Free Money Finance

The Best Way to Save on Vacation Expenses

The book The Cheapskate Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of Americans Living Happily Below Their Means says the following about the best way to save on vacation expenses:

When you travel is undoubtedly the biggest factor influencing how much you'll pay. Off-season travel is usually when you'll find the best bargains (and smallest crowds.) But if you're not able to travel off-season, even a day or two difference can save you mucho dinero on airfares, hotels, rental cars, and travel packages.

I have found this to be true time and time again -- that if you can "go against the flow" and travel when no one else is, you'll save a boatload of money and hassle/time.

Now of course many people can't do this because they have work commitments and/or kids in school. This is one advantage of homeschooling your kids (as we do). They can go anytime without "missing" school. We simply double up assignments in preparation for vacations. In addition, we generally start the school year 10 days before the school system and we don't take as many breaks (for instance, the day after Thanksgiving was a school day for us and we don't take a two-week break at Christmas -- just one week.) Anyway, this gives us a lot of flexibility to cash in on some great travel deals. For instance:

• We went to Chicago in September. We went on days where the museums were free. I used hotel points to pay for one day of our stay, the rest was discounted due to the days we were there. And the kids didn't miss school -- they got an extra dose as we visited the Shedd Aquarium and the Museum of Science and Industry (my favorite!).
• When we went to Disney (no school benefit this trip, but here's what we did), we saved a ton on hotels (we got a three-bedroom condo that was fabulous for something like $80 per night) and airfare by going when we did (in September.) We also avoided the notoriously large crowds at Disney. We usually walked onto all the rides (no waiting!). But on one ride we had to wait 15 minutes or so. The kids were complaining, "Why's it taking so long!!!" Ha! If they only knew!!!!
• We're tentatively planning a trip to Hawaii next fall. We were thinking of going in January, February, or March, but we read a book saying that the best time to go to Hawaii was when the weather was at its best there (though it's always "good") which was July through October. So we're now thinking of going in October, which happens to be a non-peak month. That said, we may push it back a bit since October is still nice here and we'd like to go when it's cold. So possibly early December will strike a balance for us.

How about you? Anyone else out there saved a ton of money by traveling at a non-peak time?

5 Moves That Make You Look Cheap

Yahoo lists five moves that make you look cheap as follows:

Thrifty: Buying Items That Are on Sale
Cheap: Only Buying Items That Are on Sale

Thrifty: Tipping According to Service
Cheap: Never Tipping at All

Thrifty: Putting Money Aside for Savings
Cheap: Saving Everything and Living on Nothing

Thrifty: Taking Advantage of a Good Deal
Cheap: Taking Advantage

Thrifty: Cutting Out Internet and Cable
Cheap: Stealing It from Your Neighbors

Here is where I net out on these:

• We buy items on sale quite often (as you might imagine), but who could possibly buy ONLY items that are on sale? What if you need something and it's not on sale -- what do you do then? What about the cost in time and effort of hunting down everything so that it's on sale? The costs just seem too high to do this on every item you might purchase.
• I'm actually growing in my tipping (I now frequently leave money for hotel housekeepers -- in addition to the "normal" people who everyone tips, like waitresses). I don't think I have to or am bound by any social pressure or norm to do so, but I have the money and I want to leave some of it behind as a small gift for people who likely aren't as well off.
• You certainly don't want to have a full bank account and an empty life. I know it may seem like I don't spend much since I'm always talking about saving, saving, saving, but I do spend a decent amount of what I earn and enjoy the fruits of my labor. One glaring example: my new car.
• It's sometimes a balance between taking advantage of a good deal and taking advantage. I was close to this on my car (if you can ever really take advantage of a car salesman) and have been a few other times. That's when my wife usually pulls me back from the brink. ;-) Here's an example of something I consider taking advantage -- if not outright stealing.
• Cutting something out is one thing, stealing is completely another. The former is ok. The latter is never ok.

How about you? Do you have any thoughts on these five?

12 Rules for Money-Saving Negotiation Success

The book The Cheapskate Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of Americans Living Happily Below Their Means lists 12 rules for negotiation success as follows:

#1 Nice guys finish first.
#2 Speak to the right person.
#3 Be honest, but don't be shy.
#4 "I can't afford it."
#5 Cheaper by the dozen.
#6 Watch for sales before and after you buy.
#7 Show them the money.
#8 Don't sell yourself short by naming a price.
#9 Be careful about threatening.
#10 "I'd like to cancel my service."
#11 Never on a Monday.
#12 If you're still shy about haggling for a better price...

Here's my take on these:

#1 You can be firm without being a jerk. Store managers and employees love to hold their ground against jerks, so consider what a tirade/rude behavior might be costing you.

#2 Of course. It does no good to talk to someone who can't lower your price.

#3 You MUST speak up for yourself or you'll get nowhere. And of course, be honest. Is your integrity worth saving an extra $20?

#4 These words work especially well in this economy.

#5 I agree with the book where it says to negotiate for the best price, THEN tell them you'd like to buy a few of the item if you got an additional quantity discount.

#6 If there was a sale before you bought, you should certainly be able to ask for that price. And if the sale is right after you bought, go back and ask for the difference. If they won't give it, then return the original item (always keep your receipts) and buy a new one at the sale price.

#7 I ALWAYS ask if there's a cash discount when making big purchases. If there is and it's more than 2%, I pay cash. If there isn't, I pay with my 2% cash back credit card.

#8 This can be a killer. My dad did this when buying his most recent truck. He named a price he thought was very low, and the salesperson accepted it. Whoops! Not low enough...

#9 If you say you'll "take your business elsewhere", be sure to do it in a way that doesn't encourage the store to hold firm on their prices (see #1 again.)

#10 The old stand-by for negotiating with cable providers...

#11 They say that the best deals are made late in the week and particularly on Fridays, before holidays, and before three-day weekends. Anyone else heard of these guidelines?

#12 They suggest taking "baby steps" by asking if the business gives a discount for AARP or AAA memberships (we get the AAA hotel discount all the time.) I'll add to that by listing these six times it's easy to ask for a discount.

Of course you have to trade off time and effort with the amount you save. For instance, taking advantage of #6 above isn't worth the back-and-forth (IMO) to save a few dollars (though it would be for $10 if the store was conveniently located.)

For those of you who would some additional tips on how to ask for a discount, here are some previous posts you mat want to check out:

• How to Ask for and Get a Discount at a Chain Store  
• It Pays to Ask -- You Never Know If/When It Will Work  
• Asking for Discount Nets Guy $40k  

Walmart Saves You Money Even if You Never Shop There

Shortly after Thanksgiving we received a sale flyer from Walmart in our newspaper. On the front page was an image of a Walmart receipt with the items blurred out. But on the bottom it said (in very large, clear lettering):

We help families save an average of $2,800 a year, no matter where they shop, based on Walmart's impact on the economy.

This made me think of a few things:

• I'm assuming they mean that when Walmart moves into an area that other businesses have to lower their prices to compete, so even if you don't go to Walmart, you save money. Does this sound to you like whet they mean?
• I wonder if it's true.
• Is this a good thing to say in an ad or not? I understand that they mean to say "we're looking out for you to get you the best price" but don't they also imply "why shop at Walmart when you're saving by shopping other places?"

What's your take on them using this phrase?

When a Money-Saving Item Ends Up Costing You

I have a friend who is pretty frugal (he rivals even me in this category -- maybe even better/worse than I am depending on your perspective.) He does a good amount of driving for work (which he gets reimbursed for.) A couple years ago, he purchased a diesel-engine car so he'd get great mileage and save a ton (for himself) on business trips (he still received the same per mile allowance he got when he was driving his gas-guzzling truck.) Needless to say, making this switch did save him a boatload of money (he gets something like 40 mpg with the car) and it was a wise choice to make.

But the funny think about diesel-engine cars is that they like to be filled with diesel. If they somehow get filled with gasoline, they aren't nearly as happy. I think you all know where this story is going.

A few weeks ago my friend was on a trip with some of his friends to a college football game. They stopped to get fuel and all were outside the car chatting. My friend grabbed the green-handled hose (which is usually the color designated for diesel fuel) and filled his car. When they all got back into the car and drove the final few miles to the college. They thought the car ran rough/sounded differently but didn't think much of it.

After the game, my friend tried to start the car to no avail. It's at this point he had a sinking feeling. He looked at his credit card receipt and discovered he had put gas into his diesel-engine car. It was a big no-no.

To make a long story short, it cost him $400 to have the tank, lines, and engines emptied of gasoline. Then there was another $200 for a fuel pump that was wasted as a result of gas going through it. And the car may have more problems -- he's still sorting through those issues as of this writing.

So what was once a great money-saving device ended up losing him a boatload of money rather quickly. And it was the thing that saved him the money (diesel engine) that also ended up costing him more (because it was so unique/different than most cars.) I don't think there's really a learning here (other than be sure to put diesel in your diesel-engine car -- duh) but it was interesting to me that what he planned as a money saver wasn't as much as it could have been because of the accident.

As for that station he stopped at -- turns out all their hose handles are green. Ugh.

Americans Trying to Save Money by Cutting Back

Here are the results of a survey taken this past October that show Americans are cutting back on certain purchases to save money. 3,000 people were asked what money-saving techniques they’d used in the past six months and the results were compared to answers from June 2009. The results:

• 62 percent of Americans are purchasing more generic brands, the same as in June of 2009
• 45 percent are bringing lunch instead of purchasing it, slightly less than in June of 2009
• 37 percent have switched to a refillable bottle instead of buying water, up from 33 percent in June of 2009
• 22 percent have stopped purchasing coffee in the morning, up from 15 percent in June of 2009
• 17 percent have canceled land-line phone service, up from 11 percent in June of 2009

Here are my results for these:

• We have been big buyers of generic/store brands for quite some time, so we're probably buying the same now as we did in June 2009.
• I've been bringing my lunch to work for years now.
• The only time we ever purchase bottled water is when we're someplace it doesn't make sense to carry a bottle you want to keep and/or there's no source to fill a bottle. For instance, we sometimes referee soccer games where we need to drink but don't have the time/opportunity to refill bottles. So we drink bottled water and then throw the bottles away. But 99% of the time, we use refillable bottles.
• I don't drink coffee and neither does my wife.
• We still have our land-line, but then again my cell phone is free (part of my work.)
• As far as other things we've cut back on because of the economy -- I really can't think of any. As you know, we're pretty frugal to begin with so there's not a lot of "fat" to cut in our finances.

How about you? Has the economy made you cut back on anything in order to save a bit more?

How to Buy and Save on Eyeglasses

In its December issue, Consumer Reports offers some advice on buying eyeglasses. They start by listing three general findings from the research they did:

• A chain doesn't always equal cheap. Customers at LensCrafters and Pearle Vision paid more than those who shopped at an independent shop or doctor's office.
• For great selection, go indie. 83% of readers who got their glasses at an independent local optical boutique were highly satisfied with the variety of frames available.
• Some retailers were subpar. There eyewear chains -- Visionworks, America's Best Contacts & Eyeglasses, and JC Penney Optical -- stood out for below-average ratings in most purchase factors.

I actually went to JC Penney Optical a couple pairs of glasses ago and was quite satisfied with them.

Their piece then lists how to choose glasses as follows:

• Know who excels at what. The best place to shop depends in part on your needs and preferences.
• Spring for only what you need. Glasses come in a dizzying array of lens types and coatings, some of which you could end up shelling out for even if you don’t need them.
• Don’t be slave to brand names. The companies that make designer specs, such as Luxotica, Safilo, and Marcolin, also make high-quality nondesigner frames, some of which are similar to the designer versions (minus the fancy logo on the side). Those frames can have the same style for a fraction of the designer price.
• Look for coupons. One-third of readers who visited an optical chain used coupons to get a deal on their new glasses, and at chains as many as 62 percent of respondents had used one.

