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We are all still feeling the recession, and that will likely continue for some time. So, keep reading to find out 5 top tips to beating the recession.

Tip 1 – Keep Marketing – Your competitors will!

In any kind of recession, businesses can be lured into slashing their marketing budget, simply because it seems like an easy area to make quick savings. However, marketing is a necessity, not a luxury as some people may think. In a recession, you want your business to keep on growing, and for that you will need marketing to keep on attracting new customers. In any recession, the market becomes a lot more competitive, so if you aren’t marketing, or you have reduced your marketing, and your competitor has increased theirs, who do you think will be more successful? Smart companies do more marketing, not less.

Tip 2 – Get your marketing in order

There are two essential points that you need to look at to make sure that you are well positioned throughout a recession. The first is your branding; does it look friendly, professional and reliable? The second is your website. Nowadays, everyone will expect you to have a website, but make sure if you do have one, it is properly designed. A bad website is almost worse than no website at all. Continue reading ‘5 Tips to Beating the Recession’ »

In the wake of the Global economic crisis, a lot has unfolded while others have folded, including companies and mega-multi nationals. This is not another article about the economic meltdown that has ravaged the economy of nations but about how we can make sense of all of this – that is if we can, in the first place.

Even before the meltdown and then the recovery (which many say is still fragile), people have been seeking ways to make their lives better by earning more. It still remains a mystery to millions of people how the rich get richer i.e keep making more money and the poor, well, never seem to get ahead apart from may be occasionally winning the lottery or being left a fat cheque by a diseased relative. Continue reading ‘Making More Money?’ »

I have considered myself to be good at balancing my bank account for many years. For some reason, this year has deflated my ego and increased my distaste for certain banking practices, specifically overdraft fees. After never really having these, I had 5 charged to me on two different occasions during the second half of the year…at about $34-38 each. I was suddenly out a nice chunk of change that continued to bring me below the magic zero balance. The irony in both cases is that I had deposited money in the accounts on both occasions, which would keep me in the black.

On the second occasion, I even have an ATM withdrawal receipt from KEYBANK stating I have positive funds in my balance and yet, this same transaction was listed as one of the overdrafts. I was extremely disappointed with the bank at this point and would have much rather seen a note on the ATM machine stating something to the effect of “Sorry, but due to insufficient funds, your transaction has been cancelled.” Instead, the banks easily give money and then fine you for it later, which seems a little unethical to me. With the technology that exists today to instantly wire funds anywhere in the world, they should be able to figure out how much really is left in my account, so that this does not happen again. If I were to use the card at a store (as it is a debit card) I would be nothing more than happy to get DECLINED! Continue reading ‘Overdrafts Kick You When You Are Down’ »

The costs of food and household items are rising and many household wages are falling. How do you choose between food on the table or power for the house? This is a problem millions of households are faced with each week. If you are looking for a place to turn to find relief consider couponing. Couponing has been around forever and you likely remember seeing your mom and her friends sitting around the dining room table every Sunday morning gossiping and clipping. This is because she knew that with a little work one day a week she could save money and still provide what her family needed. Couponing has come a long way since those days and now coupons not only still arrive on Sunday in the local newspaper, but are also available online through printable coupons and downloadable coupons.

Many companies offer the ability to select just the coupons you need and to print them from your home computer and printer then take right to the store and use. This is a great tool and saves you the time of clipping and the waste of paper coupons. Electronic or printable coupons are popping up more and more and include a new concept of coupons that can be downloaded directly onto your store membership cards and scanned at the register for the ultimate in couponing ease. Continue reading ‘Money Saving Tips – Maximize Savings on Everyday Items!’ »

January is traditionally a big month for massive sales. This means that you, the consumer, feels that there are going to be savings and deals that just CANNOT be missed. However the reality is that it is likely that you can miss these offers and deals and they will be along again at various other strategic sales throughout the year. After all the holiday season is likely to have left you pretty empty in the wallet department so it’s not the best time to spend on anything. Especially if you have to cut into savings or overdraft.

This article hopes to give you some tips to help avoid overspending and pointless spending during this January.

1. Only spend gift cards that you received during the month of January.
2. Ask yourself exactly why you need the must have offer. If there is no valid answer, you don’t need it!
3. Don’t leave the house or go anywhere near the stores, this will just tempt you to spend. Continue reading ‘Avoid Overspending This January’ »

In the United States, a lot of American consumers are struggling to make ends meet. Lots of men and women have acquired second jobs to just pay for the rising costs of everyday bills. If you owe a lot of money to your creditors, you might consider getting a second part-time job to give you an edge. It is no secret that this job will generate more income for you. This income can and should be applied towards your debt. Most often, those who do get a second job are able to achieve debt relief quicker, but what about you? Before you start working a 12 or 14-hour day between your two jobs, here are some points to keep in mind.

