Sunday, December 25, 2011
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Smart Affiliate Marketing Advertising
Affiliate marketing is really about the promotion
of products with an online company. The affiliate
will sign up with the advertiser or marketing arm
of the company, then the affiliate will become
an active looker of clients.
Advertising is the means to making a great number
of consumers aware of certain products. Therefore,
advertising should be both attracting and appealing
to consumers. If the advertising isn't appealing
enough, it won't be effective. If the advertising
manages to pull the attention of consumers, then
it's considered to be powerful.
To make advertising powerful and effective, the
affiliate must use smart methods of advertising.
An example of smart advertising is the re-use of
one key concept of affiliate marketing - the
harnessing of human resources. What this means,
is that an affiliate may tap on the capacities of
others to bring more visitors to the website.
The economics involved of making an affiliate
marketing program beneficial can be simple, yet
unquestionable. Say for instance, when a visitor
ups a form to the website of the affiliate, the
affiliate may be earning .50 cent from the company
that he's promoting. In a single day, he may
refer ten visitors - which is equivalent to 5.00.
Keep in mind, the affiliate may increase his income
by utilizing others as well. The more people an
affiliate manages to recruit or get to make purchases
or fill out forms, the more money that affiliate
will make.
To have a significant increase in income in
affiliate marketing, an affiliate can actually
do three things. First of all, the affiliate must
search for a profitable site. Next, he'll need to
link with companies that are generous with their
leads. Last, the affiliate will need to locate
a progressive and rising company online then
recruit affiliates for the company.
of products with an online company. The affiliate
will sign up with the advertiser or marketing arm
of the company, then the affiliate will become
an active looker of clients.
Advertising is the means to making a great number
of consumers aware of certain products. Therefore,
advertising should be both attracting and appealing
to consumers. If the advertising isn't appealing
enough, it won't be effective. If the advertising
manages to pull the attention of consumers, then
it's considered to be powerful.
To make advertising powerful and effective, the
affiliate must use smart methods of advertising.
An example of smart advertising is the re-use of
one key concept of affiliate marketing - the
harnessing of human resources. What this means,
is that an affiliate may tap on the capacities of
others to bring more visitors to the website.
The economics involved of making an affiliate
marketing program beneficial can be simple, yet
unquestionable. Say for instance, when a visitor
ups a form to the website of the affiliate, the
affiliate may be earning .50 cent from the company
that he's promoting. In a single day, he may
refer ten visitors - which is equivalent to 5.00.
Keep in mind, the affiliate may increase his income
by utilizing others as well. The more people an
affiliate manages to recruit or get to make purchases
or fill out forms, the more money that affiliate
will make.
To have a significant increase in income in
affiliate marketing, an affiliate can actually
do three things. First of all, the affiliate must
search for a profitable site. Next, he'll need to
link with companies that are generous with their
leads. Last, the affiliate will need to locate
a progressive and rising company online then
recruit affiliates for the company.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION
So Many Affiliate Programs! Which One Do I Choose?
Ask questions first before you join an affiliate program. Do a little research about the choices of program that you intend to join into. Get some answers because they will be the deciding point of what you will be achieving later on.
Will it cost you anything to join? Most affiliate programs being offered today are absolutely free of charge. So why settle for those that charge you some dollars before joining.
When do they issue the commission checks? Every program is different. Some issue their checks once a month, every quarter, etc. Select the one that is suited to your payment time choice. Many affiliate programs are setting a minimum earned commission amount that an affiliate must meet or exceed in order for their checks to be issued.
What is the hit per sale ratio? This is the average number of hits to a banner or text link it takes to generate a sale based on all affiliate statistics. This factor is extremely important because this will tell you how much traffic you must generate before you can earn a commission from the sale.
How are referrals from an affiliate's site tracked and for how long do they remain in the system? You need to be confident on the program enough to track those people you refer from your site. This is the only way that you can credit for a sale. The period of time that those people stay in the system is also important. This is because some visitors do not buy initially but may want to return later to make the purchase. Know if you will still get credit for the sale if it is done some months from a certain day.
