thebittenword.com/Flickr
Get a free one-night movie rental using this Blockbuster Express coupon code. Or you can rent two movies and get a third rental free using this Blockbuster express coupon code.
Request a free food sample of BetterOats oatmeal. For a limited time only!
Sign up for a do-it-herself workshop at Home Depot on April 15 and you’ll go home with tips on interior painting from the folks at Martha Stewart Living.
Check out all the coupons and deals on my WalletPop blog.
Katrina.Tuliao/Flickr
I just got word of a new web series from MSN.com that is looking for financially stable individuals and families who want financial investment guidance to appear on the show. If selected, a bunch of experts will help you out to address problems, set goals, and make plans to meet them!
The show, which will be shown online, is casting in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Portland, Denver, Miami, Omaha, and Dallas. Submit the following info by March 26, 2010 via email to investorcasting@gmail.com.
Your email submission should include your name, location, contact info, and a recent photo of you and your family. You must be 18 or older to participate.
Here are the types of people they are looking for.
1. A NEW INVESTOR with POSITIVE CASH FLOW who will explore riskier investments
2. A seasoned and CONFIDENT INVESTOR who has SIGNIFICANT SAVINGS (i.e. 2 years salary)
3. An active RISKY INVESTOR who has a very LARGE PORTFOLIO
4. Someone who does most of their TRADES ONLINE who wants ADVANCED investment skills
5. A CAUTIOUS INVESTOR who wants INDEPENDENCE from their broker
6. A person in their PEAK EARNING years who needs an UPDATED financial plan
7. Someone with HIGH FUTURE INCOME potential who wants ADVENTUROUS YET SAFE investments
phototram/Flickr
UPDATE: I had no idea this contest would be so popular, with more than 300 comments so far! You still have time to enter as the contest goes through 11:59 p.m. on Monday, March 22, 2010.
PREVIOUSLY: I’ve partnered with GoBankingRates, which has banking rates for financial services, personal finance info and helpful tools, to give one lucky reader $500 worth of groceries. There are a number of ways to enter the contest. The more you do, the higher your chances are of winning.
- Comment on this post below for 1 entry.
- Sign up for the free GoBankingRates newsletter here for 2 entry points.
- Sign up for the BargainBabe.com newletter for 2 entry points.
- Retweet this message – “I want to win $500 of groceries! Follow @GoBankingRates & @BargainBabe & RT this msg if u do too! http://bit.ly/9F0Aw3.” All twitter accounts must have at least 10 followers to ensure that you are not creating accounts solely for the purpose of entering. This is worth 1 entry.
- Create a post on your own blog (if you have a blog) about how much this savings calculator can save you, whether or not you agree with the logic, and include what else you could be doing less of (or more of!) monthly to save even more. Comment on this post with the URL of your original blog post for 3 entry points. If you do this option you will not gain an additional entry for doing No. 1.
The contest begins at 12:01 a.m. PST Tuesday, March 16, 2010 and ends at 11:59 p.m. on Monday, March 22, 2010. The winner will be emailed (or DM’d on Twitter) and announced here on Bargainbabe.com on Monday, March 29, 2010. Here are the official contest rules.
If you’re wondering how we’ll pick the winner with all these different ways of entering… (more…)
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This post has nothing to do with saving money but it’s awfully funny. Thanks to reader Glenn for submitting this collection of unfortunate newspaper headlines.
No crap, really? Ya think?
Now that’s taking things a bit far!
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What a guy!
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No-good-for-nothing’ lazy so-and-so’s!
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See if that works any better than a fair trial!
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Live in Los Angeles? There are some great deals for free family activities, books, dresses, groceries, and more on my do-it-yourself Los Angeles deals site, BargainBabeLA.com.
There is a free childrens/family art festival in the San Fernando Valley this Sunday with live performances from local school children. Thanks for sharing this deal, Meital!
A reader who calls himself The Unethical Man spotted a deal to get $100 when you open a new account at Bank of the West.
The Unethical Man also spotted a great deal on toilet paper. Just $.125 a roll at Superior Grocers!
A&M books in Canoga Park is bringing back their amazing half-off book sale because the last one was partially rained out. Thanks for sharing, honeygram!
Nothing at the Lucy Love dress sale today through monday in Corona del Mar is more than $15. Nice!
If you are near downtown, check out A Grocery Warehouse on Sunset for amazing grocery prices.
Get a massive restaurant discount with an 80% off deal from Restaurant.com. Pretty sweet!
Get a free soap sample of Lever 2000 from Costco, even if you’re not a member.
