Posts in category Ways to Save Money

How and Where to Find Discounted Gift Cards

Nov20
2011 Written by Guest Blogger

Isn’t it nice when you’re shopping for a gift and find the perfect item, in the perfect size and color all for the perfect price? Of course it is, but if you’re like me, I can have the hardest time coming up with ideas for gifts. While some may think that giving gift cards are a little impersonal, I think you can still make someone happy with a practical gift card.

But wouldn’t it be nice to be able to get a discount on gift cards? Before you grab a gift card from the store shelf, you should know that discounted gift cards are available if you know where to look.

Where to Find Discounted Gift Cards

1. Social discount sites

There has been a wave of discount sites showing up in the last year few years. Some of the biggest sites are Groupon, Living Social, and Google Offers. You can usually find a deal that give you a 50% discount or more. After you buy the offer, you can print the coupon and present it to someone in a card, saving you a cool 50% on the face value of the gift card.

Recently, I bought a $50 gift card for Guitar Center and only paid $25 through a Groupon deal. You have to keep an eye out for these deals, but the good ones can be worth it!

2. Secondhand Gift Card Sites

Before you go to your retail store to buy a gift card, check out these sites: GiftCardGranny.com, SwapaGift.com, and PlasticJungle.com. A quick search on Gift Card Granny shows that you can get a $25 Macy’s gift card for $20. That’s a nice 20% savings and there’s free shipping too, so you don’t have to spend your time and gas to drive to the mall.

You can also sell your unused gift cards to these sites and they’ll pay you a discounted amount for the card. Expect to lose 15% or so of the value if you sell it to the website – though it might be worth it if you would rather have the cash.

3. eBay and Craigslist

You can find good gift card deals on an eBay auction for both new and partially used gift cards. Just be careful to research the seller and view his past auctions. As the saying goes, if it’s too good to be true, it might just be!

Craigslist also works, but your options may be limited. It doesn’t hurt to hop on Craigslist and search for gift cards. Make sure you call the number on the card and check the balance.

4. Use Your Rewards or Perks

Many credit cards offer gift cards in exchange for reward points. I’ve enjoyed receiving $50 gift cards every few months for points earned on my credit card. If you’re not a fan of using a credit card, don’t worry – there’s another way! You can get perks by using a debit card through Perkstreet Financial. Perkstreet is an online bank that offers perks (rewards) for using your debit card. You receive cash back (up to 2%) and you can turn the perks into gift cards of your choice.

5. Warehouse and Club Store

According to creditcards.com, club stores like Costco and Sam’s Club will offer deals on gift cards right in the store. If you’re a member of Costco, you can get two $50 gift cards to California Pizza Kitchen ($100) for only $79.99. That’s a nice 20% discount!

Whether you’re buying a gift card for someone else, or just want to get a discount from your favorite retailer, be sure to try some of these ideas.

Do you have any other tips for getting a discounted gift card? Share them with us in the comments!

Resources: CreditCards.com

Image by mmaxer/Shutterstock

Tim 24 How and Where to Find Discounted Gift Cards

Tim is a personal finance writer at Faith and Finance a Christian financial help blog that provides financial insights for individuals, businesses, and churches. Outside of finance, Tim enjoys spending time with his wife, playing the saxophone, reading economics books, and a good game of RISK or Catan. Find him on Twitter and Facebook.

The articles on this site are for entertainment purposes and should not be taken as financial advice. Please contact a financial professional for specific advice regarding your situation. Also, many of the CPF articles help us pay the bills by using affiliate relationships with Amazon, Google, eBay and others. Find out more here.

How and Where to Find Discounted Gift Cards

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Why It Pays To Shop Around

Nov14
2011 Written by Guest Blogger

After multiple discussions about why razor blades are so expensive, Linda decided she wanted to try out an electric razor to see if she would like it. So the next day when she was at Target picking up some household items she purchased one.

I rarely buy stuff like that at Target, mostly because it is hard to tell if what you are buying is junk. My lovely wife on the other hand is much less concerned about it – she just wants it as soon as possible.

Anyway, she returned with a Remington WDF4830 that Target sold for about $42.00 after tax.

I was curious about whether or not Amazon.com would have it at a better price and after checking it turns out that Amazon had the same shaver for $36.77 (including their free shipping). But more importantly I discovered that the razor didn’t really have very good reviews.

