Some of you may have noticed references to the Wall Street Journal in a few of my recent posts. This is because I began receiving a print subscription of the Wall Street Journal a few weeks ago – for free. I am a member of the e-Rewards program, which offers rewards currency in exchange for completing market research surveys.

I have joined many survey programs before, but this is the only program that I have found to be reliable. With consumer surveys for market research, there is often a pre-screening survey that you have to fill out to see if you qualify. Some of these pre-qualification surveys take about 10 minutes to complete, after which you find that you are not eligible. With e-Rewards, they give you a small reward – $0.50 in rewards currency – even if you don’t qualify. It’s not much, but it’s better than nothing. And it adds up fast.

e-Rewards currency can be redeemed for a number of rewards such as magazine subscriptions (subjects range from fashion, to fitness, to business, etc.), Blockbuster video rental coupons, Borders Bucks, ariline miles, hotel points, coupons for dining and luxury merchandise stores, and more. Click here to see a full list of rewards.

Unlike other survey programs that try to enroll as many members as possible with referral programs, e-Rewards is a little more exclusive. In order to join, you need to be invited – often by a company that has hired e-Rewards to conduct market research surveys.

However, you can email them through their Member Services page to request an invitation to join the program (click on the last selection “Invitation Request” under “Subject”).

I’m not promising that you will receive an invitation; I’m not 100% sure how it works. I was invited through a Borders monthly newsletter. But it’s certainly worth a try.

My subscription to the Wall Street Joural is a free 6-month daily print subscription ($40 value) delivered to me via USPS (we live in a remote area) six days a week. This reward has no limition on redemptions so I can continue to renew my subscription through my e-rewards.

I spent weeks trying to decide on my rewards – I was divided between fashion, home decoration and business magazines, but finally settled on the Wall Street Journal because I figured it would give me some good blogging ideas. And it has. I just haven’t had the time to blog about it all. But it’s still very educational, covering a broad range of topics, and helps keep me abreast of what is going on with the economy, finance and business world, which at this time is really important.

The only problem is with the paper delivered 6 days a week, they’re piling up faster than I can read or blog about them.

Related posts:

• Friday Fun: Calvin and Hobbes Lemonade Stand Economics Lesson & WSJ Giveaway Reminder
• Interesting Reads From Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #14
• Free Printable Templates: Mini Wall Street Journal Carrier Gift Bags
• 2009 Financial Resolutions Blog Contest: Win a Free 6-Month Subscription to the Wall Street Journal
• Wall Street Journal Giveaway Winner and Carnivals of the Week

Originally posted 2008-07-30 06:00:32.

From Our Fourpence Worth

• Father’s Day
  If you’re still looking for a Father’s Day present, many of our ideas from Frugal but Thoughtful Mother’s Day Gift Suggestions could also apply to fathers and father-figures in your life.
• Tax Rebate
  If you are truly interested in helping the US economy, check out Don’t Spend that Tax Rebate Just Yet for a few suggestions on how to and how not to spend your tax rebate based on an article by Liz Pulliam Weston of MSN Money.
• Motivating Children to Practice Music
  Take advantage of summer vacation to help your kids get ahead on their music practice and get the most out of your music lesson fees with some advice by Madoline, who majored in music and has had experience in teaching children’s piano lessons.
  • Motivating Children to Practice Music: Introduction
  • Part 2: Playing the Piano is a Privilege (Not a Chore)
  • Part 3: Playing Slower for Faster Results
  • Part 4: Divide and Conquer

  (If you like the image to the right, which is an original illustration by my sister Madoline, check out our CafePress store Mozartini for gifts and collectibles featuring this image and other artwork by the same hand.)

• Editor’s Picks
  We’re starting to get the hang of blogging (which was completely new to us when we started this blog in February), and have produced a few Editor’s Picks in recent blog carnivals:
  • The Frugal Literate’s Guide to Affordable Reading
  • Frugal but Thoughtful Mother’s Day Gift Suggestions
  • My Favorite Money and Time Saving Websites
  • Guide to Safe and Smart Traveling with Pets
  • Lottery Tickets: Worthy Investment or Waste of Money?
  • Simple Solutions to Staying Out of Debt

News from the Personal Finance Blogosphere

• Personal Finance Buzz
  Check out PF Buzz for lots of great personal finance articles and vote for your favorite ones — hint hint — my profile.
• Finance Fiesta
  Last Thursday (June 5th) saw the first edition of the Finance Fiesta blog carnival hosted at Master Your Card. This week (today), the Fiesta is being hosted at Wide Open Wallet and will be hosted by yours truly next Thursday. If you have a finance or frugality related article, be sure to submit it by Wednesday June 18th 5:00PM EDT to be considered for inclusion in the 3rd Edition of the Finance Fiesta!
• Summer Savings Series
  Money Life Network is running a Summer Savings Series over the course of 3 weeks with tips including but not limited to:
  • Ways to save on travel
  • Frugal activities for the kids
  • Ways to save on your auto expenses
  • Ways to save on groceries
  • How to get motivated to save

  Be sure to also check out my last article Frugal, Fun and Productive Summer Activities for some ideas for keeping cool, busy and fit this summer.

I promise to return soon with more scintillating material. Thanks for reading!

Please consider subscribing to our RSS Feed to keep up with new posts. If you prefer, you can also have new posts delivered directly to your inbox by Subscribing by Email.

Related posts:

• Tips for Staying Healthy This Winter
• Hosting the 3rd Edition of the Finance Fiesta Blog Carnival
• Hosting the 16th Finance Fiesta Blog Carnival
• Does Thinking About Money Make You a Bad Person?
• Closing Your Credit Cards Can Hurt Your FICO Score

Originally posted 2008-06-12 05:48:09.

My dog Luwi (“loo-vee” short for Ludwig) loves movies. Ever since he was a puppy, he has been fascinated with the television, especially scenes with animals or action. He would jump up on the TV and lick or bite the screen when he saw something exciting. Naturally, he was equally if not more captivated by the remote control, the all-powerful apparatus that could switch the wonderful television on and off.

Over time, however, Luwi became more and more fascinated with the remote control, to the point of obsession. While he still loves the TV and watches it, his focus has shifted more to the remote control. When we mention any of the words “TV,” “movie,” “watch,” “DVD,” and anything else related to the activity in question, he runs to the remote control and stares at it with a mad gleam in his eye.

Whenever we pick up any of the remote controls, he jumps up in “ready position” and doesn’t take his eyes off the remote till we put it back down, and he continues to stare at it until he’s sure we’re finished with it. If and when he can, he steals the remote control to hold or guard on his spot on the bed. He still watches the TV, but I believe his enjoyment of it is less than it used to be because he is now obsessed with getting the remote control rather than watching TV.

Luwi is a good example of how we, people and animals, can forget the original reasons why we do certain things. Many of us are concerned with saving money becuase we want to be able to live comfortably or happily without the stress of being in debt. But we can sometimes get too caught up in the act of saving money and forget our original reasons for doing so. If you ever find yourself spending hours and hours looking for a better deal rather than spending that time doing something more productive or enjoying time with your family just to save a few dollars, you have forgotten.

The same goes for making money. In the beginning, many people want to make money so that they can provide a comfortable life for their families. Over time they sometimes forget and get caught up in making money, become workaholics, and instead of spending a weekend afternoon playing with their kids or pets, they’re locked away in the office working (or blogging ) and shouting at the kids or pets to keep it down.

I am not saying it’s bad to want to make or save money. Just don’t let it consume you the way the remote control has consumed Luwi. An activity he used to enjoy has turned into a vigil rather than a hobby. He is now more concerned with the state of the remote control than what is actually happening on the screen and has completely forgotten the point of it all.

Related posts:

• Pecuniary Links & Pecuniarities Update ~ July 2009 #1

OK, I know the word “meme” is supposed to be a noun, but I couldn’t help myself. If you know my blog’s name, you know that I love to play with words. I coined – pun intended – the word “pecuniarities” one night and just had to change my blog’s name. Besides, if “friend” can be used as a verb these days (“friend me on facebook!”), then it can’t be too long before “meme” becomes a verb.

