Selling Your Used Electronics For Cash

Do you have old electronic gadgets that are gathering dust in your closet?

Don't want the hassle of selling these old gadgets on eBay or Craigslist?

Several websites have sprung up, offering the convenience of buying your old electronics for cash:

• Gazelle.com
  
  
• Nextworth.com
  
  
• Buymytronics.com
  

Check with all three sites for quotes before deciding as pricing do vary between sites.

In addition, do visit WorthMonkey.com to find out the street value of your old electronics, so that you have an idea whether you are getting a good price for your old electronics.

If your electronics are too old, consider recycling or freecycling it instead of dumping it.

My Frugal Living Tip #14: Make Your Own Seasonings & Spice Mixes

One way I save money is to make my own prepared seasonings and spice mixes. Rather than buying branded seasoning and spice mixes such as McCormick, I spend anywhere from a quarter to a third of the price of prepared mixes by buying the ingredients and mixing my own. There is also the added advantage of fresher mixes.

The internet is filled with many recipes for do-it-yourself mixes. If you don't have the patience to hunt down individual recipes, Cheap Healthy Good Blog has compiled an extensive collection of recipes: Save Money On Seasoning: MYOM (Make Your Own Mix).

Link: Save Money On Seasoning: MYOM (Make Your Own Mix).

Like this article? Read the other entries in my Frugal Living Tips Series.

My Frugal Living Tip #13: Energy Efficiency & Frugality

Energy efficiency is one easy way of being frugal. Whatever your position on climate change may be, energy efficiency also means not wasting money on inefficient appliances and wasteful consumption of energy, i.e., keeping more money in one's pocketbook.

Looking to get started? The US Department of Energy has a useful website, EnergySavers.gov, which has lots of information and tips on saving energy, and therefore saving money.

Link: EnergySavers.gov

Like this article? Read the other entries in my Frugal Living Tips Series.
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Shelf Life & Expiry Dates

How long can you keep milk in the refrigerator? Is it still drinkable or do you have to throw out that milk carton? Can you save money by using products that are past their expiry dates? What do terms such as "sell by," "use by," "best by," really mean? What does a frugal person do with products that happen to be past the "used by," "best by," etc. dates?

Here is a roundup of useful resources to explain the confusing jargon that manufacturers use and the expiry dates of most products:

• Shelf Life Advice
  A very useful site to find out the shelf life of a particular product. Enter product in search box to find out its shelf life and storage information.
  
  
• Food Expiration Dates: What Do They Really Mean? (Yahoo Green)
  
  
• Expiration Dates (OrganizeYourLife.org).
  A near-exhaustive and very useful list of how long you can keep food, household, beauty and cosmetic products.
  


• Do Food Expiry Dates Really Matter? (WebMD.com)
  An informative discussion about the confusing mix of terms used by manufacturers on their products.
  


• The Secret Code of Beer Expiration Dates (Consumerist.com).
  How to decode the mysterious codes that breweries use on to indicate how old your beer is.

Free Classical MP3s from Amazon.com

Are you a classic music lover?

Amazon is offering the following completely free albums of classical mp3s for your downloading and listening pleasure:

• X5 Free Classical Sampler - The Romantic Era
  
  
• Eternal Baroque


• I Love the 80s, Vol. 1 (1880s)

Enjoy!

My Frugal Living Tip #12: Freezing Your Food

One easy way to extend the lifespan of the food I buy or cook is to freeze them. Freezing is an easy way to keep food for months until you need them. How long should you freeze stuff? Here's a handy checklist from the folks at Real Simple that sets out practical guidelines and time frames for freezing: How Long Will Food Last In The Freezer?

Link: How Long Will Food Last In The Freezer?

Like this article? Read the other entries in my Frugal Living Tips Series.
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My Frugal Living Tip #11: Using FatWallet to search for Coupons, Clearance & Freebies

Keeping track of coupons, clearance deals and freebies can be a challenging and insurmountable task. Rather than googling for them, I find myself heading to FatWallet's forum to check out the latest coupons, clearance offers and free stuff.

