Check out their “Facts for Consumers” advice at the FTC web site.

Direct Link: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre19.shtm

Photo: mikkosaari

You may not want to focus on your taxes this soon in the year, but it’s a good idea because you’ve got time between now and the filing deadline to save up money if you find out you owe a large amount to the IRS or want to make a retirement contribution before you file.

Here are some tips to make your tax filing obligation for the year as painless and organized as possible:

1. Gather your paperwork. This includes the aforementioned W-2 and/or 1099 forms, as well as mortgage interest statements, receipts and other documents that may affect your return. Even if you don’t plan to file your taxes right away, gathering this material together now will make it easier when the time comes.
2. Consider an IRA. You have until April 17th this year to contribute funds to retirement accounts like a Roth or traditional IRA. If you want to lower your taxable income this year, put some money toward a traditional IRA. If you aren’t as concerned about lowering your tax bill this year, consider a Roth IRA–income generated by a Roth IRA is not taxed when you retire, while a traditional IRA will be taxed when you start making withdrawals. Basically, if you think taxes will be higher when you retire than they are now (a safe bet), you should start thinking about funding a Roth IRA.
   The maximum you can contribute to an IRA is $5,000, unless you are over 50 years old, in which case you can contribute up to $6,000.
3. Calculate your deductions. Your standard deduction is $5,800 if you are single or $11,600 if you are married and filing jointly. If you think you have enough deductions (like mortgage interest, charitable donations, and self-employment expenses like a home office deduction) to top those amounts, then you should itemize to save money. It’s more work than taking the standard deduction, but worth it for many filers.
4. E-file. If you don’t already e-file your tax returns, make this the year that you start. Whether you use commercial tax-preparation software or simply use the IRS’ e-file option, filing electronically will get your refund to you faster and more securely than waiting for a check. If you owe money to the IRS, you can go ahead and e-file now and send a check any time before the filing deadline (which is April 16th this year).

There’s no reason to wait until tax season to prepare your return. In fact, there are plenty of good reasons to go ahead and prepare your tax return now. If you do so and find that you need to save up some money to pay your tax bill or to contribute to your retirement account, check out our free “Budgeting 101” course for tips on how to create a workable budget.

Photo: azn137

According to the nonprofit National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA), state treasuries and other government agencies are sitting on more than $33 billion in unclaimed assets. And that doesn’t include billions of dollars in unredeemed US savings and treasury bonds, unclaimed pensions, and income tax refunds returned to the IRS as undeliverable.

Here’s a guide to locating unclaimed assets that may belong to you:

Money winds up in government lost-and-found agencies for many reasons, including:

• People move and don’t leave accurate forwarding addresses, or they forget to update companies where they do business, hold investments, or have earned retirement benefits.
• Dying without a will leaves it up to the court to assign assets.
• You could unknowingly be named as beneficiary of an insurance policy or other account.
• Forgotten utility deposits, bank accounts, or product rebates.
• Overpaid mortgage payments after a home sale.
• Name changes after marriage or divorce.

State-held property. Start your search with NAUPA, which provides tips on finding your money, as well as links to unclaimed property programs maintained by each state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and several Canadian provinces. Many individual state programs also participate in MissingMoney.com, a free, centralized database endorsed by NAUPA.

Companies are required to surrender balances from accounts that have been inactive for one year or longer to the state government of your last known address; also check with other states where you’ve lived or done business, just in case. To improve your chances, search using different variations of your name (such as first name and middle initial, first and middle initials, last name first, etc.), as well as common misspellings.

NAUPA also provides a handy round-up of links to Other Sources for Unclaimed Property, such as unclaimed veteran’s benefits, refunds from HUD/FHA-insured mortgages and unclaimed foreign bank accounts.

Unclaimed tax refunds. In 2011 the IRS attempted to return $153 million in unclaimed federal income tax refund checks, mostly those that had been sent to the wrong address. If you never received an expected refund or simply want to check the status of your current filing, go to the Where’s My Refund page for instructions. Two tips:

• Verify that the IRS has your correct address whenever you file taxes.
• Sign up for direct deposit of future refunds to prevent misdirected checks.

