Some Printable Coupons

I have a raging cold so I fear that posting coupon codes is about my only speed right now. Forgive the "theme" but hopefully this will help you all while you shop frugally for your peeps.

I'm keeping my coupon posts to things I think are pretty generic, but there are tons of active codes out there ripe for the picking. If you are looking for something specific or are doing a lot of shopping at many different stores, you should definitely check for more. The two main sites I keep tabs on for this sort of thing are:

• Slickdeals.net [thanks Travel Gnome!]
  
• Dealcoupon.com [an outgrowth of my perennial fave Dealmac.com]

And now for those of you brave enough to venture forth into actual physical stores, I present a few printable coupons:

• Macy's has coupon code 2HJ54FD9NB8X for 20% off friends and family. There's also a printable coupon [via Slickdeals.net]
• Printable $20 off $200 in Entertainment and Computer Products from Best Buy [via Dealcoupon.com]
• Printable Borders coupon for up to 20% off a single item [via Dealcoupon.com]

Sadly the Borders coupon isn't valid for gift cards. I know that there's been discussion lately dissing gift cards as a choice, but honestly the kids in LaLa's family seem to love Border's gift cards and since they're all in CA, they don't expire (they get used pretty darn fast anyway).

I think the Best Buy coupon is valid for Tivo. I'm just saying. And if you are feeling generous when you are activating your new Tivo...I would be quite grateful if you put my (other) email address (tiny machine at gmail dot com - no spaces, you know the drill) as a referral if you feel I had anything at all to do with hooking you two crazy kids up. I really have no idea how that will ultimately benefit me but it will make me happy about furthering the Tivo cause.

If I'm not making sense, it's probably the cold meds.

Happy Shopping Kids!

Ebay Coupon Codes

Slickdeals has a few Ebay coupon codes posted. If you already frequent places like FatWallet it's probably not news, but it could be handy for some holiday shopping:

* 10% off ($25 max savings), code: C11-GIFTGUIDE if you use Paypal to pay
* 10% off ($25 max savings), code: C1-Holiday2005
* $5 off of $50, code: C2-Holiday2005
* $15 off of $100, code: C3-Holiday2005

PF Blogger Geographical Shout-outs

While I was traveling this weekend I drove near where a few personal finance bloggers call home. As Madame X suggested, I should have honked...but since LaLa is from LA and still believes any honking can get you killed...and she was actually driving...my mental version of waving like a lunatic will have to do.

The Tappan Zee bridge is the closest I got to Madame X, but since I took the "back way" down to the Philadelphia area I was in Flexo's neighborhood, and finally when I neared Manayunk I thought of Claire in Mt Airy.

Did I miss anyone?

Class of 1985 Reunion

Despite all the traveling woes this past weekend I had such a great time at my 20th high school reunion that it was well worth it. I can be pretty introverted but I genuinely enjoyed talking to everyone that night. So many people were so happy and looked great and had beautiful kids...it was crazy. Maybe it was the booze, but I was just digging on everyone. I think that there was just something so moving about having witnessed all of these people at the most vulnerable times in their lives and being able to experience them now - at least most people there seemed very comfortable with themselves.

I'm usually horrible at small talk but I managed that night because I was quizzing folks on where they live (and have lived) in an effort to add places to the relocation-noodling-list. Tucson, AZ is still on the short list and I even found myself nostalgic about Philadelphia (but that's firmly in the "need more info" bucket). Ann Arbor, MI and Syracuse, NY had potential but the intelligence I got this weekend nixed them with a "too cold" verdict.

Speaking of other cities, I think I'm going to need a larger travel budget next year as I am determined to visit some folks that live farther than a car trip after seeing them this weekend. I'll need to find ways to have both the time and money to go to at least London and San Francisco...and if possible, even places like Ann Arbor and Tuscon.

In reviewing expenses...we did pretty good. I met up with my besties beforehand and another friend and his wife joined us at Parental Abode A where we noshed and chilled before the big event. I bought my tickets ahead of time ($60 each) and we received two drink tickets a piece. Since my first two drinks tasted watered down I was enormously grateful when Margaret gave me hers. And then I was handed a ticket found on the floor (thanks Rich...I think!). I swear I am a two drink kind of gal...and I had five. Um. But they were all free!

