Budgeting in the new year
Written by Moveforfree on January 12, 2011 – 2:49 pm -
Whenever I think of budgets, money, credit cards etc… I think of this ridiculously funny and true sketch from Saturday Night Live with guest host Steve Martin.
The sad thing is, credit card debt happens to a lot of people and yet it is so easily avoidable. If you don’t have the actual money for something, than don’t buy it. I’m not a saint in this department. I have a car payment and a student loan. I’m even working down a very minor credit card debt, but from these experiences I’ve learned a thing or two about creating a good budget and sticking to it. Here are a few tips I’ve picked up along the way:
1) Start out with your monthly income… the exact number (i.e. what you get on your paycheck AFTER taxes). Then add in any other incomes that you will definitely earn, such as a regular babysitting job or any other side jobs.
2) Once you do that, go through your bills and figure out how much each one of them are for and on what day they are usually due. If the bill has a fluctuating amount from month to month, like your energy bill, either write down a range from lowest to expected highest, or an average of the two.
3) Once you have all your bills written down, go through your bank statements and look to see what you spend your money on: eating at restaurants, gas for your car, gifts, grocery shopping, clothes, etc… Make a special column for grocery shopping, dinning out, gasoline, entertainment, etc…, and put an estimate of how much money you think you will spend each month on those things. I’m realistic and always over estimate. You could even track how many times you fill your gas tank in a month and get a pretty good estimate for that.
4) Make sure you include things that you spend money on every once in a while too. If you get your car checked once a year for a routine maintenance, then just divide that number by 12 and put that into your monthly budget.
5) Put all of this information into an Excel type spreadsheet. If your expenses are more than your income, go back and see where you can slim down some of the non-essentials. If you have a pretty good difference between your expenses and your monthly income, make another row for your savings. It is never a bad idea to start and continue saving money. Whether it be for an upcoming vacation, or those unplanned expenses, saving is always a good idea.
6) Another thing that has REALLY helped me be more responsible with my money, is when I get paid, I write down in my checkbook register the bills that need to be paid before my next paycheck. These include rent, cable bill, car payment; everything I know the exact amount of. For example, say I get paid next Tuesday. On Tuesday, I will write in my check register the amount of my paycheck and balance the total amount. Then I will look at my calendar and write in my register all the bills that are due before my next paycheck and balance the final amount. This way I know EXACTLY home much I truly have in my checking account and will be able to spend/save. I used to just check my bank account online without keeping track myself. This resulted in many an overdraft fee. While checking online can be a good habit, the bank sometimes can be slow and not post things for a couple days.
7) Along with the previous tip, I write down EVERYTHING in my checkbook register that I use my debit card for. I normally don’t carry cash, so I usually use my debit card. This way I have little chance of overdrafting my account. This could result in major fees from the bank. So far this has worked out really well for me.
8 ) In my opinion, if you don’t have to have a credit card, then I highly suggest that you don’t get one. I can not express how much credit card debt can ruin your credit. Those small payments can really add up.
9) My Mom always told me to try not to let my account dip below $100, and just pretend like that money isn’t there.
10) If you do have credit card debt, stop using that credit card! It’s going to get harder and harder to pay back if you keep putting money on it. Also, check your interest rate on the card. It could be as high as 30%!!! If you find that your interest is crazy high, see if you can transfer your balance to another card with a lower interest rate through your bank.
Hopefully you found these tips useful. Remember if you are moving this year, look for ways to save money, like using moveforfree! You know I had to throw that in somewhere, but seriously, it can save you a TON of money on moving expenses.
Tags: budget, credit card, debt, Money, Moving, tips
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How are boxes made?
Written by Moveforfree on December 29, 2010 – 3:10 pm -Have you ever wondered how boxes were invented and how they are made? Well, if you are anything like me than it’s probably never crossed your mind. Boxes are one of those things that you see and use all the time but never really think much about. Just for fun you should watch this video from the Science Channel series; How It’s Made.
So there you have it! How boxes are made. Just remember this next time you start to pack for your next move.
Tags: Boxes, how its made, Moving, Packing
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Saving money on boxes and packing material.
