I was considering giving myself a haircut – if I botched it my pesky spending moratorium nixes a quick fix at the salon – but the challenge has been put off until August. My video producer (yes, I was going to make a video of the ordeal) is on vacation.
But it got me thinking, when is Doing-It-Yourself in the name of saving money a really awful idea? A countdown.
10. Cutting your own hair. The opportunities for disaster are as thick as my hair. Not that this is going to deter me. Hair grows back!
9. Butchering your own (wild) animal. I heard on NPR that a grown buck is worth hundreds of dollars!
8. Using bug spray with abandon. One man blew up his home this way.
7. Making your own clothes. Fixing buttons and socks, sure, but princess seams?
6. Car repair beyond the basics. Your safety is important, yo.
5. Trying a bold new hair color at home. You pay your stylist for their skills and a second opinion.
4. Electrical work. There are reasons why electrical work requires licensed professionals and permits. Reasons like fires and explosions.
3. Making your own fireworks display. This is sure to get you a Darwin award.
2. Repairing your microwave. The cost of new parts will likely cost more than buying a new one, and fixing the broken involves handling very dangerous parts.
And the No. 1 activity that is a stupid way to save money is…
1. Nipple piercing. One hapless gal from “Lower Indiana” tried this at home and concludes “I still have trouble believing how tough the skin was to pierce.” Ouch.
What’s the stupidest thing you’ve done to save money?
This is a guest post from BargainBabe.com’s intern, Alex.
Military spending may seem like far-off dollars that will never see your pocket, but military-based discounts are everywhere. They just aren’t usually displayed in storefront windows.
As a dependent of my dad who retired from the air force, I received tons of discounts all throughout high school and college on stuff like movie tickets, flowers, and hotel reservations. The only time I had to step foot on a military base was to get my military ID card, a process which can take a couple hours but is well worth it.
Sometimes the hardest part is just remembering to ask about these discounts. Who would have thought I would save 15 percent on my lift ticket and ski rental last winter? Oh, and not just for me, but my two friends as well. If you know somebody with a military ID, be sure to remind them of possible discounts.
And flowers! Are flowers expensive or what? I was able to get a discount on Valentine’s Day flowers online because I have a friend in the active military. I showed him Military.com, a site that lists companies with military discounts, and he hooked me up with some of the exclusive coupon codes.
Some places are a little less accommodating. They have strict rules about offering their discounts only to those serving active duty, meaning nobody who is retired or simply has a parent in the military is eligible. Should you try to get your discount anyway? Knowing you’re not active military that’s up to the individual. The average behind-the-counter-guy/girl is not going to be up to speed on the differences between military ID cards, but that may change. Knowledge is power I say, use it with everyone in mind.
The savings don’t stop at the storefronts, though. I was once pulled over for an illegal U-Turn as well as impeding traffic. The cop started writing me up before he noticed the military ID in my wallet as I showed him my driver’s license.
He still wrote me up for a basic traffic violation, but made it clear that he could have done worse. Did he hold off because of the military affiliation? Maybe. Something tells me picking up that military ID card on the base was worth the time. It expired years ago, but still comes in handy.
Check this eHow page to see if your relationship to somebody in the military makes you qualified for special discounts.
Check out the Frugal Fe$tival blog for three updates on how you can recycle ink cartridges and cell phones to benefit a charity, donate a loudspeaker or large beverage cooler to earn my ever lasting adoration, and win a new raffle prize!
If you are coming to the Fe$tival on July 26 from 1-4 p.m. in Woodley Park, please RSVP.
Get a free Tea Freddo at Peet’s Coffee this Friday, July 10 from 2-3 p.m. only. Print the coupon here. Tea Freddo is a new drink that combines iced tea with fruit juice and ice. It comes in two flavors, mango and berry pomegranate. Sounds tasty!
Caveats: the freebie is an 8 ounce serving. One per customer. Must show up with the coupon at the appointed time.
