Although credit cards make it easy for us to purchase the things we want, we all know they can make our purchases harder to pay off. So why not consider developing a savings plan rather than an interest debt for your next major purchase or long-term goal? Whether you’re saving for college, retirement, a new computer, or a vacation, having a savings plan could help you achieve your goal.
There are several online calculators that work similar to using formulas in Excel spreadsheets. These calculators help you see more clearly how much money you can save over time by cutting back on spending or making better choices about the purchases you make. A savings plan means you may still buy the things you want or need, but you do so by not incurring more expenses.
Budgeting & Saving Using Mint
First off, in order to make your goal(s) attainable, you will probably need to budget your spending in order to start saving or increase your savings. One online service you might try for this entire budgeting and savings process is Mint. Back in June I reviewed how to use this free service to develop a budgeting plan. Since then, Mint.com has added another feature, aptly called Goals.
Mint makes it super easy to set up a savings plan for nearly any type of goal, including paying off a debt, buying a car, taking a trip, buying a home, or saving for retirement. If none of their template plans fit your needs, you can customize your own.
Mint.com will keep you updated about the progress of your savings plan. Setting up a Mint.com account, a budget, and a savings account require a little time, but the site features work so well together that it’s worth the effort.
Savings Calculator
Another calculator which you can use without registering an account is found on Dinkytown. This calculator includes formulations for college savings, a savings plan for buying a home, and how much you could possibly save by not smoking, drinking, or over shopping.
It can even provide calculations for how much you might save each month by bagging your lunch instead of eating out. Want to make a cool million? It will show how to develop a savings plan for that too. When you actually see these numbers, it may very well make you realize how attainable your goals actually are. Matter of fact, the calculator will even show you how much it‘s costing you to delay any type of savings plan.
College Savings Planner
If you’re looking to start a savings plan for your children‘s college education, you might take a look at Vanguard’s College Savings Planner.
The calculator provides a rough estimate of how much you will need to set aside based on the tuition (in-state or out-of-state) and the type of college your child might attend.
Savings With Interests
If you’re looking to start a long-term savings plan, many online bank and credit unions includes savings calculators.
Mappingyourfuture.com provides a really simple savings calculator that computes anticipated future savings based on an initial deposit, monthly savings, interest rates, and number of years. The site also provides tips for saving for college and paying off student loans.
Savings Calculator For Your Website
If your savings plan involves the visitors to your website, Frograte provides a set of formula calculations, including loan, mortgage, and credit card debts.
Posting the calculations and code on your site may be useful for an organization involved in a collective savings plan. Frograte says that their “savings calculator is based on monthly compounding, check the details of your account for the compounding period. Accounts that are compounded daily, or yearly will vary slightly from the calculated results”.
Energy Savings Calculator
Developing a savings plan is just not limited to what you can set aside from your income. You might be able to save based on upgrading your refrigerator, or getting rid of your clunker and purchasing a new car.
Engerystar.com provides a calculator to help you determine how much you might save by buying an energy savings refrigerator.
New vs Used Car Calculator
Similarly, if you’re needing to purchase a car, AOL.com provides a handy calculator for determining how much you might save buying a new car as opposed to a used one.
By using one of the above or similar calculators, you can get a more factual estimate of your savings goals as opposed to just guessing off the top of your head.
Let us know of other calculators and money saving tips you know about.
Image credit: Shutterstock.com
I have to say right up front that I’ve never really been into coupon sites, shopping sites, or any other website on the web that is set up primarily to sell something. I really only resort to shopping online during Christmas to avoid the crowds. I rarely really find any deals that I would consider “amazing” online. Sure, you can save a bit if you purchase a computer or even a car through the Internet, but usually those discounts are no different or more than you’re offered in-store.
With that said, my entire attitude toward online deals changed when someone recently pointed me toward Groupon. Groupon is a site that is really difficult to describe, because it’s different than most other sites devoted to selling you something. Groupon stands apart because it offers different things to different people, so I’ve decided to go over the 5 coolest ways that you can make use of Groupon.
Sign In & Instantly Earn Cash
The entire point of Groupon is more of a “group” deal than just a discount site. It actually reminds me a little bit of eBay because each deal is only up for a limited time. Once the set minimum number of buyers purchase the deal, everyone receives the discount.
Once you sign up with your email, you can start adding friends. While I really hate referring my friends to any sort of sales website, Groupon really is worth it. It takes me a lot to admit that, but after watching a few of the discounts show up – I was really surprised by how steep many of them are. Most of them are 40 to 70 percent off of things like local dining, spa treatments, store discounts and a lot more.
For every friend you refer and that signs up, you get ten bucks in Groupon coupons. Now, if you think about that, that means every ten friends you convince to sign up with you, that’s a hundred dollars just to get started buying deals on Groupon.
Save Money At Local Businesses
The part that sets Groupon above the rest in my opinion is the fact that the deals are tailored to your geographic location. Of course, add in the excitement of a limited time offer (right down to the ticking clock) and the need to get at least the minimum number of buyers, and it can get kind of exciting.
This means that you’re not going to see discounts to just national brands or major store chains, these are impressive deals that local businesses are offering.
Save Money On Gifts
Once you sign up and start buying “Groupons”, you can organize those in your account under “My Groupons“. You can also purchase Groupon coupons as gifts and send them to your friends. The cool thing about this is that you can purchase some pretty impressive gifts but you don’t have to spend a fortune.
Now, if you really want to offer your friends an awesome gift, then pass on the savings to them. At the bottom of the main Groupon page, you’ll see a link for “Give the Gift of Groupon.” Click on that link, fill out the details and the amount you’d like to give and send your friends a Groupon credit.
Why are Groupon coupons better than cash? Because it goes further. Your friend will be able to stretch that $25 gift certificate into a purchase worth $50 to $100. And don’t be fooled by my choice of currency – Groupon is available in 35 countries across the world.
Use Groupon For Your Business
I think the magic that will make Groupon even more popular moving forward is the fact that it makes everyone happy. Obviously, customers that can save over fifty percent off the cost of anything are usually pretty happy, but the business model of Groupon is pretty impressive as well. Basically, businesses don’t pay until they get paid. When you sign up to advertise, Groupon simply takes a commission of the sale and gives you the rest.
Getting featured on Groupon is as easy as clicking the “Groupon for your Business” link at the bottom of the main page.
Fill out the form and you’re good to go. If you don’t have anything to sell, but you wouldn’t mind making money by referring folks to Groupon, then you’ll be interested in their affiliate plan.
You can even have the color format of the ad match the theme of your own site. This is what the ad will look like on your site.
What makes it unique and useful to your website visitors is that the ads will automatically check for the location of your visitor, and then try to deliver deals from their local area.
Access Your Groupons On Your Mobile Device
Using Groupons becomes a lot more useful when you can use “paperless redemption” to cash in your purchased Groupon using your mobile device. All of the deals you purchased are stored on your phone where you can access them quickly without printing.
While you’re on the go and looking for local deals, just search for nearby deals using the built-in GPS feature – it’s a cool, fast way to save money while you’re on the road.
Have you ever used Groupon? Which feature do you use the most and did you find any impressive deals through the service? Share your experience in the comments section below.
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