Thursday, July 31, 2008

Buying Books at a Discount

Do you enjoy reading? It can be for pleasure, learning, research, or just something that catches your eye.

Do you buy your books at the local bookstore and pay the full retail price? That's good to support the local merchants, but there are times that I like to keep some of that money in my pocket. Well, let's say not just sometime, but for me that is all the time...

As for local book stores, I enjoy going to Barnes and Noble or Borders. They have everything under the sun and I wish I had the knowledge packed in all of those books.

If you frequent Barnes and Noble, you probably know that you can buy a membership card for $25 which gives you 40% off their best sellers, 20% off other hardcover books and 10% off most everything else. Now combine that with a coupon and you can save some money on books.

Where do I get coupons? If you take their membership, they will send you coupons from time to time. Sometimes for an additional 15% or 20% off one item. Another source is to google "Barnes and Noble Coupon Code". I have used codes from CouponAlbum.com when I am ordering online. You enter the coupon code near the end of finishing your order for an additional discount. If one code doesn't work, try another from their list.

Let's use an example and do some shopping. The number one book on the NY Times Fiction bestseller list is Nora Robert's "Tribute". List price is $26.95, not including taxes. If I were to order this book at the list price, it would be about $28.57 including taxes.

On Abebooks.com, it is $19.04 including shipping. On Barnes and Noble it is about $23.98 including shipping and taxes for members, or $25.36 for non-members including shipping and taxes. Shipping is about $3.99 to my house, and taxes are 6%, your situation may be different. I find a coupon for 15% off and apply it and my book total is now $18.79 for a member or $20.98 for a non member. So Barnes and Noble is the best deal if you are a member, or Abebooks.com is the best one if you are not. Not a great deal, but better than paying full price plus taxes!

There is one more place that I would like to mention for used books and new as well. The website used.addall.com searches many book dealer sites including Abebooks.com. Many times I see a book that I am interested in which is selling for the full retail price and I find it on this site at more than 50% off. For example, I saw a technical book that I was interested in and it was $26.95 plus tax. But using used.addall.com, I found a used copy for $10 which included shipping. I didn't mind that someone else had read it, or made notes in it. I might find them helpful.

I was pleased with my purchase!

For text books, there are many sources. Such as ecampus.com, campusbooks.com, half.ebay.com and many others. Just google "used textbooks", and you will get a whole list.

In fact, if you would like me to help you find the best price on a book, post a comment and I'll see what I can do. If I get a lot of suggestions, I will pick a few and go through the techniques that I used to find the lowest price.

Plus, do you have favorite sites for books that you visit? Or do you have certain bookstores that you enjoy visiting? Let us know, we would love to hear from you.

Happy Book Hunting!!!

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Buying a new car

My wife absolutely hates going to car dealers. She feels like they assume you are an idiot that will pay the sticker price, and every discount you try to bargain for, is like trying to move a mountain.

The ones that I totally avoid are the "no hassle", "pay the price you see" dealerships. These are dealerships that count on the large group of people that feel negotiating is too intimidating or trying to get a bargain is below their dignity.

Well, I am for getting a bargain, and I have my own no hassle method of getting the best deal.

Here is the approach that I used on my last purchase of a new vehicle. First I determined how much I was able to spend for a new car. Second, I made sure that I had either cash or a reasonable pre-approved loan from my local credit union (low interest, not too many years).

Then I began checking on the internet to see which cars would fit within my budget. Kellys Blue Book is a good place to do this. You can check out both new and used car prices. You can see invoice prices, any incentives/rebates available, EPA Milage estimates, technical specs, etc. And you can get a price quote, but I have never tried that feature. Also, Consumer Reports magazine is a good source to find ratings on cars.

If you want to just look at some cars and not be bothered, go on Sunday mornings when they typically are not open, and wander around the lot. Or tell the sales person you are just looking. Next you will need to visit some dealers to test drive the cars you are interested in. Then you need to narrow your choice down to one car, know what options you want, color, etc.

