I've always been very careful to live within my means and not take on any significant amount of debt but around six months back, I learned the hard way that this isn’t always enough to keep you in the black. My beloved cat suddenly got very sick and I instinctively knew that I’d do whatever it took to help her. Everything seemed to happen all too quickly and she passed away a couple of weeks later, at which point I’d charged my emergency-only credit card for $1,500 on tests, treatment and medication for her various ailments.

For most people, the prospect of paying this off wouldn’t be a huge problem - you’d just work out how much you could take from your monthly paychecks and throw that at the debt, right? Unfortunately for me, I’m self-employed and don’t have a set income. Sure, I have a few clients who pay me regularly but generally speaking, I can’t say with any certainty how much I’ll earn month to month. Even worse, being self-employed means that it’s not always in your hands even if you’ve got a great idea of how much you’re going to be invoicing for. If a particular client is late paying up or doesn’t want to pay at all, it’s even more difficult to find available money to pay off debt. In that kind of situation, even paying your rent/mortgage bills and putting food on the table can be challenging enough.

Still, it’s by no means impossible to get out of debt when your income is all over the place. My debt isn’t yet fully paid off but I’ve cleared all but $150 of the original total by utilizing the following methods:

Budgeting. Once my regular expenses were accounted for, I intended to throw literally every ‘spare’ cent towards the credit card debt. In the short term, that would obviously mean no scope for luxuries and treats that aren’t strictly essential, but it’d be worth it to know that interest payments are reduced. Of the five months that I’ve been repaying the debt, the joys of being self-employed means that only two of these months have left me with surplus cash to actually follow through on this plan.

I have a separate account that I treat as being somewhere between checking and savings and which I use to take care of regular expenses if my income for that particular month doesn’t stretch far enough. For three of the five months, I’ve borrowed money from that account to use towards debt repayments. Obviously this isn’t an ideal situation but I prefer to do that than let interest build up and prolong the debt even further.

Second income.  In the early days of repaying the debt, I searched high and low for a part-time job that I could fit around my freelance work to secure a bit more money to throw at the debt. I found some work as a bartender and this worked well for a couple of months, until the onset of a recurrent family illness forced me back to working solely from home again. Even though it didn’t amount to all that much in comparison to my freelance work, the fact that it was regular and fixed was a huge help towards the debt repayment.

Other options

Using savings. If you can take money out of a savings account without incurring penalties, you can use this for debt repayment and pay yourself back once the debt is cleared. This would have been my top choice if I hadn’t tied up the bulk of my savings. Needless to say, I’m on the hunt for a savings account that offers easier access now that I’ve been burned with unexpected debt and know how easy it would be for a similar medical expense to crop up in the family.

What are your tips for paying down debt on an erratic income, particularly long-term debt?

I’ve spent the last few weeks trying to pin myself down to one cell phone provider after my previous contract came to an end. I’m not one for fancy cell phones so all I was really looking for was something with a reasonable amount of airtime that wouldn’t leave me out of pocket. Here are some of the things I had to think long and hard over before choosing which provider to go with:

How much airtime I'll really use. I don’t tend to spend a lot of time on my cell phone so I have no real need for a contract that offers 1000 minutes or unlimited texts. Several of my friends are tied into contracts of this nature and never manage to use up all of those minutes or texts, making me wonder exactly why they consider it good value for money! On the other hand, another friend repeatedly exceeds both the minutes and texts on her contract and gets hit with additional charges. On the face of it, none of them seem to be getting a good deal so I was keen to assess exactly how many minutes and texts I use on average and to choose a plan fits my needs. It’s common sense really but you’d be surprised how many people get sucked into a particular cell phone plan without thinking about how much it’ll actually benefit them.

Who I call most. If most of your calls are to people who live in your area, you might want to think twice about any long distance add-on that may be part of a contract. The same goes for an international add-on if you don’t tend to make calls to anyone outside of the US. As I rarely ever make international calls and the majority of my calls in general are to people who live near to me, I wasn’t in favor of having things like this bump up my monthly bill when I was barely ever going to use them.

