DHP Financial post of the week: Cutting out the fat

[imported_Gman]

Another way to increase the amount of money you have is to cut your expenses. If you really examine your expenses carefully you will see places you are just throwing good money away.

Just a few things to look at:

1. Eating out to much
2. Overbuying clothing (Goodwill just loves you)
3. Sinking too much money into your house. Houses can be money pits if you are not careful.
4. Extra options on things like your cable\telephone service that you don't need
5. Failing to shop around to get the best price for purchases. Also not buying the best product for your money. I suggest a online subscription to Consumer Reports

More suggestions please ???

[Cheddar]

Originally posted by Gman:
Another way to increase the amount of money you have is to cut your expenses. If you really examine your expenses carefully you will see places you are just throwing good money away.

Just a few things to look at:

1. Eating out to much
2. Overbuying clothing (Goodwill just loves you)
3. Sinking too much money into your house. Houses can be money pits if you are not careful.
4. Extra options on things like your cable\telephone service that you don't need
5. Failing to shop around to get the best price for purchases. Also not buying the best product for your money. I suggest a online subscription to Consumer Reports

More suggestions please ???

Buying drinks at parties. HAHA just kidding.

Seriously to add to #1, I dont eat out for lunch more than once every two weeks, I have noticed that I was spending 40 or so bucks a week...I was always throwing away food I supposed to cook and carry so spending twice..eating once.

[mdpm99]

following all of the above faithfully......

d

ps.

TRADITIONAL CAPITALISM:
You have two cows.
You sell one and buy a bull.
Your herd multiplies, and the economy grows.
You sell them and retire on the income.

ENRON VENTURE CAPITALISM:
You have two cows. You sell three of them to your publicly listed
company, using letters of credit opened by your brother-in-law at the bank,
then execute a debt/equity swap with an associated general offer so that
you get all four cows back, with a tax exemption for five cows.

The milk rights of the six cows are transferred via an intermediary to
a Cayman Island company secretly owned by the majority shareholder who
sells the rights to all seven cows back to your listed company.

The annual report says the company owns eight cows, with an option on
one more. Sell one cow to buy a new president of the United States,
leaving you with nine cows. No balance sheet provided with the release.

The public buys your bull.

AN AMERICAN CORPORATION
You have two cows. You sell one, and force the other to produce the
milk of four cows. You are surprised when the cow drops dead.

A FRENCH CORPORATION
You have two cows. You go on strike because you want three cows.

A JAPANESE CORPORATION
You have two cows. You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of
an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk. You then create clever
cow cartoon images called Cowkimon and market them Worldwide.

A GERMAN CORPORATION
You have two cows. You reengineer them so they live for 100 years, eat
once a month, and milk themselves.

A BRITISH CORPORATION
You have two cows. Both are mad.

AN ITALIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows, but you don't know where they are. You break for
lunch.

A RUSSIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows. You count them and learn you have five cows. You
count them again and learn you have 42 cows. You count them again and learn
you have 12 cows. You stop counting cows and open another bottle of vodka.

A SWISS CORPORATION
You have 5000 cows, none of which belong to you. You charge others for
storing them.

A HINDU CORPORATION
You have two cows. You worship them.

A CHINESE CORPORATION
You have two cows. You have 300 people milking them. You claim full
employment, high bovine productivity, and arrest the newsman who
reported the numbers.

A WELSH CORPORATION
You have two cows. That one on the left is kinda cute

[ July 30, 2003, 07:52 AM: Message edited by: david mancuso ]

[Leslie]

Originally posted by Gman:
[5. Failing to shop around to get the best price for purchases. Also not buying the best product for your money. I suggest a online subscription to Consumer Reports

More suggestions please ??? [/QB]

Gman is there another site similar to CR that alos does non-partisan comparisons of products?

Agreed on this point - get the model number and shop the internet for the prdouct you are looking for in addition to shopping around in traditional stores. I have a lot of friends who got top notch products (such as Kohler) for less by doing such when they were doing renovations on their houses. There are quite a few sites that offer top name brands at discount prices and will even offer free shipping when spending a certain amount. It can be a pain to shop around but if you are looking to get the most for your money its worth the investment of time and energy.

[imported_Gman]

Originally posted by Leslie:
Gman is there another site similar to CR that alos does non-partisan comparisons of products?

