Watch the supermarket scanners you might be wasting money

If you’ve ever been to any store and purchased a single item and had it ring up a different amount than what the sign above it said you know exactly what I mean. Even though these incidents could be completely accidental on the store’s part, it’s still a problem you need to be aware of the problem so you can get it corrected.

At first thought you might not think it’s worth your time to bring it to the attention of the store clerk that you were overcharged $0.50 for a 12 pack of soda, especially if you don’t realize it until you get back to your car. However, on second thought what if you purchase 100 items from the store and are overcharged $0.50 on 10 of them? This still might not be enough for most people to go back into the store and plead their case, but for some it’s well worth the $5.00, especially if you think about $5.00 per week for the rest of your life.

Another thing to watch for is double scanning of items. Remember the cashiers are only human and mistakes will happen. It’s very easy for an item to get double scanned and you will be charged twice for the item. An easy way to resolve this problem is to keep an eye on the cash register while the items are being scanned instead of reading that magazine at the checkout stand.

Treat your shopping experience like you would your job. Make a conscious effort to pay attention to prices and make sure you are paying what the sign says. Stay alert at the checkout stand and keep an eye on the cash register. It’s your money watch it and you could save yourself quite a bit!

Negotiating really works, it happened to me

You may have heard someone say that you should always try to negotiate everything you buy, especially large ticket items. Well, from personal experience I can say it’s true. Just this week I was negotiated out of $10 from the sale of a computer desk.

My wife and I recently moved our computer into the kitchen onto a built in computer desk, freeing up our office computer desk. Since it was in our dining room we thought it would be best to sell the desk to free up some space. We listed the computer desk on craigslist and had multiple emails the first day it was posted.  We really wanted to get $75 out of the desk and we made the mistake of listing it for $75. It’s amazing how much people will try to negoate to save a buck.

The first person we had look at the desk drove to our house to take a look. When they arrived they asked if it had a hutch that went with it. I was thinking to myself, the description on the ad never said anything about a hutch and there was no hutch in the 3 pictures that was posted, but I simply said, no… no hutch. He offered me $50 for the desk and after my return offer of $75 didn’t appease him he left and said he would keep looking.

I had two other people offer me $50 via email and said if noone else purchaed it they would gladly give me $50 for the desk. I however refused to let the desk go for $50 considering we paid about $200 for it 2 years ago.

Our next potential customer made an appointment during my work hour lunch to view the desk. When she arrived she asked how much I would sell the desk for and I gave here the $75 answer. I told her I had two other offers for $50 and wouldn’t let it go for that cheap. She replied, “I’ll meet you half way and give you $60. Well, $60 isn’t’ halfway so I replied I’ll give it to you for $65. She looked into her pocket and pulled out $60 cash, “That’s all I have, but I can write you a check for $5.” I’m sure she thought I would let her have it for $60 but I told her it was a deal for $65. She ended up finding $5 cash before she left but I realize she had the whole thing planned the minuted she showed up at my door. I was tired of answering email and negotiating so I gave in and lost the battle.

The lesson I have learned is that people are willing to sell something for even less than they really want. It’s pretty easy to fin great deals on used furniture., because most of the time they person selling the furniture no longer has a use for it and it’s in their way. Always try to negotiate!

Dollar Store items, junk or treasures

Dollar stores and popping up everywhere these days. Most of them advertise that everything in the store is $1 or less. It seems like a great deal, but is the stuff you find at these stores really worth $1 or are they just selling junk?

In my opinion dollar discount stores are just like every other type of store, there are great deals to be found but you have to really watch what you purchase. Even popular bulk wholesale stores may seem cheaper than regular retail stores when in reality just because you are buying bulk doesn’t mean you are saving money. Also, you have to consider what you are purchasing and the quality of the items.

Many of the items you find in a dollar store are more expensive than you could find at a regular retail store. For example candy items are often $1 and can be purchased at a supermarket for much less than $1. They however sell many of these overpriced items because you think it’s a great deal.