What are the kinds of affiliate stats available? Your choice of affiliate program should be capable of offering detailed stats. They should be available online anytime you decide to check them out. Constantly checking your individual stats is important to know how many impressions, hits and sales are already generated from your site. Impressions are the number of times the banner or text link was viewed by a visitor of your site. A hit is the one clicking on the banner or text links.
Does the affiliate program also pay for the hits and impressions besides the commissions on sales? It is important that impressions and hits are also paid, as this will add to the earnings you get from the sales commission. This is especially important if the program you are in offers low sales to be able to hit ratio.
Who is the online retailer? Find out whom you are doing business with to know if it is really a solid company. Know the products they are selling and the average amount they are achieving. The more you know about the retailer offering you the affiliate program, the easier it will be for you to know if that program is really for you and your site.
Is the affiliate a one tier or two tier program? A single tier program pays you only for the business you yourself have generated. A two tier program pays you for the business, plus it also pays you a commission on the on the sales generated by any affiliate you sponsor in your program. Some two-tier programs are even paying small fees on each new affiliate you sponsor. More like a recruitment fee.
Lastly, what is the amount of commission paid? 5% - 20% is the commission paid by most programs. .01% - .05% is the amount paid for each hit. If you find a program that also pays for impressions, the amount paid is not much at all. As you can see from the figures, you will now understand why the average sales amount and hit to sale ratio is important.
These are just some of the questions that needed answering first before you enter into an affiliate program. You should be familiar with the many important aspects that your chosen program should have before incorporating them into your website. Try to ask your affiliate program choices these questions. These can help you select the right program for you site from among the many available.
Will it cost you anything to join? Most affiliate programs being offered today are absolutely free of charge. So why settle for those that charge you some dollars before joining.
When do they issue the commission checks? Every program is different. Some issue their checks once a month, every quarter, etc. Select the one that is suited to your payment time choice. Many affiliate programs are setting a minimum earned commission amount that an affiliate must meet or exceed in order for their checks to be issued.
What is the hit per sale ratio? This is the average number of hits to a banner or text link it takes to generate a sale based on all affiliate statistics. This factor is extremely important because this will tell you how much traffic you must generate before you can earn a commission from the sale.
How are referrals from an affiliate's site tracked and for how long do they remain in the system? You need to be confident on the program enough to track those people you refer from your site. This is the only way that you can credit for a sale. The period of time that those people stay in the system is also important. This is because some visitors do not buy initially but may want to return later to make the purchase. Know if you will still get credit for the sale if it is done some months from a certain day.
What are the kinds of affiliate stats available? Your choice of affiliate program should be capable of offering detailed stats. They should be available online anytime you decide to check them out. Constantly checking your individual stats is important to know how many impressions, hits and sales are already generated from your site. Impressions are the number of times the banner or text link was viewed by a visitor of your site. A hit is the one clicking on the banner or text links.
Does the affiliate program also pay for the hits and impressions besides the commissions on sales? It is important that impressions and hits are also paid, as this will add to the earnings you get from the sales commission. This is especially important if the program you are in offers low sales to be able to hit ratio.
Who is the online retailer? Find out whom you are doing business with to know if it is really a solid company. Know the products they are selling and the average amount they are achieving. The more you know about the retailer offering you the affiliate program, the easier it will be for you to know if that program is really for you and your site.
Is the affiliate a one tier or two tier program? A single tier program pays you only for the business you yourself have generated. A two tier program pays you for the business, plus it also pays you a commission on the on the sales generated by any affiliate you sponsor in your program. Some two-tier programs are even paying small fees on each new affiliate you sponsor. More like a recruitment fee.
Lastly, what is the amount of commission paid? 5% - 20% is the commission paid by most programs. .01% - .05% is the amount paid for each hit. If you find a program that also pays for impressions, the amount paid is not much at all. As you can see from the figures, you will now understand why the average sales amount and hit to sale ratio is important.
These are just some of the questions that needed answering first before you enter into an affiliate program. You should be familiar with the many important aspects that your chosen program should have before incorporating them into your website. Try to ask your affiliate program choices these questions. These can help you select the right program for you site from among the many available.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION
Some Advice For Those Who Want To Become Affiliates
Today, many of us are growing increasingly tired of the workplace and the daily grind. We are continually overworked and undervalued. Working a traditional job offers very little incentive to produce more. The vast majority of us pare paid a wage with very little movement for increases.
