April 2007

Over the weekend we were shuttling between our town and another big city on some errands. During one of the drives, me and my wife got into an interesting discussion on obese children and their parents’ mentality. The cause of the discussion was a family of 5 (3 obese children with 2 obese parents) who ordered a huge lunch at one of the fast food outlets where we stopped for coffee. I will try to pen a few thoughts that churned out of the discussion.

What are parents of already obese, 8~10 year old kids thinking when the kids are gorging on 1/2 pound burgers and massive amounts of Coca Cola? Don’t they worry about the potentially life-threating medical conditions that their kids can develop in future if they continue to pile on fat? It’s not like “oh..I didn’t notice”…especially when you have a 8~10 year old kid weighing 200+ pounds. Kids don’t become obese overnight…it takes years of bad-food-habits. So if you notice your child storing a lot of fat, and you know that it’s not good, and even after this you encourage (or do not discourage) junk food, what is it if it’s not criminal negligence? What divine intervention do these parents need to make them start telling their kids about the importance of good health?

You can choose the best education for your kids, live in the best neighborhood, get them the best clothes, make them spelling-bee champions, make them super-money-smart….but if you let your baby grow to 200+ pounds in the first 8 years of his/her life, then you have done nothing less than ruining a life.

Blame it on the nonstop advertising on TV? How convenient.

Some food (healthy) for thought - read this story about a 218 pound 8 year old kid on MSNBC. The photograph alongside is from that story.

And now lets continue with some interesting money articles published this week.

• 24 Signs That You Could be in Financial Trouble #22: Investing Your Money Inappropriately by Jeremy @ Generation X Finance. Find some sound investing advice here. This excerpt will make you read the rest of it:

Having the ability to save and invest money is a great start but that is only half the battle. You can save a lot of money yet do considerable damage to your finances by not investing it appropriately for your situation.

• 5 Simple Ways You Can Create Competition that will Benefit Consumers by Ben @ Money Smart Life. Read what you can do as a consumer to increase the competitive spirit between businesses and benefit in the long run.

• If Personal Finance Were A 4 Year Course in High School by Devin Wanzor @ Blueprint for Financial Prosperity. Devin is a guest blogger on Jim’s blog and has put together an interesting syllabus for a 4-year personal finance program. Check if you can think of something more to add to this.

• Debt is Slavery, Part 4: Retirement is not about age by MBH @ Mighty Bargain Hunter. MBH reviews a chapter in the book that says something to this effect:

Debt will kill your retirement.

• Are These Silly Mistakes Taking A Bite Out Of Your Wallet? by ISPF @ Grad Money Matters. Does this ring a bell “Not paying attention while filling gas and getting stuck with a car wash” ? Fortunately I have never bought myself a car wash…although I have come within a couple of inches of pressing the “YES” button for the car wash.

• Retirement Income Strategy - New Thinking by Super Saver @ My Wealth Builder. A detailed description of how the author is planning for his post-retirement sources of income. There is some stuff in this that I don’t fully understand…so this is going in my read-again-and-again list.

• I Can’t Afford to Speed by Stephanie @ Poorer Than You. Hmm…I guess people would be better off reaching 5 minutes later for watching Borat than raking up hundreds of dollars on a speeding ticket. Speeding for the adrenaline rush? Try Six Flags. I did some detailed analysis on the speeding issue a while back…perhaps that will provide some additional discouragement in case this post doesn’t quite convince you against speeding.

• Dave Ramsey Resources and Links by Sam @ Getting Finances Done. Wow..there’s everything here you want to know about Dave Ramsey. One of my posts is included under the “Dave Ramsey Critics” section near the bottom, check it out.

Recently, Ben @ Money Smart Life ran a series of posts on “Can You Save Too Much In An Emergency Fund“. The purpose of the series was to answer this question posed by a reader:

“Is there such thing as saving too much money in an emergency fund? What’s the best place to keep the money you do save so it still earns you something while just sitting there?”

I contributed a quick response to the question and it looked like this:

Let me start with the basic idea of an “emergency fund”. According to my definition of the concept, it’s a pool of money to account for *unexpected* circumstances and must adhere to the following three requirements:

1. It should easily available in an emergency (must be liquid and easily accessible through common instruments like cash or checks).
2. There should be a sufficient margin of safety built into it (a part of my answer to the question lies here).
3. It should be held as risk free as possible (you don’t want a devalued pool of investments right at the time of an emergency).

