Today authorities were alerted to the discovery of a mass murder grave in a suburban garden. Dozens of bodies were discovered and the home owner alerted police to the fact that there was a possibility that several more could be located in the nearby vicinity.

Please be warned that the image below is of a highly graphic nature and could be disturbing to sensitive viewers…

Can you afford to work for peanuts?

Telling people what I do for a living normally evokes a stream of responses such as, ‘That’s not a proper job,’ or ‘You need a job with benefits,’ or ‘You can’t afford to work like that.’ Most times though, the conversation ends up boiling down to something along the lines of “but you must take whichever job you can get, even if the pay is low.” On this point, I disagree very strongly for a few reasons:

How do You Know if You Can Afford to Work

Believe it or not, your job actually costs you money. You might not realize it, but taking a low-paying job can actually end up costing you more than it is worth to drive to that mundane, mind-numbing cube farm each weekday (the cost of your sanity was not taken into account for this exercise ). In South Africa, the average wage or salary on offer ranges between ZAR2000 and ZAR3500 ($367 to $514) a month. Yes! Not bi-weekly or weekly. Monthly.

Those figures may sound absolutely pathetic to you for a months’ worth of hard work, but that is the sad reality here. Most employers seem to think staff can exist on fresh air (but more about that in another post to follow soon)… Many people don’t realize that it actually costs you money to work, to have a job. They are under the impression that you simply arrive at work, put in your set hours for the day and head home when they are done for the day.

Transportation is just one of the few expenses to factor in when taking on a job. Whether you have your own vehicle or you rely on public transportation, you will still need to sit down and calculate whether you can really afford to work. The average person in South Africa spends between ZAR15 and ZAR50 ($2.18 to $7.25) a day on transportation costs. In a month which averages around 20 working days, this can range from around ZAR300 to ZAR1000 ($44 to $145).

Often I hear working moms saying that they don’t have time to prepare lunches for themselves or their families at home. This results in each member of the family having to buy a lunch at a cafeteria or fast food joint. The average bought lunch can cost anywhere between ZAR30 and ZAR80 ($4.35 and $11.60) per person. For a family of four, this can amount to anywhere between ZAR2400 and ZAR6400 a month ($348 and $928).

Many people have to adhere to particular dress codes in their workplace. This can also cost quite a substantial amount of money, especially if your company does not subsidize your work clothing.

Child care is another expense that needs to be taken into consideration before taking on a relatively low-paying job, because this is cited as the number one expense of many working parents. Full day child care can range between ZAR1500 and ZAR3000 ($218 and $435) a month for children 6 and under.

Still Think You Can Afford to Work

When taking these expenses into account, one definitely needs to rethink forcing yourself or spouse into taking a low-paying or below average position away from the home, because many times it will actually cost you more than you earn to take on that job. Just taking the abovementioned figures and expenses into account should be enough of an eye-opener in itself.

Many folk tell me that they have to work in order to pay for ‘the little extra luxuries in life.’ I am more than willing to bet that in most cases, they haven’t thought it through or stopped to do the calculations to see if they or their spouse really can afford to work at that low-paying job.

Right now, I earn a little less on paper than some folk do as a writer and citizen journalist for Natural News, but at least I know that by working from home, I do not have to hand over my hard-earned cash to expenses such as corporate clothing or ridiculously high transport costs.

‘”Normal” is waking up and getting dressed in clothes that you have to buy for work, then driving through heavy, stressful traffic in a car that you bought (and are still paying for) in order to get to the job that you need to pay for the corporate clothing, car and house that you have to leave empty all day just so that you and your family can actually afford to live in it.’

Still think you can afford to work ?

“Mom, I need…”

“Mom, I need some new Nintendo DS games.” “Dad, I need a new stereo for my car.” “Honey, the kitchen needs to be remodelled.” “Darling, the car needs replacing.” “We really need an overseas holiday.”

How often have we heard that word being spoken? Not so much the items themselves, but that word…yes, you know which word is being referred to here. The word “Need.”

Defining a True Need

The definition of the word “need” in the Oxford English Dictionary refers to something as being “completely essential, something that one cannot survive without.” I’m not sure if I’m perhaps missing something here, but since when were portable gaming consoles, designer clothing and expensive overseas trips classified as items that a person cannot survive without?

There are very few items in life that we cannot survive without.  And no, we are not talking about that manicure or fancy restaurant dinner. Items which are classified as absolutely essential are food, shelter, clothing, transport and basic education.

Food is essential, yes. But a $100 meal at a restaurant is not essential. Fast foods and instant meals in a box are not essential.While it may be perfectly ok to indulge in a treat like this once in a while, making a habit of it will definitely blow your budget into oblivion. Not to mention that $100 would possibly be able to feed a family of four for close to a week. In most instances, preparing food and meals from scratch yourself is a lot cheaper than frozen dinners and fast foods, not to mention a lot healthier.

 

 

 

Clothing is also an essential part of life.Designer clothing though, is not. Believe it or not, there are many times where non-designer brands actually outperformed their branded counterparts in the quality department. (I have in my possession a pair of store-brand trackpants that are 13 years old and still completely wearable).

In particular, children certainly do not need designer clothing, toys, shoes, backpacks or other branded items. I’ve seen countless babies and toddlers wearing branded clothing. This is an absolute waste of good money, because firstly, they are too young to actually read, so the designer label means sweet nothing to them and secondly, they grow so fast that within 3 to 6 months, they will grow out of the designer clothing just as fast as they will grow out of store-brand clothing. Playground equipment also doesn’t discriminate in that designer clothing will get just as badly soiled and ruined as store-brand clothing. Children cannot enjoy themselves and be children if they are constantly being told to be careful and not dirty their clothing or shoes.

