How To Dehydrate Fruit In Your Oven

Dehydrated Grapes Become Delicious Homemade Raisins!

What To Do With Old Grapes...

Yesterday it came to my attention that some grapes that were forgotten in the back of the refrigerator were shriveling up and should be thrown away.  Nonsense!  They are starting to look like raisins anyway, so let's make them into raisins.

I took a baking sheet and sprayed it with a light coat of non-stick spray.  Then I pulled all of the grapes off of the stems and arranged them in a single layer on the baking sheet.  Fortunately, my oven has a dehydrate setting that runs the oven at 150 degrees and also runs the fan.  If your oven doesn't have a special dehydrate setting, set it to the lowest temperature.

Put the grapes in and let the oven run overnight.  Even stale grapes turn into delicious raisins.  The raisins I got from seedless red table grapes are much larger and more flavorful than store-bought raisins.  My homemade raisins are probably at least 5x the size of standard raisins.  I left mine slightly moist in the center.  They taste like they are filled with grape candy filling, but they are entirely natural grapes.

Don't Throw Away Those Bananas!

Make Dehydrated Bananas in your Oven

As my grapes were on their way to becoming raisins, I noticed some bananas on the kitchen counter that were starting to turn brown.  The usual plan for overripe bananas is to make banana bread with them, but this is a lot of work and banana bread is not very health to eat anyway due to high fat and calories.

Since I had the oven running anyway, I decided to spray a second baking sheet with non-stick spray and proceeded to cut up the excess bananas into coins about 1/4 inch thick.  After about 5 hours, the bananas were dehydrated and tasted delicious.  The banana flavor was concentrated and these bananas will definitely get eaten instead of going to waste (or going to waist in a banana cake).

How to Dehydrate Fruit in Your Oven

1. Set your oven at the lowest setting, as close to 150 degrees F as you can get
2. Take a baking sheet and spray it with non-stick spray
3. Place your fruit on the baking sheet.  Cut fruit into coins or strips.
4. Let the fruit dehydrate in the oven for 5 to 12 hours
5. Let the dehydrated fruit cool, then place in containers for storage

Dehydrated Bananas and Grapes from my Oven

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Rockstar Rumble: Best Money Blog Post of 2017!

I am excited to learn that one of my blog posts has been selected as one of 128 competitors in the Rockstar Rumble tournament to determine the best money blog post of 2017!

Rockstar Rumble Tournament to Choose the Best Blog Post of 2017

My blog post selected to compete in the tournament is "Tightening the Belt: Are You Measuring the Wrong Things?"   This post opens with a puzzling contradiction: I had to tighten my belt, but the scale shows I have not lost any weight.  This contradiction brings a couple questions to mind:

1. How is it possible to have to literally tighten my belt when I haven't lost any weight and 
2. What does this have to do with personal finance?

The answers to both of these questions are revealed in this thought-provoking and memorable post!


The winner of "best blog post of 2017" will be selected in the Rockstar Rumble through a series of matches between competing blog posts in a bracket-style tournament.  Readers get to vote on their favorite of the two blog posts in each match to determine the winner.

The first round of the tournament with 128 competitors will be reduced to 64 after the first round, then down to 32 after the second round, etc.

My first face-off in Round 1 is against a post called "6 Hard Truths I Learned About Myself While Getting Out of Debt".  This is a well-written post, and it is organized around a list with a specific number of points which is a popular style these days.

I would be excited to win the match and move on in the tournament where more readers can discover Penny Pincher Journal...  Here is a link to view my entry in the tournament and vote:

Vote for "Belt" in Game 18

Vote for my entry "Belt" in Game 18!

Thanks for your support!

-Dr. Penny Pincher

Update:
Voting has concluded, and my opponent has won the game, 64 votes to 49 votes.  Congrats to Jenny at goodbetterlife.com.  Thanks to Rockstar Finance for setting up the tournament, and thanks all for participating!

Penny Pincher Journal

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5 Easy Steps to Meal Planning Perfection

If your household budget is like mine, you know that food is a major expense.  Food is an expense you can easily cut through planning and thoughtful effort.  But how can you cut food expenses without going hungry?  The answer:  Meal Planning.

I am not very good at meal planning, but fortunately we have a guest post today from Holly who posts on the Official Coupon Code  blog that takes you through the steps to follow to save big-time on your grocery budget.

If you want to see your writing featured here on Penny Pincher Journal, here is how you can be featured on a guest post.

Thanks to Holly for providing this awesome guest post!

========================================================

5 Easy Steps to Meal Planning Perfection

Guest Post by Holly

Do you spend too much on food? Maybe you have a drive-thru habit because it’s just easier than figuring out what to cook? Perhaps you find yourself throwing away a lot of spoiled food that never got used? Or maybe you find yourself running to the store for one or two ingredients before you can start dinner?

