Buy Batteries Online

Tip #279 - Buy Batteries Online. This doesn't sound like a money-saving tip that will get you rich. But, if your life is filled with digital cameras, MP3 players, books that play music, video cameras, or any other electronic or toy that takes batteries other than the usual AA batteries, it's so worth it to check out eBay.

If you need a button-cell battery or one for your cell phone, head on over to Radio Shack and price the battery. Then log on to eBay and you may find that the battery prices are 1/10 of Radio Shack's prices. Usually on eBay, the batteries are coming from Asia, and you may have to wait a week or two to get them. So, it's best to order them in advance of needing them. I'm not busting on Radio Shack, that just seems to be the most popular place to go to for batteries. But eBay will likely beat other stores' prices, too.

Again, it may not make you wealthy, but with all of the "toys" (adults' and children's alike) that many people have today, the cost of batteries is not inconsequential. Sometimes it's the small things that add up that prevent people from building up wealth, and the cost of batteries would fall into that small things category that people don't give much thought about, but does affect one's bottom line.

In Real Life (IRL) - Several years ago, my daughter had a toy that took a certain button cell battery. We have a Radio Shack within walking distance of our home, and my husband walked up there and priced the battery. He came back and said the cost was $9 for the battery. Ouch. I don't think the toy was worth $9. Then we looked on eBay. For under $2 including shipping, my husband ordered a whole pack of button cell batteries - about 20 of them! Over time we have used most of them for various electronic toys. Had we continued to buy them at Radio Shack, the cost to us would have been over $100! Although, I'm pretty sure we would have gotten rid of some of the toys rather than pay for overpriced batteries.

Over the years, eBay has been the go-to place for these types of batteries. Recently, my husband needed a battery for an electronic do-dad of his. I don't know why, but again he went over to Radio Shack to price the batteries. The cost was $15. Again, he came home and checked eBay. And the price was $1 including shipping! He bought two!

We have never had any problem with the quality of the batteries we have received from Asia. And I doubt they are any different than the ones that Radio Shack (or Best Buy or Wal-Mart) sells. The only difference is the lack of markup. Happy battery shopping! For other frugal ideas, check out Life as Mom.

I Am The Lamest Blogger Ever

I just wanted to put a post out there that I am the lamest blogger ever. I don't know how other bloggers post on a daily basis. I'm just trying to keep up on a weekly basis and am failing miserably.

Okay, now that that's out of the way, I want to add that I haven't been thinking much about money lately specifically saving money. If anything, I've been thinking about how to spend money. It kind of goes against my nature but it is how I've been feeling. Two weeks ago, the rabbi, where my children go to Hebrew school, passed away. It wasn't sudden, as he had been ill for a few years. But he was 34 years old. Thirty-four! Gosh, it makes one stop and think. He left behind a wife and four young children. There is a website dedicated to his memory, and I have found myself looking at it from time to time, browsing pictures of him from happier days. And when I see pictures of him smiling at family events or when I read stories about him telling jokes to his congregants, I think to myself, does saving money really matter when it all comes down to this?

Well, yes I still believe it does, to an extent. But there is saving, and then there's going overboard. Put money away for emergencies. Yes. Scrimp every last dollar you make. No. Save money for retirement. Yes. Turn off the heat each night before you go to bed. No. Put money away for your children's education. Yes. Don't ever take them on a vacation. No.

None of us know how many years we have left on this earth. G-d willing, we will all live to 120. But if we die tomorrow, will we be sorry that we didn't order that steak dish that we love so much at our favorite restaurant? Will we be sorry that we never took that vacation to Paris? Will we be sorry that we didn't spend money to learn how to play the piano?

On the other hand, if we live to 120, G-d willing, we do need to live on something other than boxed noodles. And we cannot depend on the government or others to take care of us. So we do have to put money aside in case something catastrophic happens. And we need to have a plan to pay for medical expenses for ourselves. So I will always think saving money is smart. And I do think we should all be doing it. But, let's not become a hoarder of money. Once you have an emergency fund, are happy with your retirement savings, and feel comfortable with the amount you have saved for your children's education, spend freely on what you enjoy. Take that trip to Paris or bring your kids to Disney World. Eat out at your favorite restaurant on special occasions. Sign up for piano lessons.

