8 Tips for keeping more cash each month by Kwame Kuadey

There are plenty of ways that you can keep more cash in your pocket every month. Use any of these tips so that you can start keeping more green in your pocket!
Pay for everything in cash. It is a proven fact that you when you pay for products and use your credit card, you spend more money. Another common response is: “I will just put this on my credit card. I can pay it off later.” If you do this a couple of times a month, most likely you will hit a spot in which you cannot pay off your balance successfully month after month. This can start you to building a credit card balance. Cash makes you think more about what you want to buy and not buy. You are much more frugal when paying in cash. This will help you save more.

Use coupons. The average family can often find ways to save 20-30% off their grocery bill by cutting coupons from the Sunday newspaper, printing coupons from online websites, and buying store brands instead of national brands.

Go out to eat less. An average person normally goes out to eat at least twice a week. If this were cut to once a week, the average person could save at least ten dollars a week or forty dollars over an entire month.

If you have a house and are single, you could think about taking in a roommate by renting out a bedroom. If you are able to rent the room for $400 a month, this will keep $4800 in your pocket annually. This is a great way to save more very easily.

Turn off the lights. This is a simple way that you can cut down your electric bill every month and keep more cash in your pocket. Many people have found it useful to unplug their TV as well and have seen a dramatic decline in the monthly bill.

Carpool with others. This can cut your transportation costs to and from work in half if you only drive half of the days. The average person drives about 41 miles a day according to one major dealership group. Think of how much gas you can save by only driving your car every other day. This can allow you to save money on oil changes and car maintenance as well.

Look at buying used clothing. If this does not appeal to you, buy your clothes at the end of the season. Most people spend almost two thousand dollars a year on clothing. If you bought clothing at the end of the season and saved an average of 20%, this would help you save money to the tune of $400 a year.

Use your credit cards less. Only pay for those things in which you have cash in hand. This will cut out unnecessary expenses that you cannot afford. Keep the credit cards only for an emergency purpose such as a car repair when your car is broken down.

These are eight simple steps that you can incorporate starting today. It requires that you change your habits but it does keep more cash in your pocket.

About the Author
Kwame Kuadey runs a gift card exchange website and a gift blog. He has written many articles on topics like Bankruptcy and Gift Cards and Gift Ideas . Kwame is founder of the Ghana Travel Page, a source for Ghana Travel tips.

Key Factors to Oil and Gas Investing
By Wright Brianna

In the last few years, we have seen a tremendous rise in investment in oil and gas. A major reason for this might be the tragic scenario in the share markets across the globe, which has forced many investors, to look out for alternative avenues of investments. As it is, oil and gas investment requires a keen sense of judgment on the part of the investor in determining what oil and gas stocks he should invest in.

Now, before you decide to invest in any particular stocks, such as the oil sands stocks, or the Canadian oil stocks, you need to take care of a few aspects. The following are some of the aspects, which you need to consider, before you go ahead with your investment:

1. First and foremost, your decision should be based on facts rather than market sentiments. That does not at all imply that you have to go against popular views; but it is always better to go by a logical analysis, instead of mood swings.

2. The most common saying that is very much applicable in Oil and Gas investment is; do not keep all your eggs in one basket. So, as it is in this case, it is advisable to diversify your portfolio and not pin all your hopes on a particular area. This would not only help you gain in the long run, but would also lower the risk factor as well. In fact the more diversified is your portfolio, the lower are your chances of loss.

3. Make sure that your research is not limited to simply market reviews. Do what most people rarely do, i.e. read journals and know about latest research and development projects as well as new patent rights which have been registered. This would give you a fair idea of promising prospects. Apart from that, make sure that you know bout the recent findings in regard to oil and natural gas reserves.

4. A common mistake which you should always avoid is investing your cash reserves, all at one time. You should always have some spare reserves, to bail you out of difficult times. Spare reserves may also play a great role in maximizing your returns as well.

Apart from the above factors, there are several other factors, which may help you in making the right kind of investment. Make sure that you do not buy overpriced stocks. For this you may check the price earning ratio. Apart from this, another factor which plays an important role is commodity prices. So, if you are looking forward to long term investment in oil and gas, then you do not have to worry much about the commodity prices. In case if you are focusing on short term investment, then in that case, commodity prices become extremely important.

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Ride Out the Recession - Financial Security Tips
By Yuji Shinohara

The economic downturn is now an established fact, and if you have not already done what you can to hedge against the negative effects of the recession, it is definitely time to start doing so. How can you do this?

