Solvivienda

Today, many households are on tight budgets for various reasons. Some people may have fallen victim to the housing market downturn, others may have taken a pay cut to save their job, while some may be working at a less than ideal job just to make ends meet. One of the easiest ways to save money is to brown bag your lunch to work. According to Wikipedia, the definition of a brown bag lunch is a lunch prepared at home that is carried in a lunchbox, paper bag, etc. to be eaten somewhere else, such as a workplace.

Bringing your lunch to work, not only saves money by not eating out, but also saves gas since you won’t have to leave the office. Let’s say the average lunch costs a modest $5 a day; multiple that by 5 days a week then 4 weeks a month and your average savings will be at least $100 a month. The savings could potentially be even higher depending on how much the average lunch costs in your city, plus varying gas prices will increase the savings even more per month as well.

With the Internet becoming the world’s #1 one-stop shopping center, now is the greatest time ever to save money. Not only can you save time, gas and hassles by shopping online, but you can shop for everything you will ever need. The world is all about information and knowing where to find it is the key to big savings.

Here is a list of 7 tips to save money each and every day

Buy a used car- That shiny new Cadillac sure looks nice, but you will lose almost 25% of its resale value the second you drive it home. Instead use one of the many online websites to find the used car with low mileage for a big reduction in price.

Compare prices for online purchases- Just by using the shopping option in Google you can pick and choose your item for several different outlets. If you want that new computer you will see a big price difference and shipping charge among several different outlets. Also for the impatient try printing out one of these ads and taking it to your local retailer for an instant price match.

Obviously many people will be skeptical as to how good free apps actually are, with many consumers actually purposefully not downloading free apps due to fears that they will crash or being infected with various ways of stealing your money. However these fears are totally unfounded and without evidence so do not let this put you off. Now to the apps:
PayPal
If you have been on the internet at some point then you will have undoubtedly heard of PayPal. The service facilitates payments between people via a simple email address, avoiding the complexities usually associated with bank transfers and the like. The PayPal Android app allows users to manage their PayPal account just as they would through the official website. The app is totally secure and allows you to make purchases or deposits also amongst other activities on the move, a very useful addition to the marketplace.
Quote Pro
Quote Pro is also an incredibly useful app, used by many on a daily basis it has fast become one of the most downloaded in its range. Not only can you obtain extremely detailed and accurate information about the range of stocks you have an interest in, but you can also keep an eye on your portfolio of stocks and shares.
Tip Calculator by TradeFields
Tip Calculator is perhaps one of the most imaginative apps I have personally seen on the app marketplace. It is incredibly useful for an aspect you will have probably have struggled with every time you’ve been out for a meal, the tip. Not only will the app inform you of the total tip you should be leaving behind, but will also divide the total tip amount between the number of people at the dinner, saving much embarrassment, delays and napkin calculations!
Currency Converter
How many times have you been in a foreign country or at the airport and have been wondering how much you will actually get in return for your dollars? Numerous times in all probability. The currency converter provided by Pocketools will enable you to be provided with an accurate, up to date and independent currency exchange valuation allowing you to shop around to find the best exchange rate. Not only does this app provide you with the current exchange rate, it will also give you data on the currency of your choice over the last 5 year period through the use of many easy to read graphs.
Mileage
This is without doubt one of the best apps I have personally seen. With the rising prices of gas which look set to continue for the foreseeable future it is a great way of ensuring that you are driving as economically as possible and therefore saving as much gas as possible. I haven’t an idea about how it works but it does, the interface is also extremely slick, simple to navigate through and to understand.
Finance
Finance, whilst the name of the app may not excite you or conjure up ideas that this app is going to change the world it certainly fills a gap in the market which needed a simple app. It’s similar to Google search in many aspects, it provides a very basic user interface, but one that is incredibly effective and performs its job excellently. If you already use Google Finance or are considering starting to use it then this app is vital, it synchronizes everything meaning it’s like being on your main PC.
Financisto
Financisto is another great money manager. The ability to create long and short term budgets for holidays, short breaks or just a simple shopping trip is a real plus point for this app and one which has seen it rocket in terms of popularity. In addition to this the app has the capability to check your recurring payments amongst many other essential financial activities; this has left many users of the marketplace wondering why there is no charge.

