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Five Things You Need to Know about Social Security

admin — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 10:29:00 +0000

Kiplinger lists five things you need to know about Social Security as follows:

1. Patience pays off. The longer you wait, the bigger the check.

2. Marriage has its perks. Couples have the most flexibility.

3. But you can collect if you decouple. You may be able to collect on your former spouse’s benefits, as long as you were married for at least ten years and are 62 or older. (If you remarry, however, you can’t collect based on your first spouse’s record — unless your second trip to the altar ends in divorce, annulment or death.)

4. Bide your time. Get a bonus. If you wait until age 70 you can collect even more, thanks to the delayed-retirement credit, which is worth 8% a year.

5. Ask for a do-over. If you started collecting Social Security and wish you had waited in order to get a higher benefit, you can press the reset button. You’ll need to pay back what you’ve received — which could be $100,000 or more — but the government won’t charge you interest.

Personally, I’m not counting on Social Security being around when I retire — and I’m saving accordingly. Then if it does pay me anything, I’ll consider that a bonus.

So, as you might imagine, I’m planning on waiting as long as possible to withdraw funds (I shouldn’t need them, so I’ll wait for a bigger payday.) Then again, if the whole thing appears to be collapsing, I might jump in and get as much as I can before it topples.

Oh the joys of dealing with a government-run retirement program.

Earn $200k More by Waiting to Take Social Security Benefits CBS Money
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Weekly Roundup – BOA To End Overdraft Fees On Debit Transactions

admin — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 09:00:59 +0000

Bank of America recently announced they plan to stop charging customers overdraft fees for exceeding their checking account balance with debit cards. They go on to say they will no longer allow charges to go through if the amount exceeds the available funds in customers’ checking accounts. I say, it’s about time!

I’ve never liked the idea of a bank allowing a charge to go through for more than is available, and then tacking on a $30+ fee for the privilege. I’d much rather know at the checkout that I don’t have the $6.87 for a fast food meal, rather than discovering it cost me another $35 when I get my statement.

I hope credit cards will follow the lead, because overdraft fees are another ridiculous bank fee. Sure, the onus is really on cardholders to keep up with their available credit, but a $35 fee for going a few dollars over doesn’t add up – the punishment doesn’t fit the crime.

The Frugal Roundup

Lessons in Frugality From a Lady Named Grace. Here is a great story about a woman who lived below her means and gave away about $7 million on a secretary’s salary. (@The Money Jar)

How to Make Money On Facebook. Next time, don’t rave about a house you want to buy until you close the deal. (@brip blap)

Unautomate Your Finances (affiliate link). Our good friend Baker just released a new eBook. He was gracious enough to send me a copy and I can easily say that it is a great read. Check it out as there are plenty bonus items that come with it. (@Man vs Debt)

10 Benefits of Raised Garden Beds. I’ve talked about square foot gardening before and Lynnae gives some great tips on the benefits. (@Being Frugal)

Best of the Rest

Wrap Up

I’d like to invite those of you who visit the site directly to sign up to receive our content for free delivered via email or feed reader. It’s simple to set up and only takes a second. Did I mention it was free? Thanks to those who have already subscribed!

Don’t forget to spring forward an hour Saturday night/Sunday morning. I use the occasion as an opportunity to test our home smoke alarm and carbon monoxide detector, something that should be done at least a couple times a year.

Post by Frugal Dad

Three Ways to Avoid Overdraft Fees After I w
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31 Days to a Better Grocery Budget: The Buy Ahead Principle

admin — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 03:58:14 +0000

Missed the first posts this series? Read them here.

Last night when I went grocery shopping, I bought 18 sticks of deodorant. Yes, I said 18!

Did I buy all this deodorant because I heard that there was going to be a shortage of deodorant for the next 4 years? Um, no.

I bought 18 sticks of deodorant because I had coupons which made them free or more-than-free.

