With oil prices high, consumers are feeling the impact of rising gas prices have on their wallets. Since drastic changes such as buying a more fuel efficient vehicle, driving less often, or carpooling are not realistic options for many people, here are four easy gas saving tips for all drivers regardless of the type of vehicle you drive. 

1. Drive like you would want your teenage daughter to drive. Or better yet, drive like you would want her sixteen year old boyfriend to drive with her in the car. That means driving the speed limit and anticipating traffic patterns to avoid sudden stops and aggressive take offs. According to the Federal Trade Commission, safe driving can improve gas mileage by nearly 5%.  The FTC reports on their website that “gas mileage decreases rapidly at speeds above 60 mph.” It pays to take your time. 

2. Planning ahead can save you time and money. Cars are most fuel efficient when the engine is warm. So, you should combine multiple trips into one afternoon and try to avoid rush hour traffic. When possible, find “one stop shops” rather than driving to multiple venues. Unpack any unnecessary items in the trunk which might add more weight to the car. Before leaving home, look online for the best prices on gas and plan your route accordingly.  

3. Maintenance: According to AAA, conducting ongoing maintenance of your vehicle can equate to more fuel efficient driving. It is important to keep up with your car’s maintenance which includes making sure your spark plugs are in good condition, checking the air filters twice a year, and inflating tires to the appropriate level specified in your owner’s manual.  Just like medicine, sometimes a pre-emptive strike can be the best course of action. 

4. At the pump: “When possible, try to buy gas during the coolest part of the day,” suggests Dr. Ron Weiers, author of “365 Ways to Save Gas: Everyday Tips to Stretch your Dollar.” “The pumps deliver and charge you according to volume, and gas expands when the ambient temperature is higher,” Weiers explains. “If you really want to be picky, and you are forced to buy gas during a warm time of the day, try to favor the pump that has been in the shade the longest.”  This tip is definitely something to keep in mind for the upcoming summer days.

This is a weekly featured post on Own The Dollar from Sara Peak, a Certified Financial Planner and a veteran of the finance industry. In addition to her monthly “Money Matters” column in Kentucky Living magazine, she also writes about money and personal finance topics on her blog.

Be sure to look for more great featured articles every week from Sara.  If you have a question or topic that you would like for her to discuss, please contact us.

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This is a guest post from Fred who is a personal finance writer at Credit Card Finder. To find out how to guest post on Own The Dollar, check out our guest posting guidelines.

If you look at the interest rate on your credit card or the amount of your monthly repayments, on their own these figures don’t seem to be such a commitment. However, when you look at all the costs associated with your credit card over the course of a year, you might be surprised at how much your card is really costing you. Therefore, take a look at a breakdown of the typical costs of a credit card over an average year, and decide whether your card is really worth it, or whether you could resolve to be more responsible with your credit card this year.

1. Annual Fees. There are many credit cards which have a zero percent annual fee, however credit cards that waive an annual fee also often waive a number of benefits and rewards programs too. Therefore, for comparison’s sake and because most of us are suckers for extras like a gold card, travel insurance, a reward program, or shopping vouchers, we will include an average credit card annual fee of $80 in our cost of a credit card over a year.

Annual fee = $80 / year

2. Merchant Fees. Whenever you use your credit card, your provider is charging the company you are paying a fee to accept your credit card payment. These are known as merchant fees. They are usually around one or two percent, but they can be as high as five percent for cards like American Express. As a result, many merchants will absorb the lower merchant fees of accepting Visa or MasterCard credit cards, but many companies will add a surcharge if you pay with American Express or they will not even accept them. At the same time, some providers such as phone companies or councils will charge a surcharge when you pay your bill with any credit card which is effectively passing the charge back to their customer. So, when you think about the surcharges you are paying throughout the year to use your credit card, the costs can really add up.

For example, if you pay your $200 phone bill using your credit card each month and are charged a 2% surcharge, your credit card is costing you $48 a year in bill payments. If you are then charged a surcharge when merchant fees are passed onto you when you make a purchase, for example a $100 dinner each month and a $100 purchase with your credit card from a small boutique who can’t afford to absorb the cost, at 5% for each purchase your credit card is costing you another $120 a year.

