Penny Pinching

How Long Would Frozen Food Last?

2009-11-08T13:54:00.000-05:00

Baking Soda - 18 months
Beef uncooked- 6 months
Bread Crumbs - 6 months
Butter and Margarine - 6 months
Cereals - 6 months
Cheese hard - 6 months
Cheese soft - 1 month
Chicken and Turkey uncooked - 9 months
Chocolate unsweetened 18 months
Coffee creamer dry - 6 months
Coffee, vacuum pack - 1 year
Flour and Cake Mixes - 1 year
Gelatin and Pudding Mixes - 1 year
Hamburger uncooked- 3 months
Ice Cream - 1 month
Milk and Cream - 3 weeks
Nuts - 8 months
Oils and Salad Dressings - 3 months
Pancake/pie crust mixes 6 months
Pasta - 2 years
Peanut Butter unopened - 6 months
Pork, Roasts and Veal uncooked- 4 months
Potatoes Instant - 18 months
Rice - 2 years
Sauces, Condiments, Relishes unopened - 1 year
Shortening - 8 months
Spices - 6 months
Sugar granulated - 2 years
Sugar brown, Confectioners'- 4 months
Syrups - 1 year
Tea - 18 months

Sources: About.com

How To Save Money On Inkjet Printer Cartridges

2009-10-23T21:30:00.004-04:00

Print in Fast Draft mode. Go to:

Control Panel > Printers >
Right Click the printer you are using and scroll down to Printing Preferences
Go to printing shortcuts
Under Print quality select Fast Draft

Your printer will use half the ink normally used with only slightly lower quality.

You don't need the color cartridge on most printers. However you will need an empty one in it's place in order to print at all.

Read my blog entry on where to save on ink refills!

Grocery Smart

2009-09-22T23:37:00.000-04:00

Here are a few places to look Grocery coupons:

Sales circulars can usually be found within the store. Also some supermarkets have little machines in the ailes where you can snag free coupons.

Sunday Newspapers have coupon inserts. Buy 3 newspapers at a time.

The internet has tons of websites that allow you to print free coupons. Coupon Mom is my favorite.

The problem with these examples is you have to factor in the amount of time you spend looking for, clipping and printing coupons. It is not worth it to spend hours collecting coupons and saving only a few bucks. Here are some better examples:

Supermarket receipts may have coupons on the back.

Grocery items may have coupons attached to them.

Join a coupon train.

and my favorite...

On eBay you can purchase multiple coupons that are already clipped!

Ways To Save Money On Groceries

2009-09-20T19:19:00.003-04:00

Save money on fruits and vegetables in the off season or grow your own fruits and vegetables.

Sell your own fruits and vegetables. Seeds cost pennies on the dollar.

Eat meals at home vs. eating out. Fast food is unhealthy and expensive. Keep your cupboards stocked with groceries so you won't be tempted to dine out.

Go shopping on a full stomach, so you won't be tempted to buy junk food.

Buy the majority of your meat, poultry, fish and eggs at a meat market.

Buy in bulk at warehouse clubs, such as Costco, Sam's Club or BJ's Wholesale Club especially if you have a large family. I've noticed they don't have the cheapest prices per se but the quality of food is usually a good bargain.

Make your own bread and ice cream.

Pack your own lunch before you go to work.

Compare unit prices. Grocery items usually have two prices below them. One is the price the supermarket charges and the second is the unit price. The unit price is how much a customer pays per unit, e.g., pounds, ounces, per 100 count. The unit price is usually cheaper.

Figure out cost per serving. A yogurt cup might be cheaper then Frosted Flakes, but how many bowls of cereal will you get?

Make 2 lists. Write down necessities for the month that you are out of, e.g., eggs, milk, bread. The second list will comprise of sale items for that week or month that you will buy in bulk.

How To Save Money On Everything

2009-09-19T00:43:00.005-04:00

Save money shopping at outlet stores. These "outlet stores or malls" are owned buy the manufacturers and cut out the middleman thus saving you money. Niagara Falls, NY has the "Fashion Outlets".

Eating healthy and exercising regularly will save money on doctor's fees. Brush your teeth regularly. Dentist fees are expensive and toothaches are painful!

Return empty aluminum cans to the grocery store.

