Helping You Avoid Life's Financial Mistakes

How to Save Money with Coupons – A Beginners Guide without All the Headaches

March 19, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Coupons, when used correctly, can help you shave off a huge part of your monthly shopping budget, but many people avoid using them for a number of different reasons. Some people feel it will be too much hassle to gather and use all the coupons before they expire; others are worried that people may think they are poor, while others have simply never considered it. Couponing can be addictive though and once you see how much you can save with just a bit of extra effort, you’ll be hooked for life.

Where To Find Coupons

Before you can start shopping for deals, you have to do a bit of legwork and collect the coupons for the deals you want to benefit from. The most common place to find coupons is in your Sunday paper, and depending on which week it is, you will find coupons from different companies. Women’s magazines that cover topics like housekeeping or gardening will often also contain coupons.

Another excellent place to get your coupons is the Internet. These days there are literally thousands of coupons that can be obtained either from special coupon websites or directly from the manufacturers’ websites. Some of these can be printed off and used in stores, while others can be used to benefit from exclusive online deals. There are also websites like couponmom.com that help you to match your coupons to sales.

Stay Organized And Choose Your Stores

Once you have collected your coupons you’ll need to organize them properly if you want to use them before they expire. Some people organize their coupons in categories like frozen foods and dairy products; however, this method won’t necessarily help you to get to them all in time before the deal is up. You could also organize them by date and keep the ones that are expiring that week in an easily accessible place (like your purse) so you don’t forget to take them along when you go shopping.

Next it is helpful to figure out which stores have many of the products and deals that correspond with your coupons; this will allow you to use all of your coupons in one place instead of going from store to store. Some stores also offer double or even triple coupon sales, which makes your coupons worth even more, so it pays to do some research beforehand.

Don’t get Carried Away

Of course, with all these heavily discounted products and enticing offers, it would be easy to get carried away and start spending money on things you normally wouldn’t buy or won’t ever use. This will cost you money rather than save you money, so always ask yourself if you really need something before you buy it.

Some extreme coupon fanatics like to use coupons to purchase discounted products they aren’t planning to use and then sell them at a profit. However, unless you have lots of time on your hands or a guaranteed market for the products, you’re better off staying away from this practice, as you just may find yourself with piles of stuff that you’ll never use or sell.

About The Author

Ally is part of the team that manages several successful financial websites in Sydney, Australia, which provide tips about Budgeting Planner and Saving Money. Before joining the team, she was a Media Planner in McCann Worldgroup Philippines, Inc., with award-winning executions, including the Levi’s 501 “Live Unbuttoned” global campaign.

Filed Under: Saving Money Tagged With:

10 Ways On How To Save Money On Your Cell Phone Bill

December 16, 2011 By 2 Comments

Cell phones can be very expensive these days.  I remember the day I got my first cell phone, it was one of those free flip phone deals with  no texting, or data plan.  Now a days it’s hard to find your basic phone for free, in fact when I recently switched just a few weeks ago I couldn’t even find a basic free phone anymore simple because everything is merging towards the smart phones.   So in this article I’m going show you 10 ways on how to save money on your cell phone bills.

1. Get A Basic Phone

Just like I mentioned in the beginning of this article, basic cell phones are getting harder to find, but they are still out there.  In fact a lot of times you may have to go to the providers website to find these phones because most stores don’t have them.  The reason for this is because most stores are not running promotions on the basic phones and it may cost you to by them whereas in years past they were free.

2.  Group With Someone Else’s Plan

Another thing I’ve seen people do is get a family plan with others to help split the cost.  For example, a few close family members of mine got plan with their parents.  By doing this they were able to split the bill in half and the cost for them to have to basic cells was only $35 a month.

3. Join A Company Plan

Recently, I was able to add my phone to the company plan at my place of work.  Now I know this isn’t possible for everyone but if your job is willing to pick up the tab for your cell phone go for it.  However, their is a down side to this option.  Some companies will only allow you to get a certain brand of cell phone.  For example, the company that my brother works for only allows them to have a Blackberry, otherwise  the company won’t pick up the tab.

