Sixty-six percent of all grocery purchases are impulse purchases. Shopping with a list can save you money every time you go to the store.

Use some of your leisure time to develop new skills. Using your own time, energy and skills to meet your needs or wants is a time-honored way to cut expenses. Learn to cut hair, change the oil in your car, make gift items, or make great pizza from scratch. You will save money, and you may have fun along the way!

How can you know if you have too much credit card debt? One rule of thumb is you owe too much if you owe three times the amount you pay off in one month.

Pay off your credit card debt. Remember, paying on a credit card balance that costs you 18% in annual interest rate charges is the same as earning 18% on an investment -- a very good rate of return! Start paying extra toward your balance today.

Money decisions affect everyone in your household. Plans to save money or cut debt will be accepted better when everyone has input. Try to have regular family meetings to discuss money issues. Encourage everyone to speak freely at the meetings, and be prepared to compromise.

Looking for ways to simplify your financial life? Pay your savings account regularly. Make your saving bill a part of your spending plan, just like rent or utilities. Make this a bill you pay automatically each month.

Do you find it hard to pay unexpected home repairs? Each month set aside an amount equal to 10% of your mortgage payment to pay for your next emergency home repair.

Looking for a way to save money with little effort? Pack a lunch two days a week. If you usually spend $7 a day on lunch, you will save about $700 a year.

To keep your financial house in order, annually check your credit report at www.annualcreditreport.com

A research study showed that people who had a financial plan had saved at least twice as much as people without a financial plan but the same income. Having well-defined financial goals is an important part of money management. So, write your goals today and begin to save.

Click to your future – Start investing today for retirement. Visit www.RetireWell.uiuc.edu

Make it a habit to save money you receive unexpectedly, such as bonuses, gifts or salary increases, to reduce your debt or increase your savings. Over your lifetime, this will make a major difference in your overall net worth.

How much do you pay each month for services that aren't important to you? Do you subscribe to magazines you don't read or belong to a gym you don't use? Check out this list of recurring costs -- what are they worth to you?

• phone services such as call-waiting or caller ID
• cable TV
• computer on-line services
• magazine subscriptions
• book clubs
• gym fees
• cellular phone

Help your teenagers learn the value of money. Encourage them to calculate how many hours they must work to buy a new item. For example, for a teenager with take-home pay of $5 per hour, it requires three hours of work to buy a $15 CD.

Do you contribute regularly to an investment such as a mutual fund? Consider using the dollar-cost averaging technique. Dollar-cost averaging is buying the same dollar amount of the same investment at regular intervals such as each month or quarter. This technique can be helpful in long-term investing.

Life is not about money . . .

What are your priorities? Your goals? How can you use what you have, to get what you want?

When you have good information and strong skills for managing your money, you can use your money more effectively.

When bills pile up and your spending is out of control, it's time to take action to get your financial affairs back on track. People sometimes experience financial crises due to job loss, a serious illness, divorce, or death of a spouse. Others simply fail to take control of their income and spending behavior. Either way, the problem seldom fixes itself. But with careful planning, you can manage a difficult financial situation.

Consumer Debt –

• Around 40% of American families annually spend more than they earn.
• About 60% of active credit card accounts are not paid off monthly.
• A typical credit card purchase ends up costing 112% more than if cash was used.
• A typical American family today pays about $1,200 annually in credit card interest.

Credit Score is numerical score that reflects the following: Your bill payment history – 35%, Amounts owed – 30%, Length of credit use -15%, Types of credit used -10% and New credit -10%.

If you can't pay your bills, the first thing to do is contact your creditors.Let them know what the problem is.The creditor may be willing to work with you and make special arrangements to lower or cancel your payments for a period of time. The worst that can happen is that they will continue demanding payment.If you simply ignore your creditors and don't explain why you can't make your payments, they will probably think that you just don't want to pay your bills.

