frugal underground

It’s almost that time of the year again, folks! If there’s ever a good excuse and a reasonable time to go overboard on your budget, it would be during the holiday season. After all, Christmas is all about family dinners, get-togethers, gift-giving, and all other activities that somehow, whether we like it or not, call for us to shell out some amount.

But wait just yet. Holidays or no holidays, it’s always a perfect time to save or cut back on expenses too. So before you go on a spending frenzy and rack up additional credit card debt, take a step back and see where you can buck tradition without skimping on the things that really matter. Here are some tips that might come in handy:

Trimming the tree (or not)

True, having decorations for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas may be one of the highlights of these occasions (especially for the kids) but it doesn’t mean that you’d need to order 7 lbs worth of tinsel for your tree. Remember that the decors will only be there for a few days or few weeks at most, so putting up a lot will be a big waste of time, money and effort. Instead:

• Buy your decorations from dollar or thrift stores.
• Go walking through the park or around the neighborhood for pine cone varieties rather than buying them.
• Use LED lights to save on energy. You may have to spend more upfront for this type than traditional lights but you get to save up to 90% on energy costs.
• Make homemade decors. I usually bake a batch of gingerbread cookies (or any of my kids’ favorite characters in gingerbread dough) and have the little ones decorate them to hang up on the tree.
• After the holidays, look for marked down decorations (some can get as low as 75% off!) for use next year.

‘Tis the season for giving

While being an age-old tradition of Christmas, giving gifts is again, more of a kids’ affair. Now I’m not saying that friends and family wouldn’t appreciate getting a present or two, but as cliché as this may sound, there’s really truth to the saying that it’s the thought that counts. That said, you could save on gifts this Christmas by:

• Narrowing down your gift list. Save for immediate family and really close friends, we rarely give out gifts to anyone else on Christmas. However, I do send out Christmas cards to far-off friends and relatives, and prepare some baked sweets my co-workers can share.
• Sharing a gift with someone else for someone close to you both. For instance, siblings can split the cost of gifts for dad and mom, or for nephews and nieces.
• Exchanging, rather than simply giving gifts. Alternately, you can also broach this idea to your family or group of friends. And I mean the exchange where you take out a name from a hat and just give to that one person. That way, all of you save a ton on gifts yet everyone, and not just the kids, still gets to open a present. (Admit it, we never lose the thrill of such moments!)
• Offering your services or expertise as a holiday present. Mind your best friend’s toddlers for a day, offer to lead in the games and entertainment at the local orphanage holiday party, fix that computer your brother hasn’t gotten to bring to a repair shop yet, or help out your elderly neighbor on his own holiday errands. Whatever skills or talents you have, I’m pretty sure they can be of good use to the people around you.

Christmas, Thanksgiving, or Hanukkah are long-standing religious celebrations we would never think of giving up just because times are hard these days. But if we can take out some of the commercial value attached to them, we’ll find that these holidays can be enjoyed just as much without needing to spend a lot.

Popularity: 10% [?]

We all know that watching your money is as much about increasing your income as it is about controlling your spending.  Nothing beats adding a few passive income streams to provide that extra little bit of income. One great way is by putting a few ads on your website – or possibly signing up for an ad-revenue service.

It sounds great, doesn’t it?

That’s what a friend of mine’s sister thought.  So she grabbed the credit card and happily paid the two dollars to sign up.

That’s where her troubles began.

See, even though this company had “Google” in the name it wasn’t actually associated with Google.  Instead it was a classic scam:  She signed up for a $2.00 offer – and two weeks later the first regular charge for $75.00 per month hit.  Needless to say, she was not happy.  Neither was my friend, who was the one actually responsible for the credit card.

Still, the point of the story isn’t what happened to my friend, or his sister.

The point of the story is that anything that looks too good to be true probably is, and never provide a credit card number unless you’ve read the fine print.  The unfortunate truth is that the internet is rife with people who want nothing more than to take your money.  If they can get you to pay them regularly, so much the better!  At least from the scammer’s point of view.

There is good news, though, too.  Not everyone on the internet is out to rip you off.  It’s also pretty hard for people to rip you off unless you let them.  That’s actually the key.  Most scam artists rely on their victims’ desire to get rich without doing anything.  In fact, many of these schemes appear as if you’re going to be the one ripping them off.   So simply by avoiding greed, you can often avoid the worst of the scams.

It’s all about staying on top of your money and not doing anything without thinking it through first; and that’s the real key to to frugality.  It’s your money, you need to be in control.

So next time you’re looking for a little extra money, take the time to do your research and find out what you’re really signing up for.  You’ll be glad you did.

Popularity: 15% [?]

