The Gas Money Metaphor

I believe that a car's fuel gauge is coincidentally accurate at depicting personal finance habits. Like a checking account, the contents of your gas tank fluctuate. If you just filled up on payday, the sky is the limit and money grows on trees. But towards the end of the pay period, you might be praying not to run out of gas, while trying to locate change in the seat cushions.

Most of us have experienced both extremes, but we usually have a low gas comfort limit before refueling. Below are some typical limits and my interpretations of correlating spending habits. How long do you wait before refilling on average?

Rolling on Fumes

If you're known for coasting up to the pump in neutral on the cars last breath of gas, than you probably also known for blowing your paycheck within a few days, and find youself scrounging until next payday. Don't worry you're are not alone.

No need to stop for gas, there's still a quarter tank

You probably pay you bills on time, and can manage your day to day expenses, but you still live paycheck to paycheck, and have little to no savings. Congratulations you are part of the majority.

I've got a half tank but who knows how far to the next station

Not only are you in complete control of your finances, but you also have a little nest egg of savings. You are better at managing your finances than most, and could probably teach others a thing or two.

I'm already at three quarters of a tank, I thought I just filled up?

You live well below your means and in addition to savings, you have a little spending money for hobbies and capital ventures.You are part of an elite group of well balanced personal finance aficionados.

Its a rental..... filled to the brim or else they'll charge me

You're a paranoid penny pincher, you save all of your money and don't do anything fun for yourself. You may even plan your routes on Gasbuddy.com to maximize every refueling. Its nice to have a full tank, but feel free to let your hair down.

There's an extra gas can fastened to the bumper

In addition to the other limits, there are those uber prepared who carry an extra gas can for emergencies. Carrying an extra gas can shows your willingness to be prepared for the unknown, but does not guarantee that you are financially responsible.

Again these are only my observations. Feel free to comment on how you drive, and whether I'm on target or out in left field.

How to turn $100 into a Partime Job

After reading "Best Ways To Invest Small Amounts of Money" on The Digerati Life, I started thinking about what to do with $100.00, and how to earn the best return on such a small investment.

"A lot of us don’t have much money to spare. Sometimes you may find yourself with an extra $100; maybe someone finally paid you back for a long-forgotten debt (it’s happened to me!) or your mom sent you over a cash gift for your birthday. Or chances are, it’s just an extra $100 rattling around in your bank account that could find better use somewhere else." -By Silicon Valley Blogger-

$100 is a perfect number. It is enough money to be substantial, but not enough to be out of reach for most people. If have ever come across $100 dollars and asked yourself what to do with it, than here is my list of how to turn $100 into income."

• Valet Car Wash- Get yourself some cheap business cards, and print some fliers offering to wash peoples cars while they are at work. Provide a copy of your license and proof that you are insured to drive their car. Take it to a public hand wash or a "touchless" car wash. Then return with a nice shiny car to collect payment.

• Buy a vending Machine- A simple gumball machine can be purchased used or new for around $100. Convince a local mom and pop restaurant or convenience store to keep it by their front counter for a percentage of the profits.

• Walk/Feed Dogs- Make some fliers, get yourself a leash, poop bags, and dog treats. You could walk/feed dogs for people on vacation or at work.

• Become a Barber - In college, I knew a guy who bought some clippers, scissors and supplies for cutting hair. All of us starving college students lined up around the block to get a cheap buzz cut.

• Start Blogging- Build yourself a blog using Blogger, and start using adsense. If it becomes popular, buy a domain name and/or web hosting.

• Be a Handyman -If you have basic tools laying around the house and are handy, consider doing simple handyman repairs. Post signs on telephone poles in retirement communities.

• Dance/fitness/martial arts instructor - If you are athletic try holding classes in a public park and advertise.

• English tutor- If you are fortunate enough to speak another language, consider teaching English to non native speakers, at public meeting areas or your local Starbucks.

• Computer Tech Support- Setting up a Pay per minute phone is easy and only costs a few dollars a month. Just Google it and you'll find tons of companies willing to get you started.

• Window Washer- Get some industrial sized bottles of Windex and a squeegee and print some fliers.

