Category: Uncategorized
Feeling lost?
Are you sensing a lack of Cheap Like Me posts? Don’t forget that this site has moved! Cheap Like Me is now blogging full-time at www.cheaplikemeblog.com. Thanks for reading!
Remember to reset your reader …
… and come join us at the new Cheap Like Me. We’re wrappin’ and rappin’ today.
Cheap Like Me has moved!
Cheap Like Me has moved to its new address:
All of the content from this site has now moved over there. Please remember to click the “subscribe” button or reset your blog reader so you don’t miss a post!
We’ll be back on track with regular posting later this week.
Thanks for joining me on the journey.
Big News for Cheap Like Me
Over the next few days, Cheap Like Me will be quiet. I’m taking a few days off for spring break with my family.
But while the cat’s away, the mice will play. During this break, Cheap Like Me will be moving to its own domain. I’m working on a bright and beautiful new layout that I hope will be easy to read, easy to navigate, and offer more flexibility for features that will make the blog better.
What does it mean for readers?
Next week, the blog will be back to normal with regular updates. If you subscribe to the blog, you’ll need to click on the new blog’s subscribe button to sign up for that blog’s feed. The feed at this address will go quiet. We’ll have a reminder here with the new address.
Do you have requests for things the blog should include? Leave your suggestions here!
Apricot blossoms
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Spring is not quite here, but Mother Nature is working on it. This is the traditional day to plant peas in the garden, and I woke up to this:
It’s our apricot tree in bloom. This process is especially exciting this year, because this is our tree’s third spring — the first year we really might hope it could make some fruit. And to make it even more of a hopeful harbinger of the season, last week we had some very cold freezes — in the 10-degree range — just as the tree was budding. I was sure it wouldn’t manage to bloom after that, yet here it is.
Of course, here in Colorado, March is our snowiest month, and we’ve had snow as late as May (or even, on a rare dramatic occasion, June!), so we and our apricots aren’t out of the woods yet. But if … if … just imagine that wonderful fruit.
Friday wrap-up: Recycling @ work, green running and crunching transit costs
More e-recycling options
Toshiba will recycle your electronics for free — or give you credit for a trade-in. Visit the site to get an estimate or learn more.
Workplace furniture recycling
You know you can get a new sofa on Craigslist, but maybe not new furnishings for your whole office. Meanwhile, the company that downsized and moved a few blocks away might be unloading 20 desks. Enter FACILITYcycle — Colorado’s answer to industrial-size recycling of workplace materials.
Public transit grows
Riding the bus more these days? You’re not alone. Last year, public transit ridership was the highest in 52 years, up 4 percent from the previous year. Americans took a total 10.7 billion trips on public transit. If you’d like to find out how much you could save by riding public transit, you can use a calculator at publictransportation.org or at the American Public Transportation Association.
Unfortunately, you might find that public transit would cost you a bundle. In my case, my husband’s school and my daughter’s school are each 2.5 miles from our home (in opposite directions). If I commuted my daughter to school by bus, I would pay $1,434 more per 10-month school year than driving costs (assuming we both bought monthly passes to save; my daughter’s pass would be half-price because she’s a child). My husband’s commute would cost $583 more than driving costs (for 10 months of passes, because he’s a teacher).
That comes out to $2,017 per year, or $168 per month. Just $58 of that is my husband’s portion. If public transit saves you from making a payment on a second car, it can be worth it financially. If you own your car outright, you’ll have to think again.
Running of the green
Running can be an economical way of burning some calories, building some lungs and pumping up those legs. But it also has a huge environmental impact. Read all about it in Runner’s World (thanks to Thrifty Chicks).
Your rights if a debt collector calls
If you are struggling with getting your financial life on track — or juggling the monumental task of trying to pay bills after a layoff or two slashes your income — you could be getting calls from debt collectors.
Even if you’re not, they might call. On Monday night, I sat down to pay bills — and realized that the check I’d written weeks ago to my second-mortgage lender was still sitting in my bills folder. That’s OK; such a situation is part of why I pay bills on the 25th of the month, then do a double-check by the 10th, before my mid-month bills are due. The mortgage payment is actually “due” on the 1st and “late” after the 16th, so I popped the check in the mail and it will be fine.
But yesterday morning at 8:03 a.m., as I was about to hustle Mlle. (that’s short for Mademoiselle, for you non-Francophiles) Cheap out the door, the phone rang. “Hi, this is Linda with [Company] Mortgage, the holder and collector of a lien on your home,” she said.
