My Personal Finance Journey

Category Archives for Saving Money & Frugal Living

Insurance Agents: Obsolete Relics of the Past or Critical Players on Your Personal Finance Team?

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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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Do you all remember the days of travel agents?

I sure do! I remember that from the time I was very young until about 2004, travel agents were a pivotal part of society. In fact, I don’t think it was even possible to book a trip/travel plans without the assistance of a professional travel agent. I definitely remember running errands with my parents, and often times before a trip, one of those errands would include stopping by the travel agent’s office to pick up the tickets!

However, I think that most of us know how the travel agent story ended. The Internet became omnipresent, and quickly, Travelocity, Hotwire, Expedia, Priceline, and a host of other easy-to-use travel search engines (not to mention hotel, airline, and rental car companies themselves offering online travel booking directly) came out and made travel agents fairly obsolete. While I’m sure that travel agents do serve some roles at corporate levels or with planning trips for rich people or large parties, the days of normal individuals using a travel agent frequently are over.

Are Insurance Agents the Next Casualty of the Internet Age?   

During a recent trip to North Carolina, I saw a big sign at the side of Hwy 15 promoting the local State Farm insurance agent. And, it got me wondering if in today’s Internet age….

  • Is there still is a large demand for personal, local insurance agents? 
  • Also, do insurance agents add value to individuals’ lives, or do they simply drive up the cost of insurance products/services and will soon befall a similar fate to their travel agent relatives?

The purpose of today’s post will be to try to answer these questions. 

My Personal Experiences with Using Insurance Agents

To start to answer the question about whether or not personal/local insurance agents are becoming obsolete or if they are crucial for one’s personal finances, let’s take a look at how myself and the people close to me employ (or do not employ) insurance agents in our personal finances. 

  • Myself
    • Health Insurance – 
      • Administered through my work with graduate school. No insurance agent involved.
    • Homeowner’s Insurance – 
      • My condo homeowner’s insurance policy was purchased and is administered through a local insurance agency. 
      • When I was shopping around for homeowner’s insurance in 2010 prior to buying my condo, I did some pretty extensive searching for quotes on the Internet to get a feel for a competitive market rate for the coverage I needed. 
      • In the end, I decided to go with a local agent recommended by my real estate agent because I was still a little confused about some of the detailed language of the insurance policies and figured that getting the added help of the local agent would better ensure that I obtained the coverage I needed.
      • However, I have never met with the local agent face-to-face, and have only interacted with them via email. Whenever I have emailed them, they are always very helpful. 
        • Nevertheless, I’m still unsure whether the questions I had (first about setting up the policy and then amending it when my girlfriend moved in to my condo) could have been answered just as effectively by calling a national provider vs. dealing with the local agent. 
      • Also, it should be noted that when I originally took out this policy with the insurance agent, I did ask whether or not it would be more expensive to get the policy directly from the provider (Erie). They said it would be the same price either way. 
  • My Girlfriend
    • Health Insurance – 
      • Administered through her work. No local insurance agent involved.
    • Car Insurance – 
      • Not administered through a local agent. Purchased directly from Nationwide.
Overall, from my girlfriend and I’s personal experiences with insurance, it is still unclear whether having a local insurance agent adds much value to managing our policies. One reason why this is still unclear could be that we haven’t really had to use our insurance policies as much as people would that were older and had experienced more claims. Because of this, I then explored how my parents manage their insurance policies.

  • Parents
    • In true old-school style, my 60 year-old parents purchase pretty much all of their insurance policies through their local Shelter Insurance agent. They have been using him for maybe 30 years or so. 
    • They are very satisfied with having a local agent, and mentioned that it has been somewhat of a necessity to combat the complications of having a total of 8 insurance policies

The Current Demand Landscape for Insurance Agents

Having explored the demand and value of local insurance agents from my personal experiences, I then began searching for statistics on the usage of insurance agents on a more global or nationwide scale.

However, as I began reading through the results of this search, I soon was reminded that I had to maintain a very critical mindset to evaluate which was an objective report and which was not. Why is this, you might be asking? Well, if there’s one thing I’ve learned in the past three years with owning a home and personal finance blogging, it is this: the insurance business is extremely profitable for the people and companies that work in it. As such, one has to be careful in reading the ‘facts’/opinions of people that might be negatively affected by such a big change as the downfall of local insurance agents.

With this in mind, let’s review the findings I encountered on this search regarding the current demand for local insurance agents vs. buying insurance direct online:

  • A 2011 JD Power report found that a majority of people (52%) still buy their auto insurance policies through insurance agents, although this number is decreasing each year. Conversely, the percentage of people purchasing their policies online is increasing each year, with a full 28% of purchases in 2011.
  • In 2010, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated a faster than average 22% increase in demand for local insurance sales agents from 2010-2020.
  • A 2011 LIMRA news center report found that 64% of people still purchase their life insurance policies from an agent, while 26% purchase online. 
  • Even though the majority of people seem to still purchase their insurance policies from an agent, more than 50% of people now shop around for quotes online prior to visiting the insurance agent. What does this mean? It means that we as a people are becoming better informed about what a competitive price of insurance is in the market prior to buying. 

From these statistics above, I think we have clearly answered our first question to which we were seeking an answer today:

 Yes, there is still is a large demand for personal, local insurance agents in today’s society.

How are Insurance Agents Paid and How do they affect prices?

While I did not dig too deeply in to the base salary levels of insurance agents, I did find quite a few reports stating that insurance agents do receive heavy commissions (anywhere from 20-85% of the premiums paid for the first ten years of the policy) from the insurance providers on the insurance policies they sell. This means that in many cases, the insurance providers are not actually making a profit on the policies sold through insurance agents, unless the prices for these policies are higher.

However, what I found, both through my personal experience mentioned above and several Internet reports, was that the price of policies purchased from the provider directly and through local agents is the same.  

 So, the question then becomes: how do the insurance providers pay for these commissions to put food on the table for insurance agents (i.e. how are they passed on to the consumer?)?

