The Pinnacle of Frugality

This is a guest post from Daniel Packer of Sweating The Big Stuff. Daniel writes about negotiating, budgeting, and saving and always loves finding a great deal. To read more, subscribe to his feed or follow him on Twitter.

Two weeks ago, my roommate alerted me to a great deal at our local supermarket. Triscuits were just $1.50 with a purchase of at least 5 boxes. In our apartment, for some reason, we still eat like college kids. Pasta, bagels, and potatoes are our main sources of protein. So when Triscuits go on sale, it’s like an early birthday present (or Christmas morning).

We headed over to the supermarket, ready to stock up on our favorite snack, and were stunned by what we saw. All the Triscuits were gone. There were a few boxes of some flavors we weren’t interested in, so we were extremely disappointed. Although I had never used it, I knew about rain checks, so I went to the counter to ask if we could get one. The guy said he’d check to see if there were any in the back, and five minutes later, he came back letting us know that they were all out and that’d he’d issue us a rain check.

Here’s how rain checks work: If a store is out-of-stock of a product, the rain check serves as a commitment to provide the item at the advertised price when it comes back in stock. So as long as we went during the advertised period and requested a slip saying that we were eligible to buy Triscuits at that price, we would be allowed to come back up to 90 days later and get Triscuits for the sale price of $1.50 a box.

I was pretty excited. We went from having our dreams burst to getting a magical piece of paper that allowed us to come back and get a 40% discount when the store was selling them for the normal price of $2.50 a box.

The next week, we came back to the supermarket, excited to get our Triscuits at a deeply discounted price. We took our cart, headed over to aisle three, and to our surprise, there was a new deal on Triscuits. $1 each when you buy 5. Our hearts jumped. We had hit the jackpot. Of all the great deals we had seen, this surpassed them all by a wide margin. There were tears running down my roommate’s cheek. He realized that we had reached the pinnacle of frugality, and it would all be downhill from there.

We loaded our cart with every box of Fire Roasted Tomato and Olive Oil Triscuits, along with a range of other flavors. We must have looked ridiculous with 25 boxes of Triscuits in our cart, but we didn’t care. We went home, had our draft where we rotated choosing boxes for our personal collections, and let everyone we knew how special of a day it was.

The lesson here is that rain checks can be extremely useful and you don’t have to be the first person in the store when the weekly circular comes out. Don’t despair if a store is out of your favorite product. At the very least, you can get a rain check and come back later with no consequences. And who knows, you too may reach the pinnacle of frugality.

This is My Confession: I Got Scammed

This morning, I was all fired up to come home and blog about my 2010 Roth IRA contributions as well as the logic behind investing in Charles Schwab ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds). That burning desire has since simmered. There’s a more pressing matter I have to get off my chest. You see, I’ve been scammed.

I should’ve known this day would come. When you love free stuff as much as I do, you’re prime picking for scammers.

I know the basics.

• Fight tooth and nail for the chastity and sanctity of your Social Security number.
• Never give out credit card information to a business you don’t trust.
• Shred documents that contain sensitive personal information.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know all that.

All this time, I’ve been thinking if I don’t give out my credit card information, the scammers can’t hurt me. Well, today the scammers proved otherwise.

I don’t completely remember the exact moment at which the scam was executed, but I know it happened when I was applying for free swag. It was one of them deals where you fill out your contact info and they ask for your cell phone number. They send you a pin number via text message. You enter it on their web site. Bam!!! You’ve signed up for a $9.99 per month subscription to Predicto’s News Prediction Game.

Although I made a financial boo boo, the mess was fairly easy to clean up.

First off, I probably wouldn’t have even noticed the mishap if I hadn’t received a text message from Mint. In addition to Microsoft Excel, I use Mint to prepare a monthly budget. Although Excel is okay for outlining a spending plan at the beginning of the month, it’s not so good when it comes to tracking compliance. This month when a $108 AT&T automated payment hit my account, Mint sent me a text message saying, “WTF? I thought yo mobile phone bill was ‘pose to be $100. Something ain’t right. You need to look into dis.” Of course, I’m paraphrasing.

On a month to month basis, my cell phone bill usually hovers around $99 – $100. On occasion, it’ll go up to $102. At $108, something is amiss.

After carefully reviewing my bill, I uncovered the subscription service I inadvertently signed up for. For a moment, I entertained the thought of just paying the charge without a fuss. That was only a moment. We’re talking 10 bucks here.

