How To Celebrate New Year’s Eve On A Budget And Have Lots Of Fun!

Note: Today’s guest post is by Ryan, who writes over at Your Personal Finance 101

The New Year is fast approaching and you need to make a lot of preparations from the very beginning. New Year’s Eve is one of the most special occasions where you bid good bye to the past year and start with the New Year. With the New Year come the resolutions and also certain promises that you make to yourself. Why not start your new year on a budget!

Check out the ways you can celebrate your New Year’s Eve on a budget and have fun:

1. Shop at cheap stores: If you want to throw a party on a budget and still enjoy it, you can start off by purchasing decorating items from cheaper stores such as the Dollar Store, Grocery Stores, K-Mart, or Wal-Mart which have a variety of decorations at cheap prices. You can also make use of any left over Christmas decorations.

2. Simple food and drinks: Home-made food is the best way to make people feel at home. Since it’s a festive season, ask your relatives and friends to help you make the food. Parties are incomplete without the drinks. You can keep both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. Keep a limited supply to avoid unnecessary costs. For example, have 6 servings from a bottle of champagne and 5 servings from a bottle of wine. Other beverages can be fruit punch or other fruit juices.

3. Party ambience: You have the decorations, the food and drinks. What else makes a party complete. It’s the ambience you create for the people. That can be done by putting on some music that matches the theme of your party. You can do a colorful party theme. Try a “home-made clothes” theme where the guests have to wear something they have made themselves. This way, you can save your money as well as your guests’. You can make a hat and/or accessories on your own which can be both interesting and a money saver. Having a theme party can be a lovely way to enjoy yourself and you can easily do it on a budget.

What are some money saving tips that you plan to use this New Year?

Couponing!

It’s actually never too late to start saving. The sooner you begin to save the better off you’ll be in the long run. Here are a few things to keep in mind when it comes to savings:

Are you an extreme couponer? I would love to hear from you! I watched an episode of extreme couponing and I was shocked how extreme one girl was. I guess the title is perfect. I love a great deal and wish I had the time to look for a lot of coupons. www.flyerland.ca is a great site to find deals and coupons. Groupon and Living Social are also great deal sites.  I get flyers every week and always look for sales. Combining coupons with a sale is a great way to get a good deal. 

You can also look for discount cards at your favorite retail store.  For example, I have a Suzy Shier discount card which gives me 10% off purchases over $50. They also give coupons every time you renew your card annually, as well as they email you coupons if you sign up on their website. This is great way to get deals at your favorite stores.

Where do you find your coupons?

Save It Or Spend It!

How do you know if you should save it or spend it! I’ve always been a big believer in automatically setting aside some money every paycheck for savings. This eliminates having to think about saving every paycheck; it automatically comes out of your account so you don’t have to worry about it. But what happens if you get an unexpected bonus, a commission check or a gift.

This is where having an overall plan for your money will help. It’s so easy to want to spend any additional money you get.  Commercials, billboards, the radio, magazine and newspaper articles can be so convincing especially at this time of year. There will always be people telling you where you should spend your money. But ultimately YOU are in control over your money. Don’t give in to the temptation.

• If you are in the process of building your emergency fund, (this should be 6-12 months of expenses) then consider putting that extra money to build or complete your fund.
• If you have personal debt such as credit cards, loans, or line of credits. Put some extra money on those. If you’re not sure how to attack your personal debt

• Start by listing all of your debt from smallest balance to largest balance
• Make minimum payments on all of your debt
• On your smallest balance, after you’ve made your minimum payment, find any additional money you can and put it on that smallest balance
• Once you’ve paid your smallest balance off, take that minimum payment and the additional payment  that you were making and put it on the second smallest balance and so forth, until you’ve paid off all your personal debt

• Consider making an additional payment on your mortgage (check out your bank’s pre-payment  options)

• Always go shopping with a list. Whether you’re grocery shopping or shopping for clothes, create a list. When you have a list you shop with a purpose. Without a list you may be prone to impulse buying.

The 12 Scams of Christmas

The 12 Scams of Christmas: Scammers ramp up their activities each year around the holidays. Here are 12 popular scams you should be on the lookout for.

5 Great Deals At The Dollar Store!

Check out these great deals at the Dollar Store!

http://www.moneytalksnews.com/2008/10/29/5-great-deals-at-the-dollar-store/

Looking For Ways To Earn Extra Cash Over The Holidays?

• Check out Fiverr! This is an excellent site that allows you to provide a service to anyone around the world for $5. So if you have a talent or if you’re willing to do some things outside of the ordinary this site may be for you. You could earn some extra cash as well. Check it out at www.fiverr.com

• Consider shoveling snow for the elderly or for individuals who just don’t have the time to shovel their own snow. You’ll be surprised how many people would love this service.

• Check out focus groups! There are many research companies that are looking for individuals to participate in focus groups. They are really easy and some of them offer $100 for one hour just to answer a bunch of questions. 

• Mystery shopping is also becoming quite popular. Companies will pay you to shop!

What are some things that you’ve done to earn some extra cash