Books for Less

I was recently devastated to see that one of my favorite websites for comparison shopping seems to be no more. Anybook4less.com had been a steady friend these past few years, as had its sister site, AnyCD4less.com. Rest in peace, dear sites. I hope that these are someday resurrected, but in the mean time, life does goes on, and I have found another gem: Priceowl. It seems to serve a similar helpful function: comparing the prices of new and used books at several online retailers.

A friend recommended, Bookfinder, which also seems to be quite good and gives the prices including shipping, which is often a slick hidden cost. I can't tell you how many times I have found myself in this scenario: "Oh, wow, this book is only $2.97? Great. Done deal. (Continue with 8 step checkout process)...(10 minutes later)... Oh, hell! The shipping is 7.56?!?"
By that point, if the price isn't totally absurd, you've already entered your credit card information, and you are just too lazy to back out. That's how they get you, or at least me. That's why sites that include the shipping costs in their comparisons are so darn helpful!

To sum up, the lesson is to always shop around and make sure you add the shipping costs into your calculations. There's no reason not to pop by one of these sites, or somewhere similar, and do a quick comparison. It can save you a couple of bucks and only takes a minute.

A Win-Win Situation: Free Cookbook and Donation

For every FREE download of The Celebrity Pasta Lovers' Cookbook, Barilla will donate $1, up to $100,000, to America's Second Harvest - The Nation's Food Bank Network.

This charity helps secure and distribute more than 2 billion pounds of donated food and grocery products annually. (That's a lot of grub)! Please consider downloading the cookbook and helping out a worthy cause.

Thanks, G, for the pass-along.

The Very Rich May Be Mutants

Forbes is reporting that real estate mogul Tim Blixseth is building and plans to sell the world's most expensive home, for $155 million dollars. What strikes me most about this story is this quotation, "Some of (the world's richest) just have to have the best. Price is not an issue." How can $155 million dollars for a house not be an issue? Sometimes I wonder if the very rich have a different genetic make-up than the rest of us? I don't know how else to explain spending that is equivalent to more than 11 different countries' GDP?

According to the CIA World Factbook (and Wikipedia), these countries have a GDP all less than $155 million:

217 Marshall Islands 115
218 Anguilla 108
219 Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) 75
220 Nauru 60
221 Wallis and Futuna 60
222 Saint Pierre and Miquelon 48
223 Montserrat 29
224 Saint Helena 18
225 Tuvalu 14
226 Niue 7
227 Tokelau 1

Now, I am one of the biggest proponents of capitalism I know, but this seems frivilous even to me.

FSF: Free Screening of Freedom Writers for Teacher

This is a special freebie, for those great men and women who teach the little gremlins of our country, day in and day out. As a tutor for only one hour each week, I have a tremendous (and constantly growing) respect for all teachers do. Kids are crazy. It's nice to be able to do something, however small, for them in return. AMC seemingly feels the same way. (That, and they have a keen marketing department). Teachers will be part of the key demographic for the film recently out called Freedom Writers. However, from January 26 - February 1, 2007, teachers need only bring their ID badges to score a free ticket to this inspirational story. And they thought summers off and discounts on mod podge were their only perk!

Pop Culture Meets Stock Culture: Wallstrip

I read an article in BW today talking about a cool little web-based stock show that targets one stock daily that is at its 52 week peak. Wallstrip seems to be a smart, slick little show, from what I've seen. I think they are getting a lot of hits from their BW fame and have a funny little spoof about it. I can't speak to the validity of their stock tips yet, but hey, I am a product of the You Tube generation. If it looks good, gives me a bit of a chuckle, and keeps me from doing my actual work, that's good enough for me.

Best Investing Article. Ever.

Morningstar has on its website, what I consider to be, the best article for beginning investors ever written. It's the most thorough, clear, concise, and useful article I've read thus far. It's a constant source of reference for me, so I thought I would share. You can find it here. Feel free to let me know if you like it!

Open a Suntrust Money Market and Get a Free Airtran Ticket

It seems that for opening a money market account with Suntrust, with a minimum of $10K, you can earn a free ticket to fly anywhere Airtran flies. The money needs to be deposited for a minimum of 90 days. When checking out the promotional website, the money market rate was difficult to find for my area, but it can probably be assumed that it's competitive with other money market rates, in the 4.0% range. While you can get better rates from an online savings bank like Emigrant or ING, none of them are offering such a nice perk.

