Adam's Apple
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- Apr 25, 2004
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97 Ways to Cut Expenses
By Sue Stevens for www.morningstar.com
April 4, 2005
We often discuss ways to invest money for various goals like college funding, big-ticket purchases, perhaps even retirement. We don't, however, spend enough time thinking about where to find the money to invest. So today, you'll find lots of good ideas to help you stretch your dollars to the max.
Some of these may be familiar and some may be new to you, but if you follow through on them, you'll make significant progress in cutting costs in your day-to-day life.
1. Pay off your credit cards monthly. If you can't pay the balance, you shouldn't be charging it.
2. If you must charge, switch to a no-fee or low-fee credit card. Visit www.bankrate.com to compare rates.
3. Shift your higher-rate credit-card debt to a lower-rate line of credit. Then you can deduct the interest on your tax return if you itemize on Schedule A.
4. Use a home-equity loan to pay off auto loans. The interest is tax-deductible.
5. Make your mortgage payment biweekly instead of monthly. You'll save interest payments and be able to pay off your mortgage sooner.
6. Pay extra principal payments when paying your mortgage. As above, you'll save interest payments and be able to pay off your mortgage sooner.
7. If your house down payment was for less than 20 percent of the value of the home, cancel your private mortgage insurance once your mortgage balance is 80 percent or less of the value of your home.
8. Lock in a fixed mortgage rate so that you don't find yourself in a position where your interest rate increases to a point at which you can no longer make your house payments.
9. Only use ATMs that don't charge service fees.
10. Pay cash when possible. Psychologically it's harder to spend than using cards. Plus, you'll save on interest charges.
This is a paid subscription site, but you can find the full article here:
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0405/97_ways_to_cut_expenses.php3
By Sue Stevens for www.morningstar.com
April 4, 2005
We often discuss ways to invest money for various goals like college funding, big-ticket purchases, perhaps even retirement. We don't, however, spend enough time thinking about where to find the money to invest. So today, you'll find lots of good ideas to help you stretch your dollars to the max.
Some of these may be familiar and some may be new to you, but if you follow through on them, you'll make significant progress in cutting costs in your day-to-day life.
1. Pay off your credit cards monthly. If you can't pay the balance, you shouldn't be charging it.
2. If you must charge, switch to a no-fee or low-fee credit card. Visit www.bankrate.com to compare rates.
3. Shift your higher-rate credit-card debt to a lower-rate line of credit. Then you can deduct the interest on your tax return if you itemize on Schedule A.
4. Use a home-equity loan to pay off auto loans. The interest is tax-deductible.
5. Make your mortgage payment biweekly instead of monthly. You'll save interest payments and be able to pay off your mortgage sooner.
6. Pay extra principal payments when paying your mortgage. As above, you'll save interest payments and be able to pay off your mortgage sooner.
7. If your house down payment was for less than 20 percent of the value of the home, cancel your private mortgage insurance once your mortgage balance is 80 percent or less of the value of your home.
8. Lock in a fixed mortgage rate so that you don't find yourself in a position where your interest rate increases to a point at which you can no longer make your house payments.
9. Only use ATMs that don't charge service fees.
10. Pay cash when possible. Psychologically it's harder to spend than using cards. Plus, you'll save on interest charges.
This is a paid subscription site, but you can find the full article here:
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0405/97_ways_to_cut_expenses.php3
