The relationship between time and money is fascinating. Time is a sequence of events. Wealth (money) is what we mine or grow, manufacturing it into useful products. It takes time (a sequence of events) to mine, grow, manufacture, and distribute wealth. And thus, money is directly proportional to time. If you want money (or wealth), you (or someone) will trade time to get it. This is the law of the harvest.

We all have 24 hours in a day and finite life spans. Given a certain earning rate, we will earn a fixed amount of money in our lives. It’s scary to think that the money we are earning now needs to cover present, intermediate, and long-term needs. Yet, we don’t know how long our lives will be and how much money we will need. And we like to have the finer things in life. So, it’s a no-brainer that we want more money. Sadly, many families and our government are living as if they could escape the consequences of the law of the harvest. Money, representing future wealth, allows us to do that. And that creates debt. Robbing tomorrow to pay for today. What does the time-money equation say will be the likely response to debt? Work more. Give up more present time. Debt robs free time.

Is it possible to have more money and more free time? Well, yes, to an extent. It is mostly an efficiency thing. I never said money equals time, just that they are proportional.

I like to call these efficiency solutions time-money mediators. A mediator is one that reconciles differences between disputants. In this case, free time and money are at odds. I would define time-money mediators as things which increase wealth while reducing the free time required to do so. You’ll notice they are not quick fixes and are in the realm of self discipline.

For example, one mediator is to change our earnings rate by getting a college degree. In this case, a little time spent results in a lot more fixed money. You won’t work more, yet you’ll have more money. Other mediators reduce the money required to live. Don’t pay interest. Don’t waste. Live within your means. Wealth is a relative thing. It means having enough for your needs. These mediators assure that you’ll have enough wealth without having to work more than usual.

Where does couponing fall? Is it a time-money mediator? I’ll give the typical engineering answer. It depends. You will spend time acquiring, clipping, sorting, shopping, and redeeming to convert those coupons into money (or living within your means). That is a sequence of events. That is time. You may be working for minimum wage or less in your couponing. If only we could increase the savings from our couponing efforts, or reduce the amount of time it takes to realize the coupon savings, we may be at the CEO level of remuneration for our efforts. I would say that anything that increases savings while decreasing time spent is a couponing mediator.

My favorite mediator is organization. Organization theory tells us that full and beneficial organization is achieved when all items in a set are visible at once. When some items block others from view, time must be spent to discover the hidden items. Consider:
Sarah’s son wants to watch a DVD and asks her help to locate it. She knows it’s in the pile of DVDs on his bedroom floor. The title is not found after scanning the top layer of the pile. The top layer is obviously blocking the next layer so the pile is shuffled. The search begins anew with the same results. After 20 minutes of utilizing the process of search->shuffle->find->no->repeat, the title is found. Sarah works alongside her son to gather all the titles and place them in a DVD rack on the closet door. Now, she asks the son to find a title. He scans the rack and finds it within a minute. Why? Because when the DVD’s are fully organized, all titles can be seen equally. You don’t have to move any to see what is under them. Time savings is the big payoff of organization. A little effort to organize initially saves time continuously thereafter.

My point is that the more layers of organization you add to your couponing, the less time it will take, and you will increase your savings because you’ll use more coupons and less will expire.

What are called coupon organizers really cover the spectrum of how much organization they provide you. An envelope filled with coupons is at the lower end of organization. Why? Imagine going into the cereal section. You know you have some coupons for cereal. You look into your envelope and don’t see them. You shuffle thru a stack of 100 coupons, repeatedly moving one to see another. This takes a lot of time, and you repeat it in every section of the store. You just spent a lot of time to save your money. The next tier of coupon organizers typically divide the store up into sections and provide you with tabs. That’s good. At a glance, you can see all the store sections in your binder. When you enter the cereal aisle, you can quickly find the corresponding tab in your organizer. But, most of the beautiful organizers (I like to call them coupon holders) available have you lump all of your coupons together in a pocket in a store section. So, you still have to shuffle your cereal coupons to find the ones you want, and you will repeat that in every store section. Coupon organizers that offer the reward of full and beneficial organization apply the “at a glance” principle at every level. They let you see all of the store section tabs equally. And, once inside a store section, they allow you to see all coupons at a glance. No shuffling. You turn in to the store cereal section. You readily find the cereal tab in your organizer and turn to it. Inside that section, you see every coupon you have for cereal at a glance. No shuffling. And now you are earning CEO wages for your couponing time.

Coupon organizers, offering full and beneficial organization in the form of “at a glance” capability typically use baseball trading card holders for the coupons and are built by the users following plans published on the web. Some examples can be seen at tipnut.com or momsaves.com. Or, commercial sites such as Mrs. A’s Coupon Organizer sell kits and complete organizers with the “at a glance” features.

Don’t settle for minimum wage couponing. Coupon at the CEO level by taking advantage of the organization time-money mediator.

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Submitted by Hotcouponworld member spacestout

spacestout got into couponing when his wife’s request for “one more child” turned into identical triplets.

Tags: Coupon Binder, Coupon Binder System, Coupon Organization, Coupon Organization Tips, Couponing, Coupons, Efficiency, Money, Organization, Time Management, Wealth
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Written by Tacatcon

Saving, by definition, means reducing your consumption. Investing is a different concept. Investing involves risk in order to grow your capital. And you need to do both!

When you deposit money into a savings account, you know that money will be there (plus a little interest) until you need to make a withdrawal. Part of the reason interest rates are so low on savings accounts, money markets and certificate of deposit accounts is because the money is safe. If you think you may need the funds within five years, you want to put that money in an account that you can withdraw from without penalty.

