Why you should invest.

Investing has become increasingly important over the years, as the future of social security benefits becomes unknown.

People want to insure their futures, and they know that if they are depending on Social Security benefits, and in some cases retirement plans, that they may be in for a rude awakening when they no longer have the ability to earn a steady income. Investing is the answer to the unknowns of the future.

You may have been saving money in a low interest savings account over the years. Now, you want to see that money grow at a faster pace. Perhaps youve inherited money or realized some other type of windfall, and you need a way to make that money grow. Again, investing is the answer.

Investing is also a way of attaining the things that you want, such as a new home, a college education for your children, or expensive toys. Of course, your financial goals will determine what type of investing you do.

If you want or need to make a lot of money fast, you would be more interested in higher risk investing, which will give you a larger return in a shorter amount of time. If you are saving for something in the far off future, such as retirement, you would want to make safer investments that grow over a longer period of time.

The overall purpose in investing is to create wealth and security, over a period of time. It is important to remember that you will not always be able to earn an income you will eventually want to retire.

You also cannot count on the social security system to do what you expect it to do. As we have seen with Enron, you also cannot necessarily depend on your companys retirement plan either. So, again, investing is the key to insuring your own financial future, but you must make smart investments!

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Use clothesline to save money, energy

By Sara Noel

For The News-Sentinel

Air-drying clothes has made a big comeback. For years, it seemed most of the clotheslines were used during summer and found in the country.

You can save a lot of money by air-drying your clothes, even if it's only once in a while or partially. Try it for a month, and check your savings. If you can't afford an outdoor clothesline, have neighborhood restrictions (visit www.laundrylist.org/ for information on what you can do) or allergies, install a retractable line indoors, use a drying rack or simply use hangers.

I asked members of my online community to tell me why they do it. Here are the top reasons they shared, excluding saving money on electricity:

♦Fewer chemicals: Dryers create static. If you air-dry your clothes, you don't need fabric softeners. If you find air-dried clothes too stiff, either add vinegar to the rinse cycle or toss them in the dryer for just a few minutes. Most clothing softens if there's a good breeze, if you give it a good snap when it comes off the line or after an hour of wear.

Karen in Kansas shares: “Use the slowest spin on your washer to help prevent wrinkles from high-speed spins. The clothes come out of the washer less wrinkled and also much wetter. … Take clothes out of the washer and hand-smooth them. That helps relax wrinkles. I occasionally will spritz a few things with a fine mist spray of water and smooth out wrinkles with my hands. You can also use wrinkle release to get wrinkles out before you hang them.

Stiffness is generally caused by detergent buildup. I use Charlie's Soap ( www.charliesoap.com). Low-grade cotton will always remain somewhat stiff when line-dried. Better-quality cotton (Egyptian or Pima) will dry soft.”

To make your own wrinkle release, combine a tablespoon of liquid fabric softener and a cup of distilled water in a spray bottle. And your laundry will have that fresh outdoor scent.

♦Clothes last longer: There's far less wear and tear on your clothes when you air-dry them. You won't accidentally shrink any clothing from the wrong setting or from over-drying.

♦Time saving: On sunny, breezy days, your clothes can dry faster on the line. You can use plastic hangers on the line, too. Plus, you can leave home and not be concerned with a possible fire.

♦Cooler home: Your dryer heats up your home (and the planet) while it dries your clothes.

♦Joy: There's something almost therapeutic about hanging clothes and watching them blow in the breeze and removing clothespins when they're dry. Air-drying is quiet. You won't hear any of the noise from a dryer. You'll benefit from the time spent outdoors enjoying the sun, fresh air, nature, quiet time and a little added exercise, too. Plus, it's better for the environment.

Denise in Illinois adds: “I love the feeling I get when I take down a load of clothes from the lines - plus, I feel a connection to the women of our family in generations past.”

