What is the Biggest Hole in Your Budget?

You know that hole, the one where all your money magically disappears. College students and newly weds may or may not have problems with the big black hole. This black hole may bypass individuals who tend to look more at their budget than their friends or family. The key to staying out of the black hole are the following:

1. Look at your bank statement every month. Are charges slipping through that you are not expecting. Even the best money managers have discovered charges going through their bank account that had been there a long time and they didn't notice them.

2. Make a grocery list. Many people just walk through the store and are prone to "impulse shopping." This kind of shopping can get out of control. Stick to your list and make sure you get those things you "think" you need on the list next time. Perhaps you will find you don't really need them.

3. Make sure your bills are paid on time and not accumulating those pesky little late fees.

4. Don't pay $5.00 fees to pay by phone. Mail out your bills early to avoid the "pay now" fees.

5. Pay attention to "eating out" and "coffee runs". Make your coffee and put it in a thermos or a styrofoam cup with a lid, just like the coffee shop uses. Make a goal to save $2.50 a week for coffee you would normally bye on the run. You have $10 extra dollars at the end of the month. Give it to Feed the Children. They are for real and when you give it always comes back to you 10 times over the little you give away.

Every Month is Special Using Emails to Save Money

We typically give gifts on holidays and special days. There are a lot of expectations attached to these days. Make a change. We are busy people but many of us do use the computer. Start making more months and some days of the month special. OK, begin with birthdays. There are greeting card websites that help you track birthdays and allow you to setup the upcoming dates as reminders. I just joined greeting card website because I like to send special cards. Most people receive e-mails these days. Please understand most people get bombarded with e-mail. However, an email from someone that says you have an e-mail card from XXX is a little more special. It keeps you in contact with your sisters, mother or best friends and they know you are sending something personal.

Do you forward those group emails to friends? I do get a lot of those and even though I know it is coming from my mother, many times I don't read it. The e-mail contains nothing personal from my mother and that is in whom I really have interest. So many times they get deleted. Sending e-card greetings can be personalized with a message. This makes it worth reading and it only takes a minute to open, view and read. The e-card service that is really special can allow the user to create e-cards with the recipient's name. Also, a good service is constantly adding new e-cards monthly. One service allows the sender to respond with a "Thank you" after viewing your e-card. Those are especially nice to receive back as a response to a special e-mail.

To do list:

Make every month special. Contact a friend each month with a special email. Many e-greetings are free. Some have a charge for joining but they provide very special emails and to me the small fee is worth it. (American Greetings.)

When you make other days of the year special, it can reduce the pressure felt on holidays to perform. Of course, we can also change our attitudes about those holidays and always view them as another opportunity to show our friends and family how much we care.

Make a birthday special for that guy
Send a Civil War Chess Set
Send an electronic game to play at home or on the road

Make a birthday special for that gal
Send "forever" flowers (that are made of beautiful fabric roses that retain their loveliness)
Send a special gift wine glass holder for those evenings together
Send a heart shaped digital key ring with matching digital photo frame

Make Every Special Day Unique Without Losing Quality

1. Sending flowers can be expensive at a minimum of $30.00 if you are lucky enough to find some florists who have specials. Here’s an idea as an alternative to sending live flowers. There are beautiful silk rose topiaries and fabric topiaries that can be purchased at a very reasonable price without giving up the beauty and quality of rose topiary flowers. The shipping costs, only $6 or $7 dollars for a topiary. This means you could send flowers as gifts to someone in the hospital, someone having a birthday, or just because for $20.00 or less.

2. Gifts can be expensive but picture frames can be purchased for almost any price. Old antique look frames can be found at thrift shops and even yard sales. Dollar stores have the clear plastic stand up frames for 4x6 snapshots. Spend a little more and give a digital photo frame or a digital key chain photo frame

To make the frame really special find old pictures of the family or the person (pet) to whom you are giving gifts. Many families have their pictures professionally taken to give for Christmas gifts. Step back and think about these pictures. First, usually only parents or grandparents really appreciate these expensive photos. Second, many times the high cost of the photos prevents the givers from choosing special frames. Why not take some creative photos and include the person who will be receiving the unique photo. This technique tends to personalize the gift for the recipient. I have experienced the best gift giving was some framed pictures of my mother and her sisters when they were young children. Everyone enjoyed the professional photos that were 30 or 40 years old. This way everyone in the family has a copy of the old photos in a special frame.

3. Many people like antiques but they can be very expensive gifts. Here is an alternative; there are many “antique look” gifts that fit in well with other antiques used to decorate the home. The classic mantel clock is a popular antique. I bought one for my Mother for about $80 dollars plus I mailed the clock to her via the postal service for about $10.00 10 years ago. I spent $90.00 to get her an antique that didn’t even work very long.

Today, a simulated antique clock can be purchased and shipped for half the price I paid 10 years ago and the mantel clock will still have similar wood quality.