Showing posts with label finances. Show all posts
Showing posts with label finances. Show all posts

Saturday

MINT FREE BUDGET SOFTWARE ADDS NEW FEATURES TO HELP YOU TRACK DEBT PAYOFF


Mint.com - Take Control of Your Money

Mint my favorite FREE personal finance software, has added 2 more FREE Features to help you with creating financial goals and sticking to your plan!

Goals has been one of the most popular Mint features and now this tool has been refreshed with two new goals: Pay Off Credit Card Debt and Pay Off Loans .

These 2 new goals offer new functionality. All you do is select the credit card or loan to pay off and enter how much you can pay per month. Goals tells you when the debt will be paid off and how much will be saved. As with other goals, these will be tracked and reported on within Mint so you can keep track of your progress.

I thought these 2 new features were awesome and just had to share! For those of you already using MINT, be sure to login and check them out!

I am thankfully DEBT FREE now and partly because of MINT. I still use this FREE Software to track our monthly budget and anylize expenses to the penny!

In one of my last BUDGET CREATION Posts I shared Tips on how to create and stick to a budget and featured the basics of getting started! If you began to take a look at the basics of your household finances - the amount of money coming in and the amount of money going out - then you are on the right track! Using Mint can help you do all of this with ease!

Haven't heard of Mint? Mint is a FREE service that helps you create a budget, track your spending, save money, and make your bank account a LOT easier to manage. Over 1,000,000 people already use Mint's online money management and budgeting software,(I've been using it for over a year!) and it's been featured on almost every morning show, newspaper, and magazine.

What I like most about Mint's FREE Software is that it does it ALL for you! It imports information from my bank account and CATEGORIZES them for me (gas, groceries, etc.) I can manually override if I need, but it does this very well and saves me a lot of time! They are also already setup with most banks and other accts that you likely already have and if you are like me, you have to pay each one separately online, etc. ALL of this can be done and automatically entered into your budget for easy and to the penny tracking! I LOVE this software! It really does do it all for you!

Very quickly becoming the BEST Free Money Management Software, they're adding over 3,000 users every day. Mint is tracking $175 billion in transactions, $47 billion in assets and has identified more than $300 million in potential savings for its users.

If you are serious about management your finances, you need to check it out! A great way to know exactly where every penny goes, keep you accountable and to keep yourself on track with your budget and financial goals!
WendyLittle_FrugalFabulousFinds


Never Miss a Deal! Subscribe to our FREE Newsletter



FrugalFabulousFinds.com is a personal blog written and edited by Wendy Kohn Little. As a full time Blogger, I do selectively accept various forms of compensations such as cash advertising, sponsorship, or paid topic insertions and/or products and other forms of compensation and incentives from companies and organizations. Compensation will never influence the content or posts made in this blog. All advertising is in the form of advertisements generated by a third party ad network. As the owner of this blog, I am sometimes compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. Even though I may receive compensation for posts or advertisements, I always give my honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics or products. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely my own and will NEVER be influenced by any form of compensation.

Wednesday

BUDGET FREEBIES+FREE PERSONAL FINANCE TIPS


It's a new month! Well okay, it's actually the 4th day of the month, so I'm running behind on sitting down to go over my budget goals. But, better late than never! I'll be posting an update on my first 3 monthes of using the envelope system and where we are at with our 2011 financial goals soon.

Here's another super resource for any of you that are like me-I've said before that I'm like a sponge...I really do look forward to reading emails and soaking up all that is offered to me to help balance our home life, manage finances & help to keep me focused on my budget and goals!

LearnVest Daily is an awesome resource providing you with money-saving tips and financial how-tos to enrich your life in all the ways I mentioned above!

They don't spam you, they will send 1 email per day, packed with useful info & tips ! Here's a quick overview of what I got today...

What’s Inside:
Discover the best places to travel on a dime.
Learn tips to help you build your wealth.
Plan the perfect dinner party for under $10 per person
Understand and manage debt
Get beauty tricks for any budget

Receiving this info daily, that I can read whenever I have a free moment is a great way to keep myself focused! I highly recommend it if you are trying to get started with a budget or even if you are a "lifer" who scrutinizes over every penny earned, spent and saved like me! *grin*

CLICK HERE to Signup with LearnVest Daily Financial Tips
WendyLittle_FrugalFabulousFinds


Never Miss a Deal! Subscribe to our FREE Newsletter
Many Freebies & Deals expire so quickly, we post them on Facebook - CLICK HERE to see what you've been missing!
Mint - FREE Budget Personal Finance Help


FrugalFabulousFinds.com is a personal blog written and edited by Wendy Kohn Little. As a full time Blogger, I do selectively accept various forms of compensations such as cash advertising, sponsorship, or paid topic insertions and/or products and other forms of compensation and incentives from companies and organizations. Compensation will never influence the content or posts made in this blog. All advertising is in the form of advertisements generated by a third party ad network. As the owner of this blog, I am sometimes compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. Even though I may receive compensation for posts or advertisements, I always give my honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics or products. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely my own and will NEVER be influenced by any form of compensation.

