. Finish the snacks you have first! If you are an avid diet coke drinker, do not get 20 ounce drinks from the gas station every day. Instead, purchase large packs of cans. This is not a huge switch, but will add up to lots of extra money in your bank account.

Electric bills are another place where people tend to throw money down the drain. Leaving lights on, using too many lights, or leaving electronics on is so common and costs you tons of money. Use energy-efficient light bulbs in major rooms of your home like the kitchen, where lights are most frequently on. If you do not like going to be or leaving the house completely dark, purchase a nightlight or small lamp. They will take up considerably less energy than a regular light from a light switch. When you are not using your home computer, or charging your cell phone, make sure to unplug them. Even when not in direct use, they pull energy from your home. In addition, try to make your home energy-efficient in other ways. Make sure your windows are in good condition and are not letting excess heat out.

Lastly, one of the best ways to save money is to save money on the weekends. Going to the movies, or bowling, or out to eat is fun, but is also expensive. Save those types of outings for every once in a while, and try to make a habit out of less-expensive activities. Board game nights, movie marathons, or video-game nights can be surprisingly more fun that going out somewhere. They are great ways of getting people together, and cost virtually nothing. You may even find yourself getting a bit adventurous once you stop going out as much. Perhaps you will create a scavenger hunt for you and your friends to go on. Believe it or not, adult scavenger hunts can be done and are usually a blast.

Discover How to Stick To Your Budget

It doesn't matter if you're born rich or self-made. Unless you're going to budget your money, you will lose everything you've got. Here's the problem, though: it is so much easier to create a budget list than to stick to it.

Sticking to a budget doesn't have to be such a huge challenge for you. You can begin with the following tips:

1. Make sure you write them.

Create a list of every item your money goes into (such as food, transportation, and bills). Also write down your sources of income. The idea of writing is this: you don't want to forget, and you want to keep track of your expenses. You can also use the information for reference.

2. Take some time to write down your expenses.

Between savings and expenses, it's the spending that eats up a lot of your income. So you don't go overboard or spend more than what you can afford, write down every expense you've made. It doesn't have to take a long time, as long as you're diligent with it. Every time you make a purchase, keep the receipt and write each item down.

3. Consider savings as an expense.

A lot of people tend to consider the remaining money as savings. Usually, the amount isn't enough. Moreover, when the expenses close in on the salary, you have no more savings left. To save, consider it as an expense. This means keep the amount to a bank or a time deposit once you're going to receive your salary.

4. Pay off the bills.

Before you actually do your shopping, make sure you have already paid your bills, including your credit cards and mortgage. Of course, keep some as savings. This way, you can spend your cash any way you want to.

5. Learn to control yourself.

It's very important you can learn how to control your splurges or shopping addiction. It's not going to be easy, especially if you're already used to it. However, subliminal messages may be helpful. Here are some of them:

I can control my shopping urges.
I prioritize my needs over my wants.
I don't need a lot in my life.
I value every penny I receive.

You can repeat these subliminal messages every time you feel the urge. You can also listen to these subliminal messages when you're doing meditation or visualization.

6. Teach others to save.

Educate your children and spouse how to control the expenses. For instance, you may postpone gift giving to kids during Christmas. Opt for hand-me-downs than new clothes, particularly if the former still look okay. Request your spouse to help you prevent hoarding items.

7. Don't live beyond your means.

Your money has its own limitations. Honor it. If you desire so much more, you can learn to cut back on other expenses, look for higher-paying jobs, or accept part-time work as means to increase your income. Nevertheless, take inspiration from millionaires like Warren Buffett. They don't really splurge.

How to Invest Money for Better Returns

We shall be in a position to take the advantage of interest of money. When you are in debt, you need to shell out personal money to pay the interest. When you have invested money for future, your money will grow because of compound interest. That is the way of taking the advantage of compound interest.You shall know the rules of investing money properly. Once you know the rules you can invest in a better way and save money. You can take advantage of the rules only when you are well familiar with them.

We shall not take the money for granted even when it is with you. By respecting the money you can take care of it properly. If you spend money in proper ways like investments it will grow and give you rich dividends. Once you understand the cost of compound interest, you will come out quickly from debt trap. This gives you fortune of money over the future.

Today's world is very much complex and dynamic. We have different choices for each with that you have. We shall choose best option. The financial products around you are unlimited and you can choose some one by weighting its advantages and disadvantages. Some times vendors may not disclose every thing in public and let you know every thing directly. You shall do some background research to identify particular product. We can find a lot of information in the internet and can take the advantage of it. In the previous days as it is difficult to pull the information about products, the lender has advantage. But now the advantage goes in favour of customer.