But anyways, my new blogging associate, Trevor the Financial Nut, has tagged me for “7 Things You Didn’t Know About Me” and I figure it can’t hurt for fellow bloggers and readers to know 7 more things about me that aren’t already on our About pages.

First here’s how it works:

“7 Things You Didn’t Know About Me” Meme Rules

1. Link to your original tagger(s) and list these rules in your post.
2. Share seven facts about yourself in the post.
3. Tag seven people at the end of your post by leaving their names and the links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they’ve been tagged.

7 Things You Didn’t Know About Penelope Pince

1) I once wanted to be a jockey.
When I was young, I was “horse crazy.” I read every horse book I could get my hands on, both fiction and non-fiction, and the Black Stallion series by Walter Farley was my favorite. When it became evident that I wouldn’t be suited for a career as a jockey (I’m big boned), I decided I’d be a racehorse trainer. Now I own a dog and horse costuming business.

2) I used to be a surfaholic.
Checking the surf report before bed, getting up at 4:00AM, donning bathing suit and surf shorts despite the cold, jumping into freezing water (OK, freezing by my definition is probably “temperate” to anyone who didn’t grow up in Hawaii) and catching waves at sunrise = Heaven on Earth.

3) I love Caesar salad.
Especially with lots of creamy garlicky dressing, crunchy croutons, grilled chicken, avocado, freshly grated parmesan and ground black pepper. Whenever we used to eat out, I always odered Caesar salad if it was on the menu, regardless of the restaurant’s specialty. My very favorite Caesar Salad was at a place called Pizza Bob’s in Haleiwa on the North Shore of Oahu.

4) I have perfect pitch.
This means that if you were to play a note on an [in-tune] instrument, I could tell you what note it was without looking at the instrument or having previously been given a point of reference. Some say this is a curse that ruins your ability to appreciate music, but I don’t know any other way of hearing or playing music and can’t imagine what it would be like without it.

5) I like to whistle.
I whistle along to movie soundtracks (sometimes while watching a movie), concertos,  sonatas, instrumental segments of songs and pretty much any music that I can’t sing to. This drives Madoline batty, becuase it also includes while she’s playing the piano or singing, but I often don’t know I’m doing it. And I don’t always whistle the main melody; being a mezzo-soprano (vocal), I sometimes whistle harmony.

6) I was named after a song.
Not Penelope Pince (pen name), but my real-world name. I’m not telling what song or what name, but I will tell you the song was by Bread. I must say my mother had pretty good taste – in music and in names. I didn’t like it when I was young because it used to be a boy’s name and people always got it wrong, but now I’ve learned that it’s not so bad to have a unique name.

7) I am an obsessive compulsive-Type A-perfectionist.
It takes me about 2-4 hours to write and polish up a blog post  (large posts like my Frugal Valentine’s Gifts/Dates, Free Online Video Websites and Consumer Safety posts took days). I can’t rest until I am sure that I haven’t left out anything relevant, that there are no typos, grammatical errors, extra spaces, etc., and I still always manage to find something to fix after the post is published. This is not a trait I would recommend to anyone who desires a carefree existence with lots of sleep.

My 7 Tags

If I’m tagging you, it’s because I’ve gotten to know you a little through blogging or social networking (i.e. we’ve commented on each other’s blogs a few times lately, we’ve emailed, chatted on forums or twitter, etc.) and I would like to get to know you a little better. If I didn’t tag you, please don’t be offended as the limit is 7, and I’ll catch you some other time around!

1. Mrs. Micah
2. Living Well On Less
3. The Paycheck Chronicles
4. Single Guy Money
5. Bible Money Matters
6. Free From Broke
7. Budgets Are Sexy

That’s it. This was the first meme I’ve done and it was quite fun. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Related posts:

• Friday Fun: Calvin and Hobbes Lemonade Stand Economics Lesson & WSJ Giveaway Reminder
• March 2008 Finance and Frugality Blog Carnivals
• Carnival of Pecuniary Delights No. 12: Catch a Wave Edition
• Car Trouble: Watch Out for Those Pesky Wabbits
• Thank you!

For those of you who were around you might remember our name being Our Fourpence Worth. We have come a long ways in many ways and have had a great time sharing our thoughts and ideas with you. We’d like to thank you, our readers, both old and new, for being with us, especially those who have been with us since the very beginning. We’ve gone through a name change, domain move, hosting move,  site re-designs (2 of them), some of which went smoothly and some not so smoothly as I am still an amateur at web design.

I’ve learned a lot this past year – about blogging and about frugal living. We participated in many blog carnivals and have hosted 5 blog carnivals here.

The Best of Pecuniarities/Our Fourpence Worth

Here are some of our articles that received some good attention (mentioned by MSN Smart Spending, blog carnival Editor’s Pick, lots of link love, StumbleUpon and search engine traffic) over the past year:

• 101 Ways to Save Money in Your Everyday Life
  
• Monopoly Game Expansion #1: Personal Savings Account
• The Frugal Literate’s Guide to Affordable Reading
• Beautiful Homemade Christmas Ornaments From Eggshells
• Using Nature’s Gift Wrap: The Eggshell
• Simple Solutions to Staying Out of Debt
• Resisting the Urge to Splurge
• Closing Your Credit Cards Can Hurt Your FICO Score
• Economical Pet and Child Safe Ways to Repel and Kill Ants, Spiders and Other Insects
• Frugal but Thoughtful Mother’s Day Gift Suggestions
• Fast & Frugal Recipe: Yakisoba (Japanese Chow Mein)
• Free and Frugal Things to Do in Los Angeles
• Our Family Financial History

A Year Ago

At this time, allow me to point out a few of our very earliest articles that, due to the newness of the blog, didn’t get much attention. If you’ve got some time on your hands, have a read-through and feel free comment.

Penelope Pince

• Honestly Frugal: the Ethics of Saving Money
• Language Lesson ~ Frugality is a Virtue
• Language Lesson ~ Finance: A Fine Word
• The No-Budget System
• Save by Knowing Your Shipping & Mailing Options
• Credits Cards Really Aren’t So Bad
• Frugality 101

Madoline Hatter

• The Life Stages of a Dish Sponge
• Cabinet Secrets: Uses for Useless Things
• Thinking inside the box: Some Uses for Cardboard Cartons
• Patchwork Berets from Fabric Scraps
• Save Money by Sewing Your Own Clothes

Thanks again to all of you for sticking with us. We look forward to an even better year ahead of us.

Related posts:

• Announcement: Our Fourpence Worth Store
• Thank you!
• The Life Stages of a Dish Sponge
• Interesting Reads from Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #7
• ‘Tis Not a Crime to Pinch a Penny

It has been a busy week for us here at Our Fourpence Worth. We partipated in another PF Bloggers Network Group Writing Project, the topic of which was our Personal Experiences with Loans. We wrote about the first time we purchased a car on our own and got in a little trouble by being clueless as to how the credit, loan and auto sales industries work. It was a once in a lifetime mistake that you can be sure we won’t ever be making again – Learning From Our Mistakes: Our First (Auto) Loan.

Check out the PF Bloggers Group Writing Projects page for more, and if you are a personal finance or frugal living blogger, you are invited to join in our Extended Group Writing Project. We also hosted the 16th Edition of the Finance Fiesta, the theme of which was “Devote Your Life to Money!” a cynical poem by David Kessel about the virtues of money.

A quick note before we begin with today’s roundup, we have been doing roundups once a month for the past few months, but plan to begin doing them twice a month. The reason we don’t do weekly roundups as many other bloggers do is simply because of our personal, work and blogging schedule. As you’ve probably noticed, we only manage to publish about 3 original posts a week so weekly roundups would not be a good balance of original and linking posts. OK, now on with the roundup.

PF Bloggers Network Members

• Wide Open Wallet shares her reasons for eating out. $400 a month is quite a lot, but if you enjoy it and can afford it, bon appetit!
• No Debt Plan talks about his “Thing”: Keeping a Bunch of Old Magazines. We have a similar “thing”. My Wall Street Journal pile, for instance, will soon be a WSJ mountain.
• Living Almost Large asks: is spending wrong? As with eating out, it really is all about what you can afford.
  
