If you are in need of quick cash, whether to cover a budget shortfall, to pay down debt, or to grow your emergency fund, here are some legal ways to make some extra money:

Donate plasma.  If you are not opposed to this for religious reasons, donating plasma can earn you up to $300 a month.  You have to pass a short physical (they take your blood pressure and pulse and have you fill out a short medical history), and then each appointment generally takes 90 minutes.  You can read or do something else while the machine draws out your blood, separates out the plasma and puts the blood back in your body.  Best of all, you are also helping other people who are in desperate need of plasma such as burn victims.

Sell your “stuff”.  Most people have a basement full of “stuff” they no longer use.  Craigslist is an excellent place to advertise your unwanted items and make some extra money.  Beware that people on Craigslist love to bargain, so set your price low enough that people will want to buy, but high enough that you have a bit of room to negotiate.  eBay is also a good price to sell your items that are no longer needed, though I find selling on eBay can be less reliable and takes more time.

Have a no spend month.  A quick way to generate cash is to stop spending it.  Rather than grocery shopping, try to eat what you already have in your pantry and freezer.  You could save yourself a few hundred dollars by not grocery shopping for a week or a month.  Quit going out to eat.  For one month, don’t buy anything but the necessities.

Join a focus group.  Advertisers and researchers pay people to take part in their focus groups.  For an hour or two of answering questions and giving your feedback, you can earn $30 to as much as $150.  Craigslist is a great place to look to find focus groups in your area.  Simply look under Jobs in the ETC area.  Another place to looks is FindFocusGroups.com.

Return items you recently bought but haven’t used.  If you recently bought some items and have not used them and still have the receipt, consider returning them.  You can use the refund now and buy the items later if you need them.

If you have a budget shortfall or need to generate extra income, there are plenty of ways to do so.  There is no need to rely on credit cards and risk carrying a balance if you don’t want to.  Yes, you will have to work a little harder, but you can legally make extra money, and you will save yourself the expense of paying interest.

Originating post: Budget Shortfall? Here’s How to Make Money Quick

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One important thing to realize about discount stores is that they buy the merchandise that manufacturers are having a hard time getting rid of. The discount stores are able to buy these items at a fraction of the cost and sell them to you for less. There is nothing wrong with these items, except that they were slow movers. They can offer a great amount of savings off of name brand items.

Large discounts stores, while they do have sales also generally have a location within the store for last season’s big hit, along with many items they choose to put in the discount aisle. Look to buy in bulk on staples used every day. This comes in handy, especially when they are the sale item and can offer you good savings.

You need to get the local flyers out and really look to see who is offering the best deals each week, and then commit to attend several locations in a single outing. Buying items in discount stores after the holiday has passed can get you items for the next year at a fraction of the cost.

Coupons are another great measure to add when shopping for bargains. You can get them from your local papers or online. Also, choosing generic brands over the named brands can continue your trend in savings. Whatever your needs, using the above methods will help you save big on many of your needed items. Remember to always make a list before heading out.

Items such as shampoos, cleaning supplies and paper products are great to buy at discount stores. The ingredients in generic shampoos and cleaning supplies are really not different from those in name brand department stores. Keeping this in mind will cut the costs but not the quality.

Shopping in a discount store can yield significant savings. For everyday cleaning items that you use profusely, shopping at a discount will keep you within your budget. There will always be some items that you have to pay full price for, but savvy shopping at discount centers will help alleviate those costs.

Another tip to keep in mind is to buy generic items whenever possible. Most supermarkets stock their own brand name foods. These can often be similar or even the same to the brand name items at a fraction of the cost. Look for bargains but beware of buying something just because it is on sale as sometimes you’ll end up spending more than you really need to.

Before heading out to the supermarket it’s also a good idea to write a list or stick to it. This will help stop impulse purchases. You can use this strategy with other types of shopping as well.

Using cash instead of debit or credit cards is another good idea. This will mean you can only spend what you have on you and other items that you may impulsively buy if you had plastic on you can be given a little more thought – do you really need that new pair of shoes? If the answer is still yes in a few days time then you can purchase the item knowing you’ve given it logical though.

