When Are You A Brand Name Shopper?

April 29, 2008 · Filed Under · 15 Comments 

op.gifAnyone remember the huge OP (Ocean Pacific) brand craze of the mid-1980’s? When I was kid, OP was the brand to have. Especially the curduroy shorts that were so short you had to be careful not to expose yourself when sitting down Indian style. I remember they were on the expensive side and my parents refused to buy them. But I wanted them so bad that my Mom would actually take the shorts I did have and sew a wannabe OP logo on the front pocket!! Looking back on it, it was really pathetic. Despite her best efforts, the ‘OP’ just didn’t look right and most of my friends knew it.

Amazing how brand awareness starts at such a young age. I am starting to fight it at my house recently with some knock-off Crocs. I wrote about this at Lynnae’s blog, Being Frugal.net, a couple weeks ago.

This made me think about the times in my life today when I tend to shop name brands because I perceive them as a better value. The one thing that I have discovered is that perception does not always equal reality. But here are a few times I do shop the brands:

  • Tools. I made the mistake of spending less on some power and hand tools awhile back. Big mistake, they all either broke or are so frustrating to use I want to throw them in the ocean. So I went and bought a Ryobi cordless drill, a Stanley handsaw, and a Craftsman blower and life is good again.
  • Athletic Shoes. I am willing to spend more on tennis shoes and sneakers because they flat out last longer. I am pretty hard on my shoes and generics will only last a few weeks before they go in the trash can.
  • Beer. This one is pretty funny. My Dad actually used to buy generic beer that had a white can, and it just said “BEER” in blue letters. Hilarious, and terrible to drink. I don’t drink beer very often, but when I do I spend a little extra to get Fat Tire or Pacifico. My 2 current favorites!

beer.jpg

When are you a brand name shopper? And why?

My Life In Six Words…

April 24, 2008 · Filed Under , · 2 Comments 

Chinese Public UrinalI got pelted by both Sisterly Savings and Antishay Ventenne on this cool ‘Your Life in 6 Words’ meme. This is a tricky one, it took me a while to think of mine. With that said, here goes nothing:

“Keep Your Head Down and Focus.”

I proudly present the times in my life when this advice has kept me sane, kept me from fainting, kept me from getting beat up, and of course kept me from cutting off my arm:

  • During final exams in college.
  • At the urinal in a public restroom.
  • When my wife was giving birth to our 3 children.
  • On the 1st tee at the golf course.
  • When using my chain saw in the backyard.
  • When writing a blog post.
  • When getting my prostate checked.

On that note, I think I will let this one die! I won’t pass this meme along but please feel free to pick up where I left off on your own blog if you have one. If you are reading this, consider yourself tagged! Don’t worry, I washed my hands first.

Ask The Readers: Bad Customer Service At Old Navy?

April 22, 2008 · Filed Under , · 23 Comments 

oldnavy.jpgI am looking for some feedback on store coupon policies. A couple weeks ago my wife bought some summer clothes for our 3 kids at our local Old Navy store. She found some nice deals and ended up spend a little under $50. A couple days later we got an Old Navy coupon in the mail that was good for 20% off your order when you use your Old Navy credit card, which we have.

So my wife says, “Bummer, I just bought the kids some clothes from Old Navy a couple days ago.” Which I responded, “Not a bummer, I’m sure they will honor your coupon.” In my head I am reasoning this with a few things.

  • First, since we are Old Navy credit card holders, I am sure they will bend over backwards to keep us happy.
  • Secondly, it is just good customer service to honor a coupon in this way.
  • Thirdly, they would never say ”No” because people would just return the merchandise and buy it again with the 20% off coupon.

