DIY Home Improvements

I'm in the midst of yet another home improvement project with my husband. We've had many do it yourself projects in each of our homes--painting; wallpaper stripping; plumbing; carpeting; fences; bathroom caulking and we're not that handy dandy (to be fair, my husband is much better at figuring out things than I am so I'm just the helper on our projects).  I'm a big fan of hiring a licensed contractor to do your work (ck my Home Improvement posting) if you can afford to. We do these projects ourselves, not out of love for doing the work, but solely due to economics--home improvement funds take away from other line items in our budget so, we're at it again.

I've learned that you really have to do research before any project--techniques, choices, costs and quality of materials vary greatly. The good news is that there are a lot of resources out there for those of us who do not have home improvement genes handed down from generation to generation.  YouTube videos are an awesome source of research material and are great at showing how to do a part of a project.  Just be sure to watch several on the same topic in case one well-meaning video leaves out a particular detail--probably because the detail is so obvious to the person making the video but not at all obvious to those of us "not handy dandy" people. DIY Network is a great help along with HGTV.  Many home improvement stores also have videos on their sites to teach you how to do a project as do some sellers of building materials on eBay. Sometimes there are local classes you can take.  Check on community thrift stores or local community classifieds that sell building materials to save money. Ask about discontinued or "closed out" styles/colors. Make sure you invest in the tools needed to do the work--consider that a part of the project budget which will then improve your inventory of tools that you will, no doubt, need in the future.

Always plan to:

• Spend a bit more money than you estimated
• Take a lot more time than you estimated
• Need more trips to the local home improvement store than you estimated

Most importantly, do these projects with a sense of humor and take pride in your accomplishments.

Do you REALLY know who's on the other side of the phone/email?

The FTC reported on its Top Ten Consumer Scams of 2010 and for the first time, "Imposter Scams" made the list. Have you ever received a phone call from the "IRS" claiming that you've won a sweepstake but you have to send in the taxes first? An email from a neighbor or relative who finds themselves in urgent trouble and needs you to wire them money? A letter from a well known company such as Walmart, claiming you've won something but have to pay for the shipping? These are all scams designed to pry some of your hard earned dollars out of your hands. Keep your "scam" radar up by remembering that you really do not know who's on the other end of the phone or the true sender of an email/letter. Never send money for something you have "won" and check out any request for help from a relative/friend before helping. For more information on Imposter Scams, check out the FTC's Consumer Alert.

Guaranteed Scholarship Help--Not So Much

March brings many things--March Madness Basketball; Snow; Spring; and College Decisions. Many High School Seniors and their families are sorting through the college acceptances, making that important decision of where to commit to attend. One factor of where to attend is the cost and scholarships can play a large role in the end cost of the school. Unfortunately, there are unscrupulous companies out there preying on prospective college students--claiming that they can guarantee scholarships for them and that they have access to scholarships that no one else does. All the claims lead the student to pay the company for this "assistance" but does not lead to the student getting these "guaranteed" scholarships. The Federal Trade Commission has great info on scholarship scams on its website. Basically, there's no reason to pay any money to get a scholarship. Research possible scholarships by checking College Board , your school's Counseling Center, your elected officials, the prospective college's Financial Aid office and FinAid's website. I even found a scholarship opportunity for my son on Twitter! Put your hard earned money toward tuition, not scholarship scams.

Leaping Forward

Tonight we will move our clocks ahead one hour--here are some other ideas on what we can leap forward to:

• Taking time to think about what our financial goals are and making a plan to meet those goals
• Comparison Shopping--researching an item for reliability and price before buying
• Knowing how much money we have in our checking account at all times
• Creating a Spending Plan--and checking it every week
• Staying away from deals that seem "to good to be true"
• Checking used items that we buy to make sure they haven't been recalled
• Minimizing our risk by checking our insurance policies
• Creating an Emergency Savings Fund
• And, of Course, Changing Those Batteries in Your Smoke Detector!

Happy Daylights Savings!

Free Tax Prep--Really!

You've probably received your W-2's or income statements from your employers by now. If you earned less than $49,000 last year, you could qualify for free tax preparation. There isn't much in life that is free so I suggest you take advantage of this legitimate offer. This free tax preparation is offered by "VITA" sites. VITA stands for Volunteer Income Tax Assistance and is a program offered by the IRS and local organizations.   Volunteers are trained and certified. They know how to prepare basic tax returns and will check to see if you qualify for certain tax credits. Your return can be filed electronically and you can receive your refund quickly. There is no need to pay anywhere from $75 to $150 to a for-profit tax preparer, along with paying to receive your refund "rapidly" often at another cost of $100 or more, depending on your refund amount. Save yourself that money and use a VITA site near you. To find a VITA site near you, call 1-800-906-9887 or go online to the IRS VITA website. In Maryland, check MD CASH Campaign's website to find a location. They are a non-profit organization--whom I work for--full disclosure--whose partners operate VITA sites. Now that you are saving some money on tax preparation, stay tuned for ideas on where to put that savings so it can grow for you!