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A few weeks ago I wrote about if the Sam’s Club Advantage Plus membership is worth it.  To recap, a plus account adds “eValues”, which are digital coupons, to your account.  You log into your Sam’s Club account online (or at an in-store kiosk) to see what’s available.  From there, you are able to email or print the items on the list.  All you need to do is buy the items and the discounts appear at the register.  According to Sam’s Club eValue FAQs, “eValues means $300 in guaranteed savings. With eValues, you have the opportunity to save an additional $200 a year on top of the savings you already enjoy.”

Checking back on the eValues page, I now have $378 in “savings”.  Unlike last month, I am noticing a few useful items that I would actually buy.  This would include $2 off paper towels and $3 off toiletry products; none of which I would have bought during my next trip.

I guess a $5 savings is a start.  I only $15 more in eValues to go before I recoup my costs and two more months until I renew my membership.  Will I choose the Advantage Plus membership again?  If the eValues do not become more relevant to my shopping; probably not.

Here’s a PDF of the eValues page.  Keep in mind, a lot of the items listed have restrictions such as “you may choose 1 of the following 5 eValues”.  An example of this would be the Pampers Cruisers diapers.  You can choose sizes 1-6 and save $3 on any one.  However, you cannot buy size 5 and 6 and expect to save $6.

I will be posting another update after I obtain some more eValues.  Have you found savings with Sam’s Club eValues?

You have to be careful when making principal payments on your bills.  Make sure you read how extra amounts are handled by each company.

For example, my Chase Auto account would take any amount over the current month’s minimum payment and apply it as the next month’s regular payment.  This would become a problem especially when making payments online.  There was no option box to check “principal payment”.  In order to just make a principal payment, I would need to write a check and send it to a specific address.  However, since I made my normal monthly payment via check, I had the option of checking “use remaining as principal” on the payment stub.  By doing this, any amount over my normal monthly payment was applied as pure principle.  If I did not check this box they would assume that I wanted to apply any amount over the minimum as next month’s regular payment.

On the other hand, with my Wells Fargo home mortgage, if I make a payment greater than the minimum they automatically apply the remainder as a principle payment.  I accidentally discovered this when I sent two payments out in the same month.  One was applied as pure principal!  Being paranoid, I called them up just to make sure nothing was wrong.  The representative explained the process to me and offered the option to make this payment a non-principal payment.  Since I had adequate funds, I opted to keep this one as pure principal.

What kind of principal or bill payment issued have you encountered?

For the past six months, I’ve been making homemade laundry detergent.  I found the original recipe here: Homemade Laundry Detergent – Simple, Easy, Fast, & Effective.

I started with this, forgot the exact ingredients, and went off on my own (but not too far) when creating this:

1 cup – 20 Mule Team Natural Laundry Booster
1 cup – Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda
1 bar – Ivory Soap

Shred the Ivory Soap using a hand grater into a large bowl.  Combine the Borax and Super Washing Soda and mix until consistent throughout (approximately 5 minutes).

If you do not want to mix thoroughly by hand, you can also send it through a blender to turn it into a powder.  Just make sure everything is combined together in a large bowl and mixed a few times before passing it through.  I personally like using the blender method.

This makes about 16 dry ounces and lasts about 16 loads of laundry when one tablespoon is used.

Tip: I also mix in a little Arm & Hammer Baking Soda (approximately 1/2 cup) while the basin is filling up.  This helps to make the laundry smell fresh.

Cost Breakdown

The cost of making your own laundry detergent is a lot less than buying it.  Let’s do a quick breakdown:

Prices from Alice.com

$3.50 – 20 Mule Team Borax, 76 oz (makes approximately 10 batches; $0.46/batch)
$2.76 – Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda, 55 oz (makes approximately 7 batches; $0.39/batch)
$2.43 – Four Pack Ivory Soap (makes 4 batches; $0.60/batch)

Initial up-front cost: $8.69
Approximate cost per batch: $1.45
Approximate cost per load: $0.09

If you are interested in adding baking soda to your laundry:

$6.16 – Arm & Hammer Baking Soda, 13.5 lbs at Sam’s Club (approximately 54 loads; $0.11/load)

Approximate cost per load with Baking Soda: $0.20

The ultimate goal is to get the clothes clean; not to smell pretty.  This could be perfect for someone (like me) with sensitive skin.  A lot of other laundry detergents cause me to break out; this does not.

Give it a try and let me know your outcome and suggestions!

This is the second in a series of weekly posts titled “How I Did It”.  Throughout this series I will be describing my methods of personal finance, frugality, and what it took to get where I am today.

Education can and will open up new doors in this adventure of life.  I found it helped me grow to where I am today.

While in high school (vocational school), I specialized in Commercial Art – Advertising and Design.  I really enjoyed photography, product and web design.  However, I also found another passion while there: technology.  This came almost as naturally as graphic design, but was less competitive.