So my wife agrees with me and the next day she goes back in the store with the coupon and clothes in the original bag. I should also point out that the clothes still have the tags on them and have not been used or washed. She walks up to the register, where she actually got the store manager, and the conversation goes like this:

My Wife: I was just in here a couple days ago and bought these clothes. Then I got this coupon in the mail for 20% off and I was wondering if you would be kind enough to honor the coupon on this purchase.
Old Navy Manager: Sorry, I can’t do that.
My Wife: But I just got this coupon in the mail.
Old Navy Manager: Sorry, ma’am, that is just our policy. But you still have a couple weeks to use that coupon on another purchase.
My Wife: What is to keep me from just returning it and buying it back with the coupon?
Old Navy Manager: (Glaring at her like she is a cheap, crazy woman.) Nothing I guess.

Ticked off, my wife left the store and called me. I had a few choice words for Old Navy customer service. Not helping the situation, she hung up on me and decided she was just going to return the stuff. Then maybe in a couple days go back in and use the coupon. She returned the clothes and we have yet to go back into the store. It just left a bad taste in our mouth. I don’t think we are swindlers or cheap people. Or are we? Or is Old Navy just acting on a sound business model by not honoring the coupon in this way? What is you opinion?

It reminds me of the whole Apple iPhone thing when they lowered the price $200 overnight and essentially said “tough luck” to those loyal Apple users who bought the phone at the original price. After taking a heat wave of criticism, Steve Jobs finally offered a $100 store credit to anyone that bought the iPhone at the original price. In my example, we are the loyal user who is left holding the bag of clothes at full price.

So give me your opinion! Do you agree with the Old Navy coupon policy? Have you had a similar experience with a different outcome at Old Navy or another store? I look forward to your comments.

Carnival of Personal Finance #149 and Festival of Frugality #122 Are Up!

April 21, 2008 · Filed Under · 2 Comments 

For the first time in a couple months I participated in the Carnival of Personal Finance this week. It is hosted at The Happy Rock and my post 5 Ways To Survive on One Income was chosen as an Editor’s Top Picks. Cool, thanks! Thanks ‘The Happy Rock’ for the effort, I really liked how you categorized the carnival. Go check it out when you get a few minutes, it is chalked full of great information.

A Few Of My Favorites From the Carnival:

I also participated in the Festival of Frugality #122, hosted by Aaron, at On Financial Success. Go check it out when you get a few minutes, he did a great job putting it together. Thanks Aaron!

Craftsman Drill Contest – We Have A Winner!!

April 18, 2008 · Filed Under · 3 Comments 

craftsman1.jpgFirst of all, thank you to everybody who entered! I had some really fun, educational, and interesting entries. So here is what I did. I took all the entries, put them in a hat, shook the heck out of it, held it up high and my wife drew a winner. Pretty high tech, huh?

Drumroll Please……………….

Without further-ado, the winner of the brand new 18-Volt Craftsman Cordless Drill is:

  • Pete @ Bible Money Matters. Congratulations Pete! I hope the drill will come in handy on your next home improvement project that you tackle! Pete put together a nice post on the frugalist and dumbest home improvement project that he tackled last summer, a very nice looking stone patio. Unfortunately, it was also his dumbest project because he tried to squeeze all the work into one weekend and ended up tearing his rotator cup. Yikes! Head on over to his blog and take a look for yourself. Pete, I will drop you an email to get your mailing address so I can send ya the drill!

 Other Entries I Really Liked:

