Recycling may not be the first thing you might think about when the topic of climate change comes up but recycling can certainly make a difference. Here are some recycling stats from the recycling section on the University of Michigan website:

• The U.S. recycles approximately 32 percent of its waste which saves an equivalent amount of greenhouse gases to removing 39,618 cars from the road.
• Increasing the recycling rate to 35 percent would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an additional 5.2 Million Metric Tons of Carbon Dioxide Equivalent.
• Net carbon emissions are four to five times lower when materials are produced from recycled steel, copper, glass, and paper. They are 40 times lower for aluminum.
• Just one person recycling their newspaper, magazines, plastic, glass, and metal for one year is enough to save 471 pounds of carbon dioxide from going into the atmosphere.

I’ve always made recycling a habit, maybe it’s because when I was a teenager we lived in Germany and everyone recycled there.  I’m sure my parents had something to do with building the habit since they were firm believers in “reduce, reuse, recycle” growing up.

Here is some more information on recycling and climate change from the University of Michigan:

“Recycling and waste reduction are actually very much related to climate change. The energy used in the industrial processing of virgin materials and in their transportation, involves burning fossil fuels such as gasoline, diesel, and coal, all major sources of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.

 

While manufacturing goods from recycled materials still requires energy, it is much less than extracting, processing, and transporting raw materials. Recycling and waste reduction also avoid emissions caused by incinerators and landfills which produce large amounts of carbon dioxide and methane (21 times more potent than carbon dioxide). Waste reduction and recycling also slow the harvesting of forests, which act as carbon sinks, meaning they absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.”

I don’t cover “green” topics very often but I do try and use our natural resources responsibly. For many years I would ride the bus to work, now that we have two kids in childcare that’s not as practical but I still do recycle all the junk that we go through.

This post was part of this year’s Blog Action Day to help combat climate change.

In what year did 20,000 shopping malls generate 50% of the total retail sales in the United States?  This is the same year that the Trans-Alaska pipeline, a response to the 1973 oil crisis, started pumping black gold.  Here are some examples of what you could buy with US dollars at that time:

• Bean Bag chair – $37.95
• Sno-Cone Maker – $5.66
• Volkswagen Rabbit– $3,500
• Kenmore Dryer – $149

This is also the year that Elvis Presley died, whom by the way is still the highest earning dead celebrity on the planet some 30 years later.  What year was it?

Cas for Clunkers has been the source of a lot of debate over the last few weeks.  Here’s a funny “crash for clunkers” video followed by a range of thoughts and opinions on the Cash for Clunkers program. (You’ll have to wait through a 15 second commercial on the video, you can’t fast forward, I tried)

• Common Questions About The Cash For Clunkers Program Answered
• Finding More Cash for Clunkers
• Cash for Clunkers: I got in before the money ran out
• Get the Best Cash for Clunkers Deal
• Cash for Clunkers Bill
• Cash for Clunkers Tax Rules
• Car Allowance Rebate System – Cash For Clunkers
• “Cash for Clunkers” Is Really Economics for Dummies
• Cash for Clunkers: The Revenge
• Cash for Clunkers Program Suspended
• Cash For Clunkers Over Already?
• Cash for Clunkers Program
• Cash for Clunkers Bill
• Cash-for-Clunkers: An ‘Expensive’ Way to Reduce Emissions
• Cash For Clunkers: Good for car sales, bad for the environment

If you’re like me, money is constantly at the back of your mind.  Most everything you do during the day is somehow tied to money; you’re earning it, spending it, saving it, etc.  I guess that’s why money and money related topics make an appearance in so many songs.  Here are some “money tunes” for you:

– Time has come to say fair’s fair, to pay the rent now to pay our share – Midnight Oil

– My mother says to get a job … but she don’t like the one she’s got – Green Day 

– If I had a million dollars,  I’d be rich – Barenaked Ladies

– I know a treasure is waiting for me, silver and gold in the mountains of Spain… – The Doors

– with my mind on my money, and my money on my mind – Snoop Dog

– Put another dime in the juke box baby! – Joan Jett

– Mike D grabbed the money, MCA snatched the gold… Beastie Boys

– All about the Benjamins – Puff Daddy

– Money, Money, Money – ABBA

– bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow they’ll be sun – Annie

– You never count your money when you’re sittin at the table – Kenny Rogers

– … fresh out of clover, mortgaged up to here. But don’t pass the plate folks, don’t pass the cup. I figure whenever you’re down and out the only way is up! – Many Artists

What money tunes did I forget?

Getting a professional massage isn’t cheap.  I’ve bought a few massage gift certificates for my wife over the last few years and the cost of the massage around here usually runs about a dollar a minute. 

