Showing posts with label moneytips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label moneytips. Show all posts

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Frequent Disneyland Travel and savings?

How many times have any of you visited Disneyland in California? Do you frequently bring along your family or relatives with you? Probably if you visit the theme park once a year only, the entrance fee of approximately $50 per person could probably be either too much or just enough depending on your financial status.


But what if you visit the place at least twice a year? What if your children want to visit the place often? Are you willing to pay double or more? What if other relatives come to visit you and ask you to bring them to Disneyland especially if they are your nieces or nephews or someone who has come to the US for the first time and probably don't have the financial means as you do?

If you have been to Disneyland last April and May and you found out your relatives are coming on December, you would have to pay again for yourself, wouldn't you? And yet, if you want to go to all the rides and shows, going to the place for a day is not even enough - you'll have to pay again to enter on your next visit?

Here are the facts:

1. It used to be, Disneyland is only one theme park. Yet you can't finish all the rides and shows in one day only.

2. Disneyland has a sister theme park called California Adventure. To visit California Adventure is also another day of activity and fun.

3. An entrance ticket of approximately $50 is just good for an entrance of a individual to only one of the theme parks.

4. Once you have entered Disneyland using your single entrance ticket, you can't go to California Adventure anymore.

Question: Is there a cost saving means of visiting both parks anytime I want?
To those of you who wish to enjoy the place as much as you can, the answer is a big YES. The solution is to take advantage of the promotional offers of Disneyland.

Disneyland usually has two kinds of promotional offers. For residents of California, they have what is called the two-fers. This promo is for a ticket you buy at a particular rate and you are able to visit either one of the two theme parks on the first day of your visit. Then you may visit the other theme park which you have not yet visited on any other day you wish to come again. In this way, you are able to save some money. This promotional offer however is not offered all year round. Therefore, this is only available for California residents and only if the promo is being offered.

Another offer is the year-round pass. If you visit Disneyland more than twice a year, you are indeed able to get a lot of savings because for a particular rate, you can visit any of the two theme parks as often as you can except on their so-called block-out dates. Plus, you can even transfer from one park to another during your visit to the place!

Most of my friends are surprised why we can go to Disneyland as often as we can.
Well, I have chosen to buy the year-round pass and that gives me a lot of savings!

Oh, for those of you who are simply visiting Southern California or the Greater Los Angeles, your vacation visit to Disneyland is not enough for a day.

Colorado travel guide

A Google search of the word ‘Colorado’ reveals a list of websites ranging from the website of the Government of Colorado to the websites of various educational institutions and universities. Among the diverse tourism websites mentioned, the one that catches your eye is visitcolorado4less.com. A click on the link fills your screen with beautiful ice capped peaks of Colorado. A brief overview of the website further assures the browser that he is at the right web link. The website offers exhaustive information about the State which is vaguely situated in Central USA.


The name Colorado traces its genesis to Spanish’ color red. The Centennial State or Colorful Colorado, as it is commonly called, has Denver as its capital.

Colorado is essentially famous for its winter sports, but it seems to cater to everyone’s hobbies. Fishing, skiing, rafting, rock climbing, camping, hiking, museums, historic sites – you find it all here. Apart from its scenic beauty Colorado has much more to offer.

The state has numerous mountains, the highest peak being Mt. Elbert. It is also the home of the Rocky Mountains. Mountaineering becomes especially delightful during spring season when wild flowers are in full bloom. There is also a Colorado Mountain Club which is dedicated solely to the mountain activities. Colorado also has 8000 miles of rivers, offering water activities all over the state. As a result the first water garden society in the world has been founded here. The scenic beauty of Colorado is enhanced by the fact that water is virtually present everywhere. The best way to appreciate this beauty is through camping and horse riding.

Leaving out the adventurers, Colorado offers a lot to the historians and the philosophers. There is a Colorado Shakespeare Festival organized annually in which hundreds of people gather together to produce the various Shakespeare classics. Dotted with ghost towns and mining sites, the state has enough history available to satisfy everyone’s intellectual appetite. Other attractions include the Colorado Brewer’s Festivals and numerous happening casinos.

If one is on a holiday with the entire family, he may visit the Butterfly Pavilion and Insect Center which is an artificial shelter of numerous insects like centipedes and beautiful butterflies. Other venues can be the Cave of Winds in which one can see the stalactite and stalagmite formation, Colorado Gators which homes alligators, Krabloonik – a kennel of sled dogs and Rock Canyon Water Slide which is a mini water park.. Tiny Town and Railroad are especially liked by children. Started in 1915, this children attraction includes 100 of miniature buildings which includes a toy store, a bank and a church. An open steam train gives a tour of this Tiny Town.


