Fabulous Financials

I received a book, titled “Good Deals & Smart Steals” written by the experts of Good Housekeeping Research Institute. The back cover summarizes the book as follows:

“Whether you want to cut back on expenses or simply love a great bargain, Good Deals & Smart Steals will show you how to get what you want for less – without sacrificing quality. Reap big rewards while living well with hundreds of money saving tips…”

The book is meant to be a guide that shows you “how to save money on everything” and targeted to consumers who are on a tight budget, want to cut back on expenses, or those who simply love a bargain. I’m a snug fit into the latter group so I decided to give it a look-see. As a savvy bargain shopper, I didn’t find anything earth-shattering or new, but I did tab a few pages of interesting tidbits to share.  From the people at Good Housekeeping, here are a few shopping strategies:

Stacking

Get a lower price buy combining coupons, rebates, sales, and other discounts at the same time. For ex: join the store’s mailer list to receive coupons, shop on ‘one day only’ sales, research to see if the item has a rebate, then use a cash back credit card or website (ebates.com), and save on shipping by ordering online and shipping to the store.

Retail Store Shopping Tips

• Find deals with an online shopper that shops over 250 designers/stores for you.  You can tailor the search to your preference of item(s), store, brand name, size, price, % off, etc. and receive email alerts (daily or weekly) when the “shopper” finds items that meet your criteria. I use this site and I love it, so email me for a referral link.
• Always review the clearance page of your favorite online retailers.
• Always ask for a price adjustment if the price changes a few days later.
• Find bargains with pricegrabber.com and nexttag.com - both offers coupons, rebates, email price alerts, and price histories to show you how much the item has been discounted already.

Online Shopping

• Pay with a credit card. Your debit card doesn’t protect you if the website goes under. With a cc, you may get your money back.
• Only shop at secure sites. Look for the locked padlock.
• Always do a Google search when something needs repair or isn’t working properly. You may be able to fix it yourself or find that a small piece needs replacing, rather than the entire item.

Bargain Shopping

• Buy cleaning supplies and package goods from dollar stores. Their low operating costs and shelves filled with overstocked items keep prices low:
  • dollargeneral.com
  • dollartree.com
  • familydollar.com
• Don’t forget the $1 spot at Target. The items are changed every 6-8 weeks, so keep an eye out.
• When shopping wholesale, buy in bulk with a friend.
• Shop yard sales and flea markets early in the morning before items are picked over or late in the day when prices have dropped. Search for off season items.
• Get rid of things you don’t want or get things you need at these places:
  • Freecylce.org
  • Earth911.org

Shopping at Auctions

• Items to be cautious about when buying from an online auction:
  • Makeup - bacteria
  • Designer bags – not the real thing
  • Cribs and bike helmets – safety issues
  • Laptops – prices already low
  • DVD players and other electronics – may not work
• Federal government agencies auction seized items:
  • pages.ebay.com/promo/ups.html
  • ustreas.gov/auctions
  • usdoj.gov/marshals
  • usa.gov/shopping

Good Deals Around the House

• Compact fluorescent bulbs are more expensive but they last 10x longer and are 4x more efficient than regular incandescent bulbs.
• Buy carpet remnants and have them bound to make your own area rug.
• Check out government auctions for seized or abandoned furniture at government-auctions-guide.com
• Buy quality furniture that will last, it’s less expensive in the long run.
• If the item you want has a scratch or small imperfection, always ask for a discount.
• Free furniture can be found on freecylce.com or craigslist.org.
• When shopping for bed linens, don’t spend a lot on high thread count, the type of cotton used is more important than thread count: better cottons are Egyptian, supima, and pima – all are good quality and will last.
• Never buy a used mattress, you don’t know the quality you are getting.
• The best all purpose cleaner to clean stains, scuffs and surfaces: baking soda.
• Ask your electric/gas company for an energy audit, often for free. Your carrier can check seals around doors and windows, inspect appliances, and let you know what can be fixed to save on utility.
• Ask your water company for a free water use audit to help detect leaks.
• Use a caulk gun to fill cracks and gaps around your house.