  • Lynnae @ Being Frugal.net - She talked about her funniest frugal fix. You will be amazed at what this woman can do with baking soda and vinegar! This post will put a smile on your face, go check it out!
  • Rachael @ The Montgomery Family – Rachael posted her most challenging home improvement project. Another good intentioned paint job goes wrong. Throw in some red paint and you have a recipe for disaster!! Red is such a hard color to paint with. From personal experience, I recommend getting some primer and have the guy in the paint department tint it for you. Have them make it a real light red and then your top coat will cover much easier.
  • PaidTwice @ I’ve Paid For This Twice Already… – Having gone through the torture of removing wallpaper myself, I knew we would have a post about this! Sure enough, Paid Twice blogged about her hardest home improvement project which was removing the wallpaper in her son’s room. Turns out the wallpaper had more wallpaper under it! Yikes, that sounds like a nightmare I had the other night. The good news is that it was also a great success story! Go check it out.
  • Suburban Wife @ Daily Dollar Diary – This is a great entry, she actually wrote about her most frugal and her smartest, dumbest, and hardest project. Her most frugal was the ‘Family Command Center’ where she was able to organize her calendar, notes, lists, scheduled events for the kids, etc. It is pretty impressive and she has some great pictures up that could help you in your organization efforts. And her smartest, dumbest, and hardest project was the master bath remodel. You gotta read it to believe it! All I can say it HATS OFF to you, well done!

Thanks for all the entries! I had a lot of fun reading them. I definitely want to do something like this again in the future so keep an eye out.

My 5 Budget Busters

April 17, 2008 · Filed Under · 11 Comments 

budgetbust.jpgI got hit upside the head by a rotten tomato from my blogging buddy LJ at Mommy Gets PAID on a new meme that has been floating around called The Budget Busters Challenge. This one looks like a lot of fun! Works like this, I list the 5 things that can keep me from staying on budget and then I tag 3 bloggers to do the same. Simple enough, here goes nothing.

  1. My Chevy Silverado Truck. I have a fairly new Chevy Silverado that would just not run without the chrome license plate cover, the upgraded exhaust system, and the fancy Nebraska Cornhuskers hitch cover. The truck needs new tires soon and I am going to have to figure out how to keep myself from buying the big ol’ mud tires. Although, the real budget buster is my gas bill on this fuel guzzler!
  2. The Kiddos. This one is a Catch 22 because money spent on the kids is often for experiences that my wife and I think helps mold their character. Ballet, gymnastics, planetarium tickets, little league, etc. But one silly move that sticks out in my mind was when they opened a new Sports Authority store in our town. I couldn’t resist taking my son down for the grand opening and buying a couple baseball gloves for 5x what I would typically pay for sporting goods. The great San Francisco 49er, Roger Craig, was there signing autographs, which was cool! I’m so weak.
  3. Bright and Shiny Gadgets and Electronics. I have documented this one on my blog before. If I get a coupon on my site for like 15% off Apple iPod accessories I have to post it real quick and try and forget about it. Otherwise, I will go and look and drool over all the cool gadgets and add-on’s that are available. Then if I stick around too long I will end up with noise-cancelling earphones or a new iPod car adaptor. Best for me to not even look!
  4. Power Tools, Hand Tools, any Tool. Similar to #3, I can’t linger in the hardware store to long or I end up with a tool that I didn’t plan on buying. I have a Sawz-All that I have used once, a Makita hand sander that is still in the box, and a Skil saw that is collecting dust. I have big plans to use them at some point in the future. Although it probably won’t be until I am 65 years old and building bird houses with the grandkids!
  5. iTunes Store Purchases. I am a HUGE music lover and at only .99 cents a song, what a deal!! That was my mindset anyways. But I have realized that it is safer to go hunting with Dick Cheney than it is for me to enter the iTunes store! A couple reasons why: it is so easy to buy a song “here and there” since your credit card is on file, plus it is so easy to justify since it is under a dollar a song. But it adds up quickly. Then when I got my credit card statement I scratched my head and said “dang, I bought 23 songs last month?” Now I pay closer attention and buy only 5 songs a month.

Now for the fun part, I have three overly ripe Maters here by my desk and I am throwing them at these fine blogs:

Anyone else who would like to join the challenge is welcome!