 

 

 

Collectible toys are also another headache on a budget-conscious parents’ list. Normally, marketers will promote them by means of an ultra-cheap ‘introductory offer.’ Once you’ve bought the first one, you don’t really give it a second thought until a fortnight later when your wallet is screaming after forking out some horrendously exhorbitant amount for the next one in the collection – only to discover that there are about six dozen of the blighters in the collection and the ads are telling your kids to “collect them all.”

 

 

Teach Children the True Meaning of the Word Need

On the topic of toys, since when did children need fancy gaming consoles, radio controlled cars, ipods and other electronic gadgets to make them happy or keep them occupied. Whatever happened to good old-fashioned getting off your lazy ass and playing outside?

Another topic which may ruffle a few feathers is that of expensive holidays. Don’t you find it strange (I know I certainly do) that the people who are always complaining that they never have money are always the ones who have to have what everyone else has? If the neighbours go to Disneyland, they have to take their kids to Europe, just to try and impress them.

If the neighbours do home renovations, you suddenly decide that your home renovations need to be bigger and better than theirs. Since when were additional TV lounges, games rooms, 4th and 5th bathrooms and second kitchens a necessity? Yes, they are nice to have, but they are not needs. A few decades ago, people actually shared a bathroom with their children (the horror! You mean they actually had to share things back then??) and simply ensured that the TV was off during dinner so that meaningful conversation could take place.

Sadly, I think many folk have forgotten the true meaning of the word need.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Save Money on Everyday Items

Let’s admit it. Times are tough and the economy is even tougher right now. There have been many increases in the prices of food, essential services like electricity, water and gas.

Even the folk with their 5-figure incomes and large SUV’s seem to be feeling the pinch. I mean, when last have you driven past used car lots and seen smaller vehicles for sale? Yup, 99% of what is for sale these days consists of gas-guzzling SUV’s and trucks. It’s the same with homes. While there seems to be no end to the amount of large, luxury homes for sale, finding a modest dwelling in an average neighbourhood is becoming more and more difficult each day. Almost everybody is trying to find ways to save money.

Grocery shopping also seems to cost more and more each week. Sure, economists try to tell us that inflation is ‘only around 3%.’ That’s absolute bollocks! The last fuel price increase here in South Africa was around the 5 to 6% mark. Once the fuel price rises, of course the retailers hop on the gravy train and up their prices as well, often by up to 50% on an item. Where in hell’s name do economists get their information from? The stone age? As the saying goes, “You can fool some people some of the time, but not all people all the time.” Sometimes I wonder when it comes to so-called ‘economists’…obviously they are far too well-paid to think about having to save money, unlike us mere minions who actually work for every cent we have…

The Not-So-Obvious Ways to Save Money

Spend less than you earn:

Before heading to the store, ensure that you know exactly how much you have to spend. Make sure you don’t spend more than you have.

Avoid the processed food aisles:

Sure, those cookies and chips look tempting. In the long run, you know that they will damage your budget just as much as they will damage your waistline.

Fresh foods are actually affordable:

You can save quite a bit of cash by purchasing fresh fruit and vegetables instead of the frozen and ready-prepared varieties.

Buy ingredients which enable you to prepare meals from scratch:

Those ready-made and microwave meals look tempting after a hard day’s work. But, not only are they expensive, they are also extremely unhealthy for you, as they contain harmful ingredients like canola as well as artificial sweeteners and MSG.

Compare prices of different package sizes:

Sometimes, it doesn’t pay to buy in bulk, because the unit prices can be higher than if you buy individual items. Carry a calculator when shopping. Hint: to get the unit/individual price, divide the total cost of the bulk package by the amount of items in it. If there are 6 items in the bulk package, divide the total cost by 6. if products are sold by weight instead, and one package is 200 grams vs the 1000 grams/1kg package, divide the 200 gram package by 2 to get the price/100 grams, and then divide the 1000 gram/1kg package by 10 to get the price/100 grams. That will determine which item is cheaper per 100 grams.

Only buy in bulk if you know your family will use the item by its expiry date:

It’s pointless to buy 5 gallons of milk because it’s a few cents cheaper that way if your family only uses 2 gallons a week, because the rest will go sour before it can be used.

Compare prices of different brands:

Many people argue that store brands are cheaper, but this is not always true. Check the prices of all of the available brands of a particular product before tossing them into the trolley. If you think that your usual brand is a little too expensive, consider switching to a cheaper brand. Here though, a little caution must be exercised, as certain store brands as well as some of the very cheap items often don’t taste the same as the branded items. Also check the ingredients of the cheaper items, to ensure that they do not contain harmful ingredients or cheap filler ingredients such as soya, canola or artificial sweeteners.

Use coupons if they are available in your country:

In the US, there are many coupons available that allow you to get purchases for a fraction of their original cost, and sometimes even free. Learn to make use of these.

Don’t shop when hungry or tired:

Studies have proved that those who shop when they are hungry or tired often end up purchasing much more than they originally intended, because we all know how tempting that bakery aisle is when your stomach is howling, don’t we?

Make use of a shopping list:

Before leaving home on your shopping trip, take a walk through your home and check your supply cupboards to make sure that what you need to purchase is on your list, along with the quantities needed. This also prevents you from buying stuff that you already have on hand.

Try to buy a little extra of an item when it is marked down:

If products that you use regularly are marked down at the store, try to buy a little extra if possible. This will ensure that you are saving as much as possible. Should you not be able to stock up, it’s also ok. At least you know that you will have saved a little on the original purchase price.

Check expiry and use by dates on cleaning and personal care products before buying in bulk:

Believe it or not, cleaning products and personal care products also have a recommended shelf life. Before buying that gallon-size shampoo, make sure your family will be able to use it before it reaches the use by date. The same goes for items such as toothpaste, lotions, bleach and other cleaning products.

