A couple of days ago I was checking out the news, as I do every morning, and I heard an interesting little segment on The Today Show. It was called “the art of negotiation” and it sounded awfully familiar!

It’s not as much a coincidence as it looks at first! Everyone is having to tighten the ‘ole money-belt these days. So, of course, we’re all looking for ways to do more with less. The coincidental part is we both chose haggling! Of course if you know me, you know I’m very through. And since we’re involved in financing right now …..

So, let’s talk about ‘trimming the fat’ out of your budget. I’m sure you have spotted some possibilities. How are you going about implementing your savings plan?

First, have you opened that savings account yet? Many of you will probably say “ no, not yet” or just “hummm”! Look I know change doesn’t come easy, but we all know you have to take action before change happens! The thing is… you have to do something/anything to get started. So it’s time to set a deadline! Pick a time in the next couple of days when you will have opened your emergency savings account. Now make a contract with yourself that you will honor that deadline! By making a commitment, you are motivating yourself to take positive action!

Next, where’s your list? You need a list of budget cuts you can do! I suggest you place Item, Cost, Method of Cut, Amount Projected to Save, and % of Budget Saved as your headings. Now, go through your expenses one by one and ask these questions:

1. What purpose does this expenditure serve?
2. On a scale of 1- 10, with one being the least necessary, where does this fall?
3. Do I eliminate this, cut it down, or must it remain the same?
4. Can I substitute something less expensive?
5. What are my alternatives? (look for at least 3)
6. What happens if I don’t do this?
7. What happens if I do this?
8. Is this, necessary for survival, necessary for society, or a good investment?
9. What makes this expenditure good?
10. What makes this expenditure bad?

Anything that falls on 5 or below on the necessary scale can probably be eliminated!! Take your time with the rest of your expenditures. Go through each one and thoroughly answer each question! Make a deadline for finishing this! Become committed!

Next time we’ll go over our savings plan and I’ll show you the next step! I hope you can make it!

Thanx so much for coming. I really enjoyed our visit. I hope you did too, and hang in there! We’re just getting started!

Caretakerray

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Welcome, so glad you came:

O.K. It’s time to start putting some of this to work. First necessary tool (until later)- a budget! Also known as an experiment in creative accounting, the budget is your first discipline and we develop it around our money!

We begin with income (you know, what you make).

Income is broken into three parts;

1. earned (like your job)

2. capital gains ( like interest on savings)
3. and windfalls (like tax refunds)

For now, let’s just use our take- home pay. So: WAGES___________. You can break it down anyway that works for you (ie: each pay check, monthly, weekly. Or biweekly). Whatever is the easiest to work with.

Now comes the fun part, bills!! we’ll break it down, BILLS_______:

Start with the bills you HAVE TO pay____. The ones that keep you fed, clothed, and sheltered.

Next list the HAVE TO____. These are things like phone, internet,care payments etc. Finally, we have what I call “THE TO DIE FORES””. This is your cable or satellite service, gaming, movies, entertainment, and whatever else you could do without if you had to.

Everything else is waste!! So list it as such. This is your first savings. Let’s take the “waste” money and put it into a savings account. If you don’t already have one- get it.

When choosing a savings account, it is important that:

1. there be no monthly service charge to have the account,
2. research for the highest interest rate possible (on-line accounts are especially good for this),

3. an account you can get to.

Hopefully, you kept a record of spending. Use this to record how much you spent on each of the remaining items under BILLs .

Now it’s time to “trim the fat”! Let’s look at each item and decide if;

We can eliminate it ( think hard now)

We can reduce it (Any chance of negotiation? How about wasted usage? Any of that?)

Or can we change it? (Does it have to be Premium Roast?)

Go through everything with a fine tooth comb. We need to put 10% of our net income into savings. Get as much as you can by trimming the fat!!

As a word of caution, you are probably not going to make every cut you can. Some things are just worth having. Is O.K. Just do as much as you can, and at the rate you can. This is a life-long commitment and doesn’t have to be perfect.

Tomorrow we’ll get in to cutting cost in a little more detail. Mean while you might want to review these posts:

Let’s Save It

Clip It

Let’ Talk About

and

Timing Is Everything

Thanx for stopping by. Stay as long as you like. Look around, me casa is you casa!

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 It's chock-full of tips and resources as well as updates on my latest posts!

