Free Money Finance

The Payouts on High Efficiency Gas Furnaces

The following is a guest post from Furnace Compare. This piece is written assuming that the buyer needs a new furnace and has to decide on which efficiency model to buy. In a future post, they'll discuss the payout considerations associated with replacing a current, working furnace (with several years of life remaining) with a higher efficiency model.

If you are buying a new furnace, you can quickly become overwhelmed by the range of options.  Industry professionals, such as Dwight Klippel, of Energy Consultants, Inc, often recommend that homeowners choose the most efficient systems: “With the rising cost of natural gas, the additional cost of a high efficiency gas furnace will be recovered in just a few years,” he says. However, it's wise to understand how to do the math yourself and ensure that the furnace you buy best matches your needs.

First, here are some terms that you need to understand:

• AFUE (annual fuel utilization efficiency) is a measure of heating efficiency on a yearly basis that is shown as a percentage. A mid-efficiency furnace is 80% efficient, a high-efficiency furnace is 90%, and a very high-efficiency furnace 95% or greater. Thus, a furnace that has an 80% AFUE converts 80% of the fuel it uses into heat -- the other 20% is lost up your chimney.

• ENERGY STAR® is an energy-efficiency rating based on guidelines set by the Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Furnaces that bear this label must meet a minimum AFUE of 83% (for oil-fired furnaces) or 90% (for natural gas furnaces).

• Condensing furnaces have an extra heat exchanger that extracts heat from the exhaust gases and pumps that additional heat into the home. Traditional, non-condensing furnaces, vent this additional heat out the chimney. 

• The payback period is the amount of time it takes an investment to pay off its initial costs. The cost benefit of an investment starts when the payback period ends. So, how does the average homeowner figure out what is the best buy?

Let’s assume you are considering 3 furnaces:

• a mid-efficiency system (AFUE 80%) that costs $4000
• a high-efficiency system (AFUE 90%) that costs $5000
• a very high-efficiency system (AFUE 95%) that costs $6000

First, figure out your current heating costs. Gather 4 recent utility bills - 2 from winter months and 2 summer bills - and find your average monthly cost by adding them together and dividing by four. Calculate your yearly cost by multiplying that average by 12. For this example, let's say the yearly cost with your old furnace is $1000.

Next, figure out how much you will save with a new furnace. If your old furnace is 70% efficient, and your new furnace is 90% efficient, the difference is 20%. Divide 20% by 70%, and you will find that your new furnace is 28.5% more efficient than the old. That means you can expect to save $285 per year (28.5% of $1000) on your bills. In five years, you will have saved $1425. 

In comparison, the new 80% efficient furnace is only 10% more efficient than your old furnace. 10% divided by 70% is 14%, so you would expect to save $140 per year. At the end of 5 years, you would have saved $700 on your bills, plus the $1,000 you saved on the initial purchase of the furnace. From a purely cost perspective, your savings comparison is $1425 with the high efficiency furnace (90%) and $1700 with the mid-efficiency furnace (80%) -  an extra $275 in your pocket by buying the less efficient furnace.

Finally, we're ready to calculate the payback period: the number of years before you would "pay-back" the higher cost of the 90% efficient furnace as compared to the 80% efficient furnace. The 90% efficient furnace saves $145 per year more than the 80% efficient furnace ($285 - $140 = $145).  So, you simply divide the cost difference ($1,000) by the savings per year ($145) to get a payback period of about 7 years. (Of course, you could make this calculation much more complex by assuming that the initial $1,000 saved earns 8% interest each year; or by saying that you think $1 in your pocket today is worth $1.10 a year from now -- but the payback period is typically discussed in the simpler terms presented here.) 

Initial cost and payback period are fairly direct calculations, but other factors such as properly insulating your home, repairing or replacing leaking ductwork, extra installation costs, and furnace maintenance are also relevant. Additionally, there are rebates available from manufacturers, utility companies, and government agencies for the purchase of many high-efficiency furnaces that can reduce the initial investment.

How to Save on Checks (Some Companies Just Don't Get It)

I haven't ordered checks from my bank in about 15 years or so (maybe not that long, but it seems like it's been forever.) I started ordering them through the mail and now order online because you can get a ba-zillion checks for not much money by ordering them that way -- versus paying much-higher-than-average prices by buying them at the bank.

I use fewer and fewer checks each year as more and more bills go online or are automatically paid with my credit card, so one box lasts a long, long time (plus I order two boxes at a time to make re-order times even longer), but I recently ran out of checks and needed to re-order. So I did what I normally do -- I looked in the Sunday paper as it's usually full of offers for cheap checks.

In the ads, I found an ad for Checks in the Mail that had the following in big, bold letters at the top:

CHECKS ONLY $3.99 PER BOX

That seemed like a pretty good deal. I got my last set of checks from Checks in the Mail, so I knew they would have something I'd like. Cool!

Then I saw a little asterisk by the last "9". It was tiny and had no details on the page on which it was listed. I turned over the piece and searched. After awhile, I found that the asterisk led to this statement:

Limited time offer - for first-time customers only

Hmmm. I was starting to get a bad feeling about this, but I was sure they would honor the price for me. Why not, right? It wasn't like they had a corner on the check business. It was better for them to make a sale to me at a cheaper price rather than make no sale at all, right?

So I went to their site and tried to re-order my check design. The prices came up as $12.99 for one box or $25.98 for two boxes for the design my wife wanted (not a "basic" design, but not on the "high end" either.) "First-time customers" could get the same product for $19.98. This still seemed high to me, but I was willing to pay it if they made it easy and gave me the reduced price.

I went to their site, found the contact info, and sent them this message:

I noticed that your prices for new customers (ad in the paper) are much better than those for returning customers. I would like to buy from you, but I can get checks from a competitor of yours for MUCH cheaper than the $12.99 per box you want to charge me (for comparable checks). If you'd like to offer me the new customer discount, please get back to me and let me know how I can get it. Otherwise, I'll be ordering from a competitor within the next 24 hours.

I sent the message, confident they would give me the $19.98 price (after all, they still had to be making good money doing this, right?) A day later, I received the following email:

Thank you for your inquiry.  We can not offer you the first time order prices.  All of our competitors and us have first time order prices that are lower so that you can try our company but for reorders all the companies go up in price.  We apologize for any inconvenience that this has caused.

I couldn't believe it. They were willing to lose a profitable customer for a measly $6. Unbelievable!

So I simply got another ad (told you there were tons of them) and ordered from a new company as a "first-time customer". I got two boxes of comparable-quality checks (a design my wife liked) for less than $12.

I'm in business so I understand how companies lure customers in with low prices and then work to charge them higher prices on later purchases -- those are facts of life in almost any business (grocery stores with loss leaders, magazines with initial subscription versus renewal fees, and so on.) But I also know that it costs much less to sell to a current customer than to acquire a new one and that it's better to make a smaller profit on a customer than to drive them away to a competitor. But that's what Checks in the Mail just did. They had a customer willing to pay a reasonable fee for a product and yet they turned him away because he wasn't willing to go as high as they wanted. This just doesn't make any sense.

Of course, it's their right to do so -- it's their company. But as a consumer, it's my right to go elsewhere for a product if I don't like the deal offered. And that's what I did.

Undoubtedly I'll get some comments like "you're so cheap" or "why did you spend all that time to save $14?" Well, it didn't take that long (the entire process took less time than it took me to write this post). Besides, it is ultimately a big deal to my finances. First of all, $14 here and there can add up quickly and become "real money" very quickly. Secondly, a mindset of shopping around and getting a good deal is just part of who I am. Yeah, it's "only" $14 this time, but the same principles applied on bigger ticket items can make a HUGE difference in your finances.

Do You Have Your Heater Serviced/Checked?

Here's a question that I'm anxious to get your answers to:

Do you have your heater serviced/checked each year?

We have a gas heater that's about 20 years old (near the end of its useful life.) The past few years, we've had someone come out each fall and check the system -- to make sure it's functioning correctly. Well, it's that time of the year for them to come out again, and my wife and I had a discussion about whether or not it was actually worth the $70 cost to have the system checked. After all, do they really do anything? Or do they come out just so they can charge us $70? And does it matter that we have an older system (maybe you should check older systems and not newer ones)?

What do you do? Do you have your heater checked each fall/winter? Why or why not?

Will a Freezer Save You Money?

We've talked about trying to save money by buying a freezer before so when I saw this piece from MSN money, I had to post on it. It asks whether or not a freezer will save you money. In other words, can the money savings add up to more than the cost of the freezer itself as well as the cost of operating it?

The answer is the same answer you get when you ask most money-related questions: it depends. In this case, you'll likely save money if any of these are true for you:

• You tend a large garden.

• You and your family are big meat eaters and want to buy in real bulk, such as a whole butchered hog or one-quarter to one-half of a cow.

• You hunt large animals and need somewhere to store hundreds of pounds of game.

• Your fridge freezer is overflowing -- and constantly in use.

Here's how we stand on each of these:

• Not a large garden yet, but we're planning on one in our new place. Update: Wrote this post a week or so ago when we were buying a new house. In case you hadn't heard, the deal fell through. That said, we're thinking of starting a garden in our current location.

• We've thought about buying half a cow and will probably do so in the future.

• Nope, I don't hunt.

• Our fridge freezer is overflowing and we do need the space.

So it looks like a freezer is probably a good deal for us. Maybe even a GREAT deal.

If you're wondering if it's a good deal for you, the piece walks you through how to calculate to cost and savings associated with a freezer purchase.

They also list three steps to take if you're buying a freezer and want to save the most money possible. Their thoughts:

• Determine the style. Chest-style freezers tend to cost less to buy and operate.

• Choose a size.

• Manage the space. For maximum efficiency, a freezer should be kept full.

I'd add one thing -- get a good freezer at a good price. Seems like a no-brainer tip, but I continually see $150 freezers that do the same thing (and run at the same cost) as $300 freezers. Obviously, it will take a lot more time to payout a $300 freezer than it will to cover the cost of one that is almost half the price.

How to Save Money on a Funeral

Living Rich by Spending Smart: How to Get More of What You Really Want has the following to say about saving money on a funeral:

The most helpful, yet morbid, advice stems from this fact: No casket with gaskets, grave liner, burial vault, or any type of embalming will preserve a body indefinitely. Spending extra money trying to preserve a body is a waste.

That's why they make this recommendation -- the single-best way to save money on a funeral:

Forgo the fancy casket. The casket, with its 300% to 500% price markup, is usually the largest expense, ranging from about $2,000 to $10,000. The purpose is to have a decent-looking box to hold the body if there will be a viewing. Ask to see all the models because some funeral directors will at first show you only the expensive ones. Or purchase a casket somewhere else, even online, and have it shipped to the funeral home. The funeral director must use it and not charge a fee for using a third-party casket.