Divide bulk items into equal portions before using:

When purchasing items like cheese or other food products, it often helps to divide the block (or grated product) into equal portions, so that the bulk of it can be frozen, to preserve it for a bit longer. Only keep out the amount that you use for a meal, otherwise the rest may either spoil or be wasted – its normal human nature to use more of a product when we see that we have a lot of it.

Plan your shopping trip, especially when there is more than one stop to make:

Before leaving the house, plan your trip to ensure that you make as few stops as possible. Plan so that you are able to take the shortest, but most viable route along the way.

Try to avoid malls or centres that charge a parking fee:

Let’s face it, paying for gas to go shopping can be classed as a minor annoyance. But when you still have to pay to leave your vehicle in a parking spot at a mall where you are already on the verge of parting with a substantial part of your weekly grocery budget, that’s when the annoyance factor creeps up a few notches (not to mention the blood pressure as well).

Many malls offer a stipulated time for free parking, which can range from 30 minutes to 2 hours. Make use of this and try to leave the mall before the free time is up. Certain stores in the malls offer a parking fee rebate. Make use of this wherever possible.

Many malls however, do not offer free parking. Should this be the case, see if there are alternative places with free parking to shop at that aren’t too far to drive. You also don’t want to drive 10 miles to save a dollar in parking fees.

Try to avoid shopping with children in tow:

Young children often do not enjoy shopping much, and can become tired and cranky when going from shop to shop. Many parents will often resort to allowing them to snack on junk food simply to keep them quiet in the shopping cart. Not only is this habit detrimental to your childs health, but it also puts a dent in your shopping list and budget. If possible, try to leave children with a spouse or trusted sitter when shopping needs to be done.

Try to drive a little slower between trips:

This will save a little gas, as well as unnecessary wear and tear on your vehicle from sudden ‘stop go’ driving.

Invest in a quality water purifier:

Save and purchase a water purifier, rather than pay good money for bottled water. You will pay pennies for a bottle of water which you have packed yourself instead of around a dollar or two for 1 bottle of water. Research has shown that many brands of bottled water are nothing but tap water, and we all know what is in tap water these days…

Make your own salads:

The salad bar at the store or take-out place always looks tempting during lunch time. You will save yourself a lot of money if you purchase your own salad ingredients and prepare them yourself.

Water is expensive:

So-called ‘grey water’ (that which we use to bath, shower or wash dishes) can actually be reused to water lawns and some plants. Wash dishes in a container of water instead of directly in the sink, so the water can then be placed out on the lawn or in the garden afterwards. This will reap substantial savings on your water bill.

Unplug unused appliances:

Yes, you heard right. The dvd player, that electric can opener, the coffee maker, the cellphone charger plug…all use electricity when plugged in. When you are done with using an appliance, turn the outlet switch off and unplug it completely. Cellphone chargers can actually use around 20% of the energy they would normally use when charging a phone just by being plugged in when they are not being used!

Yes, we know it’s extra effort to unplug appliances and chargers, but seriously, most of our waistlines could do with the extra workout…

Want to share tips on how our readers can save money?

Do you have any tips that will help our readers to save money on items like gas, electricity or food?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Go Green and Reduce Debt

In today’s economy, everyone is looking for ways to save money and get out of debt. Living green can help you cut costs and pay off debt, while protecting the environment. Here are some useful tips on how to spend less money while reducing your environmental footprint:

Drive less – Stop using your car on a regular basis if you want to save money on gas, lower your vehicle insurance rates and stay healthy. Instead of driving, walk or take the bike to your destination.

Switch off appliances – Leaving appliances plugged in and switched on can cost you hundreds of dollars every year. The digital displays on DVD players, coffee makers and televisions continue to use energy even when turned off. If you want to lower electricity bills, switch off appliances when you leave home or sleep.

Pay bills online – One of the best ways to cut down on energy and paper use is to pay your credit card bills, phone bills and electricity bills from your computer. By doing this, you will save money on stamps and paper. You may also sign up for online billing statements instead of mailings.

Use rechargeable batteries – Although their initial cost is higher, rechargeable batteries can save you money over the long run. Most of these batteries cost less than $30 and can be recharged about 1000 times. By using rechargeable batteries, you can save up to $200 every year.

Drink tap water – Do you know how much money you are spending on bottled water? Are you aware that plastic bottles sit in landfills, not decomposing for years? These bottles cannot be recycled, so they are harmful for the environment. Giving up bottled water is a great way to cut costs and free up extra money you can use towards your credit card debt. Tap water is just as safe as bottled water, so there is nothing to worry about.

Shop once a week – If you go shopping for groceries once a week, you will spend less money on gas. Make a list of things you need to buy, plan your menu for the whole week in advance and then go to the local grocery store. This way you will know exactly what to buy and you will save time.

Turn off the water – Finding ways to save water at home should be your main priority. Use a lower-flow shower­head and cut down on the time spent to take a shower. Turn off the tap while brushing your teeth, install dual flush toilets and insulate your water pipes. Conserving water is one of the most effective ways to save on your bills because you will not be letting money go down the drain anymore.

Stop using chemical household cleaners – Instead of buying expensive detergents and cleaners that are poisonous to humans and animals, you can instead use vinegar, salt or other natural substances. Whether you want to remove molds, wash the floor or clean the windows, use vinegar as an eco-friendly solution.

If you’re trying to decide how to get out of debt, making some simple lifestyle changes, like going green, can have a positive impact. There are many other ways to live green and conserve the environment while saving money. Replacing your old appliances, buying recyclable products and turning off the lights when you leave home can help you cut your expenses and prevent the debt from piling up.

