Here's a quick, easy trick (ok, might take a few minutes, but very much worth it).
TV/Internet/Phone service providers constantly run promotions for new or existing customers. Call up your provider (or go to their online chat), and ask about what promotions are running for existing customers. You may be able to upgrade your service for 6 months at a LOWER rate than you currently get.
For example, my 15mb internet speed was going to rise to $59.99/month, but bumping up to the 25mb speed got me a 6 month promo for $39.99/month. Then after 6 months, I'll switch to the lower rate, or see what other promos are available.
Also, if you have internet service, you can usually buy your own modem/router (ask what type of equipment you need for your provider). The 1-time $100 price of a standard modem will pay itself off in about a year, then you no longer have to pay to rent one (which you're probably doing now).
Also, use hulu.com or netflix. Even with Hulu Plus and Netflix, your cost will be less than cable tv (buy a significant amount), and you'll get tons of new movies and tv shows. Add that to basic over-the-air programming, and you've got plenty to watch, and money in the bank for a bigger TV.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Sunday, November 27, 2011
How to use coupons like a sane person, and not waste HOURS each week.
Hey kids, lesson 3 on how to save money, without spending HOURS each week. Enjoy :)
Step 1: Go to www.livingrichwithcoupons.com (I don't own this site, I don't get anything by linking to it, it's just a good site that a lot of people use to help save time and money).
Step 2: Select 'find my store', then select the 'weekly match-ups' link for your local grocery store (or target, wal-mart, etc).
Hint: Use shop-rite or another store that doubles coupons (most shop-rites automatically double the value of any coupon you use, up to $0.99, so a $.75 coupon actually takes $1.50 off the price of the item).
Step 3: Look at the deals posted, find things you buy normally, and cut out any coupons from newspaper coupon inserts, or print out online coupons (2 per computer, if you're smart).
Note: Print in low quality, black-ink only grey-scale (black and white) so you don't waste ink :)
Step 4: Use the coupons. I normally spend under $50 per trip, and I can save anywhere from a few dollars to $20+, and a lot of times I get things free, especially with internet-printable coupons. Free things I've gotten include ham, air fresheners, yogurt, soy/teriyaki sauce, and other random things.
Step 5: Spend that money you saved on x-mas gifts for the family. Or better yet, buy yourself something nice. You've earned it!
Step 1: Go to www.livingrichwithcoupons.com (I don't own this site, I don't get anything by linking to it, it's just a good site that a lot of people use to help save time and money).
Step 2: Select 'find my store', then select the 'weekly match-ups' link for your local grocery store (or target, wal-mart, etc).
Hint: Use shop-rite or another store that doubles coupons (most shop-rites automatically double the value of any coupon you use, up to $0.99, so a $.75 coupon actually takes $1.50 off the price of the item).
Step 3: Look at the deals posted, find things you buy normally, and cut out any coupons from newspaper coupon inserts, or print out online coupons (2 per computer, if you're smart).
Note: Print in low quality, black-ink only grey-scale (black and white) so you don't waste ink :)
Step 4: Use the coupons. I normally spend under $50 per trip, and I can save anywhere from a few dollars to $20+, and a lot of times I get things free, especially with internet-printable coupons. Free things I've gotten include ham, air fresheners, yogurt, soy/teriyaki sauce, and other random things.
Step 5: Spend that money you saved on x-mas gifts for the family. Or better yet, buy yourself something nice. You've earned it!
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Swagbucks - Takes awhile, but free Amazon gift cards? It's worth it..
So, go to swagbucks.com. I won't give you my referral code to make money for myself, so you know that I'm only telling you about the site because it actually works. Do the surveys, go to the site daily to get quick points, and use the search toolbar when you search. I've been using it for a month, and have already gotten 3 $5 Amazon gift cards, just by using the site when I'm bored at work.
Also, no need to give them a credit card or anything like that, don't worry :)
Enjoy your free moneys.
Also, no need to give them a credit card or anything like that, don't worry :)
Enjoy your free moneys.
Monday, June 13, 2011
Investing 101 for Absolute BEGINNERS
Ok here's the deal.
