Take Advantage of Credit Card Offerings
Does your credit card have a rewards program? Have you earned cash back that you haven’t cashed in? While this is not the time to accumulate huge balances on your credit cards, you can save a little bit by using your cards moderately and then taking advantage of the discounts, rewards, and cash back percentages that you earn. Call your credit card company to learn the rewards you have waiting. They may not make them obvious to you, so be proactive.

Start Using Cloth Napkins
Do you use napkins frequently at home meals? Why not switch to cloth? You can wash them when the meal is done, and cut down on your household goods budget. Not only that, but you will be helping to keep Australia beautiful at the same time.

Save on Petrol
There are many ways you can save on fuel for your vehicle. First, consider starting a carpool if you have co-workers or schoolmates who live near you. You can all take turns driving and cut back tremendously on your gasoline bill.

Second, make sure your car has all of its maintenance done, which will increase not only its life expectancy, but also its fuel efficiency. For example, if you keep your tires at the proper pressure, you will get better gas mileage.

Finally, drive more fuel efficiently. Avoid extremely fast starts and stops to help your vehicle get more miles out of each gallon of gas. Also, try to do as many errands as possible in the same trip, so that you have fewer trips to take.

Do Your Own Repairs
This is the time to become a handyman (or woman). If something breaks in your home, consult the owner’s manual before calling the repair person. You might be able to fix it yourself, and you will save hundreds of dollars. Of course, do not attempt to repair things that could be dangerous, like electrical items, if you do not have the proper training, but most appliances, some things on your car and even some plumbing tasks can be fixed by the average homeowner without the need to call in the experts.

Learn to Stock Up
When your favourite store has a sale on something your family eats regularly, stock up. Canned goods can go in a cabinet, and meat can go in the freezer, and by stocking up when these items go on sale you will save a lot on your yearly grocery budget. You can even buy meat that is getting close to its expiration date and freeze it. This meat is often deeply discounted, yet is perfectly good if you freeze it right away.

By combining tips like these, you will save quite a bit of money over the year. It may not make much of a difference in your weekly or monthly budget, but if you stick to these tips, you will end up with more money in your pocket at the end of the year.

Problems with Payments
You may think you are doing fine with your credit cards because you are dutifully making the minimum payment each and every month. This is a great goal, but if all you make is the minimum payment, you will always have credit card debt. The minimum payment does little to pay down your debt, because it barely covers the finance charge you added too the debt that month, particularly if you have a high balance or interest rate. If you cannot afford to at least double your minimum payment, then you are in trouble.

Reliance on Credit Cards
Credit cards should be used only as a tool to help your financial situation, not as a tool to get you things that you want or need but otherwise cannot afford. If you regularly turn to credit cards to buy things for your family, or if you cannot imagine going a month without using your credit cards, then you are relying too heavily on them. You are headed toward credit card debt problems.

Too Many Cards
When you get an offer for a great new card, do you instantly sign up? Do you have more than two or three cards in your wallet that you regularly use or that have balances on them? If you do, you have too many cards, and this can be sign of a debt problem. You may be addicted to spending with your credit cards.

Your Debt Is a Secret
Do you do everything you can to keep the credit card balances you have a secret? Does your spouse or significant other know how serious the problem is? Do you hide statements so that he or she will not find out? If you have something to be ashamed of when it comes to your credit card debt load, you probably have a problem.

Credit Card Balances
Are your credit cards maxed out? This can be a sign of a debt problem. It also has an affect on your credit rating. Do what you can as fast as possible to lower those balances and stop adding to them.

What to Do if You Have a Problem
If you decide that you have a credit card debt problem, start making changes. You need to stop spending and start paying down those debts. If this seems like an impossible task to tackle on your own, consider looking for debt counselling services. There are several free government sponsored options, such as the Rural Financial Counselling Service offered in rural areas by the Department of Agriculture. If you live in the city, look for government or charitable financial counselling services, and get the help you need today.

Write Down Your Goals
Are you saving for a big vacation, payment for big credit card debts, a university education for the kids, or to pay cash for a new vehicle? Write down your goals and the length of time you are giving yourself to reach them. Then, track your progress. As you see yourself coming closer and closer to your goals, you will be more motivated to stay within your budget.