Well, since the price of policies purchased directly and from agents is the same, the only way I can think of is that insurance agent commissions cause the overall price of insurance premiums to increase for everyone. In other words, everyone pays for insurance agents, regardless of if you use them or not. That seems interesting, eh?! 

Do Insurance Agents Add Significant Value or simply drive up prices?

Having arrived at the observation that insurance agents do drive up insurance prices for everyone, the question then becomes: does the amount of value added by insurance agents warrant the increase in prices that they apparently cause?

 In short, the consensus among the Internet reports I found seems to be that yes, insurance agents do add a significant amount of value. In fact, it was interesting to note that I did not find ANY reports stating that insurance agents are an absolute waste of money.

Listed below is a summary of the arguments in support of the value that insurance agents provide:

  • Provide access to ‘invitation only’ insurance company policies. 
  • Can ask the right questions to each individual to make sure that person gets the coverage they need, especially if the person is not very well versed in finances. 
  • Claims are easier to handle whenever you have a real life person inside the company that can fight for you if needed. 
  • The insurance agent knows your local area. In other words, they can better advise you if for example, flood insurance or earthquake insurance is an absolute MUST. 
  • The insurance agent can guide you through all of the hard-to-understand legal language present in insurance contracts. 
    • Personal Note: I have read through my entire Erie Homeowner’s Insurance Policy and almost became cross-eyed at how confusing it truly was. 

Summary and Conclusions

To wrap things up, let’s just quickly review the key points we’ve learned from this investigation:

  • There is still a large demand for local insurance agents in pretty much all areas of insurance, with more than 50% of people purchasing their policies through these agents. 
    • However, the number of people bypassing these agents and purchasing their policies online is growing each year and may eventually overtake the market share of insurance agents. But, we are not yet to that point. 
  • Paying insurance agents does drive up the global cost of insurance policies since premiums levels are the same regardless of if the same policy is purchased from an agent or direct from the provider.
  • The general consensus seems to be that insurance agents provide a significant amount of value that warrants any increase in overall prices. 
Personally, I think that insurance agents will continue to be in high demand (and I will continue to use them) as long as two key points remain true:
  1. Buying from an insurance agent costs the same as purchasing directly from the insurance provider. 
  2. The language and level of complication of insurance contracts remains too confusing for individuals to feel comfortable purchasing without help. However, if the purchasing process could be made as easy as it is to purchase plane tickets with Expedia, I think we would see insurance agents become less prevalent. 

How about you all? Do you still use insurance agents to purchase and manage your policies? Why or why not?

 Do you think insurance agents are becoming obsolete, or will they continue to be in high demand?

 Share your experiences by commenting below!

    ***Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/drachmann/327122302/sizes/l/in/photostream/

    Looking For Some Simple Ways To Save More 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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    Click here to enter my free $79.07 giveaway for a chance to win 5% of My Personal Finance Journey blog income and give another 5% to a charity of your choosing! Deadline to enter is September 30th, 2012.

    The following post is by MPFJ staff writer, Toi Williams, of Fine Tuned Finances. 

    If you are like the majority of people across the nation, you are interested in finding ways to save more money without having to dramatically change your lifestyle.  The good news is that there are many different methods you can use to reduce your everyday spending and eliminate unnecessary expenses. 

    Here are some of the simplest ways to save more money in your daily life.

    Create A Spending Budget

    Many people overspend because they do not have a plan in place to limit their monthly spending to an amount that is affordable on their salary.  By creating a spending budget that includes all of your monthly bills, limits for discretionary spending, and a set amount for saving, you will be better able to monitor your spending and keep your expenses below where they will begin to create debt.  Having a spending plan in place will also help you identify areas where spending can be cut or eliminated to have more money available for other needs.

    Use A Shopping List

    Retail stores are experts at getting people to purchase more items than they intended to purchase when they walked in the door.  In-store sales, clearance displays, and the placement of high-profit merchandise are all carefully designed to catch your eye and entice you into spending more than you should.  In order to curb this spending impulse, make a shopping list of the items that you need before heading out to the store and stick to this list while you are in the store.  That way, you only buy the items that you actually need.

    Choose Fee-Free ATMs

    If you use an ATM that is out of your banking network, you typically get hit with two fees: one from your bank and one from the bank that owns the ATM you are using.  Instead of using whatever ATM is closest when you decide that you need cash, plan your withdrawals to only occur when you can use an ATM that will not cost you a fee, like the ones within your banking network or located in retail locations and advertised as fee-free.  At up to $6 per occurrence, eliminating these fees can save you over a hundred dollars per year.

    Search For Discounts

    There are discounts available for almost anything if you are willing to look for them.  Many retailers advertise their discounted merchandise on their websites and in sales flyers sent out to areas close to their retail locations.  In many cases, these discounts can total 25% or more off of the cost of the merchandise you want.  Before leaving to shop for a particular item, take the time to research which retailers are offering discounts on that particular item and which one has the lowest price.  You may be surprised at the price differences you will find between retailers for the same item. 

    Consider Used Media

    The prices charged for new movies, video games, and books are much higher than most reasonable people are willing to pay, especially when there are so many other venues available to get the same or comparable quality items for much less.  There is a multitude of resale shops sprouting up across the country that sell used movies, video games, and books for a fraction of the price that you would pay for them new.  These items are inspected for quality before the shop purchases them and the company typically offers a short guarantee that the items will work after purchase.  Used media may also be purchased online from places such as Amazon and eBay, although you may not get the same guarantees that you would have purchasing the items from a resale shop.

    Adjust Your Entertainment Options

    You can save a lot of money on your entertainment options by being smart about the type of entertainment that you choose.  By shifting your habits slightly, you can reduce the amount that you pay for entertainment by 40% or more.  If there is a new movie that you would like to see, wait until you can see it during matinee times or until it appears at your local second run theater.  Instead of paying between $50 and $100 to see a nationally recognized band live, spend $10 to go see a local band in a more intimate venue.  Most cities have a wide variety of low cost entertainment options available, so check your local newspaper or city’s visitor guide for locations, times, and prices.

