Frugal Confessions’ One-Year Anniversary
Posted on | March 10, 2010 | 4 Comments
It has officially been one year today since Frugal Confessions stepped out on the scene at the Houston Chronicle. Spawned from when I was laid off in the summer of 2008 from a marketing research job in Florida and needed to cut my costs, Frugal Confessions and living in frugal decadence has now morphed into a fulltime way of life for me. And I love it.
My Personal Favorites
I think it is best to try frugal ideas out on myself before offering them as suggestions to other people. Because of this, I have had the pleasure of spending many hours doing random things, such as sitting through timeshare sale meetings, taking part in market research studies, completing online surveys at home, and living by seemingly bizarre rules like “cupboard-eating only week” or “no-spend weekends”. Out of these experiences often come my favorite articles, such as the ones below.
- Selling a Timeshare to the Wall
- Amish Finances
- Botched Electricity Experiment
- How Not To Save for a Downpayment
- The Automatic Poorhouse
- The 7 Deadly Purchase Sins
Successes since Starting to Blog at the Chronicle
When first starting a blog, it feels like your words—the ones you have carefully crafted and presented in an entertaining manner—get lost in an intangible void. There are no commenters, most likely because there are no readers, and you begin to wonder (after the third month or so, I would say) if you are just wasting your time. But then out of the blue someone responds, and another person responds to that person’s comment, and you suddenly have struck up a dialogue.
I am happy to share my successes with my readers from this past year, one of which is to have readers who leave their comments, thoughts, and opinions, and who do not leave me wandering ‘is anyone out there’?
- While I had originally intended this series to be a column and not a blog, by blogging at the Houston Chronicle, I have had four of my articles published in the Star Section of the Houston Chronicle Paper
- Being promoted to a Featured Blogger
- The launch of my personal blog that attracts a more global audience, Frugal Confessions
- A staff writer position at the MyDollarPlan blog
- Winning several Blog Carnivals for some of the articles mentioned above
Lessons Learned
Finally, I would like to think that there is a learning curve to blogging about personal finance. One of the reasons why I held off for so long on starting my Frugal Confessions blog is because I knew that I did not have the answers to everything. What if readers asked me questions I could not answer? What if people did not think I had anything of value to say? Still, I was born with a frugal mindset, and so I decided to take the leap and put myself out there. Fortunately, I have found that it is okay to be building onto my knowledge of frugality and personal finance along the way with my readers, and to just answer “I do not know” when the occasion arises. Here are some other things that I have learned this past year.
- Life happens, and almost all of it is fodder for personal finance articles: since creating Frugal Confessions, I have moved to Texas from Florida, started a new job, gotten engaged, bought a home and planned a wedding
- Some people can be cruel in their comments when they are typing from home
- My time is my most valuable asset
I hope that you have enjoyed this past year with me, and that the next year to come will be even better!
Thank you all for your comments and encouragement—I read them all. I would love to hear your comments on this blog, such as things you have learned, articles that you wish I would write, etc.
Junk Mail for New Homeowners: Is it Really All Junk?
Posted on | March 8, 2010 | 8 Comments
As new homeowners, our mailbox has been flooded with tons of offers from companies undoubtedly trying to get us to spend all of our first-time homebuyer’s tax credit. We have landscaping companies putting their business cards in our mailbox, coupons for plumbers, a new roof and purified water delivered right to our door, ads for real estate agents, churches who would like our membership, and security systems (think matrices of invisible lasers all over our property).
If you are a new homeowner, or are looking to purchase a home, you will most likely receive many of these mailings as well. So how do you separate the good, from the bad and the ugly? Here’s how we did it.
Coupons and Free Trial Offers
Not all of the ‘junk’ mail that has passed through our mailbox in the last six months has truly been junk. For example, we received a free one-week trial to the YMCA just a mile from where we live, which I will be taking advantage of soon. I had a free estimate completed on insulating our attic, and received a free hot water heater blanket for doing so. With a Lowe’s just a few miles away, we have received valuable 10% and $10 off $50 purchase coupons. The Houston Chronicle gave me free coupon inserts and a $1.00-a-week delivered Sunday paper subscription for 20 weeks (a savings of $15 I would have spent anyway). These offers were all valuable to us, so make sure you open up the ‘junk’ mail and find coupons that are useful to you.
