How to Stimulate Your Personal Economy by Courtney Thompson

How to Stimulate Your Personal Economy (2010 / 2011 Edition) by Courtney Thompson

How to Stimulate Your Personal Economy

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How to Stimulate Your Personal Economy

Table of Contents 1. Your Personal Stimulus Plan Starts Here 2. Save Money While Eating Lunch 3. Save Money Enjoying Coffee 4. Save Money Getting to/from Work 5. Affordable Family Entertainment  14 options for having fun while saving 6. Enjoy Dining & Shopping for Less  8 options for saving while dining 7. Saving Money at Home  9 options to save cash on home expenses 8. Recommended Business Opportunities  9 simple low cost / low stress online money makers About the Author

Save BIG with the All Solutions Network. It is FREE to join with both money saving & earning opportunities. Click on the graphic or use web link to join now. http://eCa.sh/solutions

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How to Stimulate Your Personal Economy

1.Your Personal Stimulus Plan Starts Here The banks got bailed out. The auto makers got bailed out. What about us who struggle everyday to make ends meet? This book was written to stimulate your personal economy!

You cannot do without money. It is needed, in most cases to exchange for food, clothing and shelter. The current world economy has put a squeeze on our ability to get the things we need (or want). Today more than ever, you need, no you must make your money go further.

Many feel that if they get a rise in income, their bills will decrease at a quicker rate and they will be able to save more of what they earn. This is true, if one’s spending habits (assuming that one is living within his/her means) remain the same or decreases. Sadly, the fact is that for most people, the amount of money spent increases with income. Remember too, that if you get a raise, you get it for two; you and the government. That’s right, your taxable income increases and the government are all too happy to help you spend a portion of your newfound wealth.

It is possible to have more money for the things you need (or want), without incurring more taxes inherent with wage increases, all without changing your current job (unless you really want to). How is this Page 4

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possible? Adjusting your spending habit is the most sensible answer. You know how to make a living, most of use learned in school. What they fail to impress upon you in school, is how to manage your hard earned money.

The Equation: YOU + HABITS = RESULTS Or. . . You must change your habits to change your results! This guide is designed to show you common areas and ways to keep more of your hard earned money. The suggestions presented are practical in most parts of the world. Examples are based on US dollars, this book being written in the United States. Always check any financial saving plan with your financial and/or tax professional to take advantage of the laws in your part of the globe. I have spent a considerable amount of time examining different money making schemes and have found one that works 100% of the time. It is: Time & Consistency.

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Opportunity Knocking Also, throughout this book, you will see ads for both FREE & LOWCOST business opportunities &/or money saving offers. They are all free to look Would an Extra $200 per Month Do for You? Follow just a few of the suggestions in this ebook can stop you from needlessly spending $200 per month or more. How would you use this freed up ‘stimulus money’?

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My Game Plan: 1) How much do I want to save (in dollars) per: a. Day? ___________________ b. Week? __________________ c. Month? __________________ d. Year? ___________________

2) What habit(s) do I want or need to change?

3) What will you do with the savings? a. Saving account ___________ b. Kidâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s education ___________ c. Vacation _________________ d. Charity __________________ e. Gifts ____________________ f.

Other ____________________

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2. Save Money While Eating Lunch Many purchase lunch as part of their daily routine at work. Depending on your location, you can easily spend $5.00 or more on fueling yourself to tackle the afternoon madness at the job. Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s use $7.00 per day as an average figure for lunch. You may spend more or less were you are, but the idea is still the same.

At $7.00 per day for lunch, look at what you are spending: $/day

$/week

$/month

$/year

$1.00 $2.00 $3.00 $4.00 $5.00 $6.00

$5.00 $10.00 $15.00 $20.00 $25.00 $30.00

$20.00 $40.00 $60.00 $80.00 $100.00 $120.00

$240.00 $480.00 $720.00 $960.00 $1,200.00 $1,440.00

$7.00

$35.00

$140.00

$1,680.00

$8.00 $9.00 $10.00

$40.00 $45.00 $50.00

$160.00 $180.00 $200.00

$1,920.00 $2,160.00 $2,400.00

As you can see from the table, at $7.00 per day you are paying someone else $1,680.00 of your hard earned money for the year. How can you save here? You could take your lunch to work with you. You could make sandwiches, take a salad, take leftovers to heat in a

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microwave, etc. If you pack lunch 3 days a week and treat yourself to lunch 2 days a week, you could potentially save $1,008.00 per year based on our average of $7.00 per day for lunch. What would you do with an extra grand??