About the Author: Alan Winkler is a professional debt advisor and regular contributor for the Debt Consolidation Advice blog, where he offers credit card debt relief tips and analyzes the different debt solutions available. He also provides helpful guidance on the debt relief industry and several ways to get out of debt.

A normal day involves…

Stopping at the store to buy milk and fruit. From there, making your way to the chemist to have a prescription filled out. You then head to the mall to buy that pair of shoes you’ve had your eye on for a few days. Then you realise you still need to stop at the bank to discuss a mortgage loan with the bank manager. From there, the last stop is through the drive-through to pick up supper, because you’re simply too tired to even think, nevermind still prepare a meal.

What common denominator do all of these tasks require in order to be successfully executed?

C’mon, it’s easy. Something you have and use without a second thought. A little more thought…there we go…almost got it. Yes! They all require the use of money, in one form or another.

From milk to mortgage, every single aspect of our lives as sheeple, involves money. Be it in the form of cash, check or credit or charge card. But, this is where things start getting just a little complicated.

Most folk seem to think that all forms of money are the same, but they are actually not. Yes, cash is cash, but, and here comes a huge but (no, not the one you may see in the 3 way mirror in the Sears’ fitting room), but cheques, credit cards and electronic transfers are actually not the same as cash in hand.

By now, you more than likely think that the author of this post must have escaped from the local loony bin. Surely all forms of money must be the same? Absolutely not! If all forms of money were the same, why would some retailers not accept cheques?For the simple reason that a cheque is not the same as cash on hand. A cheque is merely a promissory note, or in effect, a promise to pay the bearer of that cheque the amount stated on it. So technically, a cheque is not the same as cash – not by a long shot.

Another somewhat ‘interesting’ aspect of cash or money, is a bank loan. People may think that banks have a lot of cash/money in their possession and that they lend only the money that has been deposited with them, but they do not.

This may be quite a shocker, but when a bank grants you a loan, they give you absolutely nothing. What?! Yep, they give you seet feather fanny b*ggerall..nothing, niks, nada.

Yes, they credit your account, but not with cash. All they do is type the amount of the loan into their system. It is Your loan is conjured up out of mere figures on a computer screen. From the time your account is credited, you are actually charged interest on non-existent ‘money.’ The real shocker here is that banks are allowed to list these non-existent amounts as assets, whereas when us ordinary minions apply for a loan, our assets are required to be of a physical nature, such as your home or business.

There are tremendously huge amounts of ‘money’ in circulation these days, but 10% (or even less) is in the form of physical cash. The remainder is in the form of cheques and credit (credit crisis anyone?). In fact, the ‘system’ as we all know it, is actually horrendously bankrupt, and it is only surviving right now because sheeple have been conditioned conned into accepting cheques and credit cards as money, which in actual fact, is no more than a lousy bunch of figures on a screen which have been entered into a fast failing ‘system.’

This is how the vast majority of ‘money’ is brought into circulation – not by governments printing cash and minting coins, but rather by private banking institutions (onewonders why these are referred to as institutions…aren’t those for crazy people??) who lend money that actually doesn’t exist, and who have the nerve to charge people interest on it.

As banks and government control how much ‘money’ to create by means of these false loans, they are ultimately the ones who decide whether the economy booms  or burns.

Governments spend far more on (non existent) interest charges every year than they spend in total on health and education. Banking is by far the most lucrative, profitable and destructive criminal activity known to mankind.

When you stop and take the time to think, you soon realise that you are actually paying for 2 or sometimes even 3 cars or houses, so that you can get 1 in return.This is an extremely unfair practice which takes advantage of all who are not furtunate enough to have alot of those fake figures on screens to ‘pay’ for their goods once-off.

Think about it. You wouldn’t walk into a store to pay for 3 items, and be happy to leave with only 1, would you? So then, if we don’t allow that to happen, why are we complacent in allowing the banks to get away with what can essentially be classified as lagalised theft and extortion?

Somehow, I don’t quite view money in the same light as I used to….

Comments?

“Government set to overspend by xyz billion this financial year.” “Government overspends on sports development budget.” “Xyz  Government budget left untouched due to lack of administrative skills.” “Government to spend xyz million on city name changes.” “Government exceeds MP’s vehicle and travel allowance budget for current financial year.” “New toll fee structure to be implemented to cover upkeep costs of roads.” “Xyz billions lost to abc local government department due  to failure to spend previously budgeted funds”.Do these articles look familiar to you? If you’re from, or living in South Africa, then they most likely do.

Every year without fail, we read about, or see and hear articles in news reports detailing just how inefficient government spending seems to be. The list goes on and on… What amazes me though, is that there is very seldom money available for absolutely essential projects or services though. There always seems to be money for sports, arts and culture spending, or for MP’s to travel the world with their families (not to mention their horrendously overinflated travel allowances).

It’s sad to see that non-essental spending takes precedence over essential spending. By essential spending, we refer to things such as providing liveable homes for people, safe and accessible and most importantly, affordable medical care, road maintenance and basic education. Not to mention providing sufficient (not merely adequate) security personnel to ensure the safety of law-abiding citizens, affordable and safe public transport, food subsidies to the many millions of unemployed citizens.

While essential spending is often (ok, almost always) cut to the bone and even lower in most cases, there always seems to be funds available for sport, extravagant trips for MP’s and their families, horribly overinflated car allowances for these somewhat parasitic government (sheltered) employees, changing the names of cities and streets around the country and erecting monstrosities er..sorry..was that supposed to read ‘monuments?’ There is another side to this government budgeting balls=up blunder, which is the lack of administrative skills needed in order to actually spend the budget which has been allocated to these buffoons, many of which appear to possess the literacy, organizational and financial planning skills of an army of lobotomized fruit maggots.

