Create a Budget in Less Than an Hour

If you’re looking to become financially secure, the first thing you need to do is get a good understanding of your current finances. In order to do this you’ll need to work out a budget. It’s actually pretty simple to create one.

By following just a few simple tips you could have a detailed budget ready within one hour.

Working out your incomings and outgoings
The first step to creating a budget is to write a list of all of your outgoings and your incomings. That way you’ll soon see whether you’re spending more than you’re earning.

It’s important to write absolutely everything down. Include not only your bills, but your daily spending too. How much do you spend on food and entertainment? Do you allow yourself small treats on a daily basis? It can help to keep a diary for a week and see exactly how much you’re spending.

The Money Advice Service offers free useful calculators to help you work out where your money is going. Using online calculators is a great idea as it saves you a lot of time and effort. It will automatically calculate the total and show you exactly how much money you have left over.

Making adequate savings
Once you know exactly what’s coming in and going out, you can then work out where you could potentially save money. For example, could you save on those daily expenses? Instead of driving to work every day, could you share a car some days to save money? There are many ways you can cut back on your budget; you sometimes just have to think outside of the box.

As well as cutting back, you may also be able to figure out ways to earn a little extra money. If you have a creative talent, you could use it online to bring in a little extra income each month. Web designing, photography, wedding planning and writing are all talents that can be used to bring in a little extra.

Dealing with unexpected outgoings
Your budget isn't going to be the same every month. Every now and again you’ll come across unexpected emergency bills that need to be paid. If there isn't enough money in your budget to accommodate them, you may want to think about taking out a payday loan.

Designed for short term cash flow problems, payday loans can give you the money you need the same day you are accepted. It takes just a few minutes to apply for a loan from lenders like From lenders like wonga.co.za. However this would only be advisable in an emergency, the more prudent course is of course to try your best to budget for these unexpected events. This is best dealt with by budgeting a percentage of your earnings towards the clichéd ‘rainy day’ - this is money that you put away for these kind of emergency payments, the priority is that the cash must be in an account that is easy for you to access as soon as you need it, which means you’ll be omitting this cash from investments and high interest savings accounts (which will penalise you if you make a bulk withdrawal more often than not.)

Often you don’t realise just how much you’re spending until you start adding it up. A budget is a great way to stay on top of your finances and make necessary improvements. Writing down a list of your outgoings and incomings is the easiest way to work out how much available cash you have left over each month.

If possible, it’s recommended you save a portion of the leftover funds for times of emergency. This isn't always possible, but once you've made cutbacks to your overall spending, the money you save could easily build up over time.

Money Tips #5: Organize Your Purchases

Over the years, PF Stock has collected numerous money and tax saving tips from readers. In this series of posts, I have compiled some of the best money tips that I've received, each categorized by topic. In addition, I am including other money tips from the internet and from my own experience. I hope that this will come in handy my readers. Today's topic:

Tips for Organizing Your Purchases

• Coupon, and organize with a list - the time invested will be worth it.
• Always make a list and never ever buy on the spot for big purchases.
• Always use your grocery store's discount card and always look for coupons before you go shopping.
• Carry your store affinity cards in a coin purse, separate from your wallet. This way, all of your store cards are all in one place and easy to find.
• Make a list before shopping and stick to it. Resist those impulse buys.
• My best money saving idea is to take a list when you go shopping and stick to it.
• Stay out of stores! Only grocery shop with a list - and stick to it.
• I sign up for loyalty rewards from my favorite stores. Besides that I earn points whenever I use it, I also get special discounts.

Also See:
PF Stock Money Tips #1: Use Coupons
PF Stock Money Tips #2: Credit Cards
PF Stock Money Tips #3: Taxes
PF Stock Money Tips #4: Shopping

Thanks again to all of my readers who contributed most of these tips. If you have more money saving tips, please share them in the comments below. Your tip may be featured in a future compilation.

How Could You Save by Refinancing Your Home Mortgage?

