Just ask!

Note: This blog post appeared on my guest blogging column on GirlPowerHour.com. 

Smart, savvy professionals know that you have to ask in order to get what you want. Whether it’s in the boardroom, at a networking event, or in your personal life, nobody is going to read your mind and just give you what you’re hoping for.

So why are we so shy when it comes to asking for things related to money? I’m talking about discounts, sales, bargaining, and returns. It’s time to speak up. You work hard for every last dollar you make, so why would you be so lax about letting it slip out of your hands?

Here are five places you can save some cash just by asking:

Pick up the phone and get to work!

Your TV and Internet service: Cable and Internet eat up a big portion of a lot of people’s monthly utility budgets. Luckily, unless you’re in a long-term contract, you can call your cable or Internet provider and ask for a discount. Tell them your bill is too expensive, and ask if they have any current promotions that can be applied to your account. I’ve saved upwards of $100/month doing this. Note that most deals are for three, six, or 12 months, and then a higher rate will kick in automatically. To avoid the shock of a large bill after the end of the promotional period, set yourself a reminder in your Outlook calendar to call them back a month prior and ask for another new deal.

Credit cards: If you’ve been a long-time customer of a credit card company or bank and always pay your bill on time, call and ask if they can offer you a better interest rate. A lower interest rate will save you actual dollars every month as you chip away at that pesky balance you’re carrying. If they can’t lower your interest rate, they may be able to give you a balance transfer offer to help you consolidate your debt at a lower rate.

Medical bills: Americans fork out a lot of cash paying for out-of-pocket medical expenses each year. This may be especially true if you have a high-deductible health plan, or are self-employed. Do a little research online about the true cost of procedures you’re having done, and then ask your doctor or dentist if the rate can be lowered at all. Additionally, many smaller medical offices may offer a discount for paying with cash instead of a credit card.

Fitness membership: If you’re currently paying a month-to-month gym membership or forking out the drop-in fee at your favorite yoga studio, ask the manager if they can offer you a lower monthly rate if you agree to a contract. Of course, only agree to a contract if you’ll actually use the membership enough to make it worth it.

Retail stores: Many big-box stores offer weekly coupons via email or in the Sunday newspaper. But, if you lose interest somewhere between clipping coupons and actually remembering to use them in the store, just ask instead. Now that more coupons are online, stores are getting more flexible about the rules for using coupons. Just ask, “Do you have any coupons available that would work on my purchase?” If they’re not able to type in the discount code at the register, just whip out your smart phone and see if you can find a digital coupon online.

So, it’s time to be bold, be brave, speak up, and ask for great deals. Remember – companies love loyal customers, and if they help you find a great deal, you’re much more likely to return in the future, and tell your friends how great the experience was! 

I refuse to go to the grocery store...

Horrible photo, delicious muffins

Yesterday, the Mr. and I were out shopping. Well, errand-running that turned into a full-blown shopping trip (new pillows, tablecloth, napkins, etc at Macy's with one of their ridiculous holiday weekend coupons). I have been wanting a mini muffin pan for a while (my life is so exciting) and I finally found one at Cost Plus for $8.99. I love Cost Plus for many many reasons, but that's a whole 'nother post entirely.

Fast forward to today. After brunch with the girls, taking my dog for a long walk, cleaning the kitchen, and doing some work stuff, I really wanted to use my mini muffin pan, but I refused to go to the grocery store. 

I found some walnuts, oatmeal, eggs, and bananas that were turning brown and whipped up some delicious and semi-healthy banana walnut muffins with oatmeal and brown sugar streusel on top (Recipe can be found on Cooking Light). I love it when I can figure out something to make with ingredients I already have. It cuts down on unnecessary trips to the store, saving money on both gas and food!

Note that I used white flour, since I didn't have any wheat flour, and I'd recommend making extra streusel for the top, since what the recipe called for wasn't quite enough. And, if you are making mini muffins instead of regular, they only need to cook for about 10 minutes.

Now I'm on to organizing my closet. Productive little Sunday!

Trader Joe's: How do I love thee? Let me count the ways...

I first started stopping at Trader Joe's when I lived in San Diego. The Pacific Beach Trader Joe's is HUGE (especially in relation to the Queen Anne one in Seattle...shoebox!). Trader Joe's has so much going for it - great wine, affordable food, tasty appetizers, great quick meal options, and much more.

But, there are a few "room for improvement" areas at Trader Joe's, meaning that, unfortunately, you always have to go to two stores if you're doing massive grocery shopping to get everything you need.