A few thoughts on funerals and costs:

1. Note to my wife and kids: when I die, DO NOT spend a lot of money on a fancy casket. I do not care what I'm laying in, I'll be dead. If you want to spend YOUR money to put me in some fancy casket, then realize that you're taking money that's yours and wasting it -- pouring it down the drain on an unneeded expense.

2. What a racket the funeral business is. It seems full of hidden fees, is something we all do infrequently (so we have no idea what a good deal is or isn't), people are in emotional turmoil when making financial decisions, and there's really no shopping around/price comparison (does anyone call around to funeral homes to check prices before they decide where to ship a body? I don't think so.) Anyway, the whole thing seems to be set up to cause a financial nightmare to whoever is footing the bill.

3. The last funeral I was part of was my grandmother's. Her casket was a doozy (heavy too). I'm sure it cost a pretty penny. Not that I cared, but reading the thoughts above, I'm sure it was closer to $10k than $2k.

Anyone else have thoughts on the financial implications of funerals? It's a topic I don't see discussed much so I think we all could benefit from the collective wisdom out there.

How to Find $1,000 by the Holidays

Here are Kiplinger's suggestions for finding an extra $1,000 by the holidays this year. Their list:

1. Adjust your tax withholding. Savings = $450 (based on the average refund)
2. Take fewer trips to the grocery store. Savings = $160
3. Kick a habit. Savings = $200
4. Eat out one less time per month. Savings = $120
5. Put on a sweater. Savings = $60
6. Examine your phone and cable use. Savings = $100

These will actually net you $1,090 -- that is if you're not already doing them. Here's where I stand on these six:

1. Already done.

2. We could do this and probably save some. We currently live very close to a grocery store which makes it very easy to stop by whenever we need to. As such, we've gotten lazy and are lax on our grocery planning, which means we make more trips and likely spend more. If we could get organized, I KNOW we could limit the trips to AT LEAST once a week (maybe more) and not only save on food bills, but on gas as well.

3. We don't really have any habits (or even hobbies) that cost that much -- and certainly not $200 in two months' worth.

4. Couple thoughts: 1. We could eat out one less time per month and save some money. 2. It wouldn't save us $120. We spend maybe $20 on average (balance a night at Papa John's with a nicer place out the next week, though our "high end" is usually something like Applebee's), so the absolute most we could save would be $40 in two months.

5. Already do this. Sure we could turn it down even more, but at some point frostbite kicks in. ;-)

6. No cable and one phone, so not a lot to cut here. Then again, maybe we should re-look at our calling plan to see if it's worthwhile.

So, at most, these ideas might be able to save us $200 in two months -- less than 20% of what they suggest.

How about you? Would these ideas net you anywhere close to $1,090 in two months?

How I Cut Expenses If I Need To (And How You Can To)

Seeing this piece on big bills you can cut fast got me to thinking about the ways our family saves money if we need to cut back a bit (we're soon to move into a new house and have a lot of expenses, so this has been on my mind recently). So I thought I'd list a few of the ways we cut back when we need to spend a bit less and save a bit more. We're pretty frugal overall, so there's not a lot to cut. That said, I did come up with the following:

1. Stop eating out as much. We average at least one meal out per week, though that could be a cheap meal like at Wendy's or Taco Bell. Still, it's not hard to spend $30 or more even at a decent-priced family restaurant so by cutting back and eating more at home we can save a fair amount each month.

2. Really watch small spending. A good amount of money can trickle out here and there and add up to a fairly sizeable amount in a month. While we usually keep an eye on this sort of spending, if we monitor it very closely and tighten up on our purchases, seems like we can always save extra $25-$30 per month.

3. Postpone purchases until they go on sale. Let's face it, everything eventually goes on sale. So while it's nice to have that item now, we can usually wait and save 10% or more when we really need to.

4. Eliminate planned purchases. Do we really need that? Nope, strike it off the list and save a bundle.

5. Scale-back on a vacation. Instead of a $2,000 trip this year, how about a drive to see family? That saves a boatload of money in one easy move!

How about you? Where do you cut back when you need to save a bit extra?

Three Great Ways to Save Money

Yahoo lists 12 ways to save money. Here are three of their ideas that I especially like, followed by my comments:

1. Roll your own. I hyperventilate every time I see someone throw coins into one of those coin-sorting machines at the supermarket. A fee of 8.9 cents per dollar counted? You've got to be kidding! Roll your own while you're watching reruns of "House," or let your kids do it and pay them the 8.9 cents! If you're lazy, go to Wal-Mart and buy a cheap coin-sorting machine. Then take the rolls to your bank.

I feel the same way. I especially love the idea of having the kids do it (though I might pay them 5% so we both come out better.) ;-)

Anyone out there pay the 8.9% rate? Why? Is your thinking that your time is worth more than the cost? An 8.9% hit is a HUGE one (imagine how you'd feel if your investments went down 8.9%) so I'd be really interested in hearing the rationale on why anyone thinks it's a good idea.

5. Buy milk at your gas station? You might be surprised who as the lowest prices in town for certain items. In one New York suburb, the local Hess gas station has the lowest prices we've seen on eggs and milk. The nearby Target beats the supermarket next store on cereal prices by as much as 72 percent per ounce. The store brand was an especially good deal. The dollar store about a mile away (now a $1.25 store) has great deals on some items, like gold audio cables, which are a fraction of the price charged by the Radio Shack across the street. So figure out which stores have the best deals prices near you and try to map out your shopping so you can hit them all in one trip and avoid wasting gas.

For us it's the drug stores. Walgreen's or Rite Aid always has a sale on milk and they are both near our house, on the way to/from work, and near the local highway, so we're always going by them. It's easy to stop there and pick up a cheap (relatively) gallon of milk.

10. Check for online coupons. Before buying anything, especially online, do a Web search for an online coupon. For example, when I recently wanted to buy Roboform, a computer password manager and Web form filler, I typed "Roboform coupon" into a Google search and instantly found a 20 percent off coupon. That cut $6 off the $29.99 price tag. Coupon Web sites include couponchief.com, couponcabin.com, retailmenot.com, and ultimatecoupons.com.

I NEVER do this but I need to start. It's easy money for a small amount of time invested.

14 Ways to Save on Holiday Gifts

Well, it's about that time (believe it or not) -- the holiday season is just around the corner. So I thought I'd get a jump on the "how to save on gifts" posts I'm sure you'll see for the next few months. Here's a list of 14 ways to save on holiday gifts (including my four at the end):

1. Family photo
2. Family cookbook
3. Garden gifts
4. Schedule December
5. Learn a craft
6. Favorite things baskets
7. Give away treasures
8. Tie up memories
9. Give an experience
10. Back-to school sales

Love to see the Costco photo idea mentioned. We'll be sure to use that one again this year. ;-)

And here are a few suggestions from me:

1. Convert people from "gifts" to "letter." In recent years, we've cut back on the number of people we've purchased gifts for, but we've increased the number of people we send our Christmas letter too (the letter tells what we've been up to the past year.) And we've made the letter even cheaper by moving from an actual letter to an email "newsletter."

2. Give baked goods. My wife makes delicious homemade bread and we give loaves to many of our friends. It always gets us rave reviews.

3. Regift. We give both gifts we've received throughout the year as well as items people/companies send me for review/comment on Free Money Finance.

4. Agree to downsize. Years ago, we agreed with my parents to cut down on the number and size of the gifts we gave each other. This has saved us about $100 a year. Now we focus more on simply being together for the holidays, which is the best part of the season anyway.

How about you? What's your best tip for saving on gifts during the holiday season? 

Give Yourself a Raise in 30 Days

Here's a tip (point #2 in the piece) on how to give yourself a raise in 30 days:

Do a thirty-day spending journal where you list literally every dime you spend—on everything you buy. Then, at the end of those thirty days take a yellow highlighter and mark everything you bought that you didn’t have to buy. That’s how much of a raise you can give yourself starting the next month. You may be stunned at how much is being wasted.

I've done this before (a long time ago when I really needed it) and it was very enlightening. There's so much money that seems to leak out in small bits here and there -- and it can really add up.

I've also recommended this process to many people throughout the years. My wife and I used to counsel people who were usually in tons of debt. We tried to work out budgets for them and the math often wouldn't add up. Then we'd have them track their spending -- every penny -- for 30 days and boy would that be an eye opener! Suddenly, we could find tons of things to cut back on to help them balance their budget.

Anyone else ever tried this? What were your results?

All About Asking

As many of you know, I'm an advocate of asking for a discount. It can save you a ton of money on all sorts of products. Appears that I have company. For instance, Five Cent Nickel recently snagged a deal by asking for a discount. And The Simple Dollar tells us how to have the courage to ask. In particular, he makes this statement that I find quite enlightening:

When you ask for a bargain, the worst thing that can happen is that they say “no,” which is effectively what happens if you don’t ask at all.

So, what's the harm in asking? None really.

TSD also lists a few things you can ask for as follows:

• Ask for bulk kid clothes discounts at a yard sale.
• Ask for soup bones for free (or for cheap) at the butcher.
• Ask for package deals at the pottery store.
• Ask for a lower price and/or for free amenities at the car dealership.
• Ask for extra toppings on your deli sandwich.
• Ask for extra ketchup or hot sauce packets at the fast food restaurant.
• Ask for a raise or more flexible scheduling from your boss.
• Ask for help on something that’s personally challenging to you from a friend.
• Ask for cooperation in repaying your debts from your creditors.

And a few from me:

• Ask service businesses if they match competitors' prices/coupons. I have a certain spot I like to get my oil changed, but they don't always have the lowest price. But I asked, and they do accept competitors' coupons. So we save coupons we get in the mail and use them at our shop.

• Ask for a price break. Recently I had need of a plumber and got a quote. I simply said, "Is that the best you can do?" and they knocked 20% off the price. Cool.

• Ask specialty stores for extras. There's additional margin built in at specialty stores, so it's often easier for them to for something to be thrown in when you make a good purchase. For example: a free bike helmet when you purchase a bike.

• Ask for seconds. Costco. Samples. Need I say more?

How about you? What do you ask for discounts on?

Rich People Love Bargains Too

Found this in the October issue of Money Magazine:

74% of families with incomes over $500,000 say they now wait for sales before buying.

