thehume/Flickr
Readers responded to my post on how I saved $3,100 using tips I received from BargainBabe.com readers with requests for help. Please leave a comment if you have ideas for them.
Cindy in San Jose wrote:
I am looking for someone to repair my dryer. Thank you, Cindy
Yazmin in Los Angeles wrote:
Hi, I am purchasing a foreclosure home in Los Angeles. We hired an inspector and told us that whole house needs to be rewired. Our agent recommended her electrician (licensed). He went to see the house and he estimated (just labor) $1900 and we can buy material estimated $850. I am trying to stick with a licensed person. We did not expect this expense when we considered purchasing the house. We still need to buy paint and carpet/tile. I need you help please!! Yazmin
Lisa in Studio City/Sherman Oaks wrote:
Hi Julia- In reference to your article today about the Mini repairs, I’m looking for a reliable alternative to the dealer for my ‘05 Honda Pilot with 66,000 miles. Needs service YESTERDAY (that crazy “maintence required” light keeps coming on!!), so any help would be appreciated
thanks, Lisa
Related posts:
Upholstery, Landscaping, and Auto Body Repair at a deep discount
MSVG/Flickr
I took my Mini Cooper in for service knowing it needed repairs, but was overwhelmed when the dealer estimate came in at $4,500. I bought the car used with a 50,000 mile warranty and this was the first time anything – and everything, it seems – needed fixing. With coupons I negotiated 10% off my total bill, wiping out $450. I considered asking for 20% off if I paid in cash, but even then my bill would be $3,600. The car is only worth $9,300!
Then I remembered a super old post from February 2009 titled, 15 things we overpay for. At the end of the post I confessed to overpaying for five of the things on the list, including car maintenance at the dealer. Two readers, Lisa and Tyrone, recommended mechanics who work on Minis. I dug up the post, called both mechanics and got two estimates within 15 minutes.
How much would repairs cost? $1,900 at one, $1,400 at the other. That’s 43% and 31% of the dealer estimate, respectively. Wow!
So what is the difference between the Mini dealer and a regular mechanic?
BargainBabe.com
Long story short, I picked up my Mini from the dealer, paid $82 for the inspection and dropped it off at a regular mechanic’s shop. I was leaning towards the mechanic who quoted me $1,900, but his first opening was July 14 so I took it to the cheaper guy. My final bill may be higher, but so far I’m on track to save $3,100 thanks to BargainBabe.com readers!
Here is the work I am having done on my car (no DIY repairs for me):
- replace front brakes and rotors, flush brake system
- clean the throttle body and fuel injection system
- flush the cooling system and replace fluids
- replace lower controlling rubber bushings, which are cracked
- replace power steering fluid hoses, which are leaking
- replace two engine mounts, which are cracked
- install two new back tires
- align wheels
The experience made me realize that the collective saving power of BargainBabe.com readers really is amazing. If you are trying to save money on something, email me and I’ll share it on the blog. Who knows? Maybe another reader will help you save thousands of dollars.
Soron Bock-Larsen/Flickr
This is a post by BargainBabe.com writer Yazmin Cruz.
As a student there is no way I can afford driving without breaking my piggy bank. Even when you have a job, driving is pretty expensive. Gas, insurance, maintenance, and repairs are a couple hundred dollars each month.
I have always used public transportation and have found it to be less expensive. As a bonus, many universities have programs to help students pay for public transportation, like bus passes.
The University of Colorado has a student bus pass program that offers enrolled students a free pass sticker through its environmental center. While Seattle University students can get a discount of 55% off the full price of their buss pass if they meet the requirements.
Although there are some drawbacks to taking the bus – like having to wake up extra early – one of the benefits is the low cost. A monthly bus pass in Los Angeles is $62. Then I applied for a student bus card with my local transportation authority. The student bus pass is $36, almost half the original price. A couple months ago, the university I attend began a student transit subsidy program allowing students to purchase their bus passes for $15 – that’s a savings of $47 a month!
