Cheap Ways To ...

It's easy to notice a spender. Whether it's the new car, up-to-the-minute fashion or stacks of take-out in the fridge, people who spend money stand out. People who save wear a quiet badge of honor. This Baltimore Sun columnist lists seven habits of highly effective savers, if you will, including:

• Creed: Pay yourself first.

• Goal: Some long-term or short-term idea to inspire savings.

• Tracking system: Keep close tabs on the money.

• Opportunity: Take advantage of employer benefits, like 401(k)s, and benefits-laden debit or credit cards.

• Monthly Payoffs: Credit cards are for convenience (and sometimes rewards), but balances are paid off before interest is accrued.

• Fun: Bargain-hunting becomes a hobby or sport, making saving a pleasurable pursuit.

Posted by Cara Davis at 09:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Buy my book, Cheap Ways to Tie the Knot, for just $8.50—including shipping! Click here for details.

Posted by Cara Davis at 07:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Amazon.com is offering a new program called Fulfillment by Amazon that’s idea for small business owners. Basically, you send Amazon your inventory and they’ll ship orders for you.

For owners who are bogged down in this area—from the time involved in shipping products, to the space problem of housing inventory, it’s a good solution. Amazon has nearly perfected the art of fulfillment in the U.S.

Sellers are paying to ship their goods twice—but for those with the aforementioned needs, it’ll be worth it. Plus, this article in the New York Times says it can increase revenues, “Using Fulfillment by Amazon to sell on Amazon’s third-party marketplace qualifies products for the shipping discounts the company offers buyers, which typically improves sales.”

Posted by Cara Davis at 06:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A Columbus, Ohio, startup carrier called Skybus is offering 10 seats for $10 each on each of its flights starting next month. Industry experts are keeping a close eye on the public's response. If it catches on, it could apply pressure to other carriers to offer even more extreme savings. Skybus current flies to nine airports in the United States, and any extra service you want (checking bags, soft drinks, etc.) will be additional. Their regular fares will be low-cost as well—$40 or $50 before taxes.

Posted by Cara Davis at 12:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Legislators in Florida are working toward a ban on expiration dates and dormancy fees for gift cards, according to a story in the Orlando Sentinel. Florida is the latest in a string of several states, including California, moving in this direction.

One study cited in this story says the value of unredeemed gift cards and certificates could be as high as $430 million in Florida.

This follows a settlement the Federal Trade Commission reached a with Darden Restaurants earlier this month to remove dormancy fees that had been charged to its cards. It even alleged that Darden “used deceptive practices in the marketing and selling of its cards.”

Darden’s spokesperson said they complied back in October and support the Florida gift-card legislation.

Other restaurants and retailers have also voluntarily dropped their restrictions—and Rick McAllister, president of the Florida Retail Federation, said many its members only had them in the first place for accounting reasons.

Posted by Cara Davis at 12:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Through May 2, Dell Dimension E520 desktops are $280 off (use this e-value code: DDDWAR4—that info's also on the website). This specific model (which uses Intel® CoreTM 2 Duo processor) is rated as a "best buy" by Consumer Reports for features, performance and price point.

The deal also includes a 20-inch widescreen digital flat panel monitor, which is a nice upgrade. Again, their offer expires 5/2/2007.

Posted by Cara Davis at 11:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Beginning this week, Publix is offering free store-brand products when you purchase select brand-name products. Each week for the next five weeks, they will designate three products—this week it's grape juice, crunchy raisin bran and English muffins. See more info here: http://www.publix.com/publixbrand/

Posted by Cara Davis at 06:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

While we're on the subject of "free," check out this service if you haven't already. Freecyle.org is a grassroots network of communities who post items they want to give away, and in return, get items they're interested in. I have signed up for two of my local areas, Apopka and Altamonte Springs. I get a daily email of postings. You have to have a Yahoo email account (or sign up for a free one) to join.

Posted by Cara Davis at 12:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Looking for a free place to crash? Here are two websites that serve as networks for folks looking for free places to spend the night around the world:

CouchSurfing.com
GlobalFreeloaders.com

Has anyone used these services?

Posted by Cara Davis at 12:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In honor of Earth Day, Home Depot is giving away free Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs (CFL) at its stores tomorrow, April 22. Click here for details.

Posted by Cara Davis at 09:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Announcing a Cheap Ways to Tie the Knot Book Clearance Sale!

For a limited time, order copies of my book, Cheap Ways to Tie the Knot, for just $8.50 (includes shipping!)—that’s almost 40% off the retail price! (Payment accepted through PayPal. See bottom of this post.)

I just bought a box of my books at a discounted rate through my publisher, and I’m passing the savings onto my faithful blog readers.

• Makes a great engagement gift
• Doubles as a party-planning book
• Must-read for engaged couples—covers wedding, honeymoon and married budgets!