When we left we found a ticket on the one car we all squeezed into (mind...doh!) because we hadn't put money in the meter. In Boston, meters are free after 6pm so we didn't even think to check. Oops. It was a $20 ticket but one of my friends gave LaLa money to pay it. Her parents had taken her to the family safety deposit box earlier and she was able to cash a $25 savings bond given to her long ago and net well over $100 so she was feeling flush. Compound interest can really be exhilarating.

Since we were all starving we stopped at the WaWa on our way to Parental Abode B and stocked up on hoagies and snacks. We hadn't allowed the organic farmer among us to get cash so I sprung for her tab too - our total was a little over $15. Parental Abode B belongs to the farmer's parents and even if they weren't away for the weekend we *still* would have all had our own beds...and saving the cost of even a single hotel night really made a difference. And of course eating hoagies and Tastycake butterscotch krimpets at 2am with friends who have known you since you were 15 (and younger) is really priceless. Breakfast (for three of us) was just under $20 and then we all hit the road ending our official reunion festivities.

I will do an official total when I can access the gas (via my credit card downloads) and toll (via EZPass) totals but the total reunion cost for me was definitely under $200. Whew. And did I mention I had a good time?

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Psychic Thanksgiving

They already know what you're thankful for.

HSBC Online Savings and Me

I found HSBC's online account setup for their Online Savings account a little better than EmigrantDirect's process but it was not without glitches for me.

The initial online application was pretty smooth, and they do let you save an application and complete it at a later time which is nice. And they deposited over $1.50 total into my checking account during the test deposit verification phase (way more than ING...and Emigrant immediately withdraws their amounts).

The glitches for me arose when I was setting up bank to bank transfers and when trying to activate transaction download for this account to Quicken.

During my application I chose NOT to receive an ATM card connected to this (savings) account. It would have been a debit card and I hate those. While I can see it being a convenient feature to withdraw cash from a savings account via ATM (and/or a financially ruinous one!) I didn't see a need for this account and how I intend to use it.

The rub comes when you are setting up a security key (this is in addition to your password) which is necessary for activating bank to bank transfers (basically all ACH transfers etc). After choosing a security key between 8 and 20 characters (the length was a drag because you have to CLICK a mini keyboard with your mouse instead of type - talk about carpal tunnel!) and entering it twice, the next page asks you to type in....

....the number on your ATM card and your pin. doh. Pretty annoying. However, I called their customer service and the rep was able to bypass that screen for me in real-time during another run. Whew! Problem solved.

I quickly added Emigrant Direct and Wainwright Bank to my external accounts. They have an interface that allows you to search by name or type in the routing/transit number. The kicker is that ING Direct cannot be added for some reason. I tried searching by a few variants on the name, and of course by typing in their routing number and no dice...period. I will follow up on that with them, but allowing name searches to locate transit numbers was a pretty nice touch.

My final problem occurred while trying to establish transaction download via Quicken. I could not locate my letter from them that included their transit number (ah the clutter rears its ugly head). I had just asked the rep for the number when LaLa plunked the letter next to me (and I'm usually the Finder of Lost Things) AND Cap was kind enough to email it to me after my plea for help on his site.

In the meantime, I tried all zeroes to see if Quicken would work anyway (after all I had my account number correct and website login info etc) and I got an error. After learning the number (HSBC routing/transit number is: 022000020) I updated my settings in Quicken...and still got an error that my connection was refused. I de-activated and re-activated and got the same thing. Which is where I am stuck until I am willing to spend another 15 minutes on the phone waiting for a rep.

If I have to have an ATM card to download my transactions into Quicken I am going to scream.

Thanking My First Commenter :)

I love the idea of thanking your first commenter, so I'm glad I saw Jim mention it (who saw it on Flexo's site, but since B comes before C in ye olde RSS reader I saw Jim's first of course). I think everyone should join in the fun!

Technically my partner LaLa was my first commenter on a very early post about Yodlee, but since I probably begged her to do it ;) I don't think that counts.