I’m not lucky. I did my homework. My school is not the only one. Many universities have similar programs to help students pay for their bus passes. A call to the student affairs office could pay off. If that office can’t help you, ask them who would manage transportation programs.
The discounts are not limited to students. Senior citizens and disabled riders may also qualify for discounts through their local transportation authority. Give them a call to find out.
If you use public transportation to get to work, inquire in the human resources office for discounts. Many companies are now helping their employees by paying part of their bus pass fee or covering it completely under employee benefits.
Related posts:
Free defensive driving lesson for teens
juan23for/flickr
By Mike Barclay of 10centsworth.com
If taking a few minutes to implement organization habits saved you money each day, would you take clutter more seriously? I’ve come up with two categories of organization that have made my life easier and saved me money.
Filing
I started filing my coupons by expiration date. I’m always forgetting where I put the coupons, and when I find them they’re already expired. As far as saving money goes, we know that using coupons is one of the easiest way to save when buying fast food or groceries. What is so difficult about having a filing container where you can keep track of coupons? If you know where they are and when they expire, chances are you’ll use them.
I’ve heard it from my Dad and from personal financial blogs that there is value to saving your receipts. Grab a file folder for each month of the year, save all the receipts, and then highlight the date so it’s easy to see before you toss them in. You might not be an accountant or know every deduction you could be taking, but saving the receipts will help whoever does your taxes figure out where you could be getting a big tax check when April 15th rolls around.
Time Management
Time is money, right? Then why do we spend so much “money” aimlessly? For example, the other day I drove to Walgreens, Walmart, Costco and Smiths. I did it two ways. The first involved driving from memory without advance planning. When I finished the trip, I’d driven 34 miles. Then I went back to the starting point, and mapped out a route using Google. I could have done the same route in 20 miles! My car gets roughly 20 miles to the gallon, so I could have saved 3/4 of a gallon, or about $2 at the average national gas price of $3. Driving that much extra every day adds up to wasting about $14 a week or $728 a year.
And while we’re on the topic of kids and errands; have you ever wanted to be in two places at once? What if you could? Well, not you physically, but what if you could get two things done at once? Barter with your neighbors! If you’ve both got kids, carpool with them and swap for something else. Maybe you take care of their dogs while they drop the kids off at the after-school activities. My hourly rate is around $10 an hour. If I had to walk the dogs (30 minutes) and then take the kids to their after-school activity (30 minutes) I’m spending a full hour, or $10 of my time. If this happens on a daily basis, that $10 becomes $70 in a week’s time. If my neighbor and I agreed that I would take her kids to the activity and she’d take care of the dogs, suddenly I’ve cut my losses in half and can spend the other half hour on something that’s productive.
Between these two examples, I’ve shown you how to save $100 on a weekly basis by planning and organizing your time more effectively. Everyone’s schedule is different, but if you get into the habit of organizing your time, you’ll start to notice your days are more productive and you’ll see the savings in your bank account as well.
What do you do to use your time effectively?
By Bobbi Burger Brunoehler of BobbisBargains
DIY is my mantra. One of my best defenses against paying too much for anything is knowing how to do it myself. Over the years, in an effort to stay in my budget and to teach my children to be self-reliant, I have learned many very useful skills that have saved me enormous amounts of money. Here are just a few of them.
Take and retouch headshots
A professional headshot can cost anywhere from $150 to $500 before retouching. You can learn digital photography at your local community college or occupational center for a fraction of the cost of the tuition at a fancy art school. If you are really good at learning on your own, then there are tons of free online tutorials on photography and retouching. An excellent subscription online software tutorial site that I have used for years is Lynda. For $25 a month you have access to fabulous tutorials on just about every piece of art software that exists.
Check the fluids in your car
All of my mechanics in the past have told me that if people only checked and maintained fluid levels in their cars, mechanics would practically go out of business. Many major car repairs can be avoided by proper maintenance, thereby saving you a bundle of money. By watching YouTube videos on the subject and asking my mechanics to show me, I have learned where and how to check my vehicle’s fluids. Search with the make and model of your car and you can most likely see how your engine should look.
