The Passive Dad » Money saving tips

8 Ways to Cut Entertainment Expenses

Traci K. — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 15:00:07 +0000

Entertainment expenses can take up a large portion of a family’s budget and time. How often have we picked up that new release from Blockbuster only to be a week late returning it – and paying the resultant late fee. Sometimes entertainment includes eating out (or snacking out), movie theater trips, shopping (without purpose), and sports and concert events. If your family is a devoted fan of your local semi-pro hockey team and you go to almost every game without fail, I certainly don’t advocate tossing your season passes to cut your expenses as long as you can comfortably afford them. However, there are some ways to cut down on entertainment costs, no matter what form of entertainment is your poison of choice.

Unlimited Movie Rentals without the Late Fee: Try subscribing to either Netflix or Blockbuster unlimited monthly rentals with no late fees. You can get anywhere from 1-3 DVD’s out at a time depending on the subscription package you buy. Of course, you could also try your library…as long as you take it back on time!
Stream Movies at Home: You can also stream movies to your computer at home, or through select devices depending on who you’re streaming through. If you have at least a DSL connection, you can typically stream without too much of an issue although you will see delays and even poor streaming from time to time. You can get all kinds of TV shows and movies free through sites like Hulu.com
Go Outside: Try getting out of the house! Go to a park, hike, picnic, play basketball, or take a walk. None of it requires money and it’s healthy for the whole family to get outside and play. Don’t forget to bring water!
Go to Afternoon Movies: If you are going to go out to the movies, go in the afternoon because the matinée prices are about half the price of the evening showings. Be sure to eat before you go so that you save on snacks and drinks because you feel full! Check your local movie theater listings as sometimes there are “$1.50” movie theaters that play movies that are on re-run instead of new releases at a very low cost.
Play Games: Traditional board games are still an option, although they seem to have fallen out of favor lately. There are lots of new games out in additional to other things like puzzles, drawing games, word games, and card games.
Volunteer: A great way to spend time together as a family is to volunteer. You can go to a local food bank, animal shelter, soup kitchen, or any other local charity organization that might need a few hours of help. It’s a great way to meet people and help others. For kids, it’s a great way to teach them about helping others.
Read a Book: Reading books are still a time honored tradition. You can read a book out loud to the family or curl up with a good book by yourself. Local libraries have tons of books for free, and there are tons of books to be found online for free as well.
Listen to Music: You can listen to music at home or go out to concerts. You can usually find discount tickets online. Save money by sitting further back. For many classical performance halls, the best acoustics are in the balcony or top levels and often are also the cheapest seats. Checking your local County and City web pages may also show a number of completely free live concerts available as well!

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5 of the Highest Interest Online Savings Accounts

Traci K. — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 15:00:26 +0000

One of the best things to do with your short term savings is to place your cash in a high interest savings account. Many of the online only banks (like Ally or ING Direct) have the best interest rates available, although some banks do require a minimum deposit amount to get the best APY Interest yield. Many of the percentages change as frequently as every few months, so it’s best to do your homework before opening. Here are 5 of the highest interest rate savings accounts I have found:

Everbank: Everbank boasts a whopping 1.51% APY up to $50K the first year. They have a bonus introductory of 2.25% APY for the first 3 months. Catches: There is a $1,500 minimum opening deposit and a $8.95 per month fee for balances under $5,000.
SallieMae: SallieMae is well known for their presence in providing student loans, but their new savings account option has a great 1.4% APY Bonus: No monthly fees, no minimum deposits, no minimum balances.
Capital One: Well known for their credit cards, Capital One has ventured into online savings with an APY of 1.35% for balances of $1,000 or more. You only need $1 to open an account, but the APY is only 0.10% if you’re under that $1,000 magic balance. Bonus: No fees and a possibility of a 10% quarterly bonus if you either have a balance of $15,000 or over or use a capital one credit card once a month.
Ally: Ally has been a leading figure in the online banking industry, becoming one of the most reputable online only banking establishments. They have a very competitive 1.29% APY that doesn’t fluctuate too much. Bonus: There are no minimum balances and only $1 for an initial deposit is required. Catch: You need a pretty decent credit score to be accepted for an account.
ING Direct: ING Direct is one of the more well known online only banking presences. Although their APY fluctuates more than some other banks, they accept lower credit score applicants for savings accounts (based on personal experience only) with a very consistently competitive APY. Right now, the Orange Savings is at 1.10% APY. Bonus: There are no fees and no minimum deposit or minimum balance. If your credit score is decent, their Electric Orange Checking has a very high interest of 1.25% APY.

