The other day, some of my co-workers and I were discussing the amounts that our paychecks changed due to the increase in the cost of our benefits. 

I asked one of my co-workers if her paycheck changed and she said she did not know. I thought she was joking but after awhile I realized, she really did not know. 

She could tell by the look on my face that I thought it was weird that she didn’t know how much her paycheck was. Her reply was that she doesn’t know exactly how much her paycheck is, she just looks at the first 2 numbers in the email. (We get an email 2 days before payday telling us the amount of our direct deposit). 

We ended our conversation with her saying that her paycheck probably only changed $20 or $30 bucks but that is such a small amount amount that it really doesn’t matter. 

Do you think the small amounts don’t matter? If so, I have to say that is not the best way to think about your personal finances. The small amounts DO matter. Saving $30 bi-weekly will give you $780 after a year. That may not seem like a lot of money but if you have NO savings right now, $780 is a huge amount of money. 

When I was younger, I would not pick up a penny because it was only one cent. My grandmother would always tell me, “son, pennies make dollars”.  I didn’t think much about it when I was younger but now, I have no problem picking up a penny. 

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The single life can be grand, but it can also cost you several grand a month to maintain a lifestyle to which you could become accustomed, therefore, you need to follow this quick and easy guide for bachelors looking to save money and still have a good time.

Cut back on your gadget intake. If you are trying to make ends meet or just want to be able to afford to save a little money for a rainy day, look at the gadgets and accessories in your life and think about which ones you really need and which you can go without. For example, do you really need pay TV with extra HD channels and recording functions which you don’t know how to use (or remember to use)?

Subscription television can be several hundred dollars each and every month and that’s after you’ve paid to have it installed and surely a bachelor like yourself has better things to spend his money on. Instead why not hire movies rather than subscribing to the movie channel – if you remember to return them before the due date it’s much cheaper. Or watch sport at the pub, you’re probably there anyway – that’s why you don’t remember to record your shows at home!

And what about that phone with all the internet applications, can you cut back on that and have a phone which just does the things you need it to do? You can after all check your email and use the internet at home – or better yet, while you’re at work.

Cut back on your takeaway intake. Ordering takeaway and having pizzas delivered is great but the costs really add up when you do it a lot. Therefore, to save money on your bachelor lifestyle cut back on the amount of takeaway you order. Cooking and eating at home will save you money and make you feel better when you have a proper meal rather than one between two buns.

You can even save money on your shopping as you take back your kitchen by examining what’s already in your cupboards before you visit the supermarket. You’ll probably find a lot of cans and pasta packets that will feed you for a week before you have to spend money on groceries yet again. before you go to the supermarket next time, remember to make a list of exactly what you need to save you money on buying things you think you need, and forgetting the things you really did need and having to make two trips. Making a list will also help you avoid stocking up on more junk food at the supermarket because if it’s in your bachelor pad, you’re going to eat it – so don’t bring it in. Cutting back on junk food saves you money too, and will go even further to making you feel better and keeping you in shape, two important factors for a bachelor on the prowl.

Save money on your dates. You don’t need to be a complete tight arse when it comes to the girl of the hour, just make some simple cut backs to save you money and she probably won’t even notice. For example, split the bill when you’re at a restaurant for dinner she’s probably already suggested it anyway and instead of immediately brushing off the idea to appear chivalrous, share the cost. To save on pre-dinner drinks which can be expensive from a bar or restaurant, you could have drinks at your place or hers before you leave. Or to save on your fuel costs suggest to meet your date at the restaurant or bar so that you don’t have to drive out of your way to pick her up and drop her off.

Return home. You don’t have to go back to living at home to save on your rent, but your parent’s place can be a hive of money saving tips and tools for a bachelor. For example, invite yourself to dinner one of two nights a week to save on meals for yourself, or do your washing in your mum’s machine instead of going to the laundromat or powering up the clothes dryer on your own power bill. Plus, before you go out and buy household items for your bachelor pad, see whether your mum has anything you could use. Your parents’ house will be a treasure trove of unused linen, packed away dinner sets and mismatched dining chairs which you can commandeer to save you money in furnishing your home.

Use a dedicated savings account. If in the course of helping you with your washing your mother neglected to mention the importance of a savings plan, you need to start one now, because if you are going to be more conscious about your spending habits, you should also keep track of the savings you are making. To help you with this step, open a dedicated high interest savings account which you can operate primarily online. In this way you can make instant internet banking transfers to your savings, plus you don’t have access to the account with an ATM and withdraw card to spend up big on a night out with the boys. A savings account will also allow you to set up a regular transfer from your everyday account to your savings fund every payday. In this way you are paying yourself first , contributing to your savings growth and you won’t even notice because the transfer is automatic.

A savings account can help you save for a bigger bachelor pad, a newer and more impressive ride, or for the deposit on a house if you don’t want to be a bachelor for the rest of your life.

This is a guest post from Jason Bentley. He writes for Savings Account Finder, where he helps people to compare term deposits and savings account online.