5 Easy Steps to  Meal Planning Perfection

Relax! Meal Planning is a great way to solve all of these problems, and it’s a lot simpler than you might think.

I’ve been planning my household’s meals for several years now, and have managed to cut our grocery/food budget in half. Plus, meal times are a lot less stressful. I can just look at my plan and I’m ready to cook!

Perhaps you don’t know how to get started or think it’s too difficult or time-consuming. Not so! If I can do it, so can you. Here’s how.

1. Take Stock
First things first: start by taking stock of the food you already have. A quick glance through the pantry, fridge, and freezer may reveal ingredients you forgot about. Get a good idea of about how long each item will last and plan to use them accordingly. You should also be aware of which pantry staples you normally keep on hand, and replenish them as they get low.

2. Find Some Recipes
This step can be as adventurous or as mundane as you choose to make it. Personally, I like to have at least 2-3 new recipes on my list each week. It keeps our family meals fresh and appealing. Others may like to stick with familiar favorites. Either way is fine! The important thing is to have a plan in place.

If you’re looking for new recipes, the internet offers a variety of options. I often use sites like SuperCook or MyFridgeFood to find recipes that use ingredients I already have on hand or ones that are on sale this week. You can also search sites like Pinterest or AllRecipes to find new and different ideas. Or subscribe to email newsletters from your favorite food blogs or magazines to get recipes delivered right to your inbox!

3. Make Your List
There are some great, free tools out there for turning recipes into shopping lists. My personal favorite is CopyMeThat because it does all the work for me. I also love that I can simply pull up the shopping list on my phone while I’m at the store. Of course, the old pen and paper method works too, if you prefer. The important thing is to choose what works for you – the easier the better!

Include breakfast, lunch, dinner, beverages, household items, and snacks too. You want to make just one trip to the store for the whole week. Once you have all of your ingredients listed, check off anything that you already have. It may help to sort items by category too, so you can easily find everything at the store. And don’t forget to check for coupons!

4. Prep, Prep, Prep!
So, you’ve planned your meals and bought all the food you’ll need for the week. Now you’re done, right? Well, you can be, but to really get the most out of meal planning, it’s best to do some prep.

If you’ve seen those containers of pre-chopped veggies or pre-mixed salads at the grocery store, you’ve likely been a bit shocked by the prices. They can get away with charging so much because having pre-prepped ingredients makes cooking a breeze. Take advantage of this idea on the cheap by prepping as much as you can for the week, all at once. I find that in an hour or so on a Sunday afternoon, I can get all the chopping and portioning out of the way for the whole week.

If I know some days are going to be particularly rushed, I’ll use freezer meals to get us through. These are recipes that you make in advance, then freeze. On the day you’re going to use them, just thaw and pop them in the oven. Dinner’s done!

5. Stick with the Plan (but Not too Closely)
The most important thing is to make your meal plan work for your family. Sometimes that means veering off course and changing things up for a day. Sometimes it means reworking a recipe to fit what’s going on in your life at the time. Last week, when my husband came down with the flu, I converted a chicken marinade into a tasty chicken soup by adding a carton of veggie broth and slow cooking it all day.

The idea is to have a plan for the whole week, and stick to it as much as possible, but remember to be flexible when needed. You’ll be amazed at the time, food, stress, and money you can save just by spending a little time planning ahead!


About the Author: Holly is a freelance writer and a regular contributor to the Official Coupon Code blog. There you can find her tips on saving money, couponing, personal finance, and frugal family fun.

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Looking For Bargains at the Pawn Shop

Looking For Bargains At The Pawn Shop

The other day, my son and I took my wife to the fabric store.  After a few minutes, my son and I decided to leave my wife to shop in the fabric store (risky, I know...) while we went next door to check out the pawn shop.

High on my list of things to look at in the pawn shop was binocculars.   I have been looking for a good pair of binocculars for a few years, checking out every pair I could find at consignment shops and garage sales.

I was excited to see that the pawn shop had five pairs in a glass display case for sale ranging from $15 to $70.  I had the lady working in the shop come over and open the display case.  Unfortunately for her, she had to stay right there the whole time the case was unlocked.

I tried out the binocculars by looking out the window at nearby buildings and also by trying to read price signs across the store.  The binocculars I tried looked cool, but the optics were terrible- even the $70 pair produced blurry results.

The last pair in the case looked older than the rest and was a little beat up.  I figured I might as well try it since it was priced at $15 and it was the last one.

Much to my surprise, this pair of binocculars worked great!  It has an easy-to-use lever mechanism to adjust the focus.  I could read the price signs clearly from all the way across the store.  I could see bricks and small details in the building through the window.

My quest for a good pair of binocculars is over!

