Last week I pinned a picture of an awesome lipstick color! I followed the link to the tumblr account of Makeup Lovers Unite who has a complete page full of “makeup dupes”. The page consists of a list of comparison of high-end makeup products to their drug store counterparts. If it’s the color you love, why not get the look for less?
Check out other Makeup Dupes at Makeup Lovers Unite
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If I walked in a room and asked everyone who is completely debt free to raise their hands and someone did, I would truly be surprised. It’s not because I’m unaware of the fact that debt-free people do exist, it’s just because I see an abundance of people from all walks of life trying to get their finances in a better place. I myself am one of those people. The inspiration for this post comes after sitting down and looking at my finances for this month. A wrench was unexpectedly thrown into my financial pattern when a mistake was made on one of my checks (hey, it sucks but it happens). This caused me to take a closer look at my money. Where is it going and could I save more?
Here’s what I found:
I started the morning trying to pay a bill online that I have already paid. What can I say, at the point in the day, I hadn’t gotten my Starbucks fix. Once on the site, though I saw something about saving money with a FREE online Energy Audit from GA Power, so I followed the link. It took less than 10 minutes and it showed me how the changes I have made over the past year have saved me money in a monthly comparison of 2011 to 2012. It also provided some suggestions for home improvements that can increase comfort while lowering monthly bills. According to Energy Star, “a home energy audit is often the first step in making your home more efficient. An audit can help you assess how much energy your home uses and evaluate what measures you can take to improve efficiency.”
After the Energy Audit, I checked out my credit card balance (insert sad face). Just to give a little background, a few years ago I paid off my credit card by paying a set amount ($200 a month) instead of the minimum payment. During that time, I saw the decrease in the balance move rather quickly. Now, after living off of my credit card for one year + span of not working, then a complete career change with a different kind of salary, my credit card balance hit an all time high. I’ve been working to pay it and the balance is moving in the right direction, but it’s not moving fast enough. So, I decided to input my information into a credit card payment calculator to find out the timeframe of being credit card debt free. I added a credit card calculator on the right panel of SMC, but I really like this one from the Consumer’s Alliance because it reveals just how much that credit card is going to cost you, or how you can pay off your existing credit card debt a bit faster. Now, i have an exact goal date and I understand better how a few dollars can make a big difference in the end.
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On a given week, my mailbox is flooded with credit cards upgrade offers that I immediately place in the recycle bin. It wasn’t until about a month or two ago that I received two separate offers that made me go hmmm…, maybe I should find out more. So off to the bank I went to speak with a representative about the Limitless Card and the Cash Back card.
The Limitless Card
The first offer that intrigued me was one the limitless card, known to me as the Discipline Tester. I sparingly use my card anyway, so a limitless card would actually help boost my credit score because it eliminates the debit to credit ratio for that card. There are several downsides to this type of card, though. For those who are not careful, the limitless factor could entice one to live beyond one’s means; thus, putting the cardholder further into debt. Another disadvantage to this type of card is the higher interest associated with the card… like say around 22%, which would skyrocket even more if you were ever late for a payment. In my opinion, this card is a NO GO!
The Cash Back Card
A cash back credit card is one that offers a percentage spent back to the card holder. It’s great because you can get money back for things you would buy anyway, like gas, groceries, and sometimes travel expenses. It’s also great, because you can have the cash received applied to your credit card bill, into a checking or savings, or in some cases applied to your mortgage. It’s downside- some people get so caught up in the cash rewards that they spend more than they were initially planning on saving. Therefore, you are basically spending money to get a deal…again, NOT GOOD!
Between the two cards, I did choose to upgrade to the cash back card. I found myself briefly falling into the spending trap of the cash rewards card. On a positive note, the cash back rewards seem to be accumulating much faster than the reward points system of my previous card and I will use that money to in turn, pay down my debt. More updates to come as I feel how it is working out.
Questions About Credit Card? Contact Us!
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Calling all Birthday Girls!
As I sit at the computer looking for a birthday dress, I realize that my birthday is right around the corner. But enough about my b-day. I know so many amazing people who are August babies that by the time mine comes around, I am exhausted from the celebrations! This post is for all everyone out there celebrating birthdays, especially those celebrating birthdays today: Kaylah, Nicole, Amanda, Tanika. Last year to the day, I wrote a post about birthday freebies . Now I am here to tell you what actually worked and what didn’t.
