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Can You Afford to Have a Baby?

Nora Dunn — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 02:29:46 +0000

More and more couples are deciding that having a family is not for them (others yet waiting longer to take the plunge), many citing their finances and a higher cost of living as a reason. While I believe that those who really want kids will always find a way to afford it, there may be some truth to this premise. Don’t "kid" yourself: children are expensive and can financially ruin those who aren’t prepared for all the expenses – both obvious and otherwise.

Here are some financial considerations to plan and account for prior to sprouting your own little guys.

Taking Initial Time Off Work

Although I know of some parents who managed to take little more than a long weekend to pop out their progeny before returning to work, the norm (and preference, thank goodness) still is to take some time off to acclimatize baby to their new world, and adjust to the parenthood lifestyle.

But these days mum isn’t the only one with the option of taking time off; many workplaces respect paternity leave. So between the two of you, who will take time off from work, or how will you divide your respective absences? Whose income is higher or occupation requires more attention? Do you have the option of paid leave, or must you take an unpaid leave of absence? How good is your job security and ability to return to work after your leave?

For those who are self-employed, you will be relegated to an unpaid leave and possible loss of business…or else going back to work right away. Don’t fool yourself: you will not be able to bounce your baby on one knee and office work on the other; new parents are always amazed at how completely occupying their baby can be.

Financial Planning Points for Taking Initial Time Off Work

Determine who is taking time off, and for how long
Save for an unpaid leave of absence, if necessary
If you have a reduced paid absence, save up the extra funds required
Save for any absence (and prepare your business) if self-employed

Budgeting for Baby – And Beyond

In addition to all the wonderful baby expenses like food, diapers, toys, clothing, and so on, you may have to consider paying for all this – and your regular expenses – on one income. Many mums (or dads) choose to stay home with the baby for longer than the prescribed leave calls for, often until the kids start school. And if you plan to have more than one child, this can amount to a lot of years.

Financial Planning Points for Budgeting for Baby – and Beyond

Save into a contingency fund in case you want to take more time off to be with baby (and yes – this means you!)
Budget for the monthly and ongoing expenses of having a new member in the household (once you have an idea of what the budget will be, save the extra money you will be spending on baby stuff, or use it to pay down the mortgage – see below)
Ideally take care of all debts before having children so no obligations hang over your head and eat into your budget
Ensure your mortgage is manageable even if the interest rates increase at renewal. Consider making extra payments before the baby arrives

Retirement Planning

Planning for retirement tends to take a back seat during initial parenting years, and often doesn’t reappear on the radar until much later – and often too late. Initially you stop saving thinking that just the initial maternity/paternity period will be the toughest, but then childcare costs absorb everything you thought you would save, which is then replaced with schooling expenses, and so on. All of a sudden you have adult children and are standing on retirement’s doorstep without enough funds to stop working.

Especially important to consider are retirement funds for the parent taking time off. Ideally you want to have equal amounts of money in your respective retirement accounts at retirement, so you can draw two taxable incomes and pay less tax overall than if the majority of the retirement funds came from one income. To that end, the parent taking leave can consider maximizing contributions in their last year of work prior to childbirth to make the most of tax deductions and long term growth. Then keep it going with spousal contributions, utilizing the working spouse’s tax deductibility and equally contributing to both retirement plans.

Financial Planning Points for Retirement Planning

Don’t assume you will be able to take a short break and resume your retirement savings
Maximize contributions for the leave-taking parent in the year or two prior to having the baby
Continue making spousal contributions to equalize retirement accounts

Life Insurance

If something happens to either parent, there are deeper consequences once you have kids than there was before. The surviving parent will be saddled with not only grief, but immediately the need to pay for baby’s ongoing care, additional childcare expenses, in addition to the big mortgage and lifestyle you designed for two people to fund. Although you might plan to downsize and adjust your lifestyle accordingly, this won’t be an immediate process, and life insurance can help ease the transition and prevent a total financial meltdown.

Financial Planning Points for Life Insurance

Review your existing policies and take out additional insurance if necessary to accommodate the expenses of having a child in tow with one income
Review and update your Wills and Estate Plan accordingly

Costs of Pregnancy

Before getting pregnant, it is prudent to figure out exactly what expenses are covered by your health plan and what additional expenses you could face. If there are complications during the pregnancy or childbirth, you could be financially ruined before you are even out of the starting gate. Most disability insurance plans don’t cover pregnancy-related illnesses, even if you are bedridden for months on end.

Some couples choose to have their baby in a country with high-quality but low-cost care (I personally know of a couple who chose to have their baby in Malaysia for this reason among others. Singapore is also a hotspot for “medical vacations”).

Financial Planning Points for Costs of Pregnancy

Review your health and disability insurance plans and look for gaps in coverage
Budget for additional and contingent pregnancy and childbirth medical expenses
If you choose to have the baby elsewhere, budget for the trip, accommodation, medical, and even communication expenses (phone calls to and from family and friends will add up)

Childcare

Eventually, most parents staying at home with the kids will return to work. However with longer and more varied working hours, this means there will be an additional cost for child care, even if it is just during the hours before and after school.

