I was proven wrong with regards to this when Consumer Report did a survey on people who sold their home and requested a lower commission.  For those that paid six percent or more, the main difference was that the realtor was more likely to put an ad in the newspaper.  And in my opinion, doing that actually does very little for the sale of your house.  With the use of the Internet, fewer people search the newspaper for a potential house.

As I have mentioned before in other articles, my wife and I are seriously considering selling are home in the near future.  While it may not be the best time of the year to do so, we still feel that we are going to move forward with the process and just see how it goes.  If it takes a while, then it takes a while to get done.  And while it will be a hassle, it needs to be done so we can eventually move into a different area of the State.

The good news about that is I am much more confident about trying to negotiate with potential realtors the commission percentage that we will have to pay when the house is sold.  Before this article, I was worried that for if I negotiated, my realtor would do a poor job advertising it and that the realtors of buyers would not show the house.  This is definitely a confidence booster that can help save my family a few thousand dollars.

So what exactly would be the difference of paying a six percent commission vs. a four percent commission on a $300,000 house?  The six percent would take an $18,000 chunk out of the selling process while the four percent would only take out $12,000.  And all you have to do at the start of negotiations is speak with the realtor about lowering what they get paid.

In my opinion, getting paid $6,000 (Which is what the agent of the buyer and seller would get for the transaction) for a few months of work would definitely be worth it on their side.  And at the same time, you are saving yourself a big chunk of money that could go into your next down payment or into savings.

What this chapter discussed in a fantastic way was how beneficial compounding interest was.  In the story, a grandparent put $5,000 in the stock market for their grandkid.  This money eventually was put into a retirement account and not touched during a 65-year period.  In the example, the market averaged 10% each gains each and every one of the 65 years.  While the $5,000 was a lot back then, the total that it turned out to be is jaw dropping.  Here are some of the numbers at different year marks:

Year One - $5,000
Earning - $500
Balance - $5,500

Year Ten - $11,787.74
Earning - $1,178.97
Balance - $12,986.71

Year Twenty - $30,579.55
Earning - $3,057.95
Balance - $33,637.50

Year Thirty - $79,315.46
Earning - $7,931.55
Balance - $87,247.01

Year Forty - $205,723.89
Earning - $20,572.39
Balance - $226,296.28

Year Fifty - $533,594.79
Earning - $53,359.48
Balance - $586,954.26

Year Sixty - $1,384,007.45
Earning - $138,400.75
Balance - $1,522,408.20

Year Sixty Five - $2,228,957.84
Earning - $222,895.78
Balance - $2,451,853.63

So if you have just had a child or were blessed with a grandkid, putting away just $5,000 the day of their birth in the stock market can be a huge advantage when they eventually retire.  The power of compounding interest is amazing.  Click here to see a year-by-year break down of the $5,000.

But in the situation for my wife and I, it is must different.  We purchased a house right before everything went down hill and will be putting it on the market sometime within the next year or so.  It could be as quick as a month or it could also be as slow as a year before we eventually put it up.  During the two years that we have lived here, there has been some major improvements done to the house.

The problem is despite all the upgrades that we did, the housing market is terrible and the location is not all that great.  While the house itself is fantastic (Yes, I am bias), we are unsure if it will take a month or a year to sell.  The previous owners of the house had issues selling it and so did a similar house down the street.

What we are facing is the question if we should continue to do work on the house before selling.  There are three areas that we have talked about doing and while neither is extremely expensive, we feel that we may be taking a lose no matter what when we sell the house.  So how much would tiling the entry way, updating the bathroom faucets, and changing the kitchen hardware really help?

Because I have been taught in the last year or so how to do all this work, it does make it much more cost effective than hiring it out to someone else.  But in the end, we would still be spending $200 more dollars for improvements that we would not be enjoying.  And would they really push the house to sell that much quicker at this time?

One side of me thinks that the house is perfect as it is and that no more major work should be done.  I am tired of spending money on a house that I will not be living in long term and that makes it tough to jump ahead with this project and get started on things.  On the other side, I think that these things could really help the house a great deal and the price is not all that much.

I think in the end, I will eventually do one or two of the three possible projects but doing all three may be unlikely.  I just am sick of spending money on something that I know will give me no return on investment.  If you were in my shoes, what would you do?