Then, I decided to check to see the other women’s electric razors that Amazon carried. And I quickly discovered that they had a Panasonic ES2207P which had all the features that Linda was looking for. The razor not only had a 4.5 star rating with 145 reviews but it was also half the price at $22.99 (including shipping)!

This whole process on Amazon took about 3 minutes.

Good reviews are important!

I find that sometimes people don’t care much about how a product is reviewed. But you can really get some very valuable information from reviews – especially when there are a bunch (100+).

When I am shopping I am thinking about two things that both pertain to saving money.

I am looking for the best price for what I am looking for now. Like mentioned in the example above the exact same product was over 10% cheaper at Amazon.com. Many products have even deeper price variances.
I care about the product lasting for a long time. I would rather spend a few dollars more to have a good razor that will last 15 years, than buy a junky one that will have to be replaced every 4 years. This is where the real cost-savings takes place.

The moral of the story:

By spending just a few minutes checking only one other store (Amazon) we got a much better product at half the price.

What deals have you gotten from shopping around?

Bob enjoys dark chocolate, paying off debt, giving, Foosball, loose-leaf tea, helping people succeed, learning, anything God created, playing guitar, doing things the “long” way, Philippians, excellence, Chick-Fil-A, and making his wife smile. He started ChristianPF in 2007 and Co-Founded Blogging Your Passion in 2011. Find him on Facebook & Twitter.

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Lower Your Grocery Bill: 3 Secrets

Nov10
2011 Written by Guest Blogger

Bob recently posted a news broadcast from the Financial Bloggers Conference in Chicago. Several things stood out to me from that video. The first thing was Bob’s reply for a top money-saving tip. His outlook on contentment is awesome, and I feel privileged to work with someone whose views so closely match my own. The second thing to stand out was when Len Penzo said that he spent $10,000 per year on food. Because I spend less than $400 a month on food for a family of 6, I’m still trying to grasp how he manages to do that. Then, after reading the comments, I’m still trying to grasp the fact that I am probably in the minority. But since we’re all trying to find more ways to save money, I’m going to share with you my top three secrets for cutting our food bill.

1. Set a per pound cost.

One of the most important aspects of saving money, whether you’re shopping for food or electronics, is to decide what you are willing to spend before the opportunity arises. Once you come up with that figure, stick with it. I used to stick to a $1/pound maximum for grocery items. This year I have found it almost impossible and am rapidly approaching $2/pound. Keep in mind, though, that doesn’t mean I cannot buy cheese that generally runs $4/pound. Since I also buy cabbage at 49 cents a pound, that evens out the total bill.

This process involves reading labels and shelf tags; and doing the math. For someone like me, that involves using the calculator. I also use the calculator to figure what I am spending as I shop. For instance, input the total amount you are willing to spend. Then, each time something goes into your cart, deduct that amount. When you reach zero, you have to quit—even if you only made it through half the store.

2. Change your habits.

As grocery prices have soared, I’ve quit buying certain items. Here are a few examples and why:

Bacon—At $5.19/pound, I cannot justify buying a product that is so unhealthy. If I need to spend that much on meat, then I will buy meat without added salt and chemicals.

Ice cream—Except for birthdays, I rarely buy ice cream. And when I do, I do not pay regular price for it. I recently weighed a carton of Breyers ice cream. This 1 ½ quart box weighed 2 pounds. Considering the regular price of $6.49 for the carton, that comes out to $3.75/pound. Since that is higher than my $2 limit, and it is not truly food, I have just quit buying it.

Ice cream is a member of what I call “food imposters.” They get put into our grocery carts and added to the food allowance but they do not nourish our bodies. Most call them junk or snack foods. Don’t get me wrong; I like snacks just as much as the next gal. But I do not spend my precious food money on heavily salted, sugared, and fatted items on a regular basis. We bake from scratch and we eat popcorn—and not the microwave kind.

Tuna fish—my husband only likes solid white albacore tuna. Currently, it runs about $1.89 a can. If you read that can closely, you will see that the 5 ounces enclosed is only 4 ounces of tuna and one ounce of water. Considering that four cans would make a pound, then tuna runs $7.56 a pound. There is no way I can balance that out with cabbage.

3. Cook from scratch.

Buying ingredients is much less expensive than buying factory-made food. Not only that, it’s healthier, too. Consider a box of Rice A Roni. I absolutely love Rice A Roni. But I haven’t bought it in years. It includes many food additives that I have cut out of our family’s diet and it is expensive. (Close to $3/pound.) So, I’ve devised my own Rice A Roni substitute. It’s made with rice I buy in bulk at 50 cents a pound, it tastes great, and it’s good for you.