Increasing numbers of us want to work for ourselves but this requires money and a great deal of risk. Starting your own business is a risky venture and it may be years before any significant profit is seen. Most of us can't wait that long as our financial obligations need to be met immediately.
To bridge this gap, some are turning to the field of affiliate marketing. Affiliate marketing allows you to work for yourself. Instead of creating your own business, you working to expand an already existing one. This keeps the risk factor and investment low so you can concentrate on how to make profits.
Many think it sounds easy. Certain aspects of affiliate marketing make it very attractive but it isn't easy at all. There are steps and loads of advice you should follow before plunging head first into and affiliate marketing scheme.
The first thing you should do before committing to an affiliate marketing scheme is to evaluate your skills and expertise. How motivated are you? How many hours are you willing to put in? What business skills do you already have and what skills do you need? Even though the risk is minimal, you want to make the most of the venture. You will need some business and sales skills. If you have none then you need to learn. There are very few products that sell themselves. If they did the company wouldn't need you to do it for them. You profit will be based on your performance. If you can't perform then your venture will struggle.
The next thing you should consider is a product themselves. You should find something that you know something about. That way you sound much more sincere when you are marketing them. However, you also need to look into how salable they are. You may have loads of knowledge about a particular area but if it isn't something that sells it will be useless. Find out from the company how well these items sell. How much of a return you can reasonably expect. Don't let them dazzle you with the sky is the limit speech, or one of our salesmen hit the million dollar mark. You need to know what you are likely to achieve.
Finally, you need to have realistic expectations. One of the reasons that many work at home ventures fail is that people want instant results. Running a business of any type takes time and hard work. With affiliate marketing your will get out only what you put in. with patience and hard work it will be lucrative. Learn what is realistic and shoot for that. If you make more then great.
Affiliate marketing is a fantastic way to start in your own business. If you're self motivated and independent then this fields could be an excellent choice. Before you jump in, research the company. Look up the salability of the products and ask for reasonable projections. Base your goals on these and build from there. With patience and hard work you will make a success of affiliate marketing.
Increasing numbers of us want to work for ourselves but this requires money and a great deal of risk. Starting your own business is a risky venture and it may be years before any significant profit is seen. Most of us can't wait that long as our financial obligations need to be met immediately.
To bridge this gap, some are turning to the field of affiliate marketing. Affiliate marketing allows you to work for yourself. Instead of creating your own business, you working to expand an already existing one. This keeps the risk factor and investment low so you can concentrate on how to make profits.
Many think it sounds easy. Certain aspects of affiliate marketing make it very attractive but it isn't easy at all. There are steps and loads of advice you should follow before plunging head first into and affiliate marketing scheme.
The first thing you should do before committing to an affiliate marketing scheme is to evaluate your skills and expertise. How motivated are you? How many hours are you willing to put in? What business skills do you already have and what skills do you need? Even though the risk is minimal, you want to make the most of the venture. You will need some business and sales skills. If you have none then you need to learn. There are very few products that sell themselves. If they did the company wouldn't need you to do it for them. You profit will be based on your performance. If you can't perform then your venture will struggle.
The next thing you should consider is a product themselves. You should find something that you know something about. That way you sound much more sincere when you are marketing them. However, you also need to look into how salable they are. You may have loads of knowledge about a particular area but if it isn't something that sells it will be useless. Find out from the company how well these items sell. How much of a return you can reasonably expect. Don't let them dazzle you with the sky is the limit speech, or one of our salesmen hit the million dollar mark. You need to know what you are likely to achieve.
Finally, you need to have realistic expectations. One of the reasons that many work at home ventures fail is that people want instant results. Running a business of any type takes time and hard work. With affiliate marketing your will get out only what you put in. with patience and hard work it will be lucrative. Learn what is realistic and shoot for that. If you make more then great.
Affiliate marketing is a fantastic way to start in your own business. If you're self motivated and independent then this fields could be an excellent choice. Before you jump in, research the company. Look up the salability of the products and ask for reasonable projections. Base your goals on these and build from there. With patience and hard work you will make a success of affiliate marketing.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION
have you seen this…?