Long story less long, the AT&T representative I called agreed to give me a refund for the scam subscription service with the warning that I’d be the one to foot the bill next time I did something so stupid. Again, I’m paraphrasing.

I share this story with you in hopes of accomplishing at least one of three objectives:

1. You’ll learn how blind pursuit of free stuff can cost you money,
2. You’ll set up alerts on your bank and credit card accounts to notify you of weird activity, or
3. You’ll feel hopelessly compelled to share a time when you too were tricked by a tricky trickster into parting with your cash.

Well, do you?

Menu Plan Monday: Back from Sickation

Yeah, uh, I didn’t get around to making that Curried Rice with Shrimp at any point during the previous week. Last time we spoke, I mentioned I was going to make a pot of rice in anticipation of cooking the curried shrimp the following day. Well, I made the rice, but that delicious shrimp (and it is delicious) wasn’t finished until, say, an hour ago.

Either way, I feel like I owe you an explanation. So here goes. I have a cold. Now, the common cold may amount to nothing more than a minor inconvenience to many. Not so for me. Combined with my asthma, I get to coughing, wheezing, and snorting. It’s disgusting, sad, and annoying all at the same time.

Even though this place was a ghost town last week, I’ll have you know I didn’t take one sick day off work. I’m hardcore like that. Or maybe I’m incredibly selfish given the contagious and productivity hindering nature of my illness. After work, I pretty much spent my evenings watching TV on my laptop and hunting for free stuff on the internet.

This evening, I felt well enough to return to the kitchen. I’m glad I waited, because I discovered the shrimp I’d been longing for weren’t peeled. Ugh! Meal prep took me at least 40 minutes. I wasn’t expecting that.

Although I didn’t follow the recipe exactly, the curried shrimp with rice turned out really well. I added in a little – okay a lot – of cayenne pepper to the dish. To me, shrimp ain’t complete with the heat.

Oh yeah. I want to give an update on the Black Bean Soup with Sausage that I said was disgusting. I had it again on Tuesday, and it actually tasted pretty good. I let it sit in the slow cooker a few more hours. I think it was because the vinegar flavor gets milder the longer you cook it. There’s also a slight possibility my sense of taste was off because I had a stuffy nose, but still.

Now that I’ve recapped last weeks menu plan results, the menu plan for this week is….drum roll, please.

The same as it was last week.

I just told you I was sick and ain’t hardly cook nothing.

Do you have any quick, simple, and, let’s not forget, delicious meals you’d like to share? I’d love to hear them. I’m beginning to realize I don’t have a lot of time to cook and engage in non-domestic activities.

A Minor Setback on the New Year’s Resolution Front…Already

How I wish I had a profound money saving message to deliver tonight. I don’t. I wanted to give a quick update on how I’m sticking to the menu plan I outlined last night.

It looks like I won’t get around to making the Curried Rice with Shrimp. Rats! Just getting the year started and I’m already behind. Before you judge me, I’ve got a good excuse. I’m not feeling well, and I didn’t leave work until 9:30 PM. *Whine* That’s good enough, right? Plus, I’m still hungover from last night’s antihistamines. My asthmatic lungs aren’t taking too kindly to these freezing temperatures.

On the bright side, I went ahead and slow cooked the Black Bean Soup with Sausage last night. Seems several people had such high hopes for it. A colleague even commented on how good it smelled after I heated it in the microwave today at work. Well, I hate to say it, but it’s disgusting. It’s some of the most not very delicious soup I’ve ever had.

Maybe I’m the one sucks. It’s quite possible I hosed up the recipe, but it has a strong vinegary taste from the salsa. Reminds me of the time I misread 3 garlic cloves for 3 garlic medallions in a Greek chicken and potatoes recipe. (Don’t ask me how that happened. Although I can write, I clearly can’t read.) That too was disgusting, but I still ate it. And I’m going to eat my black beans and sausage.

Keeping with my New Year’s resolution of reducing waste by 75%, I’ve placed the failed dish in the freezer. I’m having it again tomorrow then I have to take a break from it.

*Hack, cough, sneeze* Feel sorry for me please.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna go rub some Vicks VapoRub on my chest, then put on a pot of rice in preparation for the curried rice and shrimp I’m making tomorrow.

I’m sure you don’t want any.

