Free savings calculator and tips for saving money by cutting expenses.
Free savings calculator to estimate interest earned.
Are you saving money? Read our tips on ways to save money and use our free money savings calculator.
FREE Money
Management Software
* Log and Itemize Expenses by Category
* Track Bill Payments and History
* Easy to use, like an Electronic Checkbook Register Certified
to have No Viruses, No AdWare, No SpyWare
Our
savings calculator shows how much interest you can earn over time
How to use our savings calculator: In the first box, enter the amount of money you expect to deposit into a savings account each month. In the years/months box, input the number of years (or months) in the first block, then select whether it is "Months" or "Years" you expect to continue depositing money into the savings account. In the interest rate box, type in the percentage rate your bank pays. Finally, click the "Calculate Savings" button to see the amount you'll earn.
FREE
Money Management Software!
* Log and Itemize Expenses by Category
* Track Bill Payments and History
* Easy to use, like an Electronic Checkbook Register Certified
to have No Viruses, No AdWare, No SpyWare
Drop the daily newspaper. Use Sunday editions for coupons.
Drop cable movie channels, or drop cable bills completely.
Don't shop blindly. Watch sales and clip coupons. See if you can get friends to buy high commodity items in bulk with you.
Reduce electric bills: Replace lamp bulbs with lower wattages, hang clothes outside to dry instead of running the dryer, hand washed dishes, and use a microwave oven as often as possible. Cut back on your heating by wearing sweaters or thick robes around the house. Reduce cooling costs by wearing light clothing and using fans. Turn off all appliances when not in use, or use timers. These are especially handy if you come home after dark and want your porch light on without having to leave it on during daylight.
Think before you drive. Make sure you optimize the journey by taking care of any other necessary stops along the way to save trips.
Pack your lunch. Try a thermos of soup and a sandwich.
Wash full loads of clothes, using minimum hot water.
Dump unnecessary telecommunications. Do you need a cell phone, pager, and extra features / charges on your home phone bills?
Track
all of your expenditures. Download our free
expense tracking software so you can account for every cent you spend.
You can itemize expenses to see where you waste money most.
Choose the credit
card best for you. Don't apply for every preapproved credit card offer you
get in the mail. If you have bad credit, why waste unnecessary inquiries
into your credit report just to get rejected? If you qualify for rewards
credit cards or low interest cards, choose the one which will give you the
most benefit and biggest savings.
Make
purchases on seasonal items during the off-season, such as right after a
holiday. For example, you can purchase holiday decorations at a fraction of
the cost in the days after the holiday.
You
don't always have to pay the sticker price. If you're a good customer, or
have proof that the same product is being sold for less by a competitor, ask
for a discount to beat the price.
Buy
used especially for short-term purchases. If you need an item for a short
time, buying used can save you money, plus it offers you a better resell
return.
Don't
carry a balance. To keep curb spending temptation and to save interest fees,
pay with cash.
Examine
bank and credit card statements. Accidents do happen, and so does fraud.
Make sure every credit card charge and bank withdrawal was done with your
permission. If you find fraudulent charges, challenge them and have the
charges reversed.
Deposit money each month into a savings account. Use our free savings calculator above to calculate how much money you could save and earn in interest with a savings
account.
Need more information? Read our financial and credit articles related to calculator, and join our online financial newsletter.
Personal
Credit
Knowing
everything there is about credit and how it is affected from late payments or
bankruptcy can be overwhelming. There are services that can be used that can
require a monthly fee, to monitor credit reports. Some of these services will
give valuable advice to their clients and help educate them about ways to repair
bad credit. Some are able to provide 24/7 credit monitoring, and send email
alerts as well. When a person does not have enough time to do all this for
themselves, they can enlist a credit monitoring company. Many people have
learned to do a great job of screening their reports themselves, to look for
mistakes or questionable information.
A
credit score is a three digit number rating, and it is used by creditors to predict a consumer's behavior.
They use the rating to try to determine if a person will pay their debts or even
if they may file bankruptcy. Using such information, they may go so far as to
try to determine if a person will file an insurance claim on a home or auto. For
people who attempt to read their own reports, it is best to begin at the
beginning and review the report from the top down. One goal is to look for any
information that is wrong. Review information like your address, old addresses, employment,
and your date of birth.
