Hello Folks,

I was inspired to write this article by Christian Clements in Las Vegas, Another AR Member. He wrote a post on 11-9-2007 about cutting a couple expenses and I thought I would add to it. Please visit his post at   http://activerain.com/blogsview/267981/In-debt-with-more

Like many people in the Real Estate business, times have gotten slow and the income we are use to has dropped considerably. Many people are having a difficult time making ends meet when it comes to the bills. What I am about to suggest for saving money is "Common Sense" for many of us, but it doesn't hurt to revisit it again because you never know, it might light  spark in your head and you may realize another area to cut back.

1. Like Christian mentioned..., look at your credit card debts and see if you can do some consolidating. It is best to consolidate to a card that is going to decrease your monthly payments. This will free up additional cash to apply were needed.

2. Many people have Cable TV or a Dish. Do you REALLY need all those channels. I thought I did and then when I got rid of the movie channels, I realized that I actually Do Not miss them .... And am saving myself some money.

3. Do you need that daily News paper? I doubt it because if you are reading this then you most likely have access to your local newspaper on the internet. OH...but you get the paper for the coupons....you can get them online also.

4.Do you need that expensive lawn service? Probably not, I bet you can find someone to cut your lawn cheaper or maybe you can cut it yourself.

5.Do you need all those minutes you pay for on your cell phone? Maybe if you use your home or office phone more, you can cut your cell phone bill back considerably.

6.Do you need that nice looking expensive vehicle? You know the one which is costing you over $600.00 a month to own? Maybe you can trade it in for a nice smaller vehicle and cut your payment in half.

7.Do you need a separate fax line in your home? I doubt it, especially if business has gotten a lot slower. Get rid of that extra line and just use one for talking and faxing. Sure it might be a bit inconvenient, but heck .... Your saving money.

8.What about your advertising? I bet you can cut back your print ads considerably and dedicate more toward internet advertising. It will be cheaper, will  probably reach more people. Or partner with someone else and share your current ad space. This will cut your expense in half.

These are just a few of my cost cutting ideas. Please check out part two for more ways to save money. Who knows, you might be able to get out of debt.

Sean Allen
The Mortgage Professionals
www.TheMortgageProfessionals.biz