Poll: Saving $50 Beats Diets, Love & Time

If you had a choice between saving an extra $50 a week or gaining an extra hour daily, what would you do? I vote for the extra hour, (seven hours a week). But more money beat out diet, time and sex, according to this recent survey from allyou.com/Shortcuts.com. Here is a snippet from the full survey results:

- Over half (57%) of those surveyed would rather save $50 an extra week

- vs. 31 % who would rather lose one clothing size

- or 6% who would opt for more sex

- or 6 % who would rather have an extra 60 minutes each day.

The Real Bonus

My choice: Please give me another hour every day! With an extra seven hours a week, I would use 33 % of the extra time to earn more money, 33% of the bonus time would be spent relaxing, and I would spend the remaining time with my children.

Here's another nugget from the poll:

"More women (45%) feel better when they’re cutting grocery costs vs. sticking to an exercise regimen (24%)."

Once again, I disagree with that allocation of time. A commitment to an exercise program can yield both long-term savings and better health. Preventive medicine and exercise represent savvy investments of time and money. Consider the cost of obesity.

The Power of Coupon Clipping

"Consumers are changing their spending habits, but not drastically. The survey, conducted by DMS Research with 5,877 respondents (5,250 females and 627 males), uncovered that small changes such as clipping more coupons, are taking precedence over large lifestyle adjustments like driving less or cancelling gym memberships.

Across all categories of spending, more women tend to be tightening their belts than men, cutting back on vacation, spending, and dining out.

The survey revealed:
Almost three-quarters of respondents (71%) are now clipping coupons;

Four in ten respondents (41%) consider treating themselves to something under $49 to be a splurge;

Even in a tough economy, just over one-quarter (28%) of respondents won’t give up purchasing quality items and 17% won’t give up buying their favorite beauty product

'We know how important saving money and saving time are these days, so we aren’t surprised with the findings that something as simple as using coupons – and increasingly, electronic coupons – is on the rise,' said Tara Trocki, director, AOL’s Shortcuts.com. 'This is a testament that using a free, simple service can lead to significant financial savings without having to make a major lifestyle adjustment.' "

How to Work Harder and Saner: Professional Organizer Speaks Out

How can we preserve time, money and sanity during the workday? Suzy Wilkoff, owner of Tasks Unlimited and Founding President, National Association of Professional Organizers-South Florida Chapter, offers this guest post:


Tips to Eliminate and Minimize Interruptions at Work

• To feel less overwhelmed by e-mail, handle it only twice throughout the day.
• So callers are alerted that you will be out for an extended period, change voice mail greeting daily.
• Focus on one aspect of a project at a time and one project at a time (i.e., don’t multi-task, if you are not good at it!)
• Avoid conducting personal business at work. If you must, do so during your lunch hour.
  

Skills to Increase Effectiveness

• Be persistent with others regarding deadlines
• Return calls the same day and your reputation with colleagues and friends will improve.
• By allotting fifteen minutes a day to organize your desktop before leaving the office, you will prevent filing from getting out of hand.
• Handle business and personal postal mail daily.

Improving Scheduling Abilities

• Draft a list of (long, mid and short term) goals and to stay on target, refer to them regularly.
• Prepare daily “To Do” lists. Cross off your accomplishments and move items that weren’t completed to the next day’s list. If you see that an item is getting moved day after day, it will alert you that it’s time to accomplish that task!
• Delegate (Don’t take on responsibilities for others.)
• Reconfirm appointments the day before, to prevent no shows.
• For emotional well being, incorporate personal time for exercise, volunteerism and social activities.

When asked to participate in a project or attend a function, we often hear ourselves saying “I don’t have time.” Have you ever thought it’s because you choose not to make time. We all have the same twenty-four hours in a day. It is how we schedule our time that is critical to our happiness and well being! " --Suzy Wilkoff
______________

Here's how to buy my new book:

@ Amazon.com
@ Barnes & Noble
@ Borders
@ Target.com

How Worrying Costs Me $6,500 a Year

I estimate that wheel-spinning worries cost me about $6,500 a year. With a 5 percent annual return, my worry machine will cost $36,000 in five years and $81,700 in 10 years. That's a high tab for running in circles.




Here's how I did the math:

• my hourly rate: $50 (an estimate based on writing fees)


• time spent worrying: 30 minutes a day (a really low-ball figure)


• weekly cost in lost time/wages: 2.5 hours or $125


• yearly cost: $6,500

How I used one of Hugh Chou's On-line Calculators:

• plugged in $25 in the Sharon's Muffin Calculator . The calculator's comment: "Wow, a $ 25 muffin! What is in that thing, truffles?"


• plugged in five times a week


• arrived at annual cost of $6,500


• used 5 percent interest, which equals $325 annually

My Anti-Worry Strategy

1. Better planning. A large portion of my worries will be solved with better time management. I've been creating streamlined to-do lists, with priorities and realistic deadlines.

2. Learn to say no. Over-commitment (too much work with unrealistic deadlines) is very expensive. My inflated ego periodically prompts me to accept more work than I can handle. Cutting back on commitments requires honesty and self-awareness.

3. Learn to let go of past regrets. This is a big one. And a lot of management gurus echo the new-age advice from Deepak Chopra: "Only the present moment exists; past and future are mental projections," Chopra says, adding that we can liberate ourselves from the jail of regrets by "trying neither to relive the past nor to control the future." --Ageless Body, Timeless Mind (page 31).

With that in mind, I'm halting the old movie clips in my head and cutting out the trailers of future scenes. The only picture on my screen is the here-and-now.

4. Reading: From business to mysticism, reading relaxes and educates me.

5. Write a letter or call someone: If we feel as if we have wronged someone: we should call, apologize and move on.

6. Try to find the lesson: Usually when I'm obsessing about something, there is a hidden lesson or insight that I need tap into. Maybe I'm secretly worried about my financial well-being or I'm worried about an old fracture that never healed properly. It could be anything, but I try to honestly find the real source of worry.

In Year to Success, (the book) Bo Bennett recommends these steps:

• Let go of grudges.


• Reality check: "Ask yourself: Is feeling this way doing me any good?"


• Stay focused on goals.


• Gain a sense of perspective. Put a new frame on the issue. Try to see the positives.


• Fix what you can: "Make Amends and start living with a clean slate today."

--page 266, "Day 148: Let it Go" Year to Success

~~~~
Previous Posts
Today:
Airhead vs Workaholic: What I Learned about Money from Writing a Book
Uncle Sam’s “Stocking Stuffers:” A Guest Post From a CPA

Yesterday:
Wait 'Til January & Other Great Last-Minute Shopping Tips
Free Online Typing Drills: 10 Frugal Business & Craft Classes
Frugal & Green Rx for Post-Holiday Cabin Fever