As we enter the season of gift giving, it’s time to watch budgets even closer. Explore these sites recommended by ThePennyHoarder.com, The Dumbest Things We Keep Spending Too Much Money On, to save on your monthly bills and other needed household items such as:
Car Insurance
Amazon
Credit Card Interest
High Speed Internet
Movies and More
Leave yourself more money for the fun things in life during the holidays.
According to Ann Carrns for the New York Times Money, Summer is a great time to review your savings goals and adjust as needed. She offers advice from a variety of market professionals as well as best practices to help you successfully reach those goals, even if you’ve fallen behind or failed to start. One simple tip is to print all account statements and highlight frivolous expenses. She also discusses paycheck withholdings, instructions on how to view an online credit card statement, and ways to save more money during the summer on purchases. Read more, Why It’s Smart to Revisit New Year’s Savings Goals Now
It’s college season. Students eagerly await their acceptance letters and are completing scholarship forms to help pay for their schooling. FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) forms are required of any student seeking monetary assistance from the federal government for their higher education. In the past, many have complained the application is confusing and frustrating. This year the forms have been simplified but more has changed. Read the details here, How is the FAFSA going to change? How it’ll mean less financial aid for some.
Metal coins, paper, crypto-coins, and banking, where did our current money systems originate? Listen to this fascinating podcast from Think, KERA to learn more. “The first writing was just accounting.” Sounds like CPAs invented writing.
The Invention Of Money
Jacob Goldstein, co-host of NPR’s “Planet Money,” joins host Krys Boyd to talk about how our world goes ‘round in large part because we’ve all swallowed hard and agreed to not ask too much about the real value of currency. His new book is called “Money: The True Story of a Made-Up Thing.”
Want to know more about what organizations are doing to help small businesses in Texas stay afloat during the time of COVID? Checkout this interview from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas with Janie Barerra, founding president and chief executive officer of San Antonio-based LiftFund. Created in 1994, LiftFund has one of the nation’s largest microlending portfolios. The nonprofit provides loans and management training to very small enterprises in Texas and seven other states.
Many workers have been laid off or furloughed since the beginning of the Corona virus pandemic. As companies close stores, curtail production and shed employees, some are continuing to pay shareholders. Even though this may be a “bigger” picture issue, the optics of these business practices is not likely to win support. The Washington Post reports that Caterpillar, Levi Strauss, and Stanley Black and Decker have all chosen shareholders over employees. Deciding who will bear the brunt of the current economic climate is tough, but should it be the workers?
Financial Infidelity…
Have you ever been guilty of making a purchase and not telling your partner? What about buying something and then altering the actual cost when forced to admit your indiscretion?
Many couples fall prey to these kinds of buying practices says Jancee Dunn for the New York Times in her article, Your Cheatin’ Wallet. Read more to see how important it is to move towards total financial transparency with your partner and what pitfalls may arise if you don’t.
Want to get the best deals and save the most money on Black Friday? Elissa Sanci for Smarter Living, The New York Times offers tips and shopping best practices in her article: 5 Things to Avoid on Black Friday
Black Friday is a money- and time-sucking vortex. Here’s what not to do this year. She highlights her list with entertaining anecdotes of those who fell victim to the seemingly needed purchases and makes recommendations for how to avoid these pitfalls.
What tools do you use for your personal budgeting? Ever wonder if you are saving enough to last through retirement or if you have the money for a trip you’ve been wanting to take? What about teaching your children the value of a dollar and how to save, delay gratification when they see an item they want?
Ever wanted help with a project? What if you could exchange needed services with your friends and neighbors? This group did just that through the time-banking model.
Time-banking is a model for trading skills, goods, and labor instead of money—a sort of barter system where members “deposit” hours doing things like teaching, cooking, or repairing things, and “withdraw” hours of other members’ services. It’s been around in the U.S. since the 1980s, and there are close to 500 such banks across the country today. No Price Tags: These Neighbors Built Their Own Economy Without Money
Most function on a one-hour to one-hour system that helps members meet their needs in non-monetary ways, often saving money. This allows stay-at-home mothers, retirees, and business professionals alike to contribute.
