Category Archives: Tips

Four Ways to Pay for a Vacation

Written by in Saving, Tips
3 Comments

The following is a guest post from the money team at moneysupermarket.com

Vacations don’t come cheap, but you can’t put a price on the value of getting away from it all. With that in mind, here’s a look at five ways to pay for your vacation this year.

The dark days of January and February are giving way to longer days and the promise of spring. For many of us, work has been non-stop since the winter holidays, and so our thoughts invariably begin to turn towards summer vacations.

You deserve a break, but you don’t want to break the bank – we’ve all been there, so let’s look at some ways you can pay for your vacation this year.

1. Savings

Yes we’re starting with the obvious one here, but stashing money away in savings throughout the year is a conscientious way of paying for a vacation.

Opening a savings account with as high a rate of interest as possible and sacrificing as much of your disposable income as you can each month for savings will reward you with the interest you earn on those savings.

Paying with savings will give you a sense of satisfaction in having earned the vacation, making those guilt-free piña coladas taste even better!

2. Credit Cards

Wait, come back, hear me out! Depending on your circumstances and your credit rating, there may be a credit card on the market from which you would benefit from using to pay for your holiday.

Some cards offer rewards like cash-back on purchases, or even air miles which you can use for flights in the future. If you can find a card with a low or zero per cent introductory interest rate, for example, you can split the cost of the holiday into monthly payments

Be warned though, credit cards certainly aren’t for everyone, and you should think carefully about your ability to pay back what you borrow before signing up for one. Moreover, if you have a poor credit rating, you may not even be eligible for the rates and promotions which make credit cards worth it.

3. Loans

Again, financing a vacation with a loan may not be a good idea for everyone, and you should think carefully about your ability to pay back your creditors before making an application.

As with credit cards, your credit rating will probably determine what sort of rates are available to you. Also, you will end up paying back the cost of the holiday plus the interest it accumulates over the period of the loan, so it may not be the right solution for everyone.

4. Stay-cation

I know, I’m sorry to have used the term, it’s dreadful. Taking a vacation closer to home (a stay-cation) is invariably cheaper than flying off to an exotic foreign destination, but it doesn’t mean you can’t have a good time.

Stay-cations can involve anything from camping, visiting museums, festivals or sporting events in your area. The important thing is that you’re not working for two weeks, right?

Since this type of vacation doesn’t cost the earth you don’t have to worry so much about how you’re going to pay for it.

My advice, for what it’s worth, is to save up for your holiday, but don’t disregard credit cards on principle, as there may be advantages to be had by using them.

3 Comments - Leave a comment!

5 Tips to Save Money on Housing

Written by in Tips
6 Comments

The following is a post from staff writer Crystal at Budgeting in the Fun Stuff, where she writes about finding the balance between paying your bills, saving for your future, and budgeting for the fun stuff along the way.

One of the biggest expenses we all have is housing and everyone is looking for ways to cut costs and save money. Here are a few practical housing tips to help save you some cash.

Reduce your Utilities Costs

You can save a lot of money on your housing expenses by reducing your energy costs. One great way to do this is by installing a programmable thermostat, which allows you to set the temperature automatically for different times of the day. It’s also easy to save money by remembering to turn off lights and unplug unused appliances.

My husband and I live in Houston, TX and still keep our electricity bill under $180, even in the summer, simply by following our own advice.

Increase your Homeowner’s Insurance / Renter’s Insurance Deductible

Increasing the deductible on your homeowner’s insurance policy can save you thousands of dollars over the life of your home loan. Home insurance policies usually place your deductible as low as $250 if you don’t request something different. A low deductible may seem like a good thing because you would pay less money out of pocket for repairs, but think of this. Any claims you make will just lead to higher monthly payments in the future, so you would probably avoid claiming anything under $1000 anyway. Raising your homeowner’s deductible to $1000 can save you about 25%.

Refinance an Existing Mortgage

Refinancing got a bad name during the recent mortgage crisis since a lot of homeowners refinanced their homes from safe fixed loans into adjustable rate mortgages that they simply couldn’t afford when the nice introductory rates wore off. You can save a lot of money by refinancing your existing loan if you can lower your interest rate significantly. Most loans made 5 or more years ago were at much higher rates than what is available right now.

In our case, the closing costs on refinancing from 5.375% to 4.2% would simply eat the savings, so we’ll just pay off our house in 6 years or less from now as originally planned.

Shop your Homeowner’s Insurance Policy / Renter’s Insurance Policy

When is the last time that you received an estimate on your homeowner’s or renter’s insurance? If your company is like mine, your premium is being increased a little every year. It is totally worth calling your insurance company every year or two to see if you can get a reduction. If your current company can’t help, shop around. I just saved $100 for the year on our homeowner’s insurance by simply making a 20 minute call.

Get rid of PMI

PMI is private mortgage insurance and has to be paid by most homeowners that owe more than 80% of their home’s value. Remember that you can get rid of PMI if you can get 20% equity in your home. You may already be there and just need to remind your current PMI company. Check it out!

 What other tips can you think of to save money on housing?