Save money on items when they are out of season. For example, winter jackets are cheapest in May. Save money the day after holidays:

purchase party supplies on Jan 2ND
purchase Valentine's cards on Feb 15TH
purchase Halloween candy on Nov 1ST
purchase Christmas decorations on Dec 26TH

Buy gasoline and groceries at the Indian reservation. I buy Pepsi there without deposit or tax. I can then turn around and collect deposit at the grocery store.

Try not to break fifty or one-hundred dollar bills. It will be harder to spend them. Don't cash your paycheck until you need it. Remember though it has to be cashed within a certain number of days.

Read blogs and watch YouTube videos on how to save money.

Know the difference between cheap and frugal. Being too cheap with your money can jeopardize the most important areas of your life such as health and relationships. Frugality is about managing your money intelligently. Knowing when to spend how much on what.

Be tight on expenses, but generous on people.

New Movie Releases

2009-09-08T22:58:00.002-04:00

Budget. Set a limit on how much per month you are willing to spend on movies. Set the bar low enough without depriving yourself of pleasure.

Only visit the movie theater one a month or every other month. Take turns paying with friends. I only go to the theater if there's a movie I absolutely have to see and I know will be good.

Attend a drive-in show. They are extremely cheap. You usually get two movies for the price of one. Buy season tickets.

Use coupons. Entertainment books have movie theater coupons.

Order a channel package from your cable company.

Rent movies from Family Video. Take turns paying for rentals with friends. Take advantage of their free kid's rentals. Try the Redbox. Subscribe to Julie Smarts Coupon Saving Family blog. She gives away free Redbox codes every week!

If you only plan on watching a movie once or twice, rent it instead of purchasing it.

Buy movies on VHS at garage sales for 50¢ each.

Don't buy HD or Blu-ray, especially if you can't afford it.

Avoid buying new. Buy movies from thrift stores, yard sales, pawn shops and flea markets.

Save your money throughout the year and splurge on Black Friday. Target has an excellent movie selection cheap on Black Friday.

Rent movies from the library.

Don't buy new releases on DVD.

Don't copy movies illegally. It is illegal in the United States even to own a bootleg copy. Federal law states you may only possess copies if you own the original.

Sell movies you no longer want on eBay or Half.com or trade with friends.

Buy a TIVO.

Borrow DVDs from friends and share yours with them.

Walmart Price Match

2009-09-07T23:47:00.007-04:00

Walmart does not honor advertisements that require a purchase in order to receive the advertised price or free product.

Walmart does not honor Buy One Get One Free unless the ad states.

Walmart does not honor double or triple coupons or percent off advertisements.

Walmart does not honor misprinted advertised prices.

Walmart does not honor pricing matching online.

Walmart does not honor competitor advertisements from outside of the store's or Club's local trade territory.

"Saving Money Through Power Shopping"

Price matching can be a valuable money saving tool. Retail chains offer price matching because they don't want to be undersold by competitors. Different stores may have different policies concerning price matching. For example, clearance items may not be eligible for price matching. There may be other items excluded or price match limitations or the competition must have the merchandise in stock. You may need proof of the competitors advertised price. The best way is to bring in an advertisement. Some stores may call their competitors to verify whether or not the item is in stock. Some stores will check the price match online. I have found mistakes in advertisements before, gone to their competitor and stocked up. This may not always work though. If a store associate denies you a price match, you should never give them a hard time or cause a scene. Some stores may price match and not even advertise.

Tips On How To Save Money

2009-09-05T23:48:00.001-04:00

Welcome to my penny-pinching blog! My name is Joe Caterisano. I am a thirty-something year old man who has spent the last ten years of his life studying frugality. I consider myself an expert in this field.

This blog is about saving money quickly, easily and painlessly. It is about spending your hard earned paycheck intellegently while maintaining your current lifestyle. Penny pinching is actually the wrong name for this website. Penny pinching implies painful scrimping the bottom of the barrel, scrounging in the couch for spare change, digging in dumpsters for recyclable aluminum cans.

Compulsive spending is nothing but a destructive mindset.There is no such thing as "will power". In order to break this bad habit, we need to be conscious of how and why we are spending our money.

I ask myself a series of questions before I buy. Go through this checklist EVERY TIME you consider making a purchase. At least initially. You will be able to do this by memory after a while. I can walk into any mall in America with a wallet full of cash and not spend a single dime.

