Saturday, January 7, 2017

Too Much Money- My Problem Today...

Today I had an unusual problem.  I had too much money.  Allow me to explain...

When I pay cash for something and get change, I put the change in the center console of my car.  So there is a small amount of change flowing in every month.  But I almost never take change out and spend it.  It just slowly accumulates and fills up the space in my car.

I rounded up the change and put it in a big jar to take to the bank.  Here's a challenge for you:  look at the photo and try to guess how much change is in the jar...

How Much Change Did I End Up With In My Car?
How Much Change Did I End Up With In My Car?

Thankfully, my credit union has an automatic change counting machine.  You just dump the change in and the machine counts it.  The entire jar of change took only about a minute to count, and it was fun to watch.

Automatic Change Counting Machine
Automatic Change Counting Machine

Turn Your Change into Bills the Easy Way
Turn Your Change into Bills the Easy Way


At the end of the process, you get a ticket printed out that you take to the teller window.  You can have the money deposited into your account, or you can get cash.

So how much change did I have?  $112.09!

If you are not a member at the credit union, it costs you a 10% fee for using the machine.  Fortunately, I did not have to pay the fee.  There are other automatic coin counting machines such as Coinstar at places like Walmart, but these machines also charge a fee to use if you want to get cash.  The current Coinstar fee is 10.9%.

My advice is to take your change to your bank and have it counted for free using an automatic change couting machine.  Hauling around about 10 pounds of change in my car wasn't doing me any good.  Now I have the change in the form of bills that I will actually use, and I didn't have to pay a 10% fee or spend a lot of time counting change.

Seeing the change build up over time and become a sizable amount of money is an interesting phenomena.  The flow rate of the change coming in exceeds the flow rate going out, so the total is going to grow.  This happens even without the benefit of compounding that you get from investments.

This is a nice reminder of the power of saving small amounts of money over time.


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Friday, January 6, 2017

Who Buys This Stuff!?

I figured out why someone would buy a $198 sweater... and to my surprise, it makes sense now!

Today I was walking around the mall, mostly for exercise.  The windchill was below zero at noon, and I didn't feel like walking outside.  For some people, spending time in the mall would be a risky venture due to the risk of spending money, but it is pretty safe for me.

One of the few things I am at risk of buying is the clearance winter clothes that go on sale in the spring for up to 90% off, and maybe another clearance hat for my collection.

Clearance Hats Are A Weakness For Me!
Clearance Hats Are A Weakness For Me!

I wandered into a nice store that I have only gone into a few times before.  I looked around just for fun, and saw a friendly sign inviting me to "Please touch the merchandise..."

Please touch the merchandise... you'll love it!
Please touch the merchandise... you'll love it!

I have read that you are much more likely to buy something if you touch it.  I guess that makes sense... there is no way you can buy something if you don't touch it-how can you carry it to the checkout!  So naturally the only way you are going to buy something is if you touch it at some point.

I decided to take my chances and touch some nice sweaters they had on sale.  Very nice indeed.  But wait a minute, how much is that sweater!

This is what a $198 sweater looks like!
This is what a $198 sweater looks like!
The sweater was originally priced at $198, marked down to $133.  While I do appreciate a good markdown, the price had too many digits in it for me either way!

It was a fine sweater, but what about it would make someone pay 5 to 10 times more for that sweater than a different one?

(Awkward silence)

Oh, you were expecting me to answer the question...  Well, I don't really have a solid answer since I really don't know who buys this stuff.   Here are my best guesses:

  • Maybe the brand (which I didn't recognize) carries a lot of value to fans of that brand.  
  • Maybe people see shopping at a fancy store as a form of entertainment that is more exciting than shopping at less expensive places.
  • Maybe people are willing to pay a lot for something expensive to impress other people with their affluence or to make themselves feel better than other people.
  • Maybe the sweater was made out of some sort of expensive material like cashmere (I didn't touch the sweater that much to check).

As I read my list of reasons I thought someone might buy a really expensive sweater, I realized something funny.  There are people who wouldn't understand some of the things I buy.

I recently bought a "golf jacket" on clearance for $41.  It is really sharp looking and I plan to wear it to work a lot instead of the cheap clearance fleece I used to wear that my family is so embarrased of.

I am sure some people would not be able to understand why I would spend $41 on a new jacket.  Why not just keep wearing the $13 clearance fleece (even though it is chartreuse green and people at work thought I could win the ugly sweater contest wearing it)?

