Some good stories I found on bankrate.com

from bankrate.com; some of their reader's contributions:

"I recently heard about Angel Food Ministries. This is for everyone! There are no income questions, etc. You pay upfront for a bunch of groceries and then on a certain day, you go to the church for pick up of your box. Churches across the country have joined up for this program and keep costs low due to volunteers. The costs are low because there is no overhead (like) grocery stores incur, such as paying for employees, advertising, rent, etc. Go to the site and just type in your ZIP code to see if there is one near you. Then, look at the month's menu. We are getting steaks, chicken, pasta, soup, eggs and a lot more for just $30. They have other add-ons that you can get when you order the main box. They also offer fully cooked meal boxes for seniors and vegetarian boxes. It is not a handout, but instead a great way for hard-working people to save."

--E. Donohue, Durham, North Carolina

Call your energy company to find off-peak hours
"I used to receive an electric bill from my energy company every month. I noticed that there (were) two rows in this bill -- one for off-peak usage and the other for 'on-peak' usage. I also noticed that the off-peak price is almost 40 percent of the on-peak price. When I called the electric company, they explained that they offer reduced rates for off-peak hours, which are from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. on weekdays and 24 hours on weekends. Since I load my dishwasher every day, I started to run it only at off-peak hours during weekdays, and to wait till 9 p.m. is not an effort at all. I also started doing my laundry on weekends and in emergencies on weekdays, again at night."

-- Parul Goel, Metuchen, New Jersey

The first one may not be for everyone, but it may be a good alternative for those who want to save money on groceries.

The last one is good because I try to run the dryer on off-hours. I don't use the dish-washer; I wash dishes by hand, the old fashioned way.

Paying bills online for FREE

Do you still buy stamps at the post office? Do you still have envelopes? I can't remember the last time I mailed anything out to be honest, unless it was something I sold on eBay. But in terms of bills, I always pay them online. Even better, I have automatic payments so I don't even have to worry about them. Paying bills online saves you time and money. It's because you don't have to worry about getting the bills out on time (and you don't incur late charges), you don't have to worry about if you have enough postage. You are also saving the environment by being green too. You save trees if you opt for email only billing.

I can't think of a con when it comes to paying bills online. The alternative is to pay all your bills on the exact due date, or after a few days of the due date, and at a check-cashing place or liquor store? I think this is just a waste of time and more money. Sure, sometimes you can't get those bills out on time. You should always reserve enough money for your bills; nothing is more important than paying on time and in a timely manner. You have to realize that the more you put off bill payments, the richer the company is getting--of of your expense. You have to stop the cycle and realize you're just throwing money away to them. Keep up to date on your bills, and stay on top of them. This will insure you live a stress free life of worry about your finances.

Also, while we're on the topic of bill keeping, also take some time from this to weed out any unnecessary expenses or bills you would rather not have to pay. For example, you don't watch HBO anymore, so stop paying for that. You really could save on electricity if you bought a fan instead of using the A/C all day. Just the little things add up to a lot.

Credit Card Annual/Late Fees

1. Annual fees are a waste of money. There are so many cards out there, get one without an annual fee. Why waste $65 bucks when you don't have to.

2. If you already have a card with an annual fee, you can get around paying it by calling in and cancelling the card WHEN THE ANNUAL RENEWAL IS UP. I have done this myself on a couple of occasions HOWEVER, you need to be prepared to actually cancel your card. A smart sales rep with ask you 1) why you want to cancel. Be prepared to answer convincingly. Ex. "I don't use this card very much and I have too many other cards." or "I use my XXX card most of the time, the rewards program just isn't as good." Then, if this goes well, the customer service rep will ask you "If I waive the fee, would you keep the card?" Then you can waiver a bit but decided OK, I'll keep it!

Estimated time 5-10mins work, $65-$120 saved.

Community College?

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1909623,00.html

Community college is another great overlooked American institution. Sure, community college is the butt of many jokes but from a return on education dollar, it's probably a great option for a majority of people.

1. Community college have direct vocational training, skills that apply directly for work, such as nursing or dental assistant.

2. Community college are a great place for students to prepare for 4 year universities. You can earn your general education credits for 2 years in CC and then transfer to a state university. This gives you the chance to find your interest and career path while paying alot less.

3. The govt needs to provide additional support for CC to retrain older workers and give young students.

Broken Hopes of a Spanish Generation

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1909486,00.html

Broken Hopes of a Spanish Generation

Summary: This generation is financially worse off than their parents. This situation is prevalent even among college educated individuals. 

When a country enters a manufacturing stage, good jobs can be created to allow people to live a comfortable middle class lifestyle without a whole lot of education (ie. 4 year university). The classic example is being an autoworker.

Now however, even those people with 4 year degrees are jobless in a recession or have to resort to service jobs that don't require much education (waitress, cashier, etc).

The article focuses on Spain and Europe but this problem is the same in the USA. You will have a generation of people left behind by the recession and that will impact their entire life. Boom and bust for the sake of analogy happen in 10 year cycles in the USA. 70s bust. 1989-93 recession. 94-2000 boom. 2000-2003 bust, 2005-2008 boom. Ok, maybe that's more like 7 year but you get the point. However, this is the first time in a generation where the entire world is down (so more comparable to the 70s) therefore called it the first time in 30 years.

If you read, this generation (call it young adults 23-30) have a sense of entitlement to spend and consume and for the first time, they are realizing without a good stable job in a good stable sector, they cant afford IPODs, vacations, shopping on a whim, and especially not mortgages. The danger is that it will lead to a generation of lowered expectation and hopelessness. This on top of the obvious financial regression. 