Saving money while shopping isn’t too difficult if you stick to a few basic and important rules – make a list, shop around and think purchases through before buying.

Originating post: How to Be a Savvy Shopper

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Coming up with rent or a mortgage payment each month can be tough, especially if you live on your own. You want to be able to pay all the bills and completely support yourself, but you might be a little short on cash at the end of the month.

Have you considered renting out a room in your home or apartment? Before you research online loans, think about renting out a room.
Here are a few things to consider before making a decision on a roommate. There are benefits and consequences to the decision and it is important to consider both before asking someone to move in.

One of the obvious advantages is the extra cash each month. If you own the home or have the apartment leased in your name, you can determine how much a roommate needs to pay. If you were considering online loans to pay your bills, see if you can rent the room for the amount you need each month instead.

Most of the time, the cost of utilities, such as water, electricity and gas, is split up between the individuals. This instantly puts money in your pocket and can prevent you from needing to research online loans.

If you don’t like living alone, a roommate can make life a little easier. It might be nice to know that someone else is there. You may not see each other much, but when you are both home there is room for conversation and maybe even a budding friendship. Sometimes having company can be pleasant.

It can be even better if you know the person that is going to be your roommate. Whether it is a friend or family member, if you enjoy each other’s company, this is a great arrangement.

You can spend time together, talk openly about concerns that either person has and you have some idea of what to expect. You aren’t having a complete stranger move in.

On the other hand, you have probably heard of friends that have had problems with a roommate. They may always pay their part of the rent late. Maybe they don’t clean up the house at all. Maybe they invite people over all the time unexpectedly. If you don’t know the person that you are rooming with, you don’t always know what to expect.

Where you find your roommate can have a lot to do with this. If you are attempting to add a friend of a friend to your home, you at least have another person that will vouch for him or her.

Finding someone online or from an ad in the paper can be more of a challenge. You can’t always get a feel for who he or she is and how things will work out.

If you are adding a roommate in an apartment, you are usually required to add that person’s name to the lease. This can be tricky because you may have to sign a new lease contract and now this person becomes part of the apartment, able to make decisions and make changes.

If you don’t add the other person’s name, there is nothing you can do if they stop paying or they cause damage to the apartment.
These are just a few things to consider when deciding whether or not to rent out a room in your home or apartment. If you decide to let someone move in, be sure that you have some type of written contract.

This is the only way that you will be able to set up the parameters of the living situation and keep them bound to paying the rent each month.

You don’t want to end up taking out online loans to pay your bills because your new roommate left you high and dry.

Originating post: Renting Out A Room, Good Idea?

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The process of renting something out is simple. You can put ads in the paper, online and on local bulletin and college boards. People interested in what you have for rent will call you if they want further information. Once you have ads placed in all of the key places, renting your ‘toy’ out will be easy. After a while, you could be answering customer calls every day!

Once your investment has been paid off, you may want to consider the same process of renting out another item you own. And we aren’t just talking about heavy equipment either. What about a spare room in your home, or your summer home in the off-season? You can potentially be making enough money from any number of rental items to pay off credit cards, bank notes and even making double mortgage payments.

Let’s look at an example. Let’s say you rented out your dirt bike. Of course, the purchase prices for these depend on many factors, so we are simply going to use an imaginary bracket here. You decide to rent it out for $50 a day, for a minimum of two days at a time. It gets rented twice a month, giving you $300 in rental fees. Over a year, this brings in an extra $3600 which you can use to pay off the dirt bike. Once that dirt bike is paid off you have an extra $300 dollars in your pocket for renting out something you also get to enjoy!

For an example which could be more lucrative to you, let’s consider renting out your cottage in the off-season, or when you aren’t using it. We’ll say you rent it out for a week at a time, for $250 per week. When you consider you are only there with your family for approximately eight weeks of the year, you are left with 44 weeks you can rent it out. If you were to rent it out for each of those 44 weeks, by the end of the year you have earned $11,000 to put towards the mortgage on the summer home! And this is just in the period of a year.

