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?
Readers who have previously chided my ocassionally crass language, hold back. This post is not intended for minors or the faint at heart.
I couldn’t resist grabbing “Bitches on a Budget” from my patient stack of books waiting for a review. But does the book has as much sass as the title? Yes.
Rosalyn Hoffman opens her 322-page book with this essential question. How do you live a stylish life during the greatest economic downturn of your generation? No matter that the recession is technically over. Budget woes continue. And women rule the pocketbook. Here’s how Chapter 1 starts:
Bitches, we’re going to let you in on a secret: Women might only make $.78 for every $1 men make, but we’re the ones who drive the economy. We’re the ones who decide what to buy and when to buy it. You think we’re kidding? Just turn on the television. It’s talking to you, bitch. And even when it’s not – Rogaine and boner pills – it’s still about you!
Rosalyn gives budgeting a good name (it’s just another way to say edit, really), and attempts to do the same for what seems to be her favorite b-word. She writes about shopping, grooming, staying healthy, mental health, travel, cars, entertainment, entertaining and home decorating, food, and pets in her over-the-top girlfriend no you di-ent hand-waving, finger-snapping voice.
In other words, she makes saving money really entertaining. What more can you ask for?
Comment on this post for a chance to win my review copy. Or, you can pick it up at Amazon for $10.20 (orig. $15).
AmazonFillerItem.com
I know you’ve been there: checking out at Amazon.com when you fall a few dollars short of the $25 minimum to get free shipping. Doh! Well now there’s Amazon Filler Finder to help you find something that fills the gap.
The idea is that buying an extra item for a few bucks to qualify for free shipping is cheaper than pay for shipping. You could do a search yourself, but you’d probably go crazy. Amazon.com is an awfully big store, afterall.
I was impressed with the results when I tested the Finder for three different price gaps.
I checked how close the site could come to filling a hypothetical gap of $1.17, $3.78, and $.49. Each time the site hit it or came within $.02! Plus, they listed dozens of items starting from the closest matching price going up. You can also limit the categories of items they show results for if you are holding out for a filler item that you might actually want. Ha!
If you feel like you are taking advantage of the system, you are not. The Amazon Filler Finder is a tool created in conjuction with Amazon.com to get you to shop more on their site.
I’ve been redecorating my bedroom this past week and in the process I have been hunting for rugs, bookshelves, paint, and much more. Here are 10 places to look for frugal or free items.
1. Your garage. Chances are you have a few half-full cans of paint or a funky old lamp that would add personality to your room. Perhaps you can transform a boring old piece into something new and exciting with a coat of paint.
2. Join your local Freecycle Network to get rid of your trash and collect other people’s treasure. Plus, you’ll feel good keeping items out of landfills.
3. Craigslist free pages. It’s amazing what people will give away. Their for-sale prices can be great, too!
4. Home Depot. I spent $9 building a bookshelf out of cinderblocks, above. Now to secure it to my wall. UPDATE: A friend helped me drill two brackets into each shelf, making the bookshelf much more sturdy.
5. IKEA. Some of the best deals at IKEA are on the ground floor and not heavily advertised. They sell sturdy planks of wood for $15 each and the wall mounts are a few bucks each (about $3). This allows you to customize storage space for very cheap!
6. Borrow or rent tools. Surely you know another home owner who’s itching to loan their tile saw in hopes they’ll never see it again!
7. Garage sales. Head to sales in upscale neighborhoods and the hipster parts of town for the best and most unique selection.
8. Thrift shops like Goodwill, Out of the Closet, and Salvation Army do not lack for furniture and furnishings. Just make sure to thoroughly check out the items as they are not usually returnable.
9. eBay. Review seller ratings and return policies carefully.
10. Recycling centers/reuse groups. These can be harder to find, but major metro areas usually have a handful of organizations that re-sell used windows, doors, and other building materials.
brianjmatis/Flickr
This post is brought to you by Codero, which provides managed hosting services designed to reduce your total administration costs while improving server efficiency.
Get ready for tax season! Preparing will be a little easier knowing you can file for free thanks to a partnership between the IRS and the Free File Alliance LLC, a group of private sector tax software companies. The site does not go live for 2010 until Jan. 15, so this is really just a heads up.
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!
I’m sending out the old year with a countdown to my five favorite posts.
5. I never knew a cookbook could inspire so many comments until I wrote about Frugal Foodie Recipes. “What I like best about The Frugal Foodie Cookbook is that to make three different recipes I did not need to buy a single ingredient. Not having to go to the store saved me time and money – plus I got delicious food out of my pantry! The authors’ food philosophy is to keep it simple but not necessarily cheap”…keep reading.