1. Can I live without this?

2. Can I wait to buy this? Try waiting 30 days. If you still want it after a month, allow yourself to buy it.

3. Can I buy it cheaper somewhere else? Ebay or Half.com? Comparison shop before you buy on Epinions. Find new ways to save money. Find new places to save money.

4. Is there an cheaper alternative or product I can buy?
Can I buy the generic brand without sacrificing quality?

5. Is this item extremely and ridiculously cheap? Is this my only chance to buy it at this price?

6. Will this save me time and/or energy?

7. Can I MAKE money on this purchase?

8. Am I buying this for an emotional reason? (stress, boredom, to impress others)

stress: Are you buying this to help you feel better temporarily, such as alcohol or gambling? Remember these are only temporary fixes. After a few hours, you will have nothing to show for. (except maybe a hangover)

boredom: Consciously plan your activities ahead of time. One, you won't be bored. Two, you'll be making sure you get the most value out of your money. Why spend $20 a month at the movie theater when you can rent four movies for the same price?

impress others: Know that "things" can't buy lasting happiness. You don't need to live like a hermit, but you don't need to live like a king either. Would you like to be Donald Trump financially? Where will Donald Trump and his money be 100 years from now? 6 feet under and in someone else's bank account. "And all your money, won't another minute buy.
Dust in the wind, All we are is dust in the wind." Kansas

Spend money like you normally do, only make small non-painless changes every day.

What are other questions you could ask to stop impulse spending?
I recommend the book "Penny Pinching: How to Lower Your Everyday Expenses Without Lowering Your Standard of Living". This is the first penny pinching book I ever read.

CVS Pharmacy Coupons

2009-09-05T23:44:00.001-04:00

CVS Pharmacy Coupons

CVS is my favorite pharmacy for saving money.

CVS Pharmacy has what is called ExtraCare Rewards. Sign up for a "rewards card". You know, the annoying cards you place in your wallet or on a key chain to save money. The CVS rewards card is different. CVS Pharmacy has 50 million card holders! What does that tell you!

Check CVS Pharmacy weekly circulars for certain products that pay you money back with your rewards card. These "ExtraReward dollars" are printed in coupon form on your store receipt. And we're not talking pennies here.

Sometimes you can save 50% or more. Products could also change to Buy One Get One Free with your rewards card. A couple of weeks ago, CVS Pharmacy had toothpaste (I don't remember which brand name) priced at $2.99. You were entitled to $2.99 ExtraReward dollars back on your shopper's card (Limit 5). That's basically free! Try to save the Extra Reward coupons until another huge sale.

You earn 2% back on every purchase made in a CVS pharmacy or online at www.cvs.com.

Every week scour their weekly sale circular. Sale items at CVS Pharmacies don't last long! Get there the morning of the sale.

Combine this coupon strategy with others I have posted!

John Cummuta Debt Relief

2009-09-04T04:26:00.003-04:00

John Cummuta Debt Relief

I highly recommend the "Transforming Debt Into Wealth" system by John M. Cummuta. I have two of the VHS from a complete kit.

I don't really see how it turns debt into wealth, but it's an amazing system for eliminating debt very VERY rapidly. It has nothing to do with debt consolidation, a loan or anything like that. "Transforming Debt Into Wealth" is not the conventional system credit couseling companies use for reducing debt. They usually work on eliminating the high interest debt first. John Cummuta uses what he calls an "accelerator margin". A typical $60,000 annual income household with $151,639 in total debt, including their mortgage, could be completely debt free without credit cards, owning their home, two cars, and everything else in their lives in just 5 years 9 months!

This system is rather expensive though. I recommend it if you are serious about debt reduction. It goes for over $100 on eBay, but I was lucky enough to get it for a couple of bucks at the Salvation Army. There is an entire kit which I haven't seen, but I learned more then enough about eliminating debt from just one of the two VHS.

Update: I am selling my John M. Cummuta "Transforming Debt Into Wealth" CD set on Ebay for $50! Click here to visit my eBay Auction!

Cheapest Man Alive

2009-08-28T23:24:00.001-04:00

Davesfarm

This penny pinching post is about Dave Rock and how he may be Canada's cheapest man. Dave lives in London Ontario, Canada and is a self-proclaimed redneck and penny pinching extraordinaire.

