(This guest post is by Ann Smarty, a search engine geek, social media enthusiast and a passionate blogger. She has recently started a community of guest bloggers, so if you have a blog and want to promote it for absolutely free, go help Ann build the valuable tool for that by joining and participating.)

Bargain hunting is only effective when done right otherwise you find yourself using a coupon whenever you are aware of one (which causes even more spending) or always forgetting to use a coupon (how many of us first buy something and only then remember they saw a deal for the same product in another store?).

Anyway, here’s my point: to take advantage of special offers, you don’t need to be a bargain hunter (meaning that you don’t need to keep track of all the deals and coupons around the web). All you need is to know how to find a good deal only when you need one.

And, quite naturally, when it comes to searching, Google is more often than not the only tool you will ever need. So here are the 3 (somewhat advanced) Google search tricks to help you find a good timely deal:

1. Search for Synonyms and Related Words

Various sites can use various words to call its special offer: a bargain, a coupon, a sale, etc, etc. To make sure you include all those in your search results, try the following tricks:

1. ~ operator

This search operator will include all synonyms which it refers to, for example [laptop ~coupon] will include [laptop promotion], [laptop deals], [laptop sale], etc and even [laptop free shipping]:

2. OR operator

If you want search results to include any of the terms you mention, use OR between them, for example laptop (coupons OR deals OR promotions):

3. * operator

If you are unsure what exactly you want to search (for example, you don’t know which exactly computer you plan to buy), use * (wildcard) operator. Google will substitute it for one or more related words. For example, [ "* laptops coupons" (with the quotes) will include Dell laptops coupons, cheap laptops coupons, instant laptops coupons, etc:

2. Search For the Recent Results

One of the search options I use most of the time is Google's date search: it is accessed via clicking "Show options" link above the search results. It opens up a search side panel which contains the following options:

• Latest (to see real-time search results from social media sites like Twitter);
• Past 24 hours (to see pages created/updated over the past 24 hours);
• Past week (to see pages created/updated over the past week);
• Past year (to see pages created/updated over the past year);
• Specific date range (to choose the time frame).

These options are an awesome help if you need to find most recent search results (in our case, to find fresh deals and newest coupons).

3. Search Within a Site

We all have our favorite sites when it comes to any daily tasks and interests. For example, for me, Google is the only tool to do web search (I never need to use any other) and Buxr is the only site to locate a shopping deal. For the maximum efficiency, I just need to combine the two.

Google's SITE: operator allows to restrict your search to any given domain, for example [site:buxr.com], plus you can take advantage of any search tip listed above:

Why do I need to search within any site using Google? It is simple: Google offers plenty of unique search options no other site has: besides the two most awesome ones mentioned above, there are other advanced search operators as well as advanced search features and recent advances. With Google’s SITE: operator, you get the freedom to use all those great search opportunities to search any site.

So the fact is, Google is a nice service in itself but when used to its full capacity it becomes your #1 tool no matter what you need to do.

I’ve been talking about some things related to the home purchase we’re doing now.  One of the conditions of purchasing our new home was ability to get financing.  Since I couldn’t buy with cash, I needed to apply for a mortgage.  What I couldn’t do was make the purchase contingent on the sale of my current home (the property we were interested in was a foreclosure), so I needed to be able to qualify for the new loan without settling my current mortgage.

This seemed to be a bit harder of a condition to meet since it would mean carrying a higher debt load.  I was a little concerned that I wouldn’t qualify, especially now that lenders weren’t writing loans for anyone who happened to have a pulse anymore.

Back before I knew what I could qualify for, I asked around over at Cash Commons to see what kind of mortgage qualification criteria lenders were using to determine a maximum loan amount.  Reduce Debt Faster gave an insightful answer which included things like:

• Housing expense ratio (ratio of principal, interest, taxes, and insurance to monthly gross income)
• Debt to income ratio (ratio of total debt service to monthly gross income)
• Credit score (now they’re looking for 750-ish for prime rates)
• Income level (the higher, the better)
• Job stability (the more, the better)
• Down payment (the more, the better)
• Loan-to-value ratio (the smaller, the better)

After I applied and got my pre-qualification letter, my jaw dropped at how much they approved me for. Now, I did have a great credit score (even better than FCN’s before it dropped) and the only debt I carried was my current mortgage.  The credit union used the 40% debt to income ratio to determine what they could lend me.  But what got me was that the 40% was based on gross income, not net income.  This would have allowed us to purchase nearly twice the house we were interested in.  If I was worried about qualifying, those worries were blown out of the water.

