iowa spirit walker/Flickr
Here’s a quick recap to let you know that the website where you can file your federal taxes for free is now accepting 2009 returns.Here’s a quick recap to let you know that the website where you can file your federal taxes for free is now accepting 2009 returns.
The freebie file exists thanks to a partnership between the IRS and the Free File Alliance LLC, a group of private sector tax software companies. Here’s how it worked for 2008 taxes filed last April. I expect the free filing options to be very similar for 2009 taxes.
Option No. 1. You can file your federal returns for free using the traditional Free File, which offers step-by-step help, if your adjusted gross income is $56,000 or less (this number could vary slightly for 2009). The software puts your answers directly into the forms and does the math for you. You can get a refund as quick as 10 days if you opt for direct deposit. This service is available in Spanish.
Option No. 2. You can fill in your own tax forms without the help of software using the Free Fillable Forms. This hands-off approach lets you prepare and e-file your 1040, 1040 A and 1040EZ federal returns. There are no income limits, as with Option No. 1. State forms are not included.
Both of these options make it possible to file your federal tax forms for free. State forms are not included, however. Does anybody know a way to file state taxes for free?
Thanks, Tina!
The Payless buy-one-get-one half off shoe sale is on until Feb. 15 and it includes accessories!
Get 30 percent off regular priced items at Borders through Jan. 25, 2010. Some caveats.
CVS is doubling the ExtraBucks you can receive by purchasing CVS brand products and prescriptions.
Get a free bottle of antibacterial soap from bath and Body Works when you spend $10, good through Feb. 21, 2010.
Organizing much? The Container Store has an online coupon for 20 percent off good through Feb. 7, 2010.
Check out all the deals on my WalletPop blog.
viZZual.com/Flickr
I was shopping with a girlfriend who at the end of our jaunt checked the time and said “I hope I didn’t get a parking ticket!”
“How much money did you put in the meter,” I asked.
“36 minutes.”
I tried to hide my scowl. I hoped for her sake that she didn’t get a ticket, but I was exasperated that she had not forked over one or two extra quarters for peace of mind.
We reached her car. Phew, no ticket. I hugged my friend goodbye and walked onto my car, where the patient meter read 45 minutes. At a dollar an hour, I had put in $.75 extra.
My friend had gotten away with paying less for parking and I couldn’t help but wonder if my $.75 a waste – or a wise investment? Is it always financially savvy to overfeed the meter? Or is it wiser to save my coins and risk getting a ticket?
I did one calculation to figure it out.
1. Say you park at a meter once a week and put in an extra 45 minutes – $.75 on many Los Angeles meters – each time. That means you are putting in an extra $39 a year ($.75 x 52 weeks). If a parking tickets costs $40, that means you can overfeed the meter for an entire year and still come up ahead (by $1).
But how often do you get caught for under feeding? I guesstimate that the meter maid catches me about one in 10 times I underfeed. If I underfed a meter once a week for a year, I would save that $39 in extra quarters but end up with five parking tickets, one every 10 weeks. (If you think you get caught more often or less often by the meter maid, then change how many tickets per year you would receive.) At $40 each my tickets would total $200, a net loss of $161.
Clearly, it makes a lot of sense to generously overpay the meter.
Run this calculation for your hometown meter and ticket prices using this formula:
the cost of putting an extra 45 minutes in the meter x 52 weeks = yearly cost of over feeding the meter
the cost of five parking tickets in your hometown – yearly cost of over feeding = how much you can save by over feeding
UPDATE: Reader Mira says:
In Long Beach, tickets are $44!! It takes A LOT of extra coins pumped in to get to that amount! (Like 660!! 440 nickels + 220 dimes!) Don’t chance it. I find I don’t need to add 45 extra minutes, even 12 or 15 extra minutes gives a nice cushion — depends on what you’re doing that day.
quami77/Flickr
Heads up! I am celebrating BargainBabe.com’s 1-year anniversary with a week of fabulous giveaways and prizes Jan. 25-29, 2010. To win you must be on my daily or weekly email list.
5 Bargain Babe hot pink T-shirts
The best of cheapskate monthly by Mary Hunt
Plus there will be contests and other fun ways to win! Multiple winners will be randomly chosen each day during the giveaway week. But remember, you’ve got to be on my email list to be eligible. Sign up now and get ready to win!
Money is a great way to get close to your sweetie. That’s the premise behind “Get Financially Naked,” by Manisha Thakor and Sharon Kedar.