With spring fast approaching, there was a clearance rack of leather jackets displayed.  Some of the jackets looked really expensive, but were priced at $15.  My son tried one on and liked it, except it was a size too big.  He thought about getting it anyway, but I convinced him that it was just too big.

When we later met up with my other son and told him about the leather jacket deal, he said it is a bad idea to get the wrong size of something, "it's just not worth it."

They had lots of bikes for sale, but I thought the prices were too high.  This may be due to the spring season- I may check back around October 15 to see if they have any bargains.

They had a lot of power tools for sale, but these looked heavily used and well worn.  I would definitely want to try out the tools from the pawn shop to make sure they are in good working order before buying.  Some of the tools were battery powered, and I would worry about the battery being near the end of life and not being able to hold much charge.

The video game selection seemed to be for very old systems and seemed to be pretty well picked over.  They had a few old laptops, but they didn't look much better than the old laptop I already have, and these were priced at a couple hundred dollars.  I woud rather find a bargain laptop in the open box bargain area at Best Buy than take a chance on one from the pawn shop.  At least there would be some opportunity to return a laptop from Best Buy if there is a problem with it.

Here are some things I learned from my trip looking for bargains at the pawn shop:

1) You can't judge a book by its cover.  The oldest, most beat up binocculars were by far the best and quite a bargain at only $15.  I bet most people wouldn't have even tried them due to their rough appearance.

2) If you want cheap leather jackets, go to the pawn shop in mid-March.

3) If you want to buy a cheap bike at a pawn shop, don't go in the spring

4) I found power tools at the pawn shop, but they looked pretty well worn.  Maybe you could buy a cheap power tool at the pawn shop as an alternative to renting one for about the same money.

5) The good electronics and games get snapped up quickly, you would need to check frequently to find something decent.

6) If it doesn't fit, you must acquit...  This is a lesson I wish I had mastered long ago.  Many times, I have found a bargain coat or even shoes that didn't quite fit- but I bought them anyway because they were priced way down on clearance.  As son #2 said, "it's just not worth it."

Penny Pincher Journal

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Why People Are Now Drinking More Bottled Water than Soda?

But You Can Get Water at Home for Almost Free!

An article on Fortune.com a few days ago announced that Americans are now drinking more bottled water than soda.  Why!?

Americans Are Now Drinking More Bottled Water Than Soda

At least drinking water is healthier than drinking soda, but it is stunning to me that so many people are paying for water- something you can get for almost free!  Bottled water has a high cost not only in the price you pay at the convenience store or vending machine, but also in environmental impact.  It takes a lot of energy to transport a heavy product long distances to the store and keep it refrigerated.    Even if you recycle the plastic bottle every time, it still takes energy to produce the plastic bottle in the first place and then to melt it down to recycle the plastic, not to mention the energy to haul it to the recycling facility.

This seems like an unbelievable business model- package something that costs almost nothing that people can easily get at home, and sell it with a huge markup.  If someone came to me with a business plan like this, I would probably shoot it down.  Why would people pay for something they can get at home for almost free?    I decided to dig further into this psychological puzzle.

Why People Buy Bottled Water (When They Could Get It For Free)

When people buy bottled water, it must makes sense to them in terms of economic value.  That 20 oz bottle of water with less that 1 cent worth of water priced at $1.39 seems like a good deal.  Why?

1. Convenience.  If you are thirsty now and don't have anything to drink, a cold bottle of water may be just what you want.  But is it really convenient to drive to a convenience store or find a vending machine...
2. Soda Replacement.  People are replacing $2 soda with something healthier and perhaps less expensive and see it as a good deal relative to soda.  But this is a false choice if you are only selecting from what is available on the shelf at the convenience store...
3. Spare Change.  Many people don't think a few dollars makes any difference to their finances and are not concerned about spending a few extra dollars.  But those small daily expenses add up to real money over time...
4. Social Factors.  Some bottled water purchases are due to the force of habit of buying a drink when you are out and about, or if you are with friends who are all buying a drink then you want to buy one too.  But you don't have to be like everyone else, being efficient with money and reducing your impact on the environment is a respectable choice.
5. Status Symbol.  People feel they deserve bottled water.  They are smart, work hard, and make good money, so they should be able to at least get a bottle of water when they feel like it.  This is a good example of "lifestyle inflation".
6. Perceived Quality.  A product that is sold in a bottle in the store must be better than what you can get at home right?  Most bottled water is sourced from municipal water supplies- in other words, it is tap water just like you can get at home!