FREE CREDIT SCORE-NO CREDIT CARD REQUIRED-YES, REALLY FREE!


I posted on Facebook about this yesterday and so many of our fans & readers were not aware that there really is an absolutely FREE site to get your Credit Score. It's NOT a free trial, they won't ask for your credit card info and there are no hidden fees, renewals and all the other hoopla that the "Free Credit Score" offers have become known for.

I've used Credit Karma for quite awhile now. I started using it when I was nearing the final payoff phase of my 10+ year self created, Mountain of Debt.

What I observed is that instead of charging you a fee, as all the other websites do, they will run unobtrusive ads (banners) directly on their site for financial institutions, credit cards and other personal finance services in order to compensate and be able to offer Credit Scores Legitimately and completely FREE to consumers.

Wikipedia had this to say about how Credit Karma is able to provide Credit Scores absolutely Free to consumers:

"Credit Karma's business model involves targeted advertising, similar to many other websites. Revenue from these advertisements offsets the costs of free credit score tracking for Credit Karma members so the service is free to consumers. Credit Karma keeps users’ personal information private and does not store personal sensitive account information on its site."

So, yes, You really do get your 100% free credit score instantly, securely, and safely, direct from the credit bureaus.

Your scores are retrieved securely with no hidden fees. You can use the free "credit report card" to learn more about your credit report and score. You can also compare individual credit report categories to national averages and see how various items on your credit report affect your credit score. Plus, it's REALLY IS completely free! Have I emphasized that enough? hehehe

1. Access to your FREE Credit Score anytime
2. Exclusive offers based on your score
3. Tools to track your credit score
4. Valuable credit and finance content
5. Calculate and research to find best rates
6. Community feedback on offers & partners

If you're like me and keep a check on this often, you definately want to SIGNUP at CREDIT KARMA and try it out for yourself.

With other sites, I've taken advantage of the "Free Trial" offers just to get mine in the past, only to find I'm billed an outrageous amount later as a "renewal" because I forgot to cancel. I'm soooo sick of those type of deceiving offers !

There is NO WORRY about that with Credit Karma! You will not be asked for any Credit Card info !

Signup HERE and make sure you check your email inbox and spam folder to confirm your account!
WendyLittle_FrugalFabulousFinds

Never Miss a Deal! Subscribe to our FREE Newsletter
Many Freebies & Deals expire so quickly, we post them on Facebook - CLICK HERE to see what you've been missing!




FrugalFabulousFinds.com is a personal blog written and edited by Wendy Kohn Little. As a full time Blogger, I do selectively accept various forms of compensations such as cash advertising, sponsorship, or paid topic insertions and/or products and other forms of compensation and incentives from companies and organizations. Compensation will never influence the content or posts made in this blog. All advertising is in the form of advertisements generated by a third party ad network. As the owner of this blog, I am sometimes compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. Even though I may receive compensation for posts or advertisements, I always give my honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics or products. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely my own and will NEVER be influenced by any form of compensation.

LEARNVEST DAILY FINANCIAL TIPS-GET FOCUSED ON YOUR PLANS+GOALS !


Here's another super resource for any of you that are like me-I've said before that I'm like a sponge...I really do look forward to reading emails and soaking up all that is offered to me to help balance our home life, manage finances & help to keep me focused on my budget and goals!

LearnVest Daily is an awesome resource providing you with money-saving tips and financial how-tos to enrich your life in all the ways I mentioned above!

They don't spam you, they will send 1 email per day, packed with useful info & tips ! Here's a quick overview of what I got today...

What’s Inside:
Discover the best places to travel on a dime.
Learn tips to help you build your wealth.
Plan the perfect dinner party for under $10 per person
Understand and manage debt
Get beauty tricks for any budget

Receiving this info daily, that I can read whenever I have a free moment is a great way to keep myself focused! I highly recommend it if you are trying to get started with a budget or even if you are a "lifer" who scrutinizes over every penny earned, spent and saved like me! *grin*

CLICK HERE to Signup with LearnVest Daily Financial Tips
WendyLittle_FrugalFabulousFinds


Never Miss a Deal! Subscribe to our FREE Newsletter
Many Freebies & Deals expire so quickly, we post them on Facebook - CLICK HERE to see what you've been missing!


