No matter what your money situation, it’s easy to spend like your money will never run out, especially when the company you keep tends to spend like mad.

One of the perks I had during my recent college experience was living within walking distance of all my friends, which meant rarely needing to spend a lot of money to have a good time. But things are different now and draining my wallet seems to be a consequence of hanging out with friends.

Peer pressure to spend money affects people of all ages. It’s your friend who always wants to go out for lunch or a co-worker who keeps up with the latest trends and fashions.  That’s the downside of all of this—we feel pressure from those around us to act a certain way even if it’s beyond our means. This is where the lessons we learn in grade school of “Just say no!” come in handy for money management.

Don’t spend unnecessarily

Within a group of friends, there can be a very diverse mix of financial situations. Some people can afford to spend more on their social lives and some live on a tighter leash. Don’t let friends who spend money all the time influence you to spend money you don’t have worked into your personal budget.

Find other ways to enjoy spending time together. Host a weekly or monthly get together to watch a popular show, like Dancing with the Stars, or have a board game night. Rotate who hosts the festivities and come to an agreement about food and drinks. Nothing has to be extravagant; it is supposed to be a low cost way to hang out with your friends.

But wait a minute! There are always two sides to every argument. Why should people (and their bank accounts) have to suffer because of popularity? The answer is: they shouldn’t.

The power of people

You can and should use the buying power of your group of friends to save everyone some money. Look for places that offer group discounts on tickets to events or restaurants that give bigger groups discounts on meals. Go shopping with friends who have similar tastes to take advantage of offers like “buy 3 get one free,” and split the cost so everyone gets a discount.

There is also a Web site that is dedicated to this exact practice. Groupon is a company that offers discounts to local businesses in more than 20 major U.S. cities.

Here is their basic pitch according to the Groupon blog: “Groupon subscribers receive free daily emails alerting them to an exclusive deal from a top local business (restaurant, spa, indoor activity, the World’s Largest of something, etc.), but these deals only go into effect if a minimum number of people agree to buy.”

This site provides a great service to their users. They encourage people to use the power of peer pressure to make sure everyone gets a break while helping local businesses in the meantime. The best way to ensure you don’t miss a good deal is to spread the word about the offer and share the discount with anyone who would be interested. Plus, there is a new deal featured every day, so there is bound to be something for everyone.

Is there a middle ground? Does a way to have fun with friends and be kind to your wallet exist? A lot of businesses have created days in honor of the saving savvy social butterfly.

Celebrate on “special” days

 The “special” days I’m talking about aren’t birthdays or holidays (although this certainly could apply to them). The next time you want to spend time with your friends and go out rather than stay in, do it on a day that your regular hang out spot offers deals.

It’s the “happy hour” concept applied to activities instead of restaurants and bars. Bowling alleys usually have one night a week where games only cost a dollar or shoes are free.  Golf courses frequently have twilight hours where you can golf at a discount because you only have so much time to play before it gets dark. Certain movie theaters offer matinee prices all day long during the middle of the week.

If you are going out to eat or to the bar, go during happy hour and on the days where restaurants offer special prices. Some places have “kids eat free” nights or all-you-can-eat pasta days. One of my favorite places in college had “half-off Wednesdays,” where everything on the menu was half price.

I realize these days usually attract a crowd, everyone wanting to have their share of a great offer, but that just means you’ll have to plan ahead. Make reservations if possible or allow your schedule to be flexible and account for waiting time.

So what does all of this mean for the peer-influenced money manager? Continue to be smart with your personal finances. Avoid following in the footsteps of liberally-spending friends, but use the weight of a crowd to save everyone money. So the next time you hear the phrase “Come on, everyone’s doing it!” make sure your peers are pressuring you to have fun while saving money, not throwing it away.

Looking for more money saving tips? The Quizzle Blog’s got you covered:

• 55 Money Saving Tips (Your Wallet Will Thank You)
• 6 Tips to Help you Save for a Down Payment on a Home
• Free Stuff from Uncle Sam
• 8 Ways to Save Money as a College Student
• Perfect Weddings Can Be Frugal Weddings

Quizzle is the free and easy way to manage your home, money and credit – all in one spot. For even more money saving tips and news updates, follow us on Twitter or become a fan of Quizzle on Facebook.

Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pierofix/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Today while searching the web, I came across a list of “The Best Procrastination Quotes.”  The list has a wide variety of quotes; some tailored to the seriousness of putting things off until the last minute and others taking the results of a carefree life a little more light-heartedly.