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It is becoming increasingly difficult to stay liquid in this difficult economy. With banks keeping a continued tight grip on their cash, it’s making it hard for business owners and individuals alike to get the cash flow needed to keep their heads above water. While it might seem like a losing battle, by making an effort to reduce expenditures and understand where your resources lie and how best to utilize them, you may be able to make it through a rough patch. Whether you are running a business or managing your individual finances, here are some tips to help you stay liquid, even during rough economic times.  

Ladder Your Investments. When it comes to your excess cash and what to do with it, you can be left in a head-scratching dilemma. Do you look to long-term investments to get a better return on your cash? How much do you invest? And how much do you leave on hand as a source of current liquidity? Whether investing your available cash in bonds, certificates of deposit, buying necessary business equipment and supplies, or increasing your inventory, laddering your cash by spreading costs and/or investments over a variety of prices, interest rates, and timeframes, can be a great way to insure continuous cash availability. This technique can help to ensure your cash isn’t tied up all at once and that there are consistent sources of available liquidity constantly becoming available. A brief example of laddering might be taking a lump sum of $12,000 and investing $1,000 in a 12-month CD each month throughout the course of a year so that by the end of the year, the first CD will be coming due, just as you invest your last $1,000.  

Diversify. By diversifying your business and/or investments, you can better protect yourself against a cash shortfall. If you have a number of income streams, when one runs dry, another may supplement that loss, providing additional time to make up for that loss in other areas.  

Don’t Overextend. When things are good, it can be difficult to restrain yourself from overextending your available resources. Extra costs, investment opportunities, and a seemingly secure income can make it easy to lose sight of protecting yourself against a liquidity freeze. If there's one lesson to be learned from the credit crunch it's that no matter how good things look or how secure your business and investments seem, it is important to safeguard yourself against a lack of liquidity by not overextending your available cash on hand.  

Accounts Receivable. Either as a business owner or as an individual, your accounts receivable can be an important source of liquidity in a pinch. For business owners, you’ll certainly want to keep a close eye on your AR sheet, especially if it continues to expand rather than shrink in times of tight cash flow. As and individual your accounts receivables might be quite different from those of a business owner, but you might still have some outstanding cash to count on when times are tough. An undelivered tax return, a personal debt someone owes you, vacation time that can be cashed in at work, and similar cash sources can be important ways of staying liquid.  

Reserves. Reserve sources of cash may be something you’d prefer not to touch, but they can be lifesavers in times of a funding shortfall. Credit cards, lines of credit, and emergency cash accounts can all be possible options when it comes to staying liquid. Even when times are good or if you don’t ever plan to use them, it can be important to keep those sources of reserve cash available just in case.  

Keep an Eye on Overhead. Decreasing overhead costs can be a great way of helping you stay liquid. While lower costs might not be bringing in extra income directly, it can save you cash, which is just as good (maybe even better since you likely won’t have to pay taxes on it) in a liquidity freeze.

Understand Asset Value. Whether you are the owner of manufacturing equipment, farm machinery, government bonds, rare coins, or valuable antiques, knowing what your investments and assets are worth can make them easier to turn into cash, if or when the time comes. If you have evidence or documentation of an asset’s value, whether it is by way of receipts, an appraisal, or similar documentation, this can make it quicker and easier to convert the item to cash.

Cash in on Assets. When it comes time to convert an asset to cash, it can also be important to understand how best to do so. Understanding where to exchange your assets for cash, knowing where to get the best price, or already having buyers lined up, can unfreeze much needed liquidity quicker.  

Mark is a writes about strategies to manage personal finances for an Australian comparison website where consumers can compare credit cards including the best balance transfer credit cards that significantly help in managing debt.

January is the first month of my new budgeting method. As mentioned in my 2010 Financial Goals post, my goal is to budget my expenses for the current month based off of the prior months income. Basically, each month, I deposit the amount of money I plan to spend for that month in my checking account.  At the end of the month, any money remaining is transferred to savings.

The rest of my cash, including savings (Emergency Funds, Reserve Funds, General Savings), will stay in my Money Market account. Any deposit that comes in during the month is deposited into the Money Market account.

Using this method, I can clearly monitor how much money I have remaining to spend for the month without having to restrict my money to certain categories. For those of you that don’t like the idea of a strict monthly budget, this method may be a good idea for you. In order for this method to work though, you need to have a good idea of your normal monthly expenses. For me, it’s sort of like the envelope method but all of my cash is in one envelope (my checking account). Once the envelope is empty, there can be no more spending until the next month.

Here’s how things look as of 1/18/10:

This months budget was based on total monthly expenses of $4100.00. Based on the chart above, I’ve spent $3397.07 as of January 18, 2010.  (side note: The mortgage category includes the mortgage on my primary home and my rental property).

Right now, I have $702.93 remaining to spend until the end of January. I’m a little surprised I have that much left since mostly all of the bills are paid. The only remaining bills are for my monthly trash pickup ($24) and my cell phone bill ($77).

Does anyone else use this budget method? How does it work for you?

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I realize there are quite a few new readers to the blog since it started back in July 2007 so I figured it was time to update the "About Me" page on my blog.

Who is SingleGuyMoney?

