Finance Francis

Save Money by Ordering Glasses Online

2007-03-05T18:35:00.000-08:00

Buying glasses is a costly undertaking. A new set of lenses and frames can easily cost $200 - $300. If you want designer frames, prepare to pay even more.

Shop online

This is the key to saving money. Today there are several online glasses companies. They save the overheard of a brick & mortar store. They operate cheaper, as do many online companies in general.

Check out your options

There are many online glasses options. You could try Frames Direct, Eye Buy Direct, 39 Dollar Glasses, or surf around and find another seller.

A few things to look for:

return policy - Some sellers offer full returns if your prescription is incorrect. Some allow credits if you don't like the look of the frames. They all differ.
shipping costs - These can vary too. They might not vary much, but it could make a difference.
extras - Want anti-reflective coating? That will probably cost. Rimless frames might be an extra fee as well. Things like this can add up, so do your math ahead of time.

My recommendation

I wrote on another blog about buying glasses online. I highly recommend 39 Dollar Glasses for this. I just got my glasses, and they're great. The whole process was quick and painless.

Don't Overlook PayPal's Money Market Option

2007-03-03T05:44:00.000-08:00

When you're trying to earn and save money, every little bit helps. That's why I signed up for the PayPal Money Market Fund.

If you have a PayPal account this option is a no-brainer. When you select this, your PayPal balance is automatically part of a money market account. Currently, the "7-day average yield" is at 5.04%. This is pretty good, in my opinion.

The best part of this is the ease of investing. Getting paid with PayPal is simple, and then every dollar in your account is automatically earning interest. Why wouldn't you sign up for this?

Seriously, if there's a downside, I haven't seen in. My account has been in the money market fund for a few months. I've only earned about 30 cents in interest, but that's free money.

Mortgages - National Banks Versus Local Banks

2007-02-25T18:07:00.000-08:00

Have you ever tried to get a mortgage? Did you go with a national or more local bank? Here's one key difference between the two: formulas.

National lenders usually get their money from the same place. They all follow federal lending guidelines regarding debt to income ratios and similar formulas. Thus, if you have a special case, it can be hard to get accepted under a national lender's program.

Local banks, on the other hand, usually supply their own money for mortgages. They loan much less money, but they are generally more flexible in the money they do lend. This means that if you have a special case, you might have a better chance of getting mortgage through a local bank.

If you have a high debt to income ratio OR you have income that is hard to properly document (self-employed, etc), a local bank might be a good mortgage choice for you. Check into them, and let me know how it worked for you.

Make Espresso at Home to Save Money

2007-02-10T06:34:00.000-08:00

One of the best investments an espresso lover can make is to buy your own espresso machine. No, I'm not saying it's evil to buy a latte or espresso at Starbucks. My point here is simply to be aware of your personal "latte factor."

Yep, I'm a coffee lover myself. I enjoy a morning latte and even one in the evenings too sometimes. Buying these at a coffee shop would easily cost $3-4 each. That's easily +$90 a month on coffee.

Instead, I opted for an espresso machine. I actually got it through a rewards program, so the machine itself was free. Thus, all I pay for is coffee. Of course, I buy milk too, and I'm a fan of vanilla lattes, so I've got to buy vanilla syrup as well. But when all is said and done, I spend about $20 a month on coffee supplies, with most of that going for soy milk.

If you're looking to save some money on espresso, try making it yourself. You don't have to leave the house for coffee, and your wallet will thank you.

Find Your Student Loan Management Website

2007-02-04T18:45:00.000-08:00

It's time to apply for a mortgage. What a big step. Don't get me wrong: we're excited about a house. However, there are tons of steps we have to accomplish first.

One of these tasks is to find out our total amount of debt. Since I'm still law school, my loans are in deferment. Thus, I don't know the actual balances right now (especially with accrued interest). What am I to do?

Fortunately, all three of my student loan servicing companies have great websites. I found these simply by googling the name of the servicing company. I then created an online account, and I was good to go.

What's the benefit? Now I can check my student loan balances online. I was able to calculate our total amount of student loan debt quite easily. Plus, when my loans enter repayment, I'll be able to manage all that as well.

Do your student loan servicers have websites? Do some searching and see.

Do Your Homework on Health Insurance

2007-01-28T06:48:00.000-08:00

I'm starting a new job in a few months, so health insurance will be a big question to tackle. Here are some of my thoughts on the subject.

Right now we use private health insurance. We have a pretty good policy, but we still have a yearly deductible, copays, and coinsurance. Plus, some of our benefits are somewhat limited.

The company I'm going to work for has a group policy from precisely the same insurer. The big question is whether that policy is better (and/or cheaper) than our current policy.

The company's policy has lower copays, no yearly deductible, and more thorough benefits. However, it will cost us more per month in premiums (not to mention what it will cost the company).

Which is better/cheaper?

What I plan to do is make a spreadsheet that calculates different health care costs that we've paid in the past couple of years. Luckily, we track our expenses with Microsoft Money, so this should be relatively easy. Then I will add in the cost of our current health insurance. This will show the current total cost of health care for us.

