It's Warm Somewhere!

Welcome to the 320th edition of the Festival of Frugality!

As I’m putting together this week’s festival, I can look out the window and see snow on the ground, gray skies, and barren trees. Which is fine, because it’s the middle of winter!

That being said, this is the time of year when many of us here in cold weather climates might think about how nice it would be to enjoy some warm weather right now.  Of course, our frugality often takes over, and we don’t go anywhere.  So call this living vicariously, self-torture, or motivational – but this week’s edition of the Festival of Frugality will be the It’s Warm Somewhere in the World Edition!  We’ll take a look at some places around the northern hemisphere that enjoy great weather this time of year.

Of course, the main event here is the collection of excellent articles that were submitted. There’s a lot of good reading here, please check out the submissions. First, we’ll start with this week’s Editor’s Picks, and will then move on the rest of the recommended reading. I’ve included the comments as provided to me by the sender in each submission.

Editor’s Picks

KT presents Is Outsourcing Household Chores a Luxury or a Smart Money Move? posted at Personal Finance Journey. I don’t like cleaning; and I make no secret of that fact. Dust can multiply for months, and I might notice that it is there, but I probably won’t clean it. I do have the basics that I do every day – dishes, and general picking up. I clean the bathrooms and sweep and mop the kitchen floor, so I am not a complete slob, but I hate deep cleaning.

Jeffrey presents 101 Simple Pleasures That Don’t Cost a Dime posted at Saving Advice. There are a lot of simple pleasures out there and many of them cost nothing to very little. Embrace them. Actively seek to find them daily. Enjoy life on the cheap.

Annabelle presents Marilyn Monroe, frugal icon? posted at Shopping Detox. Despite being remembered as an icon of old Hollywood glamour, Marilyn Monroe lived a surprisingly thrifty lifestyle 

Aruba:  Located in the southern part of the Carribean Sea, this island features January average high temperatures of 85 degrees (29 celsius)! Interestingly, average highs range from 85 to 89 throughout the year, marking a steady climate.  I was fortunate enough to visit there once – it was a spectacular place.

Other Recommended Reading

Kevin presents 3 Frugal Ideas for a Romantic Valentine’s Day posted at Invest It Wisely. Remember, there’s no need to spend a fortune on Valentine’s Day. Sometimes, a bit of cheap fun is all you need. So, what are your ideas for Valentine’s Day this year?

Kyle presents 4 Reasons You Should Not Invest in Real Estate Right Now posted at The Penny Hoarder. A few weeks ago we shared with you some reasons why this might be a good time to invest in real estate and this week we wanted to present the other side of the argument. Here are four good reasons not to buy real estate right now…

Aloysa presents Live A Little: Have A Latte posted at My Broken Coin. This is a new series I am starting on this blog. It is called Live A Little, and it is not about how to save more by cutting expenses and living frugal. It is about spending, but in an intelligent way.

Wayne presents Retirement Planning for Young Families posted at Young Family Finance. Find out what the first step of retirement planning should be for young families.

Shaun presents Lottery Winner Loses Everything in Four Years: Smart Approaches for Families with Income Windfalls posted at Smart Family Finance. Lottery winners are famous for winning fortunes and then losing them. That is because it is easy to make financial mistakes when families run into income windfalls. However, there are a few approaches to help you to make smart decisions and minimize the risks of losing everything.

YFS presents 4 Tips to Improve Credit Even After A Bankruptcy posted at Your Finances Simplified. A bankruptcy can be a financial event which wrecks credit and hurts a consumers ability to qualify for loans. Its effects can be felt for years afterwards, as it appears on a credit report for 7-10 years depending on what type of BK you file for.

A Blinkin presents CD’s are for Hypocrites posted at Funancials. I would venture to say that there are two investment products people learn about before any others Stocks and CDs Certificates of Deposit. Assuming most people learn about these two options when theyre young, I would think the way they were explained was elementary. Something like stocks are risky CDs are risk-free. But are they remembering inflation?

LaTisha presents What is a Portfolio? posted at Financial Success for Young Adults. A portfolio is made up of assets. There are five major asset classes of intangible financial instruments; Stocks, Bonds, Options, Futures, and Foreign exchange.

Kevin presents Claim Your Unclaimed Property posted at Thousandaire. Check to see if you have unclaimed property free money waiting for you. Just search at your state’s website and you might have something

Darwin presents US Debt Now Equivalent to Entire US Economy – Investing in This New Era posted at Darwin’s Money. The United States has just reached the dreaded 100Dbt-to-GDP ratio with its $15.2 Trillion debt level surpassing the value of all goods and services produced in-country. This is important because it vaults us into a whole new echelon of debt-ridden societies with financial crises of their own: only Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan and Portugal have debt-to-GDP ratios exceeding 100 This is scary stuff folks!

Cape Verde: Situated off the western coast of Africa, these islands are off the beaten path and not widely discussed as a travel destination by many. However, average high temperatures in January reach 76 degrees (24 celsius).

Andy presents The Number One Retirement Fear posted at My Retirement Blog. According to an AARP study recently released, health care issues are the number one biggest fear retirees have. Is retirement affordable? The biggest challenge for most potential retirees is the cost of care and the ability to stay healthy through retirement. Experts claim one will need an extra $200-$300,000 to pay just for health care.

PITR presents Generate passive income – How to do it posted at Passive Income To Retire. If you want to generate passive income, you need to know the two ways that people establish a passive income.

Corey presents Why Financing a Car Can be a Bad Idea posted at 20s Finances. If you are looking to get a car and you don’t have enough money saved to purchase the car outright, you may be tempted to get a car loan so that you don’t have to wait. But is this really the best route to take?

