There might come a time in your life when you could do with some extra capital. Maybe you want to start a business, or you fancy taking the kids away for the holiday of a lifetime? Either way, most people think they have to work harder than they do at the moment to build their bank balances. However, in many instances, it’s possible to do that without making too many changes to your routine. Believe it or not, the average family wastes thousands of dollars every single year, and so you just need to stop doing that as soon as possible. The advice below should come in handy.

Transfer the balance from your credit cards

Lots of people take out credit cards and then only make the minimum payment every month. That is fine for the first year because most cards come with 0% interest. However, after twelve months, the provider will often begin to charge interest on the balance, and that’s where folks tend to make mistakes. If you continue to send the minimum amount, you will never make a dent in the debt according to sites like thesimpledollar.com. So, search online for a new credit card that offers 0% on balance transfers. You can then move the money you owe to a different creditor and continue reducing the amount you owe.

Look for a debt consolidation deal

Debt consolidation arrangements have many advantages including:

• Only having to deal with one creditor
• A single affordable monthly payment
• Lots of breathing space

The people behind debtconsolidationprograms.co and other industry leaders claim that a significant percentage of individuals could benefit from a deal of that nature. In most instances, you just have to get in touch with a consolidation expert and explain your situation. They will then take a look at your finances and let you know if they can assist or not.

Use comparison sites to find better contracts

You live in the digital age, and so it makes sense that you should use technology to your advantage. There are many different price comparison websites around today for almost everything. That means you could secure some astonishing savings if you visit the right domains and shop around. People who compare deals online could save a fortune on:

• Home energy
• Home insurance
• Cell phone contracts
• Car insurance
• And more

If you’re not aware of the top comparison domains at the moment, just search Google, and you should discover lots of sites that will help you to reduce your outgoings.

The suggestions made in this article are almost guaranteed to provide you with some extra cash. Now you just have to work out the best ways of spending that money to improve your situation even further. Some people might want to use it to start a business or make investments. Others may choose to pay more than the minimum amount each month and get themselves out of debt a little faster. The decision is down to the individual. Just make sure you don’t waste the money or get yourself deeper into financial trouble.

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Christmas is only a couple of months away, and many people are already way into their Christmas shopping. But the real task is budgeting for your perfect Christmas as well as making sure you enjoy the festive season as much as possible.

Work Out What You Can Afford

Before you start planning all of your decorations, food and gifts for everyone you know, first take the time to sit down and look at what you can realistically afford. Think about it this way- Christmas is only one day a year. You don’t want to splash out on 24 hours and regret it for the next year. Be smart and think about how much expendable income you have saved for the festive season.

Stop Buying Unnecessary Presents

Sure, Christmas is a time for puzzle games and silly gifts; but if you are trying to save up and stay smart with your finances, it’s not really a great idea to buy 10 whoopee cushions for your friends. Stick to presents you know your loved ones will love.

Or, if you really hate the idea of not being able to be a bit fun- give yourself and your friends a small budget to stick to for silly presents. Maybe even arrange a secret santa

$100+ in time for Xmas

Yes, that’s right. You can bag yourself some extra cash for the festive season by simply switching bank accounts. Make the switch and get yourself a nice little bonus to go towards your festivities.

Supermarket Saving Stamps

Supermarket saving stamps schemes are used to help families save up for Christmas throughout the year to cut the bow at the end. However, if you are smart about it you could get an extra 4% bonus on your savings in time for Christmas. If you add in a large amount to the card at once, the supermarket will give you a bonus. So pay in, get your extra cash and spend on all of your winter essentials.

Christmas IOU generator

As many of you will know, during December the price of even the simplest item can sky rocket. However, in contrast the prices drop in January. So if you are trying to save up for something big such as a TV or Games Console, just wait for it. Yes, it might mean that the kids are opening an empty box (or a cheaper gift in the meantime) on Christmas Day, but it will save you a huge amount of money in the long run.

Black Friday

When you think of Black Friday, you may have visions of riots in the street and carnage at the supermarket…you wouldn’t be wrong. But you don’t have to step out into no man’s land this November to bag yourself a bargain. Instead, shop online. Sites such as Amazon run week-long events for Black Friday and chop the prices of products by anything up to 80-90%. If you are waiting for a game or DVD release, hold out for Black Friday because the likelihood is that a deal will come on for it.

