20saver

I absolutely love Burt’s Bees products and was ecstatic to find a nice pile of them on CVS’s clearance shelf this afternoon. I picked up some baby products for Jake’s niece as well as two packs of trial items to give as gifts in the near future. Everything I saw in the clearance section was 50% off. Burt’s Bees is so rarely on sale that to find these half off blew me away.

If you love Burt’s Bees as much as I do, drop by your local CVS and comb through the clearance shelf before all the half priced goodness is gone!

Earlier this evening, I was walking back to my apartment from my local Ben and Jerry’s scoop shop with an ice cream cone in one hand and Honey’s lease in the other and I asked myself, why do I live frugally? Today was free cone day at Ben and Jerry’s and as soon as I got home from work and gathered up my dog, I booked it for my free ice cream. I was scrambling to get in line before 7pm, the official end of their generosity. When I finally got my cone a little past 7 and I began walking home at a leisurely pace, I realized that I didn’t need to go to all the trouble I went to for an ice cream cone. After all, a scoop of Ben and Jerry’s is only three or four bucks. Why was I trying so hard to save a few measly dollars? Why am I constantly trying so hard to save money? Some of my readers may be asking the very same questions so I thought it wise to outline why I choose to live frugally.

I am young, quite young in fact, and I know that I have plenty of time to worry about all things financial. But I also realize that my youth affords me time to optimize my smart moves and to neutralize my bad ones. Compound interest is on my side and I plan to take full advantage of it so that I can reap the most rewards. I’ve chosen the art of frugality to free up my money so that I can put as much of it into savings as I can and watch it grow over the years.

The strongest driving force behind my frugal efforts is the simple fact that I don’t have money to throw around. Not surprisingly, my two part time jobs don’t afford me all the luxuries life offers. Yes, I could use my credit card to satisfy my urge for new things or better quality, but spending more than you earn is one of the stupidest things you could ever do. You will pay at least double the original purchase price in interest and dig yourself into a hole that you may never get out of. I honestly don’t think I will ever make a lot of money because those of us who enter the field of liberal arts rarely do. We follow our passions and manage with whatever compensation we can receive from them. I came to terms with that fact a long time ago and have begun functioning financially in that mind set.

The desire for a strong financial future goes hand in hand with a frugal lifestyle. I don’t want to have to worry about how I’m going to pay for things when I’m older. Having bulging savings accounts offers that peace of mind. I want to eventually be financially independent so I can stop working whenever I want if I’m unhappy with my job or if I decide to have a baby and be a stay at home mom. I would like to retire early, pay for a car and or a house in cash (or mostly cash), travel extensively, and pay for Jake’s and my wedding in full. The only way I can meet all of these goals is if I don’t waste my money on things that are temporary and hold no greater significance. Every dollar that is spent on things that are outside of my goals set me back. 

Pure and simple, wasting my money today wastes my chances of having a satisfying future. A frugal lifestyle is more than just a way to squeeze out the money I need for bills. It gives me the blinders I need to stay focused on the things that will continue to matter to me for the rest of my life.

Credit reports and score:
I received my last credit report in the mail from Equifax. All of the information is correct and my score went up a few points- yay! Nothing is listed under public records, so TransUnion is the only company that has my insurance snafu listed. I talked to my mom about the whole thing and she said that it was resolved outside of court and the insurance company reimbursed her. I tried to find a record of the incident on the Pennsylvania courts public records website, but nothing came up (the site was confusing though, I wasn’t sure if the records were from all of PA or just Philadelphia). I haven’t contacted TransUnion yet because I want to try and speak with someone at the court house to see how the incident is documented (can I just call them up and have them tell me, or do I have to fill out paperwork to get the info…?). If I have all the facts, I think TransUnion would be more inclined to take me seriously, you know? I would love some advice on all of this if anyone has experienced anything similar.

Book and Movie Reviews:
I just finished reading Broke!: A College Student’s Guide to Getting By on Less and will be writing a review on it soon. Next on the plate is my first movie review on the documentary Waging a Living. I’m planning on reading Getting From College to Career after that. Feel free to join me if any of these titles interest you!

I’m looking to form a 20saver blog roll.

Are you a 20something with a personal finance blog? If so, please leave me a comment with your link so I can add you.

I heard from a friend of mine that if you pump your gas slower (by not squeezing on the trigger as tightly), you will get more gas for your money. The reasoning is that the faster the gas enters your tank, the more air is mixed in with it, causing some of the gas to vaporize and you to have less dense gas than if you pumped it slower. I took this advice today while I filled up my tank and pumped it as slow as possible.

I poked around the internet trying to find any support for this claim and I came up with mixed reviews. One argument made a very valid point: the longer it takes to pump the gas, the more evaporation with occur so, chances are, the slower pumping and the extra time negate each other. I’m keeping a close eye on my gas mileage to see if there’s any noticeable difference.

What are your thoughts and or findings on this gas tip?

