Category — Frugality

4 years ago I needed a new pair of glasses. I was pretty close to broke and looking for the best deal possible. I went to a couple of optical shops close to my work and nearly choked at the prices. Frames alone were $200+ for every pair that I liked. My prescription isn’t cheap either, so I was anticipating another $200 or so for the lenses. $400 or more for glasses was going to have me eating ramen for a month.

So I decided to see what I could find on the internet. And what I found was Optical4Less.  At the time, I could only find 2 reviews* of this company (admittedly both were positive) and the company was based on Hong Kong.  Normally,  I probably wouldn’t have taken a chance. But their  price for a pair of glasses was $29 (+$10) shipping. $39 vs. $400 was a huge delta and so I decided to take a chance.

3 weeks after I ordered, a brightly colored package arrived at my doorstep. Upon opening the package and inspecting my glasses I couldn’t have been more pleased. I got more compliments from people on that pair of glasses than on any pair I had owned previously. I told all of my glasses wearing friends about Optical4Less and  several of them ordered from them as well. All of them have been pleased with their purchase.

2 years ago I went hog wild and ordered 3 pairs of glasses. One pair of rimless glasses, one pair similar to the pair I had ordered previously and a pair of semi-rimless tinted pair for sunglasses. Total cost: $96. If I had purchased the same glasses from a local shop my total cost would have been in excess of $1500.  And all 3 pairs again exceeded my expectations.

Optical4Less has an affiliate program… but I won’t sign up for it. I’m such an evangelist for this company that I don’t want to cloud my enthusiasm with the perception I am somehow being compensated for my endorsement.

If you wear glasses I encourage you to check them out. The biggest objection I’ve heard from people about ordering glasses online is that they aren’t sure how they will look. I recommend finding a pair of glasses you like on the website and then visiting your local optical store to try on similar pairs. While you’re there, compare the price and I think you’ll find that the risk is minimal if you find a style that you like.

The added bonus to purchasing from Opical4Less is the look of amazement on the faces of your friends when they find out how much they cost. Or, if you’re like my Seattle friend the inner chuckle when you keep that little tidbit to yourself.

* These days you’ll find a lot more reviews for this company. I encourage you to check them out.

At that rate, my 976 calls seem like a bargain! The cost of an ad for this Sunday’s Super Bowl clocks in at $2.38 million for a 30 second spot. With a price tag like that, advertisers will be expecting a lot of buzz for their buck. In case you miss any ads this Sunday, go here to help those poor advertisers get their $ worth.

There are many countries where negotiating the price of something, anything is the normal course of affairs. Buying a bag of rice, a t-shirt or a CD is an elaborate dance between the seller and the purchaser.

Typically in the United States we consider the price to be the price unless we’re dealing with big ticket items like a car or a house. The reality is that many things are negotiable.

Clearly we understand this as it relates to the internet. If I see something online I’m interested in purchasing I’ll do a quick search to see if I can find it somewhere else cheaper, or with free shipping or free pickup. But when it comes to shopping in a store most people assume that the price of an item is the only price the seller is willing to accept. And while that may be true at some retailers, it isn’t a universal truth.

Think only mom and pop stores will negotiate on price? I’ve found many national retailers are willing to negotiate as well.
[Read more →]

I have a confession to make about the biggest leak in my financial boat. I eat out entirely too often. To help combat that I am implementing the Double Thermos Savings Plan. The plan is simple; every day I will take two thermoses to work. The first, a Nissan Thermos FBB1000 34-Ounce Stainless Steel Vacuum Insulated Briefcase Bottle. The second, a Zojirushi Mr. Bento Stainless-Steel Lined Lunch Jar. The first will be filled with tasty Ruta Maya coffee brewed at home. The second will contain my lunch.

I’m not really trying to combat the literal latte factor here, the coffee is mostly because what I brew at home tastes significantly better than what we have in the office. But taking my lunch at least 4 days a week is a primary requirement to meet my savings goals for 2008. I’m hoping that this system along with more frequent reviews of my actual spending in various categories vs. my budget for those same categories will help me keep on track.

Thanks to SH for the pointer… Starbucks is currently piloting $1 coffee with free refills at some Seattle locations in the face of growing competition from rivals such as (gasp!) McDonalds. That’s about 50% less per cup of small coffee than their regular price. So at the moment if you want to take advantage of the price cut you either need to live in Seattle or be ready to move!

I admit to enjoying an occasional Starbucks latte (grande, no-fat, vanilla please) but it’s not a daily vice. But where the ‘latte factor’ really kills me is that since Starbucks charges $4 for a cup of coffee restaurants feel they can charge $2 and get away with it.  If I’m really in the mood for a cup I will suck it up and pay the $2, but when the coffee winds up tasting like pond water strained through an old boot, I send it back and ask for it to be taken off my bill. If you’re going ot charge $2 for a cup of coffee it better be a decent cup. Most days I’ll just brew a cup at home instead. Not only cheaper, but it tastes better too.