The most difficult thing when talking about a yard that it really is a case by case basis for who has a yard.  Some people may live in a condo or a townhouse that has a shared space in the back.  Others may have decided to completely gut the grass and put rock in as a way of patience.  Regardless, here are some ideas on how to save money in this outdoors area.

Watering your lawn (Obviously some areas of the country need more watering than others so keep that in mind):
Being Efficient: In any newer neighborhood where the residents mostly have sprinkler systems, the times vary in a big way between when house waters their lawn versus another.  But when trying to be the most efficient, the best time to water your lawn is early in the morning (By early I mean when the sun rises).  The reason to do it then is because it will reduce evaporation.  If you do it anytime during the day when then sun is in full force, chances are that most of the water you are paying for will be quickly evaporated.  And if you water during the evening, the lawn is more susceptible to disease and fungus.  For me personally, I have the sprinklers going off around 5:00 AM.  Also make sure that your sprinklers are watering your lawn and not the sidewalk.  You waste a great deal of water that way.

Being Frugal: While the goal of many is to have the greenest lawn on the block, as long as your lawn is healthy and growing, then you can par back the amount of time you water the lawn.  Again, as long as the grass is not dieing, you can save money by having shorter watering times during the morning.  There have been different suggestions on the frequency and duration of watering but it depends on the summer and the area.  For my area, this summer could be the driest in recorded history.  And for the grass, that is normally not a good thing.

The Grill
Being Efficient: If you have an outdoor space, you obviously are going to need a grill.  When being efficient, think about how many people you are cooking for.  I am not afraid to admit that the grill my wife and I purchased a few years back is currently much bigger than the two of us needs right now.  But hopefully in the future the size of the grill will be used more often.  It is not very efficient currently.  If you have a propane grill, turn the propane off after every use.  This should allow you to not have to fill up as frequently.  Another way you can be efficient is by taking care of your grill.  Make sure to buy a grill nice grill cover and never let the elements reach it.  If you take care of it, the grill will last much longer.

Being Frugal : If you are going the new route, then look for the grill in the fall.  This will save you money in the long run.  Also consider checking out ebay for 10% off coupons for Home Depot and Lowes.  Both stores sell outstanding grills.  Craigslist and garage sales are other options but I am not sure how well those work.  If money is an issue, definitely look into those areas.

Lawn Furniture
Being Efficient: There is not a whole lot about being efficient when purchasing lawn furniture other than have a realistic number of items that you will use.  Currently with our location, we have a lawn chair that you can lay out on but we don’t because of nosy neighbors.  In the future, when we get a private backyard, we may want to use it more often.

Being Frugal: If you look hard enough, you can find some outstanding deals on lawn furniture.  If you can wait, the best time to look for things is during September and October.  We had been in the market last year for a canopy and found a great one at Home Depot that was over $200 originally and priced to sell at $100.  The problem was that this was right before our wedding and we had been spending way too much money lately so we passed.  But it still is a great time to look.  Also check out garage sales and Craigslist.  We found an lawn umbrella with the weight that was in need of a minor repair that cost $10.  The weight alone in stores costs somewhere around $30 and the umbrella has been great so far.

Lawn Equipment
Being Efficient: When looking for lawn equipment, the best way to be efficient is by being realistic of the space that you will be mowing or working on.  If you have a small yard, then buying a ride on lawn mower may not be the most efficient option ever.  Think about the space and your fitness level when buying a mower.  When you do purchase one, take care of it and keep it in good shape.

Being Frugal : I have heard from many people that they bought their lawn mowers at garage sales and have lasted for ten years.  For lawn tools, it really just depends.  I would prefer to buy something that is used as opposed to going the cheap route at Big Lots or Wal-Mart.  The main reason is because at stores like that, you get what you pay for.  And I found out myself first hand with a hose.

Having Fun in the lawn
Being Efficient: If you have kids that love to play in the sprinklers, there are two options you may want to consider in order to be more efficient.  For you to save water, it may be best to change your watering schedule that will allow the kids to play in the sprinklers then.  The problem with that however is you cannot always time the exact moment when it is too hot outside and your children (Or yourself for that matter) wants to cool off by using the sprinkler system.  The second option is to just go to the pool instead.  It will be much more efficient and allow you to conserve water instead of waste it.

