Learn and know how to get cheap life insurance

Finding a cheap life insurance policy that offers the right amount of coverage is at the forefront of any first-time buyer’s mind. The same goes for someone who’s simply looking for a better rate.

If you want to get the most affordable life insurance, there are several things you can do to minimize costs. I have six tips to help you find cheap life insurance, which I’ll be sharing with you in this article.

It’s true there are factors you have less control over when it comes to the cost of life insurance, but there’s a lot within your control too.

Here are the 2 basic starting points for getting cheap life insurance:

1.      Target a term life insurance policy.

2.      Get quotes from multiple providers.

6 Tips to Find Cheap Life Insurance

Life insurance can be tricky to understand. Many companies analyze your health differently and also calculate risk in slightly varying ways. Following these steps is key to finding the cheapest life insurance for you.

Tip #1: Get several quotes

As with most purchasing decisions, finding many options will give you an edge. Most people don’t bother obtaining multiple quotes because it’s time-consuming. However, using an online quote tool is the quickest way to get quotes from several reputable insurers at one time.

Tip #2: Avoid riders and additional insurance

If your bottom-line goal is to find the cheapest insurance possible, you’ll want to say no to any add-on insurance or policy riders. Examples of add-ons include the option to purchase child policies or more insurance at a future date without going through the medical exam process again.
You can think of riders as à-la-carte options to supe up your policy. Riders can be purchased to accelerate your death benefit and pay you out for medical expenses if you have a terminal illness but haven’t passed away yet. Term conversion is another rider that gives you the option to convert your term policy to a permanent (whole life) policy.
A caveat: Choose your coverage wisely. If you need coverage for your kids, then it is OK to pay for the extra coverage. Also, if you’re someone who is on the fence between term and whole life coverage, the term conversion rider will give you that option down the road for a few dollars per month.
There is no one-size-fits-all method to buying life insurance, but having as few riders as possible will keep your rates low.

Tip #3: Say no to one-company local agents

Experts are available to help you through the process of purchasing life insurance, and many of the largest insurance companies have their own networks of agents. If you need the human touch, I would avoid one-company local agents because they usually represent the interests of their own company, which essentially lowers your options. If they happen to represent the cheapest and the best life insurance company, that’s another story!
A good strategy is to seek out a financial advisor, like Edward Jones, that covers several different insurers. This way, your advisor will be more impartial even though he or she has personal preferences.

Tip #4: Don’t wait

Generally speaking, the younger and healthier you are, the cheaper your insurance costs will be. If you’re in your mid-20s and are thinking about lifestyle changes like marriage and kids, it can pay off to buy a policy now rather than waiting. The biggest reason is that you never really know how your health will change at any time.
As a summer intern, I sold my future father-in-law a life insurance policy on his 19-year-old daughter. After that, she was diagnosed with a condition that would prevent her from being insured today. Not waiting made all the difference.

Tip #5: Bundle coverages if you can

One way to receive discounts on your quoted life insurance rate is to bundle coverage with your car, home, or other insurance. Large insurers like State Farm can be fairly cheap life insurance providers because they give you the most options to bundle.
A good strategy to maximize your bundled discounts is to review all of your insurance at the same time and pick the company that can give you the best deal for switching. This is more work in the short term, but can pay huge dividends in the long run.

Tip #6: Check the financial stability of the insurer

Cheap life insurance can be a very bad deal if the insurer isn’t financially healthy enough to pay out when the time comes. After you go through online quotes, always check the financial reputation of the insurer so you don’t pay premiums for years only to find out the company can’t pay out any claims.
A.M. Best is an insurance rating agency and provides up-to-date information on the financial health of most life insurance companies. Use them to check on a company, especially if you haven’t heard of them or if they’ve started operations within the last 10 years.

Why is Term Life Insurance the Cheapest?

You generally have two options for life insurance. There are various hybrids and nuances, but a life insurance policy is usually either:

• Term life insurance
• Whole life insurance

What is term life insurance?

