Ever wonder how your boy J. sees fashion? Click on over to my first review of celeb chicks in celeb clothing. It's not finance related, but it's still good entertainment. You girls might appreciate it ;) Hell, even you guys - there's great scenery! Thx for the opp. Unfunded - diggin' your site.

Labels: randomness 3000, reviews

Cuz I gotta tell you, I'm not that against pawn shops these days. The whole thing seems fairly legit to me: Person A needs money fast. Person A goes to Pawn Shop with valuable stuff. Pawn Shop gives Person A money in return for valuable stuff. Person B comes in and buys goodies at a cheap cost. What's so bad about that?

The fact that they have a bad rap makes it all the more interesting to me. This month's Kiplinger's Mag featured a story on a "Pawnbroker to The Stars" (April, page 88) and it really caught my attention. Not only is business booming, but celebrities and big ballers are using them more and more too! Here's one of my favorite clips from the interview, in response to the embarrassment factor:

"I think there is a stigma attached to going to a pawnbroker. But coming to us for a loan against your beautiful six-figure diamond is no different than getting a loan against your beautiful six-figure home. They're both tangible assets that you own and that you're leveraging to get cash."

Yes, I agree! I'd like to think I'd have no problem visiting one if it really came down to it. But then again, my only experiences with them date back to when I was a kid oooh'ing and ahh'ing at all the fancy video games and electric guitars in the place. I've never actually purchased, nor sold, anything there - nonetheless taken out a loan. In all honesty I've just never needed money *that* bad. Sure I've borrowed and taken out loans for stuff like the first month's rent of an apt. or my college moped, but fortunately life has never demanded I come up with alternative methods.

But let's pretend it did. Why WOULDN'T I hit up a pawn shop? What's all the fuss about? I came up with a list of reasons why they seem so bad, and thus why most people probably steer clear. No science behind it, just me comin' up with my own thoughts on it:

• They look and feel scary.
• They're filled with smoke and scruffy men.
• The neon signs are reminiscent of Vegas sin-ness.
• You get less $ for your stuff.
• If you take out a loan it's probably at a crazy high %.
• You'll probably want to take a shower when you leave.

Put it this way - visiting a pawn shop won't make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Then again, if you're in dire need for fast cash, it's probably the last thing on your mind. You just wanna run in, get your money, and slip out. That leads us to all the GOOD stuff about pawn shops....or at least the only ones I can conjure up right now :)

• You can get fast cash!
• You can take out a loan against some collateral.
• You can pick up some items at a bargain price!
  
• They track serial numbers to help cops catch thieves. (so if you're going to steal, which i'd punch you in the face for, don't sell the goods to the pawns! Fox news just did a story on it and they will catch you mr.)

All of these play a key part in the success they have - well, at least the first 3. It's the one place you can get your hands on fast cash w/ not much work. Is it better to sell stuff on eBay or Craigslist, or even take a loan out from a bank? Hell yeah! But again not everyone has the time or options for this. So in these cases the pawn shops play a key role. Plus, you may only need a loan for a short amount of time. So dropping collateral to back up a loan for a few months may be just the thing you need. And the odds you'd pay it back quicker HAS to be in your favor knowing that those scruffy men would keep your stuff and/or go after you! *shiver*

So would I recommend using Pawn Shops? No. But that's not to say they could come in handy as a last resort. The truth of the matter is that some people DO need money at times, and they need it fast for whatever reason. I can certainly see their importance to society.

Labels: celebrity finance, fast cash, reviews

Yup, 'tis the season to break out the ways to save! Last week I reviewed Kiplinger's list of $50/day savings tips (which wasn't all *that* impressive), so this week I try again & dig around Real Simple's List (March ed.) for some better finds. And boy was it chock full of some interesting stuff.

Before I get into the list though, i couldn't help but to notice a quick excerpt on page 8 which showed "5 Bizarre (but actual) excuses employees have given for missing work".

OMG. If it weren't done through CareerBuilder.com I would have totally thought this was a joke. Although it very well could have been - sorta like those kids who "try out" on American Idol only to try and make it to TV w/ their crazy randomness. But anyways, here were their weirdest lines:

• Dog was stressed out after a family reunion. (wtf?)
• Swallowed too much mouthwash. (haha...okay, i can *sorta* see this one)
• Hit a turkey while riding a bike. (that would def. hurt! i wonder if it was around Thanksgiving? Cuz then there's no way in hell i'm believing that..)
• Got kicked by a deer (around Xmas? shooooot.)
• Psychic said to stay home. (just plain weird.)
  