Hank presents Four Great Benefits Of Buying A House posted at Money Q&A. There are many great benefits of buying a house such as wealth creation, tax savings, forced savings, and others. Renting should not be your default option when there are so many great benefits of buying a house.

Jester presents A Side Income posted at The Ultimate Juggle. Finding a side income can go a long ways to meet your financial needs. Find out how to manage your time and make it happen.

Mich presents NAL Energy to Underperform in 2012? posted at Beating The Index. I believe the stock will underperform in 2012 based on running 2 set of scenarios which indicate the company is not in its best shape.

Suba presents Five Ways to Save Money and Get Fit at Work posted at Broke Professionals. Now that the New Year is here, we are all looking for ways to trim down the expenses and the waistlines. Here are a few ideas on how to do that before or after work or at lunch time. Use Lunch Get some exercise on your lunch break. Read this article for more ideas!

Eddie presents Million Dollar Question: Should I Use My Savings To Pay Down Debt or Fund My Retirement Plan? posted at Finance Fox. Mortgage vs RRSP. TFSA vs Student Loan. Credit Card Debt vs RRSP. TFSA vs Mortgage. RRSP vs Car Payment. Lots of different situations, some of us are in one of these and others may have two or more different forms of debt to pay down.

Amanda L Grossman presents Health Insurance Companies Give Financial Incentives for Good Habits posted at Frugal Confessions. Since I discussed a ‘stick’ approach my health insurance company began on January 1, 2012 by charging a higher premium for smokers than for non-smokers, I’d like to take the time to discuss a ‘carrot’ incentive approach!

Don presents Radical Idea to Create Jobs posted at MoneySmartGuides. I have many crazy ideas. Most aren’t fit to become reality like my spray-painting lawnmower for when the summer heat turns your grass brown. But every so often, I come up with something that I feel holds merit.

Hawaii:  Personally, I’ve been to 47 of the 50 states, but this one has eluded me. Not that I have time to travel these days, but someday I’d like to visit Hawaii. Sounds good right now, as average high temperatures in Honolulu are 81 degrees (27 celsius).

Erika presents My Plan to Lose Ten Pounds in Three Months posted at Newlyweds on a Budget. Have you joined the 10-Pound Challenge yet? Lose ten pounds in three months, win money! Everyone needs a plan to lose ten pounds in three months. We all want to lose weight fast and find the easiest shortcut to get there.

101 Centavos presents How NOT to Invest in Water posted at 101 Centavos. I’ve been reading quite a bit about water lately. Set a Google alert for water scarcity India China, and your inbox is bound to fill up with stories of water scarcity.

Daniel presents Tax Evasion Costs Over $300 Billion Each Year posted at Sweating the Big Stuff. Think tax evasion is a small problem? Thing again: tax evasion in the U.S. amounts to $337.3 billion a year.

Don presents My Son Is A Young Entrepreneur posted at Money Reasons. This is about my son’s transformation in becoming a young entrepreneur. Not bad considering he is only eleven.

Jeffrey presents Five Reasons to Give Up Goal Setting posted at Money Spruce. Should we give up goal setting to achieve more success? Goals are something everyone uses, but is it the most effective for getting things done. Here’s a discussion why it might not be.

Money Spending Mommy presents Debt Free – Stress Free posted at Money Spending Mommy. When times are tough, it can be difficult to make payments on the things we need. And when we run up a lot of debt for unnecessary things, it can get out of control in a hurry.

D.J. presents Start Early – How to Encourage Kids to be Savers posted at The Family Wallet. So how do you encourage kids to be savers? The best way to teach kids how to save is to teach them that buying brand name items is not necessary when store brand names or cheap name brands are just as nice and “in” as they would say.

Beating Broke presents Frugality Will Change You posted at Beating Broke. Drug habits, smoking habits, and coffee habits are all habits that are easy to pick up because they cause a pleasure response in you body. A savings habit is a bit harder to pick up. But, as Ninja will attest, it can be done.

Peter presents Save money by Checking Auto Insurance Rates, Even If You Think You’ve Already Got a Good Deal posted at Bible Money Matters. One mistake that I see a lot of people make, myself included, is to assume that the price they’ve got on their product, service or insurance policy is the best rate that they can get, mainly because it was the best rate when they signed up for it.

Mr. Money presents American Express Bank Personal Savings Account Review posted at Smart on Money. American Express is one of the most recognizable brands in the world. Most people know about them because of their credit and charge cards (that’s where I first came upon them), but they’ve also quickly become a good solid option when it comes to online savings accounts.

Dubai: With explosive growth, this desert locale has become an international business destination, with skyscrapers galore. While temps in the summer months average over 100 degrees, January high temperatures average a comfortable 73 degrees (23 celsius).

Kay Lynn presents Want to Save Money? Slow Down posted at Bucksome Boomer. Slowing down may be counter-intuitive, but it is good for our wallet and for our sanity. By slowing down, we might even be able to check things off that list even faster.

Control Your Cash presents How to go broke in real estate posted at Control Your Cash. A list of recommendations for the would-be landlord who hates money and wants to fail.

Melissa presents Preparing for a Frugal Valentine’s Day posted at Mom’s Plans. Fight back against the consumer machine by making your Valentine’s Day more meaningful.

John presents Want Better Healthcare at a Lower Price? New Primary Care Models Are Gaining Traction posted at Wallet Blog.

Young and Thrifty presents Quicken Home and Business 2012 Review posted at YoungAndThrifty. I was very excited to try Quicken because I have heard so many great things about it and it almost seems that any Personal Finance Blogger isn’t really a personal finance blogger if they don’t use some sort of snazzy personal finance software like Quicken to track their spending, their budgets, and their investments all in one place.

