You may discover how easy it can be to save money when you spend time at one popular vacation destination.

Here are eight ways to save in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., gateway to America’s most visited national park, Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

1. Ride a trolley or walk in town.

Pigeon Forge Fun Time Trolleys cost only 50 cents; walking is free. Take the trolley to Dollywood to bypass the theme park’s parking fee. The many attractions along the city’s main street, the Parkway, make walking fun.

2. Get a Value Card.

Discounts on lodging, entertainment, restaurants, shopping and attractions (even indoor skydiving) are on the Pigeon Forge Value Card (free at the Welcome Center). Shopaholics can get a real buzz by using the Value Card for discounts at Belz Factory Outlet World, one of six malls in town.

3. Find new discounts on the Web.

Check the city’s Web site, www.MyPigeonForge.com, for new discounts and coupons.

4. Get a free day at Dollywood.

Tennessee’s most visited attraction has a deal with its “Arrive After 3, Get the Next Day Free” program. For a sense of extra value, visit on Wednesdays and Thursdays, generally the lowest-attendance days.

5. Buy a Dollywood season pass.

If you’re returning to Pigeon Forge later in the year, a Dollywood season pass pays for itself on the second visit. Many visitors come in the summer, again in the fall and then at Christmas. If Dollywood is on their agenda, a season pass is a true bargain.

6. Get a theater combo.

Pigeon Forge has more than a dozen musical theaters and more than 20 different shows. Look for discounted combo tickets if you want to see more than one show.

7. Buy a vacation package.

Packages that combine lodging, shows and attractions into one purchase save you money. Numerous packages are on www.My PigeonForge.com.

8. Enjoy the outdoors.

Pigeon Forge is located at the foothills of Great Smoky Mountains National Park and its hiking trails, picnic grounds and magnificent scenery. Admission to the park is free.

Top Five Money-Saving Tips For Savvy Toner & Inkjet Cartridge Shoppers

Toner is costly. There’s no way around it. But there’s a few techniques you can implement to keep some of that money in your pocket. The next time your printed documents start looking more grey than black, try our top five money-saving tips.

1. Purchase Compatible Cartridges. Instead of buying genuine manufacturer toner cartridges, give compatible ones a try. These cartridges are made to the same specifications, but are developed by third-party manufacturers. So you still get the same quality, but at a much lower cost.

2. Shop Online. Because online shops don’t require costly storefronts or associated overhead, these companies typically discount products below that of your local office supply shop. So you can usually get a much better deal online.

3. Buy a Toner Refill Kit. You can typically save up to 70 percent on toner and cartridges by using a toner refill kit. These kits include all the guidelines and tools you need to refill toner cartridges yourself.
Using a refill kit, consumers can typically get up to three refills before ever having to buy a new cartridge.

4. Use a Mall Kiosk. If you don’t want to refill your toner or ink on your own, you can still save money by using a mall kiosk. They may be able to refill your printer cartridge for you at a reasonable price.

4. Buy in Higher Quantities. Some companies offer discounts on bulk purchases. So stock up and save.
If you’re diligent enough to shop around and use some wise alternatives, your toner and printing expenses can be markedly reduced.

The application process for a home loan can be complex and hectic. When borrowers get caught up in the moment, they often forget to angle for better deals.

Tips For Saving Money on Your Home Loan

The best way to save money on your home loan is to get the interest rate reduced. Cutting the interest rate by even a quarter point can save tens of thousands of pounds in interest payments over the life of the loan. Unfortunately, lenders are very resistant to cutting interest rates. The only bullet you really have in your arsenal is to bluntly state that you will take your business elsewhere if they do not cut the rates. Since the real estate market is cooling off, lenders are becoming more receptive to these suggestions since they no longer have loans just pouring through the doors. If the market heats back up, you can forget about the viability of this position.

If you are going to try to get the interest rate knocked down, information is your friend. You will have far more success if you can show the lender a better interest rate being offered by another lender. Look for marketing pieces by other lenders on the same or similar loans.

There is really only one definite way to cut down the interest rate on the loan. It has to do with points. If you have a pool of cash at the time of application, you can attempt to buy down the interest rate by paying more points at the outset. While lenders are receptive to this approach, most people do not have large piles of cash lying around. Scraping enough together for the down payment is usually a sufficient problem. Still, there are other ways to save money on your mortgage.