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Bank of America Mortgage Rates – Save Money by Refinancing

Bank of America mortgage rates have been near or below 5.1% for the entire month of September. You could save quite a bit of money by refinancing at a lower mortgage interest rate. Most American home owners could benefit greatly by refinancing under 5%. There are many bad credit borrowers that cannot get this low of an interest rate on their home mortgage but they could still benefit by refinancing. Even if you aren’t exactly excited about the refinance process, it would be smart to at least explore your options.

The refinance process can be time consuming and grueling but if it ends up saving you several hundred dollars a month it would be well worth it. You would be surprised how much money you can save over the course of your loan by putting forth some extra time and effort for a few weeks. If you can save $100 on your home loan each month that could add up to several thousand dollars over the lifetime of a loan.

One thing that is going to be very important during the refinance process is your home value and credit score. If both of these have been on the decline during the recession you are going to find it much harder to get a low home refinance rate

. If you have been good with your financial life over the last few years and both of these are on the rise you are going to be one of the few Americans who will get to refinance under 5%.

The value of your home has a lot to do with those homes surrounding yours. If there has been a foreclosure or short sale in your neighborhood or surrounding area you could find that your home value has declined much more than you expected. Obviously there is nothing you can do about this but it is just the way it is in the current housing market. You might want to do this research before you go through the entire refinance process and find out that your home value is 20% less than what you expected it to be.

There are many great resources to fix your credit score but the best thing you can do is pay off debt. If you have extra money sitting around, the best thing you can do is pay off debt. Even if you KNOW you are going to make money on other investment vehicles you could greatly help your credit score by getting rid of some debt. Now is a great time to refinance so get out there and see how low of a refinance mortgage rate

you can get.

Author: Mike Garner

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Saving Money with a Thousand Little Cuts.

Company size isn’t important when it comes to saving money in little ways. Here are five practical ways to watch those workplace pennies:

1. Reduce delivery fees. Many office-supply companies now charge delivery fees if your order falls below a certain dollar mark. Is there a way to combine orders to cut back delivery fees? Could you suggest a new internal process for ordering?

2. Cut overnight shipping. How often are packages sent via overnight delivery when they could just as easily go second-day or ground at a fraction of the cost? Is your company using multiple overnight shipping companies and missing out on volume discounts?

Consider creating a simple checklist for senders to review before splurging on overnight delivery.

3. Look for group discounts. Do any of your industry associations offer group-purchasing discounts?

4. Turn off the lights. Even small green steps can yield big savings. Ideas: Motion sensors in the restrooms, programmable thermostats, an end-of-day-shutdown policy for computers, more-efficient light bulbs, and selling used corrugated packaging to recyclers.

Tip: Ask your electric company for an energy audit for more recommendations.

5. Consolidate your suppliers. You may be in the habit of purchasing certain items from each supplier. But consolidating purchases can put you in a better position to negotiate price through higher volume.

Start watching the pennies, and you’ll soon see the dollars add up.

— Adapted from “Mine small expense categories for big cost savings,” Tom Rogers, Washington Business Journal.

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Energy Saving Tips for the Home

As the beach chairs get tucked away in the garage and the lawnmower is about to go into hibernation, we start to think (again) about preparing our homes for the cooler months. Taking energy saving steps now pays big dividends in the future.

According to the U.S. Deptartment of Energy, energy-efficient homes are less costly to own, operate and maintain, making them both healthier and more comfortable for living. Americans spend more than $160 billion a year to heat, cool, and light their homes. Households can save 20-30 percent on their household energy bill by implement energy efficient repairs and improvements. These small repairs can have a huge impact on energy bills. The savings generated for your home generally outweighs the initial expenditures by a long shot.

Energy Saving Tips For The Home

• Sealing cooling and heating ducts can save up to 25 percent on your home energy bill.

• Repairing leaky drains can save 212 gallons of water a month.

• Insulating the hot water heater can cut CO2 emissions and save 4-9 percent in water heating costs. How do you know if it needs to be insulated? If it is warm to the touch insulate it.

• Replacing showerheads with low-flow ones can save 10-16 percent of water heating costs and reduce water usage by 20,000.