What about you? Do you have any grocery-saving tips to share? Let us know in the comments below!

Image by Kenneth V. Pilon/Shutterstock

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5 Things NOT To Buy In November

Nov09
2011 Written by Guest Blogger

Every November it seems like all the best deals roll out with Black Friday sales or even Pre-Black Friday Sales, but believe it or not November isn’t the best month to buy everything.

So if you can patiently wait a little while you may be able to grab up a much better bargain on these items.

1. Toys

You would think that toy prices would be great around and during Black Friday, but it appears that the procrastinator shoppers come out ahead (when the toy is still on the shelves anyway). According to the folks over at Dealsnews you can save up to 50% by waiting until the 2 weeks prior to Christmas. So I would say if you are going after the Tickle-Me-Elmo of the year, grab it as soon as you can, but for all others wait until mid-December.

2. Apparel

Clothing stores will likely have some sales during November, but be patient my friend! We all know what is coming in January! If you can resist the urge to purchase clothing items over the next couple months you will be greatly rewarded with big discounts in January. This can work out especially good if you have any gifts to return in January – more money to spend on better deals!

3. Cookware

If you are hosting Christmas at your house this year, this one can work out nicely for you. According to an article titled The Best Things to Buy in December on AOL:

“December is traditionally the time of year when retailers discount housewares, especially kitchen supplies. Whether you’re buying for yourself or someone else, December is the best time to find deals on kitchenware.”

4. Calendars

This one is common sense, but with retailers pushing calendars so hard many forget about it! Right after Christmas you can normally find calendars for 50% off. And if you can wait until January you will likely be able to save 75% or more! I got an even better deal for those with day planners – I found a way to print Franklin Planner templates for free.

5. Cameras

The biggest trade shows of the year for camera makers occur in January and February. This is normally when the new models are released. So as you can imagine this creates nice discounts on last years models. Forbes suggests:

“Unless you must have the latest and greatest cameras, February is a great time to shop for last year’s models. Wait for the President’s Day sales.”

Get a deal on everything else in November?

While these are a few of the things you may want to hold off purchasing this month, the truth is that with all the great Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals it is a great time to make a lot of purchases. So keeping an eye on the deals coming up over the next few weeks could save you some cash!

Do you know of anything else that shouldn’t be purchased in November?

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How Much Should You Spend on Groceries?

Nov06
2011 Written by Guest Blogger

Our groceries budget has fluctuated over the past couple of years. It started high, then went down pretty low, and now it is up again. I want to ask you, the readers, how much you spend on groceries so that we can all learn some valuable tips!

Our Grocery Budget Story

When my wife and I got married, we knew we had to start a budget. To be on the same page in our finances, a budget was something we could both look to for guidance when we were out and about shopping. It was an exciting time figuring out our income and expenses (although both looked pretty grim).

Looking at my pre-marriage expenses, I found that I spent just a tad too much at Burger King and KFC (understatement). And Starbucks was on my wife’s list of regular stops throughout the month. So, we realized that we were spending way too much on food – especially eating out.

I estimate I alone was spending about $400 to $500 on eating out. Yikes! Something had to change.

So we set up our “fun money” envelopes to be designated for anything including eating out. We also grabbed an envelope for groceries to keep those expenses in line.

If I remember correctly, we started out around $600 which was designated for groceries and worked our way down to bare bones over the next couple of months. Our grocery budget went down to about $300.

But then I read a book by Jack LaLanne on nutrition and fitness. Uh oh, now I had to spend more on whole foods. I realized that saving money wasn’t really worth losing my health to diabetes.

So our grocery budget went back up. Right now, we budget $460 for groceries for the two of us. That’s $230 per person per month. This seems like a good amount that can stay the same over the next few months if food prices don’t adjust too much.

Keep in mind that all our grocery money goes toward food – not any other items you’d find at the grocery store. We have separate categories for household items like toilet paper and toothpaste.

How Much Should You Spend on Groceries?

It depends. What are your goals? Are you looking to just scrape by so that you can follow a plan to get out of debt? Or are you looking to improve your health and spend a little more on your grocery budget?

Another thing that affects how much you spend on groceries is how you pay for groceries. We pay cash because it’s a great way to see quickly how much money we have left for the month.

