I'm a big fan of teh internets. I'm an IT geek, and I feel much more comfortable dealing with the world online. Now, I'm not talking about those Second Life freaks--like anything, you can take a good thing too far. But I'd much rather get my bills, pay my bills, make changes to services (cell phone, for example), even buy a car, online.
But there's a downside to all this automation. We get complacent. Case in point: We have an automatic bill payment going to Sprint for our family-plan cell phone service. Back when we first consolidated our cell phone services onto one family plan (more than two years ago), I was doing a lot of independent consulting, so I was using my cell a lot. So we signed up for Sprint's family plan with 800 shared minutes. We set up an automatic bill pay of $90 to cover this.
Since then, usage patterns have changed dramatically, and we've also initiated our ambitious belt-tightening program. So when our contract was up, I bumped us down to the lowest family plan, 550 shared minutes. The bill went down to about $65/month.
A few months after all of this, I registered with Sprint to access our account online, and got a shock: our account balance was -$110.00. How could we owe $110 after we cut our service back? Had we missed a payment? Then I looked closer--we didn't owe $110, we had a credit of $110. We had never changed the automatic bill payment, and had been overpaying. DUH.
Monday, December 17, 2007
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Why Sometimes it Pays to Buy Brand Name
In my new-found enthusiasm for all things frugal, I try to buy cheap whenever I go to the grocery store--in other words, my cart is full of store-brands. From canned soup to frozen veggies, personal care items to plastic wrap, I see no reason for paying for the name brand of the same product. Except...
In some cases, the store-brand product is a "false economy" (I have to credit Joe with that phrase). The name-brand product is simply better than the store brand--it either gives better results (as in the case of cleaning) or a better end product (when cooking a meal, for example). Joe and I call these "superior products." Plus, for some products, there is no equivalent store brand--but it may still pay off in the end to buy a slightly more expensive brand-name over a less-expensive one.
Here's our running list of "superior products":
- OxyClean Liquid Stain Remover: As stain removers go, nothing holds a candle to it. Got dried blood out of my favorite pair of white pants and blue paint out of C.'s hoodie.
- CoverGirl Advanced Radiance Sheer Moisturizing Makeup: I admit, as a soon-to-be 40 year old, I have totally bought into the Christie Brinkley marketing machine. She either made a deal with the devil or this stuff really works. I don't think it makes me look as good as her, but for my money it's as good or better than any department store foundation.
- Hellman's Light Mayo: There is no equivalent. Weird-textured store brands separate when cooking.
- Barilla Pasta Sauce: If it's good enough for all of Italy, it's good enough for the Bloe family. Doesn't taste like it has a ton of sugar in it.
- DeCecco Pasta (2nd runner up: Barilla): WILL NOT overcook.
- Dyson Vacuums: So powerful it sucks up our area rugs. You won't believe your carpets are this dirty.
- Turkey Hill Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream: I am a connoisseur of mint chocolate chip ice creams, and Turkey Hill wins the taste test. Minty, milky, and even though the chocolate is faux, it's pretty convincingly chocolatey.
Of course, I always try to stock up when the name-brands I prefer go on sale, and combo the store savings with a coupon.
You can easily find out how to increase your coupon and in-store savings by joining www.thegrocerygame.com. The site tracks the cycles of sales at various grocery stores around the country. For the sale items at a store, the site tells you whether there is also a manufacturer's coupon for it from a recent Sunday circular.
In some cases, the store-brand product is a "false economy" (I have to credit Joe with that phrase). The name-brand product is simply better than the store brand--it either gives better results (as in the case of cleaning) or a better end product (when cooking a meal, for example). Joe and I call these "superior products." Plus, for some products, there is no equivalent store brand--but it may still pay off in the end to buy a slightly more expensive brand-name over a less-expensive one.
Here's our running list of "superior products":
- OxyClean Liquid Stain Remover: As stain removers go, nothing holds a candle to it. Got dried blood out of my favorite pair of white pants and blue paint out of C.'s hoodie.
- CoverGirl Advanced Radiance Sheer Moisturizing Makeup: I admit, as a soon-to-be 40 year old, I have totally bought into the Christie Brinkley marketing machine. She either made a deal with the devil or this stuff really works. I don't think it makes me look as good as her, but for my money it's as good or better than any department store foundation.