Welcome back. Thank you for coming:

Today I thought we’d pause and see where we’re at with all this. First, what exactly are we doing and why? Our goal here is to build for safe financial security. To free ourselves of that worry and move on to better things. So if we begin becoming more aware of our money, we can take more control of it. We most understand where our money is going as well as where it comes from. The first step is track your money in detail to search for spending cuts.

It’s obvious we don’t have enough money (who doesn’t). And it’s elementary there are only two real ways to make more money. #1 would be to make more money, #2 is to spend less. See where this is going?

It takes about 30 Dy. To accurately track your spending. So in the mean time we utilize our time by forming savings habits (spending less).

The goal here is, of course, to follow the #1 rule of finance “Pay yourself first”! We are looking to cut spending by 10%, and put that into a ‘rainy-day fund’.

By now you have;

A. Become acutely aware of what your money is doing.

B. learned a few ways to save some money.

C. And began to develop a savings habit or two.

These few simple things alone will change your life for the better. But we have just begun. There is lot’s more to come.

“the journey of a thousand miles begins with but the first step”

Confucius.

Thanx so much for coming and please leave a comment or suggestion.  I value your input.

caretakerray

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Welcome. Thanx for coming:

Today let’s talk about when to buy things. Everyone knows about buying “on sale” or special days like “Black Friday”. But have you thought about things like Inventory Time, or Seasonal Change, or Off Season? Often we forget there are more opportunities to save than ‘just sales. When you buy can make all the difference between a good bargain and a great bargain.

For instance when’s the best time to buy gas? Usually early on a week day morning! Gas stations tend to change there prices between 10am and 12pm.

Or when should you buy an airplane ticket? On a Wednesday morning! Airlines tend to make fare changes on Tuesday evenings or Wednesday mornings (get tickets at least three weeks in advance).

January is a great time to look for clearance sales (it’s inventory time and they’d rather sell it than count it). And September is when new car models come out, giving you a chance to negotiate a good deal on a new car! Buy used on the weekend or Monday evening, this is a busy time for them.

Buy fresh foods when they are in season and learn to preserve them. Often frozen is a better choice as they preserver while still fresh. Fresh produce can sit out on the shelf for a week or more!

You like candy? Buy right after Halloween or Valentines day. Toys right after Christmas.

Buy those air conditioners and bikes in the winter when sales are slow. Get winter wear and snowmobiles in the summer!

Get the idea? Buy when the seller is more desperate to buy!

Thanx so much for coming and be sure to check back. I’ll be on a savings kick for a few more days, and then we’ll talk about what to do with all your savings! See you then!

caretakerray

P.S,

Here are some resources to help you out.

http://www.smartmoney.com/spend/family-money/the-best-time-to-buy-everything-20025/

http://frugalliving.about.com/od/bargainshopping/tp/Best_Time_To_Buy_Everything.htm

http://lifehacker.com/5440376/best-time-to-buythe-best-times-to-buy-anything-all-year-round

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Welcome back.  Today you’re going to learn an important skill to save money on mostly everything

There’s a new trend these days when buying things. It’s called haggling! Yes, we’ve all heard of it. Most of us have done it at least once. Usually at garage sales and flea markets. But did you know it’s possible to haggle the cost of about anything?

In many countries it’s expected that you won’t take the first asking price. You’re supposed to counter with a lower offer and-after a brief discussion, both parties agree on a more reasonable price. It’s just polite! After all half the fun of retail is in the haggle!

Yet here in the U.S.A., and in a few other countries, haggling is seldom done. Why is this? How did we become programmed to accept whatever price a sales person sets? Have we become so affluent we don’t need money? Or is it because we just don’t have the time for savings? Whatever the reason, haggling will not only save you a lot of money, it may actually improve your relationship with your suppliers!

Most of us are either afraid or embarrassed to haggle. We think we will be perceived as nuisance. But haggling is not a sign of a cheap skate, not at all! Rather haggling is a sign of a savvy shopper. Think money, not convenience. Would you rather keep some of your money or give it to them? It’s a no brainer! You both want your money, it’s up to you who gets it!

There are a few rules to haggling.

First do your research. Know such things as;

What the fair market price is. And what competitors are charging.

How much are you willing to pay (or can afford)?

What are the stores “markdown” policies?

And when can you talk to the person authorized to do the discount?

In addition when the discussion actually begins;

Be nice. You can better deal with a store employee by being respectful and polite.

Avoid an audience. An employee doesn’t want to give the discount to everyone. After it is about profit. However, they may well do it to keep one satisfied customer.

Look for fixable defects and flaws. It’s Hard to argue against an imperfection.