After discovering the exorbitant cost for full-time childcare (for kids younger than school age), some parents decide that since one entire salary practically goes to childcare, it would be more beneficial for them to simply stay home with the kids until they reach school age. Although this is a sound decision, don’t forget some of the non-salary benefits lost by staying home, such as health care plans, employer-funded retirement contributions, and other government plans and perks funded through taxes (the scope of which vary depending on the country you live in).

Financial Planning Points for Childcare

Determine how much childcare will cost, and how it will be funded
Save up for childcare in advance of having the child if you can

Planning for Higher Education

This is hard to contemplate as soon as you and baby are home from the hospital, but the clock is already ticking. With the cost of even local post-secondary education being more than a drop in the bucket, it would be best to get cracking on the savings fund. Not only that, but with time on your side, you may be able to save less money overall by using compound growth to your favor.

Financial Planning Points for Planning for Higher Education

Prior to having baby, determine how much you need to save to fund your child’s post-secondary education
Incorporate higher education savings into the baby budget from day one to ease the overall burden

Having a family is a life-changing emotional decision, with emotional rewards and consequences. But planning for parenthood is a process that must be backed with logic and proper planning to avoid nasty surprises. Tread carefully and tactically, and you will enjoy many happy years of parenthood – and beyond.

Permalink | 19 comments | Nora Dunn's blog | Channel: Personal Finance, Frugal Living

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Would you stop coloring your hair?

Andrea Dickson — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 01:01:29 +0000

By Andrea Dickson

My hair started turning gray when I was a teenager. At first, it was just a weird little wiry white hair here and there. Then, a few longer strands. But it wasn't until I was 21, living on my own in the big city, that I noticed that I was really, really going gray. It wasn't a big deal - I was young and favored home coloring kits. I went from black to blonde to brown and over to red. It was fun.

As I got older, I started caring a bit more about the kinds of chemicals that I was putting on my hair and skin, so I decided to grow my gray out for a while. With shortly cropped hair, this didn't take long, and before long, I was able to march into the hairdresser and have the remaining colored ends trimmed away, revealing my now natural gray and light brown tresses. What should have been a fairly liberating moment was dampened only by the fact that I suddenly looked, after a few snips of hair had fallen away, about fifteen years older than I actually was.

My face was suddenly washed out. Crow's feet that I had never noticed waved happily from the corners of my eyes. My cheeks, normally rosy and flushed, suddenly looked wan and sallow. Not only was I gray, I was unevenly gray. My dreams of having great streaks of white and gray strands across the top of a chic hairdo were crushed when I realized that I had inherited my father's hair color; white and gray in a big band that stretched from temple to temple along the back of my head, in a definite mimicry of what I would look like with male pattern baldness. To make matters worse, I only some gray (mixed with a pale, mousy brown) on the top. I was no Helen Mirren, that's for damn sure.

I gulped, smiled bravely at my stylist, who was gazing worriedly at me in the mirror, and then ran home to dye my hair back to a flattering shade of chestnut. That was about three years ago.

Recently, I decided to give it a second try. Gray hair is tricky - it does age one's face. Men seem to get away with gray hair more readily than women - Jon Stewart, Keith Olbermann, and Anderson Cooper are just some examples of men I see in the media who wear gray hair very well. It's harder for women to get away with, partly because the popular media considers us largely past our prime by the time we hit 35, whereas men are still considered foxy and desirable well into their fifties (or... well, however Paul Newman was.... rrrrowr).

But even without cultural indiosyncrasies dancing around in our heads, there are certain indicators of youth that, when removed, are shocking (check out this doctored photo of what Condoleezza Rice would look like with gray hair). Other odd things that make or break one's youthful look? Longer canine teeth and full lips. Who knew, right?

Anyway, this time I am sticking with the gray, both for the sake of saving $75 every three weeks, and also to be free from the tyranny of having to constantly alter so much of my appearance to suit society's needs. I already shave my legs and wear makeup and style my hair and wear deodorant and all other kinds of things to make myself societally acceptable (you're welcome). In a way, I feel like I'm giving myself a break.

I won't say that I'm 100% comfortable with my hair right now. When I wear my tan trench coat, I am convinced that I look like Colombo. Whenever I put on reading glasses, I truly feel like I am channeling my inner, elderly librarian (not that librarians don't rock - they do). At 31, I sometimes feel like I should be wearing bold, daring colors and multiple nose rings, but the truth is, I'm too lazy to maintain an eccentric personal style. I wear black not because I am chic, but because I spill coffee down the front of my shirt every single morning. So allowing my body to do the things that it seems ready to do is a natural choice. And easy choice. A really, really lazy choice.

And I'm happy with lazy.

Below are some beauty tips I've compiled from a variety of other online articles about how to decorate your face once you let your grays grow out. These actually do make a bit of a difference in countering the slightly aging effect of my hair.

