Is the Convenience Really Worth It?

Trent, writing for The Simple Dollar, calculated the price premiums of pre-cut produce at the grocery store compared to buying whole items and cutting them yourself. The conclusion? Unless you earn over $50 per hour, it probably is not worth the extra cost.

Read the full article here.

Bargain Shopping

A good way to make your money stretch farther is to buy things at significant discounts. Spending less money on something that you were already planning to buy is always a great option. However, some people fall into the trap of buying things they did not plan on buying simply because they were a great deal. When you do this, you are not really saving money.
A great site that lists many short lasting deals is SlickDeals.net. Members are constantly uploading new deals that they have located online and posted them for the rest of us. If you keep your eyes open you can get some great discounts on things you already were shopping for, but make sure to keep that impulse buying in check.

www.slickdeals.net

Many People Don't Want to Retire

Dave Ramsey mentioned yesterday that a significant portion of Americans have no intention to retire. Twenty-seven percent of Americans have less than $1,000 in savings toward retirement! And 43% of Americans have less than $10,000 saved. A typical social security ckeck barely covers rent in a half-decent apartment these days, so that isn't going to go very far.

I'm a pretty cheap person, but I don't think $10,000 will last me very long when I retire, especially when inflation is factored into the equation. You can read a full article on the topic at CNN Money here.

Being Patient Pays

I found this video on YouTube and found that it makes some good points about buying cars. There is very little financial sense in purchasing a brand new vehicle. A better idea would be to purchase a slightly used vehicle (around a year old, with under 15K miles) for 20-25% less than the original price. This video below has a similar idea.



The part that is glaring to me is the average car payment of $464, which is slightly more than I pay for rent each month. The video also makes some assumptions, such as getting a 12% return on your money that you've invested in mutual funds. Yes, statistically the stock market has averaged around 12% in the long term, but saving for 10 months, 20 months, or even a few years hardly seems very long term to me so you might be looking at lower returns on your money in the short term. Other than that, it's a solid idea that would do wonders for most long-term budgets.

Viking Arthur on the Economy

Arthur, the author of Arthur's Hall of Viking Manliness provides a good overview of what happened to the economy and why. He places blame where it belongs, virtually everyone.

Read the full article here...

Wise Politician?

Tax Deduction

As many people start thinking about starting their income taxes, here's a little story I found:

Here's the kind of accountant you've got to admire. Last year he deducted eighty cartons of cigarettes from my income tax. Called it loss by fire!

Quote from Jacob Braude's Complete Speaker's & Toastmaster's Library: Business and Professional Pointmakers. Published in 1965.

Please consult a tax attorney before attempting such a write-off. Also, consuming cigarettes in any quantity is unhealthy, both physically and financially.

Alternative Fuels

If you go to extreme measures to use less gas in your vehicle you will probably get a visit from people who are very unhappy with you. They will be very displeased that their employer isn’t making money off of your driving and will use legal power to force you to pay them. They get this legal power because of the money and influence their organizations possess. Not buying gas decreases the revenues of these organizations and they aren’t pleased from this. Which company do these people represent? Exxon Mobile? Shell? British Petroleum? Nope, think bigger.

Try the government.

Here’s a story about what happens when you try to fuel your car yourself.

And the moral of the story is: If you try to do something for your wallet the environment that isn’t forced on you by the government, they will bite you.

Gas Saving Tips

With gas in Seattle above $3 a gallon people are more concerned with fuel economy. The easiest way to improve your car’s gas mileage is to replace it. The Volkswagen Lupo TDI has one of the best MPG ratings in the world (over 80mpg), yet is not a hybrid, nor is sold in the US. However, replacing your car solely to save a few cents per mile is neither practical nor economical.

Many sites give you tips on maximizing your gas mileage in your existing vehicles that have been around for many years. Things such as proper engine maintenance and tire pressure are a given and are important in maintaining maximum mileage. Here’s a few that aren’t normally listed (some for good reason).

1) Kill your engine. Your engine is burning gas whenever it’s running. There are times when you don’t actually need your engine. When you’re waiting at a long red light, turn the engine off. This is not recommended if your battery or starter motor are bad as you could get stuck in the middle of the road.

2) Extreme drafting. One of the biggest factors that reduce your gas mileage at high speeds is air resistance. You can eliminate much of this air resistance by tailgating larger vehicles such as semi trucks. As ninjawords defines tailgating as driving “dangerously close behind another vehicle,” do so at your own risk.

3.) Shed extra weight. I’m not talking about emptying the random junk out of your trunk or the garbage out of your back seat, although that can help too; I’m talking about your waistline. That extra Big Mac may add a few cents you your gas bill. If you weigh less, your car weighs less on the road which means less gas is burned. You might also end up a little healthier and you’ll save a few bucks a year on your gas bill too.

Thus concludes my first addition to this blog. Enjoy.