Alter your own clothes
This is a skill that I learned as part of my visits to Swap O Rama Ramas where I also scooped up hundreds of dollars of free clothes. Who knew that you could actually cut down and re-sew a t-shirt so that it looked attractive?
Read musical notations
Music gives me great pleasure. Instead of feeling like I need to take a vacation to chill out, I can just spend some time with music. Check out your local library for how-to videos for kids. If you really want to understand music the easy way, then I suggest attending one of Duncan Lorien’s “The Understanding of Music” seminars. I’ve taken this seminar before and it is simply brilliant. Plus, it comes with a 100% money-back guarantee.
Build things out of wood
Great and free places to start to learn how to handle a hammer and nails are the free workshops given at Home Depot and Lowes. Lowes has how-to project videos online as well as free kids clinics each Saturday morning. Learning to be your own handy person can save you up to $100 an hour on simple repairs.
Along with the savings you get when you do things for yourself, you also gain competence and the satisfaction of knowing that you can do things yourself. What are your favorite DIY sites?
By Bobbi Burger Brunoehler of BobbisBargains.
Do you have a son or daughter 21 years of age or younger who has their driver’s permit or license? Heck, maybe you are 21 or younger.
If so, you are in luck because there is an amazing free defensive driving school program called Driver’s Edge. This program was created in 2002 in response to the outrageous statistic that car crashes are the number one cause of youth deaths in America.
Driver’s Edge is a free educational program that teaches young drivers to know what to do during an emergency driving situation such as hyper-planing or super-quick swerving. Last year, my teenage son was lucky enough to grab a spot and participate in one of the four-and-a-half hour classes. The instructors were all professional race car drivers and performance driving instructors. The classroom portion was fast paced and MTV style. Then, the participants got behind the wheel of a car and practiced what they just learned, including skid control and evasive lane change maneuvers. My son said it was very cool.
You must be between the ages of 15 and 21 to attend this program. However, parents of participants are encouraged to attend. Driver’s Edge is headquartered in Las Vegas, but they tour around the country. You pre-register online and then the organization emails you when the registration for your area will take place. There is very limited space and they fill up quickly. When I last checked there were upcoming free classes in Los Angeles, Oakland, and Seattle. Even if the classes are filled for this year’s tour, sign up so that you can attend a class during the next tour.
The program is funded by donations, grants and sponsorships. Bridgestone North America Tire is a major sponsor of this program. It’s a good thing, because they go through a ton of tires due to the skidding and severe braking done during the driving portion of this class.
Several months after my son took the free class he was driving on a rainy night. I was not worried because he had taken this program. Peace of mind is a wonderful thing.
boulter/Flickr
By Bobbi Burger Brunoehler of BobbisBargains.
The day I got my driver’s license my mother bought me an Automobile Club of America (AAA) membership. She continued to gift me the renewal fee on that membership for many years. Her gift, thankfully, kept me from being stranded on the road many times.
Every time I whipped out my AAA card and called for a service truck, I always thought of my mother. I would call and thank her while I waited for the tow truck to arrive. I think she planned it that way.
I have used my membership privileges (this link opens a word document) to get help:
- jump starting my battery in the dead of winter
- changing a flat tire in the blazing sun
- opening a locked car door when the keys were still in the car and I was not
- towing my car to a mechanic when I broke down in the middle of nowhere
- registering my car with the DMV without having to GO to the DMV (priceless)
A basic AAA membership averages a $1 a week. (Prices vary in different parts of the country.) Any one of the above services would have cost more than I paid for my yearly membership. Upgrades to the membership give you additional benefits including a much larger free towing radius. Check to see if there are current coupon codes available before signing up.
You can even use your card to get roadside help if you are just the passenger in the car. This is the biggest difference between AAA and other roadside assistance programs. A gift of an AAA membership is a great way to help out a low income friend.
Without a doubt, I have gotten my money’s worth from this company. Besides the roadside services, you can also get discounts on phone service, amusement park tickets, air fares, free maps and atlas’, hotel and food discounts, discounted car rentals, free reviews of auto repair shops, passport services, and international driving permits. Check out the discounts in your area.
