How to Avoid Late Fees - From Library books to Credit Cards and More!

Everyone hates late fees, especially we couponers. Why especially us? Well, we break our butts to save .25 here .and 50 there, in otherwords we invest our time in saving a few cents here and there because we know it all adds up. One $39 late fee could wipe out an entire week or more of "savings".....it sucks...trust me I've done it!

Here are some tips to avoid late fees:

Credit Cards
The late fee on a credit card can be quite high....and there is nothing like the frustration of getting socked with one just because it "slipped your mind"!

• Pay it as soon as it comes in
   
• Set up an automatic payment through your online bill pay. I set mine up to send out $100 on the same date each month. I then log in and change it to the amount due or cancel if we have no bill that month. However, were I to forget I'm still covered as my bank will automatically send out the payment.
   
• Make a payment by phone or through the credit cards web site if available. Check on the front and back of your bill. If a company accepts payments by phone or online, it will should so on the bill. Just call the number provided for bill payments and make the payment over the phone, or log on and create an account to pay online.
   
• Have more then one credit card? Try batching your due dates. Call the companies and see if you can have all your cards due on the same date to avoid confusion and make less work for you!
   
• Sign up for online alerts. With an online alert, a credit card issuer will send you an email reminding you that your payment due date is coming up
   
• Follow all payment guidelines.The Fair Credit Billing Act requires issuers to credit your payment the day it is received, but each credit card company is allowed to set specific payment guidelines. (You’ll find these guidelines on the back of your credit card bill.) If any of these guidelines aren’t met, your credit card company could take up to five days to credit your payment. Use the pre-printed envelope provided by your credit card company. Be sure to include your account number on the check and remember to sign it. And don’t forget to include the billing coupon provided by your card company, apply proper postage, and mail your payment to the proper billing address, if you miss one of these steps it could lead to a late fee!
    
• Worse case scenario, Fed Ex it.....check the charges it may be less then the late fee you will incur!

Library Books
Hey that .10 cents a day can really add up! Especially when it's per book.

• Sign-up for an account with your Libraries web site, they will send you out a "reminder". This feature comes in handy!
   
• When you have an account you can also check to see what and how many books you need to return. Nothing is as frustrating of patting yourself on the back for returning a pile of books only to find out a couple weeks later one was missing, my daughter used to hide her favorites under her bed because she did not want to "give them back". That's how I learned this trick!
   
• Have one designated spot for all your Kid's library books. We have one bin in my daughters room where they go. This avoids a mad search through the house and late fees when the mad search turns up nothing!
   
• Take advantage of library "forgiveness" days. Many libraries have one (or a few) days a year where they will "forgive" any library fines. Check the library calendar for these days.
   
• Can't find one? Renew it to give you more time to search for it!

Movie Rentals:
I can't tell you how many times I've been out running errands and realized I forgot a movie at home....it's a total pain in the you know what! Also, when you've rented a movie with a FREE rental code then need to pay a late fee on it, well it kind of defeats the purpose!

• If the movie is due back the next day put it on the seat of your car, you won't forget it now. Try to avoid sitting on it though!
   
• Keep a bag on your front door with all things you need to return the next day and just grab it on your way out.
   
• You can do the same with online rentals, the methods above will remind you to mail it back and you'll get a new move all that much sooner!
   
• Like the library books designate one spot for movie rentals to avoid having to search for them!
   
• Put your car keys on top of your movie, you'll be sure to see it that way!

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How to Save on Halloween Costumes!

In case you have not been paying attention Halloween has turned into "big business! Kid's costumes have become more elaborate and certainly more expensive. Even suggesting a homemade costume to a child over 3 is a recipe for disaster. However there are some great way's to save!

1. Thred UP!
   Have you heard of it? It's a Kid's clothing swap site! Go here to sign up ---> Then go to "browse boxes"....once there choose Halloween from the specialty menu. If you find a box that interests you you'll pay $5 plus shipping!
    
