The John Tesh Blog

Lower Your Bills Right Now

Are you getting frustrated as your bills keep skyrocketing?  I’ve discovered several tricks used by retailers to persuade you to buy more items than you need.

In addition, I’ve found small ways to help you save big money the next time you go shopping or need to make a large purchase.

Saving big money starts with getting smaller.  Have you noticed the shopping carts at the grocery store are getting bigger?  Sure, you wheel it up and down the aisles and throw in a few small items.  However, the empty space in the bottom of the cart beckons you to fill it up even more. 

What’s the solution?  Stay away from those humongous shopping carts. Go for the small handheld basket and you’ll reduce the temptation to buy more than you need.

Take a detour around the vanity mirrors. Stores strategically place vanity mirrors throughout the facility.  Why?  So you’ll stop and look at yourself.

Most likely, you don’t like what you see. After all, who’s perfect?  Now you’re more likely to buy an item of clothing you weren’t planning to purchase to make yourself feel better.

Try slipping into something you look good in before you leave your house to shop. You’ll feel better about yourself and buy less.

Beware of paying more for less. Be careful when you buy in bulk. What are you going to do with three giant cans of refried beans, a gallon of mayonnaise or 1000 clothes hangers? 

If you’re going to buy in bulk, purchase items you’ll really use. A deal on disposable diapers is good because you know your infant will use it and your savings will add up.

Head for the back of the store asap.  Why in the world is the milk, bread and butter in the back of the store.  The retailers stock these essentials in the rear to make you check out all the items along the way.  You came into the store for a dozen eggs and walk out with three bags of potato chips. Hopefully, you’ll remember the eggs.

Pay cash as much as you can. You’re looking at an overpriced item you know you cannot afford. If you use your credit card, the financial hit  you’re taking won’t appear on your statement for a month. 

Go to the ATM and use cash to pay for the merchandise.  Then you’ll think twice since you actually see the money leaving your wallet immediately.  It works!

Slam the brakes on auto-insurance rates. You can have all kinds of savings if you increase the deductibles on the comprehensive and collision sections of your policy. The Insurance Information Institute claims raising collision deductibles from $200 to $500 could lower your collision and comprehensive coverage by 15-30 %. 

Talk to your insurance agent about getting discounts for carpooling, air bags or keeping your annual mileage below 10,000 miles.

Resist those hefty new car extras. You car dealer wants to make as much commission as possible. Don’t be surprised when he tries to sell you rustproofing and fabric protection for your new car at $100 a pop.

Here's the straight scoop. A can of fabric protection is normally $10 a bottle. Cars are already rustproofed when you buy them, so don’t fall for the offer.

Avoid signing a service contract. When it comes to extended warranties, run in the other direction. According to Tom Garman, a Virginia Tech professor of consumer affairs, most product breakdowns occur in the first year and are covered by the manufacturer's warranty.

John   
Email John:  johnsblog@teshmedia.com

Speaking of saving money, you can still buy my new hardcover book Intelligence For Your Life: Powerful Lessons for Personal Growth. You can pre-order it at half price and receive a free concert DVD by just clicking here. 

Too Much Stuff . . . Too Little Generosity

Our accumulation of stuff is getting way out of hand.   

According to an SRBI Public Affairs poll, in the 1950’s the average American woman had four pairs of shoes.  Today, it has stretched to thirteen pairs and still climbing.

Is the solution merely the need for more closet space?

Quite the opposite. In 1970 the average size home was 1,400 square feet. Today we’ve expanded our living space to 2,340 square feet, and we’re still running out of room for our stuff.

The desire to clean up is evident from the appearance of various businesses that claim to “help you get organized.” Container Store and California Closets are two such businesses. According to the International Herald Tribune, reality shows like "Mission Organization" on HGTV and "How Clean is Your House?" on Lifetime feed a national obsession to declutter.

The latest trend is to rent public storage space to sock away whatever does not fit into our homes.  One self-storage company alone-Public Storage-manages over 2,100 self-storage facilities with approximately 135 million rentable square feet!   That’s lots more room for a lot more stuff.

Where does it all end . . . and how?

Here are several steps to help you confront the entitlement attitude that says we need more stuff.

•Realize we all struggle with materialism. Surprisingly, materialism is not the accumulation of possessions. 
In fact, clutter and disorganization is not a house problem; it’s a person problem.

It’s our obsession with stuff, regardless of how little or how much we have, that is the problem. The opposite of obsession with things is contentment with what we have.

•Live your life like you’re always moving.   If you had to move would you take it all with you?  Do you really need two microwaves or boxes upon boxes of paperback books you’ve already read . . .  in college?  Can you be content with one hair dryer instead of three?

Once you’ve taken a survey of what you don’t need, then comes the test:  Sell some of your excess items on eBay or i-soldit.org and give the money to a charity that’s helping needy people with food, clothing and medical attention.

Another idea is to go on a 30 day fast from purchasing more clothes, books, electronics, furniture and expensive accessories.  Use the money you save and check out a website like JustGive.org where you can connect to more causes you care about.

•Put the two year rule into action.  If you have not used something for two years, chances are you will not use that item again. I’m talking about old iPods and cell phones; furniture stored away in the back of your garage or an old lawn mower collecting dust.

