Print It Yourself and Save!
If you’re operating a home-based business, you are already a very busy person. Start-up costs can be a bit steep and business won’t pick up without your getting the word out. If you’re shopping for ideas on how to spread the good news about your product or service, you’ll want to think about promotional printed materials such as business cards, brochures and flyers. If you visit a local printer and get an estimate, you might also get something unexpected… sticker shock. Fortunately for today’s home-based business entrepreneurs, the world-wide-web is rife with ways to get the printed materials you need for a fraction of the cost.
There are many types of on-line print vendors to choose from. Most of the larger ones will offer almost any service you can find at your local print shop. Some of them actually provide you with all of that and a few extras, to boot. Need a logo for that business? They can create a custom logo per your specifications. Looking to start your own website? They can provide you with anything from a basic website to a full-fledged on-lines biz site, plus many will host it, as well. Best of all, you can get discount printing on any of those basics that every business needs to get up and running. Full color brochures, business cards and flyers are all available on-line at more than reasonable prices. Want them customized? You can upload your logo and designs. Save more by using their templates that the site will supply as part of the package. The only downside to using many on-line print shops is the shipping costs (especially for those heavy, bulky orders) and then, the wait.
Don’t let the cost of shipping deter you from purchasing your printed materials on-line. You can eliminate shipping bills and nullify wait time. You just need to check out one of the websites that will allow you to pay for creating your business cards or brochures on line but then elect to print them on your own printer, right there in your home office. Of course, that will mean that you’ll need a full-color printer and the right sorts of paper for the job. Still, for some home businesses, the combination of on-line preparation of the printed products added to the convenience of on-site printing means: savings in time, money and, best of all, no compromise in quality.
Your business card says a lot about you, as do your other printed materials. You’ll find lots of discount printing websites on the Web. Most of them provide some sort of incentives for you to choose them. These incentives can range from extra low prices that offset shipping costs to the print-at-home plan. Whichever of these solutions works best for you, they are bound to help lower your costs and bolster your bottom line. So, home-based businessmen and women, rejoice! You can get the word out about your business and still keep some money in the bank, thanks yet again to the wonder of the Internet.
Keep Your Car And Still Get Money From It
Keeping your old car instead of opting for a new one often makes much sense these days. Just think of the numbers: an average car costs 28k if bought new, which, after a 20 percent down payment, still needs a lot of money every year. You can spend much less on repairing an older car, perhaps $56 on a Basic AAA membership, and use the old car for trips to Home depot once or twice every month. For that long road-trip to Colorado once a year, it is always best to rent a car anyways. You get a brand new car, no worries about insurance, damages and the like, and still pay only about a few hundred bucks for the car.
If you compare the numbers, you will readily agree that there’s not much sense investing in a brand new car. You can just keep your car and save money.
You may be wondering about insurance costs on the old car. A little research will show you that if you have a clean VIN report, a spotless and well maintained car, and a clear driving record for yourself, you can often get very good insurance deals that compare well with deals you get for new cars. The difference is not really much if you compare that against money you save from making those monthly EMIs.
Even a total engine re-haul will often cost you less than buying a new car. For an average old car, an engine re-haul may cost you around $1500-$2000. Add minor repair works, the insurance difference and occasional car rental costs, and you still do not pay more than $3000 per year. Remember, also, that you are not really gonna have to do an engine rebuild every year, so the cost becomes even less. Compared to the $6000 dollars per year that you gotta pay for a new car’s EMI, this is really a lot cheaper.
The best thing is…a new car also becomes old by the time you get done with the loan. But if you save that money and spend it on car rentals for your long road trips, (which, anyways, you probably don’t go more than once or twice a year), you get a nice new car to drive from the car rental companies. This works somewhat like a bill consolidation, where you pay less if you consolidate all your “problems”. This would not be possible if you bought a brand new car, would it? After five years of paying for its EMI, it will just become another clunker, and then you wouldn’t want to pay up for a car rental, because you are still paying monthly EMIs for your new car.
A new car is a “financial baggage” in more ways than an old car is. Old cars will have their issues, and only the flintiest of drivers will want to drive a car that’s too old to survive the road. But old cars, with all their issues, still offer you more value than a brand new car that costs a lot of money and starts losing value in geometric progression as soon as you drive it out of the showroom.