Consider Your Obstacles
Everyone faces financial obstacles. Perhaps your income is much lower then you feel it should be. Maybe you cannot start saving for your goals until you pay off a substantial debt. Do not let these hurdles stop you. Instead, acknowledge them and work them into your budgeting plan.

This requires asking yourself some hard questions. You need to evaluate what is holding you back from reaching your financial goals. You cannot overcome these obstacles until you know what they are.

Plan to Overcome Your Obstacles
Make a written plan for overcoming the obstacles you have listed. Perhaps it is debt that is holding you back. Write down your plan for the way you will repay your debt load. Which credit card will you repay first? When you repay it, plan to roll that amount onto the next credit card, and continue this process until they are all paid. If your obstacle is lack of sufficient funds, write down plans for either cutting back or increasing your income. By having a written plan, you are more likely to see hope for overcoming your obstacles.

Look at the Benefits
How does budgeting benefit you and your family? Does it provide less financial stress? Does it give you more freedom on how to spend your money, since you know there is money available to spend on that particular item? While your individual benefits are going to be unique to your situation, here are some common ways people benefit from going on a budget:

• Freedom in knowing how much money is available to spend
• Ability to pay off debt faster
• Learning to appreciate the items you have instead of always buying new ones
• Understanding the value of each dollar that is brought into the family
• Ability to find money to put into savings

Budgeting is a challenge, and it takes discipline to stick to a budget, but the alternative is simply unthinkable. If you do not know where your income is being spent, you will regularly waste money that could be used to fund your children’s education, pay for your retirement or send your family on that vacation you so desperately need. Use these tips to keep yourself motivated, but whatever you do, create a budget and start using it today!

Find Alternative Accommodations
The biggest chunk of money you will spend while on holiday is on your accommodations. Hotels are expensive, no matter what you do. You can save money by shopping online or travelling in the slow season, but a hotel is still expensive.

Instead, try to think of an alternative accommodation option. If you own a tent or trailer, travel somewhere that you can camp. This is always more affordable than staying in a hotel. Consider visiting relatives this year or renting the home of a friend or family member in another part of the country while he is on holiday for a more affordable rate. Of course, do not become a pest if you do this, but if you have someone who will willingly welcome your family, take advantage of the offer this year. You can even stay home and vacation in your local area, exploring the things you have never seen before because you have been too busy with work.

Save on Food
Try not to eat at restaurants while on holiday if at all possible. If your accommodations have kitchen facilities, eat in. Bring your food from home as well. If you cannot get accommodations with a kitchen, try to get a refrigerator in your room. Then you can make a cold meal to take for lunch, saving you the cost of at least one meal a day. If your family needs regular snacks, bring these with you. You can also bring breakfast items, like pastries or oatmeal, to save some money by skipping a restaurant breakfast.

Take a Day Off
If you are travelling somewhere that has much to see and do, schedule some “days off” into your holiday. Play games in the hotel or at the campground and simply enjoy each other’s company. Go swimming in the hotel pool, roast something over the campfire and remember what you appreciate about those in your family. You will save money, because you will not be spending it on the attractions of your destination. You will also be getting some rest, which is part of the purpose of a holiday.

Limit Your Travel Expenses
If staying home is not appealing, you can still lower the cost of your holiday by sticking closer to home. You do not need to fly to an exotic destination to enjoy a fun holiday, nor do you need to drive too far from home. By limiting the length of your travel, you will save money on gas or airline tickets.

Remember, the goal of going on holiday is to spend quality time with your family away from your normal stresses and commitments, not necessarily to see the latest and greatest tourist attraction or the most popular holiday spot. By planning carefully, you can still enjoy your holiday without spending a fortune.

Start Saving Anything
Many of us live on a bare bones budget, with little extra to tuck away. Even if all you can do is put $50 a month in an account, start doing it. The money will eventually add up, and you will feel confident knowing you have some cushion should the unexpected happen.

The only way to make this work is to treat payments to your emergency fund the same as any other bill, and to give it top priority. Pay yourself first and your other bills second. Then, put the money in a fund that is not quite so easy to access. You want to be able to access it if you have a true emergency, but you do not need to be able to access it if you use up all of your grocery money eating out that month.

