Tag: Money
Throughout the recession we have continually been warned to be creative with our money. However, it is doubtful that the financial experts issuing such warnings had the following in mind when they recommended creativity! Some people appear to have taken creativity to the extreme by differing origami shapes from bank notes take a look at the 10 best money origami produced so far.
10. Fish
Could these fish possibly be the most expensive around?
9. Toilet
Talk about flushing money down the toilet! All that’s needed now is toilet roll made of money to complete the look.
8. Camera
This camera certainly looks expensive but does this latest gadget have the quality credentials to match?
7. Elephant
This is fantastic; the creator has even managed to give the elephant an eye and tusks!
6. Shirt
Is this going to be the next big fashion trend amongst men in the office?
5. Snail
Who knew that you could make a snail out of bank notes?
4. Hang Glider
This is very inventive and with the level of detail in this particular origami it is likely that a lot of time and effort went into this one.
3. Flower
A flower made of money, which woman wouldn’t be happy to receive a bouquet made up of such flowers this Valentines Day?
2. Queen Elizabeth’s Hat
The Queen adds a new hat to her already really rather extensive collection.
1. Spider
Most people are scared of creepy crawlies but it’s doubtful that people would shy away from this spider.
Which one’s your favourite? Let us know with a comment below!
January 29, 2010
Each week I read a vast amount on blogs about debt, investing, saving money and there’s always a special few that are too good to be kept a secret. Now that October is upon us it’s time for me to check back on my personal finance bookmarks and choose a few to share with anyone stopping by at Money Stand. Here’s my favourite blog posts from around the net that were published in September:
1. Execellent Post at GenX Finance on saving money by doing your own home maintenance. This is great advice and a very comprehensive list.
2. Such a great idea which I will personally be taking on board is this post from Growing Money about getting money back from those who have borrowed from you. I’ve lent out more money than I care to remember and it’s so difficult to ask for it back.
3. I came across this post on Debt Kid yesterday which is really how to acheive debt free living in a nutshell. It covers the three main points I always talk about on MoneyStand and is really well written.
4. Over at Debt Management Tips they wrote an article at the start of the month about tackling student debt. If you’re a recent graduate like myself, it’s worth a good read.
5. If you’re considering buying your own home or trying to find out about mortgages, read this inciteful article about how to pay off a 30 year mortgage in 15 years at Consumerism Commentary.
If you missed these posts and any of them interest you, I thoroughly recommend you take the time to have a read!
October 1, 2009
One of the biggest problems with the financial climate today, is the amount of personal debt that many people have incurred.
For most people, their income is limited and, in some cases, has even reduced due to redundancy, or having to take a cut in pay, and, of course, ever-rising prices.
There are many ways to try and sort out personal financial problems, though some are better than others. For instance, it is not generally a good idea to take out further borrowing on credit cards. Any special deals the card companies use to obtain your custom usually have a limited life; when the term expires, you may well find you are on a very high rate of interest, and your debt will start increasing again.
One piece of advice I would offer is to approach a professional for free advice and ask about consolidation loans, (you could try your bank, or a charity like CCCS, or a company like Debt Free Direct). The idea behind consolidation loans is that you borrow enough from the bank to repay all your existing debts. You will then have just one commitment, to the bank that loaned you the money. These days, you can even negotiate terms and interest rates, so, although you may find you are making monthly payments for many years to come, at least you will just have the one commitment. As long as you do not take on any further debt, once you have repaid the bank, you will be debt-free.
If you have a mortgage, you may be able to ask your mortgage company for a second mortgage, borrowing enough to repay your existing debts. You will then have to re-negotiate the life of the mortgage, and the amount you pay back monthly, but, as with a bank loan, you will only have one monthly commitment to worry about.
Of course, it is best to avoid debt in the first place, but this is easier said than done. Consolidating your debts in one of the ways listed above, is the next best solution, and will help to make life a little less stressful.
June 23, 2009
With everyone getting in a panic about the credit crunch, the rising cost of living, and imminent global economic disaster, it seems ever more important to make your salary stretch as far as possible. When nearly everyone will one day be earning a regular wage, it seems truly astonishing that schools do not teach such a useful skill as budgeting, and that many parents fail to instil a sense of frugality in their children. But worry not, it’s never too late to learn a new skill, and here are some tips on how to manage your salary wisely.
The first step – and yes, this may be boring, but it’s necessary – is to sit down and work out your income and outgoings. If the latter is greater than the former, you’re in trouble, and it’s time to take control before things get any worse. If you don’t spend more than you earn, it’s still worth taking a look at how you can make better use of your money, as there are always ways of making cutbacks. Even if you have plenty of disposable income, why throw it away? It’s far better to save as much as you can, and use it for something worthwhile, or leave it earning you lots of lovely interest (okay, maybe not that much interest, but it’s better than nothing, or worse, spending everything).
Most people know how much their take home pay will be every month, which makes it easier to budget. Having worked out how much your outgoings are, you can then look at where they can be reduced. Grit your teeth, and spend an evening looking at ways of reducing your expenses. Some things can’t be cut out altogether, unless you want to live by candlelight and cook on a butane store, but they can be reduced. Look at how you can reduce your energy consumption, by keeping the thermostat down and switching off lights, for example, and research cheaper energy providers. Try car-sharing, or cycling to work, if possible.
Now look at non-essentials. This is the easiest way to make savings, even if the prospect of a more frugal lifestyle fills you with dread. Try going out less, cooking budget meals for friends instead of eating in restaurants, waiting for a film to come out on DVD rather than going to the cinema, and buying clothes in the sale. Set realistic budgets for everything, that means not denying yourself any fun, while acknowledging that you don’t have unlimited funds. Buy clothes in the sales and plan your wardrobe. Avoid impulse purchases, and think about whether you really need something. Change your mobile phone plan, and use your landline wherever possible. Keep your credit cards for emergencies. Follow this advice, and more of your income will stay in your bank account!
November 20, 2008
Every newspaper and every news reports tells us we are in the grip of the start of a recession, but for many of us we do not need the media to tell us about the recession many of us are living with it from day to day. This year has seen a large increase in home repossessions, those looking for debt management help and advice and even an increase in the number of people being declared or filing for bankruptcy.
Many household consumables have increased in priced over the last 6 months, most of us are struggling with increased utility costs and as the winter draws in, many people have to choose whether to eat or heat their homes. So how do we manage, is it possible to cut back on unnecessary spending and try to make savings? The answer is yes, there are steps we can all take to spend less and even save some money.
How do we cut down on unnecessary spending and make savings? The key to this is honesty and budgeting. We need to look at our household expenses and spending, identify the essential items and reduce the extras. When we have identified what we spend our money on we can take steps to reduce our spending, we need to agree our budget and look for the best deals. Perhaps we need to look at simple things like our mobile phone contract, or our broadband/telephone package and look for better deals. Perhaps we need to remove some non-essential luxuries such as satellite television packages or even buying non-branded goods when we do our shopping.
We have to be totally honest about our spending, if we hide things we are only bluffing ourselves and this will not help us make savings. There are lots of competitive deals around on things such as insurance, so we have to make sure we are getting the best possible deal. Where possible we should also use cash back sites to make our purchases, making sure we earn something from the essentials that we need to buy. We should all be trying to reduce our carbon footprint to save the planet, but this may also help us to economise on our food and heating bills, if we use less we will spend less.
Because the current economic climate is so gloomy we need to be actively reducing our current debt, this will enable us to make greater savings when the economy perks up.
October 31, 2008
