Free Money Finance

Is It Worth It to Rent a Car for Long Trips?

Friends of ours always rent a car when they take long driving trips. The reason: they say the cost of the rental plus gas is far less than the cost would be to drive their own car for the trip (assuming something like 50 cents a mile or so I'd guess.)

These people are pretty frugal and quite smart, so I'm guessing they've done the math, but I'm not so sure. My bet is that there are instances when it's a good deal (when you can get a discount, rent from a cheaper market, return the car to the place you rented it from (versus a one-way trip), when you need a bigger/smaller car than you have, etc.) and instance when it's not (you are only going one way by car, you don't need a type of car different than yours, your renting market is expensive, and so on.)

Anyway, I thought I'd throw this issue out for discussion. Has anyone considered the idea of renting a car for a long trip versus driving your own? If you have done it, what were the advantages/disadvantages? If not, why now?

14 Fun Staycation Ideas

Want to save a boatload of money? Then spend your vacation at (or near) home. Yes, a "staycation" can be a great way to take a break and not break the bank. Wise Bread lists 14 fun staycation ideas. Here are their suggestions along with my comments on each:

1. Visit the Local Ski Resort. My wife and kids do this at least once a year with friends at a resort a couple hours away from home (they make it a day trip). It's usually during a work day, so I don't attend (not that I'm much of a skier anyway).

2. Plan a Spa Day. A spa isn't exactly my cup of tea. Pass.

3. Check Out the Latest Museum Exhibits. We have been members of the local botanical gardens for years now and get a museum membership once every other year or so. These places make GREAT mini-vacation stops as they always have something new going on.

4. Schedule a Movie Marathon with Friends. Love it! And with our cable TV and DVR, all we need to do is record several movies and watch them from the comfort of our living room. Sweet!

5. Start a New Craft Project. Uh, no. I am not "crafty" and don't need any new projects in my life.

6. Embark on a Food and Beverage Tour. I did one of these for work last year. It was a great time, but is pretty pricey ($60 per person.)

7. Challenge Yourself With New Recipes. New recipes can go one of two ways -- very good or very bad. I prefer to phase one at a time into our normal food line up, just so the balance of what's good doesn't get upset. So if they are talking one new recipe, I'm ok with that. But not too many, lest we end up with a week of meals we hate.

8. Rearrange the House. I like things the way they are. And this isn't really fun anyway IMO.

9. Take a Trip to Nearby Wineries. We don't have nearby wineries, but we do have some fun attractions near our home, so I'll take the "nearby" idea, expand it a bit, and call it good!

10. Hit the After-Holiday Sales. We did this this year. Not really a money-saver per se (since you end up spending money), but lots of fun and several bargains.

11. Visit a New City by Bus. I hate busses. No way.

12. Devour a Stack of Books. Or maybe just a couple. I like it.

13. Invite Other Staycationers Over for a Sleepover. Our kids would especially like this. Me? Not so much.

14. Go Thrift Shopping. It's an "ok" idea IMO.

Our favorite staycation ideas are always visiting places near our home that are fun and inexpensive (relative to a full-blown vacation.) Places like an indoor water park (save a ton of money by going on an off day), visiting the local gym's climbing wall and kids' pool, doing some outlet mall shopping, and so on.

But this year, we're not staying -- we're off to the Caribbean. ;-)

What do you do for your staycations?

Be Nice to Make and Save Money

Smart Money has an interview with Daniel Post-Senning, great-great grandson of etiquette maven Emily Post. He says that by simply being nice you can both make more money and save money. A couple examples:

• People will want to work with you if you treat them with dignity, honesty and respect.


• I cultivate relationships with the sales people at Brooks Brothers. They let me know of upcoming sales.

My thoughts on this:

• The reason you get ahead in your career (and thus earn more money) by being nice is that in doing so, you'll be more likeable. And as we've seen, likeability is a key factor in career success -- it's just as important as performance.


• I like the tip on being nice to sales people. Not only does it make the shopping experience a better one, but it can save you money and help make them money if they work on commission -- a bonus for you both.

So, anyone feeling like being nicer now? ;-)

A Great Way to Save on Weddings that You're Bound to Hate

Here's a piece from US News that gives five ways to be a bridesmaid without going broke. The first one is an idea that I LOVE but that most people (especially women) will hate. It is:

Just say no. It may sound harsh, but sometimes it's the best solution. Ask yourself if you'll still be friends with this person in 10 years. If the answer is no, consider responding with a polite decline.

Ha! How many times has this happened? Probably none.

But think about it. How many people do you still keep in contact with from high school? 2? 3? How many from college? 2? 3?

In other words, friends change over time. So the "10-year rule" is actually a good one. If you really can't afford to be a bridesmaid and/or would rather skip it anyway, why not simply decline? Odds are you probably won't be friends in 10 years anyway.

And, if you say no you'll likely speed along the breakup of your friendship. ;-)

Seriously, I'm sure it's relatively rare that people decline such an "honor", but doing so is something more people should at least consider. Many don't have a few hundred dollars to spend on a wedding (or several thousand dollars to spend on several weddings) but feel trapped that they have to accept a bridesmaid offer. But you don't HAVE to -- you can just say no!

Anyone ever done this (decline being in a wedding due to cost)? How did it work out for you?

11 Secrets of Frugal Bloggers

US News lists 11 secrets of frugal bloggers as follows:

• Reuse plastic sandwich bags.
• Make your own cleaning supplies.
• Ignore expiration dates on food.
• Stop drinking soda (or another beverage).
• Move back home with your parents, at any age.
• Get rid of your carpet.
• Hold a no-spend month.
• Take cold showers.
• Stop using a fridge.
• Replace your house with an RV.
• Turn your car off—while it's still moving.

I consider myself frugal. Most of you probably consider me over-the-edge-frugal. But most of these ideas are way too "out there" even for me. Here's my take on the suggestions above:

• Reuse plastic sandwich bags. I do this if the bag was used for something dry and it's convenient to reuse it. For instance, I reuse plastic bags for candy we take to the theater and ones we use to keep our soccer score cards dry when it rains. I don't wash out a bag that is smeared with tuna salad. And if we're far away from home (like on a trip), I'll simply throw them away instead of hauling them back (I usually have too much other stuff to deal with to add one more thing.)


• Make your own cleaning supplies. Too much time, effort, and I question their effectiveness. That said, my wife has tried this in the past. Then again, she's more frugal than I am.


• Ignore expiration dates on food. If it's a close date (like a week at the most), we'll go ahead and eat it. But with most stuff we never get that far (we buy what we need/want) and if we do, then it's better to be safe IMO and not eat it.


• Stop drinking soda (or another beverage). The soda I drink most is free (from work.) Other than that my main beverage is water.


• Move back home with your parents, at any age. Yeah, right. There's a better chance of my parents moving in with us.


• Get rid of your carpet. We have a carpet cleaner and our carpet looks pretty good after 12 years of use. We'll see how it holds up over time, but I can't imagine the cold Michigan winters with hard wood (or similar) floors.


• Hold a no-spend month. I wouldn't mind actually trying this for a month, just to see what it's like. Perhaps something I'll do and then post about it.


• Take cold showers. Really? Do you really save that much for the torture it puts you through?


• Stop using a fridge. No way.


• Replace your house with an RV. Why not just live in a cave? Come on, this one is way over the top for me.


• Turn your car off—while it's still moving. Note that the article says that this is not recommended. And I don't do it. I don't know anyone who does.

Let's face it, we all make money so that we can enjoy some of the "finer" things in life, right (like warm water and cold, safe food)? So it's not a big deal to me if someone spends money on those. An over-spending problem only comes when people get out of control and spend like crazy. But you can be out of control in the other direction too -- by being so frugal that you endanger your life (by eating bad food) or are so uncomfortable that life holds no pleasures. Is that any way to live?

How about you? Do you use any of the money saving techniques listed above?

Free Coffee for You Coffee Lovers

Starting tomorrow (November 17) through Sunday, Starbucks is having a buy one get one free coffee offer. The details:

Buy one holiday drink, get one of equal or lesser value free.

November 17 - 20, 2 -5 p.m. at participating Starbucks locations.

Flavors:

• Peppermint Mocha -- Peppermint lovers rejoice! Your holiday favorite is back.
• Caramel Brulée Latte -- Warm up with sweet, caramel goodness.
• Gingerbread Latte -- Enjoy the flavor of freshly baked gingerbread.

I'm not a big coffee drinker, so I'll pass. But if I was to buy one, it would be the caramel flavor without question!

Also I'd go to my grocery store and get a Starbucks card first -- so I could get 6% cash back on my purchase. ;-)

Hat tip: The Centsible Life.

Save Money on Food by Buying at a Grocery Store Instead of a Drugstore

Money Watch lists items not to buy at a drugstore (saying they should instead get them at a grocery store.) Why? Because there's a HUGE price difference. The details:

ConsumerWorld.org, a consumer education web site, just conducted a pricing survey in the Boston area, tracking 25 common grocery items — both foods and household products. It found the average drugstore charged 50% more than the least expensive supermarket: $102.94 vs. $68.55 for the basket of goods studied.

Stores in the survey included: Walgreens, Rite Aid, CVS, Stop & Shop, Shaw’s and Market Basket.

Among the drugstore chains, Rite Aid proved the priciest, with the 25 items adding up to $107.96; CVS was the least expensive, at $98.12.  Meantime, among the supermarkets, the receipt from Shaw’s had the biggest total at $83.56, while Market Basket had the lowest at $68.55.

Here's my take on this:

1. We don't shop at drugstores for food items except in the following situations:

• They have a sale on/coupon for an item that we know is a good price even for a grocery store (examples: milk and Blue Diamond Almonds).


• Movie-box-sized candy (they are 25 cents cheaper than the grocery store every day.)


• There are some sort of rewards related to the purchase that make it an overall better deal than if it was bought at a grocery store (though with my 6% cash back Amex card, this one doesn't occur much.)

2. We rarely even go to Rite Aid or CVS. The Rite Aid near us is on the wrong side of the street for easy access (coming home) and there isn't a CVS that's convenient.

3. We are in Walgreen's quite often, but it's mostly as a pre-movie stop (candy).

4. We haven't gotten into the rewards game at any drugstores, but from looking at it from the sidelines it appears that you can get some decent deals if you do. Anyone willing to share their tips for saving with a rewards program from any of the drugstores?

Overall, I think there's a reason one is called a drugstore and the other is a grocery store. It's "generally" better (less expensive) to get drugs (in the broad sense) at the drugstore and food at the grocery store.