My take on it is that if you’re the right candidate for a loan then they’ll let you borrow up to your eyeballs — even today.  That doesn’t mean you have to, of course, and you shouldn’t.  Banks are happy to lend you as much as they can if they have excellent assurance that they’ll get paid back.  They’re not nearly as interested in what you have to do in the rest of your budget to make those payments back to them.  You’ll give up a lot of things before you give up your house.

So, it may be tougher to qualify for a mortgage today than it was a few years ago, but it is possible.

Got money questions? Ask them at Cash Commons

We’re in one of the areas that’s getting pummeled with snow this weekend.  Thankfully we still have power, and even Internet access.  Please be safe if you’re in the mess with us.

Here are some links of interest from the past week:

• The Frugal Lawyer scored a TV interview on spending addiction.  (I’ll be doing a post on this as well.)
• The Balanced Spreadsheet is another blogger that updates their net worth.
• The Millionaire Nurse, for something completely different, relates money and diseases.
• Wise Bread has a guest post by Joel Ohman explaining why he didn’t pay off his mortgage in fill.
• Couple Money has good things to say about TurboTax’s Live Community.
• Consumerism Commentary asks whether you should pay your credit cards or your mortgage first.  (Not “pay down,” but “pay.”)
• Generation X Finance alerts us to some red flags to avoid that could trigger a tax audit.
• All Financial Matters runs through proposed 401(k) changes.  (The annuities part scares me.)
• Blogging Away Debt is saving money with some elbow grease.
• Cash Money Life compares debt consolidation, debt management, and debt settlement.

Take care all!

Got money questions? Ask them at Cash Commons

I initiated a wire transfer today from an out-of-state credit union to my home credit union.  Because the amount of money was fairly significant, they called me up to verify a few things before they did the transfer.

After the woman gave her name and who she worked for, she asked for the passcode to my account to continue the transaction.

I almost told her, but stopped.  Since she called me, I asked, “Uhhh, can I call you back please?  I want to verify who I’m speaking with.”  She agreed without any problem, and gave me her name again, her phone number, and her extension.  I hung up, looked up the number on the credit union’s website, saw that it matched what she gave me, called her back, and finished the transaction.

Initially it surprised me that the credit union could conduct business over the phone in a way that wouldn’t even be remotely acceptable through e-mail.  (If you know when they can do this, let me know!) She started off by talking about my wire transfer, but aside from knowing her personally — I didn’t — how was I to know otherwise that she worked for who she said she worked for?  People who can spot a phishing e-mail a mile away might get taken in by a plausible-sounding phone call.

Here are a few steps to take if this kind of thing should happen to you:

• Don’t give your account information over the phone if you didn’t place the call. Again, you can’t verify the identity of someone who calls you the same way that they can verify who you are.
• Ask to call them back. They shouldn’t argue with you.  If they do, that’s a red flag.
• Ask to get some of their information. Like phone number, extension, name, etc.  They should understand.  If they don’t, that may be a red flag.
• Verify the information they give you. Don’t just call back the number they give you.  A scammer will just have you call him/her back.  If it’s a place you normally do business with, they should have a website with their phone number on it.
• When you call back, make sure everything matches up. For example, I got the direct extension from the person who called me, and it was indeed correct.  It should be.

Forewarned is forearmed!  Banks and credit unions verify their customers thoroughly before conducting business.  Don’t be shy about verifying them.

Got money questions? Ask them at Cash Commons

We’re (hopefully) in the final stretch for purchasing a new house, and part of the paperwork for this was setting up homeowner’s insurance for the new house.

We called the same company that sold us our current house’s homeowner’s policy, as well as our current auto insurance policy.  The agent was able to get us quite a good deal on the homeowner’s policy, and almost as an afterthought, she offered to check around for us on our auto insurance policy.

For several years we didn’t have the best driving record.  Right before I was married (2001), I had a speeding ticket and a fairly serious at-fault accident on my record.  I called my (then) auto insurance carrier about a week before my policy was set to expire and asked why I hadn’t received the renewal notice.  Well, they weren’t going to renew my policy.  (Gee, thanks for letting me know, turds!)  So I scrambled with only a week left before my insurance lapsed, and found a (higher-risk) carrier to sell me a policy.

I haven’t had any more driving mishaps.  In the meantime, though, my wife has had a couple of (not nearly as serious) accidents.  One of them was a 2 MPH collision with a parked car.  But my marks, and her marks, kept points on our policy until last year.

Back to this past week … The insurance agent looked at our current policy and made the comment that “we’ve probably done our time with X” and can get into a better auto insurance policy.  (I’m not saying who “X” is because we were otherwise quite happy with them, and I don’t want to appear ungrateful.  I may have said who “X” is before in another post, so if you want to look, you’re welcome to.)  She ended up finding us an insurance policy that gave us the same coverage for about 15% less than the other carrier.

