Women’s Finance Blog

Freecycling is something that has become more and more popular. The premise is basic… you list things you are willing to give away, the only requirement is the person who wants it has to meet you when it is convenient for you to do so. You can generally find anything from sofas to furniture to household appliances (both large and small). It is kind of like a mini eBay garage sale, but for free.

First, go to FreeCycle.org and search for your city. There you will get the listing for your local Freecycle, which will give you access to the rules/regulations for your city. Last I checked there were over 4,000 groups, meaning there is probably a group somewhere in your neck of the woods, and they even include countries such as France, Canada and the UK.

If you aren’t comfortable with having people to your house or apartment, meeting in parking lots of local fast food restaurants or big box style stores are commonplace too.

And as a bonus, it is GREAT for decluttering!

1 Comment »
Filed under: Budget

Cell phone companies try and get you to get cell phone insurance added onto your monthly plan, to the tune of $6-8 per month. But is it worth it? Unless you are someone who will lose the phone on a very regular basis (every month or two), probably not.

First, your replacement phone will likely be a refurbished phone, and may or may not be the same model you originally had, and you are usually STILL required to pay a replacement fee (to the tune of $50 to $100 usually).

You can get cell phones fairly cheaply on eBay (be sure to buy from a reputable seller so you know it isn’t stolen) and be up and running again within a week or so, or even faster if the seller is local to you. And you will probably be paying less than your replacement fee, especially when you consider you likely would have paid a few months of insurance on top of that.

No Comments »
Filed under: Budget

To followup from yesterday’s post about finding college scholarships, I thought I would also take the time to talk about scholarship scams. Here are some things to watch out for:

• Paying a fee to apply. Even if you are only being asked to pay $5, be wary anytime you need to pay a fee simply to apply.

• Paying a membership fee to a scholarship site. True, you can pay the fee, but it is nothing that a few hours of web searching won’t find. So skip the fee and invest in some online scholarship hunting or join one of the free searchable databases.
• Guaranteed scholarship. No one can guarantee you will get a scholarship simply by joining a site. It may increase the odds, but it certainly won’t guarantee you a scholarship.
• Enticements about unclaimed scholarships. Particularly later in the season there may be scholarships that are unclaimed, but chances are pretty good you won’t qualify because they are pretty specialized.
• You are awarded a scholarship but asked to pay. You will never be asked to supply your banking information or credit card information when you “win” a scholarship.
• Financial Aid Officiers are your friend. If in doubt, check with the financial aid officers at your school, as they will likely know right away if the scholarship is legitimate or merely a scam.

  Good luck.

  No Comments »
  Filed under: College

We all know how we love to go look at houses and it looks so perfect we can totally see ourselves living in it? This is called staging a house, and it is something you should do before you initially list your house and before you have each open house. Some are things that you do once, while others need to be done prior to each showing or open house.

• Shampoo carpets or cover with trendy rug that suits the style of the house

• Vacuum ALOT
• Remove any and all clutter from sight
• Ensure pets are outside or in another secure area
• Turn on air conditioning or ceiling fans if it is hot outside
• Wash windows and shower doors
• Clean sinks, bathtubs and toilets
• Use air freshners such as Febreze if needed
  
• Secure valuables, including any prescription drugs (yes, some people go to open houses strictly for stealing prescriptions from medicine cabinets)

• Ensure high curb appeal… mow lawns, weed, touch up trim, fix fences, remove junk

  No Comments »
  Filed under: Real Estate

If you live where I do, you are lucky to even find a space in child care, and if it is a decent one, you are paying through the teeth for the spot. But if you are in an area where you have a bit more flexibility, here are some ideas and tips to help you reduce your child care expenses. After all, if you are a working mother, you can easily spend 10-20% (or more, depending on the number of children) just on child care expenses alone.

• Form a child care co-op. This means that each parent puts in a certain number of hours or days a month, based on a preset schedule, which greatly reduces the amount of money you have to pay each month for full-time child care.

• Form a Friday Night Club (or Saturday Night Club, if it works better). Four families with equal numbers of children in roughly the same age group take turns watching the kids. For example, the first Friday night, you will have all the kids at your house for the evening, but then the next three Friday nights your child will go to the other couple’s house for the evening. The Friday night you are “on” can be painful, but then you get to have a night to yourselves for the following three Friday nights.
• Investgate any child care tax credits or breaks you are eligible for.
• Take advantage of summer camps to free up your time during the summer months.

No Comments »
Filed under: Family, Budget