2. Craigslist
   This site can be hit or miss. The best way to get a "hit" is to browse often as new items are put up all the time. Just go to craigslist.org then look for the search box on the left and search "Halloween Costumes" you can add a size to narrow down the list. Make sure choose for sale from the drop down so that you are searching in the for sale section!
    
3. Ebay
   Good old e-bay! Just search for costumes you are interested in and the size gender needed. Be warned that many are stores that are selling over stock. If you want the best deals use terms such as "gently worn" or "EUC" excellent used condition. This will make it more likely you are coming up with people who are selling their child's old costume.
   
   If you do buy from a store on ebay make sure you know your pricing very well, just because it's on Ebay is not a guarantee you're getting it less then the Halloween shop in town.
   
   Don't be afraid to be specific...if you found a costume you like in Lillian Vernon catalog...add that to the search query...ie...Lillian Vernon Sock Hop Costume size 6
    
4. Thrift Stores
   Most thrift stores are jam packed at this time of year with used costumes and "over stock" costumes all priced lower then you'd find at the costume shop! If possible have your child try the costume on first and be aware of the return policy!
    
5. Shop end of season sale:
   Yes, I know we have no idea what our children will be into next Halloween. I've just learned Hannah Montana is out and Lady Gaga is in....I would not have guessed such a turn-around last year at this time!
   
   With that said if you play your cards right you can get costumes after Halloween for 75% to 90% off...at that price you can pick up a couple and keep your fingers crossed that your choice will "fly" the next year....if not? Well, it will be a nice addition to the dress up bin!
    
6. Make your own!
   You don't need to be a crafty genius these days to make your own costume. Most magazines have some great ideas for make your own costumes and your local sewing store has all kinds of products that make using an actual sewing machine unnecessary!
   
   Worried your child will turn his or hers nose up at a home made costume? Get them involved have them make or help make the costume themselves. Also, have them brain storm on way's to embellish or improve the costume...in other words have them bring their own ideas and creativity to the table.!
   
   This is not something you'll want to wait until the last minute for ....start perusing the magazines and web now for ideas!

How to Cheat on Weekday Meals with Less Guilt!

I do my best to pre-plan menus, use the crock pot and cook double the amount then freeze for later use....all this to avoid a non-nutritious dinner or horror of horrors the drive through dinner!

However, occasionally I need to "cheat". Whether I've run out of time, forgotten to defrost something or my arthritis is out of control......I need to come up with a "Plan B"!

To avoid the guilt involved with serving these quickie throw together less then nutritional dinners I've come up with my own "fix". Are you ready?

Rita's Fix = Less Guilt:
 
I serve one non-nutritional item then pile on the fruit and salad. In other words if I do end up throwing in a Frozen pizza then we'll each have 2 slices max and a huge pile of salad and cut-up fresh fruit. This way not only are we eating less of the non-nutritional item but we're each getting servings of our daily veggies and fruit.

This does take some planning ahead:

• Have salad making items and fresh fruit on hand always!
   
• Cut-Up melon, strawberries, pineapples etc... when you get home from shopping....this makes for quicker meal prep.
   
• Consider making a salad earlier in the week and keeping it in the fridge for fast lunches and sides to quickie cheats!

Here are some of my favorite "cheats" all served of course with a generous portion of Salad & Fruit:

• Frozen Pizza (it don't get quicker then this!)
• Homemade Pizza - I keep dough or already prepared crusts on hand for quick dinners
• Frozen Chicken Nuggets or Breaded Chicken Breasts
• Canned Tomato Soup w/Noodles ( I use Cambells and Creamettes)
• Wrap ham and cheese into Crescent Rolls and throw in oven...hhhhmmmm!
• Roll out Pillsbury Grands and make "mini" pizzas!
• 2 Cans Campbell's Cream of Celery Soup/ 2 cans canned potatoes, sauteed onions = quickie Potato Soup!
• Bottled Spaghetti sauce poured over noodles.....hint...you can grate veggies and throw it in with the sauce - it will add nutrition but will cook down to nothing and your family will never know!
• Frozen Fish Sticks or Frozen Fish anything
• Chili-Dogs.....just use canned Hormel Chili!
• Pigs in a Blanket - Wrap Crescent rolls around Hot Dogs then bake - a kid favorite....ohhh...who am I kidding it's an adult favorite around here as well!
• Use plain or flavored Bagels as the base for Pizza or Pita Bread for individual pizzas! Get the kids involved .... let them make there own!