If you have fair skin, you may need to consider a slightly darker foundation. Just a smidge darker, nothing too orangey.
You will need more blush. Period. Highlight those cheekbones and don't be afraid of those slightly iridescent highlighting creams that are meant to make you look all dewy and youthful.
Don't fake tan or apply bronzer. Unless you have an olive complexion or very warm tones in your non-grey hair, brown and tan tones look oddly muddy against white or gray hair.
Some people will tell you that you can no long where bright shades of eye shadow or lipstick. This is certain true for me, but there's no reason why you can't experiment a bit.
Try colors that never looked good on you. I could never wear blue mascara before I went gray. Now, it actually looks really good, and not at all like a throwback to the 1980s. I used to favor burgundy eye shadows, but now they make me look a bit like a vampire, so I've toned them down to warm mauves and lots of soft pinks, which make me look all glowing and lovely.
Devote effort to your eyebrows. They now work to frame your face more than ever. Keep them professionally manicured (this, fortunately, doesn't cost more than $15-20).
Gray hair can be coarse and brittle. Condition it like mad, and rinse it well.

Permalink | 20 comments | Andrea Dickson's blog | Channel: Health and Beauty

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Giving Gifts That Will Save Money

Thursday Bram — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 20:18:02 +0000

By Thursday Bram

I love the holiday season. I love being able to bake cookies and give them to my friends, put up decorations and — most of all — give gifts. But with only a couple of weeks left until Hanukkah and a few more after that until Christmas, I'm really trying to buckle down with my gift lists.

With the current economic crunch, I know a lot of people are focusing on items they can make themselves or that they can purchase on sale. I'm taking a little bit of a different route this year, though. Instead, I'm focusing on gifts I can give that will help my friends and family save money in the long run. So far, I've found that my choice of gifts hasn't been any more expensive than gifts I've given in years past — and in some cases, it's been significantly less expense. There's several categories that these helpful gifts fall into:

Tools

One of my younger cousins is hoping to buy her first car this year. I know she isn't going to be able to afford something in perfect condition, so I'm thinking a few tools might come in handy. One of our other cousins knows cars inside and out and has promised that, as long as our new driver has a few basic tools, he'll make sure she can handle at least a few minor repairs so she doesn't have to drag her new ride to the shop constantly. The same goes for houses — if you have a few basic tools, you can often avoid paying money for repairs you can handle yourself.

Education

While classes can pay off in the long run, there are plenty of other educational expenses that make for great gifts. One of the most useful presents I received my senior year of high school was a big book of scholarships and how to land them. There are so many different ways to help someone out with their education — and there's lots of warm fuzzies that go along with helping someone else getting ahead. I do think it's worth noting that you shouldn't limit yourself to thinking about college expenses. It all depends on the goals of the gift recipient, and you should talk to him before making a decision.

Just Ask

It's always worth asking what the people you want to give gifts for what they need this year. There's probably something higher up their wish lists that another book or DVD — and there's nothing wrong with giving a useful gift. I've already spread the word in my family that I want a couple of kitchen items to help support my eating-in habit. I bet there's something you'd particularly like to help you out in the New Year — let us know in the section and help us all get a head start on our gift list.

Permalink | 3 comments | Thursday Bram's blog | Channel: Lifestyle

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Is your country corrupt?

Philip Brewer — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 16:07:00 +0000

By Philip Brewer

When I first traveled overseas, I was surprised to learn that many foreigners thought of the United States as a corrupt place--surprised enough that I undertook some careful questioning to figure out what they meant by that. The results crystalized my thinking about levels of corruption.

My own experience was that the level of corruption in the United States was low compared with other places that I've heard about. For example, in my entire life, I've never paid a bribe. In fact, I've never been in a circumstance where I thought paying a bribe would be particularly likely to help. I've also, with one possible exception, never accepted a bribe. (The possible exception was when I spent one day working as a garbage collector, and the experienced worker who was showing me how it was done let someone who wasn't a customer pay him a few dollars to haul away some trash, and then shared the money with me.)

The foreigners I had talked to about the matter, though, had an impression of the United States as the sort of place where rich, white folks had nothing to fear from a justice system that oppressed minorities and the poor--an analysis that certainly has enough truth to make fair-minded Americans uncomfortable, but that wasn't really in sync with my personal experience. (Admittedly, my personal experience is that of a white person of adequate financial means.) My own experience is that someone who commits no crimes is really quite safe from unfair prosecution. Someone who does commit a crime is in a more ambiguous situation, although calling the complexities there "corruption" seems like an oversimplification.

So, then, I created in my own mind a scale for levels of corruption. My scale focuses on the necessity to pay bribes, so it ignores other aspects of corruption (whether officials are stealing from the government, for example), which is not to say that I think those things aren't important: I picked this metric because I wanted anyone to be able to rate their own situation entirely on the basis of personal experience. Here's what I came up with:

Corruption universal. This is where an honest person cannot get along without engaging in corrupt practices--refusing to pay the right bribes or offer the right favors will lead to things like being beat up, imprisoned, or even shot, along with having your property confiscated.
Corruption commonplace. This is where it's theoretically possible to refrain from engaging in corrupt practices. You can choose not to pay bribes without getting shot or imprisoned, but things like getting a business license or a building permit become extremely difficult without paying a bribe. Getting the power turned on or a telephone line connected might take a year or more, but paying the right bribe can get it done in just a few days.
Corruption optional. This is where it is genuinely practical to avoid corrupt practices, but some corruption does exist. In most situations it's never necessary to pay a bribe--but it's sometimes possible. Someone who runs a restaurant, for example, has the realistic option of following all the health and safety regulations--but also may have the option of paying off the health inspector instead.
Corruption rare. This is where there's little opportunity to engage in corrupt practices. The law prosecutes criminals without regard to class or position, and innocent people are safe. Government officials follow the law on things like licenses, permits, and inspections. There is little opportunity to improve your circumstance by paying a bribe.