  • Did I buy my new jacket because of its fancy brand?  I can say no to that one, I don't even remember what brand it is.
  • Did I buy my new jacket as a form of entertainment?  I would say maybe a little bit to this one.  It was fun trying it on with my family encouraging me to buy it.  OK, so I am probably guilty of this one.
  • Did I buy my new jacket to impress other people or make me feel better about myself?  OK, you got me there too.  Yes.    The main reason I bought it was so I would look more expensive and less like a homeless person when I went to work.
  • And for the last one, did I spend a lot on my new jacket because it was made from an expensive material?  Nope- 100% polyester!

My point here is that people buy really expensive stuff for mostly the same reasons as you buy the stuff that you buy.  The only difference really is the number of digits in the price tag.

So that stuff that you buy and think is "normal" may seem really fancy to someone else who would struggle to understand why you buy it.


Enough deep thoughts for today.  Now it's time to leave the mall and go out in the cold to my car.  Good thing I'm wearing my really warm new jacket!


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Thursday, January 5, 2017

You Gotta Check The Clearance Rack...


Today I came home to find the doors to the solarium open after dark on a cold day.  That isn't how you use a solarium.  You are supposed to open the doors when the sun is shining to provide free passive solar heating to the rest of the house.  So why were the solarium doors open?

My wife was eager to show me something new in the solarium.  She had hung some very nice looking curtains alongside some of the windows.  They were extra long 96 inch curtains and looked great in the space.

"Looks awesome!" I said as I was facing her and looking at the curtains hanging behind her.  It probably wasn't clear whether the complement was meant for the curtains or for her.  That's OK, both looked awesome.

The next thing she showed me was even more awesome- the price tag!  The curtains were regularly priced at over $45 and were marked down to under $8.

Clearance curtains from Target!
Clearance curtains from Target!

"You gotta check the clearance rack," she said.  "You never know when you'll find something good."

Sound advice indeed.

There was another great purchase in the solarium- a lamp that Mrs. Penny Pincher found at a thrift shop for only $2!

This is a nice looking, sturdy lamp that is probably from a hotel.  I like that it has the button to turn it on and off on its base where it is easy to reach.  And it is really heavy duty and will probably last forever.  Plus it was only $2 on clearance at the thrift shop.  Did I mention that it was only $2?

$2 Hotel Lamp from the Thrift Shop
$2 Hotel Lamp from the Thrift Shop


"Beautiful!" I said as I looked at the lamp on the table behind my wife.  Again, it was probably not clear which I was complementing, but that's OK.

Gotta check those clearance racks!


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Wednesday, January 4, 2017

Go With Option 1


If you read my last post, you'll know what the following cryptic statement means:
I'm going with Option 1.


Bluetooth keyboard for cell phone
I Am Not Buying A New Computer...

My old laptop is nearing (or past) the end of its useful life.  I considered several options to replace it ranging from a tablet computer, a Chromebook, a Windows 10 laptop, and even a Microsoft Surface.  I threw out an other option just in case:  Option 1.  Option 1 means to do nothing.  While this option does not improve my computer situation, it is the least expensive.  That, of course, is the only reason to go with Option 1.

What does this mean for you, a reader of Penny Pincher Journal?  You may have noticed that I haven't posted in a few months.  I was pretty frustrated with my computer and I was planning to get back to work on the blog after I got a better computer situation.  I also got distracted by some paid freelance writiing opportunities and ended up getting articles published on places like Time.com, Kiplinger, Business Insider, etc.

But now my computer situation is resolved in a sense.  I have decided not to get a new computer.  I went to Best Buy about five times, and looked around on Amazon and Ebay many nights to check out computers, and decided that a Microsoft Surface would be just right for me.  But in the end I decided not to spend that much money.  I just couldn't bring myself to borrow money and make payments on a computer when I have so many other bills to deal with.

Typing articles on a cell phone is possible.  I timed myself typing a passage of text on my cell phone and found that I can type about 20 words per minute.  This is about half as fast as I can type on a computer keyboard.

Back in May, I found myself on the road with an article due and only my cell phone with me.  I bought a bluetooth keyboard for about $20, so I can type articles on my phone with a keyboard.  That gets me back up to around 40 words per minute.  And my old laptop still sort-of works.  So I have some options to keep working that don't cost anything.

