Saving Some Allowance

Did you figure out how much your childhood allowance would be worth in today's dollar with the calculator I posted on Monday?

I actually had to ask my sister if she remembered what we got for allowance because it wasn't a figure that has stuck with me all of these years. I did, however, remember that we got two parts of our allowance: the part we could spend and the part we had to save for college.

It's a good idea to have the savings pass through little hands. Just like I mentioned with having to save gift money, seeing that money come to me and then stuffing it into my Mickey Mouse bank probably did some good for my financial literacy during childhood. Having the college fund magically appear when I graduated from high school wouldn't have been as beneficial because I would not have felt the pain of saving over all of those years if I didn't pass through my hands. I also wouldn't have felt the victory and accomplishment of saving and reaching the goal either.

Of course, as an adult, I find directly depositing money from my paycheck into my retirement and other savings accounts to be much more efficient (and more likely to be saved) than seeing it pass through my hands or checking account. I feel less of the pain of saving that way. Considering I still vividly remember what it feels like from childhood, I don't need to revisit that lesson so intimately anymore!

It never crossed my mind as child to "steal" from Mickey -- or to even borrow from him. Of course, Mom would have known that my deposit would have been short some cash had I done that, and I would have been in hot water! However, I don't think my child mind was advanced enough to realize she would have known. I just knew it was really Mickey's money and not mine -- at least not right away. It's the same with my retirement money now. While I protect it like it is my money (because it is!), my brain understands that it's not for current use...as if it's not my money. And I'd be in hot water with the IRS in terms of major penalties if I did pull money out of my retirement savings.

Some of life's great lessons...Happy Financial Literacy Month!

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Gifting an Education, Life-Lesson, and Financial Freedom

I just read something interesting on Washington Post Personal Finance Columnist Michelle Singletary's weekly e-letter from March 27. (When you click on the link, scroll down to the heading Asking for Money.)

Michelle asked her reads,"Is it rude for parents to ask that you give money for a college fund?"

I decided to email her a response. Here's what I said:

Dear Michelle,

If someone is asking what to give a child, I don't think it's rude to request money to go towards a college education. If the gift-giver would prefer to give a toy, book, etc., then they could just say that they would prefer something that will allow for instant gratification and ask for the child's favorite cartoon characters or current interests. But I like the second mother's idea of giving the child a small gift and then some cash for college savings.

I don't have children, but I can speak from being a person who received money for college when I was a child myself. Well, I never was 100% convinced that money I received as gifts was truly for college, but my parents always told me that was what the giver intended. (I usually got a small gift/toy from my aunts and uncles and grandparents and some cash too...and I would have loved to have spent that money at the toy store!) I had a Mickey Mouse bank, and all of that gift money went directly to Mickey. (Mom would clear out Mickey and take his savings to the bank every so often.) As a young child, college savings frustrated me. I didn't even really know what college was, except that it was sucking up a lot of my money! Even as a teenager when I knew I was definitely going to college, I didn't completely appreciate that money.

Once I was in college, Mom pulled the money out of my savings account and put it into my checking account for me to write the checks to the school. Wow - "thousand" was a really long word to write on a check!!!

My parents (with the help of all of those monetary gifts upon my birth, birthdays, Christmas, and other occasions) were able to pay for my undergraduate education. I left college with a bachelor's degree but no debt! Many of my friends weren't so fortunate. And many of them spent a lot of time working on things that I never had to know about out in the college's financial aid department. Many of them paid those loans for a long time after graduation. It was at that point I finally appreciated what my parents, my Mickey Mouse bank, and all of our kind friends and family did for me -- they gave me financial freedom! That meant I was able to start contributing a decent amount of money to my retirement fund when I got my first job after graduation...I think it also meant that I understood what it was going to take to save for a huge goal (i.e. retirement) that was many, many years away. A college education, a life lesson, and a jump start on retirement savings from a mere $10 or $20 gift. What a deal!

