Written by Paul on May 13, 2008.
The American Girl doll is a phenomenon. The dolls are well made and come with a book that explains what life was like in the country and time period for the outfit the doll is wearing. The books are very educational and many homeschooling groups have created history classes for young girls based off the American Girl dolls. The problem is the Dolls can cost upwards of $100. This does not even count the accessories and clothes that can be purchased (which can cost more than the clothes on the children buying them).
So how do you save on these expensive toys? Well there is always the clearance rack, but I suspect that many parents have already been there and done that. Ther two places I looked first were Amazon and Ebay. Each led me to some great results.
Amazon — Amazon’s biggest asset in this arena is that people sell things used. With the used dolls going for much less than the brand new ones you can save a bundle on the dolls themselves. Amazon also puts items on clearance regularly so you can save money on brand new doll clothes there.
Ebay — Ebay of course has a ton of used items. What really caught my attention here was the number of knock off accessories and clothes there were. As with any high quality item there are going to be imitators that sell at a considerable discount. With Ebay cluing you in to all the off brand names you can search for great deals locally if you do not feel comfortable with the Ebay format.
Overall these two sites could save you hundreds if you have an American Girl enthusiast in your home.
Written by Paul on May 10, 2008.
International travel is a very sticky endeavor. You have to make sure you have your passport (which these days is no small task) and make sure you do not get ripped off. The truth is there are traps all over the place to traveling internationally. Even the cruise industry is really sneaky with the way it does things. So how does an amateur avoid all these extra fees and weird tax policies?
Get a travel agent.
Yes I said it. An experienced travel agent can be a real asset when planning overseas vacations. For a small fee you can save yourself hundreds of dollars. Just a few examples of things I had to search long and hard for that could be common knowledge to a good travel agent.
–The cruise industry started adding a fuel surcharge that did not appear until after you had booked your cruise.
–England is one of the most expensive places to fly. It is less expensive to Fedex your bags to your hotel and then fly into France and take a train to England.
–Your cell phone will cost you a fortune to use overseas and on a cruise (even if you are docked). You are better off going prepaid
I am sure there are tons more of these little tips that are annoying and require way too much time to hunt them all down. An experienced travel agent can really save you in these situations.
The problem is, the travel industry is in the dumps with the emergence of the Internet. So finding a good agent can be difficult. The best way is to get a recommendation from a friend or family member. This way you know that you are getting a quality person. If your friends and family do not travel then you can try the ASTA. This is a reputable group and can really help you narrow down your choice. If you are looking to take a cruise a good place to try would be the CLIA. In searching on these pages I picked up a lot of great info and was cued into some good travel agents. Happy Vacationing!
Written by Paul on May 9, 2008.
Standard travel is different depending on with whom you talk. For me standard travel, in the realm of vacations, is limited to either driving or flying to somewhere inside the U.S. If you do not live in the states this would mean inside your country or, in the case of Europeans, continent. This is by far the least expensive way to vacation. By staying in your own country you do not need a passport to travel.
When staying in a hotel, flying, or renting a car I have yet to find a better way to score a deal than using Hotwire and Priceline in conjunction with each other. You can see my post on this strategy Here. In that same post I explained how VRBO.com works. This is another great way to save money on housing while on vacation and is a recommended site.
For the more adventurous I have recently learned of the National Parks and Federal Recreation Land Pass. This looks like a great deal if you enjoy the out doors and go to national parks frequently. For $80 a year you plus three adults can get into the parks for no charge (kids under 16 are free). This also covers standard amenities fees at any of these parks. BUT WAIT!!! If you are a senior (62+ years old) the deal gets really sweet. Instead of $80 the pass is $10. And instead of being a one year pass it is a lifetime pass. This means you can camp at national parks for a one time fee of $10. Now in many ways this is not a great deal because you paid a lifetime of taxes for this to be available, but why not take advantage of what is there. Either way for most families this is a good deal when you consider how much a week long stay could cost you. A good example is everglades national park. You can enjoy the great out doors and the amazing environment of the everglades and then easily take a day trip over to Miami for some urban fun. Just one trip would more than pay for the $80 pass and any more you made during the year would just be a steal. You can check out all the park locations here.
Since we talked about standard travel today I will be covering a little bit of what I consider non-standard travel tomorrow. See you then.
Written by Paul on May 8, 2008.
