1. Watch out for shipping costs when buying via the Internet. Use the Internet to comparison shop, then pick up the item locally.
2. If you see something in a catalog that you want to buy, wait a week before ordering to see if you still really want it. (But don’t wait too long or your holiday gift may not make it under the tree in time.)
3. When traveling, look online for ideas and/or coupons before you go. Once on site, ask the locals for low-cost favorite spots, a la Rachael Ray.
4. Try a vacation at home. See and do the things you’ve always meant to do and save on hotel costs. The holidays are a perfect time to enjoy local festivities.
5. Send free e-cards and save on postage.
6. Give your time or services instead of “things” for gifts.
7. Go gray. If you hate sitting with gloppy color on your head and paying an arm and a leg for the privilege, you should know that as the baby boomers age, gray is “in.”
8. If you own a house, shift your higher-rate credit card debt to a lower-rate line of credit. Deduct the interest on your tax return.
9. If you own a house, use a home equity loan to pay off auto loans. The interest is tax-deductible.
10. Pay your mortgage payment biweekly instead of monthly–you’ll save on interest costs and pay off your mortgage sooner.
11. Pay extra premium payments when paying your mortgage. As above, you’ll save interest payments and be able to pay off your mortgage sooner.
12. Pay cash when possible–psychologically it’s harder to spend cash than using credit cards, and you’ll save on interest charges.
13. Set up one checking account for regular recurring expenses and another for bigger-ticket items. (Only buy if you’ve saved enough.)
14. Check with state or federal governments to see if you have money owed to you. To find out more about claims in your state, go to the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators’ Web site.
15. If you’ve inherited an IRA, understand how to stretch out the tax deferral by taking the correct minimum required distribution.
16. Don’t get divorced.
17. Quit smoking.
18. Save all your change and use it to buy gifts next year.
19. Go to matinee movies instead of movies at night.
20. Stop buying clothes that are “dry clean only.” Learn to iron.
21. Plan parties where everyone brings something.
22. Have cocktails at home and then go out; have dessert at home.
23. Order vegetarian when you’re out.
24. Look up phone numbers in the phone book instead of paying for directory assistance.
25. Sell stuff you don’t need or use anymore on eBay.
26. Shop resale shops or estate sales.
27. Shop the clearance racks.
28. Make your own greeting cards on a computer.
29. Fill prescriptions with the generic form of the drug.
30. Plan your purchases–avoid impulse buying.
31. Use public transportation.
32. Track your spending. If you write it all down, you’ll probably spend less. And you’ll know exactly where your money goes.
33. Use your senior discount (if eligible). Go to www.AARP.org for information about member discounts and services.
34. Skip paying cab fare now and then. Walk or take the bus.
35. Don’t buy mutual funds just before capital gains distributions.
36. Use a budget–especially for items like gifts.
37. Compare rates for cable and satellite. Go with the less expensive option. Only sign up for the channels you know you’ll watch.
38. Consider buying a certified preowned car instead of a new one.
39. Don’t renew subscriptions to publications you don’t have time to read.
40. Don’t watch so much TV. You won’t see all the ads and be as tempted to buy. Take a walk instead or play with your kids.
41. Make IRA contributions early in the year to take advantage of additional months of tax deferral.
42. Lock in a fixed mortgage rate so your interest rate can’t increase to a point you can no longer make your house payments.
43. Only use ATMs where you won’t be charged service fees.
44. Use the public library to check out movies or books for free.
45. Consider dropping your land line phone at home. Your cell phone may be all you need and some come with free long distance services.
46. Give up expensive health club memberships. Learn to exercise outdoors, at home, or through the park district. Or join the YMCA.
47. With the high cost of oil, those hybrid cars are looking more attractive all the time. Check out Hybrid Car Guide for more.
48. Wait a little longer between manicures (try doing one yourself!), massages, or highlights, and try a local training school.
49. Play golf less often, look for tee times when rates are reduced, or play at lower-cost public courses.
50. Pay off your credit cards monthly and avoid paying interest.
