(NAPSI)-According to the National Retail Federation, parents of school-aged children estimated they spent nearly $600 on back-to-school purchases last year. How can you cut back this year without cutting corners? Consider these tips for making smart choices:

Host A Swap Party

Instead of organizing a yard sale for strangers, have friends over to trade gently used items you no longer want or use. Swap parties are an inexpensive, social and eco-friendly way to stock up on clothes, shoes, books, athletic equipment and anything else your kids might need in exchange for things they’ve already outgrown. Invite friends with similar school-aged children and tastes, and ask them to bring items in good condition they’re willing to swap in exchange for something someone else brings. Let guests know in advance if there’s a particular theme, such as children’s clothing, or if anything goes.

Do Your Homework On School Supplies

Your child’s teacher will likely send him or her home with a laundry list of school supplies, but before you hit the stores, do a little homework and shop around to get the best value. For example, did you know print shops sometimes have large quantities of misprinted promotional pencils? They’ll often unload these for pennies and the erasers usually last longer than on bargain pencils. Consider online auction sites for higher-ticket items such as scientific calculators that high school students need. You might be surprised by how discounted these items are once the required semester of precalculus is over. If you have several children, keep a large plastic tub at home and stock up on supplies when you see sales at drugstores, closeout shops and thrift stores. After all, you’ll need pens, paper and folders again.

Invest In Technology

Think all “must-have” PCs and printers also come with a side of sticker shock? Think again. Some of this year’s products are designed to work together seamlessly so compatibility isn’t an issue. For example, products from HP include the latest software so your kids can stay ahead of the curve and are backed by industry-leading service and support. The latest lineup features a shiny, piano-black finish that makes them a stylish fit for any home or dorm room–with PC/printer pairings available at about half the price of some notebooks. The 16-inch HP Pavilion dv6 (starts at $649) and the wireless HP Photosmart C4780 All-in-One ($129) offer style, performance and value to meet the entire family’s computing and printing needs.

Carpool To And From School

Though carpooling is not a new concept, it’s one of the easiest ways to save money, fossil fuels and time. Instead of lining up behind your neighbor in the school drop-off zone or alongside all the other parents after soccer practice, organize a friendly car pool and take turns transporting the kids. Organizations such as Divide the Ride (www.dividetheride.com) can help you coordinate car pools with others you know and trust. That way, the kids get where they need to go, helping you “go green” and save some green along the way.

Plan Ahead When Packing Lunches

To help keep lunchtime budgets and unhealthy habits at a minimum, buy commonly eaten and long-lasting items such as apples, carrots, pretzels and juice boxes at club stores to keep costs low. Use coupons and stock up on family favorites such as chicken when it’s on sale, freezing some if necessary. Tonight’s baked chicken could be chicken wraps tomorrow. Throw in a piece of fruit, a granola bar and a thermos of milk and you can keep your kids healthy and your budget in check.

Savvy parents have learned to save on supplies when sending their offspring off to school.

Compulsory costs are required – you must pay them, and pay them on time. Compulsory costs include things like health insurance, car insurance, property taxes, car payments, mortgage payments, and income taxes. Discretionary costs are ones that you could delay for a month or eliminate all together – purchase of a camera phone, jewelry, TV or maybe new clothes would fall into this category.

Needs are things that you and your family must have to sustain life; air, food, water, shelter, clothing and your means to provide them. Wants are things you would like to have but can live without; cable or satellite TV, dining out, etc.

How much of what you purchase is in the “want” category? Here is an exercise of your willpower that will get you thinking about the possibilities of saving more of your hard earned money.

Use the One Week Cost Recording Worksheet and follow the simple instructions.

There are three basic elements to every household budget; Total Income, Total Expenses, and Cash Surplus (or deficit).

If your result is negative then you must either increase your income or decrease your expenses.
A typical budget includes the minimum following expense categories;

1. Housing Cost; Rent, Mortgage, Home Repairs, Property Tax, etc.
2. Utilities; Water, Sewer, Garbage, Electricity, Phone, Oil/Gas
3. Food Cost; Groceries
4. Transportation; Auto Payment, Auto Maintenance and Repairs, Parking, Gas, Tolls, Bus Fare, etc.
5. Health Expenses; Co-pays, Prescriptions, Office Visits, Lab Work, Over-the-Counter items, Vitamins, Glasses, etc.
6. Personal Items; Hair care, Dry-cleaning
7. Entertainment; Cable/Satellite TV, Dining Out, Movies, etc.
8. Financial; Credit Cards, Store Cards, Personal Loans, Secured Loans, Medical Bills, etc.
   Miscellaneous

Now for the moment of truth – using the Budget Worksheet Instructions, complete the interactive Budget Worksheet.

Are you ready for the upcoming holidays? Although November 28th is the traditional kick off of the holiday season, decorations of all kinds are already flooding the retail stores and catalogues of gift ideas are being delivered by the truckload to our mailboxes encouraging us to get in the “spending mood” earlier and earlier every year. That means you have to budget your holiday spending earlier too.

We at American Financial Solutions have created a special “Holiday Budget” Worksheet so you can keep your Holiday spending in check, ensuring you have a wonderful holiday that you don’t regret after the New Year. Look at the categories we have included so you don’t forget to budget for the things we sometimes forget like postage, wrapping paper, decorations, holiday travel, and entertainment expenses.

