Here are the 5 financial tips for the 2nd week of September 2012.

Tip no 1 - FREECYCLE - An innovative of way following the principle of 'reduce, reuse and recycle'.

The new mantra preached by the environment lovers is – reduce, reuse and recycle. You can efficiently use the nature's resources (fire, wood, metals, etc) by reusing the items. Freecycle allows you to give away the things which you don't want anymore. Instead of disposing the items, you can give those things to people who really need them. You can do so via Internet. It'll help you to get connected with the right people. You can just fix a time and place through Internet. Thereafter, you can get rid of your things easily.

Tip no 2 - Avoid pre-packaged foods to reduce your expenses and increase daily nutrition intake.

Pre-packaged foods save your time. However, they are a bit expensive. Moreover, they are not healthy too. Manufacturers of pre-packaged foods use a good deal of unhealthy ingredients. For instance: some pre-packaged foods contain added sugar. Now, added sugar is not at all good for health. If you consume too much of added sugar, then you may become obese or diabetic. The cholesterol level in your blood may also increase. So, try to stock your fridge with fresh fruits and vegetables. This will help you stay fit and healthy. You'll save your hard earned dollars too.

Tip no 3 - Learn the tricks to build up your financial history before applying for a mortgage.

Financial history is very important. It makes a big difference to your life. It'll determine if you'll qualify for a mortgage loan. If your financial history is not great, then lender won't have the confidence to lend you money. You may very well forget about obtaining low interest mortgage loans.

If you'll apply for a mortgage in future, then start taking steps to build positive financial history. You can do so by making payments at the right time. Avoid making drastic financial mistakes too. For instance: having too many unmanageable bills and a high debt-to-income ratio.

Tip no 4 - You can have a co-signer, if you don't meet the home loan eligibility criteria.

Lenders have tightened the home loan eligibility criteria. As such, a lot of borrowers are unable to qualify for home loans. If you don't have the perfect credit score or low debt-to-income ratio, then lender may refuse to give you a loan. In such a situation, a co-signer with a good credit score can help you out. The lender may agree to approve your loan application if you can bring along a co-signer. This co-signer can be your friend, colleague or any other person. The co-signer will be legally responsible for the loan. He'll not get any benefit from this loan. Rather, he'll be at a disadvantage when you default on the loan. The lender will catch him for the payments.

Tip no 5 - Download eBooks from different websites to cut down your expenses on textbooks.

The cost of the college text books is quite high. If you wish to reduce your expenses on college textbooks, then look out for websites where free eBooks are available. You can register in those websites and download different eBooks for free. You can read the eBooks whenever you want. You'll be able to save more bucks by not taking out the print outs of the eBooks.

You can take advantage of this option only if you've a computer and Internet. If you've computer with no Internet connection, then also it won't create any problem. You can just go to a cybercafé and download the books. You can save the files in your pen drive. Once you return to your home, you can save the files in your own computer.