Term life insurance acts much like your auto insurance, so it’s much easier to understand. Like your car insurance, you pay a premium each month for the period of time you wish to be covered, and if you don’t use the insurance (i.e. pass away) in that time period, the insurance company keeps the money and does not have to pay a death benefit. This is just like your auto policy — if you don’t get into an accident, there is no payout from the insurance company.
Term insurance is generally cheaper because the coverage is only provided for a specific period of time. In most cases, the insurance company will never pay out because you will outlive the term and the policy will expire. However, term life premiums can and do rise with age, whereas whole life premiums stay steady. Late in life, they can become cost-prohibitive.

What is whole life insurance?

Whole life insurance is a life insurance policy that remains in force for the insured’s whole life. In this case, you or your survivors are guaranteed to receive a payout from the insurance company as long as your payments are current.
Whole life insurance has an investment growth component to it where dividends are accumulated tax-deferred. Part of your premium pays for the death benefit and part of your premium is invested to produce these dividends and increase your policy’s “cash value.” Your cash value typically can be accessed during your lifetime, which is a nice living benefit.
Your premium payment is generally higher than with term life, but does not increase over time. Your premium stays the same once your policy is in force no matter what your health or age is. Additionally, because of the cash-value buildup, at some point you can usually use the growth in your policy to pay your premium. This way, you can have a policy in force for the rest of your life without making another out-of-pocket premium payment.

What impacts your life insurance rates?

Once you choose the type of insurance you want, your actual insurance cost is based on many factors, with age and health being the biggest factors. For either term or whole life, the following factors can impact how much you pay:

• Overall health
• Smoker/non-smoker
• Family history
• Age
• Gender
• Lifestyle (high-risk activities)
• Career
• Location

How I Use Life Insurance

Experts argue about which is best, but there is a specific purpose for both term and whole life insurance. If you structure them properly you can create a very affordable life insurance program that is comprehensive enough to meet all of your goals.
Here is how I approach life insurance:

• I use term life to cover my fixed debts, or expenses that are likely to only exist for a fixed period of time.
• I supplement long-term coverage with a whole life policy that has more growth and tax-advantaged features.

I am 32-years-old, married, have two young children, and have a home with two vehicles.
I use cheap term life insurance to cover the debts that care for my kids and revolve around family expenses of our home.
If I died tomorrow, here is what I would want covered:

• My mortgage debt so the house will be paid off.
• Vehicle ownership expenses so my cars will be paid off.
• Approximate child expenses for 18 years.
• Cost of four-year college tuition for two kids.

These expenses roughly end 20 years into the future, so I try to match my coverage term to that time frame.
When I started looking into life insurance, I had recently graduated from college and didn’t have enough money to purchase a whole life policy, so I bought a term life policy.
I made sure my term could be converted to whole life insurance. I value this conversion flexibility because I like the idea of growing my money tax-deferred, and estate tax policy is in constant flux.
I plan to leave money to my children, and this gift may be taxable in the future. I can use whole life to cover any tax implications for my kids at the time of my death.
Granted, I do understand that what I’ve outlined here may not be the cheapest, but I wanted to provide some personal details that may help you.

How much should you buy and when should you start?

A very general rule of thumb is to purchase at least 10 times your annual salary in life insurance. So, if you make $50,000 per year, you would want to look at a $500,000 life insurance policy. As you can imagine, this calculation might not fit your unique situation.
For a more accurate approach, follow these steps:

1.      Add up any mortgage or student debts you want covered.

2.      Add up your monthly expenses for the period of time you want covered.

3.      Add in any educational or other extraordinary expenses you want covered.

4.      Finally, add in any other obligations you do not want to burden your survivors with (e.g. taxes or other debts).

Going through this exercise will give you a more realistic portrayal of how much coverage you need. An additional benefit to this process is that, if your quotes end up coming in much higher than your budget, you can remove items from your list and adjust your number to arrive at a more reasonable premium payment.