The book is meant for women in a committed relationship who want to find out if they are financially compatible with their mate. “Get Financially Naked” also aims to help women gain and maintain control over their finances in a relationship.
Dealing with money can bring women closer to their partners and strengthen their relationships.
First, this book will help you and your partner get on the same financial page, which means your relationship is much less likely to get torpedoed by financial stress. Second, by learning to talk about money with your honey in a constructive way, the odds are high that you will dramatically strengthen your relationship.
The 148-page book is divided into three sections to help you:
1. Get the upper hand of your finances
2. Learn how to talk to your partner about money
3. Get tools to save and invest so you can turn your financial dreams into reality
There is also a 30-question quiz to take with your partner and worksheets to help you get “financially naked” because when it comes to money you want to know exactly what you’re dealing with.
Comment on this post for a chance to win my review copy. If you can’t wait, Amazon has it for $9.32 (orig $12. 95).
My frugal friends at Savings.com recently shared some great coupons with me.
Get 20 percent off $100 or more at Lane Bryant. Unknown expiration date.
Get 20 percent off all sweats and tees at Hanes.com. Expires Feb. 7, 2010.
Get $10 off vitamin orders of $60 or more at Drugstore.com. Expires Jan. 31, 2010.
Get $10 off $50 or more at Ulta beauty. Unknown expiration date.
Get 10 percent off hotel reservations at Orbitz. Expires: March, 31 2010.
Reader Amy B won my review copy of “Bitches on a Budget” with her sassy comment on my book review. Congrats, Amy!
I’ve always been a bitch (thank you my female dog is beautiful)and I’ve always tried to work within a reasonable budget. However having 3 boys, ok 4 with husband, it is sometimes trying. Cant wait to read! Woo hoo!
If you didn’t win, no worries. Amazon has it for $10.20 (orig. $15).
Hi folks,
I’m taking the day off for some much needed R&R. Enjoy your day and see you tomorrow!
~Julia
aka Bargain Babe
somethingstartedcrazy/Flickr
BargainBabe.com really is a group effort. This latest tip comes from my little brother!
I had to charge my phone for a couple of hours, so I went to the T -mobile store and saw the price of the charger (24 dollars). I only needed the charger for a day so I started talking about how much my situation sucked and the lady at the store said I could charge my phone at the store for free.
Not bad, John! I like going to Costco and Len’s Crafters for their free eye glass cleanings!
I just learned about a new site that helps college students, faculty and anyone under age 26 get travel discounts. StudentUniverse specializes in airfares, hotels, rail passes, and travel insurance. The site is free to use and you don’t need to buy a student ID card to get their discounts (like some sites).
When making a reservation the site asks for your school issued email, what school you attend or teach at, and your expected graduation date. I’m skeptical that they verify enrollment or faculty status of each person who uses their site because they claims millions of students do. Hmmm…
StudentUniverse claims the verififcation process is what allows them to offer low fares. “Since we verify that our members are students, faculty, and youth the airlines give us special pricing and terms,” the site says.
When searching for flights, you can pick an exact date or look for flights up to 3 days before or after your target date to increase your chances of getting a deal. The site’s FarePlay tab will help you find a cheap vacation if you are flexible on the destination. It’s not a bad place to start if you are a student, enrolled in college, or a faculty member looking for a price break.
Thanks, Tina!
Related:
Textbook trade in save students money
Student discounts from a learned expert
Two great websites for student discounts
elgatomagenta/Flickr
Thanks to Corrinne at Search By Inseam, a site that helps you find jeans that fit perfectly, for sharing these great coupon codes.
Save up to 25 percent off at Gap.com, OldNavy.com, and BananaRepublic.com with the code SAVE123 through January 18.
Take 20 percent off all denim (including sale denim!) at CoutureCandy through Sunday night with the code DENIM.
The 50 percent off clearance event is happening at Torrid! though Jan. 18, 2010.
At Alloy.com, get free shipping on orders over $25 with code FREE25A through February 4, and 15 percent off any order with the code A15AFF, also valid through Feb. 4, 2010.
At Blair.com get $1.99 Flat Rate Shipping on ALL Orders through Feb. 15, 2010.
Take 20 percent off your first item at Avenue.com, and 25 percent off your second when you buy 3 or more items with code AV101005 throughFeb. 28, 2010.
Earn a free $25 Shopbop.com gift certisficate when you refer a friend to Shopbop.com. See shopbop.com for complete details.