So my official thanks go to Jonathan from My Money Blog who offered up a short and sweet congratulations on my stated February accomplishments that made my day:

Congratulations! Starting is the key, and it looks like you are off to a good one.

Jonathan@MyMoneyBlog

Of course JLP was hot on his heels and I believe he may have been the first blog to link to me.

Thanks guys!

...or Not Just Yet

We were supposed to leave at about 9:30 this morning but due to a combination of staying up a little later than we should have last night and a morning filled with poor communication (oops) we hit the road about 11:20-ish.

We drove about an hour before the Mass Pike turned into a parking lot...about 16 or so miles from the exit to I-84. We were averaging about 10 miles an hour so when we got to the exit for Auburn (one before I-84 which was another 10 miles give or take) we realized it might take us an hour to get to I-84 and we had to pee already. Since it was already mid-day and we hadn't even hit Hartford yet I knew it was only going to get worse.

It was looking like a replay of my last experience traveling on the Wednesday before thanksgiving (19 years ago) where a 3.5 hr ride between Hartford and NJ took over 8 hours. I swore I would never do it again. Sigh...the things we do to catch up with old friends.

We pulled off the road and had a quick and cheap bite at Wendy's (their JR burgers are inexpensive) and decided to officially turn around and try to get to NJ tomorrow morning. It turns out that LaLa didn't *really* believe me when I tried to impress upon her the level of suckitude possible if we didn't hit the road early enough. She does now ;)

The financial upside is that we will need fewer visits by the catsitter (at $16 a pop) and driving in that level of traffic probably would have resulted in using much more gas than usual to make the drive. I don't know why I didn't think of this weeks ago.

Off to NJ & Philly

It feels like I just got home from Florida and we're off again...

I'll be spending thanksgiving at my parents house with my family in NJ then heading to the Philadelphia area for my 20th high school reunion. Apparently Manayunk is all the rage if you are planning a reunion...just in case you needed that tidbit.

I just spent some time perusing the reunion site and reading up on people's bios. What really struck me was a really good number of people noted that they really loved what they were doing. Some fell into it and yet some had a long journey. I've always known that I am not doing what I love (though I do really enjoy certain aspects of it) but after this year of focus on my finances what really struck me tonight is that the only thing keeping me from doing what I love...is the fact that I still don't know what I love doing.

Maybe I can spend 2006 focused on that...and building my emergency cash cushion of course!

First $5 from Pinecone Research

Thanks to Jonathan's post about Pinecone's open recruitment week I now have my first $5 and have completed my first survey. I won't be raking in the bucks but since I'm so opinionated, why not get a teensy bit of compensation ;) I also hope to get some free food products out of the deal. yum.

Mysterious $232

Last week we received a check from the lawyers who did our first closing - 4 years ago - for $232. They claim that upon auditing their records, a check from our closing made out to the city has not yet been cashed...hence the "refund". Except there is no line item within the closing paperwork that would correspond to this amount.

They also did our first refinance (we refinanced our "construction loan" to a conventional after our kitchen remodel was completed) and I haven't yet checked that paperwork for this amount but I suppose it's possible they mixed up our two closings.

The city did misallocate some tax money (owed by the previous owner) during that time period, and the lawyer's office was not the most organized about getting us what we needed to prove to the city that we paid (and despite proof the city still wouldn't budge...THANK GOD for title insurance!) but that's not the right amount either.

Color me confused...and so I am reluctant to consider this money fully ours...but it does arrive at a low cash flow point so the timing is eerily welcome.

Nearly Halfway with Roth

Today I made another $520 deposit into my Roth IRA to bring my 2005 contribution to $1950, just $50 shy of the halfway mark (and technically 48.75%). I flirted with scrounging up another $50, but Grant was having none of my minxy ways because the reality is I just don't think I have it this month. Ah well. I am still on target....Save-o-Meter is steady and holding.

November and December are going to be one wild ride.

Masters of the High Seas!