Our homes are generally our biggest assets and they may come to our aid in many occasions. Owning a home increases your statue and it would be even nicer if you owned your home outright. However, you achieve this goal faster if you manage to save money today. Most of the time, it would be cheaper to borrow on your home equity than any other loans because of the underlying security.

A home loan is a long term commitment but that doesn’t mean you cannot replace it with a better one. This could make sense if you are still saving money after all the costs of switching taken into account. Even small savings can add up over time considering you would be paying interest for years. Here are some of the ways how refinancing a home mortgage can save you money.

Putting a Cap on Your Monthly Payments
There are many mortgages in place with adjustable interest rates that fluctuate from month to month. Low interest rates offer a great opportunity to fix your rates so that you know exactly how much you will pay each month. You will stand to lose if the rates go down even further but you will be well protected if they go up.

The main problem is that fixed rates could be slightly higher than current flexible rates. This is the price to pay for peace of mind of keeping the same monthly payments. Another option is to get a flexible mortgage with caps on rates in that rates can go up and down along the lines of underlying interest but it cannot go up more than pre-fixed ceiling rate.

Taking Advantage of Low Interest Deals
Many lenders offer special incentives for several years when you take a new home loan. Many people are attracted to those initial low monthly payments. So, it comes as a big surprise when the interest rates and monthly payments suddenly shoot up. This would be a good time to look around and see if you could find savings. A new provider is likely to offer similar incentives as well that can be used to offset the refinancing costs.

This time you should have a longer view and check carefully as to what will happen after the discounted rates end. If you are not going to go for fixed rates you should find out how wildly your rates can fluctuate. There are mortgages that are set as base rates + a certain margin of interest. For example if the base rates are 1% and the margin is 2% you pay 3% interest and this changes to 4% if the base rate goes up to 2% and vice versa.

There are many reasons why people would end up with a bad mortgage deal in the first place. One of the reasons is that you get all excited about owning a home and you overlook a few points. Another one is to have a poorer credit score at the time and can only get mortgage from certain companies. This wouldn’t be a problem if you managed to keep your payments and improved your credit score. As soon as you see a good deal you can rearrange your home loan for the better and save money

Paying Off Home Mortgage Earlier
There are many ways of saving money. Paying more towards paying off debt earlier is like putting money in the bank because you will have larger and larger equity at your home each month. Early payments can be achieved in two ways. You can either make lump sum payments as and when you have money. However, we tend to spend money before we even know it. So, if you are not confident about achieving your saving goals this way, it may be better to reduce the term of the loan by paying a bit more each month.

You don’t really need to refinance to reduce your mortgage term with some lenders. It is possible to talk to your provider and switch for a better product and reduce the term of the mortgage in the same time. While talking to other lenders don’t forget to talk to your own lender. Initially, they may not give way, but they may change their mind when they realize you are going to leave them. If they don’t you could still go with the best option for you but with another company.

How Else You Could Save Money?
The next money saving opportunity could be looking at your insurance arrangement. People achieve large savings on their home and automobile insurance every day especially when they buy both policies from the same provider. When you are getting your home loan make sure that you are not tied down for your home insurance. Both your lender and financial advisor may try to steer you toward the products they are affiliated with. Check your options carefully before making your mind.

When you can control your main outgoings you can budget better for the future. Many people go to considerable trouble to save a little money. They cut coupons, give up eating out and even leave home with a mug of coffee instead of picking their coffee on the way from their favorite vendor. However, they do nothing about possible large savings they can get with refinancing, switching home and car insurance providers.

About The Guest Author
This article is written by Joe Moore who comes from financial services background. He currently helps building an auto insurance forum called Talk Car Insurance.

Citi Dividend Card Q2 2014 Categories

I had written before that I have a Citibank Dividend MasterCard. One of the benefits of this card is that it offers 5% cash back on rotating categories of merchants. The main problem I have with this arrangement is that I always forget which categories are currently offering 5% cash back when I am at the store. As a result, I often miss out on the bonus dividend dollars. In order to help me remember, I have decided to post the categories which change every three months here.

