Family Budget – Miami City Lifestyle

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Ways to Make Cents at Home

In the midst of all these skyrocketing prices, come the how’s, ways and means to save money and earn extra.

There are creative but practical ways you can engage in to help the family save and at the same time earn extra. The things that have been sitting in your attic for sometime and those that become all too familiar and useless might mean extra bucks. This way, it saves you space, cleaning materials and containers. This reduces maintenance expenses.

Garage sale at home is a save-and-earn endeavor for starters. Look at the success of flea markets where people can buy almost anything at a lower price but large amount of income for vendors.

How to maximize the potential of flea markets and bargain sales to help you save? Primarily, a flea market is a place where almost all who have something to sell can sell for tremendously lower costs but good quality items. If you have the right tools and enough preparation for a day’s trip to a flea market, then you are ready to go with some handy tips:

1.    Ready your tools, maps, measurements and cash:
•    easy-to-carry tool kit with screwdrivers, pliers, tape measure, pencil, ropes, set of swatches, paper and plastic bags and boxes;
•    floorplan measurements;
•    maps, directions and phone numbers;
•    bring enough cash and checks for high-priced items;
•    dress yourself appropriately for bargain hunting.
2.    Early birds usually get the best selections.
3.    Keep a critical eye during shopping.
•    Be ready to negotiate and haggle on the prices of items.
•    Items sold here have greater possibilities, either you can redecorate or repaint them to make it look unique and attractive.

How to make this activity an earning endeavor? After your hands-on training in an established flea market, hope you took note of your observations and ideas; it is time to try out on your own.

Bear in mind five things crucial to garage sale success: location, date and time, variety of goods, organization/presentation, advertisements and prices.

•    Spot a strategic location where people can access and drop by easily. Your house is the perfect venue for this. Weekends are the best to schedule your sale.
•    During your cleaning session, take note of candidate items for the sale, label them (keep, for repair, must go) and give them a brand new look.
•    Organize them well according to prices, use arrangement styles, decide on the tables, baskets and boxes for the items and decorate your venue with fabrics and other helpful materials.
•    Lower your prices. The idea here is to dispose of the things but earn from them reasonably.

A Frugal Lifestyle

The word “frugality” has left a more negative connotation for most people than simply being a saver, a cheapskate or tightwad. There is a thin line difference to saving and too much frugality to the point of being awkward and ridiculous. This is where the negative connotation comes from.

But if you are guided with the right principles and reasons in deciding to live a frugal life, you would never go wrong.

If you have decided to live frugally, no need to be worried of insults. Keep your head up high. And keep your focus through these tips.

1. Eating Out – Having gimmicks with friends on a Friday night is fine if you do it once in a while. But this can be expensive if you add them up at the end of the month.

2. Clothing – Naturally, if you are the kind of person who adores signature and designer clothes, do not expect that there will be something left of your take home pay. Instead of being trendy, wear clothes that can easily be matched with your other clothes.

3. Own Home – If you are planning to move out and find a place to settle, do not be overwhelmed by the excitement, instead be practical. As a start, buy a smaller house or try other ways like rent-to-own, do-it-yourself arrangements, and owner financing.

4. Buying Your Own Car – Shy away from sports cars or SUVs. Just stick to your purpose of buying a car which is to transport you anywhere you need to go. Check out also program cars like a new car warranty. Maybe this is not just the best time to replace your car with a new one.

5. Shopping for Groceries – As much as possible do not go with items that are branded. Choose non-brands and try looking for items on the highest or lowest shelves for best prices. Grab the opportunity and shop during sales or use coupons.

6. Family Out – There are inexpensive ways to bond with your family and be entertained like going to libraries, local parks, malling, picnics, visit friends and local church.

7. Buying School Supplies – Stock school supplies at home and do not buy anything fancy.

8. Be contented with what you have and try to live within what you earn.

9. Plan your Child’s College Education – Teach them the ways to be independent and self-supporting by encouraging them to apply for scholarships and “on campus jobs”.

10. Be Aware of your Financial Limitations

11. Anticipate your Failures by Planning – Have always a budget plan so you would avoid impulsive buying.

Budget Like Mom

Budgeting is truly the turf of most mothers. Aside from the traditional role imposed on mothers as the one who budgets the family finances, mothers have the instincts and foresights on what might happen in the future.

But how do moms really stretch the budget? She neither uses complicated formulas nor magic tricks but simple ingenuity and common sense. Peek in through moms’ secrets in budgeting and learn. Role modeling is a good way to encourage attitude, especially towards money.

1. She clearly knows where all the money goes. Usually it goes to child care apart from the housing, health insurance, food and clothing. It is unlikely for her to cut cost on her children.

2. She studies all options given to her in terms of child care. Before she decides, she examines all aspects like safety, health and education.

3. To understand more, she talks to local child-care specialists and works out schedules with her employer for bonding time with kids.

4. For working moms, it is double the effort. They take care of the house and the children and at the same time work. She incorporates practical ways to accomplish both roles.

•    Wearing professional clothes than trendy ones.
•    Stays elegant but simple through a combination of basic colors.
•    Dry cleaning costs a hefty amount, so, she dons on wash-and-wear clothes.
•    Tone down on accessories.
•    She engages in a lot of do-it-yourself habits like in cleaning spots and ironing wrinkles in her personal wardrobes.

5. Moms always shop with a list in her hand to keep track of her budget and expenses. She makes sure she does not exceed. Also, she has no time for checking out tempting stuff at the shopping mall.

TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR FINANCES: TIPS ON BUDGETING

With prices of commodities increasing day by day it is proper to make your very own strategic plan on maximizing your financial resources and making sure that every penny earned is well spent.