Six Unusual Ways to Save at Club Stores

Those of us who belong to club stores (FYI, I get my Costco membership paid for by my employer as a very nice perk) know that if you shop them correctly you can save a good amount on a whole host of food-related products. But Smart Money lists six other ways to save that you may not have considered as follows:

• Gasoline
• Electronics
• Financial Services
• Insurance
• Tickets
• Cars

Here's my take on these:

• We gas up frequently when we're at Costco because the prices are several cents below other stations in the area (I can see prices at any moment via GasBuddy on my phone). That said, we do the math since sometimes it's better to pay "more" elsewhere but ultimately save once credit card rewards are considered.


• We got our TV as well as our last computer at Costco. Both were great buys and Costco added a year on to the manufacturer's warranty (not that we needed either one.)


• The savings rates they quoted in the piece seem good, but I think I can do better with my own online bank and can certainly do better with my credit union.


• I never really thought about Costco for insurance. I'll need to include them the next time I price out my car insurance.


• We don't really buy that many tickets.


• I think I can do better on a car by using my method (FYI, here's how I did on my most recent purchase.) Besides, there's "entertainment value" in the process for me. ;-)

How about you? Anyone use club stores to save in any of these areas?

Save Some Money

The following is an excerpt from A Simple Book of Financial Wisdom: Teach Yourself (and Your Kids) How to Live Wealthy with Little Money.

Ready to start “earning” more money by cutting back on your spending? Here are some ways you can start saving today.

• Cook at Home -- If both the husband and wife work, this might be difficult, especially at first. Start out with the habit of cooking at home once a week and slowly increase the frequency until you find a balance between saving money and getting stressed out.


• Make a List Before Going Shopping -- It’s called impulse buying for a reason. Humans simply have a tough time resisting the temptation to purchase extras while shopping. Without a list you will buy items that you simply do not need. Grocery stores are masterful at placing tempting items at the ends of aisles to get your attention.  Even worse is when you forget to purchase the actual item you went to the store for in the first place. If you’re cooking at home, pre-plan a rough menu and make a list before going grocery shopping. Getting all the food you need in one trip can help you avoid another unnecessary trip and the temptations that go along with that.


• Make Your Own Halloween Costumes -- My wife, Tracy, has made our daughter’s costumes the past few years. One year, she made a skeleton costume that looked identical to one that was for sale in a Pottery Barn catalog for $60. This homemade costume saved us $50! Tracy has also made butterfly and salt-and-pepper costumes. These costumes were adorable and you would have thought we bought them from a specialty store.


• Get a New Cell Phone Plan -- This might not apply to everyone, but we use our cell phones very little. My school is three miles away from home so I don’t have a long commute and don’t need to use a cell phone that much. A few years ago, we had a plan in which we were paying $50 per month for a cell phone that we barely used. We now have prepaid cells and average about $20 per month on both of these combined.  I’ve talked to people who tell me they have no money but tote around the newest iPhone. These people do have money but are choosing to spend it on items they may not really need. I know that some folks need to have constant access to others, but if you’re serious about getting out of debt, you might have to cut back some in this area.


• Use Your Local Library -- We all know the library is a great place to get books for free, but a lot of people don’t realize that many libraries also have CDs and DVDs available for checkout. Most libraries offer great free programs for all ages. At our local library, my family has watched movies and seen a juggler, a magician and tap dancers. These were fun family events that only cost us the gas to get there.


• Ask for Free Stuff -- This may surprise you, but we subscribe to the NFL Sunday Ticket on satellite TV. This is one splurge that is important to us; we have family time watching football together on Sundays. A few years ago, I saw an ad in a sports magazine saying that new subscribers to this service would receive an added feature worth $99 for free.  I called my satellite company and said that I already subscribed and wanted this free add-on service. After 15 minutes of being put on hold, my mission was accomplished.  Remember, it never hurts to ask—the worst that can happen is that you’re told no and are back in the same situation you were in before asking.


• Save a Little Every Day -- Some people buy their coffee on the way to work. This practice can add up easily to over $100 per month. If you made your own coffee at home, you could save up to $25 a week, which adds up to $1,300 a year!  Another way to save is to bring your lunch to work. On average, you’ll spend at least $5 eating a fast-food lunch and even more for a sit-down restaurant meal. This adds up quickly.  You can also save money by purchasing sodas at the store rather than from a vending machine. Some machines charge $1.00 per soda, and I’ve even seen some priced as high as $1.75. I wait until there’s a sale at the grocery store and buy four 12-packs for $12. If you had one soda a day while at work, this would save you almost $200 a year!  A final way to save is to drink water from your tap.  According to the Container Recycling Institute, Americans buy 25 billion single-serve plastic water bottles a year. If this includes you and/or your family, you’re spending a lot of money on something that you can pretty much get for free. The Earth Policy Institute estimates that the average family of four spends around $1,095 per person every year on bottled water—that’s a whopping total of $4,380!


• Use Coupons at the Grocery Store -- Tracy really got serious about using coupons in 2010 and the results were great—we saved over $1,600 that year by using coupons and shopping for deals.

For most people, it’s not how much you make, but how well you plan your spending. Try some or all of these tips; they’ll help you on your journey towards financial success.

How to Save Tens of Thousands of Dollars in College Costs

CNN Money has the story of three students who saved a boatload of money on college costs. Here's how they did it:

• Go to a lower-cost college abroad


• Pay with future earnings (the student traded 10% of his growing web-design firm, which specializes in sites for small businesses, to the college in exchange for a full tuition scholarship.)


• Start at community college

Some thoughts on these:

• Yes, going to a lower cost college (here or abroad) is a great alternative -- as long as it still gets you where you want to go (in the field you want with the employer you want at the pay you want, etc.) I did this with both undergraduate and grad school and it worked out well.


• Very creative, trading part of a business for tuition. But how many students actually have something like this they can trade? And how many colleges would actually accept it? And if 10% of the company really is worth the $150k he saved in tuition, why go to school at all? Sounds like he's doing very well without it.


• The community college idea is a standard idea and one we've discussed here many times. Still, it's a good suggestion.

We've saved a good amount for each of our kids to attend college. But we've also told them that if they save any of that money in the process of getting their education, they can have the excess (for a car, home downpayment, etc.) That said, here are some of the ways we're helping our kids save on college costs:

• Get as many college credits as possible while in high school. Through CLEP tests and dual enrollment (college classes taken that count both for high school and college credit) we think our kids can enter college with somewhere around 20 credits (a semester plus) already under their belts.


• Spend a year or two at community college (the tip above) to get basic classes out of the way at a lower cost per credit.


• Apply for as many scholarships as possible. This includes taking extra effort to do as well as possible on standardized tests (PSAT, ACT) since many colleges award academic scholarships based on these. Given our income and assets, we won't be getting any need-based scholarships.


• Work and save while in high school and college (especially in the summer months).

In short, our tips follow the pattern of my post titled Examples of How to Pay for College Without Borrowing. It details a couple of different options for those of you who want to help your kids leave college with little to no debt.

Six Ways to Save on Groceries

It's a well-known fact among bargain hunters that there are many ways to save on grocery costs. Here are the top six (IMO) and the ones we use most often:

• Store sale -- The staple of grocery savings, we use the weekly store ads (and sales) to plan our shopping.


• Store coupon -- Usually found in the ads as well, stores sometimes offer coupons themselves. They also offer them through receipts and/or post check-out printers. We get $5 off the purchase of $75 in grocery coupons probably every other month or so.


• Manufacturer coupon -- The main reason we buy the Sunday paper. My wife looks through all the coupons and keeps/files the ones we're interested in. We'll buy the name brand if it's cheaper (with a coupon) than a private label item alternative.


• Cash back rewards -- 6% off the purchase of every single thing we buy in the grocery store. This is the reason the American Express Blue Cash Preferred card is the top card in our current credit card strategy.


• Store rewards -- More and more stores are offering reward programs to get people to do more of their shopping at that particular store. The most common offers are cents off gasoline purchases (usually in increments of 10 cents) and cash off (or "free") groceries when so much is spent at the store.


• Rebates -- Personally, I hate rebates and they are the lowest form of savings IMO. Still, they can be lucrative and worth the effort at times.

Now the key is combining as many of these together as possible when you buy your groceries. If you shop sales at stores with rewards programs, then you're always guaranteed three savings -- the sale, the rewards, and the 6% cash back. Then if you can add one or even two more on top of that you have big, big savings.

Anything I missed when listing the ways to save on groceries? Anything you do differently that could pile on the savings even higher?

Five Ways Your Job Costs You Money

MSN Money lists five ways your job costs you money as follows:

1. Commuting costs
2. Child care
3. Clothes
4. Food
5. Charity pleas

Of course there are costs associated with working. But in most cases, you end up making way more than you spend. Then again, there are times when there's not that big of a gap between what a person makes and what it costs for them to work (this is especially the case when the worker doesn't earn much and has high work-related expenses like child care.) This is why it's often not as hard as people think for a family to go from two incomes to one.

Here's my take on the list above:

1. Commuting does cost a bundle, especially if it means the difference between needing a second car or not needing one. And then there are all the associated expenses -- insurance, gas, maintenance, etc. This is one area where people in major cities have a cost advantage since there's often cost effective, good public transportation available.

2. Child care costs are often the killers for a family where both parents work. In these cases, it's quite common that these costs alone suck most of the income from the lower-paid parent. If you do the math, many times the second person can quit work and reduce enough work-related costs to make it a wash financially for the family. This is especially true if one parent earns substantially more than the other.

3. Yes, most people have clothes that they only wear to work. But you don't have to go overboard and buy new stuff every season from top-name designers. Then again, these expenses may actually help you earn more money, so you could view them as an "investment" if you were looking to justify a specific purchase. :-)

4. If you eat out every day at work, I guarantee you're spending a boatload of money. Now this spending may be a good investment if you're networking or drumming up new business, but this isn't the case for most people. That's why taking your lunch to work is a great way to save a bundle of money throughout your career.

5. Really? Working makes you more likely to get hit up by charities? I guess it does a little, but is it really that significant? Not in any place where I've ever worked.

What's your take on these? Are there any that they missed?

Paying Cash for Gas May be a Worse Deal than Paying on a Credit Card

When we were taking our kids to see their grandparents recently, a gas station on the interstate offered both cash and credit prices as follows:

• Cash: $3.71 per gallon
• Credit: $3.77 per gallon

It looks like you'll save six cents per gallon by paying cash, but paying with a credit card is actually a much better deal. Why? Because my Chase Freedom card (the top card in my list of the best cash back credit cards) is currently rebating me back 5% on all gasoline purchases. This effectively makes the prices as follows:

• Cash: $3.71 per gallon
• Credit: $3.58 per gallon

In fact, even if you only get 2% cash back on your credit card (I get 3% at worst with my Costco Amex) you still end up with an advantage as follows:

• Cash: $3.71 per gallon
• Credit: $3.69 per gallon

So I guess this post is simply a reminder to "do the math" when it comes to the cash versus credit question at many gas stations. If the spread is only a few cents and you have a decent card, odds are that you'll be better off charging the purchase.