The United States is a big country--big enough that it pretty much covers the whole range. There are plenty of places where corruption is very rare and the laws are enforced quite evenhandedly, but there are plenty of other places where some low-level corruption is routine, especially with regard to businesses that work for the government being obliged to pay kickbacks in some form or another. And, although I've never experienced it personally, I don't doubt that there are some places where corruption is commonplace or even mandatory, especially within communities whose legitimate access to the police is limited (such as among illegal immigrants or prostitutes).

Transparency International publishes its Corruption Perceptions Index, which puts Denmark, New Zealand, and Sweden as the least corrupt countries. The most recent update puts the USA at number 18 out of 180 on the list. Down at the bottom are places like Afghanistan, Haiti, Iraq, Myanmar, and Somalia.

How about your country--or your community if you're in the United States? What's your experience with corruption?

Permalink | 16 comments | Philip Brewer's blog | Channel: Life Hacks

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Hoopde for sale. Starting price - $500. Winning bid - $226,521.

Paul Michael — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 18:25:25 +0000

By Paul Michael

I love stories like this. It gives me hope that one day, something “worthless” sitting in my garage will instantly fill up my daughters’ college funds. In this case, the seemingly worthless item was a rusty bucket of bolts called a 1963 Pontiac Le Mans Tempest. When I saw the pictures, I was surprised at the high starting bid of $500. Imagine how the owner felt when it netted him almost a quarter of a million dollars.

For those of you unfamiliar with the term, Urban Dictionary describes a hoopde (or hoopdie) as: A busted up car, usually very rusty, dented, with broken headlights, bumpers and/or doors; any junk car that can be obtained for less then $1000. And as you can see by the pictures below, this one certainly fulfills all of those criteria. It has no motor, the bodywork is mostly rust and the trunk doesn’t even open. What would you pay for it?

However, as Autoblog recently reported, this was no ordinary car.

The car's Plexiglas windows, unusual suspension setup and a dash plate bearing the name of a racetrack tipped the owner to its racing history. But what he didn't know is that the car is one of only six 1963 Pontiac LeMans Tempest Super Duty coupes ever made. Hemmings recently did a story on the rare cars in which they listed all ever built. This one looks to have been driven by Stan Antlocer and was the fastest drag car in 1963 before disappearing.

Over the nine days the car was up on eBay, things went from good to great to unbelievable. Clearly this was something way beyond the expectations of the owner. It’s reported that he was offered a buy-it-now offer of $160,000, but turned it down because of, get this, fears of negative feedback! Would you care for that kind of money?

With only seven minutes until the close of the auction, the tally stood at $95k. But when it was all over, the grand total was a whopping $226,521. That’s over $66k more than the firm offer he had turned down. In this economy, that kind of windfall is something of a dream come true.

Stories like this are rare, but they do happen. And that means we all need to be studious before we have a garage sale or sell something on eBay or Craigslist. Personally, if I had inherited that crappy looking car, I would have been overjoyed with $1000 for it. More fool me. But we may all have hidden treasures right under our noses.

Take that old, dusty painting stuck in the back of the closet or basement. Most of us have one, sometimes handed down by an aging relative that we took graciously so as not to hurt their feelings. It is most likely just an old painting. But it may be a masterpiece, as The Antiques Roadshow has so often highlighted .

And an old weaving...

Old watches, ornaments, papers, books, you name it, sometimes there really is a treasure in the trash. So look, think and maybe do a little research. If you’re not sure of an item’s value, check it out. A little of your time could turn into a whole lot of money.

Permalink | 8 comments | Paul Michael's blog | Channel: Frugal Living, Life Hacks, Cars and Transportation, Making Extra Cash

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Three Money Saving Tricks Anyone Can Use

Myscha Theriault — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 15:57:28 +0000

By Myscha Theriault

Too frazzled to figure out frugal? Does just getting through the day leave you so depleted that your eyes start to cross at the mere thought of uber-active savings strategies? This article's for you.

Things are way more hectic this fall in our household, and we are finding that several of our savings approaches are needing to be tweaked in certain situations where going for the full gusto would just interfere with the forward motion of our relocation efforts. (Not to mention making us completely loopy.) Here are a three things we are doing to continue to stretch our budget without stress:

Ye Olde Apron.

Instead of splashing around in the kitchen dirtying top after top, or getting clean T-shirts goopy from a host of household set up chores, I'm re-implementing an old classic. The good old fashioned apron. Good wardrobe staples are hard to come by. And taking care of them so they stand the test of time is another subject altogether.