As far as we know, we only get one chance at life on earth. And sometimes that life is short. Many times it is not. So, save wisely, but enjoy yourself, too. As none of us know which life expectancy camp we fall into. For some, the length of our life is not nearly long enough as was the case with our beloved rabbi. Fortunately, he was a great role model for living life to its fullest. He seemed to enjoy every moment on earth and every person he was in contact with. While one can certainly live a full or even fuller life without spending a lot of money, I have found myself loosening my reins a bit on our spending because of his untimely death. I don't want to regret not doing things because I didn't want to spend the money - money that we had to spend. Saving just for the sake of it is not always the best option.

So I am looking at our savings and spending with new eyes with the idea that if we can afford it, and it will enrich our lives, then we will do it. Having said all that, I know that the best things in life are free. My family and friends, and the beauty of nature don't cost a dime. Although, that plane trip to see nature's finest might. Thanks for being a good example, Rabbi Levi. We miss you.

Don't Get All Of Your Eggs From One Chicken

Tip #278 - Don't Get All Of Your Eggs From One Chicken. We all know the saying, "Don't put your eggs in one basket." Well, I believe we can apply that wisdom to how we earn money. Suppose we have one very good egg-producing chicken. We rely on getting our eggs from her day after day after day. But then one day a fox raids the hen house and there goes our source of eggs. Or our hen gets an illness and passes away suddenly. Or the egg gets too old to lay eggs. Now from where do we get our eggs?

As I am sure many unemployed people today can attest, earning all of your money from one source can be pretty scary if that one source dries up. No matter how great that source was at one time, many events can happen to effect it: The economy goes sour, and the business you work for is no longer produces as much. A small company's business owner passes away, and the company closes up shop. You are fired. You become incapable of doing physical labor that your job demands. That's why it is important to find more than one chicken from which to get your eggs.

Whether you are the main breadwinner or just earning some side money, it is important to have various sources of income. Or at least various ideas of where you can earn income if your main job goes south. Sometimes it is best if your alternate sources of income are in a different area than your main source. So an English teacher who can also fix cars may be more valuable than a teacher who can also tutor. Because if teachers are no longer in demand, tutors may not be either or there may be lots of other teacher who can tutor. But regardless of what you do to earn money, it is a good idea to at least think of other ways in which you can earn money even if you do not currently do them.

In Real Life (IRL) - In real life right now, I consider myself unemployed. I stepped away from my job over three years ago when my son was born. So while it is somewhat tight, we are living primarily on my husband's income. Because of the high-cost of the DC area and because we have three children who like to do activities and two parents who like to take vacations, I try to earn some money on the side while I stay home with our 3-year old. My main source of income is selling on eBay. I have built up a small business and a routine for making money on the world's largest auction site. In the past year or so, eBay commission or fees have gone up dramatically, leaving me with less take-home pay than before. While I still find eBay to be my greatest source of income, I have tried branching out to other venues to sell my wares. I've been trying to sell some things on Craigslist before listing them on eBay sometimes. Without any fees whatsoever, it allows me to sell things more cheaply, and is a good alternative for me.

This past year, I sold clothes at a consignment sale (and made about $40)! I also sold clothes at a consignment store for the first time. I have been completing surveys online in my spare time. I've been bringing books over to my local used book store for cash or credit. And I've been selling books on Amazon.

Now all of this is chump change, of course. We're talking about additional money that we use to pay for my kids' activities or to put toward a weekend away. But the point is, several years ago, eBay was pretty much my only source of income. Then I discovered Craigslist and realized I could make money selling all of the big items that I couldn't sell on eBay. Then I learned about selling on Amazon, and single books that weren't worth listing on eBay were getting sold. Then I added the used bookstore to my list for books that weren't worth listing on Amazon. And this year, adding consignment stores and sales to my income-producing endeavors for items that are not worth selling pretty much anywhere else. Taking surveys are a nice steady source of spending money that doesn't rely on the demand or lack thereof from the buying public.

