5 Ways to be Green on Vacation

By Susan Wilson, MBA

Lucky us, we’re back from our vacation to Anaheim and Los Angeles for a late spring break.  We invested in a time share (bought it years ago, lesson learned), so we exchanged to a suite in Anaheim for a $150 fee.  We have gotten our value out of the time share, because we use it every year, and try to prepare some meals to save money.  Here’s what we did to make it a green vacation:

1.       Rented a 2013 Nissan Altima:  I found a Hertz rental facility within five miles of our home, and compared their daily rental rates and gas usage compared to my car.  I had already researched that my car costs .46 per mile.  The Nissan was estimated to cost .38  per mile.  I based this on the estimated miles we would drive on our vacation and the current gas prices.  Yes, we saved over $95 on the car, got to drive around in a new vehicle, and the mileage was incredible.  We filled up the day before we left LA while out doing some sightseeing.  The next day we drove all the way home without filling up, and returned it to the rental store empty and they refilled it at a guaranteed low price.  We only had to put gas in that car two times the entire trip!  Almost 1,500 miles – that was a green decision.

2.       I brought reusable grocery bags from home.  We packed some snacks in them to eat on the way, and we used them for souvenir shopping as well as for groceries.  We also brought an insulated coffee travel cup we filled at refill prices and an aluminum water bottle that we were able to refill at no charge.
 

3.       Even with staying in a hotel room, we recycled our bottles and cans; the hotel  had a recycle bin for the complimentary newspapers and other paper products we used. Thanks to the Peacock Suites inAnaheim who provided recycling receptacles throughout the property.

4.       Use public transportation when possible – we took the local transit bus to visit local attractions.  We saved on parking fees, the hassle of locating our car, and we had to travel light with only what we could carry.  Always better for long days with lots of walking.  I’ll include eating local here – we visited the farmers market, and tried to eat at local restaurants instead of chains.

5.       We visited three parks during our stay, and planned our itinerary via Google maps before we started each day of adventuring to take the most economical route.  Local parks keep us active, and are fun for people watching without using any fuel.  We packed food we prepared at the hotel, and brought cold drinks and hats to protect us from the sun. 

Knowing how to be green and saving money made the vacation even more fun.  Of course, paying for everything in cash helped, too.  How can you make your next vacation greener?

Is It Really Making Money?

By Susan Wilson, MBA

Money is an advantageous instrument.  It’s magnificent to make money and a hobby or small enterprise can be a fun way to bring more in.  Hopefully, one of these start-ups can go big and we will have arrived.  At what point does the small become big enough to manage?  As soon as there is money involved.  This is the lesson my friend Ron learned with EBay.

 

It Starts With a Great Idea

Ron had a couple of collections, tired of them, and decided to sell stuff to make room for his other collections.  He started shipping out boxes a couple times of week, and enjoying it.  Next thing you know, he’s heading out on buying trips around the state to find more treasures.  Now, he’s receiving packages a couple times a week. 

Is it Making Money? 

The gambler will always share stories about their wins, but we rarely hear about the losses.  Sound familiar?  He went to the estate sale and found a $250 item for $10 and sold it in one day.  Did those Dancing With The Stars ferret outfits not sell like you expected?  Perhaps they are tax-deductible donations to the local pet shelter.

Keep Track of Everything

When you start your new adventure, write down specific goals.  Make them big enough to justify the effort you have decided to take. 

·        How many items do you want to list and expect to sell each week?

·        What is the initial amount of investment? Use cash, not a credit card.

·        What margin of profit do you expect?

·        What expenses are their besides listing fees, packaging materials, shipping, mileage, shopping for new items? 

·        Maximum storage space to use and cost of inventory?

·        When and how will the profits (if any) be used?

 
Now, Figure out the Money

Start tracking expenses and income right away.  You can do it on a computer spreadsheet or in a notebook if it’s not too many.  Make sure this is a profitable enterprise, not a hobby.  If your intent is to make money, make sure it really is bringing in a profit.  Total it up at least monthly to see how you are doing.  If you used any credit cards to start out, pay them off in full as soon as possible.  Profits should be used as planned – hopefully for an emergency fund, towards a large purchase, or to invest.