4. Go With A Low Minute Plan

Next, go with a low minute plan if possible.  Today you get free nights and weekends, mobile to mobile,  and now you can even call up to 10 of your closest friends and not use any of your minutes.   This ask the question, why have a big minute plan.  When I add them up their are about 4 or 5 regular people that I call and if I call at the right times I won’t use any minutes.  In fact, between my wife and I, we don’t even use 300 minutes in a month so it makes sense to cut the minutes if possible.

5.  Switch To A Track Phone

If you don’t like the idea of being under a contract and want to save some real money get a track phone.  These phones can be very inexpensive way to go. For example, my mother carries one just for emergencies and it only cost here a total of $120 a year.  In fact if you like a phone with all the features they also have smart phones that can do unlimited talk, text, web for $45 a month.  That’s cheap compared to the contract phones however the downside is that you will have to pay full price for the phone.

6.  Cut Off The Insurance

Some people will disagree with me when I say this but cell phone insurance is a waste of money.  Cell phone insurance will typically only pay you a certain dollar amount if you make a claim.  Instead what I do is keep my old phone for situations like this.  For example, a few years back my wife ran my phone through the washer and ruined it.  To fix the situation I simply got my old phone out of storage and inserted the chip from the broken phone to my old one and presto everything was back to normal.

7. Cut Texting And Data

The next way to save money on your cell phone bill is to cut out the texting and data plans.  Now depending on your profession you may need these things but if you’re someone who has them just for the shear joy of having them you may be able to dump them and save a ton.  Typical data plans as of this article run around $30 for 2 gigs of data.  By cutting this and going with a basic phone you could save yourself $360 a year.

8.  Negotiate Junk Fees

One thing cell phone companies have been terrible at is tacking on the junk fees.  In fact, cell phone providers such as Verizon, and AT&T have been known to make you pay extra for services that are normally free such as 911 assistance.  To remove these fees contact your local cell provider and tell them you don’t want to pay for these fees as they are not required.  Now this may take some effort to see it through but it can be done.

9.  Tax Deductions

If you own a business, whether it be a small web business or a corporation, you may be able to tax deduct a portion or even all of cell bill.  While working in financial services I would randomly go through my cell bill and determine the average percentage of minutes I would use for my business in a given month and that portion would be deducted through my taxes.

10.  Get Rid Of Your Cell Phone

Finally, if you want to save the most money on your cell phone bill get rid of it altogether.  That’s right you heard me, get rid of it.  When I think back to the reason I first bought my cell phone it was because I was going to insurance school at the time and wanted it just case my car broke down.  Now a days I find it great to have a business owner, however I could live with out it just as easily and if I had to I would.  Could you get rid of your cell phone if you had to?

So now that you’ve heard my tips is their any thoughts, questions, or comments you would like to add?  Do you have another tip to share with everyone on how to save money on your cell phone bill?  Share your comments below

Cheers,

Chris

This article was recently featured in The Carnival of Personal Finance by Young Adult Finances.

Filed Under: Saving Money

10 Tips On How To Lower And Save Money On Your Electricity Bill

November 15, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Do you hate to pay a high electric bill?  I know exactly where you are coming from, in fact my electric bill use to be over a  $140 a month.  That’s a lot of money going out the door each month and in this article I’m going to show you some easy how to tips I used to lower my electric bill.

Shop Around

One of the first things I did to save some money was to shop around for different providers.  In my case my electric is through DP&L however I am allowed to switch to different providers within the company.  By doing this some companies will actually have cheaper rates.

Use Budget Billing

The next thing I do is use budget billing.  Budget billing allows you to level out your payments so that you don’t have to deal with huge increases in you bills from month to month.  In the summer I tend to pay more because of air conditioning and peak energy uses.  As a result my bills in the summer will be much higher than in the winter, and with budget billing my payment stays the same for the most part now.

Alternate Temperatures

The next thing you can do to lower your electricity bill is to alternate temperatures during the day.  In my case in the summer I will try to keep the temperature 5 degrees warmer during the day and at night while I sleep I will turn it down.  Doing this means the AC won’t have to run nearly as much in the summer, and if you use electric heat in the winter you may want to do the opposite in the winter by keeping the temperature lower during the day and a little higher at night.