If you have money to invest long-term (3+ years without taking it out), invest in an Index Fund. Go to Vanguard or Fidelity's website, and take a look at the ratings on index funds, pick one that looks good, and put in whatever money you want to invest for 3+ years. Don't take it out until you want to use it.
What is an index fund? It's basically like you're buying a whole bunch of stocks that resemble an entire market. Their goal is to 'track' the performance of a group of stocks, such as the NYSE or the S&P500. Basically, you're investing in the stock market.
Yes, the market has 'crashed', but over time it always goes back up, and generally will earn you a good return on your investment if you leave it alone. It's also a very 'diversified' way to invest, because you're investing in many many stocks at once, rather than individual stocks.
Most of my investment money is in Vanguard Total Stock Market Fund (VTSAX). If you invest a certain amount in Vanguard funds, you can get 'admiral shares', which is the same exact stock, but with lower costs (meaning that you get to keep more money for yourself). Check out performance and some more info with Finance.Yahoo.com (Here for VTSAX).
For the rest of your investing money, put it into bonds or money market funds, both are very low risk, but also low reward, so they're a good safety net.
Keep as much in your checking account as you need for your monthly expenses, plus an extra few months (6 is good) as a safety net.
There is a TON more information out there about smart investing, this is just a quick and easy primer on where to start. Vanguard also has a great tool to show your what your mix of investments should look like based on your age, investment goals, savings, etc (sample image below).
I'm not an accountant or a financial planner, but I've done my research to make what I think are smart investments. If you have questions about any of this, please feel free to post a comment and I'll do my best to clarify any of it.
Hope you enjoyed Investing 101. Next class? Coupons suck, but FREE STUFF is probably worth it, right?
If you have money to invest long-term (3+ years without taking it out), invest in an Index Fund. Go to Vanguard or Fidelity's website, and take a look at the ratings on index funds, pick one that looks good, and put in whatever money you want to invest for 3+ years. Don't take it out until you want to use it.
What is an index fund? It's basically like you're buying a whole bunch of stocks that resemble an entire market. Their goal is to 'track' the performance of a group of stocks, such as the NYSE or the S&P500. Basically, you're investing in the stock market.
Yes, the market has 'crashed', but over time it always goes back up, and generally will earn you a good return on your investment if you leave it alone. It's also a very 'diversified' way to invest, because you're investing in many many stocks at once, rather than individual stocks.
Most of my investment money is in Vanguard Total Stock Market Fund (VTSAX). If you invest a certain amount in Vanguard funds, you can get 'admiral shares', which is the same exact stock, but with lower costs (meaning that you get to keep more money for yourself). Check out performance and some more info with Finance.Yahoo.com (Here for VTSAX).
For the rest of your investing money, put it into bonds or money market funds, both are very low risk, but also low reward, so they're a good safety net.
Keep as much in your checking account as you need for your monthly expenses, plus an extra few months (6 is good) as a safety net.
There is a TON more information out there about smart investing, this is just a quick and easy primer on where to start. Vanguard also has a great tool to show your what your mix of investments should look like based on your age, investment goals, savings, etc (sample image below).
I'm not an accountant or a financial planner, but I've done my research to make what I think are smart investments. If you have questions about any of this, please feel free to post a comment and I'll do my best to clarify any of it.
Hope you enjoyed Investing 101. Next class? Coupons suck, but FREE STUFF is probably worth it, right?
Twenty (20) ways I save or make money. For Free.
1. Coupons. http://www.couponmom.com/ will get you started. Yes it says mom, no I'm not a mom, but it can get you FREE stuff after using the coupons listed (Free toothpaste, free food, free stuff. Seriously). More on that in a later post, but that should be a good start.
2. Food. Eating out costs ~20 for an ok restaurant. Cook yourself, it's much cheaper, and you can make exactly what you want.
3. More FOOD! Cook things more 'from scratch'. Pre-made food is a huge waste of money, and most of the time it doesn't save you a ton of time. Cutting lettuce instead of getting bagged salad mix will save you about $40 an hour. Seriously. 'Taco Mix' packets? Mostly salt. Some chili powder. Garlic powder. And a waste of your money. Read the ingredients on the ones you like, then combine your own, much cheaper, ingredients.