Other
areas that are extremely important to review, are any judgments or liens. Make
sure any and all information on the report is correct, including any account
information. Take your time when reviewing listed credit inquiries to determine
if any attempts were made to get credit and you did not make them. When reports
are good, it can mean getting good interest rates on credit products, and if
scores are low, determine why and work to repair them. Information that is
negative or incorrect could be causing low scores. Work hard to have incorrect
information taken off the reports.
Businesses
and companies, even those who are hiring individuals, and government agencies, may request a credit report.
A poor credit report
could prevent a person from being hired for a job. That is one good reason to
keep scores in top shape. Other reasons a report is requested, is when a person
applies for credit cards
and loans,
to get insurance, or even to rent a place to live. Areas of interest on reports
is how well debts are repaid and how likely debts will be paid in the future.
Even courts can request a person's reports. Credit bureaus keep certain information
on reports as long as a few years or up to ten years. It is a good idea to check
reports about every three months, just by taking advantage of one free credit
report from each of the three major bureaus.
Credit Card or Personal Loan Rejection Letters - Regulations require lenders to provide new information to consumers under certain conditions. Depending on the circumstances, when you apply for credit through a bank, credit union, or other lender, you may receive a notice from the lender with information about your credit report or credit score. For example, you might receive a notice:
When you apply for credit:
* In some cases, shortly after you apply for credit, you will get a Credit Score Notice that states your credit score and information about how your credit score compares to other consumers' scores. A lender would provide this notice to all credit applicants, whether you apply for a mortgage, auto loan, or another type of credit. This notice would be provided regardless of the terms of credit offered to you. If you do not have a credit score, the lender's notice would identify the particular credit bureau that does not have a credit score available for you.
If you have been denied or declined credit:
* If the lender used your credit score in any way in making its decision to grant credit, you will receive an Adverse Action Notice. This notice must provide your credit score and any related information. Check the credit score they have provided and the credit bureau that issued the score. If you feel there are any inaccuracies, contact the credit bureau to dispute that information. For instructions on how to dispute credit report and score errors, visit the Federal Reserve's Guide to Credit Reports and Credit Scores.
If you are offered credit on less favorable terms:
* You will receive a Risk Based Pricing Notice from your lender. This is a new required notice that is issued by a lender when a consumer has applied for credit, the lender uses the consumer's credit score, and the consumer is offered credit on terms that are less favorable than the terms offered to other consumers. For instance, you may receive this type of notice if you are offered a loan with an annual percentage rate (APR) that is higher than the APR offered to other consumers who apply for that loan, and your credit score is used in any way in the underwriting process. If the APR on an existing credit account is increased because the lender has reviewed your credit report or score…
* An Account Review Risk Based Pricing Notice with credit score information will be sent to you if your APR on an existing credit account is increased based on a review of your consumer report and your credit score is used in the process. Some credit card issuers conduct periodic reviews of customers' credit reports. If there has been a change in your report since you initially applied for the card, the issuer may increase your APR. If the issuer used your credit score in any way in the account review process, you would receive this notice providing you with the credit report information that resulted in the APR increase.
Personal Finance Help:
Free, short term immediate help and long term planning tips to improve personal
finances. Learn how an annuity and insurance can help.
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Auto Loan: Get free quotes and apply for a new or used auto loan or for auto refinancing.
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Credit Report: Free credit report help to fix credit report errors and improve credit score ratings. You are entitled to one free credit report annually.
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Personal Loan: Submit a short or long term personal loan application (if available), or apply for other secured or unsecured loan offers.
Save Money and Prevent Financial Hardship with Auto Insurance - Not only may auto insurance be a requirement in your state, it can also provide you with financial security. In short, if you are at fault in an accident which does $7,000 in damages to another car, you can be held liable to pay for the damages out of your own pocket if you lack insurance. And; of course, you have to cover the repair costs to your own vehicle. "Liability Insurance" only covers cars owned by other people who you hit, whereas "Collision Insurance" covers your own vehicle. Since you cannot fortell the value; and damages, you may do against other people's cars; and since it's likely a law in your state to have it, liability insurance makes sense. But, it may not make sense to also get collision coverage if your vehicle is worth only a few hundred dollars. If; for example, the blue book value of your car is only $1,000, it wouldn't make much sense to pay for collision... especially if you have a $500 or higher deductible. It may be best for you to set the collision insurance money aside in an interest earning savings account for a new car.