Do you "envelope" budget? Credit: PinkMoose/Flickr
A friend emailed me with a bit of budgeting advice passed on from her mother, the professional organizer Janet Fishman:
Set up separate bank accounts for: living expenses, play, long-term savings, education, charity, and retirement and have either a percentage or fixed dollar amount from each paycheck go into these accounts. Most all companies that offer automatic deposits for payroll have the ability to automatically deposit into multiple accounts. Figure out how much you need to pay taxes, divide by the number of weeks you work, and that constitutes the dollar amount to set aside for each week. Repeat this for the categories above and you will be fully prepared and organized year round!
This ads up to six accounts – or more if you set up one for taxes and other categories. Phew! That strikes me as a lot to manage. Plus, you would have a harder time hitting minimum balance requirements to keep your account free or low cost.
On the other hand, how much money you have to spend on any given thing would be crystal clear. No pushing money earmarked for one expense to cover something else. Plus, retirement is singled out, which makes it more likely that you will save for retirement.
What do you think of this modern take on the “envelope” system? Would you use it?
Tackle financial resolutions with Mint
There are 31 coupons and freebies today. If you shop online, get a cash back rebate on every purchase through Ebates. Free to join! Don’t miss exclusive coupons we share on the BargainBabe.com Facebook page. “Like” us today!
Free cat food - Get a freebie sample of Meow Mix cat food via Walmart. US residents only. You must be 18 or older. One per household.
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Freebie American Baby mag – Get a free subscription to American Baby magazine when you fill out a simple request form. The number of free issues you will receive depends on your due date and birth date.
catd_mitchell / Flickr
This is a post by BargainBabe.com writer Yazmin Cruz.
Seems like every year we make resolutions only to break them, but could it be that in the end we are saving money by not sticking to them? Below I calculate the amount of money spent on meeting New Year’s resolutions and share tips to getting them done on a budget.
Sweet, sweet rebate check! Credit: Rick/Flickr
Longtime reader Glenn shared his discovery of a money-saving website.
Hey, Julia. Do you know about this site?
I spent about 2hrs rifling through all their free sample offers, printable mail-in rebate forms and coupons. Just click on the link and see for yourself.
http://mail-in-rebate-forms.blogspot.com/
Score,
Glenn
This site, MommySavesBig.com, has a neat and tidy listing of dozens of rebate offers. So if you recently bought something and want to check if there is a rebate for it, or misplaced your rebate paperwork, this site will really come in handy!
It also has plenty of printable and online coupons, freebies, and stuff that you can find many places online.
Got a hot tip or big score? Email me.
Make a gift through Kidworth this Christmas.
As a kid, I loved discovering a mound of presents choking the tree on Christmas morning. But I can’t help but wonder, now that I’m familiar with the website Kidworth, if some of those gifts could have been given as investments.
Did you know that the average child, according to Kidworth founder Rudy DeFelice, comes across $25,000-$30,000 in gifts by the time they are 18? And yet, how many 18-year-olds do you know that have more than a few bucks to their name?
This laptop is on super sale at Office Max today only! Credit: Office Max
There are 31 coupons and freebies today. If you shop online, get a cash back rebate on every purchase through Ebates. Free to join! Don’t miss exclusive coupons we share on the BargainBabe.com Facebook page. “Like” us today!
THIS WEEKEND! Free museums with B of A card - On the first full weekend of every month, get into more than 150 museums nationwide with your Bank of America/Merrill Lynch debit or credit card as part of its museums on us program. The freebie includes general admission and excludes special exhibitions, ticketed shows and fundraising events. Only the cardholder gets in free.
$25 mag credit - Join the online magazine newstand Zinio and get a $25 credit that you can use to buy any of their 5,000 titles. It’s all in digital format, so you can read your mags on your Kindle Fire, iPad, Android, and many more. Ends March 2012.
Free holiday music - Amazon has plenty of free holiday music to download. Check back because the selection changes frequently.
Spirit Hoods are a unique gift. Credit: SpiritHoods.com
I find teens are the easiest people to buy presents for because when you ask them what they want, they have a long list! Day five of the Bargain Babe Hot Holiday Gift Guide is devoted to buying for these almost-adults.
We’ve also suggested electronics gifts, gifts at Sears, toys for kids, and mens’ shavers. Coming up are gifts for kids, teens, men, and women. There will also be a day devoted to unique and quirky gifts, and we’ll finish the gift guide on Dec. 9 with a roundup of the best overall gifts.
Don’t forget to enter to win a $100 Sears gift card as part of the Gift Guide! Contest ends Monday, Dec. 5!
What is it with teen girls putting
Earn $10 for joining Kidworth!