Suzana presents Getting Free Clothing With Rewards Cards posted at Zlittle Saving With Style. Rewards cards are really neat way to build up points to get a name brand clothes for free. This year I used my points that have accumulated to get a department store gift card from Macy’s and Gap. What did it cost to use the credit card and pay it off each month versus paying cash or check? Nothing!

Ashley presents Dealing with Financial Setbacks posted at Money Talks Coaching. I hate financial setbacks. They stink. No matter how well you plan Murphy likes to stick his big fat nose into things. I’m facing my own financial setback at the moment and I’m struggling with it.

Justin presents 10 Ways to Raise $100 in Less than One Day posted at Money Is the Root. I am going to give you 10 ways to make, raise, find, or simply get $100 in less than one day

Robert presents Can You Actually Afford a Pet? posted at The College Investor. A look at the costs of owning a pet, where you can save, and if you can afford it.

Michael presents Save Money By Keeping Your Car Longer posted at So You Think You can Save. The average age of a car is 10.8 years. Are you keeping your car longer and saving big-time money along the way?

Key West: A part of Florida, this southernmost city in the Continental U.S. is part of an island chain offering a climate that’s practically tropical in nature. The January average high temperature is 75 degrees (24 celsius)

Jon the Saver presents Romantic Yet Frugal Tips for Valentine’s Day posted at Free Money Wisdom. Because I have insight into the female gender, I’m going to give you lads a few tips on how to be original this V-Day. Hopefully, this will score you some points with your lady. If not, don’t show her where your ideas came from.

Jacob @ My Personal Finance Journey presents Back to the Basics: Control Your Spending posted at My Personal Finance Journey. This post illustrates the importance of going “back to the basics” and having regular reminders of basic financial planning even as one’s lifestyle changes. By continually working under the “spending less than you earn” approach, this post describes how one can successfully manage their finances, regardless of how their financial situation changes over time.

Paul Vachon presents How Frugal Living Can Build Wealth for the New Year and Beyond posted at The Frugal Toad. Frugal living does not mean shopping in thrift stores and having soup every night for dinner. Being frugal simply means being deliberate in how you spend money, not impulsive. There are many ways to be frugal but the key to making frugal lifestyle changes permanent is to find ways to save money that will work for you

Echo presents How To Save $65,541 This New Year posted at Boomer & Echo. By following these three steps you could be saving $65,541 on average based on a $300,000 mortgage value amortized over 25 years.

Bob presents 20 Ways to save money by NOT being normal posted at ChristianPF. This is a look at some of the things my wife and I did that none of our “normal” friends would ever dream of…

Madison presents 2011 Tax Calculator to Project Your Tax Refund posted at My Dollar Plan. Who doesn’t want to project their tax refund a little early? Here’s how you can do it!

Linsey presents The World of High Stakes Sweepers – Is It Real? posted at 1099 Mom. Suddenly, just as “Extreme Couponing”caused a bunch of new people to start furiously clipping, there is a new interest in entering sweepstakes, and some people are left wondering if winning prizes will be their ticket out of debt, poverty, or working a regular job.

SavingMentor presents How to Eliminate Your Home Phone Bill and Long Distance Charges! posted at HowToSaveMoney.ca. The Internet is becoming the only infrastructure necessary to do many of the things that used to require special mediums before like making phone calls, watching TV, listening to music, and so on. Yes, the internet can even help you completely eliminate your monthly home phone bill as well as the long distance charges you may have become accustomed to!

Ray @ Financial Highway presents RRSP Deadline 2012-Limits posted at Financial Highway. The RRSP season has begun! Every bank, every branch and every teller will remind you to contribute to your RRSP before the deadline. With so many people vying for your RRSP contributions, who should you trust?

Forest Parks presents How To Haggle Buying A Car posted at Frugal Zeitgeist. Buying a car is an expense that no one likes to have to think about but it is also one you can save a lot on. Learning how to haggle with the sales people really is an art and has many tricks.

Goa: On the western coast of India, Goa is a popular international tourist destination. A former Portugese colony, this Indian state boasts warm temperatures, with the January average high being 89 degrees (32 celsius).

Kennedi presents Getting Fit on a Budget posted at Face and Fitness. Not everyone can go out and pick up an expensive gym membership. Here’s a list of free or low-cost resources to help you stay healthy on a budget.

Marissa presents How to pay online and save money posted at Thirty Six Months. Ways to save money by paying online.

Roshawn Watson presents Home Mortgage Leverage SUCKS! posted at Watson Inc. An article was circulated last week where the author lamented losing the leverage benefit of having a home mortgage. Here’s the counter-perspective: home mortgage leverage sucks!

FIRE Finance presents 12 Tips To Lower Your Heating Bill posted at FIRE Finance. The cost of energy is rising everyday. Whether it be electricity, gas, water or sewage, our utility bills are becoming higher with each passing month. Consequently most of us are looking for ways to trim our energy expenses and boost our savings. The cost of heating our houses in winter is always a major concern …

Teacher Man presents Using Your Student Card To Get Discounts posted at My University Money. I should admit that since my old university never asked for their student card back, I was definitely taking advantage of that even after I graduated, but before starting my graduate courses!

Dr Dean presents Projects: Getting Started! A Growing Mushrooms at Home Case Study posted at The Millionaire Nurse Blog. Whatever the project, getting things done happens the same way. At our house, we’re raising mushrooms. Read all about how to get a project up and going-and how to become a SSD (spore spawn diddy).

SB presents all you need to know about 2012 taxes posted at One Cent at a Time. All you need to know for filing income tax for the year 2011, which is needed to be filed on or before April 17, 2012. Contains links to relevant IRS notices and web pages for you quick reference.

vh presents Real Estate: Lookin’ ‘Up…WAY up posted at Funny about Money. In the Phoenix area’s badly thumped real estate market, at last we’re seeming some signs of life. Four factors are working in favor of a return to pre-Bubble values.

