Save Few Bucks

Preparing for Tax Season 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Ishan) — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 07:08:00 +0000

Well its December, and now is a good time to pay a little attention to your taxes. So come January, you won't have to run all the corners to find stuff.

Its a good time for organizing your financial information. You may develop a filing system or a folder and put all your deductible expenses receipts in there. Track purchases of big items that may be eligible for tax deductions like vehicles, energy efficient appliances, house etc. So when time comes to file you would have all the information in your hand.

The best thing to do is to get Tax educated. It never hurts to know how the whole tax system works. Even if you are not a professional tax person you can take some time out to learn about taxes.

You can also check the IRS website for any updates to any laws or rules for the new season. Recently IRS put up a new form on the website by which you can submit an online request for a copy of your 1040 transcript free of charge. To access the form, visit Form 4506T-EZ, Short Form Request for Individual Tax Return Transcript.So if you need to get a transcript from last year now is the time to do that.

We'll be posting new information regarding tax filing, credits etc. that could be helpful to you for saving money.So stay tuned!!

How to Save Money on Cosmetics

noreply@blogger.com (Ishan) — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 22:43:00 +0000

Cosmetics one thing which all girls of all ages love. But cosmetics can cost a lot, specially if you are buying the high priced name brands. But the good thing is that you don't always have to buy cosmetics at full price. Often discounts are offered on these lovely products which we love so much. Let's consider some ideas for saving on cosmetics.

First of all Shop when seasons change - new season, new colors - when products have gotten old, and when things are on sale. Keep an eye on those pharmacy and department store circulars. You can find great deals if you're a smart shopper.
Local pharmacy chains are convenient and inexpensive. Purchasing cosmetics at a local drugstore as opposed to high priced cosmetic counters can save you lots of money. Plus, many generic cosmetic brands have been shown to have the same level of quality as the name brands carried at the cosmetics counter. Drugstores usually publish sales flyers on a weekly basis listing all the store items on sale. Check these flyers for coupons and announcements of cosmetic savings. Sometimes there are savings which involve two for the price of one which is an excellent deal if you use the product.

Look for in-store banners. Some product lines will even mail or email you invitations/reminders for sales. A purchase as small as lipstick may get you a goodie bag full of trial and even full size products. If you shop during bonus events, you'll get your money's worth.

Use any of the price comparison search engines to find the best price on the brand you use. Make sure to take shipping charges into account. Sometimes the shipping charges turn a great deal into a deal breaker.Companies like Sephora offers most of the same brands as the department stores and you can receive free shipping if you spend at least $75. Also you get a choice of free samples and they offer a lot of perfumes as free samples. So before you go out and buy an expensive perfume for yourself, consider samples instead, especially if you don’t often wear a scent. Before buying a big bottle of perfume which won't last very long and might cost you a fortune, try samples that allow you to try out new fragrances every time you go out.

If you have a makeover at a department store cosmetic counter, you'll probably be given a variety of samples to try at home. If you don't want to schedule a makeover, politely ask one of the cosmetic consultants if you can sample a product. Chances are they'll be happy to give you some testers to take home.Department stores with high end products and trained cosmetologists often have giveaways.

One way to receive notification of special deals or promotions on your favorite cosmetics is to register at the websites of the cosmetic companies. You'll receive emails whenever they are sponsoring a special savings event.For example major cosmetic lines such as Elizabeth Arden,Estee Lauder, Lancome, and Clinique regularly have special promotions where for a minimum purchase they give away a cosmetic set. Its a excellent deal if you use the products they're offering.

Believe it or not, you can sometimes find brand new, unopened bottles of perfume or variety of cosmetics at yard sales, garage sales, estate sales, and flea markets. These are usually offered at great prices. If you happen to attend these sales, keep your eyes open for cosmetic bargains.

Finally only purchase make-up that you know and have used in the past. You don't want to use unknown brands and then regret later.

Introduction to Online Poker Bonuses

noreply@blogger.com (Ishan) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 04:52:00 +0000

Why are online poker bonuses important? They are only important if money is important to you. If you play poker, it probably is, if for no other reason than that it gives you more ammunition to play poker with. If you haven’t taken advantage of online poker bonuses yet, here are the basics of what you need to know to get started.

Online Poker Bonus: The Bonus Code

You can’t collect an online poker bonus without a bonus code, for example a Titan Poker bonus code. A bonus code is a combination of letters or numbers that you will put into your online poker site’s deposit screen when making your deposit. These codes can be found on websites specifically dedicated to bonus offers, or in other poker or gambling related websites or magazines. Remember that a code will only work for the site which offers it.

Online Poker Bonus: The Bonus Types

There are three bonus types you will need to know about. The most important is the sign up bonus. These are so important because they are the biggest bonuses, since they are an enticement to start playing on a certain site. Sign up bonuses should be match bonuses, which means the site will match a percentage of whatever deposit you put in. You’ll want at least 100 percent match for a sign up bonuses. Other bonuses, such as loyalty bonuses for continued play or referral bonuses for getting a friend on the site, will be a small percentage match or even a fixed amount in some cases.

Online Poker Bonus: Clearing Rules

Once you’ve made your deposit with your bonus code, remember that you cannot use your bonus right away. You must clear the bonus by earning points. Points are earned through playing raked hands or tournaments. Once you have played enough, the bonus money will be added to your account. There will be a page on the site that you can go to, to track the progress of your bonus clearing. Once the bonus money has been added to your account, you are free to do whatever you want with it, whether that means withdrawing it or adding it to your bankroll.

Get a FREE Gillette Fusion Razor

noreply@blogger.com (Ishan) — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 16:17:00 +0000

Friends – I recently came across this fantastic offer. Gillette is giving 500 Gillette Fusion Razors Free every day till May 16, 2009.

