Two Examples About Saving Money During Hard Economic Times
October 7, 2008 by Erik Folgate
Filed under Budgeting, House and Home, Spending and Saving
My wife and I recently bought a house, and this is our first house. We have NOTHING by way of appliances and tools that you need to maintain a home, so we were prepared to spend some money on things we need to take care of our house. The two major purchases we needed to make right away were a lawn mower and a washer and dryer. We don’t have a huge front and back yard, but our grass is very thick. We needed a quality mower that didn’t have much life on it. The house came with a washer and dryer, but the dryer was from the 1970’s, and it took about 2 hours to dry a load of laundry. The washer worked fine, but it was highly inefficient. We knew that we couldn’t buy new for both of these purchases, because we have so many other things to buy for the house like paint, patio furniture for our sweet deck, window coverings, and a microwave. So, here are two examples of how we saved some money and still got quality products.
Breaking Down Our Moving Costs
September 29, 2008 by Erik Folgate
Filed under Budgeting, Real Estate, Travel
We recently moved from Jacksonville, Florida to Orlando, Florida. It’s about 140 miles between the two cities. My wife started working about two months ago, so money wasn’t as tight as it has been in the past. However, we still like to get the most out of our money no matter what we’re doing.
Here is a breakdown of our moving expenses:
How Facebook Can Save You Money On Travel
September 11, 2008 by Erik Folgate
Filed under Budgeting, Spending and Saving, Travel
Facebook isn’t just a place to reunite with old friends and write cute little comments on your friends’ uploaded photos. There’s an application for everything, and the traveling applications are something that I’ve been checking out lately. Here are some facebook applications of interest.
Hostelbook.com application: this application helps you find the best hostel at the best rate wherever you may be traveling whether it’s in the United States or abroad. I backpacked around Europe four years ago, and we saved a ton of money staying at hostels. However, we didn’t have facebook to get quality reviews of which hostels to frequent and which ones to stay away from. There were hostel review sites out there, but facebook’s social network blows any of those sites away. Check this one out.
Mortgage Fees You Should Not Pay
August 22, 2008 by Erik Folgate
Filed under Budgeting, Real Estate
My wife and I are in the process of buying a home, and I have been frustrated lately at the hidden mortgage fees that brokers try to pass off as “necessary” to close the loan. When in fact, there are so many fees that don’t need to be paid by borrowers with good credit and stable income.
Here are list of some of the negotiable fees in a closing statement:
College Savings Tip: Live Without A Car
August 15, 2008 by Erik Folgate
Filed under Budgeting, Cars, College
This might sound crazy to some of you, but I knew plenty of people who made it happen. The only drawback this is that it makes it tough to hold a job during college. I think all college students should working during their college career, but many jobs are either on campus or right around the corner. My senior year, I worked as a computer technician on campus, and I lived five blocks from campus. I drove my bike to work every day. Here are five reasons why living without a car can save you some significant cash.
College Savings Tip: Set Up An Automatic Savings Plan
August 14, 2008 by Erik Folgate
Filed under Budgeting, College, Spending and Saving
I recommend the ING Direct Orange Savings account for college students. It earns 3.0% interest, and you can set up an automatic savings plan.
My biggest problem in college was that I had no cash cushion when something went wrong. When my car broke down, it went on a credit card. When I needed a security deposit for an apartment, cash advance on a credit card. My parents helped me a little bit with finances, but not with big expenses. And I suspect that many of you are in the same situation. In order to keep yourself from using your credit card as an emergency fund, set up an online savings account to automatically take out $25 dollars a week for your emergency fund. Then, when the worst happens, you’ll be prepared for it.
College Savings Tips: Buy Used Text Books
August 13, 2008 by Erik Folgate
Filed under Books, Budgeting, College, Spending and Saving
Many college students will be going back to school soon, so I decided to put together a series of savings tips for college students. Many of the tips that I share are ones that I used myself while I was in college. One of the largest expenses for college students other than rent and tuition, are the dreaded textbooks. The amount that publishers charge for textbooks is criminal. Plus, some of them package a textbook with the workbook and practice tests, so you are forced to buy the entire package or nothing at all. It’s sick, and college students know it. Here’s what you can do.
Save Money By Having A Clothes Swapping Party
August 7, 2008 by Erik Folgate
Filed under Budgeting
This idea might not appeal to guys as much as it will appeal to girls, but it has potential to help you save a ton of money on clothing. I’m married, and I know the deal with clothes and women. You love clothes. You love looking cute. You love having multiple options for mutliple occasions at different stages and moods of your life. However, some clothing that you buy never makes it onto your body. You might wear it once and never wear it again. eBay has lost its luster and it’s been flooded with cheap products. It’s hard to sell your clothes on the internet now, but it’s too tough to give it away since you paid $75 for it.
How We Saved Money On Vacation
July 31, 2008 by Erik Folgate
Filed under Budgeting, Spending and Saving
I hope you enjoyed the auto-themed posts by my buddy, Tim. He did a great job, and he even threw in a video post in there. Nice job, Tim! If you enjoyed his posts, be sure to contact me with your feedback. I took my wife on a vacation to Cancun, Mexico for our 3rd anniversary. We didn’t do much for our first two anniversaries, so I thought that a trip was in order. We went to Cancun for our honeymoon, and we loved the hotels and the water. There’s so much to do in Cancun that we still didn’t do everything we wanted to on our second trip there. Naturally, we were on a budget, and we make sure that we get the best deals for our money. Here are three different ways that we saved money while in Cancun.
How To Save Money In the Big City
July 3, 2008 by Erik Folgate
Filed under Budgeting, Money Management
This week, I am visiting my brother and his family in Los Angeles, California. To be more specific, they live in Pasadena. People from Los Angeles don’t like when you say “They’re from L.A.”. You need to be more specific, because the city is so huge. It’s a fun city. The whether is amazing, but the traffic and the cost of living is enough to keep me away. I’ve been observing some of the interesting ways that they save money in this city. Los Angeles is a little different than big cities such as New York, Chicago, and Atlanta. It is a hybrid city. It has a downtown, but very few people live there. They live in the hundreds of towns that surround the core of Los Angeles. You can’t call these smaller cities suburbs of Los Angeles, because they still feel like the big city. Los Angeles doesn’t have a great public transportation system. It’s so spread out, that a transportation system to cover every area would cost a fortune. Here are a few ways that my brother and his family save money to live well in Pasadena.