CF presents Cutting down your hydro or electricity bill posted at The Outlier Model. As you might guess, heating costs are a major consideration for the Canadian winter. Living in Vancouver, this doesn’t affect us as much, however the recent cold snap to hit the West Coast has really affected our hydro costs. Check out what we’re doing to keep costs down!

Glen Craig presents How to Get a Bargain When Apartment Hunting posted at Free From Broke . The demand for renting has increased as the housing market flounders. Don’t get caught paying too much for rent! See how to get a bargain when you are apartment hunting.

FruGal presents Keep your carpet clean on the cheap posted at TotallyMoney. Advice from a professional about preventing wear and keeping your carpet clean on the cheap

Philip Taylor presents How to Become an Online Tutor and Make an Extra $1,000 a Month posted at PT Money Personal Finance. Make more money: An interview with an online tutor reveals the pros/cons of online tutoring, qualifications needed, and how much money you could expect to make.

Steve Zussino presents How to save money eating a gluten-free diet posted at Grocery Alerts. I have tried a lot of gluten free breads, cookies, and pastas and have finally found some wonderful products. Now I have yummy gluten free substitutes for all of the foods that I was used to eating before going gluten free. Here are some tips for eating gluten free on a budget.

John presents Meal Plans Kick Grocery Lists’ A$$ posted at Married (with Debt). One of the best places to save real money is your food budget. By making meal plans instead of grocery lists, you can reduce impulse buying, plan healthier meals, and save big money to put towards your goals.

Hello everyone. Hope you’re having a nice day as you read this.

This post will be a little different than my typical personal finance posts. I’m reflecting on some things as I write this, getting philosophical as I think of someone who just passed.  Some money thoughts will likely ensue, just giving advance notice on the topic before I go further.

Anyway, I’m philosophical with a little bit of a heavy heart right now as I just found out about the passing of someone I knew a little bit. I say “knew a little bit” because I didn’t know her by more than her first name.  I knew her because she worked at a business that my family has been visiting for some years now. You see, when we visited this place, we would chitchat for a few minutes, talk about kids or whatever. We didn’t socialize with her or get to know her outside of there, but knew her in the capacity of her job, where we regularly encountered her, which might have been 50 or so times. But this is over a number of years, so time increases familiarity.

When we found out about the passing, it was a surprise to us. She wasn’t old - seemingly late middle-age and obviously taken from here well too early.  It was a jolt to find out that this person we regularly encountered and talked to is gone so suddenly with no warning.

Why am I talking about this here? Well, two reasons I suppose. First, this event served as another reminder to me that while money is really important, it still has limitations in terms of its importance in the grand scheme of things. I say this because when I heard the news, I just started to think about the reality (or my opinion, anyway) that when we’re gone from here, we can’t take money with us. Of course I knew this already, but sometimes we get reminded of things.

In the end, it’s not money or the pursuit of money that’s most important, it’s being kind and generous that endures.  Don’t get me wrong, if you read this blog you know that I really like money and think it has great value in making our lives good. It would be disingenuous for me to imply otherwise. That’s why I enjoy writing about it!  But this woman…you know, I have no idea what her financial situation was and never thought about it. She might have had a hard life for all I know.  However, I think that in the broader sense of the word, she was truly rich. She was always very friendly, genuinely nice to my kids, and very helpful. She remembered names and past conversations, and had really good, helpful advice on a few things. You could tell she cared about people.

There are many people who run big businesses, make a lot of money, or whatever. But it’s really the folks who care, and are helpful and generous that are the true difference makers in our daily lives when we think about it. Our memories of them and appreciation for them tend to endure.  It was an honor to know, even at that level, someone who exhibited these qualities. One can hope to learn from someone like her, aspiring to be wealthy not only financially but also where it’s most important too.

Thanks for reading, and have a great day.

Most coupons provide opportunities to save money, and many provide nice little opportunities to save on things you need. Sure, you might be also enticed to spend money on something you might not otherwise buy. That’s a downside, to be sure. But at least you’re getting something of value back when you purchase most merchandise.

Well, I came across a different kind of coupon some weeks back: lottery coupons. These friendly, fun little coupons found their way to my mailbox somehow, along with the opportunity to save some money on certain purchases.  Such as, buy one get one free on various purchaes.

Only thing is, these “purchases” are lottery tickets. You know, the type where you get a set of numbers, and if that highly unlikely combination of numbers is selected, you might win big bucks. And you know, the type that are also not likely to make you a positive return on your investment.

So with these coupons, you get an opportunity to save money on a miniscule chance to make money.  This doesn’t seem like my type of deal. Why not take that same money and save it? Even in a low interest bank account, it will still have a higher expected return than a lottery. How about putting the money in the market? That will also have a higher expected value, right? One can spend time looking for other ways to save money. Finding good credit card deals might be one example of a better use of time. Or, trying to find other ways to save or make money.

Now look, I’m all about having a little fun – so there’s no harm in spending a dollar on a ticket, right? I say that even though I personally don’t buy these things. Again, for the reasons above – throwing away money and getting little or nothing back. But even though a dollar or two here and there isn’t a huge deal, it’s the idea that something like this could get people excited is what gets me shaking my head. I mean, you know that there were people who saw these buy one get one free coupons and just got totally excited about them. For some reason, lottery tickets have a magical effect on some people. Like I’ve said before, caveat emptor on opportunities to get something for next to nothing!

So in case it’s not clear, I will not be using these coupons for lottery tickets:)

It’s fun to think about what we would do if we won the lottery, but I guess it only matters if you actually play, right? You don’t have a chance to win unless you play! Not that you have much of a chance even if you do play, though.