Upon a little further investigation and reading, it was discovered that the ‘lack of administrative skills’ actually translated to the fact that nobody in the department to whom the funds had been allocated to, knew how to fill in a cheque! Now, don’t get me wrong, but quite honestly, if a person that is in a hugely responsible position such as that of a MP or even a member of local government or municipal department lacks the ability to fill in or complete a cheque, they have no business even being ‘employed’ in that position! (mind you, that term can most often be loosely described as sheltered employment, because little to no work is done in exchange for a salary payment at the end of each month).

Another interesting ide to the coin is that one would wonder exactly what happens to the funds that are ‘lost’ due to not being spent during a given financial year? One never hears of those funds being redirected to somewhere constructive, such as subsidizing old-age homes, (or providing much needed budgeting training to intellectually-challenged government and municipal employees for that matter).

If government would reign in their unnecessary spending, there would be funds available for the essentials, instead of making an attempt to milk the already overtaxed citizens for more of their hard-earned incomes.

Amazing how, just a few years back, our taxes were sufficient to cover the upkeep and maintenance of roads, provide school stationery, maintain hospitals and old-age homes, keep municipal parks from looking like excerpts of the Lost World and maintain general law and order.

This is where the budgeting experts should be allowed to step in. By this, we don’t mean brokers or fancy financial planners that charge you a years budget to show you a few basic principles.

We introduce…*insert drum roll and kings court trumpet here* housewives and stay-at-home moms (and dads). Not only do these people know how to stretch their finances, they are also experts when it comes to cutting out unnecessary spending. They know how to ‘cut the coat according to the cloth,’ which is what every single government and municipal department has failed miserably at.

If there is only abc amount to spend, they make sure that only that amount is spent, preferably a little less (saving is also extremely important).

Housewives and stay-at-home parents know that if they overspend, they will suffer in one way or another. Be it in the form of going without some other essential items, or paying a ridiculously high interest rate on a loan to finance the budgeting blunder. Housewives also know how to budget accordingly so that needs are taken care of before wants are entertained. They know that a plate of food on the table is far more important than buying that new car or house. They are able to make do with what is on hand. They are able to co-ordinate 5 different schedules to levels of precision that would leave the most hardened military types gaping like goldfish.

If Moms and housewives know that feeding their family is more important than spending millions on sport, arts and culture, what is taking our government so long to realise this? Besides, children who are hungry cannot even play sport or be involved in arts and culture, because they simply don’t have the energy for it (especially not after walking kilometres to and from school each day). When will they realise that giving a child (and his family) a decent, stable roof over his (their) head(s) – not one that is going to crumble and fall apart after the first rains of the season – is a heck of a lot more important than funding another sports program or shopping trip (or worse – a horrendously overinflated car allowance) for an MP and his family?

Since when has it become acceptable for members of government or municipalities to withdraw salaries, travel and car allowances that would be able to feed a small African nation for weeks on end, but be able to turn around and say that there are no funds available to support orphanages, old-age homes, schools and hospitals?

Fair enough, they claim to hold ‘responsible’ positions, but if this were truly the case, we would see more action than endless meeting after meeting. Roads would be repaired (using taxes, not toll fees), children would have school stationery and books, hospital patients would not have to provide their own food and bedding and more funds would be allocated to school feeding schemes instead of sports and arts schemes.

One would wonder if the government and municipalities would be up for the challenge? The challenge being that current MP’s involved in financial decision making and municipal managers are ousted and replaced with budget-savvy housewives for 5 years.

I am sure that the outcome would be very different to the absolute disappointment and mismanagement that we are currently experiencing when it comes to budgeting and spending allocated funds…

Thoughts? Comments?

It is always better to formulate a documentation of your total income in order to handle your tax situation. If you are organized, you will be ready to file your tax return at the earliest and be eligible for the tax deductions. If you get the tax deductions, you may also be able to use the money to get help from debt consolidation services and pay off your other debts. So, the ways in which you can set up an organized list of deductions are discussed below.

Getting organized for your tax filings

Even if you are not into a complicated tax situation, it is better to report in the right and organized way. The ways in which you can prepare an organized report are:

1. Filing By the identification numbers – The IRS tracks you on the basis of your Social Security Number (SSN). So file the returns along with the SSN. In addition, don’t forget the ID numbers of the dependents including everyone you claim, starting from your elderly parents to any infants. Also remember the tax identification number of the person with whom your child stays when you are at work. You may need it if you file for the child care credit. A missing SSN for any of the persons listed on your return can cost you.
2. Start thinking on the basis of your income – It is mainly your income on which the IRS will tax you. So start thinking on the basis of your income. By the end of January, you as an employee are supposed to get a W-2 Form from your boss showing the details of your earnings and how much is taxable and what taxes are withheld. If you’re an independent contractor, the company you have worked with is supposed to send you a Form 1099-MISC showing your gross earnings. If you’re self-employed, you will have to track all of the receipts and documentation for all kinds of business-related expenses and your income.
3. Count your other assets – The IRS also takes into account other assets that you have. Like if you are saving money for your child’s education or for a new house or for your retirement. You should know that the interest earned on most of your savings is taxable. You are supposed to get statements from each of the account holders and the official tax forms too. If you’ve invested in stocks or mutual funds, you should get a Form 1099-DIV for each stock, mutual fund or money market account. You will have to compare your year-end financial documents with the tax statements.
4. Claim on real estate taxes as a deduction – If a part of your mortgage payment includes an escrow amount which is used to pay your annual real estate taxes, and the Form 1098 that you get from the lender will let you know the deduction amount. There is also a tax deduction opportunity for you if the state or the county you live in charges a personal property tax. You will also be eligible for a tax deduction if you had taken out a home equity loan to pay off your debts through debt consolidation. So, rather than taking help from debt consolidation services consolidate your debts on your own to be eligible for the tax deduction.
5. Count in your mortgage payments – The costs related to your home can help you get some tax deductions. The interest you pay on your mortgage is tax deductible. Your lender is supposed to send you a Form 1098 with the amount you have paid toward the interest and the deductible amount. If you have made an extra mortgage payment at the end of last year, check if the interest payment was counted.