4. Forgive me for indulging myself, but I just can’t believe that my Dad is 63. I’m 31. Guess who’s faster? “I learned how to ride a bike at 3 to keep up with my older sisters. But I really learned how to ride from my Dad, a lifelong cyclist who has covered 300 miles in a day. My Dad’s motto on the bike is “never stop pedaling.” I started riding with him because my public high school offered six classes a day. To squeeze in symphonic band, I skipped P.E. and made up the credits by cycling with him. It wasn’t easy to keep up with him and on most rides I did not. Oh, who am I kidding? I never once kept up with him”…keep reading.
3. Readers jumped on me for going along with the crowd and stiffing a waitress, but in the end I learned my lesson about Money morality: if someone undercharges you…“I was chomping on a tasty BBQ dinner with five friends when – GASP – the waitress undercharged us. The bill was $20 a head – a fab deal for the meaty meal – because she had failed to add another $11 for the booze. The four of us who split the drinks would have owed another $3.50 per, which includes tax and tip on the beer. “Should we tell the waitress?” I asked“…keep reading.
2. I ventured a spending moratorium for the entire month of July, which I stuck to religously. Er, except for the three times I broke my moratorium. “The first time exposed my weakness for coupons. The second time exposed my soft spot for hard-working waitresses. The third time it was the library that did me in.”…keep reading.
1. My absolute favorite post this year was about a reader comment in response to a guest post about saving money in Las Vegas. Not because I like being called a “douche,” but because the comment triggered a heated debate about the difference between being frugal and being cheap. It is a fine line that I strive never to cross. “This week’s reader comment of the week shocked me. When I first read reader Julie’s response to the post, I didn’t understand why she was so upset over a total stranger taking tissues and toilet paper from a hotel room“…keep reading.
This post is brought to you by Credit Loan, offering debt consolidation.
Simple is good. And that’s part of the reason why I like PriceYeti, a new site that tracks prices for anything sold on the Internet. (The other part is the site’s adorable mascot, above!)
Registering is not required to use PriceYeti, though you have to share your email address so the site can alert you to price drops. Just plug in the url (website address) for the item so PriceYeti can find the item’s price.
You can return to the site to add items to your “watch list.” I entered three cashmere sweaters for a price comparison, one from J.Crew (full-price, $145), one from Nordstrom (on sale for $58), and one from Macy’s (on sale for $90).
PriceYeti aims to be your shopping cart for the entire Internet so it can track prices for plane tickets, event tickets, houses, and services – as long as the item has a barcode and a url (website address). If you want to make your wish list private, set up a password. The site makes money when users click through from the site and purchases an item.
The site’s design as a Twitterish feel to it, though it has no connection to the popular social networking site as far as I know. PriceYeti is a privately funded start up from Seattle. Read a little about the four guys behind PriceYeti.
eBates has a slew of double cash back offers – but they are good today only!
MyPublisher, a site similar to Snapfish, has a buy one get one free offer on photobooks that ends today.
Check out all the coupons and freebies I’m blogging about on WalletPop.com.
This post is brought to you by the Gold Pawn Shop. Interested in an ad? Read my advertise page.
Remember that survey I blogged about awhile ago that determined where you fell on the spendthrift-tightwad spectrum? Well I just got my results. The survey conductors at the University of Michigan said:
We needed to wait until the study was complete before notifying participants, and the study ran longer than expected. I’m writing to let you know your score on the Spendthrift-Tightwad scale and to put it in some context.
Scale scores range from 4 to 26. We typically classify those with scores from 4 to 11 as tightwads; 12 to 18 as unconflicted consumers; and 19 to 26 as spendthrifts.
Your survey responses place you on the TIGHTWAD portion of the Spendthrift-Tightwad dimension.
Although the proportions differ from sample to sample…we generally find that 25% of respondents are categorized as tightwads, 60% as unconflicted consumers, and 15% as spendthrifts.
I belong to a minority of people who don’t spend money even when I should, according to these results. Bah humbug! I like saving money. But it is true. I save money even when I really shouldn’t. Case in point: my stash of 8 gift cards totaling $411.
On the other hand, I buy plenty of high-quality goods that cost a pretty penny. Last month I bought myself a fleece from the North Face Outlet that cost just over $100. I am a tightwad who lets loose on occasion.
Did anybody else take the survey? What were your results? It’s not too late to take the survey. If you didn’t take the survey, what group would you put yourself in?
Spendthrifts over spend.
Unconflicted consumers have few issues about spending money.
Tightwads hold onto their money more than they should.
Shop through Cashbaq.com and get automatic cash rebates on top of some amazing Cyber Monday sales. Never used an automatic rebate site? Read how they work in this earlier post.
Canvas People ($6 cash back) : Free 8×10 canvas portrait of your favorite photo. Just pay $14.95 for S/H.