Most online savings offer the benefit of a higher APY with a few downsides. Aside from some online savings banks require minimum deposits or balances for the high APY percent, you can also expect to have to make all transactions wireless, take several days to transfer money, and there is usually a federally mandated withdrawal limit of 6 transactions per month. My experience with ING Direct is that any overdraft fees, or other fees are usually far less painful than with a traditional bank. If you understand the terms of your account and what will cause fees, and you can work with the time it takes to move money then the benefits may outweigh the downside of these high interest online savings accounts.

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How to Plan a Wedding on a Budget

Traci K. — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 15:00:45 +0000

Planning a wedding is one of the most exciting, frustrating, special, and expensive things that will ever happen in your life. If you’re on a tight budget, it can seem almost impossible! To be able to keep a tight wedding budget, you need to know where to splurge and where to cut costs. Before you make any other plans, you need to start by having a total budget. How much can you spend altogether? This is the all important number you simply must have firmly in mind. Now, to the first part:

Where to Splurge:

When you think about getting married, there are a few things that come to mind. When I think about cost, I think about the wedding dress. Although it doesn’t have to be a several thousand dollar dress, the dress usually takes up a good portion of your budget. I would suggest anywhere from 1/4-1/2 of your total budget, depending on other factors. Hand-me down wedding dresses are great, especially if you get them tailored to fit. Used dresses can be found from Goodwill and other thrift stores, and you often can’t tell they’ve been used. Personally, I found a steal by hunting online and got a custom-made to my measurements dress for about $250. You can find better deals by going for a non-traditional dress. The second place to splurge, is of course on the groom’s outfit. A decent tuxedo rental usually runs about $100 and a suit even less. If you own a nice suit, even better.

Where to Save:

Almost everything other than the clothing are places to look to cut costs. If you’re really on a tight budget, I suggest the following areas:

Location: There are a number of free or cheap locations you can have for your wedding. A family or friend’s yard, a public park, and rent a picnic area at the park for a rain area. It is really dependent on how many guests you have and who has a back yard available.
Guest List: If you’re really on a tight budget, I suggest keeping the guest list as small as you can. It gives you more flexibility in terms of locations, food, wedding favors and everything else really. If your budget is $500 or so, I suggest 15 people or less.
Food: There are great alternatives to having the very expensive catering. My husband and I had a guest list of about 12 people at our wedding, so his mother and sister and myself set up a menu of easily made home prepared food. We bought the food and they were kind enough to make the dinner (as the wedding was at his mother’s house). I think we spent $75 total for a complete dinner with several deserts. However, we opted out of a traditional wedding cake. You can save on a wedding cake by looking for non-commercial cake decorators like stay-at moms or small businesses. You can always go pot luck style and ask everyone to bring a dish.
Decorations: Wedding decorations and favors are used only once. If you’re really on a tight budget, go for the smallest amount of decorations you feel comfortable with, keep them simple and keep them classy. Decorations in black and white for other formal events are cheap to find and use, favors can be made at home, skip or skimp on fresh flowers except for the bride and groom, and the more simple you are willing to have the wedding the less you will need to spend. You’ll also save by doing your own wedding invitations. Don’t forget to shop discount stores like dollar stores, big lots, and wal-marts to look for these types of items.

Where you ultimately spend or splurge on your wedding budget depends on what is most important to you. If there’s a specific dress, a certain location, or you have to have the large wedding with lots of guests you can always rearrange your budget percentages to accommodate your area of splurge. The final percentages spent on my $500 or less wedding was 50% on the dress, 15% on my husband’s clothes, 15% on food, 10% on paying the minister, and 10% on flowers, decorations and invitations. The best part about a very simple, low budget, small guest list wedding? Almost no stress and lots of fun! And that was priceless.

