Readers: Are Coupons Really Worth the Effort?

MoneyToSpare.net is now offering an 30-page e-booklet detailing a number of ways to save money on groceries. (See the sidebar for more info.)

One method that's not included is the use of coupons, for two reasons.

First, I've noticed that most coupons seem to be for highly marketed national brands that sell at premium prices compared to similar products. Getting a few cents off on something that's overpriced to begin with is not my idea of smart shopping.

Secondly, coupons seem to involve more time and effort than they're worth. First, you have to sift through the Sunday paper's avalanche of advertising; clip, if you can find them, coupons for items you actually want; then sort them somehow so when you go shopping, you can find the right coupon for a particular product. (Yes, I know that you can buy little sorting folders, I just wonder how much time they actually save.) Then you have to remember to use the coupons before they expire. (Do the little folders sort by date or alphabetically?)

It just seems to me that you'd end up putting in five minutes worth of work to save $.50 (on a product that's overpriced to begin with) which works out to paying yourself at the rate of $6 per hour, not exactly an exciting prospect.

Still, I may be wrong. (It happens!) So I'm asking those of you who use coupons to let me and the readers of this blog know what we're missing, by either sending me an email at csykes@syryn.com or leaving a comment.

Show me the error of my ways! Convince me and I'll collect the best coupon expert's tips and include it in an update of "8 Ways To Save Up To 40% On Your Groceries."

P.S. Yes, I do know about cashier coupons and other special coupons that offer "2 for 1" deals or "$1-off" deals. But these aren't that common. So let me know how you make out with "regular" coupons...and for a valid comparison, please calculate and include the time you spend clipping and sorting.

Pet Food: Does the Highest Price Mean the Highest Quality?

There's one way in which pet food is exactly like human food.....it's highly marketed.

But buy pet food based on ingredients, not marketing.

You’ve seen the commercials…your best friends’ health and happiness depends on whether their food is full of quality cuts of meat! (I always imagine a bag stuffed with pork chops and sirloin steak whenever I hear this pitch.) Plus delicious vegetables! (A few pounds worth of peas, carrots and arugula scattered amongst the quality meat, yes?)

Forget all that. Commercials for pet food, just like commercials for human food, are designed to make things seem much better than they often actually are. So when you're buying pet food, don't think about the commercial with the bouncing, bright-eyed dog or the gorgeous kitty. Don't look at all the yummy lamb chops and salad fixings plastered all over the packaging.

Examine the ingredients list on the package. You need to buy pet food based on what's actually in the food.

Ingredients are listed in descending order based on quantity. So, after a quick check of some labels, you may find that dog or cat foods that cost much less have nearly the same ingredients, in the same proportions, as the high priced stuff. Chicken by-products, bone meal, corn meal, wheat meal, soy meal…you’ll find them in a variety of brands.

Compare ingredient list to ingredient list to find brands that are truly comparable. You may find that the most highly marketed brands have more grain and meat by-products (and less actual meat) than some of the cheaper brands….and that, in most cases, vegetables come far down on the list.

If your dog or cat has allergies for certain kinds of food--soy, gluten or wheat, for example-- check for those ingredients, too. And look for pet foods that are “complete and balanced” as defined by the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO.) These foods have been tested to make sure they provide all the nutrients your pet needs. (You can check for pet food recalls at the AAFCO site as well.)

And, please, for the sake of your pocketbook, stay away from tiny packs of food marketed for tiny dogs. Many of them have exactly the same ingredients, but a much higher price tag, than larger cans or packages.

For example, you’ll find almost no difference--other than the obvious difference in packaging-- in the two sizes of food shown at the top of this article, both from the same pet food company.

The small envelope of food is almost the same recipe as the much larger can (I put the can up in the envelope display so I could get a shot of both of them together.) But the food in the can costs 6 cents per ounce, while the food in the envelope costs 23 cents per ounce.

“But Poopsy is such a little biddy doggy,” you wail. “She’ll take three days to eat all the food in that can, and it will stink up the fridge and get all dried out and icky!”

Uh-huh. Scoop the food out of the big can and put it in an airtight container, then refrigerate it. The food will stay moist and fresh. No odor in the fridge. And you just might be able to afford Poopsy's weekly manicure if you pay one-quarter the price for her food.

Finally, no matter what dog or cat food you buy, don’t overfeed your pet. It makes no sense to waste your hard-earned dollars to pack unnecessary and unhealthy pounds on your cat or dog. A reasonably lean (not bony!) pet that’s got bright eyes, a shiny coat and plenty of energy is the best proof of a good diet. As for food scraps from your table? Not usually a good idea. Maybe a tiny piece of meat, now and then, but be careful....some human foods, such as chocolate and raisins can actually make your animals very sick.

