Penny Pincher Journal

Monday, December 18, 2017

What Am I Selling Here?

The other day, I read a book about content marketing. The point of content marketing is to produce articles or whitepapers that lead readers to buy something that you are selling. For example, a blog may provide some free tips on how to be a blogger in order to promote the purchase of an ebook or training program about making a lot of money at blogging.

What Am I Selling Here?

The author of the book on content marketing stated several times that if you are blogging and don't know what you are selling on your blog, then you're wasting your time.

This made me think: what is it I am selling on this blog? Of course, I am promoting my e-book with 101 tips to save money. I have sold 10's of thousands of copies. The problem (for me) is that it is selling for the price of free! Does it count if what you are selling is free?

Another thing I am selling on my blog is advertising. Last night I loaded the Penny Pincher Journal homepage on my cell phone and I noticed there were 2 banner ads: one for Honda featuring their new minivan and one for CBS featuring new episodes of Big Bang Theory. It's cool that international businesses like Honda and CBS are choosing to advertise on my blog. The good news (for you) is that this advertising doesn't cost readers anything.

Now that I think about it, something I am selling on this blog is: myself. By having a collection of published articles, I was able to land a nice freelance writing gig at Wise Bread. This has brought in some money and has lead to syndicated articles at time.com, Business Insider, Yahoo Finance, and a number of other high profile places. I have also gotten to write some guest posts at other blogs due to my presence on this blog.

I did try making a few products that cost money:

Two things I learned from marketing both free products and products that cost money:

You have to sell free products. Just because it's free doesn't mean people will want it. You have to convince them that it is worth their time and hassle even if it is free.
Free products are a lot easier to sell than products that cost money. Even if you are charging just a little bit of money, it is a quantum leap for most people to decide to spend money on buying something vs. a free download or viewing a free webpage.

But back to the original question: what am I really selling? Sure, I would like it if people bought lots of copies of my ebook and audiobooks, but I'm not really pushing them. I think what I am really selling here is free resources to help people save money. I'll put up a few ads, and if there are enough people looking at my free resources, I'll make some money from the advertising.

I like this plan because it doesn't take money from those people who are here trying to find ways to save money! The money comes from advertisers who make money from the sales leads that the ads produce. Everyone wins. The trick is to bring in enough readers to make the advertising pay.

And I'll keep writing articles as a freelancer to sell to publishers. This gets my name out there, spreads my message, and brings in some money. This allows people who can benefit from information on saving money to get it for free. The publishers pay me for my articles and get paid from advertising revenue on their site. Advertisers make money from sales leads. Again, everyone wins.

So here's what I'm selling on this blog: I am giving away tips and resources on saving money for free in order to generate some revenue from advertising and to promote my ability to sell articles to other publishers.

For me, producing and trying to sell my ebook and audiobooks that cost money has been more of a waste of time than simply giving my stuff away for free. I plan to focus on promoting my free stuff, producing more really great free stuff, and not worry about selling anything.

Penny Pincher Journal

Saturday, December 16, 2017

Advantages of Driving an Older Car

Why I Like Driving an Older Car

My $450 Pickup Truck

This picture of my $450 pickup truck still makes me smile. I saw a classified ad in the paper (this was a few years ago) for a pickup truck for sale for $500. I called the number and arranged to go and check it out. The truck was owned by a young guy with a big bushy beard who literally lived on the edge of a dump. He had built a homemade topper on the back of the truck, which seemed to be in OK mechanical condition for a 16 year old vehicle.

As I was checking the truck out, he mentioned he needed some money for the weekend coming up. I offered him a check for $450 and he signed over the title. I was the proud owner of an older vehicle!

The only thing this truck needed was a new gas cap. I drove it for a year with no problems at all and then sold it.

The car I drive now is 13 years old. It is in better shape than the old Dodge Ram pickup, but it has some quirks. One window does not work, and I taped it closed with duct tape as a permanent repair.