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7 Healthy Spending Habits

Traci K. — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 19:00:01 +0000

Healthy habits in any area of your life are a great thing to cultivate. Switching your bad spending habits for healthy spending habits can do you a world of good, not to mention your wallet. Like anything else, it can be very hard to make these types of changes, but once you do they become good spending habits that will stick with you for years to come.

Follow your budget: When you follow your budget (even if you occasionally go over) you are building healthy buying habits. Following your budget helps you keep your financial life on track for whatever goals you have in mind.
Ask “Do I really NEED this right now?”: Impulse purchases are part of life, and sometimes they can even be a good thing. Particularly if you find a necessity at a great price. Impulse purchases should always be something you need and shouldn’t completely destroy your budget. Unless it’s a necessity for life (food, medical, shelter), if you just can’t afford it then don’t buy it.
Eat at Home: The more you eat at home, the more you’ll save. Eating out should be an occasional treat once or twice a month. If it becomes a regular outing, then eating out has become a habit and no longer a treat.
Take your lunch and/or coffee to work: We all know how quickly the morning coffee can add up. If you’re still budgeting for the morning coffee and lunch from the vending machines or nearest takeout, make it a point to bring your lunch. If you really can’t make something, try a frozen Dinner. Our local Wal-Mart has Banquet dinners for $0.98 each and Healthy Choice and Smart Ones meals from $1.00-$3.00 each at normal price.
Use Alternate transportation if you can: Gas prices seem to skyrocket every summer and they really haven’t gone back down very much from the large price hike several years back. If you’re going somewhere close enough to walk, or public transportation is an option try utilizing those methods at least once a week. Or you could try using a bike! You’ll save on gas and car maintenance and you’re helping cut carbon emissions too.
Ditch the Plastic: Credit cards can make a lot of people tend to overspend. Use credit cards only when absolutely necessary and take them while traveling for emergency use. Credit cards are a great way to rack up high interest long term debt, so treat them accordingly.
Become an avid Bargain Hunter: Why buy full price when you can find a similar quality item for less? For some of us, this is like a very addictive game! My husband and I like to compete when we are bargain hunting to see who can find the best price. I knew a gentleman at the company I used to work for who was going on a trip to Puerto Rico during the summer. I literally listened to him call two competing car rental companies and bounce their quotes off of each other and ask for a better deal. He got the weekly rental price down to about a third of the original quote after an hour or so of haggling. I was impressed!

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5 Things that can Blow your Budget and How to Avoid Them

Traci K. — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 15:00:47 +0000

No matter what you are budgeting for, it can be incredibly difficult to stay within your budget if you aren’t careful. Budgets require careful maintenance and attention, and it’s easy to blow your budget if you aren’t paying attention. Here are 5 things that can cause you to blow your money instead of watching your proverbial budget waistline.

1) Stop Tracking Your Expenses: If you stop tracking your expenses completely, you will most likely exceed one or more portions of your budget. A budget is better kept when you stay aware of how much you have left in a given category, or in some cases envelope.

Solution: Be diligent in tracking your expenses and checking your budget balances regularly. If you’re using an online software, it can be as simple as logging into a website for 3 minutes. Or, if you’re using the envelope method it takes 3 seconds to check your leftover cash.

2) Impulse Purchases: Impulse purchases can bite into your budget with a vengeance. Whether you always pick up extra items on your grocery trip or your spouse made a large online purchase without asking first, impulse purchases add up quickly and if left unchecked can blow your budget.

Solution: Plan for some impulse purchases by budgeting for some impulse purchases. When you find yourself grabbing something that isn’t on the list, take a few minutes to step back and think about if you really need this item right now or if it can wait. And if you have the money in your budget to buy it. Sometimes slowing down to analyze is all you need to control impulse spending.

