Moved by the rice crisis and the never ending oil price hike, I was able to write this post on practical money saving tips to help ordinary people from different walks of life. Many have been crippled financially as our economy begins to feel the impact of the global economic crisis. Rice shortage and increasing oil prices are just some the financial woes of Filipinos nowadays.

Here are three of my tips in buying cheaper goods. These tips are based on my experience and have been very useful to me.

1.) Purchase wholesale – If one goes to a local grocery store and compare prices between small items or repacks and larger items of the same product, such as 500 grams and 1 kilo of washing machine detergent, he will notice that as the size of the item gets bigger, it becomes cheaper. These bigger items are usually stamped with “Save Php. 15.00″ or “Save Php. 20.00″ and the more you buy in bulk, the more savings you get. So purchasing in wholesale rather than in small repacks is a wiser decision and should be seriously considered in buying. This is the reason why I put this as my number one tip.

2.) Industrial Suppliers Sell Cheaper – Most grocery stores buy directly from industrial supplier because it is cheaper. The reason behind this is because industrial suppliers make their own products or buy it in bulk. So if you get to buy directly from these industrial suppliers you will have the luxury of buying at the cheapest level. The “buy in bulk” principle got me started to explore this possibility when I tried to buy a sack of detergent soap. Since no grocery store sells detergent soap in sacks, I asked around and found out that laundry shops sell detergent soap at P 80.00 per kilo. I was also given a much cheaper offer from my friend who also owns a laundry shop. So why is this discovery important? Well for one, one kilo of detergent soap sells around P 300 in a grocery store. Number two, it proves my point of going directly to the industrial supplier for cheaper items. The reason why most laundry shops are able to sell detergent soaps so cheaply is because the manufacture their own and these soaps are of the same quality as their commercialize counterparts. Even if you cannot apply this tip to all everyday items yet it can still become very useful when it comes to household items.

3.) The Right Supplier Sells Cheaper – Though this tip may seem similar to the one I posted previously, it is important to not that the previous post talked about not buying in a convenience store while this tip is concerned about choosing the right supplier who can offer the cheapest price for certain goods. For example, the wet market sell cheaper when it comes to vegetables, fish and meat products because vendors bought it direct from farmers and fishermen. On the other hand, grocery stores offer the cheap can goods and other dry goods because the are able to buy in bulk from industrial suppliers.

Click here to learn more about the money saving tips and other tips on saving money at the blog of Zigfred Diaz

Retirement may be a long, long way off for you or it may be right around the corner. It doesn’t how near or far away it is, you have absolutely got to start investing for it right now. However, saving for retirement isn’t what it used to be with the increase in the cost of living and the instability of social security. Nowadays, you have to invest for your retirement, as opposed to saving for it!

We shall commence by looking at the retirement plan, which is offered by your company. Not so long ago, these plans were quite sound. However, after the Enron collapse and all the problems which followed, people aren’t as confident in their company retirement plans anymore. However, if you decide not to invest in your company’s retirement scheme, there are other things you can do.

First of all, you can invest in bonds, certificates of deposit, money market accounts, mutual funds and stocks in alphabetical order. You do not have to state to anybody that the returns on these investments are to be used for retirement fund. Simply let your money increase over a period of time, and when an investment reaches its maturity date or value, reinvest it and continue to let your money grow.

You can also open an Individual Retirement Account (IRA). IRAs are quite popular because the money is not taxed until you withdraw the funds. You may also be able to deduct your IRA contributions from the taxes that you owe. An IRA can be opened at most banks.

A ROTH IRA is a much newer type of retirement account. With a Roth, you pay taxes on the money that you invest in your ROTH IRA account, but when you cash out, no federal taxes are owed. Roth IRAs can also be opened at most larger financial institutions.

Another popular very type of retirement account is the 401(k). 401(ks) are typically offered through employers, but you may be able to open a 401(k) on your own. You should speak with a financial advisor or an accountant to help you decide whether this is right for you.

The Keogh plan is another type of IRA which is more suitable for self employed people. Self-employed small business owners may also be interested in Simplified Employee Pension Plans (SEP). This is another kind of Keogh scheme that people typically find easier to administer than a normal Keogh plan.

Whichever retirement investment scheme you decide on, please make sure you do pick one! Again, do not depend on social security, company retirement plans, or even an inheritance which may or may not come through! Take care of your financial future by investing in one kind of investment right now.

If you or anyone you know is nearing retirement, please visit our web site at Retirement and Pensions

When you start dealing with student loan consolidation companies you are going to find that there are a great many people that are willing to help you, work with you, and figure it out with you. There are more student loans that are outstanding at this time than any other time in history. This is an obvious effect of the economic situation that wasn’t so obvious four to six years ago.

The struggles of today’s economy have become a harsh reminder that no matter how well we prepare ourselves, we can not prepare the world. We can only try to do the best we can at any given moment.

The good news is that loan consolidation plans can be highly beneficial when it comes to developing a monthly payment arrangement that you can actually afford. For many people, the consolidation companies are the only ticket to managing all of their numerous and varied financial responsibilities.

