Keep More Income

I’ve written plenty about selling your stuff on craigslist, and I’ve even discussed how to get a cheaper gym membership. Put both together and you have today’s tip — sell your old gym membership on craigslist (or eBay, I guess!).

I recently decided to switch gyms because I was unhappy with mine. I got a great deal, but of course I still had three months of prepaid time left on my current membership. Kind of ruins what would otherwise be a great deal, wasting three months like that.

Luckily, though, my membership is one that works at any of my gym’s chains across the country. What I realized is that I don’t care if someone takes over my gym membership for three months under my name — I could make my money back by selling that out.

Make sure there’s no credit card tied to your account before doing this, though! My account is simply a prepaid business plan that I signed up for with just my name, so I have no sensitive information available on my account.

I had never even thought of selling something like this, but the truth is that you can sell anything on sites like craigslist or eBay.

Another thing to take out of this: consider looking on craigslist or eBay for gym memberships — and other services — being sold. But that will be saved for another day!

Healthy eating is a passion of mine.  I love the way I feel when I eat well.  Vegetables are a big part of healthy eating.

I can’t tell you how much money I’ve wasted on fresh veggies that I’ve let go bad, though.  I know you’ve probably wasted a ton, too.  Almost every time I

I actually don’t buy fresh veggies anymore.  Everything I buy now is frozen.

Now I know there are some people out there who will eat nothing but fresh veggies because of their nutrient content or because they prefer the taste.  But for most people, when cooking vegetables, frozen will work just fine.

Not only are frozen vegetables cheaper than fresh vegetables, but they don’t go bad as quickly — or really at all.

And I’ll let you in on one more health tip: try grinding some of your favorite frozen veggies into any kind of shakes or smoothies you make.  I substitute ice with frozen broccoli in my shakes and can hardly taste the difference.  It sounds surprising, but give it a shot — you’ll see how beneficial frozen veggies can be.

All my life, I’ve gone to regular haircutters that charge about $15 per cut (plus about $3 to $5 in tips).  Not to be dramatic, but my hair gets unmanageable when it’s longer, so I was getting my hair cut every four weeks.

In other words, I was spending roughly $234 a year on haircuts I didn’t particularly like that much.

About two years ago, though, I realized something: haircutters have to learn their trade somewhere, and they need someone to learn it on.

That’s right: I now get my hair cut at a hair cutting academy.

A quick Google search revealed there were many hair cutting academies in my area: barber shop academies, stylist academies, and more.  The prices for each one varied, but there was one constant: they were all cheap.  Very cheap.

One barbershop academy I found was $2 per cut.  I’ve heard of others in cheaper areas being completely free.  I could go from $234 a year in cuts, to paying just tips — about $60 per year.

I actually ended up settling on a stylist’s academy in my area that costs the same as my old barber did ($15/cut), but I get amazing haircuts that rival $60 cuts from professional stylists.  I actually go less frequently than every four weeks now, because stylists are better-trained and can cut my hair in a way that lets it grow back out better than it ever did before.

I know one big worry about these haircutting schools is that you’re getting your hair cut by amateurs.  That should not be a worry, though, for a number of reasons.

All the hair cuts are supervised by trained professionals.  The woman who supervises the classes at the stylist academy I go to charges over $100 per haircut!  Since she is teaching the classes, she ends up cutting half my hair in order to show students certain techniques.

Many students also are already trained cutters, but are simply going back for a brief school session in order to be kept up-to-date on the latest styles.

And if all else fails, hair grows back.  But so far, in two years, this has not been a worry for me.

Search around for hair cutting academies in your area and be ready to save a couple hundred bucks a year and, in cases like mine, receive the best haircuts you’ve had in your life!

When I moved to my apartment a year ago, I also had to find a nearby gym.  I had two interests in mind: good facilities and low price.

Good facilities are easy to find.  Simply go into your local gyms and take a tour.  Low price, however, takes a bit more work.

Every gym will try to gouge you.  I was shocked by the monthly prices I was being offered.  Most started at around $40 a month.

The truth is, gym memberships can be bargained for.  I know this because I ended up bargaining for my rate, and I got what I wanted.

If you weren’t able to bargain for your gym membership rate, then you would not be sat down at the end of the gym tour to go over rate plans.  There wouldn’t be someone at their desk trying to sign you up every time.  They would simply have you sign up for a specific plan and go on your way.

