Find a Roommate

Obviously this only applies to those making the big move.  Finding a roommate means cutting down on your monthly costs while possibly living in a nicer place than you could on your own.  In some cities–New York comes to mind–it may be impossible to live “downtown” or even “near the town” without earning an extremely high salary or being willing to take on a roommate or two.

For those of you just visiting for a day or two, the same theory applies…travel as a group so costs can be split and group rates, where applicable, will apply.   There are also some websites devoted to helping people find apartments rather than hotels for extended trips or vacations.

Public Transportation:

Be smart, taxis are convenient but also costly.  Become familiar with local bus routes and any underground transportation that might be available to you.  If you are staying for longer periods of time, spring for a multi-ride card as opposed to paying each individual fare…you’ll save in the long run…on time and money.  Most of all–WALK.  That’s one of the biggest benefits of living in a big city.

Free entertainment

Major cities boast cultural experiences and many of them are free.  Think movies in the park, gallery openings, Sunday museums and local sporting events.  Take in the sights and sounds without the cost by researching city websites.  Most offer calendars with upcoming events, many of which are free to the public.

Passes

Many museums, theaters and venues offer memberships with reduced rates.  Also, numerous cities offer City Passes that, for a flat purchase price, include admission to multiple city attractions at drastically cheaper prices.  A City Pass is also a convenient way to experience a city because they often include a list of every location it is accepted, many of which you might not of known about or had thought of trying.

Car share programs

Car share programs are popping up across the country.  The central idea is that owning a car and paying car insurance and parking fees are astronomical for someone living in a major city (and likely not using their car all that often anyway).  The alternative…sell your car and join a car share program.  Each is run a little differently but most are either pay as you drive or pay a monthly fee.  You can go to any pick-up location, use a car and return it whenever you are finished, paying for the gas you use.  Drop-offs/pick-ups are scattered throughout the city, making travel convenient.

Part time job

A part time job does not have to be just for the money–or too help defray those big-city expenses.   Many people work because of a specific benefit it provides them.  Can’t afford a gym membership? Get a part time job at the local gym in exchange for a membership.  Need work-appropriate clothes?  Take on a part time job at your favorite clothing store, pending it offers great employee discounts.

Free Wi-fi

Coffee shops, libraries, ball-parks, pretty much everywhere offers free WiFi.  Take advantage of it when you are out and about.  You might find that between internet access at work and around the city, you may be able to forgo that costly monthly internet bill.

Conclusion

So, whether you are touring a big city or making a life changing move, experiencing all that your city has to offer does not mean you have to break the bank.  Take advantage of the programs sponsored by the city for the public.  Become a smart traveler.  Or work for benefits other than money.  In the end, you will be left with wonderful experiences and hopefully a little money in your wallet.

Other than my years in college, I’ve mostly been a boring suburbanite myself, so feel free to add some comments about ways to save money in the city, that I may have inadvertently left out or failed to address.

1) Recycling Center Boxes
The cool thing about recycling centers is that there are TONS of free boxes up for grabs. I backed our CR-V up to one of the bins at a local recycling center and filled the back up with boxes. Typically the boxes have been broken down so you’ll need a tape gun to re-tape them once you get them home.

Of course they won’t all be standard size moving boxes, it’ll be a range of sizes. The really big ones aren’t good because they’re heavy to carry once you get them all full and the really small ones don’t hold much so they can be a waste of time to pack. But if you can find a local recycling center with a big bin of cardboard boxes you’ll be able to find plenty of medium sized boxes to pack with.

2) Grocery Stores Boxes
Grocery stores are a never ending source of free boxes since they’re constantly unpacking new shipments of food. Most of them do their restocking late in the evenings, if it’s a 24 hour store you can walk up and down the aisles and collect the empty boxes as they’re emptied. Even easier, if you call in and request boxes ahead of time some grocery stores will hold a bunch of boxes for you to come and pick up in the morning.

3) Office Boxes
If the company you work for gets any kind of deliveries you can hit them up for their empty boxes. For example, where I work the printing department always has empty paper boxes and the IT department periodically has empty computer boxes. Stop by and tell them you’re moving and ask them to let you know whenever they have boxes to get rid of.

Asking your co-workers can also be a good strategy if you let them know weeks in advance to save any empty boxes and bring them in for you. You won’t get enough boxes to pack up your apartment but every free box is one you don’t have to buy.

