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Counterfeiting is still a problem in America today, and one can assume that this practice will only become more prevalent as America’s economy struggles. The first point of interest will be in some high-tech anti counterfeiting measures that governments and store merchants have taken in recent years. (more…)

Creating a budget: does this sound like fun to you? Or would you rather spend your time doing something else? Nobody ever said that creating a budget is as fun as riding a roller coaster. But that being said, most people know that a budget is essential to their overall well being. Surely you believe that, right?

If you don’t want to go overboard, but know that a budget is important, stick to the basics. There is no rule saying that your budget has to be based on high tech software, and full of information you will never want or need. Instead, you can start a budget with a pen and a piece of paper. If you are feeling a bit more tech-savvy you can use a basic Excel spreadsheet to get started.

The basics of your budget should include: your income, expenses, and savings. If you are accurate with all three areas, no matter how many numbers you have, your budget will work out in the end. You may need to make adjustments from time to time, but that is something that everybody has to do.

When creating a budget the basics are what you should focus most of your time and effort on. Once you have the “bones” in place you can make changes as they come up. Who said that creating a budget was a long, boring process?

Did you know that the right budget can save you hundreds of dollars every month? People who don’t have a budget will never believe this. But those who do, and follow all its details, will tell you time after time that it saves them a lot of money. With money so tight, why wouldn’t you want to save? Millions of Americans are strapped for cash, but the right budget can help you better your situation and avoid future problems.

With a budget you will know for sure how much money you earn and how much you spend. It is your expense column that will show you just how much you can save. For example, after a few weeks of budgeting you may find that you are spending $500 per month on groceries. In turn, you decide that this is entirely too much and begin to watch what you are buying. Soon enough you may be able to trim your grocery budget to $400. This may not work with every expense, but there are a few that you may be able to cut a little bit in order to save money.

Even if your budget only saves you a few dollars each month this will add up by the end of the year. Let your budget guide you, and there is a good chance that more and more money will end up in your savings column. And that is what you want, right?

photo credit: Tracy O

If your aim is to save money and stick to a budget, you might be surprised at how useful a credit card or a debit card can be. If you really can’t trust yourself with a credit card - that is, you run the risk of spending money you don’t yet have and not being able to pay the full bill at the end of the month - then definitely stick to a debit card. But the following principle applies in both cases.

The thing is, if you are paying for pretty much every item you buy on your debit or credit card, then at the end of the month you’ll get a handy statement from the bank that itemizes (at least) every store where you spent money, and how much. This is an excellent way to keep track of your money and see where you could cut down some of your spending.

Others agree that spending money with debit or credit cards helps you track your spending, in comparison to spending cash - there are often a lot of holes in the “where my money went” budget at the end of the month if you tend to use cash. So consider this when you’re contemplating cutting up all your cards - they might actually be helping you in some ways.

We’re nearly done with 1/12th of 2009 and chances are good that your spending habits are still bad. You might not have the money to purchase large items or expensive fashion, but most of us have a little bit of cash hanging around. The problem comes from seeing that cash as just “hanging around” instead of viewing it as a brick in the massive wall of financial freedom and wealth. If you tend to spend small amounts indiscriminately, consider the following. 

1. You wouldn’t trade a can of Coke for a private tropical island, would you? Of course not! Then don’t buy frivolous items. Each time you do, you are giving up some of that tropical beach sand. Feel the sun on your face and the wind in your hair? No, you don’t, because you just drank it and now it’s gone. Figure out exactly how much cash you must have on-hand to meet your basic needs each day and carry only that amount with you. 
2. Start carrying a little notebook. If you want to be extremely chic, pick up a Moleskin at your local Barnes & Noble’s. Make a habit of writing down each time you spend money with an amount and a reason for purchase. Save receipts. Cash in on your laziness and reduce the number of times you write in your little book by reducing the times you buy things! 

I’m not saying to never buy fun small things. Just make a habit of not buying them so that when you do, they’ll be much more enjoyable.

There’s (almost) no such thing as a person who can’t save, says Money Magazine - only a person who won’t. For most people, saving is a matter of being disciplined and “paying yourself first”. If you’re having trouble putting away any savings, think about these tips:

• Track your spending for a month and note categories where you could easily save money - for example, cutting down on takeaway coffee or DVD rentals. Check the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Expenditure Survey stats if you want to compare your spending to the “average American”.
• Use what author Walter Updegrave names the “two line budget”. The first line is how much you earn in a month; the second line is a calculation for 10% of this amount (the percentage could be more or less if need be, but around 10% is a great start). This is the amount you should save each month, simply by putting it into your savings account as soon as your pay check arrives, before a single dollar is spent on bills or anything else.
• The other alternative to transferring your 10% into a savings account is to sign up for a 401(k) or similar through your employer - this is even better because the savings will be tax-free, your employer may be contributing extra, and you don’t actually see this money - it is taken from your pay check before it gets to you, so there is no temptation to spend it.

photo credit: pfala

If you are like most people you have a certain amount of money to get you through the month. When this is gone you have three options: do without until next month, dip into your savings, or use credit cards. As you can imagine, number one is the best option. You never want to use credit cards to get by, and of course, if you can stay away from your savings, unless you have a very good reason, it is a good idea.

