Froodee

Living. Blogging.

Quit Smoking, Save More Than Health

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Smoking is dangerous to your health. Everyone knows that. All advertisements and cigarette cartons contain the warning. In other parts of the world, the warnings are quite graphic (cancer-ridden lungs and extremely decayed teeth for example), but this has not really stopped people from engaging in one of the dirtiest habits in existence, has it?

Here is another reason to quit smoking – to save money. In these days of economic troubles, practically everyone is looking for ways to cut back and make do with what they have. If you are a smoker, perhaps sitting down and actually figuring out just how much smoking costs you financially may help you get rid of the habit.

Forbes.com did this themselves and collated data from all over the United States, taking into consideration the prevailing prices of various cigarettes and the smoking habits of their residents. According to the findings, in general, people can save $200 to $500 a year.

Those who live in Delaware have the most to gain by quitting smoking. On the average, people smoke around 185 packs a year in this state. Financially, this costs the average smoker almost $1000 a year on cigarettes.

Think about it – smoking not only costs you the price of the cigarettes, but you also pay for lighters and other accessories. Then you have the potential health problems that come with smoking.

So, have you been wracking your brains on how to save a dollar or two here and there? Why not turn your attention to this habit? Maybe it is about time that you seriously thought of quitting.

Saving on Kid’s Cereals

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You wouldn’t miss breakfast for sure, first meal of the day and if you’ve got kids, ah, for sure you’d sit by them and have a few spoonful yourself.  America’s famous breakfast, easy to make, and honestly quite nutritious.  Now in case you’re juggling the budget and you feel breakfast needs to take a little backseat… fear not, you can still serve it up.

You gotta know a few tricks groceries make to keep the equally delicious and nutritious brands away from your basket.  Remember this… groceries put the most expensive cereal boxes at your kid’s eye level.  Why?  Because kids couldn’t resist a good looking box and the toy inside.

Check out other cereal boxes from the upper and lower shelves.  You’d see that if you compare the nutrition facts, they’re all the same.  What brand A has… most likely, brand B will have too.

And if you can bring your kids to the day center, a friend or a relative… or possibly do your grocery while they’re at school even… you’d be surprised you’d save more.

Tightening Your Belt Need Not Be That Hard

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If there was ever a time to tighten the belt, it is now. While some people are experiencing an upturn in their finances, a lot are still trying to find ways to make ends meet. Even those who are experiencing better days will still appreciate ways to cut back on recurring costs. Let’s look at some simple ways to save money with regard to household expenses. Trust me, they work!

UNPLUG. My husband has the habit of leaving his devices on standby mode. He doesn’t like turning off his desktop computer. He leaves his cell phone charger plugged. He doesn’t turn off the AVR to which the TV and PlayStation 3 are plugged. His rationale is that they do not use much power anyway. Indeed, he has a point, but the costs from this habit can add up to a couple of hundred dollars per year! If I were you, I’d start unplugging things and turning them off when not in use.

Stock up on non-perishables. I like doing this. I buy cans of tuna, cereals, Spam, and other similar products by the bulk. When they are on sale and the expiration dates are not anytime in the near future, I buy even more. The small savings can add up over time. More so, you will always have a well-stocked pantry!

Go prepaid. If you do not use your mobile phone all that much, why don’t you try using prepaid services? This way, you will not have to pay for minutes and messages that you do not use. And even if you use your phone way too much, prepaid services can help you control your usage.

Little things can go a long way!

Savings Or Pay Off Credit Card Debt?

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Like many young people, I never thought I would find myself facing serious credit card debt. In my early twenties, I told myself that I would never fall into any debt trap. I had heard so many horror stories, and I just knew I would not live out one of those.

Boy, was I wrong! Many many years later, I am struggling with credit card debt, and if I don’t get a grip on things, I just might get buried. Naturally, I have been looking for ways to deal with this debt in the best possible way, as soon as I can.

One thing that I have been considering is using part of my savings and put more towards the credit card debt. A lot of people have been telling me that this is the wrong thing to do, but I do have a gut feeling that it might help. I did find a piece of advice at Money Central:

Earning one or two percentage points of interest on your savings, while paying double-digit interest rates on your credit card debt, gets you nowhere fast. To add to the injury, you pay income tax on the meager savings interest, and you can’t deduct the credit card interest from your income taxes.

Seriously consider paying off high-interest credit cards or auto loans with savings. Pay off the cards with the highest interest rates first. Be sure to keep enough money in an emergency fund or in available cash advances to cover three to six months’ worth of living expenses.

I think that is enough to convince me to get a little bit from my savings account. What is your advice for me?

Where’s Your Emergency Fund At?

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EmergencyFundWe all know this: everyone should have some sort of savings account or an emergency fund. After all, we never really know what can happen in the future, and having a stash that can be used in case of emergency is always a useful thing. However, knowing it and actually putting it into practice are two very different things. If you do not have an emergency fund, there is no reason to dillydally. Here’s how to get started.

First, set goals. That is, how much should you have in your fund? Think about minimum amounts – you can always put away more when you get extra money. The important thing is that you will have peace of mind if you have a certain amount ready to be used for emergencies.

Some things that you should consider when determining this amount are:

• How many people work in your family? Each one can contribute a certain sum on a regular basis, thus increasing the minimum.
• How secure is your job (and the jobs of the other earners in your household)? The better the job security, the lower you can set the minimum amount.
• Do you have other sources of income? If you only have one job, then you might want to make sure that your emergency fund is healthier than average.

Once you’ve determined your goals, it is time to start setting aside money. It’s as simple as that. Some things to bear in mind:

• Set up a dedicated account.
• Start small. Don’t set unrealistic goals. Start small if you have to, but make sure you stick to your plan.
• Make sure that you define what an “emergency” is. This way, you don’t dip into the account unnecessarily.