Everyone has heard the piece of advice when it comes to working:

“Work smarter, not harder”

This can be applied to your day job behind a desk-by working more efficiently instead of just working longer hours.  It can also apply to physical tasks as well, by performing laborious tasks in an efficient manner so you don’t  waste energy- by using tools, machines, or other devices, or developing a more efficient routine,  to help you accomplish tasks while expending as little energy as possible.

Well, the same can apply to your personal finances as well.

How can you practice smart personal finance?

Being more efficient with your money management and spending, using tools to track your money, maximizing your returns and limiting your spending are a few general ways.

Develop habits that save money or cost less money- bringing your lunch to work is an example of choosing the most cost effective alternative or solution to your needs or wants. You don’t have to scrimp on everything, though. Prioritize the things that are important to you to determine what you want to spend money on, and try to spend as little as possible on things that don’t matter to you that much.

Maximizing interest on your savings- Use accounts that don’t have fees, and keep the majority of your money earning interest for you- like keeping your emergency fund in a high interest savings account. Making your money work for you is a smart move.

Use tools to track your spending- It came be as simple as using a household budget spreadsheet, or even keeping it on paper. Or you can use online tools such as Mint or Wesabe to manage your money. Examining your expenditures regularly can help you eliminate waste or reduce spending on unnecessary things.

Plan ahead- You wouldn’t try to put up a wooden fence in your backyard without a hammer or nails, would you? Have you planned out this year’s vacation yet-or more specifically, how you are going to pay for it? Planning ahead is a great way to get a jump on future spending.

Work as a team- If you are married, or have a partner, or have kids- are you all working towards common goals when it comes to money and personal finance? Goals are a lot easier to accomplish when all of the people involved are on the same page and working together, not against one another. Discuss your financial goals with your wife, husband, or kids, and include them in the decision making process as well.

Get organized- If you misplace bills, can’t find important financial papers, or have other problems with disorganized finances, it can really hurt. Late fees can be added on to bills, coupons you wanted to use can expire, and you may end up wasting time as well looking for important documents or other financial paperwork.

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There are never enough hours in the day, or at least that’s how the saying goes. I don’t know about you, but the older I get, it really does seem like time goes by faster as well. It seems like summer just started, and here we are at the beginning of fall.

The sad fact of the matter is, if we want more time in our day to devote to saving money by comparison shopping, looking for great deals, or even better, making more money, we have to get things done in a more efficient manner as well as eliminate some of the “time sucks” from our lives. I have been trying hard lately to free up more time to spend money wisely, make more money, and spend with my family. By getting things done, so to speak, in a timely fashion, i no longer have to sacrifice my family time, or resort to convenience shopping or purchases at the last minute. This applies to both work and chores or activities around the house, as well.

Here are some ways to free up more time out of your day as well as work more efficiently and effectively. Time is money, after all!

Create More Time

1. Turn off the television- I really used to enjoy “vegging out” in front of the TV at night after the kids go to bed. After all, everyone needs a little down time, right? Lately though, I have been doing writing for this blog, reading, and other activities.

2. Get your news on the go- I am a big fan of the newspaper, I have been a daily reader since I was a teenager and feel strange if I do not skim the whole paper on a daily basis. Do I learn anything new? Probably nothing I do not hear on the radio or read elsewhere on the internet. In fact, most of the news is probably “yesterday’s news” by the time I read it in the paper. Lately, I have been skimming certain areas of the paper (mostly local info., and the money section, of course) and saving a little time by not reading the whole paper every day.

3. Listen to audio books/podcasts- Recently, due to receiving an MP3 player as a gift, I have begun to download podcasts to listen to while I am driving, waiting, or sometimes even while working. I have even experimented with a few audiobooks, and although the results are mixed as far as I am concerned-because I don’t always have time on a regular basis to listen to a whole book.

4. Bring your lunch to work- Instead of taking an hour every day to go out to lunch, save time and money by bringing your luch to work. It’s pretty easy to eat in 15 to 20 minutes at your desk, and you can run errands or do other things (including work) with the remainder of your lunch hour.

Manage your time more effectively

5. Time yourself- Learn to do things more efficiently. Time yourself, and give yourself “deadlines” to complete tasks. By setting time based goals, you will get things done quicker and more efficiently.

6. Create lists- While I am not a strict follower of the Getting Things Done system, a simple “To-Do List” created on your computer, a piece of paper, or a small notebook can help you keep track of things that need to be done, so you are not scrambling later.

7. Avoid time wasters- Everyone has there own “time wasters”, or things we do instead of doing something productive. Whether it is that morning lap around the office to chit-chat with everyone at work, or things you do at home which have become a habit but aren’t really accomplishing anything, try to identify and eliminate them and get more meaningful things done. Time wasters can be people, too. It could be a co-worker or even a neighbor. This doesn’t mean you have to be rude and short with them, just realize that they could be cutting in to time you could be doing other things.

