Stingy Students

Free BJ's Warehouse Club Membership for 60 days

2009-09-15T17:34:00.003-04:00

FYI, BJ's is again offering a free 60 day membership. Unfortunately, I don't have one near me, but I'd check it out if I were close to one. I apologize if you arrived here looking for something else, but hopefully you'll still be able to take advantage of it. For further reading, if you decide to purchase a membership to one of these stores, this article compares some of the Big 3.

The following video is for adults only. If my sense of humor offends you, press the "back it up button" on your browser :-)

Free Starbucks on Sundays

2009-08-27T18:42:00.001-04:00

Now this isn't exactly what you think - no free coupons or discounts on this one - but here's a way that I've discovered where you can go to Starbucks and get a free drink (or have it paid for at least).

Many a Sundays I've been driving around town and have seen people selling Sunday papers on the corner of busy streets to anyone willing to pay a dollar. There's always a little demon in my head that says "think about all the coupons in there!" but then, my angel tells me "that dollar could go to paying for more important things, like replacing your year old toothbrush!" Fortunately, the angel in me prevails - although the toothbrush part is still pending - and I go on my merry way.

However, I discovered a couple of Sundays ago that the Starbucks near where I live has at least one copy of the Sunday paper either sitting out for customers to read or left by someone. And in that paper, those same coupons are still there because I presume that anyone willing to buy a cup of joe at Starbucks is not going to bother sifting through coupons like this regular joe. So for the price of a cup of coffee (of frappucino if you prefer), I get to read the Sunday paper, AND I take with me any coupons that I could use. The coupons in themselves more than pay for the coffee, and there you have it, that's how you get free Starbucks on Sundays :-)

Best Amazon.com Discount Sale - 90% off for Back To School Shopping

2009-07-25T17:02:00.003-04:00

It's that time of year again - back to school shopping time! A new year means buying more stuff for school, and with everyone's wallets being a little thinner this year, why not take advantage of some of the great deals on Amazon.com? The problem is that it's not always easy to find these deals, so I've created a list of links arranged by % off - up to 90% off - for all of the main categories on Amazon.com, so that you don't have to!

The added benefit is that you can do this all in the convenience of your own home instead of waiting in line at the store with hungry and tired kids in tow, and as always, qualifying orders of $25 or more get FREE SHIPPING!

You can use these links throughout the year because I've included links for all the categories, so don't forget to come back whenever you're shopping, and spread the words to your friends, relatives, and co-workers, because there's some sort of deal for everyone on Amazon.com!

Books
Books
90% off - 80% off - 70% off - 60% off - 50% off
Magazines
90% off - 80% off - 70% off - 60% off - 50% off

Movies, Music & Games
Movies & TV
90% off - 80% off - 70% off - 60% off - 50% off
Blu-Ray
90% off - 80% off - 70% off - 60% off - 50% off
Music
90% off - 80% off - 70% off - 60% off - 50% off
Musical Instruments
90% off - 80% off - 70% off - 60% off - 50% off
Video Games
90% off - 80% off - 70% off - 60% off - 50% off

Computers & Office
Computers & Accessories
90% off - 80% off - 70% off - 60% off - 50% off
Software
90% off - 80% off - 70% off - 60% off - 50% off
PC Games
90% off - 80% off - 70% off - 60% off - 50% off
Office Products & Supplies
90% off - 80% off - 70% off - 60% off - 50% off

Electronics
TV & Video
90% off - 80% off - 70% off - 60% off - 50% off
Home Audio & Theater
90% off - 80% off - 70% off - 60% off - 50% off
Camera & Photo
90% off - 80% off - 70% off - 60% off - 50% off
MP3 & Media Players
90% off - 80% off - 70% off - 60% off - 50% off
Car Electronics & GPS
90% off - 80% off - 70% off - 60% off - 50% off

Home & Garden
Home Appliances
90% off - 80% off - 70% off - 60% off - 50% off
Kitchen & Dining
90% off - 80% off - 70% off - 60% off - 50% off
Furniture & Decor
90% off - 80% off - 70% off - 60% off - 50% off
Bedding & Bath
90% off - 80% off - 70% off - 60% off - 50% off
Tools & Home Improvement
90% off - 80% off - 70% off - 60% off - 50% off
Patio, Lawn & Garden
90% off - 80% off - 70% off - 60% off - 50% off
Pet Supplies
90% off - 80% off - 70% off - 60% off - 50% off
Sewing, Craft & Hobby
90% off - 80% off - 70% off - 60% off - 50% off

Grocery, Health & Beauty
Grocery
90% off - 80% off - 70% off - 60% off - 50% off
Natural & Organic
90% off - 80% off - 70% off - 60% off - 50% off
Gourmet Food
90% off - 80% off - 70% off - 60% off - 50% off
Health & Personal Care
90% off - 80% off - 70% off - 60% off - 50% off
Beauty
90% off - 80% off - 70% off - 60% off - 50% off

Apparel, Shoes & Jewelry
Apparel - Women
90% off - 80% off - 70% off - 60% off - 50% off
Accessories - Women
90% off - 80% off - 70% off - 60% off - 50% off
Shoes - Women
90% off - 80% off - 70% off - 60% off - 50% off

Apparel - Men
90% off - 80% off - 70% off - 60% off - 50% off
Accessories - Men
90% off - 80% off - 70% off - 60% off - 50% off
Shoes - Men
90% off - 80% off - 70% off - 60% off - 50% off

Apparel - Juniors
90% off - 80% off - 70% off - 60% off - 50% off
Shoes - Juniors
90% off - 80% off - 70% off - 60% off - 50% off

Apparel - Young Men
90% off - 80% off - 70% off - 60% off - 50% off

Jewelry
90% off - 80% off - 70% off - 60% off - 50% off

Toys, Kids & Babies
Toys & Games
90% off - 80% off - 70% off - 60% off - 50% off
Baby
90% off - 80% off - 70% off - 60% off - 50% off
Apparel - Kids & Babies
90% off - 80% off - 70% off - 60% off - 50% off
Accessories - Kids & Babies
90% off - 80% off - 70% off - 60% off - 50% off
Shoes - Girls
90% off - 80% off - 70% off - 60% off - 50% off
Shoes - Boys
90% off - 80% off - 70% off - 60% off - 50% off

Sports & Outdoors
Exercise & Fitness
90% off - 80% off - 70% off - 60% off - 50% off
Outdoors
90% off - 80% off - 70% off - 60% off - 50% off
Action Sports
90% off - 80% off - 70% off - 60% off - 50% off
Team Sports
90% off - 80% off - 70% off - 60% off - 50% off
Cycling
90% off - 80% off - 70% off - 60% off - 50% off
Golf
90% off - 80% off - 70% off - 60% off - 50% off
Fan Gear
90% off - 80% off - 70% off - 60% off - 50% off

Tools, Auto & Industrial
Power & Hand Tools
90% off - 80% off - 70% off - 60% off - 50% off
Outdoor Power & Lawn Equipment
90% off - 80% off - 70% off - 60% off - 50% off
Automotive
90% off - 80% off - 70% off - 60% off - 50% off
Motorcycle & ATV
90% off - 80% off - 70% off - 60% off - 50% off
Industrial & Scientific
90% off - 80% off - 70% off - 60% off - 50% off

Amazon.com Discount Book Search

2009-07-03T00:59:00.003-04:00

Here's a little something to help find you some summer reading. I have set up easy links for you to find books at Amazon.com based on % off from the cover price. The system isn't perfect - if you look at some of the books on the list, they aren't discounted to the amount claimed. Otherwise though, I figure this is an easy way to find some summer reading during these hot months when no one wants to go outside except to get their car washed by scantily clad women in bikinis. If this isn't for you, don't forget to check out Paperbackswap.com as well looking for ways to find the best book prices. Enjoy!

90% off - 80% off - 70% off - 60% off - 50% off

Money Hacks Carnival

2009-06-12T18:19:00.003-04:00

Thanks to Financial Highway for hosting the Money Hacks Carnival. My article on ShopDiscover was among the many great articles in the carnival. Please go take a look at this carnival if you get the chance.

More Cashback with ShopDiscover

2009-06-07T08:54:00.006-04:00

For those of you decrying the death of the 5% cashback cards, you may have discovered by now - no pun intended - that Discover Card offers 5% cashback through different categories throughout the year. For example, in March of this year, I purchased plane tickets for $765.40, and I received 5% cashback ($38.28) because travel was one of the qualifying categories from January through March.

Now what some of you may not know is that Discover Card also has a program called ShopDiscover, which gives you additional cashback in much the same way as the other cashback programs. However, as my favorite cashback comparison website shows you, ShopDiscover can offer higher rates than some of the other sites. For example, I recently made a purchase at Land's End, and the 10% cashback offered by ShopDiscover far out-cashbacked (yes, I realize that's not a real word) the competition, as you can see here. I also recently bought my girlfriend a gift at Ann Taylor Loft, and got 5% cashback offered by ShopDiscover, which again out-cashbacked the competition. While it may not offer the highest rewards for every merchant, it does for some, and this makes ShopDiscover worthwhile to check out if you are shopping online.

Of course all this depends on you having a Discover Card, so if you don't have one yet, you should apply now! You can get $50 cashback bonus when signing up now.

Note: This post represents entry in the ShopDiscover blog promotion with a chance to win a Discover Gift Card. However, I personally do use this card on many occasions throughout the year due to the ShopDiscover and Cashback Bonus, so I whole-heartedly can attest to its benefits.

Free Sam's Club Membership part 2

2009-05-17T11:19:00.005-04:00

This is a follow-up to an earlier article about a free membership to Sam's Club. While the first offer may have been a YMMV depending on who you were dealing with, this is a no questions asked one day membership to Sam's Club. Sure, it's only for one day, but if you plan ahead, do you really need to go to Sam's Club more than once a year? Seriously, who goes through 200 Atomic Fireballs? Hurry, the pass expires 5/25/09.

Free BJ's Warehouse Club membership

2009-05-17T11:06:00.003-04:00

I apologize if you arrived here by mistake as you rapidly clicked the link after reading the first two words.

I wrote about the free Sam's Club deal a few months back, and now BJ's is offering a free pass as well. This offer is for a free 60-day pass, and there is no YMMV circumstances attached. I guess it's a marketing scheme to get people to discover the value of their store during these tough economic times. While I tend to disagree that these warehouse type stores offer much advantage, if any, over the regular grocery stores for most people, it can add up to significant savings if you have to buy in bulk throughout the year, for say, a small business. For further reading, if you decide to purchase a membership to one of these stores, this article compares some of the Big 3.

Carnival of Twenty Something Finances - Oscars Edition

2009-02-23T17:06:00.002-05:00

Welcome to the Carnival of Twenty Something Finances - Oscars Edition!

There were way too many submissions (over 100) to post here, so I took the liberty of sorting through the pile to find those Oscar-worthy posts.

Also, here are some general rules that I tried to use to ensure that the most relevant posts were included:

1. Must be a real blogger, not a company - you don't know how much spam I got from real estate and credit card companies.

2. Cannot be about best (fill in the blank) rates - if you're looking for the best rates, you can always find them at bankrate.com or FatWallet Finance.

3. Must be interesting to read, express new ideas, and most importantly, be relevant to people in their 20's.

Now drum roll please......badadadadadadadadada..... The Oscar for best post goes to.............

Five Tips for Your Boss During a Recession posted at Money Smart Life! ::applause:: There are enough articles out there covering what we should be doing during this recession. Now, here's an article sticking it to our bosses. Kind of like the infamous scene in Half-Baked, but with a little bit more class.

Oscar Nominees

Fabulously "Broke" presents Why are you renting instead of buying a home? posted at Fabulously "Broke" ...in the City. And why even consider buying a place that you have to maintain rather than living in a place where you can throw fratastic parties? I'm only half-kidding.

Live Money Smart presents Student Loan Consolidation and Early Payoff posted at Live Money Smart. Good article on consolidation. Borrow, baby, borrow! is my new motto. I figure with the rate of inflation, my $100k student loan will be worth about $10k by the time I actually have an income. But remember, never pay off student loans early.

kathryn presents The Importance of Shopping Local posted at Out of Debt - Christian Finances and Debt Help. Difficult to do in these tough economic times for some, but long-term, I agree local is the way to go.

Lazy Man presents Financial Football Teaches Students about Personal Finance posted at Lazy Man and Money. Who would've thought you could mix finance and football? What next? Using alcohol to teach algebra?

Silicon Valley Blogger presents YNAB (You Need A Budget) Personal Budget Software Is 10% Off posted at The Digerati Life. I think Chrysler could have used this program a while back.

David presents Salary Advance Loan Program--A Low Cost Payday Loan Alternative posted at Payday Loans Review. It sounds the same, but they're pretty different. Kinda like come and ........

Green Panda presents Use Allpoint ATMS to Reduce and Eliminate ATM Fees posted at Green Panda Treehouse. Now we just have to wait for the ATMs that give us money to use them.

Roshawn Watson presents Lame Defense for $18.4 Billion in Wall Street Bonuses posted at Watson Inc. Blaming Wall Street bonuses never gets old.

Mr. CC presents The Co-signer Delimma posted at Ask Mr Credit Card's Blog. Think twice before you co-sign the loan for anyone whose nickname is "Frank the Tank"

Matthew Paulson presents Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile & Others Ripping off Customers with Third Party Billing posted at Fine-Tuned Finances. What I do to get back at cellphone companies is to send as many texts as I can.....o...n....e........l...e...t....t...e...r.......a...t......a......t...i...m...e

Best of the Rest

Tushar Mathur presents Investment expert offers 10 tips for surviving the recession posted at Everything Finance.

nickel presents How to Claim the Recovery Rebate Credit posted at fivecentnickel.com.

Savings Toolbox presents Finding Yourself unable to Make Your Mortgage Payments? posted at Savings Toolbox.

David Weliver presents Is It Smart to Buy a Home in This Recession? posted at Money Under 30.

The Investor presents Why a little passive income from a side project is worth a lot more than you think posted at Monevator.

Pinyo presents Where To Sell Used Books And Textbooks posted at Moolanomy.