The Pros and Cons of Car Dealership Service Departments

Moneyland has an interesting piece detailing just how much people get ripped off on maintenance expenses at their car dealerships. Some highlights:

A car dealership service manager confesses that maintenance bills are routinely inflated with unnecessary fluid flushes and replacements, nickel-and-dime charges for regularly used “shop supplies” like rags and lubricants, and parts that the car owner could buy for 30% less at a store like AutoZone.

The piece is a summary of a Popular Mechanics interview with a car dealership service manager. The PM post is actually more positive regarding car dealerships and even details why you should go to a dealership as follows:

Let's use Ford as an example. If you own a Ford vehicle, the Ford dealership will have Ford-trained technicians who work on Ford vehicles 95 to 100 percent of the time. During that time they will use Ford resources and Ford training to repair your vehicle correctly, and (ideally) they take Ford classes and attend Ford schools to keep up on their knowledge. With the other guy, it's a tossup—he may work on two Fords one week and not see another for a month. Also, on regular maintenance it can sometimes be cheaper, not more expensive. To get an oil change and tire rotation where I live, the Ford dealer is $38.95 plus tax, and Sears wants $75.

A dealer won't come right out and say it, but if you have your regular service work done at the dealer... (because warranty work pays the dealer a lot less than service work), your value to the dealership increases. Here's an example: Suppose your vehicle goes out of warranty and a week later you have a catastrophic failure. If you have shown loyalty to the dealership by using them for regular service work, they will be more inclined to help you—as opposed to the person who buys a car there and takes it somewhere else for regular service, and only brings it in for warranty work.

So the reasons for going to a dealership are that they are experts in your car (versus a car repair place that works on all sorts of cars) and that if you ever need help, they're more likely to go to bat for you if you're a regular customer. I'll buy the first reason partially if it's a huge repair -- they should be able to fix it better/faster/with fewer problems. That said, you never know. I think the second reason is a bit lame. Simply buy a good-quality, highly-rated car and odds are that you won't need anyone to go to bat for you with a major problem.

And here are a few additional thoughts on this subject from me:

• I recently received a coupon from my car dealership. It was for an oil change and tire rotation for "only" $59.95. What are they doing, filling my car with liquid gold and serving free filets in the waiting room? Ugh! (Besides, I get my first two years of services free!)


• My wife had a noisy belt in her car and was quoted $220 from the Toyota dealership to get it fixed. We went to a local repair shop (which was highly recommended by a few friends) instead and had it done for $75.


• When I bought my car, the dealer told me that the automobile business model is built on the service department covering all overhead for the entire dealership. Then the dealer's profits are obtained by new car sales. Now you know why dealership service prices are so high -- there's a lot of overhead to cover!!!

Do you use a dealership for your car repairs and maintenance? Why or why not?

Save Money on Gas by Not Buying on Four Days

Here's one of the tips listed for saving on gas from Kiplinger's:

Never (fill up) on a Sunday. Or a Friday or Saturday, for that matter. Gas prices typically rise over the weekend; most station owners post the new prices Thursday mornings by 10 a.m. To find the best price near you no matter what day it is, download the free GasBuddy app to your Android phone or iPhone and search by proximity or lowest price.

Thoughts from me:

• So the "real tip" is not to fill up on Thursday (unless it's early) through Monday morning.


• In other words, get gas on Monday through Wednesday.


• I've noticed this price increase at the stations I go to (since I started using GasBuddy, I'm much more up-to-date on pricing.) Prices seem to jump 8 to 10 cents almost every weekend -- for no reason (other than it's a weekend.) Anyone else notice this?


• I'm still using GasBuddy, though I'm not doing as much reporting as I did when I first got it. It's been very useful to see how stations around our house tend to price gas differently based on location (in a neighborhood versus off a highway.)

FYI, the Kiplinger piece also suggests using a credit card to get cash back when buying gas. I ALWAYS do this and have especially been doing so this quarter since my Chase Freedom (rated as my best cash back credit card currently) has been giving me 5% cash back on my purchases.

12 Things You Should Stop Buying

Moneyland lists 12 things you should stop buying now as follows:

1. Homeopathic Flu Remedies
2. Credit-Card Payment Insurance
3. Dirt-Cheap Paper Towels
4. Bottled Water
5. Premium Gasoline
6. Super-High SPF Sunscreen
7. Auto Service Warranties
8. 100-Calorie Packs of Snack Foods
9. Lottery Tickets
10. Unlimited Cell Phone Minutes
11. Brand New College Textbooks
12. Extended Warranties

I think this list should be titled "stuff I can't stop buying because I never bought it in the first place." Ok, so I do get Airbourne now and then. But the others? No way!

How about you? Do you see any of your frequent purchases on this list?

Valuing Time in Home Repairs

US News lists several instances when you should forego a DIY home repair and hire a professional instead. Their basic thinking is that sometimes it can/will end up costing you more to try and do it yourself (because you make it worse or simply waste money to find out you can't fix it after all) than if you hired a professional. And in some cases (like messing with electricity) hiring a professional can be a safety precaution.

I'm not particularly handy when it comes to home repairs. Sure, I can do the simple, basic stuff, but much more than that, and I'm over my head. In addition, I always look at the time and frustration factor to help determine whether or not we should hire someone to do the job.

Here's an example:

• Task: power washing our deck
• My boss has a power-washer we could use if we wanted to
• But I'd have to haul it over to our place, set it up, do the job, then take it back
• We have a friend that does power-washes decks for $50
• It's worth $50 for me not to have to do the project (time and frustration factor), so I hire it out.

Here's another one:

• Task: Painting our bathroom
• I could buy the paint, then spend a whole weekend (or more) taking the wallpaper off the wall, patching any problems, and painting the room
• Or I could hire a friend who's a painter (and does a great job) to do it for $500
• He gets the (needed) business and I save 20, 30 or more hours of my life (not to mention the frustration of doing it myself)
• So for me, it's a good deal to pay someone else to do it.

And another one:

• Task: Landscaping
• Over the past two years we've done a lot in our yard (new plantings, several trees taken down, drainage put in our backyard woods, rock hauled in various places, etc.)
• Could I have done this myself? Some of it. But not all of it (especially the tree stuff.)
• Would I have gotten it done in two summers? No, it would probably have been a four-summer effort if I did it myself (just to find the time and motivation to do it.)
• Would it have been as good as what was done? No way. Not even close.
• Now it was pricey -- we spent $3k over two summers. But to me, this was well worth the cost in simply getting it done quickly and done well.
• In addition, I hired a friend with a landscaping company whose business is down a bit in this economy to do it, so it helped him out too.

And we've recently found a guy who does all sorts of home repairs at VERY reasonable prices (he just did a $500 repair job for us that another guy wanted $1,000 for), so it looks like it will be an even better trade-off on time versus money in the future. Trouble is, the new guy is very busy and hard to book. So we'll plan to contact him well in advance for any work we need done.

How about you? Do any of you consider the cost of time and the "frustration factor" when you decide whether or not to do home repairs yourself?

And Yet Another Creative Way to Save Money

So far I've listed two creative ways to save money in Thinking Outside the Box to Save Money and Another Creative Way to Save Money. Now we have another. Here's a comment left on the latter post that describes what one reader did to save a good amount of money:

I was very close to reaching Companion Pass status on Southwest Airlines several years ago, but due to vacation wasn't going to travel on work and would miss the cut-off. My solution? I found a $39 fare to a nearby city and flew there several round-trips in one day, thus meeting the requirements for the Companion Pass.

What was my upside? My wife was able to fly with me free, on my same itinerary, for one year. She subsequently went on 14 trips with me she would not have otherwise, I gave 4 or 5 reward tickets to needy folks, and we all won big.

I spent maybe $200 on the round-trips to reach the Companion Pass level.

$200 spent for 20 or so trips (the ones his wife took as well as the ones given away). That's a pretty great deal -- especially since it's hard to find ONE flight for $200!

Anyone else have a creative idea they've used to save money?

How to Save $2,000 in the Next Year

Smart Money lists four ways you can save $2,000 in a year as follows:

• Switch cellphone plans. Save: $400 a year


• Shop insurance policies. Save: $200 a year


• Change (or ditch) cable. Save: $800 a year


• Get a better credit card. Save: $600 a year

Here's my take on these:

• My cell phone is paid for by my work. My wife has a Tracfone with loadable minutes, but we're thinking of getting her a new phone/plan and letting the Tracfone be a "rover" phone for the kids. Still lots of research to do here before we make a "buy" decision.


• I haven't shopped our insurance policies in quite some time. This is on my list to do.


• Ahhh, cable TV. I'll be writing more on this topic later, but for now suffice to say I have six months to make a decision on what to do.


• As you know, I am totally on board with the "make money by using a credit card" concept. I've been testing a few the past couple months and will be reporting my findings soon. But to give you a sneak peak, I recommend the Chase Freedom card and the Blue Cash Preferred card.

I'm not sure about their savings figures -- some seem high and some low -- but I think these steps could save/make an easy $1,000 even if you've done a fairly decent job to date in these areas. What's your take?

Save Money by Teaming with Your Neighbors

US News lists 10 unusual ways to save money. Tip #1 is as follows:

Share With Your Neighbors. When it comes to buying food or paying for things such as the Internet or Netflix, rally the troops (aka your neighbors) to save some money. Split the cost of Internet and Netflix with a few neighbors, buy food items in bulk then divide the food and bill, or rotate dinner-making responsibilities between different houses to save money on food expenses.

We recently benefitted (again) from this tip.

Several years ago the homeowners in our development banded together and bid out our garbage pick-up services. Waste Management was the winner, so we went with them and each homeowner saved somewhere around $75 a year versus the list price. But it was a never-ending fight to keep the prices down as WM tried and tried again to raise them (we had to call several times to remind them that we were part of the group "deal" and that our prices should not be going up.) Finally the homeowners got tired of this back-and-forth, and we recently re-bid out the services. A new, local player has emerged since we last priced out the competition and they came in $100 lower than Waste Management. So we all made the switch in June.

There are a TON of products and services that you can save on if you team up with your neighbors. A few ideas:

• Snow removal (for those of us living in the tundra)
• Landscaping
• Pest control
• Home repairs
• Yard equipment (borrow from each other)
• Bulk buys (good deals at Costco can be split among neighbors)

You get the idea. Anytime buying in bulk/as a group can save some money (which is often), teaming with your neighbors can ring up some big discounts.

I'm sure you can name many more. If you have something to add, please leave them in the comments below.