    Avoid Careless Mistakes

    Careless mistakes can cost you a lot of money very quickly, so it is best to avoid making mistakes at all costs.  Overdrafting your bank account can result in expensive overdraft charges and bounced check fees.  Neglecting to put enough change in the parking meter will result in having to pay a ticket.  Parking in a handicapped parking space without a permit will cost you even more.  Follow the rules at all times and read the signs that are around you.  Do not let stupid actions cause you to waste money on fines and fees that could be easily avoided.
    Following these simple tips can help you save hundred of dollars each year without having to change your lifestyle or make major sacrifices.  The money that you save can be best used by bulking up your emergency fund or paying down any existing debt that you may have.  If you can control your impulses and stick to your plan, you will end up saving quite a bit of money.

    How about you all? What are the most effective ways you’ve found to save a little extra money each month without necessarily changing your overall behavior?

    Share your experiences by commenting below!

      ***Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/68751915@N05/6355220839/sizes/l/in/photostream/

      Making Payments to Your Kids

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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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      Click here to enter my free $79.07 giveaway for a chance to win 5% of My Personal Finance Journey blog income and give another 5% to a charity of your choosing! Deadline to enter is September 30th, 2012.

      The following post is by MPFJ staff writer, Travis Pizel. Enjoy!

      My wife and I aren’t perfect.  As we fight our way out of credit card debt, we occasionally slip up and overspend.  We had just such an episode in July, and starting the following month, it was all hands on deck to recover from the financial hole we had dug for ourselves.  Unfortunately, during that period, we had to stop paying one of our regular monthly expenses, and are now behind.  Who is that creditor?
      Our children.
      We had to cut every expenditure we could, which included suspending the weekly allowances of our son, Tristan (13) and our daughter Tori (10) until we could get our budget and spending back on track. Lucky for us, they were very understanding of our situation, and granted us enrollment into a hardship program that gave us 0% interest and no late fees.
      Our kids’ weekly allowance is one dollar for each year of their age.  We had to suspend their allowance for six weeks which means we owe them a total of $138.  On September 14th, we sat them down and told them that we were re-instating Friday as allowance day, and handed them each their weekly amount.  We also told them that we would be “making up” the missed weeks by paying them double on selected Fridays.
      We could have just walked away from the missed weeks, after all we are their parents and what we say goes, but that just didn’t feel right.   I also thought this would be a great teaching opportunity for our kids.

      • Financial irresponsibility and debt can affect more than just you.   Your debt can affect your significant other, your children, and everyone around you.  I felt like a failure kneeling beside my son’s bed telling him he wouldn’t be getting his allowance for awhile.

      • Never walk away from your debts.  You may not be able to pay right now.  But hopefully, you’ll be able to eventually.  Plan for it and make it happen.  Even if your debt is to your 10 year old daughter.

      • Watch me fail, then watch me overcome:  Our kids don’t know the specifics or the numbers, but they know we’re in a Debt Management Plan.  They’ve watched us fail.  But more importantly, they see us fight back and overcome those failures.  They’ll watch us pay them back the owed allowance, and they’ll be a witness to the day when we make that final payment and be rid of our credit card debt.
      Parents commonly say they want their kids to learn from their mistakes.  I want more than that.  I want them to learn how to recover from those mistakes.   I don’t want my kids just to remember the time mom and dad stopped giving them allowance and how they couldn’t buy that new video game like they had planned.  I want them to also remember how mom and dad gave them double allowance for what seemed like forever because they wanted to make it right.

      How about you all? What financial lessons are important for you to teach your children? What strategies do you use to facilitate those lessons?

       Share your experiences by commenting below!

        ***Photo courtesy of http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/Other_g374-Giving_To_The_Poor_p57545.html

        Lessons in Frugality From Other Cultures

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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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        Click here to enter my free $79.07 giveaway for a chance to win 5% of My Personal Finance Journey blog income and give another 5% to a charity of your choosing! Deadline to enter is September 30th, 2012.

        The following is a guest post by Staz Johnson. Staz passionately blogs about personal finance, frugality, investing tips, and more at Essential Finances. Enjoy! 

        Lessons in Frugality from Other Cultures

        As a newlywed going away on my honeymoon, I never thought that finances would be on my mind. I had just had a very small wedding ceremony and reception with less than 15 people attending. Since the wedding was so small, we didn’t end up spending too much on it; we had planned to blow more money in Europe, but instead, we learned the extent of frugality in a different country.

        Frugality as a Way of Life

        We took the train through England and Germany until we reached a small town in Poland. As far as towns go, this one is not at all rich, and the individuals residing here implemented more tips for frugality than I had ever thought possible. As we visited friends and family, we noticed that saving money was very common ground; an unspoken language of frugality existed ranging from a lack of impulse buying (or large and unnecessary purchases in general) to where most tea was made from herbs grown on the balcony, and if packaged tea was used, then the tea bag was reused to make at least two cups.

        Frugality in the Home

        When we spoke with my relatives, we found out that many of them made their own hand creams and conditioners out of a blend of coconut oil, olive oil, herbs, and spices. Hot water was also to be used sparingly. For example, when doing the dishes in the morning, cold water was used. My aunt told me that they only used hot water to clean the dishes after dinner because the foods eaten at that time are generally greasy, but in the morning, cold water works just fine. As we can see, saving money doesn’t have to be overly complicated, it just takes some consistency. By using hot water only to shower and clean up after dinner, you could save hundreds of dollars a year or more.

        Transportation

        As we went outside for a walk around the town, we noticed that there were many more bikes being ridden than we are used to seeing and that when cars do go by, they are usually very small. You could easily find whole families bike riding together as easily as individuals or couples. Not only are they saving money on gas and insurance, but the active lifestyle they live can lead to decreased health bills down the road. When we arrived at the park, we noticed people crouching down under the trees; I later found out that they were picking up nuts to for the winter underneath acorn and walnut trees. I personally haven’t tried this, but every summer I do pick mushrooms and strawberries for free from the forest and from our garden to save money going to the market.