Because of my high grade point average (GPA) during high school, I could have gone to a two year community college followed by a four year state college at no cost.  However, I opted to attend a one year technical school instead.  This was not the most frugal choice, however, there were many reasons for it:

• It was the most direct route to a career in technology.
• To enjoy learning what I wanted to learn.
• To meet others with similar passions.
• The ability to hold job(s) while attending class full-time

Education Tip: Technical schools usually get right to the meat allowing you to learn and experience the career head-on and reap rewards sooner.  You can always pursue your degree afterward.

Attending a technical school to specialize was, in my opinion, the quickest way to kick start a high-paying career (and it showed).  Even though class was full time, I was still able to work a part-time job at a local electronics store while being a technology consultant.  During slow periods at work, I would bring a book to study and create flashcards.

Even though I was in a technical school, college credits still accumulated for me.  At the time, they offered 6 months of online (core) classes after graduating to complete my Associates Degree.  The technical school approach allowed me to obtain a full-time career in technology while working towards my degree.

Job Tip: While in school full-time, see if you can find a job that’s flexible to accommodate school and studying.  If you ask your current employer to adjust your schedule, they may work with you.

I obtained my first full-time technology job at a VoIP start-up after technical school.  The best part about this job was that they had me on 2nd shift.  This allowed me to focus on my school before going to work.  However, a few months later, I obtained a technology job at a local hospital working four, 10 hour shifts over the weekend.  This allowed me to have three days off during the week to focus on my studies.  The job could be slow at times, so I was able to squeeze in some extra studying.  While I was there, I obtained various technology certifications and continued my education online for a Bachelor’s Degree in Technology Management.

While working full-time in my career, I was able to pay for most of my schooling without the burden of high-interest private student loans.  Why pay money in interest unless you have to?  Sure, I still took out the government loans at $5,500 per year as these low-interest loans helped ease the large monthly payments.  At one point in time I was making payments of $1,000 per month to the school.  I’m not going to lie, it was a lot of money!  It bummed me out to see more than 60% of my check go over to school.  However, it was for the better as it helped me focus on things that were important to me.  I paid pure principle and accrued no interest.  For me, this was the beginning of budgeting.

All-in-all, I walked away with numerous technical certifications, two degrees, and roughly $18,000 in student loan debt — not too bad!  As of today, that debt is down to $16,400 and accrued roughly $1,900 in interest this year alone.  This debt needs to go; That could have been $1,900 more in my pocket!  The worst part is, I am unable to claim this interest on my taxes.  Since my auto is paid off, I’m looking to redirect some of the funds to go towards paying down school.

Looking back, I wouldn’t change much.  The only thing I would have done is increase the amount I was paying on my student loans.

Job Tip: See if your current job pays for education.  My current employer pays $4,000 a year to further educate myself.

Tax Tip: Consult your tax advisor to see if you are eligible for education credits.

Because I was humble, hungry, and had the drive to go forward with my education, I applied for a position within the hospital and moved up!  If it was not for my education and drive, I truly believe I would not be where I am today.

How did you obtain your education?  Have any tips?

I’m not sure why a lot of people cringe at the thought of budgeting.  It is a good way to get your finances under control.  In order to budget properly, you should have an understanding where your money is going.  An hour or two of your time can change the way you look at your finances.

I budget based on my bi-weekly paycheck.  I take my monthly expenses, divide them into two, and put them into appropriate savings accounts.  The advantage of this is I am not tempted to spend the money.  I find that if it’s in my checking account, I am more likely to spend it.  The other advantage of my bi-weekly savings is that I will build another monthly payment over the course of a year. This is particularly useful for building that extra mortgage payment every year.  Some mortgage companies charge you to change your payments from monthly to bi-weekly.

Budgeting for Variable Bills
I’m still working on this area in my personal finance.  One example of a variable bill that I have is the gas and electric.  I’m thinking about taking the average price of the bill over the past year and putting that amount away into another savings account. So when my bill is $50 in the spring or $250 in the winter, I will have enough money to cover it all. Sure, I can assume the worst case and always put away $250, but that will limit my cash flow.  Have any suggestions?

How do you budget?

Somewhere along the way, I got addicted to bottled water.  I found myself drinking at least 5 bottles a day, which is a little more than a case a week.  A case of water at Sam’s Club has 32 bottles and costs roughly $5.  Each bottle I drank ran me $0.16, which turned into $0.80 a day.  Over the course of a year, this totaled $292 and 1,825 bottles sent to recycling (or garbage if recycling was not available)!

Two years ago, I decided enough was enough and searched for alternatives.  That’s where I found the 1 Liter Sigg Bottle on Amazon for about $20.  The Sigg bottle is made from aluminum and the inside is coated with a water-based epoxy resin which, unlike plastic, does not leach out into the water.  The best part is, the inner coating does not alter the water’s taste!  If you were ever turned off by the reusable plastic water bottles because of the taste, you gotta give the Sigg bottle a try.

