USAinDebt

People often tend to overlook small things, but we have to always remember: the devil is in the details. Little things can change our lives, and it is not necessary that they are complicated. Take a look at this effortless list and pick what you can do to save some money the easy way.

Coffee, or the Starbucks Effect – since when do we need coffee every morning in order to get us going? Price it at least $2 per day, and in one year you can easily spend up to $600. Brewing your coffee, on the other hand will cut that cost in half.

Change your bulbs – 100 Watt regular bulbs burn 10 times more than an energy saving CFL bulb. It is good for your wallet; it is also good for the environment.

Call your banks and ask them to lower you APR’s or waive some fees. Ask to talk with a supervisor.

Save on transportation by riding the bus / subway or carpooling. Even if you do it only once a week, it will save you a lot of money on gas and other car expenses.

Don’t buy bottled water – tap water is perfectly ok to drink. At $2 per 1.5 l bottle, you are throwing away up to $1000 per year on water.

Buy generic products – they are made from the same ingredients but cost less, because you are not paying for the brand (and for their shiny packaging).

Unsubscribe from all those magazines, newspapers and cable TV. Take a walk in the park instead or read a real book.

Brown bag it and stop buying from the vending machine – first of all it is expensive, second its junk food and third one hour later you will be hungry again.

Buy stuff on sale, around the holidays and look for coupons online.

At the end, if you follow the above easy steps, you will probably save at least $3000 per year. Not bad, right?

Tags: save money | frugal living | gas

There are several websites and even programs out there that let you search a zip code for gas stations with lower gas prices. But is it really cost-effective to spend time and gas driving around just to save a questionable amount of money?

Let’s do a quick estimate. Say a gallon of gas costs $4.00 at Gas station 1, and that gas place is 1 mile away. Gas station 2 sells the same gasoline for a lower price, $3.85, and its 3 miles away. For this example, our vehicle will have a 12-gallon fuel tank and it will burn approximately 25 miles per gallon (city driving).

So, after calculating the cost of driving (which is a mix of gasoline cost and vehicle amortization cost) you basically save $1.48 per fill-up. And if you are fueling 4 times a month, 48 times per year, your savings will come to around $70 annually. Now, if you also add the cost of the time you will spend in driving (which has no price) my guess is that you will come up with the right answer to the question, ‘Is it really practical to tinker around for cents?’ all by yourself. For the rest of us, who really hate math – it’s not worth the hassle.

Tags: gas | gasoline | cheap gas | vehicle | car | auto

Buying a used car is like buying a cat in a bag – most of the time you won’t know about the problems the vehicle may have until after you sign the documents and drive off. Unfortunately, there is never a 100% guarantee, but here are some helpful tips on how to do as much as possible to ensure that the vehicle is good.

Check the history records: Carfax.com offers a vehicle history report. You will need the vehicle’s VIN number (ask the person selling it) in order to run the report. It will provide vital information concerning the auto you are about to invest your money into. A CARFAX report can disclose past vehicle accidents, recalls and registration information.

Check the vehicle body: All panels should be well-aligned, especially around the doors – check the gaps, the sections should be evenly positioned. Look at the paint color – does it match on all panels? Check the bottom of the doors for rust. Inspect the body for scratches, dents and fresh paint. Take a good view of the tires – especially the sidewall should be clean of cuts and damages. All tires should be the same (brand and type) and they should be evenly worn out. Open the driver’s door and take a look at the vehicle label – it usually will indicate the VIN number. Compare it to the registration VIN.

Inspect the interior: Good interior usually means the vehicle was taken good care of. Check for broken locks, buttons. Take a look at the dashboard, the seat belts, and the trunk. Test all doors.

Electrical stuff: Test all the lights on the dashboard – turn the key halfway until all lights light up. Make sure they all work – this indicates that the on board control unit tests the various systems of the car. Check the headlights, the taillights, the signal lights, the backing up lights. Turn on the radio.

Heater and A/C: Start the car, turn on the A/C. Make sure that the air is cold. Check the heating function as well. Turn the A/C on the highest speed possible and listen to the engine – if it struggles there may be a problem.

Engine: Pop the hood with the engine off. Inspect visually for oil leaks, torn cables / pipes. Open up the coolant fluid and take a look inside – is it clean and bright green? If it is brownish or there’s oil floating on top there is a problem. Also take a look at the engine oil – it should be brownish and there shouldn’t be any bubbles in it. Black oil means it hasn’t been changed regularly or that the engine burns oil. The transmission oil should have bright red color. Ask if the transmission has been flushed ever and if the transmission filter was changed. Let the owner start the engine and listen for noises, clicking. Check the temperature too. Ask the seller to shift the transmission from Park to Neutral (make sure to apply the brakes first) and look at the engine. It may move a bit but if it jumps a lot during shifting, avoid buying this vehicle. If you can, stick your head under the engine bay, watch out for leaks.

Transmission: Take a seat inside the car, start the engine. Apply the brake, and shift from P do D than to L / 1 / 2 / 3 / R (or whatever options you have). Fell the car – does it jump or does it make weird sounds every time when you shift?

Take a test drive: Don’t just drive on the parking lot – take a good ride, slowly, make some turns, and it would be great if you can do a short highway run. Listen, smell and look for anything out of the ordinary. Try turning the A/C, the radio, the heating while driving. Stop the car somewhere; leave it for a minute with the engine running, than ask the owner to sit inside and step on the gas. If a smoke cloud appears, this vehicle is burning oil – avoid buying it.

Trust your intuition: I the car is really good, but the price is unrealistic, avoid buying it. Ask for maintenance records; oil changes; known problems. Why is this car up for sale? How long have they owned the car? Has the car been involved in an accident? Check the title – does the VIN, the owner’s information match? If everything looks ok to you, go ahead with the purchase. If you have doubts, take the car to your mechanic / nearest shop and have it checked out. After all, it’s your hard earned money!

For more information or to file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, visit the FTC site.

Tags: car | vehicle | used car | dealer | credit

Not that long ago Chrysler’s marketing department came up with a new way to sell their cars and boost up the manufacturer’s plunging sales. They have turned the consumer’s concentration to a possible light in the tunnel in the recent gas price craze - under the motto ‘Let’s Refuel America’ Chrysler offered what firstly seemed as a great benefit to the buyer: a $2.99 gas price guarantee for up to three years. Sounds wonderful, but how about the fine print?

Unfortunately, the guys at Chrysler ‘forgot’ to mention the details in their commercials. The first and the biggest hit on the customer is the fact, that the buyer will not receive the usual inducements: Most of these vehicles normally are sold with cash-back incentives. However, if you go with the ‘Let’s Refuel America’ plan, you won’t be able to take the green as well, although some of the cars in this plan also offer some cash-back — $500 plus the gas as opposed to $2,500 cash back, for instance. The second caveat is the octane restriction - the plan only applies to diesel and low-grade gasoline, with octane level no higher than 87. Which means that if you pump mid or high-grade gasoline, you will be paying the full price. But that’s not all! The ‘Let’s Refuel America’ deal will only cover you up to 12 000 miles per year. Every additional mile on top of that - you guessed right, regularly priced gas. And last, but not least - you are restricted to maximum of 708 gallons per year.

So after doing the simple math, at average price of $4.20 per galon the ‘Let’s Refuel America’ deal will save the buyer about $800 per year, or up to $2600 for the three years in which the incentive is active. Knowing that you could have received at least $2500 cash back on that vehicle, the ‘Let’s Refuel America’ program doesn’t really save you a dime.

Tags: gas | fuel | jeep | chrysler | Let’s Refuel America | $2.99 guarantee