Pftown- Articles and Information about Business and Finance.

One of the top things most people cut from their budgets to save money is eating out. Eating out is a luxury and most often costs more money than just eating at home.

But for many of us — when both parents work and you are rushing to take children to after school activities, the occasional meal out can be a real lifesaver. So how can you do it without breaking your budget? Let’s also keep in mind there are things everyone will want to celebrate: birthdays, anniversaries and other life events where eating out is a nice treat for everyone. Here are some tips for eating out while still keeping some green in your pocket. Read the rest of this entry »

Furnishing your home office and purchasing all the necessary office equipment doesn’t have to necessitate a second mortgage on your house.

You can set up a fully equipped home office with a small budget.

The first step is to make two lists. The first list should be those items that you must have, the items that you cannot do business without.

The second list should consist of the items that are not strictly necessary, but that would
be nice to have. For now focus on acquiring the items on the first list. Once your business is up and running, you can invest in the items on the second list. Now let’s take a look at how you can buy what you really need with limited funds.

1. Keep an eye out for specials and sales at your local office supply store.
2. Scour display and classified ads on your local newspaper for bargains on good, used office equipment and furniture. Read the rest of this entry »

Saving on grocery shopping using coupons is not a new technique, it’s been a strategy that smart shoppers have been using for decades. But the internet has made this practice much easier & more efficient in recent years.

The internet has made the tedious process of searching through the daily or Sunday newspaper obsolete. No longer do you have Read the rest of this entry »

Do you think you have a lot of bills? If so, you are probably right. But have you considered the bill that costs you the most each month? On average your housing costs probably run about 30% of your take home pay. Your other bills which include utilities, credit cards, etc. also run about 30% of your take home pay. It probably takes another 30% to run your household and if you are lucky you can stash the remaining 10% in a savings account. Read the rest of this entry »

Who ever said you couldn’t get something for nothing sure was wrong. My husband likes to call me the “Freebie Queen” because one of my all time favorite hobbies is searching for things that I can receive for free. Well you can begin to fill your mailbox with free goodies too all that is required of you is a little bit of time and research. I have received loads of free goodies over the past few years including product samples, full sized bottles of shampoo, diapers, baby formula, cosmetics, oral hygiene products, magazine subscriptions, coupons for free products… the list is almost endless. Read the rest of this entry »

There are several factors that contribute to budgets failing. The most common is that people just don’t want to change the way they live and how they handle their money. We get comfortable with the way we live and making a major lifestyle change is something that scares most of us. But, my friend, this is probably what it will take to get your finances in order and keep them that way. Read the rest of this entry »

Which category do you fall in?

I have determined that financially, people fall into one of three categories.

1. Family 1 has all the money they need for necessities and more and manage it very well.

2. Family 2 has all the money they need for necessities and more but live payday to payday with ever increasing debt.

3. Family 3 don’t have enough money for necessities.

The funny thing about the three families above is that they could have exactly the same income and family size. This is not to say that special circumstances has nothing to do with it, but on the average most people live above their means. Read the rest of this entry »

On average, women earn 76 cents for every dollar men earn in the workplace. Because women typically spend approximately seven years out of the work force to have and raise children, their earnings are even further curtailed. With lower pay and less time spent in the work force, women are generally left with smaller retirement portfolios, lower company pension benefits and lower Social Security benefits than men. Read the rest of this entry »