Saving money is the name of the game when you’re looking to save money for retirement, fighting off debt, or just for the closure that you’re saving money.  I scoured the web for some of the best money saving websites / blog posts that I have found that are not only helpful to me, but probably helpful to you as well!

• #1 75 Painless Ways to Save Money - Great list of 75 ways that you can save money that you never would have thought of.
• #2 Money Saving Mom - Not only for Moms, but everyone looking for store deals, coupons, and more.
• #3 BillEater.com - Great site to find ways to save money on everything from your cell phone to insurance.
• #4 Money Saving Methods - Simple blog with a lot of effective tips.  Save with bank offers, shopping, and more.
• #5 7 Radical Ways to Save - Great articles written by MSN Money giving you 7 crazy ways to save.
• #6 100 Great Tips for Saving Money - Blog post written by those over at The Simple Dollar.   Simple, yet effective tips!
• #7 Our Family Place - A little outdated when you hit the site, but the tips are effective, and priceless.
• #8 20 Money Saving iPhone Apps - If you have the iPhone, these are applications that can help you save money!
• #9 Living a Better Life - A link chart just like the one I’m writing now.  Lots of other helpful money saving tips.
• #10 US News Money Saving Articles - A list of wonderful articles written by those over at US News.
• #11 Money Saving Madness - Great site for those looking for coupons, deals, and more at stores.
• #12 180 Ways to Save on Money - 180 tips written by those over at Frugal Law Student.  Lots of info!
• #13 1001 List of Saving Money - HUGE list of ways to save money.  You could spend all day on this post alone.
• #14 MyCCFinder - Great coupon blog that updates the top 5-7 offers of the day.  Everything ranging from free stuff to coupon codes.

These 14 sites should get you on the right track to spending.  The web is filled with thousands of saving tips, as well as ideas.  Read away and save today!

When you’re in debt and it’s all new to you, you’re going to find that many things are going to seem foreign, and while like anything, it’s going to take you a long time to learn something.  You may find that it’s going to be a lot easier to choose a group to help you with your debt troubles, and there’s nothing wrong with it!

I wanted to give you some pointers on how you can find the perfect group for yourself.  Since I want you to find someone good and not someone that’s in it for the money, it’s essential that you follow these steps!

#1 Make sure they are with the BBB - The Better Business Bureau is a God send when it comes down to finding what a company is all about.  Whether you find a company in a search, or even through their search, I would recommend that you don’t go with one with a grade lower than a B.

#2 Search the web - Let’s say that you find a company.  What you’re going to want to do is scour out the reviews.  Search for the company on search engines such as Google and Bing.  You should instantly get a vibe on what they are all about.  You don’t want to take every review with a grain of salt, because you will even find that the best of the best will even have negative views.

#3 Ask questions - Even if everything points to the good side, call up the company, and talk with them.  If they don’t have a phone number, you will find that is a red flag right there.  Make sure you call up, ask questions, and see how they are going to help you with your debts.

#4 Meet in person if possible - Most places aren’t going to have this option, but if they do, it’s going to be a big relief to you.  When you work with a company online, you’re going to find that it’s stressful to fax over 18 statements, and having to keep calling.  Instead, if you can set up a meeting, this is even better for you.

It’s really not that hard to find a debt relief group.  Just make sure that you do your homework, find one with a good grade, and make sure that it’s going to work for you.

For starters, check out Debt Consolidation Care.  They have helped over 166,000 people get out of debt, they have a high BBB rating, and people love them!

You pull out the credit card statements each and every month.  It seems like it’s never going to end.  Bill, after bill, how the heck are you supposed to pay these things off?  In all honesty, if you don’t have the money, there’s going to be no short term solution for fighting your credit card debt.

While there are solutions, you’re going to have to promise me that you’re going to work hard, have motivation, and tell yourself that you won’t stop, until your debt balance is a big fat $0.

Start with a budget - The first thing that you’re going to want to do is start with a budget.  Without a budget, you’re going to have no idea on where to go.  If you’re just throwing money at each bill each and every month, it’s going to be very hard to be organized.  A while back, I created a great budget spreadsheet that you can use to create your own budget.

Start with the highest interest rate - You can pay thousands over the life of your loan, if you’re just paying the minimum.  What you’re going to want to do is list each and every credit card.  You’re going to want to list the interest rate, the balance owed, as well as the minimum balance.  Here’s what it will look like.

Attack the highest – Now, with the example mentioned above, you’re going to put as much money as possible toward the Visa card, while you pay the minimum off on the other 2.  For example, if you have $450 left over at the end of the month to apply toward your debt, you will put $74 toward Mastercard, $55 toward Discover, and the remaining $321 toward Visa.  This way, you’re getting rid of the highest interest rate first.

Get another job - If you have to, get another job.  If you’re finding that it’s going to take you 10 years to pay off your debts, you may want to pick up a $8/hr 20 hour a week job.  No matter what they say about the economy, you can head to any job seeking site such as SnagAJob and find that there are thousands of jobs in your area!

Focus on the future – Watch your budget today and focus on what needs to be done.  How bad do you wan to get rid of your debt?  When your net worth is in the negatives, you can count on working for a long time.  How cool would it be to start saving and retiring for the future?  It can happen if you work hard enough!