Here are the offer conditions:

500 Gillette Fusion Razors are available each day for 31 days. Beginning at 12:00 noon ET each day starting on 4/16/09 and ending on 4/16/09, use the link below, and login with your email address and password.

If you are one of the first 500 people to register on that day, you will be eligible to receive a Free Gillette Fusion Razor.

I recommend to create an account before hand, so you do not have to waste time in registering for an account at that time. The whole quota of 500 razors expire in just a few minutes each day, so you will have to try to login at exactly 12:00 noon ET.

I tried logging exactly at that time, and was confirmed that I will get a Free Razor (yeyyyy!).

Check out the offer here. Best of Luck! Meanwhile, I will try for this offer again tomorrow, to see if I can get one more razor free :)

Let us know you experience by leaving comments.

Technorati Tags: Free-Razor Free-Gillete-Fusion-Razor Money-Saving-Tips

FREE Music Archive: Totally Free Legal MP3 Downloads

noreply@blogger.com (Ishan) — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 14:09:00 +0000

I love music (how silly, everyone does!). And today I came across a recently launched website, Free Music Archive, that offers totally FREE Legal MP3 Downloads.

Free Music Archive is a social music website built around a curated library of free, legal audio. The Free Music Archive offers free downloads under Creative Commons and other licenses.

I explored their library. It is nicely organized by Genre, which includes, Country, Electronic, Rock, Jazz, Pop. Hip-Hop, and many more. So, something for everyone.

This is still very new, so the library is still building up. But I love this concept of finally Free Legal MP3 downloads.

The Jersey city non-commercial station WFMU came up with this idea, and collaborated with other radio stations like KEXP (Seattle) and KBOO (Portland OR), webcasters like DUBLAB (Los Angeles) and Halas Radio (Israel), netlabels (Comfort Stand), venues (ISSUE Project Room), and amazing online collectives like CASH Music.

Check out the website here, and share your feedback in comments.

Technorati Tags: free-music free-mp3 free-legal-mp3 free-mp3-download

$5 OFF Kohl’s Coupon FREE

noreply@blogger.com (Ishan) — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 02:46:00 +0000

Friends, I recently found this link on Kohl’s website to get $5 off coupon. You have to just give your email address, and they send the coupon in your email. So, you need to give correct email address.

Normally, the coupon arrives in email within 1-2 weeks of submitting your email address. And you can get one coupon for each email address. Isn’t that cool !

The coupon can be used for any shopping purchase of $5 or above. So, if you find something really cheap in Clearance section of Kohl’s, you can get it for dirt cheap price after taking this $5 off.

You can also use that coupon for 10% off your online purchase.

The coupon normally expires in around 10-15 days of arriving in the email. So, that gives more than enough time to use it.

Here is the text from Kohls.com website for this coupon:

“Sign-up for our Sale Alerts* today, and we'll send you an e-mail that'll save you $5 off your next in-store purchase and 10% off your next Kohls.com purchase! “

Here is the link for that: Kohl’s $5 off Coupon. If you know of any other similar coupons, please mention in comments.

Technorati Tags: money-saving-tips kohls-coupon shopping-coupon

How to Get Your Rates Reduced? Just ASK

noreply@blogger.com (Ishan) — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 02:44:00 +0000

Recently my internet prices increased by almost 30%. When I called to ask why was that the case, I was told that I was getting a special offer till now. Now, that offer period has expired, and I have been shifted to “regular” rates.

I asked the customer service guy if he can reduce my rates again, or can give me some other special, but he expressed his inability.

I was pretty frustrated by this. All of a sudden I had to start paying 30% extra per month. The worst part is that it is a recurring monthly expense, so I would have to keep paying that increased cost month after month.

I decided to give it another shot. I again called customer service. When he asked how can he help me, I told him that I want to get my internet disconnected. He said he would transfer me to another specialist for that.

That specialist asked me why I wanted to get it disconnected. I told him that the prices have increased so much that I can’t afford it any more. I made sure to mention that I am planning to shift to their competitor whio is offering better rates.

He said he will try to reduce my internet bill. He took a few minutes, and said that he has again shifted me to the same special that I was getting earlier, and that these rates would last another 6 months.

Fine by me, now I know what to do again after 6 months.

One thing I learned from this incident was to not take the price increase for granted. There is a very simple way to get your rates reduced – just call up your service provider, and ASK. They do not want to lose their customers, especially in this economy.

Did you have a similar experience. Share in comments.

5 Practical Tips to Avoid Bank Fee

noreply@blogger.com (Ishan) — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 06:43:00 +0000

I totally hate bank fee of any kind: minimum balance fee, ATM transaction fee, Overdraft fee, and tons of others.

Here are a few simple tips that I follow to Avoid Bank Fee

1) Choose the Right Account for You

Most of the time when we go to bank, only thing we tell our banker is that whether we need a checking account or a savings account. We do not check with them what are the minimum fund requirements for that account, does ATM withdrawal carries a fee etc. It is very important to ask these questions at time of opening the account, so that right account is chosen as per our needs.

2) Check Account Balance regularly

I have signed up for online banking for all my accounts, and check my account balance at least once a week. It takes me less than 5 minutes to do that for all my accounts – a time worth spent.

3) Sign up for online alerts / SMS alerts

Most of the banks now provide online or SMS alerts. Essentially, you get notified whenever some defined condition occurs, like balance falls below $100, or something like that. So, you will immediately come to know that you need to take some corrective action.

4) Try to link your multiple accounts together

Some banks provide an option to link your savings and checking accounts together, so that shortage of money in one can be fulfilled from other. Check with bank to ensure that they do not charge any additional fee for this service, before going ahead with this option.

5) Reduce number of transactions

Some banks even carry a fee if number of trasactions (ATM or online) exceed a specified number in any month. Make sure you are aware of that (as mentioned in Point 1), Then, try to reduce your transactions so that you do not exceed the maximum number of free transactions.