• Master Your Card gives a guide on How to Balance your Checkbook. In this electronic age, it probably is the norm to not know how to do this. Might I also suggest our Monopoly Game Expansion #2: Personal Checking Account for a fun way to practice this important skill.
• Girls Just Wanna Have Funds offers some car buying advice (something I was planning to do as well to follow up our experience with our car loan): Put On Your Lace Gloves: Get The Car You Want At A Price You Can Afford.

Elsewhere in the Personal Finance Blogosphere

• The Simple Dollar gives us Why Many “Alternative Income” Ideas Aren’t Worth Your Time – And What You Might Do With It Instead.
• I enjoyed Money Ning’s What Motivates You to Make Money? It is important to know and not lose sight of your true motives.
• Living Well on Less explains the beneifts of Life without a microwave. We did this for a while when our 12+ year old microwave died. It was a little inconvenient sometimes, but not at all impossible.
• Saving Advice gives us Ten Money-Saving Reasons to Get Out of Bed Early.
• Taxguy instructs on Items to Bring to Your Individual Tax Preparation Appointment.

Carnival Participation

Lately I’ve been really disorganized and have consistently forgotten to submit to blog carnivals, but I did manage to remember one. We’d like to thank The Personal Financier for including my post on Switching to Paperless Statements in the Carnival of Personal Finance #170 – Famous Last Sentences Edition. This edition features many [entertaining] statements, hopefully fictitious, that have not always resulted in a good end for the money manager or investor who said it. One of my favorites is #20: “It just can’t get any lower than this…”

Head on over for more personal finance reading recommendations.

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Related posts:

• Interesting Reads from Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers
• Interesting Reads From Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #12
• Interesting Reads from Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #2
• Interesting Reads from Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #3
• Early to Bed and Early to Rise Makes a Man [or Woman] Healthy, Wealthy and Wise

Yes, I know I’m a little late in the game. Having seen references to Twitter all over the web in recent months, I finally decided to check it out and signed up this past Sunday. Twitter is a great, easy and fun way to interact with people – specifically for me, personal finance bloggers and blog readers.

What is Twitter

Basically, Twitter is a social networking website, but much simpler than Facebook or MySpace. You simply log-in to your account and type in your 140 character (or less) update to tell your friends and family what you are up to, what’s going on in your life, what you are thinking/doing/reading/watching/etc.

You begin by “following” other people – friends, family, classmates, etc. – subscribing to their updates. You interact by typing updates of yourself, and reading and replying to your friends’ updates. Eventually people will start following you. (Read to the end for a list of useful Twitter Tools and Tips.)

How Twitter Relates to Our Fourpence Worth

There is a great network of personal finance bloggers on Twitter. By following them, I can:

• Get to know my fellow personal finance and frugal living bloggers
• Know when new blog posts are published
• Discover new blogs
• Keep up with what other personal finance bloggers are writing about
• Keep abreast of personal finance blogosphere happenings – blog carnivals, group writing projects, blog networks, etc.
• Find interesting things to share with my readers [you]

Follow Me on Twitter!

I’d like to invite you to follow me on Twitter. It’s an easy way for me to get to know you, my readers, find out what’s on your mind, and hopefully be able to make this blog more useful to you by writing about topics that interest you.

My Twitter Page:
http://twitter.com/PenelopePince

Twitter Tools and Tips

Since I”m new at Twittering and these following resources have been useful to me, if you’re new – or even if you’re not new – maybe they’ll be useful to you too.

For Personal Finance Bloggers and Blog Readers

• A list of 118 Twitter Users Who Blog About Money (plus more under Comments)

Graphics

• Cute “Follow me on Twitter” graphics for your site, email signature, online profiles, etc.
• More cute Twitter Graphics and Icons (like the one above)

• Follow me on Twitter badges / logos / buttons (very artsy graphics)

For Bloggers

• Twitterfeed tells your followers about new blog posts using your RSS feed (requires OpenID)
• How to Use Twitter – Tips for Bloggers
• 9 Benefits of Twitter for Bloggers
• 7 Ways to Use Twitter to Promote Your Blog and Build Traffic
  
• The networking benefits of using Twitter
• 17 Ways You Can Use Twitter: A Guide for Beginners, Marketers and Business Owners
• 7 Ways to Use Microblogging Services for Traffic and Brand Exposure

URL Shorteners

Because each Twitter update is limited to 140 characters, you’ll want to use an URL shortener to save space.

• Tweeter Burner ties into your account and allows you to track how the links you share are doing (how many clicks)
• TinyURL seems to be the most commonly used URL shortener

More Twitter Tools & Apps

• Official Twitter Application Downloads Site
  
• Twitter Apps (Official Twitter Blog)
• Twitter Forge – Twittown
• Twitter Tool Box: 60+ Twitter Tools
• Twittermania: 140+ More Twitter Tools!

• Top 21 Twitter Tools and Help Websites

• Twitter Tools 2nd Edition

• Twitter Fan Wiki Apps
• Firefox add-ons for Twitter

Cool Stuff

• Twittervision – Shows you tweets being sent all over the world in real-time (ok, with a slight delay – less than a minute). I like the 3-D globe one that spins. It’s really fun to read all these tweets being sent all over the world in various languages.

Interesting Stuff

• Twitter as News-Wire

Related posts:

• Go on, cut that cable! Websites for Watching Free TV Full Episodes, Movies and News Online
• Carnival of Pecuniary Delights Giveaways: Cute Piggy Bank Magnet Prizes for Hosting and Submissions
• Money Hacks Carnival No. 26: Old Money Edition
• Favorite Christmas Memory
• Home is Where the Money Is

Anyways, here are some great posts by fellow financial bloggers from recent weeks:

PF Bloggers

• Living Almost Large gives us an amusing list of ways in which people justify purchases.
• Seb at Pinching Copper gives his opinion that the penny is worthless. Would you pick up a penny from the sidewalk?
• Kevin from No Debt Plan achieved his goal of going the entire month of May without the air conditioner. Good for you guys!
• Jonathan at Master Your Card gives us 7 Zany Ways to Stop Overspending.
• Ginger from Girls Just Wanna Have Funds gave us Things That Piss Me Off: Food stamp recipients pinched by high food prices that has stirred up a bit of controversy.
• And for a bit of fun, check out Future Millionaire’s (Start of Work Week) Money Funny – Cost of Pop Culture Icons Today about the Brady Bunch, which I am only a little embarrassed to admit was one of my favorite shows at one time.

Elesewhere in the Financial Blogosphere

• I really appreciated Get Rich Slowly’s Closing the Gap Between Dreams and Reality. It has inspired me to get proactive about my financial goals.
• Find out how No Credit Needed will save/make $20,000 by giving up his soda habit!
• Something that goes nicely in hand with my recent Vacation Preparation Checklist is a post from Gather Little By Little about Low Cost Summer Family Vacation ideas with money saving tips.
• Frugal Dad gives a nice Used Car Buying Guide for Teenagers for parents, but it has some useful tips for us grown-ups too.
• We’ve recently begun thinking about starting some investments, so I was really glad to come across The Simple Dollar’s warning about how The Methods You Use to Deal with Ordinary Life Will Fail You As an Investor.
• I was amused by Spam Sales on the Rise, Common Sense at an All-Time Low. I thought it was funny because I recently bought a can of Spam, not as a substitute for real, nutritious food (well, OK it did end up substituting for real food for a couple of meals), but for my cousin to try because they don’t have Spam in Taiwan. It was probably the first can of Spam I have ever purchased. (I grew up in Hawaii where they have something called a “Spam Musubi” which is a slice of pan-fried spam layered over a block of rice and all wrapped in seaweed. YUMMY!)

New Carnival in Town

Oh, and one last bit of news. Jonathan from Master Your Card has started a new blog carnival called the Finance Fiesta which runs weekly on Thursday starting June 5, 2008. If you have a personal finance related blog, be sure to submit your best article!

