Keeping a Price Journal

Keeping a price journal is a great way to save money and keep track of you spending.

The price journal itself doesn't save you money, but its tracking of your spending does.
To start your very own price journal all you have to do is find a small notebook or buy one.

The layout of your book should have a number at the top of the page. This number is your spending budget. Below that there should be some white space, it will allow you to jot down the prices of things at different stores.

The most important part of the journal is the spending chart below the white space.
It should have 3 columns; one for the name of your transaction, another for the price and the last one for the subtotal of what you have spent that month. So a good price journal would look like this (just not typed):



As you can see: I spent too much (even though this isn't my spending journal). I also spent a considerable amount on coffee that is prepared at a store. Unless I am financially stable I should not be buying that much coffee. Also if my rent didn't include utilities I would have to be much more frugal. It would be good to have a certain amount of money going to a savings account or something like that.

Remember that you are the one putting everything in the journal so you have to stay on top of it or your budget could go out the door.

Saving Hundreds by Fixing an Old Laptop

Looking to buy a new laptop? Look no more.

Unless you plan on using your laptop for heavy duty gaming you can make do with an old fashioned laptop with a little bit of modern software.

You can either buy a very cheap and old laptop from a site like Craigslist or eBay or you could buy a relatively newer one at a discount.

For example I am able to find a computer worth $2500 for only $1100. I could invest the saved money or put it towards something important.

The best idea is to buy an old computer such as this one:
Then retrofit the computer by adding a new, leaner operating system to it. Chances are you are only going to use your computer for internet browsing, email and music. Ubuntu linux should be a great operating system to run on that laptop.

To set this up you should:

1. At the Ubuntu website download the image file for Ubuntu Home 32 bit.
2. Once it is downloaded you should burn Ubuntu to a DVD. If you don't have DVD drive, use UNetbootin.
3. When you insert the CD, the Ubuntu installer will guide you through the installation.
   
4. You now have a fast and speedy computer, enjoy it even more by installing the programs you like or ones like it.

If you have your own laptop you should follow this guide from The Simple Dollar.

Saving Money by NOT Buying What You Don't Need

A smart consumer knows what they actually need and what they just want.

A smart consumer knows that they don't actually need a new phone every time the models are updated nevertheless many people do buy new phones every month.

Here are some tips to not wasting your money on something you already have:

• If your phone works, don't buy a new one.
• If your car is fine don't buy a new one unless the new one is more fuel efficient and saves you money in the long run.
• Don't waste your money on expensive TV channels you watch once a year.
• Remember that for every dollar you spend from your savings account is possibly $10 after many years.
• If you are wondering if you need something, just wait a month and if you still "need" it you can buy it.

Remember this money is your money earned through your hard work.

Getting Recession Deals on Appliances

Lifehacker recently had an article about how you can get great deals on appliances right now because of the recession.

It got me thinking, what a good time to buy energy efficient and high quality appliances that you were eventually going to get.

Cars too are dropping down in price rapidly, and Canadians can get good deals like American pricing.

Televisions are also very low priced, even the new models. Recently I was able to buy a 40" LCD TV for only $500. It was a good deal and some are even better.

Make sure you also check out the prices between stores, there is stiff competition for your business. Price matching may get you a deal with some perks.

Don't buy things you know are low quality, try to see how expensive of an item you can get because of price drops. Things that used to be expensive may now be "budget" priced.

Always find reviews and see if your friends have any recommendations.

Just because we're in a recession doesn't mean you can't find deals.

5 Easy Ways to Make Money Grow

We all know money is hard to make, so we want to make the most of it.
There are many simple ways to do so, here are some:

1. Keep your money in a high interest savings account. Times are tough, but you can still find a decent interest rate if you shop around.
   
2. Have your employer automatically deduct a portion of your pay into a high interest redeemable savings bond (or GIC) or a separate savings account for emergencies.
3. Once you have over $10,000 you should consider setting aside $5000 to buy shares in a few well performing or well priced companies. Tips: High dividends is nice.
4. Buy things with value that will increase overtime. If you have enough money to buy and maintain an antique vehicle this could pay off well.
5. Follow Wain Roy's advice and open a money market savings account.