It never really occurred to me that I seek income from so many different sources until I got a few checks in the mail and some online deposits last week from many different sources - an Amazon deposit, a check from completing surveys, and a check from the consignment sale. And that's when I realized the wisdom of making money from different getting income from a variety of sources. And in this precarious economy, it is a smart thing to do.

Don't Discount Dollar Stores

Tip #277 - Don't Discount Dollar Stores. Dollar stores often get a bad rap. "It's cheap stuff." "It's all junk made in China." "The things from there won't last." And most of those comments have a lot of truth to them. However, sometimes the cheap things are what we need to buy. Or we'd be buying them anyway for more money in stores such as Target, a party store, or an office supply store. And in reality, most of the stuff from these stores come from the exact same place as the Dollar Store. While I am not a big fan of disposable things and junk that piles up in our landfills, there are sometimes we have to buy throw-away items. And the Dollar Store is as good a place as any for buying this kind of stuff.

What the Dollar Store is Useful For:

--Birthday Parties - Goody bags and party supplies such as plates, cups, and napkins are the perfect items to buy in Dollar Stores. They are much cheaper than party stores, although the selection is not as good.

--Incentives - Stickers, pencils, and tattoos to be used for potty training, chores well-done, or when your children master some school-work are cheap enough at Dollar Stores and are often much less than at mass-merchandise stores.

--School Supplies - Glue sticks, staplers, tape, notebooks, folders, etc are typical Dollar Store items. There are usually great sales at the start of the school year for school supplies. But when you run out of things you need mid-year, the Dollar Store is a good place to stock up, and much cheaper than office supply stores.

--Travel - If you are taking a long car trip or plane ride and want to keep your little ones occupied, small toys that are new to them will occupy a child's attention and excite him more than his same old toys. For a few dollars, you can buy puzzles, activity books, and card games that you can dole out throughout your trip to make for some peaceful traveling.

--Costumes - If you need a cheap pirate's eyepatch or a pretty crown for a princess dress that just needs to last for Halloween night, then don't pay more than one dollar. Head to the Dollar Store first before looking to more expensive party stores.

There is a time and place to buy high-quality items that we want to last. But there are times when we need the cheapest thing possible. Cheap items may fulfill your need as well as an expensive one for a lot less money. That is when we can look to the Dollar Store.

In Real Life (IRL) - My daughter had her 9th birthday party last week. I am not one to usually buy a bunch of little, junky party favors to hand out. But we were having a game night party - bingo, charades, and trivia. And I promised prizes to the winners throughout the night. There were 10 girls total, and I estimated the girls would each win 4 to 5 games each, which meant 40 to 50 prizes. First I hunted through my party stash at home, which included goody bag items from left-over parties - mini-staplers, lip balm, and some card games. Then I headed over to our local dollar store and scoured the shelves. I found a 20-pack of decorative pencils for $1. Then I found a 3-pack of 4-color pens, as well as a 3-pack of mini-globe pencil sharpeners. I picked up a 4-pack of jack games, and a 6-pack of scented highlighters. For $5 I picked up all of the remaining prizes I needed for our game-night party.

Sure there were junky items at the store, but I tried to buy things that the kids would use, and things that would hopefully last past the night. And I think I succeeded. While I was at the store, I browsed through the whole store. And I found things there that would be helpful for other needs besides birthday parties.

At the beginning of the school year, we get a list of school supplies that we need to buy. Some of these items usually include zippered storage bags and a couple dozen glue sticks. The storage bags are used to send home simple projects and usually store pieces of paper. (I volunteer in my daughters' school once per week, and I have had fill these storage bags with small pieces of paper. Some of the bags the teacher gave me that parents had bought were high-priced, thick freezer bags that were being wasted holding pieces of paper. Thin, cheap, no-name storage bags would accomplish the same task. Those freezer bags are expensive!) Our dollar stores carries the cheap bags, which aren't good for freezing meals for the winter, but are perfect for children to bring home schoolwork. I also saw 3 large glue sticks per pack for $1. Our school generally asks that we buy the large glue sticks rather than the small ones that are always very cheap during back-to-school sales. At Wal-Mart, we paid $3 for a 3-pack of large glue sticks. They were the cheapest I could find. But I forgot to look at the dollar store. Next time I will remember.

