This post may contain affiliate links and I may earn a small commission when you click on the links at no additional cost to you.
Ignoring your debt and neglecting to take steps to repay it, will often, if not always, cause it to become worse. The reason is that debt collectors often assess additional fees and interest on the debt that you owe, so unpaid debts can become monstrous in short periods of time. Creating a debt repayment plan is essential to your financial health. Follow these steps for an effective and workable plan.
Read MoreWhen it comes to retirement, the earlier you plan and save, the better. Because of compound interest and tax deferrals, you can benefit more the earlier you start saving for retirement. Do you know how much you need to save for retirement? How can you maximize your savings? Here are 7 strategies that will help you prepare for retirement and maximize your money…
Read MoreMany people save money as a second thought. When they get paid the money goes to bills, expenses, food, and a bunch of other random things. The only time they saving money is when there is money left over. With this backwards approach there is never enough money to save. Once deposits are made into a savings account automatically and on a regular basis, you don‘t have to think about it and the money is deposited before to going to any bills and expenses. It doesn’t matter if you have $5, $20, or $100, saving automatically will guarantee money is saved every time you get paid.
Read MoreValentine's Day is an opportunity to show others how much you care. Many commercially accessible present choices can be expensive, deterring people from purchasing the items they desire for this special occasion. Use these methods to save money on meaningful Valentine's Day gifts this year.
Read MoreGraduations, birthdays, house warmings, birth of a new baby, are all occasions where you may want to shower your family with nice gifts or cash. But what you may not have known is giving large sums of money or expensive gifts to your family and not reporting it to the IRS could land you in jail. Before you start giving large gifts to your family, read these important tips about tax penalties.
Read MoreThere are several options for ensuring that you don't pay more taxes than you need to. You can save throughout the year and at the last minute, but when it comes to income taxes, a little planning goes a long way. Use these 6 strategies to maximize your returns throughout the year.
Read MoreIt's amazing to be able to help a friend or family member who is facing financial difficulties, but money has a way of causing misunderstandings and hurt feelings. Many financial gurus advise against lending money to family members. Surveys have shown that 45% of people that make personal loans aren’t paid back entirely. And 25% never get paid back at all! Understand that the likelihood of getting paid back isn’t great. However, each scenario is unique. It's critical to consider all of the factors before making a decision. If you’ve decided to make a loan, here are some tips to make sure you don’t end up regretting it.
Read MoreI absolutely love seafood, so anyway I can have some, would be best. I got tired of frying fish for breakfast and wanted something a bit more fancy, so I made shrimp cakes. This is such an easy recipe because I literally always have this stuff in my fridge.
Read MoreMillions upon millions of Americans set New Year Resolutions goals every year, but less than 8% of people actually stick with their goals. If you’re one of those people who have a habit of setting resolutions at the beginning of the year and then abandoning them a few days later, now is your chance to try something different. It's very possible to overcome your habit of giving up on New Year's resolutions with a few basic tips. Here are 5 tips for sticking to your resolutions.
Read MoreJanuary is National Blood Donor Month and in honor of that, I wanted to share with you a tip that can not only save lives, but can put some money in your pockets if your ever in need of some cash. Many people think you get paid for donating blood, the bucks are in donating plasma! There is no compensation for donating blood because experts feel that people would lie about their health just to make a few couple hundred dollars. And I don’t blame them.
Read MoreYou’ve probably heard that you cannot quit your job and collect unemployment benefits, right? Well, here’s the thing, you CAN. There are a few good reasons why Unemployment might compensate you with benefits even if you quit your job. Here’s some of the reasons you can quit your job and still get collect benefits.
Read MoreFiling for unemployment can be confusing if you’ve never done it before. Unemployment is managed at the state level, therefore, there may be differences in what you need to do to apply. If you’re not familiar with the process of how to apply for unemployment benefits, you need to check with your state unemployment agency and they will give you specific instructions on what you need to do. To make it super easy for you, I put together this resource to direct you to your states unemployment agency website.
