5 Ways To Save on Gasoline

September 21, 2007 · Filed Under · 4 Comments 

Gas StationPull that garden hose out of the gas tank of your neighbor’s Ford Expedition because I have some easy ways for you to save on gasoline (that don’t involve siphoning it!). Price of gas here in Northern California is around $2.80 per gallon and is getting so expensive that it has to be budgeted for. If you commute, or are always shuttling the kids from school to soccer to ballet to karate, these 5 ways to lower your gas costs will be helpful.

  1. Drive Efficiently. This means don’t accelerate at the stop light like you are at the drag strip. By avoiding fast accelerations, and not speeding like a demon, you can lower gas mileage by 33% at highway speed and by 5% cruising around town. Also, use your cruise control when on the highway for even more fuel efficiency.
  2. Maintain your Vehicle. Don’t be frugal when it comes to maintaining your vehicle.
    - Keep your air filters clean and replace when needed. This alone can improve your MPG by up to 10%.
    - Use good quality motor oil. Check your car’s manual for the correct grade of oil.
    - Periodically check your tire pressure. Under inflated tires will reduce your gas mileage.
    - Follow your automobile’s recommended maintenance schedule. This will insure that your car’s timing is correct as well as keeping spark plugs functioning properly. Both of which will help improve gas mileage.
  3. Alternative Transportation. Can’t use gas when you are not using your car!
    - Stop by your local bus depot and get a bus schedule. Start using the bus on occasion.
    - Find a colleague that lives close to you and carpool with him/her.
    - Walk or ride your bike when possible. Great exercise as well.
    - If you have to drive to work, try and plan your schedule so you miss the heavy traffic times of the day. By not sitting in traffic you will save considerable gas.
  4. Do You Really Need Premium Gas? If you are currently buying mid or high grade gas, check your vehicle’s manual to see if it really needs the extra octane. Unless it is a Corvette or a high performance engine you are probably throwing money down the toilet.
  5. Buy a More Efficient Auto. Look into trading in your gas guzzler for a more efficient vehicle. If we all did this it would send a message to the big automakers that we want a change.
     
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10 Tips For Debt Reduction

September 20, 2007 · Filed Under , · 3 Comments 

Destroy Those Credit Cards!Debt sucks! Especially high interest credit card debt. I can remember it keeping me up at night and affecting my overall happiness. I have been getting a lot of email from readers recently looking for more details on how I got out of debt. When I became serious about getting out of debt, I said to myself, “How do people do it?”, it seems so overwhelming. So just like the folks that have been contacting me, I started researching what others had done. This research put me on the right path to getting out from under all of my debt. The idea behind this post is to put together everything I learned in one spot. So here we go…

  1.  Change your state-of-mind. Set the goal of getting out of debt as one of the highest priority in your life! You are worth it! Yes, it takes hard work and determination, but believe me, it is all worth it.
  2. Stop spending! I know this is as obvious as saying the “sun will come up tomorrow morning”, but it needs to be said. Cut up your cards, freeze your cards like Lynnae from BeingFrugal.net, bury them in the backyard, whatever it takes for you to stop using them. Just carry enough cash that you will need for the day.
  3. Learn to value money again. Start collecting cash. Put a seperate $20 bill in a few envelopes, mark the outside with ”$20″, seal them up and use these envelopes for your spending. Believe me, when you have to open the envelope and use the cash to buy stuff you will regain the ability to see the value of a dollar. This helped me greatly. It snapped me out of the ‘slide the plastic’ mindset where you spend, spend, spend and worry about paying it back later.
  4. Find extra income. This may seem hard at first but it was crucial for me. I picked up a 2nd job at The Home Depot to help with my debt. Look into a 2nd job, freelance work, sell things on eBay, have a yard sale, whatever it takes.
  5. Set up a budget. Sit down with a piece of paper or an Excel spreadsheet and put down all your monthly expenses in one column and all your income in the other column. Be honest with yourself when doing this. Remember to include all expenses not just the obvious stuff. Include money spent on meals, coffee from Starbucks, trips to the vending machine, etc. At least put down a rough estimate, this will give you an idea of how much money you can save per month by cutting out some of the frivolous stuff. I did this and I put the money saved straight to lowering my debt.
  6. Pay higher interest rate cards first. If you have three credit cards, allocate more money each month to the card with the highest interest rate. The quicker you lower the balance on that card the less in interest you will pay each month.
  7. Try to consolidate your cards. If you have a solid payment history you may be able to consolidate all/some of your credit cards to a lower interest rate card. Often you can get a rate as low as 3.9% for the entirety of the loan. Be careful with 0% rate cards as they typically only last for a specific amount of time. Only use a 0% card if you can pay off the debt in its entirety before the offer expires. Otherwise, you could get stuck with a much higher interest rate. Consolidation is also convenient because you only have 1 bill per month to hassle with.
  8. Ask for a lower rate. If you are unable or unwilling to consolidate your debt, call each of your credit card companies and ask them for a lower rate. This works. They will typically lower your rate if you have a solid payment history. They do this because they want to keep you from looking into consolidating your debt at a lower interest rate. In other words, they want your money for as long as possible!
  9. Overpay your interest charges. Mathematically, the only way you will ever be able to get out of debt is to make a monthly payment higher than your monthly interest charges. This is a must do.
  10. Refinance you home. By refinancing your mortgage so you have a lower monthly payment, you can free up more money to help pay off your credit card debt. I have a friend that did this and he highly recommends this as an option.