Find a Peet’s near you.
This is a guest post from a longtime BargainBabe.com reader who works as a dealer in a casino and has been to Sin City more than 72 times. Interested in writing a guest post? Email me.
Even when the economy is as poor as it is right now, people want and need to escape from the daily grind from time-to-time. A favorite destination for many is the glitzy city of Las Vegas. I am no stranger to the city having been there scores of times traveling with friends or alone, and on business or just for pleasure. Whether you’re a Las Vegas veteran or a first-timer, a gambler or non-gambler, I have some tips that should make your next stay in Las Vegas a lot more rewarding and save you money.
TIP 1–Once you’ve made up your mind that you’re going to spend a little time in Las Vegas, the very first thing you should do is to get an annual membership with the Las Vegas Advisor. For as little as $37, you can get a 1-year online membership to this wonderful and vastly knowledgeable publication and get the latest inside scoop on what’s happening in Vegas. The best part of the membership is the Member Rewards coupon book. That’s right, coupons for Las Vegas.
Most people don’t think of using coupons beyond the grocery store. Time to think differently. The coupons in this book aren’t cheesy. It is loaded with food freebies, souvenir freebies, match plays, free slot plays, BOGO buffets, BOGO hotel stays, BOGO show tickets and a whole lot more. Even if you end up only using a fraction of the coupons, you’ll save hundreds of dollars and you can also win hundreds of dollars if you get lucky using the match play coupons. Coupons for gambling? What will they think of next?
The other publication worthy of investing is the American Casino Guide, published annually. Not only does the book contain a generous section of Las Vegas coupons, but it also provides a lot of interesting reading about all the other casinos across the country. The book has a retail price of $18.95, but I got my 2009 edition through eBay for about a third of that cost. I highly recommend getting this book too and using it in conjunction with the Member Rewards book. Just for the record, you might be able to get a Member Rewards coupon book on eBay too and save some money. But I like having the online membership because it updates the changing face of Vegas every month, saves me time searching for the best deals and the best places to play and you can get special online coupons as well.
*IMPORTANT NOTE–Do not tear out any of the coupons you intend to use out of the book until you are ready to use them and only in front of the casino employee. If you try handing them just the coupon without showing them the book it came from, most likely, they’ll refuse to honor it.
TIP 2–If you followed my advice on step 1, now you’re invested. Now you need to figure out when to go. Generally speaking, you’ll find the best hotel rates during June – September when it’s Africa-hot out there and December – February when the outside temps lick your skin at around the 40′s and low 50′s. From my point of view, if your plan is to stay inside the hotels at least 90 percent of the time, anytime of the year is a good time to go to Las Vegas. You should definitely avoid going during national holidays especially New Years. Not only does the price of a room increase by 5x, but everything else increases too. Buffets and restaurants cost more, shows will cost more and gambling will cost more because the properties increase the minimum allowed bets on all their tables. Also, avoid going to Vegas on the weekends if at all possible. Even on non-holidays, weekend prices are about 1.5x to 2x higher than on the weekdays. To get the best hotel rates, you need to stay anywhere from Sunday – Thursday.
TIP 3 –Once you’ve decided when you want to go, you must decide where you want to stay. To get the best rates on hotel rooms, don’t be dead set on staying right on The Strip in a brand new megaresort. Be open to staying off-strip or downtown Las Vegas. The older and smaller hotels must be a lot more aggressive in their campaign to draw in visitors and the best way to do that is by lowering prices on rooms, food and offering discounted show tickets. If you’ve been to Las Vegas many times already like I have, staying in a smaller hotel out of the way is no big deal. After all, you only need the room to put your stuff in, shower and sleep. The majority of the time, you’ll be out and about hopefully having the time of your life.