        If you don’t get a chance to eat everything right away, remember that there are many ways to preserve foods so that they last in the future; mushrooms can be dried and then used for soup later, cucumbers can be pickled (as well as many other vegetables), berries and rhubarb can be used to make juices for now and jams for the future.

        Frugal Shopping

        We went to the market every day and my aunt bought only that which she will eat in the next day or two in order to make sure that nothing goes to waste. And when meat was purchased, every part of it was used; chicken bones that most people throw away were used the following day to make chicken broth and even the water in which the sausages were boiled was then used to start a new soup later on. My aunt had a little garden that she grew on the balcony and inside by the windows (you don’t always need a yard to grow a garden and save money on food) and she frequently traded her garden grown fruits and vegetables for other types of food with her neighbours such as trading tomatoes for apples or herbs for peas.  Many neighbours also baked their own breads and pastries.

        The cost of food is not the only expense individuals try to cut costs on; making your own clothing is also very common. Fabrics and yarn were bought very cheap and can be made into elaborate sweaters and shirts and skirts which can also be given out as gifts, saving money for birthdays as well as during the holiday season. Teddy bears and stuffed animals are also frequently made to save money for toys for the children. Another aspect of their life that I wanted to mention was that even though many people did not have much, they took very good care of what they did have and kept everything very clean and well maintained.

        Conclusions

        I have always tried to be frugal and spend less than I make, even attempting to sew my own clothes once, but my eyes were truly opened as to how frugal you can really be. I’m not sharing this to be judgemental; I wanted to share this to show that frugality can be more than simply a 30 day challenge. Most of us have the choice whether to be frugal or not, but in many countries, frugality is a way of life. Those who implement this into their daily routine end up spending much less, wasting very little (if any) and give their creativity a constant workout to come up with new ideas.

        How about you all? When you have traveled to other countries, have you noticed any effective frugal living strategies that are ingrained in to the culture?

        What ways do you think would be effective to instill more of a sense of frugality in to US culture?

         Share your experiences by commenting below!

        Is it Possible to Gamble in a Fiscally Responsible Way?

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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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        Click here to enter my free $79.07 giveaway for a chance to win 5% of My Personal Finance Journey blog income and give another 5% to a charity of your choosing! Deadline to enter is September 30th, 2012.

        The following is a guest post. Enjoy! 

        Everyone loves the occasional flutter. And, with the wealth of sporting events going on recently, what better time is there for throwing a cheeky few quid/Dollars on the athletics or boxing event you’re watching?

        Indeed, if you know about sport, then the time could be ripe to take your winnings to the max. And, with the football season set to get back underway in a few weeks, more fruitful days could lay ahead for the sharp gambler.

        When Gambling Becomes of Problem

        But, the key to any successful gambler is discipline. While the feeling of winning is one which is rarely rivaled in life, it is important to ensure that any money you lay down is done in a responsible manner. Unfortunately, some people do not know their limits and end up in serious debt. In 2008, it was suggested that as many as 284,000 people in the UK were in debt because of their gambling habits, with the average person owing £17,500. And, it is believed that these figures have risen further in the four years since.

        But, how do you recognize if your gambling has gone from being the harmless bit of fun it is intended to be, to something much more serious? Well, there are a few tell-tale signs. These include having arguments with your family and friends over money issues, yet still being able to scrape enough cash together to go down to the bookies, losing interest in other activities and thinking of gambling constantly. You’ll know that things really have come to crunch point when you are forced to borrow money off people, can’t afford to pay bills because of gambling, or even have to sell your possessions just so can rustle up enough money for groceries.

        If You Must Gamble, Gamble Responsibly – Here’s some tips

        When gambling, be it on the horses at your local turf accountants, online using a dedicated account, or even on the fruit machines in a pub or nightclub, there are some simple rules which will keep your gambling in check, up your enjoyment, and ensure you don’t lose your shirt.

        • The first of these involves setting money and time limits. Tell yourself that the most you are prepared to put down is, say, £50 and that the maximum length of time you are willing to spend checking forms in the bookies or online is 20 to 30 minutes. This way, you’ll ensure that you can only lose what you can afford to and you also avoid the temptation to lay bets on other races or events happening later in the day.
        • It’s also important not to overestimate the likelihood of a win. While you might be certain that Sad Ken will romp home at Kempton Park, nothing is guaranteed, so you should never gamble money you don’t have on what at first appears a no-lose situation.
        • Another no-no is chasing your losses. Just because your last bet didn’t come in doesn’t mean that you should stake more funds trying to get your lost money back. This often just makes the issue worse and can be one of the trigger points to a serious gambling problem.
        • It’s also a good idea to have a spreadsheet or database which tracks your betting. This way, you’ll know exactly what you bet on and when and how much you won or lost. Heck, you could even set up a bank account just for gambling as this would ensure that you only spend what money is transferred into it.

        A final suggestion is not to gamble when you’re under the influence/drinking. While a quick bet here and there can be good fun when you’ve had a few drinks with friends, alcohol can impair your judgement and make you do things which you’d avoid when sober, such as making ridiculous bets.

        How about you all? Do you ever gamble with your money on sporting events or at casinos? If so, has it ever had any negative effects on your finances? 

        What tips do you use for helping to keep your gambling fun in check?

         Share your experiences by commenting below!

        ***Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/matsuyuki/201651074/sizes/l/in/photostream/

        Advanced Couponing for Savings Pros

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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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        Click here to enter my free $79.07 giveaway for a chance to win 5% of My Personal Finance Journey blog income and give another 5% to a charity of your choosing! Deadline to enter is September 30th, 2012.

        The following post is by MPFJ staff writer, Kelly Gurnett. Kelly runs the blog, Cordelia Calls It Quits, where she documents her attempts to rid her life of the things that don’t matter and focus more on the things that do.


