Debt consolidation can help you simplify.

I started thinking about debt consolidation after I read about it online. Here are the main reasons people get debt consolidation:

1. To save money by getting a lower interest rate
2. To lower monthly expenses
3. For convenience

Lower interest rate

The benefits of paying a lower interest rate are pretty obvious: it saves money. For instance, if you have several credit cards with 15 percent interest rates, and you can get a personal loan at 12 percent, you’ll save a bunch of money over time.

Of course, it isn’t usually that cut and dry. In my case, I don’t just have credit card bills. I have a bunch of different bills from different creditors, all with different interest rates. But more on that later.

Lower monthly expenses

You may be in a situation where you just can’t afford to make your minimum monthly payments on everything. Or you could be facing a creditor who is demanding a large sum right now or there will be severe penalties, such as wage garnishment.

If you find yourself having to choose between basic necessities, such as food, and getting in trouble with creditors, debt consolidation could help.

For convenience

I hate to tell you this, but purely for convenience is not a good reason to get debt consolidation. Sure, it’s your choice, but it is my professional duty to advise against it.

Yes, debt consolidation makes life a lot easier. It is extremely convenient. I am sure everyone would rather pay one bill each month instead of six. However, if you can afford your monthly bills and getting debt consolidation would raise your interest instead of lower it, you should probably just tough it out.

Buying groceries in bulk and shopping only once a month can pay big dividends.

When it comes to your personal finances, identifying where you can cut costs on your monthly bills can save you a lot of extra money as well as keep you from having to borrow a payday loans at the end of the month for the lack thereof.

Besides your home mortgage, there are few monthly expenses that will exceed that of the average family’s grocery bill. Their are a few strategies you can implement here to help you save the extra money which we know you can find a use for elsewhere.

Shopping For Savings

Shopping for savings is easy but requires a little effort and time for preparation but will pay big dividends for those who chose to do so. Here is a quick list of tips to get you started saving money on your grocery bill today.

Buying In Bulk

Buying in bulk is a common strategy used for saving extra cash in just about every category of consumer goods. Rarely however, do we implement the same strategy with our grocery bill. Most families pay a visit to the grocery store at least twice a week finding it easier to just shop for a few days at a time.

By sitting down and planning out meals a month in advance, you can go to your local wholesale depot and buy everything you need for the entire month with the exception of milk, on one grocery bill.

Planning ahead allows you to purchase larger containers and quantities of product which provides you savings benefits when shopping at many wholesale grocery suppliers.

When buying in bulk and shopping once a month, you also have the added benefit of saving the extra money on the gas and time it takes to go back and forth to and from the store each week.

When Buying in bulk make sure you have adequate cold storage space.

Finding Extra Food Storage

Buying in bulk may have it’s difficulties when it comes to food storage but believe it or not, you will find it much easier, more cost effective and well worth your while to clear out and designate an extra closet for pantry space if you have to.

Much depends on how you plan your meals for the month. You will want to be conscientious when it comes to refrigerated goods as you may be limited on cold storage place for vegetables, fruits, cheese and eggs unless you have an extra fridge in your basement or garage.

Freezer space may also be a factor so investing in a chest freezer may be well worth your while in the long run and will allow you to take advantage of periodic sales on meat and other freezer goods as they arise.

Comparison Shopping With Weekly Circulars

Like payday loans lenders, it pays to shop around for different providers.  Of all the wholesale food suppliers in your area, Costco is usually the most popular but often times you may find better deals elsewhere so be sure to do a little comparison shopping before settling on you place of choice. It may pay to shop at two or three places depending on the deals that you may find in your weekly circulars or sales adds that are delivered to your door on a weekly basis. If don’t get them delivered to your door they will be freely available at your local grocery store. Invest the time to compare prices between the different retail chains and take advantage of the deals that you find before you set out shopping on the big day.

Planning Ahead Saves On Impulse Buying

By planning ahead and creating a list you also save extra cash by avoiding impulse buying. Often time we go to the store hungry or without an idea of what we really need which usually results in buying things we don’t need as well as forgetting the things that we do. Shopping without a plan or without a list results in wasteful spending and extra trips to the store.

The tips above will help get you well on your way to saving money, saving time, and even eating a healthier and more balanced diet depending on the time that you invest into the process.

Stay tuned to the payday loans money blog for part II of Grocery Shopping For Big Savings.

Welcome back to the payday loans money blog at personalmoneystore.com.

