How to Easily Save Money Without Giving Up Your Lifestyle

In “31 Solid-Gold Ways to Save” (March 2008 Oprah Magazine)*, Anne Kadet lists some very easy ways you can enjoy life while saving money here and there.

Just the other day I called my cell phone provider and found for the same monthly price I could get free weekend and night minutes. For me that’s her #1 tip: If you’re going over on your cell phone minutes, call your provider to see if there’s a better plan for the same price - or maybe less!

10 More Ways to Easily Save Money from a Reknown Penny Pincher

That penny pincher is me!

1. Anne says: Get refills on your Starbucks for 55-65 cents if you’re hanging out. I say: If you really are pounding the stuff, get the larger size from the get go for only 25 cents more than the smaller sizes.
2. Anne says: Craigslist your overseas stay, to find good deals on lodging instead of hotels. I say: If you’re really scrappy, Couch Surf your stay. Or check VRBO (Vacation Rentals by Owner). The bottomline: There are good options for finding rentals on sites that have reputation and accountability systems, which Craigslist doesn’t have. Craigslist is always good as a starting point, but look into the other options too.
3. Anne says: Find discount codes to use on sites. I say: There are so many coupon sites with good search engine optimization - where if you get to the site they usually don’t have coupons. Start with the well-established Ebates.com where you get a $10 gift card upon sign up. Ebates generally offers the same discounts on hundreds of popular online stores. (and tell them susie at superviva.com referred you!) You simply click through Ebates and don’t need to enter a coupon code on the other site. Although if you have a coupon you can use it in ADDITION to any discount you may get from Ebates.
4. Anne says: Check for local rent-a-car companies when traveling as they may have lower prices than the nationals. I say: If you’re not going to need a car very much and you’re in an area with ZipCar (hourly rentals), consider a combo of public transportation and ZipCar as an option.
5. Anne says: Swap books and CDs online. I say: Give and request stuff through your local Freecycle group. Throw a clothing swap with your friends, where you lay out all the stuff you don’t want then give the rest to charity. Add in books and CDs to the mix as well, then you can have a part with both guys and girls.
6. Anne says: Outsmart the airlines using tricks to get the lowest fares. I also say: Delete your cookies before visiting various travel sites. I’ve heard that they adjust your pricing based on where you’ve been before. It might be an urban legend. Then again it may not be.
7. I say: Question the mainstream supermarkets. Compare their prices to smaller local stores, meat markets, and farmer’s markets. Costco often has the same prices as a chain supermarket in areas like toilet paper. Mainstream supermarket produce and other prices may be higher than an independent grocer. And sometimes I’ve found the old school national chains are more than Whole Foods. (Imagine that!)

I thank Anne for making me aware of Frucall which I plan to use often!

*In print you’ll find 31 ways. Online they show you 14 ways.

A couple more ideas:

1) Have a clothing exchange party with your friends
Bring clothes that are too “good” or sentimental to give to the Goodwill but that you never wear. You’ve probably heard cleaning out the closet also has the side benefits of
-saving time when you’re looking for stuff to wear,
-prevents you from wearing stuff just because you have it when it may not be “you” anymore,
-saves space!

So have your friends do the same, then organize the clothes into categories at the party - and pillage each other’s clothing to get stuff that will be new for you!

Then, give the rest to charity. (Actually at my last party I took some of the great clothes that wouldn’t fit me to offer to other friends.) There’s something psychological about first trying to keep your favorite clothes in your circle of friends that makes it less difficult to just give them away after.

2) Second thing - Do you know about Freecycle? http://www.freecycle.org/
It’s a worldwide movement that’s mostly based on Yahoo Groups where you can place WANTED and OFFERED messages for things you need.

Most of the time I have scored. Examples of things I’ve gotten are whiteboards, kitchen supplies etc.
I’ve given away mattresses, cheap furniture etc.

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Closing a Few Doors and Having Fewer Options Simplifies Life

The most emailed article in the New York Times today is provocatively titled “The Advantages of Closing a Few Doors.”

As someone who’s gotten stuck by having too many options in my work and social life, I smiled upon reading that Dr. Ariely, who wrote the book Predictably Irrational, says he has made a conscious effort to cancel projects and give away his ideas to colleagues.

Bingo!

Often I can be heard sharing ideas for movie plots, inventions, or a new website or mobile application. Why on my life list, there are lots of ideas that some people may think should be confidential.

Instead I use my public life list and other social venues to spread ideas of things that I want to exist but that I’ve determined I don’t want to spend time or effort on personally. Plenty of ideas remain private on my list; things I may one day want to pursue myself.

Thank you Dr. Ariely for justifying the means to my end! May you all simplify your lives by doing the same. It all comes down to PRIORITIZING how you spend your energy and time.

If for you that means trying to work less, make sure to read some tips on maximizing return on your savings.

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7 Ways to Change Your Thinking and Reach Your Goals

Listing your dreams and goals is the easy part. But lots of big goals need a mindset change. And as you know, that’s the hard part. So….

1. Focus on What You Want - Not What You Don’t Want
   It rolls off the tongue to say “I want to stop smoking” or “stop procrastinating” (one of the most popular goals on SuperViva). Instead imagine and state your goal as something like “Always treat my body as a temple of perfect health.”
2. Enjoy the Process and Journey
   Instead of fixating on the end result of what you want - like being rich or thin, revel in the process.
3. Imagine The Result
   Einstein said “Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.” When you set your goals, imagine yourself AFTER having achieved them. Pick a day in the future. Think about where you’ll be. What you’ll look and feel like. What and who is around you. What you’re enjoying or feeling at that very moment.

   This puts the “law of attraction” into motion!

4. Avoid Negative Hypnosis
   You know how when you diet all you can think about is that chocolate layer cake you CAN’T have? The more you fixate on what you can’t have the more you’ll want it. (Trust me, I did that recently!) For that matter the same applies for long time marriages, eh?

5. Perception is Projection. Project Good Things.
   You know when you’re in a really bad mood and everything goes wrong? You catch all the red lights. Everyone’s mean to you. You get a ticket. Life sucks. And you know when you’re happy and everyone loves you, the weather is beautiful, and life is great? Well, do the latter. Or at least own the bad things that happen if you choose to walk around in a bad mood. Then get over it stat!
6. Find a Role Model To Learn From
   Not only should you think of someone who embodies many qualities you would like to have, you should list out what you believe his or her values are. For example say you want to create a successful food product, in a sustainable way, and live in the country and in particularly you admire Ben and Jerry (of ice cream fame). You might list out all the qualities that would lead them to start this business, grow it while sticking to their principles, etc. Then think about ways you might need or want to change to be more like them.
7. Use Your Time Wisely and Take Action - Every couple of days or even every day look at where you are with what you’ve set out to accomplish this year. Do you need to step on it, perhaps sign up for classes, or make other plans? Tis true that time flies faster than we expect. Live each day not like it’s your last but like it’s a critical part of making this the best year of your life - which it is!

Thanks Albert Einstein for his sense of humor: “When you are courting a nice girl an hour seems like a second. When you sit on a red-hot cinder a second seems like an hour. That’s relativity.”

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Secrets of Success from Successful People

A brief video from the TED conference on what makes people successful, taken from surveys of the successful people who attend TED!

Some highlights…nothing we haven’t heard before but kind of fun to hear again:

• Be passionate
• Push through shyness and self doubt
• Work hard
• Serve other something of value

Have ideas (Check!)

• Persist

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