Free Real Estate Articles by Damian Lanfranchi and Done-For-You Deals

(Continuing from Part 1 of 7-Simple Tips To Save $100’s Per Month Without Interrupting Your Lifestyle)

TIP #4: Start Packing That Lunch

Going out or getting take-out lunch is super convenient. It’s also super expensive!

Do you really need to eat out for lunch every day? Or do you just do it because it’s a habit and you don’t want to bother packing a lunch?

A packed lunch will not only save you some serious money, frankly it’s much healthier.

Depending on if you eat out or get take-out, you can easily save $20-40 per week by packing a lunch. That’s $80-$160 in savings a month!

TIP #5: Shop Your Insurance

Whether it’s home insurance, car insurance or health insurance the Internet has made it very simple to shop around and find the lowest available rates.

Especially if you’ve been with your provider for a while, undoubtedly with just a little legwork you can find some huge savings online.

And since some insurance can cost over $1,000 per year – even a small discount can save you $100’s!

Plus the very best part is – when you find a lower quote – most of the time you can give it to your current provider and they’ll lower your existing rates just to keep your business! $Ca-Ching$

TIP #6: Give Up The Nicotine

Okay, you’ve heard it a thousand times by now. You know all about the harmful affects.

Well, if you still haven’t quit smoking yet – maybe looking at it from financial angle will give you new motivation.

On average if you’re smoking 1-2 packs a day – that’s about 30-60 packs per month. Depending on your choice of cigarette and the price of tobacco at the moment – you’re looking at roughly over $200 a month!

Think of what you could do with that cash…

Go out to a nice dinner EVERY week!
Lease a brand new car!
Take a little romantic overnight trip EVERY SINGLE month!
The ideas are endless.

PLUS – many health insurance plans offer financial incentives to help you quit. AND most healthy insurance as well as life insurance companies also give you lower rates as a non-smoker!

The savings just don’t stop!

TIP #7: Get A Low-Rate Transfer, BUT…

Are you carrying a balance on your credit card?

Credit card interest is like a virus. It spreads rapidly and is almost impossible to contain.

Just about every credit card company will try to attract you as a new customer by offering a 0% no-interest balance transfer.

This is a great way to get your credit card debt under control.
There is a BIG BUT…

Here are the TWO catches…

First, you need to commit to a plan to pay off the transfer before you date when you’ll start getting charged interest on your transfer. Otherwise you’ll find yourself in the same situation you’re in now, or likely worse.

Second, you have to commit to NOT use your new credit card.
If not you’ll quickly created an even bigger financial problem!

*Alone any one of these tips might only make a modest difference in your family finances. But taken all together – you could save tons – realistically even over $1,000 per month!*

There are tons of ways to save some cash and give your family finances a real booster shot.

But a lot of them require sacrifice, which most folks don’t like.

So here are seven simple tips to healthier finances. Best of all, they really don’t require you to change how you live or enjoy life any less.

TIP #1: Give Up Your Name Brand Allegiance At The Supermarket

Now before you get upset – this isn’t saying only buy generic no-name brands. Not at all.

Maybe you were raised in a home where mom only used Bounty Paper Towels. It was like an unwritten law. And hey, Bounty makes great towels.

But realistically is there really a unlivable difference between Bounty and the other major brands?

Every week at the supermarket for every product some major brand will always be on sale. Maybe this week it’s Brawny. Hey – not what mom used, but also a great towel.

You can easily save 25% to 40% per week on your groceries just by being a little more flexible with your brand names.

TIP #2: Inspect Your Monthly Bills

Whether it’s the electric bill, cable or credit card – companies make mistakes all the time. Sometimes it’s $10 or $20 – others it’s in the $100’s!

Don’t be fooled. Just because they send you a fancy looking official statement don’t assume what your bill says is actually accurate.

Start checking over your bills.

You might discover you’ve been charged for some movies you never requested or billed for a credit card service you don’t even have!