What I chose in the end. After I compared a lot of contract plans, I ultimately rejected them all. I don’t spend much time at all talking on the cell phone and most of my communication with friends and extended family is through email and social networking sites. Because of that, I went with a pre-paid option, which I decided would give me more flexibility. I can buy a block of minutes that I know will correspond with what I’m actually going to use and there’s no leftover minutes down the drain. This kind of set-up probably wouldn’t suit those of you who use more airtime than me. For texts, it seemed as though they would be more expensive on the majority of pay-as-you-go plans so I’m sticking to instant messaging or social networking sites. Most of my friends (who are the people I’d usually send texts to) regularly check their Facebook through their cell phones so there’s a very good chance that they’ll read the message sooner rather than later even if it’s fairly urgent.

What to do if your contract doesn’t expire anytime soon. If you can’t get out of your current contract in the near future, it’s not a total disaster. Try calling your current provider and seeing whether they have any plans that better suit your situation. Also, don't forget to check out some of these other tips on getting the best deal on your cell phone plan.

Do you have any additional tips that I might have left out that people often gloss over when choosing their cell phone plan? I'd love to hear some great advice from you.

When the topic of making extra money comes up, taking online surveys is often one of the ideas that is put forward. This is something that I do myself after I read about it on an online forum, but it’s by no-means a “get rich quick” scheme. If you’re thinking about signing up for a host of survey websites, it’s best to know what you’re getting involved in so you can decide if it’s going to be worth the effort.

What Are The Reward Options?

For the most part, you’ve got the choice between cash and vouchers. Cash may come in the form of a Paypal payment or in some cases, a transfer straight to your checking account. Vouchers tend to be of the gift variety and can be either a paper voucher that you hand over in a store or an e-voucher to redeem at online retailers like Amazon. Some survey sites only offer one or the other so be sure to check this out before you sign up. Some survey sites make it easy to work out how much you’ll get by paying a designated amount (say $0.50) per survey. Others pay in points, so it’s a case of earning so many points and having that converted into earnings (for example, 5,000 points may equate to $5 in cash or a voucher worth the equivalent of $5). Again, read the help or FAQ sections to see how easy (or otherwise) it is to redeem your earnings.

How Much Can You Make?

There’s no easy answer to this question because a lot will depend on whether you fit the demographic for the surveys that you’re invited to participate in. You’ll get survey invitations, but this doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re eligible to actually complete the survey. For example,  the people behind a particular survey may be looking for views from a thirty-something woman with multiple kids, and if you’re a single guy (with or without kids), you’ll be “screened out” of the survey once this becomes apparent and won’t earn anything. Don’t automatically assume that just because a few surveys out there screen you out that there are no options for you. There are a lot of surveys out there and you’re bound to fit the profile for some of them.

If you’re interested in my personal “earnings,” here they are. I earn around $80 worth of vouchers over the course of a year, which I put towards birthday and Christmas gifts or spend on treats for myself. In terms of cash, it’s more like $60 per year. Before this year, I did earn more from paid surveys but I decided to become more picky about which surveys are worth my time. I might be making less but I’m happier that I’m not spending a disproportionate amount of time for what I get back.

So, are these figures good? Considering that I’m not signed up to every survey site out there and I don’t spend every waking minute completing surveys, I see this as being pretty good reward for the time I do spend on surveys. To give you a rough idea, I complete (by that I mean, I get all the way through a survey and have points or earnings credited to my account) 2-5 surveys a week on average and never spend more than twenty-five minutes on any particular survey (25 minutes is on the very high end), purely because the rewards rarely match the effort required for those. If you’ve got more time to spend or you fit the profile for more surveys, you could potentially do better than that.

Survey Sites With Good Reputations

Global Test Market. I know some people who have had good success with this survey site but it's one that I ditched early on. I didn't qualify for many surveys so the high number of points needed to cash out seemed a lifetime away. If you do decide to join, they have an excellent reputation for paying out.