Big-Ticket Items to Wait on Purchasing

Yahoo lists the following as big-ticket items that you should wait to buy (because they're supposedly going to get cheaper in the near future) as follows:

• Travel
• Cars
• Wedding
• Retail
• Remodeling

Here are my thoughts on these:

• Travel - I haven't booked my January cruise yet and I'm hoping that the recent economic troubles/uncertainty slows down purchases (on the cruise itself, airfare, hotels, etc.) enough that prices start to fall. Then I'll book. I have target prices and am on the hunt for them all.


• Cars - I just bought a new car last fall, but my wife is due for a new one in a year or two. Not sure I'd buy earlier than that unless prices REALLY dropped big-time.


• Wedding - The piece notes that wedding caterers, etc. may be more likely to offer discounts these days. I'm thinking many businesses will be more likely to offer discounts these days.


• Retail - Another Christmas of 2008? Could be big sales this year as retailers struggle to compete.


• Remodeling - We have had some repair work recently done and I can say that the bidders got quite low during the process. If they're lower now, then they'll almost be giving away their services. ;-)

Personally, I'd prefer to have a robust economy, pay the going/competitive rate, and have prosperity for all. But since it seems like we're a ways away from that, those people who are now buying can at least take some comfort in the fact that they can shop around, wait a bit, and likely end up with some pretty good deals when all is said and done.

Save a Bundle by Keeping Your Dog Under Control

Here's a shocking stat from MSN Money:

Last year, the average cost of a dog bite [insurance] claim was $26,166, according to the Insurance Information Institute.

Ouch! That's a very nice new car!

A bit more on how insurance companies handle dog bites:

Some states give you an initial break -- a sort of "free chomp" allowance -- commonly known as the "one-bite" rule. In these states, an owner cannot be held liable until the animal's "vicious propensity" has been established, typically in the form of a first bite. Nearly two dozen states have adopted a form of the one-bite rule, most of them clustered in the western and south-central parts of the country.

So almost half the states have one-bite laws and the other half don't. I didn't see a list of what states do and don't and couldn't find it quickly on Google, but you probably can if you search a bit using your state's name in the search.

In addition to the cost of the bite itself, having a biting dog can mean other problems:

Regardless of your local laws, a dog with a checkered history can sabotage your chances of getting home insurance.

So, what's the solution? It's pretty easy actually:

"Your best bet to avoid this issue is to be a responsible pet owner," Paul says.

I see people walking their dogs all the time with no leash. To me, that's a recipe for disaster. They clearly can not control the dog and many bad things could happen -- the dog could dart in front of a car, he could attack another dog, he could bite someone, and on and on. Is it really that hard to keep a dog on a leash? Apparently so judging by the many that can't seem to do it. And apparently it's also difficult to pick up after your dog uses the potty, as evidenced by the droppings constantly left on my front yard. But I digress.

This post is simply a reminder to keep your pet under control. Doing so could save you some big money.

P.S. As I was writing this post, I found this site on "dog bite law". I got a chuckle out of it. I guess it's true that you CAN find everything you'd ever imagine -- and much you wouldn't -- on the web. ;-)

A Reminder of How Expensive Some Cities Are

I've noted how I like to watch House Hunters, so when I saw this post about why watching it is bad for the author's finances, I had to check it out.

The article is quite humorous as he points out the difference between home costs and features in various places shown on the TV show and what they cost in New York City. Here's a set of quotes he highlights from a couple looking for a place in Texas:

My (least) favorite quotes from the first house ($550,000):

• It's not as big as it seems.  It's not quite 4,500 square feet.
• It's only 4 bedrooms, but there are a lot of "extra" rooms.
• I'm a little upset that it doesn't have a pool.
• When referring to the wine "closet": "It's no cellar, but it will do."

He then contrasts this with what someone looking for a place in NYC might ask:

By comparison let's list the top questions you ask and statements made about $500,000 houses apartments in my neck of the woods:

Do the roaches come with the apartment or are those extra?

Is that an airplane or a train passing by?  (the answer is most likely "both")

The following is all stated from the same physical location while spinning in place:

• Here is the "kitchen area."
• There is the bedroom area.
• There is the living area.
• The bathroom area is in the kitchen area.

Just so you know, the old lady across the hall cooks a lot of garlic and curry-based dishes - for her twelve cats.

And, of course, taxes and maintenance are another $2,000 per month.

It's a funny, funny read. Check it out if you have time.

The serious part is that the post highlights a fact we all know (and I "harp on" from time to time): where you live has a big impact on your finances over the course of your life. Those in especially high cost-of-living cities need to be sure they consider the real and substantial costs of living in a particular city as part of their overall financial planning/strategy process.

Always Ask for a Raincheck

A few weeks ago Walgreen's had my favorite snack, Blue Diamond Almonds, on sale for $4.99 a bag. Since the almonds are usually $7.99 a bag, we regularly stock up when there's a sale (which Walgreen's has regularly, BTW). We had noticed the sale in the Sunday paper before church and decided to stop by Walgreen's after church and nab several bags.

After our service we stopped at the Walgreen's near the church (which was EXACTLY on our way home -- we would have driven by it anyway, so the stop was convenient.) We went in to buy several bags of the "roasted salted" flavor and several of the "smokehouse" flavor (I like the smokehouse taste, but eating only those is overpowering, so I buy these two and then blend them.) Well, they had plenty of the roasted salted version but were out of the smokehouse. We picked up four of the former and headed to the counter.

My wife asked if they had any of the smokehouse flavor in the back. They checked and they did not. So my wife asked for a raincheck. The lady asked how many we wanted a raincheck for. We said "five." She filled out the form, noting that the rainchecks NEVER expire. So now we can go in and buy our almonds at $3 off anytime we want (up to five packages.)

We piled back into the car, then hit another Walgreen's near our house on the way home (again, we used the path we would have driven anyway to get home, so we didn't spend any extra gas/effort to do this.) We went in, bought four bags of the smokehouse flavor so I could blend them with the others later, and went home. The next day I took all the packages to work where I store them in a cabinet until needed. The almonds have a "best when used by" date of May 2012, so there will be no problem in me finishing them off by then.

Just wanted to share with you that it's good to always ask for a raincheck. We could have easily said we'd simply check another store when the first store was out of what we wanted. But by taking 15 seconds to ask, we now have a sale we can use any time we like. Saving $15 (five bags at $3 each bag) in 15 seconds is a pretty good deal, IMO. ;-)

Car Maintenance Tips that Pay Off

Yahoo has a video detailing car maintenance tips that pay off. Their suggestions:

• Follow your owner's manual. Only get oil changes when you need them (not every 3k miles like most mechanics suggest) and use the type of gas that gets you the best mileage for the buck (which is regular unleaded. This is, of course, as long as your manual doesn't say you need premium gas.)


• Tend to your "check engine" light when it goes off. Many times it comes on simply because the car's gas cap wasn't tightened enough.


• Wash underneath the car. Dirt and grime get on it (of course) and can be a problem in the long-term.

They also shared a couple of interesting points as follows:

• AAA estimates average annual auto costs as $9,000. This includes EVERYTHING -- maintenance, insurance, depreciation, etc. This is an estimate, of course, that's dependent on how much you drive. They estimate costs at 59 cents per mile if you want to calculate the costs for your car.


• They suggested that once a year you fill the car with a tank of high octane fuel. The guy in the video says that it cleans out your engine.

My thoughts on these:

• I follow my car's owner manual and get oil changes (synthetic) every 10,000 miles. My first two years' of service are free (my dealership offered it), so I don't know if I'll go back to regular oil (I believe my manual says I can use it now and then) once I'm paying for the service myself.


• My wife had the "check engine" problem with her gas cap for a bit of time. The light would then go off once we simply tightened the cap correctly.


• I don't think I've ever washed underneath a car -- isn't that what rain is for? ;-) Any of you do this?


• 59 cents a mile, huh? I'm trending towards 20,000 miles in the first year of having my new car, so that's a cost of $11,800. Yikes!!!


• I had never heard the "fill your car with high octane fuel once a year" suggestion before. Have any of you heard this? Do you do it?

Overall, cars seem to be fairly reliable if you simply take care of them. Read the owner's manual, do what is says, and you'll be fine in most cases IMO.

Slow Down to Save on Gas Mileage and Car Insurance

Let's just say I'm a faster-than-average driver. I don't think I'm a full-time speeder, but I do drive faster than most. Nothing outrageous, maybe 5 miles-per-hour over the limit on average.

That is, until we go on vacation. Then it's a challenge for me to see if I can make a normally nine-hour drive in eight hours. At this time the speed can creep up a bit. I still try to stay with traffic for the most part, but I tend to pick someone going very fast and lag behind them a bit. It's a method that has worked for years. (For those of you wondering, I don't count rest breaks when I factor in how fast we make a trip -- I'm not one of those guys who makes his wife and kids forego potty and food breaks to save time.)

What complicates the trip to see my parents even more (at least speed-wise) is that Michigan's interstate speed limit is 70 mph. So I start out the trip driving 75 to 80. Then we hit Illinois and the limit drops to 65. No fair! Now I have to pedal back five mph and it feels like we're crawling. Then we get into "small town" Iowa and have to drive 55 mph on two-lane roads. It's painful.

Earlier this year we were on one such trip when my car was caught by a video camera going 61 mph in a 45 mph zone (it was in a transition area where the limit changed from 55 to 45). The state of Iowa sent me a nice picture of the incident along with a bill for $75 or so. I debated what to do for a few days (should I simply pay it, fight it, call my insurance agent to see if it was even an issue -- or maybe notifying him would make it an issue), then decided to simply pay it. I was most concerned about the impact it would have on my car insurance, but it's been almost three decades since my last ticket (I still maintain that light was yellow), so I figured I was safe.

But the NY Times might disagree. They don't come outright and say that getting a ticket will increase your car insurance, but they certainly suggest that it can. Their thoughts:

Speeding tickets and other moving violations can increase your automobile insurance rates by double digits, a recent analysis shows.

Insurance.com, an online insurance site, surveyed 32,000 policies sold in 2010 and found that costs jumped 18 percent after one moving violation, and 53 percent after three, when compared with rates for drivers with clean records. Drivers with no violations paid $1,119 a year on average, while drivers with three violations paid $1,713.

When my wife got a speeding ticket in Tennessee, she was able to attend a class to get the ticket off/hidden from our insurance (the points were taken off her license). Unfortunately, I don't think I have that option. I live in Michigan and the ticket is in Iowa. I wouldn't even know where to go to such a class (I know Michigan doesn't offer them)!