My Game Plan: 1) How much do I now spend on Lunch per: a. Day? ___________________ b. Week? __________________ c. Month? __________________ d. Year? ___________________

2) How will I modify my habit?

3) How much will I save per: a. Day? ___________________ b. Week? __________________ c. Month? __________________ d. Year? ___________________

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3. Save Money Enjoying Coffee ‘It’s only a buck!’ you might say. You will find it interesting to note how fast that dollar adds up! If you have a 3 cup a day coffee habit (the American average is 3.1 cups/day): that’s $3.00 per day, $15.00 per week, or $720.00 per year. What would you do with an extra $600.00? Before you beat me up about my math, yes I did say $600.00. But, the cost in our example is $720.00 you may be wondering. Hmm…… The point is to save some money, not take away life’s little pleasures. Also, there is a small cost to making your own coffee, which is deducted from what you would have paid. Check out the following chart as a guide: (Note: the average American pays $1.38 for a 12oz. cup as of this writing) $/day

$/week

$/month

$/year

$1.00 $2.00 $3.00 $4.00 $5.00 $6.00 $7.00 $8.00 $9.00 $10.00

$5.00 $10.00 $15.00 $20.00 $25.00 $30.00 $35.00 $40.00 $45.00 $50.00

$20.00 $40.00 $60.00 $80.00 $100.00 $120.00 $140.00 $160.00 $180.00 $200.00

$240.00 $480.00 $720.00 $960.00 $1,200.00 $1,440.00 $1,680.00 $1,920.00 $2,160.00 $2,400.00

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Wow! If you have a 4 cup a day habit (I know several who drink more), that’s a $960/year your paying just for coffee; double that amount if you’re a specialty coffee fan. So how do you hang on to more of your cash and still enjoy your java? A dollar here, a dollar there, it all adds up!

Here are some coffee suggestions: 

Get a coffee maker ($20.00 or less) and brew your own for less than $0.20 per cup (cream and sugar included).



Take a thermos with coffee just how you like it.



Drink 3 cups or more per day? Try having water every other cup.



Tea drinker? Bring your own tea bags, hot water typically free, save a bundle.

My Game Plan: 4) How much do I now spend on coffee / tea per: a. Day? ___________________ b. Week? __________________ c. Month? __________________ d. Year? ___________________

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5) How will I modify my habit?

6) How much will I save per: a. Day? ___________________ b. Week? __________________ c. Month? __________________ d. Year? ___________________

7) What will you do with the savings? a. Saving account ___________ b. Kidâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s education ___________ c. Vacation _________________ d. Charity __________________ e. Gifts ____________________ f. Other ___________________

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4. Save Money Getting to/from Work Gas, insurance, parking - running a car (even if you got it for free) is anything but cheap. Let’s look at parking costs. The chart below represents the average range for daily parking costs for many downtown cities. When I have to park in Wilmington, DE, the average lot is $8.50/day. When I worked in Philadelphia, PA, the average I paid was $12.00 (some unfortunate souls pay as much as $21.00/day). If you live in New York, well I don’t know what to tell you – parking costs goes off the normal scale. Check it out: Parking costs can add up…………. $/day $5.00 $6.00 $7.00 $8.00 $9.00 $10.00 $11.00

$/week $25.00 $30.00 $35.00 $40.00 $45.00 $50.00 $55.00

$/month $100.00 $120.00 $140.00 $160.00 $180.00 $200.00 $220.00

$/year $1,200.00 $1,440.00 $1,680.00 $1,920.00 $2,160.00 $2,400.00 $2,640.00

$12.00

$60.00

$240.00

$2,880.00

$13.00 $14.00 $15.00 $16.00 $17.00 $18.00 $19.00

$65.00 $70.00 $75.00 $80.00 $85.00 $90.00 $95.00

$260.00 $280.00 $300.00 $320.00 $340.00 $360.00 $380.00

$3,120.00 $3,360.00 $3,600.00 $3,840.00 $4,080.00 $4,320.00 $4,560.00

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How to Stimulate Your Personal Economy $20.00 $21.00 $22.00 $23.00

$100.00 $105.00 $110.00 $115.00

$400.00 $420.00 $440.00 $460.00

$4,800.00 $5,040.00 $5,280.00 $5,520.00

Remember. . . Factor the price of gas. If you drive 20 miles each way and get 20 miles per gallon â&#x20AC;&#x201C; at $3/gal you need to add $6/day ($1440/year) in addition to your parking cost. Ouch!!

