Personal finance - three ways to help manage your money

Money management, whether it is via personal money management software or external financial management, is integral to ensure your future security.  But how do you stay on top of your finances.  Simple.  Follow these three tips!

Tip 1: Actively investigate where your money goes: For two weeks write down all of your expenditures and see where the money you are earning goes. You may be surprised at what items add up over time (eg your morning coffee). Once you have this list, you are well equipped to cut back on your incidental spending. But don’t be a War General. You need your little rewards as well.




Tip 2: Discuss and plan your financial activities with your spouse: If you want to budget effectively it is essential that both you and your spouse are on the same page. If you are planning to only spend $50 one week and your partner decides to buy a new television, needless to say you have blown the budget. So every week or so have a casual chat with your spouse about money, and you will both be heading towards the same goal. If it consistently happens that you’ve been eating potatoes and mince for a whole week, and your spouse has just gone out and bought her 8th Gucci handbag, I’d say you need a real heart to heart about priorities!



Tip 3: Always read the contract: While some people argue there is no point as contracts are hard to change, we have always found it is worth the time to read it. If you are feeling pressured by a sales person, just say "can you delete paragraph five…if you can't delete it I will have to check with my lawyer". No company in their right mind will delete a whole paragraph of a contract, but it will at least make them check it and buy you more time!

So there you have it, three tips to stay in control of your finances. If you want to learn how to save $1000s a year then check out our 1011 money saving tips e-book. Click here!



In other news...

Our three children started school this week.  They are at a British School here in the Middle East.  It was a big day for our four year old daughter A, as it was here first day of school ever!  Our old kids are wrapped to be back at school too.  Especially since they can access Roald Dahl books from the Library.  This may not seem like a big issue, but we have been struggling for the past six months to try and find some of his books here and to get some sent over.  The ones we have had sent over went missing in the post...anyway we are enjoying reading through The Witches and James and the Giant Peach with the kids. 



Cheers



Rusty O'Connor

Increase your income - three tips that show you how

If you are struggling financially and need to increase your income, there are several things that you can do.  This blog post provides three simple income increasing tips to help you out.  However, it is important to note that you should endeavour to be in control of your finances no what your income.  If you are having trouble managing your money on 50k a year, you may still have trouble managing it on 75k a year.  As such, it is important to address a root cause (if there is one) as well.

Tip 1: Increase your income: Work hard at your place of employment, and let your boss know that you are doing a great job. When the time is right, and you have improved your employers bottom line or productivity ask for a raise. Don’t be shy about it, bosses often appreciate your forthrightness and it shows you are confident about your abilities which they will respect.

Tip 2: Actively look for promotions: Take a strong interest in your field of work and actively seek promotional opportunities. The increase in salary will help you pay off your debt and mortgage, as well as increase your savings, much quicker.


Tip 3: Consider a second income: Many people these days run side businesses. It could be a market stall or an Internet business. Find a business that works for you and won't interfere with your day job. Coming to work to sleep after all night doing shift work won’t cut it. But you’d be surprised how a couple of hours in the evening and weekends can bring in extra income. And...making money is a great incentive for working hard and efficiently.

So there you have it, three tips to increase your income.  If you want to learn how to save $1000s a year then check out our 1011 money saving tips e-book.  Click here!

Cheers

Rusty O'Connor

Free copy of 1011 money saving tips ebook

Dear reader,

That's not a typo, you read the headline the right way!  We are offering free copies of our 1011 money saving tips e-book, normally valued at $39.  The book is filled with over 1000 money saving tips that will help you to save $1000s a year.

So what's the catch...

Well, we are only going to give away 16 copies (so you better get in quick!).  We would like 16 of our readers to review the book, provide any comments or recommendations to improve the book, and if they think the book is good (and only if they think the book is good!), provide a testimonial. From receiving the book you will have two weeks to provide comments.

We are looking at a second version of the book, and several mini e-books based on the book, and as such we want your valuable input, to make sure they are as good as they can be.