Unredeemed savings bonds. The Treasury Department’s Treasury Hunt site has a searchable database to help you find and redeem matured, uncashed Series E savings bonds issued since 1974. There are also forms you can submit to collect on other lost, stolen, or destroyed bonds (Form PDF 1048 E) and for bonds not received (Form PDF 3062-4). Note that you will need to provide information about dates of purchase, names on bonds, and other pertinent data.

Find old pensions. Although pension plans have become increasingly rare, if you’ve had a long employment history, worked for several employers or belonged to multiple unions, you may have accrued forgotten pension benefits. Even with pensions you’re aware of, you must update your address with old employers or they might have difficulty finding you at retirement. Plus, many companies have merged or gone out of business, so records may have been lost or misfiled.

To find previous employers or their successor companies, search records at a library, historical society or chamber of commerce in the community where they operated, or contact former coworkers or unions. Other helpful organizations include the Public Benefit Guaranty Corporation, which protects and guarantees most pension plans, including those that closed or went bankrupt (CLICK HERE for PBGC’s search engine), PensionHelp America, and the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration.

Forgotten 401(k)s. To find an unclaimed defined contribution plan, such as a 401(k), profit-sharing plan or Missing Participant IRA your former employer may have set up on your behalf, use the search engine at the National Registry of Unclaimed Retirement Benefits. This database also includes lost pensions.

A few cautions: Many legitimate companies use states’ freedom of information acts to obtain owner information for unclaimed accounts. They contact individuals and offer to help find lost property for a fee (often a percentage of the total). This is the same information you can find yourself, for free.

Also, beware of emails or letters purporting to be from the state treasurer asking you to supply personal information — either by mail or by logging into a link provided. This is how many cases of identity theft begin. If in doubt, contact your state treasurer or controller’s office to ensure the contact was legitimate.

And finally, do your heirs a favor by keeping a record of all insurance policies, bank accounts, safety deposit boxes and personal property and consider letting people know if they’re listed as a beneficiary.

This article is intended to provide general information and should not be considered legal, tax or financial advice. It’s always a good idea to consult a legal, tax or financial advisor for specific information on how certain laws apply to you and about your individual financial situation.

Follow Jason Alderman on Twitter: www.twitter.com/PracticalMoney

Jason Alderman is Senior Director, Global Financial Education, with Visa, Inc.

Views expressed are the personal views of the author and do not represent the views of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, its employees, its members, or its clients.

The content of this article was courtesy of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) www.nfcc.org.  The NFCC’s mission is to promote the national agenda for financially responsible behavior, and build capacity for its members to deliver the highest-quality financial education and counseling services. Springboard is an NFCC Member Agency.

Photo: great beyond

According to Larry Davidman, owner of online insurance brokerage TermWorks.com, your life insurance needs likely will change as family circumstances evolve. “Once you start a family, you’ll probably want to beef up coverage,” he said. “But after the kids are on their own, your house is paid-off and your retirement is well-funded, you may feel comfortable amending your coverage.”

In my family’s case, we bought term life insurance shortly after our son was born, and added supplementary policies four years later when our daughter arrived. Our goal was twofold: To provide my wife with at least 10 times my income if I should die; and to help me cover childcare expenses should she go first.

Because our initial 10-year policies expire soon, we’ve been reexamining our needs with Davidman’s help. If you’re also looking, here’s a brief overview of common life insurance options:

Life insurance is essentially a contract where, in exchange for you paying regular premiums, an insurance company makes a payment to your beneficiaries when you die. Most people buy life insurance to protect family members who depend on their income and would otherwise have difficulty meeting current and future financial obligations. Some also use it to build cash value to borrow against, income tax-free, to supplement retirement income.

There are two broad categories of life insurance: term and cash value (or permanent). Costs are based on such factors as your age, gender, overall health, family history, driving record, hazardous activities (like skydiving) and foreign travel habits.

Term life is the simplest and least expensive type, since it pays your beneficiaries only if you die while the policy is in force. Term periods usually range from 5 to 30 years. Premiums increase according to your age and overall health, but several other features can also affect the cost and benefits received.

