You Can have An elegant wedding on a small budget

If you have a smaller budget, you're probably afraid that all of your guests will realize it. But honestly, a twenty thousand dollar wedding isn't necessary. Many couples have done it for a lot less, and no one could tell.

What's important

Like coming up with the original budget, you need to determine what the most important things of the day are. Do you want the designer dress? Must you have the reception at a fancy hotel?

Some things that you may want to spend money on: photography and rings. These are two things that you will keep long after the wedding day, so these are the things that should be number one on the planning list. Don't skimp.

A cheaper ceremony

If you're able to have your ceremony outside, then that can be the least expensive way to go. Not only are you able to take advantage of nature, but many of the times, it will be free for you to use. Places that may work are parks and botanical gardens, friend's backyards, and beaches. Of course, these are rather weather dependent, so you'll have to have a backup plan as well.

Find someone that you know who is a minister to do the vows, and ask that their marriage gift be the fee. This is a perfect way to include your friend and save them the trouble of giving a gift.

Skimping on the reception

The best way to keep your costs low for the wedding is to have the ceremony and reception in the same area. Even if you do have to pay a fee, then it's only once. Another way to cut down on reception costs is to have a light afternoon cocktail hour in lieu of dinner. You can serve appetizers and drinks instead of a pricey meal.

You don't necessarily need a band to keep the fun going either. A lot of couples have found that a friend with a multiple CD player and a good variety of CDs is just as good as a deejay. And most friends are willing to help out at the wedding if they can anyways.

Be creative when you go out and look for all of the things you need for your wedding. You'd be surprised at how many things you can save on. One couple made their own programs, decorations, and had it at a friend's house for about three thousand dollars. The guests exclaimed that they'd been to more expensive weddings that weren't half as beautiful.

Something to think about.

About the author:

If you have a smaller budget, you're probably afraid that all of your guests will realize it. But honestly, a twenty thousand dollar wedding isn't necessary. Many couples have done it for a lot less, and no one could tell.

You Don't Have to be Wealthy to Eat Well . . . The Truth about Your Grocery Budget

Many people complain that organic foods are more costly than conventional. In many cases, organic foods are priced higher. However, people aren't weighing the costs of eating healthy against the costs of eating poorly. Americans spend millions of dollars each week on �coffee house foods�–fatty lattés and sugary frappucinos, not to mention the white-floured, trans fatty pastries that go along with them. If you were to keep a strict accounting of all the money you spent on soda, pizza, potato chips, pastries, etc., then the question is not so much how much things cost, but where the money is being spent.

And the costs don't just stop there. The health hazards of the fungicide, pesticide, herbicide and chemical residuals found on conventional foods have been well documented. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considers 60% of herbicides, 90% of fungicides and 30% of insecticides to be carcinogenic. Such substances also compromise our immunologic defenses and are disruptive to our endocrine systems.

But not only are conventional foods more harmful because of chemical contaminants, they are also less nutritious. Organic produce has consistently shown significantly higher levels of nutrients such as vitamin C, iron, magnesium and phosphorus. Can you really put a price on the safety of the foods you and your family eats?

There are ways to eat well, without taking a huge bite out of your wallet:

1.)Join an organic co-op;
2.)Go to local farms to pick and purchase fresh, regionally-grown produce;
3.)Check out stores like Trader Joes, discount grocery stores that have begun to offer a greater selection of organic products;
4.)Scan the coupon sections in the paper . . . more and more grocery coupons are applying to organic products now;
5.)Make two lists–one list of �non-negotiables�–products you won't compromise on, and a second list of items that are of lesser priority. For example: organic bananas aren't as critical as organic strawberries, as berries are heavily sprayed and not protected by a thick skin.
6.)Processed foods often come in a box or can, are intended for single meals, and do not preserve well as leftovers. Organic, whole foods on the other hand lend themselves more readily to stews, soups, and casseroles, which means more leftovers. The investment of time in preparing these meals is more than made up for in their multiple uses throughout the week. Incredible savings can be found in cooking this way.
7.)And finally, the more people demand and purchase organic foods, the more the prices will drop!