Over the years, I've introduced many people to the wonderful world of Trader Joe's, so here is my unofficial, highly biased guide to shopping at Trader Joe's:

Snag It:

• Frozen appetizers: pick up frozen pot stickers, mini-tacos, spinach dip, edamame, and shrimp to have in the freezer for when you need something to take to a party, or you have last minute guests.
• Fresh pizza dough: for about two bucks, you can find fresh, ready-to-toss pizza dough in a couple different flavors (whole wheat, herb, sourdough).
• Wine: it's well known that TJ's has a huge selection of wine at really great prices.
• Frozen rice: I love brown rice, but it takes forever to make. TJ's frozen rice comes with three packets that you throw in the microwave for three minutes. 
• Vegetarian items: you'll find that garden burgers, veggie sausage patties, and the like are significantly cheaper than the grocery store. 
• Cheese: whether it's shredded cheese, nicer cheeses for making a cheese plate, or string cheese to put in lunches, there's always a good selection and it's affordable (no Tillamook cheese though). 
• The List Goes On... in the interest of brevity, also buy these items at TJ's instead of somewhere else (just trust me!) frozen berries, oatmeal, fresh/refrigerated pasta, frozen waffles, yogurt, nuts, dried fruit, protein powder, imported beer, easy lunch items, frozen crab cakes)

Skip It:

• Fresh produce: it's more expensive than at other grocery stores, and sometimes it comes packaged oddly (for example, you can't buy one zucchini, but you can buy six in one package!)
• Fresh herbs:Trader Joe's never has fresh cilantro, and they don't have as large of an herb section as other stores.
• Bread: I'm just generally not impressed with the selection. 
• Canned goods: The selection is pretty limited, and you'll find better prices at larger stores. 

I love a lot of things about Trader Joe's, including the fact that the employees are always friendly, they have a lot of organic choices, and that they don't have any gimmicky sales or little plastic membership cards I have to keep on my keychain. 

Oh, and there are a bunch of Trader Joe's Cookbooks that are on my wish list. Love it! 

Digital Coupons

I really admire couponers (except when they're in the checkout line in front of me), but I don't have the patience for it, for myriad reasons: our printer is perpetually out of paper, we don't get the newspaper, whenever I cut out coupons I promtly leave them at home (along with my grocery list), and I don't buy that much name brand or junk food, which is what coupons tend to be for, in my opinion.

But, yesterday I was doing some research on new dinner ideas. The Mr. and I are getting a little tired of the same dishes we make over and over again. I found some great recipes on Cooking Light. While I was browsing, I swung by my local grocery store's website (Fred Meyer).

I discovered that, once logging in with your rewards card number, you can download digital manufacturer's coupons automatically to your rewards card! So, I spent 5 minutes or so comparing my list with what which coupons were on sale, loaded them to my card, and headed out to the store.

My biggest win: Crest toothpaste was on sale at 2 for $3.00. I bought one ($1.50), plus my digital coupon for $.75 off, and I got my big tube of toothpaste for just $.75!

Another big win? No coupons to cut, no slowing down the line, no leaving them on the table at home. I saved $8 with only 5 minutes of work. Not bad!

Oh, and I'm testing out these three recipes. I'll let you know how they turn out: Barley and Beef Soup, Asian Green Bean Salad, and  Southwestern Chicken Pasta Salad.

Giving Back: Volunteering and Money

I've always been a big fan of volunteering, probably starting as a kid with my church. Since then, I've done a lot of volunteer projects, both short- and long-term. I've built houses in Mexico, moved to Nicaragua to teach school in a rural village with La Esperanza Granada, spent almost 4 years tutoring in an after school program with YTP Seattle, am a volunteer advisor at University of Washington's Kappa Alpha Theta house, and am a member of the Seattle Women's Philanthropic Investment Group (WPIG).

But, perhaps since I volunteer so much, I've sort of done that in lieu of donating cold hard cash to my favorite organizations. An organization can have all the volunteers in the world, but without money, they'll be out of business in no time.

Perhaps I'm a little leery of how organizations spend donated money, or I feel more connected when I'm the one actually doing the pavement. But either way, the bottom line is that I haven't been good about ponying up some cash on anything more than a sporadic, infrequent basis.

I think now's the time. I'm going to chat with the Mr. today and come up with a monthly amount that we're comfortable donating, and let him pick where he'd like half of it donated, and I'll pick where the other half goes. (Too bad I didn't think of this plan in time to apply it towards our 2011 taxes, but oh well!)