4) Craigslist Boxes
People who just finished moving are sick of hauling things around and want to get rid of all the boxes they just had to unpack. Trash companies often charge an extra fee to dispose of huge stacks of boxes so some people will offer free moving boxes if you just come pick them up. Keep your eye on Craigslist for people who just moved and are getting rid of all their cardboard boxes. If you can find the right family discarding a whole pile of them you might be able to get all the moving boxes you need from one place.

5) Moving Company Boxes
Some of moving companies that gave us bids to move our furniture offered 10-15 free boxes if we used their moving service. If you’re moving everything yourself this won’t help you but if you have movers coming to help with a house full of furniture you might be able to get some free moving boxes out of the deal. If you’re trying to decide whether or not hire movers or which moving company to use stay tuned because we’ll cover that later this week.

Good luck moving!

However, for all of you hitting the Memorial Day sales, here are some articles on shopping and saving money. Our local TV and radio have been full of ads for big car sales this weekend so I included several on buying, selling, maintaining an automobile.

I also added in a few on college graduation because there are many graduation parties going on over the holiday weekend and I thought I’d point out some money tips for those graduating seniors.

Buying & Selling Cars

• We Sold Our Car on Craigslist @ Cash Money Life
• Used Car Values: How to Sell Your Car at the Right Price @ My Two Dollars
• Save Money on Gas: Buy a Scooter @ Debt Free Adventure
• Is Your Car Ruining Your Budget? @ Fiscal Geek
• Buying a Car from Hertz Rent2Buy @ Fiscal Fizzle
• How to Sell Your Used Car Online @ SquawkFox

Shopping

• Local or Online Stores: Pay More for the Personal Touch? @ Consumerism Commentary
• Why Does Amazon.com Hide Some Prices? @ Bargaineering
• Have You Tried Peapod Groceries? @ My Dollar Plan

Saving Money

• Is It Really Cheaper to Ride the Bus? @ The Simple Dollar
• Wipe Out Excessive Spending On Toilet Paper @ Money Ning
• 7 Money Saving Ideas For City Slickers @ Moolanomy
• Comparing TV Services With BillShrink @ Free From Broke
• How to Cook Cheap Meals @ Frugal Dad

College Graduation

• 9 Financial Tips for New Graduates @ Generation X Finance
• College Graduate Insurance & Credit Tips @ Money Smart Life
• Gift Ideas for College Grads for a Financial Headstart @ Money Smart Life
• Financial Advice for College Grads @ MoneyWatch

Enjoy your memorial day weekend!

“we won’t get these… they’re too expensive”

Then the next night when I went to take out the garbage I left the door open a crack.  He jumped up from across the room and yelled:

“Dad, close the door you’re letting out all the warm air”

Just last night he was running around the house turning off the lights.  He told me:

“we don’t leave the lights on, they might burn out”

Understanding Scarcity?

Of course, I’m sure he’s heard me say similar things before but I think it’s cool he’s making the connection between the frugal action and the reason behind it.  He knows the reason that we don’t buy randomly buy toys in the store is because they’re too expensive (or a rip-off as I sometimes say). 

He doesn’t really know what expensive means but he knows it’s a good reason NOT to do something.  He doesn’t understand that it costs money to create warm air in the winter or electricity for lights; but he does know that you don’t want to waste the air or the light bulbs.

I can tell he doesn’t get the overall concept of conserving your resources because of little things; like tonight he used 8 sheets of toilet paper to dry up a little spot on the floor.  He also likes to flush the toilet multiple times just so he can watch the water go down.  So far he’s only picked up on specific behaviors, not the idea as a whole.

Frugality Genes

So all this seems behavioral, stuff he’s learned from watching and listening to my wife and I. We learned it from our parents, and they learned those behaviors from theirs. What I wonder is whether any of these tendencies are inherited rather than learned.  Are there genetic characteristics that lend themselves to conserving what you have and not wasting your resources?

I doubt there is a “frugality gene” but what about the cavemen that were hunting and gathering ages ago?  Were there some families that were a little more lavish with their food and belongings or were they all “frugal” with their resources?  We often think of survival of the fittest as the strongest and fastest but maybe it was also the most frugal?  Did the family that could make the woolly mammoth meat last an extra few weeks survive while the others perished?