When it comes to feeding your pet, go with common sense, not high-powered persuasion from marketing experts....and when in doubt, ask your vet.

One Van: $9,000, Bought Used... 178,000 miles later.

Well, we made it.

Quartermain, my 1994 GMC Safari van, hit the 250,000 mile mark two days ago. (He's named after the hero of "King Solomon's Mines.")

I bought Quartermain used for $9,000, with 72,000 miles already on his odometer.

He was in good shape--I had my mechanic check him out before I bought him, since I was buying him "as is"--and he's been a solid vehicle. We've had our moments...for example, if I solemnly promise to wash and vaccum him and don't do it, he usually retaliates by flatting a tire on me, though I must say, he's always been gentleman enough to do it in my driveway or a parking lot, instead of while we're running down the road at 60 mph--but despite a few such idiosyncrasies, he's been pretty good at getting me from here to there and back again.

I, for my part, have changed his oil every 3,300 miles (it's easier to remember when an oil change is due when you do it at 10,000 miles, 13,300 miles, 16,600 miles, 20,000 miles, 23,300 miles and so forth.) I've checked his oil, transmission and anti-freeze levels on a reasonably regular basis. I changed his air filter myself once and found that I didn't like hanging upside down trying to unscrew his cowling (yep, he's that kind of van) so I had someone do it the next four or five times. We've also gone through two extra serpentine belts, changed before they snapped. (Much better idea to change before than after, believe me.)

I've had his radiator recored twice. I've just put on his third set of shocks, I've gone through perhaps four full sets of tires, replaced his starter and his compressor, and had his spark plugs and spark plug wires changed out twice. One new battery....or was it two?...I can't remember .

He currently needs some minor work on what my mechanic calls a vacuum problem with his heating and air conditioning system, the passenger power window doesn't work, (though the driver window will go up and down, though admittedly with a certain reluctance, and that's all I need) and he needs a new seat cover. Other than this, he chugs along pretty well, even with 4,000 pounds of trailer and ponies in tow. (He's rated for 6,000 lbs.) He even looks fairly good, probably because of those frequent washings.


Neither his engine nor his transmission have ever needed anything but routine maintenance. He shows no signs of rusting out. (I always wash out under the wheel wells.) His two passenger bench seats are in my closet, providing room behind the front seats to haul everything from landscape timbers to a Miniature Horse. (Cloud, my young gelding, has no problem jumping in through the side door.)

I drive him gently (see my article on "hypermiling") which is probably why his shocks, brakes, engine and transmission have lasted so long.

I mention all this just as an example of how you can buy a good used car, and by keeping up with routine maintenance and driving it with a little care, have a vehicle that will last a long, long time without major repairs. Quartermain cost me $9,000 cash some 11 years ago and I estimate repairs over the years equal around $3,000, for a total cost per year, other than routine maintenance, of about $1,110 per year. If I'd bought a similar van new, it would have cost me at least 30% more, or nearly $12,000.

Quart's original owner traded him in at 72,000 miles. Assuming he did that at similar intervals, he would have bought 3.5 vehicles by now. If he bought equivalent vans, he would have bought three so far at prices of about

$12,000
$18,000
$22,000

or about $52,000 total, with another purchase due in a year and a half.

A car bought new can easily depreciate in value 20% the instant you drive it off the lot, plus an addtional 12% or more per year. So if Quart's original owner traded in his vans every four years and got an average of 40% of the original value, he would have received $20,800 in trade-in credit. So he would have paid $31,200 net for those three vans and driven 216,000 miles. To drive the equivalent of my 250,000 miles, he would have paid an estimated $35,880.

Of course, we haven't included financing. I didn't rack up any financing charges, since I paid cash. If we assume 6% interest charged on an average of $3,000 per year for 11 years, we need to add another $1,980 to the cost, for a grand total of $37,860.

Now you may say that there'd be fewer repair costs with new vehicles, epecially those under warranty. Fair enough; we'll deduct my $3,000 in repairs, for a comparison cost of $34,860.

So Quartermain has hauled me, my Mini, bales of hay, sheets of plywood, landscape timbers and the occasional 4,000 lbs. of trailer and ponies for a cost of less than 5 cents per mile, including repairs, but not including gas and routine maintenance.

Quart's first owner has (hypothetically) paid nearly 14 cents per mile, almost three times as much.

Quite a difference, no? But let's make it even more interesting. Let's say that I take the $34,860 extra I haven't paid for transportation during the last 11 years and, as of today, start earning 6% interest on it and do that for the next 25 years. How much would I have in 2033?

