Penny Pincher Banking Tips

We have had our bank account in the same BUILDING as long as we have lived here, 25 years this month...but it has changed hands at least 3 times, I know we are having challenges in the economy and they keep talking about banks buying out banks...because of our experience I didn't think of this as anything new. But at the same time, I know we're in challenging times, and in need of pinching pennies more than ever.

Here's some penny pincher banking tips for you, please add your own in comments if you have any:

1. Free checking - I may be behind the times with this suggestion, I remember when they used to charge for checks, if this is still done, there is no reason you can't find a bank that offers free checking.
2. No service charges - Check to see there are banks that don't have service charges, or at least know what the service charges are if there are any. At our bank there are no service charges after you reach the age of 50, in fact, we don't even have to buy our checks, they are free. We also have overdraft protection connected to our home equity line of credit, and if we weren't 50+, would have to pay a fee for each overdraft, but even if you are under 50, it is still better than the penalty you pay if you overdraw your account without protection...$5 as opposed to $25. Review all fees when you sign up for your account.
3. Free online banking - There's no reason why a bank should charge for that service, ours is free, and each time we make a payment through our online banking service, we save postage as well, at the price of postage, that adds up!

There are just a few tips, please let us know if you have more in you comments!

Children's Halloween Costumes

Chances are if you are a "Baby Boomer" your children are grown, if you have had children, and there's a good chance you may have grandchildren. I was just talking to a neighbor friend who is making costumes for her grandchildren, this must be fun for her as she is a seamstress, and loves sewing. I, on the other hand, do not. But if you like sewing, this can be a fun and creative way to save money for your children by making costumes for your grandchildren.

Sewing I don't do, but I remember a year when my children were very young that I made my daughter an all paper costume. She was a tree that year, and a cute one at that. The base for the costume was a brown paper bag, then I let my creative thoughts take over, adding branches, colored leaves, a knot in the tree, and I believe we even had a little bird in one of the branches. I'm not sure whether a tree costume would go over well now, but making your own costumes at home can be a great money-saver.

Penny Pincher Spends Sleepless Night

We have been away for a few days as my husband had a job interview out of town. Our expenses were paid for travel and hotel...and a much nicer hotel than we would normally stay. Still, for all the money that this high-priced hotel makes, they charged about $10 for internet access. Yes, just to make a wireless connection with my own laptop I would have had to pay $10 a night...we've never had that happen in the motels we've stayed in in the past that were about 1/3 of the cost of this place. So I took a break from blogging and surfing the net.

One night we did something we hope never to do again...we didn't plan where we would stay for the night in advance...which isn't the worst thing, sometimes that can be fun, you travel and just stop wherever you wish, but in the State we were visiting, when it came time to get a room, we were tired, and all the hotels in the area were running over $100 a night because of a concert in the area. SO, we ended up finding an old, run-down motel, and staying there for the night...a night in a supposedly smokeless room that smelled like cigarettes, with cigarette burns on the blankets, and cracks in the walls and tiles in the bathroom...a somewhat sleepless night wondering whether or not there were bed bugs, or any other bugs that would crawl into bed with me during the night. Oh yeh, we saved a lot of pennies, and some would say that it was worth it...but I can't help but think that for the price we paid, if we had just looked a little further, we would have found something nicer for the same price.

So at least have an idea whether or not there's a big event in the area before you decide where you're going to sleep for the night. I think in the future we'll consider looking into places like Extended Stay Hotels where they have suites as low as $46.99 a night.

I Don't Like Shopping - Penny Pincher Tips

I'll admit right off that I don't like going shopping. I don't like malls or shopping centers, or working my way through racks of cloths, or how supermarkets are becoming HUGE because there are so very many choices for the very same thing. There, now that I have that out of my system, maybe you'll enjoy the following article that I found on Selling With Articles when I searched "saving money", there are a lot of great articles there. Enjoy the 10 tips in the following article...I like how this woman thinks!

10 Ways To Make Everyday Shopping More Enjoyable

By: Angelique

Make shopping for everyday items less stressful. By fine tuning your approach you not only make shopping more enjoyable but you also can learn to make the most out of your time and money.

