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Want to be a bargain finder? Want to be the one that always finds the deals and has money left over? Start by learning the secrets of opportunism.

Do you know that you can eat a wider variety of fruit than your neighbor, and spend only half as much to do so? How? By buying fruit in season, when it is at the lowest price. As a bonus, it is also of the highest quality at these times. This is opportunism.

Notice that this means not always getting exactly what you want when you want it. You get more variety this way, and you spend much less, but you go with the flow. If oranges are cheap, you’ll be eating oranges. If apples are in season, you’ll be eating apples. Whatever the case, you’ll always be finding bargains.

You never have to eat things you don’t like or deny yourself pleasure. You just shop for those things that you like among those that are cheaper now. There will be other, different, great deals next week or next month. Unless you are extremely picky about what you eat, you’ll almost always find delicious foods that you like on sale.

That’s the premise of opportunism – that you get more by going with the flow. A true bargain finder gets more variety in the long run, and more for the money. This can be applied to many areas of life.

Bargain Finder Examples

When I went to Ecuador a few years ago, there were many interesting places I wanted to go. I chose Ecuador because it was a thousand dollars less to go there than to any other country. I had a fantastic time for a month for $1040 (including airfare). I also met the most wonderful woman I know there, and eventually married her, so you never know what riches you’ll find when you go with the flow.

We go to the movies here in Tucson on Tuesdays, when we can get in for $2.00 each. Others are paying $8.75 a couple miles away. What are they getting by paying four times as much? They get to see the movie six weeks earlier. The movies don’t change in those six weeks, by the way, and enough friends have seen them by then to let us know if they’re good or not. Read the rest of this entry »

Most people don’t realize that they can drive down their credit scores even if they have a near-perfect record of paying their bills. The five classic mistakes you need to avoid are:

1. If you are applying for a mortgage, never pay off old collections, judgments or tax liens until the closing. (Ask your mortgage lender if you pay these debts at your closing.)

When you pay these debts off before applying for a mortgage, they are treated and scored as new and recent accounts with delinquent activity. This drives your credit scores down.

2. Closing credit card accounts initially lowers your scores. Again, this is due to your action showing up as new and recent credit activity. Any new or recent activity will have an initial detrimental effect on your scores.

Of course, after you close inactive or unnecessary accounts the scores will eventually come up because you will have less credit or potential credit risk. But it may take months for this to occur. Unfortunately most people close superfluous accounts right before applying for a loan thinking that it will improve their scores. If you want to close these accounts, do so well in advance of applying for a loan.

3. Don’t keep high balances on credit cards and revolving debt. Maintaining balances under 30 percent of the available credit on each card can improve your scores. For example, if your available credit on a card is $1,000 keep the balance under $300. Also remember to pay off debt instead of moving it to other revolving accounts. Moving balances to zero- or low-interest credit cards can actually lower your scores.
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The last thing most people think about when starting a business is doing taxes. But proper planning will make doing your taxes much easier – and keep the IRS happy!

Here are 3 simple tips for keeping proper records:

1. Whenever you buy anything for your business, keep the receipt!

Not only will this make record keeping a lot simpler, but if you are ever audited (having your tax return reviewed in detail by the IRS), you can prove your expenses, and save yourself money.

2. Write down all your expenses and income as they happen.

As your business grows, you’ll have more and more activities to keep you busy. The last thing you’ll want to do each April 15 is to organize your records for the year. So, it’s a good idea to write down all your financial activities as they happen. You’ll find preparing your taxes will take much less time if you are organized.
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