Suspicious Official-Looking Mail
Something we began receiving almost immediately were letters claiming that we had to have mortgage insurance, and that looked quite official (including our loan terms, amount, interest amount, etc.). The letters did not come from our mortgage company, but you really had to read closely to understand that, in fact, the mortgage company would not be taking your keys away if you do not purchase this insurance.
Mortgage Insurance is not to be confused with PMI, or Private Mortgage Insurance that protects the lender, and that is mandatory for those who purchase their homes with less than 20% money down. Instead, Mortgage Insurance is to protect you in case you become disabled, ill, lose your job or die, so that your mortgage will be paid off (check out this company for an example). Many times this can be covered under policies you already have, such as Life Insurance, long-term and short-term disability, etc. Make sure you look at your own plans and see what will work best for you and your family.
Another official-looking letter we received was from the “National Deed Service, Inc.” discussing our deed, the fact that it was recorded with the Harris County Recorder, and the fact that the U.S. Government Federal Citizen Information Center advises us that we should have a certified copy of this document. This company was willing to give us this for $59.50. First of all, check your closing materials because you most likely have a copy of your deed. Secondly, you can get a new copy, and have it certified, for typically $0.50-$1.00 per page and an extra $5.00 or so (total for one document) for the certification. You need to call your County Clerk’s office, or Recorder of Deed’s Office, or the comparable agency in your own county to do so.
Services for Safety
We must have received 5-7 home security system offerings thus far, and have legitimately looked into these. Our home has gates with locks around the front door and back door entrances, and our first floor windows have locks. However, someone could certainly break in if they wanted to. Another plus to having a security system set up is that it gives you a discount on your homeowner’s insurance policy, which helps to defray the cost. Prices for this service vary greatly, from free installation to $99 per installation, free remote to $139 each remote, and from $19.99 per month to $42.00 per month, so be sure to shop around and purchase using a coupon or ad special.
Something else that came in our mail that we took advantage of was having the number of our house painted on our street curb in reflective (called ‘glass bead’) paint so that in the case of an emergency, the police, firemen, or an ambulance can quickly identify our home. The cost of this offering was between $15-$35, depending upon what graphic we wanted (black numbers on a white background versus a background of U of T, Texas Flag, etc.). Ours looks great, and I feel it was worth the cost.
Neighborhood Places
Another category of ‘junk mail’ we have been receiving has been from local takeout places, churches, businesses, and other places to let us know they are there and to try and get our new business. As the takeout menus poured in over the last several months, I kept the ones we might be interested in and put them in a drawer in our kitchen. We also received information about an emergency veterinarian service in the area, and from the local hospital, both of which could prove useful.
Competition for Your Business
Perhaps one of the most useful parts of receiving all of these unsolicited offers in the mail is that companies in the same line of work are competing for our business. This helps us out because typically they will undercut the price of offerings of each other, making the consumer the winner in the end. But this also helps us out because I can now use these mailings and advertisements as a negotiating tool to call up our current providers and talk them into giving us a more competitive price.
If your current cable, home phone, insurance company, etc. is more expensive than a similar offering from another company, take the opportunity to call up your provider and ask them to reduce their price…or you will walk. They may ask you to prove this competitor’s price, in which case you will have the proof in your mailbox.
Tags: homebuyer's tax credit > junk mail > new homeowner > valuable offers for new homeowners
Frugal Confessions Friday!!
Posted on | March 5, 2010 | 2 Comments
Hello Frugal Confessions Readers!
I traveled this past weekend up to PA and had a blast taking care of wedding details…and my friends and family threw me a bridal shower as well!!! So much fun. Needless to say, I am still catching up on sleep and work:). I will be back next week with some more articles.
