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Budgeting can be very difficult. With one swipe of a credit card you can buy now and pay later for virtually anything. With this type of mindset it is hard to budget for expenses. The envelope method of budgeting makes keeping a budget a lot easier and will prevent you from spending beyond your means.

Start by figuring out how much you spend on each category of your budget. Food, utilities, clothing, luxuries etc. For each category you should then obtain an envelope and write the name of the category on the outside. At the beginning of each month, place the appropriate amount of CASH in the envelope.

You are to spend only the amount that you place in your envelope. This will help you visualize the amount of money you need through the month and how much you are actually spending. You will not realize how much the grocery costs you until you start paying with cash rather than a swipe of the card. Handing over a stack of $20 bills can be a bit demoralizing at first, but it is for the greater good.

The envelope system works because you only spend what you have. You cannot reach into the bottom of the envelope and find more money, nor can you borrow from other envelopes because chances are that they are running low as well. For people who cannot stick to their own written budget, it is a lot easier to follow through with the envelope budget. You will quickly forget about your savings accounts and how much you are actually saving by keeping money in itemized envelopes. When you have only $50 allocated to spend on eating dinner out, you will make it will make your decision, and quite possibly the overall enjoyment of that dinner, much more valuable to you. The key is to stick to the system and only use each envelope for its intended use.

You will find that the envelope system really helps you visualize your budget as dollar bills rather than payments that need to be made. Give it a try.

In short, yes. All three presidential hopefuls want to lower taxes and limit tax hikes. However, all of them have vast social programs that will eventually cost billions in taxpayer dollars. Here is a quick run through of Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John McCain with a quick glimpse of their policies.

Hillary Clinton

• Seeks immediate relief for housing crisis
• calling to freeze interest rates
• Co-sponsored bills totaling $502B in spending thru 2005
• Voted NO on paying down federal debt by rating programs’ effectiveness.
• Voted NO on $40B in reduced federal overall spending.
• Higher Social security tax

Barack Obama

• Bush stimulus plan leaves out seniors & unemployed.
• Help the homeowners actually living in their homes
• Save $150 billion in tax cuts for people who don’t need them.
• Rejects free market vision of government.
• Voted NO on paying down federal debt by rating programs’ effectiveness.
• Voted NO on $40B in reduced federal overall spending.
• Higher Social Security tax

John McCain

• Continue strong in Iraq
• Voted YES on $40B in reduced federal overall spending.
• Private social security accounts

A quick glimpse at the candidates platforms show that many of them would continue with the same federal budget, and all of them have shown a net increase in the budget. Their stances on each federal program, and program types are different, but total spending is the same.

The biggest cost to taxpayers, and an integral part to the 2008 election, is the war in Iraq. Two candidates, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama both want to put a timetable for withdrawal in place - although Obama’s would be much sooner than Clintons.

John McCain wants to continue with the current strategy in the war on terror, and is adamant about staying in Iraq for as long as it takes, even if it takes 100 years. Ending the war in Iraq would save US Taxpayers roughly $150 Billion per year and cut the Federal Deficit by nearly half. The war is a much bigger expenditure than most people think.

All three candidates want to aid in the subprime blowup, which will cost even more in Federal money. After the buyout of Bear Sterns, all candidates agreed that the citizens of the United States needed assistance in keeping their own homes. No bill has yet to pass regarding new funds for homeowners, but it should remain a key talking point in Congress.

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama support raising the bar on Social Security taxes so the upper class pays the current tax rate on more of their income. John McCain does not support the measure; only wanting to privatize social security so each person can make their own decisions.

As it appears, every candidate will affect your bank account negatively. Hillary Clinton desires more homeowner assistance and greater social programs, while requesting higher tax ceilings on social security. Her call to end the war in Iraq will lower the federal deficit, but not until 2012, her date of withdrawal.

Barack Obama wants to end the war in Iraq as soon as possible, but wants higher social security ceilings and more social programs than the two other candidates. It is safe to say that the savings from the war in Iraq would quickly be spent in more social programs. Universal healthcare being the key expenditure.

