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Meal Planning to Save Money

With today’s high bills and struggling economy, many of us are trying to tighten our belts a bit. One of the most variable items in many budgets is the food bill. While no one wants to just eat rice and beans, planning out your meals can cut your food costs and provide you and your family with more nutritious food. You can also save time by cooking smarter, using tools you probably already own, and shopping less.

Making your own menus will save you more than money. How many times have you found yourself back at the grocery store because you didn’t have the ricotta for a lasagna or were missing the lemon juice you needed? Maybe you dial that pizza delivery more than you would like. Regardless, a meal plan will allow you to shop efficiently, avoiding extra trips to the store. It will also allow you to take advantage of sales and specials and use your time wisely. Perhaps you can make two of a casserole or dish and freeze one, or do some extra prep on the weekend for busy weekday meals.

You only need a few tools to plan meals and menus. First, make a list of favorite recipes. Add a few that you are interested in or want to try as well. Choose a variety of types of meals, and meals with a wide range of preparation requirements when you make this list. You may want to include take out, dinners out, or quick, convenience foods in your list for nights when time is just too tight to cook. You also need a planner, calendar or printable on-line menu, whichever suits your needs. Finally, your local grocery ads are the last thing you need if you want to save.

Look at what is on sale in your area and any coupons you might have. Keep in mind that you can use coupons on sale products and that some stores will match competitors’ prices, helping you to save valuable shopping time. There is even a service that for a small fee will tell you what to buy when in your area to make the most of your savings, at grocerygame.com.

Another way meal planning can help you save is by allowing you to use foods that are inexpensive, but may be too time consuming without some forethought. Often, tougher cuts of meat work very well for slow cooking, using a slow cooker or a slow simmer on the stove. You might also plan to bake cookies for the kids’ lunches instead of buying treats or take the time to cook dry beans instead of buying canned.

Planning for leftovers is ideal. If you bake a ham or roast a chicken on Monday, reuse the meat in other forms on Tuesday and Wednesday. Monday’s chicken and mashed potatoes can become Tuesday’s chicken pot pie and Thursday’s chicken noodle soup. This will allow you to stretch your food dollars as much as possible thanks to smart planning.

If you often find yourself asking what’s for dinner at 5:30 on Wednesday night, a meal plan can save you time, trouble and keep more money in your pocket. You can even reuse your family menu from month to month to save time, or change it seasonally if you prefer. Taking the time to figure out family dinners before that night will make everyone’s life easier and make healthy meals a joy instead of a chore.

What is the Meaning of an R9 Credit Rating?

When you view your credit report, you will notice status indicators next to each account listed. With revolving credit accounts, they range from "R0" to "R9". The "R" stands for a "revolving" (charge) account. If the account is an individual account, it will show "I", and mortgage accounts will show an "M".

"R9" means that particular account has passed 120 days late, is very delinquent, and has been written off as a bad debt by that company. The bad debt is either charged off or sent on to collections. This does not mean, however, that you do not have to pay this account, or that the company cannot continue to try to collect the balance due.

R9 credit rating remains on your credit report until it drops off after seven years. Until that happens, you will be unlikely to qualify for any new loans or credit accounts. The "R" scale is progressive, from R0 for new accounts, and R1 for current accounts, and up for each period of lateness, or an R7 payment plan, R8 repossession, or R9 charge off/collection. Where you want to be on every account is in the R1 category.

By showing the "R" scale, potential lenders communicate to each other valuable information about your payment history activity, from which they can determine credit worthiness and risk in repayment of any new loan or credit account. You can pay off an R9 account, and request in writing via certified letter to have the company or collection agency notify your credit reporting agency (one of the "big 3" agencies (Experian, Equifax, Trans Union) to remove the R9 rating.

Giving you an R9 credit rating is mean, but it is required of credit card lenders by federal law to avoid inflating company future earnings projections. You earned it by being a poor credit risk and not paying your balance due. It is unlikely that you can get the R9 removed from your account, even after paying off the balance due. Your report may show “account paid” or a zero balance due, but the R9 classification will remain. Therefore it is in your interest to be informed about the “R” system, and avoid being so late that you are marked with an irretrievable R9.

