Combining cell plans into one "Family Share" plan rocks!

The Mrs. and I have been looking for some more money hacks lately, and we stumbled across a great one!

By combining both of our lines into one "Family Share" plan with Verizon Wireless, we'll have maximum bang for our buck :)

I don't know why I didn't think of it earlier, but it's all good now! All carriers work a bit differently, but the concept is pretty much the same and SUPER easy to set up - most times you can even do it over the phone (esp. if you have the same carrier)! It may not be convenient for everyone, but if your spouse/significant other has a separate account than yours, you could be missing out.

I was paying around $115/mo, or my company was actually as it's also used for work (holler), and the Mrs. was paying around $65/mo. Now combined, however, we'll be paying around $110 TOTAL! That's a savings of $60 a month (or $720 a year) for only about 45 mins of work.

Here's what we did to get hooked up:

1. We reviewed the last 3 of each of our statements online to get a good picture of exactly how many minutes, texts, pictures, web visits, etc we use. Like most people, we originally picked a plan for ourselves that we *thought* would be good, and then left it alone until the next renewal time. So we had to see how well we guestimated our uses, and figure out if we still actually NEEDED a bazillian minute plan.
2. We chose a new plan that fit into our usage. It turns out we barely call anyone outside of our network! Guess all that convincing of my friends and family to switch over paid off. Plus, we text wayyyyy more than we actually call people! haha.... how awesomely strange our generation is becoming?
3. We made a phone call and combined our plans! Well, actually we made two calls. Mrs. Budgetsaresexy had to call and give permission to have her account converted over to mine, and then I had to call and actually combine them. We ended up with a 700 min shared plan for $69.99, a $5 insurance plan, and two $10/mo text packages to cover our thumb's addiction.

And that's it! Pretty easy, right? I was pretty convinced it was gonna take a week or two to get it all sorted out, or at least a visit to a store to sign some paperwork - but nope. All it took was some quick online research, and a quick call or two! This may vary by having separate carriers of course, but i'm sure it's a lot simpler than back in the day.

Oh, and the best part? None of our contract dates were extended! Sexyyyyyyyyyyyyyy time. The only difference is that now I'm held responsible for her phone line. So if i wanna skip on over to AT&T and pick up the newest iPhone (or better yet the Sidekick w/ T-Mobile!),i'll not only be breaking my contract, but her's as well.

But whatever, we both have under a year left on them, and since most of my friends now have Verizon, I doubt i'd switch anytime soon anways... Now if they start handing out those Sidekicks for free, then i'll be in trouble ;)

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Want a Best Buy coupon worth $10.00?

Then you're in luck my friends! Unless you said No, in which case....um....please wait...thinking of something funny... sorry, i got nothing. Just read this not-so-randomly generated post of mine instead :)

But back to this coupon I mention. While a free and clear $10.00 coupon SURE sounds nice, you know it comes with "ifs" and "buts" so here's the dilly, yo. This coupon grants you $10.00 off when you:

• Use it in the store (can't go online)
• Spend $75.00
• And you spend it on video games, or video game accessories

If you want this coupon, you have 2 ways to get it:

1. Grab mine! Be the first to say "mail that bad boy to me!" in a comment, and i'll contact you for your address and then drop it in the mail for ya ASAP.
2. Use this money hack - Go to Safeway this week (other groceries may work too but haven't tested) and purchase a $25 Best Buy giftcard. You *SHOULD* get this coupon printed out on the back of your receipt - and voila! If you have a Safeway card, swipe it too just to be sure... but i didn't, and it still worked. Just make sure you then use this gift card to help pay for your $75 purchase ;) Cuz if you don't, you will have then just spent $100 to save $10.00 - and that would just be pointless.

So, if you've been a good little boy, or girl for that matter, and have been patiently waiting for Halo 3 or Grand Theft Auto IV to go down, now's the time to pick 'em up!

Already have them? What about a getting an extra controller or system altogether so little johnny can play too? Wait...why am i trying to convince you to BUY things? haha...okay, so scratch that last part.

Just use this coupon if there are things you *need* from Best Buy, but wanted more incentive first :)

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Save $10 bucks and wash that sexy car of yours.

Money Hack #13456i89 - Start Spraying Away!
It's seriously one of the easiest ways NOT to spend money - just like when you make your own card instead of buying it at Hallmark.

While it may not be the quickest way to save or earn a buck (wash out that dirty mind of yours), it def. does the trick! Will Smith does it so why not you?