Written by Moveforfree on December 1, 2010 – 2:57 pm -So we all know by now that moving is super stressful. With so much to do, you don’t even want to think about where you are going to find boxes or buying packing material.
Here are a couple of tips to make your box, packing material- finding adventures less stressful. Now all you have to worry about is what kind of white you want to paint your new bedroom; eggshell or pearl?
- Liquor stores have great boxes. Not only are they super sturdy, they are great to hold glassware because they have the nifty divider in it. Plus, the shopkeepers are usually eager to give them away for free.
- Grocery stores are also great places to find boxes. Go in when they are stocking the shelves and they will gladly give you their boxes.
- Try a recycling site like freecylce.org, which provides a list of stuff people are giving away for free in your area. People are always trying to get rid of their boxes. Also, when your move is over you can find someone else on there that may need them.
- Packing material is easier to come by then you think. You know all those unused plastic grocery bags crowding your closet? Those make a perfect scratch and break resistant material.
- Instead of buying a ton of newspapers pick up a bunch of the free papers at your local post office, grocery store or wherever they give those papers away. (Just be sure to leave some for the people that actually do read them.)
- One thing you don’t really want to skimp on though is packing tape. Good tape can really make or “break” your precious belongings. (hahaha like my pun?)
Now since you of course used moveforfree.com to find your new apartment and move your stuff for free, you just saved yourself A TON of money! Three cheers for saving money!
Tags: Boxes, moveforfree, Moving, Packing, saving money
Posted in Boxes, Moving, Packing | 1 Comment »
Moving Horror Stories!
Written by Moveforfree on October 27, 2010 – 2:28 pm -Moving stories are sometimes like “scar” stories. Telling the story of a stressful and painful move can be just as unpleasant as recalling how you got a certain scar on your body. Moving is considered one of the top five most stressful situations a person go through in their life; right next to getting married and death. Since Halloween is coming up this weekend I thought it would be a good time to share some moving horror stories from real people, who quite honestly wish they would have used moveforfree or had the option of moveforfree during their move.
We moved into our first purchased house on my 29th birthday, deep into July, in Houston. Hot. The moving van we rented had six foot high doors. I’m 6′ 1″. I ducked just right most of the time… but late in the day, I missed it, hit the… top of my head, and for a moment, the heavens opened and I saw Grandma again, beckoning for me to come into the light…
~ Pete B.
“Well everything I own for some reason weighs a ton so when I started packing all the boxes and everything felt like it was filled with lead….I actually had a box of rocks….yup rocks, since I collect raw gem formations ……when I moved in I had to move all that stuff on my own which wasn’t too bad since I was 5 years younger and in good shape…..but now when I moved out I was older and waaaay out of shape……but thank God I had another older waaaay out of shape friend come help with most of it LOL…..2 old guys huffin and sweatin up and down stairs scaring the new tenants……had to take a break after every haul so we didn’t die of heat exhaustion, dehydration or just from utter and completely failure to be healthy……finished with only about a 10% breakage… Woot?”
~Bradley B.
“I had been kicked out of dorms, but my apartment wasn’t ready when they said it would be. So I stayed with my aunt, but I basically had to live out of my car. I was driving with every single thing I owned in my car. I couldn’t see out the back window… It’s funny now. Lol.”
~Ana F.
“I had movers that promised to show at 2 and didn’t actually come until 10 PM! I didn’t get moved until after midnight. The movers “used to be” professionals, but “forgot to take themselves out of the phone book. I guess they only moved office furniture, but did moving as a side kinda thing. They were REALLY cheap. I guess you what you pay for. I also tipped them in beer. It’s a very long story.”
~Julie F.
“Army movers! They come, pack all your stuff for you and ship it for you. This includes your underwear drawer, which having a very big large man packing your undergarments is horrific.”
~Sarrah H.
We all make mistakes in our lives. But you know what they say… “live and learn.” Next time you know what to do… use Moveforfree.com. No need to haul those heavy rocks by yourself or wait until 10 PM to move!! We want to take moving out of the top five stressful events. And oh yeah, have a
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!
Tags: Apartment Locating, Halloween, horror stories, moveforfree, Moving
Posted in Moving | 1 Comment »
How Does it Work?