Welcome Being Frugal.net Guests

April 16, 2008 · Filed Under · Comment 

For those of you coming by today from my 1st ‘Kyle’s Coupons’ guest feature at Being Frugal, welcome! Feel free to to kick off your shoes (or Crocs) and stay for awhile. Thanks again Lynnae for the opportunity! If you are looking for online coupons, here is a list of all the stores featured on Rather-Be-Shopping.com. Also, here is some past reading from my blog to get you started:

Drill Contest Update:

  • All the entries are in for the Win a Craftsman Drill contest and I will be drawing a winner in the next day or so. Thanks to all who participated, we really had some great entries. I will share some of my favorites when I post the winner!

Festival of Frugality #121 – Tax Day Edition

April 15, 2008 · Filed Under · 24 Comments 

Tax DayWelcome to the 121st edition of the Festival of Frugality – Tax Day Edition. I hope you were able to get yours filed on time and moved on with your life! Over 80 entries (gulp, swallow hard) to this edition, very impressive stuff by some excellent writers. So without further-ado, here are my editor’s picks, followed by a whole bunch of quality reading. Thanks to all who participated.

 

Editor’s Picks

RC presents How to Develop a Frugal Mindset posted at Think Your Way to Wealth. RC documents some of the most time proven ways to develop a frugal lifestyle. Well done post, very precise and to the point. 

Jason presents The Ultimate Frugal Weekend: A 48-Hour Spending Fast posted at The Frugal Dad. Frugal Dad has developed the ‘No Spend Weekend’. I love this idea. He says add up your savings Sunday night to see instant results. I am constantly finding fun things to do on weekends with my kids that are free or cost very little. Good stuff.

Chelsy Albertson presents Saving Money During College posted at the Dorm Earning Blog, saying, “Dorm Earning has personal finance advice for college students, including tips to save money.” Wow, I wish I had the fortitude to follow some of this advice when I was in school. Great tips.

Silicon Valley Blogger presents Frugal Tips: How To Make 10 Ordinary Things Last Longer posted at The Digerati Life. I really enjoy posts like this that give you real world frugal living advice, no “pie in the sky” sayings or diagrams about money in, money out, just tips you can use. Well done SVB!

Sarah presents Four ways to suck less at vintage & thrift shopping posted at SARAHSPY. There definitely is a science to getting the best deal for the money at vintage and thrift shops. Some excellent tips from Sarah.

Catherine presents Frugality and Luck posted at Frugal Homemaker Plus. OK, now this one of the better articles I have ever read about frugal living. You gotta check it out! Catherine makes the argument that you create your own luck through hard work, making sacrifices, and focusing on goals.

Kris presents The Hour: How 60 Minutes a Week Can Save Hundreds of Dollars on Food posted at Cheap Healthy Good. Kris really put a lot of time and effort into putting this post together to help you save a lot of money on groceries. This is a great read and I found the advice very usable and doable. Well done.

Amanda Milne presents 100 Frugal and Healthy Eating Habits posted at Value For Your Life. I love lists and this one is no exception. Nicely done Amanda.

Madison presents 30 Money Saving Tips posted at My Dollar Plan. Did I mention that I love lists. My favorite from Madison’s list, ‘Wait Before Purchasing’. If I did not follow this advice I would have 3 Go Carts and a big ol’ neon Budweiser sign hanging in my office!

Joe D presents If You Don’t Need It, It’s Not A Great Deal posted at Know The Ledge. My mindset is very similar to Joe’s, I have a hard time passing up a great deal, but fortunately I am getting better at it. Nice post Joe.

Lisa Spinelli presents 25 Life Tips and Tricks posted at Greener Pastures: Personal Finance. Lisa offers some great tips on making like a little bit easier. My favorite that I am going to try: “No More Mosquitoes- Place a dryer sheet (like Bounce I assume) in your pocket. It will keep the mosquitoes away.” We have a bunch of skeeters around our house lately so I am going to give it a try. Plus it will make me smell a little bit better!

Flexo presents The Frugal Lifestyle: Are We Missing Out on Life? posted at Consumerism Commentary. Flexo sums it up nicely when he says, “Frugality and making the most of the present are not mutually exclusive.” Amen brother!