This Staples coupon gets you 15 percent off almost everything in the store. Valid through Tuesday, March 23, 2010. Thanks Tina and Su May!
Who cars if winter is almost over? (The first day of spring is Saturday.) Get a free subscription (12 issues) to Ski Magazine.
Check out all the deals on my WalletPop blog.
Jeremy Brooks/Flickr
There are a few new credits you can use on your income tax returns, according to Wells Fargo. Check out these credits, which I’ve summarized from a Wells Fargo press release, before you take the standard deduction of $11,400 if you are married filing jointly, or $5,700 if you are single or married filing separately.
The cool thing about tax credits is that if you end up with a negative tax liability, you will get a check from the government!
Disclosure: I am not a tax professional. Consult with a tax professional or research these credits further if you believe you are eligible.
- Got a student in college or putting yourself through school? Check out the American Opportunity Credit, designed to replace and improve the Hope and Lifetime Learning Credit. Your can make as much as $160,000 for married couples filing jointly or $80,000 for single filers and still claim this credit. You can claim the first $2,000 you spend on college expenses and 25 percent of the next $2,000 to get a total credit of no more than $2,500.
- If you lost your job recently, you don’t have to pay taxes on the first $2,400 in unemployment benefits. The same goes for your spouse. Double unhappiness turns into double deductions!
- Buy a new car or sell one? You can deduct the sales tax you paid on your new car, truck or motor home as long as you purchased it after February 16th, 2009. You can deduct the taxes up to a purchase price of $49,500, but if you make a lot of money ($250,000 for married filing jointly), the credit slides downward.
- You do not need to report your financial gains from the Cash for Clunkers program as income.
- If you bought a fuel-efficient vehicle in 2009 you may be eligible for green tax credits.
- Are you a first time home buyer? You may be able to get 10% of the purchase price up to $8,000 back in credits. To qualify you must have bought your home between Jan 1, 2009 and April 30, 2010. You have to live in your home as your principle residence for at least three years or else pay back the credit. The government considers you a first time homebuyer if you have not owned a home as your principal residence in the past three years. There’s also a $6,500 credit if you traded up to a new principle residence. The credit applies to mobile and manufactured homes but not vacation properties. Some income restrictions apply.
If you have questions Wells Fargo’s tax center has more info.
Related posts on BargainBabe.com:
Tax calculator, forms, and tips
Where do your tax dollars go? (image)
Five questions to ask before hiring a tax pro
If you purchased an annuity as a retirement savings plan, chances are you never imagined that you might one day want to sell it. But circumstances change, your financial needs may be different than you imagined and an annuity can be a viable source of money if you choose to cash it in. If you’re considering selling and need to calculate the cash value of an annuity, there are a number of factors to consider.
Cashing in vs. Selling Your Annuity
Some annuity contracts come with a built-in option to cash them in before their term is up, and receive a cash amount instead of the full annuity. This might seem like the easiest option for those who want to receive the cash value of an annuity, but it does come with some consequences.
This isn’t possible for many annuities and when it is permitted, the insurance companies will only give you a fraction of the remaining total. This can severely devalue the annuity and cause a significant loss of funds.
The other option is to sell your annuity to a factoring company, like J.G. Wentworth, that purchases annuities in exchange for a lump sum of cash. You will receive your money within a few weeks of filling out the necessary documents and at the best rates available.
This is paid content. Want to take out an ad? Read my advertise page.
Today only! Entertainment Books with coupons for restaurants and groceries are $17 each. No code needed, but it expires tonight at 11:59 pm PST on March 17, 2010.
Today only! Baja Fresh is celebrating St. Patrick’s Day March 17 with free burritos. You have to wear green, order a large drink, and print out a Facebook coupon.
Banana Republic new arrivals are 25% off today, March 17, 2010 only!
The Juicy Couture friends and family sale has prices marked down by 30% off March 18-21, 2010.
Online coupon website Shortcuts.com just restocked their load of grocery coupons. Print them out before they are maxed out.
Get a free sample of pads and tampons from Kotex when you sign up.
Check out all the deals on my WalletPop blog.
meddygarnet/Flickr
There was a cool story about doing home improvement on your own versus hiring someone in the latest Real Simple (April). The story was strangely skewed toward hiring someone to do the job, however, and missed the benefits of doing projects yourself.
First, the story says, consider three factors before making a decision.
1. Peer pressure. Whatever your family and friends do, you are more likely to do. So if everyone you know colors their hair at home, you will feel pressure to eschew the salon. Similarly, if your family has always hired contractors instead of doing it yourself (DIY), you’ll probably hire, too. Follow your gut and make the decision that is right for you, regardless.
