Be well

One of the easiest resources to take for granted is health.

Though malnutrition kills thousands daily, most people never know true health.
There are an immeasurable number of gradations between health and obesity; few are they who genuinely prize their health above convenience or simplicity.

To complement this, one of the leading expenses in a person's life is often medical; the evidence of this often shows up only in the later years, when we spend much of our time paying for decisions we made in youth and throughout the middle of our lives.

In the same way that we can overtax our time budget and overtax our fiscal budget, we can assuredly tax our health budget; this also means we have some degree of control over our health.

Each of us is in a state where singular improvements can improve our lives.
Regardless whether we have occasion to spend time with loved ones, engaged in hobbies, or learn new skills, these small improvements can build and improve the depth and quality of each area of our lives.

Here are three simple ways in which we can improve your health

Add 30 minutes of activity to your day

•  A small walk
• Parking your car further from your destination
• Spending time with a friend who walks their own pet(s)

Drink more water

• Most of us don't drink enough
• In addition, often what we do drink promotes dehydration.

Getting sufficient sleep (6 - 8 hours / night):

• Improved concentration
• Increased endurance
• Promote general health

A far more effective use of resources would be to be spend more time outside; sunlight and light exercise will do wonders for your health.

Be not upsold

One of the easiest ways to overspend is the upsell; an upsell is simply buying one or more things after you've already spent money.

A well-constructed sales pitch will always look like a natural enhancement to a purchase; and, usually their whole purpose is not to add value but to diminish your wallet.

Not all upsells are negative; but, being wary of them will often save money the gross majority of the time.

By way of example, here are several negative upsells:

Gas Station Car Wash
* Plan ahead: Rarely a good deal unless you're already planning on car wash
 * Know their primary focus: Gas station car washes are not typically high-quality

Electronics Store Extended Warranty
* Plan ahead: You should already have some idea of how long it will actually last
 * Looking forward: Instead, "spend" the money as savings for the next gadget

Online shipping
* Plan ahead: Purchase early enough that no rush (usually the worst value) is required

A far more effective use of resources would be to be prepared for the upsell; usually saying no is the best course of action.


References provided here: http://extramargin.blogspot.com/p/references.html

Make your own drinks

One of easiest ways of spending money is on things a person feels they deserve.
There are a number of vendors which serve this niche.

As an alternative, considering separating what you do appreciate about those things from their cost; doing so will allow you to find alternatives to most of the ways in which you might be paying to feel good.

Here are three concrete ways to regain money margin:

1. Make your own drinks (Save up to 92%)

2. Make a dinner that results in excellent left-overs

3. Sleep

A far more effective use of resources would be to master the difference between need and want.

Be frugal

One of the easiest ways to feel wealthy is to spend money; it does not, in fact, matter whether the money is yours - simply having the ability to engage a shopkeeper, select an item based upon preference alone, and provide some form of payment, lends an air of authority and respect and acceptance.

The problem, as with so many things, is that this is a fleeting, temporary feeling.  It is vaporous.

An additional problem is that there are countless ways to experience the same feeling without the actual ability to make payment; from this is the desire and use of credit born.

The cost of credit, however, is almost without comparison to other forms of limitation.  Unlike simple physical examples of cost, the cost of credit can potentially require years from which to recover.  Add to this its potential for addiction and you have the making of way to reduce or eliminate all sorts of freedoms for the sake of the ability of the vaporous.

A far more effective use of resources would be to never use credit.

It's Never Only

I have found one of the most powerful tools to accomplish task appears to be the "one more thing".  In particular, once the tools and setup are completed, everything that ever gets accomplished is simply only one more thing after another.  They key here is the only.  In fact, every single one more thing has its own cost, its own requirements.  This is a beautiful thing when constructing a skyscraper, digging a trench, or eating an elephant.

A problem occurs, however, if you take only out of context.  If you are en route to a destination, knocking out only one thing is never quick, never easy, and rarely results in the intended goodness.  More often, there is a general lack of timeliness, a loss of some degree of freedom, and a propensity for procrastination.

Most uses of only are out of context.

A far more effective use of resources would be to either schedule the only or to simply wait for a better time.

Be Early

I have spent the gross majority of my time late; in fact, independent of hobby, occupation, or event, I have consistently been untimely with regards to scheduling.  On the surface, this would appear to be unrelated to any one cause.  Each activity, task, or the like, are distinct and often disconnected from one another.  And by phrasing it this way, it can consistently appear as if there is no single cause.

Save one.  Me.

I am involved in each activity.  I am engaged in the hobby, performing the occupation, and attending the event.

And I am late.  Or have been the gross majority of my life.

I once argued for being late; in attendance at an ethics class, I wrote a two-page paper on the validity of procrastination.  I wrote it the hour before class and turned it in late.  I argued well, pointing out that a lifestyle in which habitual procrastination was the norm is often responsible for elements of brilliance, a remarkable capacity for resource redistribution, and often appears to offer the practitioner more flexibility to the same twenty-four hour day as others.

In reality, being late means being in a state of perpetual "make-up".
And, in spite of what the commercials say - you cannot save time.

It can be spent or lost.

A far more effective use of resources will be to simply be early.

Stop Parking in Two-Hour Parking

The parking lot near my place of employment is approximately one-third two-hour parking; it is, of course, the more convenient parking - consequently it is far easier to park there than nearly anywhere else.  It, too, has the ability to save on time to park as well as a reduced walk from the car to the building.

Sadly, the two-hour parking is actively manned by a team of clipboard-armed men in little cars which will frequently note those cars which are over their time limit and provide the following services:

1. Clamp a convenient boot on the driver's side front tire

2. Place a helpful note on the driver's side window

3. Find a bright-orange cone and place behind the vehicle

4. Give you the opportunity to donate anywhere between $25 to $40 to pay for the gas in their golf cart.

A far more effective use of resources will be to simply park in the all-day parking.