Never Pay Retail

One of my biggest secrets for grocery saving success is that I practice the Buy Ahead Principle. Which means, basically, other than dairy products and produce, I aim to never pay full price for anything.

If you’re willing to be patient and observant, you can almost always buy most items at 50% off their retail price or more. Because I’ve been using coupons and bargain-shopping for over 10 years now, I aim to purchase most things when they are 75-100% off of the retail price.

I don’t just buy one of an item when it is at it’s rock-bottom price. Instead, I purchase as many items as I can afford in my grocery budget to tide me over until the next sale.

For many people who are used to buying only what groceries you’ll use in the next week, the concept of buying ahead can be mind-boggling. However, it makes complete sense if you stop and consider it.

Paying Retail vs. Buying Ahead

If your family uses 10 tubes of toothpaste in a year’s time and the retail price of toothpaste is $2.49, if you bought it at retail, you’d be paying $24.90 per year for toothpaste.

If, however, you practiced the Buy Ahead Principle, and you collected your $1/1 toothpaste coupons and waited until toothpaste went on sale for $1 (which it does a few times per year in our area), you could buy 10 tubes of toothpaste for free.

That’s a savings of $24.90 per year!

How to Build a Stockpile of Food and Toiletries

What if you were to practice the Buy Ahead principle on when buying the majority of your groceries? Think about how much you would save! From my best estimates, I would say we routinely save at least $30-$50 each week by practicing the Buy Ahead Principle.

Would you like to see significant savings by Buying Ahead as well? Here are some suggestions:

1) Designate a Small Portion of Your Grocery Budget to Building Your Stockpile

If this is a new concept for you, don’t go out and spend $500 tomorrow trying to build up a stockpile. Instead, designate a small percentage of your grocery budget each week to buying extra of those heavily-discounted items which you know you will use sometime in the next few months.

Even $5 or $10 a week devoted to stocking up on deeply-discounted items can go quite far. If you don’t find any really great deals one week, save your designated “Stockpile Money” for the next week.

2) Designate a Small Area of Your Home to Store Your Stockpile

The argument I often hear when I suggest people practice the Buy Ahead Principle is “But I don’t have any space to stock up.” Well, in very rare cases (say, if your family of 6 is living in a one-bedroom apartment!), I’d agree. But in most cases, there are plenty of creative nooks and crannies in your home you could use to store extra non-perishable food and household supplies.

Maybe you need to clear out some items you’re not using to make room. Or maybe you could install some extra shelving in a closet. Perhaps you could store things under the bed or in a few boxes in a closet. Get creative, think outside the box, and I’m guessing you’ll find someplace you can use!

When we were living in a one-bedroom apartment which only had one small closer, I used a little cabinet in the living room to store extra stuff. When we were living in a two-bedroom apartment, I used the cupboards over the washer and dryer to store extra stuff. I was amazed at how much I could fit in a small space when I set my mind to it!

3) Determine When Enough is Enough

I think it’s extremely cost-effective to Buy Ahead. However, I also think it’s just as important to know when enough is a enough. If you have mountains of unopened tubes of toothpaste falling down on top of you when you open up the bathroom cupboard, you probably don’t need to go out and buy 55 more tubes!

Yes, I bought 18 sticks of deodorant yesterday. That’s more than we’ll use in the next 2 years. But what I didn’t tell you earlier was that I’ll likely donate at least half–if not more–of those. I love being able to share from our surplus of items with those in need. Or just pass on a great deal to a friend, too!

My philosophy is that if there is plenty of an item on the shelf, I have a lot of coupons, the item is free, it’s something we’ll use, and it’s something I can easily donate if we have a surplus, I’ll buy as many as I have coupons for.Your philosophy might be different. So decide when enough is enough for you, and then stick to that.

Twice a year, I go through all of our stockpile of groceries and household items and pare down to the basics which will last me for 4-8 weeks. This way, we never have an over-abundance. In addition, taking the Eat From the Pantry challenge is a great way for us to make sure and use up some of our stockpile.

