Make and save money in 35 minutes or less!

Special feature |
10 tips to be a better coupon sleuth Want to save now? 10 Tips columnist Laura T. Coffey offers advice to help you upgrade your electronic and paper coupon skills. |
FirstPerson |
Gallery: Your latest splurges Despite tough economic times, readers share photos of recent big-ticket purchases. |
Chimp attack victim breaks her silence Nov. 12: Charla Nash, the woman who was brutally mauled by her friend’s pet chimpanzee, speaks out for the first time and bravely shows the extent of her injuries. NBC’s Jeff Rossen reports. |
Find out if you're paid enough
Time it takes: 15 minutes
Before you can make your case for a raise, you need something to measure yourself against. Salary.com offers Salary Wizard for free. Plug in your title and zip code and you'll get the median pay in your area for comparable positions. Or spend 10 minutes filling out a questionnaire with more variables, such as the size of your employer, and get 12 pages of data by buying a Personal Salary Report for $29.95 to $79.95 (the price varies by title).
Pay less for your cell
Time it takes: 1 minute
Know what your employer hates? Raises. What he likes? Perks that cost him nothing. At some firms, employees qualify for cell-phone discounts of up to 20%. To see if you get a Verizon discount, go to verizonwireless.com/getdiscount and plug in your e-mail address; for AT&T, go to wireless.att.com/home.
Stop overpaying on your mortgage
Time it takes: 9 minutes
If you carry private mortgage insurance but now have 20% equity in your home, see whether you can cancel. Your mortgage servicer (the phone number is listed on your bill) usually must oblige if your down payment and principal payments exceed 20% of your home's original value. Many will do so if rising prices have pushed your equity to 20%. In this case, canceling will take longer: Most mortgage companies require an appraisal, which costs around $300. But at homegain.com, realestateabc.com or zillow.com you can get an idea of whether your home value has risen enough to justify a call.
Create an insurance record
Time it takes: 29 minutes for a 2,200 sq ft home
Walk around your house with a camera. Shoot closeups of your jewelry, artwork and other valuables. If disaster strikes, this proof of what you owned will speed your claim and help you get a better settlement. Keep copies of the video or photos in your safe-deposit box or elsewhere outside your home.
![]() |
Slash recurring charges
Time it takes: 10 minutes
It seemed like a good idea — for just $16.99 a month, you could rent three DVDs at a time as often as you wanted. But how often is that really? Scan your credit-card statement for those automatic monthly charges you normally just pay. Ask yourself whether you're getting your money's worth. How often do you go to the $75-a month gym? How about that cheese-of-the-month club? Cancel what you're not using.
Find it cheaper online
Time it takes: 30 minutes
Before you buy anything on the Web (or at a mall), spend a few minutes at a comparison shopping site. Shopping.com and Shopzilla.com both scour the Net for bargains at a large number of online stores, but their results can vary. Looking to buy a Garmin GPS for your car? Shopping.com found one from a top retailer for $357.95; Shopzilla's find was $212.54.
Demand a lower cable bill
Time it takes: 15 minutes
Okay, it's not as simple as that — but almost. Call and complain that your bill is too high; repeat your message calmly ("This just isn't worth it to me anymore"). Make sure to casually use the words "satellite dish" (as in "I wonder how that compares with a satellite dish") or maybe "phone company." This strategy translated into a $20 monthly discount (for a year) in our test.
For 32 more ways to get on track to a rich life, visit Money magazine.
- Discuss Story On Newsvine
-
Rate Story:
View popularLowHigh - Instant Message
MORE FROM TECHNOLOGY & MONEY |
| Add Technology & Money headlines to your news reader: |
Sponsored links
Resource guide



