USAinDebt

Definitely take a look at what Philip Brewer @ WiseBread has to say about 401(k)!

Here’s an excerpt:

‘The twin advantages of tax deferral and a corporate match make the 401(k) the foundation of most people’s savings plan. Putting in enough to get the maximum corporate match is almost always the right choice–a good corporate match is so much money, funding your 401(k) usually even comes ahead of paying off debt. Sometimes, though, it makes sense to put money other places.’

Read When NOT to put money in your 401(k) on WiseBread

We use more and more energy as days go by. One hundred years ago there were no computers, videogames or DVDs and VCRs to plug-in, no cell phones, PDAs or laptops to charge. The new electronic devices & appliances era has brought up the consumer’s energy consumption to unseen levels. And the higher the demand, the higher the cost of that energy. And it is not just about your bills, it is what it costs to our environment what matters as well.

You have most likely seen the Energy Star symbol already, and although many people are familiar with it, they actually don’t know what it means. As per Energy Star’s website, “ENERGY STAR is a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy helping us all save money and protect the environment through energy efficient products and practices.” This program awards different products with the Energy Star badge, which indicates that those appliances, office equipment or electronics help you save money and the environment by consuming less energy than ordinary products. The Energy Star website also has a whole section with great tips on how to save energy by learning to do simple things such as turning off the lights while we are not in the room, changing the air filters regularly, replacing high-wattage bulbs with Energy Star ones and many more. An excerpt from Energy Star’s website shows how important those energy-saving practices are: “If every American home replaced their 5 most frequently used light fixtures or the bulbs in them with ones that have earned the ENERGY STAR, we would save close to $8 billion each year in energy costs, and together we would prevent the greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions from nearly 10 million cars.” That’s a lot of money, isn’t it?

So, if you are looking into saving some cash on your bills, why not take a couple of minutes to review Energy Star’s website? Remember, you are not only saving green on your monthly bills. You are saving the environment for yourself and for your children.

Tags: energy star | save money on bills | energy | environment

Individuals often fall into situations when they need cash fast but have no way of getting it. Credit is not an option, since your score numbers are really low. So here are a couple of alternative ways to raise some cash quickly.

Seek help from family and friends. This is the first thing on your To-do list. Talk to your parents / offsprings and other relatives. Call your best friends and ask them to lend you some money. Don’t take money from your colleagues. Make sure that you pay those loans on time. You won’t be charged interest if you don’t but you will never get a loan from them again.

Sell your old stuff. And the new stuff also.Look around and see what you can get rid of. You can easily sell electronics and furniture on Craigslist. If you don’t have anything old to sell, price your new belongings. You can always get another TV, DVD, stereo when you are in a better financial shape. Sell your books, CD’s & DVD’s, video and computer games. You can pretty much sell everything that you can live without, just post it and then post it again and again. You will be surprised what people are looking for.

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Deb at The Dollar Stretcher gives some valuable tips on how working moms can save some money. Where There’s a Will, There’s a Way!

 Money-Saving Ideas for Working Moms at The Dollar Stretcher

Tags: save money | savings | work

US household debt reached the whooping $12,817.2 billion by the end of last year - a constantly growing combination of consumer credit ($2,430.8 billion) and mortgage debt ($9,704.7 billion). The numbers are steadily increasing since 1966, becoming a major problem for millions of Americans. For the year of 2006, per-household debt liability is estimated at $510678.(1)

Most individuals & families have combined debt from several sources: PayDay Loans (PDL), Credit Cards, Department Store Cards, Personal Loans, Student Loans, Credit Union Loans, Auto Loans & Mortgage. Taxes and Medical Bills are also accounted as a major percentage of what’s currently owed.

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0% on balance transfers! How many times have we seen the big “0″ on various flayers, TV commercials and posters? Probably a million. A lot of people get very excited when they receive a “0% APR on balance transfers” offer, because it can save them money with high-interest balances. Unfortunately, however, most of the time there is a “fine print”. And that is where it can get really ugly if you are not careful.

The first thing to watch for in a 0% AR transfer is the grace period. Usually you will be given a 0% APR for 6 or 12 months. This where you are saving - you won’t be paying interest for half an year or a whole year - it can spare you hundreds and even thousands on higher balances. But be careful - one missed payment on any of your credits (including mortgages, insurance, even a phone bill) can kill your 0% APR.

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Adam Pash at Lifehacker has published an interesting article with a bunch of tips on how to save some cash while shopping online. He also throws in some interesting websites to take a look at.

Become an Online Power-Shopper on LifeHacker.com

Tags: lifehacker | hackattack | save money | savings | online shopping

Probably everybody have heard that there is something called 401(k), but a lot of you don’t know what it is. Well, 401(k) is a voluntary retirement investment plan, and in simple words that is money you save for retirement.

There are two types of 401 plans. There is a 401(k) and also a 401(k) SIMPLE (Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees). What makes them different is their allowances:

The SIMPLE plan is generally for companies that have 100 or less employees. Employees with SIMPLE can contribute maximum of $10000 per calendar year, or 12000 for individuals of age 50 and up. Employers are also required to contribute 2 to 3% employee contributions if SIMPLE 401(k) is offered.

Regular 401(k) plans (for companies with 100+ employees) allow workers to contribute up to $15500 per year, or 20500 for employees of age 50 and older. Employer matching is not required but most companies do match certain percentage.

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A pretty interesting article by Jonathan Clements, who gives some good advice on how to be ready to face recession: reclaim savings, downsize debt. Short tips on 401(k), Roth IR and other savings accounts; mortgage & refinancing; debt.

 Getting Going on WSJ.com

Tags: wall street journal | jonathan clements | savings | debt | cash

Introduced just recently (September 18th) Mint is the new “must have” in your Favorites. “Refreshing Money Management” is the company slogan behind this free finance management system.

My first good impression is the design and the usability of Mint’s interface. Light, very intuitive and easy to use. Everything is well-organized and in the right place. Mint offers a whole set of helpful money-management tools. Checking the balance on all your credit cards and bank accounts at the same time is done in a snap. The system can automatically retrieve your financial information from more than 3000 US banks and credit card companies. Email and text alerts can also be set-up to give you an early warning if something goes wrong with your account(s).

Mint categorizes and tracks all your transactions, and displays neat colorful charts that give you better view of your spending. It also has a built-in feature that tracks your spending habits and suggests ways to save funds by finding better credit card deals. You can easily compare and pick what suits your case.

In short, Mint is something to definitely take a look at. With its intuitive interface, helpful tools, accessibility and zero cost to the user, Mint has a great potential to grow further.

Mint

Tags: money management | mint | bank accounts | finance management | balance