How to Save Money: A few tips from a newly Married Couple
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Disclaimer: Please verify and use due diligence before following any of these tips.
I am sure most of us early in there marriage must have had these money discussions and over the last few weeks we had some of these discussions.
1) Bills Payment: Have fewer credit cards less than 5 preferably. Since having more cards it is difficult to keep track. Also if you have more cards then my husband uses Yodlee.com which is safe and secure to tie all his credit cards to the bank so that in a single login all the information is available without multiple logins. Yodlee can also be used to tie up cell phone and other utility bills to the bank account. Making payments on time avoids late fees and also helps in improving credit history (which is very important if one needs to get good interest rate for house/car etc).
2) Credit cards usage: Have different cut off dates for different cards
(preferably with no balance on any of the cards). I.e., if a card has a
cut off date for 1st day of the month then from 1st to 10th whatever is
charged will not be there in the statement until next month first day
and then on top of it payment due date would be another 3/4 weeks hence
having different cut off dates for different cards on 1st, 11th and
21st day of the money effectively gives 7/8 weeks of interest free
credit. If having too much balance on a card then sometimes 0% balance
transfer (along with 3/4% fee) does save us some money although I personally
didn't ever use it but I husband used it once and he said he did save
money (also once a balance transfer has been done then that card shouldn't be used for any regular purchases).
3) Debit card usage: I have a program with Bank of America where they
round off the transaction to the whole amount i.e., if I buy something
for $4.01 then effectively I am getting 99c back from Bank of America
making me get cash back. I use it for transactions of lesser value
i.e., one dollar back on $4.01 makes more sense than one dollar back on
$44.01 transaction (P.S: It is a promotional offer and usually lasts up to a year).
4) Catalogs: Paying attention to the coupons in the mail for deals. I
have noticed some times stores have two or three items(that I often
buy) having a really good deal but once we go to the store we may end up
buying things which aren't on the "deal" too. If one maintains a personal diary
or better still an excel document as I do to track my expenses which I
have made for various stores and common items I buy. I actually feed it
in windows mobile in real time (a little extra hassle but worth it in
my opinion). Some times in stores I have seen some foods are marked for special reduction sale and they make great deals. For clothes I sometimes see great deals in clearance section. And if not urgent waiting for special days like Thanksgiving/Christmas makes good sense.
5) Generic Vs Branded: I have a friend and she used to buy generic for herself and her husband but branded for there kids diapers, baby foods and products since she just wanted to be sure and safe. But one day she read a report that changed her views about generic products available in Costco/Sams Club. And now she only buys generic even for baby/kids products as she told me that hardly any difference is there in quality(and more ever for foods as long as those are FDA approved then they are ok) but then huge difference in price.
6) Savings on Vehicles: a)Purchasing: My husband says that the depreciation on some vehicles like Ford Taurus which have been used for 3 years is much more than Toyota Camry hence when he bought a 3 years old Taurus it was a good deal which he used it for 3 years before selling it to a private party. Even getting those vehicles which have been just released out of the lease (3 years) is good buy since they have been well maintained under the dealer supervision.
b) Financing: It is a good idea to shop around for the lowest financing and usually the Credit Unions do have a good rate (which maybe better than the dealer's rate). But beware of the dealers who try to "magically" get the payments to the mental figure we have in mind. They may also add up unwanted warranties (some of which are not even transferable). If one is not experienced then it is better to go with a friend (who is experienced) while finalizing the car deal.
c) Maintenance: Maintaining a diary for regular oil change/tune ups/tire pressure will help us get more mileage and better upkeep for our beloved vehicle(also will help while trying sell the vehicle).
d) Insurance: My husband has a longer driving history (but has one speeding ticket). When we combined our vehicles we got a good deal (multi vehicle discount). It is a good idea to shop around. There are many sites like Insurance.com which allow us to shop around online.
e) Mileage: Following the traffic rules like speed limits instead of sudden acceleration and deceleration helps both in the mileage and wear&tear (may also save us some insurance money if we break the rules and get caught by the cop). My husband has a motor cycle(Kawasaki Ninja 250) which he uses whenever the weather is ok since it gives more than 60 MPG and also saves him from adding miles on his leased car(although I am a bit concerned for the safety of two wheelers even if he wears full protective gear).
e) Alternate Transportation: It may sometimes be cheaper(although little inconvenient) if we try public transportation. Also some of my friends have started using bicycles which they use to go to their bus stop then the bus has cycle stands to carry them till their destination (but alas they have only 2 stands which are offered on first come first serve basis). Public transportation does save us some money(& lesser carbon foot print) and also maybe give us that little extra exercise that we all get when we bike/walk...LOL
f) General tips: Planning a trip route and having a certain agenda helps to save on time/money/effort. Besides that making sure to get rid of unnecessary stuff in the car as that effects the mileage of the car and having manual gear shift vehicle (although I am more comfortable with automatic) has a slight advantage in mileage. Finally filling up at the lowest gas price available in our zip code by checking at places like gasbuddy.com also helps in saving some money.