I just finished analyzing our trip expenditures and despite the fabulous hospitality and generosity of our friends and the Disney Employee Discount Superpowers, in particular, of Mrs. Gnome - we came in a little over budget. Here's an account of our travels and our spending.

Day 0 - Head to Florida
With $310.80 in tickets purchased in early September behind us, the only other expense was $2.50 in tolls getting from the airport to Chez Gnome. They provided pizza upon our arrival and everything was right with the world because we had both pepperoni AND BBQ chicken pizzas. Total so far: $313.30

Day 1 - Magic Kingdom
Not only did we have free access to the park, we were with true pros. The sherpa of sherpas. We were able to hit the ride highlights, buy a few tchotchkes, eat a reasonably priced lunch (considering) and have a great time without breaking the main bank. We were treated to a great dinner at Ohana that included unlimited meat on a skewer. TG really knows how to pick 'em. Sadly, Mrs. G was called away in the afternoon to attend a work emergency and she was sorely missed during our Polynesian repast. Here's what we spent:

$13.38 lunch & snacks
$27.49 disney doodads (antenna balls, pez dispensers, etc -- $15.87 more spent on gifts for others, but I'm not counting that as "vacation" spending)

$40.87 total spent at Disneyworld -- not too shabby!

Day 2 - Disney Quest
We were treated to breakfast at the diner in downtown Celebration (The Gnomes were working their discounts and coupons something *fierce* - it was a sight to behold) and I had my first ever biscuits and sausage gravy (yum). We walked around the farmer's market and LaLa and I shared a macaroon sold by a French baker. We got the tour of the town, hit a few open houses because we all like that sort of thing, then headed to Disney Quest which is basically a huge "interactive" gaming and arcade type attraction. Aside from experiencing a dream come true (free Galaga - a fantasy since 6th grade) I had the best time on the games we all played together. We squeezed in a final go at Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for Buccaneer Gold and aced it, achieving "Masters of the High Seas" ranking and beating the group before us by 2 pieces of eight (yar!). We took the crew out to Buca di Beppo for dinner to celebrate our newfound mastery and indulge in an overabundance of garlicky Italian yumminess...and shots of Limoncello.

$1.00 - farmer's market macaroon
$145.18 - dinner for 4

Day 3 - Grandparent Visit
Alas, we had to leave the Gnomes and head up to Orange City to visit my grandparents in their new home. They live about an hour north and we arrived in time for lunch. We helped them unpack a few remaining bits and bobs and helped them set up their brand new TV. After they took us out to dinner (insisting we pay got us nowhere) and we spent some time hanging out and watching an episode of House (which will make the Travel Gnome very happy) we headed to our quirky but inexpensive hotel in a nearby...um..."spiritualist camp" (did I mention it was inexpensive?!?).

$56.25 - hotel ...that employs its own mediums... $13.75 under budget though :)

Day 4 - Homeward Bound
We spent some more time with my grandparents in the morning after LaLa had taken some photos of our hotel and surroundings for posterity. I think my grandparents thought we were nuts to stay there but they did seem to be the cheapest bed in the area (and were well rated online). We headed for the airport and then home, incurring all sorts of annoying expenses along the way...

$16.49 - gas to fill up the rental car tank
$0.75 - toll
$136.17 - rental car (reserved a focus, received a 500)
$13.54 - lunch & snacks (and a USA today so I'd have a sudoku to do)
$72.00 - "economy" parking at Logan airport for 3.5 days
$128.00 - check for pet care

Summary - Trip Cost: $923.55 ($23.55 over budget)
We might have been able to save more had we stayed an extra night with the Gnomes and not at the freaky psychic hotel with the really firm bed. My grandparents were only an hour away and they do go to bed early...but...honestly it was nice to see them in the morning for more time. We also could have passed on our few little gazingus pins we bought in the park, but I am now the proud owner of a Nemo antenna topper, and as uncessary a thing as that is...I love it (lucky fin and all). All in all we had a great time and it was worth every penny.

Yar!

Off to See the Gnomes

I'll be out of town for a few days visiting the Travel Gnome (and meeting Mrs. Gnome) and visiting my grandparents in their new home. I will have internet access and intend to post about my trip's budget vs expenses. This is the first trip where we've had a very specific budget to adhere to, so it should be interesting (well, at least for me!)