Admit it — decluttering the house is perhaps one of our least liked activities. There’s a kind of love-hate relationship between us and our stuff which we refuse to confront until we can no longer open our basement door because of all the “junk” that’s sitting there.

But how did we really get to accumulate so much stuff? Off the top of my head, I’d say there are two main reasons: lack of time and plain nostalgia. To those who have made it convenient to say “I just don’t have the time” I say:

You can always find the time to declutter.

I know how serious some clutter problems can be, but for the average household, I doubt if you’d need to take a sabbatical just to tackle your clutter. Here’s an easy tip that may not have crossed your mind but will definitely make your task less daunting and more manageable: unclutter one area, cabinet, or cupboard at a time.

Setting a Saturday schedule for “decluttering the kitchen” will make it sound so off-putting, and depending on how much unused stuff you have there, it’s possible no meals will be coming out of the kitchen on that day. On the other hand, if you just put in a reminder for “cleaning out the upper cabinet shelves,” this could only set you back an acceptable one hour or two.

Now, to those who hoard stuff for the sentimental value you have put in them or the potential you still see in them, I say: (I’m) guilty as charged too. If it was something I or any one of the family members received, it just didn’t seem right putting or giving it away. If it was something we paid for ourselves, I felt that we certainly should still put it to good use. But eventually the truth hits home:

If you haven’t been using things for some time already, you probably never will again.

Forget that shirt which you said you’ll just sew the button back on, or the DVD player you’ve been meaning to have repaired for the past 6 months. If you don’t put them back into usable form any time soon, then it’s time to find someone who will. Clinging on to rarely used items is just not practical and gets in the way of efficient living.

Of course, I’m not saying you should load up the whole basement into a truck right now and just haul it off. However, you do need to be tougher when it comes down to crunch time. Keeping a box or two of your most-prized keepsakes is understandable, but hoard a roomful of them and you yourself may be hard pressed to recall that particular memory associated with the item.

As for organizing things during the decluttering process, I keep my categories clear-cut: things I will still store or use (but keep it to a minimum otherwise what’s the point?), things to sell, things to donate, and things to throw away.

In case you haven’t caught my reference on things to sell, I reiterate: yes you can sell pretty much a lot of stuff from your forays into the “unused” territory. One easy way of loading off your stuff is by selling at garage sales and flea markets. Dave’s post on flea markets should serve as a reminder for us that one man’s junk may be another man’s need. For items like old books, vintage clothes, or unused sports equipment, there are specific shops that are looking for just these things. Or you could also have your unique items listed at eBay or Craiglist.

You shouldn’t expect a huge income from selling off your clutter though, unless you’re really bringing in a truckload. Still, it’s interesting to note that what has been sitting around in our storage bins for a long time in hopes that they could still be of some use, actually produced something when they were already out of the house instead of in it.

Whether you’ve decided to sell your stuff, donate most of them to charity, or just throw away what really belongs in the trash, the important thing is to act quickly. Price them right away or drive those boxes over to the Salvation Army immediately, lest they end up back to where they were unearthed from.

Popularity: 15% [?]

The common cold is supposed to be just as its name implies – ordinary and relatively harmless. And yet nowadays, the symptoms of the cold and its more advanced “form”, the flu, can no longer be dismissed as plain coughs and sneezes that will pass in a few days.

I was almost unable to come up with this post myself as the whole family came down with the worst bout of flu we’ve seen in years. While I’m fairly confident that none of us has contracted the much talked-about and dreaded A(H1N1) virus, the onset of this new epidemic has led me into thinking about how we should pay more attention to keeping ourselves fit and healthy.

Costs can skyrocket when it comes to the treatment of serious health problems but oftentimes all it takes is a boost to the immune system to keep the viruses away. And let’s do away with the notion that living healthy is expensive. On the contrary, it could cut down on a lot of unnecessary expenses that we currently spend for.

Check out these tips and see what I mean:

Get adequate sleep. What else is there to say? Sleep costs you nothing yet does a lot for your immune system.

Quit the soda and drink water. Water is cheaper, healthier, and doesn’t bombard our bodies with sugars and additives.

Take it a step further and use tap water. I’m sure your purified water expense is way above your regular water bill. Purified doesn’t always mean cleaner though, and sometimes all you may need is a reliable water filter. PUR pitchers for instance are priced no higher than $19 but it does the job of straining out contaminants, and the water tastes great to boot.

Soak in some sun. Healthy sun, that is. Kids especially should get enough exposure to Vitamin D to help them develop strong bones and teeth. So pry them out of their console games and keep them running outdoors for some “sunshine vitamin.” Again, it’s free but the benefits are priceless.