Over the course of a year, this would translate to $0.05 a day to use it.  I did not factor in the cost of using a Brita or Pur filter, but the overall cost-per-day is far less than 80 cents and creates far less waste.

Over the course of two years, I saved $584 and 3,650 bottles from the landfill!  Finally, a good habit to break.

So, you made your final auto payment.  3 – 5 years (or less) of blood, sweat, and interest have paid off.  Now the big question is, “What do I do with this extra cash flow?”  Sure, you can disperse this back into your checking account, but what happens in another couple of years once another vehicle is needed?  Will you have enough for a decent down payment (20%)?  Maybe you want to buy your next car in cash?

I recently paid my 5 year auto loan in less than two years and now I’m starting to ask myself these questions.  I am finding many things to do with this extra cash flow, including spend it!  I need to come up with a plan so that I can stick to my goals.

Using the Auto Payment to Pad the Emergency Fund
Using this extra cash flow to pad my emergency fund might be the best idea to reach my goal of $20,000 sooner.  I might direct most of the auto payment here for a few months just to give it a boost.  If I redirect the whole amount to my emergency fund, I will easily reach my goal by the end of the year.

If you do not have an emergency fund, it’s important that you start as soon as possible – even if the amounts are small.  You will be better off just by getting into the habit of saving.  Remember, it starts with the small things!

Using the Auto Payment to Pay Down Debt
I’m also considering using this to pay down my student loans.  Since I make too much money to write off the interest on my taxes, I want to rid of this debt as quickly as possible.

According to the IRS for 2009, if you are single and your modified adjusted gross income is above $75,000, you are not allowed to deduct the interested.  The deduction is phased out between $60,000 and $75,000.  If you are married and make more than $150,000, you cannot deduct student loan interest.  This too gets phased out between $120,000 and $150,000.

The bottom line is you are allowed to deduct the most student loan interest IF:

• You file as single and make less than $60,000.
• You file as married and make less than $120,000 combined.

Check with your tax advisor to see if you qualify to write off student loan interest.

Using the Auto Payment to Save for Another Vehicle
Why not continue to make auto payments to myself?  By doing this, I’ll be ahead of the game for when it’s time to get another vehicle.  I may even be able to buy the next one in cash!

Divvy up the Money
There are many things I would like to do with this extra cash flow.  In the end, I might divide it up in equal parts to various saving accounts.

I will keep you posted on which route I take.  What have you done with the extra cash flow after a debt was paid off?

I like to think that I started my journey toward financial freedom when I turned 18 with my checking, savings, and credit card.  However, the more I think about it, the journey began early in my childhood with my parents.

When did you open your first checking, savings, and credit card accounts?  Did you do things in a particular order?  Any reasons why?

I just added mobile support and created a Twitter account for the blog.  Try and browse to the blog via your mobile device and let me know what you think.

There are two ways to see Twitter updates for Pocket Coinage:

1. You can follow via the Pocket Coinage website.  Check for updates in the right column, just below the tags.
2. You can follow via Twitter: http://twitter.com/pocketcoinage

I will be posting an update tonight, stay tuned!

As we begin a new year, many people are making commitments to change themselves or to do more for others.  Unfortunately, many of those commitments will be soon forgotten.

To start this year, I’m creating a few goals for myself – something I’ve never done.  I usually have different aspirations throughout the year and try to meet them without the time constraints.  Sometimes good things take longer than anticipated; do not lose sight of your goals!  I keep reminding myself that and push along.

• Spend more (much more) time with family and friends
  • It’s the people around you that make life fulfilling.  I want to have more breakfasts with my grandma, more dinners with my parents, and more fun with my girlfriend and friends.  Work and the house consumed me last year.
• Have $20,000 in an emergency fund
  • When owning a home, you never know what might need replacing.  A new furnace could cost around $10,000 depending on the one you choose (or need).  I’m currently halfway there!  I will try some other methods of getting there besides my bi-weekly contributions; not sure what those methods will be yet.
• Complete a few home improvement projects
  • Expand the vegetable and flower gardens
  • Build a deck
  • Complete the 4-season porch
• Make my home more efficient
  • The United States Government currently has a tax credit for 30% off the cost of making your home more efficient (up to $1,500 back).  To take full advantage of this credit, you need to spend $5,000.
    • I will re-insulate the attic and crawl space.
    • I may upgrade the hot water heater to a tank-less one.
    • I may upgrade my heater and/or central air unit.

• Become an entrepreneur
  • I feel the freedom of running my own business would be well worth the effort put in.  This “good thing” will take some time to start up.

I’m sure I will have more goals to add to my list throughout the year.  Let’s see how many I will reach (or add)!

What are your goals for 2010?  Were you able to keep any of your goals from 2009?  How did you do it?