Bargainist.com and DealHack.com are two blogs that I have been checking daily for the past few weeks.
They are deal blogs, where they post coupons and other good savings happening around the internet and in stores.
The reason I like these blogs as opposed to, say, checking Slickdeals all the time is that Slickdeals gets flooded with lots and lots of posts. These blogs cherry pick the best the find online, doing some of the dirty work for you.
Yes, you'll miss things here and there, but for pure simplicity and convenience, these blogs are a good way to keep up with good deals.
Showing posts with label money. Show all posts
Showing posts with label money. Show all posts
Friday, October 17, 2008
Deal Blogs of the Day: Bargainist.com and DealHack.com
Monday, October 6, 2008
[Feature] Why Buying Generic is Awesome (Spoiler: It Saves You Money)
Uhm, I'm not sure if you've noticed, but the economic sky is falling.
In times where every penny needs to be spent carefully, it seems fitting to talk about the pros and cons of buying generic goods.
There is a very powerful stigma around buying generic. You can mostly blame genius marketers and their ability to sell you their brand instead of the contents itself.
While some claims of generic goods not being as good as brand names are true, many more are completely unfounded. A lot of times, the generics are literally the same product packaged differently and sold for a few bucks cheaper.
Buying generic can usually save you a lot of money on your grocery bills without suffering any quality. So what should you go generic for and what should you avoid? Let me tell you how I roll....
Things I Buy Generic:
Over-The-Counter Drugs
I used to work at a drug store, so I have first-hand experience with the awesomeness that is generic medicine.
Things like Tylenol, Robitussin, and Claritin are all brands of medical ingredients. Usually, the drug companies that originally created these products hold exclusive patent rights to these formulas for around 7-12 years. Once that time is up, other companies can make generic versions with the exact same formulas! What's more, they sell the same active ingredients for a lot cheaper.
So next time you're sick, save yourself money and buy that Target Tussin instead of Robitussin.
Milk
Honestly, I didn't even know that milk had brands. Really. I just look for the cheapest milk and then dig to the back for the one with the best expiration date. Milk has always tasted like milk to me, whether it was the bottle with the flying cow or not.
One thing that I've always wanted to try though, is the milk in the glass bottles. Those just look like they would taste better (even though that's probably not true at all).
Batteries
While it's much better to invest in rechargeable batteries, if we're talking generic batteries vs. Duracell, it's generics for the win. Some argue that the charges don't hold as long or that they're more dangerous. First, even if the individual battery charge is weaker, chances are that cumulatively, the generic pack has more energy than the brand. Secondly, we have government agencies to make sure things like batteries are made safely and properly.
Especially when it comes to low-maintenance items (remotes, clocks, etc), generics batteries save you a butt-load of money in the long run.
Disposable Paper
By disposable paper, I mean any paper product that you throw out: paper towels, paper plates, toilet paper, etc.
I used to be a type of person who would not buy no-name toilet paper, but then I went to a friend's house and told them their toilet paper was really nice (TMI? -___-), to which they replied that it was Kirkland brand toilet paper. I was surprised and now will buy the oxymoronic high-end generic toilet paper. Because really, you end up throwing all of this out anyway. So why pay more?
The Generics Rule of Thumb
I'm not saying that everything generic is better and buying brand name is always a waste of money. Generally, Buying generic only works when the product has a simple, imitateable formula, or when they are identical to their brand name competitors.
That's why buying generic soda doesn't work. Coke keeps their formula secret for a reason. America's Choice just creates their own drink by attempting to deduce how Coke is made. It's not the same and that is evident in the taste.
The best way to figure out what you should buy generics or not is to compare two products side-by-side. Are they the exact same ingredients (generic drugs)? It is something that is not very difficult to mess up (milking a cow)? Will it even matter if the quality is a little worse (paper products)? If you can say yes to any of those, you're probably better off saving the extra money and going generic.
Of course, if you don't agree, tell me what you do/don't go generic for in the comments section!
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Where to Buy Cheap Textbooks
Yesterday, I was having a conversation with some friends who had graduated in May about how they are sad that they aren't going back to school. Jorge and I agreed that we don't actually miss going to school, we just miss the idea of going back to school. Because, in reality, college was annoying, difficult, and expensive.