When my wife and I graduated college, we both ended up having a a large sum of money in student loans.  I had about double what hers was but spent two years living at home, saving up for a down payment on a house, and paying down high interest student loans.  Now the totals that we have left are strikingly similar to one another (And I believe that this was actually a coincidence).

But with the amount that we have left, the interest rates are the lowest that I will ever find probably in my lifetime.  We graduated at the perfect time in which the interest rate that we received will never be better.  At 2.5%, I spent the last few years looking at these as good debts because in most cases I can make more from a money market account (If shopped around carefully) than I am paying in interest.

Currently, my wife and I would be spending the next eighteen years paying off these loans.  Because of that, I have really started to have a strong desire to pay off the entire amount.  And while the $200 per month is not something that is jaw dropping in the expenses, it would definitely be something that I would like to get rid of and provide us money to save.

In order to figure out how smart this is, I have decided to put in different numbers to see the difference I would be missing out on if I paid the student loans.  Right now, my student loan is hovering around $14,000.  So lets say I decided to completely take that money I had been saving in an emergency fund and pay it down.  Now my loan is completely paid off and I don’t have to worry about the monthly payment of around $100 (It is a little lower but I am just using round numbers).

If I had decided to just sit on the monthly payment until the year 2025, I would have paid somewhere in the area of $20,000.  That includes the interest that I would be paying but does not factor in inflation or the potential to put the money into the an index fund and make money that way.  So that is nearly a $6,000 difference in paying it off as soon as possible.

The other question I wonder if how much money I would be able to make off the interest of the money just sitting in a money market account versus the 2.5% interest rate.  At that interest rate and compounded daily, the total would grow $354 per year.  Considering how low the interest rate is, I am actually somewhat surprised about how high that number is.

If I was able to find a 3.5% rate (Which is not all that hard these days), I would be making $499 over the course of the year on that money.  And while that is not bad for alternative income, a $145 difference per year is not something I think is worth having a huge debt handing over my head.

When running the numbers, I think once my wife and I figure out where we will be living and doing with our lives, it will be a priority to pay off that debt.  It will be a goal to start on it in 2009 and hopefully have it paid off shortly there after.  While it was a good debt in which we funded most of our college education, it has now become a debt that I want to get rid of as soon as possible.  Running the numbers showed to me that the difference I was making in a money market account is not worth it overall.

If you have debt as well, check out the bank rate CD calculator to see how you are paying in interest per year.

Photo by wallyg

The first thing that your job would require to do this is not a physical presence.  For example, if part of your job includes manual labor, there is no possible way that this will work.  As much as everyone wants to get away for weeks at a time with their job, being in manual labor just flat out does not allow that.  It could be construction or clean up but this is just not possible.  This is one job that you just can’t telecommute to because they need you doing the dirty work.

One of the most interesting aspects that I found within this book was that Ferris talked heavily about hiring a personal assistant from overseas to do some of your busy work.  This would be answering repetitive emails and doing things along those lines.  At a cost that is much cheaper than hiring an American worker, Ferris is looking at things frugally and found the best deal with overseas workers.

If you can find a competent one and follow the directions that Ferris discussed in the book for training, it appears that these assistants can provide you a huge help throughout the entire process.  But again, these assistants cannot come to your job location in the United States and take your place working construction.  Things just do not work that way.

As a worker, you will also need to be in a position with a lot of flexibility and freedom.  The reason why these two aspects are so important is because you need to find a way to be able to telecommute and work from home.  If you are in the office five days a week, you will need to be able to start working more time at home.  The book obviously has some strategies for this but it is a must for this concept to work.

In my opinion, you probably need to have a lofty position in the company with some experience there as well.  If you are fresh out of college and trying to be able to work from home, then good luck.  In my opinion, chances are high that you will end up getting fired just because I strongly feel that you need to be irreplaceable at the company.  You need this to stress how important it is for you to work from your home office.

There are also just some situations that wouldn’t work.  If you are in sales, is it possible to meet the level that you are looking for only working four hours per week?  Another place that may be impossible is if you work in athletics at any high school, college, or even a the professional level.  They will need you around in most situations.

