This Week in Your Wallet: What Are You Overpaying For?
Before I begin this week’s newsletter, I want to start by giving one more plug for my Money School. The unofficial start of fall can feel like a new beginning in many ways — as you’ll see me admit below, I haven’t been in school for many years but there’s still something about early September that feels like the start of something new, even now — so if you’re feeling like you need to jumpstart your finances or want to take a fresh attempt at budgeting, Money School can provide the nudge (and information) you need to help you manage your finances. And just as our friends made high school chemistry class fun, taking a Money School class with a friend can be fun, too, so please share this with any of your friends who might also want to learn with you. The first class is September 10th and there are still a few slots left, so sign up now!
Happy (unofficial) first day of fall! I hope you all had a fantastic Labor Day weekend, and that you feel ready to tackle the new season. (I’ve been out of school for over twenty years now, but there’s still something about the day after Labor Day that feels like I’m starting something new.)
If you were on vacation last week, you’re likely returning to the office with a lot to catch up on — emails from coworkers and clients, work that may have piled up in your absence, news that broke while you were “unplugged.” While I can’t help with the email or work, I can try to help with the news — at least, the news on the personal finance front. And I want to start with this great rundown from Daily Finance on the five things you are probably overpaying for.
Sometimes, we put so much of our financial lives on autopay (or auto-debit) that it’s easy to forget what we’re actually paying for. As Daily Finance pointed out, there are likely cheaper options out there when it comes to certain subscriptions: for wireless internet, services like NetZero and FreedomPop have tiered pricing based on how much data you use — so if you don’t use a lot of data, you can find good savings here. If your phone data plan is killing your budget, services like Skype, Google Voice and Yuilop will let you call and text for free. And finally (this is my favorite), rather than shelling out $10 per month here and $15 per month there for various newspaper and magazine subscriptions, NextIssue will give you access to up to 90 monthly magazines for just $9.99 per month. The only catch is you have to be willing to read yourmagazines online or on a tablet, so if you’re like me and just can’t give up that glossy paper, it might not be time to go all-digital just yet.
Also on the Daily Finance list of things you’re overpaying for? Cable. But for cost-savings in that area, allow me to direct you to a great Reuters article on cutting the cable cord. As Reuters notes, cutting the cord isn’t for everyone — if you can’t stand the thought of watching sports or the nightly news with an antenna, it might be best to keep your cable box. But if you end up watching all your favorite shows online anyway, canceling cable and switching to a Netflix/Hulu/iTunes combo could save you significant amounts of money: Netflix is $7.99 per month, Hulu is free (and Hulu Plus is $7.99 per month), and individual episodes on iTunes are usually $1.99 per episode for standard definition.
Finally — since I know that the adjustment from summer-mode to fall-craziness can be a tough one and leave you begging for more vacation time, allow me to share a post from my own blog, on how to extend your summer vacation glow without actually taking more time off. Reporter Maggie McGrath spoke to some experts about why more vacation time doesn’t always make you happier, and what you can do instead. Take a look — it might help you miss the beach a little less!
Do you brown-bag it?
Around this time last year, I talked about how much money you could save by bringing yourlunch to work rather than buying it or going out to eat. That information is still true, but lastweek, New York Times food writer Mark Bittman wrote about a trend that I’ve also observed myself: “Somehow one of our oldest and sanest traditions has become a laughingstock: it’s not hip to bring lunch.” Is this true in your office? I’ve certainly noticed it when I don’t work from home. The lines at the food trucks seem longer than ever while the office refrigerators seem emptier than ever. However, Bittman wants to reverse this trend, and I’m right there with him. He approaches it from a cook’s perspective and, in his article, provides some recipes for great, easy staples that you can bring to the office again and again. As for me, I’ll approach it from the finance angle: there’s nothing wrong with bringing your own lunch to the office, and if your coworkers want to spend $15 for a salad from a store, good for them. You’ll just save your $15 and put it towards a vacation to the Bahamas.
Have a great week!
Jean
