Cut the Drug-Store Bill – Check What’s Growing in Your Garden

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This article is a guest post from Adana Lima, a stay at home mom with 3 cute kids (Jamie, Pablo, and Guerrero) who writes on the topic of dumbbells set. Enjoy!

Some of the things that you have to do, when money is tight, are a real drag. It’s all about cutting back on life’s little luxuries, or having to work that little bit harder to get things done.

But, some ways of living frugally actually open up doors and let you look at the world in a very different way. That can definitely be the case when presented with the weekly medicine bill. If you put on your ‘money saving hat’ to find ways to cut it, you will find that the answer is literally on your doorstep!

Almost on reflex, when it comes to life’s minor ailments, we turn to the drugs from the corner pharmacy. That’s because the doctors tell us to do so – as do the thousand-and-one television ads selling the latest advances in medical science.

Of course, they are right – the pharmacy industry spends vast sums developing and testing drugs for your illnesses and complaints. And, they wouldn’t ask you to spend your scarce cash on them if they didn’t work. But what if there were some ailments that didn’t require you to cough up dollars at all – because you could just reach out the window and pull up a cure.

That’s the potential offered by that square of green in your backyard. Because many of the pharmacy drug compounds, so carefully isolated and purified for us, come from plants we could all grow there, at little or no extra cost. And if you delve a little into the history of medicine, behind all of the pill boxes, blister packs and medicine bottles, is the ancient tradition of herbalism – one that has helped cure people for thousands of years.

Now obviously, a lot of the herbal remedies, dating to a time of superstition and lore, were pretty wacky and misguided. But, the modern science of herbalism is based around the solid chemical analysis of the active components of plants – and on the known effect of those ingredients on the human body. Much of the ancient herbal lore has been backed up by all of this modern research. The plants in the wild really can be a help- especially to those looking put a little less of their earnings into the pockets of big pharma.

Of course, you need to be careful here. If you want to start growing your own remedies, you need to do a lot of research on what plants you might need – and to check out some serious literature on herbalism. A good plan is to back that up by a little more research in the alternative health section of the drugstore. See which herbal remedies they are selling, for what problems- and see which plant extracts they are derived from. You will then need to learn about the various ways to extract and prepare such remedies for yourself.

Armed with that info, you can start planning your own garden pharmacy. Some common plants that are definitely known to be of use, and unlikely to be dangerous include :

• Peppermint: excellent in soothing the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, upset stomachs and flatulence.

• Sage: not just good in cooking, this herb is great for many infections of the gum, mouth and skin- and can aid the healing of insect bites.

• Garlic: again a great tasting foodstuff that doubles up as a helpful herb. Garlic is reputed to aid the relief of cold symptoms of the throat, nose and chest- and is quite toxic to intestinal parasites.

These may already be in your garden. But before you go ahead in trying any herbal remedy, especially from non-foodstuffs, make sure you’ve consulted with your doctor. And double check the identification of the plant, and its active ingredients, with a reputable guide book. You want to save money, but to do so safely. However, as long as you are careful, turning your garden into a herbal haven will bring you plenty of other benefits- fresh air, exercise, and a hobby that slashes your drug-bill.

How about you all? Have you ever used any herbal remedies to help cure your colds/ailments? Did they work?


Share your experiences by commenting below!


Jacob’s Thoughts – Listed below are some of my random thoughts while reading this unique article on personal finance!

• Being a former engineer in the pharma industry and knowing all of the science and testing that goes in to making not only prescription, but also OTC drugs, I admit that I have my doubts about whether or not herbal remedies will be as potent at stopping pain, relieving sinus pressure, etc, as active pharmaceutical ingredients.
• Having said that, I think that herbal remedies can be used as a supplement whenever the need isn’t dire to have medicine. For example, maybe you just have a slight headache. Instead of popping a name brand Advil, you might find an herbal remedy that you could take! 

***Photo courtesy of http://www.examiner.com/images/blog/wysiwyg/image/herbal-medicine.jpg

Fidelity – Up To Their Usual Tricks Again!

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As the title of this post suggests, Fidelity has once again failed to impress me and further failed to pull my business away from Vanguard.

