I wrote not too long ago how we saved a ton by buying overstock and returned items and we found another deal this week!  My wife needed a new printer but instead of heading to Best Buy I stopped by another local discount store hoping to save some money. 

I had come on the right day, they had a pallet of HP Deskjet printers on sale for half of the retail price.  They were discounted because the boxes had been damaged. Not damaged as in ripped open or totally demolished but pretty minor dents or scratches in the box.

They assured me I could return the printer if it didn’t work for store credit as long as I kept my reiciept so I had nothing to lose.  I got it home, hooked it up, and it works like a charm.  I sure am glad I stopped by the discount store, saved myself $70!  I guess the moral is that it pays to shop around.

Here are some of the money articles I enjoyed this week:

Energy Costs 

Save on Heating & Cooling Costs @ Free Money Finance

How to Make Your Home More Energy Efficient @ My Dollar Plan

Career

Brush Up on Your Job Skills @ Generation X Finance

Your Take: Your First Job? @ Bargaineering

Investing

Target Date Mutual Funds Getting Cheaper @ Five Cent Nickel

When Your Investment Portfolio Returns To New Highs @ The Digerati Life

Automobiles

Reduce Your Auto Insurance @ Mighty Bargain Hunter

Four Years Without a Car Payment @ No Credit Needed

Other

Taking Baby Steps Towards Financial Goals @ Million Dollar Journey

One Million Visitors @ Lazy Man & Money

Financial Impact of Moving @ Suns Financial Diary

Avoid Being Caught By Scammers @ Get Rich Slowly

Is Getting a Large Tax Refund Bad? @ Frugal Dad

Reflections on 9/11 @ Brip Blap

Small Business Administration’s Top 10 Tips @ Consumerism Commentary

Thanks to the hosts of the following Carnivals:

• Automatic Finances – Money Hacks
• Home School Bytes – Homeschooling
• Modern Tightwad – Money Hacks
• Budgets are Sexy – Personal Finance

Have a great weekend!

Overstock or returned goods can save you a ton of money!  I’ve written in the past how I used to buy merchandise like this, then turn around and re-sell it on eBay for a big fat profit.

However, even if you have no interest in making extra money on eBay, overstock goods and returned items can can score you some really great deals for your own use.

Getting a 64% Discount

For example, our son loves cars and trucks and used to have a blast riding in our neighbor’s Fisher Price Power Wheels car.  After they moved away I thought he’d never ride in one again because they’re pretty expensive but we just bought him one today for 64% off!

The one we found retails for $250 and we bought it for $60 cash (minus a battery charger) at a local overstock store.  Often times these types of stores will have a random assortment of various goods but this one actually had rows of power wheels and other powered kid cars.

Merchandise Brand and Quality

These are the same cars you’d find for sale at Toys R Us. Some of them are returns, some are merchandise that didn’t sell, and some are cars with small defects. For example, ours was brand new but they had lost the battery charger in shipping so I came home and ordered one online for $30. Still, buying a $250 car for only $90 is a pretty sweet discount.  I didn’t have to pay tax or shipping and it was already assembled.  I pulled it out of the back of the car when we got home and our little guy took off down the sidewalk. 

Negotiating Prices

Many times you can bargain with the store owners because they buy the stuff for pennies on the dollar and have room to negotiate.  One of my friends went to the same store last weekend and talked the guy down to $190 on a car he was selling for $250 that retailed for around $400.  Of course, there is often no return policy on goods like these so make sure you test it out well before you buy it.

Finding the Stores

Your best bet on finding stores like this is to simply ask around. I hear about most of these places through word of mouth.  You can also do a web search on the words overstock or overgoods and the name your local cities.

Happy shopping, Hopefully you’ll save a lot of money

Visit the Library

I’m not a big book reader, mostly because I don’t have much spare time.  I do most of my reading online where I can pick up small chunks of information pretty quickly.  My wife and son on the other had love books. 

