PT 58

Here is the video.

The media would have you believe that we’re heading into a recession.  Although the economy has grown the past two quarters, we are, indeed, in an economic downturn.  This prompted me to research the best ways to save money and put together a list of the best tips on how to save money.

This is, by no means, an exhaustive list.  I’ve separated them by categories for easy reference.  You’ve probably heard of some of these tips before.  But I didn’t come up with all of them myself.  I’m not that good!!  As you will see below, if I did not come up with the money-saving tip myself, I linked to the appropriate website or blog that offered the tip. 

101 Ways To Save Money

General Habits

1) Pack a lunch for work (instead of buying lunch), and save $1,000 per year.

2) Cook at home, and stop eating out or ordering out.

3) Make your own coffee at home.

4) Don’t be afraid to have leftovers.

5) Run your dishwasher on the lightest setting.

6) Use grocery store bags to line your small trash cans.

7) Drink less.  (I’m not necessarily a huge fan of this one.  Yet, if you drink one glass of wine instead of two, or if you order only one beer instead of two, you save money.)

8) Quit smoking. 

9) If the weather is nice outside, turn off the A/C in your home, and enjoy the fresh air.

10) Don’t buy a newspaper.  Get your news for free online. 

11) Change your A/C filter regularly.

12) Turn off the water when you shave or brush your teeth.

13) If it’s yellow, let it mellow; if it’s brown, flush it down.  (Um, not for the faint of heart.)

14) Turn off electronic appliances (TV, cable box, gaming console, oven, computer, etc.) when you’re not using them.

15) Turn on and use only the lights and appliances you need.

16) Open the shades, and use natural light.

17) Of course, during the summer, try to block the light to keep your house cool.

18) If you go to the movies, go before 6 p.m. to get the matinee price.

19) Use low-flow showerheads.  They suck, but you can cut your water consumption in half.

20) Drink water, not soda.

21) Get a good accountant, one who will aggressively find tax deductions for you.

22) Speaking of tax deductions, keep a record of your charitable donations since you can claim a deduction for the amount of money you donate.

23) Fix leaky faucets.  (Apparently, one drip per second equals 20 kilowatts per month.)

24) Take a cold shower.  (I know this sounds horrible, but I’ve done it after exercising, and it feels great.)

25) Get rid of your carpet.  It costs more to clean and maintain.

26) Don’t dry clean everything. 

27) When you vacation, do so in the off-season.

28) Mow your lawn less often.

29) Mow your OWN lawn.

30) And get a manual push mower.  (This is what I have, and it’s great exercise!)

31) Lessen the time you spend with high-rolling friends.

32) Live on 90% of your net income.  Save or invest the other 10%. 

33) Pay bills online.

34) If you work from home, get that home-office deduction.

35) If you own your own business, deduct every business expense.

36) Don’t overpay your taxes.  A tax refund simply means that the government earned interest on YOUR money.

37) Don’t pamper your pet.  He/she doesn’t need all those pricey trips to the groomer.  Bathe and brush him/her yourself.

Banking

38) Avoid ATM fees.  Make withdrawals from ATMS at yourbank, and avoid taking money out from unaffiliated ATMs.

39) Get a free checking account.

40) Avoid overdraft fees.  Keep track of the money in your checking account.

Groceries

41) Don’t use coupons to buy things you wouldn’t normally buy. 

42) But DO use coupons for things you normally buy.

43) Make a list for grocery shopping and STICK to it. 

44) Buy generic.  You’ll never notice the difference.

45) Shop at Wal-Mart (prices are generally 30% less).

46) When you shop for groceries, compare competing brands and different sizes/quantities by looking at the per-unit or per-ounce cost.

47) Only buy wine under $10.  (I know that $20 wine looks good, but there are so many wines for under $10 that are just as good.)

48) Buy in bulk (from Costco or Sam’s Club), but only the things you NEED.  (E.g., Don’t buy a gallon of chip salsa if you don’t eat salsa.)

49) Grow your own food (like herbs and vegetables in a small garden).

General Purchases

50) Stop buying $4 lattes at Starbucks.

51) Stop buying DVDs.

52) Stop buying expensive gadgets and other “fake assets.”

53) Terminate your Netflix or Blockbuster Access monthly charge account.

54) Terminate magazine subscriptions. 

55) Buy used products.  Use Craigslist and Ebay, or go to garage sales.  (I once bought an $800 entertainment center for $100 on Craigslist.)

56) When you go to a movie, don’t buy popcorn, candy, soda, etc.

57) Restrict yourself to a cash system.  Use cash ONLY, and don’t use your credit cards.