How To Get The Advantages of Bottled Water-- Without the High Price

If you are ready to skip the bottled water purchases and save some money, here are some tips to get the advantages of drinking bottled water, but without paying the high price:

• Bring your own water from home in a reusable bottle.  
• Get a water filter at home if needed to improve taste/quality.  I use the water filter in my refrigerator.
• How to keep it cold?  Freeze your bottle (or freeze a 1/2 full bottle and top it with water before heading out), use a cooler, or put your bottle in the fridge at work. 
• Or simply use a water fountain for drinking or filling a cup with free chilled drinking water from the water fountain. 

I even added some new items in the Penny Pincher Journal Store to help you save money by drinking your own water from home in refillable bottles for almost free instead of buying expensive bottled water.

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Kill-A-Watt!

How much electricity- and money- does it waste to leave the TV on?  Too much!

Kill-A-Watt!

As a young child during the energy crisis of the mid-1970's, I remember seeing distinctive stickers encouraging people to save electricity.  The black sticker was sized to fit over a light switch and said "Kill-A-Watt" in bold white letters.  The stickers were meant to remind people to turn out lights when leaving a room.

I must say, I learned this lesson well.  I am quite good about turning off unneeded lights whether I am leaving a room or not.  My son once pointed out that he knew it was me coming down the stairway at night because I turned out the lights BEFORE coming down the stairway in the dark.  Who else would do that?

Tonight I was working on writing some new articles that are due in a few days.  I noticed that the TV was left on in the living room and no one was watching it.  I started thinking about how much energy- and money- that was wasting.  I knew from looking it up in the manual that the TV draws about 300W.  I also knew that the cost of electricity here is about 10 cents per kilowatt hour.  That is pretty good, the average in the USA is around 12 cents per killowatt hour.  If you are curious, you can find average electric rates for your state listed in this NPR article.

I figured it would take me about 15 minutes to finish the outline I was working on.  Since the TV was drawing about 1/3 of a kilowatt per hour, it would cost about 3 cents to run it for an hour.  This works out to about 0.75 cents if I were to leave it running 15 minutes while I finished my article outline.

But wait, there's more.  Not only does it waste energy to run the TV with no one watching it, it also burns up the useful life of the TV.  I could estimate the value of this by figuring out the typically lifespan of a TV.  But since the TV was only about 30 feet away, I simply walked over and turned off.  I pushed the "off" button by hand instead of using the remote control.  Might as well save some battery life in the remote control...

In this case I didn't save much electricity by turing the TV off right away, but I did save energy worrying about it.  Some people would say, why worry about wasting a few cents and a little bit of electricity.  I say, why waste any at all?

Kill-A-Watt!

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Car Stereo Upgrade FAIL

Sorry for the false alarm, but I decided to return the car stereo I bought to upgrade my older car.  How did such a great plan fail?

Car Stereo Upgrade FAIL!

The plan was that I would drive my wife's newer car (which had a modern stereo with bluetooth, XM, etc.) and she would drive my older car instead of buying a different (and likely newer and more expensive) car to drive.

The only problem was that she was not excited about the old school radio.  She would miss her XM satellite radio and streaming songs from her phone via Bluetooth.

Fortuately, the shortcomings of an older car radio are a pretty easy problem to solve by replacing the old radio with a new one.  For around $120 you can get a fancy new car radio with a USB port that supports Bluetooth streaming.  For about $80 more, you can add an XM satellite radio receiver.  Throw in about $100 more for cables and installation, and you can make an old car seem a lot newer.

So why did I decide to return the car stereo and get my money back?  The first problem was that the buttons on the steering wheel would no longer work.  It would cost over $100 extra to hook them up, so we decided to skip that feature.

The next problem was the total bill for the radio and installation was around $350 with taxes, fees, etc.

From my perspective, the new car radio wasn't really an upgrade since I listen to music on CDs:  the old radio had a 6 disc changer and the new radio only held 1 disc.  Plus, the steering wheel buttons would no longer work.

After further review, we decided to skip upgrading the radio.  My wife will continue to drive the newer car and I will continue to drive my older car.

This reminds me a lot of going with "Option 1" for my computer upgrade.  As you may remember, I decided to do nothing and not upgrade my computer.

Now I have decided to do nothing and not upgrade my car radio.  Do you sense a trend here?

Penny Pincher Journal

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Avoiding a Fleecing at Sport Clips

I Avoided a Fleecing at Sport Clips!

As you may know, I went 8 years without paying for a haricut at a barbershop.  I bought a $25 pair of buzzers so I could get all the free haircuts I want.  My winning streak came to an end this summer when I paid $12 plus a $3 tip at the local barbershop.  In my defense, I was tricked into going to the barbershop.

After about 6 months and one more DIY haircut with the buzzers at home, I was ready to go to a professional again.  They can do things in the barbershop with scissors that I can't do myself with the #8 buzzers.