7) Home made: Having a coffee maker at home has saved my husband some money instead of visiting the local starbucks in the morning. Also carrying home made lunch instead of eating out helps to tighten the strings and keeping at hand healthy snacks like baby carrots/fruits in the office helps to avoid those in between hunger pangs. Even home made customized gifts tend to save a lot of money and also are highly appreciated.
8) Trips: Let the "deal" be the priority instead of the destinations.
My husband slightly differs with me on this but I personally prefer any
new place which I haven't been before as long as the deal is terrific.
My husband prefers to have email alerts from orbitz/travelocity/expedia
and other sites for his favorite destinations. For last minute deals lastminute.com is a good place to search. We all need a break and
some of my best childhood memories are from places which are not on the
routine tourist map. We all are entitled to a little break now and then
but for that it shouldn't end up costing us a fortune.
9) Ego: After marriage we had to make a decision since my husband was
about to buy a house but then the price came down further and he didn't buy it and for the last 4 months he is paying rent from month to month. Where as
my apartment lease is till August and breaking it I would have to pay 2
months rent. Then without any ego my husband decided to move into my
apartment this month. Although my apartment is smaller but then I stay
closer to our offices. Husband/Wife have to see themselves belonging to
one team and ego shouldn't be as important in decision making as sound
rational assessment.
10) Planning: Next time before buying a big sticker item one should plan i.e., my husband to pay for the 20% down payment for house had planned for couple of years to save every month a specific amount which did add up to the amount needed for the house. Instead of taking on new debts having an idea about the cost and expected future earnings one should save certain amounts and forgo the urge to take on loans which maybe difficult to repay later.
11) Phones: I prefer to take the most basic cell phone plan(with minimum
minutes) and add internet as I do have work related issues which I need
to keep track through office emails. I have seen the extra 10$ adds up
to 120$ per year and the odd month when I do go over by a few minutes I
may still have to pay only 3/4 $ instead of 120$ extra per year. More
ever I have office phone and it has free local long distance
(US/Canada) hence I haven't ever gone above my basic minutes. More ever
the extra features like TV/Music /Texting are something I don't use on
a cell phone a lot hence paying for those doesn't make sense for me. At
home I also have vonage which is really inexpensive(decent call
quality) and since I stay in West coast and by the time our night time
minutes kick in most of my East coast friends would be sleeping. But recently one of my friend suggested magicjack which may save us even more money(provided the call quality is decent). And once my two year contract gets over we will shop around for a family plan for cell phones which will surely save us some money.
12) Utilities: I keep a track of all my major expenses and in December I did see a spike in my heating bill. But in general I tend to wear comfortable track suit at home with warm socks and keep the heating around 60 (although I wouldn't suggest this to families where they have kids). And when I leave my apartment I reduce the heating too. Besides that I make sure I switch of all lights/unplug those electrical/electronic devices which tend to consume electricity when not in use. I also use cold water in washer/dryer instead of warm water and also neatly fold my clothes when they are warm from the dryer hence less ironing needed. Internet is one thing I take the higher end since I use that to talk to my large extended family in India and also to stream movies from online using my netflix membership and other sites for regional movies. Subscribing to cable channels like HBO are more expensive than Netflix.
13) Sell/Gift: When we merged our households then we had couple of items which were duplicate(and also unwanted) i.e., I had a 27 inch TV and he had a large LCD TV (I put the listing to sell my small TV), then I had a single bed and he had a king size bed (sold the single bed), and other furniture of his which we moved in Uhaul to my apartment and also delivered the bed/furniture to those who bought these items from us(I gave my futon sofa free along with the bed). Selling unwanted(but still in good condition) stuff (in person/ebay) helps us to put some money in our pockets and also saves us lots of space (which at present is a luxury for us). Also because of space issue some of our clothes/shoes in good condition we donated to Salvation Army Family Store near our place. Although selling/gifting doesn't directly save money but when we have two TV's for the second TV comcast would charge extra and more ever it is also about being efficient not just saving money but also time & effort.
