moneytalks

 No, the title is not talking about what the bagger at the grocery store is going to ask you, I’m talking about what the cashier at the grocery store is going to ask you. Next time you are at a checkout counter buying something you may hear the cashier ask you “Will that be cash or credit?” What goes through your mind at that point? “Do I rack up interest charges with a credit card or do I take my last 50 bucks and pay for this?” Like with most things in life, you have two extremes with this question. Some will pull out one of their 10 cards to pay 15% interest on a $10 purchase. While others wouldn’t be caught dead using a credit card even if it meant draining their bank account. Wake up people, there is a happy medium. To all the credit card haters, there is nothing wrong with using a card responsibly. By responsible I mean NOT using it until it’s maxed out, paying at least double the minimum payment and NOT using it for every little purchase you make. On the other hand all those who are credit happy need to know this, all of those $10 trips add up. You end up paying a lot of interest on something that you could have easily paid cash for. Most of you have so many cards that you’re stuck paying the minimum each month on all of them. This is a cycle that you will not get out of for years to come (up to 30+ years depending on the amount you have on credit). I like to think that I’m a happy medium kind of guy. I don’t put everything on my credit card but when I bought my new HDTV, I used the plastic. And not a single payment on that card has been a minimum payment. I guess what I’m getting at is that nothing is ALL bad and nothing is ALL good. There has to be a middle ground with most things like this. All in all, just be responsible.

You’ve saved your pennies, read my vacation tips and are ready to head out to Vegas for a few days of fun. Your only problem is that your gambling budget is a little slim. No worries, I’ve got you covered. It is nice to think of yourself as a high roller but most of us aren’t, so we must conserve our money so we don’t go broke the first night. First, we have to look at the best games to play. The best games give you the best odds, the best odds give you the best chance at winning or at the very least the best chance at making your money last. Craps, blackjack and Baccarat have the best odds. The house advantage is under 1% for these three games. This means that you are expected to lose $1 for every $100 wagered at the table. Keep in mind these numbers are based off of millions of hands or rolls so this is not exact science for your 3 day trip. But numbers are numbers and you have the best shot at making your money last at these tables. Second, avoid slots and what I like to call, carnival games. These games are your let it ride, 3 card poker, roulette and others. These games carry a high house edge therefore mathematically your money is not supposed to go as far. If you must play slots and are looking for a time consumer, play penny slots and bet the minimum. And take your time between spins. That’s really the only advise I can think of for slots. One of your best bets is in the sportsbook. A $20 bet will last an entire 3 hour game. And every play is just as exciting as your next hand of blackjack. Nowhere else in Vegas will a $20 bet give you 3 hours of fun. Next, use the big name casinos for things other than gambling. Look through their malls, watch their free shows but when you want to gamble, head to the smaller casinos where the limits are as low as $3! Nothing makes your money go further than betting less. Good luck going to the Wynn and finding a table limit smaller than $10, and that’s during off peak hours. Peak times like Friday nights will give you upwards of $20/$50 minimums at most tables. Your $50 is better used betting $3-5 a hand opposed to $20 a hand, that’s for sure. You could even break my “no roulette” rule at some of these casinos since they often have $0.50 limits on some roulette tables. Having fun is key and it’s hard to have fun when you are have to wager a large portion of your budget on one hand so low table limits are key. That about sums it up, stick to low edge games, let some sports betting spread your fun and your money out, avoid the high house edge games and find the low limit games at the smaller casinos. Follow these tips and your low budget will last you days of gambling.

Everyone says it, “Cars are money pits”. How true it is. Gas, oil changes, new tires, brakes, “Now what’s that sound coming from under my car”? The average car repair costs hundreds of dollars. I gave gas saving tips to save a little green but what if you just want a car that is cheap to own and operate, well a list has been made. Pay attention to the lack of Hummers, SUV’s and “high end” cars on the list. Paying for labels does not give you a cheap deal! The list is as follows: #10. Honda Civic DX sedan #9. Scion xD #8. Chevy Cobalt LS #7. Kia Rio #6. Dodge Caliber SE #5. Hyundai Accent  GS #4. Nissan Versa S #3. Chevy Aveo5 #2.  Honda Fit #1. Toyota Yaris Everything from cost/resale value, fuel economy, average cost of repair to insurance costs were taken into account when compiling this list. Cars will always be money pits but at least you are armed with the knowledge that you are buying the least of the money pits around. 