If there are some other tips that you follow, share those in Comments

Technorati Tags: Money-Saving-Tips Bank-Fee Avoid-Bank-Fee

Videos about How to Do an Oil Change Yourself

noreply@blogger.com (Ishan) — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 05:30:00 +0000

I recently wrote an article about How to Save Money on Oil Change. One of the tips that I mentioned was to try to change oil yourself. So, I thought of gathering a few good videos about changing oil yourself. All these videos show how easy it is to change oil yourself.

Here are 3 very good videos about How to Do an Oil Change

Video 1: How to Change Your Motor Oil

Video 2: Simple Oil Change for your car

Video 3: (This starts in a funny way, but is good)

Ever tried changing oil yourself? Share your experience in Comments section.

Technorati Tags: Oil Change Change Oil Yourself Oil Change Videos Money Saving Tips

FREE PDF Creators: Best FREE Alternatives to Adobe Acrobat

noreply@blogger.com (Ishan) — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 03:58:00 +0000

Adobe is undisputed market leader in PDF creation software. However, not many people are aware that there are many FREE PDF creation software also available.

Such software can be classified into following 2 categories:

Software that can convert any file into a PDF file
Software that can create PDF from scratch.

1) Software to Convert any file into a PDF file

All such software work in same manner - Once you install these, they show up as an additional printer in your Installed printers section.

Whenever you want to convert a file to PDF, you just choose to print that file, and choose the PDF printer for the same. Then that PDF Printer will convert your file to a PDF file, and save on your local disk.

Even though this option shows up as a printer, you do not need to have an actual printer available, and it does not prints anything. Its just that having it available as a printer means that any file that can be printed can be converted to PDF. Click here to be notified via email when a similar article is published.

Best FREE PDF Converter software in this category are:

Primo PDF:

Completely free PDF creator - Create PDF files from 300+ file types.
Make 100% industry-standard PDF from any files that print.
Create PDF files optimized for print, screen, ebook, or prepress.
Download Primo PDF here.

(This article is a part of my series of articles on FREE Software. Check out other articles in the series here)

CutePDF Writer:

The free version of commercial PDF creation software.
FREE for commercial and non-commercial use! No watermarks! No Popup Web Ads!
Requires PS2PDF converter (available FREE).
Download CutePDF Writer here.

PDF ReDirect:

Fast, free, and easy-to-use PDF creator.
You can tweak output quality and preview the PDF through Adobe Acrobat.
Advanced options include encryption and the ability to append a converted document to another PDF.
Download PDF ReDirect here.

2) Software to Create a PDF file

There are not many good FREE software available to create a PDF file from scratch. My favorite one is Open Office.

Like this article. Click here to be notified via email when a similar article is published. Is there any other FREE PDF converter software that you are aware of? Mention in Comments.

Technorati Tags: PDF-Converter Free-Software Money-Saving-Tips

How to Save Money on Apartment Rent

noreply@blogger.com (Ishan) — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 22:41:00 +0000

I am a very strong believer of the fact that we should be very focused on saving money on recurring expenses. Monthly Apartment Rent is probably the biggest recurring expense that we have to do every month. So, it makes sense to reduce it as much as possible.

Here are a few tips that I follow to reduce my monthly expenses on Apartment Rent:

1) Find a cheaper Apartment
This is the most important tip - find an apartment that has a lower rent, to begin with. There are a few things that you can do to get a cheaper apartment:

Be flexible on the location. An apartment just a few minutes away from your desired location might be costing much lesser.
Keep overhead costs in mind while renting an apartment. Costs like water, trash, electricity quickly add up. (Like this article? Click here to be notified via email when a similar article is published)

2) Try to live with a Roommate
Living with a roommate has many advantages. You get to split the rent in half. Apart from that, other apartment related overheads, like internet, phone, water etc. are also reduced in half. So, this saves you a lot of money.

3) Do not go for an oversized apartment
Do not rent an apartment in which you will always have an additional bedroom, or one extra bathroom vacant. That is like giving rent on space that you do not even use. Keep your needs in mind, and rent an apartment accordingly. Studios rock!

4) Do not pay extra for covered parking
Some apartment companies charge additional for covered parking. Why do you need that? Save that money, and get a car cover instead. Your car would be better covered, and you would even save some money on car wash expenses ;)

5) Look around for a different apartment
If you are already living in an apartment, try looking around for a different apartment. You might find something a lot cheaper than the apartment you are living in currently. The best part is that the new community might be running some special to give you some free weeks on rent, and some discount on rent itself. So, do not fall in love with that rental apartment - move on. And while looking for a new apartment, keep the above mentioned points in mind. (Like this article? Click here to be notified via email when a similar article is published)

I am sure these tips will help you in saving some money on your monthly apartment rent. If you have some other tips, do mention in Comments.

Technorati Tags: Rent Money-Saving-Tips

How to Save Money on Car Wash

noreply@blogger.com (Ishan) — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 19:46:00 +0000

Car Wash is something that most of us get done regularly. I used to go for cash wash once every 2 weeks, and it used to cost $10 for each visit. I totaled it all up, and it seems I had been spending $240 on car wash per year !!

That's a pretty big expense, so I decided to drastically reduce it. Here are some tips that I am going to follow:

1) Do one wash myself, one at the car wash: I have started this practice of doing every alternate car wash myself at home. So, it basically reduces the trips to car wash in half, and does the same to car wash expenses. Apart from saving money, it is fun as well. Try on a sunny day, and you will see how good it feels.

Related Article: 10 Tips to Reduce Car Expenses

2) Go to Self Service Car Wash: Even when I go to Car Wash, I will try to go to self service car washes. They provide everything - automated hoses, brushes etc. I just have to insert a few quarters, and do a quick car wash. Last time it just cost me $2 to completely clean my car at a self service car wash.

