It is time to think out of the box when traditional tips don’t help you to save dollars. You’ll have to search for the creative tips to extract extra cash and ignore the usual rules. Read along to know about some tips that may at first seem odd, till you’re able to save extra dollars in 2012.

Unconventional tips to save more in 2012

Check out some uncommon tips to squeeze extra dollars from your wallet

1. Say no to automatic banking: You may get stunned to read this tip. After all, automatic banking helps you to pay your bills on time. It probably saves you the late fees and penalties. Nevertheless, the automatic bill payment system makes it quite easy to overlook what you’re actually purchasing and spending. Read the rest of this entry »

Thanksgiving Day is round the corner. It is the day to have a delicious meal with your friends, and thank God for whatever you have. However, inviting your close friends for dinner when price of the food items are increasing with each passing day can be quite expensive. Organizing a dinner party on the Thanksgiving Day may not be good for your financial health. It is said that people had to spend around $4 (per person) for cooking a traditional meal on the last Thanksgiving Day. As the price of the turkey and other vegetables are expected to go up on this coming Thanksgiving Day, so it can be easily assumed that you’ll have to pay more for having a feast on the special day.

It is true that organizing dinner parties on the Thanksgiving Day can be expensive. However, if you do some planning and shop frugally, then you can enjoy the special day without getting into a credit hangover. You can have the peace of your mind even after the Thanksgiving party is over. There won’t be any need to reduce your Black Friday shopping list if you do some important calculations before the arrival of Thanksgiving Day. Read along to know some tips to have a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner party without crossing your budget.

Follow some tips to save money on the Thanksgiving Day

Here are some tips that may help you save money on the Thanksgiving Day:

1. Make a checklist: Create a list of the items you’ll need to serve a delicious meal to the guests. You’ll want your guests to be well-fed. So, chalk out the essential items you’ll need in a piece of paper. Visit the stores and purchase the necessary items a few days early. There will be fewer crowds at the stores during this time. You can choose the items at your own comfort. The price of the items will also be comparatively lower than that of Thanksgiving Day. So, you can get the best items at a cheap price.

Use coupons to do your Thanksgiving shopping. This will help you save more money. Make sure you buy all the items on a single day. Extra trips will cost you money and time.

2. Cook a few items: Instead of serving several dishes to your friends and family members, cook and serve a few delicious items on the plate. You don’t need to prepare 4-5 side dishes on the special day. The guests can hardly eat so much. Lots of food and money will just be wasted. You should never allow this. Plan your menu wisely. Cook few tasty but trusted recipes on the Thanksgiving Day. Your guests will gobble all the foods within a few minutes.

3. Purchase a frozen turkey: The price of a fresh turkey was around $17.66 in the last year. The price is expected to increase in the current year. So, a wise decision will be to purchase a frozen turkey by paying 30%-40% less than the normal price in this year. Make sure you keep the turkey in the refrigerator and cook it well. You can even go through various recipes which can be cooked with a frozen turkey. Your guests won’t be able to demarcate between a frozen and fresh turkey.

4. Serve home made pumpkin pie: Ready made pumpkin pie from the confectionery will cost you good amount of money. Instead of purchasing it from the store, you can make your own pumpkin pie. It is not too difficult to cook a pumpkin pie. All you need to do is get hold of the authentic recipe from the websites, and follow the cooking instruction properly.

5. Organize a pot luck meal: If you’re hosting the dinner party on the Thanksgiving Day at your house, then it does not mean that you’ll have to shop and cook alone. It will create a great pressure on your wallet if you take the responsibility of doing all the cooking alone. Ask your friends to cook and bring one dish to the party. Your friends won’t mind if they are asked to cook a dish of their choice. Rather, they will cook the dishes with enthusiasm. They will become involved with the party and will feel happy to help you in some way.

So, if some one makes an amazing roasted turkey or pumpkin pie, then ask her to bring that dish to the party. Ask each friend to bring something. This way you’ll be responsible for only one dish. It will help you save your precious time and money.

Finally, if you’re inviting your parents or grand mother to the dinner party, then you must be making transport arrangements to make sure they reach their home safely. In such a situation, get to know the gas price in advance. The fuel price is expected to increase in this season. You can make carpool arrangements if required. This will help you lower the transpiration cost.

Check out the 5 financial tips for the 3rd week of November 2011

Tip no 1 – Don’t shop when you’re hungry or sad.

Research shows that people end up taking hasty decisions when they are ravenous or not in a good mood. They don’t make decisions judiciously. This is why it is advisable to avoid going to a departmental store when you had a fight with your spouse or are extremely hungry. You’ll not be in a good state of mind when your stomach is empty. Your mind will be focused on food, and not on the other things. Read the rest of this entry »

The 5 financial tips for the 3rd week of October are given below:

Tip no 1 – Understand the importance of money in order to stay away from debt.

