Smallest Hotel Room in Manhattan

This morning on Good Morning America they did a segment on the smallest hotel room in Manhattan. It's called the Pod Hotel, and GMA was reporting that their 70 square-foot single room is the cheapest room in the area. This teeny tiny room on the East Side has a twin bed, a sink, a 15" flat screen TV, and iPod docking station on a desk -- and a shared bathroom. It goes for $95/night, plus $16.21 in tax. That's insane! Of course, they did say that the average room is more than $260/night...so depending how you look at it, maybe it is a deal.

Granted, it was a couple of years ago, but Michael and I went to NYC and stayed at a 3-star Crowne Plaza for $106. I got it with an $80 bid on Priceline, plus taxes and booking fee. Seeing that a room at that same Crowne Plaza is going for $153/night if you book it out right on a weekend this April, I'm sure you could get an $80 bid accepted now. Okay, okay - it was in Queens near LaGuardia Airport, but it was for a room for two and was very spacious. Most importantly, it had it's own bathroom! Even when you calculate in commuting cost to Manhattan, it's going to be about the same price as the single at the Pod. To me, it would definitely be worth the travel time to be more comfortable in the room -- even if it's for nothing more than sleeping.

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Live Entertainment Deals

I got an email today from Goldstar saying that Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas has just become one of their partners. One day I'd love to both go to Vegas and to see a Cirque du Soleil show. I'm going to have to keep Goldstar in mind for whenever I get to Vegas because you can get great deals on live entertainment through them in several cities across the country, including Las Vegas. And now Cirque du Soleil is included in their deals!

Right now through Goldstar, you can get a seat for the Mystere show in their best tier for 28% off. This price for their best seats is only $9.70 more than for the "nosebleed" seats.

If you aren't already a member of Goldstar, it's free to join. Michael and I have gone to a few local events for which we've gotten discounted tickets through Goldstar. In fact, I blogged about one event back in November.

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Restaurant Deals When Traveling

I mentioned yesterday that we do some planning in advance of traveling partly as a way to stretch our vacation budget a little further. In addition to looking on the Internet and in tourist magazines for restaurant coupons, I will usually look to see if I can find a restaurant on Restaurant.com that interests us in the place where we are visiting. If you aren't familiar with Restaurant.com, you can buy a $25 gift certificate for a restaurant for $10 (or less if you can find a coupon code -- CouponMom.com usually has one).

We've had this work well for us two times -- in Hartford, CT and Oklahoma City, OK. I found a restaurant that looked good that offered a Restaurant.com certificate. I bought it and then printed directions to that place from our hotel. (We don't travel with a computer or a printer, so we have to do this in advance.) We'd never been to either of these cities, much less the restaurants, so it was done completely based on their websites and the fact they offered Restaurant.com certificates. Both places turned out to be pretty good.

Following the same steps, we've also had this not work out two times. The first time was in the Outer Banks, NC. It turned out that the restaurant was kind of like a bakery, and they no longer served dinner (and we would have never spent $25 on lunch at a bakery for two people). The other time it happened was in Waynesville, NC. The restaurant was permanently closed. There was no indication of these issues on Restaurant.com or the restaurants' websites. The good news is that I didn't lose the certificates. I just emailed customer service at Restaurant.com before the 90 day exchange period ended, and they issued me a credit that I could use for a certificate at a different restaurant with which they are partners. So, we didn't get those particular deals on the trips, but we also didn't lose anything either. It's worth a try again the next time we are going somewhere that has Restaurant.com restaurants.

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Free & Low-Cost Activities on the Road

Today Coupon Mom had a post on her blog about a website called Free-Attractions.com on which you can find things to do for free in all 50 states. That's new to me. I'll have to keep it in mind when we start traveling again in the fall.

Michael and I have taken lots of trips together and are always on the look out for fun, interesting, and free (or at least, low cost) things to do. He's a master at searching the Internet for great attractions to visit during our travels. We also always request for the local and state visitors' centers to send us their packets of information before we go. (Their contact info is easily found by doing a quick Internet search.) We get free maps, brochures, and magazines about the area we are going to visit. They often include coupons for attractions and restaurants too. We usually plan several months in advance so that we have time to scour the brochures, tourist magazines, and websites to find the best things to do -- and to see if we can get a deal.

We love to experience a bit of local life when we go somewhere. Often those types of things are free. Here are just a few of the things we've done over the past few years: In Milwaukee we visited the Miller Brewing Plant and took their free tour. In Oklahoma City we, city folks, actually really enjoyed sitting in on cattle auctions at the Stockyards -- also free. In Kentucky we went on a couple of tours of distilleries on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail -- of course, they were free. We always make a point to take the free capitol building tours when we are in a state capital. We also got a great view of Hartford, CT by going to the top of the Travellers Tower -- which has an observation deck that is open to the public for free May through October.

Use your resources and do some research before you go. You can find a lot things to do for little or no money!

PSA: do plan to have a designated driver if you are visiting a brewing plant or distillery. Some of them (i.e. Miller's and Jim Beam) will give visitors who are of legal drinking age several full-size samples!

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Coupon Organizer

I have a coupon organizer -- you know, one of those little file folders to carry to the grocery store. It used to be my companion on every trip to the grocery or drug store. However, in the past few years I've used it less and less, even though I'm using coupons more and more. The main reason for this is that I now only clip and carry the coupons I need. I figure out which ones those are in advance with the help of Coupon Mom's website.

I use an old/used envelope (that is blank or nearly blank on one side) for my shopping list. (If I'm going to multiple stores, using one for each store works well.) Then, I tuck the coupons that correspond with items on that list inside the envelope. I'm all set when I get to the store. I know what I want to buy. I have the coupons ready. Shopping and saving are easy!

By the way, this system is great way to give new life to an old envelope that is otherwise trash!

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The Ads Are True to Life

Michael and I both got out of work early today, so we decided to swing by a jewelry store to look at wedding bands. They were having a grand opening in a new location downtown. While we were there, I had to laugh to myself because I thought I was in an ING or Feed the Pig commercial!

I don't need or want anything particularly fancy. Just a simple wedding band that will complement my very lovely engagement ring. It hasn't been easy since my e-ring isn't the standard solitaire. I want something nice since I will be wearing every day for the rest of my life, but not something outrageously expensive. Anyway, one of the designer representatives at this event was telling me that I "needed" something more fancy (read: expensive) than I was asking if they had available. "Oh, wow! Yes, that's lovely..."

No worries! We weren't planning to buy anything today anyway. But as I snapped back to reality, I had to laugh. It's just like this commercial on FeedthePig.org and ING's "Retail Therapy" advertisement.

I will be feeding my pig on the road to happiness! And a more modest wedding band will be just fine.

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How Much Could You Save by Packing Your Lunch?

I've discovered a fun new website about saving called FeedthePig.org (as in feed your piggy bank). The goal of the campaign behind this site is to encourage the 40 million Americans age 25 to 34 to take control of their personal finances. The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and The Advertising Council sponsor/run the campaign as a part of their 360 Degrees of Financial Literacy program.

At FeedthePig.org, they have a lunch savings calculator. If you need some inspiration to bring your lunch to work, this could help! The numbers are amazing. A personal finance blogger called "Clever Dude" has a great article on his site that his nutritionist wife wrote about bringing your lunch to work. It will give you even more inspiration...and ideas on healthy, cheap lunch food.

This article and the calculator made me wonder: How much have I potentially saved during my adult working years by brown-bagging versus eating out? Let's do the math.

I've worked for my current employer for nearly 6 years, and I've brought my lunch nearly every day. (My previous employer had a free employee cafeteria, so there was no cost there. Hugh savings, but I'm not going to look at that right now.)

I've never calculated how much it costs for me to pack my lunch. I eat foods similar to what Clever Dude's wife suggests. So, I'm going to use her average of $2.20/day. I'm also going to use her estimate of $6.00/day for eating out. And I work roughly 20 days per month. I'll also use the default of 6% expected rate of return on the Feed the Pig lunch savings calculator.

Grand total of savings for 6 years: $6566!

Wow!

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Stretching One Meal Into Three?!

Michael is a big fan of the Lone Star Steakhouse that's near his apartment. This past Saturday night he had a craving for it. I don't usually like chain restaurants very much, but this one is decent. The prices are average for that kind of food. What irks me is that I can never find any coupons for this place. However, I don't mind going there too much because I always have leftovers to take home.

I usually get the beef medallions (9 oz) and shrimp (5 of them), and the entrees come with 2 side items. This really is more food than one person needs at a meal. So, I ate my entire side salad (which is a decent size). Then, I ate all of the shrimp and half of the steak and half of the baked potato. I took the rest of the steak and potato home for lunch the next day. So, just like I've mentioned before, I could stretch one meal into two.