Pinyo presents Low Cost Diversification With Vanguard Total World Stock ETF (VT)? posted at Moolanomy.

Carrie presents Learning About Investing as a Child posted at Less is More.

Save Money presents Frugal Frauds Revealed posted at How I Save Money.net.

nickel presents MyFICO ScoreWatch: Free Access to Your FICO Credit Score posted at fivecentnickel.com.

Jeff Rose presents Why Avoid Bankruptcy? posted at Jeff Rose.

CreditAddict presents Pentagon Federal Visa Rewards Credit Card posted at Credit Card Addict.

nickel@fivecentnickel.com presents Limit on Savings Account Withdrawals posted at Money Tipper.

Alicia Messinger presents Ditch Your Cable/Satellite Provider posted at Recession Obsession.

Poker Playing Ladies Man presents How To Fleece Your Friends Playing Poker posted at Poker, Women, Life.

The Investor presents Time value of money: Why locking money away earns a better return posted at Monevator.

Patrick @ Military Money presents Green Ways to Save Money posted at Military Finance Network.

Patrick @ Cash Money Life presents $25 Sign-up Bonus from Lending Club, plus a Chance to Win $100 posted at Cash Money Life.

Will presents Second Chance Checking Accounts: Banks That Do Not Use ChexSystems posted at Money Galaxy - Make Money | Save Money | Invest Money.

Thanks for everyone who participated in this edition of the Carnival of Twenty Something Finances!

Ebates for Rebates

2009-02-22T22:14:00.003-05:00

I just got my check from Ebates in the mail, and I thought it would be an opportune time to remind everyone about the cashback opportunities available through various sites. I've written previously about the programs I use, and in addition, I'd like to recommend a couple more which I have come across.

Extrabux - A program I came across from the recommendation of another reader. They have very competitive rates, and it is quickly becoming one of my favorites.

RewardsDB - A reader, AJ, recommended this site to me. It's not a rebate site in itself, but it works much like evreward.com. They both have a list of which rebates programs have the highest rates for any given merchants, so I always check with both of these to make sure I am getting the most cash back.

Live Search - While the days of 35% cashback on eBay have come and gone, they still offer some higher rates on some merchants, although the number of merchants seem to be limited.

If you go to sign up for any of these, some of them have sign-up bonuses for referrals, so please keep my email there if you found this article helpful. Thanks!

$350 in free facebook ads

2009-01-24T11:14:00.005-05:00

I'm not one to promote advertising on my website as evidenced by an earlier post. However, I am not against advertising my own site. Now whether that makes me a hypocrite in anyways is an argument we can have another day in some dark alley. But for now, for any of you interested in reaching the vast audiences of facebook have an opportunity to promote yourself, the next great innovation, or even your ex-gf's naughty pics for absolutely free!

Credit goes to superthang at slickdeals:

These coupon codes are only valid for new facebook advertising accounts. I do not get anything for sharing these coupons, they are not tied to me, and are able to be used an unlimited number of times through January 31st with the credits being good for varying amounts of time. I hope you enjoy!

1) Create a facebook account if you do not have one already.
2) Login to your facebook account, then click the “Advertising” link from the bottom of the page. Create an ad and later you’ll able to change the daily budget and CPC. You’ll need a credit card here in order to confirm your account. If you don't plan on paying any extra, I recommend using a credit card where you can create a secure temporary online credit card, so they can't charge you after you run out of funds. Advertising will draw from your coupons completely before charging your card.
3) After creating the advertising account and getting the “Congratulations Message”, click “Funding Sources” > Click “Enter Coupon Code”
4) Enter these coupon codes one at a time. Enter a coupon and wait for success message, then enter another.
1652-YMF5-23XX-CM66
EVCT-54YH-K1V8-EKE1
TE8Y-46T7-NCRE-JX3C
EXEX-4P47-38JX-4W20
8CH1-5VW1-Y96N-2P94
XXWW-7JVC-3FH6-R61T
053K-H148-T1PE-98NC
21VT-RRNM-8RWN-2X1C
FCK0-T70X-HME3-FJ6C
6myh-2rv3-2ce2-f63c
5) Go to http://www.new.facebook.com/apps/...4249628048
6) Click “Go to Application” > Click “Allow”
7) Submit your brief profile info. Use the same email address that you used for your facebook account.
8) Check the email for coupon code.
9) Enter the coupon to your advertising account following the same step as previous (Another $100 to take your total to $350).

The only hitch is that by signing up for the last link, you're letting the Visa Business network explore your facebook habits, but I figure facebook already know my facebook habits, so it's not muchh of a difference.

I just followed these steps and created an ad for none other than this site itself. Good luck! Just as an interesting experiment, if you create an ad, reply on here, and let's see if we see each others ads!

Free Sam's Club membership

2009-01-18T11:54:00.007-05:00

Haven't you always had a burning desire to shop at Sam's club, but you never did because you didn't want to pay the membership fee? Me neither. But if you do have a big family or buy a lot of stuff in bulk, here's your chance.

Credit goes to mikedealio over at slickdeals:

College students can get $40 in gift cards for purchasing a $40 membership. College students automatically get $15 back in a giftcard for purchasing a new membership. Also, between the 15th and the 21st, Sam's club is offering $25 back in a gift card for new members. I just went to Sam's club and I got a $40 gift card back for getting the membership $40 (Champaign, IL).
http://www.samsclubmemberservices...010609.pdf)

http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/navigate.do?catg=12100&iid=TDM|College|CollegeMemb ership

You need an .edu email address to take advantage of this. I am assuming that means if you can pass for a college student and get an .edu address, you qualify. Another benefit is that you can actually get two 1 year memberships using the same email account.

Some have had trouble stacking the deals together, so if at first you don't succeed, go the first day and get $25 off the normal membership, then go back later and say you just found out about the $15.

Edit: This deal has expired, but you can get a free 60 day trial membership to BJ's Warehouse Club. Click here to read more.

Don't be a Sucker for Circuit City while Drinking Your Juice in da Hood

2009-01-18T10:50:00.004-05:00

Circuit City made the news this weekend since they're going into liquidation, but here's some news that you won't hear too much. Liquidations sales are for suckers. Check out this video.

If your attention span is shorter than a chicken's the main gist is this.
Liquidation sales are run by liquidators, not the actual stores, so they jack up prices first to think you're getting a great discount when in fact, you may be paying more than what the items was priced just a week ago.

If, however, you are still bent on shopping at the zoo they used to call Circuit City, here's some tips courtesy of a stingy investigator fapri over on Slickdeals who watched the evolution of sales as his Circuit City closed in Phoenix earlier.

The first 2 weeks are crap sales. Better leave it alone. What you can consider buying the first 2 weeks are NEWLY released items because they aren't discounted in other stores anyway. Especially those from premium brands.

Don't expect to buy a computer/laptop. they won't ever be priced reasonably. Even in its final days, it was only down to like 30% from regular inflated price.

They tend to drop prices weekly. It's an exercise of restraint. "Should i get this now?" "Will it still be here next week?" These are the questions you're gonna find yourself asking if you see something you like.
One of the first items to get discounted heavily is the entire networking division. If you have a need, look out for these guys, they drop them steep early.

Other notables:
- Lookout for home theater equipment deals such as receivers and speakers. They tend to go 50% off about midway through.
- In the market for a headset? There's a plantronic headset(key feature: the mic swivels up to a hiding spot/has a dolby digital decoder) which retails for $100 elsewhere and will go down to about $50 or less(depending on who snaps it up quickly) about 2/3 through the sale. This headset in particular doesn't get discounted heavily(if at all) anywhere else. This is your best bet to get it discounted.
- Hard drives! for like the first 3/4 of the "sale", ignore them. They won't get any discount at all(10-15% only, from regular price, which is too high even for other store's regular price). They start falling after that. in particular, look for portable hard drives. You can get 50% or more off towards its last days.
- Cds! tops off around 60% off towards the end. Also, rap/jazz/country/blues are the ones that get discounted first.
- Look out for logitech harmony remotes. This is a tricky one since most stores aren't well-stocked with these anyway.

Yeah, you can tell I went to my CC every week before they finally closed.

Points to remember:
- ALL SALES ARE FINAL!!! NO RETURNS NO EXCHANGES!
- Don't ever buy anything on your first trip there. Go home, look up the prices and compare. Don't get carried away. Don't feel bad for the company, they didn't feel bad taking more money than they should from you anyway. So you're just returning the favor.
- If there are still 3 of them on the shelf, and its not a particularly hot item(say home theater speakers), wait a week, there's a big chance it will still be there with a bigger discount.
- Scout out neighboring stores for items you missed out on. By this time there's no more point in asking for inventory checks to neighboring stores.
- Consider buying open box/display items. You get a teeny-weeny bit more discount getting them. But not much. Good only if its the absolute last item everywhere.
- REMEMBER ALL DISCOUNTS ARE TAKEN OFF OF REGULAR PRICE!!! And their regular price can be very very tricky to find at times. Most items won't have a tag saying how much they really were. Most of the time, there would just be a sign overhead saying "X% OFF".
- DOUBLE CHECK YOUR DISCOUNTS BEFORE FINALIZING PAYMENT!!! A lot of times, their system doesn't reflect the discounts in the tags. You have to ask them specifically how much the item rang up(they will only tell you your total). Then they will tell you how much it rang up. Then (be calm) explain to them its supposed to be X% off. If you've had pleasant experience with CC before, now's the time they ruin it for you. Depending on the cashier, they can be annoying to really rude. Prepare to do battle. I was actually asked one time "can you prove it?" so i walked back and took the tag from the shelf. That silenced them up. Now if you ask nicely, or you're a likable enough person, they might volunteer looking it up in the website for you(which they can do, but most of them are just too pissed off with their corporate office to do it).

Save gas, save money, save your wits - don't go to these things because you think you're going to get a great deal. You'll more than likely come back empty handed, or worse, a sucker.

Double Cash Back Monday

2008-12-14T21:41:00.003-05:00

FYI, it's Double Cash Back Monday at Ebates. For those of you who want to get your Christmas shopping done online, it'll soon be too late to get stuff shipped in on time for Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanza - or any variation on the themes above which you celebrate - so get your shopping done tomorrow, and take advantage of Cash Back at Ebates as well as some of our other fine Cash Back sites.

(And just a reminder, when you sign up at Ebates, you get a $5 bonus when you sign up!)

Live Cashback tips

2008-11-23T20:57:00.007-05:00

Using Live Search, it has been possible to get cashback on certain products for some time now. Most notably, eBay has offered some very high cash back rates, and they are currently offering 25% cash back on "Buy It Now" items. Now what makes this interesting is that some people have begun selling gift cards on eBay for greater than the price of the card itself - for example a $500 card for $550. If you make 25% cash back on that $550, you end up with $137.50 back, so you only pay $412.50 for a $500 card, the seller makes a profit, and you both win! What makes it even sweeter is that when you buy something using "Buy It Now" on eBay, you'll get another 25% off that item, and you're paying for it with a gift card that you got for less than face value! Perhaps this is too good to be true, and it may end pretty quickly if it catches on too much, but if you're going to be doing any Christmas shopping on eBay, or anywhere else that has gift cards for that matter, it's not a bad way to get some gift cards at a discount.

For those of you afraid that eBay is going to come after your a** like convicts over Ted Stevens' pale Alaskan hide, then there is a little less sneaky way, and you even get to save on gas. First, you can buy eBay gift cards at Kroger using a credit card that offers 5% cashback at grocery stores. You can do a quick search on the internet, but a fellow blogger also has a nice article over here on some cards which offer that deal. So I essentially spent $47.50 for a $50 card. Now Kroger has a deal where if you spend $100 on groceries, you get $0.10 off/gallon of gas at the stores with a gas station attached OR the same deal applies if you buy $50 in gift cards! Then, you use that same card which offers that 5% cash back on groceries and gas to pay for your gas, and voila, you save 30% (25% live cashback + 5% credit card cash back) at eBay and $0.10 off/gallon + 5% cash back on that gas! Not a bad deal if you are gonna be shopping at Kroger anyways, and that Kroger happens to have an attached gas station. Sorry if I am a little excited about this deal, but they don't call me the Stingy Student for nothing :-)

Discover Student Loans 0% Origination Fees

2008-07-13T12:30:00.006-04:00

"Back when I was your age, student loan lenders would provide loans charging no origination fee or guarantor fee!" It looks like that's what we may be telling our children and grandchildren when they choose to go to college.

Because of changes in the student loan industry along with the mortgage crisis, many banks are folding out of the student loan industry altogether. When big players like T.H.C. are calling it quits, you know there are going to be some changes.

Many college and graduate students rely on Stafford loans to help them get by. The low interest on the unsubsidized along with the subsidized Stafford loans help students afford an education without being overly indebted due to interest payments. However, with the recent changes, many banks have switched from 0% origination fee and 0% guarantor fee - to a 1% charge for each for the upcoming 2008-2009 school year. When you're talking about a $10k loan, that's $200 instantly out of your pocket - that could pay for an entire biology textbook! (or more)

Searching far and wide, the only bank I've found that now offers 0% origination fees and guarantor fees for Stafford loans is Discovery Student Loans. When I emailed my choice to my financial aid office, one of the loan counselors was wondering why I had decided this one because she had never heard of it in her years as a loan counselor. It's true, Discovery Student Loans is part of Discovery Financial Services, which spun off Morgan Stanley just last year, so they are new to the student loan industry.

Trying to do some more research, I called the company to explain my worries about the student loan market and why they think they will be able to withstand the downturn in the economy. As they explained it, they are not tied up in the mortgage industry since most of their funding is tied to credit cards. Although I don't claim to know much about Wall Street, their 2nd quarter profits were higher than expected, they are expanding into China, and they were ranked among the top 100 workplaces for IT professionals, so I believe they are all good signs for the company.

In the end, I went with Discover Student Loans. I figure the positives far outweigh the possible risks. If they decide to pull out of the student loan industry, at least my loans are good for this coming year, and the chance that I may have to switch lenders is a small inconvenience for the fact that I could save a couple hundred dollars.

Related topic - Never pay off student loans early!