They then end their article by rating eyeglass chains. The top five on an overall reader score basis were:

• Costco Optical
• Independent local eyeglass shop
• Private doctor's office
• Kaiser Permanente
• Empire Vision Centers

And if you're shopping on price only, these four were the only ones to get the highest or second-highest rating on price:

• Costco Optical (highest rating)
• BJ's Optical (highest rating)
• Davis Vision (second-highest rating)
• Sam's Club (second-highest rating)

In short, independent shops and doctor's offices are the best on selection but bad on price. The places above are good on price but don't have as much selection.

I think my decision is made. I need new glasses and will look at Costco first. I was leaning in that direction anyway (my wife got her latest pair there) but these findings put me over the top.

How about you? Where do you shop for eyeglasses and why?

Six Painless Ways to Cut Your Grocery Bill

MSNBC says that the average family of four spends nearly $6,000 a year at the supermarket. If you'd like to spend less (we spend less than $5k, BTW), here are their six painless ways to cut your grocery bill:

Have a plan. Make a list before you leave home. Use the supermarket flyer from your mailbox or the store’s website to take advantage of weekly sales. But read it carefully. Don’t assume that every featured product is on sale. Manufacturers might have paid for placement.

Get with the program. You usually have to sign up for a club card to get advertised sale prices.

Pace your purchases. You rarely have to pay full price for the staples you buy again and again. Products go on sale at predictable intervals that are easy to figure out if you read your store’s flyer every week.

Buy store brands. Most supermarkets offer their own private-label brands, which cost around 25 percent less than comparable big-name brands. We found that savings can be more than 50 percent.

Clip and click coupons.

Shop smarter. Stores use a variety of tactics to coax you into spending more.

Not much new here, but there are some good reminders -- just in case you're not doing all of these already.

I've written a ton on this subject. Here are the posts I've done this year alone (along with a couple others I though you would like) on saving on grocery/food costs: 

• How to Save Money on Grocery Purchases 
• Save 41% by Using Store Brands 
• Seven Things You Should Always Buy Generic
• A Few Tricks to Make the Most of Coupons  
• Time, Gas Costs, and Savings Trade-offs When Shopping for Groceries  
• Save the Most on Groceries in the Least Amount of Time
• Save Money on Groceries by Keeping Track of Prices 
• Five Ways to Cut the Fat from Your Grocery Bill 
• How to Earn $100 an Hour (Or Save $100,000 in Your Lifetime) 

Now, after reading all those, there's no reason not to save a bundle on food costs, right? ;-)

Seven Items Worth Waiting For

MarketWatch tells us that 57% of holiday shoppers will be making non-gift purchases for themselves this year with the average personal expenditure being $107.50. Ha!

I must admit that my personal list is getting quite healthy. I guess it's because I'm shopping more -- both online and in stores -- and I'm seeing things that are new/I like. And based on what I'm seeing, I'm surprised the amount is only $107! ;-)

Anyway, MarketWatch says to wait until after the holidays to buy items for yourself since retailers will be looking to unload excess inventory and prices will drop (of course, selection will drop as well.) Taking this one step farther, they list the top seven things that you should wait to buy if you're buying for yourself as follows:

1. Champagne and Fine Wine. Bottles of bubbly and fine wine usually go on sale around the holidays and the prices get slashed even further the weeks that follow.

2. Baking Ingredients

3. Electronics. In January companies roll out all their new models of computers, cameras, cell phones, printers … you name it. While early adapters salivate over the newest and latest tech gadgets, January is a great time for everyone else to buy the most recent models - which will, no doubt, be discounted heavily to make room for the new.

4. Winter Clothes & Accessories

5. Refurbished Goods. Expect stores’ “refurbished” bins - where returned appliances and gadgets get a 10 to 20% discount - to be well-stocked after the holidays, as people return unwanted gifts.

6. Holiday Cards, Wrapping Paper, Ornaments

7. Calendars.

Here's my take on these:

1. I don't drink champagne and fine wine, so I have no issue on this one.

2. Baking ingredients? Really? Aren't these items regularly on sale throughout the year?

3. I've been looking for a computer for some time now and I know what I want. If I find it at what I think is a "good" price, I'm going to buy it. Could I save maybe $50 by waiting until January? Maybe. Then again, maybe retailers will be sold out of the computer I'm looking for and I'll get nothing (or have to settle). I'd rather get what I want at a "good" price.

4. We regularly buy items after the season is over and use them for the next year. Then again, winter in Michigan is eight months long, so we make these purchases in July. (Ok, I'm joking, but winter does last through March for sure and usually into April.)

5. I've never purchased refurbished. Personally I'd rather pay more and get something new. Am I wasting money doing this?

6. See comments on #4 -- same thing.

7. We have a paper calendar in our kitchen and my wife carries a small one in her purse. Everything else is electronic.

How about you? See anything here you can/should wait on? Or maybe something on the list that you will NOT wait to buy? 

Real-Life Example of Going from Two Incomes to One

This past summer I posted pieces on how two different families were going from two incomes to one (see How One Family Went from Two Incomes to One -- And Developed a Business in the Process and How to Go from a Two-Person to One-Person Income for specifics.) I know that many more would like to do this, but they are often weighed down by two major issues: they have a huge amount of debt and they rely heavily on the second income to make ends meet. These two are deal-killers for going to one income, right? Not really.

How can I say that? It's because I have a great example in the Tardy family (yes, that's their name). Here's their story (the last one in the linked to post):

A couple years ago, I decided I wanted to have a baby and quit my job. But there was a problem. My husband and I were in debt, and I made two-thirds of our household income. So I couldn't just quit.

I started out by sitting down and adding up all our debt -- which ended up being around $70,000. The first thing I thought was, 'Wow, we really need to start getting rid of this. We should sell our car right away.'

After some prodding, my husband got on board too. We sold his car and were able to immediately get rid of $19,000 of our total debt. After that, we knew we were totally doing this.

Craigslist and eBay became our best friends, and we sold everything from a kayak to a weight bench and a computer monitor.

My husband did some website design jobs on the side to make some extra money, and we printed out a budget each month so we knew exactly how much we could spend and what we would be spending it on.

We saved on gas costs by limiting the amount of driving we did, and we put ourselves on a grocery budget of $300 a month. On top of that, we cut out cable, lowered our phone bill as much as humanly possible and switched our car insurance twice in one year to find lower rates.

By the time I quit my job for good -- which was less than two years after I started the budget -- we had paid off $70,000 in debt and put $23,000 in the bank as an emergency fund.

So, the formula appears "simple":

• Create as much cushion as possible between what you make and what you spend by increasing income and decreasing expenses.
• Pay off the debt.
• Sock away a good amount of savings.
• Move to one income and keep your spending low.

That said, I'm pretty impressed by this couple. They had so much debt and she made two-thirds of their income -- and yet they were able to do so much in such a short period of time. Then again, I'm thinking their incomes had to be pretty high to pull this off. Perhaps she made $100k per year and he made $50k (or some similar set of numbers.) It's still a great accomplishment nonetheless -- but the (likely) higher incomes make it a bit less impressive.

How To Buy A Diamond Without Breaking The Bank

The following is a guest post by Phil Golden, the editor of Clarity of Diamonds.

Congratulations. You are just about ready to buy a diamond. Perhaps you have finally proposed to your girlfriend, or maybe it is an anniversary gift for your wife of many years.

Buying a diamond is an expensive proposition. For this little thing you are going to pay hundreds, or more likely thousands, of dollars. Even worse is you look at the diamond and you have no idea what you are looking at – if it is what the salesman told you it is, if the issues the salesman pointed out are really the important ones and what did he “forget” to mention about the diamond, what to look at to know if the diamond you bought is worth the money. So not only is it an expensive proposition, but it is also a frightening proposition.

There are really two aspects of buying diamonds by which you can save yourself a nice amount of money. One of those is where you buy your diamond, and the second is what features of the diamond you concentrate on.

Where To Buy

The first question is where you should buy your diamond. The old fashioned way would have you going into the shop of a local jeweler and having him tell you which diamond to buy, since they all look the same to you. Nowadays though, there is another, a better, option.

The better option is buying your diamond online. There are numerous benefits to buying diamonds online, while there is only one benefit to buying the diamond in a bricks and mortar jewelry store.

If you are buying the diamond in a bricks and mortar store, you have the obvious benefit of being able to see the diamond before you buy it. You get to hold it in your hand and inspect it to the best of your ability. You can look at it under the lighting, and lay it up against a couple rings and get a good idea of what it might look like on your wife’s finger.

The drawback of this is that even though you get to hold and look at the actual diamond before you buy it, if you are like most people you probably have no idea what you are looking at and how to evaluate the worth of the diamond in your hand. And you will be paying 20%-30% more by buying it from the jeweler just for that advantage of getting to see it.

B&M stores have a lot of overhead. They have to pay rent, they have to stock an expensive inventory, they have general overhead such as salaries, electricity, water, and the like, and all that gets added to the sales price of every item they sell.

When you buy diamonds online you are really harnessing the power of the internet. The major benefits you achieve in this are the amazing savings you will enjoy, along with the vast inventory available to you.

There are a number of benefits to buying diamonds online, though the most important benefit is the savings. The financial savings is the issue that most people care about the most. Because online diamond merchants have no overhead, or very little overhead, they are able to offer their diamonds for sale at much lower prices.

The lack of overhead allows the diamonds to be priced lower. This will give you savings usually in the range of 20%-30% and sometimes even more!

Is the ability to look at a diamond, even though you probably don’t know what you are looking at, worth 25% more? Think of it like this – if you were buying something for $10, you might be willing to pay $12 just to have that slight extra confidence because you got to hold it first. When you are buying a diamond that is worth $5000, $10,000 or even more, the difference is going to be in the hundreds, or thousands, of dollars. All that extra money being saved by buying the diamond online can either be saved and pocketed, or it can be used to buy a diamond of even better quality than originally planned.

Quality

The second issue is the quality of the diamond you buy. Much of the diamond industry is built upon the successful marketing campaign of the DeBeers syndicate. The average person can’t tell the difference from one diamond to the next.

There are many features to consider when buying the diamond. The main qualities include Color and Clarity – two of “the Four Cs”. There is a wide range of color, starting from color D and moving down to Color J. D is considered colorless, and then the range moves at different levels down to J. Beyond J is already called fancy color stones.

The thing is, unless you are a trained diamond dealer, most people cannot tell the difference between a G color and a F color diamond. Or between a diamond rated an E and between a diamond rated at F.

In clarity as well, the range begins with IF (internally flawless) and I2/3 (Included). Again, to be brief, most people cannot tell the difference between a VS1 diamond and a VS2 diamond, or between a VS2 and a SI1 diamond.

There are definitely qualities of the diamond that you are not appreciating, but are paying a lot of money for. If you buy a diamond rated at VVS2, you are paying hundreds of dollars more for a level of quality that you see no benefit from. You can save a few hundred dollars, and buy a VS1 diamond instead and still have a beautiful diamond that to your eye looks just as nice as the higher quality diamond.

The above is just an example, but my point is that there are many aspects of the diamond that give you plenty of room to maneuver and allow you to save money.

America's Most Affordable Cities

Yahoo lists America's most affordable cities as follows:

1. Oklahoma City, Ok
2. Pittsburgh, Pa.
3. Buffalo, N.Y.
4. Rochester, N.Y.
5. Nashville, Tn
6. San Antonio, Tx.
7. Houston, Tx.
8. Louisville, Ky.
9. Birmingham, Ala.
10. Austin, Tx.

A few thoughts on these:

• We've been over (and over and over) it before, but it's always worth repeating that where you live can have a HUGE impact on your finances.
• I've actually lived in two of the top five most affordable cities (I even met my wife in one of them) and I loved living in both of them. I'd move back to either of them in a heartbeat if the right opportunity presented itself.
• That said, I like living where I live now as well. And it's an even more affordable city to live in. ;-)
• I have good friends who live in Texas and they told me that for the most part, Texas has sat out of much of the recession problems that have plagued the rest of the US for a couple years. Those of you who live in Texas: true or not true?
• Personally, I could probably live in any of the cities on this list, tough I don't know much about Buffalo (except that it snows a lot there) or Rochester. Any thoughts on these two?