Ready for another sharp haircut, I went to the nearest shop- a Sport Clips- and gave my information at the counter to get in line for a haircut.  While waiting, I remembered that waiting was one thing I didn't like about getting a haircut at a barbershop.

Next, I spotted the price board.  The lowest cost haircut was $18.  This was before a tip.  Since this was a pretty fancy shop, I am sure a pretty fancy tip would be expected.  This would put the total damage north of $20.

Plus, since this was a sports-themed shop, I imagined that the barber would try to make small talk about sports during the haircut.  This would be rough since I don't get many TV channels and don't really keep up on sports.

Enough was enough.  I fled.

I quietly gathered my coat from the coat rack and slipped out the door.  I figured they would simply call the next person waiting a few minutes early.  No harm done, and I would save $20+ dollars and most of my lunch break.

This experience got me thinking... How much money would I need to have right now to get haircuts for life?  Let's say I get a haircut once every 3 months at $15 per haircut and I plan to get haircuts for 40 years.  That works out to $2400.  If I had $2400 in a "haircut envelope", I could get haircuts for the next 40 years.

What if I put the money in something with a better rate of return than an envelope?  Let's say I were to put a sum of cash into a fund that averages a 4% rate of return.  How much cash would I need now to get haircuts for life?  The answer is provided using a annuity calculator.  I used an annuity calculator from bankrate.com.  The total works out to $1191.69. 

Of course no one knows what the rate of return will be over the next 40 years.  Plus, the price of haircuts is likely to go up over time due to inflation.  As a matter of fact, the price at my local barbershop went up 50 cents after the first of the year.

Looking at big numbers like $2400 and even $1200 for haircuts makes me think I should stay on course and keep using the buzzers at home for free.

I am not sure if I will cut my hair at home every time, but I am pretty sure I won't go back to Sport Clips.

Penny Pincher Journal

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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!

"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

"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!

Penny Pincher Journal

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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.

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.

Penny Pincher Journal

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A Cheap Bike... Your Ticket To Great Adventure

Cheapcycle (Cheap Bicycle): Biking For Almost Free

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.

Penny Pincher Journal

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What To Do When the Store Won't Accept a Return

You Can't Return That!

Some Stores Make Returns Difficult!
Image Source: Dr. Penny PIncher

Yesterday after school, my teenage son went on a shopping trip without any parental supervision to buy some clothes for an upcoming school dance.  He also picked up a pair of casual canvas shoes for $15.

I thought the dress clothes were sharp, high quality items, but I was immediately skeptical of the shoes.   They seemed cheaply constructed and I wondered how much he would really wear them.

As my son was showing me the clothes that evening and removing the tags, I suggested he keep the receipts and tags from the clothes handy in case he wanted to return anything.

After he tried on the shoes again, he realized that they were a size too small and he didn't really need them anyway.

The next morning I took the shoes back to the store to return them for him since he was at school.

It was a small store at the mall, with a single cash register and no separate area to return things.  I pulled the shoes out of a bag, and the cashier said, "Footwear is not returnable."  She gestured toward a sign that said something to this effect to reinforce her point.

At this point, many people would probably accept being out $15 and being stuck with an item that is useless to them.

"I see," I said.  "Fortunately these haven't been worn yet."

The cashier sized me up and decided that a return was in order.  After explaining that she would make an exception to policy and do the return,  she took the shoes and gave me $15.

I think returning the shoes made sense for everyone involved.  The shoes were in new condition, never worn.  The store would be able to sell them again at a profit.  I had no use for the shoes and would have tried to sell them at a consignment shop and perhaps gotten a few dollars for them which would have been a waste of time and money.

Of course this experience made me think of a few lessons I could highlight for my son:

• Double check the size of clothes and shoes before buying
• Also check for any defects such as stains, rips, or missing buttons
• Hang on to receipts and tags for new clothes in case you need to return something
• Use common sense rather than following store policies that are designed to maximize profit and convenience for the store
• Politely explain the situation about your return and find someone who has authority to make a decision

This store return actually went relatively smoothly.  I spent a lot of time this summer working to get replacement plants from a mail order garden supply company.  Some of the plants I received were dead on arrival and I asked for replacements.  The initial response was that I needed to have the original invoice from the shipping package to get a return.  Of course, I had thrown away the packaging from the plants long ago.  It took weeks of writing back and forth to finally get replacement plants.  It would have saved everyone a lot of hassle if the company had a more reasonable return policy...

A few years ago, I bought a tree from a local store that didn't make it.  Good news:  the tree had a 1 year warranty.  Bad news: I couldn't find my receipt.  After several attempts to take the dead tree back and even working with the home office of the store to search through transaction records, the store manager finally went ahead and refunded my money even though my receipt was never found.  I walked directly to the garden department, picked out a replacement tree, and carefully filed the receipt away this time.