If a lender is charging you points on your home loan, they are highly negotiable. Lenders view points in a more flexible manner. The higher the value of the home you purchase, the more a reduction in points can save you money. If nothing else, you have nothing to lose by asking for a quarter or half point reduction.

Cutting the best deal possible at the time you apply for a mortgage is critical. Even small concessions by the lender can save you tens of thousands of pounds over the life of the loan.

Tips for saving on your ballooning gas bill

I recently set a record that I’m not happy about. I was actually able to put 53.00 worth of gas into my mini-van. Holy smokes, that really hurts! I’m sure you are setting similar records on a weekly basis. At this rate, it’s going to cost more to fuel up your car than to pay for the car itself!

Well, unless you walk everywhere, you’re going to have to keep buying gas, but there are some things that you can do to reduce your fuel expense. Some of these you’ve probably heard before, some of them may be new!

1) Don’t jump off the starting line. Your car is a mass which has to be accelerated (by gas and your engine) and decelerated (by your breaks). Rapid acceleration uses more fuel than more gradual acceleration. If you’re a city driver and you have to start and stop frequently, try accelerating more slowly than you’re used to. You don’t want to hold up traffic of course, but you don’t need to jump like a stock car racer when the light turns green. For city drivers, this technique can increase your MPG by 10%

2) Keep your car tuned up. An engine in tune, with good spark plugs and plug wires, good ignition timing and a clean fuel filter, runs better. More of the chemical energy stored in the gasoline actually gets converted to motion and less gets wasted. Get your car tuned up annually. A car that is poorly tuned can get 25% LESS gas mileage than the same well tuned car. That kind of waste will easily pay for an annual tune up.

3) Make sure your tires are properly inflated. This is actually a very important tip. If tires are under inflated, the tires present a much larger surface area to the road. Larger surface area = more drag and resistance that the engine has to compensate for. Over inflated tires can actually increase mileage because they present the lowest rolling resistance, but can be dangerous and will wear poorly. So make sure your tires are inflated right to where they’re supposed to be inflated. Look an the sidewall for a PSI rating. You should check this monthly. Any full service gas station will do it for you as well.

4) Turn off the Air Conditioner and use your windows or vents if it’s cool enough. The AC is driven by an AC compressor which places a large drain on your engine when it is engaged. It can reduce milage by 4 or 5%. Some may argue that having your windows open to the cool the car is a bad idea, because it changes the aerodynamic shape of your car, and this is true at higher speeds. Below 40 MPH, open windows will have a negligible effect on your cars aerodynamics.

5) Slow down. As a car goes faster and faster, it takes more force from the engine to push the car through the air. At lower speeds, this extra force doesn’t really matter, but when you approach highway speeds, a 60 MPH cruise will be much more efficicent than a 70 MPH cruise. Now be careful when using this technique. You don’t want to block traffic, but you don’t want to be driving along in the left lane doing 85 MPH either. It’s a waste and it doesn’t really get you to your destination that much faster. Did you know it takes 30% more gas to drive 70 MPH then 50 MPH?

6) Consider a different vehicle. A HumVee gets 8 MPH, a Ford Aspire gets 47! (I had a Ford Aspire and loved it). If you’re a single driver going back and forth to work daily, consider a more practical vehicle. My ‘other’ car is a 500 cc Honda motorcycle which gets 55 MPG. I’m no SUV nazi, so if you need a big car, by all means have one. But if you don’t, then be a good steward of your money and consider something smaller.

7) Don’t use the expensive gas. Most people think that if high octane gas is more expensive, then it must be better. Right? No, that’s wrong. High Octane gas burns differently and can be used in cars that ‘knock’, but all modern cars are designed to use the lower octane fuels. Do yourself a favor and use the cheap stuff. If your car is knocking badly, then instead of using the expensive gas, get your car tuned up because knocking is an indication of a condition called, ‘detonation’ and this is related to an engines timing.
Plan your travel. Wow, this one is simple and can have a dramatic effect on savings. Try to get all your errands done in one trip. It can save a lot of time as well as gas and money.

9) When you see a red light ahead, don’t maintain your speed then brake quickly at the last minute. Instead, take your foot off the gas and allow your car to decelerate slowly. Your engine will be at idle during those extended decelerations and your brakes will thank you.

10) Use your cruise control when on the highway. The cruise control will assure that you use continuous gas pressures all the time and you’ll avoid the speed up slow down speed up slow down patterns of drivers that don’t use cruise control. Avoid the accelerations is what saves you gas. Set it and forget it.