Sell Your Old Stuff

Out with the old, in with the new. And money goes straight into your pocket ready for the festive season. We get a lot of things around Christmas, and often it can be difficult to move in a sea of gifts for the week afterwards. Get onto GumTree and sell some of your old things to make room for the new stuff, it’ll also mean a nice financial bonus for the festive season.

Home Or Away?

Although staying at home is the obvious choice for most of us, you don’t have to spend Christmas in your house using up all of your own electricity and water. Why not club together as a whole family and rent a lovely cottage or apartment from a site such as Meriton? It will be exciting for the whole family and means that you all club together for a great holiday and amazing memories.

Avoid Expensive Turkey

Now, of course turkey is the star of the show for your Christmas Dinner, but to be honest, you don’t need to splash out for the most expensive brand to get a good quality bird. Try swapping out your usual choice for a lower brand option, you probably won’t even notice the difference!

And there is another option… you could eat a different meat.

‘That’s sacrilege!’ you say- but it is well known that stores will hike up the price of turkey through the winter months because they know people are willing to pay for it. But actually, not everyone likes turkey, and a great alternative would be a beautiful joint of roast beef.

Consider the Risk of Gift Cards

You might think that getting someone you don’t know very well a gift card is much better than buying them a gift that they won’t like, and that can be the case. However, sometimes there can be a few risks with opting for a gift card over money.

• Big Retailers can go under. It’s happened before, and it could happen again. When a retailer declares bankruptcy, they will stop accepting gift cards as payment.

• Expiry Dates – always check that there is a good amount of time for the recipient to use the card.

Kids Don’t Care

If you have children, you’ll know that you could buy them the most expensive and elaborate toy for Christmas and they will still play with the box. Children don’t care how much you’ve spent on decorations, how many presents they have in front of them or whether you’ve bought a budget turkey. For kids, it’s the magic of Christmas and the thought of Santa visiting which makes it special.

So save up your cash for a rainy day and keep it simple. Put out a cookie and a carrot for Santa and his reindeer, read them a bedtime story and sleep safe in the knowledge that you can have a perfect family Christmas without spending all of your savings.

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Despite all their partying and endless nights of fun, college kids actually have it rough – financially speaking, anyway. It’s a tough period as students have a lot to pay for, and not a lot of money to pay for these things.

As such, if you’re a student, here’s some of the best financial advice you’ll ever read:

Make As Much Money As You Can

The grind never stops – or at least it shouldn’t stop – during your college years. Any opportunity you have to make money, take it! You will need money now more than any other time in your life. If you’re earning while in college, you can start paying off some of your student loan debt while you study. This lowers your interest rates and means you have less to pay when you graduate. It’s also mentioned on businessinsider.com that the earlier you start to pay, the faster you can pay your debt off. Plus, it’s always handy to have some disposable income for college essentials.

Find a part-time job in the town near where you’re attending college, or look for jobs around campus. Some final year students will often pay other students to take part in research projects or to be test subjects for them. The way I see it, this is basically free money for a student, so you should do it!

Raise Your Credit Score

College is usually a good indicator that life is getting serious and it’s time to do some adult stuff. One of those things is raising your credit score. Do this during college, and you can leave with a very good score that opens your world to many possibilities.

You can raise your score in various ways, but there are two main ways a college student can do this. The first is to use a credit card responsibly to build up your creditworthiness. It’s mentioned on studentcredit.cards that some companies offer credit cards with low-interest rates specially for students. The second thing you can do is avoid going into your overdraft and taking ages to get out of it. This doesn’t make you seem very creditworthy, and your score won’t grow.

Learn How To Budget

I’m going to go out on a limb here and guess that most people haven’t budgeted before they go to college. You don’t really have any need to before then, your parents tend to take care of everything. Now, you’re on your own, and you have expenses to pay, and you want a social life too.

So, you have to learn to budget your money. Do the math, work out how much you have, how much you need to spend, and how much you’ve got left over. The money you need to spend is essential payments you know you have to make, such as your tuition fees and accommodation costs. What you have left over will be split up into food money, toiletry money, and so on. Stick to your budget, and you will make it through college without much financial trouble.

Don’t become one of the many college students that manage their money badly. Work on improving your financial life while you study, as well as setting yourself up for a less stressful financial life after college.