The cost of the average American wedding has spiraled completely out of control. Based on the most recent numbers I could find (2005) the average American wedding costs over 1.3 million dollars! OK, OK I hear you…. that number can’t be right. But it is. [Read more →]

Groups and individuals go on strike to make a point. Going without food or going without a paycheck? That’s some serious commitment. Are you committed to getting your spending under control? Consider undertaking a spending strike. One of the things that I’ve learned is that it is easy to fall into bad habits and much harder to develop good ones. A spending strike might seem to be a pretty extreme solution to a problem, but it’s the very nature of the idea which makes it so effective.

So what is a spending strike? When you undertake a spending strike, you stop spending money. Period. The benefit to doing this is that you get out of the habit of spending money. Open up your checking account statement and figure out the total number of withdrawals. Divide that by the number of days in the statement. How many times a day on average are you saying ‘yes’ to spending? On the peak day in my last statement I said ‘yes’ to spending 15 times. 15? What the hell was I thinking? And one of those was a cash advance which probably led me saying ‘yes’ 2 or 3 more times. Like I said, bad habits are easy.

Stop saying yes to spending and go on strike. The length of time one can undertake a spending strike is going to vary by person, but for the purposes of discussion let’s consider a 2 week strike. Undertaking a spending strike to improve your financial health shouldn’t damage your financial health in the process, so there’s some preparation work that needs to go on before you begin.

Before you begin:

1. Identify all recurring bills which will be due during the strike period and pay them now or schedule payments.

If you rent, electric bill and car payment will be due in the next two weeks go ahead and either pay those now or schedule their payment. If you can pay them now, I recommend doing that. One of the advantages to that is that if you can view your checking account and credit card statements online, if any transactions do occur during the strike they will stand stick out like a sore thumb.

2. Stock up on food.

You need to eat right? A spending strike means no eating out unless you’ve got a gift certificate you hadn’t gotten around to using. I normally go to the grocery store 2 or 3 times a week (I live across the street from one) so buying 2 weeks worth of food is a pretty big change for me.

3. Fill up your tank.

Unfortunately you still need to go to work during the spending strike. I know it sounds crazy but just because you’re not spending any money doesn’t mean that you can get paid for sitting around. If you are going to need to fill up during the strike, that’s unavoidable. However, don’t buy anything else at the convenience store and do your best to eliminate any non-essential travel (you’re spending gas money on those trips right?). Consider riding the bus or car pooling during your strike. Who knows, you may find that riding the bus is a nice alternative and carry that habit forward after the strike.

4. Put away your cards and cash.

Keep a single card in your wallet along with an emergency cash fund. Unexpected expenses can come up and need to be dealt with. The goal of a spending strike is to break bad habits not punish ourselves. So if something comes up that needs to be dealt with, deal with it.

5. Grab a notebook to record your observations.

Every time you would have spent money on something make a note of it. Record what it was and how much it would have cost. Also take some time to record your thoughts about the strike or idea you have for saving money on an ongoing basis at work.

Morning latte $4
Lunch with Bob in accounting $12
Surfing magazine $5

6. Have fun.
Really.

When you’ve finished your strike, drop me a note and let me know how it went. I’ve done this exercise a few times and have learned something new each time.

The Washington Post has an article about the employment outlook for highly skilled workers and it isn’t particularly encouraging. The basic jist of the article is that highly skilled workers are finding it more difficult to obtain a new job and when they do find one it is often for less than what they were making at their previous position.

In such uncertain times, it might make some worry about the future may hold. But worrying doesn’t put food on the table or pay the rent. If this news concerns you, do something about it. The best thing you can do is to put together an emergency fund. Typically financial advisors recommend a cushion equal to 3 months of your current salary. Some of you might be choking on that. 3 months?! I haven’t got 3 days. The good news is that it’s never too late to start saving to provide protection against a layoff. Analyze your finances to determine how much you can save and what, if anything, you can cut out from your budget to increase that amount. Then put that amount aside and continue to do so until you have a sufficient nestegg put aside to cover. It won’t assuage your concerns today, but like most things money related, doing the right thing over time gets you to a good place.

At the same time you are doing this, consider taking advantage of any opportunities you may have to improve your skills to make yourself more marketable (especially if your current employer will pay for them). I’ve been taking free online classes from Microsoft lately for example. Additionally I’ll be attending a training course this spring to tighten up my core skill set.

And finally… start refreshing your network. You don’t need to start reaching out to friends and family for a new job, but it never hurts to touch base with people you haven’t spoken with just to see how they are doing. I make 2-5% of my income each year though small projects which come from my network. It’s not a large percentage of my income by any means, but at the same time I’m not actively soliciting work… things just occasionally drop in my lap. Making sure that my network is up to date is therefore not just good on a personal level, but also on a professional one as well.