Note: I am sure this list is not comprehensive, so I welcome you to add more ideas by leaving a comment. Thanks!

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8 Ways To Financial Freedom and Wealth

September 20, 2007 · Filed Under · 2 Comments 

Getty - Time MagazineWhen it comes to advice on building wealth and financial freedom, I have always enjoyed J. Paul Getty’s advice. While I may not agree with all his advice, I think it is definitely worth discussing. Born into a family with considerable wealth from the oil business in 1892, Getty was one of the first people to amass over $1 billion in worth. Here are his 8 rules for gaining wealth and financial freedom, followed by some commentary by yours truly:

  • Rule #1 – To acquire wealth today, you must be in your own business.

When you own your own business the possibilities and opportunity for growth are endless. These opportunities are often directly related to how hard you work and how creative you are in marketing your business. In other words, there is no ‘salary-cap’!

  • Rule #2 – You must have a working knowledge of the business when you start and continue to increase your knowledge of it as you go along.

In other words, do your research! If you are starting a business based on a hunch that you can find a target market or a niche, do your research first, not after you start. Conduct surveys, talk to consumers in your area, and talk to other businesses. Do a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) of your business venture so you have a better idea what type of market you are getting involved with. But don’t stop there, continue to do market research as your business evolves so you can stay a step ahead of your competitors and gain that ever important advantage.

  • Rule #3 -You must save money in your personal life and in your business venture as well.

As your business grows you will need financial resources to expand and keep up with growth. If you have not saved a cash reserve this will be impossible. Getty always stressed the need for discipline and financial will-power and using it to avoid going after the quick buck.

  • Rule #4 -You must take risks.

Starting your own business is in itself a big risk. But I find this one to be in contradiction with Rule #3. When starting a business it can be hard to save money and take risks at the same time. But as your business grows, you will have the ability to take well calcualted risks, particularly with advertising and product expansion. Good judgment and research is important to risk taking in my opinion. Make sure to do a risk vs. benefit analysis.

  • Rule #5 – You must not only learn to live with tension, you must seek it out.

This one gives me the ibby jeebies. Seek out tension and stress, say what? But what Getty is saying is that stress, when viewed positively can actually be a good thing. It can be a motivator to keep your nose to the grind stone in an attempt to gain a competitive advantage.

  • Rule #6 – Build wealth as a by-product of your business success.

This one really resonates with me. If you only focus on wealth, you are destined to fail. If instead you focus on working hard, having fun, being creative, then the rest rest will take care of itself. I have personally found this to be very true. Plus, this outlook is much healthier than being consumed with profit and the bottom line. Getty believed that true wealth is only a benefit of “playing the game”.

  • Rule #7 – Patience.

My blog can relate to this one. When I first started blogging I felt like I was just talking to myself and almost gave it up. Good things come to those that are patient. In business, Getty felt that is was vitally important to be patient and wait for the right time to make your move and take your risks. Study history to determine how and why previous strategies were successful or where they may have gone wrong.

  • Rule #8 – Diversify.

Getty felt that once your business was successful it was important to have more than one income stream. Old adage, “don’t carry all your eggs in one basket”. Look for new markets, expanded product lines, and new advertising opportunities. Try to find ways to grab more market share. This minimizes your risk and keeps your entrepreneurial juices flowing.