Background

As most of you all know, I am a loyal and proud Vanguard index fund investing fan. You can view my current holdings in my investment strategy and periodic portfolio updates.

Back in August of 2010, I completed an in-depth, head-to-head analysis comparing Vanguard against Fidelity. From the analysis, we found that not only was Vanguard’s website easier to use/navigate, but their index fund expense ratios were lower than Fidelity’s corresponding funds 70% of the time.

New Occurrence 


Yesterday, I received a “promotional” offer from Fidelity in the mail, although I would hardly call it promotional.


The offer would give me a $100 Apple Gift Card if I opened up a new Fidelity account, with the following SMALL restrictions…

• Minimum balance must be $50,000.
• The account must be a non-mutual fund (see update below, 20-Dec-2011) brokerage account.
• The account CANNOT be a retirement account.
• Account must be open for at least 9 months.

All I can say about this offer is WOW!

• First of all, Fidelity is encouraging me to participate in active stock picking, a form of investing that fails to beat the market when 70% of professionals partake in the activity.
• Update on 20-Dec-2011 –   I wrote this post a while ago, so I either didn’t notice it then or they have since changed their policy about what they include in brokerage accounts. However, right now on Fidelity’s website, it says that you can purchase no-fee Fidelity mutual funds and ETFs with a brokerage account. This is definitely positive news!
• Secondly, why did they make the minimum balance so high? If I am not a current Fidelity user, do they really think that offering me $100 will make me transfer $50,000 of my savings over to them? NO! 
• Third, why can it not be a retirement account? Don’t they want to encourage people to save for retirement and get tax-deferred compounding of interest?
• And finally, Fidelity has spent $0.44 for the postage, along with however much the graphics/mailer costs to print, on a promotion that did not work. This just proliferates their need to charge higher expense ratios/fees than Vanguard.

How about you all? Do you use Vanguard or Fidelity? Which do you prefer?

Share your experiences by commenting below!


***Photo courtesy of http://northeastsigns.com/id1.html

13 Tips for Running a Profitable Garage Sale

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The following is a guest article written by David Boyd, an Australian personal finance writer. David works at Money Choices, where he has been giving home buyers and investors information on choosing a home loan that best fits their needs. Enjoy!

A yard sale by any other name is a garage sale, a barn sale, a moving sale, or a tag sale. The motives are the same no matter what you call it–a clutter-free home and cold, hard cash. To make a profit, try these tips!

#1. Plan it Out Thoroughly in Advance: A poorly-planned yard sale is like waiting to do holiday shopping until the last minute. It can be done, but it usually isn’t done well. Yard sales are not spontaneous events, so take a month to get yourself prepared and ready for the day.

#2. Uncover the Treasure: Yard sale inventory is in your home’s most-ignored places – the attic, the basement, the garage, or the shed. If something has gone unused for a year, it qualifies to be sold. Make it sales-worthy by washing, shining or fixing it. If it’s broken, dangerous or under government recall, throw it out. Don’t risk your reputation and relationship with others over shoddy goods.

#3. Go Undercover: Scoping out the yard sale competition can give you useful pointers and help avoid mistakes. Ask friends and neighbours to share their yard sale experiences and think about what you could do better. Drop by a few yard sales to get a feel for how bargain hunters respond. Check out the set up and watch the seller operate. Take special notice of what sells and how much things cost. Use what you learn when you price your own goods.

#4. Get on the Right Side of the Law: The last thing you want is a local authority shutting down your yard sale just as the profits start to roll in. Don’t ignore your homeowners’ association rules or local laws! Get a permit, if you need one, and adhere to any local restrictions on yard sale days and times.

#5. Have a Back-Up Plan: Decide well before yard sale day whether your event will be rain-or-shine. If you plan to sell in any weather, be realistic and make sure it is physically possible, at the last minute, to move your for-sale items to a dry, covered location. If not, schedule a rain delay.

#6. Pick the Big Day: Unless you’re having a whole-house sale, keep it simple. A one-day sale is usually more than enough time to make a good profit. Prime times are Friday or Saturday. Set a reasonable yard sale time that won’t have early bird bargain hunters at your home before dawn.