We all know that driving a bit slower can save on gas, but this story illustrates that it might also save on car insurance. As such, I'm driving a bit slower these days, trying to take my time and enjoy the ride a bit more. I think I'll be ok insurance-wise -- when my wife got a speeding ticket (many years ago) we didn't see an increase in rates then, so I'm not expecting one now. But you never know. I'll let you know if they sock it to me. ;-)

Free $100 Annual Travel Benefit from American Express

One (largely unknown) benefit of having an American Express card is that you can get a $100 statement credit when you book a vacation worth $3,000 or more. I was originally excited when I heard this since I thought I'd be able to save a hundred bucks off my Caribbean cruise. But there's one problem: you have to book the vacation through American Express' vacation website in order to get the $100. And for my particular cruise, Amex is about $300 more expensive than Costco, so I'll be booking with the warehouse club. Ugh.

That said, I still wanted to bring this benefit to your attention since some of you (or someone searching the web) might be booking with American Express and want to pick up an easy $100. The benefit is called the Annual Travel Benefit (how original, huh?) and you can find details on it here.

Is Teaching at a University a Way to Save on College Costs?

I need some help here. Is it just my imagination or did college/university faculty used to receive discounts (or free?) tuition for their children at the institution where they teach? And if so, do they still get this benefit? And if so, what are the stipulations? In particular, do you need to be a full-time professor to get it?

The reason I'm wondering is that I've been thinking of teaching part-time at the college level when I retire. But to do that, I will need to start establishing myself as a teacher at that level, likely by handling online or night classes for a couple years before I try to move on/up. I don't plan to start this effort until much closer to retirement, but if I could get tuition waived for one or both of my kids, it might be worth pursuing sooner (so I can save big when they go to college).

Anyone think there's validity to this plan or do I just have a case of wishful thinking?

How to Handle Your Three Largest Purchases

For the vast majority, the three largest purchases people make in their lives are buying a home, helping their children pay for college (or paying for it outright for themselves, the kids, or both), and purchasing cars (if you get two new cars -- one for you and one for the spouse -- every 10 years, the costs really add up.) Since your finances will be greatly impacted by the actions you take when buying these three, I thought I'd list what I consider the "best" ways to handle each of these (knowing that there may be other "best" options depending on a person's circumstances and life goals.) Here goes:

Buying a Home

I listed my thoughts on the best way to buy a home five years ago when I posted My Formula for Buying a House. The keys:

• Live in (or move to) a cheaper area of the country. (And after retirement, you may want to save more by retiring in a foreign country.)


• Buy a house you can easily afford, putting at least 20% down.


• Put extra payments into your budget.


• Put bonuses, gifts, second job income and all other "extra" sources of money into paying off the loan.


• Become debt free in 7-10 years.

Taking these steps allowed me to pay off my mortgage several years ago. The last time I had a mortgage payment was around 1997. Imagine what your life would be like with no mortgage payment. Yes, it's pretty sweet.

Paying for College

Success in paying for college boils down to the same economics we face when we make any other purchase: be sure the cost is worth it -- that you'll get more out of it than you put in. If you take steps to make the most of your college degree, it's very likely that going to college will be one of the best financial decisions you ever make. It certainly was for me.

Purchasing Cars

I like to buy new cars (click the link if you want to know why.) I can afford to do this and it's what I prefer, so I do buy new. But if I was asked, I'd say most people would be better off buying a used car with low miles. That said, the prices used cars go for these days is making buying new not as "crazy" as it used to be.

Whether you buy new or used, here's what I'd recommend:

• Save up for the purchase in advance and pay cash (I'd take a 0% deal if they offered it, but most people pay the full-interest rates the car companies/banks offer. That's a big no-no IMO.)


• Buy a car using the web. Not sure how this would work with a used car, but it works like a dream when buying a new car. Here's the simple new car email I use to get the best deal possible. And for specifics, here are the details on my most recent new car purchase.

So, that's my take on how to spend several hundreds of thousands of dollars over the course of your lifetime. Any comments?

The Best Store Rewards Cards

US News recommends five ways to save $20 or more each week. One of their tips is as follows:

Sign Up for Store Rewards Cards

Most major grocery stores and drugstores have their own rewards card, which you can use to get access to the sales and special discounts. Some stores, like CVS Pharmacy, also let you earn points with every purchase. Once a month or so, you can cash in those points for gift certificates at the store. Between the sales and other rewards, you can save up to $200 a month. I typically save around $20 a week by using the rewards card at my grocery store.

Better yet, find a dual purpose rewards card and make most of your purchases at that store. Several grocery stores, including Winn Dixie, Tom Thumb, and Kroger, also give you gas discounts. At Winn Dixie, for example, I earn $0.50 off a gallon for every $50 I spend on groceries. The program doesn't have a cap and I've had discounts on gas when I went to fill up on more than one occasion.

I have a few store rewards cards, but the ones that seem to work best (from what I heard) are for drug stores (where we don't shop much) or grocery stores (which don't have rewards in our area because Meijer has a lock on the market.) But maybe there's something I'm missing...

So my question is: what store rewards cards do you use and what makes them so great?

Another Creative Way to Save Money

In Thinking Outside the Box to Save Money I told the story of a guy who purchased inexpensive hotel rooms to gain free stays at expensive hotels. In the end, he got almost a 90% discount for his creative way of "working the system."

Well, now we have another creative money saver (though it's an old story) -- this one even bigger. One reader posted a link to this piece (to prove that it's true) detailing how a guy bought tons of pudding to get a ton of free air travel (they even made a movie about it). Wikipedia offers a summary:

Phillips calculated that the return on a mail-in food promotion outweighed the price of the Healthy Choice frozen entrees. He later discovered the same promotion also included individual pudding packages at 25 cents apiece. He subsequently visited ten grocery stores in the Sacramento area, buying every case of pudding available, totaling 12,150 individual servings of pudding, for $3,140. The details of the promotion included a bonus if the packages were mailed during the month of May 1999; Phillips, unable to remove all the UPCs himself in such a short time, recruited members of the Salvation Army to help peel the UPCs off the puddings in exchange for the donation of the pudding.

Phillips submitted proof of mailing the certificates and Healthy Choice Foods awarded him 1,253,000 AAdvantage miles. Because most of the pudding was donated to charity, Phillips also received a $815 tax deduction.

Pretty creative, huh? I'm thinking that there are all sorts of ways to save a boatload if you simply have enough time and ingenuity.

Anyone out there ever do something they felt was really "creative" to save a chunk of money?

What's Your Take on Extreme Couponing?

Extreme couponing seems to be all the rage these days in the frugal community spearheaded by the TLC reality show "Extreme Couponing" (which, by the way, I have never seen). CNN Money highlighted several extreme couponers recently like Lauren Liggett, detailing the steps they take to save as much money as possible. The highlights of her story:

She began scouring the Internet for couponing websites, bought copies of the Sunday newspaper for the circulars, and headed to the grocery store to shop for her family. On that first shopping trip, she presented her coupons to the cashier and felt the adrenaline rush of watching her total drop from $263 to $50.

Today Lauren has slashed her family's monthly grocery bill from $400 to $100, and the bulging cupboards, pantries, and spare room can make the Liggetts seem like survivalists bracing for nuclear war: 288 rolls of toilet paper, 80 jars of tomato sauce, and 40 bottles of men's body wash.

There's no baby in the house, but Lauren couldn't resist buying 30 containers of infant formula on sale for $3.78 each. Because she had collected piles of $5-off coupons, she earned a $1.22 store credit on each sale -- the holy grail to serious couponers. (She used her credit to buy ribs for a Memorial Day feast and donated the formula to tornado victims in nearby Joplin.) As couponing became an obsession, her mom started to worry. "Your eyes light up like a slot machine whenever you see a deal," Joyce told her. "Admit it, you're an addict!"

Ok, does it count as "saving money" if you buy stuff that you don't need? I think not. And how much time and effort goes into moving a grocery bill from $400 to $100? If it's a couple hours, it's worth it IMO. If it's ten hours, it might be. If it's 30 hours, it probably isn't. besides, do they count in the cost of buying extra Sunday papers, mailing off for rebates, and the like in the $100? You'd have to add it in to be fair.

Another piece tells the story of Malinda Hodges. The highlights:

She buys six Sunday newspapers for the inserts each week, then matches the coupons with weekly sales at nearby retailers, some of which double or even triple the coupon value.

It can be a lot of work -- she estimates she spends five hours a week couponing -- but Hodges has cut her $300 weekly grocery bill in half.

Like many serious couponers, Hodges loves scoring deals in large quantities so that she can give the extras to family, friends, and fellow church members. Never mind that buying 18 containers of deodorant at a deep discount might have cost more than paying full retail price for one. "It's a way to be a blessing to other people," says Hodges.

It's not clear, but I'm guessing her $300 weekly grocery bill is now $150 (versus it used to be $600 and is now $300). It takes her five hours a week to complete her couponing (which I assume is the time hunting for the couponing, not the shopping experience, which is generally longer too if you have to handle coupons, buy the right quantities of specific brands, be sure you're making the purchases exactly, etc.) which is probably a low estimate. But if five hours is true, she "earns" $30 per hour couponing. Not bad.

That said, she still spends $600 per month for a family of six. We spend $400 per month for a family of four without doing extreme couponing. Hmmmmmm.

I've never done extreme couponing, but here's what I see as the keys to it:

• You have to be prepared to hunt down coupons and other offers. I'm sure most of these people have online coupon sites sending them offers all the time, and many buy extra Sunday papers to get even more. This just sounds like a big time sucker to me.


• The key is to combine offers. If you can put together a store sale with a coupon (that is doubled or tripled) and a rebate offer that then spits out another coupon at the cash register, you've hit the jackpot. The more often you can do this, the better.


• You must have room to stockpile items. I've discussed how having storage space can be a money saver, but extreme couponers need much more space than what I was referring to. I mean seriously: 288 rolls of toilet paper, 80 jars of tomato sauce, and 40 bottles of men's body wash. Really?

Has anyone noticed how many of these "savers" end up buying stuff they don't need/want and give it away? This is fine if you were planning on buying and giving away stuff anyway, but if you weren't, you're likely spending more money that what you would otherwise, thus cutting into your savings.

As you can tell, I'm not a real fan of extreme couponing. I do like couponing, but prefer the 80/20 rule of saving money this way -- get 80% of the savings with 20% of the work. Extreme couponers get 99% of the savings but they put in 70% (my estimate) or more of the work. The time/value trade-off just isn't there for me.

How about you? Anyone out there into extreme couponing?

Let's Get a Little Perspective on Saving on Gas

Here's part of a comment on my post titled Are You a GasBuddy? that made a whole lot of sense to me:

Not to take this totally off-topic, but there are a few things about low gas price strategies such as GasBuddy that are especially true with gas closer to $4 than they are at $2:

1) It doesn't make sense to make much if any detour from your set route to chase after a lower price. At $3.60/gallon and 20 mpg, you're spending 18¢/mile on gas plus another 5¢/mile on other wear-and-tear on your car. If you need to make a five-mile detour to save 10¢/gallon...you've spent $1.05 (and time) for the privilege of saving $1.30 on the 13 gallons you've put in your tank.

