Hello,
Mike here from Fabulously Broke, how is it going so far? Feeling a difference about your personal finances yet? If you don’t, let me tell you that you will after reading this email. Out of my 11 Days To Control Your Finance email series, this is the email where I get the most feedback from. Why? Because you are here to find some cash!
Day #3 Find Some Cash!
Are you ready to put some money in your pocket? Without even knowing that they exist, they are recurring payments & fees that are eating up your savings. I’ve made a list of expenses where a simple phone call can help you save some serious money.
What’s The Next Thing to Do:
Find Cash Using at Least 2 of the Following Tips:
Cut Your Bank Account Fees
- ü Give your banker a call in order to review your credit facilities along with your bank account package.
- ü Pay special attention to accounts that don’t charge fees if you maintain a minimum balance (usually $2,500 to $5,000).
- ü Ask for additional rebates if you transfer all your accounts to the same bank.
- ü Save the phone call hassle and use this free checking account comparison tool (US only)
- ü Here’s a great article on Canadian Bank Account Comparison (CDN only)
- ü There is also a free savings account comparative tool created for Canadian (click here to use it)
Find Cheaper Insurance
- ü Ask your Insurer to check your credit score and give you a rebate accordingly (Most companies give rebates to clients with high credit scores).
- ü Ask for a rebate if you consolidate all your insurance policies (car, home, life) together (You can get up to 15% off).
- ü Mention your good insurance history for an additional rebate.
- ü Shop for the best life insurer with this free insurance comparison tool (click here for the car insurance finder) (US)
- ü MSN is also providing a great auto insurance comparative tool (click here to use it)
- ü For Canadians, Rate Supermarket and Kanetix are the free tools that I personally use.
- ü Another great way to find cheaper insurance is to meet with a broker (more details on life insurance in Day #4)
Get Free Rewards
- ü Apply for one reward credit card.
- ü Use this card for all your regular expenses (gas, grocery, utility bills).
- ü Set up an automatic payment in full from your bank account (so you never carry an unpaid balance).
- ü Shop for the best reward credit card program with this free tool. (US Only)
- ü Canadians can shop for the best credit card here or try Credit Cards.com tool.
- ü More details regarding credit cards on Day #6
Do You Really Need All This?
- ü Reconsider your cell phone package.
- ü Do the same thing with your phone, internet and cable packages (I cut $15 on my
cable bill lately just by removing channels I never watched anyways!). - ü Try to combine them with one provider for additional rebates.
- ü Consider your car gas consumption; maybe a sport car is not the best way to spend
your money. - ü Trendy clothes are great but rebates to buy clothing out of season is sexier.
Get More Food for Less Cash
- ü Buy in bulk and reduce your grocery bill
- ü Cook giant sized meals so you can brown bag your lunch the next day
- ü Save money on groceries by not wasting anything
- ü Cut your grocery bill by eliminating the junk food
- ü Couponing!
A Buck Saved is Worth More Than a Buck Earned
Remember that saving a $1 is actually more valuable than making an extra buck. Especially if you have a high marginal tax rate (as is the case with most Canadians!), you will probably end up saving almost $1.50 to $2 while making an extra buck will leave you with about 55 cents in your pocket once the government’s got its due.
With all these tricks, you should be able to save a few bucks per month. To be honest, I do this round check once a year and always find somewhere to save at least $10/month every time. It’s definitely worth it!
Tomorrow, I will demystify the universe of life insurance! Do you really need insurance? What type of product do you need? I’ll be answering all your questions.
Stay tuned for Day #3: Are You Safe?
Take care,
Mike