What’s your New Year’s resolution? Every year, we make plans for every aspect of our life. Bulk of these plans and a major part of our hopes and dreams is financial freedom. Almost everything seems to be solved by money. Surprisingly, even relationship problems that lead to separation and divorce are often rooted in money matters. So everyone just wants to break free of debt and any problem relating to money so they can start moving on with their lives. How do we really start when we’re drowning in debt?
The famous management guru, Stephen Covey said, “First things first.” You must first know your current situation: How much you are earning vs. how much you are spending. Are you living beyond or below your means? It all starts with the small things like keeping your pay slips and writing down your daily expenses. You don’t have to be an accountant to monitor these things. Do you have more than one job? Do you have a business? Write down all your sources of income. How much do you spend on gas every day? How much is your average bill on utilities, phone, cable and internet? One tip for getting a picture of your average expenses is by collecting receipts and credit card statements from the past months. You can create a simple budget worksheet and print it for the details of your cash flow.
After tallying and totaling, you might be surprised to find out that your expenses are bigger than your income. Start to evaluate if all of your expenses are necessary – most of the time, we spend too much on wants rather than needs. Imagine if you can cut down on your expenses and put the extra money for your emergency fund and savings.
If your income is larger than your expenses, you can start setting aside money for an emergency fund. Your emergency fund should be about five to six times your monthly income. This means that even if you lose your job or anything happens that won’t allow you to earn income; you can survive for about half a year.
Remember, your emergency fund is different from your savings. Set aside a percentage of your salary for savings, too. Then, once your emergency fund is secure, consider investing on stocks or a small business where you can make your money grow. Like what Robert Kiyosaki, author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad said, the income from your investments should be the one used for your expenses. Change your habit of buying a new item that you want every pay day. Set up your investments first and think long term.
Budgeting is only one of the things you can do. You can also seek expert advice from loaning companies and find out how you manage your debts. Learn how to consolidate debts from financial experts. You’ll be surprised how smooth sailing many things in your life will be once you get your finances fixed. As early as now, start thinking about your retirement plan because what you do today will definitely have a big impact tomorrow.

Why is a budget important? A budget gives you control over your money and your life. It’s just that simple.

Why do you need a budget? Your budget allows you to create a sensible framework for how you live your life.

The contents of your budget reflect the fabric of your daily existence. You must recognize how you really live and how you want to live. There are decisions which must be made. You should be the one who makes them, not the forces of arbitrary circumstances. Your budget is the connection between the resources you have and how you construct your life.

If you are in control of your life, you will feel better than if you are not. You may think that setting up a budget and living by the terms of your budget is more trouble than it’s worth. You would be wrong. The budgeting process brings clarity.

Knowing how to save money every month is about more than simply reducing the amount you spend. It means looking at your biggest outgoings, and making changes to reduce them without having to cancel anything you want to keep. So, to that end, here are 3 simple ways of doing that.

1) Look For Affordable Insurance Deals

Insurance is very important, so don’t cancel any of your plans. Instead, take some time to look at different auto insurance quotes and see if you’re paying over the odds (the chances are that you will be!). This is very easy to do these days thanks to online comparison services – you just enter a few details and you can then quickly compare the quotes you receive from multiple insurance companies side by side.

This is the same when looking for a life insurance quote, or any other type of insurance. Although it may seem like effort, it really does just take a few minutes. What you’ll get in return is a big saving!

2) Save Money On Utilities

If you want to know how to save money, you’re not alone. Everyday, people are looking for different ways to put more of their hard earned money back in their own pockets. With the economy as bleak as it is, saving money is more important than ever. Here are a few ideas as to where to find cost cutting methods that are as painless as possible.

One of the easiest ways on how to save money is making sure you pay your credit card bills on time each month. According to statistics, Americans blow $22 BILLION a year in credit card late fees, penalties and other charges. If this happens to you on a regular basis sign up for automatic bill pay so your payments will be deducted straight from your checking account before they are due.

Another rather overlooked money sucker and a simple way how to save money is your cellphone bill. This can be multiplied when there are several people in one household using cellphones on different plans. Make sure everyone in the house knows how much data or minutes they are using monthly. If you have a plan that seems like a bargain because it is cheap up front, make sure you are not using more minutes or data than what is allowed. This is where the overage fee add up. These fees can create a huge bill that you may be totally unprepared for.

The first step in managing your personal budget is to take a note of all your outgoings. You can do this by checking bank statements for direct debits, standing orders and other payments out. These can then be added together to find the total monthly outgoings. Quarterly, weekly and annual outgoings will need to be converted into monthly amounts. Don’t forget expenditure that doesn’t appear on your bank statement, such as food bills. If you have a car, the cost of running the car will include insurance, tax, service, mot, petrol and repairs. A spreadsheet is useful for totalling monthly outgoings, but it can also be done manually.

Next step is to total your income. This will include salary, expenses, allowances, bonuses, benefits, pensions, interest etc.

Once you have done this, you can compare income with outgoings. If outgoings are too high in relation to income then you may need to look at ways of reducing outgoings or increasing income. Here are some suggestions for managing your budget:

1) You could try changing your mortgage type or shop around for better deals with other lenders. You will firstly need to check if you are tied in to your current mortgage, as some mortgage providers charge penalties if you move mortgages.