However, if this is your very first time out to Las Vegas, the added value of staying at Strip hotel is incalculable. You just have to decide what is a good value for a room per night. For some people, $100 may be most they are willing to pay per night. For others, $50 may be the most they are willing to spend. I’m spoiled. I have received many comped room offers that I don’t like paying any amount for a Vegas hotel any longer. But when a comp offer isn’t extended, I try to find the best deals in town.
So far, I have been to Las Vegas three times in 2009 already and plan to go a fourth time mid-December. The first time I went, I used the BOGO coupon for the El Cortez in downtown Las Vegas, and my hotel bill only came out to $33.00. This was for two nights. My second trip, I booked two nights online through a discount travel company promising $20 per night at the Wild Wild West located about 1-mile off-strip on Tropicana Blvd. My total bill for two nights came to $54.40 because the hotel still added basic room fees which I thought was a rip. I won’t be using a travel service or staying at the Wild Wild West again.
On my latest trip to Vegas, I stayed at the fabulous Mirage which is located smack dab in the middle of the Las Vegas Strip. I stayed for 3-nights, and when I checked out 3-days later, my total bill for the room was $0.00! How is this possible? I think the current state of our economy has a lot to do with it. Hotel reservations in Las Vegas are at an all-time low right now as more and more people choose to curtail their traveling expenses. Therefore, hotels are lowering rates and offering deals to entice customers to come out.
TIP 4–Once you have determined when you’re going and where you’ll be staying, it’s time to make your reservation. Whether you’re traveling alone or going as a couple, I always request a non-smoking room with two queen beds as opposed to a room with only one king-size bed. And, I always tell them that there will be two adults even if I plan to travel alone since the room is the same price for one or two persons. This way, if a friend or two decides to join me, they’ll have a bed all to themselves. (more…)
Yesterday I spoke to the guy who writes AskMrCreditCard.com about cutting our grocery bills, buying premium gas, and splurging. In case you missed it you can listen here.
One idea Mr. Credit Card shared (he doesn’t use his real name on his site) was to make a grocery list for your wardrobe. He thinks his wife would buy fewer clothes if she stuck to her list. Hehehe. Not a bad idea.
I talked most of the show but I made sure to ask Mr. Credit Card for his best credit card tip. Here’s what he said.
Unless you travel frequently for work and your company lets you put the airline miles on your personal credit card, get a cash back credit card. “Some pay more than 1 percent for gas or groceries,” he said. Last year his credit card sent him a check for $400.
Some credit card companies have formed partnerships with online merchants that can earn you automatic rebates – if you know about it. Instead of going directly to a retailer, say LandsEnd.com, and buying clothes, you log into your credit card account and use their shopping portal to get to LandsEnd.com. Many credit card companies have these type of shopping portals (also known as affiliate marketing agreements) that give shoppers who make purchases with their card rebates of up to 25 percent.
“If you’re not making use of these cash rebate cards or online shopping rewards you’re really leaving a lot of money on the table,” Mr. Credit Card said.
There are so many ways to save online it can get a bit overwhelming. Below I break it into four steps to minimize frustration and maximize the available online shopping discounts.
1. Compare prices. Start the buying process by getting an idea of what a “good” price is for the item you want. Check out PriceSpider.com (click on an item to see its price over the past 6 months or sign up for an email alert when prices drop), DealAlerter.com (similar to PriceSpider, powered by PriceGrabber.com), and Nextag (general price comparison from various retailers)
2. Search for coupon codes. Quickly check for coupon codes at RetailMeNot.com, SlickDeals.net, and FatWallet.com. It’s also a good idea to search Google for “product + coupon codes” or “product + promo code.” If there aren’t ANY coupon codes, sign up for the email list of the retailer you are going to buy from. Newbies often get a welcome discount.
3. Make sure to get an automatic rebate. There are three major sites that give shoppers an automatic cash rebate for shopping “through” their sites: eBates.com, Cashbaq.com and Extrabux.com. Each one requires you register on their site and they all have different deals with each retailer. So the percentage cash back you get can vary from 1% to 50%. Before you buy, log-in at one of the rebate sites and click through to the retailer from their site. They track your purchase and later send you a check. Note, the delay can be as long as 3 months.