Related posts:

• Interesting Reads from Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers
• Interesting Reads from Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #2
• Interesting Reads From Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #12
• Early to Bed and Early to Rise Makes a Man [or Woman] Healthy, Wealthy and Wise
• Interesting Reads from Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #3

Five Ways to Make Some Extra Income on the Side

Who couldn’t use a little extra money? Plenty of people are feeling a little strained with their finances, and if you feel as though you are on the verge of just barely squeaking by, then it might be time to bring in a little extra income.

Of course, if you can manage to rein your spending in a little you might be able to avoid going after some extra income, but if that’s not an option then give some of these suggestions a try.

• Get a Part-Time Job
  Part-time jobs can be a lot of fun. Find something in a field that you enjoy. If you love reading, get a job at a bookstore. If you adore being outside, take a weekend job assisting a landscaper. If you have to get a part-time job you should at least make sure that you’re doing something you enjoy while also making decent money. You may be surprised to discover that your current employer has regulations against full-time employees taking part-time jobs, so make sure you aren’t breaking any rules when you get your part-time job. Either that or keep quiet about it!
• Become a Freelancer
  You don’t have to go work on-site at a part-time job if you have a skill that you can make money with from home. Plenty of freelance contractors make a decent extra income doing something they love – writing, designing websites, or whatever – all while wearing their pajamas and bunny slippers. A couple of sites worth investigating are Elance and FreelanceSwitch.
• Get Popular Online
  If you can create a website that people want to visit regularly then you can potentially make some extra income by placing ads on your site. This is definitely something you can do in your spare time, but you shouldn’t expect to make a fortune from ad revenues if you can’t commit a great deal of time in developing and maintaining the site. Building up a passive income online takes time and dedication, so don’t expect to get rich overnight.
• Do Some Overtime
  If your current employer offers you the opportunity to do some overtime at a higher hourly rate then this can be a great way to bring in some extra income. This can be an especially good idea if you really do enjoy your job, and you don’t mind putting in a few extra hours.
• Invest
  This suggestion is a little tricky because not everyone has a knack for investing, nor do they have the capital to really put up a sizeable enough investment in order to get an impressive return. There are some people, however, who do indeed make a nice amount of income on the side playing the markets part time. If your need for extra income isn’t immediate then this may be something you should consider giving a try. Just be sure that you don’t invest any money that you can’t afford to lose, and don’t go in cold – educate yourself first.

Unless you need extra money each month just to cover your basic necessities, you have the opportunity to make some money on the side while actually having fun and learning a new skill. Don’t go for something you’ll be miserable with if you can instead choose to just spend less each month by cutting back on a few ‘luxury’ items. Working a job you hate is miserable enough, but when you’re working it in addition to a full-time job you’re bound to get really grumpy, really fast!

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Related posts:

• Simple Solutions to Staying Out of Debt
• How to De-worm a Difficult Horse
• Interesting Reads From Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #12
• Two Natural and Economical Ways to Shed Dry Winter Skin
• Ways to Increase Physical Activity & Calorie Burn and Prevent Weight Gain in Your Daily Life

Every Little Bit Adds Up

First I will remind you, as I mentioned in my first official post “,” that every little bit adds up and makes difference in the long run. While one small action seems insignificant in the long scheme of things, if frequently repeated, it will have a long-term impact whether good or bad.

I will use smoking as an example: smoking a single cigarette may not harm you, but smoking cigarettes on a regular basis over the course of many years will significantly impact your health (even if not visible to the eye, there is a consequence.) Likewise, all things we do, no matter how small, will have a consequence of some sort. So now to my point.

As I said above, staying home is one of the best and easiest ways to save money. And again, as mentioned above, this is not about going out for special activities, but rather everyday activities and the importance of consolidating errands and activities because every single time you leave your house, whether or not you physically “spend” money, you are in fact spending money. I will start with the most obvious.

Driving is More than Gas

When you drive, you’re spending more than the cost of gas by putting wear and tear on your car. The IRS (for our foreign readers, this is the Internal Revenue Service, the United States government’s department of taxation) has determined a mileage allowance rate of 48.5¢ per mile for business purposes for the 2007 tax year. While tax-wise, this allowance only applies to business owners who use their vehicles in the course of business, it takes into account the cost of gas, wear and tear and maintenance on the vehicle. So a simple 1-mile one way trip (2-mile round trip) to the store has a cost value of $0.97.

Cost Begins with Use

There are many other ways you spend money by going out. These are in the number of things we need and use in order to go out. Everything costs money; just because you’ve already paid for something doesn’t mean that it is now “free” or “without cost.” A good example of this concept is, once again, the IRS. When a business purchases inventory or supplies, it cannot deduct the cost of those items until after those items have been sold or used.

For example, a business owner purchases a case of paper clips in May 2006. He only uses half the case of paper clips by the end of his tax year in December 2006. When he files his 2006 taxes, he can only deduct the cost of the half case of paper clips that he used in 2006. Only after he has used up the 2nd half of his case of paper clips in 2007 can he deduct the cost of those clips. This is an example of the theory that actual expenditure does not end with the purchase of an item, but with the use of it.

Being Presentable

Every time you go out, you must put on clothing that are presentable in public. These clothes are often nicer and more valuable than your regular home clothes. Though it is not always immediately visible, each time you wear your nice clothes, they get some … well … wear. That’s why they call it “wearing” clothes, is it not? Each wearing decreases the value and shortens the life of the garment, taking you that much closer to having to buy (or make) a replacement. This especially includes shoes, which suffer the most wear and tear.

After you wear your clothes, they will need to be washed. Not only does washing cause additional wear on the clothes, but it is accompanied by further expenditures in water use, detergent, and for many, electricity or gas for drying, anti-static dryer sheets, fabric softeners, etc.

Being presentable also often entails use of cosmetics (for women) and hair products – hair spray, mousse, gel, etc (men and women). For women who use make-up before going out, there is the cost of the make-up and all the other products used along with the make-up (toners, lotions, etc.). Every time you use these things, you are in theory, spending or “using” money.

Time is Money

It may be trite, but it is true, especially if you are self-employed or simply make a little extra money blogging. Think of the time spent in traffic or standing in line at the store for the purpose of buying a few items. You could have done some work or written an article that could potentially make money.

Unexpected Expenditures

Oftentimes when we go out for one purpose, we are often sidetracked and end up at originally unplanned places (perhaps attracted by a “ONE DAY SALE” sign at a favorite store) and making unplanned purchases (“Buy One Get One Free” even though you hadn’t even planned on buying One at all). It is true that had you never gone out that day, you might have missed out on a great bargain, but had you not ventured out of doors at all, you would be none-the-wiser and the richer for it. If you go out 3 times a week as opposed to once a week, the possibility (and probability) of unplanned expenditures is multiplied by 3.

I am not saying that you should never go out and starve to death when you run out of groceries. The point I hope I have made is that every outing costs money and that one of the easiest ways to save money is by consolidating all your errands into one outing. This requires some planning and organizing, but is by no means difficult. Following are a few tips to get you started.

Tips for Saving Time and Money by Consolidating

• Groceries
  It is not necessary to shop for groceries every few days or even every week. Try to cut back to every 2-3 weeks, or even better, once a month. This requires some planning and adjustment to get the quantities right, but can save you a lot of time and money. (Check back soon for tips on shopping for groceries once a month.)
• Banking
  Yes, the sooner you deposit that paycheck in the bank, the sooner you begin earning interest. But, if the cost of making a special run to the bank (driving & time) exceeds the amount of interest you will earn, might it not be better to wait a few days until you have more reasons for going out?
• Post Office
  Save trips to the post office by keeping some stamps on hand. I like the Forever stamps that can still be used when postage rates go up. Consider using online shipping for mailing parcels. (Check back soon for information on how you can save time and money by using online shipping options.) Also, refer to my article “” and learn how you can possibly save $60 a year by not mailing your bills.
• Returning Library Books
  If you have a library book due on a day when you don’t have any other errands scheduled, you can renew the book by calling the library or logging onto the library website, and delay the trip to the library until you have another reason to go out.
• Shop Online
  Consider buying more online (from reputable and established businesses, of course). Online prices are often lower than in-store prices even including shipping, so you save time, money, and gas.