Cash value/permanent life products let you build cash value that grows tax-free and that you can potentially borrow against (also tax free), subject to certain limitations and based on product and design. Because of this cash value component, the cost is significantly higher than a term policy with the same death benefits. Common varieties include:

• Whole Life, which provides lifetime protection with locked-in, guaranteed premiums, death benefit and cash values. It’s usually the most expensive type of permanent life insurance due to the guarantees it offers.
• Universal life offers the same fixed investment performance as whole life but greater flexibility in terms of premium payment schedules, duration of guaranteed death benefit and accumulation of cash value.
• Variable universal life (adjustable life) lets you invest the cash-value portion in securities (stock funds, bond funds, money market, etc.), which have greater growth potential but also carry greater investment risk than fixed accounts. Be aware: Poor fund performance can reduce the cash value and/or death benefit.

Davidman urges taking time to investigate the differences between companies and products. “Also, review your policy with your agent whenever major life changes occur, such as marriage, divorce, childbirth or significant change in income,” he noted.

Employer plans. Many employers offer voluntary group term life insurance to employees. Because these policies don’t require medical exams, they’re a good way for unhealthy people to get coverage. But premiums usually increase significantly after age 50 and coverage often is not portable if you leave the company.

A few additional considerations:

• Carefully calculate your beneficiaries’ future financial needs and how long they would need to rely on your income if should you die prematurely.
• If your term insurance is expiring and you’re in poor health, ask about converting to permanent life. Premiums will be higher, but you won’t have to pass a medical exam.
• Interview several insurance agents to gauge their capabilities, experience and ability to explain complex products. Then compare recommendations they give for your particular circumstances.
• Ask your insurance broker for a full breakdown of any commissions and administrative fees and check with your financial advisor about the tax implications of coverage options you’re considering.
• Don’t buy life insurance solely as an investment tool.
• Be completely truthful on your application. If you lie about an underlying condition (smoking, drug use, family history of heart disease, etc.) and later die from a related cause, the insurance company could either alter your death benefit or rescind the entire policy.

The life insurance industry is regulated by individual state governments. For a link to your state’s Insurance Department, use this search engine provided by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). And, to learn more about the different types of life insurance available, read NAIC’s Life Insurance Buyer’s Guide or visit their Insure U online curriculum.

Another good tool is an easy-to-follow video comparing term and whole life insurance, as explained by Sal Kahn, founder of the popular Khan Academy, which you can view at Practical Money Skills for Life, a free personal financial management program run by my employer, Visa Inc.

Jason Alderman is Senior Director, Global Financial Education, with Visa, Inc.

Views expressed are the personal views of the author and do not represent the views of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, its employees, its members, or its clients.

The content of this article was courtesy of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) www.nfcc.org.  The NFCC’s mission is to promote the national agenda for financially responsible behavior, and build capacity for its members to deliver the highest-quality financial education and counseling services. Springboard is an NFCC Member Agency.

Photo: nerdcoregirl

1. Buying a new car.
You might as well be flinging $100 bills out the window as you cruise off the lot. New cars see an instant drop in value of up to 25 percent. Buying a gently used car that has 98 percent of the reliability at 75 percent of the cost should be a no-brainer. For that matter, you can get a reliable car for $5,000.

2. Borrowing to buy things that lose value.
A car is only one example of things people finance. Furniture, appliances, technology – the value of all these things is headed in one direction, and that’s down. Paying interest means getting hit twice, first by the value loss and then by finance charges. There are purchases where borrowing is justified: a home, a business, or an education can be among them, since they at least have a chance of ultimately increasing your net worth. For pretty much everything else, the fewer borrowed bucks, the better. It’s hard to imagine that anyone in America hasn’t made this mistake at one time or another. I certainly have.

3. Earning squat while paying plenty.
If there’s anything personal finance professionals agree on, it’s making sure you have an emergency fund. Nothing wrong with that. But if you’re paying 25 percent on a credit card and earning less than 1 percent on your savings account, you’re more likely to create an emergency than solve one. If you’re about to get laid off or might otherwise find cash hard to come by, setting aside as much as possible while you can is obviously a good idea. But if your job is secure and your life stable, use your savings to pay down high-interest debt. I’m potentially making a variation of this mistake right now by keeping money in the bank while maintaining a mortgage. My logic? I think I can earn more by investing than I’m paying in mortgage interest. So far so good, but it’s easier said than done.