My Highest Ranked Birthday Freebie
Hands down- the best freebie I have EVER signed up for is the Chef’s Table from Bennihana! I happily used my $30 gift certificate and enjoyed an amazing evening with one of my really good friends. In addition to the amount of the gift certificate, I can’t help but love that you get an entire month to use it. With my busy work/social schedule, I can sometimes be difficult to try to claim all of the free deals in one day….especially when you should be out painting the town….well PINK!
My Own Epic Fail
I called myself signing up for the birthday club at Moes and for whatever reason, it did not workL. I’m sure this doesn’t seem like a big deal, but I was really looking forward to my FREE burritos (I crave Moes all the time). This year, I will make sure I have a paper copy of my birthday email to show.
Other Companies That Offer Birthday Freebies
Tips from the pros
There’s an art to grabbing gratis goodies. Keep these strategies in mind:
Happy Birthday!
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The Green Experiment, have you heard of it? If not, let me be the first to introduce how “going green” with your finances could really save you money. At its most basic level, it is doing away with your debit and credit cards and living off cash for a specified period of time. Did you know that most people spend more when they pay with cards over cash? One psychologically reason for this is that people can’t “see” the money dwindle down when using cards. If you are using the oh so fab, envelope system, you are already living a green life. For others, this experiment might not be as easy as it sounds. For those of you up for the challenge, let’s see how you do for ONE week with cash only. My thoughts… you will start saving money because you can physically see your wad dwindle with every purchase. Hopefully, this will cause you to determine to spend or to save. Sophia Banay from Glamour magazine adds, “all you need to determine whether you can afford something is peek in your wallet.” If you are down for the challenge, She Makes Cents is going green starting Sunday, August 5th.
Are You Down for the Challenge?
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As an English major at Spelman College, I could easily spend $500 on books for one semester. It all depended on the classes and professors that I put on my schedule. While some classes required one or two major textbooks that cost a fortune, other classes required several books at a time and no you did NOT get the “hookup” if your professor wrote the book (s/o to Dr. Harper at Spelman College and her Langston Hughes class). Did I mention that I took a full load every semester for two and a half year straight, which meant a lot of books?
Rent Textbooks Electronically from. . .
Luckily, the college students of today do not have to worry about that. Today, Amazon.com announced the launch of Kindle Textbook Rental–now students can save up to 80% off textbook list prices by renting from the Kindle Store. Tens of…
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Eight Tips for Consumers Impacted By Identity Theft
American consumers lost more than $600 million last year, according to the Federal Trade Commission, as a result of identity theft and costs associated with recovering from this type of crime.
Here are eight (8) things you as a consumer can do to protect your credit:
TransUnion Relations (800) 888-4213 P.O Box 1000 Chester, PA 19016 http://www.transunion.com
Equifax Consumer Relations (800) 685-1111 …
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This is an oldie, but goodie!
Sorry Dad for putting you out like this one the internet, but this could help someone else save on their monthly utility bills.
Have you ever opened a utility bill and thought to yourself or aloud, “this has to be a joke! Am I getting punked?” Well after you finish looking for Ashton Kutcher hiding in your bedroom closet, what do you do? Do you call the service provider (this is what I usually do)? Put the bill back on the mail table? Out of site out of mind, right (this is what my mom usually does)? Or, do you just pay it (Dad…)? A similar scenario took place last week with my dad. He opened up a bill for a bundled package of home phone and internet and was immediately puzzled. To be honest, he probably spent like five minutes looking at the balance due at the top of bill…
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I got an email from Birchbox the other day announcing Glamour magazine’s collaboration for the July 2012 Birchbox. I found myself getting excited thinking about all of the goodies I will soon be getting my hands on. Then I looked over on my dresser and saw my June Birchbox basically untouched. Last month, I rushed home to see what beauty goodies were waiting for me. Once opened, I tried everything and didn’t touch my package for weeks; thus, realizing three things. Firstly, I love getting mail that isn’t a bill. Secondly, I like the idea of being surprised by what products were chosen for my box and finally (and probably the most important), if I continued this pattern, no matter how good the deal is, I am wasting my money.
Making the Deal Work for You
After coming to the realization that paying $10 a month for a deal that I wasn’t taking advantage of is wasting $10 a month( $120 a year). So what did I do? I used or am actively using ALL of the products. I ate my Luna bar, which by the way was both yummy and healthy. I took a long bubble bath, while catching up on Kardashians, with the BORGHESE Body Soak and I came to the conclusion that as long as I was using the products, that Birchbox still ROCKS!
Check out the Shopping/Money Saving Sites I like:
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