Forget Being Frugal - Be Smart:
Save Money Step-by-Step Without Changing Your Life
WARNING: You won't begin to save money if you don't follow the advice. Only proceed if you are serious and motivated to reduce your expenses.
I know it might feel impossible to put more money in your pocket. The key though is having a plan and following it through.
Time after time people prove to be their own worst enemy in this process. I'm not being cynical, just a realist. No advice in the world is going to help you if you don't follow it.
If you will just follow the process below you can put more money in your pocket. Think about it, every dollar that you save in expenses is like getting a bonus. Why work harder when you can simply work smarter.
It is not unrealistic that you can save over $700 a month if you follow this step-by-step plan. Don't wait for someone else to save you loads of money, take the time right now and do it yourself.
Money Saving Homework
Directions: Take some time right now to follow the steps below. If you need to stop at anytime, stop. You can always come back and pick up where you left off latter. Just follow the steps below to begin saving money.
Click on the links in the section that you are working on and the relevant content will open in a new browser window.
The Money Saving Steps
- Step 1: Check Your Credit Report
Your credit report and credit score are so important that you must check your credit score right now if you have not done so in the past six months. The majority of credit reports contain errors and errors cost you lots of money. A credit report error easily leads to a lower credit score and the lower your score the more you'll pay for things like insurance, mortgages, car loans, credit cards, etc.
Take a few minutes right now to look over your consolidated credit report. . I am a huge fan of a consolidated credit report.. A consolidated credit report. is one that allows you to see all three major credit bureau reports in a easy to read and compare side-by-side format. It makes it so easy to spot errors that it is worth four times the price of the report.
While it is now possible to get a free copy of your credit report from the bureaus it is just not easy to do. The reports will arrive at some point in the future and at different times, they will be in different formats and by the time they all arrive you may have already moved on to something else in your life. Pay for the consolidated credit report., get it online right now and let's move forward right now.
- Step 2: Reducing Communication Costs
There are a couple of major areas of your monthly expenses that are real easy to save on without changing your lifestyle. In a very few minutes you may be able to save more than $100 a month or more.
- I hate local telephone bills. Most people pay way too much for phone service or have loads of extras they rarely use but pay through the nose for each month. You phone company may call the plan "The Works" but I call it "The Shaft."
I changed my phone service to a broadband service and was able to slash my telephone bills by more than 50% while getting loads of extra features. I have a separate business account with them and get a free fax line, you can too.
- Cell phone service is a huge money drain. If you are not using your phone much you are paying way too much every month for basic service unless you are using a pre-paid cell phone.
A pre-paid cell makes absolute commonsense if you make limited calls or if you have a teenager at home. If you make limited calls you may be paying as much as $50 a month for your cell phone plan. If you are using a pre-paid cell phone plan you pay $0 per month, a quick yearly savings of $600.
I also love pre-paid cell phone plans if you have a teenager. A regular cell phone is like a blank check. I've had clients that have had children run up cell bills of over $1,000 a month because they were not aware of how much time or text messages they were using. A regular cell phone is like unlimited credit.
Using a pre-paid cell phone you can establish limits on how much you are willing to pay for each month. Your child can even easily purchase additional minutes if they want to talk more. The pre-paid cell phone contains costs while giving your child a phone.
While you are at it, make sure you have the best plan for your cell phone. Here is a super easy way to see if there are better cell deals available. It practically takes a PhD to understand a cell phone bill. They don't make it easy. I have worked with so many clients that were using the wrong plan for their usage that this is the first step I always ask people to look at.
Don't be intimidated about looking if your current plan has an early termination charge. I've just seen too many cases where it was cheaper in the long run for people to pay the termination charge and switch rather than continue to pay through the nose for the wrong thing.
- Step 3: Reducing Insurance Costs
A huge mistake people make is dropping insurance to save money. That is just a recipe for disaster. Don't do it. Instead of dropping expensive insurance, just reduce the cost by shopping for a less expensive plan.
Insurance cost reduction involves an insurance review for home, car, life and medical costs. Take a few minutes right now and ask for lower rates from at least these two places. You may be very surprised at how much you can save. Even if you discover that you already have the lowest cost policies, you will get confirmation you are doing the right thing.
- NetQuote - Auto, Homeowners, Renters, Health, Life Business
- InsWeb - Auto, Life, Health, Homeowners, Renters, Condo, Home Warranty, Motorcycle and RV Insurance Quotes
- Step 4: Find Out How Much Your Home or Condo is Really Worth. Think About a Lower Mortgage Payment
It might be the right time to refinance or even consider moving. Saving money with a lower mortgage payment or lower mortgage might be the one best step you can take to save hundreds of dollars each month.