If we had to pay for all the books that they read, especially during the summer, we’d have a pretty big credit card bill.  Instead, they head to the library once a week and stock up on loads of kids books for him and Oprah’s book club for her.  It can be hard to keep track of all those books so sometimes they have to pay late fees and once or twice had to buy a book outright but it still saves us hundreds of dolllars a year.

Free Movie Trials

I’ve written before about the competition between Blockbuster and Netflix and how you can benefit by signing up for both.  Basically you can get a Blockbuster free trial followed by a Netflix free trial and enjoy free movies this summer.

Enjoy the Outdoors

You don’t have to be a camping nut to save money by spending time outside this summer.  Before we had kids we’d hit the river for a canoe day trip with friends, ride our bikes to the park, or just grill out in a friends back yard.  Now we spend afternoons at sprinkler parks or the morning playing in a local creek, cheap fun and he loves it.

Home Improvement Referrals

Our neighbors just discovered a nasty water leak in their roof that’s been dripping down into the wall and has rotted out the wall, window frame, and some of the floor.  The previous neighbors discovered the leak and had someone out to look at it.  Apparently he applied a little caulk here and there without really addressing the issue and now they’re faced with major damage.

One of the best ways to find a contractor who will do a good job and not end up costing you money down the road is to get a referral from friends or family.  Another place you can turn is a service like Angies List.  Basically, its a service that has reviews of local contractors from customers that hired and worked with them.  It is a paid service but you can get discounts with Angies list coupon codes.

Shop Garage Sales

If you have kids, this is a tip you don’t want to ignore.  You can buy kids toys and clothes for pennies on the dollar at garage sales.  My son loves anything with wheels and the majority of his trucks, cars, etc came from garage sales.  Toys that cost $40 retail, we bought pretty much brand new at garage sales for a buck.

My wife also shops a season ahead and buys clothes for our kids.  I don’t know how well it works for older children but for kids 4 and under you can buy almost new clothes for dirt cheap.  Seriously, my wife came home with garbage bags stuffed full of kids clothes for $15.

Happy savings!

Summer is a fun time for kids, but it can be challenging for parents to keep them occupied and entertained while they’re home all day. There are many different programs and camps you can sign your kids up for but that can get expensive quickly.  If you don’t want your kid just hanging around with nothing to do and complaining about being bored all summer here some tips for keeping your kids busy without spending a lot of money.

Research Summer Camp Options

There are some good ones, but there are also some horrible ones that cost a lot of money. If you are thinking of a summer camp, don’t go for one that just trucks kids around town to the movie theater and arcade. Look for local, public camps like camps centered around sports or arts and crafts. There are also many public camps that take kids to the museum and other public attractions around town.

Public sports camps can be very cheap, and they are a good way to help your kid learn fundamentals of a sport and get some exercise. If you find your kid is great at one sport and really loves it, you can splurge for the privately run camps. These are much more expensive, but the quality of coaching is usually better. The point is to do your research, and look at all of your options before registering them for a summer camp.

Create Your Own Summer Camp

If there are enough stay-at-home parents in your neighborhood, you can create your own mini-camp for your kids. Assign each parent to one day of the week for the summer. Then, choose an activity that takes up a good chunk of the day like going to the lake/beach, a water park, the science museum, or a big pool party if someone in the neighborhood has a pool.

It will be more work but will certainly be cheaper than paying for a summer camp run by someone else. Plus, your kids will be with their friends, and the stay-at-home parents will get a break four days out of the work week!

Put Your Kids to Work

Aside from their daily chores, find some projects for your kids that are old enough to stay at home by themselves. Set up a compensation structure for these extra projects, and give them an incentive to do it. For instance, if they complete all of their tasks during the week, you’ll pay for them to do something fun with their friends over the weekend.

You can even pay them without it coming out of your own pocket. Have your older kids clean out the garage and attic, organize it, and pick out items to sell in a garage sale over the weekend. Let them keep whatever money they earn in the garage sale. This is a great way to teach kids the importance of working to earn money.