To be selected, send a email to rusty.colour@gmail.com (I still love this email address even though my wife laughs at it!) and tell us in a few words why you should be selected.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Cheers

Rusty O'Connor

Stay on top of your finances - three tips you should be following

Staying on top of your finances is a great way to ensure peace of mind and less stress in your life.  Follow the tips in the blog post below, and you will be well on your way to making your finances work for you.

• Tip 1: Back up your financial data on the computer: This can save you hundreds of dollars in recovering data costs. Remember it is not a matter of if your hard drive collapses, it is a matter of when! Hard drives only have a life of around 4 years. I learnt this all too painfully when ours went at 4.5 years. Lost all of our data but more painfully a lot of irretrievable photos and videos of the kids. Pretty painful, I tell you.

• Tip 2: Have a two to three month emergency fund: Every person or family should have an emergency fund of around two to three months of income. If you don't, start creating one. Even if you start by putting as little as $10 a week into it, it will slowly start to build up. Emergency does not mean use when you hear a hot tip about Silver Dollar at the GG’s, or that overseas trip you’ve always dreamed about. More like when the bathroom floods at 3am and you need the whole place re-piped and carpeted.

• Tip 3: Don't miss payments…get organised: Most of us have missed the occasionally payment. Get organised and don't let it happen often to you. Create a filing system at home that works for you and make sure you don't miss any bills. This way you won't have to pay late fees.

So there you have it, three tips to help you stay on top of your finances.  If you want to learn how to save $1000s a year then check out our ebook 1011 money saving tips.

In other news...

Your author went bowling earlier this week with friends and with the kids.  We will say one thing, bowling is not your authors strongest talent.  Out of nine people he came last.  Funnily enough his four year old daughter won, average eight pins a bowl.  maybe she has a career in bowling.  All in all it was a lot of fun

After bowling we ate dinner at a restaurant called "the butcher grill".  It is South African and specalises in high quality steak and lamb.  We would definately recommend it to anyone...the food was fantastic.  We of course used a entertainment book!

Cheers

Rusty

Ways to save money - four little thought of tips

Saving money, becomes a whole lot easier when it only involves making small changes to your life style.  It is with this in mind, that we provide the following four money saving tips....Enjoy!

• Tip 1: Pay bills online: Paying bills on-line saves you money in two ways. Firstly, you don't have to pay any mailing charges or credit card charges if you do it from your savings account etc. Secondly, if you set up automatic payments, you won't forget to pay your bills and be penalised.

• Tip 2: Pay bills ahead of time where a discount is offered: Many insurance companies offer 10 percent discounts if you pay ahead of time. If this is the case, take advantage of it. The 10 percent saving will most likely equate to more savings than you would earn Interest in your account.

• Tip 3: Order Cheques online: Cheques from banks can be quite expensive. An alternative is to order them from an online cheque provider. Try not to use them if you can, cheques are outdated and expensive for a reason; banks want to get rid of them completely. For once we agree with the mongrels.

• Tip 4: Safety Deposit Boxes: These are almost a must. You can keep important and valuable items and information safe. If something happens to your house you still have originals or copies of information in these boxes. What's more, some banks offer them cheaply or for free depending on what account you have. It also has the benefit of making you feel like Matt Damon in the Jason Bourne series. Except if you’re like me you won’t be putting in 12 passports and a Colt .45.

So there you have it, four money saving tips to help you save money, while not compromising your lifestyle.  If you want to learn how to save $1000s a year, then check out our Money Saving Tips e-book.

Cheers

Rusty

Want to save money? Then follow these three out of the box ideas

Saving money doesn't have to be a drag.  As we keep harping on, you can save money by just making some minor changes to your life.  This blog post provides three simple tips to help you keep more of the green stuff in your pocket, and to avoid going into the red.  So if you want to save money, then follow these simple money saving tips below.

Tip 1 Allocate half of all raises and bonuses to savings: A simple tip, but it lets you enjoy half of the money and be sensible with the other half. If you don’t see it you won’t miss it.



Tip 2: Watch out for those incidentals: It is the little things that end up adding up over time. Write down everything you buy for two weeks and see where your money is going. There are bound to be a few surprises. Factor this into your budgeting, and see where you can make cut backs.