There’s no magic formula, there’s no magic button in your backyard, and the more you read online, you will find that only one thing is going to get rid of debt, and that is money!

When you’re in debt, you’re going to find that it’s just like anything else that cause stress in life.  While a lot of things you just can’t control, you’re going to find that if you put your heart and soul into fighting debt, you really can get rid of it.

Let’s take a look at 5 ways that you can use, when you’re looking to get out of debt fast.

#1 Have a plan

The first thing that you want to do is have a plan.  Do you know where you will be in 5 years?  How much debt will have you have knocked off in 2 years?  When you’re organized, you’re going to feel a lot better about yourself.  Grab a piece of paper and start writing down your payment plan.

#2 Jobs = $$$

It’s that simple.  You can’t fight debt without having money.  If you’re finding that the jobs that you have now just aren’t cutting it, you’re going to want to find side jobs.   The best part time jobs in my opinion are those that you can do own your own, or at a local retail shop.   Use job seeking services such as SnagAJob that help you find hourly rate jobs.

#3 Focus

If you don’t have focus and you don’t have a plan, you’re not going to do it.  You’re going to want to be serious about it.  Have a carrot at the end of the stick.  What’s going to make you want to fight this debt?  Why do you want to get rid of it?  There is no magic formula, other than give the debtors your money.

#4 Haggle with them

You don’t have to pay your balance off in full.  For example, if you have a credit card balance of $15,000, you may be able to save up $8,000, and settle for that.  If you’re going to want to go this route, you’re going to want to make sure that you have a nice sum of money, in order to do so.  A while back, I wrote about how you can negotiate with the credit card companies.

#5 Spend wisely

Take a look at your budget and watch where your money is going.  Do you really need that Netflix $14 a month subscription?  Do you really need that $20 steak dinner on a Saturday night?  These are the things that you’re going to have to cut back, in order to dominate your debt.

Don’t fall for any magic tricks and know that you’re going to want to focus on yourself, rather than finding a fast way out.  There isn’t a fast way, unless you have a big pile of money fall on your lap!  Focus, have motivation, make that money, and you should see your debt slowly fade away.

I don’t care if you have ten thousand dollars in the bank, or if you have nothing at all.  I believe it’s always important to live life frugal, rather than spending when you have no idea what the price tag even is.

When you say the word, “cheap”, people generally think of people that want a lot for nothing, but that isn’t the case.  You can get the same items that other people get, but for half the price.  Coupons, discounts, and deals can take you a long way.

Today, I wanted to give you some great frugal tips that you can use to make your life a lot easier on your wallet.

#1 Look at your entertainment packages

The first thing that I would look at is your entertainment.  Look at your cable, Internet, and phone bill.  Can you narrow them down at all?  A lot of companies today will give you a discount when you get a bulk package.  Consider packaging up your items, and saving money that way.  If you want, you can also consider getting free TV on the Internet, or downgrading your Internet speeds.

#2 Always get in the habit of coupons

There are honestly coupons out there for everything.  From getting your oil changed, all the way to getting food at your local diner.  You can find a lot these in your local coupon books that come in the mail, or you can consider websites like Restaurant.com, or even the Entertainment book.

#3 Consider used over new

This is the case with just about anything again, besides your groceries.   When you’re looking for appliances, consider used.  When you’re looking for a car, consider buying used.  I think you get my drift here.  Places like eBay and Craiglist can save you hundreds!

#4 Use a debit card or prepaid credit card

When you generally use a credit card, you’re soon going to find out that you may spend more than what you have.  It’s rather hard to keep track of what you spend on a credit card.  I would recommend that you highly consider applying for either a debit card through your local bank, or using a prepaid credit card to better track your finances.

#5 Watch the entertainment prices outside of home

When you go to the movies, consider going on a Wednesday.  If your movie theater offers a reward program, I would recommend signing up.  It’s free and you can get a lot of goodies!  Rent your movies from your local Redbox for a $1, and if you don’t have a $1, consider looking for free redbox movie codes online.

#6 Look at your insurance policies

If you’re paying top dollar for your home, auto, and any other type of insurance, you may want to look at your deductibles.  You may want to higher them, so that you can lower your monthly payment.  There’s no reason to pay top dollar for a $150 deductible.  Raise it up to $500+ and save a few hundred on each bill!  The same can go with your health insurance.  Get a higher deductible plan and you can literally save thousands over the year!

#7 Watch the utilities

Turn off lights when you don’t need them.  Shut off the vents in the rooms that you don’t need to heat up, and get a programmable thermostat.  When you sleep at night, set your thermostat down to 60.  There’s no reason to heat up a room, when you’re underneath the blankets.

#8 Pack your lunch

A lot of workers make the mistake of purchasing a  lunch every day.  If you think about how much you’re spending, you would be sick to your stomach.  You have to figure you’re spending $5-$10 a day.  Multiply that by 5 times a week over a year, and you get over $2,000 in lunches!  Pack your lunch and slash that bill easily by 80%.

The list can go on and on.  The important part here is to make sure that you use your head.  It really isn’t that hard to save money.  Hopefully, these tips can get you off your feet, in order to save the money that you want to save!