As someone who is less than smooth when it comes to not spilling things on blouses and other tops, this is one idea I can implement in seconds. It takes way less time than pre-treating stains and doing an unnecessary load of laundry, not to mention the savings in energy and product costs. While I make it a habit not to make homemade tomato sauce in my good white dress blouse, I don't always take the time to change if I'm wearing one of those outfits that's suitable to wear grocery shopping yet not so grungy that I don't care if it's stained. Tossing on an apron saves me time, money and stress.

Hybrid DIY Projects.

What I'm talking about here is taking on easily achievable components of an overall project you are either unable or unwilling to handle completely on your own. Our most recent example is the fence we had to have installed before we could head north to pick up our Labrador, Maggie. Most of our tools are either stored with the military or got lost in the flood. Not to mention that hard core, wind resistant, HOA approved fence building is just not in our skill set. However, cost was an issue and we wanted to save money where we could. So we paid to have the fence installed, and asked the contractor his advice on how to stain and seal it on our own as easily and inexpensively as possible. His advice was an el cheapo insect repellent sprayer and some old dampened sections of cut up T-shirt scraps. While we could have probably bought the staining supplies for less with his contractor rate, we would have had to pay for the extra labor. So this was the best solution for us. We dished out where we had to, and saved cash where it was within our schedule, budget and ability level to do so.

Other areas where you might consider implementing a hybrid DIY project? Nailing up the pre-cut drywall sections where your contractor has set up your interior studs and insulation, updating thrift store fashion with new buttons without having to sew up an entire item on your own, or paying to have a profession strip the paint off an antique and brushing on the Minwax yourself all come to mind. Got another hybrid DIY suggestion? Feel free to sound off below.

Divide and Conquer.

What I'm talking about here is breaking down a bulk amount of product into smaller packages or containers. Not only is this a powerful way to stretch large bottles of lotion and other bathroom products, as I mentioned in Savings in Every Room, but it's also a killer strategy for making the most of bulk buying at any time. Even if you shop at warehouse stores with a buddy, as our own Linsey Knerl suggested in a recent article, you can still implement the divide and conquer approach with great success. Greater success actually, because you are able to get larger amounts of product at a great price without having to use as much of your cash up front.

Think bulk restaurant tortilla chips broken down for lunch snacks, large packages of shredded cheese into meal sized packages for the freezer, giant packages of lint and pet hair rollers to stock various areas of the house, cars and in your day pack if you drive to an office every day. Also of note are ground meats, family packages of chicken parts, etc. Now, those of you who follow my blog on a regular basis may be asking how this technique is so radically different from what I discussed in the Assembly Cooking for Newbies article, and other posts. The difference is that for right now, breaking down into smaller packages is ALL that I am doing.

Here's a specific example: Yesterday, when we drove out to return the moving truck, we stopped by one of the warehouse stores where we have a membership. It has great prices on bulk meats, but you have to buy enormous packs. The ninety percent lean ground beef was around five dollars a pound if you bought a regular family pack, but only $2.48 cents a pound if I bought the gigantic ten pound tube. Normally, I might precook a bunch of it and package it up, moving on to cooking up the next half and whipping up a giant batch of spaghetti sauce. But with this much on my plate? No way. I'm breaking apart the giant packs of ground beef and chicken breast tenders into smaller meal sized freezer baggies and calling it good.

As often as I tend to write about the more hard core active methods of money saving, this year's long transition and start over has forced me to accept some serious limitations on how much I can accomplish under extreme stress. Boxes and plastic bags of clothing are stacked everywhere, and I have several months' worth of mail to file. Not to mention the military shipment that's due to arrive by the end of the month. Today, if I can manage to toss a frozen pizza in the oven for dinner and find my underwear, I will consider myself lucky. Until we have the kitchen organized and set up, power bars, apples and trail mix are still our breakfasts of choice. I haven't even had the time to set up a simple oatmeal station by the microwave. Don't get me wrong, we are grateful to finally have a new roof to call our own. And I know that another week or two of settling in time will do wonders for having our regular systems up and running. In the meantime, these are some of the simplified procedures and techniques we are using to move things along as quickly as possible on the recovery front while still paying attention to pennies where we can. You are more than welcome to ponder these ideas, as well as share any of your own, in the comment section below.

Permalink | 11 comments | Myscha Theriault's blog | Channel: Budgeting

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Restaurant.com 80% off Coupon Code with FatWallet 25% Cashback - $25 Gift Certificates for $1.50

Xin Lu — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 02:16:36 +0000

By Xin Lu

Restaurant.com regularly sells $25 restaurant gift certificates for $10, and $10 gift certificates for $3. From today to 11/20/2008, a coupon code gives you an additional 80% off so a $25 gift certificate is only $2, and a $10 gift certificate is only $0.60! Additionally, FatWallet.com is having a 25% cashback sale on Restaurant.com so if you use FatWallet you would essentially get the $25 gift certificates for $1.50 each, and $10 gift certificates for $0.45 each after you receive the 25% cashback.