3) Try to get Car wash free with all auto repairs: Car Spa normally offers free car wash with oil change. So, I have started getting oil change done from there. It costs the same as shops charge for oil change, but they throw in a car wash also free. I went for getting state inspection of my car done today ( I am in Texas). I got that also done from Car Spa - again got a free car wash.

4) Park the car at right places: I have seen that the car gets more dirty if it is parked in the open, or under trees. So, I have started parking in covered parking wherever available, and also have started avoiding parking under the trees. That makes sure that car does not becomes dirty that often, and needs lesser cleaning.

5) Look out for Car Wash Coupons: Most of the car wash companies regularly send car wash coupons. This is especially true for new companies. I am always on look out for such coupons, and that saves a ton of money. Here are some quick links for online car wash coupons:

Here, here, and here.

My guess is that all these tips will reduce my car wash expenses from $240 to under $75 every year. That's a lot of money to save. If you have some tips to share, do mention in comments.

Technorati Tags: Car-Wash Money-Saving-Tips

When does it Makes Sense to Rent a House instead of Buying a House

noreply@blogger.com (Ishan) — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 18:27:00 +0000

Common sense says that its better to buy a house, instead of renting. Here are a few situations in which it makes sense to actually rent the house:

1) You do not have a stable job, and you are not sure that you will be able to repay your mortgage over next 25-30 years.

2) Costs associated with your own home (property taxes, maintenance costs etc.) are too much for you.

3) You do not intend to stay in the same city for another 20-30 years.

4) You think that you can be impacted by this economic downturn, and might have to take up a job in another city.

5) You do not have a very good credit history right now. In that case, you would have to pay a high interest rate on amortization. It might make sense to wait for your credit history to improve before buying a house.

6) You do not like the home prices right now, and would rather wait for some more time to find something within your price range.

7) You are expecting a few big expenses down the line (marriage, kids, college etc.), and would not want to add the mortgage expense as well.

Click here to be notified via email when a similar article is published. Share your feedback in Comments section.

Technorati Tags: Mortgage Money-Saving-Tips

How to shop in Costco without getting Costco Membership

noreply@blogger.com (Ishan) — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 02:00:00 +0000

Friends - This is something that I had been looking for since a long time: Shop in Costco without a Costco Membership.

I love to shop at Costco, but I do not want to spend money on Costco membership. So, I always have to go with a friend who has Costco Membership.

But, not Anymore.

I was going through various membership options on Costco website today, and came across a very interesting option that is like FREE Costco Membership.

Costco gives the option to buy Costco Cash Card. This is like a Costco Gift card. Essentially, it is loaded with amount of money that you want, and you can use it to shop in Costco stores or Costco website. (Like this article? Click here to be notified via email when a similar article is published. )

Here, is the best part: You do not need to be a Costco member to use this Costco Cash Card!!

So, if you have this Costco Cash Card, you can just walk in Costco, and do all your purchasing, without any need to have Costco Membership. Isn't that great ?

The Costco Cash Card can only be purchased by Costco members. So, I asked my friend to purchase this card for me and load it with $1,000. Now, I am using this card, and do not need to go to Costco with any Costco member.

Here is the excerpt from Costco website:

"You must be a Costco member to purchase or reload Costco Cash Cards. Non-members may use the cash cards to shop in the warehouse or online. Costco Cash balances may be used toward membership or merchandise."

The Costco Cash card features include:

A convenient payment option in their warehouses, gas stations, and costco.com
No expiration date
Are rechargeable at any Costco warehouse location
Can be purchased in denominations from $25 to $1,000
A supply card or gas card for businesses

It is truly like getting Costco membership for FREE. Its like dream come true for me. Once the balance expires, I can ask my friend to again recharge it for me.

I hope you like this interesting money saving tip for Costco Membership. Click here to be notified via email when a similar article is published. Share your feedback in Comments section.

Technorati Tags: Costco-Membership,Money-Saving-Tips

Best FREE Amortization Schedule Calculators

noreply@blogger.com (Ishan) — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 06:28:00 +0000

It is very important to keep track of your Amortization Schedule. It tells you what part of your monthly payment is going towards principal, and what part towards interest.

Here are the Best Free Amortization Schedule Calculators that you can use to calculate your Amortization Schedule:

Bankrate: This website has a nice Amortization schedule calculator. You can also see the impact of extra mortgage payments on your loan and create an amortization table.

Amortization-Calc: This website has a nice simple calculator to calculate amortization schedule. You can see the amortization schedule by year or month.

Vertex 42: This website has a spreadsheet based amortization schedule calculator. You can download it, and enter your loan details. Then it will do amortization schedule calculation, and create the complete amortization schedule. This would come handy if you want to have the excel with you, and not want to go to any website again to do amortization schedule calculation.

Biweekly Mortgage Payment Calculators: This article has a nice collection of Free Biweekly Mortgage Payment Calculators.

All the above amortization schedule calculators are very easy to use, and are totally FREE. So, go ahead, and try these out. If you know any other better amortization schedule calculator, mention in Comments.

Technorati Tags: Mortgage Mortgage-Payment Mortgage-Payment-Calculator Money-Savings-Tips

How to Save Money on Groceries: 10 Money Saving Tips

noreply@blogger.com (Ishan) — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 01:20:00 +0000

1) Shop in a Hurry
This might sound stupid, but is a very effective tip for saving money on groceries. Many researches have proved that you spend more if you spend more time in store. So, try to shop in a hurry. Just get your stuff, and get out. No checking out that tempting looking stuff.

