Thought of the Day: Save in 2007

Budgeting provides financial peace of mind, and allows you the ability to plan long term. For many people, the thought of setting up a budget is overwhelming, and seems next to impossible to accomplish without the help of a financial planner, an accountant, and Albert Einstein. The reality is, without a budget, most people really have no idea what they are spending on a month to month basis, and often underestimate their expenditures by as much as 25%.

Start slow. Take a few months and really keep track of the money you are spending. Write down every purchase, and at the end of the month, determine what has been spent on entertainment, utilities, household, etc. This should show you areas in which you overspend, allowing you to scale back and start saving more money.

Remember to allow for emergency purchases in your budget. While this is a difficult category to estimate, if you allow X number of dollars every month, and then have no need to tap into those monies, it really adds up, and becomes money in the bank!

Fun & Freebies

Free 7 Day Supply of Coffeemate
http://www.verybestcoffee.com/7Days/

Free Tin of California Almonds
http://almondsarein.com/tin/

Free Samples From SpaLook
http://www.spalook.com/samples/request.asp?bhcp=1

Save $5.00 on Crest Whitestrips
http://www.eversave.com/eversave/consumers/Crest_Skip-MiniFlow111.jsp?cid=98&dts=true&sourceid=24885

Free 8 Week Membership to Bally Total Fitness
http://health.discovery.com/BodyChallenge/gotoRegistration.do

Free Deck Cleaner Sample
http://www.sunfrog.com/products/woodcleaner.html

Free Eukenuba Puppy Kit
http://us.iams.com/eukanuba/en_US/jsp/Euk_Page.jsp?pageID=RE&campaignCode=PKFFED1206&Campaignsource=HOMECALLOUT&source=HOMECALLOUT

Free Bake Sale Planning Kit From Splenda
http://www.schoolbakesales.com/