July 23, 2008
Budgeting
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It seems to me that, for large swathes of the public, the two “fiscal rules” that govern economic expenditure are, if not totally incomprehensible, at least too shatteringly dull to care about. One states that borrowing should not exceed the bracket of 40% of GDP whilst the other, the ‘golden rule’, refers to the balancing of the budget over the economic cycle.
It’s not exactly Bad Boys II is it? For the past 11 years these Brownite commandments have largely gone undisturbed. However, with financial storm clouds gathering overhead, it looks like they might not be as perennial as people thought.
The problem with this, naturally, is that if someone starts moving the goalposts, it somewhat throws the match into disrepute. The Conservatives, as one might expect, are practically queuing up to attack the Treasury over the issue. “The last nail in the coffin for Brown’s reputation for prudence” they’re calling it. The shadow chancellor George Osbourne, for example, rather sniffly referred to Brown “giving the prisoner the keys to their own cell”
A couple of rather adroit analogies aren’t they? Well, yes, until you read what Cameron said about these ‘fiscal rules’ at his party’s economic summit only two days previously:
“I don’t believe it’s impossible to try to get some political consensus [with the government]…about tight rules on fiscal policy”
That’s how he decided to phrase his intentions for steadying up the economy. Elsewhere he claimed that he wanted to “Reform the fiscal architecture” Which sounds remarkably like the way Kevin McCloud might describe Labour’s policy of ‘relaxing the fiscal rules’
Of course, as the old saying goes, the duty of the opposition is to oppose, but to describe Brown (and invariably it is Brown and not the Treasury or Alistair Darling… I wonder why?) as some prodigal cad and then hint at proposing the exact same measures is pretty rich isn’t it?
Many financial commentators have described Brown’s cabinet as standing at a crossroads with this issue. Either, they tighten their belts, raise taxes and feel the brunt of public unrest, or they slacken their belts, throw caution to the wind and indulge in a little more borrowed cash. The choice, clearly, is a tricky one:
ROCK: Oi! Brownie! How can you justify sticking to a set of outdated rules that will unnecessarily burden the public?
HARD PLACE: Oi! Gordon! where do you get off talking about borrowing more money when the financial situation is in such trouble?
Still, I suppose either of the two main positions are better than what Nick Clegg’s thrown into the mix. His ‘fair tax’ party has done somewhat of a u-turn of late and are now saying that they can solve the sticky economic climate by… lowering taxes.
Mmmm…? Well, we’d all like to see how that plans out wouldn’t we Nick? Sure you’ve thought this one through? Because I find it very hard to believe that every other economic advisor has dropped the proverbial clanger and forgot to add up these huge sums of money that are secreted around the different nooks and crannies of public spending. Brown doesn’t keep a penny jar does he?
So what have we learnt? That the government is in trouble; that the opposition will belligerently scratch and claw at everything the cabinet say, and that Nick Clegg could feel the benefit of a nice sit down. Well what’s new? Of course, detractors will rally around to call this the ‘end of the Brown era of economics’ but that only matters if you believed in such short-sighted spin in the first place.
Samantha is a London theatre fanatic and regular West End theatregoer. She writes and researches some of the biggest London shows you can view examples of her work here Oliver and Show and Stay.
March 26, 2008
Budgeting
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Most people would love to get a raise; but did you know that by lowering your bills, you’re giving yourself a raise? For every $100.00 a month that you can lower your bills, you’re getting a raise of about 60 cents an hour based on $1200.00 a year divided by 52 weeks and 40 hours a week. It doesn’t sound like much until you figure that most companies are giving 3% annual raises and you would have to make $20.00 per hour to get a 60 cent raise. Not only that, but $1200 would pay for a decent big screen T.V.
In this article, I plan on showing you a few easy ways to save money and with any luck, at least one that you didn’t think of.
The first thing you should do after reading this article is grab a notebook, PDA or some other way to keep track and start recording your spending. Write down every purchase you make, even a soda or snack from a vending machine. Keep it up for at least a month and then look at where your money goes. You may start to see a trend that you want to stop before the month is over and by all means, change it. You may also want to do this more than once. It’s a great way to keep from falling back into or developing new bad spending habits.
Improve your credit card balances and rates. This is a given and dozens of books and articles have been written so I won’t waste too much of your time repeating the same old information. Just know that the lower your rate and the faster you pay it off, the more money you save. Start with your highest rate card and pay as much extra as you can until it’s paid off, and then go to the next and include what you were paying on the first card. You could easily drop $100 per month just from this.
