Frustrated with my lack of discipline and spending habits, I’ve launched a month-long experiment in my life to see if I can achieve a significant level of saving in a single month by putting the screwed to my spending.

Since I’ve been traveling all week, I’ve been taking note about the financial needs for similar experiences as I’ve been having.  Traveling obviously requires money, but it varies based on your needs and expectations.  Here are some tips to assist with the process of budgeting, planning and saving for your next trip:
Use Points For Air & Hotel
I don’t take any trips where I pay out of pocket for air or hotel.  Period.  If I don’t have the points, then I don’t take the trip.  I’m serious here. Obviously, this is …

Students often get too wrapped up in living by themselves to even realize that they’re probably overspending on many common things. Almost every college in the country has the following facilities, and if you’re smart about the way you utilize them, you can save yourself some money each month on your student expenses. In no particular money saving order…
Gym
Most students already take advantage of the free gym and workout facilities their colleges have, but some students are still paying out of pocket for monthly gym memberships. The number one reason …

Finding the willpower to set a budget every month while you’re a university student is one of the hardest things you’ll do during your academic career. Many students become reckless once they enroll at university and forget that they’re now responsible for their personal finances. Losing track of money or overspending on clothes or fun could not only put you in the red with mom and dad, but in extreme circumstances could result in you losing track of paying rent. If you don’t want to lose your first apartment or …

We all know that being a full time college student is a rough time financially and finding extra money other than a few quarters lodged between the couch cushions is a tough feat. Unfortunately, there is no easy way to save money while you’re paying your own bills. The only way to make sure money goes into your savings account each month is to budget properly and set aside monthly savings as an expense so that you’re “forced” to deposit money into savings instead of just hoping you have some …

When it comes to your financial progress, you’re either winning or losing.  In your financial life, are you winning right now?  If not, why not?  What are the obstacles holding you back?  What are the challenges you’re struggling to overcome.  I encourage you to talk to someone, or leave a comment here and get some feedback and encouragement.
Unfortunately, with the very tough economic climate, I fear that most people out there are not winning right now.  The problem is that during the good times, when more money was coming in, …

In my recent post, Planning for Various Expenses [Nov 19, 2009], I talked about the different kinds of expenses, the best ways to manage them and prepare for them and how it relates to overall savings targets.  I’d like to continue the discussion here, looking into the specific expenses in my life.
First, my savings goals are at least $15,000 a year.  Most of this will come from additional income, i.e. sales commissions, but the more I can have left over from my base income from my regular expenses, that obviously …

I have an American Express that I use religiously.  I put almost every dollar on it that I spend each month.  Also, I’m fortunate to be able to put significant business expenses on it.  The result is that I accumulate some pretty significant rewards points.
The Rewards points are great.  I use them primarily for travel where I will get airfare, hotel and even rental cars for free.  Even this past weekend, I decided to take a weekend at a new W Hotel with the wife on the beach.  I even …