If you think a layoff is inevitable, it would be inexcusable not to take some steps now to prepare for your expected unemployment. Some of these tips from the Web site The Jobs and Moms Career Center that the Washington Post recently highlighted are related to networking:
Those looking to cut unnecessary spending from their budgets likely have considered getting rid of cable TV altogether. The San Jose Mercury News raises a few questions you should ask yourself first, including:
The bottom line is making a decision that’ll save you money … not one that will force you to incur unexpected costs.
In an economic pinch, more people are opting to work from home on freelance and contract projects, consultancies and part-time work, according to a recent McClatchy Newspapers article.
The article points to several resources that may be of help should you find yourself in this situation:
The CBS Early Show had a useful report this morning taking a look at a high-tech twist to a longtime way of helping cut costs: coupon clipping.
View the video:
The report included links to some handy sites:
The Federal Trade Commission and Better Business Bureau are warning people to steer clear of ads that promise consumers help getting their hands on stimulus money.
You may have seen the ads on Facebook or on Web sites, according to a Los Angeles Times article. Eileen Harrington, acting director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, explained to the newspaper how the scams usually work: “consumers are told grant information is available for a small payment by credit card. But buried inside the small print of agreements on the sites is enrollment in multiple, paid programs” that lead to unexpected credit card charges.
My husband and I were shocked when we realized how much we were spending on having our two golden retrievers groomed several times a year. So we purchased clippers and learned how to do it ourselves. (To be honest, it’s a task that he handles. I shower him with compliments for a job well done. And then we pat ourselves on the back for saving around $100.)
More people are grooming their own dogs, mending their own clothing and planning their own gardens, according to a Washington Post article that says that marketers and businesses have given a new name to this DIY mentality:
“They call it ‘insourcing’: doing yourself what you once gladly paid others to do for you. ”
If you’re looking for some DIY resources, check out these Web sites. Know of others? Please click on “comments” to tell us about them.
Sunday kicked off the third annual America Saves Week with national and local campaigns that drive home to Americans the message “You can build wealth.”
The week is probably more significant this year than in its first two years given the economy and new attention to personal finance and money management.
The official America Saves Week Web site offers some useful tools, including a personal wealth estimator to calculate your current net worth. Unique to this site is a section dedicated to saving strategies, such as how to save for emergencies.
Nancy Register, director of the nonprofit and Washington, D.C.-based America Saves project, told the Sacramento Bee that this year’s goal is to reach 40 million people and sign up 75,000 new savers. The initiative invites people to join local campaigns. Kansans, for example, can sign up online to be part of Kansas Saves.
The Sac Bee article also says that, as part of the campaign, the military is stepping up its financial awareness campaigns. Check out the Web site Military Saves, which offers helpful resource pages, including this one for individuals.
Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius
President Obama has signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment stimulus package. It’s for $787 billion, so some of it has to trickle down to you, right?
Gov. Kathleen Sebelius’ office has added a Web page on what the stimulus package means to Kansans.
The site, www.governor.ks.gov/recovery, offers information about tax cuts and tax credits for workers, businesses, families with college students and people who want to buy cars or homes.
It also includes information about money for health care, money for roads and bridges, money for schools and money for energy efficiency.
It’s tagline is to the point: “Practical, objective personal finance advice from a journalist who now lives the life he wrote about for nearly two decades.”
In his Kitchentablenomics blog, Gene Meyer of Kansas City offers many helpful tips.
Some of his recent posts:
Thoughts on the postal increase coming in May
My very Web-savvy co-worker Katie sent me this list of Web sites for financially-savvy people. I thought her descriptions of the sites were great, so I’m hoping she won’t mind me sharing them with you. (Thanks, Katie!)
What’s your favorite money-saving Web site(s)? Tell us about yours and help us gather a great list for this blog’s blogroll.