I don’t tend to take very long vacations. There is so much going on that missing a bunch of days just does not work. Each year my wife’s family plans a one week vacation, usually to the beach. I tend to be there for half the week and am back home for the other half. I do however like the idea of taking more weekend getaways and such especially during the summer. For this reason I have become somewhat of a travel connoisseur. I can find great rates on travel for just about anywhere, especially given enough time. I have talked about travel a few times before and will be doing the same for the next couple of days as we approach the vacation season.
As I stated previously I do not take long vacations but for those who do I would start out by looking at Tug2.net. This is a timeshare site where you can purchase timeshares second hand (instead of from the developer). By doing this you can save a bundle if you like the idea of a timeshare, but the costs involved seem too high. The other options available here are to rent a time share or to swap weeks with people. By renting a timeshare you can try out a specific resort without taking the burden of a contract. The big advantage here is that most people who are renting their time share are trying to get rid of it. So if you fall in love with a particular area you can many times purchase the timeshare, at a very discounted rate, from a person who is desperately trying to drop it.
Swapping weeks is for people who already own a timeshare and are tired of the location. By doing this you can check out other places without having to sell your timeshare and purchase another one. Many people purchase timeshares just to be able to swap with other owners. This way they get to travel to many different resorts and enjoy varied destinations.
You should never buy a timeshare from a developer. Always get it from someone who is tired of the timeshare and trying to dump the liability. Tug2.net and Ebay are by far the best two places I have seen to purchase timeshares second hand.
Written by Paul on May 7, 2008.
Mother’s Day is here once again and I know many of us have not gotten anything for mom yet. Hope some of these Mother’s Day deals help.
Linen’s N Things has 20% off one item using coupon cod “MOM08″
1-800-Flowers has $10 off on select flowers plust you can get a $10 gift card for your next purchase
For the do it yourself mom, you can get $5 off a $50 purchase at Home Depot using code “SPRING08″
If you don’t get to see your mother very often why not take a flight to see her for only $37 one way with United’s Farewell to Spring sale
If you want to get really techy you could create a web based tribute to Mom with 30% off domain registrations at Godaddy.com using code “gdp0505q”
If you are brave you can purchase some clothing for mom at Bedford Fair for 40% off using Code”942416″ (ends tomorrow)
And if you still forget about Mother’s Day it will take a few days for Mom to talk to you so take her out for an iced coffee at Dunkin’ Donuts. Next Thursday (5/15) is free iced coffee day at participating stores.
Written by Paul on April 30, 2008.
Coupon Freebie: This one ends today so you will have to jump on it. CVS is giving $3.99 back in extra bucks when you purchase their 24 ct Rapid Release Jell Caps (similar to Tylenol) for $3.99. The limit is 5
JC Penney has a lot of good deals on its Wednesday Sale. The deal I am looking at are these wall shelves dicounted as much as 78%. Plus you can get an extra 20% off on many items using coupon code “SUNNYDAY”
Today is the last day to get 70% off on Restaurant.com gift certificates . This is the lowest I have ever seen these certificates $3 for a $25 gift certificate is about as good as it gets. Just use coupon code “GOURMET”
Sears 4-Day Online Sale ends tomorrow with discounts on pretty much everything in the store.
If Sears doesn’t have the tools you need you can get $15 off a $75 purchase at ACE Hardware using coupon code “MCACE75″
Children’s Place has 15% off with coupon code “S1A48″
Old Navy’s Full on Sale ends tomorrow with discounts up to 50% off.
Shoes.com is running up to 75% off in its clearance sale. Plus you can get an extra 15% 0ff (ending today) using code “APRILSAVE”
Get $1 off your movie tickets at Fandango using code “AmEx1″ or “LOEWS!”
Get 20% off at Macy’s using coupon code “MACYSFRIEND”
And get 40% off one item at Lane Bryant using code “L04308″
Written by Paul on April 25, 2008.
With the rising gas prices tons of people have been purchasing smaller more fuel efficient cars. The problem come in that many people do not run the math in deciding whether or not to dump the old gas guzzler. Now if you car dies it makes sense to get a more fuel efficient car, but if you are making payments or have paid the car off it gets a lot more complicated. Through listening to Clark Howard on the radio I was turned onto the Political Calculations website. The link goes straight to a calculator that will let you know whether it is wise mathematically to trade in your gas guzzler. It even gives you a link to determine the operating costs of just about every car running on American roads.
After playing around with the calculator for a while I was able to determine that it pretty much does not make sense to to trade in a vehicle that is paid for if you are going to have to make payments on the new vehicle. Even if this saves you a lot of gasoline it will not offset the cost of the payments. Here is what I filled in to get the new car to be equal to the old car in cost per month, assuming the old car was paid off.
