Friendzy

Budgeting can be very difficult. With one swipe of a credit card you can buy now and pay later for virtually anything. With this type of mindset it is hard to budget for expenses. The envelope method of budgeting makes keeping a budget a lot easier and will prevent you from spending beyond your means.

Start by figuring out how much you spend on each category of your budget. Food, utilities, clothing, luxuries etc. For each category you should then obtain an envelope and write the name of the category on the outside. At the beginning of each month, place the appropriate amount of CASH in the envelope.

You are to spend only the amount that you place in your envelope. This will help you visualize the amount of money you need through the month and how much you are actually spending. You will not realize how much the grocery costs you until you start paying with cash rather than a swipe of the card. Handing over a stack of $20 bills can be a bit demoralizing at first, but it is for the greater good.

You will find that the envelope system really helps you visualize your budget as dollar bills rather than payments that need to be made. Give it a try.

Insurance is one of the most necessary evils known to man. Insurance companies profit by making the odds and setting premiums so that what the take in is always higher than they pay out. Over the long run, it is likely that you will pay much more to an insurance company than you will ever get back in return.

Insurance companies accept the risk of wrecking your car, or damage to your home, by accumulating it with thousands of other cars and homes. The risk of millions of cars across the country being totaled all at the same time is practically zero. With this in mind, disasters do occur and insurance companies have been known to make large payouts. The fact is, insurance companies take in a lot more money than they ever pay out. There is a reason that insurance payments are called “premiums.”

The deductible, or the amount that you have to pay when damage occurs, is the key to how much you will have to pay each month in premiums. Most damage to cars and homes is rather low. Of course a windstorm may knock off a few hundred dollars in roofing shingles, or a fender bender might cost a thousand dollars to fix. Thus, the question one must ask themselves is, how much should the deductible actually be?

Raising an automotive insurance premium from $500 to $1000 is one of the best investments you can make. Often times, this will drop rates by as much as 25% while only costing you an additional $500 in case of a serious accident. Even with a premium of $1000, damage of $5000 will only cost you $1000 out of pocket, with the remainder coming from the insurance company.

The more risk you are willing to accept, the less you will pay in the long haul. The difference in payments between a $500 deductible and a $1000 deductible will allow you to save the excess in the event that an accident does not occur.

The scratch and dent section is a favorite for anyone looking for utility rather than luxury.  Will that dent on the top of a washing machine really impact its performance by $300.  Of course not, but in this live beyond your means lifestyle, consumers do not want to buy something that has minor surface damage.  The scratch and dent section is great for anyone on a frugal budget, but even better for people who know how to negotiate.  We may be used to seeing a price tag and paying that amount, but for the scratch and dent shoppers, many times you can get a lower price than what you see on the tag.

Huge stores like Home Depot or WalMart practically write their scratch and dents off at a loss.  Its much cheaper to put a huge 40% off sign on an appliance than to send it back for repairs, wait for a new machine or to deal with selling a dented appliance to a consumer.  To sell these products they cut the price.

Knowing that these products are essentially a write off, you have a lot of breathing room to negotiate your own price.  Each scratch and dent product is priced by the individual store, it is unlikely that you’ll be able to find the same scratch and dent at any other location.  Managers and people who are more into the scene at the specified retailer will be able to help you find a price that is in your price range.  If you go in there with an attitude that you are only willing to pay $xxx for an item, chances are that the people in the scratch and dent area will be willing to work with you.

Unlike regular floor products, which have set in stone pricing, scratch and dent sales are a way for the store to clear inventory rather than make money.  They are already losing money on the deal, and they want the machines out the door.  Negotiating a price is much easier than you would think when a company is more interested in dumping a product than making a profit.

Utilities are fast becoming the biggest expense.  Even on a shoestring budget it is easy to make changes that will reduce the amount your pay for utilities.

Cut back on water

Water is an easy utility to control and reduce.  Cutting back on watering the lawn and long showers will greatly increase your savings.  Collecting rain water for use on gardens is a free way to irrigate your garden and keep unwanted chemicals out of your plants.  Fixing a leaky faucet will even make a noticeable difference over the long run, and its likely that if it is leaking, it needed to be replaced anyway.  One trick to lower your water costs is to limit the amount of water you flush down the toilet.  Sink a gallon jug of water in the reservoir of the toilet and cut each flush down by 1 gallon.  This makes a big savings over time and still gives enough water to displace wastes.

Insulation is key

Insulating your garage might not seem important, but it can greatly affect the temperature of rooms above the garage.  Winter weather is quick to make it through the floors and ceilings and into the rest of your home.  A new rubber bottom to a garage door is really all you need.  Small gaps can easily add up, just a 1/8 inch gap at the bottom of a door across a 3 foot door is a total of 4.5 square inches of space.  You’d patch up a 2×2 hole in the side of the wall, why wouldn’t you fix the door?