Caring for Pets

• Never miss a wellness pet check up – preventative care saves money.
• Visit pets911.com to find a clinic that may be cheaper than a vet.
• Other cost savings topics are where to buy pet Rx, when to get pet insurance, types of pet food, and when/where to buy pet toys.

Big Ticket Items

• When to repair or replace appliances? When the estimated repair bill is 40-50% the cost of buying a new one, including delivery and installation.
• When buying a new washing machine, stick to white. The fancy color adds to the price, not the quality. Front load uses less water, detergent, and energy than top load washers. If buying a top load, search for one without an agitator because they use less water and less detergent.
• When buying a new dryer, stick to the basics. The bells and whistles don’t add much to the drying quality. Always use the auto drying option.
• Shop for TVs in the spring and buy last year’s model on sale before the new ones begin to fill the shelves. Don’t pay for fancy features if you don’t plan to use them (i.e. surround sound, built in dvd, etc.).
• Other tips include buying DVD players, stereo receivers and mp3 players, as well as computers and printers. Did you know laptops use less power than desktops?
• How to dispose of old computers:
  • Trade it in for a new one: dell, hp, and gateway has a trade option
  • Recycle it, dell or hp will come to your house to get it
  • Sell it, computer stores buy old computers
  • Donate it to charity

Food

• Save Money:
  • Clip coupons
  • Plan your meals
  • Shop with a list
  • Become a member of your favorite store and use the savings card
• Smart Shopping:
  • Compare unit price, not just total price
  • Stock up on non-perishables when on sale
  • Buy fruits and veggies in season
  • Buy family packs of meat and separate into serving sizes
  • To help remember which products are on sale, put them together on the checkout counter so you can track the prices as they are being scanned
  • Give up bottled water, drink tap
  • Make your own tea
  • Prepare a meatless meal 1x per wk
  • Buy frozen concentrate OJ, it lasts longer than ready to serve b/c oxygen destroys the vitamin C
  • Buy frozen veggies in bag, they last longer than frozen veggies in box
• Saving When Dining Out:
  • drink tap
  • eat dessert at home
  • order an appetizer as a meal
  • order a meal and take half home for leftovers
  • buy discount certificates at restaurant.com
• The book also provides a list of budget friendly, money saving meals.

Fashion Savings Tips

• Visit unclaimedbaggage.com for a small selection of goods unclaimed at the airport.
• Shop at Plato’s Closet for your teen, they specialize in gently used trendy brands.
• Shop at salvation army, goodwill, and consignment shops to find nice clothes at a fraction of the price. Shop during a ‘bag sale’ when you can fill an entire shopping bag for a set amount.
• Learn the delivery schedule of your favorite retailers. Shop when seasons are changing. Shop off season for boots and sandals.
• Become familiar with the price of your favorite designer, outlet stores aren’t always a good deal

Makeup

• Use a q-tip to replace fancy makeup brushes
• The book explains how to repair broken lipstick

Other Cost Saving Topics

• How to make your ell phone battery last longer
• How to get out of your cell phone contract
• How to save on Rx and insurance plans
• How to save on entertainment and holiday supplies/events

Travel

• Hotel brokers can save up to 70% - usahotelguide.com
• Hostels are an inexpensive alternative – hiusa.org
• Search the internet for bargain airefare (kayak.com), sign up for email alerts so you’ll know when a price drops (farecompare.com).
• The best time to book a flight is Wednesday at 1am. Prices rise on Friday and head down on Wednesday at midnight.
• Always check the airline website before booking on a travel search engine.
• Find cruise bargains and helpful reviews at cruiseonly.com
• Travel to Orlando in early summer when temps are still pleasant and Disney is affordable
• Take a European vacation in April, May, or Sept – nice weather, fewer tourists, and lower fares.  Plus, Europeans vacay in Aug.
• Travel to Caribbean in May, its warm, rates are cheaper than winter, hurricane season doesn’t begin until June.
• Find last minute rentals and travel deals:
  • homeaway.com
  • homeexchange.com
  • intervac.com
  • lastminuteusvacations.com
  • search classifieds
  • call a local agent
  • vrbo.com – rental by owner site helps find a vacay home or condo
  • mobissimo.com
  • sidestep.com