Maybe this is what's wrong with our economy -- even the wealthy are looking for deals before they buy! ;-)

No Brainer Money Saving Tips

Here are several ways to get a great payback on energy-related improvements to your home:

• Adding insulation to your attic: Cost: $500 to $1,000; Payback: $500 to $1,000 a year
• Cover ducts: Cost: $50 to $250; Payback: $500 to $1,500 a year
• Get a programmable thermostat: Cost: $50 to $250; Payback: $500 to $1,500 a year
• Seal cracks: Cost: $15; Payback: $500 a year
• Wrap water heater: Cost: $40; Payback: $100 a year
• Service furnace: Cost: $100 to $200 per unit a year; Payback: $300 to $500 a year

Overall, the article says you can invest $1,500 and save $4,000. Of course that means you have to have some things to fix. If you've already covered all of these, there's no savings for you. Then again, you've been saving all along so congrats are due!

The White Hair Upcharge

I found this post from Boston Gal quite interesting. In it, she describes the "white hair upcharge" -- something I've never heard of before. Basically it's a higher-than-normal charge that businesses quote to older people because they think the older person is 1) loaded, 2) unknowledgeable, and 3) more trusting (or at least that's what I get out of the post.)

As an example of this principle, BG details how her mother was quoted $1,300 for a paint job. Then she called another painter and received a $1,000 estimate. Finally, she tried one more (on a recommendation from a friend who liked her painter) and was quoted $300 for the same job.

I do believe that companies often try to take advantage of people who seem less than knowledgeable about what something should cost. That's why we get a few estimates for any work done. Doing so can save a bundle of money (FYI, it works for almost any purchase -- for example, you can save a ton in car insurance costs this way.)

We had a similar experience to what BG's mom had. We had four painters with widely different quotes for basically the same work. The low bid was painter #4, so we were glad that we got several estimates.

BTW, one tip in getting estimates: let each company/person know that you're getting estimates from several companies. Then they know you're doing your research and they'll need to be competitive in order to get the business.

How We Saved 44% on Our Homeowners Insurance

I received the premium notice for our homeowners insurance the other day. It came with an insert that detailed what they called their "premier discount" program. The insert said the following:

The Premier discount is based upon information obtained from a consumer report which provides a score of certain credit characteristics. These insurance scores have proven to be predictive of future loss experience and are used to determine the level of discount that is applied to the policy.

A few more things I found interesting in the notice:

Insurance scores are requested for all driving age household members and are routinely updated every three years. However, at your request, we will update your score up to once a year.

The highest Actual Insurance Rating Score in the household is used to establish qualification for the Premier Discount.

The notice ended with the address for ChoicePoint (where the rating comes from) and says I have the right to see my report if I want to.

The insert listed the Insurance score and discounts as follows:

739 and higher - 44% discount
723-738 - 42% discount
690-722 - 38% discount
651-689 - 34% discount
625-650 - 30% discount
587-624 - 25% discount
531-586 - 19% discount
461-530 - 10% discount
460 and lower - 0% discount

While it was ovbious to me that our credit score played a major role in our insurance score, I wasn't sure exactly how the insurance score was calculated. So I looked around and found this interesting piece all about insurance scores. In short, the insurance score looks at many of the same factors that a credit score considers.

Since we have a great credit score, we also had a good insurance score (750). Thus we received the highest discount possible (44%). Just another example of how taking care of your credit score and managing your debt can save you a good amount of money.

Seven Ways to Save on Pet Costs

Check out this comment on my post titled Your Dog Could Bankrupt You:

It's not just the liability. Vet bills. Fences. Food. Over the last 9 years, I've spent over 40K on those things for my two (now one) dogs. $15K just this year in vet bills. Dogs/cats are not a financially wise choice.

Yikes! Maybe I wasn't so wrong with my over-the-top estimate! (And before someone blows a gasket reading that link, I do have a more-realistic estimate on the costs for owning a pet.)

Anyway, given the above comment, I thought it was worth it to post a recent Parade magazine piece listing seven ways to save on pet costs. Their list:

• Keep pets fit and trim. Most dogs and cats in America today are overweight, and those extra pounds increase the likelihood of serious health problems such as arthritis, diabetes, and cancer.
• Learn to do things yourself. Most people can learn to handle basic pet grooming at home, from bathing to nail trims.
• Minimize risk from accidents. Saving the life of a pet after it has been hit by a car or poisoned by hazardous foods, plants, or medications can cost thousands of dollars.
• Work with your vet to cut costs. Ask if your vet offers discounts for senior citizens, multiple pets, and promotions such as Dental Health Month.
• Buy smart. Shopping for pets can be great fun, but your furry friend probably doesn’t need that new designer collar.
• Trade goods and services. Other pet-lovers are likely also feeling the squeeze, so look into bartering to get what you need.
• Be prepared for the worst. Health insurance for pets is a rapidly growing industry for a good reason.

We're still debating on whether or not to get a pet if/when we move, but the main issue isn't cost. We want to make sure we have enough time and commitment to give to a pet. We're a pretty busy family and don't want to get an animal and then just leave it home alone and/or with little attention. Furthermore, we want to be sure that all the pet care tasks don't fall to just me and my wife. Not sure how we're going to get past that issue. And so the discussion continues...

Saving on Heating Costs This Year

Here are a couple articles from my paper a week or so ago about saving money on heating costs this winter. The first gives a list of all the home maintenance/projects we can each undertake to be sure our homes keep the heat in and don't let it escape outside (or, in other words, don't let the cold air get into the house.) Here's a summary of why this is important (though most of you know this already -- duh!):

Early projections from the U.S. government lend a sense of urgency: People heating with fuel oil may pay 45 percent more than last season, according to the U.S. government's July short-term energy outlook. For users of electricity, a 9 percent rise is anticipated.

One of their simple, no-brainer tips includes:

For the price of a gallon of gasoline, you can buy a can of spray sealant. Shot into holes and cracks, the expanding foam quickly stops unwanted airflow and pays for itself many times over.

I did this to our house a couple years ago. The foam is still rock solid everywhere but around our garage doors. I need to replace it there this year.

The second piece talks about how the price of wood pellets is increasing rapidly as people use wood stoves to save on energy costs. A summary of the situation:

Fifteen years ago, Kevin Geertman had to beg his customers to buy wood pellets. This summer, the first semi-truck load was gone in two days. By summer's end, the co-owner of Cosy Warm Hearth & Patio in Holland sold 127 tons at about $190 a ton and can hardly keep up with demand.

With heating costs expected to soar this winter, demand for pellets and pellet-burning stoves is going through the roof, and supplies are tightening. Home Depot, the nation's largest home improvement chain, reported recently pellet sales in its northern U.S. division soared 3,300 percent over last year. Prices are following demand. The price per ton is up $10 from last year, to $195, at the Sand Lake Feed & Supply store in Sand Lake, said owner Doug Guiles.

Later on in the article I found this. Interesting how it gives different numbers from what's quoted above -- though it's from the same paper on the same day:

Interest is intensifying as the heating season gets closer. The Department of Energy expects heating bills to be 27 percent higher this winter for people who heat with oil and 41 percent higher for those who heat with natural gas.

Ok, so the numbers may be off a bit. But we all get the picture -- costs for heating our homes is going way up this winter. Yikes!

But how much can you save using a wood stove versus other alternatives? Well, you need to buy the stove and then pay it off with savings over time. Does this work financially? Turns out it does in many cases. A few examples:

In Coopersville, Robert Stevenson heats his office at Basic Heat & BBC with a pellet stove, which he says saves 50-60 percent on heating. "It's only $400 for the whole season, as opposed to $400 a month for other fuel," Stevenson said. "I haven't bought any fuel oil in 4 1/2 years, and I haven't had to rely on my furnace for any heat."

Pellet stoves generally cost $1,700 to $3,000 and installing it yourself can save about $400.

"I had a customer who came in who was heating his home for 12 months at $305 per month," Geertman said. "This customer is going to put a pellet furnace in that will heat for $225 per month for six months -- that's a $75 to $80 savings."

A $75 per month savings for six months ends up saving $450 in total per year. If it costs $3,000 (high end) to put in a stove, you can pay it back in less than seven years. Not bad.

One of my friends at work did the calculations an he figured his wood stove paid out in two years versus buying propane. He saved a good amount by putting in the stove himself as well as buying a couple years' supply of pellets at a sale price two years ago (when prices were much lower.) Of course, he had to have a place to store them (which he does), and not everyone can do this.

We've seen a couple homes that have had wood stoves and it's one accessory that we view favorably in a potential new home.

Anyone out there have experience with a wood stove? Are the savings real? What tips can you provide to help the rest of us save with/run a wood stove?

25 Ways to Save Money

Here's a list of 25 simple ways to save money from Consumer Reports. We've all seen many of these before, but here were a few that stood out to me, grouped by what they save on. We'll start with water-saving tips:

2 - Skip prerinsing dishes. Our tests have found that it¹s unnecessary, and you'll save up to 6,500 gallons of water per year.

3 - Opt for the cold-water wash cycle and save about $60 a year.

18 - Install a high-efficiency showerhead. It will reduce hot water use by up to 50 percent.

19 - Upgrade to a low-flow toilet and save 4,000 gallons per year.

Wow. In four simple steps you've saved a ton of water. That probably won't be a huge savings in money, but if you're looking for some ways to have less of an impact on the environment, here they are.

Next, we have energy-related savings ideas:

4 - Put your PC to sleep. Save $75 or more by using the system standby or hibernating feature.

13 - String LED lights this holiday season. They last longer. Our tests have shown that they can save up to $11 per season.

14 - Insulate and seal cracks and gaps in your ducts. That can help reduce energy costs by 30 percent.

16 - Weather-strip old windows and doors. It's the surest way to close the gaps around openings, reducing heating and cooling costs by 15 to 30 percent.

22 - Add insulation. An estimated 80 percent of older homes are underinsulated. Properly insulating and sealing your home can cut your heating and cooling bills by 10 percent.

Ok, so if you do all these, then you can save up to 70% on your heating bills plus almost another $100? I don't think so -- I think some of these are over-stated. That said, these tips will certainly save you some money and they're rather easy to complete. And since many of them don't cost that much to do, why not? You'll end up saving money as well as burning less energy (another positive for the environment.)

Freezer Sales Climb as People Try to Save Money on Food

Check out this article that says freezer sales are rising because people are trying to save money on food. The details:

Across the country, shoppers bought more than 1.1 million freezers during the first six months of the year — up more than 7 percent from the same period last year, according to research firm NPD Group.

That rings up to nearly $400 million in freezer sales — a staggering figure compared to the rest of the home appliance sector, where industry data shows shipments are down nearly 8 percent.

And, experts said, it's a trend that's expected to continue at least through much of next year as penny-pinching shoppers buy in bulk to take advantage of deals or bundle grocery shopping trips to conserve gas.

We've had a small freezer in our basement for several years now and we LOVE it. It does the same thing for us that our pantry does for non-frozen foods -- allows us to buy more when items are on sale and store them for future use. In particular, we save a TON on meat by using our freezer.