51. If you must charge, switch to a no-fee or low-fee credit card.
52. If your house down payment was less than 20%, cancel your private mortgage insurance once your mortgage balance is 80% or less of your home’s value.
53. Check your credit history. Go to AnnualCreditReport.com and make sure everything is accurate. Good credit may mean lower interest charges.
54. If you have a tendency to “bounce” checks, deduct a “cushion” from your balance. Then if you accidentally let your balance go below zero, you’ll hit that cushion instead of paying fees for insufficient funds.
55. Participate in company retirement plans to save on taxes. Your taxable income will go down and you’ll defer taxes to the future.
56. Take advantage of your employer match in your 401(k) or other retirement plan.
57. Don’t take a loan from your 401(k) plan–you’ll save on double taxation of that repaid interest.
58. Take advantage of company-sponsored reimbursement plans. If your company sponsors free retirement advice, take advantage of it.
59. Talk to financial planners at no cost. Look for newspaper money shows or local events where this service may be offered.
60. Take advantage of free health screenings at work (if offered).
61. Switch to an HMO from a PPO for health insurance.
62. If self-employed, consider switching health insurance plans to high-deductible plans to take advantage of HSAs.
63. Take advantage of medical prescription drug cards.
64. Get multiple quotes on insurance. It pays to shop around.
65. Raise the deductible on your homeowners insurance and car insurance policies.
66. Increase the waiting period to six months or longer on your long-term care insurance.
67. Review life insurance premiums. Can the dividends pay the premium instead of purchasing more coverage?
68. Buy term instead of whole life or universal life insurance.
69. If considering moving or retirement, look into places where the cost of living and/or state tax rates are cheaper.
70. Keep track of your cost basis on investments to save money on taxes when you sell an investment.
71. If you have a loss on your Roth IRA (the current balance is less than what you contributed), consider taking out the balance and claiming a deduction for the loss on Schedule A of your tax return.
72. Avoid paying penalties on retirement distributions by waiting until you’re over age 59 1/2 to make withdrawals. Start required minimum distributions from traditional IRAs when you’re age 70 1/2.
73. Do a 1035 annuity exchange to a company with lower expenses.
74. Put investments that generate ordinary income in tax-deferred accounts.
75. Use tax-exempt bonds in taxable accounts.
76. Put investments that generate capital gains or dividends (both generally taxed at lower rates than ordinary income) in taxable accounts.
77. Pay attention to the expense ratios on mutual funds you buy.
78. Consider using exchange-traded funds.
79. Pay attention to mutual fund brokerage fees.
80. Use prior-year capital-loss carryforwards to net out realized capital gains. You’ll pay less tax.
81. If you have stock options, consider holding the shares after exercise for at least one year. You’ll pay capital gains tax on the appreciation when you sell.
82. Cook in bulk and freeze.
83. Turn down your home thermostat a couple of degrees in the winter.
84. Only do full loads of laundry and fill the dishwasher before running it.
85. Get a roommate and share expenses.
86. Investigate phone service via the Internet.
87. Use regular gas instead of premium.
88. Cut back on eating out.
89. Be a smart grocery shopper–cut coupons, shop at discount stores, and stock up on sale items. Check out Costco or Sam’s Club.
90. Buy energy-efficient appliances. They’re cheaper in the long run.
91. Get rid of “add on” services with phone, TV, etc.
92. Keep up maintenance on cars. It may prevent costly future problems.
93. Get annual physicals to prevent costly future problems.
94. Wash your car at home and skip the car wash.
95. Pay bills online. Save postage.
96. Trade in your car with high insurance premiums for a car with lower insurance premiums.
97. Buy an I-PASS and save on highway tolls (in Illinois).
98. Sign up for a Upromise credit card. A percentage of your purchases will go into a college savings fund for your children.
99. Do your own home improvements. Home Depot and Lowe’s employees can walk you through what you need to know.
100. Bring your lunch to work or scout out the inexpensive places to buy lunch. Look for inexpensive items on the menu, like soup.
101. Cut back trips to Starbucks or other premium coffee shops.