Here are my TOP 10 reasons to wash your own car:

1. Save Money! $7.00 to $15.00 depending on where you do it, and what you want done.
2. Get cooled down - A great way to deal with this massive heat wave.
3. Feel productive - when was the last time you did something yourself, instead of paying to have it done?
4. Feel like a kid all over again - Unless you're already a kid...but then you actually get PAID to do it ;)
5. Show off your sexy bod - Throw on your bathing suit and flip flops, and spray away!
6. Impress your other half! Hook up their car too and score mad points :)
7. Impress your neighbor! Hook up a neighbor's car while you're on a roll - i swear you'll be rewarded for this one.
8. Kill 2 birds w/ 1 stone - Water the flowers, plants, bushes, lawn, etc too. Or how about washing away those cobwebs on the outside lamp post?
9. Do it on your own time - Don't have to worry about store hours, or long a$$ lines.
   
10. Drive away looking hot and sexy! My personal favorite part - rolling down the windows, and pumping out Kanye West with the shiny paint, and rims blingin'!

So whatcha waiting for? Unless you're at work reading this (as am i), it's time to get outside and enjoy the summer. Come on, peer pressure!

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10 Reasons to be "cool" and make your own cards.

As you can tell from that sexy doodle to the left, I like to make my own cards to send out ;)

And I like to think those on the receiving end enjoy them just as much! Who WOULDN'T want a personally crafted note from their friend or family member?

Whether you're sending a thank you note, a miss you card, or even a birthday card, making it yourself shoots you right onto the awesome list. But don't take my word for it -

Here are 10 good reasons to help convince you:

1. Making your own cards cost you nada, zilch, absolutely zero George Washingtons.
2. Making your own cards are "cooler" than sending a store card.
3. Making your own card is faster. No driving, searching, and ringing up needed - it only takes 5-10 minutes, depending on your craftiness.
4. Making your own card allows you to be a kid again and get creative.
5. You can make your own card at work while on a break (or not on a break).
6. You can show off your penmanship. (only a plus if you have impeccable skill)
7. You only need 1 piece of paper, and 1 pen. (or a couple pieces of paper and a couple of pens, if you are a fancy pants. allow more than 10 mins in this case)
8. The receiver will be *shocked* by getting something hand-written these days!
9. The receiver will believe you spent quality time on them. (they will believe anything in the state of shock)
10. The receiver will actually READ all of it's content. (those 6 paragraph poems never get read...)
11. *Bonus* The receiver will love you, adding you to the top of their list!

I can go on and on, but i think i have proven my point. And if you're still not convinced, go ahead and mail me that $4 you are about to give away, and I'll make one up for you ;) The only disservice you'll be doing is to Hallmark, and there are plenty of other people out there giving in to their peer pressure. So remember - Don't be a 'tard, Make your own card.

ps: i have had wayyyyy too much coffee today!

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Mrs. Budgetsaresexy on frugal wedding-ness

Dear Readers,

Well hello! And welcome to my guest post :) As our impending nuptials quickly approach, I figured I would throw in a few of my frugally-minded wedding experiences to share with those interested. And, as I am MUCH more charming and interesting than the regular writer of this blog, you will probably find reading this to be the greatest experience of your life!! Haha, just kidding....it will be closer to the second or third greatest experience of your life.

I keed, I keed!

So as the oh-so-handsome Mr. BudgetsareSexy (aka J.) had previously mentioned, our initial wedding budget from my lovely and generous mother was just around $10K, and then we planned to pitch in the rest ourselves. It may be hard to believe, but most weddings, particularly in our (*cough*snobby*cough*) area, cost a great deal more than this, so we had to work hard to make ends meet and still make it a beautiful day for all to enjoy.

The following are some of my friendly and frugal tactics for cutting costs:

1) The wedding dress. Some brides want (and can afford) a dress that costs thousands of dollars; I am not one of them! I meandered over to David's Bridal, tried on 6 or 7 dresses and luckily found one I liked for a reasonable price. Some other tips for brides looking for their dream dress would be to check out second-hand bridal stores (where you can find a gorgeous pre-worn dress for a fraction of the cost), or for the hardier ladies, even the "running of the brides" annual event done by Filene's Basement. I did this years ago with a friend of mine who was getting married, and it was chaos! But, to some degree, it was fun--and indisputeably thrifty! If you are one of the lucky ones, you just may end up with a dirt-cheap designer gown, with only alterations and cleaning costs to cover.

2) Accessories. It's pretty easy to run up wedding costs with bridal accessories---headpieces, shoes, lingerie, handbags, etc. can put a considerable dent in your budget. However, keeping an eye out for sales and prioritizing your "must-haves" in light of your "can-do-withouts" is always important. Personally, I hit up Target for my reception shoes ($5.09 on clearance), eBay for my veil ($23 from an original $179), and the cheapest shoes/dress combo I could find for my rehearsal dinner outfit ($20 shoes from payless, and a $22 dress from Forever 21). It's definitely a special day and worth spending a little extra money for things you want to preserve for posterity (ie, i spent about $150 on a pearl necklace and earring set--on a 60% off sale, of course), but for the rest, give your wallet a rest and comb the clearance racks!