8. Do the unpleasant or difficult tasks first- Get the one task you keep putting off on a daily basis or the most important task done first, and follow up with the easier ones after. This keeps you from doing a lot of inconsequential tasks first that probably could be put off, and having to steal time from elsewhere to get the important things done later.

9. Fight procrastination- When you find yourself drifting off or getting distracted, or you are procrastinating starting something, fight it and get started. The sooner you can get something started and eventually finished, the more free time you will end up having.

10. Schedule your day- While I am not super strict with my daily schedule, as my career progresses and I find my free time that is not consumed by meetings becoming less and less, I find scheduling my own time allows me to accomplish things in a timely fashion, allowing me more time when a “crisis” needs my attention.

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Grouping tasks, or batch processing, is very common in the business world. A company does their payroll all at once, mails out letters once a day, does all of their performance reviews once a year, etc. Why? Because it is much more efficient, both in time and money, to do a number of the same task all at one time. This same principle can be used at home, and it can save you both time and money as well.

Laundry

-Try to do all of your laundry on the same day or two, and you will probably be able to do fuller loads, which may help you cut back on the total number of loads you do each week. If you use the dryer in a continuous process, it will retain some of the heat it has built up as well, shortening the drying time for each subsequent load.

Ironing

- Do you iron a shirt every evening or morning for work the next day? Try ironing a week’s worth on a Sunday afternoon instead.

Cooking

- Batch cooking in advance is a great way to knock out meals for the next few days, the whole week, or even far into the future if you freeze them. Make all of your lunches for the week on Sunday. You will eliminate waste, and by having all of your lunches ready for the week, there is less of a chance you will forget or run out of time and have to go out to eat.

Cleaning

-Clean all of the bathrooms in your house at once, mop all of the floors, and perform other cleaning tasks at the same time. Save on water, towels, rags, and get things done more efficiently.

Car Maintenance

- Have more than 1 car? Wash both of them at the same time, change the oil at the same time (if possible based on mileage- don’t do it too soon though, or you will be wasting money).

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Just about everyone wants to “get ahead” at work. Anything you can do to make yourself stand out (in a good way, of course) can help you advance your career and increase both your job security and your salary. But just being a 50+ hours a week person doesn’t always help you accomplish your goals, and can lead to getting burned out as well. After a certain number of hours per week, you definitely lose efficiency and the law of diminishing returns applies.

To keep yourself fresh, more efficient, and on the path to success, you need to find ways to go the extra mile while limiting the amount of time spent at work, or to work more efficiently. Here are 10 ways to get more things accomplished without putting in more time on the job.

Work smarter- Think before you start a task or project. Think about the proper steps that you need to execute in order to ensure a successful outcome. List all of the tasks you need to complete in the order they need to be completed, and get them done. Spend some time thinking about the results you want, and how you will accomplish that goal.

Follow the Pareto Principle- The Pareto Principle says that 80% of the results come from 20% of the effort. (actually 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes) While the 80/20 ratio is not an exact science, it is true that spending time on critical actions can produce more results than other less important actions. Figure out what the key 20% of the effort is to produce the maximum results, and focus your effort there. Take care of the details and finishing touches at the end, don’t focus on them in the beginning.

Delegate- Don’t be a workplace martyr, feeling that you have to do everything yourself. Delegate the tasks you are able to, especially the tasks that are time-consuming but can be done by others.

Take breaks- Get up from your desk several times a day, at least every two hours, and take a 5 or 10 minute break. Walk around and go outside and get a breath of fresh air. Your eyes, body, and mind will appreciate it.

Cut down on distractions- Don’t let phone calls, emails, or your co-workers distract you when you are “in the zone”. Screen your calls, only check your email a few times a day, and close your door if necessary to let you your co-workers know you don’t want to be disturbed. Don’t waste time surfing the net for 5 to 10 minutes every hour, only allow yourself 1 or 2 designated times a day to get your web fix.

Look for more efficient ways to do things- Don’t be afraid to think outside of the box or speak up if you think you have a better, faster, or easier way of doing things; try to think of ways you can get your work done more efficiently.

Don’t put off small tasks that can be completed quickly- If an email can be sent or a phone call returned in just a few minutes, do it and cross it off of your list, don’t wait until tomorrow.

Use technology to your advantage- Use spreadsheets, templates, email, file sharing, and other technology to your advantage by automating or standardizing certain tasks, to share files, or interact with team members. But use them to be more productive, not just for the sake of using them.

Ask for input, suggestions, and even help–don’t be an “island”-Don’t be afraid to ask questions or ask for help. You can waste a lot of time working on a task when you might not be doing it the right way. If you are unclear of what exactly you need to do or the proper methodology, don’t sit there spinning your wheels, ask someone what the proper way to proceed is, whether it is your boss or a co-worker.