Others spend using a debit card. If you’re going to take this route, you can save some money by getting a cash back debit card!

Where you live also has an affect on how much money you should spend on groceries.

As you already know, there are so many variables that go into determining how much you should spend on groceries. I think the answer is going to be different for everyone, so that’s why I’d like to ask for your input in the comments.

Share Your Grocery Budget Below!

Okay, here’s the deal. We can all benefit from learning about each other’s grocery budget, so leave a comment below with the following information:

How much you spend on groceries per person per month in your household.
Share how you typically pay for your groceries: the envelope system, a card, or another means?
If you’re in the United States, share what state you reside in.

It’ll be interesting to get feedback from so many of you. If you’re reading through the comments, do us a favor and leave your own comment! I’ll meet you there and I’m looking forward to hearing from you!

Image by Elena Efimova/Shutterstock

John 21 How Much Should You Spend on Groceries?

John Frainee is a personal ?nance writer at TheChristianDollar.com. His goal is to provide biblical ?nancial principles that encourage people to live healthier lives. Beyond personal ?nance, John enjoys spending time with his wife and two crazy cats, playing a competitive game of Monopoly, and reading just about anything he can get his hands on. You can also ?nd him on Twitter and Facebook.

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Hosting a Thanksgiving Dinner for Less

Oct26
2011 Written by Guest Blogger

The Thanksgiving holiday is a wonderful time for the extended family to get together. And this year it’s your turn to have everyone over to your house. While you are excited at the opportunity to serve all your loved ones in this way, maybe the expense of serving a traditional holiday feast for the entire clan is prohibitive. Perhaps you feel that, with grocery prices rising like the morning sun, it’s hard enough to feed the family every day—not to mention a turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and all the other trimmings. If this is how you feel this year, here are a few ideas to help lighten the load on your holiday budget.

Pray

Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. –Philippians 4:6-7 KJV

Commit your holiday to prayer. Ask the Lord to not only provide the means to have the entire family together, but to show you money saving ideas. Having an attitude of Thanksgiving is more important than having a table spread with food.

Think outside the box

Ask yourself if a traditional turkey meal is necessary. Take a poll of family members. Would pasta and salad suffice? If the focus is on the fellowship and not the food, it doesn’t really matter what you eat.

Play the game

And I don’t mean football. If you want a traditional Thanksgiving meal you have to play the grocery store game. Start watching the ads now. Some stores have you save your receipts to earn free or reduced-priced turkeys. Others will offer a free turkey for a certain dollar amount in purchases. You need to do the math and see which store and which deal is the best for you. Also, things like sweet potatoes, canned pumpkin, butter, and marshmallows go on sale during November. You just have to get them when the price is right—not necessarily the week before Thanksgiving.

Ask for help

Just because the family gathering is at your house doesn’t mean you have to provide all the food. There is no reason why cousin Patty couldn’t bring the pies or sister Sue the stuffing. If you provide the turkey, ask each family unit to bring a dish. This is a great way for everyone to share in the load and appreciate the cooking skills and recipes of loved ones. In fact, have everyone that brings a dish bring the recipe typed on a 3×5 card. Collect all the cards and compile a little family cookbook to present to everyone else by Christmas.

Skip the meal altogether

Rather than keeping to yourselves this Thanksgiving, consider having the family serve in a homeless shelter, soup kitchen, or nursing home. Sharing the love of Christ with those less fortunate than ourselves brings greater rewards than lolling over-stuffed on the sofa in front of a ball game. After ministering to others, invite the family back to your place for dessert and board games. Here again, ask each family to bring their favorite pie.

Remember, Thanksgiving Day was instituted as a time of remembrance and thanksgiving by people with grateful hearts full toward God for bringing them through tremendous hardship. May our Thanksgiving Days forever continue in that same spirit.

Better a little with the fear of the Lord than great wealth with turmoil. Better a meal of vegetables where there is love than a fattened calf with hatred. –Proverbs 15:16-17 NIV

Share with us some of your favorite Thanksgiving memories. What might you do differently this year? Meet us in the comments!

Image by Luiz Rocha/Shutterstock

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A Creative Christmas: Increase Your Joy, Decrease Your Spending!

Oct20
2011 Written by Guest Blogger

For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. – Isaiah 9:6

Christmas is a time of joy and celebration for Christians. We exchange gifts with family & friends to show our love and appreciation. If your shopping list is growing into a financial or time-consuming burden, get creative this year!