Tip 3: Protect your identity: Identity theft is a growing business around the world. Unfortunately, the main way criminals obtain your identity is through the Internet. If you are unlucky enough to be one of these criminal's victims you stand to lose 1000s of dollars. Use cryptic passwords and try to stay off the dodgy websites. And we shouldn’t have to tell you that if you get an email from King Obongo from Nigeria wanting your help, hit that delete button!

The most important of the tips above is to protect your identity!  So make sure you follow this one!
 
If you want to learn how to save $1000s a year then check out our Money Saving Tip's Ebook.
 
Cheers
 
Rusty

Save money without compromising your lifestyle

One of the main reasons people put off savings, apart from self-dicipline of course (by the way this is always a struggle even for the best of us!), is that there is a misconception that saving will impact significantly on your lifestyle.

This doesn't have to be the case!  As you will see below you can save quite significant amounts of money just by making some minor changes.

• Tip 1: Save a dollar of loose change a day: This won't affect your lifestyle to much, and over the years you will have added a small fortune to your savings.

• Tip 2: Pay yourself first and last: At the start of each month put 10 percent of your income into an account you can't touch (as detailed above). At the end of each month put whatever money is left over in the same account. You can even collect your loose change.

• Tip 3: Where to put your savings: Put 10 percent savings in a safe place (eg a normal bank account). If you want to earn more interest in a higher risk fund, use other money.

• Tip 4: Save for specific events: It may be your daughter’s wedding, or a big holiday, or the college fees for your kids. Whatever it is, set up a specific account (no fees) for the event and put your savings into this. This way you won't confuse the money with your normal savings or spending.. Don’t dip into these accounts. Imagine trying to tell your kids you’ve spent all their tuition money on a Chevvy 1969 classic, and that they’re going to be flipping burgers for the rest of their lives. You could try and argue you were doing them a favour as if they went to varsity and did that BA course they’d still be flipping burgers but $40,000 in debt as well.

So there you have it four ways to save money without effecting your lifestyle.  If you have any tips you would like to add, please put them in the comments!

In other news...

Your author has over a week off for Eid holiday.  As long suffering readers of "Your Money Saving Guide" will know, we are based in the Middle East for work.  While the heat can sometimes get a bit to much, we do enjoy the long holidays that we get. 

For the first night of Eid we went to a friends house who lives in a place called West Bay Lagoon.  The lagoon is great for swimming, and the kids (with floatation backpacks because of the current and the depth went out swimming).  We also brought some blow up chairs so we could float in the water.  Your editor went out into the middle of the lagoon, and just as he reached the half way point (about 200m out) he heard air leaking out of the blow up chair!  The valve had come out.  He had no choice but to jump into the water and start blowing it up.  During which time, large fish (about three feet long) kept bumping into his legs in the murky water...needless to say, it wasn't the best experience! 

For the rest of the Eid holiday we are planning on going to a new water park that has opened up in Doha, and we will try and do a few trips into the Desert.  We will put some photos up of the trips.

Once the Eid holiday finishes we are straight back into the routine.  The kids are going to a Private British school, which is good but starts at 7am which is on the early side!  Especially when you have to travel to get there!  Oh well, it is all worth it for a good education.

Cheers

Rusty O'Connor

How to save money

Saving money isn't really that difficult.  Yet...millions of people struggle year in year out to save even a small amount of money.  This is really a shame, as saving money helps you to enjoy financial secruity.  This blog post provides four tips to help you to start saving money, and more importantly to keep saving money.

• Tip 1: Don’t sweat the small stuff: you should watch your money, but don’t go penny pinching down to the last cent. It will just make you miserable and you won’t actually be saving that much more. If you feel like that cappuccino, go on, have it and reward yourself. As long as overall your sticking to the plan you’ll be ok. Now there won’t be many people that will tell you that now will there?

• Tip 2: Spend less than you earn: The big one. Stick to this tip and you will be on the road to financial success and security. Spend more than you earn and disaster. Except if you’re a Wall Street banker and the Government will come to your rescue and you can award yourself an even bigger bonus for crippling the world’s economy. There another tip, life isn’t always fair but just accept it and move on.