I think a couple additional lessons for me about returning items are:

• Keep track of receipts and invoices, especially for items that might be returned a long time later!
• If you have a legitimate issue with an item, don't give up on trying to return it

Penny Pincher Journal

Copyright © 2016 by Dr. Penny Pincher.  All Rights Reserved.  Privacy Policy

Make Your Own Cereal at Home- Cheap!

Cereal Is Too Expensive- Make Your Own!

I have complained here on my blog about how expensive cereal is compared with the cost of the ingredients of cereal.  If you do the calculations, cereal has an incredible mark-up.  I didn't think there was much I could do about this, other than choose the most cost effective brands of cereal available.

Then one day, I noticed that my son was making his own cereal, and it is much healthier than the expensive cereal you can buy at the store.

The alternative cereal trend at my house started when my son discovered that some caramel corn that we bought on clearance at the grocery store made great cereal.  Just pour some in a bowl and add milk.  It tastes like Corn Pops, only a little fluffier.

Of course, it is really cheap and easy to make fresh popcorn at home.  We decided to skip the caramel part and just put some popcorn in a bowl with milk.  If you like, you can put some sugar on top to make it taste more like store-bought cereal.

Photo credit:  Heather Lion (CC-SA-30)

Popcorn Revisited

The popcorn we are using for cereal is not like movie theater popcorn.  We are skipping the salt and butter.  Fresh popcorn has a nice flavor even if you don't add anything to it.  We use a little bit of Crisco vegetable oil (it's soy bean oil) for popping.  Peanut oil would also work well.

Fortunately I have my own movie theater popcorn machine that we got as a family Christmas gift one year for about $150.  We have made movie theater style popcorn with melted butter for movie night for years.  If you don't have a popcorn popper like this, you can use an air popper or even pop popcorn in a pan on the stovetop.  Using those microwave popcorn bags wouldn't really work for cereal since that stuff is so salty and oily.

Great Northern Popcorn Machine- Movie Theater Style

It may sound weird to eat popcorn as a meal, but this idea has been around for awhile.  According to Alton Brown on his episode of Good Eats about popcorn, native Americans in the southwest popped popcorn by heating up sand with popcorn kernels in it over a fire.  The anthropologist on the show thought that the ancient people made a gruel by adding water to the popped corn and mashing it up.  Popping the corn allowed the nutrients to be obtained from the hard dense kernels.

Now, fast forward a few thousand years.  One of the first ideas for commercial breakfast cereal in the United States was to ship boxes of pre-popped popcorn. However the Kelloggs brothers decided to go with corn flakes instead since they were not confident that pre-popped popcorn would sell very well.

Popcorn is a whole grain with lots of fiber, and is really cheap to make.  If you don't add salt and butter to it, it is a healthy snack and even a healthy meal in the form of homemade breakfast cereal.  If make your own cereal, you know exactly what artificial colors and chemicals are in it- none!

Penny Pincher Journal

Copyright © 2016 by Dr. Penny Pincher.  All Rights Reserved.  Privacy Policy

Starbucks vs a Free Water Fountain

Free Water vs $2 Coffee, Guess Which Wins?

Sometimes a picture really is worth a thousand words.  Let's start with the picture.  Can you see why I thought this scene was interesting?

What's Wrong with This Picture?

When I saw this, I thought it was shocking and I immediately reached for the cell phone in my pocket to take a picture.  What is wrong with this picture?  I added some notes on the version below to make the problem clear.

Why Are People Lined Up To Pay Instead of Getting the Free Drink?

I thought it was surprising that people were lined up waiting to pay for drinks at Starbucks when free water fountains were clearly available only a few feet away- and with no waiting.

It is not surprising to me that some folks would want to get a treat such as a $2 cup of coffee, $3 fancy coffee drink, or $3 juice drink.  I was surprised by how much demand there was for these expensive drinks when there was free water right there.

I watched this scene for a few minutes.  More people kept joining the line for the expensive drinks, but no one used the water fountain.  Why?

Why were so many people paying for expensive drinks when there was free water right there?

One reason is that coffee is "mildly habit forming". If you read my blog much, you know that I am a coffee connoisseur and have even written a book about making great coffee for almost nothing.  I understand that people need coffee in a way that they don't need water.  I used to buy coffee at a coffee shop every day, but now I make great coffee at home for about 60 cents instead of paying $2 at a coffee shop.

Not everyone was buying coffee, though.  They were also buying fruit juice drinks and... bottled water!

I think people are in the habit of buying a refreshment at Starbucks and don't even consider skipping it or getting free water at the water fountain.  Once a habit gets established, it is hard to break.  Routine expenses are not really noticed anymore.  I call this "The Starbucks Effect".

I still find instances of The Starbucks Effect as I look at my own spending and try to cut back on unnecessary expenses.

