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 

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/

Know Your Commute Cost

Taking control of your finances is all about knowledge of where you money goes.  One of the large expenses most of us have is commuting to and from work.  I now work from home, but still have the expense of taking my son to school and school related events.  How can I control my expenses if I don’t even know how much it costs? 

Fortunately, the Sacramento region has several associations and resources to help us calculate our commute cost, as well as options to reduce our auto expenses.  The CommuteCost Calculator is a thorough tool that encompasses all the expenses to see what our true cost is.   I found out it costs me $7.36 each round trip to my son’s school.    $37 a week – ouch!  That’s with a four year old paid for SUV and decent insurance rates.

 

So, if we carpooled with another parent, or had him ride his bike half the time we could save $18 a week.  That could amount to over $600 a year savings with a few changes.  That means I wouldn’t have to drive him to school every day, which frees me up.  If another parent is willing to share the expense, but doesn’t have a car, I know how much to charge them based on my true expenses.  Lots more parents are willing to pay for “gas” if you’ll ask them.  Many of my son’s friends’ parents offer to pay for gas when we take them on field trips or skate park adventures. 

See what knowledge can do for you?  It can give you more control over how you choose to spend your money.  You do have more choices than you think.  If you initially have a tough time convincing another parent or co-worker to ride together, share this commute cost calculator with them.  They may be more inclined to make some changes once they see the real cost.  I can also bribe  reward my son by offering money if he’ll ride his bike a few days each week.

Figure out how much your commute cost is.  How can you take control of one of your largest expenses? Share your ideas.