FrugalFabulousFinds.com is a personal blog written and edited by Wendy Kohn Little. As a full time Blogger, I do selectively accept various forms of compensations such as cash advertising, sponsorship, or paid topic insertions and/or products and other forms of compensation and incentives from companies and organizations. Compensation will never influence the content or posts made in this blog. All advertising is in the form of advertisements generated by a third party ad network. As the owner of this blog, I am sometimes compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. Even though I may receive compensation for posts or advertisements, I always give my honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics or products. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely my own and will NEVER be influenced by any form of compensation.

Tuesday

APRIL UPROMISE COUPONS+HOW TO SAVE MORE WHILE YOU SHOP!

Upromise COUPONS FOR APRIL

Upromise is an awesome a way to save money for college while doing what you already have to do - shop! There are several virtually effortless ways you can save money for college by using Upromise. The easiest way is to use their eCoupons. Basically the coupon does not give you money off your order, but puts the coupon amount into a savings account for college.

Upromise loads the eCoupons to your shoppers card. Many of the grocery stores and CVS have worked with Upromise for quite awhile now. Rite Aid was recently added since they now have the Wellness+ card. You know I'm excited about that!

If you haven't signed up for Upromise yet, it's a definate Frugal Finance tip. Just signup, register your store's cards and watch it add up!

Don't forget to invite your family members to add their cards as well so you can save while they shop, too!

How to load eCoupons:

Register with Upromise (It’s free!) or Login to your account
Click on My Account
  • Under "Profile" on the left side of the page, click on "Add Grocery Cards"
  • Enter your zipcode to find participating stores near you or the zip of the stores you shop at often
  • Enter your store savings card number and submit.

    Once you've done that, look to the top of the page - you will see “Coupons & Deals”.
    Under that tab you will see “Gorcery eCoupons”.
  • Simply Select the coupons you want & then activate those coupons.

    The next time you shop and buy those products, scan your store shoppers card and the coupon amount will be credited to your Upromise account!

    This is an easy way to save extra money for college. Since this is not a paper coupon, you can still use/stack your other coupons on those same items!

    CLICK HERE to Signup or Login to Upromise and start saving today!

    Here’s a list of the e-coupons available to load for APRIL :

    $0.50/1 Bounty Paper Towels 6ct or larger
    $1/1 Charmin Mega Roll
    $0.50/1 Bounty Napkins
    $1/1 Charmin Basic
    $1/1 Weight Watchers® Frozen Novelty
    $1/1 Charmin Freshmates
    $0.50/2 Puffs Plus with Lotion
    $0.50/2 Puffs Plus with Vicks
    $0.50/2 Puffs Ultra Soft & Strong
    $0.35/1 Sister Schubert’s Frozen Item
    $1/2 Snyder’s of Hanover 6 oz or larger
    $0.40/1 NO YOLKS
    $0.40/1 WACKY MAC Veggie Pasta
    $0.40/1 WACKY MAC & Cheese Dinner
    $0.25/1 New York Croutons and Toppings
    $0.25/1 New York Frozen Bread
    $0.35/1 Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt
    $0.35/1 Diamond Crystal Salt Sense
    $0.50/1 Heinz Cocktail Sauce
    $0.50/1 Fisher Snack Almonds, Cashews, Mixed Nuts and Pecans
    $1/1 Heinz White Vinegar or Heinz Cider Vinegar
    $1/1 Fisher Chef’s Naturals Baking Nuts 4oz or larger
    $1/1 Farmland Fully Cooked Bacon
    $0.55/1 Farmland Breakfast Links or Roll Sausage
    $0.55/1 Fisher Culinary Touch Cooking and Baking Nut Blend
    $0.55/1 Fisher Fusion Snack Mixes
    $0.55/1 Diamond Crystal Sea Salt
    $0.35/1 Marzetti Dressing
    $0.55/1 Farmland Sliced Bacon
    $1/1 Farmland Seasoned Pork
    $0.55/1 Farmland Cubed, Diced or Julienne Ham or Turkey
    $1/1 Farmland Fully Cooked Breakfast Links or Patties
    $0.50/1 Diamond Crystal Water Softener Salt
    $0.50/1 Krazy Glue
    $0.50/1 Elmer’s School Glue, Glue-All or Glue Sticks
    $0.50/1 Elmer’s Project Popperz
    $1/1 BIC® Flex 4® Shaver
    $1.50/1 BIC® Hybrid Advance® Shave
    WendyLittle_FrugalFabulousFinds
    Cellfire


    Never Miss a Deal! Subscribe to our FREE Newsletter
    Many Freebies & Deals expire so quickly, we post them on Facebook - CLICK HERE to see what you've been missing!