We shall not be more concerned about making more money. Instead of this we all plan about investing the money that we earning right now. We shall be efficient in investing the money that we already have.

To know the full opportunities around you, you shall have the basic knowledge and you need to spend time to get this knowledge. We shall be in the process of learning over the time. As the time progress we also understand the principles more clearly. It may be impossible to know all issues around you with deep knowledge, but getting the basics is not that much difficult. If you know where to find the information when circumstances demands, it will help you to take better decisions.

You can go through all the documents provided by the company about a product, you can understand what is on the offer. For example, by knowing the tax rules you can learn the way of saving money. Rather completely depending on the auditor, you can plan about savings to protect yourself from tax bracket.

Money Saving Strategies - 6 Steps To Saving More Money Right Now

Saving money can be an ongoing challenge, and most of us will be battling with this for a long time. With these 6 simple, yet effective money saving strategies, you can be on the winning end and start seeing results in no time.

1) Take advantage of direct deposit. If your employer offers it, you should use it. Your money is deposited into your bank account automatically and immediately, and this way you are not tempted to spend the money when you cash your check.

2) Pay yourself first. One of the oldest money saving strategies known to man, it's a way to start a consistent savings plan. A rule of thumb is to put aside at least 10% of what you earn, but you should always start with what you can afford. The key is to be consistent.

3) Pay off your credit cards. Use the 1 or 2 credit cards that you have with the best rate, and never pay them late. You avoid additional fees, and the faster you pay them, the less interest you end up paying as well.

4) Use the credit cards with "Cash Back" points. In addition to avoiding fees and interest charges, use the cards that offer cash back on your purchases. You get a certain percentage for shopping at certain stores, getting gas, or just on any purchase. This is just like free money just for shopping or buying something.

5) Be a savvy shopper. With the internet, you are able to shop around for the best offer, compare prices, and find great deals. Just by practicing some due diligence, you can be amazed at the savings you can earn.

6) Use "Cash Back" web sites. Just like with the credit cards, there are websites that give cash back when you shop. When you combine this with the prior 2 money saving strategies, you are increasing the discount price (shopping around for the best deal), saving more money (earning cash back from the credit card company), and keeping MORE cash in your pocket.

When you start using these strategies for saving money, you will find yourself looking at your income and your savings in a new light. These 6 simple steps are easy to implement and can help you become not only a smart consumer, but also a smart saver.

Budget, Erase Debt, and Live Below Your Means

Budgeting helps you to live below your means. But what does living below your means really, well, mean? At the most basic level it means you spend less money than what you make. Or money going out is less than the money coming in. It is that simple. But many, many people do just the opposite by taking out credit cards and loans to buy things they cannot afford. As a result they end up in deep debt.

However, a budget is a tool to help you carefully monitor the money coming in and the money going out. The end result should be that it prevents you from over-spending and allows you to live below your means.

What also gets folks in trouble is not using cash to make purchases. They will whip out the debit card thinking, "hey there is money in my bank account." Little realizing that there are not enough funds to cover all of their impulse buying. But a budget will help in avoiding this situation. By tracking where all of your money is going and planning out how it should be used, it can prevent you from over spending.

The thing about a budget is that you need to constantly update it and massage the numbers. This does not mean you have to cheat and fake the numbers. Nor does it have to be a chore. You could update it once a week. But if at all possible try double-checking it every time money comes in and money goes out. Or preferably before a purchase is made you should consult your budget to determine:

1. Did you budget for it already and so it is already accounted for?

2. If not, then is there wiggle room in the budget to make the purchase?

And you must have the money either already in hand or in your checking account to make the purchase. Do not fool yourself by thinking that you will have the money at the end of the month or next month to cover the cost. This is how we get into debt in the first place. Have cash, make purchase. No cash, no purchase.

By following these simple tips with your budget you will know ahead of time if you can afford something by determining if you have the cash on hand to buy it with the help of your budget. This will prevent you from spending more than you earn. Hopefully you will avoid credit cards going forward. A budget will not physically stop you from whipping out the card. But mentally it can stop you if you let yourself think about it. And then you will truly be living below your means, while you erase debt, and build some wealth.

Erase Debt, Budget and Purchase the Things You Want

To Purchase Things You Want

The word "budget" or "budgeting" conjures up all kinds of images of boring people, people who do not buy anything, maybe even dumpster diving at the extreme end. However, properly utilizing a budget leads to just the opposite. Once you free up money with your budgeting it is time for you to spend or save it the way you want to. This does not mean to go on a spending frenzy and waste away all your newly freed up money. But you can start to target those funds to things you need and things you want. And to be able to do it all without putting a single dime on a credit card.