So if you’ve gotten yourself into second-tier (or lower) auto insurance because of your driving record, and have since gotten better, make it a point to shop around a bit. My wife and I were so happy to see that all of the points were off of our policy, we just saw the relative decrease in our premiums, and didn’t look any further.  We didn’t think of looking outside of our current policy.  But just like I had a good policy before I screwed up, I can get a good one again, and so can my wife.  The good policies are likely better deals than the second-tier ones, even with a clean driving record.

Got money questions? Ask them at Cash Commons

Cutting costs anywhere that makes sense adds to that budgetary cushion that can be used to pay off debt, add to an emergency fund, save for college, or anything else.  One fairly easy way to do this is to reduce, or eliminate, trips to the vending machines down the hall.  The markup in our building borders on ridiculous now ($1.00 for a candy bar).  And what’s more, although Snickers® would like you to believe that it satisfies, candy usually just makes you hungrier.

Which brings me to my secret snacking weapon:  oatmeal. Plain, old-fashioned Quaker Oats.  Not the “instant” oats, but the big, giant container of oats.  I get ten pounds of oatmeal for under $8.  That breaks down to less than a dime per serving, and a serving is a full cup of oatmeal.  That’s a heck of a lot cheaper than a candy bar, and much more nutritious.

Here’s what I do.  Adapt to your tastes:

• Keep the oats dry in some kind of closed container. I use a plastic coffee container.
• Bring a 1/4-cup scoop to measure out a serving. Or a 1/2-cup.  Doesn’t matter too much.
• Scoop half of the oats into a mug, then put any flavorings you might want in. I use cinnamon ($4 for 11 ounces at Costco) and honey.
• Scoop the other half on top of the flavorings. I do this because pouring the hot water on in the next step makes the cinnamon clump if it’s on top.
• Pour hot water in to whatever level of consistency desired.

I tend not to get bored with the same foods over and over again, so this works well as a snack for me.  Even if you don’t want to go all-out with buying oatmeal 10 pounds at a time, the smaller container in the grocery store is still pretty cost-effective.

One of those little money saving things for your budgeting arsenal.

Hot hot hot money questions at Cash Commons

After giving myself a giant environmentally-friendly pat on the back for how green it was for me to buy a used washer and dryer, a big hole was pointed out in my argument.

I had considered the costs of electricity and manufacturing, but neglected to consider water costs.  Commenter “First Step” points this out:

I think you’re overlooking the real reason that the “efficient” washers are better for the environment–much lower water usage. If you live in an area where water is scarce and/or expensive, you will recoup the cost of the more expensive washer very quickly. We bought the $1000 washer 6 years ago when we moved to an area where water cost more than twice what we had been paying. On water savings alone, we recouped the cost of the washer in about 3 years. Our washer uses less than 10 gallons per load versus 40 for the previous model.

Since water is becoming scarce in more and more areas, expect to see more incentives to get the old style washers out of use.

I admit that water cost hasn’t been an issue where we live. We pay a minimum monthly fee plus a per-gallon charge after we exceed a certain amount. The only extra costs we’ve incurred on our water bill are for dumb things like forgetting to pay on time. We’ve never used so much water in one month that we’ve had to pay extra, so that’s probably the reason why I didn’t even consider the water costs.

Buying a water-efficient washer makes marginal financial sense for people in my situation, but I know  now not everyone is in the same boat.  If you pay for every gallon you use each month, then water efficiency becomes a factor.  Or, if you have a large family or use a lot of water for some other reason, and end up paying above and beyond some flat fee each month, then water efficiency becomes a factor.

“First Step” says to expect more incentives to get old-style washers out of use, but they’re not necessary.  Supply and demand should do this naturally.  As in, “Gee, my water bill doubled after they changed their pricing model.  Let’s look at payback time for a newer washer.”  Or, more directly, “Gee, I can only use 2,000 gallons of water this month, and my clothes washer consumes 400 of those gallons.  What about getting one that only uses 100 gallons?”

Anyway, bottom line is to take water use, as well as how you have to pay for that usage, when deciding what kind of washer to get.

Ask your burning money questions at Cash Commons

What’s more, there are likely a few more appliances that I’d be eager to buy used, even though there are more efficient, “greener” versions being made today.

I mentioned in the roundup that we bought a used clothes washer and dryer.  We found the advertisement on our local Craigslist, went up, and found the set to be in very good shape.  A comparable set today would cost between $800 and $900, and we bought his two-year-old set for $400.

