Tips on Savings

Economic condidtions are not good and inflation is at peak. Credit is cheaply available and banks want us to go deeper and deeper into debt. So how to save money in these days of hardship.

Money Savings Tips

1

If you have checking accounts with any good bank – convert them to Priviliged / Advantage Accounts – In most of the banks, you need to maintain a minimum balance of 25000 for all desposits combined ( Savings/ Checking, CD/IRA) – but you can get free cashiers check, zero fee credit cards and free brokerage account.

2 Don’t put all your money in US Dollars. Now that the US economy is in recessions and dollar is at it’s lows – open a NRI Account with Banks like HDFC/ICICI etc. NRI deposits are tax free. If you have a PAN No. from Indian Income tax department – you can also trade in mutual funds in India as an NRI.
This will protect you from the currency fluctations of the Dollar

3 Use your gift cards ASAP. Sometimes, the gift cards have an expiry date – even if not printed on the card. Moreover, with a large no. of stores going bankrupt – they are not obligated to honor gift cards. Don’t stack them in your wallet – Chances are you will lose them. Now a days there are many sites offering gift card swap service – if you do not need gift card of a store – you can get cash for those by paying a % of fees.

4 If you are not an egoist and don’t care what other say – sometimes buying second hand furniture (provided it’s in good condition) is really good. Advantages I see is that you need not assemble the furniture – the first owner assembled it for you and you can get it at really good price – and furniture cannot break like electronics. I don’t recommend buying second hand electronics – what happens if you buy a used TV and it breaks the next day you bring it home. You are not covered

5 Upgrade your electronics every 2 years. Technology is changing so fast – that any electronics item – like TV and laptops have a shelf life of approx. 4 years and they are worthless after 4 years. So instead of waiting 4 years – sell your electronics after 2 years and use that money to buy the latest gadgets. You will fins many stuent and labour people wanting to buy your old electronics. ( Use www.craigslist.org or www.sulekha.com ) Sticking to a store which pays you rewards benefits you in the long run. Although you can get good deals online for the electronics – but what happens if there are issues with the hardware and the vendor goes bankrupt by the time you need to return the item.

6 Save on Coffee –

2 coffee from Starbucks at 3 dollars per coffee for every working day = 6 x 20 x 12 = 1440 Dollars per year – That’s the money saved for a return ticket to India.

7 If you are a happy reader – get books from library and HALF.COM There is also a web site for books swapping – www.paperbackswap.com

8 Ask your doctor for generic equivalent of prescription drugs – It is your right!!

Prescription drugs can cost anywhere from 20 -50 dollars – generic drugs are available from many stores including Walmart for 4 dollars.

9 Carpool

Who doesn’t know the price of gas - $1 for gallon days are gone. You cannot afford to live 80 miles away from office and drive to work everyday. But if you live far off from office – try to car pool – It will save you from driving stress, gas money – wear and tear of your car. Just imagine how many less cars will be there on the freeway – if carpool becomes a norm rather than exception – we will have less traffic and pollution on the roads.

10

Selling a million dollar home California – 6 % Broker commision is 60,000 Dollars


Why not use a discount broker – who helps for 1% commision