Money Saving Tips

Start saving money every day by paying attention to your finances. Money can be an ugly word, so stay on top of your funds and where they are being spent and saved. Find ways to eliminate unnecessary spending and reduce monthly bills. Balancing your household budget and living within your means is an essential step to living a life without worrying about money. Below are some helpful money saving tips.

Cook and eat in more. Instead of eating out for lunch and/or dinner, save huge amounts of money by creating a simple menu, buying the groceries and cooking at home. You can create very easy dinners in 15 minutes or less and the cost is a fraction of what it costs to eat out. Prepare a sandwich or leftovers the night before and bring your lunch to work.
Bike, walk, carpool and save gas money. If you even replace a few trips a week with a bike ride or walking you will save money on gas and you will also increase your exercise! ”Get rid of it!” Live this motto and start counting your savings. Anything you don’t use such as club memberships, magazine subscriptions, credit cards with monthly fees, etc., cancel them. If you don’t use them it’s like throwing money out the window.
Pay yourself. Can’t figure out where your money goes every month? Feel like you should have extra but it gets spent on meaningless goods or impulse buys? Start saving those extra dollars and treat it like you are paying a bill, but instead are actually depositing a ‘paycheck’ into a savings account, mutual fund, 401k, etc. Eliminate credit-card debt. Of course this is easier said than done, so here are some tips to help you. Start by making a spreadsheet of your credit card bills, their interest rates and what you owe. Pay off the higher interest rate cards first, once paid off, cancel them. Once your debt is paid off completely, look for credit cards with low interest rates and no monthly fee. From there on out pay off the entire balance every month and use credit cards sparingly. If you have high credit card debt, transfer your credit card balances to a card with a lower interest rate ASAP. You’ll save $730 if you transfer a $2,000 balance from an 18% card to an 8.25% card and then pay off your balance at a rate of $50 a month. Avoid late fees by contacting your credit card company and changing your due dates so you have the funds to pay your bill on time.

Kick the habit. Quit smoking and save more than $2,000 a year if you go from being a pack-a-day smoker to a non-smoker. You’ll also qualify for significantly cheaper life insurance rates after you quit.


Monthly Money Savings
Save $.50 a day in loose change . . .$15

Cut soda/pop consumption by 1 liter a week . . .$6

At work, substitute 1 coffee for 1 cappuccino . . .$40

Bring lunch to work (saving estimated $3/day) . . .$60

Eat out 2 fewer times a month . . .$30

Borrow, rather than buying, one book a month . . .$15

Bounce one less check a month . . .$20

Maintain checking account minimum to avoid fees . . .$7

Pay credit card bill on time to avoid late fee . . .$25

Pay off $1000 of credit card debt, reducing interest . . . $15
Save up to $233 a month! Courtesy of AmericaSaves.org


For more information visit: http://www.bankrate.com/, http://www.americasaves.org/, www.simpledebtfreeliving.com/moneysavingtips.html

Heating Bill Assistance for Coloradans

LEAP INCREASES BENEFIT AMOUNT TO HELP HARD WORKING COLORADANS WITH THEIR UTILITY BILLS DENVER – November 2008 – Colorado’s Low-income Energy Assistance Program (LEAP),which provides financial assistance with utility bills has announced a funding increase. This increase means that more money is available to assist hard working Coloradans with their heating bills this winter. LEAP began accepting applications on November 1. According to Todd Jorgensen, director of LEAP, the program has received additional Federal funding that will enable LEAP to increase its minimum benefit by 75 percent to approximately $350 per household from $200. The maximum benefit will increase by approximately 25 percent to about $900 from $700. LEAP provides cash assistance to help families and individuals pay winter home heating costs. The program pays the highest benefits to those with the highest heating bills and lowest incomes by family size. Applicant income cannot exceed 185 percent of the federal poverty index, which equals a maximum monthly income of $3,269.00 per month before taxes for a household of four people. “LEAP plays an important role in helping many Colorado families cover their utility costs during the cold winter months,” said Jorgensen. “With the price of utility bills expected to increase this year and with the current tough economic times, Coloradans will need assistance meeting these costs more than ever.” In 2007-2008 approximately 92,000 Colorado households received LEAP payment assistance, giving them much needed warmth, according to the Colorado Department of Human Services. Those eligible for the LEAP may also qualify for the Crisis Intervention Program (CIP). The CIP operates year-round and provides assistance with a home's primary heating source such as a furnace. To qualify for LEAP, applicants must be responsible for paying heating costs to either a utility company or a landlord as part of rent. Applicants must also be permanent legal residents of the United States and Colorado or have household members that are U.S. citizens. LEAP applicants must provide a copy of valid identification and a completed affidavit indicating that they are lawfully present in the United States with their program applications. Currently, the following valid forms of identification are accepted.1. Colorado Driver’s License or Colorado Identification card; or2. United States Military Identification Card or Military Dependent’s Identification card; or3. United States Coast Guard Merchant Mariner card; or4. Native American Tribal document.As defined by the Colorado Department of Revenue, other forms of identification may be required as well. For more information on lawful presence requirements, contact the DOR or visit their web site located at http://www.revenue.state.co.us/main/home.asp LEAP applications are accepted from November 1 to April 30 of each year. Potential program applicants can apply several ways:1. Call 1-866-HEAT-HELP (1-866-432-8435) to order a mailed application. 2. Applications are available at every county department of social/human services.3. Most utility companies keep a supply of LEAP applications and instruction sheets.4. Many community agencies, like Catholic Charities, stock LEAP applications. For more information about LEAP, please call 1-866-HEAT-HELP (1-866-432-8435) or visit http://www.cdhs.state.co.us/leap to view the most current program application requirements.