In the meantime, here is my frugal confession of the week:
I received a PetSmart coupon for $10 off a $50 purchase. While I hardly make $50 purchases for our fish and cat (in fact, I don’t think I ever have), I decided that I would use the opportunity to stock up on pet supplies for the rest of the year (I have also never seen one of these coupons before, so it is a good deal). I bought Lyla one large bag of dry cat food, 24 cans of wet cat food, and 40+ pounds of litter. I also managed to buy the fish a humungous tub of fish food. With peelie coupons that I found on the products themselves, a coupon from the paper, and the $10 off coupon, I managed to stock us up on all of our pet supplies until Christmas time for $47!!!!
If you do this, don’t forget to check expiration dates to make sure that your pets will be able to use the food before it expires.
What are your frugal confessions of the week? I’d love to hear them!
Honeymoon Savings Goal Update: February
Posted on | March 2, 2010 | 1 Comment
Our honeymoon is getting awfully close. I set a goal starting last September to raise $2500 for our honeymoon with taking as little money as possible out of paychecks to do so (instead using bank offers, rebates, side income, etc.)…and as of last month we were at $1670. In other words…another $830 still to save! Yikes!
How did we do in February? The following is what we added to the pot:
- $40 from Carpooling
- $5 from SC Johnson rebate (I paired this rebate with a sale and stocked us up on cleaning supplies!)
- $29 eHow earnings
- $140 freelance income
- $75 from 1 hour Research Study
This brings the total to $1959.78, with $540.22 still needed and only 1.5 months to do this in. With the help of one of my loyal readers, Crystal S. and her husband (she has a new blog called Budgeting in the Fun Stuff), I may be able to make up a portion of this, and will hopefully be giving you the happy news in the next Honeymoon Savings Goal update.
Tags: honeymoon savings goal > rebates > Saving Money > Savings Goal
Frugal Confessions Friday!!!
Posted on | February 26, 2010 | 7 Comments
Hello Frugal Confessions Readers!!!
I was supposed to be flying out in 15 minutes up to PA to take care of more wedding details…but my flight was cancelled, so I will *hopefully* be flying out tonight. d
Here’s my confession of the week:
This actually was pure dumb luck…but it definitely saved us money! I was ready to purchase our one-way tickets up to PA for our April wedding two weeks ago. Southwest Airlines was having a sale, so it seemed like a good time. However, the price came to $279 for both of us, one way, including taxes. This seemed quite expensive to me.
Anyway, I held off on buying the tickets until yesterday when my new credit card cycle began. The total this time? $186!!! That includes taxes and everything–that was a $93 savings for something we were going to buy anyway!
What are your frugal confessions of the week? I’d love to hear them.
Repurposing to Save Money: Making Old Belongings Relevant to Our Lives Today
Posted on | February 24, 2010 | 6 Comments
Life changes, and with these changes come different needs or wants. Families grow and shrink, people move from house to apartment, and apartments to houses, people have different hobbies and passions as they age. One thing that will help you to save money is to repurpose whatever you can from your old life and make it relevant for what you need today.
When Paul and I lived in our apartment, we were hesitant to purchase many items because we didn’t know if they would be needed or useful when we eventually moved into a home. Fortunately, we found numerous ways to repurpose items from our apartment, and items left behind from the previous owners, to suit our needs today and save us from going out to the store and buying new products.
Here are some examples:
In our old apartment, we lacked storage, and so we had to purchase a long and thin rubbermaid container to hold our extra sets of sheets.
This storage container has now become perfect for storing wrapping paper rolls and tissue paper.
In our old apartment kitchen we were also in need of storage, and so we purchased this steel rack below in order to hang and store our pots and pans.
Now it sits in our garage and stores plant pots.
In my new office in our home, we redid the closet to store filing cabinets and other needs.Because the closet is no longer for clothes, we were able to add a hook (we found various random hooks in ceilings around the house which we have no use for) to its end and use it to reach birdfeeders in our yard. This idea was something I saw in Martha Stewart Magazine several months back, and fell in love with the idea. We created ours for free!
In college, my sister bought me a tupperware set that included two boxed containers for my cereal. I now use this for Lyla’s cat food, which keeps it from being a mess when I pour it into her bowl.
Finally, we took down some 1970s-era curtains left behind by the previous owners, and used them to keep paint from getting on the floor and carpets.