    FrugalFabulousFinds.com is a personal blog written and edited by Wendy Kohn Little. As a full time Blogger, I do selectively accept various forms of compensations such as cash advertising, sponsorship, or paid topic insertions and/or products and other forms of compensation and incentives from companies and organizations. Compensation will never influence the content or posts made in this blog. All advertising is in the form of advertisements generated by a third party ad network. As the owner of this blog, I am sometimes compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. Even though I may receive compensation for posts or advertisements, I always give my honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics or products. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely my own and will NEVER be influenced by any form of compensation.
  • Friday

    CASH BACK DEBIT CARD+CHECKING ACCOUNT REWARDS PROGRAMS


    OK, so I've been sitting on this find for a little while now! I had to test it out to make sure it was worth it and I'm ecstatic to report my findings to you all!

    What is better than CASH BACK? The only thing better is CASH BACK for things you are doing anyways! Like shopping at the grocery store, getting gas (ugh...esp. with the prices now!) or even paying a bill.

    Yes, that's right! I've seen banks offer Cash Back on Debit Card Purchases or Rewards on Checking Accounts, but they are usually limited to "High End" account holders, as are most "Perks" of this type.

    Not Anymore!

    I've made a beautiful discovery and though I was hesitant to switch around banks, etc. it has rewarded me well for the small effort !

    PerkStreet Financial is an online bank that offers a lot of PERKS you really won’t find anywhere else.

    In this day and age, there are a wide variety of places that you can put your money, including a huge number of online banks. PerkStreet does a great job of setting themselves apart from most other online banking websites.

    Most debit cards do not even have a reward program. PerkStreet does and it really is quite unique.

    Here's a breakdown for you...imagine earning 2% CASH BACK on every time you use your debit card!

    You will earn 2% cash back for all non-PIN debit card purchases you make for the first 3 months, starting on the day that your account is opened. There is no limit to the total amount you can earn.

    After the first 3 months, you'll earn 2% cash back for all non-PIN debit card purchases if your balance is over $5,000 at the start of the day OR 1% cash back on all non-PIN debit card purchases if it is below $5,000.

    You can choose to earn coffee or music perks instead of cash back perks and those add up quickly as well! You can switch perks programs at any time with no penalty.

    In addition you can earn 5% cash back when shopping at certain retailers. They announce the retailers and associated time periods for earning 5% cash back at those retailers via Twitter (@perkstreet), their Facebook page or other company communications.

    I knew I was in for the Cash Back Debit Card the minute I saw it! I had to test it out before I reported to you all, and I'm here to say that if you use your debit card often, you will LOVE getting 2% CASH BACK !

    The PerkStreet checking account is basicly FREE. Here are the high points of what it has to offer:

    •$25 to open the account
    •No minimum balance
    •Free checks
    •No monthly fees, when you use your account
    •Free online banking and bill pay
    •Nation’s largest “free” ATM network
    •24/7 customer support, live and fast
    •Unique debit card offering 1-2% cash back, or free coffee or music
    •Sign up takes five minutes
    •Fraud protection

    Their ATM network has over 37,000 branches, which they state is the largest in the country. They also offer free overnight delivery if you deposit money through the mail at UPS and Mailboxes Etc. locations.

    If you've thought about changing banks or want to start getting cash back for purchases you are already making daily, I highly recommend PerkStreet Financial.

    CLICK HERE to visit PerkStreet Financial and see for yourself!
    WendyLittle_FrugalFabulousFinds
    Many Freebies & Deals expire so quickly, we post them on Facebook - CLICK HERE to see what you've been missing!



    FrugalFabulousFinds.com is a personal blog written and edited by Wendy Kohn Little. As a full time Blogger, I do selectively accept various forms of compensations such as cash advertising, sponsorship, or paid topic insertions and/or products and other forms of compensation and incentives from companies and organizations. Compensation will never influence the content or posts made in this blog. All advertising is in the form of advertisements generated by a third party ad network. As the owner of this blog, I am sometimes compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. Even though I may receive compensation for posts or advertisements, I always give my honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics or products. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely my own and will NEVER be influenced by any form of compensation.