Read MoreIf you recently lost your job, you could qualify for unemployment benefits. Keep in mind that you cannot apply for unemployment benefits if you just up and quit your job or were fired for negligence or misconduct. Unemployment is meant to be a temporary form of assistance that replaces a part of the salary you’re no longer earning. Most states will grant you unemployment benefits for 26 weeks or half a year, as long as you meet the eligibility requirements and can prove that you are looking for work. Here’s how to apply for unemployment if you lose your job.
Read MoreStarting in Summer 2021, the Child Tax Credit was released to parents in increments to help families during the pandemic. The Child Tax Credit expansion was included in the Build Back Better Act and was said to benefit nearly 90% of children in the country. The legislation allowed for parents to receive up to $300 a month for each child under the age of six and $250 each month for each child between six and 17. These amounts made up half the total credit amount which means the other half will need to be claimed on your 2021 income tax return.
Read More
We all have to do laundry, but it doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg to have clean clothes. Doing laundry is more expensive than most people realize. We do laundry so frequently, that even a small savings per load could end up saving you a lot of money.
There are many simple things you can do to cut the cost of doing laundry. When you have more people in your household, it adds up to an even bigger savings.
Do you have the space to air-dry your clothes or hang them on the clothes line outside? If you can avoid using a dryer, you can save approximately $100 each year. You will save money on your electric or gas bill, and your clothes will last longer. The heat and tumbling in the dryer damage your clothing anyway. If you don’t feel comfortable hanging your undies out to dry, do this with certain clothes or just with sheets and comforters. It might not save you $100/year, but it will save you something.
Most people don’t understand all those settings on their washer and dryer. I give this tip to a lot of people and their mind is just blown. Did you know that the spin cycle exists to get the excess water out of your clothes? Yup! If you spin your clothes twice, you can remove that excess water which in turn reduces drying time. [mind blown]
This is something I do every single time I wash clothes. Unless a very expensive piece of clothing insists that I wash it with hot water, I use cold. While hot water works a little better, it costs more. The biggest cost of doing laundry comes from heating the water. You can save a bundle by skipping the hot water choosing to go with cold.
This one is fun and a bit satisfying and rewarding. There are so many “recipes” online for making your own detergent, bleach, and fabric softeners. I’m pretty sure you can find a good thousands on TikTok. Making it yourself is a fraction of the cost of grocery store laundry soaps.
Remember that the companies who make laundry detergent want you to use more than necessary. Then, you’ll have to purchase more. You may have to test this out to see how small you can reduce the amount and still clean your clothes properly. Majority of people use way too much laundry detergent just so their clothes smell cleaner, when they only need to focus on using the right fabric softner.
My daughter was notorious for washing 5 shirts. I was wondering where all my detergent was going and noticed she was wasting detergent and running up my electric bill. The electricity used to fill, agitate, and drain the washer is essentially the same, whether it’s a full or partial load. The same goes for rotating the drum on the dryer. You can save so much money by washing and drying more than just 5 shirts!
Half of a dryer sheet is usually sufficient. Experiment to see what works best for you.
Not only is it a fire hazard, but the excess lint will trap moisture in the dryer and cause your clothes to take longer to dry. The sooner the dryer shuts off, the less money it costs you.
Washers and dryers differ by brand. There are washers that will handle larger loads and use less water. There are dryers that use much less energy. Sometimes these higher efficiency units cost more, but the savings is worth it in the end.
Wash your clothes at a lower setting. Try drying with lower heat. Every load of laundry doesn’t require elaborate settings.
Washing clothes is a chore that many perform on an almost daily basis. That’s why it’s so important to cut costs wherever possible. Wouldn’t it be nice to have an extra $300 a year to spend on something more entertaining than laundry? Help the environment and your family’s budget by applying these cost-saving tips whenever you do laundry.
