5000 Dollars in Free Money – What Would You Do

Free money? Nothing is free you say. Right? While this is true, you are still free to save money, and all statistics point to you being able to save an average of five thousand dollars every year just by changing your shopping habits. Learning how to live within a budget should help you to save even more at the end of the day.

Safe Loan has already covered the subject of impulse buys and how they can adversely impact both your budget and your ability to save money. There have been other articles on the Safe Loan website to help you find better ways of saving money in other areas as well.

If you are just average, it can be surprisingly easy to save much more than five thousand dollars, and while it is not exactly free money, it is money that can be redirected to other, more important and more beneficial uses.

If you are “smarter than the average bear boo boo”, and bears are smarter than you may think, you win ten pointless points for getting the reference first. You cannot do anything with them because they are pointless, but you are probably already saving more money than most.

For those that are new to this story though, they may need to learn a little more about Yogi Bear, Boo Boo, the Picnic Basket, and just how to reel in all that extra “free money” we are talking about here. If you want to enjoy all of that free money, you first have to earn it, and then you have to learn how to save it once it is in your wallet or bank account.

Write down every penny you spend in the early stages of learning how to budget and how to save money. Write down every time that your kid picks up a candy bar in the checkout line. Write down all those scratch tickets you buy with your loose bills when you are standing at the cash register. Write down everything you spend if you want to learn how to budget and save money effectively and enjoy more of that “free money”.

Determine not only what your average monthly costs are for bills that fluctuate, but what the highest monthly bills are each and every month. At the same time, focus on learning how to save money on your utility bills. If your electric bill only averages one-hundred dollars every month, but you have had electric bills as high as a couple of hundred dollars, try budgeting two hundred dollars for your electric bill every month.

Do the same thing for your weekly grocery bill. For people who are using oil or propane for heating, average out the cost for filling the tank completely and set that money aside each and every month. In the worst case scenario, you will have at least a small emergency fund, and when those bills do come in all at once from filling the tank, it should be less than a full tank bill.

None of this mind you, will fill your pockets with free money that is actually free, but it will free up your money so that you are better equipped to deal with your matters financially. It is also important to remember (or at least to learn how) not to spend the money you have left over just because your account now shows all this free money just sitting there. Do not allow that extra cash on hand to burn a hole in your pocket and go spending even more money you do not need to spend.

You should see a greatly increase level of funds going into your bank or wherever you save, but don’t go getting carried away thinking you have found the pot at the end of the rainbow. All that free money needs to be put to work for you now so that you can begin building a better and brighter economic future.

At the end of the day, it is your money and you can do pretty much whatever you want with it so long as you spend it in a legal manner on legal purchases. However, if you want to make sure that your money is working for you so that you do not have to work so hard for your money, you need to put that money to work.

Start putting some of that free money you get every month into your savings. It does not matter how much, and for the most part, the more you can save the better. You need to get into a mindset where it becomes easier to save money than to spend it on frivolities, impulse purchases, and other things you do not need.

You should also begin paying down your debts. Focus on those debts that have the highest interest rates and pay them down first. For the average person, this will mean spending some of that newfound free money paying off your credit card bills, starting with the highest interest rate cards down to the lower interest rates.

Learn how to use your credit cards to build an impressive and enviable credit score, even if you have credit that sucks right now. Once your credit cards are under control, begin paying down your debts that allow you to build equity and that will reduce your debt to credit ratio.

Again, this works not only to improve your credit score, but also allows you to begin building equity that you can use in an emergency in lieu of those instant cash loans online every time that you need to find money in a hurry. Once all of that is said and done, begin putting your money to work for you.

There are many different things that you can invest in that will retain their value. Not all of them involve stuffy boardrooms and bank accounts either. There are some major markets online where you can buy collectible items that will retain their value like comic books, toys, and antiques.

These things can serve as great conversation starters, home decorations, and even be practically useful, all while retaining their value. This is also a great way to get into saving money as well, as you will not be so tempted to go out and sell these items, just to get that extra scratch off ticket.

Better still, the value of many of these collectibles will increase over the course of time. There are even occasions when you may actually be the one to find that next million dollar deal at the local flea market, yard sales, or second hand stores. What you do with your free money is certainly your choice, but there are ways to make it work for you, without having to constantly work on its behalf.