Apply proper hygiene. A bar of soap or a small bottle of hand sanitizer shouldn’t make a dent in our budget but these are actually our first lines of defense against catching any unwanted germs.

Discover the benefits of “free” exercise. Who needs a home treadmill or an expensive club membership when a few rounds of brisk walking or jogging around the neighborhood would do just as well?

Quit smoking. With the recent rise in tobacco taxes, kicking the habit once and for all would do both our body and wallet good.

Skip the junk food and eat healthy. A healthy immune system always goes hand in hand with a healthy diet. Sure, organic fruits, veggies, and meats can be pricey, but you haven’t explored the other cheaper options yet.

As an alternative to the more expensive meats and fresh fish, some great but inexpensive alternative sources of protein are:

Fruits are the best sources for Vitamin C. The richest fruits (and not necessarily the steepest-priced) are the kiwi fruit, guavas, and oranges. Another affordable option would be to take Vitamin C supplements. You don’t get to enjoy the fruit but at least you get your needed dose of the vitamin.

Here’s to a long, healthy and frugal life!

Popularity: 11% [?]

We’ve all heard both sides to the argument on being frugal vs being cheap.

While both can lead to cost savings for a household, the former is more about getting quality products at lower costs, while the latter is getting something simply because it has the lowest price (or comes free!) without much thought to its make, functionality, and how it could affect other people (not leaving a tip in a restaurant for instance IS cheap).

Adults can live without those unnecessary luxuries or make those small “sacrifices” in the name of frugal living and being eco-friendly. But just how much of our frugality should be applied to buying for our kids without crossing the line to cheapness? Here are some great ideas for frugal moms, which can bring in huge savings for you without sacrificing your young ones’ comfort and little pleasures.

Having at least three children or more will definitely make a dent on your clothing budget. When shopping for kids’ clothes, try the following:

A child’s birthday that’s just around the corner can be a stressful time for parents because birthdays are typically associated with costly parties. As frugal moms know, birthday treats don’t necessarily have to be bank-breaking. A few suggestions:

Now, I’d like to think that the ideas mentioned above were certainly within the bounds of frugality. So what for me would be ‘cheap mode’ for kids? Off the top of my head, just two:

As with everything else, it’s all a matter of perspective. What may be frugal for some, could be thought of as cheap by others.

As a parent, do you have these “frugal vs cheap” debates within yourself?

Popularity: 11% [?]

School will be out soon and while most of us are raring to go on that family vacation, sadly, not all of us can afford to. Or if we choose to go through with it anyway, some of the fun is taken out of the supposedly stress-free vacation because we have to compute and then re-compute the expenses as we go along.

I’ll let you in on a little-known secret: It’s possible to go on a great vacation even if you are on a budget. Don’t believe me? Try out these tips and see how you can still have a fabulous getaway without breaking the bank.

When to plan

We usually start planning our vacation months in advance. Not only does it translate to huge savings and the assurance that you can always secure that place in your intended hotel, the thrill of having something to look forward to is something that makes you feel good long before you start packing up those bags.

On a side note, I find a much-anticipated vacation an effective way to get the kids to calm down – “We won’t go on that trip to Disneyland (or wherever) if you guys won’t behave this very minute!” It hasn’t been Disneyland as yet, and sure, it’s pure bluffing but you get the picture.

Using travel sites

As soon as our destination is planned, or at least the choices have been narrowed down to a shortlist, here are some of the sites that we usually check first.

I love how these sites offer very friendly-user interface where you can just input the data for your impending getaway such as the proposed dates, destination, hotel amenities, and other specifics. Other sites worth checking out are Orbitz.com, BestFares.com, and Hotels.com.

To fly or to drive?

Contrary to what some vacationers may think, flying to get to places isn’t such an expensive option these days. A lot of airline companies now offer airfare costs of less than $100 depending on your base, destination, and your planned travel dates. Booking early can get you even bigger discounts.

When your destination isn’t that far out of state, and especially when you’re traveling with kids, driving can be the best option for you. Taking the car to your destination will not only let you save hundreds on travel costs, you can also make it part of your vacation fun especially for the young ones who would love the experience of taking in new sights along the way.

A home away from home

Hotels can give you some of the best amenities available when on vacation but if you want to save on dining costs as well, finding a hotel or apartelle that comes with a kitchenette will allow you to prepare budget-friendly, home cooked meals. Even if you choose to dine out occasionally, having your own small kitchen will make it easier for you to recycle leftover foods for the next meals.

Don’t forget your rewards points.

For many, going on vacation is also one way of using up all those rewards points accumulated from months of using your credit and/or debit cards. Depending on your cards, earned points can be converted to airline miles, hotel discounts, or cash credits for some souvenir shopping.