Help Them Start a Business

Another great idea for keeping older kids busy is helping them start a summer side business. Mowing lawns, running errands for elderly people, cleaning and organizing garages, pressure cleaning driveways, babysitting/house-sitting/pet-sitting, and landscaping are all great businesses for young teenagers to start during the summer. Teaching your children about entrepreneurship is one of the most valuable money and career lessons you can teach them as a young person.

Plan Out Your Child’s Summer

Your child won’t plan it out for themselves, so you need to make sure you have a game plan for every week of the summer. Sending them off to their grandparents or a favorite aunt and uncle’s house is a great way to save money and get some time to yourself!

I am so surprised that this has become such a less common thing for kids to do over the summer. My wife and her sister used to visit their grandparents in Michigan without their mom and dad for two, three, and even four weeks at a time.

Be creative this summer. You don’t have to spend hundreds of dollars each week to keep your kids busy while you are working. Again, planning ahead is the key. If you map out a plan for the next few months, you’ll spend much less money and you’ll know your kids aren’t sitting around bored and looking for trouble : )

When I was a kid, my family always had a particular spot that we vacationed for at least two weeks out of the year. We went to see my grandmother and grandfather for the first week, and then we went to their cottage on Lake Michigan just north of Muskegon, Michigan.

My family was pretty traditional, and we didn’t have a ton of money, so we usually drove the grueling 18 hour trip from Florida. Although back then, gas was about .89 cents a gallon, so it was always less expensive than flying up there. Summer family vacations are part of America’s heritage, and I have great memories of from those days.

Today, it’s much more expensive to travel as a family, so here are seven tips to help you save money on your family trip.

1) Drive instead of fly. Even though gas prices have crept back up to about $2.25 a gallon, it’s still much lower than last year. If you live within 12 hours of your destination, it’s probably more economical to gas up the minivan and take a road trip. Road trips can be good bonding moments for families, because it forces you to have conversations! If you must fly, here are some tips to help you save money on airline tickets.

2) Pack food on your road trip. Instead of stopping for all three meals, pack sandwiches and snacks for the trip so you can skip lunch and sometimes dinner.

3) Look for a vacation rental on Craigslist or VRBO. You can find vacation rentals at every vacationing spot on these websites. Typically, you’ll find weekly rentals that are cheaper than renting two hotel rooms. Plus, you can find nice condos and houses with full kitchens and multiple bathrooms.

4) Make sure your hotel or vacation rental has a full kitchen. You can blow so much money eating out while on vacation. Having a full kitchen allows you to buy food at the grocery store and make breakfast and lunch so you can save your dining out money for nice dinners. Here are some of the best travel websites to help you research hotels.

5) Plan out your trip ahead of time. If you plan out your itinerary ahead of time and know what you’re going to do and spend each day, you’ll avoid tourist trap attractions that prey on bored tourists. Sometimes, your plans don’t work out due to weather or something unexpected. Write down a list of three or four other activities as a back-up plan just in case you get a wrench thrown in your original plans.

6) Do Things together. You ARE going on a family vacation. Even if your teenagers are whining about having to spend time with you, make them do stuff together with you. If everyone is off doing a different activity, it will add up quickly. Choose activities that the whole family will enjoy, not just your youngest child.

7) Choose a destination just outside of the tourist hotspot. Every vacationing spot has a strip of hotels or entertaining areas that everyone is attracted to. If you stay just outside of that area, you’ll spend less on lodging and less on eating out.

Making family summer vacations enjoyable for the entire family is tough. Everyone has different interests and a different idea of having fun. If the parents keep a good attitude, the children will pick up on that and eventually start having a good time.

You’re on vacation, so don’t be afraid to spend money, as long as you aren’t going into debt to do it. Splurge a little on activities you don’t normally do. When my wife and I go on vacation, we’d rather spend the bulk of our money on experiencing new things, rather than blowing it all on food and nightlife. Maybe you are different, but hopefully these tips will help you plan out your trip this summer. If you have any more suggestions, feel free to post them in the comments suggestion.

