I have no experience with Virgin. I've never tried Virgin. I don't know of anyone, personally, who uses Virgin. (heck, I don't even like virgin daquiris or daquiris for that matter... but I digress)

I thought I'd put this offer out there for those of you looking for cell phone deals. Everyone out there has an unlimited plan offer out there, it seems. Now Virgin's throwing its hat into the ring, too.

 Virgin Mobile USA will unveil its new "Totally Unlimited" calling plan for $79.99 on July 1, the lowest priced and first unlimited nationwide calling plan without roaming charges or an annual contract that can be purchased by cash or credit. Bob Stohrer, chief marketing officer of Virgin Mobile USA, said, "It is simply not necessary to sign a two-year contract to get real worth with your wireless plan. This offer surpasses the regional carriers unlimited calling plans as well, as most addd on roaming charges that can cost customers as much as 79 cents per minute."

Continue reading "Virgin Mobile's "totally unlimited" deal" »

Posted by Dan Thanh Dang at 7:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

As Dan-Thanh pointed out earlier, banks don't have too many fans these days. 

Take a look at the Internets Celebrities' amusing video about why people in poor neighborhoods use check-cashing services. (Thanks to Maryann over at Baltamour for the heads up on this one.)

There are so few banks in poor neighborhoods that it makes sense to use one of the check-cashing centers conveniently located in their communities. And banks are not open when you're available, after business hours.

Then again, banks earn a lot of money charging their customers for penalties and services as well, especially if you don't carry a large balance. Consumerist.com tallied a local check casher's fees and found them to be 1 to 4 percent per transaction.

Continue reading "Banks versus check cashing" »

Posted by Liz Kay at 11:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

With the price of food inching up, you might be tempted to cut back on your grocery shopping bill. Here's a quick-and-dirty way to compare prices --- without wasting too much gas, which is also plenty expensive.

Every market has 'loss leaders' designed to draw you in, where merchants hope they can earn money selling you other products and services.

Your task: identify which supermarkets sell the most things you regularly purchase at the lowest prices. Trent Hamm over at The Simple Dollar suggests you compile a most-frequently-purchased list and then, take it to one of the three or four stores you're likely to patronize for a regular shopping trip.

Continue reading "Save money: comparing grocery store prices" »

Posted by Liz Kay at 11:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Got camping gear but little time to hit the trails? A drill or a chafing dish that live in your attic or a prom dress that rarely sees the time of day, or books you're too embarrassed to showcase on your shelves?

Activists for living an uncluttered lifestyle have long advocated that people reduce their inventory of stuff by selling it. Frugal-minded folks understand they can trade stuff they don't want for stuff they do.

Online services such as eBay can facilitate such sales, but there are some other good options as well. One friend told me she sold her formal dresses to The Zone, a Mount Vernon consignment store, and often checks the selection at similar stores like Plato's Closet in Towson.

Another friend scours her bookshelves for titles to trade on paperbackswap.com. Enter the ISBN number on the back and earn credits toward books that you actually want. Then, print out the mailer and send off books you don't need.

Now here's another variation on this theme.

Zilok.com wants to help you rent items you own but perhaps use infrequently to someone who needs it --- but doesn't want it forever.

Continue reading "Earn/save money: sell, rent or trade your stuff?" »

Posted by Liz Kay at 11:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

(photo: Barbara Haddock Taylor/Baltimore Sun)

One more entry in the 'Everything is More Expensive' file: shoes.

Some manufacturers like Brown Shoe Co., which makes Buster Brown and Via Spiga brands, are raising prices from 5 to 12 percent this fall, reports the Wall Street Journal. Payless Shoes has already increased its prices, and Nine West will increase by 15 percent on certain styles next year, according to the article. 

Why the boost?     

Continue reading "Shoes: soon, more expensive!" »

Posted by Liz Kay at 6:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
                    

Would a Cheerio by any other name taste just as crunchy?

Smart Money has a list of five things it pays to buy generic over name brands. Here's the link (ignore the silly logo at the top: a '5' does not look like an 'f').