The Best Of The Rest!

Sharon Harvey Rosenberg presents Skip the Eco-Fakers: Purge Green Imposters from Our Homes posted at The Frugal Duchess, saying, “Earth Day is this month and many consumers hope to do their spring cleaning with ”green” or nontoxic products. Sometimes, it’s hard to tell the environmentally friendly goods from the eco-pretenders.”

Debbie presents How to NOT Live on a Budget posted at Debbie’s Debt Advice. Some solid tips for those who are not big budgeters.

Penny Nickel presents Staying frugal on the road posted at Money and Values. Nice frugal tips from the road.

Joseph presents Save money on groceries posted at penny pinching. I agree with all of Joseph’s tips except for buying Coke and Pepsi when they are on sale. I say skip the soda and stick to water, not only is it free, but much better for ya.

Erik presents Help Me Take Down Paypal by Signing Up For Revolution Money Exchange posted at Money Crashers. Gotta love free money, and Erik makes the point that if sign up by the end of April 15th, you will get $25 free in your new account.

Meg presents Introducing… FruWiki.com! posted at All About Appearances, saying, “Announcing my new project, FruWiki.com, the frugal wiki.”

Paula Wethington presents How to ration out the snack foods posted at Monroe on a Budget.

valereee presents Foraging: hot new foodie trend, or the hottest new foodie trend? posted at Cincinnati Locavore, saying, “Free food is everywhere around us, and more people than ever are realizing it!”

FIRE Getters presents Best Way To Kill Kitchen Sponge Germs! posted at FIRE Finance.

Sheila presents 5 Best Hawaii Vacation Money Saving Tips posted at Hawaii Vacation Blog – GoVisitHawaii.com, saying, “Hawaii can be an expensive vacation destination, but it’s not so bad if you use these money saving tips. These frugal tips to help make your vacation more affordable whether in Hawaii or anywhere else for that matter.”

GP presents The Big O posted at Innstyle Montana- Come on Inn, saying, “Having an on-site greenhouse has allowed us to grow organic veggies. Fresh and frugal both”

Kelly presents I’m an idiot. posted at View Along the Way, saying, “Sometimes bargain hunting pays off. Other times…not so much!”

Kevin presents How We Saved $175 on Window Treatments posted at No Debt Plan, saying, “Window film is a cheap alternative to blinds, etc. This is a how-to article (how to install it) and shows how much money we saved, too.”

FMF presents How to Have Half a Million Dollars at Retirement by Controlling Wedding Costs posted at Free Money Finance, saying, “Save on your wedding now and have a big amount left at retirement.”

ChristianPF presents How to watch HD TV on your computer posted at Money in the Bible | Christian Personal Finance Blog, saying, “A quick how-to of how I turned my PC into my HDTV for under $70.”

Jim presents Consider Generic Drugs Instead of Brand Name posted at Daily Money Hack.

Kyle presents Broke? Bad Credit? Yes It Is Your Fault! posted at Amateur Asset Allocator.

Penelope Pince presents 7 Cost-Cutting and Safer Alternative Household Tips posted at Our Fourpence Worth, saying, “A few tips for saving money around the house by using alternatives for cleaning and home decorating.”

Dorian Wales presents How to Successfully Navigate Your Way through Home Renovations: 10 Practical Tips posted at Personal Financier, saying, “Renovating can be a nightmare. My personal experience has taught me these tips for navigating through it successfuly.”

Fitz Villafuerte presents Little Known Ways To Save Money When Eating Out posted at Ready To Be Rich, saying, “A fresh look on how to save money when eating out with colleagues and friends.”

savingadvice presents Free (Or Nearly Free) Entertainment For Every Week of the Year posted at SavingAdvice.com Blog, saying, “Something frugal to do every single week of the year”

MoneyNing presents Combine Forces and Buy in Bulk posted at Money Ning, saying, “Sometimes you can still buy in bulk even if you can’t use it all! Share the load and save more money!”

