Archive for February, 2010

Posted on February 27, 2010 - by admin

Growing a Garden will save you money or will it?

Out of Gas Newsletter - Issue 74 Feb.27, 2010

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Spring is just around the corner no matter how much snow is outside our window, and there is a bit. We’ll be talking on Saturdays in the next few weeks about some ways that you can save money in the spring. One of the first subjects we’ll be looking at today is gardening.

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Will Gardening Save you Money or Not

Everyone is trying to save money, which is one of the reasons that you’re visiting our blog. So the big question is, can you save money growing a garden.

I think if done correctly you can do that, if not it can cost you a fortune. After all there is a book called “the $64 Tomato”, don’t believe me, check out the link below.

http://www.amazon.com/64-Tomato-Fortune-Endured-Existential/dp/1565125576/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1267044308&sr=8-1

There can be if done incorrectly quite a bit of cost involved in growing a garden. Things like fertilizers, pest control, tools, equipment and more.

So here are some questions to ask you before beginning to think about a garden.

1. Do you like vegetables… if not then unless you do it to get outside then a garden won’t save you money. It may make you friends with your neighborhood.

2. Do you have a place to grow your garden. It is possible to grow things in buckets, but that tends to be more expensive. A good site to check out if you’re interested in that can be found here.

http://www.gardenguides.com/90584-vegetable-gardens-buckets.html

3. Are you physically able to take care of a garden. In order to get the most from your garden you’ll need to be able to do things like hoe, water, plant, harvest your garden. Especially during the hot summer these tasks can be tough even on a healthy person.

4. If you live in a rural area, where you can get produce in the summer cheap, then again it will be tough to save money with your own garden.

5. One thing is you will be spending quite a bit of time in your garden, what you’ll want to think about before you get started is how much is your time worth.

Still sound good to you - next week we’ll talk about some vegetable growing basics, and send you to some websites for additional information.

We hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Posted on February 26, 2010 - by admin

66 Ways to Save money

Got a busy day today, so we’ll keep the post short (TGIF).

Found this from one of the governments websites - 66 ways to save money.

You can check it out here - http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/money/66ways/ - you can view it online or check out the pdf version.

Have a wonderful Friday.

Posted on February 23, 2010 - by admin

Saving Money on your Next Vacation Part 1

During the next few Tuesdays we’re going to be talking about some ways to save money on your vacation. The first thing we would like to do is to talk some about the different types of vacations that you may be going. We’ll expand things over the next few weeks, today we’ll just mention them briefly.

1. Going to Grandma’s house - this is a trip to your relatives. Among the vacations it is probably the least expensive.

2. A trip to the beach.

3. A series of mini - vacations (like to national / state parks near your area). This is usually within your home state.

4. A road trip - visiting several places in different states).

5. A trip to an amusement park (Like Disney World / Disney Land).

We’ll give each of those a post of it’s own, we’ll also talk about some ways that you can save money on travel, hotel and other expenses.

Posted on February 20, 2010 - by admin

Save Money on Doing your Taxes - Some even FREE

Out of Gas Newsletter - Issue 73 Feb.20, 2010

Save Money on Doing your Taxes

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Before you work on your taxes, you want to make absolutely sure that you take advantage of a slew of tax credits this year. You can find the most comprehensive list (we could find) here - http://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/tax-tips/irs-tax-return/5519.html

Links you can Use

Thinking about your summer vacation and flying - this article will give you some tips on being the frugal flyer.

http://frugaltraveler.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/16/click-it-and-ticket-booking-a-flight-the-frugal-way/

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Saving Money on Your Tax Preparation

I did a few calls around our area and if you go to one of the big guys (you know the one’s I’m talking about) - you can have your taxes done (even the simple one’s) for from $100 - $500. Why in the world would you pay that much when you could do it yourself…. for FREE.

First be aware that there are many places where you can get free tax help and free filing.

