 These resources can save you hundreds of dollars depending on your situation and personal lifestyle. Be realistic when deciding the difference between a want and a need. Begin by creating a budget to measure and manage your expenses. Take immediate action on the smaller items that can add up big savings on your utilities and household budget. Review your insurance, financial investments and credit card debt with professionals for big-ticket savings.
If you are a veteran of the Armed forces living in McHenry County, visit www.co.mchenry.il.us or call 815-334-4229. Their services include assistance on finances, rent, mortgage, utilities, medical claims, food and gas vouchers, and transportation to the North Chicago VA facility for doctor visits.
| Tips on Reducing Utility Bills: |
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Discontinue your cable TV or satellite TV subscription. Apply for two $40 converter box coupons at www.dtv.gov or call 888-225-5322. |
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Reduce the amount of TV programs available on your cable TV or satellite TV subscription to the basic package. |
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Cancel premium subscription movie channels by renting them from a local store (including Redbox movies for $1), by joining www.netflix.com or checking them out free from the library. |
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Call your local cable TV and Dish providers for the better value. |
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Turn lights off when you’re not in the room. Use night-lights throughout your home (where applicable) instead of switching lights on and off. |
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Change your light bulbs to the energy efficient bulbs (energy star) and lower the wattage in others bulbs where applicable (closets). |
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Remember to turn off the bathroom fan as soon as you are done with it. |
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Turn off the TV when you are not really watching it. Make sure your converter box is off also. |
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Unplug electrical appliances (i.e., toasters, blenders, cell phone chargers) when you’re not using them. Even in an idle position they still use kilowatts and allow lightning strike to travel inside the home that can create a fire. |
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Turn down your water heater down to the minimum comfortable temperature. |
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Change your furnace filters for improved efficiency on a regular basis. |
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Clean the lint trap on your dryer after each use for improved efficiency. Not cleaning the filter makes your dryer run longer and can be a fire hazard. |
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Invest in a programmable thermostat. Keep your thermostat constant with only a slight variation between day and night or when you leave your residence. Your furnace and air conditioner won’t work so hard. Turn your thermostat down in the winter and up in the summer. Use floor and ceiling fans to help circulate the air. |
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Keep window treatment (blinds, shades, curtains) closed during hot summer days and open during sunny winter days. |
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Turn off your gas fire place pilot light during the off seasons. |
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Place a brick or a filled water bottle in your toilet holding tank to conserve water consumption. |
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Go green by recycling what you can for free and lower your trash pickup expenses. |
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Bundle landline phone, cell phones and internet charges into a single package. |
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If you always use your cell phone and rarely your landline phone, cancel your landline. |
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Call the Google toll free number 1-800-466-4411 for directory assistance instead of dialing 411. |
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Ask about trade-in value at your provider when upgrading your cell phone or visit www.cellphonetradeins.com. |
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Get more tips on how to reduce your phone bill at www.citizensutilityboard.org or 800-669-5556. |
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Reduce the speed of your internet or select a lower-cost Internet Service Provider. |
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Establish free email accounts (MSN hotmail, Google gmail and Yahoo). |
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Establish accounts to pay bills online or request automatic withdrawal from your checking/savings account thru your bank. It saves postage and with automatic withdrawal, the money is not deducted from your account until the due date. |
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Air-dry clothes partially or entirely to extend the life of your garments and reduce utility bill. |
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Call your waste management provider for choices of pickup (bins vs. bags/tags) and prices. |
| Tips on Reducing your Household Budget: |
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The Algonquin/Lake in the Hills Food Pantry is available for those in the community. Hours of operation are 9:30 am to 12:00 pm on Tuesdays, Thursdays and the first Saturday of the month. You will need to provide proof a residence (i.e. utility bill). Limitations may apply. Visit www.alith-foodpantry.org or call 847-854-1904. |
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The Fish Pantry of Carpentersville is affiliated with the Northern Illinois Food Bank. Hours of operation are 9:30 am to 11:30 am on Mondays, Wednesdays and Friday. Eligibility requirements include self declaration and household income at or below 130% of the poverty level. Visit www.northernilfoodbank.org or call 847-428-4357. |
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Coupons offer savings on food, oil changes and more. Clip coupons from printed media or visit www.coupons.com, www.mygrocerydeals.com, www.couponmom.com or www.groceryguide.com. Visit www.spoofee.com and www.shop4freebies.com for coupons and/or free items. |
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Grocery shop for food in bulk quantities at warehouse stores such as Costco and Sam’s (membership required). |
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Purchase ‘house brand’ instead of ‘name brand’ foods. |
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Compare the ‘cost per ounce’ on food/beverage items for the best value. |
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Use library services for free such as reading newspapers (reduce your subscription to weekends only or cancel your subscription entirely), borrow books, or viewing movies instead of purchasing them. |
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Cancel/don’t renew fitness contracts by working out/exercising at home. Shed additional pounds and grocery bills by dieting. |
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Use your negotiating skills when purchasing big-ticket items or services (ask about freebies). |
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Shop at thrift stores or garage sales. Sell your unwanted items at your own garage sales or through Ebay.com or www.amazon.com. Donate items to charities for tax deductions and keep your receipt. |
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Use beauty schools instead of paying regular prices for haircuts. |
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Grow your own vegetable garden. |
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Shop at Sears for kids clothes using the Sears Kid Vantage program. |
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Track your expenses online and receive bill-paying alerts by visiting www.mint.com or at Yodlee Money Center at www.yodlee.com to link your financial accounts including checking, savings, credit cards, loans and investments. Mint.com downloads and categorizes your transactions daily. |
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Use your cell phone or manually complete your expenses online at www.budgettracker.com without direct links to your account. |
