PM's Self Reliance Tools: How You Waste Money-Ways to Save Money!

Poor Man Survival

Self Reliance tools for independent minded people…

ISSN 2161-5543

A Digest of Urban Survival Resources

"To learn who rules over you,
simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize."
-- Voltaire

30 Ways You Waste Money

Almost all of us have holes in our budgets. And as with other kinds of leaks, you may have hardly noticed some of them. But those small drips can quickly add up to big bucks. The trick is to find the holes and plug them so you can keep more money in your pocket. That extra cash could be the ticket to finally being able to save, invest or break the cycle of living from paycheck to paycheck.

We've updated our popular list of money-wasters for 2014 with even more tips and resources to help you cut unnecessary expenses from your budget. Consider these 30 common ways people waste money. If any of them sound familiar, start plugging your budget holes right away.

Buying at the Wrong Time

Most things are marked down at certain times each year. So planning your purchases to get big-ticket items when they're at their lowest price can save you hundreds of dollars. For example, apparel is dramatically marked down at the end of each season and during sales events over long holiday weekends, such as Labor Day and Memorial Day. Furniture is discounted as much as 60% during clearance sales in January and July before new styles are released in the following months. Prices on TVs and computers are slashed on Black Friday -- and the list goes on.

More at:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/30-ways-to-waste-your-money-212719941.html

Americans should also blame themselves for their declining net worth. We waste a whole lot of money. Seriously -over half a trillion dollars.

From unused gift cards to ATM fees we waste or lose billions annually. Take a peek:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/13-ways-americans-throw-away-money.html;_ylt=A0LEVx842Q1UjAQANkBXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTEzMm1nanNsBHNlYwNzcgRwb3MDMQRjb2xvA2JmMQR2dGlkA1NNRTY1Nl8x

Save on fuel

Our nation’s roads and bridges are in sad shape and the toll winter takes on roads only makes the situation worse [pot holes in MI have been known to swallow cars]. As a consequence many of our cities are playing catch-up on road repairs. Avoid congested routes and save on fuel and repairs [and perhaps a few bottles of aspirin] by using this resource:

www.traffic.com or from your cell phone at: http://mobi.traffic.com or by calling the traffic hotline at: 866-698-7232

The percentage of Americans that are either working or looking for work is the lowest that it has been in 36 years? In August, an all-time record high 92,269,000 Americans 16 years of age and older did not "participate in the labor force".

Your Online Estate…A Sign of the Times!

My husband died suddenly. I had been a widow before at the tender age of 25. The world was different then with no internet, no online accounts, and no home computers. We were young and owned nothing.

This time I had the problem of not knowing passwords for online accounts. A couple of accounts like PayPal and Amazon were set so that the computer remembered and automatically entered the password. However, it took two hours to get the name changed on the phone and Uverse account with AT&T, because with paperless billing, I didn't have the full account number. I didn't know the password, but I did know the PIN. I couldn't answer the security questions because he chose obscure questions. Fortunately for me, that was the only account that my husband usually handled alone. I knew the passwords for the credit cards, etc.

It would be a service to your readers to suggest that everyone keep a list of financial passwords with their wills.

Secret Way to Save on Eating Out

Sure there are entertainment books, coupons in local newspapers and on the back of supermarket receipts and many restaurants offer coupons on their own web sites…but after spending much of the past two years in and out of hospitals, I have found their cafeteria offers a great place to eat for not a lot of money.

I’ve eaten in hospital cafeterias in MI, PA, OH and AZ and have found all consistently offer tasty dishes ranging from veggie omelets to gourmet dinners. In one city I visit often, many of the locals choose to eat at the hospital rather than the local restaurants!

Nearly half of all Americans say they lose track of about $2,340 per year according to a study by Visa – no one is sure where the money goes and men under 35 are the biggest mystery losers and women in that age group fared nearly as bad losing an average of $52 each week!