2) It also doesn't make sense (in hot summer weather) to sit in line in your idling car with the A/C running to save 3¢/gallon vs. what the empty station across the street is charging--yet I see it all the time. An idling car running A/C uses approximately 1.5 gallons/hour. At $3.60/gallon, that's 9¢/minute. Wait five minutes for your turn at the pump, and you've just spent 45¢ to save yourself a whopping 39¢ on your 13-gallon fillup.

I know people who brag about driving 15 minutes (round trip) to "save big" on gas -- 10 cents per gallon in some cases. This seems like a big savings, but apply the math above and you'll see it's not much of a savings at all (if any) -- ESPECIALLY if you factor in your time! Even if there were no costs associated with driving to a place out of your way (like the cost of gas there and back as well as the wear-and-tear on the car), is it really a good trade to save $1.30 for 15 minutes of your time? That equates to $5.20 per hour, and personally my time is WAY more valuable than that.

Of course, if two stations are close to each other and you're in the area, choose the cheaper one. Or if you know you're going to be in an area in a few days anyway and there's a cheaper station there, plan to get gas then (we do this all the time when we know we'll be heading to shop at Costco in a day or two -- they almost always have the cheapest gas around.) But don't drive way out of your way to "save big" on gas. The savings really aren't that significant.

BTW, a better deal is simply to use a high-level cash back rewards credit card. The Chase Freedom card is offering 5% cash back on gas purchases in July, August, and September. 5% on $4 is 20 cents savings per gallon!

Thoughts on Negotiating Remotely for a Car

CNN Money says the following about how to save when buying a new car:

Negotiate remotely. Haggling in person is a losing proposition; the more experienced negotiator will inevitably come out on top. To take back the upper hand, hop on to one of two new sites: carwoo.com or zag.com.

Both allow you to find price quotes without revealing any contact info before negotiations. The dealers know you'll see their prices displayed alongside others, so they have an incentive to go straight to their lowest offer. And they're required, by agreement with the sites, to abide by it.

Zag.com is free to consumers, but dealers must pay a commission to the site if a sale is made, which means fewer participate (5,000 nationwide). Plus, you're not guaranteed a price on a car with every feature you want.

Carwoo.com, on the other hand, will cost you a one-time $49. For that you get a better version of a real dealership experience, where you haggle for a price on the exact vehicle you want that's sitting there on the lot.

A few thoughts here:

• I agree. Negotiating for a new car remotely can save you both time and money. I've done it three times now in the past several years and have always gotten a great deal. For specifics of what I do, see Buying a Car Using the Web and My Simple Car Email. You can also get a few extra details from My Recent New Car Purchase.


• The downsides of Zag.com seem that many dealerships aren't participating and the ones that are have to pay a fee if they get a sale. This is money you KNOW they are factoring into the price of the car. Why not go direct and get that money yourself (in the form of a price reduction)?


• And why pay (even $49 for Carwoo.com) for a service? Seems unnecessary to me. And I don't want to bid just on cars sitting there on their lot. I want to list what I want and have them go after it (most likely at another dealer) -- so I get what I want.


• You can let dealers know they are competing against each other (as I do in my email) so they'll be as aggressive as possible. As such, these services don't offer any advantages in this area IMO.


• I had a dealer try to sell me a car on their lot versus one I wanted (it had all the features I requested, it was just a different color.) I told them I'd take it for $500 below the lowest price I got from another dealer on the car I wanted. They declined. :-)


• I used a couple sites (I believe Consumers Report and Edmunds) to get price quotes in my last process (in addition to sending out my own emails), but they were both higher than what I could get on my own going directly. I'm guessing the above two would yield higher prices too if for no other reason that someone is paying a middleman -- and more fees equals higher cost.

Anyone had success using a car buying service?

Ideas for Cheap Summer Vacations

Money Talks News suggests visiting your state capitol as a great way to take an inexpensive summer vacation. It's not a tip I've thought of, but now that they mention it, it might be worth it for us to take a day-trip to Lansing to see what the capitol building has to offer.

This post got me thinking -- what else could we do if we had to cut vacation costs (within reason) this year/ Here's my list:

• Go to the beach. Lake Michigan is only 45 minutes away and for a few dollars to park (or free if you want to walk a bit), it's a very cheap "vacation."


• Hit the pool. It costs $2 per adult and $1.25 for a student to visit our local pool. Not real vacation stuff, but better than sitting at home.


• Trips around the state. We've done this everywhere we've lived -- Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Michigan. Every state has something close that is interesting and can be a fairly cheap one- to three-day vacation.


• Amusement parks. If you have one close and can control the food/other spending, these are not bad options for saving money. We have Michigan's Adventure not that far away.


• Botanical gardens and the like. Many places have "free days" in the summer. Or if you belong to one as a member (which we do), you can stop by to see the new exhibits.


• Free concerts. Seems like the summers bring these out in droves. Not close to a vacation, though, but could be combined with a couple other things for a fun day or two.


• Nearby cities. For us, Chicago and Detroit are both three hours away, so they are easily within driving distance. Visiting them is more expensive than hanging around home, but less expensive (of course) than a big trip across the country.


• Visiting family. This is our cheap vacation favorite. We go see each side of the family at least once every year (and then some come to visit us too.) Yes, we pay for gas, but room and board (mostly) is free or only part of the cost, so it makes for a very inexpensive vacation.

Here's what we're planning vacation-wise in the next year:

• Visiting family in Pennsylvania at the start of August.


• Potentially taking a trip to Chicago in the fall -- if it works out with some work travel I have planned.


• Our big Caribbean cruise sometime in January. I'll keep you posted as we get more details.

How about you? Anyone have some tips for saving money on vacation?

Six Steps to Cut Pet Costs

In the August issue of Consumer Reports magazine they list six steps to curb pet costs as follows:

1. Don't pay a premium for "premium" pet food. If your pet needs special food (and most don't) shop around as you would for anything else to get the best price.

2. Consider new options for flea and tick protection. A patent on a major flea and tick ingredient has just expired, so costs of these products should be coming down dramatically.

3. Comparison shop for your pet's veterinary care.

4. Don't automatically get pet medicines from the vet.

5. Think twice before you buy pet health insurance. Key quote: "We analyzed policies marketed by insurers representing roughly 90 percent of the pet insurance market. None would have reimbursed more than the premiums they charged for a basically healthy dog over a 10-year life span. When we added several hypothetical chronic conditions, of the policies had positive returns. Only when we looked at extreme and uncommon situations involving two very sick cats did all the policies pay out more than what we paid in."

6. Take simple steps now to prevent costly problems. Brush your dog's teeth, get animals spayed/neutered, don't overfeed, and keep shots current.

Here's my take on these:

• Numbers 1-4 seem to be all the same, basic point to me: shop around, you will likely find a better price somewhere besides the place most people buy these items.


• I'm not a fan of pet insurance, but the CR comment does leave room for improvement IMO. For instance, many dogs live past 10 years-old, and it's the last year or two where the really big costs hit. In addition, the reason you buy insurance of any kind is to cover "extreme and uncommon situations." So what's the issue? That said, CR does recommend simply increasing your emergency fund to cover for potential pet health problems, which is advice I agree with as well.


• Brush your dog's teeth? Ugh.


• They also list some stats in the article that I found interesting: "Americans spent more than $48 billion on pet products and services last year ($20 billion on food alone). That's almost $10 billion more than we spent in sporting-goods stores ($39 billion) and three times as much as we spent in bookstores ($16 billion)."

Anyone else have any pet-related cost savings ideas?

Great Savings Weapon: Storage Space

When we looked at our current home we noticed that it had an extra large pantry (roughly the size of a decent walk-in closet -- bigger than most half-bathrooms I've seen) full of floor-to-ceiling shelving. We wondered how we would ever use all that space. 12 years later and we're wondering how we could ever live in another place without a giant-sized pantry.

Anyway, as I was reading a piece the other day about how to save money by buying in bulk, it occurred to me what a wonderful savings weapon our pantry was. After all, one of the main rules of buying in bulk is to be sure you have adequate storage space for your bulk purchases. And our pantry is just the right size for storing lots of items (toilet paper, cereal, chips, nuts, condiments, canned goods, and on and on) that we buy now and use over the next few weeks and months.

So, what's a big pantry worth? A few hundred dollars a year? Probably. If we estimate that the pantry saves us $250 per year, then it's saved us $3,000 over the time that we've lived there. Not bad at all.

In the same way, our downstairs freezer allows us to buy meat, ice cream, frozen juice, and so on in bulk when they are on sale, then store them for future use. We probably save more using the freezer versus the pantry since meat can be a HUGE cost unless you buy it on sale.

Do you take advantage of storage space in your home to save money? If so, where is it and how do you use it?

10 Ways to Waste Money on a Car

Yahoo lists 10 ways we all can waste money on a car as follows:

1. Changing oil every 3,000 miles.
2. Using premium fuel unnecessarily.
3. Failing to change your air filter.
4. Failing to check the brake pads.
5. Buying mileage-boosting additives and devices.
6. Tune-ups for your engine or air conditioning.
7. Changing coolant.
8. Ignoring your check-engine light.
9. Buying expensive performance tires.
10. Paying for built-in navigation.

My take on these:

• My oil gets changed every 10,000 miles because I have synthetic oil. At $25 a pop (I usually pay less than this anyway), I will only pay $250 over 100k miles. If I changed my oil every 3,000 miles, the cost would be $825. Big difference.


• I NEVER use premium fuel.


• I follow my owner's manual on all replacement/checks including air filter, brakes, tune-ups, coolant, etc.


• I don't buy mileage-boosting additives and devices. These don't really work, do they?


• I do NOT ignore my check-engine light. I have had it go off only a couple times in my driving lifetime, but I always get it checked right away. BTW, Toyota wanted to charge us $100 recently for a "diagnostic" when the check engine light went off in my wife's car. We took it to an auto parts center instead, they did it for free, and we found out the issue was that the gas cap wasn't screwed on tight enough. We tightened it up and the light went off.


• I buy my tires based on safety and reliability.


• Why does anyone need built-in navigation when a phone can do the job? ;-)

In general, I buy a new car and then stick to the owner's manual for all services, checks, and so on. As long as you do this, you'll spend only what you need to on your car, right?

Are You a GasBuddy?

Anyone here a member of GasBuddy? I joined about a couple months ago, soon after I got my new phone (they have an app) and gas went well over $4 per gallon here. Ever since I've been a relatively active member of the site and refer to it often when I wonder how gas prices are trending.