They say that produce, over-the-counter medication, pantry staples like salt, run-of-the-mill beauty products and organic food are all good options to purchase in store-brand varieties. After all, if it says "aspirin" or "salt" on the package, it's got to be the same stuff inside regardless of the company that packaged it. Compare the ingredients of beauty products and you'll find them very similar, as well.

Generics cost less not because they use inferior materials but because the supermarkets don't have to pay for advertising and possibly research and development of the products.

If your family members turn up their noses at anything but fully trademarked foods, I advocate a little subterfuge.

Continue reading "Save money: when to buy generic" »

Posted by Liz Kay at 6:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

At a rally I attended earlier this year about the upcoming tax rebate, U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings made an off-hand reference to good church people and tithing.

Tithing is the practice of giving to one's religious community, whether one follows a strict interpretation of some teaching or guideline, i.e. 10 percent of one's earnings, or gives a more loosely defined contribution.

It may have gained some bad connotations over the years, but tithing makes sense: if you gain some benefit from your religious group, you should support it financially, even if there's technically no admission fee to enter the doors. After all, someone's got to cover the cost of heat and health insurance.

Here's Beliefnet's breakdown of tithing practices among major religious groups, and the basis for such beliefs (including references to scripture, if applicable).

Beliefnet.com also has a transcript of this ancient 2001 NPR commentary by Steven Waldman asking what Jesus would do with his tax cut ... calling for Americans to donate a portion of that year's tax rebate to good causes --- real compassionate conservativism, in his eyes.

This year's unexpected "economic stimulus" payment is a different animal than your standard refund, however. And what about earned interest? Birthday or other gifts? Should you draw a line?

Continue reading "Tithing and tax rebates" »

Posted by Liz Kay at 7:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
                    

Reading Dan Thanh's posts about food rationing and saving money while grocery shopping got me thinking, especially as I ease back into work after a week's vacation.

I travelled to the Dominican Republic, where I visited a museum housing artifacts of the Taino (imagine an accent on the 'i'), a native group that inhabited the area thousands of years ago.

According to the exhibit, to capture birds to eat, the Taino made sticky hats out of leaves they covered in resin. Apparently they ate the birds that landed on their heads.

Can you imagine the conversations? "Mom, what's for dinner?" "I don't know, honey -- let me check my hat." 

Despite my jokes, learning about this culture made me appreciate modern methods of food distribution and procurement even more than I normally do. I know I lack the skills to farm and butcher my own provisions. Personally, my hunter-gatherer instincts are best suited for the buffet line at the resort where we spent most of the trip.

But you're paying for more than convenience at the market.

Continue reading "The economics of wasted food" »

Posted by Liz Kay at 12:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

See those people there? It's a line for food rationing distributed by the United Nations World Food Programme in Nairobi.

The reason why I bring this up on a beautiful Friday morning is because reader PastorTim said something yesterday that depressed the heck out of me. On my post about rice rationing by Sam's Clubs because of concerns about shortages, he commented that:

This is only the start of food rations in the USA. We need to wake up to the times we are living in. We're in a Greater Depression.

As I keep telling you, I'm a worrier. So when I saw the Sam's Club story and read about retailers limiting consumer purchases of flour, rice and cooking oil, it made me worry. C'mon. I've been worried for awhile now... about the availability of wheat and now rice, rising food prices, rising gas prices, rising debt levels and of course, the mortgage crisis as documented by my terrific colleague Jamie and her Real Estate Wonk blog. 

Continue reading "A Great(er) Depression: The end of cheap food, energy and credit" »

Posted by Dan Thanh Dang at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)
                    

I hate grocery shopping. I hate going to the supermarket, walking down the aisles to look for what I need, loading the car and then carrying all the bags to the kitchen and then unloading. I would stop except that I haven't figured out how to stop eating (damn my appetite!) or become independently wealthy (so I can pay someone else to perform this task for me).

The other reason why I hate grocery shopping is that I've noticed more and more that prices are creeping up ever higher. Did you know that the U.S. Department of Labor estimates that the average American family of four spends $8,513 per year on groceries. That's about $709 per month for mathematically-challenged people like me.

