Do you have a shopping and spending problem?

1. You are constantly trying to justify what you have spent on the most recent spending sprees with new excuses..

2. You hide things such as bank statements, credit card statements, purchase receipts.

3. You have clothes in our cupboard that still have prices tags on them. Some are even in the shopping bag they came in.

4. You are always redecorating your house in order to justify shopping sprees and spending money.

5. You were always an honest person, until someone started to get curious about you spending money, and you had to lie.

6. You remove price tags and say you got the item on sale.

7. You see things when you are shopping, then decide you desperately need it? There was no plan to spend money on something you actually need.

8. You juggle your families finances to hide the fact that you have spent so much money shopping.

9. You buy things for other people and then convince them that they need it.

10. You are the happiest when you are shopping and spending money.

Here’s some ideas to help you stop spending money.

1. Stop the secrets. Tell people you have a problem and they will help you.

2. Find out why you feel the need to go spending money even though you cannot afford it.

3. Get your spouse or a friend to do your shopping for you. Don’t go to the shops until you can control yourself.

4. Cut up your credit cards. Do not carry cash in your pockets.

5. Write a list of all your purchases so you can see clearly what you have spent.

6. Stop and think about it. Do you want to end up in debt up to your ears, risking everything you have.

7. Get some self control. Do not let yourself get into financial trouble.

Having $100 in your pocket always will make you feel better than just having spent it on something you really didn’t want? Curve your shopping habits and stop spending money. If you can’t possibly stop spending money and going shopping then you should probably seek professional help.

Debit Card have rapidly become a major form of payment all over the world. These cards offer the same convenience as credit cards but with none of the interest fees. That is great news for consumers, but small business owners have often felt abused by the excessive charges they are forced to pay to accept these cards. Small businesses are especially affected by added fees because they are often unable to pass those costs on to their customers so they lose part of their profits.

The swipe fee battle

Swipe fees are usually bundled into the cost of buying products or services. But, when the fees became so excessive that they were significantly higher than the actual processing costs business owners began to complain. They could not reasonably pass on the total cost nor could they stop accepting debit cards without risk of losing business. In fact, the National Association of Convenience Stores lists swipe fees as their second biggest expense. The only thing that cost them more was salaries. With numbers like that it is easy to see why many business owners hoped for a way out of these costs.

The Durbin Amendment, called such because it was introduced by United States Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin called to limit these charges. He calls the current rate of swipe fees outrageous and aims to stop Visa and MasterCard from using what he called anti competitive practises.

If they were stopped, he said small businesses would be able to use a common sense system that offered customers discounts. This he said allows customers to keep more of their money and small businesses to stop being abused by the credit card company giants.

Revenue for card lenders

As you would expect, swipe fees are a major revenue stream for the credit card companies and they are not willing to simply let them go without a fight. They see this as a major loss in their battle to protect profits but plan to continue fighting. The concern is that by limiting interchange fees on debit cards the door could be opened to limit those charged on credit cards too. If that were to happen credit card companies would surely look for other ways to profit. While almost everyone would like for credit cards to be fee free, the card companies are in business to make money and somehow they will do just that.

Alban is a personal finance writer. He offers tips on how to find the best home loans online

People cringe at the thought of buying food that is packaged with a generic brand such as Black and gold. They have this predetermined idea that the food in these packets is somehow sub-standard and is uncool to be seen buying. Even though it is so much cheaper than the regular branded foods, it is still avoided like the plague, unless of course you really are can’t afford anything else.

Just to have a bit of fun I invited some rather snobby friends to dinner, cooked 90% of the meal with no mane goods, and then watched them eat it. They liked it.

Here they were raving about how nice the meal was and one guest even asked for the recipe. When I told them that it was all no-name food they would not believe me. Unfortunately I was not going to get the packaging out the the rubbish bin to prove my point. Their reaction really shocked me because it was like they had never had no-name food. I hate to see them actually end up poor one day and have to eat this stuff.

Anyway, as far as experiments go, it was a success. I really never had a problem with using no-name foods before, and this just reinforced my views.

Reason why people do not buy Black and Gold or No-name food

1. People might see them buying it and think they are poor Well that’s all about their personal image. If they care what other people think of them, then that is their problem. Rich people did not get rich by wasting money.
2. They think the food is of substandard quality It’s like anything you buy. There are good things and bad things in every product range.
3. It is too cheap Sometimes people think that you get what you pay for. But I also know that if you shop around you can always save money.
4. It might be imported It may well be imported but how do you know the brand name items are not also imported. The companies have sneaky techniques when labelling the products origin.