Be Proactive

The Never-ending Cycle

Do you have a friend that always remembers you with a wonderful gift every December, causing you to feel obligated even if your budget is tight or you have no idea what to give them?

Send a sweet note now to stop the spending-giving cycle. Mention how you always delight when you hear the pretty wind chimes they sent last year, but this year your family feels so blessed and wants to exchange warm wishes & updated pictures only.

Your friend may secretly appreciate your initiative to take the burden off of them, too!

Secret Santas

Your small group, workplace, or gal pals draw names every year. One gift for this group and one gift for that party can add up in money & shopping time. You struggle to find something meaningful within the $10 limit.

Suggest early that Christmas be a little different this year. Everyone brings a white elephant item from their house for a gift-swapping game. Items can be random or a theme like a unused jewelry, a scarf, a homemade treat, or a dusty kitchen gadget.

The laughs come from the surprises inside the pretty paper and the swapping. Go a step further and have a fun raffle of white elephant items with the proceeds supporting a local charity or other agreed-upon organization.

The Cash & Gift Card Exchange

The baby that squeezed the stuffed toy with delight & the preschooler that got lost in picture books has grown into a teenager wearing brands you don’t recognize.

If your extended family’s Christmas has morphed into exchanging checks or gift cards, brainstorm about making a collective donation in your family name to the church building fund or sponsoring the hard-to-adopt large families on the Giving Tree this year.

Cashless Gifts: The Thought Really Counts

Teachers

Teachers touch our children’s lives in important ways. A handwritten Thank You note from you and your child will be treasured more than another apple ornament. Go one step further and write a formal letter of appreciation to the school principal, detailing the wonderful things your teacher does every day.

Projects of Christmas Past

Got a few projects that didn’t make the December 25^th deadline? Find that shoebox full of materials and finish the projects for this year. You receive the gift of space while your friend receives a one-of-a-kind homemade gift. Host a UFO (UnFinished Object) party with other crafty friends now.

Food

Everyone loves food! The simplest cookies on a plate, with your handwritten Christmas card, makes a wonderful gift. While your friend is frazzled from a hectic holiday routine, she can recharge with a sweet treat and a cup of tea. Your famous candy is a universal gift for anyone you want to remember, even if you don’t know their favorite sports team or perfume.

Time is Priceless

Children

Make up coupons for playing a favorite game, making a yummy recipe together, serving breakfast in bed, or picking wildflowers in the spring – whatever is special to your kids.

Friends

Print up a coupon for two hours of deep cleaning help, yard work, or babysitting. For the older folks in your neighborhood, give coupons for rides to doctor’s appointments, the grocery store, or church services.

Aging Family

The eldest are sometimes the hardest to buy for if they are limited in their abilities or living space. Your grandmother will cherish the time you put into a long letter of your memories of her famous cinnamon rolls, fried chicken, and handmade Barbie clothes.

For a distant relative, promise more frequent phone calls, emails, or pictures next year. Mark it on your calendar and do it!

Many seniors want to jump into the computer age, but need a patient tutor. Give weekly lessons on how to use the internet and email. Grandpa wants to laugh at the kittens on YouTube, too!

The Greatest Gift

The greatest gift of all is God becoming flesh with the birth of Jesus. This year, you can set an example to your family and friends by simplifying the giving and celebrating the real joy of Christmas.

What is the best creative gift you have given or received at Christmastime? Meet us in the comments section!

Image by Ruth Black/Shutterstock

Cherie 35 A Creative Christmas: Increase Your Joy, Decrease Your Spending!

Cherie is a small business accountant with a passion to teach others about personal finance -especially military families through the Financial Peace program. With her son & daughter at college, Cherie enjoys spending time with her husband of 23 years, quilting, and volunteering.

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Rising Food Prices: 8 Common Sense Ways to Fight Them!

Oct08
2011 Written by Guest Blogger

I did some grocery shopping yesterday and was shocked about my bill. I’ll be honest, I eat A LOT of food, but it seems like it gets more and more expensive over time. I’m not alone with these suspicions. Along with gas, groceries are one of the top expenses for the average American household today. There has to be a better way.

So, I did some research and some thinking. I came up with a list of top ways you and anyone else can slap rising food prices in the face.