So is there such a thing as too much emergency fund?
I look at emergency funds as a sort of foolproof “hedge” against unforeseen circumstances. For example, it is like a cushion to break your fall and allow your survival if you lose a job (unexpectedly), or if the stock market crashes and you lose a major chunk of your net worth, your house catches fire and your insurance company messes with you and delays payments….things like that. Agreed that these things don’t happen on a regular basis…but they need to happen only once in your lifetime to make you realize the importance of a cushion. So ideally, your emergency fund should be able to cushion the worst possible scenario (specific to your personal situation) that you can imagine (update: “end of the world” is not a valid scenario). Add a 20% margin of error to that estimate (roughly) and aim for that emergency amount. The right amount will be something that makes you feel “safe” after considering the worst case scenario. More than that is probably “too much”. Of course, the measure of “too much” will vary greatly depending on your lifestyle.

Where to park the money for maximum returns?
Since I view emergency funds as ‘hedge’ ..returns on these funds are not a major concern. I would first satisfy the above three requirements and then maximize my returns from the available choices. Online savings accounts with ATM and/or check facilities are one of the potential places to such park funds. If you park your funds in such a place where the funds are not easily accessible, make sure you have an instrument of equivalent value available for use (for example, you could use a credit card at the time of an emergency…and then repay it as soon as you get your funds at a later time).

I understand that I have a more conservative (almost a bit paranoid) approach towards this issue. However, due to the “unforeseen” nature of emergencies, it does merit some consideration.

Do you think it’s an overly conservative approach towards emergency funds? What would have been your response to the question? I encourage you to visit this post @ Money Smart Life to leave a comment on the issue.

I thought a bit more on this issue after leaving my response and came up with some additional stuff.

Technically, with increasing emergency funds, you are opting for greater security and lesser returns - sometimes this makes me think that there really isn’t any “too much” when saving for emergency funds; what you lose in returns you will gain in stability/assurance/security. I sketched a quick schematic to illustrate my point:

Note that the term “Increasing Returns” in the above graph is only valid under the following assumptions:

• Emergency fund is assumed to be highly liquid with low returns.
• If you choose to keep a small emergency fund, you are diverting a large portion of your money into high yield investments.
• If you choose to keep a large emergency fund, you are diverting a smaller portion of your money towards high yield investments.

Hope that makes sense.

Another thought is that I don’t consider insurance as an *emergency* fund..however, some people tend to think that way. Insurance is very situation specific (it’s not economically feasible to insure every aspect of your life) and there can be incredible procedural delays in getting your money through a claim. In fact - like I said before - your emergency fund should fill in that gap caused due to a procedural delay (and/or eventual dismissal) of your insurance claims.

I have some more observations on this issue, but I don’t want to clutter the post with too many lines of thoughts, so everything else will have to wait.

Read about an interesting solution to energy crisis on BBC the other day:

American oil company ConocoPhillips and Tyson Foods, the world’s biggest meat producer, have announced that they will produce diesel from pork fat. Cows and chickens will also be transformed to power motor vehicles. The companies say that this renewable source of energy will be cleaner than conventional diesel. It is hoped that it will be available at petrol stations by the end of the year.

Naturally, there will be ethical and psychological concerns about having pigs, cows, and chickens in your fuel tank, so it will be interesting to see how this thing goes. Those who have objections against this pig-into-diesel concept should read this:

Animal fat and other waxy waste is usually turned in to ingredients for soaps, cosmetics and pet food.

Do you know if you are already using soaps or cosmetics with animal remains?

Anyways, let’s get to the money blogs roundup.

• The Income Divide - Two Sides by Lazy @ Lazy Man and Money. Lazy points to an interesting article about the income gap - or about the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer. Are the rich being *victimized* or is that just an illusion?

• How To Look Good On A Budget: The Business of Beauty by SVB @ The Digerati Life. There are some interesting numbers about plastic surgery and procedures in this post. Btw, I knew about surgeries to increase size of *certain* things, but I didn’t know there were surgeries to reduce the size of *certain* things. Anyways, SVB gives some deep-thought tips on how to feel good about yourself without spending much money.
  

• Don’t Be Afraid to Ask for a Discount by Nickel @ Five Cent Nickel. Sometimes all you have to do to save money is to open your mouth and ask. Nickel shares how he got a 20% discount on a TV by doing just that.