• Installing ceiling fans will cut air conditioning costs by 40 percent in summer and the fans will circulate warm air downwards in winter.

• Use low VOC caulk to stop leaks around windows and doors. Don’t forget around the light switches if you feel air around the switch plate or outlet.

• Home insulation should be installed from the roof down to the foundation for maximum energy efficiency.

• Install a timer on the hot water heater. If it is electric, turn off hot water when not in use.

• Replacing light bulbs with CLF’s can have a huge impact. One bulb can save at least $30.00 in electric bills over its lifespan and 5 bulbs can save 50 percent on annual lighting bills. CLFs also reduce greenhouse emissions from power plants.

• Insulating water pipes conserves hot water every time you take a shower.

• Solar outdoor lighting is maintenance free, and after initial costs, the lights are free to run.

• Lighting controls and timers increase security and decrease energy expenditure.

• This may seem obvious, but dressing warmer and turning down the thermostat is a simple measure with a big impact on heating bills.

• Reduce, reuse and recycle. These three elements provide the most cost effectiveness tip to you and a lighter carbon footprint for the planet.

By: Ronnie Citron-Fink lives in New York with her husband, two children (when they come home to the nest), two dogs and a cat. Ronnie is a teacher and a writer. She has been a contributing writer for Family Fun magazine. She currently writes articles about education and home design. Her writings are in four books including Family Fun Home and Some Delights of the Hudson Valley.

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Three Ways To Save Money!

The government has always pushed for people to put money into personal savings. Now President Barack Obama has created ways that will actually make saving easier for workers.

Just like Personal Money store makes online payday loans easier, Obama has come up with these three ways for individuals to save money: auto-enrollment in retirement plans, issuing tax returns as savings bonds and putting unused sick or vacation days into 401k plans.

1. Auto-enrollment in retirement plans

This will not make retirement plans mandatory for employees, it will simply make it easier for employers to enroll their employees in the retirement plans. CNN Money explains:

To make it easier for smaller and medium-sized employers to automatically enroll workers into retirement plans, the administration will clear up some bureaucratic paper-work hurdles for employers to offer that option.

2. Tax returns as savings bonds

This one is pretty simple. Recently the government made it possible for tax payers to get their refunds deposited directly into their bank accounts rather than sending a paper check. Similarly, now tax payers will have the option of having their tax return issued in the form of government savings bonds.

Automatically converting your tax returns into government savings bonds means that your money will be automatically saved and it will earn a higher interest rate than it would at a normal bank. The longer you leave your money alone, the more you will make off of it.

3. Saving sick and vacation days

Many people do not use up their sick days or vacation days at work. For the vast majority, that means that they are wasted. The government now will make it easier for employers to convert their employees’ unused sick or vacation days into dollars invested in their 401k plans. Again, this isn’t a mandatory thing at all. Employers and employees have the option of whether they want to do it or not, it simply will be easier.

Why the extreme measures?

Before you start spouting off about big government and personal freedom, remember that all of these things are completely optional. No one — not employers or employees — is require to participate. However, the benefits of personal savings in relation to the economy are obvious to everyone, so as part of the effort to turn the recession around, the White House has come up with these ways to encourage and facilitate personal savings. Just in case you’re in doubt about whether this help is necessary, here are some statistics from CNN Money:

Even among those with savings in the bank, the nest egg is relatively lean. Of workers 55 years or older, about half have less than $50,000 in savings, excluding their homes and pensions, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute.

Some of these measures will be very lucrative for people. Unfortunately, these only help people who have jobs and qualify for tax returns. Saving money and investing wisely is very important, and I for one am glad to see that the government isn’t just talking about the fact that people should save money, but is actually taking steps to make it easier. I hope we will see more measures like this in the future, and that we can find a way to help people who don’t have 401ks and tax returns.

