Armchair Millionaire Community Bulletin: More Bang for Your Bucks

New York, NY (PRWEB) July 13, 2005

There are two parts to the financial equation: what you earn and what you spend. It isn’t easy to simply increase the amount you earn. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Americans on average saw their wages and salaries increase by just 2.4 percent in 2004--not much in the face of skyrocketing fuel, housing and health care expenses.

This means you have to make the money you do have go further. These comments from the Armchair Millionaire community show how some people are cutting corners in order to continue to make ends meet:

“We cut up the credit cards and use a bank card for all purchases, no matter what. If we can't pay cash for it, we don't need it. Just moved to a better neighborhood so the kids can go to a good public school. This will eliminate private school payments. We drive our cars until they are paid off and then some. We never have more than one car payment at a time. We don't let the media drive our purchasing decisions. We are reducing our possessions, not increasing.” –LP Wimsey

“My husband and I look over our spending and see where we can save: change cable companies and/or service level, car insurance, home insurance, cell phone plans, etc. We maintain our house to avoid wasting energy, shop at yard sales and thrift shops or do without wants. With the reduction in expenses, we then reduce our tax liability by investing more in pre-tax savings.” --YJ

There are lots of good ways to save some bucks here and there, but don’t stop there. You want to do more than just pinch pennies--you want to have real quality of life that comes from being on secure financial footing. My guide will help.

The Armchair Millionaire’s Guide to a Living Better on Less

Get real about your priorities. Ask yourself an important question: What in life do you most value? For most of us, the answer is not more stuff, but our families and friends, our health and our hopes and dreams for the future. Taking this question and your answer seriously will help you focus your spending priorities, and you may just find that you actually can have a higher quality of life when you spend less.

Find the fun stuff. Shift your emphasis from things to activities. Discover low-cost or free activities that you enjoy doing with your loved ones--these could be anything from visits to the zoo, park or museum, going for a hike or a picnic, or just spending time with friends. It could be just about anything, in fact, except shopping. You may end up finding things you enjoy doing a lot more and that cost a lot less.

Take care of yourself. If you smoke, quit. If you drink alcohol, quit or cut back. Skip the fast food and shop for healthy meals at the grocery store. Pass up the movie (and the large soda and popcorn that goes with it) and go for a walk instead. Get the theme here? Unhealthy choices cost a lot more than healthy ones. By changing a few key things in your life, not only will you save money now, you’ll save on doctor’s bills over the long run--and feel better, to boot.

Don’t let interest eat up your cash. Carrying consumer debt puts all your financial progress in reverse because, as some of us know all too well, it’s tough to get ahead when you’re sending a big chunk of your income to the credit card companies every month.

The Bottom Line: By managing your priorities--and your spending--you can achieve a better quality of life on less cash. This may make for some tough choices, but they’ll be well worth it down the road as you see your money worries fade.

The Armchair Millionaire Weekly Survey: Do you have an interest-only mortgage? Log on to http://www.armchairmillionaire.com and let us know.

About Lewis Schiff

Lewis Schiff founded the Armchair Millionaire Web site in 1997. His first book, The Armchair Millionaire, was published in 2001. Schiff's newest report, "How to Know When You Are Rich," is now available at http://www.armchairmillionaire.com.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Lewis Schiff

Armchair Millionaire

877-833-2823

http://www.armchairmillionaire.com

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