Probably but I don't know who they are.

[mhd]

Originally posted by Gman:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Leslie:
Gman is there another site similar to CR that alos does non-partisan comparisons of products?

Probably but I don't know who they are. </font>[/QUOTE]at a minimum, you could google the item and get hits, invaribly you would get an epinion which would compare prices then you could read reviews by users, i do this with everything i purchase

[Wild i]

For the last year I've been keeping a spreadsheet of my income/outgo in the hopes of, a) paying off bills and, 2)getting a handle on my spending. Right now it just lists my "hard" bills but I'm planning on expanding it to include the "soft" expenditures as well (such as lunch, newpaper, candy/mints/gum). I find seeing it in print makes it easier to understand and manage. I've also added interest calculations so that I can see exactly when it will be paid off. Now, I'm poor at math so my calculations are not exact, but they are pretty darned close (usually within a dollar). In fact, it's worked so well that I've duplicated the layout for business expenses here at work.

If anyone wants to give it a try, I'd be happy to e-mail you a template.

P.S. I've paid off 4 cards since I started and plan on paying off the last 2 in the next month. [img]graemlins/grinyes.gif[/img]

[House]

For a two week period keep an accounting of all expenditures...you would be shocked at where your money goes ( and how much of it)

way to go wild i

[ July 30, 2003, 09:57 AM: Message edited by: St Magus the Reviled ]

[imported_Gman]

Originally posted by Wild i:
P.S. I've paid off 4 cards since I started and plan on paying off the last 2 in the next month. [img]graemlins/grinyes.gif[/img]

[img]AR15firing.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/OLA.gif[/img]

[GROOVE VICTIM]

This is what I have to keep reminding myself at the beginning of every month:


GROCERY SHOPPING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Why spend 5 to 6 bucks on a dinner or lunch that will last one day, when you can spend that same amount on a pack of ground beef and some bread, and will last you an entire week (this is if there's less than three people in your household).


IF YOU'RE PRE-APPROVED FOR A CREDIT CARD, RIP IT UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Why add another BILL to your monthly expenses? Free up 50 to 100 bucks a month and put it into your savings.

SLOW YO ASSS DOWN, and DO YOU REALLY NEED THE AIR CONDITIONER ON WHILE DRIVING?

Get up earlier for work, and open up the rear window and let the air hit you as you drive.

WHY BOTHER WITH A SLOWER CONNECTION AT HOME WHEN YOU HAVE A T-1 AT WORK?

This is one of the reasons why I don't have internet at home.

MAKE A PLAN AND STICK TO IT!!!!!!!

By 2005 I want to have 800 to 850 dollars of disposable income. In order for me to accomplish this, I will need to pay off all of my credit card debt. THIS WILL HAPPEN. I knocked off 3000 bucks in 6 months so there's no excuse.


Peace

[imported_Gman]

Originally posted by St Magus the Reviled:
For a two week period keep an accounting of all expenditures...you would be shocked at where your money goes ( and how much of it)

way to go wild i

That is the best way to get a hold of the beast. I did this for about a month and was surprised indeed. It provided me the areas I needed to target in terms of wasteful spending. Again the biggest deal for me is cutting back on the amount I spend on food. I tend to overbuy on groceries and then have a lot of things spoil.

[Leslie]

Do what works for you as oppossed to what works for everyone else. We all have our own unique situations and there are ways to cut out the unecessary spending in everyone's life. The key is to do what works best for you and then you will stick to it. There is no sense going on some ultra strict spending lifestyle that will leave you unsatisfied and more apt to blow money as a form of "reward". You can have it all within reason and accomplish your financial goals without living on "bread and water" so to speak.

[richierich]

Financial responsibility has always been one of my achilles heels. I act like I'm always gonna get some more money when indeed this does not have to be the case. Definitely an area that I need to work on.