I am going to try to get back to work on Penny Pincher Journal using the equipment I have.  Sure it would be nice to have a newer computer, but I am not going to wait for a year (or more) to be able to do anything.

I think the point of this post is not to overlook the benefits of Option 1 (Do Nothing).  I can avoid spending money and keep doing everything I want to do, even if it is not ideal.  But nothing is really ideal anyway.

When you face a decision of whether to spend money or not, don't forget Option 1 - do nothing...  Sometimes this is the best option, especially if you make the best of it.


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Monday, October 24, 2016

Cheap Computer Options: Laptop vs. Tablet vs. 2-in-1 vs. Chromebook


What To Do About A Slow Computer


Here I am waiting for the screen to update on my ancient computer...

Skeleton using a slow computer
My Computer is So Slow...
Image Source: Dr. Penny Pincher

My first dilemma was figuring out how to spell "dilemma"...

But the real dilemma I am facing is what to do about my aging laptop computer.  I bought it in 2008, or maybe 2007.  It was so long ago that I don't remember.  It sports an Intel Centrino processor and runs Windows Vista.  I don't think runs is the right word, it is limping Windows Vista.  I have kept it going for so long by keeping the hard disk optimized, cleaning up the Windows registry, sweeping for malware, and keeping my anti-virus software up-to-date.

Recently I started getting warnings from my Chrome browser that Windows Vista is no longer supported and Chrome will no longer be updated.  This means that any newly discovered security vulnerabilities will not be fixed.

Even before this news about Vista no longer being supported, I was thinking about getting a different computer.  It takes almost forever to scroll down a page.  I sometimes get out my phone and read articles while waiting for the browser page on my laptop to scroll down.  I replaced the battery about 5 years ago, but this battery is now down to about 5 minutes of capacity after unplugging.

I mentioned that I look at web pages on my Android phone because it is a lot faster than my computer.  I even bought a $20 Bluetooth keyboard so I could use my phone as a sort of home-made Chromebook.  I have written several blog posts and even one of my articles on Wise Bread using my phone.  I like the portability and long battery life of my phone, but the screen is quite small.

Here are some options I am considering to solve my computer dilemma:

Option 1: Do nothing.  Sometimes not expending time and effort is the best option.  I have gotten this far with my old computer, why change now?  This option would cost nothing, but I would be left trudging along with a very old computer (see photo above).

Option 2: Switch to my phone.  I mentioned that my $20 Bluetooth keyboard with my Android phone works pretty well, except for the small screen.  I could just stop using my computer and use my phone/keyboard combo instead.  This is another zero cost option since I already have the keyboard.  But the screen on my phone is so small that I think my productivity would take a hit.

Details about how I made a "Chromebook" for $20.


Option 3: Get a Chromebook.  A Chromebook is a laptop that runs Android operating system.  It is basically like a tablet with a permanent keyboard.  Chromebooks have a small solid state memory rather than a spinning hard drive.  This makes Chromebooks better able to survive being dropped, but the storage capacity is much less than with a hard drive. The cost is under $200.

Chromebooks are also known as "netbooks" because they use cloud storage and apps running from the Internet in a Chrome browser window rather than having everything installed locally.  If you are interested in basic e-mail and web surfing, this may be the lowest cost option.

Option 4: Get an Android tablet.  For around $150, I could get a 10 inch tablet that would be a lot bigger than the screen on my phone.  I could use my existing Bluetooth keyboard with the new tablet.  My biggest concern with this option is that the relatively low memory and processing capability of an inexpensive tablet would quickly become obsolete.  My very cheap 7 inch Android tablet that I bought a few years ago ended up hanging on the wall of my garage running a clock app because it was too slow for much else.  It makes a nice clock, though...

Android Tablet Wall Clock
My Android Tablet Wall Clock
Image Source: Dr. Penny Pincher


Option 5: Get a 2-in-1.  What's a 2-in-1?  This is a relatively new computer form factor that is essentially a laptop computer with a touch screen that allow it to function as a tablet computer too.  You can use it like a laptop, or you can flip the screen completely flat against the back of the keyboard and use it like a thick tablet.  Some models have detachable keyboards- Microsoft Surface is one such model.

Many of these 2-in-1 machines have powerful processors, abundant RAM, and run Windows 10.  I like the idea of being able to run the same types of software that I can run on my laptop now, but the price tag runs $500 to over $1,000 depending on the processor, memory, and screen quality.  The surface has a stylus so you can write on the screen which is cool, but I am not sure how much I would really use that feature.