• Should We Simplify Our Finance? by Sun @ The Sun’s Financial Diary. I have mentioned earlier that I manage 18 credit cards (including mine and wife’s).. but this dude still gives me an inferiority complex. Take a look at how many financial forays he is involved in and give him some suggestions on whether he needs to cut out some of the stuff.

• How Much You Should Be Saving by FMF @ Free Money Finance. Some rules of thumb by FMF on how much money you should be socking away. I think it’s a great strategy to first decide your savings percentage and *make do* with whatever remains (within feasible limits).

• Who Benefits from Global Warming? Well, Besides Al Gore, of Course by Matt @ Binary Dollar. So you think global warming is all about environment and non-profit intentions? Check out who all are (or will be) benefiting from global warming . Ever wondered why *suddenly* a lot of companies are going for green thoughts? I smell heavy increase in federal funding (and or other financial sources) for the green stuff in time to come.

• Personal Finance Gurus @ Money Monk. An interesting take on how personal finance gurus have gotten rich. Here is the punch line and some food for thought:

Suze, David, Dave and countless others were not always debt-free and I feel most of them became debt-free AFTER selling their books, worksheets, budget tools and other merchandise. This is just my opinion!

Image source: www.needmoretoys.com

Here is a snapshot of our electricity bill for the month of March.

That’s slightly on the lower end of our bill spectrum, but the average is not very far from that amount. Probably around $48. I am trying to find the lowest bill we ever had (I think it was around $38)…but in all probability, I might have shredded it already.

This is for an all-electric apartment (so no gas usage at all). It’s not like the retail electricity price is low in this area…it’s about 9.28 cents per kWh (see the number under “Rate” in the image). It’s just that we tend to use less electricity (by the virtue of grad school timings, our small but sufficient apartment, all CF lights, and our lifestyle).

Assuming that we keep consuming around 500 kWh (the “Usage” in the image above is the electricity used in kilowatt-hour or kWh), our annual electricity consumption can be estimated to be around 6000 kWh.According to this report by the Department of Energy (it’s a bit old with stats for 2001, but that’s the latest one if I am not wrong), the average household consumes about 10,654 kWh of electricity per year. So we are using just 56% of the national average consumption.

For comparison, according to some alleged reports, Al Gore’s energy consumption last year was around 200,000 kWh. At our present rate of consumption, it will take us about 33 years to use that much electricity.How much is your electricity bill? Are you bring the national electricity consumption average down or are you pulling it up?

Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) released some interesting crash results in a report published in March this year. The report summarizes the damage and the costs involved for numerous vehicles when crash-tested at 3 mph (corner impact) and 6 mph (full impact) for bumper performance, in tests that were designed to simulate real-life vehicle-to-vehicle impact scenarios. Just to put things into perspective, the average human walks at about 3 miles per hour….so we are talking of really low speeds.

[Image source:www.iihs.org]

The results of the bumper tests are not very encouraging. Here is how IIHS president Adrian Lund summarizes them in the report:

The whole purpose of bumpers is to keep damage away from head-lights, hoods, and other parts that are expensive to repair, but this purpose was accomplished in only 2 of the 68 tests we conducted. In the rest, what we found is that bumpers aren’t up to the job.

When bumpers fail their functional requirements, safety issues and damage and repair cost issues will arise. Here are some post-crash repair costs for various vehicles that were tested.

[Data source:www.iihs.org]

It should be noted that costs in the above table are just repair costs, incidentals are not included. For example, if your headlights are damaged in a night-time crash, you won’t be able to drive the car home. This means additional costs of transportation and some priceless headache.

Note the numbers on the 1981 Ford Escort. Apparently, it seems to have the best bumper ever designed. So what if it looks a bit ugly (see image below). Ugly is better than thousands of dollars in repair costs.

The Best Bumper Ever: 1981 Ford Escort

One reason for the 1981 Ford acing the performance is that it was built before the federal standards for bumper tests were slackened in 1982. Before 1982, all bumper crash tests were performed at 5 mph (with stringent checks on damage to safety equipment); now they are being performed at 2.5 mph and allow unlimited damage (man…how many times people crash cars at 2.5 mph or slower?).