Total miles for the year: 20k
Cost for Gasoline : $5/gallon — I know this is high but I wanted to see what effect the cost of gasoline really had on the equation
Miles per Gallon: Old- hwy 17 city12 New - hwy 35 city 26
Monthly payment: 378 - this is the average car payment in America
Semi annual insurance- Old $500 New $650
Montly Maitenance Cost - Old $180 New $90
This extreme situation made the two come out to within one penny of each other on a monthly expense basis. This means, that if you are done with payments, the cost of running that vehicle is so low that it only makes sense mathematically to run the puppy till it dies. Sure she has a few dings and then engine makes a growling sound similar to a bear, but those little traits just give her character. Most of all she’s still saving you a bundle over that sleek newer model with the high gas mileage.
Written by Paul on April 23, 2008.
Coupon Freebie: CVS has Speed Stick 24/7 for men at $3.99. You get $3.99 back in CVS extra bucks and if you use the coupon from 3/30 in the Smart Source circular you make 75 cents.
Kohl’s is still running some monster sales with 40-60% off women’s sportswear and 40-55% off men’s knit tops in their lowest price of the season sale and 80% off a queen comforter set and up to 90% off men’s and women’s clothes in their clearance sales. AND you can get an additional 10% off with coupon code “NEW7918″
Restaurant.com follows up last weeks deal with an equally impressive 60% off its already discounted gift certificates. This means you can purchase a $25 gift certificate for only $4 using coupon code “FLAVOR”. The deal expires tomorrow.
Land’s End is cutting prices for it’s Mother’s Day sale, but there are only a few gems in the mix so be careful.
Amazon.com is taking up to 72% off select Sketchers shoes and has 50% off its chocolates and gift baskets using coupon code “CHAWCLAT”
If you like the funny t-shirts people wear, BustedTees is having a midnight madness sale through today where all their shirts are $12.
Dr. Marten’s is cutting prices on it’s clearance items down to $30. That is as much as 70% off.
Target has 10% off no minimum with code “2IINXJ25″
Linens ‘n Things will give you 20% off one item with code “SPRING08″
If you cannot get enough shoes with the previous two links ShoeBuy.com has 15% off with no minimum using code”ENTSHOE15″
See you tomorrow with the second post about getting rid of your techno waste. This time we make some money!
Written by Paul on April 22, 2008.
We have become a technology driven society. So much so that we have lots of items that have gone obsolete and are sitting in closets, baskets, and attics (or anywhere else I can hide them from my wife). This techno waste is hard to get rid of. Those old CRT monitors (the really big tube monitors) are a hazard to the environment and you have to pay people to take them. No longer! There are places that want your techno waste. None of them are available in all areas but they are expanding quickly.
US Postal Service
Teaming up with Clover Technologies you can now recycle blackberries, digital cameras, used ink cartridges, and other small electronics. This is all done for free and postaget is paid for you. Currently there are 1500 locations where you can recycle so check with your local post office.
Reconnect
Goodwill and Dell have partnered up to take on the growing number of old computers and components. They will take any brand and you may be eligible for a tax deduction. They do not take responsibility for any data on the computer so make sure to wipe your hardrive clean. I recommend a shotgun.
Apple
Apple has been hammered over the years for producing IPod waste (beside the fact that IPods are a waste). They have agreed to take back ipods and cell phones, as well asm computer (they will only take the computers if you are purchasing a new computer). Plus if you are recycling anIPod they will give you 10% discoun on your next IPod purchase.
On Thursday I am going to do a review of the places that will pay you for your techno waste. You didn’t really think I wanted you to give your stuff up for free did you?
Written by Paul on April 21, 2008.
I have to admit it. I am addicted to the FreeCreditReport.com songs. I hear them on the radio and I cannot stop singing them the rest of the day. My wife reports a similar phenomenon with her high school students who are constantly trying to remember the words. Proudly I can sing all the words to two of the FCR songs.
This savvy marketing technique does not, however, make this website a good deal. In order to get your free credit report you have to sign up for their monitoring service which costs $14.95 per month if you do not cancel within the trial period. The better way to go is Annual Credit Report.com. If you have not frozen your credit then you should be checking your credit report once every 4 months to make sure there are no instances of identity theft. You can do this by going to AnnualCreditReport.com and asking for a report from one of the three credit bureaus. Rotate bureaus every four months so that at the end of one year you can start over again. The credit bureaus have been required to give you a free credit report once a year by the feds so we should all be taking advantage of this service.