Keep in mind that whatever the first offer you get is, it will be far more expensive than you need to pay.  Tell the person that that is way too much  money, and notice how within five minutes, they will be offering you nearly the exact same plan for less money.

Long ago, I had a membership at this particular chain of gyms for $19/month.  I had a friend who got me in at a great promotional rate.  I told the representative the rate I had, and that that was what I wanted again.  I knew it was possible, and I wouldn’t settle for anything else.

It took about half an hour of bargaining back and forth — plus I ended up leaving saying “thanks but no thanks” — but the next day I received a phone call offering me the $19/month rate.  “I talked with my manager and she said it’s OK, but you’ll have to sign up today.”

Now I’m not saying you will receive a rate as great as this through bargaining, but you should bargain for your gym membership.  You could end up saving at least $15/month from the standard offer you first receive, meaning you’ll have an extra $180/year minimum.  At the very least, you’ll get some free stuff you wouldn’t have received otherwise.

Gym memberships were meant to be bargained for, so do it!

I am a big advocate of buying and preparing all your own food. I honestly feel that this is how I save a lot of my money — by largely abandoning eating out.

For most people, buying and preparing almost every meal of every day is a huge hassle. It was for me, too, until I learned the trick to properly managing my food preparation.

This trick is actually widely touted in health circles. Professional dietitians swear by this method. If you ever see the refrigerator of a celebrity trying to get fit for a big role, they swear by this method as well.

So not only do you save tons of money by using this simple trick, but you get added health and body composition benefits as well.

What is the trick? It’s simply to dedicate one day to buying all your groceries and then preparing them.

Most people have two days off every week. First thing after you get up one of those days, run to the grocery store. Buy all your groceries for the next week.

When you get home, instead of simply putting them all away, leave them out and start cooking with them. Put each meal for each day in plastic tupperware, and store it in the fridge, clearly labeled.

You should be spending about one hour total driving to the grocery store, shopping, and getting it all home. From there, if you mass cook everything, you could spend as little as two hours preparing an entire week’s worth of food.

Not only will you save tons of cash because you won’t have to eat out at work every day, but you’ll also save tons of time in food preparation. Small dinners will already be ready for you to eat. Snacks and other meals will require little to no preparation time.

Take just three to five hours one day a week to purchase and prepare all your food. You’ll save money by not eating out, and you’ll gain more time to be able to do the things you want to do with your life.

If you’re interested in saving lots of money, limiting how often you eat out will pay you in strides. You’ve heard it before, and I’m going to reiterate it for you right now.

I’m shocked when I observe how much my friends and family spend to eat out. Many of my coworkers, for example, buy their lunch at work every day. Where I work, this will set them back a minimum of $5 a day, and at an average of probably about $7 a day. On the low end, they’re dropping $25 every work week for just lunch alone — or $100/month.

I, on the other hand, have my lunch prepared ahead of time every day. My lunches average a maximum of about $2 a meal, and are frequently less than that. At my maximum cost, I’m spending $40/month.

A lot of people I know scoff at the idea of saving just $60/month. But the trickle down effect results in so much more in savings than that.

After one month of practicing something, it generally becomes a habit. Once preparing your food ahead of time rather than eating out becomes a habit, you will find yourself eating out less and less. You won’t be heading out to eat dinner — you’ll just eat what you have prepared yourself. The $60 you save on monthly lunches will turn into an extra $40 that you save on dinners. That $40 you save on dinners will slowly turn into an extra $20 you save on snacks throughout the day. You get the idea.

Having food prepared saves you when you have to meet friends for food, too. I hate that our society equates “hanging out with friends” to “going out for food,” but such is life. Since I always have my meals prepared ahead of time, I can eat a quick snack and go into restaurants without being starved and just order a small side dish, rather than a full entree. I save money, and I save the embarrassment of not having anything to eat.

I’m shocked when I read reports of people spending upwards of $200/month eating out. Wouldn’t you rather cut that food spending down to $40/month, and pocket the extra $160? Combined with other tips and techniques I provide, this will add a hefty chunk of change to your monthly savings.

Stay tuned tomorrow for tips on how to prepare your food efficiently.