Year-long subscription to Southern Living (25% cash back) : Only $5! Expires 12/1.
BOGO and Free S/H on ScoopFree Automatic Self-Cleaning Litter Boxes (5% cash back) : Buy one for a gift and get one for yourself for Free! Expires 11/30.
eBags (8% cash back) : 25% off any item. Expires 11/30.
Real Simple Magazine Subscription (25% cash back) : Only $5! Expires 12/1.
Macy’s (3% cash back) : Extra 25% off clearance items and Free shipping on $75 or more with code CYBER. Expires 11/30.
Overstock.com (5% cash back) : Storewide Free shipping and big markdowns on jewelry, watches, household goods, toys and more! Expires 11/30.
New York & Company (5% cash back) : 50% off everything and Free shipping on any order with code 4136. Expires 11/30.
Dancing Deer Baking Co. (5% cash back) : 25% off all of their yummy cookies, brownies, cakes and gift baskets with code SAVE25. Expires 11/30.
Aeropostale (3% cash back) : 50-70% off storewide. Free shipping on $75 or more. Expires 11/30.
Yves Rocher (10% cash back) : 20% off any order with code DISCOUNT20. Over 100 gifts and stocking stuffers starting at just $1! Expires 12/2.
Plus…
Liz Claiborne – 50% off & Free S/H on everything (2% cash back)
Betsey Johnson – 40% off everything (4% cash back)
Ann Taylor – 40% off everything (3% cash back)
eDressMe – 30% off everything (5% cash back)
Lucky Brand Jeans – 30% off everything (3% cash back)
Arden B – 30% off everything (3% cash back)
Ann Taylor Loft – 30% off everything (3% cash back)
Chinese Laundry – 25% off everything (10% cash back)
Famous Footwear – 20% off and Free shipping (10% cash back)
Cost Plus World Market – 20% off everything (3% cash back)
This is a guest post by Nicole of Nicole’s Nickels, a great coupon blog that I’ve been a fan of for awhile. I interviewed Nicole months ago about how to make money as a mystery shopper. Now she’s back with advice on how to make money doing online surveys.
If you’re looking for ways to earn some extra money each month from the comfort of your own home, online surveys may be just the thing for you! I have been doing surveys for over a year now and earn approximately $100 per month. It’s certainly not enough for me to retire but it is my gas money that I don’t have to worry about!
I love that I can sit in my pjs or while I watch TV and earn money. You can also get product tests from doing surveys where they send you not yet released products to report back about. There are a lot of survey sites out there and I am signed up with over 30. I only blog about the ones I have had no issues with.
Before signing up with your first survey company, get a new separate email address for surveys only (I use gmail). I don’t get any spam in my surveys email account but I do get a lot of survey invites which could clog your inbox. All of the survey companies I blog about are completely free to sign up for. Remember, they are paying YOU for YOUR opinions!
Many surveys are looking for people that fall into certain demographics so you won’t qualify for every survey you do. I qualify for approximately half of all surveys I attempt. Don’t get hung up on why you’re not qualifying, it’s just the way it is.
Each survey company handles payment differently. Some pay in cash while others may pay in merchandise. Read the terms and conditions as you sign up to make sure you understand how you’ll be paid and if there is a minimum amount to be paid. I make an effort to redeem every month so I can maximize my monthly earnings.
Here are 6 survey companies I recommend:
My Survey
HCD Surveys
Ipsos-I-Say
Opinion Outpost
Global Test Market
Toluna USA
To read more about the survey companies I am signed up with, check out the survey page on my blog, Nicole’s Nickels.
If I had a nickel for every coupon site that existed, I would be able to retire. If I had a nickel for every GOOD coupon site, I would come up short at Starbucks. And I drink the cheap stuff.
Here are the coupon sites on my short list.
DealBlabs.com – a new site that has a few added perks, like stats on how likely a particular store is to offer any given promotion. For instance, when I clicked on a Toys R Us coupon, it told me that there was a 71 percent chance the store would offer a coupon code and a 29 percent chance it would offer another type of discount.
I scrolled down past the coupons for Toys R Us and found a more detailed breakdown. DealBlabs believes there is a 14 percent chance the coupon code will be for free shipping, a 57 percent chance there will be a percentage off discount, and a 29 percent chance there will be a dollar off coupon. Another chart listing the days of the week shows when a coupon is most likely to be published or distributed.
The stats are based on info gathered over time. They are a great way to decide if you should hold out for a better coupon or use the one at hand. Either way, you’re making an informed decision. I’d love to see the site share data on what percentage and dollar off coupons are typical. In other words, is a 20 percent off coupon typical for a given retailer or extremely rare?