You do not want to pay off all of your debts and then turn around and start purchasing things on credit card again. Thinking that you can handle it better now that you are out of debt. This will only guarantee that you fall back into debt all over again. What you want to do is to start creating line items or categories on your budget for purchasing things that you may need as well as the things that you want.

Where before most of your line items were for debt repayment, now a lot of your budgeted items can be for the things you need or want to purchase. If you have children you will probably want a category for their education fund. If your car is falling apart create a category for the new car fund. Better yet if the car is newer and in good shape definitely create a new car category in preparation for the next car purchase whether that will be 2, 3, 5 or 10 years down the road. Imagine saving up enough cash to purchase your next car out-right instead of taking out a car loan.

Think about a vacation fund. Everybody wants to go on vacations. And guess what? They cost money. But save a small amount every month in a vacation fund and you will never have to bring a credit card with you to the beach, Disneyland or your next ski trip.

Budget just to save money. Hopefully by the time you get to this step you already have an emergency fund in place and fully funded. Continue to contribute to the fund. At some point you will have to use it so you might as well keep enough funds in it to keep the fund going if you encounter any rainy days.

Already maxing out your 401k at work? Then budget to put money into an IRA. It never hurts to have a lot of retirement accounts. Or just budget money into an "all-purpose" fund that you use for anything you want. This would be for things that have not already been budgeted for. It is for the unexpected last-minute purchases that come up. For example, a dinner out with an old friend or family member that is in town. This sort of purchase is NOT an emergency so it should not come out of your emergency fund. But have some sort of slush fund to cover such things.

As you can see budgeting is not just for the dull, dreary task of paying off debt. It can and should be used for building wealth and for anticipated and not so expected purchases. And it can be fun to watch your money grow using a budget to help you. So remember to budget, erase debt and build wealth.

Stepping Outside of the Budget - Like Breaking a Diet

Is stepping outside the budget like breaking a diet? Can it be a good thing sometimes, allowing you relief from the strictness and motivating you to get back on track once you've enjoyed the break?

With dieting, the theory is that eating an occasional treat not strictly allowed by the diet will help get rid of the cravings and even help the dieter stick to the diet the rest of the time. Similarly, it may help those on a tight budget to occasionally have the ability to splurge on something they want to have. After making the purchase, you can go back on your budget with renewed intent.

Here are some ways to make a budget work for your financial goals even with occasional "cheating."

First, make sure your budget is realistic and workable given your income and necessary expenses. A too-tight budget is often to blame when you continually feel deprived or that you need to buy some things you really, really want to have -- even when you know they are not in your spending plan.
Leave room in the budget for fun money for each person in the family. Whether it's $10 or $50 a month, a bit of extra spending money to be done with as you please can make all the difference to feeling constrained by your budget or in charge of your money.
Build an emergency fund. A few thousand dollars in the bank is a good start to a rainy day fund in case of emergencies such as job loss, broken vehicles and the like.
Keep a slush fund for unforeseen extras, or for things like birthday presents and wedding gifts.
When you step outside the budget, do it with something little such as a dinner out or a new shirt, not a financed car or new television. Big ticket items really do need to be budgeted or important things such as the mortgage or rent, utilities or debt payments will have to go unpaid.
Keep receipts for making returns -- sometimes, just shopping, and buying something nice, is enough to feel better and you may want to return the item to get the money back and get back on track with your budget.
Be honest about breaking your budget with your spouse or accountability partner. Open communication about your expenses and income is crucial for healthy domestic relationships.
You can see how stepping outside a budget is a bit like breaking a diet -- it's a small transgression that will not make a huge difference if done in moderation and very occasionally.

Holiday Savings: How To Budget And Save Money

Saving money can be especially hard during the holiday season. With family gatherings, holding parties, and buying presents, it is easy to lose control of one's budget. Many consumers will end up spending more than the should this holiday season. Below are some guidelines to help you budget accordingly during these times of celebration.

Make your own gifts:

Most of the fun of the holidays is receiving gifts. While it may be tempting to purchase gifts this year, it is not recommended if you are currently in a debt management program. If you don't want to leave your friends and family empty handed, you can always make a gift. Making a gift for someone is an easy way of showing that you love them. Sample gift ideas include, knitting a sweater or scarf, making your own holiday cards, to making toys with cardboard (shields, swords, and spaceships come to mind).

