Convenience In The Pocket

Carpool to work if you can to significantly reduce wear and tear on your car, save on gas, and take advantage of carpool lanes that might make it easier to get to work.

Check at least once a month to keep the tires on your vehicle properly inflated. Doing so can improve your gas mileage.

Refinance your home or automobile at a lower rate to save money over the life of the loan and lower your monthly payment.

If your student loans are locked in at a high-interest rate, figure out whether it makes sense to consolidate all or some of them.

Using a cell phone plan that does not suit your needs, or paying for extra services that you do not use can be costing you money each month.

Soft drinks have one of the highest markups of any restaurant item and thus provide lower value for your money.

• Consider an All-Cash Diet, as limiting yourself to physical currency combats overspending.
• Set aside 1 minute a day to check on your financial transactions, to identify problems, track goal progress and set your spending tone.
• Allocate at least 20% of your income to financial priorities like emergency funds, debts and retirement fund.
• Budget about 30% of your income for nonbasic spendings, like entertainment. Abiding by the 30% rule, you can save and splurge at the same time.

• Draft a Financial Vision Board, it motivates and helps you to stay on track with your financial goals.
• Set specific financial goals stating the reason, the way, numbers and dates.
• Adopt a spending mantra, a phrase that serves as a rule of thumb for how you spend.
• Love yourself. Taking control of your finances is part of that.
• Make bite-size money goals. Make the bigger ones but also small step goals to get there.
• Don’t be a financial fatalist, and switch to more positive mantras.
• Get your finances and body in shape. The discipline associated with regular exercising translates to managing your money well.
• Appreciate what you have now, instead of being a consumerist.
• Get a Money Buddy. Studies indicate people pick up good habits from friends with similar traits.

The financial crisis of 2008 showed that the system can buckle anytime and money may not always be worth the same.

As we get hyper-connected, the state-backed authority of currency, and what Money is really worth, is being rethought. Society has historically tried to invent new forms of currency, most recent being Bitcoin, a cryptocurrency.

The idea of Facebook's Libra, an attempt to create a new currency made from the architecture that powers Bitcoin, is that the value of new money is not derived from state authority, but a combination of mathematics, global connectivity, and trust that resides in people using Facebook.

Write it down when you’ve gone over your budget. The negativity you feel will help prevent you from overspending more or doing it again. Just think of this step as damage control.

If you try to deprive yourself too much, you’ll binge later and throw all your hard work out the window. 

A spending binge can set you back far more than treating yourself occasionally, so go for the occasional minor splurge. Just keep your treats within your spending limits and you’ll be fine.

It is also known as music design, music consultancy, or as part of a broader package of experiential design or sensory marketing.

The work involves creating distinct,  compatible musical identities for brands.

Muzak, a brand of background music, set the template for background music. It played in retail stores and other commercial premises and sold itself on the basis that it could increase productivity in workplaces. 

Muzak's template for background music persisted for decades. The music was a balm to ease awkward silences and to encourage and brighten the mood.

Most of us know how much we make, but we need to pay close attention to how much money is actually coming in post-tax, and how much is going out.

You can start by writing down your Starbucks, Uber, Amazon, and take-out expenses, along with your car insurance, utility bills, subscriptions and memberships. Slowly we can realize that many of these small expenses add up to huge figures.

By noting down all your expenses on pen and paper, or on the PC excel sheet, you can start to review and analyse your spendings on a weekly or monthly basis. This will make you find innovative ways to save money, catching hold of ‘runaway spending’ that went unnoticed before.

Example: You could find that the $5 Smoothie that you had every day, could cost much less if you made it at home.

Take out all the cards in your wallet and go through what is needed on a regular basis. 

Get rid of your coffee loyalty cards, and any cards that are rarely needed put in in a safe place. The result is you have less to carry and getting to the card you need is easier.

Many things you are using your smartphone for are time fillers. You can read emails at home or at work. You need to plan for banking and google maps, most things you can live without. 

Go back to basics and buy yourself a simple phone. Try it for one month and see how you go.