There were other great supplies there like small staplers and rolls of tape that my kids borrow from me for craft projects all the time. For $1 a pop, it's worth it for them to have their own. I don't care if the tape is cheap when it's just used for kids' projects. There were other items there that were worth a look for future emergencies. I saw an 8-pack of cheap shower caps. Not something I'd normally use, but this past summer when we were blessed with lice, they would have been very handy to have.

So while I am not generally a fan of cheaply-made plastic junk, there are times when I have to buy these types of items. And why not spend only a dollar for them rather than more at other stores?

Sell At A Kids' Consignment Sales

Tip #276 - Sell At Kids' Consignment Sales. A while back, I wrote a post series about where to sell your used things. At the time, I listed consignment sales as an option for selling your children's toys and old clothes. While I knew about this venue, and had shopped at them many times, I had never tried my hand at selling at one of them. As of last week that has changed, so I am going to go more in-depth on this topic.

In most major cities and in some smaller towns, there is a relatively new (I don't remember these when I was growing up) phenomenon of holding kids' consignment sales either once or twice per year in spring and fall. They are often held by preschools, churches, or even private companies. In small towns, there may be one big one per year, while in larger cities, there may be a half-dozen of such sales each weekend in March/April and September/October.

You might have to be a member of the particular church or preschool to sell at these sales, but many of them let outsiders sell there, too. If you have a large lot of kids' clothes, a bunch of old toys, or outgrown baby things, this is the perfect venue for getting rid of a large amount of stuff at once, while still making money.

Why sell your things at a kids' consignment sale versus other venues? As a seller on eBay, I love eBay for selling items when the item is worth at least $10. Is it worth my time and effort to list a bunch of $2 and $3 items on eBay? No way. How about Craigslist? That's another selling venue that I love for items that have wide appeal, are worth at least $10, and are too big to ship on eBay. But most buyers won't come out to a person's house for a $2 or $3 item. Yardsales? This is a great place to sell odds and ends but the chances of getting only shoppers who are looking for kids' items are pretty small. Consignment stores? Another great venue for selling some better name clothes but not so good for a bag of boys' socks.

So basically, for a large amount of items that are worth between $1 and $8 each, the kids' consignment sale becomes the perfect venue. It is a place to get rid of a lot of stuff at once. If you are interested in selling at one of these sales, check out some local moms' sites in your area or check out Kids Consignment Sales. The list isn't inclusive, but is a good place to start. Look for a sale that allows outside sellers, and contact them about how to consign at their next sale. Most consignment sales take 50 percent of the proceeds for their church, preschool, or business, but you may get as much as 70 percent at some sales if you volunteer a few hours at the sale. As a bonus, volunteers often get to attend a preview sale before the public.

Once you decide on a particular sale to sell at, you need to follow their guidelines for selling. Most only let you sell in-season clothes, some take all seasons. Some take clothes up to size 14; others do only younger kids' clothes. Some take baby gear; others do not. For most sales, you need to tag your items with an index card of some sort with the name of the item, the price, and your initials or other identifier. You also need a tagging gun or safety pins, and some tape. At the end of the sale, you usually have the option of picking up your unsold items or leaving them there to be donated to charity. After a few weeks you get a check in the mail for 50 percent (or 60-70%) of what you sold.

In order to prepare for these sales, keep two boxes in the garage, basement or out-of-the-way place. One box should be for the upcoming sale, such as the March spring/summer sales. The other can be for the sale that just passed (fall/winter). As you pull clothes from your children's drawers and closets that no longer fit, put them in the right box. Toys and other non-seasonal items should go in the upcoming sale's box. About a few weeks before the sale, start tagging your items. Price them at prices you would be willing to pay at such a sale. A non-designer pair of jeans tagged at $8 will be unlikely to sell and will end up getting donated. Instead price them competitively at $3 or $4, so they do sell. A few days before the sale, bring over your items to the church or school and then just sit back and wait for your check to arrive in the mail!