He earns a descent living by garbage picking and then repairing major appliances, electronics and automobiles. Dave uses creativity and self taught skills to save money.

Dave bought a 1990 minivan for $100 and modified the engine to save money on gas. The minivan gets 57 miles per gallon. He rents out his property to pay off his bills and the mortgage on his farm. He has acquired most of his possessions for free.

Dave's Website
Dave's YouTube

How To Lower Your Auto Insurance Rate

2009-08-07T22:13:00.001-04:00

How To Lower Your Auto Insurance Rate

Shop around for auto insurance quotes.

Take a defensive driver's course. You may be eligible for a discount on your auto insurance.

Cars with safety features, such as air bags, automatic seat belts, anti-lock breaks or a car alarm may save on auto insurance.

Drop collision if you don't need it. Unless you are driving a new car model liability insurance is sufficient.

Don't drive fast expensive luxurious cars.

Drivers with fewer car accidents and traffic tickets enjoy much lower insurance premiums.

Don't drink and drive. Your could end up paying for damages to your car or someone else's, lawyer fees, bail money, court fines, court-ordered rehabilitation programs, getting your license reinstated, and lawsuits. Just to name a few. Maintain a clean driving record - Avoid traffic fines. Watch your speed and always wear a seat belt.

Raise your auto insurance deductible.

How To Invest In 2009

2009-07-03T22:29:00.000-04:00

1.Buy low and sell high.

2. Diversify. Don't put all of your eggs in one basket. Invest in multiple stocks instead of just one to reduce the risk of losing everything.

3. Use dollar cost averaging. Invest the same amount of money weekly or monthly no matter the stock price. Dollar cost averaging is an investing technique intended to reduce exposure to risk associated with making a single large purchase. The idea is simple: spend a fixed dollar amount at regular intervals on a particular investment or portfolio/part of a portfolio, regardless of the share price. In this way, more shares are purchased when prices are low and fewer shares are bought when prices are high. This in turns lessens long-term risk (e.g., investing a large amount in a single investment at the wrong time). Since in general the market goes up, this is widely considered a safe investing strategy over the long term, although other factors can of course come into play.

4. Take advantage of time and compound interest.

4. Only invest in stocks of companies that you love. Wait until the stock is down 50% or more to buy.

5. Invest in the Vanguard 500 Index (VFINX).

6. Always buy "no load" mutual funds and never buy mutual funds from a bank. Stock brokers don't necessarily try to scam you, but they have to put the interest of the bank above you. Study investing and do it yourself.

7. Invest knowing you will make money and not hoping you will.

Frugal Blogs

2009-06-13T16:39:00.007-04:00

101 Ways To Save Money
The Thrift Shopper
Tips On Saving Money
Financial Blogs Directory
My Saving Place
One Frugal Mom's Webring
Powered By Ringsurf
Swap Savers
Finance Hub
Online Financial Tips
Blowin Cheese
Pot Of Gold
Business And Finance Times
Finance News Pro
Finance Classic
Pooler-Georgia-HOMEPAGE

Prepaid Debit Card
The AchieveCard can be used to make purchases in store, shop online, pay bills, buy gas or book a trip. AchieveCard is a safe way to manage your money and can be a great compliment to a checking account. Your paycheck can be directly deposited creating a flexible and secure way to store your money.

Buying At Garage Sales

2009-06-13T01:54:00.003-04:00

An excellent way to save money is to visit garage and yard sales.

Preparation. Garage sales usually begin on Friday and end on Sunday. You should begin preparation on Thursday night. I can hit every garage sale in my city within one day.

1. Purchase a local newspaper and turn to the garage sales section or see if your local newspaper is online.
2. Highlight every garage sale within 15 miles of your home.
3. Rewrite the garage sales onto a sheet of paper and categorize them by the following:

The day of the garage sale. Friday, Saturday and/or Sunday.

The time the garage sale ends. Some garage sales end as early as 2pm. You don't want to miss those.

Specific items you are looking for. If they advertise an item you want badly in the newspaper, chances are it won't be there long, so get there early. Get there 15 minutes early each day. (unless the newspaper ad specifically states "no early birds")

Plan your route. Try to save time and gas by taking the shortest route between garage sales. Use Mapquest or Yahoo Maps.