About 3 years ago I used to drive up to Detroit from Cleveland (about a 2.5/3 hour drive) and gamble at either MGM or Motor City casino, usually MGM, every weekend. This was while they were in their temporary buildings. Since the new and nicer MGM opened up in 2007 I have never got a chance to go up and see it, that is until 3 weeks ago. Me and 3 friends headed up for a Saturday of gambling. The new building is only a few blocks down the road from the old one, that made it easy to find for me. Even if you’ve never been there before, it is situated right between 10 and 94. The hotel tower looked nice, but nicer in the pictures. The parking garage was easier with a straight shot up the ramp where in the old one you had to make multiple turns to get both in and out. Once inside I forgot that I was in Detroit. Some may say that a casino is a casino but I disagree. I’ve been to Vegas, Atlantic City, St. Louis, Niagara Falls and other places and I’ll tell you that a casino is not a casino. Casinos in those different places differ greatly. Anyways… the layout reminded me of the revamped Aladdin, now Planet Hollywood, in Las Vegas. It had a more trendy, contemporary look and feel to it. For you slot players (yuck) they have over 4,000 slots with limits ranging from $0.01 to $100.00. Table games reach numbers nearing 100. Watch out though, they have a lot of “carnival” games like 3 card poker and different variations of blackjack. The seasoned gamblers know to stick to blackjack and craps. One nice addition to the new MGM is a poker room, this was lacking at the old one forcing players over to Greektown or Motor City. Other additions include 5 lounges/clubs for some nightlife and entertainment. The only one that I entered was the U-Me-Drink, even though there was none of me drinking, unless you count my virgin strawberry daiquiri. This is their center lounge that is surrounded by the casino floor. They have two medium end shops that have high end prices. I guess if you win any of their money they want one last shot at getting it back before you leave. There are plenty of places to eat, for most. I’m vegan (don’t eat meat, dairy, eggs or any animal product) so it was difficult for me but most others should have no problem. They have an overpriced food court called breeze. The only food court where you’d spend over $10 getting a meal and drink. They also offer an upscale buffet called Pallete. Along with these they offer their signature restaurants including Saltwater, Bourbon Steak and Wolfgang Pucks Grille. With all of those choices you should be able to find a meal that will leave you cursing the bill when you receive it. As for the hotel, I did not stay in it but I spoke to people that have. And what I’m hearing is that it is very, very nice. But for the money it had better be. All in all you get away from the midwest when you enter the new MGM Grand Detroit and you enter an upscale, trendy environment. Whether or not that is what you look for in a casino is up to you. 

The weekend is here and going out and spending money is what we all want to do. But, we’re told to save our money, spending it is bad and wasteful. This brings us to the age old question. “Is money made to be spent and enjoyed or saved?” I know that this blog is a lot of saving tips but I don’t necessarily believe that all money should be hoarded away. There is a happy medium here, but most don’t fall into that medium. There are cheap stingy people and spendaholics. I used to be a very frugal person, afraid to spend a dollar for a drink at a gas station. I believe I have found the middle ground. You can argue that money is there to enjoy, you can’t take it with you when you die. So go out and by that new TV, or enjoy those fancy dinners every night or ignore the sales rack at the department store. The other side of the spectrum will tell you that a nest egg is what you need and you never know what emergency may arise. I wish that more people  would say that they are both right. I guess what I’m trying to do with this blog is give some advise on how to save money so you can take a part of those savings and splurge on yourself and put some away for that rainy day. If you’re one sided on this topic than you are in trouble. You are either going to waste away with all your money in the bank, not having enjoyed any of it. Or you’re going to spend it all and lose your house, car or possibly even your family. Unfortunately the title “save vs. spend” is what most people struggle with in their lives. Why can’t we just have some fun with our money without going overboard? 

American Express is offering up a nice little deal for new costumers. If you apply for their business card and spend $1,000 dollars by Oct. 31 2008 they will give you 25,000 bonus points, which is enough to get a roundtrip airline ticket anywhere in the continental US. A little over a year ago they offered a similar, but better, offer. It was the same deal except it did not have a minimum spending amount. My friend took advantage of this buying a paper shredder and then jetting off to Orlando (we live in cold Cleveland) for a winter getaway.You may have noticed that I said “business” card. If you are not a business there is no need to worry. Simply put your name as the business name and your SS# as the tax ID number. There is a $125 annual fee that is waived the first year. If you would like, just cancel the card before a year to save on the fee. Keep in mind canceled credit cards DO effect your credit score. If you would like to apply for this offer go to www.americanexpress.com go to the small business section and click on “card offers”. Couple this offer with my vacation tips a few blogs back and you have yourself a truly cheap vacation. And as always, send me a postcard.