Shopping is the ultimate activity which completes a holiday. And so we have Denver and Aspen the shopping hubs of Colorado. While both are known for its antiques, there are other avenues to indulge in as well.
Colorado is also saturated with boarding houses and lodges, each famous for its own experiences. Accommodation is available of every cost, class and style. The Cottonwood Cove ranch is a cozy niche that offers a variety of outdoor activities and is good for fishing. Snowmass Village is a world class ski resort which offers plenty of summer activities as well. Another unique experience is the Vista Verde which is set in wilderness.

With all these activities to do teamed with a comfortable stay, Colorado is the decisive destination where you should head to.

Cheap Travel Secrets

There are two ways to save money traveling. The first way is to get the best deals on the specific things you want. There  is a limitation to this type of approach though. If , for example, you find the lowest price on the best hotel in Honolulu at the height of the season, you will save money, but still have a very expensive vacation. Trying to get exactly what you want, or what you think you want, will generally be an expensive proposition, in travel and in life.


Be A Travel Opportunist

The other approach is to be a true opportunist. This will be difficult for some of you, and entirely unacceptable to others. Nonetheless, the travelers who get to travel the most, go to the widest variety of places, learn the most and do the most, are the opportunists. This will be true until you are so wealthy that you have no monetary limits.

The first time I went to Ecuador, I went there because it was cheap. If it wasn't, I would have had a great time - somewhere else. The trip lasted a month, and cost $1045, which included airfare and even the $130 fee for a guide to take me to the top of glacier-covered Mount Chimborazo.

I cut the cost by taking a bus from my home in Michigan to Miami, and back again when I returned from Ecuador. The round-trip ticket cost $158. The round-trip flight to Quito from Miami was only $256, because it was a courier flight, which meant I signed for some luggage (car parts), and could only take carry-on luggage.

Never did I feel deprived, or bored. I had a great time, eating wherever it was cheap and clean, doing all sorts of inexpensive, but interesting things, and traveling across the country to climb Chimborazo.

How To Become An Opportunist Traveler

Can you drink rum at a dollar per bottle, instead of your favorite beer? Can you eat chicken instead of steak? How about visiting the free sights first, and dancing in the street festival instead of the disco?

Being an opportunist means you'll have just as much variety, and probably almost everything you want - eventually. You just have to stop trying to get exactly what you want exactly when you want it. If the guide that took me up Chimborazo hadn't dropped his price from $200 to $130, I would have spent $2 for a bus and gone hiking on El Altar, another great Andean mountain. That would have left me with enough money for several other minor adventures.

More Secrets Of Cheap Travel

Plane Tickets: I were planning a trip to visit family in Ecuador. The cheapest airfare from Traverse City, Michigan to Quito, was $1720. Out of curiosity, I checked Miami to Quito, and it was only $404. Airfare from Traverse City to Miami was $300. Book two separate flights and save more than $2000! The discount sites aren't set up to search in this way (yet), so you have to do this on your own. By the way, the whole six-week trip, which we took in 2004, cost $2400, including losing $100, and being robbed of
$174.


Food: Whether traveling here or in other countries, it is usually cheaper to buy some healthy snacks in a
grocery store, rather than eat every meal in a restaurant. When you do eat in restaurants, it can be cheaper to to order individual items on the menu from the list of appetizers or side dishes. You also may get more variety in that way.

Accomodations: For a long trip, you may want to rent an apartment in an interesting city. We did this for two months in Tucson, for about $600 less per month, compared to even the cheaper motels. Watch for hotel coupon-books in gas stations. The coupons will often save you $10 on a room you would have stayed in anyhow. If you have a conversion van or RV, you can camp a couple nights a week, like we do, to save
on motels. We love the hotsprings we've stayed at, for a $3 fee to the BLM, instead of $40 for the cheapest motel in the area.

Travel Expenses: Do more and travel less. It is often the traveling part that costs the most, due to the cost of gas, convenient fast food, and expensive hotels you are forced to pay for when you just can't drive any further. So if you find a place with a reasonable motel, and a lot to do in the area - stay for a while!

Are you a Traveler?

I’m making an assumption that at want point in your life you’ve been a tourist. You’ve carried a map, a camera, maybe even had a tour guide. You’ve traveled to different destinations, relaxed on remote beaches, climbed stairs in buildings you see on television. You’ve done all of these things but some how when you get arrive home, all your left with is a short memory, and a few photographs.


