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Money Dashboard, the free financial software service, has put together some top tips on ways to save money this Christmas and into the New Year.

Christmas is one of the most expensive times of the year. This year Britons will spend around GBP89 billion on Christmas, from food and decorations to presents and travel. Trying to save at this time is therefore an uphill struggle. But Money Dashboard knows it is possible. Through its free online software anyone can take control of their finances. Users of the software can see exactly where their money goes, monitor their spending accordingly and even see how much money will be spare at the end of the month. Past spending patterns are used to predict the future, making saving more straightforward and fundamentally, more doable.

Money Dashboard has three key pieces of advice for budding savers. Here are some of their top tips.

See what you’re spending
By monitoring spending people can see exactly where their money goes. With Money Dashboard all information from all accounts can be viewed in graphs, thus making it far easier to monitor, track and keep on top of incomings and outgoings. Monitoring allows people to be aware of their costs. A tough month with lots of outgoings such as December and January can be planned for in advanced and/or dealt with through some belt tightening shortly afterwards.

Make adjustments to help cut costs
By using Money Dashboard’s forecasting facility, based on previous months, users can easily see how much they can expect to receive and pay out. If for example a big expenditure is coming up such as Christmas, users can adjust well in advance based on the budgeting model. The Money Dashboard software calculates for you accordingly, showing just how much will be available in the future based on savings and cutbacks now.

Plan ahead to continue saving
Money Dashboards Budget Planner makes saving for big occasions simple. It shows areas that can be reduced by distinguishing between all types of payments and earnings. Its Budget Planner breaks everything down into bite-size, easy-to-read manageable readings so people can take control of their finances.

Website: www.moneydashboard.com

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To make delectable Chana Masala you can follow these steps. Take one cup of white Chickpeas and soak them in water for 8-9 hours. For roasting Masala take three-forth cup or one cup of grated Coconut, 1 inch Cinnamon, half tablespoon Fennel seeds, half tablespoon Cumin seeds, 1 tablespoon Coriander seeds, 1-2 dry Red Chilies, 2-3 Cloves, 1 Black Cardamom, 2-3 Green Cardamom and one small piece of Stone Flower. Also take other ingredients like 3 tablespoon oil, 1 small Bay leaf, half teaspoon Mustard seeds, 10-12 Curry leaves, 1 Green Chili, 1 medium Onion chopped, one medium Tomato chopped, one-forth or half teaspoon of Turmeric powder, a pinch of Asafetida, half inch pieces of Ginger, 2-3 Cloves of Garlic, Salt to taste and some fresh Coriander leaves. Now take pressure cooker and put soaked white Chickpeas with 3-4 cups of water, let it cook till three whistles. Grind Ginger and Garlic together to form a paste in mortar-pestle. When Chickpeas are cooked, drain the water and keep it in a utensil.

Take a frying pan and put Cinnamon, Cumin, Cloves, Red Chili powder, Stone flower, Black Cardamom, Green Cardamom, Fennel seeds and Coriander seeds and roast them. Instead of these you can simply use two-three teaspoons of Majithia Chana Masala Powder. Once these spices are roasted add Coconut and fry for few minutes, when Coconut turns brown put off the flame and grind this entire mixture after cooling with a cup of water to form a paste. Take oil in a separate frying pan and add Mustard, Bay leaf and Onions, fry till Onions turn brown. Add Curry leaves, Ginger-Garlic paste and Asafetida, fry till aroma of Garlic disappears. Add chopped tomato and fry for few minutes, add ground masala paste and stir and later add boiled white Chickpeas. Sauté for 3-4 minutes and later add water collected from pressure cooker, keep stirring the mixture after every 2 minutes and let the gravy become thicker. You can crush few Chickpeas with spoon, this will help in making gravy thicker. Once it is ready serve after garnishing
it with fresh Coriander leaves. You can serve Chana Masala with Pooris, Bhature or even with Parantha. Chana Masala also tastes very good with plain or fried Rice.

The above mentioned recipe will make Southern style Chana Masala or chickpea curry which is very different from usual recipes and has unique taste. Use of Coconut in the dish makes its taste relishing and gives it a special appearance. If you do not like the taste of Coconut, add any other vegetable oil to fry spices or add Majithia Chana Masala Powder to heated oil. Serve it hot, you can also add Raita, Curd, Yoghurt or Salad for more variety in the meal.

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