        You may already know the basics of Couponing 101:

        • Clip any coupon you think you might use.
        • Keep them organized (by product type, by expiration date, etc.)
        • Let go of brand loyalty.
        • Stock up when things are on sale.
        • Combine coupons with on-sale items for extra savings.
        • Join every free store rewards program out there.

        You can rake in some decent savings with just these strategies. But if you’re anything like me, you want more. Maybe your budget has gotten tighter recently due a job loss, a new baby, or (in my case) a leap into the world of self-employment. Maybe you’ve been watching Extreme Couponing and have dreams of building a stockpile big enough to feed your whole neighborhood for a month. (I can relate. I’ve had those fantasies.)

        Whatever your reasons, Couponing 101 just doesn’t cut it for you anymore. Fair enough. Then it’s time to take the advanced course.

        So get out your pen and notebook, buy a bigger coupon binder (you’re gonna need it!), and let’s get started.

        Couponing 101 – Level 2            

        Say “Bye Bye” to Self-Consciousness. Without this essential ability, you will have a hard time pulling off some of these advanced plays. You need to get comfortable with the idea of being the “crazy coupon lady” (or guy) and occasionally making the people in line behind you mutter over how long your checkout is taking.

        Learn to let it roll off you and diffuse the tension with an apologetic smile and an olive branch statement like, “Each penny counts in this economy, huh?” Yes, you’re going to annoy some fellow shoppers (and some cashiers) when you play the advanced coupon game, but it’s worth it when you see your savings. They’re about to be horribly jealous as they watch your total plummet from $60 to $30 to $5.25.
                    
        Duplicate Coupons. The key to stocking up on sale items is to have as many coupons for each item as possible. While I do not advocate Extreme Couponing strategies like getting your whole family inside a dumpster to rummage for thrown-away inserts, there are plenty of easier (and more hygienic) ways to get your hands on multiple inserts.


        Ask your neighbors and relatives if they use their inserts, and if they don’t, ask if they’d mind putting them aside for you. You can make the rounds each week to collect them or just get them the next time you see the person. Don’t overlook “used” inserts, either—if your friends and family are willing to give you their inserts after they’ve clipped out the coupons they want, chances are you can still get a good amount of coupons from the leftovers. (Especially since casual couponers usually only clip the name-brand items they use—whereas you, as a couponing pro, know how to use whatever you can get.)

        Online coupons. Even easier than clipping, with additional deals you won’t find in the weekly inserts. Just check off the coupons you want, hit “print,” and you’re ready to go. Often you can print a coupon more than once. Popular sites include Coupons.com, SmartSource, and Red Plum.


        Rebates. Add rebates to your couponing arsenal and you can really make off like a bandit. Rebates usually require purchasing an item, then mailing in the receipt and proof of purchase to get a check in the mail several weeks later. If the item was already on sale, this just means you’re making more money from it.

        How do you find these rebates?  Check out the rebates section of sites like Couponaholic and Fabulously Frugal.

        Couponing sites. There are hundreds of sites out there that make advanced couponing easier by doing things like matching up current store sales with existing coupons to save you the work of doing it yourself. Some of the top sites (in addition to those listed in the previous section) include Refund Cents, Coupon Mom, and Coupon Cabin.


        The Trifecta (CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid). If you have yet to discover the wonders that are these drug store’s weekly deals, you’re in for a treat. I refuse to buy anything full-price at a drug store because the prices are usually inflated. But by mastering these stores’ weekly circulars, I’m usually able to get half my monthly grocery and household needs fulfilled at deep discounts.

        You’ll want to sign up each store’s frequent shopper programs in order to get these deals, plus sign up for their e-mail lists for special promotions. Here are the basics you need to know to rock the trifecta:

        CVS Extra Care Bucks. Each week, CVS offers Extra Care Bucks (or ECBs) on particular items. For instance, if you buy a certain brand of shampoo, you get $2 in ECBs, which print out as a coupon at the end of your receipt that you can use on your next shopping trip. (These print-with-your-receipt coupons, in couponing lingo, are known as “catalinas.”) The next time you go shopping, bring all your ECBs from previous trips and you can knock your total bill down even further.


        Percent-off coupons. CVS in particular regularly offers 20-25% off coupons through e-mail, which you can either print or send directly to your frequent shopper card. Always use these coupons before any other coupons, because the larger your starting total is, the larger the amount you’ll shave off. I usually hand my percent-off coupon to the cashier first, then hand him the rest of my coupons, just to make extra certain he scans the percent-off coupon first.


        Freebie / Money-Making Items. Every once in a while, a trifecta circular will feature a “free” item. If you purchase a particular brand of contact solution at $7.99, you’ll get a $7.99 catalina with your receipt, so you’ve essentially gotten the product for free. If you have a coupon for that item (for, say, $2 off), the store will actually be paying you $2 to take that product off its hands. Not too shabby!


        The BOGO/BOGO Double Play.  Using coupons on items that are “Buy One, Get One” (or BOGO) can net you some great deals. Using BOGO coupons on BOGO items nets you the mecca of couponing, lots of free stuff.


        Rite Aid’s policy has since changed (probably because they caught on to those of savvy enough to play this game)—but not so long ago, they accepted BOGO coupons on BOGO items. I happened to have multiple sets of BOGO Cover Girl coupons thanks to my generous friends and family, and Cover Girl foundation was BOGO that week. It was one of my proudest couponing moments when the cashier rang up $64 worth of makeup and I walked out of the store with it without having paid a cent.


        You can find each store’s coupon policy on its website or by stopping by its Customer Service desk. I would highly recommend having a physical copy of the policy with you when you check out, as you may need to show it to an uninitiated cashier to prove you really can do what you’re trying to do. (Sometimes you may even need to prove it to the manager they call over to double-check it with.)


        Selling Your Stockpile. Hardcore couponers believe that if you can get a product for free or at profit, you’d be silly not to get it—even if it’s something you’d never use. Which makes monetary sense, but then what do you with all that un-needed stuff?