Here's a bit of the small print:

Deposit $10,000 or more of new money into Premium Money Market Performance Account by March 9, 2007. You must be an AirTran Airways A+ Rewards member. Complete redemption certificate by March 31, 2007. Duplicate or incomplete redemption certificates will not be processed. 16 A+ Rewards credits – which qualify you for a free round-trip flight – will be credited to your A+ Rewards account 10 – 12 weeks after your redemption certificate is received and validated. Premium Money Market Performance Account clients must maintain a minimum incremental balance of at least $10,000 for 90 days from the date of deposit. To open a Premium Money Market Performance Account, you must open or already have an existing Smart Solution Plus or Signature Advantage checking account. Premiums on money market accounts may be reported as interest income to the IRS and the account holder will be responsible for applicable taxes. Limit one ticket per household. Account holders must be U.S. residents and 18 years of age or older. Offer good while supplies last. Offer subject to withdrawal without notice and may not be combined with any other offers. SunTrust checking is available to residents in the following states: AL, AR, DC, FL, GA, MD, MS, NC, SC, TN, VA, and WV. Void where prohibited by law.

The most important catches are in bold, namely that you need to open a checking account and that you need to open the account by March 9. All in all, it seems like a good deal if you have 10 Gs that you can move around.

FSF: Free Prego

Mmmm, I love me some sauce. It seems like there's never enough when I have a big plate of noodles sitting in front of me. If you feel the same way, check out this coupon for a free jar of Prego. It seems as though you have to send away for the coupon, but $.39 for a jar of sauce is still pretty great.

Business Week Article on Sustainability

Sustainability has become a very hot buzzword these days. BW has a piece detailing some top companies that have made it essential to their operations. Often times, this has increased their profits. Imagine that: doing good and making money. As Hendrix once said, this might cause "the hippies [to] pull out all their hair" though potentially in a different context!

Financista Fundamental #2: Prioritize; Pursue Your Passions

I recently read an article over at Free Money Finance that really spoke to my view of money. One of the more poignant parts said this:

Financial planning is the process of aligning your financial choices with your life passions. And although financial planning can tell you how to accomplish your goals, it cannot tell you what your goals should be.

Money is important, but not in and of itself. It's important in so much that it allows you to pursue those things you really care about.

This leads me to my next Fundamental: Prioritize; Pursue Your Passions. (Please note the punctuation used. It was deliberate). Before you go out gallavanting the world with a fist full of cash and the phrase, "But The Financista told me to..." on your lips, sit down and figure out what you truly care about. Do you love to hike and dream of scaling Everest? Is your joy in strapping on your sneaks and challenging yourself to beat your last race? Could you be the next Julia Child with just a little instruction? Would Mozart be rolling over in his grave if you just had a little more practice? (You catch my drift). What are those things that you long for, those things that would make life seem empty if they weren't in your life or you would regret never having accomplished?

One of mine is seeing the gigantic, beautiful world in which we live, so I make that a priority in my life and in my financial planning. It is well worth it to me to eat leftovers for lunch for a month in order to have spending money for a week in Barcelona. To be able to roam the streets decorated by Gaudi, I would gladly wear Levis instead of Sevens. I know this about myself and have structured my budget accordingly. Because, as sad as it might be, I know I can't have it all (at least not at this salary!).

Your life should be passionate, full of those things that excite you, rouse you, and inspire you. Figure out what those are and forget about the other stuff because in the end, you won't remember that dinner at Chili's, but you will remember being in Chile.

FSF: (Bonus) Free International Phone Calls

Reinforcing my love of Jonathan over at My Money Blog, his post today gives a Iowa number that you can call to be able to dial internationally for free! The number is: (712) 858-8094. Check out the site AllFreeCalls.net to find out about more details. Jonathan also did a bit of research as to why this works and is not just another scam. Kudos. This will definitely be helpful in planning the trip to Spain!

FSF: Free Aquafresh Sample

If flossing daily and better oral hygiene were part of your New Year's resolutions, here is a delightful sample of "Extreme Clean" toothpaste from Aquafresh. Smile bright!

The Financista Fundamental #1: Live Below Your Means

I was inspired by Madame X at My Open Wallet, who published her financial rules, and I plan to start a little series on what I consider the fundamentals of personal finance and frugality.

Fundamental #1 is undoubtedly to live below your means. Whether you are taking in $100 a month or $10,000 a month, you need to learn to make it work for you. While a volunteer with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps in New Orleans, my roommates and I all earned $75 a month for food and $80 a month for a personal items. While health insurance, transportation to work, and rent was provided for, there was still not a lot of fluff left over. But, we made it work. And that's the key. If you need to have a roommate, eat out less, mend your clothes, or stay home more often, it's essential to figure out a way to spend less than you take in. It's non-negotiable and fundamental to financial success. If you need further persuasion, read this article at the Motley Fool.