3) Unrealistic Budgeting: If your actual budget is completely unrealistic, you will exceed your budget amount. While budgeting aggressively is a good thing, make sure your budget is realistic with a set of small decreases that step down instead of trying to cut too much too fast.

Solution: Double check your budget figures to make sure they are reasonable. If you find out mid-month that they are unreasonable, sit down and recalculate. Smaller, reachable steps are better than unreachable leaps.

4) Poor Planning: If you are taking a day trip, car ride, or spending a long day running errands you will need to eat and drink during the day. If you don’t plan ahead, you can end up eating out which can quickly blow your budget.

Solution: The night before or morning of your new day, take a few minutes to plan ahead. Think about if you’ll need food or drinks with you and plan accordingly to avoid unnecessary purchases.

5) Family Cooperation and Miscommunication: If your spouse isn’t on board with your budget plans, or there was a misunderstanding about your budget and planning purchases, your budget can be blown very quickly.

Solution: Talk with your spouse or family members calmly and candidly. Be sure to elicit feedback and participation so that everyone’s needs and wants are addressed. Most of all, be sure everyone understand and agrees to the expectations and why a budget is important.

No matter what the reason for your budget mishap: learn from it, fix it, and keep going! It’s an evolving process that works differently for everyone.

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5 Alternatives to Cable T.V.

Traci K. — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 15:00:50 +0000

Cable and satellite T.V. Prices have become astronomical in the last 2-3 years. I think my parents have changed Satellite T.V. providers multiple times during this time span to try and take advantage of special pricing and yet still can’t get their T.V. bill below $75 a month in order to get local channels included. Granted, they are in a very rural area where cable isn’t available and neither is any version of high speed Internet. For most of us in a more urban and suburban environment with DSL and Broadband cable there are a few better alternatives to shelling out for expensive T.V. Services that can reduce our monthly costs to anywhere from free to about $20 a month, depending on your viewing needs.

Purchase a subscription to Netflix (or a similar service): My husband and I have the lowest Netflix at about $8.98 per month. This allows us unlimited streaming of whatever is available to stream, and one DVD out at a time. We stream almost everything, and cycle through the DVD’s at our own pace without worrying about late fees. We hook our T.V. Up to the desktop computer for family viewing, but we also use our computers individually if we want to watch different things.
Switch to using an Antenna with a Digital Converter Box (if needed): If you can get signal with an antenna, you can get your local channels and news, a few basic channels (like ABC and CW) and PBS, plus a few more depending on your locality. I am amazed at how many shows I like are on the free channels, and how much I don’t notice that I don’t have more channels available.
Use online free streaming T.V. : You can stream T.V. shows and some movies through sites like Hulu.com, CBS.com, cwtv.com and more. You can catch up on shows you miss and other shows you don’t get with an antenna. Best of all, it’s sort of like DVR. It doesn’t matter if I miss my regular show, I can stream it whenever I have time to watch! Who needs cable T.V. with the advent of decent (if sometimes stuttering) streaming T.V.? This is a great alternative to cable T.V.. Between Hulu and Netflix I have all the T.V. goodness I can stand.
If you don’t spend much time watching T.V. to begin with or you want to see a New Release, Rent from a Redbox: Redbox can be a great and cheap alternative for the occasional movie urge as long as you return it on time. Although generally Netflix has the same new releases as Redbox available within 1-2 days, with a few exceptions.
Visit your Public Library: Not only are libraries great places to get a book, read a magazine, and surf the web, but many libraries have a collection of DVD’s available also. It may not be the most up to date collection, but it’s free to borrow! It really doesn’t get much better than free.

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How to Save Money by Buying in Bulk

Traci K. — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 15:00:15 +0000

Buying in bulk can help you save money, but if you aren’t smart about what you buy in bulk it might just be wasteful. There are a number of things that shouldn’t generally be bought in bulk such as ice cream, milk, butter, cheese, sour cream and other perishable items. They often expire before you would be able to use the entire amount! However, there are a few general guidelines that will help you decide what items you might be able to save on when you buy in bulk.