Super Health Nutrition Tip: Put these low-calorie, nutrient-dense Superfoods at the top of your grocery list:

�Grain grasses (like wheat grass)
�Sea vegetables (like kelp)
�Dark green vegetables (like spinach and broccoli)
�Bright-colored vegetables (like bell peppers)
�Berries (blueberries)
�Eggs from free-range hens
�Grass-fed/grain-free/organic beef, chicken, turkey, lamb, venison, bison, etc.
�Rice and yellow pea protein
�Goat milk protein
�Non-denatured why protein
�Stabilized brown rice bran
�Sprouted legumes and grains such as kasha (buckwheat)
�Fresh-squeezed combinations of vegetable juice
�Sprouts (alfalfa or mung bean, for example)

Check out http://www.7goldenkeys.com for more information.


About the Author
K.C. Craichy is Founder and President of Living Fuel. He is a health consultant and sought-after speaker on the topic of Optimal Health. Since 1981 he has owned and operated multiple companies in a variety of industries. After his first venture into the health club industry in the mid 1980s, Craichy went on to become a Founder, CEO, Investor, and Consultant for conventional and alternative healthcare companies.

Your Budget And Rising Petrol Prices

If you have a mortgage and are not struggling with the increasing cost of petrol ... you are in the minority. And if you aren't struggling now, how will you fare when the flow on effect of high petrol costs starts to increase the cost of living across the board. For many Australians the question of how to cover all their bills and maintain a decent standard of living for their families will soon become a pressing one.

As you struggle with this challenge, you may discover that your mortgage is actually the solution.

In recent months, oil prices have skyrocketed to $65 a barrel. This has resulted in the price of petrol rising above $1.30 a litre. This increase has been blamed on the recent hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico and the resulting production delays.

Already this is beginning to bite the budgets of Australian families. In a BRW report, McDonalds chief executive Peter Bush revealed that McDonalds sales growth had dropped 5 % in just weeks. He attributes this sudden decline to Australians tightening their belts to afford the extra $30 to $40 a week to fill the family car. The same article cited a recent NRMA survey, which stated that 25% of NSW and ACT motorists have cut their spending on food and groceries as a result of the petrol hike.

Petrol prices have risen 30% this year; the cost of petrol being a major expense for most Australian families. In a media release from the University of Newcastle, Dr. Abbas Valadkhani said, "You don't necessarily have to use a lot of petrol to be affected by the price rise."

Apart from the direct effect we have already experienced, we will soon begin to suffer the flow on effects of the petrol hike. The cost of milk has already increased and a range of other industries such as transport, storage, forestry, fishing, agriculture and meat and all dairy products will have their costs increase due to the rising price of petrol. It is only a matter of time before these costs are passed on to us. If you think about it, there are few goods and services in the economy that don't have fuel costs somewhere in their production and distribution chain.

Well, that's the bad news. The good news is that many experts believe that this spike in petrol prices is temporary. It is a result of diminished production, due to natural disasters. Eventually, the damage will be repaired, supply will return to normal levels and the price will drop. However, that could be six months or a year from now and until then you need to keep paying for the petrol, pay your bills, budget for Christmas and pay your mortgage.

But are you paying the right mortgage? Are you using your mortgage to its fullest potential? With interest rates so low and the cost of living experiencing an unexpected and temporary spike, a logical means of maintaining your lifestyle, during this time, is to use your mortgage to offset this temporary fluctuation.

This may be the time to either take advantage of your home loans features, or change to a more flexible mortgage. For example, you can switch to a loan that has a redraw facility. This allows you to draw back extra payments you have made and use them to help you through this particularly stressful time.

If rising costs are getting on top of you, perhaps refinancing is the solution. You can roll all your debts into your home loan; car payments, credit cards etc., consolidating your debt and reducing your regular repayments, leaving more cash each week to combat this sudden increase in expenses. Instead of running up the credit cards, refinancing your home loan may be the most cost-effective and cheapest way to raise that extra money to help you through the next turbulent 6-12 months.