How to establish and keep a budget.Many people think that sticking to a budget means they won’t be able to have the things they want. In fact, the opposite is true. A budget can help you preserve your lifestyle AND pay off debt while saving for the future. But if you sometimes have trouble making ends meet, a formal month-to-month spending plan is a must. It may be easier than you think to establish a budget that will work for you.

1. Set Goals. If you don’t know where your finances are going, how can you reach your destination? Establish your own desired goals for paying down debt and saving money for the future. Goals are a road map to where you want to be.
2. Determine Current Spending. Write down everything you spend over a three-month period. Try to account for ALL of your spending. If you pay by credit card, check your receipts. If you spend cash, write down what it’s for.
3. Determine Your Current Budget. Some people say to use a budget calculator. I tried it and it works. However, I needed more detail so I, actually my husband, came up with this excel spreadsheet for me to work on. I wrote down all the names of all the monthly bills in column A. Then I wrote what the monthly payment or the amount I spent that month next to the corresponding name. For example, column A , line 3, has Peoples Gas, So column B, line 3 , has the amount I owed that month etc. After I had everything filled in I totaled the column. So there it is the amount you spent that month. Now below that total in Column B I wrote my monthly take home and subtracted this amount from the spent amount. This is the final tell all.. You will be able to recognize the excess right away and see where your problem areas are.
4. Create a New Budget. Now it’s time to redirect some spending in ways that will help you reach your goals. If you can, try to find ways to free up more money for savings or to pay off consumer debt.
5. Measure Your Progress. Continue to keep records, and once every three months assess your progress. Are you paying down debt? Are you building your savings? As you go along, you may need to reassess either your goals or your budget.
6. Reward Yourself! Your budgeting efforts should be a combination of hard work and fun, so create a reward system that accompanies each of your financial goals. When you make progress, reward yourself in some small way – have dinner out or go to the movies.

I don’t mean to remind everyone but it’s on the way. I’m already contemplating a 2nd job for extra ca$h. I really don’t want another job so let’s find some ways to stretch the bucks you already have and be able to get everyone on the list.

1. Start shopping now. Allow an amount to spend per week. This way you won’t have to deal with the mass panic and be broke at the same time.

2. Shop sales. There are sales going on NOW! Wal-Mart just had some secret sale over the weekend. Click on some of my affiliate links so you can see some sales that are going on now.

3. Clip coupons. I’m getting them by the dozens from the major stores. Bed-Bath-Beyond, Target etc. Just remember to BRING THEM with and USE THEM.

That’s all I have for now. Pretty basic but it works. If anyone has any suggestions, like I said please let me know.

Okay.. So I investigated the whole new thermostat thing.. Not a bad idea. However, I was just on the phone with Peoples Gas. I’d like to say that the woman I spoke with was most helpful. She explained how to keep my gas bill down. I’m going to share her knowledge with you. She states that for right now, since the weather isn’t so bad it’s okay to move your thermostat down to 60 degrees, or whatever, when you leave in the morning and then turn it back up to 68 when you get back home. However, you do not want to move your thermostat around like that if the weather is less than 30 degrees. She states that if you were to lower your thermostat and then raise it up when you get home, you’ll be using a lot more gas in order to get the chill out of the air and it’s going to cost you more money.. So keep it at 68 degrees. The reason for 68 degrees being the magic number, she said that when you heat your home to higher than 68 degrees you use 2% more gas and that can really add up. Especially with the high gas prices of today. So I guess the whole automatic thermostat really isn’t necessary. I’m going to set it and forget it. One last thing, of course you can go to www.peoplesgasdelivery.com for more money saving tips..

Winter is upon us here in the Chi. So everyone is gearing up to turn on that furnace. Well, I usually would be one of those people. However, since the gas prices are absolutely insane, I will consciously try to keep the heater at 68 – 70 degrees.  If the family gets cold, I’ll just tell them to put on some socks, slippers and robes honey!!.

Hopefully, keeping it at that range will help.  Although, I have been having thoughts about installing one of those thermostats that you could set on timers.

Do those really work?

Are they easy to install yourself?

How do you know they’re reading the temperature in your house correctly?

Answers.. coming soon