Take your lunch and snacks to work. If you spend $5.00 a day on fast food lunch and drink 3 sodas a day, you can easily save about $15.00 - $20.00 a week and that would be about $60.00 to $80.00 a month just by packing a lunch, not including gas and wear and tear on your car. Not to mention how much healthier it would be. You may only want to cut back on the lunches but it would still be a savings. Just a thought, you could use the extra time to read a book or just relax.
Buy Regular Unleaded gas unless your car requires higher octane gas. Check your owner’s manual to be sure. Most places charge 20 cents a gallon extra for Supreme over Regular Unleaded and unless you’re driving a sports car you won’t be able to tell the difference. Depending on your gas mileage this could add up quickly.
Use a shopping list and stick to it. Avoid impulse buys unless they’re something you’d normally use and on sale. Clip coupons. If you think it isn’t worth it, try it for a month and keep track of your savings. If it’s more hassle than it’s worth you can stop. But I’m betting you’ll be surprised at how fast it adds up. Pay attention to prices at different stores. Most stores offer some products under wholesale just to bring you in because they know most people will buy other things and they’ll make money on the higher priced items.
Do you still smoke? I bet you’re expecting me to say quit. Well, that would save you money but I’m not going to. If you want to quit then I wish you luck because I know it’s hard.
Try out the cheaper cigarette brands. Buy a single pack and see how they taste. If you find a brand you like and it’s a $1.00 a pack cheaper then look at how much you’ll save. If you smoke a pack a day then you’ll save about $30.00 a month, $365.00 a year. If you’re scared of what people will think, buy a nice case. They’ll never know you’re smoking cheap cigarettes.
Take a look at your cable/satellite package. Look at what stations you watch and which package they’re included in. If you don’t watch anything in the higher end packages, drop the extra or find out if you can get just the channels you watch. If you have cable, take a look at satellite providers such as Dish Network and see if you can save money if that’s an option where you live. Some apartments don’t have access to the correct direction to use satellite but if you do, then it could be a better deal and you may receive a channel you’ve always wanted.
Check your phone bill. This is one of the easiest bills to be over charged for and one of the easiest to change. Most people think they don’t spend enough to bother with it, but many companies hide fees or make up their own. Some will even tell you a fee is mandatory when it’s really just an administrative fee.
What you may not realize is that depending on your calling habits or the area you live in you may want a different long distance company or you may want to go with VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) if you have a broadband internet connection. We offer a calculator that compares 11 companies and shows the rates for your area. There’s even the advanced calculator that takes your calling habits and finds the best rate for you based on if you call more instate or out of state.
The point of these tips isn’t to make you a cheapskate, but to allow you to choose where your money goes. You can save the extra money, go out to a nice restaurant each month or spend it in any way you want, even to buy a new T.V. And wouldn’t it be much nicer to choose where you spend your money instead of wondering where it went?
Brian Baldwin is an entrepreneur who enjoys saving people money by offering some of the best products and services available today. Brian invites you to visit http://www.southerntechservices.com to compare our rates with the rates you’re paying and find out for yourself how much money you can save.
March 26, 2008
Budgeting
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In our last article we focused on a few ways to save money. This time, you’ll find a few more ways to save money and maybe a couple that you didn’t think of. As always, it’s not my intention to make you a cheapskate, but rather to give you the choice of where to spend your money instead of wondering where it went.
I mentioned this in the previous article but it’s so important that I have to repeat this again.
The first thing you should do after reading this article is grab a notebook, PDA or some other way to keep track and start recording your spending. Write down every purchase you make, even a soda or snack from a vending machine. Keep it up for at least a month and then look at where your money goes. You may start to see a trend that you want to stop before the month is over and by all means, change it. You may also want to do this more than once. It’s a great way to keep from falling back into or developing new bad spending habits.
Here’s a pet peeve of mine, ATM fees. Not only do you pay 1-3 bucks for the ATM you’re using but another 1-3 bucks to your bank. If you stop at the wrong ATM for $20 for dinner then you may be paying $26. Take a look at your bank statement and see how much you could’ve saved by planning over the last month. Personally, I saved almost $100 when I stopped using other ATMs.
Bank fees Depending on your bank, you may have free checking or pay a fee each month. If you’re paying a fee, then you really should think about how much it is and if it’s worth changing banks. You should pick a bank that has a lot of ATMs that are convenient to you and free checking. If you pick the correct bank, you can easily cut down the number of ATM fees that you incur simply by having your bank’s ATMs on the way to your destination.
Gas prices Use a search site like Gasbuddy.com Prices can vary by as much as 25 cents a gallon in the same city. It’s not worth your time to drive across town for a penny a gallon but if you can detour a few blocks for 10 cents a gallon then it’s worth it.