Coupon Clippers Rejoice!
I remember, not so long ago, hiding my coupon file in my purse as I pushed my shopping cart through my grocery store or the neighborhood mass merchandiser (i.e. Wal-Mart®, Target®, K-Mart®, etc.). I was worried that I would look “cheap” if people saw I was using the coupons that I had clipped in order to save some money. Well, guess what? Today’s downwardly spiraling economy has actually brought about at least one positive change. It has brought coupon clipping out of the closet (or in my case, the purse) and shone a bright light on this great way to save on products you buy every time you shop, or maybe to save on a new product you’ve wanted to try.
I used to get almost all of my coupons out of the local newspapers “shoppers guide” that magically appeared on my driveway on Thursday mornings. I would sort through the coupon flyers and clip the ones for things I always buy and a few for things that I might want to try. Then, I would organize them in my tiny coupon-sorter and head off for the store. Now, thanks to the world-wide-web, I am no longer limited to coupons from the local flyer. I can type in a website and find coupons online any day of the week!
These coupon websites offer me lots of different kinds of coupons, many for my favorite products. Web sites like coolsavings.com, couponmom.com and couponsurfer.com offer me free access to coupons with discounts on everything from food to toiletries to diapers. I can type in the product I want or browse through their offerings by category. Then I can print the ones I want.
Another great way to save with coupons is by signing up for your local grocery chain’s “frequent shopper” program. Not all of them provide this service yet, but mine does. My membership entitles me to the store’s weekly sales brochure being sent to my email address. The brochure does more than tell me what items are on sale this week. It also has coupons that I can get by clicking on the item and printing the coupon that pops up. Getting the coupon from their e-flyer enables me to be sure that the product will be available at my store. Plus, when I redeem the coupon, I will earn points for my membership by using it. My store’s membership rewards points can be redeemed for discounts on gasoline. With my gas-guzzler, it’s a big incentive to shop there.
You’ll find coupons at your grocery store, too. They’ll be there along the aisles near the products they promote. You’ve seen those little machines that spit them out. I always take two, one for that day and one for the next visit. Checkout receipts often come with coupons on the reverse side, and many stores have machines that generate manufacturer coupons when you check out.
I love to shop, but I love to shop and save money even more. Whether it is clipping coupons off-line from you local paper or other printed source, or you’re surfing the web for them, coupons are a great way to keep expenses down and still let you buy the brands you want. Hey. I admit it. I have new favorite foods, designer clothes, panty hose and shampoos that I might never have tried except that their price, when I used my coupon, made these name-brand items cheaper than the store brands I would usually buy! So, come on. What are you waiting for? Sharpen your scissors and fire up your PC. You have money to save.
Saving Money with The Consumer Queen
How do You save so much money?
Melissa, the Consumer Queen, gets asked this a lot. She says:
This is a question I hear all to often! People constantly emailing me saying they have signed up and they have saved money but not as much as the Consumer Queen. I have been wanting to blog about this for sometime now and have just not had the time and the blog world has kept me so busy!!!!
Saving money is easy but it does require some work. The more work you put into it the more you save. Some say there is no trick to saving money but I say there is! Although I may see it differently than everyone else.
Just like anything we do in life, whatever you put into something you get out of it. If you spend a lot of time looking for coupons either in your local newspaper or online and then actually using them will depend on how much you save. If you get the grocery store circulars which come in the local newspaper, sometimes by mail and can also be downloaded from your favorite grocery store websites, and match up your coupons with the current sales you will save more also.
The first thing you need to remember is that not everyone will save the same way. Also one person may save more than the other because of their life situations. It also depends on where they live and what stores they have. For example I live in Edmond,Oklahoma we have Crest Foods, Homeland, Super Target and Walmart for grocery stores. We also have a CVS and Walgreens. Homeland is the only store that doubles here and the prices are much higher than the other stores but you can still get some great bargains as well as items for free. Consumers who Live in Tx have Krogers, Tom Thumb and Albertsons. Some of these stores double and triple. They also do not pay tax on groceries.