58) Whenever you buy ANYTHING (whether it’s a car, a service like painting or home repair, or a mortgage or insurance policy), get at least three quotes.

59) When buying appliances, look at Consumer Reports to find out which brands are more efficient.

60) Don’t buy books.  Go to the library and borrow them.

61) If you don’t watch or need 100 movie channels, don’t buy a premium cable package.

62) Eliminate other unused services (like long-distance, call-waiting, etc.).

63) Consolidate your services.  Some companies are now offering discount rates when you bundle your telephone, Internet, and cable services.

64) Shop online.  There are so many discounts on the Internet.  When you do, make sure to look for online coupons before you buy.

65) Buy stuff that’s on sale.

66) With any insurance plan, raise your deductible, which, in turn, will lower your premium.

67) When purchasing airline tickets, think outside the box: fly from and return to different airports; fly out on a Wednesday; fly back on a Monday; use Southwest; use Orbitz; etc.

68) Ditch the gym membership.  Buy used equipment, or go for a run outside.

69) Buy efficient light bulbs.

70) Haggle.  You’d be surprised how many prices are negotiable.

Driving

71) Downsize your vehicle (i.e., get rid of that gas-guzzling SUV and go for a Prius).

72) Use regular gas.  (Premium doesn’t make any difference.)

73) Use GasBuddy or GasPriceWatch to find the stations nearest you with the lowest gas prices.

74) Use your cruise control.

75) Drive at the speed limit.

76) If the weather is nice outside, turn off the A/C, and roll down the windows.

77) Keep your tires properly inflated.

78) Change your oil regularly.

79) Wait until your gas tank is near empty to fill up.  That way, you save gas by hauling around a lighter load as the tank nears empty.

80) When you fill up, don’t top off.

81) Make sure you know exactly where you’re going to reduce driving around if you get lost.

82) Instead of driving to a bookstore, buy the book you want on Amazon, and have it delivered.

83) Bundle your trips.  Don’t make separate trips.  Consolidate your errands, and leave your home only once.

84) Use public transportation (where applicable).

85) Avoid traffic, and, instead, drive during off-peak hours.

86) Don’t drive around with a lot of weight.  If you bought dog food yesterday, take it out of the car before you leave for work today.

87) If you have a car with manual transmission (I do!), shift up early and down late.

88) Don’t accelerate uphill.  Build up your speed before you approach the incline.

89) Don’t let your car idle for more than ten seconds at traffic stops.  Turn it off.

90) Don’t drive around the entire parking lot looking for the best spot.  Park in the first spot you see, and walk.

91) Carpool with a friend or co-worker.

Debt

92) Negotiate lower interest rates with your credit card companies.

93) If you have a mortgage, see if you can refinance.

94) Consolidate your debt.

95) Pay off your highest interest rate credit card first.  Then pay off your second highest interest rate card, and so on.

96) When you apply for credit cards, get one with the lowest rate possible.

97) Also look for hidden fees with credit cards

98) Get credit cards with rewards programs (cash-back, airline mileage, points, etc.).  They pay off in the long-run.

99) Avoid late fees by paying your bills on time.

100) If you use credit cards, pay off your entire credit card balance at the end of each month.

101) When paying off credit card debt, find a credit card that allows you to transfer your balance at 0% interest for a certain period of time.  This allows you to pay off more principal and less interest.

Believe it or now, these are just some ways to save money.  There are others.  If you take an aggressive approach and apply these tips on how to save money, you will be surprised how much it adds up.  Remember: it’s a game of inches.

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The best way to create and build your business is not by targeting and marketing to everyone.  As they say, if your market is everyone, you have no market.

Instead, when you’re building a business, you have to keep in mind which specific group of people you’re targeting with your product or service. 

The video below is from The Big Idea, and, in it, Jeff Chavez (of NorthStar Ventures) explains to a young business owner what he’s doing wrong with his business and why he’s in debt.  The main focus of Jeff’s advice?  Find a niche.  Don’t go against the masses because you’re going to find yourself outnumbered and over-powered. 

Find a specific gap in the market or, as Donny calls it, those “low-hanging fruit”, and go for it.

 

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Thankfully, Tropical Storm Fay spared us a bit.  We got a whole bunch of rain and a ton of tornado watches and warnings, but the wind was mild.  I did have some leaking/flooding issues in my house.  But, for the most part, everything is fine.

Sorry for the 3-4 day absence.  I couldn’t get that Flimjo Recap up this past Sunday, so I apologize for that.  I like spreaking link love, and I couldn’t get that done.  Nevertheless, this Sunday’s Flimjo Recap will be a two-week recap, so be on the lookout for that.