    Wednesday

    ENVELOPE SYSTEM BUDGET UPDATE-MONTH 2 ACCOUNTABILITY


    My main goal for 2011 was to get a lot stricter with spending in our household and really stick to a budget. Now...by BUDGET, I don't mean a loose use of the word, I mean a strict list of the amount of money that can be spent in set categories, ON PAPER and tracked with each and every dollar we spend. It's one thing create one and entirely another to ACTUALLY DO IT !

    I've written before about the Envelope System, which I still feel is the best way to get total control over your finances. I started in January by first making the commitment and then getting my system setup.

    Here's a quick rundown of getting setup:
  • CHOOSE A BINDER SYSTEM/ORGANIZER - I used my OfficeMax Perks Rewards (from recycling printer ink) and purchased a Home Finances DayRunner Binder ($0 cost to me w/rewards) This one works well because each month has it's own pockets to store those bills & receipts, as well as room for notes.
  • ACQUIRE ENVELOPES for Spending Categories - You can grab these at a Dollar Store. Whatever size/type you like - no need to get fancy unless you want to.
  • Pen, Extra Paper & Calculator to keep with your system - should fit neatly into your Binder/Organizer - this just helps to keep everything together so you are focused when you pull it out!

    Once you have your system setup it's on to the bigger tasks!

    The first step is to Establish your actual Income & Expense Categories.

    This FREE ONLINE CALCULATOR from Crown Financial Ministries is a life saver! If you are meticulous and input exactly the amount of income you are working with, you can see what you SHOULD be spending in each category (Housing, Food, Insurance, etc.)

    Once you have the exact income entered, I recommend PRINTING it out to use as a guide. I adjusted the pre-set categories to meet our needs. I found it very easy to use their recommendations for the suggested % of spending based on income and tweak it to customize for our family.

    Whenever you have calculated your own categories & expenses, you are ready to create your Envelopes.

    On the front of each envelope, write the Category (i.e., housing) AND the amount you have alotted to spend in that category based on the calculator above.

    As the bills come in during the month, I write their amount on the envelope for that category. Same goes for other spending such as eating out, emergencies, etc. Once those amounts meet the amount specified on the front of the envelope, THAT'S IT ! You have to choose to either take money from another category (causing a shortage there instead) or you just can't spend anymore on the category for the remainder of the month.

    Now - this is easy when you reach a limit for something non-essential such as eating out. What about an unavoidable increase in a category?
    EXAMPLE:
    This month we have gone $77.63 OVER what was budgeted for HOUSING. For us, Housing expenses only include our house payment, power bill and water bill. For some reason, our water bill was $77.63 higher than usual, so we are OVER BUDGET

    Because I know that I can Coupon & decrease spending on groceries, I chose to take that $77.63 from the Groceries Category and adjust the spending in that category. This way we stay on budget for the month and don't pull that amount from saving or other categories I feel are more important.

    As you see, you can always adjust as you need. The point is to track your spending and also be able to see it all on paper. The full amounts of what is coming in and what is going out.

    Before I did this, I knew that we should have EXTRA money leftover every month, but somehow we never did. This made it very clear to me and gave me even more incentive to stick to the budget, so that we can achieve our savings goals.

    I hope that breaking down the envelope system in a little greater detail helps some of you! It is very empowering to know you really are in total control & awareness to the penny !

    I'll be updating about my new budget & use of the envelope system as well as my savings goals each month. No matter how much/little income you have or how much debt/bills you have, the most important decision you can make is to put it on paper and create a plan and set goals.
    WendyLittle_FrugalFabulousFinds
    Many Freebies & Deals expire so quickly, we post them on Facebook - CLICK HERE to see what you've been missing!

    Mint.com - Take Control of Your Money
  • Sunday

    FINANCIAL GOALS FOR 2011-MY PERSONAL LIST-HAVE YOU MADE YOURS?


    I'm a firm believer that it's not always enough just to think about something or plan it in our own mind. Putting Goals down on paper in writing makes me more accountable and helps to keep me focused. If I fall completely off track, it's also a great reminder!

    With that said, I'm sharing My Financial Goals for 2011 and plan to update whenever I cross something off my list! That should help me be even more accountable!