Most likely, you have clothing you’ve not worn.  It’s time to box them up and take them to the local Goodwill or Salvation Army.  Let other people make good use of the items sitting in your closet collecting dust.

A Trouble-Free Way to Save Money

Want to know the easiest thing to do with your money? Spend it!

What’s the hardest thing to do? Save it!

The odd thing about saving money is that it’s the one financial necessity you can’t do without.

•To plan for retirement you need to put money aside
•To make ends meet, you need extra cash to survive
•To get out of debt, you must save money

How serious is our debt in the U.S.? The average family today carries $8000 in credit card debt according to the American Bankers Association.

According to a USA Today article, 78% of Baby Boomers have mortgage debt, 59% have credit card debt, and 56% have car payments.

To be truthful, it’ll take a lot of will, discipline, courage and help to slay the debt monster, but it can be done.

From the money experts, let’s look at five ways to start saving money for that inevitable rainy day:

•First, get your finances organized. Take that rainy day, go through your financial records and calculate your monthly bills. The amount you’re spending is a good indicator of how much you’re able to put away.

When it comes to finances, don’t act like a victim and feel like your spending habits are out of control. Take control by keeping track of where your money is going every month.

•Start cutting out everything but the necessities. Don’t panic . . . this won’t last forever. For the time being you might have to do without satellite TV and a cell phone for every member of the family. Ask yourself tough questions: Am I eating out too often? Must I upgrade to an iPhone right away? Can I wait another year to buy a new car?

•Rely less and less on credit cards.
If you must use a credit card, use your debit card instead. There’s no interest! There are exceptions when you must use a credit card . . . buying something over the Internet. Remember this: you do not build wealth with a credit card . . . you give it away.

•Get rid of credit card debt
Check out this no-nonsense advice from RateEmpire.com: “Think of how much you are paying in interest. That amount could be going into your savings and earning you interest. Instead of paying a lender, the bank could be paying you. It is important to get your debt paid off first, then work on your savings.”

•Save . . . save . . . save! Have your paycheck deposited into your checking account; request your employer split your paycheck and designate a certain amount into your savings.

Use your savings account for things that are not due on a monthly basis. However, if you’ve been saving all year, you’ll avoid financial stress for those times when you need extra cash: Christmas shopping, birthday presents, yearly property taxes and unexpected high car bills.

Celebrate every time a debt is knocked out. Financial guru Dave Ramsey suggests we wallpaper one of our rooms with the cancelled bills to show we now live in a “debt free house.”

Use these five steps to help you save money, and you’ll be celebrating soon.

John
Email John: johnsblog@teshmedia.com

Are You A Consumer Out of Control?

The Christmas holiday shopping frenzy is at full force. The call of the mall is upon us.

One clever bumper sticker broadcasts: when the going gets tough, the tough go shopping.

However, for some, shopping is no laughing matter. “A 2006 Stanford University study has concluded compulsive overspending . . . . is a legitimate disorder that affects approximately 6% [17,000,000] of the U.S. population. . .”

How can you tell if you are a compulsive shopper? Go through this list of questions from a Personal Management Finance blog:

•Does your closet contain lots of shoes or clothes you almost never wear?

•Do you come home with things you didn't plan to buy?

•Do you use shopping as a quick fix for the blues?

•Do you spend more than you can afford?

•Do neighborhood malls possess a mesmerizing appeal for you?

According to studies quoted on medicine.net shopaholics are a lot like people with eating disorders. Shopaholics are more likely to have anxiety disorders and low self-esteem than normal shoppers. They are also more impulsive than average and tend to be perfectionists.”

Some researchers speculate there’s an imbalance of the neurotransmitter serotonin that can play a part in a shopaholic’s compulsion. Shoppers given Prozac-which alters serotonin levels-stopped overshopping. Once they were off the drug, they went back to their habit of overshopping.

From a helpful financial management blog here are some easy steps to prevent you from falling into the shopaholic pattern.

•make a distinction between a “need” and a “want.” Before your take out your wallet, ask yourself whether this purchase is something you truly need . . . such as groceries, or a new pair of shoes for work, or is it just something you want . . . like a new cell phone with more bells and whistles.

•if you struggle with compulsive spending, stay away from discount warehouses and malls. When you need to run errands, try to avoid major shopping districts and malls.

•don’t be lured by sales and good deals. Think ahead before you shop. Don’t buy five of an item because it’s on sale. Chances are you won’t use the other four items.

•Compile a budget and stick to it. Write down your monthly income; set aside a certain amount for savings and jot down the expenses you face every month (food, gasoline etc). Before you entertain visiting the mall, be sure this list is taken care of. You don’t want to spend cash set aside for gasoline to buy five new purses just because they are “on sale.”

•carry a shopping list. Plan your shopping. If you’re going grocery shopping, walk into the supermarket with a list in your hand. Stick to your list.

•reward yourself once in awhile. If you’ve kept your end of the bargain for a month, do something nice for yourself-a facial, going to the movies or eating at an upscale restaurant.

Are you the kind of person who always heeds the call to the mall? This year try something different and turn down the volume. Start listening to the call of common sense and what’s best for you and your family.

John
Email: johnsblog@teshmedia.com