However, they also always give us a mini loaf of bread before our meal. We usually each eat a tiny bit of it. It seems wasteful to have them throw the rest away because we didn't eat it. So, I pack it up in my to-go box. And then I get my third meal -- bread for breakfast!

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Free Parking

Having to pay to park has always annoyed me. Nearly six years ago when I started working in the city, I had to start paying to park my car at work on a monthly basis. Due to the nature of my job, I was required to drive and therefore, park. I suppose for city parking it wasn't all that bad of a price. It was "painless" to pay because it was deducted from my paycheck each pay period. It was nice that that payment was taken out pre-tax. And then it was a pretty good deal that, because I was required to have a car at work, I was reimbursed half of the monthly payment. Better still, it ended up being more than half because they didn't take into account the pre-tax savings when issuing the reimbursement.

Then, last summer I got a new position at work. It no longer required that I have a car, which also meant I lost my monthly reimbursement. I did some calculations with the help of the Commuter Store's calculator, and I figured out that I would save quite a bit if I took public transportation to work. Back in December, I wrote about how indeed my new means of commuting was worth the try I gave it. I've stopped tracking my daily commuting expenses because I now know for sure that I am saving quite a bit with public transportation even after Metro raised their fares in January. To make me even more confident, the price of the monthly parking has gone up by $10 per month at work and the price of gas...wow!

Despite not technically being required to have to drive for work, occasionally I have to. I'm not reimbursed anything for my parking, so when I have to be at my office with my car, I have the option of paying the $8 daily parking fee or utilizing the free street parking that is a 10-minute walk from our building. (There is closer free street parking, but it is limited to 2 hours which won't do.) Even on days that have been cold, rainy, and/or windy, I've opted for the free parking. I figure it allows me to get two-thirds of my daily 30-minutes of exercise in addition to saving me $8. Last week, I had to drive 3 times. I didn't necessarily feel like walking from my satellite parking area all of those days, but I could do a lot more fun stuff with that $24 I was saving than parking at work!

Because I live in an "urban" suburb, there are quite a few places that charge for parking near my house too. Not everywhere charges, but many places do. I usually avoid the stores that charge for parking. However, one of the grocery stores where I like to shop validates parking for up to one hour. Perfect! I don't mind shopping there. Actually, I can sometime squeeze in a visit to another store in that shopping center within that free hour if I hurry at the grocery store. You just need a plan before you go so that you don't waste time.

Last spring when I was in Atlanta, I heard Clark Howard speak. He mentioned that paying for parking is one of his pet peeves too. Listening to him challenged me to continue to search out free parking. And I've found more!

There is a government-owned lot right across the street from one of my favorite shopping centers (which has a garage that costs to park). I've discovered that after working-hours during the week and all day on the weekends, anyone can park there for free! The bonus is that I don't have to wait in line to pay to get out of the garage -- and in December before Christmas, the wait can literally be between 10 and 20 minutes! Why was I paying to do that?

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A Few More Ways to Save on Wedding Gifts

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about Comparison Shopping Between the Store & the Website. I was amazed to find some significant prices differences from the bricks & mortar store and the virtual version of the same company. This was mostly the case between a Macy's store and the online Macy's registry which is handled through WeddingChannel.com.

At the time I wrote that article, the fine china on our Macy's wedding registry was less expensive if purchased through the website. The sheets were less expensive in the store. However, that has flipped-flopped. Now, you would pay between 20% and 30% less for the china in the store than on the website. And right now, you will find the sheets are priced 25% lower online.

Of course, you do usually have to factor in shipping when thinking about buying something online. In the case of this set of sheets, the online purchase price savings is $20, but you would have to pay $11.95 for shipping. There's still a savings, but it isn't as great. For some of the less expensive, individual pieces of china, it would actually be a better deal to pay the higher price in the store than to get the discounted online price and have to pay shipping.

You also have to think about the sales tax when comparing your neighborhood store to the online store. You may pay less or you may pay more, depending on where you are shipping the items and where that company has stores.

Speaking of buying online and shipping, Target is offering free shipping through March 22, 2008, on select items in the following categories: furniture, patio furniture, bedding, bath items, slipcovers, rugs, window coverings, home décor, lighting, and kitchen items. Many couples register for wedding gifts in some or all of these categories at Target. See if you can save a trip to the store and get free shipping!

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Saving on Wedding Gifts at Macy's

Continuing with the series on finding ways to save when buying from wedding gift registries, let's look at Macy's. They offer a number of ways to save in the store and online.

Macy's is a partner with WeddingChannel.com, and it is how they manage their online wedding registries. If the bridal couple has linked a charity to their WeddingChannel.com registries, your online Macy's registry purchase will generate a donation to that cause! I've already gone into detail on this topic in my post entitled Buy from a Wedding Gift Registry & Save for Charity.

Like Target.com and Bed, Bath, & Beyond, Macys.com is a Upromise partner. So, if you are saving for someone to go to college through Upromise, link to Macys.com through Upromise's website to make your purchase. Currently, they are offering 4% of your total price paid to go towards your Upromise account. The unfortunate part about this idea is that you can't buy directly from the online wedding registry and get Upromise credit. However, you can look at their registry to find out what they want. Then, purchase an item from their wish list without going through the registry (because it's actually linked through WeddingChannel.com). If you are buying the gift and giving (or shipping) the gift to the couple right away, they can go into the registry and mark it off as purchased themselves.

Discover Card is offering a 5% additional cashback bonus April 1 - June 30, 2008, for purchases at department stores when you sign up for the quarterly 5% Cashback Bonus promotion. Of course, Macy's falls into this category. That will be a good time to buy for your spring weddings if you haven't already done so. It will also be a good time to get a head start on buying for summer and fall weddings if the couples have already registered. Like Bed, Bath, & Beyond, Macy's is also a Discover Cashback Bonus partner. You could get your Cashback Bonus to stretch even further by trading in $40 of bonus for a $45 Macy's gift card. Gift cards may be used in Macy's stores or online at Macys.com and macysweddingchannel.com.

Finally, if you are shopping in a Macy's store, you really should never go without first looking in your newspaper for current promotions and coupons. They offer some kind of deal nearly every week.

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Buy from a Wedding Gift Registry & Save for Charity

When buying a wedding gift, you may be able to help support the wedding couple's favorite charity. WeddingChannel.com is partners with a number of major stores and their gift registries. If you buy a wedding gift at one of these stores after linking to its website through WeddingChannel.com, up to 3% of the purchase price is given to the charity that the couple has designated.

Here's how it works:

The couple registers for gifts at one of the following places (in the store or online):
Macy's
Bloomingdales
JC Penney
Crate & Barrell
Williams-Sonoma
Pottery Barn
REI
Restoration Hardware
Amazon.com
Gump's
Tiffany & Co.
Neiman Marcus
Fortunoff
Barneys New York
Starwood Honeymoon Collection
Sandals Resorts
Charity Registry
Honeymoon Registry
Borsheims
Cloud 9 Living

Then, they go to WeddingChannel.com to select their favorite national charity to link to their registry at one or more of these places. There are about 100 different charities to choose from in the categories of children, youth, & families, community development, education, environment, health, and social justice.

After that is set up, each time someone uses WeddingChannel.com to buy you a gift from one of the registries linked with their site, WeddingChannel.com will make a donation to the couple's selected charity. There is no cost to the couple or to the gift-buyer.

If you know someone who has a gift registry at one of these stores but you don't see the name of a charity listed at the top of their registry online (accessed through WeddingChannel.com), let them know about this feature. Your gift purchased this way will generate a donation to a great charity!

You can read more about this program at WeddingChannel.com.

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Saving on Wedding Gifts at Target

This is the third post in my series on finding ways to save when buying from wedding gift registries. In the first two articles, I talked about Bed, Bath, & Beyond (20% off coupons and other ways to save). Now, let's look at Target, which is another popular, nationwide place to register for weddings.

If you have a Discover Card, you can receive an additional 5% cashback bonus if you link to Target's website site through the Shop Discover program which can be accessed through Discover.com.

The Entertainment Book offers discounts in their book and on their website for Target.com. Currently through the Entertainment Book's website, you can get $5 off a $50 purchase at Target.com.

If you are saving for someone to go to college through Upromise, you can save at Target.com. Access Target.com through the Upromise website and receive a percentage (currently 4%) of your total purchase in college contributions to your Upromise account.

If you have a Target REDcard (Visa), you can earn points for each dollar you spend at Target. Once you get to 1000 points, you get 10% off an entire day of shopping at Target. If you have earned one of these coupons, buying a gift from a wedding registry the day you use it is a good idea so that you'll get a 10% discount.

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More Ways to Save on Wedding Gifts at Bed, Bath, & Beyond

I've started a series on looking at ways to save when buying gifts from a wedding registry. First stop: Bed, Bath, & Beyond. Yesterday, I wrote about their 20% off coupons. Now, let's see what else they have to offer.