Pureprofile. This survey does pay out by all accounts, but it takes forever to build up your earnings enough to get there and that's the main reason why I stopped using this one. If you've got the willpower to persevere, I've never heard complaints about this company in terms of getting your money.

Survey Sites With Poorer Reputations

Surveyhead. I used to really like this survey site despite the fact that it had some less than stellar reviews. I got a lot of survey invitations for good rewards (up to $4 for a single survey rather than the $1 offered by a lot of survey sites) and qualified for around three-quarters of them. I cashed out in a Paypal transfer a few months after signing up and it didn’t take long to get near to a second payout. Then the problems started. I have enough in my account to cash out but one particular survey has been “pending” for months. I can’t request my money until it’s approved and repeated emails have failed to get the situation changed. On this basis, it’s moved into the “one to avoid” category.

Toluna. This survey site has had a poor reputation for sending out vouchers and often takes far longer than the two months it claims that this process will take. I received two vouchers from them (both of which took three months to arrive as an e-voucher) and who knows what happened to the third, because it never arrived at all despite me emailing them four times about it. Needless to say, I can't recommend this one!

The Bottom Line

Doing paid surveys isn’t an easy way to make lots of cash, so you’ll be disappointed if you’re expecting that to happen. It’s also hit-and-miss due to the fact that you need to fit the profile for a particular survey and if you don’t, you usually get nothing or perhaps a small number of points as an appreciation for your time. It can be a good way to get some extra help towards Christmas, birthdays, other celebrations, or just for a little extra spending money for treats and luxuries, but it's best not to expect any more than that.

Have you had any experience with survey sites? Any thoughts or feedback?

Most dorm rooms are on the basic side and all you'll usually get is the bare minimum in terms of furniture and decoration. They tend to be impersonal but putting your own stamp on the place can quickly become a challenge for a couple of reasons. Firstly, there's the all-important money issue. Most students are not exactly rolling in dough and are unlikely to have the funds to spend on decking out a dorm room. Secondly, there's the space aspect to consider too. Dorm rooms are invariably rather small and don't lend themselves to hosting much more than the furniture that is already there, so this is something to bear in mind when you're deciding how to furnish a dorm room. Here are some tips for giving a dorm room the personal touch, even when money isn't plentiful:

Spread the word. Before you head off to college, make everyone that you know aware that you're on the lookout for affordable dorm furniture. Chances are that someone will have at least one item that they'd be happy for you to take off their hands, if not for free then for a cheap price. Note: Some college dorms will be 100% furnished so make sure you look into this before you invest in any furniture, though often there will always be at least a few things you will need to add.

Look for bargains. Even if you're not restricted by budget, the open nature of most dorm rooms means that it doesn't make sense to fill your space out with expensive items that could potentially be trashed or stolen. Check local classified adverts for second-hand bargains or even look around the campus to see if anyone is looking to offload their own dorm furniture. Looking on eBay and Craigslist are other options. For the latter, you can always post your own advertisement as well as see what's being offered by others.

Throw a dorm shower. This works in much the same way as a bridal shower or baby shower in that guests bring gifts. In this case, the gifts would be the kind of things that you'll need to take with you to college. Throwing a dorm shower can be a great way to receive bedding, dishes and other items that can soon bump up the costs.

Buy functional items. Because space is usually tight in your average dorm room, there may be literally no scope in either the room itself or your budget for stuff that doesn't serve a specific purpose. Some of the practical things that you'll probably want to get include rugs (to make the room look more cozy and to cover up cold floors or carpets that have seen better days), a dorm fridge (which can often be rented on campus), a futon (this can be very space-saving if there's not enough room for a bed and a couch as it can double a both) and bookshelves (somewhere to store your many textbooks while you're a student!).

When it comes to filling a dorm room, there's no need for brand new furniture. You can easily create a comfortable and homely environment with used furniture, and your wallet will certainly thank you for it! Second-hand items may not be exactly what you're after but you can always customize them to your own tastes.

