Credit cards certainly have their place in our lives.  In fact, used correctly you can actually make some money or get free travel using your credit cards to buy things and pay bills from the various credit card reward plans available.  You can pick up some good ideas on what to look for in a credit card offer here at PFJournal.

The sad fact is, though, that most people aren’t so responsible with their credit cards.  A small purchase here and there turns into a couple of biggies and, next thing you know, you’re barely paying off the interest with minimum payments each month.

CNN/Money has a nice article on kicking the plastic habit.  They put forth some good ideas, even pointing out some benefits of giving up credit cards even if you don’t carry a balance, claiming that “studies find that paying with a card turns you into a different shopper, one who is less price sensitive and more extravagant. Forgo credit cards and you’ll run up a smaller tab when you shop, plain and simple.”

Lots of other good info in the article that should give you something to think about, even if it just helps you get your thoughts together on credit card spending and provides a different perspective on kicking the credit card habit.

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My family and I recently went on a vacation and we decided to rent a car that had really good gas mileage. The money we saved on the gas, coupled with the wear and tear we didn’t put on our car more than paid for the cost of the car.

Your numbers might vary depending on the mpg of your current car, the cost of a rental in your area, plus the size of car you’re able to rent, but for us it was a no-brainer. We rented a car for 7 days that cost $145 after taxes and fees. Now this was definitely no luxury rental. We went economy all the way. In fact, I called the agent directly a few days before pick-up and specifically requested the car with the best gas mileage in their fleet. This happened to be a little Ford Focus that, for us, averaged about 40 mpg. Since my daily driver gets about 25 mpg, I was able to drive 15 miles more per gallon of gas, which as it stands right now, is about $4 per gallon. Over 2,000 miles that’s a savings of $120. Since I didn’t have to change the oil, or worry about nicks in the windshield or any other little headaches, I really came out ahead in this deal.

So, if you’re planning on taking a family trip soon, shop around a bit for a rental car and considering parking your daily driver. You’ll save the wear-and-tear on your car and you might just be able to save some money in the meantime.

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We’re hearing a lot of doom and gloom about the finances continually now for the past year or so. It’s recession this, mortgage crisis that and the outlook doesn’t appear to be much better for the year to come. So, one has to ask what should we do with our own finances?

The New York Times recently rant an article about this topic and they claim that “according to the experts, the best advice is to not panic. Consumers who have managed to avoid the excesses of the last few years should sit fast, the experts say.” Well, this advice seems about right and it’s something we’ve talked about before, although we do recommend doing things like making your portfolio recession proof or saving money in a recession.

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We’re continually striving to find new ways to save money, whether it be using less gas, sidelining your cash, analyzing your personal financial risk and so forth.  In fact, it’s actually quite easy to find tips and tricks to save money.  Just do a quick search online and you’ll find countless articles on saving money.

Well, we wouldn’t want to avoid pointing out good ways to save money just because there’s a lot of advice floating around.  It’s always a good idea to look at the topic from as many angles as possible.

CNN/Money just recently posted an article proposing you can fool yourself into saving smarter. There’s some pretty good ideas in there that just might help you save a bit of that money you’re dying to spend…

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Everyone loves to travel for the holidays and finding information on the internet has made booking travel reservations, such as flights to USA, a much more do-it-yourself project. The problem is, it’s not always easy to find the best deals on one site and end up jumping around from site to site looking for information on flights, cars, hotels and vacation packages.

The problem is much easier to solve, especially if you’re looking for cheap flights for the holidays if you start your search on Dialaflight.com. They are the leading independent UK Travel Agent and they provide the usual travel offerings that you need to get moving for the holidays such as flights, hotels, car hire, and other travel ideas such as beach holidays, weekend breaks and more. You can also get information on flights to Australia or Thailand, New Zealand or Cyprus, or just about anywhere you need to go.

The beauty of Dialaflight, is that you can call and talk to a real person who can help you customize your vacation package or flight details. You get the convenience of the web to browse around for ideas on their informative site and the the personalized service that is lacking on other travel sites. Since you’ll be able to specify your exact requirements, you’ll be sure to get the perfect holiday or travel plan that you really want.