The article says that about half of all U.S. households already have a chest or upright freezer, separate from the refrigerator-freezer combination that most people have. So there's still a lot of savings to be had (assuming you have the room.)

How about you? Anyone else have a freezer they use to save money? How does it help you save (and on what)?

How to Save Over $2,000 on Home Energy Costs

Consumer Reports details how you can save over $2,000 every year on home energy costs by buying new, more efficient appliances versus the ones you have today. Here's what they say you can save on a variety of appliances:

• Washer - $129
• Refrigerator - $72
• Dishwasher - $51
• Thermostat - $202
• Furnace - $230
• Water Heater - $310
• Lighting - $51
• Computer - $18
• Car - $900
• Television - $53

A few thoughts on this from me:

1. Yeah, you could save up to $2k per year, but it would cost you a fortune to buy all these items new. Obviously, no one's going to do this.

2. Most (if not all) of these purchases will not payout if you simply abandon your current appliance for a new one. Now, if your old appliance is at the end of its useful life and needs replacing, by all means, you should consider a more-efficient option when you buy. That said, a more efficient model will often cost more than other alternatives, so you still need to do a cost-benefit analysis.

3. Looks like changing from a manual to a programmable thermostat give you the best bang for your buck. A rather small investment can save you over $200 per year -- pretty good payback. I was also surprised at the savings with new water heater, though the cost would obviously be much higher.

4. The car delivers almost half of the savings, but we all know that hybrids are much more expensive than gasoline engine cars. I've seen articles both ways arguing whether or not buying a hybrid actually pays out.

5. Here's where we stand on each of the items above:

• Washer - A few years old -- probably a very efficient model.
• Refrigerator - Very old. Needs replaced. We'll get a new one if we move.
• Dishwasher - A couple years old -- a very efficient model.
• Thermostat - Have used a programmable for years.
• Furnace - Ours is at the end of its useful life, but still functioning. We'll stay put for now.
• Water Heater - We have an older model, but it's working well at this point.
• Lighting - We're transitioning to CFLs.
• Computer - Not really much savings here.
• Car - One of our cars is a Corolla. Does that count for anything? ;-)

Should I Join a Credit Union?

Here's a piece from the Wall Street Journal that discusses the advantages of credit unions:

"Credit unions very often beat their banking counterparts in terms of offering lower rates on loans and higher rates on deposits," says Greg McBride, economist for Bankrate.com. "For a consumer who's shopping around for the best deal, that has to include looking at credit unions."

They also list steps to take for selecting/joining a credit union:

• Go to creditunion.coop, the Web site run by the trade organization, to find credit unions near you.
• Look for credit unions you are allowed to join.
• If you are concerned about safety, pick a credit union where deposits are insured by the federal government through the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA).
• Before signing up, also look at the range of services on offer as well as the number of branches.
• If you need credit and debit card, make sure it offers them.
• And be willing to cherry pick.

I've had several comments on FMF about the advantages of credit unions and I've considered joining one in the past. But I currently have free checking at Chase, don't keep much money/savings in the bank (I transfer it to Vanguard once it's in my account), and I have/need no loans. Are there any other reasons I'd want to join a credit union versus my current bank? I really can't think of any given the way I do my banking.

Your thoughts?

Another Reason You Need to Move

Check this out:

Home, small home: 250 square feet in SoMa. New condo development targets young first-time buyers without too much stuff.

It’s about the size of seven ping-pong tables - and all yours starting at $279,000.

A San Francisco design and development firm has begun marketing 98 tiny condominiums - ranging from 250 to 350 square feet - at the Cubix Yerba Buena building in SoMa.

Ha! I told you that moving could save you money. Where I live you can get a 3,200 square foot house in a nice neighborhood for under $200,000. And no, I don't live in the boonies -- though GR is close to it!

Two Steps to Being a Millionaire and Retiring in Your 40's

Here's a Money magazine article on a pair of 27-year-olds who are well on their way to being millionaires (current net worth of $516k) and to retiring when they hit 40. As I read the piece, I was struck at the simplicity of how they were growing their net worths -- it was just two simple steps. They are:

Step #1 -- Earn a good income. From the article:

At age 27, John and Gina already earn a combined $174,000 a year.

Step #2 -- Spend less than they earn (significantly less). From the article:

John and Gina...save half of what they make.

Do either of these steps sound at all familiar to any FMF readers out there? ;-)

They should sound familiar -- I write about them all the time. I've even listed what I consider to be the three steps you need to take to become rich.

I don't really have much more to say on this topic (haven't I said enough already?), but I thought I would list some of my key posts out there for those of you who would like to make more money, spend less money, or both.

Some posts on how to make more money:

• 11 Great Ways to Earn More Money -- A great summary of my best money-making ideas.

• How I've Grown My Income -- Details on how I've grown my income through the years.

• Making Money 2008 -- 58 different money making posts (scroll down to see them all) from 2008 alone.

• Making Money pre-2008 -- 202 different money making posts (scroll down to see them all) from before 2008.

Some posts on how to save money:

• The 10 Most-Hated Money Saving Tips -- You might hate these ideas, but they'll save you tons of cash.

• Saving Money 2008 -- 162 different money saving posts (scroll down to see them all) from 2008 alone.

• Saving Money 2007 -- 220 different money saving posts (scroll down to see them all) from 2007 alone.

• Saving Money pre-2007 -- 519 different money saving posts (scroll down to see them all) from before 2007.

The Rebate Run-Around

It didn't surprise me to see this piece in Money magazine about a consumer getting a rebate run-around. After all, isn't that what rebates are for -- to try and make it as hard as possible for consumers to actually get their money (the article says 40% of rebates go unredeemed each year)?

In the piece, the firm claims they never received the person's rebate for $100. How convenient. And since it's the word of the firm versus the word of the consumer and since the firm has the money and the consumer doesn't, who do you think is going to win the dispute?

The situation does get resolved once Money steps in, but not all of us can count on that sort of help. But Money does list some things we all can do to make sure our rebates do get fulfilled as they're supposed to. Their suggestions:

• Be meticulous (complete everything EXACTLY as the rebate requires).
• Make copies of everything.
• Use certified mail so you have proof the company received it.
• Mark the rebate return date in your calendar. If you don’t get your money in the time promised - usually within 12 weeks - call the company immediately. Businesses that do not send rebates by then are violating FTC regulations.

We do the first two regularly and have had a couple times when we didn't get the rebate within time as the company claimed it didn't receive our mailing. So I sent them copies of the copies I had and they were eventually fulfilled. Still, what a hassle. That's why I've sworn off rebates unless 1) it's a really great deal on the item and 2) the rebate is so high that the purchase is a no-brainer. Otherwise, I skip rebates because they are simply too much time and hassle for too little reward.

What's your take on rebates?

Anyone Out There Use Coupon-Clipping Websites?

Smart Money lists the five best coupon-clipping websites as follows:

• Coupons.com
• CouponCabin.com
• CouponMom.com
• RetailMeNot.com
• SmartSource.com

We don't use any of these and I'd be interested in hearing your personal experiences with them (please -- no company representatives saying how great the company is.) My wife clips coupons from the Sunday paper, store ads, and mailers, but we don't belong to any online coupon-clipping service/site. But we probably should, right?

Anyway, I'm interested in what you think about these sites. Are they worth the time and effort? What are the pros of your favorite site? Or maybe what you disliked about a coupon site.

And don't limit yourself to these sites alone. If you have others you like/don't like, please share your thoughts on them as well.

Don't Pay for Something You Can Get for Free

Anyone seen those cute commercials for FreeCreditReport.com? (If not, here's an example of one.) What would you expect from such a site? Maybe a FREE credit report? That sounds reasonable, since that's their name, but the NY Times says that in this case the name is very misleading:

Consumer groups have long objected to sites like FreeCreditReport.com. Consumers may obtain a free credit report each year from the three major agencies, as mandated by an act that Congress passed in 2003. The only authorized site for that is AnnualCreditReport.com.

The three major credit bureaus, Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, are required to offer reports through the authorized AnnualCreditReport.com, but the bureaus also make money from their own credit reports.

Experian, which owns FreeCreditReport.com, increased both its site visitors and new member sign-ups by 20 percent in 2007. The company attributes those increases to its catchy ads.

In other words, you can get a FREE credit report from each of the reporting agencies every year at AnnualCreditReport.com. That's FREE -- you don't pay anything for your reports.

On the other hand, if you prefer to pay for something you could otherwise get for free, you can go to a site like FreeCreditReport.com, sign up for a bunch of services you probably don't need, and pay for months to come (automatically charged to your credit card, of course.)

Which of these options sounds like a better deal to you?

How Much do You Spend on Kids' Sports? (And Ways to Save)

Here's a piece from MSNBC that says many families are spending a bundle on kids' sports each year:

According to one estimate, many families spend at least $2,000 a year on sports-related expenses for their children.

Of course this is likely an over-blown stat to get attention, but I have no doubt that many families do actually spend a ton of money every year on kids' sports. I know several friends of our who regularly spend $1,000 a year or so. How about you? How much do you spend so your kids can play sports?

We spend about $500 ourselves if you throw in EVERYTHING (gas to and from practices, driving to games, fees, etc.) and this is only for two sports a year for one kid (my son plays basketball and soccer -- my daughter has other interests though she did play soccer for many years.)

MSNBC also lists ways to save on sporting costs as follows:

1. Buy used equipment.
2. Know when not to buy used.
3. Sell your own used stuff.
4. Get on the right mailing lists.
5. Keep your options open.
6. Save on team travel costs.
7. Have your kid contribute.
8. Conduct an honest assessment.
9. Know when to say when.
10. Seek out charities.

Here's what we do to keep our expenses as low as possible:

1. Get early sign-up discounts. We saved 25% off basketball fees because we committed early (in June) to play basketball in the fall.

2. Sign up for special "deals". I'm a coach for the basketball team and so I signed up with a Dick's Sporting Goods to get coupons sent to me regularly. I don't use most of them, but every so often there's a really good coupon (like $10 off a purchase of $10 or more.)

3. Get hand-me-downs. My son uses soccer shoes from an older friend who has since outgrown them. These are hardly even used (kids grow so fast that shoes often only last either the summer or fall soccer season) and they are an excellent way to get good shoes for nothing. Once we're done with them, we pass them along for others to use.

4. Control our desires. IMO, a 12=year-old doesn't need $75 basketball shoes to play well. There are waaaaay better alternatives.

5. Limit the number of sports. My son could play football and baseball as well, but we refuse to have our family life pulled all over the place by constant games and practices throughout the year. It's bad enough now that we're on the go from October through February (basketball) and April through June (soccer.)

