Budget Tip - Paying Yourself

Trying to save money by putting a little aside at the end of the month generally doesn't work, because by then it's all spent. You can change that by paying yourself before you take care of other things. Even if it's only $10-20 a month at first, taking a little out of each paycheck at the beginning to set aside can start building up. It might mean having to bring a lunch from home a coupe of times or some other small sacrifice, especially toward the end of the month, but it will be manageable when you see you're actually saving some money finally.

Following New Year Resolutions - Organizing Important Papers

Sorry for the long time in between posts. A lot of upheaval and changes pushed many things aside for awhile.

When the new year begins, most people think about their resolutions. Lose weight, get healthy, maybe even get organized. By this time, most of those are probably already forgotten. But one thing that can be done any time of the year can help with staying on top of your budget and be really useful during the tax time is organizing important documents and throwing away unnecessary things.

There are several varying ideas on how long you should keep important papers such as back statements and tax returns. Some things you obviously never throw away, like birth certificates, social security cards, military service records, and divorce papers (if applicable). Through research, I've come up with my personal plan for keeping track of other documents.

Things to keep until sold:
Vehicle titles
Service contracts and warranties
Home purchase and improvement records
Receipts for large purchases

Things to keep until updated:
Loan agreements
Insurance
Credit card account numbers
Contracts

Things to keep for one year:
Paycheck stubs
Bills

Things to keep for 7 years:
Credit card statements
Tax returns

I'm going to clear out a lot of things I've been hanging on to without having a good reason to do so. It should reduce my paper stack significantly.

Budget Christmas Gift - Cinnamon Sugar Mix

You definately feel a tight budget at Christmas time. And somehow it seems your list is getting longer while your paychecks dwindle. But even if you don't think of yourself as a crafty person, there are still some homemade things that are cheap to do and will be appreciated too. A mix of cinnamon and sugar in a decorative shaker is fast, easy, and inexpensive.

What you need to make about 1/4 cup mix:

• 1/4 cup granulated sugar


• 4 tsp cinnamon


• Salt shakers from a dollar store

Mix the cinnamon into the sugar thoroughly. Use a funnel to put the mix into individual shakers. You may wish to decorate the shakers as well.

Money Saving Tip - Quit Smoking

No, this isn't a lecture on the evils of smoking. It's a logical conclusion I've come to in an effort to cut my budget. I smoke a little under a pack a day, depending on how late I stay up (usually pretty late). So at about $4.50 a pack I'd save roughly $135 per month. If I can get my husband to quit with me that's about $275 saved monthly.

An added benefit to quitting, aside from all the healthy stuff, is that it can also cut the monthly health insurance payment by about $50 by my calculations. So that would be around $325 saved a month just by both of us giving up smoking, or about $160 if it's just me. Not bad.

Since I can't afford kits, patches, gums, etc, to help me quit, I've found a couple of free online resources that seem to be pretty helpful.

Quit4Good is a website dedicated to helping people quit smoking. Categories include ways to quit, weight gain, and common triggers.

Quit Smoking Journals offers free journals to keep while you're quitting with a large group of supportive people in different stages of quitting smoking themselves.

So I'll quit smoking and save money, and maybe when my budget allows I'll start again. But hopefully not.

Amazon Unbox Downloads

DVD box sets of your favorite shows are great, but you know you like some episodes of a season better than others. It'd be nice if you could choose the ones you want, rather than paying for the whole thing and ending up with some episodes you'll never watch. Amazon Unbox Downloads allows you to do just that, for a reasonable price. You can keep purchased videos on two PCs or TiVo DVRs and two portable video players at the same time. Individual episodes of certain shows are available for $1.99.

Unbox downloads also offers video rentals which can be stored on your PC or TiVo DVR for 30 days. Once you press play, you have 24 hours to watch the video before it expires. Rentals are typically $0.99 - $3.99.

There are some restrictions, though. The offer is only available for US customers located in the 48 contiguous states, Alaska, Hawaii, and the District of Columbia. You will need to install the Unbox Video Player. Requirements are a Windows-based PC (XP or Vista) or a broadband-connected TiVo DVR (Series2 or Series3). It is not compatible with Apple/Macintosh operating systems. Amazon states that while it may be possible to run the Amazon Unbox video player on an Apple computer running a required Windows operating system, they cannot guarantee performance on those systems. Minimum hardware requirements are a PC with a 1.5-gigahertz (GHz) processor or faster, at least 256MB of memory, and a DirectX 9.0 compliant Video (64 MB Memory) and Sound Card.

Amazon Unbox downloads can help keep your entertainment budget within limits. I've linked some of my favorites on the right that I didn't think I could get for awhile due to money constraints. Don't forget their other choices in movies, music, and books as well. Sometimes Amazon prices can beat eBay.