According to IIHS, the two main factors that drove up the costs for some of the vehicles were: 1. just poor design resulting in extensive damage, and 2. prices of parts that were damaged. The report suggests that manufacturers may have been compromising on bumper performance in favor of style. Hmm…talk about the general human tendency to assign undue importance to external appearances.

Yeah, insurance can cover the costs…but keep in mind that this study is conducted by IIHS, which is wholly supported by insurance agencies. Any results published by the institute are bound to influence insurance costs. So, in a way, you will be paying more for poorly designed bumpers, whether you are in a crash or not.

Click here to read the entire report (pdf file).

Here is some information on extremely cheap airline tickets. The newly launched Skybus Airlines is offering $10 one-way deals for flying between Columbus, OH and a few other cities across the country. Your flight has to either originate from, or terminate at Columbus (you can’t fly between City A and City B without stopping at Columbus).Nice deal. But first check out the quirky requirements.

Outside food and drink are prohibited (good luck enforcing that one. I’m sorry sir, we’re going to have to turn this plane around if you don’t dispose of your sandwich).

Customer service: “We don’t have a phone number. Seriously. We’d love to chat, but those phone banks are expensive. And a good website like skybus.com is even more convenient.”

Hmm. Interesting. Check out the full list of Skybus Airline’s “Rules of Flying“.

Just for kicks, I tried booking a Skybus roundtrip ticket between Seattle, WA and Columbus, OH and here is what I got:

Now that’s called a “cheap ticket”. On Expedia, for the same dates, the minimum airfare is currently $242 between the two cities. In fact, notice that Skybus actually operates from Bellingham, WA near Seattle (@ 90 miles from it)….from Bellingham to Columbus, Expedia is currently $402!Yeah…I can live without eating on the flight if it’s going to save me at least $200.

Welcome to the 71^st edition of the Festival of Frugality. Before we start with the festival submissions, here are some thoughts. Sometimes, when we are engrossed in squeezing out every ounce of worth from a penny, it is easy to lose sight of reason and rationality. Hence, every once in a while, to put our actions into perspective, it is beneficial to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. In this spirit, let’s first review *frugality* before we jump to the articles.

What is Being Frugal? by Dawn @ Frugal for Life.

Because I live frugally, doesn’t mean I don’t spend money and don’t find enjoyment. I become more thoughtful about my decisions and how it will impact me in the future. I decide if this item is something I need or can use multiple times. Frugality is about restraint, discipline, finding the best value and using the item up till it can’t be used anymore.

Frugality as defined by Wikipedia.

Frugality (also known as thrift or thriftiness), often confused with cheapness or miserliness, is a traditional value, life style, or belief system, in which individuals practice both restraint in the acquiring of and resourceful use of economic goods and services in order to achieve lasting and more fulfilling goals. In a money-based economy, frugality emphasizes economical use of money in meeting long term personal, familial, and communal desires.

What is frugal living? @ eSSORTMENT.com

Frugal living isn’t about giving up the good life; it’s cutting out unnecessary expenditures. Most families who practice frugal living do so, not because they’re in a financial bind, but because they’ve made a conscious decision to take control of their spending and that means not keeping up with the Joneses or maxing out credit cards.

Now, let’s head over to the festival’s entries. 29 articles were accepted for publications.

Frugality Food for Thought

Frugal vs. Cheap by Andy @ Money Walks. In this post, Andy expresses his thoughts on defining frugality. This blends in very well with the theme of this edition. Here is one of his thoughts: “Living well for less money is frugality. Leeching off of people to get by is cheap.”

Sometimes, You Should Indulge by ISPF @ Grad Money Matters. ISPF thinks outside the conventional frugality box and recommends indulgence once in a while. If you are truly frugal, you could probably find frugal ways of indulging

Frugal Entertainment

Being A Big Kid - Frugal Entertainment by Super Saver @ My Wealth Builder. This is frugal entertainment plus quality time with the kids in one package. Seriously, kids don’t distinguish between “expensive” and “cheap” entertainment…all they care is about getting *entertained*.

Fifteen Free Things To Do During A Money-Free Weekend by Trent @ The Simple Dollar. Got a lot of free time on weekends and not in a mood to spend a dime? Trent has the perfect solutions for you. Here is one of them:

Blow bubbles. This is a great one if you have kids. Get a gallon of water, then slowly stir in some liquid dishwashing detergent (a cup or two), slow enough not to make suds. Bend an old coat hanger into loops, dip it into the stuff, and blow through the loops. Experiment with different quantities to get the kind of bubbles you want - there is no “perfect” recipe.