Do you have any "Cheats".....any tips on making the "Cheater Dinners" more nutritious? Let me know and I'll post it!

How to Avoid Late Fees

Everyone hates late fees, especially we couponers. Why especially us? Well, we break our butts to save .25 here .and 50 there, in otherwords we invest our time in saving a few cents here and there because we know it all adds up. One $39 late fee could wipe out an entire week or more of "savings".....it sucks...trust me I've done it!

Here are some tips to avoid late fees:

Credit Cards
The late fee on a credit card can be quite high....and there is nothing like the frustration of getting socked with one just because it "slipped your mind"!

• Pay it as soon as it comes in
   
• Set up an automatic payment through your online bill pay. I set mine up to send out $100 on the same date each month. I then log in and change it to the amount due or cancel if we have no bill that month. However, were I to forget I'm still covered as my bank will automatically send out the payment.
   
• Make a payment by phone or through the credit cards web site if available. Check on the front and back of your bill. If a company accepts payments by phone or online, it will should so on the bill. Just call the number provided for bill payments and make the payment over the phone, or log on and create an account to pay online.
   
• Have more then one credit card? Try batching your due dates. Call the companies and see if you can have all your cards due on the same date to avoid confusion and make less work for you!
   
• Sign up for online alerts. With an online alert, a credit card issuer will send you an email reminding you that your payment due date is coming up
   
• Follow all payment guidelines.The Fair Credit Billing Act requires issuers to credit your payment the day it is received, but each credit card company is allowed to set specific payment guidelines. (You’ll find these guidelines on the back of your credit card bill.) If any of these guidelines aren’t met, your credit card company could take up to five days to credit your payment. Use the pre-printed envelope provided by your credit card company. Be sure to include your account number on the check and remember to sign it. And don’t forget to include the billing coupon provided by your card company, apply proper postage, and mail your payment to the proper billing address, if you miss one of these steps it could lead to a late fee!
    
• Worse case scenario, Fed Ex it.....check the charges it may be less then the late fee you will incur!

Library Books
Hey that .10 cents a day can really add up! Especially when it's per book.

• Sign-up for an account with your Libraries web site, they will send you out a "reminder". This feature comes in handy!
   
• When you have an account you can also check to see what and how many books you need to return. Nothing is as frustrating of patting yourself on the back for returning a pile of books only to find out a couple weeks later one was missing, my daughter used to hide her favorites under her bed because she did not want to "give them back". That's how I learned this trick!
   
• Have one designated spot for all your Kid's library books. We have one bin in my daughters room where they go. This avoids a mad search through the house and late fees when the mad search turns up nothing!
   
• Take advantage of library "forgiveness" days. Many libraries have one (or a few) days a year where they will "forgive" any library fines. Check the library calendar for these days.
   
• Can't find one? Renew it to give you more time to search for it!

Movie Rentals:
I can't tell you how many times I've been out running errands and realized I forgot a movie at home....it's a total pain in the you know what! Also, when you've rented a movie with a FREE rental code then need to pay a late fee on it, well it kind of defeats the purpose!

• If the movie is due back the next day put it on the seat of your car, you won't forget it now. Try to avoid sitting on it though!
   
• Keep a bag on your front door with all things you need to return the next day and just grab it on your way out.
   
• You can do the same with online rentals, the methods above will remind you to mail it back and you'll get a new move all that much sooner!
   
• Like the library books designate one spot for movie rentals to avoid having to search for them!
   
• Put your car keys on top of your movie, you'll be sure to see it that way!

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Back to School Booster Shots & Physicals on the Cheap!

It's that time of year again! If you are like me you start the Summer with every intention of getting those physicals and booster shots taken care of early then run around like a crazy person because you got so busy and kept putting it off until the week before school!