So, where are you going this year?

Popularity: 11% [?]

The moms have had their day in the sun last month. With Father’s Day just a few days away, shouldn’t we be racking up our brains to make this day as special as we can for the men in our lives? Whether it’s for our own dear dad or our beloved husbands, let’s spare no effort in making the man of the house king for the day.

Serve him breakfast in bed.

Nothing really fancy; just what you and your kids can (literally and figuratively) cook up. Toast with bacon and egg? Swell. And while you’re at it, you and your kids can also throw in some salty pretzels shaped and arranged to spell D-A-D. Whatever’s on the breakfast menu, our men could sure use some pampering too.

Have a barbecue with lots of beer.

Set-up the grill, take the meat out, and share some of your best dad stories over hearty laughter, good food, and lots of beer. If your man is the type to tend to the grill himself, then a gift of BBQ-related accessories like an apron, or cookbooks would be a nice touch. Or if you feel like you could splurge a little more, a new grill or smoker would be great as gifts too.

Go on a camping or fishing trip.

What more memorable family and father bonding than going on a camping or fishing trip for Father’s Day weekend. Not only will Dad enjoy taking some time off, the kids, especially younger ones who haven’t tried it before, would also love the experience of doing something new and adventurous.

Make Dad smile with a bobblehead doll.

Adding some playful humor to the celebration would definitely make this Father’s Day an event he will always look back to with fondness. Not only that, putting a smile on Dad’s face will certainly make our day too! A bobblehead dolls that portrays him in his light and fun side (as a superhero, golfer, action star – you take your pick) is a unique and cool way of telling our man he is the central “figure” in our lives.

Write him a poem and put it in your homemade card.

Bring out the writer in you and pour out your appreciation for Dad. Perhaps it could just be a simple “Top 10 Things I Love Most About Dad” where the kids could also pitch in a line or two. Sounds too cheesy? Believe me, dads could sure use a little more “cheese” in their lives and Father’s Day is good enough a time as any to do this.

Make him a Dad Coupon Book.

Think up of a collection of various special favors. Create coupons for these that he can use up in the next few days or whenever he feels like availing of it. Some ideas: a special back rub, his favorite dish or dessert that you seldom make because it took too much time, a “Kids’ Turn to Wash the Car” voucher… anything that you can come up with that will make life more convenient and pleasant for him.

Go out on an outing that he loves.

Is he a big baseball fan but you don’t care much for it? Or does he just love horror movies but you simply hate being scared out of your senses? Just for this day, surprise him by getting tickets for both of you to the big game, movie, or theater – whatever it is that he loves but you don’t do as often.

Making a day special isn’t always about how much you have to spend. In these times when money isn’t that easy to come by, all it takes to have a wonderful Father’s Day celebration is a few good ideas and lots of love.

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As a mother and the other member of the two-man finance board in the family, I’ve long since discovered that keeping our credit card level in check can be one of the most challenging household finance issues to deal with. Debt tends to creep up on us slowly before we can even realize that we’ve already created a monster that’s totally out of control. A moment of weakness that happens once too often, can build up our existing debt to levels so high, that recovery can take years.

Even if we enjoy a comfortable enough level of income presently, the anxiety of having to cope with past debts can sometimes cause us to miss out on quality time we could have spent with our loved ones, or even just moments to stop and smell the flowers. Life indeed, is too short to get ourselves saddled with debt.

If we don’t want to find ourselves constantly having to deal with creditors on our door, or jeopardizing our child’s college education fund, these few reminders might come in handy in keeping the bills away.

Work hard, live well, laugh out loud. Whether we get to be forty or a hundred and forty, life can still be enjoyed to the fullest… without signing ourselves up to a lifetime of debt in the process.

Popularity: 11% [?]

I once had a roommate who refused to shop at discount and second-hand stores because she didn’t want people to think she was poor.

She would rather be seen as rich than smart.

The sad thing is that her attitude is all too common these days:  with teenagers in the house I see it all the time.  They want the newest and most fashionable everything – even if it’s overpriced crap – just because it is in style.

There isn’t much you can do about a teenager’s sense of style,  some of them haven’t figured out how to wear pants yet; but it’s always possible to try and instill good habits when it comes to spending money.

This is even more important when they’re spending my money.

Today’s topic is bargains, discounts, and second-hand stores:  and why the emphasis on having people think she was rich only made my roommate look foolish. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 11% [?]

Most of us have cell phones, many of us have teenagers:  put the two together and you have a recipe for a never-ending hole in your bank account.

Being frugal is about making smart choices; being a teenager is about making the mistakes you learn from later.  The two don’t go together.  But teens and cell phones do go together, and if you make the wrong choices you’ll be the one paying for their mistakes.