For those of you who don't know, members of GasBuddy (I can't find a number for them, but for some reason 5 million members sticks in my head -- I could be WAY off) report gasoline prices (via web, phone, etc.) at gas stations around the country. Then all other members can check out prices when they are in need of gas and pick the closest station with a decent price. You can find stations by typing in a zip code or city name and up pops a map with stations and prices showing or you can set your "favorites" (I have a list of stations in my area that I generally go to) and see them all with the push of a button.

For reporting prices, posting on forums, taking weekly polls, and maybe a couple other tasks, members earn points which can then be redeemed to win a weekly $250 gas card giveaway. Given the vast number of members and the amount of points you need to have a realistic chance of winning, the chances of winning are rather slim, so don't join simply for that benefit. ;-)

I report on gas prices almost daily. I have two stations that I drive by each morning to work and then back by again at night. I'll usually report their prices (via phone) each time I pass them. The previous prices I see are never more than several hours old (they are usually 3-4 hours old -- 12 or so at the oldest), so I know there are others in my area who are also reporting regularly on prices at these stations.

The experience has been quite enlightening for me. I never have been one to really watch gas prices (when you need gas, you need gas, no matter the price, right?), but I have been lately since I've started GasBuddy. And I've come to a few conclusions:

• Costco most often has the best gas prices in our area. No surprise here since I think most people know that club stores generally have good gas prices.


• That said, there are often short periods of time (usually a few hours) when prices are falling that some stations can be equal to (or even better than) Costco's prices. But that usually corrects itself rather quickly and Costco again becomes lower than the rest.


• Two stations I thought had decent prices in my area actually have higher/average prices in the area. Now that I know this, I'm not as "locked in" to buying gas at these places.


• Gas prices certainly go up a lot faster than they go down. They seem to jump up while they take their sweet time as they fall. The exception to this is Costco. It appears that they drop prices faster and raise them slower than others. There have been times in my market when the other stations have gone up 20 cents quickly and Costco has lingered for a day or two -- creating a 30-cent per gallon difference (and this is with recently updated info for all the stations, so it's a fair comparison.)


• The emails GasBuddy sends out to warn you of a price increase coming to your market are worthless. I've received emails saying prices were going up in 48 hours only to find they are up NOW. Their "warning" emails are more like "the price has already increased" emails in my experience.

So, anyone else out there a GasBuddy? Anything I missed (I'm sure I did skip something -- I'm not a hard core user) about the site?

Thinking Outside the Box to Save Money

US News details the story of one traveler who used credit card rewards and membership reward programs to save a bundle of money on travel. The traveler, Brad Wilson, had one especially ingenious way to get a top-flight hotel for a fraction of the list price. Here's what he did:

Wilson found a deal through Hyatt Hotels that allowed him to earn one free night at any Hyatt for every two nights he notched as a paying customer. He took advantage of that policy by staying at relatively inexpensive Hyatts near his home. (He paid about $50 for the night, then went home without even staying overnight.) Combined with discounted gift certificates, he paid about $1,700 for 40 nights, which netted him 20 free nights at the luxurious Park Hyatt Sydney, where rooms can cost as much as $1,500 a night. Because he became such a frequent Hyatt customer, he also accrued loyalty status, which meant he got free breakfasts, room upgrades, and Internet access.

He and his wife later traveled to Australia and stayed at the Park Hyatt Sydney with free breakfast and free Internet as well as a Hyatt in Auckland. The total value for both hotels came out to about $15,000.

So the guy bought discounted hotel rooms near his house and didn't even stay there to get a big discount off very high-end hotels in a resort location. In the end he spent $1,700 to get two weeks in these awesome hotels -- or roughly $120 per night (what I'd spend for a Hampton Inn in an average location.) Looked at another way, he got almost a 90% discount off the list price (I assume it's the list price -- not what most people would pay) of these hotels. Even if the list price was way higher than what most people actually pay, he still saved a bundle by being rather clever.

I thought this was a good example of thinking outside the box in order to save a good amount of money. What do you think? Have you ever done something creative to save money?

Do You Shop at Estate Sales?

Wise Bread has some tips for shopping estate sales which got me to thinking. Am I missing something by not attending estate sales?

As a kid I used to think of estate sales as what rich people did with their belongings when they died. After all, you had to be rich to have an "estate", didn't you? Regular people certainly don't live on "estates."

Then I grew up and discovered that everyone has an estate. This changed my perception of an estate sale completely. Now I think of it as a dead person's garage sale. And since I'm not a big garage sale shopper, why would I want to go to an estate sale?

But I'm sure some of you out there have been to them, and I'm looking for your thoughts. Am I missing something by not going to estate sales? How do I even find the "good" ones (and what are "good" ones versus bad ones)? What are the do's and don'ts of estate sales? Let the rest of us know your thoughts in the comments below.

10 Things You Should Always Buy in Bulk

US News lists 10 things you should always buy in bulk as follows:

1. Toilet Paper
2. Soap and Shampoo
3. Alcohol
4. Office Supplies
5. Toothbrushes/Toothpaste
6. Vitamins
7. Cell Phone Minutes
8. Non-Perishable
9. Blank CDs and DVDs
10. Detergent

Here's what we do with each of these:

• Toilet Paper - We buy in bulk at Costco. Saves time AND money.


• Soap and Shampoo - Three months ago Walmart had a buy one, get one free deal on liquid soap. We bought them out of stock. We still have enough soap left for a few months.


• Alcohol - We save by not drinking alcohol. ;-)


• Office Supplies - Yes and no on this one. The key: just make sure you don't buy too much just to get a deal. We have four years' worth of envelopes and a decade of staples because we bought in bulk.


• Toothbrushes/Toothpaste - I haven't purchased a toothbrush in years -- my dentist gives me a new one every six months. And as for toothpaste, my wife buys on sale and with a coupon ALWAYS. Hard to beat those prices.


• Vitamins - Buy in bulk at Walmart, Target, or Costco depending on who has a deal available.


• Cell Phone Minutes - My phone is paid by my workplace, but we do buy my wife's TracPhone minutes in bulk.


• Non-Perishable - Just bought a large pack of batteries last week or so.


• Blank CDs and DVDs - Have five years' worth stored in our pantry. Same as office supplies -- make sure you don't buy too much.


• Detergent - Another good item for the combination of sales and a coupon.

How about you? Do you buy any of these in bulk? Why or why not?

Save Money on Groceries by Shopping on Wednesday

CBS Moneywatch says that Wednesday is the best day to shop for groceries if you're looking to save money (FYI, they say it's the best day to buy gas too). Their thoughts:

Supermarkets tend to reduce prices on items that are expiring soon [on Wednesdays].

Many grocery stores release their new sale advertisements [on Wednesday] but also honor the sales items from the previous week. For about half of the country, this is the day when approximately half of the retailers start their weekly sales.

And not only is Wednesday a good day to shop, but Wednesday NIGHT is even better:

Shop in the evening or a couple of hours prior to closing. This is the time when perishables are typically reduced for quick sale. If the Produce, Bakery or Meat departments are concerned about having too much stock left over at the end of the day, they will often reduce the price by up to 50% to encourage quick sales.

We had this happen one night when we were in the store around 8 pm. We had eaten a late lunch and hadn't had dinner yet when we heard over the PA system that oven-roasted chickens (normally $5 or $6) were on sale for $2.50 each. We got one! Too bad we couldn't buy 10 and stock up, but I hear they don't store well. ;-)

So add Wednesday to your list of ways to save money on groceries. And combine it with these to save the most:

• Combine sales with coupons for big savings. My wife loves to double (or triple) dip.


• Buy store/generic brands when you can/like the options. They can save you a ton.


• Shop with a list (made from looking through the sale flyer) and stick to it.


• Stock up (if you have room at home and will use all the food before it perishes) when there are big sales.


• Pay with the best option for you. If you use the right credit card, you could save an extra 6% on your entire grocery purchase.

Any other grocery savings tips you'd like to add?

How to Live Like Royalty for $900 per Month

Here's an idea for the majority of Americans looking at a retirement of barely getting by and/or working until they are 85: retire to a place where you can live like royalty for $900 a month. US News gives us the highlights:

Americans Wendy and David Justice enjoy a lifestyle they describe as “royal” on a budget of $800 to $900 per month. Many retired couples live comfortably [where they do] for as little as $600 a month.

The Justices have a furnished one-bedroom apartment just a five-minute walk from the beach in a central location with friendly neighbors. Their rent of $350 per month includes Internet, cable TV, and a housekeeper who comes twice a week. They also spend $40 a month on electricity, rent a motorbike for $45 monthly, and spend $60 per month taking language lessons with a private tutor.

The couple admits that they could probably spend even less without too much effort. They eat few meals at home and spend about $300 a month on dining out and entertainment. “It is possible for two people to live comfortably [here] on even less than $600 per month,” says Wendy. “You could cut your food expenses to as little as, say, $120 per month by eating at the many super-inexpensive street stalls and restaurants.”

Want to guess where they are living (if you haven't already clicked through to the article)? It's Nha Trang, Vietnam.

Ok, so probably not the top of your list of retirement locations. It's not the top of mine. Then again, I have more than $50,000 saved for retirement (much more), so I have a few more choices. Many (most?) Americans don't.

So this is an option for those with little retirement funds, adventurous spirits, and a willingness to live overseas. Not sure how adventurous and overseas-minded most Americans are, but we do know that many of them have paltry amounts saved for retirement. So it's an option worth considering.

I'm wondering if this sort of thing will become more and more common as the baby boomers retire and the world becomes more globalized. As of now it seems like a hoard of people are spending at least a portion of retirement overseas (mostly Central America). Can it be much longer until the retirees go farther from home -- to the even less expensive countries in Asia? I don't think so.

I realize that most readers of this blog will have more choices financially when it comes to retirement because so many of you are doing so well. That said, you probably know people who are retiring overseas either because they like the lifestyle/climate or they want to save money. Do you?

What to Buy and Not Buy at Warehouse Stores

Kiplinger does a "deal or no deal" piece on what you should and shouldn't buy at warehouse (or club) stores. Their thoughts:

• Caskets: DEAL
• Beer: DEAL
• Diamonds: NO DEAL
• Designer watches: DEAL
• Televisions: DEAL
• Tires: DEAL
• Appliances: NO DEAL

Here's my take on these:

• Caskets -- Is it just me or does it seem strange to buy a casket at a club store? Uncle Charlie just bought the farm and what do we do? We go off to Costco to pick him up a new home! Then again, I'm guessing that funeral homes have rather nice mark-ups when they sell you a casket, so why not? Anyone out there ever shopped around for a casket? Anyone buy one at Costco?


• Beer -- I don't drink beer, so I can't comment on this one.