I never fully appreciated the value of my AAA membership until the day that my son got his driver’s license. I realized that he was about to hit the road and I wouldn’t be there to watch over him. On that day, I purchased his AAA membership. Maybe someday he’ll call me and say “Thanks Mom.”
ReneS/Flickr
This is a guest post from Bobbi of Bobbis Bargains.
Unless you live in New York City and use only mass transit, the fastest growing expense you may have is your weekly gasoline bill. I used to pay for my gas out of my pocket money. Now, I couldn’t possibly pay for a tank of gas with all the cash in my wallet. Fuel is a major expense that must be a part of any successful budget.
Knowing this, how can you best stretch your gasoline dollars?
There are lots of articles, videos, and websites that are geared to tell you how to get the most of every ounce of gasoline you put in the tank. These experts tell you to:
- remove extra weight from your car
- avoid unnecessary idling
- eliminate roof racks
- properly inflate your tires
If you like to live a very dangerous lifestyle, you can learn the fine art of hypermiling. Hypermiling is defined as the act of driving using techniques that maximize fuel economy. Extreme hypermiling enthusiasts say they can get very high MPG by employing techniques such as turning off the engine while coasting down slopes, taking routes that avoid stop lights and drafting close behind a big rig to remove wind resistance.
It is possible that all of the above will work. You’d have to check them out for yourself. Some of them are too scary for me to even contemplate.
I don’t know enough about the mechanics of how a car works to say what will help your gas mileage. However, what I DO know is that you WILL definitely drive less miles and therefore USE less gas if you do the following simple steps.
1. Always plan your next day before you go to sleep. Take a few minutes of quiet time before you turn in for the night to go over what needs to be done tomorrow. Map out your stops so that you have to travel the least amount of miles. Decide if an errand can wait until you have another errand in the same vicinity.
2. Make sure you keep a constant shopping list in your purse, pocket or cell phone. This way, if you find yourself in a store, you can pick up everything you need at one time. This will also help avoid impulse buying of items that are NOT on your list.
With just a bit of self-discipline you can spend less time in your car and more time doing the activities you really love.
Gas prices are $1.20 less nationwide than they were a year ago, but don’t you wish you could fill up less often?
There’s a newish gadget that offers help. It claims it can increase your miles per gallon by 20 percent on average and by 33 percent on highways.
The device is called a Kiwi and it’s as simple as using an MP3 player -- you plug it into your car. It works with all cars (including hybrids and trucks) made in 1996 or later. The Kiwi claims to boost your MPG by:
- teaching you 20 lessons to drive more efficiently (each one gets progressively harder)
- giving you real-time information about how your guzzling habits (it frowns on STOP! GO! STOP!)
As you drive, the Kiwi scores your smoothness, acceleration, deceleration, and drag, from 1 to 100. Kind of like a gas coach.
The device calculates a lot more than most car computers, including how many dollars you’ve saved and spent, and how much gas you’ve used each trip. My car only gives me my average gas consumption and how many miles I have left in my tank.
The Kiwi can also diagnose what is wrong when your “check engine” light goes on, including these 26 problems. The other major benefit of using a Kiwi is that it tells you how much you are reducing your CO2 signature -- so you can please your wallet and the planet at the same time.
Now that I’ve gushed about this amazing-sounding device, let’s look at the numbers.
Does the Kiwi really save you money? It’s got a hefty price tag, $90-$300, depending on the model. The site claims it saves the average driver $560 over a year, more for trucks and SUVs.
So technically you could make you money back in six months. I’d love to test one out to let you know for sure how much money can be saved. If the company sends me one I will share my experience!
Don’t believe the hype? Watch Kiwi’s promo video.
Related:
Roundup of tips to cut gas use
AAA’s fuel gauge report (takes you to another site)
A new friend shared a little known fact about shopping at Costco. Members can purchase Costco cash cards and give them to non-members. Recipients can get a free one-day membership to use the cash card on gas or warehouse items. The cards are also good online.