An apology for the former readers: Sorry it's been a long time since I posted, and I probably won't be able to post as often unless I find something very important, but I'll try to post more often than once a year ;-)

Costliest mistake

2007-07-29T17:53:00.000-04:00

Most everyone has had a time where they made a mistake that cost them quite a bit financially. I had one this summer on my flight back to the States. Here is the unabridged account.

I arrive at my hostel on Wednesday afternoon for my flight that leaves the following morning. I decide to stay in the town about an hour from the airport because it's in a nicer place than the actual airport, and cheap shuttle services are offered straight to the airport. That afternoon, I reserve a place in a shuttle that leaves at 4 AM (gotta get to the airport at 5 since it's an international flight), and everything's set.

I go hang out with a friend to enjoy my last night in that country, and I call it an early night, so I can get up early the next morning. I set my alarm, and set it on a table a bit aways from my bed to make sure that I get up out of my bed instead of just hitting snooze from the comfortable position of my sheets. The alarm I've relied on for the four weeks I've been in this country is the alarm on a watch I got from Walgreen's before I left - of course the cheapest watch I could find.

Thursday morning, I wake up to light.... that's not good, it shouldn't be light at 4 in the morning. I check my watch, and it's in fact 6, and with the rush hour, I know that there's no chance I can get to the airport in time unless I had a private helicopter, which I doubt exists in this third-world country. I arrive at the airport late, and I discover that there are no more flights for the day through Spirit, the airline on which I booked my ticket. Their flight for Friday is all sold out, but I could catch a flight on Saturday night for under $200. Unfortunately, I have to be back by Saturday afternoon, so this flight won't work. My only option appears to be Delta, which flies directly to Atlanta, where I need to be, but this sets me back quite a bit more. There's not much more I can do, so I pay the price, and I chalk it up as a lesson learned.

What kept eating at me during this misadventure was why I didn't wake up in time. I think it was because the alarm on my watch was pretty weak, and I placed it far away, so it just wasn't loud enough to wake me up. Looking back, if I had only spent an extra $5-10 on a real alarm, I most definitely would not have missed my flight. In this case, my biggest mistake was not that I didn't wake up early, but that I didn't spend an extra few bucks to buy a real alarm. It's like when two people are bumping uglies - the mistake isn't the act, it's if you're too cheap to buy a condom.

And the cost of my mistake? Quite fittingly, $666.

What's been your most expensive mistake?

Back in the USA

2007-07-29T17:34:00.001-04:00

After my summer of adventure and misadventure, I'm finally back to a relatively regular schedule, and hope to write once again. I hadn't checked my email for a few weeks, but I noticed I received a couple of offers for advertisements on my site. I've expressed my opinion on advertising previously.

One of them was for an online payday loan advance. Despite the perceived convenience it offers, I argue that it only leads to more irresponsible spending and lax budgeting by individuals. My inner libertarian, if I had one, would disagree, but then again, I don't have one.

Here's the email:

Dear Sir/Madam,After visiting http://stingystudents.blogspot.com/, our company, would be interested in an advertisement on your site. We provide consumers a safe and easy way to apply for payday loans online. Our advertisement format is generally 15 words long and it will contain two to three text links, which we provide. Please let us know how much your site would charge for an ad of this size.
We look forward to your reply and the opportunity to work with you.

To which I replied:

The cost for advertising on my site for a payday loan business is $10,000/yr.

If for some crazy reason they do bite, at least I can give it away to some sort of financial literacy programs.

Places to go, People to See, Things to Do

2007-05-31T19:03:00.000-04:00

Now you're there, now what? Well for one, if you're in a foreign country, you may need to be able to communicate. The best way to learn a language is by being totally immersed while you're there, but you get even more out of it if you study some before you go. Here are my favorite resources for foreign language study:

LanguageGuide.org - This site has 11 languages you can learn, and the great part is the audio clips that help you learn the correct pronunciation. Of course, this is all free.

FSI Language Courses - Developed by the US government to train those in foreign service positions, these courses from the Foreign Service Institute are top notch. Although the resources may vary depending on the language, they have an impressive collection of resources for 22 languages.

Open Culture - This site has a list of podcasts that help you learn a language from the convenience of your very own iPod. I have only looked at the Spanish ones, and they were hit or miss, but it's a nice site if you like the idea of learning from your iPod.

Once you're there, you can take classes for whatever language you need. If you're looking to learn Spanish, a good place to start is 123teachme. They have an extensive list of schools in many Latin American countries, and people review ones they have been to, so you get a good idea of which are the better schools.

Now you're gotten there, found a place to stay, and may even speak the language a little. Congratulations. From here one out, just use resources provided previously - such as Lonely Planet and Bootsnall. Here are a list of some other resources you may find to be useful:

Art of Travel - A world traveler who has trekked the globe on the cheap shares how his advice on how to travel cheaply.

GoodtimeBob - You know who to call for a good time. Similar to the above but more emphasis on Latin America.

EGlobalHealth - Even though it may cost you a few bucks to buy medical insurance, it'll save your butt in the long run in case anything ever happens. Find the plan that's right for you.

This concludes this series of travel. I hope you found it informative and find a way to travel without spending as much money as the average tourist.

Previous entries:
Oh, the places you'll go
Flying and Driving
Free lodging

Free lodging

2007-05-31T17:55:00.000-04:00

When you are traveling, a great way to keep costs down is to stay with friends who live in the area. Now, the internet has taken this to the next level. Staying with friendly friends of friends or even random strangers - if you're comfortable doing that. The big 3 when it comes to finding places to stay are these: Couch Surfing, The Hospitality Club, and GlobalFreeloaders.com.

Why would anyone go to such lengths to open up their homes to random strangers? Sometimes, people are genuinely interested in meeting new people or showing people around their town. In colleges, prospective students may stay with current students who volunteer to put them up and show them around the school. This is sort of the post-college version of that. Other times, people may have ulterior motives, but the good thing about these sites is that you can write a review of people you meet, host, or stay with, so others can get a better idea of who this person is.

If you don't feel comfortable doing it that way, there's another way you can get free hotel stays. FreeTraveling.com lists mistakes or hotel rooms you can book for free by taking advantage of the TripRewards best rate guarantee. While the city where you need to stay may not be on the list, it is free after all. In turn, you could even make a trip out of going to cities where you can stay for free. As with many things, flexibility in your itinerary will allow you to get the best deals.

Next up: learn the language

Flying and Driving

2007-05-31T12:32:00.000-04:00

Free flights? No, that's impossible you say. Not exactly. In addition to signing up for airline credit cards, I mentioned a while back how you can earn free miles. Out of the resources I mentioned, I'll mention this site again: Free Frequent Flyer Miles. This deceptively simple site has more information that you can shake a stick at. Its presented in a clear and informative matter and covers almost all the airlines.

Let all of these miles accumulate and BAM! you have a free ticket.

Second best, although not always available, are buddy passes. If you know of anyone or anyone's parents who work for an airline, there is a good chance that they get tickets for a heavy discount - I'm talking heavy like a Krispy Kreme burger. Just schmooze them up and perhaps they'll slip into your possession.

If, however, you are like most of us and neither of these opportunities are available, then you're going to have to cough up some (or lots of) change. ProBargainHunter has created an extensive list of sites which compare airfares from most major companies, and I can't do much better, so I'll refer you there. However, I will add that, I found Kayak and ITA to have the most accurate and up-to-date search results. I also liked FareCompare the best out of the services that notify you when prices drop.

If you are following the open road, then there is a pretty easy, albeit unconventional way to do it for free (and if you're over 23). You can fill in a form at Auto Driveway and see the list of cars that are available from wherever you are leaving. Your destination may not be exactly where you want to go, but there's no point in a roadtrip if you don't take some random detours, right? They generally pay for most if not all of your gas, and you get to take a certain amount of time to complete your trip, so although it's not extremely leisurely, it's not that grueling either. Beggars can't be choosers, right?

Even more unconventional would be hopping on a train - no, not an Amtrak, but more like hobo style. I've wanted to do this, but I still need to do some more research, and I'll post if I ever get around to trying it out.

Coming up next: lodging

Update: I forgot to mention these two, but they have been making some headlines recently. Yapta (Your Amazing Personal Travel Assistant) allows you to track airline ticket prices. What's more you can download a program, and if you buy a ticket, you can tag the itinerary. If the price of that ticket becomes lower, it will let you know, so you can call the airline and get refunded the difference.

Another new concept comes via Skybus. This carrier flies out of Columbus, OH, and they began offering $10 seats. They are a bare minimum carrier, meaning you basically get a seat, and if you want extra amenities, you have to pay for them, but for the budget traveler, this can be a great deal. Another way they keep their costs low is by going to smaller airports close to the major cities instead of the major airports themselves. I think the verdict is still out on them, but these two are both exciting opportunities to travel cheaply.

Oh, the places you'll go

2007-05-30T22:47:00.000-04:00

This is part one of a series of articles about free or cheap travel. I'll try to complete this in the next couple of days, so keep coming back for more!

The time has come upon us. Summer time that is. The time for scantily clad babes in bikinis (or less) sitting on the beaches of Bimini or the backpacking trip across Europe or the All-American cross country road trip. These have become a rite of passage of sorts for students of our generation - at least those of us willing to sacrifice an opportunity to make money in order to take advantage of the long summers only students get to enjoy.

Despite the fact that you're probably going to have to spend money (unless you luck out and manage to find a job where you go), there are many ways in which this can be accomplished in the stingy student manner.

But before we get started, first thing is first. Where are you going to go? There are many good resources, but my favorite guidebook is the Lonely Planet series. They have a free online forum called the Thorn Tree where travelers can post updates on certain locations, discuss topics, and even plan to meet up with fellow travelers. I wouldn't recommend buying a book until you decide where to go. Just go to your friendly neighborhood bookstore and peruse the pages for free! Another good resource that a well-traveled friend of mine recommends is BootnAll. It's kind of your one-stop shop - you can book plane tickets, tours, hostels, and there's a wealth of other information.

So, now you've decided. Or perhaps you can't decide. Contrary to popular belief, the earth does not end at the edge of some infinite abyss, but you can go around the whole thing. In fact, a friend of mine is doing just that - the round the world trip. A number of companies offer the round the world ticket, and if you google it, you get a number of results.

While the ticket price overall is a good deal, for someone as cheap as myself, I find the cost to be prohibitively expensive (over $2000). If you're interested, however, Wikitravel and Bootsnall may be good places to start.

If, on the other hand, you just wish they all could be California girls, then perhaps a cross country road trip is right down your alley. Hop in a van with a few friends who you probably won't hate by the end of the trip, pack up some tents, coolers, and non-perishable food items and head whichever direction the roads may take you.

My personal favorite, kind of a compromise between the two is Central or South America. You can sleep, travel, and eat at a fraction of the cost it would require to travel in Europe and even the US. There are many good deals on airfare going to these countries. And you can even increase your employment prospects once you leave school by learning Spanish while you are there!

Up next: airfare and traveling

Carnival and Festival Time

2007-05-30T22:41:00.000-04:00

Yours truly (as in me) is taking part in this week's editions of the Carnival of Personal Finance, hosted by Money $mart Life and the Festival of Frugality hosted by Blogging Away Debt. Check out the other great articles!

The Sunday Paper #7

2007-05-27T12:30:00.000-04:00

This will be the last edition of the Sunday Paper for a while because I'll be taking a couple months long hiatus starting next weekend. I'll try and write a few more posts before I leave, particularly concerning summer travels and travails, so check back later this week. Without further ado, this week's Sunday Paper

Single Ma's Fabulous Financials discusses the difficulties faced when the Governor of Oregon spent a week eating on $3 a day, which is equivalent to the amount a typical food stamp recipient receives. I would have to agree with her assessment that people can eat pretty darn well off of food stamps. It's funny because one of my friends is on food stamps from Oregon, and he too would agree that it supplies him pretty well, despite the fact that he only weighs about 120-130 (but he has a high metabolism). Ridiculous that some people can get a show based on spending only $40 a day.

Raising4boys.com has a list of free or cheap summer movies for kids. I'm still a kid at heart.

Binary Dollar sells his body for money. I on the other hand, will work for even less, free food keeps me happy enough.

Mighty Bargain Hunter asks how much gas prices will have to increase for consumers to change their habits (excluding picking your nose and biting your nails, preferably not in that order). Sadly, rising gas prices takes a greater toll on the poorer segments of society, so they're going to be the ones who won't be able to afford to drive to work, etc.

Boston Gal's Open Wallet presents a story of people printing their own currency in western Massachusetts. That's a really cool idea, and given that we aren't on the gold standard no mo', it strikes me as a little more secure than the paper the rest of us carry around, pretending they have real value.

Frugal For Life showcases a pretty novel product that gives her free AC! I've also heard that those big house fans (I don't know what you call them) in older homes do the same thing, but I'm not quite sure how they work. If anyone is less lazy than me and would like to wiki it, post a reply here.

Get Rich Slowly explains how to care for your credit score. I just had to include this one because one of my friends called me about a week ago asking if he should cancel his credit card because he doesn't use it anymore. The answer? Hell no! Read GRS's entry to see why.

That's it for now. Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

Throwing Away Money

2007-05-21T10:40:00.000-04:00

Who throws away money? And I don't mean in the figurative sense such as "flushing money down the drain" or "burning a hole in your wallet," I mean literally.

I had the opportunity to head back to the Atlanta area a few days ago, and I was lucky enough to be there during one of my favorite times of year - move out time. My friend and I dutifully went dumpster diving to see what we could drag in, and part of my haul was a container filled with change. I just counted it to see, and it is well over $10 in change. Perhaps that's "chump change" to some people, but for me, that's a couple of meals, no small matter for a student living on loans.

When did change become so useless that people just throw it away? Is it that hard to go to the grocery store and get it changed by the Coinstar machine? Then again, perhaps I'm the weird one. I pick up any loose change I see on the ground. I also hate seeing things thrown away - right now, I'm even wearing a pair of boxers with a hole in the perineal region because they're so old. You can see why I become so flustered by the fact that change actually gets thrown away.

What are your views? Do you stoop and pick up the penny or do you not mind when you drop some change here and there?

