Now I have flash 8, but I have used it very little. I’m not the artist I wish I was, and the first few flash tutorials had me wishing for a vacation in Siberia. I love what flash does, but the small time lines and scripting languages are just not my cup of tea. If anyone would like to draw up some flash maps that focus on a coffee theme, I’d love to have one!

When you are considering a new place to move, consider the travel distance and time it will take you to get from work to home, if you move 20 miles away, certainly you can find a new grocery store, but will you have to travel even further to get to your gym where you have a 3 year membership?

Consider these things, plot them out on a map, add up the gas, add up the time, and you may find that a pricier piece of real estate is actually saving you money and time.

I often use yahoo maps for distances like these.

Of course you should also think about the delivery of goods at and services that we all use and how it is costing more to transport all of the food and supplies that we all use.

There are several good things we should all do in order to get better gas mileage and save on gas in general. Everyone should have their cars and trucks engines and exhaust systems checked out, tuned up and or fixed. There are real savings when it comes to having a well oil machine working for you rather than against your bank account. Small issues like new spark plugs, a replaced oxygen sensor and clean fuel and air filters can make a big different difference throughout the year. Also cost keep up with your tire pressure, especially when the temperature change, having the wrong air pressure in your tires costs you more money at the gas pump.

There are many more things most people can do to use less gasoline, I suggest people start finding ways to drive less, there are many ways to make this a reality. More on that in another post.

Traveling with other people, carpooling, even finding ways to save when you go on vacation will all make a big impact on the gasoline we consume. Also consider when you are looking for a new place to live, that real estate is often priced according to amenities nearby, sometimes it saves you more time and money ti live in a place that is a little more expensive with the monthly payment. If you travel a lot with your vehicle, living closer to the places you travel most makes the most sense.

Saving money saves life.

And if what ever the next fuel source is needs to be environmentally friendly, people talk about how we should grow our next fuel source and some suggest making something from our food supplies as a fuel source and to all of them I say no, we need to have our cars run of electricity and have solar panels recharging the batteries for our cars. IF people in the north east want to heat there homes with bio fuels i say for it but our cars need to run off batteries that can be recharged from solar panels or other solar means.

Technology, innovation, saving money, and doing it in style. That’s what I’m posting about!

Is your insurance enough? Believe it, you can save a lot of money by having more insurance too. If you have a lot of jewelry, or guns, or a home office, make sure that those things are covered by your current policy. I have heard weeping horror stories about entire collections that were destroyed by a fire, and the people who lost it all thought that everything in their home was covered, but their policy did not cover more than $1,000 for jewelry, and their collection would of cost for than $10,000 to replace.

Be sure to find out what your policy covers, is it replacement value, or current value? This could cost you in several ways, it is good to know before you need to replace computers for your business that you will be able to replace them if something happens.

Another thing to keep an eye out for is coverage for your land, home or business itself. Many people are surprised to find that their policy only covers 80% of the value of the home, this is common, it protects your mortgage holder, but it doesn’t do much for you if have $50,000 in equity, yet your insurance will not pay you a dime of that.

Most of my clients end up adding some coverage to their policies, and it costs very little, but it’s the only way to get the peace of mind that they thought they should already have.

If I told you that living in a slightly cheaper neighborhood today could net you 3 houses to own in the same time you would be paying for that big house that stretches your budget, would you consider it then?

Another way to convince friends to calculate their mortgage payments and options is to give them the jail scenario. If you have no house payment, and bills, you would be free. Free to do what you want when you want. If you have that mortgage bill coming every month for 30 years, that’s like a life sentence. Wouldn’t you rather be free in 15 years instead of 30?

Start calculating your mortgage options now!

It’s a great way to get rid of stress for me, and helps to get it all out. I am often amazed at how much easier I can sleep, or move on to other things once I have jotted down all my semi connected random thoughts. I also find new area of inspiration, and sometimes find things that are deep in my mind that I had not been overly consciously aware of.

Last year when it came time to get everything together for vacation I had to use a mind map. It is rare that I get to spend two weeks are from work, and there were so many things on my mind, without a mind map we would have never made it to Hawaii, much less been able to have a good time while there. My mind mind helped me plot out everything that needed to be done before we left, and helped me stay on focus to have a good time and enjoy it while we were there.

The vacation mind map saved me time and money, I recommend everyone jot down mind maps on a regular basis.

I use one cell phone, I have a generic voice mail. No need for three cell phones for 3 businesses.

I have a home office, I meet clients at coffee shops, and big meetings get a ballroom on an off day at one of the hotels.

When I go on vacation I plan it around a convention or other business trip, this gets me the tax deduction for the flight. I often get cheaper hotel rates for the vacation since I often book 4 or more nights for the business part of the trip as well.

I use contractors, not employees. This works well for me and the people I contract with.

I use skype, yahoo messenger and email as much as possible. If I needed to call long distance I would plan the call to make it after hours here and in the right time for the time zone I am calling. I don’t accept faxes, I make anyone trying to fax me scan it and email it. No need to have something else on all day that I hardly use.

What do you do to save with your business?

Welcome friends and family , it’s Joe’s Map.