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Posts Tagged ‘saving money’

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Update on Microsoft Office for free!

Friday, May 14th, 2010

Today we’re sharing an article titled Like free software?  You’ll love Microsoft Office 2010, that is an update to a previous post on our website. 

As of this past Wednesday, Microsoft released its Office 2010 Suite to businesses around the globe, and is planning a release date in June for individual consumers.  Why is this big news?  Because this release includes an online component called Web Apps…for FREE! 

So, what are Web Apps?  They are applications that have the ability to create, edit, view and share files online, similar to GoogleDocs, that are accessed on Microsoft’s SkyDrive website.  And the best part is that you don’t have to buy the software suite to be able to use the online tools!  Microsoft has made the decision to offer most of Office 2010 (some things are disabled) for free to anyone in an attempt to compete with (squash??) the rising popularity of Google Docs. 

Basically, they want you to use their software!  They want that brand loyalty to continue!  They DO NOTwant you to switch to Google Docs or Open Office!  Microsoft finally realized that in order to keep their brand in use and popular with the younger and future generations, they were going to have to offer some things for free.  On top of that, they are offering free storage space on their SkyDrive website for your documents, so you don’t even have to save it to your own PC (which is a little weird to me, but I’m  skeptic). 

For those of you that want “your own copy”(those of you who are even more skeptical than me), there are some acceptable price point packages.  For a middle of the road package, you can get Microsoft Office Home and Business, which sells for $279 in a box (in the store), or $199 for a product key and includes Word 2010, Excel 2010, PowerPoint 2010, OneNote 2010, and Outlook 2010.  If that is more than you need, you can pay $149 for the box version or $119 for the product key card version of Microsoft Office Home and Student.  This package offers Word 2010, Excel 2010, PowerPoint 2010, OneNote 2010, and the Office Web Apps.  The best part about this package is that it is available in a Family Pack, allowing use on three computers in one home, and let’s be honest…for the average user, this would be all you’d need. 

Our suggestion is to use the Web Apps tools online for free.  Learn to do what you need within the free version (as there will be disabled parts) so that you can save a bundle! 

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Posted in Friday's Financial News! | 1 Comment »

Looks like cable TV is on its way out!

Friday, May 7th, 2010

Today’s article is from CNNMoney.com, and is titled 1 in 8 to cut cable and satellite TV in 2010. 

As the title of the article indicates, it appears that there has been a shift in the public mentality regarding our television viewing.  The article points out that around 90% of U.S. households subscribe to some form of pay TV (which is disturbing, since according to the last data available from 2008, 15.4% of households don’t have health insurance.  I guess that means more people will pay for TV than will pay for health insurance…I hate to say this, but if you don’t have health insurance, you shouldn’t have cable or satellite TV…you should be using that money toward health insurance), but that that number is trending downward, now that you can watch many of your shows on the internet on demand, and at least for now, for free. 

This isn’t an unheard of precedent.  Many households have cut the cord to their land line telephones, keeping their cellular telephone as the sole form of communicating in many cases.  The reasoning behind the declining interest in pay TV is also similar to the decline in interest in land line telephones:  The cost just keeps going up!  Cable and satellite TV are, frankly, both outdated technologies in comparison to the Internet and it’s current speeds for your PC (and in some cases your mobile phone).  In spite of this fact, they still have average yearly rate hikes of around 5%, putting current prices around $71 per month.  The 5% rate hike could end up being worse too, because the 4 big broadcasters (ABC, CBS, NBC & Fox) have cost the cable and satellite providers nothing to air in the past (this is because they are available for free over the airwaves anyway), but now, these networks are demanding fees for their programming comparable to other cable networks, and unfortunately, they are receiving them!  This is ridiculous, because the fees get passed on to those of us that subscribe!

Don’t be fooled though.  The networks who provide this entertainment might be offering the content for free online right now, but they will start to charge eventually.  They’re not going to allow one cent of profit to fall between their fingers.  Any lost revenue through cable/satellite will be made up in other ways.  Eventually, I predict there to be a fee for both cable/satellite and a ”subscription fee” to watch your shows on sites like Hulu.com on demand.  At that point, you as the consumer will have to decide which service to go with, or allow these people to “double dip” once again and convince you to subscribe to both services!

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Creative Mother’s Day ideas on the cheap!