• Tip 3: Save 10 percent of your salary: A great place to start is to save 10 percent of you salary every pay period. If you save this money instead of spending it, it will set you up for life, and you will enjoy the comfort of being secure if an emergency arises. Save even more if you can, but this should be the minimum.

• Tip 4: Start an automatic saving plan: Arrange for a portion of your pay to go into a savings account automatically. The philosophy 'Out of sight, out of mind' really does work. Automatically saving 10 percent (as above) of your salary every month is a sure way to start on the road to wealth.

So there you have it, four tips to help you save money.  We would love to hear from you do readers. so if you have any other thoughts please feel free to comment.

If you want to learn how to save $1000s a year, then check out our e-book.  Click here!
Cheers
 
Rusty O'Connor

The best money saving tip ever

We are often asked what is the best money saving tip we have ever seen.  Well dear reader, today you are in luck.  We are going to share the best money saving tip we have ever seen or used.

Funnily enough, it is actually a tip where you have to buy something.  What's more, it won't be relevant to all people.  However, everyone we have spoken too, loves the tip and have used it to save $100s if not $1000s of dollars a year.

So here it is:

BUY A ENTERTAINMENT BOOK!

Most major cities have entertainment books.  These books cost around $60 and have discounted vouchers for things from bread shops, to fast food restaurants to discounts on activities.  We keep the book in our car and use it whenever we go out.

When we first get it we circle all the activites that we would like to do, and all the restaurants that we would like to visit.  We then plan our outing based on this.  These books also have hotels and other accomodation at huge discounts.

All in all, it is the tip that has saved us the most money.  We hope you can use it too!

If you want to learn more money saving tips then check out our ebook.  1011 Money Saving Tips Ebook

Cheers

Rusty O'Connor

Free activties for when you have no money

Sometimes we have weeks when we have no money before pay day.  Unexpected bills or expensives can lead to this.  The good news is, you don't have to sit in your lounge room bored and doing nothing.  There are a heap of fun activities that you can still undertake even when you have no money.  This list is just the tip of the ice burg.

• Tip 1: Check out Universities: Universities often have free or cheap sporting events or plays. Always worth checking these out to see if there is something that you would like to attend.

• Tip 2: Attend a Church or Religious Service: We are Christian so we attend a church, no matter what your religion (or even if you are not religious), go more often and you will be amazed at what you can learn and how many friends you can make.

• Tip 3: Go for slow walk around your neighbourhood: Get out and about and see what is on offer where you live. You may be amazed at some of the hidden wonders.

• Tip 4: Bike riding: The good think about bike riding is you can make it as adventurous or as relaxing as you like. Another great cheap activity to keep you entertained.

• Tip 5: Podcasts: They are free, entertaining, and depending on what you choose educational. So start downloading.

So there you have it.  Five free activties you can do when you have no money.  If you want to learn over 1000 money saving tips and save $1000s a year, then check out our e-book,  Click here!

Cheers

Rusty

Free activities for you and your family

There are a heap of activities that you and your family can do for fun without spending a penny.  This blog post contains six such activities.  Enjoy

Tip 1: Volunteer: If you volunteer at a concert or a sporting event, you may either get free tickets, or from where you are standing, get to see the event for free.




Tip 2: The great outdoors: There are literally hundreds of activities you can do outside for pennies in the dollar. Whether it is hiking, mountain biking or playing football, you will get fit, save some money and have a blast socialising.



Tip 3: Arrange weekly sporting events: Whether it is netball or football, arranging a regular sporting event keeps you fit and healthy and is also a cheaper way to enjoy the company of friends.



Tip 4: Arrange a weekly jog with friends: Jogging is just about the cheapest form of exercise out there. To keep you motivated, make it into a social event, and arrange to meet with friends every week.



Tip 5: Go to local sporting events: Local sporting events never cost more than a few dollars, and are always great value. So get behind your local teams and have some fun.



Tip 6: Have Picnics: a picnic with friends or family is a great way to have fun, a "meal out" and socialise on the cheap. Find a local park, ring your friends and then organise a picnic.

So there you have it, six activities you can do for free, or almost for free.  If you want to learn over 1000 money saving tips and save $1000s a year then check our our ebook.  click here!
 
Cheers
 
Rusty