Creating a vision board has become one of the most popular activities. It usually gets a lot of attention and traction around New Years when people think about the past year and the New Year’s resolutions they want to keep. A vision board is simply one tool that helps you visualize your dreams and your goals.
To some people it sounds silly because they don’t know how creating a vision board will help you reach your goals. So I’m going to give you 5 reasons how it helps. Let’s go…
Read MoreThe more technology advances the more expensive it becomes. With Apple releasing a new iPhone every year, the price tag is only going up. Not to mention the plans you need to have to operate them. Between unlimited calls, text, data, and the cost of the actual phone, your phone plan can cost you $100 or more a month, and that’s just for one phone. Luckily, there are less expensive alternatives that can provide you with the same service!
Read MoreThe average American receives a tax refund of $3,000. There are so many things you can do with that kind if money and even more things you shouldn’t be doing. Before you get your tax refund, let me tell you what you shouldn’t do with that nice chunk of change.
Read More
The struggles of a homeowner is real, especially a new homeowner. You have expenses that most renters don’t need to worry about and a bunch of maintenance and tasks you need to remember to do. Doing routine seasonal maintenance and replacing things when they are no longer efficient, will not only maintain the value of your home, but save you a bunch of money in the long run.
If you were ever wondering how long before you need to replace something in your home, here’s the details: The source of the information below is: PillarToPost
Asphalt Standard Shingle: 12 - 15 years
Asphalt Premium Shingle: 15 - 30 years
Wood Shingle: 10 - 2- years
Concrete/Clay Tile: 20 - 40 years
Asbestos Cement: 40 - 80 years
Slate Tile: 40 - 80 years
Roll Roofing: 5 -15 years
Tar & Gravel: 15 -25 years
Metal: 60 years
Forced air furnace: 10 - 25 years
Oil Tank: 40 years
Water/Steam Boiler - Welded Steel: 15 - 30 years
Water/Steam Boiler - Cast Iron: 30 - 50 years
Water/Steam Boiler - Steam Circulating Pump: 10 -25 years
Central Air: 10 - 15 years
Heat Pump: 10 - 15 years
Window Air Conditioning: 10 - 20 years
Galvanized Water Pipe: 2- - 25 years
Hot Water Heater: 5 - 15 years
Septic/Sewer Pump: 5 - 10 years
Well Pump: 10 years
Dishwasher: 5 -12 years
Dryer 10 -25 years
Garbage Disposal: 5 -12 years
Oven/Range: 15 - 20 years
Washing Machine: 5 - 15 years
Knowing the life expectancy of the important items in and on your home is extremely important for all homeowners. Whether you’re new to the homebuying process or if this is your 3rd home you’ve purchased. Whether your home is new or old. No matter how well-kept your home is. Everyone needs this information so they can make smart decisions when it’s time to make repairs. Using this guide will definitely help you keep track and stay on top of things.
Remember, the life expectancy is just a guesstimate. You also have to keep in mind how often and how much these things are being used, what part of the world you live in, and how many people are using these things. The information won’t be the exact same for everyone. For example: a location where you may get more snow and rain may need to replace their roof (depending on the type of roof) sooner than a place that doesn’t.
Write these down in a notebook and put reminder in your phone when it’s time for things to be replaced. You may also want to set money aside for these repairs and replacements so you don’t have to worry about coming up with the money all at once. Don’t forget, if things breakdown sooner than you anticipated it, you can certainly use your emergency fund to cover the cost. However, the lack of planning when you now have all of this information is not an excuse to use your emergency fund in the future.
If you’re clueless on what steps to take to buy your first home, you might not know what to look out for when it comes to expenses. There are many expenses that can sneak up on you and derail your budget if you’re not careful. So if you’re new to the home buying process, keep reading and be ready for these expenses.
Read More
© All Rights Reserved | Clarissa Explains Money, LLC. Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy | Advertising Disclosure