The Sunday Paper #6

2007-05-20T10:48:00.000-04:00

Welcome back! The Sunday Paper is back, at least for the short time when I'm not in school and have time to scour other blogs for interesting articles.

Personal Finance Advice explains why poor people have less debt in higher cost of living areas. Quite an interesting phenomenon since it is counterintuitive, but it makes sense to me personally. Last year when I was working and making some money, I wouldn't hesitate to spend money on going out or even treating friends to dinner, but now that I'm living on money owed to Citibank, I've had to cut back on my drug habit.

My Two Dollars finds the best places to find free wireless internet access. I have a funny story about this one. Last year, we didn't have wireless at the house I lived in, but I lived across the street from the music building of my school. Since the doors would be locked at night, I would have to go over and sit outside in the grass with my laptop plugged into the side of the building because my battery was on its last legs. Ghetto fabulous, no?

StopBuyingCrap examines the idea of receiving free services from professional friends - no, not that kind of professional.

Free Money Finance points us to an article showing how intelligence may be linked to income but not wealth. So even if you're stupid, as long as you're frugal, I guess you're fine and well. But what if I'm dumb as a rock and like to go on shopping sprees?

The Sun's Financial Diary shows a complex mathematical proof of why girls are evil. No argument there.

Everybody Loves Your Money found a group who scams the Nigerian email scammers. I guess the old adage is true: what goes around comes around.

An English Major's Money introduces an article in the NYT about outfitting your kitchen for $300. The kitchen is my playpen, so I can relate, but I've found many good deals in thrift stores as well.

Get Rich Slowly examines the costs and savings of installing a rain barrel for your lawn/garden. I'd love to have one since they look so cool, but another thing I do is, when I wash my fruits and veggies, I do it over a pot to collect that water, and I'll water my plants with that.

That's it for now, happy reading, and another edition should be up next Sunday and perhaps even the Sunday after.

Summertime and the living is easy

2007-05-20T10:17:00.000-04:00

Now that I'm on summer vacation, I'll try and update more, at least until I leave for a couple of months for some traveling. The reason I haven't updated this blog much since the flurry of postings during the beginning of this year is that after reading a couple of books like Ishmael and Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, I've been much more critical of the way I spend my money. What I've gotten from both books is a further heightening of my conviction that the way we in America and other industrialized nations spend, consume, and discard, is not sustainable and comes at the expense and even exploitation of others.

Before, money excited me, the prospects of earning, saving, and accumulating money excited me, and perhaps that was because of the books I was reading, such as . Nowadays, I see money more as a means to an end, a necessary evil, rather than something that inspires me. Without inspiration, you can see why I've lacked the necessary motivation to update this blog in a consistent manner.

However, lucky for you - or perhaps unlucky if you find my prose to be pedantic - I think I've found a way to balance my anti-consumerism with frugality. In fact, in many cases, the two even go hand in hand. From henceforth, I will cut out the crap, both figuratively and literally, and only present examples of ways to not spend money. "But that's the same thing as saving money!" you say. Not quite. Saving money generally implies not spending as much as you normally have to spend on a product while not spending money is just that - either not even buying a product or figuring out a way to get it for free.

Without further adieus, I'll begin today.

Got my mind on my pounds and my pounds on my mind

2007-05-04T12:02:00.000-04:00

One thing I and many other fellow bloggers sometimes forget is that there is actually a fairly large international audience that follows blogs. Those of us in the States are used to thinking in our Americentric ways, but in reality, most people live in other financial systems which are governed by different regulations. While the rules for being frugal don't change in any system, how you allocate your savings or spend your money do.

That is why I was surprised when I was approached by Peter, who runs The Thrifty Scot. His site contains a collection of articles and a plethora of links to various offers, including credit cards, loans, mortgages, insurance, and banking, all for those who live across the pond in the UK. My surprise stems from the fact that this may be the first well organized site I've seen from another country, because I would expect more to be out there. I recall coming across a Canadian one, and the only other one I can think of off the top of my head is Personal Finance Advice, whose writer is an ex-pat living in Japan.

I am disclosing here that I am receiving a payment for the banner on the site, and although I've expressed my dislike of advertisements in the past, I am endorsing this one because I feel that it fits my criteria of being a valuable resource of information, and I had the choice of whether or not to have it on my site. So, if you're ever in need of finance in the UK, be sure to check out The Thrifty Scot.

Personal Tax Earmarking

2007-04-19T20:24:00.000-04:00

Lindsay over at wiseGEEK sent me an article to look at which I found interesting. (As an aside, as this blog has grown, I've been receiving emails directing me to certain articles, and I just wanted to thank you all for taking the time to send them, even if I don't get a chance to write about them)

The article she sent me discusses the idea of personal tax earmarking - basically, having control over where your taxes go. Initially, this sounded like a great idea. I get to choose where the government spends my money? Heck yea! I could earmark my taxes for the maintenance of the trails in national parks instead of the social security which I will never benefit from! I could provide even more money for the Big Dig...... or not. Plus, I believe in the benefits that the article touts - more people would pay taxes because they get to direct where their money goes. I think many people, especially the rich, are averse to paying taxes not necessarily out of greed, but because they think they know a better way to use it. Given the long list of pork barrel spending on each budget, I can't disagree.

My worries, however, are this. What system is going to be able to handle such a complex distribution of money? Each person can earmark their taxes for one of thousands of causes, or they can divide their taxes up however many ways between thousands of causes. Multiply that by the millions of taxpayers in this country? The government is already getting flak for the numerical nightmare known as Medicare Part D - the prescription drug benefit - and that's only 400 or so choices. Imagine thousands of choices and permutations. I have little faith that the government would be able to handle something of such complexity given its track record. And given the government's recent push to simplify taxes, I think idea would be heading in the opposite direction.

Nice idea, but probably not feasible. Is it just me or am I becoming a cynic?

Article: What is Personal Tax Earmarking?

AGLOCO revisisted

2007-04-14T08:30:00.000-04:00

A few months ago, I wrote about AGLOCO, and several people have asked me about whether it works or is a scam. I'm still undecided, but they're finally releasing the viewbar sometime this month to the first group of people who joined, so I'm sure we'll hear more buzz about it in the next couple of weeks. Will it succumb to it's eventual doom like Sanjaya or take on a meteoric rise like Barack? Only time will tell.....

The End of Affirmative Action

2007-04-08T00:19:00.000-04:00

I'll preface this post by explaining a little bit about where I'm coming from. I'm neither black nor white, but I grew up in the South, at times experiencing discrimination because I wasn't white, other times immune to discrimination because I wasn't black. I think this has given me a unique perspective into the nature of discrimination and its effects on a person, so that's my story, and I'm sticking to it. How does this relate to personal finance? You shall see.

I had this discussion with a friend about affirmative action as we drove up to D.C. for spring break. Affirmative action is a pretty touchy subject, and rightly so. It lies close to our heart because it touches on a fundamental belief: fairness.

I believe that within our generation (yes, we child of the 80's, see picture), affirmative action will disappear. Does that mean racism or discrimination will disappear? Not necessarily. Everyone encounters some sort of discrimination throughout their life, but affirmative action is in place to address institutional discrimination, not personal discrimination.

Nowadays, even in the most conservative professions, institutional discrimination is waning. Take a look at the elite colleges - minority students are taking top leadership positions left and right. My alma mater, a top 20 university, has had a minority student as the Student Government Association president for the past 3 years, perhaps longer since I don't know who the president was before then. It hasn't even been the same minority - we've had a black male, Asian female, and Indian male. While most of the current leadership in the corporate or political world is overwhelmingly white male, as these people retire and take their prejudices with them, the leaders of our generation will rise to these roles, regardless of race.

Another reason why affirmative action will disappear: discrimination is very unpopular and un-PC. In fact, most people will go out of their way to not seem prejudiced. I currently attend a school in the South, and a good proportion of the students are fairly conservative. But nowadays, conservative does not necessarily mean racist or narrow-minded. We had an election for a class officer at the beginning of the year, and a black student won, even though less than 10% of our class is black. Just look at the current leaders in campaign fundraising. Who would've thought this would ever happen a generation ago?

Ok, so how does this all tie into personal finance? Affirmative action is holding back minorities much like wealthy parents who give their adult children financial outpatient care. Financial outpatient care is when parents provide financial assistance to their adult children. In The Millionaire Next Door, they discuss this situation and prove how financial outpatient care is a roadblock to the financial independence of their children because the children never learn fiscal responsibility. In much the same way, affirmative action only creates a nagging doubt in the back of a person's head about why he or she got a position, which creates a roadblock to realizing unquestionable self-confidence.

The great leaders of the civil rights era must realize that we are in a different era and affirmative action is slowly losing its purpose. No longer are we judged by the color of our skin but by the way we dress, the way we talk, and the way we carry ourselves. As the Bee Gees once said - you can tell by the way I use my walk, I'm a woman's man.

Let the debate begin. Any non-derogatory comments are welcome.

Confessions of an Economic Hit Man

2007-04-07T18:54:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the lack of updates, just got back from spring break. Over the break, I read an incredible book, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, which has affected my view on consumerism even further. I've always been pretty anti-consumerism/materialism, but this book further reinforced my view. I think I've stayed pretty true to my anti-consumerism by promoting frugality, but I'll be looking at even more ways to eliminate spending, not reducing the cost of purchases. I'm also in the beginning phase of purchasing a house, so for those of you who are recent graduates or others looking to purchase a home, look for future articles on the topic.

Reminder

2007-03-15T14:13:00.000-04:00

Just a friendly reminder that today is supposed to be the last day for the double bonus offer at Ebates, so if you've haven't signed up or haven't completed an offer yet, just remember to do so today!

Carnival of Ethics, Values, and Personal Finance #5

2007-03-15T12:29:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the Carnival of Ethics, Values, and Personal Finance #5. For those of you who have been reading my blog, I apologize for being MIA, but my hell month will be over next Friday, so there should be some more posts in the coming weeks. I had just enough time to read over the submissions, but not enough time to conceive a creative theme, so I'll just leave you with the best of section. Without further ado, the best of this week's carnival:

Beth L. Chapman presents Cat Puke Causes $8 Moral Dilemma posted at Wisebread Financial.

ispf presents A Glimpse into the Collective Soul of the Personal Finance Bloggers posted at Grad Money Matters.

Rich presents Gay Spirituality & Intimacy: Priceless posted at Queercents.

Silicon Valley Blogger presents 5 Things I Learned From Casey Serin, The Guy Behind “I Am Facing Foreclosure” posted at The Digerati Life.

Jon Swift presents Dear Sam Fox, Can You Spare $50,000? posted at Jon Swift.

Nina presents Ten Money Questions for Joe Lupo posted at Queercents.

The best of the rest:

John Wesley presents You Aren’t Getting Anywhere Because You Don’t Know What You Want posted at Pick the Brain.

David Gross presents The Picket Line — 9 March 2007 posted at The Picket Line.

donnajean presents Will winning the lottery compromise my values? posted at The Weight of Money.

plonkee presents isn’t it nice when your values make financial sense posted at plonkee money.

Walt presents IF You Want To Be Great, Money Should Not Be The Motivation posted at Walt Nation!.

Praveen presents Bayou Group Hedge Fund posted at My Simple Trading System.

Alan presents It gets lonely at the top - How to handle rejection posted at Made to Be Great.

Anja presents The individual and debt posted at anja merret.

Leon Gettler presents Risk and competitive advantage on a warming planet posted at Sox First.

David E. presents Cable Companies Monopoly Equals Lower Service and Higher Prices posted at Worldwide Success.

Leon Gettler presents Codes of unethics posted at Sox First.

Thanks to all of those who submitted!

Festival of Frugality #63

2007-02-27T16:45:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the 63rd Festival of Frugality, hosted right here at Stingy Students. This is my first time hosting a festival of this magnitude, and it has been quite a challenge reading and organizing all of these wonderful entries. I decided to organize the entries (henceforth to be referred to as entrées) by associating them with some of the stars of Food Network - the only channel I watch. Without further ado, I dish out the best that Festival of Frugality has to offer:

Alton Brown: My favorite Food Network star. A little quirky, a little balding, but highly entertaining and educational. Despite his name, he's green and practical.

- Bean-sprouts (could it be any greener?) shows us how to save money and save the planet. Yes, it's possible, once you get out of the Whole Paycheck mentality.

- PF Advice shares with us 10 ways to get free plants for your garden. More plants means more clean air!

- The Common Room explains the history behind frugality and potatoes (and even tosses in a few yummy recipes!)

- The Maine Life explains why cutting wood in the summer can pay off come winter. Or why you shouldn't live in Maine during the winter.

Anthony Bourdain: He isn't on Food Network too often nowadays, but his books are a blast. A little unconventional and always the risk taker, these entrées are for those who are unafraid to do it themselves.

- Ask Uncle Bill shows us how to save on taxes. What would Uncle Sam have to say about this?

- Savvy Steward created a collection of the ultimate DIY resource, for those of you resourceful enough to DIY.

- Wisdom From Wenchypoo's Mental Wastebasket explores Social Security alternatives. Good for those of us who won't reap the benefits of SSI.

Sandra Lee: This is one hot mom! These entrées have to do with parenting or things around the household.

- MotherLoad shows how with the birth of her daughter, frugality births creativity. So does that make creativity and invention cousins (since frugality and necessity are sisters).

- My Wealth Builder explains how having children has made them more frugal. I'm not sure if this would happen to me since I'll probably stop dumpster diving and eating PB&J's for half my meals.

- Mighty Bargain Hunter shows how his wife made frugal butterfly wings for their daughter. What about dragon wings for a son? Now that would be sweet!

- The Frugal Duchess reveals her 25 frugal habits and 5 spendthrift confessions. I have a confession to make too - I spend money sometimes :-(

- Bargain Quest shows how she saved 50% on her prescription drugs. Now if she could only find us a way to save 50% on illicit drugs.

- Queercents recounts when Rich and Rob go furniture shopping. Oh if only I had money.

Jamie Oliver: He doesn't come on too often nowadays, but whenever I've seen him, he seems to come up with random array of dishes out of nowhere, typical of the quintessential college student's cooking experiences. These are geared more toward students, or people with too little money and too little concern to worry about appearances.