By Elizabeth Fairchild, your payday loan news source

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Prundo.com, a New Website, Helps Car Owners Save Money on Auto Repairs

IRVINE, Calif., Sept. 11, 2009 — In this ailing economy, when Americans are struggling to save every penny, a new, free website - http://www.prundo.com - has been recently launched to help its registered users save money on their auto repairs. The patent-pending website has great tools to help its registered members in deciding where to take their cars for maintenance and repairs.

Prundo.com is like an “Expedia” for auto repair. Based on Web 2.0 concepts and philosophy, Prundo.com will empower its members to make the best choices for servicing and repair needs of their cars. Prundo members can download money-saving coupons for over 30 types of car repair, including brake, oil change, transmission, and tires, for free.

Prundo.com will also offer following benefits to its members:

• View available auto repair shops for the desired service in their zip codes
• Review special offers from the auto service providers
• No need to clip coupons! Get coupons 24×7, whenever they need them!
• Compare costs of desired automobile servicing
• View user ranking/feedback of the auto repair shop
• View distance to the preferred auto repair shop
• Get directions to the preferred auto repair shop

“The mission of our company is to make auto repairs easy for our members and remove any doubts they may have,” said Prundo CEO Alka Gupta. “We want to help our members get better service on auto repairs and save money at the same time.”

There are over 235 million cars in the U.S. Due to the current state of the economy, people are keeping their cars longer (average of 9 years), thereby requiring routine maintenance and repairs to keep their cars in working condition. U.S. car owners spend approximately $800 per car per year, making auto repairs a $250 billion market.

“Prundo is an innovative concept because there are no websites currently available to help consumers compare auto services based on cost, distance, offers/discount and quality of service,” said Gupta. “Prundo.com was launched to fill this gap and provide a logical tool for its members.”

http://www.prundo.com may well be the ticket to relief for all American car owners in this economy, as users have already saved over $17,000 since its launch. The website currently has coupons worth over $150,000. So next time when your car needs a brake replacement or tire rotation or even a simple oil change, give it a try before you go to your mechanic, because you could save some serious bucks.

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Save money using Skype to celebrate Grandparents Day with long -distance grandparents

Skype is downloadable software that allows the user to communicate with another person via the Internet. The call is free and made possible as long as both people have computer access and a web cam.

Grandparents and children are able to see each other as they are talking. This is great for younger children who may have difficulty talking on the phone. (You may have seen one of your children hold up their new toy to the phone to show it off.) Skype makes it possible for kids to show off those toys and see their grandparent's reaction.

Head over to the Skype's web page that describes Free Skype to Skype calling. You can download the software and setup your account.

You can search and find the grandparent in the system and add them to your contacts. Now, they are just a mouse click away.

Some things to consider:

This may not be easy for all grandparents. My Pops is 82, doesn't have a computer and has no desire to have one. He lives in Virginia and we only see him about once a year. In his case, my aunt set up Skype at her house, on her computer, and when he visits we are able to talk to him on Skype.

You may need to purchase some equipment. Check your computer to make sure you have a web cam and microphone features available. If you don't you can purchase a web cam and still make Skype phone calls. In the long run, depending on how much you plan on using it, the cost of the web cam may be worth what you are saving in long distance.

Plan ahead. If you want to make a special Skype call for Grandparents Day, give it a trial run before hand. You want to make sure that both sides of the connection are working and that you are able to see and hear each other. Better to try this in advance and not have your Grandparents Day plans spoiled by a glitch.

By: Angela Sauber

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The Online Coupon Website, FabulousSavings.com, Celebrates 10 Years of Savings