Average Daily Transit Cost (subtract from daily parking cost) $/day

$/week

$/month

$/year

$2.00 $3.00 $4.00 $5.00 $6.00 $7.00 $8.00

$10.00 $15.00 $20.00 $25.00 $30.00 $35.00 $40.00

$40.00 $60.00 $80.00 $100.00 $120.00 $140.00 $160.00

$480.00 $720.00 $960.00 $1,200.00 $1,440.00 $1,680.00 $1,920.00

Taking public transport (when convenient/available) will save you a bundle.

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My Game Plan: 1) How much do I now spend on parking per: a. Day? ___________________ b. Week? __________________ c. Month? __________________ d. Year? ___________________ 2) How much do I now spend on gas at $____ / gal per: a. Day? ___________________ b. Week? __________________ c. Month? _________________ d. Year? __________________

3) How will I modify my habit?

4) How much will I save per: a. Day? ___________________ b. Week? __________________ c. Month? __________________ d. Year? ___________________

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5) What will you do with the savings? a. Saving account ___________ b. Kidâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s education ___________ c. Vacation _________________ d. Charity __________________

e. Gifts ____________________ f. Other ___________________

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5. Save Money Entertaining Your Family Got kids? Entertainment costs can be daunting. Notice I said can be. If you plan it right, you can enjoy quality time having fun with your kids and save money. Read on. Parents, here’s a newsflash; what your kids want the most from us is not our wallets, but our time. How many of us grownups say, ‘I remember that expensive bike my dad bought me when I was 13’. Rather most of us would recall: ‘Dad taught me how to drive’ or ‘Mom taught me to tie my shoe laces’. Most of us recall events that our parents took time to be with us. Let’s look at some free and low cost activities.

FREE Activates: 1. Walking in the nearby woods or park. Stroll, walk the family dog! If you have kids it’s a great time to do some parental bonding. Talk about school, sports, plans, family stuff whatever. 2. Have a family TV or home movie night complete with popcorn, nachos and sodas. Don’t forget, television networks show movies every day! You already a TV and may have a cable subscription in place already, therefore – no additional cost to view a show. Page 17

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3. Parade watching. Check your local paper or the internet if-your town list community events online. You can plan to see a local parade or visit a nearby town. It’s different, fun, and educational. 4. Have a library day a couple times a month. Spend quality time plus provide educational experiences for you and the kids. I many towns, libraries rent movies, have internet access; have children and teen activities, even some adult class. Check it out. 5. Play family sports: basketball, tennis, baseball, and swim, whatever is available in your area. 6. In most cities there is a local parks and recreation facility. Check what they offer for your family. In most towns, it’s free of extra charges (paid by taxes) for basic services. If there is a fee for some activities, it’s usually very reasonable.

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LOW COST Activities: Many of the following activities make use of memberships. You would have to check the pricing in your area. In most cases, if you plan to visit a spot 2-4 times or more for the year, you could benefit from a membership. In the case of zoos and museums, they usually offer unlimited visits during a one-year period. Some memberships allow you to visit similar facilities (such as zoos) in other cites/states at a reduced or no extra cost. Most of them for a family of 4-6 are running in the $80-$150 range per year membership. Most memberships pay for themselves after 2-4 family visits. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fun, educational and low-cost way to entertain the family and enjoy time together. Your also not pressured to see everything in one visit.

1. Family Zoo Membership. If your family loves animals, this is a low cost way to for you to have fun (animals are entertaining), learn (gain knowledge about the animals and how they live), and exercise (all that walking). Use the internet to search on zoo membership. Here are a few examples: http://www.jacksonvillezoo.org/membership/ http://www.brandywinezoo.org/membership.html http://www.riverbanks.org/membership/

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2. Family Science Center Membership. Similar to zoos on the fun, learning & exercise aspect; revolving around science. Use the internet to search on science center membership. Here are a few examples: http://www.edventure.org/membership.aspx http://www2.fi.edu/join/membership/member_levels.php

3. Museum Family Membership. Similar to zoos and science centers memberships. Use the internet to search on museum membership. Here are a few examples: http://www.fernbankmuseum.org/support_us/memberships/ http://www.aampmuseum.org/become-a-member/31

4. Art Gallery Family Membership. Similar to zoos and science centers memberships. http://www.high.org/main.taf?p=6,2 http://www.philamuseum.org/membership/138-158.html

5. Cycling is a healthy activity that just needs you to purchase bicycles.

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6. Aquarium Family Membership. Similar to zoos and science centers memberships. Use the internet to search on museum membership. Here are a few examples: http://www.tnaqua.org/Membership/BecomeaMember.aspx http://www.aqua.org/membership/index.html

7. State Park Membership. Great for camping, travel, hiking and other outdoor activities. Small fee charged for park admission or camping facilities. Each state park has a variety of activities for the whole family. Do a web search for your state.