1. When in doubt, buy in bulk

Buying in bulk will always provide for some awesome discounts. One tip here is to always double check the unit cost rate. Sometimes, bulk only stores will sneak this right past you. Also, don’t buy more than you need. Big box suppliers tempt you just like any other grocery store.

2. Use cash back credit/debit cards

This is a technique that I recommend for anyone out there, especially large families. Many credit cards offer cash back percentages, sometimes up to 5%. Utilize these credit cards to your advantage and never carry a balance. There are debit cards that also offer these types of rewards. Seek these cards out and start making cash back!

3. Skip the kids, shop alone

My mom was smart and rarely brought me to the grocery store with her. And when she did, she couldn’t wait to get me out of the store. It’s a wise move to keep your kids at home when the grocery shopping happens. I remember constantly asking about candy and beef jerky. I kept asking and my mom would get more and more frustrated. Avoid the temptation to give in to your kids and leave them home.

4. Only buy items on your list

This is a big one for me personally. I write down my groceries on a list and only buy what is on the list. This keeps the temptation to buy luxuries at bay. I have found that when I go into a store without a list, it’s MUCH easier for me to start buying things I don’t need. Write it down and stick with your list, it’s just smart.

5. Shop at multiple stores

Assuming the various grocery stores are relatively close in proximity, going to more than one grocery store might make sense. Shop the ads in the paper and separate out what stores you’re planning to hit and stick to your plan. This can be quite the money saver.

6. Watch the clock

A word of wisdom here: the longer you stay in a store, the more money you will spend. I don’t know if it’s part of human nature or awesome marketing, but it happens. Try to keep your grocery trips within a certain time period. I like to keep it under 45 minutes and head out as fast as I can.

7. Skip entire aisles

This is a new strategy that I have incorporated into my shopping excursions. If I have a list and know certain aisles have things I don’t need, I skip them entirely. For example, I’m on a whole foods diet that consists of only “living” foods, so I was limited to the vegetables and meat aisles. I ended up skipping aisles 2-15 no problem. And guess what? I ended up saving tons of money from avoiding the temptation to buy more than I had to!

8. The key is to shop smart

Look, grocery stores are only after one thing: money. They could care less about your investments and keeping your expenses within a budget. They want profits and they want them NOW. Just because everyone else is doing it doesn’t meet you should! I hope the tips that I’ve mentioned help you save money going forward. Shop smart everyone!

What are some ways you’ve saved money on food? Meet us in the comments!

Image by Fedor Kondratenko/Shutterstock

Jon 29 Rising Food Prices: 8 Common Sense Ways to Fight Them!

Jon is a Christian personal finance writer at Free Money Wisdom. His mission is to help you succeed in your personal finance life with the Bible as your compass. When Jon is not writing on personal finance, he spends time with his girlfriend, lifts iron at the gym, and plays Scrabble. You can subscribe to his site through EMAIL/RSS or you can also find him on Twitter and Facebook.

Rising Food Prices: 8 Common Sense Ways to Fight Them!

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Self-storage: Are You at War?

Oct02
2011 Written by Guest Blogger

One of our guilty OnDemand pleasures is “Storage Wars” produced A&E. The show focuses on the bidding wars of four featured personalities and then highlights the treasures & trash purchased in the unpaid storage lockers.

At the end of each show, we turn to each other & question: Why did these unknown people pay to store junk? Why did they put priceless family items in a dark space? Why was the rent delinquent when selling a small portion of the items would have paid it? Why were the items abandoned at all?

Know Thy Enemy

Scary facts: Self-storage is primarily an American invention. Last year (2010), self-storage was a $20 billion industry & has been the fastest growing segment of commercial real estate over the last 35 years. Nearly 1 in 10 households use a self-storage unit – an increase of 65% over the past 15 years. A billion square feet of storage facilities was built between 1998-2005.

Storage companies are slick salesmen. First month’s rent is typically free or just $1 with no contract. Use of a moving truck is available to drive money from your wallet to their business. Many people start the storage habit thinking they will deal with the overflow quickly. Months turn into years, and before you know it, the cost is higher than most will admit.

Co-conspirators

There are many co-conspirators that come into play with a storage war:

Gifts of Christmas’ past: Parting with a gift can be difficult – simply because it was a gift. Counter attack: Keep in mind it’s the thought that counts and no one would want you to pay a monthly rent to storage their gift.

