24 Ways to Make and Save Money With Your Computer
If you’re reading this, chances are good that you have regular access to a computer and an Internet connection. You probably rely on your computer to accomplish a lot of things (and waste some time), but do you realize that computers and the Internet are some of the most powerful tools you can have in [...]Paris Hilton Works Harder Than You Do
I hate Paris Hilton. I hate her a lot more than I did a few hours ago. I can thank my sister for that. My sister, to put it bluntly, is a royal pain in the butt. This is a feeling that many siblings share, but I can guarantee that my sister is much more [...]The lethal Ninja loan - I guess I missed the name
Arizona payday loans stay legal
Cost vs. Benefit Analysis: Extra Chest Freezer In The Garage?
Now that we have a home that we plan to stay in for a while, we are considering buying a chest freezer to place in the garage. Growing up, a lot of my friends with larger families had either a chest freezer or a second refrigerator in the house, and I’d rather not have another appliance inside the house. Also, I love the convenience of frozen foods and our current freezer is always packed. Is the worth the investment? Here is a quick cost/benefit analysis:
Costs
There is the obvious upfront cost of the freezer, monthly electricity costs to run it, hopefully minimal maintenance costs, and I suppose we’ll lose the space in the garage. Here is the rough breakdown for various sizes of chest freezers (Energy Star rated, name brand):
7 ft3: $210 + $25/year in electricity. Assuming 10-year life, that’s $3.83/month. For a 20-year life, that’s $2.96/month.
15 ft3: $410 + ~$38/year in electricity. 10-year life: $6.58/month. 20-year life: $4.88/month.
25 ft3: $710 + ~$52/year in electricity. 10-year life: $10.25/month. 20-year life: $7.29/month.
Potential Benefits
Less Eating Out
To be honest, I really just want to stock up on a large variety of frozen foods so that there is less of the daily question… “What am I going to cook for dinner?”. Too often, the answer ends up as “let’s get take-out”. I want staples like frozen chicken breasts and veggies, as well as having a few Trader Joe’s pizzas and burritos tucked away.
Ability To Stock Up During Sales
If there is a sale on something like frozen vegetables, now I can buy in bulk instead of waiting around for the next sales cycle. You can also freeze everything from bread to milk.
Storing Fresh Fruit
You can do some fun (and cheap) U-Pick at local farms during the summer and not have to eat it all at once. Blueberries, strawberries, peaches, yum. Home gardeners can do the same.
Less Shopping = Less Driving = Less Gas
I try to grocery shop in conjunction with commuting or other errands, but living in suburbia has still definitely increased my fuel usage.
Buying Half A Cow
Although I’ve never done so, it might be cool to buy a whole cow. I guess I’d need one of the bigger freezers for such an undertaking.
Cooking In Bulk
I have tried a few times to cook an entire week’s food ahead of time, but I’d often run out of freezer space. Also, this way one can make their own soups or stocks in large batches. My mom always used to freeze her homemade chicken stock into “pucks” using old margarine tubs.
In addition, there are also the make-your-own-takeout places like Dream Dinners and Super Suppers, which I have never tried before because I never had that kind of freezer space.
I would imagine that I should be able to make up the $5-$10 a month in costs, especially if I can cut down on the dining out. Everyone I know with a chest freezer likes it. Anyone out there disagree?
Why You Should Find A Financial Mentor
By Ann Hartter I’m very careful with my money, but everything about it is not clear as crystal. Every year around January, questions I have to ask about taxes, income, claims and reporting. Later, around September, I do my business finances and re-configure my rates (I work on the school’s calendar year). I wake up [...]Mortgage Rip-Offs and Money Savers
By Amy Fontinelle If you’re shopping for a house, one of the biggest favors you can do yourself is getting educated about the complicated process of applying for a mortgage. A mortgage is probably the most expensive obligation you’ll ever have, and if you don’t know what you’re doing, it’s easy to get taken advantage of. [...]Money Articles for Your Weekend Reading
Weekend reading is a round-up of personal finance and money related stories that caught the eye of our forum members this week: For Most People, College Is a Waste of Time One Third of New Owners Owe More Than House Is Worth Store closings - make sure you use your gift cards up for these [...]Statute of limitations on student loans in Mississippi
25% Cashback on Anything* Bought at eBay
An extension of the new Live.com Search Engine cashback system mentioned previously, it has been discussed ad nauseam here, here, and here. At first glance, I thought it would be a short-lived misprint/typo kind of deal, so I didn’t bother. It did disappear, but now it is back, so I guess Live.com is consciously choosing to continue with this promotion (for now).
In short, the cashback system is currently offering 25% off any item purchased on eBay, provided it is bought using the “Buy It Now” feature and using PayPal for payment. There is a limit to $200 in cashback per purchase, with a maximum of 6 purchases. Fine print is here. A quick and dirty walkthrough:
1. First read up on the general idea of Live.com cashback. You’ll need to wait 60 days to withdraw the cashback. If interested, sign up for an account.
2. Click on this link, this link, or this link. Look for the following:
3. Click on the circled link, which will send you to eBay. Find an item that you want with the Buy It Now option and that accepts PayPal. Click on “Buy It Now”. You should see this icon on the next screen:
4. Check out and pay with PayPal. You should get an e-mail or message from eBay with confirmation afterwards.
Clever people have been buying highly liquid items like gold, silver, and popular gift cards at 25% off. However, supply and demand has driven many prices up, making it harder to find profitable opportunities. Isn’t economics neat?
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