INCOME BUILDING Saving $$'s

   Now Lucy might be an expert, but you will just have to determine for yourself, IF and how valuable this free advice is.

Besides filling our piggy banks there are other ways we can save money! 

1.   If you are employed, you could give yourself a raise and benefit from extra cash in about two weeks. Here is a question for you. Do you usually receive a tax refund? If the answer is yes, the reason this is true is because you overpaid your taxes. The end of the tax year is December 31st. Refunds are usually received from March to June of the following year. Do you ever receive interest on the amount of money you are owed? Probably not. So what this means is that the government has used your money for about 15 months tax free and interest free. Now why would you want them to do that? It's your money, not the government's!

   Now I know no one wants to be considered average, but the average tax refund is over $2,500.00 Lets average that out to $2,400.00 This means $200.00 per month is held out of your paycheck. What could you do with an extra $200.00 per month or $50 a week? Again, it's your money. As to taxes, we must pay what is owed, not less and certainly not more! The reason for a refund is because you overpaid your taxes. This can be corrected very simply, legally and result in a raise in your pay check every pay period and as soon as two weeks after you inform your employer. Each of us are entitled to determine how much we want to have withheld from our taxes. Just ask your accountant or CPA about this for specific instructions how to do this. Your employer must honor these changes by law and you should start receiving extra money in your paycheck in about two weeks from when you make the changes to your withholding.

Give yourself a pay raise!

2.   If you have a mortgage, you could check into refinancing at a lower interest rate and perhaps end up sending a smaller monthly mortgage payment. Or if you can pay more you can reduce the time it takes to pay off the loan and save potentially 1,000's or 10's of thousands of dollars in interest. If you own your own home outright, you could check into getting a home equity loan. Consult with a professional financial planner or mortgage specialist for either of these measures.

Reduce your mortgage costs!      -      Use the the equity in your home!

3.   Groceries are something we all need. We need to eat and most of us usually shop every week. Cut out coupons from newspapers and magazines. Look for coupons online and at your favorite store. Buy things in bulk if possible. Look for sales.

Cut out coupons! -  Buy in bulk! -  Buy on sale!

   All three above are important and often require a lot of conscious thought, effort, time, and maybe even some imagination. But what else could we save on? What do we seldom think about, but habitually purchase?