Work and Financal Tips
Work
Set aside time once or twice a day to answer phone messages and email.
My personal favorite is to crochet while on a call or in meetings. WARNING do not do this without approval from the boss. Working at home allows me to multi task more than out in a traditional workplace.
If you are busy at work, don't answer the phone; let people leave a message. Also, don't return all phone calls right away (use good judgment here): often, someone will find an answer for himself with a little time. Phone calls ruin the flow of work, prevent you from getting things done, and take time you have alloted to something else. If they don't leave a message it couldn't be that important.
No personal email or web surfing at work. I estimate a savings of at least an hour of time, helping to achieve a goal of getting 50% more done in 10% less time (and getting out of work sooner). I do almost all personal email right before I go to bed or early morning, striving for a 1-day turnaround time.
Financal
Use online bill-payment. Mostly free these days. Saves a lot of time plus you are less prone to forget payments, since you can automatically schedule recurring payments such as mortgage payments. If the payee claims to not have received your payment, you will have an electronic record (plus a third party: your bill-payment online service) to prove it was sent. If your payment does not generate an email save the confirmation page to a file online.
Never buy anything you do not need or really want regardless how inexpensive it is. Avoid the sales and coupons trap.
Do not favor discount stores like KMart and Walmart. They tend to sell low-quality items that break (wasting your time and $) and are made in sweatshops. Strive to have things of high-value and quality.
Before You Buy...
Ditch your bank and use a Brokerage or Credit Union instead. Banks like to charge for almost every little service, but return very little in interest on a savings or money-market account, and usually nothing for a checking account.
Credit Unions require a very minimal (sometimes $5) balance in savings and return interest on savings and checking! They offer the same benefits as a bank.
A Brokerage does everything a bank does, plus allows you to invest in stocks, mutual and index funds, and set up an IRA account. In addition, all of your uninvested funds (dollars not tied up in stocks and funds) can be automatically invested in a money-market account yielding interest each year. You can write checks and make ATM withdrawals from these accounts too. (Check out Scottrade, eTrade, and Netbank too for even lower fees.)
Only use one credit card. Look for a balance transfer with 0% interest. In addition to receiving less statements and having to keep track of less accounts, having only one credit card makes one less prone to running up huge debts. Pay off highest interest account first! It also helps your credit score significantly (very important when you are applying for, say, a home loan). Just get a Visa or Mastercard, which is accepted in more places internationally than American Express or Discover.
Set aside time once or twice a day to answer phone messages and email.
My personal favorite is to crochet while on a call or in meetings. WARNING do not do this without approval from the boss. Working at home allows me to multi task more than out in a traditional workplace.
If you are busy at work, don't answer the phone; let people leave a message. Also, don't return all phone calls right away (use good judgment here): often, someone will find an answer for himself with a little time. Phone calls ruin the flow of work, prevent you from getting things done, and take time you have alloted to something else. If they don't leave a message it couldn't be that important.
No personal email or web surfing at work. I estimate a savings of at least an hour of time, helping to achieve a goal of getting 50% more done in 10% less time (and getting out of work sooner). I do almost all personal email right before I go to bed or early morning, striving for a 1-day turnaround time.
Financal
Use online bill-payment. Mostly free these days. Saves a lot of time plus you are less prone to forget payments, since you can automatically schedule recurring payments such as mortgage payments. If the payee claims to not have received your payment, you will have an electronic record (plus a third party: your bill-payment online service) to prove it was sent. If your payment does not generate an email save the confirmation page to a file online.
Never buy anything you do not need or really want regardless how inexpensive it is. Avoid the sales and coupons trap.
Do not favor discount stores like KMart and Walmart. They tend to sell low-quality items that break (wasting your time and $) and are made in sweatshops. Strive to have things of high-value and quality.
Before You Buy...
- Do I really need it?
- Can I afford it?
- Could I borrow one from a friend or neighbor?
- Do I have one already that could be fixed up or repaired?
- How long will it last?
- Can I maintain it?
- What are ALL costs over its lifetime?
- How many hours or months will I have to work to pay for it?
- Is it worth it?
- Are the resources that go into it renewable?
- Is it recyclable?
Ditch your bank and use a Brokerage or Credit Union instead. Banks like to charge for almost every little service, but return very little in interest on a savings or money-market account, and usually nothing for a checking account.
Credit Unions require a very minimal (sometimes $5) balance in savings and return interest on savings and checking! They offer the same benefits as a bank.
A Brokerage does everything a bank does, plus allows you to invest in stocks, mutual and index funds, and set up an IRA account. In addition, all of your uninvested funds (dollars not tied up in stocks and funds) can be automatically invested in a money-market account yielding interest each year. You can write checks and make ATM withdrawals from these accounts too. (Check out Scottrade, eTrade, and Netbank too for even lower fees.)
Only use one credit card. Look for a balance transfer with 0% interest. In addition to receiving less statements and having to keep track of less accounts, having only one credit card makes one less prone to running up huge debts. Pay off highest interest account first! It also helps your credit score significantly (very important when you are applying for, say, a home loan). Just get a Visa or Mastercard, which is accepted in more places internationally than American Express or Discover.
posted by Bluesbaby at 2:05 PM
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