Spending Less 101

New Years Resolutions Don’t Work

John — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 21:39:21 +0000

I have heard a lot of people talk about their New Years Resolution. Either they are going to lose weight, stop smoking, or increase their income. Some other people are planning to be making a certain amount of monye by the end of the year. They don’t work.

One reason why resolutions don’t work is that most people don’t set specific goals as part of their resolution. Lose weight is a wish. So is make more money. These things have no defined finish line, therefore, you cannot guage whether or not you are on the right track.

Another reason resolutions don’t work is because people try to draw a line in the sand. The change is too sudden. It’s like the frog in the pot. If you drop a frog into a pot of boiling water, he will jump right out. The change is too sudden. If you put a frog into a pot of cold water and gradually increase the tempurature, the frog will stay in the pot and end up as dinner.

The point is to set goals (not resolutions). One example of a good goal would be “I will have $5k in the bank by the end of the year from saving $x per pay period and from selling widgets online.”

Don’t set yourself up for failure.

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Is your cell phone bill too high?

John — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 18:44:29 +0000

My cell phone bill runs about $60.00 per month. I think that is too high. Is your cell bill high? Has it been high in the past, but you were able to get the cost down without losing too much functionality? I need ideas because I am not going to continue with the high bill. I will either get the cost reduced, or I’ll go without a cell phone. If you have any ideas, please let me know.

I am going to be evaluating all of the following bills and will be taking drastic actions, if necessary, to get the costs reduced:

Sat TV
Home Phone
DSL

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End Of Year Message

John — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 04:59:44 +0000

Since it is the last day of the year, I just wanted to thank all of my readers for following my blog faithfully for the past year. At times, I have gotten to the place where I did not know what to say or I did not want to say anything…but you continued to follow me.

In 2009, I have decided to make my online presence larger. My ultimate goal is to work 100% online and not have to go to an employer’s location 9-5 M-F. I feel that I am on the right path towards this goal, and with your help, I can make it.

With the economy the way it is, these words may be worthless, but I hope you had a great 2008 and I hope your 2009 is even better. If you ask my opinion, I think the economy has reached the bottom of the curve and things are turning around.

If you want to follow me even more, my exploits and spoutings can be found on Twitter, by email, on Facebook, or on LinkedIn. I can also be found on digg and can be reached by paper cup and string.

Happy New Year

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Now that the holidays are over…

John — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 22:41:42 +0000

Make sure you lock your doors and windows, leave a radio on low volume when you leave the house unoccupied, and report any strange activity in your neighborhood. The thieves will be out in force because the things you bought for Christmas are no longer safe in a secure warehouse or locked and alarmed department store. Those things are now in your mostly-unsecured homes.

===

The economy is in the midst of her death throes. Violence and crime are projected to escalate as people begin to lose their jobs. The waning days of the credit frenzy is causing many to realize there life has had no real meaning. The consumer based economy is over and people are beginning to panic. The criminals are salivating at the realization that people’s distrust of banks are causing them to store their money at home.

Burglary is the act of entering a building with the intention of committing theft. These crimes may escalate as the economy collapses further. While insidious, burglaries are often crimes of opportunity and are not usually planned in advance. Because of this, you can often thwart burglars with very simple precautions. I have included six basic steps to prevent your home from being broken into.

1. Present your home as if it is occupied at all times. Burglars will often bypass occupied homes for vacant ones.

2. Use automatic timers on lights when you will not be at home. Try to arrange the lights so that they come on and off based on the normal pattern you usually follow when you are home.

3. Always use your garage when parking cars. Make sure all windows have curtains drawn at all times so that a potential burglar cannot look into your garage window and determine if you are home or not.

4. Do not create patterns. If you open a certain curtain only when your home you could be signaling a person who is staking you out that you are not home.

5. Place radios on automatic timers and turn the volume up so that they can be heard outside.

6. Lower the ringer of your phone and voicemail machine so that no one can hear it from outside your window. A constantly ringing phone or a voicemail message will signal that no one is home.

7. Never leave notes on your door letting people know when you will be back.

8. If you are going to be away for a few days suspend all newspaper and mail deliveries. Nothing says ‘vacant house’ louder than a pile of unread newspaper in your driveway.

By following these simple 8 steps you will be better prepared to survive the worst attack a burglar can throw at you.

Robert Padgett is the author of a blog called, Survive the Worst. This site is dedicated to surviving the worst conditions imaginable. From man-made disasters such as war, terrorism, civil unrest,industrial accidents and power failures to Natural disasters such as Storms, Blizzards, Hurricanes, Tornadoes, Earthquakes, Floods, and Fires we will offer insight into how to prepare for any situation.

http://survivetheworst.blogspot.com/2008/12/survival-panic-expected-to-spur-crime.html

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Robert_Padgett

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9 Recession Survival Tips

John — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 18:19:31 +0000

As the economy continues to slow here are 9 tips to survive and thrive through the recession.

1. Value Not Price.

When you go to the store don’t assume the lowest priced product is the “cheapest.” You have to look at a number of factors when choosing what is the best use of your money. Factors including: lifespan, quality of result, and ongoing operating costs. Many times the more expensive product will be a much better value and save you money in the long term.

