So, I think it’s pretty safe to admit that times are tough for most of us financially.  We don’t really want to spend more money than we need to and, much to our disliking, we have cut back on a lot of impulse buys because we just don’t have the money to splurge.  Well, I’ve created a list of 4 ways that you can keep money in your wallet while you’re working.  You don’t even have to do much, just keep earning that dough and the rest will do itself!

1. Carpooling - This tip isn’t really done while you’re working but it does involve your job.  Even though gas isn’t as high as it was this time last year, a great way to save money is to carpool with fellow employees to the office.  The concept is simple: instead of taking 4 cars to the office, fit 4 people in one car.  The same person doesn’t have to drive everyday but it is a great way to cut back on expenses when times are tight.  Plus, you’re building rapport with your co-workers, saving space on the highway, and reducing the level of pollution.  It’s a winning situation for everyone and everything, including your wallet. 
   Savings: $50 or more/month
2. Drink water  – There are plenty of folks at my office that are addicted to caffeine and constantly buy soda from the break room and local supermarkets.  Well, this really isn’t practical in a financial sense when you have a healthy alternative at your disposal – water.  A lot of offices have a water cooler or a water filtering system set up for employee use.  Instead of spending between $2 – $5 every day on things that will rot your teeth, why not be healthy and drink some of the free water.  Your office building doesn’t have free water?  Try requesting it to your manager or you can purchase a water bottle and bring water to work each day. 
   Savings: $40 – $100/month
3. Bring your lunch- Everyone has a lunch break and most times people order or purchase their lunch.  If you’re looking to cut back some expenses, this is probably the biggest area of improvement for a lot of people.  I know that I used to have a big problem with this but I can proudly say that I now only purchase lunch about once a week.  Even though grocery prices are increasing, it is still cheaper to pack your lunch than it is to buy your lunch.  Also, it’s healthier.  There is far less sodium and fat in packed lunches compared to fast food and take out places.  Start a trend in your office; bring your lunch and keep more of your money.
   Savings: $50 – $150/month
4. No more Starbucks - Some of you may consider this to be going against a sacred practice or procedure but it will really save you money in the long run.  I have never fallen victim to the “coffee in the morning” trap but I know a lot of people who have.  The biggest argument for stopping at the coffee shop along the way to work is that they just make coffee better than you can at home.  False.  There are plenty of tools and recipes to make great coffee from the comfort of your kitchen.  Why waste the gas and money to buy a $4 drink each morning when you can make the same thing for less than $1?  It’s impractical and it’s ripping the money from your pocket.
   Savings: $80 – $120/month

What measures do you take to save money while working?  Share your thoughts with everyone via the comments!

Recently, I had the fortunate pleasure of spilling a few drops of iced tea on my cell phone.  I have an enV2 and although phone was not flipped open when the spillage occurred, the stickiness made its way to the lower half of my QWERTY keyboard.  Needless to say, I was not too happy about this.  So, after many attempts click the keys so many times to free the sticky mess, I knew I had to take matters into my own hands.

The first cleaning method that crossed my mind was water but then I decided against that because I didn’t want to have to invest in a new phone.  So, for some reason, I decided that rubbing alcohol would work out much better.  I guess I thought that since it cleans out bacteria from flesh wounds, it could most certainly stick it to the stickiness.  Now, my method of application was going to be tricky.  Did I want to use a cotton ball to ensure the alcohol was generously applied or did I want to use a Q-Tip for expert precision.  Once again, I went big and decided on the cotton ball.  I wanted to vanquish this stickiness and never have to deal with it again.

Much to my surprise, my rubbing alcohol trick cleared up the stickiness on my phone keypad.  I used it on the front and the inside.  I noticed that the rubbing alcohol leaves a slight residue and smell on the keypad so going over the keypad with a slightly damp paper towel will do the trick.  So, as a summary, here are the steps for cleaning your cell phone keypad:

1. Locate a bottle of rubbing alcohol.  DO NOT use water because it may seep in and cause you some real issues.
2. Apply to a cotton ball and gently rub the cotton ball over your keypad(s).
3. Once the rubbing alcohol has air dried, go over the keypad with a slightly damp paper towel.

I hope that this tips can help you out if you ever run into a sticky keypad issue with your phone.