Wednesday, May 5th, 2010

With mother’s day literally right around the corner, it’s time we discuss some fun and inexpensive ways to treat her on her special day.  You see, just because it’s a holiday, it doesn’t mean that that gives you a free pass to spend like crazy on gifts when you are trying to get out of debt.  So, in the spirit of frugality, I’ve found a couple of good websites with plenty of ideas on ways to make mom smile, with everything from cupcakes and creative bouquets to customizable vases. 

Check out celebrations.com to get ideas on:

  • Mother’s Day cupcakes
  • Gifts for your wife to be
  • Photo or herb bouquets
  • Mother’s Day poems

Check out abcnews.com for great ideas including:

  • Customized bracelets
  • Customizable vases
  • Photo books
  • DIY Flip flops
  • “Me” books (a great idea…very sweet)

There are plenty of low cost/no cost options to make mom happy on these sites, however, most of you should keep in mind that all most moms want for their special day is to see you and spend time with you.  A greeting card would be a nice bonus, but even that is probably optional.  Most moms really just want to know that you care and that you think of them.  So, if you don’t have the time or money, any gesture (like going for a visit) will do.  If, however, you want to do something special for Mother’s Day, these are some great low cost options, which is especially important for those of you following our guidance on frugal living to get out of debt! 

Good luck and  happy shopping to all the children out there.  To the mothers??  A very Happy Mother’s Day to all of you!

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Posted in Wild Card Wednesday | 1 Comment »

Save money on portraits!

Monday, May 3rd, 2010

Today I wanted to share a tip for saving money on portrait buying for new parents.  Olan Mills, the national photographers, offer a special for new parents to receive FREE photographs of their newborn!  The New Baby Portrait Special offers parents  one 8 x 10, two 5 x 7s, and 8 wallet portraits all for free! 

Now, as with any other free offer, their could (will) be some limitations for your particular Olan Mills location, but they are still free photos!  Even if they come out in poor quality, it’s no big deal because you didn’t spend any money on them in the first place!  Keep in mind that the coupon is only valid for children 3 months of age or younger, and that the are only going to give you the pictures from the first picture they snap. 

This isn’t a big money saver for everybody, but it can be a great little treat for those of you who are having trouble finding the money to pay for baby himself, much less professional photos!

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Posted in Mucho Moolah, Monday's Money Saving Tips! | 1 Comment »

House buying when you’re learning to be frugal.

Monday, April 26th, 2010

I always wonder why people buy the size/amount of house they don’t need.  They look for 5ooo square feet (minimum?), hardwood, chef’s kitchen, marble this and that with several acres (where you can find it) of land etc. house.  This is the silliest thing I’ve ever seen.  One of the things your favorite southern couple would like you to ponder is to buy the house you need, not the house you want!

If you’re in the market for a home (hopefully your other debt is paid off, like we suggest, and you have a down payment), then you should be aware of what your family truly needs.  If there are 3 of you (mom, dad and baby), then a 4 bedroom house IS overkill.  If no one in the house cooks (or likes to), then you don’t REALLY need the chef’s kitchen now, do you?  You should get just as much house as is required by your families needs, that way, you can save more for the future and have your “comfortable” home paid off sooner. 

Struggling with your current home’s mortgage payment?  Maybe it’s time you downsized!  Many people get into houses that they can’t really afford, and then think there isn’t anything they can do about it, but this isn’t true.  If you bought more house than you can afford, chances are, you’re struggling.  Now, many people like to blame the banks (and there are some at fault), but they are not the only place to lay blame.  It’s easy to find and attack a scapegoat, but in reality, many people who bought more home than they could afford should have known they couldn’t afford them.  I know that the interest only loans and the ARM’s made it difficult to understand the EXACT terms of the loan, but let’s be honest…if you were approved for a $200,000 home, and you make $20,000 a year, sirens should have been going off in your head.  You should have been confused as to why you could afford so much.  You should have paused during your jumps for joy…if you were jumping for joy, saying “WOW, look what I can afford”, that WAS the warning sign! 