[AD]

Gman,

This may sound stupid, but one of the things that I've been doing for the past six years has been to NEVER use coins for purchases. If something costs $2.10 and I clearly have a dime in my pocket, I don't use it. I break a dollar bill to pay for the remainder that has gone over the two dollars and I save all the change I get and put it into a bucket at home. At the end of the month, I'd take it to the bank and I'd end up with $20-$50 which used to get put into my IRA account, but times have been tough for me lately so now I use it for gas money or other important things. Try it for exactly one month and you'll be surprised at what you can have when the month is over. It takes some getting used to, but it keeps you from spending more money than you should. In fact, I was able to stock up a lot on Sun Microsystems, Cisco Systems, and Applied Materials stock because of this. Try it...it works. That's Albert D's tip of the day. ;)

[ July 30, 2003, 10:44 AM: Message edited by: Albert Diaz ]

[Kenrick _]

Originally posted by Wild i:

If anyone wants to give it a try, I'd be happy to e-mail you a template.

wild, kenrickbryan@optonline.net .

thank you in advance and congratulations on paying them off.

i also have a spreadsheet myself that basically my bank book checking account registry. it is always on point up to the current date. i also have it rolled out a few months ahead with my recurring bills (over estimated) and income (underestimated) to give me a fair estimate of where i will be... i have the column that represents my checking balance conditionally formatted to display in red bold text if i am estimated to go under a certain amount.

in addition to that i seriously need to get tedious on every cent i spend though.

good post G-

me

[imported_Gman]

Originally posted by Albert Diaz:
Gman,

This may sound stupid, but one of the things that I've been doing for the past six years has been to NEVER use coins for purchases. If something costs $2.10 and I clearly have a dime in my pocket, I don't use it. I break a dollar bill to pay for the remainder that has gone over the two dollars and I save all the change I get and put it into a bucket at home. At the end of the month, I'd take it to the bank and I'd end up with $20-$50 which used to get put into my IRA account, but times have been tough for me lately so now I use it for gas money or other important things. Try it for exactly one month and you'll be surprised at what you can have when the month is over. It takes some getting used to, but it keeps you from spending more money than you should. In fact, I was able to stock up a lot on Sun Microsystems, Cisco Systems, and Applied Materials stock because of this. Try it...it works. That's Albert D's tip of the day. ;)

Albert, I guess I'm stupid because I do this for the most part. Any change that I have goes into the change box. It used to be the change jug (glass) until it got full once and I tried picking it up and the bottom fell out :D Every so often I take the change box into the bank and have it deposited to my saving account. THe most I think I had was $454 at one time.

-G

[ July 30, 2003, 10:49 AM: Message edited by: Gman ]

[AD]

Originally posted by Kenrick _:

good post G-

agreed.

[Kenrick _]

Originally posted by Albert Diaz:
Gman,

This may sound stupid, but one of the things that I've been doing for the past six years has been to NEVER use coins for purchases. If something costs $2.10 and I clearly have a dime in my pocket, I don't use it. I break a dollar bill to pay for the remainder that has gone over the two dollars and I save all the change I get and put it into a bucket at home. At the end of the month, I'd take it to the bank and I'd end up with $20-$50 which used to get put into my IRA account, but times have been tough for me lately so now I use it for gas money or other important things. Try it for exactly one month and you'll be surprised at what you can have when the month is over. It takes some getting used to, but it keeps you from spending more money than you should. In fact, I was able to stock up a lot on Sun Microsystems, Cisco Systems, and Applied Materials stock because of this. Try it...it works. That's Albert D's tip of the day. ;)

i do the same thing albert. i never spend my change. and when i do laundry i buy quarters from myself and over charge myself (i pay my change can $7 for $5 worth of quarters for example).

the only difference here is that i use the money at he end of the year to buy myself something instead of investing. [img]biggrinangel.gif[/img]

[Fletch]

No more jazz and house records. You already have 750 of them! :D

No more basses. You already have four basses and three amps. :D

No more eating out for lunch. Buy two weeks of food for the house. :D

Turn the lights OUT just in case you fall asleep at night. :D

Stop partying EVERY Friday. :D

v.

I still need to take my shirts ($15/week) and pants to the cleaners ($20/week)

I still have to fix my shoes ($40/pair for thick soles--I wear mine out quick!).