Procrastination has always been a personal battle of mine. Homework, laundry, plans for Friday night… I always find a way to wait until the last minute to do everything. This summer I caught an episode of the popular AMC show “Mad Men.” I really enjoyed the show and decided I would work it in to my fall television schedule. It’s the second week of November and I have not watched another episode of the show. Mad Men’s season finale has already come and gone.

Waiting until tomorrow to do something you could do today can make a big difference. This applies to making sure you have clean underwear, but more importantly, it pertains to personal finance. Staying on top of your money habits is imperative to having an accurate picture of your overall financial health.

Budgeting

Keeping track of every transaction seems tedious and time consuming, but it doesn’t have to be! Doing your budgeting in a timely fashion really helps when it comes to overall money management.

A lot of people blindly trust their bank’s records for all of their transactions. Most of the time, this is an ok practice, but there is usually a delay between when a transaction happens and when it appears on your statement. Having a hard copy of all of your purchases and withdrawals will keep you on top of your spending and possibly even help you catch an error on your bank’s statement.

Evaluating expenses

Review your habits and go over expenses frequently. Save receipts and actually look at them at the end of the month.  Separate the items you bought that were necessities from the items that were luxuries. Add up the cost of those late night pizza runs and impulse candy bars, and try to eliminate the things you don’t really need.

If you make a point to schedule time to review your smaller purchases every month, you will end up catching your unhealthy spending behaviors before they get out of control.

Paying bills

I consider late fees an arch-nemesis. Who wants to pay an extra $25 because you forgot about that utilities bill you got two weeks before it was due?! If at all possible pay bills off as soon as you get them, even if there is a grace period between the time you receive it and the due date.  If you can’t pay it off just yet, make sure to pin it on a bulletin board or stick it to the refrigerator so you don’t forget.

Buying gifts for birthdays and the holidays

The holidays are coming up.  Waiting around until the last minute to purchase gifts could mean having to buy a more expensive model or spending more than you initially wanted to in order to compensate for not being able to get the perfect gift for that special someone.

In addition, unless you plan ahead or save up for the holidays, you could find yourself in a pretty big hole if you don’t take the excess spending into account when updating your personal budget.

Plan ahead for who you are shopping for and what you need to buy, even if that means buying gifts right now. This will leave more time for learning how to wrap gifts with only three pieces of tape, and truly enjoy the most important part of the holiday season: cookies.

Learning to overcome procrastination is something that could take years to do. However, the best way to defeat the habit is to start making changes today. Sally Berger once said, “The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” With the help of money management tips and tools in Quizzle, I have started practicing better money management that will ultimately help me save in the long run.

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rwjensen/ CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

We are all about making Quizzle the best it can be! With a recent boost in Quizzle users and some exciting changes to the site, it is important that basic parts of Quizzle aren’t being overlooked.

I wanted to take some time to answer a few of the frequently asked questions directly from YOU, the Quizzle user.

1. Does getting my information from Quizzle take points away from my credit score?  Does it affect it at all?

Getting your free credit report and score in Quizzle does not take away any points from your credit score or hurt it in any way. We do a “soft inquiry,” so it may show up under “inquiries” on your report. This is just so you can keep a record of every time it was pulled, but it doesn’t affect your credit at all.

2. How often is the information updated on my account?

Here at Quizzle we’ll give you a new free credit report and new free credit score every six months. However, your credit card companies and lenders update your information typically on a monthly basis. So if you would like a credit report and score before your 6 month time period, you can purchase one for just $7.

Your home value estimate and the homes sold in your area are updated daily. Your mortgage review is also updated daily based on the changes you make to your profile. The neighborhood demographic data is updated on a quarterly basis. And the information in your budget tool is updated according to your credit report or according to the updates you make yourself.

3. The details on my home are not all correct.  How do I fix this so that I get an accurate home value?

Currently, there is no way to change your home details, such as square footage or number of bedrooms, in your Quizzle profile. If you’ve recently had your house appraised, you can update the value of your home, but that change will only be reflected inside Quizzle. We will then use the inputted value to calculate the equity of your home and make more accurate mortgage recommendations.

We will be adding functionality soon so that you can manually update the other information about your home in Quizzle too. We definitely want to make sure you get credit for your correct home information!  

4. I received my credit report, but I was trying to get a credit report for my husband.  We have the same e-mail address, so how can I receive his credit report?

Quizzle uses your e-mail address as an individual username for a single account.  Therefore, because you registered for Quizzle, you can view YOUR credit score and include your spouse’s income to the Budget section, but you cannot access your spouse’s credit report.

If he wants to view his own credit report, he would have to register separately under a different e-mail address.