One of the most difficult and most annoying aspects of college was buying textbooks. Or, as I like to call it, spending $600 on overpriced pieces of paper that will hardly be used.
I was always too lazy to ditch the convenience of the college bookstore in order to save money. But if you're looking to get textbooks on the cheap, Lifehacker has a good poll asking their readers for the best places to find deals on textbooks.
So far, it seems like the big winners are Half.com, Bigwords.com, Bookfinder.com, and Addall.com. Check out the rest of the comments to find more suggestions.
So if you're still in college and need to buy textbooks, online is definitely the way to go. And to those that still feel that they miss school, look at your bank account and be glad you don't have to buy a single soft-cover book for $100.
Monday, August 4, 2008
[Feature] What I'm Going to Do After I Win the Mega Millions Lottery
You probably don't know this about me, but I'm a future winner of the Mega Millions lottery. Yep. I've known this for about five years and I've already planned out how I'm going to handle winning. So today, I'm going to share my pseudo-knowledge with you.
Yes, I am a freak. But for what it's worth, I am a prepared freak....
The insanity that is the odds of you actually winning. 
The Mega Millions Lottery is a 12 state lottery that has produced the largest lottery jackpot in the world (a whopping $390 million dollars was up for grabs on March 6, 2007!). In order to win the jackpot, you need to be the lucky person to pick out all six numbers (five normal balls and one "Mega ball") from the ball pit. Falling short of picking the all six numbers will get you anywhere from $2 to $250,000.
Today, the jackpot is at $34 million dollars.
The chances of you winning that big jackpot are 1 in 175,711,536. Or in relative terms, 70 times the chances of you getting struck by lightning.
...
Okay, the odds aren't great. But then again, somebody has to win, right? Why can't it be you? Aside from the fact that it's actually going to be me, that is.
How much you actually end up winning
The first thing you have to know about winning the lottery is that you never get what they say you're going to get. That's because the Feds come up and grab 25% of your winnings before you even get a chance to look at it. Then, usually, your state government gets their turn and will take it's 3%-8.5% piece of the pie. However, if you're lucky enough to buy your ticket in New Jersey, Texas, California, or Washington, the state doesn't touch it.
So what started out as $34 million dollars goes down to anywhere between 22.6 million - 25.5 million. Still a lot of money... but you can't help but feel a little robbed. Damn you, government!
Lump Sum vs. Annuity
You are given two choices as to how you want to receive your not-so-hard-earned-money: in a lump sum or in annual payments. If you choose the annuity option, you'll receive a payment every year for 26 years that will add up the jackpot, minus the federal and state taxes. In the case of a $35 million, you'd receive $869,615 - $980,769 a year.
If you choose the lump sum, you get all your money in one gigantic check. However, you have to first lop off 40% to your jackpot. So your $35 million takes another hit, bringing you down to $13.3 million - $15 million in one payment.
On face value, many people would think that getting the annuity payments would be more cost-effective. But in reality, conventional wisdom says that grabbing the lump sum is a better bet.
Why, you ask? Think about the numbers. If you take the lump sum, in order for you to feel good about your decision, you need to somehow net a return of $980,769 a year. With $15 million, that is looking for a 6.54% return on your money. Even with conservative investments like CDs and savings accounts, you can get a decent 4% return. Not exactly 6.54%, but close enough.
But more importantly, with having all of your money immediately, you are given much more flexibility. With that much money, you can take a couple of risks in your investment portfolio, which can yield much more than 6.54% returns. Your money can go into venture capital or starting up your own business, both things that would be severely limited on 980,769 a year. Or consider this: if you want to buy a $1 million dollar house, you'd be better off paying it in full then taking out a money draining mortgage.
So in the end, the lump sum has much more potential and flexibility than waiting 26 years to collect all of your money. Especially because you'll be rich enough to hire a fancy-shmancy number-cruncher that will make sure you get the most out of your investments.
After finding out that you've won
Surprisingly enough, you should know how you want your money (lump sum or annuity) even before you buy your ticket. States like New York and Texas don't let you change your mind after your ticket has been printed, so that decision is a big one.
