One of the worst ways to lose money is to have your financial institution purposelessly drain money from your accounts every month. It is quite amazing how many banks charge you to put your money into their financial services. Without your money, banks would not exist, yet we still let banks zap our accounts with transaction and monthly service fees.

These institutions take your savings and use these funds to issue credit as mortgages, lines of credit and loans. Again, they need you more than you need them. So why are so many people passively paying these monthly fees?

Start shopping around for the best financial institution that can offer little to no fee savings and checking accounts. Find programs that do not lock you into contracts and terms. Banks and institutions now need to become more competitive. It is more common to find high interest savings accounts that do not penalize you for with drawing money.

Research credit unions as they can often offer accounts with little to no fees. Just keep in mind that having all of your funds in credit unions could pose challenges for acquiring mortgages down the road, especially if you are an investor (discuss this with your mortgage broker).

Choose banks that can provide online banking services with no extra fees including online bill payments and transfers. When moving to a new bank, barter with them. Make them work for your money. Ask them what they can offer on top of the account profile presented. Go for the absolute basic account plan as often as possible and avoid being influenced to using an account with unnecessary features (and an unnecessary fee)-these extra features are set up for those who often have undisciplined money management skills.

Be smart and avoid the monthly drain from banks. Shop around for banks as you would for any other bargain.

It is much easier to climb multiple small hills versus a mountain. Saving for a rainy day and towards retirement are crucial elements of sound financial management. Without a pocket of funds to fall back on, stress and depression can fester leading to loss in quality of life.

The basic principle of “pay yourself first” is often difficult to achieve for many people in all income ranges. But by methodically putting a small portion of funds aside each and every month compounds over time to generate a pot of financial support that, with a wise investment strategy, will yield passive income and security.

Tips that can assist you in developing or enhancing your savings strategy:

*generate a basic budget prior to shopping for grocers-be conservative and realistic based on your experience with previous trips and assume that you are paying close the regular price on grocer items
*with this budget recorded, strartegize by collecting coupons and taking note of promotions, sales, and discount offers
*with your strategy in place, get out there and shop keeping focus on your list and budget-buy what you need and no what you want- big difference
*when you finish shopping, compare your final purchase amount to your budgeted amount. As a savvy shopper, you probably generated a small, but important chunk of savings. Take this amount saved (even if it is just a few dollars) and immediately put this away in a savings/investment fund. Since this is money that you would have normally spent, you will not miss these funds when setting them aside.

The sooner you can get the funds into your nest egg account the better. Other bills and temptations can quickly surface over the month eating up those savings. You can also set up automatic debits from your bank account that occur just after your income deposits. If you receive income pay on scheduled dates, have a small portion immediately withdrawn into a high interest savings account program.

This should be applied to both your retirement savings plan and emergency savings. Every one should work first towards having at least 3 months (but preferably more) of ‘livable’ savings stored and building interest in an account that is separate from every day spending, but is still accessible in emergency situations.

Once this emergency fund is established and growing with interest, work towards shedding bad debt (credit cards, personal lines of credit, student loans etc). As this bad debt diminishes, one can then shift attention towards retirement funds and taking advantage of tax benefits with retirement savings contributions. Again, making regular, small contributions to all these strategies is easier than trying to make sporatic, large payments.

Setting a monthly budget for all expenses can be a valuable tool to keeping spending realistic and for setting a consistent, viable path towards financial security. Utilize your savings ingenuity and devert this onging small stream of retained funds into a growing pot of wealth. Keep your savings accounts separate from regular monthly spending accounts to avoid temptations of tapping into stored funds. Time is on your side – take full advantage of it. Bask in the pride of watching your strategic efforts pay off as more and more passive income develops through interest earnings.

Credit cards have been the great foe for the undisciplined consumer resulting in severe debt and painful interest payments. But for the wise consumer, credit cards can yield joyful savings and bonuses.

Many consumers pay by cash or use debit cards. The obsession of using cash and ATMs results in huge fees being lost every month from one’s pocket. Replacing cash and debit cards with credit cards can greatly reduce the gouging by financial institutions. By also using credit cards instead of debit or cash, one can acquire hundreds (if not thousands) of free program points and bonuses.

Shop around for credit cards and try to find cards that first provide points programs without any annual fees. Another great program that some cards offer is cash-back rewards where a percentage of your total annual purchases are returned to your credit card balance hence money back in your pocket.

Many of these programs offer enticing upgrades doubling points and other enhancements. Before you plunge into upgrades, weight out the cost benefits of paying for upgrades versus the gain in extra points. Take the time to actually calculate the monetary value of each point earned. Only pay more for your rewards programs if you are earning more value in points per year (or per month) than the cost of the upgrade fees.

Some simple tips in maximizing credit card benefits:

1) Know your spending limits. Each time you use a credit card, you should be able to transfer the same amount of cash funds into a high interest savings account. You will enjoy gaining interest savings for a few weeks until your credit card bill is due. If you are unable to pay the entire balance on your credit card statements, the benefits of using a reward programs are severely diminished. If financial discipline is an issue, only use credit cards for absolute necessities like groceries and utilities – nonessentials should then be paid with cash and debit cards.

2) Use your credit card rewards program with business expenses. Besides benefiting from the business tax-write offs, the required business spending generates additional reward points.

3) Most credit card companies provide multiple cards under the same the account. Get your spouse/partner on the same reward program to generate even more points. Just make sure they have the same disciplined approach to finances as you.

4) Keep an eye open for reward specials, contests, and surveys. Place your name on the email list of your rewards programs (use a secondary email address). Often you will get notification of extra rewards specials and surveys giving you large points bonuses for your participation.

Find the best ways in which credit cards can enhance your savings and rewards programs. Be disciplined in your usage and in the timing of paying off balances.