#7. Price it Right: This is a step you may want to skip if you feel confident that you can haggle over every spoon and baby toy, but most successful yard sales have price-tagged merchandise. Negotiating is recommended. Use stickers and be fair. This is stuff you don’t want that someone else might. Cutting the retail price in half will make your things sell. Remember, if it won’t sell, it won’t disappear by itself.

#8. Let Everybody Know: Call around for special advertising rates in the local papers, especially the community papers. Advertise two days in advance with short, to-the-point copy hitting the highlights–date, address, hours and special items along with general categories. Put up flyers on bulletin boards. Announce your sale online in social networks and Craigslist.

#9. Pick Up the Drive-by Sale: Having big, easy-to-read signs directing traffic to your yard sale will get you extra traffic. Create signs using heavy cardboard and dark lettering, with minimal information and large directional arrows. Then, hit the streets with a staple gun and start spreading the news.

#10. Save Time with Setup: If you can do it ahead of time, get it done. Borrow and set up tables, chairs and clothes-hanging areas. Cover up anything immovable that’s not for sale. Keep batteries, tools, a tape measure and extension cords ready for sizing and testing merchandise. Assign duties to helpers. Stock up on newspapers and boxes for packing sold items and make a trip to the bank for at least $20 in change.

#11. Yard Sale Day: Grab your coffee and put on an extra pot on for early birds. Set up the checkout area with the money box and and wrapping materials. It’s time! Actively engage your customers, but give them lots of time and room to browse. Re-stack sale items to keep them organised. Stay open until the end and consider cutting prices in half in the last hours.

#12. What You Can’t Sell, Give Away: Make a solemn commitment now that whatever goes unsold still goes. Call a charity to arrange a pickup anything that’s left behind. The only thing you want to have left is the money.

#13. After-Sale Clean Up: Once the sale is over, return everything you borrowed and thank your helpers. Don’t forget to make sure to send out a party to take down all the street signs. Count your profits. You’ve earned every single penny.

How about you all? Have you ever ran a garage sale? Was it successful? How much money did you make? What techniques did you use to make sure it went well?


Share your experiences by commenting below!


Jacob’s Thoughts – Listed below are some of my random thoughts as I was reading this great piece!

• Another good alternative for getting rid of unused household items is to sell them on eBay! You can make some pretty good money on things that otherwise would just be sitting around!
• A key thing with this is to make sure that you check the “completed listings” on eBay to make sure that you can sell your item and make a modest return.

***Photo courtesy of http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Cex7gUC2DII/TMv__w52heI/AAAAAAAAAuc/o5p36JcsOAw/s1600/garage-sale.png

Yakezie Blog Swap # 2 Roundup

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Interested in a FREE $10 BP Rewards Card? Click here to find out how you can win one!

Eliza from Happy Simple Living shares easy ways to find and save money with all of the gain and none of the pain at 7 Painless Ways to Save Money at My Personal Finance Journey.

I shared my tips about how I save big money on food and beverages at Saving Money On Food & Drinks at Happy Simple Living.


My Favorite Post From My Yakezie Friends


MoneyCone shares how he after discovering his printer’s inky little secret at The Saved Quarter.

My Yakezie Friends

Derek from Life and My Finances shares his parents’ story and best lesson with Paying Off Your Debts Early at Retire By 40.

Joe from Retire by 40 saves money and improves his health by Learning How To Cook at Life And My Finances.

Miss T. from Prairie Eco Thrifter Shares a Dozen Ways to Save Money Around the House over at Broke Professionals.

Squirrelers gives examples as to why eliminating bad and unnecessary habits can save you money every day at Beating Broke.

Beating Broke tells us why conscientious spending is the best day-to-day saving method at Squirrelers.

Crystal from Budgeting in the Fun Stuff shared her Best Day to Day Money Saving Tip at Grow Rich Simply.

Evan shows us how accountability will lead to success with Accountability Will Lead to Success at Buck Inspire.

Penny from The Saved Quarter shares her pro-tips on saving money while shopping with Never Pay Full Price at MoneyCone

Melissa from Mom’s Plans shares how Bartering and Substitutions can reduce expenses at Narrow Bridge.