It is valuable to check your credit reports from time to time. You are entitled to a free report from each of the Big 3 (Experian, Equifax, Trans Union) once a year from www.annualcreditreport.com. If you get one report from one agency every four months throughout the year, you can keep a good handle on your report and its accuracy. If you see anything except an "R1" rating, get right on that problem before it progresses further.

Like anything else on the market, credit accounts are a “buyer beware” situation. Use it carefully and benefit from your good credit score, or abuse the system and suffer the negative results. An R9 credit rating will disappear over time, but in the interim, credit privileges may be harmed.

More Ways to Save on Gas

Gas prices may not be as high as they were a few months ago but we are still seeing big numbers at the pump.  We also have less money to spend at the pump.  There are layoffs and people being fired everyday and with inflation hitting us steeply it will only get worse.  People loosing their jobs need to find ways to save money and gas is a good place to start.  The way I see it, we need to do many things

1- people stop driving as much.
2- Quit allowing ourselves to be gouged and raped at the pumps.
3- Actually invest NOW into bio fuels.  Don’t just offer tax incentives and research, make it actually happen.
4- Allow more oil refineries to be built.  Oil is not low in supply at the moment, the refineries just cannot put enough out to meet the demand.  This is a short term fix only, and would do so to help with the gas prices.  In the mean time, we need to be working on solar and bio power supply.

But for now, the immediate fix would be make gas gouging criminal, like it should be.

I am not driving anywhere that is reasonable distance- been riding my bike to the post office, UPS, errands, etc.

Also, read our articles on this blog about gas cards .

Discount Gas Cards

With high fuel prices , many people are looking for ways to save and reduce their gasoline expenses. Discount gas cards can help you cut your overall costs. There are several different card options when looking for gas discounts. One is the gasoline rebate credit card. These are common, offered by a number of leading credit card providers, and can be affiliated with a specific service station. A better option may be station or chain specific discount cards. These are loyalty incentives and rewards, and typically are free or very low cost. You might also find that you can get a discount on your gas simply by paying cash.

While using a credit card to buy gas can cause you to accumulate debt, many gasoline credit cards do offer substantial rewards. While the discount may not be at the pump, it likely will provide you with a rebate, either in cash or fuel. If you typically shop at a specific service station, consider applying for their card. Do read the terms carefully to determine what will give you the best rewards. Many gas rebate cards offer their best rebates when used at the pump at the affiliated station, so be sure that you choose one you can easily access and routinely visit when you need to fill up.

Discount prices for gas are often associated with shopping at a particular retailer, and with their loyalty discount cards. Warehouse shopping clubs like Sam’s and Costco may offer discounts at their affiliated service stations. You might also find that a discount of a few cents a gallon are available if you purchase store gift cards for some chains and buy gas at their service stations. These associated stations frequently use a loyalty fuel rewards program to encourage customers to shop at both the service station and grocery store. It might be worthwhile to check stores in your area and see if any participate in these sorts of loyalty gas discounts. Some of the major chains offering these sorts of programs are Kroger and Safeway, but a store in your area may have a similar program. Discounts in these loyalty programs can be as low as a few cents a gallon or as much as .10 cents a gallon. You may also find coupons for gas on the back of your grocery receipt which can help you save if you do not have access to other discounts.

High gas prices hurt many of our wallets. Smart shopping with gas rebate cards, discount card options, and other loyalty discounts can reduce your costs at the pump , especially if combined with choosing the least expensive convenient station in your area. Using the tools available to help you save will keep more of your money in your pocket.

Worried about stolen laptop data?

This new company called Gadget Trak can help you if you are a small business owner who stores private information on a laptop or if you keep lots of personal banking and credit data of your own on a laptop or phone.  I first saw this reported on a local news station of how this got some laptop thieves arrested when the Gadget Trak service tracked the IP address of the victim’s laptop and turned on the web cam taking a video and pictures of thieves.

If you are worried of storing information on your computer because it could get stolen by id thieves this is one more step to take.  We seem to live in the day of big brother where we have to track our own devices just to make sure our own money does not get stolen from right under us.  Then again you have to decide which is best for you — tracking of your laptop or the security of knowing your id is that much more protected.

The best thing to do when your laptop or device such as an Iphone is stolen is to make sure the data is destroyed. Data such as password information and notes you have on your computer could really hurt your identity.