- The Digerati Life has advice on how to furnish your house on any budget, even for free! Now that's what I'm talking about!

- Grad Money [Matters] give us five tips for a frugal spring break. Also known as "week of amnesia"

- Five Cent Nickel calls in on how to get free long distance calls via google maps. So could I call my friends in Timbuktu with this?

- Tight Fisted Miser asks himself, "I'm frugal, so why am I poor?" Why are you asking me? I'm in the same hole you are mister.

- Money, Matter, and More Musings explains why he walks to work. Now can you moonwalk to work? Now that would be impressive.

- Mortaine's Blog asks, "What do you do when you're not spending money?" I generally am sleeping.

- My New Choice shows how to save money on breakfast. Just remember, same thing applies to lunch.

- Stop the Ride! tell us why we should not to make a trip to the store. Ok! I won't! I promise!

Ina Garten: She strikes me as someone with a very committed marriage, but who could complain if you marry a woman who cooks like her? These entrées deal with money, relationships, and values.

- We're in Debt discusses saying no to your significant other. But what if they come at you with certain.... "favors"?

- My Financial Journey tiptoes the fine line of frugality. I've been walking on this tightrope as well.

Al Roker: Have you seen how much weight this guy has lost? Pretty amazing since he's kept it off after coming over to Food Network. Inspired by his weight-loss, these entrées show us how to cut back on debt.

- Debt Free has 3 more money saving ideas to help you get debt free. Good things always come in threes!

- My Money Walks demonstrates a wise decision in "How I plan on using my tax return" I on the other hand, will be buying myself a lifetime supply of gum.

- Debt Consolidation Lowndown gives us 17 tips for avoiding the debt trap. My tip? Don't go for the cheese.

Rachel Ray: You know her name. She's everywhere. Oprah even gave her a TV show! These entrées all contain something that all of us could use.

- Worldwide Success presents 10 simple ideas to save thousands of dollars per year. Thousands might be a stretch for those of us who only have thousands.

- Weboma explains how to use the internet and save time and money. I'm not sure I'm saving too much time by being on the internet, but oh well.

- Blueprint for Financial Prosperity says why we should skip newspapers, use the internets. Is this a typo or do they call it internets in the UK? I know they call math "maths," so I thought maybe the same rule applied. Crazy Brits.

- My Simple Trading System reviews "The Rich Jerk" Sounds kinda jerky.

- Ask Mr. Credit Card reviews the Discover platinum card. Discover it!

Reading through all of these made me realize how much good PF advice there is out there. Keep up the good writing bloggers!

NPR publicity

2007-02-23T22:10:00.000-05:00

Oh my goodness..... I was mentioned on NPR! No pressure, right? Now, I feel like I have to write again - not that it's a bad thing. Again, I apologize for not updating recently, but I'll try and update more after my test on Monday.

In the meantime, welcome to all the new readers, and here's a list of some of the posts that readers seemed to find most interesting - whether for financial insight or sheer stupidity, you'll have to determine that yourself.

Never Pay Off Student Loans Early
Get Up Off My Ads
Student Loan Corporation Doesn't Know Jack
Get Your G's Together G: #2 High Yield Savings Accounts
Best Book Prices
Voiding optional
Paperbackswap.com
Why?

Feel free to look around at other articles too (I promise, they're not half-bad), and like I said, I'll try to post a little more after this test.

Double Bonus Offer at Ebates

2007-02-22T14:31:00.000-05:00

First of all, I apologize for going MIA recently. As my anonymous reader Avi alluded to, I've been slacking in the updating department. Unfortunately, school has been riding me harder than a cowboy on a wild bull, so I've lacked the time and creative juices to find and post things of much interest.

That being said, I just got a check in the mail today from Ebates, and along with it was a notice that they are offering a $10 bonus for signing up and completing an offer by March 15. That's double the normal $5 they offer, so this is a fantastic deal! Some free offers you can take advantage of are the 2 free CDs and if you want to use them to purchase the books that you've discovered that you need for midterms coming up.

Again, I apologize, but I'll update when I can. The hardest month of this entire year is now, and as soon as I'm done, I'll be sure to write of more ways to save money. In the meantime, don't go spending all your money.

Free Ozzfest

2007-02-07T14:42:00.000-05:00

Normally, I would attach an exclamation point to something this huge, but I'm personally not a big fan of that style of music, so I'll just pass on the word. I'm sure some people will get a huge kick out of it though.

Ozzfest 2007 for free!

Circuit City Liquidation

2007-02-07T14:20:00.001-05:00

Edit: A lot of people seem to be coming to this site to look for information about the current Circuit City liquidation. Look no further, here's an update 1/18/09.

Credit goes to uscpsycho over at SD:

Apparently, Circuit City sells a TON of overstock, open box, and closeout items over on eBay. Since I just found out about it a few minutes ago, I've never used this, but it looks like they have some very good deals out there. Go through Big Crumbs to get 36% back of the seller's fee (I just used this a couple of days ago, and I got much more than I would have had I used Fatwallet).

Circuit City eBay store #1 uses username trading_circuit
http://stores.ebay.com/Trading-Circuit

Circuit City eBay store #2 uses username trading_circuit_liquidation
http://stores.ebay.com/Trading-Circuit-Liquidation

Circuit City eBay store #3 uses username trading_circuit_entertainment
http://stores.ebay.com/trading-circuit-entertainment

Best shirt ever, again!

2007-02-06T13:42:00.000-05:00

I already posted this once a while back, but I had to post again since the deal is back. The best shirt ever is back on sale - Land's End's no iron shirts. They truly are no iron shirts. You wear it, throw it in the washer and dryer, and you put it back on. No ironing necessary, and you look so fresh and so clean. They have many styles of these on sale, starting at $12.99. They're also having a sale on a lot of other things in their overstock section, so look around. This shirt is the only Land's End product I own, but if it is any indication, they make some good stuff.

Don't forget your cashback: 4% at Mr. Rebates or 3% at Ebates. And just a reminder, if you haven't signed up for either of those programs, Mr. Rebates offers a $2.50 bonus for simply registering, and Ebates $5.00. You've got nothing to lose!

The Sunday Paper #5

2007-02-04T08:18:00.000-05:00

This edition of the Sunday Paper is the shortest ever. Whether it's because I stuck to my new rules or there were just a lack of good posts, who knows.

An English Major's Money discusses how financial independence works in her family. I've had similar discussions with my brother about this, and while I myself disagree with EM's conclusion, I think anyone can legitimately justify their own conclusion. Personally, I don't feel entitled to enjoy my parents' success considering I haven't done anything to deserve it except for being fortunate enough to be born to them. However, if I am ever in a financial emergency, would I take it? Of course. I plan on buying a house in the near future, but do I have the 20% down payment to avoid PMI? No, but I can borrow it from my parents. I think that is truly the crux of the argument: those of us with financial support have a safety net where we can take more risk, whereas those without have limited opportunity.

Get Rich Slowly had two excellent articles this week.
In one, he cautions us about Super Bowl ads. While I agree that ads can be extremely powerful, I believe - perhaps in a youthful, invincible mindset - that I am immune to the powers of most advertising, given that a. I'm cheap and b. I support local when I can. That's why I don't see the harm in AGLOCO since it's a personal decision, although I am opposed to advertising products which I don't endorse. Of course if the Salvation Army came out with Super Bowl ads, I'd probably be going on a shopping spree in their thrift store, so maybe I'm not so immune.
The second is actually a guest article by Sally about how to eat vegetarian on the cheap. While I'm not a complete vegetarian (I consider myself an opportunistic omnivore, for those of you with a biology background), I try to eat mostly vegetables because they are generally cheaper and healthier (if done right).

Personal Finance Advice gives us a story about the time he encountered the coupon lady. I must say, that's a pretty wonderful idea, especially since I recently had to throw out some coupons after I realized they had expired. Of course this may take a few extra minutes, but it's always good to send out good karma.

While I generally avoid articles about the economy, the news this week about our -1% savings rate couldn't escape my notice. The Big Picture takes this news and gives us some other interesting data along with predictions where this might take us: "Household Cash versus Debt"

If that wasn't enough and you want more of your Sunday Paper fill, read some of the other good posts of this past week, highlighted in my summaries:
Carnival of Ethics, Values, and Personal Finance #2 Summary
Festival of Frugality #59 Summary
Carnival of Personal Finance #85 Summary

Never pay off student loans early!

2007-02-03T18:11:00.000-05:00

There are many good reasons not to pay off student loans any earlier than you have to. If you refinanced or consolidated your loans during the golden age of student loan interest rates, then you can easily make free money by investing in money market accounts(MMAs), CDs and/or savings accounts with higher returns than the loan interest rate. In addition, interest paid on student loans are tax deductible.

Both of those ideas are pretty well known, but I came across an interesting piece of information. According to the Higher Education Act of 1965 Section 437 (a):

If a student borrower who has received a loan described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of section 428(a)(1) dies or becomes permanently and totally disabled (as determined in accordance with regulations of the Secretary), then the Secretary shall discharge the borrower’s liability on the loan by repaying the amount owed on the loan.

What this means is that, if the unfortunate should ever happen, you are not responsible for paying your loans back. Of course the ethical implications of such a plan are a little sticky, but seriously, who plans on dying or becoming permanently disabled? Consider it more of a life insurance policy.

Let's say you have an extra $500 each month from frugal living and conscious budgeting. What do you do with it? Let's look at two examples.

Bob puts his towards his student loans, managing to pay off his student loan in 10 years after graduation. Unfortunately, the day after he pays off his student loans, he accidentally falls into an uncovered manhole on his way to his job and breaks his neck, making him a quadriplegic for the rest of his life. He doesn't have any student loans to pay off, but he has nothing saved up.

Rob, on the other hand, puts his money in some MMAs, CDs and/or savings accounts. It's 10 years post-graduation, and he still has 20 years of loan payments left. He goes off on a hiking expedition through the Himalayas, but unfortunately, he encounters a female Yeti who hasn't seen her male counterpart for over 5 years. He gets brutally ravaged, but survives to tell about it, sans genitalia and various other body parts. When he returns to the states, Uncle Sam deems him disabled, so his student loan is paid off, and the $500 a month he had been saving for 10 years has turned into a modest sum.

While these stories are obviously fictitious and very unlikely, it's to prove a point.

Never pay off your student loans early!

Great news for eBay addicts - 1% cash back

2007-02-02T17:22:00.000-05:00

Great news for all of the eBay addicts out there. FatWallet is now offering 1% cash back. Given that the only offer for cashback until now was at BigCrumbs, this is a pretty big deal. Given the way eBay keeps raising their seller's fees, however, BigCrumbs' deal of 36% of seller's fees could still be the better deal. Any thoughts?

Carnival of Ethics, Values, and Personal Finance #2 Summary

2007-02-02T15:22:00.000-05:00

Tired but Happy is hosting this month's Carnival of Ethics, Values, and Personal Finance #2 (they should really come up with a shorter title), and I'm taking part with my article on advertising. Out of all of the carnivals in which I take part, I think this carnival has the best overall quality in content. Maybe it's because many are writing from their hearts about ideas in which they sincerely believe. Maybe it's because the bloggers aren't looking to make a profit, unlike some of the ones in some of the PF carnivals. Whatever the reason, it's good to know there's a lot of good people (and good writers) out there.

Queercents asks "What class are you?" Me, personally, well I'm just classy..... ok, not really, but I like to pretend. In another article (yes, a rare feat, the two-fer), he questions profiting from what we morally don't approve. I feel the same way since I'm sure some of my investments are profiting from things I don't approve, but I'm not sure what they are since I only have mutual funds. Some socially responsible mutual funds exist, so I hope to look into that option next time I make an investment.

ISPF explores the value of tipping. I always tip my hat to the fair ladies - I'm such a gentleman.

Fiscal Responsibility looks at giving back. I can totally relate to his/her hesitation to give back to the alma mater. Last year, when I had an income, albeit very little, I did not donate to my alma mater. One of my reasons was that, "well, I'm hardly making that much, and I need the money more than the school." However, now that I'm in school and make no money at all, I feel compelled to give back. Why? I was awarded a generous scholarship, so I pay very little for my education right now. As much as I'd like to attribute it to my hard work and achievements, I could never deny the impact the first two years of college had on my personal growth and getting me to where I am today. My net value will be in the red for about another decade, but with how much money I save, I can justify donating some of those savings. Oxford College, look out for $100 donation at the end of the year.

Wise Bread retells the greatest story ever told (no, not Cinderella). I guess if you tell a story enough times, everyone will eventually believe it. Sound eerily familiar?

Getting Green sends out the red light about debt elimination scams. Just remember, if it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is - except for the deals I post here :p

makingourway discusses turning of the tides against class action law suits. Seeing as I'm studying to enter a profession hit by them pretty heavily, I must say, I'm glad this is happening.

Millionaire Artist gives a good anecdote about the relationship between integrity and wealth-building. I think that's why it's important, no matter how rich or poor you are, to stick to your morals and be generous. What you give out will come back 10 times over. Call it karma.

There were many other great posts, but some of them, I've already highlighted in other carnivals or the Sunday Paper. Also, for whatever reason, there were more submissions with a political bent to them, so if you like that stuff, go check it out!

The Money Give Away Report - January

2007-02-01T14:25:00.000-05:00

Gotcha! You probably read the title and thought that this was going to be a post about how I am going to give away money. Well, I am. The only catch is, you probably won't be the recipient unless you are some worthy non-profit.

In keeping with my New Year's Resolution #1, I am keeping a record of the income I make through the course of the year, and I am donating half to a charity (to be chosen by the readers) in December. So, for a review of the numbers:

ING Direct referrals: $20
Ebates referrals: $10
BigCrumbs referrals: $0.10 (yes, the decimal is in the correct place)
Total: $30.10

Therefore, in addition to the $5 from December, I'll be donating $15.05, giving us a total of $20.05! Thanks to those of you who contributed by signing up for various programs, and I hope they've served you well. I truly appreciate it.