Using a mortgage-offset feature is another way to have that extra cash handy, but still minimise your interest. Let's say you refinance and leave yourself $10,000 to help pay the bills for the next few months. If your loan is $100,000 and you have $10,000 in the offset account, the interest on your loan is only calculated on $90,000.

The current petrol crisis will eventually pass, but in the interim, why struggle to care for yourself and your family when the solution to your short term budget problems is sitting right there ... in your home?

About the author:

Melanie Carne Compare-homeloans.com.au< /a> provides useful comparison information for Australian home buyers. Reliable brokers' services compared with fast enquiry links.

Your Budget And Taste For Gadgets Will You Determine What Type Of Cell Phone Accessories You Need

There are many items that you can purchase to increase your cell phone use and satisfaction. Here is a short list of the must-haves with a few recommendations on where to find many more accessories for sale.


Usually, an earpiece or headset, long lasting batteries and a car charger are provided at a discount when you purchase your phone. If you plan to replace these items, make sure that your new accessories are compatible with your brand of phones. A cell phone is a small, but sensitive item. If you try to attach the wrong equipment, you'll need to use your warranty a lot sooner than you think.


A lot of cellular manufacturers are now including data kits as a part of their accessory offerings. I would go for a cell phone with Bluetooth technology. This allows the phone to interface with other electronic equipment such as Blackberrys and PCs. You can download data, upload data or customize your phone from your PC and have it done in real time.


There are car chargers, desktop chargers, sports pouches, faceplates, masks, data cables and belt clips. The list varies by manufacturer, but only your needs and budget can guide you through the long list of cell phone accessories that available online.



Syd Johnson is the Executive Editor of RapidLingo.com, Financial Solutions Website. You can see more articles at http://www.rapidlingo.com.
This article may be freely distributed as long as the author's bio is included with an active link to http://www.rapidlingo.com.

Your Online Business Budget

Have you set up a budget for your online business yet? You do need one, you know.

Budgeting for your business will help keep your expenses within reason, and tell you if you are making financial
progress.

How do you create a business budget? Pretty much the same way you would for your household budget.

First, determine what your income is. You say your business hasn't generated an income yet? Then, you'll have to decide how much you can take from your personal income to invest in your business.

Decide on the expense categories that you think you'll need for your particular business. For instance, web hosting, advertising and education.

Take the amount of money that you decided you would have for your "income" and apportion it to the various expense categories you created. Make educated guesses if you need to. It will be easier to determine what the expense amounts
and categories are as your business actually starts to generate income and expenses.

Follow your budget and adjust it monthly to reflect the changes your business goes through.

A word about your business income: Reinvest. Reinvest all the profits of your business back into your business.
Believe me - your business will grow much faster if you do.

Expenses. There is no way you can run a business without having expenses. But there are ways to keep your expenses down by "shopping around" and making sure your online purchases are really necessary to your business.

Here are some things to watch out for:

= Paid newsletters. Why should you pay for newsletter subscriptions when there are thousands on the Internet that you can get for nothing.

= eBooks. Make sure that the ebooks that you purchase are ones that you will really read and use as a resource. You don't want to have an eBook collection...you want to have a
"resource" library.

= Paid membership sites. I honestly don't believe that the sites that you have to pay to get into have any more
"secrets" than other sites on the Internet. By doing a search on Google.com, you can find the information you need on any subject.

There is one more thing that will ruin any budget. Doing nothing! You can plan, and plan, and plan. But if, at some point, you don't start following that plan, you will lose money.

Set up your budget, follow it, and adjust it as necessary. Focus on increasing your profit, not only your income. That is where your success will come from.

About the Author
Jude Wright has been marketing on the Internet for three
years. Her speciality is providing information to new
affiliate marketers who want to become a success online.
She has a free online newsletter, About Affiliates Ezine,
which was rated A1 by Best Ezines. Subscribe at:
http://www.aboutaffiliates.com/subscribe.htm

Your Secret Weapon... A Budget

For many, the word 'budget' immediately sends shivers down the spine. Why in the world would anyone need or want to budget their money?