In Real Life (IRL) - I love kids' consignment sales! While prices are higher than yardsales, I don't have to drive all over town to find a sale that is selling what I want. Going to a big church multipurpose room filled with kids' clothes is the perfect shopping venue for me. And this past fall, I decided to see if it was the perfect selling venue for me, too. Since I am an experienced eBay and Craigslist seller and an avid consignment sale buyer, I have a good feel for what sells well and at what prices I can expect.

About a month before the spring sales started, I looked at all of the different sales in my area on my favorite local DC site, called Our-Kids. I had probably been to about 10 of the consignment sales in the past and knew which ones were bigger, which sold better brand clothes, and which were well-attended. Based on my experience, I picked a sale where I thought my things would do well (I actually picked a smaller sale that isn't overloaded with clothing and didn't have a consignor fee to participate).

About a week before the sale, a friend came over who was also going to sell at the same sale, and we tagged our items together. We had a fun afternoon, while our kids played, and we got most of the tagging done in just a couple of hours. Afterwards, I double-checked a few items on eBay to make sure they weren't high sellers, and I actually pulled a few things out of my box which I thought I could make more money on on eBay. I also added a few things during the week as I scoured through my children's rooms. The day before the sale, I dropped off my bags of items (about 40-50 things total) at the preschool.

The sale was last weekend. I attended during the last hour and saw that most of my items were sold. I'm not sure yet how much I earned, but I'm guessing it will be about $50 for a bunch of smaller items that I had nowhere else to sell. Not bad for a couple hours of "work" with my friend.

Find Out What Your Savings Bonds Are Worth

Tip # 275 - Find Out What Your Savings Bonds Are Worth. Did your grandparents give you savings bonds for birthdays? Christmas? Special Occasions? Remember those birthday envelopes that you opened and you hated? It wasn't a present. It wasn't even cash. It was bonds to become cash one day in the future. The value on the bond would say '$25' or '$50' or maybe even '$100.' And at first you thought, "Cool, I just got a $100 birthday gift." But then your mom or dad would remind you that it's not worth $100 today. It would be worth $100 at some point in the future. "Aww, shucks," what a bummer gift, you thought.

Well, if you are now in your twenties, thirties, or older, you may be changing your tune a bit about those "bummer gifts," if you haven't yet cashed in those bonds, that is. A typical bond that was given as gifts was often the "EE" bond or "Double E" bond as they are known. While the bond may have taken 5, 7, or 10 years to be worth the face value written on the bond, they continue to earn interest for a total of 30 years. And if you got them as gifts back in the 1980's that interest may have been 6%. In the early 90's it was also earning about 4% interest. In the early 2000's, a little over 3%. Find me a place today where I can get a relatively risk-free, tax-deferred interest of 6%, and I'd be a happy woman. Problem is you can't. Which is why if you are still holding on to these bonds, and they are still earning interest, then they are the gift that is still giving (unlike that plastic toy Cousin Myrna gave you that you thought was cool that has long since broken).

So, think back to your younger years, give your mom or dad or grandparents a call, look in the lockbox and find out if you are still holding on to these savings bonds. If you find out that you still have some, then go to Treasury Direct to find out what they are worth. Key in the Series (such as 'EE'), the Denomination, the Serial Number, and the Issue Date and it will calculate the current value of the bond. Even if you do not know the serial number, it will still calculate the current value. If the bond is no longer earning interest, then the result will show a blank under "Interest Rate." If it is still earning interest, then it will show the rate that the bond is earning and will give the final maturity date of the bond (after which it will no longer earn interest).

If you find out that your bond is no longer earning interest, then head over to your local bank with your bonds and talk to a staff person there about cashing them in. If the bond it still earning interest, take note of the maturity dates of each of your bonds, so you can cash them in when they mature. You can cash them in before maturity date, but chances are you won't be able to make as good of an interest rate in other risk-free investments today, so consider carefully if you really need to cash them in.

In Real Life (IRL) - For the last several years, I have been keeping a net worth statement. At first, the amount I had written down on the staement for my EE bonds was just an estimate. I estimated the worth of the bonds based on the amount of interest I remembered that they were earning. Then about a year ago, I was curious if my estimates were really that accurate. So I pulled my bonds out of our safe-deposit box and found the Treasury Direct website, and calculated their worth. My estimates actually had been a bit low because I had forgotten about some bonds that I had gotten as gifts. More importantly than the worth, I took note of the maturity dates on the bonds and made a list of when I needed to cash them in.

