If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

HOUSING EXPENSES

Don’t buy the most expensive home in the neighborhood if you’re relocating. And don’t improve your home so much that it becomes the fanciest one on the block. Another Housing Money Saver: Buy a multifamily dwelling and rent out the other units. That way, other people will be paying part or all of your mortgage costs.

• Obtain several bids on home-repair and improvement projects. After seeing the best offer, ask the other bidders if they can do better, and even after deciding, try to negotiate a still better price with the chosen contractor.

• Learn to make emergency repairs yourself. That way, if a water pipe suddenly bursts or  fails, you will be able to take swift action to prevent the problem from becoming worse and more expensive to fix. Buy the necessary fix-it books, tools and supplies.

ENERGY/Utilities

. Use less hot water. Set your soap dispenser or soap dish on the left side of the sink in your kitchen and bathroom, as close to the hot-water handle as possible. You, family members and visitors will reach for the cold faucet handle automatically. Cool water is just as effective for cleaning your hands as hot water.

AUTOMOBILES

• Rent out your garage. If parking spaces are at a premium in yottr neighborhood, you could collect $100+ or more per month just for parking your own car on the street or in your driveway. Specify that the arrangement is for storage only and no work can be dlone on the car there. Post a sign on your lawn or place an ad in your local newspaper. Get the most from insurance claims. If a driver damages your car, you may he able to file a claim for diminution of value against his or her insurance company. You might have to provide photos, Blue Book values, appraisals, etc. Check with your insurance agent. The reason is that even though your car was repaired adequately, it has diminished resale value, for which yoti may be compensated.

• Make an inventory of all your household possessions. Save receipts for all major purchases. Keep copies in your safe-deposit box or office. If disaster strikes, you will be able to show the insurance company what you owned and how much it cost.

• Never assume that a broken appliance must be replaced by a new modeL If you can t get it repaired under the warranty, spend a little to discover exactly what is wrong and how much it will cost to make it usable. And if it can’t he fixed, consider doing without it. Money- and time-saver: Keep all your war- ranties and owner’s manuals in one file.

CLOTHING EXPENSES

. Find a good tailor who can alter garments that you can no longer wear because they are c)ut of style or your size has changed… a good shoe repair person who can extend the life of your shoes.. .and buy clothes that do not require dry cleaning.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

The Automatic Millionaire’s Simple Get-Rich Secrets

Here in what can best be described as hard times, with record oil, gas and food prices, it’s difficult for many to think about being “wealthy” but it is actually quite possible if you know the secrets of the well off. Invariably they have one thing in common. They all have various budgets. Sticking to a budget means depriving yourself today for the sake of your future well being. Very few of us have the dis cipline that this requires. We spend excessively when we dine at expensive restaurants, buy new cars every few years and spend $3.50 -$5.00 for a cup of Starbucks coffee. The results are sad.  Even people with decent incomes live from paycheck to paycheck. To save steadily, most people need to put savings on autopilot. Arrange for a certain percentage of each paycheck to be tucked away. Then minimum should be 10% and consider this “paying yourself”.  This takes less discipline or effort if it’s automatic. You can arrange for your bank or mutual fund firm to automatically take money out of your bank account every month and put it in investment funds or savings accounts.

How Much Should You Set Aside?

Start out small to establish a habbit. Save $100 of your salary. Soon, you can kick that up to $300. Your goal should he to save at least $100 weekly. Those with grander objectives should save $1500 to $2000. You will be amazed by how little sacrifice is involved. Say you now buy lunch at the office every day. By brown-bagging it, at a cost of $1-$3  per day instead of $8-$15, you can save between $49 and $70 a week and, or  $3,640 a year! That can make for a nice vacation and  If you earn a 7% annual return, that savings would grow substantially.

The best way to save is with a 401(k) or other tax advantaged plan. If you save after tax dollars, the federal government alone takes about $3 of every $10 you earn. When you put $10 into a retirement plan, the entire sum goes to work and wont be taxed until withdrawal.

Pay Down Your Mortgage

Making regular mortgage payments is a form of forced savings. To accelerate the process, see if your bank will allow you to pay off your mortgage early and if nothing else  making one payment every two weeks instead of once a month and you will make 26 half payments, or the equivalent of 13 monthly payments each year. You could pay off a 30—year mortgage in about 23 years. Consider that a $250,00() 30-year rnortgage  with an interest rate of 6% will cost you $289,595 in interest. By paying bi-weekly, you will pay $60,972 less.

Easy Ways to Cut Your Expenses

In virtually every part of our lives, we can find easy ways to reduce the cost of living. Housing, clothes, cars and leisure activities all take a large portion of our paychecks. Even our pets cost money to feed and keep healthy. A little planning can help us cut our expenses significantly without depriving us of anything we really need. And don’t think cutting out the small things won’t help save money. Small savings actually compound over the years to produce big savings. We will show you many easy savings in the next few days so bookmark us and subscribe to our weekly newsletter, The Leading Edge, and our RSS feeds!

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!