6. Turn it into a money making effort. My son and I love soccer but the truth is that he's not good/dedicated enough to play much longer (if he really wanted to make soccer "his" sport, he'd need to play in the fall as well.) But we both want to be part of youth soccer in our town so we're working towards being soccer refs. Guess what -- they PAY people to do this! What a deal!

7. Resist the "elite" level. Unless your son/daughter is really good at a sport, I'd advise you forego the travel teams that cost a fortune and have kids/parents drive across several states every weekend to play games. These cost a fortune, take a toll on family life, and for what purpose? Besides, aren't there local alternatives that are almost as good? My son is good enough to play on a traveling basketball team but we're not going down that road. It's too costly in both time and money (and he's only just good enough to barely make such a team anyway.)

How about you? What do you do to save money in this area?

Saving Money on Gas

I just found this list of gas saving tips from the Drive Smarter Challenge. Most of these we've all heard before, but I thought the list was more interesting than others I'd seen since they listed some new facts that I hadn't heard before (mostly specifics around what an action will realistically save you.) Some highlights:

• Curb road rage. Speeding, rapid acceleration (jackrabbit starts), and rapid braking can lower gas mileage by 33% at highway speeds. Drivers can save up to 80 gallons of gasoline, or up to $310, by driving sensibly on the highway. If you don't have a "lead foot," your savings may be closer to 10% at highway speeds – about $95.

• Inflate Your Tires. Keeping your tires properly inflated is simple and improves gas mileage by around 3%, saving up to 20 gallons of gasoline, or up to $75.

• Tune up. Fixing a car that is noticeably out of tune or has failed an emissions test can improve its gas mileage by an average of 4% – saving up to 25 gallons of gasoline and up to $95. Fixing a faulty oxygen sensor can improve mileage by as much as 40% – saving up to 250 gallons of gasoline or up to $940.

My take on these:

• I'm working on accelerating more slowly, braking easier, and so on as a way to save on gas. I have traditionally been a "fast start" and "quick brake" sort of guy, so this is a big area of opportunity for me.

• Sounds like buying a tire compressor is getting to be a better and better investment (ha! note that this post I link to has the financials at $2.50 per gallon of gas -- those were the days, huh????) Anyone have one of these and use it regularly to check your tire pressure?

• Had my 60k tune-up several months ago as directed by my owner's manual. My car is now past 70k miles and going strong (though I may buy a new one as it gets around 100k).

How Much Would You be Willing to Spend to Save Your Pet's Life? (Part 2)

A few years ago I asked the question: how much would you be willing to spend to save your pet's life? I got a pretty good response from it (as well as some great comments) and I'd like to come back to the question for two reasons. First of all, there are a lot of new readers here that weren't around for the original post (so this gives them the chance to chime in). Second, the issue was recently brought up in the Wall Street Journal. Here's a summary of that piece:

I'm not here to say this is good or bad. We live in a very rich country, and if people want to spend thousands of dollars on their dogs, so be it.

But should the willingness to pay for expensive procedures be a prerequisite for getting a dog, as some of the emails to me seemed to suggest? I question that. That would pretty much mean that poor people, or their children, couldn't own dogs. That doesn't seem right.

Even people with the wherewithal to pay for expensive dog care are going to draw the line differently. One Dallas reader took me to task for spending so much on my dog and then daring to write about it in a column called "Cheapskate." He wrote, "Basically, my 'frugal' belief (I do not consider myself a cheapskate) is that I paid $110 for our family cocker spaniel from a rescue organization six years ago, and I will pay no more than $110 to keep her alive."

In the end, I think it's a personal decision.

A Massachusetts reader put it eloquently as he described his efforts to stretch out the life of his 14-year-old "best friend," afflicted with pneumonia, an impacted colon and cancer. "There are many who think burning 18 grand to keep a dog around for six or 12 extra months is madness," he wrote. "Sometimes I think so, too. But my wife died from lymphoma two years ago, and I have no children. What am I going to do, buy a bigger television set?"

So many questions. For instance:

• How much would you be willing to spend to save your pet's life?
• If it's a large amount, have you already saved this amount (adding it to your emergency fund)?
• If not, how would you plan on paying for it?

Nine Things You Should Not Buy New

Crosswalk lists nine things you should not buy new (buy them used instead) as follows:

• Timeshares
• Pets
• Software and console games
• Office furniture
• Sports equipment
• CDs and DVDs
• Cars
• Toys
• Jewelry

Here's my take on each of these:

• Timeshares -- Why buy one at all??????? IMO, they are a big waste of money.

• Pets -- Ha! Buying a "used" pet just seems funny. But I get what they're saying. We're leaning towards an animal shelter versus a breeder if/when we get our dog.

• Software and console games -- I buy software new, but don't buy much of it. As far as video games, we either: 1) rent them from the library (free!), 2) buy used, or 3) wait a few months and the price of new releases always seems to drop (buy in January, not December, for example).

• Office furniture -- Don't need any, but I like the Craigslist suggestion.

• Sports equipment -- I buy new here, sorry. I don't want someone else's sweat on my stuff. ;-)

• CDs and DVDs -- Haven't bought a CD or DVD in YEARS. Again, free rental at the library or low-price rental at Blockbuster. I can't watch a movie more than a couple times anyway.

• Cars -- I prefer to buy new and drive them forever.

• Toys -- Buy mostly new, though it seems like we don't buy many toys. The grandparents take care of that mostly.

• Jewelry -- The last time I bought any decent piece of jewelry was my wife's engagement ring and that was through a friend who gave me a great deal (the ring was later appraised for four times what I paid for it.) And for those of you about to call me a tightwad, I don't buy jewelry now because my wife just isn't into it (thank God).

How about you? What do you suggest buying only used?

More on the Saving Advantages of a Whole-House (Attic) Fan

I've talked before about the advantages of a whole-house (attic) fan, but I ran into this article last weekend and thought it was worth a reminder for us all. The summary of how a whole-house fan can save money:

Depending upon its size, a whole-house fan uses only 10% to 20% as much electricity as a central air conditioner. Also, it uses significantly less electricity than a window air conditioner, yet it keeps the entire house more comfortable, not just one room. Installing one generally provides a good payback on the investment.

The comfort and saving benefits of using a whole-house fan result from drawing cooler outdoor air throughout your home and the windchill effect of the breeze upon your skin. The indoor breeze from a properly sized whole-house fan can make you feel up to 6 degrees cooler than you would in still air.

We use our attic fan almost every night in the summer. The days are hot (85 degrees or so) but nights are cool (60-65 degrees). So we set the AC to a high temp during the day when we're mostly out and about anyway. Then, before we go to bed at night, we turn on the attic fan to suck the cooler outside air into the house and out through the attic (pushing all the stored hot air from the day out ahead of it.) It's amazing how running the attic fan for only 15 minutes or so can make such a huge difference in the temperature inside the house.

Once the whole-house fan has done all the cooling it can do, we turn it off, shut up the house again, and turn on the AC to keep us cool during the evening.

We've had a whole-house/attic fan in every home we've owned except for one, and we'll certainly have one in our new home (if we ever buy a new place.) It's a great money saver and one "appliance" we've come to really appreciate through the years.

Another Reason Trucks, Vans and SUVs are Pricey

When my car was backed into last summer, I had over $2,000 of damage done to my mini-SUV. I later posted that minivans also cost a fortune to repair after only a small accident. Now I know why. MSNBC says that fender benders cost so much because trucks, vans, and SUVs don't have to comply with bumper regulations. The details:

But federal bumper regulations do not apply to SUVs, pickups, and minivans. Without a regulatory height requirement, the bumpers on these vehicles tend to be higher than car bumpers. It makes them look more sporty and rugged. But in a crash — even at low speeds — these higher bumpers often ride over the car bumpers and cause more damage to both vehicles.

“What should be a no-damage bump turns into a thousand dollar repair job,” says John Karp, a claims analyst with PEMCO insurance in Seattle.

According to Karp, if an SUV or pickup bumps into a car in a parking lot at just a half mile an hour and hits the headlight assembly rather than the bumper, the repair bill could run $2,000. “That’s terrible,” he says. “There’s something wrong with the way the system is set up.”

That's EXACTLY what happened to me. The guy backed his massive (and I mean jacked up so that you almost needed a ladder to get into it) truck right into me. His hitch crushed the front of my Forester, damaging the grill, one headlight and the hood. What a nightmare!

Since the problem is both with the vehicle being hit as well as the one doing the hitting, this is not something we can all avoid by simply buying "normal" cars. Of course, doing that will limit the possibilities that we'll have a problem (maybe we'll hit/be hit by another "normal" car), but it certainly does not eliminate the possibility of a big problem. So what should we do? Maybe the answer is simply "drive more carefully." ;-)

And before I get any "why do you drive a gas-guzzling SUV?" sort of comments, let me remind you that I live in a state that has five months of winter which delivers 70 to 100 inches of snow per year. And my job requires me to often drive on unplowed roads to get to/from work.

Got an Estimate This Time

Here are some updates to my post titled Always Get an Estimate Before Having Work Done (Learn from My Pain) (where some readers thought I was too hard on my wife) that I think are worth sharing:

• The friend sent us a bill for the $150 and we paid it. We didn't have him do any more work and, in fact, decided to leave the deck "as is" at least for the winter.

• We decided to have some painting done around the house and I'm glad to say we got four estimates this time. Good thing we did too as the low-bidder was about 40% cheaper than two of the others (and the fourth guy was crazy high.) I just hope we didn't get a cheap deal because the painter's bad (we did check references, but you never know.) And, as one commenter pointed out, how would you know if one paint job would last two years and another five years? The quality of the paint? If so, we should be covered as we're using a good-quality paint (no, we didn't follow my money saving tip on paint, but we may on some later work.)

How to Save Money on Real Estate Agent Fees

Consumer Reports tells us how to save money on real estate agent fees: negotiate. Their thoughts from a recent survey:

You can negotiate the [agent's] fee. The usual 6 percent commission that agents charge sellers has been standard for so long that many homeowners apparently don’t realize it’s negotiable. But 46 percent of the sellers in our poll attempted to negotiate a lower commission and roughly 71 percent of that group succeeded.

Better yet, paying a lower fee doesn't hurt your selling price:

We found that paying an agent a lower commission rarely had any effect on the sales price. And readers who paid commissions of 3 percent or less were just as happy with their brokers’ performance as those who paid 6 percent or more. People who paid extra, in fact, were more likely to say they had regrets about the selling process. The biggest regret? Nearly one-third said they should have been more assertive in negotiating their agent’s fee.