Menu Plan Monday ~ Jan 4, 2010

One of my top New Year’s resolutions is to reduce waste by 75% in 2010. When you’re as frugal as I am, it’s painful to throw things in the garbage that could’ve been put to good use.

To the extent possible, I try to ensure my possessions find a proper home before making their way to the landfill. However, food is a tough one. Even when I carefully plan my meals, sometimes I’m not in the mood for the meals I planned. Sometimes I’m too lazy or too busy to cook. Unfortunately, when food is no use to you, it’s usually no use to anyone else.

Unlike other frivolous purchases, food has a way of forcing you to acknowledge your faults sooner rather than later. You can’t hide it in the garage and carry on about your life as if you’ve got it all put together. Nope. With food, the day of reckoning is nigh.

Earlier today, I threw out two tangerines that went bad before I got around to eating them. It felt like a little piece of me died as I tossed them in the trash. No more! Uh, actually, I can’t commit to zero waste. But 75% less waste I can do.

This year will be different.

• I will be diligent about portioning meats before mindlessly slinging them into the freezer.
• I will stop preparing meals suitable for a family of four when I am a fabulously frugal and single entity of one.
• I will learn how to freeze prepared meals.

This won’t be easy. In order to reduce waste, I must cook the food I’ve purchased. I’ve thawed meat too many times only to let it fester and spoil in the refrigerator because I wasn’t up for cooking it. *Sigh*

I have to do better. I will do better.

Here’s what I’m responsible for cooking this week. I’ll report back with results.

Monday - Curried Rice with Shrimp

Tuesday - Black Bean Soup with Sausage (slow cooker recipe)

Wednesday – Leftovers

Thursday Filipino Adobo and Roasted Asparagus with Balsamic Browned Butter

Saturday - Sauteed Tilapia with Lemon-Peppercorn Pan Sauce

Saturday - Broccoli Bakers (How to Bake Potatoes Video)

Sunday – Beef & Broccoli over Jasmine Rice

Check out other options on Menu Plan Monday at I’m an Organizing Junkie.

Budgets Aren’t Suppose to Work. You Are.

Ramit Sethi, a personal finance blogger I greatly admire and respect, recently bashed budgets again in a post entitled
7 Lies We Tell Ourselves About Money. In lie number 3, “I’m going to start keeping a budget,” Ramit correctly identifies why people don’t track their spending:

1. It’s hard,
2. It makes you uncomfortable, and
3. It’s easier to pick your nose with your mouth agape and do nothing.

Sound suspiciously like the same reasons there’s an obesity epidemic in the United States.

Many people dislike budgets, because they’re difficult to successfully execute. That’s to be expected. If you’ve spent practically your entire life mismanaging your money, don’t expect the behavior to change instantly.

And forget about the notion it takes 21 days to break a habit. That’s bullshiggedy. You’re in for a much longer battle than that. Every January 2nd, the gym is overrun with people who’ve resolved to exercise more and lose weight. By mid-February, the resolutioners are all gone, and I can show up to spinning class 5 minutes before it starts confident a bike will be available.

If people worked out consistently, made healthy food choices, and burned more calories than they consumed, would they lose weight? That’s what the experts say.

Does the common gym have the equipment necessary to increase muscle mass and burn fat? So I’ve heard.

If your income is greater than your expenses, is it possible to save money? There is no other way.

As the answers to the three questions above indicate, it’s not the gym or the budget that’s keeping you from accomplishing your goals.

Don’t be too hasty blaming your failure on the plan. The problem doesn’t lie within the plan. It lies within you. Budgets, like fitness goals, aren’t suppose to work.

You are.

If you allow it, a budget can be an effective tool in your overall financial plan. It’s a written testament to the fact that monetary resources are limited and that in order to accumulate wealth you must live below your means.

Oh, what a magical world we’d live in if the mere act of writing down wishes automatically resulted in receiving them. Unfortunately, a carefully crafted budget ain’t worth a warm bucket of spit if you don’t follow through.

How do you plan on achieving your 2010 financial goals?

Last Minute Christmas Shopping Tips

If you’re like me, most of the big gifts for your immediate family are out the way.  Now it’s time to purchase (or not) small gifts for friends, family and associates.  Here is my holiday gift guide that won’t break the bank.

Determine if the prospective gift recipient needs, or even wants, a gift. Last Christmas, I made it clear to my loved ones that I’d only buy gifts for kids. And you know what? It worked!  Some people, like the elders in your family, just want you to spend time with them.