Now you are ready to bargain. Choose three to five dealers in your area, and include any you may have scouted and took a test drive. Call each dealer's sales department and ask for two things. The Manager's name and their fax number.

Then you type up a letter saying that you are going to purchase a new car within the next three business days. You are interested in the 2009 Mustang V6 Premium Convertible, Black exterior, red interior, with AM/FM Stereo w/CDx6, 8 Speakers & MP3, Touch Screen DVD Based Navigation System, etc....In other words, you have to know exactly what you want and which options and list everything you want.

You tell them you would like their very best offer, showing drive out price including all taxes, registration, add ons, destination charges and rebates. You also tell them you are submitting this proposal to four other dealers and they must provide their very best price, because this will be their only chance to sell you a car. They must show the Vehicle Identification Number, the options on that car (for verification), and the drive out price. They are to reply by fax (give them your fax number) and it must be signed.

If you don't receive their fax offer by Noon on August 1st (use your own date), then you will assume they are not participating. Further, the one with the lowest price will win your business. You will let them know by 3 PM who is the winner.

So when you get to the dealership, take your fax and ask to test drive the car to make sure it is OK and it is exactly as described, drives good, and is new.

Dealers are hurting right now and are looking for business. So as long as it is not a popular model, you might be in for a steal of a deal!!!

Happy Bargain Hunting!!!!

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Discounts, discounts, and more discounts!!

Ah discounts!!! They always put a smile on my face, if they are for something that I knew that I would use anyway.

There are multiple sources of discounts. For groceries, I previously wrote about “Couponing for Groceries”. One source I didn’t mention was the Valu Paks and other coupons sent via snail mail. Just flip through them when you receive them. Sometimes there are nice surprises. They also usually have restaurant discount coupons, they are a good thing. Save those as well. I put them in a baggy and carry in the car's console or glove box, so when you stop to eat out or plan to eat out, you check to see if you have a coupon for some of your favorite places. There are some restaurant coupons that maybe only you would use with a girlfriend(s), keep those in your handbag or car, not the family car. Then when you are out or with a friend you have some discount options for dining.

We have a favorite pancake house that we visit for breakfast and they frequently put coupons in those Valu Paks. They are usually buy one breakfast and get the lesser meal for a $1. It usually saves us about 30% to 40% on our breakfast meal.

If you are 50 or more find out what the rules are at your favorite store(s) for Senior citizen discounts. Usually there is a certain age requirement and the discounts are on a specific day of the week. Then you can use your coupons, store card and senior discount at checkout. It adds up! Speaking of discount cards, sign up for them if they are free. I have found them at some grocery and drug stores. I keep them in a small zip lock bag in my glove compartment. So they are always handy.

Don't forget to shop store brands. Many people mistakenly think that store brands are not as good as the name brands you buy, are seconds, or there is something wrong with them. This is not true. If you take your brand product and compare its label to the label on the store brand, nine times out of ten, the ingredients will be identical. Also, most of the time you will find that whoever makes your brand also makes the store brand. It is just different labeling for a much less price. What a deal!

When browsing the Sunday paper look at the ads for Drug stores and discount stores. They may not have coupons, but for either a specific number of days or for the upcoming week they may have items on sale cheaper than can be purchased at your regular grocery store. Plus you can use any coupons you have for the product(s). Here again, sometimes these discounted prices are only good if you have one of their discount cards.

Big box shopping store's like Costco, Sam's Club and BJ's Warehouse are good if you have a large family and will use 24-36 of an item within the time you will go shopping again or if you have the space to store them. Otherwise, not a great deal. You can buy in bulk many staple items at your regular grocery store or Wal-Mart, K-Mart, etc. Paper towels, toilet tissue, cleaning supplies, detergent (laundry and dish) soap, napkins, Kleenex, etc. do not go bad. If you have a laundry room, large pantry or storage area buying these items in bulk with a coupon or at a sale can save a bunch! So stock up when you have the opportunity.