Save Money on Cars, you’ll find tips on…

• buying a car (new or used)
• leasing a car
• finding the cheapest gas
• service maintenance (including “winterizing” your car)
• car insurance (deductibles, when to ask for discounts, when to drop comp/collision coverage, etc.)

This book is filled with conventional savings tips and cost cutting strategies. I wouldn’t call it a ‘must have’ for your home library, but it’s worth a scan (be prepared to jot down notes) if you find it in your local library.

A few weeks ago, I received an email from a company called Nuru and they asked if I would like to try their new personal finance product.  It was described as:

Personal Finance is a deck of 30 ultra-thin, waterproof, and durable pocket-sized plastic cards that take potentially complex topics and break them down into easy, everyday language, using simple examples to make the concepts stick. Such topics include investing, loans, credit, insurance, retirement vehicles, etc.

I get marketing emails all the time and ignore about 90% of them.  The other 10%?  I may try the product, but you won’t hear a peep if I didn’t think it was blog worthy.  However, this one was different because I thought the concept was pretty cool.  Tiny cards.  Personal Finance.  Everyday language.  Examples.  Cool!  I responded to their email, they delivered, and I actually like the product!  This is the personal finance deck that now belongs to Single Ma:

It’s really a deck of cards sprinkled with personal finance information!  Isn’t that cute? LOL

Seriously, I had to spend a little time reading over each card and figuring out the purpose of this little deck.  As I read them, I was fascinated by the information.  Then it dawned on me - I must share this with my fabulous blog readers!

There is so much about personal finance I don’t know, and to be honest, the financial world can be quite intimidating.  Wouldn’t you agree?  I know most of you are saying “heck yea!”  Well guess what?  There are many personal finance topics I avoid on this blog, simply because I don’t know enough about them to speak with authority.  Imagine us, the blind leading the blind.  Not a good look!  So I don’t touch it.  Further, I don’t have the time to research advanced topics.  Besides, there are many serious personal finance bloggers that do it for us.  So I entertain you with my personal life and attempt to weasel in my financial lessons learned - then hope and pray you enjoyed what I had to say. LOL!

These little cards are exactly what regular people (read: me and you) need.  I’m not saying our personal finance IQs are going to soar, but we’ll learn a little something something.  The PF deck covers a variety of topics and really does break them down into easy, everyday language.  The topics range from the basics (definitions, credit card usage, and fixed rate vs. variable rate loans) to the more advanced (retirement planning, annuities, ins/outs of the stock market, and expense ratios).  They even address the current subprime mortgage crisis!!

I like these Nuru cards so much, I’m going to share a topic with you every Friday until I get through the entire deck. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.  If not, imagine being BabyGirl and having to read them everyday because your crazy mom gives you a personal finance quiz every Friday. HA HA HA  She’ll thank me one day.

If things work out as planned, I may have a few personal finance decks to give away for FREE.  Yea baby!  You know Single Ma likes to share the love! LOL!  UPDATE: It was just confirmed, two more free decks are being shipped to me tomorrow!  Woo-Hoo!  Thanks Luke and Brett!!

Oh, and if you’re interested, Nuru offers other topics (golf, understanding your car, interior decorating, first aid for everyday living, first aid for emergencies, exercise anywhere but the gym, etc.) and the tiny decks are available at the Nuru Shop.

Image credit: tollfreenumber.org

I had a family plan with Verizon Wireless, 1400 minutes at $99.99 per month. Using my employer discount, the final bill after taxes and fees ran about $80 something every month.