If you pass a garage sale that wasn't advertised stop and visit that one. It may have been visited by fewer people meaning there may be better stuff.

Haggling. Always try to negotiate 20% off higher priced items. Purchase multiple garage sale items at once. People will usually give you a better deal. Never insult the person, e.g., offering $2.00 for an item they are asking $20.00. Don't look anxious to buy.

Purchasing for yourself. You can save tons of money at garage sales once you get the hang of it. I recently bought 30 light bulbs for $3.00. Find a department store with those kind of prices. I will probably never have to buy another light bulb as long as I live.

Purchasing to resell. Garage sales are a great place to find items to resell on Ebay or at flea markets. The profit margins can be insane! Last weekend I bought Weeds Season 2 on Blu-Ray for $3.00. I will turn around and sell it for $20 on Ebay. A few words of caution... You have to know your stuff. For example, I would never buy antiques personally because I don't know the first thing about them.

The age and condition of an item is extremely important. A rare brand new item sells for ALOT more then one in excellent condition. If you come across something that you can no longer buy in stores or a piece to a missing set, it might be valuable on ebay.

Replacements.com buys China, Crystal, Silver & Collectibles.

Update: 08/22/2008 I just sold Weeds Season 2 on Blu-Ray for $17.50 on Half.com!

Ways To Save Money On Transportation

2009-06-12T15:30:00.002-04:00

Walk or ride a bicycle even if you own a vehicle. You will save money on gas and mileage on your car. It is also good exercise and in the summer you will get a free tan.

Use public transportation. Buy a monthly bus pass to save money.

Car pool with friends.

Split the cost of a taxi with friends.

Buy a motor scooter.

Alternative methods save on gas, car insurance, and maintenance. Just to name a few.

Free Picture Prints

2009-06-12T02:21:00.002-04:00

Almost all digital print stores offer free prints for first time customers. Make use of all to compare and get free prints. Thanks to Just_For_Me for compiling this list-

DotPhoto - 75 Free Prints-

WinkFlash - 50 Free Prints-

CVS - 40 Free PrintsCreate account, enter your email address and password, your extra care bucks number, and pick a store. An email will be sent to you with 40 free prints added to your account-

Snapfish - 30 Free Prints-

Photoworks - 25 Free Prints-

Sony Imagestation - 20 Free Prints-

York Photo - 20 Free Prints-

Photo Mama - 20 Free Prints-

Photomax - 20 Free Prints-

Kodak EasyShare - 20 Free Prints-

Clark Color - 20 Free Prints-

Myphotoalbum - 20 Free Prints-

Mystic Color Lab - 20 Free Prints-

Yahoo Photos - 20 Free Prints-

Shutterfly - 15 Free Prints-

RitzPix - 10 Free Prints

How To Save Money On Groceries With Coupons

2009-05-23T02:51:00.002-04:00

Grocery Store Coupons

Don't use grocery store coupons right away. Save them until the product is on sale and you are able to double it. Manufacturer's coupons are usually good for six to eight weeks.

Write down on paper a list of your favorite stores and their coupon policies. Do they double or triple coupons? If so, on which days and up to how much?

Don't use grocery store coupons on a product you don't want or need just to save money.

Experiment with different brand names if you think it will save you money.

Buy items in bulk when on sale, especially when you don't need them. Stock up on products that are non-perishable or have long expiration dates.

Use these grocery store coupon strategies or any combination:

with BOGO (Buy One Get One Free) offers
that take a % off your total bill
that save money on gas
on products that have grocery coupons on them
with price matching
with mail in rebates

Some stores (like Target or Eckerd) will let you combine their grocery store coupons with manufactuer coupons.

Always take advantage of rainchecks.

Watch Out For Great Foreclosure Scams

2009-05-16T16:37:00.000-04:00

When homeowners are facing foreclosure, they are in a very vulnerable position. Feelings of anxiety, panic and fear at the possibility of losing their home make them easy targets for foreclosure rescue scams. Here are a couple to watch out for.

The first type of foreclosure rescue scam is the repurchase or lease-back scam. In this scam, a company or person may offer to pay your mortgage and then rent your house back to you. The catch is that you are often asked to sign over the deed to the house. The scammer may promise to resell your house back to you after a specified period of time.