For my job, I don’t think that I could actually par my work down to do just four hours of work per week.  If I really felt inclined, I could step up my delegating ability and hire someone to do a good chunk of the work that I do.  But really, I love what I do and actually enjoy it.  So while some things are tedious, the majority of the work that I do is something I would prefer not to hire out.  And as I have said before, I have a tough time delegating.

The perfect person to be able to do this four hour workweek is someone who either owns a company (Like Ferris) or is extremely high up the corporate ladder.  You will need a personal assistant (The book does a nice job going in-depth about it), the ability to delegate, and competent people around you who are willing to step up their performance.

It may not work for everyone but it was a book that I really enjoyed.  I am not even going to go into what happens if you have kids, a house, pets, ailing family members, or anything along those lines.  At the very least, it is worth checking out from the library.

1.) Play with other dogs/dog park
Considering that most dog parks are free, your dog will get the get the opportunity to run around and waste most of their energy.  This is a great thing to do if you have the time.

2.) The hose
Most dogs love to play with water and the hose.  It could also be sprinklers but they love to get wet, especially on hot days.

3.) Ice
If the weather is too hot and they are inside, try giving them ice.  It will be a quick, cool snack that takes them a while to finish off.

4.) Empty Water Bottles
One of our dog’s favorite things to destroy is a water bottle.  You do have to be careful that he doesn’t swallow any of the pieces but the stronger the water bottle, the better.

5.) Firewood
This one seems kid of strange but our dog loves to chew on wood.  As as the vet told us, that is part of the reason he has such great teeth.

The following five are for cats:

6.) String
I still have yet to encounter a cat that doesn’t enjoy playing with a string.  It is a very easy way to keep them entertained.

7.) Boxes
A lot of cats that I have seen love to sit in boxes.  I don’t really understand why but it is something that is inexpensive.

8.) Piece of dog food/piece of cereal
If I want to see my cat running all over the place, I just need to give her a piece of dog food/cereal.  This provides her a ton of entertainment until it gets lost or the dog eats it.

9.) Twist Ties
Giving my cat a twist tie from a loaf of bread will keep her busy for hours.  She loves chasing after it wherever it goes.

10.) Home made scratching post
Find something at your house that your cat likes to scratch and isn’t expensive.  Our cat is allowed to scratch an old couch that doesn’t show the tears.

Basically what this site has done is teamed with the different stores throughout the web community to offer discounts.  For example, they are using a great site like Deep Discount DVD (Something that I have used frequently in the past).  Instead of taking the affiliate percentage and pocketing it themselves, MSN is passing it on to users.  For Deep Discount DVD, you can receive 8% back per purchase.

The first thing you need to do is setup a cashback account so that they will eventually know where to send the money after your purchase.  Once your account hits $5 or more, then you have the option of how you want to be paid.  There are a few options that you can go through when the time comes.

In order to make it work, you have to be searching using the Live Search page, which can be found here.  This gives you the ability to look up what you are in the market for.  When looking for a graduation present recently, I used that search and ended up disappointed.  There were no options that came up for what I was looking for and a number of choices that had nothing to do with what I was searching for.

So instead of doing that, I just searched Google for the exact present that I was interested in.  Once I found a store that had a relatively cheap price with the product and shipping, I then made my way back to the Live Search cashback page.  This actually may be my favorite part of this whole setup.  They have put together a list of online retailers who are willing to give discounts.  Click here to see the complete list of stores.

This is a monster list of sites that allow you to look up just about anything.  For example, I will be in the market for a new paid of sandals and one of the sites that actually has my size has them with 33% off with the cashback.  The price that I would pay for the shoes, with the cashback, is going to be much lower than anywhere else.

Most of the bigger online stores do not offer a cashback plan because they are happy with the way that they are doing business. But this is a fantastic option to at least look into for those out there who are in need of buying presents.  I can guarantee that I will be using this a lot over the holidays so keep it in mind.

Someone close to me recently decided that she was too burnout on her job and it was time to quit.  I had spoke with her about it for a few weeks and following a vacation, she decided it was finally time.  She had been working at the company for a year and they had worked her extremely hard.  They didn’t seem to mind and she was actually working more hours than she was clocking in at.