Gotta have coups, baby

Today, at the grocery store, we saved an astonishing $40 on a $160 bill. My jaw just about dropped, in pure delight. We had seen an ad in the grocery store circulator for triple coupons up to $1.00. It was for the store that's the most expensive in the area, but well worth it. It's definitely a good idea to glance at the paper on Wednesday and see what the deals are -- you'd be surprised how much you can save!

Wheelin' Dealin'

I wandered over to a part of town that I hadn't spent much time in before, U Street, and stumbled upon a flea market. My roommates and I were in the market for a nice set of dishware. Lo and behold! I had hit the motherload! The man tried to tell me that the plates were German, until I showed the flipped plate over to him which said quite prominently "Made in England." His response? "Even betta!" Well in that case...57 pieces of dishware and accessories, a coordinating vase, and a tablecloth (er, sheet) for $21! My grin stretched from ear to ear, despite needing to call my roommate for a ride to carry all of the goodies home. What a lovely experience.

How is this at all applicable to you? Good question. My advice to you is this: if you are in the market for something, check some unorthodox places: Craigslist, the paper, your local flea market, etc. You'll never know the great deals you can find.

FSF: Fatwallet

One link that I consistently use to find free stuff, is Fatwallet. The forums are top-notch and relate to all sorts of deals, not just free stuff.

My pick for today, from the forums, is for free coupons from Auntie Anne's Pretzels. All you have to do is submit your email, and you will receive coupons for FREE (though sometimes BOGO) like the one I received.

There's nothing better than munching on one of Auntie Anne's after an exhausting day at the mall seeking out the best deals. Yum yum!

Restaurant Week in DC

It's that time of year again - Restaurant Week in DC. January 8-14 marks one of the twice annual weeks where the fanciest schmantsiest restaurants open up their doors and shave down their prices (and oftentimes their portions) to let the regular people, like myself, have a chance to dine at a 4 star restaurant in the city without needing to take out a loan.

Even at the prix-fixe costs of $20.07 for lunch and $30.07 for dinner, this is not an inexpensive meal. However, it is a great way to experience the city, have fun with friends, and rub elbows with some mukkady mucks.

You can make your reservations through OpenTable and earn points towards future meals while you're at it! Bon appetite!

To Tithe or Not to Tithe

This is a subject that I have always been a bit confused on. I am a cradle Catholic, and I had never even heard the term until I got to college and had some Evangelical friends who told me about the practice. 10%!? Gosh, I thought, that seems rather steep and so I had never disciplined myself to the practice. This year, I hope to make the jump, for several reasons, but not the least of which is that I don't want to do it.

Realizing that I held this attitude was eye-opening. I don't like for anything to have that kind of control over me, especially not money! I did some research on the topic and talked to some friends and wanted to share a bit of the info I found:

a) Tithing means to give of a person's gross income. The tithe, however, is only a barometer, guideline, or estimating level for one's sacrificial giving. Some can and should offer more than the recommended amount of their tithe; others may return less than that percentage.

b) If the amount of the suggested tithe is legitimately too much for one's current budget, a member may begin with a lower percentage that will be both sacrificial and yet possible. Then the member may gradually raise the level of giving until the full suggested amount is reached. In this way brothers and sisters and families are making a decision for the Lord first and only afterward considering their own needs and wants.

c) Families should involve their children in tithing by teaching them through word and by example the priority of returning to God a portion of the blessing He has given us. Children may do this through tithing their allowances or income from part-time jobs.

d) Those faithful Christians who tithe report how remarkably their material needs have been met. Moreover, they will cite these blessings as even greater, spiritual rewards:

1) a sense of serenity and satisfaction that comes from generosity;

2) an awareness that God comes first, even in decisions about money;

3) a recognition that one has eliminated the practice of making contributions that are mere leftovers or contributions of habit;

4) a deep sense of satisfaction in the progress made by the Order due to the amount of tithing by its members;

5) an ability to distinguish between wants and needs;

6) a deeper consciousness of society's materialism and consumerism;

7) A keener appreciation of the world's poor and how we should and can alleviate their pain and poverty;

8) a quiet confidence in the Lord's protective care.

For further reading, click here, the site where this information was taken from.

Now if I could only get that "cheerful giver" part down pat...All feedback is surely welcome, especially if this is something you have considered before.