One of the most effective and painless ways to save money without altering your standard of living is by earmarking earmarked money. Money that can add up to thousands of extra dollars, which can give you an unusually strong boost towards a better savings plan.

When you get down to the last couple of coupons in your loan payment book, don’t think about the extra cash you’re about to have. Instead, think about a personal savings plan vehicle into which you can divert it, or into a high interest account where you can hold it while you analyze other possible investments.

After the loan is paid off, keep writing a check to yourself and desposit it where it will do you some good. You won’t miss the money since it has been going out anyway. You will be surprised at how fast you can accumulate extra funds to help save you more money.

Ultimately, saving money from a one time or intermittent expense should be everyone’s goal. For example, you may have been paying off your student loan for the past 10 years at $75 a month. Or for two years you may have been sending your doctor $100 a month for a minor surgery.

Let’s say you finance your car for three years, but trade it in every five years. During the intervening two years, where does the installment money go?

These payments are fixed expenses budgeted into habits like any ordinary rent or mortage payment. But, what’s shocking to know is they aren’t fixed. They come to an end, and when they do, where does the money go? For most people – it evaporates!

These expenses exist in:

–Mortages, which some people do actually pay them off.

–Tuition for private schools, universities, housing.

Finding more money doesn’t just stop there. Knowing the metrics to become a superior saver moves into what to look for in mark-ups and business services.

Because of the necessity for stores to arbitrarily mark up the price of their products and services, it’s extremely important that you never assume that listed prices are set in stone. Only under highly unusual conditions is there no reason for you to get a price reduction.

Mark-ups on some goods and services include:

– Jewelry and Furniture 100%

– Luxury Automobiles 25%

These money saving areas has multiple paths that can lead you to even greater savings. Remember, the more money you can pay yourself into a savings account, the more you will learn how to make saving money a wonderful habit!

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Since the headline is the first contact your readers have with your message, it must reach out to them. Promise them a benefit. Tell them how they will be better off if they read the rest of the ad. Use action verbs. Save ten dollars is a stronger heading than Savings of ten dollars because of the verb.

Headlines can be classified into the following five basic types; effective headlines frequently combine two or more of these kinds.

News Headlines

This form tells the reader something he or she did not know before. Using the word news does not make it a news headline. “Now – a copy machine that copies in color” is an example of this type headline.

Advice and Promise Headline

Here you are promising something if the reader follows the advice in your ad. “Switch to Amoco premium, no-lead gasoline, and your car will stop pinging.”

Selective Headline

This headline limits the audience to a specific group. For example: “To all gray-haired men over forty.” Caution! Be absolutely sure you do not eliminate potential customers with this type of headline.

Curiosity Headline

The intent here is to arouse the reader’s interest enough to make him or her read the ad. The danger is that this headline often appears “cute” or “clever” and fails in its mission. An example: “Do you have trouble going to sleep at night?”

Command or Demand Headline

Watch out for this one as most people resist pushiness, especially in advertising. “Do it now!” or “Buy this today!” This headline generally can be improved by changing to less obtrusive wording such as: “Call for your key to success!”

One common misconception about headlines is that they must be short and easy to understand. This is not always true. Here is a headline that was used extensively in print ads by Ogilvy and Mather for one of their clients: At 60 miles an hour, the loudest noise in this Rolls-Royce comes from the electric clock.

Illustrations

There are three primary reasons for using illustrations in an advertisement.

- To attract attention to the ad.
- To illustrate the item being featured.
- To create a mood in the mind of the reader.

Everyone has heard, A picture is worth a thousand words; in advertising, the illustration frequently helps the reader visualize the benefits promised. You can almost feel the warmth of the tropical sun when you see the photos in January travel ads. Cost and practicality may dictate whether your ad uses photographs, artists’ drawings or merely canned artwork. Any of these can make the ad more appealing to the reader’s eye.

Copy

If you follow the three principles of good copy, your ads will be effective:

- Good copy should be clear.
- Good copy should be crisp.
- Good copy should be concise.

Clear, crisp and concise . . . the three Cs of copywriting suggest that the words in your advertising message merely do a good job of communicating. Do not use big words when small words can make your meaning clear. Use colorful, descriptive terms. Use the number of words necessary to make your meaning clear and no more-but also no less! Selecting the right words is critical to the success of the ads. Recent research conducted at Yale University found that the following 12 words are the most personal and persuasive words in our language.