Upromise: If you are saving for someone to go to college with a Upromise account, Bed, Bath, & Beyond is a great place to consider buying a wedding gift because it is a Upromise partner. If you buy something from them in the store or on their website and use a credit card that you've registered with Upromise, you'll get 1% of your total purchase (including tax and shipping) in your Upromise account.

Discover Card Cashback Bonus: Bed, Bath, & Beyond is a partner in Discover Card's Cashback Bonus program. So, if you have $20 in Cashback Bonus with your Discover Card, you can redeem it for a $25 Bed, Bath, & Beyond gift certificate. That's a 25% savings! You can order as many of these gift certificates as you want, as long as you have enough Cashback Bonus in $20 increments to cover the number you want. For wedding gifts, you could either get the gift certificate(s) and go shopping yourself. Or you could give the gift certificate as the gift. (It's an actual gift card from the store, so they won't know you got it with your Cashback Bonus.) Gift cards from Bed, Bath, & Beyond do not expire and have no service fees. What's great about this idea is that whoever (the gift giver or the recipient) can also use one of those 20% off coupons and also use a Upromise registered credit card to get college savings. Here's an example: You want to get an item from the wedding registry that is regularly priced at $49.99. You go to the store with one of the Bed, Bath, & Beyond 20% off coupons, and the price is reduced to $39.99. You use a $25 gift certificate that you got with your Cashback Bonus, which brings the price to $14.99. You pay for the balance with a credit card you have registered with Upromise, and you save 1% (or approximately 15 cents, depending on the sales tax) for college. That means you get a $49.99 gift for $14.84 (plus tax)!

Gift Wrapping: If you order something from Bed, Bath, & Beyond's website, you can request to have it gift wrapped for free. They have nice silver gift wrap or gift bags, depending on the item.

Competitor's Coupons: Bed, Bath, & Beyond does accept unexpired competitor's coupons.

Price Match: Bed, Bath, & Beyond "will gladly match our direct competitors' price on identical items."

Gift Message: If you order something online from Bed, Bath & Beyond, you can request to have a complimentary gift message printed and put into a little envelope that they will attach to the gift.

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Saving on Wedding Gifts at Bed, Bath, & Beyond

If I'm not careful, I can run up a big total for gifts. I've already written about some tips for Saving on Baby Shower Gifts. As wedding season is fast approaching, let's take a look at saving for bridal shower and wedding gifts.

With the rare exception, I almost always choose a wedding gift from a registry. It's easy, and I know they will like it because they asked for it via the registry. First, I figure out how much I want to spend. Then, I either look online or stop by the store and review the list of the couple's desired gifts. I find something that is within my budget, buy it, and I'm done. Like with the baby shower gifts, I love when I can find something on sale because I can either give a nicer gift and still stay within budget or I can give a gift that has a regular price that is within my budget but get it for less. There are other ways to save when buy wedding gifts too.

Let's start with Bed, Bath, & Beyond, which is a popular national store for wedding registries.

When I think Bed, Bath, & Beyond, I think 20% off coupon!

Coupon is good for: 20% off any single item*

Where to find them: in your mailbox, in the Sunday newspaper, Entertainment Book.

Where to use them: in-store only (not valid for online purchases).

How to get them in the mail if you don't already: sign up for their mailing list.

Do they expire? Fine print and the FAQ section of their website say they do.

How many items can you use them for? Fine print and the FAQ section of their website say one coupon per customer per visit.

Any exceptions to these policies? I have read and have talked to people who have found Bed, Bath, & Beyond stores to be generous around these policies. In fact, just yesterday a friend was telling me that she needed to buy a new set of towels. There were 20 towels that she wanted from Bed, Bath, & Beyond. She and her mom had collected 20 coupons, some of which had already expired. The store accepted them in one transaction because she had one for each item being purchased. So, she got 20% off her entire purchase.

Other ways to get around these policies: For wedding gifts, if you are buying multiple items, it might be worth asking your store if they will take multiple coupons for one transaction and/or accept expired coupons. If not, try to find one item from the registry that will fit into your budget and use your one coupon. Or if the store is convenient, make multiple trips over a few days or a few weeks to get several items from the registry.

Is the coupon good on a sale item? The fine print says, "Not valid with any other offer." However, some stores may make exceptions, so I'd say it is worth asking if you can use the coupon on a sale item.

*Other restrictions: Not valid on purchase of gift cards, All-Clad, Nautica, Tempur-Pedic, Wusthof, AeroGrow, Margaritaville, The Sharper Image, Wedgwood, Lenox, Waterford, Vera Wang, Nambe, Riedel, Orrefors Kosta Boda, Oreck, Capresso, Miele, kate spade, Swarovski, Versace, Alessi, Richard Ginori, iJoy, or Frette Home.

We'll look at more ways to save on wedding gifts from Bed, Bath, & Beyond tomorrow.

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Save by Having Ready-to-Eat Food On-Hand

My favorite tip this month on Bankrate.com's Frugal Sense contest comes from Eric Barnes of San Francisco. He says that having food in the fridge is a good way to save on making unplanned trips to restaurants, and I agree.

When I'm hungry, I want something to eat right away. I don't want to have to go to the grocery store and buy ingredients and then have to come home and cook. It really is much easier to go out to eat at that point, but it will cost more. Even if I already have the ingredients on-hand, sometimes I'm too tired or hungry or don't have enough time to cook.

The one way to avoid this problem is to have ready-to-eat food on-hand. Stock up on your favorite frozen or very-easy-to-prepare foods when they go on sale. Or make more than what you need for a meal and freeze the leftovers.

Sometimes I just need a snack before I can begin cooking. This happens to me a lot after work. So, having good (and healthy) snack food in the cabinet or the fridge is usually just what I need to give me an energy boost to make dinner. Again, try to stock up on fruit (canned or seasonal fresh fruit), string cheese, granola bars, etc. when they go on sale.

One of my favorite snacks or light meals to have in the freezer are mini pizzas. I'm not a huge fan of store-bought frozen pizzas, but I do like ones that I make on my own and then freeze. If you haven't read it already, check out my post on Filling the Freezer. The fourth point tells you about my mini pizzas. If you have kids, I'd imagine they'd really enjoy having this type of snack/meal available to them as well.

So, thanks for the tip, Eric! Good luck in the Frugal Sense contest!

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Save on Parking Fees When Traveling

When I'm looking to book a hotel, I always look at the options that are available in different parts of the area in which we want to stay before making the reservation. I look to see if any of the hotels charge for parking. Especially in major cities, almost all of the downtown properties charge $10+ per night for parking. So, if it works with our itinerary, I’ll pick a suburban or airport property and drive a few extra miles in order to get free parking at the hotel.

Sure, we might have to still pay for daily parking when we get into the city, but not always. Many places offer free parking on weekends or at least on Sundays. Regardless, daily parking is almost always less expensive than overnight parking. Plus, just because we stay in the downtown area, it doesn't mean that every place we want to visit is within walking distance of the hotel. So, we'd have to pay daily parking anyway if we move the car from the hotel. And even with the high price of gas now, driving a little extra distance is usually cheaper than the hotel parking fee. Depending on the city, safe and reliable public transportation may be available from nearby a hotel that is farther away. That may be another more economical way to get around than staying downtown and incurring the overnight parking fee.

It's worth checking into what the parking charges will be before making a reservation. Especially if you are staying more than one night, those fees can really run up your hotel bill.

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Saving on Rental Cars

In the last couple of years, Michael and I have had reason to get a rental car twice while on vacation. Like I've mentioned recently in Saving on Airfare and Saving More on Airfare - Priceline, we like to shop for the best travel deals. Both times that we've rented a car, we've found the best deal by far was through the Entertainment Book.

Here's an example from when we went to Milwaukee in May 2006:
Company: National
Type of car: compact (the smallest size eligible for this coupon)
Coupon from Entertainment Book: 1 free weekend day, in addition to the Entertainment Book discount
Price per day with all taxes & discount/coupon: $9.59/day

At the time I was looking to book this car, Priceline said said that no company would probably accept a $10/day bid (and that's before taxes & fees)!

Here's an example from when we went to Oklahoma City in April 2007:
Company: Alamo
Type of car: compact (the smallest size eligible for this coupon)
Coupon from Entertainment Book: $20 off a 4 day rental, in addition to the Entertainment Book discount
Savings over booking directly through Alamo.com: $43 (or 36%)

It's definitely worth taking a look at the Entertainment Book discounts and coupons before you book your next rental car reservation!

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Saving More on Airfare - Priceline

As I mentioned last week in Saving on Airfare, I recently got a good deal on tickets to my honeymoon destination. Beyond the good deal, I was also able to use a coupon for American Airlines that was in the Entertainment Book and get some extra money back from Discover Card's current 5% Cashback Bonus program.

