Using Money to Kickstart a Good Habit

Any time I start a new hobby, habit, or “interest” that I know will inevitably benefit me as a person, whether that means my physical health, my emotional and mental health, or even my perspective on the world and interaction with people, I tend to buy something that’s a little more expensive in an attempt to “force” myself into doing the habit or hobby.

Now, I know at first glance this can seem a bit like a bad decision, especially if you have a personality that loves to bounce from one new thing to the next (which I definitely can admit I used to do). However, if you’ve been able to see the faults of that past like I have, there’s nothing better than dropping some cash you can afford to spend on something that’s higher dollar for a new habit.

If you’re still confused on what exactly it is I mean, I’ll give you the example of my new running habit. I have always hated running, to the point that I would’ve done any other single cardio exercise to meet whatever cardio needs I wanted to achieve. But I decided to finally pull the trigger on a really nice pair of running shoes to kickstart my running habits. After ordering a few other things online to go along with my shoes (like running socks), I eagerly awaited the shipping boxes that would end up on my doorstep.

Day 1 after receiving everything I needed and ripping through the few shipping boxes I ordered, I was out on a trail running a little bit.

And that’s all it took to get me into running. I’m now into my 9th week of running and will be timing myself on a 5K run later today, and I couldn’t be happier, more excited, and even any healthier than I feel now. I’ve seen myself lose weight, get stronger, and my mood has improved significantly from day to day.

It’s amazing what you can accomplish if you just make yourself do something. For me, it was making the purchase for a really nice pair of shoes. There’s no way I was going to let $100+ shoes sit there unused considering the price I paid for them. Now, here I am running 5Ks all the way through.

If someone asked you if you would pay $100 for a healthier body, mindset, and lifestyle, you would not hesitate to take them up on that offer. Well, that’s essentially what I did. Why not give it a try yourself?

Ideal Ways to Reduce Shipping Costs

Shipping costs huge fortune and it could understandably be a nightmare for the small business owners. Nevertheless, there is no way other than shipping for business if they want to offer their services in a wider domain.

But then, there is always a way if you have a will to save most from your profit. Yes, I am talking about cutting the shipping costs. There are several ways you can save money while you get your products shipped in desired manner.

Discuss with more than one carrier

The straightforward rule regarding shipping is that you pay a lot lesser if you ship a lot. If you are acquiring the service to ship your huge volumes of products on regular basis, you will definitely be charged small amount of money per package. But don’t get disheartened if you are an entrepreneur. Major carriers often have permanent policy to give special offers to entrepreneurs. You can utilize those offers to make a head start in your business.

Packaging

Purchasing the shipping boxes or any kind of containers in large bulk is an expensive practice. But it is something which can’t be avoided since the items need boxes to be packed. The best option in this case is to ask your carrier to provide you with the shipping solutions. The boxes and other packing items you purchase from your own carrier would cost you a lot lesser than the ones you will purchase from somewhere else. Your carrier will bring the price down for you because of your permanent membership.

Trust the local

No one would advise you to switch to small carriers instead of FedEx or UPS but if you ask professionals, you would suggest you to use the services of carriers originating from your locality. Picking such carrier should be easier for you because they are quickly accessible and they will provide you better discount with desired quality in service.

Online shipping

Online shipping option is quicker and more cost effective. United States Postal Service provides this facility of online shipping to the businesses that use their service. With online shipping, you will be able to cut 19% of the cost on priority mail orders and 60% on express mail orders. Another aspect of this service is that you can call for free pickup.

Prepaid shipping

Another way to cut up to 20% of shipping cost is to avail prepaid option provided by FedEx and UPS. This way, you will be able to purchase labels before shipping and use them on the packages on the time of shipping. Another benefit of this option is that you will try to keep the package weight under the limit mentioned on the label.

Association discount

If your company is a member of any professional association, check if that association has any kind of partnership with any of the major carriers. If there is any, you can ask that association to play a role to get you a discount on shipping using that carrier.