Posted on: June 10, 2009 by Matt
Every month my cell phone bill drops into my email. I log into my provider’s web site and pay the bill via the online payment options - rarely do I look at the details of the bill because the price falls in line with what I expect to pay. However last week my girlfriend reminded me that she needs a new cell phone (as I accidentally washed her old phone) and asked if we could look online to see what was available. When we looked we discovered that we were both eligible for free upgrades and opted to take advantage of the new phone offers. The deal resulted in each of us getting a new cell phone with free activation and free overnight shipping - the total was about $550 in free stuff with a two year commitment to the provider.
On Monday the new phones arrived and activated without issue. While I was in the process of getting the phones activated I decided to run through our plan and see what was offered and if there were other plans that might help us save a little money. The new phones are designed to make text messaging easier and we were hoping to use the feature to stay in touch better. The problem was that I thought we had to add text messaging to our plan in order to do so at an additional cost of $20 per month. However - while looking at the phone add-ons I noticed that my girlfriend’s phone appeared to have a text add-on as part of the family plan but neither of the other two phones included this add-on. I reviewed a bit further and noticed that she appears to have unlimited text messaging based on the usage details whereas my phone was showing $0.20 per message.
After calling customer service and telling them what I had discovered they were happy to add the family text add-on to the other phones in the plan as well as adjust the bill for any text charges for the past 2 months. So by simply running a basic audit of our plan and phones we were able to:
- Get an additional feature tied to all of our phones saving us $20 per month.
- Get $5 or so back in credit to the account for previous charges.
- Confirmed that we are getting the best rate for our usage requirements.
In order to keep up on making sure that we are still getting the most bang for our buck I will probably plan on running an annual audit of our cell phone plan.
Posted on: June 8, 2009 by Matt
Last night my girlfriend and I were watching a show called Taboo that featured a segment on the Freegan lifestyle. Freeganism is an anti-consumerist lifestyle choice that focuses on living as inexpensively as possible. From what I could gather - they lifestyle consists largely of not buying anything and gathering your belongings and food from other people’s trash. The segment included clips of people foraging through dumpsters digging up all sorts of food including:
- Fruits
- Vegetables
- Meat
- Breads
- Soda
Basically - you name it and they were dumpster diving for it. It was like frugal living taken to the extreme.
Now - to be totally honest: I have on occasion picked a couple of items in the past out of the trash. Mostly a piece of furniture here or there that was left next to the dumpster. My first entertainment center came from a neighbor that was throwing one away. I figure if something is in good condition and I have a use for it then why not? One person’s trash is another person’s treasure right?
However - the thought of digging through dumpsters looking for food never really crossed my mind. The folks on the show seemed to pull quite a bit of decent looking produce out of dumpsters and they claimed that they have not ever gotten sick from the food. They also noted that they do wash all food that they gather through a bleach mixture prior to cooking and eating just to make sure any nasty bacteria are killed off. I found the idea rather intriguing but also a bit dangerous with some possible serious health risks (hazardous or medical waste in the dumpster with your food? Not for me).
On the other hand - I did start to think more about how wasteful we are as a culture. We throw away a lot of food on a daily basis that is perfectly good for consumption and I would like to see that diminish a bit. The concept is great for those that do not mind gathering their meals from the trash and I think the concept is somewhat admirable - just not for me and my family.
Posted on: April 23, 2009 by Matt
Earlier this week I posted on a discussion my girlfriend and I had regarding paying off my credit card debt. Since I posted on Monday a lot has changed and I thought I would provide an update. As of right now the $1900 in credit card debt is now down to $601. This came after applying most of what I had for expenses in my checking account along with some money from my savings. After thinking about interest rates a little bit I opted to move money from my online savings (which currently earns 1.65% APY) and apply it toward my credit card balance (interest rate of 13.40% APR). I figure that not paying the extra in interest every month is well worth not having all the cash in savings. In addition I believe I will have the card paid off between one more transfer from savings and the remainder of my checking account balance before the end of the month. I find this extremely exciting!
Of course we still have normal living expenses and a vacation that I had budgeted for based on my checking account that still need to be paid for this month. We discussed these items last night and came up with a game plan to work on reducing expenses this month and next month by:
- Cutting back on food expenses: Paying better attention at the grocery store and cutting back on dining out. We have been steadily getting better here but there is always room for improvement.
- Cutting back on gas expenses: We like to go places and get out of the house. In our area we drive to a number of different towns to do things. Aside from vacation we can try to stay closer to home and I can start walking or riding my bike to work.
- Let my girlfriend cover more of the vacation: She has space in her budget to pick up some of the vacation. I had planned on covering it and intended to pay out of my checking. However she seems to be committed to fast tracking debt repayment as well and asked that I let her cover more of it. I have a difficult time letting her pay but I suppose a little growth in this area will not hurt.