I could never bring myself to spend that much money on a massage for myself but I’m glad to spend it on my wife to say thanks for things like putting up with living with me (anniversaries) and going through months of constant discomfort (pregnancies).

I’ve only had one professional massage in my life, that was thanks to my sister who bought gift certificates for my wife and I one year for Christmas.  It  was pretty relaxing and I remember thinking to myself as it ended that it was too bad I’d never get another one (since they cost a dollar a minute).

Then yesterday my friend called me up to tease me about our prank caller, while he was waiting for his wife to get a massage and gave me hope that I may someday get another relaxing massage. It turns out that people in the latter stages of massage school need to earn “hands on” hours giving massages before they can get their license.

They’ve gone through all their training so they pretty much know what they’re doing but they need experience on “real people” in order to become official.  Since they’re still students, you can go into the massage school and pay only $20 an hour to get a massage from them.

I did a little poking around the web and it sounds as though there are other massage schools around the country that offer this cheap massage option as well. I haven’t tried it out myself but it sounds like a pretty good way to relax for cheap.

The no call list was great for consumers, it really cut down on the number of unsolicited callers that interrupted your dinner or your afternoon.  Too bad for us there’s not a no call list for prank callers.

Attack of the Prank Caller

We’ve been having the same person prank calling us for the last several weeks and the calls are starting to get ridiculous.  Last weekend they called at 7 AM on Sunday morning and then proceeded to call several times throughout the day.  When they first started I thought they were just wrong numbers because all they do when we answer is ask to talk to Steve or some other common name.

The calls came randomly but after a while I noticed it was the same person’s voice.  Once they started coming more frequently I realized it was more than cooincidence and then last weekend the blitz of calls confirmed it was someone pranking us.

Spending More Money on Phone Service

This week I called up AT&T to see what they could do about the calls.  Their answer was to upgrade to a new package that had caller id and call blocking for up to 10 phone numbers.  We’v always had the cheapest, base package because we didn’t need all the various options they’ve offered.  Plus all the taxes and fees they charge jack the price up high enough all on their own.

So I upgraded to a more expensive package that will allow us to see the number the person is calling from and then block that number from calling us again.  Of course, we’re still using the phone we got for a wedding gift about nine years ago and it doesn’t have a display to show the caller’s numbers.  So on top of having to upgrade service I’m also going to have to spend money on a new phone that handles caller id.

Spending, Spending, Spending

I’m glad that there’s at least a way we can stop the calls from coming but I’m really irritated that I’m having to spend more money each month because of a prank caller.  Since my wife left her teaching job to stay at home with our kids we’re trying to find ways to save money but it seems lately like we keep taking on more expenses rather than trimming them.

What I’d really like to do is ditch the home phone and just use the minutes on our cell phones for all our calling but my wife is adamant about having a home phone.  What can you do ….

Did you know that today is Good Customer Service Appreciation Day? It seems all we ever hear about customer service are negative experiences.  I was listening to John Jantsch interview an author the other day and heard an interesting comment; many times people will talk badly about a company that they’ve never even been a customer of simply because they heard “negative buzz” about it from someone else.

I had some great customer service last week so I decided to make today Good Customer Service Appreciation Day.  Check out my good experiences and be sure to leave yours in the comments below.

eBay Express

We needed a rather expensive baby related item last week and needed it in a hurry.  I bought it on eBay for $100 cheaper than at Baby’s R Us and asked the seller how much I could pay to have it rushed to us.  Here was her immediate response:

I dropped your item off at Fedex this evening, tracking should be available on-line within a few hours. I bumped up the delivery time for you without cost, it was only $6 dollars more and should be to you by Friday morning according to Fedex. thanks again for your purchase and congratulations!

Not only did she save us $100 bucks, she rushed it to us at no extra cost.  It doesn’t get much better than that!

Covista Communications

Due to some credit card fraud, we were issued a new card several months ago.  Apparently Covista had our old card number on file and hadn’t been able to bill us since February.  I got an automated phone call letting me know our bill was past due and giving me a phone number & website I could use to settle our bill.  I got the phone number from the Covista website and had a customer service person on the phone immediately, no holding.

I explained to her my situation and she setup my new card right away and in a very pleasant manner.  Unlike the terse responses I’ve become accustomed to getting from customer service reps, this lady was pleasant and helpful. She didn’t sound irritated that I was calling or put off by my questions and was very gracious on the phone.

She didn’t charge me any late fees and when I asked her to help me with another question she didn’t put me on hold or transfer me to another department. 

Within minutes of discovering I had a billing problem, the issue was pleasantly resolved, and I was off the phone and moving on with my life.  It was by far the best customer service I’ve had on the phone for a very long time.

Share your good customer service stories below.

