A Real "Deal" at Circuit City's Liquidation

With so many big name retail stores going out of business lately, there are a lot of reports in the news about how liquidators raise the prices and then start small with their discounts when clearing out the merchandise.

When Linen 'N' Things was under liquidation, my sister and I went to look at what they had when the discounts were 30% and 40%. No deals there.

Early in Circuit City's going-out-of-business sale, Michael and I went to see what they had. We weren't looking for anything in particular, but we just wanted to see what was going on. No deals there either.

Yesterday was Circuit City's very last day of existence. Michael and I were running errands near one of their stores and decided to stop in -- just to see what might be left. There was hardly anything at all. It looked like most of their sales were of the store's fixtures. I even saw a lady get a Circuit City hand-truck/cart type thing that had been used to roll big items out to the curb for customers. She bought it for $10.

One of about two shelves that still had anything on it was stocked full of hi-speed USB cables. Then, I remembered -- I actually need one of those. Over the summer when I bought my new printer/scanner/copier (from Circuit City!), I borrowed my sister's USB cable to hook it up because I didn't have one. However, months later I still hadn't gotten one of my own, and she was looking to get hers back.

I really had no idea how much a cable costs, but they had them marked with a regular price of $33.99, and sale price of $1.50. $33.99 -- really?! I decided to buy one because even though I didn't believe I was getting that big of deal, I didn't figure I could get it anywhere else for less than a buck fifty.

We had to go to Target next, so out of curiosity, we went to the electronics department to see how much a similar cable would cost. It was $10. Come on now -- where did the liquidators come up with that $33.99 "original" price?

It's okay. We definitely got a deal. But it sure did prove that those news reports of jacked up prices before liquidating were true!

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Penny Pinching: Slaying the Energy Vampires

One way we have been pinching our pennies a little tighter is by reducing some of the "vampire energy." We have 4 power strips in different parts of the house that we use for electronics that use energy even when they are turned off.

We have one power strip for the computer. The monitor and printer are also plugged into it. If we aren't going to be using the computer for an hour or more, we turn the whole thing off and then flip the power strip to off. If I'm planning to come back to the computer in a short period of time, I'll put it in standby mode.

We have a stereo upstairs and one downstairs. We don't actually use either one very often, so they get power strips too and stay off the majority of the time.

And we also have a power strip for the TV, cable box, and modem. That one we have off unless we are watching TV, are on the Internet, or will be back to use one of those things in a short period of time. So, it goes off at night when we head to bed and stays off all day while we are at work. Because all three of those things have lights/clocks on them that stay on when they are "off," I know for sure they are energy vampires.

I'm not 100% sure how much we are saving on an annual basis with this tip, but based on Good Magazine's chart, it looks like it may be in the ballpark of $100. That's not huge, but I'll take it. Otherwise, it's like tossing a Benjamin right out the window. And who would do that? The only effort it takes is to remember to turn the power strips on and off.

Oh yes, there is the cost of the getting power strips if you don't already have them. Well, the good news is that you can get basic ones for free after rebate at various stores. I think I may have only paid full price for one of our power strips years ago. I got one of the others at Staples free after rebate one year on Black Friday. I've seen them advertised for the same deal periodically throughout the rest of the year too. I got the other two power strips free after rebate at Rite Aid.

Good news if you need a power strip now: the week of Sunday, November 23, Rite Aid has them free after rebate! (Don't forget to shop early if you want one because they sell out of their rebate deals quickly.)

Finally, this is not only a way to save money, but it's saving energy which is environmentally friendly too!

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Is It Possible to Pinch Our Pennies Even Tighter?

As you know from reading this blog, I'm a regular saver. I'm always trying to stretch my dollars just a little bit further. I used to love watching the bars on my net worth chart in my financial software program creep higher each month. I felt a sense of accomplishment -- like my penny-pinching was paying off. Now, of course, my net worth chart seems to be plummeting nearly every day. Ugh.