Memories: A picture from a first apartment, boxes & boxes of baby clothes, a rocking chair from the nursery, the box of games that were so much fun 10 years ago, or inherited furniture doesn’t fit your lifestyle either in function or style. Counter attack: Take a picture of these items to remember in an album that’s easily accessible at home rather than during infrequent visits to the unit.

Sunken costs: You paid good money for it! The original cost is no longer a factor if you aren’t going to use it. Counter attack: Sell it on eBay, craigslist, or at a garage sale to add to your emergency fund or college savings. Give an item to someone who will appreciate it. Donating to your favorite organization is a win-win: you lose the storage unit, you get a tax-deduction, and your charity gets a donation to use towards their mission.

Family members: Sonny boy got married last year and didn’t want to take his childhood keepsakes. You married late in life and had to combine two full households – resulting in the extras going into storage. Counter attack: If adult children want these items, then they need to take them home. If you aren’t using the item in your household – then perhaps it’s time to let go.

Yourself: Clothes that are too small are kept in hopes of the diet working, even though they are out of style. Collections that took years to accumulate no longer have a priority in your life. Counter attack: If you haven’t used it in a year, sell the item on Ebay or donate it. Admit that your interests have changed and find a new home for your collection.

Casualties of Self-storage

Storing things in general, whether in your closet, your garage, your loft, or a self-storage unit, can be extremely dangerous to your household budget. Not being able to see things easily can cause overspending. If you can’t find it, you’ll possibly purchase a duplicate item.

Even if you know you own the gadget or item, sometimes it’s easier to buy another one rather than search through boxes hoping to find it. Add to the process driving a few miles to public storage, going through the security gate, opening up the locked unit, dragging out boxes into the alley, sorting through boxes – and the odds just increased that buying is easier than playing Hide & Go Seek at Public Storage.

Freeing up space in the closet or garage can encourage new purchases because the feeling of being “stuffed” is now gone. Kind of like how a bigger pair of pants can allow overeating when the feeling of being “stuffed” is removed.

Not all family heirlooms & mementos bring up good memories. Dealing with these items once and for all can provide an emotional freedom.

A storage unit the size of a closet can easily run $800 or more a year – costing more than the value of the contents inside.

Winning the War

Is one of your monthly bills to a self-storage facility? Why? What was the original reason that led to using paid storage? Does that reason still exist?

If you know you need to stop using paid storage, make an action plan to deal with this financial drain in the next week! You might also need an action plan if your storage problems exist in your closet, spare bedroom, basement, or garage.

Get help from a spouse, neighbor, friend or family member to spend next Saturday battling your way through the boxes and make tactical decisions to win your war!

Have you used self-storage? Tell us your story! Meet us in the comments!

Image by TK Edens/Shutterstock

Cherie is a small business accountant with a passion to teach others about personal finance -especially military families through the Financial Peace program. Cherie enjoys spending time with her husband of 23 years, quilting, and volunteering.

As a thank you for subscribing to our newsletter you can download our quick eBook “25 Ways To Save Money in 2011” for FREE!

Here are some more resources I found while researching making money to blog. I hope they help and enjoy reading.

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Eliminating Cable TV Saves More Than We Think

Sep30
2011 Written by Guest Blogger

Cutting the cable TV bill to reign in your budget—you probably know all about that one, don’t you? But that’s not what I’m going to talk about. From a pure budgetary angle, sure you can save $50, $75, maybe $100 per month by eliminating your cable bill, and that can help your finances a bit. But we’re going for bigger fish here.

Not all of the costs associated with cable TV are financial. As we’ll see, they can just as easily cost us in the areas of health, career success, emotions and even our faith. All of these costs are inherent in TV in general, but are more specific to cable TV because of the multiplier affect—200 to 300 channels carry greater potential cost than having only six or seven. After all, the more channels you can watch, the more time you’re likely to spend in front of your TV.

What are those costs?

Time with the Tube

How much time do we spend watching TV? According to the A.C. Nielsen Co.,

“…the average American watches more than 4 hours of TV each day (or 28 hours/week, or 2 months of nonstop TV-watching per year). In a 65-year life, that person will have spent 9 years glued to the tube.”

On a percentage basis, if you’re the average person who spends four hours per day watching TV, that means that about 17%–or one-sixth of your life—is being spent watching TV. But that’s not nearly the worst of it.