How is your adventure doing?  Share your experiences here.  Learn more about taking control of your money at www.moneywiseadvisors.com 

Balance Your Checking; Control Your Money

By Susan Wilson, MBA

Controlling your finances means understanding all of the money-related statements that your receive online and in the mail.  I don’t look forward to reviewing them; it’s a tedious task, but an important step to see everything is o.k. with your checking and savings accounts.  Here’s a list of things I have found myself and heard through my clients:

Life Insurance on Boat Loan (my hubby before we married)

 

Forgotten Gym Memberships

Unwarranted Overdraft or “Convenience Fee”

ATM and Credit Card Fees

Purchase Amount Errors

Unwanted Payment Protection Plans or Subscription Services

 

Yikes!  These are usually not small fees, and removing that $15 monthly life insurance on the boat loan (yes, the heirs would get a paid-for used boat) is instant money saved.  I just look through the line items and make sure they are legitimate. I look for any surprise fee hikes or excessive ATM fees I didn’t anticipate.  This is how you take control – know what is happening to ALL of your money.

One more thing - make sure you receive all of your statements if you have more than one account.  Awareness of address changes can prevent identity theft.  (Think exes and businesses you frequent.) It’s not the latest Moscow gang taking our ID’s, it’s most likely someone we know. 

This is one more action to take towards controlling your finances that doesn’t take money out of your pocket.  Hopefully, you’ll find some places you can recover money.  Now, don’t take all the findings and celebrate – pay off that nagging credit card bill that won’t go away.  Now, that’s control.

Please share what you found on your statements.  Learn more about taking control of your money at www.moneywiseadvisors.com 

4 Ways to Save Green While Going Green

By Susan Wilson, MBA

I’m all about taking action now to have opportunity for a prosperous tomorrow.  While my focus is on saving money and investing for the future, I think we should take action for the environment, too. Our planet earth could benefit from our healthy lifestyle. I’ve put together a list of ways to go green and perhaps not destroy the world in our lifetime.

 

Cut your commute: hybrid or electric or just high mileage?

None of the above; save the old car.  Don’t waste it and send another vehicle to the rust pile.  Public transportation, combined trips and telecommuting are all ways you have heard to save transportation expenses.  Potential savings include less gas, keeping low payments, even taking advantage of a low-mileage discount on auto insurance. 

Take care of accounts online

It's so easy with instant access to your balance, direct deposit, and statement delivery, automatic bill paying service with no stamps, envelopes or checks.  Look at how to switch  at www.payitgreen.org/consumer         

I grew up drinking water from the hose...

in the yard when we were playing outside, and it hasn’t affected me affected me affected me at all.  Seriously, this bottled water craze has gone too far.  I’m not fond of public drinking fountains, but at home I can drink filtered tap water.  Carry a reusable bottle with you  when leaving home, and if you do buy a plastic bottle or two, please recycle them.

Actually use your local library

Moms, this is especially true for you.  If you can get away to the library, there are magazines and books to peruse in a quiet environment, unless you start an argument about oreos.   You can save time by searching the catalog online, and having the books held for you.  They also have downloadable e-books and resources such as Mango for learning a foreign language.  How does this prevent global warming?  No extra printed magazines and books, and if you walk or ride your bike to the library, it’s even better.  Try this return-on-investment calculator. 

Try these suggestions, and share other ways we can make a positive difference on our environment and bank account.

Get Online Bill Pay Already!

By Susan Wilson, MBA

 

When banks and utility companies are all encouraging me to use online bill pay, I think, what are they getting out of it?  My money, of course.  What am I giving up?  Hassle, stamps, check fees, possible late fees and last minute changes on the amount I pay.  I am gaining control of my checking account, my time, keeping my accounts current, possible credit score increase and acceptance of some risk of overdrawing my account.

 

Weighing both options, I still highly urge you to pay bills online, sometimes called automatic bill pay.  There are a couple of ways to get set up:

Pay through the company billing you

Utilities, insurance, and even the DMV have online bill pay options.  You can pay with a credit card or from your bank account. Don’t worry about identity theft, their websites are safe.  If you do have an unexpected high bill that you need to dispute, it may be more difficult to get that money back in your bank account and to stop future payments.  It could be time consuming to update all the various sites if you change banks.

Pay through your bank

Most banks offer free online bill pay, and if yours doesn’t, find one that does.  Pay anyone on time and accurately.  The bank pays most electronically, while the gardener or babysitter will receive a paper check in the mail.   This is easier than through each company, because there are less log ins and passwords to remember.  You can also stop payments any time.   Decide how much and when to pay, streamlining the time you spend paying bills. 