My good friend, Matthew Cluff, just put up an incredible training
video showing the exact steps to take to succeed and achieve the
results you want. Best of all: NO OPT-IN REQUIRED!
In this video, you'll learn:
* Why people seem to be "stuck" and can't improve their lives
* What you can start doing TODAY to improve your results
* The science behind the Law of Attraction and why it works
* Your 6 Mental Faculties and how to use them to be successful
* How to change your negative subconscious programming
* And much more to increase your success!
I'm not sure how long Matthew plans on keeping this video up
for,
I hope you enjoy this video as much as I did!
P.S. You've probably never heard of the things Matthew reveals in
this powerful, 100% complementary video that'll help you succeed.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION
This is powerful…
How serious are you about living the life of your dreams?
When are you going to stop "settling" for your current results?
Do you really want to reach the end of the road with a feeling of regret?
Inside, you're going to be exposed to some powerful success tips:
* How to raise your overall level of happiness
* How to set goals the right way and achieve them too
* How to use failure to your advantage
* How to permanently eliminate bad habits from your life
* How to effectively boost your productivity
* How to increase your income by using a simple formula
If you're ready to change your life, my good friend Matthew Cluff
is ready to show you the EXACT steps to follow to increase your
success!
You've probably never before heard of the techniques and tips
he's going to reveal inside, so what are you waiting for?
Just something that'll help you out :)
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION
self-improvement
There are so many self-improvement products out there on the market, but none I've ever come across have made the bold promise that Chris D'Cruz of Universal Life Secrets has made. He promises to reveal to you the secrets of life and the universe, which in turn would give you "god-like" powers that will allow you to create your own destiny as you see fit.
The first time someone told me of the site's outrageous claim, I laughed.
And then I visited UniversalLifeSecrets.com to check it out for myself. What I found on the site was indeed the most outrageous claim I have ever read in all my time online. Surely you'd have to think that if someone promises not just the world, but the secrets of the entire universe and life in general, the claims may be a tad absurd.
Just for the sake of everyone who might not have checked out the site yet, basically Chris D'Cruz promises that in 30 short days, you'll be able to accomplish practically anything you set your mind to, persuade anyone to do your bidding, attract anyone into your bed and give them (and yourself) the most mind-blowing sexual experience all night long.
And apparently, that's just the tip of the iceberg.
According to the site, some of the secrets he'll reveal are "Irresistible Hypnotic Influence, Innate Psychic Ability, Supernatural Healing, Indomitable Sexual Prowess, The Cosmic Omnipotent Knowledge Of Life And The Universe".
I don't know what kept me on the site, but I read what this Chris D'Cruz had to say about his secrets. And the more I read, the more I was intrigued by the guy's promises of self empowerment and sexual confidence/prowess. Like I said, I've never seen any claim as bold as this guy's.
http://.chrisuls.hop.clickbank.net
By the time I finished reading everything he had to say, I wanted to know more. I was really curious as to why he seemed so confident that these secrets would change anyone's life in 30 days. I figured if these "secrets" turned out to be hogwash I would just use the 60 Day Money Back Guarantee and get a refund.
And you know what?
Turns out these secrets aren't hogwash at all.
What Chris D'Cruz has done is live up to his promise of the world (or universe) and provide a comprehensive collection of the best material on self empowerment and sexual confidence/prowess that can never be found anywhere else. The secrets revealed are impressive, with easy implementation and integration into one's daily life, and techniques rarely seen in any self help books I've read.
I've applied some of these techniques and surprisingly they work; the empowerment secrets have instilled a new confidence that I never thought existed in me. In turn, this newfound confidence translates to greater chances of me actually "scoring" whenever I'm out and about in the clubs and pubs.
So is Universal Life Secrets worth looking at?
From my own personal experience, I'd have to say yes. In a rare show of confidence, Chris D'Cruz actually delivers on his promises of the world, and if you take a chance on Universal Life Secrets, you'll see that you truly will have the world in the palm of your hand.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION
Successful Affiliate Marketing
There are hundreds of thousands of affiliate programs
out there, all of which claim to be the best. Many
of them try to give you the impression that all you
have to do is use their banners and links then wait
for the money to start rolling in. Although this
can be the case, this type of scenario normally
applies to large sites with a lot of web traffic.
