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Mortgage Insurance? Not on Your Life!
Dear Mary: I just bought a house, and I've been getting a lot of flyers about mortgage protection insurance. Is it something good for a new homeowner or just a waste of money? — Donna, email
Dear Donna: Great questions. "Mortgage …Read more.
Tips That Make You Feel Like a Genius
Secretly, I feel like a genius when I discover a secondary use for this or that — in case I run out of this, but have plenty of that! Like using a paper coffee filter to wash a glass top or mirror when I'm in a pinch for paper towels. Or using …Read more.
Supermarket Tricks That Makes Us Spend More
I've always thought of myself as pretty sharp when it comes to spotting supermarket trickery. I'm not even fazed by an end-cap display announcing, "Special." I know their ways. They hope we'll just assume that "special" means …Read more.
The Struggle to Actually Use up Gift Cards
My love-hate relationship with gift cards has intensified. What a pain, really. I'm one who just forgets to use them, and when I remember, I try to figure out how to use each one to the last cent. I was reminded of my situation recently when I …Read more.
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The Big Deal That Is an Annualized Expense
One of the best ways to look at your routine expenses is in the bright light of truth: annualized. Sure that cup of gourmet coffee every morning costs a mere $3.50. What's the big deal? Let me show you: $3.50 x 5 days a week x 52 weeks equals $910. That's a big deal. That's how to annualize a routine expense. Today's first tipster gets it. She's made a conscious decision to go forward based on the annualized amount, but not without getting a nice discount in the process.
TIP OF THE MONTH. I can't stand paying my cable television bill. I grew up during the days when, if you owned a TV, you received a signal for free. Because I want to see as few cable bills as possible, I pay a year in advance. This year, I called up my cable company. I reminded the company that it never has to generate bills or bother with my account for a year at a time. I requested a 5 percent discount on my entire year's bill. The company readily agreed, knowing that the competition for customers is fierce. This small victory took away the sting of paying to watch television. — Kay M., Delaware
AUTOMATIC MAGIC. I have discovered the joys of auto bill pay. Most utility companies and others offer this convenience. Simply sign up for automatic payments, authorizing them to deduct what you owe from your checking account. You still receive bills with the payment dates noted. All you have to do is enter the amounts in your check register. I pay my electric, gas, water, life insurance and even credit card bills this way. Payments are always on time, and I save a lot in postage costs and never have to worry about lost checks. — Carolyn O., California
DIAPER DIVA. I get free diapers plus $10 for doing surveys for diaper companies. Arquest, a spinoff from Johnson & Johnson, is one of the research companies that I use. It's as easy as calling to give your name and phone number and your child's gender, weight and diaper size. They will call you when they have an opening. For girls, call 888-342-7372, ext. 646, to speak with "Georgia." For boys, call the same number plus extension 634 to speak with "Chelia." Or simply press 9 when you hear the automated prompts to leave your information for the diaper survey. If you have not heard back in a month or so, call again. When they perform a survey for your child's size, they will send you the diapers for free. Then you fill out a three- to four-page survey, and they set up a 10-minute phone interview. During your interview, you read through your survey answers. They are very professional. Then you receive a $10 check four to six weeks after you complete the interview. If you have more than one baby in diapers, you can participate in multiple surveys. — Michele, Pennsylvania
Would you like to send a tip to Mary? You can e-mail her at mary@everydaycheapskate.com, or write to Everyday Cheapskate, P.O. Box 2135, Paramount, CA 90723. Include your first and last name and state. Mary Hunt is the founder of www.DebtProofLiving.com and author of 18 books, including "Debt-Proof Living" and "Tiptionary 2." To find out more about Mary and read her past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.
COPYRIGHT 2010 CREATORS.COM
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10 Comments | Post Comment
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Re: Tip of the Month
Unless you live in the middle of nowhere, these days, if you own a TV set, you also get a signal for free. You don't actually have to have cable, although you have fewer choices of programming. With digital TV nowadays, you maybe get 20 channels instead of 200. So, you can get 100% discount on your cable bill if you don't have cable.
Comment: #1
Posted by: Ariana
Tue Aug 31, 2010 9:36 PM
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I agree with Ariana. The only TV we pay for is donations to our local PBS station. It's far less than an annual cable bill, and the programming is much better than the junk that is on most cable channels. This is what we watch most of the time, anyway. With digital TV, we now get 5 different PBS channels here. That and the other local channels we get via the converter box/antenna is good enough for us!