I used to work for a cell phone company, and part of my job was resolving billing problems.  I still remember the time a woman called up with a tiny little problem.

Her bill was several thousand dollars larger than normal.

It seems her son had been downloading pornography to his cell phone with predictable results.  Unfortunately there wasn’t anything we could do for her, but there are a few things I can suggest that might prevent it from happening to you.

So follow me past the cut and we’ll talk about various ways to be frugal with your teen’s cell phone bill.

Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 11% [?]

If you are new to earning money on the internet, chances are you have already come across the Paid to Click websites, which are mushrooming all over the internet. They seem very attractive at first glance because it requires absolutely no skill whatsoever and can be done as passively as is humanly possible. They provide a great way to create a passive income (though not much, but can still be worth it) with minimum work.

However, the problem is, there is no regulation of this paid to click market and most such sites are outright scams. It is difficult to identify the scams because there are so many of them and also because many turn into a scam only after a decent amount of successful running. However, a few precautions from your side, outlined below, will go a long way in helping you pick the right programs, or at least increase its probability.

• Check the advertising rates. If the advertising rate is below the payment rate, in all probably it is a scam as it is not sustainable. The owner will then have to pay you from his pocket, which is ridiculous. Many scams can be identified by this method.
• If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Any site claiming to pay you a few dollars for a click is a scam without any exception, since no advertiser would ever pay such prohibitive rates. The maximum that a click can ever pay is a cent or two and a little more in certain exceptional cases.
• Very high payouts. This is a problem because it can take a long time to reach the payout in which time, there is every chance the site closes down. As a general rule, the lower the payout, the better.
• Check the payment processors. You don’t want to be paid in an obscure payment method that itself can turn scam anytime. This is true, because historically online payment processors have actually paid such sites to promote their processor. AlterGold is perhaps the most famous recent example of this.
• Prefer automatic payouts. Of late, quite a few sites are introducing automatic payouts wherein you request the payout and you will get paid immediately. This only shows the site is sustainable.
• Try to contact the owner. This can be important because it is becoming increasingly common for a bunch of high school kids to go around buying a script, starting a site, closing it down in a couple of weeks and never paying anyone. If a site has a forum, it is still better.

Finally, remember that it is very difficult to build any sustainable income using the paid to click sites. However, it can provide you with a nice passive income source if you have a good downline. Try to get as many people as possible to join under you. There is a method to get people joining under you by giving them back a percentage of your earnings through their clicks for a site. Consider different marketing and advertising options, and you should do just fine, if not go on to make a fortune.

Popularity: 11% [?]

You might be throwing away things that you could use again. There are plenty of created ways to make treasure out of your trash. Here are a few ideas:

Use your old mustard or ketchup squeeze bottles as a cake decorating tube.

Use a cardboard box and manila folders for a filing system.

Give the stuffing paper from purses, book-bags or shoes to the kids for drawing paper.

Photo by HagitR

You can use a shoe box as a place to keep your incoming mail.

Keep old book bags, as long as they don’t have holes. You can use them for day trips, or a flight carry-on.

Use paper and plastic bags from the grocery store as garbage bags. You can also reuse the bags to carry new groceries. (Some stores will give you a $0.02 credit for each reused bag.)

Use the Styrofoam from packages to create a model size snow town for your kids’ little toy characters.

The possibilities are endless! Be creative!

Popularity: 22% [?]

Drowning in credit card debt is a burden for many people. Sometimes you don’t know where to begin, or it seems like your debt is so large you’ll never escape. The following are ten simple ways to help you move towards debt-freedom.

1. Pay your highest interest rate cards off first.
This is considered common knowledge these days, but it’s easy to confuse paying off your highest interest credit cards with paying down your highest balance. Even if you owe only $150 on a 28% department store card and $5,000 on an 18.5% credit card, pay your minimum monthly payment on your higher balance, and use as much as is left over to get that monster-rate balance clear. (Then forget about using that card again until your other debts are down!)

Photo by wackocatho

2. Double up on payments
Paying your minimum payments twice a month (every 2 weeks or every paycheck) will get your debt down to zero in less than half the time of paying once! If you can manage, doubling up at the beginning of the month will save you even more. Lenders make more interest the longer you wait to pay.

3. Don’t wait to pay
The day your bill arrives, it’s a good time to make your payment. Don’t let the grace period trick you into thinking you’re saving interest charges on anything but your most recent purchases.

4. Pay online
Using online banking cuts out a few days worth of snail mail travel time (and thus, interest charges), and saves you the cost of the check. Plus you’re less likely to risk late payment penalties due to a problem with the mail. Remember, however, that online payments may take a couple days to clear depending on your bank, so plan your payment a few days before it’s due.

