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Upcoming Events
Upcoming Classes
Click on name of class for more information
Northern Utah:
Mar 2 - Tooele
Money Habitudes
RSVP: 435-277-2400
*Dinner Provided
Mar 2, 4 - SLC
HomeSmart: Educating Homeowners
Mar 3 - Logan
How does your cash flow? Slashing Expenses
Mar 4, 11, 18, 25 - Ogden
Stretch your Bucks without Breaking your Back
Mar 5, 12, 19, 26 - Layton
Budgeting Workshop
Mar 6 - SLC
Opening the Door to Homeownership
Mar 9, 11, 16, 18 - Price
Financial Management
Mar 10 - Logan
Credit and Debt, Identity Theft
Mar 10, 17, 24, 31 - Panguitch
Personal and Family Finance Basics
RSVP: 435-676-1114
Mar 17 - Logan
The Art of Saving Money, Preparing to Buy a Home, Credit reports
Mar 24 - Ogden
Money Market Fair
Mar 24 - SLC
ConsumerCents: What's in a Score? Understanding Credit Reports
Mar 27 - SLC
Saving My Home Seminar
For more upcoming classes
Click Here
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Don't know where to begin?
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Send In Your Saving's Tip
America Saves is looking for your frugal tips and are willing to pay for them! Send in your savings tip to:
America Saver, c/o Consumer Federation of America
1620 Eye St., NW, Suite 200
Washington, D.C. 20006
If America Saves selects your tip for publication, they will send you a check for $25 (the initial purchase price of a $50 EE Savings Bond) and an application for the $50 EE Savings Bond. America Saves recommend purchasing a savings bond at a local bank or credit union. Please include your name, address, and phone number so they can contact you.
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Questions or Comments?
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A Special Thank You!
Thank you to all who participated in Utah Saves Week. Please stay tuned for next month's newsletter to learn about the weeks impact!
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Spending Plan
By Stephanie Young
Once you have set your Savings Plan and understand what you would like to save for and how to save it, it is now time to set a spending plan. A spending plan is different than a savings plan. Spending plans manage the everyday and monthly expenses where a savings plan works on the the entire year and the long term goals in which the everyday expenses should work towards. To manage your monthly expenses which work towards your long term goal follow these steps:
- Total your earnings
Calculate how much income is expected to come that month. Be sure to use the payroll amount after taxes.
- Assess your monthly expenses
List all reoccurring monthly expenses such as mortgage, groceries, credit card bill, and placing money in a savings account and/or 401K.
- Subtract monthly expenses from earnings
Take the above two numbers and subtract them from each other.
- Subtract any extra expenses
Now take any scheduled extra expenses that will arise within that month such as a scheduled car maintenance, someone's birthday, going to the movies, and trips.
- Build in a cushion
The remaining money should be more than $0. If an unexpected expense arises their needs to be money in the account so not to go negative in the bank account and risk having a bank fee charged.
- Invest in yourself
Do you have any left over money? Use the leftover money to place in a treasure account. This type of rewards account may be used to save for any fun expenses that you may want in the future.
Tips:
- Allow adequate time for planning. Make your spending plan before the first of the month.
- Circumstances change so should your savings plan.
- Create a new spending plan every month since no two months are the same.
- Use the new America Saves Goal Tracker to see how your doing on your saving and spending plans.
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Surf for Cheap Tickets
Looking for affordable seats to a concert, a sporting event, or a Broadway show? Zebratickets.com aggregates prices from major ticket retailers so you can find the best deal. Also, you can have the site alert you if, say, seats to a Toby Keith concert dip below $50.
- Real Simple Magazine
What's on sale this month?
This month look for specials on humidifiers, TV's, winter coats, and winter sports gear.
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Be Wise About Cashing Tax Refunds
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency would like consumers to be aware of tax refund-related products, including refund anticipation loans. These products present particular consumer protection and safety and soundness risks due to their unique repayment and cost structures, and banks' reliance on third party tax preparers to offer the products. Instead of using a refund anticipation loan or other such products, which can be costly, try using the convenience, safety, and speed of direct deposit.
To read more on this topic visit the following websites:
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Membership Club Online Scams
Susan Grant, Consumer Federation of America
Be aware of web sites that present customers with discount or cash-back incentive offers from other companies and share the customers' credit or debit card information with those companies without the customers' knowledge or consent. Typically, these are for useless services such as discount buyers clubs. Consumers don't realize that they are signing up for these services and that there will be monthly charges or debits.
The New York Attorney General's Office has reached a settlement with Fandango, which has promised, among other things, not to share its customers' account numbers. There are many other well-known companies that the agency is looking at which allow their Web sites to be used to trick consumers into these services and who profit from these abuses.
Consumers may be surprised to learn that there is no law that prohibits retailers from sharing consumers' financial account information. Maybe one day this will change, but in the meantime, consumers should:
- Look at the fine print carefully in any offers online or that come through the mail.
- Routinely check their financial statements online or when they arrive in the mail to spot any unauthorized charges or debits and notify their banks immediately if they find them.
- Complain to their state or local consumer protection agencies if they believe that they were tricked into purchasing goods or services that they never agreed to buy.
To read the full press release, click here.
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Common Lawn Care Mistakes
Hobby Lawn Care.com
Spring is just around the corner and so is lawn maintenance. Here are a few tips to decrease your lawn care maintenance bills this summer season. Have further questions with gardening? Call or go to your local USU Extension office and ask for the Volunteer Master Gardener or Horticulturist. Ask for a free soil sample kit in order to find what your lawn will need this season.
- Neglecting the Soil
- Mowing to Short
- Failing to Mulch
- Excessive Watering
- Forgetting to De-Thatch
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Save for a Rainy Day
The cornerstone of healthy personal finance is also something many people struggle with: saving money. From the time your kids are old enough to desire toys, books, and other entertainment items, you should teach them how to save for the things they want to buy.
An allowance is a good tool for this concept. Your child may want a video game that costs $50, but she gets an allowance of only $5 a week. It's her choice: candy or comic books today, or the more expensive item a couple months from now. Almost all personal finance boils down to this essential concept, and it's best to learn from experience.
You can help with this notion another way, by offering to pay interest if your child saves part of her allowance with you, or by matching part of her savings if she starts a bank account - say, you'll contribute 1 dollar for every 5 she puts in the bank. Offer a high rate, so she can immediately see the benefits of not spending her money. Your child may find that momentary desire passes, but the satisfaction that comes from saving money lasts indefinitely.
-Family Education.com
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| Utah Saves is
*Utah State University Extension is an
affirmative action/equal opportunity institution.
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