- Hellman's Light Mayo: There is no equivalent. Weird-textured store brands separate when cooking.
- Barilla Pasta Sauce: If it's good enough for all of Italy, it's good enough for the Bloe family. Doesn't taste like it has a ton of sugar in it.
- DeCecco Pasta (2nd runner up: Barilla): WILL NOT overcook.
- Dyson Vacuums: So powerful it sucks up our area rugs. You won't believe your carpets are this dirty.
- Turkey Hill Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream: I am a connoisseur of mint chocolate chip ice creams, and Turkey Hill wins the taste test. Minty, milky, and even though the chocolate is faux, it's pretty convincingly chocolatey.
Of course, I always try to stock up when the name-brands I prefer go on sale, and combo the store savings with a coupon.
You can easily find out how to increase your coupon and in-store savings by joining www.thegrocerygame.com. The site tracks the cycles of sales at various grocery stores around the country. For the sale items at a store, the site tells you whether there is also a manufacturer's coupon for it from a recent Sunday circular.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
I'm not picky about coffee
I'm not what you would call a coffee connoisseur. I don't drink the stuff all that often, sometimes for a treat, sometimes for a caffeine kick.
This morning at work, I'm dragging a little, didn't sleep so well last night (getting over a cold). I decided to get a mocha. On my way downstairs to our coffee shop, which tries to be it's own little Starbucks(TM) in a corner of the cafeteria, I walked past the robo-coffee dispenser in the break room. Now, this isn't your father's coffee machine. This machine offers no fewer than 12 choices for your fix, including: Coffee (duh), decaf (why bother?), "dark roast," espresso, cappuccino, latte, mocha, cafe vienna, hot chocolate, and something called french vanilla, all with optional cream and sugar.
65 cents instead of two bucks at faux-bucks. OK, it wasn't very good. But it was probably worth 65 cents.
This morning at work, I'm dragging a little, didn't sleep so well last night (getting over a cold). I decided to get a mocha. On my way downstairs to our coffee shop, which tries to be it's own little Starbucks(TM) in a corner of the cafeteria, I walked past the robo-coffee dispenser in the break room. Now, this isn't your father's coffee machine. This machine offers no fewer than 12 choices for your fix, including: Coffee (duh), decaf (why bother?), "dark roast," espresso, cappuccino, latte, mocha, cafe vienna, hot chocolate, and something called french vanilla, all with optional cream and sugar.
65 cents instead of two bucks at faux-bucks. OK, it wasn't very good. But it was probably worth 65 cents.
Welcome to Our Family Finances
Welcome to Our Family Finances. On this blog, my family will chart our course in reducing our debt, saving for the future, and enjoying ourselves and each other. My wife (also an author here, under the username fizoo) and I have been married for twelve years now; after some fertility problems, we were blessed with twins A. and C. two-and-a-half years ago.
We come into this with some challenges. We own our home, a 5-bedroom 3-bath rambler in Montgomery County, MD, but because of unsustainable lifestyle choices over the years, we've run up quite a lot of debt. We've refinanced our house to take advantage of ridiculous appreciation, but all that did was saddle us with bigger and bigger mortgage payments. We've since called a moratorium on re-fi's, but have still accumulated almost $40,000 in debt through car purchases and credit-card spending.
We hope to use this blog as one of our tools for tracking and motivating our financial journey. Perhaps others will find inspiration in our story, and will want to share their challenges and successes as well.
Joe
12-December-2007
We come into this with some challenges. We own our home, a 5-bedroom 3-bath rambler in Montgomery County, MD, but because of unsustainable lifestyle choices over the years, we've run up quite a lot of debt. We've refinanced our house to take advantage of ridiculous appreciation, but all that did was saddle us with bigger and bigger mortgage payments. We've since called a moratorium on re-fi's, but have still accumulated almost $40,000 in debt through car purchases and credit-card spending.
We hope to use this blog as one of our tools for tracking and motivating our financial journey. Perhaps others will find inspiration in our story, and will want to share their challenges and successes as well.
Joe
12-December-2007
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