Written by Moveforfree on August 25, 2010 – 9:00 am -Pink Floyd may have said “‘We don’t need no education,” but boy they couldn’t have been further from the truth.
For every question that you may have, we have a wonderful and brilliant answer for you!
I asked all of our fantastic locators, what was the most asked question by MoveforFREE customers was. Honestly, the answer was unanimous! All of them said…
How Does it Work?!!
I think people are skeptical of how exactly we work and how a move can really be free. So, I decided to lay it all out for you, straight from the horses mouth. This is exactly how moveforfree works.
Moveforfree.com is a free online apartment locating company. Like all locating companies, we are paid a commission by properties for referring clients to their properties. Unlike other locating companies, we share our commission with our clients by offering them a Free Move or a Cash Voucher, if they prefer that over the free move option. The free move or the cash voucher are a thank you to the customer for using our locating service and listing us as a referral on the guest card and the lease application.
The locators also said that the second most asked question is “What all do you move for free?” You can find the answer to that question here.
We do all we can to make our customers happy and satisfied. We even have customers that use us every time they move. Like this guy who was a three time moveforfree veteran.
We have been around for 10 years and we plan to be around for many many more.
You have just been educated!!
Tags: Apartment Locating, free, how we work, Moving, questions, texas
Posted in Apartment Locating, Community, Money, Moving | No Comments »
Look Ma! We’re on TV!
Written by Moveforfree on August 10, 2010 – 1:40 pm -Spreading the word about MoveforFREE is so much fun… especially when we get to go on TV and tell everyone in TV land about us! Colleen and Ashley, those energetic girls from our testimonial vids, got an incredible opportunity to go on, not one but TWO morning talk shows to talk about how MoveforFREE works and how incredibly easy it really is. Be sure to let us know if you saw them on any of these shows. You can leave a comment here or go to our Facebook or Twitter pages and leave a shout out.
Here they are on Great Day Houston talking with the host Deborah Duncan. (aired July 27, 2010)
And in Dallas on Good Morning Texas with host Amy Vanderoef. (aired July 29, 2010)
Colleen and Ashley had a great time and best of all got to tell everyone about MoveforFREE.com.
Colleen and Ashley with the host of Great Day Houston, Deborah Duncan.
Behind the scenes of Great Day Houston.
Hanging backstage with Good Morning Texas host Amy Vanderoef.
Good Morning Texas set.
Tags: Apartment Locating, dallas, Good Morning Texas, Great Day Houston, Houston, moveforfree, Moving
Posted in Apartment Locating, Events, Videos | No Comments »
Testimonial Tuesday: The Letter
Written by Moveforfree on July 20, 2010 – 10:43 am -
In the age of email, Facebook and Twitter, the hand- mailed (snail mail) letter has gotten lost along the way. Getting a letter now, shows that the person who sent it really took the time and energy to tell you something important. A couple of weeks ago we received a letter in the mail from a VERY satisfied customer. It meant a lot to us that Jordan L. took the time to type, print, get an envelope, get a stamp and mail this letter to us. Jordan told us that she was relocating from Houston to Dallas and the fact that moveforfree was there for her every step of the way made the things a whole lot easier. In fact she said, “I was far less stressed during this move than any other time in my moving history.” Now without further ado here is Jordan’s testimonial… The Letter.
My name is Jordan L., and I just finished my move yesterday into my new place. I have to say, this experience is the best I ever had. I do not compliment often, for the mere fact that customer service has, in my opinion, severely declined over the past years. However, this experience is one that I am unable to over look with regards to giving recognition.
I should have prefaced the first of this letter by saying that I am a manager in service- oriented industry and understand the true outcomes that good, quality customer service can have on a business. The associates that I was fortunate enough to become assigned to are phenomenal at their job an at giving quality customer service.
I will have to admit that I was a bit skeptical of the moveforefree.com business model and how it was feasible to operate successfully, but after everything (and everyone) working like clock work to satisfy me (the customer), I am truly dumbfounded by all I received.
During a move, it is obviously a stressful time for anyone, and had it not been for the follow up and constant attention to detail by the representatives that I was assigned to, I would have had major issues in my ability to get the move completed. Not only were the associates there beforehand, they were also there during the move as well. I was moving from Houston to Dallas and got a late start after the first movers arrived and your team was able to work with the movers to have my window of arrival pushed back to accommodate me and my tardiness- this is something I would have never thought to be possible.