Getting all these papers in place is extremely important for you to be eligible for the tax returns.

Feel free to share comments or ideas which may assist our readers to successfully compile their tax returns.

To my readers who are fellow South Africans, I’m sure that by now, you would have heard the news of the most recent interest rate cut this morning. A whole 50 basis points…wow (please insert sarcasm here).

In laymans terms, that amounts to a whopping 0.5%. Or basically, 50 cents on R100 ZAR (sounds almost as bad as the interest rate offered by the local banks for savings accounts. Don’t get me started on that though…).

Now, I don’t know about you, but it seems rather suspicious that the cut arrives just in time for the so-called ‘festive season’ – when most people tend to go completely moggy and exhibit traits similar to that of a troop of deranged orangutans on LSD while storming through the shops and spending every cent or penny available to them, whether it be their cash, or *shudder* acquired via credit or loans.

Sadly, many folk will even use the excuse of a paltry interest rate cut to go ape during the festive season. The cut amounts to being able to buy an extra stick of chewing gum, yet people will spend the equivalent of a small African nation’s yearly fiscal budget, simply because of a ‘rate cut,’ and ‘because it’s Christmas.’

It’s also amazing how a country’s financial minister will clutch at the proverbial ‘interest rate cut’ straw simply to create a false economy, especially at this time of the year. Then of course, retailers will also board the gravy train by advertising so-called ‘never to be repeated’ sale prices, or ‘Christmas clearance sale,’ or something else equally ridiculous, in order to get the orangutan troop err…sorry…masses…to buy what they don’t need, and cannot afford.

Ever stopped to think how creating a false economy also creates false spending, in that people spend money that actually isn’t theirs? No, that five-figure limit credit card you have, is NOT your money. It belongs to the bank, which is why they charge you such horrendously exhorbitant interest rates when you use it.

I don’t know about you, but I for one, will certainly not be paying for three items and only receiving one item in return, simply because of an interest rate cut that seems to be more of an insult than anything else. Confused about the abovementioned three-for-one offer? It’s easy. Any time you purchase an item on credit, you often end up paying more than double for it in the end, and even triple in many cases.

So…anybody still up for beating a path to the door of the retailers in pursuit of that extra stick of chewing gum that your interest rate cut can purchase?

I’ve decided to open the blog to guest posting. Roxy is the first of hopefully many bloggers who has offered to compile a post for the site. Below, she explains the process of debt consolidation.

Author’s Bio: Roxy is a contributory writer for the

debt consolidation

care community. She has been with the community for the last 4 years and specializes in writing articles on debt consolidation, debt settlement and getting out of debt.

Debt consolidation is when you bundle all of your debts into a single debt with a lower interest rate. You can consolidate the debts that you have either with the help of a debt consolidation company or you can do it on your own.

It is important for you to know how you can consolidate and pay off your debts:

Add all of your debts to reach a total figure of what you owe – First make a list of all of the debts that you have and then add up to find out exactly how much you owe.  Decide if there are any debts that you can pay off on your own. If there are any, list these debts separately to those that you will be consolidating.

Talk to debt consolidation companies – Talk to debt consolidation companies and find out how they work. Get help from one best suited for your purpose. Also mention to the company that you are willing to pay off the debt as soon as possible. Based on this, the consolidation company will set up a payment plan.

Prepare a budget – It is important for you to prepare a budget because if you want to pay off your debts through consolidation, you will have to spend less and save more. This can be done only through budgeting. You will have to make a budget and stick to it in order to be successful in saving more money.

List all of your expenditures – Other than preparing the budget, list your expenditures too and cut out unnecessary expenses (if applicable). You can add or remove expenditures according to your situation.

Compare interest rates – If you are doing a balance transfer, before signing up for a new credit card offering 0% on balance transfer, read the fine print carefully. The interest rate is definitely going to increase after the initial introductory period. If possible, try to pay off the debt within the introductory period. Introductory periods generally vary from 6 months to 1 and a half years. If you fail to pay off the debt within the introductory period, the outstanding debt amount may increase drastically due to the change in interest rates.

Improve your income – Try to improve your income. You can try to do some part-time jobs to earn extra money. You can also make some handmade items and sell those online and make money. You will be able to use all these money to pay off your debts quickly through consolidation.

Invest your money – You can do that through various processes like investing in various markets like the Stock market, Forex trading, gold investment or web marketing. These are some of the most popular ways to earn extra cash and can be quite profitable too.

Practice living frugally – This will help you to spend less and save more.

You can follow the above tips to pay off your debt during 2011 through debt consolidation and lead a debt-free life.

As the festive season approaches, people start rushing around like poisoned cockroaches, in search of ‘the perfect gift’ for friends and family. Little do they realise that the time spent with our friends and loved ones is actually far more valuable and is appreciated far more than any gift that we will ever receive.

Think about it. C’mon…when last did you actually wear that ridiculously bright orange and purple knitted sweater and mitten set you received from great-aunt Maude? Like never? Exactly!

Here are a few tips for saving a little cash during this time, as well as contributing to saving our environment:

Refrain from using plastic trees. These do the environment no good, and are extremely difficult to recycle. Should you already have a plastic tree though, don’t toss it out. Rather keep using it until it literally falls apart on you, which will most likely be around the year 2099 somewhere, as these things were not designed to die anytime soon…

If you decide to purchase and make use of a live tree, make sure it comes from an organic tree farm. These farms are environmentally sustainable, as they plant new trees for each one sold, to ensure that resources are not permanently depleted.