Vacations are nice every once in a while, but it doesn’t make sense to me why we will travel thousands of miles to sit in hotel rooms and watch movies, or lie on a pool deck and catch some rays. These are all things that we can do where we are from, I want you to think about being a traveler not a tourist. You want to soak in as much of the new country and culture that you can rather than bring as much of your culture to them. It’s really quite simple. In one step you need to forget about your way of live, and adopt theirs.

It’s simple things like the mindset that we have when we go abroad, and what we bring. Don’t bring all of the things that we depend on in America. Bring what it is that you are going to need to survive and stay healthy during your visit. The more comforts you have, the more you will depend on them, and the less you will step out to become the traveler you ought to be!


Put yourself out there. Locals are always interested to interact with foreigners, and it’s best to take advantage of this. Meet people that you can share life with while you are in their country. Immerse into their culture and be open to new idea’s. A lot of times we are closed to new idea’s and we miss out on opportunities for better things to come along. Be open, willing and accepting.

If you want to be changed, and to experience you need to leave the tourist at home. Bring out the inner traveler in you and see the world in the way that it was meant to be seen.

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Travelling To Spain - The Spanish Regional Travel Guide

Up to 60 million visitors travel to Spain every year to delight in the country’s 315 sunny days and its rich and diverse history and culture. As a result the Spanish government spend millions of Euros per year on the travel and transport infrastructure to service the country’s growing population and its ever growing numbers of visitors.


Therefore Spain has to be one of the easiest and most affordable of the world’s popular destinations in terms of its accessibility - particularly from the UK and Northern America. For example there are cheap flights available from all British airports to main and regional airports across Spain daily and direct flights from the main Spanish hubs to the US daily. As an alternative for British and European travellers there are fantastic countrywide train, coach and ferry links and great access for those who prefer to travel by car.

This article breaks down the main Spanish travel options by region.

Northern Spain – The easiest way to access this region is by plane from one of the main UK airports flying directly to Bilbao or from the US to Malaga with transfer to Bilbao. It’s possible to connect with Iberia flights for connections across the North and throughout Spain. Alsa and Eurolines have sophisticated coach networks and it’s possible to travel all the way across Europe to Bilbao or San Sebastian and then pick up local coaches or rail connections. You can also sail from the UK port of Plymouth to Santander with Brittany Ferries, or you could take the P & O route from Portsmouth to Bilbao.

Castile and La Rioja – The cheapest way to access these regions is possibly to fly to one of the main Spanish hubs – Barcelona, Bilbao or Madrid for example, and then either drive or get connecting flights. You can connect with Iberia for flights to Logrona in La Rioja or Valladolid in Castile. Castile, Rioja and Navarre are serviced by an excellent road network which makes getting around simple and again, Alsa coaches will connect you with major and minor destinations across the regions and the entire country.

Aragon, Navarre and the Pyrenees – As these regions are easily accessible by car or coach from Madrid it may be best to get a cheap flight to Madrid and then drive the E90 to the heart of the region. You could consider getting a connecting flight to Zaragoza in the middle of the region which is a good jumping off point for explorations in this stunning part of Spain. Alternatively access to this region can be made by rail or coach. Eurolines coaches will connect you with Pamplona or Zaragoza; Eurostar rail will take you from the UK to Paris and from Paris you can catch an overnight high speed rail link to Madrid…from Madrid the options are varied, from local rail and coach connections, car hire, and local flight connections with Iberia.

Costa Brava and Costa Dorada – As we move east to the beautiful Northern Catalonian coastal regions of the Costa Brava and Costa Dorada, so accessibility increases. Barcelona airport is the main airport for these regions and it welcomes cheap UK and US flights. You can then connect to Girona in the Costa Brava region or Reus in the Costa Dorada region. Barcelona itself has an underground train network for access throughout the city, and if you want to travel further afield the Spanish rail service RENFE has many mainline and local services servicing both regions. The main coastal road in Costa Brava is the A7, with the A2 taking you west away from Barcelona and the C32 taking you south from Barcelona into the Costa Dorada. Barcelona has a port with ferry services to Genoa, Rome, Mallorca, Menorca and Ibiza.


Central Spain and Madrid – Central Spain’s main airport is Madrid and it welcomes direct flights from all the major UK and US airports and some of the smaller ones as well. As Madrid is such a major city you can imagine it acts as an important travel hub for the whole of Spain. Coach and rail networks and main auto routes all radiate from the city. Madrid has two main stations with trains departing for regional and international destinations, and the city has an underground metro system as well.