Where's the other half going, you ask? Well, if you must know, I plan on doing give aways here and there, so it gives me a little more flexibility to do those sorts of things as well as paying probably 0.000001% of my student loan interest, but that's another story. That's all for today, unless I come across some juicy piece of Paris Hilton gossip or I discover the formula for cold fusion while passed out from studying. I'm out.

Get up off my ads - why advertising sucks

2007-01-31T19:50:00.000-05:00

Here is where I stand on advertising - I hate it. Why? From the downfall of the American diet to the rise of Rachel Ray, all of this can be attributed to the adverse effects of advertising.

When personal finance blogs open up their page to artificial advertisements, I can't help but notice the irony. You're promoting financial literacy and saving money, yet your ads take me to sites that allow me to spend money or pay more for a given product? Some notable atrocious advertising on personal finance blogs include: $1500 payday loans, buy homes no money down, bad credit loans. The scary thing is, these are on sites I read and like. But the advertisements? No siree, not for me, thank you very much.

In addition to the moral conundrum presented by such advertising on personal finance sites, most advertising is not aesthetically pleasing. What color-blind, harebrained advertiser came up with such creative ads such as these?

If I were a goat cheese merchant, I'd be totally offended. And the thought of being lumped together with those smelly pizza cheese merchants, the audacity of GoogleAdsense!

Another problem I have with much of the advertising is you can't control the content. GoogleAdsense and many other programs, simply find keywords in the blog and insert ads accordingly. Let's say I write an article about how to get 2 Free CDs +$11 in YOUR pocket, but Google picks up the name "Vince" and gives me ads for "How to dunk like Vince Carter" or "Vince Gill guitar licks" What interest do you have in either of those?

Now you may be thinking, "But you have links to all of these places, what's up with that?" Here is my promise to you, the reader. All of the links on my site will be for products that I personally endorse and most likely own or have tried. In almost all of the deals, I take part. In all of the cashback programs, I am a member. In all of the financial institutions, I own an account (unless otherwise noted). In all of the crazy money making ventures, I venture. You get the point.

After that tirade against advertising, I will make some exceptions - call it clearing my conscience or what you will. I have recently become an Amazon.com Associate. What that entails is, I post links to Amazon.com for certain products I endorse. As you can see from my most recent product endorsement, however, I add a disclaimer at the end.

If you're interested in reading this book, I got mine for free from Paperbackswap.com, so I highly recommend that route or borrowing it from your public library.

Why? Because Amazon.com does not offer the best price. But it offers many useful reviews of products, and if by chance you're one of those people that must buy it new, then I might as well profit from it, right?

While many personal finance bloggers look to make a personal profit through blogging and advertising, I have no such illusion. My conscience is worth more than the few dollars I would make by allowing such dishonest advertising on my site. I do this out of the satisfaction of knowing that I am spreading the good word about saving money - earning referrals is secondary to this. Rest assured, I am on your side, and I will always save you money. No link here will ever lead you astray.

Links to my favorite advertising averters:
I Will Teach You To Be Rich
Ask Uncle Bill
Millionaire Artist

Festival of Frugality #59 Summary

2007-01-30T21:09:00.000-05:00

Money, Matter, and More Musings hosts an excellent Festival of Frugality #59 this week. I'm taking part in it with my post on free airline miles. Now for the best of the fest:

Traveler's Pen pens an article about airline vouchers. In addition to writing an article that kind of goes along with my submission, this lady is from the ATL - double brownie (unadulterated) points! I've taken a gander at some of her other articles, and they'll be useful come traveling time.

The Digerati Life presents 14 ways to stop binge buying. Well I wouldn't if the TV commercials didn't make the sausage on a stick look so yummy!

My Financial Journey takes us on his pimp ride. Now, all he has to do is create a show on how to buy cars really cheaply and sell the show to MTV. You think it would sell?

And last, but not least, Money and Values asks the question "When's it time to "grow up" and upgrade your stuff?" As much as I'd like to believe I could live like a student forever, I realize that eventually, I will have to stop attending interest meetings just because I'm interested in the food, and furniture found on the street will no longer be acceptable. I'll live this way for as long as I can, but just a little food for thought. Always good to end the day on a question - keeps your mind working.

That's all for today - 3 posts, what more could you ask for? Some real articles coming soon, stay tuned!

Carnival of Personal Finance #85 Summary

2007-01-30T19:52:00.000-05:00

I'm taking part in the Carnival of Personal Finance #85 hosted by Five Cent Nickel. After doing the last edition of the Sunday Paper, I realized how much time it was taking to read all of these posts and write about them, so I contemplated not doing these summaries/Sunday Paper, but that wouldn't be fair to neither me nor you all (y'all to those in the Bible belt, yous guys to the Yanks), so I've decided I'm going to implement a much more rigorous selection procedure as such:

1. If the title sounds uninteresting, I will not read it.
2. If I like the title, I will take a glimpse at it, but if the first few sentences don't make me want to ready any further, I will press the X at the top right corner of my window.
3. However, if there is something shiny, I will most likely read it, or stare at the shiny thing for a very long time.

Taking these new rules into account, here's the best (and shiniest) of the Carnival:

Clever Dude discusses the 3 methods to pay down debt. Financially, option 1 is the best choice as in it will save you the most money in the long run, but for some people, psychological benefits may be more important to success in paying off your debts, so to each his/her own.

ProBargainHunter shows us how to get De-LIGHT-ful savings. The epitome of my rule #3 above.

The Simple Dollar deconstructs Robert Kiyosaki. I must admit, I read his book a couple of months ago (for free while I sat in my local Borders one afternoon), and I was inspired to become financially independent. However, after reading several reviews of him, I've come to discover that this guy is basically a fraud, although perhaps not as much as this guy. Thanks for the inspiration, but I'll take the advice of some people who know what they're talking about. Times like these, I'm glad I'm cheap.

Making Our Way examines the great big lie about personal finance blogging. Why do I do it? I do it for the ladies.

Personal Finance for Students and Fresh Grads (he should really consider changing his name because it makes my fingers hurt every time I have to type it) gives us 12 tips for finding the best financial aid. Good reminder, I should get on that......

Even with such stringent selection criteria, many submissions survived the rounds of reduction. We'll see how the next one stacks up.... Festival of Frugality coming up next.

Free 2GB SD card + $10 in YOUR pocket!

2007-01-30T19:35:00.000-05:00

I don't know what it is with buy.com, but they seem to be giving these things away like a prostitute with an STD (last week). This week, it's a free 2GB SD card and $10 for using Google checkout.

Use BigCrumbs (2.7%) to make an additional $1.35 or Ebates (1%) to make an additional $0.50.

Whoever said there's no such thing as a free lunch didn't have these deals back in the day!

2 GB SD card at buy.com

The Sunday Paper #4

2007-01-28T17:37:00.000-05:00

The Sunday Paper 4th installment:

Mapgirl's Fiscal Challenge tells her story of unsacrificed travel. While she calls it unsacrificed, I would say that putting all your income towards a trip is a pretty large sacrifice, but I guess it you compare it to say, selling your kidney on the black market, it's not as great of a sacrifice. I'm a huge believer in the concept of pay-it-forward, and it's good to hear how it affects the lives of others.

Get Rich Slowly takes a stab at behavioral finance. I find human behavior pretty fascinating, and given its implications with finance, it can help you examine your own financial habits.

Blueprint of Financial Prosperity takes a look at historical federal tax brackets. I didn't realize that taxes were so much higher at some points in history. I think that's part of what is wrong with our generation - people are too self-centered to contribute to the greater good. During World War II, some people paid 94% in taxes. If any politician suggested that nowadays, they would have absolutely no future in politics. Of course we're not in a war to the extent of WWII, but we have Iraq, Social Security, education, and plenty of other needs that should be addressed, but most people aren't willing to pay for higher taxes. You can't have it both ways people.

I Will Teach You To Be Rich examines the lifestyles of his three friends who spend money like it's going out of style. He argues that since these people have their financial futures in order (contributing to IRA/401k, they should feel free to spend any excess money in whatever fashion they choose. While I agree that one should spend money to enjoy life, I find it rather sad that these people feel compelled to spend money on such fickle items. They are letting material possessions define happiness and who they are. If I were in their shoes, I would probably be more like the partier, but I would spend money on people whose company I enjoy. Sure, that may be akin to paying for a prostitute, but regardless of what you spend money on, you do vote with your wallet. Would you rather spend money on a $500 pair of shoes whose profits go to some lady in Paris or a good friend whose advice and company you enjoy?

Personal Finance Advice considers the skid mark safe. Being a DIY guy myself, I think I'll try and make my own one of these days.

Ask Uncle Bill gives an example of thinking outside the box - one of those ideas that is much discussed but rarely encountered, sort of like the Loch Ness monster.

The Simple Dollar gives some tips for a college student crushed by credit cards. Unfortunately, this is an all too familiar scenario, and if you're reading this, it may be preaching to the choir, but perhaps send this to your friends who could use the advice.

Lifehack.org shows us how AOL is branching into the online video field with videos that teach how to make home repairs. Being a DIY kind of guy, I'll probably be checking this out quite frequently to see what they put up.

That's it for this edition of the Sunday paper. If you have any articles next week that you find interesting, send them this way, and I'll try and post them.

Festival of Under 30 Finances #15 Summary

2007-01-27T20:27:00.000-05:00

I'm taking part in the Festival of Under 30 Finances #15 hosted by Money, Matter, and More Musings with my article about high yield savings accounts. In addition, here are my picks for the best of the fest:

American Inventor Spot shows how to get paid to be green. Not as in "green with envy"green but more like "I don't shower but once a month because I like to conserve water" green.

Queercents discusses how peer pressure spending affect one's financial decisions. Yet another example of how people feel compelled to keep up with the Joneses. The solution? Take a look at what this guy did - you might recognize him.

It's Just Money explains why American Idol is ruining America. I'm not quite sure that it's directly related to money, but entertaining premise nonetheless.

An English Major's Money explains very eloquently (I would expect no less) the symbolism of money. It's definitely something that I've had to deal with as well, and it never crossed my mind to think of money having any sort of symbolic significance - except for that S with a line through it. What a smarty pants.

Ok, enough for now, I'll definitely write some more tomorrow to further delay my inevitable studying.

The Richest Man in Babylon (free book!)

2007-01-26T23:20:00.000-05:00

I just finished reading my first ever personal finance book, the Richest Man in Babylon. I chose it since it seems to be one of the most commonly recommended books by personal finance bloggers. The book gives some insightful lessons on finance through parables set in Babylon. Each chapter has some sort of lesson of its own, but one of the chapters explains the Five Laws of Gold.

1. Gold cometh gladly and in increasing quantity to any man who will put by not less than one-tenth of his earnings to create an estate for his future and that of his family.
This idea is echoed by many personal finance gurus who stress the importance of paying yourself first. Before spending your money, just put away 10% in savings and forget about it. It sounds like a lot, but surprisingly, you won't really notice that it's missing.

2. Gold laboreth diligently and contentedly for the wise owner who finds for it profitable employment, multiplying even as the flocks of the field.
This is basically saying make your money work for you. Invest it in something with a decent return, and let compound interest work its magic.

3. Gold clingeth to the protection of the cautious owner who invests it under the advice of men wise in its handling.
If you're going to invest your money, it's wise to follow the advice of experts in the field rather than your next door neighbor (unless he happens to be an expert).

4. Gold slippeth away from the man who invests it in businesses or purposes with which he is not familiar or which are not approved by those skilled in its keep.
This is kind of the opposite of rule 3, and something that Warren Buffet preaches: don't get involved in something you don't completely understand. As much potential as there is in tech stocks, Warren Buffet can admit that he doesn't understand the industry very well, so he avoids investing in it. Amazing to see such humility nowadays.

5. Gold flees the man who would force it to impossible earnings or who followeth the alluring advice of tricksters and schemers or who trusts it to his own inexperience and romantic desires in investment.
Essentially, don't get caught up in something that sounds too good to be true - because in most cases, it is too good to be true.

There are many other important lessons in other chapters. While the book is well written, I can't point my finger on anything that caused a lightbulb to go off in my head. I think I've heard the ideas presented in the book many times, but that just goes to show how truthful those statements are. If you think you're pretty familiar with most basic financial concepts, you probably won't learn anything new, but if you're a novice, this can be a great guide to the pillars of personal finance.

If you're interested in reading this book, I got mine for free from Paperbackswap.com, so I highly recommend that route or borrowing it from your public library. I am also giving away my copy, so if you leave a comment or send an email stating your desire for this book, you will be entered into a random drawing to be held in one week.

Also, does anyone have any recommendations for good personal finance books that are a step above the basic books?

Carnival of Students 6th Edition

2007-01-26T14:45:00.000-05:00

We had some super submissions this week for the Carnival of Students 6th Edition.

Successfiles.org describes how to quit procrastinating. While the post title mentions free beer tomorrow, it's mentioned no where else in the post. Perhaps it was one of those gimmicks to draw attention? If so, it worked beautifully on this alcohol appreciator.

CampusGrotto lists 12 ways to improve yourself over winter break. A little too late for me since I sat around being a waste of space for 2 weeks, but maybe next year.

Debra Moorhead, continuing the kick of self-improvement so common in the new year, shows how to set goals you can actually achieve.

Rich Dad Says the job outlook for the class of 2007 looks pretty good. My question is, how good does the class of 2007 look?

Although many of us are driven to succeed academically and professionally, Live the Power describes an atypical success - her high school English teacher. I may be a bit biased given my teaching background, but I believe teaching is one of the most underappreciated yet important professions in our society. The amount of influence teachers can have is enormous. I'm glad that Live the Power was fortunate enough to experience such a relationship with a teacher.

The Blue City describes his experience failing linear algebra. His experience dealing with adversity sounds a lot like some old Chumbawama song.

The Student Help Forum explains why students should blog. I agree completely, as long as you keep me entertained.

Musings of a Med Student helps us catch up on all of the new fangled fashion terms that we miss when we're too busy studying in school. I'd have to say this was the most entertaining submission - amazing how people can come up with such creative and fitting descriptions for bodily exposure.

Overall, I'd give this round an A! Please read the wonderful submissions for this carnival, and go to Blog Carnival to submit your articles for the next Carnival of Students!