Always check your receipts from your purchases when you get home. Some stores now offer a survey you can do online or via phone that takes from 1 - 5 minutes. For participating you are entered to win a Shopping spree at the store, what do you have to lose?! Or at the bottom of the receipt may be a coupon good for your next purchase. If you shop there regularly, that's a deal!

If you are surfing the web late at night or early in the morning Google some of your favorite stores with the words promotion or coupons or discounts. I have found promotion codes good for free shipping and even 30% off. You will be surprised to see what you will find. Not all offer discounts or coupons, but many will have them out there just for the looking and the printing!

Also, check Ebay. Sometimes there are coupons that can be purchased for a minimal fee of .99 cents and that includes shipping sometimes. If you don't look you don't know!

What are some of your tips for finding discounts, or favorite websites for finding discounts? You will be my hero if you can tell me about some new websites or ideas.

Don't forget to Shop 'n Save!!!

Couponing for groceries

People say they don't have the time to clip coupons. Oh contraire! If you don't subscribe to the Sunday paper, pick one up at the quick stop or grocery store. Pull the coupon books out. Set them next to your seat while watching your favorite TV program, or set them at the table while you eat your breakfast. It only takes a few minutes. You don't need scissors; you can fold those dotted lines and tear them out just as fast and neatly. Only select those items that you usually buy. Don't take the coupon just because it is a coupon.

When browsing the Sunday paper, take time to thumb through the ads for drug stores and discount stores. They may not have coupons, but for either a specific number of days or for the upcoming week they may have items on sale cheaper than can be purchased at your regular grocery store. For instance we found a 39 oz. container of the coffee that we use which was $2 less than it sells for at the discount stores. Plus the store was on the way, so there was no extra driving.

Check your store's ads, many offer double coupon days. That means whatever the value on the coupon it is doubled when you purchase the item on that day. Usually up to $1.00 face value of coupon.

When you are on the web go out to your favorite store's websites, many times you can sign up to receive additional or special coupons on line via your email. And don't forget if your store has a discount card to attach to your key ring and/or carry in your wallet sign up for it. Many of their specials are only good if you have their discount card to be swiped at the register, and they are free!

There are several websites out there that offer additional coupons and you can make them specific to your zip code. Couponmom.com is one of many. Sign up and get their emails weekly, select the coupons you want and print. Just search for the word Coupons to find other sites.

Now that you have all of these coupons, how are you going to keep up with them? Go to a Dollar Tree or Wal-Mart and pick up a coupon organizer. A $1 is all it costs. It is made of heavy duty plastic coated paper with labeled pockets. If the labels are not exactly how you would classify your shopping items, white them out or use a blank mailing label to cover it up and write in your own label. This is something light enough and small enough to carry in your handbag so it is will you every time you shop! If you do not want it in your bag put in your car console or glove box, or somewhere that would be easy to get to and accessible when you shop.

One last tip, when shopping, you should always use a list! This keeps you from forgetting those things you absolutely need and keeps you on track while shopping. We keep a magnetic list pad on the refrigerator, when we run out of an item or are down to the last of the item, I add it to the list. This keeps you from having to reconstruct what you need or have used during a week, 2 weeks or month, however often you shop.

What are some of your tips on shopping for groceries? Do you have some websites you could share?

My next blog will be talking about finding discounts.

Happy Couponing!!!!

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Free Audio Books for your MP3 Player

I enjoy books and there are many that I have not read. I first discovered audio books when a friend told me that you could go to Cracker Barrel restaurants and "rent" audio books on CD for a week. I think they cost you about$3 or $5, much cheaper than buying one. Of course what they do is charge the full amount to your credit card, then when you return it, you get a credit back that for that amount less the weeks' rental amount.

That really worked out great for long road trips, because we usually found a Cracker Barrel restaurant somewhere along the way where we could drop off that one and pick up another one.