4. Ignoring your credit score.
I’m happy to report that I don’t make this mistake. I check my credit report at least annually.You’ve heard it all before: A low credit score means higher borrowing costs, higher insurance costs, and more difficulty with rent and work. But that’s the tip of the iceberg. Say we both borrow $200,000 on a 30-year mortgage. Because my credit score is lower, and my interest rate is higher, my payments are $1,200 a month. Your higher score and lower rate earns you a $1,000-a-month payment. Suppose you invest your extra $200 every month during that 30 years and manage to average 8 percent annually. At the end of that time you’ll have $300,000. That’s a pretty nice payoff simply for having a higher credit score. While you can’t get a free copy of your credit score, you can get a free copy of your credit history from AnnualCreditReport.com. If you don’t like what you see take steps to improve it.

5. Wasting a windfall.
Here’s a mistake I’ve certainly made before. Who hasn’t? Getting a big lump sum of money is exciting, and all too easy to blow. Many people get this opportunity every year with tax refunds, which averaged more than $3,000 for 2011. Don’t waste it at the mall. Leverage it by paying down debt, increasing your productivity, or adding to your savings.

6. Overpaying your taxes.
Speaking of taxes, from putting money in a retirement fund to taking investment losses, there are ways to legally reduce them. Many times we don’t take advantage of them because we fail to take the time before year end to do a little planning. Big mistake, and one I’ve certainly made more than once.

7. Buying name brands.
In some cases, certain brands are noticeably better and worth the money. But when they’re not, you’re wasting money. In fact, with some things, like aspirin, for example, the generic isn’t similar, it’s identical. Go generic as often as possible. If you don’t like it, switch back the next time you shop. Have I made this mistake? Absolutely.

8. Getting scammed.
Sometimes an offer is too good to refuse – even when we get the nagging sense that we should. Scams can be painfully obvious, like those “Dear Sir” spam emails from Nigeria. Or they can be subtle and sophisticated, like fake charities, contractor rip-offs, product reviews, and more. At least avoid the Federal Trade Commission’s list of top 10 consumer problems and learn to identify scams. I’ve been investigating scams for more than 20 years, and I’m still not immune. Is it possible to live in America and never fall prey?

9. Missing new technologies.
We spend a lot of money on our gadgets, but not much effort learning how to use them to save on both time and money. Whether it’s with black boxes that replace cable at 10 percent of the cost, smartphone apps that track spending and find savings, or web sites that offer your favorite music for free, there’s no reason technology can’t make life more convenient and cheaper. I’m learning new ways to tackle old problems every day.

10. Settling for more.
The asking price is rarely what you have to pay when it comes to many goods and especially services. If you aren’t inquiring about discounts, researching coupons, and haggling for the best prices, you won’t get them. Those who do might enjoy free hotel upgrades, lower interest rates, and even cheaper doctor visits.

Stacy Johnson is a personal finance author, speaker, and television news personality. His Money Talks News series has aired for more than 20 years on dozens of network affiliates nationwide.

Views expressed are the personal views of the author and do not represent the views of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, its employees, its members, or its clients.

The content of this article was courtesy of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) www.nfcc.org.  The NFCC’s mission is to promote the national agenda for financially responsible behavior, and build capacity for its members to deliver the highest-quality financial education and counseling services. Springboard is an NFCC Member Agency.