For our final example, let’s consider the possibility of renting a room in your home. If you have one (or more) free room in your home, you could consider renting it out to a student attending the local community college or university. Housing around campus can be quite expensive, and many of these students just simply can’t afford it. You could rent a room in your home which will not only help out this student trying to make ends meet but also make extra money for yourself. You could charge the student enough to cover your utility bills, or to pay a portion of your mortgage.

The opportunities are endless once you take the time to sit down and think them through. There are definitely ways to give you that financial boost you need. Just one final note: You may want to verify your insurance policy before you embark on this money-making adventure.

Originating post: Can You Make Money By Renting Out Stuff You Own?

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Many homeowners face the heart-wrenching decisions associated with these problems. Some choose to negotiate with their lenders, hoping for a solution that will allow them to catch up on payments and keep them in their homes. Others feel hopeless, believing that there is no chance that they will be able to keep up payments even with help. Those who fall into this category often choose to walk away from their homes.

Losing your home brings forth a deluge of emotions. It’s a sad event, and it may also make one feel angry or ashamed. It’s certainly not ideal, yet desperate homeowners often feel that they have no other alternative. But in most cases, there is help available.

Talking to your lender could be more fruitful than you might imagine. With the abundance of foreclosures going on today, many are willing to go to great lengths to help homeowners stay in their homes and meet their obligations. Paying extra each month to catch up on payments is one option, but it may not be the only one offered. The lender may be agreeable to bringing a homeowner back to current status and accepting lower payments for a longer period of time, or even lowering interest rates to reduce payments and the amount owed.

If your lender isn’t helpful, there are non-profit organizations that can help. They employ trained negotiators that know what it takes to persuade lenders to work with borrowers. They can also inform you of your legal rights, which is something that lenders may hesitate to do. These organizations usually charge nothing for their services.

The Consequences of Walking Away

If you do end up walking away from your home, there are certain consequences that you should be aware of. One of the most significant is a foreclosure’s effects on your credit record. You can expect your credit score to drop by a few hundred points, seriously harming your chances of getting any kind of credit for several years. In most cases, the foreclosure itself remains on your credit report for 10 years.

There’s also the chance that you could be held liable for the difference between the profit the lender makes from your home’s sale and the balance of your mortgage. Lenders often sell homes to the highest bidder, and if that bid doesn’t satisfy the mortgage amount, they will want to recover the rest. In some cases a lender may agree not to pursue payment if the borrower agrees to a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure or a short sale, but they are under no legal obligation to do so.

Sometimes, walking away from your home is unavoidable. But in most cases, there are alternatives available. If you find that you’re in danger of losing your home, talk to your lender or a professional immediately. You might find that your chances are better than you thought.

Originating post: Walking Away from Your Home – What Are The Alternatives?

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Setting priorities makes budgeting much simpler. But even this is difficult for many household money managers. Priorities are somewhat subjective, and those within the household often have vastly different priorities. Here are some ways that you can make priority setting a little easier:

1. Keep first things first. When it comes down to it, there are only a few things that we truly need to survive. These things include food, water, clothing and shelter. Transportation and other things that enable us to work and continue to make money also fall into this category. These should always come first in the budget, although it’s always a good idea to do our best to save money on them.

2. Keep savings in mind. We all need to put money aside for emergencies and set up a retirement fund. It’s also wise to set up a college fund for each of your children as early as possible. But many families push savings to the side, and it often ends up out of the picture altogether. Putting money away prior to any discretionary spending is crucial if you wish to meet your goals.

3. Evaluate your debts. If you have none, you’re in the lucky minority. Most households have large amounts of debt, including mortgages, car payments, loans and credit cards. By paying your debts off as quickly as possible, you can save lots of money in the long run. And once they’re paid in full, you’ll have a lot more wiggle room in your monthly budget. Putting as much money as you can afford toward paying off debt will help you reach that point much faster.

