Strategies for Conscious Spending

Spending consciously is essential for successful free agency. A free agent who does not spend consciously will never be free.

Conscious spending is spending money in accordance with your values and principles. It is in essence choosing to spend rather than finding yourself saying with some degree of regularity “I just don’t know where the money went.” It is the word “choice” that brings consciousness to your spending.

Most people tell me that they have no choice but to pay their bills…I always ask, “are you choosing your bills?” What I mean is most people choose the bills they have. Here is an example…When I was dating the person who became my spouse I got a calling card, I got a cell phone, I had a regular credit card and my usual land line. My phone bill was over 500 dollars per month. Treating these services as necessities, here I was drowning in bills I chose to have. Just as I chose to have them I could choose not to have them. With all those ways to make calls throughout the day what was I really trying to communicate? I was simply trying to communicate to the person I was in love with that I was in love with them. Yes the phone was convenient but what other ways could I communicate that love? Cards, letters…phone calls at night when the rates were lowest. The moment I made that realization, I moved into consciousness around one area of my spending.

I then began looking at all of my bills and asked myself if I needed a particular service. If I could not answer “yes” right away I canceled that service. I then asked myself …do I have to pay the same amount for the same service from the same vendor or can I negotiate? I found that I could negotiate. I found that I could get a cheaper plan from my cell provider without a compromise in service. I cut my cable bill in half from the same provider without a change in my plan.

By looking at my bills and negotiating with vendors I found that I could free up capital that I didn’t even know I had to apply toward my higher purpose.

I then asked myself another question every time money was about to leave my hand: Do I have to have this now? If my honest answer was no, I did not buy the item. Instead I put the item on a list. If I still wanted it after a month, I bought it. This strategy virtually eliminated my impulse buying. If I determine that I have to have the item now, then I bless the money as it leaves my hand saying: “All money that leaves my hand returns to me multiplied.”

So we have 3 strategies so far:
1) Choose your bills
2) Negotiate with your vendors
3) Determine your immediate need for everything that you buy

Strategy number 4 is the one that few people ever do. It is the one my sister used when she and her family started out and it is the one that I laughed at as she did it. Here it is: record every penny that leaves your hand. Every penny. I have a note book. I categorize the expenditures at the end of 30 days.

Do it for 30 days and your life will never be the same. Do it and you will never spend unconsciously again. Do it and you won’t need the first three strategies.

Do this and you will always know what your values are. Do this and you will be in absolute integrity with yourself around money, always. This will happen because you will ask yourself as you spend an record your expenditures what is this expenditure really supporting? Is it supporting my business, my family, my freedom? Do this one step and you will always know why you spend.

Do it and the life of the successful free agent will be yours.

Travel UK Destinations By Shopping Comparison

Some people want to experience the best travel possible and will research travel UK destinations by comparison shopping. The internet allows people to compare all sorts of prices on every type of activity that they might want to do on vacation and even compare prices on hotel accommodations. Some travelers find lots of things that cost about the same price and the bargains stand out among them because some vacation reviews used a multiple star rating system.

Every dollar saved during a vacation will be spent on something that is sure to bring a happy smile to at least one of the travelers. Since travelers want to see a lot of smiles occurring on their trip, they make sure that there are savings found in every place that they visit when they travel UK shops on vacation. Comparing prices on all types of attractions might point out extras that allow vacationers to save money and see more while on vacation.

People can justify some expenses on a trip to be absolute necessities. They will use search travel engines though to do some comparison-shopping on the various restaurants that they can eat in and save lots of money in the process. There are many delectable food establishments throughout the UK. When people travel UK eateries by internet they find many restaurants with offerings that allow children to eat free. Some people even learn about the restaurants that should be avoided.

Travelers like to get to all points of interest throughout the United Kingdom in the fastest way possible. Being able to obtain discounted tickets for the British railway systems ahead of time allows them to save a considerable amount of money. There are many ticket vendors on the internet. Vacationers can do some comparison-shopping that can provide a large family with transportation options that they never expected to fit in the budget. This particular driver actually helped them save a lot.

Some travelers are able to travel by limousine when they first arrive at Heathrow International Airport. They found the sales ads for many transportation companies on the internet while they were in-flight. They did some comparison-shopping to find out which travel method was best and the vacationer’s were able to save a lot of time and still spend very little money getting to their hotel destination. They were able to sightsee while they traveled UK roads without having to miss any bargains on eateries and attractions along the way.

The limousine driver was very knowledgeable of the shopping opportunities in the UK because the driver has had many people travel UK by limousine and ask the same questions of him on almost a day-to-day basis. The head of the family discussed these travel UK opportunities with the driver and was able to find out where flea markets were that would save them lots of money on souvenirs for family members back home.