Photo: emdot

View full size infographic

Source: Mint.com

• Have adequate savings. You might ask yourself how you paid for your last emergency. If it was with a credit card, that’s a red flag. A person who cannot afford an emergency is not likely to be able to afford the interest, late charges, and over limit fees that could be associated with adding to their debt load.
• Track your spending. The only way you can know where your hard-earned money is going is to write down every cent you spend. Do this for at least 30 days. Believe it or not, many people make incomes adequate to support their expenses, but end up short each month simply because they don’t keep track of their spending.
• Create a budget. Budget is not a four-letter word. If it helps, call it a spending plan. The point is to be in charge of your money, not the other way around. After you’ve tracked your spending, you’ll be able to assign dollar amounts to each spending category. This results in using your money to your best advantage.
• Get your credit report. Review it for accuracy and address any errors. Why? Your credit score is based on the contents of your credit report. Further, frequently reviewing your credit report is a good way to protect yourself against identity theft, as you’ll be able to spot any suspicious activity. Now that consumers are allowed one free credit report from each of the three bureaus every 12 months, there’s no excuse for not obtaining it. Realize, however, that there is only one legitimate site which is www.annualcreditreport.com.
• Improve your credit score. Credit is becoming increasingly harder to obtain, but having a solid credit score will help you not only get the credit you need, but at a reasonable rate. The two most important things you can do to improve your score are to pay your bills on time, and not utilize more than 30 percent of your available credit. To help you never pay late, create a cash-flow calendar listing all paydays and which bills are due to be paid from those funds.
• Pay down debt. Find the money to dedicate to debt reduction by learning to live below your means. If you’ve created a lifestyle that is not realistic for your income, it’s going to involve some serious adjustments. Additionally, you may need to take on a second job and dedicate that paycheck to debt reduction. As burdensome as that may sound, becoming debt free has tremendous perks: it frees you from worry, allows you to build your savings account, begin investing, and meet your financial goals.
• Set goals. When people are in financial distress they have trouble planning beyond the next day. However, setting both short- and long-term goals can define where you want to be and help you get there. Your goals need to be low enough that you can attain them, but high enough that they make you stretch. Sometimes we’re so busy making a living that we don’t take time to make a life. Know where you want to go and take the necessary steps to get there.
• Plan for retirement. This is another often neglected area when money is tight. However, we all hope that tomorrow comes so we’d better start planning for it today. Time is money’s best friend, thus small contributions over time to your retirement plan or IRA can yield significant benefits. Nobody has ever regretted beginning retirement planning early, but many wish they’d started sooner.
• Involve your family. Make all financial decisions family decisions, and your likelihood of success will increase dramatically. Talk about everything from the bills to the budget. The home is a great place to teach your children about financial issues, including the inevitable problems. Remembering when Mom and Dad worked through the hard times will be a nice cushion when it’s the kid’s turn.
• Reach out for help. Take action at the first sign of financial distress. Delaying only makes it harder to find a solution. There are many reputable credit counseling agencies with trained and certified counselors waiting to help you. Even better, sit down with a counselor and get your financial ducks in row before trouble strikes.

Perhaps the best tip of all is to remember the adage that contentment is not the fulfillment of what you want, but the realization of how much you already have. A new attitude toward money will go a long way toward reaching many of our financial goals.

Gail Cunningham is Vice President of Membership & Public Relations with the NFCC.

Views expressed are the personal views of the author, and do not represent the views of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, its employees, its members, or its clients.

The content of this article was courtesy of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) www.nfcc.org.  The NFCC’s mission is to promote the national agenda for financially responsible behavior, and build capacity for its members to deliver the highest-quality financial education and counseling services. Springboard is an NFCC Member Agency.

Photo: ludiecochrane

In addition to the Nigerian prince scam, endless variations on fake check swindles are being perpetrated by phone, letter and email, including these gems:

• You’ve won a foreign lottery and are sent a check that’s the first installment of your winnings. To get the rest, you must deposit and cash the check, then wire the money to someone who will pay facilitate the transaction and pay taxes on your behalf. (Note: Legitimate lottery winners must pay their own taxes directly to the government; also, it’s against federal law to play foreign lotteries by phone, mail or online.)
• Someone responds to your classified ad or online auction posting for a valuable item (car, jewelry, etc.). They have a logical-sounding reason why you‘re receiving a check above the purchase price: For example, they live overseas and asked someone in the U.S. who owes them money send you a check for more than your sales price; then, you’ll keep your share and wire the buyer the difference.
• You’re hired as a secret shopper to help evaluate a money-transfer service. You’re sent a check to deposit, minus your “pay,” and are then asked to wire out the remainder using the service being tested.
• Someone is “friended” by a stranger on Facebook (or meets through an online dating service). Later, after careful grooming, they eventually come to trust the person and agree to deposit a cashier’s check and wire the money to someone else as a favor to their “friend.”