First off, budgeting your money does NOT mean you are poor, or are in need of financial assistance. You'd be surprised to know how many considered to be "middle class", regularly budget their money in order to make the most of what they have.

Secondly, designing and implementing a budget does NOT take a Harvard doctorate degree requiring hours upon hours of tedious work.

What is a budget?

Simply put, a budget helps you to track your income and keep your spending habits in check over a certain period of time, allowing you to reach specific goals.

Why Start A Budget

There are many reasons why a family may want to implement a budget. These "reasons" can be labeled BUDGET GOALS. The reason(s) you are budgeting your money.

It is imperative that you actually determine what your GOALS are before actually designing a budget plan.This is what you will be striving for.

Answer the question - 'Why do I want to start budgeting my money?' To save for a new house or car? Saving for your childrens' college education? What about an early retirement?

These are all very important goals that many of us will have to face at some point in our lives. And these are some of the goals that can be tackled through the implementation of a budget.

** Summary - Set Your Goal(s) **


Cash Flow Analysis

It is now time to determine the amount of "cash" that comes into your pocket every month, and the amount that leaves your pocket every month.


This is one of the most important steps in planning your budget, for it allows you to get a whole perspective of your current financial situation. At the same time, analyzing your "cash-flow" allows you to actually see where your incomes are coming from and how it is being spent.


Remember, this does not have to be done professionally nor does it need to be time consuming. In addition to that, try not to track every single penny that you spend. You'll drive yourself crazy. A budget should not frustrate you to death.


Start with your income(s). It's best to take it a month at a time so you get a clear, concise view of what you make on a monthly basis. Don't forget to include any benefit or interest payments you receive.


After you have an idea of the TOTAL amount you receive monthly, it's time to add up the expenses you pay every month. Generally, you can group most expenditures into two categories - fixed and variable.


Fixed bills - mortgage, car, insurance loans, etc...

Variable bills - utilities, phone, car maintenance, entertainment, food, etc...


It is really important that you tally up EVERYTHING that is paid out monthly. That includes all taxes, social security, 401(k) (retirement funds), and any other deductions that you might have taken directly out of your paycheck.


It works best if you write down ALL the expenses/bills that you pay monthly.


If you are having difficulty remembering what is paid every month, take a look back through your financial records, checkbook or bank statements for more accurate numbers.


Remember, you do not want to spend hours and hours, sweating over this. Budgeting should not be like another 9-5 job. The quicker and easier this analysis process is, the more you will be willing to go through with it.


** Summary - Write Down ALL Incomes and Expenditures **


Review Your List

Now that you have your list of incomes and expenditures, it is time to review what you have written. Look and see what bills/expenses can possibly be lowered. Do you notice any excessive spending areas? Any bills you know for sure that can be lowered?


This is where you might have to make some sacrifices. Is your dream of a brand new BMW worth giving up your restaurant outings three times a week? These are the choices you are faced with when you must decide how you are going to reach your goal(s).


Start out small. There's no need to become a first-rate miser overnight. That's hard to do! Take things a step at a time. Implement one money saving strategy a week, or month. Remember though, you decide at how quickly you accomplish your goals.


** Summary - Review And Decide Where To "Cut-Back" **


Track Your Spending



In the real world, you are faced with thousands of advertisements and gimmicks begging you to 'buy their product'.


Buy what you must, just keep in mind your budget.


In order for accurate records, track as much of your spending as possible. Simply save all the receipts you get from your purchases.This is important because you need to tally everything to see how much money you saved at the end of the month.


** Summary - Keep Track Of The Money You Spend **


Compare Results & Modify

Now it's time to find out if all your hard work has paid off. Were you able to lower some bills? Finding out how much you saved is the best part of budgeting. It's exciting! This is what makes the whole budgeting process worthwhile.


Stick with your budget! Modify your spending habits to try and lower bills bit, by bit. You'll soon forget about the whole budget idea, and just see it as a game, where you try and save as much money as possible month by month.