Again, it can take time and planning to get used to this idea, but you will soon begin to see how much money and time you save by waiting a few days to take care of all your business at once. This does not mean you should become a hermit and never leave the house. It is important to still go out for practical and social reasons (and work), but hopefully you will now be more aware of the cost behind every activity and therefore be even more successful in your frugal lifestyle.

Related posts:

• Thank you!
• Save Money, Make Money 30-Day Challenge @ iVillage
• Finance and Frugality Blog Carnivals: Week of Unexpected Delays
• Make Your January 1, 2009 Home Mortgage Payment Today to Cut Your 2008 Taxes
• Basics for the Young, Single and Frugal

Language Lesson ~ Frugality is a Virtue
(Re-Post: Original post date February 24, 2008)

In modern times where the spending of money is oftentimes equated with power and status, the word “frugal” or “frugality” seems to carry an almost negative connotation and be associated with stinginess or miserliness (if you look it up in a thesaurus). However, if we go back to the actual definition and etymology (origins) of the word, we see that frugality is really a positive trait and nothing to be at all ashamed of.

“Frugal” or “frugality” is defined as “characterized by or reflecting economy in the use of resources”, “prudence in avoiding waste”, and “prudently saving or sparing; not wasteful”.

The word frugal descends from the Latin frugalis, which has been associated with words such as “virtue” or “virtuous,” “honest,” “worthy,” “deserving,” “useful,” “thrifty,” “simple,” “profit” or “profitable,” “value” or “valuable,” “economical,” “temperate,” “sober,” and also “fruit” from frux or fructus, the root of the word “fruitful” which is defined as “yielding,” “profitable,” “productive” or “producing abundantly.”

The word “economy,” which is often associated with frugality, is defined as “management of expenses or resources”. It desecends from the Latin oeconomia and the Greek oikonomíā, which meant “household management”, derived from oikos “house,” nomos “managing”, which comes from nemein “manage” (and also I believe, the root of the Old English niman and the modern German “nehmen” which means “to take”).

Now that you’ve been so lucky as to have been subjected to this fascinating language lesson, in future if anyone makes fun of or criticizes your frugality, you may proudly and nicely, or not so nicely if they’ve been very rude as there is no excuse for rudeness, enlighten them as to the true and noble origins of your lifestyle.

Related Reading:
Language Lesson ~ Finance: A Fine Word by Penelope Pince

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Sources: Online Etymology Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, Babylon Latin Dictionary, Germanic Etymology

Related posts:

• Language Lesson ~ Frugality is a Virtue
• March 2008 Finance and Frugality Blog Carnivals
• Honestly Frugal: the Ethics of Saving Money
• Basics for the Young, Single and Frugal
• Interesting Reads From Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #20

Originally posted 2008-05-22 06:00:30.

But here are a couple of notable reads from fellow Pecuniary Associates from this past week that I think you’ll enjoy.

• Living Well On Less is planning a frugal road trip and talks about how she and her husband will make it frugal, healthy and simple.
• Counting My Pennies’s cat recently had surgery and she found herself readily agreeing to have anything necessary done regardless of cost. (We’d be the same way with our dogs.) She talks about priorities and when she will scrimp and when she won’t in What do you value?

We also had our post Short Term vs. Long Term Savings With Bulk Buying included in the 17th Carnival of Pecuniary Delights: Online Slang Edition hosted at Budgets Are Sexy (apologies for the delay in linking back!)

Ciao!

Related posts:

• Pecuniarities is Hosting the Carnival of Pecuniary Delights This Week!
• Pecuniary Links ~ July 2009 #2
• August 2008 Finance and Frugality Blog Carnivals
• Finance Blog Carnivals of Late
• Carnival of Pecuniary Delights Giveaways: Cute Piggy Bank Magnet Prizes for Hosting and Submissions

I’ve been on a little hiatus from blogging due to a few things going on in my non-cyber-life these days. Madoline and I have been busy working at a business overhaul which has been occupying a lot of my mind so that I haven’t had much time and brain-space for blog post ideas.

We’ve also been trying our hand at air-conditioning-free life in the desert, and this heat wave has been a formidable living companion, but I am happy to report we are are doing quite well despite highs as much as 109 this past week. Perhaps I’ll post a little later on how and why we’re doing this.

Anyways, it is time for another financial link/Pecuniary Associates roundup, which you can come to expect on the 1st and 3rd weekend of each month.

From Pecuniary Associates

• At Financial Nut, Alex wrote a review on a book called The Skinny on Credit Cards, How to Master the Credit Card Game. It looks like an interesting and informative read for anyone who has questions or doubts about credit card usage.
• At Living Well on Less, Karen’s chef husband Tony contributed a 2-part series on 12 essential tools for a frugal kitchen.
• At Counting My Pennies, Megan shares a somewhat frustrating experience in which a co-worker who didn’t know her well criticized her for her frugality. It’s a short and very worthwhile read titled “You don’t seem the type.”

Elsewhere in the Personal Finance Blogosphere

• At Mrs. Micah, the missus shares a cute childhood story, which bears an important message: Keep Your Word to Children About Money.
• At The Paycheck Chronicles, Kate has discovered a way to make sure that she never misses a credit card payment while not having to worrying about overdraft charges on her checking account.

Blog Carnivals

I had posts featured in 2 blog carnivals this past week:

• At Green Panda Treehouse, Carnival of Personal Finance #211: Burn Notice Edition (one of my favorite shows!), which included my post Remembering Why We Do What We Do.
• At Taking Charge, The 14th Carnival of Pecuniary Delights: The ‘I Forgot Day’ edition, which included my post Discerning Luxury from Necessity.

Well, that wraps it up for today’s roundup. Thanks for being a Pecuniarities reader and have a safe and happy 4th of July!

Related posts:

• Pecuniary Links ~ July 2009 #2
• Pecuniary Links ~ August 2009 #1
• July 2008 Finance and Frugality Blog Carnivals
• Pecuniarities is Hosting the Carnival of Pecuniary Delights This Week!
• Finance Blog Carnivals of Late

Welcome to the 1st Edition of the Carnival of Pecuniary Delights!

I am thrilled to have received such a response from the personal finance blogging community for this first edition of the Carnival of Pecuniary Delights. Thank you to each of the 68 participants for your submissions; it has been a pleasure to read and include each of your articles.

A little about the Carnival of Pecuniary Delights

For those of you who are just hearing about this new carnival, the purpose of the Carnival of Pecuniary Delights is to showcase content of lasting value from the personal finance and frugality blogosphere. There is no restriction as to the age of the posts submitted so bloggers are free to submit their best and favorites from any part of their archives.

As the priority is lasting value, you will not find items with an “expiration date.” This means, no temporary promotions for businesses, shopping deals or credit card offers. Even if you were to happen upon this carnival 6 months from now, the content would all still be relevant.

More information: About • Schedule • Hosting • Submissions

Giveaway Winners

For Article Submissions	For Hosting Applications
David from MoneyNing	Momma from Momma’s Blog

Pecuniary Art by Madoline Hatter

In our past year of financial blogging, my sister Madoline Hatter, our resident graphic designer and artist, has produced not a few financially-themed pieces for this blog and our CafePress shop. As we have just concluded 2 giveaways of piggy bank art magnets featuring Madoline’s work to kick-off the launch of this new carnival, I have decided to theme this first edition around more of her pecuniary art.

Shameless plug: All of the images you see below are available on numerous types of products at our shop. They make great gifts for those with an interest in finance or frugality, and most are available with and without captions. Click on an image to see more.

Now, without any further ado, allow me to present the first ever Carnival of Pecuniary Delights: The Madoline Hatter Pecuniary Art Edition.

