Money

One of the things that I've been doing over the past few months has been trying to figure out how to get everything I want, legally, without paying. I say trying because it's not exactly been successful. So far no one has volunteered to pay for my water bill or chip in on my cell phone service. But all in all, it's been a productive study. I've learned a lot about how to maximize what I get for my money. I suppose I should write it all out, but honestly, that would take forever and not even be all that interesting. So instead, I will give a bit of advice for all those greedy people out there.

#1 Saving money takes time. It's a bit of a trade off. You spend the time researching prices or clipping and organizing coupons, or even calling customer service reps. But it pays off in a big way. Far bigger than most people realize.

#2 Since your time and money are both valuable, let other people do the work whenever possible. There are tons of websites and blogs that describe in exacting detail how to track sales, and many of them will match sales and rebates to coupons for you. In fact, it's almost a matter of too much information on a lot of the sites, too many deals in stores that aren't in your town and or for products that you don't buy.

#3 Stand up for yourself. When something doesn't work, make them take it back. When the price is too high, tell them that you're taking your business elsewhere. And when the wrong price is rung up, make them refund your money. Heck, ask them to give it to you for free. Because people are after your money. They are. I swear it.

One day soon, I'll tell you a great story about Dish Network, a company that sometimes make Goldilocks look generous. But don't worry, the story has a happy ending, LOL!