4. Set goals as a family. Maybe you would all like to go on a nice vacation next summer. Get everyone involved in deciding where to go, then calculate your expenses. Get everyone involved in saving money for this goal. Not only will you get to go on a family trip, you’ll also be teaching your children about budgeting and teamwork.

5. Review your budget periodically. A family’s needs change over time, and if your budget is no longer meeting your needs, it’s time for a change. Once again, you’ll need input from everyone in the family to make this work.

Priorities are at the heart of a successful budget. By keeping them in mind, we can resist impulse spending and make progress toward our financial goals. And by getting input from the entire family, you can gain valuable insight into individual needs and encourage interest in working together to keep your finances in good shape.

Originating post: 6 Tips For Setting Your Budget Priorities

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Today’s school trips are often much different from those we went on during our school days. They often involve traveling out of state and staying one or more nights, even for elementary and junior high students. Even day trips have become more expensive, requiring parents to pay bus and admission fees. This is generally a result of reduced education budgets.

Handling requests to go on field trips and participate in activities can be difficult. Here are some ways you can work these things into your budget.

* Pick and choose. If your child’s class goes on multiple trips during the year, you may not be able to afford them all. Consider saying “no” to some of them. Talk to your child about which ones he wants to attend the most, and look at the educational value they provide. Then make a decision and stick with it.

* Be honest with your child. She may feel that it’s not fair that she doesn’t get to go on a trip that “everyone else” gets to go on. Explain that you would pay for the trip if you could, but it’s just not an option.

* Talk to your child about raising the money on his own. Older kids could get a part-time job to earn the needed funds. Younger kids might do a fundraiser such as a car wash or bake sale to get the money they need. If your child gets an allowance, perhaps he could pay the fees out of that.

* For big, expensive trips, find out if you can make payments. Coordinators often let parents know about such trips well in advance, and they may even set up a payment schedule for everyone. If you don’t feel that you can pay on that schedule, meet with the coordinator and ask if you can set up an alternate one.

* Consider asking relatives for help. Perhaps each grandparent, aunt or uncle could contribute a small amount to help fund the trip. If you can get several people to give a small amount, it won’t put a burden on anyone.

Field trips and other activities usually have educational value, and they foster a love for learning. But if you can’t make room in the budget for them, there’s no need to feel guilty. If you explain why you can’t afford to pay your child’s way, there’s a good chance that she will understand. She might even take it upon herself to raise the money, and that in itself will be a valuable learning experience.

Originating post: Budget Tips For School Trips and Activities

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Too many workers continue to rely on Social Security and pensions as their main source of retirement income, and see savings as a way to have extra money. But these days, that kind of thinking is seriously flawed. It’s entirely possible that Social Security may not exist in a few short decades, and even if it does, it could pay less than it does now when accounting for inflation. Pensions are also becoming a thing of the past. So it’s up to us to make sure we have enough retirement savings to live on.

How Much Money Do I Need to Save?

There are many different ideas regarding how much money we need after retirement. Some advocate saving up a few million dollars so that one can live off the interest. Others reason that if you pay off your debts by the time you reach retirement age, you won’t need anywhere near that much.

But most experts suggest that one should save enough to have 70 to 90 percent of one’s annual pre-retirement income each year after retirement for 20 years. These numbers should take inflation into account, which is generally estimated at 3% per year, as well as investment returns before and after retirement. The final figure will vary for each individual, but as you can see, this will add up to a substantial amount of money.

Once you’ve figured out how much you’ll need altogether, you need to calculate how much you must save each month to reach that goal. To do this, count the number of years until you plan to retire, multiply by 12, and divide your total by that number. If math is not your strong suit, you can find retirement calculators online that will run the numbers for you.

The Best Time to Start Saving Is Now

Even if it seems like retirement is eons away, it’s important to start saving as early as possible. Ideally, we should start saving for retirement from the time we start our first jobs and continue to do so consistently for the remainder of our working lives. But in practice, it rarely works that way.