Editor’s Picks

• FIRE Finance from FIRE Finance presents Early Retirement Case Study – Sandy Aldridge and Dale Lugenbehl.
• Kelly from Almost Frugal presents The ABCs of frugality.
• Frugal Dad from Frugal Dad presents Is Frugality The Anti-Stimulus Plan?.
• Linsey Knerl from Wise Bread presents Beware of pretty things: 4 reasons I’m keeping my old ugly stuff.

Feast On Your Savings

Frugality

• Miss Thrifty from Miss Thrifty presents Make Do And Mend: Vogue for the Credit Crunch Bunch.
• Abigail from I Pick Up Pennies presents Are Americans really learning?.
• Lulugal from How I Save Money presents Frugal Frauds Revealed.
• Mike from Four Pillars presents Changing your mind.

Frugal Home and Garden

• Momma from Momma’s Blog presents 9 No Spend Weekend Ideas.
• David from Personal Finance Blog by MoneyNing presents My Virgin DIY Haircut Experience.
• Kate Kashman from The Paycheck Chronicles presents Seven Reasons Why Clutter is Costing Me Money.
• Heather Levin from The Greenest Dollar presents How To Save Money On Laundry Day.
• Leslie from Spilling Buckets presents It’s that time of year again: Gardening Season.

Frugal Kitchen

• Green Panda from Green Panda Treehouse presents Brownbag Your Lunch and Save Money.
• Jenn from Frugal Upstate presents The Making of a Lunch for Princess-Lunchbox Philosophy and Execution.
• Jim L. from The Switch to Riches presents Saving Even MORE on Groceries.
• Smarty from Growing Money presents How I Cut Down On Food Expenses.

Incontinent spending?

Saving on Spending

• Kimberly Palmer from Alpha Consumer presents My Experiment: Asking for a Better Deal.
• RC from Think Your Way To Wealth presents Negotiating a Deal and Tips on Becoming a Better Negotiator.
• Christina from Northern Cheapskate presents Don’t Let Coupons Clip Into Your Free Time.
• J. Money from Budgets Are Sexy presents 3 Tips to Putting BLING on That Finger of Hers.
• Laura from No More Spending presents Cold Turkey on Magazines and Confessions.

Money Management

• Jim from Bargaineering presents Your Financial Network Map.
• PT Money from Prime Time Money presents Save More Money: Automate and Separate Your Savings.
• JT Locke from The Frugal Housewife presents How Much Is Too Much?.
• Cindy Morus, The Money Mender from Mend Your Money presents How to Have More Fun With Your Tax Refund in 2009.
• Karen from Living Well on Less presents Time for new tires — or why I’m glad we have an emergency fund.
• Kay Bell from Don’t Mess With Taxes presents When renting is the right choice.
• Money Progress from Money Progress presents How to Save Money and Feel Good About It.

A penny is the first part of a million.

Personal Finance

• Megan from Counting My Pennies presents Support Your Non-Profits.
• BSimple from Simplified Financial Lifestyle presents Financial Planning is EASY as Vacation Planning.
• Jason from My Money Minute presents What We Learn From Tragedy.
• Fred from Very Personal Finance presents Personal Finance Is Personal – Very Personal.
• Patrick from Cash Money Life presents Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University.
• Dave from Do You Dave Ramsey? presents Do You Dave Ramsey?

Green Living

• Prune Danish from Frugal Luxury presents More Beauty Products You Could Probably Do Without.
• Alunachic from The Frugal Musician presents The Frugal Musician Makes a Cardboard Mailer.

Debt and Credit

• Silicon Valley Blogger from The Digerati Life presents Get Rid Of Your Debt With These Debt Defying Strategies.
• Jeremy M. Simon from Taking Charge presents Phone line makes me popular with debt collectors.
• Greg Keene from Managing Money God’s Way presents Can you cosign this loan for me?.
• Trevor Shipp from Financial Nut presents You’ll Always Have a Car Payment.
• CPF from Christian Debt Help presents Negotiate with credit card companies and Win!
• Baker from Man Vs. Debt presents Declaring War: Cancelling Your Credit Cards.
• Marlon from Penny Scraper presents A fast way to improve the credit score of a family member.

Shining Credit vs. Infernal Credit

Taxes and Economic Stimulus

• Madison from My Dollar Plan presents $8,000 First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit.
• FFB from Free From Broke presents Paying Back The Economic Stimulus Payment – Lots of Tax Confusion!
• Miranda from Yielding Wealth presents Tax Time: Identity Thieves on the Prowl.
• Bruce from Taxguy presents A Little Straight Talk.
• Mr. ToughMoneyLove from Tough Money Love presents Consider this Likely Future Tax Benefit of Early Mortgage Payoff.

Economy

• Rocketc from Rocket Finance presents Financial Fairytale.
• Lisa Spinelli from Greener Pastures presents Is the Time Ripe for the Next Generation of Outliers?
• HIB from Happiness Is Better presents The TED Spread and What It Means to You .
• LAL from Living Almost Large presents Do I get paid too much?

Investing

• Zach Scheidt from Zach Stocks presents Double Your Investment Returns (Too Good to be True?).
• Jeff Rose from Good Financial Cents presents 7 Things To Know About a Roth IRA For 2009.
• Clare Kierans from Money Energy presents Why You Should First Invest in Dividend Reinvestment Plans (DRIPs).
• Mike from Richer by the Day presents Forever Stamps, A Losing Investment.
• MFD from My Findependence Day presents How Important are the CESG Grants to an RESP?.
• Sun from The Sun’s Financial Diary presents Are Vanguard Mutual Funds Getting Expensive? .
• Mr. GoTo from Go To Retirement presents Why I like I-Bonds in My Retirement Portfolio.

Career and Income

• WC from Wisebread presents On Salaries: Knowing What Your Coworkers Make.
• Viviana from The Lean Times presents When the work dries up.
• Peter from Bible Money Matters presents To Succeed Diversify And Create Multiple Streams Of Income.
• The David from Pimp Your Finances presents 20 Questions with J.D. Roth, author of Get Rich Slowly.
• The Smarter Wallet from The Smarter Wallet presents Job Hunting Tips: How To Deal With Losing Your Job.

Practice Maintains Perfect

Miscellany

• Kyle from Suburban Dollar presents Quit Paying for What You Can Get for Free (Open Source software).
• Ishan from Save Few Bucks presents Does it really makes sense to buy a Hybrid Car?.
• Papa Boomer from Consumer Boomer presents Not All Credit Cards Companies are the Same.
  Note: While I usually prefer “positive” stories, I thought this psot could serve as a consumer review of a bank on which I myself have less than stellar opinions through personal experience.

Enchanted Pumpkin Fairy Ship

* * *

This concludes the First Edition of the Carnival of Pecuniary Delights. Next week’s edition will be hosted by Wise Bread, so be sure to get your submissions in by Wednesday April 8th, 6:00 PM PST.

Related posts:

• Pecuniarities is Hosting the Carnival of Pecuniary Delights This Week!
• Finance Blog Carnivals of Late
• Carnival of Pecuniary Delights Giveaways: Cute Piggy Bank Magnet Prizes for Hosting and Submissions
• Pecuniary Links ~ July 2009 #2
• Pecuniary Links ~ August 2009 #1

If you haven’t done your taxes yet, enter now for a chance to win 1 of 2 FREE prepaid access codes for TurboTax Premier Online which includes:

• Free Federal
• State Preparation
• Free e-File

The Premier package is valued at $85 and includes investment income, 401-K  Maximizer, rental deductions and other features to help you maximize and expedite your refund. Click here for more information on TurboTax Premier.

Enter by 11:59 PM PST tonight March 28, 2009 for a chance to win!

Pecuniarities is Hosting 2 Carnivals Next Week!

Submit your posts for double carnival exposure:

• Carnival of Debt Reduction on Monday March 30th
  Submit your post by 5:00 PM PST Sunday March 29th to be considered for inclusion
• Carnival of Pecuniary Delights on Thursday April 2nd
  Submit your best post – remember there is no restriction as to the age of the post – by 5:00 PM PST Wednesday April 1st to be considered for inclusion

Apply to host and submit an article for the Carnival of Pecuniary Delights by April 1st for chances to win these 2 cute piggy bank magnets by Madoline Hatter:

“Money begets Money” magnet for article submissions, “Feast on your savings” magnet for applying to host.