4. Check for a free shipping code. FreeShipping.org is my favorite place to check for free shipping codes. Also check ShipGooder.com to compare which shipping method is cheapest.
Borders Rewards members get 20% off the list price of any item in the store, with some caveats. Print the coupon here. Ends Wednesday July 8, 2009.
Get 20% off all red-dot and clearance items at Stein Mart July 7 and 8, 2009. Details here.
Get 25 percent off almost everything in the store at the Container Store now through July 12, 2009. Must print the coupon to get the discount.
Select swimsuits are 50% off at Fashion Bug through July 14, 2009. In store and online. Sale details here.
Get an extra 30% off clearance shoes at DSW online only with code SUMMER7. Good through July 9, 2009.
The coupons I purchased from TheCouponMaster.com arrived yesterday in the mail, sorted neatly with a receipt for $3.95 ($3.01 worth of coupons plus a $.94 shipping fee). But now that I’m on a spending moratorium I’m not sure if I can use them. In fact, I’m pretty sure I cannot use them.
The problem is 22 of 31 coupons I purchased expire in July. $*%&#!
My spending moratorium puts the kabash on spending money on anything but groceries, basics like rent and utilities, and business expenses.
Three of the coupons are for a legitimate grocery item (ice cream), but the others are all for toiletries, which I often buy at the grocery store on sale but they are not truly grocery items.
My plan – before the moratorium – was to use the coupons at Target, which has really good prices on toiletries. Now I’m stuck between a rock and this friggin’ moratorium, which, until now, I have had no trouble observing!
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Check out Southwest’s massive fare sale. One way fares are $30 if you travel up to 400 miles, $60 for up to 750 miles and $90 for more than 750 miles. Fares are only this low for 48 hours – and many of the best flights are going quick!
Caveats: you must purchase the tickets on southwest.com or swabiz.com. Sale ends July 8, 2009, 11:59 p.m. P.S.T. You must travel September 9 through November 18, 2009. Travel valid every day except Fridays & Sundays.
Visit Blog Talk Radio to join me and Mr. Credit Card for an hour-long chat about personal finance tomorrow, July 7, at 10:30 a.m. PST!
You can also catch me every Tuesday night on Radio Talk One with Marc Germain. He usually has me on about 9:30 or 9:45 p.m. PST to talk about the latest deals.
USA Weekend had a great round up of tips to save money on summer activities. Here are the best of ‘em.
- Monitor flight prices by setting up an email alert on FareCompare.com.
- Save gas and time by getting an automatic toll pass such as E-ZPass, FasTrak or SunPass (the last of which you can buy pre-paid at grocery stores in Florida).
- Join the free loyalty programs at your local movie theater. AMC’s MovieWatcher and the Regal Cinemas Regal Crown Club both have good perks.
- Find the best price for summer theater at SeatKarma.com, which monitors prices from more than 200 ticket brokers.
- Make your own fast food to avoid pricey take out. Make mini-pizzas by topping flatbread, bagels, or English muffins with tomato sauce and cheese. Make bean and cheese burritos in advance, wrap tightly and freeze for a microwave-ready bite.
- Look for discount tickets to baseball games and bring your own food as much as is allowed.
Thanks, Meital!
Bargaineering has a sane guide to surviving unemployment.
Fabulous and Frugal shares tips to make the most of sample sales.
Free From Broke argues that the skyrocking savings rate is a good thing. (He would love my spending moratorium!)
* Free Money Finance has a guest post about the cost of pride and prejudice.
Mighty Bargain Hunter shares a great resource – a nationwide listing of 100+ discount grocers!
Love the 10 tips in Recession Wire’s post Love in the Time of Layoff: First Money, Then Love
* If you can only read one.