How to get started

Generally, when you experience life changes, like purchasing a home, getting married, or having children, you start to accumulate many financial responsibilities that you want to protect with life insurance.
There really isn’t much of a need to buy term before these events.
However, many people choose to start whole life insurance programs at a very young age because cheap insurance is so plentiful and the policy owners can milk the cash value growth for a longer period of time.
Whatever decision you make, it can’t hurt to get started by getting a quote from several providers. You can find the most affordable life insurance (whether it’s term or whole) and then decide if it fits within your current budget.

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How to create multiple income streams

The singular reason why Entrepreneurs fail to succeed on the internet is due to the multiple choices it offers to create wealth online. I have been guilty of it in the past when I started out on the net because I lacked self discipline and joined so many programs that I could barely find time, money or energy to sustain them.

Concept of Multiple Streams of Income is excellent but if one looses focus then there is no possibility to succeed on the internet. Our time and advertising budget gets spread out and it reduces the possibility to improve the ranking of our website on the search engines. Fortunately there are few excellent programs on the internet that not only club best programs together but also provide business system and training to succeed on the internet. Entrepreneurs must take advantage of these programs when they start out. This is the easiest way to succeed on the internet within shortest period of time.

There are plug in programs that provide entrepreneurs with free Web sites as part of an incentive to affiliates. The best researched opportunities on the internet are integrated into one system on these websites. When you sign up for the system you will be required to sign up for the programs individually. Most of these programs are free to join but some may have a small price tag. The free website that is created for you will have the IDs of your programs embedded in them. Then by advertising and promoting one website it is possible to promote all the opportunities simultaneously. This greatly cuts down your time, effort and costs.

Entrepreneurs who join any or all of the programs start to see a profit right away. It generally takes 24 hours maximum to have your Web site built and visible on the World Wide Web. Each entrepreneur has the liberty to pick her or his own domain name and provides her or his own log. This is prominently displayed at the top of the home page.

Another advantage of joining such programs is that they provide their members with online marketing tips and ongoing training to develop skill necessary to succeed online. You will even be able to participate in a members-only online forums to ask questions and get them answered by experts in the field.

By joining a plug in program you are generally provided with your own professionally written e-mail newsletter that will market your company for up to 400 days in a row. This is given to you free of charge. You are also provided with a free auto responder that will automatically send these letters for you to market your business opportunity.

Most plug in programs provide Web site and newsletter marketing program that is very customizable, allowing each entrepreneur to change the promotions and the look of the site and newsletter as she or he wishes.

For a new entrepreneur or a seasoned professional these plug in programs are the cheapest and most sensible way to start out on the net. Such programs provide you with a complete business system that keeps you focused and provides training not only to you but your down line and business partners thereby ensuring your success in your online venture. There is no hype and you can create multiple streams of income staying focused with the best selected programs on the internet.

Why people fail in business either online or offline is due to the fact that most businesses suffer from lack of systems. To succeed you need a sound business system to keep the business on track. On the internet their are so many fly by night operators who wish to create instant wealth. Internet does provide tremendous flexibility and reduction in advertisement costs. But without proper systems in place most businesses are destined to fail. The plug in systems help entrepreneurs to overcome this major hurdle.

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Maintain rules of online earning money and anyone can become successful

Every person in the world wants to become successful, but many don't have the right attitude or motivation to accomplish this. Becoming successful is not a walk in the park, it takes time and effort. However, if you follow some certain guidelines and have the dedication to become something, then more often than not you will become successful.

Everyone has their own definition of what success actually is. The first two definitions of successful in the dictionary are "having a favorable outcome" and "having obtained something desired or intended." So becoming the richest man in the world would be considered becoming successful to some, but not everyone. As long as you strive to be the best in whatever you want to be and then you accomplish this goal, you have become successful. How to be successful is the question that many want to know. So read on and start taking notes on how to be successful.

You must have written goals and plans to start so that you know what you want. Plus, by writing down goals you can go back to the sheet and see what you want to succeed in and use it as a motivator.