14) Sharing: Earlier when I was single when I used to buy from costco soaps/toothpaste(they sell in packets of 8-12) and other things in bulk I used to split the costs with my neighbor. In office sometimes when I do buy a veggie footlong and I have no intention of consuming the other half I give it away to my colleagues (since I don't like soggy bread). Also in office we have deposit boxes where once every 2/3 months if some beans/corn and other cans that I am not going to consume in the near future I just drop them there (ofcourse I check the expiry date and they should be still within reasonable period for consumption). Also near our place in Renton we have a whole sale vegetable store (called DK Market) which we recently discovered where 50 pounds of onions cost only 11$ and we just keep what we need and the rest we just give it away to our neighbors. In my trip to california once when we wanted to buy a large French Vanila coffee and then the extra large(almost 25% more than large) would cost only 20 cents more than we ordered the extra large and asked for two spare cups then split the coffee into three cups (you should have seen the look on the face of the gas station manager's face)..LOL
These are just a few ideas/tips and if you have any suggestions/tips then please do mention those for all of us to benefit. Any suggestions are greatly welcomed as we are just starting out our family and need to save not only for our retirement but also in future when kids arrive into the scene then there education,
marriage and better future for them also becomes the highest priority for us. Hence any tips/ideas/suggestions may help us and others to save money. As the saying goes "Money saved is money earned".
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Comments
Great information, Countrywomen. Bank of America really gives you back .99 on a purchase of $4.01, or does that still come out of your account somehow?
As far as the coffee goes, I would rather drink no coffee than the homeade that I have had. Of course, I'm not a big fan of Starbucks either. Bad luck!
Thanks for the tips.
with the global recession well under way
at home you'd better stay
the ugly wing of the recession sucks
better look after your bucks
the best place to be is Utopia
I dunno if it's near of far
you're not safe in any other land
so says Quicksand
go for the cheapest in the mall
or don't buy anything at all
the best way to save your money
is not to spend any
took me ten minutes to compose this one
all in the name of good fun
thanks for the advise in this hub, Countrywomen
somehow we'll get over this recession, Amen
Kristine- I agree it is best to be credit/debt free. That credit tip was taught to be in India where we could maximize the interest free credit card purchase when the amount was paid in full. Thanks for commenting.
Dave- No it doesn't come out of my account. That program is known as keep the change by BOA: http://www.bankofamerica.com/promos/jump/ktc/index
I myself drink tea occasionally but not much of a coffee drinker. He was a regular at starbucks earlier. And then he bought this good coffee maker and he makes really good coffee whenever guests come over. Its probably the only reason I allow him in the kitchen...LOL
You're back with a lot of good advice, CW! And I really like your Disclaimer, very sensible! Well done!
i love your hubs girl! thanks!
Hi, CW...
hm, the best saving in my life I ever made (not only of money, the energy as well) is that I did not want a car. Public transport can be so OK: at least you can sit and relax, and watch the town and beauty of this world through the window.
My bf wanted to by a car few months ago,and I was very tempted to support him, but then I realized all negative consequences of it and did all my best to discourage him. He also drive motorcycle, and I started to enjoy it so much when he is giving me ride. (here where I live winters are not too cold, so we can use it during the whole year. Finally I feel much better because we do not pollute our planet so much...and we saved so much money.In case we really need car for something, we can always use rent-a-car, or taxi-cab (which happens very, very rarely). No prices for insurance, car-registration, no need to fix the car...perfect.
When will be build the house, we will use solar panels and windmills for heating.
Telephones costs? Use the Skype on Internet, it is free of charge,but your friends also need to be registered, you can also use the video-camera in addition, so your conversation will be even more interesting.
I am from the country where we are used to the saving, we have recession since I was born, but believe me- to not spend too much time to worry about it - cut down expenses and enjoy this life !
A lots of love.
P:S. Will send you an e-mail soon....
Thanks countrywomen, I'll have to look into that keep the change thing, sounds fun.
BTW, you sure your husband doesn't just pretend to not know what he's doing in the kitchen? LOL
Looks like Tatjana could've made her own savings Hub. Her country has been in recession since she was born? Dang, bad luck! More great tips though.
Lots and lots of great tips. i loved it! Thank you.
Thanks for useful tips, Countrywoman. I also agree very much with Tatjana,
Happy day :)
Hey those were really useful tips from a new home maker. Sounds cute. Thumbs up.