Do you have an extra freezer ? If the answer to that is “No,” then you want to limit the amount of perishable foods you purchase in bulk. We only have a normal size freezer, so if I stock up on anything perishable it’s usually meat while it’s on sale. I also limit myself to no more than half of my freezer being bulk items. It can make sense to stock up on the current $2 per pound sale chicken breast but don’t go overboard or you might not have any room for dessert, literally.

Don’t forget to check the per unit cost of anything you’re considering buying in bulk. Whether you’re thinking about stocking up on the on-sale toilet paper at your local grocery store or buying it from Sam’s club, BJ’s, or Costco make sure you’re getting the best bang for your buck. You can usually check online or just call and ask the pricing. If it’s not the lowest per unit cost, it’s not going to save money.

How much storage space do you have at home? My husband and I have a very small apartment and not a lot of space to keep bulk items. We stock up on toiletries when they are on sale (because they are relatively small), toilet paper, and certain pantry staples (like types of pasta, canned fruit and vegetables, tomato sauce, and certain spices). We also buy cat food and litter a month at a time: a large pet food container keeps the food fresh and sealed from air for long=term storage. If you don’t have space for what you want to stock up on, buying in bulk can be counterproductive.

Do you have friends or family that use some of the same perishable products you do? A co-op might be a great way to save money by buying in bulk. If there isn’t a local co-op near you, you can always start your own with family and friends. If you have a group of people to split large purchases of perishable items with (like meats, fresh fruit and vegetables, dairy products, spices, and fresh breads), you can save a tremendous amount. This work great with other items you wouldn’t typically buy in bulk as well, like baby diapers, formula, paper towels, and cleaning supplies.

Buying in bulk is a great way to save money as long as you shop smartly, do your homework, and especially if you can share the savings by splitting the cost with others!

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7 Ways to Save on Groceries

Traci K. — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 19:00:01 +0000

One of the major expenses of daily life is our monthly grocery bill. Because it is one of our largest expenses, it also offers additional ways to save on groceries. We all struggle with how to cut grocery bills in half: we know we shouldn’t grocery shop while we’re hungry, we ought to clip coupons, check for sales, and buy up on paper good and shelf-stable items when we have money and space. But what else can we do to save? Here are 7 simple tips to help you save on groceries every single week.

Always Shop with a List: When you go grocery shopping, always have a list made and bring it with you. Sticking to your list will help you avoid unplanned expenses, help you stay in budget, and make your grocery trip faster. Shopping by yourself helps you stick to your list as well, which will save you more money and time.
Plan your Menu each Week: Plan what everyone will eat for every meal for the week, including snacks. It may sound tedious, but after a week or two it will take no more than 20 minutes and the benefits you will reap far outweigh the time spent planning. With a menu planned, you can plan to have leftovers, plan to eat out, and even plan convenience meals like frozen dinner night. Your menu is what you will create your shopping list from, so don’t forget to check your pantry so you you use what you have first.
Use your coupons especially when the items are on sale: We all know we should clip coupons, but what you might not know is that most stores will honor manufacturer coupons in conjunction with sales and store specific coupons, and many stores even offer double or triple coupon days where you can increase the value of the coupons you do have. You save the most on smaller items, so buying bigger isn’t always more. If you forget the Sunday paper try getting free grocery store coupons online from places like coupons.com , valpak.com, or coolsavings.com.
Stretch your meats: Meat is one of the most expensive grocery items you can buy. A great way to save on groceries is to add one vegetarian meal (or more) per week. If you just can’t live without your meat, then watch your portion sizes! A single healthy serving of meat is about 4 ounces, or about the size of your palm or ¼ of your plated meal. Beef up your meal with a large dose of veggies, fruit and/or a bowl of soup to still feel full and save!
Pack Lunches and drinks: If you normally buy your lunch at work or your children buy their lunch at school every day, try packing lunches and drinks instead. If you are going on a road trip, going grocery shopping, or any other type of trip try packing drinks to prevent buying more expensive single serving drinks. Reusable water bottles are great for everything from water, Kool-aid, or portioning out soda from a 2 liter bottle.
Make it Yourself instead of buying it prepackaged: You can really cut grocery bill significantly by switching to making things like sauces, potato dishes, and even bread yourself from staples instead of buying it prepackaged. I can make a very large pot of homemade chicken noodle soup for about $7.38 with all store brand items. It makes about 8 large servings, which is about $0.93 a bowl. It takes me 20 minutes to make, and sounds (and tastes) much better than the $1-$2 per can of condensed and oily soup. Bonus: It’s often healthier and you get a bigger serving for less!
Watch for scanner errors: As much as we’d like to think scanner errors never happen, they do happen from time to time. Some stores will offer additional discounts if you are overcharged, and some stores have been known to offer the item free! I write down the amount of every item according to the shelf tag as I grocery shop so I can keep track of how much I’m spending and also compare prices to other stores. If I get overcharged, I take my notebook and receipt to customer service to have it corrected.