Maybe nature was too harsh at that point in our history and every person knew to conserve as much as possible or die.  However, as society evolved I can’t help but think frugal tendencies emerged as commerce started to develop.

The Cheap Inherit the Earth

I know there’s a Biblical passage something along the lines of the meek shall inherit the Earth.  Well maybe for the time being it will be the cheap who inherit the Earth. When the foolish spenders fall into foreclosure and bankruptcy and the stock market plunges, those with frugal genes can tap into their long accumulated rainy day funds and buy stock and property at a big discount.  Maybe as they’re bargain shopping they should be thanking their ancestors for passing on frugal genes?

What do you think?

Main Course & Appetizers

Spending less at a restaurant doesn’t necessarily mean eating less food.  For example, at some restaurants the portion sizes are big enough that you can split a meal with the family member or friend you’re eating with.  This works especially well at establishments that bring out chips and salsa, bread, salad, or some other complimentary food prior to the meal. 

Of course, there are other pre-meal options that aren’t free at all.  Appetizers can be quite expensive for the amount of food you get from them. They can cost half or two thirds the cost of your main dish so avoiding them can save you some money.

Drink Costs

Drinks have a pretty big markup, it’s hard to believe that some places charge $2 for a glass of soda with your meal.  Alcohol is even more expensive, a few drinks can really tack onto your bill.  It may be strange if you’re used to having a Coke with dinner, but ordering water will certainly cut your restaurant bill.

Deal of the Day

Many restaurants offer specials on the weeknights to help bring people in during their slower times. You can save money by always knowing which establishment in town is offering the deal of the day.  Also, don’t forget restaurants that offer free meals on your birthday!

Buy Less, Pay Less

One tip that really made some people mad last time I wrote about restaurant savings was “Spend Less, Tip Less”. This isn’t really a tip as much as it is a reminder.  The idea is that there are costs to eating out that are based on the total cost of your meal.

If you figure the tip as a percentage of the total bill, then the less you spend on food, the less you tip.  If you server does a stellar job and you want to throw in extra for the tip to say thanks, that’s up to you.  Just remember, the same concept applies to sales tax, the smaller your bill, the less tax you pay. 

Use Coupons

One of the tips that I forgot last time that some of the readers pointed out was to use coupons for your meals.  You can often find them in newspapers or coupon mailers, save them in an envolope and use them later when it’s time to eat out.

You can also find some pretty cheap deals on restaurant gift certificates over at Restaurant.com

These money saving tips are part of the series on saving money on entertainment.  So far we’ve covered how to save money on your television bill, and save money at the movies.

The Basics of Budgeting for Married Couples

• Start doing it the moment you get married. The more you wait to start a budget, the less likely that it will become a habit in your household.
• Create a budget together. One of you might like maintaining and forming the budget than the other, but you BOTH need to be present to contribute to the budgeting plan for that month or period of time.
• Choose how you will keep your budget organized. You can use a pencil and paper, Microsoft Excel, Quickbooks, MS Money, or you can use an online application such as Mint.com.
• Write down all of your monthly recurring bills such as utilities, mortgage, cable, debt payments, and insurance. Then, estimate your other monthly expenses that tend to fluctuate such as food, gas, entertainment, clothing, and car maintenance.
• Continue to tweak your variable expense allowances over the next three months.

Budgets are not perfect, and they can make life a little frustrating at first. It’s no different than starting an exercise regime. Your body will resist the exercise at first, because it’s not used to doing it, but it will get easier the more you do it. Budgeting is the same way. Here are some common budgeting struggles that newlyweds often face:

One spouse is on board to budget, but the other is not. Talk through it, and try to figure out the root of the issue. Do you share the same goals with money? If you can’t come to a resolution, then seek out marriage counseling. You can’t have one spouse following a budget while the other spends whatever they want. It won’t work.

Neither one of you has the will power to follow the budget. Seek out another couple to keep you accountable. Ask friends of yours to keep you accountable with your budget. They can call you once a week to see how it is going. If you have someone else asking you about it, it will help you follow the budget better, because you’ll feel embarassed if you keep telling them that you busted the budget.

You get easily frustrated that the budget isn’t working. You will not get immediate results with a new budget. It takes three or four months to tweak the budget and start seeing results. Once you get it right, you’ll quickly see how much more money you have at the end of the month.