TORONTO, Sept. 9 /PRNewswire/ - On September 9, FabulousSavings.com, the
online coupon website, celebrates 10 years of helping online consumers save
money. FabulousSavings.com has successfully reached this milestone by staying
true to their objective since 1999, which is to always provide true value for
consumers. Today, they offer free printable coupons, exclusive coupons, how-to
videos, customer service and more to help online shoppers find the
money-saving offers that they want.
"To be in the coupon business for 10 years is an accomplishment that we are
thrilled about," said Michael Yack, founder of FabulousSavings.com. "Saving
people money no matter what is important, and we plan on continuing the
savings long into the future."
The coupons started it all. FabulousSavings.com was one of the first websites
to offer free coupons online for thousands of top online retailers and brands.
Through building strong relationships with retailers, FabulousSavings.com is
able to provide exclusive coupons that cannot be found anywhere else to their
consumers. Recently, FabulousSavings.com has added free printable coupons for
national retailers to their roster of coupons, allowing consumers to save in
even more ways.
"FabulousSavings.com has evolved more than we ever could have imagined," said
Yack. "Knowing we've probably saved online shoppers millions of dollars over
the years is exciting! It's what keeps us going strong."
FabulousSavings.com has been on the cutting edge of coupons for online savings
since its beginnings. Today, they are a full-service money-saving resource for
shoppers with their how-to videos, custom content, sleek designs and free
easy-to-use coupons. This coupon website plans to continue their coupon
expansion in the future through adding even more online and offline retailers.

Headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, FabulousSavings.com is a retailer-approved
and consumer-trusted website for online coupons from top retailers such as
Dick's Sporting Goods, Victoria's Secret, Target and Orbitz. Since 1999,
FabulousSavings.com has been a one-stop shopping resource for consumers to
find what they are looking for while saving money. To find out more about
FabulousSavings.com please visit www.fabuloussavings.com.

SOURCE  FabulousSavings

Jill de Larzac, Marketing Supervisor, jdelarzac@fabumarketing.com

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IT'S YOUR MONEY: Spending Money to Save Money?

By Melissa Yeager, WINK News

Story Created: Sep 8, 2009 at 1:26 PM EDT

Story Updated: Sep 8, 2009 at 7:46 PM EDT

FORT MYERS, FLA-- You might not think of your ambulances and your paramedics as a business, but that's what six sigma teaches public safety staff to do.

Over the past 3 years, Lee County EMS has used your tax money to pay to train its employees in Six Sigma--a program first implemented by Motorola to help identify waste, inefficiencies, and help save money.

Lee County EMS Captain Warren Panem says it has changed the culture of his department.

"In years past we get an idea for a piece of medical equipment and we all think, 'that's a great idea' and we work off emotion and that's what we want to get away from," Panem told CALL FOR ACTION describing how the program has changed his department.


"Yes, it's nice to do the latest and greatest in medicine, but if it doesn't work then why do it? And those are the kinds of dollars we are saving by implementing this program," said Panem.


EMS operations chief Kim Dickerson says the program has helped her staff-trained in medicine-to focus on finding the root cause of a problem.

"You may be doing a process that's got too many extra steps in it which cause extra work or extra grief," said Dickerson.

"Some people might think it sounds like common sense to be able to look at things and save money," said CALL FOR ACTION reporter Melissa Yeager.

"Common sense isn't so common," said Panem. "It's an educated common sense and I think that's what this whole process has done for us."

Six Sigma training doesn't come cheap.

For more than 100-thousand dollars of your tax money, here's what you got:

82 employees trained at the basic white belt status costing 28 thousand dollars.

White belt training gives employees *a general overview* of six sigma.

To learn more specifics of six sigma employees have to get their yellow belt.

So the county spent another 36-thousand getting 32 employees yellow belt status.

But to learn how to use the process, you have to earn a green belt.

12 employees made it to this stage at a price tag of 18-thousand dollars.

It didn't end there.

The county spent 25-thousand dollars getting 6 employees their black belts.

And another 12-thousand dollars to have two employees certified as master black belts--meaning they are certified to teach other people about the program.

All of that adds up to 119-thousand dollars over a three year period training just ems workers on this program.

By the way, employees also wracked up about 43-thousand in overtime going to six sigma training.


"Some people might say it sounds weird to spend money on training to save money? what would you say to those people." asked CALL FOR ACTION reporter Melissa Yeager.

"Education is the key to success in life and in anything that you do and this is something that helped give our staff the tools that they needed," said Dickerson.