Home Organization Tips

Is your clutter bogging you down? Cleaning up and getting organized doesn't have to be a big chore if you do a little at a time and maintain it. Get organized in no time with these simple tips; start by making a project list and deadline then display it where everyone in the house can see.

Closets (Clothes, Linen and Storage Closets)
• No regrets. If clothing doesn’t fit and you haven’t worn it in a year, its time to let it go, even if you do plan on losing 10lbs. You can always buy new clothes when you need them.

• Uncomfortable shoes - Why keep shoes if they hurt your feet every time you wear them?
• Get rid of any ragged clothing, shoes, outerwear or gear. If your mitten doesn’t have a mate, toss it.
• Go through linens, towels, tablecloths and give away what you don’t need or items that are worn.

Up-keep: Once you overhaul the closets they are easier to maintain. Adopt the mentality of “If I don’t need it, give it to someone who does.”

Paper

Gather all of your paper around the house and start going through it.

• Purchase plastic containers to store children’s artwork and school certificates, report cards, etc.
• Purchase, only if you don’t already own, a filing cabinet. Fill out the tabs for bills, warranties, health information, insurance, taxes, etc. And every time a bill is paid, file it and so on.

• Any magazines you don’t have time to read and if all they do is collect dust, cancel them.

• Shred and recycle; all paper and newspaper can be recycled and reused.
Up-keep: Use a mail organizer to store all of your incoming mail, separate your bills, magazines, letters, etc. and every month go through them and file what you need and discard what you don’t.

Storage (Basement, Garage, Shed and Attic)
Many times so much “stuff” is crammed into one space that you forget what you have. You can solve this by creating a box organizing system.

• Purchase heavy boxes or storage containers and some industrial shelving (if needed).
• Go through everything in a box, don’t just look at the items on top and think the box is full of that one thing. There could be that missing photo or charm bracelet you have been looking for at the bottom!
• Put like items together and label the box with its contents.
• Holiday decorations, seasonal clothing and occasionally used items like camping equipment should be stored away and out of your everyday sight. If you don’t drink coffee, but you have the coffee maker taking up space on the kitchen counter, store it.
• Get rid of any unwanted gifts, yard utensils and any memorabilia that you don’t have sentimental attachment to.

Up-keep: Any time you have something new to store make sure to update the box contents. Also every year go though some of the boxes and weed out items that you haven’t used.

The Next Step

• Goodwill/Charity – Drop off any of your clothing, gear and linens to your local donation center and ask for a receipt for tax purposes.
• Garage Sale – If some of your stuff is valuable and usable and you think you can get money back for it then, host a garage sale and try to sell it. Anything that doesn’t sell should be donated.

September 2008 - Real Estate Market Statistics

Do you wonder how the Real Estate Market is doing in Colorado?
Click on the link below to see Real Estate Market Statistics for the entire Denver Metropolitan areas, including Evergreen (MEN MES)

http://www.ltgc.com/files/marketstats/entire.pdf

Please contact me with any questions via this blog. Thanks for visiting.

Highlighting the Upside of the Economy in a Challenging Market

U.S. Treasury Department Announces Takeover of Fannie Mae; Freddie Mac: Much to the relief of those in the real estate industry, on September 7, 2008, the U.S. Treasury Department announced its takeover of mortgage-finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. From it should come a much-needed boost to the nation's housing market. (REAL Trends)

Job Gains: The Colorado economy added roughly 35,000 net new jobs during the most recent 12 month period, a 1.5% gain. Such growth currently ranks fifth in the nation behind Wyoming, Texas, New Hampshire, and Utah. (Vectra Bank)

Cherry Creek Rolling Along: After a successful round of high-end redevelopments, the district will see several upscale new hotels, shops and office buildings in the next few years. (Denver Post)

New, energy efficient apartment tower coming to Cherry Creek: At a time when many major real estate construction projects are being delayed or killed, RedPeak Properties has broken ground on a 14-story, $58 million luxury apartment high-rise in Cherry Creek. (Rocky Mountain News)

Good News for Denver-area Housing Market: The Denver area housing market showed the most appreciation of 20 metropolitan areas tracked by the closely watched S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices from May to June. (Rocky Mountain News)

Mortgage Volume Up 7.5%, Rates Down: The Mortgage Bankers Association reports a 7.5-percent increase in home loan demand during the week ended Aug. 29. The index indicates a 10.5-percent jump in purchase applications and a more modest 2.1-percent rise in refinancing requests. (Daily Real Estate News)

"Your present circumstances don’t determine where you can go; they merely determine where you start. Nido Qubein