An Idea That Could Cut Your Laser Printing Costs By Half

Did you know that some of your photocopier machines can be converted into document centres or you could even rent your a document centre for practically nothing if you have reasonable printing volume. Talk to your photocopier machine supplier. He may be able to enlighten you on how to go about with this conversion and whether it would cost you anything.

Your laser printer cartridge can probably print about 2000 copies before running out of toner. At Rm250 each cartridge, the per copy printing cost is about 12.5 sen.

Most reconditioned copier machine suppliers within the Klang Valley would charge anything between 3 - 5 sen for each sheet printed, in order to maintain the photocopier machine and to supply all the consumables other than the paper. Some suppliers just take a refundable deposit and don't even charge a monthly rental.

Imagine how much printing costs you would save with this change and besides that as an added bonus, you now have an A3-size laser printer in the form of your photocopier machine.

How to Cut your Grocery Bills.

Have you noticed how your grocery bills have gone up significantly within the past month? Some of the ways one can reduce the cost of groceries are as follows:

Make a shopping list beforehand. Get to the store, pick only what you need, pay and leave immediately.

Buy generic products. We tend to go for branded stuff but you have to pay more for them. There is no evidence that generic brands are of poorer quality. Many branded products simply have fancier packaging and labels -- the ingredients are the same as generic products.

Eat out less often. Food and beverages are a whole lot more expensive when you are away from home. So try to avoid being hungry and thirsty when you are out, have a drink and something light before leaving home, or take along a packed lunch or a few snacks with you.

Don’t overeat. Practise eating a smaller portion than you used to: eat till you feel three- quarters full and stop eating after that. The good side effect of this is that you would be trimmer and healthier.

Do Balance Transfers

Did you know that if you had a Rm20,000 credit card balance and faithfully paid only the minimum 5% of balance owing (subject to a minimum of Rm50.00 per month when the 5% figure goes below Rm50 a month), it would take you 106 months to settle the debt? You would also have ended up paying about Rm8,170 in interests!

However, should you do a Balance Transfer (with a 0.25% interest charged per month), to another competing bank and settle the debt over a maximum period of 18 months, you would only have to pay a fixed monthly installment of Rm1,137.70 and incur an interest of only about Rm478.40.

Convert Your Car Into NGV (Natural Gas Vehicle)

With the petrol cost now at Rm2.70 per litre, it makes sense to convert your car into an NGV vehicle!

The cost savings can be tremendous: The extreme case is my Naza Ria. On petrol, it costs about 50 sen/km but on CNG (Compressed Natural Gas), it costs only 9.5 sen/km. A whopping 80% savings!

CNG-converted Naza Ria

Naza Ria Engine CompartmentNaza Ria Gas Tank (Cover Opened)Naza Ria Gas Tank Cover Naza Ria CNG Level Indicator & Petrol-CNG Toggle Switch on Dashboard

To run my trusty Proton Wira 1.5GL on petrol, it costs 23 sen/km but on CNG, it costs only 5.5 sen/km!

CNG-converted Proton WiraProton Wira Engine CompartmentProton Wira Gas TankProton Wira CNG Level Indicator & Petrol-CNG Toggle Switch on Dashboard

Get your calculators out and calculate how much you would save! Scream at the BN government to install more CNG (usually wrongly called NGV) stations throughout the country. You really don't know what you're missing! My NGV conversion which costed me Rm5,200 and Rm4,200 respectively last year, was well worth every sen of it.