Cheapest Ways to Avoid Spending Big Money

5 October 2009 2 Comments

In these times, we are surrounded by almost infinite opportunities to spend money – and an almost infinite number of enticements to take up those opportunities. Advertisements are everywhere. No matter where you go, it’s almost impossible to escape advertising. There are billboards on the highways, magazine ads, newspaper ads, advertisements on TV, internet ads, even ads on clothing. So, the temptation is everywhere.

Here are ten ways to avoid spending money unnecessarily:

- Avoid situations where it’s easy to spend.

If someone suggests going to the mall, suggest going somewhere else instead – invite them over money 262x300 Cheapest Ways to Avoid Spending Big Money to your home, or go out to a park or a public entertainment like an art museum. Environments centered around spending money are very, very effective at taking money out of your pocket and putting it in someone else’s pocke

- Telephone.The competition is so fierce that a company can always save money in this area, regardless of usage. One of my clients was paying fifteen cents a minute for long-distance charges from one of the top long-distance companies. He asked his controller to send out for bid their telephone bill. The result was a smaller company gave them a rate of nine cents, which translated into 40 percent savings; in this case the company saved $12,000 over the course of a year.

- Quit smoking. There are scores of reasons to do this, but the one that fits this column is that the average price of a pack of cigarettes is $4.22, and as much as $7.50 to $10 in places like Chicago and New York City. If you’re a pack-a-day smoker, quitting will put an extra $1,540 or more per year in your pocket while it removes all kinds of gunk from your lungs.

- Insurance. Every type of insurance policy should be reviewed and put out for quote each year. Insurers who have to pay out a lot of money to cover liabilities end up having to raise everyone’s rates, even those who had no claim. Therefore, putting your insurance out for bid each year can guarantee the company paying the lowest premiums. If your company files none or just a few claims, another insurer will be glad to add your company to their pool and lower your premiums for lowering their risk.

- Travel.There are certain rules of travel people should follow. Never fly first class, unless the employee wants to pay the difference or has frequent flyer miles to cover the cost. If there are two airports within an hour to and hour and a half drive time, check which one offers the best rate.

- Leave the credit card at home. Taking a credit card is great if you have the item you are charging planned, but it’s not great to fall to the temptation to buy things that you can’t really afford and don’t need to begin with. If you must take a credit card shopping, resolve to use it only for what you intended to use it for.

- Shop at home TV shows are horribly tempting. They show awesome products and they can convince the worst skeptic that they absolutely need so and so product. The problem is that these shows work only when the person watches falls to temptation and orders products. The shows are fun to watch, but they can cause you to spend money shopping for products repeatedly. Either resolve not to spend any money if you watch or simply turn the channel.

- Establish a “waiting period” before any nonessential purchase.

If you’re still ready to buy after all of this, wait a period of time before buying. Give yourself twenty four hours before making the purchase. Walk out of the store, go home, and sleep on it. If you still think the purchase is worthwhile the next day, then go forward with the purchase.