Financial Tips

Increase Your Income

1. Consider a part-time job or additional hours at full-time job for you, your spouse, or teenage children.
2. Look for a better paying job, go for career counseling, and/or seek additional training in your present job.
3. Study payroll deductions, particularly credit union and insurance costs, to see if they can be reduced.
4. Be sure to change tax deductions when there is a change in your family situation (marriage, baby, etc.) to ensure that your tax withholdings are correct for your life situation.
5. Find out if you qualify for public or private benefits. (e.g., Social Security, temporary cash assistance, food stamps, unemployment benefits).
6. Get paid for a hobby such as babysitting, sewing, home repair, car repair, or selling craft items. Trading services such as child care can also be beneficial.
7. Refinance your home, car, or personal loans to reduce the payments.
8. Re-evaluate life and auto insurance and compare premiums and deductibles with other companies. Keeping all policies with one company can also save money sometimes.
9. Rent out a room and/or find a roommate.
10. Have a garage sale, or donate unused clothing, furniture, and home products for a tax deduction.

Reduce Spending

Food

1. Plan a week's menu in advance. Make a shopping list based on the menu and use coupons that are being offered that week.
2. Stick to your list: Never shop when hungry. Avoid taking young children to prevent impulse shopping.
3. Make as few trips as possible to the store. Limit the time for shopping.
4. If you have a freezer, use it to stock up on sale items.
5. Buy in season. Fruits and vegetables are most expensive at the beginning and end of season.
6. Substitute store brands for name brands whenever possible. Use the Sunday paper advertising specials to see weekly sale items.
7. Pack your lunches for school and work.
8. Cut back or give up restaurant eating. Try alternating meals with a friend or another family.

Medical

9. Don't skip regular medical and dental check-ups. Preventative measures are usually less expensive in the long run.
10. Ask your doctor to prescribe generic drugs. Also, shop by phone for the best price before buying a prescription.
11. Investigate services offered by the health department or immunization clinics. Sometimes walk-in clinics are less expensive than emergency rooms.
12. Read your health insurance policy so that you understand restrictions and cost containment policies.
13. Check your insurance and your spouse's plan for duplicate coverage.
14. Review your hospital bill for errors. Watch for overcharges, billing fees, duplicate charges, or charges for services you didn't have.

Auto

19. Plan your days so fewer car trips are necessary.
20. Try to survive on one car, or utilize carpools and public transportation.
22. Inexpensive car maintenance such as an oil change every 3,000 miles, and regular tune-ups may help avoid costly major repairs.
23. Inflate tires to proper level to reduce wear and rotate tires regularly.
24. Evaluate and cut auto insurance costs by comparison shopping for higher deductibles and discounts on automatic seat belts, air bags, and theft devices. Keep one deductible amount in the savings account in case you have an accident.

Housing/Energy

25. Consider less expensive housing. As a rule-of-thumb, do not pay more than 30% of net income for housing.
26. Carry replacement value insurance on your house and its contents. Increase your deductible to reduce premium costs.
27. Learn to do minor home repairs. Keep everything operating well to avoid major repairs. File copies of appliance operating manuals in one central location.
28. Set thermostat for 68 degrees in winter, 78 degrees in summer. If you can do without air conditioning, turn it off.
29. Have your local utility company conduct an audit to identify areas of waste. Weatherproof windows and doors.
30. Go on the budget plan for electric and gas bills.
31. Turn off the hot water heater when your house will be empty for a day or two. Keep it set at 120 degrees.
32. Choose light colors for roofing and walls and dark curtains to keep sun out in summer.

Clothing

33. Shop at garage sales and/or consignment shops for children's clothing that is quickly outgrown. Manufacturer's outlets and thrift stores often offer good quality clothing at bargain prices.
34. Buy clothing that is washable, needs no ironing, and is easy to care for. Try not to limit the clothes that require dry cleaning.
35. Shop during seasonal clothing and white sales. Take advantage of off-season sales.
36. Color coordinatebuy clothing that can be mixed and matched to extend your wardrobe.
37. Change out of work clothes at the end of the day. Use old clothes for cleaning.

Personal

38. Restrict your purchasing of snacks during the daysnacking can be costly. Take snacks with you.
39. Shop toiletries carefullysome stores discount these. Dollar stores often carry toiletries.
40. Cut back or stop smoking.
41. Trade your old books, records, CDs and tapes at the 1/2 price or discount book store.
42. Try to develop interest in activities that don't require spending. Major newspapers list free or minimal charge entertainment activities each weekend.
43. Do your own pet grooming. Use an inexpensive shampoo and add two tablespoons of baking soda to the water for a soft coat.
44. Cancel subscriptions to magazines and book clubs. Use the public library instead.

Achieving Financial Security

1. Sit down with your family to determine as a group a realistic lifestyle for you and your family, taking into consideration your values, attitudes, and capabilities. Then determine how much money you need to make to achieve that lifestyle.
2. With your lifestyle in mind, set long-term financial goals and develop specific, measurable, achievable objectives to reach those goals. An example of a long-term goal is to buy a car within the next five years. An objective to meet this goal is to save $200 a month for the down payment. Guidewell Financial’s financial coaching can help you achieve your goals. More here.
3. Develop a monthly spending plan/budget based on your monthly net income, minus living expenses and debt payments. Divide monthly bills.
4. Keep track of spending in a notebook for a month to see where your money goes.
5. Minimize number and usage of credit cards. Keep track of credit card purchases so you can pay bills in full before you are charged interest. If you can't pay a credit card bill in full, pay more than the minimum payment.
6. After paying off a loan, contribute your new excess to savings.