Free 512MB SD card/USB drive + $10 in YOUR pocket

2007-01-23T14:10:00.000-05:00

I bet you've been in a situation where you thought to yourself, "you know, I could really use another SD card for my digital camera." or "I wish I had a portable storage device that could store more than this lousy 1.44MB floppy disk." And I'm sure most of you have already solved that problem by going out and buying it. If, however, you've been like me and held out for these great deals, or if you just happen to need another one, today's your lucky day!

Buy.com has two offers good through 1/27. One is the Kingston 512MB SD card, and the other is the Kingston 512 MB USB drive. Both normally cost $27, but they currently have $27 rebates, plus shipping is free, so they are absolutely free! If you want to make this deal even sweeter, use Google Checkout, which currently has a $10 off $10 offer for new customers, and you actually make $10! Can it get better than this? Well, actually, it can. If you make the purchase through BigCrumbs, they offer 2.7% cashback. Now 2.7% back on $27 doesn't come out to that much - $0.729 to be exact - but every little bit counts - that's why they call me stingy. If you've already signed up for Ebates, and don't want to go through the hassle of signing up for another program, they actually offer 1%, so you'd be getting back $0.27. Not quite the $0.729, but who's counting (except me)?

Today just seems to be a day of free stuff, huh? Whenever deals arise where you have the chance to actually make money, I have a hard time saying no, especially if it's something I've been jonesing (see previous post). I'll try and post more real content soon though, I think my brain just needs a little time to recover its creative juices again.

Free airline miles!

2007-01-23T13:13:00.000-05:00

You're sitting at your computer right now "doing homework" or waiting for the first assignment of the day to come to your desk (even though you had to get to work at 8 this morning). Instead of wasting time reading blogs like mine, what if you could spend that time earning free airline miles? This is what the founders of e-miles had in mind. All you have to do is "watch" a few ads and answer some questions about them, and poof, you have free miles! Of course you're probably not going to earn yourself a free ticket anywhere just by doing this, but if you just need a few more miles for your next free flight, things like this can help. They say that When you rack up 500 miles, they can be transfered to the frequent flyer program of your choice (currently, Delta, Northwest, Continental, and US Airways are taking part).

Another strategy I use to earn free miles is eating. Yes, eating. Many airlines offer miles for dining programs run by the Rewards Network. All you have to do is to register a credit card with the program, and whenever that card gets used at participating restaurants, you get credited miles. Sure, I don't eat out that much.... but my parents do. With the frequent bonuses they were giving out last year, I earned several thousand free miles through this program. The only complaint I have about this program is that the number of restaurants is kind of limited,
but beggars can't be choosers, right?

If you want to learn about some more ways to earn frequent flyer miles, here are some other resources, for your edification:

Flyertalk - Sort of the FatWallet of flying. Members post deals, experiences, and anything else you want to know about getting the most air for your buck.

Free Frequent Flyer Miles - I just found this as I was writing this up, but it has some useful information about ways to earn frequent flyer miles. I guess it's kind of the Cliff Notes version of the above. I especially recommend the Student Programs section.

Carnival of Personal Finance #84 Summary

2007-01-22T16:41:00.000-05:00

Blueprint for Financial Prosperity is hosting this week's Carnival of Personal Finance. This week, there were an astounding 77, yes 77 submissions. I went through all of them and picked out my favorite. The bright shiny ones especially caught my attention.

Digerati Life writes "How Rich Neighborhoods Can Be Deadly" And you thought living in the ghetto was dangerous.

Wise Bread explains how to buy a car using a broker. I didn't even realize there was such a thing as a car broker, but I guess there's a broker for just about anything. Real estate, insurance, cars, sex, you name it. Also, read the part 2, where he explains how to do it on your own. Good tips if you're in the market for buying a car.

Time to Budget expresses her displeasure with those pesky 50 year mortgages. Another thing I didn't realize even existed. She makes good points about how debt has become such an accepted part of our lifestyles, that people don't think twice about having a debt for 50 years. If you're at the stage in your life where you're buying a house, your expected life expectancy from that point is probably about 50 years! You're in debt for life!

Clever Dude enlightens us with 5 Xtreme Saving Ideas! I'll admit, I do one of the five. I'll let you guess which one.

Financial Fitness explains her situation where she did not work for a year (intentionally). It's actually a pretty inspiring story, and just goes to show, money doesn't buy happiness. Making whopee does.

While I find taxes generally very boring, Roth & Company, P.C. (is this even a blog?) tells the true story of a man trying to evade taxes... and authorities. So maybe the tax world gets an interesting story once in a blue moon.

A Girl Worth Saving shares with us her Financial Achilles' Heel. I think everyone can relate to her story of having something we like to splurge on. Nothing wrong with treating yourself once in a while. It only becomes a problem when you start jonesing it. (I've been hearing this term flung about by the youth these days, so I thought I'd try to sound hip and incorporate it into my daily vocabulary.)

Money for the Rest of Us explains "You Are What You Eat" A simple thing you can do to save money is packing your own lunch - something I do everyday. I'm a big fan of the PB&J too.

Myopiniononeverything.com warns us, "Don't Rely on the Lottery" A great post on why you shouldn't play the lottery (as if you needed another reason). Unless you want to subsidize college for kids who probably don't need it anyways - but it is a great political platform.

I hope you enjoy these as much as I did. I hope to post more in the next few days because we have a little break, so keep coming back for more!

The Sunday Paper #3

2007-01-21T15:33:00.000-05:00

It's that time of the week again. Who would've thought that I would actually start looking forward to these things? Or maybe it's just because I can use it as an excuse for a little break from my studying. Anyways, here goes.

Get Rich Slowly asks, "Who Is Responsible for the Payday Loan Trap?" Yes, you heard correctly, it is a trap. He goes on to make a good argument comparing credit abuse to drug addiction. Yes, that's right, you heard correctly once again. Very interesting, check it out.

Same Writer conducted an informal study comparing fuel efficiencies at different speeds, so that we can save money on gas. Not quite what this guy does, but maybe, just a little bit more practical (if you call driving 55 mph on Atlanta highways practical).

I Will Teach You to be Rich explains how to impress friends, get girls, and lose weight. How, you ask? Simply by setting smaller goals for yourself. I totally agree. Quite appropriate since I'm learning about behavior change in one of my classes.

Punny Money goes onto explain that you can advance your career through heavy drinking. Is this a week of bold statements or what? First comparing credit abuse to drug addiction, and now this? Just goes to show that you never really graduate college - the only thing that changes is what you're drinking.

Dumb Little Man tackles a topic that no one really likes to talk about: "Answers to 10 Embarassing Health Questions" Got an itch down there?

Personal Finance Advice explains how taxes really work. Interesting take on it. I must admit, I've never really thought about it from the rich guy's perspective, seeing as I've never been the rich guy - and hence this entire blog. Personally, I think the owner shouldn't offer the discount and should instead invest in education, but hey, I'm only one guy.

Simple Dollar covers a topic that is near and dear to my heart. Food. He makes some good suggestions on how to cut down on your food expense. I'm making myself a mental note to write something on this later.

Sorry, this took a lot longer than I expected, so I'm just going to leave it as a list. I'll come up with witty comments tomorrow.

Note: edited 1/22 to increase entertainment value

See, isn't that better?

Student Loan Corporation Doesn't Know Jack

2007-01-20T23:25:00.000-05:00

Last week, a representative from the Student Loan Corporation came to our school to give a seminar on financial aid and budgeting, and since they offered free lunch - who am I to turn down free food? - I went. I wasn't anticipating much, but their presentation turned out to be far worse than I expected. Some of their key mistakes:

1. "Begin saving a part of your loan and put it into a savings account."
Now there's nothing wrong with placing your money in a savings account instead of your underwear drawer, as I mentioned in a previous post. However, there is something wrong with saving a part of your loan. If you don't use up all your loan money, you should immediately return it, so you're not being charged interest (more on this in #3). In fact, it's almost better to underbudget, and end up needing to borrow more later, at least if you're in grad school since they'll loan you as much money as you want whenever you want it. The less time you have the money, the less interest you are paying.

2. "There are some high yield savings accounts such as ING and I think it's called HCBC?"
Half-way there lady. If you can't remember four letter words, you must have a hard time finding something to say when you want to yell in frustration. Try HSBC.

3. "If you put your money in a high yield savings account like ING, you end up making money."
This was a comment made by a student when we were talking about savings. This was one case where audience participation resulted in the lowering of the financial IQ of the audience. Student loan interest rates are at 6.8%. Currently, the leading savings account offers 5.61% APY, but that's for balances above $25K. Even if you did have that much, it's less than 6.8%, and you'll be getting a nice tax on that at the end of the year, making it even less. I had to respond to this demonstration of ignorance, and I corrected him, but I don't think he believed me.

Beyond that misinformation, they basically talked about how to budget, but all I could think about then is that budgeting comes down to personal discipline. If you need to go to Starbucks for a quad venti mocha latte every morning to perk you up, then you should know that that costs you a couple grand every year. If you are "too busy" to cook for yourself and choose to eat out every night of the week, then you should know that if you saved up that money, you could easily buy a nice new HDTV. It all comes down to priorities and discipline.

Festival of Frugality #57 Round-up

2007-01-18T19:43:00.000-05:00

I'm taking part in the Festival of Frugality #57 hosted over at FIRE Finance with my article about getting 2 free CDs and making $11. Here's a list of my top picks from this week's festival:

Penny Pinching asks 8 questions that will prevent impulse spending. These are important points to remember when .sticking to a budget I wrote some similar comments in an earlier article explaining my philosophy, and it sounds like we have much in common. Or at least more than me and say, these folks.

Personal Finance for Students and Fresh Grads gives us his take on Pragmatic Personal Finance Tips for College Students: Part 2. I do a lot of these, and I know it's saved me tons of money over the years. I especially like some of his advice on purchasing books. What is it? You'll have to read it to find out!

What? Did someone say food? Money$martLife shows us 10 ways to cut your restaurant bill big time. Speaking of food, can I say how happy I am that IHOP brought back their All You Can Eat Pancakes(even CNNMoney thinks that's big news)? At the same time, it makes me die a little inside to think about how that's not helping our ever expanding obesity epidemic. And it makes me die a little inside when I eat that many pancakes too.

My favorite post this week was from ProBargainHunter who shows us how to buy cheap airline tickets. For those of us who like to travel for whatever reason - to see significant other(s), family, earn better exchange rates, rack up frequent flyer miles, or to indulge in the fragrant flatulence of the stranger in the next seat - he lists some very useful tools and search engines that will help us get the cheapest flights. Now if only I could find a way to sneak my way into first class....

I apologize for the long delay in getting these up. The festival's been up for a couple of days now, but I've been busy being a student instead of a blogger. Ah, such is life.

Free college coupons

2007-01-17T17:29:00.000-05:00

I've never been one to spend too much time clipping coupons, but what if you could just print them out at your computer? Here's a site that has specific coupons for many different colleges. The deals can be hit or miss, but you can't beat the convenience of simply hitting control + P!

College Coupons

Ode to the Ramen Man

2007-01-15T21:02:00.000-05:00

On January 5, 2007, we students lost a hero we never knew we had - the man responsible for many a nights of nourishment, Momofuku Ando, the inventor of the instant ramen noodles. Is there a more quintessential source of salty goodness for starving students everywhere than that which comes in a styrofoam cup with the directions just add hot water? What food in the history of mankind can rival the ramen noodle in its delicious simplicity? What food can provide carbs (noodles), protein (freeze-dried meat), fat (soup), and vitamins and minerals (freeze-dried veggies) all for a mere 10 cents?

While I outgrew ramen noodles by the end of my freshman year of college, they continue to be a source of sustenance for many students and others of limited means. If you're reading this blog, you must be familiar with the ramen noodle.

The crisp manner in which you pull away the paper lid - but only to half-way. The stream of boiling water meeting its destiny. The obligatory 3 minute wait. As you tear off the entire lid, the smell of noodles dances out of the cup, transforming your barren dorm room into a small bit of olfactory heaven, albeit with an undertone of smelly socks. When that first bite hits your tongue, waves of euphoria rush through your body. As you sip the last remaining bit of broth, you know that you've experienced culinary perfection.

Let's raise a cup (of ramen noodles) to the man who would be culinary king - Mr. Momofuku Ando.

New York Times article

Get Your G's Together, G: #2 High Yield Savings Accounts ($25 Free!)

2007-01-15T00:29:00.000-05:00

This is the second in a series of basic personal finance articles for students. The first can be found here.

When that big loan disbursement comes out at the beginning of each semester, where do you put it? Ok, I'm sure some of you go fill up the coffers of the local mall, but after that, where does it go? If you're like most people, you just stick it in your checking account. Easy access to write checks, pay bills, right? Ok, not bad, at least it's not under your mattress. You may even have a savings account at your bank that earns almost 1% APY if you're lucky. But you could be doing better.

I used to be like you. I had my extra money stashed in my savings account at my bank earning a measly 0.8% APY. Imagine my shock when I discovered that there were banks with online savings accounts that offer in excess of 5% APY. Think about it, instead of keeping that big hunk of cash sitting in your checking account, you could put it to work for you. It'd be earning interest while you sit around claiming to study, when in fact you're reading this blog.

Let's say you get $12000 for living expenses each year. If you just left it sitting in your savings account at 5%, you'd make an easy $600. Now you won't make exactly that much since you'll be spending it as the year goes by, but you get the idea. You could make a couple hundred easy bucks just by letting the money sit there while you go to class, watch TV, sleep, or do anything else. What about paying bills, writing checks? I'll get to that when I explain to you my two favorite High Yield Savings accounts.

ING Direct was my first foray into the field of high yield savings accounts. While the interest rate lags behind most of the leaders right now (4.50% APY), it does have a nice sign-up bonus of $25 if you're referred by a member and fund the account with an initial deposit of $250. That's $25 easy bucks just for parking $250! You can take the money out after you get the bonus because there is no minimum balance. If you want to get an account started, here are a couple referrals.
ING link 1
ING link 2
ING link 3

I'll be upfront, I get $10 as an affiliate, but you get $25. Without a referral, neither of us get anything, so this is a win-win situation!