As of 19 May 2008, the 2 year contract expired on my primary line. As of 12 July 2008, the 2 year contract expired on my 2nd line. Don’t ask me why they were different. In addition to poor customer service, this is only one of the many asinine things I’ve endured since being a Verizon Wireless customer for the past 5 years. Needless to say, I’m looking for a new love.

Effective the 18th, I disconnected my 2nd line and converted to an individual plan - BabyGirl is now responsible for her own cell phone bill/usage. Verizon has an unlimited individual plan for the same amount I was paying for my family plan, but I decided to reduce the calling plan to 900 minutes for $59.99, which is a reduction of 500 minutes (BabyGirl used way more than that) and a savings of ~$30 per month. However, as a basic wireless user, I still think that’s too much.

So I did some research. I used this website to do a side-by-side comparison of the most basic individual calling plans offered by Alltel, AT&T/Cingular, Nextel, Sprint, Verizon, and T-Mobile. Using only the criterion that are important to my decision, this is what I found:

• They all have national coverage. Doesn’t matter if it isn’t reliable [-SM]
• They all offer basic services: call waiting, call forwarding, caller ID, three-way, voice mail.
• They all require 2 year agreements.
• All of their basic plans begin at $39.99.
• Alltel offers the most minutes (500) on the starter basic plan. All others are 450, except T-Mobile at only 300.
• T-Mobile is the only one to offer the “myFaves” feature, which allows you to have unlimited conversations with 5 people on ANY network for free.
• AT&T is the only one to offer rollover, which allows you to rollover unused minutes from month to month. For someone who doesn’t talk much, the rollover may come in handy during unsual months [-SM]
• With the exception of Nextel and T-Mobile, all others offer unlimited mobile-to-mobile.
• AT&T is the only one with limited nights and weekends minutes (5000). All others are unlimited.
• Night hours begin at 7pm for Nextel and Sprint. All others don’t begin until 9pm.
• Night hours end at 6am for Alltel, AT&T, and Verizon. All others end at 7am.
• Weekend hours begin on Friday 9pm for Alltel and AT&T, Friday 7pm for Nextel and Sprint, and Saturday 12am for Verizon and T-Mobile.
• Weekend hours end on Monday 6am for Alltel and AT&T, Monday 7am for Nextel and Sprint, and Sunday 11:59pm for Verizon and T-Mobile.
• Alltel charges $0.59/minute for off-network roaming. All others are free.
• Alltel has the lowest activation fee at $25. All others are $35.

Reviewing this list, the best features seem to be: Alltel offers the most minutes. T-Mobile offers unlimited convo with 5 people. AT&T offers rollover. Nextel and Sprint have night hours from 7pm to 7am and weekend hours from 7pm Friday to 7am Monday. Alltel has the lowest activation fee. Now I need to prioritize and figure out what is most important to me.

Here’s my wireless usage profile:

• I don’t have a house phone, which means I use my cell phone for everything. Aside from customer service, reliability is THE most important thing to me. Price is third, then minutes, features, and phone options last.
• I use my cell phone for personal use only.
• I use lots of minutes, but my longest conversations are with the same people. Conversations with others are usually limited to no more than 20 minutes.
• Unless I’m in transition (job change, moving, new tenants, etc.), my usage is predictable.
• I do NOT use data features (i.e. text, picture, internet, ring tones, etc.)

Based on the above, I’m leaning towards a T-Mobile “my fave” plan. If I can have unlimited conversations with five people, I’d rarely use any other minutes. As for their customer service (my #1 criteria), I had T-Mobile before I moved to the DC area and I loved them. However, I had to switch when I moved because I couldn’t get a signal (my #2 criteria) at home or work. I used to live in a rural area and worked in a restricted zone, but I’m in a completely different location now - both home and work. I wonder how reliable they are in DC.  I don’t want to make a final decision without covering all of my bases.