Know that if you sign over the deed to your home, you are giving the scammer total control. He can evict you, jack up your rental payments, sell your home from under you and yes, even cause your home to be foreclosed.

The thing you were trying to avoid can happen because even though you signed over ownership of your house, you are still responsible for mortgage payments. You can bet the con artist won't tell you about that. Once the scammer stops making mortgage payments with your rent money, your lender has the right to start the foreclosure process.

A second type of foreclosure scam is the refinance fraud. Here con artists pretend to be lenders or mortgage brokers and offer to refinance your mortgage so your payments are more affordable. Sounds good, right?

Just be careful what you sign to refinance. You may think you are simply signing papers to finalize a loan. But be sure to read the fine print, or have your lawyer take a look, to be sure you're not actually signing over the deed to your home. If this happens, you lose control just like in the repurchase or lease-back scam described above and you may wind up losing your home.

If you are facing foreclosure, watch out for foreclosure rescue scams. Because unfortunately, if someone is offering something that sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Why Credit Score Is So Important Today?

2009-05-07T08:21:00.000-04:00

Why Credit Score is so Important today?

It is apparent that almost everybody understands that carrying an excellent credit score is beneficial, yet there are other benefits that the majority of people are not aware of. Becoming eligible for loans is the benefit that the majority of people concentrate on. However, if you find out the other benefits, it might stir you up to achieve a higher credit score. �

Definitely, qualifying for a loan is a remarkable credit score advantage. Nevertheless, obtaining cheaper interest rates for these loans is more significant. The lower the interest rate that you are eligible for, the more money you can save. This is also applicable for the prices of other services. If you carry a low credit score, it would essentially sum up one or two points to an automobile insurance premium. How is this linked? Your capacity to make regular payments is also crucial to credit card providers, insurance carriers, mobile phone providers and so on. Keeping an excellent credit score would assist you in saving money in all the above domains.� �

If you are a small-scale business owner, securing a small business loan or a line of credit might be necessary for your prosperity. If you have been running your business for less than three years, your credit score plays an important role regarding the interest rates and your qualification criteria. During this phase of small business, the lenders face difficulties in differentiating between your personal credit score and the credit history of your business.

Unit Price

2009-05-04T19:58:00.001-04:00

How To Find The Unit Price When Grocery Shopping

It is smart to purchase groceries on sale or when you have coupons. But it is more important to read the unit price.

The unit price is basically how much product you are getting for your money.

A unit could be one pound, one ounce, one liter etc. Most of the time, it is cheaper to buy multiples of an item than individually.

Most major supermarket chains have the unit price written underneath the full price in smaller print with a colored background.

To find an item's unit price, divide the cost of the item by the number of units.

Which is a better deal?

A toilet paper roll on sale for $1. The regular price is $1.69.

OR

Four rolls of the same toilet paper for $3. The regular price is $3.

Obviously the second example is the cheaper, but do we always check the unit price for all of the items we purchase? I think subconsciously we always go for the sale. Whenever I go shopping, I spend time going through every unit price to find the cheapest.

Look for quality first. Don't just buy the lowest unit price.

Recap of the example above:

A toilet paper roll on sale for $1. (Unit price: $1 per roll)

Four rolls of the same toilet paper for $3. (Unit price: 75 cents per roll)

Understanding Credit Repair Is Very Important

2009-04-28T00:44:00.001-04:00

So many people think that once they have been through a foreclosure, all of their debts have disappeared and they can start over again with a clean slate as far as credit is concerned. Before you even begin searching for a credit repair service , you should know the basics of how the credit reporting system works It would be nice if a bankruptcy could do all that for you, but it cannot. Congress recognized the need for consumers to dispute information on their credit reports and passed the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).

If you have had to file for bankruptcy because you have been having trouble with your finances, you have damaged your credit. The problem is you don't have much money for a down payment. Credit Repair is a generic term used to describe the process of removing inaccurate, outdated, misleading or unverifiable items from your credit report.And your credit files are scuffed up with late payments.

After all, you wouldn't go shopping for a new car if you didn't know anything about how to drive or how cars operate. What you need is a service that can help put it all together for you - linking you into lists of available foreclosures, credit repair, and even low-down-payment mortgage financing.