John McCain is also likely to increase the federal budget. Although he highlights his ability of foresight for the bridge to nowhere (which would serve 200,000 people) and various military expenses, he is willing to continue with the $150 Billion a year war. He supports some kind of health care aid much like his two democratic challengers although not as widespread.

Junk mail for some is the worst thing in the world.  Whether it is a postcard in the mail, or hundreds of daily junk emails, it is a waste of time, money and resources.

Avoiding junk mail can be difficult.  The first step to avoiding the plague is to stop giving your name so freely.  Avoid filling out additional information on things like warranty cards and sweepstakes.  In most cases, warranty cards are filled with data mining questions so that they can sell your details.  Be sure to check the box that indicates they cannot sell your name.

Identify the source

Identifying the source of junk mail can be tricky, but a small detail can help you find the culprit.  Start by using a false middle initial for different companies.  By using a different middle initial for each one, you can target which company is selling your name and then proceed from there.  Most of the time it will be magazine and sweepstakes companies.  Credit card companies are also large sellers of mailing addresses.

How to stop junk mail

One call will virtually stop all credit card offers.  A call to 1-888-567-8688 will remove your name and details from the credit agencies that sell your name to potential creditors.  1-800-605-4297 will stop those annoying AOL disks and 1-800-645-9242 will end Publisher Clearing house mailings. 

The best way to avoid spam and junk email is to have an account for personal emails, and one to use for registrations and other correspondence.  Spam is virtually inevitable if you give your email to anyone online, so just be willing to take the loss on your spam email account.  Use one email for all online logins and purchases and save the other for important materials.  Over time your dedicated spam box will become full and overloaded with mail, that is the time you switch to a fresh new spam address.

This is a very difficult question to answer for most people.  You have to factor in pension plans, future social security, and other streams of income before deciding how much you will need each month for expenses.  A good estimate is that you will need 80% of your current income to be generated by an interest rate of 4-5%.  For someone making $50,000 per year, you would need $1,000,000 in retirement funds to live comfortably.

Max out your benefits

You should first try to max out the amounts that employers will match in 401k plans.  Matching funds is free money given by your employer to coerce you into planning for retirement.  A common match is 50% up to 6% of your income, meaning that your employer will give you 3% of your income on top of the 6% that you saved through the year.  You simply cannot beat free money.

Asset allocation

Monthly contributions are best

The best way to invest is to start early and make monthly contributions to a retirement account.  Monthly contributions will help you ride out the ups and downs of the business cycle.  Focus first on maximizing retirement benefits then start applying money to other accounts such as IRAs and other retirement portfolios.  Employer matches are low hanging fruit–pick it first.

Rental cars come with piles of legal information and liability forms that look like they’re written to confuse the customer.  Renting a car can be a difficult process and put you literally in the driver’s seat when it comes to damage liability.

What is it?

A loss damage waiver is essentially an insurance policy purchased from the car rental company that protects the borrower from incurring costs related to damage.  The fee usually amounts to about $20 per day, even with budget car rental businesses.  What people do not always know is that they might already be protected by their existing car insurance, or from their credit card.

Before renting a car, call and see if your insurance will cover a rental car.  Most insurance companies do have some type of damage protection that extends past your normal deductible.  Unless you are buying the state minimum car insurance from a discount insurer, it would be wise to make a call to see what options are available through your own policy.

Credit card benefits

Paying for a car rental with a credit card may also protect you from any liability.  Most credit cards will make you free from liability from collisions.  Some better cards will protect from dangers such as fire, weather or theft, although this is only available with a select few cards.

If you are not protected by your credit cards or insurance policy you might want to do some math.  Most companies charge $20 per day, which is equal to $600 per month.  If you’re not willing to spend this amount on your car, you shouldn’t be willing to spend that much on someone else’s.  Make sure that you note all dings and scratches before you get in the car and record anything that you might be blamed for later. 

Not worth it

For reasonable drivers, the extra $20 probably is not worth it.  Small damages will not warrant a $20 a day charge and you safe driving won’t allow you to get into a large accident.  The best insurance policy is to drive safely and save money.