11) Visit www.gasbuddy.com, enter your zip code and find the gas stations in your area that are selling the cheapest fuel, then buy from them. This is a great service and can easily save you .10 or more on each gallon of gas.

Using these 11 tips, it’s reasonable to expect that you can save 10%, 20% or more on your gas expenses. Until the US starts drilling for oil here in the states, we’re all going to have to learn ways to save on gas.

Money in my opinion is not the most important thing in life, but it is nice to know that you have a certain amount of money, saved or invested, which you can use if needed. I actually think that health and happiness are the two most important things in life. Having this pool of money helps to keep me healthy and happy, as it means that I do not have to stress as much about the future.

I only really realised the importance of investing and saving money, when I was twenty-three years of age. Up until this age, I would always spend all of my wages and did not care if I was overdrawn in the bank. I used to think that I could die tomorrow, so why bother about saving money which I might not ever use. This is a bit stupid, I know.

At the age of twenty-three, on one particular day, I was having a conversation with a friend called Tim. He basically earned the same amount of money as I did and lived a similar lifestyle. Tim told me that he was thinking of buying a flat and that he was going to cash in his investment bond to help fund the move. I was very shocked that he even had a bond and asked him how long he had had the bond, and how he had managed to get the money to put into it. I expected Tim to tell me that his parents had given him the money, but they hadn’t, he had saved up the money himself.

Tim told me that he tries to save as much money as he can per month and normally manages to save at least 100. When he has a 1000 saved in the bank, he then invests the money into a bond.

I was very impressed with Tim and I have to admit a little bit jealous of his money. I then thought to myself, if Tim can save, then so can I. I set myself a goal of saving up a 1000 and planned to do this within ten months. I had to be less wreckless with my money and it would be a good test for me.

It did not prove to be that difficult and it was a good feeling seeing a healthy bank balance for once. After only eight months I had saved my target of 1000. Instead of putting it into a bond, I decided to take an even bigger risk and to buy some shares. I am happy to say that two years later the share price of the company I had chosen to invest in, had risen by sixty percent. This I have to admit was pure luck as I had simply guessed at who to invest in. The company I chosen had had a dismal few years and its share price was at its lowest ever level. I had heard that the company had recently had some major changes at the top and I decided to gamble just on these few facts.

That was my first experience of investing and it gave the taste for it. I have regularly been buying and selling shares as well as investing in unit trusts for around ten years now. It has also become like a kind of sport or hobby for me, as I am trying to always pick a winner. I have won some and lost some but have had a huge amount of fun along the way.

I now have a certain amount invested in different ways and when for example I have a big car repair bill, I have no need to panic as all I need to do, is to cash in some of the units of my unit trust. That is what I like about a unit trust, unlike with an endowment policy where you need to wait until the end of the term to have access to your money, with a unit trust you can take out all or just some of your units at anytime that you want.

Before I started to save up money, I would often get quite stressed about the future. How would I be able to buy a house? How will I be able to buy a decent car? These are just two of many questions I would ask myself. I would try to ignore the questions by saying to myself that at that stage of my life, I should be earning more money.

I am now very happy that I had that conversation with Tim. Investing money in the way that I do has helped me to get onto the property ladder and also helps to fund my yearly holiday abroad for my family. It also gives me a peace of mind for the future and helps to to sleep easier at night.

Over the past few years, I have been saving money each month, not for any particular reason like for example to buy a house, but just in case something big went wrong. It is in a way a form of self-insurance. In this article I write about the benefits of doing this and about my own personal experiences, i.e how hard or easy it has been saving in this way.

Maybe I am being paranoid but I always seemed to have far less money than what my friends had. Four years ago a group of us went to Spain for a two-week holiday. I will never forget the moment when one of my friends asked how much money each of us were taking on the holiday. We all answered one by one and to my horror not only did I have the least amount but I had around two hundred pounds less than the next lowest person. It was not because I was being tight, it was because I did not have anymore. It had actually been a real struggle to save up this much.

When I arrived back from this holiday I decided that I needed to change my attitude on financial matters. I read a few books and spoke to a number of people about the best way for me to move forward. I did not want to have to struggle next year if there is to be another holiday for example.

I believed the answer was to start saving an amount every month which would leave my account via direct debit. I was the type of person who would basically spend whatever I had or earned. If it was in the bank therefore I would spend it. It was to leave my account via direct debit I would have no way of course to spend it.