Be patient to start. You will not become successful in the first week or two of whatever you are doing. It may even take several months or years to fully accomplish the feat you are battling. You will have to work the hardest in the beginning to get it started with little in return which can be discouraging, but if you continue the hard work the reward will come later.

It is important to think big but realistic at the same time. There is no point in setting an easily attainable goal because you are limiting your abilities. However, if you shoot for the highest star possible you will often fail and this will discourage you of trying other things.

Put together a weekly plan on how you will enhance whatever you are trying to become successful in. Once you fail to put in the effort and stick to the plan, you have failed to become what you want. By following a written plan, you now owe it to yourself
to finish the list.

Don't let the little problems get you frustrated. There will be many changes and obstacles that you will have to deal with along the way, both big and small, but keeping focused on the goal is important. By taking time to focus and come up with a rational
solution to the problems, you will be that much closer to becoming successful.

Continue to be positive throughout your hard work. Once you turn into a negative thinker, you get closer and closer to quitting on yourself. The only true way to fail is to give up. "You are what you think you are," so if you believe in yourself and what you're capable of doing then you will become that.

There are several things that it will take to become successful, but these are some of the key points on how to be successful. Be motivated and determined, and you will be that much closer to your goal.

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Top most great tips for saving money for those just getting started-Third or last Part

Most important steps and before you know it, your financial life is getting better and better. What follow is top most great steps to take. Each of these tactics is simple little moves you can make to improve your financial situation. Some of them take just a few minutes, others might take an hour or two, some of them require a bit of regular effort, but they’re all incredibly simple – anyone can do them. Each of them also save significant money, especially over the long haul, and when combined together these tips can save you a lot of money now.

Obviously, not all of these tips will apply to everyone. Just go through the list and find ten or fifteen that do apply to you and use them in your life – you’ll quickly find yourself saving some serious scratch.

60. Check out what your town’s parks and recreation board has to offer.

My town has several wonderful parks, free basketball and tennis courts, free disc golf, trails, and lots of other stuff just there waiting to be used. You can go have fun for hours out in the wonderful outdoors, playing sports, hiking on trails, or trying other activities – and it’s all there for free. All you have to do is discover it.

61. Air up your tires.

For every two PSI that all of your tires are below the recommended level, you lose 1% on your gas mileage. Most car tires are five to ten PSI below the normal level, so that means by just airing up your tires, you can improve your gas mileage by up to 5%. It’s easy, too. Just read your car’s manual to see what the recommended tire pressure is, then head to the gas station. Ask the attendant inside if they have a tire air gauge you can borrow (most of them do, both in urban and rural settings), then stop over by the air pump. Check your tires, then use the pump to fill them up to where they should be. It’s basically free gas!

62. Start a garden.

Gardening is an inexpensive hobby if you have a yard. Just rent a tiller, till up a patch, plant some plants, keep it weeded, and you’ll have a very inexpensive hobby that produces a huge amount of vegetables for you to eat at the end of the season. I like planting a bunch of tomato plants, keeping them cared for, then enjoying a huge flood of tomatoes at the end of the summer. We like to eat them fresh, can them, and make tomato juice, sauce, paste, ketchup, pasta sauce, and pizza sauce. Delicious (and very inexpensive)!

63. Dig into your community calendar.

There are often tons of free events going on in your town that you don’t even know about. Stop by the local library or by city hall and ask how you can get ahold of a listing of upcoming community events, and make an effort to hit the interesting ones. You can often get free meals, free entertainment, and free stuff just by paying attention – even better, you’ll get in touch with what’s going on around you.

64. Take public transportation.

If the city’s transit system is available near you, take it to work (or to play) instead of driving your car. It’s far cheaper and you don’t have to worry about parking your vehicle. When I lived in a larger city, I bought an annual transit pass that actually paid for itself after less than two months of use compared to using an automobile – and after that, for ten months, I basically could ride to work (and to some events) for free. That’s money in the bank.