Driving an older vehicle does have some disadvantages. Reliability may be reduced. Occasional repairs may be needed (or deferred). But overall, driving an older vehicle has some significant advantages:

Low Cost

The most obvious advantage of driving an older car is cost. Older cars are less expensive to buy, and it is much more feasible to buy an older car with cash instead of financing it and making payments every month. I have made car payments that are more than $450 per month, but if you are willing to drive an older car, you can buy it outright for the cost of only one car payment.

No Depreciation

Another thing I like about driving an older car is you don't have to worry about depreciation. Once a car has a lot of miles on it, the amount of value that is reduced by driving more miles is almost nothing. But the cost of putting miles on a new car is very expensive in terms of depreciation and reduction of resale value. When you drive an older car, you celebrate putting more miles on it instead of dreading it like you do with a newer car.

Cheap Insurance and Registration

Older cars are much less expensive to insure and registration fees for older cars are almost nothing.

No Worries About Minor Damage

Plus, with an older cars many repairs are optional. I was just telling my kids a story about the time when I was in college and someone bumped into my car when it was parked on the street, scraping it. The person left a note on my windshield offering to file a report with his insurance company to get it repaired. I called him and told him not to worry about it. If I had a newer car, I would have worried about it. Another example of this is the broken window that I repaired with duct tape. I wouldn't be able to save money and hassle by doing a quick homemade repair like this if I had a newer car.

Expensive Options for Almost Free

One of my favorite things about my current old car is that it is loaded with features such as heated leather seats, a sunroof, a towing package, and a 6-disc CD player and awesome stereo. When you are buying an old car, it doesn't cost much more to get one that is fully loaded with the most expensive options.

You can always find a nicer, more expensive car with better features. But it is hard to beat an older car that runs and that is paid off!

Penny Pincher Journal

Saturday, December 9, 2017

The $4.11 Turkey (15 lbs)

The 411 on Bargain Turkey

Bargain Turkey after Thanksgiving!

The Saturday after Thanksgiving I was at the grocery store with Mrs. Penny Pincher to pick up a few things. As I walked the aisles, I wondered if there would be an overstock of turkeys that could be had at bargain prices. I figured that the store would not want to risk running out of turkeys before Thanksgiving and would err on the side of having too many.

I learned I was right about my suspicions of a turkey overstock when I came across a 15 pound turkey on sale for $4.11. It was in a refrigerator case, so I wouldn't even need to mess around with thawing it out. I could just pop it in the oven and gets 15 pounds of really easy and really cheap food. Apparently someone had ordered this one (it had a name written on a tag), but had not picked it up. There were 5 or 6 other defrosted turkeys of similar size and price.

Next year, I'll plan to go bargain hunting for defrosted turkeys on the day after Thanksgiving. We ended up eating the turkey for several days, including lots of slices of turkey meat and even made a turkey casserole.

I wonder if I could pick up a cheap ham after Christmas?

Project time: Less than one hour.
Project cost: About $4.11.
Savings: Probably about $15 vs. buying a turkey at full price. Having cheap food around instead of buying other things for lunch and dinner for a few days probably saved even more.

Penny Pincher Journal

Sunday, December 3, 2017

I Repaired My Car Window with Duct Tape (and It's OK)

Broken car window held closed with duct tape

A funny thing happened last summer. The rear driver side window in my car wouldn't roll up. It was having some intermittent problems with the electric motor going up and down and would sometimes get stuck for a few minutes until it would move again. Finally it stopped moving altogether. Pushing the window up into the closed position didn't work. The window would just slide about half way open and would not stay closed.

It would have been more convenient if the window would have stopped working in the closed position instead of the open position. If the window had stuck in the closed position, I could have ignored it. But with the window open, rain would come in and cause further damage. Plus wind noise at highway speed is pretty loud with the window half way down all the time. Clearly I would need to do something about the window not being able to close.