4. EVEN MORE FOOD! Eat rice. A bag of rice will last you MONTHS, and is great for making a variety of dishes. Fried rice and chinese-style foods, rice and beans for mexican, be creative. Pasta is also cheap. Don't pay more than $1 for a 16oz. (1 pound) bag though, or your just giving your money away.
ok enough about food for now (that will be some later posts)
ok fine, last food tip- if you find something with a great discount, buy as much as you can that won't go bad. Stockpile rice, pasta, canned goods and frozen foods when they're on sale.
5. Bills. Save on gas and electric bills by making sure you're insulated. If you live in an apartment, call maintenance and tell them your windows are crooked or out of place. They'll get them nice and tight, and save you money on your utilities.
6. TV/Internet. Cancel your cable TV subscription. Switch to Hulu. Or get Hulu plus and/or netflix. Even with both, it's still cheaper, and everything's on-demand.
7. Go onto your cable/internet provider's online support chat. Ask them if there are any promotions you're not aware of. You might get bumped up to the next tier of service for a 6-month promo price that's cheaper than your current service. Just don't forget to ask for the lower tier after 6 months. If you have a roommate, after 6 months have them get the service at the promo rate.
8. Don't buy from real stores without price-checking first. Find what you want in a store, then go home. Search on froogle.com for the item at the cheapest price. Then search 'promo codes for _____' with the name of the store that the item was cheapest at. Then apply whatever discounts you can, and get pretty much everything at a decent discount from what you would've paid.
9. Rent. First off, rent, don't buy. You save a ton of money on property taxes, utilities, maintenance, and it is lower risk than owning. Also, if you're renewing a lease, ask for a better price if you've been a good tenant and paid on time for the last year. They'll probably give you a discount.
10. Credit cards. Don't carry a balance. Pay off your card in full, then only use the card for purchases you can afford with your current savings. Otherwise you're just giving the credit card company your money for.. nothing.
11. More Credit Cards. Get a Discover card or a card with cashback rewards. Better credit card rewards means more free stuff. Just watch the rates if you're going to carry a balance.
12. 401k. Put as much into it as you can without needing to carry a credit balance. Anything in there now will add up quickly over time, and you can retire early :)
13. Don't overdraft your checking account. You can check the balance online or with an app on your phone. Overdrafting costs you money, and is frankly just not very smart.
14. Shop at Kohls. They have quality clothes at much better prices than most other stores.
15. On that note, shop at Walmart. Their stuff may not be high quality, but it's good enough to work, and the prices are rock-bottom most of the time.
16. Check out Swagbucks. I got a $5 Amazon giftcard in 1 day just buy filling out fake info on some surveys and offers (no credit card or real addresses are actually necessary, although technically you're supposed to put in a real address. Just fake it). Check it out here.
17. Get a college degree. People with a college degree make WAYYY more money than those without. Think 1 million dollars (over your career, of course). Can't afford it? Good 'scholarships' and 'tuition aid'. There are tons of government grants and such for getting you back to school.
18. Buy generic products, not brand names. Most of the time, they're manufactured by the same company, at the same plant, and contain exactly the same ingredients. Drugs like Tylenol and Advil, food (especially cereal), clothes, etc. All are MUCH cheaper generic. Don't skimp on electronics though, brands can greatly affect quality of electronics.
19. Your next car should be a used Honda Accord. They get decent gas mileage, last a LONGGG time (my 2000 Accord is still in great shape, and I'm planning on running it for another 5+ years), and they have a very high resale value. Don't buy electric, the couple thousand dollars you'll save on gas in 10 years isn't worth the added thousands of dollars you'll spend on it now (especially if you're financing the car, which you probably are).
20. Create a budget. It doesn't have to be an "I'm limiting myself to 'x' dollars per week" budget. Just guesstimate how much you're going to spend in an average month, and track what you're actually spending. This will let you see where your money's going, and where you can cut back if you want/need to. I'll put up my simple budgeting spreadsheet at some point in a later post for you to try.
2. Food. Eating out costs ~20 for an ok restaurant. Cook yourself, it's much cheaper, and you can make exactly what you want.
