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A new survey commissioned by Capital One Direct Banking examines the relationship that Americans have with money – from savings habits to the lengths some would go to for an extra dollar.

According to the survey:

* 35% of Americans would give up holidays to receive twice their yearly salary

* 25% would work EVERY DAY of the year if it meant doubling their salary

* 15% admit to having secretly taken money from a joint savings account, without their spouse or partner’s knowledge

* 22% said that if they accidentally received twice their normal paycheck due to a mistake, they would keep the money – and not tell their employer

Fortunately, you really don’t have to go to such extremes just to pad your bank account.

Here are 5 easy ways to save more money in 2010 and beyond:

1. Automate your savings
Most people know that it’s a great idea to have money automatically transferred from their paycheck into their savings account each month. But unfortunately, not everyone does it. In fact, about 1 out of 4 people polled in the survey had failed to take this basic step, which makes saving more money each money easy and hassle-free.

2. Comparison shop online
If you’re going to sock away your hard-earned dollars, you really want your money to work as hard as you do. So leverage the power of the Internet and find the highest rates you can for your savings accounts. The new InterestPlus Online Savings account offered from Capital One is great because it pays you an above-average interest rate (1.45% APY), plus you can get a 10% bonus each quarter. So it’s basically like turbo-charging your savings, because you’re getting paid twice to save. For more info, go to http://www.CapitalOne.com/directbanking.

3. Start small if you must
Too many people make the mistake of not saving money because they say “I don’t have a lot of money to put away.” Well, the truth of the matter is that every little bit helps. Even if you can’t afford $200 a month or $500 a month, you might be able to afford $25 or $50. Just get started. Whatever you can save, do it! Over time, even small amounts of money really add up. For more helpful tips about building your savings, go to http://www.AmericaSaves.org.

4. Use the 24-hour rule
Controlling your spending is critical to saving money in this tough economy. I’m not a fan of telling people to deprive themselves – because financial diets don’t work – just like food diets, they’re too hard to stay on for very long periods of time. But when you find yourself out shopping, or at a mall, and you want to spend money on a whim, instead of spending your cash – or whipping out a credit card – give yourself a 24-hour cooling off period. Try to just walk away from the item. If you’re still dying to have it a day later, you can go back and buy it. But a lot of times, you can really rein in your spending and save money just by avoiding impulse purchases.

5. Evaluate “wants” vs. “needs”
Sales are great. But sometimes we fool ourselves into thinking that “discounts” and “deals” are all smart purchases. That’s not always the case. What good is it to get a $100 item for “50% off” if you really didn’t need the item in the first place …. or if you really didn’t have the 50 bucks to spend to begin with? To avoid this pitfall, think about whether what you want to buy – even if it’s on sale – is really a “need,” or if it’s just a “want.”

I have been reading Lynnette Khalfani’s Zero Debt for College Grads: From Student Loans to Financial Freedom.

I highly recommend you look into her book, either by buying it or checking it out from your library.

Ms. Khalfani writes this about the Federal Student Loan Repayment Plan: “Under the Federal Student Loan Repayment Plan, the government allows any federal agency to repay your FFEL, direct, Perkins, or HEAL loans in order to attract or retain highly qualified workers in the federal government. Interestingly, each agency sets its own definition of highly qualified.”

Read the rest of this article on the Scholarshipman blog.

“A Five Star book, ‘Zero Debt’ by Lynnette Khalfani-Cox is a book delivering powerful action plans to conquer debt.  Eliminate that heavy anchor around your neck.  Start living!  Resolve your debt.  Embrace the powers of your legal rights.  Find top answers for building your financial freedom.  An powerful book that’s 100% useful.”

“Mark LaMoure,  Boise, ID”

Lynnette Khalfani-Cox, The Money Coach and Sanyika Calloway Boyce give tips on how to manage your holiday spending.

Watch Video

Join Lynnette at the 2010 Annual Conference on Financial Education hosted by The Institute for Financial Literacy on October 7th.  The event will take place at the Hyatt Regency in Boston.  Lynnette will be the keynote speaker for this event.  For more details visit: The Institute for Financial Literacy website.