8. Read the Sunday Paper as a family. This promotes togetherness, reading skills, and discussion. Let’s sum put this in perspective. If you have a family of 6 (your spouse & 4 kids under 18), and each membership is $100; that’s $300 for the Triple Crown (zoo, science center and museum memberships). Bonus, most family passes are good at affiliate facilities in other cities for either free or reduced admission.

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On the cycling tip: for a family of 6 at an average cost of $150 per bicycle, that’s $900 total for the family. The only recurring expense is buying larger bikes as the kids grow.

Where will the money come from for family activities? How about your savings on coffee, lunch or parking (see sections 2, 3 & 4)?

Reading the Sunday paper together requires $2.00 (average) each week or $104 per year. Bonus – each week most Sunday papers carry upward of $500 in valuable coupons. Why not make planning the weekly shopping a family activity. This will help you teach your kids to wisely exercise their dollar options too. Where would the money come from? From money you saved of course. The bonus is spending more time with your family.

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Useful Websites: Shopping for equipment (bikes, sneaks, camp gear)….

http://www.peoplestring.com/?f=freshangle PeopleString is a social site that’s free to join. It has email that you can pull back, make it non-forward-able, and / or have it self-destruct at a set period of time.

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How to Stimulate Your Personal Economy

http://my.blastoffnework.com/freshangle Blastoff Network offers: Shopping, savings, games, music, join FREE. There is an income earning opportunity (based on customer activity). Get paid down 10 levels.

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How to Stimulate Your Personal Economy

My Game Plan: 1) What family activities do I want to plan?

2) What habit(s) do I want or need to change?

3) In addition to the savings, how will these planned activities benefit my family, friends, others, or me?

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6. Enjoy Dining & Shopping for Less Do you enjoy good food & drink with family & friends? Who doesn’t? Here too are ways to significantly save money and still have a great time, depending on your culinary habits. Once again, these are suggested saving methods, which you can apply as you see fit in your case. After all, with all our God-given senses, life is meant to be enjoyed!

Diners If you dine out regularly, you could try……. 1. Invite friends over and cook for them or together. It’s social, fun and can in most cases, significantly cost less; usually a 50% or better saving. Bonus, you don’t have to tip (that saves another 15-20% right there).

2. If you do dine out, either refrain drinking alcohol till you get home, or adopt a one drink per outing rule. It’s safer in addition to being cheaper.

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3. Make use of any 2-for-1 coupons or other special offers. When saving money in this manner, it’s a fun time to maybe try a new / different menu item? 4. Don’t be afraid to ask your waiter/waitress what’s ‘Today’s Special’.

Pub Crawlers If you’re in the habit of stopping at the bar after work, try….. 1. Buy your favorite beer or wine and drink it at home; it’s cheaper. You can usually buy 12 beers for the price of 3 at most bars.

2. Miss the social aspect? Invite your friends over for a brew or two. Think about it. Do you (or would you) talk to anyone else in addition to your group at the bar (not likely)? Well then?!

3. You help save life (and heartache and expense) by not drinking and driving. The savings is priceless.

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How to Stimulate Your Personal Economy

Shopping Options Do you love to shop? Save money by shopping on line. The Online mall list below will both save you a percentage for stores like Target™, Walmart™, Sears™, etc. You can donate some of your saved funds to charity. It is possible to shop and help others at the same time. Sign up on ‘All Solutions Network’, PeopleString & Blastoff Network to get you online shopping discount in addition to earning points and cash from surfing and socializing on the web. Join at:

Save BIG with the All Solutions Network. It is FREE to join with both money saving & earning opportunities. Click on the graphic or use the web link to join now. http://eCa.sh/solutions

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How to Stimulate Your Personal Economy

http://www.peoplestring.com/?f=freshangle

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How to Stimulate Your Personal Economy

http://my.blastoffnework.com/freshangle Blastoffnetwork.com is a great destination to save and to run an online biz. The sight is free to join via the link provided above. Watch news feeds, get reports from ESPN, play games and listen to music in addition to getting shopping discounts from 500+ stores. Like PeopleString, you invite others to join you for FREE. Money is made from advertisers paying for your eye-balls on their ads.

