Humans are funny creatures. We don’t always do what’s best for us – instead, we do what feels best, and try to blank out any reasons why it might not be the best thing to do. Maybe that’s why there are so many people who have both savings and debts.

It’s a Matter of Psychology.

Yes, it feels better to save. Saving feels like building a foundation for your future, while paying off debt feels like throwing your money down a hole. That money is for the kids’ education, or for improving your house, or whatever else – and it’s in an account earning a good rate of interest. What could be wrong with that? Lots, if you have debts.

Don’t Be Fooled.

There are almost no savings accounts that offer interest rates as high as the ones credit cards charge. Here’s a question: if you have $10,000 in a savings account earning 5% per year and $5,000 on a credit card at an interest rate of 20% per year, how much money do you have? After just five years, the answer is effectively $0 – your debt would have grown to around $12,500, the same amount that your savings are now worth.

Sometimes it seems that you are always trying to budget for different occasions where you need to provide a gift. There are always plenty of housewarmings to attend, weddings, anniversaries, and birthdays to keep you digging into your pocketbook. Since you know you will always need gifts, it can save you plenty of time and money if you purchase such gifts in advance while they are on sale. This is the perfect way to find bargains for gifts so that the recipient thinks you spent more than you did.

To make this concept work well for you, organization is very important! I know people who buy plenty of bargains to give as gifts, but the problem is they can never remember what they have or where it is when they need something. If you create a list and keep it in a safe place you will always know what gifts you have available. I keep them in an air tight Tupperware storage container (that I got on sale!).

In the world of credit cards, there are plenty of people who are desperate to borrow money, and just as many people who are desperate to get back out of debt again. Given that, it’s not surprising that the industry is full of scams. Here are some to keep an eye out for.

The Debt Advisors.

Be very careful if you’re offered ‘free debt advice’. There are many government bodies, legitimate financial companies and charities that give good advice, but the ones who do a lot of advertising tend to be owned or partnered with people you don’t want to know. If the advice you get is to sign up for another loan from one company in particular, don’t believe it – the chances are that the person you’re talking to is just a salesman in disguise.

The banking industry is becoming increasingly competitive with many of the major credit card providers moving in to local markets aided by the internet.  This is true of HSBC as well as many of its competitors such as Capital One and Chase.  The quality, breadth and ease of use of the provided services are becoming the overwhelming decision points, it is no longer necessary for the bank to have a storefront close to you, though that can still be important for some.

For HSBC customers in the north-east and west are indeed bank outlets where hsbc personal banking may actually mean standing face-to-face with another human being.  For others across the country the sheer breadth and depth of hsbc personal banking services may well be one of the major discriminators in choosing to bank with HSBC.

Saving has always been a way of life for people who believed on its power. These people know that they have to save more money in order to create a more established future.

However, as time goes by, more and more people find it hard to save money. They contend that saving is no longer a way of life but a resolution that they have to strictly adhere to just to salt away some amount of money.

Some people even insist that it is no longer possible for a person to save more money because most of them are already living paycheck to paycheck. With all the high-prices of commodities these days, saving more money is no longer workable.

But the point is that people can indeed save more.

Want to save money but don’t know how?  Feel like depriving yourself when it comes to saving money?  Don’t be disheartened.  Try these five money saving ideas, without breaking up a sweat!

Reduce or eliminate magazines.  If you are a typical American family, your mailbox gets its regular fill of magazines: business, sports, home and garden magazines.  Can you imagine how much each of these subscriptions cost?  Annually, it is an average of about $20 per magazine.  If your family is subscribed to 5 different magazines, that’s already $100 savings per year!  If you still need the information from such mags, try to check out their websites and you’ll be surprised at how much free information is available!

Car auctions are a good place to get good a bargain on cars. But buying cars from auctions can be very complicated. This is particularly true for the uninitiated. Of course the cars in auctions are generally cheaper. But they are cheap because they lack the guarantees that come with cars bought from dealers. The rules in auctions are simple, you bid an item, you pay for it, and you own it.

It is therefore not advisable for persons without much experience in motor vehicles to just go to an auction and buy a car.

What you’ll need if you’re planning to buy a car in an auction is a good eye, good observation skills and a willingness to learn the car auction process.

You can even make it a business by buying cars at auction and then selling them at a profit. There are several people who have made huge profits by buying and selling cars at auction.