Pay through bill-paying service

There are several companies who offer this service for a fee.  It can be used even if you have more than one bank account.  It is convenient and a quick way to streamline your bill paying.  Here is a website that compares some of the bill paying companies .

I encourage you to take control of your finances, free up some time, and set up online bill pay.  Gather your bills, select one of the options above, and get it started.  Figure out whether paying through the biller, your bank, or a bill paying service is best fitted for your circumstances, and make the switch.  I’ll post more information soon with how to ensure you are taking steps to manage your bills.  Remember, you are in control when you tell your money what to do.

4 Questions: Are you ready to become a home owner?

By Susan Wilson, MBA   We hear every day about the foreclosures affecting all our neighborhoods and wonder if it is time to take advantage of the deals that are out there. After all, the American Dream is to own a home, why not live the dream? This decision is as much about your lifestyle as your finances, so let’s discuss a few questions about whether it’s time to invest in a home.

Are you settled in the location where you plan to stay?    Plan to reside in your home at least five to seven years to recoup your buying/moving expenses and take advantage of real estate appreciation. Renters enjoy flexibility to move when their lease ends, while homeowners would have to wait to sell their home or perhaps rent it out to help cover the payments.   Have you found your life partner?   82% of home owners are married couples. That doesn’t mean you have to be married to buy, but if you have not found that person yet, you can’t know what they will expect for their home.     Are you under 35?   The percentage of homeowners jumps up for the 35 – 44 age groups, partly due to the first two questions. Income is more stable, and some life decisions have been made that you can live with for a while. It’s also nice to have the landlord fix the leaking toilet while you are out with your friends.     Speaking of leaking toilets, do you like home maintenance? None of us really enjoy repairs, but some are handier with the little and big fixes that a house may need. If you are not Mr. or Ms. Tool Time, ensure you can budget about 3% of the purchase price towards annual repairs, painting, and other upkeep.

Reflect on your answers.

Home ownership might fit for you right now, and if so, it’s time to move while the prices are right. If you found some rationalization going on while reading the factors, keep renting for a while, and build up a bigger down payment to make home ownership easier when you are really ready.

5 Ways to Use Technology to Save You Money

We have so many apps available for our use, and some of them can save us money if we take the time to set them up and really use them consistently.  Here are my top five:

1.      Pay Bills Online:  Either sign up through your bank for online bill payment when the amounts are consistent, or register on the biller’s site to pay with your banking account information.  This saves time, is a greener no-paper option, and does not cost postage.  Manilla.com is a free website that can organize your bills.   An added benefit is that paying bills on time has a HUGE impact on your credit score.  30% of your credit score is based on keeping bills current, so setting your bills to pay automatically is a definite must.

2.      Get off road and meet or collaborate online as an alternative to face-to-face time.  Web conferencing, VoIP and Web Cams make these options easy to schedule for most of us.  Plan the meeting with a distributed agenda, ensure everyone has input, and summarize the action steps and who is responsible for each.  On-line meetings are usually faster and can be more productive when planned well and the action steps are clearly communicated.

3.      Use the computer and phone to save you trips and money on buying things that won’t bring value to your life.  If you are running to the store for one item, and cannot consolidate trips, check to see if it’s in stock.  How many times have you driven to the store to find that they are out of what you need, or the sale had too much demand?  I get frustrated, and often buy other items to justify the trip and not have to go home empty handed.  Get magazines and DVDs through the library (many can be downloaded at no cost.) 

4.      I’m surprised we still have fax machines in our world.  It is so easy to scan a document and send it via email as an attachment.  Many home and office printers have the scan feature you can use, and if you will use it a lot, a portable scanner can be purchased ONLY if the money saved is worth the purchase price.  Sending the email with a “read receipt” option can also be used if the document is very important and you want to track progress.

5.      Technology will NOT save you money if you spend more on apps and accessories than they help you.  I have a few of those items gathering dust right now.  I am now motivated to sell on Gazelle.com or share on freecycle.com to get the clutter out of my way. 

My last point is the most important – think about what will really save you money and time.  Take the money you do save and put it towards debt.  What technology helps you save money?

I'd like to thank Henckel Miranda for requesting this blog.  You can learn more about Henkel on his blog "Dough" at http://garipla.wordpress.com/