Here’s what others have said:

“…a practical, hands-on guide to designing a fun and memorable wedding experience that won’t cost an arm and a leg.” —Holly Ordway, founder, www.spendingwisely.com

“Cara has written a guide on how to cut back on the cash without skimping on the class, and she does so by using easy, practical suggestions.” —Julie Anne Fidler, author, Adventures in Holy Matrimony

“This book offers tons of ideas for spending your cash and encourages couples to skip the silly attempts at upscaling.” —Katie Meier, author, A Girl’s Guide to Life

Amazon.com reviews:

“I'm a fan of anything that helps me organize, and this book's checklists and budget sheets were extremely useful. The other books (and magazines) I'd considered were more about including every possible tradition and fad into my wedding, whereas this one helped me take a look at what would mean something to my now-spouse and myself.”

“Cara Davis presents three different levels of wedding planning, in both cost and logistics: bargain, budget, and bling.”

“I believe this book will be most useful to brides who are feeling the pressure from mainstream wedding periodicals full of advertisements for the biggest and most expensive everything. Cheap Ways to Tie the Knot offers refreshing alternatives, and even peace, for wedding planning.”

“An awesomely arranged mix of advice, d.i.y. tips and lifetime help into the pages of this book. She knows her stuff and does a very good, concise job of explaining and helping along the way.”

“Cara Davis does a stellar job at making a labor-intensive, painful experience seem like quite a bit less than that with her tips, tricks and humble advice through the pages of this book. I highly recommend this book to anyone.”

“This is the best bridal bargain book I have read- it goes so much more in depth than most books, and gives options for people who don't have tons of talented cake baking picture taking friends.”

“Cheap Ways to Tie The Knot is a FAR better overall planner than Bridal Bargains and more up-to-date (stylewise) than How To Have A Big Wedding On A Small Budget.”

“This is one of the only books I've ever seen which addresses financial planning for the marriage, not just the wedding.”

PAYPAL INSTRUCTIONS

Go to PayPal, log-on or create an account. Click on the “send money” tab and fill in the following fields and select continue. Once your transaction is complete, expect the package in 3-7 days.

Recipient's Email: my personal email address (alamaui@hotmail.com)

Amount: $8.50
Currency: U.S. Dollars
Category of Purchase: Goods
Email Subject: Cheap Ways to Tie the Knot
Note: Your name and mailing address

Posted by Cara Davis at 02:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I am loving this website, YouSendIt.com. A printer I sent something to today had me send the files to him this way. It's for larger files that won't go through email ... You don't have to spend money on overnighting discs, and you don't have to use a clunky, complicated ftp program.

You just put in the email address of the person you want to email, your email address and attach the file with a message and hit send. It's a free service to use the basics. You can upgrade for more complicated file-sending.

Posted by Cara Davis at 04:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

It's "Free Cone Day" at Ben & Jerry's. Visit their website for locations.

Posted by Cara Davis at 09:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I received an email from a Cheap Ways to Tie the Knot reader named Esteban last night. His girlfriend bought him the book as they plan on getting engaged and having a wedding in Hawaii. “We are thinking of having our wedding in Kona, Hawaii because her parents currently have a condo and live part of the year there,” he wrote. “She also has some sentimental reasons for wanting it there. I want it to be wherever she'll be happy, and Hawaii is pretty awesome. It would be outdoors, with the ocean behind us. We are going to be on a budget and we still need to research but $5,000 would be ideal. I currently live in Dallas, TX, and my girlfriend is moving here in some months. She is in Hawaii right now and is trying to find out as much information as possible.”

He asked what advice I could post on the site about “cheap ways to get married somewhere that's far away and still be on a budget.” One of his main concerns was the cost for friends and family members to get there.

In addition to my advice in this post, please post your ideas for Esteban and others to check out!

Pros:

• Destination weddings cost, on average, about 40 percent less than the traditional wedding. The reason this is so is because the guest list is drastically reduced (just closest friends and family come) and the bride and groom don’t usually cover travel expenses (airfare, hotel, etc.) for their guests.

• Additionally, if the destination wedding is planned at a resort, usually the package will include all the details—saving time and headaches for the couple.

• And on top of that, usually the couple honeymoons at the same place the wedding is, saving on additional travel costs.

Cons:

• Only a handful attend the wedding.

• It can be a financial burden for friends and family.

• You have less control over the planning details.

The couple must weigh what’s more important to them. For Esteban, it sounds like a big “pro” in his situation is that her parents have a condo (offsetting hotel costs). The location and style of reception they choose will make or break the $5,000 budget. This also depends on if one can "stage" their own wedding on a public beach, or if they have to go through a resort or agency.

However, the biggest question mark as he brought up, is the travel expenses for their guests. This is a valid concern since Hawaii is a top honeymoon destination. One way to offset the cost is to have the wedding in a shoulder or off-season (mid-April to mid-June and Sept. to mid-Dec. (The ironic thing about those seasons in Hawaii is that the weather is better. Read more about that here.)