The best way to make your money last the entire month is to have a budget. This way you know how much income to expect and how many expenses you will be faced with. This may change every so often, but a basic budget is a great place to start. With a budget in hand you will know what to expect, and whether or not you will have enough money to get by. If you don’t, you need to make changes.

Do whatever it takes to make your money last the entire month. This way you don’t have to rely on savings or credit cards to get by. When your income is more than your expenses you should not have any problems.

Having (and sticking to) a budget is one of the key ways to become debt free and manage your money well. Yet plenty of people who try to run their finances according to a budget fail, and that’s probably because they’re making common mistakes that mean failure is much more likely. Here are some key features of a successful budget to help you out when planning where your money will come from and where it will go:

• Make sure categories are appropriate for your personal situation, rather than just copying categories from somebody else’s suggested budget categories.
• Don’t forget to include expenditure that doesn’t happen monthly - for example, maintenance costs of your car which might only occur twice year.
• Ensure that you take account of cash that you spend as well, not just what gets put on the credit card or you write checks for. It’s easy to “not notice” the couple of dollars you spend on a coffee each day, but it adds up quickly throughout the month.
• Include “savings” as an expenditure category so you can “pay” into your savings account (or investment or emergency fund, for example) the same way as you would pay a bill.
• Don’t make the categories and information required for tracking your spending so detailed that you give up doing it because it’s too labor-intensive.

A new British book written by two women, Sheconomics, might bring some controversy for the two authors, Karen Pine and Simonne Gnessen. They’re claiming that women have inferior skills to men when it comes to dealing with finances and they’ve written this book to explain why this might be so and to suggest ways that women can change this.

According to Pine and Gnessen, the whole finance world is focused on men. The language used to talk money is a turn-off to many women, and the lack of emotion and feeling involved in financial decision making excludes women too. Many women even simply allow their partners to take control of their finances without giving it a second thought. But the facts are that many women will be single by the time they reach retirement age and should inform themselves now about how to manage their finances better.

One of the key points that the authors make is that emotion plays a part in finances, but it shouldn’t play too much of a role, and women need to recognize this. That starts even at the level of “retail therapy”, when women don’t mind spending money to cheer up their mental state, regardless of the financial impact. They suggest that women should take responsibility for their money and spending habits and learn more about investments and pensions.

And in their defence, they do recognise that there are millions of women out there who already do this very well! But they say that research shows there are a lot of women who don’t, and this book is for them.

Your gym membership may just be your local gym’s way of preying on your good intentions to make a buck. Unless you live in outer space, you are subject to the laws of gravity. This means you can use your own body weight to exercise your muscles. For many of us, myself included, it would be nice to have a little less body weight to exercise with! Here are three everyday things you can substitute for the machines at the gym that were built as substitutes for the everyday objects you have around you. Think about that for a moment! Ready? Here we go:

1. Stairs: Your local gym has stairclimbers, stairmasters, and other machines with fake steps. Forget about those machines and find some stairs near you. Chances are you have stairs right in your building. Make a game of adding steps each day. There are 1860 steps from the street level to the 102nd floor of the Empire State Building. When you’re up to running that many steps, the people who use the machines at the gym will wear a path to your door begging to know how you got so fit!
2. Sidewalks, fields, mountain roads, vacant lots, city streets: A few years back, some fitness experts got together and decided to build a machine that would allow people to continue a walking motion without getting anywhere, seeing anything, or meeting anybody. They came up with the treadmill and lonely, boring people have been using them ever since. Take your plain old shoes on your plain old legs and walk yourself out the door. An amazing world of exercise awaits you!
3. Heavy stuff: Do you realize how silly it is to get dressed up and go to a building to lift metal disks and yank on cables attached to more metal disks? Unless you work in a cable-and-disk factory, this shouldn’t be a normal part of your day. We are surrounded by heavy things and when we run out of heavy things to move, we have our own body weight to work with. If you still have energy after cleaning your house and helping your neighbor move, do some push-ups. Feeling really creative? Sit down cross-legged on your kitchen floor then stand back up…50 times. The same drive that would keep you going to the gym can be re-directed into physical activities you don’t have to pay for.

I’m not a doctor or otherwise certified to give out health advice. If you hurt yourself trying to bench press your office furniture, you won’t be able to sue me. However, I do know about saving money in practical ways. If you are serious about saving money, start by cancelling your gym membership.