And apparently 1/3 of the 6,800 workers interviewed admitted they played hooky too. Now THAT I believe ;) Although sadly i wasn't one of them. I always feel bad cheating the company like that, although I also really enjoy going to work too so that probably has something to do with it. Either that, or i'm getting old.

But okay, back to this list of "71 ways to spend smarter". So yeah, some of these tricks I didn't relate to all that much (probably because I'm a guy and this magazine seems to be geared towards women), but overall I was pretty impressed by it. The designer in me was also wowed by all the colors and layout, so i could also be pretty biased here...

I actually wanted to breakdown the list of all the ones i hated, followed by all the ones I enjoyed (like my Kiplinger's post) but none really hit me over the head like that - at least in the hating department. So instead, I present to you my list of the top 6 ideas that either intrigued me, or at least seemed smart to do - whether I used them or not :)

1. Buy a house plant that blooms throughout the year. They suggested Angel Wing begonias, Kalanchoes, and Flowering maples instead of spending $20 on fresh flowers every week (or $1,040/year). I'm not one to spend $ on flowers, except for my gentlemen duties of anniversaries and bdays, but if you're one to shell out the money here it's probably not a bad idea to check out some of these weirdly-named plants.
2. Measure your dollops carefully. Hahha.. "dollops" - that word gets me every time :) The Mrs. can tell you how much I SUCK at this game. I use like a quarter of the shampoo every day, as well as half the body wash...i dunno, it just feels that the more i use the cleaner i can get! if i could master this one, i'd probably save at least $200/year no joke.
3. Check out the best websites for scoring deals. Etsy.com, Overstock.com, Aandmshop.com (that's a first), and a bunch more on the list. See, in *theory* this works, but not in the real world. And that's only because once you log on you can spend hours digging around and spending way more than you initially meant to! So yeah, killer deals there, but only hit 'em up if you have the willpower.
4. Share a babysitter with a neighbor. Similar to one of Kiplinger's ideas, except it's to help shave the costs of day care by splitting the cost of a nanny with a friend. The nanny would watch both children at a friend's house and could save you up to $400 a month! Not sure how much this stuff costs anyways, but that would be awesome if you could work it out.
5. Use your library card! Get books, new releases, and even a go at Amazon's Kindle - all for free. Might even get free delivery too! I like this idea a lot, but for some reason i don't ever do it...but at least i know where the closest one is....more than I could have said 2 years ago.
6. Donate food - for FREE! All you have to do is go to thehungersite.com and click on the big yellow "donate" button and the site will donate a cup of free food to the needy! How the hell have i missed this one? It's totally going on my list of daily links now. (in fact, I actually JUST clicked and donated! you couldn't tell because this wasn't posted yet, but if you could you'd realize how fast i was....and i was pretty damn fast)

There's a whole bunch more on their list, but those were the ones that stuck out to me. But even cooler was their "day in the (frugal) life" spread on page 130 where they show how you can apply some of these skills even more in a given day. Here's a miniature snapshot to give you an idea of what i'm talking about - it's pretty creative:

• 7:37 am - Swap out your latte for a "misto". Brewed coffee w/ steamed milk, as opposed to espresso with steamed milk. That will save you $1 off the bat.
• 12:15 pm - Bring your lunch. Instead of boring sandwiches though, cook up a pound of pasta the night before and create 5 different meals out of it! (listed in the magazine, which actually look pretty tasty)
• 6:10 pm - "Sip on recession-minded varieties (of wine) at $3." Woahhhhh nelly! $3.00? You've def. got my attention now ;) Yup, accordoing to Real Simple you can pick up a bottle of Trader Joe's Charles Shaw Cabernet Sauvignon for 3 George Washingtons. They also list 5 others for less than $8 if your interest is piqued.
• 7:12 pm - Break out the ramen and create some new dishes. Yeah, at first this one had me stumped, but i read on and found out that someone took the time to write up a book of 101 things to do with ramen - one of which is making chicken lo mein (recipe in mag)

So yeah, a lot more money-saving ways to digest and add to your collection. I hope you enjoyed them, because I think I'm overloaded with ideas now...whew, so much to take in all at once, ya know? But I must admit, this one was much easier and fun to go through than Kiplinger's...must be all the bright colors and pictures ;)

Labels: advice, reviews, saving

As many of you know, I'm a huge magazine addict (i like all the pretty pictures). So it's no surprise that I devour about 4-5 personal finance magazines every month, all of which excite me.

Every now and then though, I come across some "advice" that I personally have a hard time agreeing with. The cover story - "Save $50 a Day (and Feel No Pain)" - in this month's Kiplinger's Mag (March) being one of them.