This person eventually got sick of it and recently quit.  Despite having previous health problems, she didn’t even look seriously into her health care options.  At last count, I am unaware if she has any health care.  That alone is a very dangerous bet, even for someone young and healthy.  You just never know what could happen when driving or even in your house.  Accidents happen all the time.

She felt that in the long run, her burnout of the job was what caused her to quit.  While she does have some money put away in an emergency fund, that is not going to last forever.  The good news for her is that she is in a field where there are always job openings at any time of the year.

So what should she have done?  Here are my pros and cons for both sides of the equation that she made.  If you have your own opinion, let us know with a comment.

Sticking with the job despite being burned out
This really would have been a difficult decision.  She not only was working a great deal, her boss would make sure she worked extra on Friday nights.  Why does it matter to them because she would be sleeping on her time off, even if it meant that she wouldn’t be productive at all on Saturday.  The biggest thing that the job offered was security.  It brought a paycheck and health insurance.  Not everyone loves their job and in the long run, the security that it provided her is something that cannot be duplicated without working.  She could have taken time off and spoken with her bosses about getting past the burnout.  In the majority of situations, your boss (Hopefully at least) will be understanding and try to help you through the tough periods.  No matter what the occupation, there are going to be times when you don’t want to do it.  If she could have gotten past that, someway or anything, the paycheck that the job offered would have continued to be good.

Quitting with security
I understand exactly why she decided to quit.  She has money in the bank that will let her get by for at least a few months (She listened to Suze Orman and saved).  This allows her to catch her breath for a few weeks and take some time off.  Her life really had mostly been centered around work the last year and that is what caused the burnout.  Maybe if it was another situation she could have fought through it but that combined with the emergency fund she had made it easy to say goodbye quickly.  I am going to support everything that she does but in the end, I think it was not exactly the smartest thing to do health wise.  You just never know when something will come up and going without health insurance for sometime is not going to be easy at any juncture of your adult life.

In the long run, I this time will be good for her.  She has spent too much time not focusing on herself.  It usually is about her family or her work.  But in the end, pleasing yourself is what is most important and that is exactly what she has done.

Photo courtesy of slworking2

Streamline your processes
Ferris talked heavily about how the work day is wasted with meetings, emails, calls, and other time wasters that hurt your productivity.  I can attest that one of the best things about working at home is that I avoid the boring meetings that drag on long after they have served their purpose.  What I really took out of his talks about streamlining the process in terms of everyday work is that email is the quickest and easiest way to communicate with someone work related.  Instead of chit chatting on the phone and wasting time there, try to make sure that people know emailing you is the best way to contact you.  The biggest thing is that you want to waste as little time as possible with things that can be answered quickly.  For example, if you run a website, one way to limit the amount of email questions that you get could be a FAQ for the site.  These frequently asked questions should help the user figure out things quicker than emailing you.  Unless you plan to be rude about it, you need to answer back.  So at the very least, you could forward them to the FAQ section of your website.

Find sources of income that require little work from you
I think this is a goal for just about anyone out there reading this.  A great way to be able to make money is one that requires little work from you.  In the book, Ferris built a company that he eventually did an excellent job of delegating the responsibilities.  I personally have a problem with delegation and I am sure many people do.  The reason is because I think no one can do the work as well as I can so I might as well do it instead of paying for it.  Ferris did that at first and was working extremely long work days.  But the premise of the book is based on what he did to change that and eventually be able to travel the globe.  While all may not be able to travel at whim, people can find ways to make alternative sources of money so that they can work less in other areas of their lives.

Find what you love
I think the main message that I took out of the book was that while traveling the world is great, the main thing that you should be looking for is what you love.  Ferris traveled to a number of different countries but what eventually came out of the 4-Hour Work Week for him was finding what he loved to do.  And that ended up being writing.  While he liked making money with his company, he didn’t seem to exactly love what he was doing.  Now he is a famous publisher who brought an extremely unique concept to the table and had people throughout the world reading it.  I am sure he is working on something else unique now, but in the end, finding what you love will motivate you to work harder.  Whatever it may be, think about it long and hard.  Ask yourself what would you do job wise if money was not an object?

For those who have not read the book, follow this link to see it at Amazon: The 4-Hour Work Week.