• Diamonds -- Last diamond I bought was 20 years ago for my wife's engagement ring. If I bought her one now, she'd ask me why I was wasting hard-earned money. ;-)


• Designer watches -- The last designer watch I bought was...NEVER! And I don't plan on buying one either.


• Televisions -- We got our last TV at Costco and I can say that it was a great deal. We purchased it a year and a half ago or so and I'm still seeing prices for similar TVs that are ABOVE what we paid (on "sale" at Best Buy and the like.) In addition, Costco will add an extra year on to the warranty when you buy a television from them AND they have a tech hotline you can call with any questions on set-up, operation, etc. I doubt if I'll ever buy another TV somewhere besides Costco (as long as they keep their prices low and service high.)


• Tires -- Pros to a club store: Great prices. I've looked all around for tires several times and Costco was certainly the best price each time -- especially with the coupons/discounts they run regularly on Michelin and other tires. Cons to a club store: You can't make an appointment for the free tire rotation they give you. So it's first-come, first-served. That's fine if you're #2 in line and they'll be done with you in 30 minutes. Not so great if you're #10 and it will be two hours.


• Appliances -- We used to buy all our appliances at Sears, but since I now hate Sears shopping there is out of the question. So we shop around and haven't even looked at warehouse stores (and probably won't after this review.)

How about you? Do you agree or disagree with their findings? Anything you'd like to add?

Do Dollar Stores Save You Money?

Do dollar stores save you money? Yes, in many cases they do. But there are also things you need to be aware of (and avoid) at dollar stores according to the Palm Beach Post Some things they highlight:

"You can find some great bargains at dollar stores. If you want to save some money, there is a way to do it if you shop for the right things. Be careful what you buy," said Donald Mays, senior director of product safety at Consumer Reports.

Mays said he has safety concerns over some of the products dollar stores sell, especially with small toys and party favors for children, such as small inflatable whistles.

Mays said some vitamins and supplements sold at dollar stores don't contain the right level of ingredients. Don't be fooled by knockoffs using similar label colors and logos, such as brown and yellow labels that resemble Bayer Aspirin, he said.

He also advises against buying brand knock-offs such as "Dinacell" batteries or anything electrical such as an extension cord or lamp. Some holiday string lights melted in tests Consumer Reports conducted, Mays said.

When purchasing anything electrical, look for a legitimate safety certification UL label mark, a gold foil tag on the cord with a holographic image of the UL mark, Mays said. Other approved certification marks include ETL or ETL Listed and CSA.

Watch out for the "treasure hunt" mood that overtakes many shoppers when they hit Dollar Tree. Instead of purchasing just the $5 worth of shampoo, sponges and paper towels they came for, shoppers might be snagged by something unexpected, such as the "in-store item of the week."

Sometimes, Dollar Tree doesn't offer the best value. For example, small quantities in packages of some items make the price per item higher than at Publix Super Markets, Walmart and other retailers.

We don't do a ton of shopping at dollar stores. They tend to be junky IMO and are not located conveniently for us. That said, when we need something cheap and/or disposable in large quantities -- like frames for pictures of our basketball team (which we purchased 35 of a few months ago) -- it's hard to beat them on price.

What's your take on dollar stores? Good, bad, or somewhere in between?

A Phrase to Save You Money

While my daughter and I were recently watching House Hunters International, one of the hunters used a phrase that I thought was especially good while shopping. He was taking a break from looking at houses (you know, those mini-intro segments they do after each set of commercials) and he and his wife were shopping for purses. The seller was a street vendor in a foreign country (where haggling is expected).

The hunter asked what the price was for one specific purse. The seller told him. Then the hunter used a phrase that I thought was especially good:

"What's your best price?"

Wow, that cuts right to the heart of things, doesn't it?

From there, the scene broke off so I don't know how it ended, but I imagine it went well for the hunter. That phrase just seemed so good to me.

Then it occurred to me that this same question can be used here in the US. I haven't tried it yet, but I'm thinking it will work wonders (and if not, what's the harm in asking, right?)

What do you think? Is this a good haggling/negotiation/asking for a discount phrase to use?

What Grocery Store Has the Best Prices?

A few months ago I wrote about how Walmart claimed to save people money even if they never shopped in Walmart stores. Then recently I found a similar claim in an Aldi Sunday ad.

The top part of the ad featured a bar chart and read "% who attribute their favorite grocer with providing low prices". The results were as follows:

• Aldi -- 94.2%
• Walmart -- 77.2%
• Costco -- 71.7%
• Meijer -- 64.9%
• Kroger -- 54.7%
• Safeway -- 37.3%

A few thoughts from me:

• There's more to buying groceries than price, of course. Selection, convenience (how far from home), food quality, and so on all factor into the equation. It's not just about price.


• That said, I do think Aldi has good prices. I also think the same of some others on the list above too.


• Note the wording on the question. It says "their favorite grocer." I wonder why it just doesn't say "% who attribute the following grocers with providing low prices". Yes, it's a different question -- and I wonder if the results would be different.


• We shop at Aldi, Costco, and Meijer for groceries (we don't have a Super Walmart in our area -- so there are limited groceries). Most of our shopping is done at Meijer because it's a very nice (new) store, has everything we need (and more!), and is close to our house. We supplement what we get at Meijer with purchases from the other two as well as local stores.


• No matter where you shop, you can save money if you do it right: know regular prices so you can identify good deals (have a price book), shop sales with coupons, stock up on great deals, buy store brands, etc. This is generally how my wife shops -- getting good deals here and there for overall great savings.

So what do you think? What's your take on the best place to find low-cost groceries?

10 Biggest Money Wasters

CNN Money lists the 10 biggest money wasters as follows:

• ATM fees
• Lottery tickets
• Gourmet coffee
• Cigarettes
• Infomercial impulse buys
• Brand-name groceries
• Eating out
• Unused gym memberships
• Daily internet deals
• Bundled cable or phone services

Here's how I stand with these:

• ATM fees -- The last time I used an ATM machine was probably sometime in the 90's. The reasons:

1. We don't spend much cash -- we use credit cards and pay them off every month.

2. When we did need cash, we'd go to the bank, get a bundle ($300 or so), and that would last us forever.

3. Since my son and I started refereeing soccer games, I am flush with cash (the teams pay in cash prior to the game being done.)

4. I have $1,000 or so in gold $1 coins left over from last year.

• Lottery tickets -- Don't buy them.


• Gourmet coffee -- Don't drink coffee. I prefer my caffeine cold, and we get free sodas at work (which I try to limit since they are not good for you IMO.)


• Cigarettes -- Never have smoked, never will.


• Infomercial impulse buys -- Nope.


• Brand-name groceries -- We do buy generic/store brands quite often, but I do have a few brand-name items I like and will pay more for. That said, if you can combine a sale with a coupon, you can often get brand-name items for the same price or less.


• Eating out -- We eat out once a week or so (if you include ordering a pizza.) We tend to eat a mid-priced (at best) places like Logan's, Panera Bread, and Papa John's, not higher-end restaurants. And we don't order drinks (we have water) or desserts out.


• Unused gym memberships -- I have a membership to the local pool and have been there an average of five days per week for the past two years. Why would someone buy a gym membership and then not use it?


• Daily internet deals -- Ha! Guess who doesn't like Groupon! :-)


• Bundled cable or phone services -- Note that they say these are a waste "if you don't use the services." Isn't everything a waste if you don't use it?


• So I seem like a spending saint, huh? Rest-assured that I have my money wasters too -- but I try to keep them to a bare minimum. ;-)

How about you? Is there anything you think you waste money on (or would at least try to spend less on)?

My Thoughts on Groupon

I've been subscribed to the email-per-day-coupon-offer-site Groupon for about three months now, and I thought I'd share my take on the service with you.

But before I do that, here's a piece from US News on why they are shunning Groupon. Their reasons for disliking the service:

Here's why I'm not interested: I don't want a daily temptation to spend money I should probably be saving. Sure, it's possible that Groupon would one day send me an offer on something I need to buy anyway, saving me a few bucks. But the main purpose of coupons and every other kind of retail come-on—whether delivered by catalogue, email, cell phone alert, or teleportation—is to separate consumers from money they'd otherwise put in the bank. Consumers don't need to be persuaded to buy things they need; the whole purpose of marketing is to convince people to buy things they don't need.

In other words, they don't want the temptation to buy something they don't want/need.

Now, here's my take on the service:

• First of all, it's free (just had to state that for anyone who doesn't know.) So it's not costing me anything to try it out.


• There are an awful lot of useless deals. I don't need/want a manicure, car detailing, or sun tanning service. I wish there was a way to say "these are the types of deals I'm interested in" and only receive those. Adding in all the others simply is an extra email I need to handle every day.


• If you're not careful or don't have self-control, I can see where all the offers would get you to buy stuff you never even considered before -- adding up to a lot of extra/unplanned spending.


• The deals aren't that good. For instance, I recently received an offer to "save over $150" (or something similar) on a car detailing -- I could get it for $89. Driving by the detailing place on my way to work, I saw their sign offering the $89 deal to everyone. So yeah, I might be saving $150 on some theoretical "retail value" price that no one has ever paid, but I'm not saving versus anyone simply driving in to the business.


• It is kinda fun to see all the businesses you never knew were in your area. Not that I'd ever use them (probably), but it's fun to see what they've come up with each day.


• I did get lucky once (the only time I purchased a Groupon.) I called a friend and set up a lunch meeting for a place he likes. Two weeks later -- a day before our actual lunch -- I get a Groupon for $20 of food for $10 AT THE PLACE WE WERE GOING TO! Ch-ching! I snapped up a coupon very quickly and used it a day later, thank you very much.


• That said, the $20 of food for $10 had some restrictions. I couldn't get the daily deal (which was cheaper), I had to order off the menu (where prices were higher.) So my $10 savings was more like $7. Then I had to use it all at once. The cost of our lunches was $18 or so, so instead of wasting my last $2 I bought an extra salad for my wife (which she loved) and took it home that evening. So I ended up spending more than I intended.


• I wonder how many people buy the Groupon and then never redeem it. This piece seems to indicate that it's somewhere between 10% and 50% depending on the service. The reason I ask is because a co-worker of mine bought a Groupon a couple months ago. When I asked him how it had worked out (it was for a high-end restaurant) he said, "Oh, I'd forgotten about that. I need to use it." And he's a penny pincher too -- so if he forgot about it, I'm sure many more people do as well. I don't need to tell you what a bad deal this would be, right?

In the end, I really don't think much about Groupon. I'm planning on keeping the service for another month or so to see if it gets any better, but if not, I think I'll cancel it. Not enough value for me to justify keeping on the list -- even if it is free.

Do any of you use Groupon? Do you like it or hate it?