If you make less than 49k / year then you can get free Volunteer Income Tax Assistance. In order to get this free assistance you need to make sure that -

• You, your spouse and any dependents must be U.S. Citizens, Resident Aliens or
have a valid Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN)
• Returns will only be prepared for taxpayers with a total income of $49,000 or
less
• If filing a Married Filing Joint return, you and your spouse must be present
• If filing a Married Filing Separately return and your or your spouse live in a
Community Property state, we CANNOT prepare your return
• Social Security Number (SSN) information presented must match the SSN on
all Wage & Income statements (i.e. Form W-2, Form 1098, Form 1099, etc.)
• If your SSN information does not match your Wage & Income statements, you
will need to contact the issuer to correct those statements
• Verified ITIN taxpayers are exempt from this requirement

You can find out a location near your area by calling the following phone number -

To locate the nearest VITA site, call 1-800-829-1040

If you’re over 60 then AARP can help - check out this link.

https://locator.aarp.org/vmis/sites/tax_aide_locator.jsp

Less than 57k and want to do your taxes online then you can check out this url from the IRS - http://www.irs.gov/efile/article/0,,id=118986,00.html?portlet=6

No MATTER what your income you can file free online (without any ‘assistance’) by going to the following url.

https://www.freefilefillableforms.com/FFA/Gateway.htm

IF you do decide to go with one of the big guys PLEASE DO NOT get a loan or advance payment, because you are just flushing your money down the drain.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Posted on February 16, 2010 - by admin

New Credit Card Law - Some details

You’ve probably been hearing a lot of hub bub lately about the new credit card regulations that will be going into effect on Feb. 22nd. Here are some highlights of the changes and the revisions.

Changes for people under 21.

-They will have a hard time building their credit history. If they don’t have any income them an ‘adult’ will have to get involved.
- Credit card companies will have a tougher time marketing on college campuses.

Changes in payments -

-If you have several different interest rates on your cards, your payment is more than the minimum payment, then that portion over the minimum will be applied to the highest interest rate balance.

Here’s a simple example -

You have a balance on your credit card of $100.

$50 has an interest rate of 10%
$50 has an interest rate of 20%

Your minimum payment is $10 and you pay $20.

The first $10 goes to the 10% balance - the second $10 to the 20% balance.

- Generally you should have longer to make your payments after the bill comes.

- if you make a late payment, the penalty is not as stiff as it once was.

Getting a credit card will be tougher as new rules go into effect, including proof of income.

There are a ton of ways the credit card companies have gotten around some of these things that were supposed to help consumers.

= interest rates have gone up for almost all cards
= minimum payments have gone up
= credit limits have gone done
= a myriad of various fees

Enjoy your Tuesday.

Posted on February 14, 2010 - by admin

Saving Money on Tweets Weekly Updates for 2010-02-14

• Ideas for Saving Money on Valentine’s http://www.gasmileageguide.com/gas-savings-blog/ #

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Posted on February 13, 2010 - by admin

Saving Money on Snow Removal - Tips on Snow Removal

Saving Money on Snow Removal - Tips on Snow Removal

Out of Gas Newsletter - Issue 72 Feb.13, 2010

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We talked yesterday about saving money on Valentine’s day - if you haven’t had a chance to check that out, do it.
http://www.gasmileageguide.com/gas-savings-blog/save-money-on-valentines-day-last-minute-ideas/saving-money
Links you can use -

The Olympics get started today - you can check out the schedule at NBC or the Vancouver site.
http://www.vancouver2010.com/olympic-schedule-results/
http://www.nbcolympics.com/event-results-schedules/index.html

I actually enjoy hockey and curling… go figure.

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We’ve had a ton of snow recently. When there is a big snow, there can be a tremendous amount of added expense. Below are some ideas for saving you money on Snow Removal etc., during the winter time.

1. Snow Removal - I’ve heard of people from the last storm having to pay as much as $1,000 to get their driveway / sidewalks cleared of snow. Below are some ideas to help you save money on snow removal.

First you should think about how often you have big snows, if it is once every 10 years or so then I would recommend you buy a snow shovel. Become friends with the neighborhood teenagers and hire them at 10 bucks or so an hour to shovel your property.

If you get a big snow (more than 6 or 7 inches) every 3 or 4 years there are a couple of different things you can do. Buy a couple of snow shovels and do what I suggested above. Another thing you can do is to have a neighborhood group of people go in and buy a snow blower. Note it is very important that if you use this arrangement you are good friends and trust your neighbors. You wouldn’t want to do this if you just moved into a neighborhood or don’t ‘know’ your neighbors very well. This arrangement works even better if you hire everyone’s kids to help with the snow removal process.

You can also share things with neighbors like I described above with things like chain saws and generators. One thing about generators. It is extremely important that at least every year you start them and do some general maintenance with them - check the oil, change the oil etc… otherwise when you need it, it won’t work.

2. Buying stuff - you should know that if you buy a snow shovel during a snow storm that you are going to be paying much more than you would in the fall of the year. So here are some things you should purchase so that you are prepared every fall.