Choosing banners
With most affiliate programs, you are offered a
variety of banners to plan on your website, as very
few of them will be effective. The problems with
most banners are their size. If you choose a banner
that is high in size, it will take a long time to
implement and use. Therefore, it's recommended that
you use banners no more than 15kb in size.
When you select any types of graphical advertising,
you should try and keep the theme of your website in
mind. Even though graphical ads are meant to stand
out and catch people's eye, they shouldn't be to
the point where everything else on the page is
completely ignored.
Pop ups and unders
A lot of companies will now give their affiliates
the chance of using pop up or pop under ads. In
most opinions, pop ups aren't the way to go. They
can easily annoy visitors and are normally closed
before they even have the chance to load. You
should instead go for pop unders and those types
that only display once per visit.
Text link ads
Once of the most successful means of advertisting
is text link ads. They are easy on bandwidth, don't
use a lot of space, and they easily be implemented
into most types of page layouts. Good text links
offer some information as to why your visitor
should investigate your offers.
Email advertising
The direct promotion via email has really taken off
over the last several years, although it has
brought tons of spam with it. If you plan to use
email as a method of advertising your products,
you should stand behind what you sell and make
yourself available to answer any questions.
Patience
If you feel confident that your site can generate
great sales for certain company's, you should
contact them to negotiate an arrangement. If they
don't seem to enthused to begin with, you should
remain patient as companies are approaced every
day with affiliates looking to make better deals.
The reality remains that most affiliates can't
deliver what they promise, and companies are
aware of this.
You should always keep in mind that most forms of
advertising will take time. No matter what methods
you plan to use, give it some time before you make
any type of decision. Although something may not
happen overnight - it very well could in a few
days or weeks.
out there, all of which claim to be the best. Many
of them try to give you the impression that all you
have to do is use their banners and links then wait
for the money to start rolling in. Although this
can be the case, this type of scenario normally
applies to large sites with a lot of web traffic.
Choosing banners
With most affiliate programs, you are offered a
variety of banners to plan on your website, as very
few of them will be effective. The problems with
most banners are their size. If you choose a banner
that is high in size, it will take a long time to
implement and use. Therefore, it's recommended that
you use banners no more than 15kb in size.
When you select any types of graphical advertising,
you should try and keep the theme of your website in
mind. Even though graphical ads are meant to stand
out and catch people's eye, they shouldn't be to
the point where everything else on the page is
completely ignored.
Pop ups and unders
A lot of companies will now give their affiliates
the chance of using pop up or pop under ads. In
most opinions, pop ups aren't the way to go. They
can easily annoy visitors and are normally closed
before they even have the chance to load. You
should instead go for pop unders and those types
that only display once per visit.
Text link ads
Once of the most successful means of advertisting
is text link ads. They are easy on bandwidth, don't
use a lot of space, and they easily be implemented
into most types of page layouts. Good text links
offer some information as to why your visitor
should investigate your offers.
Email advertising
The direct promotion via email has really taken off
over the last several years, although it has
brought tons of spam with it. If you plan to use
email as a method of advertising your products,
you should stand behind what you sell and make
yourself available to answer any questions.
Patience
If you feel confident that your site can generate
great sales for certain company's, you should
contact them to negotiate an arrangement. If they
don't seem to enthused to begin with, you should
remain patient as companies are approaced every
day with affiliates looking to make better deals.
The reality remains that most affiliates can't
deliver what they promise, and companies are
aware of this.
You should always keep in mind that most forms of
advertising will take time. No matter what methods
you plan to use, give it some time before you make
any type of decision. Although something may not
happen overnight - it very well could in a few
days or weeks.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION
Cardio Weight Loss Mythbuster
Here is the Myth:
You have to do cardio after lifting for fat loss because your glycogen is low from the lifting, and that way you will burn more fat.
And now, the Truth:
First off, this quote, "glycogen is low right after lifting" isn't always true. If you just did an upper body workout, your legs are still full of glycogen.
