SAVING MONEY

By Jennifer Calonia

Before you can save money, you’ve got to earn it. The web lends a helping hand for those interested in how to make extra money from home with a handful of sites that help you earn money on the internet.

Do you ever sift through the clutter in your home and wonder how you accumulated so much…stuff? Maybe you look at your savings account and ask yourself why the balance never gets any bigger. Whether it’s clothes in the closet that haven’t been worn in years or canned goods collecting dust in the pantry, we’re all a little guilty of spending money on things we don’t really need.

So now that it’s a new year, you might consider it a perfect time for cleaning up your act and making wiser decisions with your money. We at Go Banking Rates couldn’t agree more, which is why the entire in-house team (Casey, Jenn, Andrea, Jaime, Courtnay and Marcus), plus a few other ConsumerTrackers in the office, are going on a fiscal fast this week.

By Jennifer Calonia

Saving money year-round is a goal that many households hope to achieve, but it’s not always so easy when you finally try to get to it. One of the top ways to save money is through a new crop of online do-it-yourself sites, known as DIY sites, which help consumers save big with hands-on projects on a small and large scale.

By Stacey Bumpus

Just about every person who smokes cigarettes considers quitting at some point, and usually because of its major health risks. If you have been thinking about quitting but haven’t yet found your motivator, you might want to consider the long-term financial impact of buying cigarettes. You’d be surprised by how much you could save if you quit smoking.

By Luke Landes

Over the recent decade, and more so since the start of the recession, the public has begun paying more attention to the concept of saving money for the future.

By Casey Bond

While saving money is at the forefront of most people’s minds this year, regifting continues to be a somewhat taboo practice. But admit it, you and just about everyone you know has done it at least once.

While regifting can get you in a lot of trouble if done improperly, employing proper regifting etiquette can ease the financial burden of the holidays and keep everyone happy. After all, with friends, family, the office Christmas party and all the service industry workers expecting tips, money can quickly disappear this time of year.  So here’s a guide to turning the presents you’re less than excited about receiving into the perfect (free) gifts for others.

Every year, U.S. consumers spend hundreds of dollars on gifts for family and friends, but have you ever wondered how much money and effort goes into just wrapping up those presents? The gift wrapping industry–yes, it has it’s own industry–is worth multiple billions and most of that comes directly during the holidays.

If you’re looking to cut the fat out of your holiday budget, consider using more cost-efficient ways of wrapping your gifts. At about five bucks per roll, you could be spending your money on much better presents, instead of devoting so much time, money and effort to the paper around them. Your wallet, the Earth and even the lucky gift receiver will thank you.

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In Talking Money with Elmo–Free Financial Education from Sesame Street, we explain how you can teach your kids financial literacy with videos from Sesame Street. Learn more about what these videos have to offer and where you can access them:

For Me, for You, for Later

By Tara Struyk

Are you teaching your child about money? If the answer is no, guess again. Your child is watching and learning from you every day, whether you’re using an ATM or shopping for groceries–and he or she is forming an idea of what money is, how it works and how it should be handled.

Based on statistics about most adults’ general lack of basic financial knowledge, that may not be a good thing.

By Nicholas Pell

The Apple iPhone 4S wasn’t the groundbreaking improvement upon the iPhone 4 people had hoped for, though it does combine an impressive number of features into a single package. When shopping this holiday season, you might wish to forgo other gadgets in favor of the iPhone 4S to save money, as it does just about everything.