Furthermore, paying less doesn't result in bad service:

The industry generally defends the full 6 percent commission by saying it enables brokers to provide all the services home sellers need. And some of our survey respondents who paid lower commissions did get fewer services from their agents. But there wasn’t as big a gap as you might expect. For example, 81 percent who paid 3 percent or less said the agent provided a competitive market analysis of their home, compared with 87 percent of people who paid 6 percent or more. And those who paid a lower commission were somewhat less likely to have agent-sponsored open houses (54 vs. 59 percent).

So much for paying your realtor a HIGHER fee, huh?

If interested, you can compare what you get for a 3% commission versus a 6% commission. It's not much different.

We've negotiated with our agent to charge us 1% to sell our house if we buy our new house using her. On our end, the 1% covers her handling all of the paperwork (which is worth it), though we know we'll need to do most of the marketing ourselves. The 1% gets us on the multi-list though, which seems to be about 90% of the "marketing" that most agents do.

Easy Way to Save Gas, Money, and Time

Yahoo has a post on how to save on gas costs. Most of the tips are ones we've all seen before, but this one seemed rather unique to me:

Ditch the drive-thru: One test in Toronto found that you can get a fast-food breakfast faster and burn less gas in your car if you park and go into the restaurant. Considering how much idling cars do in drive-thru lanes, this isn't surprising.

I always like simple yet effective tips and with this one we all can save gas, time AND money.

It seems to me that going inside is often faster than the drive thru window (why is that?), and we usually go this route even if we are taking the food home. Who knew we were following a money saving tip all this time too? ;-)

Some Money Saving Tips from Deal News

A couple weeks ago I was contacted by a person from Deal News, a site that "reports the hottest deals on gadgets, computers, electronics, and more, all from reputable merchants." (You can read more about them here.) They offered to make their CEO available for an interview and I accepted -- though I asked them to provide both the questions and the answers (hey, I was in a rush since I was off to vacation soon). I told them that the questions and responses needed to offer valuable, money saving tips and not be a commercial for their site. I think they did a good job. Judge for yourself whether you think so or not -- here's "my" interview with Deal news CEO Dan de Grandpre.

Q: How can I cut down my weekly spending on groceries?

A: When possible, buy in bulk.  You may not use 12 packs of Bounty in one month, but over time, buying in bulk will help you save money.

(This rule also applies to everyday tech items like CD and DVD media and inkjet cartridges, which are less expensive to buy in bulk.)  Buying your meats, dairy and vegetables from local farmers' markets can also save you a few extra bucks at the counter, and it'll taste better too.

Q: I'm planning a family vacation in August.  What can I do to save money?

A: Start by booking your airfare and hotel room simultaneously.  Also, check dealnews.com for Web coupons from popular sites like Expedia and Travelocity.  Finally, if you're not under time constraints, (i.e. if you have a flexible schedule), try bidding for your airfare and hotel on Priceline.com using a site like BiddingForTravel.com to find the right bid.

Q: How can I manage my credit card debt without damaging my credit score?

A: First, go to Bankrate.com to find out how much money you're paying in interest rates.  Next, look for credit card companies that offer 0% APR on balance transfers (there are plenty), then transfer your balance to one of these cards so the money you pay each month applies to the principal that you owe and not interest rates.  Be sure to note the duration of the low APR (it can range from 3 months to a year), oftentimes once the introductory rate is up, your APR can jump significantly.  Also, look for hidden balance transfer fees before deciding to transfer your balances to one card.

Q: How can I save money on my online purchases?

A: The same way you'd consolidate trips to save on gas, you can consolidate online purchases to save on shipping.  Many times an item is charged a minimum shipping charge and adding other items doesn't impact the total.  Other sites, like Amazon.com, offer free shipping when your order exceeds $25. In addition, look for stores that are located outside the state you reside in to avoid paying sales tax, and remember to take advantage of the forthcoming sales tax holidays.

Q: With gas prices steadily rising, what should commuters do to save money at the pump?

A: Car pooling or taking mass transit are the best solutions for saving money on gas, but when those options aren't available, we recommend taking advantage of your credit card's offerings.  Cards like the Chase BP Visa Rewards Card can earn you as much as 10% cash back when used at BP gas stations. Blue Cash from American Express yields 5% cash back when used at gas stations, supermarkets and drug stores.

Just be sure to read each card's terms and conditions to avoid paying high rates once your introductory rate expires. And of course, consider shopping online.  Most tech items, kitchen items and even apparel are already cheaper online, and with free shipping and no sales tax for many people, you'll save a bundle plus not pay for the gas.

Q: My children, of varying ages, are heading back to school next month.  How can I save money on back to school gear?

A: Now is the best time to shop for back to school gear for your children.  Stores like Sears, Target, Staples and Wal-Mart are currently offering back-to-school specials.  If shopping online, check dealnews.com for free shipping and extra discount codes, which can sweeten an already attractive deal.

Q: What can I do to cut down my monthly bills like gas, electricity and phone?

A: Switching from incandescent to compact fluorescent lighting is both good for your wallet and the environment. CFLs use about one-quarter the energy for an equivalent amount of luminance as incandescent bulbs.  To save on your phone bill, switch to an Internet-based provider such as Vonage or consider buying a "triple play" package from your cable company, which offers broadband Internet, cable and VoIP services at prices significantly lower than if you subscribed to each separately.

Is This Ethical?

Here's a comment/question left on my post titled Save Money by Getting Rainchecks for Items You Don't Need at the Moment:

I sometimes ask for rainchecks when there is a great deal on a frequent item I buy (such as peanut butter, or frozen entrees) and just keep them in my wallet for future use.

The Safeway I shop at here in SF doesn't even check to see if they are out. They can't be bothered. So I just make a list of anything I might need in the future, get rainchecks and squirrel them away.

Just be sure to include the number of items (or more) that you will need to buy with that raincheck, as they only match for the amount/number listed.

Is that unethical?

Or stated another way, is this practice ethical? What do you think?

Hire a Home Inspector to Look Over Your Current House

Here's a great money saving comment left on my post titled Follow Your Home Inspector Around:

We've been in our house for 5 years now and we actually had our original inspector come put this summer and give the house a check-up. With the housing slump we were able to negotiate a great rate and he was able to give our house a thorough going over without having the responsibility of having to provide a full inspection report. He found quite a few things that I'm hoping if we fix now, before they become a potential problem, it will save us a lot of money in the long run.

I think this is a GREAT idea!!!! A long time ago I suggested that we could all save money by maintaining our stuff. But there are probably several items in each of our homes that need maintenance -- and we just don't know it. By having a home inspector come and identify the issues then getting the problems corrected, you could save a TON of money in later (and probably more expensive) repairs and damages.

I'm sure adding this to my future "to do" list. Anyone else do this?

Tricks of the Trade: An Insider's Look at Saving Money at Grocery Stores

The following is a guest post from Christopher Davis, a guitarist and musician with eight years of experience.  He is currently pursuing a Master of Music, and makes a living teaching and playing guitar.  You can check out his blog where he writes about everything from weight-training to being a guitarist to living on a musician's budget. 

For the past seven or eight years, I've worked my way through high school and college at two major Midwest grocery chains.  I just quit my job at one of said stores, and want to share some inside info with the readers here.  Most of the readers of this blog are only customers at these stores without much information about what goes on behind the scenes. 

Beware the Signs

Ah yes, every grocery store likes to hang nice signs off the shelves for certain products.  Sometimes these ad signs are the real deal, and can save you a lot of money.  Most times, however, they are there to draw your eye.

By far the most questionable sign is the "price drop" or "New Low Price!" sign.  Why?  Most of the time the item could be new and have one of these signs.  The previous, artificial price, makes the new "low" price look attractive and moves the product out the door faster.   It is also not uncommon for a price increase to occur, but a store will again artificially inflate the previous price to make the new "low" price look better. 

In addition, these hanging signs have the connotation that something is on sale and must be purchased now to get the price.  Read carefully.  Sometimes this is not true, and a customer can get that price any day. 

How to Avoid:  keeping a price book is an option.  More importantly, if you find a store you like, keep going there.  You'll learn prices for your commonly purchased items and be able to tell when one is really on sale.  Other than that, the obvious strategy is to be aware and read the prices carefully. 

Get 45 for $45!

Beware of deals like this.  We've all seen them:  2 for $5 or 3 for $5.  Unless the store specifically states on the sign that you must buy two for each to be $2.50 or $1.67 respectively the item would be the price indicated.  That's right:  you don't have to buy the number of items on the sign to get the lower price!  This is true most of the time.

The bottom line is marking something $2.50 just doesn't sound as sexy as marking it 2 for $5.  Grocery stores move more product marking it as a package deal. 

How to avoid:  be aware of your store policies.  Ask a salesperson if you have questions about their policy on deals like this.  If they do not offer one item at advertised price and that is not indicated on the sign, complain.  A lot.  Above all, managers and employees at grocery stores want to keep the patron happy and keep them coming back.  That gives the customer a lot of leverage. 

Buying in Bulk

This is particularly helpful for those of us without a Sam's Club or Costco membership.  If you use a lot of particular item, ask the manager about case pricing.  Often times, the store will give you a discount that makes each unit cheaper than just purchasing it off the shelf. 

This works particularly well with items that can be frozen and stored or items that are non perishable.  I know the meat counter at both chains I worked at gave special pricing for customers willing to buy a large quantity of product.  In addition, I worked in a Wine and Spirits department that offered 10% off the total cost of any case.  This was very popular with wine.  When 12 bottles of assort wine rings up to $120+,  you can save a ton of money.

Bottom line:  ask the guy in charge.  Chances are a store director or assistant manager will say no, so you may want to ask department managers.  They will have a better handle on what each item costs and how to price a case.  Be firm.  Most companies would love to sell you 12 items instead of having you buy it elsewhere.  They won't sell it at a loss, but they might give you a nice discount.

Find a Store, Stick to it

Not all stores, even ones owned by the same company, are created equal.  Most time stores set they're own prices, based off what the store director wants, and their corporate office has nothing to do with it.  What this means is that if you run to store quick, because you shop at a store by same name as your usual, you might pay more or they might not have the item you want. 

Find a store, stick to it.  But don't be afraid to shop around for a store at first.  Shopping at the same store means you will have a better handle on pricing and know when something is really on sale.  Try several grocery stores at first and ask yourself, "What's the price difference?" and, "Did they have everything I need."  Gas costs some phat dollars now-a-days and running to several grocery stores is not practical. 

Other Tips

• Ask if they match competitor's ad prices.  This can save a ton of time and money.  Be sure to bring the competitors weekly flier with you.
• Stick to the perimeter.  You'll eat healthier (dairy, meat, deli and produce are all around the outside edge of the store), and see a lot of displays of on sale or reduced merchandise.
• Don't be afraid to complain, but don't do it constantly.
• Is your store out of something on sale?  Ask for a "raincheck" so you can purchase the item at the sale price later on that same note, ask if the store will substitute another item for the out-of-stock item.  Store brand all gone?  Ask them to sub a major brand for it.
• Cruise the discount rack.  You know what's wrong with a dented can of veggies?  Nothing.  It just has a dent in it, and it's half off.