Merchant fees = $168 / year

3. Interest Charges. As much as we try and avoid paying interest and aim to pay down our credit card balances within the interest free days, the average credit card balance is still around $3,700, at an average interest rate of 16%. If you maintain the average credit card balance for a whole year and are disciplined enough not to add to it – but not disciplined enough to pay it down – then your credit card could be costing you $590 in interest. This cost is simply your interest charges for the year. Your credit card is actually costing you over $1,300 in monthly payments, just to pay the minimum balance.

Interest = $590 / year

4. Cash Advances. Just as we aim to pay down our credit card balance, we all know the evils of using the cash advance option on our credit cards. However, in an average year, there are likely to be some cases where you need to make a cash advance from your credit card because your wages haven’t been deposited yet and you need cash for groceries, or you make a transfer from your credit card to your overdrawn checking account so you don’t bounce a bill payment. The average cash advance rate is around 20% regardless of how good the deal is for your purchases interest rate. The cash advance rate is usually much higher, which is why you should also usually try and avoid it. However, if you make one cash advance a month, for $100 at 20% interest, you are paying almost $20 interest each month on your cash advances alone.

Cash advances = $230 / year

5. The Total. The calculations and costs here are average amounts, and your credit card may have a better interest rate or a lower balance. Regardless, it is important that you take away the knowledge and information about the types of additional costs involved in owning a credit card, and how they can really add up over the course of a year.

Total Cost of a Credit Card = $1,068 / year

There is over $1,000 in costs associated with the average household owning a credit card that is before the monthly repayments are even made. Therefore, consider each of these costs as it relates to your situation before you charge your takeaway to credit, or give in to your daughter’s pestering about the shoes she has to have because you need to be sure the benefits and rewards you are getting from your credit card make up for all those trailing costs throughout the year.

Fred is a personal finance writer at Credit Card Finder. He helps people to compare balance transfer credit cards online.

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Can you list your ten closest friends? When was the last time that you talked to them or even sent them an email? Do you remember their birthdays without the help of Facebook? We are all so busy with our own careers and families. But, have we forgotten our friends?

The guy who was my Best Man in my wedding was my best friend all through high school and middle school. We played soccer together for almost a decade and were inseparable. Even though I still list him as one of m best friends, we went our separate ways to different colleges and then took jobs in different states. Like many adults, we have drifted apart. I am ashamed to say that I cannot even remember his daughter’s name or the name of the new company where he works. I have not been as good of a friend as I could have or should have been.

So, why do I care so much? A recent article in Money Magazine actually got me thinking about it. What am I going to do with my life in retirement? I know that it is a long way away, and I have a great family base. But, eventually, my family is going to get tired of seeing my ugly mug everyday, day in and day out during those golden years. And, who am I going to get play golf with me every morning. Yes, you read that right…every morning. Hey! Everyone has to have retirement dreams. It is what gets me up in the morning and keeps me going at the day job. And, you need friends to spend time with during those dreams.

Most of us focus on the money aspect of retirement.  Are we saving enough?  Will I have enough to play a round of golf everyday? Or, am I going to have to hit a bucket of balls four days a week instead of walking the “good walk spoiled” everyday? We focus on the money but neglect the unquantifiable aspects of retirement. What and who are really important to you?

The Money Magazine article suggested checking out the Retirement Circle Worksheet at www.retirementwellbeing.com.  It is a good resource for just this subject.

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Lending Club is a peer to peer (P2P) lending service that helps individuals borrow money from other people without a bank getting involved. Instead of having to go through the traditional route of borrowing money from a bank, people can log on to a peer to peer lending network such as Lending Club and lend money to people or borrow money from others who are also members of the network. When borrowing money through Lending Club, you may receive a lower interest rate than you would from a traditional bank because because of low administrative costs and low overhead.