I thought about taking my car in to a shop to have the window repaired, but I have heard horror stories about bills of hundreds of dollars for repairing electric car windows. Coming up with that kind of money was not going to work. But I had duct tape. Not every problem can be solved with duct tape - or at least that is what my wife tells me. But I decided this was just the kind of problem that called for duct tape.

I didn't want my car to look too junky with duct tape all over since I drive it to work. So I decided to tape the window closed from the inside with duct tape, and trim the tape neatly to make it less obvious that the window is taped closed.

Minimizing the amount of duct tape is a security enhancement too, since the window could be pried open from outside, and using a lot of duct tape would call attention to that fact. From outside the car, the small amount of duct tape is barely visible.

Duct tape was a better solution than glue for keeping the window closed since the duct tape can be removed easily. If I find either the money to have the window repaired, or the time to figure out how to repair it myself with salvaged parts, I will be able to remove the duct tape fairly easily.

I added a finishing touch to the project by placing some painter's tape over the window switch in the back seat. This serves as a reminder not to try to move the window with the switch since it is taped closed.

Painter's tape over window switch

The duct tape has been holding for over 6 months now without any problems. As you can see in the first photo, I used some silver duct tape and some extra-strong "gorilla" black duct tape to keep the window closed.

Project time: Less than one hour.
Project cost: About $1.
Savings: Probably a few hundred dollars by using duct tape instead of repairing the electric window.

Penny Pincher Journal

Sunday, November 26, 2017

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Dr. Penny Pincher

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It's a vicious cycle: you spend more money to buy more stuff, only to find that you are still not satisfied. All of that spending in pursuit of happiness is keeping you in debt and limiting your lifestyle options. I have found that there will always be at least one more thing you want to buy in order to be happy... The way to break this cycle and find happiness is to spend less money, not more!

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Penny Pincher Journal

How to Return an Item Without a Receipt, and Without Original Packaging

Return Without Receipt, and Without the Box!

Deboot, verb: To return unneeded boots and get much-needed cash. In extreme cases, this can be done even after the box is recycled, and without a receipt.

How to do a return without a receipt, and without the box

The other day, my wife showed me some boots she had picked up at Kohl's sometime within the past few weeks. She mentioned that they pinched her feet and she wanted to return them.

On one hand, this was great news. She got the fun of shopping and getting new boots, and it wasn't going to cost anything. We could get the money back, plus we would regain valuable closet space.

But the bad news is that I remembered recycling the box. I usually save boxes for a few weeks after a purchase in case we need to return an item. But I knew this one was long gone.

"Do you have the receipt?" I asked. Mrs. Penny Pincher said it was probably in her purse. After a thorough search of her purse, her car, and the recycling bin, I concluded that the receipt was also gone.

So we had some unwanted boots with no receipt and no box. But we knew what store they were from, and she knew she used one of the credit cards in her purse to buy them. I was willing to give returning them a try even though I knew it would be a challenge.

I found a Kohl's bag to carry the boots into the store. It wasn't as good as having the box, but at least it conveyed that the boots were bought from that store. When I reached the front of the return line, I explained that I needed to do a return without a receipt. They said they could look up the purchase if I had the credit card.

I started going through my wife's collection of credit cards from her purse. We checked her Kohl's card, and it wasn't that one. We tried a U. S. Bank card, and it wasn't that one. We tried looking up her Kohl's reward card number, but this also failed. We tried another U. S. Bank card and it was a winner!

The entire process of doing a return without a receipt and without the original packaging took only a few minutes. It was well worth it to get over $33 back and avoid wasting a pair of boots that were not needed.

Here are the highlights of how to do a return with no receipt and without original packaging:

Make sure the item you are returning is clean and is in new condition
Take the item back to the store and ask to return it
Request to search for the purchase on a credit card transaction
Be friendly to the store employees in the return line, it might take some patience to find the purchase on a credit card
Bring all of the credit cards with you that could have been used to make the purchase
Keep track of which cards you have checked so you don't end up checking the same card twice

What if you paid cash instead of using a credit card? Doing a return without a receipt is easier if you used a credit card since there is a record of the transaction that the store can look up. You might still be able to return the item even if there is no record of the purchase, but you might get store credit instead of a refund. Also, you might get the lowest sale price for the item instead of the price you paid.

