No matter what you are budgeting for, it can be incredibly difficult to stay within your budget if you aren’t careful. Budgets require careful maintenance and attention, and it’s easy to blow your budget if you aren’t paying attention. Here are 5 things that can cause you to blow your money instead of watching your proverbial budget waistline.

1)  Stop Tracking Your Expenses: If you stop tracking your expenses completely, you will most likely exceed one or more portions of your budget. A budget is better kept when you stay aware of how much you have left in a given category, or in some cases envelope.

Solution: Be diligent in tracking your expenses and checking your budget balances regularly. If you’re using an online software, it can be as simple as logging into a website for 3 minutes. Or, if you’re using the envelope method it takes 3 seconds to check your leftover cash.

2)  Impulse Purchases: Impulse purchases can bite into your budget with a vengeance. Whether you always pick up extra items on your grocery trip or your spouse made a large online purchase without asking first, impulse purchases add up quickly and if left unchecked can blow your budget.

Solution: Plan for some impulse purchases by budgeting for some impulse purchases. When you find yourself grabbing something that isn’t on the list, take a few minutes to step back and think about if you really need this item right now or if it can wait. And if you have the money in your budget to buy it. Sometimes slowing down to analyze is all you need to control impulse spending.

3)  Unrealistic Budgeting: If your actual budget is completely unrealistic, you will exceed your budget amount. While budgeting aggressively is a good thing, make sure your budget is realistic with a set of small decreases that step down instead of trying to cut too much too fast.

Solution: Double check your budget figures to make sure they are reasonable. If you find out mid-month that they are unreasonable, sit down and recalculate. Smaller, reachable steps are better than unreachable leaps.

4)  Poor Planning: If you are taking a day trip, car ride, or spending a long day running errands you will need to eat and drink during the day. If you don’t plan ahead, you can end up eating out which can quickly blow your budget.

Solution: The night before or morning of your new day, take a few minutes to plan ahead. Think about if you’ll need food or drinks with you and plan accordingly to avoid unnecessary purchases.

5)  Family Cooperation and Miscommunication: If your spouse isn’t on board with your budget plans, or there was a misunderstanding about your budget and planning purchases, your budget can be blown very quickly.

Solution: Talk with your spouse or family members calmly and candidly. Be sure to elicit feedback and participation so that everyone’s needs and wants are addressed. Most of all, be sure everyone understand and agrees to the expectations and why a budget is important.

No matter what the reason for your budget mishap: learn from it, fix it, and keep going! It’s an evolving process that works differently for everyone.

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Cable and satellite T.V. Prices have become astronomical in the last 2-3 years. I think my parents have changed Satellite T.V. providers multiple times during this time span to try and take advantage of special pricing and yet still can’t get their T.V. bill below $75 a month in order to get local channels included. Granted, they are in a very rural area where cable isn’t available and neither is any version of high speed Internet. For most of us in a more urban and suburban environment with DSL and Broadband cable there are a few better alternatives to shelling out for expensive T.V. Services that can reduce our monthly costs to anywhere from free to about $20 a month, depending on your viewing needs.

1. Purchase a subscription to Netflix (or a similar service): My husband and I have the lowest Netflix at about $8.98 per month. This allows us unlimited streaming of whatever is available to stream, and one DVD out at a time. We stream almost everything, and cycle through the DVD’s at our own pace without worrying about late fees. We hook our T.V. Up to the desktop computer for family viewing, but we also use our computers individually if we want to watch different things.
2. Switch to using an Antenna with a Digital Converter Box (if needed): If you can get signal with an antenna, you can get your local channels and news, a few basic channels (like ABC and CW) and PBS, plus a few more depending on your locality. I am amazed at how many shows I like are on the free channels, and how much I don’t notice that I don’t have more channels available.
3. Use online free streaming T.V. : You can stream T.V. shows and some movies through sites like Hulu.com, CBS.com, cwtv.com and more. You can catch up on shows you miss and other shows you don’t get with an antenna. Best of all, it’s sort of like DVR. It doesn’t matter if I miss my regular show, I can stream it whenever I have time to watch! Who needs cable T.V. with the advent of decent (if sometimes stuttering) streaming T.V.? This is a great alternative to cable T.V.. Between Hulu and Netflix I have all the T.V. goodness I can stand.
4. If you don’t spend much time watching T.V. to begin with or you want to see a New Release, Rent from a Redbox: Redbox can be a great and cheap alternative for the occasional movie urge as long as you return it on time. Although generally Netflix has the same new releases as Redbox available within 1-2 days, with a few exceptions.
5. Visit your Public Library: Not only are libraries great places to get a book, read a magazine, and surf the web, but many libraries have a collection of DVD’s available also. It may not be the most up to date collection, but it’s free to borrow! It really doesn’t get much better than free.