So make sure before you begin looking for a credit repair service you understand the basics of how the credit bureaus operate, how your credit reports are created, and how they are used, and why it is your responsibility to ensure their accuracy. Although you do need to be wary of scammers when looking for a credit repair company, there are many reputable businesses that can help you fix your credit history.

Credit repair lawyers, attorneys, and other organizations spend every day of their professional lives contacting credit bureaus, studying credit repair law and attempting to remove negative entries on clients credit reports. However, before choosing a company, make sure you check them out with the Better Business Bureau and any local or state associations.

Compulsive Shopping

2009-04-14T00:54:00.005-04:00

You are strolling through the shopping mall on a busy Saturday afternoon. As you pass by your favorite store, you see a brand new 42 inch plasma television. It's calling your name. You just received your tax return and you can easily afford this. This is the moment when you should be aware of the questions popping into your head. The idea is to "talk yourself out" of making an impulse shopping purchase.

Most shoppers would ask: Do I need this? Yes. I've always wanted one.
A frugal shopper would ask: Do I need this? No. I already have a television. I always wanted one, but I can wait.

Most shoppers would ask: Can I wait? No. I have the money and now is my chance.
A frugal shopper would ask: Can I wait. Yes. The price will eventually drop in a few months. I will wait until it's on sale.

A frugal shopper would ask: Can I buy this cheaper somewhere else? Most definitely. I will check on Ebay when I get home.

A frugal shopper would ask: Is there an cheaper alternative or product I can buy? Yes. This isn't the only plasma television left in the whole world. What if Consumer Reports rated this the worst plasma television ever? I should do some research first.

A frugal shopper would ask: Is this item extremely and ridiculously cheap? Is this my only chance to buy it at this price? This is the question where I give myself permission sometimes to make a purchase. The point of this exercise is not to deprive yourself of every luxury and every bit of happiness. The point is to make intelligent decisions consistently. If you spend $1000 on a plasma television without thinking twice, you're an idiot. If you come across a 42 inch plasma television for $100 and don't buy it, you are an even bigger idiot.

A frugal shopper would ask: Will this save me time and/or energy? No. It will probably cost me time and energy.

A frugal shopper would ask: Can I MAKE money on this purchase? No.

A frugal shopper would ask: Am I buying this for an emotional reason? (stress, boredom, to impress others)

More questions that will prevent impulse shopping:

Fellow frugal shopper Debbie added more questions:

Why do I want this? Is there some better way to achieve this goal?

Can you make or repair (or find!) something you already have instead of buying this?

Can I make or save money on this purchase? If it is a tool that will allow you to reduce or forego expenditures in the future, it may not make you money but may still be a good investment.

Can I borrow or rent or share or trade for this instead of buying? Or before buying to make sure I'd really use it? I use this tactic for movies on dvd. If I'm going to watch it once, I'll spend $3 at Blockbuster. If I'm going to watch it 100 times, I'll just buy the damn thing.

Will this last? Is this good value for the money? Quality is sometimes more important then price. I would buy a $250 dollar pair of work boots vs. a $50 pair if they will last longer.

Is this well designed or will it drive me nuts after a while? If clothing or furniture, will it fit?

Always keep your receipt. If you fail the 8 question test, you can always make a return.

Obamas Taxation Plan

2009-04-05T16:50:00.001-04:00

The Obama Plan – What It Includes

Whenever a new president takes office, the general populace worries about how things will change for social programs, the economy – everything. With the current state of the economy both here in the United States, and in the world, President-elect Barack Obama and his economic plan are already under many, many microscopes. We know his platform included talk of affordable health insurance and tax cuts for the middle class, but what is his economic plan, exactly, and how will it help the economy? Here's an overview.

Three Point Plan

Obama's initial strategy includes a three-point plan of key steps he believes are important to jumpstarting the economy, and ending the current recession. Those points are:

1. Tax relief for individuals. Key to this is a tax cut for working families. The goal is to provide tax relief to the vast majority of working Americans – 95% of the working population. Other plans include a tax credit of up to $1,000 per family ($500 per adult). Obama refers to this idea as "making work pay."
2. Tax relief for small businesses. Obama believes that successful small businesses are the foundation of a successful national economy. He plans to eliminate capital gains taxes on startups and small businesses, in the hope that this will encourage innovation and help create new jobs.
3. Fair trade. We live in a global marketplace, and foreign trade is important. Part of Obama's plan includes a fair trade policy that will not only open up foreign markets, but will also improve labor practices and environmental standards around the world.
These three points, of course, are mere highlights of an economic strategy that is, in its entirety, roughly the same length as a paperback novel. Even so, we can look at each point with a bit more depth:

Tax Relief

In addition to the specific cut mentioned above, the Obama plan also calls for the elimination of income taxes for senior citizens who earn less than $50,000 / year. About seven million senior citizens are included in this plan, and their average savings will be about $1,400 / year. In addition, about 27 million senior citizens would not need to file income tax returns at all.