I need to call my creditcard companies and ask to lower their astronomical interest rates. [img]graemlins/jpshakehead.gif[/img]

I still have to pay my bills. [img]graemlins/jpshakehead.gif[/img]

[ July 30, 2003, 10:56 AM: Message edited by: einnod23 ]

[AD]

Originally posted by Gman:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Albert Diaz:
Gman,

This may sound stupid, but one of the things that I've been doing for the past six years has been to NEVER use coins for purchases. If something costs $2.10 and I clearly have a dime in my pocket, I don't use it. I break a dollar bill to pay for the remainder that has gone over the two dollars and I save all the change I get and put it into a bucket at home. At the end of the month, I'd take it to the bank and I'd end up with $20-$50 which used to get put into my IRA account, but times have been tough for me lately so now I use it for gas money or other important things. Try it for exactly one month and you'll be surprised at what you can have when the month is over. It takes some getting used to, but it keeps you from spending more money than you should. In fact, I was able to stock up a lot on Sun Microsystems, Cisco Systems, and Applied Materials stock because of this. Try it...it works. That's Albert D's tip of the day. ;)

Albert, I guess I'm stupid because I do this for the most part. Any change that I have goes into the change box. It used to be the change jug (glass) until it got full once and I tried picking it up and the bottom fell out :D Every so often I take the change box into the bank and have it deposited to my saving account. THe most I think I had was $454 at one time.

-G </font>[/QUOTE]Good! Put that shizzo in an IRA or at least a money market fund which you can withdraw from if needed. On average, a money market fund will pay 4% to 6% while the measly savings account will pay 2% to 4%. The money market fund pays about the same as a bank CD, however, the advantage of a money fund is that it is completely liquid. Unlike the CD, which is locked in for a specific amount of time before you can withdraw anything, you can sell your shares in a money fund at any time and many (if not all) offer the ability to write checks. Lay off the savings accounts cause they don't pay anything.

[GROOVE VICTIM]

I watched Suze Orman this weekend and she gave some great advise.

Go into your closet and pull out all of the clothes and shoes that you know for a fact that you purchased with a credit card. If you haven't used any article of clothing for atleast 6 months, give it to charity.


Well I went though my entire apartment and found out that atleast 95 percent of my records, tapes and CDs were purchased with cash. All of my clothes with the exception of a few jeans were purchased with cash. All of my DJ equipment including the console was purchased with cash. My VCR, television, and Stereo and DVD player, all purchased with cash. About 90 percent of my DVDs, purchased with cash.

Then I had to ask myself, WHAT IN D HAIL DID YOU DO??????? Then I looked outside and saw my car. Stereo, woofers, 6x9s, amp, front door speakers, gas, all payed with credit. Lil Groove's clothes and furniture for when he was first born, dining out, trips to NYC, D.C., groceries, some records and CDs, all racked up on my credit cards. Talk about a wake up call.


Peace

[Kenrick _]

Originally posted by einnod23:
I need to call my creditcard companies and ask to lower their astronomical interest rates. [img]graemlins/jpshakehead.gif[/img]

try a credit union. if you direct deposit a portion of your pay check to a savings account with one each pay period they will often times work with you.

mine just gave me loan with a nice interest rate to start my little part time mobile dj sole propiertership. [img]smile.gif[/img] i am paying them back each month directly from my savings account that i have with them.

[Kenrick _]

albert, or anyone,

what money market account(s) do you reccomend?

any links will be greatly apreciated.

[imported_Gman]

Again I am not talking about going on some super ultra spending diet. I am talking about cutting out the waste where we are just throwing money away. Now impulsive buying fits under this waste category. Now for the things that I buy that I have not done research on, what I do is if I am out shopping and I see something I want I will not buy it right then. I will take one day to think about it reasoning that if I really want it I will come back tomorrow and get it. Well guess what more often than not I never come back to get it. Salesmen just hate me. They think they got the sale then I tell them my rule. [img]smile.gif[/img]

-G

[mhd]

Originally posted by Albert Diaz:
Gman,

This may sound stupid, but one of the things that I've been doing for the past six years has been to NEVER use coins for purchases. If something costs $2.10 and I clearly have a dime in my pocket, I don't use it. I break a dollar bill to pay for the remainder that has gone over the two dollars and I save all the change I get and put it into a bucket at home. At the end of the month, I'd take it to the bank and I'd end up with $20-$50 which used to get put into my IRA account, but times have been tough for me lately so now I use it for gas money or other important things. Try it for exactly one month and you'll be surprised at what you can have when the month is over. It takes some getting used to, but it keeps you from spending more money than you should. In fact, I was able to stock up a lot on Sun Microsystems, Cisco Systems, and Applied Materials stock because of this. Try it...it works. That's Albert D's tip of the day. ;)

how long ago were you buying sun and cisco?