Here we are in tough economic times and much of it is due to the greed of the oil companies and unfounded speculation of wall street. You see the price of oil has nothing to do with supply and demand, it has to do with speculation, period. That said, this is not to tell you why gas is breaking us, but how to ease the pain a little. There are many ways to save money on gas and here are a handful of them. One way is to keep your car maintained, that dirty air filter can do some damage by itself. That dreaded “check engine” light that so many people ignore, this could be an O2 censor. And a bad O2 censor could be lowering your MPG. And try to keep your tires inflated to the proper level. Other gas saving techniques include slowing down, the faster you go the more gas you burn. Watch what you keep in your car, if you have accumulated 40, 50 or more pounds worth of junk in your car or trunk, this hinders your gas milage. Another is more extreme but one of the best ways is to downsize your automobile. Trade in that 17 city 25 highway for a nice 28 city 32 highway or better yet a hybrid. Lastly, try to drive less. Instead of driving to that far away mall take a walk around your neighborhood. Take public transportation to work. When you do have to drive try to carpool. See if friends or family were going to the same place in the future and try to coordinate going at the same time. My best advise is the drive less option. Giving big oil companies my money is not what I want to do with my hard earned money. I’d rather keep it in a high interest online savings account.

I truly believe that we are headed for not only another great depression but a full on collapse of the US economy. With the weakening and over production of the US dollar, we are heading down a road that we may not be able to turn around from. We have shot ourselves in the foot with this one. In 1913 when we passed the Federal Reserve act we started a trend of debt that we will never get out of. Paying interest on your own money is unconstitutional, and absurd. Taxes were created to pay off the private banks that owned our money. One thing that people don’t understand is that the Reserve has had no problem talking congress into printing more and more money. If you are angry about job outsourcing, blame the fed reserve. The amount of US dollars that has been printed could not possibly stay in America, it would flood our economy crippling us and surly sending us to a full on depression. That is why the government gives tax breaks to companies who send jobs overseas. We need money being shipped out of the country. Oil is another way we keep money out of the US (and, in turn, out of the hands of US citizens) OPEC standard is to buy and sell oil in US dollars. This forces other countries to keep a surplus of our money in their banks. This creates revenue through interest and again, keeps our money out of our country. The problem here lays with the fact that low to middle income levels are the ones effected by this. There are no million dollar+ a year jobs being sent overseas. The CEO’s and political leaders are not threatened by this. So this just creates a “trickle up” factor in America. All the money eventually trickles up to the rich, sending the low and middle class further and further behind. I have a 6 month old son and it scares me to think of what kind of world he may be forced to live in when this country goes from bad to worse. Greed, in this country more than any other industrialized nation, has slowly taken us down. The way of life we have become used to may very well be ending soon. What a scary time to be alive.

Our home is where we end up spending a lot of our money. Utility bills can add up to big money every year, so it makes sense that we need to work on cutting those costs. One easy way to cut into your heating bill is to get rid of your old thermostat and get a programable one. Wasted heat while you are sleeping or away costs you $$$. Next, try unplugging appliances and other electronics that you don’t use on a regular basis. While something is plugged in it is creating a current which is raising your electric bill. As petty as this may seem it can really add up over the long run. Switch to energy efficient appliances. An older fridge by itself could skyrocket your energy costs. About 5 years ago I had a fridge that was old and outdated. A roommate of mine at the time bought a new one and it saved us over $10 a month instantly. This may have been a severe case but any improvement will save you money. Heating water is your third biggest home energy cost, a simple purchase of a hot water jacket could show significant savings on your monthly bills. Some more quick tips are, you can lower the temp on your water heater, use ceiling fans instead of air conditioning, turn off your dish washer during the drying cycle, if you have kids make sure they turn off the lights! Following these simple tips could give you some extra money in that savings account. (Hopefully an online savings account like I talked about yesterday.)

Most of us have our checking and savings accounts through our regular, brick and mortar banks. But is this really the best place to keep your money? Banking online has become more and more popular the past couple of years, largely due to the higher interest savings accounts they offer. I know with my local bank I’m getting interest at a whopping 1% or lower. This tends to be the norm when you walk into a bank and open a savings account. But there is an alternative, online banks are offering traditional savings account interest rates that compare with CD rates, plus you keep your money liquid, not tied up in an account you can’t get at. Here are some current rates right now, ETRADE is offering a 3.30% savings account, WaMu is offering the same while FNBOdirect is giving their costumers 3.50%. Plus there are many more out there if you look. And pretty much all that I’ve ever seen offer this with no minimum deposit. Lets break down the difference I’m talking about. Lets say that you have $5,000 in your savings account, with 1% (my brick and mortar bank gives less than that) you’ll earn about $4 a month, thats around $48 a year. Now if you’ve put into an account giving you 3.30% return on your $5,000 you’d be looking at nearly $14 a month which is about $170 a year. That’s about 12X your money! To me there is no comparison, traditional banks just don’t stack up to what online banks are offering.