Use Grano.La

Fourth, one of the easiest ways to save money on your electricity bill is to use a program called Grano.La.  This is a program that you can install on your computer that will cut down the amount of power your computer CPU uses.  In fact it can cut as much as 30% of the power your computer uses, and if you’re like me, my computer runs night and day without every shutting it off.  To learn more check out Grano.La here.

Switch To CFL Light Bulbs

Another thing I’ve been doing to save on the electric bill is to switch out traditional light bulbs with longer lasting and more efficient CFL bulbs.  In fact what I’ve been doing is switching bulbs as they burn out.  The great thing about these bulbs is that they only use 13 watts of power per bulb versus the traditional 60 watt bulbs.  On top of that these bulbs have been coming down in price a lot, I just picked up a box of 10 at Menards for $10.

Turn Off What You Don’t Need

Next, one of the easiest ways to save electricity is to turn off what you are not using.  This is probably one of the most common sense tips in this article.  Doing simple things such as turning a light off in a room or the TV when you are not watching it can save a little each month.  I notice this the most when my kids forget to turn off the bathroom light, but with a little discipline everyone can do it.

 Buy Energy Star Appliances

In seventh tip to save money on your electric bill you may want to look into appliances that have the energy star of approval.  When appliances have this seal of approval you know they are built to use less energy.  However I don’t suggest you go out and replace all of your appliances today but only as they wear out.  This way you won’t incur the high cost of replacing them all at once.

Tighten Up Your House

Next, another thing you can do is to make sure your home is properly insulted.  This can go a long way especially on older houses.  In fact a few years back I remodel a room in my house from top to bottom and added new insulation and re-caulked all the windows and found that it made a difference in that I didn’t have to run my air conditioning quite as much in the summer time.  On top of that I didn’t have to run the furnace as much either.

Hang Your Laundry Out To Dry

When it comes to washing your clothes the dryer is the one appliance in your home that can eat up a lot of power especially if you wash everyday.  Instead, consider hanging your clothes outside to dry.  In fact I have a few family members who do this as often as possible and have been able to cut as much as $40 off of their electric bill.

Cut Down On Hot Water

Finally, the last thing to consider is cutting down on hot water.  Your hot water heater can also chew up a lot of energy as well.  So doing things such as taking cooler showers, and using less hot water to wash dishes can save a little each month.  In fact I know people who will wash a majority of their clothes in just cold water.

A Final Thought…

As a final thought one single tip in this article is not going to save you a ton of money and lower your electric bills but collectively they can save you a lot.   This is why I suggest you take the time to incorporate several of these tips into your daily habits and you will be more likely to see better results.

So is their something I missed, or a tip you would like to add?  Feel free to share your thoughts, comments, and questions below.  Also make sure you give these tips a tweet, a G+, and share this with others on Facebook to help spread the word.

This article was recently featured in the Carnival of Personal Finance by Compounding Returns.

Filed Under: Saving Money

How To Save Money For A Car In 3 Easy Steps

November 2, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Back a month ago I was driving home from work an noticed something was wrong with my truck.  Not sure what the problem was I decided to have my mechanic take a look at it.  The result, my transmission was going out.   Luckily, it didn’t need to be rebuilt and only ran me $500.

However as result of this incident it got me thinking about how long my truck was really going to last me.  At this point I’ve owned my truck for over 10 years and have over 200,000 miles on it.  As a result I’ve decide to start saving for a newer vehicle and in this article I’m going to show you the steps I went though on how to save money for a car.

Step 1 – Pre Planning Questions

Before we can begin to save even one cent for this new vehicle we need to do a little pre planning.  By doing this we can gain a better understanding of what we’re going to buy.  So here are 3 questions that you need to answer first.

  • What kind of car do you want?  Knowing what you want will help us get a general idea about the cost we can expect to pay.  In my case I’m looking to get a Chevy Malibu not any older than 5 years.
  • What are you willing to spend?  Next you need to decide how much money you are willing to spend on this vehicle.  In my case I’m looking to save around $15,000.
  • What is your time frame?  Finally, the last question you need to decide is the amount of time you will need to save for this new vehicle.  In my case I’m looking to save up for this purchase over a 10 year period.  This isn’t a hard rule for me but just a general guideline.

