Save Time, Save Money

Do you have enough hours in the day to do all that you want? Do you have a million stickies around your mirror frame, on your fridge, and around your house? Do you have to do list(s) that don't match? Or are you a procrastinator that puts off until tomorrow what you could do today? Some expert procrastinators put things off to next week, month, year, or actually never get around to doing it!

For those of you in this boat David Allen of davidco.com could work more efficiently.
You can download free of charge an expanded workflow diagram "with extra info and tips to help keep people on track." You can get it free here .

David Allen is a man who describes a project as "as any desired result that requires more than one action step." Obviously a man with a very clear logical brain!

For the really disorganised, or those of you that love the workflow diagram, you can step up to a more detailed approach to organise your life. David's book has helped many people save time, and get things out of their heads and filed, organised, delegated or whatever they chose to do with it.

Time is the one of the few things that you can't replace, so if you can't clone yourself like Michael Keaton in Multiplicity you may as well work more efficiciently. Work smarter, not harder! But feel free to work very hard if you want too! :o)

Buying Gifts for Others?

Are you sick of buying gifts and cards for other people, for your nearest and dearest? And when they finally receive the present they don't seem too bothered, or amazed, even you heard them say that they wanted it?
How about this for an idea: give them stuff you already have and convince them that they wanted it all along. Sounds too far fetched to be true? Well look at this video of Derren Brown in action. Quite possibly the world's only living jedi master, convinces Simon Pegg that he wants something, and then shows you how he did it!
Although he does lose £100 to a boy during one of his street performances. Watch and be amazed.

Sandwiches

How much do you spend on sandwiches? Or how much does your total lunch bill come to?

While working at a Christmas season job a few years back, I took a packed lunch into work to eat everyday. Some firms today offer their employees discounted meals, which is a step in the right direction, but the quality in the offerings can vary dramatically, at least in my experience.

Anyway, back to the Christmas job: a lot of people were there to supplement their holiday season money, buy a few more presents for their nearest and dearest. They were there to make money and yet many opted for the overpriced canteen meals (and often complained about the choice or quality of their meal afterwards). When asked why they didn't bring in their own food, the usual response was that it was "too much hassle". They seemed to prefer to work for the best part of an hour to pay for a meal that wasn't always enjoyed, and yet could easily have brought in their own food.

Doing this small thing saved me a nice little sum over the course of a few weeks, and I had the added benefit of eating what I wanted to eat. The quality was always high (and healthy too!). It's amazing how a little change can make a big difference.

Stop Spending!

Just stop, OKAY!
Really, I mean it. Try it.
For the next few days try and use all the stuff in your fridge, and cupboards.
Blow the dust off the tins that are sitting right at the back, and see what ingenious recipes you can come up with.

"Waste not, want not" goes the old saying. In our day to day lives it is quite amazing how much cash just trickles away out of our wallets, in a steady stream. It's not much you may think but it builds up over time.

Scrimping isn't just for students. It makes sense to be able to control how much money is going out. Starting with the small things today will make us better money managers tomorrow!