Buck Inspire discovered the money saving potential of Public Transportation at My Journey to Millions.

How about you all? What’s your best money-saving tip? You ever participated in a blog swap? 


Share your experiences by commenting below!

***Photo courtesy of http://216.77.188.54/coDataImages/p/Groups/65/65983/folders/200164/1517100SwapMeet.jpg

5 Financial Tips to Keep Not-Doing In Order To Stay Broke

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Today’s guest post comes to us from Brian Lillard.

Picture it: All those big, shiny numbers from a fresh direct deposit hitting the bank account.

“I’ve earned it,” we think.

“And I’d better enjoy it!”

So here come the mental images of everything luxurious or delicious longed for over recent weeks! They fight for a place at the front of the line, but that’s really the point where we can stop and reconsider rationally.

Tip 1 of 5 invaluable tips to come: Subtract all known expenses as soon as paycheck is received.

This seems like an obvious thing to do, but the voices in the head are loud, and they sound just like us. So, when we’re saying, “Time to pay the phone bill,” another voice may say, “AT&T has a 2-week grace period. Get the shoes! Get the shoes!”

By taking out a piece of paper and writing down the money which is actually left over, it physically removes the fuel of that second voice. The second voice will no doubt find this humiliating and go off to find another victim.

This brings me to Tip 2: Make lists.

Don’t even be afraid to make them into charts and calendars. Present yourself with a visual representation of that which your money is being made for. This organizes you to know when money is coming in vs. when something is due. Lists help prevent us from arguing with reality — it’s here: Barefaced, unquestionable and on paper.

An oldie, a goodie and also Tip 3: Stick it to the Internal Revenue Service.


It only took me 8 years of spent money and anxiety for me to start using Turbo Tax, claiming deductions and when I can remember to, saving receipts for purchases over $75.00. The IRS website contains a handy lowdown on the stuff you can tell them to pay you back for.

It’s possible to be surprised by what can count as a deduction.

Tip 4: Stop paying full price.

Whether you’re shopping for clothes, cars or cattle, someone somewhere has a better deal for what you’re looking for. Shop below 50% of retail value on whatever you can as often as possible. You can get anything awesome for an awesome price if you look around and be mindful of timing. Clearance, clearance, clearance.

Finally, Tip 5: Get two (2) savings accounts.

Being relatively competitive, I’ve discovered the possibility of competitiveness against even myself! We all operate primarily through duality (Coke/Pepsi, Democrat/Republican… even Noah was hip to this theory) and with some healthy internal competition mixed with the rest of these tips, you just may find your pennies collecting in a jar, instead of spread out on the countertop at the gas station.

How about you all? What strategies do you use to save money and budget for expenses and pleasurable spending each month? 


Share your experiences by commenting below!


Jacob’s Thoughts – Listed below are my random thoughts as I was reading this great post!

• @Tip 1 – Subtracting all of my known expenses for each month before I get paid is a crucial way for me to keep ahead on my finances. The way I do this is by keeping a Google Docs Spreadsheet going with my budgeted items for each month. My normal subtractions are shown below:
• Condo Insurance
• Condo real estate tax savings
• Roth IRA contributions
• Charitable contributions
• Cable internet, HOA, and utility bill payments
• Home maintenance savings
• Microloan contributions
• And dream and life values savings accounts

Yakezie Writing Contest Voting About to Begin! Be Sure to Cast Your Votes For Your Favorites!

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Welcome to My Personal Finance Journey! If you are new here, please read the “About” or “First-Time Visitor” pages to find out more about us. If you would like to receive free updates on articles like this by email, then sign up here or you can subscribe to the RSS feed. Also, check us out on Twitter or Facebook. Thanks for visiting! Keep on learning!
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As most of you all know, My Personal Finance Journey has been a Yakezie Network participant since July 20th of last year (and just completed the Yakezie Challenge recently!).

As we ventured in to the new year, I established one of my 2011 blogging goals to continue my active participation in this great community.