Step 2 – Where To Save

Now that we have the type of car figured out, how much we’re willing to spend and what kind of time frame we have to save for the new car we need to have a place to save the extra money.  Below are a few places you may want look into.

  • Certificate Of Deposit.  The first place to look into is a certificate of deposit.  CD’s offer a great way to save for your car while offering a decent return.  They’re also great to use because unlike your checking or saving account it won’t tempt you to spend the money either.
  • Online Savings Accounts.  The second place to consider is an online savings account such as the ING DIRECT USA – High Yield Savings with the Orange Savings Account℠..  These accounts earn some great returns typically around 1% and since they are online based it will be a bit harder to access the money as well.
  • Money Market Fund.  The final place to consider would be a money market account.  These accounts invest your money in safe security’s such as treasury bills and TIPS.   In fact some of them even have a check writing feature.
Out of all three of these different options they all have one thing in common, they are all setup so you can’t easily access your money.

Step 3 – Determine How Much You Need To Save

Finally, in the last step we need to determine how much money we need to save on a monthly basis, and with all the information we’ve uncovered above this shouldn’t be to hard to figure out.

In order to save $15000 over a 10 year period we are going to have save $1500 a year, and if we divide that by 12 we will need to save in the ballpark range of $125 a month.

Now if that sounds like to much divide it over a weekly basis.  By dividing $1500 by 52 weeks a year you would need to save roughly $29 a week. When you look at it that way it’s not that much to save.

Final Thoughts…

In the end this simple 3 step plan can be the best way to save money for a car.  On top of that it also means you won’t have to take out a loan or lease with can be costly considering the interest on loans and the restrictions on car leases.

So what do you do?  Is their something you do differently to save your next car or do you not save anything at all?  Feel free to share your thoughts, comments, and questions below.

Filed Under: Saving Money

The Best Saving Money Tips To Live By

January 22, 2010 By 8 Comments

money_tree1I’ve talked about saving money before but today I’m going to talk about the saving money tips that are a must.  These tips are the ones you should always follow no matter what.  If you don’t a life of poverty is certain.

These tips are the commandments of saving and violating them will only result in continued fear that you will always be living one paycheck away from losing everything.  So read these tips and ask yourself are you following them to your fullest ability?  If not, what are you doing to solve this problem?

You Always Have To Save Money

Of all the save money tips I am preaching about this is the one that I learned the most about over the last two recessions.

Why, you might ask?

Because I made the same mistake both times.  After losing thousands of dollars over the last two recessions it’s finally been ingrained into my head that I have to save money no matter what I do.  It’s not an either or option.

Every day you continue not save it becomes harder to free yourself from the grip of poverty and living from one income check to another.

You Have To Save More Than You Spend

How much money do you save, and how much money do you spend?  If you spend more than you save it will be impossible for you to move forward.

A good example of this is when I worked in financial services and I had a client who made over $200,000 a year.  Not a bad income they should be saving tons of money right?  When I ran a budget on their financial situation they were in the red.

Why did this happen?  They didn’t follow the principle of saving more than they spent.  This also proves that you can make a lot of money but if you can’t save even a penny of it you’re always going to be broke.

Keep Saved Money Out Of Reach

Another big mistake I made over the years with saving money was the fact that I didn’t keep the money I saved out of my reach.  I would always put it in easy to access places like my savings account or worse my check book.

I was always trying to rebuild my emergency fund all over again.  Every time I’d save a thousand dollars I would succumb to the belief I had fixed my financial situation and before I knew what had hit me I was broke again.

So where do I keep my money?  I actually don’t keep it all in one place.  Some I keep in a credit union, some in an online account, and even some in certificate of deposits.  Keeping all of my money in different place allows me not to take everything I have and destroy everything I’ve saved up.

So How Did You Do

So how well did you follow my tips for saving money?  If you were three out of three you are right on target, but if you had two or less of the following tips to save money you have some work to do.

