Spend Less and Live Well

Don’t miss any Bottom Line Secrets. Add our address, bottomlinesecrets@news.bottomlinepublishing.com, to your Address Book or Safe List. Learn how here. July 10, 2011 How FBI Agents Master Multiple Languages! The Ultimate Cheapskate’s Simple Tricks for Spending Much, Much Less Marge Couldn’t Remember Her Phone Number... But Now Her Brain Is 20 Years Younger... Summer Strawberry Soup Depression Dissolved in an Hour! 672 Times Faster than Drugs... and No Black Box Warning Dear healthwellness82@gmail.com, In this still difficult economy, who isn’t trying to cut back on spending? But if being on a budget bothers you—Jeff Yaeger, author of the The Ultimate Cheapskate’s Roadmap to True Riches, shares seven surprisingly easy and effective strategies to help you spend a lot less—and never feel deprived of life’s little luxuries. Who says you can’t enjoy a bowl of soup in warm weather? We have the recipe for a delicious soup full of fresh produce that’s so refreshing it will help you beat the heat. It’s amazingly healthy, too, and comes recommended by one of our favorite naturopathic physicians, Mark A. Stengler, NMD. Yum... and thanks, doc! All the best, Jessica Kent Editor BottomLineSecrets.com How FBI Agents Master Multiple Languages! America’s anti-terrorist teams can learn foreign languages in just a few days. And now you can, too. This program has been featured on PBS, recommended by Forbes and has been utilized by millions of other people across the world. It is a method utilized by the FBI to master multiple languages. Click the link below to find out the secret of how you can quickly learn a new language too using this easy method! Learn more... The Ultimate Cheapskate’s Simple Tricks for Spending Much, Much Less Jeff Yeager In the current economic climate, many of us are looking for ways to cut back on our spending. But the more time and sacrifice a savings plan requires, the less likely we are to stick with it. Budgets that force us to track every dime spent or give up our favorite luxuries are soon abandoned. Simple strategies that really can trim your spending... Make your spending mantra “a penny saved is 1.3 to 2 pennies earned.” Ben Franklin’s famous saying “A penny saved is a penny earned” is out-of-date. When today’s taxes are taken into account, you actually must earn between 1.3 and 2 pennies, depending on your tax bracket, to be able to spend one penny. That means you would have to earn as much as $20 to buy an item with a $10 price tag and $200 to afford a $100 gadget. Next time you pick up something in the store, figure out this extra cost and ask yourself if you still want it. Try not to spend a single cent for one week. Eat the food that is in your freezer or in cans at the back of your cupboard... carpool or ride your bike to work to avoid buying gas... play cards or take a walk rather than pay for entertainment. Do this occasionally, and you can permanently reshape your ideas about which expenses are really necessary. Have buyer’s remorse before you buy. The typical shopper comes to regret more than half of his/her discretionary purchases. Think how great it would be to get back your money for everything that you have bought but rarely use. You can’t do that, but you can avoid similar wasteful spending in the future. To do this... Impose a mandatory one-week waiting period before making any discretionary purchase that costs more than $10. Carry an index card in your wallet listing your dumbest purchases, and force yourself to read it before buying anything new. Reevaluate purchases within the retailer’s return period. Return items for refunds if you are not certain that the money was well spent. Make buying difficult. The best way to do this is to pay cash for everything. Handing over a credit card makes it too easy to spend without thinking. Take your credit cards out of your wallet, put your checkbook in a drawer and carry around only a limited amount of cash. Also, when you shop, go with frugal friends or relatives, not free spenders. Appoint a “designated cheapskate” when you are out shopping—just as you would a “designated driver” when you’re out partying. Haggle over prices. Most Americans don’t like to haggle—it makes us uncomfortable to ask for special treatment. But retailers often are willing to negotiate. This includes not just owner-operated stores but even large chains, where department managers often are empowered to be flexible with prices. Haggling can cut household expenses by 5% to 10%. Example: Last fall, I mentioned to the manager of my local Wal-Mart’s garden department that the garden season would be over soon and that his department would be closed until spring. Would he give me a good deal if I purchased several of his remaining bonsai plants? The manager said that if I purchased one of the plants at full price, he would give me the remaining 11 for nothing. I got a great deal and an early jump on my holiday shopping. Smart haggling strategies... Be friendly and polite, not argumentative. People are more likely to give you a good deal if they like you. Don’t be the first to mention a specific price. You run the risk of selling yourself short by offering too much. Let the other person go first. Negotiate on Fridays (particularly Fridays before three-day weekends). Most people are in a good mood on Fridays, and salespeople are anxious to close sales at the end of the week—and in