Flash back to September 1980 - I celebrated my bat-mitzvah and was given a few bonds as gifts. My parents saved them for me and gave them to me when I graduated college. Fast forward to September 2010 and the bonds are now 30 years old! Not only that, they have stopped earning interest - they were earning 6% annually all of these years. Yesterday, I pulled them out of the safe deposit box again, and I am going to head over to local branch of my bank this week to cash them in. The four bonds that I have from 1980 have denominations of $100, $100, $75, and $50. Today they are worth $1088! Woohoo! The nice thing about government bonds is that you don't have to pay taxes on the interest that they are earning until they are cashed in. (Boo! That means I have to pay taxes on my cashed-in bonds this year.) I still have a bunch of bonds left that I bought in the early 1990's that are currently earning 4% interest (tax-deferred), so I am going to leave them earning interest for now.

So for all of you who think you may have bonds buried deep inside the desk drawers in your house or have them stashed away in a vault at the bank, take note of what you have. Make a list of the issue dates and maturity dates so you can cash them in as soon as they stop earning interest for you. The Treasury Direct site is a neat one, and you can play around with other features on there after you have calculated the worth of your bonds. Now go thank Great-Aunt Sophie for those bonds!

Do A Third-Quarter Review

Saving Money Tip #274 - Do A Third-Quarter Review. It's hard to believe that I just ripped out the September calendar page. In some ways it seems like winter just ended. Three-quarters of the year gone by. It's true that time seems to go faster as we get older. Anyway, enough philosophizing. Today is the day I suggest looking back on the past year to see how well you are doing meeting your goals. Enough of the year has gone by to get a good take on what you have been successful with and what need more work. And there is still a bit of time to make things right again and get closer to your goals before year-end.

So look into your checking accounts, check your balances online for your mutual funds, look at your balances on your credit card loans and car loans or other loans you might have. And come up with net worth. While looking at how much your savings balances have gone up and how much your debt balances have gone down, a net worth calculation gives you a good snapshot of your overall picture.

Today is also the day that you can begin to look forward to next year's goals and plan for the year ahead. Back to school season has slowed down a bit and holiday season hasn't yet kicked in. So there is time to start thinking about next year. Specifics do not need to be written down just yet. But thinking about general goals and vision of what you want in the next year financially can be a good start to making formal financial goals and a written budget at year end. It's soon to be open season for health insurance and other benefits at your place of employment, which is another big factor in your budget and finances.

So tak ean overview of how you are doing so far with your finances, work hard to meet any goals before year-end, and make some general plans for next year.

In Real Life (IRL) - I calculated a net worth statement a few days ago. I had some free time, so I did it a bit early. I pretty much did nothing with our finances over the summer, so this was the first time I got to look at how we are doing. As is par for the course for us, we are behind on our IRA contributions. We have $8000 left to deposit before year-end according to our goals. We have about half of that saved up and need to come up with the remaining $4000. We get an extra paycheck in December so it should work out okay in the end.

Other than that, our mutual funds and stock balances seem to have improved since we last looked in June. It was nice not to worry about the drops that took place over the summer (I didn't look once at our balances), and then to look a couple of days ago and to see that they were fine. That's why I don't like to get hung up on the day-to-day price fluctuations. It saves me time and anxiety.

We're still waiting for our open enrollment information. We've heard that premiums are going up quite a bit this year, so we will have to see what my husband's company presents to us. We are also still on a wait-and-see mode with my husband's job. We haven't heard any more about his office closing, but we know it's imminent. I think we'll hear more at the end of this year/beginning of next year. In the meantime, the longer we stay here, the harder it's going to be to leave. Our kids like their schools. Our mortgage is getting chipped away each month (we celebrate 10 years in our house next month!), and we have a lot of friends.

So that's where we are as we head into the last quarter of the year. We will work on our specific 2011 financial goals closer to the end of the year, but we don't expect them to change much from this year.