Recently I realized that we did not have our money in the best savings account at our bank.  It turns out that we could have been earning a whole lot more interest than we were.  When I found out I immediately switched our accounts. 

If you’re not sure if your savings accounts are getting the most interest possible then you really ought to check out other banks. Or maybe start investing to increase your cash flow. Try investing in stocks and bonds, or even advanced Forex training. If that doesn’t work for you just dump your cash in an account that will return a little money back, every little bit counts and it all adds up.

Need to save some money? With the rising costs all around us most of us are looking for ways to save some extra cash. Here are a few things you can do this summer to reduce your electric bill.

1. Set your air conditioner to 78° while you are at home.
2. Run a portable fan which will make the room about 4° cooler.
3. Only run your dishwasher when it is full.
4. Stop your dishwasher before the dry cycle and let the dishes air dry.
5. Wash your clothes in warm or cold water (not hot) and use cold water for your rinse cycle.
6. Hang your clothes outside to dry instead of using the dryer. (Unless you have allergies, like me, then you do not want to do that.)
7. If you use your dryer- make sure you run it full, use the moisture sensing setting so that it doesn’t run longer than necessary and clean your lint filter.
8. Turn off or unplug your electronic items when you are not using them. If you can’t turn your computer off, at least turn the monitor off when not in use.
9. Replace your old incandescent light bulbs.
10. Keep your refrigerator or freezer full.

And one thing we like to do is eat outside on our electric grill. It sure beats turning on the stove, which costs us more than we ever thought. By using our grill our electric bill went down. I’m going to be cooking out more even during the winter.

I know that most people are usually looking for some ways to save some money.  Especially with how our economy is right now, most of us don’t have a whole lot of extra money to spend.  One way you can save yourself some money is to make sure you are getting several insurance quotes to locate the most affordable insurance you can find.  Now, I don’t mean that you are getting bad service.  I mean you need to make sure you are getting the cheapest possible rates that you can.  This may require some time on your part- calling around to various companies for quotes- but it will be well worth your time.

When my husband I first got married we spent quite a bit of time looking for the best insurance company for our insurance needs.  And by we, I mean me.  I made a lot of phone calls.  I made sure we got all of the discounts possible.  And we are definitely saving quite a bit of money on our insurance.  So, make sure you shop around for the best rates.

I am sure many of you will be doing some if not all your online shopping these days.  And you already know that you need to be careful when you are shopping online.  Here are a few more tips that I received today via email that I think are worth posting:

Here are some tips you can use to avoid becoming a victim of cyber fraud:

Do not respond to unsolicited (spam) e-mail.
Do not click on links contained within an unsolicited e-mail.
Be cautious of e-mail claiming to contain pictures in attached files, as the files may contain viruses.
Only open attachments from known senders.
Avoid filling out forms in e-mail messages that ask for personal information.
Always compare the link in the e-mail to the link that you are actually directed to.
Log on to the official website, instead of “linking” to it from an unsolicited e-mail.
Contact the actual business that supposedly sent the e-mail to verify if the e-mail is genuine.

And if you’re buy stuff for your business like a ipad, make sure you get a good ipad warranty . That goes for anything you buy, make sure you have a warranty, one you can understand. To many stores out there today have changed their terms on products that are being returned.

Enjoy your shopping but be careful!

If you own a home then you know you need to have insurance on your home.  You have to protect your home as well as your valuables that are inside your home.  But with all of the choices out there how can you possibly know the best home insurance you could have?  One tip they offer is to make sure you are getting all of the possible discounts there are- for example your insurance company probably offers a discount if you have a security system.  Be sure to check out information available on the internet to find more great tips like that one as well as ways to get your home covered quickly, accurately and easily.  Not only that, but make sure you get a life insurance plan as well to make sure you’re getting the best coverage there too.

Every week before I do my grocery shopping I always check for coupons.  I cut coupons out of the paper as well as look online for coupons.  The grocery coupons that we get on the Internet save us a lot of money. Also saves the store on receipt printer paper, less to print, hehe!  Today at Target my total was around $73 before my coupons and around $57 after my coupons.  I go to Target every week so multiply that savings by 4 and that’s a big savings each month.  And that is just Target- it doesn’t include my trip to our regular grocery store.

So?  My tip of the day?  Look online for coupons before your next trip to the grocery store.

With the rising costs of gas many families are still choosing to have a staycation rather than a vacation.  About half of the travelers in the US are changing their usual plans because gas is just too expensive to take their regular trip.  So if you’re planning to stay home to save on some gas money here are a few things you can do.

1. Forget the chores- you’re on vacation- no laundry, dusting, making the beds or cleaning the house just because you’re at home.
2. Stay up late and sleep in late- remember you’re on vacation.
3. Go out to eat- don’t do all the cooking just because you’re home.
4. Chances are you have some tourist attractions in your home town or within a couple of hours that you’ve never seen before- go check them out.
5. Go camping in your back yard- the kids will love it.
6. Watch a movie in your back yard- I remember doing this when I was a kid and it was always a lot of fun.

Be careful that you don’t go overboard and end up making a big purchase because you saved so much money on gas- it will defeat the purpose. And if you do travel it might be a good idea to get roadside assistance , or travel in areas were you have family to help if something goes wrong.

Online shopping can save you a lot of money.  I always compare prices and look for coupons online before I do any shopping.  I love shoes, so I’m always looking for new shoebuy coupons online. And when I find good coupons I book mark them, never know when you’ll need them again. Many times if I find a store doing free shipping then I will make my purchases online too.  Be sure to shop around online before you go shopping to save yourself time and money.

There are a lot of ways to save money.  We hardly ever use one of our cars but we want to keep it on the road in case our main car breaks down.  So a friend of ours recommended we call our insurance provider to get some new insurance quotes and see if we could get a lower rate.  Sure enough- they lowered our rate because we rarely drive it. They do however want to know how far we drive, which isn’t very much at all.

In order to improve your credit in the new year you have to have some credit.  You need to have a credit card, and more than one is probably the best, in order to have good credit.  If you are looking to get a credit card but you aren’t sure where to start your search- use the Internet.  There are a lot of good tools out there right at your fingertips.  You can find out about interest rates and the different benefits available with different credit cards.  At credit card online you will be able to see all of this kind of information as well as having a place where you can apply for the card that seems right for you.