65. Cut your own hair.

I can cut mine myself with a pair of clippers, for example. I just cut it really short every once in a while and don’t worry about it too much. Just put a garbage bag over the bathroom sink, bust out the clippers and scissors, and get it done. Two or three cuts will pay for the clippers, and then you’re basically getting free haircuts. With a bit of practice, you can make it look good, too.

66. Carpool.

Is there anyone that lives near you who works at the same place (or near the same place) that you do? Why not ride together, alternating drivers each day? You can halve the wear and tear and gas costs for your car – and for your acquaintance as well.

67. Design your “debt snowball.”

Everyone needs a plan to help them get out of debt, so sit down and plot out what debts you’re going to pay off and in what order. Simply having a plan goes a long way towards bringing that plan into action, and paying off debts early is one of the surest ways to put money in your pocket over the long run.

68. Get a crock pot.

A crock pot is perhaps the best deal on earth for reducing cooking costs in a busy family. You can just dump in your ingredients before work, put it on simmer, and dinner is done when you get home. There are countless recipes out there for all variety of foods, and every time you cook this way, you’re saving money as compared to eating out.

69. Do some basic home and auto maintenance on a regular schedule.

Instead of just waiting until something breaks to deal with it, develop a monthly maintenance schedule where you go around your home (and your car) and perform a bit of maintenance where it’s needed. This little activity, taking you just an hour or two a month, will keep things from breaking down and help you see problems before they become disasters.

70. Pack food before you go on a road trip.

Have everyone pack a sack lunch for the trip. That way, instead of stopping in the middle of the trip, driving around looking for a place to eat, spending a bunch of time there, and then paying a hefty bill, you can just eat on the road or, better yet, stop at a nice park and stretch for a bit. Plus, you’ll save a lot of money and a fair amount of time this way.

71. Go through your cell phone bill, look for services you don’t use, and ditch them.

Sit down and go through each item on your bill and see if there’s anything there that you don’t use, like a surfeit of text messages or web access or something to that effect. Then call your cell phone company and ask to have those services eliminated. Boom, you’re saving money.

72. Consolidate your student loans.

Interest rates are quite low right now, so it might be worthwhile to consolidate your student loans into one low-rate package. Look into the various student loan consolidation packages – even a 1% reduction on a $10,000 loan saves you $100 a year – and your loan is probably bigger than that (and the rate cut you could get is probably bigger).

73. When buying a car, go for late model used.

These are typically cars coming straight off of leases, meaning they were cared for by reliable owners. My truck was purchased with this criteria and has lasted me several years already with only one significant issue – and I saved a ton of money on the purchase price over buying new. Only now is it beginning to show significant signs of aging – and with the money I saved on that purchase, I was able to get out of debt that much quicker.

74. Hit the library – hard.

Don’t look at a library as just a place to get old books. Look at it as a free place to do all sorts of things. I’ve used it to learn a foreign language, meet people, use the Internet anonymously, check out movies and CDs, grab local free newspapers, and keep up on community events. Best of all, it doesn’t cost a dime.

75. Use a simple razor to shave.

I’ve been a big advocate of the basic safety razor for a long time, but that’s just one piece of the puzzle. For “normal” shaves, I just shave in the shower and dry off the blade afterwards, using just soap for lather – incredibly cheap, since I only swap blades once every few weeks. The real moral of the story? Use a simple razor – not an expensive electric one that stops working in three years – and shave your face when it’s wet. You can get a very good shave with some practice and save a lot of money over the long haul.

76. Find daily inspiration for making intelligent moves.

I’m usually inspired by my children. Perhaps you’re inspired to make changes by your spouse – or even by someone in the community you respect. Maybe it’s just a personal goal, like an early retirement. Find something that makes you want to make positive changes, then use that person or thing as a constant reminder. Keep a picture of it in your wallet, in your vehicle, and on your bathroom mirror. Keep it in your mind as much as you possibly can.