Microsoft Surface Pro 4

Option 6: Get a newer Windows laptop.  I could skip the touch screen and just get a simple Windows 10 laptop with plenty of memory and processing power for what I do for around $500.


So what is the best option to replace an outdated computer?

I haven't made up my mind about my computer dilemma yet.  As I was typing this on my old laptop, I wanted to open up one of my articles to find a picture, but gave up after 5 minutes of waiting for the screen to load.  Option 1 isn't looking good...

Since I do make income blogging with my computer, I wouldn't feel too bad about spending a little money to boost productivity.  Stay tuned to find out how I resolve my computer dilemma!


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Tuesday, October 4, 2016

A Cheap Bike... Your Ticket To Great Adventure

Cheapcycle (Cheap Bicycle): Biking For Almost Free

Break Away with a Cheap Bike
Break Away with a Cheap Bike
Image Source: Dr. Penny Pincher

The other day, I had the day off from work with no particular plans.  I ended up going for a 4 hour bike ride along the lake near my house.  This was a really fun way to spend an afternoon, plus it was almost free!

My bike is a 1972 Schwinn that my father gave me.  I am sure someone paid for it somewhere along the line, but I was happy to get it for free!  I did spend about $25 to outfit it with off-road tires for riding on trails along the lake.  I added an LED headlight/tail light for $15, and I ride with my $15 bike helmet.

My son gave my some biking gloves for my birthday last year which are great for long rides.  I have some lightweight shoes that I wear for cycling- I got these for $25 for my son about 4 years ago, but I ended up wearing them myself.  Now that the shoes are wearing out I try to save them mostly for bike riding.  

I have a nice Camelbak water bottle that the team at Wise Bread gave me as a gift one time.  I paid $8 for a fanny pack to carry my keys and cell phone while I ride.  Me wearing a fanny pack looks as ridiculous as it sounds, but things tend to fall out of my shorts pockets while I ride and hike...

As you can see, I have some pretty nice biking gear for almost free that allows me to go on virtually unlimited adventures.


Even if you aren't lucky enough to have someone give you a classic bike, you can find good bikes for cheap or even free.  I bought a 1983 Schwinn Caliente that I found for sale on someone's front porch.  I wanted a cheap bike to keep at work so I could go for a ride at lunch time.  The asking price for the bike was $35, but I bargained the price down to $28 since this was how much I had in my wallet.  After riding the bike for several years, I sold it for $35.

Check out cycling as a cheap hobby and good way to get exercise.


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Friday, September 30, 2016

Why You Should Use Credit Cards...

Is Using Credit Cards a Good Idea?

Yes, if you do it right...

Why using credit cards is a good idea
Why Using Credit Cards Is a Good Idea

One of the most controversial topics I have covered on my blog or in my books about saving money is credit cards.  Apparently suggesting that people use credit cards seems like bad financial advice!

I agree that using credit cards to buy things you can't afford can lead to financial disaster.  Even if you can make the minimum payment on a credit card balance, it can take around 20 years to pay off a credit card debt!  Over this time, the interest charges keep on piling up and you end up paying a very high price for whatever it was that you charged 20 years ago...

But that is not how I suggest using credit cards as part of a smart personal finance strategy.  I merely suggest taking advantage of the perks of using credit cards without paying anything.  How can you do this?  Easy- just pay your balance in full every month (or actually more like 25 days with most cards now).

For example, I was at Target with my wife buying some grocery items.  My wife had enough cash in her purse to pay for the items.  I had enough cash in my wallet to pay for the items.  But I whipped out a credit card to pay.  Why!?

Because I could save 5% off my purchase by using my Target card.  When the Target bill comes, I will pay the balance using the electronic bill pay feature from my credit union.  The result is that I just saved 5% and it didn't cost me anything.

I do the same thing at Lowes by using my Lowes credit card to save 5% on everything I buy there.  As long as you don't buy more stuff than you otherwise were planning to buy and pay your balance every billing cycle, you really do save 5%.

I sometimes use a credit card with rewards to make other purchases.  With the rewards on my credit card, I can get pretty much anything I want from Amazon for free.

So when I say to use credit cards, I mean to use them to save money- not to spend money!

Here is one of my statements about using credit cards that caused a kerfuffle:
Tip 15: Use Credit Cards


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