What all of these scams have in common is that the checks themselves are fraudulent. Thieves count on the fact that your bank generally must make deposited funds available to you within a few days. However, weeks may pass before the bank ultimately discovers the fraud, at which point they bounce the check. You must then repay your bank the money or have your account frozen or closed and be sued. Some victims even face criminal charges for fraud because it looks as though they were in on the scheme.

Years ago, fake checks were easier to spot. But today’s sophisticated scanners, printers and software programs make it simple to create checks that sometimes even fool authorities. Here are a few warning signs the check may be doctored:

• Fake checks are often printed on lighter, slippery paper, and may be missing at least one perforated or rough edge, indicating they were printed from a personal computer.
• Missing or faded bank logo, suggesting it may have been copied.
• No street address or a P.O. Box only, or an inaccurate ZIP code. Verify the correct address with the issuing bank by searching its website or calling a local branch.
  • The bottom line on real checks contains digits representing the bank routing, account and check numbers. It is written in magnetic ink character recognition (MICR) font, which can be read by special check-sorting machines. Real magnetic ink looks and feels dull, while fake MICR numbers are often shiny.
  • Check number at the upper right corner doesn’t match the number on the MICR line.
  • Usually drawn for less than $5,000 because by law, deposits under that amount must be made available to you within five days. Crooks count on your completing their transaction before the check has actually been cleared by the issuing bank.
  • Stains or gaps around signatures, a digitized appearance, or odd pen strokes, suggesting a scanned or forged signature.
  • The first nine digits of the MICR line typically identify the routing number of the issuing bank. Having fewer or more than nine digits means it’s fake. Verify correct routing numbers at the Federal Reserve Financial Services website.

If you think you’ve been targeted by a counterfeit check scam, report it to the following agencies:

• The Federal Trade Commission (1-877-382-4357).
• The U.S. Postal Inspection Service (or call your local post office branch).
• Your state attorney general’s office.

Many good resources exist where you can learn more about fake check scams and how to avoid them, including the FBI, the Consumer Federation of America, the Federal Trade Commission and the National Consumers League.

Share these tips with your kids – and your parents as well, because senior citizens are particularly prone to falling for fake check scams. To paraphrase P.T. Barnum, there’s a new scam born every minute. Just make sure you’re not one of the poor suckers who falls for it.

This article is intended to provide general information and should not be considered legal, tax or financial advice. It’s always a good idea to consult a legal, tax or financial advisor for specific information on how certain laws apply to you and about your individual financial situation. 

To Follow Jason Alderman on Twitter: www.twitter.com/PracticalMoney

The content of this original article was provided courtesy of Jason Alderman and PracticalMoneySkills.com. Jason Alderman is Senior Director, Global Financial Education, with Visa, Inc.

Views expressed are the personal views of the author and do not represent the views of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, its employees, its members, or its clients.

Photo: CarbonNYC

When it comes to financial wellness, resolutions like eliminating debt or saving more for the future aren’t always easy to effect. It takes knowledge to craft a new financial plan for one’s life, and it takes trail-and-error experience to find strategies to stick to that plan.

That means good information is the key to meeting your goals. Here at Credit.org, we take our 38 years of experience at empowering consumers to achieve financial freedom and make it all available to you through our resource center, free of charge. Whether you use our free online courses to learn to create a budget, evaluate or improve your own credit report with our Consumer Guide to Good Credit, or find tips and strategies in our regular blog posts, we’ve got a steady supply of information to help everyone take control of their personal finances and reach their goals.

Place Credit.org/blog in your regular bookmarks, and come by our site at least once per week to check out our free online courses, seminar booklets, financial calculators and other resources. There’s a lot of information here-too much for one sitting, so don’t feel like you have to take in everything at once. Come back when you have spare moments and download our educational materials to read when you have time.

Financial wellness is like tending to one’s personal health; you can’t just take a handful of vitamins and be good for the rest of the year. It takes an ongoing commitment, with regular exercise and living a healthy lifestyle. Think of our site as your daily vitamin supplement, your personal trainer, and your recipe book.