I rationalize that the accounts that are tanking are nearly all for retirement, and we don't need that money for decades. All will be well. However, as this economic problem drags on and seems to get bigger daily, I get a little more concerned about the short term (meaning, our jobs).

We'd be okay for a few months if one of us lost our job. Survival -- paying the monthly bills -- is a slight concern, but it's not overwhelming at this point. But what is irritating is the thought of not being able to saving...of having to use our savings for every day expenses and not for the big dreams and goals we have. I have a great plan all mapped out. However, if the income part of that plan is pulled out in a significant way, it will completely fall apart. After all, we aren't financially independent.

So, over the next few posts I'll tell you about how I'm trying to turn our usual savings up a notch. It's nothing super drastic at this point. But I firmly believe the little things count. They add up to be big savings. We are fortunate in the fact that things are clipping along as usual. Actually, we both recently got raises! But I don't think we should take that for granted. We are staying pretty serious about saving...however, we are also still spending (goodness knows, the economy needs us to spend!). Stay tuned to find out where and how I'm tightening the belt a little more.

If you are doing the same, let me know. I'm always looking for new ideas!

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I Would Spend an Extra $100 Bucks

I was reading Clever Dude's blog today and saw a guest post by Donnie Gamble entitled What Would You Do with an Extra $100 Bucks? He is suggesting that you should invest it wisely - save it. What would you do with it?

I know what I'd do with "found money" - put it in our Travel Fund. I guess that is saving for the short term, albeit "very" short term. (We are usually going on a trip at least every 6 months if not sooner.) In fact, we're putting our "extra" income (i.e. Craig's List and yard sale profits, credit card cash-back rewards, etc.) in the travel budget now.

So, why do we do spend it on travel rather than save it for the long term or put it towards paying down debt? Well, our budget is set up so that we are plowing quite a bit towards long term savings goals as well as retirement of debt. But we still want to do fun stuff -- but that means we have to come up with extra cash.

We do have a small amount ($100 per month) in the budget for travel expenses, but the two of us won't get too far on $1200 for the year. Mind you, that money is supposed to cover everything from transportation (gas for the car, airline tickets, etc.) and food to attractions and lodging. Even using a travel budget and a lot of cost saving measures, one of our long weekends for a marathon can run (no pun intended!) several hundred dollars to more than $1000, if we are flying.

So, we use extra money to fund traveling, which we love to do. It makes us work harder to find those bonus dollars. It also helps us keep our main savings goals as the priorities with much larger amounts budgeted for them than for travel. So, I don't find putting found money towards fun stuff to be frivolous at all.

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A Sign of the Times

My sister, a regular gym-goer, always complains how busy the gym gets in January and the early part of February. Folks have obviously made their New Year's resolutions to get fit/lose weight, and they pack the work-out facilities. By the end of February and into March, as folks start breaking their resolutions, attendance starts to peter out and just the die-hards remain.

It appears that this downturn in the economy has made people start their resolutions now to cut back on expenses even though January is still 2 months away. Like those exercise-resolution-makers who pack the gym, people who have resolved to save lately are packing my Rite Aid drug store at 7 AM on Sundays!

In the past 3 weeks, I've been in town -- and at Rite Aid -- on two Sunday mornings. Rite Aid has had some great deals, many of which are free after rebate. I've learned over the past 3 or 4 years of being serious about sales, rebates, and coupons that you do have to get to the store early to ensure you'll get items you want. The best deals go fast.

A Rite Aid that's not too far from my house opens at 7 AM on Sundays. Knowing there really is no other fool who is going to be there at that hour on a Sunday, I drag myself out of bed and swoop in to get my pick of everything during the first minutes of that week's sale. I may run into one or maybe two other people -- usually a senior citizen buying a newspaper -- but I rarely see anyone honing in on the sale and rebate items like me...until recently.