2. Buy Store Brands.

Selecting store brands over name brands often results in savings of 15-50% for the same quality of product. Most grocery stores have the price broken down to price per a smaller unit to be able to quickly compare the cost across a range of sizes.

3. Adjust the Thermostat.

On a monthly basis the electric bill is one of the largest monthly family expenses. According to Nevada Power setting the thermostat to 78* in the summer and 68* in the winter will save 10-25% a month. To make a room feel cooler use fans to improve air circulation when you are there.

4. Start a Home Business.

Home business owners have many advantages over their non-business owning neighbors. The two biggest reasons are additional income and preferential tax status.

Robert Kiyosaki the author of rich dad poor dad advocates participation in network marketing. Network marketing allows an individual to open a business for very little money down and a small ongoing operating cost. The real power of networking is the ability to create leverage. That is you get paid on your retail sales and you receive an override on sales made by those you recruit into the business. The overrides while a fraction of the personal sales commission can create an ongoing residual income that can last for years.

Finding the right company can be difficult. There are a large variety of products, services and compensation plans to make the decision confusing and difficult.

I recommend a company called Financial Destination Inc. The company provides a variety of financial solutions that are in great demand and will be needed for years to come. All of the services are provided by experts. Independent representatives are only responsible for recruiting members and helping others who wish to participate in the business opportunity.

Go to www.FDIAMERICA.com to learn more.

Owning your own home business also opens up a world of tax deductions that can save you hundreds or thousands of dollars every April 15th.

5. Plan Your Errands & Route.

Before you start driving around town write down all the places you have to go and plan your route. By planning ahead you can often do all your errands in less time and drive fewer miles saving on gas.

6. Don’t Neglect Regular Scheduled Car Maintenance.

Your mechanic will tell you it is cheaper to maintain the health of your car than fix it after it breaks.

Having a clean air filter keeps your car breathing easy. Properly inflated tires are safer and more efficient. While not a major difference over the long haul it will save you money on fuel and the tires will last the expected lifetime.

If you have full synthetic oil in your car it is likely that you should be changing your oil every 4,500 - 6,000 instead of every 3,000. This saves you 1 or 2 oil changes a year that can be $40-100 a year.

7. Discount Card Programs.

There are discount cards for just about everything. Prescriptions, vision, dental, restaurants and retail shopping. These discount programs can help you save 10-50% on many of the things you already purchase on a regular basis.

8. Downgrade Your Cable or Satellite.

999 channels and nothings on. Look at what premium channels you watch on a regular basis and what channels you only have for one show. Most of the most popular shows on TV you can buy individually and through the internet. Instead of spending $20 a month for Showtime to watch 15 episodes of Weeds you can buy the entire third season from iTunes for $29. A savings of $211 a year.

9. Go on a Diet.

Portion sizes have increased dramatically in the last 50 years, so have peoples pants sizes. You can save money and your health by cutting down on the size of meals you cook and eat. If you are not big on cooking in the weekly grocery store mailers you will find Lean Cuisine or Healthy Choice meals are almost always on sale at one of the major grocery store chains.

While times are tough it is often the small things that you can change easily and still maintain your comfortable lifestyle.

Bob Firestone
bobfirestone.us

Bob specializes in building home businesses that create residual passive streams of income. Visit his website http://www.bobfirestone.us for more information on available business opportunities.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bob_B_Firestone

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Digest for 12/29/08

admin — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 09:07:07 +0000

Saving Money At Christmas

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Saving Money At Christmas

John — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 17:04:09 +0000

I have to admit that I did not follow my own money-saving advice this Christmas. In an effort to please the kids and make their Christmas fun, I dipped into my savings and spent more than I had planned to. I guess a lot of parents feel that way and kids can be naturally ungrateful.

I bought them a Wii. My main reason for doing this was to fulfill a promise I made to them last year. Since I dipped into savings, I am going to be working some additional hours to replenish what I spent, and then some.

2009 will be a better year for my family, financially and otherwise. The girls deserve to have a full family (mommy and daddy) and they deserve to be happy. Since mommy is not in the picture, I have to compensate as best I can; not with things, but with time and with love. I’m doing the best that I can.

Merry Christmas to all.

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Digest for 12/22/08

admin — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 09:09:29 +0000

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Saving Space Can Save You Money

John — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 02:47:35 +0000

Here is a round-about way of saving money. Save space. What if you could save enough space to prevent you from having to move to a bigger place? With the Space Bag, you can. Check it out. Space Bags can be used to unclutter your home, more than quadruple the amount of free space you have in your closet, and protect clothing and linens.

Amazon is selling the same package for $37.49, but you can get your 7-piece Space Bag package here for $19.95+ s&h.

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I Need Your Help

John — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 18:46:58 +0000

This does fall into the realm of saving money (spending less) because my decision on this issue will determine if I am going to have to spend money I really don’t want to have to spend.

