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Do you have any expensive habits that are hurting your wallet? Did you ever figure out how much these habits are costing you?

No? Let’s look at a few tips on how to save money by giving up expensive habits.

Cigarettes: One pack of cigarettes costs between 5 and 10 dollars, depending on the taxes where you live. How many packs do you smoke a day? If, for instance, you smoke ten packs a week.  If we use $7.50 as the cost per pack, that comes to $75.00.

That’s almost $4000.00 a year. You could find something better to do with $4000.00, right?

Alcohol: How much do you pay for a bottle of wine? Seven or eight dollars a bottle? More? How often do you buy hard liquor, like vodka, scotch, or gin?  What about beer?  What does a six pack cost? If you eliminated these costs from your budget, how much would you save?

These are just a few tips on how to save money by giving up expensive habits. You may not have these particular habits; think about your budget and see whether there are other expensive habits you could eliminate.

Think about any habitual behaviors you may have. For example, when you are stressed do you overeat? This can double your grocery bill.  

Are you always late for work? If you’re paid by the hour, this can cut your paycheck. Not to mention that your boss may not like it. Losing a few dollars a week is bad enough; you don’t want to risk losing your job!

Maybe you’re a person who likes to shop when you’re depressed or anxious. How much money could you save by finding other ways to cope with stress and anxiety?

How well do you take care of yourself?  When you’re not feeling well, do you ignore it until the symptoms get worse? You could be throwing money away on doctor’s visits, tests, and prescription medications.

If any of these examples ring true for you, it might be time to think about changing your habits. Take a positive approach and address the bad habits.  The alternative is to continue throwing money down the drain because of your own behavior.

Don’t let your habits control your finances. Use these tips on how to save money by giving up expensive habits while they’re fresh in your mind. Take some today to reflect on how your habits influence your spending, and if necessary, take positive action — you’ll be glad you did.

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Technorati Tags: how to save money, tips on how to save money

If you’re paying high credit card interest rates, it can seem like you pay and pay but it all goes to pay the interest and your balances never go down. This can cause a massive drain on your finances. If you’re in this situation, you might think it’s a good idea to consolidate credit card debt and reduce the amount of interest you’re paying to a more manageable number. It would seem a wise move to transfer balances from a credit card bearing an a annual percentage rate of 16 percent to another card bearing a lower rate, such as 13 percent. However, before making a move like this, be sure that there are no hidden fees that could come back to bite you. To do this, you’ll need to make sure you completely understand the fine print of your contract with the lower-rate card.

When you transfer balances form a high-rate card to a new, lower rate credit care, you may be required to pay a "balance transfer fee." Some companies compute this fee as a flat, one time fee of $39 or $49. Depending on the card, though, you may be surprised to find that the transfer fee is comptued as a percentage of the amount you’re transferring. These fees can sometimes run as high as four or five percent when you consolidate credit card debt in this way. If you’re transferring, say, $2500, a five percent fee would cost you $125. Worse yet, the balance transfer fee is immediately added to the outstanding balance on the new card, so if you don’t make a payment right away, you can end up paying interest on the fee itself.

You should also look out for other hidden fees when you consolidate credit card debt by transferring balances onto another card with a lower rate. For instance, some cards charge a telephone payment fee if you’re in the habing of making payments by phone.These phone payment fees often run as high as $10.00 per transaction. If your old card didn’t have a fee and your new card has one, you should be sure to switch your payment method to avoid having to pay this fee. The company that issues the new credit card should disclose any such fees before you actually make the payment, but if they don’t, you should be sure to ask.

These fees are "hidden" only in the sense that when you’re preparing  to consolidate credit card debt, you may not have such fees in mind, and may not read the fine print. Credit card companies are required to disclose all fees before you take advantage of their offers. Make sure you read all the fine print, and understand any feels that you might have to pay before you actually make the move to a lower rate card.

Popularity: 21% [?]

Technorati Tags: consolidate credit card debt, credit card debt, debt consolidation

If you’re paying high credit card interest rates, it can seem like you pay and pay but it all goes to pay the interest and your balances never go down. This can cause a massive drain on your finances. If you’re in this situation, you might think it’s a good idea to consolidate credit card debt and reduce the amount of interest you’re paying to a more manageable number. It would seem a wise move to transfer balances from a credit card bearing an a annual percentage rate of 16 percent to another card bearing a lower rate, such as 13 percent. However, before making a move like this, be sure that there are no hidden fees that could come back to bite you. To do this, you’ll need to make sure you completely understand the fine print of your contract with the lower-rate card.

When you transfer balances form a high-rate card to a new, lower rate credit care, you may be required to pay a "balance transfer fee." Some companies compute this fee as a flat, one time fee of $39 or $49. Depending on the card, though, you may be surprised to find that the transfer fee is comptued as a percentage of the amount you’re transferring. These fees can sometimes run as high as four or five percent when you consolidate credit card debt in this way. If you’re transferring, say, $2500, a five percent fee would cost you $125. Worse yet, the balance transfer fee is immediately added to the outstanding balance on the new card, so if you don’t make a payment right away, you can end up paying interest on the fee itself.

You should also look out for other hidden fees when you consolidate credit card debt by transferring balances onto another card with a lower rate. For instance, some cards charge a telephone payment fee if you’re in the habing of making payments by phone.These phone payment fees often run as high as $10.00 per transaction. If your old card didn’t have a fee and your new card has one, you should be sure to switch your payment method to avoid having to pay this fee. The company that issues the new credit card should disclose any such fees before you actually make the payment, but if they don’t, you should be sure to ask.

These fees are "hidden" only in the sense that when you’re preparing  to consolidate credit card debt, you may not have such fees in mind, and may not read the fine print. Credit card companies are required to disclose all fees before you take advantage of their offers. Make sure you read all the fine print, and understand any feels that you might have to pay before you actually make the move to a lower rate card.

Popularity: 19% [?]

Technorati Tags: consolidate credit card debt, credit card debt, debt consolidation