What I have found is that many times the coupons that come out in the newspaper on Sunday will match up with the grocery store sales the following week.
If you work full-time you might not have the time to spend on clipping coupons. Using printable coupons such as the ones offered on Shopping Gems will save you time. If you click on the Coupons.com ad on the right of the screen you can print out new coupons each week.
Before I went to work full time, I was a money saving mad woman LOL. I was going from store to store racking up the deals. Yes, I was saving more than I spent on gas. This is another thing you have to think about some people will post how much they save but what they don’t tell you is some of them drive completely out of the way for a deal therefore not really saving because they spent so much in gas.
Now that I am working full time I do not save as much money because I do not have the time to go shopping any more but with a little determination my family is saving plenty.
What I am trying to do is make you look at the big picture here.You will see people posting about getting the great deals but things you need to remember: Do they work? Do they stay at home? Do they live in a small town or a big town? What stores do they have in their area? What are their coupon values? Do they have to pay state sales tax? How much time and effort do they put into it? (Organization is key) Do they participate in online discussions. Just because they saving more than you doesn’t necessarily mean they are a better shopper. It all depends on what resources they have and how much time they have available to put into it.
Visit the Consumer Queen’s site to read more about how she suggests you can save money.
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Shopping for Credit Card Deals Saves You Money
Yes, we all have them – those plastic cards that fit so nicely in our wallets to save us space but all too often end up emptying our wallets in the long run. Of course, I am talking about credit cards.
As things get tighter in our budget and with our economy we find ourselves turning to credit more and more. Revolving credit on credit cards can give you access to a fixed amount of money that you can spend when you need it but you should take some time before getting a new credit card. Search for the best deals you can to save on monthly interest fees, yearly fees, and find out how you can earn things like rewards points to help you stretch your dollar.
CreditRoom.com provides a website with the most up-to-date and detailed information regarding credit card deals. You will find credit card plans with rewards, low APR, no annual fees, instant approval options, as well as credit available to the those with limited credit.
CreditRoom.com is an informational resource only and is not directly related to the credit card companies it profiles.
The information on the CreditRoom.com site is readily available through categories such as:
- Credit cards with 0% APR on Purchases
- Credit cards with 0% APR on Balance Transfer
- Credit cards with Free Fees
- Credit Cards with Instant Approval
- Credit cards for those with Limited Credit
- Credit cards for those with No Credit
- Credit cards that offer rewards like Cash Back, Airline miles, Gasoline, or travel
How do you pick the right credit card for you?
When you apply for a credit card you should decide what you are planning to use it for. Think before you act because while buying a new handbag or clothes every week or month using a credit card is tempting and easy you need to remember that you will have to pay that money back every month. Make sure you will be able to handle the payments. A credit card is basically allowing you to borrow money in order to buy something you want now.
Before you sign up to get a new credit card you want to look at the options the credit card company is offering you. Look for specifics on what late charges will cost you, over-the-limit fees, the periodic rate that will be used to calculate the finance charge, and whether it has a variable or fixed interest rate. Consider all of these factors along with how you pay your bills each month. If you like paying your bill online make sure the credit card company you are going with has that option. If you like to pay through the mail you will always want to remember that it takes from 5 to 7 business days for your payment to process their system.
Regardless of which plan you choose, you are going to be making monthly payments unless you pay off the balance and only use your credit card for emergencies or special purchases. However, getting a credit card is one of the first steps in establishing your credit if you use it correctly.
Most cards, including Visa, MasterCard, Discover and Optima, offer what is known as revolving credit. Revolving credit is what allows you to carry a balance, which interest charges are added to, and it requires you to make a minimum payment each month.
Credit Card Cash Back Options
Many credit companies reward you by giving something back. You can earn cash back, gift cards, or rewards points towards things like airline, travel, hotel, or car rentals. Getting a reward for using your credit card is like getting free stuff in the mail. Many times you will need to have good credit to apply for a credit card with a rewards program. Check out CreditRoom.com to find just the right rewards credit card for you.
Whether you are looking to consolidate your credit cards or sign up for a new credit card you should visit CreditRoom.com to help you find the information you need in making a smart shopping decision.
