Weekly Savings Tip: August 17, 2009

What's Your Financial IQ?

According to a recent survey conducted by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, almost half of Americans between the ages of 18 and 34 have no savings. Additionally, 47 percent of Generation Y respondents gave themselves Cs, Ds or Fs in personal finance skills such as budgeting and saving for retirement.

The time to act is now! Take this short quiz to test your financial literacy IQ so you can improve your personal finance savvy.

This quiz is a good starting point, but the more you educate yourself on personal finances and savings, the more prepared you'll be when facing financial situations in the future. Be smart, and remember to feed the pig!

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Weekly Savings Tip - August 10, 2009

Avoid Overdraft Fees

Did you know the median overdraft fee on a checking account is $26? Here are steps to take to avoid this penalty:

1. Don't trust your "Available Balance." Many financial institutions engage in a practice where they will reflect a direct deposit in your "Available Balance" but will charge overdraft fees on any transactions that occur prior to the deposit actually posting. Any purchases that are made which exceed the previous running balance during the time BEFORE the direct deposit actually posts will result in overdraft charges even though the bank shows the funds as available.

2. Balance your checkbook. Not only will balancing your checkbook help you avoid overdraft fees, but it'll also give you a firm knowledge of how much money is in your account, which helps you prevent bounced checks and detect errors from your bank.

3. Pay cash. Or use a debit card. When you don't pay with a check, you don't have to worry about when the payment will clear. Many people forget that they've written checks, then spend the money that should have been sitting in the account for the check to clear.

4. Create an artificial buffer. Decide on a certain amount that you will always have in your account, and never dip into it. Subtract it out of your checkbook so that the balance you see is what you can spend.


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Invitations - How Important Are They?

So. In my humble opinion, invitations set the tone for your celebration. I had previously had some designed, but have since fell out of love with them. Here they are:



Don't get me wrong, they are nice - but they just don't have that WOW factor that I'm looking for.

With that being said, I stumbled across these. Can we just say absolutely GAW-JUS?!?!?!? Oh my! However, can I get these designed, printed and mailed in 3 weeks?

At any rate, ENJOY!




Images from Etsy
And these:




Images from PW's Jojo

Beer, Wine and Bellini Bar?

Technically a Bellini is white peach puree and Prosecco. That’s it. However, it seems that today people loosely associate the term Bellini with just about any fruit and Prosecco combination.

The day before the party I can make several fruit purees so they would be ready to go the next day. These are super easy to make. At that time of year using frozen fruit will probably be best

Here's the recipe for the fruit puree:

Fruit Puree
1 pound of frozen fruit, such as strawberries, peaches or blueberries, defrosted
1/3 - 1/2 cup simple syrup
Water

Place the frozen fruit in a blender. Add some of the simple syrup and a splash of water. Blend until the mixture is very smooth. You will need to pause the blender now and then to taste, add a bit more simple syrup until the fruit has reached your desired level of sweetness. Once that has been reached add enough water to make the puree thin enough to pour.

Puree can be made a day or two ahead of time and held in the refrigerator.

At the wedding, the guests can choose which flavors appeal to them and even mix purees to make their own custom blends. In addition to the purees we may offer other options such as orange juice (which, when mixed with sparkling wine actually makes a Mimosa) or fruit nectars such as Guava or Mango. The addition of the fruit juices also adds a non-alcoholic option for your guests.

With that being said, what do you think of my beer, wine, and bellini bar menu to help keep costs low for our celebration?

Welcome to Macon! - OOT Box

Found these today and fell in LOVE. Our boxes will have a "Georgia" theme and include a welcome brochure, old-timey glass bottle of Coca-Cola Classic, peach candles, personalized matches, snacks, and either peach preserves or some type of University of Georgia memorabilia.

Weekly Savings Tip: August 3, 2009

Back-to-School Savings

With the beginning of another year of school around the corner, it’s a good idea to get an early start on back-to-school shopping.

• Buy a lunch box. Constantly buying brown paper bags is not only a waste of paper, it’s also a waste of money. Buy your child a lunch box and pack their lunches. For fun and easy bag lunch ideas, check the internet for sites like this.

• Start a “back-to-school” fund. Shopping for school supplies can be costly and seem like a big expense if taken all at once. Start a fund for next year’s supplies at the beginning of this school year. Next year, not only will you already have saved money, but by stashing it into a savings account, the interest might net you an extra notebook.

• Don’t waste leftovers. Check the unused supplies from the previous year. There might be extra notebooks, folders and pencils lying around the house.

• Check for coupons. Don’t underestimate the power of shopping early before the prices are increased for back-to-school items. Buy in bulk if you get a good deal—stored school supplies have a long shelf life. If you are shopping for clothing, always shop for the previous season once the new one starts.

• Forget about designer labels. This is true not only for clothing, but school supplies as well. There is always a generic version of an article of clothing or school supply that is much less expensive but just as good.


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Weekly Savings Tip: July 28, 2009

Saving Your Social Life Without Hurting Your Savings

Saving money during the summer can be tough if you have an active social life or like to travel on the weekends. Here are some great tips for inexpensive outings to help both your social life and your budget.

• Go out on a picnic: Picnics are much less expensive than dining out and can be an all-day or afternoon activity. Invite friends to play Frisbee or touch football after you eat. If you are planning a date, make it more romantic by going somewhere with a lot of natural beauty to enjoy.

• Visit a museum or historic building: Visiting a museum or historic building isn’t just for tourists and admission prices are usually reasonable. You can also look for free, reduced price or “pay what you want” days or evenings.

• Spend the evening at your place: An underrated way to spend time is to have everyone over to your house. Ask everyone to bring ingredients for a dish to cook together and rent a movie to end the night.

• Take advantage of the summer weather: Grab a couple of friends or your significant other and head to the beach. Enjoy the entire day in the water or on the sand without spending a lot of money. When it gets dark walk into the local town for dinner or ice cream.


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