Save More Money with these 10 Real Time tips

Posted April 18th, 2009 by Ashwin and filed in Uncategorized
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If you are part of the Corporate World and depend on it for your “bread and butter”, then this is a must read post. Provided you aren’t living under the caves, “credit crunch” must have found a place in your day-to-day vocabulary. There is RECESSION! Companies are trying all means to cut costs, trim down work force, make profits and survive!
With so much of uncertainty, it is high time that you revisit your expenses (a.k.a. spending habits) and find ways of saving more money. I am sharing a few “non-biting-non-difficult-to-the-point” tips to help you save more money… without an increase in your wages!!
  • Get rid of Credit Card Debt…. and then the Credit Cards. You would then feel the joy of not having to pay your Credit Card bills every month!!
  • Revisit your Mobile, Fixed Line and Broadband plans. If you are in the so-called “Unlimited” plan, find out if you can move into a “limited” plan based on your usage, with a decrease in monthly rentals
  • Start Eating at Home more often. If you are married then reduce the frequency of visits to your favorite eatery. If you are unmarried, then learn COOKING! This tip also helps your health concerns
  • Look for vehicle pooling options to go to work. If you are driving a 4 wheeler all alone, for say 5 kilometers, it is mandatory that you stop doing it. Look for some colleagues who can join you (or you can join them). In either case, share the fuel expenses, which means more money in your pocket!!
  • Revisit your Insurance plans. Insurance plans are wonderful, but you lose more than you gain if you survive the premium period. (I think this is true in majority cases…). If you are paying a hefty premium, try to reduce the Sum Assured (and hence the annual premium) to match your family needs
  • Stop buying Books every month and join a Quality Library. If you are like me, grabbing at least 2 books every time you cross the Bookstore, then learn to resist your temptation. A better alternative is to join a quality library in your neighborhood and you would be surprised to find the book expenses reduce by more than half (all without sacrificing your reading habits)
  • Pay your bills on time. This is applicable to all your bills and makes sure that you never have to pay the penalties. I use Google Calendar to send me reminders via SMS, to pay my bills. You can use this, if useful
  • Transfer a fixed sum to your Savings account, right on Day 1 of the month. Make sure you never touch it for the rest of the month, unless required. The results will speak for themselves!!
  • Keep your vehicles in good condition. If required, get it serviced at a quality workshop. It is an investment, to keep your fuel bills under control!
  • Switch off electrical appliances at home, when not used. Make sure all unused appliances are switched off (including the power outlet), especially in the nights. This can definitely save a few rupees in your electricity bill
I can keep adding but “10″ is always a magical number. I will stop here, as this is already a good start for better saving habits. Feel free to add more useful tips, as comments to this post.
Photo Credit: colros on Flickr/Creative Commons

Clubhouse - Make your Windows Blog popular [Blogging]

Posted April 9th, 2009 by Ashwin and filed in Blogging & SEO
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If you write a lot about Windows and Windows Live in your blog, then you should definitely consider joining the Clubhouse.

Clubhouse is a community that promotes Windows blog posts from all over the blogosphere.  All a blogger has to do is to join the Clubhouse and continue writing useful blog posts on Windows related topics.

This blog post from Windows Team Blog, gives details on what exactly you need to do, to be part of the Clubhouse.

How does it work?

When you write posts using Windows Live Writer, use some Special Tags to distinguish your posts.  As claimed by the blog post above, currently tags are available for Windows Vista and and Windows Live.  Windows 7 tags are soon coming up.  Once you do this and your blog has a valid RSS feed, the posts are automatically picked up by The Clubhouse.

How does your Blog Posts become popular?

Now coming to this blog topic – we will take a look on how your posts gain popularity.

  • Once posts with special tags are pulled by The Clubhouse, they are visible to other Clubhouse Members
  • Members rate these posts and top rated posts become special!
  • These special posts are showcased on Microsoft websites, newsletters and also tweeted from @MSWindows, @windowslive
  • Depending on your blog topic – Windows Vista or Windows Live – the post may also be showcased in the following websites
    • Explore Windows Live
    • Discover Windows Vista
  • Continuing to write good posts can also earn you Club points and Club badges.  Badges are a way to prove your competency on Windows blogging (May be you get additional perks out of these points and badges, which is obscure at the moment)

So if you are a Windows blogger, looking to popularize content, then The Clubhouse is something to give a good try.