This Week’s Blog Carnivals

We participated in 2 blog carnivals this week:

• Festival of Frugality #170 – Frugal Living is Timeless was hosted by Money Ning and included my post:
  When “Free” Things Aren’t Free: Beware the Hidden and Indirect Costs
• Learn The Basics of Investing – Edition #197 of Carnival of Personal Finance was hosted by Four Pillars and included my post:
  It Saves to Be Nice Part 4: How to Save Money by Helping Businesses Keep Operating Costs Down

Related posts:

• Pecuniarities is Hosting the Carnival of Pecuniary Delights This Week!
• Hosting Festival of Frugality and Money Hacks Carnival Next Week
• Web Hosting
• Wall Street Journal Giveaway Winner and Carnivals of the Week
• New Personal Finance and Frugality Blog Carnival: The Carnival of Pecuniary Delights

I have some news today. Since the demise of the PF Bloggers group to which I use to belong, I had been thinking about starting a new group, which I did a couple of weeks ago. It’s called Pecuniary Associates, and consists of 6 blogs:

1. Pecuniarities
2. Living Well On Less
3. Financial Nut
4. Counting My Pennies
5. Greener Pastures
6. The Passive Dad

(I have decided to cap recruitment for now in order for us to start getting to know one another and see how we work together, and therefore am no longer looking for additional members at this time.)

A few things we will be doing which you will see here at Pecuniarities:

• Recommending posts from each others’ blogs that we think will be interesting or useful to our readers
• Participating in group and community writing projects in which we will each share our viewpoints and experiences on certain topics
• Community writing projects in which we will invite all personal finance bloggers to participate

So keep an eye out for our first group writing project!

Now on to this week’s roundup.

From Pecuniary Associates

• Counting My Pennies tells a tale of frustration in Friends and money don’t mix.
• Financial Nut reports his experience with fraudulent activity on his credit card this week. This is a good reminder that we can never be too careful and must remain vigilant in regularly checking our statements.
• Living Well On Less offers a suggestion I’d be more than eager to follow if I was ever faced with renting and moving again (but never will because I am determined to never move again unless I want to.) Moving on a budget? Consider staying where you are
• The Passive Dad offers 10 ways to deal with financial stress, something we can all use.
• Greener Pastures advises to just use a little less.

Elsewhere in the PF Blogosphere

• The Paycheck Chronicles offers some tips for Laundry on the Cheap.
• Free From Broke asks: Is Saving 8 to 12 Months Expenses Even Possible Or Practical? I say, definitely.
• Wise Bread advocates Borrowing, renting, substituting, and doing without

Blog Carnivals

We’d like to thank the following hosts for including us in their recent blog carnivals:

• Money Ning hosted Money Hacks Carnival #55 – Thank You Edition which included my post:
  Who’s to Blame for Your Spending? You or You?

• Green Panda Treehouse hosted Carnival of Personal Finance #196: Music Edition which included my post:
  Financial Lent: A Frugal Fast to See What You Can Live Without

Another Reminder

Personal finance, frugal and green living bloggers:

If you haven’t already done so, don’t forget to submit your best post and apply to host an edition of the Carnival of Pecuniary Delights and enter the giveaways for some really cute Piggy Bank Magnets which we just received in the mail and look even better in real life than onscreen!

That wraps it up for today, which incidentally is my birthday, so off to party I go! (Before your imagination runs away with you, by “party” I mean watching Sense and Sensibility (and/or another Jane Austen film) on DVD and consuming copious amounts of fish n’ chips.)

Related posts:

• Pecuniary Links ~ August 2009 #1
• Interesting Reads From Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #19
• Interesting Reads from Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #3
• Interesting Reads from Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers
• Interesting Reads From Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #18

free adj. \ˈfrē\ Costing nothing.

There’s been a lot of “Free” promotions going on lately – Free Denny’s breakfast, Free Quizno’s Sub, Free Arby’s burger, and I’m sure there have been others – but I haven’t gone for any of them because it wasn’t worth the time nor cost.

If they’re free, how do they cost money?

If …

1. you have to go out of your way to get it, especially drive.
   Unless the location is right on the way to and from your daily activity, consider every extra mile you drive out of your way as a cost of $0.55, the IRS mileage rate for business use which includes gas and associated costs of wear & tear/maintenance.
2. you have to buy something, i.e. a drink, to get your free item.
   Even if it’s only $1.39 for the drink and you get a $4.00 burger for free, you’re still spending money.
3. there is a limit to how many free items you can get.
   You have family at home, and it wouldn’t be right to just pick up a sandwich for yourself. But you’re limited one free item per customer, so you have to buy the rest of the sandwiches.
4. you dine in (i.e. Denny’s).
   You have to tip. Or feel really funny for dining and dashing without tipping.
5. you arrive to find the store isn’t participating in the promotion.
   You’ve wasted a trip. And because you’ve gone all the way there, you might end up buying something anyway because now you’re starving.
6. you could be making money in the time it takes to wait in line.
   Especially if you’re self-employed, make money blogging, etc.

Living where I do (in a fairly isolated part of the Mojave Desert), and working where I do (at home), the prospect of going out espeically for a free sandwich or breakfast just isn’t worth my time and money.

The closest Denny’s from my house is a 15.3-mile drive, so a 30.6-mile round trip could count as an expenditure of $8.42, which I believe is more than the face value of the free breakfast. Even if I were going grocery shopping a mile down the road, being a dine-in only breakfast, I would’ve at least had to spend money on tip. It just all seemed like too much of a hassle.

There is actually a Quizno’s in our town, but chances of it participating in the promotion were nil to nil, because we’re somewhat isolated. Subways here don’t participate in the Subway Card program, so I didn’t want to go down to Quizno’s and find I’ve wasted my time and gas.

Free things are great. Just make sure they really are by defintion “free” before you jump.

Related posts:

• Why I Will Not Change My Mindset, Plus the Difference Between Justifying and Being Optimistic About Spending
• Giveaways Ending Soon! And Hosting 2 Blog Carnivals Next Week
• Freebies: Printable Paper Toy Soldiers Ornaments
• Free Printable Templates: Christmas Candy Stripe and Plaid Carrier Gift Bags
• Free Printable Templates: Gingham Mini Gift Boxes

This giveaway is mostly for personal finance/frugal living bloggers, but don’t worry non-bloggers, we have another giveaway coming up for you soon.

Giveaway #1: Submission Contest

• The Prize: “Money Begets Money” Magnet by Madoline Hatter of a piggy bank family feeding at a trough of gold coins.
• Everyone who submits a post and is included in the first edition is entered for a chance to win.
• If your post makes editor’s pick, you get an additional entry, so submit your best post.
• Add one of the Carnival banners or buttons to your site for an additional entry.

Giveaway #2: Hosting Contest

• The prize: “Feast on Your Savings” Magnet also by Madoline Hatter. This is the official logo of the Carnival of Pecuniary Delight featuring a “suckling piggy bank” on a platter and in a bed of bills and gold coins with a red apple in its mouth.
• Everyone who applies to host by March 31, 2009 (11:59PM EST) is entered for a chance to win.
• Add one of the Carnival banners or buttons to your site for an additional entry.
• Submission deadline: April 1, 2009 6:00PM EST

Contest Terms

• All entries in compliance with hosting or submission guidelines outlined on the carnival site are eligible for chances to win.
• You are welcome and encouraged to participate in both contests!
• Winners will be randomly selected.
• Winners will be announced in the first edition of the Carnival of Pecuniary Delights on April 2, 2009 here at Pecuniarities.
• If you win, you will need to send me your name and mailing address.

More Information

To learn more about the Carnival of Pecuniary Delights, please visit the carnival home page or my previous post for more information:

• Carnival of Pecuniary Delights (home page)
• New Personal Finance and Frugality Blog Carnival: The Carnival of Pecuniary Delights (blog post)

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. I look forward to seeing your submissions – for both hosting and blog posts!