So did the process save money?

In July, a CALL FOR ACTION investigation uncovered $6.2 million dollars spent on EMS overtime-- more than any other Lee County agency.

EMS says so far in 2009, they've saved about 200-thousand dollars in overtime because they were paying more attention with the down economy and because six sigma helped them improve their hiring process.

"That's making for a happier employee and and the morale has increased tremendously. Can you put a dollar figure on morale? Probably not, but you can measure the fact that our overtime costs have decreased significantly," said Panem.

Response times have also improved and they credit six sigma.

"Every minute that we save on average in the organization in a year, we save 138-thousand dollars," said Panem, "Over the past two years we've decreased our average by six minutes."

EMS says that's a total savings of 800-thousand dollars because they don't have to keep as many ambulances on the road at once.

"So by us taking a look at what most directly effects our organization allows us to allocate that money in the right direction, so down the road when the money starts getting tighter our decision making is better as far as what's important to us and what is not," said Dickerson.

Lee County EMS is the only organization in Lee County to undergo this training.

Part of your money was spent getting some of their employees certified as six sigma trainers.

Now they say those employees will be able to teach the rest of the county how to use the practices to become more efficient.

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This old trick still works for saving money

Creating a budget seems to be a no-brainer. Everyone has his or her way of approaching it. You take your salary, subtract your bills, and if there is money left, you decide what to do with it. Is your method working for you? What are you doing with the money that's left? Is there money left? Are your bills being paid on time? Maybe there is a money leak. If so, it can seem as if there isn't any money to save. It takes some discipline, but an envelope method for budgeting can implement a system that helps you track spending and live within your means. It can teach you to pay yourself first, too.


Here's how to put this simple system into place.


THE CONCEPT: With the envelope system, you distribute your money into standard-sized paper envelopes, zippered pencil pouches or an accordion-style coupon organizer so only the money in each envelope category is spent. If there is extra in an envelope, it stays in the envelope, is applied to debt in another envelope, or can be placed in your savings envelope.

SETTING UP THE SYSTEM: The first envelope should be marked as yours. Place your name on it. Highlight it, so you remember to pay yourself first. Put the name and due date of your other bills on their own envelopes, too. You can write the amount you need to pay and/or the balance left. You can decide whether you want all of your bills to be categorized into envelopes according to priority and due date, or whether you want to use the envelope method only for expenses that fluctuate or you can pay for with cash, such as groceries, clothing, gas, meals out, entertainment and holidays. When you're paid, you withdraw the funds you need from your bank account and put it into the corresponding envelopes. When the bill is due, the money is simply in the envelope.


USING EMPTY ENVELOPES: Some people prefer not to place cash into the envelope. In this case, you can just write the amount of money needed and spent on the envelope to keep track or consider using monopoly money. There are also many services online, such as www.mvelopes.com, Dave Ramsey's envelope system, www.myspendingplan.com and www.budgetmap.com, to name a few.

ENVELOPE-SYSTEM BENEFITS: You can place your receipts into your envelope categories, too. This will directly show you where your money was spent and will help in your money-tracking efforts. Tracking your money is important to make progress with your budget. This system forces you to prioritize your wants and needs. It can help you track, save, and not charge if you're disciplined. For some, they feel they spend more if the cash is there, so the modified system could work well for those preferring to use debit cards or checks. Regardless of which you opt to try or what categories you organize, the envelope method is a simple organizational tool that is easy to start and maintain. To learn about whether or not this will work well for you, visit my envelope-budgeting forum (www.frugalvillage.com/forums).


Reported by: Sara Noel
Email: sara@frugalvillage.com
Sara Noel is the owner of Frugal Village (www.frugalvillage.com), a Web site that offers practical, money-saving strategies for everyday living. To send tips, comments or questions, write to Sara Noel, c/o United Media, 200 Madison Ave., 4th Floor, New York, NY 10016, or e-mail sara@frugalvillage.com.

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