There are are however many great deals to be found in these dollar discount stores. Here is a list of our familys top 5 favorite items to purchase at dollar stores:

• Cleaning Supplies - You usually won’t find name brand cleaning supplies at dollar stores unless it is a discontinued item, but you will find their cousin counterparts. Most basic cleaning supplies have similar ingredients and they get the job done for most everyday chores.
• Bathroom Supplies - Many common smaller bathroom items such as mats, caddies and shower curtains can be found at dollar stores for a fraction of the price.
• Gardening Tools and supplies - You won’t find top quality gardening tools at a dollar store but for those of us who only do gardening as a hobby you will find your needs met. Gardening gloves, decorations, pots and much more can be found at dollar stores and they still get the job done.
• Household Tools - These tools aren’t for the serious carpenter but for the occassional picture hanger, nail puller, screwdriver you’ll find a great deal on these handy tools.
• Gift Cards, Thank You Cards, Notecards and stationary - Most paper products are a great deal at dollar stores. Especially look for out of season cards and stationary to use for next year. You can get a lot of bang for your buck.

Overall, dollar stores are a great way to find treasures. Don’t get carried away when you shop at them, there are deals to be found but there are also overpriced itmes waiting to make them money!

Buy used items and save money.

When you think of buying used you usually think of cars, trucks, boats, or other big ticket items. You can however, save a lot of money buying other used items as well. Books, furniture, clothing, movies, games, CD’s, DVD’s, electronics and other items can be bought used for a fraction of their original cost.

First, the obvious place to start buying used items is automobiles. Used cars, trucks, boats and other automobiles can be bought for a fraction of the cost even if they are only a couple of years old. It’s not worth the extra thousands of dollars you will pay for a new car when a good used car will serve the same purpose. You can also usually find cars with the remaining factory warranty that will have little or no extra maintenance costs.

Second, electronics are a great item to buy used. Desktop Computers, Laptop Computers, CD players, DVD players, etc. all lose most of their value as soon as they are taken out of the box. Buying a computer that is a year or so old could save you hundreds of dollars and won’t be too out of date.

A third place to save buying used is media products. Computer software, video games, music CD’s, DVD, books, etc. These items lose a lot of value after they are purchased new. Many of these items can be found at yard sales for pennies on the dollar. Used video games have even became popular enough to have entire retail stores designed around them. You can buy, sell and trade video games. Used book stores have been around for years and you can find great deals on used books.

There are hundreds of ways to save money. Even though you might not be saving hundreds of dollars every penny adds up!

Free Online Coloring Books for Your Children

With all the gimmick advertisements on the Internet these days for free stuff, how do you know which ones are legitimate and which ones are trying to trick you into thinking you are getting something free? If you’ve been deceived before, don’t give up home. There are many things you can get online free and one great one is a free coloring book for your children.

There are literally hundreds of websites that offer free images you can print to your home computer for your children to color. I found everything from letters, numbers, cartoon characters, animals, puzzles, holiday events, educational worksheets, etc. They are completely free and you won’t be breaking any kind of copyrights by printing them out for your children.

Now, obviously it’s not completely 100% free it will cost you the price of a sheet of paper and ink for your computer. But it will cost a lot less than a fancy coloring book from a retail store. More than likely if they are under the age of three it will be a bunch of scribbles anyway so don’t waste the money.

You may be asking yourself what’s the big deal with downloading these free coloring sheets. Sure I might save a little money, but couldn’t I just give my children a blank sheet of paper and let their imagine do some work? Sure, but there are some great, creative uses for your newly found free coloring pages that might interest you.

First, a great use for your free coloring pages and books is a themed birthday party. If you are having a princess party for your little girl then print out multiple pictures of princesses, castles, dresses, etc. Have a boy? You’ll find hundreds of pictures of cars, trains, animals, etc. Hand out the sheets to the children at the party and have a coloring contest for prizes.

Second, many of the free pictures and activities will also have educational value. If you have a toddler just learning their alphabet or numbers, don’t waste your money on educational workbooks. You’ll find hundreds of educational prints including letters, numbers, puzzles and games to train their brain. Sit down each night with them and work through some of the pages.

I won’t advertise for any specific website, but a quick search with your favorite online search engine using keywords such as “free coloring book photos”, “free coloring images” or “free children’s coloring pages” will produce hundreds of thousands of results. Have fun and save money!

Find Free Entertainment

Entertainment is one of those things that most people feel like they have to spend money on in order to enjoy. There are hundreds of ways to stay entertained without spending whole lot of money. Here are just a few ideas to think about before wasting money.

Movie rentals are a great way to stay entertained for a couple of hours and you will spend less than $5. Rent a movie from the local video store for about $4, pop a bag of store bought popcorn, and wash it down with your favorite beverage. You might run over $5, but you will be well under the $25 for two people you would spend at the movie theater.

A cheaper version of the above is to find a good movie on cable television, or find a series that you would like to start watching every week. You are already paying for cable television anyway so why not get some use out of it.

