.To start off the new year with a focus on saving more money and having less stress, check out this sampling of 5 Resources for Saving Money below. The focus is on the general money issues and the resources for saving money.
I’m confident there will be at least one resource tip in this list of 5 resources for saving money that makes your day.
Then at the bottom, you will find a short list of some of your favorite resources from the feedback received from the last newsletter. Thank you for your response.
Do you have favorite resources for saving money from the list?
Send me an email and let me know which website resource is your favorite and why you enjoyed it, and I’ll send you the newly updated “10 Year Planner”.
The 5 resources for saving money
.Resource 1 – Saving on Groceries and Household Expenses
Mary Hunt has been in the Personal Finance field with her books and EverydayCheapskate column for decades and offers practical tips for all aspects of your home and money.
One of my favorite articles was “6 Generics That are Truly a Great Buy” . This advice certainly gave me a new perspective on my assumption of “inferior, tasteless” generics. If your grocery bill has been creeping up more and more these days, find out how some of your favorite name-brand products could easily be replaced for much less, and still have the same ingredients and taste, saving you a lot of money.
You can find her syndicated columns online as well as in papers around the country.
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Resource 2 – Down- to-Earth Advice for Today’s Current Financial Topics
Michelle Singletary is another prolific syndicated Personal Finance columnist, author, TV host, Contributor and media guest. She has numerous books, along with her column in The Washington Post and nationwide, answering questions on current financial topics many people are dealing with these days. I’ve heard her interviewed and appreciate her down to earth style and understanding of what average consumers are dealing with during these changing financial times.
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Resource 3 – Getting Answers for Social Security Questions
With new life-changing events, the prospect of dealing with Social Security can be daunting. Whether dealing with widows’ benefits, dependent children, early or later retirement, there’s a lot of confusion around finding the right help and answers.
I’m so happy I recently discovered Tom Margenau’s columns, book and contact information. Mr. Margenau worked for the Social Security Administration for 32 years in a variety of positions and for yeas was the director of the SSA’s public information office at the headquarters in Baltimore.
He knows his stuff and is an excellent resource to saving money!
Even when you do finally reach a live person at Social Security and get answers, according to Tom Margenau, many of those answers are incorrect. In one column he shared a number of situations where the SSA Agent’s answer was wrong when telling the recipient there was no benefit due. In each case he explained the error and advised the reader to go back and “file a claim for benefits” saying you always have the right to file this claim even if you were denied on the phone by inexperienced agents. A different department deals with those claims and can give different answers.
So, if you have a Social Security question, Tom Margenau has a book with all the answers. It’s called “Social Security — Simple and Smart.” You can find the book at https://www.creators.com/books/social-security-simple-and-smart-2022 or at Amazon and other book outlets. To find out more about Tom Margenau and to read past columns and see features from other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website and https://www.creators.com/features/your-social-security
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Resource 4 – How Does Medical Debt affect Credit Reports
Since healthcare has been at the top of our news for the last few years, and a financial challenge for many households, below are a few articles on medical debt and credit scores. Medical debt is not always the same as regular debt and often not treated the same way on Credit Reports. Learn how it differs.
https://bettercreditblog.org/medical-collections/ July 2021
https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/medical-debt-and-your-credit-score/ Nov 2020
https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/how-to-get-help-paying-paying-medical-bills/ Nov 2020
https://www.aarp.org/money/credit-loans-debt/info-2019/medical-bills-affect-credit-score.html Aug 2019
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Resource 5 – How to Save Money with Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Projects for the Home
If you’ve recently spent a lot more time in your homes than ever before, you probably visited the hardware stores a lot more as well. This past year I’ve been on a mailing list receiving dozens of DIY ideas for the home from Hometalk.com.
If you love to repurpose items, save money, show your creative side, plus have lots of time, patience and imagination, you’ll be inspired by the unbelievable ideas people come up with to organize, decorate and manage their households.
Personally, I was fascinated with how people even conceived of some of the creations. I always enjoyed checking out the beginning picture of the project and then the end result. But I knew I certainly had no patience for the detail of any of those projects.
.A Few More Resources for Saving Money
Be sure to read my blog listing three more handy resources.
Let’s take a look at a few more favorites that were sent in.
“Financial Resources for Senior Citizens” and “How top have a comfortable retirement on Social Security Alone” both compiled by Brian Boyd of Elderspace. (Bottom of list: https://www.investopedia.com/retirement/
https://www.moneytracker.com/resources/web-sites/ )
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Testimonial
I found this website resource to have a lot of relevant information. I was particularly intrigued with the page about “Best Countries for Retirement Abroad”. Canada is only 30 miles away, and it’s very enticing lately. — Rebecca
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