Cash cards make great gifts and they are useful for employees, students living away from home, and friends who are dying to buy 20 pounds of strawberries.
Costco’s page on cash cards lacks details but it may be possible for the recipient to re-load a card as long as they leave some money on it. It also looks like recipients can buy goods for more than the card is worth as long as they can pay for the remainder in cash.
It is unclear if a non-member who receives a Costco cash card is limited to a certain number of uses per year. I suppose if they start recognizing you, you’ll need to pony up $50 and get a membership. Otherwise, the usage guidelines are somewhat open to interpretation.
Thanks, Kim!
Are you considering buying your leased car at the end of the term? This 1:30 video from SpendLessTV shows how you can talk the dealer into a price just above wholesale.
Yesterday I spoke to the guy who writes AskMrCreditCard.com about cutting our grocery bills, buying premium gas, and splurging. In case you missed it you can listen here.
One idea Mr. Credit Card shared (he doesn’t use his real name on his site) was to make a grocery list for your wardrobe. He thinks his wife would buy fewer clothes if she stuck to her list. Hehehe. Not a bad idea.
I talked most of the show but I made sure to ask Mr. Credit Card for his best credit card tip. Here’s what he said.
Unless you travel frequently for work and your company lets you put the airline miles on your personal credit card, get a cash back credit card. “Some pay more than 1 percent for gas or groceries,” he said. Last year his credit card sent him a check for $400.
Some credit card companies have formed partnerships with online merchants that can earn you automatic rebates – if you know about it. Instead of going directly to a retailer, say LandsEnd.com, and buying clothes, you log into your credit card account and use their shopping portal to get to LandsEnd.com. Many credit card companies have these type of shopping portals (also known as affiliate marketing agreements) that give shoppers who make purchases with their card rebates of up to 25 percent.
“If you’re not making use of these cash rebate cards or online shopping rewards you’re really leaving a lot of money on the table,” Mr. Credit Card said.
Here are a few compelling stories I’ve read in the past week:
Trent at The Simple Dollar reveals his email trick for getting deals. A tad unethical? You be the judge.
I’m going to Harvard. Will you sponsor me? NY Times story on alums who set up Harvard-only loan system. (Don’t let my eye rolling throw you off. I feel bad for poor Harvard students, I really do.)
Bargaineering weighs the pros and cons of making your own dog food, pictured above.
Free Money Finance has a financial stress test for you to take. (Guess what he scored? 100!)
Don’t have the cash to finance your personal growth? Recession Wire shares free education resources. (My addition: iTunes U!)
Frugal Dad asks if it is possible to save too much when you are young.
Gas prices are spiking, USA Today says. Yeah, I noticed when I filled up for $3.19/gal yesterday. $*%&#!
WalletPop has Father’s Day freebies!
Thanks, Tina!
This is a guest post reader Anirudda Gore, who is a 20-something software professional who writes about getting the best value for money at LetsBeCurious.blogspot.com.
I reached my nearest gas station this morning and found $2.63 per gallon, not the cheapest price but it was the closest station. Because I had to get to work on time, I bought that costly gas. Since then I’ve been thinking:
- If the cheapest gas is not available at my nearest gas station, how far should I drive for a better price?
- Is a difference in 5 cents per gallon worth burning the fuel and time?
I created a formula to decide whether you should drive to a far away station to fill-up OR whether it makes sense to buy expensive gas at a nearby station.
When To Drive That “Extra Mile”?