2) Don't take a cart if you don't need one
This might again sound stupid, but researches have proved that we tend buy more stuff if we shop with a cart. The reason is that we get a psychological feel that there is space in the cart, and we can fill more stuff in it. So, avoid cart if you are planning to buy just a few items. Or take your canvas bags, or shopping basket. You won't buy a lot if you can't carry it - right? (Like this article? Click here to be notified via email when a similar article is published. )

3) Look Up and Down
Most of the shops keep the expensive stuff that they want to sell soon at eye level. So, those are the things that catch your attention first. They place cheaper things at bottom, or towards the top. So, make sure to look up and down to spot those hidden items. This turn of eye can save money on groceries :)

4) Check out Clearance Aisle
Most of the grocery stores have Clearance Aisles. They are normally towards the end of the stores. Most of the items in clearance aisles are Deli or Bakery items that would pass recommended sale date in a day or two. So, grocery stores put huge discounts on those. If you need something to consume within a day or two, make sure to check out those aisles.

5) Buy from Wholesale Stores
Try to do most of your Grocery shopping from wholesale stores, such as Costco and Sam's Club. These stores sell in bulk, and help you Save Money on Groceries.

Related Article: How to Save Money on Women’s Clothes

6) Buy in Sale
Try to buy Groceries while they are on sale. Sales are also good time to stock up groceries that have good shelf life. Of course, don't buy anything that will pass recommended sale date soon. The favorite ones I like to stock are: Cereals, Cookies, Canned foods.

7) Use Manufacturer Coupons
Make sure to cut out all those manufacturer coupons for groceries from your Sunday newspapers. File them properly so that you can find those when you need them. You can also check out manufacturer coupons for groceries from following websites:

www.mysavings.com

www.couponmom.com

www.coupons.com

www.mygrocerydeals.com

Such coupons are always my first step towards saving money on groceries

8) Be Flexible about Brands
This tip itself can reduce your grocery shopping by 15-20%. Don't be fussy about your favorite brands. They might be the most expensive ones. Instead, check out other cheaper brands as well. Just because they are cheap does not means that they are not of good quality. Give them a fair chance. (Like this article? Click here to be notified via email when a similar article is published. )

9) Check Rates in Multiple Stores
Most of the times, prices of items can vary a lot among stores. So, its always better to check grocery prices at multiple stores to see which one has the cheapest stuff. Spending a little bit on gas can save a lot on groceries.

10) Don't buy stuff while waiting in line
Ever noticed how many times you have bought stuff (magazines, for instance) just while waiting in line. That is because those places are specially designed to encourage impulse buying. Don't fall for those. They ruin all the money savings tips for groceries.

All these tips will help you in saving money on groceries. Want to share some of your own tips? Mention in Comments Section. (Like this article? Click here to be notified via email when a similar article is published. )

Technorati Tags: money-saving-tips save-money-on-groceries save-few-bucks

Money Saving Tips Carnival – April 5, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Ishan) — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 06:15:00 +0000

Welcome to the April 5, 2009 edition of Money Saving Tips.

There are some amazing articles in this carnival. It was a sheer pleasure just reading all those articles. Bookmark this page, and go over these at your own time. You are sure to find something that will be of use for you.

(Dear fellow bloggers: Google has penalized my website because of excessive links. So, I am adding nofollow tags to all the links below. If you have added a link to my website, then please remove that, or add a nofollow tag to that.)

Sponsor for this Carnival:

Mozy : It offers 2GB of Online Backup space for FREE. This is more than enough for normal home users. The best part of Mozy is that it comes with automated software that automatically backs up your data at your scheduled intervals. All for FREE.

Money Saving Tips

This is my favorite topic, and main theme of this carnival. Some of the articles that I published on this topic this week are:

Articles from fellow bloggers:

nickel presents How to Save Money on Groceries - 45 Ways to Reduce Your Grocery Bill posted at fivecentnickel.com.
Homemaker Barbi (Danelle Ice) presents Frugal Tip: How to Save 90% on Kids Clothes | Homemaker Barbi posted at Homemaker Barbi, saying, "This frugal tip takes thrift store shopping a step further and shows you how to get the deep discounts that not many other people are finding."
Buck Weber presents 10 Great Resources For Free Books posted at THE BUCK LIST, saying, "These sites give you access to an amazing number of resources you might not be able to find anywhere else."
Brandi Yates presents How To Get Mcdonalds Coupons | GotMineForLess Blog posted at Brandi Yates, saying, "Information on how to Save at Mcdonalds"
Condo Blues presents How to Make Powdered High Efficiency Laundry Detergent posted at Condo Blues.
Heather Levin presents Save Money With Google's New Tip Jar posted at The Greenest Dollar, saying, "Learn how to save money with Google's new "Tip Jar"."
Len Penzo presents 10 Sure-Fire Tips For Minimizing Pet Medical Costs posted at Len Penzo . Com.
Diego presents The Ultimate Guide to Free Samples: 50+ Ways to Get Free Product Samples at Bankling
Tom Tessin presents How to Save Money on your Electric Bill posted at FSC Blog, saying, "Quick and easy tips you can use to save on your electric bill."
KCLau presents 5 Ways To Take Charge Of Our Finances posted at KCLau's Money Tips, saying, "Are we doing the right things when it comes to managing our finances? Ask yourself five questions to know if you’re on the right track."
A traveler presents Finding the best deals to travel posted at Places to visit before you die, saying, "Article on how to save big bucks on your travel. Everything from the best day to travel to the cheapest way to book a ticket."
Talia presents Discount Dinners posted at backtobasics-talia.com.
Vicky presents Save Money with a Las Vegas Wedding posted at Affordable Wedding Planning, saying, "A Vegas wedding can be less expensive than a traditional wedding."