My children absolutely love two minute noodles in a cup which cost anywhere from $1.00 up to 1.50. This doesn’t sound like much, however when you buy a bulk pack of no-name two minute noodles they are around $1.40 for 6 times as much food, minus the fancy cups. There is an easy saving of $5.00 just on two minute noodles. For the basic ingredients of cooking, you cannot go wrong with the cheaper no-name brands. For example, baking a cake needs flour, eggs, sugar, and milk. As far as I am concerned these ingredients are all the same. Milk, cream, and cheese all come from a cow, and the taste is irrelevant when using these ingredients for cooking.

Everyone at one time or another will find something they like and will buy in the no-name range. Here are some of my ideas on what to buy or what not to buy.

Things you shouldn’t buy in the no-name product range

1. Easter Eggs or boxed chocolates The no-name or cheaper chocolates or Easter eggs taste like sugar and sometimes have granules in them. For the chocolate lovers you could never have an un-branded chocolate in your mouth.
2. Toothpaste For some reason they always taste funny and leave a chalky film on your teeth. I consider my teeth to be very important and therefore will not compromise on toothpaste.
3. Shampoo and Conditioner Correct me if I am wrong, however the no-name shampoos and conditioners do not do anything! Maybe if you are bald they might work for you. 
4. Baked beans and Spaghetti All the no-name branded baked beans and spaghetti I have had was filled with a lot of sauce. Once you drain this out you might be left with half a can of the actual food.
5. Some biscuits Some biscuits taste like cardboard and others are fine. It’s trial an error for the biscuit section. I usually buy crackers that will be used with dip but will not buy fake tim tams covered with fake chocolate.

Items you should buy in the no-name product range

1. Noodles Surely a noodle is a noodle. Do I need to say more? Save your money and buy the cheaper noodles because they will all end up the same way.
2. Rice I have tried both branded and no-name rice and have find the cheaper one to turn out just the same. If you overcook the rice it will turn to mush anyway.
3. Toilet Paper This is something we are going to flush down the toilet. Don’t be too fussy about what brand you get. Add up your savings when you buy a cheap brand.. It is amazing..
4. Medicines and tablets Now days when you get a prescription the chemist or pharmacy assistant may ask if you would like to try a generic brand of medicine. I have done this a few times as most of the time they contain identical ingredients and do the same job. You can save between 5 and $10 sometimes.
5. Flours, sugar, Salt, pepper These items are usually used as an ingredient in cooking. Who cares what brand they are. If you are a bad cook anyway, the food will still taste bad.
6. Bread I don’t know about the quality of the individual store brands, however there is no problem using this bread for making toast. I am a little bit fussier with a fresh salad sandwich, it has to nice bread for that.
7. Milk, cream, and cheese Any of these dairy products are great to buy, especially if used in cooking. However, if you wanted cheese for a platter you may need to buy a more ma 

ture cheese, which will cost more.

Generally I go for the cheaper brands that have proved to be up to the same standard of the branded items. I also try to buy local products if possible. However in the end it is a personal choice, and I know that you can make drastic savings on your grocery bill by using even a few no-name food items.

1. 1. Instead of paying outrageous phone bills for your landline service, consider switching to VoIP. Voice Over Internet Protocol works just as good as regular telephone service does, yet you pay a lot less. You can still use your landline telephone but instead of your calls being carried over phone lines, your calls will be processed using the Internet. You still get all the calling features that you get with the telephone company yet you pay a fraction of the cost.
2. 2. Almost everyone spends some money on entertainment from time to time. Instead of buying expensive books, CDs, and DVDs new, shop for used versions at online auctions and at other online venues. You’ll still get the same great entertainment, albeit used, but you’ll pay a fraction of the cost.
3. 3. While trolling through your Sunday newspaper for coupons is a good idea, you can also save the cost of the newspaper altogether and print money saving coupons for free from the Internet. Not only are there several coupon sites that will let you print coupons but many manufacturers have websites where they post free coupons as well.
4. 4. Sign up for emails from the restaurants and local stores you patronize. Often, you will get offers for free appetizers, two for one deals, and notification of upcoming sales.
5. 5. When you do purchase new items on the Internet, look for coupon codes that will offer an immediate discount. Also, if you shop at the website of your local store, you can usually use the same coupon online that you can use at the store.
6. 6. Buying insurance online can save you a lot of money, especially if you take the time to compare rates. While no one wants to make twenty phone calls, it is easy to compare insurance rates online.
7. 7. Going on a trip? Book early and book online. Check out package deals, last minute specials, and sign up to receive notifications of sales from the airlines and hotels you patronize.
8. 8. Many individuals have dropped their cable TV service to watch television online. Many of the major networks stream some of their most popular shows online and you can watch them for free. You can also watch TV from several of the cable networks and if you buy an inexpensive cable, you can even hook up your computer to your television set.
9. 9. Track your spending and stay on top of your budget by using free budgeting software, which you can find online. You can either make manual entries or register your debit or credit cards and have your expenditures tracked for you.
10. 10. Forget the gym membership. Watch online exercise videos for free and work out in the privacy of your home without having to buy expensive videos.

