Money Saving Tips

Out With Coupons And In With The Savings Apps

savings appsAre you tired of lugging those heavy books of coupons around the stores with you? You’re not alone. While couponing can save some serious moola, it can also be a big headache. There’s all the clipping, organizing, storing and purging of expired coupons to deal with. Not to mention that it can get quite confusing during checkout when you’re trying to pull out all the coupons you need. Good news – you don’t have to do that anymore! That’s right, apps have taken the place of all those cluttered coupons in your purse. Here are the details on some of the most popular savings apps for iPhone and Android.

SnipSnap

SnipSnap is a revolutionary tool when it comes to coupons. Rather than having only electronic coupons on your phone, you can actually snap a picture of your coupons, save them to your phone and redeem them at most stores. Not only will you have your coupons handy without shuffling through lots of paper, but you’ll have their excellent tracking tools as well. The app sends expiration date alerts to let you know when your coupons are about to expire.

Target App

Target has great deals every day, but they send out coupons twice a month, too. Now, you can get alerts to the best deals the store has to offer and their coupons by using their smartphone app. Use it to shop online after you get your payday loans, and manage your Target gift cards right from the app. If you’re a frequent shopper at this store, this app is a must have.

Continue Reading

Money Saving Tips

Dangerous Ways To Save Money For Your Family

dangerous ways to save moneyThe topic of saving money and having emergency funds is discussed widely now. The rise of unemployment a few years ago has scared so many people, they are now finding ways to put a cushion of money under their belt by any means they can. However, some methods are dangerous ways to save money for their family.

Cutting Back on Grocery Costs

Families are using coupons and paying attention to the sales ads of their local grocery stores. This can save families hundreds of dollars a year. However, some people are going to much more extreme methods of saving on their groceries, by cutting back on meals and purchasing less expensive meals.

For example, some families rely on their children to eat breakfast and lunch at school, which is nutritious, but may not be adequate food amounts for growing children. The parents will go to work only to have a free cup of coffee for breakfast and may even skip lunch or have a small snack. Dinner in some households consists of low nutritious foods such as packaged noodles.

Continue Reading

Money Saving Tips

5 Ways To Reduce The Cost Of College Without Compromising Quality

college money saving tipsSome parents save money for decades to be able to afford a college education for their child. Sometimes they start saving money before the child is even born. Also, going to college these days is much more expensive than it used to be, because there are many added costs. Plus, college has gotten a lot more exclusive. Basically, if you want your child to have the best education, you have to expect to pay for it. These days, the average cost of annual tuition at some of the best colleges is between $50,000 and $100,000 a year. If you would have saved that money instead of sending your children to college, you would be able to purchase a few new houses. Yet, there is an affordable way to send your children to college – without breaking the bank.

Continue Reading

Taxes

What Medical Expenses Can I Claim To Lower My Income Tax?

what medical expenses can I claim Canadians are not always aware of what they can claim on their income tax return with regards to their medical expenses.  I have outlined below some of the items that you need to be aware of in order to ensure you are claiming your medical expenses properly.

Medical Mileage

You can only claim mileage for distances greater than 40kms one way.  Note, if your hometown offers the same medical service, then you cannot claim mileage if you choose to go to a different location.  For instance, if your hometown has a dentist, then if you go to a dentist in a different town you cannot claim mileage for that trip.  You don’t need to keep your fuel receipts as accountants use a simplified method to figure out how much you can claim for mileage.

Medical Meals

You can claim meals when you travel a distance of 80kms or more one way for a medical service.  Once again, however, you cannot claim meals if you have the option of obtaining the same medical service in your hometown.  Ideally, it’s a good idea to keep a medical travel log indicating when and where you went, what the trip was for, etc.  That way it’s easier to claim your medical travel and meals come tax time.  You don’t need to keep your meal receipts as accountants use a simplified method to figure out how much you can claim for meals.

Continue Reading

Earn Extra Money

Make Extra Cash With Your Local Pawn Shop

how to make money through a pawn shopDid you know that you can make money off of your local pawn shops? A lot of people know how a pawn shop works; however, they don’t realize just how much money they can make themselves. The key here is to find items that your local pawn shop needs and then sell them to the pawn shop owner for a profit. I know it sounds like a lot of work but the truth is that it is not.

There are many ways to get items to sell to your local pawn shop and the short list below will give you a few ideas. Just be aware that every pawn shop is different and because of this you must think about what each one wants and needs as opposed to all of them as a whole.

Where To Find Quality Items

Ebay – Everybody knows about Ebay and what you need to understand is that you can make a lot of money as long as you buy the right items. Most people spend their time looking for single items, but what you need to do is buy the items in bulk. This will give you the quantity that you need in order to really bargain with the pawn brokers in your area.

Continue Reading