Think about all the money you have to spend to maintain your business activities. Now, think about how much more you could do if you could find a cheaper alternative than showing up at the store and dropping cash on the counter. There are numerous ways you can get big-ticket items for your business without going broke, such as the following:
Be Smart About Smartphones
Smartphones, and the contracts and data plans associated with them, are expensive. Still, they are tools that are needed to succeed in business. To save on this necessity, look at companies like T-Mobile who have flexible contracts or no contract plans that allow you to upgrade to the newest phone without blowing your entire year’s tech budget. You can even get top-rated smartphones, like the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge, without a contract.
Once you find the perfect smartphone, make sure you get the right amount of minutes, texts and data. It is a common mistake to overpay for minutes and data you do not use. To avoid wasting your hard-earned money, monitor your usage and purchase only the amount of minutes, texts and data you need with just a tiny bit of wiggle room to avoid the possibility of overage charges.
Reward Yourself With Credit Card Rewards
Cash might be king, but you won’t earn any extras for paying with it. Credit card companies love to give you stuff for using their cards, so let them. Shop around for credit cards that offer the best rewards, and then use your credit card for qualifying purchases. Just make sure to pay your bill each month instead of running a balance. Otherwise, you are not being rewarded, but rather you are being taken.
American Express has a rewards program that enables you to trade your points in for numerous products, gift cards, travel and cash. Some of their programs offer double points on purchases, such as groceries and gas. Once you save enough points, you can trade in those earned points for a computer or other large item. But since it takes nearly 200,000 points to get an Apple Computer, this is a long game strategy.
Find Loyalty Programs That Pay
Make a list of the business items you purchase most often, and then look for companies that have the best loyalty programs for the items to get better deals and rewards. For example, Macy’s has one of the best loyalty programs around. And since you need nice clothes for work, take advantage of its program to cut your yearly clothing expenditure.
Don’t Be Afraid to Buy Refurbished Products
Everybody wants new things, but nobody wants to pay new prices. Meet in the middle by purchasing refurbished electronics directly from the manufacturer. You save a considerable amount of money, and the products come in great shape, since the company that originally built them has also refurbished them. These items usually come with a warranty, too. For instance, Dell, Best Buy and Apple have entire outlet stores for their refurbished products.