Just kidding.  Actually, I discovered this morning, thanks to Lazy Man, that comments were disabled on the site.  Looking back it appears they’ve been that way for a few days. 

I guess I should have noticed that something was wrong since I wasn’t even getting any spam comments.  Typically I get at least dozens of spam comments a day, which are screened out by filtering software.

It appears that the software went haywire and was actually blocking anyone from even attempting to leave a comment.  So sorry if you tried to leave a comment and were denied.  I think I’ve got it all figured out now, if you run into any problems you can let me know via the contact form.

Here are all the posts that have been published since the comments were disabled.  If you had any thoughts you wanted to add at the time but weren’t able, now you can comment away!

• Roth 401k Frequently Asked Questions
• Teaching Kids About Money
• Auto Insurance for College Graduates
• Don’t Know What You’ve Got Till It’s Gone
• Emergency Funds for College Graduates
• Three Big Decisions for College Grads

Newborn babies are a lot of work!  It’s only been a little over a week since we’ve had our little girl at home but it seems like a lot longer than that.  The days kind of run together when you’re sleep deprived and trying to figure out how to handle a new baby.

Luckily we’ve had a lot of help! My mom stayed with our son while we were in the hospital and my mother-in-law came for a week to help us get through those first few rough days.

The second baby has been easier in some ways than the first since now we know how to take care of a tiny crying bundle.  However, its been more difficult in other ways since we’re now trying to juggle two kids at once.

Time has been a really scare resource and I’m really thankful to everyone that’s contributed articles to the site. You’ll know who they are because their name will be at the bottom of the article with a link back to their own website.

I found a few minutes this morning before everyone got up to check in on the personal finance info online and ran across this cute baby video from All Financial Matters.  Here are some other articles I read that might interest you:

The Money Writers

• When a Part-Time Job Beats a Full-Time Job – Frugal Dad
• Buying High and Selling Low Continues for Many Investors – Gen X Finance
• Index Funds Are Still Not Popular, But – Suns Financial Diary
• Dividend Payout Timing for the Monthly Cashflow – Million Dollar Journey
• How To Make Cheap Phone Calls and Lower Your Phone Bill – Digerati Life
• Why I Spend – Brip Blap
• 16 Second Quarter Financial Tips – My Dollar Plan

Money Scribes

• First Personal Finance Podcast Has Arrived – Consumerism Commentary
• Use a Blog to Sell Your Home – Get Rich Slowly
• Win $200 Home Depot Gift Card – Bargaineering
• Making Work Pay Tax Credit – Five Cent Nickel
• So Your Life Sucks, But Your Finance Doesn’t Have To – Stop Buying Crap

Money Blog Network

• Dave Ramsy’s Town Hall for Hope Recap -Free Money Finance
• Some things I learned helping a homeless person – Mighty Bargain Hunter
• Several Ounces of Prevention – No Credit Needed

Around the Web

• 50 Side Businesses You Can Start On Your Own – The Simple Dollar
• Predictive & Historial Budgets – Financial Health Guy
• Establish a Proper Relationship with Your Debt – Debt Free Adventure
• Guide to the SEP IRA – Financial Nut
• 10 Ways to Green Your Finances – The Centsible Life
• Pointers on Buying Your First Home – Good Financial Cents

Okay, now it’s back to baby duty!

Many of us spend the majority of our day at work so here are a few tips on how you can celebrate Earth Day every day while slaving away in your cubicle.

Reduce Waste

1) Use a ceramic or travel coffee mug rather than a Styrofoam or paper cup.

2) If you’re eating something other than a sandwich for lunch, use a non-disposable plate and silverware. It doesn’t take long to wash them, and you won’t have to throw away anything afterward.

3) Make sure to recycle used printer cartridges. If you’re not sure where to take them, visit RecycleSpot.org.

Reduce Emissions

4) Bring your lunch to work or walk to a nearby restaurant instead of driving. Find restaurants near your office by using Google Maps. Simply enter your zip code or address, then click “Search nearby” in the dialog box. You can type in “food” or “restaurant” in the field at the top to see what options are near you.

5) When off site arranging meetings, try teleconferencing instead of meeting face-to-face.

Conserve Paper

6) Think before you print. Use electronic documents when possible and try reading, editing and storing your files electronically.

7) When necessary, print double-sided documents. Reuse paper that’s only been printed on one side, and recycle unusable paper.

Conserve Power

8 ) Turn off your monitor if you will be away from your desk for more than 30 minutes, and turn off your computer when you leave for the day.

Earn Money with Green Ideas?

Many businesses these days are looking to save money with “green initiatives”.  If your company offers rewards for employee ideas that help the company profitability you might be able to make a little money by coming up with other ways your company could go green.

Happy Earth Day!