        If you are truly hardcore, you can save it all up till garage sale season and then sell it to make even more profit. Since you’ve gotten these products for free, you can mark them at a low enough price that customers will be eager to grab them up. I’ve run several garage sales, and the stockpile items are usually the first to sell out.

        Especially popular items? Toothpaste and toothbrushes, over-the-counter medicine (especially pain killers and cold remedies), makeup, and hair color. Just make sure any expiration dates are well in the future, and you’re good.

        How about you all? Do you have any other advanced couponing techniques you use?

         Share your experiences by commenting below! 

          ***Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/24218656@N03/6932081205/lightbox/

          Review of Gmail and Other Email Account Scheduling and Streamlining Tools

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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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          Back in June of 2012, I published an article comparing Google’s Gmail and Calendar features to Microsoft Outlook’s Calendar and email management capability.

          After posting the article, I received a great comment from Robert of The College Investor saying that he really enjoys using Gmail, but wishes that a “Send at a Specific Time/Date” or “Send Later” feature came built in to Gmail as a default when you sign up.

          Having remembered AOL having this feature back in the “stone-age” (a.k.a. the 90’s), I figured that SURELY some individual or company had thought of building an application or add-in to email applications that would provide this functionality.

          In doing some searching around the Interwebs, I did find quite a few different applications that provided added email functionality (complete with Send it Later/Email Scheduling capability) to Gmail and other email providers.

           Listed below is a summary of my findings of the different options available for people looking for email scheduling capability. 

          Gmail Email Scheduling Applications

          In today’s society, Gmail is arguably the most popular web email Internet provider. I know that myself and pretty much every other personal finance blogger around uses Gmail. Heck! Companies have even thrown in the towel in trying to create their own email applications and instead just have their email hosted with Google Apps. Not that I can blame them – Gmail is fast, simple, and free/very cheap!

          Because of Gmail’s prevalence, it’s not surprising to find out that add-ins have been created specifically for Gmail to provide email scheduling and other capability.

          Streak

          From what I could tell, Streak is the only Gmail scheduling add-in that is currently totally free (as of September 2012). Generally, what seems to have happened is that all of these add-ins start off free during Beta testing, but once they gather enough subscribers/users, they start charging a monthly fee. Since Streak is still totally free, it is the Gmail scheduling tool I chose to install on my computer.

          Streak offers a nice email scheduling tool that integrates right in to the “Compose an Email” window in Gmail (see screenshot below). To schedule an email, you simply click the “Send it Later” button and specify the date and time. The only critical remark I have of this scheduling program is that the time/date format is very specific, and you must follow their template suggestions to the letter.

          For example, tomorrow at 8am would work fine for scheduling an email, but if you typed tomorrow, 8am (with a comma), it might not work! Just be careful here with the formatting, and you’ll be fine!

          In addition to email scheduling, Streak also offers a very nice CRM folder system. Personally, I didn’t look in to this very much since I have a custom folder system that I use in Microsoft Outlook, but it might be worth exploring if you desire some more structure in your Gmail inbox.

          Boomerang

          In general, I would say that Boomerang is much more popular and well-established than Streak. However, this popularity also comes at the price of $5-$15 per month if you’d like to have unlimited email scheduling. But, Boomerang does have a free option which currently gives you only 10 message credits per month.

          Nevertheless, Boomerang boasts some very useful email reminder and follow up features in addition to “Send it Later” capability. For example, I email back and forth with many people whom generally require multiple follow up emails to elicit a response. To handle this, I have an automatic reminder set up in my Outlook calendar that pops up once a week to follow up on emails in my “Waiting For” folder.

          However, Boomerang does this automatically for you – directly from your Gmail Inbox. You simply click a button on the email window to specify the time and date that you’d like the email to be sent back to your Inbox so that you can follow up if you have or have not heard back yet.

          Right Inbox

          The next Gmail scheduling add-in that I came across in my search was Right Inbox. From what I could tell, not only is Right Inbox cheaper than Boomerang ($5 per month or $40 per year), but it also has all of the features that Boomerang boasts and then a few others!

          As with Boomerang, you can schedule emails to be sent at a specific time and date and also mark email to be returned to your email inbox for follow up later if someone or no one responds. In addition, you get email tracking functionality, which allows you to be notified if an email is opened and even shows you which links within an email are clicked! This is pretty cool if you ask me! 🙂

          Other Email Account Scheduling Tools

          Microsoft Outlook

          Interestingly enough, Microsoft Outlook features a fairly good email scheduling tool already built in to it! To access this option, simply open up a new email, click the “Options” menu, then “Delay Delivery,” and then select the time and date that you want Outlook to wait to send the message until. Please see the screenshot below for an example of how to do this. This link also gives a nice description of this process as well. 
          Side note: You can easily integrate your normal Gmail email account in to the Outlook program. I did this about 2 years ago, and it has VERY much streamlined and organized my life! 
          The only thing I don’t like about Outlook’s built-in email scheduling tool is that your computer has to be ON/working and Outlook placed in the “online” state in order for your messages to actually be sent at the time you specified. 
          In other words, unlike Gmail scheduling which runs all of the time on Google’s remote servers, your scheduled emails in Outlook are stored on your local computer only until the “send” is completed. This means that your email won’t be sent if your computer falls asleep, you shut down your computer for the night, or you simply work on Outlook in the “offline” state like I do all of the time in order to minimize distractions from incoming emails. 

          In addition to this existing Outlook scheduling capability, Boomerang also has come up with an Outlook integration version of their email reminder tool. The cost of this is a one time fee of $30, but there is a 30 day free trial available!

          AOL

          Good ole’ AOL uh?! It seems like it has been around forever – because of course, it has! Right under our noses, AOL has featured a “Send it Later” feature for MANY years!

          To access/use this feature (completely free mind you), simply create a free AOL.com account, and then download the latest free AOL desktop software. Once you sign in (remember the sound of the old dial-up modems when we signed in in the late 90’s?), click the “Write Mail” button and then find the “Send Later” button on the “Compose Message” screen that pops up (see screenshot below).