If eliminating credit card debt is one of your resolutions this year, talk to one of our certified credit counselors for a free session. They’ll help you take stock of your situation and create a budget you can work with. If growing your savings is one of your goals, we’re partners with America Saves, and they’re a great place to start.

Let’s make 2012 the year you really take control of your personal finances. Let our knowledge and experience empower you to make all the right decisions for lasting success.

And have a Happy New Year!

Photo: lululemonathletica

This post is from Stacy Johnson at partner site Money Talks News.

Saving money on a single purchase is good, but the real savings come when you’re able to slash the payments that you make monthly. Think about it. Reducing a monthly bill is like saving on 12 purchases every year. It allows you to immediately begin devoting more of your monthly income to debt reduction, investing, or inflating your cash cushion. In addition, reducing your monthly expenses to the minimum will extend the amount of time you’re able to live off of your savings if you lose your job, switch careers, get sick, or otherwise suffer an income interruption.

Here are some places to look to start lowering your monthly bills:

1. Use a television antenna and the Internet to cut your cable or satellite bills. Receiving a television signal with an antenna has always been an option, but with the rising price of cable and satellite service and the falling price of technology, it’s becoming more compelling. Even a cheap digital antenna now picks up high-definition broadcasts. And many shows can now be streamed from the Internet to your TV with devices that cost less than one month of cable. One of the most popular stories we’ve ever published is 3 Steps to Cut Your Cable Bill by 90 Percent. Check it out.
2. Slash your cell phone bills. There are many ways to cut your cell phone bills dramatically. Reduce your minutes, ask for a group or corporate discount, or go in on a family plan. Check out 5 More Steps to a Lower Cell Phone Bill.
3. Refinance your home. Mortgage rates are at or near their all-time lows. If you’ve got good credit and enough equity in your home, compare the costs of a refinance to your monthly savings. Read Ask Stacy: Should I Refinance My Mortgage? then go to our interest rate search and see if you can find a lower rate. While refinancing takes time and effort, it can return hundreds in monthly savings.
4. Refinance your credit card debt. If you’re carrying credit card debt, look for ways to cut monthly interest payments. For example, Chase is now offering a version of its Slate credit card with a zero-percent interest rate on balance transfers of up to 12 months, with no balance transfer fee. You can find it, along with other credit offers, in our balance transfer credit card search. Warning: Those with the best credit will get the best offers.
5. Slash your home phone bills. If you have Internet service, start making your calls online. Devices like MagicJack will charge you less for a year’s service than most land-line phone companies charge for a month.
6. Reduce your Internet service costs. Most people don’t know that their cable or phone company offers a perfectly good “economy” tier of service that is rarely advertised. Call yours and ask. Are you paying to rent their modem? Buy one on Ebay.
7. Pay less for car insurance. There are lots of ways to pay less, many of which we’ve written about: See 7 Ways to Save on Car Insurance. The simplest? Raising your deductible from $250 to $1,000 can slash your bill by 15 percent. And don’t stop with the car. There are ways to save on all kinds of insurance, from home to health to life. See The 5 Golden Rules of Saving on Insurance for more ideas. Then check out our insurance search to shop around.
8. Save at restaurants. If you are unable to go all the way and stop eating out, at least find the maximum savings when you do go out. Sites like Restaurant.com offer $25 certificates that can make the cost of a nice meal out little more than the price of fast food. Here are our original tips on using Restaurant.com for savings, and 6 more I came up with. And when you’ve satisfied your appetite for restaurant savings, try to find more gain without pain with other entertainment savings. See 26 Tips to Save on Entertainment.
9. Go in with your neighbors. If you have next-door neighbors you get along with, consider sharing services. Creative neighbors have found ways to share Internet, cell phone family plans, and other services. This is especially easy when you live in a condo and can negotiate services as a group. Just be sure to comply with each provider’s terms of service. For example, when I lived in a condo, we entered into contracts to share cable television and commercial-grade Internet service. You don’t even have to live in the same building to negotiate a group discount with providers of lawn care, snow removal, or house cleaning services.

By looking for cuts to your monthly costs, rather than one-time savings, you can reduce your expenses well into the future, while safeguarding your family’s finances should the unexpected occur.

Source: Money Talks (http://s.tt/14TQN)

Photo: tubedesign