Note: For further reading on the life and financial successes of J. Paul Getty check out his books How To Be Rich and As I See It: The Autobiography of J. Paul Getty.

Photo of J. Paul Getty From Time.com.

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My Dad’s Frugal Tips: The Counter-Attack!

September 18, 2007 · Filed Under · 2 Comments 

Chain Saw and FirewoodA great way to insure you get mentioned on my site is to take one of my posts and thoroughly analyze it and rip it apart if it needs ripping. This is what a guy named Gates did at his blog Gates on “Stuff” in this post Frugal Tips from the Farm?  He took both posts about my Dad’s frugal living tips, My Old Man: Frugal, Cheap, or Just Strange? and More Frugal Tips: My Dad Weighs In!, and brought up some solid counterpoints. Here are a few highlights:

The Brick In The Back Of The Toilet To Save Water

Gates: “Brick in the toilet? That’s basically just saying “Hey my toilet uses too much water” and all things considered the brick is pretty imprecise. Why not just install a toilet that’s built to use less water / flush? Then you’ll save water and you’ll get a correct flush every time.”

My Thoughts – Come to find out that awhile back my Dad installed a ‘low flow’ toilet bowl that only uses a maximum 1.6 gallons per flush where his old toilet used 3.5 gallons. The brick was removed! Check your local water district, many are offering BIG rebates if you install these ‘low flow’ toilets. The rebates will often pay for the entire toilet. Great way to conserve water.

Turning Car Off at Gate When Opening/Closing It To Save Gas

Gates: “Why don’t you just install a remote opener and save yourself 11.7 hours/year + part of the overall energy? You’re worried about saving $27/year, I’d be worried about saving 11.7 hours/year.”

My Thoughts – This is a great point, as I know I would personally either get rid of the gate or install a remote opener. As a father of three kids and a busy career I put a premium on things that save me time. It would drive me crazy to have to get out of the car to open the gate, get back in, pull forward 15 feet, then get back out and close the gate. I have in the past told my Dad that he should install an electric gate for not only the convenience but also the added security it would provide his property. He ain’t listening though!

Wood Burning Stove: He Never Turns The Furnace On

Gates: “The wood burning stove is only “cheaper” if he can chop the wood himself (and his time is worth very little) and he has the place to put the wood. Depending on location, electric heating may be more efficient (such as in Manitoba, Canada, land of Hydroelectric dams). Again, if he wanted to be really efficient he would move over to a high-efficiency pellet stove which is currently getting the most heat/$.”

My Thoughts – My Dad has never paid for firewood. He finds apple orchards that are being turned into strawberries and they let him come in and cut firewood and haul it away. He always finds free wood, not sure how, but he does. Sure it takes some time to cut and haul, but he enjoys the work and it is great exercise and keeps him young. Free wood aside, I would be curious how much more efficient pellet stoves are than the wood burning variety. Moreover, in terms of energy savings, how long would it take to re-coup the cost of putting in a pellet stove?

Also, I recommend you check out Gates full post on this subject as he has some excellent ideas on how homes can recycle water, both from our pipes and from the sky. Well done Gates!

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The Extended Warranty, A Good Idea….Sometimes

September 18, 2007 · Filed Under · 4 Comments 

Baby spit up on it, dog chewed on it, you know the usual stuff …

You hear all the time that the extended warranty is a HUGE money maker for many stores. Especially your big box electronics stores like Best Buy and Circuit City. Because of this, I have always passed when the salesman gives me the standard pitch which always involves amazing detail about how I cannot possible live without it and makes me feel like I am taking food off his kid’s plate by declining. I always find it interesting how they know more about the extended warranty than the actual product you are interested in buying.

But I have found that it can be a good idea if you are buying a product that takes a beating. Case in point, about 3 years ago, my wife bought a cordless phone/answering machine combo from Best Buy and was talked into the extended warranty. I’m sure the picture of the kid with an empty dinner plate got her. The phone’s cost was $95 and the extended warranty was around $25. We used the phone for a few months, dropped it a couple times, baby spit up on it, dog chewed on it, you know the usual stuff, and low-and-behold one of the receivers stopped working. We take it in and no questions asked, we get a new phone. We have done this 3 times and get a new phone everytime. Well worth the extended warranty. Maybe our Best Buy has a very lax staff and takes back almost everything. Has anybody had a different experience with the extended warranty?

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More Frugal Tips: My Dad Weighs In!