I set up one of these savings policies and started it a modest 30 a month. I am very pleased to say that it did not exactly have a major negative impact on my social life. The policy itself was in some way linked to the stock market and this itself was quite exciting, sad I know. After a year I received a statement through the post and I was quite happy to see that I was actually worth something for a change. I then decided to increase the amount that I was going to save to 50 a month.

In life you never really know when something is going to go wrong, for example your car breaking down, the washing machine packing up or the need for some improvements to your house. By saving in the way that I know do makes these issues far less stressful to deal with as I have the funds readily available to remedy the situation.

At times of course I have enough money saved to splash a bit on say a holiday or a new car.

I would strongly advise other people to commence saving on a regular basis as it has certainly given me a piece of mind.

If you find it hard to save, you’re not alone. According to a recent survey, many Americans think about saving for the future, but few actually do it. The Braun Research and Bank of America survey is a revealing portrait of how residents of major metropolitan cities view money and the importance of saving. Some of the findings:

* New Yorkers stress over money, but they also tend to be spendthrifts, putting their savings toward pampering. Conversely, 36 percent of New Yorkers save for education expenses versus 27 percent for the average American.

* Los Angeles residents’ highest priority is paying bills, but they also tend to put money aside for special occasions.

* San Franciscans are less inclined to set financial goals, but 64 percent of residents are saving for retirement, compared to 55 percent of Americans in general.

* Residents of Miami are worried about saving for themselves and their families, but just 23 percent are actually saving.

* Chicagoans are three times more likely to comparison shop to find the best price and think of themselves as frugal. Twenty-four percent of Chicago residents use direct deposit to help save money compared to 12 percent of average Americans who do the same.

* Seventy-six percent of Dallas residents are likely to save for the future in general rather than for a specific purpose. If given an extra 1,000, they would be more likely to put it toward home improvements.

Any of this sound familiar? Do you often find yourself with little or nothing after paying the bills and using that remainder for a luxury rather than putting it in the bank?

“Americans know they need to save for a rainy day, but they need a helping hand. Bank of America’s “Keep the Change” savings program helps consumers save for a rainy day, one penny at a time, through everyday purchases,” said Diane Morais, deposits and debits products executive at Bank of America.

“Keep the Change” is an automatic savings program that helps consumers build and keep stronger savings habits. When consumers in the program make a purchase with their Bank of America Visa check card, the price is automatically rounded up to the nearest pound. At the end of the day, the difference is transferred to the customer’s savings account. Bank of America matches 100 percent of the transfers for the first three months of enrollment and 5 percent thereafter, up to 250 paid annually.

The program has already helped more than 2 million Americans save over 60 million in loose change.

Small Engine Rebuild Kits: Saving Money With a Kohler Repower Kit

Golf course equipment upkeep is a chore but a necessary part of keeping any golf course in premier shape. Maintaining the carts, mowers and trucks used on any private or public course can help ensure that they run to their optimum potential and that they last for several years. However, situations do arise when the engine in one of these pieces stops performing at its best or goes out all together. In that situation, buying a new engine to replace it may seem like the best option. In many cases, however, it is not. Many small engines used in golf course equipment can be replaced with repowered Kohler or Briggs Stratton small engines. By using a repower kit, you can restore you mower, hauler or truckster to a more powerful, cleaner and quieter machine at a much more reasonable price.

Repower is the term used to describe replacing an old engine with a new engine, a used engine, a remanufactured engine, or electric motors, drives, or fuel cells. It essentially is an engine heart transplant for your equipment. A complete Kohler repower kit, for example, includes all the fittings, bolts and Toro parts you need to replace the engine in a Toro product with a new, improved Kohler small engine. The benefit of repowering is simple replacing a poorly performing small engine with a repower kit can be as much as 90% less expensive than replacing the entire piece of equipment.

Depending on where you get the kit, you can replace the original 14 horse power motor with an 18 horse power motor that works harder, quieter, cleaner and for about 20 percent the cost of buying new. On top of that, the quality rebuild kits come with a full two year warranty on your new engine. And if your state has an Emission Reduction program, you may actually be able to be reimbursed for all or part of the cost of repowering your equipment with a cleaner engine. Check your states web site for local information, but in most states around the U.S., if the new engine significantly reduces the NOX emissions, you may qualify for grant money to repower with a new Kohler engine.