The coupon code is SURPRISE. You can search for restaurants within your area and add gift certificates to the restaurants you are interested in, and then add them to your cart and order. One thing that you must do with these gift certificates is to read the fine print. Some restaurants require minimum purchase amounts and some gift certificates can only be used on certain days so make sure that you read the details associated with each gift certifcate. After your purchase, you can print out the certificates or choose to print them later.

Currently the website is very slow because of this promotion, but there are a lot of restaurants to choose from. There are more than 100 restaurants within 15 miles of where I live and I finally purchased a few of these gift certificates to restaurants I know of. The gift certificates generally expire one year from issue and never expire in California and other states where the expiration of gift certificates is illegal. Even if you do not eat out often, these gift certificates could make great stocking stuffers!

Steps to receiving the max amount of discounts:

1. Sign up for FatWallet.com

2. Go to the Restaurant.com landing page and click through to Restaurant.com.

3. Add gift certificates you are interested in purchasing

4. Type in SURPRISE in the discount code box

5. Check out

The coupon code should give you 80% off and the FatWallet cashback should be redeemable in a few weeks. Make sure you don't sign up for additional offers at Restaurant.com.

Permalink | 14 comments | Xin Lu's blog | Channel: Deals and Coupons, Coupons, Food and Drink

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Don't treat businesses like people

Philip Brewer — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 19:29:01 +0000

By Philip Brewer

When you fall short of meeting your obligations, it's natural to feel bad. In fact, it's natural to want to not only meet the letter of your obligation, but also the spirit: to do what it takes to make the other person feel fairly treated. These feelings are very human, and they work well when you're interacting with humans acting as individuals. When you're dealing with businesses, though, they work against you--and businesses will take advantage of that.

Nobody is much surprised when a corporation meets its legal obligations but goes no further. People like to suggest that going beyond is often good business--a reputation for providing good service is worth something--but they don't think it's a moral failure when a corporation does only the legal minimum, because everybody knows that corporations are not moral entities.

With people, though, the rules seem different.

You see this distinction especially starkly with bankruptcy. A person will often feel shame at the idea of bankruptcy. Obviously, a corporation does not. (The owner of a very small corporation might, but that's just another example of confusing the person with the business.) When a corporation files for chapter 11 and the court tells it that it doesn't need to honor its gift cards or its pension obligations, no one imagines that they'll be able to get better treatment by making the corporation feel bad.

Corporations, on the other hand, use this sort of moral suasion to try to control people all the time. You see it, for example, with debt collectors--they try to establish something that seems like a personal relationship, so that the borrower feels bad about being unable to meet his obligation.

You see it most often with employees, because the constant interactions between employee and manager create a circumstance where it's natural to feel a personal relationship.

When a friend of mine quit one job to take another, his old employer offered a large raise and said a lot of nice things about how important he was and how highly valued his work was. My friend was feeling bad about leaving and seriously considering changing his mind, because he wanted to do right by his moral obligation to his old employer, but then remembered that he'd had a salary review just a few months before, where the focus had been on his shortcomings and where the employer had put a dollar figure on the value of his work that was quite a bit lower. Neither those critical statements nor the new complimentary ones were a reflection of what the corporation actually thought--after all, corporations don't think. Rather, both were an attempt by management to get what they wanted--my friend's work at the lowest possible cost.

Another friend was hesitating to move to a much better job, because when she'd been hired, her boss had asked her to "commit" to stay until the end of a project and she'd done so. I pointed out that there were many things her boss might have done to give her incentives to stay--most obviously, he might have given her a contract with a completion bonus. Not only had he not done that, he hadn't given her a contract at all--and I'm sure he wouldn't have "committed" to keep paying her until the end of the project even if business turned down. He had asked for a commitment because such a request costs nothing, and just might work.

Corporations would rather not do expensive things like paying competitive salaries, giving regular raises, and offering a pension to reward long-term service. That costs money, and corporations would rather not spend money. So, they usually start by trying to use a sense of personal obligation to get people to do whatever will help the business. That's why they ask people to "commit" to the company--they do it because they know people will feel obliged to stand by their word, and because guilt is much cheaper than paying a project completion bonus.

This is true for relationships besides just that of employee--customers, borrowers, clients, and venders are all subjected to similar efforts, where the corporation tries to structure things so that people feel (and behave) as if they were in a personal relationship with the business. They do this because it works. It works because people have trouble distinguishing between their legal obligations and their moral obligations, they allow their feelings to push them into making poorer choices.

Because this is all a deliberate effort by corporations to control you, it's sometimes not quite clear what kind of relationship you're in. After all, even though your counterpart is a corporation, your interface with it--boss, loan officer, salesperson--is a person. The whole thing is structured to make you feel uncomfortable if you leave him or her in the lurch. Don't be fooled.

None of this is to say that you're not stuck with your legal obligations. I'm not suggesting that you cheat or steal or even engage in sharp practices or take advantage. But don't imagine that you have a moral obligation to a business. Your moral obligations are to people.

