Sacing money on common home expenses like heating and cooling might seem like an impossible task if you’ve fallen into the routine of paying those astronomical bills. Fortunately, there are a few easy ways to minimize your spending on common home expenses so you can start investing that money elsewhere. Here are a few tips to help you get started.
Fall is here, and health officials warn that the COVID-19 pandemic could potentially see another spike amid indoor activities and the start of flu season. For the 55 million Americans that have been deemed essential workers, this potential spike is especially scary. Not only do you need to worry about what to do if you become infected with COVID-19, but you also need to worry about your financial future. The potential for financial ruin during this pandemic is no joke and it’s an unfortunate reality for many.
To help many essential workers, there have been pushes to place COVID-19 under workers’ compensation protections, although the statute of limitations in places like Alabama is only two years. What can you do to prepare financially should you fall ill to COVID-19? Here, we’ll dig into some of your potential solutions and financial relief options.
It’s no secret the self-care and wellness industries have taken off in recent years. But the truth is, you don’t actually need to spend money to improve your health and give yourself some much-needed love. While spa days and professional massages are great, you can boost your wellness and develop a self-care routine right at home without even opening your wallet.
Self-care is about consistently taking time to rejuvenate yourself, recover from stress and anxiety, and recharge your mental and emotional energy. Self-care activities don’t even need to take that long. A few simple activities a day can help to keep you recharged just as much as an hour-long bath.
Your auto insurance premiums can go up for a lot of things. From speeding tickets to at-fault accidents, violations and claims can make insurers upcharge your insurance premiums for the next three to five years. If you’re already struggling to pay your auto insurance as-is, these upcharges can be a major blow to your budget.
The good news is that there are a few ways you can lower your insurance costs to keep your premiums as low as possible.
Approximately 160 million people recently received a one-time stimulus payment from the IRS. This money can be used for a variety of things, including putting down a down payment for a home or making a few repairs. Whether you plan on buying, selling, or renovating a home, it’s going to be a major investment. These activities can get expensive quickly, but fortunately, there are ways you can save money. Here are seven finance tips and tricks to save money on your home.
The last thing you want to do is throw away your hard-earned money. But when you’re not paying attention to your finances, you might as well be tossing dollars in the trash. Here are some of the most common sources of wasted money that many of us fall victim to in order to help you keep your spending habits under control.
With over 1,500 virtual currencies in the U.S. alone, it’s no secret there are bad investment opportunities out there. From Bitcoin to the Powerball lottery, chances are you’ve made a few of your own bad investment choices in an effort to bring in some extra money when you need it most. Unfortunately, these investment options often end up eating your money and you don’t get any return on your investment.
Making smart investment options like investing in stocks is always better than investing in scratch-off tickets, but financial experts only recommend investing in stocks when you have the financial means to do so. To help you save your cash, consider putting the few dollars you thought of using to buy that Powerball ticket into a separate jar in your house. You’ll be making more money by saving than you will be buying a ticket.
Oftentimes when you consider saving money, the first thing on the list of objectives is to eat out less often. After all, the restaurant industry brought in approximately $863 billion in sales in 2019. But depending on the amount of time you spend driving to the store to get ingredients every week and preparing food at home, sometimes not eating out can be the more expensive option.
The best way to save money on food options is by calculating which places have the best deals. For instance, that new coffee shop down the road by your house may be nice to walk into, but if you’re paying $4 for black coffee that you could get for $1 at the gas station by your house, then you might as well be throwing your money in the garbage. Remember that coupons are your best friends and big chain restaurants aren’t always the cheapest option.
Credit card debt is a major issue in the U.S. with consumer debt rising to $14 trillion in 2019. High-interest rates can hit you where it hurts and make it difficult to pay off what you owe. However, if your credit card offers you cash-back options for certain stores or services, you can use your card to earn yourself free money. Just make sure that you’re paying off your purchase as soon as it shows up in your account so you don’t end up accruing more debt in an effort to save.
Approximately one out of every four Americans avoid seeking medical care because of high out-of-pocket medical costs. According to a Bankrate survey of 2,500 U.S. adults, up to 22% of Americans in 2019 said they steered clear of some sort of medical care because it was too expensive.
Americans aren’t imagining these expenses, either. Between February 2019 and February 2020, the cost of medical care services in the U.S. has increased by 5.3% on average. And that was even before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Flexible side jobs and on-demand gigs are a great way to make a little extra cash when you need it. Odd jobs give you the ability to work as much or as little as you like, and you can gather new skills to add to your resume. From pet sitting to taking online surveys, there are plenty of gigs for you to work with.
That said, here are five gigs you can take on to make some extra money when you’re short on cash.
Nearly 160 million people received a one-time economic stimulus payment from the IRS between April 10 and June 3 to help mitigate the financial burden brought on by the novel COVID-19 pandemic. While the check did little more than help Americans pay their bills for a single month, another stimulus payment may be around the corner.
Job searching is difficult even when there isn’t a pandemic. With COVID-19 keeping many of us at home and businesses struggling to stay afloat without furloughing their employees, it can feel downright impossible.
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