77. Find out about all of the benefits of your job.

Most people aren’t even aware of all of the benefits available to them. Spend some time with an HR person finding out about all the benefits of your job – you might be surprised at what you might find. I found free tickets to sporting events, free personal improvement opportunities, and an optional employee match on some retirement funds that maximized the money I was socking away. This not only cut down on my own spending on things like sporting and community events and educational classes, but also improved my retirement plan.

78. Make your own items instead of buying them.

I like to make my own laundry detergent and my own Goo-Gone, for starters. I also like making Glade, Windex, and Soft Scrub. In both cases, it’s way cheaper than buying the commercial version. Hunt around for recipes – it’s amazing how many things you can make at home in just a few minutes that saves a ton of money compared to the commercial version.

79. Encourage your friends to do less expensive activities.

This is often a tricky thing to do, but there are a number of techniques you can try. My favorite one is to be the first one to suggest something – that often gives you the power to steer the group towards things that are cheaper. If you can convince your friends to go to the park and shoot hoops instead of going golfing, those green fees are going to stay in your pocket.

80. Don’t speed.

Not only is it inefficient in terms of gasoline usage, it also can get you pulled over and cost you a bundle, as I discovered a while back. It’s highly cost-efficient to just drive the speed limit, keep that gas in the tank, and keep the cops off your tail.

81. Read more.

Reading is one of the cheapest – and most beneficial – hobbies around. Most towns have a library available to the public – just go there and check out some books that interest you. Then, spend some of your free time in a cozy place in your house, just reading away. You’ll learn something new, improve your reading ability, enjoy yourself, and not have to spend a dime. Here are some more techniques for getting into the reading flow.

82. Buy a smaller house.

I currently live in a 2,000 square foot house with my wife and two kids. Frankly, it’s just the right size for us – if anything, it’s a little big. We often find ourselves in the same room in the house, just surrounded by empty space. You don’t need a giant place to live. Instead, buy something more modest and you’ll find yourself with plenty of room – and still plenty of cash in your pocket.

83. Drive a different route to work.

This is an especially powerful tip if you find yourself “automatically” stopping for something on the way into work or the way home. Get rid of that constant drain by selecting a different route that doesn’t go by the temptation, even if the new route is a bit longer. You’ll still be time ahead (because you’re not stopping) and you’ll definitely be money ahead.

84. Always ask for fees to be waived.

Any time you sign up for a service of any kind and there are sign-up fees, ask for them to be waived. Sometimes (but not always), they will be – and you save money just by being forthright about not wanting to pay excessive fees. I did this with my last cell phone sign-up and got part of my fees waived, cutting down significantly on the bill.

85. Don’t overspend on hygiene products.

For most people, inexpensive hygiene products do the trick – for example, I just buy whichever toothpaste is the cheapest, and the same goes with deodorant and the like. The key is to use this stuff regularly and consistently – bathe daily, keep yourself clean, and you’ll be just fine. No need to buy a $40 facial scrub if you actually scrub your face properly.

86. Eat less meat.

For the nutritional value, meat is very expensive, especially as compared to vegetables and fruits. Simply change around your regular meal proportions to include more fruits and vegetables and less meats – eat a smaller steak and a bigger helping of green beans, for example. Not only is this a healthier way to eat (saving on health costs), it’s also less expensive.

87. Use a brutally effective coupon strategy.

Here’s the trick: wait a month before using the coupons. Save your coupon flyer out of your Sunday paper for a month, then bust it out and start cutting anything that might be of interest. For a bonus kicker, use the coupons in comparison with your grocery store flyer that week to find out ways you can use a coupon to reduce the cost of an item already on sale – you can wind up paying pennies for some things and, on occasion, actually get food for free (I’ve came home with a ton of free yogurt containers before, for example).

88. Air seals your home.

Most homes have some air leaks that make the job of keeping it cool in summer and warm in winter that much harder – and that much more costly for you. Spend an afternoon air sealing your home – the DoE has a great guide on basic airsealing.