What do you think, readers? Volunteering or donating money? Certain organizations? I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts on this one.

The Spender vs. The Saver

I believe that in every relationship, one person is the saver, one person is the spender. The degree can vary, but I think it's rare that two people have the exact same outlook on the big M (that's money, if you're new to my blog).

In my relationship with the Mr., I'm the saver. Some might even call me cheap, penny-pinching, overly thrifty, whatever. I take that as a compliment, thankyouverymuch! My dear husband is the spender in our relationship. He loves nothing better than to buy "something nice" after payday, bonus time, tax return time, or hell, just because it's a Tuesday night with nothing to do. In my opinion, there are pros and cons to each side:

Saver
Pro: it's good to save money for a rainy day. You never know when you'll have a financial emergency
Pro: Some people (read: me) get a thrill out of transferring money from checking into savings. Victory!
Pro: Most Americans are bad with money. I'm planning for the future.
Con: Money issues really stress me out. Bad.
Con: I have a hard time letting loose and treating myself to something nice once in a while.

Spender
Pro: You worked hard for that money! You deserve to have some fun. The Mr. reminds me of this frequently.
Pro: As long as your bills are paid, what's wrong with going on vacation, buying nice Christmas gifts, or sprucing up your wardrobe. The Mr. is also very generous with gifts for loved ones. This is something I really admire.
Pro: Sometimes higher price does equal higher quality.
Cons: Bankruptcy. (Okay, I'm probably being a little dramatic)
Cons: When the economy is unstable, you never know how long the big and/or steady paychecks will last.

The Mr. and I are trying to reconcile my obsessive love of frugality with his appreciation for the finer things in life.

I've come to the conclusion, though, that when we are going back and forth about buying something we "need", he's right more often than not. (Don't send him this link! I'll never live it down!)

Here's a quick example. I have long hair. We also own a golden retriever. Between the two of us, all the hair broke our vacuum cleaner. Sigh. Of course, the Mr. wants a top-of-the-line Dyson. I want whatever's on clearance at Target. I finally give in and tell him we can get the Dyson, but I WILL find it on sale.

Fast forward one week. Between Macy's summer sale and some extra coupons, I score a Dyson for $200 off. I am pretty proud of this. I get home, assemble it, and I swear to you, I vacuumed up enough hair to make a whole dog. Maybe sometimes paying a little extra for quality is worth it.

I'd love to hear from you in the comments. Does your family have a saver and a spender?

Guilt

It's just me and the Mr. in our big ol' house. Yet somehow, the house gets disastrously dirty, including more dust than you've ever seen. Between my husband working long hours (sometimes out of town), and me working the last weeks of my 9-to-5er and getting my freelance business up and running before and after work and on the weekends, there is no time to clean the house. 

I finally hired a house cleaner to come and clean our house, and today was her first day. She did an amazing job, and our house is cleaner than it was when it was brand new. For some reason, I felt incredibly guilty about spending our money on getting our house cleaned--it seemed like an upper-crust, spoiled thing to do--not to mention the fact that I am incredibly frugal; why pay someone to do something I could do myself?

But, the thing about it is that now I am more relaxed than I have been in weeks. My house is cleaner than I ever could have gotten it, so I have time focus on more important things--taking my puppy for a long walk, making good dinner, getting ready for friends to come into town, and getting caught up on some freelance projects. I think that makes it all worth it.

On Sharing Money

It's a well-known fact that I'm a huge fan of Slate. I love it for its fresh take on news, its advice columns, and its interesting blogs and bloggers.

There is a regular column called "Home Economics" about personal finances, and recently there was a 5 part series about a couple deciding how to manage their money together (or separate).

She broke couples up into three types: Common Potters, who have one joint account for everything; Sometimes Sharers; and Independent Operators, who maintain their separate accounts throughout life.

The Mr. and I are Common Potters--we joined our accounts when we bought our house, before we were married, and never looked back. However, the data calculator says that, in our demographic, 50% of people are Sometimes Sharers, 40% are Common Potters, and 10% keep separate accounts entirely.

Check this out:

• Common Potters have, on average, been together 11 years (we're at a whopping two).
• Percentage who are married: 94.1% (got it).
• Average age: 34.5 (our average age is 29.5...close enough).
• Percentage with children: 45.8% (not yet!)

Read the rest of the article here. It's a little different for everyone. What works for you? Let me know in the comments below!