There are 24 hours in a day, but you probably spend eight of them sleeping—that leaves 16 of “waking time”. If you’re a working person, you probably spend another eight hours working, plus an additional two between getting ready and commuting to work. Now you’re down to just six waking hours in a typical day. If four are spent watching TV, you’ll have just two hours a day for everything else you need to accomplish in your life.

How much has TV time been expanded by having 200-300 channels to choose from? Are you addicted to television?

Health

Cable TV has two health related risks, one of which relates to the sedentary lifestyle it encourages. Simply put, the more time you spend watching TV, the less time you’re exercising or just moving around.

According to a 2011 study released in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, people who spend excessive amounts of time in front of a screen — primarily watching TV — are more likely to die of any cause and suffer heart-related problems.

The second issue is food. Ever notice how eating and watching TV seem to go hand-in-hand? That’s not an accident. A large percentage of the commercials played on TV are pitching food, and usually the worst kind. Ads for restaurants, rich prepared foods and especially junk food make up a large chunk of the commercial blocks. The constant images can make you emotionally hungry, even though you’re not physically hungry.

This wouldn’t be so bad if you only had the 6-7 free channels on regular TV, but when you have a couple hundred to choose from—you can do the math.

The Call to Consume

Similar to the bombardment of messages related to food are the vast number of commercials in general. But let’s start by answering a basic question: what is the true purpose of a commercial? Answer: to get us to buy something we might not otherwise. Do you think that fact has an effect on your finances? The businesses behind those commercials are betting they will, so much that they’re paying millions of dollars to make them happen.

The more time we spend watching TV, the more likely we’ll be to spend money on just about anything we can imagine. Cable TV means more channels, more programs, more choices, more time in front of the tube, and most importantly—more commercials.

While you’re watching TV you’re not spending time with God.

As Christians our lives must center on our relationship with Jesus Christ. That means prayer, Bible study, worship, fellowship with other believers and Kingdom work. None of that is happening while we’re watching TV! 200-plus channels of cable TV can compete with our faith walk and rob us spiritually. And not only us—the more time we spend watching TV, the less we spend building up other believers and sharing our faith with a world that needs it so desperately.

The Christian faith is also in large part, a call to resist worldliness—how great is that resistance if we’re inviting it into our homes via hundreds of TV channels?

While you’re watching TV you’re not earning more income.

Earning more money usually takes time, time to sharpen career skills, to develop new skills, or time to work a second job or side business. And while it may be self-evident that none of these will happen while we’re watching TV, we mustn’t discount the hypnotic way that TV has of keeping us from focusing on what it is we truly need to do.

TV makes life look easy, and let’s face it, easy is what we all want. It’s easier than we think to buy into TV’s easy messages when we should be doing other things that aren’t so easy. Hundreds of channels only pull us in deeper.

Emotional and Intellectual Manipulation

While we’re watching TV we’re constantly being influenced and manipulated. The more TV we watch, the greater that influence.

We can begin to believe that we don’t measure up because everyone on TV is beautiful, successful and rich—and we’re not. No one on TV seems to have any real problems, at least not any that can’t be solved by the end of the show—and we do. We can be made to feel insecure because people on TV have nicer homes, sportier cars and more hip clothes than we do.

All of this feeds insecurity. It would be bad enough if all it did was motivate us to spend money to “fix ourselves”, but that isn’t the half of it. TV can make us feel bad about being who we are, as if that isn’t good enough and that brings a host of other problems with it. Just a hunch, but I’m guessing that a lot of our bouts with insecurity, anxiety and even depression have a great, big something to do with the TV in our living rooms.

Have you ever contemplated the many ways TV—and cable TV in particular—cost us? Are there other costs you can think of? Just as important–what might you accomplish if you didn’t have cable TV? Meet us in the comments!

Image by greenland/shutterstock

Kevin 30 Eliminating Cable TV Saves More Than We Think

With backgrounds in both accounting and the mortgage industry, Kevin Mercadante is professional personal finance blogger, and the owner of OutOfYourRut.com, a website about careers, business ideas, money and more. A committed Christian, he lives in Atlanta with his wife and two teenage kids.

As a thank you for subscribing to our newsletter you can download our quick eBook “25 Ways To Save Money in 2011” for FREE!

Eliminating Cable TV Saves More Than We Think

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Got a few projects that didn’t make the December 25^th deadline? Find that shoebox full of materials and finish the projects for this year. You receive the gift of space while your friend receives a one-of-a-kind homemade gift. Host a UFO (UnFinished Object) party with other crafty friends now.