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If you’ve reached the point where you have so many debts that you can simply no longer afford to make even the smallest minimum repayments, don’t worry and don’t bury your head in the sand! For sure, it’s a sticky situation to find yourself in, but if you take action now, you won’t be worried every time the phone rings nor will you need to worry that the repo men will turn up on your door.

Here are some of the best things you can do to sort out your situation when you can no longer afford your debts:

Evaluate Your Finances

Before you do anything else, it’s worth reevaluating your financial situation to make absolutely sure that there is no way you can afford to pay off your debts. If you can, for example, cut cable for a while or redirect some of your salary that usually goes into savings into paying off your debts, it will be worth it because your credit score won’t take a hit.

Call Your Creditors

If you’re confident that your current financial difficulties are only going to be an issue short-term,perhaps because you’ve been hit with an unexpected expenditure or the cost of heating your home has runaway with you, it’s always a good idea to get in touch with your creditors straight away. If you can explain the situation, and make clear that it will resolve itself soon, there is a good chance that they will work with you to come up with a solution that works for both of you.

Consider Debt Consolidation

Debt consolidation, which you can find out more about at debtconsolidation.co, is a great solution for those of you who are struggling to make your monthly repayments simply because they are so high. By consolidating all of your debts into one, if you do it right, the monthly repayments should fall somewhat, and you’ll be able to start tackling your debts once again.

Talk to a Debt Counselor

If things are so tough that you don’t think you’ll be able to make your repayments even with a little extra help, it might be worth taking to a debt counselor, like the ones at moneymanagement.org/, who will be able to analyze your personal financial situation and give you some ideas as to how you can proceed. If you go down this route, you will need to be totally open and honest with your counselor, sharing personal and financial details with them, so that they can really help you, but in the end,it is worth it because they are great at saving people who are drowning in debt and they are pretty good at convincing creditors to give their clients some slack too!

Bankruptcy

If all else fails, you might need to think about filing for bankruptcy, something you can find out more about at uscourts.gov/services, but this should really be a last resort. Don’t file for bankruptcy before thoroughly exploring all your options because you never know what might happen!

When You’re struggling to repay debt, you must act quickly to try and resolve your situation, lest the problem became worse and more difficult to deal with. The steps above will help you with this, so take action now!

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At one point or another, most people have found themselves out of work. Whether it’s because the company that you work for has folded, you’ve lost your job or are on sick leave, being out of work can have a huge impact on your financial health. Whatever the reason that you are out of work, having a small amount of money to live on and no guaranteed monthly income is a daunting and stressful prospect. Luckily for you, we are here to help make the process of living without an income as easy and free of stress as possible. Below are a few handy hacks that should make navigating the financial struggles that come with being out of work easier.

Set a strict budget (and stick to it)

The first, and most important, rule of living when you are out of work is setting a strict budget and sticking to it. The fact is that it’s possible to live on a tiny amount each month, it’s just a case of learning how to be savvy with your funds and not overspend, which is a habit that many of us have got stuck in – spending money when we don’t need to. There are various budgeting apps that can help you to set a budget and ensure it’s stuck to by linking up your bank account to your budgeting list. These apps really are invaluable when it comes to living within your means.

Find alternative solutions for cash flow

Budgeting will help to make living on a small amount easier, but it won’t solve the problem altogether. The fact is that you can’t get by without a livable income, so if you aren’t earning from work, you need to find a way to supplement your income so that you have an alternative cash flow coming in. This could be by doing some freelance work, it could be by taking out a loan from Snappypaydayloans.com, or it could mean selling a few of your old and unwanted items. The fact is that when times are tight, it’s important to ensure that you have an income stream so that you are able to keep on top of your rent/mortgage payments, your bills, and afford food. That is why finding an alternative cash flow solution is so important.

Research what you’re entitled to

Another option, when it comes to making life easier when times are tight, is to research what help you are entitled to. There is always help available from local authorities; it’s just a case of determining what help you are entitled to. If you are on sick leave, you may also be entitled to pay from your place of work, depending on your role, the time you have been there, and what your contract says. Don’t struggle on without looking at the help that is available, take the time to research what you are entitled to and apply for it. There is no shame in taking help when you are struggling, so it’s worth taking the time to research what you are entitled to.

It’s not easy navigating the financial struggles that come with being out of work, but if you take note of the tips above, you can make the process a little easier and a little less stressful for yourself.

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