SAVING MONEY TIPS(VOLUME I)

SECRETS TO FINANCIAL FITNESS

NATHANIEL KIDDTHE FRUGAL SOLDIER

http://www.frugalsoldier.com

Disclaimer:

This e-book has been written to provide information about its topic. Every attempthas been made to make this ebook as complete, and accurate as possible. Thise-book is current as of to the publishing date. Therefore, this ebook should be usedas a guide. The purpose of this ebook is to educate. The author and publisher shallhave neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to anyloss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by this ebook.

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Table of Contents

Introduction ......................................................................................2

Why You Need a Budget..................................................................4

Money Saving Tips We Ignore.........................................................6

Make Money from those Old Electronics.......................................8

Practical Home Saving Tips ..........................................................10

Conclusion.......................................................................................12

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Introduction

In today’s economy, more and more people are seeking out ways to save money.Whether it is your car, your home, or just your every-day living and spendinghabits, there are always real ways to conserve on cash. You can always findthe most current and tested ways to save money and be frugal at The FrugalSoldier. It has been documented that the average adult in the United States hasseveral thousands of dollars worth of credit card debt. Combined with monthly carpayments, rent or mortgage payments, and other obligations, it can make day-to-day living tough and even depressing at times. Fortunately, there are ways youcan save money that may seem small but can really add up over time. Beingvigilant about spending money can do wonders for your wallet. Following a few tipscontained within this guide can mean more money in your wallet at the end of eachmonth.

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I: Why You Need a Budget

First and foremost, in order to save money you must establish a budget. Gettingoff of the financial rollercoaster and establishing long term financial stability canseem like a daunting task. In reality, setting up a budget through the utilization ofbudgeting tools can help you see how much money you’re bringing in, how muchyou are spending, and how much you can save. Whether you are planning for biglife events such as retirement or college, or simply saving money for a rainy day,establishing a budget is essential to reaching your financial goals.

Budgeting Tools Really Do Help

The “You Need a Budget” tool is a great place to start. “You Need a Budget”is a program available for your desktop and features apps compatible with youriPhone or Android device. The You Need a Budget program allows you to input yourincome and track your spending, giving you a clear and accurate picture of whatyou are, or are not, actually saving. People tend to underestimate how much theyare spending each month, but with You Need a Budget’s “living budget” concept,everything that you input into the program adds to its accuracy. You can input datastraight from the checkout line! Tracking your monthly expenses has never beeneasier.

The Tool Has a New Way of Thinking

“You Need a Budget” works off of the premise that each dollar you earn has apurpose, and once you assign that dollar amount a task, you stick to it. It’s anew and different way of thinking about money. You Need a Budget’s goal is toget your money to use your money wisely. By allowing the user to look at theirmoney in smaller, task-based increments, the program aims to help you makebetter decisions when it comes to spending.

The Greatest Things about the Tool

One of the greatest things about “You Need a Budget” is that the budgeting toolpresents its concepts in a straightforward, guilt free way. It allows for overspendingby allowing the user to adjust their budget because the developers understand thatno one is perfect, and if this happens to be your first venture into the world of

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budgeting and finance, they don’t want, or intend, for you to feel bad about a fewbumps in the road. They encourage you to adjust course and stick to it.

Free Webinars Are Provided

An additional feature of the “You Need a Budget” tool is that the company providesfree webinars to help you learn to use the program and get the most out of it. Theforum allows new users to ask questions and interact with others who have usedthe program successfully. Each of the instructors is an expert on the You Needa Budget program and has personally used the tool to better their own financialsituation. Each webinar is an hour long and classes are offered on a regular basis.The company also offers webinars on credit card management, improving workflow,and dealing with different pay cycles all within the You Need a Budget program.

You Need a Budget is a convenient and reliable way to track your spending in realtime, giving you the most accurate picture of your overall financial situation.

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II: Money Saving Tips We Sometimes Ignore

Have you heard the quote “you don’t have to die in order to make a living”? I ama firm believer of that! I am a retired soldier and I plan to stand and fight this debtrevolution every step of the way by educating myself and others on the little things.Financially speaking, we can live a very happy and full life by tweaking how wethink about money and being mindful of the little things that can over time build ourwealth. Here are a few money saving tips that we sometimes easily overlook.