Three weeks ago there were so many people there after the rebate items that I thought it was Black Friday! I couldn't believe it! This past Sunday there was similar crowd. Now the store wasn't really packed, but usually it's just me. Now I have 4 to 6 fellow early-bird deal-finders.

Then on Sunday afternoon, I read an article in the business section of the Washington Post about Snipping, Clipping, Scrimping. Apparently, it is a sign of the economic times.

It's hard to say when, but the economy will one day get back on track. I wonder if people will continue going after the sales, rebates, and coupons -- continue saving money -- after the stock market works itself out. Or will they fall off the bandwagon like so many of the exercise New Year's resolution people at my sister's gym?

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It's Worth Shopping Around

We are still working on getting our "married" house in order. The other week Michael came up from the garage and declared that we really needed shelving down there to help get organized. I supported that idea. We were discussing what freestanding shelves would cost. I figured at least $50. He thought that was entirely too much and thought we should look for something less expensive or scrap the idea. My thought was that if it's something that we really do "need," and it could be used for a long time to come, we should go for it.

It just so happened that the next Sunday a set of shelves like I already have in a basement closet was on sale at Target for $50 (regular $55 -- not a huge savings, but a savings none-the-less). I already know that I like this shelving unit, so I suggested we get one or two more to put in the garage.

Michael suggested that we shop around. Ugh. There a bit of irony here, but when I get my mind set on something, I don't actually like to shop around. I know that seems really strange given my frugal-ness. But I knew it was a product I liked, and the price was reduced. What more could we need? However, I agreed to get other "bids."

I checked out the websites for Target (in case they had something better than this shelving unit), Wal-Mart, Lowe's, and Home Depot. We don't actually have a Lowe's or Wal-Mart very near us, so it would have had to have been a great deal for us to consider buying anything from either of those stores. But I needed to check them out. I also thought I should check out Craig's List.

As it turned out, we found a great shelving system that someone was offering on Craig's List. There were two sets, and each held more than the one I liked at Target. The seller was offering them for $25 each, so we could get two for the price that I was willing to pay for one. Home Depot sells them, and the description sounded great and the ratings from consumers on the website were nearly perfect. We went to check them out, and they looked great. They come apart and can be reassembled so easily. Best of all, the seller was offering them for 38% less than we could buy them new at Home Depot. (I doubt Home Depot would ever put them on sale with that deep of a discount.) They are in good condition...maybe a little dusty/dirty. However, they are going to be in our garage and probably get dirty anyway.

We got them last week the night before we were going out of town for several days. Michael put them together that evening and we started filling them. We haven't finished yet, but they are perfect!

Wow! I couldn't believe this deal. I was so glad that Michael strongly encouraged me to shop around, despite my resistance. Looking on Craig's List really paid off. We are on our way to having an organized garage -- at a discount. You can get much better than that! ;-)

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Finding More Ways to Be Thrifty

"Goodbye, Money!" That's what I've been saying over the past week as I've watched my retirement savings shrink and shrink. Of course, I've got decades to go before I need to use that money. So, it's painful to watch, but I'm confident the market will be in good shape again one day...I'll be okay. In fact, we aren't changing our contributions to our 401(k)s or IRAs. It's actually slightly exciting to know that we getting stocks on sale. (Now, if I could only find a coupon for Target 2045!)

I suppose a lot of people who haven't been super thrifty are at least thinking about it now. As I mentioned in The Same Old Message, I still listen to all of the saving ideas out there in print, on TV, and on the web. However, it's becoming more and more challenging to find new ideas.

My friend Bryan and fellow Save 4 Fun reader emailed me about an idea he got from Clark Howard that he's trying this year. My dad told me about this one too...so believe it or not, it wasn't new to me. However, I haven't actually tried it. But I might now. Here's what Bryan wrote:

Late last year a caller to the on the Clark Howard Show was asking Clark about his shaving razors...Razors are something I bought frequently and aren't cheap (I like the Gillette Sensor 3, which , in my area, typically costs about $12 for 4 or 5 blades and I was replacing the entire pack every two months or so).