Here’s the deal. I purchased a pair of glasses for my daughter a few months ago. Her vision is such that she can’t see the board in her classroom without them.

She was playing volleyball the other day in gym class. Although the kids have been instructed to roll the ball to the players on the other side of the net when the ball changes sides, a kid on the other side of the net threw the ball, hitting my daughter square in the face. She is fine, however, the glasses were not. The metal that holds one of the nose pads broke off.

The teacher’s response was to make the kid who threw the ball sit out for the rest of the class period and to send my daughter to the nurse. This did not get written up, per school procedures. The “substitute” nurse, sent my daughter to the office. Instead of calling either me or my mom to bring her another pair of glasses, the office sent her back to class.

I spoke to the principal about this yesterday. She told me she would pass my contact information on to the boy’s parents so I could work out remuneration with them. Although, according to her, she did speak to the boy’s parents about this, she did not pass my information on to them.

I spoke to the principal today. She started to back-pedal on the whole issue. She brought up that it was an accident and that the school could not make them pay for the glasses. She also said she was waiting on a call back from the district head of PE to find out what the district’s procedures are on these types of issues. Can you say “pass the buck”?

Fortunately, the principal gave me the name of the person she was waiting on a call from. I passed that on to my mom, who I knew would follow this up without all of the emotion I’d bring to the situation, considering that the school has really pissed me off with this.

She contacted the district PE director and they had not heard of the incident. She then spoke with the principal about it.

I have a question for my readers. If someone accidentally runs into your car, regardless of if they are sorry and it was an accident, who should pay? An alternative, and possibly more relevant question is, if your kid accidentally hits a ball through your neighbor’s window, who should pay?

It’s not fair that my daughter has to wear her old, and no-so-effective pair of glasses because someone else made a mistake.

Am I in the right on this or should I just drop it and foot the bill for new glasses?

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Free Shipping Day???

John — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 16:26:53 +0000

I never heard of this, but there is a site out there that lists a bunch of online stores that all have free shipping on the same day. FreeShippingDay.com highlights the fact that a lot of people procrastinate (like me) and wait until the last minute to purchase Christmas gifts. Check it out. While you are doing that, I’ll be placing my last few orders.

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Speaking of Saving Money

John — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 01:38:44 +0000

The company I work for gave out turkeys to all that work there today. Actually, you could have selected either a turkey or a cheese cake. Since I don’t like cheese cake and I love turkey, you know what I chose. Since I normally go to my parent’s house for holiday meals and since my mom usually cooks turkey, I gave it to her…just like the two pecan pies the company gave out to all that wanted them just before Thanksgiving. I don’t like pecan pie so I gave them both to my parents figuring that my dad and brother would eat them. Well, my mom ate the most out of the two pies.

The moral of the story is: If someone is giving out free stuff, take it. :) By the way, I found $20 at Target last night. Later…

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Digest for 12/15/08

admin — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 09:11:47 +0000

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Saving Money on Clothes

John — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 06:25:53 +0000

Since clothing is an area where I don’t have a lot of expertise (at least that is what my last few girlfriends have told me), here are some videos containing ways you can save money on clothes, but keep from looking like bum:

How To Save Money on Back To School Clothes
Save Money on Clothes - From GoodHouseKeeping
How To Make A Hem
Swap Those Clothes
Get Custom Made Shirts Cheap
How To Wash Ties - I used to just throw mine away when they developed stains
Shoe and Sandal Repair
Clothing Care

If you have any tips on saving money on clothes, please leave it in the comments…

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Grocery Store Round-up

John — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 06:14:00 +0000

I’ve posted quite a few items on how to save money at the grocery store. I figured I’d round them up for you so you don’t have to go hunting for them.

Buy Generic - Don’t worry. You’ll find that a lot of the generic items taste just as good as the name-brand items. In some cases, they are actually the same items, purchased from the brand-name manufacturer and re-branded with the store’s name. I can tell you with almost 100% certainty that the Schnucks store brand sandwich bread is re-branded Wonder sandwich bread.

Keep track of what you buy - You can do this on paper, but the post describes an application that does a pretty good job.

Eat before you shop - This one should be pretty obvious.

Freeze It - Using your freezer can keep you from wasting food.

Make A List - Don’t just wander the store aimlessly. Also, organize your list to the layout of the store to save time.

Use Coupons - Don’t throw your cash out with the Sunday paper.

Use cash - You got me. I didn’t post about this one yet, but what it comes down to is planning to spend a certain amount and using cash only will help you stick to that amount, or rather the thought of the embarassment you will experience if you get to the checkout lane and don’t have enough cash to pay for your purchases.

Have a tip to save money on grocery shopping. My readers and I would love to find out what it is. Please leave a comment and share your tip with the world.

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Get Your Game On

John — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 22:12:15 +0000

Free Online Flash Games are available at onlineflashgames.org. Support your friendly neighborhood Flash Developer and check out these games. A lot of these games are very intricate and detailed. I’m sure they took a lot of time to develop, and the developers are offering them for FREE. The least we can do is spend hours and hours in front of the computer playing them. I know I will…

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Spending Less 101

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