Save Money the Easy Way

These are tough times. In this economy it is best to save instead of spend. I know that's easy to say but hard to do for most of us. So, I'm going to give you some ideas to save money the easy way. You won't get rich quick but slowly but surely you will have a decent emergency fund. With that comes some sense of security.

The first is to sign up for a Way2Save savings account with Wachovia Bank. It's great! Every time you use your check card they take $1 from your checking account and transfer it over to your Way2Save savings account. When you use the online bill pay with Wachovia each time that you pay certain bills they will transfer $1 from your checking account to your Way2Save savings account. Also, you can arrange to transfer up to $100 from your checking account to your savings account in automatic monthly installments. Let's say that you use your check card and use Bill pay maybe 40 times in a month. You also set up $50 automatic monthly transfers. That totals $90 a month. Not too shabby. And, you can withdraw your money in an emergency if you need it.

Next, is to get a money market fund account. Talk to a financial advisor for the one that is best for you. You can have small amounts of money transferred into your money market account on a monthly basis. Your money is safe and you can take your money out in an emergency if you need it.

The next is to haggle. Call your credit cards for a lower interest rate. Call your cable/satellite providers to see if they can give you a better package to lower your payments. Call the phone company to see if you can lower the payment by changing your phone package.

The last, Is to cut, cut and cut some more. Look at all of your bills. Change the premium packages to standard. PSE&G has a equal payment plan that you can sign up for. Get rid of all the extras. Do you have an old car that your holding on to? Donate it to charity for the tax benefits. Call your insurance company, maybe they can offer you a better deal for you. Now, with the money that you have saved with the cuts that you have made should go directly into one of the accounts above.

Remember, do not take the money out of the accounts. After a few months you will have a nice amount of money in your savings account. And, that always makes people feel good!