Coupon Mom just picked up my tips for one of her blog posts today. (Thanks, Stephanie!) And in that post, she also mentioned that Priceline will give a contribution to your Upromise college savings account when you book a reservation. I love Priceline!...and I love that they are a Upromise partner! But why, you ask, didn't I use them for my honeymoon flight reservations?

There is a potential drawback to bidding for your airfare on Priceline: flight times. Their website states, "Domestic flights are scheduled to depart anytime between 6am and 10pm unless your city pairs require off-peak travel. International flights can depart anytime on your travel dates." In the case of this part of the honeymoon, we aren't going to be gone a full week, and we want to see, do, and relax as much as we can. So, for this trip, we opted not to go the Priceline route for fear that we'd arrive late and have to leave early, which would cut into our already short vacation. The savings wasn't worth the risk.

However, we have bid on airfare on Priceline in the past. Here are some of what I think are their great benefits (pulled from their website): "Your flights will be confirmed for the dates and airports you agree to. Your flights will have a maximum of one stop each way, unless you agree to two connections each way. If you have a connection, your layover time will never be longer than three hours for domestic flights. You will never be put on a red-eye or off-peak flight unless you agree to one. You will know the total amount of your purchase before completing your transaction."

So, if arrival and departure times and the carrier aren't important to you, Priceline is a great option.

Here's an example from a trip we took last spring:
For the flights we took, the airline website was offering $330 (total price with fees and taxes). Kayak.com found the best deal on these flights to be $321 (total price). Our winning bid on Priceline was $263 (total price). That was a 18% savings over the lowest fare we could find. At the time, Priceline was offering a 1% contribution to a Upromise account, which meant another $2.63 in savings for me. Currently, Priceline is offering a 2% contribution to your Upromise account when booking through them -- so check it out, travel, and save!

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Stock Up, But Don't Let It Go Bad

My mom, a faith Save 4 Fun reader, pointed out to me today after reading What's For Dinner? that you do have to be careful when stocking up on sale items: don't let the food expire. That's never really been a problem for me because I have limited pantry and freezer space. So, I do stock up on sale items, but I can usually very easily use them over the course of several months (before they pass their expiration dates). However, if you do buy a whole bunch of food on sale and then let it go bad, there's no savings there at all...in fact, there's a loss.

How can you prevent this problem?

Last year when Rite Aid bought out Eckerd, they had to unload all of the Eckerd brand products before Rite Aid hung their sign out front. For several weeks they offered 50% off on Eckerd products. So, I stocked up on calcium supplements and multivitamins which I take daily. However, before I bought them, I checked the expiration dates to make sure I could use 6 bottles before they were old. The vitamins had various expiration dates, so I chose the ones with the dates that were farthest into the future. I did a little mental math and realized that I would be able to use them in time. So, that's one way to work around this problem.

In my vitamin example, the ones I bought had different dates. So, I lined them up in my cabinet with the ones closest to expiring in the front and the ones with the far-away dates in the back. It's simply rotating your inventory just like a grocery store does with their food, so that the oldest products are sold/used first.

In the case of non-perishable and frozen foods, know what you have and how much longer you can keep it. If it's getting close to expiring, plug whatever you need to use soon into AllRecipes.com's ingredient search and find out what's for dinner tonight!

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What's for Dinner?

Good question. I didn't go to the grocery store this weekend, so as of this afternoon, the answer was "Not much!" I knew I had a few staple items in the pantry and freezer, so that gave me a starting point. I went to one of my favorite recipe websites called AllRecipes.com and put "chicken" and "cream of chicken soup" into their ingredient search. It came up with a huge list of options. I found one that looked tasty, easy, relatively quick to make, and that wasn't going to cost a fortune in additional ingredients. I also realized that I had another one of the ingredients at home already: black beans.

So, I picked up a few more items on the way home from work. I had a pretty good dinner and will have leftovers for later in the week too.

Stocking up on staple foods that are either non-perishable and/or that freeze well is great. Get them when they go on sale. Then plug a few of the items into AllRecipes.com's ingredient search and find something good to make for dinner. If you get a number of the ingredients on sale in advance, it reduces the over cost of the recipe.

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Comparison Shopping Between the Store & the Website

For some reason, I always thought that prices that a store offered online were the same that they had on merchandise in the store. Yesterday, while working on our wedding registry, I realized that isn't the case at Macy's.

Macy's uses WeddingChannel.com for their wedding registries. There's a fine print disclaimer that reads: "Prices, promotions and selections offered on MacysWeddingChannel.com may differ from prices, promotions and selections offered on macys.com or in Macy's branded stores." I found this is true on the all of the items for which we've registered. Some are higher online and some are lower.

Take a look at the difference!

Better to buy it online:
They are offering a sale on the website.

Gravy Boat, Platter, Serving Bowl, Soup Bowl
each 25% less online

Gravy Stand
24% less online

5 piece place setting
44% less online

Iced Beverage Stemware Set
43% less online

Better to buy it in the store:
(Note: these are not clearance items, but they are on sale in the store.)

Sheet Set
114% less in the store

Comforter Set
218% less in the store...not to mention you have to pay extra shipping for this item because it is bulky.

The wedding consultant at another store (not Macy's) told us to remember that we are spending other people's money, so don't worry about registering for things that we wouldn't normally buy ourselves. All of the stores have implied that we should pick higher end items. Well, we do want nice things, and people normally like to give nice things as gifts. But I "spend other people's money" just like I would my own -- very carefully! I really hope our friends and family will shop around and get the lowest price on what we would like to have.

Everyone should keep comparison shopping in mind when buying gifts from a registry. Be sure to have the store mark any items you buy as "purchased" on the registry -- even if they didn't register for the item you purchased at that store. That helps if they receive duplicate gifts. Also, enclose a gift receipt. These steps will help ensure you can get the best deal possible, and the recipients can get what they need/want.

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Craft Store Savings

In preparation for the wedding, I've been frequenting craft stores far more than I usually do. I'm going to be make my own wedding invitations, programs, and pew bows. I could have just gone in and bought everything I needed at once. However, the two big craft stores in my area (Michael's and AC Moore) have 40% off coupons in their weekly sales flyers that come in the newspaper. At both stores, the coupon is only good for one regularly priced item. Doing a little comparison shopping, I've discovered that AC Moore has lower prices for the same products that Michael's has. So, of course, AC Moore is my new favorite store!

Here are some tips on how to make the most out of saving at the craft store, especially when you have more than one item to buy:

1. Plan in advance. Since these coupons don't let you take 40% off of your entire purchase, I've been only buying one item at a time. It's taking some time to get everything I need, but it's worth the wait.

2. Take other people with you to the store. Since you can only use one coupon per person per day, on some trips to AC Moore, I've gotten help from friends and family members who have been with me at the time. Everyone gets a coupon and an item to buy.

3. Gather coupons from others. Neither AC Moore nor Michael's offers the sales ad with the coupons in their stores. So, ask friends or family if they will give you their unwanted coupons from their paper.

4. Look online for additional coupons. AC Moore lets you print as many of their coupons that they have online as you want. They usually have the same 40% off coupon that you can find in the paper. So, if you need to stock up on items quickly, print as many as you need for one week of shopping. Of course, keep in mind that you'll still need to get other shoppers to help you or go over the course of several days because like the newspaper coupons, you are limited to using one per day per person. Here's the link to find the AC Moore nearest you and to their online coupons. Hobby Lobby also offers coupons online that you can print to use at the store.

5. Watch for additional coupons you may receive at check out. On several occasions, I've gone to AC Moore to make a purchase with a 40% coupon, and they give me a 50% coupon to use on a future purchase! These 50% off coupons have only been good for one specific day, usually a Saturday. A few weeks ago I was going to be out of town on the Saturday for which I had a 50% off coupon at AC Moore. I looked online and found the nearest store in the town where I was going to be. I printed off directions to get there, and I was still able to use that valuable coupon! This week, my mom had two of those Saturday-only 50% off coupons for AC Moore. However, she's going to be out of town and in a place where there is no AC Moore. So, she mailed me her coupons to use.

6. Watch for when the items you want are not on sale. Since AC Moore and Michael's only let you use these coupons for regularly priced items, having what you want go on sale actually isn't always a good thing. Sometimes they might run a sale for 50% or more, which would definitely be a better deal than using a 40% off coupon. However, sometimes the sale isn't the best bet. For example, the other week I wanted to buy the invitation kit I had been eyeing. However, AC Moore had it on sale for 30% off. I had a 40% off coupon. I could wait until it went off sale!