Here are some money skills for preschool children ages 3-5

• Identify coins by correct names
• Identify dollar bills
• Keep money in a safe place
• We trade money for things
• We can't buy everything, so we make choices
• When we spend money it is gone

Here are money skills for early elementary aged 6-8 youth

• Learn coin values and equivalents
• Count coins
• Banks keep money safe until we need it
• Writing checks takes money out of the bank
• Deposit money in savings account
• Manage a small allowance

Here are money skills and concepts for elementary aged 9-11 youth

• Make change
• Divide allowance between spending, sharing and saving
• Makesimple spending plan for one to two weeks
• Keep simple spending records
• Compare prices when shopping
• Realize we can earn money by doing extra jobs
• Save small amounts each week for larger expenses in the future
• Understand and use correct terms for banking transactions

Do you have an inevitable fund? Right know you don't know how you are going to use the money, but eventually something will come up – flat tire, unplanned tank of gas of a family function. This is a savings account that will be used but today hasn't been identified.

Most people are aware that the smartest way to use credit cards is to pay the bill in full every month. Assuming your card has a grace period and does not have an annual fee, then you are using the card for free – it is simply a convenience that allows you to write fewer checks and/or carry less cash.

"Oh well – it's just $3.00. That won't make any difference anyway."

Does that sort of phrase sound familiar to you? Even when money is tight, even when there is a goal we really want to reach, even when our debt loads are increasing every week... it's all too easy to go on spending on little extras, thinking it doesn't make any difference.

That's where we're fooling ourselves. Small amounts DO make a difference.

• Suppose you spend $3 per day, 5 days a week, to purchase a cup of specialty coffee. In a year, that's $780.
• Suppose you eat lunch out every weekday. Even if you only spend $7/day, in a year, that's $1750.

Add to that other small habits: a magazine at the newsstands every month, small treats for the kids, a big night on the town each month, regular lottery ticket purchases, late fees on credit card bills. Those expenses can easily add up to hundreds or thousands a year.

Dealing with spending leaks doesn't mean giving up everything fun. It may mean cutting back (for example, eating lunch out only twice a week instead of every day). Or it may mean finding a smarter way to buy something (for example, buying pop in cases at the grocery store instead of one at a time at convenience stores). Only you can decide on the right spending choices for you and your household.

Benjamin Franklin said: "Beware of little expenses. A small leak can sink a great ship." Examining your spending leaks is a valuable step in taking control of your money. Give it a try this week!

The U.S. Department of Energy features a website devoted to fuel economy topics, including a car guide that allows you to compare the fuel costs and pollution impact of thousands of new and used vehicles. Go to http://www.fueleconomy.gov to explore the issue further.

Remind you that "a little bit add up." Well here's a perfect example. 17 million pennies is equal to $170,000.00. Who ever thinks about having a fortune in pennies?!! But clearly it's true – even when it's only a penny at a time, by getting a pile of them together, you can have a lot of money. That's just one more reason to keep adding to that jar of coins in the kitchen – every little bit added is a small step closer to your savings goals!

If we all have so many pennies in jars at home, perhaps we need to take them to the bank and turn them into a savings deposit! That way our money will be safer, and might earn a little interest. What's more, the supply of pennies in circulation would increase, perhaps reducing the burden on the U.S. Mint!! J

Most folks know that being asked to co-sign a loan is a serious request. If the borrower misses one payment, the co-signer will immediately be called on to make that payment. If the borrower becomes unable to pay off the loan (illness, unemployment) or simply decides irresponsibly to neglect the loan, then the co-signer becomes responsible for the entire loan pay-off. Problems with the loan appear on the co-signer's credit report, too.

It's always good to be aware of warning signs. If you hear a funny sound in your car, you'll want to get it checked out. If your teenager's grades drop surprisingly, you'll look into it to find out if there are more serious problems behind the change. If you start losing weight unexpectedly, you'll see the doctor to find out what's wrong.

Who Can Test for Radon? - The resident of the home may test or mitigate their own residence, or hire a licensed professional. Licensed professionals are recommended for real estate transactions.

Contact the Illinois Emergency Management Agency at 800-325-1245 or http://www.state.il.us/idns/html/radon/radon.asp

The measurement professional will test each of the lowest structural areas of the home. If you have a basement – they will test the basement; if there is a crawl space – that is where they will test; and if there is a slab-on-grade, they will test a room on the foundation.