Make It Automatic
One of the easiest ways to ensure that you are saving your money is to make saving automatic. Try to find a bank account that lets you make automatic deposits. Many of the online banks will automatically withdraw funds from your primary bank account to put into the savings account. It’s much harder to save money once it hits your bank account, so make the savings payment automatic.

Start with a Budget
You may not be able to see a way to stash money in an emergency fund. If you are in this situation, start with a budget. Take a month or two to monitor where your money is going. If you track your expenditures for a period of time, you will quickly see where you are wasting money that could be used towards your emergency fund. If you are like the average consumer, you have little idea of where your money is going.

Cut the Extras
You do not have to live like a miser, but if you can cut some of your extra expenditures and put money in savings, your future will look much brighter. Make your own coffee at home instead of stopping at the coffee shop. Pack a picnic for a family outing rather than stopping at the fast food restaurant. Your budget will show you where some of those extras are, so start working on it now.

Remember, if you sacrifice a little today to build your emergency fund, you will be less dependent on your credit cards, and will instead be able to use them to your advantage if you want to. When a true emergency hits, you will have the cash to deal with it.

A credit card is not the evil entity that many have pictured it to be. You can use credit cards wisely and benefit substantially from them, but you will have to start thinking before you buy!

Pay Your Bill
The first way to use your credit card more wisely is to start paying your bill, in full, every month. This allows you to benefit from the freedom of charging your purchases as well as any benefits programs offered by your credit card company, without paying the high interest fees common with modern credit cards.

Remember, you are paying at least 14 percent in interest for most credit cards. When you do not pay your bill in full, you are, in effect, taking out a high-interest loan for the purchase. Stop and think about what you bought on your card the last time you used it. Was it socks? A meal at your favourite fast food restaurant? A cup of coffee? Would you really ask your bank to give you a high interest loan for that purchase? By using your credit card and not paying the bill off, you are doing just that.

Set Limits
How many credit cards do you own? If you are struggling with reigning in your spending, limit yourself to one credit card. While you are at it, lower the credit limit slightly so that it is something you can realistically manage, should you have an emergency that forces you to use the entire limit. If you do not have a dozen cards ready for you to use, each with its own due date, penalty system and credit limit, you will have a much easier time staying on top of your debt load and not overspending. Avoid carrying it in your wallet, where you will end up using it for spur-of-the-moment purchases.

Take Advantage of Rewards
One of the main arguments for keeping a credit card available to you is the rewards programs offered by most major credit card programs. As you are choosing the card you are going to use or the one out of your wallet you are going to keep, choose one that has a good rewards program. Then, keep track of the credits you have earned, and be ready to cash them in.

Gift cards used as gifts for the holidays, free airline travel and even a credit on your bill are all possibilities with credit card rewards programs. If you are charging your purchases, but paying off those charges every month, you are earning credit cards rewards points. However, this is a wasted benefit if you do not take advantage of the points you have earned. Also, do not pay fees in order to get a great rewards program, unless it is truly a program you will not find elsewhere for free.

My husband and I have discovered that the best we can do is make an educated guess about how we should manage our finances. That doesn’t mean that we’ll always be right, but it does mean that we have some sort of direction and are taking steps to meet our goals. We have to constantly remind ourselves that we need to be flexible when it comes to our personal finances, because finances can change more than anything else in our lives can.

It’s almost a necessity to have a Plan B for your finances. There is always the chance that your current plan, no matter how good it is, will not be successful or your current circumstances will force you to tackle your finances differently. A Plan B will help you avoid panicking when something unexpected happens that affects your money.

Your Plan B doesn’t need to be elaborate and detailed, but it does need to point you in the right direction. Think about possible events that could affect your finances. What if you or your spouse suddenly becomes unemployed? What if you or your spouse gets that promotion? You need to plan for both good and bad financial changes because you’ll want to be able to handle a surplus of money as well as you handle a deficit.

You obviously can’t foresee everything that might happen, but you can make a list of events that are possibilities or that others you know have encountered. Being prepared for change is the best way to face it.

My suggestion for you:

Always have a Plan B! It will give you confidence because you’ll know that you’re prepared no matter what happens.