Well, those are my thoughts. Anything else you'd like to add?

Five Tips to Save on Pest Control

Money Talks News lists five ways to save on pest control as follows:

1. Keep tree branches and shrubs trimmed away from the roof and windows. These are natural bridges and ladders into your home for all sorts of bugs.

2. Seal up cracks and holes, inside and out. Those are tunnels.

3. Replace rotting wood, a likely place for insects to break through. Many are drawn to both the wood itself and moisture.

4. Cut off their water supply. Insects like mosquitoes and flies are drawn to stagnant (still) water. Outdoors: regularly empty bird fountains, buckets, and anything that catches rain. Indoors: change pets’ water bowls several times a week if not daily.

5. Protect food. Don’t leave food out in the open, even crumbs — they’ll find it. Be sure to regularly empty the garbage and keep containers covered. Make sure spices, sugars, and other counter-top items are in lidded jars or otherwise sealed containers.

Some thoughts from me:

• We just cut down a tree that was planted too close to our house and (probably) served as a great way for pets to get in. We didn't cut it down for that reason, but I'm sure it will help protect our home from invasion. We also removed a bush that was up against our garage. It had a huge ant nest under it. Needless to say, the ants are no more.
• Our neighbor has a huge tree that keeps growing over our garage. I have to trim it every spring and fall to keep it off our house.
• I have a side door on our garage that has some rotting wood near the bottom. I need to replace that.
• We don't have bird baths, fountains, buckets, pets' bowls, etc., so we're pretty good on the water front. When the kids were little we had a turtle sandbox that would always fill up with water and I'd have to dump out.
• We live in Michigan, so things (including pests) die in the winters (one advantage of living here.) When we lived in Nashville, it was so warm that we had 365 days of pests attacking (and the worst spiders I'd ever seen.)
• Our biggest pest issue is actually mice. We have woods behind our house and used to get a mouse (or maybe a few -- I think the most we had in one year was three) every year. But the neighbor’s cats have moved outside and effectively eliminated the surrounding area of mice (we didn't have any last year.) Unfortunately they've also eliminated (or scared off) the wildlife we did enjoy -- rabbits (used to see many in our yard, now it's very rare), squirrels (not a major loss), and birds (certainly birds fly over our house and "stop by", but we have fewer nests and none living in the five birdhouses that used to be full every year.) I guess you have to take the good with the bad.

How about you? Anyone out there battling pests? Any good tips to share with the rest of us?

How to Find Great Deals on Airfare

The MintLife blog suggests that there's a "new" way to find the best airfare deals. A summary of their suggestions:

Cochran’s advice is to sign up for the free email alerts from AirfareWatchdog.com and all airlines that fly out of your home airport: this way you’ll know when tickets go on sale and can even create your vacation’s itinerary around the most affordable airfare routes.

Next, swing by Bing Travel and Momondo.com: those websites try to predict airfares based on historical data.

Finally, these days your search for deals doesn’t end with the ticket purchase. If the price of your flight falls any time after that, you can get some of your money back thanks to new websites that alert you to those changes.

Most of my travel is done for business trips and while I look for a "good deal" when I travel for my company, I don't spend several days watching various sites, trying to save my last dollar, etc. In addition, the times of the flights (departure and arrival) are usually most important when booking corporate travel and price is a secondary concern. And we don't do much flying for personal trips.

All of this adds up to the fact that I don't have much experience in buying/saving on airfare. So I'm counting on you more-seasoned airfare savers to tell me if this is a good system or not -- and if not, what is a better option. I'm looking to put a bit of effort into finding great air deals on some future trips our family would like to take. ;-)

My Type of Couple

Here's an interesting story about a couple who recycled 400,000 cans to pay for their wedding. The summary:

Geyer and Parrish have been in the news because they are paying for their wedding solely with the $3,800 in proceeds they earned from recycling 400,000 cans. 

The Spokane couple reached their goal last week when over a ton of aluminum cans was hauled off their porch by a local recycler. They continue to collect cans to raise money for their honeymoon and to donate to Doctors Without Borders and Rim Country Land Institute. 

Parrish built a website and spread the word amongst friends and through social media. Alcoa donated 150,000 cans to the cause and United Recycling Services contributed another 73,000.  And others are copying their idea to raise money for weddings and other causes.

What a story! Not only did they raise the money for themselves (and in an unusual manner), but they kept the cost of the wedding very low too. How did they do this? Here's what they're spending the $3,800 on:

Venue: $1,000.

Food and beverages: Mostly potluck style.  The groom has a friend who brews beer as a hobby so he's contributing a keg or two. Parrish and Geyer are making the wine in their basement. The bride's mom, who owns a catering and reception center in Idaho, is baking and decorating the cake.

Flowers: Parrish's sister-in-law is growing all the flowers for bouquets and decorations.

Music: A harpist is playing free of charge during the service. Afterwards it's "DJ by iPods," says Parrish. Friends are creating the playlists.

Clothing: The matron of honor's mother-in-law is sewing Parrish's floor-length black, red, and white wedding dress. Total cost: $250 for the fabric, plus another $200 for the custom-made corset she's splurging on.

I love it! I bet they had a blast too (the wedding was this past summer)! All their friends around to celebrate the occasion in a non-formal manner -- what's not to love?

It's just another example that you don't have to spend $30,000 to make your wedding day extra special. Instead, spend a few thousand, invest the rest, and become wealthy. How? Check out these posts for details:

• How to Have Half a Million Dollars at Retirement by Controlling Wedding Costs
• How to Be Wealthy While Young!

You Probably Don't Need an Oil Change Every 3,000 Miles

The place that changes my car's oil regularly puts a sticker in the upper, driver's side window that reminds me when to get my oil changed. It's always 3,000 miles after the change they just performed for me. Problem is, I don't need my oil changed that frequently (so I take off the sticker and instead write myself a reminder on my phone.) You probably don't need your oil changed that frequently either if you have a younger car. The details from Yahoo:

“There was a time when the 3,000 miles was a good guideline,” said Philip Reed, senior consumer advice editor for the car site Edmunds.com. “But it’s no longer true for any car bought in the last seven or eight years.”

Oil chemistry and engine technology have improved to the point that most cars can go several thousand more miles before changing the oil, Mr. Reed said. A better average, he said, would be 7,500 between oil changes, and sometimes up to 10,000 miles or more.

The key? Check your owner's manual. Mine happens to say I need an oil change every 7,500 miles, so that's when I get mine.

Over the lifetime of a car, the savings can add up. Assume a car lasts 150,000 miles and an oil change costs $15. At every 3,000 miles, oil changes alone (not to mention the time/hassle of bringing in your car 50 times) would cost you $750. At every 7,500 miles, you make 20 trips at a cost of $300. Not a tremendous savings, but why pay for something you don't need? Besides, you save a ton of time. It's a win-win-win situation. You save money, you save time, and ok, so maybe the shop doesn't win. ;-)

Jewish Thoughts on Wealth: Extravagance and Frugality

For those of you new to Free Money Finance, I post on The Bible and Money every Sunday. Here's why.

In my Sunday posts we're currently digging into the book The Jewish Phenomenon: Seven Keys to the Enduring Wealth of a People. It notes that Jews are disproportionately wealthy and accomplished and much of this success is due to seven keys which can be traced to the teachings of the Jewish faith.

Today we're going to talk about one of the "seven keys to Jewish success" that the authors list: be selectively extravagant but prudently frugal.

The authors spend the first few pages of this chapter talking about the stereotype that Jews are "cheap." They conclude that what may be perceived as weakness is simply basic wealth management -- you need to control your spending if you want to become wealthy.

They also mention that Jews tend to splurge on things they really want. The general feeling between frugality and extravagance is summed up in this quote: "I do not like to throw my money away, but when something is important to me I want the best."

The next part of the chapter reads like something from the books The Millionaire Next Door or Stop Acting Rich. It tells how Jews (on average) don't buy huge homes, don't drive expensive cars, etc. -- all the things studies have shown are habits of most millionaires.

The chapter then ends with a laundry list of great ways to save money (including tips we discuss here all the time.) Some of them are:

• Take your lunch to work
• Use coupons
• Eat at home more frequently (versus eating out)
• Skip junk food and expensive coffees
• Don't smoke
• Buy term life insurance
• Stay married, divorce is expensive
• Avoid credit card debt
• Consult Consumer Reports for major purchases

And the list goes on and on...

In short, this chapter says that Jews spend less than they earn. As we learned last week, they also make more income than average. And we all know what happens to those who make high incomes and control their spending: they get rich.

Any thoughts?

Seven Things You Should Always Buy Generic

Money Talks News lists seven things you should always buy generic. Here are their suggestions and my comments:

1. Pain relievers and other over-the-counter medications. Name-Brand Acetaminophen: $10.99. Store-Brand Acetaminophen: $6.99. Difference: $4.00 (57 percent)

We buy OTC store brand medicines all the time -- almost exclusively. In particular, we buy the Equate brand from Walmart. I've written about this previously in Save Big Money by Using Generic/Store Brands -- Even I Didn't Know the Savings Were This Big!!! and Health and Beauty Aids: Walmart versus Costco, Kirkland Brand versus Equate Brand -- Which is the Best Deal?

2. Water. Name-Brand Water: $1.25. Store-Brand Water: $.85. Difference: $.40 (48 percent)

We don't buy water (unless you count paying our local water company.)

3. Milk. Name-Brand Milk: $5.45. Store-Brand Milk: $3.39. Difference: $2.06 (60 percent)

There's name-brand milk? Do they mean regional brands? And who pays even $3.39 for milk? Is this for a gallon?

4. Margarine. Name-Brand Margarine: $1.79. Store-Brand Margarine: $1.19. Difference: $.60 (50%)

We use butter. Not sure which one we buy.

5. Bleach. Name-Brand Bleach: $2.25. Store-Brand Bleach: $1.67. Difference: $.58 (35 percent)

Not sure what we buy here. If we buy name brand, I'm sure my wife gets it on deal and with a coupon.

6. Cleaning Products. Name-Brand Cleaner with Bleach: $3.29. Store-Brand Cleaner with Bleach: $2.39. Difference: $.90 (38 percent)

My wife makes our own.

7. Spices. Name-Brand Oregano: $5.48/oz. Store-Brand Oregano: $1.24/oz. Difference: $4.24 (342 percent)

We have found that Aldi has some great (and very inexpensive) spices.

How about you? Do you buy the items above in name-brand or store-brand versions?

Enjoy Your Vacation More (and Maybe Save Money) by Choosing a Home Over a Hotel

Here's a piece from Money Talks News that suggests staying at/renting a home while on vacation instead of booking a hotel. The details:

The next time you travel, instead of a hotel, consider an experience more unique and potentially more comfortable: renting a home from a private homeowner.

The idea is simple: Instead of cramming yourself into a tiny hotel room, rent anything from a sofa to an entire house. You win by getting a lot more space and amenities for the same or a lower price. The homeowner wins by bringing in some extra cash.

GREAT idea IMO!  I've actually had lots of experience with this idea:

• We had friends that rented a condo when they went to Disney several years ago. So when we went to Disney World, we did the same thing. We paid something like $89 a night for a three-bedroom condo that was 10 minutes from all the parks. We had our own kitchen (saved us a ton on food costs), laundry in the condo (could pack less), PS2 on a big-screen TV, free internet access, and MUCH more room than in a hotel.
• The same friends rented a home when they recently went to Hawaii. I think we'll probably do the same when we head there in a few months. 
• I recently ran a post on how to save money on travel. One of the suggestions: Rent an apartment.

So whether it's a home, a condo, or an apartment, you can save a good amount of money (as well as get better accommodations) by renting a place rather than staying in a hotel.

A couple keys to making this idea work from our experience:

• Be sure you deal with a reputable company/homeowner. In Disney we used a management company that our friends had used, so we knew they were good.
• Be sure that your location is not far off the beaten path. There's no point (IMO) of saving money if you're so out of the action (unless that's what you're going for) that it makes your vacation a pain.

Anyone else done this? What did you like or dislike about it?

Are You Ready to Move to Get a Raise?