Check your closet before you go running to the store. I tested this last night and found a bunch of gifts from 2008′s after Christmas sales. Now I know I have on hand if needed.

Don’t splurge on kids that aren’t your own. Walgreens and CVS sell buy 2, get 1 free gifts. For less than $14.00, you can grab a really cool gift for that other kid on your list.

Shop discount stores like Ross, Marshalls and TJ Max. With patience, you can generally find high quality stuff for low prices. It’s a good idea to eat lunch before you get there to avoid spending your gift money on food.

Buy gifts that fit the person’s lifestyle. Last year, I bought my ex a portable hand mixer and an iPod. While he appreciated the iPod, he LOVED the hand mixer. It was perfect for mixing protein shakes at work or while headed to the gym.

Accessorize their life. Bling out their iPhone with a nice case. Stop by Bealls Outlet and grab a nice jewelry set to match something in their closet. Go to Bealls on Friday for an extra 15% off if you are 49 and under.

Go Green. Show that you are all about the green movement. I’m not talking about buying some high priced eco friendly products.  I’m talking about repurposing something that you already have.  Maybe it’s the sweater they always admired, or a few books that are worth sharing.

Whatever you give this season, let it be from the heart.  You don’t have to break the bank to make someone smile, just put some thought into it and the love will shine through.

Tiá Jones is a small business consultant. Her clients include YouHaveMoreThanYouThink.org and SistersSpace.com.  When she is not trying to change the world through entrepreneurship, she blogs about event planning and all things pretty on TheHostessChick.com.

85% Savings on a Name Brand Product Purchase?! I’ve Outdone Myself.

I don’t know about you, but I really get excited when I’ve gotten a good deal. I’ll stop an uninterested stranger on the street to rave about a bargain. But fortunately, through the magic of the interwebs, there’s an audience who actually wants to hear the story.

You already know I meticulously planned my health care FSA (Flexible Spending Account) contributions for 2009. However, I’m still prone to procrastination. I don’t want to risk losing a single dollar of FSA money, so I scheduled an eye exam two weeks before the end of this year. A colleague recently wondered out loud how I can see through my glasses because the lenses are so scratched up.

Now, I haven’t tweaked this New Year’s resolution into a SMART goal yet, but I want to look prettier next year. Which means I’ll be wearing contacts more frequently. Glasses make my eyes look smaller.

Here’s how I used my own advice to get one of the biggest discounts of 2009.

My search began on PriceGrabber.com for 1-Day Acuvue Moist contact lenses. At $25 a box, Vision Direct didn’t offer the lowest price of all the vendors. I chose them because, unlike their competitors, they have an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau. I’ve never purchased contact lenses on-line, and I want to be safe. After all, these are my eyes we’re talking about.

Once on Vision Direct’s web site, I noticed they offered an $18 discount for purchasing 8 or more boxes of contact lenses. Fine. I was going to order 10 boxes anyway.

Then, I scurried on over to RetailMeNot for a coupon to use on my Vision Direct order. There I found a 15% off promo code for new customers. At this point, 10 boxes of contact lenses cost $232. A 15% discount amounted to an additional $35 off. I scanned the other offers on RetailMeNot for a better bargain. There wasn’t one.

So far, the total net cost of these contact lenses are $199 after factoring in a $2.00 bullscat processing fee. I won’t complain too much.

Since contact lenses are qualified medical expenses, I paid for the entire purchase with an FSA Visa.

Recall the beauty of the FSA. Contributions are NOT subject to the following:

• Federal income tax:  $50 savings at a 25% marginal tax rate
• State income tax: $11 savings at a 5.5% marginal tax rate
• Social Security and Medicare tax: $15 savings at a 7.65% tax rate

Oh, but that wasn’t enough.

Although it should’ve been the first place I looked, Bing offered 12% cash back on my brand of contact lenses purchased through Vision Direct. In order to get the cash back, I had to begin the ordering process through Bing’s cashback portal to qualify for the savings. Not a problem. It was a minor inconvenience for $30. I also checked Ebates, FatWallet and Coupon Cactus, but Bing’s 12% cash back trumped them all.

While marveling at my $129 savings, I noticed a $30 manufacturer’s rebate previously overlooked on Vision Direct’s web site. It’s an old school way of decreasing the net price of a purchase, but I’ll take it.