Here are a couple of free excel files to help you track your plan to get out of debt and create a budget.

• Budget Worksheet
• Debt Elimination Plan

Remember, budgeting is a way of life. You must develop the habit of budgeting, or you’ll drop it like any other fad. Once you see the results and the immediate income boost by spending your money on paper before you spend it, you’ll get excited. So, get excited, and start your budget today.

The average cost is around $3 – $5 per item. Furniture usually runs $15 to $25 dollars. Remember that you are only going to use these things for a little while, and you will not be nearly as angry if your roommate comes in drunk and knocks over a $2 lamp, or throws up on a $15 chair.

Make it yourself – There is nothing cooler than quirky, hand-made items in a dorm room. If you are crafty, you can check out your local home depot for cinder blocks, particle board, cheap paint, a hammer, and some nails. The possibilities really are endless.

Drop in on the Dollar Store – Organizers, mirrors, school supplies, bath items, and even toothpaste are all cheap and readily available at your local dollar store. Definitely visit Dollar General, Big Lots, Everything’s a Dollar, etc. before you hit the bigger departments stores. Take a list with you, and cross off everything you can as cheaply as you can – your wallet will thank you!

Wait to buy larger items until you meet your roommate – Why pay full price for that mini-fridge all by yourself? What if they bring one too? Instead, get to know them a bit, talk about what you would both like to have in your room, wait for a sale, and split the cost.

Consider creative ways to decorate – Get together with your roommate and buy some colored chalk. You can do murals on the walls together (chalk washes off easily), and have “the room” that everyone talks about. Whatever you do, avoid laminating your posters. When I went to college, I thought laminating my posters would be cheaper than framing them. It was not! Total cost to laminate 6 posters: $80. Total cost for used frames at Goodwill: $12.

Check your local newspaper and Craigslist – You can usually find some excellent deals on just about everything in the classified sections of your newspaper, or online at Craigslist.org. You can pick up curtains, a desk, possibly even a computer this way.

The Last Step: Hit Walmart, Target and K-Mart – Once you buy everything you can at a discount, then check out the superstores. They still have good deals on items. You can even do a little pre-shopping online to see what they have, and how much it costs. Spending 30 minutes surfing the web to compare deals will save you a lot of money, (and gas!) because you won’t have to run from store to store looking for a specific item.

As you head off to college, remember that many of these first items may get torn up, used up, or just not fit your style anymore after about a year. Even though you might be tempted to buy a $200 desk, or a $350 comforter set, it’s probably better to err on the side of caution. I honestly don’t think I still own even one item that I decorated my dorm room with in college. So, why not pay less for items that will probably turn out to be temporary in the long run?

College is all about figuring out where you are going in life. Give yourself the freedom to change your style any time you want to – without feeling guilty over the price of re-decorating.

Check back tomorrow for a review of the best banks for college students where we’ll cover accounts like ING Electric Orange checking and Washington Mutual checking.

These ideas on thrifty dorm room decor, furniture, and accessories are part of the College Student Money Guide.

Save Money on Food
Saving money on food is an important consideration when you are at these amusement parks.  Discounts can be found on admission tickets, but for food it gets a bit more difficult.  Prices are typically overinflated and every option in the park is expensive.  Since the parks don’t offer any cheap alternatives, you have to make up your own to cut back on costs. Here are a few ways you can save money on food:

• Bring your own water bottle and refill it in the bathrooms or at water fountains.  This alone will save you $10 or more per person. 
• Bring snacks to munch on at the park instead of investing in $5 pretzels and popcorn. Check whether the park allows you to bring in food from outside.  If not, make sure you hide it really well : )
• Eat a hefty breakfast before you leave for the park, bring along some sandwiches for lunch, and then on the way home stop for a late dinner.  You will save at least 50% of your bill by avoiding the food at these amusement parks.
• Share meals.  Many amusement park meals (especially Disney) have large meals that are great for sharing.  If you must eat at the park, share the meal between two people and save some money.

Save on Admission
With food costs under control on your amusement park trip, the next way to save is to look at admission prices.  Whenever possible, book large amusement park trips, such as Disney, Universal Studios or even Busch Gardens and Williamsburg in the off season.  Even just the last couple of weeks of school are a great time to get discounted prices on admission tickets.  Most of these parks, especially Disney parks, do not sell discount admission tickets to agents any other time. 