Here are some tips:

1. Determine what shots, physcial, dental, or vision tests if any are required for your child to start school. You can do this by calling the school nurse or in some cases checking your schools web site. Keep in mind if you have not been keeping up with your child's shot schedule you may have to "play catch-up"
   
   Make sure and ask if there is a "timeline"....they won't always like to advertise it but some school districts will give you a small "grace period" on some of the requirements. So worse case scenario you may have a little lee way...but it is usually only on dental and vision.
    
2. Get a copy of your childs immunization records, if you don't have one already. You really should have a copy of this anyway as you'd be suprised how often a doctors office loses these. Your doctor should be able to provide you with this.
    
3. Call you doctor to find out how much they charge for the boosters your child needs.....then check with insurance and find out what is covered!
    
4. One option you have is to call your County health department/clinic and find out if they offer the boosters you need. If they do you will usually pay a nominal fee. You will need to find out the dates they offer the boosters, times and locations. The earlier the better as the closer you get to the start date of school the more people will show up and they may run out of boosters! You'll need your child's immunization records to bring with you!
   
   You may also be able to get a FREE physical, dental and or vision test through your health clinic...it would not hurt to ask!
    
5. Call your School District and County Health Department to find out if the have a "FREE" Day. Last year our school district had a one day health fair, I was able to get my daughters booster shots, physical and dental screening all for free. That saved me hundreds of dollars as my insurance company would not cover most of the shots she needed! If you are lucky and your area is offering one, plan on getting there early as standing in a long line with a child seriously sucks, especially if they know they are getting a "shot" at the end of the "long line".
    
6. Is there a dental school in your area? Or does your local community college offer dental classes? If so they may offer FREE or cheap dental exams....call to find out. Warning....they may already be closed for the Summer!
    
7. If you need a vision screening Walmart and Target often have vision centers in their stores and are pretty moderately priced. Call your insurance company or your HR department if you are not sure if you have coverage for vision expenses! If you do they will usually partially cover a vision screening.
    
8. If you decide to get your physical and dental done at your own child's doctor and dentist.....schedule now as the dates will be filling up quickly the closer we get to the start of school! You don't neccessarily need to go to a pediatric dentist as most family dentists are happy to do a screening.
    
9. Make sure to have the proper paperwork for your pediatrician, eye doctor and dentist to fill out. You will need to hand this in at your child's school! You can often find a copy to download right on your schools web site!
    
10. In a pinch you may be able to utilize a "Minute Clinic" for a physical. Call ahead to ask if they perform these! There are many Walgreens and CVS stores that have minute clinics! It should run you about $15 or so.
     
11. Call your local hospitals some offer FREE back to school physicals....couldn't hurt to ask!

Remember: Bring your paperwork with you! You do not want to go to the trouble of taking your child in and not having the form with your for them to fill out!

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Freecycle - Get and Give Stuff for FREE!

Do you freecycle? Do you even know what it is? Well, if you're a Frugal nut and you probaby are if you're reading this - you need to check this out. It's not new it's been out for a few years now but many people still have not heard of it!

What is Freecycle?

Freecycle is a grassroots, non-profit group made up of smaller groups created to encourage recycling. Recycling in the sense of I don't need/want this anymore and I'd rather "give it away" then "throw it away" As they say"One man's trash is another man's treasure".

How it works:

Local Freecycle Groups are run off the Yahoo Groups system. In short, Yahoo -Groups is like a mass e-mail group. Someone posts a message via the groups Yahoo Group Website or sends an e-mail to the group's e-mail address. The message/e-mail is then sent to everyone subscribed to the group. The receivers are then free to reply to the original sender.

Example:
You have a rocking chair you no longer want. You send an e-mail to the group's e-mail address. All the users receive it. Those who are interested reply to you. You set up a time for the taker to pick up the item. Once it is gone, you send another e-mail to the group stating the item is gone. Users may also send e-mails for wanted items. Some groups have a limit on the number of wanted posts each person can send per day or week.