Pinyo presents CVS, ExtraCare Rewards, and Store Brand posted at Moolanomy. Nice post by Pinyo detailing some savings he is getting from CVS. I gotta agree with your wife on the diaper thing, we are big Pampers fans around here as well. They seem to be able to hold a ton of “stuff”, if you catch my drift….

Four Pillars presents Emergency Funds and Tax-Free Savings Account posted at Quest For Four Pillars.

vh presents Twelve Ways to Save Money on Your Dog posted at Funny about Money. As an owner of a couple dogs I found these tips very helpful.

Margaret presents An Argument For VHS posted at You Might As Well Burn $5!. Margaret makes a strong argument for VHS movies and the good ol’ VCR. I agree that buying DVD’s for $15 and watching it once is a bad move.

Lightening presents Are You A Tightwad???? posted at Lightening Online, saying, “What sort of image does the word “tightwad” conjure up in your mind? Do you have a prefered title for being “frugal”? We’ve been having an interesting discussion on that very topic. This is the first in a series of discussion posts surrounding The Complete Tightwad Gazette.”

Trent presents Inspired By Carrie, Our Experiments in Disposable Diapering posted at The Simple Dollar. Good post for parents considering using cloth diapers. My wife and I used cloth on our first child but found it was to much work with our second baby.

paidtwice presents The Tailor ~ A Frugal Unskilled Person’s Best Friend posted at I’ve Paid For This Twice Already…. This is something I never considered, but she says “find a good tailor, and use them instead of replacing clothing if you can.” Interesting post.

Aryn presents My $14 Kitchen Makeover posted at Sound Money Matters, saying, “Now that I’ve “remodeled” my kitchen to add more space, food prep is much, much easier.”

Livingalmostlarge presents Downgrading your lifestyle? posted at LivingAlmostLarge, saying, “Is it so easy to downgrade from a lifestyle you’ve become used to?”

Steward presents Money Poetry – How I Lost Hundreds By Being a Scaredy Cat posted at My Family’s Money, saying, “How being too tight fisted can loose you money”

Raymond presents Always Pay By Credit Card To Protect Against Airline Bankruptcy Loss posted at Money Blue Book.

Heather Johnson presents 12 Tips for Saving Money in College posted at Clever Dude.

The Financial Blogger presents 8 Easy Ways To Spend Less posted at The Financial Blogger, saying, “As the North America population is buried by debts, I thought I would give simple advices on how to stop dollars bleeding away from your wallet.”

NtJS presents How To: Water Your Garden For Free posted at not the jet set, saying, “Drought-prone area? City water shortages? Tired of paying to water your lawn and garden, just to douse it in chlorine and other junk from the city? Fear not. The answer is above you.”

MoneyKing (Tim) presents $5 Sandwiches At Subway—How You’re Finally Getting Some Respect. posted at The Money Kings – RULE your money at home, at work, and at play!, saying, “The real reason why we’re hating Subway today deals not with the $5 foot long sandwich promotion. The real reason why we’re hating Subway today is because Subway’s been ripping us off for a while, and not many people seem to care.”

P. Sycamore presents The Joy (and Savings) of Homemade Bread posted at She Laughs at the Days to Come.

Seb presents Budgeting for everyday people posted at Pinching Copper, saying, “Let’s face it, making a budget and sticking to it is hard work. After all, keeping a constant eye on your spending habits can be nerve racking and stressful. But, if you decide to plan out a budget, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel: savings.”

Stephanie presents Yard Sale Shopping posted at Stop the Ride!, saying, “Get ready for yard sale season!”

Jeremy Zongker presents All I Really Needed to Know About Managing Money I Learned From Music posted at Destroy Debt.

Amy Hobbs presents Dinner and Lunch for Two for $2.89 posted at My Daily Dollars, saying, “A story about a great, inexpensive meal!”