7. If you aren't looking for a very specific item at a craft store, check out their clearance sections. They often will deeply discount discontinued items. For the wedding invitations, programs, and bows, I have had very specific things in mind that I wanted. However, my future mother-in-law (who is also a bargain shopper) called the other night to tell me that she was at Hobby Lobby, checking out their clearance section. She found invitations that she will use for the rehearsal dinner for 80% off, and they even go with our color scheme. She also picked up a flower girl basket and a ring bearer pillow for 80% off. She said that even if I didn't want to use them for the ceremony, she would find a way to incorporate them into the decorations for a bridal shower or other pre-wedding event because they were only a couple of dollars each.

Happy saving and happy crafting!

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Saving on Airfare

Last weekend Michael and I decided to book the airfare for our honeymoon. Michael had looked on the usual sites like Kayak.com to figure out what the best deal was. However, he also took the time to figure out which carriers service both our home airport and the one in our vacation destination. Then, just to be sure we had the best deal, he looked at the websites of those airlines. Guess what? He found a lower deal than Kayak told him was available!

I was really glad that he took the time to figure this out. However, I will always try to stretch beyond the lowest deal and see what kind of extras I can get on top of that, like Upromise credit or an extra cashback bonus through Discover Card's ShopDiscover program. They aren't partners with American, so no deal there. But then, I flipped open my Entertainment Book and found American Airlines in the index! They had a coupon code for an additional 5% off any airfare worldwide that is $150 or more for up to 6 passengers.

Yippee! The coupon code worked, and we saved an additional $25.80. The Entertainment Book is awesome! (Incidentally, you can get it at a great discount this time of year.)

And actually I got another deal by using my Discover Card. They are offering 5% cashback (on top of the usual incentive) in their Get More program this quarter for travel purchases up to $800. Fantastic!

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My Frugal $ense Pick for February

February is nearly over, but I thought I'd share my favorite tip on Bankrate.com's Frugal $ense contest because it's a really good one that I already use. Bonnie Pineiro of Weymouth suggests making your own school snacks for kids by buying in bulk and packaging your own individual-sized snacks. When I was a kid, my parents did the same thing for our school lunches.

I don't have any children, but I do this for my own lunch that I take to work. In fact, this week I've had applesauce as part of my lunch. I bought a 24-ounce jar of it on sale for 79 cents. I've poured it into half-cup size reusable containers and put one in my lunch bag each day. Like in Bonnie's examples, it was far cheaper than buying the pre-packaged individual-sized containers of applesauce. And it takes very little time and effort to do the packaging myself.

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99 Cent Latte Day

For those of you who were particularly interested in the Cutting Down on Coffee and More Coffee Savings discussion that we had last month, I thought I'd mention something that I saw on Coupon Mom's blog today: 99 cent coffees at Dunkin' Donuts on Tuesday! The deal is only good from 1 PM until 10 PM on February 26th. You can get a small latte, cappuccino, or espresso for just 99 cents!

So, if you are looking for a cheap treat, this sounds good!

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Dominion Powerwash

Power washing? Yes, I know this seems to be an unusual post for Save 4 Fun. However, I just got an email from a friend today that he has started a power washing business in Northern Virginia. I always try to help promote friends' small businesses in one way or another, but I have to admit that I don't know much about power washing. However, I know Jamie to be a great guy, so I can only imagine that his business will do an awesome job with outdoor cleaning if you need the service.

How does Dominion Powerwash tie into my blog? They have coupons on their website! So, if you or someone you know need power washing services, check them out and spread the word.

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Freezing More Food

Back in November, I wrote about Filling the Freezer. Reading Erin Huffstetler's article entitled I Can Freeze That? on About.com, I've learned that there are even more foods that I can freeze. I'm going to have to try her tip on freezing fresh herbs. I always hate when I have to buy a big bunch of herbs when I only need a little bit in a recipe. Inevitably, I end up throwing away the rest. Sometimes I might skip the herb (but that usually really takes away from the dish) or see if I have it in the dried version (but that's not the same and it's also not always possible, as in the case of cilantro). However, the frozen version of the fresh herbs might help solve this problem.

One thing that freezes well that Erin didn't mention in her article is an onion. Sometimes I only need part of an onion for a recipe. While the remaining portion can be kept in the refrigerator for a while, I don't usually get around to using it before it has gone bad. I've found out that you can freeze onions. So, I'll chop or slice the remaining part and then put it in a freezer bag or container. The next time I need to cook with an onion, I just get it out of the freezer. It's already chopped or sliced, which makes things faster for meal preparation.

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Reducing the Expense of Facial Cleansing Cloths

I like to use disposible facial cleansing cloths at night to wash my face. I know that using a regular wash cloth and cleanser would be less expensive and better for the environment. But for some reason, the disposible cloths have always worked better for me -- my face and my routine. To stretch out how long a package of the cloths will last (and therefore, reduce the overall cost and waste), I cut them all in half when I open a new box. The half size is plenty to wash my face. And then, I get 60 nights' use out of a package instead of just 30.

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Saving on Save the Date

I'm back from a few weeks of intense wedding planning. There's still a lot to do on that project, but I think (for now anyway) it shouldn't be as time consuming. The majority of big stuff is either decided upon or we at least have the appointments set with some vendors of the remaining big ticket items.

Since it's still fresh on my mind, I thought I'd mention one money-saving tip I've implemented during wedding planning: I made my own save-the-date cards.

First of all, I didn't think save-the-date cards were going to be necessary. In fact, I thought it was going to be one place where I could cut a corner on the budget. I figured we (including our family) could just tell people during the course of a regular conversation or email message when our wedding would be and mention that we'd hope they would save the date. However, while the place we've picked to get married is significant to both of us, neither we nor any of our friends or family live there. So, essentially we are planning a destination wedding...even though it isn't in a far off land. Because of that, however, I really felt the need to get information out to guests as early as possible so that they could not only save the date, but see if there's room in their budget to make the trip (for those who won't be able to get there and back in a day), start to plan their trip, make hotel reservations, etc. That led me to doing another thing I never imagined -- creating a wedding website!

I needed to publicize the website information to the guests. So, that's where the save-the-date cards came into play. There are a lot cute save-the-date options out there. However, eventually (i.e. after the wedding), even the nicest card or most creative magnet is unwanted trash. So, I got a friend who has some graphic design background to make a postcard for me. She was even able to personalize it with a picture of us.

Postcards are easy to make because you can put 4 of them on one letter size sheet of paper. I took the file to Kinko's and had them print them on the glossy card stock. Then, with two strokes of the paper cutter per sheet, I had all of the postcards made.

So, let's see how I did in comparison to using an online designer for a similar style card:

Online Vendor
Product: color card, personalized with our message and photo - envelopes included.
Quanity: They only sell them in packets of 75 or 100. (I needed 80.)
Shipping: No charge for shipping for orders over $75.
Price for 100: $88.00 + tax = $92.40
Postage for 80 (at 41 cents per stamp): $32.80
Total: $125.20.

My Cards
Product: color postcard, personalized with our message and photo - no envelopes needed.
Quanity: 4 come on a sheet. (I needed 80, but I got 84 just in case I had any errors while addressing them. I could also go back to get additional ones printed without a problem if I needed them.)
Price for 84 (including tax): $33.95...plus about 20 minutes of my time to cut the sheets into postcards.
Postage for 80 (at 26 cents per stamp): $20.80
Total: $54.75

Savings: $70.45!

This is a good example of how I'm saving, but I'm not cutting on all corners of the wedding budget. Even though we don't want to spend a huge bundle, we do want a nice celebration. (It's the whole "save for fun" idea.) I could have just not done the cards, but it was an efficient and easy way to get out the information to everyone and let them know who exactly will be invited. I could have also opted for black and white, matte postcards instead of color, glossy ones. However, I liked the look and decided to upgrade since I knew even the upgraded version was a big savings over other options. Above all, what I wanted fit into the budget, so I went for it!

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I'll Be Back Soon!

Wedding planning has been consuming the vast majority of my time lately. It's been nearly a week, and I haven't posted anything on Save 4 Fun. I promise to be back soon -- hopefully, in the next couple of days!

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Did Someone Say "Free Pretzel?!"

I have an email account just for signing up for newsletters, promotions, etc. that I don't want going to my regular email inbox. I usually check it about once a day to see what's new. Tonight I received a message from Auntie Anne's (as in the pretzel place at the mall). I don't even remember why I signed up for their newsletter because it's not somewhere where I go often. While I really like their pretzels, I don't usually snack while at the mall. However, I might have to make a special trip on Saturday!

Auntie Anne's is turning 20 years old on February 2. They are celebrating by giving out free pretzels from 10 AM - 4 PM. You can read more about their big day and the free pretzels at this link.

Happy Birthday, Auntie Anne! And thanks for passing out free treats!