Ask about coupons. Often an employee will have discount coupons at the counter. And while you’re at it, don’t forget to ask about sales!

Be persistent. With a little effort, you can get substantial savings. Use lines like:

“I really want to purchase this here. Help me do that.” or

“ Hmm.. I don’t know”

Don’t be afraid of silence. The store manager will be compelled to offer something if you just wait long enough.

Check the internet. Often you can get it cheaper on the internet. You may even get the store to match the price –   minus the shipping and wait.

You can haggle most anything. Even grocery. Many stores have a price-match policy. Be sure to ask.

These are just a few of the tricks to haggling. Haggling can become a fun way to savings if you’re willing to give it a chance. There are many resources on the internet that can give you more comprehensive information on the subject. Here are a couple;

http://www.rd.com/money/how-to-haggle-like-a-pro/ – Readers Digest.

http://www.wtsp.com/news/local/extras/article/134634/13/Haggling-101

http://couponing.about.com/od/bargainshoppingtips/tp/haggle.htm

Thanx for coming. I hope this has been helpful. I’d love to hear from you. Let us know how you liked the post and how do you haggle in the comments section.

caretakerray

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One of the most effective ways to cut spending cost, especially with food and household items is couponing! Oh yes, I can see the visions of hours in kitchens spent clipping and filing and refiling little pieces of paper! Then there’s the thick glasses from reading the small print! And let’s not forget the hours in line to save a few pennies while the ten or twenty people stacked up behind us complain loudly.

Not a very pretty sight, is it? Luckily it doesn’t have to be that way. Couponing can be taken as far or near as you want it. A serious coupon-er will spend about 30 to 45 min. a week and save about 80% on their shopping. Though it is possible to save 80% to 90% you can expect to roughly cut your household items and food bill in half. Still a significant savings!

There are a few things you can do to greatly simplify couponing.

First check with your local stores and find out what their coupon policy is. Some will take competitors coupons, or have double coupon days. Some accept on-line printed coupons and some do not. Find out what their policy is and write it down. Often cashiers are not familiar with their stores policy concerning coupons and it helps to be able to explain it to them.

The next thing you need is a filing system. There are several ways to do this, The Binder Method , The Hybrid Method , The File Box, The Scrapbook Album, The Mega Coupon Bag, The Day Planner, The Couponizer, and The Coupon Clutch to name a few. I use envelopes labeled into categories. Choose a simple one that suits you and your needs.

Next you need a list of things you buy every month. Unless you have a preference, use generic terms like toilet paper, oranges, coffee and the like. Once you have the list made, you can take it one step further and add the usual cost of each item. If you’re not sure just use your best estimate.

Of course now you’re going to need some coupons! There are many sources of coupons. Most of us know to check the newspapers. But don’t overlook magazines and in-store coupons. Then, of course, there’s online printable coupons. Just be sure your store accepts them, some don’t. Then there are the “blinkies” (those little blinking pull-out things), and “peelies” (stuck to the product itself), and “tear pads” (the little books of coupons usually at the register (take two or three). And be sure to get those “reward” cards so many stores offer these days. There are also those rebates, don’t overlook the savings there.

Hint: get multiple newspaper coupons by buying Sundays (or any regular coupon days) left over papers the next day from the store. You will get them for little or nothing.

Here is a super neat way to increase the value of your coupons! It’s called stacking and here’s how it works. You simply combine a manufacturers coupon with an in-store coupon for a double discount. Take this a little father and combine a manufacturers coupon with an in-store coupon with a sale and /or rebate on a double coupon day and you get the item for practically nothing! How cool is that?

Hint: many discount and dollar stores now take coupons.

So to put it all together here’s a summary:

First put together a list of the things you buy each month. Then get the stores you shop at coupon policy. Now gather coupons. Next look for sales. Finally stack as much as possible. That’s saving!!

There are a few things to keep in mind when couponing. You must have a workable filing system. Know your stores coupon policy. Be sure to read the fine print on your coupons. Look for expiration date, size and brand name, and limits among other things. Check your receipt (you’d be surprised how often they are overcharging). Stack when ever possible. Plan your shopping rout for minimum mileage. Don’t be afraid to stand up for your discounts (be firm but polite). And don’t over think it.

These are a few of the top ways to use coupons. There are many more at sites like these;

http://www.couponing101.com/2009/01/a-beginners-guide-to-couponing.html

http://frugalliving.about.com/od/bargainshopping/a/Coupon_Guide.htm

http://www.couponmom.com/

Thanx so much for coming. I hope this has been helpful. I’d love to have your suggestions and comments.