          After clicking the “Send Later” button, you then click the “Auto AOL” button in order to decide when things are sent and received.

          How about you all? What provider/program do you use for email? Are you pretty satisfied with the system that it offers? If there was one thing you would change about it, what would it be?

          Share your experiences by commenting below!

          How Identity Theft Can Affect Your Credit

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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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          Click here to enter my free $119.13 giveaway for a chance to win 5% of My Personal Finance Journey blog income and give another 5% to a charity of your choosing! Deadline to enter is August 31st, 2012.

          The following is a guest post by Chris Holdheide of Stumble Forward.com. Enjoy! 

          How Identity Theft Can Affect Your Credit 


          Most people don’t quite realize the turmoil that identity theft can cause with your credit until it’s too late. Instead of being proactive about their information and their identity, they wait until someone steals it and costs them thousands of dollars or more. Why wait until something horrible happens? Why not learn what you can do to take a better approach to protecting yourself?

          Maybe it’s because you may not understand what all identity thieves can actually do with your information to tank your credit. Let me show you some of the different ways that your information can be used to really hurt your credit and some quick ways to prevent them:
                     

          Credit cards – 


          Once an identity thief has your information, they can then open new credit cards in your name that come to their location. They then set the pin number and set it up to where they can use it and you get the bill. When they get the card, they go crazy spending until either they hit the limit on the card or they are finally cut off. No matter how much they spend, it’s going to affect your credit when you get a bill you cannot pay.


          To prevent this from happening you keep track of your credit cards closely by monitoring you credit reports and bank statements for any suspicious activity.  You may also want to consider a credit monitoring service such as CreditKarma.com, which is total free.         
             

          Utilities – 


          If you are unlucky enough to have your identity stolen, someone can put utilities for their home in your name. They then run up a bill until it gets turned off and you are stuck with the bill. Sometimes, you may not know this until it appears on your credit as the identity thief ignores calls and bills for the amount.

          To prevent this from happening to you, simply check over your utility statement with a fine tooth comb, but sometimes this isn’t enough to catch the criminals before it’s too late.  This is where an identity theft protection program can come into can come into play and inform you of these issues before they become a problem.


          Checks – 


          Gaining your identity can also open the door for them to order checks in your name. They can then use these anywhere they want that doesn’t take too much in the form of identification, allow the checks to bounce, and then the amount to be placed on your credit. What’s even worse is that you can also get criminal charges out of this as well, and depending on how large the checks are, they can be felonies that remain on your record forever.


          Again, to prevent this from happening, it comes down to monitoring your banks activity with your account.  The other problem is that it’s way too easy for criminals to order these checks, so make sure you keep all of your statements this way you have proof it wasn’t you writing the checks.


          Loans – 


          When a thief gains your information, they can then apply for loans in your name. These can be anything from small loans to larger, home or car loans. When you then default on these loans (as they have no intention of paying your bill), it goes on your credit, and collection agents will then start the process of suing you for the amount.


          To prevent this, monitor your credit reports by checking them as often as possible.  However, this isn’t always possible, and this is why I suggest you also look into a credit monitoring service or identity protection program.


          Online accounts – 


          Normally, an identity thief can gain all of the information they need to allow them access into any of your online accounts. PayPal, eBay, Amazon, and many other sites that hold your financial information can be hacked into using the information that they have. Then, they can gain access to your credit cards, debit cards, checking account numbers, and order things in your name shipped to their location.


          To prevent this, first off, make sure that you create strong passwords for your accounts.  The best way to do this is to make sure your password is at least 10 digits long, contains upper and lower case letters, numbers, and at least one symbol.  Finally, make sure your online accounts are all different from any other accounts you use. Doing this will make it nearly impossible for any hacker to break.


          Crime – 


          If someone using your identity is arrested by the police or other law enforcement, they can give your information to the police. They can bail out of jail with your information, skip bond, and run up bills in your name as well. Or, they can use your information to commit a crime and then the police are looking for you instead of the actual criminal. This can cause you severe problems with law enforcement and cost you thousands of dollars in legal fees to clear it up.


          This is probably one of the worst case scenarios that could happen to you.  In fact, I’ve seen situations where the police have even arrested the wrong person for writing bad checks in their name.  Preventing this can be tough to do, and this this is where a good identity theft program can come into use to help you along the way.


          Conclusions


          Of course, on top of these areas, the lost money that it will cost you can total thousands of dollars or more. It will cost you time to dispute charges, time to go to court, time to file paperwork and reports, and to deal with fixing the mess that they have left behind. It can cost you more than just time and money; it can cause you to lose your house, your car, your job, and more.

          The good thing is that if you simply start to be proactive in protecting your identity, you can put a stop to all of this before it ever starts. Protect your information online and be careful when giving out or ordering anything over the phone, online, or through the mail. You can also safeguard your email by changing the passwords constantly and deleting emails that have any type of personal information or links to it. At home, ensure that you are checking your mail and not allowing it to sit in your mailbox for any length of time.

          As I also mentioned early, a great step that you can take is to enroll identity fraud insurance that will help to keep your information safe as well as provide protection for you if someone tries to steal your identity. There are several excellent companies out there that provide different types of identity theft protection, helping you to take a more proactive approach to keeping your information safe.

          I recommend to everyone I know this type of extra protection for your information. Not only can these companies notify you if someone tries to use or gain your information, but they can offer piece of mind. Protection against identity thieves can help to save your credit, your money, and your time.

          How about you all? What steps do you take to protect yourself and your credit history from identity thieves? Do you feel that identity fraud insurance and other protection programs are worth the money?

           Share your experiences by commenting below!

            ***Photo courtesy of http://nopsa.hiit.fi/pmg/viewer/images/photo_5166889979_038b630e4f_t.jpg

            Save Money on Your First Car

             

            Click here to enter my free $119.13 giveaway for a chance to win 5% of My Personal Finance Journey blog income and give another 5% to a charity of your choosing! Deadline to enter is August 31st, 2012.