There are two new posts on the Frugal Fe$tival blog you’ll want to check out. First is about an awesome new sponsor that just signed on – the 99 Cent Only Stores. Woot woot!
Secondly, one *very* lucky person who attends Frugal Fe$tival will go home with a $100 cash prize. Find out that can be you.
A friend of mine got laid off just as a new report found 467,000 people got pink slips last month. That puts our national unemployment rate at 9.5 percent, a 26-year high. I talked to my friend Leah, an engineer in Los Angeles, about filing for unemployment, coping with unexpected emotions, and visiting Yosemite. Disclosure: I changed her name to protect her privacy.
What was your initial reaction when your boss told you you were getting laid off?
I sat there for a full minute, quiet, with all these things going through my head…I felt shocked and angry and betrayed and then just confused. I think I finally said “I don’t understand.”
What didn’t you understand?
I didn’t understand why because to everyone’s knowledge in the office we were safe. We had plenty of work. But I found out (in my bosses office) that a big project or two had just recently gone on hold indefinitely. Which totally messed up everything. So they had to make some changes.
Have you ever been laid off before?
No.
How are you coping, two weeks after?
Now I feel fine, comfortable. The first three days were tough. I felt sad but I felt relieved.
Why were you relieved?
In a way I had been somewhat frustrated with the way things were going at the office, personnel-wise, project-wise, and I had had some thoughts about doing something different. But no specific thoughts. I wasn’t searching for anything. The relief was now I can think about these other things in more detail.
Did you see it coming?
I remember about two or three weeks before I got laid off that 25 people in a company in San Francisco that was one of our clients got laid off. I remember being surprised, thinking “Wow I really can’t take this all for granted anymore. I don’t think it really sank in because one of those emotions that went through my head, that still does, is that I felt really foolish thinking that my history with the company and the fact that my project was strong was keeping me safe. My project still is going. It has a source of funding. I felt foolish for linking those things. I took it for granted even after telling myself that I shouldn’t.
How prepared financially were you for something like this?
I have some savings that could probably get me through a couple months so I’m not panicking yet.
Financially, have you done anything different since getting laid off?
I’ve been eating out less, drinking less, making choices that I don’t have to spend as much money. Looking back on my expenses, at least 50 percent were eating out.
Are you cutting out a few things entirely or making reductions across the board?
I will probably cut down across the board and not on anyone thing. I’ll put off big purchases that I otherwise would have gone ahead and done. For example I want a new pair of running shoes. But that’s like $100 give or take so when I got laid off, I said I can live without a new pair of running shoes.
Has your attitude about the recession changed since getting laid off?
I’m definitely more interested in unemployment benefits news and economic stimulus package news because now it actually does affect me or could affect me. I never really paid attention to that before, not for lack of interest but for lack of time.
What are you most concerned about?
To be honest I haven’t started to think very far in the future yet because I am really relived to just be able to live in the moment and relax. It’s summer and I know that I have a little bit of a cushion to take a month to just breathe.
What are you least concerned about?
I’m actually not real concerned about not ever being able to get another job because I feel the market will improve, it may just be a matter of time. I have certain knowledge and strengths and excellent referrals. My bosses have said they would be more than happy to help me out with any references. We left on very good friendly terms.
Do you still have health care?
Yes I got a severance package through the end of July and then I have to figure out COBRA.
What is your plan for the next 6 months?
I haven’t thought more than a month and a half out. I’ve got two weeks until a triathlon race and then I’m going to take about 2 weeks to travel through California, visit friends, go through Yosemite, go through Mammoth. I’ll fly back to New York, go see my parents.
Anything else you want to add?
I did file for unemployment. Haven’t heard anything back. It was easy to file online but I haven’t heard anything. It takes a while.
Read past Q&A’s:
Coupon train: clipping with strangers
Do you have an interesting recession experience you want to talk about? Email me to be considered for an upcoming Q&A.