We're also trying to fit in a quick pass by Costco to pick up our new glasses...so we can look extra stylish for the Gnomes.

Why I Choose Cash Vs Miles

I know a lot of people who are huge fans of their credit cards with reward miles, and I myself charge all of my business expenses to my Amex Delta SkyMiles card. But right now, I feel I am getting the most out of my Citi Platinum Dividend card. Here's why...

I have very little experience using rewards tickets. I can muddle through the process, but I can't even guarantee myself a 1% return on my dollars spent on the card when I exchange miles for a ticket. It's getting harder and harder to find an available reward ticket given the industry's problems so I don't need the extra challenge (even with the Travel Gnome helping me)

I want to be guaranteed a better than 1% return...which is where my Citi card comes in. We don't do much pharmacy spending, but with the 5% back on both gas and groceries we accrue about $15-20 each month and then of course 1% on everything else we spend which usually adds another $10 give or take because we put almost *everything* on this card.

The plan is to cash out the rewards every $50+ and stuff it somewhere earning 4% (or in my Roth). Since I've only had the card since August, I've only been able to do this once so far, but I think I'll be able to cash out again in late December.

Then I can do anything I want with the money....buy cheap airline tickets or even shares of PAXWX!

It's just what works for me and turns my crank. To each his or her own. But for me, the key points still remain:

• Greater than 1% return
• Gas costs 5% less
• Groceries cost 5% less

(the 3 Gs? LOL)

The card (like many other "cash rewards" cards) is running a promotion through the end of the year for 5% cash back on "department store" purchases. I'm not sure if I do much holiday shopping in department stores, their definition is as follows (according to the promotional terms):

Department Stores are defined as large stand-alone merchants selling a general line of merchandise from departments that usually have separate checkout counters

And the merchant has to ID as a department store. I wonder if Target counts? Or. Gasp.

IKEA.

Probably not IKEA. Whew. THAT was close.

Actually...the Tivo was FREE

When I finally looked at how much we paid for the Tivo, it was less than the $199.99 list price at Best Buy. We paid $188.99 after tax. So with the $150 mail-in rebate and the $38.85 towards service from the Best Buy gift card we were down to 14c but we'll eventually get $1.88 back via Citi Dividend rebate.

So all netted out, we actually *made* $1.74

And it looks like Best Buy and Tivo are running the same deal through Saturday so this is a great time to snag a 40-hr model if you've been wanting one. Do note that Tivo now requires either a year committment if you pay monthly or you still have the option of purchasing a lifetime service (for the machine) at $299.

We actually signed up for the lifetime (the Best Buy gift card technically applies to this cost or 3 months of monthly service) since we figure we'll own this tivo for more than 2 years (we owned the series 1 for at least four years). If things change, tivos with lifetime service have a high resale value on ebay, so it felt like the right choice.

It did register a blip in my "utilities" column in October (what? you dont think tivo service is a utility?) but luckily I have money to cover it without even going near Save-O-Meter money. So now we can also reduce our monthly expenses by $12.95.

Interestingly, Tivo is getting competitive with it's subscription service...if you have Tivo and are paying monthly at $12.95, it's worth a call to see if they will lower it to the $6.95 "2nd tivo" price. This happened to a co-worker of mine when he called to cancel because he got a PVR through his cable company.

....And Costco for MEAT!

No, I won't be posting next about Costco for Plasma TVs (which I hear use a lot of electricity...who knew?)

But we bought a 5.5 lb beef boneless rib eye roast for a little over $36, cut it into 6 "slices" and we automagically now have 6 (nearly) 1lb Delmonico Steaks for $6 each. This is a little more than half what it costs at the grocery store. We usually split 1lb steaks between the two of us so by storing 5 of them in the freezer we're good for five more meals.

We had some awesome ahi tuna steaks from Costco tonight for dinner, but if I raved about them I'd just start sounding like a fanatic. Which I'm not. Really. (the tuna was really tasty.)