I want to quickly mention here that by adding sugar to the soap solution (and after some practice) you could actually make larger bubbles. Try it out and see if that works.

Frugal Vacations

Vacation: Need or Want @ Living Almost Large. How do you discern whether a vacation is a need or a want? Do you feel that sometimes people have this overrated sense of *entitlement* for vacations or certain indulgences? It’s one thing to take a frugal break to vacate your mind of daily routines, and it’s other thing to go on unaffordable trips to justify a *break*.

Vacation on a Budget by Stephanie @ Stop the Ride!. Stephanie shares how she planned her frugal vacation to the beach.

Automotive Frugality

Do You Really Know How Much It Costs To Own Your Car? by Silicon Valley Blogger @ The Digerati Life. Always think in future terms when you look for a car. Cars that seem cheap now may turn out to be expensive in the long run due to horrible repair and maintainance costs. SVB explains this with a neat breakdown of numbers and types of costs.

How I Saved 37% on My Car Repair Bill by FMF @ Free Money Finance. FMF shares how he used coupons and credit cards to cut down the repair bill on his Subaru Forester.

What You Should Know About Your Local Auto Body Shops by David @ My Two Dollars. A commentary on a Kiplinger’s article about things to consider before visit an auto body shop.

Frugal Meals

Cheap Work Lunches @ Cents You Asked. Some ideas to save money on lunch. Hmm…I see Healthy Choice frozen dinners in the list…some people will find that debatable.

Tuesday’s Lunch by Viriatha @ Cordova Creations. In this post, the author visits “lunch factor” (on the lines of latte factor) and encourages homemade lunches to cut down on cost and calories.

Last Minute Spring Cleaning? Don?t Forget the Cupboards by John @ Queercents. John characterizes his cooking as a race against expiration dates and shelf lives. Throwing out food is one of the most painful money wasters out there, so he dishes out some frugal advice to make the best of such situations.

Creative Frugality

How I Decorated My Son’s Room for Under $60 Tricia @ Blogging Away Debt. Tricia tells us how she decorated her son’s room for $59.96 (yeah!…not $60) This post is a fine example of frugality in practice.

Instead of buying expensive border, I used some printable sticker paper to print out construction trucks to cut out and stick on the wall for a border. I also used some stickers to decorate the light switch plate and his bed. Total cost: Probably around $2.00.

What to Do When You Forgot to Read Directions by Frugal Babe @ Frugal Babe. The author had a minor bummer situation that turned into a great example of a creative and a frugal solution to a problem. A $1.50 remedy to hold a storm door glass steady is not bad at all.

Groceries and Shopping Frugality

Cutting Grocery Costs (without clipping coupons) by Amy L. Fontinelle @ Personal Finance Advice. Amy presents six simple tips to save money on groceries without clipping coupons.

How To Pick Perfect Fruit by Baselle @ Baselle’s Financial Diary. Must read tips on choosing good produce…must read because Baselle is a PhD in Botany. I am sure there are things in this article that you have never heard about before.

Do You Get What You Pay For? by TFM @ Tight Fisted Miser. High price does not equate to high quality. TFM gives examples to make his point:

The recalls of pet food and peanut butter showed that the same manufacturers were making both the store brands and the higher-priced brands. Often the only difference between a store brand and a name brand is the label. In that case when you buy the name brand you are paying for advertising and packaging, not for higher quality.

How To Save Money On Shipping When Shopping Online by Ben @ Money Smart Life. Ben shares some useful tips on lowering your shipping costs when shopping online. Ah…those love-hate feelings about items worth about $2 that require about $8 of shipping.

Bargain Hunting at Outlet Stores @ Ask Mr Credit Card’s Blog. Mrs. Credit Card tells us how she got a good deal on a piece of furniture by buying it through a scratch ‘n dent sale at Pottery Barn.

General Frugality

Free Money – Small Money Adds Up Big by Steve Faber @ Debt Free. Steve pulls up some numerical examples, again along the “latte-factor” approach, to show how small things can turn in big piles of cash in future. He also considers a couple of big ticket items like HDTV and cruise vacations.

