Every Penny Is Part Of A Dollar

Over the past couple of weeks I have been taking advantage of a couple of opportunities that were presented to me in order to save a few dollars. Sometimes the numbers added up pretty fast while other times it was only a little here and there. Either way, they are all providing a little bit of a return and putting a few extra dollars back into our account. Actually, by the end of the week, all those small sums added up and turned into a rather nice return.

There were really two parts to this whole operation this week… price matching and a credit card promotion. While it did take some time this week, in the end it is going to save us hundreds if not thousands of dollars over the next year. It just goes to show that if you take a few minutes and put in a little effort, you can make things a little easier.

It started a couple of weeks ago when there were a few items that I had to purchase for the house. Not the cheapest things but not really high priced either. When I had a couple of minutes free in the middle of the work day, I pulled up the Sportsman’s Guide website to see if they had what I was looking for. It turns out that they did so I put the items in my shopping cart, typed in my coupon, and selected the 4 pay plan to ease the payment pain.

Everything went smoothly but I was curious to see if there were any other websites that were offering a better deal. Sportsman’s Guide offers a price match guarantee for 30 days from the time the order is placed. There were a few sites that had the same price, a few that were selling it for more, and a couple that were a dollar or two cheaper. I wasn’t about to call over a couple dollars. And there is was… a $25 difference. With website and item number in hand I called customer service and had the price matched within minutes. However, this was a onetime opportunity to save some money. My other call this week was more fruitful.

At some point during the day on Tuesday I got an email from a company regarding my credit card. The offer was for free transfers of other accounts (normally 3%) with a 0% APR for 1 year on those balance transfers. This particular card has the lowest interest rate so has always carried the highest balance… hence no room for transfers. So I gave them a call on Wednesday to explain the situation and to see if there was some way that I could take advantage of this offer.

It never fails whenever I call them, they found a way to make it work. Now, instead of paying a nearly 20% APR on a couple other cards, we are now paying 0% for the next year and, if needed, carry a 12% APR afterward. The percentages may not mean much at first glance but, over the course of a 12 month period this could potentially save us hundreds upon hundreds of dollars (it will also lower our monthly payments pretty significantly). I am sure that many of you may think that this is boring but it saves me money so I am very interested.

The essential thing to take away from both of these is that there are opportunities to save money / keep money in your pocket if you just pay attention. I am sure there are a number of opportunities that I have missed in the past but, in this instance, I was fortunate enough to catch them. When all is said and done, all it takes is a few minutes from you day and a willingness to work with the people on the other end of the line. It was a great week for saving money.

Packages And Returns

It seems as though there is one package or another that arrives at the office on a daily basis. All different shapes, sizes, and weights. Some business and others personal (especially around the holidays). Also a common sights is the occasional box that is put aside to be picked up and returned to where it came from. I have heard all the reasons for send something back even though I rarely do so myself from wrong size or color to poor quality, wrong item all together, or arriving too late and everything in between.

Every time I see one of those packages heading out the door I can’t help but think about the cost of those returns and how the “free returns” policy isn’t really a free service as those anticipated costs are factored into the price of the object. When I looked into the data behind returns (focusing on the online side of things) I was taken aback by the percentage… in 2013, The Wall Street Journal found that nearly a third (33%) of all online purchases were returned for one reason or another. That is a lot of money spend on “free returns”.

Beyond the money it just seems like a pain in the what to have to go through that process and I tried finding some more information on what impact it has on the retailer. From a recent survey I found the following statistics:

• 54% of respondents stated that the reason for returning an item purchased online or by phone is because the item is the incorrect size or color
• 97% of respondents stated that the return process is important to their future intentions to shop with a retailer
• 73% of respondents who receive an incorrect item after already returning it once stated that they are much less likely to shop with that retailer online or by phone again for future purchases
• 45% of respondents who have experienced continuous return process issues with particular retailers stated that they have limited shopping with that retailer altogether (both online and in-store)
• 26% of respondents expect the correct item to be shipped to them within one to two days after returning the incorrect item

While I rely more on the end cost of the item and tend to put up with these errors, it seems as though I am among the minority. But it makes me think more about the disconnect that many people have from the products they buy while maintaining the “I see it now and I want it now” mentality. While I prefer going into a store and buying the items that I want or need, online is an inexpensive alternative to get the same thing at a much better price. I wonder how many of those in the above survey could have avoided the return had they seen the color in person and determined if something ran large or small while trying it on in the store.

We have to remember that while online shopping is convenience and cheaper, the in-store experience is sometimes worth the ten minutes out of your day and ten cents out of your pocket. Heck, sometimes it is cheaper to buy in the store if you simply talk to the sales person, manager, or owner. That little bit of time can end up saving you a lot of aggravation if not money and if people stop returning so much stuff online it might even drive down some of those “low prices” even further.

Last Chance To Find An Apartment

Throughout the week my wife and I kept scanning the maps on Trulia and Zillow with the hope that a new listing would pop up. While there were plenty of listings that came to market during the week, there was nothing that fit the criteria that we were looking for, most importantly, the price. With nothing to show for our efforts and our MIL Realtor not having any better luck, we did not make it out this weekend to tour some other spaces.

In an owner’s market, this just hasn’t been a good time to try and find an apartment within the budget that we set for ourselves. I guess we will be staying where we are for now with the hope that we can build up our bank account enough to get a nice starter home around this time next year. The other part of this year long project will be to improve our credit. It’s not that we have bad credit, it is rather good in fact, but there is always room for improvement and it would make things a bit easier when the time comes in trying to secure financing. The basic game plan is simple… build up our bank account, pay down debts, and continue being successful in our jobs (i.e. promotions/raises). How we achieve all this is also simple… work hard and work smart.

So, when the day comes, what will we be looking for in a starter home? The list is a little longer than a rental but, in an ideal situation, here is what the check list would look like:

1. 3+ bedrooms
2. 2+ baths
3. 2+ acres
4. Office
5. Basement (finished or unfinished)
6. Good schools
7. Montgomeryville/North Wales/Lansdale area (there is a little flexibility there for the right place)
8. Reasonable commute time to work (under 60 minutes for me, under 45 minutes for my wife)
9. Garage
10. Not on a main road  

I know what you’re saying… that is why it is called a wish list not a list of requirements. Some of the things are reasonable, some may be fantasy when considering that we will not have much to put into the home but it is a start and it is nice to have a goal.

The most important thing that we need to do now is to make do with what we have and the space in which we currently live. The basic translation of that statement means that we have to clean and organize both of which we have been putting off for way too long. We have a good spot at the moment, not ideal but it is a good apartment at a good rate. And while we may complain at times about various things relating to the building, location, people, and variety of other aspects we have a plan of action and we are better off than most. We have gone through a lot in recent years and we can make it through some more knowing what awaits us just on the other side of the hill.

So, until next year, the hunt is over.