I will resume normal posting today.  Hopefully, Tropical Storm Fay doesn’t wreak any further havoc in north Florida.

I know.  I keep putting these Recaps up late.  It’s been a bit of a grind between work and business projects.  But, nevertheless, here is the August 3, 2008 version of the Flimjo Recap.

In today’s recap, I will go over (1) last week’s posts, (2) the most interesting blog posts from my top commentators, (3) my five favorite posts from other blogs from last week, and (4) other blogs or sites that link to this blog.

Last Week’s Posts

On Monday, I took the day off to focus on some stuff here at work.  Sad, but true.

On Tuesday, I offered a 10% off coupon for premium Wordpress themes from Theme Spinner.

On Wednesday, I explained the most important SEO tip.

On Thursday, I chronicled Warren Buffett’s big bet.

On Friday, I posted a YouTube video of a Tim Ferriss guest lecture at Princeton from 2005.

Finally, on Saturday, I gave away the best advice you’ll ever get.

Posts From Top Commentators

Since the Top Commentators list resets every month (and, thus, there is no one on the list as I write this post), I’ll list the most interesting posts (from last week only) from the blogs of my top commentators for the month of July:

Hugo Santos from Blogger Venue discussed the PageRank update and how you were affected.

Melvin from The Melvin Blog explained about people living and dying with DP (Digital Point).

Rob and Mo from Internet Business Opportunity educated us on private label rights.

Hussein from Random Blog wrote about valuing your commentators and readers.

Cuzzy from Cuzoogle looked at Chris Bosh and Team USA’s quest for global domination.

One Year Millionaire talked about how important dreams are when wanting to be a millionaire.

Finally, Josh from Unconventional Marketing Blog took the time to put Adsense in perspective.

Flimjo Five

Here are my five favorite posts from other blogs from last week:

1) Ugly Sites Make No Money, by Bill from The Blog Entrepreneur.

2) The Net Fool’s Method for Using Images in Blog Posts – Give Your Articles Style, by Jim from The Net Fool.

3) Would You Buy From Your Own Website?, by Alan from Affiliate Confession.

4) How To Make Instant Niche Money, by Jason Pereira from The University Kid.  (This is a great idea and one I’ve used before to drive traffic.)

5) An Honest Review of the FirePow Blogging System, from Internet Marketing with Josh Spaulding.

Flimjo Love

In his weekly overview, Alan Johnson from The Rating Blog linked to my post about why no one ever got rich alone.

I’m up to #238 on 45n5’s list of the Top 100 Make Money Online Blogs.

In a post entitled “5 Realities About Making Money Online,” unintuitive linked to my post about how to create a product.

The Index Funds Digest linked to my post about Warren Buffett’s big bet. 

Finally, Cuzzy (from Cuzoogle), in his July 31st edition of Blog Building, linked to my post about John Chow’s Dot Com Lifestyle.

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Well, it’s been a little over a week since I set up my first Build A Niche Store.  The niche for that first store was something I was very familiar with.  For anyone who is thinking of getting involved with BANS and finding that first niche, look into yourself and find something that you know very well.  This method helps you determine if the niche you choose has the potential to be profitable.

I put up the first store in under an hour.  I did a little bit of on-page optimization, but I have done virtually no off-page optimization.  The keyword I chose does attract a good number of searches per day (although it’s under the 300 threshold I like).  Nevertheless, I went with this niche because I know it very well, understood the market, and, thus, I was confident that a store built around it would generate some passive income.

I checked my EBay Partner account this morning, and I found that some change has finally trickled in:

Now, I know that 43 cents is not a lot of money.  Heck, I know that 43 cents probably won’t buy me a soda.  But that’s not the point. 

The issue is that I threw up this store in under an hour, and I customized the colors a bit, which took me another half hour.  I did nothing else.  The site has a boring header, and it honestly doesn’t look very professional.  (I’ll eventually make it look better.)  

Yet despite all that, I made money.  And I made it without actively selling to someone, buying or holding inventory, shipping a product, or providing customer support.  Now that’s passive income.

Time will tell if I can make more than 43 cents with this site.  But I’m confident that, with increased search engine optimization (both on- and off-page optimization), and a nicer-looking template, I can make a good chunk of passive change off this site and with any other site I throw up with Build A Niche Store.

And if I can do it, so can you.  I highly recommend getting started with your own Build A Niche Store today.

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Sorry for the four-day gap.  I was on a short vacation.  But I am back in town and back on track.  A new post will be up shortly.