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Not sure if this is a national promotion, but I just got a coupon handed to me at my local Albertsons grocery store (which is owned by SuperValu) stating that if you buy a $250 gift card you can get $20 free or a $300 gift card to get $30 free. As I mentioned last year, this is a tremendous deal! Groceries are something we all are going to spend money on over the next year whether we like it or not, so why not save 10% while you’re at it. Where else can you guarentee a 10% return on your money?

I can’t seem to find any details about this promotion online, but the bottom of the coupon states that it is valid “now through tax day” and to “see customer service for details.”

Ciao,
Franco

“Let me put it on my card…I need the miles.”     ~ Mileage Monkey 

This is just one of the many wonderful phrases you may hear from a devout mileage credit card holder. What is it about airline miles that these mileage monkeys love so much? Perhaps it was the fact that once upon a time they could be used as a flexible, free way to book airline tickets. Unfortunately, those days are gone and airline miles today are a shadow of their former glory. They have been greatly devalued, lack flexibility, and only cover a portion of the flight cost. I’m writing this post to put a stop to all the madness and tell everyone to drop their mileage credit cards.

In the first part of this two part series, we covered the different types of home loans and the role of a mortgage broker in the “no cost refinance.” Now let’s look at what information we need in order to maximize our savings. As previously discussed, the no cost refinance uses a lender credit to cover the cost to close a refinanced home loan. The lender credit is generated when the mortgage broker sells you a loan at a rate that is higher than the current market rate. This is known as the yield spread premium (YSP). The key to having the YSP work in your favor (cover closing costs) as apposed to lining your mortgage broker’s pocket is being well informed on the market wholesale rate and the YSP compensation.

The worst part of refinancing (other than the headache) is paying all those closing costs. With so many hands in the cookie jar, the fees just keep piling up. And some of them are just plain stupid…I mean, why do I need title insurance for a refinance on a home financed in my name? If you have ever gone through the refinancing process, you know it can be quite a hassle. Unfortunately, there is nothing I can do about the refinancing process being a royal pain in the rear, but what I can help you with is the cost of refinancing. There is a way to refinance your home without having to pay any additional out of pocket expenses AND without raising your principal balance.

To my chagrin, I was watching a recorded episode of the Oprah show with Mrs. Franco the other night, which was dedicated to being frugal (I know what your thinking…why didn’t they ask Franco to be on the show…invite must have gotten lost in the mail). Other than coming up with some painfully obvious money saving tips (don’t buy new furniture and trade with a friend instead; camp in your backyard instead of going on vacation, etc…), they managed to villianize credit cards as if they had been forged in the fires of Hades and given to us by the Prince of Darkness himself. One very frugal couple was sent to help a not-so-frugal couple come up with money saving ideas (most of which were very useful), which climaxed with the ceremonious cutting of the credit cards. The not-so-frugal husband was even shown on camera saying something to the sort of “I really like this idea of getting rid of our credit cards and only using debit cards to pay as we go.”

Forbes recently posted an article entitled 13 things you can get for free. If you can navigate around all the flashing ads embedded in the article on msn, I highly recommend everyone take a read. Some of my favorites included free (legal) TV show viewing, last minute cruises, and legal advice, but the most interesting by far had to be the “cyber grandparent.” Just check it out! 

Franco

Deals, or the appearance there of, are very effective tools for getting Joe Consumer to spend money. The problem is that the better the deal, the worse the profit is for the seller (a.k.a. “the man”), and everyone knows that the objective of any good business is to maximize profit. Enter the “packaged deal.”

A packaged deal accomplishes two things for the seller’s benefit: 1) the assurance of a “deal” persuades consumers to drop their guard and open their wallet and 2) on average, packaging things together gets people to spend more money than they originally intended. With these two weapons in hand, we the consumer have been snookered into such purchases as the Bee Gees box set, vacations to odd destinations, and way too many Abraham Lincoln postcards. When looking at packages, one needs to first decide what they really want, then evaluate what is included in the package, and finally determine if the package is cost effective.

In my very first post I talked about the advantages of using a credit card with rewards for everyday purchases. Recently, a frugal fan sent me a link to a great online tool to help people chose the best cash back reward card. One need only input their annual expenditures into each category and decide whether to use multiple cards to maximize the rebate or a single card for convenience. For those that are running a budget, this exercise should be easy. For those that do not have a budget, it’s time to start! 

The fastest way to tighten the belt and fatten the wallet is to cut down on what I like to call “fringe spending.” Fringe spending encompasses all the little pleasures in life we choose to spend our money on that go beyond meeting our basic needs and instead fulfill our wants and desires. One of the biggest contributors in this arena is the cup of coffee many people purchase on a daily basis. As an inconsistent (non-daily) coffee drinker, I’m not sure how qualified I am to weigh in on this topic, but with that disclaimer, here it goes.

The other day I was driving around with some friends and we were hungry and in a bit of a hurry. To save time, we decided to call in our sandwich order at one of my favorite local delis. Not having the number on hand, I called 800-GOOG411 which is a service Google provides for free directory assistance. The process is completely automated, does an excellent job finding the listing you want in the city you want, and connects you for free (they also will send you a text message of the requested phone number if you so desire). For those that like to text message, you can also use Goolge SMS.