When going on a vacation your car rental fees may eat up a large portion of your travel budget. But they don’t have to. There are countless ways to cut down costs. Here are four ways you can save money on your next car rental.

Insurance

Don’t get the insurance. I know that sounds absolutely ridiculous, but do you know that your credit card most likely already covers you? Check with them first, but it’s possible that your credit card company will insure you should you get into an at-fault accident while driving a rental car.

Online

Purchase your car rental online. Do research on price comparison sites to get the best deal out there. At checkout if there is a space for a coupon code look for one online. Bundle your flight, hotel and car together to maximize your savings.

Small Car

You’re just renting a car for a short amount of time. There’s no need to upgrade to a fancy expensive car. You most likely will only be in your car during your vacation to get from point A to point B. So get the cheapest car that’s offered. You’ll lsave money on the gas too.

Don’t Get One

Reconsider getting a car rental. Do you really need one? If you’re going for business, how many times will you need to make a trip from your hotel to your destination? If it’s only once or twice, it may be cheaper to take a taxi. If you’re on a vacation your hotel may be close enough to all the action already. You’ll just need a taxi from the airport to the hotel and back.

A Forrester Research study projects the number of home workers to increase by 65% by 2016. While it’s true that working from home isn’t for everyone and that it just doesn’t make sense for some, the fact is that many jobs can have a work-at-home component. Paperwork, computer and communication aspects of most jobs can be done remotely anywhere. Inevitably, in any business there are some jobs that can be done at home (typically white-collar) while others (retail clerk, assembly line) can’t.

The harmful effects of stress has been well studied, and there is no denying the fact that the traditional workplace is the main culprit so far as stress goes. A May 2011 survey conducted by Staples Advantage of more than 140 respondents reported that nearly 86% claimed more productivity when working at home. Nearly three out of four said they eat better and maintain better health. All respondents ranked stress levels on average 25% lower while working at home than working on site.

The commute from home to work is an obvious reason that working outside the home contributes to a stressed life. Whether it’s the unreliable bus, overcrowded train or bumper to bumper traffic congestion, the time it takes to get there can mean a worker with a bad attitude, attributing to a less productive workday.

It stands to reasons that everyone is better off when employees are empowered to get things done on their own time. Flexible work hours are a part of working from home and help to eliminate the tight schedules of the traditional workplace. While more than 80% of people surveyed were putting in extra hours on weekends and in the evenings, 76% of respondents reported a willingness to do so.

By being able to define work rules that work best for your personal lifestyle, work life and home life are less separated allowing for greater balance and less stress. Distractions are eliminated, like those that come from gossip around the water cooler and the inevitable attempt to compare with coworkers.

Many people who begin working from home start small and work it as a sideline while continuing a fulltime job. The good news is that a majority of those supplemental jobs will morph into a full time job. Without the need for expensive office clothing, limited transportation expenses and no irritating colleagues, you just need to abide by your own work rules and deadlines. If you’re doing meaningful work and something you love, you may find that working from home is a great advantage over the traditional work environment and a boon to living a less stressed life.

Noreen Ruth writes for ASAP credit card blog and several popular finance websites. She is interested in educating consumers about using credit responsibly and about legislative action that will affect their ability to borrow the money they need. She has contributed hundreds of articles to various online sites that provide content to educate consumers on the top credit card offers, low interest credit cards, debt relief, loans and other finance related topics.

If you work from home you know that it can be difficult to keep your focus. There’s always something going on at home that gets you distracted. If there are kids around, there are surely going to be times when it seems like you can’t work for more than five minutes without there being an interruption. Then there are personal phone calls, people coming over and of course daily house tasks like cleaning, laundry and the dishes. As you can see sometimes it can be down right impossible to be productive. However if you follow the steps I’ll outline in this post you can conquer your time management issues once and for all.

I’m working

People think that just because you work from home that they can ask you for favors. These can include giving someone a ride or babysitting. They need to know that you are working.

Get a home office

Having a space at home designated to be your workspace is crucial. This way, whenever you’re at your workstation you are concentrated on work and nothing else. If you don’t have a spare room, then a corner of a room will do.

Clean

Have a clean workspace. Make the area you are working on clutter-free. There should not be a lot of papers on your desk. Remove pictures from the wall you are facing. Treat this area as a serious space where you work.