CW: Good, sensible tips. Its nice to see your transistion from a single sensible woman to a married sensible woman. Your hubby sounds open minded. :)
countrywomen , you have given some very good tips, with, in my opinion, one exeption. I feel it is very dangerous to have more than one credit card, the interest rates here are still very high and it is very tempting if cash is short to put "it" on the plastic. It does not take long before the repayment because a huge burden.
The only reason I have a c/c is for convenience of paying bills, some companies will only except c/cards!
Quicksand,
Thanks for those nice lines
In your words wisdom shines
I agree that saving money
can be as sweet as honey
Surely we can not avoid the mall
but we can try to make the bill small
Glad that you found it fun
ok then bye now I got to run
:-)
Elena- Thanks for appreciating this article and especially the disclaimer. I guess no tip is universally applicable and depending on individual circumstances one should act. Besos :-)
Single Mama- Thanks for encouraging me. Glad you could stop by and comment.
Tatjana- Thanks for the tip about Skype and I do use Yahoo/MSN to communicate with my friends/family in India. That is so cool about the green eco friendly house that you are planning. May there be more of your kind who are so concerned for the environment. Unfortunately US is more car country and public transportation isn't as popular as it is in other parts of the world. I see that lots of people have rightly appreciated your thoughtful comments. I still hope to get the "click" love from you. Oh!! about the email its ok take your time.
Dave- Yes do checkout from BOA and get some cash back. Probably you can request her to write a hub about her tips or maybe I will if you don't. Btw I swear he doesn't know how to cook except for noodles or some basic things and more ever I like to have my say as far as kitchen is concerned hence while I am cooking kitchen is a no entry zone for him...LOL
Hey... that's a great peice of writing indeed..!
WOW!CW..you can help out our country's finance ministry..please come back..lol!You seem to be enjoying married life!sounds cute! On a serious note,I'm impressed with your tips..they are good and practical!Thanks!:)
Not married yet but I sure can use some of the tips :P
Thanks :)
"Cl" of love was done, of course!
The time when there was less cars in this part of Europe is far away unfortunately. 15 years ago here was one third of cars which people have now. Now almost everybody has the car. And is huge difference in pollution.
Dave, recession is not bad luck, it is more then anything- interesting challenge. We do not take it seriously any more. We know we will - survive. In the time when was the worst - around 1980, it was not only recession, a lot of things we just could not buy in the stores (like chocolate, coffee, detergent, sometimes there was no kitchen oil, milk or flower), I had such good fun because I enjoyed to run around and find stores where something of this necessities came on the shelves in small quantities. Then I first time daily practised how to imply Law of attraction, because I was always able to find everythig what I needed or wanted. I never felt lack of anything.
Difficult situations can have very positive impact on people: when was the war, and daily threaten of bombing capital city of Croatia (fortunately it happened only twice , but some parts of the country suffered much more and were almost completely destroyed), my neighbors and me had great fun being together in the basement of building, drinking coffee, making jokes, together overcoming the fear - we were very connected and then was more humor then ever...
Recession is great teacher, to teach us about simple beauties of the life which naturally exists outside of our sometimes too expensive ways of living. Simple things are so full of fun and beauty...
But really, recession really does not exist, it is an illusion: at least one half of humanity lives better then ever in the written history.
A lots of love to everybody.
Countrywomen, I would say that most men only cook basic things, like noodles and things that were already cooked once. LOL
Tatjana, I don't actually believe in bad luck. It's just a catch phrase I use kind of like, "dang", or "that's too bad", or something like that. Anyway, I agree, we can learn about the more simple things in life that we tend to overlook because of our luxuries. I enjoy your take on many things, and would love to hear more on the subject...
Thanks i will appreciate you for this article
Thanks Dave....
Netters- Thanks for encouraging and appreciating my tips. Glad you could stop by and comment.
Happy World- I totally agree with you that Tatjana surely is a very wise woman. In fact I consider her a "Nice Device to give Wise Advise". Thanks for appreciating me and Tatjana.
Anjali- Thanks for naming them "cute". Yes we are still learning and I really love that tip about subway footlong "grill" that you once mentioned. Thanks for stopping by.
VioletSun- Yes in some aspects he is open minded and I wish there are other aspects he would be equally open minded too. Anyway thanks for appreciating these tips. Hope you can pass on some tips too.