5. No more notes
If you do send in checks each month, avoid writing notes as your credit card company is allowed to route your note with the bills and checks attached to them to different departments for up to five days which could cause you to miss your payment due date. The same goes for memos.

6. Write clearly
Your check may also be passed around for five days if your handwriting is difficult to decipher. So print nicely to avoid late fees.

7. Don’t be charmed by pre-approved credit cards
If you’re already approved (and you have poor credit) there are a couple reasons why you should run from such offers. Credit card companies are banking that you will rack up more debt (this is how you got in your situation to begin with), and to match your risk comes a high interest rate.

8. Read the fine print on 0% balance transfers
Balance transfers sound like they are buying you time, but remember that there is often a fee (2% or so of your balance to be transferred) just to make the transfer. And your low APR won’t last forever and will rebound to a much higher rate after as little as three months. Your interest rate on purchases or cash advances is also something to watch for. These can be even higher and usually there is no grace period. Unless you’re confident you can pay off your debt and not make any new purchases while your 0% period lasts, you may end up worse off than when you transferred.

9. If you’re really in trouble…
When your debt is so large that you’re considering bankruptcy, here’s a little known tip. Credit card lenders would rather get something out of you than nothing. So call your credit card companies and explain truthfully your situation. Ask for at least a two month stay on your debt with no payments required so you can work on resolving your bad credit. Request that they note this in your file and make note of the supervisor or agent you spoke with. Your credit card company may be willing to either forgive part of your outstanding debt, rework your monthly payment schedule/requirements or eliminate your interest payments over the long-term. It may seem tempting just to declare bankruptcy and forget about the debt completely, but remember that bankruptcy carries its own consequences that greatly affect your future credit options.

10. Flee annual fees
You probably didn’t know that you could ask your credit card company to waive your annual fee. Call your credit card company and mention that you are considering switching to a different company’s offer but you would consider staying with your current card should your annual fee be waived. You’ll probably get it.

If you’re disciplined enough to never carry a credit card balance, don’t even bother getting any card with an annual fee. The main reason for annual fees is for the credit card company to be able to offer rewards or lower interest rates and charge a bit extra for the privilege. If you essentially don’t pay any interest anyway, you don’t care whether your card is 9.99% interest or 19.5%.

About the guest blogger: Linda Bustos is the Marketing Director for Creditorweb.com, where you can learn about credit cards and compare credit card ratings and reviews. And check out how close you are to debt freedom with the credit card payoff calculator.

Popularity: 52% [?]

Here are some quick penny-pinching ideas:

Serve and eat smaller portions. You will probably lose weight, too.

Photo by KJKing

Share the meal when eating out. Many diners and other restaurants will give oversized portions. Share a dish between two people. You can also do this with dessert.

In the summer, only use the air conditioner during the hottest part of the day (noon to 5 pm). After that drink water, have an ice pop, and take it easy. Fans take less energy as well.

Use florescent light bulbs, in the summer. They use less heat and electricity.

Put a portion of your paycheck into an interest-bearing savings account every time. Don’t touch the money unless you can’t cover a bill. Even if it is just $5, it will add up in time.

Every time you break a dollar, put all of your loose change in a jar. Don’t touch the money until the end of the year.

Make your lunch instead of buying out everyday.

Popularity: 17% [?]

If you’ve decided that you’re interested in attending a Trendwest presentation, you can sign up online to go. (You can also get an attending friend to refer you, or sign up for one of their drawings—in my area, there are almost always car giveaways in the mall sponsored by Trendwest.)

Here are some tips for attending the presentation.

• Negotiate on your incentive. We didn’t really know you could do this, but the last time we were invited, Daniel told the scheduler that we just weren’t interested in the standard “vacation package” they were offering. (We have heard horror stories about the vacation from friends… suffice it to say, you’re NOT staying at a Trendwest resort…)

  Then Daniel asked if they were offering any gift certificates to local businesses instead (we’d been offered that on a previous visit). Turns out, they were willing to give us a $50 gift certificate to Home Depot, and $20 at Tony Roma’s. Of course, no guarantees, but you’ll never know if you don’t ask, and you could get something significantly more useful than their initial offer.

