To Save Money, Run Your Household Like a Small Business, or a Golf Course

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Advice aimed at increasing efficiency and lowering costs in the business world is often just as valid when applied to the individual. To minimize your cell phone bill, follow the pattern set by small businesses trying to rein in expenses. And to conserve water (and decrease your water bill), look to golf courses, where water usage is monitored a lot closer than you might imagine.

The NY Times reports how golf superintendents at Georgia courses and local water conservation groups have teamed up and passed along water-saving advice to homeowners. Among the tips:

*let grass grow longer before you cut it

*fix leaks in hoses right away

*keep lawnmower blades razor sharp, because grass cut by duller blades will require more water to keep it healthy

*if there’s a brown spot in your lawn, water that spot only with a watering can rather than turning on your sprinkler

*plant native grasses and flowering annuals with perennials, which require less water than other species

Meanwhile, the WSJ offers advice for small business hoping to save money on cell phone bills, and the advice translates well to anyone. The first step is to call your cell phone provider:

About 13.3 million wireless subscribers switched their phone number to another wireless carrier in 2007, up 30% over the year before, according to the Federal Communications Commission’s most recent annual report on the state of the industry.

Of course, you don’t need to switch carriers to lower your company’s cellphone bill. The mere act of calling your provider and asking about a better deal can yield improved terms and price breaks.

Also, consider prepaid or pay-as-you-go plans, which can work for businesses just as well as for individuals who use their phones selectively:

Bucket plans that offer a predetermined number of minutes for a flat fee are meant to simplify bills, but they do not always offer the best value for your company’s needs. Prepaid calling services like TracFone, Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile are gaining more ground with users, and pay-as-you-go plans from Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile are plying business owners with less expensive options these days, Rauseo says. (Such services charge five cents to 25 cents a minute. The average per-minute charge for wireless subscribers was six cents in 2007, according to the FCC.)

For more tips to save on your cell phone, check out a recent story in Real Simple. Sample advice:

If you signed up for phone insurance: Slash this cost immediately, even if you’re clumsy. That $5 to $8 monthly charge adds up, and you’ll still have to pay a $50 deductible if you need to replace a broken phone. The replacement, which is often just a refurbished used phone, will cost about the same as a new one.