Penny Pincher Journal

Saturday, July 22, 2017

DIY Rear View Mirror Replacement

Today as my son was pulling out of the driveway, his rear view mirror fell off!

My Rear View Mirror Fell Off! How Can I Fix It?

This is the same 13 year old Toyota Matrix that just underwent a door check strap replacement (details on how I saved $160 by doing this repair myself are in my post from last week).

So now, I had an opportunity to learn how to replace a rear view mirror that has fallen off.

The key to success is to remove the "button" from the rear view mirror assembly. The "button" is a flat metal part that is attached with adhesive to the windshield.

The general procedure to re-attach a rear view mirror is:

Remove the "button" from the mirror assembly.
Using a razor blade, carefully remove the old adhesive from the windshield and the "button"
Clean the windshield where the "button" will be attached
Apply the activator to both the windshield and "button" and wait 5 minutes
Apply a drop of adhesive to the "button" and press it in place against the windshield for 1 minute
Wait at least 15 minutes for the adhesive to cure, then reattach the rear view mirror

Here are the tools and materials you'll need:

Screw driver to remove rear view mirror from "button". Mine had a screw that took a star driver to remove.
Razor blade to remove old adhesive from "button" and windshield
Glass cleaner and paper towel or rag to clean windshield
Gloves to wear when applying the adhesive
And of course you'll need rear view mirror adhesive, I used a product from 3M that cost under $10, see picture below.

Rear View Mirror Adhesive

You can get rear view mirror adhesive at a car parts store or order it from Amazon.

3M 08749 High Bond Rearview Mirror Adhesive - 0.02 fl. oz.

The set includes a tube of activator and a tube of adhesive that are designed to attach the rear view mirror to the windshield.

Here is what the rear view mirror "button" looks like:

Rear View Mirror "Button"

The button is a flat piece of metal that is glued on to the windshield. The rear view mirror assembly has an opening that fits the shape of the button. It very difficult to re-attach the rear view mirror without removing the button. You'll want to remove the button, re-attach that to the windshield, and then hang the rear view mirror assembly back in place.

Rear View Mirror Button Back In Place

The photo above shows the rear view mirror button back in place after scraping the old adhesive off, cleaning the windshield, applying activator, and applying adhesive and pressing the button back in place.

Next, wait at least 15 minutes for the adhesive to cure.

Finally, hang the rear view mirror assembly in place on the button and attach it with a set screw to hold it in place.

Hanging the Rear View Mirror on the Button

With the rear view mirror attached again, the car was ready to drive. This repair took about 30 minutes and was pretty easy to do. I don't know how much a body shop would charge for this, but I would guess around $50.

Stay tuned to see what breaks next on the old Toyota Matrix...

Penny Pincher Journal

Penny Pincher Journal

Monday, December 18, 2017

What Am I Selling Here?

Saturday, December 16, 2017

Advantages of Driving an Older Car

Why I Like Driving an Older Car

Low Cost

No Depreciation

Cheap Insurance and Registration

No Worries About Minor Damage

Expensive Options for Almost Free

Saturday, December 9, 2017

The $4.11 Turkey (15 lbs)

The 411 on Bargain Turkey

Sunday, December 3, 2017

I Repaired My Car Window with Duct Tape (and It's OK)

I Repaired My Car Window with Duct Tape (and It's OK)

Sunday, November 26, 2017

Welcome to Penny Pincher Journal!

Welcome to Penny Pincher Journal!

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How to Return an Item Without a Receipt, and Without Original Packaging

Return Without Receipt, and Without the Box!

Saturday, July 22, 2017

DIY Rear View Mirror Replacement

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