6 Comments - Leave a comment!

Tips to Save Money on Your Student Loans

Written by in Saving, Student Loans, Tips
8 Comments

The following is a post from staff writer Crystal at Budgeting in the Fun Stuff, where she writes about finding the balance between paying your bills, saving for your future, and budgeting for the fun stuff along the way.

Student loans are a convenient way of financing a college education. They can also be very expensive. I am sure the thought of an entry level salary for the college graduate saddled with high monthly student loan payments can be bittersweet. However, there are some ways to minimize the amount of student loans needed to make it through any degree.

Start Saving Early

Parents could begin planning for their children’s college education in advance. Considering the constant increase in tuition, it’s extremely helpful if parents start their child’s college savings plan about the same time as they plan their baby shower. A new family may not have a ton of extra cash, but they could save money by giving up expensive habits or cutting other regular costs. Any cash gifts to the child can be squirreled away to help as well.

I don’t personally think it’s a parents’ responsibility to help, but it is so nice when it happens.

Get a Scholarship

Scholarships are the most inexpensive and convenient way to avoid college loans. However, the scholarship market is competitive. A child can pretty easily finance most of their education by learning how to fill out scholarship applications like a pro.

Keep in mind that the poor people reviewing these applications have probably seen the same old stuff a thousand times, so try to be unique but not crazy. Try to put emotion into your personal stories. For the academic scholarships, take the tests like ACT and SAT until you are at least in the top 10% if you want a shot at thousands.

I personally paid for 60% of my 4 year degree through 3 main scholarships, one was for academic achievements and the other two were simply because I applied and impressed the reviewers with creative writing.

Attend State Schools

There are many benefits to students who attend schools in their state of residency. Generally tuition costs are lower because your parents pay taxes in that state. This could save you as much as $2,000 dollars per semester. This could lower your need for student loans by $4,000 dollars a year and $16,000 over the course of your undergraduate studies!

I attended the state school that offered me the biggest scholarship and ended up saving more than $15,000 compared to my second choice. Public universities are also cheaper than private universities, so you should keep that in mind too.

Load Up On Grants

Pell grants and other federal grants are given away by the federal government to help students just like you. It would be really smart to apply for this free money. The application should be filled out in full and all required documentation should be attached correctly the first time. Do not leave any excuse for rejection.

Get a Job

My part-time jobs throughout college saved me thousands of dollars in student loans. Some jobs even allow a little time for studying. I was able to find dead periods while being a tax office receptionist that allowed me to catch up on tons of reading. I wrote a few of my best papers while working the on campus bowling alley counter on dead week nights.

No matter which way you cut it, student loans stink. Using the methods above may help you need less of them or maybe none at all.

Readers, What tricks have you come across to reduce the need for student loans?

8 Comments - Leave a comment!

It Never Hurts to Ask

Written by in Money Stories, Negotiating, Tips
12 Comments

It never hurts to ask for a discount.

On my recent LA trip, as soon as we hit 10,000 feet or whatever the minimum is to turn on your electronics during a flight, I powered up my computer, plugged in to the outlet between the seats, and bought the Internet package for $12.95. For 5 hours of not being bored on a flight, it seemed to be worth the price.

I did some blog work, wrote a few emails, and checked some sports scores. But about an hour in, I realized that my battery wasn’t charging. The outlet I had been using was broken. I tried fiddling with it but got no results. So I turned down the brightness on my computer really low and enjoyed the last few drops before having to power down.

Big bummer. Of course, on Virgin America, you get satellite TV, so I was able to keep busy enough and I took a short nap to pass the time. But I really would have loved a few more hours of being able to do something productive.

When I got home from my trip, I called Virgin America to see if they could do anything about it. I figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask and that I would be able to get back my $12.95, if nothing else.

Well, the first person I spoke to was pretty understanding. I explained that I chose their airline because I would be able to use their services, and when one of those goes out, I am clearly disappointed. He agreed that the situation kind of sucked for me, and offered a $25 credit toward a future flight. I asked if that’s all he could do, and after a few minutes I got the point that I wasn’t going to get any more money from him, but he did transfer me to the Internet department.

After explaining the situation to them, they checked my history to see that I used the Internet for a little while then not at all for the last 3 hours of flight. So the customer service representative offered me a code to use the next time I flew Virgin. Worth another $12.95.

In total, I got back $37.95. Not bad, but it’s not cash. The reason it doesn’t matter to me is that Virgin America has done right by me and has helped resolve the situation quickly and in a way that alleviated any concerns. I know I’ll be flying with them again, and I’ll just use my credit then!

Of course, this is an honor code thing, so I could complain about the same issue each time I fly, but this is a warning to you all not to abuse your new knowledge. If you do, karma will come back to bite you. But if you ever feel wronged, it never hurts to ask!

In fact, I feel better about flying Virgin now than I did before because I know if something goes wrong, they’ll be there to help me out.

Readers, when you feel you deserve something for less than exceptional service, do you ask for some discount or partial refund?

12 Comments - Leave a comment!
« Older Posts
Newer Posts »