Now, of course you weren’t able to save money right away when you were born. That is a skill that hopefully you were taught when young and developed throughout your younger years. The main idea of this article is for parents (or even grandparents) to save money for their children. I’m going to go over a few tips that I think will be helpful, especially for new parents.

As soon as the child is born, set up a savings account.

Personally I would recommend setting up a high-yielding online savings account. You will earn more interest than if you go to your local brick and mortar bank, where the interest rate may be around .5%. That way, even if you put just a little money in it, it will still earn a really good rate. It will also be convenient for you to transfer money from your checking account at your local bank to the online savings account. Less trips to the bank!

Set up an automatic transfer to go into that account, whether it be from your payroll check, or you set up a Pre-Authorized Transfer with the online institution.

You can make the amount as little or as much as you want. Even $5 a month will add up over time. You won’t miss the money, especially if it is automatically taken out of your paycheck. Also, deposit any checks or money your baby is given into their savings account. Every little bit helps! Read More…

Posted under Save Your Money

I like to think I am a very health conscious person. I prefer for myself and my family to eat organic, healthful foods that will provide true nourishment for our bodies. The only drawback is that it usually costs more than conventional foods. I’ve tried many different ideas to help cut our grocery budget.

Go to your local grocery store and look at their marked down organic/natural foods.

The city I work in has a very diverse population. Many people are “good old country people” who probably don’t care too much about buying organic food. That works to my advantage, though, because I can go to Kroger and pick up some organic food at half price or marked down considerably because it’s going to expire in a few days. I will buy things like boxes of cereal or meats if they are marked down or really inexpensive and the store or freeze them. I also have purchased natural laundry detergent for a good price because the store was no longer carrying that type of product and have used that for awhile.

Buy store brand organic foods when possible.

Because the store doesn’t have to spend tons of money on advertising, they can offer their products to you at a lower price. Make sure you read labels, but normally the store brand foods are going to taste the same and be the same quality as the name brand foods and goods. Just because it’s not advertised doesn’t mean it’s not a good product. Shop wisely. Read More…

Posted under How To, Save Your Money

We’ve all been there before. Some months we just fall short on our budgets and see ourselves in the red in our bank accounts. Every day I am faced with people wanting to get overdraft refunds. Let me tell you a few tips on how you can maximize your chances of getting some (or all!) of your overdraft fees refunded.

1. Call your bank and talk with a manager.

Normally there are two managers in each branch office of a bank. Both managers should have the capabilities to be able to refund fees for customers if they choose to do so.

2. Calmly and respectfully explain to the manager what happened to your account.

They hear sob stories all day about how “I’m not going to be able to put food on the table!” or “My child won’t be able to go on this field trip now!”. Let them know what happened, admit it’s your fault, and ask for some leeway this one time. You’ve also got a better chance of getting a refund if this isn’t your 54345 time.

3. Let them know you are keeping a check register and recording all your purchases that you make, both with your debit card and checks.

Nothing aggravates managers more than people who aren’t keeping their own records of what is clearing their account. It is not the bank’s responsibility to keep up your checking account. Also, don’t go by the ATM or online banking balances. Those don’t reflect any checks you have outstanding and any debit card purchases that may not have hit your account yet. Read More…

Posted under Bank Secrets, Save Your Money