The same goes for decorations used on the tree and around the house. Tinsel and baubles look really nice and sparkly, but are horrible when it comes to recycling time. Rather use natural items like twigs, berries, acorns or any other natural items that are available to you. These also smell a lot nicer than BPA-laden plastic decorations.

When planning the meals for the holidays, ensure that a guest list is compiled, and take note of any picky eaters. Ensure that only enough food is made for the day, to prevent unneccessary wastage. Should there be leftovers, ensure that they are eaten within a day or two, otherwise they spoil quite fast.

On the topic of food, consider having each guest bring a part of the meal. This will save one person the effort of trying to prepare everything for the day, and it will also help to cut costs a little by spreading them evenly. Rather have each person spend $5 to $10 than one person trying to spend $300 on the meal and decorations for the day.

If possible, try to use as many locally produced food items as possible. Better still if you are able to buy directly from your local farmer, as the food will be far fresher and more nutritious than if it was purchased at the grocery store. It is often a lot cheaper than purchasing from the grocery store as well.

Be sure to keep doors and windows to any unused rooms closed, as this will reduce the amount of heat needed to warm the house, saving you a little on your heating bill. On this note, once the meal is out of the oven, leave the oven open to allow that warmth to spread through the house. This will also help to thaw things out a little.

Consider hosting a toy or clothing swap with family and friends a few days before Christmas. Children often don’t care whether the toy or clothing they receive is new, or just new to them. What’s important is that it will be new to them (and what will be important to Mom and dad is the cash-saving implication this will have on their pockets!) This will also help to reduce landfills of unnecessary and often non-recyclable items.

Enjoy lighting up the house and neighborhood over the festive season? Why not consider using highly energy-efficient LED lights instead of the traditional lights? These offer a far brighter form of light, while utilizing a fraction of the energy. The saying of ‘less is more’ definitely comes to mind here.

Instead of using non-recyclable metallic gift wrap and ribbons, why not wrap gifts in fabric, or even reusable shopping bags? these can at least be made use of over and over again, instead of gift wrap which is tossed the moment the gift is opened. hmm, I can see a lot of time being saved in this respect as well. far easier to wrap in a reusable bag than trying to manipulate that wrapping and bow around an impossibly ridiculous shaped gift. Items of clothing can also be used to wrap smaller gifts. The possibilities are endless…

On a final note, why not consider sponsoring a share program where your donation is used to purchase a cow, or fund the building of a well or even a school for underprivileged communities? This would definitely highlight the true meaning of  ‘it’s far better to give than to receive’ at this time of year.

Any money-saving or eco-friendly ideas you’d like to share?

Card skimming, cheque fraud, ATM fraud, theft, white-collar crime, money laundering, hacking. All of these equate to financial scams. Almost all of us can say that we know of at least one person that has fallen victim to at least one of these scams in recent years.

According to recent news articles, these scams have more than doubled over the past five years, and are set to skyrocket even more, as the recession continues to dig into the pockets and finances of consumers and businesses alike.

A lot of the tips I am going to mention, should generally be common sense, but I think that folk need reminding these days, especially owing to the fact that life is so fast paced. We often don’t stop to give our daily habits a second thought.

1. When doing transactions at shops or restaurants, do not allow your card to leave your sight. Yes, we know how convenient it is to simply hand your card over to the waiter and have him return to your table with the bill. This is by far one of the easiest ways for card skimming to take place (card skimming involves a small device that your card is swiped through, which conveniently stores your card number, account number and PIN code, thereby making it extremely easy for fraudulent transactions to take place on your card).
2. Always check your bank statements carefully, and make sure you know exactly what each transaction is for. So many people make the mistake of simply throwing statements away, or worse still, not even bothering to open or check them. Scammers rely on folk who do not check statements or query unusual transactions to carry out their dirty scams.
3. Do not ever supply your PIN number or passwords for any of your accounts to anyone who calls, claiming to be a staff member from the bank. Any legitimate banking institution will never ever do this.
4. Never ever click on a link in an email claiming to be from your bank or financial services provider, that asks you to click on the link to verify your account details. This is one of the oldest scams around, and honestly, I actually don’t know how people are still falling prey to this one. Your bank will also never send emails out asking you to verify account details.
5. Never ever supply your credit card CVC numbers to anybody over the phone. With these 3 numbers that are usually found on the back of your card, anybody can have transactions processed using your credit card. The oldest scam around in this regard is having someone call you who claims to be from Visa or MasterCard, and ask you to “verify” the CVC number on your card after reading your card number off to you over the phone. Don’t do it. Plain and simple.
6. Again, stating the extreme obvious here, but never ever share your PIN number with anybody, no matter who they are.
7. Always ensure that any websites you need to supply credit card details on, are legitimate, and are encrypted so that your details are safe.
8. Online gambling is a bad idea for many reasons. Firstly, it is a waste of your hard-earned cash, and secondly, your credit card details are very seldom safe on sites like these.
9. When signing contracts that involve debit orders or monthly payments, always be sure to read the fine print regarding additional charges and fees. Again, keep a check on your bank statement so that you can spot any discrepancies.
10. Always shred account and card statements that you no longer use or need. Do not rely on just tearing them up and tossing them in the bin.
11. The same goes for your expired or unused credit cards and store cards. Always make sure these are destroyed and cut or shredded into as many pieces as possible, especially where the built-in chip is concerned, because the chip is the key to all of your personal information. Always make sure that the CVC number and chip from the card are destroyed completely, even if it involves making a bonfire. Voila…this gives plastic surgery a whole new meaning!
12. If you feel uneasy about giving details to an online site for any reason, rather see if you can make contact via phone and arrange to do an electronic bank transfer yourself to the parties concerned.
13. Again, stating the obvious, but some folk think nothing of leaving store cards or credit cards lying around, or worse still, in the glove compartment of their vehicle! This is plain and simply irresponsible. If your vehicle is stolen, not only does the thief have your wheels, but he then has your permission to go on a shopping spree as well – at your expense! Don’t be stupid. Store your cards responsibly.
14. Do not give anyone else your card to use at any time. This is fraud, as their signature does not match the one you have provided on the back of the card.