• Knife Sharpener- Purchase a electric sharpener and a inverter for the car, or a nice hand sharpener. Show up at restaurants at off peak hours, and offer to sharpen their cutlery.

• Furniture Mover- This works better if you have a friend, but many people appreciate a helping hand when moving, especially if you have a truck.

• Ride to the Airport- If you are a punctual person with a car, consider picking up people from their house and driving them to the airport. All you need is a cell phone, email address, and advertising.

• House Cleaning- Load your vacuum in the car, and by some cleaning supplies. With a little word of mouth advertising you could make some extra cash on a regular basis.

Some times the best ideas are the simplest, with just a little creativite advertizing and you could have a secondary income for under $100.

Using the "F" Word in Public

No I'm not talking about the word %$#^! Swearing in public is just a way of exemplifying ignorance. I'm talking about discussing our "Finances" with others.

Traditionally we were taught not talk about our finances. The reason was probably because people felt insecure about how much they earned in compared to others. In the old days, it was also inappropriate for women to show their ankles in public. Now that its the 21st century, we need to encourage change. Not talking about money over the years is probably the reason why so many people have problems managing it.

I'm not encouraging you shout out your annual salary in a crowded subway, I am merely advocating the communication between friends and family for money management advice. Discussing dollar amounts, or salary levels, is irrelevant and may make others feel uncomfortable. Instead focus on learning techniques for better money management. Some good topics could be:

• Asking a homeowner how to buy a house?
• Ask a retiree how you should save for retirement?
• See if any of your friends make a formal budget?
• Does anyone balance a check book, or use personal finance software?
• Who makes a shopping list before getting groceries?
• Ask your parents if they auto pay their bills?
• What investment strategies have worked for people you know?
• How accounts are structure for money managing couples?
• Bill payment responsibilities, who pays what?
• How to responsibly manage credit card usage?

The idea is not to interrogate the people in your life, but to learn from their experiences and to share ideas about how to improve your financial health. Sharing ideas will benefit everyone.

Little Black Book

In an effort to improve my life through organization, I plan to start carrying around a small memo pad. I already write myself notes constantly so I don't forget things, just like the guy in Momento. Over the years, I've learn to trust my handwriting more than my memory. My "To Do lists" are written on scratch paper and either folded, or crumpled up in my back pocket. A little notepad might allow me to keep these same notes in a more organized fashion, and provide me with an simple archiving system. It would also keep me supplied with scratch paper for notes on the fly.

I considered downloading the latest organizer/planner app for my iphone, but the simplicity of a pen and paper is much more practical. I am to lazy to navigate through fields and text-type tiny messages. For now I'll keep it simple, and save the option to upgrade to my iphone for later.



Black Book uses:

• Memos/Notes
• To do list
• Directions/Locations
• Calendar Updates
• Names/Contacts
• License Plate Numbers
• Sketch Diagrams
• Time Stamp
• Accident report
• Statistics

The standard for Military/Police Field Notes are 3" x 5" spiral notebooks with graph paper, and some even have a leather covers. My notes will be organized by date with a line-break separating each day.

All Weather

I may get waterproof notepads from Rite in the Rain. They're priced pretty reasonably and provide a additional protection from the elements. They even offer custom notebooks.

I will let everyone know how it works out, but I figure it's a small price to pay to get more organized.

How to Remember Everything

If you haven't already heard, ohdontforget.com allows you to write text messages from any computer, and schedule when they're sent for free. This site is worth Bookmarking, and a great tool for sending yourself reminders. The next time you need to pick up milk from the grocery store on your way home from work. Just click, type, and submit. While driving home you'll get a text message reminding you to stop at the store.

Many cell phones already have an alarm feature, but I find it more practical if you're sitting in front of a computer.