    For anyone that has not read my previous personal finance posts, it might be helpful to know that I have finally paid off all unsecured debt ( NO CREDIT CARDS OR LOANS!) and we pay cash for everything. The only remainder of debt I have is our car payment, which I would really like to pay off this year.
    "...the borrower is servant to the lender" ~Proverbs 22:7

    You can make & acheive financial goals no matter how big or small or where you are at in your finances - whether you are living beyond your means in debt, have lost your jobor what have you. The point is to focus on making your money work FOR you instead of just working FOR your money. The end result of that is a freedom like no other !

    It may also be helpful for me to share that my husbands company closed in January 2010 and he is still out of work. We are living on unemployment income and my online income...if that's not encouragement for you, I don't know what is!

    2011 FINANCIAL TO DO LIST

    #1 - Pay cash for a new set of mattresses - The King size mattress on our bed was purchased in 1993-back when I was a credit card queen and "charged" nearly $2800 for the luxe pillowtop set. It is beyond replacement time and I would like to downgrade to a Queen size to make more room and lower the cost of sheets & bedding.

    **COMPLETED IN MAY#2 - Get 1 month ahead on our house payment - It is due the 5th of each month and since most of my income is paid to me on a monthly basis around the 10th of each month, we need to be sitting on a full month's payment in savings to avoid paying a $30 late fee each month...just because we are waiting on my paychecks. (How crazy is that? Yes...even I have frugal fails!)

    **Paid CASH for my Suburban in MARCH#3 - Sell my car-last portion of debt I have-part 1 of my NO MORE CAR PAYMENT Goal - Pay cash for a dependable used vehicle

    #4 - Double my online income overall - I have so many resources for income online (see my extra money makers & WAHM posts) and would like to double it this year. To do this I have started making a weekly schedule with more detailed areas of focus for each day. In order to double my income for the year, I have broken it down into a daily amount that I need to focus on, to make it easier to achieve.

    #5 - Hubby to secure a better job - He had worked for his company for 9 years when they closed in Jan. 2010. Unemployment income (as many of you know) is quite lower and caused us to exhaust savings and be back to a month to month basis with bills. We are praying he finds work soon, but planning for the worst and only counting on our current income level to meet these goals.

    Have you made a Financial Goal list or plan for 2011 ? Would love to hear some of your goals!

    I also highly recommend reading my BUDGET CREATION Posts and also my 2 favorite resources to help you track your spending and stay focused:
    MINT: FREE Money Management Software
    DAILY WORTH: FREE Personal Finance Tips & Advice for Women
    WendyLittle_FrugalFabulousFinds
    Many Freebies & Deals expire so quickly, we post them on Facebook - CLICK HERE to see what you've been missing!

    Saturday

    FILE TAXES ONLINE FREE+REFUND IN 8 DAYS+MONEY SAVING OPTIONS FOR COMPLEX RETURNS


    It's that time again! We call it "TAX TIME" twice a year...you either look forward to it in January or you dread it in April or October! January is most usually for those that will be getting a REFUND and is therefore greatly anticipated by many! We won't even touch on the dread of those that aren't so lucky and wait until later in the year.

    Tax preparation can be overwhelming no matter how simple or complex. If all the forms seem mind boggling and you want to save yourself some money this year, HELP IS HERE !

    I've been using TurboTax for the past 10+ years to file my taxes online. My own tax returns have always been a bit more complex because I itemize and have always had some sort of home based business, as well as a land based company for several years. No matter how complex, TurboTax has always made it very simple to file my return online. It really does just walk you through it!

    Very early when I was first married, we used a local tax service and I still cringe at the amount of money we literally gave him every year to do what we now know is very simple. We were charged a "Bookkeeping Fee", Filing Fees and if you were getting a refund and wanted to get it quickly, a HUGE amount was charged for that.

    Don't even get me started on the fine print of getting your own money back from a tax service. "RAL" = Refund Anticipation LOAN and all I can say without writing a book on it is that you should not give your money away so that you can get your money a day or so faster. You waited an entire year to get it...is it really worth hundreds of dollars to get it 1 or 2 days faster?

    You can Prepare, File & Print your Taxes Online with TurboTax and save yourself quite a bit of money. Here's just a few highlights, if you're new to TurboTax.


  • Easy Questions, Tailored to You — They ask questions in plain English and then put your answers on the right forms for you. TurboTax skips interview questions that don’t apply to you, so you can finish your return faster.

  • Get Your Biggest Possible Refund, Guaranteed — They guarantee TurboTax Online will get you your biggest refund possible

  • Continue at Your Own Pace — Save your progress. Do your taxes at your own pace, at any time of day. You can even skip around in your free tax return.