The First Step to Getting Out of Debt (Also a Money Saving Tip)

The following is a guest post from CJ at Wise Money Matters.

If you are striving to get out of debt or just save a few extra dollars, I think the absolute best first step is to cancel your cable/satellite TV. Now, before everyone goes postal and threatens bodily harm on me, let me explain why you need to get rid of it and why you don't need it anyways.

The Cost

I've been getting more and more surprised at the cost of cable/satellite TV. My wife and I were paying $65 per month for Dish Network. For that $65, we spent approximately 2 hours per week watching programming. This means we were paying Dish $32.5 per hour for their time. I don't even make that much at my job.

All I really wanted was to watch a few shows; maybe the History Channel and some Discovery Channel. Other than those there's a few shows I watch occasionally, but usually miss an episode or two and don't know where the story is at. Of course, I can't just pay for a few individual channels. I have to get the whole America's Top Whatever package just to get the 2-3 channels I actually watch.

On top of that, I found that I was paying $32.5 per hour to get 45 minutes of actual programming. There is at least 15 minutes of advertisements. So even then I'm not getting my money's worth. If I want to skip ads, I can pay an extra $10/month or so for a DVR option, but why spend that money for 2 hours worth of entertainment? The other downside of a DVR is that since I can record all of my favorite shows, I will most likely become less productive due to the ability to watch more shows at my leisure. Many see this as an advantage to the DVR. I see it as a detriment.

The Real Cost

My wife and I canceled our satellite about 1 year ago. Since then, I've noticed an even more profound effect on my finances than the bill itself. Since we were subjected to all of the advertising that we were, we found ourselves wanting more unnecessary things.

I found that whenever I was hungry, I'd see a Chili's commercial (my favorite restaurant) and get the sudden uncontrollable urge to spend $30 eating out rather than spending $5 eating in. When I saw the latest Wii fad that was out, I absolutely couldn't live without it.

Now that I've been satellite free for 1 year, I don't need the latest Wii game. While we still eat out occasionally, it's on my terms, rather than my stomachs. Our excess spending has decreased dramatically purely because we don't have the desires for stuff like we used to. Since we don't see the advertising, we often don't know a particular is available.

We've also become more productive. I now spend a lot more of my time reading finance and investing books or writing on my blog. Much more satisfying than losing brain cells in front of the television.

The Alternatives

The best part is, I still get to watch all of my favorite shows. I now have a subscription to Netflix which allows me to get my favorite TV shows on DVD or streamed online. And there are no commercials either! Due to the frequency which we watch TV, we opted for the one DVD at a time program which costs us a measly $9 per month. A huge difference from $65. Even if you watch more, you can get the 2 or 3 DVDs at a time to fulfill that and it's still cheaper.

There is also this website called Hulu.com. It has lots of free programming. They do run commercials but they are 15-30 seconds by a single sponsor as opposed to an average 5 minutes of multiple commercials per break.

I still get my complete fill of TV entertainment without the commercials and without the expense.

So drop the Cable Company and start saving money NOW!!!

Seeing the Olympics on a Budget

The following is a guest post written by Danny Gamache, aka "The Success Professor".

The Olympics in Beijing will be my fourth Olympics Games.  No, I'm not an athlete or a coach, but rather an avid Olympic fan and spectator.  In the late 1990's I set the goal to attend every Olympic Games starting at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City.  Up until now I have achieved this goal attending the Olympics in Salt Lake City, Athens, Torino and now Beijing.  Going has not always been easy.  I have had to carefully budget and look for ways to save money.

What I have found is that the Olympics provide a great opportunity to travel, experience amazing sports action, and see beautiful cities.  Most people think that the Olympics are crowded and expensive.  While the games can be expensive if you want to go first class, it is possible to have an amazing experience on a budget.  Further, because so many people think that the games will be overcrowded, they are often far from it.  Tourist sites often have smaller crowds than non-Olympic years because regular tourists simply stay away.  The following are some tips to see the Olympics on a budget.

1. Spend time researching cheap flights - The largest cost of any overseas Olympic trip will be the flights (I drove to Salt Lake City).  As such, it is important to take some time and research flights well.  Visit many different travel sites, and check prices frequently.  Some web sites such as http://www.kayak.com/ are useful because they check multiple sites at the same time.  Prices for airfare fluctuate significantly so check often.  I've seen flights drop $500 in one morning and increase back up by that evening.  It also may be worth driving to a nearby city perhaps even 200 or 300 miles away in order to save several hundred dollars.  I did this for the Athens Olympics.  I was able to save over $500 by driving a few hours.

2. Consider staying outside of the main Olympic city - You can often save significant money on your accommodations by staying outside of the main Olympic city.  While this can sometimes add to the travel time, the savings can be worth it.   During the Salt Lake City Olympics, I stayed in Ogden; I stayed north of the city proper in Athens, and in Torino I had a 90 minute commute (one direction to Torino proper, the other to the mountain venues).

3. Stay at alternative accommodations - In other words, you don't have to stay in a hotel.  I have slept on the floor of a church, in a dorm room with a dozen men, and in a retreat center. Consider traveling with a group of people (not an official tour group), and you can have significant negotiating power.  The combination of staying outside of the main city and finding alternative accommodations, have allowed my costs to be as low as $10 a night to at most about $40.

4. Purchase your tickets on the street - One of the biggest surprises I found at the Olympics is how easy it is to purchase your tickets on the streets immediately before the event - and it can be cheap!  A large number of tickets to events are sold to tour groups or given to official sponsors; most of the time these organizations have a lot of extra tickets, and as such end up selling them off before the event.  They often use scalpers as their intermediaries however the prices can be well below face value.  I have paid $15 for a speed skating ticket with a face value of $175 or 5 Euro for a bronze medal baseball game.  Certainly I have paid more for events, but I have averaged paying about 33% of face value for my tickets.  I have even been given free tickets such as the tennis ticket given to me by a representative of Sports Illustrated.

The best way to do this is to go to the event without being too attached to whether or not you get in.  That way you can wait for the ticket prices to go down.  The best prices are immediately before the start of the event or shortly after an event has started.

5. Take advantage of free events, activities, and festivals - There are a lot of free things to do at the Olympics.  Corporate sponsors put on a big show.  There are games, displays and shows.  I've seen free concerts at each of the Olympics I've been to including the likes of Mark Anthony and Kelly Clarkson.  Sometimes you need to wait in line for the free tickets, but they can be really worth it.  Often the concerts are part of the medals ceremonies for the winners. The host city also has numerous parties and activities going on.

At the summer Olympics there are also free events you can see.  The Road Cycling events, consisting of the men's and women's road race and the time trials are free, as are the men's and women's marathons.  These are great opportunities to see Olympic events at no charge.

6. Attend the first week of the Olympics - If you can only see part of the Olympics, it is better and cheaper to go during the first week.  There are more competitions on during the first week of the Olympics, and most team sports are in preliminary round play.  Not only are there more events, but they are cheaper.  As teams move towards the finals the prices natural increases as does the demand.  Even the price of tickets on the street goes up for prime events later in the games.  While there are still great deals later in the Olympics, the best value is the first week.

7. Save money on food - You can save money on food as well.  First of all, do not eat at the Olympic venues.  The food at the venues will be the most expensive.  I try to eat a good breakfast and then take a meal replacement bar with me for during the day.  I'll try to eat out in the evening, but be flexible on when I'm going to eat depending on what event I plan on taking in. 

By following these tips you can have an Olympic experience.  While it may be too late for many to plan a trip to Beijing, the next winter Olympics are in Vancouver, Canada.  Start planning now for your trip!  For now, I'm off to Beijing!

Save Money by Haggling

I love it when people save money simply by asking for a discount or by using good negotiation skills. It's relatively easy to do and yet most people don't even think of it as an option when buying something. Hopefully, this post can help change that for some of you reading this.

This piece from Money magazine lists several ways you can haggle for a better price. They give the following as an overview of how to be successful at this:

To gain leverage, you need to know three things: where the industry's weak spots are, how much competitors are charging and what value you bring.

They then list the industries where you can haggle, how to haggle, how much you can save, and how easy it is to save. I'm going to list the highlights for each area:

• Mortgage brokers: For the sake of both transparency and savings, you want to work with someone who will agree up front to how much the fee will be. Interview brokers to see if they'd do this. Then, no need to beat around the bush: "Just ask what their typical commission is and whether they're willing to negotiate,"

• Health clubs: August is one of the industry's slowest periods. If you're not yet a member, go in toward the end of the month, when commissioned sales reps are nearing their sales goals. "Tell them straight up that price is an important factor for you," Spencer Ellis says, "and ask what wiggle room there might be on rates."

• Cell-phone service: Look at websites of all the major carriers for enrollment deals. If you're willing to switch, find an independent retailer that represents multiple providers, as reps there are empowered to offer the best incentives, says Donovan. They may also have unadvertised plans. Visit at the end of the month.

• Cable-TV, telephone and Internet services: Whether you're an existing customer or shopping around, play the companies against each other by mentioning competitors' rates and saying you'd consider switching to save money. See if locking in for a year or more will get you a better price. If you don't succeed, call again and talk to someone else - or ask for the retentions department.

• Electronics, clothing and other stuff: Use a comparison-shopping site such as Shopzilla.com to find the lowest price on the item first. Bring a printout to the store. Once there, "the key is identifying who has the authority to give you a discount," says Shell.

Overall, it's pretty basic -- know what prices others are charging, share this with the business in a polite but firm way, and be prepared to walk/shop somewhere else. Kind of like making an offer on a home, now that I think about it. ;-)

Anyone out there have any haggling tips or successes to share?

When is Being Cheap Being Too Cheap?

Here's a piece from Crosswalk that talks about being too cheap. It details when the author selected the cheapest painter to do a job and had to have it re-done a couple years later. As such, her "deal" wasn't really that good.

As a result of this experience, she suggests a formula for getting a great deal that balances price and performance. Her suggestion:

The best way to know for sure if you are making the most cost-effective choice is to do the math. In the same way you are careful to consider the unit pricing of items in the grocery store, learn to compare prices on big purchases like paint job, roofs and mattresses using the per use *or* per year cost of the item *or* service being considered.

In other words, a painter who did a job for $500 where the job was expected to last two years (cost of $250 per year) wouldn't be as good as one who cost $1,000 but the job lasted five years ($200 per year.)

It's not exactly the same idea, but our way of buying products is similar to her line of thinking. As such, we very rarely buy the cheapest option available. But we do buy an inexpensive item (car, appliance, etc.) that's expected to last for a long, long time. This way we get what we consider the best bang for our buck.

