Stop Letting Money Wash Down the Drain

Mark Twain once said “the lack of money is the root of all evil.”  Now, if you believe this kind of thing, you would naturally want to do whatever it takes to hold onto the money you have and not waste it.  I myself have been accused of being a penny pincher at times (mostly by my wife).  Therefore, I was thrilled to come across the article, “9 Ways You’re Wasting Money Without Realizing It & How to Save Instead” on Bustle.  In this article, Nancy Valev outlines some key ways you can avoid letting your money get washed down the drain.  Though, as I read this article, I could not help but equate how many of these tips apply well to managing commercial properties.

• Buying Poor Quality: Many of us have heard of GIGO or Garbage In, Garbage Out.  Making quality investments will ensure that your purchases last longer and you are not needing to prematurely and repetitive replace items.  The same could be said of the equipment within your buildings.  If you are in need of a new air handler, making the investment in a high quality asset may not only last longer, but it could provide your overall energy savings immediately.
• Spending On Services You Can Do Yourself: There are many things that we have others do for us that we can do for ourselves, such as buying Starbucks instead of brewing our own coffee or ordering-in on Seamless instead of making a home cooked meal. Now I know “time is money”, so I am not suggesting that you hand craft all your own furniture (but if you did that would be awesome), nor do I think that you do not deserve to treat yourself once and a while, but by relegating some of these tasks back onto yourself you can save a lot of money.  The same applies to property management, if there are tasks that you or your staff can perform instead of hiring an outside vendor for, such as doing light bulb replacements or meter readings, you may find that you can save some money.  Just make sure that if there are tasks that require some level of vocational knowledge that you leave it to those qualified.
• Being Disorganized/Not Doing Inventory Checks: According to the article’s author, “When everything’s a mess, it’s hard to see what you already have. And then when you don’t check up on the things you own, you’re obviously more likely to go out and make an unnecessary double purchase.” I am sure we all have found ourselves in the in this situation at least once.  You come home from the grocery store with a fresh carton of eggs just to see good ones still in the fridge.  It is not a stretch to see the same thing happening in your commercial office building or retail center.  If you do not have a good track of your inventory, you may find yourself overbuying light bulbs or fan belts.  By tracking what you have and how often you use it, you can better understand what you really need and when.

Whether in your personal or professional life, finding the little (or big) ways to save money can definitely pay off.  Feel free to let us know any ideas that you have about saving some cash.