• Do your homework. Ask yourself the questions about Trendwest’s value to you personally. Have a good idea before you go in about what you actually spend on lodging yearly. This will give you the information you need to evaluate the offer that will be made to you.
• Be prepared for high-pressure tactics. Though every sales person is different, in my experience, Trendwest sales associates play hardball. They won’t hesitate to constantly put down your values if they get in the way of a sale. They have suggested financing a Trendwest purchase by rolling it into our mortgage. They told my husband he deserved a poke in the eye with a sharp stick. They tell you that you only get one chance at the deal (clearly not true since we’ve been four times, each time at their invitation). They will do everything they can to make you decide right then and there, and not give you a chance to think it through. This is why it’s so important to come prepared.
• Consider alternative options. Take a look at what Trendwest points are going for on eBay. In general, it’s about half the price per point, compared to what they offer at the presentations. If you buy via eBay, you miss out on some of the perks that go with points sold directly from Trendwest. If you bring it up, your salesperson will certainly tell you what you’ll miss. Typically, these perks are things like Bonus Time and classes. Be cautious, though… they don’t usually react well to bringing up the eBay alternative. We’ve been told it’s not safe, despite the fact that the sellers are reputable and provide mountains of documentation, which suggests more about the salesperson’s fear than anything else.

  The point is, though, that you should know how the market values Trendwest points. You’ll have to decide first if Trendwest makes sense for your family, and then whether the perks are worth the extra money. Due diligence is key.

• Bring a list of contacts who won’t mind being called by Trendwest. As you’re getting ready to leave (you think!), a salesperson will give you a sheet of paper and ask you to fill it with the names and contact info for people you know. Usually they will offer a modest incentive (like an entry in a drawing) if you provide ten names or more. The attitude I’ve felt here is clearly, “You are a waste of my time but I may forgive you if you provide me with leads.” I find this extremely irritating, but this is the point at which you can get your friends invited if they want to partake of the attendance incentives. Be aware, though, that typically only couples with $35k+ incomes will actually be invited.

Popularity: 44% [?]

A month or two ago, I received an email from someone who had seen this blog and wanted to tell me about his own frugal site. I get a few of these emails each month, but this one hit me at a crazy busy time, and I didn’t take the time to look at his site until now.

Because the gentleman was kind enough to include a summary of what the site does, I’m copying it here:

DealMine.com is aggregating member discounts and rewards from loyalty programs, credit cards, associations (AAA, AARP), unions, etc and matching them up to comparison shopping technology. The idea from a consumer perspective is that as popular as comparison shopping is, the information they provide is limited to price, tax and shipping info and that does not provide all the information and consumer needs to make a purchasing decision. For example, the average consumer has nine credit cards, belongs to four rewards programs and at least one association or club (sources: FairIssac and Colloquy) all of which have member benefits and have not been aggregated anywhere before in a way that makes them easy to use. We help consumers discover deals they didnt even know they had available like 10% off at Target.com with AAA or $15 off at Bluefly with Visa cards…

The site features two types of searches. The first is into the directory to compare discounts or rewards like this one for car rentals currently featuring over 100 deals: http://www.dealmine.com/deal-directory/Travel-discounts/Car-Rentals/49

The other search on the site is actual comparison shopping where prices at various stores are matched up to affinity/membership discounts and benefits. See below for an example of a “Compare Prices” search on jeans: http://www.dealmine.com/compare-prices.php?s=jeans

The site currently features discounts and rewards from 29 member programs and is growing quickly.

I was impressed at the concept when I read the email. It seems like a tool that could help a certain market segment (namely, us, “the cheapskates”). And goodness knows I’m part of way too many rewards programs, and don’t keep track of them nearly as well as I ought to.

I tried out the site to see what I thought. My impression: a touch clunky, but extremely useful. The registration process includes a spot where you tell DealMine what rewards programs you’re part of, and then future searches are customized to your actual memberships.

I was impressed at the options for filtering and sorting on a product search. For instance, I did the example jeans search, and found loads of bargains on pants. But then I saw I could filter to show only five-pocket jeans, or bootcuts, and limit it to deals under $20. That’s handy.

I went on to find a lovely pair of bootcut jeans at Sierra Trading post that were under $20 shipped, and would net me 4 hotel rewards points per dollar. I didn’t buy them (that’s still a lot of money for jeans, in my opinion, and I don’t need any right now), but it was a good exercise in seeing the potential benefit of this site.

My biggest concern? Whether I will remember to use the site. I’d like to see them offer a search plugin to the Search Bar in . That would make it much more likely that I’ll return when it’s time to buy.

Popularity: 40% [?]

I’ve enjoyed reading the little saving tips that Budget Savvy sends out from time to time (by request, of course). I’ve been too cheap (of course!) to subscribe to the magazine sight unseen, though.

I was pleased to check my email this morning and find the announcement that they’re taking the magazine online (and I believe this will be online only), and not only that, they’ll be offering it for free. They are separating the articles out by “applicable area” (e.g. “living room”, “board room”, “pantry”), which has potential for interesting browsing. Beyond the articles, there’s also what appears to be a blog (though oddly, no way to leave comments that I can see).

