Check your receipts.

There are some good money saving opportunities that you can get just by completing a short survey. In the past week, I have earned a free entree at a quick service restaurant, $10 off a purchase of $30 an d saved an additional 5¢ on my groceries just by bringing my own bag.

It may not seem like a lot but retailers are really making efforts to get people to spend money. If the item or service is something that you would use then go for it. The back of grocery store receipts is also a good place to find coupons.

Use this tip to help you save a little or a lot in 2008.

Have a safe and Happy New Year’s Eve!

Time to prepare for next Christmas (or later holiday parties).

Start looking for next year’s Christmas cards, gift wrap and even other items that you could use for Christmas. This is the best time to buy preparations for the next year because you can get them at a greater discount.

Christmas cards… I don’t remember when I bought Christmas cards during the same season. The same goes for gift bags. Some gift bags which are solid silver or gold could be used for birthdays during the year. When there is some paper that I really like in a solid color I will use that to wrap gifts for birthdays or other occasions during the year.

If you see containers at stores that you could use to put gifts in such as sturdy boxes that you could reuse or store ornaments get those too. Craft stores have winter and Christmas-themed items on sale. Gift sets that you could use for a birthday or save until later are great buys.

Think about some of the things that you use and need when preparing for Christmas and many of the things may be on sale and can help you save money for next year.

Also, if you didn’t receive what you wanted or need to return some of your gifts, then today is a great time to go. There will be big discounts but even if you see a great deal and see things you want to buy… do not go into debt preparing for next year or in buying some great item for yourself that costs more than the value of your gift card.

What kind of financial changes would you like to make in the new year? This is the time when people make resolutions to lose weight, be healthier, organize or whatever…

Even if you are not making a resolution to make changes in the new year that would dramatically change your financial situation like get a much higher paying job or retire you still may want to make some financial changes in the coming year.

Change can be a good thing or a bad thing.

Some financial changes that could help you in the coming year are:

• Save for a large purchase

• Start a savings account for vacation

• Start a savings account for Christmas

• Seek out avenues to purchase less expensive materials for your hobby ( i.e. shop in thrift stores for fat quarters for quilting, yarn, or books)

• Use public transportation when you can. If you have to go somewhere to park and parking costs $12 or more and the train or bus would be less then take the train. If there are several people traveling together, taking a cab would be cost effective

• Treat yourself once in a while… within reason

• Buy quality, even if it means that you have to save up for it.

You have bought your presents and now what?

Do not spend a lot of money on wrapping paper. Go to the dollar store or craft store and buy some paper. If you planned ahead you already have paper from last year because you bought it after Christmas.

If you didn’t; don’t worry there are still ways to make your presents look unique. I don’t like those stick on bows so I rarely use them. I prefer real ribbon. Ribbon can be expensive but it’s very inexpensive when you get it at 50-75% off. Combine that with some inexpensive good quality netting (the kind with the smaller holes) and you have a designer looking gift.

My cousin and uncle both have late December birthdays and I was thinking of a way to give them money in a unique way. Rather than just putting money or a gift card into an envelope with a card. I decided to get some small containers that I have lying around the house like film containers, knee-hi containers (that look like they come out of a gum ball machine) and random tins. I will put smaller denominations of the money in those and put the containers in a box.

I like playing these tricks on my family plus it’s more interesting to open a box where you have to hunt for your gift than just a plan envelope. You know what you’re going to get when you see something flat.

In my quest to clean, purge and organize my home, I found a large box with baskets, containers and other wrapping goodies in the downstairs closet. This was a rather large box and inside I found large baskets, a couple of smaller containers and goodies to make wrapping interesting. So regardless of whether or not some of my gift recipients need another container… they are getting gifts in them so I can empty this box. It is not going in the closet beneath the stairs, I reorganized the closet and the box has no place in my newly reclaimed storage space.

Look around your house before you undertake any major Christmas wrapping. There might be some interesting things you can use to help you save money and make your gifts look glamourous.

The Fed wants to change the way FICO scores are calculated.

The Fed also wants to make sure that people getting a mortgage can really afford the mortgage and other costs associated with a home.

It seems to me that the federal government wants to mandate and regulate common sense.

For many years the lenient credit offers that were given to people have made it way to easy for people to get credit and to abuse it.

Most people have more credit than they can afford. If you have a good credit score it didn’t happen overnight. You built up credit just as people amass a savings (or fortune). Even people with a high income aren’t necessarily good credit risks.

When I heard that the government wants to make sure that people have enough to pay for insurance and taxes when they are getting a mortgage, I had a head shaking moment. Maybe I am jaded but when I sought out a mortgage the loan officer asked questions and looked over everything that I had. Since I hadn’t owned before I needed to show some kind of proof that I could afford a mortgage and still have some money left over so I wouldn’t be destitute. Since this obviously hasn’t been happening with “no-doc” loans it has added to the mortgage problem. People were not given adequate counseling and didn’t know about some of the additional costs of home ownership.

Easy cash without regard as to how the consumer will repay the loan has gone by the wayside.

For some this will be a terrible hardship because they have used home equity loans to finance their lifestyle (or unfortunately for some basic necessities).

The credit crisis is not just a US phenomenon, other countries are having their own credit problems. This should speak to us as consumers, both national and global that we need to live within our means, whatever we have.

Common sense shouldn’t have to be regulated. People should regulate themselves and realize that having things are not that important despite what media outlets tell us