Here's an interesting article from Asset Builder that I found while reading AllFinancialMatters a few weeks ago. A summary of the piece:

Get ready for one of the largest corporate migrations in history. It will happen of necessity as managements try to find ways to do things for employees without increasing payroll costs. The move will be from the expensive coasts to less expensive areas.

Moving from a high cost-of-living city to a low cost-of-living one will allow companies to effectively give employees raises (even if they drop their salaries) because the cost-of-living is so much lower. Consider the impact of one simple cost reduction -- having much cheaper housing:

So let's consider the benefits of a move from San Jose (median home price $560,000) to Austin (median home price $182,500). Just make a simple assumption of a mortgage change from $560,000 to $182,500, and home finance costs on a mortgage rate of 5 percent drop from $3,006 a month to $980, liberating about $2,000 a month.

When was the last time you, or anyone you know, got a $24,000-a-year raise?

Later on in the piece, he notes that even if salaries drop (which they do) when you move to lower cost-of-living city, costs drop more and employees end up better off financially. Some examples:

• A $75,000-a-year worker moving from Oakland, Calif., to Austin would see his cost of living drop by 29.8 percent and his pay fall by 17.7 percent, gaining $9,121 in disposable income.
• A $100,000 worker in Los Angeles could move to Dallas and experience a cost-of-living decline of 30 percent and a salary fall of 9.6 percent to enjoy a net gain in disposable income of $20,388.
• A $125,000 worker in Boston could move to Phoenix and experience a cost-of-living decline of 30.4 percent and a pay cut of 13.9 percent and still enjoy an increase in disposable income of $20,635.
• A $150,000 worker in San Jose moving to Austin would have a less rewarding experience, with a cost-of-living decline of 26.4 percent and a salary fall of 20.5 percent. Still, the net gain would be $4,460.

Hmmm. This looks very familiar. Yep, I posted on the same dynamic four years ago. I guess great minds think alike. ;-)

Let me say it again: where you live has a very big impact on your finances.

Of course you can live wherever you like (it's your money after all) and there are reasons other than money that people live in one spot rather than another (like living close to family). All I'm asking is that you recognize that there are big financial implications of where you live and to make a conscious decision to either live there or move. Don't assume that living in one place is the same financially as living in any other because the differences are HUGE, especially when compounded over a lifetime. As I noted in my post four years ago:

Think what would happen if you moved from San Francisco to Houston with the same $60,000 national median salary job. This means you'd go from a salary in SF of $72,720 to a salary in Houston of $62,640 (more than a $10k cut in pay) but because of the cost of living in each city, you're $65,520 better off each year!!!! Now, take that over 30 years at a 8% return and it's $7.4 million!

This is just an example. But substitute any lower cost-of-living city for Houston and any higher cost-of-living city for San Francisco and you'll get similar (though maybe not as dramatic) results.

Three Expenses I Thought I Couldn’t Live Without

The following is a guest post from MyBankTracker.

“I would die without the internet,” My future-roommate exclaimed when I told her my Internet had been out for three weeks. It is a pretty strong statement, I mean, would she really die without the Internet? Probably not, but I couldn’t judge her because I thought the same when I found out my landlord was getting rid of our wireless.

I was using my Internet as my main source of entertainment, information and a way to wind down at the end of the day. Since I was moving out in six weeks, I decided to run a little experiment to see how long I could go without using the Internet when I wasn’t at work. It took a few weeks to get used to but then I realized how much my life improved with out it. I began to wonder what else I was paying for that I didn’t really need.

1. Internet, Cable and Phone Package

When my Internet went out two weeks into my stay at a month-to-month rental I debated on whether or not I should have someone come install it for the remaining time I would live there. I decided to wait on getting a full cable, Internet and phone package until I found a more permanent apartment – a process that took three months. After a while I got used to not having all those amenities and found that my life actually became more enriched.

How my life improved: After a month of adjustment I realized it wasn’t really necessary. I learned I love reading. In just two months I have read a total of six books. Six! I have had more time to go exploring in my neighborhood. If I need to do something with the Internet I write out a list and go to a local café or library, which is also a nice change of scenery. As the weeks fly by I realized I even cut down the number of trips I take to hook up to wireless Internet.

Savings: Installation $20 and monthly cost (Internet, Cable and Phone) $111.95. Savings $1,363.4.

2. iPhone

When I moved to New York I was told I needed an iPhone. Not only did it have Apps to call a cab or give directions when lost, it had guides to the best restaurants, bars and cafes among a plethora of other features. I would be lying if I said I didn’t yearn for an iPhone most of the time, but when I calculated the cost* I realized sticking with my simple phone that was free with the plan was a lot more economical.

How my life improved: I have discovered so many tiny cafés, bookstores and farmers markets from embracing my inner explorer. Not having a destination is a surprisingly relaxing change of pace from the hustle and bustle of everyday. I learned to relax and let my life fall into the hands of spontaneity.

Savings: Average iPhone Monthly Cost: $130. My monthly costs $60. Savings of $840 a year.

3. Transportation

Saying good-bye to my beloved car, Harry the Honda was tough. I immediately bought a monthly transit pass upon arrival costing me $89. After a few weeks I started walking to work, and after three I started walking everywhere else. I got tired of waiting on buses, missing trains so I started leaving an hour earlier. I decided instead of buying a month pass out of convenience; Iwould just track my Metro use and plan from there.

How my life improved: I got more exercise and fresh air. When I walk or bike it is more of an accomplishment, I literally put in the work to get to where I am going.  Not to mention the health benefits of burning a few extra calories during the week.

Savings: Monthly Pass $89, I found I could just spend $45. Savings of $528 a year.

Just by cutting out these three costs I could save up to$2,732 in one year while also improving my life. I do miss the convenience of the Internet and I have always been a little bit of a couch potato. I have also been known to browse through some fancy phones in the store, and when winter rolls around I may not be such a fan of languid strolls to my destination. For now, I am perfectly content being disconnect from the hustle and bustle of the technological world when I am off of work.

How about you? Can you cut out cable and Internet after work hours for a week or even just a weekend? Or what about not relying on your car to get around? Try getting rid of one of these three for a week or the weekend. Can you do it? Let me know!

How to Save Money on Travel

The following is a guest post from Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

People always ask me how I can afford to travel so much.  What is my secret? And I tell them all the same thing- travel is not as expensive as you think. Expensive travel is just a myth perpetuated by travel companies to get more money out of you.   Luxury hotels, luxury cruises, luxury this and that- they are all designed to make you believe you have to spend money when you traveling. Thus people think the most they can afford is that expensive week in Cancun. But that’s not true. There are plenty of ways to travel without breaking your bank or sacrificing comfort.

• Eat lunch not dinner.  The world is filled with delicious restaurants we want to eat at when we travel. And there’s no reason not too. However, don’t eat dinner at them, eat lunch. Most restaurants around the world, and especially in Europe have a special lunchtime menu at a fraction of the price as their dinner menu. Same delicious food, cheaper price. 

• Cook.  Yes, that’s right cook or get a simple grab and go meal. My approach to eating overseas is that I didn’t travel to eat ramen noodles. But I also come to eat how the locals do. You don’t eat out every night of the week and neither do the people in the country you are visiting.  Head to one of the markets or supermarkets and grab some fresh and local food and make yourself a nice dinner.  Or grab a ready made meal, set up in a park, watch the locals, and the city go by.

• Buy city passes.   If you plan to do a lot of sightseeing, get a city pass. They pay for themselves many times over. Most city passes cost about $30 USD and offer discounts of 10-40%, depending on the activity. Some even offer free admission into museums.  These passes become worth the cost if you plan to see many attractions and do many activities. Most people balk at the cost. But after my Amsterdam Pass saved me over 70 dollars, I became a believer. 

• Check city sites for free events.  City tourism websites are often an overlooked source of information. People tend to focus on guidebooks when they travel but those books don’t have up to date information. Most information in guidebooks are a year old. City tourism websites have a long list of current activities, events, and deals that cost little or no money. Before you go, make sure you use them.

• Couchsurf.   Couchsurfing couchsurfing.org is a global phenomenon where people offer other travelers a place to stay for free. The site has over 2 million members and you can stay with families, couples, males, females, whatever you feel comfortable with. Many people will host families and couples- you don’t need to be a solo traveler.  This not only provides you with free accommodation but also gives you a chance to meet the locals and get local tips on what to see, do, and how to save even more money.

• Stay in hostels.  When people here the name hostels, they think of dirty dorm rooms and backpackers living in filthy conditions and bathrooms where it’s cleaner to not shower than shower. That’s not true anymore. Hostels have grown up. They are clean, offer breakfast, provide free Internet, private rooms, double rooms, and, of course, dorm rooms. They are not the hostels of TV or memory.  Picture them as cheaper hotels. For booking hostels, I use Hostelbookers because they don’t have a booking fee.

• Buy flights for off-peak days or seasons.  One of the biggest travel expenses is flying. The deals of the past just don’t exist anymore but there are still ways to cut down the cost of flying. If you travel off-season, you’ll find cheaper flights. Visit Europe in the spring or fall instead of the summer.  Tickets are cheaper if purchased mid-week and flights are also cheaper if taken mid-week. Moreover, think beyond Expedia and Kayak. I like the site Momondo as they search websites around the world (not just the U.S.) and usually find much better deals.

• Rent an apartment.   If you plan on being in a city of awhile or are traveling with a group of people, skip the hotel. Using a site like Home Away and rent an apartment. The math will work out cheaper, you have your own living room and common space, and there is a kitchen where you can cook. Hotels are grossly over priced and you can get the same luxury at a fraction of the price with an apartment rental. They are an especially good alternative for families.

• Buy packages.  Sometimes buying your hotel and airfare separate is the worst thing you can do. Some destinations are built around packages. Hawaii, Vegas, Mexico, and the Caribbean- these destinations should always be bought with a package tour.  A 4-day package to Jamaica was $483 on Expedia but if I had booked separately, the flight was $379 and the cheapest 4 night hotel stay was $320. Booking as a package would have saved me $200 dollars.

Saving money is important. I read finance websites like this because I’m a saver. I don’t like wasting money. And just because I am traveling doesn’t mean I can’t bring that philosophy on the road too.  When I travel, I don’t live on cheap food, bread, nor stay in huge dorms rooms. I like to enjoy my holidays. Budget travel doesn’t mean cheap travel. It doesn’t mean sacrificing. It simply means traveling smart and being penny wise.

Bundling Doesn't Always Save You Money

During my recent series of conversations with Comcast, they brought up the subject that I didn't have my internet or phone with them (I suppressed a laugh thinking about how they could screw up those services too!) They suggested I could save a ton of money if I moved everything to them. I told the sales person that I wanted a good price that would not change -- so I didn't have a "great price" for six months or a year and then would have to switch my TV, web, and/or phone to someone else just to get that level of pricing again. I wanted something that was good but that was not a price ticking time bomb.

She suggested I try their "every day low price" (or whatever they called it) option. It was not a promotional rate and it wouldn't be bumping up significantly after a set period of time. The cost: $146.

I pay AT&T $80 per month for my phone (unlimited long-distance) and DSL (I believe it's the highest speed they offer.) I pay Comcast $35 for cable TV. This is a promotional rate, so let's say I had to pay them $50 as the "standard" rate. Even then, I'm looking at $130 per month versus Comcast's "every day low price" of $146. Tell me again how I'm saving money by bundling?

We've all seen posts touting how bundling your services can save you money. It probably can in some cases. But often those are promotional rates designed to get you hooked. Then once you are, the rates go up to "normal" which are often very high. Consider this a reminder to always do the math and not assume something is cheaper simply because it's bundled.

By the way (a bit off topic), there are some cool things Comcast is adding if you do have all the services with them. Two ones I found interesting:

• While you're watching TV, if your phone rings and you have caller ID, the name of the caller pops up on your TV (at the bottom.) Then you can decide whether or not to pause the TV and answer the phone.

• You can set your DVR via the web. Instead of setting programs to record only when you're home in front of the TV, you can do it over the web while traveling, on your lunch break, etc.

