Archive for August, 2009
Mortgage Shopping 101: Finding the Best Deal
Aug 11, 2009 - Part 2 of a 4 part series on shopping for a mortgage focuses on finding the best deal on your mortgage.
Way to Save #23: Don't Buy Until You Try
Aug 11, 2009 - Avoid buying sports accessories until you know that the activity is a fixed habit. For example, don’t buy a gym bag until you’ve been to the gym 20 times. Don’t buy good inline skates until you’ve racked up 200 miles on the cheap ones. Reward yourself with a Walkman after you’ve jogged 20 miles with [...]
Way to Save #22: Trial Memberships
Aug 10, 2009 - If you insist on joining a health club, try joining for a month or buying a series of single-day passes first to make sure you’re going to have the time and discipline to stick with it. Avoid long-term membership contracts.
Mortgage Shopping 101: First Things First
Aug 10, 2009 - Part 1 of a 4 part series on shopping for a mortgage focuses on the basics of your mortgage search.
Way to Save #21: Home Workouts
Aug 09, 2009 - Buy inexpensive workout and aerobic videotapes and use them at home with your TV. You could easily get a better workout than you’d get at a health club, and you can own the tapes for $5 to $10 each. Rent them first until you know you like them.
Way to Save #20: Skip The Gym
Aug 08, 2009 - Walking or jogging in your neighborhood is free and fresh air is better than the air in a health club.
Way to Save #19: Shop At Home
Aug 07, 2009 - When clothes shopping, start at home. Many of us go to the store and buy clothes when we already have similar items at home that we’ve forgotten. Do a careful inventory of your clothes before you buy anything, including the ones you have tucked away in the back of your closet or attic. Added bonus: [...]
Way to Save #18: Share The Cost
Aug 06, 2009 - Share the cost. If you’re going to buy something that is useful to your neighbors and only needed occasionally, start your own “co-op.” Splitting the cost of a ladder, lawn mower, gardening equipment, tools, and many other expensive items will reduce their cost by at least half (depending on how many people are in your [...]
Way to Save #17: Buy At Yard Sales
Aug 05, 2009 - Buy at yard and garage sales. This is the smartest shopping you can do, providing you confine your purchases to only what you actually need.
Way to Save #16: Throw A Yard Sale
Aug 04, 2009 - Open your own temporary store by having a garage/yard sale. You probably have lots of stuff that you don’t want or need, and that’s just money that’s lying around your house. Spend a day going around your home and identifying everything that you haven’t touched in a year. That’s stuff you should probably either sell [...]
Dealing With Debt: Debt Settlement
Aug 03, 2009 - Maybe you've seen the ads: go to a debt settlement company, cut your debts in half. Is it for real?
Way to Save #15: Buy Pre-Scratched
Aug 03, 2009 - Buy your furniture and appliances pre-scratched. Scratch-and-dent can save you plenty, especially when you bargain down the price even more.
Way to Save #14: Don't Get Features You Don't Need
Aug 02, 2009 - Don’t pay for extra features that you don’t need. Fancy extras on everything from cars to VCRs are often high-profit-margin items for manufacturers and dealers. Even if it only costs “a little more” why buy things you’ll never use? Fewer gadgets can also mean longer product life with less in repair bills.
Way to Save #13: Department Store Credit Cards
Aug 01, 2009 - Get 10% to 15% off by opening a department store credit account. Stores often offer you substantial discounts to induce you to sign up for (and get hooked on) their high-interest credit cards. Fine. Take them up on their offer and get your discount. But when the statement comes in, pay the bill in full [...]