In YOUR experience, who is the BEST wireless service provider? And why?

My friends and I went to see Sex and the City yesterday and we had a fabulous time. The movie was followed by lunch and drinks (watermelon margaritas are tasty LOL), a trip to the mall, then a birthday party that was catered by Carlye’s. A fabulous day indeed!

For someone who has never ever watched an HBO episode, I can finally understand what all the hype was about because I absolutely loved it. I cried, laughed, cheered, AND was mesmerized by all of the fabulousness. Shoes. Handbags. Oh my! From the plot, setting, fashion, and characters - this was one of the best movies I’ve seen in a LONG time. Speaking of the characters…

[warning: possible movie spoilers to follow...]

Carrie (2nd left): she’s a writer, fashionista, and love struck puppy. She can be a little naive at times, but her 3 best friends keep her grounded and pick her up whenever she’s down. Her heart has been raked over the coals, but time and time again, she finds the strength to give love another try. She wants the Cinderella love story but soon learns that fairytales are only in books. Once she accepts this, she realizes that a pair of fabulous shoes are just what the love doctor ordered. Who knew! LOL Just kidding! She realizes what she was doing wrong all along - allowing society to dictate her actions and expectations.

Samantha (right): she’s an independent woman who defines life on her own terms. Although it would be nice to live the life that society thinks every woman should want, she’s aware of her own “needs” and refuses to settle for less. She isn’t perfect, and doesn’t claim to be, but she loves herself and all of her imperfections. She has a successful career, an amazing sense of self confidence, and knows how to make things happen. You say the word and Samantha will take care of it, so consider it done. You need something, she has the connections. You’re in a bind, she’ll help you get out of it. You want to know how to do something, she’ll find the information within minutes. She’s lovable, loyal, brutally honest, funny - and happy just the way she is.

Miranda (2nd right): she’s a superwoman - mother, wife, and successful attorney - she wears many hats and tries to carefully balance them equally. Unfortunately, she forgets that some things are a higher priority than others and requires extra attention. But because she does so much every single day, she expects her efforts to be appreciated. She’s very focused and driven, as well as methodical and logical - all good traits, but she often loses touch with the human element that makes mistakes. She can be a little stubborn at times and fails to realize that matters of the heart are more important than matters of the mind. She’s a work in progress.

Charlotte (left): she has the perfect life - perfect home, perfect husband, perfect family - everything one could possibly dream. She sees the good in all things and tries to be the voice of reason when her friends are upset, angry, frustrated, cynical, or just plain acting silly. Sometimes she goes a bit overboard and makes you wonder “what world do YOU live in?” but she does have a tiny mean streak that remains hidden until absolutely necessary. But for the most part, her life is a fairytale where everyone lives happily ever after.

My friends have pegged me as a Samantha(60)/Miranda(40) mix. Ha! I can’t even deny it! LOL

Which character(s) do you most identify with?

Do you have SATC-like girlfriends?

What do you love most about the characters?

I loved these characters so much, I wanted to buy every season of the HBO series so I can watch them from beginning to end. With a little time to spare before our lunch reservations, we went on a hunt for the DVD collection. I discovered that Best Buy had the entire collection on sale for $109.99, but I couldn’t bring myself to drop that kind of money on a TV show.

So I’ve decided to be creative and use multiple resources.

BB didn’t have the individual seasons, so we trekked to Circuit City where I found Season One on sale for $16.99. The DVD almost paid for itself because it came with a free movie ticket - valued up to $10.50 and expires June 29. Now I have a reason to see the movie again. Fabulous! LOL

I also have another girlfriend who owns a few seasons already, so I may have to “beg, borrow, and steal” Jennifer Hudson style. LOL! Hmm… Maybe if I buy her a bottle of Shiraz, we can have a pajama party and watch all of the old Sex and the City episodes together - *hint hint* Pam, I’m coming over! LOL Then whatever she doesn’t have, I’ll try to get copies from my local library.