Ask the readers: cheap wedding ideas by Sara Goldstein @ The Bargain Queen blog. Look for frugal wedding suggestions from readers’ comments in this post. Here is an example:

I used wildflowers for the flowers, and the florist was a friend’s mom, so for her labor and the trimmings it was $35. We got married in a little church, and our friend took the photos. Our reception was potluck and Dad provided the bar on his own dime. Another friend played ukelele and sang vaudeville songs on the porch for entertainment.

101 ways to save a dollar by Colleen Caldwell @ Simple Kind Of Life. Colleen points towards a list of ways to save money and shares a few personal thoughts on they are practicing frugality.

…like all families, we’re always looking for a way to save a few bucks. In the past year, we’ve decided to eat out less, shop sales more, and try not to spend money just for the sake of spending money. Sometimes, it’s easier said than done.

Recycling Batteries by Phil @ Phil for Humanity. Did you know that non-rechargeable batteries are not recyclable? Phil encourages us to use rechargeable batteries and do our bit towards the environment.

20 tips to keep from spending money by Beth Dargis @ My Simpler Life. Some practical money saving tips from Beth. Here is one in particular that caught my fancy:

Remember, the thrill is in the hunt of finding the “perfect” thing. Once you buy it, the thrill is gone.

Frugal Art

Works for Me Wednesday: Framing Free Art @ The Family CEO. The authors tell us how he decorates his walls by framing free and meaningful prints - like his son’s art class drawing and such.

Recycling Crayons by Melanie Rimmer @ Bean Sprouts. A fun easy way to recycle broken wax drawing crayons into chubby multicolored crayons.

Implied Financial Frugality

Irregular Income And Unplanned For Expenses by NCN @ No Credit Needed. NCN describes how he accounts for unplanned expenses. I have a somewhat similar system in place, except that I don’t budget to the penny.

How to Make Your Finances Automagical by Leo @ Zen Habits. Leo has a few tips on putting our financial management on an auto-pilot. Suggestions include automatic fund transfers to an online savings account and automatic bill payment.

Investing Is a Luxury by Peter Maclennan @ Peter Pays Paul. This article is really about investing, but there are some good, generally applicable thoughts towards a financially sound life.

That’s all for this edition of the Festival of Frugality. Click here to submit your article to the 72nd edition to be hosted at Frugal for Life.

Image sources: Think: ed-thelen.org; Soap bubbles: www.lunararchives.com; Vacations: www.ontariosailing.com; Automotive: www.supershuttle.com; Groceries: www.dorsetforyou.com; Bread-jelly: spacebar.blogsome.com; Money: www.bloggingblog.net; Art: www.britishcouncil.org; Creative: www.thehypnosiscds.com; Saving Money: www.mandlers.com

Here is a list of potentially problematic things that grow exponentially if you do not pay attention to them on time. These are all commonplace things that have just one lesson associated with them: a stitch in time saves nine. Perhaps there are more lessons involved like: procrastination is a thief of time …and money, and an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure…it’s the same thing all over; look at it any which way you like.

Bills: Everyone must have gone through piles of bills at some point of time in life. Pay your bills as soon as you get them. When you get into a habit of “ah..it’s not due for another month” they start piling up and then we conveniently start forgetting about them.

Debt: The best time to attack debt is right when it shows signs of existence. Remember, compounding and time are debt’s best friends. Together they can wreck a havoc in your life. Prepare a plan of action (lifestyle adjustment, increased income, reduced spending, etc.) and start working against it right now.

Junk mail: Don’t follow my example here. I wait for the weekend to shred the junk mail and it piles up till then. Sometimes I forget about it and then I spend a couple of hours on the following weekend shredding stuff like crazy. Shred it as soon as you receive it…it won’t take a lot of time and it will prolong your shredder’s life.

Dishes: A few dishes are easy to wash and don’t take too much time or efforts, but a few days of dishes take an awful amount of resources. If everyone washes their respective dishes after every meal…probably there won’t even be a need for a dishwasher. Piles of dishes in the sink are also an open invitation for cockroaches…and then you have to wash the dishes and kill the roaches…and then keep killing the roaches.

Stitches: The origin of all do-it-on-time advice. It saves clothes, efforts, and embarrassments by stitching damaged stuff on time. You don’t need a sewing machine…just a needle and *generally* matching thread will do.

Car repairs: Again, I have fallen into this pit more than once. If you don’t repair your car on time, you will pay more later. “I hate going to car mechanics” …is a valid complaint, but it’s not a valid excuse to avoid taking care of your car.

