Archive for the ‘Saving Money’ Category

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

Posted on February 3, 2010 - by admin

The Latte Factor Challenge

The Latte Factor is a really neat site. The premise is one that we’ve been talking about many times on the blog. How little changes can make a huge difference. The premise is that if you skip a latte a day, then by the end of the year you would have saved x amount. The hard part of course is deciding what you’re willing to give up in order to save some money. Below are some ideas to get you started.

1. A cup of coffee on your way to work.
2. If you stop at a convenience store on the way to work to buy some goodies, try to cut the amount you buy in half or skip it all together.
3. Skip going out one night a week.
4. If you have tv channels in your cable package that you don’t watch, skip those.
5. If you buy a newspaper every day, why not read the news online.

Here’s a link to the tool that will tell you how much you’ll save in a year. Click Me.

Posted on January 30, 2010 - by admin

Finding something to sled in the snow

Out of Gas Newsletter - Issue 70 January 30, 2010

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We got about six inches of snow today. It’s not very good to make snowballs with, but it is very nice to sleigh ride on. Today’s update is a little
short, because we’ll be out playing in the snow.

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If you get in a bind and don’t happen to have a sled, here are some ideas you can use to sleigh ride (and they’re all things you can find at your house).

1. The good ole plastic bag. The black garbage bags (like hefty) work best.  Just sit on top of them (not in them). You may need a couple of runs to work
the kinks out but this works really well.
2. A rug - just don’t get one of those skid proof ones.
3. A garbage can lid - the bigger the better. The curved ones work the best, as well as ones that don’t have a handle / grip in the middle / top of the
lid.

If you’re thinking of buying a sled - the best time to do this is at the end of the winter season.

Have a wonderful time this weekend, we will.

Posted on January 26, 2010 - by admin

Be Careful When you Sell your Cash for Gold

There has been a lot of news coverage lately on people that are using the cash for gold services (you know the ones that are advertised all over on television). They are sometimes giving you a ridiculously low price for your gold. Sometimes you are getting pennies on the dollar for your hard earned trinkets. We’ll give you some links later on to find some further information. Here are some things to keep in mind.

1. Try local dealers first - believe it or not pawn shops will give you a good rate for your gold. The benefit of doing things local is that you will not have to send your gold in an envelope and find out what they will offer you for it. You will immediately find out what they will give for your gold.

2. Don’t accept the first offer, just like you should do when your buying a car, shop around for the best deal. It also doesn’t hurt to pit the potential gold buyers against each other. You could say, “Well that’s a pretty good offer but the shop down the road offered me this much for it… can you beat that price.”

3. Gold prices aren’t steady but they fluctuate. The price you’ll get for your gold is based on that price. You can find the latest gold prices here. If things are trending down, then it may be a good idea to wait until they are starting to trend up. The trick of course is to sell it when it is at a peak.

Here are some links to the news coverage we were talking about.

http://consumerist.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-search.cgi?blog_id=1&tag=cash4gold&limit=20

Enjoy your day.

Posted on January 23, 2010 - by admin

Saving money on Birthday Parties

Out of Gas Newsletter - Issue 69 January 23, 2010

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Today is our anniversary.. Lisa has put up with me for 19 years and I can’t believe it. It is pretty funny but I still feel like I’m on my honeymoon. My daughters birthday is coming up and today we talk about saving money on your birthday party.

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Saving Money on Birthday parties

There are really three types of parties -

a) The intimate party - this is probably the cheapest of them all. You invite a few close friends for a sleepover or an afternoon at your house. This type of party could also include a trip to a movie or some other fun place.
b) The party at your house. This involves all the normal birthday festivities at your house.
c) The party outside of your house. This could be at the pool, chucky cheese, a skating rink etc. This birthday party is usually the most expensive. This is the party we’ll be talking about.