I’ve also been told that the CW network plays reruns every weeknight at 11pm. I think TBS does the reruns every now and then as well. But if all else fails, this website has everything you need. Shhhhh, you aint heard it from me. LOL

What is your favorite SATC scene (movie or TV)?

I’m off to watch Season One on DVD.

I hope everyone is relaxing and enjoying this beautiful Sunday!

Image Credit:
[1] Socialite Life
[2] Smarter.com

*raising my hand* My name is Single Ma and I’m an internet junkie. LOL!

My laptop and I are best friends. She’s the first thing I see when I wake up in the morning and the last thing I see when I go to bed at night. I aint lying!

I use my laptop to look up the weather before deciding what to wear.

I use my laptop to track my ‘things to do’ on Google calendar.

I use my laptop to write blog posts and read your fabulous blogs.

I use my laptop for ALL of my banking needs.

I have 8 credit cards and I peak at all of their balances everyday using the Yodlee aggregator.

I login to my personal checking account at least 2x per day and my business checking once per day, peak at my saving(s) and investment balances at least once per week, confirm my 401k and Roth contributions bi-weekly, gather all financials for a net worth update at least once per month, pay bills, shop, and make manual transfers as the need arise.

I do all of these things (and more) using my laptop, which by the way, is connected to the internet 24 hours per day. My entire life would be a big free for all if I didn’t take the proper precautions to protect my computer from malicious online activity. So when I was asked to accept a courtesy copy and review the Norton 360 PC security software from symantec, I jumped at the opportunity.

Norton 360 All-In-One Security v2.0 provides a year of automated protection for up to 3 PCs and includes the following features:

• PC Security - such as antivirus, antispyware, antiphising and scans your pc for the latest threats
• PC Tuneup - automatically tune up your pc in the background
• Automatic Backup and Restore - protects your files from loss or damage
• Identity Protection - secured for online shopping and banking with features like ‘identity safe’ to manage your online identity and transaction data and ‘eavesdrop protection’ to block suspicious programs that present a threat to your identity
• Online Protection - such as firewall protection, network protection, and advanced browser protection

It took me about 15 minutes to complete the installation and setup. Afterwards, I was able to create a Norton account. So if I ever lose my product key or want to download the latest software updates, I can login with my email/password and it will recognize my usage history.

After everything was setup, this is (sorta) what the main screen looks like…

It’s a status of all the primary features: PC Security, Identity Protection, Backup, and PC Tuneup. It’s a pretty simple report. Green means everything is protected and good to go. Yellow is a warning for your attention. The software will provide an explanation with a link if you want to take action. As you can see, I need to configure my backup files. And finally, red means there’s a threat with specific instructions for immediate action. Can’t get any easier than that.

There are also links across the top for tasks, settings, my account, product feedback, and help/support. Self explanatory. But the small ‘my network’ link in the bottom left hand corner helps you configure your wireless network. It will tell you if your network is secure, and if not, how many other computers are connected to it AND the IP address for each computer. Don’t ask me how I know. Learn something new everyday. LOL!

It also allows you to monitor the status of your network remotely. And the best thing about the network feature is that you can protect your computer from threats even when you’re on an unsecured public wireless network - you know, like Starbucks, a hotel lobby, or a bootleg connection from your neighbor. LOL! All you have to do is select the ‘trust control’ function to restrict the questionable computers OR restrict the entire network. One click and you’re done.

Either I’m a serious novice or I’m easily fascinated by the smallest things. Somehow, I think it might be both. LOL Good thing I have another 300+ days to play around with it.

Now I’m curious. What are YOU using for PC protection?

If you’re interested in Norton 360, leave a comment (one time please) and I’ll select ONE person (US only) to receive the extra copy pictured above.

ETA: Sorry, I forgot to tell you all. Norton 360 only works on PCs. I’m not sure when the MAC version will be available.

Also, I’ll leave the comments open through midnight on Sunday and use the random number generator to select a winner on Monday.