Small cost cutting tips
September 29, 2008
The old saying goes, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.”
Unfortunately, many individuals and families are in a financial situation where they have to toughen up their attitudes and tighten up on their finances. Sometimes tightening up the purse strings means saving every little penny possible.
Here are some very frugal ways to save money keeping in mind that every little bit helps and eventually adds up:
Reuse plastic baggies. If you buy plastic baggies to take sandwiches for lunch (hopefully you are taking your lunch to work instead of dining out), bring the baggie home, wash it and reuse it.
Buy a reusable lunch bag or better yet use leftover bags from shopping to take your lunch to work. The plastic bags you get at the grocery store have tons of uses.
Drastically reduce your electric consumption. Lower the temperature on your hot water tank. Wash your clothes in cold water and line dry them instead of using the dryer. Skip the dishwasher. Don’t leave lights on when you’re away. Don’t leave plugs in outlets with nothing attached, ex. a cell phone charger with no phone plugged in to it.
Conserve water as much as possible. Put a brick in the back of your toilet so it uses less water. Take short showers. You can get wet, turn the water off while you shampoo and soap up, and then turn the water back on to quickly rinse off.
Make your own cleaning products. Vinegar, lemon juice, rubbing alcohol and baking soda are just a few of the products you probably already have in your home that can be used for household cleaning. Check out this article on The Dollar Stretcher with recipes to make your own household cleaners.
Start clipping coupons and only buy what’s on sale at the store.
Need clothing or a home item? Check out your local thrift shops or online sites like Freecycle.org where people list items they no longer have use for and want to give them away. And don’t forget to shop at your local dollar store.
What cost-cutting tips do you use? Please share your ideas.
Sell your home; make it appealing to buyers
September 24, 2008
I was reading Gather Little By Little, a personal finance blog, this morning. The blogger, known as Gibble, is trying to sell him home. He wrote about the repairs they made to their home based on comments from prospective buyers and real estate agents who toured the home.
Everyone knows it’s a buyers market, and many sellers are having a tough time.
As someone who just purchased a home for the first time, I’d like to offer some tips to anyone who may be selling a home. These are just some thoughts from the perspective of a buyer. Some things cost some money, and some don’t cost a thing.
Clean up your clutter. It is hard to really see what a home looks like when it’s buried under mounds of knick knacks, photos, dishes, clothing, etc. Plus, it makes a perspective buyer wonder what’s hiding underneath all of that stuff. It doesn’t cost a thing to box some stuff up, put away some dishes and pick the dirty clothes up off the floor.
After you clean the clutter, clean the house. Run the vacuum cleaner, dust, spruce it up a little. And if you have pets, sprinkle a little carpet deodorizer around and hide the litter box. Pet smells are especially off-putting to buyers.
Rearrange your furniture. Look for ways to place your furniture that might make the rooms look a little more spacious.
Fresh paint is great. If it’s been awhile since you’ve put a fresh coat of paint on your walls — or if you have a room that is painted in colors that are unusual or suited to your individual taste — repaint in neutral colors. A gallon of paint goes a long way and is a fairly inexpensive way to please buyers.
About those carpets … If your carpets are old and dirty, clean or replace them. Replacing carpeting can be an expensive venture. If that’s not in your budget, consider renting a rug scrubber. They are easy to use, cost less than a professional cleaning service, but can really help out dirty carpets and rugs.
Try for curb appeal. Sweep the porch. Mow the lawn. Pull any weeds from the shrubbery.
Of course there are expensive things one can to do make their house more appealing to buyers, but many people can’t afford to reside their home or put on a new roof.
But, there are some simple, cost effective ways to increase your home’s appeal for potential buyers.
Please feel free to share any thoughts, tips or suggestions you have to help someone make their home more appealing to buyers.
What is a short sale?
September 19, 2008
Short sale is a term often heard lately as people struggle to pay their mortgages and avoid foreclosure.
But, what is a short sale? And what implications can it have in the future?
A short sale essentially means your lender agrees to allow you to sell your home for less than you owe on it. Banks allow this as an alternative to a foreclosure because it means they won’t have a property to maintain and resell.
A short sale can have a negative impact on the seller’s credit score. It also means that no profit will be gained from the sale to give the seller money to put towards the purchase of another home or rent for a property.
A bank may agree to a short sale, but still hold the borrower responsible for part of the remainder of the loan or the entire remainder of the loan.