Continuing with this goal, several weeks ago, I signed up along with several other Yakezie members to form the Yakezie Writing Contest Committee (see list below) for the 2nd Yakezie Writing Contest. The goal of the writing contest is to empower our youth to practice their writing, learn how to market themselves, and compete effectively for a chance to win money to help further their education.


Important Note: The picture associated with this post is the actual winner from the last Yakezie writing contest! See – us bloggers do help the real world too! 🙂

During the past ten days, the Committee was successfully able to review and narrow down the original 1,049 essays entered in the contest to only 60 finalist essays. The 60 finalist essays will be posted two per day on the Yakezie.com site so that readers can vote for them.

You can read more about the Yakezie Writing Contest and submit your votes for the best essays each day by clicking the link below:

Second Yakezie Writing Contest

***Photo courtesy of http://cdn2.yakezie.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/KaitylnYakezieScholarshipCheck1-300×268.jpg

Valuation-Informed Indexing – The Coming Revolution in Our Understanding of How Stock Investing Works

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Today’s guest post comes to us from Rob Bennett. Rob created the first retirement calculator that contains an adjustment for the valuation level that applies on the day the retirement begins. His bio is here.

I recommend Valuation-Informed Indexing, an investing strategy in which the investor goes with one stock allocation at times of moderate prices (perhaps 60 percent), a higher stock allocation at times of low prices (perhaps 90 percent), and a lower stock allocation at times of high prices (perhaps 30 percent). This strategy permits investors to obtain far higher returns at greatly diminished risk. Investor heaven!

Wade Pfau, Associate Professor of Economics at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies in Tokyo, Japan, has posted preliminary research showing that “Valuation-Informed Indexing provides more wealth [than Buy-and-Hold] for 102 of the 110 rolling 30-year periods” in the historical record. The purpose of this Guest Blog Entry is to answer the obvious question: Given how simple and powerful this concept is, how is it that it has remained undiscovered until now?

The overall story is a highly encouraging one. All signs are that we stand today on the threshold of the greatest advance in our understanding of how stock investing works in history.

It was in the 1960s that academics began studying investing in a systematic way. The first big advance was achieved by University of Chicago Economist Eugene Fama. Fama discovered that short-term timing (changing your stock allocation with the expectation of seeing a benefit for doing so in a year or two) never works. The second big advance was achieved by Yale University Professor Robert Shiller. Shiller discovered that long-term timing (changing your stock allocation in response to big price swings with the understanding that you may not see a benefit for doing so for as long as 10 years) always works.

Had we discovered both things at the same time, we would all be Valuation-Informed Indexers today. It makes zero sense to stay at the same stock allocation at all times if the value proposition for stocks is a wildly variable thing. A regression analysis of the historical stock-return data shows that the most likely annualized 10-year return in 1982 was 15 percent real while the same number in 2000 was a negative 1 percent real. There is obviously no single stock allocation that makes sense for any investor in both sets of circumstances.

The reason why we got on the wrong track is that Shiller’s research was not available at the time the Buy-and-Hold concept was being developed. Fama’s research showed that short-term timing does not work. He of course wanted to offer an explanation for that finding. It is the explanation that was put forward (not the research findings themselves — which have stood up to scrutiny for many years) that caused all the trouble.

Fama’s explanation was that the market is “efficient.” This means that investors collectively take into consideration all factors bearing on what stock prices should be. That is indeed one plausible explanation for why short-term timing does not work. If the stock price is always set properly, all price changes are caused by unforeseen economic developments. No investor, no matter how smart, can gain an edge by predicting things that cannot be predicted.

While Fama’s explanation is a plausible one, it is not the only plausible one. Another perfectly good explanation of why short-term timing doesn’t work comes at things from an opposite perspective.

What if the process by which stock prices are set is almost entirely inefficient? What if the primary driver is investor emotion and economic developments have little to do with it (except to the extent to which they set off emotional reactions)? It’s not possible for any investor, no matter how smart, to predict the direction of investor emotion, an inherently irrational phenomenon.

Fortunately, there is way to test which explanation is the right one.

If Fama’s explanation is right, overvaluation is a meaningless concept. An efficient market is a properly priced market. But Shiller’s research shows that valuations predict long-term returns. Overvaluation and undervaluation are both meaningful concepts. Market prices are not set rationally in response to economic developments but through the influence of irrational investor mood swings.