What other methods have you found to be helpful in cleaning day to day devices?  What else do you use rubbing alcohol to clean?  Post your ideas in the comment section!

Everyone experiences ups and downs in regards to their finances.  Our “up” moments are usually characterized by raises, tax refunds, or any other event that give us more money.  On the other side of the coin, our “down” moments can be the result of numerous events, such as job loss, medical bills, car repairs, or something else that dwindles our finances.  But, have you ever considered an “up” moment to be when you’re saving money?  A lot of people think that saving money is almost as bad as paying for car repairs or a new water heater.  In fact, it’s the complete opposite.  Saving money can help you out when you really need it.  I bet you’re saying, “Sure Eric, I know that saving money can help me out in a pinch.  How is this article any different than anything else I read?”  Well, I’m going to let you in on a concept that I’ve personally used to help me out in the hard times and when I’ve needed a little extra money in my pocket.  It’s what I like to call my “Reverse Savings Account.”

Please note: The “Reverse Savings Account” should not be a priority on your list if you first do not have a regular savings account.  That should be a number one priority, not your “Reverse Savings Account.”

What is it?

The concept is pretty simple – you’re saving money in order to spend it.  Now, that may not sound like much of a savings account to you, but it really does come in handy and help out in the long run.  A lot of people have this mindset that when you have a savings account, no matter if it’s your first, second, or third, you really can’t spend it on anything unless it’s absolutely necessary.  This is a great mindset to have but it really only applies to your emergency savings account.  It is also possible to have a savings account that accumulates money which can be used at your discretion and not just in emergency situations.  That is the sole purpose of a ”Reverse Savings Account.” Continue Reading ->

Earlier in the year, I struggled with managing my time.  My time management woes caused me to oversleep, overburden myself, and be late for appointments.  More importantly, I wasn’t feeling productive at the end of each day.  Instead of accomplishing the many things that I needed to, I would often get caught up in one thing and not be able to get everything done.  I needed a quick and easy strategy to make sure I wasn’t overworking myself or causing myself to be lazy.  I began to formulate a strategy to allot myself certain amounts of time to do various tasks, whether it is school work, website updates, or reading.  In order to do this and to keep to my goal, I purchased a simple egg timer from Target.  For each item that I need to complete, I set the egg timer for a certain amount of time and once the timer goes off, I immediately stop what I am doing and move onto the next item.  This strategy has allowed me to get more done in a day and to feel as if I am progressing, not standing still.  If you’re having time management problems or are overworking yourself to the point of exhaustion, consider using an egg timer to keep track of time and accomplish a lot more with your day.

UPDATE: As per a reader’s suggestion, here is a link to purchase an egg timer.

I’m not sure how many Firefox users are aware of these two nifty keyboard commands but they can definitely come in handy. Here we go…

Shuffle

Any true geek or advanced computer user can tell you how to shuffle through different windows and applications using Alt+Tab (PC) or Command + Tab (Mac). On the contrary, not too many people could tell you how to shuffle through Firefox tabs. In order to shuffle through your Firefox tabs as if they were applications, hold down Control and tap Tab until you get to the tab where you need to be. This command is the same on both a PC and a Mac. Pretty cool, eh? Just wait.

Back from the Dead

I know, it’s a pretty odd name but it really does apply – I promise. There is nothing worse than closing a tab in Firefox that you really need to be kept open. Either you accidentally do it or your family member does it to really annoy you. Either way, it still causes a lot of unnecessary stress. But don’t worry, that issue can be a mute point from now on. When you close a tab that you wish to reopen again, simply press Control + Shift + T (Control + Shift + T on a Mac) and that will bring the tab back from the dead. You can even do it over and over again to find more tabs that were closed. Whether it’s used for snooping or for legitimate purposes, it’s a pretty useful and
handy tip.