Kinda cool -- in a geek sort of way. ;-)

A Few Tricks to Make the Most of Coupons

We've previously discussed the fact that you can save a bundle of money using coupons. Now here's a piece from Consumer Reports with seven tips for making the most of coupons. In particular, there are two tips I wanted to highlight and discuss. Here's the first one:

Stack coupons. Stacking, a top strategy of coupon enthusiasts, means redeeming at least two coupons—one from the manufacturer and one from the store—on a single purchase. Manufacturers and grocery stores don't necessarily offer coupons for the same items at the same time. The trick is to hold onto manufacturer coupons until your store offers coupons for the same product.

My wife is the queen of stacking. Manufacturer coupons with store coupons with store sales with rebates with frequent buyer programs. She likes a double-bagger (at least two of these together) but LOVES whenever three or more intersect! ;-)

And the second:

Be smart online. Set up a separate e-mail account for couponing. You have to register at most sites before you can print out coupons, and once you do you'll be bombarded with spam. Be selective about which online coupons you print, or you'll spend too much on ink and paper. Because manufacturers can discontinue online coupons at any time, print them close to when you intend to use them.

I sign up for frequent buyer programs to places where I shop or may want to shop (Office Max, Best Buy, Hobby Lobby, local sports store, GoDaddy, etc.) and then sign up to receive their promotional emails (sometimes there's not a frequent buyer program and you can just sign up for the email newsletter). When I receive one, I put it into a special folder in Outlook labeled "coupons". Then when I need something at that store, I go into the folder and look at which offer best suits what I need. It's an easy way to save money with coupons.

BTW, I also look for coupon codes online before I make a purchase. I've saved some big bucks on a number of occasions doing this.

How about you? Do you have any coupon secrets you can share with the rest of us?

Another Way to Save Money with AAA

I've previously talked about all the ways being a AAA member can save you money, and here's another example.

When I was recently looking at what I was going to do regarding TV services (detailed in My Comcast Saga Continues), I considered satellite TV as an option (specifically I was looking at DirecTV since the friends I asked seemed to like them the best). As such, I started to save every DirecTV ad I saw from every source -- Sunday newspaper inserts, promotional offers we were mailed, ads in magazines, etc. In almost every instance, the price for their three main packages (Choice, Choice Xtra, and Choice Ultimate) were exactly the same -- $29.99, $34.99, and $39.99 per month respectively.

But there was one resource that had a different price. AAA mails a free magazine to its members on a regular basis (once a quarter?). In a recent one I found an offer for DirecTV that had the following prices: $19.99, $24.99, and $29.99 per month. Yep, that's right, the AAA offer was $10 per month better than any other option I had seen. If I had been interested in getting DirecTV, having AAA would have saved me $120 per year. Not a bad deal for something that costs less than that to be a member, huh?

Anyone else out there have ways to save by being a AAA member?

Save Money by Donating Things You Were Going to Throw Away

As I noted in Update on Our Shopping List, we recently got a new door. We went through quite a process to shop for the door and the company to install it that we felt worked best for our family, home, and budget. It took us several months from start to finish, but in the end we completed the process with a door we love (and it makes the front of our home look so much better!)

When the installers were set to come and place the door, my wife got a brainstorm -- why not call Habitat for Humanity and see if they could use the door? It wasn't in the greatest shape, but it still had some life in it. In addition, it was a nice, glass, double door that someone could get for a steal because it was used.

Unfortunately, the local Habitat for Humanity chapter didn't even return our calls (my wife did finally speak to someone who said she'd have a contact call us, but we never heard from anyone.) But my wife talked to the guy we got the door from and he told her about a local charity that accepted and needed door donations. My wife called them, and the day after our old door was taken out, they stopped by our house and picked it up.

My wife asked for and they gave us a tax receipt for the contribution. She then asked our door person what he estimated as the value of our door since we had no clue. He said $400.

If we were, say, in the 28% tax bracket, the simple act of finding a charity that wanted, needed, and would take the door saved us $112 in federal income taxes. Not a fortune, of course, but it's $112 we didn't have before and that we earned for little effort. I'll take it!!!!

Lesson for today: before you throw anything out as trash, ask yourself if there's a charity that might want it. If so, make it a contribution, get a receipt, and save yourself some money by reducing your taxes.

Where You Buy Something Makes a Big Difference in Cost

While I was on vacation in July (plus a couple side events) I had several experiences that reminded me again that where you buy something makes a big difference in how much it costs. These can be boiled down into two categories as defined below.

Category #1: Soda Pop

Here are my experiences in trying to quench my thirst:

• I try not to drink much pop, but while I was on vacation I did a lot of yard work/landscaping. On one trip to the local Menard's for mulch, I decided that I wanted a cold Diet Coke. It was $1.29 for 20 ounces. Yikes! I knew I could get a 2-liter bottle for 99 cents (on sale) or so at the grocery store. But I wasn't at the store and this one was cold, so I bought it.
• The next day, I found myself at the gas station between more yard work and again I was thirsty. They had Diet Coke for $1.29 for 20 ounces but also had fountain drinks -- $1.39 for 32 ounces. I went with the fountain drink.
• A week later, I was at a professional baseball game. It was sunny, hot, and humid. By the 6th inning I could take it no longer and went to get a Coke. $4.25 for (I'm guessing) 32 ounces. Ugh. (But it was tasty.)
• A week after that, I bought my kids a soda at a concert -- $2 for 20 ounces. Not bad considering it was a concert venue.

Same product, but WIDELY different prices based on where you purchased it.

Category #2: Ice Cream

As you all know, I'm a Moose Tracks ice cream fan and somewhat of an ice cream "expert." so consider the various options we have when buying ice cream (and related) products:

• While eating out, we noticed that a piece of cake and a scoop of ice cream (with fudge over them both) was $7.99. It was supposed to feed a whole family, but I could have eaten one by myself.
• We sometimes go to the local ice cream shop and get a cone or a sundae. It ends up costing us in the neighborhood of $2.50 for 16 ounces or so of ice cream ($10 total for our family).
• Most often we opt for the local store brand (which is very good) ice cream. On sale it's $2.50 for 56 ounces. Buying this we get several desserts from one purchase.

Again, these are the same products (for the most part) but widely different costs depending on where you buy them.

So consider this a reminder for you as well: the price of a given product can vary widely depending on where you buy it. Hopefully, you're making most of your purchases where the lower prices are.

Save Money by Teaming Up with Your Neighbors

Our neighborhood has a loose-nit homeowner's association (it's volunteer and only $30 a month year) which entitles us to a few "special events" (Easter egg hunt, summer party, Christmas party, etc.) as well as a newsletter each year. But better yet, my wife headed an effort to make joining the association a money-saving venture. She called the three major garbage collectors in our area and got group rates to offer to association members. The lowest bid (from Waste Management) saved us about $70 a year. By combining our buying power as a group, we had all saved a good amount of money (and made joining the association a no-brainer.) And no, we all didn't have to ultimately sign up for that garbage service (there were some who chose not to change), but we did get enough participants to get the best rate.

In addition, our neighborhood has a Yahoo group where people post news and comments about our area (it's really good at getting the word out for a special event or some sort of alert like a theft at someone's home). Some of the people there regularly band together to get group rates on services like sprinkler maintenance, lawncare, snow removal, mulch delivery, and so on. Again, they are using the buying power of the group to get a good (better) rate on a service they want performed. It's better for the businesses as well -- they get many customers in one general location, so there's more business for less cost/travel time. Thus they can afford to offer lower prices and still make good money.

Along this same line of thinking, Yahoo recently offered five reasons being nice to neighbors can save you big money. Their list:

1. Internet service. All it takes is a wireless router, and you and your neighbor -- or neighbors -- can bring a $60 Internet bill down to $30 or less a month.

2. Lawn equipment. A friend who has neighbors who live in their house only part-time went in with his neighbor on the cost of a riding mower.

3. Trash pickup. Friends who do this report they cut their bill to $20-something a month from $40-something.

4. Contracting services. I had my septic pumped the same time as my neighbor, and we were offered a discount for only requiring the truck to visit one neighborhood that afternoon.

5. A babysitter. One sitter for multiple kids usually costs less than two sitters for same number of kids.

I'm not so sure about the Internet service -- I like being in control of my own data/info -- but the other suggestions can work.

How about you? Anyone out there working with their neighbors to save money on goods or services?

Secrets of Extreme Savers

Here's a piece CNN Money calls "Secrets of Extreme Savers". These people may be extreme savers (pocketing up to 50% or so of their salaries), but they aren't really using "secrets." Here's a sampling of how they set aside so much of their income for savings:

• Before they make any purchase, even big-ticket items like cars, they save up the cash.
• "Sure, we could afford a bigger house and more expensive cars, but we're content with the things we have."
• It's their ability to curb impulse buys that has fueled the family's savings.
• She regularly uses coupons, always files for rebates, buys plane tickets with credit-card points and earns free stays at hotels in exchange for writing reviews about the service as a mystery shopper. "I have found many ways to stretch a buck and still live the lifestyle I enjoy."
• "I could afford a bigger house or fancier car, but what I've got is just fine."
• "We've always lived below our means."
• They sock away more than one-third of their take-home income by employing a simple but powerful technique: Making saving automatic.

One other thing all of them do (but I couldn't find a good quote to use) is that they limit (or in many cases eliminate totally) debt. They pay off their cars and homes, and don't spend a boatload of money on interest.

As I said, this is not really any "new news" for FMF readers. In fact, one reader emailed me the link to this piece and said, "I think I've seen every single one of those bits of advice on FMF in the past month." ;-)

It's kind of amusing that the mainstream press thinks these are "secrets." Is it really that foreign to live below your means, be content with what you have, and save a large portion of your income?

Ok, so it probably is that unique and surprising for most Americans. But for those of us leading the wealth pack, these seem like everyday no-brainers. ;-)

21 Things You Should Never Buy New

Yahoo lists 21 things you should never buy new as follows:

1. DVDs and CDs
2. Books
3. Video Games
4. Special Occasion and Holiday Clothing
5. Jewelry
6. Ikea Furniture
7. Games and Toys
8. Maternity and Baby Clothes
9. Musical Instruments
10. Pets
11. Home Accent
12. Craft Supplies
13. Houses
14. Office Furniture
15. Cars
16. Hand Tools
17. Sports Equipment
18. Consumer Electronics
19. Gardening Supplies
20. Timeshares
21. Recreational Items

For the most part, this list is irrelevant -- either I don't use the items noted or I do buy them new. My thoughts on each:

1. DVDs and CDs - I never buy DVDs (who wants to watch the same thing more than once?) and hardly ever buy "physical" music (I've gone electronic/digital.) 

2. Books - 99% of my reading is done from the library. Every once in awhile I will buy a book, usually new, to add to my collection. But it has to be a REALLY GOOD book for me to purchase it.

3. Video Games - We buy both new and used, depending on what we want at the time. Then again, we only buy one every few months at the most anyway.

4. Special Occasion and Holiday Clothing - Don't buy much of this stuff. We just wear what we already have.

5. Jewelry - I think the last time I bought jewelry was when I purchased our wedding rings. Neither my wife nor I are big jewelry buyers.

6. Ikea Furniture - For the most part, we buy new furniture that we plan to use for years.

7. Games and Toys - Our kids have mostly moved out of the toys phase of life, but we do occasionally buy a new game. We also can check them out from the library, so that saves us a bit as well.

8. Maternity and Baby Clothes - No need, thank goodness. ;-)

9. Musical Instruments - We bought our piano new 15 years ago and got my son a new guitar a year or so ago. My daughter is thinking of taking up the flute and we've been talking about renting one.

10. Pets - They're joking, right? ;-)

11. Home Accent - We buy new. Sorry.

12. Craft Supplies - Again, buy new (and use until gone -- my daughter is an "artist".)

13. Houses - We've never had a brand new house -- always bought "used." That said, our homes haven't really been that old either. The oldest we've purchased was 25 years old.