Snow shovels
A few bags of salt and sand
If you have kids make sure that they have something to sled on

Have a wonderful weekend and remember no matter what spring is around the corner (no matter what the ground hog says).

Posted on February 12, 2010 - by admin

Save Money on Valentine’s Day - Last Minute Ideas

First you need to realize that saving money on Valentine’s Day, doesn’t mean that you have to be cheap. And the great thing is if you have been procrastinating these ideas will usually take you less than an hour or so to do.

1. Create a mix mp3 or CD with your favorite love songs.

a) Choose songs that mean something to you both.
b) Put them on a cd or you can put the mp3s on a memory stick
c) Create the cd cover - this should include something like - “I Can’t Fight this Feeling” - song I heard when I knew I was in love with you. Here is a cover creator that is online and FREE. http://bighugelabs.com/cd.php

2. Got Kids - use this site to print FREE v-day cards. http://www.dltk-holidays.com/valentines/cards.htm

3. If you both have facebook accounts - create a scrapbook showcasing your love and share it with your friends. http://apps.facebook.com/share-love/

4. Create a coupon for every year you’ve been together (or if your just starting your adventure… make one for every month). The coupons should be for you to do what your significant other doesn’t like to do.

5. If the weather outside is frightful… which it will be in much of the country. Have an indoor picnic.

6. Find out your sweethearts top 3 or 4 favorite movies. Rent / Buy / Download them and spend the evening cuddling on the couch.

7. Back Rubs are free and I’ve never found anyone that doesn’t like one.

Posted on February 9, 2010 - by admin

Toyota’s Recall Woes Continue

We spoke some on Saturday about the Toyota recall with regards to brake pedal problems. There had been rumors about an additional problem with their Prius models. This happened yesterday and overnight as they recalled about 400k 2010 Prius hybrids. The problem appears to be related to the braking system. There are two modes in the braking system (specifically the anti lock braking). One recovers energy and charges the battery at the same time, and the other is the ‘normal’ hydraulic braking system. What is supposed to happen is that the energy recovery one is the default for driving around town and the hydraulics kick in automatically when needed. The problem seems to be there is a ‘burp’ in the changeover from one system to the other… which unfortunately causes some no brake moments. This seems to occur more frequently when you hit a bump in the road.

From reports that we’ve read the ‘fix’ should take about 45 minutes. The fix is a software update to the cars computer, tweaking how the braking works. The best way to get information is to call your dealer for details and monitor Toyota’s site for further details.

Here’s a recent press release with more details - http://pressroom.toyota.com/pr/tms/toyota-2010-prius-abs-recall-153614.aspx

Posted on February 6, 2010 - by admin

Toyota Recall Details

Out of Gas Newsletter - Issue 71 Feb.6, 2010

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There has been a whole lot of talk recently about the recalls on Toyota’s. Today we have gathered information that should help you.

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What was the problem (quote from the Toyota Site)

The issue involves a friction device in the pedal designed to provide the proper “feel” by adding resistance and making the pedal steady and stable. This friction device includes a “shoe” that rubs against an adjoining surface during normal pedal operation. Due to the materials used, wear and environmental conditions, these surfaces may, over time, begin to stick and release instead of operating smoothly. In some cases, friction could increase to a point that the pedal is slow to return to the idle position or, in rare cases, the pedal sticks, leaving the throttle partially open.

Which models are affected by the Toyota Recall (this is for both the Pedal and Mat)

*  2005-2010 Avalon
* 2009-2010 RAV4
* 2007-2010 Camry
* 2008-2010 Sequoia
* 2009-2010 Corolla
* 2005-2010 Tacoma
* 2008-2010 Highlander
* 2007-2010 Tundra
* 2009-2010 Matrix
* 2009-2010 VENZA
* 2004-2009 Prius

Here are the vehicles not involved in the recall.

*  Sienna
* Solara
* Yaris
* 4Runner
* FJ Cruiser
* Land Cruiser
* 2010 Prius

How to get the problem fixed.

They will be contacting folks shortly. You won’t have to pay for the repair. The repair should take about 30 minutes and Toyota says that you shouldn’t experience any different ‘feel’ in the pedal. You can also call your local dealer if you wish. We did and they gave us an appointment for Monday. They also mentioned they were working 24 hours a day until they had no one else they needed to fix. You could really tell they were going out of their way to be super nice. Also we asked them about when it would be available nationwide and they said it should be ‘this weekend’

More details about the recall can be found at Toyota’s Website -

http://www.toyota.com/recall/pedal.html