Don’t carry any billy less than a five. Why?

Posted on June 15, 2011 by

It’s not a bad idea to carry cash, of course, if the cash is in your wallet, it’s there to spend.  (That’s why you carry it, after all.)

If you carry cash only in denominations more than $5, it can help you to not make certain impulse buys:  vending machines. Most vending machines will take (a) change, and (b) $1 bills.  If you don’t have the right kind of money to feed these machines, it’s almost as if you didn’t have any money at all, because you can’t spend it!

I’ve found that this trick works really well for avoiding the snack machines during those mid-afternoon energy lulls.  I’ll just have some water or eat some of the healthier food I have in my cube instead.

Now, if you’re tempted to spend on things after work that are in the $20-$30 range just on impulse, and you know you shouldn’t, then just keep the cash out of your pocket.  And the credit cards, for that matter.  But if it’s the little expenses that get you, then you can still carry cash without being tempted to spend it on sodas and corn chips at the vending machines.  Leave the small money at home!

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Save Money On Your Wedding Day

Posted on May 5, 2011 by

Weddings are expensive, particularly if you try to keep up with your opulent friends.

If you want to save money on your wedding, one of the best ways is to go Alternative!

This means, instead of going for a £/$4,000 dress, you instead get a high quality high-street formal dress that you could use again – or hire a wedding dress. Or buy second hand. Seriously.

The things that cost a lot during weddings are as follows (this is not an exhaustive list!) – with the Cash Clever alternative listed alongside:

  • Dress - for the lady of the day, this is often the biggest single expense (sometimes it’s the most expensive dress she’ll ever purchase!) – if you are short of money, big savings can be made here by going for a non-wedding dress – get a friend with style to help you shop;
  • Suits – the men’s suits can also be expensive, particularly if you buy them. Hiring is a good way to look great for less, but, even more cash clever is to simply wear Black Tie, which groom and his friends may well already own – its still fully formal, and looks great in the photos;
  • Reception Venue – For the reception, use your house; or a friend’s house; or a marquee at someone’s house;
  • Alcohol – if you buy all of your guests’ drinks, be prepared to fork out a lot of money. Perhaps consider a venue with a bar (during an off-peak season!) – or Go Mongolian and celebrate your wedding without alcohol (see the link for explanation!).
  • Photography – Wedding Photographers are great, but they know how to charge; a lot of us have friends or family who are able to take a good photograph – ask them – they could well take it as a huge compliment (and it can be their gift to you!);
  • Favours – these are the little gifts that many people like to give their guests. The secret here is simple – the two H’s give something Handmade or Heartfelt to keep down costs!
  • DJ / Music – instead of paying out hundreds or thousands for a DJ, get some decent speakers, and put an MP3 player onto shuffle. You can always queue up the first dance yourself – or use a playlist for the whole night! If you don’t have these things, you probably have a friend who does – ask around.
  • Food – if you have your guests attending your wedding (or reception) over a meal time, it is nice to feed them something – buffet is always cheaper than sit-down waiter service. Alternatively, make it short, and ask guests to arrive fed!
  • Stag/Bucks and Hen Parties – the tradition for bachelor parties has gone crazy recently. Go old school, and take your pals down to a local pub, where all of them can buy you drinks. You don’t need to go all “Spring Break” you know – especially if, like most people, you are marrying in your 30+s, or for a second time.
  • Flowers & Decoration – its always much cheaper to grow and make your own decor than to pay for someone else to do it for you. This does depend upon your choice of venue, however!
  • Honeymoon – this is a big one, its one aspect that you could concentrate your other saving effort on, as its actually the longest part of the marriage ceremony. Still, you should look out for deals on package holiday deals (you may not want to be cooking in self catered accommodation, for example) and note that “Honeymoon Suites” are not well-known for their cost-effectiveness (though you can get a free upgrade for mentioning you are newlyweds, providing you book economy in the first place!).

