A Few Good Money Tips

Money Magazine recently listed what they call the "100 best money moves you can make" and described it as "our annual guide to the best stocks and funds, credit cards, career moves, retirement strategies, and much more." Really? If this is the list of "the best", I'd hate to see "the worst" list.

As you can tell, I was less than impressed with their list. Much of it was useless IMO (like the best mutual fund, the best place to retire if you hate taxes, and so on.) But because it's my duty to save you time and effort, I looked through all 100 ideas and pulled out what I think are the cream of the crop. Here they are followed by some comments from me:

Best things to cancel and replace:

• Replace this... Cable-TV service, which averages $71 a month (more with premium channels)
• With that: PlayOn, a $40 computer app that lets you stream TV shows and movies from Hulu.com, Netflix, and more to your TV. (You'll also need broadband Internet and a media-streaming or gaming device such as Xbox.)...and save this much in the first year: $512

• Replace this... Your landline calling plan, which probably costs you about $48 a month
• With that: Vonage, a service that lets you make unlimited phone calls across the U.S. and Canada, plus 60 other countries, via broadband Internet. Cost: $15 a month for the first six months; $26 a month thereafter....and save this much in the first year: $330

• Replace this... Your home's old thermostat
• With that: A programmable thermostat such as the Lux Products TX9000TS ($82). It lets you control your home's heating and cooling systems via a touchscreen, lowering your energy bill when you're at work or asleep, for example....and save this much in the first year: $98

Ok, so this is not really new news for many of you, but come on, they didn't give me much to work with.

Best things to say to land a raise:

• "That new vendor I found is saving us $5,000 a month."
• Why: A hard number makes it easier for your boss to justify more dough for you, says Roy Cohen, an executive coach in New York City.

• "Since Sue left I've doubled the number of people I'm managing -- and we're still hitting our quotas."
• Why: Reminds him you're doing the job of two people on one person's pay.

I like these. Why? Because they show that you are delivering results which is a MAJOR part of making the most of your career.

Best times to skip big brands:

Product: Pain relievers
Big brand: Advil ($15.48 for 200 ibuprofen caplets)
Savings (per unit): 74%
Store brand: Wal-Mart's Equate ($4 for 200)

Told ya. They even include a pic of Walmart's Equate brand, the one we buy most often when we buy a store brand drug.

Maybe they should have called the piece "the six best money moves you can make." I guess that doesn't have quite the "ring" of "100", does it. ;-)

Comments

[kt]

most of the "replace this with that" suggestions dont really work in the country that i am currently residing but the computer app for tv streaming seems like it would save a whole lot of cash for someone that spends a whole lot of time watching television and gaming(i am not that kind of person)

[Christy]

Going to look into the 'Play On' application. Need to get rid of Comcast . .. ;)

[Tyler]

on Advil vs Store Brand
I've noticed on three recent occasions that when I am at a doctors home, they always have the store brand.

I dropped cable a few months ago. Purchased a Blue Ray player with Wifi. An HD antenna (free local channels). Hooked up my laptop. It was an awesome decision. I get Pandora, Netflix, Hulu, etc. all for the cost of my internet. I dont watch a lot of tv, but this was a great change and it saves money.

[Michael Goode]

Vonage is a horrible deal. My triple play bundle through %%%%% Charter give me phone at a cheaper cost. Why not try buying an OOma?
http://www.amazon.com/Ooma-Telo-Free-Phone-Service/dp/B002O3W4LE/

[Al]

One problem with Voip services like Vinage, Majic Jack, etc. is that 911 does not work. When you dial 911, you connect to their call center, and then transferred to your local services. With E-911 service from traditional and cable providers when you dial 911 it goes to your local 911 center, and your address is up on their screen. If you can not talk, or the phone is disconnected after connection, the dispatcher will dispatch ermergency services, including police.

[EE2000]

Actually owning PlayOn, I can tell you that it's a great product if you have a Upnp compatible streaming device. OR you could just buy a simple HTPC (Home Theater PC) and add Hulu Desktop and Netflix on your own.
Lots of people are buying the Acer Aspire Revo which has HDMI and a great graphics processor and using it as a HTPC. It will pay for itself in a few months of canceled cable.

[Sarah]

Netflix can stream on its own with a wii, playstaytion 3, or blueray dvd player. No need to add anything special, as long as you have internet access. Is cable tv really that much? My cable, internet, & 2 dvrs is only 110/month. I know many companies give a discount when you "bundle" internet & tv together, so cutting TV may not save as much as what the plan costs.

And $83 sounds high for a thermostat - i found a 5/2 programmable thermostat for around $25 last time i replaced my thermostat. No need to make something touch screen that isn't necessary. I think the touch screen makes it more tempting to mess with.

[KH]

I bought a cheapo programmable thermostat a couple years ago & now I wish I had gotten the expensive Honeywell one. My cheapo is already not working well (fairly frequently, I notice that it hasn't sent a signal even though the temp is 2 degrees under or over my set point).

Most of the cost (for me) was hiring an electrician to install and repairing the wall around where it was installed so it looked nice.So I think going for a better quality thermostat that works better and would probabl last longer would have been a smarter idea than saving a few bucks.

[cm]

Vonage has an online presence of haters for their terrible customer service. See:

http://www.wehatevonage.com/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cX4t5-YpHQ
http://damienkatz.net/2005/04/fuck_vonage_1.html

I steered clear of them, chose another VoIP, and am happy with them.

[Budgeting in the Fun Stuff]

I was wondering, why would anybody buy name brand medicine instead of the identical off-brand?

This is a real question for anybody who still buys name brands that have identical off-brands. I was trying to think of benefits of one over the other earlier this week and couldn't come up with any at all...

[Stephan]

there are so many easy ways to save money that we tend to just overlook. Something as simple as carpooling a few days a week can save you hundreds of dollars in gas over a year. I just hope that the economy we live in now will actually change consumer behaviors and force people to make these simple money saving tips a reality for the long run and not just until the economy improves again.