I found this conversation kind of funny today. Essentially, there was a person who was trying to find ways to save money. So the first step was to lay it out all to see where all of their money was going to and from there we would try and see where they could save money. As usually you saw things such as regular household expenses and non necessities. What I thought was interesting was how in the category of necessities the person had an attitude of since it is a necessity there is nothing you can do about it. For example, like the electricity bill.

However, after looking at the bill itself it did seem kind of high. Sure enough, if you looked at the person’s house he did so many things that was simply wasting a lot of money. For example, having chargers still plugged into the wall, which actually still uses electricity, or having a habit of leaving the computer or lights on even when he is not using it. While it may not seem much, it definitely adds up.

I suppose the same can be said for even like groceries. If you seem to be paying a lot, similar to hunting for the best deal for TV you should shop around. Thinking just because it is a monthly essentially that there is no way you can do anything to save more money is a mindset that should be fixed I think. If you spend as much time looking for the best deals when it comes to non essentials you can easily apply that financial savviness for your life essentials too.

Today I was talking to a person who was saying they needed some business wear clothing as they need more variety for more occasions. The person was then told if they are on a budget then there are a lot of large second hand stores where you can find stuff for dirt cheap and are just as good. However, this came with a lot of resistance with the notion that buying the item second hand to be used for professional business purposes seems wrong.

I suppose I can understand why as many would have the feeling that if you have to resort to buying second hand that it somehow devalues your status. At the same time, a point was brought up that when it comes to things like this it’s not like anyone can really tell. So in that sense does it make more sense to buy second hand to save money assuming the item works just as well as if you bought a new one?

Funny enough I think when it comes to furniture most people don’t care as much about any kind of status symbol. Example, if the business bought a used boardroom table or a chair for like one third the price of a new one they would probably do it in a flash. I think too most people would brag about what a good deal they got. If it works to your needs and is up to standards then why not?

I was surprised today as I went to this sushi buffet with a few people. I have been to these types of places before and usually how it works is you are either given a menu to check off which dishes you want or a waitress/waiter would write the order down on paper and then give it o the kitchen to prepare. In this situation though the person came out with a tablet of sort and started punching in orders which immediately got sent it to the kitchen. The funny thing was for some basic items like the soup or salads they were literally coming out to the table before the entire order was even complete.

Kind of makes you wonder why more places aren’t trying to transition to this type of system as I can only imagine that you will eventually save money as well from having to use all that paper and ink even though the system may cost more initially. In some ways I am inclined to say it’s more about people being too traditional as it is the only way it would work kind of thing.

I was thinking today as there were some people who were saying that they needed to buy advertising credit from various online companies and would have to spend almost $100. It’s not unusual too where these companies usually partner up with others where they give vouchers to solicit other people’s customers to do business with them as they feel that is the right demographic. An example was I registered a $2 domain only to then afterwards be presented with so many advertising coupons for different companies like Microsoft.

Now obviously some have stipulations such as for new accounts only. Therefore you can’t exactly just go hunting around for vouchers this way to save money in every case. But it’s definitely not a bad idea at times especially if you were looking to try a service for the first time. Offline the most common type of deals in this manner are buy a product and get a free trial offer on various services as an example. And yes, many times the actual product can be cheaper than subscribing to whatever it is you were interested in directly. You just have to do the research.

It’s that time again where everyone starts to make new years resolutions. Of course in most cases people don’t actually follow through with them and one thing I noticed more this year is actual products and services that are designed to help people follow through with their resolution. Example, if you are someone buying a gym membership then you will be paying for someone to make sure that you will actually go to the gym.

Guess with that in mind the no brainer way to save money in the new years is to make a goal/resolution that you will actually be self motivated and passionate about in following through with. I usually use the new years to think of things where I can build something from nothing so to speak. That way it’s more of an exercise of time and creativity as opposed to trying to go against something as if it is a chore. Whatever it is you choose you should have fun with it too I say.