TRACK YOUR SPENDING:

Track your spending by using a debit card and a good budget software tool. AsI mentioned earlier, the tool we use and found to be the most effective is YNAB.Here is a special discount code. You also want to take a good look at your bankstatement for the month. I have found countless fraudulent charges more timesthan I care to say by taking the time to check my bank statement. I am findingthat as our lives get busier and busier we seem to forego thoroughly reviewing ourbank statements. This is truly a mistake especially in a world filled with hackers andothers awaiting the opportunity to defraud us. Be diligent and start checking yourbank account consistently.

DEBT:

Pay your monthly bills on time and avoid costly late fees. There was a recent articleat Creditcards.com that discussed this topic and it was even surprising to mejust how outrageous late fees are these days. Along with paying your bills on timeit is imperative that you review your credit score and make sure the informationis accurate. Having inaccurate information could cost you more in interest. Try toeliminate your credit card debt altogether or transfer any high balances to a 0%interest credit card. You can find a lot of deals on this at Nerd Wallet. A Quick Tip –Credit card companies are very aggressive when it comes to getting your business,so use this to your advantage.

INCIDENTAL AND HOUSEHOLD EXPENSES:

Do you buy bottled water? I suggest you stop if you do. More than anything you arepaying for the convenience. At an average cost of $1.50 per bottle and lets’ say you

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drink an average of 20 bottles of water in a week; you would have spent an averageof $1560 annually. That is a lot of moolah! Use a water bottle and fill it at home fromthe tap. Not only save on your pocket book but save the landfills as well.

Use power strips to plug in your printers, DVD players, and stereos. You can saveup to $50 a year if you take the time to power off the strip when you aren’t usingthese. It is simple to do and saves you money.

Your clothes dryer is the second most energy swiping appliance behind yourrefrigerator. Hang up your clothes instead when you can. The upside is your clotheswon’t shrink and look worn out by using the dryer. I can’t tell you how many timesas a single man I have messed up my clothing by allowing it to stay in the dryer toolong.

Bundle your phone, internet and cable bills. It goes without saying in this modernage, but you would be surprised how many family members have 2 to 3 differentcell phone plans while living under the same roof. This is a great way to save moneyand it averages on saving you anywhere from $100-500 a year. Save money andlower the number of bills you get ever month all in one.

Avoid the daily coffee runs and the convenient store snacks. Lets’ say for exampleyou spend an average of $27.40 a day on incidentals this adds up to spending anastounding $10,000 a year. That number may be a little high for some and even abit low for others, but you get the point. This alone should have you taking noticejust how much money you actually waste in a day and even a year. I could use$10,000 right now, how about you?

You should attempt to use coupons, online coupon codes, and in store rebatecoupon cards. A great place that even offers money back that I use all the time isEbates.com. Coupons are also a very good way to save on your grocery bill andeven your retail shopping sprees. My rule of thumb is why I need to pay full pricewhen I can get it at a discount.

I encourage you to take these helpful tips and try to implement them into youreveryday life. As we get caught up in our busy lives, we can easily forget some ofthese small money saving tips. If we add up all of the ways we can save money,we quickly see that we can add an easy few hundred to a few thousand dollars to

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our net worth each and every year. What are some of your money saving tips thatseem to work effectively for you?

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III: Make Money From Those Old Electronics:

Let me ask you, how many of your electronics are just lying around the house andof no use to you? I must admit I love my electronics. I am no geek, but when a newcell phone comes out it does excite me a little, what about you?

Who Wants My Old Electronic Devices?

1. Amazon is a great resource. They actually have a trade-in program and it offerscredit for the return of your electronic devices.

• Tip: Amazon will require you to provide them with an accurate descriptionof your electronic device. Once you do that they will give you an offer. Ifyou accept their offer you then mail Amazon your electronic device and theyeven pay for the shipping. Once your electronic device reaches them and isinspected by their staff, you will receive an Amazon gift card. How awesomeis that!

2. Another great option is Nextworth.com. They are not as well-known as Amazonthey offer a great service as well with even more additional payment options.Nextworth offers you to receive your payment for your electronic device by check,through paypal, or even a Target gift card.

• Tip: If you have a local Target store near you, you do not even have to gothrough the hassle of mailing your electronic device. You can drop it off andreceive a gift card from Target that very same day.

3. An option that most of us are familiar with due to its popularity is eBay. A greatthing about eBay is that your device does not even have to work, they still willaccept it. You can also choose to receive your money through paypal by using theeBay. It takes about 5 business days to receive your money. You can also requesta free paypal debit card through paypal and get your money even faster.