Consider what you might need money for in the next five years. Your first thought should be to establish an emergency fund. If your water heater breaks, if your car is damaged in an accident, if your child breaks a leg and has uninsured medical expenses or you lose your job-you need a liquid fund for these unforeseeable circumstances. Thinking about purchasing a home in the next five years? You should start putting money into a savings instrument now for the down payment. Want to remodel your home in the next few years? This should be money you put into a savings account, money market or CD.

Many people stop there and think they are doing pretty well because they see their savings account growing and feel comfortable. However, for long-term expenditures and retirement one wants to invest that money where it can grow. Your first investment goal should be to fund your retirement. If you have children, it is tempting to invest in a college fund but unless you have a sizable retirement portfolio that has to come second. Your children can take out loans and get scholarships to pay for college. Who will pay for your retirement?

So just how much do you need to save and how much should you be investing? Most experts agree that you want to have between three and six months of your living expenses saved for an emergency fund. The thought of trying to sock away that kind of money might be overwhelming but start with a smaller, manageable goal of putting away a month’s worth of expenses and building from there. Break that down even further to amounts per week you can have automatically deposited from your paycheck into a savings account until you reach that goal. Don’t get an ATM card for this account or if you do, lock it away somewhere so you aren’t tempted to spend this money for anything but an emergency! And if you are lucky enough not to need it, make sure to take a look from time to time at the amount you have saved and your current living expenses. Maybe five years ago you rented at $500 a month and now you are a homeowner with a $1000 a month mortgage. Your emergency fund needs to be adjusted for that change. Again, this money should be liquid so you can get to it quickly in an emergency and not pay a penalty when you do.

Once your emergency fund is established, you can begin to look at other goals for savings and investing. A major decision is how much to invest for retirement. Experts say you should be investing 10% of your gross annual income to be able to retire and live on 75-80% of what you earned pre-retirement. This is going to depend on how long you have until retirement, how you invest the money and what your standard of living is now and how that will change once you retire. You can use a retirement planning calculator such as this one from cnnmoney.com to help you get a sense of how much you will need for retirement. If you are employed full-time, chances are your company has a 401K or similar plan. If they have a matching program-do not pass up this free money! If you do nothing else, make sure you are contributing enough for the full company match.

Investing in stocks, IRAs, bonds etc. outside your company’s 401K plan can be intimidating. Now more than ever, there is real aversion to risk. However, over the long-term you need to be taking some risk to realize a return on your investment. Though you can buy stocks online these days with a click of your mouse, you really should spend some time reading and educating yourself first. Community colleges often offer courses on investing in the stock market for the novice at a fairly reasonable cost. If you don’t have a company 401K or are self-employed, you will want to look into an Individual Retirement Account or IRA. Knowing what type to invest in and how much you can contribute is key. If you are not comfortable with making these decisions alone, hire a professional.

Whether you are in your twenties and single or in your forties and married with children, it is not too late to take charge of your financial opportunities. Start by establishing an emergency fund and then any short term expenditures you need to save for. Establish a retirement plan before you try to pay for your children’s college and don’t forget to contribute to your company’s 401K plan!

Join us next week for the second installment in this three part series on Investing and Saving!

Tags: Finance, Investing, Investing Money, Investments, Money, Money Management, Saving Money, savings, Series
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Go Back to School:  If you’re in a job where you’re unsure just how secure your position might be, or if you’re not making enough money to keep afloat, now might be a seriously good time to head back to school. Professions to think about are ones that are in high demand with high wages.  Nurses, pharmacy tech, and health-care fields take center stage as more people continue to age and need health services.  Whatever you choose to study, do a little research on emerging fields like alternative energy and water desalination and you may just find a new career with security.
 
Spec a Garden Plot in Your Yard:  Food prices are only going to continue to climb.  Spend this winter reading up on how to plant and grow food your climate area.  Then once you grow it, be smart about preserving it.
 
Learn to Barter:  Got a skill?  Swap it out.  If you can cook, clean, knit, give massages, fix pipes, or you’re handy in some tangible way, you might be a part of a growing group of people who’d rather chop firewood in exchange for dental care.  You’ll keep needed cash in your pocket, but you’ll also get some vital services you need.
 
Consolidate Households:  It’s a little more of an Eastern philosophy, the notion of living in consolidated households.  But if you’ve got space in your house, it might be worthwhile consolidating your household with a sibling, parent, or friend in order to split expenses and bank some money.  Or do a room/board swap with someone in exchange for babysitting, or other household services like housekeeping or gardening – services you might be paying cash for right anyway.
 
Invest:  As crazy as it sounds, there is something to the notion that investing over time, slowly and steadily, wins the race.  Investing doesn’t have to be the crazy excess that we’ve seen in New York and what precipitated where we are now as a country.  Sound investment tools still exist. And even if all you do is utilize a pre-tax account and keep the money the cash part of the fund until you’re ready to dip your toe back in the water, you’re still capturing the tax savings.  If you were invested and lost a chunk of change this past week, buying additional investments at today’s lower prices will help you dollar-cost average over the long haul. 
 
Being strategic about how you navigate through the coming months will be an integral part of your family’s financial health.  And of course, keep on couponing and stockpiling, which gives you a huge leg up over many people right now when the average US grocery bill is about $800 a month!

Tags: Barter, College, Economy, Finance, Garden, Invest, Investing, Money, Money Saving Tips, School
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