Glycogen is the stored form of carbohydrates in our body (found in the muscles and liver). It is one source of energy when you are doing strength training, interval training, and aerobic training. Your glycogen levels go down after exercise, but increase after you eat carbohydrates.
It's incorrectly believed by many that strength training will use up all of your glycogen and then you will only have fat to burn during slow, steady, monotonous (& useless?) cardio. Well, there are a lot of problems with that assumption as well.
First, you'd have to exercise for at least 90 minutes at a slow, steady pace to fully deplete your muscle glycogen. And even an advanced, higher-volume strength training workout will only deplete your muscle glycogen by about 50-70% (and that is only if you perform multiple exercises and sets for one muscle group).
Second, muscle glycogen only goes down in the muscles that are worked. Therefore, if you only do upper body exercises, your leg muscles will remain nearly full of glycogen.
Third, you require glycogen in order to perform a hard interval or cardio training session. If you truly were glycogen depleted, your workouts would suffer.
The bottom line is that you are better off performing strength training and interval training to lose fat, and not worrying about being glycogen depleted.
Don't get suckered into thinking that you have to worry about scientific details. Unless you are a trainer, you have better things to occupy your mind, I'm sure. Just stick with an efficient, effective workout that gets you in and out of the gym in less than an hour.
No need to stick around longer than that. Do your weights and then your intervals. Or feel free to do your intervals on your off-day. It's consistency, not timing, that matters.
Sincerely,
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION
5 Places Where You Might Be Wasting Money (And What to Do About It)
You've got a budget, and you're sticking to it. But sometimes it still feels like your trying to carry water in a leaky bucket. The truth is, you probably are. A good amount of deadwood can be trimmed out of every budget. Keep reading, and we'll tell you how.
Stop Eating Out — Let's face it, most of us eat out entirely too often. But does that mean we should stop eating out entirely? Of course not, but when you see how much you are actually spending on it, whether it's Wendy's, Red Lobster, or your daily Starbucks coffee, you might want to. Think about it. The average Starbucks beverage costs around $3. If you buy one every day for a month, that's $90. Every day for a year, $1,095. Can you think of a few things you'd rather do with $1000 than pee regularly the first half of your day? Me too.
Limit Unnecessary Travel — Life in the new millenium is all about errands, isn't it? It seems like we spend more time in our cars, than in the comfort of our own home. We're always running to the grocery store, or the mall, or the movies, or the post office. Consolidating the trips will save gas as well as wear-and-tear on your vehicle. Try to run all of your errands in one weekly trip. Or don't leave the house unless you can run at least three errands in one trip.
Reduce Utilities — Eliminating your utility bills altogether is impossible. Unless you want to live like the Unabomber in a tiny lean-to in the wilds of western Montana. But most of us could stand to trim a little excess out of our bills. Take stock of your utilities, and determine what you can live without. Do you really need the Caller ID or Call Waiting on your phone? Also, check for any discrepancies. Did your water bill suddenly spike? It might be signs of an expensive leak. Consider upgrading to energy efficient appliances. Not only will this automatically save you money in the long run, some power companies provide incentives for energy efficiency.
Get A New Quote — Look at your home, health, and auto insurance. Few people think about their insurance as soon as they sign the forms…except perhaps to pay the bills. But insurance rates fluctuate, sometimes because of market forces, and sometimes because of your circumstances. Maybe you've quit smoking, or haven't had an auto accident in 10 years. Take the ten minutes and call around. You may save yourself hundreds of dollars a year.
Reconsider Entertainment — A good place to consider cutting costs is in your entertainment budget. Consider cable TV. Are you really watching those premium channels or sports packages? If not, or if they aren't worth the extra money, consider cancelling them. Are there magazines that you receive, but never read? Do you rent movies, and then never watch them? Or maybe you buy season tickets to the local sports team, but only make it to a game once or twice a year.
To learn more about how you can cut down on the money you spend (without doing away with the things you love) and put more money in your bank account,
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION
A Money Saving Challenge
Admit it. When you think about saving money, or pinching pennies, you think of little old ladies clipping coupons out of the Sunday paper, don't you?