For Q2 2014, you will earn 5% for purchases from:

• The Home Depot
• Home Furnishing Stores
• Home & Garden Stores

Note that "Q2 2014" means from April 1 - June 30, 2014. Also note that even if you have a Citi Dividend Card, the enrollment is not automatic. You have to login and sign up for this offer at the Citibank website.

See also Discover Card Q1 2014 Cash Back Bonus Categories.

PF Stock

The Quick Guide to Setting Appropriate Credit Limits

Credit limits can be a bit of a prickly question, particularly following 2008's terrifying credit crash. How much is too much? How much is irresponsible? How low becomes restrictive and starts to eat into potential profits? It can be a complicated minefield. For companies who are not sure how much credit to allow individuals or businesses, we've put together a quick guide to setting appropriate credit limits which protect your business from defaulted payments, keep your clients from financial trouble and ensure that you don't put the dampeners on potential growth.

Everyone's different
It may sound simple but this is an important consideration to take into account when setting credit limits. Every client you take on is different, with different financial situations, different needs and different patterns of behaviour. Taking a closer look at each prospective client on an individual basis is an important way to get to grips with where their individual credit limit should be.


Many businesses set blanket credit limits, but a quick look at a sample of businesses in just one industry using RM Online's free company checking tool shows that there are radically different financial situations to contend with and, more importantly, varying degrees of risk to protect against. By showing a company's financial position, recording non-payments and CCJs and disclosing any legal issues, this tool clearly demonstrates why careful research needs to be conducted before credit limits are set.

Categorise your clients
It can help to segment your customers on the basis of your findings and research. Take a wide-angle view of the businesses you offer credit to and consider their similarities and differences. If possible, group them into categories ranging from the high risk to the low risk. If you can build profiles around each group then you can create different credit limits which fit each group, minimising how much work must be done to decide on each business's credit limit. If you will be delegating the setting of credit limits to staff, this process can be very helpful, particularly if it can be condensed into a short series of questions i.e.:

• What is the the company turnover?
• Does the company have any outstanding invoices?
• Has the company been flagged for non-payments?
• Has the company been given a CCJ?

Define your goals
If you have a clear idea of the effect you want to achieve with your credit limit, you can tailor your policy to help make it happen. For instance, if you want your customers to feel confident and spend more, higher credit limits can encourage bigger spends. Meanwhile if you are particularly vulnerable to non-payment, lower credit limits will provide peace of mind and ensure clients only have access to credit they can easily afford. The overall goal for most businesses will be to give low risk clients the freedom to make the most of your services and ensure high risk clients have structures in place to avoid slow or non-payment.

Monitor trends
This is an ongoing process and it is important to keep a close eye on the effect of your credit limits. Watch for emerging trends and focus on things like slow payment, delayed payment and customers who repeatedly hit their upper credit limit and consistently pay on time. Evaluating the effects of your limit over time will help you to find the perfect system which protects both your business and your clients, while giving low risk customers the freedom to help your business grow.

What is your approach to setting credit limits for your customers? Do you use a blanket approach or do you invest time and resources in tailoring limits to particular customers? Share your thoughts and experiences with our readers below.

Budgeting Tips: Simple Ways to Get Through the Month Until Next Pay Day

Too many of us struggle to get through the month financially these days, so here are some very simple ideas to spread your income more effectively:

Cope with emergencies
We all suffer from the odd emergency: washing machine breaks down; car need insuring; dog needs an operation; school trip needs paying for; too many birthdays arrive in a single month and so many more. Rather than stick this in a credit card, consider using Wizzcash. Despite what the press will have you believe, if you use it just for an emergency and pay it back in time, it can be cheaper in the long term. We've all put something on the credit card and only paid back the monthly minimum. With quick loan sites like Wizzcash.com you can choose how much to borrow and see instantly how much it will cost relative to the time frame you pay back the loan in. It’s not an ideal financial situation to be in, but at least you can retain clarity and control over the situation.