You can find more money saving articles to help lower your bills at:
http://www.SavingSecrets.com/tips.html


** Summary - Compare and Make Necessary Changes For Increased Results **


Conclusion


The hardest part of the whole budget process is starting one. Once you set your mind to implement a budget, and take the time to formulate a written agenda, the rest falls into place.


Budgeting requires some small sacrifices. Changes in lifestyle. Changes in spending habits. Be creative and have fun saving money off your bills. You are doing this for YOU, to accomplish your GOALS, so stick with your budget plan and your will be rewarded!


** Summary - Start YOUR Budget and Accomplish Your Goals! **

About the Author
Gregory Thomas has been writing money-saving articles for SavingSecrets.com now for over 6 years. Hop on over to their website and you'll find FREE money-saving articles, a monthly newsletter, and even a FREE Ebook download just for stopping by! http://www.SavingSecrets.com

Your Stock Support Budget

Your Stock Support Budget
By William Cate
Published November 1999
[http://home.earthlink.net/~beowulfinvestments/] [http://home.earthlink.net/~beowulfinvestments/globalvillageinvestmentclubwelcome/]

It costs money to create share buying. Every public company must find the
buyers for their shareholders' stock. You must have the buyer when your
shareholder sells. If your company fails to find the buyers, your share
price will collapse.

To maintain your present share price, your float will trade four times
annually. Your float is the stock held by your public shareholders. If your
company's float is one million shares, you must expect to find four million
shares of buying in the next year. If you keep your present shareholders,
you'll cut your stock support costs by 100%. If your insiders can't sell
and thus add to the company's float, you'll reduce your future stock
support costs by fourfold for every unsold insider share.

The annual supply and demand for your company's stock isn't constant in
the Market. You get a favorable write-up. Demand for your stock temporarily
jumps up. A major shareholder liquidates their position. The supply of your
stock temporarily increases in the Market. You need to level the
supply/demand curve. You can often do it by working with your shareholders. Your goal should be to maintain a sustainable share price. Your share price should trade within a narrow range.

There's a silver-lining about bad news. If your shareholders hear it from
you, you'll gain credibility. If they hear it from you, it won't sound as
bad as hearing it from their broker, a newspaper article, or in the
Shareholders' Annual Report. Budget money to spread bad news. It's a sound
long term strategy.

A Stock Support Rule of Thumb for OTCBB companies is that it costs a dime
to create a share of buying, when your share price is below one dollar. For
a share price above one dollar add five cents for every dollar of the share
price above one dollar. This means that it costs a quarter to support a
four-dollar share price. Multiply this share cost by your float and then by
four and you have an annual budget for stock support.

Stock support and compliance costs are the best arguments against going
public. You must convert these costs into a strong share price. You must
use your strong share price to buy profitable assets for your company. The
profitable assets must improve your bottomline. If you don't use your stock
as money to build your company, your long term shareholders will lose their
investment in your company. You'll fail.

If you believe that your share price reflects the merits of your company,
don't go public. Your share price will languish for years as you await some
Fundamentalist writer to discover the value in your company. Meanwhile the pragmatic CEO builds value by using their strong share price to buy
profitable assets. It can take twenty years to create a hundred million
dollar private company. It can take 20 months for a public company to buy
for stock a hundred million dollar public company. The option is your
company can earn the money, pay taxes, reinvest and grow. Or, you can go
public, print your own money called stock, and use your strong share price
to buy assets and become a hundred million dollar company. Your decision
involves your willingness to spend money to ensure a strong share price.

To contact the author: Visit the Beowulf Investments website: [http://home.earthlink.net/~beowulfinvestments/] Or, visit the Global Village Investment Club Website:
[http://home.earthlink.net/~beowulfinvestments/globalvillageinvestmentclubwelcome/]



About the Author
He has been the Managing Director of Beowulf Investments [http://home.earthlink.net/~beowulfinvestments/] since 1981 and is the Executive Director of the Global Village Investment Club [http://home.earthlink.net/~beowulfinvestments/globalvillageinvestmentclubwelcome/]