Shopping for a cell phone

Like many of us, once our cell phone contract is up, we are too lazy to look for a new plan. But if you do not, you are missing out in getting a new phone as well. Your cell phone takes a beating being in your pocket or purse everyday. Not to mention the countless times you dropped it on the floor. So maybe it is time to get a new phone and contract.

The trick is not to go to a major establishment or directly with the cell phone provider. Why? You may ask. It is because these places will require you to sign a two year contract, and they won’t give you the best deal on the phone. The best places to go are mom and pop stores. You see them around in strip malls and places like that. A lot of these places you can get a good free phone and get a rebate back as well. They also will let you sign a one year contract, so you can get another new phone next year as well.

Also another good place, is Amazon.com. They offer these 1 year contracts and rebates as well.

Macy’s $10 off $25 coupon

This past saturday Macy’s had a coupon in the newspaper for $10 off $25 for early birds from 9am-noon. I was able to purchase a dress shirt, my wife got a shirt, and we also got some other stuff for only $16 (including tax). Of course we only purchased only $25 in items to maximize the deal. This is a great deal because you can use coupon with items already marked for clearance.

The dress shirt I bought the original price was $45. It was marked down today for only$10, and with the coupon the cost was only $6. That is $6 for a very nice dress shirt for work.

The trick is just to keep an eye out for these types of sales. We got the buzz from slickdeals.net that there was going to be a sale on saturday. And we were at the mall when it opened at 9 for the best pickings. It is important that you go early since these are clearance items. A lot of times you can only find one of the items in your size. You want to be there before someone else gets it.

Do I qualify for the $600 refund?

You may wonder if you qualify for the $600 Economic Stimulus Payment refund. Here is a quick and easy way to check if you do at this site http://www.irs.gov/app/espc/. All you need is a copy of your 1040, just plug in a few number, and it will give you the refund amount you should be receiving in May or June. It will tell you if you qualify for the refund or not as well.

You can also check the IRS site for when you will be getting the refund. It will depend on the last 2 digits of your social security number and whether you did a direct deposit or have your check mailed to you.

I did ours and for a medium level income family with a 2 year old, the total for us is $1500. Not too bad, we can use the money for a nice mini vacation. So check your mail or bank account begining May 2 for your refund. Have fun spending it.

Haggling in the U.S.?

When you go shopping in other countries, it is almost customary to haggle. But here in the United States? Not so much, maybe for just purchases of automobiles. People here just do not like to do it. The idea of paying more for something that they did not do a good job haggling with, is a turn-off. Some people just do not like to look cheap when they haggle. That is why many automobile dealerships are introducing a no-haggle price.

But with the weak U.S. economy you can actually start doing it at many retail establishments. I just saw an interest video on Yahoo from thegrocerygame.com on how to haggle. The one simple tip is to just ask, it does not hurt. If that fails, you can ask for the manager. They know the bottom line of the product, and they have the real authority to give you a discount. The idea for them is either make a little something from you or completely nothing. Of course they will choose a little.

Even a big establishments like Macy’s you can get a discount. If you find imperfections on the items (like a missing button or belt), they can give you a 10%-20% discount on it. Also check for coupons in the mail and newspaper, most have weekly 10-20% discount coupons in it too.

We have an appliance store here in Southern California called Pacific Sales, and you can also haggle there. Especially if you are purchasing multiple items. They will give you a final discount price on your purchase. The simple trick is to just ask.

Easy ways to improve your credit score

Those people stuck with bad credit, there are ways to improve it… Make sure you pay all your bills on times, especially your mortgage. If you are looking to borrow money, the first thing the lender will check is if you have any late mortgage payments. If you do, they most likely will not lend you even if you just forgot to make the payment. And even if they will lend to you, it will be at a higher rate. It takes about a year to clear that. That is why it is important to set up an auto-pay deduction from your checking account, especially if you tend to forget a lot.

For credit cards, do not borrow past 50% of the limit. This will affect your credit score. If you do have to go over, make sure you pay it off the amounts over the 50% threshold asap. Also do not cancel any of your credit cards, points are taken off when you call your bank to cancel cards. Especially for the ones without annual fees, if you do not want to use them, just store them away. You do not need to cancel them.

Using a mortgage calculator to help you buy a home

One quick and easy way to see how much your monthly mortgage payments will be is by a mortgage calculator. There are plenty out there in the web. Just go to Yahoo and type mortgage calculator in the query field. The first one that will come up is the one from Bankrate, which is a good one.

Just type in the amount you plan to borrow and the terms. You can check the current rates of mortgages at any bank website. That way you will have an idea of how much money you can borrow and how comfortable you are with the monthly payments of what you are borrowing. It is a good tool for someone looking to purchase a home.

How to spend my IRS $600 refund

$600 is not really a whole lot of money to be able to spend on something extravagant, but you can still get something nice with it. A mini-vacation will be perfect. A one night stay at Las Vegas or San Diego is ideal. Going to Vegas, may be the best deal. It is still the off-season there, and you can find some great deals on hotels. The weather is perfect too, not too cold or hot. If you wait couple more months nearer to Summer the weather is going to like 90-100 degrees. Currently it is around the mid 70’s.

If you are looking for some place more child friendly, San Diego may be the place for you. With attractions like Sea World, the San Diego Zoo, San Diego Wild Animal Park, and Legoland, there are many things to keep the family busy. Also Sea World still has the promotion of buying on regular price admission ticket and getting the whole year for free. It is a great deal, especially if you have kids that like sea life and fishes. 

And if you go to either of these places, don’t forget to stop by the outlet malls and check out the deals there.

Properly remove of your E-waste

With all of the office equipment we buy, they quickly go obsolete. It is important we dispose of our old equipment properly. We cannot just dump them in our garbage cans and take them to the landfill. Monitors, desktops, printers, televisions, and other e-waste items must be disposed of specially. There are many drop off locations for these types of items.

Just last week, my work had a drop off sponsored by the city to remove e-waste and other hazardous materials, like paint, motor oil, car batteries, etc. I was able to drop off some old paint that I had sitting in the side of my house for free. Some places actually charge you to drop off your e-waste.

So check online to a drop off station near your house and remove your hazardous waste properly.