Saving

What’s Your Method?

Perhaps you’re battling credit card debt or your lack of follow through on budgeting tips.  Maybe you need to work on educational savings goals for your children, or your retirement savings.  Whatever the case may be, you must find your method for meeting your financial goals and budgeting needs.

Choose Your Budgeting Style

One of the major elements is in respect to your budget.  When you do this, you must consider some important aspects with you and your budget:

• How technological, or “un-technological,” must it be?  Consider any devices that you have which could lead to an obvious choice in terms of convenience.
• What features do you need?  From the basics that a notebook could take care of, to the advanced features that an advanced program on your notebook computer can demonstrate, there are many sides to this story.
• Do you need to keep multiple budgets?
• Identify any weaknesses you have with keeping a budget, or remembering to use it.

Some of these points will lead you to a certain direction.  If you’re old school, you might prefer to stick with your pen and paper.  A smartphone that you use every day could mean that an app is right.  Take some time to consider how you currently keep a budget, as having something that works well for you is extremely important – how else will you pay off credit cards and  save for your children’s education?

The Problem of Motivation

As we continue our casual look into financial methods, another incredibly important issue is brought up with motivation.  In financial articles, it is perhaps not spoken of more often.  After all, the best budgeting tips in the world will do no good if they are not followed, of course.

You have to take a deep, hard look at the ways needed to motivate yourself.  For instance, some consumers needing to cut their expenses down or save more may find success of the following:

• Give yourself a goal.  For instance, as part of your budgeting changes, you could invest a small amount into a savings account each month.  With that money you could go on a small trip, thus giving you incentive. Or you could be saving for a deposit on your dream home.
• Put your budget in plain sight.  You might “see no evil” if you ignore views of your budget.  Let yourself see the debt you have on a regular basis; it might drive you to act upon it and remain disciplined.
• Inspiration.  Do what it takes to follow through.  Maybe you can have your household keep each other honest with spending money, or post reminders (i.e. notes around those high-priced restaurants’ phone numbers).  Put a picture of your future trip via the first point.

Overall, there are many aspects that can impact your financial well-being that are not directly about money.  The manner in which you keep your budget and motivate yourself with your budget can make a big difference.  Approach these items carefully to make implementing your financial plan much easier on yourself.  Sometimes you just have to do what it takes when it comes to your budget, and these examples can certainly help with execution and practice of good habits.

The preceding post is a guest post.

Getting the Most Out of My Tax Saver Benefit Plan

When it turns out that you owe a lot of money to the IRS, it is best to save money on taxes in any way possible.  One of the ways for me to do that is by getting the most out of my tax saver benefit (TSB) plan at work.

What is a Tax Saver Benefit (TSB) Plan?

At our place of employment the TSB is a flexible spending plan that allows employees to set aside pre-tax dollars for use on either child care during the year or medically related expenses that aren’t covered by insurance such as deductibles and co-pays.  Some employers may refer to these plans as flexible spending accounts or plans or “cafeteria plans”.

For 2012, the maximum that we can contribute is $6,000 for either child care, medical expenses or a combination of both.  Since my wife stayed at home when the kids were younger and now we don’t need child care, we have always selected the medical expense option.

The difficulties associated with these plans is that you have to use the money or you would lose it.  So it is imperative that an accurate assessment of needs during the upcoming year be made since the anticipate payroll deductions are determined each fall for the following year.  This is different from a Health Savings Account (HSA) in which the money will roll over from year to year and can be invested as well.

Speaking of the HSA…

It used to be that I didn’t have a Health Savings Account at work, but now that it is available, I have signed up for that plus a high deductible health plan.  Because I have an HSA, the impact on the TSB is a little bit tricky.  I can no longer use the TSB for co-pays or other medical expenses.  That is what the HSA is for.  Instead, the TSB is basically for eyes and teeth now.

Having six kids means a fair amount of dental work and routine care during the year, so I am able to take advantage of the TSB and save some money on my taxes.  Believe me, every bit helps.

Now this year, in order to maximize the benefit that I am receiving, I called the orthodontist in November before the enrollment period to estimate my costs for this year and set aside that amount plus a little bit extra.  The kids are getting into that age where they are getting braces so it is relatively easy to figure out the costs that will be incurred in 2012.  I plan on doing the same thing for the next year since the last 2 kids are getting close to that age.

In the meantime, thanks to our relative health, I have been able to put away money in the HSA for later and not use any of it over the past several years.  Ultimately, the plan is to have it available should I need my knees replaced like my dad.  They swell when I run and are often sore, but I am getting along and hope to put off any significant procedures as long as possible.

Readers, do you have a flexible spending plan or health savings account to set aside pre-tax dollars for later use?

Related articles

• Flexible Spending Account: Are You in the Sweet Spot? (bargaineering.com)

10 Cost Saving Energy Tips

Is there anything better than saving money? Is there anything better than protecting the environment? Believe it or not, there are some steps you can take in your life to do both at the same time. As you continue to make the following changes, you will feel better about what you are doing for the environment. And of course, you will fall in love with the fact that you are saving money.

1. Use fans instead of air conditioners during summer months. This is easier said than done in some cases, but once you get in the swing of things everything will work out. Believe it or not, running two fans instead of a single room air conditioner could save you $300+ per year.

2. Take a shorter shower. Are you the type of person who spends hours on end in the shower? Cut back two minutes on every shower and you will find yourself saving water and money.

3. Why continue to deal with that leaky faucet? Not only is the dripping-sound annoying, but you are throwing money down the drain.

4. Wash your clothes in cold water. This is one of the most overlooked tips. For somebody who does two loads of wash per week, switching to the cold/cold setting will save approximately $100.

5. Air dry your dishes. If you have the option to avoid heat drying on your dishwasher, take advantage of this. There is nothing wrong with air drying. It will conserve energy and save you money.

6. Buy Energy Star appliances. There is no denying that you will spend a lot of money on these upfront. Over time, though, you will begin to make your money back. And most importantly, you are conserving energy.

7. Recycle! If you have the option to recycle in your area (and even if you don’t) you should take full advantage. This is as simple as getting another trash can in your home.

8. Purchase compact fluorescent light bulbs. These use one fourth the energy of more traditional bulbs. Imagine how much energy you could save by swapping out all the bulbs in your home.

9. Use power strips. Even when things are turned off, such as your computer, it is still using energy. With a power strip, you can ensure that turned off means turned off!

10. Complete a home energy audit. By walking around your home, inside and out, and looking for potential problems, you may find several areas in which you can save energy.

These 10 cost saving energy tips can be taken advantage of by almost everybody. Even if you only implement a few of these into your life, you are doing your part in protecting the environment. If that is not benefit enough, consider the fact that you are going to save a lot of money. Combine these benefits and you will find yourself wanting to follow these tips in the near future.

10 Cost Saving Energy Tips is a guest post by Chris at Health Insurance Comparison.