Personal Finance

I made a point about buying new car in “Why is this the Best Time to Buy a New Car”

Tiffany Colter presents We are tired of talk posted at Hidden Leaks, saying, "Are you fed up with being a victim of your financial circumstances? Find out what it means to have a balanced life with hope and action mingled together."
PFCreditCards presents Credit Cards are Evil Just as Knives are Sharp posted at PF Credit Cards, saying, "If you are going to complain that credit cards are sharp, you might as well complain that knives are sharp as well"
Frank Vertin presents Just Buy Index Funds Directly posted at NO LOAD INDEX FUND.
MBR presents Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) posted at Monitor Bank Rates, saying, “Mortgage rates and home equity line of credit rates are so low now we just found another great deal.”
Larry Russell presents Most Individual Investors Are Poor Personal Portfolio Managers | Personal Investment Management posted at THE SKILLED INVESTOR Blog.
Dan at Everydayfinance presents Mortgage Rate Record Again - How to Get the Best Deal posted at Everyday Finance, saying, "This article shows you how to save money over the long term by securing the best mortgage/refinanc deal given all the options and scams out there with rates this low."
Nate Desmond presents 23 Warning Signs of Scholarship Scams posted at Debt-free Scholar.
Silicon Valley Blogger presents High Yield Savings Account Interest Rates: Changes Ahead? posted at The Digerati Life

Make Money

I mentioned about Some Unique Job Search Websites to Submit Resume To. Submitting resume to each of these would multiply chance of getting job.

vsocorp presents Step 1 For Creation Profitable Busines: Determine The Kind Of Business by VSO posted at VSO Corp: Logica Uspeha, usluga razvitie internet portal.
etrades presents Basic Guidelines On Investing In Penny Stock That Matters posted at eTrades, saying, "Penny stock tips - Learn, learn, and learn. Your assumption must also include the risk of investment loss whether in part or in whole."
Investing School presents Beginning with Options Trading posted at Investing School, saying, "Options can be an amazingly easy way to protect yourself and reduce risk. However, it can also be very dangerous if misused."
ITAKEOFFTHEMASK presents Time Consuming Activities for Bloggers posted at Make Money Faster!, saying, "Are you guilty of these time wasters when blogging? Efficiency is the key to successful blogging and making money online. Make money faster by saving time!"

Other

I talk about Identity Theft in Identity Theft: Understanding Identity Theft

Sun presents Reward Checking Accounts posted at The Sun’s Financial Diary.
PFR presents Orchard Bank Classic MasterCards posted at Personal Finance Reviews.
Credit Shout presents Best Gas Credit Cards posted at CreditShout.
Credit Card Addict presents American Express Offering Double Membership Rewards Points posted at CreditAddict.
Bank Savings Review presents Four Banks Give Back TARP Already posted at Bank Savings Review, saying, "We've got to hand it to the banks that's already been able to hand back the TARP. Hopefully, only responsible banks will survive after this crisis so we promote responsibility."
ChristianPF presents How to create an illuminated keyboard for $5 posted at Money in the Bible | Christian Personal Finance Blog, saying, "A fun little project for the DIYers out there!"

That concludes this edition. Thanks to everyone for contributing. Submit your blog article to the next edition of Money Saving Tips using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future upcoming editions can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Technorati Tags: Money-Saving-Tips Personal-Finance Make-Money Save-Few-Bucks

Biweekly Mortgage Payment Option: Pay off your Mortgage Fast

noreply@blogger.com (Ishan) — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 16:41:00 +0000

I was recently introduced to the concept of Biweekly Mortgage Payment, and am completely amazed with it. I am really surprised to see that biweekly mortgage payment plan can reduce the mortgage tenure so much.

Here is an example:
Let's say you have $225,000 mortgage at Rate of Interest of 6.5%. If the original tenure of mortgage is 30 years for monthly payment option, then just switching to biweekly payment option would reduce it to 24 Years! A reduction of complete six years. Isn't that amazing.

Biweekly Mortgage Payment option simply means that instead of making your payments monthly, you make your mortgage payments biweekly.

So, if you were paying $1000 monthly, then you would be paying $500 after every 2 weeks. Its as simple as that. This simple step to change your mortgage payment plan to Biweekly Payment option would help you in repaying your mortgage so fast.

Let's see why Biweekly Mortgage payment option is so advantageous:

1) You have to pay lesser interest, as you are making a new payment after every 2 weeks.

2) The main reason is that you actually manage to sneak in one extra installment each year by just switching to biweekly mortgage option.

For example, let's say you were paying $1000 monthly. Then, you paid $12000 for whole year. However, in case of biweekly option, you pay $500 every 2 weeks, so are able to pay $500*26 = $13000 per year. That's one whole extra installment in there

The best part is that you do not feel that you are paying that extra money as essentially it gets divided over 26 biweekly installments that you will be making.

Also, because you get your salary every 2 weeks, you are able to align your mortgage payment with your salary.

Here are a few calculators for Biweekly Mortgage Payment Calculation. Try these out, and see your savings.

What do you think of this payment option? Have you tried it? Share in comments.

Technorati Tags: Mortgage Mortgage-Payment Biweekly-Mortgage Biweekly-Mortgage-Payment Biweekly-Mortgage-Option

Best FREE Biweekly Mortgage Calculators

noreply@blogger.com (Ishan) — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 07:30:00 +0000

This is a collection of Best Biweekly Mortgage Payment Calculators that are available on the web. All these are completely free of cost, and you can use these Biweekly Mortgage Calculators to find your Biweekly Mortgage Payments:

Mortgage Fit: This is one of my favorite biweekly mortgage payment calculator. It does a quick side by side comparison between monthly payment option and biweekly payment option, and shows the savings accrued from using Biweekly Payment option.

Biweekly Payment Calculator: This is a very detailed Biweekly Mortgage payment calculator. It even shows the biweekly mortgage amortization schedule.

Mortgage Calculator: This website has an easy to use Mortgage Payment Calculator. It shows both monthly as well as Biweekly payment options side by side, so that you can do a quick comparison of savings that come from choosing biweekly option.

If you know about some other better calculator to calculate Biweekly payments for Mortgage, please mention in comments.