Take some time right now and go through some of the tips on saving money I went over and see where you could make some changes.  Maybe it could be as simple as going to your bank and having them set up a draw off of your checking or savings account into CD or even an IRA, or it could be as tough as going through you budget and looking for all of the little leaks in your budget that could save you an few thousand dollars each year.

The point is that you need to change what you are doing in any case to see better results.  Without that you will always continue to see the same old results.

Chris

Filed Under: Saving Money Tagged With: , , , ,

5 Tips To Save Money

December 24, 2009 By 9 Comments

piggy_bank1Lately, I’ve been taking time to reflect on ways to cut down spending even in the holiday season and I’ve been looking for ways to stash more cash so I’ve come up with a list of five tips to save money.  These are easy tips to save money that come from the experiences I’ve gone through to build up my savings.

These are also easy money tips to implement as well so you can get started right away with them.  However I suggest you start with just a one or two of them at first and avoid doing all of them at once.  Also some of these you may already be doing and if so you are already ahead of the game.

5 Tips To Saving Money

  1. Pay Yourself First. When it comes to saving money you have to think about yourself first, not last.  Often times we get caught up in paying the bills and buying stuff we don’t need that we forget about saving.  Paying yourself first gives you the security to go through life without fretting every little financial hiccup that comes your way.
  2. Keep You Money Out Of Reach. If you have any kids you know that you wouldn’t keep the cookie jar in close reach.  So when you’re trying to save money of any kind you should keep it in a place where you can’t get quick access to it.  Having it all stored up on your debit card is a bad idea.  For me I have a separate account at a credit union that if I want the money I would have to physically get in my car and drive there to get it.  That way on the drive I can think of the reasons why I need the money in the first place.
  3. Keep Rules On Saved Money. Having rules on the money keeps it from being spent on any old thing.  For example, a certain amount of money I have saved is for emergencies only.  Another amount is saved specifically for our house fund to help pay for the house we are planning to build.  With rules it becomes easier to hit specific goals we are trying to achieve and not falling through the cracks.
  4. Put Your Money In The Right Place. You also have to consider where the right place to put your money is.   Of all these how to money tips this one is very important.  Like tip number two it must be out of reach but is it in the best possible place to help you out.  For example if you trying to save for your retirement in a CD account doing 2%  your retirement might be short lived, however if it were in a mutual fund it would probably help out a lot more.
  5. Look For Savings Opportunities. When you’re saving money you also need to constantly looking for other opportunities to save money.  First, start by putting a budget together.  With a fully written out budget it should be pretty easy to see were you could make some improvements.  Second, look for some extra ways to earn extra money.  I started my own website and earn an extra $100 a month.  It’s not much but everything helps.

Do You Have A Tip

Of all the tips on how to save money never forget that a dollar saved is a dollar earned.  Even though it may only be a dollar here or there, when you add it all up it can make a big difference to what you can really save up in a month.

Of the tips to save money that I’ve shared with you feel free to share yours now.

Chris

This post was recently featured on the Money Hacks Carnival by The Canadian Finance Blog.

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LifeTuner Podcast: Saving Money vs Making Money

October 2, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Earlier this week I was invited to be apart of a podcast discussion group at LifeTuner. If your not sure what Life Tuner is it’s a web based community devoted entirely to helping people learn more about their finances, especially young adults.

Life Tuner has everything from forums, financial tools and calculators, to experts with tons of great advice.  I guess you can call it a one top shop for getting all of your financial advice.  Below you can listen to podcast.

If you like what you heard make sure you subscribe to the podcast and you will receive future podcast updates as they come, and if you like you can also join in the discussion by creating your own free account.

Finally, I will be doing a more formal review on Life Tuner here shortly, so make sure you check back shortly and sign up to my RSS to get the updates.

Till then,

Chris

Filed Under: Saving Money Tagged With: , , ,

My Kids Eat For Free: A Cheaper Alternative To Dining Out With The Family

August 26, 2009 By 1 Comment

kids_eat_freeHey everyone I came across a great website this week that I’m sure any family could appreciate.  It’s called My Kids Eat Free.  If you’re like I am I like to go out on occasion and dine out with my family.

