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When fighting your way through tough economic times, it is better to try and face down these money troubles instead of closing your eyes and hoping they’ll go away. They won’t. There are many steps you can do to minimise the impact of the economic downturn, and they must be taken now.

Accumulate funds for emergency savings. Regardless of what other finances you may have it is vital to have instant and easy access to an emergency savings fund. As a general rule its good to have enough in your savings to survive without an income for around three months. The best place to park this money would be in a high interest savings account.

Save more. Try to arrange for an automatic savings plan. This arrangement enables you to set aside specific amounts of cash automatically transferred from a checking account to savings accounts earning high interest or to a mutual fund of your choice. A high interest savings account should be used but you should choose one with easy access. Simply having a retirement fund is not enough as you can’t get access to that money now.

Reduce your spending. This move may be obvious, but it can be a very hard step to take. Bundle your cell and landline phones together to save money. By bundling your communications you can normally get substantial discounts. You should compare the deals on offer to choose the best package. Cut spending on your groceries by joining a food co-op or buying only generic or supermarket brands. Bum rides in a car pool or take public transport instead. If you have two cars and one is seldom used, consider selling the other one. Put all the money you save in an online savings account intended for the rainy days.

Reduce credit card debt. You have to find ways to stretch your money further in tough times. It does not make sense to shell out your hard-earned money to pay 17 per cent (or whatever) interest on debt from credit cards. Try to pay off in full the balance due each month; if that is difficult, at least pay much more than the minimum amount. Consider moving from credit to debit cards

Increase household income. This could be tough to do during the recession. You may be able to find creative ways of generating extra money using your skills. If you write, or do photography, or are able to do some other marketable skills, you can try freelancing on your spare time. In single income households the partner could try and take on casual or one off jobs for extra income. You could start a small business which might blossom into something bigger once the recession is over.

Utilise allowable tax deductions. Be on the lookout for tax deductible expenses such as education, charitable donations and your home office. Be religious about keeping every related receipt, so you can use these to support tax deduction claims. Put the money saved on personal tax deductions into your high interest savings account.

Spruce up your résumé. Recessions can lead to more layoffs. It is best to polish the résumé to make it current, in case the need to apply for a new job arises. Try and get the resume down to one or two pages to keep it concise. Make it presentable, but not flashy. Highlight your relevant work skills and experience.

Act quickly to protect your finances from the recession. This will give you a strong sense of purpose even as it shores up your position.

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Saving money takes time and discipline, but with the right strategy and a good savings account you can reach your savings goals a lot faster than you might think.

Many of the good things in life cost money and saving for big items like cars, boats, or even houses, can take months or years. It is possible to hit your savings goals and get the things you want much faster with a well planned strategy and goals.

Before you begin to plan your saving strategy, you should open a good high yield savings account if you don’t already have one. This will allow you to keep your savings completely separate from the rest of your money and will pay a higher interest rate. Also, if you are willing to leave the money untouched for a certain number of months, or even years, you should be able to get an even better interest rate. The market is flooded with savings account offers so do some comparison to find an account with high interest and low fees.

Once you have a savings account set up it is time to set your savings goals. The crucial factors are how much you need to save and what kind of timeframe you have in mind. Search online for a ’savings goal calculator’ to see how much your going to need to save to hit your goals and how regular deposits and interest rates can impact this.

Don’t stretch yourself too far. If necessary, establish a longer timeframe so you can save without putting yourself under too much pressure. Alternatively, you could take a detailed look at your personal spending to see how you can save money here and there. Are there some day-to-day luxuries you are willing to part with to help you reach your savings goals?

The best thing to do now is create a household budget to get a good idea of all your typical ingoings and outgoings each month. It is better to over-estimate here to make sure you have enough to live comfortably. If you find you have money left over each month you can easily deposit to your savings account.

Once you do your calculations and decide how much you need to put away each week/month, there are a few steps you can take to make the process easier. Arrange for direct credits into your savings account from your salary or bank account and treat it as money not available to spend everyday. Alternatively, many employers can organize for the money to be deducted from your salary and deposited in your nominated savings account. This will reduce the temptation to spend and get your money working for you in your savings account as early as possible.

If you can do so it is critical to avoid debt wherever you can. If you have longer term, larger loans then you will just have to factor that into your budget. However, any new debt, and especially credit card debt, should be avoided at all costs. Attempting to save while trying to tackle an expensive credit card debt is like taking one step forward and two steps back.

When you start out your goals might seem a long way away but with some commitment those goals can be reached. For longer-term savings goals you may find that your circumstances change during the process and you can save the money even faster than expected.

Article by Richard from Click 4 savings comparison group of sites which compare products including. Visitors can compare products including Suncorp Savings and then apply online with the bank.

Technorati Tags: high interest savings, online savings accounts, saving money, savings accounts

Are you the type of person who is a savvy money manager?  Or do you usually find yourself barely surviving until your next paycheck arrives? If you are still living paycheck to paycheck then now is the time to grab control of your financial situation, plan your spending and save money via a high interest savings account.

You don’t know if unexpected expenses lay ahead so it is sensible to set up a savings account. This is a secure way of saving money in a bank, with the added bonus of earning a particular percentage of interest for the amount that you will deposit.

Saving Money 101: How to Create a Spending

If you’re like the average person, there would be a lot of instances when, after withdrawing $100 from the ATM machine, you will wonder where all the money went about a day later.

This usually happens because you are not keeping tabs on your spending habits. This is not a good method if you are dedicated about building your savings account that you have opened.

So what’s the best way that you can use to get a head start with saving money? You can do it the old-fashioned way: by creating a spending diary, keeping track of your spending habits and adding money to your savings account so that you can start saving money.

Basically, the spending diary will allow you to monitor the ins and outs of your finances and keep track of your savings account and saving money habits. Going back to the example mentioned earlier – if you did take out $100 from your savings account through an ATM machine, you will see where that amount actually went.

After withdrawing the money, write down on your spending diary which items you bought with that $100. Did you spend it to buy coffee or a magazine on your way to work? Did you use it to buy food? Or did you have an ‘attack’ on your conscience and you actually put that amount towards your savings account?

If you’re spending money via a debit card instead of cash then you can double check your spending by viewing your bank statements with online banking.

Once you have developed the habit of writing down on your spending diary the ins and outs of your finances, you will be able to see which aspects of your spending you can actually cut back on. If you see that you’re spending too much on eating breakfast outside of the house on your way to work, you may want to pack a hearty sandwich for yourself. Better yet, wake up earlier and enjoy the financial and health benefits of eating a nutritious breakfast at home.
You might be surprised at just how faster you will be able to save money and actually add funds to your savings account once you are already keeping a spending diary. This way, you will be able to determine which purchases are wasteful and which ones should be once-in-a-while indulgences.

In addition, your savings account will be given a boost because the money that you will be able to save from the unnecessary purchases can go towards saving money instead. Keeping a spending diary takes a little getting used to at first. However, once you have gotten used to the notion of keeping tabs of your spending, saving money will be much more instinctive and less of a burden or a chore for you.

Post by Richard Greenwood who runs a number of sites to help people compare credit cards and other money products and then apply online.

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