If you are planning to move in the next three to five years and your home is still rising in value then an interest only loan may be a good move for you. It can dramatically lower your mortgage payment. The only negatives are that you are not paying down the mortgage. On the positive side your house will continue to appreciate normally and you get to stay where you are for a lower cost and when you move the loan will be paid off in full anyway.
Get a real value for your home and not some online best guess. Someone will have to contact you with their free appraisal but at least you'll have a much more reliable value. If you don't want someone to contact you then I'd suggest using the online Instant Home Valuations service.
If you are not planning to move in the next few years, it is still not too late to look at your refinancing options. Here is a slew of links you can visit to see if one of them might have a program that feels right for you.
Refinance Links
Step 5: Think About Finding a Roommate, Being a Roommate or Renting
If you own your own home and need to increase income you might want to consider renting a room. The right renter can give you added income and help to reduce the financial burden. I've heard horror stories about roommates but I've also had friends that have enjoyed their homes and never paid a dime towards the mortgage, the roommates paid it all.
If you are looking for a roommate or you are looking for someone that might be interested in you as a roommate, look here to find people interested in sharing their homes or apartments.
Renting can be a very smart thing to do in times of financial trouble. Sure you are not building equity but you are also not paying as much nor are you responsible for all of the little expenses homeowners so enjoy. Click here to search a national database of visual, interactive apartment listings online. 
Step 6: Increase How Much Interest People Give You
With interest rates on saving accounts so low it pays to put your money in a higher returning account. Over the years I have always been very impressed with The Orange Savings Account. Great rates, no fees, no minimums. In fact many of my friends have an account with these folks and we all have had a great experience and earn a very high rate of interest. Hey, I look at it this way, if someone wants to give me more money for letting my money sit there, I'd be a fool to turn them down.
ING is an internet bank. Even though they don't have any local branches you can easily transfer money back and forth from your regular account. You can even set up an automatic monthly savings plan. Put it on automatic and watch the cash build. Many clients love this approach because they are able to set aside $50 a month and by Christmas time they have $600 plus interest just sitting there for presents. It is super easy, mindless and you get a higher return than you will locally.
Step 7: Give Yourself a Credit Card Checkup
Why pay more for interest on your cards then you have to? It is simply money spewing out of your pocket that does not have to. I've put together a comprehensive page that will allow you to find the credit card that works best for you. This will literally take less than two minutes and can save you a lot of money.
Step 8: Think J-O-B
If you want to put more money in your pocket each month, one way to do it is to reduce expenses, the other way is to increase income. This step is a bit more time consuming but it can pay off big time.
I remember this one client that said nobody would pay him more and there was not sense in looking. It rally bugged me to see him have such a defeatist attitude so I made a couple of calls for him. Miraculously the second call I made was a winner. I got him an interview. He went and they offered him a position making $40,000 a year more. He had struggled with living paycheck-to-paycheck for years and in ten minutes his worries were over.
It never hurts to take a look at the job opportunities available. Looking does not equal leaving. If you look around you can see if you are getting paid a fair wage in your current position. If you've been with a company for a couple of year's most new hires are going to make more than you in the same position.
If you don't want to hassle with looking for opening then consider posting your resume online at one of the following sites and let potential employers call you, and they do.
We've probably hired over 100 people over the years after finding their resume on these sites. Employers do it, I did it, and others do it.
But before you post your resume online, have a professional resume review . Most resumes an employer looks at are horrible. They contain typos, errors, nonsensical information or a re poorly formatted. Take a little bit of time and have a professional resume review so you can put your best foot forward. It is a commonsense thing to do.
Here are three good sites to look for a job and/or post your resume.
- CareerBuilder.com
- HotJobs.com
- Monster.com
Step 8: A Missed Opportunity That Can Save You a Lot of Money
If you previously purchased a car at a high interest rate there is no need for you to continue paying that rate. Refinance your car loan with E-LOAN today and you can save a bundle.
A few years ago I discovered E-LOAN and used them to refinance my old car loan. Not only was the process painless and simple but I was able to save a lot of money with my new lower interest rate.
Refinancing a used car loan is one tool that many never think of, yet it can free up a lot of money each month. If things are tight you may be able to extended your loan out further and get more savings each month. Of course doing this you will probably pay more over the life of the loan but it can give you the breathing room you need today to make ends meet. As things improve for you then double up on payments and pay the loan off early. If you do that you can actually save a bunch of money.
Step 9: A Dollar Saved is a Dollar You Don't Have to Earn
I had a few free minutes the other day and put together some quick pages of coupons, free shipping offers and sweepstakes that can help save you bundles. Okay, the sweepstakes won't help you save money but they are free and playing the lottery costs money.
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