However, if you got one kid this might be doable but if you got more than that it’s going to be tough to justify it.  Well what if the kids could eat out free?  I know what you’re thinking who does that these days with the way the economy is.

I was actually surprised to find at My Kids Eat Free that there were several places for my family to eat out at where the kids all eat free just in my local area.

How To Find Restaurants In Your Area

To find restaurants in your area just click on the link above and the click on the search button.  This will take you to a page were you can start searching by state.  You will then be able to narrow in on a Specific County which will then show you all of the listing in that area.

The great thing about this is that you don’t just have to search in your local area.  Let’s say you’re going on vacation with your family.  With this site you could simply print out the locations where kids can eat free at and just program them in your GPS.

So give it a shot and leave a comment and let me know how it turned out.

Chris

Filed Under: Saving Money Tagged With: ,

Why You Don’t Want To Save All Of Your Money In Fixed Accounts

August 18, 2009 By Leave a Comment

secureI gotta question for you.

When the markets went south what did you do?  Did you do nothing, did you readjust your portfolio, or did move all of your money into fixed accounts?  Whatever you did I hope you didn’t pick the last option.

Well, unless you’re 50 or older this would have not been a suitable option for you.  In this post I will explain why you don’t want to save all of your money in fixed accounts, especially your retirement accounts.

Why Fixed Accounts Don’t Work

If your saving for an emergency fund or something like that it may be OK, but if it’s for the long term you may be making a huge financial mistake.

When I first started saving money for my later years I made this same mistake.  I went to the bank started an IRA which went into a certificate of deposit account (CD) earning me a whopping 2.5%.  At the time though I didn’t know any better.

To save for short term things like a car would be alright, but in the long term you need something more than that.  You need the power of compounding to work for you.   To do this you need two things.

  1. Money
  2. Time

These two things combined together can make a substantial difference on your financial outcome.  It can mean the difference between you being poor or rich.

So if that’s the case why do lots of people save in just fixed accounts?  Because it’s safe and you won’t lose any money.  The risk is lower here to lose, but you still can lose in a fixed account.  How?  By inflation.

Inflation is the  increasing cost of goods and services.  Think of it this way what did a gallon of gas cost in 1970, maybe 50 cents at most and today’s it’s pushing $3 a gallon.  This means it will take more money for you to survive in your later years.

Compound Interest Example

Let’s start simple.  Let’s say that you saved $10,000 at a 3% for the next 35 years starting at age 30.  Here’s what it would look like.

  • Age 30  $10,000
  • Age 54  $20,000
  • Age 78  $40,000

In this example it would take you 48 years to grow that $10,000 into $40,000.  But let me ask you this, how long will you be able to live on $40,000 in today’s dollars?  Probably not long.

In the next example we save the same $10,000 but this time at 8% starting at age 30. Here’s what your result would be.

  • Age 30  $10,000
  • Age 39  $20,000
  • Age 48  $40,000
  • Age 57  $80,000
  • Age 66  $160,000

In this example it would take 36 years to grow $10,000 into $160,000.  All because you averaged an 8% return on your money, not bad.  Let’s do one more.  Let’s say we take that same $10,000 at age 30 and invest it and average a 12% return, here’s what the result would be.

  • Age 30  $10,000
  • Age 36  $20,000
  • Age 42  $40,000
  • Age 48 $80,000
  • Age 54  $160,000
  • Age 60  $320,000
  • Age 66  $640,000

Obviously there is a big difference here between saving your money at 12% versus 3%.  Now let me ask you this, if you had to choose between the three example which would you choose?  Don’t be stupid, pick the last one.

If you’ll also notice in the three examples we didn’t invest anymore money after are initial investment at age 30.  So this proves the point the sooner you start saving the more you could possibly earn.

Now, this doesn’t guarantee you’ll earn 12% or any other return on your investment but you can obviously see the impact of what could happen if you would save your money in the wrong places.

How To Avoid This Mistake

There are a few ways you can avoid this mistake and it all starts with prevention.  The sooner you can start saving the better.   Here are some saving money tips to get you started.   Don’t wait until 30, if you can start saving at 18 do it.  Why, two reasons.