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For further privacy, create your own budget in Excel or use Quicken software and record every dollar spent for 12 months. |
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Personal finance tools, budget tracking and social networking are available at www.geezeo.com and www.wesabe.com. |
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Find more information by the popular author Suzie Orman by visiting www.suzeorman.com. |
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Shop or dine at businesses that offer senior discounts, “kids eat free”, gift card promotions or frequent customer programs. Research restaurant websites for their specials deals. |
| Tips on Life, Auto, Home and Medical Insurance: |
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Discuss your insurance needs with your providers before taking action. |
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If you have permanent life insurance (also called Whole Life or Ordinary Life Insurance), you typically have what is called Cash Surrender Value. You may borrow up to that value and be charged an interest rate depending on the insurance company’s policy, which is generally about 5% per year. You never have to repay the amount borrowed but your amount of life insurance coverage will be reduced by that amount. The amount borrowed is not taxed federally or by the state. You will be billed for the interest annually, and could possible deduct the interest if you still have some cash surrender value and use that money for payment of the interest charges. Call your insurance company for full details. |
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Auto insurance costs can be reduced by raising the deductible levels on Collision and Comprehensive coverage and reducing Liability coverage to the legal state minimum coverage. Discuss your options with your current agent and get competitive quotes. |
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Homeowner or apartment dweller / renter insurance costs may be reduced by raising deductibles or again by getting competitive quotes. It is still best to always get full replacement coverage on your personal belongings |
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Should you incur large medical bills and are not insured or not fully covered inform the physician or medical office of your situation. The rates charged on the invoices are heavily discounted/negotiated down by insurance companies. If you work with the medical office they may be willing to reduce your bill to a more acceptable amount. They will also arrange for payment terms. DO NOT use credit cards to pay medical bills unless the rate is lower overall and you have a means to pay the bill each and every month. |
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Ask your health provider if you can charge your bill to CareCredit that will not charge interest if you pay your bill monthly on a 12 or 24 month basis. Call CareCredit at 866-893-7864 |
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Depending on your age and personal situation, you may be qualified for lower medical insurance premiums through AARP. Visit www.AARP.org. |
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Call Healthcare for Kids toll free at 866-255-5437 for information. |
| Tips on Your Financial Investments: |
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Discuss all financial options with your financial planner before taking action. |
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You may borrow money from your IRA tax-free if you re-pay the entire amount within 60 days. After 60 days you will be taxed and if you are under 55 years of age you will pay a penalty of 10% in additional to the federal income taxes. |
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Avoid withdrawing from your 401K or IRA, especially if you are younger than 59 and 1/2 years old; you could lose up to half its worth in taxes and penalties. However “72(t)” allows distributions without penalty if you withdraw money each year for five years or until you are 59 and 1/2. |
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If you own a certificate of deposit (CD) you may withdraw the funds at any time but may need to surrender up to three months of interest earned. Consider a bank loan instead and repay the loan once the CD matures. Ask if the CD can be used as security for the loan if it can lower the interest rate on the loan. |
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Review your portfolio statements to make sure your risks are diversified. |
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Ask your present or prior employer about their matching contribution vesting schedule, if the company contribution is vested immediately or after a few years. |
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Don’t cash-out your retirement plan when you leave a company. You can leave your retirement account with the company so long as your balance is $5,000 or greater. Another option is to transfer your retirement savings from one employer to another when you change jobs or roll over your distribution into an IRA. |
| Tips on Saving Your Credit Rating: |
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It’s best not to use a credit card unless you can afford to pay the balance completely on a monthly basis. Second choice is at least pay the minimum payment monthly. Always make your payments prior to the due date to avoid late fees and raised interest rates. |
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Do not borrow money on credit cards, especially if you cannot make the minimum payment. Your interest rate may go up and your credit rating score may go down. |
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Pay down your credit quickly by paying more than the minimum payment. |
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If you have many cards there are strategies for paying them down. |
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Don’t be late paying any credit card bills. If you have multiple cards, even being late on one may raise the percentage rate on all credit cards. |
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Review the use of credit card terms. |
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Check your credit report rating for free at www.annualcreditreport.com or call 877-322-8228 |
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Seek credit counseling at www.illinoiscccs.org/ssl or call 815-338-5757. |
| 2009 Federal Tax Breaks |
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Capital Gains – You can sell less profitable investments to incur a loss to offset larger capital gains. You can deduct up to $3,000 or $1,500 if you are married but file separately if the losses outweigh your gains. Losses greater than $3,000 can be claimed in future years. Discuss these options with your financial planner and your tax agent about what strategy works best for you. |
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College Expenses – Parents of higher-education students may claim a credit up to $2,500 per year. |
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First-time Homebuyers – If you purchase your first home before to December 1, 2009, you may receive a tax credit of $8,000 automatically which doesn’t need to be repaid unless you sell your home within three years. |
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Medical Deductions – If you’re close to the minimum of 7.5% of your adjusted gross income, discuss procedures and rates with your doctor. If the amount brings you to the 7.5% threshold, ask if you can schedule and pay for all procedures by the end of the year. Also, try to maximize all your deductions by December 31. |
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Monetary Gifts – You can give a cash gift up to $13,000 per person to any number of people or up to $26,000 if you’re married and both spouses are contributing toward the gift. You can also make donations using a credit card even if the bill isn’t paid until next year. |
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New Cars – If you purchase a new car before December 31, 2009, state, local and excise taxes may be deductable up to $49,500 of the purchase price depending on your vehicle. You don’t need to itemize deductions to receive this benefit. |
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Budgeting Methods pdf