Will presents Frugality Is Often Plain Old Common Sense posted at Your Finish Rich Plan, saying, “Inspired by SavingAdvice.com’s post “Free (Or Nearly Free) Entertainment For Every Week of the Year”

Ryan Suenaga presents Hunting for Discounts: Other Online Offers posted at Uncommon Cents. Nice post about finding deals and coupons when shopping online. Ryan gives some great tips on where to look.

Bryce presents Free Is Almost Never Free posted at Save and Conquer, saying, “Free is one of the the biggest enticements there is. It is pretty common to hear, “And free with your order…”"

Jason Isbell presents New High Efficiency Front Loading Washer and Dryer | Tired Garden posted at Tired Garden.

GBlogger presents Frugality King: Living in San Francisco On $14,600 AGI A Year posted at CAN I GET RICH ON A SALARY, saying, “The story of a motivated gentleman who manages to live in an expensive area of the country on very little income”

Sarah presents Tips To Save Money On Vacations posted at Tips To Save Money. Learn To Be Frugal, saying, “The Sexy Secretary presents her top tips for planning a great, cheap vacation.”

CindyS presents Containers for Vegetables | Oh My Aching Debts posted at Oh My Aching Debts, saying, “Growing your own food defines frugality for me. It is better quality than what you can buy and less expensive. It enriches your life in so many ways.”

Frugal Babe presents Is There Anything You Can’t Do With Caulk? posted at FrugalBabe.

hank presents Jump Start Your Frugality | My Investing Blog posted at My Investing Blog.

The Happy Rock presents Don’t Let Verizon Wireless Take Your Money When Canceling Service posted at The Happy Rock.

The Dough Roller presents 20 Inexpensive Ways to Lower Your Utility Bills posted at The Dough Roller, saying, “Here are 20 easy ways to lower your utility bills.”

Jim presents Cut Just One Cup a Week posted at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity.

Andy presents Forced Frugality posted at Tight Fisted Miser.

Jeremy Zongker presents Are Low Interest Credit Cards Really a Good Deal? posted at Creditor Web.

Mark Runta presents The Magic of Marketing posted at Smart Investing & Money Management, saying, “Save money by not falling for these marketing gimmicks!”

Joe Manausa presents Selling Your Home – Single Most Import Fact You Must Know posted at Tallahassee Real Estate Blog, saying, “If you are thinking about selling your Tallahassee home, I would encourage you to understand how your home value is determined in the Tallahassee real estate market. It is not enough to worry about advertising and marketing coverage, as your valuation is the most important issue for you before you enter the market.”

Ted Reimers presents Renting Textbooks posted at CampusGrotto.

BeThisWay presents Self Storage Part 1 – When Paying to Store Your Stuff Is a Good Idea « Are You Going To Be This Way The Rest of The Time I Know You? posted at Are You Going To Be This Way The Rest of The Time I Know You?, saying, “Part 1 of a three part series on Self-Storage”

Mr Credit Card presents 10 Ways to Reduce Spending (Ask Mr Credit Card’s Blog) posted at Ask Mr Credit Card’s Blog.

Meg presents Frugal healthcare. . . . posted at Finally Frugal, saying, “7 ways to save money on health insurance.”

Peter presents Buying a new house is not cheap: Expenses not to forget when buying a new house posted at Bible Money Matters, saying, “Buying a new house isn’t cheap. Here’s a quick look at some of the expenses you can expect to have at the closing.”

New Old-Fashioned Gal presents Why Did I Start This Consumption “Diet”? posted at Diary of a New Old-Fashioned Gal, saying, “My thoughts after 60 days of no consumer spending.”

Shanti presents The Power of Snowflakes posted at Antishay Ventenne, talking about “how living frugally and snowflaking extra money can help you achieve your financial goals.” Ain’t that the truth, nice post!