The caller and Clark discussed the reasons razor blades become dull. There are two main reasons: the obvious one where the blade gets dulled by contact with the hair follicles, but the other (and most substantial reason) is because of oxidation of the blade after it has been in contact with water. So, they suggested drying the razor after every use. There are three main methods that they mentioned and I've tried all of them: 1) the best, in my opinion, is to use the hair dryer - typically, it's right there on the counter for most people in the bathroom and it only takes about 10 seconds to dry the blade, 2) wiping it off on a towel - again, this is fairly easy, just make sure to wipe in the opposite direction of the blades - you don't want to cut the towel - and thus damage the blades or 3) dip it in rubbing alcohol - this makes the alcohol replace the water and then the alcohol dries out very quickly - I don't prefer this one because I'm just paranoid I'll forget to rinse the blade before the next use and then I'll be cutting my face with alcohol - not pleasant.

SO, the big question: does it work? I started trying it in January of this year. It's now October and I'm on the same blade! My shave this morning was as close as it was 10 months ago! One note: I don't shave every single day - typically every other day. Clark says it works with disposables just as well. This year, I've spent about $2.40 (for one blade) - compared to last year when I spent about $72 (for about 30 blades total). So, spending 10 seconds to dry the blade each day I shave has saved almost $70.

The next best thing to hearing a new saving tip is knowing someone who has made it successful and has actually saved using it. Right now, I have a basket full of razors I've gotten for free or a little bit of money (because of sales, coupons, and rebates). I'm not too picky on my razors. However, I might choose a good one and try this idea. I know it will take a little time for me to remember to do it each morning after my shower. But I'll eventually make it a habit, I'm sure.

This is also a good way to not only save money but create less waste!

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The Same Old Message

I grew up in a pretty frugal household. From what I understand, it runs in the family -- sometimes out of genuine need and other times because we believe there's no sense in wasting money when you could save it to use for something better.

Years ago, I remember the subject of Phil Donahue's talk show was pinching pennies, and I recall my mom saying that she wasn't learning anything. She was already doing all of the tips they were suggesting -- and more! "Why don't they tell me something new?"

I'm really a glutton for saving tips. It becomes more and more challenging to find a new idea because like Mom, I'm so tuned into these things, it seems like I've heard them all. However, once in a while, I find a new one that will really work for me. I love that!

But why keep repeating all of the tips it seems like everyone should know? Here's why: people don't always listen, and sometimes it takes several times hearing the message before we'll try something new. We may not all have been reading the magazine or watching the news report that told, for what seems like the millionth time, to pack your lunch for work instead of eating out every day. That's not "new" news anymore.

Wait a minute -- it is old news to me. However, recently I've been looking at what my neighbors are carrying on the bus to work in the morning. Very few (some days, none) look like they are taking their lunch to work. Sure, maybe their employer does like my previous employer did, and they get free lunch at work. Maybe there is a grocery store beside their office, like mine now, and they get a super cheap microwaveable lunch every day. But I'm willing to guess that a lot of them are going out to eat every day.

Perhaps one day they will tune into world of saving tips, start bringing their lunch, and socking the extra cash away for something better than a hamburger and fries on a daily basis. There's hope, but the rest of have to keep listening to the same old message that we already know and abide.

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Keys to Financial Success: Dedication & Perseverance

With all of the gloom and doom economic news lately, there are a lot of reports on how to save money, especially on the morning programs. I love watching those segments.

I was just watching this report on the Frugal Family Challenge on Good Morning America Weekend Edition. The financial planner who was helping the family that ended up saving the most said something interesting: "Saving money is more about dedication and perseverance than it is dollars and cents." I really believe that's true.

One of the financial planners we saw at the CFP Board's clinic the other week told us that financial planning and saving money isn't "rocket science," but it just takes "time, thought, and organization." I believe that's true too.