September 16, 2007 · Filed Under · 4 Comments 

Mr Do-It-YourselfSecure your cats and cover your children’s eyes, my Dad is making his official Internet debut! After the great response from my post My Old Man: Frugal, Cheap, or Just Strange?, I called my Dad and asked him if he would do a guest post talking about more of his great frugal living tips. He graciously agreed, so with no further-ado, I present my Dad. (Insert Applause Here)

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It has come to my attention that considerable gasoline is wasted as my car sits at idle. Our place has a metal farm gate which we open and close each time we leave and return home. I timed it and it takes about 30 seconds to get out of the car, close or open the gate, then return to the car. Since I leave home on the average of twice each day that is four opens/closes of the gate each day. That is 120 seconds or 2 minutes per day. Two times 350 days per year (I am not home every day) is 700 minutes or 11.7 hours that my car idles needlessly. I believe it would require 9 gallons of gas to idle that long. At $3 per gallon that is $27 per year I save by turning the the engine off when opening and closing the gate. My mechanic assures me there is little wear and tear on the starter, certainly not $27 worth. In addition, by fastening seat belts prior to starting the engine rather than the other way around I save about 8 seconds idling time each time I take a trip. My two trips a day is 16 seconds of idling time saved per day. Because I have always been told that seconds, inches, and pennies are important I SAVE all of the above. A huge gas waste is leaving the engine running while waiting in line to buy anything. Especially at gas stations, drive-through windows at fast food spots, or at the land-fill waiting to unload garbage. TURN IT OFF!

Recycling is not only an important method of slowing global warming but is a good frugal technique for saving money. For many years we have fed pigs on our little farm because we enjoy having them and it provided us with economical meat. A friend picks up by-products from a nearby tofu factory and shares the tofu with us. This friend is a 66 year old female farmer who quickly became known in our family as the “Tofu Queen”. The pigs are healthy and gain weight quickly when fed this protein rich tofu. We also pick-up out dated milk and feed it along with the tofu. The problem with this recycling effort is the odor associated with milk that sets around a few days before being consumed by the pigs. Although I am not sure how much money these conservation techniques save I am satisfied they keep tons of Carbon out of the atmosphere.

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Gender and Money: Do Men and Women Deal With Finances Differently?

September 13, 2007 · Filed Under , · 8 Comments 

Men and WomenThere seems to be some common assumptions when it comes to how men and women view money and finances in the United States. Here are a couple generalizations that I have heard over the years and I often wonder how true they really are.

#1 – Women are nurturers and tend to focus on current needs and view money as a way to meet those needs for the family. Men on the other hand, since the days of cavemen have been hard-wired to provide and protect, and deal with money in terms of capturing and accumulating in order to provide security.

My Thoughts – This generalization seems to fit my marriage. But I think it has more to do with circumstance than some predisposition. My wife is a stay-at-home Mom and does all the shopping/buying to run the household day-to-day so she rarely has time to sit in the office and leisurely look at our IRA information or our retirement plan. If I were to become a stay-at-home Dad, I think this mindset would be quickly reversed. As a matter of fact, I know she would welcome the opportunity to sit at our computer for an hour a week with a latte and analyze our savings and retirement accounts!

#2 – Ruth Hayden, author of For Richer, Not Poorer: The Money Book for Couples states that “Women are the collectors of stuff. Women do the clothes. Women are taught that what they need to get through life is approval. They have to look good, act good, be good.” She then sums up men by stating, “When men go shopping, they expect that whatever they’re shopping for to ‘get fixed,’ because men are supposed to fix stuff. They don’t want to be part of the process.”

My Thoughts – This one is tricky for me. As the name of this blog implies, I do like to shop, just not at full price. Call me a frugal metrosexual. But as I stated earlier, I don’t do the day-to-day shopping for our family. From conversations about this with my wife I know she at times feels like she is put in a ‘stay-at-home mom’ box where society and consumerism are always trying to steer her one way or another. Telling her what she really needs to meet the so called ‘standards’ of motherhood and womanhood.

I welcome your thoughts!

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Blog Post Review Day, Vol. 2

September 12, 2007 · Filed Under · 1 Comment 

Carnival TimeCouple carnivals with some great entries that I wanted to talk about. First one is the Festival of Frugality #91 hosted by Stephanie @ Stop the Ride! Well done Stephanie, looks like a lot of work, I like how you categorized the posts. Also, thanks for including my article, My Old Man: Frugal, Cheap, or Just Strange? A few of the posts I really enjoyed:

1- What Do Potty Training Mishaps Got To Do With Money? posted at The Digerati Life. Oh boy, with 3 kids I feel your pain on this stinky situation. We actually used cloth diapers on our first child and saved a lot of money on diapers. Way to much work though, and we went back to disposable diapers on the next 2 kids. I have been using Diapers.com coupons to get a pretty good deal on Pampers, spend $50 or more and they ship for free as well.