It looks like they still have a little tweaking to do, but this new site has great promise and I’ll definitely be checking it out on a regular basis.

Popularity: 25% [?]

Have credit card debt?  Almost everyone does.  The Credit Card Blog has a great list of 33 Tips to Dig Yourself Out of Credit Card Debt (some of them are obvious, but honestly, this would be ideal as a checklist—seriously, print it out and cross off items).

Popularity: 18% [?]

PC Advisor has some good product recommendations to help you get more value from your CD burner and printer. It’s worth reading the post, but if you just want a quick summary, get the free program SizeMe to reduce wasted space on your CDs (or Picasa for images) and use a Rubber Roller Rejuvenator to give new life to a paper-jamming printer.

Popularity: 24% [?]

There are lots of reasons why it’s good to have some short term savings, a kind of cushion, if you will. Chief among them is that you won’t be overdrawing your checking account should your timing be a little off. But there are some other less-obvious advantages that can save you money.

The main one is that by having money in reserve, you can afford to “go without” some money in the short term to save money. A prime example of this is the various tax-free health savings accounts. By considering what your expenses are likely to be, and committing to cover them before they happen, you can save a significant chunk of change, depending on your tax bracket. This is the same idea behind various retirement options, too. Pay now to save later.

In our household, we’ve been using this idea to save money on recreation. One example is the health club. My husband is a semi-serious cyclist and wanted to keep in shape during the cold winter months, so we looked for a health club that offered cycling classes in addition to the weights that we should be using year-round. When we found the club we wanted to join, they quoted several different prices based on the term of the contract and the method of payment. Because we were willing to pay upfront for two years in advance, we are paying about half of the standard cost. Obviously this is only a good idea on something you will definitely use (we’re 6 months in and still going to the gym several times a week).

Here’s one that we’re planning on doing. Every year, our local ski hill sells season passes at an extremely low $199 per pass… but they only sell them at that price for one weekend. We just bought our passes for the 2006/2007 season, but we’re already thinking of 2007/2008. Here’s why: the ski hill runs a “cash card” sale just before they open (usually Novemberish, I think) where they sell these cash cards at 75% of their face value. Basically, get a $100 cash card for $75. These cards are accepted anywhere on the mountain and can be used to pay for lift tickets, lessons, whatever. What we’re focused on is that they can be used to pay for passes.

So come this November, we’re going to figure out what we will be spending in the full next year ($199 pass for me, $199 pass for Daniel, $120 for the lessons I intend to take, plus a little for food on the mountain) and we will buy a cash card with that full amount on it. In the end, we’ll be buying our passes for $150 each, my lessons for $90, and the overpriced food on the mountain for an amount that resembles a fair price. Sure, we have to plunk down $450 upfront, but we save a full $150 just by planning ahead.

The moral of this story? Whether you’re talking health care or retirement or recreation, you can often save a lot by paying upfront—so make it a priority to have the necessary short-term savings available.

Popularity: 25% [?]

CiN Weekly has a short article on “Frugal & fresh” weddings. Frankly, I think they have a different idea of frugal than I do (they highlight a dress by a “lesser-known designer” for $875 retail; that’s a large chunk of the entire cost of my wedding). But they have some ideas that might be helpful, especially those who think that a wedding has to be expensive. I think the best aspect of the article is that it will hopefully inspire some creative, out-of-the-box kind of thinking—the kind of thinking that can save a bundle.

Popularity: 26% [?]

I’ve posted before on the benefits of meal planning and I hope that you’ve found the value in it. Here’s a simple, quick tool to help the process along: a list of your family’s favorite meals. Yeah, it’s kind of obvious and I felt silly for not coming up with it earlier, but a comprehensive list of favorites can really take the pressure off.

You don’t have to agonize over what to make, where to find a good new recipe (and where to find the time to find it!), and what to do with the leftovers when the family isn’t wild about it. Sure, it’s fun to try new things from time to time, but most families would rather stick with maybe fifteen or twenty “tried-and-true” favorites than constantly be trying “experiments.”

It’s super easy to implement this tip. Just take a piece of notebook paper (or a blank file in your word processor) and start writing down the family’s most requested meals. If you are stuck, go ask your spouse and the kids. My husband was more than glad to register his vote for “normal things” (his words) like spaghetti and tuna sandwiches.

Then just put the list somewhere you can see it when you’re meal planning and also easily add to it. For me, that’s right here. I figure if I try one new dinner meal in a week and pull the rest from the list, that will keep the family happy and still let me experiment. My list is still evolving, and will be for some time, but hopefully you can use this advice to save time as well as money.

Popularity: 24% [?]