This may sound like a cliche, but we found that the most important part of a holiday is not the destination, but the time we spend together as a family. Since my husband and I decided to get our debt under control and omitted travelling holidays, we’ve discovered some great alternatives to our annual trips. It may take a little research to find something to suit your family, but I promise you it will be well worth the effort.

One year we stayed home and used some of the time to complete projects around the house. This doesn’t sound too exciting, but we were thrilled when the projects were done. No more thinking about things we needed to do - they were done! We spent the rest of the time visiting friends and family and just relaxing at home. When we returned to work, we didn’t carry the stress that often comes with a holiday trip.

A good way to spend your holiday is to pretend you’re a tourist. If you were visiting your city, what would you want to see? Your local newspaper is a good source of local entertainment news. You can also search the Internet for ideas of places to visit in and around your town. You’ll probably be surprised at the fun and inexpensive things you can do without travelling to another part of the country.

If you have family members or good friends in another city, ask them if they’d like to trade houses for a week. You can each travel to the other’s home for a free place to stay while you visit the attractions there. You’ll have the luxury of having a complete kitchen to prepare your meals - and save lots of money on food. Of course, you can always visit some of the local restaurants, too.

Use your creativity, and you’re sure to come up with some fabulous plans for your next holiday. You’ll be pleased with all the money you save and will probably discover some great entertainment you would have otherwise missed.

My suggestion for you:

Think of ways you can stay at home and still have an exciting holiday. You’ll be able to have a relaxing time and reconnect with your family. The amount of money you save will make it even better!

Other steps to take can begin with asking about multiple swipes made to your card. Often, multiple swipes are necessary because the magnetic strip on the card doesn’t read correctly, but sometimes, cards will be swiped more than once so the information can be later transferred to a fake, duplicate card. Always ask why multiple swipes are necessary.

Also, never use your credit card to make a payment on an unsecured Web site. To check to see if a Web site is secure, look for a small lock icon in the lower right corner of the site or for the page’s status bar. If the lock is not there, then the site is not secure and you should not use a credit card to make payments. Credit card numbers can easily be swiped, with a little computer know-how, from unsecured sites.

Today’s job market certainly calls for connecting yourself with as many people as possible. There are fewer jobs to choose from and more people applying for them, so you need to ramp up your search to get ahead of the competition. The problem is that many networking opportunities occur within the workplace: co-workers who know contacts at other businesses, sales people who have contacts in multiple places, and vendors who can give you the latest news on who’s hiring. If you’re currently unemployed, you’ll miss out on these networking opportunities, but that doesn’t mean you’re completely out of the networking loop.

One of the benefits of working for a company is having business cards you can pass out to everyone you meet. Business cards are easy to carry and have all the basic information anyone will need to remember you along with your contact information (phone, email, and fax). What if you’ve recently lost your job and are no longer the Accounting Specialist at XYZ Company? You order your own business cards and start giving them to anyone that can possibly lead you in the direction of another job.

You can probably find at least a few local businesses that print business cards, or you might want to try one of the online printing businesses. Either way, the cost is usually reasonable enough for the job seeker on a limited budget. The investment will be well worth it. Your business cards will serve as a mini-resume that you can give to hundreds of people.

Be creative with your personal business cards, but don’t try to be too clever or fancy. Unconventional colours or strange fonts may make your information difficult to read and detract from what you’re trying to convey to the reader. Look at as many samples of business cards as you can before deciding which colours and style you want to use. You’ll want your business cards to look professional and attractive.

Make sure all your essential information is on the card, such as your name, contact information, and your speciality. You can use the job title from your last job or use one of your own. You’ll be able to broaden or narrow the scope of your job hunt by choosing the correct job title. Along with this basic information, put your objective on the front of the card (”to obtain a position that utilises my expertise in all aspects of accounting”).

On the back of the card, you can list your pertinent job skills and areas of knowledge. Since you won’t have much room to do this, you’ll need to be concise. The readers will appreciate this because too much information in a small space can be confusing and difficult to read.

It’s a tough job market today, so arm yourself with something that will give you a definite advantage. Your personal business cards are an easy way to give yourself the edge over your competition.