You notice she said collector, presumably so that if I wasn’t going to pay, I was on notice. I told her what happened, that I’d mailed the check, and that it included my extra principal. She was nice, even saying, “Thank you for taking my call this morning.”
Some collectors aren’t so nice. The FDIC has put out its new issue of Consumer News, which includes an article about what to do — and your rights — if a debt collector calls. Among them: They can’t call before 8 a.m. Thus the timing on my phone.
Here’s the rest of what the FDIC article says:
When a Debt Collector Calls
Beware of unfair practices and scam artists offering to “help” with credit counseling and debt management
People who are late making payments on a loan, a credit card or other bills may eventually be contacted by a “debt collector,” a third-party hired by the original lender. Dealing with a debt collector can be stressful. But be aware that if you are overdue on a bill and get contacted by a debt collector, the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act requires that you be treated fairly and without harassment.
In general, the law prohibits certain unfair and deceptive collection practices. For example, the law prohibits a debt collector from calling you before 8 a.m. and after 9 p.m., unless you agree. The law requires a debt collector to stop contacting you if you make the request in writing.
Also, within 30 days from the initial contact made by a debt collector, you have a right to dispute any of the debt you are told you owe. If you dispute the bill in writing, the debt collector can’t contact you again to collect the money until you are provided with proof of the debt, such as a copy of a bill.
If you have a problem with a debt collector, you can report it to your state Attorney General’s office (listed in your local phone book or other directories) and the Federal Trade Commission (visit www.ftc.gov or call toll-free 1-877-FTC-HELP, which is 1-877-382-4357).
Note that the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act covers debt collectors but not banks or others that lend the money initially. However, under federal law governing unfair or deceptive business practices, banks cannot engage in abusive behavior when trying to collect a debt. If you have a question or a concern about your bank’s practices, contact its federal or state banking regulator. You have the right to file a complaint with the regulator if you believe the bank acted improperly or illegally. If you’re not sure how to locate that regulator, you can contact the FDIC for guidance (see Sources of Help and Information on Managing Your Money).
Also be on guard against scam artists who prey on people who are late paying their bills by offering to “help” by reducing or eliminating their debts.
“Consumers should be especially wary of promotions and unsolicited offers by companies that advertise credit counseling services or that promise to settle your debts with your creditors for less than you owe,” said Deirdre Foley, an FDIC Senior Policy Analyst. “While there are many reputable organizations that offer credit counseling or that help consumers manage their debts, other companies charge high fees for questionable services or for services that are never delivered.” (Also see When the Economy Cools Down, Financial Scams Heat Up for tips on how to avoid mortgage rescue schemes and a variety of credit-related frauds.)
Foley added that before working with any company or organization that says it will settle or negotiate your debts, check it out with your state Attorney General and the Better Business Bureau.
For more information about how to protect yourself when dealing with a debt collector or a credit counselor, read the consumer facts published by the Federal Trade Commission at www.ftc.gov/bcp/menus/consumer/credit/debt.shtm.
For guidance from the FDIC about how to handle difficulties making a loan or bill payment, see When Payments Are a Problem.
Wordless Wednesday: Compost T-shirt
My daughter’s wonderful Brownie leader has helped the girls choose to focus on a green theme for troop activities this year.
A couple of weeks ago, they completed their first project for their “wearable art” experience. Mlle. Cheap chose to focus on a composting message featuring some wildlife:
The mother horse is admonishing her child to compost the apple core she dropped. Mr. Bald Eagle implores the horse, “Do it for my sake.” I’m so proud.
Coming right up on Cheap Like Me …
I’m juggling a super busy life this week, so I’m slow in posting, but I have a lot of great things on tap for you in the near future.
- Making your own bread – easier than ever.
- An update on life with the Diva Cup reusable menstrual cup, 8 months down the road.
- Revisiting the world of yogurt-making.
- How Costco (or other warehouse club) memberships pay for themselves.
- Is making your own beer cost-effective? And does it work? (We just started our first batch last night.)
If you have topics you’d like to see me write about, now is the time to put in your requests!
In other news, I’m also working toward putting this blog on its own domain in the next few weeks, which will hopefully add some more flexibility, features and general beauticiousness.
Meanwhile, I Twittered three great deals from around the Web this morning. Click here or click on the link in the right-hand bar to follow me on Twitter.
Cheap Like Me 