3. More FOOD! Cook things more 'from scratch'. Pre-made food is a huge waste of money, and most of the time it doesn't save you a ton of time. Cutting lettuce instead of getting bagged salad mix will save you about $40 an hour. Seriously. 'Taco Mix' packets? Mostly salt. Some chili powder. Garlic powder. And a waste of your money. Read the ingredients on the ones you like, then combine your own, much cheaper, ingredients.
4. EVEN MORE FOOD! Eat rice. A bag of rice will last you MONTHS, and is great for making a variety of dishes. Fried rice and chinese-style foods, rice and beans for mexican, be creative. Pasta is also cheap. Don't pay more than $1 for a 16oz. (1 pound) bag though, or your just giving your money away.
ok enough about food for now (that will be some later posts)
ok fine, last food tip- if you find something with a great discount, buy as much as you can that won't go bad. Stockpile rice, pasta, canned goods and frozen foods when they're on sale.
5. Bills. Save on gas and electric bills by making sure you're insulated. If you live in an apartment, call maintenance and tell them your windows are crooked or out of place. They'll get them nice and tight, and save you money on your utilities.
6. TV/Internet. Cancel your cable TV subscription. Switch to Hulu. Or get Hulu plus and/or netflix. Even with both, it's still cheaper, and everything's on-demand.
7. Go onto your cable/internet provider's online support chat. Ask them if there are any promotions you're not aware of. You might get bumped up to the next tier of service for a 6-month promo price that's cheaper than your current service. Just don't forget to ask for the lower tier after 6 months. If you have a roommate, after 6 months have them get the service at the promo rate.
8. Don't buy from real stores without price-checking first. Find what you want in a store, then go home. Search on froogle.com for the item at the cheapest price. Then search 'promo codes for _____' with the name of the store that the item was cheapest at. Then apply whatever discounts you can, and get pretty much everything at a decent discount from what you would've paid.
9. Rent. First off, rent, don't buy. You save a ton of money on property taxes, utilities, maintenance, and it is lower risk than owning. Also, if you're renewing a lease, ask for a better price if you've been a good tenant and paid on time for the last year. They'll probably give you a discount.
10. Credit cards. Don't carry a balance. Pay off your card in full, then only use the card for purchases you can afford with your current savings. Otherwise you're just giving the credit card company your money for.. nothing.
11. More Credit Cards. Get a Discover card or a card with cashback rewards. Better credit card rewards means more free stuff. Just watch the rates if you're going to carry a balance.
12. 401k. Put as much into it as you can without needing to carry a credit balance. Anything in there now will add up quickly over time, and you can retire early :)
13. Don't overdraft your checking account. You can check the balance online or with an app on your phone. Overdrafting costs you money, and is frankly just not very smart.
14. Shop at Kohls. They have quality clothes at much better prices than most other stores.
15. On that note, shop at Walmart. Their stuff may not be high quality, but it's good enough to work, and the prices are rock-bottom most of the time.
16. Check out Swagbucks. I got a $5 Amazon giftcard in 1 day just buy filling out fake info on some surveys and offers (no credit card or real addresses are actually necessary, although technically you're supposed to put in a real address. Just fake it). Check it out here.
17. Get a college degree. People with a college degree make WAYYY more money than those without. Think 1 million dollars (over your career, of course). Can't afford it? Good 'scholarships' and 'tuition aid'. There are tons of government grants and such for getting you back to school.
18. Buy generic products, not brand names. Most of the time, they're manufactured by the same company, at the same plant, and contain exactly the same ingredients. Drugs like Tylenol and Advil, food (especially cereal), clothes, etc. All are MUCH cheaper generic. Don't skimp on electronics though, brands can greatly affect quality of electronics.
19. Your next car should be a used Honda Accord. They get decent gas mileage, last a LONGGG time (my 2000 Accord is still in great shape, and I'm planning on running it for another 5+ years), and they have a very high resale value. Don't buy electric, the couple thousand dollars you'll save on gas in 10 years isn't worth the added thousands of dollars you'll spend on it now (especially if you're financing the car, which you probably are).
20. Create a budget. It doesn't have to be an "I'm limiting myself to 'x' dollars per week" budget. Just guesstimate how much you're going to spend in an average month, and track what you're actually spending. This will let you see where your money's going, and where you can cut back if you want/need to. I'll put up my simple budgeting spreadsheet at some point in a later post for you to try.
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