So, now you have more home than you can afford.  Sounds like it’s time to downsize!  I know that it can be hard to sell a home in this market, but as long as you keep your price competitive, and keep the home looking great, then you’ve got a good chance.  And something else of note?  Even if you have to take on a small personal loan to get out of the house, you’re still better off.  For example:  Let’s say your house is worth $225,000, and you put it on the market for $230,000.  Someone offers you $215,000, and they pay closing costs.  Well, after looking (really looking) at your finances, you realize you can’t afford more than a $150,000 home.  It’s better to sell the house for the offered price, take on a $10,000 personal loan, and find a house for $140,000.  You’re going to be better off, even if you did have to “take a hit” on the other house, because you will actually be able to make your mortgage payment now!  Sometimes, you just have to look at the bigger picture!

Remember, sometimes saving money IS the obvious choice.  Don’t buy more than you should.  Sounds simple, so try and live by it!

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And, once again, the savings rate is falling!

Friday, April 23rd, 2010

I cannot even begin to tell you how disappointed I was to discover that the savings rate for the United States has begun to decline again! Today we have a blog post about the United States savings rate, and how it has begun to decline. Visit this website to see the current rate, which is even lower than the rate stated in the blog post. Trending downward I’d say.

As most of our readers know, just a few short years ago, the savings rate in the U.S. was in the negatives, and had been for a few years. That doesn’t even seem possible, does it? No, but unfortunately it is. So, what does it mean? It means that as a nation, we were spending more than we were bringing in. We were living beyond our means. Then, the economy started to tank and many of us woke up and started to save for the future. Out of all of the bad things that came with a down economy, this was a bright point. Now, however, we’ve decided that we were saving more than enough and that it is time to blow through our money again! WHY would we be convinced of this? Did we all suddenly wake up rich? I don’t think so! We need to realize that the more we save now, and the earlier we start saving, the more we will have when we retire!

The recent 1.5% decline in savings, if continued over 30 years could mean the difference between retiring comfortably and retiring on “just enough”. It could mean the difference between taking trips to fun locations when you retire, or having a need to have a part time job when you retire. I don’t know about you, but I’d say that it’s worth a few sacrifices now to get to retire without the stress of money problems. Getting out of debt now and saving for the future should be a top priority for all of us. Read the article. Get motivated. Then get started on saving, or try and do more than you already are!

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Saving time and money!

Monday, April 19th, 2010

Today I am adding a new category to our posts: Saving time.  I feel that saving time is a great compliment to saving or making money, because the more time you save on “grunt work” tasks, the more time you have to strategize on your savings and the more time you have to work and make money.  It’s a win-win!

So, as many of our regular readers now know, we’re expecting a baby this summer!  This means that we’ve been getting up to speed on ways to save on babies/children, and I can’t think of 2 things mothers and fathers need to save more than money and time!  As such, I have 2 great tips to share today!  We are attending a maternity fair (kind of like a career fair) very soon, which is a great way to save some money.  There is no admission charge, and many of the vendors offer giveaways, so you could end up with lots of free stuff!  The main sponsor of the fair, in this case a hospital, is also offering a grand prize that includes labor and delivery of your baby!  Obviously, not everyone will win, but it’s worth a couple of hours one day to try! 

Now for the time saving part…IF you do decide to check out vendor sponsored maternity fairs, or food fairs or career fairs etc., be sure to take address labels with you.  Many of these places expect a name and address to register you to win their prizes, and if you have address labels with you, you will save yourself plenty of time, so you can see/do more things at the fair!  It will make your life less stressful! 

As humans, we are always coming up with ways to save time.  Hopefully, this will benefit you in more ways than just trade shows and fairs!  Good luck!

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A neat way to save when you need some tools!

Monday, April 12th, 2010

Once spring rolls around, as it has this year, many of us find ourselves making plans for all of the things we’d like to do around the house.  From simple projects like adding new flowerbeds to large scale remodeling of a room, we want to make improvements to the place we spend the most time (hopefully you spend more time at your house than your office).  The problem with the desire to make these improvements is that the tools and other equipment required can be very expensive.  Is there a way around the high price tag?  I have 2 suggestions.

First, if you’re lucky enough to live in a few select cities throughout the U.S. (unfortunately, I am not), you can go to your local tool-lending library (find a list of cities here) and borrow the tools you need, saving perhaps hundreds of dollars per project.  This is a great idea!  I think this service should come to more cities and grow into something that can help us all save money and encourage us to learn how to maintain our own homes again.  Even a project like adding a small flowerbed involves purchasing a $200 or more tiller/cultivator (if you don’t want to have to dig the hole area out with a shovel, which, is totally fine in a money pinch).  Better to get the tools from a tool library! 