Program your savings

Install a programmable remote to determine when to power the air conditioning and heater.  Set it to turn off while you are gone at work and to start back up just an hour before you return.  Even a few degrees in temperature makes for great savings.  The amount of energy it takes to heat and air condition a home just 2 degrees much more than you may think.

Cut back on the lighting

Buy compact fluorescent lights to replace normal bulbs.  These put out the same amount of light as traditional bulbs, while cutting energy costs by 75%.  They require a bigger investment in the beginning but quickly pay themselves off over time.  Consider eliminating excess lights from bathrooms and other small areas to save even more.

Junk mail for some is the worst thing in the world.  Whether it is a postcard in the mail, or hundreds of daily junk emails, it is a waste of time, money and resources.

Avoiding junk mail can be difficult.  The first step to avoiding the plague is to stop giving your name so freely.  Avoid filling out additional information on things like warranty cards and sweepstakes.  In most cases, warranty cards are filled with data mining questions so that they can sell your details.  Be sure to check the box that indicates they cannot sell your name.

Identify the source

Identifying the source of junk mail can be tricky, but a small detail can help you find the culprit.  Start by using a false middle initial for different companies.  By using a different middle initial for each one, you can target which company is selling your name and then proceed from there.  Most of the time it will be magazine and sweepstakes companies.  Credit card companies are also large sellers of mailing addresses.

How to stop junk mail

One call will virtually stop all credit card offers.  A call to 1-888-567-8688 will remove your name and details from the credit agencies that sell your name to potential creditors.  1-800-605-4297 will stop those annoying AOL disks and 1-800-645-9242 will end Publisher Clearing house mailings. 

The best way to avoid spam and junk email is to have an account for personal emails, and one to use for registrations and other correspondence.  Spam is virtually inevitable if you give your email to anyone online, so just be willing to take the loss on your spam email account.  Use one email for all online logins and purchases and save the other for important materials.  Over time your dedicated spam box will become full and overloaded with mail, that is the time you switch to a fresh new spam address.

Rental cars come with piles of legal information and liability forms that look like they’re written to confuse the customer.  Renting a car can be a difficult process and put you literally in the driver’s seat when it comes to damage liability.

What is it?

A loss damage waiver is essentially an insurance policy purchased from the car rental company that protects the borrower from incurring costs related to damage.  The fee usually amounts to about $20 per day, even with budget car rental businesses.  What people do not always know is that they might already be protected by their existing car insurance, or from their credit card.

Before renting a car, call and see if your insurance will cover a rental car.  Most insurance companies do have some type of damage protection that extends past your normal deductible.  Unless you are buying the state minimum car insurance from a discount insurer, it would be wise to make a call to see what options are available through your own policy.

Credit card benefits

Paying for a car rental with a credit card may also protect you from any liability.  Most credit cards will make you free from liability from collisions.  Some better cards will protect from dangers such as fire, weather or theft, although this is only available with a select few cards.

If you are not protected by your credit cards or insurance policy you might want to do some math.  Most companies charge $20 per day, which is equal to $600 per month.  If you’re not willing to spend this amount on your car, you shouldn’t be willing to spend that much on someone else’s.  Make sure that you note all dings and scratches before you get in the car and record anything that you might be blamed for later. 

Not worth it

For reasonable drivers, the extra $20 probably is not worth it.  Small damages will not warrant a $20 a day charge and you safe driving won’t allow you to get into a large accident.  The best insurance policy is to drive safely and save money.

Refurbished products abound, are they really worth the savings.  The short answer is yes.

Refurbished products are products that have been returned to the manufacturer after difficulty with use, problems with the device or simply the wrong product was shipped.  Most of the time, refurbished products are gutted then rebuilt and sold again as refurbished.  Many refurbished products get a more thorough look than the first production.

Where to buy

It is never recommended that you buy products from a third party because they cannot offer support or exchanges if the product is still malfunctioning.  The best deals in refurbished products come directly from the manufacturer.  Manufacturers have a lot to keep up when it comes to brand loyalty and will be willing to offer support if you experience products.  Some manufacturers even offer extended warranties even on refurbished products, as good as new in my mind.

It is important to note that refurbished materials are usually used, not new.  A refurbished product is usually a Frankenstein of many different failed machines, survival of the fittest if you will.  For products that wear out of time such as disk drives, batteries or anything with a somewhat limited use, you should expect a shorter lifespan.  These products have been used before you owned them and do have some ordinary wear and tear that comes with them.

Reconditioned is better

Reconditioned is even better than refurbished.  This usually means the products are in good working order but might be overstocked or been taken from lease.  Reconditioned products usually come with a full warranty equal to that offered when buying new but sell at the same price as refurbished products. 

The decision is that refurbished products are a great deal, especially when it comes to electronics.  Refurbished electronic products usually come with a deep discount and the same quality you would expect right of the box.  While it might not have the shiny packaging and expensive price tag, all in all refurbished products are a great buy.