The formula for how much money you need to sock away for retirement is 80% of your pre-tax net income. This takes into account the fact that your living expenses decline when you don’t work, from transportation to wardrobe and eating out. However, what isn’t mentioned in this formula is that taxes are supposed to drop too, giving you a bit of a tax break from tax-deferred retirement accounts. When you were working, you might have been in a 28% tax bracket, but upon retirement, you may end up lowering that tax bracket due to a lower income. If you have planned for the same income though, you may find that’s not the case. To get the most bang for your buck in retirement, it becomes even more important to pick a strategy that includes reducing your tax burden. (more…)

Are you handy in the kitchen? If so, you have probably found that cooking from scratch saves you tons of money in grocery bills. How about extending your skills to other types of activities that can help save you even more? It can also come in handy in a pinch, when some emergency bills steals your grocery money. While you can opt to get a short-term loan, like a payday loan, the other possibility is to have your food stored away in the pantry or refrigerator to allow you to weather the small financial setback.

Harvest Is Here

Notice food prices being low right now in grocery stores? That’s because the harvest is here and with that comes an abundance of produce. A large supply and average demand means lower prices. Take advantage of that to buy up large quantities of cucumbers for pickling, fruit for jams and jellies, and vegetables for freezing. Take them home and have yourself some fun in the kitchen, while preparing an edible emergency cushion.

Canning

This requires some equipment to do, but it’s relatively inexpensive. Be sure you can raise the temperature of the water in your canner to boiling. Some older electric stoves have too small a burner and difficulty reaching the right temperature. Take a canning class at your local community college or check out a book from the library. It’s not as hard as it sounds and the jars are reusable for next year. Once you’ve invested in some quality canning equipment, it can be re-used year after year, except for the lids that need to be replaced.

Canning can allow you to store items on a room temperature shelf without fear of spoiling. You can make pickles, jams, and jellies very easily at home, and for a fraction of the cost it takes to buy them. After you start experimenting you will find that the produce tastes better too, than canned goods from the grocery store. It allows you a way to be creative with recipes and provides hard to beat enjoyment during the winter time, when fresh foods are costly.

Freezing

If you don’t want to go to all the fuss and bother of canning, there is still freezing. This is the modern way to store lots of food. You don’t even have to cook it, if you don’t want to. You can buy an entire steer from a butcher, share it with a family, and freeze the rest in a large chest freezer. You can take extra produce from the farmer’s market, and freeze fruits and vegetables for use in pies, casseroles, and stews in the winter time. Freezing is very easy, but may have less “shelf life” than canning. It also tends to taste fresher than canning. It can be used with herbs, butters, cheese, and other types of unusual products that you would never consider canning on your own too. Just buy the items when they are cheap at the store, and store them in the freezer until you have a need for them. Add the date you refrigerate them, so you know how old each item is and don’t eat anything too old.

In these times of economic crisis, it is good to know that there are solutions and ways to save money on our bills. From using coupons at the grocery store to cash back programs that allow us to get money back on purchases, there are outlets in our time of need to help us retain our current salaries, especially when we have big expenses to take care of. There are corners that we can cut to save and adjust our budgets to stretch what we do have so that our quality of life does not suffer. We want to live well and save money and one area where we can make headway is our technology and the money we pay to be “connected”. There are many areas where we can save on technology costs and although it may not seem like much, these savings can really add up to a respectable amount. By saving this money, we may be able to increase our retirement fund or afford that great vacation that we have never been able to take. (more…)

Those that are interested in buying or selling their homes have been watching various sites with great interest to see what their 2009 house market prediction will be. So far, many people are refusing to make any sort of prediction, but those that have are saying that the price on homes will continue to decrease as the year goes on. This is a bleak outcome for those looking to sell, but may be exciting news for those that are wishing to buy at some point during the year. If you’re one of those people, don’t wait too terribly long before beginning your hunt for a new home. (more…)

Student loan statistics indicate that the average 2009 college graduate is going to receive their diploma and be in debt to the tune of $22,000 in student loans. This does not take into consideration the roughly $9,000 in additional credit card debt that a majority of students will graduate with as well. This leaves many people just entering the job market with an enormous financial burden. Even someone with good financial management skills will be challenged to meet their basic expenses easily. (more…)

With the price of living going up and more companies going out of business, many families have deemed it necessary to take on part time jobs along with their full time jobs in order to help make ends meet. This may be because of the company a loved one worked for going over, or simply because now more than ever people are seeing the importance of being able to set a little something aside in a savings account just in case something happens to them. Even when prices and the economy aren’t much of a concern, many people are still pulling down full time and part time jobs for a variety of reasons. (more…)

In the current financial climate it is important to have a steady income, lower cost of living and good emergency financial plans in place. This is particularly important for those entering or already living in their retirement years.

Usually the process of arranging an easy and comfortable retirement begins with the living arrangements. A majority of retirees make plans to sell their homes and relocate to a more affordable location. This can often include apartments or retirement communities, but they will still need to be in places that have a lower cost of living. This means that selecting an affordable retirement city or town is the wisest step in planning for the “golden years”. (more…)

Credit card debt has been mounting this past year as Americans are sometimes using their credit cards to stay afloat during these turbulent times. As the economy has gotten worse, consumers are often turning to their credit cards and cash advances to make ends meet including bill payments, groceries and energy bills.  (more…)

There are many kinds of savings accounts and you may find use for one or another, depending on your current circumstances. Let’s briefly consider a few major types of savings account. First of all, you have a basic bank account, which is the typical savings account most banks offer customers. This type of savings account is mainly for storage and frequently used to pay short-term expenses. These accounts usually have low interest rates and fewer restrictions as to withdrawals. (more…)

Budgeting can be fun? Actually, in the current economy, making a budget requires a lot of creativity and planning, which can be made into a really fun adventure for the whole family. Some fun budgeting ideas include creating a household competition to see who can recycle the most, use the least amount of resources or save the most money. Such activities would see kids clipping coupons, rinsing cans and bottles for the recycle bin and even using timers when brushing their teeth or taking a shower. The winner could get a special treat or the chance to pick out what the family will eat for dinner. (more…)