Money helps you buy bread and butter. It helps you to have food, cloth, shelter and other things. People say that money can buy every possible thing on this planet. If you have money and can manage it properly, then you can lead a good financial life. However, if you don’t have money or mismanage it, then you’ll have to face the debt monster and fight with it.

Understand the importance of money and spend it cautiously. Make sure you spend money only on the necessities. Pay all your bills on time and refrain from taking out a loan which you can’t afford to pay.

Tip no 2 – It is not necessary to have common financial goals in a marital relation, but both should work together to achieve them.

You and your husband are 2 different individuals with different tastes, likings, dislikings, etc. Both of you think differently and look at the world at a different perspective. So, it is quite natural that you and your spouse will not have common financial goals in life. You may want to have your own boutique one day. Your husband may want to purchase a mansion after 20 years or so.

Both you and your husband should work hard for achieving your respective financial goals. Sit together and develop a strategy to reach your financial goals. Talk about the ways in which both of you can achieve your financial goals within a specific period of time.

Tip no 3 – Making payments on time can save you from a major financial crisis.

Paying bills within the due date can help you avoid getting into a major financial crisis. If you miss your payment, then it may jeopardize your credit life. For example, if you don’t pay your credit card bills on time, then the creditors will impose late fees and penalties on the cards. The bill amount will keep on increasing with every month. Other than that, creditors will inform the credit bureaus about it. Negative items will appear on your credit report and your score will get hurt.

Tip no 4 – Know where your money goes.

You may know the exact amount you earn every month. However, do you know the exact amount you spend each month? Can you point out the areas where you spend every month? If not, then get to know about it for the sake of your financial health.

Note down your total income and expenses in a given month. Whenever you spend money, note it down in a paper or your cell phone. Keep on a daily tab on your expenses. Calculate the total amount you have spent at the end of month. This way you can check whether or not your expenses are more than your income.

Tip no 5 – Maintain your health in order to save money.

Health is wealth. If you want to live on this earth heartily, then maintain a good health. This will prevent you from getting sick time and again. If you don’t maintain a good lifestyle, then your immune system will lose the ability to fight with bacteria and other germs. Illness will be a regular occurrence. You will have to visit doctor and go through various medical treatments, which are quite costly. This implies that you have to spend a good amount on medical treatments every month. The health insurance companies will also hike the premium if they find out that you tend to get sick frequently.

Listed below are the 5 financial tips for the first week of October 2011

Tip no 1 – Use electricity judiciously to save money on utility bills.

Judicious use of electricity can help you save money every month. Turn off the lights when you don’t need them. Unplug the electrical devices (computer, coffee maker, tv, etc.) when you are not using them. Purchase energy efficient bulbs and use them in your house. This may help you save as much as $20 on your utility bill. You can also use power adapters as they consume less energy. This will help to slash your electricity bill. Another wide idea will be to use a candle in the bathrooms. A single candle can light up your bathroom easily.

Tip no 2 – Go green and save money.

This tip can help you lessen the current environmental problems as well as save money. For example, you can share your ride with another person. It is said that an average American spends around $26 on the gas bill every week. If you share your ride with a neighbor, then both of you will be able to save about $650 in a year. Another tip will be to reuse items instead of dumping them into the garbage. This will help you utilize the resources used to make the item efficiently.

Tip no 3 – Buy generic items whenever possible instead of going for brands.

Purchasing generic items is a good way to save money. You can get generic items at a cheap price. You’ll be able to a purchase a large number of products by spending a small amount of money. However, if you go for branded items, then you’ll be able to get only a few products within the same amount.

Some of the consumers think that that the quality of the branded items is extremely good. However, this notion is not completely true. A community member states that her daughter used to love eating a bread of a particular company. Her daughter simply refused to eat the bread of any other company. One day, the community member served her a bread of a cheaper store brand. She told her daughter that the bread is from her favorite company. The daughter could not find any difference and ate the bread quite happily.

Tip no 4 – Understand the importance of money and spend it only when needed.

Useless spending of money is one of the biggest financial mistakes on the earth. It can lead you to financial problems and your credit can be completely ruined. It is the duty of the guardians to make the children understand the importance of money in life. This will help the children to use money judiciously when they become adults. They can avoid making foolish financial mistakes in life.

Spend your hard earned money only when it is required. Differentiate between the luxuries and the necessities. Make it a point to spend more money on the necessary expenses rather than the luxury ones.

Tip no 5 – Ask your child to plan the family budget.

It is a great way to make your child understand the value of money. Usually, children don’t have any idea about how a family budget is planned or what are the areas where your family spends the maximum percentage of the income. However, when your child is given the responsibility to plan the family budget, he/she gets to know about the importance of money in day-to-day life. Your child will also learn how to manage personal finances efficiently. This experience will definitely help your child when he/she attains adulthood. He/she will be able to tackle money matters without getting into debt problems.