Plan for Auto Repair

Whether you have a new car or are trying to eek out a few more miles from an older one, you can bet that you will have auto repairs in your future--it's just a part of car ownership.  Next to your home, your car will be one of your larger expenses in your Spending Plan but there are ways to reduce the costs. First, pick your repair shop carefully and before you have any problems. Start with recommendations from neighbors, friends and family. Check on the repair shop's accreditation and complaint records.  Call and ask how much an oil change is for your vehicle--compare that price with other shops. Be sure to get a total price--one that includes shop fees and waste removal fees. Do the same for an Auto Body shop and decide on a towing company or a towing membership organization. Check your car insurance policy to see if towing coverage is included.

When you need repairs, tell the shop what the problem is, "the car won't start" not diagnosing it yourself "I need a new battery".  Ask for a written estimate and for the old parts back. You may need those parts if there is a dispute about the repairs. Keep a written log of repairs to your car and make sure you are following the manufacturer's recommended maintenance schedule. This will help keep you and your car on the road. For more information, see the FTC's "Taking the Scare Out of Auto Repair".

Make $1000 Stuffing Envelopes--Seriously?

You've probably looked at billboards, telephone poles or received emails that promise you can earn "Extra Money Working From Home".  I even had flyers and business cards placed on my windshield. Were you ever intrigued enough to call the number? If you, like many others, did-you probably talked to a very energetic person who tired to convince you to send in a small sum of money to learn about this "amazing" opportunity. If you are tempted and justify the amount by saying "it's only $9.95" STOP. First, real job opportunities do not happen like this. Second, it's illegal in many states to collect money upfront for a job opportunity. They may call it a registration fee or a fee for the start up materials but however they word it, they'll still charging you for this work at home job and you will get next to nothing in return. The reason they charge a small amount is because they hope you won't complain to consumer protection agencies who will investigate and shut them down. Even though it may be a small amount, it's not worth losing your hard earned dollars to a work at home scam. For more information, see the FTC's "Work At Home Schemes" publication.

Gas Prices Messing up Your Spending Plan?

I'm guessing that many people are feeling the pain of the increase in gas prices--I know I am. While I feel that I can't control the price at the pump, I do need to find ways to cut expenses in other areas to make my Spending Plan balance. Here's some ideas that may help:

• Make sure your car is well maintained and your tires are properly inflated--to help with gas consumption
• Combine and plan your driving trips to minimize the miles you have to drive
• According to Consumer Reports, not using your air conditioning and rolling down your windows does NOT save you any money on gas
• Use coupons for groceries, cosmetics and dining out--if the coupon makes sense for your buying habits--getting $1 off of cereal doesn't help if you have to buy 4 boxes of it and you won't use that much cereal in  a month
• Don't feel obligated to get everything on your child's "back to school shopping list". I have enough graph paper to last 10 years--only as scrap paper now since my kids are out of school and never used the "required" amount of graph paper.
• Don't buy bottled water at a convenience store if you can avoid it--if using your own water bottle doesn't work for you, buy water by the case--you can get it down to 13 cents a bottle vs $1.59 at most convenience stores. (Please recycle)
• Buy at bulk stores, again only if it makes sense for you--will you really use that huge jar of mayo which you got a great price--but will go bad before you can consume it?
• When cleaning out your garage or basement, consider have a yard sale to earn some extra cash and check for scrap metal that you can sell instead of dumping in your community's waste facility
• Check the cost of your vitamins which can be costly if you buy them at pharmacies or grocery stores--check for them at the bulk stores

Make the topic of money saving ideas the subject at a family dinner--you'd be surprised what ideas everyone will have. You could even adopt the practice that some local governments/businesses are doing--if an employee (family member) comes up with a viable idea to save money--they get some of the savings--that ought to encourage some creative ideas! For more money savings tips, see the Consumer Federation of America's website.

Memorial Day Shopping=Good prices?

Why is it that we see the words "On Sale" and our hearts beat faster, our brain shuts down and our wallets open up? As with all major holidays, there are a rush of "Memorial Day Sales" ads, claiming the lowest price on that grill, amazing patio furniture at rock bottom prices, tremendous savings on outside garden equipment and last minute travel deals. Retailers are adept at knowing what will push our buttons and make us buy--feeling like we got over on them and got that item at an amazing deal--one that we will want to brag about to our friends and family. Even worse, there's nothing better than a store that's going out of business-unbeatable deals there!   While I am the first to admit that I admire the advertising industry--I actually watch the commercials on TV--I also know that the tricks they are using to get consumers to buy. My advice to consumers:

• The word "Sale" has very little meaning in today's world
• Do your own comparison shopping to see if that price is "rock bottom"
• Buying something, on sale or not, is only a good value if you can afford it--buying something because it's an awesome price but paying for it with a credit card defeats the savings

So, instead of hitting the stores this holiday weekend in pursuit of that "Sale" price, spend some time learning about the history of Memorial Day and put the money you didn't spend into your emergency savings account or pay off some credit card debt--you can brag about that to your friends and family and it will have longer term effects on your financial security than that new grill!

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.