It's easy to just buy the first thing you see on the shelf at the first store you enter. It takes more time to shop around. It's a breeze to pay your bills but never think about the total you are spending. It takes thought to create a spending plan and stick to it. It's simple to walk into a store grab a few items. It takes more organization to plan a shopping list around sales and coupons.

However, if you persevere and stay dedicated to saving, you'll benefit a lot.

Here's my little secret: there are days I don't feel like making a grocery list (with sale items and coupons) or walking downstairs at night to turn off the TV, router, and cable box at the power switch or logging all of my receipts into my financial software. I can be so lazy. But I usually dig deep, suck it up, and just do it! And it pays off when I realize what we are able to do -- save for the future and do fun things now like travel, despite living in an expensive area on average salaries.

And that's my motivation: save for fun!

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Jump on Your Money Bus

It just so happens that a Certified Financial Planner reads Save 4 Fun, and he's also a member of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA). After reading about me going to the CFP Board's free financial planning clinic, Brian brought another fun event to my attention: Your Money Bus.

NAPFA's fee-only financial advisors will be touring the country in this bus -- telling Americans all about the importance of saving and how to do it. It's starts off in DC on October 1 and 2. Unfortunately, I'm not sure I'm going to be able to make it since those are weekdays, and I don't work very close to the National Mall. They are, however, doing a symposium on "Understanding Debt, Saving and Your Financial Well-Being" at the District of Columbia Public Library (G St NW) on the evening of October 1, which is free and open to the public.

It looks like Your Money Bus will be touring the East Coast at least through November. Their website says they'll be crossing the country, so stay tuned to their website to find out when it will pull into your town. If it's anything like the CFP Board's clinic, it will be worth checking out. (If it's not coming to your hometown, you can keep up with the Bus and even ask the advisors questions via the blog on their website.)

Take a look at their You Tube video.

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Getting Ready for the Free Financial Planning Clinic in DC

Now that the wedding is over, you'd think I'd have more time to blog. However, we've been trying to get the house set up and in order. We've made some good headway, but we still have a long way to go.

Another big project I'm working on is getting some kind of hold on our finances. I need to input all of my receipts over the past month (ugh) into my financial software. I normally do that every few days or at least once a week, and then it's not so bad. However, with the wedding planning, wedding, and honeymoon, I just didn't have time and/or wasn't home.

After I finish that, I need to look at our joint finances and figure out where exactly we are. Then, Michael and I both need to figure out where we want to be in order to set some goals. Considering his aversion to financial talk, that ought to be fun. But because of pre-wedding financial planning (I made him talk to me about all personal finances about 3 days after we were engaged!), I, at least, have some kind of understanding of how that conversation will go. He'll warm up to it -- after all, I save 4 fun!!!

Anyway, the big rush on getting a hold of the finances is because on Saturday, September 13, the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards is hosting a free financial planning clinic. Qualified volunteers from their organization will be available to talk to people about all sorts of financial topics. They promise no sales pitches and that they don't even take down your name or information. I figure that's a good place for us to get started before we consider paying someone to consult us.

So, I've already registered us. I got Michael's consent before I registered. The deal is that we just have to be home before 3:30 so that he can watch the UGA football game. No problem. We'll be there when they open at 11 AM and talk to as many people as we need/can and then head home to cheer on the Dawgs.

Now, I just have to get our money matters in order so that we can have some good questions at the clinic.

If I'm not posting as often as usual, you now know why...

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Saving on Moving Boxes

When we moved my sister out and my husband-to-be in, neither of them had to buy moving boxes. That's good because that seems a little ridiculous to me to buy boxes.

Angie's friends had just moved and had lots of boxes that they had purchased from the moving company. They were nice boxes that both she and Michael used.

They also used the boxes that reams of paper come in too. Those are great sized boxes for carrying and for stacking. They work well for storage as well. We got those for free from our offices.