Plus, if you ask firmly but politely, most companies will even offer you an extra credit or free service for your troubles!

TIP #3: Try Shopping eBay

eBay isn’t just for buying old Star Wars action figures any more!

Almost anything and everything you can think of from shoes and purses to vitamins and PS3 video games, you can get on eBay. And at a BIG DISCOUNT.

Did you know eBay doesn’t just sell used items? You can buy brand new stuff still in the manufacturer’s package.

If you’ve never shopped on eBay before, all the sellers are rated and monitored, so you can be sure you’re working with someone reliable before you make a purchase.

The only real drawback is you have to pay shipping costs.

But any time you’re dealing with an item that isn’t expensive to shop, odds are you’ll save 25-75% on eBay!

So if you’re thinking about purchasing an iPod and new cell phone – give eBay a try to save some serious cash.

(Stay Tuned for 7-Simple Tips To Save $100’s Per Month Without Interrupting Your Lifestyle – Part 2)

(Continuing from Part 1 of To Pack Or Not To Pack – That Is The Question)

But what do you do with all your unused items?

Well there are a million and one solutions – especially with online now.

Make some spare cash by selling your stuff on Craigslist or Ebay…

Find a local recycling center and help save the planet…

Donate it to help someone less fortunate and enjoy a tax write-off…

Or just do yourself a favor and just throw that darn shag rug straight in the trash like you’ve always wanted to.

One last tip – sometimes the 1-Year Rule might not be so applicable. How do you answer the question, “Have I used my sailboat mural on the wall this past year?”

When it comes to those decorative items – here’s the Litmus Test.

ONE – Do you like it?
TWO – Do you need it?

If you like it… keep it.
If you need it… keep it.

But if you don’t like it AND you don’t need it – THROW IT OUT!

Take that gaudy old gold-trim vase. You always hated that thing. And a vase certainly isn’t something you “need”. So get rid of it! Don’t fall into the trap of thinking, “Well, I might really need a vase in my new house.”

No you won’t. Nobody ever suffered due to a lack of a vase.

Odds are you’re just going to go through a whole lot of trouble packing it up and getting it to your new place only to find yourself saying once you unwrap it, “Why the heck did I bring this ugly thing!”

Moving into a new place is a fantastic opportunity to open a new chapter with a clean white page. Embrace the experience and let go of all that clutter. You’ll feel better, think clearer and your move will be a truly refreshing new start.

Okay, get the cardboard boxes, bubble wrap, permanent markers and lots of duct tape. It’s Moving Time!

It’s an amazing phenomenon…

No matter how much you think you have… no matter how in tune you are with how much “stuff” you own… when you go to pack it all up to move you always discover you actually have TWICE as much!

And moving can be quite the expense.

There’s the cost of packing materials, the moving truck, the movers (if you’re using them) and possibly a storage unit.

Not to mention the labor of taping up all those boxes, carrying them out of your old place, lugging them into your new place and then unpacking them all over again.

It can quickly feel like a full time job!

With all the costs involved with moving – nothing’s worse than getting to your new place, unpacking and realizing you brought a bunch of stuff you don’t even want or need!

So how do you avoid this mistake and make the right decisions on what to pack and not pack?

Here are two very simple rules.

First – The 1-Year Rule.

When you dig up that old set of pink champagne flutes or your original cassette player from college – ask yourself, “Have I used this in the last year?”

If the answer is “no”, and be honest with yourself, let it go. No excused, no exceptions and no “but what-if’ scenarios. Do yourself a favor and DON’T pack the faux fur coat that’s been collecting dust since 1984.

Some day maybe some fancy statisticians will do a study – for now you intuitively know it’s true. If you haven’t used that lawn bowling set in the last 12 months – you’re probably won’t in the next 12 years!

Just LET IT GO!

(Stay Tuned for – To Pack Or Not To Pack – That Is The Question – Part 2)