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To many, working from home has become an ideal… Something that can potentially materialise but is extremely difficult in an age of buying into dead-end businesses and pyramid-schemes. While home-businesses will continue to have a level of risk involved, I have listed below three of the best, tried-and-tested home business ideas for optimal success.

1. Become a buyer and seller – import products from a competitive wholesaler and enjoy the profits. Browse the Internet and don’t rule out international wholesalers out of fear of postage. Most products that are made overseas are less expensive and the Government provides support for international trade, making it easy to ship products globally. Something like this will really test your organisational skills and it is important to keep on top of the bookwork and profits being earned. It is however, something that can be done from home (in those unsightly yet so-comfortable slippers) depending upon the product you choose to sell. It is important to research and know the market niche for greatest marketing potential and overall business survival.
2. Capitalise on your own skills. Find something you love doing or something you are really good at and try your hand setting up shop whether it be handmade art, craft or design on Etsy (www.etsy.com), getting rid of unwanted goods vis-à-vis Ebay (flea-bay?). If you have a natural flair for photography, set up a studio in your own home or if you love animals, advertise pet photography! Become a dog walker. Mind children after school. Do the shopping for aged neighbours. Become a cake decorator. Love music? Think about Disc Jockeying. Sign up with a data entry company and transcribe documents from home. Become a website designer. Teach a community cooking class. All it takes is a little creativity and you’re well on your way to opportunities, benefits and fun.
3. Get online – There are countless opportunities online to get some cashola in your pocket. Don’t be deterred by the scam-like ‘work from home’ ideas, dig deeper and you will find there’s lots of money to made in data entry, blog writing, Ebay selling, marketing, article writing, market research, proof-reading and so much more. Websites such as Freelancer (www.freelancer.com) promote these classifieds and this kind of work allows for artistic licence in contributing to online communities, as well as the freedom to work your own hours, around an already-established home schedule.

Don’t be lured into get-rich-quick schemes. Establish yourself by finding your niche using the rich resources afforded by the Internet…. and remember, you only ever get out what you put in!

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Buying in bulk can help you save money, but if you aren’t smart about what you buy in bulk it might just be wasteful. There are a number of things that shouldn’t generally be bought in bulk such as ice cream, milk, butter, cheese, sour cream and other perishable items. They often expire before you would be able to use the entire amount! However, there are a few general guidelines that will help you decide what items you might be able to save on when you buy in bulk.

Do you have an extra freezer ? If the answer to that is “No,” then you want to limit the amount of perishable foods you purchase in bulk. We only have a normal size freezer, so if I stock up on anything perishable it’s usually meat while it’s on sale. I also limit myself to no more than half of my freezer being bulk items. It can make sense to stock up on the current $2 per pound sale chicken breast but don’t go overboard or you might not have any room for dessert, literally.

Don’t forget to check the per unit cost of anything you’re considering buying in bulk. Whether you’re thinking about stocking up on the on-sale toilet paper at your local grocery store or buying it from Sam’s club, BJ’s, or Costco make sure you’re getting the best bang for your buck. You can usually check online or just call and ask the pricing. If it’s not the lowest per unit cost, it’s not going to save money.