Treat yourself to a new book purchase from the local bookstore or order one online from a discount bookstore or auction website. An even better way to save would be to visit the local public library and check out a book, movie, CD, or book on tape/CD. It won’t cost you a dime, except the gas in your car to get there and back.

Take a hike or a walk through the neighborhood. It’s always fun for my wife and me to walk through the neighborhood and look at other houses. Check out the landscaping or their outside decorations. If you are close to a park walk around the park and take a picnic lunch or dinner.

Check online for free concerts, plays and shows. Many times, especially in the summer cities will sponsor free events to promote tourism. Keep an eye out for these events, they can be fun and free.

There are many ways to find entertainment for cheap or free. Don’t feel like you have to spend money to have a good time. Just do a little research and be creative and you’ll save a ton of money!

Exercise at Home to avoid gym fees

If you are the active type and enjoy keeping fit then you need to eat right and exercise. Exercise usually means a trip to the local gym. The gym usually means a membership fee and monthly dues. Gym membership fees can cost hundreds of dollars and monthly dues can be anywhere from tens of dollars to hundreds of dollars per month.

Did you know you don’t really have to go to the gym to get exercise? There are many alternatives to paying those monthly gym membership fees. First, run outside instead of the treadmill if you really must have a treadmill save those monthly dues while you jog outside and buy yourself a good used one for your home. You can get a great cardio workout from many exercise videos as well. Many great workout programs can be found on eBay, Amazon or at yard sales. If you want to lift weights then look at yard sales for weights and other equipment.

Once you purchase equipment it’s yours to keep say goodbye to those monthly gym membership fees.

Don’t buy too much insurance

Insurance it’s everywhere but which types do you need and which are a ripoff? Life, health, vision, dental, car, gap, disability, mortgage, home, liability, pet, flood, earthquake and the list continues forever.  Just about anything you can think of can be insured. The question is which types of insurance do you really need and which types are just a waste of your hard earned money?

I did a quick look at wikipedia and they have over 70 types of insurances listed and I know this doesn’t include a complete list. Do you need every type of insurance listed? Of course not, you would be paying all of your salary each month out to insurance.

Here is my unprofessional opinion on which types of insurances you need and how much you actually need. First, health insurance is a definite. If your employer doesn’t offer a group rate or free health insurance then it’s something you need to find on your own. If you are a health person then the best option is a HSA or health savings account. They have high deductibles but low premiums and cover 100% after the deductible.

Auto insurance is mandatory in most if not all states so yes you need to have to it if you are going to drive an automobile. Be sure you have a higher deductible plan such as $1000 to help save on the premiums. Also shop around to make sure you are getting the best rates in your area. Also be sure to check the rates often because it’s a very competitive market!

Home owners insurance is also a must and similar rules as auto insurance. Shop around for the best rates and make sure to get higher deductibles. Talk to insurance agents to see if you can get a bigger discount by combining your home and auto insurance with the same company.

Life insurance is also a must if you have a spouse and children. Make sure you only purchase a 20 or 25 year term policy and not a whole life policy. Term life is all you need to take care of your family. You will also be sure you have enough coverage to take care of them if something happens to you. You will want all your debt to be taken care of and enough money to pay for college and other life expenses. Life insurance rates are pretty competitive so again be sure to shop around.

If you work in a high risk work environment at your job you may want to consider disability insurance. However if this is the case it’s a good chance your employer already has disability insurance provided for you. Disability insurance can usually be purchased at a cheap price from your current health insurance provider.

No matter what type of insurance you decide to purchase be sure you know exactly what you are purchasing. Don’t just purchase something because you think you need it. Be sure you know deductables, limits and what they cover. Don’t be tricked into purchasing worthless insurance policys.

Take a Vacation in the off season to save money

Everybody needs a vacation at some point in their life. However vacation should be a reward for your hard work and saving throughout the year. You should never take a vacation if you don’t have the money saved to actually take the trip. Never finance a vacation, if you don’t have the cash to pay for everything you are planning on spending, then wait a few more months until you do have the money. When you do decide to take a vacation try to find ways to save some cash but still have lots of fun. One great way to save a lot of money and not compromise any fun is to go during the off season.

Many hotels and resorts offer great prices if you go when they are not completely full. I found some hotels that have rate ranges from $50 to $250 per night for the same room, depending on when you spend the night. The $50 per night rate usually is for a weekday night during the Fall or Winter but there are still warm times at the beach even in late September.

