Why Your Child’s Money is Your Responsibility

Before a child is old enough to make their own decisions, what should happen with the money they receive? Grandma and Grandpa may decide to send their grandchild a check for their birthday. The child may win prize money for a competition at school. Giving the money to a child not able to handle these types of decisions is irresponsible. So, whose responsibility is it? As a parent, you have full financial control of your children's money until they are able to take over its management when they c...

5 Deceptively Easy Ways to Contribute to Your Savings

With inflation rising faster than the sun and wages falling faster than a lead balloon, almost everyone is looking for ways to trim a budget and save wherever possible. Reducing the number of bills and/or the amount due compose only one half of the equation, though. Simply reducing bills allows the mindset that you have more pocket money to spend. Instead of just cutting bills, which is important—there's no denying that, use these easy ways to contribute more to your savings for better overall f...

Taking Control of Your Financial Life: Six Common Bad Habits That Are Costing You Money

In today’s unsure economy, most of us have made significant changes to the way we view money, spending, and our financial future. We’ve switched from name brand to generic, clipped coupons, and shopped for sales. Most of us feel pretty good about the changes we’ve made. Unfortunately, in spite of those changes, many of us have also developed some costly bad habits. Here, I am not talking about bad habits you can put a price on, like smoking or eating out too much (that’s another story); I’m t...

5 Easy Ways to Cut Down Grocery Costs

Just one trip to the grocery store can be enough to completely stress you out about your finances. Money magazine reports that the average American spends almost $6,000 a year on groceries. Furthermore, 14% of what we buy ends up in the trash. That's $840 in the garbage. It makes you sick, doesn't it? Well, don't worry! There are many things you can do to save money on groceries. And thankfully, you don't need to look forward to living off of rice, beans, and cup-of-soups. By following these...

Simple Ways to Cut Down on Everyday Costs

Saving money is far easier than many of us make it out to be. There are many simple changes you can make in your life starting now to help cut down on your everyday costs, allowing you to have more precious funding left over at the end of the month. Grocery Gouging It is safe to say that the grocery store is an area where we tend to spend the most money that we don’t need to every month, particularly since, for most families, the grocery bill is the highest non-fixed expense. There are man...

Why and How to Establish an Emergency Fund

As part of your financial planning for yourself and your family, it is advisable to set up an emergency fund. An emergency fund is cash that is readily available in case the unexpected occurs. Emergencies are typically identified as major health expenses, unemployment, home repairs as a result of an extreme weather event, auto repair or replacement, personal or family problems – anything that is unexpected and not in the family budget. Under most people’s guidelines, a trip to the Caribbean bec...

Common Money Drainers and Some Much Cheaper Alternatives

As any experienced saver will tell you, one key to saving money is, as a necessary first step, knowing what your spending your money on the first place. In other words, to change bad spending habits, you have to be aware of areas that you tend to spend more than is you should. At the same time, however, spending doesn't have to mean sacrificing activities that you enjoy. Think of saving like a weight-loss diet. For long-term results, the best way to save (and lose weight) is to strive for balanc...

Understanding the Psychology of Spending can Save You Money

As a recent article published here on Accumulating Money has demonstrated, there are several reasons why people spend more money than they earn, and all of us, no matter who we are, have spent more than we should have at some point in our lives. While saving money does take discipline and willpower, it may also be beneficial to think about your moods and behaviors that cause you to spend money in the first place. When we plan to save money, we usually think of the specific objects on which we ar...

How Can Going Green Save You Money?

The earth is becoming the biggest witness of man’s destructive ways and unhealthy lifestyle. Not only is it the witness, but the poor and defenceless victim of all of man’s wanton practices. The good thing is, there are many countries and individuals that see the great need to save the earth. This is now popularly termed as “going green.” Going green is not at all difficult. It consists of simply going through some practices and, even simple sacrifices, which would not largely alter one’s...

Tips To Save Money

In this struggling economy, every cent counts, and it is important to be able to effectively save your money. Though necessities and select luxuries will always take away from your total saved, there are certain ways to ensure that after all the purchases are made, you still have a growing bank account available for your usage. One of the most effective tips to save money that anyone can offer is to create a consistent money-saving plan for every paycheck you receive. Even shopping for the best...