Related posts:

• Giveaways Ending Soon! And Hosting 2 Blog Carnivals Next Week
• Pecuniarities is Hosting the Carnival of Pecuniary Delights This Week!
• Introducing Pecuniary Associates & Interesting Reads From Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #17
• Web Hosting
• Carnival of Debt Reduction No. 185: The Charles Dickens Debtor’s Prison Edition

I’ve been working away this past week at creating a new blog carnival for the personal finance and frugality blog community. It’s called the Carnival of Pecuniary Delights and its purpose is to showcase quality blog posts from around the personal finance blogosphere.

What the Carnival is For

For Readers

The Carnival of Pecuniary Delights is for anyone looking for a variety of quality blog articles on the subject of personal finance and frugal living. Because blog carnivals feature content from bloggers around the web, readers can quickly find information, viewpoints and tips from a varied pool of sources.

Carnival Topics

• Personal Finance (general)
• Money Management (tips on saving, spending, budgeting, etc.)
• Frugal Living (anything related to frugal living)
• Frugal Home (frugal home and garden)
• Frugal Kitchen (frugal dining, cooking, recipes)
• Frugal Family (frugal parenting, family activities, etc.)
• Green Living (tips that save money and the environment)
• Personal Financial Journey (anecdotes)
• Debt & Credit (advice and tips – not credit card reviews)
• Investing (strategies and advice but not “hot stock picks”)
• Economy (observations and commentary)
• Other (relevant topics)

For Bloggers

Unlike some of the blog carnivals out there, there is no post age restriction, and the focus is content of lasting value, so no credit card offers, deals, promotions and content that has an expiration date.

You can submit posts that you wrote 1 or 2 years ago that is still relevant to today. One of the reasons to do this is to help revive traffic and discussion to good posts that may have been buried among the hundreds of posts in your archives or those written in your early days when your blog had fewer readers so didn’t get the attention they deserved, because some of your best work might come from the early days when you were fresh with ideas.

However, because some of the submitted content may have been seen before, hosts are asked to be very selective in only including content they personally feel are of lasting value, rather than including everything that isn’t SPAM.

Please visit About the Carnival of Peucuniary Delights: For Bloggers for more information.

Hosting and Submissions

This carnival will occur every Thursday with the first edition on April 2, 2009 here at Pecuniarities, and we are open for submissions as well as looking for volunteers to host. Both participating in and hosting a carnival are great ways to increase traffic and exposure to your site.

Please visit the following pages for info on:

• Submissions (for submitting your posts)
  
• Hosting

And please help spread the word about this new carnival. We have created some Carnival Buttons and Banners that you can use on your site.

I look forward to your submissions!

Related posts:

• Pecuniarities is Hosting the Carnival of Pecuniary Delights This Week!
• Finance Blog Carnivals of Late
• Carnival of Pecuniary Delights Giveaways: Cute Piggy Bank Magnet Prizes for Hosting and Submissions
• Pecuniary Links ~ July 2009 #2
• Interesting Reads From Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #19

Update 7:20PM January 30, 2009

The winner is Lisa Spinelli! Thank you all again for participating in my first giveaway!

Update 9:00PM, January 24, 2009

This contest is now closed. We will tally up the entries, select a winner and announce the result shortly. Thank you to everyone who participated.

I am excited to announce our first blog contest here at Pecuniarities (Our Fourpence Worth until October 2008). Next month marks our first blog anniversary and I am quite pleased with the success that we have experienced in the past year and the direction in which we are headed.

The Prize

I wrote a post a while back on how I received a free subscription to the Wall Street Journal by completing surveys. I have now earned enough points for another, so for this first contest (of many to come) we are giving away a 6-month print subscription to the Wall Street Journal, a $129 value, to one lucky winner. We just had our own 6-month subscription to the Wall Street Journal and have been very impressed with it.

To tell the truth, I wondered at first if it would be a little boring, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that it offered more than just stodgy finance reports and stock graphs. I especially enjoy the Personal Journal section that covers a wide range of topics pertinent to everyone. I believe this paper could be a great benefit to our readers, especially in these times when keeping abreast of all news and information on the economy is so important.

The WSJ is delivered 6 days a week and is packed full of interesting news (both national and international) and useful information on business and personal finance, investing and more:

• Summaries of breaking stories, coupled with 24/7 online updates.
• Expert insight on the market and economy and how both can impact your everyday finances and personal investments.
• Expanded coverage of major global stories, political events, medical breakthroughs and emerging technologies.
• Arts, food & wine, real estate, travel bargains, and weekend getaways.

Ways To Enter

Do each of the following once for 1 chance to win. (For every 1 you do, you earn 1 entry. The Email Subscription earns 2 entries.)

Please leave a comment to let me know which entry method(s) you used.

Please make sure you read the Contest Terms below.

• Leave a comment on this post stating your 2009 financial resolutions or goals.
• Subscribe to our RSS feed and leave a comment below to let you know you did so, or
• for 2 entries instead of 1, Subscribe to our email feed and leave a comment here using the same email address with which you subscribed. (All current email subscribers gain an automatic entry.)
• Blog about this contest and link to it from your blog. Leave me a comment here to let me know.
• Follow me on twitter – @PenelopePince. Leave a comment here with your twitter username.
  
• Tweet about this contest and leave a comment to let me know you did so.
• Vote for this post in Tip’d, PF Buzz or another medium and leave a comment here.
• Bonus Entries: Leave comments on other posts on our blog. If you’re new to our blog, visit our archives for our earlier posts, which are some of the best we have produced. The comment(s) must show some thought and not just “I agree” or “Great idea.” Come back to this post and let me know which post(s) you commented on. Each approved comment will gain you an additional entry.
• If you like contests, be sure to check out  Single Guy Money’s $100 Target or Walmart Gift Card Giveaway.

Contest Terms

• We’re sorry, but this particular reward from my survey company is only available to new subscribers to the Wall Street Journal in the contiguous U.S., so we apologize to any readers from Hawaii or Alaska and those who have already subscribed to the WSJ in the past. If you have been a subscriber in the past, you are not eligible to receive this free subscription. We will hold other contests soon.
• The contest begins now and ends at 11:59PM EST on January 24, 2009. Comments to this post will be closed at this time.
• 1 winner will be randomly selected using a random integer generator at random.org.
• We will contact the winner via the email address used to comment here.
• The winner will have 4 days to respond with necessary contact information for the subscription. We will send a 2nd notification email after 2 days if we have not heard back.
• If the winner does not respond after 4 days, a new winner will be selected from amongst the entrants.
• If this prize happens to go out of stock from our reward provider at the end of the contest period (though it shouldn’t), we will offer a replacement prize.

Prize Terms

• Again, this particular offer from my rewards program is only available to new subscribers to the WSJ. If you are already a subscriber or have subscribed in the past, you are not eligible to receive this prize. We are sorry, but we will run other contests soon.
• It may take 6-8 weeks for the first issue to arrive.
• Your WSJ will be delivered 6 days a week by postal mail or early morning carrier depending on your location.
• While we will do our best to ensure proper initiation of your subscription, we are not liable for non-delivery due to:
  • Incorrect mailing and contact information provided by the winner
  • Ineligibility of the winner to qualify for the subscription
  • Loss or error on the part of the postal service or delivery personnel
  • Any other matter beyond our control
• Any issues with the delivery of the subscription will have to be addressed to the Wall Street Journal.

Don’t be scared off by these terms. We didn’t have any problems with our subscription. In fact, we began receiving our issues within a week or two of starting our subscription and have learned a lot from it.

Good luck to all and happy new year!

Related posts:

• Interesting Reads From Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #14
• Friday Fun: Calvin and Hobbes Lemonade Stand Economics Lesson & WSJ Giveaway Reminder
• How I Got a Free Subscription to the Wall Street Journal
• Interesting Reads From Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #15
• Wall Street Journal Giveaway Winner and Carnivals of the Week