Technorati Tags: Biweekly-Mortgage-Payment-Calculator Free-Mortgage-Payment-Calculator Biweekly-Mortgage Personal-Finance Money-Saving-Tips

Free Online Backup 2GB: Mozy

noreply@blogger.com (Ishan) — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 06:48:00 +0000

I had recently written an article about Microsoft SkyDrive that offers 25 GB of Free Online storage space. However, that service cannot be effectively used for free online data backup because it does not have a desktop software that can automate the backup process.

The solution to this problem is Mozy . It offers 2GB of Free Online Backup space. Even though the Free online storage space is less than Microsoft SkyDrive, but still it is more than enough for normal home users.

The best part of Mozy is that it comes with automated software which is designed with moto of set-it-forget-it. Essentially, you just download Mozy software, and schedule the backup in that. Mozy will automatically take free back up of data and free backup of files online, at the set schedule. You just install it once, and forget it.

(This article is a part of my series of articles on FREE Software. Check out other articles in the series here)

Mozy is Simple

Mozy offers business-level features at consumer-friendly prices.

Mozy is Automatic

With Mozy's "set-it-and-forget-it" design, you'll have more time to spend on other important matters.

Mozy is Secure

Enjoy peace of mind in knowing that your data is encrypted and stored in a safe, remote location.

Here are other cool features of Mozy :

Open/locked file support: Mozy will back up your documents whether they're open or closed.
128-bit SSL encryption: The same technology used by banks secures your data during the backup process.
448-bit Blowfish encryption: Secures your files while in storage, providing peace of mind that your private data is safe from hackers.
Automatic: Schedule the times to back up and MozyHome does the rest.
New and changed file detection: MozyHome finds and saves the smallest changes.
Backs up Outlook files: Disaster-proof email protection.
Block-level incremental backup: After the initial backup, MozyHome only backs up files that have been added or changed, making subsequent backups lightning fast.

Try out Mozy . You are surely going to love it!

Some Unique Job Search Websites to Submit Resume To

noreply@blogger.com (Ishan) — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 06:45:00 +0000

Everybody submits their resume to same Job Search Websites, such as CareerBuilder. However, that means that each job posting receives hundreds of resumes, and it becomes very difficult to get a job through such job finder websites.

However, there are some very unique Job Search websites, which post thousands of jobs, and there is a much better chance of getting a job through those. Here are a few of those. Make sure your resume is present on each of these to multiply your chances of getting a job:

Beyond.com
This is a very unique website. It is actually world’s largest network of niche career communities, providing access to thousands of top-tier industry and local web sites. Their career search services and networking tools enable job seekers and employers to create targeted connections across thousands of online communities.

Snag A Job
This website is specially focused on Hourly Jobs of all type. As the #1 source for hourly and part-time jobs, it connects job seekers with more than 100,000 active job listings from top employers across the country. Some of its featured employers include AMC, AT&T, Valvoline, AMF, and many more.

HotResumes.com
This is one of the fastest growing resume databases on the internet. They have a huge collection of jobs from niche employers, especially because it is very cheap for employers to post job with them.

Related Article: Work From Home Call Center Jobs

All the above websites are free job search websites. There are a few niche paid websites as well:

Explore Talent
Founded in 2003, Explore Talent is now the world’s largest talent community and the premiere online source for acting and modeling auditions & casting. They have an inventory of about 10,000 current casting and auditions. With a free sign up, you can search castings and auditions and even post your resumes and pictures. If you like what you see, you can become a subscriber to apply for auditions.

Go Freelance
Go Freelance is a premier online community for freelance professionals and companies looking to hire skilled freelance experts. They have thousands of freelance and work-at-home jobs in the US and worldwide. It has jobs related to freelance workers, software programmers, website designers and programmers, writers, editors, medical and legal transcribers, graphic design and illustration, and many more. They have a trial membership for $7. Find thousands of freelance writing and editing jobs...fresh jobs daily. Kickstart your writing career for just $7.00. Click here

In case of job search, you have to ensure that your resume is present on as many websites as possible. I recommend that you post your resume on at least all the 3 free job search websites listed above. You never know when luck will be in your favor.

Technorati Tags: Job-Search Job-Search-Websites Jobs Career

How to Get Discount Newspaper Subscriptions

noreply@blogger.com (Ishan) — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 01:31:00 +0000

Newspapers are one of the regular expense that we do every month. Most of us subscribe to newspapers, as it is more cost effective than paying for daily. There are some simple tips to further Save Money on Newspaper Subscriptions.

1) Use Discount Newspaper Subscription websites: There are some websites that offer Discount Newspaper Subscriptions. Such websites offer very good discount on Newspaper Subscriptions. My Favorite one is Discounted Newspapers.com. Click Here to get Newspaper subscriptions at discounted rates .

2) Ask Newspaper company to offer you discount: In case you want to directly get newspaper subscription through your newspaper company, tell them that you want a discount, otherwise you will not take the subscription. Most likely, they will offer some discount. You can also lure them by saying that you will subscribe for a longer period if they offer discount newspaper subscription.

3) Join as New Customer: Most of the newspaper companies offer discount newspaper subscriptions to new customers, but not to the existing ones who are renewing their subscriptions. So, when the time for renewal comes, either you can take a new newspaper subscription in someone else's name in your household. Or, you can cancel your own subscription, and join as a new customer after a few days. Either way, you will save money on Newspaper Subscriptions.

Technorati Tags: Discount-Newspaper Discount-Newspaper-Subscription Money-Saving-Tips Frugal-Living Personal-Finance Save-Few-Bucks

Why is this the Best Time to Buy a New Car

noreply@blogger.com (Ishan) — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 18:20:00 +0000

Contrary to the general perception, this is really the best time to buy a new car. Car prices are at an all time low, dealers are giving huge discounts, and financing can be secured at very low rates. If you have money to buy a new car, and were planning to do so, then this is the time to go for it.

Save up to 20% on Insurance, Free Quotes!

