The difficult thing about saving money is that from the moment you get that paycheck, there are many demands for that cash.  You need to pay yourself first.  Once the paycheck hits your checking account, the many demands of your life will quickly gobble up all your available funds.  To see how you can “pay yourself first” and start saving, establish a monthly budget and stick to it.

Its tough at first, but it does get easier and it becomes rewarding as you see your debt load shrink and your saving grow.  You need to prioritize and determine what is really a need versus what you just want to have.  A great way to think about budgeting, is to look at everything that wasn’t around when your parents were your age as a “nice to have item”.   For example, our parents didn’t have cell phones or high definition digital cable.  What’s more, these are often expensive items and you pay them every month. 

Look at it this way, going for the high definition digital cable probably costs you $75 a month more than basic cable.  That works out to $900 a year.  How about switching to a less expensive cell phone plan – probably another $250 a year.  Eat out for lunch every day?  At $10-$12 a pop, that can add up to $1,200 a year more than it would cost you to bring your lunch to work.

Create a budget spreadsheet to see where you can save some money.  Don’t let the size task overwhelm you, just start filling in what you know and start tracking what you don’t.  See where you can do with a little less and watch your money grow.

Raise your hand if you think the big banks, mortgage brokers, credit bureaus and finance companies do everything they possibly can to make a buck.  Now that I see you all have your hands up, let me tell you about one more thing they do that you’ve probably never heard about.

The credit bureaus have alerting systems that many of the big banks, mortgage brokers, and finance companies subscribe to in an attempt to get leads on people applying for a loan. 

Here’s how it works.  When you fill out a loan application, the lender pulls a credit report to see your payment history and other financial information.  Interestingly, the credit bureaus offer a service to alert subscribing lenders that a certain type of inquiry just occurred and the provide these companies your financial information.

Guess what happens next – you got it, your mail box fills up with offers and your phone rings off the hook!!  If you were asked, I am certain that most of you wouldn’t consent to this sharing of your information. 

What can you do?  For starters you can contact each of the credit bureaus asking them to place you on their “do not market” list.  Be specific that you want to be on both the “do not mail” and “do not call” lists.  Include your current and previous address and full name.  Here are the contact details for each bureau:

Credit Bureau Main Opt-Out Line  (888) 567-8688