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“Press play to get ‘really good at life’”

Jessie — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 12:52:25 +0000

I’ve always been a DIY kind of girl, so naturally I’m very excited to share with you a (not so) secret doorway to getting really good at life and enjoying the significant economical benefits that ensue- not just by saving money on an overpriced education from an archaic institution but through learning do-it-yourself skills that we so often pay others to do for us.

Recently, I’ve been caught up in the cold weather blues and have found myself, mid-twenties, with the sudden urge to learn how to knit. A not-so bizarre and evidently achievable feat, you may presume, but I quickly became shattered by the realization that

1. I don’t really know how to knit

2. My mother is on the other side of the world and

3. I’m not really in a position to enter a nursing home just yet.

In my quest to surmount the stitches, I spent hours scouring the Internet one afternoon struggling to grasp the basic concepts but found myself throwing the needles in dismay after countless failed attempts at recreating the obscure diagrams and details in front of me. After finally almost accepting that I should let it go, I found my eyes glaze over a video tutorial offered on youtube. Intrigued by it, I watched and in minutes had perfected the ostensibly tricky cast-on. This was four months ago.

Since then, I have found myself inadvertently advocating Youtube and Videojug [videojug.com] to anybody who will listen and have found myself quickly conquering seemingly difficult tasks on a regular basis. I have begged my friends to ask me about an odd job that needs doing around the home before ringing up that local tradesman.

I am now receiving weekly ukulele lessons, with my teacher from the States posting new songs and chords weekly with clear instructions- fuelling my poor musical abilities but reviving my aspirations. I am passing this knowledge on to my equally unmusical neighbour, who chooses to frequently cook dinner as payment. My niece has also learnt how to get good at fake crying (for a school play) and taken a series of wonderful confidence-boosting drama classes. I’ve learnt from one of the top Indian chefs how to make a beautiful mango chutney. My brother ripped up his carpet and sanded, painted and polished his floorboards in two days on his own. My dad has perfected his golf swing with the help from international golfing greats. Sick of my regular gym visits that convince me chocolate buns are better than tight ones, I now ‘Zumba’ regularly at home, fattening up the piggy bank by feeding it, instead of parting with my pennies all in the name of a hefty gym membership.

It’s so hard to fathom the amount of money I have saved in this month alone. Complimentary guitar lessons, cooking lessons, have done unthinkable maintenance on my new bike and have made my own bookcase – all of this taking place in the comfort of my own apartment. And did I mention free? Ridiculously cool. Ridiculously smart. Never again will I flick through a phonebook and hire the skills of another person before consulting Youtube. Ever.

Youtube is a wonderful source for endless learning, yet a lot of the videos don’t aim to be instructive at all. Videojug is an alternative video community that has recently emerged dedicated at providing instructional videos solely on the premise of helping the world ‘get better at life’. The search bar on the website asks – ‘what do you want to get good at today?’ and provides instant and free education on everything from learning a language, to servicing your own car, to kitchen appliance maintenance, to learning how to decorate your home, learning how to coach your son’s baseball team, and even lessons on what to do if you’re at the scene of a crime.