Make a shopping list and stick to it
How often do we come home with those little extras? We see something carefully placed by the supermarket marketing types and think we couldn't possibly get by without it. Don't fall in to their trap! Check your cupboards and fridge and list what you need, even making a weekly menu and sticking to it.

Use your local market
We've got so used to buying fruit and veg from the supermarkets, that we’ve forgotten just how cheap the local market can be. They get their produce from the same places, and if you leave it until near closing time, you can pick up some fantastic bargains. You also get an opportunity to blow off the cobwebs on the long lost art of haggling to carve out some good deals for yourself too - I recommend checking out the haggling guide here for some great tips.

Say "NO" more often
An invitation to a swift half after work can too easily result in a drinking session and a £50 bill. The children won't starve if their pleading for a McDonald's/Burger King/KFC is answered with "no". The toy they plead for in a pound shop won't last more than a day, and they'll have forgotten about it by the time you get home

Walk
This is a no-brainer. It keeps you fitter and costs nothing. Rather than drive a couple of miles, or even take the bus, walk. You'll meet neighbours you've never seen before, see things you never noticed in the car and the calories will drop off.

De-clutter on-line
You can quickly and easily bring in some cash by selling unwanted items on eBay. Even better though, use your local Facebook group as you can sell in hours, have the cash brought to your doorstep and there are no insertion fees.

Make lunch
Don’t stop off at the sandwich shop, café, pub or fast-food joint for your lunch, make it at home. In minutes you can make a delicious sandwich, salad or pasta. If you’re lucky enough to have microwave facilities at work, re-heat last night's left overs or warm up some soup. These will almost always be much cheaper and often far healthier too!

Money Tips #4: Shopping

Over the years, PF Stock has collected numerous money and tax saving tips from readers. In this series of posts, I have compiled some of the best money tips that I've received, each categorized by topic. In addition, I am including other money tips from the internet and from my own experience. I hope that this will come in handy my readers. Today's topic:

Tips for Shopping around (Online and in Stores)

• Always Google or check RetailMeNot for coupon codes for online purchases. Use ebates or another site to earn cash back on your purchases.
• Check websites for the best deals.
• Look at sale flyers online weekly and compare prices and coupons.
• I comparison shop online then search for coupon codes to save extra money.
• Compare prices every where online and check for coupon codes for free shipping.
• Always search online for coupons and sales, and if you don't 'need' the thingy wait for a coupon or sale (example: I like 3D movies but they cost way too much, I waited for Black Friday and got them for 1/2 price).
• Always price compare online before purchasing a desired product.
• If you are looking for a new computer, check out the Dell Home Deals Page.
• Shop around online, you can find great deals and compare prices.
• My tip is to set alerts from deals websites for the things you need so that when a good deal comes around, you can buy it and not have to worry about buying at retail.
• If you shop at Best Buy stores or shop online at BestBuy.com, it pays to join their Reward Zone.
• I always check prices on the internet for things I will be buying. I try to shop for groceries from the store ad. I stock up when items are on sale and try not to pay full price for anything.
• Shop secondhand shops for clothing and housewares!
• A good money saving tip would be look at other stores before jumping in and buying something because you wouldn't believe how many things I've looked at on one site and kept looking around and have deals on things. Another good tip is look for coupon codes before checking out on sites there are some really good codes out there for free that you can easily find with searches for free shipping and percent off of your total order which helps around the holidays and anytime! Hope I helped and thank you for the amazing giveaway good luck everyone!

Also See:
PF Stock Money Tips #1: Use Coupons
PF Stock Money Tips #2: Credit Cards
PF Stock Money Tips #3: Taxes

Thanks again to all of my readers who contributed most of these tips. If you have more money saving tips, please share them in the comments below. Your tip may be featured in a future compilation.