3) Online coupon codes. I ordered all of my bridesmaid gifts on overstock.com ($ saver in itself), and just today ordered disposable camers (on sale for only $2.99 each) and bubbles ($8.49 for a pack of 48) from theknot.com. Before checking out online, I did quick google searches for promo codes for both sites. Lo and behold, I found them, and wound up saving 10-15% off the original cost just by finding a little code to type in! Just as those little dollars here and there add up to the total wedding cost, saving those dollars wherever possible can also add up big in the long run.

4) Wedding favors. Who ever uses those crappy throwaway items that many people give away as wedding favors? I mean, seriously...when you get a cake-topper to bring home from a wedding, do you really ever do anything other than toss it in the garbage when you get home? The frustrating part about favors is, even though people don't tend to use their $2-3 momento for much, they expect them, AND, it winds up costing us hundreds when factoring in 170 guests or so. Our plan? Tentatively, we are planning to donate a tree for each guest from the Arbor Day Foundation. 1 tree costs $1, and even though it will still end up costing us a fair amount, it's A) tax-deductible, and most importantly, B) going to a good cause. We will then type up some small cards to place at each setting, letting the guests know that a tree was planted in their honor.

5) Stationary. Once upon a cold February evening, Mr. B and I headed off to a meeting at a fancy-shmancy stationary store to discuss wedding invitations. It was a night that we will not soon forget, but that is only because they basically ignored us after shoving some books of overpriced paper samples at us and walking away. We promptly returned home, and Mr. B found some much more reasonable online invitations for us to order (check out Exclusively Weddings). If you do your research, there are plenty of options out there in the online world for all kinds of budgets. And in lieu of buying matching thank you notecards with the invitations, we opted for non-matching (but still cute) notecards from the dollar bin at Michael's. 10 notecards for $1 is an awesome deal, and I guarantee you that no one is going to mind if our thank you notes don't match the invitation pattern. It's what written inside them that counts!

As this is turning into less of a blog posting and more of a book, I'm going to stop here. If you're getting married soon, I hope a few of these tips and experiences are helpful to you! And for the rest of you readers....well, hope I didn't bore you to tears!!

Happy Blogging to all!

Sincerely,
Mrs. Budgetsaresexy

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Populate your fish tank for 55¢ - or even FREE!

Oh yeah, that's right! The thought came to me on a whim yesterday, as I rounded the aisles of Petco looking for a new goldfish.

You know how they sell all sorts of exotic fish in the back? Well, instead of picking up those fancier ones for $3-$7 a piece, save some from the "feeder tank"! Every store's a bit different, but if they're selling fish, they're selling "feeder fish".

What are "feeder fish", exactly? They are usually smaller, not as sell-able fish used to feed the hungry fish-eating fish (think piranhas), and are usually found in a huge long tank w/ literally HUNDREDS of others...all swimming around w/ nothing to do except wait to be eaten...or be saved ;) They're still fish-fish, just not the crazy exotic type (although sometimes you can get lucky!) that can bring the store real money.

And the best part - they only cost 2¢ - 26¢ each! Now THAT's the kind of money i like spending. And, as you can see from the picture above, that i did. I picked up two of the biggest & prettiest ones I could find, handed over my 55¢ (52¢ + tax), and filled up my 10 gallon tank!

What about this "FREE" talk? Oh yes, you have two ways of making this happen:

1) When you go in to look for the fish, find a manager and explain that you just wanna try 1 or 2 to start your tank. Then, when you locate the feeders, explain you'd just like two of them to "test it out". Usually, and esp. if you're a young lady and he's a guy, he'll end up scooping up more than 2 AND hand them over for free! i mean, they're only a few pennies, right?

2) If this doesn't work (aka you're a guy), ring out your purchase as usual, and then check the end of the receipt you get. More often than not, it'll have a "survey request" attached to the end of it, esp. if you're a savings card holder. Take the 5 minute over the phone survey, and you'll be rewarded with a nifty little coupon for $2.00 off your next purchase! Even BETTER than free.

And that's all there is to it. Of course, you may need a little luck on your side for one of the above to happen smoothly, but I find that a nice smile and plenty of compliments help bring more of this "luck" your way.

Worst case? You'll walk away w/ a handful a fish for under a $1.00! it's win-win, especially for your brand new non-eaten pets ;)

--------
ps: If you're looking to fill up a larger aquarium with fish, grab a dozen or two of the little babies you'll usually find in the feeder tank. More often than not, they are assorted breeds of tropical fish, and they will procreate like none other! I kid you not, the last time i did this was a year and a half ago....and my original 14 babies turned into 100+ breeds of all kind!

