You’ll need to earn $2.00 for every $1.00 you want to spend assuming you pay 50% of your earnings on income tax, social security and Medicare. On the other hand, you get to keep 100% of every dollar you save on your personal expenses because the taxes have already been paid.
Periodically, review your expenditures with the diligence of an exuberant IRS agent on commission. It’s an exercise that most people don’t feel they have time to do but the rewards make it entirely worthwhile.
- Get comparative quotes on insurance – car, home, other
- Review and compare utility providers
- Review plans on cell phones
- Review plans on cable TV, satellite for unused channels and packages or receivers
- Review available discounts on property taxes
- Consider refinancing home – lower rate, shorter term or cash out to payoff higher rate loans
- Consider refinancing cars
- Call credit card companies to ask for a lower rate
- Review all of the automatic charges on your credit cards – consider no-fee cards
- Search for late fees that are regularly being paid and eliminate them by paying off your accounts in full each month
- Review all bank charges for accounts and debit cards and determine if they can be reduced or eliminated
What else can you think of to keep more green in your pocket?