With a baby on the way, I’ve been thinking a lot about how to raise my kid so that she is savvy with money. How do I show her to save money, to live frugally, and to make savvy spending decisions? When should we first give her an allowance? How do I instill in her the pride I take in donating money to help others?
Enter Kidworth, a new website founded by a father who was tired of going to kids’ birthday parties and witnessing hundreds of dollars wasted on “plastic junk.”
So this father, Rudy DeFelice, did some research and discovered the average kid comes across $25,000-$30,000 in gifts by the time they are 18. Holy *$(%*#! How many 18-year-olds do you know that have more than a few bucks to their name?
“The way we treat kids reinfornces mindless consumption,” Rudy told me. He wanted a way to counter balance that consumerist message. He wanted a way to train kids to deal with money that would give kids a better chance.
Kidworth is not about creating more money, but about using resources – gifts, allowance, earnings – in a better way. Parents create an account for their kid, from babies to teenagers, and set up save goals, spend goals, and share goals. Depending on how old the kid is, they can get involved, too.
On a practical level, parents can use Kidworth to send out birthday invitations and holiday cards, using the opportunity to share their kid’s goals. It’s a not-so-subtle way to ask for specific gifts and donations, instead of the aforementioned plastic junk.
When you visit a kid’s page, family and friends can see what kind of progress the kid and what the kid is doing with their allowance, gifts, and earnings. Only first names are used, and no identifying information is shared or asked for. Pages do not show up in search engine results, but parents can share their kids’ pages with whomever they wish.
Kidworth is totally free to use, though sending an egift card costs $2.50 and sending a physical card costs $5. Both fees go to covering credit card processing fees.
If you’re dreading an onslaught of unwanted gifts this holiday season, sign up for Kidworth! The next 100 people to sign up via Kidworth’s Facebook page will earn a $10 credit when they create a goal in their Kidworth account.
Winner and runner ups announced below!
Visiting family and traveling were the two retirement activities most desired by the 42 readers who entered our contest to win “Can I Retire?” by Mike Piper, a self-published blogger who I met at a conference recently. Olivia made me laugh out loud when she said her priorities were “God first, then family, and finally fishing.” But I decided to declare as the winner…
Behold, the gyrobowl! Credit: BuyGyrobowl.com
I have lost the right to call myself the Bargain Babe.
To my horror, an item on my baby registry is being sold in a catalog I recently ridiculed for it’s high prices and absurd products – SkyMall!
How did this happen? At Babies R Us, my husband caught sight of the Gyrobowl, a small dish kept in balance by a gyroscope. In theory, the tot eating from it never spills her
Survey says...get paid for your opinion! Credit: dno1967b/Flickr
I’ve been getting a bunch of offers to make money and earn rewards by taking online surveys, being a mystery shopper, and reviewing products. I know readers have asked for more ideas about making money online, so here you go!
Note, I have not used any of these companies so make sure you know what you are signing up for. Do NOT register if it requires sharing your credit card info or paying for anything. Legit survey and mystery shopping companies are free to join. Get the low down on mystery shopping from my expert Nicole of Nicole’s Nickels.
T Hoffarth / Flickr
This is a post by BargainBabe.com writer Yazmin Cruz.
Have you ever caved into buying an item at a higher price because you didn’t want to be perceived as cheap? Last weekend, I did just that at the Santa Monica Pier, a major tourist attraction in California.
My family and I headed to Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf to grab drinks. At the front of the line I was faced with a major decision.
Comment today for a chance to win this book!
Today is your last chance to win our review copy of “Money Secrets of the Amish,” by Lorilee Craker. So far 41 readers have entered. The title tickled our curiosity about the Amish way of life. How frugal are they?
Craker wanted to learn more about the Amish after hearing they were thriving during the recession on NPR. Being a Mennonite and a journalist, she wanted to know more as her own financial situation tightened. Craker writes:
Winner and runner-ups announced below!
This is a post by BargainBabe.com writer Yazmin Cruz.
The winner of “The Problem with Money? It’s Not About the Money!” by Jane Honeck is reader Kellee. She admits her rocky relationship with money comes from not being taught to manage money at an early age. She wrote:
I was never taught to prepare for the future. My mom lived from check to check, so do I. I need to get something started because I am already 10k in the hole from previous unemployment.
Kelle, I hope (more…)
Win this book!
This is a post by BargainBabe.com writer Yazmin Cruz.
The premise behind “The Problem with Money? It’s Not About the Money!” by Jane Honeck is that we all hold unconscious beliefs about money that strongly influence how we handle money. Honeck, who has 30 years of experience as a CPA, explores the negative beliefs that haven’t allowed your money grow.
The 123-page book is intended for
