Make Your Own Coffee (Save between $540 to $1,500 annually)

Negotiate lower Credit Card Rates

Compare major services such as phone, cable, cell phone service

Monitor Accounts

Change filter on Air Conditioner (Conserve Energy and Save Money)

Join an online DVD rental service.  If you’ve already tried you library, check out Blockbuster or Netflix (netflix.com)

Adjust your Insurance policies and save between 15 to 30%

Get more out of Banking: Try internet banks such as, ingdirect.com, etrade.com, hsbcdirect.com and make your money work your by yielding more interest on every penny you save.

Conserve energy and money by using less energy.  Consider fluorescent light bulbs and changing the filter on  your air-conditioning and heating system.

Cut back on personal costs.  Consider beauty schools to get your spa treatments, nails and hair care.  Also, consider dental schools to get your cleaning and annual checkups if you do not have any insurance.

Financial Blessings,

Nisha E.

Suze Orman, the financial advisor, writer, television personality and host of The Suze Orman Show on CNBC appeared on the Oprah Show a lot of great financial tips to get you started on a budget, paying off debt, and becoming more financially stable – specially in this downtrodden economic time. Suze’s tips and explanation are great ways to develop a strong and proper understanding of financial stability and wisdom. It helps you learn to make better decisions with your money.  I hope you are able to find this useful. You can get a copy of Suze Orman’s latest book, Suze Orman’s 2009 Action Plan absolutely free at Oprah.com.

Also on Thursday, January 15, 2009, at 9pm, Suze is taking questions in a live webcast. You must register. Go to Oprah.com to register.

Financial Blessings,

Nisha E.

Mint.com is a free service that helps you manage your money.

According to the site, about 600,000 people are already enjoying the service which tracks about $50 billion transactions.

One of my most favorite feature of mint.com is that it gives you tips on a weekly basis and it makes recommendations based on your personal spending habits.  In less than a few minutes you can sign up and add your account information secured by their data security and visually track your spending pattern.  For example, it tells you how much money you spend on dinning for the last month or year while recommending ways to cut back or find other alternatives.  It even sets up a budget for you to save your money and help you do more with your money.

Mint.com sends you weekly emails with where your money is going, bill reminders & alerts,  investment performance while finding extra savings.  It even shows you a full picture of your assets and debts once you’ve accurately added the appropriate, respective accounts.  For example,  take a sneak peak of what my Weekly Financial Summary starts off with, excluding my personal financial information.

Your Weekly Summary

	Three Principles of Personal Finance Personal finance is simple. Spend less than you earn. Make the money you have work for you. Be prepared for the unexpected.

Mint.com even gives you a visual guide (graphs, charts, etc.) of your financial situation.  Check out the CEO, Aaron Patzer’s Demo on Mint.com.

This site keeps you in much closer contact with your money and a very close eye on your balance so that you are in less danger of over-drafting your accounts.

Did I mention, it’s FREE!

Financial Blessings,

Nisha E.

Excerpted from SEFCU

Check out your banks website and read all about money-saving ideas at their financial education center or tips and tools section.  Today, banks want to give you an overall appearance of concern and care so they have become more informative.  Not only do they offer free courses from month to month, they offer video clips on their website and information about auto insurance, health insurance, long-term care insurance, home ownership education, goal-related calculators and lots more.  So, check out your banks website or walk into your branch and find out how you can become a richer, better and well-informed customer.

Also, check out one of my favorite online banks (www.ingdirect.com)

Financial Blessings!