Of course, after getting through the small hurdle of actually winning, there are about a million other things you need to figure out. Rule #1, however, should be to get out of town and change your number. You need to disappear for a while before even claiming the prize to get all of your ducks in a row. That means hiring a tax attorney that specializes in lottery winners and getting a good financial adviser, hopefully one recommended by a successful friend you have.
At the same time, you should make sure that you write your name, address, and signature on the back of your lottery ticket and put it in a safety deposit box. Because, hell, if you lose that, you lose your chance of getting a dime.
After making sure that you know what you're doing with your money, then you can claim your ticket and deal with the family members you've never known about and charities asking for money. Of course, that is something that you can't give advice to. Just one of the things you need to deal with as a huge lottery winner.
Conclusion
In the end, winning a big lottery prize can be a blessing or a curse. The most important thing is to keep your head on straight and avoid diving too deep into vices. Seriously, most of those lottery horror stories seem to end up with somebody getting involved with drugs, alcohol, gambling, or a combination of all three.
If you avoid drama and stay smart, you'll be one happy millionaire, just like the future me.
Sources
USA Mega - Great lotto resource. Helped me with all the numbers and taxes
Bankrate - Another useful lottery site. Gives advice and has a neat little "Lotto Savvy" quiz
Mega Millions Wikipedia
Mega Millions Official Website
Advice on Winning the Mega Millions @ AJC.com
Monday, July 21, 2008
[Feature] What Makes Gas Prices So High?
How many conservative economists does it take to change a light bulb? None, if the government would just leave it alone, it would screw itself in.
Get it? How about this one...
Three econometricians went out hunting, and came across a large deer. The first econometrician fired, but missed, by a meter to the left. The second econometrician fired, but also missed, by a meter to the right. The third econometrician didn’t fire, but shouted in triumph, “We got it! We
got it!”
Are you laughing yet? If you aren't, you're probably not that into economics. However, you do care about spending $4 dollars per gallon for gas. I am not an economist. I can only guess as to why that last joke is funny. I am going to try, however, to explain to you (and myself for that matter) why gas prices are getting higher and higher.
Gas Prices Go Up if Oil Prices Go Up
This is one is pretty simple. Gasoline comes from crude oil. If the price of oil goes up, the price of gasoline goes up immediately. This is because gas stations make razor thin profits from you buying gas. In fact, gas stations would rather have you buy a slushy and a Kit Kat than to fill up your tank.
Oil Prices Go Up if a)Demand for Oil Goes Up b)Supply of Oil Goes Down c) Speculation d) The Dollar Goes Down
a) Demand of Oil Goes Up- If a billion people all of a sudden wanted cowpies, the price of cowpies (and cows) would immediately jump. Cowpies are useless to you, thus the demand for them will remain low. Oil, however, is extremely useful to you. Unfortunately for your wallet, it is also useful to people in China and India. The more developed these countries become, the more oil consuming products they'll want to buy.
b) Supply of Oil Goes Down- If there's less oil to go around, how are we going to determine who gets to have it? Sell it to those who are willing/able to pay more for it of course. Who supplies us with oil? About 60 percent of the oil we use is imported, most of it comes from Canada, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Venezuela, and Nigeria. If anything goes wrong with the production of oil in these countries we'll be sure to feel the effects. Natural disasters, like Katrina, can also diminish the production of oil if they strike in an area where oil is being extracted.
c) Speculation- This topic is tricky to simplify so I'm sorry to anyone who thinks I've over simplified. Oil speculators are people who buy oil with no intent of using it. They buy it with the hope of selling it in the future at a higher price. This creates an artificial demand for oil and raises prices. There is a great debate as to how much speculation has affected the price of oil. Some people believe it is responsible for as much as 60 percent of the price. Others believe that speculation has had very little effect. If you want to get deeper into this subject I suggest reading the following articles:
What Is A Commodity
What Is Commodity Trading
Oil Bubble
Oil Speculation
The first two articles help explain some of the basics of the subject, while the latter two talk specifically about how oil speculation is affecting our economy.
d) The Price of the Dollar Goes Down- Back to simplicity. If the Dollar loses value, it's going to take more dollars to buy oil. How does the US Dollar become stronger? Oh dear, that's another subject. Read this, however: Is The Weak Dollar To Blame For High Oil Prices?
