Save Money - Eight Money Mistakes to Avoid

Tips on Saving Money. I have to admit that I try not to pay attention to the news now that we've been hearing about potential economic stimulus plans, bailouts for 'name your industry this week', and so forth for what seems like every minute of every day since President Obama was elected! I'm sure our elected leaders will figure out the right solution and hopefully they make the right choices for how to re-charge the economy and help the average American sustain the way-of-life we've all become used too! So, after conducting some research and based on personal experience, I've included the following eight tips on money mistakes to avoid.

Eight Money Mistakes to Avoid

Tips on Saving Money - Mistake Nr 1 To Avoid - Accumulating Debt

If you're like me, this has probably already happened to you! Its been a battle but, I have been battling back and so can you. The first step is figuring out how deep are you into debt! Then, figure out a plan. If the minimum amounts owed each month exceed what you can pay, call your creditors! Don't call one of the ten's of ads you hear on the radio who will accomplish what you can in exchange for another bill! Figure out what you can afford, call each collector and setup a plan to get caught up! You may have to settle one or many accounts, but you will avoid the mounting late charges, maybe get a break on what's owed, and possibly reduce your interest rates! With new credit rating formulas in effect, try to keep your older accounts open without settling if you can. Once you have a plan in place, use cash or you will just get behind again. Don't think about bankruptcy until you've given the above a chance to work!

Tips on Saving Money - Mistake Nr 2 To Avoid - Don't Leave Things to Chance

I was getting ready to go on a big road trip recently. As I was juggling my bills, I was say 2 weeks late on my car insurance. Well, guess what, if I hadn't paid it up before the trip, what do you think the odds that I would have wrecked and maybe not have been covered would have been??? When you're behind, prioritize the bills based on your personal risk. Auto, home, medical, and renters insurance should be top of your prirorities for bills!

Tips on Saving Money - Mistake Nr 3 To Avoid - Putting Off Saving

We all get caught up in this vicious cycle of putting off saving until we're really caugt up on bills! Well, if we all follow this thought process, then guess when we'll have time to save?? That's right, probably never. So, forgo fast food one day a week and put back at least 50 bucks a pay day if you haven't been saving anything. If you do it directly from your check, you won't even see the money. If you have a really, really, rainy day, then guess what? That's right you have a small amount to pull from, but if you can avoid it, then the next thing you know due to compound earnings on savings, there will be a decent amount of money for you!

Tips on Saving Money - Mistake Nr 4 To Avoid - Matching 401 K Retirement Funds

This seems simple, but if your company offers a 401K plan with matching funds, you're throwing away money if you're not contributing the maximum amount! Just think of taking a 50 dollar bill each pay day and lighting it on fire over a cold adult beverage every Friday...pretty much the same effect!

Tips on Saving Money - Mistake Nr 5 To Avoid - Set Investments Up With Automatic Payments

Most people will not invest what they can afford with each pay day if they don't set the investments up on automatic investment!

Tips on Saving Money - Mistake Nr 6 To Avoid - Co-Signing on Loans

Ok, so this can be a touchy subject, but unless it is your off-spring (and even then think about it), try to avoid obligating yourself to co-signing for a friend or family member on a loan. Likely, they are too far in debt to afford the loan and you will end up paying at the end of the day (best case), or worst-case, end up with the bad credit report!

Tips on Saving Money - Mistake Nr 7To Avoid - Financing New Cars for Too Long

Most of us have done this...financed a new car for five or six years to get the lower payment! Well, if you haven't noticed, new car prices have dropped on order of at least 20-30 percent across all companies. This is about the amount of depreciation we would all see anyway when driving a new car off of the lot before the economy started crashing. If buying a new car, consider putting at least 20% down to avoid owing more on your car than it is worth two years into the loan! Or, buy used and just drive the car until its dead!

Tips on Saving Money - Mistake Nr 8 To Avoid - Eating Out Too Much

That's right. No matter how late you work, there's at least one time a week (if not a lot more) that you could pop in to your local grocer, Wal-Mart grocery, Kroger, Piggly Wiggly, Food Lion, etc that you could buy that take and bake pizza to cook while you're getting undressed from work or walking the dog vice paying double or triple for take out! I saved 70 bucks a week just from limiting takeout to no more than two dinners a week!

Tips on Saving Money - Summary

Well, if you've made it this far in the article, hopefully you've found at least one tip that can help! Please share, and when President Obama gets the economy going again, we can all start debating on which NASDAQ investments are the way to make a quick buck on again!