My other favorite sites for general retail coupons (grocery coupons are another story):
Savings.com – tons great coupons, including many exclusives. The site just launched a new program called DealPros where everyday folks share deals they find. Disclosure: Savings.com was a Frugal Fe$tival sponsor.
RetailMeNot.com - the grandma of online coupon sites still has great deals. The annoying thing is they often don’t tell you the coupon code. Instead you have to click on a link and shop before the code is applied to your checkout.
FreeShipping.org – my go to site for free shipping codes. Expect this site to get busy this holiday season as consumers pressure retailers to offer free shipping as a standard perk. Watch out for handling charges, though!
Where do you go for coupon codes? I’d love to know!
A friend of mine is obsessed with saving water. She has made significant changes to her home and lifestyle over the past few years that have reduced her water usage – and bill – by noticeable amounts. I asked to see a recent water bill and an old one but her water-saving habits pre-date her water bill collection. (She tossed the old bills out.)
This past summer, my friend took her water-saving methods to the next level because she had plans to install a vegetable garden, which would use more water. Her goal was to maintain her current water usage. So far, she’s been successful!
Here are some of the big and small things she does to save H2O.
- Collects water runoff from her garage gutters and angles them into a trash bin. That water feeds her vegetable garden, which feeds her.
- Installed a tankless water heater, which heats water as you use it. (More of an electricity savings.)
- Replaced her clothes washer with a super low-flow, front-loading washer.
- Stopped watering her back lawn for six months until the grass died, then covered it with gravel and pavers, except for a boxed in vegetable garden. Now it has a zen rock-garden feel to it.
- Her main shade trees produce fruit, including oranges and limes.
- She planted herbs like mint, basil, thyme, oregano and rosemary instead of decorative plants. This shaves a few bucks off her grocery bill.
- While the shower heats up she collects the cold water in a bucket and uses it to feed her vegetable garden.
- In the front yard she has rocks, paver stones, and drought resistant plants instead of grass.
Resources for saving water and living sustainably:
PathToFreedom.com – a site written by a family in Pasadena, CA that has turned their property into a working micro-farm. The site is loaded with helpful info and inspirational stories.
Gardeners.com provides a long list of drought-resistant perennials from their readers, including oriental yew, evergreen boxwood, tachys byzantina (lamb’s ear), ornamental grasses, Mexican sage, eucalyptus, lavender, blue catmint, and jacaranda.
Lighterfootstep.com, a site devoted to reducing one’s carbon footprint. I’m digging this story on 30 things you should never compost or recycle.
Related:
A greener way to flush the toilet
Water-wise: bucket, sink or dishwasher?
UPDATE: Reader Janet says she has experimented with drastically reducing her water bill, too!
For kicks my DH and I decided to see how little H2O we could use month to month. The two most extreme things we do is capturing 4-5 gallons of water from each shower per day. This is used to irrigate the backyard plants.
The other thing is to hand wash dishes (yes, I am aware most people save H2O by using a dishwasher). For an entire sink of dishes I start with a cereal bowl full of soapy water and scrub each item. Once all are scrubbed, I fill a large pot with warm water and 1/2 cup of vinegar, I use this as a pre-rinse to dissolve the soap before rinsing under the faucet. All the water is captured and we use less than 2 gallons for the entire load and the dishes are squeeky clean. This water is also used in the backyard.
We have averaged 2- 3 units of water a month this summer!
Looking for a restaurant coupon in your neighborhood? Then consider CouponMap.com, a website that primarily offers deals for eating out.
The site maps out more than 100,000 coupons across the country from sources like Restaurant.com and ValPak. The site also lists local gas station prices, though it’s unclear where they are getting their pump prices.
Enter your city or zip code and a map pops up with tiny red deal markers. You can also scroll down the right side for deals.
The coupons are not especially distinctive – many require you to sign up for an email list or buy a gift certificate to get a discount. But it’s not a bad place to make a quick check before you go out. Most of the coupons can be printed from home.
Examples include:
A $25 gift certificate to Pacific Grille in Los Angeles for $10
A free entree at TGI Friday’s in Austin, TX when you buy one entree
A one-day free pass to Crunch Fitness in New York City
$1 off a burrito at Pancho Villa Tacqueria in San Francisco
If you’ve got a pile of coins and have no interest in squashing them into bankable rolls, dumping your loot into a Coinstar machine is tempting, except for the 9 percent counting fee Coinstar swipes. But if you get your money as a gift certificate, instead of cash, there is no fee.
The gift certificate choices include Starbucks, Amazon, iTunes, CVS, Lowe’s, Borders, JCPenney, Regal Entertainment, and Old Navy. Not bad at all.
You can get an extra $5 when you change $30 for a gift card to Rixty, a site that offers credits to pay for online games and ringtones. The Rixty offer is good through Nov. 1, 2009.
