Covering Unexpected Bills

ceramic piggy bank

Image via Wikipedia

Most of us are meticulous about our budgets. We plan them out carefully without a dollar out of place. We know our budgets are tight; often we don’t have a cent to spare, but at least we’re getting by and paying our bills. Then the unexpected happens. What can you do when unexpected bills crop up? Here are some ideas.

Borrow Money

One of the easiest options for covering these unexpected expenses is to borrow money from friends and family. It’s sometimes hard to put your pride aside and admit that you need help, but they would want you to ask. As long as they have the money to do so, they are likely to lend you the money you need to pay your bills, especially if you haven’t borrowed from them much in the past and always paid them back when you have.

Get Short Term Loans

Another option is to get a short term loan. You can get online personal loans from many different online retailers just by giving them a little information about yourself, including how you earn income and your email address. Within two business days, the money will automatically be deposited into your checking account if you qualify for the loan.

Use Savings

If you’ve been good about putting money aside, maybe for a vacation or a new car, then using savings would be a great way to cover the unexpected bill.

Whether you get a loan, borrow money, or use savings, there are a lot of options out there to cover unexpected bills. Be sure to explore all your options before coming to a decision.

Enhanced by Zemanta
Filed Under: Family, General Tagged With: , ,

Tips to Effective Couponing

Statistics show that 95% of people like coupons, 85% of people use coupons, 65% actively look for them and 54% said they’ve used more coupons since the recession hit. Couponing is easy, but there’s a way to maximize savings using them.

Combining coupons makes them more valuable in big ways. Some stores don’t allow the use of more than one coupon, but many of them will take their own coupons plus manufacturer coupons, and if the item is on sale at the time, there’s even more savings.

In fact, holding coupons for a while, waiting for an item to go on sale can be a good habit, but it could backfire, too. Use the coupon before it expires.

Shop in one Store with Coupons from Many

Also, most grocers will accept their competitor’s coupons because they want to keep your patronage. If someone else is giving a discount, then people will want to shop where the discount is. This way, they keep a customer and sell their items. It’s well known that if a person goes into a store for something, they’re likely to buy something else, too.

 

Many stores will honor expired coupons, as well. Again, they would rather keep the patronage than send a customer away.

Get the lowest advertised price. If an ad for a certain item is advertised at a lower price at a store other than the one usually used, take the ad into the store and ask if they will give the lowest advertised price on it. Most of the time they’ll allow it; which will save you even more money.

Filed Under: Family, Guidance Tagged With: , ,

3 Ways to Spend Wisely

Myself shopping at a Mall in December 2005. I ...

Image via Wikipedia

Spending wisely can allow your dollar to go farther than frivolous spending on unnecessary items. Below you will find helpful tips and 3 ways to spend wisely and save yourself lots of money.

Buy things that are on sale or significantly discounted. Check in the local advertisements for sales and only buy certain larger purchases when they become discounted. Coupons are fairly popular these days for spending more wisely on essential purchases. Clipping coupons and online coupon printing are great ways to save money and these have become a way of life for some folks.

Get yourself a prepaid visa card for spontaneous shopping outings. The concept behind these excellent credit cards is that you only will be allowed to spend the amount that you have deposited into the card. This is one of the best ways to spend wisely, as indicated by research experts. Having the prepaid visa card can still allow you to buy things that you need, but when you have a limit on the card, you will make smarter purchases than previously.

Limit the time that you spend shopping. Research also shows that when you make frequent trips to shop for essential items, there is a bigger chance that you will spend money on unnecessary things. Things that you do not need or can do without until the next shopping trip should be held off until your scheduled shopping day. Designate one or two days a month for groceries and once for personal hygiene and necessities and you can learn to spend wisely by shopping less.

Enhanced by Zemanta
Filed Under: Family, Parenting Tagged With: , ,

Popular Costume Party Themes for Halloween

There are Halloween parties created with a theme that guests are asked to follow. For instance, last year there was a pirate office party for Halloween. All the guests dressed as pirates and wenches, and food was eaten with plastic knives. Everyone tried their hand at speaking in pirate slang, and it turned out to be a lot of fun.

People love a theme and usually they’ll stick to it, even if they don’t like the costumes. There was an ‘ugly party’ where women were required to dress as ugly men, and men were required to dress as ugly women, and everyone complained. But, at the actual party, everyone had a great time, and it was indeed ugly; the pictures are downright hilarious. Even the food was ugly – have you ever seen fruit salad with chocolate whipping cream and shredded coconut? Sounds delicious, but looks ugly.

A Well-Known Theme is Good

The vampire theme is very popular right now, especially with Halloween costumes, as vampires today wear business suits, street clothes and designer lines. Just the makeup and hair needs to be done, as well as fangs. The food is easy, too, since vampires seem to eat anything they want, these days. No longer are they restricted to blood.

Sometimes the theme is such that there’s heavy decorating to do–like the Barbie and Ken theme. Barbie is a perfect hostess (and stylish dresser with spike heels), so plates stacked with a pyramid of pastel-frosted cupcakes and cookies or finger foods in an impeccably clean home are required.

Be creative and have fun!

Filed Under: Family, Guidance

To the Top