Save Money Make Money: Episode 8

Concept 8: Stop or Minimize Living on Loans

To lead a life under the perennially hanging sword of debts is never a healthy life style. Nor it makes sense economically or financially. You lift the loans from the various lenders at exorbitant interest rates and throughout your life, you pay through your nose, the hefty interest part of your loan alone for a very long period of loan repayment before you come down to repay the principal part of it. You are meekly handing over your hard earned money (on which you have paid pretty good amount of income tax) to money lenders who are amassing your money without doing much. Do any calculation and you will find that you are a loser. This whole thing is a big drain on your earnings. If you can save it by buying only that much which you can afford within your earnings, you can stop this drain and lead a life with less tensions, pressures, stresses and strains.

If you must buy something like education, house or car and you can not afford them within your income, do take sensible amount of loan(s) and settle for an appropriately priced education, house or car.

If at all necessary, take loans only for value adding essential items or activities like education, house or car (car, only if the public transport is absent or inefficient). Do not take loans for anything else.

Also refer: (Home Page for All Home Tips) http://home-tips-tricks.blogspot.com/

Save Money Make Money: Episode 7

Concept 7: Use Income and Expenses Folio to Improve Savings

Write down your monthly income. Also write down your monthly expenses against each classification of expenses. Carefully go through all the expenses at least on a fortnightly basis and decide where, how much and how can you reduce the expenses in the forthcoming period(s). You will definitely get the right answers to save. Write down the new reduced limit of expenses against that expense classifications. You may get pleasant surprises.

An example of format is given below:

Income (Monthly)

• Combined income of family after taxes

Expenses (Monthly)

Fixed expenses

• House rent/home loan
• Children's fees
• Automobile (car) loan
• Any other loan
• Insurance premiums

Household expenses

• Grocery
• Transportation (gas, repairs etc)
• House help (servant, gardner, cook etc)
• Phones- landlines
• Phones- mobile
• Electricity
• Water
• Gas
• TV cable
• Internet
• Medical

Lifestyle expenses

• Clothing
• Entertainment
• Eating out
• Gymnasium/club membership
• Personal care
• Books
• Newspapers/magazines
• Travel
• Holiday

Other miscellaneous expenses

• Household gadgets
• White goods
• Festivals
• Gifts
• Socializing
• Others

Against each one of these classifications, write the actual expenses and then, the reduced projected expenses. You will get an idea of your savings per month by this method.

Also refer: http://home-tips-tricks.blogspot.com/

Save Money Make Money: Episode 6

Concept 6: Cut Down on Use of Land Line and Mobile Telephones

If you are not careful in using your land line phone(s) or mobile(s) prudently, the telephones bills can be pretty steep. Keep a watch on them. Observe carefully your expenditure in telephoning.

Instead, it will be better idea to chat and speak with your friends, family members, relatives, acquaintances and others by using the computer (in any case you are connected to Internet most of times and you are already paying for it whether you are using it or not). So, chat/speak via Internet using your computer.

On phones, in addition to the fixed charges, you are paying dearly for each call you make and receive (and the roaming charges are too high). By using Internet through computers your communication/chat/talk are all free, all you are doing is to pay only the fixed charges for Internet connection. You can speak/chat for hours with zero incremental expenditure.

Find out your savings using this method; you will save lots.

Also refer: http://home-tips-tricks.blogspot.com/

Save Money Make Money: Episode 5

Concept 5: Cut Out on Eating Outside

It is a general knowledge (though we also know that general knowledge is always not so general) that almost all the restaurants jack up the prices of all the food they serve with very hefty profit margins. That's where your hard earned money drains out so very easily without any efforts. Cumulatively the damage on your pocket can mount to a very chunky size. Keep a close track of the money spent on eating in the restaurants, at least for a couple of months and the figures may shock you.

In addition, the food served in these eating joints may not be all that hygienic and may not be nutritious. Also, you spend your time in commuting (time in itself is money) and therefore, you spend your money unnecessarily also on gas and vehicle maintenance as well.

The major tip to save money here, therefore, is: cut down an eating outside. Instead, cook at home from the basic raw ingredients or from semi cooked stuff. Also use raw salads, fruits, milk, yogurt, cereals, brown bread with cheese, butter, peanut butter, jam etc where you do not have to cook at all. Cooking and assembling your meals can be a good diversion from your other activities, good entertainment and past time. If you feel lonely doing it every day, make variations by inviting some one you like to do joint cooking with you and then seek reciprocation for this procedure.

Try it, you will save lots of money.

Also refer: http://home-tips-tricks.blogspot.com/