Alright, you get what I think of this. Maybe I’m too rigid about this, what do you think?

My Questions for You

Do you ever play the lottery?

What do you think about playing such games vs other ways to make money?

Do you see this my way, that these coupons are a bit ridiculous?

It’s been a while since I’ve taken a look at some of the interesting search terms that people have used to find their way here.  Quite often, it’s simply surprising how people find their way to a personal finance blog through some of these interesting terms.

I like to call them “crazy keywords”. The last time I posted on this was about 6 months ago, where I shared some of the crazy keywords that got people here.  Among my favorites from that prior post were “can beefaroni expire”, “wild mad grandma”, “centenarian avoids responsibilities”, and “sadistic lady owns you”.

Those search terms got people here? Apparently so!

With that in mind, I took a quick look through the keywords for the last 6 months, found some that jumped out at me as being – well, unique

Here they are:

“aguts effects in stocks” – I’m guessing this searcher was looking at the performance of the stock market in August. Or, at least I’m hoping that’s what they were looking for!

“blackberries can pick up pennies” – who knew they had such talents?

“buck wild maslow hierarchy” – I thought Malsow’s hierarchy of needs was a cerebral way to look at prioritizing people’s needs? Well, I did post about the personal finance hierarchy of needs here, but was it that crazy?

“caught eating cookies” – I’m telling on you!

“can you remarry after 401k?” – no, once you have a 401k account, you can’t ever marry again

“discount squirrel be gone” – uh, ok, if that’s how you feel (head hanging low, as I walk away)

“do BMW 525s fall apart after 100k miles?” – well, I don’t know since I don’t buy expensive cars. Plus, my last car went to over 200k miles!

“do teenagers like cars?” – uh, no. They hate cars. What teenager actually wants a car?

“ergonomically friendly trophy” – why, how nice of them to make trophies that way!

“grandma and grandpa gone wild” – watch out, people!”

“how do I make sure my kids get a good educaotin” – my suggestion is to let them learn how to spell from someone else!

“how much hours of sleep does Oprah get?” – I don’t think I can help with that question

“how to save the alligators” – there’s a passion for everyone, it seems!

“i believe hairstyle is important for life” – we all have our priorities, right?

“i don’t want to go to pumpkin patch” - that’s perfectly fine, you don’t have to go!

“is it bad to have two pairs of similar shoes” – don’t worry, I don’t think it will bring eternal shame

“monthly lovebird expenses” -  it depends on whether or not you’re talking about pet birds, or dating!

“one day I drive the car great, the next day I sucked” – well, you clearly have it in you to be a good driver. Just work on your consistency!

“squirrel needs decaf coffee” – I think it’s best for everyone that squirrels aren’t caffeinated!

“things in bubble gum machines” – hopefully nothing other than bubble gum!”

My Questions for You

Which of these quirky search terms did you find to be the craziest?

If you have a blog of your own, have you come across any unusual ones recently?

Gift cards can be really popular during the holiday season, or on other occasions such as birthdays. You can buy whatever suits your fancy, from the particular retailer associated with that card.  There’s freedom of choice involved for the recipient, where you can wind up avoiding receiving some ugly sweater, 1970′s necktie, or something of the like. Instead, you get what you want!

Not everyone sees it that way. Some people take it personally when they get a gift card as a gift, in the sense of getting offended by receiving something like this.  The idea with this point of view seems to be that a gift should be given with the intent of providing the recipient with something he or she really wants. In other words, thinking of that person’s wishes in particular when buying a gift that will itself actually be used.

For example: if you know your wife has always talked about wanting to see a the opera live, you might buy tickets for an upcoming performance – along with plans for dinner, etc. Or, if you know your husband has a long commute to work that he finds boring or stressful, you can get him a satellite radio subscription. These are examples of how you show that you really know the person, that you care, and that you’ve been paying attention to what they need.

Personally, in terms of receiving gifts, I’m totally cool with gift cards, and actually like them. The idea of getting exactly what I want is a good thing, and it doesn’t matter if the other person thought of it or not. Actually, I’m not really needing any gifts in the first place, but I suppose that’s besides the point!

As far as giving gifts is concerned, however, I look at it differently. In that case, I tend to buy specific gifts for certain people. The way I see it, some family members such as your wife (or husband), young kids, and parents ought to get specific gifts. Or at least that’s how I do it. Those are people that won’t be getting gift cards from me! There are also a few other family members that would get gifts, and they will be actual gifts as well (unless I simply can’t think of anything or run out of time). However, if I ever chose to buy a gift for a gift exchange at work, or for a teacher/daycare provider (a good idea, by the way), I think a gift card actually might be more appropriate.

When you don’t know someone, it might be better safe than sorry – in which case a gift card works better. For someone you know, maybe a real, actual gift is better.  Unless that person is like me, who isn’t needing gifts in general but would be totally happy with a gift card anyway But hey, we’re all different, and there’s no right or wrong way in general. Just depends on the situation, and the preferences of the people involved!

My Questions for You:

What do you think about giving or receiving gift cards for holiday or birthday gifts?

Do you view things differently based on giving or receiving?

Do you also see distinction between giving to family/close friends, vs. others you don’t know as well?

I like to try to think positively about things. While financial concerns – or the fear of financial concerns – can motivate me (as I’ll discuss in an upcoming post), I’m a fan of positive thinking.  Orient your mind toward positive thoughts and expectations, and you’ll be moving a little bit more in the direction of those things happening.

That being said, we never know what can happen.  We can’t control everything, despite our best intentions and positive outlooks.  Sometimes, things do happen.  A recent story in the sports world, which ended up being a genuine human interest story, can serve as an reminder for the need to get a life insurance quote.