But wait. The market must be efficient in the long term. The very purpose of a market is to set prices properly. If the market were never at least largely efficient, it would collapse. So what we have is a market that is highly inefficient in the short term and highly efficient in the long term.

This changes everything.

If the market is efficient both in the short-term and in the long-term, Buy-and-Hold is the perfect strategy. The only way to capture the high returns of stocks is to be heavily invested in them and, since there is no way to predict returns, the only thing to do is to remain heavily invested in stocks at all times.

However, if the market is inefficient in the short term and efficient in the long term, Buy-and-Hold is the worst of all possible strategies. If the market is always in the process of moving in the direction of efficiency, long-term returns are highly predictable. The last thing you want to do is to maintain a high stock allocation when the market is insanely overpriced and in the process of returning to fair value prices.

We now have the advantage of both the wonderful insights of Fama and of the wonderful insights of Shiller. We need to combine them into a model for understanding for the first time how stock investing really works. The strategy that combines both insights is Valuation-Informed Indexing. Valuation-Informed Indexers disdain short-term timing but always practice long-term timing as needed to keep their risk profiles roughly constant.

If this economic crisis brings on the questioning of Buy-and-Hold that launches a national debate on the true realities of stock investing, we may someday look back at it as the best thing that ever happened to us. Imagine that!

How about you all? Have you ever tried Valuation-Informed Index Fund investing? What’s your take on how it will work out? 


Share your experiences by commenting below!


***Photo courtesy of http://farm1.static.flickr.com/105/310847464_bcfbde894a.jpg

Using Your Tax Refund to Pay Premiums Is Like Getting Free Life Insurance!

Today’s guest post comes to us from Denise. Enjoy! 

• First and foremost, it is crucial to identify if indeed you need life insurance at all. If you are like me, and have no dependents (children) and are not married, it is really not necessary for me to have this form of insurance policy.
• I absolutely cannot believe that the average tax return from 2009 taxes was over $3,000. Unbelievable! This is an interest free loan to the government! Wow!
  • Of course, I am no exception to this trend, as my tax return last year was ~$2,500.
• @Paying your life insurance premium annually – I would be cautious about doing this. You want to make sure that it actually will be cheaper to do it this way, taking in to consideration the time value of money (a.k.a the potential interest you could be earning if your money stayed within your control).

***Photo courtesy  http://www.assetprotectionlawjournal.com/uploads/image/Happy%20picture.jpg

What Is Your Best Day-to-Day Money Saving Tip? – My Personal Finance Journey Guest Post Today at Happy Simple Living

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Happy Friday evening to everyone!

Just wanted to pass on a quick reminder to stop by my Yakezie friend’s, Happy Simple Living, site to read up on my latest guest post!

The topic of this guest post was, “What is your best day-to-day money saving tip?” Click on the link below to read about my tips! Enjoy!

How I Save Big Money on Food and Drinks – Yakezie Blog Swap Guest Post

7 Painless Ways to Save Money

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Welcome to My Personal Finance Journey! If you are new here, please read the “About” or “First-Time Visitor” pages to find out more about us. If you would like to receive free updates on articles like this by email, then sign up here or you can subscribe to the RSS feed. Also, check us out on Twitter or Facebook. Thanks for visiting! Keep on learning!
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• I love the idea of using your loose change to get your son interested, and more importantly, started, in saving and investing.
• One thing I might do differently is to use the opportunity to teach him about the miracle of compound interest by investing the loose change in low-fee index mutual funds. The return and risk are higher, but due to his long-term investment horizon (because he is so young), he would have potential to have more money in the long run.
• I thought I was the only one that had so much fun picking up random loose change on the sidewalk and in parking lots!
• One good place to find loose change “gems” is at a laundromat! You’d be surprised how many people drop coins at that type of place!
• It’s interesting to hear you mention finding unclaimed assets! I actually just read about how David Back recommends doing that as well in the book, Debt Free For Life. Pick up a cheap, used copy of this book from Amazon if you all haven’t done so yet! It’s well worth the read.