  • No Risk — Try it without creating a user ID. Save your info when you want to.

    You have absolutely nothing to lose by checking this out for yourself. Get started for FREE Right now!

    CLICK HERE to see how easy TurboTax really is - You could have your Refund in as little as 8 DAYS !

    Prepare, print and e-file your simple return with TurboTax® Federal Free Edition!

    TurboTax - Do your Taxes for Free - It's Easy


    I'll be posting some filing tips and some reader submitted Q & A's, especially for those that have a home based business and/or online income. Stay tuned!
    WendyLittle_FrugalFabulousFindsTurboTax

    Many Freebies & Deals expire so quickly, we post them on Facebook
    CLICK HERE to see what you've been missing!
  • Tuesday

    REDUCE YOUR AUTO INSURANCE COST-BUDGET CUT TIPS FOR 2011


    With the New Year and new financial goals, I cannot recommend strongly enough that you break down every single cost and do price comparisons. Part of staying on a Budget is making sure you're getting the best deal possible on all your recurring expenses. I've found that one of the quickest ways to reduce expenses is to keep a check on auto insurance rates. It's one of those expenses that I call a "necessary evil". We have to have it and there is no way around it! But we can choose to stay on top of the cost and make sure we are paying as little as possible for it!

    You can also make sure you have selected the right amounts of coverage. One *insiders secret* that I never knew about was insuring my vehicle for use as a "Pleasure" vehicle, since I do not commute to a real world job on a daily basis. This alone can drastically reduce your rate! We also choose to opt for higher deductibles and NONE of the bells & whistle coverages like Medical Payments,etc. My husbands vehicle is paid for and is a 1995 model, so we only keep liability insurance on it. The cost to insure it for collision outweighs the cost for us to replace it in the long run.

    There are way too many companies that want our business and we can reap the benefits of that just by staying on top of our car insurance rates.

    Experts recommend you check your coverage rates at least once a year. If you've had the same insurance since you started driving, you're likely be paying WAY more than you should. If you've been with your current company for longer than a year, you are also highly likely to be paying WAY more than you should be!

    I've found that the best way to compare rates is to do it one shot, and I prefer to do it online. Choose a company that will get quotes for you from various insurance agencies.

    2 websites that I've found and used to simplify this process are 2 Insure 4 Less and 21st Century Insurance. With either of these, you get quotes from some of the top companies (Geico, Farmers, AARP, and many others) all through one single inquiry. And it really does not take much time! Within an hour or so, you could be saving yourself hundreds over the next year!

    You'll be asked to fill out an insurance quote with your vehicle information, driving history, name, and address. You will then receive personalized quotes from each company over the next couple days. I got a quote from a local agency and was even able to negotiate the rate via email...which likely would not have happened if I'd have gone into their office to get a quote. It never hurts to ask!

    Have you reviewed your auto insurance rates lately?

    CLICK HERE to Compare Quotes via 2Insure4Less You might be pleasantly surprised at how much you can save!
    WendyLittle_FrugalFabulousFinds


    FREE BUDGET HELPS FOR THE NEW YEAR ! TIPSTER TUESDAY POST


    Mint.com - Take Control of Your Money

    Can you believe 2011 is almost here? With the coming NEW YEAR, it's time to re-evaluate financial goals and plans and possibly take a bit of time to review and amend your budget.

    My Last BUDGET CREATION Post with Tips on how to create and stick to a budget featured the basics of getting started! If you began to take a look at the basics of your household finances - the amount of money coming in and the amount of money going out - then you are on the right track! Now I have another great FREE Tool to get you headed even further down the path to make that process even easier!

    Mint.com is a FREE service that helps you create a budget, track your spending, save money, and make your bank account a LOT easier to manage. Over 1,000,000 people already use Mint's online money management and budgeting software,(I've been using it for over a year!) and it's been featured on almost every morning show, newspaper, and magazine.

    What I like most about Mint's FREE Software is that it does it ALL for you! It imports information from my bank account and CATEGORIZES them for me (gas, groceries, etc.) I can manually override if I need, but it does this very well and saves me a lot of time! They are also already setup with most banks and other accts that you likely already have and if you are like me, you have to pay each one separately online, etc. ALL of this can be done and automatically entered into your budget for easy and to the penny tracking! I LOVE this software! It really does do it all for you!

    Very quickly becoming the BEST Free Money Management Software, they're adding over 3,000 users every day. Mint.com is tracking $175 billion in transactions, $47 billion in assets and has identified more than $300 million in potential savings for its users.