Then I will do the same kind-of calculations, trying to project our future health care costs. Our insurance premiums would be higher, but some out-of-pocket costs would be lower. That will tell me what it would cost us to change to the company's group insurance policy.

In the end, I'm hoping that one plan or the other comes out the clear winner. That should make it an easy choice to decide whether or not to switch to the company's policy. I'll definitely be posting the results here, so be sure to check back. I'll also post the template I use to calculate this, so you can try it yourself, if needed.

Learn About the "Seller's Gift" for Buying a Home

2007-01-26T16:47:00.000-08:00

Are you thinking about buying a home? Having trouble with cash for closing?

You should check out this website. It's just a 29-year-old guy explaining how he bought his home in Texas with only $70 cash. Well, he actually wrote checks for a few hundred dollars right before the closing, but he got a check in return at closing for everything but $70.

The secret: the seller's gift. Basically, he asked the seller to give him $4,000 to cover closing costs. This money is then rolled into the mortgage, and he didn't have to come up with all that cash at closing. Neat, right?

I think this is the same type of thing that people do for improvements to homes they buy. I believe it's akin to a "carpet allowance" or something of that nature. Basically, you finance the house + the extra "gift." The buyer then can do what he wants with that money. In this case, the guy used it for closing costs.

Take the Bus to Save Money

2007-01-25T08:00:00.000-08:00

Does your community have a bus system? What about the local university?

I'm lucky enough to live in a town with two bus systems: one run by the city, and the other run by the university. This means that almost anywhere you want to go can be accessed by bus (and a little leg power).

Why do I bring this up? Because taking the bus can save you some serious money.

Think about all the costs associated with owning a car (or two, or three!). You pay for the car, plus insurance, maintenance, gas, taxes, registration, etc. This adds up significantly. Even for a cheap car and low insurance rates, the total cost can easily add up to $300+ per month!

What would your life be like if you did away with one car? Could you share a car with your spouse? If your city has a bus system, you can easily use that. Not a problem, right?

So do yourself a favor and check into public transportation. Your wallet will thank you.

Check for Student Discounts

2007-01-23T13:19:00.000-08:00

I live in a college town. Several of the grocery stores in town offer a 5% discount, with a student ID. Thus, we basically don't pay sales tax on our groceries. Cool, right?

Have you ever checked into discounts like this? You might be surprised what you can find. Some stores may not publicize them, but would give them when asked. So ask.

At our grocery store you have to link your student ID to your store loyalty card. I guess this makes it easier for them to track. But it also makes it easier for us. I don't have to actually show my ID any more. And my wife gets the discount when she's alone too.

Save Money at Union Station

2007-01-22T07:56:00.000-08:00

Do you ever travel to Union Station in Washington, DC? Want to save some money?

Just go to the Union Station website and print out this coupon. It allows you to save 15% at select retailers and dining places. I don't see a limitation to the coupon, so you could probably even use it every day. At the very least, it could save a little off a quick meal on your trip through the place. Why not give it a try?

Get DVDs for FREE

2007-01-19T15:58:00.000-08:00

If you're looking for free DVDs, check out redbox. These are the big red boxes that you might see in McDonald's, your local grocery store or drug store. They let you rent newly released DVDs for $1 per night.

So how do you get one for free? The key is to visit Inside Redbox and check out their free redbox codes. Yep, they list tons of free codes. Go to the redbox, select the DVD you want, enter your promo code, and you'll get a free night's rental. If you bring the DVD back before 7 PM the next day, you'll owe nothing.

Ok, here's disclosure for you: I got paid nothing for this post. But I tried this out myself the other day, and I got to watch a newly released DVD for free. It was awesome. Just be sure to return it on time, or they'll start charging $1 per night after the first day.

Sell Your Old Stuff on eBay

2007-01-12T07:09:00.000-08:00

One classic problem that everybody has is too much stuff. It fills up your drawers, your cabinets, and your closets. But what to do with it?

Sell it on eBay.

We just cleaned out a closet and sold a few miscellaneous items. We cleared $100 (after taking out shipping costs) with our old stuff. Cool, right?

Here's what to do:

Find an item (or set of items) to sell.
Photograph it well (several pictures, if needed).
Pack it up in a box for shipping.
Create an eBay account (if you don't have on already).
Add your item, using the size & weight of the box to estimate shipping costs for buyers.
Sit back & wait for the bids to roll in.
Once the auction is done, get paid by the seller (PayPal is easiest).
After payment, ship the item out.

Come on, you can't tell me this isn't easy. OK, so it's intimidating at first. But I guarantee you'll get the hang of it.

Disclosure Policy

2006-12-28T20:47:00.000-08:00

Yep, I'll be blogging for money around here. Nope, I'm not ashamed of it. And no, I won't do it all the time.

But I guarantee that you'll know when I get paid for writing a post. That's what disclosure is all about. Thus, any time I'm getting paid to write a post, I'll put "Sponsored Post" at the top. You'll quickly know that it's a paid post.

Also, I guarantee that I will NEVER write a post that is required to be positive. I will only provide my honest opinion on products/services. If I can't tell it to you straight, I won't accept the sponsorship. That's what I'm guaranteeing.