I’ll assume that many of you will be receiving an income tax refund and/or a stimulus check.  Here are some suggestions for what to do with those checks -

1.  Emergency Fund - I like to maintain an emergency fund equal to $500 per person in our family.  We have 4 people, right now, soon to be 5, so our emergency fund equals $2500.  If you don’t have an emergency fund, use your check(s) to fund one.

2.  Debt Reduction - If you have your emergency fund, but you still have non-mortgage debt, consider depositing your check and then sending a ‘big splash’ payment to one (or more) or your creditors.  Depending on your debt reduction technique, you’ll send your extra payment to the account with the lowest balance or the account with the highest interest.

3.  Roth IRA - Have you started saving for retirement?  For 2008, the per person contribution limit for Roth IRAs (in most cases) is $5000.

4.  Emergency Fund (2) - If you are out of debt, now would be a good time to really build up your emergency fund.  I like to have enough money in my emergency fund to cover six months’ worth of expenses.  Depositing that check could go a long ways towards funding your Emergency Fund.

5.  Automobile Repairs/Maintenance - If you are trying to avoid borrowing money to purchase newer automobiles, you might consider using your refund or stimulus check to repair or maintain your automobile.  I am going to use a portion of my stimulus check to buy new tires for my paid-for Honda.

6.  Fun - If it’s been a while since you went out to eat or bought an new outfit, live a little.  Personally, I wouldn’t spend every dollar of my check on ‘fun stuff’, but I’ll probably use a small portion of our stimulus check to buy some new golf balls and a new pair of running shoes.

7.  College Savings - We have two kids, and a third on the way, and we are saving for their future college expenses.  Take a look at ESAs and 529 plans and consider funding one or both.

Final notes - If you are getting back a sizable income tax refund, you might want to check your withholding.  Remember, the money you are ‘receiving’ is actually your money! There is no real sense in loaning Uncle Sam your money, interest free, for a year.  Also, please don’t use your refund / stimulus check as down payment for some item that you can’t afford.  Don’t turn a blessing into a curse.  Use the money wisely and you’ll be happy with your decision.

• 10 Comments

People seem to love these top 10 lists, so here goes:

10 (More) Money Savers That You Will Actually Do:

1. Eating Fast-Food? Skip the “value-size” option for you combo. This saves between .39 and .59 per meal, per individual. Family of 4? That’s between 1.60 and 2.40 a meal. This adds up. Plus, you eat less food, gain less weight, and feel better.

2. Buy and Try Generic Foods. Shop at Kroger? Their generic “pop-tarts”, ketchup, sodas, bread, etc. taste just fine. Typical savings: 25 to 50 percent off of name-brands.

3. Buy pool supplies at the very end of summer. We have one of those 4 foot by 16 feet plastic pools for our kids, and the filters run about 8 bucks for a twin pack. At the end of summer, we find them for 2 / 3 bucks or less. Same goes for pool chemicals.

4. Want a cheap, fast growing, leafy plant for you back porch? Plant cucumbers! We planted 6 cucumber seeds in 2 old pots on our back porch, and now they are growing really nice and big. They look great, we can eat the cucumbers, and they are super easy to maintain.

5. My daughter goes to gymnastics three times a week, after school. She likes to have a snack before class. If we were to stop at a convenience store, we would spend at least 2 bucks on a coke and some chips /candy. Stock up on these items at the grocery store. Box of “nerds” candy at the convenience store? .59 Four boxes of “nerds” candy at grocery store? 1.00. Plan ahead, even for the little things.

6. Kids want to rent a movie? How about showing them their home videos of when they were babies? My daughter LOVES to watch herself when she was 2 or 3. She just dies laughing whenever she sees herself. (Be sure that the kids cannot destroy your original copies. I made a “best-of” DVD for my daughter.)

7. Buy dark tennis shoes, instead of white. Seriously, I have a pair of black New Balance shoes that I purchased TWO years ago, and they still look very, very nice. White shoes get dirty easy, stain easy, and are difficult to clean. Go with the darker shoe colors.