Permalink | 17 comments | Philip Brewer's blog | Channel: Consumer Affairs, General Tips

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The Lowdown On Layaway

Julie Rains — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 15:47:34 +0000

By Julie Rains

Layaway never completely disappeared from the retail landscape but it’s become more prominent with promotions by some national chains and locally-owned shops. Instead of paying for merchandise in full with paper (cash, check) or plastic (credit card, debit card), you enter into an agreement to pay over time, taking possession of an item after you have finished paying. From a financial-discipline and delayed-gratification perspective, layaway is a great concept. Here are questions to ask to make sure a layaway program makes sense for you.

The big question for me is:

Does the store stock this item on a regular basis and if I wait until I have saved the money to pay for it, will it still be available? (If the merchandise would still be around or if I could find a better deal later, I might save my money and buy later).

You might ask the store or online layaway provider:

If the item goes on sale before I finish paying for it, will I pay the full retail price or the discounted sale price?
If I change my mind about the purchase, will all my money be refunded or will I receive a store credit?
Are there fees or other charges associated with the layaway program?
How often do I need to make payments?
Will I lose my deposit and money I’ve paid toward the item if I miss a payment?
Will my item be taken out of inventory and set aside?
Where will my item be stored?

Several years ago, I bought a suit for work by using layaway with a local shop, making payments of irregular amounts when I could (usually every payday); when the balance was paid in full, I took the suit home. Having had problems finding professional clothing in my size (when I was living in a small town in the days before online shopping), I wanted to go ahead and claim the clothes, then pay. Many layaway programs now require paying the full amount within 90 days or less, rather than making payments in an indeterminate time frame.

The gotta-have-it-now approach to shopping and (prior) access to credit are typically mentioned as the reasons for the decline in layaway’s popularity. But, for the retailer, these programs can be time-consuming to administer, require valuable sales floor or backroom space for storage, and reduce the amount of cash available to invest in new inventory, all of which impact profitability. "Same as cash" programs were more attractive from a merchant's perspective and even for some consumers (warning: if you miss the payment deadline, interest is often calculated on the entire purchase amount and not the outstanding balance). Slower sales activity, tighter credit, and consumer preference may have led to a new interest in the pay-first, take-it-home-later programs.

Still, consider if the retailer has the policy, processes, and systems in place to make sure the layaway deal works for you. Get the policy in writing, document payments, and follow the program guidelines. This guide from the FTC gives consumers an idea of what a well-managed layaway program should look like. Checking around my area, I see that bike shops and jewelry stores are offering layaway as well as national retailers, such as Kmart, Sears (recently announced return of layaway), Burlington Coat Factory, and Goody's. There are also online layaway programs offered through eLayaway and Lay-Away.com. (See links for policies.)

An alternative to layaway is to save in a regular savings account and then buy. You can earn interest while you save and have the no-fee option of changing your mind; however, the item you want to buy may no longer be available.

Permalink | 6 comments | Julie Rains's blog | Channel: Credit Cards, Shopping

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Are we too clean for our own good?

Andrea Dickson — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 22:27:20 +0000

By Andrea Dickson

A friend of mine has three daughters, all under 6 years old. Recently, she was at the supermarket with her youngest. Her daughter dropped her pacifier on the ground. My friend picked it up, wiped it on her shirt, and handed it back to her daughter.

An elderly gentleman approached her a few seconds later. Chuckling, he patted her child on the head. "This must not be your first kid, then," he said with a grin,

"Why do you say that?," my friend asked nervously.

"Well, with the first child, if they drop their binkie, you'd be more likely to boil it before letting your baby touch it again. By the time you get to your second, you get over it."

My friend smiled. "Yeah, that pretty much sums it up."

There are probably a few of you reading this who think my friend is a horrible mother. I can assure you that she is not. Yes, supermarket floors are dirty. Yes, her daughter was probably exposed to germs. But according to many scientists, germs may be exactly what we need more of.

Building up a healthy immune system is one of the most important things that we can do for our health. It's the reason that people try to make sure that their children get chicken pox at a young age; they hope to inoculate their babies against the disease, which is much more serious if experienced at an advanced age. Taking your kid to a Pox Party is like a cheap vaccination. Viruses are serious things, and we believe in inoculating our kids against them, for the most part.

However, we don't feel the same way about bacteria and other bugs. In fact, we do our utmost to avoid contact with bacteria, and when we do experience it, we zap the hell out of it with antibiotics and antibacterial ointments. The result? Our bodies don't know how to deal with bacterial infections, and the bacteria that we do come into contact with is getting stronger and stronger as we continually do our damndest to kill it off. Not only that, but when an immune system with too much free time on its hands comes into contact with innocuous but foreign substances (like cat dander), it over reacts, causing us to suffer from allergies.

You've probably heard that certain conditions that seem endemic to Americans, such as hayfever, asthma, and food allergies, are not as common in the developing world. People infected with hookworm, for instance, have fewer asthma attacks and allergies (the hookworms trigger and immune system response, it is thought, that causes the body to concentrate on the worms, rather than triggering wheezing asthma attacks). By the way, do not Google "hookworm" unless you want to spend the rest of the day fighting the heebie jeebies.