Purchase gifts on a budget:

This option may be good for shoppers that know how to budget and save money. If you feel that making your own gifts isn't enough, it's time to start looking for sales. The best time to save money is during black Friday. Black Friday is the first black Friday after thanksgiving. On this day many retail stores offer huge discounts on popular items. Most of the incentive behind black Friday is to get shoppers to shop more than they should. To avoid spending more than you should, make a list of everything that you intend to buy. Do not make any reckless purchases and you should be fine.

Cyber Monday:

If you absolutely hate the act of shopping, you can look for deals online on Cyber Monday. Like Black Friday, expect to find huge discounts on Cyber Monday. The best part of Cyber Monday is that you can do all of your shopping in the comfort of your own home.

Dinners on a budget:

If you are big on holidays, chances are you will be spending a lot of money on dinners and groceries. Save money on groceries by shopping at discount grocery stores. If possible, try to pass the hosting duties to someone else. The more you can split your expenses, the better off you will be.

Set a budget:

This is quite possibly the most important step you will take to save money during the holidays. Set a budget and stick to it. Create a list and figure out what your priorities will be during the holidays. Setting a budget will help keep you get out of debt fast by keeping you from creating further debt.

Adhering to Your Budget

Planning a budget a abiding on it is an activity which borders a lot of people. For them this activity places a ban on them and stops them from getting the things they want to buy. But that is not really the truth, the fact is abiding by the budget only directs you on how to buy so that you do not buy the things you have not captured in your plans. Planning and abiding by a budget really has no bad effect.

This is rather a very healthy behavior and that just the behavior every person must have to help him or her manage his or her finances. These are the benefits you get from keeping and abiding by a budget.

No stress- One is always faced with pressures or another when it is time to buy. This always brings the temptation of getting things you have not planned for. But having a budget plan and abiding by it is an escape door to avoid these pressures and for that matter helping to keep the account out of negative zone.

It is very true that one will not finally get to purchase his or her dream commodity just because it was not captured in the budget, But you will also agree with me that, that will be a better situation than having to live with so many debt that will hunt you for years.

Saving- Having some money in your account is always a better situation then owing. And this can effectively be done if you adhere to the leadings of your budget. Anything can happen including emergencies so you need to have something you can rely on in these emergency situations. A part from emergencies, these moneys go into your future plans, so if you are thinking of a stress free financial life at pension, then this is the right exercise for you.

Organization- If you are someone who wishes to buy whatever he or she comes across, then a budget adherence is the exact activity you need to go with. When it is clearly stated what you can buy and how much you can spend, you will know how to spend. You might even be using a debt in the past, so this will help you take care of the debt.

If you are thinking of a solution on how to manage your money, then getting a budget and obeying it is the way to go, it is no doubt a better plan and everybody can have it. Even if you are chocked with debt you can still have a budget.

You will not realize when and how, but this can really make sure all your debt is cleared with little or no effect at all. That is the kind of magic a budget can perform and it really a financial liberty.

Budget and Free Up Money

A huge benefit of creating a budget and sticking to it is that it forces you to get organized. That organization gives you the ability to track your cash flow and leads to actually being able to free up money.

Month after month as you go through your budget you will start to see areas to free up money by eliminating unnecessary spending habits. You may identify purchases that you make weekly or monthly that you realize if you would just give it up, it would free up $50, $100, or more each month.

By freeing up cash it will allow you to re-allocate money to pay off your credit card debts. Or it might allow you to save for a replacement car. You could start putting that money towards your child's education. And this is the whole purpose for getting out of debt. To free up money that use to go on credit cards. To prevent you from going into debt. A budget is just a tool to achieve this freedom.

And it can happen quickly. Soon after our family got on a budget, my wife's mother was hospitalized. My wife wanted to take a week off to go be with her. This was about the 3rd month into our budgeting experiment. By this point I was very organized with our budget and was already cutting out wasteful spending and targeting money to pay off debts. Had this happened the year before when we were living paycheck-to-paycheck it would have caused much anxiety over the thought of her taking a whole week off from work. But by looking at our budget I realized that the extra money I was freeing up to pay off debt could easily be used as an emergency fund to cover any shortfall by my wife not working. And I quickly realized she could take more time off. I told her, "why don't you go for two weeks." I think she thought I was kidding at first but I showed her on paper how it would be okay and it would not hurt us financially. And it would not even throw our debt repayment that far behind. So she took two weeks off to fly to N.J. to spend time with her mom. This may have been the start of my wife really getting on board with the whole budgeting idea after seeing how well it worked in this unexpected emergency.

Once you have focused your budget to better position yourself to pay off debts and you finally start to erase debt then you can use that money to either pay off more or simply save it. By mapping out where your money will go you can actually free up cash to be used where it is really needed.