particular, at the end of the month. Don’t sweat the small stuff. Many people try to save by eliminating the small, daily expenses that add up over time. Unfortunately, people inclined to spend money on daily luxuries tend not to give up these treats easily. In fact, if they skip their $3 morning cup of coffee, they usually waste that $3 on something else later in the day. Big expenses are easier opportunities for saving than are small, everyday purchases. Example: High-end vehicles are huge money-wasters. Cars lose value every day that we own them—and the more expensive the car, the greater the loss. Purchase a reliable, affordable used vehicle, then take care of it and drive it as long as it runs. Volunteer at a homeless shelter. This is a wonderful reminder of how much you really have. Bottom Line/Personal interviewed Jeff Yeager, dubbed “The Ultimate Cheapskate” by the Today show. Yeager honed his cheapskating skills during 25 years’ working with underfunded nonprofit agencies. He lives in Accokeek, Maryland, and is author of The Ultimate Cheapskate’s Road Map to True Riches (Broadway). www.ultimatecheapskate.com. Marge Couldn’t Remember Her Phone Number... But Now Her Brain Is 20 Years Younger... "I used to have a great memory," Marge told Dr. Ray Sahelian. "All my life I’qve worked with numbers," this former bookkeeper explained... "But now I can’t remember simple phone numbers... it’s so frustrating!" She’d lose things right after she put them down—it was demoralizing. She was only 71, but she felt like a useless antique. Other doctors might have shrugged and said, "Sorry Marge, you’re getting old... " But Dr. Ray Sahelian reversed her frightening decline with a handful of natural nutrients. Soon Marge’s memory picked up dramatically, and she was focused all day. Marge now says she hasn’t thought so clearly in 20 years... Learn more... Summer Strawberry Soup Mark A. Stengler, NMD Cool off—and boost your antioxidant levels—with this recipe for summer strawberry soup created by Jonny Bowden, PhD, and Jeannette Bessinger, authors of The Healthiest Meals on Earth (Fair Winds). It takes 10 minutes to prepare—and can be served as an appetizer or a dessert. Why you benefit: Strawberries are loaded with anthocyanins, powerful antioxidants that help protect your cells from disease-causing free radicals. Best: Buy organic strawberries—otherwise they may be contaminated with pesticides. Select a yogurt with active cultures, such as Stonyfield Organic low-fat plain. This will give you a dose of immune-supporting probiotics, or "good bacteria." INGREDIENTS 2 heaping cups of fresh strawberries (washed and stemmed) or thawed frozen strawberries 1½ cups cold water ¼ cup dry red wine (such as merlot) or pomegranate juice ¼ cup raw honey ½ cup plain yogurt (low-fat) ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom Optional: Sliced berries or mint leaves for garnish Put the strawberries into a blender or food processor. Put the cold water and wine or pomegranate juice into a cup, and add four ice cubes to keep it cold. Purée the berries. Add the honey and yogurt. Pour the strawberry mixture into a bowl, and gently stir in the water/wine mixture, discarding the ice cubes. Stir in the cardamom. Refrigerate until very cold. Garnish. Serves six. Bottom Line/Personal interviewed Mark A. Stengler, NMD, a naturopathic medical doctor and leading authority on the practice of alternative and integrated medicine. Dr. Stengler is author of the Bottom Line Natural Healing newsletter, author of The Natural Physician’s Healing Therapies (Bottom Line Books), founder and medical director of the Stengler Center for Integrative Medicine in Encinitas, California, and adjunct associate clinical professor at the National College of Natural Medicine in Portland, Oregon. www.DrStengler.com Depression Dissolved in an Hour! 672 Times Faster than Drugs... and No Black Box Warning Jolene didn’t think it could help, but her depression was unbearable. And imagine her astonishment when she felt the gloom lifting in less than 60 minutes! Would you rather wait up to 4 weeks (which is how long it takes for most drugs to take effect)—or an hour? And, would you rather take an inexpensive natural amino acid, or an antidepressant that comes with risky side effects? The speed of Dr. Mark Stengler’s natural cure is astonishing. And he confirms he’s seen this happen for hundreds of patients. "When you need immediate relief," he comments, "nothing I’ve ever tested comes close to this. And when you consider that a best-selling antidepressant just added a "black box" warning about suicide, this alternative could literally be a lifesaver. Learn more... Important: Help your friends get much more out of life -- forward this E-letter to them. Better: Send it to many friends and your whole family. This is a free weekly e-mail service of BottomLineSecrets.com and Boardroom Inc. Boardroom Inc. 281 Tresser Boulevard Stamford, CT 06901-3229 ATTN: Web Team You received this e-mail because you have requested it. You are on the mailing list as healthwellness82@gmail.com. Or... a friend forwarded it to you. Disclaimer: Bottom Line Secrets publishes the opinions of expert authorities in many fields. But the use of these opinions is no substitute for legal, accounting, investment, medical and other professional services to suit your specific personal needs. 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