Fall is an especially good time to think about savings. With the traditional back-to-school in September, children and adults alike can “turn over a new leaf” to start fresh. The household budget is a great place to start, suggests Nationwide Biweekly Administration.
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In saving for college, a parent should keep in mind that a college education is an investment in the future of their child. Over time, a college-educated person will make about $1 million more than a high-school graduate. Two key components will help a parent save successfully: time and consistency. If a parent starts early, as early as the day a child is born, and saves monthly in the years leading up to college, a significant amount can be amassed. Nationwide Biweekly Administration points out key ways to save for college include:
· Consider using a 529 account. This type of college account allows savings and interest to accrue tax-free. Withdrawals for higher education are tax-free also. You may also want to consider Coverdell Education Spending Accounts (ESA’s), State Prepaid Tuition Plans, Savings Bonds and certain government programs, like Lifetime Learning tax credit and Hope Scholarships.
· Remember that it is cheaper to save for college ahead of time than to take out loans and pay them off afterwards. When you save for college, the account can accrue interest. When pay back a loan, you pay interest to the bank, says Nationwide Biweekly Administration.
· Look for rewards programs that link your credit, debit, gas and grocery card to a college-savings account. These programs give a small percentage back to the consumer in the form of deposits to the designated account.
· Remember that student aid won’t be enough. Nationwide Biweekly Administration says that while your child may qualify for scholarships and financial aid, it is still the primarily the parent’s responsibility to help pay for their child’s education. You do not need to assume the full cost, as that usually is not realistic nor ideal for your child. However, you do not want your child to start their adult life saddled with crippling student loan debt.
· In setting up your college savings account, Nationwide Biweekly Administration recommends using the “one-third” rule. If you assume that your child will attend a school costing $30,000 per year, assume that 1/3 of the money will come from your college savings, 1/3 from current income and 1/3 from student aid and loans. This makes your goal more attainable and not as “scary.”
· Age-based asset allocation can help you use the stock market to your advantage. Over time, using history as a guide, the stock market will go up. While the market is certainly volatile, don’t miss out on the opportunity for a higher rate of return than other savings vehicles can offer. The key is to balance your investments based on the age of your child. The closer a child gets to college, the lower the stock market allocation should be.
· Set a college-savings goal. Setting a goal is important because it will help you decide what amount to contribute monthly and to see what is realistic. Don’t get overwhelmed in thinking about total college costs; remember that saving early and often is better than not saving at all. Nationwide Biweekly Administration. 
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Nationwide Biweekly Administration Savings Tips.
Saving money is possible year round by being conscious of your energy usage and paying attention to the thermostat. In summer, as temperatures soar and air conditioners work overtime, energy bills spiral out of control and break many people’s budgets. Here are a few tips by Nationwide Biweekly Administration for saving money during the warmer months
· Turn off the dryer. Take your freshly laundered clothes and let the sun and summer breeze do the drying for you. The resulting difference in your power bill will be significant.
· Cook outside. Especially in the summer, using the oven creates a lot of excess heat that has nowhere to go except your house, taxing your air conditioning and driving the bills higher and higher to maintain a comfortable temperature. Fire up the barbeque grill for delicious summer meals that won’t heat up the house’s interior.
· Turn off the air conditioning. Okay, this is not realistic if you live in Florida, Southern Nevada, Arizona and a handful of other all hot all the time locations. In other areas though, where the weather does fluctuate, you can save money by simply paying attention to the weather. In coastal California for instance, you rarely need air conditioning at night as the marine layer cools off the air considerably. Turn off the air conditioning before heading to bed, open some windows, turn on the ceiling fans and enjoy a lower power bill.
· Check and/or replace your air conditioning filters. A dirty filter can increase your cooling costs unnecessarily. Dirty air filters restrict airflow and the efficiency of the air conditioner causing more run time and higher cooling bills. When you factor in how cheap filters are and how expensive air conditioning bills are, you’re not likely to forget to check your filters again!
· Plan ahead At the end of summer you’ll notice season ending sales. If you give some thought to next year’s landscaping and garden projects you can pick up the supplies at up to half off.
By following these five easy tips you can reduce your power bills and the strain on your air conditioner greatly this summer.
Posted By Nationwide Biweekly Administration
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Nationwide Biweekly Administration savings tips.
Look around your house. Chances are there are areas of clutter than you can reduce. But before you head off to the Salvation Army to donate it, consider selling it instead. From Garage Sales to Craigslist to EBay, Etsy and beyond, there are ways to make a few bucks off the stuff you simply don’t want anymore.
Garage sales are pretty easy and can encompass everything from that ratty couch you’ve had since college to art, music, clothing and beyond. You might want to check out neighborhood Garage sales before having one of your own. After all, it would stink to find out you charged $5 for something but a garage sale down the street had no problems unloading the same item for $15. It comes down to knowing your neighborhood’s demographic. Lots of recent college grads or artistic types? Keep the prices low. Young-ish urban professionals as neighbors, raise the price just a bit. Be sure to advertise by putting flyers on light poles and near intersections. If you live in a neighborhood of apartment buildings, see if you can post a flyer in their lobbies.
Not sure those early morning all day sitting on the sidewalk with all the stuff you don’t want garage sales are for you? Well thanks to a rather ingenious guy named Craig, you have options. Craigslist is ubiquitous with garage sales these days, only this garage sale is completely virtual. Chances are if you’re searching for something – say, 6 foot fake Christmas tree – you will find in on craigslist. I knew someone who purchased big rubber bins for moving at Target. Once they were unpacked, they were listed on craigslist (for slightly more than she’d paid for them even!) and within 90 minutes, they had been picked up and cool hard cash lined the wallet of the seller. Craigslist is free to post.