Comment: #2
Posted by: Christine
Tue Aug 31, 2010 9:57 PM
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I read money-saving advice in this column often. Sometimes, I find it very helpful. At other times, I can't help but wonder. A little while ago, somebody recommended some money-saving tip that involved buying an iPhone ap for only 99 cents. Doesn't an iPhone itself cost about $200 or more? My first step in saving money would be not having an expensive electronic device that can do a million things I don't really NEED. I am not saying that the ability to watch videos on your phone on your way to work or use it as a GPS when you are in an unfamiliar place is not fun sometimes, but one doesn't really need to have these functions. People have managed to entertain themselves on their commutes with books and find places using maps before. Other money-saving suggestions sometimes seem to be so time-consuming or would put me on so many mailing lists that I would rather not try them.
Comment: #3
Posted by: Ariana
Wed Sep 1, 2010 6:29 AM
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Ariana...good point! A cheap add-on to a huge time AND money wasting monthly expense...not a good deal! :D
Comment: #4
Posted by: marcia
Wed Sep 1, 2010 9:59 AM
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If you don't watch it, cable or dish isn't worth it, but most of the shows we enjoy are on the cable stations like USA or TNT or Lifetime. It's always funny to me when somebody says "there's nothing on TV," when they don't actually watch TV. We like the cable shows much more than the ones on the regular networks, plus cable gives the shows a chance to gain an audience before canceling them. We don't pay extra for premium channels, but I wouldn't give up my satellite dish.
Comment: #5
Posted by: Joannakathryn
Wed Sep 1, 2010 10:23 AM
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I watch TV, although not much because I don't have time for it. Occasionally, when I travel, I'll watch shows on TNT or USA, but a lot of them are reruns of what used to be on network TV. I don't feel tempted to pay for it, but to each his/her own. I am just surprised when people are willing to buy an expensive non-necessity, and finding ways to pay 5% less for it, call it "frugal living." I don't consider myself particularly frugal, but for me, this is on a par with buying a bunch of things you don't need just because they were on sale. "No, I don't really need an ergonomic potting bench since I live in a city apartment, but I saved 20% on it!" Uh, no, only people who needed an ergonomic potting bench saved 20% on it. If you don't need it, you just threw away 80% of the price.
Comment: #6
Posted by: Ariana
Wed Sep 1, 2010 2:53 PM
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Living frugally does not mean that you don't allow yourself any pleasurable treats if they cost money. Living frugally involves looking at what you want and need and deciding what you must pay for and what you are willing to pay for. If you want cable and would have it either way, negotiating a deal is a pretty frugal thing to do.
Comment: #7
Posted by: Elizabeth
Fri Sep 3, 2010 2:37 PM
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You're right, Elizabeth. It's easy for some people to sit back and tell somebody else what they shouldn't be spending money on, just because they, themselves, don't want whatever it is. I once had a college student spout off about people buying big houses and how terrible she thought it was. (I had just built my dream house.) She said she and her future husband wouldn't spend money like that--they'd spend money on travel instead. I told her that it was fine for her, but personally, I hated traveling. I do like living in a nice house.
I read the books written by Amy Dacyczyn.... where she called herself the "frugal zealot," and put down people who bought new things like shoes, ate at restaurants, or went to hairdressers. She shopped garage sales for her kids clothes/shoes, never ate at restaurants, and cut her own hair. IMO, she missed the biggest frugal thing of all, not having so many kids! (She had 6, I think). There's no way I'd have put my kid in somebody else's used shoes. (I don't go bowling, either.) I cut my own hair, once, out of desperation, and it looked perfectly awful.
She suggested things like using a coat hanger for holding a toilet paper roll. ( Somehow, the Mexican gas station look just doesn't appeal to me. I'm funny that way.)
TV and movies are my husband's and my favorite entertainment, and there's no way I'm giving up Dish or Netflix. And before anybody tells me to "read a book," I probably read 2-3 books a week. I have a master's in English.
Comment: #8
Posted by: Joannakathryn
Fri Sep 3, 2010 5:08 PM
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Give me a break. I can't stand people who preach at other people for paying for cable,a big house, vacation or whatever. People work hard. Why do they work hard? Sothey can earn money.
If you are earning enough money to afford some of the basic pleasures in life; and are still able to pay your bills, and save for a rainy day, and don't have any debt; then who are you preachie people to say that we shouldn't buy cable, live in a nice house, or travel?
Comment: #9
Posted by: Sissie
Mon Sep 6, 2010 5:37 PM
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I have an iPhone with loads of apps. Some cost a few pennies, but most were free. I am debt free so I can afford my toy and if you don't like it, too bad! Waah! Someone has something you don't so you'll knock it just to make yourself feel better.
Comment: #10
Posted by: Sharon
Mon Sep 6, 2010 10:52 PM
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