14. Office Furniture - Not much need for this.

15. Cars - We buy new and use for many, many years. I'm looking to make a new purchase soon.

16. Hand Tools - We buy new. I like having/using my own stuff, especially when there's a good chance I'll break it. ;-)

17. Sports Equipment - Again, they're joking, right?

18. Consumer Electronics - We buy new.

19. Gardening Supplies - Buy new.

20. Timeshares - There's no way we'd ever buy a timeshare.

21. Recreational Items - We've not into the boat/RV scene.

How about you? Any of these seem to strike a cord with you one way or the other?

How to Ask for a Discount When You're Embarrassed to Ask

In the book Money 911: Your Most Pressing Money Questions Answered, Your Money Emergencies Solved a reader asks how to ask for a discount when she is embarrassed to haggle. The author gives this advice:

• Rather than asking for a deal, ask about promotions or sales in the near future.
• If a piece of clothing seems slightly damaged (like missing a button), retailers can, and usually will, knock 10% to 15% off.
• You can ask for an open box at electronics stores, which means an item has been returned but has been inspected to make sure that it's in working order. Usually you can get about 15% off.
• Search online for the store name and the words "coupon code" or "promotion code".

A few comments from me on this subject:

• I love, love, love the idea of asking for a discount. Why? Because it can save you tens of thousands of dollars, be used anywhere (even at chain stores), and is successful more often than not.
• I've listed six times it's easy to ask for a discount, so if you're embarrassed to do so (like the questioner), here are some other times when you shouldn't feel "bad" about asking.
• I often use the web to search for discounts/coupons and have saved a ton of money on all sorts of items this past year using them. It's still not an automatic habit and I need to remind myself to search for a coupon before I make a purchase.
• My son got a great deal on soccer shoes simply by keeping his eyes open. Every time we go to a sports store he looks at soccer shoes. One time they had an $80 pair that had been purchased, used (probably once -- they were as close to new as they could be), and returned. They were his size and priced at $20. He snatched them up, used them for a season, then had the chance to sell them for $10 to a teammate. He decided not to, but he could have "rented" an $80 pair of shoes for $10 if he wanted. ;-)

How about you? Any other tips out there for asking for a discount? 

The Economics of Bicycling to Work

FMF reader Brad sent me the following email a couple weeks ago:

I bike to work 2 to 3 days per week during the summer and occasionally (if it's reasonably dry and warm) in the other months.  I've analyzed this many times, and here are, in my view, the pros and cons (both financial and otherwise):
 
Pros:

• Obviously, there is a savings on gasoline. If your car gets 20 mpg and gas costs $3 per gallon, gas costs you about $0.15 per mile.

• There is an additional savings on car maintenance. Most cars require scheduled maintenance every 15,000 miles which costs at least $500, plus it's safe to assume another $500 of mileage-driven unscheduled maintenance every 15,000 miles. Add in an oil change every 3,000 miles at a cost of about $20, and that's about $1,100 of mileage-driven car maintenance every 15,000 miles, or about $0.07 per mile.
• There are other indirect costs of driving, some of which are unfortunately largely fixed if you simply own a car - taxes, insurance, depreciation, etc. In the case of taxes, there is no break for biking to work once in a while. I'm also not aware of insurance companies giving a discount for those who bike to and from work on occasion, although it would seem to make sense, given that this reduces the risk of loss to the insurance company. Market value depreciation is largely time driven but also mileage driven to some extent, so there is a savings there, very difficult to calculate.
• Some employers (and some local governments) give financial incentives to people to bike to and from work. The city I live in has a site where you can register your bike rides and after 50 roundtrip rides, you get a $50 Amazon gift card (I guess they trust the honor system on this one).
• If you are able to completely give up your car and bike (or walk / take public transit) 100% of the time, there are potentially substantial savings. Aside from the taxes, insurance, depreciation, etc mentioned above, you may also be able to save the cost of your parking spot if you are a renter or live in a condo. Also, some employers give incentives - my employer will give you $200 per year to give up your parking pass altogether.
• On the non-economic side, bicycling provides an excellent leg and cardiovascular workout (come to think of it, this could have economic impact as well insofar as it could keep you healthier and result in less costly medical care later on).
• My employer benefits when I bike. I am much more mentally alert and energetic on the days that I bike compared to the days that I drive. Therefore, my career may benefit long-term from biking to and from work.
• Speaking of careers, I recently bumped into the CEO and CFO of my company in the locker room after a morning ride in to the office. Okay, so the men's locker room at work is not exactly the ideal place to network. But these guys at least know my face, and it's nice to know that senior leadership of my company looks favorably on employees who get physical exercise and choose this non-traditional means of getting to work.
• I'm politically libertarian, and I hear my liberal friends talk a great deal about green things, and how green they are for driving a Prius. I don't do many of the environmentally friendly things they do, but when I tell them I bike to work fairly often, it usually gets them off my case. :)

Cons:

• While a bike is clearly cheaper to purchase than a car, they don't give away bikes for free. I suppose a used bike could be had reasonably cheaply on Craigslist or eBay or something similar. A good quality, new bike will run at least $200 to $300. I know guys who have spent upwards of $2,000 on a bike. Because of low back problems I have had, I need a bike with upright handlebars and some suspension, so I bought a commuter/comfort bike for about $400 about three years ago and it's held up very well.
• Bikes have accessories. Some are required (i.e. ~$50 for a good helmet, ~$10 to $20 for lights and reflectors if you ride after dark, etc), some are optional (i.e. specialized clothing and shoes, saddlebags, etc).
• Similarly, while bike maintenance is cheaper than car maintenance, they do require maintenance. A tune-up once per year will run $50 to $100, although my employer subsidizes this for those who ride (I paid $15). Bikes also eventually need tires, brake pads, seats, etc replaced. If you ride as often as I do, you can count on $50 to $100 of unscheduled "maintenance" on top of the scheduled tune-up.
• There is risk of injury when riding a bike (of course, there is risk of injury when driving a car, too).
• Depending on the length of your commute, biking may add a significant amount of time, especially when you factor in a shower and change of clothes on either end. When my commute was 10 miles each way, driving took about 30 minutes in the morning and 45 minutes in the evening, while biking took an hour either way plus 15 minutes to shower and change. Now my commute is only 5 miles each way, so driving takes about 20 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in the evening, while biking is about 30 minutes either way plus 15 minutes to shower and change. So at 5 miles, there is not much time lost but at 10 miles, there is.
• In the car, you can listen to the radio or a CD/MP3 or carry on a (hands free) phone conversation. On a bike, you cannot safely do any of these.

I used to bike a lot (roughly 2,000 miles a year) before I started swimming as my main exercise, so I'm pretty familiar with this subject, and I can say this list is pretty good. A few comments I'll add:

• While I rode all those miles, I never biked to work (I did drive my bike to work -- hooked to the back of my car -- to ride with friends from work.) Why? My main issue was that I would be riding in the dark for much of the trip in -- something I wasn't really keen to do.
• I agree 100% that biking is a GREAT exercise and has many benefits -- both financial (saving you on health care costs) and non-financial (potentially helping you live longer and enjoy life more.)
• Biking is dangerous if you ride the roads. I've had numerous friends either hit by cars or "eat it" in some form or fashion (one even crashed on a bike trail -- he wasn't paying attention and hit the metal bar designed to keep vehicles off the trail). When you consider that you're risking your health/career by riding to work, and that your career is your most valuable asset by far, the economics of riding to work aren't that good any longer. That said, is it really THAT dangerous? I'm not sure.
• Yes, you can listen to an MP3 player on a bike. I did all the time. I listened with one ear and left the other ear open to listen for traffic.
• The whole "shower afterwards" thing is a hassle. You either have to bring your stuff in (by car) the day before or somehow carry it with you on your bike as you pedal in. And many people don't even have a place to shower at work. That's one thing I like about swimming -- showers are part of the deal. Of course, you can bike almost anywhere but you can only swim in certain spots (I'm lucky to have an Olympic-size ten blocks from my house and 12 minutes from work.)

I have a few friends that bike to work and they love it. As Brad says, they think it puts them in a better mood for the day. Plus, by the time they get home, they don't have to make time to exercise -- it's done.

So what's your take on biking to work? Good idea? Bad idea? Or somewhere in between?

Some Areas of the Country Produce More Millionaires

Here's a series of thoughts from Stop Acting Rich: ...And Start Living Like A Real Millionaire on what areas of the country produce more millionaires (care to guess before you read ahead?):

• As a proportion of their respective populations the Midwest had a higher concentration of these high-net-worth people.
• The concentration of millionaires next door in the Midwest is 1.65 times greater than what is expected given the size of its overall population. The South is also above the norm with a multiple of 1.2, while California and especially the Northeast areas of the United States have less than half the expected number given their overall household population.
• The traditional values of thrift and modesty in spending are still alive in many parts of the Midwest.

He goes on to share a few stories that illustrate this last point -- that people in the Midwest are more likely to control their spending and not worry about appearances/"keeping up with the Joneses." It's this ability that he says allows them to have much higher than expected net worths.

I'd add one thing to this: it's cheaper to live in the Midwest (and the South for that matter) in general (I say in general because it's probably more expensive to live in downtown Chicago -- in the Midwest -- than it is to live in a rural part of New York state.) There's no doubt that some areas of the country cost more to live in and some cost less. Guess which ones cost more: California and the Northeast areas of the United States. Guess which ones cost less: the Midwest and the South. Coincidence? I don't think so.

And the good news is that you don't have to sacrifice quality of life to live in a lower cost-of-living city. In fact, many of the most livable places in America also don't cost that much to live in.

Isn't that nice? ;-)

Hit the Links for Less: Some Obvious and Not So Obvious Ways to Save on Golf

The following is a guest post from Jena Ellis, who writes for Online Certificate Programs. 

In 2004, Forbes.com featured a list of the most expensive sports. While the very top of the list was populated by the more exotic recreational activities like sailing, car racing, and flying, golf is a sport that is popular among the upper and middle classes alike. Still, golf made the list, and if you want to regularly sink a putt without making your finances a veritable sinkhole, here are a few things to think about.

1. High end clubs are for low handicaps.

 Many will judge the perceived value of quality equipment by its price. While brand name clubs are high quality, you won't get much use from them if you have a mid-range or higher handicap. The most expensive clubs are for pros and showoffs. Go for the knock offs or used ones instead.

2. Keep track of your balls.

Nothing wastes more money than lost balls, especially if you prefer softer balls with better traction. While it can be trying to hold up a game while chopping through the rough or fishing in the pond, in the end it's worth it. Take a few minutes to look before giving up. Keeping track of other little things--to whit, tees, gloves, etc.--is also critical in the saving process. Trust me. It all adds up.

3. Remember that most golf gadgets are marketing scams.

The golf gadget industry is akin to products sold on infomercials. They make big promises, they're often sold in multiple payments of 19.99, and they don't help much in lowering your score long term. The best investment you can make in improving your handicap is practice and lessons.

4. If you enjoy golfing while traveling, plan vacations to golf hotspots.
 
When golf courses compete against each other, then you'll be sure to seal some good deals on rounds. When planning family vacations, see if you can negotiate with other family members in terms of location.

5. Consider a membership.

If you don't already have a golf membership, consider getting one. While many of us don't like being tied down to one course, member benefits enable savings that will surprise you.

6. Make friends with golf club members.

Of course, it's not necessarily reasonable to base friendships on the game of golf, although it's tempting to think so considering the game's addictive, hypnotic qualities. When meeting people for the first time at different social events or just by random chance, be sure to throw in your golfing interest in conversation. Golfers come in all stripes and colors, so you'll never know a stranger's shared passion if you don't bring it up. You'll make a new golf buddy and you may just end up saving some money in the process. Who doesn't want that?

7. Be choosy with your boozing.

Golf and the consumption of alcohol are often said to go hand in hand. While this may be true, drinking heavily on the course doesn't much help in the way of lowering your score, but it will most certainly lead to a hemorrhaging pocketbook. And, what's more, if you're careful about how much you consume, you can always use your heightened senses and finer motor skills to take advantage of competitors who may not be so inclined to control their drinking.