As you can see, there are many ways you can save money by using the Internet. Take advantage of as many of them as you can and see how your savings stack up.

This guest post was brought to you by the team at BroadbandCompare.com.au, an Australian site where you can save money by comparing the cheapest broadband plans available across the market.

Start home cooking your meals!

When did America become ‘fast food country’? Many of today’s moms (and dads) don’t even buy whole chickens now because of all the ‘work’ involved in cutting and preparing them. If they even know how to cut a whole chicken!

The point is, when it comes to food, it’s all about ‘instant’ and ‘ready-made’ meals that get served on dinner tables today. As such, start home cooking your meals! Get back to basics and enjoy REALY food. Not only will this be healthier for your family, it will be way more cost-effective too. 

Shop wisely.

First of all, don’t go shopping on an empty stomach. Next, make a grocery list of things you do NEED and intend to use over the week. This will prevent over buying and throwing away spoiled food at the end of the week.

Tone down the cleaning products at home.

Do you really need every type of cleaner under the sun for your home? Actually, a few years ago, I already switched to good old fashioned VINEGAR to clean my kitchen and bathroom because I was getting headaches each time I used those power cleaners. 

Just buy a bottle of cheap vinegar, transfer it to a container with a spray nozzle and add some water to it. Others prefer more water than vinegar in the mix but I prefer a ratio on 3 parts vinegar, 1 part water. 

Other au naturel products I use for cleaning are salt and baking soda! I also use leftover orange peel to freshen up my home, instead of buying expensive deodorizers.

Cut down laundry detergent use.

A couple of weeks ago I read some articles (here and here) about how we use WAY TOO MUCH laundry detergent in our wash cycles. Well, I heeded the advice and for the past month, I’ve cut my laundry detergent use by 50% and yes, I have NOT seen any negative results on my wash!

Live healthier.

It costs a lot to get sick nowadays… so all the more reason to start living healthier.

Stay away from junk food and start cooking and eating real food as mentioned above. Instead of chugging down liters of soda, invest in a juicer and start drinking freshly squeezed orange juice every morning. Start exercising even if long walks are all your time can afford. Start to live healthier and you’ll spend less on ‘maintenance’.

1. Become a Hotel Rewards Member

Just about every major hotel chain these days offers its guests the ability to become a member of some type of rewards program. While signing up for such a program may not seem worth your time, even for occasional travelers, it might provide discounts, rewards and other benefits such as preferential treatment, or room upgrades.

2. Snacks and Food

Food costs can add up significantly over the course of your travels. Packing snacks for your journey to satisfy short-term cravings can save you having to purchase price-inflated food items in places like airports, hotels, and theme parks.

3. Pick a Meal

Depending on where you are staying, you might find the price of a meal is exorbitantly high. And if options are limited, you may not have much of a choice as to whether or not you can avoid paying such astronomical prices. This is where having your own supply of snacks and food on hand can come in real handy. If you can choose one meal per day on which to splurge and indulge, and supplement this meal with your own food, your savings could really add up.

4. Free Meals Add Up

Some hotels offer complimentary breakfasts or snacks and drinks at night. If you are staying in such accommodations, consider eating larger meals when they are free. You may also be able to take advantage of prepackaged snacks that are offered such as those little boxes of cereal, granola bars, bottled water or juice, and other pre-packaged treats or fruit, which can make great freebies for snacking on later.

5. Bottled Water Budget Buster

The cost of buying bottled water can really add up over the course of your travels. By refilling your own bottles (as long as you trust the water source), you may find some surprising travel savings.

6. Travel List

Okay, so enough about food and drink savings already. What else can you do to save money when traveling? Sometimes your ability to save money can start before you ever begin your adventure. Making a travel list of items you’ll need for your trip can keep you from forgetting important things that could be expensive to buy when you’re on the road. Especially when it comes to traveling with kids or a baby, there are often so many extras involved that a list can be helpful in remembering what you need.

7. Don’t Force It

By not having to travel at certain times, you may better be able to choose discount options. By doing your traveling in off seasons, or when deals arise, you could find significant savings.