Does it really hurt anything to buy a $2 drink at Starbucks?  Not if that is the most important thing you want to do with your money, but I know I have more important things I would rather do with my money.  A few dollars here and there quickly adds up to real money- money you could use to get out of debt and be able to afford things that are much more important to your than drinks at Starbucks.

The lesson I take from this strange scene at Starbucks is to look for that "free water fountain" in different areas of spending to find opportunities to save money.

• Are you paying for cable TV or satellite when you could get free TV over the air or Netflix for much less?
• Are you buying fast food for lunch every day when you could take lunch for a fraction of the cost?
• Are you paying a lot to drive a new car when an older car would be just as useful and much less expensive?

And finally, are you buying expensive drinks when free water would be cheaper and healthier?

If you want many, many more ways to save money, check out my free ebook with 101 tips to save money!

Penny Pincher Journal

Copyright © 2015 by Dr. Penny Pincher.  All Rights Reserved.  Privacy Policy

How I Avoid Late Fees

Get Out of Late Fees!

No More Late Fees!

So you have been hit by a late fee- what can you do to avoid paying it?  Surprisingly, you may be able to get out of a late fee with one phone call and about 5 minutes of work.

Back when I had satellite TV, my credit card I was using for autopay expired and I got hit with a $25 late fee.  I was able to avoid this late fee by calling in and simply asking for it to be removed.

Yes, it really can be as simple as just calling and asking for your late fee to be removed.  I was also able to call my credit card company and have a late fee removed just by asking.  The representative said that they will waive the first late fee you get if you call in and ask.  

You may feel that if your payment is received late that you did something wrong and deserve to pay a penalty.  I don't see it that way.  The cost of a delay of a few days in receiving a payment is almost too small to measure.  Late fees are pure profit for the companies that charge them, and I am happy to spend a bit of effort to avoid paying extra. 

Another strategy I have used to get out of late fees is to simply not pay the late fee.  My bank sends my bill for my safe deposit box late every year, and it has a $10 late fee added by the time I receive it.  I send in a payment only for the safe deposit box and leave off the late fee.  I sometimes add a short note that I received the bill after the deadline.  This has worked every time so far.

Sometimes you can ignore late fees and they will go away, but this strategy does not always work...

My Late Fee Battle With the Utility Company

Before I signed up for autopay a few years ago, the utility company once received my electric bill payment one day late and I was charged a $10 late fee on my next bill.  I though this was ridiculous.  The utility company had to wait one day for my $100 payment, so the $10 late fee on $100 for one day late is equivalent to paying 3650% annual interest rate to the utility company.

I thought this late fee was crazy and I simply did not pay it.  Every month, I payed for all of the electricity I used, but did not pay the $10 late fee.  About 9 months later, I got a call from the manager at the utility company.  I explained that I was not paying the late fee and that is why I had an unpaid balance of $10 every month.  I asked if the late fee could be removed  The manager explained that the entire balance must be paid.  

I continued paying only for the electricity and not the $10 late fee for a few more months, and then one day I found a pink letter taped to my front door.  It was a disconnect notice.  If I didn't pay my bill in full within 48 hours, my electricity would be disconnected and I would have to pay $150 to get it connected again after I payed my bill.

I gave up and decided to pay my late fee.  What else could I do?  In retrospect, I should have called the utility company right away to request having the late fee removed.  If talking on the phone didn't work, writing a letter would be my next step.  I would have had a better chance to have the late fee removed from my bill if I had contacted the billing party right away.

Dealing with a utility company is sort of a unique situation, because I had no options to cancel service or switch to a different utility company.  I had no leverage at all, so the utility company had no motivation to consider waiving the late fee.  Most companies you deal with on late fees will be more likely to be persuaded to remove the late fee if you request it.

How To Avoid Late Fees

Back in the bad old days, I paid my share of late fees.  I would sometimes lose track of my bills and end up paying a few days late.  Paying a bill late can result in a late fee of $40 or more, depending on the bill.  In the days before electronic bill payment options were available, I remember once paying nearly $20 to overnight a check to avoid a $35 late fee.

Of course, you can avoid late fees simply by paying bills on time.  I have put many of my bills on automatic payment, and I use electronic bill paying to pay my other bills, often the same day I receive my bill in the mail.  

When an occasional late fee mishap occurs, I have been able to avoid paying the late fee using the tactics I have described in this article. 

Here is a summary of tips on how to avoid paying late fees:

• Use autopay to guarantee on-time payment and no late fees
• Use electronic bill payer service from your bank to pay your non-autopay bills as they come in
• If you do get a late fee, object right away and ask that the late fee be removed from your bill.  You can sometimes have a late fee removed just by asking.  It is worth a try!
• If requesting a late fee be removed by phone doesn't work, try writing a letter.  The company may decide it is better to remove the late fee than deal with complaints and risk you moving on to a competitor.