An $800-$900 washer/dryer set isn’t completely bottom of the line, but it’s not top of the line, either.  A water-efficient, energy-efficient top-load washer, plus a matching dryer, runs about $1,000.  The washer model at this level is Energy Star rated.  (The dryer isn’t, but I think that’s because dryers aren’t efficient in general.  That’s what clotheslines are for.)

There’s a big push for people to upgrade their appliances to more efficient models.  The government is even chipping in 30% of the upgrade cost on selected appliances, up to $1,500, in the form of a tax credit.  (Washers and dryers aren’t included.)  It would seem that we, and our greenness, took a step backwards by buying a used washer and dryer.

Well, it probably will not only less costly overall to get the used appliances instead of the new efficient ones, it will probably be greener, too. I’ll explain.  There are a couple of things to consider:  total cost, and total energy expended.

Let’s use these numbers, which are pretty close to what they were when we checked them out at Lowe’s.  The less-efficient set cost about $30 more per year to operate than the more-efficient set.  At a cost difference of $600 ($1,000 – $400) this means a break-even point of 20 years.  We’d be fortunate if either set lasted this long.  So, the difference in the total cost of ownership is a wash.  (Sorry.)

But what about total energy expended?  It’s true that I’ll burn more energy running the inefficient appliances, but that’s not the only consideration.  The energy-efficient appliances would have been brand-new, meaning they were constructed out of new materials.  This construction process is very costly in terms of energy. We’re giving the used appliances a second chance.  The appliances are already manufactured.  It’s a pretty green way to go, actually.  Why buy new when you can make do?  Why buy new when a place like RepairClinic.com will help you find the replacement parts you need?

It’s helpful to remember the second “R” of being green:  reduce, reuse, and recycle.  Used is great.  Take that, Energy Star!

Thanks to Cash Money Life for including this post in the Carnival of Personal Finance.

Got tweet? I do!

Today we followed a lead on Craigslist to buy a two-year-old clothes washer and dryer set for a new house.  The price was about half of what a new set would cost, so we’re pleased.  We didn’t have a whole lot of time to get a set so we’re glad we got this deal.

Here are some links of interest for you:

• Wise Bread writer Philip Brewer discusses ruthless frugality.
• Consumerism Commentary lists the five worst kinds of debt.
• Five Cent Nickel recommends cashing in your gift cards.
• Bargaineering explains how he tracks his net worth.
• Finance for a Freelance Life illustrates the time value of money.
• Bible Money Matters runs down IRA contribution limits and phaseouts.
• Grad Money Matters has a guest post on four simple ways to save money in college.

And a couple of new faces to Cash Commons this week, including Debt Maven and MBABriefs!

Have a great weekend!

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Smart Money’s recent article, Ten things not to buy in 2010, listed the who’s who of soon-to-be-obsolete consumer products.  Among them:  CDs, DVDs, and newspapers.

Newspapers, I can understand, especially after seeing a comedian absolutely decimate the folks at the New York Times.  (Though I do fully recognize their point that news gathering is expensive and dangerous.  But that’s veering off-topic a bit.)

But CDs and DVDs are obsolete? Why?  Because, the article suggests, there are cooler, less expensive, more convenient alternatives like iTunes, Netflix, and movies on demand like Time Warner’s and Verizon’s service.

I’m not knocking any of these services, by the way.  My wife loves her iTunes collection because of the huge variety she can find.  Her parents are movie lovers and enjoy the convenience of Netflix (plus, they also use ClearPlay to get rid of all the nasty stuff in the movies).  Not a thing wrong with these services, and many things right with them.

But, if I buy a CD, I can sell that CD when I’m done with it.  I also can buy a used CD on eBay or in a pawn shop, paying only a fraction of the price that the first buyer paid.  I’m pretty sure I can’t do either of these things with an iTunes collection, even if neither I nor the seller/buyer retain copies of the songs.  (Do you know the answer?)

Likewise, if I buy a DVD, I can sell that DVD when I’m done with it.  I can also buy a used DVD for a fraction of the price that the first buyer paid.  Netflix is a subscription.  I pay for the right to borrow their DVDs, but I can’t keep them.  And Time Warner’s and Verizon’s service are essentially pay-per-view services.

If I were a business, I’d much rather take recurring payments than one-time payments.  Why charge just once when you can charge again and again?  It’s the same reason why the Kindle model is so appealing.  Why sell a paperback once — with full resale rights — when you can charge someone access to download the text of the paperback, and control it after it’s downloaded?

But for me, I still see the value in actually owning something, free and clear except for a restriction on copying the content.  Is ownership becoming obsolete? I don’t think so.  I like my CDs and DVDs, thank you very much!

Thanks to My Journey to Millions for including this post in the Carnival of Personal Finance.

Got money questions? Ask them at Cash Commons