Costa del Azahar – The main travel hub of this region is Valencia with the city’s airport enjoying direct UK flights. To access the rest of the region you can take advantage of the RENFE services from Valencia or enjoy the city via the FGV trams and underground trains. If you want to travel from the coast to Madrid take the N430 and A3; to explore the coast take the A7. Again, Eurolines coaches operate connections to towns and cities in this region including Valencia, Sagunt and Vinaros. And last but not least, Valencia is a port city and has ferries running across the Mediterranean with destinations including Malta, Ibiza, Italy etc.

Costa Blanca – Most visitors for this region enter via Alicante airport. With the Costa Brava well serviced by roads and Alicante airport offering great car hire opportunities many people prefer to access the rest of the region by road, though RENFE, Eurolines and Alsa offer excellent rail and coach alternatives.

Costa Calida – Murcia is the main airport for this region, though Alicante airport is also accessible affording visitors and residents an extra opportunity and advantage. From Murcia there are a number of major train services including direct links to Madrid. In terms of roads, again the Costa Calida is a region with an excellent network of major roads and routes: the N340 runs from Alicante through Murcia to the Costa del Sol, the A7 hugs the coast and local, national and international coach lines service the area. In the port town of Cartagena a passenger terminal was built in 2003 which now serves as a destination for some of the major cruise liners on their way to and from destinations around France, Greece and the Black Sea Coast.

Costa de Almeria – You’re spoilt for choice when it comes to airports serving this region, you can fly to Alicante or Murcia and travel by road or rail into the region or you can fly direct to Almeria airport. The cheapest flights are often to Alicante. RENFE have mainline train services from Almeria to the city of Granada, Eurolines, Alsa and Enatcar all offer coach services across Costa de Almeria. The major routes in the region are the N340 which runs from Costa Calida through the town of Almeria and on south to the Costa del Sol, the A92 which connects with Granada and the A348 which connects Almeria with the Alpujarras. In terms of sea access, Transmediterranea have ferries from the port of Almeria to Northern Africa.

Costa del Sol and Andalucia – If you can’t get a flight to this region of Spain you must be doing something wrong – or maybe just hoping to travel during peak season! The main airport is Malaga and nearly every single airline you can think of flies from almost every single UK and US airport you can think of! If you can’t get a flight and you’re in the UK you might consider driving to the Costa del Sol! In which case your best bet would be to sail from Plymouth to Santander or from Portsmouth to Bilbao and then travel the 900 or so kilometres south. If you start off in Bilbao you’ll need the A68 and A1 to Burgos, or from Santander take the N623 to Burgos – then from Burgos travel via the N1 to Madrid. From Madrid head to Granada, from Granada head for Malaga…phew! Alternatively get a Euroline coach all the way from the UK to Estepona or Malaga or travel from Paris on the fast night train to Madrid and connect with the AVE fast train to Cordoba which in turn connects up with regional Costa del Sol services.

Costa de la Luz and Gibraltar – You can either fly to Gibraltar or Jerez in the region or make use of the many cheap flights to Spain that land in Malaga. There are ferry services between Tarifa and Algeciras in Spain and Tangiers in Morocco, bus and rail services across Europe and through Spain to the Costa de la Luz and strong road links with the E15 serving Gibraltar from the mainland.

Whatever your final destination you should be able to find cheap flights to some of Spain’s main airports and then use local and regional travel services to access your destination of choice; as I hope I’ve shown, the whole of Spain is incredibly easily accessible.

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Planning on Doing Some International Travel Over the Holidays?

[shudder]. No really, a little EQ - managing the attitude, and using the ole noggin' can make it almost pleasant!

1. Pack your patience and your Emotional Intelligence.

Turn down the emotions, turn up the forethought. Example - research your destination on the Internet prior for websites where individuals (not paid interests) can tell you what you can ^anticipate^.


2. Pre-arrange everything you possibly can – air, hotel, car, restaurant, attractions, plays.

3. Make copies of your passport, traveler’s checques, credit cards, itinerary, and airline tickets.

Carry one copy with you and leave one copy with your designated emergency-contact.

4. Carry with you the address and phone number of your country’s embassy (consulate) for each country you’ll visit.

5. Take any regular medication in your hand luggage and be sure you have more than enough for your trip. (Remember needles and scissors can’t be in hand luggage.)

