How did you get into budgeting, or are you just starting now?

While I thought the budgeting methods I was outlining in my posts were fairly simple, I still get the occasional beginner that just doesn't know where to start. For them, I wrote a post highlighting just how simple a budget can be. I also filled it with information about how a beginner can get started. If you also budget and have some advice to give our readers, please stop by and let us know what it is that helped you learn how to budget. And if you're a beginner yourself, you should stop by and hopefully get some help for your own budgeting needs.

http://www.budgetways.com/how-to-make-a-budget-for-beginners.html

What are your best deals at the dollar store?

Do you shop at a dollar store? If not, you should. And if you do shop there, what have you found to be the best deals worth returning for? These are the questions that I asked myself today before I wrote a post on my blog about saving at dollar stores. I'm hoping that people like you will visit my blog and help me discuss this so that we can all find better ways to save more money. After all, every penny counts.

http://www.budgetways.com/how-to-shop-and-save-at-a-dollar-store.html

What is the strangest thing you've done to save money?

I was writing an article about strange ways to save money this morning when I realized that, while I've probably done some strange things to save money in the past, I couldn't remember any. Either that or I didn't think anything I did was strange. It's probably like that for other people too. What I consider normal is probably very strange to others. It's easy to look at others and say "you're strange". Anyway, we're looking for examples of strange money saving methods. If you have any to share, please drop by Budget Ways and leave us a comment.

http://www.budgetways.com/strange-ways-that-people-save-money.html

Are you ready for this summer's AC bills?

If you're not ready to pay large air conditioning bills this summer, there are a number of simple ways you can cut your cooling costs. The easiest ways are to simply let your body adjust to a higher temperature in your house. Other ways include upgrading your AC unit or getting a programmable thermostat. You can even plant trees strategically around your house to help provide shade and shelter from the sun. If you want to see all of the ways that I save on my AC bills, visit Budget Ways and read up.

http://www.budgetways.com/how-i-save-money-on-air-conditioning.html

The average American only saves 3% of their income!

Can you believe it?! The average American only saves 3.4% of their income. That is very low compared to the rest of the world. For example, in China, they save about 15% of their income. The only countries with lower savings rates are countries like Sweden and Norway, where all of the retirement and health care is provided by the government and savings aren't as necessary. I guess Americans learned nothing from the great recession. After savings rates spiked during the recession it looks like they are back to their old spending habits. I mean three percent! That's less than the 401k "match" that most companies provide. Anyway, if you're interested in reading more about this, check out the latest post at Budget Ways.

http://www.budgetways.com/are-you-saving-more-than-the-average-american.html

Do you think of your finances like a business does?

Did you know that the best financial minds actually treat their own finances like a business does? And I don't mean that they are unproductive and waste their resources, but I mean the good things that a business does. Like having a good financial plan, planning for the future, investing in the future, minimizing costs, and maximizing savings/profit. A lot can be learned by looking at how businesses budget and applying those same fundamental principles to your own personal finances. I wrote a post that specifically compares the traits of a business to those of an individual. Click the link if you'd like to read more about this.

http://www.budgetways.com/budget-your-life-like-a-business.html

How to calculate the real cost of car ownership

If you're like me you've purchased a car without really looking at all of the costs of ownership. It's a fact that most people only look at how much their monthly payments will be when making a car purchase decision. This can lead to thousands of dollars in costs that you hadn't thought about. You should take all of the costs of ownership into account BEFORE you make your car purchase decision. That includes the depreciation, insurance, maintenance and fuel costs. You should create a worksheet that shows exactly how much each cost could be and then add them up to find out which car will actually save you money over the period you intend to own it. Read our latest post for help making these calculations.

http://www.budgetways.com/how-to-really-save-money-when-you-buy-a-car.html