Well I'm here to tell you that saving money isn't necessarily about sacrificing anything. In fact, it can be an exercise in self-discovery—finding out what you really want, and what you can live without. In most cases, the things you can live without, are things that you didn't really want anyway. They're the things you just accepted as essential because everyone you know has them too.
So let's do a little exercise. Take out a blank sheet of paper. Now list everything that you have spent money on, what you are spending money on, and what you want to spend money on. Review your bank statements if you want, but put all of your effort into this and try to be as thorough as possible.
Now look at your list. No, don't just look at it, actually take the time to study it. Consider, especially, the most expensive items.
Perhaps you own one sixth of a Piper Cherokee airplane. It's depreciated, to the point where it's worth three quarters of what you paid for it, and annual expenses average around $1,200 a year. Think about how much you actually fly it in a year. Do the math and figure out how much each flight costs. Is it considerably more expensive than renting? If so, maybe you should consider selling your share.
Or maybe you're not using that RV much, anymore. Maybe just one trip in the summer. Calculate how much it costs per day when you do drive it. Figure out how much you pay per year, the accumulated interest, and insurance premiums, then divide that amount by the number of days you've used it. Now look at the figure, and ask yourself if it's worth it to you. Don't automatically say no, even if the actual cost is astronomical. Saving money, as I said before, isn't about sacrificing anything. If it's worth it to you to pay that price for a familiar environment – a home away from home – when you travel, then by all means, keep it.
But perhaps you're spending three dollars every day for a coffee from Starbucks. That's $90 a month, $1,095 a year. Over five years, you'll have paid $5,475 in Iced Venti Americano's, alone. If being able to save that much money is more important to you than the beverage, put that $90 a way every month, and then take a trip to Italy in five years. Or invest it. Once you cut down on unneeded expenses, you'll have a lot more money to save and do the things you love.
To learn more about how you can slash your spending and put more money in your bank account, v
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION
An Unsavory Guide To Saving Money
As the old saying goes, "A penny saved is a penny earned."
To put it another way, when you save shave $20 off of your grocery bill, you get to keep the entire amount. But when you earn $20 at work, you have to pay part of it to taxes.
In that vein, here are a few money-saving suggestions that aren't very savory. In fact, I wouldn't recommend them — they take the concept of "pinching pennies" to a new low. But if there is one positive take-away here, it's that opportunities to save money are everywhere. If you're creative.
-- Get free flowers for your wedding…by collecting them at a cemetery. I don't know whether this suggestion is even legal, but somehow I doubt it.
-- One woman suggested filling your pockets with free condiment packets at fast food restaurants. Worse, this woman confessed she made her kids do it, and then squeezed the contents into the jar of ketchup and mustard at home. I wonder how many of those tiny packets of salt McDonald's provides will fill up a saltshaker. The answer itself could save you the cost of jellybeans. Consider setting the saltshaker out at birthday parties, and having kids try to guess.
-- One man suggested saving the cost of a car wash by using the squeegee at a gas station.
-- Umbrellas can be easily obtained at any large public library, according to one man. Simply go in and order one. Or at least tell them you lost a black umbrella. It's almost certain that they have one. If not, simply say, "Oh, wait, maybe it was blue. Yeah, dark blue. I just think it looks black." Of course, as you saunter out into the late afternoon rain, and open your new umbrella, some old lady may be getting wet.
-- Taking toilet paper from public restrooms. This tip is ideal for women, who can easily conceal the toilet paper in their purses. A man might look a little odd walking out with a roll of toilet paper. But who knows, maybe if he's also got a magazine rolled up under one arm and gives the clerk a jaunty wave, he'll get away with it.
These unsavory ways to save money may make you look like a cheapskate, and they might make you feel like a thief, but they are ways, nonetheless, given to you in humor. If you want to learn more savory ways to save money -- in all seriousness --
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Four Sure-Fire Tips to Saving Money
Saving money. It seems like it should be easy, doesn't it? Just sock some extra money away each month and voila! But what exactly is "extra money?" If you're like me, it seems like every cent you earn is spent long before it hits the bank, and usually just on essentials like gas, groceries, rent, water, and electricity.
According to a recent study, two-thirds of us live paycheck to paycheck. That means that if our next paycheck is delayed for whatever reason, or we're faced with surprise expenses like car repairs or visits to the doctor, we won't be able to pay our bills.