Finance Girl presents A Guilt-Free Way to Reduce the Gift Budget and Snowflake the Difference posted at Finance Gets Personal.

Terry presents The Birth of Frugality posted at Savvy Frugality.

Fabulously Broke presents True Cost of Watching & Owning a TV posted at Fabulously Broke in the City , talking about what she has saved from not watching TV (a lifetime calculation).

Andy presents 5 Useful Money Formulas posted at Saving to Invest. 5 quick formulas to help you answer some common money and investing related questions.

Financial Learn presents Frugal Tip of the Day: Dress for Success for Less posted at Financial Learn.

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of festival of frugality using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

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How Much Food Do You Throw Away?

April 10, 2008 · Filed Under · 8 Comments 

I stumbled across an article from the Daily Mail UK titled, ‘Families throw away around one third of all the food they buy (including 4.4 million apples every day)‘. How about them apples? WOW! According to the article, that comes out to 6.7 million tons of food that goes in the trash every year in the UK! This translates into approximately 6 billion U.S. dollars per year. Unfortunately, I could not find actual stats for the United States, but I would guess it is very similar.

food.jpg

The amount of food that is thrown away is such a HUGE waste of money and resources. Money that could be used to actually improve our lives, and the lives of our children. I’d say the percentage of food that goes wasted in our house is less than 5%. Not hard, I think you just have to do the following:

  • Only buy what you can conceivable use and eat. What a novel idea!! Also, don’t buy extra food just because it is on sale if you are not sure if you will get around to eating it.
  • Be Careful at Costco! Will you end up throwing way that huge tub of mayo?
  • Use your freezer. We put bread in the freezer to make sure it keeps longer.
  • Pack Your Lunch with Leftovers.
  • Have a “Best Of” night every 3rd night and eat leftovers for dinner. If we BBQ’d a tri-tip every Monday night and we had tri-tip sandwiches every Tuesday night I would be the happiest and fattest man alive!

What tips do you have on reducing food waste? I look forward to reading your comments!

Top 10 Reasons Men Prefer To Shop Online

April 8, 2008 · Filed Under , · 3 Comments 

menshop.jpgThe majority of my site users (around 60%) and blog commenter’s are from women. But I often get emails from men who like my online coupons and love the conveniences of shopping online. I just got one the other day that read like this:

Stumbled across your coupon site a couple months ago and I must say that it has saved me quite a bit of money. As a single father with 2 kids I just don’t have a lot of opportunities to shop for clothes, gifts, etc. and so I can shop online at night when kids are sleeping and score a great deal.

This comment could have come from a woman just as easily. But I think, from personal experience, that men are more likely to shop online because they can sit at the computer with a cold one, read some reviews, do some price comparisons, find a coupon and buy that digital camera, or whatever it may be, without all the frills, lines, and crappy music blaring. Most men are hard wired to dislike shopping, and often try to get it done as quickly as possible. With that in mind, I present the ‘Top 10 Reasons Men Prefer to Shop Online’:

  1. Never have to sit with the other men outside the changing room.
  2. Nobody telling you to “try this one on” or “hey, honey, how about these boxers.”
  3. Can spend as much time as you want reading reviews about the newest Ping golf clubs.
  4. No kids in your ear, asking for 23rd time, “When are we going home?”
  5. No driving. Gas gauge in the car is still on ‘F’.
  6. You can talk yourself out of buying stuff (or vice versa) without people staring at you!
  7. No walking, no standing, no talking, no listening, no crying, no whining, no dirty bathrooms, no parking lots, no crowded checkout lines.
  8. Men feel empowered when shopping online. The facts are all right there in front of them on the computer screen.
  9. No bad shopping mall music. Can listen to your itunes library while shopping online.
  10. The ‘No Shoes, No Shirt, No Service’ policy does not exist online. I often shop in boxers and a t-shirt late at night. Heck, shop naked if you want!!

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