Don't Wait to Get Your Halloween Costume

The clock is ticking, with only 10 days left to find a Halloween costume. You're probably planning to pick up something last minute at the Halloween Store ...... And then it hits you. Do you remember what the Halloween store is like the night before Halloween? It can only be described as pure and utter Chaos. Screaming unsupervised children run rampant as parents viciously wrestle over the last incomplete Spiderman costume. Emo high school kids are hanging around in numbers hoping to pocket the last pieces for their costumes. The Cashier, who is not even old enough to drive, is scrambling to fix the malfunctioning registers. The checkout lines snake across the sales floor with bleak hopes of ever getting to the counter. And the lucky people that make it out alive, with costumes, will soon find that they were swindled out of a small fortune. Their cheaply made costume will start to rip and unravel before the Halloween party begins.

This is why I always recommend the thrift store. Its in expensive, the textiles are usually better in quality, and you're only limited to your imagination. But you better get there quick, because the good stuff goes fast.

Calculating the Value of Rewards Points

If you have ever redeemed rewards points, you probably know getting your money's worth isn't always easy. Credit Card companies do this on purpose. They would much rather sell you a cheap knock off item that could be found at Sharper Image, or in a Sky Mall catalog, than give you straight cash.

Gift Certificates
Credit card companies receive advertising discounts for selling gift cards to stores and restaurants. This is why a $10 gift certificate at Burger Barn, costs fewer points than a $10 Visa Gift card. Burger Barn is basically paying the difference to guarantee your business. With a Visa Gift card $10 is $10 anywhere you spend it.

So which is better to get?
Ask yourself a few simple questions before reedeming store specific gift cards:

• Do you regularly shop at this store on a weekly or monthly basis?
• Would you make the same purchase if instead you could just have the cash?
• Were you already planing to shop with this vendor?
• Are you 100% positive the store didn't just catch your attention, and make you think of something to buy?

If you answered No to any of these questions; consider getting the Cash Reward or Visa Gift Card. The lure of impulse buying is too strong, and odds are you are trying to justify an irrational purchase.

If you answered Yes to all of the questions; you could be making a rational decision to take advantage of the additional store or restaurant specific discounts.

When To Redeem
You may be wondering when is the best time to cash in your growing reward point bounty.

• Visa Gift Cards
  Most of the Rewards programs grow at a fairly linear pace in regards to Visa Gift Cards. This means there is no real difference between buying a $5 dollar gift card every time you hit the limit, versus saving all of your points for that $50 gift card.
  
• Store and Restaurant Specific Gift Cards
  The larger store and restaurant specific gift cards tend to be a slightly better value, if you can rack-up a lot of points. However, it's extremely important to always check to make sure your points do not have an expiration date.

Actual Point Value
Now for the technical stuff! To Maximize your redemption spending, you must understand the value of your points.

• Gift Card Validation- Gift cards are easy to validate just divide the dollar amount of the gift card by the total number of points it cost to purchase.

Example 1 : $25 Burger Barn Gift Card ÷ 11,000 points = $0.00227 Cents Per Point
Example 2 : $25 Visa Gift Card ÷ 15,000 points = $0.00166 Cents Per Point
Example 3 : $15 Cash Rewards ÷ 7,500 points = $0.00200 Cents Per Point

When comparing gift cards, you want the largest Cents Per Point. If you are a regular at the Burger Barn, and can answer yes to all the questions above, then Burger Barn is the best gift card for you. For the majority of us, the Cash Rewards is the best value because it makes the most cents per point, without influencing you to spend at an establishment that you wouldn't normally.

Buying Items, Vacations, or Airfare
If you insist on buying items like that toaster with a built in back scratcher, you need to evaluate whether its worth your points. This formula starts by using a known Cents Per Point from a Cash reward or Visa gift card, and multiplying it to the number of points for the desired item. If the toaster costs 20,000 points and you know that the same points are worth $0.00200 each, then the actual price your are paying for your toaster is $40. Now check to see if you can find it cheaper online.

Example 4 : Cost of Toaster 20,000 x the known CPP $0.002 = $40

Who Cares if its free money?
You should! Many of these cards have a annual charge that is almost equal to the average persons rewards earning. This means that you are essentially investing $25 to have the opportunity of redeeming $20-$30 worth of points. Even without an annual charge, the actual earning are microscopic compared to the spending it encourages. It is a way for credit card companies to make money. They wouldn't provide this service if they didn't. So be smart don't frivolously spend you points.