How do you find the coupons you want on FatWallet's forum without searching every thread? Here is FatWallet's Official Master Thread of "Official Store Coupons & Clearance" -- where you can find coupons and clearance sales for major retailers and stores, ascertain which coupons are valid and which ones have expired, etc.

If you are looking for freebies, you should visit the Free Stuff section on FatWallet's Forum. If you are a Twitter user, you should also follow the FatWallet's Free Stuff on http://www.twitter.com/freestuffrocks

Links:
FatWallet's Official Master Thread of "Official Store Coupons & Clearance"
FatWallet's Free Stuff (Follow on Twitter)

Like this article? Read the other entries in my Frugal Living Tips Series.
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Part Time Work Opportunities

Summer is here. Looking to make some extra money when you're bored? Here are two interesting sites worth checking out:

• Amazon Mechanical Turk -- the granddaddy that started it all. See reviews on Wired Magazine, BusinessWeek, New York Times and Salon.com.
  
  
• LiveWork

The pay isn't great. But it beats doing nothing and wasting your time away.

Outsourcing on the Cheap: Fiverr.com

One of the more intriguing things that I came across in my websurfing is Fiverr.com, where freelancers offer all kinds of services for $5.00. You got it, just $5.00. Anything from technology gigs, writing and translating to business and social marketing, and even crazy and bizarre stuff to goofy stuff.

Many of the services are clearly worth more than $5.00. As I see it, it's a win-win situation: I get something done on a shoe string budget and the service provider gets publicity and experience, as well as cash to tide things over.

Link: Fiverr.com

Exchange Rate Surcharges and ATM Fees for the International Traveler

The summer travel season is coming and for folks who are traveling abroad and planning to use their credit cards or ATM cards, Lowcards.com has an excellent article, Credit Card Tips for the International Traveler, which explains how the credit exchange rate surcharges work, and the rates currently charged by the various financial institutions, as well as ATM-fees for cash withdrawal from foreign ATMs.

Link to article: Credit Card Tips for the International Traveler

See also my other postings on credit cards:

• More on Credit Cards
  
• Dealing with Credit Cards
• Careful Use of Credit Cards
• Credit Cards and Frugal Living
  

My Frugal Living Tip #10: Selling or Recycling Your Electronic Gadgets for Cash While Saving the Earth

In celebration of Earth Day today (22 April 2010), more and more people are looking to recycle or sell their electronic gadgets instead of mindlessly throwing them into the trash.

Do you know you can earn a bit of cash while selling or recycling your old electronics gadgets? Besides doing a good deed, you can also earn some cash in doing so.

Gazelle.com buys your old electronic gadgets, pays for shipping and sends you a box to send your stuff in. This new site has garnered favorable reviews in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and Wired.com.

Main Site: Gazelle.com

Reviews:
Wall Street Journal: Where Old Gadgets Go To Breathe New Life
New York Times: Used Tech Dealers Do Booming Business in iPhones 3Gs
Wired.com: How to Avoid Paying the iPhone 3GS Upgrade Tax

Liked this article? Read the other entries in my Frugal Living Tips Series.
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Preparing and Filing Your Taxes

It's tax filing season. Here is a roundup of useful resouces for preparing and filing your taxes:

• How to File Taxes For Free: Free File and Free Tax Software (GenXFinance.com)
  Excellent advice on finding ways to avoid paying a preparation and filing charges when you e-file your taxes. In my case, I have used TaxAct.com, which gives you free federal e-filing regarding of income level (I don't qualify for income-limited tax filing products). TaxAct.com does nag you to upgrade, but you can always click "later." As someone who is leery of putting tax data online, I am glad that TaxAct.com offers free download of their tax software that you can install on your computer. No, I don't get a cent from endorsing TaxAct.com, I'm just a long-time satisfied customer. As for my state taxes, I use my state's free e-filing. It's barebones but it works.