1. Compare prices before you go shopping. Whether you compare prices online or by newspaper ads you need to make sure you're getting the best price out there. Different stores have different sales going on at different times, so to maximize your spending money you need to take advantage of sales prices when they are going on.
2. Browse the adds at your shopping destination before you go. This not only lets you know what's on sale including any items you might need, but is also a great way to shop in advance. Instead of being forced to buy everyday items at full price, you can buy items you need when they are on sale, ensuring these items are on hand for the future and therefore saving money in the long run.
3. Set aside one day a week as errand day. Get all your running around done in one day instead of back and forth all week and you'll be amazed at the amount of time, money, gas and sanity this can save you.
4. Go shopping in the morning. If your schedule allows, do the entire errand shopping early to avoid unnecessary crowds, thus freeing up the rest of your day.
5. Go shopping later in the evening. Again, if your schedule allows, you can avoid noisy after work crowds and make shopping less frustrating.
6. Create a list. Know what you are shopping for and buy only those items. This one step will save you a great deal of money buy avoiding the urge to impulse buy. Plus this makes the shopping trip much quicker buy getting what you need and then getting out just as quickly.
7. Do all your shopping in one location. Sometimes just shopping at one store will save you time and money. With all the big super centers going up today it's now easier than ever to do one stop shopping. Of course don't forget to compare prices and buy items on sale, but the hassles of going to multiple stores will be eliminated and most super centers can buy in large bulk, thus passing the savings onto you.
8. Make it a family outing. Instead of putting the full burden on yourself, get the family involved. Set aside that one night a week to get all the shopping done while at the same time spending time together. It beats going shopping alone and extra hands are always nice to have around.
9. Bring a friend. Friends can help you stay on task and not overspend. Plus it's always more fun to shop with someone else.
10. Shop Online. In my opinion this is the best option. Nowadays you can do your grocery shopping and household shopping all online. It not only saves lots of time, expensive gas and money, but best of all you never have the leave the comfort of home. Or if you don't get delivery in your area, shop online and have the items waiting for you at the store. Online shopping also creates a more hassle free experience and you won't be so tired when done. Plus you have a better chance to resist impulses by not wandering around the store and giving into that urge to spend.
    

By adding these simple steps to your shopping routine you will become a more effective shopper and have a more enjoyable experience. Best of all these simple changes help you save money and allow you to have more time for other fun activities.

Author Resource:->

Angie writes articles for helping shoppers find gifts, providing shopping tips and how to benefit from personalized gifts, promotional products and awards. Her work is sponsored by Wealthwood Gifts and Blog Wealthwood.

Article From Selling With Articles

Submitted By ArticleUnited.com

Pinching Pennies While Home Heating

I am completely confused when I listen to the reasons why oil is priced so high, and why it just keeps getting higher, then lower, then higher.

Each year, it seems like it goes up just in time for summer travel, so I just figured it was the powers that be, whoever they are, taking advantage of all the extra tanks of gas required for vacation travel.

But now on the news I see riots in other countries that are being affected by the same thing, so obviously this is much bigger than my little thinking can piece together.

We heat with oil, so we really feel it. This is another reason that I am growing more and more thankful for our small cabin/home. We have a huge stack of wood to be split from some trees that were taken down in order to install our new septic system. Here are a few things we do to save oil...aside from burning wood. Some may be obvious, some not so, please feel free to add your own in a comment:

1 - Take cooler showers if your oil burner heats your water like ours does, they feel great during the hot summer.

2 - Shop around. I call every oil company in our phone book every time we buy oil, and am surprised to find that what I thought was a bargain company for one purchase isn't the one with the lowest price the next time I need oil.

3 - Keep your oil burner serviced so that it burns efficiently.

4 - In the winter, I wear sweats around the house...no, not very fashionable, but WARM, and allows me to keep the temperature down to just above the mid-60 degree mark.

5 - Live in an area where you can use a wood stove? Use it if you are able, it saves a lot. We run a ceiling fan when using it to "push" the warm air down from the ceiling to other areas of the house.

Have any other tips? Feel free to comment!