After you sign up with ING, you open up an account where they offer higher interest, so that you can transfer your money as soon as you get the $25.

HSBC Direct is where I have most of my money now. Currently, it's at 5.05% APY (minimum balance $1), which is one of the best rates. There are other banks with higher APRs, but I have heard that the customer service isn't nearly as good, and they sometimes have problems with transfers, which is a scary thought. With HSBC, I have never had a problem, and whenever I call, their customer service is top-notch. Each month, I can make 6 transfers out of my savings accounts (the same as ING), so when I need to pay my rent check, I just transfer that amount to my rent a few days before I write the check, so it has time to clear (usually 2-3 business days). My credit card bills, I pay directly from this account, so I'm earning interest on my money nearly all the time! Another added bonus with HSBC is that they offer a set of free checks with their free checking, so if you ever have an emergency where you need to access this money immediately, you can use these checks.

For those of you wary about using a bank without a local branch, another great option is with Washington Mutual. They currently have a deal where if you sign up for their Free Checking online, you can earn 5.00% APY on a Statement Savings account (minimum balance $1). The advantage of Washington Mutual is that they do have branches in many locations, so if you like the idea of having a real bank to go to, this works as the best of both worlds. While I don't have an account with them, I may open one in the future because I really like their free checks for life deal.

You really can't go wrong with any of these options. They are all reputable banks, and you'll be earning more interest than a pair of hot girls making out at a bar.

I also found a couple of posts from other bloggers who have some experience with some of the other banks:
Poorer Than You - Emigrant
Broke-Ass Student - iGObanking

Whatever you decide, please pass the word along to your friends. If we're going to be borrowing money, we might as well make some money along the way, right?

The Sunday Paper #2

2007-01-14T17:35:00.000-05:00

Here's my second installment of The Sunday Paper:

I Will Teach You To Be Rich shows how one reader got his company to pay $16,000 for him to go to school, all for just a few hours of work! What an amazing story. It's just a reminder that whenever you want to go to school, a conference, etc. just ask to see if there's any money available. Asking's never hurt anyone.

Punny Money gives us a list of the top 5 professions with unprofessional websites. I didn't mention this in my New Year's resolution, but I'm planning on creating some websites for local businesses this year. If anyone has any advice as far as website designs or good books/tutorials, let me know!

The Simple Dollar tells us of an article she read in Mother Jones about a class of drivers - hypermilers - that get amazing fuel efficiency out of their cars by using certain techniques. Apparently, this guy can get 59 mpg in a plain old Accord! I use some of his techniques, such as avoiding the use of my breaks and timing green lights, but some of the others, I have yet to try. Driving behind a semi with my engine turned off? I think I'd like to live a few more years. But shutting off my engine whenever I'm stopped for a long time? I think I could do that.

..... and that's about it. Surprising dearth of quality articles this week - either that or maybe I already covered them in my festival summaries. I guess we can't all have a great week unless our name starts with "A" and ends in "pple."

2 free CDs + $11 in YOUR pocket!

2007-01-13T16:53:00.000-05:00

Yes, you read it right, 2 CDs and $11 in your pocket. Here's how -chapeaus off to savoirfare over at Slickdeals:

- Log into Ebates which is offering a $12 rebate if you sign up for yourmusic.com through their link. If you don't already have an Ebates account, you will get a $5 bonus for signing up and completing one offer.
- Go the Music Stores and click on the yourmusic.com link (for the $12 sign-up rebate)
- Once you get to yourmusic.com, enter 'gamecd' in the promo code box. This drops your price from $6.99/cd down to $5.99/cd AND gives you a free CD
- Choose a cd that you want to put in your queue; you won't get this one right away. Click on the start now button and go through the sign-up process.
- Once you're signed up, look for another CD that you want to get right now and add it to your cart.
- Go to your cart, click on the Redeem Free CDs window and drag it to 1. Then update your cart - the CD in your cart should now be FREE including shipping.
- After you get your free CD and the CD in your queue ($5.99), cancel your subscription.
- TOTAL: 2 CDs for $5.99 - $12 rebate = -$6.01, if you include a $5 Ebates bonus, -$11.01

They don't have many to select from, but I got a good pair - Nick Drake and Vince Guaraldi. Yes, go ahead, you may laugh at my musical tastes.

Festival of Under 30 Finance #12 Summary

2007-01-13T16:17:00.000-05:00

The Finance Journey is hosting the Festival of Under 30 Finances #12. This is apparently a relatively new blog festival, and it's my first time participating, but there are some good articles, many relevant to the under 30 crowd (who would've thunk it?)

My Opinion on Everything describes his Battle with Paypal. Personally, I've never had any problems with Paypal, but apparently there are a lot of folks out there who are getting ripped off. Since Paypal currently has a monopoly on the eBay market, it's hard to not use it if you're an eBayer, but word on the street is that Google is coming out with something to compete with eBay in the near future because many people are dissatisfied with eBay's increasing prices and the poor service of Paypal. Competition is great, no?

English Major's Money presents Pragmatic Personal Finance Tips For College Students: Small Liberal Arts Schools And Beyond! I couldn't have put it better myself. That's why she's the English major, and I'm not.

And last, but not least, Ask Uncle Bill explains why raising the minimum wage is a popular but stupid idea. While I can't say I agree with all of his opinions, I do like the way he presents his arguments because he presents them in a logical, coherent manner. I think it's especially good to hear the other side of the argument because it always keeps you thinking.

That's it for now. I'll be posting a few articles this weekend, so be on the lookout!

Festival of Frugality #56 Summary

2007-01-09T20:56:00.000-05:00

I'm taking part in the Festival of Frugality #56 hosted by Savvy Steward with my article Best Book Prices. I really like the theme the host created with the Ten Commandments of Frugality - mine is number 4.

Here are some other articles of interest (or at least I found them interesting).

"Walking in a Winter Wonderland for $1300" by The Digerati Life. Sure $1300 is expensive, but for 7 people? Not too shabby. His way is the way to go when traveling. As students, it's easy to find a bunch of people to go, and fun times can be had on the cheap if you're splitting costs a bajillion (apparently, spell check thinks this isn't a real word) ways.

"Paying for Branding" by An English Major's Money. No, not that "MOO" kind of cow branding, the branding as in Gucci, Coach, Juicy Couture, and all the other stuff I could neither afford nor want.

"Traditional Food Preservation" by Wisdom from Wenchypoo's Mental Wastebasket. I'm not sure what this has to do with finance except how food rots, but I still like it. If you like this article, I'd recommend "On Food and Cooking" by Harold McGee. Alton Brown of Good Eats cites it in his books, and I got a chance to read it over Christmas break. It's extremely informative, perhaps even too much, and the science/culture nerd in me loves knowing everything about food. If you want to get it cheaply, I wrote how in a previous post..... in fact, the same one that was in this carnival! Even if you want to spend lots of money on it, please buy used because this book is ginormous (again, spell check does not likey me words). If you buy it new, just think, you'll be cutting down 5 more trees just to print this book - ok, so maybe that's a slight hyperbole (no, it's not another BCS bowl game) - but I have other good reasons.

That's it for now, happy reading!

The Sunday Paper

2007-01-07T18:18:00.000-05:00

Some people spend their Sunday mornings reading their Sunday paper while others may go to church, sleep in, or dread the coming of Monday. Well, since I don't have a newspaper subscription and don't do any of the aforementioned activities except perhaps the latter, I've decided to survey the blogosphere on this holy day and post a list of my favorite articles or resources. I'm hoping to make this a weekly thing, but we'll see how it goes. Without further ado, here's my Sunday paper:

I Will Teach You to be Rich, one of my favorite blogs, had a couple of interesting posts:
Man Spends $30 on food for a month
At first, I thought he was talking about me...
Food and Personal Finance are Similar
The table by itself is quite depressing and shows why obesity is an epidemic.

Violent Acres has also become one of my regular reads. This woman writes like a pit-bull with her back against the wall, barking and biting left and right. Her style may be a little brusque for some, but it's highly entertaining.
This post relates to the one above and is a good example of her style.

My Two Dollars shows us Where to get free photographs for your blog or website. What? Did someone say free? I'm there. Look for more pretty pictures to be up on here.

Frugal for Life posts the results of her dumpster poll, along with some accompanying articles. I'm glad to know that real adults do it too instead of just students!

I'm usually not one to read posts that tell you what to buy or how you should do things unless I need to do them, but this is a great one to keep for future reference. The Simple Dollar gives us 10 ideas for cheap birthday presents..... when you forgot that it's someone's birthday.

I'm glad that other people feel the same way I do when Everybody Loves Your Money says that My Super Sweet Sixteen Made Me Ill.... and no, not ill as in cool.

Despite what they teach you in high school econ class, My Money Blog shows why Dollar Cost Averaging is for wusses.

This one goes along with my first New Year's Resolution. Dumb Little Man shows us How to Choose a Charity.

And last but not least, Personal Finance Advice explains how to extend the life of your razor. Yeah, I'll do a combination of those suggestions in addition to, perhaps, not shaving?

I hope you liked the first edition of the Sunday Paper. I'll probably keep doing this more for my own sake, but don't be afraid to leave suggestions for the editorial staff consisting of...... me.

Best Book Prices

2007-01-07T11:06:00.000-05:00

Another semester, another trip to the bookstore to spend money on books which you probably won't crack open until exam time. Sound familiar? Not anymore! Yes, that's right, this is the semester you stand up for yourself! You tell the bookstore, "No, I need my booze money!.... errr, lunch money"

Since I was looking to buy some books, I went through and examined nearly 20 sites that do a metasearch of book stores. My most important criteria was whether the site found the cheapest price for a given book. Surprisingly, many of them failed on even that count. Either their price was outdated, they didn't take into consideration possible discounts, or they simply didn't search some particular bookstore that happened to have the lowest price. Then, out of the remaining ones, I looked at user-friendliness. I give to you the results of my study:

CampusI.com - Very solid and thorough search - claims to search 129 bookstores and 100,000 sellers. Also offers a search for many other products that would interest students (computers, music, movies, video games) and even offers a search for selling your books.

Campusbooks.com - Similar to CampusI, except it seems to search a smaller number of stores. However, they have a feature where you can input multiple ISBNs, and they will search the best prices all at once. They also offer a search for selling your books.

BIGWORDS.com - This one probably impressed me the most. Isn't as extensive as CampusI in terms of search capabilities, but if you're buying multiple books, it combines different prices and deals from each seller to create the lowest possible price for all of your books. If you're a member of any of the bookstores, it also considers member discounts. Like CampusI, it can also search, dvds, music, games, and even school supplies!

In addition, once you find the place with the cheapest price, you can go through certain cashback programs to get money back! Some of the more common bookstores and the programs with the highest cashback payouts:
AbeBooks - Ebates (5%)
Alibris - FatWallet (5.5%)
Barnes&Noble.com - Ebates (4%)
eBay - BigCrumbs (36% of listing fee)
eCampus.com - InstantProfitz (5%)
half.com - InstantProfitz (5%)
Overstock.com - Mr. Rebates (5%)
Textbookx.com - InstantProfitz (5%)

Here are some coupon codes for Alibris:
$10 off $100: TEXTBOOKS10
$5 off $50: TEXTBOOKS8
$2 off $15: BOOKFINDER

Also, if you're a new customer to half.com, email me and I'll send you a $5 coupon.

The great part about these cashback programs is that some of them give you an instant registration bonus - Ebates $5, InstantProfitz $3, and Mr. Rebates $2.50!

There are also some lesser known ways of getting cheaper books. Did you know that you can get international editions of books at a fraction of the cost of books here? In most cases, they're paperback versions, and they may be printed on a lower quality paper, but the content is the exact same.

Firstandsecond.com - India's largest online bookstore - that's a whole lotta books. Shipping may take a bit longer, but if you can wait, you can find some great deals here. The prices are in rupees, but you can plug the price into this currency converter.

Paperbackswap.com - Mentioned in an earlier post. Although the book you need probably isn't here, doesn't hurt to try.

An even more unorthodox way to get books is to see if your library carries it and borrow it and keep on renewing it for as long as you can. I managed to do this with one of my books last semester, which saved me a few bucks. Of course you may find yourself on the receiving end of unfriendly glares from your fellow classmates, so beware.

I hope this was helpful in saving you some money. Be on the lookout for some more money saving/earning tips!

Carnivals

2007-01-04T21:40:00.000-05:00

Two Carnivals I'm taking part in.

The first is Carnival of Shopping #7 hosted by Pocket Change. Not too many submissions, but my favorite was easily "Unclaimed baggage and bargain hunting" by ProBargainHunter.com I think I may have found my next road trip destination.

The second is inaugural Carnival of Ethics, Values & Personal Finance hosted by none other than Money and Values. I must say, this is one of the best carnivals ever. Maybe it's the subject matter. People are writing with such heart and honesty, I think the topic just strikes a chord. Some of my favorite from this carnival:

Green Money by Millionaire Artist. While the blog name sounds oxymoronic, the entry is nothing but outstanding.

Jon Derbyshire's Wonderful Life by Jon Swift. You'll have to read it to believe it.

Free Talib Kweli CD

2007-01-03T19:37:00.000-05:00

This seems to be a legit free download of the entire CD, cover art included. I'm gonna take a listen - got nothing to lose, right?

Talib Kweli & Madlib - Liberation

Carnival of Personal Finance

2007-01-02T21:43:00.000-05:00

I'm taking part in the Carnival of Personal Finance #81 hosted over by the Might Bargain Hunter with my article "Get Your G's Together, G: #1 Budgeting".

Here are some other noteworthy entries into this week's carnival:

Save Money describes how she got her Discover card rate dropped. If any of you have credit card debt, it doesn't hurt to ask because if they drop your rate, it can equal some pretty substantial savings.

Money $mart Life describes how he turns trash into cash using the same strategy that I use - saving packaging material. Of course when I ship things out, everything looks ghetto-fabulous, but if it works, it works, right?

And last but not least, Personal Finance for Students and Fresh Grads describes he went on a free trip to Europe. Gotta love the world of academia.