After all is said and done, I will have brought a $250 purchase down to $63. You’re probably thinking that’s only 75% off. Well, I could’ve bought the same thing at the most conveniently located eye doctor, made zero contributions to my FSA, and avoided the bargain hunt altogether. Many people don’t know any better. Even I’ve paid full price for corrective lenses. If I’d done that, the exact same contact lenses would’ve cost me $420.

The real savings are $357 or 85%.

There’s a strong likelihood I could’ve eked out a few more dollars of savings from this transaction, but I’m good. I’m satisfied with what I got.

What do you got? Have you identified any missed opportunities in my story?

Is there a particular bargain purchase you’re especially proud of? Do tell.

This blog post was featured in the Carnival of Money Stories: Happy Pseudo Boxing Day! edition at Canadian Personal Finance Blog.

Other Articles You Might Enjoy

• The Only Tip You Need to Start Saving Money
• The Case for Frugality
• The Dumbest Way to Save Money
• How My iPhone Paid for Itself

The Last 5 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Buying Anything

The previous post dealt with The First 5 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Buying Anything. Here we’ll primarily address what to do if you haven’t convinced yourself not to purchase a particular item, or you don’t know how to get it for free. Before you open your wallet, ask the following:

1. Can I borrow it?

With the exception of money, to the extent a friend, family member or neighbor is willing to loan you something that won’t result in the transmission of a contagious infection, then I’m all for it.

There are two big upsides to borrowing: 1) it usually doesn’t cost anything and 2) you don’t have to store the item when you’re done with. Personally, I have a tendency to destroy things, so I try to shy away from borrowing stuff that’s prone to breakage.

2. Should I rent it?

Depending on your lifestyle, there are certain items that are more cost effective and more convenient to rent. It’s hard to find a justifiable reason to blow a lot of money on something needed for a specific occasion. Sites like Zilok and Rent the Runway provide the perfect marketplaces for renting that pressure washer or party dress you’ll only use a time or two.

3. Can I exchange something I don’t want for it?

You probably got plenty of valuable junk laying around that you can give up in return for something useful. With websites like SwapTree, Swapstyle.com, U-Exchange, and BarterBee.com, you can make room for possessions you’ll likely use in return for some mess you’ll never use.

4. Can I buy it for less than full price?

We’ve already touched on how to save money by consuming a modest dosage of patience in The First 5 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Buying Anything. But let’s say you either can’t or aren’t willing to wait. Here are a few tactics you can apply to get the best deals along with websites that make saving money easier.

• Use a mobile coupon or coupon code*: RetailMeNot, Currentcodes.com, CouponCabin, Coupon Chief.

• Look for on-line cash back offers: FatWallet, Ebates, Coupon Cactus, Bing cashback.

• Hunt for bargains: The Bargainist, CheapStingyBargains.com, GottaDeal.com, DealCatcher.com

If all else fails, conduct a Twitter or Google search using the name of the product or retailer you’re looking for plus either or all of the three search terms: coupon code, discount code, or promo code.

5. Can I afford it?

Ah, this is one of my favorites. If you get to the point where you are shamefully willing to pay full price (I’ve been there) for a product or service, a “no” answer to this question should put the breaks on any spending.

Here’s the quick and dirty test to determine whether you can afford something or not. If you can’t pay cash for it (whatever it is), then it’s not within your means. I’ll leave you to read into that statement what you will.

*If you’re a smartphone user, don’t be afraid to flash the cashier a store coupon on your mobile device. A few days ago, I saved 15% by redeeming an unprinted Kohl’s coupon I found on RetailMeNot using my iPhone. And yes, I conducted the last minute on-line coupon search in the dressing room.

Are there any questions you ask yourself before making a purchase decision? What resources do you find helpful in answering any of the questions above?

Guest Post at Bible Money Matters!

You may have noticed I haven’t contributed any posts on how to save money on Christmas gifts. There won’t be any either. Not from me anyway. For the last few years, I’ve taken a strong position against giving gifts to loved ones. Occasionally the thought may cross my mind to buy something for the children, but even that hasn’t moved me to buy them anything. It’s not just because I’m cheap either. My decision making process was actually quite thoughtful.

Although I’ve been told I have the personality of an atheist, I am a Christian. I do celebrate Christmas. Just not like the rest of ya. Read the rationale for becoming a modern day Scrooge, plus tips on how you can really reduce your spending this holiday shopping season at 5 Ways To Give More And Spend Less This Christmas on Bible Money Matters.

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