Now, before I get into it, keep 2 things in mind. 1) My opinion is certainly biased, and 2) I still think Kiplinger's is a kick a$$ mag (although not my favorite - that would be Money Mag). That being said, not everything you do to "save $50/day" is necessarily going to be smart, and I'm feeling feisty enough today to explain why ;) But because I'm also a lover, I'll also share the tips that I happen to agree with as well...but let's start w/ the bad ones first:

The 3 Tips I hated:

1. Boost The Deductibles on your Insurance: "Increasing the deductibles on your comprehensive and collision coverage from $500 to $1,000, or even $2,500, can reduce your premiums by 12% to 18%" possibly saving you $648/year. You mean to tell me every time you cause a car accident you'd be willing to spend $2,500 to get it taken care of? NO. WAY. IN. HELL. That's like saying you can go 4 full years w/out incident - no siree Bob, not for me.
2. Cut Your Commute One Day a Week: "If you reduce your driving time by one day per week by telecommuting or carpooling, you'll drive 3,120 fewer miles per year." Yes, and you'll also be on the top of the list when it comes time to downsize! Of course, this is totally based on your employer and given situation, but during times like this I wouldn't risk it. If you wanna save on driving, then I'd suggest going w/ the carpooling idea :)
3. Ditch the Old Fridge: And pick up a brand new one to save energy costs (they recommend a Figidaire 18.2-cubic-foot model for $750)! So you want me to spend $700+ so I can save $100 a year? No thanks. My current fridge is doing just fine and I'm not about to trash it for a newer version. Now if I *needed* a new one, then yeah i'm open to the suggestions, but how many people reading this mag will be in the market for one? (Not many)

The 3 Tips that made me ponder:

1. Cut Your Hair Off! haha...yes, I suppose this would indeed save you some bucks, but good luck convincing the laides of this! For men, Kiplinger's suggest using the Hair Cuttery at $15 a pop (I used to go there all the time before I got the Mrs. to do the dirty work), and for women they brought up beauty schools like Paul Mitchell's for around $50 instead of $90. I've heard both excellent and horrible experiences using stylists in the making.
2. Travel Last-Minute: They say you can save around $500 a year by using sites like Lastminute.com. Pretty sexy in theory, but most people like to plan for this sorta stuff - at least the big vacays. I'd be up for giving it a shot for quick getaways though.
3. Buy a Fuel-Efficient Car: This may or may not belong in this category depending on what your idea of "fuel-efficient" is. If we're talking about Hybrids, there's a good chance you won't make up the difference in what you spend vs. what you pay at the pump. But going w/great efficient cars in general is totally a good call on your part.

The 5 Things that made me cry with joy!

1. Eat at The Bar! Yup, apparently you can get the same food at a fraction of the price by dining at the bar instead of the normal dining area. I wouldn't wanna do it all the time, esp. if i'm in a fancy place to enjoy the atmosphere and good talk w/ some friends, but I'd totally do it when in need of a quick bite. In Kiplinger's test over at the Cheesecake Factory, McCormick & Schmick's, and Morton's Steakhouse, they were able to cut the bill in half.
2. Swap Sitting Services: Get your friends to watch your kids once a month while you and your lover go out on a date! Then, do the same for them each month and save yourself about $40 from not using baby-sitters. Don't have kids at the moment, but this sounds like a most wonderful idea :) Any of you all do that already?
3. Pick up Generic Medications Over Brand-Name: They say the average person can save up to $797/year by doing this. I don't take much meds myself, but I can see how it would add up like that. And actually, I'd throw in ordering your meds via mail too! A lot of health insurances allow you to order 3 months at a time too - cutting your bill down by at least a 3rd in most cases.
4. Rent Cars Off-Site (and fill up your own gas): You can grab a better deal by not renting them at airports or hotels, as well as topping up the gas yourself before dropping it off and paying their insane rates. Of course, the money you'd be saving for convenience might not be worth it depending on how much time and stress you have going on at the time ;)
5. Install a smart thermostat: This allows you to program the temperature yourself and allowing it to go on autopilot. A lot of newer houses already come with this, but if not I'd totally recommend picking one up as it can save up to $180/year. And you can probably find them for way cheaper than that too, so you'd make up the money in no time. The tricky part is determining the degree to set it at where everyone in the house is happy ;) Our magical number is 72 in the winter, and 75 in the summer.

So yeah, I actually agreed with more of what was on their list than originally thought when I started this post ;) But I suppose that's a good thing, right? Just keep in mind, however, that what works for one person may not work for the next. So as long as you've got that straight, get out there and start working the system!

Labels: advice, reviews, saving