89. Make your own beer or wine.

If you enjoy an occasional drink, this is a great way to enjoy some of the beverages that you love at a very cheap price. You can easily make five gallons of beer or wine at once and it doesn’t take that long, either, once you have the basic ingredients. Even better, it’s a great activity to do with friends – you buy the equipment, they bring the juice and you both get a few bottles of delicious homemade wine out of the deal. A nice entertainment, plus some free beverages – that’s a great frugal deal.

90. Make sure all your electrical devices are on a surge protector.

This is especially true of your entertainment center and your computer equipment. A power surge can damage these electronics very easily, so spend the money for a basic surge protector and keep your equipment plugged into such a device.

91. Get on an automatic debt repayment plan for any student loans you have.

Many student loans offer a rate reduction if you sign up for their automatic debt repayment plan. This way, not only do you save a few bucks a month, you don’t have to go to the effort of actually paying the bill. Our automatic plan saved us about $60 a year.

92. Cut down on your vacation spending.

Instead of going on a big, extravagant trip, pack up the car and see some of America some years for vacation. One of the best vacations I’ve ever taken was when my son was an infant – we just packed up the car and drove around Minnesota, eventually camping for a few days along the north shore of Lake Superior. For a week long relaxing vacation, it was incredibly cheap and quite memorable, too.

93. Cancel the cable or satellite channels you don’t watch.

Many people with cable services often are paying for a premium package but rarely watch those extra channels. For the longest time, my wife and I were subscribed to HBO, Starz, and Cinemax, yet we would only tune in once a month at best. We argued that it was worth it because we could watch a movie or a great drama whenever we wanted, but it would have been far cheaper just to rent a movie. Get rid of the excess channels and put that cash back in your pocket.

94. Exercise more.

Go for a walk or a jog each evening, and practice stretching and some light muscle exercise at home. These exercises can be done at home for very little, meaning you’ve got an activity without a lot of cost, and the health benefits are enormous. Just set aside some time each day to get some exercise, and your body and wallet will thank you.

95. Utilize online bill pay with your bank.

This serves two purposes. First, it keeps you in much closer contact with your money, as you can keep a very close eye on your balance and be in much less danger of overdrafting. Second, it saves you money on stamps and paper checks by allowing you to just fill in an online form, click submit, and have your bill paid. Try it out – and take advantage of it if you’re not already.

96. Buy staples in bulk.

We buy items we use a lot of in bulk, particularly items that don’t perish – trash bags, laundry detergent, diapers, and so on are purchased in the largest amounts possible. This cuts down on their cost per usage by quite a bit and, over the long haul, begins to add up to some serious money. Even better, we don’t have to shop for these items very often, saving time and a fraction of the cost of a trip to the grocery store.

97. Connect your entertainment center and/or computer setup to a true smart power strip.

A device like the SmartStrip LCG4 basically cuts power to all devices on the strip depending on the status of the first item on the strip. So, if you have your workstation hooked up to this, every time you power down your workstation, your monitor powers down, your printer powers down, your scanner powers down, and so on. You can do the same thing with your entertainment console – when you turn off the television, the cable/satellite box also goes off, as does the video game console, the VCR, the DVD player, and so on. This can save you a lot of electricity and significantly trim your power bill.

98. Don’t beat yourself up when you make a mistake.

Even if you make ten good choices, it’s easy to beat yourself up and feel like a failure over one bad choice. If you make a big mistake and realize it, think about why you realized it now instead of then, and try to apply that later on. The memory of that mistake can end up being very valuable, indeed.

99. Always keep looking ahead.

Don’t let the mistakes of your past drag you down into more mistakes. Look ahead to the future. The choices you make now won’t affect the past – but they definitely will affect the future. Think back, and remember how the bad choices you made earlier are costing you now, and constantly remember to not make those mistakes now so that they don’t cost your future self.

100. Never give up.

Whenever the struggle against debt feels like it’s too much, go read a personal finance blog and remember that there are a lot of people out there fighting the same fight. Read around through the archives and learn some new things – and perhaps get inspired to keep going, no matter what.

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