There are two elements behind my motivation to drive to buy cheaper gas:
- Save money on gas
- I can buy more gas at a cheaper price, which means I will get more miles from that tank
Let’s calculate how much more “extra” distance you will travel if you buy cheap gas:
Your monthly/weekly fuel expenses = FE (constant)
Gas Price at the cheaper but far-away station = Pc
Gas Price at the expensive but nearby station = PE
Distance between the two stations = DIST
Your car’s average Miles Per Gallon = MPG
c = cheaper, E = expensive, v = volume
Volume of gas bought in gallons = Total money spent/Price of gas per gallon
Thus, the volume of gas bought at cheaper far-away station, VC = FE/Pc
Volume of gas bought at expensive nearby station: VE = FE/PE
Extra gas you would buy at cheaper gas station: VC - VE = FE/Pc- FE/PE = FE (1/Pc – 1/PE)
Extra miles you can drive if you buy at cheaper gas station:
ExtraMiles = Extra Gas * MPG
ExtraMiles = FE * Difference in Gas Prices at two stations * MPG / Pc*PE
Here’s How To Decide
Plug-in your values in formula above and calculate ExtraMiles.
- if ExtraMiles > DIST: you drive more miles while spending the same amount so consider driving to a cheaper station
- if ExtraMiles < or = DIST: it makes more sense to buy gas at the nearest station, even if more expensive
Application of formula: Case #1
FE = $30
Pc = $2.59 per gallon (3 miles from my apartment)
PE = $2.65 per gallon (1 mile from my apartment)
DIST = 2 miles
MPG = 25 miles per gallon
ExtraMiles = FE * Difference in Gas Prices at two stations * MPG / Pc*PE
= 30*0.05*25/(2.59*2.65) miles
= 5.46368 miles
I get to drive (5.46368 – 2 =) 3.46368 miles extra (one way to my work), thus I will certainly drive away to get that cheaper fuel.
Application of formula: Case #2
FE = $30
Pc = $2.55 per gallon (12 miles from my apartment)
PE = $2.65 per gallon (1 mile from my apartment)
DIST = 11 miles
ExtraMiles = FE * Difference in Gas Prices at two stations * MPG / Pc*PE
= 30*0.10*25/(2.55*2.65) miles
= 11.09878 miles
I only get to drive (11.09878 – 11 =) 0.09878 miles extra; definitely not a go-for option.
Conclusion
“The cheaper, the better” should not be the rule here. Cheaper gas costs $2.59 in Case #1 which is available 2 miles from my home while cheaper gas costs $2.55 but I need to (burn more fuel and) drive 12 miles from my home. Total money spent is $30 in both cases but gas purchased in Case #1 lets you drive (3.46368/0.09878=) 35 times more than that purchased in Case #2.
So the next time you plan to fill-up your car tanks, remember it’s not just how many dollars you save but also how many miles you drive to get that gas. The formula takes into consideration both these factors and thus gives practically guided numbers. Once you decide how much money you want to spend on gas this week/month, now just calculate the ExtraMiles and go from there.
Bargain Babe’s two cents: I like the concept of ExtraMiles, but think it is important to take into account time spent filling up and actual savings. How many people spend the same amount on gas each month? Not me. But I’m curious, what do you think of the ExtraMile approach?
Saving at the pump comes down to two things: getting the best price and driving less. With the start of summer driving season I thought I’d share tips to do both, starting with getting the lowest gas price.
- Check the AAA Fuel Gauge Report to monitor trends. The site lists the average gas price for today, yesterday, a week ago, a month ago and a year ago. You can look at prices nationwide, by state or major metro region. Data comes from 100,000 gas stations.
- Search MSN’s gas map for the best prices near your home or on your route. A green marker tags the lowest price, a red marker notes the highest. You can zoom in or search by state, city, and zip code.
- An alternative to the MSN map is GasBuddy.com, which lists gas prices that have been spotted and entered into the site by users. Search for prices by location, grade of gas, or brand.
Tips to conserve gas (no silver bullet here, folks):
- Carpool, take public transit, or telecommute to work
- Drive sensibly (read: slowly). Speeding can increase gas costs by 40 percent!
- Ride your bike whenever you can, it’ll save you money and get you in shape
- Select the highest mpg vehicle available to you (in my neighborhood a few folks have converted golf carts!)
- Consider buying a hybrid, scooter/motorcycle, or other high mpg vehicle
Some people swear by additives, but I’ve never seen any hard evidence. Do you put anything extra in your gas tank?