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More on Coffee Savings

My sister has realized that she has gotten in the habit of buying the largest size drink ("Venti" which is 20 oz) when she goes to Starbucks. She says she didn't really need the biggest one, so this year she's cutting back to the 12 oz cup called "Tall" (which she says is really more than enough). By doing this, she has reduced her spending and her caloric intake. However, as Kate pointed out in her comment on Cutting Down on Coffee, you can actually order a "Short" (8 oz) even though it isn't on the menu in Starbucks. However, it is listed on their website's nutrition information. Oh - a secret little tip! Thanks, Kate!

I had another idea when my friend was trying to think of ways to cut back on her coffee outings without cutting the "treat" factor out. I will tell you again that I don't know that much about coffee. So, I'm not 100% sure this is an excellent idea, but it might be at least a decent alternative. Ask for a latte maker as a gift (i.e. birthday, Christmas, wedding). Perhaps it would be less expensive in the long run to make them at home, even if you bought the latte maker on your own. In her comment on Cutting Down on Coffee, Nikki recommends the Nespresso Milk Frother for the home barista in you.

I know my parents often keep, wash, and reuse the coffee cups and lids when they get them at a coffee shop/fast food restaurant. They can keep them for quite a while before they get too worn out. This is good for coffee on the go. If you can't or don't want to keep the cup while you are out and about, just throw it away. You don't have to worry about having to tote a regular reusable mug with you for the rest of the day. But if possible, leave it in the car and reuse it another time.

Is the whole idea of getting coffee at a shop because it's a treat...out of the house? You probably shouldn't take your own drink into a coffee shop, but maybe there's another place you could hang out like a park or shopping mall, or even a quiet space in your home, and enjoy your drink.

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Cutting Down on Coffee

One of my friends emailed me a few months ago about one of her financial downfalls. She wrote:

"My weakness is treats. I love to go out for coffee or grab a treat after a long day at work or hanging out with my son (also a lot of work). One idea I have taken hold of is ordering cafe au lait at coffee shops instead of lattes. The average cafe au lait (steamed milk and coffee) is $2 or lower, depending on the shop I go to. Plus, I always go local (when I can help it) and then I know that I'm spending money in my community and supporting local business owners (like me)."

She didn't mention how much a latte costs, but based on what she is saying, it sounds like it is more than a cafe au lait. Not being much of a coffee-drinker myself (and having no idea what the difference is between these two beverages), I had to turn to Google for some help. Apparently, the latte is espresso with milk, and the cafe au lait is strong black coffee with steamed milk. I'm not sure if she's making a big sacrifice in flavor, but it sounds about the same to me. So, if there's not much difference, I'd go for the less expensive one too.

Another idea that I had for her is to look at the average number of times she goes out for coffee or other treats during a week or month and then cut that number down by 25% or 50%. She could give herself 1-2 months to be on the reduced plan as a trial. If it's shear torture, then she could go back to what she was doing. However, more than likely, after a month or two she'll be used to going out for coffee less. She should also track the savings from this plan. Watching the amount in savings account increase should be an added incentive.

If you think you'd like to try the idea of reducing the number of trips to the coffee shop but that it would be too hard to track, try using a gift certificate. Figure out how much you spend on coffee on average each month. Then, reduce that amount by 25% or 50%. Buy a gift certificate for the amount you want to spend for the month. Only use the gift certificate (not cash or credit) when you go to the coffee shop. Once you've used the entire balance, your treats are done for that month.

For example:
You usually go to the coffee shop 4 times a week.
You usually buy the $2 cafe au lait.
That's $8 per week.
There are roughly 4 weeks in a month, which means you spend $32 per month.

To cut back by 25% would mean that you would only spend $24 (an $8 savings).
To cut back by 50% would mean that you would only spend $16 (a $16 savings).

Buy a gift certificate for that amount and see how you do. If you can get gift certificates in small amounts (for just one drink), then you could do it like this:

You usually go to the coffee shop 4 times a week.
There are roughly 4 weeks in a month, which means you go 16 times per month.

To cut back on your visits by 25% would mean you should buy twelve $2 gift certificates.
To cut back on your visits by 50% would mean you should buy eight $2 gift certificates.

With the second idea, you would know exactly how many drinks you have left for the month based on the number of gift certificates you still have on hand.

Need some help or convincing on this kind of savings? Check out the website of David Bach (author of the Finish Rich book series). He has coined the term "Latte Factor."

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High Yield Savings Account

As I mentioned in My Frugal $ense Pick for January, there are quite a few ideas that I like on Bankrate's contest this month. Another one of my favorites is High Yield Savings Account submitted by Sumit Malden. It's similar to Treat Your Credit Card Like a Debit Card that I commented on in November.

The online banks, like ING, do offer great rates -- relative to your standard "bricks and mortar" banks. Of course, with the Fed cutting interest rates lately, these great rates on the savings accounts are shrinking across the board. I know it's helping people with loans or who are considering borrowing (which in turn should help boost the economy). However, that means it's not helping me (because I'm fortunate to not have any debt right now). In fact, it's just hurting me because the earnings on my short term savings are decreasing with the interest rates. (And then I look at my retirement savings and groan too...but it's okay; I have plenty of time to ride out the market.)

All right, I'll stop whining about that and wait for the economy to sort itself out. I'll also wait for the $600 check that it sounds like Congress is going to send me this spring. That will more than make up for what I'm losing with the interest cuts! How I do love a rebate!

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My Frugal $ense Pick for January

This month Bankrate.com has several tips on their Frugal $ense Contest that I really like. Picking just one favorite was a little difficult. However, for being unique, I'm going with Brenda's Host a dinner and eat for a week idea. The thought of gathering friends for an evening together and getting a week's worth of food after only making one casserole is awesome! I guess the one draw back is it doesn't work well if you (or some of your friends) are married and/or have children. But it would be great for a group of single friends.

Well, here's an idea for 3 couples: each couple brings 1 casserole that serves 6. Like Brenda suggests, only eat the one that the host cooks. Then, divide up the other two for everyone to take home. Each couple would get 2 two-serving dinners to go. Still a good deal!

Whether it's 6 singles or 3 couples, I think you'd also have to add some things to make it a full meal for a group (since you only get one serving). The group could divide up the extras: appetizers, salad, bread, drinks, desserts...and maybe the host gets off adding nothing else other than the location (including set-up and clean-up).

If you like this tip, vote "7" for Brenda this month! The contest ends January 31.

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Morning Movie

Michael has been wanting to see National Treasure: Book of Secrets. I wasn't lucky enough to win screening passes through Ytic, so we were going to have to pay to see this one. I suggested that we use one of my coupons in the Entertainment Book because even for an evening show at Regal Cinemas, the price is only $6.00 (or $7.50 within the first 12 days of the movie's release). That's a good deal considering the regular price is $10.25 ($8.00 for a matinee) in the DC area.

However, Michael found an even better deal! AMC Theatres offer big discounts (no coupons needed) for their shows before noon on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays. So, we went to the 10:30 AM showing of National Treasure this morning (MLK Day) for only $5.00/ticket. Half price! We also had no problems finding near-by parking, which was great because it's so cold out. The meter parking was free since it's a holiday. There weren't a lot of people there, so we got good seats without having to get there really early.

We grabbed lunch after the movie -- and it was a nice (and very affordable) date!

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What's Included in That Membership Fee?

Since Michael and I announced our engagement, my sister Angie has been working hard to reduce her expenses and save. We've lived together for 7 years, and now she's losing her roommate -- and thinking about buying a house on her own. Angie's not super carefree with her spending, but she has examined her financial habits and has realized that she can definitely do better by just putting a little thought into it. She wanted to share one of her own saving stories for my blog. So, here it is...

Angie: "I started working out at a small gym with a friend because of the 'Boot Camp' class they offered. I wanted to mix up my workout from my regular routine at my Gold's Gym. After Boot Camp, I decided to add a Spin class to my schedule two days a week for about $15 a class. The class was great because it was in the morning. I could take it and then head straight to work. The instructor (a friend of a friend) was decent. Then, when I wanted to start saving money, I knew I would have to drop something. I hated the thought of giving up the Spin class, but I had to cut back my expenses. So, I finally looked into my Gold's membership package that I started in 2001. Turns out the $41.95 membership fee I pay monthly includes all of their classes! I had totally over looked this benefit because when I started at Gold's I was not a 'fitness class' sort of person. I admit that I was skeptical in the beginning. Would the instructor be any good? Would I actually get a bike at a big, busy gym? Would the class schedule be convenient? But it's all worked out really well. I had nothing to worry about! In fact, I just had things to gain -- to the tune of about $120 per month!"

So, whether it's a gym membership, benefits at work, homeowner association/apartment complex amenities, take a closer look and see what you are already entitled!