A race car driver, and former Indy 500 champ, died recently in a race at another track.  Naturally, that’s sad. What makes it even more sad is that the guy left behind a wife and 2 younger kids. He was in his 30′s, right in the middle of some great years of life.  All of a sudden, in a car accident on the track, tragedy happened.

What happens if a tragedy impacts the average parent out there, man or woman, who’s being counted on to support the family?  What if the other parent was not actively working, yet all of a sudden loses a spouse? While there are bigger things to think about, the reality is that money can soon become a big problem if much less cash flow is coming into the house.

I took out a life insurance policy a few years back for this reason. Actually, I might need to increase the amount of coverage, the more I think about it.  Blogging about personal finance, and researching things further, I’ve come to the conclusion that many of us underestimate the potential financial impact of such events. Especially when young, many people think that they can skate by without making a modest payment, thinking that they can save money. While I normally like the idea of cutting out smaller amounts of money like $40 dollars a month as an example, since those amounts can add up to big dollars over time, the downside to cutting the costs can be extremely painful in the worst case.

When in my mid-20′s, I was friends with a guy in grad school who told me that he was uninsured. By this, I mean he had no health insurance. In fact, when employed before going back to grad school, he didn’t have any insurance for a while. This despite knowing at some level that the downside could be high. What’s crazier is that we were getting our MBAs, so you would think that the business mind would take over! Well, he thought he would take the risk and avoid spending the money. Great guy actually and really funny, but I’m sure it didn’t stop him from spending money going out with friends.  Good guy to go get a beer with, I’ll give him that. But he simply got lucky with risky insurance choices – or non-choice.

Well,  I’d rather not leave things to luck. There are other risks that can be taken, with far more upside and fun too – with less downside. It’s important to remember insurance.  This holds true in many other areas of our lives as well. For example, if you’re driving regularly, you never know when an accident might happen. Nobody’s perfect. Buying motor insurance is a way to protect against those risks. Thankfully, we have to have such insurance. It’s good make smart choices along those lines, and pick a plan that works best for your own situation.

Peace of mind is important, especially when it comes to major financial issues. We might as well protect against big risks, and live without that particular worry in the back of our mind.  Then we can focus on the optimism I discussed earlier!

Welcome to the 124th edition of the Best of Money Carnival!

I’m proud to be hosting this week, and enjoyed the opportunity to look at quite a few excellent posts! In total, there were 75 submissions this week, and a number of them were in the final group to be considered. Ultimately, there were some tough cuts, but I managed to select the 10 that I thought were the best overall.

So if you didn’t make it, don’t worry, as only 10 were chosen and 65 didn’t get in. Please try again in a future edition of the carnival.

If your post was one of the 10, congratulations!

With that, let’s go the the countdown:

#10 – Bob from Christian PF presents 6 Ways To Hedge Against Inflation

I like to think of inflation as a silent killer of our money. While you may not see it in action from one day to the next, inflation slowly kills the purchasing power of your dollar from year to year…

#9 – SB from One Cent at a Time presents 4 Steps in the Pursuit of Being Rich

Making more money is not being greedy, shake off the feeling and work towards creating wealth in four steps that requires a lot of discipline and taking risks

#8 – John Border from Stock Market Basics and Investing for Beginners presents Learn How To Invest And Make Some Wise Investments – Tips And Advice – Part1

Investing your hard earned money in a wise manner is essential else you can end up losing your money. It is important also to not let your money idle.

#7 – Teacher Man from My University Money presents Using a Student Loan To Invest ? Smart or Unethical?

Most of us had student loans at one point, what did you use yours on?

#6 – Jeremy from Personal Finance Whiz presents Should I Contribute to a 401(k) or Pay Off Debt?

Popular advice is to pay off all your debt before saving for retirement, but if you do you may be leaving a lot of money on the table.

#5 – Lazy Man from Lazy Man and Money presents Is Social Security a Ponzi Scheme? (Part 3: How to Fix Social Security)

I still plan for my retirement as if Social Security doesn’t exist – simply because a lot can happen in the 30 years before I get to take it. If I do end up receiving benefits, that’s just frosting on the retirement cake

#4 – FMF from Free Money Finance presents You MUST Do a Test Charge

If you use cash back credit cards with bonus levels, here’s one thing you MUST do to be sure you’re getting the rewards you expect.

#3 – Joe Plemon from Personal Finance by the Book presents Stake Your Debt Free Claim by Having “The Talk” This Christmas

Christmas buying binges often derail those working on debt reduction.  Having “the talk” is a great way to break through that barrier

#2 – Jill from My Dollar Plan presents Estate Planning for Every Age

An estate plan is something everyone should look at as a part of their long-term financial plan. If the unthinkable happens, it can make things a lot easier for everyone left behind.

#1 – Suba from Wealth Informatics presents Should you Buy or Rent? Calculator + Inforgraphics

Buy or rent is a question that every one of us ask ourselves at some point of time. I have created a calculator and put together an infographics on the buy vs rent data from different sources that might help answer this question.

Next week’s edition of the carnival will be at Everything Finance.

The following is a guest post.

Car insurance can be a major cost associated with your vehicle and so, when you are looking for cheap car insurance quotes, it is definitely worth knowing a bit about the factors that affect the quotes you are offered. Read on to find out more about 7 factors that affect the cost of car insurance. 

Choice of car

The type of car you drive can have a big impact on the price of your auto insurance. As you might expect, the safer your car is, the better it will be for your insurance. Big, powerful cars also cost more to insure than cars with smaller engines, so this is something else to bear in mind if you’re looking for ways to reduce your insurance costs. 

