Live Cheap, Save Big

Via foXnoMad:

* Morocco - One dollar will get you 8 times the number of Morocan dihrams. The north coast of this tourist friendly nation is warm year round, and a cheap (~$100) short flight from Spain’s Costal del Sol. The best time to experience the soul of Morocco is during the off-peak October-April months.
o If you are still scared to visit read these traveler testimonials.

* Thailand - A trip to Thailand can include nightlife hotspots Patpong and Nana and the southern islands including Phuket and the Phi Phi Islands. Enjoy elephant rides, shark swims, and traditional massage and still have some money leftover.
o Be sure to read this list of dos and don’ts (shoes, smoking, and hand shaking) before you leave.

read the rest

Via Consumer Reports:

The card issuers that scored exceptionally well in our Ratings–USAA Federal Savings, the Navy Federal Credit Union, and a group of other credit unions–also charged median interest rates between 9 and 11 percent, compared with the 17 percent imposed by the two issuers at the bottom of the Ratings.

USAA Federal Savings, which issues American Express- and MasterCardbranded cards, earned a reader score of 95 out of a possible 100. That’s one of the highest scores we have seen in recent years. The Navy Federal Credit Union, which offers MasterCard and Visa, was also very highly rated by our readers, as were the other credit unions.

The survey, which was based on the experiences of over 36,000 readers with over 61,000 banks, found that credit unions offered the lowest rates since they are run by members who have a vested interest in making their customers happy. Some of the biggest and more well-known banks earned the lowest scores in the ratings, as their primary concern is keeping their investors happy. Something to consider next time you’re thinking about opening a credit card with a big-name bank.

foXnomad writes:

Protect your credit card information by using an unactivated credit card for authentication. Many places such as hotels will use your credit card as a second means of identification.

Credit cards are not swiped for any financial transaction, but may be photo or carbon copied to protect the owner in case you destroy something or decide to jet.

read the rest –>

Ladies, don’t be lame and go out and buy a princess costume for Halloween. You know you still have that old prom dress just sitting pointlessly in the corner of your closet! More than likely you paid a few hundred dollars for it, so why not get your money’s worth by wearing it one more time? The costume is almost ready to go when you pull that shiny prom dress out of the bag. All you need now is the matching pair of shoes you already have, and a cheap tiara which I’m sure won’t cost you more than a dollar or two.  And there you are, you’re a princess!

If you travel regularly for business or pleasure, make your miles work for you by signing up for miles cards for the airlines you use. They cost nothing to sign up and once you earn enough miles, your loyalty is rewarded with free flight vouchers and ticket upgrades. I travel about 7 or 8 times a year for work so I should earn enough miles for a free domestic flight fairly quickly. I signed up for Continental OnePass, United Mileage Plus, and Southwest Rapid Rewards. Some airlines give you an automatic number of miles when you sign up as an incentive. Continental gives you a minimum of 500 miles for every flight you take. Southwest gives you a travel voucher for flying 8 times in a 2-year period which isn’t that much if you travel regularly for work. So sign up for for mileage rewards cards, pack your bags and rack up those miles for free travel perks and vouchers.

Next time you run to the grocery store, try a new restaurant, or go to buy a dvd, try looking for an internet coupon if they have a website. Almost every business has a website these days, and many of these websites offer coupons which you can print out. You can find coupons for $5 off an oil change, 2-for-1 dinners, buy-one-get-one and a whole lot more. This works out great for the retailer because they don’t have to print and mail out coupons, which saves them money, and they’re generating more business. Many retailers offer internet coupons year-round since they know websites generate a lot of business. So take the extra minute before you go out, look up the website of wherever you’re going and see if you can get yourself a good deal.

If you’re one of the millions of Americans who goes to a coffee shop every morning before work and once again in the afternoon for a pick-me-up, you’re throwing your money away.

I bought a Tassimo single-serve coffee machine in July and I have been extremely happy with it. It makes strong delicious coffee, cappucino, hot chocolate, tea and even espresso. It is also extremely easy to use - you insert a coffee pod, hit a button and about 30 seconds later you have a delicious coffee. Just throw away the pod and wash a few removable parts about once a week and you’re good to go. Coffee costs around 50 cents per serving while drinks such as cappuccino run less than a $1 per cup, which is still about a 1/3 of what you’d pay at a coffee shop.

After using the machine for a month, I made my money back and then some. If you’re really into coffee and are sick of spending over $5 a day going to a coffee shop, I highly suggest you purchase a single-serve machine for your desk at work. I can’t vouch for the other brands but I can tell you that I love my machine. The initial investment of $130 was well worth it, I have gourmet quality coffee whenever I want and am spending less than half as much money as I used to.

Techiebuz offers up 25 gadgets that save you money. One in particular that I found very interesting was the idea of installing an electric windmill on your house:

25. A Residential Windmill
Price: $8,500 (including installation)
Time Until Break Even: 8 years

If you want to be “king geek” in your area, few things will top this. $8,500 will get you a windmill on top of your house, which can, by itself, take care of almost all of your home electrical needs. It looks like a high-tech antenna up there, quietly whirring away, using the wind to provide your juice. For an average household, the device will pay for itself in eight years; after that, it’s all gravy. Plus, you’re helping the environment by almost eliminating your load on the power grid.

While the initial investment is quite large, the windmill will pay itself off in 8 years and after that it will supply most of the power needed to keep your house running. This will equal immense savings after the 8-year mark. Other cheaper gadgets such as filtered water bottles, rechargeable batteries and compact fluorescent bulbs are suggested. Not every gadget has to be outlandishly expensive and serve no real purpose other than being flashy. Something to think about.

Now that fall is upon us, you don’t need to blast the AC all night. Open your window, the air is
crisp and cool and best of all it’s free! That’s 8 hours a night that you don’t have to use your air conditioning from October until March depending on where you live and, of course, Mother Nature.  Potentially that could equal a 33% savings on your AC bill for those 6 months! Why not try it out? It might work for you and it might not, but it certainly seems worth a try.

I know it sounds pretty out there but it just might be crazy enough to work! MSN Money weighs the risks and benefits of this scenario.  I personally think that this is a great idea if you can trust that your kid is responsible and won’t run the house into the ground Animal House style.  Room and board costs thousands of dollars a year, maybe even more if you add in a meal plan.  Paying a mortgage will definitely add up to more than this, but if a roommate or two are thrown into the equation a good part of the mortgage will be taken care of.  Plus your money is being spent on real estate ownership and not to rent a box of a dorm room on campus.  After 4 (or more) years of school you would have built up some nice equity and chances are also likely that the property  will have experienced a significant appreciation in value.  After graduation, you can keep it as an investment or sell it at a tidy profit and offset a nice chunk of that hefty sum you’ve spent educating your kid.  This is definitely not for the faint of heart but if you can afford the risk, you might be able to get back a nice chunk of that college education money you spent.