$155,648.


Is a "new car" smell worth over $150,000? Or is it smarter to buy a good used car, maintain it properly, drive it gently and keep it until it racks up 250,000 miles..... or more? (I'm not planning to replace Quartermain any time soon.)

You decide. It's your money.

(Note: If you just have to have that smell, allow $200 or so for getting your newly-purchased used car cleaned at a detailer until it sparkles...and ask them to finish by spraying the car with "new car" scent. I'm for anything that keeps you happy.)

P.S. For those of you who wonder why Quart is a "he"....well, I'm a she. All my cars are "guys."

My thanks to the Carnival of Money Stories for including this post in this week's carnival.

A Matter of Habit

The other day, I experienced an odd and quite uncomfortable twinge of pain low in my torso.

It happened again yesterday. I didn't like it.

Then, this morning,I sat down in my usual booth at Duke's Chevron, opened my paper, took a swig of my morning diet cola, and read a little item about a study done by the National Institute of Health, about the effect of cola on kidneys. Here's the original story, from the New York Times:

Oh, darn. I'd already read that the acid in sodas thins tooth enamel (I still have all my own teeth and I'm hoping to keep them for four or five more decades) and that sodas also leach calcium out of your bones. I'd like to keep my bones reasonable functional awhile too. Ditto my kidneys. Particularly my kidneys.

So I've decided. It's time to kick the cola habit. Which, since I usually end up buying two a day (my cola ritual requires that I drink only from ice-cold cans purchased individually) costs me $1.50 a day. I did a little math, got a $45.62 monthly average expenditure (yikes!) and plugged that into the calculator in this website's sidebar to find out how much I might save over 10 years if I invested that at 6%. The answer? $7,513.56.

Hmmmm. Knowing that is,I hope,going to make giving up this little habit a bit easier. (But, oh, that first hit of carbonation! That sweet first slosh of bright, fizzing acid!)

How do you get rid of a bad habit, whether personal or financial? Most of us have a bad money habit or two, whether it's an uncontrollable urge to run amok at the mall or an inability to resist every "buy one, get one free!" pitch we see.

First, recognize that you do have a problem. (It's almost taboo to use the word "problem" these days after business consultants sold corporations on the idea that people would work so much harder to solve problems if everyone used the so-much-more-motivating word "challenge." Oh, please. A problem is just something you solve. But first you have to recognize you have one.)

Then do a little analysis. Figure out the negatives aspects of the habit, and the postive rewards of changing it. In my case, the negatives are stained, thinning teeth, bones that look like Swiss cheese and aching, inflamed kidneys that are....okay, I'm getting much too graphic here, I know. Sorry.

Positives? I'll be able to really chew, and walk and....uh...
Okay. I'll just be healthier. Much healthier.

Next, figure out what triggers the habit. You may realize that you feel that irresistble urge to spend whenever you find a new "discount" store. Or after you have a really lousy day at work. Or see a commercial on a shopping network for the newest "cool" product, or when you go to a movie with friends and they want to stroll the mall afterwards. For me, the urge to knock back a cold one comes when I sit down to read that paper each morning and when I drive.Especially when I drive. I want an ice-cold aluminum can of cola in my cupholder.... just opened, sweating a little in the hot Texas sun, cold in my palm as I tip it and take that first, long, sharply-sweet swallow...

Sorry. I really am trying to control myself. Really.

The next step is finding some way to avoid reponding to those triggers. Just going without--the cold turkey technique-- can be tough. Very often, the best way to stop a bad habit is to replace it with a good one. So I need a new reading-the-paper or driving-in-the-Texas-heat drink ritual.

I've already found one of those popup drink containers made of the kind of plastic that doesn't leach chemicals into whatever liquid it holds.(Mine features a Texas Rangers logo, and was bought at a garage sale for ten cents.) I'm also stocking up on instant tea and apple juice, (I'll cut the apple juice with ice to shrink the calories.) Now I just have to GET IN THE HABIT of going to the kitchen each morning and grabbing that beverage container, because if I get over to Duke's and don't already have something to drink, the siren song of the canned cola will be nearly impossible to resist.

To make sure I remember, I'm placing my keys each night on the kitchen counter by the Texas Rangers drink container.(Or in the refrigerator, if I've got my drink chilling.) Silly, yes, but it works.

Come up with something similar to help you break your bad financial habits. If pulling out a credit card has become a reflex action, get in the habit of carrying a small notebook and writing down every purchase you make...just before you make it. Seeing that dollar amount in black and white may make you think twice...and keep from you reaching for that credit card.