The Obama strategy also calls for simplified income tax filings, with the goal of giving many of us the ability to do their taxes in five minutes or less, partly by requiring the IRS to use information it already receives from employers and banks to provide pre-filled tax forms that must merely be verified, signed, and sent in. Estimates say that this change in data processing will save us (collectively) about 200 million work hours, and as much as $2 billion in fees we used to pay to tax preparers.

Support for Small Business:

While the tax cut for 95% of working Americans is aimed at helping individuals, President-elect Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden believe it will also assist small businesses. This is because small business owners, as self-employed workers, pay both the employer and employee side of payroll tax. By eliminating capital gains as well, the burden of this "double taxation" will be greatly reduced.
The Obama plan also calls for the creation of "private business incubators," which are combinations of the public and private institutions working together to encourage entrepreneurship and spur job growth by helping start-up companies move from ideas on paper to actual companies hiring actual people.
Of course, Obama wants big business to be successful as well, and his plan also includes improvement in technology usage and distribution, educational offsets, and labor practices across the country.

Fair Trade

As part of a global community, fair trade is important in getting America back on its financial feet, and Obama's economic plan involves a lot of change in this area. His ideas include:

• Amending NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Agreement) to improve the benefits for American workers, as well as making it a better deal for Canada and Mexico.
• Take away tax breaks that are currently being given to corporations who outsource their jobs to foreign countries. Instead, companies that keep good jobs, with good benefits on American soil will be rewarded. As well, Obama and Biden want to ensure that public works contracts are awarded to companies that are committed to using American workers. Further, there would be a tax credit for corporations that maintain their corporate headquarters in the United States (if they were ever here), prepare workers for retirement, provide health insurance, offer competitive, fair wages, maintain or increase the number of employers they have within the U.S.A. (as compared to outside it), and support their employees who are part of the military.
• Transition Assistance Improvements: The Obama plan calls for an update to the existing Trade Adjustment Assistance system by extending it to service industries, and helping to create flexible education accounts or other retraining assistance for workers in vulnerable sectors of the economy who face dislocation or obsolescence, before their jobs are destroyed, or given to others.

While these key points represent a significant portion of the Obama/Biden economic plan, it is important to remember that the President-elect cannot do anything until he takes office in January, and that many of his ideas must still be approved by Congress. It's also important to remember that change takes time. Pundits and analysts are currently predicting that our current recession will bottom out sometime in 2009, and only after that will we see a significant upswing. Still, history is on our side: whenever the sitting President and the majority of the sitting Congress have been representing the same party – whichever party it was at the time – the economy has improved.

How To Save Money When Doing Laundry

2009-04-05T00:29:00.003-04:00

1. Don't drive to the laundromat to wash your laundry. Purchase a washer and dryer or use a friend's.

2. Make your own laundry soap for 3 cents per load.

Heat 4 cups of water
Shave 1 bar of soap right before the water comes to a boil
Pour 3 gallons of water into a 5 gallon container
Add soapy water mixture into 5 gallon container
Stir
Add 1 cup of washing soda (sodium carbonate)
Stir
Add 1/2 cup of Borax
Stir
Let sit overnight
Use 1 cup per load

3 Don't use fabric softener liquid. Stock up on fabric softener sheets when they are on sale for under $2.

4. Never do less then a full load. You use the same amount of heat and water no matter how much laundry is in the machine.

5. Wash colors in cold water.

6. Remove clothes that dry quickly from the dryer half way through the cycle, e.g., bed sheets and pillow cases. Hang your clothes to air dry.

7. Clean the dryers lint trap after every load. Clean the outside lint trap twice a year.

8. Don't buy white clothes, socks or underwear. This way you will not need to buy bleach.