A good place to start is by gaining an understanding of the three basic factors that contribute to one’s financial security. These three aspects are the amount of money you possess, your income, and your expenditure. When you balance them well, you will achieve financial security. Planning is extremely important in this regard, and must be carefully and judiciously done so that your financial security can be firmly established.

As far as your existing assets are concerned, you need to determine what they are worth. Liquidity is also an important factor; you should know how easily your assets can be converted to cash if a need for this should arise. Your financial security depends to a great extent on the possession of healthy assets that can be easily liquidated. Saving as much as you can and regularly putting aside a part of your income to build up a nest egg makes sound financial sense, particularly in the present economic climate.

Income refers to the money you earn from a job or other sources of revenue such as rent on property you own, or the profits from a business. Job security is the key aspect here, and this is an area which is becoming increasingly uncertain as organizations cut back on costs by laying off their employees. So if you are working for a company, look for other sources of income, such as starting your own online home based business. Having an alternate source of revenue is very effective in the achievement of financial security.

Expenditure, or the money that goes out of your hands, is one area where you can do a lot as far as ensuring financial security is concerned. Try to keep your expenditure as low as possible, and avoid unnecessary expense. Impulse spending can waste a lot of money, and doing this during a recession is certainly unwise. Think carefully about whether you really need to buy something before you spend the money on it.

Keeping debt levels as low as possible is essential - a market slowdown is not a good time to owe large sums of money on which expensive interest has to be paid.

When it comes to the financial security of your online home based business, there are some specific things you can do to keep things stable and healthy. Keep your online business successful by generating a strong web presence, and make your marketing plan as effective as possible. This will allow your home based business to be able to ride out the recession and take you into a lucrative future.

Yuji Shinohara is a business coach and mentor based out of Japan that assists serious entrepreneurs in building a profitable online business with multiple incomes streams. Yuji and his team have assisted hundreds of people in generating profits that exceed $250K or more in their first year. For more information and to contact Yuji, visit: http://www.wmimotion.com

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Ways to Save Money on Your Grocery Bill
By Ki Gray

It is getting harder and harder to makes ends meet these days, especially with our economy in the state that it is in. Families are cutting their spending in as many places as they can whether it is planning a less expensive vacation, not going on vacation or just simply cutting back on everything.

One of the things that seem to be hitting family’s pocket book is their grocery bill. Groceries have become expensive. Farmers have had to raise prices on their goods because of the price to raise and harvest, or the drought has made it hard for farmers to grow their crops, whatever the reason, the consumers are feeling the impact at the check out stand.

There are ways to save money when you buy groceries. Here are a few tips on how to save when it is time for that weekly shopping trip.

* Clip coupons. Manufactures place coupons in the paper weekly. Take the time to go through and clip out everything you or someone in your family uses.

* There are many online coupons. You can either print and cut out the coupons, or buy online and use the coupon immediately. If you buy groceries online, not only do you avoid the grocery store, you also save gas since the groceries to delivered right to your door.

* Shop at discount stores. Places like The Dollar Store, Dollar General and other discount stores have groceries. They are usually much cheaper than brand name stores and many carry name brand items.

* Try buying in bulk. It makes sense to buy in bulk if you are shopping for a large family. Places like Sam’s or Costco are great places to buy in bulk. Even if you don’t have a large family, you can buy in bulk and store the unused items until they are needed. Just make sure you pay attention to the expiration dates and use them before they expire.

* Many families buy bulk with other families. If you do have a small family, but have close friends who want to buy bulk, get together and split the cost.

* Don’t buy items you don’t need. You are just wasting money in the long run.

* Don’t buy groceries when you are hungry. Everything looks good and you will buy more or buy things you don’t need.

* HEB grocery store has “Free Meal Deals.” You have to buy one item and you can get several other items free. For example, you have to buy a pack of hot dogs. You can get a package of buns, mustard, relish and a bag of chips free. The store usually has several “Free Meal Deals” at once. You just have to look for them and get what is on the coupon. Your family can save a lot of money this way.

There are many other ways of saving money when buying groceries. Many stores will run sales each week. Try to pick up a store flyer and catch their sales they are offering.

When Ki isn’t biking in the hill country, he provides Austin real estate services. He has an extensive website, which allows buyers to search Austin MLS. He has been involved with the Austin real estate market for over a decade.

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