By Webster Tilton Research what’s new: Everything you use every day of your life (your phone, your computer, etc.…) was once a new thing. Be prepared to take a chance on an emerging technology or consumer trend. Get in ahead of the game and reap the benefits. Anticipate need: This goes beyon...

By Webster Tilton

Research what’s new: Everything you use every day of your life (your phone, your computer, etc.…) was once a new thing. Be prepared to take a chance on an emerging technology or consumer trend. Get in ahead of the game and reap the benefits.

Anticipate need: This goes beyond just buying and selling to others. Anticipate your own needs as well. Buy items in advance that you think others will need to profit on the future increase in demand, but items you yourself will need to take advantage of lower prices. If you’re planning on having a family and the housing market is a buyer’s market then buy now.

Invest in infrastructure: Be prepared to sacrifice lifestyle comfort for long term security. If you can find it in yourself to get by on sandwiches and staycations instead of eating out and flying to Vegas you’ll have the cash for serious upgrades and investment, or an emergency fund for when things go wrong.

Proactively search for and use every available tool: There are probably job benefits you have, but have never used. There are probably government programs that can help you, but you’ve never heard of. The simple act of sitting down and Google searching “How to save money on [insert topic here]” is something we don’t often think to do. Whatever financial needs you have there are millions of others like you and solutions exist. Don’t just assume you’re doing ‘it’ as efficiently as possible.

Demand a better deal: Call your internet provider and threaten to switch to their competition. Do the same with your cell phone provider, car insurance, home insurance, health insurance, and any other service provider you’ve been using for any length of time. Their survival depends on your dollars, and they’ll fight to keep them. As the consumer you have the power in these situations. Leverage that advantage for a better deal and watch the savings pile up in your account.