Distractions

Don’t work with the television on. You can listen to music if it does not pose a distraction to you. Close the door and work in a confined area. If you do this you’ll realize that you can cram two hours of work into just one hour.

Perfectionist

Do not be a perfectionist. Most of the time, the first time you do something it will come out alright. It makes little sense to do it over and over again. Your last product may be just as good as your first one. Even if it is indeed better, it may not matter. The goal here is to produce quality work in a timely manner, not perfect work in a very long time.

Procrastination

I’ll write this section later.

The current state of the economy is negatively affecting most people in our country. Jobs are extremely hard to come by since the job market is currently so competitive. If you are lucky enough to already have a job, you probably worry constantly that you might get laid off or that a small mistake will result in termination.

Although it might be hard to see the positive side of things, there are some benefits to living through a poor economy. One of the main benefits is that the housing market is currently a buyer’s market. If you are considering purchasing real estate, now is a better time than ever.

House prices are incredibly low right now, which means you can afford a much bigger, nicer house. Alternatively, you could purchase a house of the same size, but spend much less. Smaller house payments mean you will be able to spend more on other things.

There is really nothing to lose by investing in a home at this time. If the economy improves within the next couple of decades, you will be able to sell your house for a huge profit. If the economy stays the same or gets worse, you will be thankful that you have such low monthly payments.

If you do decide to purchase a new home, you should start saving right away. Create a plan so that you can save up a large sum of money for a down payment on the house. Having a large down payment will reduce your monthly payments as well as the total amount you will end up paying for your new home.

Try adjusting the calculations on the mortgage repayment calculator by increasing and decreasing the amount that you will put down on the home. Try to find a happy medium between low monthly payments and low total cost.

A mistake that homebuyers tend to make is focusing solely on lowering the monthly payments as much as possible. This might seem logical, but as payments get lower, the amount you owe gets higher, which means more interest will be accumulated.

Because most people make payments on their home over the course of thirty years, the total cost of most homes ends up being at least double the original price. To avoid paying $231,000 for a $100,000 home, consider taking out a 15-year mortgage instead. Play around with different values to see what you can afford. Making payments twice a month rather than once a month can also lower accumulating interest.

Once you find the combination that yields affordable monthly payments and low total cost, start creating your savings plan. Figure out how much money you can put aside each month while still maintaining your lifestyle. It might be a good idea to put this money into a savings account so that it will gain interest while you house hunt. In order to begin saving, type your financial information into a mortgage repayment calculator so that you can get an idea of what you can afford. After you have starting saving, the fun part begins. Look for houses that are in your price range or slightly below it. Once you have saved up enough for a down payment, make an offer on the perfect home.

It’s been said that the Internet is the gold rush of our time. But unlike gold mining, the process of making a buck online  isn’t very obvious. With hundreds, maybe even thousands of get rich quick schemes and online programs hyped to consumers looking to make money. The question is which ones are legitimate and which ones are not. It’s not always easy to spot the scams, so the best way is to forgo the third-party and venture out on your own. Here are some ways:

Taking Online Surveys

Some of the largest international corporations hire survey companies to help determine what consumers want. This is where the Internet has opened up vast market research opportunities. Paying consumers to take surveys is a quick, easy and cheap way to get the feedback they need. The money they put out is worth it, especially if they can avoid the more costly mistake of producing a flop.

While it may be true that you won’t make fat cash fast by taking part in surveys, it is a legitimate way to earn prizes, merchandise and cash. As a supplemental income that requires little time and effort, many people find online surveys a rewarding experience. The more survey companies that you participate with will increase your odds of redeeming big rewards. Some of the top sites give points that can be redeemed and entries into drawings for bigger prizes. The cool part is that you can earn in your spare time – a few minutes or hours.

Selling Stuff on eBay

One of the more lucrative ways to earn money online is by selling – either your own stuff or items from another source. Depending on the types of things you market, you can actually make enough to support yourself. Whether you’re selling antiques, used books, a new product or whatever, you’ll need to keep your stock up so that you can continue to post new items for bigger earnings. Many people start the process by opening a free account and selling personal items that they no longer need as a way to learn the basics of selling.