Carnival of Debt Reduction #8

Jonathan at MyMoneyBlog has done a great job writing up the 8th Carnival of Debt Reduction.

Both You Need A Budget and Frugal for Life make the point that you need a plan, and you need to execute your plan. I agree that executing your plan is much more important than which "type" of plan you choose. Dawn also highlights some other good strategies from Mary Hunt for avoiding debt and getting rid of it.

No Credit Needed adds "waiting" to a debt avoidance strategy which can be a key step to getting through those impulse purchase moments. I know my life seems to unravel in every facet when things feel like they're going to fast...slowing down has holistic benefits that go beyond the wallet.

There's more were those came from!

IKEA is Coming!

Scandinavian design is coming to Boston with a vengeance!

I have been waiting for an Ikea to open anywhere near Boston for about 5 years now. After several years and all sorts of crap from some folks in Somerville, Ikea was able to get a store going on the Stoughton/Avon line which is about a half hour from my house (instead of a 3.5 hour drive to say...Paramus, NJ)

I was reading the latest at the Budgeting Babe in which she writes about a recent Ikea trip and I was inspired to check and see if they had posted an opening date for the one near me.

It's this WEDNESDAY people!

I'm not rushing there to blow my emergency fund or anything, but I do need a stylish yet affordable desk lamp and I'm thinking that's the place. And if I ever get to the point where I am doing small renovations on properties in this area...you can't beat Ikea kitchen stuff for that purpose.

swoon.

Carnival of Personal Finance #21

The 21st Carnival of Personal Finance is up over at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity and Jim's done a fine job hosting yet another full carnival. Go check it out!

Costco for Eyeglasses

I think the last time I purchased eyeglasses as a kit and kaboodle eight years ago (don't worry, I've had the lenses replaced since then) they cost me over $300. It was something like $200+ for the frames and over $100 for the lenses.

I knew I'd be going to Costco this time around and I budgeted $200 for a new pair of eyeglasses...and I came in under budget! w00t!

My lenses were about $75-ish since I got the hi-index hoobidy-joo instead of the $50 poly-whatsis. Given my prescription, this meant my lenses would be significantly lighter and I wear them all the time, so it felt worth the extra cash. The anti-glare coating was another $30. I am always on the fence about buying the coating because it scratches so easily and then it looks like crapola, but I haven't tried it in a while...I thought I'd give it another shot.

And the frames were about $55! And I promise they are styleesh. Some of the "fancier" brand name frames were about $100 but even that is a great price for frames that easily pass $200 at regular retail stores.

My grand total: $159.97

$40 under budget! And boy will I need that $40 cuz here come the spendy months...

$9.99 Netflix - I did it

I love me my Netflix, but when I analyzed my usage I realized that my itensive DVD watching happens in waves.

When LaLa and I are plowing through a TV series that was cruelly yanked from the airwaves before the masses had time to realize it's true genius (exhibit A: Freaks and Geeks, exhibit B: Popular, exhibit C: Karen Sisc--oh right, not on DVD ) well then we need the 3-out subscription so we can really make time. Watching TV this way is quite enjoyable...we can watch many episodes in one sitting until our eyes glaze over or we fall asleep. And no commercials! It's almost like video on demand but at 56k ("it only takes a day for the movie to arrive!"). When we are in this mode we are highly efficient at turning discs around and it's well worth the cost.

But when we are just trying to catch up on movies, it's slower going. It's due to many factors but movie watching is more concentrated on the weekends and this plays a part. And we rarely watch more than one movie in a weekend...so if we aren't able squeeze movies in during the week, we're talking about 4-6 movies tops in a month.

We'll be doing a lot of traveling over the next couple of months and that $9.99 monthly rate was just begging to be mine. So the day before my new billing cycle I changed my subscription to the $9.99 rate ($10.49 with tax for me) which allows me to have only one movie out at a time, but unlimited rentals within a month. If I rent 3 movies in each month I about break even, but there's the opportunity to rent as many as 7 give or take (my turnaround is one day).

I figure I will change it as needed, but primarily stay at this level. But I think if we ever start watching Gilmore Girls we're really gonna have to bust out the 3-out again ;)