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February 20, 1010 Warning! Reducing your expenses can become addictive! When you discover how good it feels to have money left over after paying all your expenses you will be hooked on cutting costs. This week we will take a look at 10 practical ways to save money by cutting costs. Have you completed the first step of your 2010 financial plan (identifying / budgeting for expenses)? Are you are ready to start slashing your monthly expenses? Here are 10 ways to reduce your costs in 2010. These are only an overview of some of the practices you can incorporate into your financial plan. You will find that as you look harder at how your money is used you will find many ways to cut your costs. 1. Conduct a home audit
Don’t forget to look for things like rented DVDs racking up late fees, dinner left on plates, and magazines that go unread. Where ever you spot waste be sure to write it down and then identify ways to do better. 2. Shop smarter
Major reductions in costs can come from stockpiling during times of extraordinarily low prices, buying major purchases such as furniture / cars / and appliances at auctions and estate sales, leveraging purchased coupons with sales, maximizing BOGO / B1G2 offers, swapping employee discounts, and eliminating purchases based on convenience and emotion and replacing them with those based on planning and enhanced value.
3. Do it yourself or barter
A practical way to save money is to teach yourself how to fix something. The next best way is to trade something or some service for the repair work you need. Would a mechanic trade an oil change for a haircut? Maybe, but you get the point. 4. Leverage your money by combining bills and your energy Do you like Buy One Get One Free coupons? Why not apply that theory to other areas of your budget? Any time you can get something extra just for doing what you normally do you are adding value to your life and getting more for your money. Combine trips. Pay bills with a cash back credit card. Sell advertising on the car you drive to work every day. Leave the oven door cracked open when done baking and let it heat the kitchen while it cools off. Bundle your cable / internet services. 5. Use your creativity
One more question you should ask yourself when reviewing each expense is how can I can get more use or time out of this item? List three ways. For example, ask yourself how you can squeeze one more year out your shoes, car, and shower wall. Things like a shoe shine, coat of paint, and caulking can extend the lives of shoes, cars, and shower walls. If you don’t have to pay for those things right now you will have more time to find even better deals. 6. Ask and look for better Always purchase from a position of power. Don’t wait to start planning a purchase until you or the salesman know you must buy right now. Having money set aside for an expenditure and having time to look around puts you in a position to demand better deals. It has been said so many times yet why do so few people do it? “It doesn’t hurt to ask”. Asking for better terms, price, coverage, or service never hurts. In fact, given how eager most businesses are to make a sale there is a good chance you will get a "yes"! “Can I get a better price?’ “How can I get another 5% off?” “What can I do in order to get an additional amount off?" 7. Don’t pay interest Ever hear this common justification? “My salesman told me I qualified for low interest financing and this was the last chance to get this great deal!”? What the salesman didn’t tell you is that you are going to pay more than the sticker price just because you are financing. “Wait, you are wrong! It is 0% percent financing! It won’t cost me anything!” That is incorrect. If you finance you won’t get a cash discount and pay less then their best offer. Companies must pay their bank a fee in order to offer you low interest financing. Tell them you will pay cash up front, they will save the fee and you can ask for an additional discount. 8. Pay for the entire year up front Paying for an entire year of something, up front, puts you in a great position to demand a better deal. Many companies will be willing to greatly discount a service in order to collect the entire fee up front and avoid the need to regularly bill you. You will find this opportunity especially for services that generally require a monthly fee or contract. One shopper who bought hair dye every month found a deal one month where her regular brand of hair dye was $3.99 (on sale and with a coupon) when it typically was $8.29 per box. She used 12 coupons and bought a year supply of hair dye for $47.88 when she would have paid $99.48 over the course of the year. By paying for an entire year’s worth of supply up front she cut her yearly cost by over 50%! You can do the same thing with contact lenses, household services, gym memberships, classes, subscriptions, etc. 9. Dents are dollars What do you see when there is a dent on an item? I see dollars. Dents on cars, boxes, appliances, furniture and doors are generally accepted as a reason to receive a discount. For example, you have gone through all the steps necessary to insure you are getting the best deal on a refrigerator. Let’s say you are faced with an option to buy a refrigerator with a dent on its side or one without a dent. If all other things are equal you should buy the one with the dent after receiving an additional percentage off the price. Put the refrigerator’s side against a wall and no one will ever know the difference. 10. Get your tax back
Starting the business is a simple, yet very rewarding process. You can learn much more about making yourself more financially secure and saving money at the Bowman’s Money College online class site.
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Did
you know your home could be loaded with
Ever
hear of someone who got a better deal when shopping? It's possible to save much more
on just about anything if you learn different ways to shop.
What
are some of the things you own that may need an eventual repair? 
Look at your budget and under
each expense category ask yourself this question: “If I absolutely had to
have this $100 item every month but only had $75 to pay for it how would I
reduce this expense?” During this brainstorming exercise, you write down the three options
that come to mind regardless of how feasible you think they may be. You
will find that by writing these ideas down you will come up with several
new ways that you can cut costs. 
There are tax deductions for just
about everyone, but the most tax deductions are reserved for small
business owners. Do you know anyone who doesn’t like to receive either a
larger paycheck or a bigger tax refund? Owning your own hobby based
business is the best way for employees of other companies to reduce their
federal income tax liability which results in larger paychecks or tax
refunds depending on how you structure the exemptions on your W-2 form.
Key: Actively directing your money in
the way you want it to go and more will find its way back to you. 
Key: There are many new ways to stretch
your dollar further than ever before. 
Key: Developing your interest or hobby
is not only fun but can be a financially sound idea in 2010. 
Key: Your skills and ideas can be
leveraged into tax savings through small business ownership even if you
are an employee and have no formal business training.