Developing a Website

You are limited only by your imagination when it comes to earning money on your own website. And it’s never been easier with the many pre-designed options and site building tools available. One easy way for many people is through affiliate marketing. Sell products or services for one of hundreds of affiliate programs. Chose the product type you’d like to sell and design your webpage around that theme.

With some imagination, planning and patience, you can be one of the people who make money online. While today’s marketplace is more competitive, there is plenty of opportunity for anyone with an entrepreneurial inclination to be successful as an online marketer.

Noreen Ruth is a popular writer for financial blogs and websites. Hoping to educate consumers, she uses government and other reputable sources to provide up-to-date, relevant news on (banking, low APR credit cards, debt relief, payday loans, etc.). She stays current on the latest legislative actions that may affect a consumer’s ability to manage debt, utilize debt reduction services, understand credit applications, apply for credit card, apply for loans and much more.

If your hobby is photography, have you considered selling your photographs? I’m not talking about opening up your own online store to sell your pictures in frames. I mean just licensing out your photographs to be used as stock pictures. There are stock photography sites that will pay you every time one of your images is purchased. The company or person who buys the  images would pay the stock photography site and you will then be paid on a per download basis.

You see, when advertising agencies or graphic artists are creating are creating a website or an advertisement, they need to purchase stock images. You’ve surely seen them before. Let me give you some examples of typical stock photography images. Weight loss companies may have generic pictures of scales or measuring tape to pitch their product. Medical companies always use someone dressed in a lab coat on their advertisements. Auto insurance companies use pictures of car keys, paperwork or cars. Mortgage companies will use a happy couple hugging in front of their home. There are a wide variety of stock images that are in demand.

To get started you need a good camera and a creative touch. Some of the best shots are of items shot from a different angle or pictures where one item is in focus, the other out of focus. Use your imagination and let your creativity flow.

Once you have a good amount of pictures, you have to put your pictures online for sale. One such place to upload your pictures is at Shutterstock. Here, you can stand to earn a quarter for every downloaded picture. It doesn’t sound like much, but with enough quality pictures you can earn some decent supplemental income. So if you have the time and the talent, you too can generate money online with your original pictures.

You don’t have to be the stereotypical broke college student. By balancing work with school, you can get a little extra cash in your pocket to make the rest of your life easier. The best way to do this is to find work that is low stress but high paying. A struggling college student can ease the struggle by finding jobs that demand little mental effort. These part time jobs let you earn and sometimes study at the same time.

Home Sitting

Keeping an eye on someone’s empty home lets you study and earn at the same time. Job duties will include checking mail, grabbing the newspaper off the porch and feeding the pets that live there. You may need to do light cleaning and take care of houseplants as well. College towns that are also seasonal resort communities are the best places to find such jobs. Put out a flier and search newspaper ads for those who might need your services. You can also check sites like House Sitters America, House Carers, or LuxuryHouseSitting.

Similarly, you might find people who need someone to walk the dog in the middle of the day or feed and walk the dog while they are away over the weekend. If you like animals, this is a no-brainer of a job that can earn you extra pay with little effort.

Child Care

People are always in need of someone to help with the kids. If you can offer a specialty service, like early morning sitting, you’ll have a better chance of finding work. Very few childcare providers will work beginning at 5 am. If you are willing to do that, you’ll find professionals with odd hours willing to pay top dollar for your services. Since the kids are likely to be asleep when you arrive, you’ll also have time to study.

Tutoring

You could have the work come to you instead. Check campus bulletin boards for students seeking tutors. Not only can you earn extra money this way, you’ll also have an excellent point for your resume, showing you can train and lead others.

Editing and Proofreading

Good writers are needed everywhere. You could help fellow students with editing and proofreading their term papers or you could work online. Many sites offer the chance to earn extra money doing something you love at your own pace. Among them are eCopywriters, Textbroker and oDesk.

Other Opportunities

Chances are, if you love doing any activity, you can get work doing it part time. Make sure you let people know you are available. Even a flier offering to serve an assistant, run errands or provide other services can produce a job you’ll love. If one job only offers a few hours of work each week, take another part time to get enough hours to fill your pockets. Just be sure the jobs you accept let you forget about work when you are not there. It’s the best way to make sure the job helps you earn money without degrading your school performance.

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