P2P lenders lend money to people who are looking for alternative means of financing than a traditional bank. Many peer to peer loans are used for small businesses looking to expand, consumers wanting to consolidate debt, students looking for educational loans, brides trying to fund their weddings, medical expenses, and a broad host of other borrowing needs. The loan requests definitely run the entire gamut of financing needs.

To request a loan through Lending Club you…

1. It is really easy to start the loan process. You begin by joining Lending Club as a member. You will create your login information like you do for most websites. Your actual identity will not be displayed to any other members of Lending Club. No one who will potentially loan to you will ever know your identity.

2. Next, click on [Borrow > Get a Loan] to prepare your loan request. Lending Club will ask for personal and financial information to verify your identity, determine the loan terms that will be available to you, and match you with suitable lenders. All loans on Lending Club are 3-year installment loans, and your interest rate will be based on the amount of funding that you request and the information on your credit report.

3. After your loan request is complete, it will be listed on Lending Club’s website for two weeks and visible to users who can bid on it. Your loan listing will not contain any personally identifying information in the site, and information from you credit report will only be shown anonymously to lenders so they can evaluate your personal loan request.

You can check out my lending criteria that I look for when I loan money to people on Lending Club! Lenders generally spread their money over several borrowers, so chances are that your loan will get funded by several lenders in $25 to $50 increments. It is not unusual for one loan to have a hundred lenders or more. Your identity will at all times remain confidential and not be disclosed to anyone. Once your loan closes, you will receive your money from Lending Club via the Automated Clearing House (ACH) System which will automatically deposit your loan into your bank account normally within one business day and repayment will begin by ACH one month later.

4. Lending Club will withdraw your loan payments each month from the bank account you verified during registration. These withdrawals will take place on the same day of the month as the date of the loan origination.

Lending Club is a great way to borrow money from other people without getting a bank involved. With consumer credit still tight, peer to peer lending is on the rise. Peer to peer lending is cheaper than regular consumer loans and credit in many cases for borrowers. Lending Club’s rate for the best credit risks is 7.88%, where the bank rate for personal loans, on average, is over 13%. And, the average credit card interest rate can be as high as 16% or more. Lending Club and peer to peer lending can be a great alternative to traditional loans.

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This is the last year that I am doing my taxes by myself. I take pride in being able to file my taxes and prepared the forms myself. But, those days are behind me now I realize. I need help doing my taxes. Here are a few of the reasons that you should hire someone to help you file your taxes and complete the forms.

You may need to get help with your taxes if…

You Own Property. If you are buying and selling property, you might need help with your taxes. Your taxes at least are becoming more complex for sure. The more property you buy, the more you can write off on your taxes.

You Own A Business. There are a lot of deductions that you can make thanks to business expenses. But, do you know all of them? Do you keep on top of the tax laws? No, you are too busy running your business successfully. You have better things to do with your time. You should hire an accountant or a tax professional to help you.

You Own Rental Property. This kind of goes back to the first bullet point. If you own rental property, you can claim depreciation and other things on your taxes that specifically apply to rental property. How far forward can you carry rental losses on your taxes? If you do not know these things, and it is okay not to know, you should hire a professional to help you.

A Trust or Partnership. If you get regular income from a trust or partnership, you might need to hire an accountant or someone to help you complete your taxes.

You Trade Stocks. Now, I am not talking about buy and hold investors like myself. If you trade investments frequently like a day trader, invest in options, invest in exotic investments, have a complex portfolio, or have a lot of losses, you should get some help on your taxes to help insure that you are protected as much as possible.

Major Financial Change. Like when you should have a new will, you should seek out extra help with you have undergone a major financial change in your life. If a change in your personal of family situation has impacted you financially during the previous tax year, such as a divorce, death of a spouse, an inheritance or a move of more than 50 miles for a new job, you can benefit from tax help.

Older Children. You should think about getting tax help if you are supporting a child between the ages of 19 and 24 who is a full-time college student.

You Don’t Have Time. You should consider hiring someone to help you if you do not have time to do your taxes yourself. Are you running close to the April 15^th deadline? Do you need to file an extension? Let someone help you.