Prescription drugs According to a recent study, the prices can vary widely between pharmacies so unless you have drug coverage from your insurance, you should call around to different stores and check. You can also use a mail order pharmacy but be careful on those.
Pay down your mortgage Unless you have a loan that doesn’t allow this, you can over pay each month and that money goes directly to principle. Depending on your loan and the amount you over pay, you may save thousands over the life of the loan. Incidentally, some auto loans also allow this.
Pay your bills on time. A little known bit of fine print in many credit contracts allow unrelated companies to increase your rate just because you were late on a different account. Not only that but some companies will raise your rate to 29-31% interest if you’re 1 day late.
Free cycle is a group of people that choose to give away items instead of throwing them away. Not only does it save the receiver money but it keeps it out of the landfill. Do a search for your area and see if there’s a group in place.
Brian Baldwin is an entrepreneur who enjoys saving people money by offering some of the best products and services available today. Brian invites you to visit http://www.southerntechservices.com to compare our rates.
If you’d like to read the previous article, please visit stservices.powerfulintentions.com/library
March 26, 2008
Budgeting
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Why a Budget is Important. Let it be your guide from beginning to end.
Starting your own home business is a very tricky proposition. Starting your own enterprise is exciting, but it is also inherently full of risk. Enter discipline. Unless you get yourself going on the right foot, then the chances of achieving success are very small.
Conversely, as long as you have the right foundation, and keep working on that foundation, success is almost an automatic thing. It is vital that you run your home business on a strict budget, if you aspire for long term success. Strictly budget your time and your money.
As little as one hour a day, everyday, is enough to make your personal business get better everyday and grow steadily to keep your confidence up. Avoid distractions.
One of the most important parts of running your business is operating on a budget of money and time. Every ad and every supply and tool you buy must earn the value put into it. This is a golden rule that can make you successful as you are going to be at any business.
Many men and women, mostly unsuccessful ones, prefer going with the flow rather than with actually setting goals and budgets. For the most part, this attitude is a mistake. Unless you have an incredible memory and unnatural clear sightedness, planning for both the present and the future is a prerequisite to success.
No matter how you define that elusive concept. Remember, no sloppy ad, supply or equipment buys. Check everything out scrupulously before putting your hard earned funds into it. Always shop for better prices and quality with every purchase you make.
Because this article is about home businesses, we will begin by defining success as the growth and eventual profitability of your particular business. By growth we mean that the business will expand, hopefully outgrowing your home and eventually participating in the corporate arena or whichever one you feel comfortable to work in.
By profitability, we mean that the business will become a cash generating machine, so much so that you attain financial freedom, and never have to work a single day again for someone else, if you do not feel like it. You will be your own woman or man.
This article argues that in order to achieve growth and profitability, discipline is needed, and plans must be made and acted upon. I cannot harp on and emphasize this enough to you.
Crafting your budget
One of the most important plans you must conceptualize is that of your budget. Many businesses, even if they have great ideas and wonderful products, still fail for lack of proper planning and efficient allocation of resources. Do not let this happen to you. Only a home business on a strict budget can ever be truly successful.
First, make it a habit to write down, both what you earn and what you spend, on a daily, monthly, and yearly basis. A common stenographer notebook will be perfect for this. Make a different page for every expense. Every expense and every sale must be recorded so you know where you are everyday.This is the least that you can do.
Look over what you have written down and you will easily see the areas that can be improved upon, especially in the expense column. It is astonishing how many expenses we never notice until we get them down in paper. As the business grows larger, accounting knowledge might be needed. If you have neither the time nor the inclination to acquire the knowledge yourself, find someone who does.
Second, analyze the figures and determine the areas where you can control costs, and where you should add capital. Every business has areas that generate above average returns, as well as areas that under perform. As much as possible, redirect your resources to the projects and ideas that give you the most return. You will quickly start to learn this from experience.
Many years of experience have frequently given me the positive experience of having the lowest cost item or ad working for me best.
The great secret here is to, are you ready? Shop around for the best buy and do not let your emotions run wild on you when you read or hear presentations that have wild claims or will not give you the whole detail story until you pay them first. Hah! Never do it. Give me the details or forget about it. You do not need to take unnecessary risks.
Lastly, stick to your budget. Never forget this. A plan not acted upon is essentially useless, and a budget not followed is as useful as a page of doodles. Once you have written down and finalized your budget, do not make any departures from it unless absolutely necessary. Always have a solid reason for doing so.
Be disciplined. It is the only way you will get anywhere. By running your home business on a focused budget, you are securing your future at a small expense to the present and a nice profit in the future.
James M. Lowe writes original articles about home business opportunities.