5. How can I dispute items on my credit report?  

1. Log into your Quizzle account.
2. Click on the Credit tab to access your credit report.
3. Click the orange button that says “Dispute this information with Experian.”
4. Fill out the Experian form to file this dispute with the credit bureau.
5. Experian will follow up with you to let you know when your dispute has been resolved.

You can dispute as many items as you’d like on your credit report. Everything from an incorrect date of birth to inaccurate listings of your employer can be disputed. However, if there is something you’d like removed from your credit report, you need to contact Experian directly. Quizzle can’t add or delete items from your credit report.

Did you learn something about Quizzle you didn’t already know? Do you still have questions you’d like answered? Let me know!

Hello Quizzlers! My name is Kristina and I just became an intern here at Quizzle.com. I graduated from college in May, so I am learning a thing or two about the importance of post-graduation money management.

Being a college student can mean a lot of things, but along with all of the fun comes new responsibilities.

It is the first time you learn how to do things on your own, including personal budgeting.  Keeping track of the money going in and out of your pocket can seem tedious at times, but it is necessary to prevent getting into serious problems like debt.

Here are a few money saving tips to help while you’re away from home:

1. Take advantage of campus activities

Your school wants you to enjoy yourself while you are there, so most campuses will host events that are free for students to attend.  Anything from sporting events to stand-up comedian performances could fall under this category of school-sponsored events. Student groups and organizations are a good place to start to look for a list of upcoming events. You might be surprised to find out how much you can save on the weekend by going to a few free things every once in a while.

2. Use student discounts

Going along with finding out what kind of deals your school offers, check out the local restaurants and stores in your college town to see if any of them give special discounts to students. This could be a cheaper ticket to the movies, a free drink with your meal, or even a percentage off your purchase at your favorite retail clothing store. Who knew that having a student ID could be like having a reusable coupon to all your favorite places?!

3. Buy used

It is just a fact—sometimes things aren’t taken the best care of in a college house or apartment. In contrast, why should students not be able to have nice furniture?  That’s where buying used could come in handy. Look in on-line classifieds for used furniture. There is probably a site specifically for students at your school. There is a good chance you will find some great deals, especially if you look for people who are having moving sales.

Since you aren’t buying something new you don’t have to make a long-term commitment to a color or style. You can also use the practice of buying used products when it comes to books and other class requirements. And then at the end of the year, you can sell your books and furniture before leaving campus to make some extra cash for the summer.

4. Host group events

Something my friends and I realized while away at school is that we missed home-cooked dinners with the family. So we decided to recreate that atmosphere at our college apartment. Once every two weeks (you can do this more or less frequently depending on everyone’s schedules) we would have a group meal together.

There are a lot of times that buying and cooking for one can be tricky, so buying for a group can be cheaper (food isn’t going to waste) and cooking is easier (since most recipes aren’t written for only one serving). Rotate who cooks and who hosts, but every time divide the grocery bill amongst everyone that comes—it usually ends up only being a few dollars per person, so it is a great alternative to eating out with friends all the time.

5. Look for other alternatives

Love having coffee in the morning while you’re in your first class? Make it at home instead of buying an overpriced cup’o’joe at a coffee shop. Pack a lunch or a snack rather than going out to eat in between classes.  Other luxury expenses can really add up, so if you can figure out a way to tweak your expensive habits and save a little (or a lot) of money, you will definitely appreciate it in the long-run.

6. Watch sales

Keep an eye out for sales on items you purchase regularly. Paying a sale price for the things that you use on a daily basis will save you money in the long run. Shop around at different grocery markets and drug stores for the best price on these staple products. One great thing about comparing prices is that competing stores could be offering discounts on different products each week.

7. Walk, bike, carpool, or ride the bus

With the ever-increasing gas prices, driving a car around campus can get pretty costly. Instead, bring a bike with you to campus or walk to class when you can (weather permitting). Also, look into the public transportation system at your school. A monthly or semester bus pass could save you money on gas for those trips that are too far for your bike. If you have no alternative to driving yourself to class, find neighbors or classmates that want to carpool. You’ll all save money on gas and parking!

8. Cut back on utilities

There are some little changes you can make in your daily routine that could save you money on your utility bills.  Simply unplugging your cell phone charger when it’s not being used or opening windows instead of using a fan or the air conditioning can save on electricity costs. Also try using natural light during the day and turning off all unnecessary lights. Taking timed showers and only doing full loads of laundry (whenever possible) can save money on the water bill. On top of saving money you are also being more environmentally-friendly!

In my experience, these ideas can help minimize a few of the most common financial burdens.  This way you can spend your time worrying about other important things, like what’s for dinner or what to be for Halloween.

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/stuartpilbrow / CC BY-SA 2.0