Agvulpes- Actually my husband has more than 10 cards and when I told him to cancel some cards he said it will affect his credit score(and his is above 800 and mine just above 750) hence he should know better. In US it is very easy to get credit cards and my idea was to limit it to a max of 5 but I agree the less the better(easier to manage too). Btw there are some stores here too like Costco (only accepts AMEX) and Sams Club (Discover card). Hence ideally one Discover/AMEX/VISA/Master card (total 4) should be sufficient. I totally agree with you that we need to consider credit as if the money is coming out of our bank's checking account and use it responsibly.
KeepItSimple- Thanks for appreciating this article and my writing. It's people like you who encourage me to be active on hub pages. Glad you could read and comment positively.
Laila- I am sure India is doing fine without me. We have a PM who opened the gates of our economy to the world. Hopefully things would pan out for the best for our country and the world in the near future. Yes we did have quite a few discussions and I just wrote based on our practical experiences. Thanks for appreciating.
Abhishek87- Don't worry you have sufficient time to enjoy your bachelor life before getting into the nitty gritties of married life..LOL
Your husband is correct. If you cancel credit cards it does affect your credit for some reason. Not sure why, but I know that it does.
Me, I can't stand to pay interest when I don't have to so I only use Amex, and just pay it every month.
Tatjana- That was a wonderful explanation about your experiences in Croatia. I really liked the "Law of attraction". I agree with you and as also Dave agreed that sometimes in life the most important things may not be bought with money but may actually be simple things like clean air, water and sunshine. Being in the lap of nature and getting up in the morning to the sounds of birds and gazing at the early morning sun are simple things but yet can sometimes be a luxury in cities especially with polluted air. You are so right about so many things. My father says that "the happiest people in life are not the people who have the most but they are the people who make the most of what they have". Thanks for the wonderful discussion with dave(and all of us).
Dave- My office colleagues husband is of Italian origin and he is such an excellent cook that I haven't ever tasted so many wonderful Italian vegetarian dishes (including Tiramisu). Just because my husband doesn't like cooking I wouldn't like to generalize that men don't like cooking in fact some of the best chefs in the world are men...LOL
WOW!! Are we both on the same wavelength I just submitted my comment and I saw your comment. I guess I don't like to take too many cards hence my credit score isn't as good as his (or maybe due to his longer credit history). Even I pay my card in full but extend the free credit till 3 days before the due date. I have reminders set in my cell phone for various payment due dates.
Octanmens- Thanks for encouraging and appreciating me. Glad you could stop by and comment.
CW: As per your comment to me, the only tip I can think of is based on my s/o's management of finances, he doesn't have debt, and says he developed this habit from the time he was 20 ( he is now in his early 50's) . If he wanted a house or car, he would save until he could pay in cash. He has only one credit card with a large available credit which he uses for the inventory of our business, and then pays the full balance off. The house we live in is paid for, so there is no mortgage. In addition, living within one's means, or better yet a little under one's mean leaves one more financially stable. He tells me, that most of his colleagues from his engineering days, would buy a bigger house, a bigger car, every time they had a promotion, and were all getting deeper and deeper into debt, while he was busy investing, and yet, he was not deprived as he also had a nice home and car, but not as flashy as his friends. I admit, I fall in the category of his friends, and regret my unwise choices, but at least I have learned. I am happy to see someone your age having financial intelligence, it will serve you well for the rest of your life.
GOOD
nice post... i like this informative information of .... more post please... i enjoy reading this...Thanks dude...
Yeah, for some reason, banks prefer to give you a mortgage or car loan when you are in debt, when you are debt free and need to borrow money, they don't want to give it to you. Go figure!
Nice money saving tips. However, I first need to save money in order to be able to afford to get Married! Your tips are still equally valid for me though :)
Great article - the only problem I find is with the description of the bank of america keep the change program. The way you describe it makes it sound like Bank of America is giving you the money, and when someone asked you if the money was actually from your own account or from Bank of America you state it was not from your own account - to clarify when you use your debit card the bank rounds up and takes the "change" from your checking account and puts it into your savings account. Bank of America is not giving you anything, it's your own money. They do have a program when you first sign up that if you stay in the program a year they give you a little free money. I have been in this program for years and it's great, it forces you to save money every time you use your debit card (but the money is in fact your own money transfering from your checking to savings account). Good post!
VioletSun- Thanks for the advice both from your spouse's & personal experience. Actually my husband's recent leased vehicle is an expensive vehicle but in general he is money wise conservative. Thanks for the best wishes/blessings.
LingJingJing- Thanks for appreciating and commenting.
Secured Homeowner Loan- Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
Cindyvine- It seems if when we show that we use credit/debt and also make payments on a regular basis then we seem to be "responsible" and also when we pay some interest then they are also making some money hence maybe more lucrative more them.