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I know more than a few people who have been stuck in long-term contracts with a cell phone service that they weren’t completely happy with. Until now, it was virtually impossible to get out of these plans without some serious penalties. It’s still not easy to get completely off the hook, but some carriers are starting to lighten up.

CNNMoney.com had some good suggestions for either changing a plan or switching carriers altogether with little or no penalties. The best bet, however, is to probably find a great cell phone carrier from the start. Good luck, huh?

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We’ve featured some different ideas on personal finance and health insurance in the past, but sometimes it’s still important to look past the money and the insurance and focus on the dangers of different health conditions. This follows, of course, because as the cliche goes, prevention is the best medicine, and ultimately the best way to save yourself money on health care is to stay informed and avoid health problems.

One great site to learn about Sudden Cardiac Arrest and information on Heart Attack symptoms is InsideCardiacArrest.com. The site provides a good description of how the heart works and what happens in the event of a heart attack or, in contrast, Sudden Cardiac Arrest.

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I talk here often about ways to save money and occasionally bring up ways to be green and save. One idea for saving money is to spend less on gas. Besides stop buying gas completely, buying a hybrid vehicle might be a way to achieve some gas savings. The big problem, however, is that it might take way too long too make up the savings in gas to pay for the premium that hybrids now command. There are, of course, other reasons to buy a hybrid vehicle besides saving money, but this is still a concern for many folks.

There are several savings calculators that help determine your potential savings for buying a hybrid, and this one from CNET does the trick in addition to also linking to a hydrid car buyer’s guide with some useful information. You can also get more information on hybrids from prognog.com.

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Interesting article in Forbes.com regarding the best city to live in for saving money.  I guess it makes sense that there are some places that are better than others. I would think some it would have to do with the demographics of the community, obviously.  You also have to consider the kind of incentives that employers are offering their workers. To stay competitive they may be offering better pension funds, etc., and other employers are matching these types of plans.

I also think that saving money can have a very contagious affect on others.  If your peers are out spending money all of the time, you might get caught up in that spending, and vice versa.  You work around a bunch of spendthrifts and you might just become one yourself.

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According to a recent study, salary increases for 2008 don’t look so good. Although base salaries may rise an expected 3.9% next year, this barely keeps up with inflation in the 3.5% range. The news, however, is much better if you’re a top performer. You can expect to see about an 8% increase, on average, over the course of 2008. And, of course, executives can usually expect bigger raises compared to their lower level colleagues.

The moral of the story? If you want to make more money next year (and beyond) start improving your performance or become a top executive. Simple enough, right?

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The last time you rented a car, you may have been pushed towards getting some pricey insurance to cover the rental car or yourself in case of an accident or other damage. The rental clerks can be quite persuasive and make it seem like you will be out of a lot of money if you don’t cover yourself. But, is that extra insurance really necessary?

In most cases, rental car insurance purchased from the rental company is simply not needed. You should definitely confirm this with your own insurance company, but generally speaking, the insurance you already carry will cover you in the event of an accident or damage to your rental. There are certainly exceptions to this situation. For one thing, you may not have the adequate coverage or your own policy if you drive an older vehicle and only carry liability insurance. Also, most coverage will not last if you plan to rent a car for over 30 days or so.

Another level of protection for you and a rental car is you credit card. Most companies will provide some coverage if you reserved and paid for the rental using the credit card. You will find they cover damage or loss of the rental car, but usually only above and beyond your own car insurance. That is, if you don’t have comprehensive or collision insurance and the car is stolen or in an accident your credit card may kick in to provide the coverage you need.

Of course, you should always contact your insurance company as well as your credit card company in order to verify exactly what is covered when you rent a car. Doing so will likely save you some money and leave you better prepared to decline the rental car companies pricey extras.