  1. You’ll have time on your side. With the extra time you will be able compound you’re money even more.
  2. You won’t have to invest as much. Starting earlier savings towards retirement will cost a lot less.  If you would wait until your 40 it would take nearly 3 times as much to fund your retirement.

However, if you are one of those individuals who have a lot of money saved up in fixed accounts and want to look into investing your money in better places talk to a professional and set up a plan to reinvest your money slowly.

If you are getting back into the market you’ll want to take your time at it.  Why you might ask, because sticking all of your money in at once may cause you to buy at a higher price for your funds but by spreading it out over time you’ll be able to buy at cheaper prices.  I will talk more about this later in the week, so make sure you sign up to my RSS so you don’t miss a thing.

Till then,

Chris

Filed Under: Saving Money Tagged With: ,

10 Things You Should Include In Your Emergency Fund

April 28, 2009 By 6 Comments

pig-savings-bank-feed
Ok, so we’ve all been told a million times that we need to save up money in some type of emergency fund or else right?  Well if I’ve learned one thing during the past two recessions it’s that the process is a lot smoother when you have extra cash in the bank.

Now don’t get me wrong I have those moments where I worry just as much as the next person.  Once we know we have to save some money the question then becomes, what should we save the money for?

Below I have compiled a list of 10 things I include money for in my emergency fund.  If you have something other than the 10 I mention below, leave a comment and let us know.

10 Things To Include In Your Emergency Fund

  • 1.House. This would include your mortgage payment, things you need around the house to survive like toilet paper, laundry detergent, soap and of course anything else you can think of here.
  • 2.Insurance. This would include your health insurance, life insurance, homeowners insurance, and maybe disability or long term care if you have it. These things will become vital assets should you happen to lose your job. These items also reduce your risk and if you neglect to keep them you may face an even longer hardship.
  • 3.Energy. Energy would be things to keep you going like electricity, gas to run your car, propane to heat your house, water and sewage. Without all of these necessities you will not be able to survive on a daily basis, unless you’re going for that 1800′s survival method.
  • 4.Vehicles. If you have a car or use transportation whether public or personal you are going to need money set aside for this use. This would include money for vehicle repairs, oil changes, tune ups, or money for buses or trains if that is your main mode of transportation.
  • 5.Taxes.If you have a job, a home, and investments you pay taxes. This must also be factored into your emergency fund. Taxes are definitely not one area you want to skimp on. The government will always win that battle.
  • 6.Health. Do you frequently visit the doctor or need prescriptions? While we don’t know when we might get sick, the probability is high and that is why we need to make arrangements for extra cash here. Even if you have insurance to cover most of these costs, in most cases they won’t cover all of them.
  • 7.Communication. This would include your home phone, cell phones, internet, cable TV, and even things like texting if you must. The important thing is that you should include money toward these things. Now if things get tough you may cut down on some of these things like the internet or cell phones but you still need money for the phone.
  • 8.Food. You need to eat to survive. If it’s planting your own garden or grocery shopping you need to have money set aside to eat, and I should mention, eat well. I once knew a couple who lived off of canned soups because they decided that having a big house was worth the cost. In return, they had to give up a lot of other things like eating out or have that steak on the grill.
  • 9.Investments. In this case I am talking about paper assets like retirement accounts but you could also add in other investments such as real estate or home based businesses as well. Just because you may have fallen on tough times doesn’t mean you should stop contributing to your retirement funds. This could have a damaging long-term effect that won’t be felt until many years down the road.
  • 10. ‘Just Because’ Fund. What the heck is a just because fund? A just because fund is a portion of your emergency fund for those just because moments. For example, a just because fund is for that emergency trip you took for a Hawaiian vacation. I know that sounds a bit extreme but you have to take things like vacations into consideration, otherwise you may get burned out from overworking yourself. I like vacations as a way to clear my mind so that when I return to work I can focus easier and be more productive.

What Would You Add

Anything you would add to your emergency fund?  I know that everyone saves for different reasons so using the list above as a guideline, what would you add or what wouldn’t you save money for in your emergency fund?   To get more saving money tips click here.

Chris

The post was recently featured on the Carnival Of Personal Finance by Weakonomics.

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