What are some ways you have found to repurpose old items and make them useful and meaningful in your life today?
My List of Brands I am Loyal To
Posted on | February 23, 2010 | 5 Comments
As promised, here are a few of the products I am loyal to. Please note, this does not mean that I purchase these items on a regular basis, and typically I still get discounts on all of these items some way or another (would you expect any less from me?).
Mint Musketeers
Goode Company Barbecue (Particularly their Turkey Barbecue Sandwich)
Hershey’s Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
Manos del Uruguay (Yarn—did I mention I knit?)
Burt’s Bees Beeswax Lip Balm (Peppermint)
Ball Park Franks (Beef)
Quaker Oats Peanut Butter Cap’n Crunch, or Post Honey Bunches of Oats
Gaiam Organic Cotton Sheets (don’t actually own a pair…yetJ)
Sugarbaby’s Cupcake Boutique
The Container Store
Looking for coupons for products that you enjoy? Check out my article on how to find coupons in places other than the Sunday paper. One way to find coupons that I forgot to mention in this article is in national magazines, such as Oprah O or Martha Stewart Living (I have found coveted Container Store and Gaiam coupons in these magazines).
Brand Loyalty: Could Your Money be Spent Elsewhere?
Posted on | February 22, 2010 | 2 Comments
As my readers know, I believe in stockpiling to save money. When products hit rock bottom prices, I am there with coupons in hand to purchase months or even a year’s worth. In fact, I have recently scored 4 bottles of Purex liquid detergent (a year’s worth of laundry for us) for just $1.46 in total! When I was at the grocery store the other day, I priced same-sized bottles and found the following: Tide $8.23 per bottle and All $5.32 per bottle. Depending on which brand I would have bought over the course of this upcoming year, I saved myself $19.82 – $31.46 (and that is just on one household product!). Would I have preferred to purchase either Tide or All Detergent, money aside? Well, sure. But in my experience Purex detergent does the same job for a fraction of the cost, and now I have an extra $20-$30 to spend on something that I want versus something that I don’t care about.
Look at the End Result
I have very few products that I am brand loyal to mainly because I typically look at the end result that is offered by products. For example, I need dish soap that cleans dishes, I need ibuprofen to relieve body ache, and I need toothpaste to clean my teeth. Does the product need to whisk me away to a tropical island with its scent, or have micro-bursts of cleaners such that I should question whether or not I even need to clean in the future? No; I just need the product to work. Typically most of the products on the store shelves—no matter how expensive or cheap—will result in what they are supposed to do. Because of this, I will flop between most brands depending on what I can find cheaply.
Flop Around for a Bargain
The stores reward (usually unknowingly) people who are not brand loyal. First of all, many stores have now come up with their own private labels that sit side-by-side with major manufacturer labels. If you look at the ingredients, chances are, they are identical or close to it. The only difference seems to be the price. The only downside to private store labels? You can rarely use coupons with these. If I pair a sale with a coupon, generally I can get a manufacturer’s product cheaper than the private label product, and so I mainly choose brand names. Just not the same ones…
Also, I have discussed before the 12-week sales cycle that products are on. If Tide is on sale one week, chances are that it will not be on sale again for at least another 12 weeks at the same store. But you know what will be on sale next week? Perhaps All detergent, or Purex, or Gain, and maybe the sale during the next week will be much better than the sale for Tide. If you choose to be brand loyal and frugal, it means you need to plan things out more in advance in order to reap the same cost savings as frugal people who are less brand loyal.
Superior Products
There are products out there that are superior to competitors, and therefore a higher price or brand loyalty is justified. Honestly, if a product can convince me of its extra benefits, then chances are good that I will become brand loyal (well, I should add the caveat that it has extra benefits and those extra benefits generally will have to save me money down the road). Examples include a battery that lasts longer than others or a pair of sneakers/ tires that will give me more mileage. However, like I discussed in my previous article about marketing, many products tout benefits that they just cannot deliver on in order to charge consumers extra money. Examples of this include receiving more kisses (‘Every Kiss Begins with Kay’), discovering your inner beauty (Dove), and getting women (Budweiser, Axe, etc.).