If you don’t apply any of the other 30 ways to cut your grocery budget that I’ll be sharing in this series, but you adopt the Buy Ahead Principle and stick with a grocery budget, I guarantee you will see a significant savings in your grocery bill. And you’ll likely be shopping less and eating better than ever before!

31 Days to a Better Grocery Budget: The Buy Ahead Principle is a post from: Money Saving Mom

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How to Evaluate Government Pay

admin — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 03:02:04 +0000

(March 10, 2010 08:34 PM, by Arnold Kling) Budget Director Peter Orszag writes, So the bottom line is: when education and age are held constant, the entire difference in average pay between the federal and private sectors disappears. Let me suggest a different indicator: How far could you…

Sovereign Setback- Credit Risk in Government Bonds photo c
The Government Can This has b
The Government Can Very funn

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CVS: Upcoming Ultra Hot Deodorant Deal

admin — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 03:00:08 +0000

Jenny from Southern Savers found some awesome printable deodorant coupons earlier today. Check them out:

$1.25/1 Degree Men Deodorant
$3/2 Degree Men Deodorants
$1.25/1 Degree Girl Deodorant or Body Mist
$3/2 Degree Girl Deodorant or Body Mist
$1.25/1 Suave 24-hr. Deodorant
$3/2 Suave 24-hr. Deodorants
$1.25/1 Dove Ultimate Deodorant
$3/2 Dove Ultimate Deodorants

But it gets better — CVS has a fantastic deal starting this Sunday, so print those coupons to prepare to stock up on deodorant for $0.15 each!

Dove or Degree Deodorant Products, $2.50
Get $5 ECBs wyb $15 (Limit 1)
$3/2 Degree Men Deodorants printable
$3/2 Degree Girl Deodorant or Body Mist printable
$1.25 off Degree Men Deodorant printable
$1.25 off Degree Girl Deodorant or Body Mist printable
As low as $0.15 ea. after (3) $3/2 coupons and ECBs!

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CVS: Upcoming Ultra Hot Deodorant Deal was first posted on March 10, 2010 at 10:00 pm.

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CVS: Free Dove deodorant and Enfamil Ready-To-Feed for $0.50 I mention
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Submit Coupons to Win: The Deal Seeking Mom Coupon Database!

admin — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 02:23:12 +0000

Don’t forget about the Submit a Coupon feature of the Deal Seeking Mom Coupon Database. Submitting each month gives you the chance to win a $25 eGift Certificate from Amazon.com for your help in keeping the database updated. Our February winner is Melanie O.!

For a chance to win in March, follow these instructions to begin submitting coupons:

1. Register now.

2. Search the Coupon Database for the coupons in your stash.

3. Read the instructions next to each field on the Submit a Coupon page.

4. Enter coupon information and hit submit.

That’s it! You’ll receive credit for every valid coupon you submit (duplicates already in the database won’t be counted), and we’ll choose a winner at the end of each month!

Please email us with any questions or suggestions!

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Submit Coupons to Win: The Deal Seeking Mom Coupon Database! was first posted on March 10, 2010 at 9:23 pm.

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Pampers Gifts To Grow: 10 Pampers Points Code

admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 23:38:04 +0000

There’s another new 10-point Pampers code available! Just head over to Pampers Gifts to Grow and enter MARFACEBOOK2010.

Expires 3/31/10.

Be sure to check out the previous Pampers Gifts To Grow codes I’ve posted.

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Pampers Gifts To Grow: 10 Pampers Points Code was first posted on March 10, 2010 at 6:38 pm.

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Ultra Downy Fabric Softener FREE Sample

admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 23:34:48 +0000

Here’s yet another great Sam’s Club freebie — and this one is available to non-members as well. Register now for your FREE sample of Ultra Downy Fabric Softener!

