Money Saving Tips

How You Can Save Money In College And Maintain A Social Life

One of the best lessons that college will teach you is how to stretch a dollar (and by that, we mean a really long way). Whether you’re fortunate enough to attend school on scholarship, you are on financial aid and/or you need to hold down a job in order to make ends meet, we have some smart ways for you to save money while you’re enrolled so that you can enjoy all that college has to offer; including having a great social life!

Stay away from credit cards. Credit card companies love college students; so much, in fact, that you’ll probably see some of their representatives hanging out in your student union at least once a month. The main thing to remember about credit cards is that they are loans that you must pay back with interest. For that reason, you’re best sticking to cash and saving up for things that you really want.

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Business

Things To Consider When Starting A Small Business

Making the decision to start your own business can be the most exhilarating experience of your life. However, the path to self-employment is filled with obstacles that need to be navigated before you can hit the calm waters of success. This should not discourage you, because it is the American Way to strive to be your own boss and make your fortune in the world today. There are a few things that can assist a person in finding success running a small business.

Choose your business wisely

Searching for the right opportunity can and should be one of the most time-consuming ventures you undertake. Often times, it is not the business that seems to be hot right now that will be successful tomorrow. A great example would be the video rental business. If you did no research 15 years ago, an entrepreneur might have seen the potential value in owning one of these franchises. Research should have led them to see that massive changes were on the horizon and that business model would be obsolete in a few short years. This type of short sightedness occurs all the time and is the cause of many new business failures. Don’t get caught looking behind; look ahead.

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Shopping

Think Before You Shop – 3 Ways To Save Money

How often do you shop for something that you need? Are you constantly looking for a good deal? There are a lot of people out there that shop even when they don’t have the money and that is why I want to show you a few ways to save money even while shopping. Although this will take some mental power on your part, it is going to benefit you in the long run.

Stick to a plan.

The very first thing you must do if you plan on saving money while still shopping is to stick to a plan. By plan I am talking about creating a plan as to which stores you are going to shop at, how much you will spend at each one and what you plan on buying. The reason why planning is so important to saving money is because it eliminates the amount of money you spend on things you don’t need. A lot of people will spend roughly 15% of their money just on things that catch their eye, so make sure you avoid this altogether.

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General

Should I Buy A Real Christmas Tree?

Christmas treesMany families have a preference as to whether they buy a real tree each year, or simply use the fake one they’ve had in their family for decades.

Although I really enjoy the smell of a real tree, I find that it gets really expensive if you have to buy a fresh one each year.  In order to save money, I recommend using a fake tree.  Even though it may cost more initially, the more seasons you use your fake tree, the less expensive the tree becomes.

In fact, you don’t even need to spend an arm and a leg on a fake tree.  My husband and I found a cute 6 foot tall fake Christmas tree at Canadian Tire that looks great.  It’s not very bulky but it does the job and it only cost us $55.  Not too bad, considering we could have easily spent just as much on a real tree that would only be good for one Christmas season.

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Debt

Debt Management Guidelines That Will Help You Control Your Debt

Debt management does not have to be scary. In fact, debt does not need to be scary, but if you have bill collectors calling you or if your bills are piling up, it can feel confusing and scary. When you use the right management techniques for your debt, you can regain control and even save a little money.

Debt Reduction Strategies That Help You Save

Ideally, you should devote as much money as possible to debt reduction. If you can afford to cancel the cable or reduce how much you eat out, you need to devote this money to reducing your debts. When paying off debt, it is critical that you devote the most money to the debts with the highest interest rates. You should send every creditor the minimum payment, and you should send the leftover money to the creditor who is charging you the most interest. Once they have been paid in full, you can devote the extra money to the creditor with the second highest interest rate.

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