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Saving Money for College

As I mentioned yesterday, I do a fair amount of thinking about my financial goals. I wonder if I'll be able to meet them. I try to think of new ways to save -- but of course, also still have fun and having fun doing it! All of this thinking and planning isn't something that is new to me.

In fact, knowing that a lot of financial goals take many years (even decades) to reach and knowing that one goal is that I hoped to marry and have kids and that those kids would go to college, I started thinking a bit about saving for college several years ago...before I even met my now fiance! Of course, I wasn't going to start allocating a part of my savings to children that I didn't have -- after all, I have so many other "real" things to save for. However, five years ago I came across something called Upromise.

Upromise is a rewards program that helps people save for college. It's free to sign up, so I did. My thought at the time was that if it wasn't going to cost me anything, why not? If I never had kids of my own, I could give it to someone else -- now, it would be my nieces and nephews. However, at the time of registering, I didn't have any of them. But, I figured in 18-20 years I would know someone who was going to college who could use it. So, why not sign up? After all, it was free money!

There are several very easy ways to save with Upromise. In fact, I've blogged at Save 4 Fun about some of them, including restaurants, travel, shopping online at stores like Target and Macys, and shopping in stores like Bed, Bath, & Beyond. You can also save at grocery stores, drug stores, and gas stations, among other places.

All you have to do is register for a free Upromise account. Then, link your store loyalty cards and/or credit/debit cards to your Upromise account. They do the tracking for you when you shop at a partner company and/or buy a partner product. With online purchases like at Target.com, you get credit when you link to Target's website through Upromise's website and make a purchase.

During the month of April, Upromise is running a promotion. When you open and activate a new account by shopping online, Upromise will put $10 in your account! What a great way to get started! (I wish they were offering that when I joined.) If you already have an account and are saving for a specific child or children, ask your friends and family if they would help you save too. They can open an account and then designate your child(ren) as the beneficiary. You'll save even more!

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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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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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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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Eating my paycheck

At the end of 2005, I was reviewing my expenses for the year and realized that I had spent 118% more eating out than in 2004. Whoa! (I also spent 13% more in groceries in 2005 over 2004. Incidentally, I have food expenses (from grocery stores & restaurants) that I incur while on vacation in a different line item.)

I'm not a very big person, and I'm not someone who gets lots of pleasure out of eating. I eat to live, not live to eat. So, how did this happen?

Michael and I started dating at the very end of 2004, so 2005 was really the beginning of our relationship. While I never kept track, I'm certain he paid more than half of the time when we went out to eat. However, I don't believe in anyone taking the full financial burden of a relationship, so I did pay quite a bit...and it showed at the end of the year!

What was I going to do in 2006 to stop "eating my paycheck?" I didn't want to stop dating Michael. I didn't want to cut out eating at restaurants altogether. Remember that I don't want to feel the pain of saving...I want to have fun! So, this was the year that I really started thinking about saving. Over 2005, I cut dining out expenses by 34% (and groceries by 18%)!

Besides reducing the number of times that I ate out, one big help was the Entertainment Book. After the cost of the book and shipping, in 2006, Michael and I saved $167. The book is loaded with buy-one-entree-get-one-free coupons to restaurants we like and others we wanted to try. We also used coupons from the book to do things we like, such as playing mini golf, bowling, and going to the DC Improv. We really were having the same amount of fun at a fraction of the cost.

If you live in one of the 150+ areas of the US or Canada that has an edition of the Entertainment Book, you should consider getting it. If you aren't buying it from an organization as a fundraiser, I recommend buying it through the link on Upromise's website so that you can earn additional savings. Entertainment Book seems to have different deals each day (i.e., free/reduced shipping, book discounts). Watch their website until you find something good. I just bought mine the other day for the full price of $30, but I got shipping for $1 and they threw in a $25 gift certificate to Restaurant.com. I also got $4.20 in my Upromise account.

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