8. Search for Discounts

There is typically a ton of discounts out there if you take time to search the internet before you book your travel arrangement. Whether you’re renting a car, going to a theme park, or looking for lodging or airfare, utilizing discounts can save you big as long as you make sure they are valid and reputable.

9. Planned Activities

Impulse buys when it comes to your travel activities can shoot your costs through the roof. By planning your activities in advance, setting aside money or having a budget for activities, and looking for cheap or free attractions, you can make the most of your travel money.

10. Consider Vehicular Needs in Advance

Deciding upon your vehicular needs in advance could save money on gas, a rental car, extra insurance, wear and tear on your vehicle, and related costs. Figuring out the costs of renting a car, flying to your destination, or driving your own car, could mean hundreds of dollars in savings depending upon your decision.

While you may not want to sacrifice safety, comfort, or having a good time on your travels just to save money, sometimes making minor adjustments to your travel plans or habits can make for significant savings. It’s important to remember however, while saving money is nice, not every discount or cheap travel option is safe or reliable, and using common sense and doing your due diligence could save you more money than a shady discount ever could.

Elisa writes for an Australian website where you can compare frequent flyer cards, read airport guides and information about airline alliances and loyalty program reviews.

1. Primary needs first than the secondary needs

Begin with simple elements like opt for public transport for traveling instead of private vehicles to save money and petrol. All those who have lesser incomes must count on their really basic needs and avoid other expenses. See where you can cut down and do it.

2. Take merit of existing opportunities

Evaluate your hobbies and interests and look for the ways through which you can utilize your interests and skills into  making money projects. Think outside the box and try to earn extra money somehow. Maybe you could mow someone else’s lawn or even clean the neighbours house. There are always jobs around that we all have the skills to do. There is no excuse.

3. Clean up your debt

It is recommended to clean up your debts as soon as possible in the present financial crisis. Develop the priority scale, and one by one clear your debts. This is not the time to sign up for big loans or expensive credit cards either. And if you have extra money keep it safe for those little emergencies.

4. Apply the right strategy of saving 

At first set up a nice goal for saving money. This way you will feel motivated in establishing the financial plans and goals. The priority is for saving money then you can spend the rest of the money for your necessities. Discipline yourself in order to invest and save your funds. You can also consult a financial advisor.

BudgetPulse.com

A free online budgeting tool, BudgetPulse offers a variety of money tracking options as well as help with how to save for large purchases, and access to their blog sites and forum. The part I like best about the site is that it doesn’t force you to put account numbers or financial information that you want to keep private out there and at risk of being seen by others. You can watch the brief video on their homepage to get a better feel for exactly how the site works and what it offers.

MoneyTrackin.com

A free online tracking site, at MoneyTrackin.com you can visit their blog, use the site’s saving map to find ways to save money that hit close to home, or discuss budgeting matters and discover tips within MoneyTrackin’s online community. They even offer tools for small business accounting. Take their tour to discover more about the site’s features and capabilities.

Geezo.com

Create money goals, utilize money alerts, or chat about ways to save. Geezeo offers a variety of tools when it comes to tracking your money. Get recent news at the Press Center, meet and discuss budgeting topics with like-minded members of the Geezeo community, or just crunch some numbers and look for ways to save when it comes to your personal finances. The site is free and offers a short introduction by way of a brief (1 minute and 37 second) video tour.

Microsoft Excel

I personally find that simple Excel spreadsheets are one of the most effective methods of tracking and managing one’s personal finances. You can build the managing devices that best suit your needs, get as in-depth or keep it as simple as you’d like, add graphs and charts if needed, and keep your personal financial information away from any prying eyes that might be lying in wait upon the internet.

Microsoft Money

As you might already have this software (at least in some version) installed upon your computer, it could be a useful and available tool for managing your money. While Microsoft is no longer making this software available for sale, it doesn’t mean that it can’t or won’t be a valuable tool for your money managing needs. Frankly, I sometimes find that older versions of particular software are actually easier to navigate before all the added bells and whistles start to gum up the works.

BudgetTracker.com

BudgetTracker.com is a free online tracking tool that allows you to manage your financial life. Among its tools, the site offers the ability to track bills, build a budget, utilize charts and graphs, create a custom calendar of reminders, forecast incomes, or manage your business.

Bill Organizer

If you’re looking for simple and basic, Bill Organizer might be the money tracking tool for you. Bill Organizer is a downloadable spreadsheet devoid of many of the extravagant features found on so many other sites. Bill Organizer allows you to keep track of where your money is going, when it goes there, and in what amounts.

PearBudget.com

PearBudget offers a 30-day free trial, after which the service runs $3 a month. While I find it difficult to pay any amount of money for money tracking tools, PearBudget.com’s wizard function makes getting started quick, easy, and relatively painless.