Emergency funds are for old married people, not recent college graduates, right? Just scraping by financially is an art form perfected by many college students. Creative ways to earn extra money in college and spend as little as possible helped you make it through school.

Now that you’re leaving college and looking for a job it’s time to start thinking more long term about your finances, if you haven’t already.  Once you get that first paycheck, you’ll have every urge to spend that money on a bunch of stuff that you don’t need. Resist the urge, and start saving some cash for an emergency fund.

How Much Should You Save?
$1,000 is a good start, but eventually you should try to save up about three to six months of your monthly expenses. That sounds like a lot of money, but your basic monthly expenses would only be calculated using your bills that provide your essential living expenses such as rent, utilities, food, and transportation.  You can even suggest contributions to your emergency fund as a college graduation gift.

What Should You Use Yor Emergency Fund For?
Defining an emergency is important for knowing when to use the money in your emergency fund. It’s not an emergency that you don’t have an LCD TV, and you want one. It’s not an emergency that you want to take a trip to see your old roommate. Some people go as far to say that unexpected car repairs and house maintenance repairs should be budgeted separately from your emergency fund, because it is reasonable to believe that you will need to make car and home repairs at some point.

I am not that hardcore, but my advice is to limit yourself from using the money unless you are in a dire situation. Losing your job and unexpected medical expenses are two major reasons for using your emergency fund. These two events can destroy your financial health, and the emergency fund acts as a safeguard to prop you up while you go through a difficult situation that limits your income.

What Could Happen If You Don’t Have an Emergency Fund?
Chances are you’ll end up relying on credit cards. Many young people are taught they should own a credit card for emergencies. If you make a habit of relying on credit cards to bail you out of a bad situation, you’ll rack up more credit card debt than you can imagine; this is exactly what happened to me while I was in college.

I put car repairs, books, health expenses, shortfalls in monthly income, and other expenses on a credit card, and I walked out of school with $8,000 in credit card debt. Don’t let this happen to you whether you are in college or just graduating. It will add up quickly, and you’ll spend too much of your hard-earned money paying credit card interest.

The importance of an emergency fund is not a news flash. Personal finance experts talk about them all the time, but still, many young people fail to save for one. Don’t get caught up in the frenzy that you “need” a new car, new furniture, and new clothes. You can get those things later. Save up some money right away to safeguard yourself from disaster.

Where Should You Keep Your Emergency Fund?
A free, online savings account is my preference for parking short-term savings cash. I like the ING Direct Orange Savings account. The interest rate has dropped considerably, but it has an easy to use interface, quick transfers, and the ability to set up sub-savings accounts. You can also open an ING online checking account with a debit card to make it convenient to access your money if an emergency arises.

Luckily, deciding where to keep your emergency fund is the easy part since there are many good FDIC insured alternatives.  Here are some of the best online savings accounts:

• FNBO Direct
• HSBC Advance
• WT Direct
• Etrade Bank

Renting movies online was the topic of a piece on NPR yesterday that covered the cost of going to the movie theater vs renting movies.  “Trading down” was the term they used to describe the increase in the number of people who were renting movies from Netflix or Blockbuster in order to save money on their entertainment budget.

Despite several ways you can save money at the movies, it’s still usually cheaper to rent a movie, especially if there are two of you.  We’ve cut way back on our movie theater visits not just because of the cost of movie tickets but because it’s more expensive to go when you have to get a babysitter. 

One nice thing about renting a movie is that you can watch it whenever it fits into your schedule instead of having to go at a certain time; it’s also nice to be able to pause the movie for refreshment or bathroom breaks whenever you want.  However, we still really enjoy the movie theater experience every now and then but it just seems to get more and more expensive.

How about you, are you “trading down” and going to the movies less often?  There are several ways you can save money on movie rentals, such as the Blockbuster free trial or signing up for both Netflix and Blockbuster as they compete against one another.