How often should I get an oil change for my car?

Answer: NOT every 3000 miles. (unless your car pre-dates electronics)

In the first 3 years of a new car, probably every 7000 miles or so. I have gone more than 10,000 miles on several cars without any problems. No decrease in gas mileage. No decrease in horsepower.  Basically with no problem at all. For an average driver, you  might do 15,000 a year. That's 5 oil changes at $50 each ($250). Probably a low estimate.

This is being a bit conservative assuming air filters and other add on costs. Based on my experience, 2 oil changes would be plenty ($100). So this is a savings of $150 over the first 3 years of your new car or $450 saved! The only unhappy person is your dealer or your local Jiffy Lube.

BTW, don't be tempted by oil change coupons from QUALITY TUNE UP or some independently owned gas station service center. I have experience that they will make up fake charges that at the end of the day negate any potential savings from the coupon.

Credit Card debt and what to do about it

This is one of my most favorite topics. Why? 

A credit card is either your best friend or worst enemy. Usually, nothing in between. If you are smart, a credit card is a substitute for cash. You get free money for 30 days, and you rack up points for using it (miles, hotel, cash back, etc)

If you are dumb, you are broke but you still keep on using your credit card to buy things you shouldn't be buying cuz you don't have the money. You make the minimum payment each month and the balance just keeps on getting larger. If this is you, you need help. Hope isn't lost, but you do need help.  By paying the minimum balance, you are not keeping good credit, you are just being a good customer because the CC company has you on the hook forever. You need to cut up your cards and settle your debt.

How do I do this? See part 2.

Buying/Leasing a Car and Negotiation Tactics

Do you remember the movie Cool Hand Luke? The first person to walks away loses. This is same with buying a car.

1. Allocate ALOT of time, you are going to block out the entire day

2. DO NOT Bring whiny kids or ppl with short attention spans

3. This is a game about patience. What's an extra 1,2,3 hours worth to you? 1000, 2000, 3000 dollars?

4. Do research. There are tons of sites to compare and search prices. Get some quotes online/over the phone. 

However, there's nothing like the human element of face to face showdown.

The car dealership wants to sell you the car and the highest price. You want to buy the car at the lowest price. Clearly these 2 are in conflict. A car is not an emotional purchase, you don't love the car, you don't HAVE to have it right now today. If you do, you just overpaid.

The cost to the dealer is ALWAYS 15-20% below sticker. That's your starting number. How do I know this? I've seen the dealer invoice sheets. The most expensive the car, the higher the markup. 30k list? how about 24k. You need to start low and negotiate up. The first number they give you is always too high. The salesman has to go back to talk to the manager. 20 mins goes by, the price goes down a little more....he's trying to wear you out. But again, what's an hour of your time? 1000/hr? Usually this will go about 3 rounds, hold your price the first 2 round and by round 3 you should give a little bit indicating you are sincere. Else, go home. You need to be ok with not buying a car on that day. Again, if you HAVE to have it, you will over pay. Everytime, I've walked away, the salesman has called me on the drive back. Once I even turned back cuz he said OK I will meet your price. I spent 20mins to drive home and saved 2k because I left the showroom(ok 40 if you count roundtrip for the drive back).

Q: How many cars have you bought to know this? 

A: In the last 15yrs, I have leased 4 cars and I have been with my parents while shopping for another 10 cars or so. 

Buying a Mattress

There are 3 types of mattresses in my mind:

1. Traditional spring coil with padding

2. Foam, like the Temperpedic

3. Sleep number, the beds that can inflate and adjust for hard/softness.

I don't know much about #3. I know they aren't cheap but they are definitely unique. These generally run around 3k. Worth it? Maybe.

However, I do know about #1 and for spring and coil, they are pretty much all the same in terms of the branding. The basic matress is the same and should not vary in cost from 800 to 3k for spring coil. The only difference is usually the thickness of the plush topper. I knew a guy who worked at a mattress store. The markup on a matress is huge, generally 400 dollars or more. So negotiate!

#2 Temperpedics are usually about 2400, more for the one you can lift up and watch tv. These are the ones you see on TV where your spine is strait and motion doesnt transfer. You can jump on it and a glass of wine won't spill.

The cost here is about 1000 in foam, 1400 in marketing. Costco also sells a foam mattress for about 700. It just as good and about 1/3rd the price. Temperpedics are great beds. I wouldn't mind having one. However, there are substitutes that are just as good for less.

Luxury Housing Bust in East San Jose

http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_12743787

This shouldn't be a surprise because:

1) People with day jobs shouldn't be buying 2M homes.
2) Money was easy
3) These were people expecting to be rich, not actually rich.

Evergreen has been an up and coming area especially during the boom of the 2000 real estate cycle. Rolling hills became hotspots for McMansions squeezed in next to each other packed with relatives and 6 cars parked out front.

The houses were large and fancy and times were good. Yet what goes up must come down and if you have a 1M or 2m house, you better have paid cash or have a business. The boom created what I call the faux riche. People who wanted to be rich, look rich, act rich, but were not rich. Rich in a nutshell means I have money and I have enough for a long while if I don't do much else. I'm not saying people shouldn't have aspirations and dreams. Not at all. But you need to write checks you can cash. Most days it's sunny and some days it rains. You need to have enough to cover the rainy days but most of those folks decided to live like it was sunny everyday. If living in your 2M house depends on if you have a job as an engineer, well, you have too much house.

BTW. I hear there are some good deals in East San Jose.