Maximize Your Money – III

1. Go for quality

This will sound contrary to saving money but buying quality products will save you in the long run. Instead of opting for cheap items that require replacement every 2 years, go for quality items that will last for atleast 10 years. While it may cost slightly more during the initial purchase, it will be cheaper in the long run. One thing to remember in prolonging the life of any equipment – continuous maintenance is essential to keep any equipment running well in the long run.

2. Cut down on weekend entertainments

While we all need to chill out after a hard week’s of work on Friday, do we really need to spend Friday night, Saturday night and Sunday night at the pubs? Limit your weekend entertainment to a certain night and rest at home the rest of the weekend. You not only will get adequate rest but you stand to save some of your hard earned cash.

3. Exercise

Exercising helps reduce your overall health risk. Exercise makes you sweat and sweat cleans your skin and allows your body to ex foliate dead skin. Exercise also helps reduce your stress level, making you work and play better. Basically you’re more fun and sexier to be with. Exercise makes women glow and men tough, and reduce your visits to the doctor.

4. Buy Off Season

Buy you winter clothes in spring – stores will want to get rid of their inventory at a lower price rather than store them for another year (storage cost money too). Dont always go for the latest gadgets – electronic gadgets become outdated after a year or so, so be patient and wait for 12 months and you’ll be able to get the updated version the device at a much cheaper price.

5. Credit Cards

If I havent told you this before, I’m telling it to you now. Dont cancel your credit cards. Having more than one credit cards but not spending a single cent on it looks good on your FICO score. It shows the banks that you have a good line of credit without the associated debts.

But what you need to do is to decouple your card from Paypal or other online merchants. Having your credit card stored in these services makes it very easy to spend online and this is bad. So decouple them!

Finding Extra Income

You may be feeling that nothing is working. And there is no hope.

But there is hope. There is always hope. New things can bring in new experiences, so don’t give up.

Get a part time job. I am not asking you to work at McDonalds.

What are you good at? Can you create simple websites? Can you create simple programmes? Can you cook? Can you proof read documents?

If you can do these things, head over to Craigslist.org <http://www.craigslist.org/> or Elance.com and advertise your skill. Dont charge too high. Find your neighborhood in Craigslist and offer your service there. Charge low prices in the beginning in order to get some jobs. Jobs creates referrals. Do a good job and ask for a referral. And keep a list of jobs that you have done, this becomes your portfolio.

Work part time about 3 time per week. Work more if you really need the money. Eventually, you might earn more in your part time job than you do in your full time job. More importantly, the income from your part time job is the key to your financial freedom.

Every successful person stated in this way. When the going got tough, the tough started going!

Maximize Your Money – II

1. Repair Your Old Clothes

Don’t throw old clothes. If you get to see how people in poorer countries live, you’ll learn to appreciate the clothes that you have. Sew your torn clothes and wear them. Don’t rush out and buy new clothes every other week.

2. Ask for a Rate Reduction

Ask and ye shall receive. At the risk of having NPL’s (Non Performing Loans), banks would rather lower the interest they charge you than to have you default on your debts. So don’t be shy in asking. You wont lose anything by asking. I managed to get a 200 dollar reduction in my monthly mortgage repayment, which actually allowed to me to keep paying my old rates and reduce the principal amount of the loan quicker.

3. Say NO to Starbucks and McDonalds

While the coffee from Starbucks might be slightly better than a regular Java, is it worth the USD8 that you pay for it, compared to the USD2 for a regular Java? The USD6 that you save on a daily basis comes up to USD180, which can reduce your credit card interest charges by a considerable margin. And the Big Mac from McDonalds might send you to the hospital with a cardiac arrest. Say NO to FAT. And while you’re at it, stop smoking and reduce alcohol consumption. All these will add dollars into your pocket and increase your life span.

4. Switch Your Bulbs

Switch all the bulbs in your house into energy saving bulbs. You’ll start reaping your savings within 10 months. And besides, you’re doing your bit for the environment.

5. Swap Books with Friends

Check out Craigslist for people who want to share books. Swap books with them, or friends and family. You’ll end up reading a lot more books for a lot less dollars.

Maximize Your Dollar

1. Read More, watch Less TV

Read more, books teaches you more than TV ever will, unless you’re watching the Science channel. Read books that teach you skills that can help you earn more at work.

2. Sell Your Junk

Everyone has ‘junk’ at home. What you consider junk may be something another person wants. So try auctioning the things that you don’t want or haven’t used in a long time at Ebay. No point in throwing away something when it can earn you a dollar or two.

3.  Be Loyal

If you usually shop at a certain shop or fly a certain airlines, try to stay loyal and enroll in their loyalty programme. Pile up the reward points and used them wisely. I had a friend who forgot that he had close to 300,000 points on his airlines rewards programme and allowed nearly half of it to expire. What’s the point of painstakingly accumulating those points if you’re going to forget about them? Don’t make the same mistake. If you really cant travel or redeem the points, donate them to your loved ones.

4. Buy from a List

When you’re out shopping, go with a list of things to buy and a budget. Cultivate discipline. Stick to you list and our budget and you’ll soon have your life in control.

5. Eat at Home

Eating at home is so much cheaper than eating out. It’s all right to bring friends over and cook for them.  Or ask everyone to bring a dish. You can save a lot.

More tips the next time…

Spend Less

Quickest way to save some money – spend lesser than your earn.

When push comes to shove, cut down on frivolous expenses like cable tv, or movie rentals, start car pooling, dump your Starbucks coffee for regular Java.

These cutbacks are just temporary. Their painful but temporary until you get some extra cash with you.