This Week In Your Wallet – March 8, 2011
“Seven and a half cents doesn’t buy a hell of a lot,
Seven and a half cents doesn’t mean a thing!
But give it to me every hour,
Forty hours every week,
And that’s enough for me to be living like a king!”
I woke up in the middle of the night with these lyrics running through my head. You would have too, if you’d seen three successive performances of The Pajama Game in a single weekend. (That’s what parents of kids in musicals do – and in honor, I’ll send a Jean Chatzky Savings Kit and Get Out of Debt Kit to the first Twitter “follower” and Facebook “liker” to post the name of the persnickety time-keeper character played by my son.)
Of course, it’s also possible that these lyrics resonated with me because despite debuting on Broadway in 1954 (and being written before that), they made perfect money sense (and cents). They go on as follows …
“Only five years from today!
Five years! Let’s see…thats 260 weeks, times forty hours every week, and roughly two and a quarter hours overtime…at time
and a half for overtime! Comes to exactly…$852.74!
That’s enough for me to get
An automatic washing machine,
A year’s supply of gasoline,
Carpeting for the living room,
A vacuum instead of a blasted broom,
Not to mention a forty inch television set!”
Yes, the price of gasoline has changed (more on that in a minute) but the concept hasn’t. Small amounts of money amassed over long periods of time absolutely add up – particularly if you figure out some way of getting the money out of your slippery little fingers so that you don’t spend it.
And Speaking Of Gas Prices
I saw $4.04 at the pump yesterday evening. And I’m sure higher prices are in the offing in the next few weeks and months. What we do in these situations is control the things we can control. We can’t control gas prices, but we can control where we buy that gas and we can control how we drive and maintain our cars.
Here are a few price saving moves to keep in mind this week…
- Use websites like gasbuddy.com and gaspricewatch.com to find the best prices in your area before you head to fill up – gasbuddy.com also has an app.
- If you can’t remember the last time you took your car in for service, make an appointment. Your car can eat up 25 percent more gas if it’s not running well. (Fill your tires while you’re there. Soft tires are a huge gas guzzler.)
- If you haven’t been specifically told not to buy regular gas, buy regular gas. Putting higher octane fuel than necessary in your tank is a big waste of money and doesn’t do anything for your car.
- Take off the snow tires as soon as you’re clear of snow season. Driving with them on uses more gas.
- Finally, keep to the speed limit. Driving 55 mph instead of 65 mph generally gets you an extra 2 miles per gallon.
And Speaking of Plumbing
Okay, I wasn’t actually speaking of plumbing, but I was thinking about it. Because I’m waiting for the plumber to arrive as I write. When I wasn’t at The Pajama Game this weekend, I was dealing with a stopped-up toilet. The plumber came by yesterday, but needed a part so he’s coming back this morning.
I’m fortunate that I’ve known my plumber for years. I originally found him thanks to a friend’s rave recommendation. But hiring a plumber, or home improvement contractor of any kind, isn’t the easiest thing to do. In fact, home improvements often rank very high in the things consumers complain about to the Better Business Bureau and the FTC. Last week, my friend Mitch Lipka of ConsumerAlly.com worked with the BBB to compile a list of things you need to know to make the right hiring decision – and avoid getting scammed! You can read the whole story here: walletpop.com. But these are my favorites:
- Do A Quick BBB Background Check — Check out a company’s BBB rating and complaint history at www.bbb.org, which is fast, easy and free.
- Get References — Ask for references from the contractor’s previous three jobs and check them out before you sign a contract. Don’t hire anyone driving through your neighborhood or who stuffs a flier in your mailbox and claims to be doing work for your neighbors, since he could be from out of state and using his truck as an office.
- Don’t Pay Too Much Up Front — Never pay a deposit of more than 25% to 33% of the total job cost. Final payment should only be due when the job is completed. Pay by check and credit card, and never by cash.
Ah, there’s my plumber now. See you next week.
Jean