You       Discovery    Safety

Money   Proven        Results

Love     Guarantee   Save

New     Easy           Health

Notice the overused word free is not on the list.

REMEMBER THAT WHEN YOUR MESSAGE IS PRINTED IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS INSTEAD OF UPPER- AND LOWERCASE LETTERS, IT IS FAR MORE DIFFICULT FOR THE READER TO FOLLOW AND REMAIN INTERESTED. EVEN IN HEADLINES ALL CAPITAL LETTERS SHOULD BE AVOIDED.

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The only one who will ever truly put your financial well-being first is you. When you arm yourself with facts, and you develop your money-making strategies, you’ll see that it is much less of a chore (and much more fun) to take control of your finances than you might think. You can make yourself a better shopper and that’s what it’s all about.

1. Be persistent, but cordial. When you aren’t getting the attention, service, or value you think you deserve, let someone in charge know about it. Don’t give up easily. Continue calling, writing, or showing up in person until you receive satisfaction.

2. Learn the return policies of the stores you shop. Make sure you retain the documents that will allow you a full refund or exchange if you need it.

3. Watch for “after-the-fact” sales on items you purchase. Some stores will refund the difference in price.

4. Shop outlet malls cautiously. You may live too far away to return an item you purchased there. So be sure of fit and quality before leaving an outlet store.

5. Make certain an outlet is really an outlet. A true outlet is a store that sells a manufacturer’s merchandise direct to the public. In other words, there’s no retailer to take its profits. So you can, for instance, buy Sears power tools at that company’s outlet at prices that are 20-percent less than you could buy those same tools at a general merchandise retail store.

6. It’s the price, not the markdown (“reduced 30%) that you’re interested in. Even after a markdown, an item may be higher in price than a similar item at another store.

7. Shop early in the day. If you’re there when the store opens in the morning, you’ll usually get better service, which can translate into bigger savings.

8. Make friends with salespersons. They can alert you to upcoming sales, or they can hold items on sale until you get there.

9. If you’re offered a refund or store credit for a returned item, take the refund. With a credit, you are letting the store hold your money for an indefinite period – and maybe forever.

10. For apparel, shop off-season when possible. By doing so, you can save 30 percent or more on coats, up to 50 percent on suits (both men’s and women’s), more than 40 percent on sweaters, and about30 percent on pants.

11. For fruits and vegetables, shop in-season. Plan your meals to take advantage of plentiful supplies of fresh foods (including meats).

12. Before you buy a refrigerator, television set, or other big ticket item, check stores with a “price-that-can’t-be-beat” guarantee. Then comparison shop at other stores. With proper documentation (tags or advertisements), you’re always assured of the lowest price.

13. Avoid so called “bells and whistles” on electronic equipment and appliances. Most will be rarely used, and they’ll add to the cost when purchased and when repairs are needed.

14. You can save more than $100 a year in fees be selecting a checking account with minimum balance requirement that you can, and do, meet. Compare banks by learning the fees they charge and the fees they could charge (for an overdraft, for example), then go with the bank where you
can save the most. If all things are about equal, go with the bank that’s most convenient to your home or work-place.

15. Take advantage of loss leaders, but be careful that while shopping for the loss leader products you don’t buy something else you really don’t need.

16. Never pay full price unless you are sure you have no other option. It never hurts to ask for a discount.

17. If you need an item urgently – especially one that you may use only once or twice – consider borrowing it instead of rushing out to buying it.

18. Rental car companies offer various insurance and waiver options. Check with your insurance agent and credit-card company in advance to avoid duplicating any coverage you may already have.

19. A home energy audit can identify ways to save hundreds of dollars a year on home heating and air conditioning. Ask your electric or gas utility to conduct this audit (which should be free or cost only a reasonable amount). If not satisfied with such an audit, find a qualified professional.

20. Workplace savings: Bring your lunch to work. Join a car pool or take public transportation. Cut back on eating lunch out.

Only you can decide which type of investment, or which mixture, is right for you. For most, all these savings deas, if implemented, can amount to nearly $10,000 a year in savings.

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