The point is, exposure to other germs, especially those found in soil, are beneficial in preventing all kinds of autoimmune diseases. With that in mind, consider letting go of your germ phobic ways. You'll save some money on the plethora of cleaning supplies that promise to nuke every single bacterium within a hundred-mile radius, and just may find that your kids grow up healthier.

There's certainly nothing wrong with washing your hands, but skip the anti-bacterial soaps. Also, hand sanitizer is good in a bind, but if you apply it several times a day (and don't work in a hospital), you might have bigger issues than germs.
Nobody wants salmonella poisoning, but using the appropriate tools when preparing raw chicken (plastic or glass cutting boards that can be run through the dish washer) and cleaning the kitchen with normal soap and water afterwards can do the trick - no need to break out the Clorox wipes.
Slate.com believes that Americans should eat sh*t and NOT die. Provocative, but also, ew. They also mention the importance of breast feeding as a method for transferring antibodies from mother to child, even though most mothers today also lack crucial antibodies, having also been raised in sterile environments.
Let your kids get dirty. They will survive. I suppose it's possible, but it's fairly uncommon to hear of children who have been hospitalized because they accidentally ingested a little dirt.
Ladies, your ladybits are self-cleaning, like an expensive oven! Unless it has been recommended by your gynecologist, do not feel the need to rinse them out from the inside (click here to see a really odd add for Lysol ladybit cleaner). Remember, douchebag is a better insult than it is an invention. Too much rinsing will actually CAUSE infections.

Permalink | 33 comments | Andrea Dickson's blog | Channel: Frugal Living, Green Living, Lifestyle

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Will A Dental Discount Plan Save You Money?

Linsey Knerl — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 01:42:58 +0000

By Linsey Knerl

I have had the good fortune to experience a comprehensive dental insurance in my lifetime. For a small monthly premium (usually $27 or less), my family and I could enjoy twice-a-year cleanings, annual x-rays, and routine repairs with little or no out-of-pocket expenses. Now that I’ve jumped headfirst into the world of self-employment, my days of enjoying low-cost dental coverage are gone. So I tried a dental “discount” plan for the first time ever. Here’s what I have found.

The cost of coverage varies. I personally pay less than $80 a year to cover my entire family under the discount plan. There are 6 of us, so this could be an excellent value in the long run. I would like to point out, however, that most plans run between $90 and $200 a year for similar coverage (we enjoyed a deep discount as part of a self-employed association group membership, which I paid separately for.)

The type of coverage varies. For most plans, your actual benefit comes in the form of a “discount” off each billable service. This can come in the form of a percentage off your cost for each procedure, but most commonly equates to guaranteeing that you will pay “no less than $XX” for each particular billable service. Unlike insurance, your dental bill isn’t sent to a payor to process, negotiate down, and return to you. This means you will most likely know at the time of service how much your visit has been “discounted,” and payment will be due at time of service. Cleanings, X-rays, fillings, caps, and most other common dental and orthodontic procedures are usually covered, if only at a small discount.

Your dental health may determine the value of a plan. Quite simply, if you are one of those fortunate folks who waltzes into your dentist for a twice-a-year-cleaning and one x-ray, with no additional services needed, this may not work out to your advantage. The cost of premiums have to be less than the cost of services to keep you from bleeding cash. If you don’t see yourself going to the dentist regularly (or won't be needing any work done), you might want to calculate if you’d be better off without the discount plan.

Your location can affect savings. The first time I used my plan, my husband and I both went in for a regular cleaning, x-rays, and fluoridation. Upon presenting our discount, the receptionist informed us that we saved $10 on our $210 bill. This seemed strange to me, so I asked her what their normal cost of doing business was. It turns out, that since we are rural, and the cost to do business is low, they charge the same amount as the “discounted” price of our plan. We would have paid almost the same amount, regardless of using a discount plan. (And without the discount plan, I would have saved $80 in premiums.) In larger cities, where dental prices are higher, the discount plan could have more of a positive affect on your bottom line.

You can utilize your HSA to save even more money. Whether your dental plan was a good decision or not, you can still save some additional cash by using an Health Savings Account. The small amount of saved tax money, coupled with the discounts, might make it a sweeter deal than just paying cash. (My HSA gives me checks and a debit/credit card. Be sure to ask your dentist what kinds of payment they take, since you will most likely be paying at time of service.)

Will I get a dental discount plan next year? Probably not. Yes, I saved some money, but it was only because I ran into some unexpected fillings (7 to be exact.) The savings of $20 per filling, coupled with the $10 saved on my initial cleaning, would save me a grand total of $150 this year. Subtract the cost of my annual premium of $80, and I only saved a measly $70 (and this is with substantial work being done, which hopefully won’t be repeated next year.)

I would suggest looking at your dental discount plan from a strictly "bottom dollar savings" mentality. Call your dentist of choice, and see what they already charge for the most common services. Compare this cost with the cost you will incur under the savings plan. If there is a minimal difference between the two, you will know that the “discount” isn’t much of a discount, after all!

Permalink | 11 comments | Linsey Knerl's blog | Channel: Personal Finance, Frugal Living, Budgeting, Consumer Affairs, Health and Beauty

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