That’s a question that I used to ask myself a lot about my money.  I didn’t know where all of it went.  I thought that I would be doing just fine with managing my money and the next minute, I wouldn’t have any.  It got pretty frustrating and I needed to think of some things to help myself out and get back on the right track.  So, after pondering some ideas and trying out a few, I developed the Alpin Strategy of Finance.  Okay, not really…but it sounded good!  I’ve put into practice some basic tricks and strategies to help my manage my money better and know where all of its going.  Before you read the strategies below, I must forewarn you.  These tips/tricks for managing your money take time and patience.  Not all of the tips are right for everyone because everyone has a different financial situation.  The following pointers work for me, and you can take them as a model or a guide if you want to develop your own.  I’ll attempt to go into as much detail as possible on each one.  Here goes…

1. Use cash -  Cash?  What’s cash?  It’s not a word that we hear often in today’s society because everything is flooded with Visa and MasterCard.  It’s like, peer pressure to use a little piece of plastic that can potentially ruin your financial freedom/life.  See why I like to use cash?  Don’t get me wrong, I have a few credit cards and I think they’re great in a time of need/emergency.  I use cash for all of the little things that I buy – lunch, milk, gas (more on that later), and pretty much anything else that I can.  I have found this method works for me: get cash out as soon as you get paid.  If you get a certain amount out BEFORE you start spending it all from your credit card, it turns out quite nice.  Using cash allows me to track my money and not buy worthless, little things.  If I don’t have cash to pay for something, I usually don’t buy it.  It’s all about patience and self-control.  Try using cash more and more; I think that you’ll find you slow down your spending.
2. Plan - A lot of people have no idea what their money situation is but still buy huge amounts of “stuff.”  Some would call this type of person an impulse buyer; I just call them irresponsible.  In order for you to buy something, you need to have the money to do it.  It wouldn’t be very wise to go out and spend $7,000 in one day on a credit card when you only have a part time job making minimum wage.  I’m not in either one of those situations, but it brings up the point that planning to purchase something really does allow you to manage your money better.  A personal example, if I may…I recently had the desire to buy a brand new iMac.  I thought of some logical reasons to purchase it, but they still didn’t justify the expense in my mind.  So I waited.  And waited.  And as I was waiting, I began to find out how financially possible it was for me to purchase this new computer.  I found some discounts that I could get on the computer and did my research on if it was a valuable investment or not.  The key idea here was that I waited and I planned.  If I would have gone out the first day that I initially had the thought, “Oh, a new iMac would be really cool right now” then I would be broke.  Planning, even for the littlest things, can really help you save in the end.
3. Gas – It’s the hot topic this summer, so naturally the topic gets the chance the grace my web page.  But, unlike most sites, I’m going to give you a tip that has saved me some dough.  Instead of filling up your tank when your close to empty, try filling up when you have half a tank remaining.  It may sound as if you’re spending more than what you would be but you actually aren’t.  Even though you’re filling up more times, you’re spending less in the long run than you would if you were to fill your entire tank once.
4. Discounts – Discounts are the best thing ever.  I’m not even joking.  I save so much money using discounts, that it probably would make some people ill.  I use coupons whenever I can and actually adjust my eating/spending habits towards whatever coupons I have.  The Entertainment Book is a great resource for discounts/coupons.  Although it costs $35 dollars up front, you save much more than that.  From fast food to amusement parks to fine dining, the Entertainment Book has it all.  Right now, when you reserve the 2009 book, you get a free 2008 book.  If you’re interested, it’s well worth it.  Also, the local papers and “junk mail” fliers are good sources for coupons.  If you’re a big online shopper, check out my previous post on how to save some serious dinero (that’s Spanish, not a typo) via some online coupon/discount sites.
5. Budget – I saved the best, and most helpful, for last.  It’s a tough word to say, and some people even refer to as “the other B word.”  But, once you become friends with Mr. Budget, he’s not such a bad guy after all.  I’ve recently undertaken this strategy after inspiration from a recent church service, and it’s panned out quite well.  For those of you who don’t know, a budget is a way to manage your money and see where it’s going.  The greatest part of budgeting is separating your available funds into categories for spending.  I’m not married and have no children, but I budget because I want to save my money for when I really need it.  It’s not just for “old people.”  Since I’ve started budgeting, I feel as if I’m more in tune with my finances and I can pinpoint exactly where every dollar is going.  If you want to start budgeting your money, I’ve included the Budget Model that I use for my budget calculations.  You’re going to need to edit it to your needs, but I’ve already done all of the hard work for you.  Try it out, it really does work.

I hope that these five strategies/tips have inspired you to manage your money just a little better.  Remember, the exact strategies outlined above aren’t going to work for everyone but they give you a general idea as to some tips that may help you out.  If you have any tips of your own, respond to this post and let us know!