The next place I found was my local library also not only carried audio books, but they also subscribed to an audio book library, where you could have online access from your home PC, download the book to your MP3 and listen to it for free. This library had a good source of fiction, language tapes, etc. All are DRM protected and the license expires after 3 weeks. But when you finished you could check the book back in and get another one.

The cool part about MP3 books are that I listen when I am exercising, or working around the house outside, or inside. However, when exercising, I still like good music with a good beat to keep me moving.

Now my latest source is a site called Librivox. This site offers audio books that are in the public domain. Books such as "Sense and Sensibility", "A Midsummer Night's Dream", and "David Copperfield".

In addition, there are old radio programs such as "Dragnet", "The Shadow", "An Evening with Groucho Marx" and many others. I even found one that was World War II news broadcasts. Imagine stepping back in time to see what entertainment was before TV and the Internet.

I'm not going to tell everything that is out there, it is too big of a site. So you need to go take a peek and look around to see if there are things that you might be interested in.

Then download them to your MP3 or IPod, and enjoy.

If you have other MP3 or Audio book favorite websites, let us know!!!

Happy Listening!!!

Saturday, July 19, 2008

How we saved gas money on our vacation

For a recent vacation, we recently took a trip to Chicateague Island, Virginia. So the first thing I did was to use MapQuest to determine the route. Then I opened up www.atlantagasprices.com and chose the feature of mapping gas prices. Then I zoomed out until I could see the whole southeast. Once you get out past a certain point, the map is color coded to show you where gas prices are the highest and lowest.

So I selected areas that looked like they were at least 100 - 200 miles apart, and I knew that I could probably use a stop to stretch my legs anyway.

I determined that gas prices were lowest in Spartanburg, SC, then Thomasville, NC, then a suburb of Norfolk. While the cheapest gas in my local area was $3.97 for regular, in Spartanburg it was $3.72 right off I-85, in Thomasville, it was $3.82 and in Norfolk it was $3.82. In most of these locations, the prices were $.10 a gallon higher at stations just one exit away!

So I got the address of each station, added it as a stop to Mapquest and had my travel plan all printed out. I added the stops to my Garmin GPS, but that is another story for another time.

It turns out that two of the stations I chose were BP stations, so I earned a 5% additional discount on the gas I purchased. All, in all, I saved just over $55 on gas expenses. Not too shabby.

Ok, here are a set of websites that will help you save gas money even on a daily basis. I use www.AtlantaGasPrices.com every time I know that I need to buy gas. This website shows me the lowest gas prices that members have reported over the last 36 hours in my area.

I can even narrow it down to a suburb of Atlanta. I can choose a type of station such as BP, Kroger, RaceTrac, Exxon, etc.

I don't drive out of my way to save a few pennies, but if I am going to work, running some errands, or just going to be out and I know I am going to need gas, I check this website.

Here are some others:
www.newyorkstategasprices.com
www.californiagasprices.com

Go to any of the above mentioned websites, and you can scroll down and look on the left hand side of the webpage where it says "Metro Areas OR States/Provinces", and click on the drop down arrow, select your state or metro area, then click on the go button just to the right and bam, you are there!!


I hope this helps you out during this high gas price time.

Let me know if any of this works for you, or if you have any other suggestions on gas prices.

One other website I just found has a contest going on for a $25 gas card. Just subscribe to their blog. Here is the link. Gas Card Giveaway.

Happy bargain hunting!!!

Credit Cards That I use

Personal credit card choices certainly depend on the individual's credit card habits. For instance, I don't care about what interest rate my credit cards choose because I pay off my credit cards each month. None of the credit cards that I use charge an annual fee either.

If I could not pay off my credit cards each month, then I would certainly be looking for the low interest credit cards.

My credit cards consist of three Chase credit cards. They happen to all be from Chase, because Chase bought up the companies that originally issued my cards.