I am truly amazed at the overall outcome of this moving endeavor. and it not been for your company employing great people, I don’t know that I would been in the great spot that I am currently enduring. I cannot say thank you enough for the quality work and dedication your associates have put in to making this a satisfying experience for me.
I have already begun to solicit others to use your site. This is an experience that I will tell to anyone and everyone I know who is looking to move in the near future. Your associates have taken me from a pessimist to an optimist in a short amount of time, and that is something I cannot say very often about customer service.
Again, thank you for existing and having such great and talented people helping your customers, it will truly pay dividends in your growing future. I wish your company the best of luck in your endeavor to grow, I hope to one day utilize your services again.
Thank you so much Jordan for sending us this wonderful letter! I would like to give a very special shout out to Shari who was Jordan’s locator and Deedra and Courtney who assisted Jordan during her move. They work very hard everyday to help people find their new place and get them moved into their new apartments. You guys rock! Thank you for all your years of service.
If you would like to send us a testimonial we love them in all forms: letters, emails, phone calls, Facebook/ Twitter posts, sky writing and billboards etc…
Don’t forget if you would like to take some pictures or video during your move, just swing on by our Facebook page and post them on up. We love to hear from our customers and how they are doing in their new apartments.
Tags: Apartment Locating, letter, Moving, testimonial
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Testimonial Tuesday: House —> Apartment
Written by Moveforfree on May 25, 2010 – 1:10 pm -So you already know that MoveforFREE.com can move you from one apartment to another. But did you know that we can also move you from a house to an apartment? Well we can!
Is your nest empty or just need to downsize? Look no further.
Take it from one moveforFREE customer who had been living in a house for over 25 years. Here is what MoveforFREE newbie Ms. Mayes had to say.
“It had been 25 years since I last moved and this service made it so easy and the workers were very nice and worked hard.”
We are happy to make your next transition the easiest it can be.
Tags: apartment, Apartment Locating, house, move for free, Moving, testimonial tuesday
Posted in Apartment Locating, Testimonials | 1 Comment »
Our Trip to Houston
Written by Moveforfree on March 19, 2010 – 9:30 am -We had a great time in Houston last week! Saw some beautiful new apartments and got to hang out with one of our fabulous locators; Mary. (She even gave us some of her fabulous peanut brittle to take home.)
And we’re off!
Almost there…
Our first stop was at the beautiful new CityCentre area, located off Beltway 8 and I-10. CityCentre is a gorgeous new area of town where you can work, live, eat, shop, and play all in one area.
Then we met up with one of our fabulous locators, Mary, to shoot some video of the two apartment properties that they have there.
First we went to the Domain Apartments.
What a gorgeous place this would be to call home. I think the pictures say way more than I could.
Then we were off to the Lofts at CityCentre.
This place was so tranquil and serene. It felt like I was stepping into a spa.
The lease at the Lofts also includes a membership to the Lifetime Fitness Center about a block away.
Also, while we were in Houston, we stopped by the downtown area and of course had to see the famous Waterwall in the Galleria. Can you believe Brad Paisley was shooting a music video there at the same time!!??
We had a fabulous time! Thank you Houston!
If you are interested in either the Domain or the Loft apartments they are both currently online at MoveforFREE.com
Tags: apartment, CityCentre, domain, Houston, locating, moveforfree, Moving, texas, The Lofts
Posted in Apartment Locating, Moving, Travel, amenities | 1 Comment »
Packing the kitchen!
Written by Moveforfree on March 5, 2010 – 2:23 pm -Have you ever wanted a video that told you exactly how to pack up your kitchen to move??? Well want no longer folks! Debbie Anderson from about.com shares with us the best way to pack up a kitchen!
http://video.about.com/moving/Tips-for-Packing-a-Kitchen.htm
Having trouble finding boxes? Check out this post to find the places places to score some free ones.
Tags: Apartment Locating, Boxes, kitchen, moveforfree, Moving, paking, texas, video
Posted in Apartment Locating, Boxes, Packing | No Comments »