I’ve never been very good at learning through words. Maybe it’s my inability to sit still for long periods of time, or my constantly wondering mind- but I’ve always absolutely deplored study. Even reminiscing on my school days, I was often bored and disillusioned by un-engaging and disinterested teachers. Learning via video is so effective and it is even easier than ever with these emerging websites designed to instruct you to quickly become the good kind of know-it-all.

It is such a satisfying concept to know that millions of people from all around the world are imparting their help and wisdom to the world, sharing a wealth of knowledge, at no cost. Viva le Revolution – Free and informed education is not an ideal – it’s now just a click away!

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Can’t Make Up Your Mind? Call A Frugal Friend

Scott — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 10:00:44 +0000

photo credit: Phillie Casablanca

Maybe your are at a cell phone store talking to a salesperson, when you find out that you can upgrade to a new phone and contract. You really just wanted to keep your existing contract, but that new iphone or Blackberry would be really amazing. What do you do when faced with a tough financial choice like this one? Do you make a quick decision, tell the salesperson you need to think about it, or call a frugal friend for advice? You might consider yourself frugal, but when faced with a choice, you sometimes like to splurge. You could probably find 10 reasons right now why you want a new iphone, but do you need one? Your frugal friend could be a mother, father, aunt, uncle, cousin, or even your spouse. Have you ever thought of calling a frugal friend to help with a tough financial decision?

What are some ways calling a frugal friend can help save you money?

1. Negotiating prices. If you are buying a car or large ticket item, it might be wise to call a frugal friend and get a second opinion. Buying a car can be very stressful and many numbers are thrown at you all at once. A friend can help you think through the purchase and make sure you are not buying some extras you don’t need. Do you need a security alarm installed by the dealer or used car warranty? Maybe you could find a third party who is cheaper.

2. Signing a contract. You utilize a real estate professional or attorney in some states when purchasing a home. Do you utilize a professional or third party when signing a cell phone contract? Do you understand early termination fees, text messaging rates, or internet usage charges? Many people are surprised by these fees and might have avoided them if a friend helped you read through the contract before signing.

3. The upsell. You might not even now it is happening, the upsell. Now you shouldn’t call a friend when you are being upsold at the movie theater. The typical upsell involves asking the customer if they want to purchase the large Coke for only 25 cents more. It’s a brilliant strategy, and I admit to falling for it. What about at the electronics store? Did you buy the warranty for your new pair of shoes? It only cost $10, but did you read the contract? Does it cover normal wear and tear, or only defects?

4. Jewelry. If you are buying or selling jewelry, do you know how to negotiate? If you are buying a diamond engagement ring, do you take a buddy with you that’s married. A married buddy has already research diamond rings and can offer you some invaluable money saving tips. Knowing your personal budget and making sure you have a plan for paying off this purchase is probably your first step. If you are close with your buddy, you can discuss your budget and spending limit before entering the jewelry store. You will probably be shown some rings that are out of your price range, and your buddy can give a nudge or cough to bring you back to earth. You and you new wife will feel much more happier starting your marriage off debt free.

5. Customer service. Next time your frustrated with a poor customer service call or situation, call a friend and calmly discuss the situation. I had a co-worker who was also a wonderful friend offer to help me deal with a car dealer. The dealer would not offer to fix my car as they said the damage was a pre-existing situation. I new I had never been in an accident, but couldn’t prove it to the dealer. My co-worker had a similar situation and took it to another independent dealer to examine the damage. I took the car to another dealer and they found that the car had been in a severe front impact accident and I then took the report to where I purchased the car. They fixed the damage and gave me a loaner car during the repair process. Listening to my frugal friend helped me emotionally and financially.

Many of us live busy lives and don’t think twice about signing a contract or buying something nice for ourselves. But, what if a quick phone call to a friend who is also frugal and has your best interest in mind. Most people wouldn’t care if you purchased an iphone and didn’t really need it. A friend who cares about your financial health might be able to offer you a second opinion on your larger financial decisions. I have benefited from having wonderful friends when looking at real estate or researching home loans. I would imagine my frugal friends have saved me thousands of dollars over the years.

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