Penny Pincher Journal

Copyright © 2015 by Dr. Penny Pincher.  All Rights Reserved.  Privacy Policy

Would You Wear Shoes With Duct Tape?

Why I Wear Shoes with Duct Tape

The other day my wife wanted me to wait in the car while she went in the store.  "Is it the shoes, or just me in general?" I asked.  After some consideration, she selected "the shoes" as the reason she wanted me to wait in the car...

Would You Wear These Shoes With Duct Tape?

When my shoes were dirty and foul smelling this spring, I gave them a bath and kept right on wearing them.

When my shoes got holes in them and my socks started getting dirty through the holes, I took action.  With a few cents worth of duct tape and a moment of my time, I may be able to get another year of use out of my tennis shoes.  Shoes with duct tape may not be the coolest fashion statement, but they work.

You may wonder why I patch up my old shoes with duct tape instead of buying a new pair.  The answer is simple: money.  I think spending money on a new pair of shoes when I have bills to pay is a terrible idea.  I would rather hang on to a little money for myself instead of paying $50 for a new pair of shoes.  There are so many things I have to spend money on, and new shoes is not one of them- as long as I have duct tape!

Wearing shoes with duct tape is not for everyone.  Most people would prefer to cut back on things that are less visible to others such as food or entertainment expenses.  Unlike most people I am ready, willing, and able to cut back on all of these expenses.

How to Extend the Life of Your Shoes with Duct Tape

Extend the Life of Your Shoes with Duct Tape

Here are some tips from my experience using duct tape to stretch the life of tennis shoes:

The key to using duct tape successfully on shoes is NOT to wrap the tape around the bottom of the sole of the shoe.  This makes the bottom of the shoes slippery.  I learned this the hard way on a previous shoe repair project when I nearly slipped and fell down while mowing.

Duct tape does not stick very well to the mesh material of tennis shoes, so I try to use the hard material along the edge of the sole as a place to get some good adhesion.  I also try to use fairly long pieces of duct tape and wrap it around so that it sticks to itself.

Another tip to make your shoes last longer with duct tape- make sure the shoes are really dry when applying the duct tape.  Duct tape will not stick very well if the shoes are damp or dirty.  It works best to apply the duct tape at warmer temperature, this seems to make the adhesive work better.

You might not be able to bring yourself to wear worn out shoes repaired with duct tape.  That's OK.  There are tons of other ways to save money instead.

Penny Pincher Journal

Copyright © 2015 by Dr. Penny Pincher.  All Rights Reserved.  Privacy Policy

Why Pay Too Much For Bad Coffee?

"Most people drink bad coffee, and pay too much for it.  I'm not sure which is worse..."  Dr. Penny Pincher

Me and My Great Coffee (Only 60 Cents!)
Image Source: Dr. Penny Pincher

You have probably heard of the "latte factor" that is described  by many personal finance experts.  The concept is that you can get ahead financially by saving or investing your money instead of spending it on buying a latte every day.  This is certainly true, but I don't think that many people are actually drinking lattes or other fancy coffee drinks that cost $3 or $4 dollars every day.

I do think that a lot of people buy $2 coffee at coffee shops or even pay $1.79 for bad coffee at convenience stores or fast food drive-thru windows.  Some people buy more than one cup of coffee every day.  I used to be one of those people...

I realized how much I was spending on coffee and decided to make coffee at home instead.  Over time, I figured out how to select whole bean coffee and grind it at home.  I learned a lot of tricks to make really good coffee at home for only 60 cents a day- I even wrote a book about it.



I also cut back from drinking several cups of coffee every day to drinking only one really good cup of coffee every day.  It can be a bit unpleasant to cut back on coffee since it is mildly habit-forming.  Here's how I was able to cut back on coffee and avoid caffeine headaches.

So even though I wasn't drinking $4 lattes, I was able to save a lot of money on coffee.  For the purposes of approximation, let's say I was spending $4 per day to buy 2 cups of coffee at a coffee shop.  Now I spend 60 cents per day on coffee.  This savings of $3.40 per day adds up to over $1,200 per year!

You might say that I have 60 cents more per day that I could cut on coffee, but I am not interested in cutting back on my one good cup of coffee that I make every day.  I think a great cup of coffee is worth far more than 60 cents, so I will make room for this in my budget and continue to enjoy my coffee every day.

If you have become stuck in a rut of paying way too much for bad coffee, consider learning to make great coffee yourself at home.  Not only will you save money, but you can get much better quality coffee as well.

Penny Pincher Journal

Copyright © 2015 by Dr. Penny Pincher.  All Rights Reserved.  Privacy Policy