Golf course equipment use small engines, which are relatively simple to build and maintain, making them perfect for repowering. A recent improvement to small engine mower technology is the addition of gasoline engines with Electronic Fuel Injection (EFI) systems. It helps with fuel economy in traditional carbureted engines. This technology has been used by Kohler small engines – the savings you get when using Kohler engines that enable EFI technology is significant. For every 3.00 gallon of gasoline used in a mower, EFI technology will make it efficient enough to actually save 0.75.

Saving money and getting a superior engine are solid reasons to consider repowering the small engine in your Toro golf course equipment. Talk to an expert or read reviews online if you are looking to improve the performance of your courses maintenance equipment.

~Ben Anton, 2008

Meant to encourage the habit of saving money amongst people, a savings bank account not only ensures safe keeping of your funds, it also helps you keep your expenses under control. Use of savings account to save money has become a much-touted concept in economic forums in recent times.

According to a recent survey, most of the money problems arise out of people’s indifferent attitude towards their own financial reality. In our day-to-day life we can be a little more ambitious and try to save money by coming up with thousands of innovative ways. We can maintain savings account so that we can put aside a portion of their liquid assets that could be used to make purchases later on.

With the technology revolution, the web media is bombarded with clear and impartial information and expert guidance for investors, entrepreneurs looking for ways to save money. With the money saved in the savings account, you can also make some more money. Most of the banks have Money Market Savings Accounts. These accounts have got higher interest rates than the savings accounts. Online banks provide higher interest rates due to the fact that the banks do not have to pay for buildings and staff.

There are many online banking facilities, which offer you with latest updates on money saving techniques. By adopting a few resource-saving techniques, you can save your money from flying away from your pockets. You need to learn how to manage your money in order to save it from being wasted in avoidable costs every month.

But, you need to allot enough time for it. A recent. If you are an avid smoker then with a little bit of self-control you can curtail your smoking habits. You can also bring down your housing expenses and earn some money by renting out your spare room. To augment your savings you can deposit your monthly earnings into two different accounts at two different banks.

This will help you to monitor your savings very easily. You can also monitor your personal spending via online banking and stay within your budget. Through debitATM card you can withdraw money from the ATM centers of a particular bank which remains open 24 hours a day. Many of the banks also offer Internet banking facility for the convenience of their clients. Savings Bank Account can be opened in the name of an individual or in joint names by filling up a simple form.

Young adults are now increasingly warming up to the idea of saving their money in a savings account. The trend has already set in and it will be only a matter of time when children will also be taught about saving money as part of their school curriculum.

So, without wasting any further time, make it a point to save a portion of your money in a bank account every time you get your salary check. Increase your financial prowess adopting a few tricky money-saving techniques and be assured of a peace of a lifetime.

Saving Your Money and Your Pocket Low Rate Secured Loan

Got a nice home, real estate or properties and the entire necessary thing for getting a good loan deal. As we all know finances act as a petrol for the vehicle called life, and we need it at regular intervals. Getting a low rate secured loan is the easiest and most reliable form of raising finances.

A low rate secured loan is one which is secured by the borrowers home, real estate or any other property which have some value to offer lender in form of equity. Now the question arises what is equity and how is it calculated? …Equity is term given to the value of your collateral which is considered by a lender while offering you loan. It is calculated by deducting the debts (if any) against your collateral from the market value of the property. You can borrow up to 125% of the equity value varying from lender to lender on the basis of their loan lending policies.

Following benefits can drive you towards applying for a low cost secured loan:

As the name suggest, these loans comes with low interest rates

Repayment terms and conditions are quite flexible

Longer repayment term ensuring smaller monthly payments

Higher rate of approval due to presence of collateral

Online option to apply with reduced paper work

Larger amount can be borrowed

People with bad credit history or poor credit score can easily apply

Loan amount can be used for debt consolidation, business funding, and children education, medical expenses, buying property (home, real estate, car or boat), holidaying around the beautiful destinations of the world etc hence are multi-purpose loans.

The most important step in applying for any loan is the research involved in finding a good loan deal in the loan market. You need to get down in the market to shop around for the loans. Talk to lenders, shop around for loans, get the loan quotes and compare them. After you have selected the number of lender, sort them according to interest rates and repayment terms. Choose the combination which suits your circumstances.

Before filling an application form one should consider following points:

Read out all the terms and conditions to find out if there is any hidden cost involved.

Consult your loan officer.

Find out whether the lender is genuine or not but studying his past history in loan market.

Apply for amounts which you can afford to repay or you will end up loosing your asset.

Low rate secured loan is the best tool for you when you need money at ease without much affecting your budget at the time of repayments.