6. Check the US State Dept. advisories, www.travelstate.gov, before your go for immunizations, hazards and other pertinent information; the Overseas Security Advisory Council, www.ds-osac.org,and the Transportation Security Administration site, www.tsatraveltips.us.

7. You'll know you'll be waiting, so use your EQ and figure out how to make it A Good Thing.


· Use e-ticket and online checkin when you can.
· Bring along that book you’ve been meaning to read
· Bring a pre-paid phone call and catch up with buddies
· Bring a neck pillow and plan to catch up on your rest
· Dress appropriately for sitting or lying around an airport for a long time – loose clothing that can be abused

8. Use your neocortex when you pack, not your brain-stem. (You KNOW the rules, abide by them! Exorcize from the brain-stem another time, another place.)

· Pack carry-ons lightly so they can be checked more easily
· Check the checked baggage allowance and be sure your name and contact details are on the outside of each bag
· Avoid packing anything that looks like a weapon (guide – anything you wouldn’t give a toddler free access to – nail file, letter opener, knitting needle, and the more obvious hand grenades)
· When traveling to and from North America, TSA recommends not locking checked baggage
· Check here www.tsa.dot.gov for common items which become hazardous in flight due to temperature changes and pressure, and don’t pack them.

9. Be sure you have a valid passport and any required Visas and be prepared to show them at any point along the way.

10. Know the rules of security checkpoints and abide by them.

· Only ticketed passengers can proceed beyond it
· All electronic items will be screened – laptops and cells. Remove laptop from travel case.
· Keep ticket and boarding pass and ID within easy reach – like on neck chain
· Wear shoes easy to remove and as little jewelry as possible

P.S. Here's a tip from a seasoned traveler. You KNOW you're going to be buying things, and possibly taking home gifts, so pack some clothes that are ready for Goodwill and that you can deposit in another country's "Goodwill" to leave space in your bags for the return trip.


Thursday, September 9, 2010

A Complete India Travel Guide Launched

Your wait is finally over. A complete Travel Guide, Complete India Travel Guide that focuses completely on India has been launched. The days of scratching about for information on India before you embark on a tour of this beautiful country is passé. Learn more about the beauty of this enchanting land from this exhaustively informative website Compleye India Travel Guide. This travel guide has quite a few useful tools that enable it to become a traveler’s best friend. 



Are you ready to pack your bag but not very sure about your destination? At BharatExpedition.com you will get to know about some tourist locations, whose existence you were never aware of. No wonder, this is by far the best India Travel Guide that you will find in the Internet. Rich in information, this exclusively India centric travel guide is surely destined to become a tourist’s best pal.

Travel Guide is conceived to provide travelers with enough information on travel so that it becomes easier for them to take decisions. The website enables you to book hotels in more than 150 Indian cities. You also have the choice to book a luxury hotel or a budget hotel. One added advantage that this complete India Travel Guide has is its ability to book hotels real time through partners and give instant confirmation facility. It has more than 500 hotels of all categories throughout India in its database. You can, therefore, be pretty sure of getting a hotel room anywhere in the country.

This extremely informative guide on Indian tourism will help you plan you tour without getting sand between your toes. Tourists who love to stay off the beaten track will find this website to their liking. There are plenty of exotic tour packages like safari tours, golf tours, beach holidays and adventure tours. If you want to re-live history, you will have plenty of information on historic places like Delhi, Jaipur and Agra. Enjoy life in throbbing metropolitan cities like Mumbai. The website aims to provide you will all the travel resources that you may need. Here you will find popular tourist destinations as well as lesser known paradises on earth.

Complete INDIA Travel Guide
Knowledge is power. Your tour can be safe and delightful if you have all the information about the place where you wish to go. At BharatExpedition.com   you will have more than enough information on tourist attractions. Small things often make big difference. BharatExpedition.com  has an eye for detail. Here you will get the direction of tourist hot spots from different transit points like airport, railway station and even bus stop. You will also get to know about the hotels near that attraction. Many websites has the ability to book a flight or car too. 

This complete India Travel Guide is the only one of its kind. It has more information than a typical travel search engine. At the same time it enables you to book hotels, flights, cars and packages online. These entire things combine together to make Complete India Travel Guide a unique India oriented travel guide.