Health issues: What applies to car mechanics also applies to doctors (hate them..but need them). If you are concerned about an health issue, go to your doctor and get things clarified. There are a lot of things that could be remedied with a few bucks of pills (and free medical advice) if administered on time …or you could wait and pay thousands for a surgery later.

Emotions: If you have strong feelings about something…talk to someone about it as soon as possible. Flush it out of your system when you can and don’t let them pile up for too long. At times, built up emotions blow issues out of proportion and cause irreparable damage to relationships.

Anything else on your mind that should go in this list?

Image sources: Bills: www.pueblo.gsa.gov; Debt: starbulletin.com; Junk mail: www.sandysknitting.com; Dishes: www.boojee.org; Stitches: www.thefreedictionary.com; Junk car: www.albany.ga.us; Doctor: www.benedictfamily.org; Emotions: waa.uwalumni.com

For those who are not aware, every year, April 22^nd marks the “Earth Day”. In short, it’s a day when people *suddenly* realize the importance of global warming and environmental degradation. It’s like those other days when we suddenly realize the significance of our mother, father, spouse, children, teachers, and grandparents. But hey! one day is better than none. So, on this occasion “Earth Day”, let’s spend some time on a few green thoughts. Here is something to get you started (source):

“If every household replaced its most commonly used incandescent light bulbs with CFLs, electricity use for lighting could be cut in half. Doing so would lower our annual carbon dioxide emissions by about 125 billion pounds. This action alone could halt the growth in carbon dioxide emissions from the United States, given recent growth rates.”

Update [thanks to Super Saver]: Home Depot is giving away 1,000,000 Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs today to customers who visit Home Depot stores. So get up and get going to your nearest Home Depot store before you read the rest of the post. It’s free stuff - will vanish before you think twice about it.

Here are some green and wallet-friendly resources on this blog:

• How much money would you save by using CF lights?
• How is energy generated from waste?
• Right turns and other simple tips to save money and environment.

Related and useful reading material from other sources:

• 51 Things We Can Do (to save the environment).
• Global Warming, Environmental Movement (@ Earthday.net). [loads very slowly]
  

Now, let’s move on to some money articles of the week.

• Stocks vs. Real Estate by Lazy @ Lazy Man and Money. Lazy gets into the numerical mode and churns out some numbers to compare returns from stocks with those from real estate investments. According to him, real estate investment has an edge over stocks. Personally, I have always felt that real estate stuff is not for the common man. The whole process of buying, maintaining, and then selling a house is just too intimidating to indulge in regularly…for someone like me. Stocks? I can pick some in my lunch break.

• Invest In Your 401(k) Up To The Company Match by Henry @ Binary Dollar. Seriously, you could not have it explained any easier than this. Want to know how to get 100% returns on your investment? Read this post.

• Lifecycle Funds: Look But Don’t Touch by Jeremy @ Generation X Finance.

With this statement I am not implying you should avoid these funds, not at all. These are a terrific way for investors to spread their money out with little effort and require very little interaction with the funds. I think these funds are turning out to be a great addition to retirement plans everywhere, but they have to be used properly in order to be effective.

• 3 Ways To Fund Your Business: How To Finance A Startup For The Best Growth by SVB @ The Digerati Life. I will probably never start my own business (I have my own reasons), but it is interesting to learn how the enterprising guys can gather the funds to start on their own. Must read for wannabe entrepreneurs.

• Being A Big Kid - Frugal Entertainment by Super Saver @ My Wealth Builder. Entertainment doesn’t have to be expensive..and if you are creative enough, it can be simply free. Super conveys the message through personal examples.

• Would You Pay Higher Taxes for a Cleaner Environment? by Ben @ Money Smart Life. A perfect topic for Earth Day

• What Do NetworthIQ Statistics Say about Net Worth? by Sun @ The Sun’s Financial Diary. Sun picks up a few numbers from NetworthIQ and draws conclusions on how education may be influencing the net worth of people. Some time back, I posted my own personal observations on how education had improved economic conditions of my high school classmates.

• Like Minded Individuals - Critical To Your Success by Hazzard @ Everybody Loves Your Money. Chatting with (sensible) neighbors can be a very frugal way to keep your financial house in order. Hazzard shares some thoughts in this matter.

Image source: www.ge.com