Buy Like Buffett: Smart Shopping One Key to Better Financial Planning

This poor economy is making it difficult to get ahead financially. Most households are going to need to place an emphasis on making every single dollar last longer. The best way to do this is by becoming a smart money manager when it comes to your finances. You should do all that you can to increase your overall net worth while keeping your expenses in check.

Here are a few tips that will help you do this.

Watch out for banks

Now that banks are starting to charge more fees, banking customers are going to have to start being smart about where they place their money. There is no reason to just give away money every month to your bank in the form of debit card fees, maintenance fees, and inactivity fees. This is free money that is just being given to banks. Start searching for banks that are not going to hit you with fees that reduce your balance each month limiting your purchasing power.

Become a smarter shopper

Bad economic times may not be good for producers but they are great for shoppers. Take the time price shop with every single purchase that you make. Leverage your buying power by seeing what retailer will give you the best deals on big and small purchases. Pay attention to the amount of inventory on hand. If you see a lot of products sitting on store shelves then you will likely have a lot more leeway for negotiating. Making a counter offer can allow you to get a product that you need at an even lower price.

Freeze your spending

The economy may rely on consumption and spending to survive but your household should now. You need to keep your spending levels at the same rate or lower than they have been in previous years. A bad economy is not the time to go out spending extra money on unneeded purchases. You should look to get an extra year or two out of your automobile and hold off on any furniture upgrades. Make sure that you are in a strong financial position before incurring any new expenses.

Using these tips should enable any household budget maker to survive a recession with their budget in tact and their finances and solid shape.

Mark Riddix is the founder and president of New Horizons Financial Management, an independent investment advisory firm that provides personalized investing and asset management consulting. Mark is a regular contributor to Seeking Alpha and has written financial columns for Baltimore and Washington, D.C. area newspapers. Mark publishes his own financial blog, BuylikeBuffett.com and has written the book Your Financial Playbook.