A key to this strategy for us is to check Consumer Reports as we start the buying process. We especially look for items that CR rates as a "best buy" -- products that are among the tops in their class on performance but at a price that's usually far less than comparable items. So far, this strategy has worked very well for us across all sorts of product categories. And when we haven't followed it, we've gotten ourselves into trouble.

How about you? How do you balance price and performance?

Always Get an Estimate Before Having Work Done (Learn from My Pain)

Here's a quick and easy money saving tip:

ALWAYS get an estimate before having any work done.

We usually do this religiously -- getting at least two estimates but often more -- for most services we're considering. It's the same as shopping around for prices on products. It's normal. It's what good consumers do, right?

Of course. And we usually do it. But for some reason, my wife recently let her guard down. Here's a quick summary of what happened:

• We were looking to have our deck repainted and wanted it powerwashed first.
• My wife called a friend of ours and asked him to come over.
• He came over and instead of giving us an estimate, he started work on the powerwash part (I'm still unclear how my wife let this happen, but I'm convinced I'll never know the actual events so I'm moving on with my life) ;-)
• I got home that night, heard she had work done without an estimate, and hit the roof.
• I had her call him and stop work the next day. Instead, he was to come out and provide an estimate and we'd then get back to him.
• I also asked my wife to find out what the powerwashing had already cost us.
• She found out the price: $150. Ouch! I could buy a decent powerwasher/pressure washer for not much more than that.

Anyway, she saw the error of her ways and we resolved that it wouldn't happen again. Like I said, she would normally get a quote on it in advance. Maybe it was the fact that he was a friend that she went ahead and let him proceed. I don't know. Anyway, I thought you could benefit from our mistake, so in some way maybe our pain will be someone else's gain. ;-)

Do You Buy, Sell or Trade Gift Cards?

Smart Spending has a post that details how to buy, sell, and trade gift cards. The piece highlights Plastic Jungle, a site that helps you sell your unwanted gift cards, buy new ones at discounted prices, or trade your cards for ones you want.

This sounds like a good service, especially if you frequently shop at a set of stores. Seems like you could buy a card that you KNEW you would use -- spending only a portion of the face value for the card -- then go shopping. It's an easy way to save a boatload of money, right? Well, maybe not. Here's what I found out from checking the site (may be different not, but these were valid at the time of this writing):

• I looked for cards from several high profile companies (Amazon, Costco, and Walmart) and found nothing.

• Many cards had no savings at all (0% off AT&T, the Apple Store, Target, and Macy's). What's the point in buying from a site with 0% discount?

• Many of the good cards were offered for TRADE -- not for sale. So unless you had a card that met the postor's criteria, you were out of luck.

That said, there were some good deals. For example:

• 15% off AMC Theaters
• 15% off Banana Republic
• 10% off Barnes and Noble
• 8% off Home Depot

It's nothing earth-shattering (I was hoping to find 30-50% off deals), but still the deals aren't bad. If you could save 8% to 15% off many of your purchases, you'd be happy, wouldn't you?

Anyone out there ever use this site or one like it? I'd be interested in hearing about your experiences.

News Flash: Mainstream Media Discovers Store Brands

Here's another instance of the mainstream media "discovering" something most of us have known all along -- store brands can save your a good amount of money. The highlights:

As budgets get tighter and food gets more expensive, American shoppers are increasingly switching to store brands — even upper-income consumers who may not have been inclined to give them a try before.

The nation's biggest grocery-sellers, Wal-Mart, Kroger, Supervalu Inc. and Safeway Inc., all report that sales of their own brands are jumping, as customers can't stop regularly buying food and household items but need to reduce spending.

Gone, for the most part, are the gray, no-frills cans with nondescript labels such as "peas," packaging that evoked cheap, bland taste. Many now sport colorful labels with names like Kroger's "Private Selection" and "Naturally Preferred" that don't shout "store brand!"

"Store brands have come a long way," said Tod Marks, a senior editor at Consumer Reports, which has tested store brands against national brands for quality and customer response. "Over the years, retailers realized that store brands were not just something to be floated out during hard times ... 'This is a signature product of ours. We want to be known for this.' "

Uh, yeah.

Five Ways to Save on a Honeymoon

I had to laugh when I saw the title to this piece -- 5 Ways to Save on a Honeymoon. I thought about my honeymoon those many years ago and how saving money was probably the least thing on my mind. ;-)

That said, we went to a cabin in the mountains a few hours drive from home, not a trip around the world, so we weren't spending much money anyway. But for those of you looking to save some money on a high-cost honeymoon (or even a low-cost one), here are some suggestions from Smart Money:

• Book Early
• Seek Favorable Exchange Rates
• Set Up a Honeymoon Registry
• Take Advantage of All-Inclusive Packages
• Skip Popular Destinations

Not bad tips, but here's what I'd suggest instead. It's a BIG money saver:

Go at an off-peak time.

If you get married and go on a honeymoon when other people aren't (i.e. not in May through August), you'll save a small fortune. There will be less competition for everything and as a result, you'll save a ton on everything.

But let's say you HAVE to get married in June because that's when all your family can travel. Why not book a honeymoon for an off-season time (maybe October?) and have a local honeymoon right after your wedding. It will be less stressful and the later "big trip" will give you something to look forward to. Oh, and did I mention you'll save a ton of money by postponing the trip? ;-)

Save Money by Getting Rainchecks for Items You Don't Need at the Moment

Here's an interesting money saving suggestion left on my post titled Save Money by Subbing for a Sale Item:

I was at the big ShopRite can can sale and they were out of one of the items I wanted, so I requested a rain check for it and I then asked, "What else are you sold out of that people are getting rainchecks for?" and she told me about 4 other items that I can use, but didn't have on my list this time and I got rainchecks for them too! :)

Of course, if you will never need the item, there's no need to get a raincheck (and then buy something you don't need.) But if it's something you regularly buy, why not ask for a raincheck and then buy the item (at the sale price) when you need it?

More Insurance Firms Allow Medical Tourism

Just received word that there's a new edition of Patients Beyond Borders: Everybody's Guide to Affordable, World-Class Medical Care Abroad coming out at the beginning of August. I loved this book when I first read it a year or so ago and a TON has happened in the medical tourism industry since that time (and the industry continues to change/evolve almost daily.) I'll be receiving a copy of the new book soon and will give you my thoughts on it, but for now I wanted to share a few interesting points the publisher highlighted when she sent me a recent email on the book. Her comments:

Over the past few months and since the launch of the First Edition, medical travel has seen some tremendous changes:

• Two insurance company giants (Blue Cross/Blue Shield and Aetna) have begun offering coverage for medical care abroad.
• The American Medical Association (AMA) has published its AMA Guidelines on Medical Tourism.
• In the past year, more than 50 new international hospitals have gained American accreditation through the Joint Commission International (JCI).
• Two large US hospitals will soon open full-service medical facilities abroad.
• The number of medical travelers worldwide has jumped to nearly 3 million—180,000 from the US alone.
• For the first time, more patients are leaving than entering the US for medical treatment.

The issue of affordable health care is not going to go away (we'll be hearing a LOT about it during the upcoming presidential election, I'm sure) and medical tourism may be one solution to our "crisis." And even if it's not part of the national plan for everyone, I'm sure that a growing number of individuals will select this option for their major health care needs. The fact that major insurers are now paying for medical tourism procedures is a HUGE step in helping this trend gain momentum.

For more on this issue, see these past FMF posts:

• Big Savings in Medical Tourism

• Want Better Health Care? Go Abroad

• Medical Tourism Saves Money and More Insurance Carriers are Approving It

• Why Go Abroad for Medical Care Reason #1: Cost Savings

• Why Go Abroad for Medical Care Reason #2: Better Quality Care

• Medical Tourism Can Save You Thousands of Dollars

More Real-Life Stories on People Saving Money by Shopping around for Car Insurance

Here are several more stories of people saving money by shopping around for car insurance. They were left as comments on my post titled Real-Life Money Saving Example. The first:

I'd been meaning to comment on our car insurance switch as well. We had been with Nationwide for ages (basically since I got my license 18 years ago!). I plugged in my information at one of those insurance quote websites (be prepared for the onslaught of phone calls, I used GrandCentral to screen them), and after reviewing a couple of them, I went with AIG as well. Two cars on Nationwide: $1440.20. Same coverage on AIG: $660.66. Yearly savings: $779.54.

Almost $800 savings for a bit of shopping. Not bad at all!

The next example:

I just switched my car insurance as well. I had been with Farm Bureau since I turned 16. My parents have been with them for all eternity as well. My monthly premium for a 2003 Toyota and a 2006 Kia was $140! Granted, I had a minor, weather-related accident (single car) a couple of years ago so I can understand that it has gone up.

I did the online quote thing too (and got inundated with calls!) and heard from Liberty Mutual. Turns out I got a discount based on where I went to college in addition to them not holding the accident against me. My annual premium is now $1024, down from $1680. The only down side is that I will lose my multi-policy discount with my FB homeowner's insurance, but I have already paid through June 09 so it is no big deal right now. Even without that discount, FB is still cheaper on the home front, and I am still saving $45+ per month!

Over $500 savings per year! And there's more:

I too was with State Farm forever. I have nothing against them other than the high rates. Other than that, I loved them. However, being just out of college, I need to save money.

So I went on JD Powers to read their reviews of insurance companies and found Erie Insurance (I think they only service a few states around Lake Erie of course). They were extremely highly rated (better than State Farm). I called them up and got a quote which was way less.

Now, I just bought a 2009 Toyota Corolla and my wife has a 2003 Mazda 6, both relatively new cars I guess. For both of us, we pay $540/6 months total... Less than half of what State Farm was charging. Not to mention, they consider you an adult at age 24 and can add on other discounts (employer for example).

I also get renter's insurance for $11/month which is pretty much standard.

I haven't had to use them yet in an accident, but so far they've been good. Also, they sell through independent agents which drastically cuts down on costs cause they don't have to pay as much commission as State Farm does.

Saving over 50% is good, right? ;-)

Here's one more comment:

A similar thing happened to me and in my case it was GEICO (yes GEICO) that gave me a SUPERB deal on Auto and American Family who gave me a fabulous deal on Home insurance. Between these two new policies (3 cars and 1 house), I save $600 per year with better coverage (went to $1M liability coverage since I have contractors at my home all the time for additions/improvement/maintenance).

Bottom line is that I hired the BEST companies for their 'sweet spot' and got myself a 'honey pot worth $600 per year' for better coverage. HOW CAN YOU BEAT THAT?

Is there any doubt that shopping around for car insurance can often save you a bundle of money?