I am a single 32 (soon to be 33) year old male living in Atlanta, GA. I graduated from college in December of 1999 with a crap load of debt ranging from student loans, personal loans, auto loans and credit card debt. At one point, I was over $80,000 in debt.

I happened to stumble upon a few personal finance blogs and I was motivated to start my own blog. Since, I've been blogging, I've managed to pay off over $40,000 in credit card debt. I paid of my car loan of $22,000 and now I'm working on paying off my student loan and the mortgages on my primary home and rental property.

My current goal is to build a nice fat savings cushion of $50,000 in cash. I want to be able to self finance things that I would usually have to go to the bank and apply for a loan (crossing my finger that they approve me). For example, if I wanted to purchase a vehicle that cost $20,000. I would simply find the car I want, go to the dealership, workout the numbers and write them a check. The car is paid for and I have not added any new debt to ruin my finances.

My long term plan is to get rid of all debt (including the mortgages) and live on a cash only basis.

I've been interviewed by several media sources such as:

MSN Smart Money

Debt Consolidation Care

Interview with SingleGuyMoney by My Two Dollars
Kiplingers Personal Finance

Honorable Mentions:

Top 100 Personal Finance blogs by Wisebread

The Best Finance Blogs by FinanceDaily

Top 100 Blogs to Help You Live Debt Free

101 Useful Tools For Recent College Grads

100 Best Personal Finance Blogs for Recent College Grads

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If you haven’t heard about this yet, there is a huge giveaway going on over at MoneyCrashers. The contest is simple to enter and there are loads of prizes. Prizes range from cash, Apple Ipod’s, Amazon Kindle’s, personal finance books and more.  At last count, the total prize tally was over $7500 in cash and prizes.

Hurry up and enter the contest! The winners will be announced on February 3rd.

http://www.moneycrashers.com/new-year-2010-giveaway-bash/

Image Courtesy: Barbara Hanson

I don't have to tell you this but, it's cold!!! Here in Atlanta over the past week, we've experienced temperatures that were way below average. One day last week, the high was 27 and the low was 9. The normal high in Atlanta for this time of year is in the mid 50s and the lows are in the low 30s. My poor heat has been working overtime too keep my house warm and I am terrified to get the bill. My bill last month was about $65 but I am expecting the next one to be over $100. 


If you want to save money on your heating bills, consider these tips:

Programmable Thermostat. If there is no one home during the day, there is no reason to warm an empty house. Get a programmable thermostat and set your heat at a lower temp when no one is home and program it to start warming up before you get home. You can purchase a programmable thermostat for less than $40 at Wal-Mart or Target. They are easy to install and you'll make up the cost of the unit with the money you save on your heating bills.

Empty Rooms. Close the thermostat in rooms that aren't being used. This will force more heat into the rooms that are being used.

Stop Drafts. Check the seals around your windows and doors, do you feel air coming in. If so, this is causing your heating system to work harder to warm your home. Your hard earned money is just flowing out of each of those leaks. Window sealant is available at most discount retailers and home improvement stores. Put a towel underneath any door that is letting cold air in your home. It's not pretty but it will save money.

Wear More Clothes. My usual winter attire when I'm lounging around the house consists of sweat pants, socks, t-shirt and a fleece pullover. I would much rather wear a few more layers of clothing instead of turning up the heat and paying a larger heating bill.

Insulate. Check the insulation in your home. Heat can easily escape from poorly insulated areas in your home. The more insulation you have, the warmer your house will be.

How much was your last utility bill? Has it increased dramatically?

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Image Courtesy: Mulberry24

Goodbye 2009! Hello 2010!! As we enter a new year and a new decade, it's important to set and/or review your financial goals as well as your personal goals. Without having goals and plans in mind, you don't have a clear path of what you want and/or need to accomplish in your life.

Prior Months Income.  This is new for me. I don't know how it will work out but I am going to give it a try. I used to setup my budget based on the projected income and projected expenses for the month. Now, I will budget based on last month's income. Here's how I'll do it: Each month, I'll transfer the amount I've budgeted for the month into my checking account. My paychecks and any other income will be will be deposited into my Money Market account. At the end of the month, any money remaining will be transferred to savings. Using this method, I can clearly see how much money I have left to spend for the month.

50k Savings Challenge. My goal is to save $50,000 cash by the end of December 2010. I'm currently at approx $37,000. If 2010 is anything like 2009, I am pretty sure that I'll meet my goal. Once that goal is met, I will increase the amount a little bit higher.

Organize and Destroy Paperwork. I am really bad about keeping paperwork much longer than needed. I have a small section in my home office filled with papers that I need to go through and destroy. There is very little in the pile that I NEED to keep. I was looking through the stack and there are still bank statements in there from when I was in college (over 10 years ago).

Consolidate Accounts. Over the years, I've managed to accumulate a number of checking and savings accounts over the years. My plan was to close the old account once I opened a new one but I never got around to it. I am embarrased to even tell you guys how many open accounts I have. Most of them are no longer used and have only a few dollars in them. I plan to narrow that down to only one or two checking accounts and no more than 2 savings accounts.

Have you set your 2010 financial goals?

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