The rise in oil prices is a shady and intricate topic. I purposely did not want to make it detailed, but just like Alice in Wonderland, it gets curiouser and curiouser the more you read about it. While experts may not always agree on specifics, I believe most will agree that points a through d contribute to the increase of oil prices and, ultimately, to the increase of gas prices. There are somethings you can do to curb how much you spend at the pump. Here are 10 Green Driving Tips courtesy of How Stuff Works to help you lower your fuel usage.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Top College Majors By Salary
One of the more important decisions I've made up until this point of my life was what to major in. Sure, you can go by what you enjoy to do, but shockingly, many people tend to decide on what to major on, depending on the future potential salary to be made from it.
Forbes ranks the top college majors, based on starting salaries. Maybe some of you undecided kids can take a hint from Forbes - but when it comes down to it, think if it's more important to make money (money = happiness?) or if it's important to love what you are doing (loving what you do = good work = promotions/raises).
1. Computer Engineering
2. Economics
3. Electrical Engineering
4. Computer Science
5. Mechanical Engineering
6. Finance
7. Mathematics
8. Civil Engineering
9. Political Science
10. Marketing
11. Accounting
12. History
13. Business Management
14. Communications
15. English
16. Biology
17. Sociology
18. Graphic Design
19. Psychology
20. Criminal Justice
(from forbes.com)
It's odd to note that Pharmacy is not listed as one of the top 20.
As for me, I'm barely in the list with #14 and #15 (double major, baby!). But oddly, the work I do is based off of #10. So it just goes to show, not all majors lead you to the expected.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Refund, Please!
If Amazon.com's price for an already-released item decreases within 30 days after we ship the item to you, we'll be glad to refund the difference in price if you contact us within that 30-day period.So if you buy something on Amazon, and a week (or three) later, the price drops a couple of bucks, instead of feeling buyer's remorse, you get the difference back.
The only downside to this is that Amazon isn't going to tell you the money you could save, you need to find it yourself.
And that's where RefundPlease.com comes in. After you buy something, you just hop onto Refund Please, enter your email address, the product number (ISBN/ASIN), and the price of your purchase, and they'll email you if the price ever drops. It's simple and very effective.
Personally, I've saved something like $15 using RefundPlease.com, so I highly recommend it if you ever do your shopping on Amazon.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Interest Rate Cuts and Stuff
The Fed is about to cut interest rates. Again. This move will hopefully motivate businesses to borrow more and expand, creating more jobs and stimulating investment in the nation. Unfortunately, higher interest rates also means the dollar loses value. (Paris and Gas will get a little more expensive.) While the plummeting dollar is something to be concerned about, in reality it is helping out the manufacturing industry and helping to prevent further economic woes.
To Recap:
interest rates down= jobs up, dollar down
dollar down= exports up, oil up
oil up= YARGHHHH!!!!
Now that I've bored you with actual news, here's a list of the most expensive divorces!!
Friday, March 7, 2008
I Want to Have Mark Zuckerberg's Babies.
Why is this guy smiling? Because he has enough money to kill you and get away with it.
Forbes has recently done the math and has estimated that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is worth about 1.5 Billion dollars.
That site you obsessively check twice a day has made this 23-year-old college dropout the 785th richest person in the world.
Meanwhile, I'm also 23, but instead of being a billionaire, I am driving 1992 Toyota Celica.
How very sad.
Friday, February 15, 2008
The Power of the Internet: Free Magazines
Little known fact about me: I have a subscription to Maxim until the end of time, and I haven't paid a single cent.
How? All you have to do is visit deals sites (I personally use Slickdeals), which have forums dedicated to this kind of stuff.
If you're patient enough, you can find free subscriptions to lots of popular mags (Wired, EGM, Lucky, Nylon, etc) or extremely lower prices for expensive magazines (I got 1 year of Time for $5).
Oh, and if you're worried about these being scams, you have to understand how magazines make money. They don't make it off of readers, they make it off of advertisers. These companies give out subscriptions so the magazine can turn to an advertiser and say, "look, we have 300,000 readers, you should give us more money to put your ad in our mag." Thus, they want people to subscribe.
So help celebrate Life in Boxe's media month by subscribing to free magazines!
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