How much storage space do you have at home? My husband and I have a very small apartment and not a lot of space to keep bulk items. We stock up on toiletries when they are on sale (because they are relatively small), toilet paper, and certain pantry staples (like types of pasta, canned fruit and vegetables, tomato sauce, and certain spices). We also buy cat food and litter a month at a time: a large pet food container keeps the food fresh and sealed from air for long=term storage. If you don’t have space for what you want to stock up on, buying in bulk can be counterproductive.

Do you have friends or family that use some of the same perishable products you do? A co-op might be a great way to save money by buying in bulk. If there isn’t a local co-op near you, you can always start your own with family and friends. If you have a group of people to split large purchases of perishable items with (like meats, fresh fruit and vegetables, dairy products, spices, and fresh breads), you can save a tremendous amount. This work great with other items you wouldn’t typically buy in bulk as well, like baby diapers, formula, paper towels, and cleaning supplies.

Buying in bulk is a great way to save money as long as you shop smartly, do your homework, and especially if you can share the savings by splitting the cost with others!

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One of the major expenses of daily life is our monthly grocery bill. Because it is one of our largest expenses, it also offers additional ways to save on groceries. We all struggle with how to cut grocery bills in half: we know we shouldn’t grocery shop while we’re hungry, we ought to clip coupons, check for sales, and buy up on paper good and shelf-stable items when we have money and space. But what else can we do to save? Here are 7 simple tips to help you save on groceries every single week.

1. Always Shop with a List: When you go grocery shopping, always have a list made and bring it with you. Sticking to your list will help you avoid unplanned expenses, help you stay in budget, and make your grocery trip faster. Shopping by yourself helps you stick to your list as well, which will save you more money and time.
2. Plan your Menu each Week: Plan what everyone will eat for every meal for the week, including snacks. It may sound tedious, but after a week or two it will take no more than 20 minutes and the benefits you will reap far outweigh the time spent planning. With a menu planned, you can plan to have leftovers, plan to eat out, and even plan convenience meals like frozen dinner night. Your menu is what you will create your shopping list from,  so don’t forget to check your pantry so you you use what you have first.
3. Use your coupons especially when the items are on sale: We all know we should clip coupons, but what you might not know is that most stores will honor manufacturer coupons in conjunction with sales and store specific coupons, and many stores even offer double or triple coupon days where you can increase the value of the coupons you do have. You save the most on smaller items, so buying bigger isn’t always more. If you forget the Sunday paper try getting free grocery store coupons online from places like coupons.com , valpak.com, or coolsavings.com.
4. Stretch your meats: Meat is one of the most expensive grocery items you can buy. A great way to save on groceries is to add one vegetarian meal (or more) per week. If you just can’t live without your meat, then watch your portion sizes! A single healthy serving of meat is about 4 ounces, or about the size of your palm or ¼ of your plated meal. Beef up your meal with a large dose of veggies, fruit and/or a bowl of soup to still feel full and save!
5. Pack Lunches and drinks: If you normally buy your lunch at work or your children buy their lunch at school every day, try packing lunches and drinks instead. If you are going on a road trip, going grocery shopping, or any other type of trip try packing drinks to prevent buying more expensive single serving drinks. Reusable water bottles are great for everything from water, Kool-aid, or portioning out soda from a 2 liter bottle.
6. Make it Yourself instead of buying it prepackaged: You can really cut grocery bill significantly by switching to making things like sauces, potato dishes, and even bread yourself from staples instead of buying it prepackaged. I can make a very large pot of homemade chicken noodle soup for about $7.38 with all store brand items. It makes about 8 large servings, which is about $0.93 a bowl. It takes me 20 minutes to make, and sounds (and tastes) much better than the $1-$2 per can of condensed and oily soup. Bonus: It’s often healthier and you get a bigger serving for less!
7. Watch for scanner errors: As much as we’d like to think scanner errors never happen, they do happen from time to time. Some stores will offer additional discounts if you are overcharged, and some stores have been known to offer the item free! I write down the amount of every item according to the shelf tag as I grocery shop so I can keep track of how much I’m spending and also compare prices to other stores. If I get overcharged, I take my notebook and receipt to customer service to have it corrected.

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