If you get lunch at delis or drive-throughs each day, cook triple batches of your favorite foods on the weekend, freeze individual portions and heat and eat those at work, then spend the rest of your lunch hour taking a walk, listening to music, or reading that book you never have time to read at home.

And focus on postive results, not negative consequences. Instead of imagining yourself going broke if you spend unchecked, imagine feeling more secure as you add to an emergency fund each week, or grinning as you open up a credit card bill that shows a steadily shrinking balance.

In my case, I'm imagining bright, strong teeth, little white flecks of calcium thickening and strengthening my bones, and kidneys that can take that apple juice and....

Sorry.

Finally, remember that no one is perfect, and new habits take a bit of time and effort to establish.If you occasionally "fall off the wagon"--just get back on!

Let's see how I do. I'll add "days without cola"--DWC--at the bottom of each post for awhile, as a motivator. Meanwhile....

....I wonder how apple juice tastes if you drink it from a well-chilled aluminum can?

The Time/Money Formula

Sometimes it can be hard to know if a time-saving product or technique actually is worth the extra cost. Here's a simple formula that will help you decide.

First, you need two pieces of information: how much extra the item costs you, and how much time, expressed in minutes, you'll save by buying it.

Once you know this, divide 60 by the time saved and then mulitply by the extra cost. This will tell you how much money that product is really costing you, expressed in dollars per hour....and that can be an eye-opener.

For example, in my article "Time Saved, Money Wasted" I talk about pre-peeled onions that cost $1 extra each. (I'm not kidding!) It takes a whole thirty seconds (or .5 minutes) to peel an onion (and yes, I did peel an onion and I timed myself) so when you plug these two figures into the formula, you get:

60 divided by .5 minutes = 120 x $1 = $120 per hour.

That's right. You're paying for that extra half-minute at a rate of $120 an hour!

Let's try another example. If it takes three minutes to pack a lunch for your child, and one of those prepackaged, grab-and-go crackers, meat and cheese lunches costs $1.75 more than than your do-it-yourself ingredients, how much are you spending per hour to save those three minutes?

60 divided by three minutes = 20 x $1.75 = $35 per hour!

(Maybe filling a lunch box with a P&J sandwich, a banana and a refillable container of apple juice--which would cost about a $1--is looking like a better idea?)

Example #3:
It takes you 30 minutes (actual prep and cleanup time) and cost $3 worth of ingredients to bake a homemade pie. A frozen pie involves no prep time and the baking time is only five minutes longer, for a net time savings of 25 minutes. The frozen pie costs $6, or $3 more than homemade.

60 divided by 25 minutes = 2.4 x $3 = $7.20 per hour.

At that rate, I say "Buy the frozen pie!"

There are actually two versions of the Time/Money formula. The examples above let you know how much money it can cost you to save time. In a few days, I'll show you the flip side: how much time it can cost you to save money.

The Christmas Club. A Quaint Idea Worth Revisiting.

Ever heard of a Christmas Club? Unless you're over forty, the answer's probably "No."

Which is not surprising. Christmas Clubs are something most banks used to offer decades ago to increase deposits. That gave them actual money in their vaults they could then lend out for a profit. Meanwhile, the customer saved up a tidy little amount to use for the Christmas buying season. Most banks even gave you cute little deposit books with Santas or Christmas trees on them. (You don't know what a savings account deposit book is? Geez, you're such a kid!)

Ah, those were sweeter, simpler times. These days, banks and other financial institutions make their money by charging high interest rates on credit cards. Christmas is a wonderful time for them, since consumers use those cards to rack up charges they then spend the next 11 months (or more) paying off. With interest.

I hate to be a Grinch and ruin the credit card issuers' holiday season, but I have a suggestion: instead of going into hock to pay for the holidays, establish your own Christmas Club.

Once a week, put some money aside. I don't think you have to put it in a bank account, since most short-term savings accounts now offer such low interest rates it's hardly worth the trip to make a deposit. Put it an envelope, in a sock, in a tin box. If you're nervous about stashing cash at home, write checks to yourself.

Start today and you have twelve weeks to save before December 15. Save $30 per week, and you'll have $360 stashed before you even start shopping. $50 per week will add up to $600. Spend $600 cash instead of putting that amount on a card with 18.99% interest (that it takes you a year to pay off) and you'll save more than $113 in interest.

Put a few dollars aside, too, to use the week after Christmas, when cards, wrapping paper, ribbon and Christmas ornaments are deeply discounted. Then take the amount you spend, divide it by 50 and, the first week in January, start saving for next year!