Another source of boxes was the shipping boxes in which many of our wedding gifts arrived. They were also good sized boxes because they were big enough to hold a fair amount of items but not too big to carry once filled.

If none of those sources works for you or doesn't provide enough for your needs, check out Freecycle and Craigslist. I see people giving away moving boxes all of the time on those sites. Actually, once we get settled, I'll give ours away that way too. It's better to give them at least one more use than to recycle them since they are all still in good shape.

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Saving on a Moving Truck

Last month when we got a rental truck to move Michael's large pieces of furniture into my place where we would live post-wedding, I found out a little savings tip. Trucks are often less expensive to rent on Sundays than on Saturdays.

We had waited until the last minute to book a truck. So, even though we wanted to move on a Saturday, there weren't any trucks nearby that were available. We had to do it on the following day instead. But we saved $20 on the truck rental at Budget by getting it on Sunday rather than Saturday.

In quickly reviewing the Budget website as I began to write this post, I noticed it seems that moving truck rental prices are much like airfare and hotel rates. They vary based on demand and the time (date/day of the week) of use. You can get the same truck today for $29.99 plus $.79/mile that goes for $69.99 plus $.79/mile next Saturday. Next Sunday, the price is $49.99 plus $.79/mile.

If you have flexibility in your dates, especially for a local move, it might be worth looking into the prices for different dates. If you are available today, you could save quite a bit by moving now. Or you might find that booking in advance will help you save.

One word of caution: like hotels and airlines, rental truck companies also overbook. We got to the pick-up place fairly early when we got our truck. However, the person just two spaces in line behind us was told that she'd have to go get her truck at another location because they had run out of all of their trucks that morning. Like the rest of us in line, she had a reservation. Get there early!

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It Pays to Heed My Own Advice

Three months ago when I set up my wedding registry, I wrote about how amazed I was at the price difference I found between the store and online for the same merchandise from the same company. I'm amazed again -- and have saved!

I've been wanting a new all-in-one printer/copier/scanner for a while. I have plans to use it for some upcoming wedding-related projects...as well as to just replace my 10-year-old DeskJet which can no longer do a nice print job. As usual, I have been overwhelmed by all of the options, brands, and ratings. I haven't been able to find one that seems like it has the right features for a good price and with decent reviews by professional rating people and ordinary users.

I finally found what I think will meet my criteria, such as it is (after all, I don't know much about tech stuff). I was prepared to head to Circuit City to get it. But then I remembered my own advice: see if there's a better deal. What I saw in the Circuit City sales flyer was the best deal. Nearly satisfied and ready to go the store, I decided to check one more place: the Circuit City website.

Guess what?! It was $20 cheaper online than in the store -- and they offer free shipping! That means I didn't have to fight traffic or waste gas (even though it is only 2 miles away). It probably saved me at least an hour in time to drive out there, park, find the item in the store, stand in line, talk to the sales people who would unsuccessfully try to sell me the extended warranty, check out, figure out how I was going to get that 26-plus pound box into my car, drive home, and figure out how I was going to get that 26-plus pound box out of the car and into the house.

Plus, there's more! Discover Card is giving me an additional 5% Cash Back Bonus because I linked to Circuit City's website through the Shop Discover program. Woo-hoo!

So, I saved 43% off of the regular retail price. And I saved 16% by getting it online -- delivered right to my front door, where it will be easy to push that 26-plus pound box right into the house. I love it!

You can see this is also a lesson in delayed gratification. I didn't need to have that printer right away. I could wait the 1 to 2 weeks it will take to be delivered. And I'm so pleased with the extra savings and convenience!

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Ask and You Just Might Receive!

Wedding planning and other aspects of my life have kept me busy lately, so I haven't been able to post as often as usual. Thanks for bearing with me!