Driving experience

Newer and younger drivers tend to be considered higher risk than older, more experienced drivers and this is often reflected in a person’s ability to get a cheap car insurance deal. The more experience you have of driving – and the better your driving record – the more attractive your insurance quotes will be. 

Driving habits

Safe drivers with clean licenses cost less to insure than those drivers who have speeding or traffic convictions. Also, the amount you drive can also play a part in how much you have to pay for auto insurance; as a general rule, the less you drive, the less you will have to pay for your insurance. This means that it can be a good idea to work out if there is any way you could use your car less, such as by using alternatives like walking or cycling. This can save you gas money as well as insurance money, so it is definitely something to bear in mind if possible. 

Car modifications

Any modifications you make to your car will also affect your motor insurance quotes. If your car comes from the manufacturer with modifications (such as alloy wheels) already made to it, this shouldn’t affect your insurance too much. However, if you make the modifications yourself, you’ll need to declare them to your insurance company and this can have a sizeable impact on your insurance costs. This means that avoiding modifications wherever possible is a good idea. 

Car security

How safe your car is should also be taken into consideration. Investing in additional security systems might cost you some money up front, but have a car that’s more secure is attractive to insurers and so this will be reflected in your quotes. This is because secure cars are harder to break into and steal. Things such as immobilizers, car alarms and steering locks are all good security additions. Parking your car in a garage is also preferable to parking it on the road. 

Deductible rates

Something else that affects the cost of your car insurance is your deductible rates, or the amount that you would pay in the event of making a claim on your policy. Raising your deductibles can lower the cost of your policy. 

Insurance company

Finally, your choice of insurance company can have a big impact on how much you pay for your insurance, so whenever you are looking for car insurance you should always do careful research. Check to see what’s included in your policy and do a price comparison against other insurers to see which one offers the best deal before making your final choice.

Welcome to the Festival of Frugality! I’m glad to be hosting this 293rd edition of the Festival. The theme for this edition is money quotes! There are a number of really good quotes on money that are filled with widom (or wit), and I’ve shared a few of them below.

With that, let’s get this thing rolling!

Editor’s Picks

“He who doesn’t economize will have to agonize” – Confucius

Miranda presents How to Overcome Frugal Fatigue posted at PT Money Personal Finance, saying “Before you let frugal fatigue get the best of you, here are some things you can try to combat the feeling.”

Crystal presents Do You Have Enough Insurance? posted at Budgeting In The Fun Stuff, saying “Skimping on insurance is not advised even for the most frugal. It can cost you far more in the long run.”

Paula Wethington presents Monroe on a Budget ‘s 10 rules to play fair while shopping with coupons posted at Monroe on a Budget.

Fanny presents Extreme Couponing Tips posted at Living Richly on a Budget, saying “I hardly used coupons before TLC’S Extreme Couponing show. But after I saw what was possible, it motivated me to try some of their techniques. Here are the tips I learned.”

Other Recommended Posts

“Don’t tell me where your priorities are. Show me where you spend your money and I’ll tell you what they are” – James W. Frick

Rather-Be-Shopping.com presents 3 Ways Frugal Living Leads to Weight Loss posted at Rather-Be-Shopping.com.

Money Beagle presents Just By Asking, I Saved Us $7.50 posted at Money Beagle.

Jay Fleischman presents 14 Steps For Saving Money When Negotiating With A Debt Collector posted at Money Health Central.

Matt presents 1st Annual Outdoor Fest: Creating your Own Economy Case Study posted at Living In Financial Excellence, saying “Over the last few weeks I’ve been talking a lot about creating,stimulating,or otherwise improving your personal economy. The goal:if we all strive to improve our personal financial situations en masse,the bigger economy will take care of itself. Today I want to highlight and support a local business who is doing exactly what we’ve been talking about”

Neal Frankle presents Angies List Review ? Can You Trust It? posted at Wealth Pilgrim: Money Management Advice, Financial Stess Management, Addiction Recovery Plan & Resources., saying “I recently saw a commercial on TV for an interesting concept called “Angie’s List”. It seems like a great small business idea that has taken off. The service provides consumers with ratings on businesses in their local areas helping them to make an informed decision on the companies they chose to do business with. For example, if someone holds themselves out to be a pro electrician but is really only doing the work as one of his retirement hobbies, ostensibly, you’ll know about it before you hire him”

“Money is only a tool. It will take you wherever you wish, but it will not replace you as the driver.” – Ayn Rand

Money Spending Mommy presents Financial Tips for Newlyweds posted at Money Spending Mommy, saying “There’s more to consider, including financial tips for newlyweds, than you may have first thought”

Jon the Saver presents A Programmable Thermostat is a Must posted at Free Money Wisdom, saying “When it comes to home cost, energy is one of the biggest concerns for every household. Whether it’s summer or winter, when the monthly bill comes around, we see the overwhelming cost of heating and cooling. There is an easy solution with programmable thermostats.”

Echo presents Should You Contribute To Your Retirement Account If You Have A Pension? posted at Boomer & Echo, saying “Should you contribute to your retirement account if you have a pension plan?”

Pat S. presents Great Discount Sites for the Not-So-Extreme Couponer posted at compounding returns, saying “Check out these sites for great, and easy discounts.”

One Cent presents 80 to ways to lose money foolishly posted at One Cent at a Time, saying ” 80 different foolish ways to lose money every day. Written for an average American family whose average income is $46000 and average debt of $10,000.”

“Be fearful when others are greedy. Be greedy when others are fearful” – Warren Buffett

Britney Hope presents Primp your pad for pennies posted at TotallyMoney, saying “Simple and cheap home decorating ideas.”