If you do plan on visiting your vacation spot during the off season, wait to make the reservation or make a reservation that doesn’t cost anything to cancel. Many hotels and resorts wait until the first part of the off season to apply the deep discounts to their rates. Reserving a hotel for September in June may not save you much money. Reserving a room for late September at the first part of September may save you as much as $100 per night.

Not only do you save money by going on vacation during the off season, but there are many other advantages. Local shop and store owners will be much more willing to give discounts on their products and souvenirs because they want to make a sale. You will get better attention and service from hotel and resort personnel because there won’t be as many customers. Everything will be less crowded and congested including traffic and restaurants.

Give an off season vacation a try this year. Who knows you may even enjoy the experience more than your normal vacation time!

Reduce Debt and have fun!

Tired of the monthly budget? Want to something a little out of the ordinary when it comes to saving money or reducing your debt? I just went for a three hour drive today on my way to a business trip and came up with this idea. What if there was some type of incentive every month for you to save money, wouldn’t it make it much more fun? So what’s fun and different about this idea you ask?

First, you’ll need to do a little research into your budget. If you’ve kept a good budget then this shouldn’t be too difficult. Break down your budget into three categories:

1. Completely Mandatory - This category contains all the necessary bills such as home, auto loans, electric, water, credit cards, etc. This does not include cable, phone or internet.
2. Somewhat Mandatory - This category will include bills such as cable, phone, and internet services. It will also include grocery money, clothing money, etc. Things that you need but you could probably reduct the cost somewhat.
3. Not Necessary - Finally the not necessary category includes entertainment money, and blow money. Money that if you didn’t have for a month you could live without. You really don’t need to go to the movies or spend $60 on dinner!

Now here is where the contest comes in and your reward. Total up the amounts from each category based on your last months bills. For example:

1. Necessary: Electric $150, Water $35, Home $1000, Auto $400 total of $1585.
2. Somewhat: Cable $40, Phone $35, Internet $40, Grocery : $400, Clothing $250, total of $765.
3. Not: Entertainment $400, Blow $100, total of $500.

Now our goal is to reduce each category by a small amount each month paying down debt and rewarding ourselves in the process. Reducing all three categories may leave a good deal of leftover money. Use half of this money on paying down debt and the other half to spend on some type of reward. Something fun you normally wouldn’t buy yourself.

First, those necessary bills you can reduce your electric and water bills by simply being aware of the resources you are using. Turning off lights when you leave rooms, take showers instead of a baths, take shorter showers than usual, use lamps instead of overhead lights, don’t leave the water on while brushing your teeth or shaving, etc. As for that auto payment you may want to do something extreme like sell the car and buy something with cash you have on hand or finance something for half of your current payment. You can find decent cars for $5,000 or even less!

Second, those somewhat necessary bills can save us some major cash! Drop any premium channels from your cable service. You may be able to reduce your internet service by switching from cable to DSL or from DLS to cable. Drop that lan line phone service if everybody has a cell phone with enough minutes. Clothing is necessary, but name brand clothing is not necessary. Watch for sales and check out consignment shops for cheaper clothes. Groceries can also be a good money saver. Use those coupons you always toss out with the trash. Buy generic foods when possible. I’ve read multiple articles on saving hundreds of dollars per month on your grocery bill! It’s possible to save some good money in this category.

Finally, the enertainment/blow category can be your biggest savings area. Eating out is just not necessary and although enertainment is necessary it doesn’t always have to cost money. Limit eating out to a minimum. If you must eat out order water or get takeout and bring it home. Go to the park instead of the movies. Go on picnics and hikes instead of amusement parks. There are hundreds of ways to save money on enertainment.

Here is a revised sample budget and what can be done with the extra money.

1. Necessary: Electric $145 (old $150), Water $31(old $35), Home $1000 (old $1000), Auto $175 (old $400) total of $1351 (old $1585). SAVINGS OF $234.
2. Somewhat: Cable $40 (old $40), Phone $0 (old $35), Internet $35 DSL (old $40), Grocery : $360 (old $400), Clothing $225 (old $250), total of $660 (old $765), SAVINGS OF $105.
3. Not: Entertainment $350 (old $400), Blow $80 (old $100), total of $430, SAVINGS OF $70. 

In our sample budget we saved a total of $409!!! We didn’t make huge sacrafices just small sacrafices in each category. Now take the $409 and pay $200 toward one of your high interest rate debts and take the other $209 and spend it on something nice for yourself. You may even want to save the $209 for next month and pick up something much nicer. Reward yourself for saving money and it will be much more fun!