No Ice Please! – Get More for Your Money!

My fiancé always asks for her fountain drinks with no ice when we dine out.  This is simply a personal preference for her, but while at the airport this morning, it dawned on me that she was actually making a very financially smart decision.

So I get through security around 630am and am extremely parched.  I decide to get myself a fountain drink from one of the kiosks in the terminal.  I see a sign for a 22 ounce soft drink  for $1.99, so I decide to grab one to quench my thirst.  I purchase the drink and to my surprise was handed a 22oz cup filled to the top with ice and a 12oz can of soda to pour into the cup of ice.  Being so thirsty I thought nothing of it and took my drink and went to take a seat to wait for my flight to board.  I crack open the 12 oz can of soda and pour it into my 22oz cup of ice to come to find out that only about 9oz of soda would fit in the 22oz cup since it was overflowing with ice.  Right then I noticed, I just got ripped off, and get ripped off every time I ask for ice in my drink.  Most of the time, drinks are kept cold, whether from the fountain or stored in a refrigerator, so who needs ice.

I know from now on to ask for all drinks with no ice, since I am potentially reducing the amount of the beverage I am getting by more than 50%.   Or if I do want ice, I know from now on to order 13oz of ice and 9 oz of soda.

Of course the ultimate financially good decision when talking about purchasing soft drinks is to buy them in 12 packs at the supermarket, since you can get a 12 pack for $4.00 or even cheaper when on sale.  Of course this was not an option for me as I was already through airport security and at the mercy of the mile high airport terminal food prices.

I guess to look at the bright side of things, with all the ice and less soda, my caloric intake is lower than having the full 22oz of soda. We are not getting ripped off with ice in our beverages, the business owners are just looking out for our health.  YEAH RIGHT!!!  Oh well,  at least it saves me some time at the gym!!!

Insulate Your Home And Your Pockets

With winter time knocking on our doors, there is no better way to save on heating costs than to insulate your home keeping the heat in and that nasty cold air out.  Many newer homes are insulted well, but if your home was built before 1980, you may want to take a look into how well your home is insulated.

Insulation can be somewhat expensive and may require some money to be invested up front, but the return on investment (ROI) is great in the long run and you can take advantage of some tax benefits if you insulate during 2010.

Insulating your home will require less oil, gas, or whatever form of energy you heat your home with.  The reason for this is simply because the less cool air flowing into your home, the less your furnace will have to work to keep the temperature at a comfortable level in the house.  This will lessen the about of energy consumed and reduce your heating bill drastically.  Also, in the summer, insulation will help keep the heat out and cool air in, reducing the cost of air conditioning in the hot summer months as well.

Insulation is a barrier of kraft paper and fiberglass that is put behind your sheetrock to blanket your home for the outside elements.  Insulation is relatively easy to install and is a great do it yourself project that can be completed room by room, one weekend at a time. Besides this barrier type insulation, replacing your older doors with insulated doors will also help to keep heat from leaving your home.  If your home has older windows, then investing in new windows will not only make your home look better, but will also help keep your home warmer if windows with Low E gas are installed.

While you’re making your home energy efficient, you are also insulating your pockets some by taking advantage of tax credits.  The federal government has issued a tax credit for the past few years allowing home owners to receive as much as 30% cash back on their purchases of insulated home building materials.  This has been done because the government sees the importance of saving natural resources used for heating and the most efficient and cost effective way of doing so is by insulating your home.

Now enough reading!  Get out to your local home improvement store and purchase some energy efficient products to keep your home warm and toasty this winter.

Brown Paper Bag It – Save $1000’s

Who couldn’t use an extra $1000+ in their pockets?  Believe it or not, the simple task of packing a lunch for work or school could put that an extra $1000 in your pocket over the course of the year.

The average lunch will cost you about $6.00 per day.  That’s takes into account for the big “deal” you get when you buy that $5.00 foot long or any of the other $5.00 meal deals from fast food chains and a drink to go with it.  If you go out and purchase one of these for lunch everyday of the week, you are looking at a $30.00 lunch bill for the week.  Look at the monthly bill, $120 for a 4 week month.  Look at the yearly expense, 52 weeks of dining out for lunch has ran you $1560 for the year! YIKES!

Costs                        Out for Lunch     Packing it        Savings

Daily                                    $6.00                            $2.00                     $4.00

Weekly                               $30.00                          $10.00                   $20.00

Monthly                              $120.00                        $40.00                   $80.00

Yearly                                 $1560.00                      $520.00                $1040.00

 So now you ask, how can I save money?  Simple!  STARVE!!!

Just kidding, we wouldn’t let you starve.  Saving on lunch is simple, pack your own.  You can go to the grocery store and pickup $10 worth of bread and lunchmeat to last you the week.  Sure it will make some time to prep you lunch, but think of it this way, you will be paying yourself over $1000 a year to make your own lunch.  Pay yourself or pay someone else, It’s your choice!

Visit Financially Good for more info on living a financially good life!!!