Alternative Minimum Tax. You should seek the help of a tax professional if you are subject to the Alternate Minimum Tax (AMT). The AMT scares me more than any other tax law in America. I have heard horror stories from people that have been affected by it, and I only hope that I am never one of them.

You Make Mistakes. I am a little embarrassed and ashamed to say it, but I made a mistake on my taxes this year. Luckily, I used H&R Block Online to file my taxes, and they have this cool little computer widget called “Cha-Ching” that gives you a countdown timer for your tax refund. It counts down to when the IRS accepts your refund, and it also counts down to when you should receive the money in your bank account. Well, it also tells you when there is a problem with your return like mine. I have to say….I am very impressed with H&R Block online. It was so simple and easy to use, and it totally helped me out when I made a bonehead move.

I am a big believer in competitive advantages, and I have written about it here on the blog before. I am okay with American jobs being outsourced to Asia and other countries because we as an industrial country are not competitive in those industries like textiles, certain farming, etc. But, we are better at other things like technology, software, computers, etc. The same is true in our everyday lives. I do not want to do my taxes anymore because I am not good at them. There are too many tax exemptions, rules, regulations, and loopholes, and I cannot keep up with the changes. But, I’m good at other things. Those are the things that I should concentrate on, not the things I stink at….like taxes.

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I remember that there used to only be one version of the classic Hasbro board game, Monopoly. Now, it seems that they have a Monopoly version for every hobby, profession, and sports team in America. According to Hasbro, Monopoly is the best-selling board game in the world, sold in 103 countries and produced in 37 languages. Since it was first introduced in 1935, the classic game has captured the imaginations of families across the country and around the world. I would even go as far as to guess and say that Monopoly might be one of the main reasons that America is an entrepreneur nation, and the game has definitely fueled people’s money making fire. After playing the game as a little kid, it is hard to leave the game without a burning desire to own a real hotel on Boardwalk or Park Place. But, now things are starting to get a little carried away. There are versions of the game for everything or so it seems now. So, I thought that it might be interesting to highlight some of the dumbest versions.

The Ten Dumbest Versions Of Monopoly….

10. The Beatles Monopoly Game
9. New Orleans Saints Super Bowl XLIV Champions Monopoly
8. Monopoly Here and Now World
7. Monopoly Littlest Pet Shop
6. Monopoly Seinfeld Game
5. Family Guy™ Collector’s Edition
4. Star Trek
3. Nintendo Collector’s Edition
2. Wizard of Oz

And, The Worst Version of Monopoly…..

1. A Nightmare Before Christmas Monopoly Game

Did I miss any? What is the craziest version of Monopoly you have ever seen for sale? Leave a comment below…

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This is a guest post from the folks over at VoucherCodes.co.uk, a British coupon website. Believe it or not, Own The Dollar is very popular over in the United Kingdom as you can see by a lot of our “Sponsors” on the right side of the blog. To find out how to guest post on Own The Dollar, check out our guest posting guidelines.

With Summer looming and only a few signs of the economic situation improving significantly for ordinary families in the near future, squeezing the most from every penny is more important than ever. Money-saving website VoucherCodes.co.uk has rounded up ten great ways to change your spending habits.

1. Budget – The foundation on which all money-saving is built. Remove the drudgery from the process with clever new service Kublax, which allows you to see all your accounts in one place and track spending.
2. Online Discount Codes – Issued by retailers, these codes offer an instant discount at the checkout. Save as much as 50%, get free delivery or a free gift. Sites like VoucherCodes.co.uk gather them together in one place as well as offering exclusives and 2-for-1 restaurant vouchers.
3. RSS – There’s little worse than hearing about a great deal or sale just after paying full price. Avoid this by using RSS where its available to deliver the latest discounts from your favourite retailers to your reader or iGoogle homepage.
4. Freecycle – Before reading out to the shops, check out Freecycle first. You can pick up furniture, appliances, toys and more for free. It’s organised by area so it works best in towns and cities but you do have to be quick to snag the best items.
5. Recycle and Repair – We have lost the art of re-using things, preferring to toss them out and buy new. If something is broken, repair is often much cheaper than replacement. Check out Creative Recycling for some tips on how to find new uses for so-called rubbish.
6. Newsletters – Sign up to as many as you can, from retailers to money-saving websites and newspapers. This way you can get your hands on exclusive offers and discounts straight to your inbox.
7. Pay Less for Petrol – Don’t burn money driving around looking for the best deal, log on at GasBuddy for a free comparison of almost 10,000 UK petrol stations. Also available as an iPhone app.
8. Downshift – There’s often little difference between supermarket brands beyond the packaging. Experiment with switching from premium brands to cheaper versions and watch your grocery bill tumble.
9. Learn to Cook – Not only are pre-packaged meals more expensive than fresh, learning to cook will allow you to make the best of your leftovers. Did you know a single chicken can feed a family for three meals?