Feel free to add your own Wedding Day Savings below in the comments sections – did you have a low-cost wedding? How did you achieve it?

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Reduce Monthly Outgoings

Posted on April 5, 2011 by

So often people are looking for the #1 Money Saving Tip, or they ask “what’s the best piece of financial advice you can offer?”.

More and more, particularly recently, I am settling on a specific rule that probably trumps all others when it comes to living a Cash Clever! lifestyle: Reduce Monthly Outgoings.

The ways in which you can do this are really simple, but they tend to revolve around one thing – avoid monthly contracts.

There are heaps of things out there that we all view as “must have” products that involve a monthly fee, including:

  • Mobile phones;
  • Broadband;
  • Telephone (fixed) contracts;
  • Utilities;
  • Rent;
  • Mortgage;
  • Newspaper / Magazine subscriptions;
  • World of Warcraft;
  • Gym Memberships.

From the point of view of the company or individual who creates the product or service, monthly fees make a lot of sense (think residual, recurring income), but from the point of view of the consumer, signing up for many monthly, non-essential contracts simply adds to the burden of financial responsibility each month.

Naturally, some items you could not live particularly easily without, such as utilities, broadband and at least one kind of telephone connection, though you could be Cash Clever! with these by making sure you are on the cheapest and most sensible package (often joining phone and broadband is a great way to save a little money).

When it comes to the non-essential – i.e. entertainment or luxury items – the equation you should use to weigh up each subscription is quite simple really: how much value does the contract provide you with? For example, if you pay $50 a month for gym membership, yet you only go once or twice a month, perhaps you should consider another form of excercise, like runnings?

Or, maybe your newspaper subscription means that you don’t spend money buying books, so it actually ends up being very cost effective (plus a lot of papers have free DVDs etc, thereby reducing other areas of your entertainment budget too).

Work out what value your monthly contracts deliver to you, and cut out those which are not providing the maximum: you’d be surprised at how much a little financial pruning can increase your monthly bottom line!

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Mind the Temperature

Posted on December 14, 2010 by

Following a recent bout of extremely cold weather where I live (and work) the question of paying for heating has come up.

We currently have oil fired central heating, which also does the hot water on demand (i.e. not heating up a whole tank of water and keeping it hot, instead only heating water as it is needed).

Roll Back Your Thermostat

When we moved into our house, the previous occupant had the thermostats set at 21 degrees centegrade at all times.

This meant that the heating was on in August, in the UK, when we moved in.

I reset the thermostats (we have one for upstairs and one for downstairs) to 15 degrees centigrade at all times. This means that the heating does not come on unless the temperature of the thermostat drops below 15, and it will only stay on until it reaches that level.

Now, I know what you are thinking. 15 is too cold!

It is cold, however, it is more cost effective to heat only the room that you are using, particularly given the rise and rise of the price of fuel oil.

We are fortunate in that we have a solid fuel fireplace in the sitting area of the house, which means we can heat that room for very little, though it would still be more cost effective were we to use a small electric fan heater for the room we are in rather than heating the whole upstairs or downstairs rooms.

Air Conditioning is Expensive

Cold isn’t the only problem people face. Heat can be troublesome too. And also uncomfortable. But remember, air conditioning is expensive, so the cash clever advice is to use it only in extremis, or not at all.

I have lived through a heat wave in Australia (46 degrees C+) without air con. It was a little uncomfortable at first, but you do get used to the heat after a day or so. And the amount of money it costs to install, maintain and power air conditioning units in your house would be around the same price as going on a short holiday somewhere cooler during the next heat wave. While that is not a sensible suggestion, it should help to put things into persective. The golden rule? Air conditioning is a luxury – expect to pay a premium for it.

Comfort costs. Keeping warm or cool is comfortable. The cash clever way to manage the temperature at home (or work) is to make sure you aren’t wasting time, money and energy on a couple of degrees here or there. If you’re cold, put on another jumper, and count the savings you make!

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