For the past several days, Michael and I were down in Atlanta visiting his family and doing some wedding planning. Michael's nephew is going to be our junior groomsman, and he's been looking for a nice gift for him. Michael was in his aunt and uncle's wedding when he was a kid, and he still has the gift (a glass sailboat) that they gave him. He has been looking for a similar keepsake that his nephew may like.

On Saturday, we went to a store that sells all sorts of gift items with college logos on them. The nephew likes Michael's alma mater (University of GA), so we were looking at all sorts of UGA things. He found a nice wooden box with pewter Georgia logo on it, but it was a little more than he wanted to pay. Michael's mom (who also loves a deal) jokingly asked the sales clerk if they offered discounts to UGA alumni, and she said they did: 25% off. We were skeptical, especially since Michael didn't have anything with him to prove it. (Although I assured the clerk that if she were to prick his finger, she'd find that he bleeds black and red!) She said she normally asks for some kind of proof, but since it was his mom doing the asking, she figured he must be a legitimate graduate.

Anyway, what a surprise! It wasn't advertised anywhere that they would give this kind of discount. I suppose it never hurts to ask!

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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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How Much Would Your Allowance Be Worth Today?

Here's a fun calculator on Money.com: Allowance Inflation.

It looks like what my parents gave me in 1985 when I was 9 years old would be worth nearly double that amount in today's dollars. Wow!

Did you have to save part of your allowance as a kid? I did. It definitely was not fun back then...but it paid off. (Parents can be pretty smart sometimes!) We'll talk more that later this week.

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Postage Price Increase & the Forever Stamp

Have you heard that on May 12, 2008, the price of postage is going up again? The price of a first-class stamp will increase from 41 cents to 42 cents. (You can find all of the details of the new prices on the US Postal Service website.) Of course, the Forever stamps that the USPS introduced last spring will still work for first-class postage after the increase even if you bought them for only 41 cents each.

Are you going to stock up? With a one-cent increase, I may have normally considered getting an extra book (for a total savings of 20 cents), but I wouldn't have stock piled. However, my upcoming wedding is requiring a lot more mail than in an average year. So, I already have started to stock up.

Luckily, our wedding invitations are only going to require a regular first-class stamp. (And what better stamp to have on a wedding invitation than Forever?!) We'll also need stamps for the response cards that will go inside of each invitation. I'll also mail invitations for the bridesmaids' luncheon. Of course, there will be lots of thank you notes to send: wedding gifts, shower gifts, and friends and family who have helped with various aspects of this event. We will have a few payments that need to be mail after May 12th. And Mom says it's customary to send Christmas cards the first year after the wedding to everyone who was on the invitation list.

So, I estimate the grand total to be about 400 stamps! Wow! No, the savings won't be huge, but I'll take the $4 savings by stocking up on Forever stamps now.

I found interesting commentary and calculations on The Simple Dollar blog that might help you decide if you should stock up on stamps too.

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Macy's Red Star Event Sale - this weekend

I have written previously about how to save on wedding gifts at Macy's. Based on the traffic on that posting, I can tell that it's a subject of interest! Also, a few weeks ago Michael and I were in Macy's finishing up our registry when we overheard a couple complaining about the price of something that they were buying for someone off of a wedding registry. Well, that's really a discussion for another time, but if they had just waited for a sale, like the Red Star Event happening this weekend, they could have saved on that purchase.

Anyway, now through Sunday, April 6th, you can save 15% off of regular, sale, or clearance purchases in-store and online! The sale includes Macy's online wedding registry through WeddingChannel.com! (The sale offers 10% savings on small electronics.) They do exclude a lot of name brand items that may be on a wedding gift registry (i.e. All-Clad), but they also include many of them too (i.e. Lenox). In Macy's stores, you can also pick up a game piece to win a trip to see the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Macy's July 4th Fireworks Spectacular, or a Macy's gift card worth up to $500.

Don't forget that Discover Card's 5% Cashback Bonus promotion this quarter includes department stores. So, between this bonus and the sale at Macy's, you could save up to an additional 20%!

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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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