New Years resolutions are no good unless you take action on them.  Rather than make a long list of improvements I’d like to make this year, I’m going to make three specific resolutions and detail how I’ll achieve them.

Exercise Four Days a Week

Problem

Managing my career, spending family time, and running this site have taken up almost all of my time for the last two years; which hasn’t left much room for exercise. Some recent health issues reminded me I need to keep myself healthy so I can live longer and avoid big medical bills.

Solution

Every day after work I come home and spend time with my son until he goes to bed.  Starting next week, 1/5/2009, when I come home he and I will go down into our basement and have our bonding time down there. 

There is a big open area in the middle of the room that my wife and I are going to fill with all his extra toys this evening.  He can play his heart out with those while I get on the treadmill and workout for at least 30 minutes. When the weather gets nice sometimes we’ll head out in the jogging stroller for a change of pace.

Outsource 3 Major Tasks

Problem

As I alluded to earlier my life is short on extra time. I have a lot of things I want to accomplish but the end of the day always comes too soon leaving me with many things unfinished.

I’ve come to the realization that I can’t achieve my goals purely through my own effort so I’m going to outsource at least three major tasks this year to help me get more accomplished.

Solution 

I’m working now on planning a tool that will help me find the right people for the things I decide to outsource.

The first thing I’m going to outsource is the creation of the tool.  I’m coming up with the requirements and the data model and I’ll hire someone to build it for me.  I already have someone in mind but if you’re a PHP programmer looking for a project, shoot me your info via my contact form.

I will have the tool built before our baby is born this Spring.   The second major task, still to be determined, will be outsourced by July and the third by October 2009.

Limit Myself to 3 Projects  & Complete One a Month

Problem

My wife says I have issues with closure, and I’m afraid I have to agree with her.  I’m great at starting projects but not stellar at completing them.  I have a Masters Degree in Project Management and successfully managed many simultaneous software projects at my old job, I should be able to do a better job of managing my personal projects.

Solution

My solution will help me with both focus and closure.

Focus – I’ll keep a list on the whiteboard next to my computer of all the projects I want to work on.  Each week I’ll pick three of those projects and only work on those projects that week – no other projects allowed. (And my wife is not allowed to add any projects to my list)

Closure – I will complete one project a month. That may mean I have to focus on the same 3 projects each week in order to get one done a month, I’ll just have to see how things go.

At the start of each month, beginning today, I’ll pick the project that I MUST finish by the end of the month.  The project will get a star next to it on the whiteboard and MUST be removed from the board by the end of the month.

Action Plan Virus

Okay so I have the New Years Action plan bug.  I’ll spread the virus around a little to my fellow Money Writers and to some other personal finance sites:

• Debt Kid
• Sharon from Frugal Duchess
• Clever Dude
• Ginger from Girls Just Want to Have Funds
• David from Money Ning
• Kay from Don’t Mess With Taxes
• Cap from Stop Buying Crap
• Map Girls Fiscal Challenge
• J Money from Budgets are Sexy
• Plonkee Money

I double dog dare any of these gals or guys to help make next year more successful by writing their own New Years Action Plan! People say that girls are better planners than guys, let’s see whether more girls or guys come up with an action plan….

I ran across an article on CNBC about the top 10 hidden costs associated with the holidays, and it struck a chord with me, because I often overlook these expenses during the holiday season. Here is the list from the article and my take on each of them.

1. Holiday meals/gifts for hosts/entertaining

My wife and I just bought a house, and we wanted to utilize the holidays as a way to show off our new pad. So, we planned a Christmas party, then agreed to have the family over for dinner on Christmas day, and then we invited friends to hang out at our place for New Year’s Eve. We sat down and planned out each of the events the other night, and the expenses associated with entertaining were something we did NOT plan for two months ago.