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Finding Good (and Affordable) Restaurants in NYC

I just read this week's PostPoints Travel Tip of the Week entitled A Bite of the Big Apple by Scott Vogel of The Washington Post. He writes about Restaurant Weeks coming up in New York City January 21-25 and January 28-February 1. For the types of restaurants that participate and the number of courses that you get, it's a good deal. Vogel sites the latest Zagat Survey which says the average price of dinner in NYC is $39.46. (Wow - I wonder if that's just the meal or if it includes a drink, tax, and tip.)

Reading that article reminded me of when I was in the Big Apple for 3 nights this past June for work. I was staying in Times Square where I knew there would definitely be no shortage of restaurants. Before I went (because I figured I wouldn't have Internet access while I was there), I turned to Upromise to find out which restaurants near the hotel would give me some money towards college savings. There were 98 Upromise restaurants within 1 mile of my hotel! So, I sorted them by distance (low to high) and printed out the information on ones that were within a half mile of the hotel. When I arrive in New York, I was prepared with a list of dining options, complete with a description, price range, location, Upromise member ratings, and Zagat review, if the restaurant had been on their survey.

The first night I decided to try the Roxy Delicatessen. Like most restaurants on Broadway in or near Times Square, it's kind of a tourist trap. It was okay, but it would have been much better if they offered smaller sandwiches (and lower prices). I really didn't need a pound (literally!) of pastrami. With a soft drink, tax, and tip, that sandwich dinner was $19.20. And to think, Upromise said that the prices at the Roxy Deli were fair compared to Manhattan standards! However, I did get 8% of that total for college savings in my Upromise account.

The next night I met a friend who now lives in Brooklyn. We ate at one of her favorite Thai restaurants in Manhattan. (Note: this wasn't on the Upromise list, but it didn't matter because I had my friend to guide me to good eats this night.) It was a place called Klong. I got a great entree and a martini (plus tax and tip) for $17.00. Mind you, this seemed to be off the beaten path, so I guess prices weren't as high as in the tourist areas.

My last night in New York, I referred back to my Upromise list. This time I decided to head a few blocks off of Broadway to a little Italian restaurant in Hell's Kitchen called Pietrasanta. It got good reviews from Upromise members and Zagat, and I was going to earn 8% for college savings. I guess I was hungry earlier than the usual crowd in NYC because I was the first one in the restaurant. (That made me a little nervous until the restaurant filled up soon after I got there.) Arriving early, I got a great seat by the window. This meal was awesome -- real Italian food! I think I just got an entree (with water to drink), and it cost $19.24. I wished I had gone there the first night instead of to Roxy's because for the same price it was a much, much better value. With a great local place like that, it made me wonder why people would eat at the Olive Garden in Times Square.

The moral of this story is when you are traveling, ask locals where they eat. You'll probably find some of the best restaurants in terms of food and price that way. If that's not an option for you, at least step out of the tourist areas to dine. Again, you'll probably get better food at a better price.

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A Little Cooking Tip

Brown sugar isn't something I need on a regular basis, but it's a rather common ingredient. Here's the problem: I would buy a package of it and use a few tablespoons, a quarter of a cup, or maybe a half of a cup. I would seal up the rest. The next time I'd need brown sugar, it would be hard as a rock. A tip on the side of the box suggested microwaving part of it with a damp paper towel to soften it. However, then I'd have to use all of it right away. Chiseling part of it off was nearly impossible. I read another tip that said you can freeze the brown sugar to keep it from hardening. Then, I got a good idea!

The last time I bought a package of brown sugar, I used just a little. Then, I put the rest in resealable sandwich bags -- a quarter cup in each bag. (Snack size resealable bags work too.) You could measure out different amounts, but I've found quarter cup is the most common amount. Plus, you can just open several bags if you need more (i.e. 4 bags for 1 cup). Then, I put all of those little bags into a larger freezer bag and put the whole thing into the freezer. Whenever I need brown sugar, it's ready: measured and soft!

I no longer have to throw out the unusable brown sugar "brick" after only consuming a very small portion.

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Free in the City

Probably one of my most favorite things about living in the DC area is that there are tons of great cultural opportunities that are available -- for free! A great resource is the website for Cultural Tourism DC. I've looked at their website now and again. I even have it bookmarked. However, since I don't look at it often, I've been missing some things.

My friend Amy (who really is the go-to, know-it-all girl in terms of cool happenings -- and free activities! -- in DC) just pointed out to me that Cultural Tourism DC has a weekly e-newsletter. She thought it might be a good thing to put on my blog. Now, that's what Save 4 Fun is all about! (Thanks for the tip, Amy!)

One of the highlights in their e-newsletter this week is something called "Warm Up to a Museum" which includes all sorts of fun programs and events throughout February -- and they are free. Winter is a great time to hit the museums too because they aren't packed with tourists. (It's a good time to come to town too if you are an out-of-town tourist.) So, check it out. See what interests you and fits into your schedule. Go do something fun for free!

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Budget Article in the Loudoun Times Mirror

I had the good fortune on Monday to speak with Lina Hashem, a reporter from the Loudoun Times Mirror, about some of my savings tips. The interview with me was mostly in regards to Coupon Mom's website. The whole article has some good ideas and inspiring money-saving stories. Read Trimming the Budget Without Trimming the List. (Kudos to Kim Jenkins of Leesburg for racking up on some awesome deals on toys!)

For me, it's fun to share my savings tips and to find out what ideas other people have. I hope folks in Loudoun County find Lina's article useful and make their way to Save 4 Fun on a regular basis. It's exciting that Lina referenced my January 5 post of this blog.

Lina mentions Target's clearance items in the article. I know where all of the clearance sections are in my Target store (mostly end caps in out-of-the-way areas). I always make it a point to swing past these sections every time I'm in the store. While I don't find something I need or want on every visit, I do often find great deals.

I've noticed that some of the best clearance items at Target are in the health and beauty section. Sometimes they'll get a promotional package of lotion, toothpaste, or the like. It might have extra ounces or a sample of another product attached for free. (For example, 30% more lotion for free or a free toothbrush attached to the package of toothpaste.) They don't always keep those things on the regular shelves until they sell out. After a certain period of time, they'll move them to the clearance section. So, you might get a larger size of a product you want on clearance for 15%-50% less than the regular size on the regular shelf. You just have to look for the areas of each department that have the big red "Clearance" signs and see what good stuff might be there. I've found it's worth the extra minute to take a look.

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Planning Ahead for Valetine's Day

Valentine's Day is less than a month away. Of course, if you are like most people, you are just coming off from a big spending time in December. But you don't have to spend a ton on your "valentine" to make him/her feel special. To me, Valentine's Day can be blown out of portion in terms of amount spent on gifts. It's far more fun to see how creative you can be in expressing your love on this day.

Michael is smart. He has always cooked a great meal at home for me on Valentine's Day. It makes a lot more sense and is far more special than going out for a meal that is probably over-priced for February 14.

While it can sometimes be hard to dream up, I try to think of some kind of little, inexpensive (but thoughtful) gift to give Michael. He wouldn't really appreciate flowers. He doesn't care much for sweets of any kind. So, it does become a little more challenging.

Last year, I bought a clear glass vase at the dollar store and tied a red ribbon around it. I also got a package of place cards (at Dollar Tree in the wedding/party section). I thought of 52 reasons why I love him (from completely silly things to more serious ones) and wrote one on the inside of each card. On the outside of each card, I wrote the title "52 Things I Love About Michael." Then, I sealed the cards each with a Valentine sticker. (I got a whole sheet of them from Dollar Tree and had enough leftover to decorate the vase too.) To make it colorful, I used 10 different colors of felt tip pens (which I got free after rebate at Staples) to write the messages. The place cards actually came 50 to a package, so I used other little papers I had on hand for the remaining two cards and still sealed them with a sticker too. After all of the cards were done, I filled the vase. So, I had a cute, thoughtful gift for a little over $3.00! I told Michael that if opened one per week, he'd have a year full of great thoughts. However, he couldn't wait and ended up reading one each day. That still lasted nearly 2 months. It was definitely a gift that kept giving.

I don't know what I'm going to do this year. However, as you can see, whether you are planning to cook dinner or hand-make a gift, it takes some time and thought. Better to start working on it now. Then, you won't have to run out and buy an expensive (and probably, cheesy) gift for your Valentine at the last minute.

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Saving on the Road

Michael and I just got back from our first wedding planning trip to NC. Just like my parents did when I was a kid, I stocked a little cooler with cans of Coke, bottles of water, and some snacks. Having those things on hand saved us from picking up expensive convenience store items.

The cooler stash also helped us save when we stopped for lunch. Yesterday, two fountain drinks at Burger King would have cost us $2.35. Instead, I got a 12-pack of Coke several weeks ago on sale at Harris Teeter for $2.03 (which includes tax). So, that's about 17 cents per can!

