New Year’s resolutions are difficult to hold for a number of reasons, but if you’ve made the decision to improve your home this year there are plenty of projects you can undertake without breaking your back or the bank. Give your home the makeover it deserves this year by trying out some of these budget-conscious home improvement ideas for the New Year. Transform your home without wreaking havoc on your budget.
A college student with a limited amount of money; Gee, is there any other kind? Whether you’re on scholarship or financial aid, work study or you have a part-time job, no matter what your financial situation may be, there’s one thing that we know for sure: You’re trying to find ways to make your money last for just as long as you possibly can.
We’ve been there and we can totally relate. If you are looking for some frugal living tips, ones that will give you the ability to enjoy the college life without getting (financially) stressed out, we have five suggestions that can easily help you to reach that goal:
Cut out bad habits. Yeah, we know. College tends to be the time when you start certain habits more than you think about stopping them. But, if you’re a smoker, drinker or junk food eater, if you looked at the receipts for those purchases over a months’ time, it could literally cause you to go cold turkey. Vices come with a price, in more ways than one. Make sure to remember that.
When you’re out shopping for things that would be good for the house, you’re probably more inclined to find ways to cut corners. After all, you can find matching towels and wash clothes (at certain stores) for under $10 and Wal-Mart has a mattress-in-a-box that you won’t have to spend over $300 to have delivered to your home.
Yet here’s the thing: Sometimes when something is inexpensive, what that really means is that it’s cheap. In other words, while you should do your best to save money, there are certain household items where you shouldn’t have to sacrifice value in the process and so you should be willing to go the “extra money mile”. “Items like what?” you may ask. Items such as these below:
Your mattress. One of the reasons why so many of us sleep so well when we’re in a hotel bed is because the hotel didn’t cut corners on the mattress. Although a good one can easily run you a couple of thousand dollars, the health benefits of making that kind of investment include the relief of stress and back pain and the ability to have more consistent nights of uninterrupted rest.
When you sat down to make a list of your New Year’s Resolutions, did you mention that you wanted to improve your finances? If so, you’re not alone. As a matter of fact, out of all of the people who make it a point to make a resolution on an annual basis, “getting better about money” is one of the top five things on their list.
Here’s the thing, though: While that starts off as a plan, within a couple of months, many people end up not sticking to their goals and that’s usually because their approach was a bit unrealistic. Therefore, we’re here to provide you with five ways that you can do better with your money and stick it out for the rest of the year:
Study up. Without question, there is a ton of financial advice out in the world and a lot of people who would consider themselves to be experts; however, the only way for it to be meaningful to you is if you become knowledgeable about money yourself. When it comes to the kinds of financial concerns that directly affect you and your household, make it a point to read some books, attend some seminars and weight out the options. It’s never a waste of time to invest into some money education.
All of us are on the constant pursuit of finding some solid ways to keep a few dollars in our pocket, right? Well, when it comes to paying monthly bills like your car insurance, while it’s certainly not wise (or legal) to try and get away with not having any, there are definitely some things that you can do to reduce the amount that you are currently paying on your premium without jeopardizing your coverage.
Is that hard to believe? Just check out these five tips and then discuss them with a customer service agent of your insurance company. By the end of the year, you (and your wallet) will be so glad that you did:
Shop around first (then stick with one company). Sometimes finding a great premium price is simply a matter of checking with several different insurance companies to get a variety of quotes. The truth of the matter is that there tends to be identical packages, at different rates, based on the company that you’re speaking with. However, once you do make a selection, try and get all of your insurance policies (auto, homeowner, business liability, etc.) from that one place. Most companies will give you about a ten percent discount just for doing so.