Note that the site is extremely slow currently.

(Thanks, Hey It’s Free!)

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Ultra Downy Fabric Softener FREE Sample was first posted on March 10, 2010 at 6:34 pm.

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Vacation Pay for Unused Vacation Time? Plus A Suze Orman Event

admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 23:04:46 +0000

For us residents in California, we’re used to seeing budget cuts applied to a lot of things. The financial crisis in California is particularly apparent when you see its effects on the public school system. Well, this article from my local paper just made me wince, because as you can see, the story describes just another example of how our government (this time, at the state level) has been handling its finances.

Well, here’s the latest expose and more fodder on the California budget crisis — apparently, government employees have made off with pretty huge paychecks here in California, simply by NOT taking vacation time. Their unused vacation time translates into big six figure payouts, with the top 25 checks reportedly ranging from $203,921 all the way to a dazzling $815,736. Wow. Imagine this — those state government positions can be a gold mine, with overtime paying off for a whole lot of people. Here is an image that portrays this predicament (Click this link or the image below for a larger picture.):

And here’s a breakdown of vacation pay amounts across California agencies:

Small wonder California is broke.

Want to Attend A Suze Orman Event?

On another note, I’d like to inform you about a personal finance event that’s coming to Club Nokia in downtown L.A. this Sunday, March 14. Suze Orman is slated to speak at this club at an event called “Waves of Inspiration: Women and Money”. The seminar will feature Suze and other ladies and personalities who will talk about personal finance, self-growth and empowerment. For the curious, TD Ameritrade is the sponsor for this event. If you end up attending, you’ll also receive a free annual all-access pass to Suze Orman’s “Save Yourself Retirement Program” (reg cost: $40). There’s also a planned Q & A at the end of the seminar.

You can purchase tickets from Ticketmaster.com, or if you’re interested in picking up a complimentary ticket, let me know (contact me here) — I may have a couple to give away (while it lasts). Here are the event details:

WHAT: Waves of Inspiration: Women and Money with Suze Orman
WHEN: March 14th, 2010 at 2PM
WHERE: Club Nokia, 800 West Olympic Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90015

Have fun!

Great Personal Finance Articles

Wise Bread: Worried About Debt? Tips On Managing Your Loans
Studenomics: Why Parent’s Shouldn’t Pay For Their Kids’ College Education
Free Money Finance: Top Personal Finance Experts
Lazy Man And Money: Build Your Financial Home Brick By Boring Brick
Frugal Dad: Implementing PAYGO Rules For Personal Finances
Million Dollar Journey: Canadian Income Tax Deadline
Mighty Bargain Hunter: Would you out a friend’s spending patterns on Facebook?
Miss Thrifty: The Festival of Frugality
Simply Forties: Carnival of Personal Finance
Don’t Mess With Taxes: Carnival of Taxes
FIRE Finance: The Festival of Frugality

Vacation Pay for Unused Vacation Time? Plus A Suze Orman Event

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24 hours left to order an All You subscription for $0.70 per issue!

admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 22:02:26 +0000

So many of you got in all the All You magazine subscription deal I posted a few days ago that Campus Fundraiser is having to close it off early due to the overwhelming demand.

However, they promised that they would let everyone who ordered by Thursday evening (March 11, 2010) get in on this spectacular deal! So if you’ve been holding off purchasing, time is running out.

As always, please do not purchase this unless you can afford it. If you do have the money for it, I consider it a worthy investment as there are many high-value coupons in this magazine that you rarely (or never!) see elsewhere. There is also usually coupons for completely free products at least a few times per year.

A subscription to All You magazine would also make an excellent gift for a frugal friend! And don’t forget, this rate applies to renewals, as well.

Head over here to read how to order All You magazine for only $0.70 per issue. As it looks right now, this is the last time we’ll ever see a deal this good!

24 hours left to order an All You subscription for $0.70 per issue! is a post from: Money Saving Mom

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