8 Ways to a Healthier Financial Life
By Matthew Donovan
Copyright 2012 Matthew Donovan
Smashwords Edition
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Table of contents
● Preface
1 Live with cash
2 Know your credit
3 Fraud Alerts
4 Stop recurring charges
5 Think about moving, do I really need that?
6 Do your research
7 Write things down
8 Negotiation
● Conclusion
Preface
A little about me, I am just like you. I work, try to save a little without forgetting to live a little.
I don't have a finance degree nor am I any sort of finance counselor. This book presents some of
the little things that I have learned either through personal experience, family, friends, or
coworkers. Some of the items you may know but hopefully at least one will teach you
something new.
Living with cash
What do I mean by this? Well, if you are on the opposite side of the law, it means the police will
have a harder time freezing your money. If you are in business, it means you have the ability to
move and take opportunities that you might otherwise miss.

surprised what you have forgotten about, maybe that store card that took 60 seconds to open at
the check out three years ago is still there. Making sure your accounts are in good standing will
increase your credit score and reduce your interests rates on purchases or even help you land a
job.
Next thing to do is to get your credit score. This might cost you a one time fee of around fifteen
to thirty dollars depending on who you use and if you get all three or not. Another way is to
check with your current bank or credit cards to see if they will give you a free copy, I know
American Express used to offer me a free report once a year as a fringe benefit.
Let’s go over an example of why this is so crucial. I have a good credit score of 750, my friend
Sarah has a score of 650. If both of us were to walk into a car dealership and look at the same
$20,000 car I will conceivably pay much less, the reason, interest rates. I typically get the best
interest available, or within a quarter percent. As of this writing that’s about 2%, so lets run the
numbers. $20,000 over 60 months at 2% equals $350 a month for me. Sarah on the other hand
is offered $20,000 over 60 months at 10% which equals $424. OMG as they like to say. $74
dollars a month because I keep track of my credit once a year. Think of all the things that you
could purchase or better yet, that’s $888 a year saved.
Fraud Alerts
Ever seen the advertisements on TV or in magazines for companies that help protect your
identity? If you have they are not doing anything that you cannot do yourself and save yourself
the recurring charges. Let’s step through this one at a time. First, call your bank and credit cards
and opt out of all marketing. This will do several things including reducing your junk mail.
Because you opted out of marketing they will stop sending you pre-approved checks, new credit
card offers, and everything else that either entices you to spend more or just annoys you as you
throw it in the trash. Plus its an easy way to be green.
Next, most states will only allow you to place a 90 day fraud alert against your credit unless you
have been the victim of credit fraud. Still taking five minutes every three months to protect
yourself is well worth saving youself the $12.95 or whatever a month. All you have to do is go
to one of the three credit agencies websites, or call them, and place a fraud alert on your credit.
Once you speak with one credit agency they will pass it along to the other two agencies. At the
same time you may list a phone number so that if anyone tries to use your credit you will be

it just ends up in a drawer or a cabinet. So now when I go shopping and I am about to pick up
that $20 item that I just think would look great or help me out I question whether or not I want to
move it five times over the next five years and that thought usually saves me $20. On a segway,
it also prompted me to look into minimalism. I will admit I am not at that point nor do I want to
go there, but it taught me a lot of good ideas. For example in my kitchen I hate unitaskers.
Those little doohickeys that have only one purpose. It can be something as simple as using your
cup towels for pot holders, but in the end that one item saves me money, counter space, and time
saved during my next move.
Do your research
Would you rather drive a Honda or Mercedes?
When I was nineteen I needed to purchase a new vehicle to get back and forth between college,
university, and work. I ended up driving a Mercedes vs a Honda Civic, how would you like to
do the same? I don't remember how I started down the path of looking at Mercedes but I did and
I am glad for it. During my research I found that I could purchase a five year old Mercedes with
roughly 40,000 miles or a three year old Civic with roughly 40,000 miles for the same price, the
difference came down to the insurance. The Mercedes was $50 a month cheaper. You’ll have to
ask the insurance company why but I didn't care I was driving a nice blue Mercedes with
automatic climate control, Yay!
Along these same lines, insurance companies, apartment complexes, banks, etc they all have
something in common, they know that once you are a client you are very unlikely to leave. Let’s
be realistic, once you have your bank account setup with all the auto drafts and your paycheck
already direct deposited and everything else who wants to move it. The same with your
insurance company, it just nicely drafts every month automatically. Well, let’s talk about this
situation and we will use Insurance. When I look at insurance I talk with the representative and
find out every single discount they offer. I have them list them so even if they don't think I
qualify I can say no, I actually do get that one, and I have them do this every six months when I
renew. Just think about going paperless, every month this usually saves anywhere between two
to five dollars, you just bought yourself a latte. The other big discount is when you pay in full
every six month period. Now, you might be sitting there thinking I cannot afford to shell out that
much money in a lump sum. This is where the research comes in, I recently switched my car

everything. A question is free, the savings are just a bonus.
Conclusion
As stated in the beginning, you may have heard some of the items presented before but I keep
having deja vu with family, friends, and co workers as someone learns the hard way. I hope at
least one item is new to you and will help.
Citations
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