Even worse, food prices went up by

Continue reading "Saving money on groceries" »

Posted by Dan Thanh Dang at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
                    

And no, we're not talking about about the kind of profit touted by the Underpants Gnomes.

Evan Siple, who offered a soliloquy on online shopping here, shares his system to save money on every purchase. He's already buying all his electronics and plenty of groceries over the Intertubes --- being careful to avoid the early adopter trap. He also takes advantage of Craigslist.
 
But why online, especially for electronics?

"As far as ordering electronics online, you can ALWAYS find a better deal online than at the major brick-and-mortar establishments, almost without exception. Even in the case of buying something large like a television, which can be white-glove delivered to your house for a fee, the cost of shipping and delivery is usually offset by substantial rebates, no sales tax, and the simple fact that you're not paying an inflated price to satisfy a salesperson's commission."

But Evan's not talking about searching for coupon codes online, or even hunting Amazon for "filler items" to bump the total in his shopping cart over $25 to get free shipping (via Consumerist).  

Here's his secret to saving money and time, which requires one simple step:

Continue reading "Online shopping for fun and profit" »

Posted by Liz Kay at 10:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

Readers, don't miss the package of stories The Sun's features staff has put together to help you save a dime while you have a good time.

Here's some tips for how you can find a great outfit, stave off hunger while you drink and then head off for some culture --- all for little or no money.

There's also some suggestions for cheap eats and reads, and reasons why a little belt-tightening might not be a bad thing.

I'd love to hear your suggestions, particularly about cheap eats ...  

Continue reading "Cheap thrills, cheap bills" »

Posted by Liz Kay at 2:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
                    

Do you clip and collect coupons?

You can print out coupons at home, but that requires a printer --- not to mention an Internet connection. Some people swear by online sites such as The Grocery Game or couponmom.com to help stretch their food dollars by matching coupons with store sales to maximize savings.

Others pooh-pooh such discounts, say that they usually apply toward processed items sold on the inside aisles rather than whole foods that are better for you to eat --- think Hamburger Helper rather than produce.

Personally, I find myself using coupons for household products like detergent or soap --- or at least cutting them out. My problem is the follow through: making sure I have the coupons with me when I end up at the store, before the coupons themselves expire.

Well, one company has come up with a system to combat that problem, which I hope hits our shores soon.

Continue reading "Coupons without the clipping" »

Posted by Liz Kay at 11:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

Herbert Johnson, Elmer Rudis and Fran Urban know the value of a penny.

All three remember working as young children to earn the copper-colored coins --- redeeming bottles for deposits or selling magazines --- that they would then get to spend on candy, pinball games or other treats.

Now they and other residents of Basilica Place, a seniors' residence run by Catholic Charities,
are collecting pennies to donate to the Fuel Fund of Maryland, which offers financial assistance to people struggling to pay their home heating and utility bills. So far they've got nearly 2,500, or nearly $250$25. Check out my story about their efforts here.

More families have requested help this year, as the price of gas and oil have skyrocketed and caused prices for everything to go up. So every little bit --- even in one-cent increments --- is appreciated, said Mary Ellen Vanni, the fuel fund's executive director.

These days the humble penny doesn't get much respect. But even if you don't have the patience to pick up pennies off the curb like Elmer Rudis, you can still send your spare change to the fund to help struggling Marylanders.

Continue reading "Empower your pennies" »

Posted by Liz Kay at 7:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
                    

(photo by Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)

In an earlier post about being frugal, I mentioned my father's refusal to fill his gas tank completely to avoid using up more gas to haul that fuel all over town.

Commenter aeb asked on that post about an opposite strategy --- keeping your tank full to avoid losing your gas to evaporation.

This Real Simple article on saving money also says evaporation is a problem, but because of hot weather, and so recommends parking out of the sun, a tip repeated in this interview on Marketplace.

Little did I know that the kind fellows on Car Talk had addressed these very same questions earlier this year!

An amazing coincidence. So what's the deal?  