A quick search for an airfare from Dallas to Kona (on sample dates June 15-18, 2007) show that the cheapest round trip ticket is $868. One could also try Priceline.com.

If everyone can swing the travel expenses, here are some additional tips on saving money on the actual wedding:

• Go local. From food to flowers, look for locally sourced products and you’ll eliminate shipping costs.

• Think vegetarian for the food—in Hawaii, this should be delicious. Also, fish is usually cheaper than beef for wedding receptions and Hawaii is known for its delicious local varieties of fish.

• Get casual. The more casual the affair, the less expensive resources will be. A beach wedding will fit this style perfectly.

• Friendly faces. Ask a friends or family members who are flying to the wedding to do the photography, make-up, music and anything else you can think of—but only if you feel absolutely comfortable with this. If not, I’m sure there are a plethora of local wedding vendors who will be happy to take your money. Ask around and get referrals.

Additional articles:

Save on the Wedding, Spend on the House

Destination Wedding How-Tos

BOOK REVIEW: The Knot offers guide to destination weddings

Honeymooner's Review Guide Visits 5 Kauai Resorts Searching for that Perfect Wedding and Honeymoon Resort

Couples ditch tradition for exotic island weddings

Google search: Kona Weddings

Posted by Cara Davis at 05:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

A reader posted a comment asking how the Orlando Organics is going. I've been meaning to post about that. Just this past week, I placed our account "on hold" online, so we won't receive another delivery until I undo.

I've been very happy with the service and the produce. We even share part of our goods each week with one of my coworkers who pays for her share. However, I'm finding that there are too many items that we just don't care for. I'm a pretty picky eater and there are just some staples that we like to eat. Sometimes there are too many greens and they go to waste. Or we end up not liking a different fruit than we're used to. And we'd only get a handful of bananas and I was having to go to the store to buy more each week.

It's been fun trying new things but I think I'm going to go back to buying at the grocery store or at a farmer's market (which I did this week). The best part about the experience has been that it has us in the habit of eating more fresh fruits and vegetables. And the way the account is set up online, all I have to do is reactivate our account with the click of a button and our service can resume.

Posted by Cara Davis at 09:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Buy a burrito from Chipotle on the 14th or 15th, pick up a BurritoEZ-FWI form while you're there and attach the receipt, then return on April 16th for a free burrito.

Posted by Cara Davis at 12:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A savvy Cheap Ways To reader named Buddy Overstreet sent in this fabulous tip. I love the creativity and the excellent and economical execution of the idea. Enjoy!

“I really enjoy your ‘Cheap Ways To’ ideas and wanted to share our recent ‘cheap’ success.

“We were looking for an economical ‘save the date’ card to mail to our guests for our summer wedding. I dabble in graphic design so I was convinced we could do something on the cheap. We liked the idea of a photo booth concept so I put my design skills into action. We took a bunch of photos of us in different fun poses holding the signs ‘we're’ ‘getting’ ‘married’, and the date. I then laid it out in photoshop with the look of a strip of photos from a photobooth. So far no money spent, but no product yet either.

“The savings really happened on the printing. I laid my finished product out on a 4X6 file (I could fit two strips) and uploaded the jpg to snap fish. I then ordered the prints from snapfish and was able to pick them up in an hour from my local Walgreens. I got 150 photos (300 total photostrips) for $30 and I didn't even have to pay for shipping. I thought this was an incredible value for the quality of a photo print job. It definitely beats the printing on the home deskjet. I included a picture of our card.

“Thanks for all the economical inspiration.”

Thanks for sending this in, Buddy!

Posted by Cara Davis at 06:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

My friend Nita recently recovered/upholstered her dining room chairs—updated them from an old-fashioned looking floral to a modern stripe. Each chair would cost approximately $200 to be professionally recovered. “I decided to bite the bullet and take a stab at it myself,” she says. “It wasn't really that hard. Now, I know they are perfect/totally professional, but most people will never know the difference. I am pretty happy with them. Now the colors blend well with the family room and kitchen. It makes me happy:)” Thanks for sharing your project with us, Nita!

Posted by Cara Davis at 06:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I’m reading Half-Price Living, a new book from Moody Publishers by a Christian author named Ellie McKay (www.elliekay.com). The book is super practical and has good advice about living on one income. She has five kids, too! Her website has good links to coupon and saving money sites.

A friend has recommended I check out The Complete Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczyn. The friend who suggested it said “some of her suggestions are a little ‘out there’, and I would never consider them (like not using my dryer because it saves $179 a year), but most of her suggestions are really good and practical. She, in essence, went from a spend-thrift to a tightwad in order to live in a farm house in Connecticut. You might enjoy it.” I told her I’d check it out from the library!

Posted by Cara Davis at 04:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)