I have a Chase PerfectRewards credit card. This card pays 3% discount on gasoline, and 1% on all other purchases. Right now when you first sign up you get 6% discount on gasoline for the first 90 days. Now here is the catch, you don't immediately get the credit, it shows up on your bill and will apply to your next months credit card balance.

So, for example, if I charge $500 in gas in May, I get a credit of $15 that will apply to my bill next month. So if in June, I also charge $500, I will then benefit from the $15 credit, so I will pay $485 for my May charges. Plus I have earned another $15 credit based on my $500 purchase during June. Using this as an example, it represents $180 savings over the period of one year.

However, the key is to pay off the full balance each month, otherwise the finance charges will eat away at your savings.

The other two cards I have are Chase BP, and Chase Marriott. The Chase BP offers 5% discount on gas at BP stations and 1% at other stations or other charges. However, I only buy gas at the BP stations when their price is within a few cents of another station.

The Marriott card provides reward points of 1 point for each $1 spent. These add up over time and can give you discounts or free rooms at Marriotts. These are good if you do a lot of business travel, especially if you stay at Marriott Hotels and are a member of their Marriott Rewards program.

So the bottom line is, credit cards can be used to gain small discounts that will add up over time. However, you have to be very careful. You do not want to get to the point of spending more than you could pay for with cash. Make sure you read my post on the lessons I learned about credit cards.

I do this by keeping a 3x5 note card in my glove compartment. I have a budget amount for gas and I write that at the top. When I buy gas, or other purchases, I note the amount and subtract it from my budgeted amount, and that way I know how much I have left to spend. This technique can apply to all of your credit card purchases. Just put down your budget amount on the index card and subtract each of your purchases as you are shopping.

Here is another tip to find the cheapest gas in your area. Just search on Google for gas prices and include the name of your state. For example, there are sites named www.SouthCarolinaGasPrices.com and www.VirginiaGasPrices.com. These also help you out with your budget for gas prices. More about that in a later post.

Have a great day!

Friday, July 18, 2008

Life Lessons With Credit Cards

I got my first credit card in 1967. I was a freshman in college and had never used a credit card before. I barely had enough money to pay for my first quarter, but that was OK with the bank.

That simple act started my frequent and sometimes abusive use of credit cards for the next 30 years. Only last year did I realize that I was not managing my credit cards. But the credit cards were like the little devil on my shoulder saying, "Oh go ahead and get it, it's not real money." So I felt good until the day the bill arrived.

Through my 20's, I used my credit cards anytime I "needed" anything. I built up what was then considered a large amount of debt and was living from paycheck to paycheck.

In the mid 80's, I was about 35 and went to see my first financial adviser. He told us that we needed to reduce our debt and start saving for retirement, and our son's college.

We sold the house, moved into an apartment and used what we had made to pay off all of our debt and begin saving. We used our credit cards, but now at least we paid them off when they came in.

Better, but not ideal. I still had this little devil on my shoulder that would tell me to buy what I "needed". Even if the price were a bit more than I really wanted to pay, or I might buy the next one up in price with a few more features. All on impulse, and on the advice of my little devil on my shoulder. So even though we were paying the cards off, we still had lessons to learn.

We continued in this same mode of operation, until late 2007, when we took Dave Ramsey's course. Dave does not believe in credit cards. He says there is a reason the banks have all those nice big beautiful buildings, it is because they are building it with mine and your money.

Dave's class is something that I wish they had taught me in college. His class teaches the real life lessons about more than just credit cards, he teaches you about proper use of your money, all the way from getting out of debt to being able to give generously.

His class was so good, we gave it to our 35 year old son and his wife as part of their Christmas present.

He has good books and advice and is carried on quite a few radio stations. To learn more about his program, go to his website, www.daveramsey.com. I highly recommend his Financial Peace University course, you can usually find where it is being taught locally and it is not expensive. It will be one of the best investments you will ever make.

Have a wonderful day!!!
Shopping  and Fashion