2. Your positive attitude. People assume their DIY project will go well but often underestimate the time and skill it takes.
3. Your perspective on your free time. People believe they have more time than they really do. (What??? I don’t know anyone whose schedule isn’t jam packed.) We have a hard time measuring time and “are willing to take more risks with it” than we are with money, the story says.
Then Real Simple suggests you answer four questions. Can I realistically pull this project off? (i.e. learn the required skills?) What kind of time commitment is really involved? (Double estimates from a contractor.) How much will this task cost to complete myself? (Supplies + calculate your hourly rate.) And lastly, how much will I really enjoy the process?
I wager that doing home improvement projects yourself (which is a lot like growing your own food) has many benefits that the story missed…
1. The enjoyment of learning how to do something challenging that you didn’t think you were capable of.
2. The money saved over time from learning new skills. Snake a toilet once, and you’ll never fork over $200 to a plumber again.
3. The confidence from pulling a project off. What an accomplishment!
An important part of the DIY v. hire debate is determining how much your time is worth. See the post below to calculate your hourly rate!
Have you ever wondered about the best place to start saving money? The answer might be closer than you think: your home. WhiteFence.com is a fantastic shopping site that helps you find great deals on the home services that you pay monthly for. From home phone, TV and your electric bill to natural gas and high-speed Internet, you can find every connection you need all in one spot.
Saving money with WhiteFence.com is easy. As a shopper, just enter your address into the search engine, and within a few minutes you can browse all of the choices available for where you live. The information is laid out in a way that is easy to use, so you can quickly compare prices and categories to see where you can find the best deals. In fact, WhiteFence.com is currently offering up to $200 in gift cards when you order bundles from providers like AT&T and Verizon. When’s the last time you got paid to shop?
The best part of all of this is that using WhiteFence.com is free and requires no registration beforehand. You can even order all of the services straight from the site, rather than having to go individually to each provider to set up your connections. WhiteFence.com works with providers to set up your orders quick and painless, which we all know is welcome after years of dealing with utility companies.
To start saving time and money for your home services, visit WhiteFence.com today!
This is paid content. Want to take out an ad? Read my advertise page.
orphanjones/Flickrp
This post is brought to you by Plumbing Q & A, where you can get all your plumbing questions answered.
When deciding whether to do a home improvement project yourself or hire someone, it’s useful to know how much money you earn in an hour. The April issue of Real Simple shares this two-part calculator.
Part 1 Income
Your monthly take-home income after taxes:
Add up all your costs associated with working.
Coffee runs with coworkers:
Commuting:
Clothing:
Dry cleaning:
Unreimbursed business meals:
Child care:
Subscriptions:
Business supplies:
Other:
Total work expenses:
Real monthly income (income minus work expenses):
Part 2 Hours
How many hours do you work in a month (40 hours per week times 4 weeks = 160 hours per month):
How many hours do you spend commuting (round trip commute x 20 days):
Additional hours spent on work (reading, continuing education, travel):
Total work hours:
Your hourly wage rate (real monthly income divided by total work hours):
Use your hourly rate to determine if it is a better idea to hire a professional or do the work yourself. But remember, just because hired help may be cheaper per hour than your hourly rate does not mean you have the money to spare!
My frugal friends at Savings.com shared these weekly deals.
Get 15% off at My M&Ms. Expires March 31, 2010.
Get 30% off $150 or more at GNC. Expires March 31, 2010.
Get $25 off $75 or more at Alloy. Expires June 11, 2010.
Get 20% off sale items at Vera Bradley. Expires March 24, 2010.
Printable! Get $20 off tax services at H&R Block. Expires April 15, 2010.
Dumpster diving is not just about saving money on groceries, which is what I thought until I spent an evening with Allison Burtch. This girl is taking personal responsibility for all of the food our country wastes by eating her way through dumpsters. She has been diving for about six months and hasn’t bought groceries since.
PinkMoose/Flickr
Reader Marie just sent in this tip:
PAPER FOR LESS AT STAPLES STORES!
Staples is offering a case of 8-1/2″ x 11″ Multipurpose Paper at a special price. Regular price is $42.99, but with a $4 instant savings you pay $38.99.
However, sign up as a Rewards Member at http://www.staplesrewardscenter.com/ in order to get 50 percent back in Staples Rewards, which is like getting it for $19.49. If you order $50 or more online, you get FREE DELIVERY.
Offer ends March 20, 2010. Valid online, in store and by phone.
Plus, you can save another 2 percent if you shop through eBates.com.