It seems to me that people become more brand loyal as they age, which makes sense, as people will have tried out many brands and settled on their favorites over the years. I have also thought that perhaps it is because people generally earn more money as they age, and so they are not as cost-conscious. For now, at the age of 27, I have very few brands that I will purchase no matter what the cost because I simply have more important things to accomplish with my money.
Tune in tomorrow for my short list of brands I am loyal to (more like products of specific brands that I am loyal to). I’d love for you to share the brands/products that you are loyal to!
Frugal Confessions Friday!
Posted on | February 19, 2010 | 8 Comments
Happy Friday!!! If you are new to this series, check out the intro here.
Here is my frugal confession of the week:
The first project Paul and I did to our house when we moved in was to paint the bedrooms upstairs (lots of spackling, steamed off some old border wallpaper, and removed a really ancient, inactive intercom system in each of the rooms). It took several weeks, but was absolutely worth it. Unfortunately…Paul would occasionally wear some of his nice clothes to paint in (I guess when he came home from work and needed to paint some more, he didn’t feel like changing first??).
Anyway, last weekend I resuscitated several of his clothes by googling how to remove paint from clothing, and then spending about two hours scrubbing my heart out. The products that I used to do it with were all items I had around the house (glad I finally found a use for that bottle of hairspray I bought several years ago) and included hairspray, rubbing alcohol, and nail polish remover. Fortunately, I was able to salvage two of his favorite shirts, a pair of nice jeans, and a pair of nice shorts. What I couldn’t salvage was another pair of shorts, and a pair of lounge pants that he wears around the house anyway.
What is your frugal confession of the week? I’d love to hear it!!!
Tags: Frugal Confessions > hand washing clothing > removing paint from clothing > Saving Money
Craigslist VS. eBay: Why I Choose Craigslist for Most Transactions
Posted on | February 18, 2010 | 3 Comments
Craigslist is a staple service in a frugal lifestyle. I love to purchase and sell things using this free service. eBay essentially does the same thing as Craigslist—allowing you to sell or purchase used (and sometimes new) items from others—but there are fees involved.
What are some things about it that are better than using eBay? For one, you are not charged a fee to list what you want to sell, nor a percentage of your profits for selling. There is no shipping fee tacked onto a great find because you pick the item up yourself, and finally, you can find other things on Craigslist that you cannot find on eBay, such as money-making opportunities (research studies, jobs, etc.), or groups of people with common interests.
Here are some great things that I have gotten from Craigslist over the last year:
- Free Dresser: This lasted us the year that we lived in an apartment, and when we moved into our new home, we posted it back on Craigslist for free and gave it away. We did not need to purchase a new dresser when we purchased our home because of ample closet and storage space.
- Double Cast Iron Sink: This is for our laundry room renovation—Paul and I both love cast iron sinks, which typically run several hundred dollars. The price I bought it for was $80, and it is in excellent condition.
- Research Study: Right now I am taking part in a research study that will yield me a $75 Amazon.com gift card.
- Wooden Buffet: We needed a place to store some dishes and Tupperware in our apartment, and so we found a beautiful buffet for just $75 in great condition. It is now in our formal dining room in our new home.
Here are some items that I have sold on Craigslist over the last year:
- Television: $250
- Television: $30
- Laptop Bag: $10
- Chocolate Fondue Fountain: $15
- Guitar Hero: $50
- Proactiv Formula: $20
If I had sold the above items on eBay, I would be out $27.75 or roughly 7.5% of my profit due to insertion and selling fees assessed by eBay. Check out the fee schedule here for more information.
Having stated my strong case for Craigslist, sometimes it certainly pays off to purchase and sell things on eBay instead, such as when security issues are a concern, or you need a larger audience to find the right buyer, or to sell your item. Check out my new eHow article for more information on how to decide when to use Craigslist versus when to use eBay when buying or selling items.
What is your preference: Craigslist, or eBay? What are some great items you have found/sold using these services?
Tags: Craigslist > eBay > making money at home > Saving Money
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