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caretakerray

Welcome back. Thanx for coming. I hope you enjoyed your weekend.

If you’ve been tracking your spending this last week, you probably noticed how little things “nickle and dime” you to death. Today we’re going to begin keeping those nickles and dimes where they belong- in our pockets!

As you’ve probably surmised, a lot of our money is spent daily on the way to and from work. So let’s begin with that.

Your biggest expense to and from work is transportation itself. Assuming you drive yourself to and from work every day, you have the constantly rising of gas. Then there’s the car insurance, maintenance (tires oil and coolant as well as repairs) just for starters. Yet what can we do? We have to work! We owe. We owe.

Well, for starters we can;

Take public transportation when possible. Not only does this save on transportation expenses, but it has the added benefit of giving us time to do other things during the commute. And don’t forget the stress of driving is no longer an issue. If you could get along without a car, you’d save hundreds, maybe thousands each year!

Tip: go here for the lowest gas prices.

Most of us can’t do without our car (family, schedule, and the like). So the next best thing is, you guessed it, car pooling! Car pooling is a great way to cut the cost of driving! Not only do you get to socialize, but you don’t have to be to be the driver all the time. Check at work for people who live in your area (they all come here, right?), and, especially for long trips, there are countless carpooling sites that can hook you up!

Last, but not least, there’s always walking or bicycling for those of us lucky enough to live close to work. Not is it virtually free, but it’s great exercise as well.

Tip: instead of stopping to buy that cup of joe on the way to work, make it yourself at home. $.10 vs $1.00 to $7.00 is a big difference!

Another big area of expense is your household! There’s everything from rent or mortgage payments to utilizes to every day house hold items. Of course shelter is one of the basic necessities and it certainly isn’t free! So what can we do?

First, your rent or mortgage shouldn’t be more than 33% of your income. If it is consider moving to a cheaper place or refinancing your mortgage.

Tip: both renting and ownership have their advantages. Ownership gives you more freedom to remodel and builds equity. While renting allows you to change locations more easily, and saves you the cost of maintenance. Choose according to your needs.

Next there are utility costs. Heating and electric alone are sky-high expenses. Add water and sewage and you’ve got a huge slice taken out of your wallet! But there are ways to help yourself out.

One money robbing area in your home is heating. See if there is a government weatherization program program in your area. You could save a lot for free (if you rent talk with your landlord. A programmable thermostat is a very inexpensive way to save 10% to 30% on heating and cooling. There are also some very good easy weatherization tips on the internet, most of which you an do yourself for very little cost.

Tip: turning your hot water heater to 120 degrees instead of the standard 140 degrees will save significantly while still providing plenty hot water.

Let’s remember this; every electrical device has an on and an OFF switch. Simply turning off the things you are not using will save you hundreds of dollars a year!

Tip: Don’t forget to unplug those phantom energy users.

And while you’re at it, how many of those electrical appliances could you do without? Sell them at a yard sale and turn those energy users into cash!

The third area of expense you can cut is entertainment! This doesn’t mean condemn yourself to a boring life of doing nothing. But there are things you can do to cut costs.

One big item is your T.V. Get rid of the cable or satellite dish! There are plenty of sites like Hulu and Tube Puss that give you these things free and on your time!

Tip: Use free TV. whenever possible. A DVR will allow you to watch on your time, not theirs.

And, of course there’s always the free stuff in town. Libraries and museums and parks offer some choices. Often there are free concerts (especially in the summer months). And let’s not forget low-cost from local school plays or sports.

These are just a few of the ways to cut costs. I’m sure you know many more. Share them with other readers in the comments section.

Thanx so much for coming. Let me know if this helps in any way. Next time we’ll talk about another way to save! You won’t want to miss it!

Caretakerray

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Welcome back. I’m so glad you came! You’re showing a real commitment to getting control of your money! I’m proud of you.

Last time we talked about the difference between needs and wants. Remember if doesn’t fulfill a basic survival need it’s a want! Today we’re going to begin making our spending accountable. A written record of spending has many uses. By tracking our spending, we will become aware of when we’re spending and on what. A written record will also give us the big picture! It will enable us to spot frivolous spending. It will give us the opportunity to reduce or eliminate much of our spending. Again we will be spending wisely!

There are several ways to track our spending. If you use credit or bank cards you can look at your monthly statement. Just be sure to keep recipes for any cash expenditures and add them to it.