Make your move on coordinating your finances and list of expenditures that may affect the way you use your income and empower you on your economic stability as a working individual.

Your source of income, lifestyle, spending habits, current job and house location, cost of living, payables and loans determines your level of budgeting needs. Starting to take charge of your finances is one sure way of becoming successful in a field of self-fulfillment and success.

The following tips and recommendations will provide you details on how you can help yourself manage your finances and assume a new outlook to become responsible in your spending.

Ø Treat Math As Your Lifetime Partner – Do the entire math in your purchasing needs. Try to compare prices across your current location for the price of a range of grocery and household items you need in a day-to-day basis.

Save as much as you can in an item you are trying to buy. Chinese businessmen exercise effective buying techniques. They save as much as they can and usually purchase in bulk to increase their revenue index on the item they plan on selling as well.

Ø Gambling – Gambling tops the chart in making your life as chaotic as it could get. Gambling strips you off your finances and keeps you vulnerable from the threats of bankruptcy.

Ø Know Your Wants and Needs – Limit your spending on something which you are not in dire need of. According to a recent study, luxuries are second to gambling in terms of the degree of money-stripping capability.

Ø “Do Not Spend More Than you Earn” – Rags-To-Riches stories do not fail to mention this famous cliché. There is always truth to this phrase for you cannot live in a world where you consume more than what you can produce.

Ø Keeping A List – Making your own budget list is vital to your success to becoming prudent. A wise buyer needs to consider the amount of a certain commodity and how will it impact his life as an individual.

An unconscientious consumer would not care about what is being purchased as long as he or she has money to buy for them. Unless you are someone who has a considerable amount of wealth and income resources, you can not afford to disregard this recommendation and go ahead with your practice.

EFFECTIVE MONEY SAVINGS TIPS

Saving is your best defense against bankruptcy. It insulates you from possible financial loss and gives you the ability to expand your finances and create a money-generating business machine that will help you earn extra.

Your potential to flexing your base income is augmented in ways that is not confined within the walls of basic employment. You can start up your own business, use it for loan purposes and earn interest on them while being used, among others.

But the basics of it all lies in saving – spending less than what you earn and keep something enough for future use and for unforeseen circumstances.

This article provides you with ways on how you can effectively maximize your financial resources and helps you manage your money by developing correct habits and outlook suitable for your goal.

Ø Wants and Needs – You buy items because you need them. A need is something you cannot take away from a person for these things are vital to his or her very existence and without them, they are categorically considered poor or deprived.

Food, shelter, clothing and transportation are the primary examples. In a modern world, car and phone gadgets are a necessary part of a busy working individual. However, unless you are receiving more than $10,000 per month, you basically won’t need to have a $40,000 to $50,000 luxury vehicle.

The same is true for your telephone media. Having your own cellular phone is necessary but keeping up with the latest model or buying the all the latest releases are not practical and earns you more points on plunging into a staggering financial downfall.

Ø Less Is best – Extravagance is the rule of the kings. While we sometimes need to afford a little affluence in terms of the food we eat, the body pampering devices and accessories, such as clothes and body-relaxing services, we also need to consider that these types of activities should only be reserved for special occasions and for cases when you have some excess left in your household budget.

Ø Spend Less; Save More – Spending more than what you earn or produce is a bad habit that most people get used to doing everyday.
Allocate a special percentage of your earnings to go into your savings accounts while spending the rest for your day-to-day expenses.
Unexpected charges, such as the visitation of your relatives or a house party due to a certain celebration will be there to stay so you need not make some leeway budget on them and save them should situation not arise.

IMPORTANCE OF SAVING: SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST

The value of money cannot be underestimated. In a recent national survey, more than 96% Americans agreed that early monetary savings would help one achieve a fruitful and stable life.

Saving is a way of insulating oneself from the many symptoms of health and natural adversity. While an average youth of yesteryears thinks more about short-term financial goals such as purchasing a new pair of signature shoes, owning a new jet ski or a brand new car, statistics show that more and more are starting to realize the importance of keeping a personal savings.

Long terms goals are described as goals that have a lasting effect should a person’s present actions be religiously maintained.

The following statements are outlined to provide information and tips on how you can start up your money-saving gimmicks and ensure a happy and financially stable future and list the reasons as to why saving money should occupy a greater place in our list of priorities in life.

Reasons for Saving:

Ø Saving for your Future and Present Needs – Saving today will provide you with flexible financial resources in the future.

Keeping at least 20% of your monthly earnings while using the other for your household, personal and unexpected expenses will surely play a big part in your pursuit for a stable future.

Ø Saving for an Investment Need – Savings can also be a source of your future capital for engaging in business enterprises.

It will provide you more opportunity for venturing on your unexplored talents and earn you a huge potential in increasing your money exponentially.

Ø Saving for your Retirement – More than 23% of today’s elderly were shown to have failed in one instance in their lives, to save and strategically used their money for preparing their way to retirement. As a result, these folks extend their entire retirement career working on an equally satisfying job that pays them enough to cover their basic expenses.

Keys to Fulfilling your Saving Goals:

No matter how good our intentions and objectives for saving are, we should also take note that goals can fall and touched the following baselines or characteristics.

Ø Attainability – Goals should be something attainable and one which can be achieved without you doing something extraordinary or illegal. A little amount of patience and hard work are key.

Ø Consistency – Changing your goals from time to time due to incidents that may arise in the near future are sure ways to deterring your intention to save.

While we need to focus on the present incidents, we also need to take hold of our original intention and continue until you have gained enough leads to get it.

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