1. Invitations - You can save a lot of money by printing your own invitations. They don’t have to cover the whole page, in fact it is pretty easy to get 6 or so on a page. You can find some word birthday templates here - http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/CT101447601033.aspx
2. Food and Drink - If you’re having a big crowd probably the cheapest way to go is pizza. Everyone loves pizza and if you call around I’m sure that you can find them for 5 or 6 bucks each. Ask about quantity discounts.
3. The venue - the best way to save money on the skating rink or whereever you’re going to have your party is to find someone to share the costs. We have my daughter and nieces party every year together, that way we and my wife’s sister splits all the costs. In fact we’ll be having Haley’s birthday party on Sunday.
4. Party gifts - you know the little bag of things that you give the people that come to the birthday party. Believe it or not their are kids that go to the parties with the ‘best’ goody bag.

One thing to remember to is if you don’t go to the other kiddy parties, then not many people will come to yours.

Posted on January 19, 2010 - by admin

Sell Your Gadgets for Cash

My wife found this site during some of her web wanderings.

Gazelle is a site that allows you to sell your old gadgets for cash. http://www.gazelle.com/

It’s pretty simple to use. You can search for the item you’re trying to sell or you can use their gadgets we buy tool… and they do buy a lot of different gadgets. Lets say that I have an old I-pod touch that I want to sell.

You would put I-pod touch in the search bar. Next you would click on which generation it is and highlight how many gigs it has.

You would then answer a few questions, highlight items that you have (or don’t have) like cables / instructions etc. and then click calculate.

You then add it to the box and checkout. One note even if they won’t offer you any money they will recycle it for you.

Enjoy your Tuesday.

Posted on January 16, 2010 - by admin

Some things to do during the Winter Warmup

Out of Gas Newsletter - Issue 68 January 16, 2010

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Our thoughts and prayers go out to those affected by the tragedy in Haiti.

Links you can Use

A great site for getting some money advice. http://themoneycoach.net/

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Much of the country has warmed up a bit after the big cool down. Never fear though winter will come back with a vengeance. We thought we would give you five ideas for things you can do today, to help save on your energy bill and just some smart things to do.

1. Make sure that if you use your hose this weekend that you turn it off. After you turn it off make sure to unplug the hose from the faucet. You may also want to insulate the faucet.
2. Wash your car (if it’s above 32). If it is going to go below freezing during the evening you’ll want to make sure that you dry your car. Especially pay attention to the car doors (otherwise they will freeze and it will be hard to open), and the gas cap.
3. If your heater has been running overtime take some time to change the filter / vaccum around the furnace area. If you use fuel for the furnace make sure you have enough to last you the rest of the winter.
4. You may have noticed some drafts during the cold snap. Now is the time to plug any of those holes with caulk.
5. Air out those areas that you had closed off to save on the heating bill.

Enjoy your weekend.

Posted on January 15, 2010 - by admin

Saving Money Tips - Start saving by making a goal

If you’re working on saving money then you need to check out Smarty Pig.

It works by giving you input on how to save for specific Saving’s Goals.

You create an account, setup goals and then start saving. The really neat thing comes along when you you set things up. It allows your friends and family help you to achieve those goals.

Example: Say that you are wanting to save up money to send your kids to school. Now you can get your grandparents and other relatives involved into making that plan a reality.

Have a great Friday and a wonderful weekend.

Posted on January 11, 2010 - by admin

Last Minute Cold Weather Savings Tips

With Florida hitting record lows last night, here are some last minute tips to save you some money on your heating bill (especially for those people that aren’t used to it).

1. Instead of turning the heat higher, put on a sweater.
2. Make sure that your registers are not blocked with anything. Any rooms that you don’t use, shut the doors and close the vents.
3. If you have a ceiling fan, you can use them, just make sure to reverse them ( so that it blows down). Heat rises so this helps to recirculate some of the heat near your ceiling.
4. At night turn the heat down a little and throw on an extra blanket.
5. Use exhaust fans sparingly.
6. A lot of heat can be lost around windows. Heavy curtains work best, but if you don’t have them you can use a light blanket.
7. Keep safe. Make sure that you have smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors and make sure that you have fresh batteries in them.

The good news is that winter won’t last forever and spring is just around the corner.