Erase Debt and Build Wealth - How to Direct Money Exactly Where You Want It To Go

Dave Ramsey says it best, "tell your money what to do." What he means by that is you must have a plan and direct your money on where to go. If you don't, the money will just disappear on purchases you have no idea that you made. And the best tool for doing this is a budget. Here is How to Direct Money Exactly Where You Want It To Go With a Budget.

1. Account for Every Dollar Coming In

Every dollar you earn must be included and accounted for on your budget. If you don't document every dollar you earn, that money with just disappear into the ether. That may be Starbucks coffees, clothing, shoes, beer, cigarettes or worse. Make sure your income section includes all income. Document weekly salaries, bonuses, tips, second income, even money found on the street.

2. Account for Every Dollar Going Out

On the flip side, document every dollar going out. And leave nothing out. If you have a bill for it put it on your budget. If it is a one-time expense, put it on your budget and account for it. If you fall off the debt repayment wagon and charged a credit card, don't ignore it, put it on your budget. Ignoring it will just cause debt to grow. Acknowledging that it was a mistake and adding it to your budget gets you back on track and erasing debt.

3. Be Flexible

From the day you start your monthly budget it will change by the time that month ends. I guarantee it. So you need to be flexible. Let's say you had budgeted $500 towards a credit card debt, but your car breaks down that month and the repairs cost $250 dollars. And on top of that, there is no room on your current budget to pay for that emergency and not enough money in the emergency fund yet. Don't ignore the bill. Or say my budget doesn't work. Change it. Make it work. You have flexibility with your debt repayment. And flexibility with your budget. It is not written in stone. Take the $250 from your credit card payment (assuming the remaining $250 still covers the minimum credit card payment) and pay cash for your emergency. Yes that will set you back a little on your debt repayment. But at least you are not acquiring any new debt.

4. Compare Your Budget with Your Checking Account Statement

If you use a debit card for any purchase keep the receipt and make sure to account for it on your budget. In addition, make sure you check your online or paper statements to make sure any purchases made with a debit card have been included in your budget. Especially if the purchase was an unplanned one. It will prevent you from "forgetting" to account for a purchase that was not in the budget yet.

5. Use CASH!

M-O-N-E-Y. Yes, use cash as much as possible to avoid losing track of what you purchased via a debit card. For most categories (groceries, eating out, entertainment, etc) budget how much you will take out of each paycheck and then take that out in cash. It will prevent you from over-spending.

How to Build a Strong Case For Your Hospital's Marketing Budget: Six Useful Tips

If you are in charge of marketing at your hospital, how do you make a case for your communications budget? Even if you are only a modest junior assistant, it's wise to know how to persuade senior management to fund the work you do. Here are six suggestions based on a conversation with a community hospital's financial vice president:

Number 1: Keep yourself well-informed about your hospital's goals and finances. Always study the annual report, of course, but find out where quarterly and semi-annual reports are and see what you can learn. If you don't know it already, find out what your overall marketing budget is. If finance isn't your strong suit, think about taking an introductory course at a local community college, in finance or in business planning, just to give yourself a foundation in concepts and vocabulary.

Number 2: Know your hospital's strategic plan, and tie your own plan to the plan's major goals. The plan should be available through your own supervisor, or on your intranet. The closer your own marketing plan is matched to your organization's goals, the more likely it is to get the attention, and the funding, you need.

Number 3: At the half-year point, if not more often, your hospital will evaluate performance, and adjust spending as needed. This means that you should be monitoring your own results so you're prepared to make a case for continued funding of your projects. Also have in mind where you can cut if you absolutely have to. In other words, set your own priorities, rather than having someone else impose them.

Number 4: Setting standards for return on investment can be a challenge for an advertising or communications campaign. One thing that can help: at the very start of planning a campaign, work to figure out some measurements, and then monitor them. For example, if your goal is to increase community involvement in your hospital, keep careful count of how many new volunteers you acquire, how many new names on your mailing lists, how many new Facebook friends. These figures aren't dollar results, but they are hard numbers that show your tactics are working.

Number 5: The emergency department and primary care make sense as activities to publicize, because they attract attention. If you are planning to publicize other departments, make your case for their significance to the hospital's goals. Patient surveys can be helpful in deciding what to emphasize in your marketing efforts.

Number 6: Be realistic about the significance of a small expenditure. From finance's point of view, $1,000 to beef up a mailing, or get help from a designer or writer, is a very small percentage of a typical community hospital's marketing budget. Don't be shy about demanding help for the services you provide for your hospital and, consequently, for your patients!