Tuesday, May 25, 2010

6 Essential Steps to Protect Your Computer On the Internet For Free



Recently one of my friends asked me to check out if his computer was infected by virus. He suspected because occasionally the computer was shut down automatically when connected to internet. My first thought was the Sasser worm 60 seconds auto count-down. As he uses Windows 98 second edition with IE5, the virus must be a Sasser variant.


http://moneytips.buyme.co.in/computer/6_essential_steps_to_protect_your_computer_on_the_internet_for_free.html


 Checkout above link for details

Saturday, May 15, 2010

10 Easy Ways To Organize Your Business Finances




Whether you are a new entrepreneur or a more experienced business owner, taking control of your finances can feel like a part-time job. Some simple tips can help you streamline your time, organize your finances and reduce the stress of business money matters
. Check out details on finance at Money Tips / http://moneytips.buyme.co.in/finance/


When the mail comes, make sure it goes in one place. Misplaced bills can be the cause of unwanted late fees and can damage your credit rating. Whether it's a drawer, a box, or a file, be consistent. Size is also important. If you get a lot of mail, use an area that won't get filled up too quickly.

2. Pay Your Bills on Schedule

Bill paying can be simplified if it's done at scheduled times during the month. Depending on how many bills you receive, you can establish set times each month when none of your bills will be late. If you're paying bills as you receive them, chances are you're spending too much time in front of the checkbook. Although bills may state "Payable Upon Receipt", there's always a grace period. Call the creditor to find out when they need to receive payment before the bill is considered late.


3. Read Your Credit Card Statements

Most people take advantage of low interest credit card offers but never read their statements when paying the bill. Credit cards are notorious for using low interest as bait for new customers then switching to higher rates after a few months. Make a habit of looking at your statement carefully to see what interest rate you are paying each month and if any transaction fees have been applied. If the rate increases or a transaction fee appears on your statement, a simple call to the credit card company can oftentimes be beneficial in resolving the matter. If not, try to switch your money to a more favorable rate.

4. Take Advantage of Automatic Payments

Most banks offer a way to automatically deduct money from your account to pay creditors. In addition, the creditors usually offer a lower interest rate when you sign up for this payment option because they get their money faster and on-time. Consider it as one fewer check to write, envelope to lick and stamp to buy. Just make sure you record the deduction when the automatic payment is scheduled or you run the risk of bouncing other checks.

5. Computerize Your Checkbook

Using a software program is a handy way to organize your finances. Whether it's Quicken(r), Microsoft Money(r) or another package, these easy-to-use programs make bill paying and bank reconciliation a cinch. Computer checks can be ordered almost anywhere and fit right into most printers. Once the checks are printed, all of the information is automatically recorded in your electronic checkbook. Furthermore, many banks have direct downloads into these software packages so when money is deposited or withdrawn, the transaction is entered immediately onto your computer. And, when it comes time to do taxes, it couldn't be easier.

6. Get Overdraft Protection

Most banks have a service where, if you run the risk of bouncing a check, the money will come from another source. For a nominal fee, the bank will link your checking account to either a savings, money market, or credit card so the embarrassment of bouncing a check will be avoided. Call or visit your bank to learn about this convenient feature.

7. Cancel Unused Accounts

Whether it's a credit card or bank account, write a letter requesting that the account is formally closed. Not only will this improve your credit score, it is a useful way to avoid money from being scattered all over the place. Don't let department stores and credit card companies lure you into opening new accounts by offering favorable interest rates and purchase discounts. It's easy for credit to get out of hand by taking advantage of every credit offer that comes your way.

8. Consolidate Your Accounts

If you have several credit card accounts with outstanding balances, try to consolidate them into one. Be careful and check the balance transfer interest rates and one-time fees. Also, make a list of all your open Money Markets, Savings, CDs, IRAs, Mutual Funds, and other accounts to see if any consolidation can be done. Keeping your money in fewer places eliminates all of the guesswork involved and reduces errors.

9. Establish Automatic Savings

Create a link from your checking account into a savings account that will not be touched. This can usually be done through the banks and automatic amounts will be transferred over each month. Most people will not put money into a savings account on a regular basis. They may wait until a large tax refund check arrives or some other event to actually deposit money into savings, retirement or other accounts. If you establish an automatic savings deposit every month, your accounts will begin accumulating money faster than you think.

10. Clean up Your Files

Make sure your paid bills are organized in a filing cabinet. Keep individual files for paid bills. Go through your files at the end of each year and throw out bills and receipts no longer needed for auditing purposes. Contact your local IRS office to see how long records need to be kept for audits. Usually federal tax return audits can be done three years back but cancelled checks may need to be kept for seven. Consult the Internet for auditing and records-keeping procedures for your state or region.

Visit: MoneyTips