            Save Money on Your First Car
            Getting that first car is an important moment in a young person’s life, as it symbolizes freedom and independence. Once you are able to purchase your first car, you will no longer have to rely on your parents for transportation. Indeed, purchasing this new car has become one of the first steps into adulthood, making it very important to teenagers.

            At the same time, however, a few things could quickly turn this into a negative situation, so it is vital that all first-time car buyers know what they are getting into so that they can save some money.


            Research

            Before selecting a car to view, research the make, model, and year for any problems that have arisen in the past. In some cases, it is possible to spot a pattern of issues with a particular car that you will want to avoid. For example, if you see that multiple 2000 Ford Taurus’ cars have ended up with engine failure after 12 years on the road, purchasing that type of car 12 years later is not a good idea.

            Budget

            Planning a budget is also necessary, since young buyers generally have less money to spend. Set a budget and stick to it, even if you are only browsing through potential cars. That way, you are not tempted to spend more than you can afford. Car salespeople are great at convincing young people to spend more than they can afford, so stay away from cars that are too expensive.

            Get an Inspection

            The first thing to remember is that any used car must be inspected before it is purchased. While taking the car to a mechanic before agreeing to purchase it will cost some money, it can also be a money-saving endeavour in the long run if there is something wrong with the vehicle. There are many cases where a seller will fix a car up just enough to sell it, knowing full well that a number of things are wrong with it. Young people who are buying their first cars are especially susceptible to this kind of fraud, which is why it is vital that you have the car looked at by an expert before making the purchase.

            Remember Fuel Costs

            Another thing to consider is the cost of fuel; the vehicle becomes useless if you cannot afford to put fuel into it. A small vehicle, like a used Suzuki Swift, will save you thousands of pounds per year on fuel when compared to a much larger vehicle. Money that is not spent on fuel is free to be spent on anything else that you want, making efficiency something to consider before making a purchase.

            Making a Decision

            Use all of the information that you have gathered before making a final decision. If you research and buy carefully, you are much more likely to save money on your purchase. You are also less likely to end up purchasing a vehicle that will break down soon after you buy it.

            How about you all? In what ways do you save money when purchasing a car? Do you negotiate the price very much?

             Share your experiences by commenting below!

            ***Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/gareth1953/5159348513/sizes/l/in/photostream/

            Managing the Costs of Car Ownership

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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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            Click here to enter my free $119.13 giveaway for a chance to win 5% of My Personal Finance Journey blog income and give another 5% to a charity of your choosing! Deadline to enter is August 31st, 2012.

            I think that there aren’t many people today who would argue against having a car as being a major financial commitment – both in terms of time and cost of ownership.

            However, there are several things that can be done to wisely and efficiently manage these various costs so that they don’t defray your personal finance goals. Three of these car costs and management strategies are discussed below:

            1. Fuel

            With gas prices being what they are in the world today (~$3.50 per gallon in the United States being some of the cheapest prices of any country), people who drive a lot each week have to commit major financial resources to filling up their car with fuel.

            The unfortunate truth is that short of trying to drive less (which is often very hard for normal folks to do), there is no simple way that is going to automatically save you hundreds of dollars each year.

            However, the most effective way that I’ve personally found to easily save at least SOME money with gas is to use a cash-back gas credit card. The one I like the most is the Chase BP Gas Credit Card. It gives ~5% cash back for all BP purchases I make!

            2. Periodic Car Repair

            Without a doubt, if you own a car, it will NEED to be taken in to a repair shop for both routine/scheduled and emergency maintenance. This is especially true with older cars. When I take my car in to the Honda Repair Shop in town, I generally walk out of there spending no less than $200 each time.

            To help manage the cost of car repair, there are two important things to do. 

             First, it’s important to have a certain amount of money in your emergency fund that you can access if your car (that you depend on for your livelihood) breaks down and needs repair.

             Second, when you take your car in to be repaired, make sure that you have a LIMIT in mind about how much repair work they will do. If you’re like me, when you take your car in to the shop, the ENTIRE car is by no means in perfect working order. For example…

            • Maybe the A/C needs to be recharged? 
            • Maybe the tire rim is slightly dented? 
            • Maybe the drive belt is slightly worn? 
            • Maybe the check engine light is coming on? 
            The car mechanics have a fiduciary responsibility to their company/boss to make as much money as possible. I get and accept that. And, as such, it is their job to point out what is wrong with your car, but it is up to YOU to decide whether or not it is required to fix based on what you can afford and what you think is required for the car to run safely. 
            To try to save some money, one question I often like to ask to the mechanic or service rep when they call with the laundry list of possible repairs is the following – “I’m running pretty low on money these days, so what repairs are ABSOLUTELY required to make the car run safely that you, the mechanic (or service rep), could sleep at night if you were in my shoes?”

            When I ask this, I generally get a feel from them what is truly required to repair and what is not. Or, another thing you can do is simply only fix the one thing you took the car in to repair in the first place. 

            3. Car Insurance

            Whether you pay monthly or twice a year, car insurance is a significant expense associated with owning a vehicle. However, this expense is also somewhat of a necessity since it is one of the types of insurances that you are most likely to have to tap in to because car wrecks (whether large or small) happen frequently. By having auto insurance, you only need to have enough money in your emergency fund to cover the deductible, instead of the $15,000+ that it would take to purchase a new car in the event that your current car is totaled in a wreck.

            To save some money on this expense, it’s a good idea to shop around and get auto insurance quotes from multiple online quote providers in order to make sure your insurance needs are met while also ensuring that you pay a reasonable price year-to-year. Often times, by simply searching for a quote online, you can save $200 on average from your current policy. 

            How about you all? What car ownership cost is the most significant for on a monthly basis right now? What steps do you take to work that cost in to your financial planning?

             Share your experiences by commenting below!

              ***Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/uggboy/4460795995/sizes/l/in/photostream/

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