The New York Times wrote about this. The story featured a couple who had to move for work-related reasons and found that the value of their home had dropped to below what was owed. The lender agreed to a short sale, but required the couple to pay back $40,000 of the loss.
According to the story, the couple’s lender sent them an e-mail telling them the lender would work with them when they were ready to “participate in the loss.”
Increasingly banks aren’t willing to bear full brunt of a short sale.
What can you do if you’re facing mortgage payments you can’t handle?
Contact a non-profit credit counseling agency, like Advantage CCS in
You don’t have to struggle through difficulties with budgeting and paying your mortgage alone. Get help as soon as you realize you are going to have a problem.
Can debt collectors do that?
September 17, 2008
I’ve been hearing a lot of talk about debt collectors lately. During a local news interview, the reporter asked if there are more debt collectors and if they are getting nastier.
I can’t say conclusively that debt collectors are more prolific or getting more aggressive, but according to the Better Business Bureau, complaints about aggressive debt collectors rose 20 percent last year.
We certainly hear stories at Advantage from consumers who have had unpleasant phone calls from debt collectors. Some of those consumers weren’t just subjected to mean behavior, they were subjected to illegal behavior.
The federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act outlines what debt collectors may or may not do.
Debt collectors cannot:
· Misrepresent themselves or what company they work for.
· Threaten to send you to jail. You will not be put in jail for failing to pay your debt.
· Call you names or become verbally abusive.
· Call you at unreasonable hours of the day or night.
· Call you at work if they have knowledge that your work place does not allow for those types of phone calls.
· Persist in contacting you after you have notified them in writing to stop.
Debt collectors can:
· Verify you are the person who owes the debt and send written notice of the debt.
· Continue legal actions to collect unpaid debt that you legitimately owe.
· Contact you to inform you of any legal action being taken against you.
If you are contacted by a debt collector, do not ignore the phone call, even if you don’t believe the debt is yours. You need to address the issue, especially if you are possibly a victim or mistaken identity or identity theft.
Make sure to get the name of the collection agency, as well as the address and telephone number. Also, make note of the name of the agency representative who contacted you.
If you do not feel that you legitimately owe the debt, immediately send a letter stating that you do not owe the debt and you believe the collection agency has contacted the wrong person.
If you feel you have been the victim of an abusive debt collector or exposed to unfair debt collection practices, contact the Federal Trade Commission and you state attorney general’s office immediately.
For more information about debt collection from the FTC, click here.
Get organized and pay your bills on time
September 15, 2008
It is very important to pay your bills on time for a variety of reasons. Likewise, there are a variety of reasons why someone may not pay their bills on time.
One reason some people are late with their bills has nothing to do with a lack of money and everything to do with a lack of organization or motivation.
Everyone is so busy these days that it’s easy to let things fall through the cracks. You may have the best intentions of paying your electric bill by the due date … until something else pops up. Suddenly the electric bill is the last thing on your mind.
One way to make sure you pay your bills on time is to make a calendar that lists the due dates of all of your bills. Then, set aside a time each week to pay your bills. If you can block off just 15 minutes each week, it should be enough to take care of everything.
Another way to ensure your bills are paid on time is to set up automatic bill payment via the Internet. You can do this one of two ways: through your bank or through your creditors.
Many banks have an on-line bill payment feature that allows you to have a payment automatically sent to your creditor each month. This works best for accounts that have a fixed payment, such as school or car loans. Payments that vary from month to month, like utility bills, can still be made online, but you will have to enter in a payment amount each month.
You can also allow your creditors to make an automatic withdrawal (known as an ACH debit) from your checking account each month. This is an easy and convenient way to make sure your bills are paid without a lot of hassle.
There are still some things to be very careful about when it comes to on-line bill paying.
First, it is imperative to make sure that you have the money in your checking account to cover automatic withdrawals. It could spell financial disaster if creditors are trying to withdraw money that is not there.
Second, it is important to monitor your account to make sure the proper amount of money has been withdrawn if you give your creditor the option to automatically withdraw money. If an error is made, you’ll need to notify your bank and the creditor immediately.
Another pitfall can occur if you use a credit card or debit card to automatically pay a bill. You have to remember to update information if an account number or expiration date changes.
Here’s an example: Last week I drove through a toll booth in
This could easily happen with other bills, so make certain you keep all of your account information updated.
With a little organization and account monitoring, you can change your bill paying habits. Paying on time will help boost your credit score, stop you from incurring late payments and make you a more attractive customer to lenders.
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