Friday, December 12, 2008

6 ways to save money, cut down on expenses and survive the bad economy.

The economy sucks and its affecting everyone from the local bartender to the local banker. Escorts are not immune, no matter what ratings seeking TV show you saw says. So here are some tips and tricks you can use to help survive a bad economy.

1. Be patient with unknowledgable callers and emails
We all hate the "I've never done this before" phone call or the email inquiry that's obviously sent by someone with no idea of what they are doing. They don't know the rules of the game, they ask inappropriate questions, they fumble and they frustrate the hell out of us. Be more patient with them, guide them, see if you can hand hold them into making the appointment, giving you the info you need without compromising your safety.

2. Do your own hair and nails.
Escorts are often expected to be expertly made up all the time. The nail salon and the hair salon can take a big chunk of change out of your monthly budget. Try doing your own hair and nails. If that's impossible and for some of us it is, then try doing your own every other time or stretching it out to once every 6 weeks instead of once a month. The extra change in your wallet with be worth the effort and living with the not so perfect nails every once and a while.

3. Stop eating out or ordering take out.
I'm a huge take out order person, i love having my dinner delivered to my door. I would get food delivered 4 to 5 nights a week if i could and i did. 3 months ago i stopped... cold turkey. I started cooking again. i have saved huge amounts of money this way. i stock the house with cook-able foods, i actually cook them. Also make a list before you go to the market and stick to it it will also save you money and the bonus is you get healthier too because you're not eating junk.

4. If you tour, buy your airline tickets in advance and on the "cheap days"
The cheapest travel days are Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday. Try to avoid the beginning and end of the week as that's when all the business travelers are traveling so its popular there for more pricey. Also try to plan ahead and schedule your trip at least 14 days out for less expensive flight tickets.

5. Pay off those credit cards! Use any extra cash to reduce your current debt.
It will only make it easier on you during the harder times to come to get that credit card monkey off your back. Try to avoid late fees and possible interest rate increases by sending in your payments 10 days or a week before they are due. Or do what i do, pay them online directly from your checking account. Hey it saves me 40 to 80 bucks a month in late charges and my FICA score is raising a couple points every 2 to 3 months too, for being so diligent!

6. Happy hour!
If you really need that once and a while outing with the girls for cocktails (hell i know i do!) try happy hour. Not only are the drinks much cheaper but they often have bar snacks and when you go out earlier, you get home earlier!

If you have anything to add to the list please do we all need to hunker down in these bad times and from what i'm hearing on the news every night, its only going to get worse before it gets better.. yikes!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good advice, Jenny, thanks for this. In my case, number one is something I should be working on.

Anonymous said...

I will never give up my takeout! NEVER! [laughs] ;) -a

Sabina said...

Good ideas! Now, how to save money if I already DO all these things...hmmm.

Anonymous said...

Like to Spray Tan? I sure do! Spray tanning at the Grove is like, 50.00 a session and the tan lasts a week tops. I went every week. waste of cash.
I found something that's just as good- and MUCH cheaper.

Go to Target and get "Bananna Boat's" new instant spray tan. It really works and goes on evenly. Even upside down, for when you bend your arm backwards, to get your back area.
It also lasts about 7-9 days without flaking off.