8. Need to print a web-page or a document? If the quality of the print doesn’t really matter, print the document in “draft” mode. I use paypal a lot to ship packages, and I print all of my shipping labels using “draft” mode. They look just fine, I save ink, I save money. Plus, they print faster!!!

9. Gas prices are high. Duh! Be sure to schedule your trips to town so that you can do multiple things in one trip. Dry cleaning, getting gas, grocery shopping, etc. Maximize each trip. Every single dollar helps!!!

10. Teach your kids about money! The more they know about money NOW, the less you have to worry about supporting them in the future!!! Bless your kids by giving them some limited responsibilities, and reward them financial for their hard work.

• 0 Comments

What can I say… I’m loving the lists:

Here are 10 Money Savers (That You Will Actually DO!)

The problem with a lot of frugal ideas is that most people will not actually take the time to implement them. Why? Because they take effort or time or some combination of the two. The following are simple, easy, almost effortless, and they save you money. Ready? Good!

1. When you eat out, ask for a glass of water as opposed to a glass of soda. Simple, easy, saves you 1.50 per meal. Plus, it’s healthy!

2. Don’t buy books. Go to the Library. It’s free.

3. Stop drinking coffee from a coffee shop. Make your own. (When did drinking coffee become cool? HOW did drinking coffee become cool? Drinking coffee is for old people in house-coats.)

4. Use the cheapest gas you can find. Your car will run fine. In fact, most cars are designed for the lower octane gas, not the higher. (Refer to your owner’s manual if you have questions. Yeah right, your going to go dig up your owner’s manual… Just use the cheap stuff.)

5. Stand up. Turn around. See those lights that are on. Turn them off. Now, walk around your house, turning off all of the lights that are not necessary. Repeat 5 times a day.

6. Wash your clothing in cold water. Most clothes will be just fine. (Read the label..blah, blah.)

7. Going to a restaurant with your spouse? Good! You need a little “together-time.” How about sharing an entree and/or dessert? It’s cheap…and romantic! (This one comes via my wife!)

8. Hot? Drink a cool glass of water. Cold? Put on a sweater. You don’t always have to bump the thermostat back and forth.

9. Stop worrying about what your neighbors think. (They’re broke TOO!)

10. Try to go a (week, month, day, year) without buying (food, clothes, etc.). In other words, create some silly “goal” for yourself, and try to stick to it. It will create a challenge, and we all like challenges. (Remember “I double-dog dare you” from elementary school? Same thing.)

• 0 Comments

Do you do much shopping online? Of course you do! We’ll here are a few awesome sights that can help you find great deals on great stuff. Try to go to the forums and post deals that you find, in order to help the bargain community out.

• Fatwallet.com: The grand-daddy of them all, with great bargain and finance deals in the forums.
• Dealnews.com: An awesome “tech-centered” site with great deals, categorized and detailed nicely.
• Xpbargains: Another great bargain sight, with an awesome price comparison feature called xpricer.

• 0 Comments

I am a big-time satellite radio fan. We live in a rural community, and we do not receive any local talk-radio stations. I LOVE talk radio. My favorite shows are…

• Tony Kornheiser Show: SportsTalk 980 Washinton, DC and XM Channel 152
• Dave Ramsey Show: At his website, on XM, and on Sirius
• Covino and Rich: Maxim Radio 145 on XM
• Mike and Mike in the Morning: Espn Radio on the net, AM stations, XM, and Sirius
• Car Talk: NPR Radio and on Sirius

So, a few years ago I signed up for XM radio. I love it. Then, this past September, I purchased a Sirius receiver for my father-in-law but he was not interested. So, now I have both. They offer just enough different programming that I like having both services. I have a 1 year contract with each of them. I am hoping that they will consolidate before my subscription runs out, and I can have all of the shows I like via one service.

All of this leads to my latest project…I am installing both of the receivers in one car so that I can switch back and forth. This will be a custom install. This is the first time I have ever attempted something like this. Check back in a few days to see picks (hopefully) of my finished project.

Before I go, you might wonder WHY I am posting this here? Well, I have found that I spend less money, and eat less food if I keep my mind and hands occupied with a real, tangible task. This is my task for the next few weeks.

• 0 Comments