Thanks to reader Glenn who lightened my day with this joke. “Confucius say… if you cant find the book you are looking for, you are probably at the….”
Here are the latest and greatest deals on my WalletPop blog.
Get 80 percent off Restaurant gift certificates at Restaurant.com for a limited time.
Get 25-50 percent off photobooks at MyPublisher.
Get $10 off a purchase of $40 or more at Bath & Body Works.
Did you know Jamba Juice has brought back their $1 oatmeal breakfast (Wednesdays only) for a limited time?
Get 40 percent off at Michael’s, with some caveats.
Pay as you go cell phone plans can be a real money saver, if you know your usage habits.
The blog Money Saving Plan is offering a free 10-week course in becoming an effective coupon clipper.
Check out all the deals on my WalletPop blog!
programwitch/Flickr
A reader named Ellen emailed me about how she saves money by keeping items for later use.
I call it re-boxing versus re-gifting. Following every holiday season, I stow away any perfectly good boxes instead of sending them off to recycling. (I usually hide them from my hubby because he’ll want to throw them out–stat.)
My box stash comes in handy for next year’s gift load, not to mention other gift-giving occasions that arise. (During these times, when hubby is on the hunt for a box, I tap into my secret stash with that ‘I told you so’ look in my eye!)
I also save any festive bags that I may receive, knowing next year that I will reuse them, as well. Why spend money to buy boxes and bags when you can save the green by being green.
Ellen’s email got me thinking. Are there things around the house that I throw out or recycle that could save me money if I kept them? Could my empty wine bottles be turned into vases? Old comics used for wrapping presents? Food containers saved for leftovers?
Yes, yes, and yes. But just because something can be reused doesn’t mean you’re saving money by keeping it. What it really comes down to is how much it costs to hold onto something. I broke down the cost of saving something into five areas:
1. Space cost – do you have the room to hoard? Is it worth it to stuff your closets, garage or even rent space to hold everything?
2. Mental cost - do you have room in your brain to remember everything you’ve tucked away? I know I feel better about myself when I’m able to weed out unneeded possessions.
3. Organizational cost – do you want to spend the time organizing and keeping your stuff neat? Otherwise you’ll forget what you have and buy anew.
4. Partner cost – if saving stuff drives your partner/roomate/spouse crazy, is this a battle worth fighting? Or do you want to hide stuff, like Ellen does?
5. Replacement cost – how many dollars does the item cost new?
For me, the most important costs are No. 3 and No. 5. I’m fairly organized and I have a decent amount of storage space, so I often hoard smaller, high-value items like toiletries and clothes. I try to buy ahead of need (hence my $8.48 purchase of a sports bra at Target last week) because when I eventually need it, most of the time I will be able to find it in my closet. What about you?
There are a lot of freebies on BargainBabeLA.com this week!
Get a free coffee drink at Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf TODAY Jan. 14 from 4-7pm. The free choices include a Cafe Mocha, an ice-blended Sunrise, or a Berry’d Treasure. Call to see if your local CB&TL is participating. Thanks for sharing this deal, The Unethical Man!
Ice skating is totally free, thanks to a deal AdventureGirl found in Orange County. The freebie runs Jan. 30-Feb. 28.
Make your reservations now for LA’s Restaurant Week, Jan 24-29 and Jan 31-Feb 5. Big name eateries have discounted fixed price menus!
LACMA is free this Monday Jan. 18, thanks to Target and AdventureGirl, who shared this deal
The Santa Monica Symphony is giving a free performance this Sunday, Jan. 17 at 3 p.m. in honor of MLK Day. Thanks for sharing, AdventureGirl
Buy one Clippers ticket and get another one free when you check out a library book, sharing by bargainbabe
Check out BargainBabeLA.com for more deals on free pastrami sandwiches from Togo’s, discounted theater tickets, $1 breakfast oatmeal at Jamba Juice, and $5 off your grocery deliver at Vons (with free delivery).
Plus the top deals from past weeks:
Get into a Disney park for free when you volunteer in 2010, shared by The Unethical Man
Sign up for Benihana’s Chef’s Table program and you’ll get a free $30 meal on your birthday. Su-weet! Thanks for sharing, The Unethical Man
Thanks to AdventureGirl for sharing so many deals on BargainBabeLA.com. You’ve just won another $5 Amazon gift certificate!!! You can win by sharing great deals on BargainBabeLA.com this week.
