The final step of these changes will be the launch of the TopTips.ie website. The tag line will be, with deference to Benjamin Franklin, “A Euro Saved is a Euro Earned”. The original aphorism “a penny saved is a penny earned” came from an almanac published by Franklin under the guise of Richard Saunders called “Poor Richard's Almanack”. This was published from 1732 and 1758 and sold upwards on 10,000 copies per year.
These aphorisms and phrases in “Poor Richards Almanack” were later combined in an essay produced by Franklin called “The Way to Wealth” in 1758 – though the “penny” phrase didn’t make it that far. Some of those that did, and which we still use today include:
There are no gains, without painsThese are wise words that Franklin did give us. He did not, as populary thought, give us “God made beer because he loves us and wants us to be happy.”
Early to bed, and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise
TopTips.ie will be Irelands equivalent of the “Way to Wealth” - or at least it will help you avoid the way to poverty. It will save you money every time you spend money, or help you not spend any money at all. Whether it's grocery shopping, paying your energy bills, driving your car, paying for your insurance, mortgaging your house, using your credit card, going on holidays, avoiding unnecessary charges or just having a good time, the tips that the site will provide will help you mind your hard-earned cash.
As a teaser, here’s something I discovered in the last week that saved me about $400. Briefly, if you’re planning on a “one way hire” it may be cheaper to pick up and drop off at major airports (while incurring the airport charges) rather than paying the “return fee” charged by car rental companies which may cost you 4 or 5 times more.
I was looking to hire a rental car in California for a week, but on a “one way” trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles. For my initial search, I had planned to pick up and return the car from two “local” car rental offices close to the original and destination hotels. This was primarily as you’re told sometimes to avoid hiring a car at airports as some companies add a premium charge to do so.
Based on that original enquiry, there was a $500 “return fee” since I wasn’t returning the rental car to the original office – basically a fee for the hire company to drive the car themselves back to the San Francisco office from the Los Angeles office.
I did a different search where I would pick up at San Francisco airport (SFO) and drop off at Los Angeles airport (LAX) – neither of which were majorly out of my way. The rental fee for the week was approximately $100 more because of the use of the airport offices, but there was no drop off charge at all. In all, the by going through the car hire offices in both cities, I was able to save myself $400.
Something to watch out for - just like the forthcoming www.TopTips.ie.