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Starbucks just got sexier!

That's right, you heard it here first. Starbucks is my new best friend. Not that it wasn't top of the list before, but it's now been moved to BFF status. haha....

Why the sudden upgrade? Welllll, from now on you get MAD hook ups as long as you use your registered Starbucks card when ordering! All for being a good little customer.

Check it:
1) Syrup and milk options are now on the house.
2) Brewed coffee refills are F-R-E-E!
3) You get a FREE beverage when you buy whole beans.

SWEETness to the extreme :) now you may be saying to yourself, "Self, but i don't have a starbucks card, so what am i supposed to do?". that's a valid question, so let me propose a solution to that - walk to the nearest starbucks, and pick one up! Or, if you really wanna be creative, create your own online and order it at the same time. The card i have posted at the top is one my sister did for Mrs. Budgetsaresexy. It's fun!!!

if you go on a continual basis, you KNOW you'll be using it, and not only that I bet you'll realize REAL FAST how much you actually spend on coffee when you have to refill your giftcard every other week!

Sooo, by using your new starbucks gift card (which you'll use every visit), you could now:
a) Save up to 80¢ for a fancy pants drink (40¢ for syrup & 40¢ for milk).
b) Save up to $2.50 on a free refill of normal coffee. More if you're a thirsty little badger.
c) Save up to $5.00 on a fancy pants drink if you buy a bag of beans!

Plus, no more searching around your pockets for exact change, or just throwing it on your credit card. The latter adds up fast, and sometimes you don't even realize it! This is a Win-Win situation: Save money AND Budget better!

Now, if you'll excuse me, i'm gonna go put my money where my coffee beans are.
*for more info, check out their site.

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How I fund my "fun fund".

Well that's a mouth full, eh? Fun Fund in itself is a hard one, but funding my fun fund, well that's just crazy talk! but i digress...

My "Fun Fund" - An allocated place to hold all side monies earned; to be spent on anything my heart desires, no questions asked.

Mine officially started a good 4-5 months ago, even though i've always bought myself a thing or two a month as I see them. Nothing huge like over $50, but things here and there for like $20 or $35, etc. It feels good knowing you can buy yourself nice things w/out putting much thought into it.

I think it's important for everyone to have a certain amount set aside for anything he/she wants, with no worries or psychological strings attached. Sorta like that "pay yourself first" mentality. Some people add $20 per paycheck to it, or $50 a month, or simply fund it w/ outside money brought in like myself.

Currently I have exactly $265 in it. I know this cuz it's a huge wad of cash in a cool pirates-chest-looking thing on my night stand at home. Although hardcore pf'ers might think it's better to invest it somewhere, and then take it as you need it, it just wouldn't work for me....i'll never want to spend it! This way, i take the cash w/ me when i go out shopping and use it when i find something. And if i forget to bring, i just re-imburse myself from it so all is even.

This is how i got the $265, or rather the $350+ (when i first started): I SELL THINGS! haha...here's how:

1) I walk around the house looking for things i don't need and/or want. Seriously! i think it drives Mrs. Budgetsaresexy crazy sometimes :) Be sure to peruse your OWN stuff though, not those of others. Drawers are also a great place. If you're like me and randomly throw stuff in them, only to forget years later what's actually in them. If you're not sure about parting w/ an item, just ask yourself this: "Would i rather have $XX in cash for it?"

2) Clean/brush off said items, and snap 3-4 pictures of them. This is important, as a pretty picture definitely helps sell the item...even if said item is ugly or super-old. Someone will usually want it!

3) Sell them! I prefer to use Craigslist first, and then eBay if i don't get any hits. Although there are more flakers on CL, i find the face-t0-face action much more pleasant, and i usually dispose of the item quicker as well. Plus, it doesn't cost you anything and you don't have to worry about mailing issues. If i don't sell it on CL after two weeks (includes 1 re-post), then i'll give eBay a shot. I tend to list a "buy it now" price and to also upload all the pics i have of the item in order to get rid of it quicker. There are tons of other options out there too like yard sales, estate sales, and more if you do some quick research.

The $ you get in return is not only nice, but makes you feel like you really EARNED it! I think there's a great deal of pride in that, even if it's silly :) Out of the 4-5 months doing this, i've now sold 5 track jackets, 2 winter coats, a baseball jersey, pair of pants, picture frame, super old stove, printer/fax machine, and a sword! hahah....i'm telling you, there are people out there that want your stuff. and Stuff = money, money, moneyyyyyy!

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