While I was searching, I came across this great article at Edmunds.com. They put some gas saving tips to the test and discovered which ones really save gas and which ones do not. Unfortunately, they did not test the affects of pumping your gas slower.

This week, I discovered some awesome clearance deals at Kroger and snatched up the last of the April rebates at Rite Aid and Walgreens.

We got the above for a mere $38.45. Some of the highlights include: 5 gourmet salad bowls for $1 a piece (these are normally about $6 or $7 each), 4 veggie snack packs for $1 a piece, 2 jars of organic papaya for $1 a piece (normally $4.60 each), a bag of prewashed, peeled shallots for $.50, and a package of fresh herbs for $.50. I love hunting for clearance items at Kroger!

I think Rite Aid wanted to get on women’s good sides this week: free chocolate, makeup, and hair care products!

Hershey’s Bliss $2.99
Pure Shine Curls $3.99
Jane mineral eye shadow $4.99
Oral B Cross Action toothbrush $3.19 minus $1 coupon (I swear this coupon was for $.75, but it rang up as $1 off)= $2.19
Total out of pocket= $14.84
I’ll be getting $15.26 back in Single Check Rebates

I finally went to Walgreens this afternoon to get the April EasySaver free after rebate items. I wanted to get the Duracell batteries that offered a $3 rebate as well, but they were all sold out. Maybe they’ll offer a Duracell deal next month too.

Aquafresh Advanced toothpaste $3.49 minus $2 coupon= $1.49
Soyjoy bar $1.39
Colgate toothbrush $3.99 minus $.75 coupon= $3.24
Jane mineral blush $4.99
Minus $10 Register Reward
Total= $1.76, paid by gift card
I’ll be getting $13.86 back in EasySaver rebates

If you’re not the type of person who enjoys cutting out coupons or if you’re a couponer who would like a way to save even more, there are two websites that I know of that offer electronic coupons that load directly onto your grocery loyalty cards: Procter & Gamble eSaver and Shortcuts.

These electronic coupons are only offered for select stores (Kroger is one of them), so be sure to check and see if a store near you is participating before signing up. While these coupons cannot be doubled, they can be used in conjunction with regular paper coupons. For example, you can use a $.50 electronic coupon for an item as well as a $.50 paper coupon that is then doubled for a grand total of $1.50 off the item. Talk about an opportunity to save!

Do you know of any other electronic coupon programs available?

For the past month or so, I’ve been meaning to take a look at Jake’s and my car insurance policies to see how raising our deductibles would affect our premiums. Jake has been worried financially about the coming weeks because he’s expecting to receive a less than normal paycheck at the end of this week (he’s paid mostly on commission) and I figured this would be an ideal time to give our policies a once over.

My policy is pretty much bare bones right now and my comprehensive and collision deductibles were only $500. I raised those to $1,000 and my premium went down $10 a month for doing so. Total yearly savings: $120.

When I looked over Jake’s policy, I was surprised to see that he was paying for a few options he didn’t need. He had chosen to have rental car reimbursement, loss of income coverage, and additional medical coverage. His comprehensive and collision deductibles were $500. I put all of the extras to zero and raised his deductibles to $1,000. His premium went down $17 a month. Total yearly savings: $204.

Over the next couple of years, I’m going to keep a close eye on the value of my car. Once it drops down to less than $3,000, I’m going to pull my collision coverage completely to save a few hundred dollars a year on my insurance.

For only a few minutes of my time, I managed to save us $27 a month or $324 a year. Not too shabby!

Rite Aid’s rebate program, Single Check Rebates, is probably the simplest drug store rebate program to participate in. Rite Aid offers a monthly rebate directory (usually found near the front of the store, next to the weekly ad) where you can find all the rebates they have for the month.

Some of the Single Check Rebates aren’t valid for the whole month, they are only available for one week out of the month. It will clearly say in the rebate directory when it is only a week long rebate. They also offer double rebates when you buy a participating product during a certain week and get double the original rebate amount (if you buy the product any time during the month other than during the specified week, it will only be for the original rebate amount). Again, these are clearly marked in the rebate directory. Rite Aid usually offers at least a few items that are free after rebate each month. These deals can be sweetened by using coupons to lower the total amount you pay out of pocket.

The great thing about Single Check Rebates is that you can enter the information off of your receipts and request your rebate check on Rite Aid’s website. There’s no need to use stamps to mail off anything, thus increasing the amount of money you will make. Once you have all of your receipts entered for a given month, you request your check by the deadline and receive it in the mail a few weeks later.

Nice and easy.

Did you know that this week (April 21-27) is National TV Turnoff Week? Sponsored by screentime.org, Turnoff Week is a yearly event that encourages you to unplug your television for a whole week in order to reconnect with the world and people around you. Pick up a book, play some board and card games, talk to your family and friends face to face, or go outside and enjoy the beautiful spring weather. If for no other reason, participate just to see a nice dip in your electric bill!