My credit card will probably get used before the end of the month and new charges will be incurred but I also anticipate being able to pay them off next month as well with our new plan. So having the credit card paid off puts me ahead of the goal of getting the balance paid off by October by about six months! I may not be paying it off in full and never using it again as my original plan had entailed but I am working toward that and by not carrying a balance month to month I will not be paying the interest fees! I should also be able to replenish my savings account fairly quickly (within 2 months) to the level it was at before paying off the credit card so that will be available again as well.
I am already looking forward to my next goal of having my car loan paid off (August if I stick with my current payment schedule) and then I will be down to my student loans. Unfortunately the student loan that needs the most attention is about $20,000 and stuck in collections. I will simply have to keep moving forward with one step at a time.
Tags: Budget, Budgeting, Credit Cards, Debt, Debt Reduction, Expenses, Goals, Planning, Relationships, Savings Filed Under: Budget, Credit Cards, Debt, Debt Reduction, Expenses, Goals, Planning, Relationships, Savings
Posted on: April 22, 2009 by Matt
I am a fan of recycling and have tried in the past to do my best to try to reduce my waste. While living in Denver I was able to get a bin from the city to put all my recyclable materials in that they would pick up for free. I filled it pretty much every pickup cycle.
The service was great. The city would drop off a giant trash can for your address and then pick it up once every two weeks all free of charge. I would have preferred to find a way to turn a profit for recycling but a free and easy service is the next best thing.
However living in the North East Kingdom of Vermont has proven a bit challenging on the recycling front. Redemption centers exist for returning cans and bottles (that all have a $0.05 deposit) but from what I have seen you will need to pay in order to recycle all other materials.
From what I have seen there are a plethora of people recycling cans and even scouring the roads for all the nickels they can find but very few households seem to keep recycling bins. I may be missing something along the way but it seems that nobody I know recycles aside from businesses.
The limited availability of recycling has got me wondering what it would take to open up a free recycling service in a rural area. Again - I am not sure what the local transfer station here offers but think I may cruise over and get their rates at lunch time. Even a small step in the right direction would be good for the planet and benefit the community. Also - once again if I could turn a small profit at gathering materials and dropping them off for recycling I will probably have a new hobby.
Anyway - I will post an update with the information I gather from the transfer station today but wanted to ask and see if anyone has experience with starting a recycling center. If you do I would love to hear a bit about how it works. Until then I will continue to work on getting our household items together and dropped off at my office for recycling (the company pays the bill at least).
Posted on: April 20, 2009 by Matt
While driving with my girlfriend yesterday we had a conversation about my credit card that still carries a balance. We started talking about my car loan from an ex-girlfriend and how excited I am to have it paid off in August and I noted that I should be able to pay the balance of the credit card off by the end of October. She asked how much the balance on the credit card is and I told her that I still owe about $1,900 on the card.
She thought for a minute then asked the questions: “Why is it going to take so long? Why haven’t you paid it off already?”
I responded that I just can not afford to pay off the debt and still be able to carry other expenses that we incur. She then argued that I make enough that I should be able to pay off the card in a couple of months at the most and that all the expenses that I claim I need cash for could just as easily be paid for with the credit card. I started to feel a little squeamish. I just do not relish the thought of emptying my bank account and using a credit card for living - especially when I am trying to just pay the balance off.
After further discussion she logically laid out the following thoughts:
- I am paying a high interest rate on the card: Certainly higher than the interest I am getting returned from my bank account. Paying the card down to a lower balance certainly makes sense here.
- I will still have the money available, just in a different place: My argument of not being able to pay for gas, groceries and other expenses makes no sense. I normally use a debit card for all these purchases - if I pay down the credit card balance I can just as easily use my credit card.
- I will probably spend less on the credit card: I argued that I was trying to avoid spending on the credit card because I would probably spend more, not less. Her response: If I am working on paying the balance off and not wanting to increase the amount owed - I will probably think a little harder about impulse purchases. I had not considered that using a credit card would encourage me to spend less before. Her argument is good and plays to my thought patterns pretty well. If I am holding a card that I am hesitant to charge I am really gonna think about how much I really need what I am buying.
- I am just neurotic about money: I knew this already. I freak out when my checking account drops below having a couple hundred dollars in it. There is not a set amount but it triggers me into a bit of a panic mode. I like the security of having money available.
At the end of our conversation I agreed to give her method a shot and see what happens. It should be interesting and I will be sure to keep everyone updated on how it goes. I am hesitant as it seems that most personal finance literature I read expounds the evils of credit cards but she made a good argument (you guys just got the synopsis).
What would you do? Would you prefer to pay down the debt and use the card for expenses or keep using cash and try to pay the debt down slower? I suppose the real question is cash or credit?
Tags: Budget, Credit Cards, Debt, Debt Reduction, Relationships Filed Under: Banking, Budget, Credit Cards, Debt, Debt Reduction, Expenses, Relationships
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