Lynnette Khalfani-Cox and co-author Susan Beacham were recipients of the 2009 EIFLE Award for their Millionaire Kids Club Series.  The 4 book series won in the category of  money management book of the year by The Institute for Financial Literacy.

Do you have a major writing project that needs to get done, but you lack the time to do it, or you need professional writing assistance to complete the task? Lynnette Khalfani-Cox is an award-winning financial journalist and a New York Times bestselling author who can provide the editorial support you need. While you or your company focuses on what you do best, Lynnette will write, develop or edit that book, manual or other editorial project waiting to be finished. Her services include:

• Ghost Writing (for non-fiction books and articles)
• Editing or Updating Financial Content
  • Articles
  • Booklets
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If you’re planning to do some last-minute holiday shopping – or even pick up a few bargains after Christmas – make sure you know a real “deal” from a fake one. Clothing stores, electronics companies, toy makers and other manufacturers are very savvy at getting people to spend, and overspend, during the holiday season. So follow these five “do’s and don’ts” to make your holiday shopping experience easier on the wallet, not to mention your credit rating:

• 1. Don’t Be Fooled by Clever Marketing Ploys
  • How are retailers very skilled at enticing consumers to overspend? Some tricks:
    • Using big shopping carts (people tend to load up on goodies with bigger carts versus smaller carts or hand-held baskets/bags)
    • Grouping cheap merchandise with expensive stuff to give the appearance that the cheap stuff is more valuable (so research prices online before shopping to know if you’re really getting a bargain)
    • Marking prices up dramatically then “slashing” them 50% or more
    • Using labels like “premium” “new” and “deluxe” to describe various goods (they’re hoping you’ll pay more for the expensive products that may not be much better – or necessary – than plain-vanilla goods)
• 2. Do Skip the Insurance/Extended Warranty Come-Ons
  • Buying electronics or big ticket household items like computers or TVs?
    • Just say no to the sales pitches for “insurance” or extended warranties
  • This coverage is too pricey
  • Many manufacturers already offer basic coverage (your credit cards frequently do too)
  • If something breaks in the future, chances are you’ll want a new one anyway – and prices will be cheaper
• 3. Do Maintain Healthy Credit Habits
  • Check your credit card balances, terms and interest rates before shopping
    • Many card issuers have increased rates, closed accounts or lowered limits and haven’t yet bothered to tell customers! (you don’t want to get embarrassed at the register because your card has been declined)
  • Don’t fall for the “Do you want 10% off?” gimmick
    • opening a new retail credit card account can lower your credit score up to 35 points
    • retail/store credit cards have higher interest rates than do national cards, like Visa or MasterCard
  • Especially when using credit cards, you should set a budget/limit and stick to it
    • Only charge what you can pay off in 3 months tops. Even better: don’t buy stuff if you can’t pay for it in full when the statement arrives

• 4. Do Know the Pitfalls of Using Your ATM card or Checks
  • Nearly half of all shoppers plan to use debit cards or checks, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF)
  • Watch out for overdraft fees (they average about $27)
  • Realize that some merchants charge fees for certain purchases made with an ATM card
  • Get cash using your own bank’s ATM to avoid the $1 to $3 surcharge at other ATM networks

• 5. Don’t Get Just Any Old Gift Cards
  • Consumers will spend $50 billion on gift cards in 2009, with the average shopper spending $140 on gift cards this holiday season (source: NRF)
  • Certain gift cards have expiration dates, maintenance fees, transaction charges or even so-called “inactivity” fees

• The biggest culprits: gift cards issued by credit card companies, banks and shopping malls (source: NRF)
• Know the drawbacks of any gift cards you buy, give away or receive
• Good news: the Fed has proposed consumer-friendly gift card rules that would take effect in August 2010 – ahead of next year’s holiday season (among the changes; gift cards can’t expire before 5 years; and fees would be banned within the first year that they’re issued)
• In the meantime, if you get a gift card, use it ASAP!