Search Results for: rent an apartment

5 Ways a Better Credit Score Leads to Better Finances

August 30, 2013 By Shane Ede 14 Comments

Everybody knows that you want to have the best credit score you can. Why? Because the better your credit score, the better the rates you can get on your loans, of course! But, did you know that there are other reasons to try and improve your credit score? In fact, here’s five ways that having a better credit score can lead to better finances.

More money. This is the obvious one. A better credit score leads to better rates on loans (see above), and better rates lead to less interest paid over the life of the loan. And less interest paid leads to… (wait for it) a better bank balance!
Better rentals. It’s a sad fact that many landlords are doing credit checks on prospective tenants these days. They’ve got assets to protect, so it’s a smart move for them, but the fact that there are so many landlords out there getting burned that it’s become necessary is sad. But, having a good credit score can help make sure you don’t get turned down for that great apartment down by the beach!
Quicker payoff. This one goes really closely with the first point. With those lower rates, and lessened interest also comes the ability to pay the loan off quicker. And, of course, a quicker payoff means a much better financial situation. Especially if you avoid any new loans afterward.
Any loan you like. If you must loan money, at least do it smartly. With the current state of affairs, you can’t just walk in and get a loan that has a pulse as it’s only requirement. In fact, many banks and credit unions are cutting way back on their sub-prime lending for anything. (P.S. the term “sub-prime” doesn’t just apply to mortgage loans) If you have poor credit, it’s much more likely, today, that you’ll get turned down for a loan altogether. Better credit means that if you really need a loan, you probably can have one.
Less fees. We all hate fees. Well, all of us except the financial institutions. A growing number of them are making a growing amount of their revenues from fees. And many have moved to an account structure that is based off of risk. And risk is determined by credit score. A lower credit score could mean an account with higher fees, or with monthly fees that some accounts might not have, while a higher credit score might qualify you for a different account without those fees.

So, you see, having a good credit score can really send your finances in the right direction. And, having a bad credit score can really send them into the dumps in a hurry too! Unless you’re very dedicated to the extreme frugaler lifestyle, and never plan on really using money, it still pays to have a good credit score. It doesn’t take much to build it, and you might be glad you did someday.

photo credit: o5com

Create Your Own Layaway Plan

October 31, 2011 By MelissaB 9 Comments

The stores are already starting to advertise for the holidays, and several major retails are pushing the option of layaway as an option to finance your gift giving. While layaway was not offered in stores for years, it is making a comeback due to the current economy. You can choose to use layaway or not this year, though it is certainly a better option than financing gifts on credit cards, but why not also start your own layaway program?

One idea that revolutionized the way I budget is to set aside money each month for recurring expenses. I used to be a teacher, and I could choose to teach classes in the summer or not. Sometimes I did teach the classes, but a few summers I chose to take off, which also meant that I was choosing not to get a paycheck for three months of the year. Considering I was the sole breadwinner at that time, summers could pack a painful punch.

However, I began to enjoy my summers off and not suffer financially when I began setting aside money for monthly expenses. At the time, we required on average $2,500 a month to live, so that was $7,500 I needed during the summer months to survive without a paycheck. I received a paycheck nine months of the year, so I automatically deducted $833 a month into a special account to live off of during the summer.

Even if you have a regular paycheck coming in all year long, you can benefit from this plan. For instance, I know that over the course of a year I would like to spend $500 on gifts. Some months I may not spend anything, and other months I may spend $100 or more. To make sure I have the money set aside, I would take $500 and divide it by 12. Then I would put aside $42 a month for gifts. It would be its own little gift fund, and I would draw from it when I needed to purchase gifts.

Likewise, my energy bill is very low in the winter because my landlord pays for the heat, but the electric bill is high in the summer because I have to pay to air condition or drafty apartment. I set aside $50 a month for electricity. During the winter months, my electric bill may only be $25. The remainder of the $50 after I pay the monthly bill goes in savings in a special fund to help cover the high summer electric bills.

If you set your monthly budget up based not just on your exact expenses for that particular month but for the average you will spend all year long divided by 12, you essentially create your own layaway plan. On months that may have higher expenses, you simply dip into the money you have already put aside. This type of budget makes your monthly outflow much more stable and protects you from the highs and lows of creating a budget based on each month’s actual monthly expenses.

photo credit: robertstinnett

Four Strategies To Get Dinner on the Table If You Are Single

May 9, 2011 By MelissaB 12 Comments

When I was a graduate student, I rarely cooked for myself. I lived alone, and while I don’t mind leftovers, if I cooked a meal, I would have 4 to 6 servings for leftovers, and I would bore of them before I finished them. Likewise, my mom currently lives alone, and she almost never cooks. She always says, “What is the point of cooking for just one person?” Instead, she goes out to eat frequently and splits a meal with her dining companion to save money.

If you live alone, you might also dislike cooking for one. However, there are strategies you can implement to still be able to eat delicious, cost-effective meals at home, avoiding the need to rely on frozen dinners from the supermarket or restaurant food.

Pay a Friend to Cook for You. You may have a friend who cooks for his/her family on a daily basis. Why not ask if they would be willing to let you “buy” a serving of the meal? I cook for my family nearly every night to keep our food costs down, and if I had a single friend, I would be more than willing to make an extra portion for her. She could pay me $2 a meal, costing her $10 a week for 5 meals. She would benefit because she would avoid the hassle of shopping and cooking, but she would still get a tasty home cooked meal, and I would benefit because I would just make a bit more of the meal than I was already planning to make and I would earn $40 a month for my effort (less the small cost of additional food for her portion).

Swap with Friends. Arrange to swap meals with friends, either at work, at the gym, at your apartment complex, etc. Get together a group of 5 friends; each night one of the five friends cooks the meal and each person gets a serving. The only cost to you would be one evening of cooking and the groceries needed to make that meal.

Freezer Cook. Once a month, take a day to make freezer friendly meals such as lasagna, soups, etc. Make four meals from recipes that produce 4 to 6 servings. You now have 16 to 24 dinners at your disposal. Just pull them from the freezer and reheat. If you want to increase the variety, the first month, don’t eat all of the freezer meals. The next month, try 4 new recipes. If you saved at least one serving from each meal you made the previous month, you now have 8 meals in your freezer rotation to choose from. Most freezer meals are good for 3 to 6 months, so you could have quite a bit of variety by the third month.

Cook for Two. Invest in a magazine like Cooking for Two and make meals from there. Now, you have one serving for your meal, and one serving waiting for another meal. Obviously, this method is a bit more time intensive than the other methods mentioned, but if you like to cook but don’t like all of the leftovers, this may be the way to go.

Even if you live alone and don’t like to cook because you get bored with the leftovers, you don’t have to rely on take out and restaurant food. You can save a bundle by relying on one of these methods.

What are your favorite strategies when cooking for one? Have you ever implemented any of the strategies mentioned above?

(B.B. note: Those are some terrific ideas, Melissa! As a guy, most of those ideas probably wouldn’t have ever occurred to me when I was in college. Mostly because, as a guy, I hardly ever cooked. I know, blame me for the stereotype. The group of guys that I hung out with, however, did do quite a bit of grilling at each others houses when we could. When I grill now, it counts as cooking. What we did back then? Not nearly as much. More of a “throw it on until it looks ready” sort of deal.)