EASY WAYS TO MAKE MONEY

I intend to take you through a DIY financial makeover over a number of newsletters and pages that can put several hundred and in some cases thousands of dollars every year back into your pocket just by making some small adjustments to the way you do certain things. You will struggle to find another way to make easy money like this.

There are many easy ways to make money. One of the most obvious ways and often overlooked ways is to simply not spend more than you have to on expenses that you do need. In other words there are many expenses in our lives such as insurance that we happily pay without question, sometimes for years, that with a little research can be reduced by 10, 20 or even 50 percent. This is like giving yourself free money as you still have the service you need but at a lower cost.

This is an important step to ensure we know or remember what money is actually leaving our back account.

You should do this regularly to ensure you're not incorrectly charged any fees or incorrect transactions. Banks do make mistakes and it's surprising how many people never pick these up as they don't regularly review their bank statements.
If you do not have a copy of your bank statements for the last year then register for Internet banking as most banks now retain history for their customers online.
Review every automatic deduction, direct debit and standing order that goes out of your account. Make sure you know what each item is for. Sometimes we may have signed up for an online service or subscriptions that we no longer use and have forgotten to remove, or even worse, we may have given across our bank account details to take up a free offer for a 3 month free insurance product or service that we never intended to keep but forgot to cancel....ouch!

You need to cancel all subscriptions and services you don't need. This is like making extra money. Once you have eliminated redundant expenditure items from your bank statements the next step is to review how you can save on existing expenses that cannot be avoided. There are many areas we be looking at but for this newsletter page I will be focussing on insurance.

Insurance in some ways is an evil necessity. It can cost a lot overall but it's something I believe you should have if you can't afford to replace or repair something should something go wrong. It's not worth taking a risk with your home or auto. Funnily enough even if your car is only worth $100 it's the damage your car can do that you need to be concerned about.

Therefore most of us will have Home, Life, Auto and possibly Health insurance and or Long Term care insurance. (Don't knock it - we will all get there one day!). These can add up to a substantial part of your budget especially your health and any income protection insurance you may have, yet it's an area that can be easily left to roll on, year in year out. This can be costing you at least double the premiums for exactly the same coverage with a competitor's product.

Insurance companies rarely reward loyalty with discounted premiums for customers who renew their premiums automatically each year. In fact many companies have a department that deals specifically with cancellations to entice you to stay on by offering you a reduced premium. It pays to ask or even threaten to cancel your existing policies - whether you want to or not -- to see if you can negotiate a better price.

Some insurance companies offer discounts if you combine policies as well that is worth considering. In these cases it's sometimes good to have a common renewal date for all of your policies so you can take advantage of these offers for such as Home and Auto combined etc.

By shopping on the Internet, or if you're not computer savvy, through a good broker, you can slash your premiums by shopping around each year. Insurance companies are also feeling the pinch during the current climate and will do more to hold onto existing customers because that's generally easier than attracting new ones. Insurance companies also make enticing offers to lure new customer to switch. That should also be incentive to shop around when your policies come up for renewal.

Don't get too clever with your Home policies. Keep your building and contents cover together with the same insurance company. Many years ago I split my contents and building cover between companies to get a better deal only to find that when I damaged my carpet both policies excluded carpets. Had I purchased both Buildings and contents together from either company I would have been covered.

Beware of the payments protection trap that is often very expensive for the limited coverage it often provides. If you do need this peace of mind look for a separate policy that will cover all of your debts. A separate policy from a third party can save you at least 50% while covering all your cards and not just the one.

Consider rebroking or having your term life insurance policies reviewed. This should only be done through a reputable broker who can advise on what the implications of this are, but if you are in good health sometimes it's possible to obtain exactly the same coverage for a reduced premium, which in my opinion is always a good deal as you personally won't be getting the benefit of the payout anyway!

If you have mobile phone insurance see if you can get this included in your Home contents policy for all your phones rather than paying for a more expensive individual phone cover with your network provider. Also check out independent mobile phone insurance providers over the Internet that can save you up to 50% on this type of cover.

In all cases try and see if the insurance company will allow you to pay their premium in equal instalments over the year at no extra cost which is effectively giving you interest free terms - an extra discount. This is great for cash flow too as it evens out the bumps in your monthly expenses that can be tight when insurances renew.

I have provided some links below that will arrange competitive quotes that you can use just to find out how much you really should be paying for your policies. You could be saving hundreds from as early as next month just by running through each of your polices now. Some companies may not let you change until renewal but this will depend on your policy that you can discuss with your company should you decide to change. In the meantime they may be willing to make immediate concessions to keep you.

To check out what you should be paying for your insurance click on the links below -

Auto Insurance
Home Insurance
Health Insurance
Life Insurance
Long Term Care Insurance

If you have ever considered what your life would be like if you could double your income or replace your job then this may be something for you to look at. The right home business opportunity will allow you in your own time to start a business after hours that can run automatically while you're away. As the business grows you will eventually come to that place many dream about where you can leave your paid employment and continue in your own Home business that will change your personal situation forever.

We live in an age where there are many people promising the earth with little substance or support. A good Home business, or online business opportunity built on sound business principles, utilising the speed and market potential of the Internet should allow you to build a business far more quickly than conventional Home businesses ideas that are far more labour intensive for significantly smaller rewards.

Home based employment may not be that far away. I have investigated many online business options and believe the following link is worth looking at, if you can join the dots then this is an opportunity that provides a wealth of training and information at a minimal start up cost is worth looking at. This opportunity is unique from others in that it recognises why 97% of home based businesses fail and shows you in detail how to build a business that's in the top 2 percent of Home based businesses that succeed. For full details just click here to get the details.

If you need some guidance or help in starting any Home business or at least where to start then click here for a list of 10 key points you need to consider when starting a new Small or Home business.

For more easy money making, money saving ideas go to the next article in this series click here