4. Of course an obvious option is to sell your electronic device directly. You can selldirectly to another individual online and probably get more money this way. Usuallywhen you sell to a business they have to resell it and make a profit so you mostlikely won’t always get a better price than if you sold it to an individual.

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There are a lot of other websites as well that want your old electronic devices. Ofall of the options probably the most well know is gazelle.com.

Here are some tips to consider so you can get the best price for your oldelectronics:

1. Once you buy a new item sell your old electronics right away. The longer youwait you risk the chance of receiving less money because your device may not beof use to anyone if it is obsolete.

2. Don’t throw away any of the accessories that came with your electronic device. Ifyou can return the accessories as well to include the charger, instructions and eventhe box that the device was purchased in, you up your chances of receiving moremoney.

3. When you buy electronics always try to by name-brand. Did you know that name-brand items hold way more value than do generic brand. You are destined to get ridof your electronic device eventually, so why not put yourself in a position to receivemoney after you upgrade.

One last and most important cost saving idea that I would like to give you is toremember to remove all of your personal information before you ship your item off.Leaving your old information on your device can be a critical cost saving mistake.You do not want to have to worry about someone else having access to your mostprivate information.

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IV: Practical Home-Saving Tips:

With money being tight for almost every American these days it is definitelynecessary to always learn new money saving tips to fatten your budget. You mayneed to save money for any number of things. Here are some tips for you to putback plenty if you practice consistently.

Put Your Spare Change in an Unused Jar

When I was in the military I use to do this for an entire year before I would cash it in.Each time I had saved well over $1,000. It is really important to be consistent withit and not give your spare change to your spouse or children. This may seem like asmall thing to do, but if you put change in there at every opportunity by the end ofthe year you will have enough saved to start a very nice emergency fund.

Switch Those Lights Off

Save money on power by always switching off the lights when you leave the room.Keeping the TV off as much as possible can be beneficial for more than one reason.Power saving is the first, but as for the second, advertisements can guilt you intomaking unnecessary purchases. Those infomercials can be a killer on the budget.There is always something new coming out, something you absolutely need, orsomeone wanting you to apply for credit.

Make a List Before Shopping

Yep, that is what I said. Don’t make the list when you arrive at the store. Make itbefore you go to the store. Buy the local Sunday paper or collect coupons to usewith your list. Make sure that you only purchase the items on your list. This waythere is no purchasing unnecessary items. Make sure you eat before you go to thegrocery store, because from experience if you are hungry you suddenly need everyfood item in arms reach. Too many times I remember leaving the grocery store witha basket of junk.

Quit Those Addictions

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If you smoke, drink, or have another addiction that is costly and do not want to quit,here is an idea that will help you save money, and maybe even give you the pushyou need to quit. Every time you go to the store to purchase a pack of cigarettes,beer, or candy put the exact amount into a jar and see how much you have saved.Then think that if you stop or at least cut out some next month you can save more.I like this little trick and it has worked for me.

Get in the Mood for Some Spring Cleaning

Do a spring cleaning and have a yard sale. There is always something that we havethrown into some part of the house we no longer need. This is a good way to putback some money. Only buy things you need and save for the things you want. Donot max out your credit card to buy the newest gadget. Maxing out a credit card willgive you a higher bill and one less thing to use in case of an emergency. If possiblehide your credit cards from yourself, this way they will get paid off and you are nottempted to use them.

Don’t Go Out to Eat

I don’t mean ever, but I do mean not often. Instead of going out to eat two or threetimes a month consider dropping it down to just once a month. Eating home cookedmeals can also help save a few extra dollars. In the end it is not just one big thingthat helps save you money it is all the little ones. Start at small and when you seeprogress you will be inspired to go big. Comment below on some of your practicalmoney saving tips.

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Conclusion:

Even the small things we often take for granted can add up quickly when it comesto spending money. By looking at what we spend our money on as well as HOWwe spend it, we can better assess how to save cash. These thrifty spending habitsare also good lessons to pass down to our children for the future. By setting agood example and paying attention to the money we spend, future generations willunderstand the value of hard work and of a dollar much better. If we learn how tosave energy and water, we can also contribute to saving the earth and keeping herprecious resources clean.

Just a few simple changes to your lifestyle can add up to hundreds, maybe eventhousands of dollars saved each year. Take that money and put it into a scholarshipfund, or use it to help downsize some of your personal debt. Or, perhaps you cannow save up for that dream vacation you’ve been waiting for. No matter what youdo with the extra money, it will no doubt feel great to know that you’ve been able tosave cash for other expenses or for something more worthwhile.

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