More information on this gadget tracker can be found here.  Read more on id theft and the hassles we face on this blog.

Chase Double Summer Bonus

chase visa summer double bonus
Chase Bank is offering a Summer bonus to stimulate your spending in July, August, and September. This is a welcomed bonus at a time that everyone is cost cutting and looking for ways to save on summer travel.

The 2% bonus came in the mail to me as a folded up mailer but it made me jump up and down when I saw I could save 2% back – at that time I thought it was on everything I spent. I should have known Chase was not in that good of a mood when they sent me the mailer. I looked at the fine print and discovered that it is only 2% back or double rewards on “Vacations” such as airfares, car rentals, and hotels. Which is better than nothing.

Although it does get worse. When I looked more at the fine print I noticed that my Chase Freedom card double promotion was only good up to $50 in bonus rebates which is close to $5,000 in spending. I was hoping to use the card in Europe so that will help some with the huge transaction fees that Chase and Visa/MasterCard allow compared to a Capital One card.

The up to $50 back is better than the Summer offer from Discover card which only gives you up to $400 in spending at the 5% Cash Back or maybe it kind of equals out since the Discover offer is at 5% but allows less.

The cards featured in the Chase Summer promotion of double rewards are the AARP, American Kennel Club, Chase Freedom Card , Disney Rewards, Sony Card, Amazon, British Airlines, Mary Kay Visa, and various Chase rewards cards.

Rates Going Up for Savings Accounts

I learned a tough lesson and trusted a financial adviser at my local Chase by investing into Municipal Bonds with the majority of my retirement money. I mostly freaked out about the interest rates going down and it was tempting to do this because it is a way to help to keep my taxes lower. The only problem is that its not making any money. I have lost over $2,000 in these municipal bonds so far and I have to keep the money in the municipal funds for over a year or get a 1% penalty.

As I was listening to someone who is on commission for bad advice I am seeing how much money I could be making in rising savings account rates. HSBC Direct has raised their rate to 3.50% until August 1, and it may even go higher when that promo ends. The first rate increase for nine months happens over at WTDirect from 3.19 to 3.26 APY.

WaMu is also grabbing the attention of customers looking for higher interest rates with the 5.00% Savings Success offer. Walk into your local bank and see what they are offering and search online. If your current bank is still punishing you with low interest from the fed rate cuts then transfer it over to a bank that is keeping up with the competition.

Fuel Boosters Ripoff

Gas prices are raging high now that we are knee deep in summer travel season and people are on the lookout for anything that will help.  Do not count on gas additives to boost your fuel consumption.  A government agency recently named some advertising claims to avoid such as “improving fuel economy by 20%” and Federal government approved

products.

The EPA has tested over 100 devices and only came back with six that gave improvements in fuel economy.  These are also fractional improvements in the mileage.  Do not fall for these ripoffs even if you see it on TV or hear it on the radio.

It may not be a good thing for your car to put in additives.  If you want to boost your fuel then drink a healthy protein drink and ride your bike to work that is the best way to get around in these trying times.  It may also make your heart stronger for when you see the pump prices in a few months.

MagicJack or Landline phone service?

The MagicJack is as small as a ciggarrette lighter and it plugs directly into your desktop or laptop’s USB.  This small device allows unlimited calling to the U.S. nationwide and Canada and will even feature International locations soon.  MagicJack only costs $39.95 for an entire years worth of calling and features such as voicemail (and caller id, call waiting, 911).  What is not to like about this “magic” phone service?

Is the MagicJack too good to be true?  I have seen many complains online ranging from it containing adware in the terms and conditions to people being charged before the trial membership runs at at 25 days.  I am always skeptical of anything that is this cheap and how and why it works.  You normally have to look into how this company is making money from such a little profit before you start giving in to the idea.  If you start a free trial then cancel it after a week.  That should be all the time you need to tell if it is working for you and if you want to keep the ‘magical’ device.

It is neat that you can plug a landline or cordless phone into the jack that plugs into your USB.  We will be seeing more and more products like this coming out.  Keep on the lookout for more ways to save money on your phone bills and cancel your landline service.

If you wish to save more money on your landline service then switch over to mobile At Home Networks which AT&T and T-Mobile are offering.  They offer services where you can boost your home cell phone signal for as little as $10 month extra using your DSL or cable broadband.