Keep meetings to a minimum, work on execution instead- Long meetings can sap your energy and frequently accomplish very little. You don’t need a weekly progress meeting to find out what someone did the week before and what they are going to do in the upcoming week. A 2 minute phone call with individuals can often accomplish the same thing a 1 hour meeting with 5 or 10 staff members.

Image by Alosh Bennett

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One thing that has plagued me over the years is paying for irregular expenses. Whether it be car maintenance items, kid’s summer camp fees, semi-annual or irregular insurance payments, or a multitude of other irregularly scheduled expenses, I have always had trouble remembering to think ahead for these types of expenses and put money aside for them. These expenses should be budgeted for, but when they occur infrequently, it is hard to keep the money separated in your checking account as untouchable. Another problem is that frequently,  I have dipped into my emergency fund to pay for these expenses when I should have budgeted for them. They were not emergencies. As an example, having to replace two tires because you hit a curb and blew them out would be considered an emergency fund item; replacing your tires because they were worn and needed replacing is not an emergency, in my book. Here is an easy way to start capturing these items within your budget by setting up a separate checking account.

Brainstorm and make a list all irregular expenses you can think of.

Over a period of several days, think about all of the irregular expenses in your life. Whether it is oil changes every 3 or 4 months, semi-annual car insurance payments, school registration fees, summer camp for your kids, annual donations you make to a charity, etc. By taking a few days to think of them all, you can capture most all of them. Alternatively, you can look through your bank transactions from last year to get an idea of your irregular payments.

Total them up and divide by the number of paychecks you receive.

Take all of your irregular expenses, total them up, and divide by the number of paychecks you receive every year. For simplicity’s sake, lets assume you are paid twice a month, and the total of your irregular expenses is $2400.
$2400/24 = $100 .

Transfer that amount to a separate checking account.

Open up a separate checking account, and transfer that amount per paycheck into the separate checking account. For me, I have chosen a Capital One Direct Banking High Yield Money Market Account (not an affiliate link).  I actually set this account up before I set up my irregular expenses budget, but it works great. They offer a 3.0% APY, no minimum balance, free ATM card and free checks, and you can transfer in and out from a primary checking account as well.  There are different transactional limits on this account compared to a normal checking account, you are limited to 6 withdrawals per month, but only 3 can be by check. So, depending on the frequency of your irregular expenses, it may not be for you and you may want a more traditional account. This works out fine for me as I don’t need to write more than 3 checks a month for my irregular expenses, and I can write checks for the bills directly from this account.

Use this account to pay irregular expenses.

Now that you have it set up, when your irregular expense comes along, pay for it out of this account.

Once you set up this account, it can start helping you pay for irregular expenses even if you don’t have the entire amount in the account. Suppose it is July, you have $1200 in your account, and you have to replace your tires. (Again this should be budgeted, not an emergency!) You spend $600, so you are only left with $600, and the next month (August) you have to pay $1000 dollars for school. Even though you are down $400, you are much better off than if you hadn’t budgeted for these expenses at all, as you still have $600 to put towards the payment, instead of trying to scrape up the entire $1000.

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 One of the problems of being unorganized is that it can frequently cost you money. Yesterday, on the way home from work, I noticed flashing lights in my rear-view mirror. I pulled over, and while I was waiting for the police officer to walk up to my vehicle, I wondered what I had been pulled over for. I had just pulled away from a red light, so I wasn’t speeding, had my seat-belt on, and really couldn’t think of what I had done. When the officer approached, he asked my if my registration was current, and I told him that I though so. He told me the registration sticker on my license plate expired in 2007. When I reached in to the glove compartment to retrieve my registration (which was obviously expired), I grabbed my insurance card, and I suddenly felt panicked. My insurance card expired a week ago! Now, I pay my insurance online, and knew I was current, but in Louisiana you must have proof of current insurance in your vehicle, or you can get a ticket or even towed. Oh Boy……

The police officer explained what could happen-my car could be towed, according to him (although I believe it is rare-they usually take your license plate, which is pretty bad as well) and then went back to his vehicle.  He returned a short while later, and told me that as a favor he had called my insurance company, Geico, (the phone # was on my expired insurance card) and confirmed I had coverage. He then presented me with a ticket for the expired registration, and strongly suggested I put my new insurance card in the vehicle and get my registration renewed. So, I guess I  did end up getting a little lucky by only getting one ticket.

However, all of this was entirely avoidable if I had paid the renewal, which I had received in the mail, when I received it in Dec. 2007. I am now looking at an additional $100 to $150 because I procrastinated, and then misplaced the bill due to my being unorganized. The irony of it all is that I have been working on organizing my bills and finances, and have been pretty good at paying them fairly soon after I receive them, but apparently my past caught up with me.

Photo by conner395

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