Debtsteps.com

Debtsteps offers plenty of advice regarding financial matters and a number of tools including, budget worksheets, a discussion group, interactive debt help where you can read a money horror story or tell one of your own, and budget calculators. The budget calculators can be used to determine things like mortgage payments, credit card payoffs, minimum payments, or build a household budget.

Mymoney.gov

Yes, even the government is getting into the act when it comes to helping you with your money. While they don’t offer the same type services as many others on this list, they do provide several tools to help you with your money management. A slew of calculators ranging from college planning and credit card repayment to home buying and investing are there to assist you with your money matters.

Tom writes about managing money at MoneyCompare.com.au where consumers can compare online savings accounts in order to get the highest interest rate and lowest fees for their money.

1. Buxr.com

Buxr is a site where you can find a variety of information about the latest deals, participate in contests, as well as join in discussions regarding various ways to save. There is a link on the site’s home page to a good video tour that will guide you through using the website as well its various features.

2. LifeTuner.org

Lifetuner could be the perfect spot for you to find motivation to save. To quote their ‘About Us’ section, “Lifetuner is not just a site, but a way to get individuals talking about money, to seek advice and gain confidence in managing your finances.” They offer expert advice about money basics as well as maintaining a community discussion forum and Lifetuner blog.

3. MySavings.com

MySavings is geared toward finding great deals, coupons, free samples and other savings. Take a look at their community forum by entering as a guest (you don’t have to sign up to do so) to get a feel for what topics are being discussing.

4. AARP.org

The AARP might not pop into mind right away when considering websites that offer an online saving community. The site’s community group forums however, have a number of money saving topics that you can read about and discuss.

5. MoneySavingExpert.com

Read web and news releases, watch videos, visit discussion forums, or participate in weekly polls on the MoneySavingExpert and get regular email updates on the latest special offers and coupons. This site is geared toward those who are looking to save in the UK.

6. HotCouponWorld.com

You can chat, visit forums or blogs, or just discover what’s new with coupons in HotCouponWorld’s coupon database. This site proclaims itself, “The Internet’s Largest Grocery Community”. You can sign up for the site’s newsletter to stay up to date on money saving techniques and deal alerts. If you’re looking for a spot devoted to groceries and coupons, then this might be the site for you.

7. SlickDeals.net

As a member of Slickdeals.net, you can take part in the ‘Hot Deals’, ‘Freebies’, ‘Deal Talk’, or ‘Coupons’ forums, amongst others, or just visit the ‘Lounge’ and participate in general discussions with fellow site members. Among the site’s many tools and resources, SlickDeals.net allows you to search for contests and sweepstakes, compare prices, read product reviews, and get store ratings.

8. FatWallet.com

FatWallet offers a number of forum topics ranging from ‘Hot Deals’ and ‘Deal Discussion’ to ‘Technology’ and ‘Travel’. If you are looking for a site that may be able to help you save on a variety of different product and service categories, this could be the site for which you’ve been searching.

9. SavingAdvice.com

Read finance articles, participate in the site’s ‘Personal Finance Forums’ or visit the SavingAdvice blog as a possible way to help motivate yourself to save. There are a number of blog categories offering advice and information on a variety of money saving topics.

Tom writes about managing money at Money Compare where consumers can compare online savings accounts in order to get the highest interest rate and therefore increase their ROI.

In 2009 I paid off about 15,000.00 worth of debt, not including the home mortgage so I am very pleased with myself. What I did is I kept chipping away at it all every week…Even if I could only pay a small amount, I would still do it. Trust me, it really does all add up in the end. I was shocked when I added up the amount I had managed to pay in one year. By the way one of these was a credit card that was costing me at least $75 on month in interest alone. So now I have less bills to pay now too….

My problem was that I had too many things to pay off which created too many bills for me to pay every month. This year I have eliminated at least 3 monthly bills that were strangling me. And the thing is…now that I have achieved this, I want more… I do not want to give anyone my money by paying late fees, unecessary bank fees, and interest fees…Why should they have my money.

So my 2010 new years resolution is to cut down on spending money a bit more and save more money in order to pay more bills…
I am actually good at not spending money but its my family that wear me down.

The hardest part for me is that I have two children that expect everything. In this day and age they have not done without anything and unfortunately they are not grateful for this either. So along with the wanting, spending, expecting, their attitude is terrible.

Maybe my new years resolution isn’t about saving money, but more about knocking that terrible attitude out of my children.

I am sure there are plenty of people out there with the same problem. How can I get them to appreciate what they have around them and stop spending money on things they don’t need.