If we take one road trip per month between now and the wedding and stop to eat going down and coming home, at this savings rate on drinks with our fast food meals, we would save $32. For basically no inconvenience (just a little planning before hitting the road), we could feed another person or two at the reception. Since coupons for wedding vendors either don't exist or are very rare, I'll take these other savings as they come!

Even if you aren't taking road trips, think about how this could add up if you like to have a soft drink at work for lunch every day! (Of course, if you can drink good tap or filtered water instead for free, all the better.)

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Painless Ways to Cut Your Spending

Erin Huffstetler, author of About.com's Frugal Living, has a good article entitled Top 5 Painless Ways to Cut Your Spending. Those ways include:

1. Switch to Store Brands
2. Shop with a List
3. Carry Snacks
4. Use it Up
5. Shop to Save

Sometimes I read articles like this and think some of the ideas aren't for me. However, I believe in all of them on this list and actually find them helpful. Here are just a few ways I've been using some of these tips:

Shopping with a list takes a little time up front, at home. However, by doing the prep work ahead of time, you know all of the sale items, what you have coupons for, and what you need. A shopping list also makes the trip to the store faster because you know exactly what you are looking for and can go straight to those products. It saves you time, and if you are impulse shopper, money because you aren't strolling down every aisle and being tempted by things you don't really need or that aren't good deals.

I learned about carrying a snack when I was studying in England in college. Without a car, I did a lot of walking, which meant I was often hungry and normally I wasn't anywhere near home when my stomach started growling. I realized quickly that buying snacks at convenient stores every I time I needed one was expensive. Not eating just wasn't an option, but even 12 years ago, I wanted to "save 4 fun" and save my money to use for touring, not snacking, while I was in Europe. Early on that semester, I decided I'd always carry a bottle of water and some digestives (British cookies) in my bag. I've started doing that again now that I'm taking public transportation to work. (Just don't eat on the Metro -- it's illegal.)

With my upcoming marriage and move, I know I need to clean out a bunch of my stuff. Several weeks ago, I realized that I have some lotion that I've opened and like okay but just didn't use on a regular basis. It's time to use it up so that I can try to downsize some of stuff before having to pack it. It's also saving me a little money by not having to go out buy some things like lotion right now.

So, if you aren't already using these tips, see if you can get them to work for you and find a little more cash to save in 2008. They've worked for me, and hopefully they will for you too.

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Taking Control of Your Numbers

Okay, I confess. I'm addicted to Microsoft Excel! If you haven't noticed already (especially by most recent posts), I pour everything into spreadsheets. In fact, most of what happens in my life goes into Excel in one way or another. I track my savings goals, pledge to the church, gas mileage, coupon savings, rebate savings, baby shower gift budget, Christmas gift budget, grocery store savings, and more. I've even made calculators with Excel to help me do some comparison shopping at places like the dry cleaners. Is it nerdy? Yep. Is it helpful? You better believe it!

Knowledge is a good thing when it comes to money. If you don't know how you are spending your money, how are you going to keep up with it? You may be silently hemorrhaging cash and not even realize it. I admit that I'm really over the top. You don't have to track all of these details. I started many of my worksheets out of curiosity. Was I really saving with coupons, rebates, etc.? Is something really a deal? They aren't all completely necessary.

I like hard facts, so tracking and analyzing my data is helpful to me. Actually, I even it find it comforting and stress-relieving to have the facts. I've been posting less in the past few weeks because I've been consumed with wedding plans. I'm not really into event planning, so this hasn't been the easiest or most fun task. I was stressing during Christmas at my parents' house because I couldn't figure out which photographer offered the best deal on paper (meaning just the cost, not factoring in things like their personality and style that have to be determined through a face-to-face meeting). There was no way I could meet with 30 of them, but how could I narrow the pool? You guessed it -- I poured the information into Excel! It helped me to compare like information -- apples to apples, so to speak.

The same is happening with the reception sites/caterers. We might like one location more than another, but what is the price difference? Now, do we like it that much more? Do we need to trim the guest list in order to have it at one place? Could we extend some more invitations if have it at another location? Through my calculators that I've made in Excel, I can figure out the answers to these questions pretty quickly. The more informed I am, the less stressed I am...the happier I am!

You don't have to like numbers or spend lots of time with data entry and analyzing. Start with something simple like tracking your spending in a certain category (i.e., dining out, groceries). Write it in a notebook if that's easier for you. Do some month-to-month or year-to-year comparisons. See what you learn. See what habits you can work on changing or that you want to keep. I bet you will find that the more informed you are, the better off you will be.

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Disappointing Results in Food Spending for 2007

Sad, but true: I spent 26% more on food (groceries and dining out) in 2007 than in 2006. The one consolation is that I spent 5% less last year than in 2005 (which was an expensive year for me).

While I'm not sure of the exact reasons, my best guesses are:

1. Inflation - I have notices prices creeping up.
2. Being lazy - There were quite a few weeks in 2007 that I didn't go to the grocery store on my regular schedule which resulted in either eating out more or making a fast trip to grab whatever I could eat right away.
3. Not sticking to the spending plan - I know I ate out far more this past year than I should have.

I did save an average of 40% at the grocery store this year. (That includes whatever I bought, not just my food. My other numbers in this post are only food.) However, on 15% of my grocery trips I saved nothing at all! On a third of my grocery trips, I saved less than 25%. I can do better than that.

It's a new year! And I know what has happened in the past year. So, I'm going to work harder to keep my food expenses down and my savings up. I can do it!

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Are Rebates Worth It?

I really like rebates! Coupons are great, but rebates are where you save the most money. Rebates can be a little more challenging than coupons. You have to be organized and be able to follow very specific directions or else you won't get the check in the mail. However, with a little thought and a little effort, you can reap great rewards.

Let's see how I did in 2007, and see if rebates really are worth it!

I cashed in on 105 rebates on a whole variety of products, ranging from computer software and cough & cold medicines to dental care products and hair care products to light bulbs and snack food. The grand total that I got back from manufacturers and stores in 2007: $383.24! (Yes, I really did get those checks in the mail...because I followed the directions, bought the correct products in the correct quantities at the right time and met the rebate deadlines.) Wow! To me, nearly $400 is definitely more than worth it.

However, combining sale prices and coupons with rebates is where you save even more. In fact, in 2007, on the 105 products for which I used rebates and was able to also use sale prices and/or store and/or manufacturer coupons, I spent $49.47. The total retail value? $705.84! That's a 93% savings. Awesome!

Many of these products I was able to use for myself or give them to friends or family. There were still more things that I got for free or nearly free that we weren't able or didn't need to use ourselves. So, I gave those things to charity.

What's great about combining coupons and rebates is that you can often make a small profit. For example, last year I bought a tube of Colgate toothpaste at Rite Aid.

Regular price: $2.99
Sale price: $2.49
Coupon: $1.50
Rebate: $2.49
Price paid at store (including tax): $1.11
Total price spent (after rebate check came): -$1.38 (Yes, that's a negative number!)
Savings: 144%

I actually don't like Colgate, so I gave it to charity. Someone who needed it got free toothpaste. I earned $1.38.

If you are wondering about how the cost of stamps factors in to my rebate savings, I actually don't consider it. Most of the rebates I claim can be submitted online, so I don't even pay for postage to request the rebate money.

So, yes, rebates are worth it! Give them a try this year.

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Are Coupons Worth It?

A lot of people don't think coupons are worth using. "Saving 25 cents isn't going to help me," doubters say. However, over the past two years, I've tracked my manufacturer coupon use to see if it's worth my time and the amount we spend on newspaper subscription. I have found that it is worth it. (You can get coupons from other sources, even free sources. However, I've found the newspaper to be the best means for me.)

In 2006, I saved $246.52 in coupons (and that includes the face value plus any doubling or tripling of value that some stores do). In 2007, I saved $276.65. My sister and I pay a total of $192 for the Washington Post (daily subscription plus a little tip for the carrier). Since we split the bill 50-50, I only pay $96 annually. So, there's definitely a savings there. (Of course, we get more value out of the paper than just the coupons because the newspaper itself is worth the price.)

Knowing that we are getting a "divorce" this year (since I'm leaving my sister as my roommate and taking on Michael as my husband), Angie is working hard to do better with her personal finances. After several years of hearing me talk about Coupon Mom (and making fun of me for being so into that website and the coupons), she finally registered the other night. (Registration is required but free.) She was amazed at how easy it is to use that system and what great deals you can find. Did she think I was making this up?

So, if you too are resolving to use your financial resources more wisely this year, try out the Coupon Mom system and give coupons a whirl! It's not that hard or time-consuming...and you'll definitely save.

Disclaimer: don't just buy something because you have a coupon. Only get it if you need/want it. Do some comparison shopping and figure out if the name brand with a coupon really is cheaper than the generic or another name brand.

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