8. Be mindful about each and every shot.

Don't think this tip will save you much money? Well think again. If the whole point of golf is to both enjoy yourself and lower your handicap, then focusing on each shot works toward both objectives. Just as the enjoyment of fine cuisine is only possible through eating slowly and thoughtfully, so too, does careful and self-aware playing lead to a better overall experience. Mindlessly hacking through a course means that you aren't getting as much bang for your buck. The quantity of practice, in which shelling out more dough becomes necessary, isn't as important as the quality of practice.  Think before you swing, every single time.

Save Money by Buying on Specific Days of the Week

Miserly Moms: Living Well on Less in a Tough Economy says you can save money by purchasing certain items on specific days of the week. Their list:

• Airplane tickets -- Buy and fly on Wednesdays.
• Cars -- If they had a bad weekend, Monday can be a great day to buy.
• Clothing -- Thursday evenings have great stock at low prices (going on sale for the weekend.)
• Dinner out -- Most restaurants have slow midweeks and offer sales then.
• Groceries -- On the night before a store's sale ends, stores are likely to have run out of sale items. Get a rain check and buy them later when you need them.

Here's my take on these suggestions:

• Airplane tickets -- Is this one still true (the book was written some time ago)?
• Cars -- How do you know if it was a slow weekend? I think there's more savings to be had by buying at the right time of year http://www.freemoneyfinance.com/2010/04/the-three-best-times-to-buy-a-new-car.html
• Clothing -- Good tip. We've done this before and she's right -- lots of selection AND the sale prices.
• Dinner out -- Nice if you can eat out during the middle of the week. I guess there's a reason for the slow traffic, most people don't like to eat out then. My tip: eat out at lunch on the weekends -- more convenient for most and still a better cost than dinner.
• Groceries -- Neat tip! Does anyone use this?

What's your take on these ideas -- good or so-so?

Most Livable Cities Also Very Affordable

I'm sure this post will ruffle some feathers. :-)

I've noted more than once that where you live has a big impact on your finances. Of course, anyone is free to live wherever he likes for whatever reasons he likes. That's not my point. My point is that it costs more to live in some places rather than others and this can significantly, negatively affect your finances over time. And yes, people often earn more in more expensive cities than they would elsewhere, but I've shown that this increase in income does not make up for the increases they experience in costs. As such, living in expensive markets is a net financial loss no matter how you look at it.

But there's nothing going on in less expensive cities (or so many people would say.) What if you want to see a play at 4 am or if you would like to see the latest soda can traveling art exhibit? Those "fly over" cites don't have these options available, and as we all know, money can't buy that sort of "lifestyle experience."

Ok, so I'm exaggerating a bit to make a point. But you know what I mean. People living in expensive cities often cite how great their cities are and how bad others are. And they often do it with an attitude of "how could people even stand to live there?" disbelief.

So I found it especially interesting when Forbes listed the following as America's most livable cities:

1. Pittsburgh, Pa
2. Ogden, Utah
3. Provo, Utah
4. Ann Arbor, Mich.
5. Harrisburg, Pa.
6. Omaha, Neb. 
7. Manchester, N.H.
8. Trenton-Ewing, N.J.
9. (tie) Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Conn.
9. (tie) Lincoln, Neb.

How did they decide this ranking? By looking at five key data points including both financial and "quality of life" measures: 

In compiling our list, we measured five data points in the country's 200 largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas: unemployment, crime, income growth, the cost of living, and artistic and cultural opportunities.

Wait! So you mean there are places to live that have low costs, good income growth, low unemployment, and also offer lots of cultural alternatives in a safe environment? Wow, who would have ever known that? ;-)

Living in an average to low cost-of-living city for most of my adult life has saved me a fortune. And I've thoroughly enjoyed every place I've ever lived (I even lived in #1 for five years.) So for me, it's been a win-win. For others, it might not work. But if you have the choice between living in a higher cost city versus a lower cost one, be sure you run the numbers and see how much that expensive city will cost you over the next decade or two. I believe you'll be stunned by the expense.

Four Things That Are More Expensive Than You Think

Yahoo lists four things that are more expensive than you think as follows:

• Active Trading - The only person who is guaranteed to get rich from your constant buying and selling is your stockbroker.
• Refinancing - Refinancing can cost you more than you think. Not only are you extending your mortgage obligation for more years; you are also draining the equity out of your home.
• Late Fees - Too many people ignore the detrimental effects of late fees by thinking it is only $5 or $10 bucks. Add these little late charges together, and you could be losing hundreds of dollars a year.
• Credit Card Purchases - Most credit card users end up paying way more than the stated purchase price. The only exceptions are people that pay their bill in full each month.

And they end with this word of warning:

Small purchases may not appear to be a big deal initially, but over time these little items will end up costing you a whole lot more than you think.

Here are my comments on these:

• Yes, all sorts of investing costs (including broker's fees) can significantly reduce your investment return. That's just one reason why I prefer (low cost) index funds.
• Here's an alternative to refinancing, pay off all your debt! If you want to know how to do this, check out Seven Steps to Get Out of Debt.
• Why does anyone pay late fees? If you only charge what you can afford (translation: pay off fully when the bill comes due), then late fees should never be a problem for you.
• Same with credit card fees. My suggestion is that you become a "person that pays his bill in full each month."

Overall, these suggestions are pretty weak IMO. That said, I do agree with their take on "small spending." As I discussed in The Ten Worst Money Mistakes Anyone Can Make, over-spending on the little things -- the small amounts that seep out of your pockets here and there and eventually become large -- is a big deal. In fact, couple it with spending more than you have in some bigger areas as well and you have the worst money move anyone can make.

What's your take on these suggestions? Any you agree/disagree with? Or maybe some you could improve upon?

Time, Gas Costs, and Savings Trade-offs When Shopping for Groceries

To save money on food purchases, the author of Miserly Moms: Living Well on Less in a Tough Economy suggests people shop at several grocery stores, taking advantage of the sales at each. However, several questions come up regarding this strategy. Namely:

• Are the savings really that great?
• What about the costs of gas -- doesn't that negate much of the savings?
• What about the time spent driving around? Doesn't it take forever?

Here's the author's response to these:

I had a local TV news crew follow me around one day. I went to three stores to get the sales items, and then did the rest of my shopping at a local inexpensive grocery store. I shopped unit price and avoided convenience foods. In the end, I had saved sixty-five dollars on our food. It's not what we buy; it's how we buy it that makes the difference.

As for the question about my time and the driving around, that is inconsequential. If I was driving huge distances for one item that was only a dollar or two less, then yes, that would be a waste. But all the stores I use (and advise people to use) are within a few miles of where we usually are driving. That means that the gas cost isn't more than three dollars per week, even at high gas prices. The time factor is usually one or two hours per week at the most. If that saves me sixty-five dollars then I am doing great, and it is more than worth it.

A few thoughts on these comments:

• Saving $65 for a couple hours and $3 in gas sounds like a pretty good deal. This can't be weekly savings can it? I know she recommends shopping once a month, so if she saved $62 a month that would be $744 per year. Not bad at all!
• We have three grocery stores within a few miles of our house and my wife has a car that gets great gas mileage, so she shops all three, looking for sales as the author of this book does.
• I think it takes longer than an hour per week to go to the extra stores, but maybe not. If she shops monthly that means she spends four extra hours going to additional stores on the day she does her shopping -- and that sounds about right to me.

What's your take on the savings/gas costs/time commitment trade-off noted above? Worth it or not worth it?

10 Ways to Get Kids to Save Money

Miserly Moms: Living Well on Less in a Tough Economy lists ten ways to get kids to save money on various purchases as follows:

1. Shop alone as often as possible.
2. Explain that you have a limited amount of money and choices have to be made.
3. While at a store, explain what amount you plan to spend at this particular store.
4. Give them the facts: "I can't afford it."
5. Ask them if they want to use their allowance to buy it.
6. Use the opportunity to help them make choices.
7. For the very persistent (and young), let them pick one item that isn't budgeted.
8. When you are away from the store, let them see or learn about economic lifestyles.
9. If there is a certain item they always ask for, show them how the system works (watch for sales and coupons).
10. Forget those larger-ticket items, I have found two ways to tame them: 1. Tell them to add it to their Christmas list and 2. have them save up their allowance for it.

How about this money saving tip: just say "no!" ;-)

Seriously, here's what we do:

• Our budget isn't so tight that we have to say no to everything. If the kids want something small and we're willing to buy it, we let them get it.
• My wife does try to shop alone as much as possible (and does everything she can to keep me out of the stores as well.) ;-)
• Our kids are at the age where they are starting to earn some money, so we often use the "you can buy it with your own money" answer.

How do you get your kids to save?

Save the Most on Groceries in the Least Amount of Time

I've noted that the author of Miserly Moms: Living Well on Less in a Tough Economy quit her job to stay home with her kids, but not everyone can (or wants to) do that. And yet, these moms (and dads) would still like to save some money while feeding their families, right? But they're busy (an extra 40+ hours a week can really soak up your time), so they aren't available to take advantage of all the money saving tips in the book -- they have just enough time to do the few things that save them the most money. What are these tips? Here's what the book says:

• Plan your menus around the sales flyers.
• Stock up on sale items.
• Avoid convenience foods.
• Avoid eating out.
• Do your shopping and cooking once a month.

Personally, I like the notion of a few, simple steps that can still save you a good amount of money. Sure, you're not saving every penny possible, but you're making some headway while also bringing in extra income. And if you can grow income and cut expenses at the same time, your net worth is bound to benefit!

Here are my thoughts on the suggestions above:

• My wife plans much of what she buys based on what's on sale. We don't necessarily have those things for meals that week, but we can freeze many items and have them a few weeks down the road.

• We don't do a lot of "stocking up" -- at least the way I think she means it. We might buy two or three more of an item that's on sale, but we don't purchase an extra 10 or 15.

• We eat very few convenience foods. Many of them aren't that nutritious.

• We eat out maybe once every other week, which hasn't changed much over the past few years. We tend to go to lower cost places like Papa Johns, the local Chinese buffet, or Wendy's (for a quick snack before or after a soccer game.)

• We do NOT do the once-a-month shopping thing. Does anyone out there? In fact, we're in the local stores a couple times a week (we have three close to our house.) If we did cut down to one time per month, we'd probably save a good amount. Then again, we only spend $450 per month for a family of four, so we do fairly well in the food category.

What do you think of these tips? Anything to add?

Four Tips for Negotiating a New-Car Price

Yahoo lists four tips for negotiating a new-car price as follows:

• Shop around and play dealers off of one another.
• Don't try to negotiate when the dealership is busy, like on Saturdays.
• Line up your car financing before going to the dealership so you are a cash customer and can avoid any dealer's attempt to negotiate the monthly payment.
• Be prepared to walk out if you don't get the price you want.

Three of these (#1, #2, and #4) are at the heart of the way I buy a car using the web. As for financing, I skip that and pay with cash.

I'm now entering the "research phase" of my car hunt. I've been planning to buy a new car for some time and expect to have one researched (I have a favorite, though there are still a couple other options), test driven, negotiated, and purchased by the end of October or so (maybe sooner.) We'll be using my current car all summer for our trips (two to see family and one for another vacation.)

As usual, I'll keep you up-to-date on my progress.

Be Wary of Warehouse Clubs

Many money savers are big fans of warehouse club stores and/or buying in bulk. While the author of Miserly Moms: Living Well on Less in a Tough Economy does like the latter, she's a bit cooler on warehouse clubs. She says that people can not assume that warehouse clubs "always" have better prices and that we need to compare unit prices from several stores to actually determine the best deal for any particular item. She's done this and here are a few of her general conclusions (paraphrased by me):

• Take along your price book (collected prices of various grocery items) so you can see for yourself if an item is a better deal at a warehouse club.
• While name-brand items at a warehouse club my be better priced than name-brand items at a grocery store, store-brand items at a grocery store are better priced than them both.
• Warehouse clubs are featuring more of their own store-brand items, and these can be good deals. But you must compare unit prices to make sure.
• Shopping at warehouse clubs tempts people to over-buy food they don't really need, and this can be a big budget buster.
• She said that in general joining a warehouse club is worth the membership cost. She is careful about what she buys there and as such saves more than her annual fee each year.