2- Millionaire Mommy Next Door wrote a very thought provoking article called The Powerful (and Addictive) Nature of Giving. She is going to be donating revenue from her blog to Kiva.org, very noble endeavor. Best of luck.

3- The Frugal Law Student submitted a guest post by Erica titled 12 Meals that are Easy, Cheap, and Healthy. Great tips that not only apply to starving students but the rest of us as well. My favorite: Curry Mushroom “Chicken”, looks really good, I think I will give it a try.

Second one is the 104th edition of The Carnival of Debt Reduction @ The Happy Rock, titled the “Digging Out Edition”. Very appropriate title! Thanks Rock for including my post How I Got Out Of Credit Card Debt, really appreciate it. Here are a couple posts from the “Digging Out Edition” that I thought were above the fold:

1- One that caught my attention was from We’re In Debt titled Are You Ashamed Of Your Debt? The idea behind this post is that by being open about your debt, it keeps you from hiding it from yourself. Deep…..but true. Also, If you are open about it, there is no doubt that you will be a role model to others with the same problem.

2- Tricia at Blogging Away Debt submitted a post titled I Had No Clue You Could Shift Credit Limits Around! - I found this post very well done. Tricia, I also had no idea that credit card companies are willing to shift balances around like the way you suggested. Good to know. I also like her advice to always wait and think about things clearly before jumping into a decision. This is GREAT advice, especially when dealing with your personal finances.

Check out the carnivals for yourself and happy reading!

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A Simple Life, A Frugal Life

September 12, 2007 · Filed Under · 3 Comments 

A Simple LifeThe great English poet and essayist Samuel Johnson once penned, “Without frugality none can be rich, and with it very few would be poor.” Truly words to live by.  Being a fan of many frugal online blogs I know I have a long way to go in this area but I am certainly enjoying the ride. The most important thing that I have learned is that frugality is a mindset more than a set of rules.  A mindset to try not to waste things unnecessarily and look at the bigger picture. The bigger picture being how are my decisions going to affect my family, my neighbors, my community, my country, my world.

Also, by having a certain amount of frugality in my life I feel I have greatly reduced the stress that gets evoked with thoughts of ”keeping up with the Joneses” or feelings of being judged for what I have or don’t have. I feel like I am learning to live a simple life, not concerned with acquiring, but rather enjoying what I have right here in front of me. This has been a very liberating feeling for me. I think my Dad’s way of thinking is finally starting to rub off on me. This post is a little more serious than my usual banter, but I felt it was worthwhile to share with my frugal pals out there.

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10 Ways To Ruin Your Financial Security

September 11, 2007 · Filed Under · 4 Comments 

Money ImageTime tested approaches that will ruin your financial security every time, in no particular order. I was unable to put them in order because they all deserve special attention!

1- Sell your modest, fuel efficient vehicle, and upgrade to your “favorite, gotta have it” SUV. To offset this cost, immediately start drilling for oil in your backyard.

2- Don’t save for your retirement. Assume your kids will be rich and will take care of you.

3- Don’t have an emergency savings fund. Instead, buy duct tape in bulk from The Home Depot. When something on your car or in your home breaks wrap it in duct tape until it is completely silver.

4- Spend more than you earn EVERY month. Remember, spending is a good thing and only helps to rejuvenate the economy.

5- Only pay the minimum on your credit cards. No sense giving those blood-suckers a dime more than what they are asking for.

6- Take that vacation you can’t afford. Hey, you work hard, you deserve that 7 day resort stay in the Bahamas.

7- As your salary increases, make sure to increase your lifestyle at the same rate.

8- Only buy popular name brands that you see on television. Afterall, if they can afford to advertise they must be the best.

9- Cash your paycheck at the supermarket and carry the cash until it is gone. Don’t even bother with a savings account, have you ever tried to balance one of those things?

10- Last but not least, don’t research proper investing. Instead, invest in individual companies based on your gut-instincts. Perhaps you like their logo or they have a catchy slogan, or the CEO has a hot wife. Good enough!

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