Everything follows the principle of demand and supply. Same is applicable in case of cars as well. Dealers have huge piles of unsold cars in their inventory. Apart from that, companies have a huge inventory of unsold cars, that dealers are not taking up. Both these things means this is a buyer's market. You can get the car that you wanted at the rates that you want, or even lower.

On top of this, dealers are also giving huge discounts to reduce their inventories. Some are giving in form of discount on MSRP, or some are throwing in some free accessories. Either way, you get to gain.

Related Article: Best Strategies to Buy New Cars at Lowest Prices

Obama has said that government will back all the warranties that are issued by American automakers. So, that takes out the worry of automakers going down.

Finance companies have become more cautious in providing loans for cars, but if you are eligible (good credit score and history), then they are willing to throw in a great deal.

All these factors make it one of the best time to buy a car. (Keep in mind, though, that your trade-in might not fetch good value, because all the above factors will now be working against you - the seller).

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Identity Theft Series

noreply@blogger.com (Ishan) — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 07:21:00 +0000

Check out my series of articles on Identity Theft.

Money Saving Tips Carnival – March 29, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Ishan) — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 07:32:00 +0000

Welcome to the March 29, 2009 edition of Money Saving Tips.

There are some very good articles in this carnival. It was a sheer pleasure just reading them. Bookmark this page, and go over these at your own time. You are sure to find something that will be of use for you.

(To fellow bloggers: Google has penalized my website because of excessive links. So, I am adding nofollow tags to all the links below. If you have added a link to my website, then please remove that, or add a nofollow tag to that.)

Money Saving Tips

This is my favorite topic, and main theme of this carnival. Some of the articles that I published on this topic last week are Tips to Save Money on Orlando Vacation, How to Save Money on Oil Change, and Priceline Car Rental Bidding Tips.

Abigail Perry presents What's in your bills? posted at i pick up pennies, saying, "When did you last go over your bills? I thought I'd gotten rid of all extra expense. But I easily found one costing us nearly $100 a year."
Tracey presents Saving Money by Packing Lunches posted at GIRLS TO GROW.
Netquote.com gives free Auto Insurance Quote comparison tool. Try it out and Save up to 20% on Insurance, Free Quotes!
Len Penzo presents Shopping For Low Gas Prices Is A Losing Proposition posted at Len Penzo . Com, saying, "Shopping around to save a few pennies per gallon on gas is most likely costing you more than you think."
Alex presents How to Make Your Own Free Printable Birthday Cards posted at Home Life Weekly, saying, "A cheap and simple money saving tip to make Birthday Cards, all you need to do is print and fold."
JC presents Saving Money on Food in College posted at 6Bubbles - Grad School, Money, Life.
Steve Patterson presents Ten Tips To Deducting Charitable Gifts posted at 2008 Taxes, saying, "IRS 2008 Tax tips for getting the best federal refund available."
Michael presents Save Money with Discounts on Your Auto Insurance Policy posted at Vital Motion, saying, "No one likes to pay auto insurance premiums, but you can cut down the cost of your policy with a number of different discounts."
nickel presents How to Save Money on Health Insurance posted at fivecentnickel.com.
Epiphany presents 7 More Ways to Save Money on Food | Get Cash 911 Blog posted at Get Cash 911 Blog.
Nate Desmond presents 7 Ways to Save Money on College Transportation posted at Clever Dude.

Personal Finance

I did a comparison between a Hybrid car, and a regular car in “Does it really makes sense to buy a Hybrid Car?”

apply4-credit presents A Review of Credit Card Types posted at Apply4-Credit.
Mr Credit Card presents Cash Back Credit Card Guide posted at Ask Mr Credit Card's Blog.
CreditCardAssist.com presents 5 Reasons Credit Cards Are Better Than Debit Cards posted at Credit Card Assist.
Insurance Toolbox presents How to Comparison Shop for Credit Cards posted at Fine-Tuned Finances.
MoneyNing presents Inheriting Generations of Frugal Living posted at Money Ning, saying, "Think ahead and do something for your future generations. Start saving."
Personal Finance Blue Book talks about Free Credit Report Offers and Reviews
Verna Morris presents Top 25 ETF Tweeples Worth a Follow on Twitter posted at ETFdb.
FIRE Getters presents FREE TaxACT Software Download posted at FIRE Finance.

Make Money

I published a couple of articles this week in this category: Work From Home Call Center Jobs, and Work At Home: Home Day Care Business

The Investor presents The number one money maker for 99 per cent of people posted at Monevator.com, saying, "Don't forget your salary in your quest to look for money making opportunities."
Jordan presents Use Twitter To Make Money For Yourself/Business posted at Jordan's Internet Marketing Guide
Pinyo presents How To Find The Best Online High Yield Savings Account posted at Moolanomy.
etrades presents Why Buy Silver Bullion? posted at eTrades, saying, "Buying Silver Bullion is becoming hugely popular. At present, silver is relatively cheap if you compare it to the cost of gold. Average person may be able to afford 1 ounce whereas the same person purchasing silver could buy many more times that amount."
Nicholas Powiull presents Conscious Flex: How to Live Your Passion (How I Became a Fulltime Blogger) posted at Conscious Flex, saying, “It seems everyone is wanting a logical way of how I became a fulltime blogger and how they can produce the same results."
mike lesaux presents All Free Downloads - Is A Work At Home Business Opportunity The Right Thing For You To Do? posted at all-free-downloads.

Others

Alvaro Fernandez presents Change Your Environment, Change Yourself posted at SharpBrains: Your Window into the Brain Fitness Revolution,
Jim DeSantis presents Free eBook - Credit Rescue! posted at Emotions and Credit at On Line Tribune, saying, "We may think that money is all about our rational selves but, in fact, our emotions very much determine our financial decisions."

That concludes this edition. Thanks to everyone for contributing. Submit your blog article to the next edition of Money Saving Tips using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future upcoming editions can be found on our blog carnival index page.

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