Kelsey presents Pinch Pennies With Homemade Laundry Room Products posted at Money Mum, saying “There are ways to cut the costs on laundry basics by making these store-bought products yourself. Not only will you save money in the long run by going homemade, but you will cut down on the amount of harmful chemicals in your home and will eliminate toxic hazards for your children”

Mike presents 5 Ways to Lower Home Energy Costs posted at Saving Money Today, saying “Discover 5 simple ways to lower your energy costs.”

FMF presents Is Teaching at a University a Way to Save on College Costs? posted at Free Money Finance, saying “Is this a valid money-saving idea? It is at some colleges — and can end up saving you a fortune!”

Jacob @ My Personal Finance Journey presents Need Some Help Getting Out of Debt? Consider Debt Eye! posted at My Personal Finance Journey, saying “If you’re looking to save money and reduce your overall financial risk, reducing (or eliminating) your debt balances is a good place to focus your efforts. This post shares my experience with a new debt management tool that just launched called Debt Eye.”

“We don’t have a trillion dollar debt because we haven’t taxed enough; we have a trillion dollar debt because we spend too much” – Ronald Reagan

Dr. Dean presents Dog Food Factoids: Ten You Need To Know posted at The Millionaire Nurse Blog, saying ” Information is one of your greatest tools against spending more than necessary. Here’s what I learned about buying dog food and how it can help you.”

Grace Carter presents 5 Ways to Maximize Your Financial Aid Eligibility posted at CreditDonkey.

Glen Craig presents 9 Ways For Students To Get Textbooks For Less posted at Free From Broke, saying “College textbooks are expensive! But there are a good number of ways a student can save on their textbook expenses. Here are nine ways to help get textbooks for less.”

Amanda presents A Confession: I Have a Status Symbol posted at My Dollar Plan, saying “Why I pay more for my cell phone contract instead of switching to a “pay as you go” plan…”

Paula presents My Not-Chic Life: Everywhere You Go Has Valet posted at AffordAnything.org, saying “When you’re forced to valet … my frugal car and fancy parking”

“A bargain is something you have to find a use for once you bought it” – Benjamin Franklin

Jon presents Is Saving for Retirement During College Wise? posted at Outlaw Finance, saying “Financial advisors keep singing the same tune: Saving for retirement works best when the saver is young.”

Matt presents Five Simple Ways to Buy Everything Cheaper and Save Money! posted at Stupid Cents, saying “There many simple ways to buy everything cheaper and get great deals on nearly everything! Why not save the money if you can?”

Tim Chen presents NEW: Southwest Airlines Credit Card with 25,000-Point Bonus posted at NerdWallet Blog – Credit Card Watch, saying “Not all credit card promos these days are for solely for big-spenders. Southwest is offering a great signing deal for those who prefer more frugal travel”

Alan presents Fuel Economy Tips & Tricks posted at Canadian Finance Blog, saying “These fuel economy tips and tricks will help you save money when you use cruise control, take advantage of the terrain and use Gas Buddy to find gas.”

Annabelle presents Day 220: Does back to school mean spending money? posted at The Year of Shopping Detox, saying “How many new school supplies do you really need to buy? Also: am I the only one who would happily wear a perfume called “Eau de New School Supplies”?”

Have you ever had one of those little moments of luck, finding some money just laying around? Well, I had one of those days this past weekend.

I had just gotten a meal at a Chinese restaurant a few days prior, and at the end of the meal, got the customary fortune cookie. Along with the bill, of course:) Anyway, as I opened the cookie to look at the message, I smiled. Now, I’m not 100% certain what the exact words were, but it said something like:

“You will soon obtain an unexpected fortune”

Cool!

Yeah, it was just a fortune from a silly fotune cookie, but I got a kick out of it and smiled. Then, subsequently forgot about it a minute later.

Fast forward to a few days later. We had gone to the park, for kids to play. For much of the time, I was following kids from station to station, watching just to make sure all was ok but also following along because I kept hearing “Daddy, watch this!” or “Daddy, check this out!”  It was fun, the type of moments that make life so great.

After a while, I felt like sitting down, so I headed to a picnic bench that was about 10 yards away. I figured I could keep an eye on things from there while resting a bit. No worries, right. All is good.

Well, all was not just good – it got really good! As I sat down, I noticed a dollar bill on the ground right behind the bench seat.  There was no mistaking this for a wrapper, or any other paper – not to this Squirreler. This was money! Cold, hard cash!

I picked up the bill, and to my pleasant surprise, it wasn’t a dollar. Nope. It was a five dollar bill.

Very cool!

Now, I have to admit, the very first thing I thought of was what this $5 could turn into if I invested it. A little surprising to me now, thinking about it, that this is the first thing that came to mind. But it was. I looked at that $5 and envisioned $10 down the line, after time and compunding take effect! Clearly, I’ve been getting ingrained in personal finance, maybe too much:)

Then, the thought came over me. Most likely, someone dropped this while sitting here. I mean, it’s not like $5 came crashing down from the sky just for me. Somebody left it here, dropping it directly, or maybe it fell out of a purse. Who knows?  So, I stayed there at the bench for a little while, watching the kids play. All the while, I was waiting for any grown-ups to come by looking for that $5.

Nobody came by for the next 15 minutes. Nobody was even anywhere near that part of the park, and the people that were on the other side of the park had just gotten there a few minutes ago anyway. I concluded that whoever dropped the $5 bill had left the premises a while ago.

At that point, as we were getting ready to leave, I just figured that I might was well keep it. Besides, didn’t that lucky fortune cookie predict that this would happen? 

My Questions for You:

How often do you actually find bills, instead of coins? For me, it’s usually coins I notice, rarely bills. Same for you?

Ever get a fortune, from a fortune cookie, that you got a kick out of?