(photo credit: prayitno)

How can I pay less for this? That's a question you can ask yourself when it comes to any purchase, big or small. You can apply this question to just about anything you spend your money on. The economy is slowly improving but it never hurts to save money whenever you can; no matter what the state of the economy. It never makes sense to pay more than you have to.

I've recently started to apply this method of thinking when I go shopping for those everyday items I use all the time. I tend to buy the same products each and every month; especially when it comes to toiletries. I know how much my deodorant, toothpaste, mouthwash, etc, should cost. I also know that by shopping around a little, I can usually save money those purchases. If I can find a sale, I'll pick up enough to last for awhile.

By doing a little research, I've learned which stores usually have the lowest prices on the items that I need. Experience has taught me that by purchasing the previously mentioned items from a discount store (Wal-Mart, Target), it will cost less than if I bought them from a grocery store.

Another way to save money on those everyday items is to cut coupons. I subscribe to the Sunday paper for the main reason of getting the coupons. Sometimes, I can find a bunch of coupons for the items I need and sometimes, I don't find any. Overall, I would say that I usually save anywhere from $25 - $30 per month by using coupons. Recently, I've started to find the coupons I need online.

Although saving $25 - $30 by using coupons and shopping around is nice, it probably won't have a major impact on your finances. The major savings will come from shopping around on those big ticket items.

Think about your next vehicle purchase. Taking a little time to shop around and do a little research, you can save thousands of dollars. If you were to purchase 10 cars over your lifetime and save an average of $2500 per vehicle, you would save over $25,000. If you were to invest $25,000 in a mutual fund earning 8%, you'd have over $275,000 after 30 years.

The next time you make a purchase; whether it is big or small, take a moment to ask yourself, “how can I pay less for this”?

Cars. Most of us need them to get around. When you think about it, the only thing a car does is get us from Point A to Point B. A car is basically four wheels and an engine. If the only thing a car does is get from from place to place, why are they so expensive? Why is it that vehicles expenses are usually the second largest expense in our budget? If cars are only meant for basic transportation, how is it that they have become such a status symbol?

Unfortunately, I got caught up in the car buying frenzy. It seemed like for a period of about 10-12 years, I was buying a new car every two years or so. Even though I had a car that was in perfect working order, I always had to have the newest model with the latest and greatest features.

In my senior year in one of my college business courses, I'll never forget the words of my college professor. Our professor told us that he'd taught us the essentials of business from the book but he also wanted to give us some real world advice. His tip was simply, “Don't buy the car”. He knew that once we got out of college and landed our first real job, the first thing we would want to do is go buy a flashy car. He provided us with detailed calculations of how much money we would throw away by buying a new car and how much money we would potentially end up with if we took the money we were paying each month to the finance company and invested that money in a good mutual fund.

He shared that he had been driving the same car for over 15 years. He knew the car looked bad and he could afford to buy a new car but he chose not to. The car still ran good but it was so old, you could see the ground from inside the car.

As a young 22 year old, I failed to listen to my professors advice. I'd just made a huge accomplishment (getting a college degree) and I was going to celebrate and reward myself. I had a car that was paid for; but it didn't look good. I was getting ready to move to the big city of Atlanta and my old Chevrolet Lumina was not the car for a young college graduate. I “needed” to have a new car. I went to the car dealership and with the help of my grandfather, I drove out in a nice new Nissan Altima.

What cars have I owned in the past?