Continuing on yesterday’s topic in the article, “Increasing Income , Decreasing Debt | Payday Loans Blog Resolutions for 2009,” today we will continue the topic by exposing habits we possess that keep us tied to or continuing the cycle of financial debt.

Where Does The Money Go?

Having trouble seeing where your money is going? Follow this excerice to save money and eliminate debt!

Living In A Financial Fog?

Apart from the larger monthly expenses such as your house and car payments, you may be a little foggy as to what consumes the rest of your income. “Where does the money go?” is a question that is usually indicative of poor budgeting and or spending habits.

Know Where Your Money Is Being Spent

If you don’t know where your moneys is being spent, it is difficult to see the areas where you can save.

For one month, devote yourself to recording each and every one of your daily purchases and expenses. At the end of the month, categorize each into their own respective categories such as food, entertainment, home and utilities, etc. By taking a careful inventory of these monthly expenses, you will begin to see some interesting patterns emerge. These patterns will fall into two separate categories that we will call excessive spending and habitual spending.

Meet Daryl, Your Average American Consumer

For this example we are going to use Daryl, a debt burdened consumer, who has completed the above exercise, so that we can illustrate the patterns that you might expect to see when doing this exercise for yourself.

Daryl is an average American consumer with just more than $9,000 in consumer credit card debt. He has found himself paying only his minimum monthly payments at the end of the month due to a shortage of funds and occasionally he has to borrow payday loans to avoid late payment penalties in on his mortgage payment.

Before the above exercise, Daryl said that he occasionally goes out with his friends but does not buy a lot of consumer goods like his friends do. He considers himself a fairly conservative spender. He just can’t seem to make any headway on his debt. He blames his job, saying that he just doesn’t make enough to live on. So we asked Daryl to do the above exercise to see just how conservative he really is.

Daryl’s Spending Habits

Below are some of the habitual spending habits that Daryl found after completing the above exercise.

• Morning double shot espresso purchases two to three times a week before work at a cost of $4.25 each.
• Lunch twice a week at fast food establishments at a cost of $6.50 each.
• Movie once a week with refreshments costing an average of $16 each.

After doing the math, Daryl found that each month he was spending $51 on “wake up” coffee. $52 on lunch outings and $64 on movies and refreshments, for a grand total of $167.

Daryl did a little better in the excessive spending category finding only the following after completing the above exercise. But it was a big one.

• Groceries bill meeting and exceeding $150 dollars a week

This may not seem to be that much of a grocery bill, but considering that Daryl is “Batching it,” or in other words living solo, a grocery bill of $600 per month for one person is extremely excessive.

So between Daryl’s grocery bill and his habitual spending expenses, Daryl was spending $767 dollars each month.

What Could Daryl Do Better?

The advice given to Daryl after he completed the exercise saved him greatly in his monthly expenses. Here is what was suggested to improve his financial out look.

Cutting Out The Coffee

Instead of getting that morning cup of espresso at the drive-through three times a week, cut back to just one espresso a week. Better yet, eliminating these expensive cups of mud altogether by making his own coffee at home.

If coffee is not an acceptable substitute, purchasing an espresso maker would pay for itself rather quickly with the extra cash saved each week and could be considered a viable option as well.

Pack Out, Don’t Take Out!

Instead of indulging in fast food lunches twice a week, making a lunch and bringing it to work with him would save Daryl the extra money and his cardiac health too.

Spendy...and not good for you.

Subtituting the weekly movie and refreshments, with a RedBox or Netflix movie and some cheaper finger food with the friends, would eliminate his monthly dependence on payday loans.

Buy The Groceries, Not The Store

As far as groceries are concerned, Daryl could substantially lower his costs by going to the store with a planned list of needed food items, thus eliminating a lot of the more expensive junk foods he was getting before. This would lower his monthly grocery bill to the more typical average food bill for one person which should be in the neighborhood of $250 to $300 dollars.

The Conclusion

By subscribing to Netflix ($15), purchasing only one espresso each week ($17) and lowering his food bill to the higher end of the average food bill for one person ($300 dollars), Daryl will have room for beer and refreshments for movie night once a week and save $435 dollars each month.

If Daryl Can Do It, You Can Do

Looking at Daryl’s circumstances and the potential outcome,  a very small sacrifice is made for some extraordinary savings.

This shows the importance of implementing a budget or system to track your expenses each month so you can isolate areas where you can save money and regain financial territory lost to consumer credit debt.

Posted courtesy of Personal Money Store, your payday loans source.