VoucherCodes.co.uk is a leading money-saving website with over 1.5M visitors each month.

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Most parents think the “birds and the bees” talk will be the hardest conversations that they have with their children. But, equally as difficult and complex, is the discussion that they will have about the value of money. According to Certified Financial Planner Tracy Redmon of Ameriprise Financial, it is never too early to start “incorporating your values about money” to your children.

“The first best place to learn about money is at home,” says Redmon. “Involve your children early…it will help them for the rest of their lives.”

How do you get them involved? Here is what you should be discussing with your kids at different stages in their life:

Age 5-8: Even at age five you can begin to explain the concept of money. Once children can count, it becomes easy to relate that skill to money management.  When out shopping, let your child count the money and hand it to the cashier. Ask your child questions at the grocery such as, “Which one of these is cheaper. What can we buy with $5?” Encourage them to start saving coins in a piggy bank and count their savings. 

Ages 9-13: Now it is time to help them understand where money comes from.  Explain how you make money and what you do with the money you make. Let them go through the process by taking them to the bank to deposit a check and letting them help pay the water and electricity bills. Explain how it is important to share money with those less fortunate and include them in this process. It is also a great time to have your child start his or her own savings account. Most banks and credit unions offer this with no fees and no minimum deposit.

Ages 14-18: It is now time they work for it. They understand Mom and Dad work for money, but do they understand how hard it is? Help them find a part-time job doing something they enjoy. Instead of giving them an allowance, tie the allowance to the completion of certain jobs around the house such as giving them bonuses for good grades or good behavior. Offer to match their savings (the idea is to provide an incentive just as an employer might do in the future). Use real money, even if it is a small amount, and teach them how to invest it and the power of compound interest.

18 and Beyond: Although they are no longer children, they still look to you as a role model, especially in money matters, says Suze Orman, financial expert and author of The Road to Wealth. “Parents, I know you want the best for your children,” she says. “So you should realize how much that means making sure you have got your own financial act together. Children who watch parents do stuff like ring up huge credit card bills buying goodies and vacations they can’t afford tend to dig the same financial holes themselves as adults.”

Kid Friendly Money Websites:

www.kids.gov – Designed for children to learn how to earn and spend money, and explore careers.
www.kidsbank.com – Interactive tools, games and calculators for kids of all ages.
www.younginvestor.com – Includes information for teens and parents.

This is a weekly featured post on Own The Dollar from Sara Peak, a Certified Financial Planner and a veteran of the finance industry. In addition to her monthly “Money Matters” column in Kentucky Living magazine, she also writes about money and personal finance topics on her blog.

Be sure to look for more great featured articles every week from Sara.  If you have a question or topic that you would like for her to discuss, please contact us.

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The lure of gold is everywhere these days. With the price of gold hovering around $1,300 per ounce, everyone and their brother is rethinking whether or not they should be investing in gold. Is it too late? How much gold should be in your portfolio? We are being bombarded by late night infomercials, celebrity endorsements, television pundits, scrap gold buyers, and a host of other pressure to jump on the bandwagon.

Most readers of the blog should know where I stand on buying gold. I actually wrote a long guest post on The Dough Roller blog about the dangers of buying gold especially on late night TV. I am not a gold fan, and I am not a fan of commodities or precious metals, including gold, comprising of too much of your investment portfolio. All precious metals should make up no more than 5% to 10% of your total portfolios. Gold may look like it is just continuing to go up and up, but it is a horrible long term investing.