• 1st car – Nissan Stanza. This car was given to me when I was 16 by my grandfather. I think he paid about $500 for it. I kept this car for about 2 months until the engine blew. The cost to repair the car was much more than it was worth.
• 2nd car – Chevy Cavalier. This car was given to me by my Mom. When she got another car, she gave this one to me. I kept this car for a couple of years until it was totaled in an accident.
• 3rd car – Chevy Lumina. I bought this car after I was in an accident with the Cavalier. I was on a 2 lane road attempting to make a left turn. The car behind me decided to pass me on the left as I was making my left turn and t-boned the Cavalier knocking me into the ditch. My Cavalier was a total loss and with the proceeds from the insurance settlement, I bought the Chevy Lumina. I used the insurance settlement for the down payment and took out a loan. I kept this car for a couple of years and paid off the loan.
• 4th car – Nissan Altima. This was my first new car. As mentioned earlier, I leased it shortly after college. My monthly lease payment was about $290. I gave the paid-off Chevy Lumina to a family member.
• 5th car – Nissan Altima. This one was newer than my other Altima and I wanted to upgrade. I rolled in the negative equity from the first Altima and my monthly payment went up to $345.
• 6th car – Jeep Grand Cherokee. One of my friends had one of these so I wanted one too. I traded in the Nissan Altima and rolled in the negative equity into the new Jeep Loan. My monthly payment went up to $422.
• 7th car – Dodge Durango. – My cousin worked at a Dodge/Chrysler dealership. I went in to say hey to her and ended up driving out in a new Durango. I'd had a pretty major accident with the Jeep and I kept having problems with it so this helped influence my decision to get rid of it. I rolled in the negative equity from the Jeep and my payment jumped to $555.

Thankfully, I had a financial awakening and enough in savings to get rid of this car loan. It was the best feeling ever. I was no longer writing out a large check to the finance company each month and I had $555 to send to my savings account.

It's been over 2 years since I paid off that loan and I can't believe I kept buying new cars and putting myself further in debt with each purchase. I don't want another car loan. My next vehicle will be paid for in cash.

How many cars have you owned? Do you currently have a car loan?

If you are about to purchase your first home, there are several things you need to do. It does not matter if the home is brand new and has never been lived in; get the inspection anyway.

The first and most important thing you need to do is get pre-approved for a mortgage, unless you are fortunate enough to be paying in cash. By getting pre-approved for a mortgage BEFORE you start shopping for a home, you will know how much home you can afford and avoid wasting time looking at homes that are beyond your price range. There is nothing worse than finding the home you like, then applying for the mortgage only to be told you can't afford the house.

The second is to find your perfect home. One piece of advice I can offer here is to look at as many homes as you need to to ensure you get the home that is perfect for you. You are probably making one of the largest purchases of your life so you want to get it right. If you don't like your home after you purchase it, you can't take it back and ask for a refund.

One you find that perfect home, the third and perhaps, the second most important thing to do behind getting a mortgage pre-approval is to get a home inspection. This is one expense in the homebuying process that you do not want to overlook.

A home inspection can help identify those problems that may be hiding deep behind the walls of your potential home. As a buyer, you may be too busy checking out how many bedrooms the home has, how many bathrooms the home has or how large a lot the home is. You may even be too busy thinking about the neighborhood or the school district. You probably aren't looking at the little cracks in the wall or know that there is an electrical issue that could cause your home to burn down.

Spending a few hundred dollars on a home inspection can save you from making a multi-thousand dollar mistake. A home inspection recently saved my over $50,000. I was going to purchase an additional investment property a few weeks ago. Had I not chosen to have a home inspection done before I finalized the purchase, I would have purchased a home with major structural problems.

What are some of the items covered by a home inspection?

Structural: A good inspector will check the foundation of the home to make sure everything is good with the foundation and no major repairs are needed.

Electrical: The home inspector should test of all the electrical outlets to make sure they are properly grounded. He should also check the electrical box and make sure there are no issues there.

Plumbing: The inspector will turn on the faucets and flush the toilets to make sure there are no leaks. He will also check the dishwasher, stove, fridge and garbage disposal to make sure all is working properly. The home inspector can usually estimate the age of the appliance and recommend the remaining useful life.

Roof: A good inspector will get up on the roof of a single family home to check the status of the roofing materials. If your inspector refuses to get on the roof, you may want to find another inspector.

Exterior: The home inspector will check the grading around the home and check the HVAC of the
home.

One the home inspector has completed his assessment of the home, he will provide you with a copy of the report listing all of the things he's found that were issues or could be potential issues. You should received the report as soon as possible since time is of the essence. Once you get the report and review it, you then have to decide which of those items need to be replaced and those that are getting close to the end of their useful life.