What Savings Are Made Of    Start saving where you are, even if it's a dollar (or a penny) at a time.    Everyone says we should be saving money - putting it into emergency funds, college funds, vacation funds, and retirement accounts. That might be fine and dandy - for someone else. But how do you save money when it seems there isn't any left to save?? Savings is seen as something you do with money you already have, but what if what you already have isn't enough? The only way to begin racking up savings in that case is to become aggressive about it. In other words, make it happen. I'm not suggesting that you do without something you need to save for the future, no one should have to live totally for the future. What I would like to suggest is that you create a plan that includes saving by the penny. Or the nickel or the dime. The most common advice is to save ten percent of your income, but that doesn't always work, because sometimes it takes a hundred and one percent of it to just get by until the next paycheck. But wait a minute. You know that five dollars you put in your wallet, just in case? Or those three dollars worth of change you don't want to carry around with you? You won't find many banks that will allow you to open a savings account with three dollars, but if you add another three dollars next week and another three the week after that... you see where I'm leading. Found Money Did you ever return a bag of aluminum cans and make a few dollars? Or babysit for someone in a pinch for ten or fifteen dollars? Take an online survey for five dollars? Got cash for a birthday gift? Unexpected bonus? Tax refund? Those are dollars you can put in a savings account! You see, even if you can't afford a regular amount set aside for savings, you still have money for it. Of course, it's best to put a set amount into savings, and even if it's only one percent it's better than not starting at all. Doing the Math Let's put some figures to this. Let's say, for the sake of the argument, that you make five hundred dollars a week. Out of that, you'll pay thirty percent or so in taxes in one form or another, so that leaves you three hundred fifty dollars to spend. You have bills coming due for two hundred and eighty five dollars and you need a tank of gas, but other than that, all you need is groceries... Fine. Pay your bills. Take forty five dollars to the grocery store and spend every penny of it. Then take the five dollars and put it in the cookie jar, or under the mattress, or in another part of your wallet. Whatever you do, don't spend it. Next week, do the same thing, pay your bills, buy what you need, but pinch it just a little. Shoot for ten percent of what you have after paying bills. Put it away, and at the end of the month if you can keep up at the same rate you'll have twenty dollars. I know that doesn't sound like very much, but if you don't do anything else at all, five months later, you'll have a hundred dollars, so take it to the bank and open a savings account. You'll make a few pennies in interest, but the best part is that it's out of your hands and you won't be tempted to use it for something else. The hard part is over. From now on, keep this up, but put your five dollars a week into the bank. If it embarrasses you, pretend you're doing it for a child. Don't wait until you have twenty dollars, because even though banks pay poor interest rates, you want to get every penny they will pay you. They don't pay on money until it's in the account. In a year's time, you'll have saved two hundred and forty dollars, and the bank will have paid four or five dollars in interest. BUT if you've also been doing the 'found money' thing I mentioned, you have a very good chance to have doubled that. Let's say that you've managed to save five hundred dollars in a year with these two methods. Look around and buy a short term CD. Depending on what you can find, you can come up with twenty five dollars interest in six months. Sure beats the bank, doesn't it? Put the twenty five bucks (or whatever interest you get) in your savings account, along with the other savings you've been accumulating, and do it again. Next time, you can buy a thousand dollar CD... and the ball rolls faster. Within three years, you should have a minimum of two thousand dollars working for you. Just from hanging tight to a five dollar bill. Now this isn't high finance, and I'm sure there are personal finance experts who will take issue with some parts of this. But for those of us who see money in one dollar bills, it works. Above article from frugalliving.about.com/library/weekly      Stay alert and save money. A Little Homework Planning before you head off to the supermarket will help you shop more economically. Take the time to do a quick inventory of your food items throughout the kitchen. Prepare your shopping list and make notations of applicable coupons that you may want to use. Read the newspaper and circulars for the best deals. Choosing the Right Store For basic grocery needs many grocery stores now offer excellent product and price selection, frequent shoppers programs, and double coupon days. However, for bulk-buying, you may want to tackle the warehouse clubs or superstores. Non-perishable items can often be found at unbeatable prices at these types of stores. For health and beauty products, the best prices are often found at national drugstore chains and superstores. Eat First! Grocery stores know the power of the sweet smell of freshly baked bread. Just one sniff will spark the empty stomach and send us down the aisles, filling our carts full of items we do not need. Everything looks good when our stomachs are are screaming, "feed me!" Coupons, Rebates, and Frequent Shopper Programs You can save hundreds of dollars a year by taking advantage of product pricing incentives. Even the less enthusiastic coupon clipper can shave an average of 10 percent off their bottomline by cashing in a small handful of coupons per trip. In addition, if your store offers a frequent shopper program, why not sign-up! You will receive advanced notice of special loss leaders, double-coupon days and other savings information Store Brands - Try It, You May Like It! The storebrand, big black and white cardboard box of bland noodles has become outdated. Companies have worked hard to improve their private-label brands and often the taste is equal to the national brands. Do not be afraid to experiment. If you find the product meets your standards, you can save an average of 40 percent off your annual grocery bill. Setting Limits on Impulse Buying Avoiding spontaneous shopping trips is one of the best deterrents to purchasing traps for impulse purchasing. A well thought out shopping list that you stick to will help cut-down on grabbing for things that you do not need. Also, giving yourself enough time to shop will help prevent dashing in and reaching for the first item that you come to. Setting a dollar limit for impulse buying will help soothe the craving without busting the budget. Comparison Shopping The true value of a product can best be determined by reading the "unit" price rather then the "package" price. The unit price information is generally on a sticker located on the shelf that holds the item. The package price only tells you the cost of the entire item. The unit price indicates the cost per pound, ounce, etc. Taking a moment to compare this information in similar products will help insure that you are getting the best value. Also be certain to check "expiration" and "use by" dates to insure you are getting only the freshest products. Beware of Marketing Strategies Avoid being taken in by marketing ploys designed to draw your attention to a particular product. Knowing some of the tricks of the trade will ultimately save you money. Scrutinize end-of-the-aisle dump bins, island displays, recipe related item placement, and "middle-shelf" items. This is typically where products are placed in hopes that you will be drawn to them more readily. Learn To Be A Label Reader Reading the label of products is one of the best ways to find out more then what is advertised on the box. Ingredients are listed in order of their usage in the product. In addition, if you are looking to cut the fat from your diet, reading labels is an essential. Advertising words such as "lite" or "fat-free" have a broad usage allowance. By reading the label you can get a better idea of what the fat to calorie ratio is as well as other valuable nutritional information. Watch the Scanner It may mean you need to put down the magazine but after all you're careful shopping is finished, this is not the place to get lax. Keeping your eyes peeled to the scanner has dual advantages. First, it will keep the cashier more alert. Secondly, it will allow you to stop the checkout process if an item is showing the incorrect price. Keeping the store circular nearby is also helpful in disputing and incorrect price. You can also ask the cashier to stop ringing while you accompany the employee to the aisle to check the price of an item. Above article written by: ~ Donna Montaldo