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Interesting little article from Bloomberg on the slowdown in the economy and its affect on the rich. According to the article, “Affluent consumers, pinched by shrinking stock portfolios, falling property values and smaller bonuses, are behaving like their less-well-off peers: They’re reining in spending.” The rich have long been a bell weather of sorts for the economy and this latest news supposedly signals that things have made a turn for the worse.

Just another story in a long string of bad news that keeps rearing its ugly head. Perhaps that recession is closer than we think…

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Here at PFJournal, a common theme is saving money and skipping on the little extras that can really drain the pocketbook. The reality is, however, that we need to occasionally treat ourselves with a little indulgence now and again. Think of it as a nice reward for all that hard saving you’ve been doing all month. A great way to celebrate a month of adding to your savings and building your financial future is with a nice bottle of wine, and a great way to buy that wine is with a membership in the Wine of the Month Club.

There are quite a few benefits to purchasing your wine through their services. First of all, it’s quite affordable. You’ll get two bottles of premium wine from around the world for as low as $33.95 shipped right to your door, shipping included. Secondly, you’ll be exposed to some hard-to-find, select wines that you would otherwise misse had you simply bought it at your local liquor store. You can specify whether you want red, white or both, but other than that you’ll get to enjoy a nice surprise each month. You’ll also receive a monthly newsletter with information regarding your wine. All this, and you can cancel at any time if you’re unsatisfied for any reason. It seems like Wine of the Month Club is a great way to help celebrate getting your personal finances in order.

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(This is the beginning of a series of posts I’m going to be making regarding my “thriftiness”. I’m not sure how many parts it will eventually have, but it should go on for a bit. These won’t be really suggestions for living frugally, but rather examples of some of the silly things I’ve done personally in my life to save money.)

Throughout my life I’ve been a bit of a cheapskate. Call it frugal or thrifty or whatever, I’ve had a hard time parting with money for quite a while. I’m not really a crazy miser or anything. I don’t bury jars of cash in the backyard or eat moldy bread, but to most of the people in my circle of friends and family, I’m a little obsessive about where and when I’ll spend money. I know from reading elsewhere that this kind of behavior can be really irksome to some folks. They think it’s a waste of time focusing on all of these little things…time better spend enjoying life or whatever.

To these critics, however, I say it’s not really much time at all and it’s certainly not a waste. I don’t spend a lot of time going out of my way to save money: it’s simply a way of life for me. Most of the decisions I make are based on some sort of financial aspect. I see the price tag first in most any situation, and I usually act accordingly.

Ultimately, I’m always trying to avoid the nickel and dime stuff so many of us spend our money on. I’m not averse to spending money so much, it’s just all the wasteful little things that, over time, really add up. By eliminating the insignificant small stuff, I’ve been able to save up for the bigger things in my life that give me more pleasure and joy.

To wit…when I was in high school oh so many moons ago I decided I was going to save up for a car. In order to accomplish this I needed a job, of course. That I go washing dishes at a local Chinese restaurant…a perk of which was free dinners and lunches whenever I worked. (to be continued)

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There are lots of things you can do around your house to save money, and we’ve covered some of them here before. One often overlooked appliance in your house that can save you both some money and energy is your hot water heater. Heating water is the third largest energy expense in your home and there are several ways you can cut your energy use and your monthly bill.

Here are four ways to cut your monthly power bill:

• Use less hot water. Install aerating, low-flow faucets and shower heads. Repair leaky faucets and pipes. Take more showers than baths.

• Lower the thermostat on your hot water heater. Oftentimes your water heater is set on maximum even though it doesn’t need to b. About 120ºF should provide comfortable hot water for most uses.

• Insulate your hot water heater. Wrapping your heater with insulation, following manufacturer’s recommendations and instructions of course, will keep the water hotter for longer. You can also insulate the pipes that connect to your heater.

• Upgrade to a more efficient model. While your initial costs will be a little higher, over the life of the appliance you’ll make up the difference in energy and money saved.

These are just some of the ways to save. You can also try a solar hot water heater or an on-demand or tankless water heater. Do a little research to see where you can cut even more costs on your monthly utility bill.

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