Don’t have a local tool library?  Then you’d better learn to do what we do, and that is borrow the expensive but seldom used tools from friends or family.  This is a little more tricky however, since if you don’t return the tool in the same condition in which it was given to you, you will have to replace it or run the risk of a damaged relationship with that friend or family member.  Our advice?  Treat the borrowed tool like it is on loan from a store, or has been rented.  That way, the fear of having to pay for it will keep you careful!

Clearly, I wasn’t too happy about the price of one of those tiller/cultivators after seeing the price.  As I said above, we don’t have a tool library in our area, so we are borrowing one from a family member.  The way I figure it, I just saved us $200!  Wouldn’t you like to save money this summer too?

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Baby clothes cheap!

Monday, April 5th, 2010

If you are already a parent, this tip will probably not come as a shock to you, but if, however you are pregnant or a first time parent, this tip could save you a lot of money: Shop consignment baby stores!

Your favorite southern couple has a little announcement to make: We are about to become your favorite southern family! We are expecting our first child early this June!  Because of this, I have been doing a lot of catch up on finding ways to save money for new babies!  Consignment shops like Once Upon a Child or Kid to Kid offer a great way to save some money on baby clothes (and some toys), and pay you for your gently used or unworn baby/toddler clothing that you don’t need anymore.   Some good news?   They don’t just accept any clothing…it has to be in very good condition. 

Although I haven’t even given birth yet, I’ve already checked out some local consignment shops, and was very impressed!  I found 2 little every day rompers that still had the tags on them from the original stores, both originally around $10 a piece, now marked down to $1.50 and $2.50!  What a steal!  The selection was INCREDIBLE, and the merchandise ranged from low end store wares all the way to the designer brands found at high end stores.  Every item was clearly priced and sized on their tags, and the staff was helpful. 

Here’s a shocker: Children and babies are messy.  There are mud pies and markers and dirty diapers and spit up.  Their clothing (for the most part) should be bought to reflect their messy lifestyle, i.e. semi-disposable, which means that spending a ton of money on their regular, everyday clothes is silly.  Take my advice and check out the consignment stores, even if it’s normally not a place you would go, it’s worth the trip, since you are almost guaranteed to save some money!

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Posted in Mucho Moolah, Monday's Money Saving Tips! | 4 Comments »

More about tax refunds and a friendly reminder.

Tuesday, March 30th, 2010

I was in the locker room at the gym the other day and overheard a conversation that disappointed me.  It was a discussion about tax refunds, and the 2 women were discussing how desperately they needed their tax refunds to pay off this and that.  I felt for them.  I mean, I know that they can’t be that desperate if they are still paying for a discretionary expense like a gym membership, but to know that people rely on their tax refunds for regular expenses is terrible.

In general, it’s not a good idea to even have a a tax refund.  It’s better for your bottom line as well as mathematically to get that money in your paycheck throughout the year, instead of giving the government an interest free loan for a whole year, but I understand that some people just like to get that lump sum at the end of the year.  That’s fine.  However, if you choose to get the lump sum refund for your taxes from the government, you shouldn’t be counting on it for regular bills or expenses.  This money should be used to pay down debt, start (or add to) an emergency fund or invest for your retirement.  These choices will help better your life and your future, whereas buying a big screen TV will only give you short term entertainment.  Do yourself a favor and don’t budget your tax refund into your budget!

Also, I wanted to share a friendly reminder.  Tomorrow is the first day of April, which means that summer is only a couple of months away.  Have you started planning your vacation yet?? More specifically, have you started planning how you’re going to pay for your vacation?  If not, now is the time to start!  Review your budget and see if there is money left over (assuming you have no debt other than your house and are already saving for retirement) for a vacation, and if there is, you should start saving for it now!  Nobody likes to be caught off guard, and that is usually what happens at Christmas time and vacation time.  People are always surprised that vacation time and Christmas came as quickly as it did, and so they aren’t prepared.  This reminder is an effort to be sure that doesn’t happen to our readers!

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Posted in Wild Card Wednesday | 2 Comments »

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