Here are some handy tips to help you with your holiday budget planning this year:

• Plan your shopping trips. Know where you are going and what you intend to buy when you get there will save you time, avoid traffic, conserve fuel, and leave more time for the things you would rather be doing during the holidays.
• Do your research! If you know you want to buy a particular product, check the internet to find out if anyone has it on sale. Find out when the retailers near you are having there largest sales. Check your local paper for coupons that give a big discount as well!
• If you are hosting a holiday feast, turn it into a potluck! That way everyone can enjoy each person’s favorite dishes.
• If you find your budget really tight, focus more on spending time with family and friends. People don’t usually remember what gifts they received, but they do remember time spent with family. Homemade goodies like cookies and fudge are always a good idea instead of traditional wrapped gifts. They can also be delivered early and be enjoyed throughout the holiday season.

And finally, use our holiday budget worksheet to set up a holiday spending plan that will help you get through the holidays intact.

Additional budget and financial information can be found on our website at www.myfinancialgoals.org .

My first step in understanding why I was always broke was to list and categorize all of the money we spent each month. I made categories for groceries, gas, fixed bills (telephone, cable, electric, etc.), clothes, household expenses (vacuum bags, light bulbs, etc.), and miscellaneous. Then I wrote each expense down under the corresponding category. What I found amazed me; that month we spent almost $1200 in groceries. How was that possible? The budgeted amount for groceries was $600. Either I wasn’t budgeting enough or our spending was out of control.

I decided our spending was the problem. The first issue was the way we shopped; rather than go to the grocery store one time and stock up, we would go almost every day. Then when we were at the store, we’d end up buying things that were not on our mental “list” (if we’d had a list it might have helped us).

Another problem was where we were shopping. We are busy people with five children who all go in different directions every day. Convenience is crucial to us. The closest place for us to purchase groceries is a convenience store. Unfortunately, when you shop at convenience stores you pay more and buy more.

We had to change our spending right away. So my second step was to make a real list of what we needed before we went to the store.

Then we started shopping at a discount grocery store. It wasn’t close to my house, but it was on my way home from work (convenience!). I still remember my first trip there; my cart was overflowing and I spent $171. It was an amazing feeling. I needed to pick up some items from the regular grocery store, but 90% of my shopping (for two weeks) was done and I was well within my budget.

So some tips for getting on track:

• The first and hardest step is recognizing there is a problem and deciding to make a change. Learning to live and living within your budget requires committment.
• Budget and at the end of the month or pay period, compare what you budgeted against what you spent and see how you did.
• Keep track of what you’re spending as you spend it.
• Make a list before shopping.
• Look for ways to save money while shopping; discount stores, coupons, store issued savings cards, etc.
• Think about the rewards. For my family, the money we’ve saved has turned into vacations, a boat, savings for a rainy day and best of all LESS stress.

For more help with planning, budgeting, and saving check out American Financial Solutions’ free online classes!

The first step to owning your own home is to attend a Free First Time Homebuyer Seminar sponsored by your local Housing Authority or Coalition. Becoming educated on how the home buying process works is very important. You can also find a Housing Counseling agency by visiting the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

This information is to help the potential home buyer understand what credit is and how important budgeting can be when you want to get approved for a home loan. Becoming “mortgage ready” may require a little bit of time and effort but it will be easier than you think once you understand how credit and budgeting work.

Budget:

If you want to buy a house, start by estimating what you can afford and make a budget. Be thorough with your budget. Buy a notebook or make yourself daily tracking sheets and at the end of each day record what you spent and what you spent it on. Do this faithfully for one month. Check over your tracking sheets and make a list of NEEDS vs. WANTS. By eliminating some or all of the wants you can start saving for your down payment. Carefully put together a monthly budget. List your income: include wages and salaries and any additional pay. List your expenses with the help of your daily tracking sheets. Don’t forget to include an amount to cover unexpected expenses such as car repairs. The amount left once you deduct your expenses from your income is your disposable income. Open a Home-Buying Savings Account and put as much disposable income as you can away each month to help you achieve your goal.

Credit Card Debt:

• If you have a lot of credit card debt, first of all stop using the cards. Freeze your credit cards in a container of water. This will give you time to think before you make a purchase. Did you know that people will generally pay 30-40% more for something if they are using a credit card!
• Pay more than the minimum payment every month in order to pay them off over a short period of time. Pay the most to the card with the highest interest rate first.
• Always make your payments on time, electronically if possible. Being late by even one day will result in a hefty late fee and the chance that your interest rates will be raised on that card and potentially on other cards when they check your credit report and find out you have been late. This can also negatively affect your credit report and credit score.
• There is no such thing as a fixed rate if you are late making payments!
• 0% interest stops as soon as you are late!
• If your interest rates are high and you cannot see a way out of your unsecured debt, contact a non-profit credit counseling agency. They can make arrangements with your creditors to reduce your interest rates so that you can pay off your debt in a much shorter period of time, generally 3-5 years.

Credit Reports:

Every person in the U.S. has access to one free credit report per year from each of the three major credit reporting agencies, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. You can access your free credit report via our website.(link to cedit report page under Resources)

Negative reporting on your credit report will affect your credit score, affect your ability to qualify for a mortgage and affect the interest rate you are offered. To resolve negative issues follow these steps:

• Bring any delinquent payments back into a current standing
• If you have any collections on your report, pay them off. They will remain on your report but will show as paid in full.
• If there are things on your report that are not yours or that you have paid off but do not show up as paid, file a dispute with the Credit Bureau. Send copies of any documentation you have to support the dispute.
• If you believe you are a victim of Identity Theft, contact the police immediately and then contact all three credit reporting agencies and file a Fraud Report. Contact your local State Identity Theft Unit if you have one.

A credit counselor can assist you if you need help reading your credit report