That's why a healthy savings is so important—it can be the one thing that stands between us and insolvency. But how do you start saving money when it seems like there's no money to save?
Well, here are a few sure-fire ways to help you identify the "extra money" you earn, and start putting it away for that rainy day.
• Create a Budget—this is the foundation for saving money. Write down how much you earn every month, and then list your expenses. Doing this will help you identify that "extra money." Maybe you can put away $3 every day instead of going to Starbucks. Think about it, that $3 a day adds up to around $90 a month, which adds up to roughly $1000 a year.
• Set Goals — Decide why you want to save money. Maybe it's just to create that cushion between yourself and insolvency that we talked about earlier. Or maybe you need a new car, or a dishwasher, or a wide-screen, HD TV. You should give yourself long-term and short-term goals. Buying the dishwasher, would be a short-term goal, while saving for early retirement might be a long-term goal.
• Create a Separate Savings Account — It's a fact for most of us that if we have "extra money" we'll want to spend it. If you just mentally set money aside in your checking account, it's so much easier to say, "Ah, it's all right, I'll put it back next payday." Separating your savings from your spending money creates a psychological barrier.
• Make it Automatic — Whether you're setting the money aside in a dedicated savings account at your bank, or stuffing it into an extra cookie jar in the kitchen cupboard, make it as automatic as possible. Your bank can automatically move the money to your savings account every payday. This is the best way because you never even see the money, and won't even remember that you have it. If you're using the old cookie jar, put the money in it immediately.
Yes, you might have to sacrifice a few things in order to save money, but the peace of mind will be worth it. To learn more about how you can slash your spending and put more money in your bank account,
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Controlling Hidden Costs
Sometimes we spend money without realizing it. Or we don't really think about the long-term cost, or simply accept it as the price of convenience. Here are a few tips to controlling those hidden costs, and changing your mindset.
Avoid ATM Fees
ATM fees can really add up without us noticing. Some banks, like Wells Fargo, charge their customers $3 every time they use an ATM that isn't affiliated with Wells Fargo. Then they turn around charge customers from other banks $3.50 to use their machines. So in essence you are charged twice (sometimes more than $6 total) for the privilege of withdrawing your own money. On one vacation, to a destination where my own bank didn't even have a branch, I accrued $32 in non-branch ATM fees (that's just the fee MY BANK charged me—it doesn't include the fees charged by the ATM).
It's our own fault, really. It's not like that non-branch ATM doesn't warn us that it's going charge us $3 for the transaction. But it's so easy to convince yourself that $3 isn't all that much, considering you don't have any cash and don't really want to run clear across town.
But think about it. If you use a non-branch ATM just three times a week, and are charged $6 total for each transaction, that's $72 a month. $816 a year. Over five years, you'll have spent $4320. That is the true cost of convenience.
I don't know about you, but I can think of a few things I'd rather spend $4320 on.
Pay in Cash, Collect Change
As any ordinary beggar will tell you, change can really add up. But when it's riding in your pocket, you don't think much of it, do you? Once a paper dollar has been rendered into a few odd coins, we don't seem to count it anymore. I know I don't. When I'm out and about, I count the bills. The change is just a jangly weight in my pocket. It could be $11 in quarters…but it coin form, it's just somehow less substantive than bills.
But get a big jar (I use one of those big 5-gallon water jugs) and put your change in it every evening. If you're like me, in a few months, you'll have a hundred dollars or more. What's more, it feels like free money.
You can also earmark it for something. Call it your "New Car Fund", or "Trip To Tahiti Fund."
Grow Your Own Vegetables
More and more people are discovering the benefits of growing their own vegetables. Not only are they better for you (no insecticides) but doing so can save you a considerable amount of money. What's more, you don't need to become Tillamook Bob and plow up an entire acre of land. A small plot is all you really need. In the summer months, eat all of your vegetables free. And if you're really ambitious and have the resources, you can preserve them by canning or freezing. If you're unsure how to do this, look for tips and resources online. You'll be surprised how much money you can shave off your grocery bill. And as the old saying goes, a penny saved is a penny earned.
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