If you have to go during peak season check to see if any organizations you’re a part of offer discounts. For example at Disney, military members get discounted rates and AAA offers lower rates for multi-day passes.  Anyone can usually save a little money by purchasing tickets ahead of time through the park website instead of at the gate.

Buy a Package Deal
Another way to save on admission prices to amusement parks is to inquire about package deals. In order to draw in the tourists, hotels that service theme parks sometimes offer free or highly discounted park tickets if you’ll stay at their hotel. Do your homework to be sure this is a good idea, obviously it’s not worth cheap tickets if your hotel room is too expensive. In addition to searching for advertised deals, you can even inquire with hotels that aren’t publicizing the package.

Avoid Buying Souvenirs
As you probably already know everything at amusement parks is overpriced, souvenirs included. The best way to remember your trip is by taking pictures with family and friends. When you get back home you can turn the pictures into a wide variety of souvenirs. A guy at work used his photos to order a mouse pad with a picture of his family at Disney, much better than a cheap trinket if you ask me, and also cheaper than loading up on expensive souvenirs.

These tips should help you save money on your food and theme park tickets while on your summer vacation. Remember, spending less money doesn’t mean having less fun. It just means you’re paying less for your fun and that you might even be able to afford more of it!

Check back soon for the next travel finance article where we’ll look at saving money on plane tickets.

Wait Out the Store
One strategy she uses is to find something she’s interested in and then stakes it out.  She’ll keep an eye on it to see if the price drops or they have a sale then swoop in for the kill. This technique is typically used on larger ticket items; you wouldn’t want to spend all your time watching the price of toilet paper.  It will also take you longer to buy certain things since you may be waiting for months at a time but you’ll definitely save some cash.

Buy Off Season
Another approach she takes that saves us 50–75% off of retail prices is to buy during the off season.  This works especially well for clothing, just today she cleaned up on baby clothes at the Children’s Place. She bought our son his wardrobe for next winter as the store cleaned out winter clothes to make room for spring/summer attire.

Her strategy was to cover his basic clothing needs for next winter and she saved around 65% on her total bill.  The follow up technique that’s even cheaper is to hit garage sales next summer where we can find kids clothes for next to nothing and fill in the gaps.

Obviously it would be nice to buy everything that cheaply at garage sales but little boy’s clothes pose a problem. We’ve found the majority of kids clothes at garage sales are for little girls.  It seems parents tend to buy girls more clothes in general so they just have more to get rid of.  In addition, little boys are pretty hard on their clothes so they’re more likely to wear out the knees and elbows to the point where parents don’t even try and sell them at a garage sale.

Whether you’re buying at a retail store, garage sale, or on eBay. Buying off-season can save you tons of money.  All it takes is a little planning : )

When he asked me whether he needed to be reporting the income that he earned on eBay I turned to a resource by a friend of mine that’s all about managing your taxes on eBay sales, eBay Tax Tips Book. I ran him through the list of nine factors that the IRS looks at to determine if you are trying to make a profit, or if you’re just enjoying a hobby:

1. Whether you run the activity in a business like manner
2. How much time and effort you put into making a profit
3. Whether you depend on the activity for your livelihood
4. Whether your losses were due to conditions beyond your control
5. Whether you changed your operating methods to improve profitability
6. Whether you or your advisors have the knowledge needed to carry on a successful business
7. Whether you successfully made a profit in similar activities in the past
8. Whether the activity makes a profit in some years, and how much
9. Whether you can expect to make a profit in the future from the activity

He answered yes to enough of the questions that we determined he needed to establish a business entity to manage his eBay income and expenses. So yes, he should be reporting his income, in addition to tracking his expenses so he can offset some of the earnings and bring down the total tax bill. 

Of course, in order to deduct those expenses he’ll need to be able to prove he’s running a business.  We went over some things he can do to show that he’s indeed operating a business and not just a hobby:

· Get an employer identification number (EIN)
· Apply for a business name
· Have a separate checking account to be used for business transactions
· Hire an accountant to keep his books
· Create a business plan
· Keep track of the time he spends each week doing business activities
· Consult other business owners or advisors to help make his business profitable

I know he wasn’t happy with my answers since it meant some of the profit our partnership generated for him would have to be paid to Uncle Sam but it’s better that he starts tracking it now rather than wait until tax season and have to play catch up.