Let’s all do our part in making cyber crime and financial fraud as difficult as possible for fraudsters to commit, by being more responsible and assertive.

Have I left anything out? Any advice that you can give? Feel free to comment.

When it comes to budgeting, a lot of people tend to either freeze at the idea, or turn and run like hell, because it seems like an overwhelming task.

Relax, it actually isn’t. In fact, compiling a budget is actually a lot easier than you realise, and will make your life a lot easier and a lot less stressful as well.

It will be far easier to see where you may be going wrong once you have everything down on paper and staring right back up at you. You will go from a case of, “It can’t be that much that I spend on take aways” to, “We spent HOW much on take aways??????” Once everything is down on paper, it’s far more difficult to ignore the financial freefalls that have been draining your cash faster than you can zip your wallet closed.

You may be wondering by now, where the envelopes come into the whole budgeting process. Everything will be explained as we go along. Promise.

First things first though. When you take that important step to compile a budget, you will need to know exactly what your income is for the month (or week, depending on how you are paid, of course). This may include a spouses income, as well as rental income from an additional property etc.

Start by taking a sheet of paper (or 2, depending on how large your budget is going to need to be). At the top of the first sheet, list all of your incoming finances.

Once that is done, you will need to then start listing every single expense that you have for the month/week. A typical budget would generally include things like rent (or mortgage payment), gas/fuel, phone bill, medical plan, school fees, groceries, utilities, internet fees, magazine subscriptions, an entertainment allowance, as well as any other expenses that recur each month.

Starting with your income amount on top, list each expense below this, and subtract each amount from your income amount, until you have listed all of your expenses. If you are still in the green after this exercise, well done! Most people end up going into the red before they are finished.

This is where your envelopes will start to play their part. They are normally used for the ongoing expenses that need to be met during the month, such as gas and groceries.

Sure, you budget an amount each month for these two important items, but many times, after the first two-week, you may find that your budget for those areas has run dry. This will be where your envelopes come into play.

Set aside an envelope for each week of the month. Take the money that you have set aside in your budget for groceries, and divide it up evenly as per the amount of weeks in the month. You can also do the same for gas, or any other expenses that recur on a weekly basis.

A fair bit of self-discipline will be needed here though, to prevent yourself from simply ‘borrowing’ from the following week’s budget., as this will defeat the purpose of this exercise.

Once the money in each  envelope is finished, then you have nothing left for the rest of the week, until the following week rolls around. It does take some getting used to at first, and you may find that you run out of cash. But I can promise you, that in most cases, there are truly very few items that you will die without having until the following week (emergency medication and things like baby food are obvious exceptions).

After a few weeks have gone by, you will get used to the system, and you may even find yourself with a few pennies or even a dollar or two left over from the budget. Congratulate yourself.

The fun doesn’t necessarily have to stop here though. Bring another envelope into the game, and label it ‘extras’ or ‘overs.’ Should there be anything left from the previous week, put it into this one. You will be surprised at how fast it adds up. These ‘overs’ or ‘extras’ can then be put into a savings account once a month, or they can even simply be set aside to do something fun with. There is no end to the possibilities which this can be used for. Should you wish, you could also use is as an additional debt repayment, or even add it to your initial mortgage repayment.

I am making use of this system ,and it is working very well for me, so I am sure that it will also work very well for many of you out there who need a little help along the way with learning how to budget, and how to spend wisely during the month on essential items.

Comments, ideas or suggestions? Feel free to post them below.

There seems to be a lot of debate surrounding Farmville on Facebook. A lot of people claim that it is an absolute waste of time, while others go on about their friends who play, stating that it “fills their profile pages and walls with useless information.”

Ok, guilty as charged, I play as well. It may sound ridiculous, but it has actually given me a few insights and answers to questions I’ve had, especially regarding that of learning to make additional income. There are a few similarities between Farmville, and earning online income.

Over the past year or two, I have been searching almost endlessly for “that one way online to make enough money to live on.” But, after reading quite a few different blogs, and gaining perspective and advice from the blogosphere, I’ve realised that it often takes many small collective efforts to snowball into one large result.

Just like Farmville, where you try to collect as many neighbours as possible, so that you can reap the rewards, the same principle applies to earning extra income online. The more effort you put in, the more you will be rewarded at the end of the day. All of the seemingly small efforts you make that don’t seem to get you anywhere, will eventually add up to something substantial.

Yes, it takes a lot of time to get going (the same as Farmville). You will initially spend hours working on online articles, or optimising a website or blog (or even multiple sites and blogs) to ensure that they start to bring in additional income.

Like Farmville, where crops may wither, and puppies may run away, you will have your ups and downs with earning online income as well. Some days, you may earn a few dollars ,while on other days, maybe a penny or two.

Some days, you may collect all of the fuel bonuses and mystery eggs, and on other days, you may be a little too slow to do so. It’s a win some lose some scenario. The same principle applies to online income. Some days, you will make it, and other days, you may lose it, or simply not make anything.

The key to making legitimate online income is perseverance. Do not give up, and you will be rewarded accordingly. Always be honest, and don’t try to hide any facts or information from your audience, because they will find you out.

The same as Farmville, it takes a lot of time, and dedication to make a substantial income online.

Comments? Replies?