2. Holiday cards/wrapping paper

This is never a huge expense for us, because we buy wrapping paper from the dollar store, and we spend very little on holiday cards. For holiday cards, snap a photo of you and your family with your digital camera. Then, upload the photo onto the website of your choice that develops digital image files. Then, choose a Christmas background border, and you are done. We spent about 60 cents to a $1.00 per holiday card last year.

3. Holiday travel (airfare, hotel, gas)

Holiday travel is the worst. We try to avoid it if at all possible. The most we might travel on Christmas is a two hour drive to my hometown. I don’t consider this one a “hidden” expense, because most people plan for these expenses well in advance.

4. Holiday decorations

Ugh, this was another one that trapped us. We have a house now, and of course we want to decorate it like it’s Santa’s workshop. But, we resisted the temptation to go overboard, and we will be waiting until after Christmas to get all of our decorations at 50 to 75% off. We’re okay for waiting until NEXT year to make our house look like the North Pole.

5. Shipping/postage

This one catches many people off guard. When you are sitting down and coming up with a gift budget for each person on your list, make sure you include the cost to ship the gift. So, if you budget is $50, don’t buy a $50 gift and spend $15 to ship it. Multiply that by 10 more people on your list and you will be wondering where all of your money went.

6. Clothing/holiday party outfit

If you buy a new outfit specifically for a holiday party you’re cutting into your gift giving budget.

7. Electricity for holiday lights

Most Christmas decorating veterans factor in their budget that their electric bill will be astronomical in January. The new LED lights provide some electricity savings, but the main thing is to not go overboard with your lights. Does your house really need to be seen from outer space? Be tasteful and purposeful with your light decorations. Your house will look better and you won’t annoy your neighbors so much.

8. Additional childcare/pet sitting

This is a big expense during the holidays that many people overlook. Factor in a couple hundreds dollars extra for childcare and pet boarding if you have children and dogs and/or cats.

9. Charitable contributions

Make sure you factor in your charitable giving into your budget. This would be anything above and beyond you already give throughout the year.

10. *BONUS* Gift for yourself – but only if you can afford it!

Gift for yourself? Please! You might be able to convince your spouse into buying a “family” gift, but it’s tough to justify a gift for yourself during the season of giving! Can you think of any other hidden expenses that you might incur throughout the holidays? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section. The holidays are all about planning, and if you don’t plan, you’ll start whipping out the plastic. Don’t let yourself have a credit card hangover in January. it’s not too late to plan for your upcoming expenses in the next two weeks.

Video games are not my area of expertise.  When I was a kid I used to love Castlevania, Tecmo Bowl, and Contra; then I wasted hours in college playing Mario Kart and FIFA Soccer in between classes and just hanging out in the dorms.  I haven’t really played many new video games or computer games since then, I know, I’m getting old.  My college roommate did bring over his Wii a few months back and we got in a few hours of Mario Kart, I started off strong but then my thumbs got sore and he beat me every time : ) 

I know not everyone’s like me and that many people enjoy a daily dose of video games, especially in the cold dark winter months.  So I thought we’d cover some ways you can save money on video games. Fortunately, a reader named Allison was kind enough to send over some tips on ways you can trim your gaming budget:

Rent, don’t buy. If you buy brand-new games at retail, you’re paying top dollar, and you don’t know if you will love it enough to play it all the way through.  Sign up for Gamefly (Netflix for video games) for a low subscription cost. (Click here for a Free Trial – use coupon code TENDAY)

Buy used titles.  Check out the cost of the games on eBay or Craigslist for sometimes half the cost.

Stream titles direct.  Games-on-Demand services offer one of the best bangs for the buck.  Services like GameTap and Verizon Games offer more than a thousand titles, including casual, classic and even some hardcore games.  The cost-per-hour of play on these subscription-based services is extremely low and can serve multiple people.

There is such a thing as free gaming. Several websites offer free-to-play action and casual games. Sega has a new website, Play Sega and GameTap currently lists more than a hundred free games on its website.

Thanks to Allison for the gaming tips!  Any other ideas or suggestions?

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