Continue reading "Debunking gas saving tips and myths" »

Posted by Liz Kay at 3:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
                    

Anyone out there wondering how we got into this mess? By mess, I mean the slowing economy, which might or might not be in recession. Officially, we're not in a recession, as the msnbc story says. But, and this is a big BUT, things are definitely not rosy.

I read a great story in the WPost yesterday about why we've got this mortgage mess on our hands. We're leverage addicts. Writer Michael S. Rosenwald sums it up quite well:

The simple answer, according to personal finance experts, is that we want more -- more money, more house, more car, just more, more, more. We often think we deserve more. Leverage gets us more. With historically low interest rates, leverage is the easiest and quickest tool to get more stuff.

The problem is that too much leverage has a downside that is easy to overlook. When everyone else is using leverage so successfully to get more, do we wonder what will happen if interest rates go up? Not so much.

Continue reading "Borrowing 'til it hurts" »

Posted by Dan Thanh Dang at 11:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
                    

Yesterday, I was at the grocery store picking up some food for a salad. Usually, I toss all manner of things into my cart like seltzer water (which I occasionally indulge in, instead of drinking soda), a bag of pretzels and some frozen food (for those late days when I don't have time to make a salad or cook something up because I'm writing all day).

This time, though, I found myself talking myself out of purchases. Don't buy that cheese, it's a buck more. Do you really need a loaf of bread that will go stale before you get a chance to eat it? Sure, you love blueberries, but at $4.99 for a small plastic container I can do without.

Don't get me wrong. It's not as if I'm depriving myself. But I am not as foot-loose and fancy free about buying groceries as I used to be... not when my electric bill, gas tank costs, and taxes have crept up higher and higher. I've never been one to eat out a lot, but I do find myself ordering Chinese food, pizza and the local take-out Mexican food place even less often now, too (although, my waistline does thank me for it).

I was just absent-mindedly thinking I could cut my pay-for-TV provider, too, since I don't find myself watching much of anything outside of the four or five basic channels I can get for free. Funny how your needs adjust to the economy without you even realizing it, huh? My colleagues Hanah and Jamie wrote a very interesting piece yesterday on how consumers are cutting back on spending these days, and how that's affecting small businesses.

Continue reading "Consumers cutting back" »

Posted by Dan Thanh Dang at 2:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Seriously, stuff is cheap these days.

If you don't believe me, check out Peter Y. Hong's article in the LA Times, where he points out that lower production costs have kept the price of consumer goods so low that they have not changed since the 1970s.

But while prices have remained the same or decreased, so have our wages, when adjusted for inflation, he says.

It doesn't help that our tastes have changed. Americans like their houses bigger these days, and so they cost more to build, furnish and heat. We spend more on gasoline because we drive more powerful cars, he says in a follow-up interview on Marketplace.

Sure, technology has improved --- and labor costs diminished, since more things are manufactured outside the United States --- so items like VCRs and washing machines cost less to produce. But the things we care about cost more. 

Continue reading "Cheap stuff" »

Posted by Liz Kay at 11:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

I often sit here daydreaming about winning the lottery. I wonder if I'd quit my job? I wonder if I'd buy a fancy new car or a villa in Europe somewhere? When I'm not in la-la land, I actually temper my dreams with reality and figure I'd just invest my winnings wisely so my family and i could retire in comfort.

These days, it's hard not to think about reality. What with the mortgage crisis, soaring energy prices and increasingly expensive food prices, we keep talking about saving for the future and being financially literate enough so that you manage your money wisely.  

In that discussion about saving, Reader Don and I discovered that we are both worriers. We worry about whether we're saving enough for retirement. We worry about whether there will be any Social Security benefits left for us when we retire. We worry about whether we'll ever be able to retire. Don's banking on winning the lottery to lift him out of his worries. Me? I don't even play so i know I'll never win. That means I better have a plan B.

When I asked Don if he's got a plan B, he said: I haven't, and that's the scary part, my 401K has $655 in it, and that'll last me a week of retirement. We are truly the spend now, worry later generation and i am a prime example. I'm starting to think lottery tickets so any advice would be much welcomed!

Continue reading "How to start saving for the future" »

Posted by Dan Thanh Dang at 8:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)