Skydiver- Good luck for saving money to be married. Thanks for appreciating and commenting.
Lola Dark- You are right "keep the change" program works only for an year and I made that disclosure in the hub now and also they have a cap about how much they give (I am not aware of any recent changes hence I included the link for him to verify). WOW!! You have been a customer for years that's good to hear. For me unless I have some direct deposit of a part of my salary somehow they expect to keep a minimum balance in the checking account which isn't on parity since I have credit union/US Bank which don't have similar rules. I guess each bank has certain positive and negative sides to it. Thanks for elaborating and commenting.
Great tips CW.
Good info Countrywomen, we need all the encouragement we can get now! =))
Very good advise. I would sum it all up as being completely aware of what is going on in your financial life and watching it closely.
Gwendy- Thanks for appreciating these tips. Hopefully you also can share some tips with us.
Marisue- Yes we need all the information to save money. Hopefully you have enough experience in saving which would be great if you could tell us.
Rgraf- Yes you are right taking control and personal responsibility is the key. Thanks for your appreciation.
Thanks everyone for stopping by and commenting.
Another Tips:
Always visit to your friend or relative house regulary.. they will offer food because newly married.. that way you can save your food expenses..
Hi countrywoman, there is some great advice here. I agree with credit cards.It's funny I never have had one myself which is probably a great thing.I don't think I could trust myself with one...it would be so hard to say no then. Credit card debt is a big problem in my country
Hubber2009- That is a good tip but unfortunately we don't have so many relatives in US around us(and I am not sure how our friends will react)..LOL
Blondepoet- Yes credit cards is a double edged sword one needs to know how to use them effectively. Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
Interesting, I never heard about the Bank of America change saver?! I wonder if my bank with First Citizens bank would do the same? This is a great hub for all newly wed couples! Thanks for the great advice!
Mayhmong- It is for a limited time and you might want to cross check with your local BOA. Thanks for appreciating and commenting.
CW...Thanks for letting me know you were worried abt Ashwin also...He told me in an e-mail about 3 months ago now he was having surgery on his shoulder and elbow from golfing injury...just have not heard from him as yet and was hoping all went well... I have sent him get well cards and more e-mails but no answers :O(...Praying all is ok...G-Ma :O) Hugs & Peace
Hi, CW...
I am Married from last 5 years Oh I wish i could Kow these tips at the time of my marriage..Anyways, Great Article.
Thanks For sharing...
Nice hub.
Hello Countrywomen, how is married life treating you? Glowing, I am sure. :-) I am not married but I know the tips you shared could be used by me as well. Thanks for sharing them. :-) Taking care of our financial life is part of having a loving and abundant life. Sending you lots of love and sunshine your way.
Cw -very nice hub lot of good points, I think you are giving too much personal info just a advice
Just staying home from Starbucks is a major savings. Generic drugs are great!
But as far as credit cards are concerned, I am all for just walking away if they try to raise rates unfairly, and I am for walking way from putting money in the big banks as a protest. Use a credit union or a safety box or both instead.
Generic is just as good as name brand. These days I love to go to Food For Less because I can buy bags and bags of food for around twenty dollars.
Nice tips, I use Bill payment and Mint.com, very helpful to balance the budget. I also use Quicken, but I prefer Mint, which is very easy. Regarding Bill Payment, it is better not to set to Automatic. If the balances are low then banks like Bank of America will charge heavy. Tons of Tips here, will be useful in recession or any time.
Very useful and well understandable information. Thanks for the effort placed into this hub :-)
Countrywomen: Great and useful information. You worked really hard to make it extra thorough. Nicely done!
Great tips!... it gives me much more ideas to save more money and relax despite the recession scare!=) I love this.
Some great advice CW, really well done. Thumbs up.
Great advice! Thanks for sharing
thanks
Good helpful tips. Even though I am not married but still lot of them makes sense to me personally. The new thing that I learned from this Hub is about Yodlee.com. I didn't know about any such service. You never know what you might come across. Thanks for the Hub!
Great thinking , Thanks for your efforts
GREAT TIPS :) Thanks :)
Coming from a newly wed, it is exceptional to have realized these things early. Thumbs up! =)
Useful not only for the newly weds but for everyone as well. Great hub.
kristinemac says:
9 months ago
Interesting hubs and useful advice. I don't know that I agree with everything...my husband and I are going from credit debt to debt free, ie: no more credit cards!...but otherwise very good. Thanks for sharing :D