How to get started:

1. Go the freecycle.org --->
2. Type in your city and state - you may get results by city, county or both
3. Click on the town's Freecycle group you'd like to join. You'll see a brief description of how Freecycle works and what you need to do to get started.
4. Click on "Get Started" button
5. You will be asked for your Yahoo ID & Password. Don't have one?....just click on create new account. It may not be a bad idea to have a dedicated Yahoo email just for Freecycle as you may get alot of emails.
6. You will need to be "approved" by the group before getting started
7. Each Freecycle will have their own group etiquette--rules and courtesies for the group users. Once you join a freecycle, you will get information specific to the group. You'll want to read through this to make sure you fully understand the rules of your particular group.
8. You can join more then one group if you find in an area you don't mind traveling to if you need to pick up an item.

The positive side of Freecycle:

Freecycle is a great way to get rid of all of the items cluttering your house. You don't have to drive anywhere or deliver anything. You have an opportunity to help others that may be in need or just looking for something they would like to have.

It's also a great way obtain things you want or need for FREE. Freecycle is a completely free group and money is not allowed to be charged for the items posted as "offered" (items you have to give). For every item you give, that is one less item in a landfill. No more dragging things out to the curb, slapping a "take me" sign on them only to have them ruined by a sudden rainstorm before someone has taken it!

The negetive side of Freecycle:

Occasionally you'll have someone not show up for a scheduled "pick up". However, it's a small price to pay for getting rid of unwanted items guilt-free!

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Postage is going up to .46 cents & why you should be using online bill pay!

Postage is due to go up to .46 cents a stamp January 2011. If you're one of the few who has not got on board with online banking and bill pay you should give it some consideration.

Here are some benefits:

1. Save Money on Postage
   On average we send out between 10-15 bills per month, but for sake of argument let's say you send out 10 per month. In 2011 that will cost you $4.60 per month or $55.20 per year. How much does it cost to send a payment out through online bill pay? In most cases nothing!
    
2. Usually FREE
   Most banks offer online banking and online bill pay free of charge!
    
3. Better Organization & Instant Access
   You can very easily log into your account and check on what's going on in each of your accounts...no more waiting for a statement or calling and going through a lenghty push button series to find out what has cleared your bank and what is still oustanding.
   
   You can also quickly and easily find out when you last paid a bill and for what amount, often going back as far as you'd like. I love when a company tells me I have not paid them and with a couple of clicks I can tell them exactly what and when they've been paid!
    
4. Automatic Bill Pay
   Do you have a bill that is the same amount each month due on the same date? You can set up your account to automatically send out a payment for a certain amount on a certain date each month
   
   Avoid Late Fees -
   Use this feature to avoid late payments on credit cards. I set my account up to send out $100 on each credit card each month. In most cases I log in and change that amount to what is owed that month. However, if I forget to do so I will not incur a late fee as my account has automatically sent out a payment!
    
5. Time Saver
   This one is obvious, it takes alot less time to click a few buttons and pay all your bills then to sit down w/your checkbook and write out all those checks!
    
6. Easy Transfers
   If you sign up for your banks online capabilities you should be able to quickly and easily transfer money from one account to another (in the same bank of course). This is a true time saver and I use it all the time! This could save you some bounce fees as well, if you log in and notice you may run short this month you can quickly throw some money from another account into your checking and avoid a costly bounce fee!
    
7. Save Money on Check Printing
   Obviously you'll use considerably less checks so you won't be ordering nearly as many as you did before online bill pay....so you'll save a few bucks each year on checks! Plus, it's better for the environment, less paper!
    
8. Mobile Access
   You can have information on your accounts and access to bill paying anywhere you have an internet connection. Realize in the middle of a Hawaiin Vacation you forgot to pay a bill? Not sweat log on and pay from any internet access.
    
9. Set up reminders
   Some banks let you send yourself reminders if you would rather not pay your bills automatically. Each month, you'll get a reminder to check on your latest bills and then pay them online. You can also use reminders to alert you when the money in your checking account dips below a certain level.
    
10. Online Banking and Security
    Go here for a great article on online baking security --->

Do you use online banking/bill payment? Do you find it helpful/convenient? Have any tips?