Another method is to get and keep recipes for anything you buy. Remember to write what they are fore for future reference.

Or you can keep a log. Write the date,what it is, where you spent, and how much.

You need to keep a record for one month. Then you can go over the spending and immediately see where the money is going. Later we’ll go over this and decide what we can eliminate or reduce. It’s that simple. Yet this is a very important step toward ending your financial worries. This is the second step in achieving this goal.

Next time we’ll begin looking at some ways to spend less. We’ll learn how to cut back on costs and free up money for other things. See ya then.

Thanx for coming and please leave your comment(s). I love your input!

caretakerray

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When I decided to do this blog, I wanted to begin with your most pressing problem areas. That, as we all know, is money! It doesn’t matter who you are, we all want more money! How many times have we said “if only I had more money”? Or “if I only could win the lottery”? Or I wish I had a rich uncle”? If you had three wishes, wouldn’t money be one of the first?

When you think about it the reason we want more money is simply because we haven’t learned to live with our means. We tend to overspend because we don’t know the difference between ‘need’ and ‘want’. We “need” the basics: food, water, shelter, and maybe clothing. That’s it! That’s all we need! As long as we have these basic things, we will survive just fine. Everything else is merely “wants”!

Now there’s nothing wrong with wants. We should have some of them to fulfill our God-given right to the pursuit of happiness. But when we start spending more than we can afford on wants we run into trouble. Instead of being “a means to an end”, money becomes “an end” in itself! Thus we live to work instead of the other way around.

So what should we do? Live in abject poverty? Merely survive with the bare minimal requirements of survival? Although some of us feel that’s what we’re doing now, this is not the answer. Remember I said we have a God-given right to the pursuit of happiness. The trick is to live within our means. Don’t spend what you can’t afford. You can still reap the rewards of your labors but, you need to do it wisely. This is the way out of money worries! Let me repeat that; “ This is the way out of money worries”.

O.K. I can hear you now. “Easier said than done” you say. Of course it is! If it was easy more people would do it. This requires some self-discipline and a change of spending habits. So here’s the answer. Every time you spend so much as a dime you must ask yourself these questions:

Does it fulfill a basic need (food, water, shelter)?

If not what “need” does it fill?

What are the positive results of buying this?

What are the negative results?

Is there a less expensive alternative?

What happens if I buy it?

What happens if I don’t buy it?

CAN I AFFORD IT?

Write these questions down they are important. Put them on a piece of paper. Carry the list with you and look at it every time you spend any money! They will help you get a handle on your spending. They do this in two ways. One, the questions slow you down. Taking time to answer these questions gives you time to reconsider spending. And two, they give you a clear assessment of why your spending your “hard earned” money.

This is your first step to true financial independence. Do this and you will spend less on low priority “wants”. Give it some time it takes 28days to develop a habit. But after a while it will become automatic to you. You will be “spending wisely”. The first step out of your money worries!

Next we’ll talk about tracking your money. Once you know exactly where your money goes, you can adjust spending to a more efficient level. See you then. Thanx for coming. And don’t forget to leave me a comment or two. Your input is very important.

caretakerray

May I suggest you keep up to date by signing up for my news letter?

It’s chock-full of tips and resources as well as updates on my latest posts!

First I’d like to say thanx for coming and checking out my blog. Welcome.

O.K. That said, welcome to 2012! I’m sure most of you have heard the “doomsday” prophesy supposedly from the Mayan Calendar of 2012 being the end of the world. Of course it supposedly means “the end of the world as we know it”. Now I don’t believe in all this “end of the world” nonsense, nor did the Mayans (they made no-such prophecy). But I kinda like the “end of the world as we know it” idea!

No, I haven’t gone loony on you. What I mean is why can’t this be the end of those parts of our life we aren’t satisfied with? Why can’t this be the year we begin anew and make those improvements we’ve been putting off all this time? Why can’t this be the end of the world as we know it now, and the beginning of the world as we envision it?

That’s what I want for all my readers! That’s going to be the purpose of this blog. Not some ‘quick’ way to happiness. Rather practical, sensible, and useful advice on ways to improve your life in the ways you’ve wanting to.

What I’m trying to say is: “let’s make this the day we change our lives! The day we quit ‘trying to make a living’ and start living!”

Thanx again for coming and be sure to come back next time when I’ll begin with a series on solving financial problems.

May I suggest you keep up to date by signing up for my news letter?

It’s chock-full of tips and resources as well as updates on my latest posts!