    If you are serious about management your finances, you need to check it out! A great way to know exactly where every penny goes, keep you accountable and to keep yourself on track with your budget and financial goals!
    WendyLittle_FrugalFabulousFinds

    Saturday

    SAVE $ FOR COLLEGE SHOPPING AT GROCERY & DRUG STORES!


    Did you realize you can have money deposited into a savings account for your childrens College Fund, just by shopping at your local Grocery Stores and Drug Stores? This one is a no-brainer, yet so many people are not aware of it!

    Upromise has a wonderful program making it very easy to build a savings account just by registering your stores savings cards and utilizing their eCoupons! Their eCoupons are updated monthly. All you need to do is login, select your coupons and "Activate" them each month. These "Coupons" will load to the store cards that you link up with them and once you purchase that item, the amount of the coupon is then deposited into a savings account for you!

    It is very simple to CREATE YOUR ACCOUNT, Register your Store Cards ( do a zip code search as you see above to find the stores in your area particapting-1000's nationwide! )and then go to the Coupons Tab, Select & Activate your coupons!

    Many of the largest grocery stores and drug stores like CVS have worked with Upromise for quite awhile now. Rite Aid was recently added since they now have the new Wellness+ card. You know I'm excited about that!

    You can also Register your Debit/Credit Cards for additional earnings & savings!

    If you haven't signed up for Upromise yet, it's a definate Frugal Finance tip. Just signup, register your store's cards and watch it add up!

    This is an easy way to save extra money for college. Since this is not a paper coupon, you can still use your other coupons on your order!

    The new eCoupons for this month were just released, so make sure to login and load them now!

    CLICK HERE to Signup or Login to Upromise and start saving today!
    WendyLittle_FrugalFabulousFinds

    Upromise.com Scholarship Give Away

    Monday

    DECLUTTER YOUR BUDGET-FALL INTO FINANCIAL FREEDOM



    I've told you before about how much I love the Daily Worth Newsletter for Women, but I just have to share another snippet from todays email. As I've mentioned a few times, each day of the week has a different focus on finances for women. Today's email was absolute perfect timing!

    Titled "Fall Into Financial Freedom", with a focus on this time of year...school has gone back in and we are rapidly heading into Fall! Todays awesome FREE personal finance tips were focused on 5 small steps that enable you to worry less and feel more in control — so that it takes less effort to manage your finances this fall. Today was Step 1: Declutter Your Budget.

    "Declutter" your budget was an awesome way to explain how easily our finances can become cluttered (just like our homes) if we don't organize into specifics and stay on top of it!

    If you haven't signed up for DAILY WORTH yet, you are seriously missing out on an awesome resource of financial tips focused specifically on Women and all that goes along with that...we are Moms, Wives and so much more - we are such complex individuals!

    CLICK HERE to signup for DAILY WORTH. It's one email you will look forward to reading every day! I know that I truly do!
    WendyLittle_FrugalFabulousFinds

    Saturday

    SAVE WITH UPROMISE+RITEAID NOW PARTICIPATING! SATURDAY SAVINGS TIP


    Upromise.com Scholarship Give Away

    Upromise is an awesome a way to save money for college while doing what you already have to do - shop! There are several ways you can save money for college using Upromise. The easiest way is to use their eCoupons. Basically the coupon does not give you money off your order, but puts the coupon amount into a savings account for college.

    Upromise loads the eCoupons to your shoppers card. Many of the grocery stores and CVS have worked with Upromise for quite awhile now. Rite Aid was recently added since they now have the new Wellness+ card. You know I'm excited about that!

    If you haven't signed up for Upromise yet, it's a definate Frugal Finance tip. Just signup, register your store's cards and watch it add up!

    How to load eCoupons:

    Register with Upromise (It’s free!) or Login to your account
    Click on My Account
    Under "Profile" on the left side of the page, click on "Add Grocery Cards"
    Enter your zipcode to find participating stores near you or the zip of the stores you shop at often
    Enter your store savings card number and submit.
    At the top of the page you will see “Coupons & Deals”.
    Under that tab you will see “Gorcery eCoupons”. Select the coupons you want and then activate those coupons.

    The next time you shop and buy those products, scan your store shoppers card and the coupon will be credited to your Upromise account!

    This is an easy way to save extra money for college. Since this is not a paper coupon, you can still use your other coupons on your order!

    CLICK HERE to Signup or Login to Upromise and start saving today!
    WendyLittle_FrugalFabulousFinds

    Free Stuff For Parents at BabiesOnline.com