* Childcare: If you are a parent, you must consider childcare. Lets say that you are a single mom or dad. You have no one close by to watch your children, so you must keep them in daycare longer. Most daycares charge higher rates for evening, overnight, and weekend care. Then, there is the fact that most part-time jobs pay minimum wage only. Will there be any money left over or are you just basically working to pay for childcare?

If you don’t have a spouse, friends, or family who can help out in the childcare department, this must be taken into consideration.

* Availability: Due to today’s economy, the jobs out there are slim for the picking. You are looking for a second job to help achieve debt relief, but many Americans are looking for a first job to put food on the table. There is a lot of competition even for part-time, low-paying jobs at retail stores and fast food joints. Continue reading ‘Personal Budgeting – What Are Your Solutions to Reaching Debt Relief Easier?’ »

Balancing is required in every aspect of life starting from food, work, money and everything. A balanced budget is very essential to be achieved whether it may be in household or a corporate office. A balanced budget means more inflow of money than the outflow.

In this present economic scenario, financial plan is essential in government, office as well as in household. Many factors are to be considered for estimating balanced home budget. This includes sources of income, overall debt, cost of living of an individual and above all the family size.

The primary component in budgeting is flow of money. Hence one should keep in mind the sources of income in a family while calculating the household budget. If a family has two earning members, the input of money is more than the one with a single income. The income portion in a family must include inflow of cash from any source of income which may include stock dividends, refunds, interest, and salary as well as money gift. Continue reading ‘Cash Management For a Home’ »

Has the pre-budget report brought festive cheer for pensioners, or has it done little to make a difference to the recession-hit retired population? Organisations such as Age Concern, Help the Aged and the National Pensioners’ Convention think the Chancellor is giving with one hand and taking with the other.

State Pension Rise

In April 2010 the full state pension is set to rise by 2.5% from £95.25 to £97.65 for a single pensioner and from £152.30 to £156.16 for couples. However, Dot Gibson, general secretary of the National Pensioners’ Convention, said: “One in four pensioners still lives in poverty and rising costs of food and fuel, combined with record lows in savings returns and underperforming pensions, mean that pensioners continue to suffer a disproportionate increase in the cost of living.”

It is believed that the cost of living in retirement is increasing more than amongst other sectors of society. Charities say this is because more money is spent by pensioners on food, heating and lighting. This, combined with the substantial drop in retirement income over the past 12 months due to low interest rates and the fact that the VAT rate will revert back to 17.5% on 1 January, spells financial concerns for the over 60s. Continue reading ‘Pre-Budget Report – Festive Cheer Or a Tale of Woe For Pensioners?’ »

First you need to decide on which stores you will target. In my area my top choices are Costco, Target, Albertson’s and Fred Meyer. I have chosen Costco because of their daily prices and the others for their ease of coupon use. Some stores such as Walmart and Shopko throw a fit when it comes to Internet coupons. Keep in mind each store in different areas have different rules. When I started out I would search out a manager in each store and ask simple questions such as “Do you take Internet coupons?”. Once you figure out which main stores you chose to shop at it’s time for step 2.

Next you will need to decide on a budget for what you plan on spending on food and household items each month. The reason for this is because you will be learning to shop in a completely different way. The majority of us go to the grocery store a couple times a month and buy what we need. When you become a Couponer the goal is to buy as many items at the lowest price possible. You watch the sales, combine the sales price with a coupon and buy the limit the store allows. So let’s say you come across a deal on chicken $1.79/lb. Well that is definitely the cheapest I have found it lately so I would consider that a stock up price and buy as much as I can at the price. The store will limit you. As time goes on you will eventually stock up on most things you need and will not have to buy almost anything at it’s regular price. Continue reading ‘Couponing Made Easy!’ »

Most people receive their salaries every month. This entails a spurt of spending from the 1st to 10th, moderate spending till the 20th, and then a crunch as the last week of the month hits. However, necessities have to be paid for, so that goes into the credit card bill. In the end, this becomes a vicious cycle, leading to mounting credit card debt.

In order to have some money left at the end of the month, it is best to budget weekly. First of all, set aside the sum required for monthly maintenance – house rent, Internet and telephone bills, credit card bills, loan dues, tuition fees, babysitter’s wage and so on. Divide the rest of the money into five parts.

By dividing money into five parts for four and a half weeks, you automatically have half a week’s worth of funds to use as emergency expenses. DO NOT touch this till the last week of the month, or in case of true emergency situations – no, that awesome band at the pub is not an emergency! Continue reading ‘How to Save Money Through Weekly Budgeting’ »