Sitting on something you don’t want that is vintage, unique, or collectible? Take it to EBay and list it in the appropriate categories. Designer clothing, shoes, handbags, jewelry, sports memorabilia, watches, vintage lunchboxes. If you can think of a product, someone is selling it on EBay. And in the best case scenario, a bidding war might break out over your Partridge Family Thermos from your old lunchbox and you might find yourself reaping a bit of a windfall! Nationwide Biweekly Administration.
If you’re a crafty type or have a bunch of vintage clothing, jewelry, handbags and shoes, Etsy is a good resource. This online craft-market allows users to create their own stores and set the price for their goods.
By using one, all or some combination of these tips, you’ll soon find yourself free of clutter and flush with cash. Nationwide Biweekly Administration
Nationwide Biweekly Administration Tips - Spring has sprung and people across the country are starting to think about one thing: vacation. The tradition of the annual summer vacation is as American as Apple Pie, Baseball, and Golden Retrievers. However, we’re living in somewhat shaky economic times and you may not have $5,000 to throw down for a family cruise to the Caribbean. Let’s take a look at some ways to save money for vacation.
Take a look around the house. What can you live without? Satellite TV? A big family plan on your cell phones? High Speed Internet at home? A Gym Membership you don’t, or rarely, use? Monthly expenses such as utilities, satellite or cable television and cell phone bills can be the thing that makes or breaks a family’s budget. Do you have both a home phone and a cell phone? Is there a specific reason you need both? If not you can cut out your traditional landlines completely and just exist with a cell phone.
Nationwide Biweekly Administration Tips
Speaking of that cell phone – how many minutes do you use? Is there a way for you to cut back on your monthly plan to save a little money? Consider switching to a pre-paid cell phone provider and experience a cheaper bill and the freedom of not being beholden to a set in stone contract from one of the major cell phone providers.
Another big monthly expense is television. How do you get your broadcast – from a cable provider or satellite provider? Have you explored the alternatives? Sometimes you can cut close to $100 a month from your budget by changing providers.
Internet can be another big ticket item. Cable modems are expensive if not “bundled” together with cable service. DSL’s are relatively inexpensive, but also notoriously prone to outages. Look into lower cost alternatives in your neighborhood. In some places everything from free neighborhood wifi to cell phone tethering is available for your Internet use. Nationwide Biweekly Administration
Finally, few amongst us have not been, at one time or another, paying for a gym membership that we do not use. Whether you’re monthly dues are $19 or $190, if you are not going to the gym on a regular basis, you are basically throwing this money away each month. Even if you do go to the gym regularly, you may be able to trade the gym for the outdoors and save that money anyway. Running, jogging or power walking down a city street or country road is free.
By taking a few, or all, of these steps, and putting the money you’ve saved into a vacation account, you’ll be packing your swimsuits and sunscreen and heading off for some fun in no time at all. Nationwide Biweekly Administration iweekly administrat
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Posted By Nationwide Biweekly Administration
We might as well just come right out and say it: Buying is almost always better than renting, for a number of reasons, which will be outlined below. However, only you can take a good, long honest look at your situation and know if you are in a position to make the leap from renter to home owner. Owning a home obviously means gaining equity and having an investment. But it also carries with it a number of expenses that first time homeowners are not always aware of. Insurance, no landlord to call when the dishwasher floods the kitchen and property taxes are but a few of the things homeowners deal with that renters don’t.
That said, you are losing money every year by renting your apartment or home instead of buying. It’s a simple mathematical fact that the equity gained in home ownership trumps the savings on handymen, appliance repairmen and property tax. There is only one exception to this rule. If you are one of those lucky people who have a rent controlled apartment in New York City, Chicago, San Francisco or Los Angeles and your actual rent is a fraction of market value, don’t move. Ever. We’ve all heard tales of the friend whose next door neighbor has lived in their apartment since 1967 and pays only $300 in rent each month while the friend pays $1500 a month for the apartment next door with the same floor plan. As the mortgage administrator that Nationwide Biweekly is, this is the Holy Grail of living arrangements for everyone, even us.
Assuming that you are not in your 60s or older and living in one of these rent stabilized gems, buying is the way to build equity and save money in the long run. Plus, there is a pride that comes from owning your own home. There are plenty of online calculators where you can compare the costs of buying versus the costs of renting, but we’ll break it down for you: in the long run, buying is a better deal. Each month you make your mortgage payment and it actually goes towards owning something. Rent just goes to your landlord and you gain neither equity or preferential treatment from renting.
Perhaps the leap from a modest rent payment to a higher mortgage is off putting to you. It shouldn’t be, there are many mortgage plans and administrators, like Nationwide Biweekly Administration, who can make budgeting for your mortgage payment easier while at the same time allowing you to gain equity in your home faster. Here’s an example of how biweekly mortgage payments can save you tons of money in interest over the life of your loan. If your mortgage payment is $1,000 you will spend $12,000 over the course of one year on your mortgage. If you made biweekly payments through Nationwide Biweekly Administration, you would make a $500 payment every two weeks. Divide 52 weeks per year into 26 biweekly payments and you will have made $13,000 in payments at the end of the year using the biweekly mortgage payment plan.
Now take that same $1000 per month and apply it to rent. What do you get at the end of a year? Nothing. Take it from the experts at Nationwide Biweekly Administration – buying a home is always better than renting. (The Holy Grail of rent controlled apartments from the late 1960s notwithstanding.) Give us a call today and we’ll tell you how we can make owning your own home a much easier financial proposition.