And to wrap up, here's a direct quote from the book:

After comparing prices of many like items at our local warehouse clubs with local grocery store prices, I have shortened the list of what I buy at warehouse clubs to only ten or fifteen items. This list changes as they change their prices.

Here's my take on this issue:

• It's "saving money common sense" to compare prices and never assume. Of course, many people still do neither of these.
• I found that health and beauty store brands at warehouse clubs are cheaper than store brands at Walmart (and here's round 2)
• Consumer Reports says that you'll save more money being a grocery store store brand shopper than a club store shopper. Then again, if you shop at both, you can save even more.
• What you buy matters. I've covered the fact that some publications have listed things to buy in bulk and things not to buy in bulk. 
• Buying in bulk is not always a deal. You MUST calculate the per unit/use cost.
• It's not just groceries. Sometimes you can save on big ticket items at warehouse clubs.

What are your thoughts/suggestions on shopping at warehouse clubs?

Save Money on Groceries by Keeping Track of Prices

Miserly Moms: Living Well on Less in a Tough Economy (I profiled the author the other day) suggests that keeping track of prices on food is a great way to save money. In other words, if you know what a "good deal" is, you can then judge whether to buy something or not.

The author records her information in a small notebook she keeps in her purse. She keeps track of stores, brand names, retail prices, unit cost, best sale prices, and best unit cost. Here's an example from the book for the "cold boxed cereal" category:

Store A

• Brand Name: Store brand "Cheerios"
• Retail Price: 16 oz. @ $2.24
• Unit Price: $0.14/oz.
• Best Sale: 12 oz. @ $1.00
• Best Unit Price: $0.08/oz.

Store B

• Brand Name: Cheerios
• Retail Price: 14 oz. @ $4.42
• Unit Price: $0.32/oz.
• Best Sale: 14 oz. @ $1.99
• Best Unit Price: $0.14/oz.

Warehouse Club

• Brand Name: Cheerios
• Retail Price: 37 oz. @ $4.95
• Unit Price: $0.14/oz.
• Best Sale: no sales
• Best Unit Price: $0.14/oz.

She lists them in a nice chart that's a lot easier to read than what I have above, but you get the idea.

Once she has this information, she then shoots to beat her "best unit cost." Of course, this can't be done all the time, but many times it can -- especially if you have a coupon. ;-)

The overall savings tip here is to know what things actually cost. I know this seems pretty basic, but with an average grocery store carrying 30,000 or so items and the constant bombardment of advertising, promotions, price changes, etc., it's not that easy to get this information. I'm thinking it would take months to get enough useable information to be worthwhile. And, of course, prices are different from one area of the country to another (so you can't have a friend from Seattle send you her book) and prices change constantly (so it's a never-ending updating task), making the process an on-going battle for the right information.

I'm wondering how many people actually take the time and effort to get this extensive. We don't. However, my wife knows what a "good price" is for most items. That hits a bit of a snag when we go to Costco though as she knows cost per package from the grocery store -- not cost per unit measure. And we all know Costco has different unit measures than grocery stores.

How about you? Do you (or anyone in your family) have a price book that you use to track the cost of groceries (and shop accordingly)?

Eleven Miserly Guidelines to Saving Money

Here are the eleven miserly guidelines that are the core principles covered in Miserly Moms: Living Well on Less in a Tough Economy (remember, I profiled the author the other day):

1. Don't confuse frugality with depriving yourself.
2. Remove little wasters of your money.
3. Keep track of food prices.
4. Don't buy everything at the same store.
5. Buy in bulk whenever possible.
6. Make your own whenever possible.
7. Eliminate convenience foods.
8. Cut back on meats.
9. Waste nothing.
10. Institute a soup-and-bread or baked-potato night.
11. Cook several meals at once and freeze them.

A few comments:

• She uses "miserly" as a replacement for "frugal" and she means it as a positive term (versus what some of us might consider "miserly" to mean -- similar to "hoarding.")

• Most of these guidelines have to do with food-related purchases because that's the category she initially focused most on reducing (since it was large and not fixed.)

• I'll share details on many of the tips above, so before someone comments that buying in bulk isn't always a good idea or that shopping at several stores wastes gas/time, you may want to wait until I have a chance to cover it in a future post.

• I like the fact that she recognizes small spending is a budget killer.

• We've cut back on meats ourselves, but mostly we've cut back on the quantity of meat eaten at each meal, not what she (and others) suggest -- having more meatless meats meals.

That's it for now. See anything that really sparks your interest?

A Good Money Saving Tip or Unethical Way to Save Money?

Here's one "money saving tip" that I think I know how most people will respond to, but I have to put it out there anyway. Here goes:

• I have a friend whose brother stops by McDonald's (or similar restaurant) at the start of a long road trip and buys a soft drink.
• After he drinks the contents, he stops at another McDonald's along the road, takes the cup in, and gets a "free refill" (because McDonald's offers free refills on drinks -- though the intention is that it's during the same trip.)
• To my knowledge, he only does this for the length of the trip -- he doesn't save the cup for weeks/months and use it at random McDonald's to satisfy his urge for free soft drinks.

So what's your take on this? Is it a good money saving tip or an unethical action that's akin (or is) stealing? Share your thoughts below.

How One Family Went from Two Incomes to One -- And Developed a Business in the Process

Anyone read the book Miserly Moms: Living Well on Less in a Tough Economy? It was written by Jonni McCoy originally in 1994 as an extension of what was happening in her own life. Here's the scenario she faced prior to this time:

• She and her husband lived in San Francisco (a very expensive part of the country.)
• They had a child and Jonni wanted to stay home to care for him.
• Since the family couldn't afford to live on one salary (or so they thought) since Jonni earned 50% of the couple's income, she arranged a job-sharing situation at work.
• They kept at this for several years until it became too much for her to handle. The family needed/wanted a change.
• They considered moving to a less expensive community far outside San Francisco so they could live on the husband's salary alone. They made an offer on a home and had one on theirs as well. But at the last moment they decided that this option wouldn't work either since it would require the husband to commute several hours each day. So they backed out of both offers. Unfortunately, Jonni had already quit her job.
• Their choices were for her to find a new job or for them to cut expenses so they could live on the husband's salary alone.
• They calculated what they would save by Jonni not working (which was a ton) and that got them a good part of the way to where they needed to be.
• She decided to make up the difference by saving money any way she could. As she discovered money saving tip after money saving tip, she started writing them down in a notebook. Friends started borrowing and copying the notebook so they could save as well.
• Ultimately, she turned the notebook into a book (Miserly Moms: Living Well on Less in a Tough Economy) and has since sold over 150,000 copies of it. She's now an author and speaker on how to save money.

What a great story, huh? I heard her interviewed on a radio show a few weeks ago and checked out her book from the library. I'll be sharing some tidbits from it over the next week or two. Much of the book focuses on what she calls their biggest non-fixed expense -- groceries/food -- but she has other money saving tips as well. I'll post the highlights and we can discuss them. I think it will be both fun and educational and I'm looking forward to your thoughts on her tips as well.

Stay tuned!

Five Ways to Cut the Fat from Your Grocery Bill

Yahoo offers five ways to cut the fat from your grocery bill as follows:

1. Make a grocery list and check it twice.

2. Stop clipping worthless coupons.

3. Watch the price scanner.

4. Buy generic items over big brand names.

5. Skip the cans, buy dried beans in bulk.

Here are my thoughts on these (plus a few more comments):

• Using a list allows you to stick to the items you need (and not buy other -- possibly more expensive -- items) as well as saves time during the shopping process. It's a win-win!
• You can save a boatload of money using coupons, but like anything else, if you clip ones you don't need and want you're wasting both time and money.
• Yes, certainly watch the scanner. Four years ago I noted how we all need to pay attention to price stickers and watch the register readout. 
• We buy generic/store brand items all the time. Doing so can save you big money (Consumer Reports says it will save almost $1,200 a year.)
• Not sure where the dries beans tip came from. They probably should have just stuck with four tips versus five. ;-)
• My best grocery savings tips would be: 1. double (or triple) dip (store sales plus coupons plus rebates), 2. shop at various stores -- buying the best-priced/loss leader items at each, and 3. combine various store shopping strategies to save the most money possible.

Do you have any great grocery shopping tips to share with the rest of us?

Now You've Heard Every Money Saving Tip Possible

Ok, I thought I had heard every money saving tip in existence -- but this next one was new to even me. It says that you can save money on your computer printing costs simply by using the correct font. And it's not a small savings either. Their claim is that you can save 31% on ink cartridge costs if you use the "right" font over the standard font. The details:

Arial, reigning as the most popular font, was used as the “zero” measurement, against which nine other fonts were tested. The clear winner was Century Gothic, which returned 31% savings in both printers. For the average private user, printing approximately 25 pages per week, this will easily generate a net reduction of $20 in a year. A business-user, printing approximately 250 pages per week, could save $80. If your organization uses multiple printers, you can save hundreds of dollars per year doing nothing more than picking a more economical font.

Century Gothic is a modern font that comes standard with MS Windows. Surprisingly, it even beat Ecofont which was specifically designed with efficiency and cost in mind. For those who require a more “traditional” look, Times New Roman provides a good balance between style and savings.

The fonts in order, starting with most economical, are:

• Century Gothic
• Ecofont
• Times Roman
• Calibri
• Verdana
• Arial
• Sans Serif
• Trebuchet
• Tahoma
• Franklin Gothic Medium

Now, do you feel like you've heard every money-saving tip there is? ;-)

And do you think you'll be changing the font you use (I like Arial myself, though I use Times New Roman a lot as well) in order to save a bit of money?

How to Save on Food While Traveling

Smart Spending lists 53 tips for saving on food costs while traveling. Here are the ones we use:

• Check for coupons and certificates online. When we go on a road trip, my wife regularly brings her coupon file so we can save along the way if we need/want to stop and eat.

• Make a big bag o’ snacks. Almost always we pack snacks and drinks for the road. They keep us from buying the $2 soda or candy bar at stops along the way. Our snacks save money and help us eat healthy (we usually pound down enough sweets once we get to our destination.) ;-)

• Book places with free breakfast. We actually calculate room cost plus meals to determine the best value. Often we'll pay a bit more to stay at a place with a nice (not meager) free breakfast. Then we eat a big breakfast -- enough to carry us through the day with a few snacks (which we bring ourselves) -- and a big dinner (skipping lunch.)

• Get a room with a kitchen. We did this when we went to Disney a few years ago. We ate big breakfasts, snacked a bit during the day, and a big dinner back at our place. We saved a ton (and had much better food) than if we had eaten in the parks.

• Hit the buffet once a day. Same principle as noted above. It makes sense especially if you can make one meal cover two.

• Ask for discounts. My wife is the queen of this. She asks for discounts everywhere and more often than not, we get something. It never hurts to ask, right?

• Go before the crowds get there. We don't do this to save money, but mostly to save our sanity (I hate waiting in crowds). But we do get some deals now and then going at off times.

• Skip lunch. See above. Big breakfast + snacks + big dinner = no need for lunch.

How about you? What do you do to save on food costs when traveling?

Three Big Ways to Save

Yahoo lists three big ways to save money as follows:

• Housing - Refinance could save you hundreds each month. [Shop out] homeowners' insurance. Reduce utilities.
• Transportation - Check your insurance. Perform any routine maintenance.
• Food - Eat at home.

Here's my take on these thoughts:

1. Not much new. Aren't we all doing these things (for the most part) already? These tips are very similar to the ones I detailed in Five Ways to Save Big.

2. While "saving big" is a great place to start, don't forget about small spending as well. You can lose a ton of money in $5, $10, $20, etc. chunks if you don't watch your money closely (which, for most people, means having a budget.)

3. If you really want to turn around your financial fortunes, work on both ends of the equation -- save money AND make money. Doing them both allows you to make more progress and at a faster rate.