Of course, when you initially applied for the loan there was no magic crystal ball that foretold of your good or bad fortune ahead. The loan was based solely on probabilities. You had no sustainable income record to attribute your post graduate job with.

There are numerous students and graduates that have found there are many difficulties in today’s economy that they just didn’t count on. You can always try to defer your loans, but the final result may very likely be the same. If you do not have a means to pay them off in a year, you will still need the student loan debt consolidation services in order to lower your payments.

One of the most important aspects of getting out from under the situation is clear and simple. How much longer will you be paying on the loan and what does this do to your credit? In some cases, you won’t be paying on the loan that much longer. The idea of consolidation is to lower your monthly payment by combining the payments and lowering the overall interest. However, in order to drop the payment, sometimes the terms of the loans are spread out for a longer period of time.

Student consolidation loan companies are part of careful analysis of the next best move for you. It may or may not be your goal to end up with a post graduate degree, but you do know that many of your goals and dreams are put on hold while you figure out how and if you can ever repay your school loans.

Are you planning to refinance student loans? Get student loan help for those who desperately need it at Pay-Off-Student-Loan.com

Business owners often face a lot of debt when they first open their business. They have loans to pay off and often credit cards as well. If your business is struggling it can be very difficult to keep up with all of the payments before going under. Many times, the interest rates are just too high to keep up with. To help you out, some companies have started providing small business owners with loan consolidation, giving you a chance to get out of debt in the fastest and easiest way possible.

Before you ask for loan consolidation, you should make sure all of your finances are organized. Sometimes this can be very difficult, especially if you have no experience in a business setting. To help you get a good deal on a loan, and the one that’s best for you, make sure you have a statement that verifies your businesses income, its expenses, and all of your debt. Your debt statement should also include the interest rates that you are paying. By looking at these your lender will be able to figure out the best course of action for you.

The bank also offers consolidation loans if you don’t want to use a private lender. Sometimes the guidelines are stricter based on what guidelines corporate has set up for them. However, seeking loan consolidation from a bank is a good place to start if you have decent credit. Ask for the loan officer and fill out the application that he or she gives you. You will be able to determine what type of loan that will work best for you by talking to them about your business and your situation, and they may ask for other paperwork to be provided with your application. Make sure you turn it in as soon as possible so it doesn’t go out of date.

There are also some organizations that are willing to give you loans. Some are geared directly towards helping small business owners get back on their feet. Not only can these organizations help get you a loan, but they can teach you effective methods for running your business as well.

After checking through your various options you will need to pick a financial institution or organization that you will want to get the loan through. Start by filling out an application and including the documents that were mentioned above. You may want to even create a document with the time frame in which you plan to pay the lender back.

If you’re unable to get a loan to consolidate your debt you can also try getting a new credit card with a low interest rate. Sometimes this is even a better option if you’re able to pay it off before the initial bonus ends. When you’re trying to consolidate debt you should try to find the best solution for the situation at hand.

Layla Vanderbilt is the webmaster for a leading website that offers for bad debt consolidation advice and guidance.

Credit Repair Attorney: How to Decide if You Need One to Clean up Negative Items

Fixing a bad credit report is not a pleasant experience. There are basically two ways of going about the credit repair process.

Many people decide first to fix their own credit only to discover the process is much more involved than they expected. This is because they are trying to save a few dollars by going the inexpensive route.

Unfortunately you may discover that repairing bad credit is one of those projects that only appears easy. There is so much to the process including legal research and writing, which is challenging even for credit lawyers at times.

If you are not the type of person who enjoys legal research in your free time, or don’t have patience for translating wordy statutes and confusing case laws from around the country, then this might not be for you. But if you are determined enough to plow through the stacks of law books, then you should expect to spend at least a a few Sunday afternoons researching applicable credit laws at your local library.

Assuming you are able to understand the case law and statutes, then you have to move onto the more important part of credit repair. The next step is to write a coherent and compelling dispute letter. You will need to cite the applicable case law and disputed items.

For example, the credit bureaus are trained to be on the lookout for those people trying do it yourself credit repair. They can easily spot the dispute letters written by amateurs. This can be a problem since credit bureaus are infamous for ignoring badly written dispute letters.

Even if you are a good writer, you probably are not going to enjoy standing in line at the post office. To ensure your dispute receives a proper investigation, you will need to mail the letter via United States Certified Mail.

By now you are probably wishing you had more free time. Mailing dispute letters via certified mail takes a lot of time. Unless you are extremely casual about how you spend your free time, this is probably not worth your time.

Disputing bad credit errors on your own also takes an organized office space and a strategic plan. For example, you will need a spreadsheet to track the progress of each disputed item. Plus, you will need to give yourself reminders or some type of alert in the event the bureaus or creditors have allowed the proper investigation period to expire.

As you can see credit repair is not a fun experience. There are so many better and more efficient uses of your time. Plus, it is difficult to learn and apply complex legal statutes and case law to your unique credit experience.

I Fixed my Terrible Credit. My beacon Score is up to 745. Lexington Law Works. See Documented Proof at www.creditforcouples.com