Just remember that the earlier you start saving for retirement, the more painless it will be. For each year you postpone saving, you’ll have to save a little more each month to reach your goal. If you keep procrastinating for years and years, you’ll eventually have to put a significant portion of your income toward retirement. So there’s no time like the present to start planning for your golden years.

Originating post: Are You Saving Enough For Retirement?

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If your employer offers a 401K plan as part of your benefits package, it could make your choice a little easier. But some people do not have access to a 401K, and others need to save more for retirement than a 401K plan will allow. In both situations, a Roth IRA is worth considering.

A Roth IRA is a special kind of Individual Retirement Account. There are some restrictions on who can get one, but it offers a number of significant advantages. These include:

* The earnings are not only tax-deferred, they’re tax-free as long as you withdraw after contributing for five years and reaching the age of 59 ½. With a traditional IRA, you would pay tax on the entire amount you withdraw, and could be subject to penalties for early withdrawal.

* Direct contributions can be withdrawn any time without incurring taxes or penalties. This does not include contributions made by rolling funds over from a 401K, traditional IRA or other retirement account.

* You can withdraw up to $10,000 in earnings to put toward a home if you’re a first-time home buyer, without being taxed. You can even withdraw that amount for a spouse, direct ancestor or direct descendant who is buying a first home – without incurring taxes or penalties.

* Account holders are not required to take distributions at a certain age. While most retirement plans require that withdrawals begin no later than age 70 ½, you can leave money in a Roth IRA as long as you like. You can even leave it all to your heirs if you like.

* There is no age limit for contributions. For most retirement plans, contributors must be under the age of 70 ½. But with the Roth IRA, you can make contributions for as long as you have earned income.

In order to qualify for a Roth IRA, your income must be below certain limits depending on your filing status. If you do not qualify for the full contribution amount (currently $5,000 per person under age 50 or $6,000 per person age 50 or over), you may still qualify to make a partial contribution. Limits may change from year to year, so check with your financial institution.

If you’re looking for a way to ensure a comfortable retirement, a Roth IRA could be just what you need. It doesn’t complicate your taxes, and you’ll have a great deal of flexibility when it comes time to withdraw your money. Talk to your financial advisor to see if a Roth IRA is right for you.

Originating post: A Look At The Benefits of a Roth IRA

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Advantages of Buying

* When you purchase a home, it is yours to do as you please with it. The terms of your mortgage may prevent you from renting it out or doing anything that would decrease its value, but you can remodel, add on and redecorate to your heart’s content.

* Buying a home allows you to build equity that may be leveraged for other purposes. Once you’ve paid down your principal balance, you may be able to obtain a home equity loan if needed.

* Home ownership carries a number of potential tax advantages. You can get a credit for things like mortgage interest, home improvements, installing energy-efficient heating systems and more. Consult a tax professional to find out if you qualify for such benefits.

* Real estate usually increases in value over time. This is called appreciation, and it can work to your advantage by increasing your equity without extra payments.

* If you get a fixed-rate mortgage, you won’t have to worry about your payments going up over time. When renting, your monthly payments are likely to increase due to inflation.

Advantages of Renting

* When you rent, the landlord is responsible for repairs. This can save you a great deal of money.

* You don’t have to worry about making a down payment. You may have to pay the first and last month’s rent and a deposit, but this is nothing compared to the tens of thousands of dollars usually required as a down payment on a mortgage. You also don’t have to worry about closing costs.

* Moving is much easier when you rent. Instead of trying to sell your home, collecting the money, and finding a place to stay until you buy another one, all you have to do is wait until the lease is up and give adequate notice.

* In general, renting costs less per month than buying. Rent is often less than a mortgage payment itself, plus you don’t have to pay real estate taxes, homeowners insurance or private mortgage insurance.

Whether you should rent or buy depends on several factors, some of them financial and some not. Whatever you decide, it’s important to be aware of the advantages so that you can take full advantage of them, and the disadvantages so that you won’t be taken by surprise. If you’re in doubt, you can always rent a place with a short lease while you’re deciding.

Originating post: A Look At The Advantages of Renting Vs. Buying

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