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How to Stimulate Your Personal Economy

My Game Plan: 1) What changes will I make to my dining habits?

2) What changes will I make to my shopping habits?

3) What will I do with my savings?

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How to Stimulate Your Personal Economy

7.Saving Money at Home You can (we all can) help stop our forests from fading away, conserve energy, conserve our natural resources, and save money all at the same time. It is not hard to do. There is no rocket science involved. All you need to do is follow a few simple and practical suggestions and start saving:

1. Use a water saving showerhead to reduce two bills; both water consumption and water heating bills. 2. Save more water (and cash) by using a ‘water dam’ in your toilets so that they use less water per flush and reduce your water bill.

3. Water lawn in the evening or early morning in the summer months. There is less evaporation, due to lack of intense sunlight, therefore less water is needed.

4. Save on your electric bill by waiting to use the washer and dryer till when you have full loads.

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5. Use compact fluorescent lights (CFL) in place of the standard incandescent bulbs whenever possible. They use 70% less electricity on average and last about 10 times longer than traditional bulbs. Therefore you save three times. Your electric cost is reduced due to less energy required. You save on gas, due to fewer trips to buy lights. You help save the environment due to less pollution. Let’s hear it for saving more money! 6. Go green with ‘solar’ clothes dryer. On warm sunny days, hang your laundry out to dry. This saves electricity (and money), wear and tear on your dryer (and money); save static cling sheets (and money). Cha ching!

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1. Better than a Raise When you put just a few of these suggestions together, you can quickly see that saving is better than getting a raise in most cases. If you make $23,000 a year, how long will it take for you to get enough raise to make $25,000? Remember, the more you make, is the more you make for the both of you: you and the government. How does saving make you happy? Let’s put it all together now by way of a scenario. Let’s say that you live about 2 miles from work, and….. • Pay $8.50/day for parking • Drink 3 cups of coffee at $1.00 per cup ($3.00 per day total) • Spend $7.00 per day for lunch The daily cost to work adding our three items is $18.50 per day or $92.50 per week; $370.00 per month; ouch….. $4440.00 per year! Remember, we didn’t add breakfast, incidentals or special events. Many do this everyday without giving it a second thought till they need some extra cash and wonder where it’s going. Let’s save…. One solution might be: • Walk (healthy) or bus it (in bad weather) - assume parking costs $8.50 per day; bus $4.00 per day Saving is ($8.50 x 5) - ($4.00 x 5) = $22.50 per week Page 34

How to Stimulate Your Personal Economy

• Drink 1 cup of coffee and sub the other 2 cups with water Saving is $2.00 x 5 = $10.00 per week • Take lunch to work 3 days a week and treat yourself 2 days per week Saving is $7.00 x 3 = $21.00 per week Total weekly saving is $52.50. Total monthly saving is $210.00 Total yearly saving is $2520.00

Saving this much you could place some money in a college fund for your children. Save a little for retirement. Start a business (see Ch.8). Place some money in the family entertainment fund to enjoy with your children or other family members. It’s up to you.

Once you have learned how to stretch your hard earned dollar, you put yourself in a good position to now benefit from a raise that may come your way. Save on…..and do good with your savings. Learn how you can save shopping online by visiting:

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How to Stimulate Your Personal Economy

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How to Stimulate Your Personal Economy

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How to Stimulate Your Personal Economy

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How to Stimulate Your Personal Economy FREE Business Aids

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How to Stimulate Your Personal Economy

About the Author

Courtney Thompson, PMP is a father, freelance project manager, author, and entrepreneur. With a degree in Energy Conversion Technology, Mr. Thompson has over 25 years of technology experience with 20 of those years as a contract worker. He encouraged many technology students to get a taste for contract work as the former Chairman of Computer Aided Design at a Chicago based Design College. He has written computer articles and has spoken at international conferences. He currently serves as a mentor to a few teenage boys, and as technology advisor for firms in Jacksonville, FL and Charleston, SC. Other Books by Courtney Thompson ‘Palm @ Work & Play’, ©2003 ‘Save Money in Any Economy’, ©2003 ‘IT Contractor’s Survival Guide’, ©2003 ‘Contract Worker’s Survival Guide’, ©2010

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