Five Reasons Not to Own Too Much Gold…

1. The price of gold declined in 14 out of 20 years between 1981 and 2000. Those are some of the prime investment years to be losing so much money.
2. Gold’s price has already been over $1,000 per ounce three times in the last 30 years.
3. In 1974, the U.S. government changed the law and allowed private citizens to invest in gold on the open market. In 1974, the price of an ounce was about $100. Based on today’s price of approximately $1,100, gold has lagged the overall market and returned only 6.8% per year. The historical stock market return has been approximately 8% per year even throughout the decades you could not legally own a bar of gold.
4. Stocks beat inflation better than gold. Stocks have returned an average of 11.5% between December 1974 and December 1999. Inflation has averaged 4.2% during that time.
5. People argue that gold is a safer investment because it is a real asset. That is a flawed assumption that real assets are safe. Real estate is a real asset as well and look where that asset value went over the past few years. Real assets are no safer than paper assets like stocks in today’s market.

Investing in gold just because it is popular right now is not the right thing to do for your financial wellbeing.  Investors often lose sight of gold’s poor long term historical results or lack thereof. Short time horizons with extreme volatility and market uncertainty do not help the long term investor.  Gold and precious metals should only comprise a small portion of your overall retirement and investment portfolio. Making it a main component will set your financial future up for disappointment.

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Have you ever had an electric bill that was higher than you were expecting? I tend to cringe every time I get the bill in the mail from my electric company. I have no idea what it is going to be, and I am paranoid that a billing error will cripple my monthly budget. I especially hate the winter because I hate to be cold. So, I do not really mind cranking up the heat in my house, but I dread paying for it.

Like most people, my monthly electric bill tends to ebb and flow based on how much heat or air conditioning my wife and I use in our home. Some months it will be a low as $80, and other months it can be as high as $300. I love comparing my bill with my coworkers in the hopes that I am not as worse off as they are.

So, what is a person to do??

Now that I have been a customer for over twelve months, my electric company let me sign up for an “equalizer” program. Most electric company has them, and of course they all have different nifty names for them. But, they are all the same. My company’s program is a free budget billing service that sets your monthly payments equal every month. It lets you plan your monthly payments and helps you keep your budget balanced and is designed to help you avoid unpredictable monthly electric bills. Your monthly bill is based on the average of your last twelve months. And, this is the amount that will be charged to you every month for the next year or so.

The good part is that your bill will be the same every month, and you can plan better and will not have your budget busted by an outrageous bill one month. The bad news is that some months you will be paying more than your normal monthly payment, but in other months you will pay less than what you had in the past. It will average out much like dollar cost averaging does for investors. For example, in the spring and fall my wife and I do not use much electricity because we leave a lot of our windows open, do not run the air conditioner, etc. So, our bill is usually around $90 during those months. And, this month, our electric bill was about $250 which is typical for my family in the winter and summer months with the AC/Central Heat cranking. When I signed up for the bill smoothing program, our new monthly payment is going to be $130 per month.

Of course you can see right away that I am going to be over paying the electric company in the spring and fall and underpaying them in the Winter and Summer. But, it will all even out throughout the life of the program. Another interesting point of the program is that the electric company will continue to read the meter every month, and your monthly bill will show exactly how much energy you used. The actual amount you owed and the difference of what you paid will be shown on your account, and you will eventually have to may any amount that you are over (usually every three months or so). The difference may be a credit or a debit amount.  For my bill every three months, it will be recalculated to reflect the average of your last 12 months actual bills and your deferred balance.

So, of course, it goes without saying that you must still save for any differences that are charged to your account. So, while this program may be a budget saver, if you do not budget for any differences from your monthly fee, you could be in for quite a surprise when your electric company recalculates your account.  So, what else can you do? You should consider making sure that you have a fully funded emergency fund to help you ride the ebbs and flows of your monthly electric bills. That might be the real answer to your budgeting issues.

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