• Open Tax Solver
  Open Tax Solver (OTS) is a free program for calculating Tax Form entries and tax-owed or refund-due, such as Federal or State personal income taxes. The complete version of OTS for the 2009 tax year has been released. It contains the updated US 1040 with Schedules A, B, C, and D. It also contains the State Tax form updates for California, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, North Carolina, Massachusetts, Ohio, and Virgina.


• 10 Most Overlooked Tax Deductions (WalletPop.com)
  


• The Audit (Examination) Process - The IRS explains what triggers an audit.


• Paper Records: What to Keep, What to Toss (Kiplinger.com) -- good advice on what paperwork you need to keep, especially for the IRS


• Saving Grace Period for Flex Accounts (Kiplinger.com) -- How to make the most of money left in your flex account.

My Frugal Living Tip #9: Make Your Stuff Last Longer

When people ask me what is my one overriding tip for saving money, I tell them that I try to make my things last as long as possible. When I don't have to spend money replacing broken or worn out stuff, that's money that can be saved or invested.

The challenge that many of us face is how to make stuff last as long as possible. Lifehacker's Top 10 Trips and Tricks For Making Your Stuff Last Longer is a good place to start.

Read the other entries in my Frugal Living Tips Series.

Car Buying Resources

Looking to buy a car? Here's a list of resources for you to consult before stepping foot at a car showroom:

• 10 Ways to Buy A Car Without Getting Ripped Off (OutOfYourRut.com)
  
  
• Car Dealer Scams to Avoid (Forbes). What to watch out for the next time you're in a car dealer's showroom. See also In Pictures: Car Dealer Scams to Avoid and Tech Options To Forgo.
  


• Beat the "Four Square" Dealer Rip Off (Consumerist). A very detailed breakdown of how a car dealership manipulates buyers with the four-square worksheet.


• Showroom Turncoat Comes Clean (Car & Driver Magazine). Learn the tricks that car salesmen use on unsuspecting customers.
  


• Car Dealers' Tricks to Watch Out For (Car & Driver Magazine). More car salesmen's tricks of the trade.
  


• Car Shopping on the Offensive: 8 Aggressive Buying Tactics (Car & Driver Magazine). How to outsmart the car salesman.
  


• Deceptive Car Salesman Tactics For Popular Cars (My Money Blog)


• Fueleconomy.gov - useful site to check out how thirsty your new car is going to be.


• More than you ever wanted to know about buying a car (Broward College) - a Car Buying 101 site. Great for the newbie.


• Car Shopping Generates Many Questions (Washington Post)


• Smart Car Shoppers Ask to See Invoice (Washington Post)
  


• Dealing and Wheeling (Washington Post)


• CarBuyingTips.com


• TrueCar.com


• US News & World Reports' Rankings of Cars & Trucks
  


• 2010 Cars: Where the Deals Are (Kiplinger.com). Kiplinger Magazine's advice for finding deals for cars in 2010.


• Guide to Getting the Best Value (Kiplinger.com). Kiplinger Magazine's rankings of the best values in cars.

Resources for Medical Care

Are you interested in the background of your medical care provider or institution? Do you want to know what the performance records of your doctor or hospital are? Are you keen to find out whether your doctor has been disciplined or subject to malpractice proceedings? Or you wonder whether your physician or hospital is charging you a fair price for your medical procedure?

Here is a roundup of useful resources for researching into pricing for medical procedures or doing background checks on your medical care provider or institution:

• Price Doc
  Search and compare pricing of various medical procedures across medical specialties, etc.
  


• Vitals
  Database of Doctors. Allows you to do a background check on your physician, as well as assist you in finding a physician or specialist using the criteria that you specify.
  


• Health Grades
  Provides ratings and performance data (including malpractice records on physicians, hospitals and nursing homes.
  


• Why Not The Best?
  Funded by the Commonwealth Fund, this non-profit resource enables you to review and compare the performance of U.S. hospitals on measures of evidence-based care, patient experience, readmission and mortality rates, and costs with peer organizations and national benchmarks.
  

Resources for Doing A Background Check on Yourself or Others

Ever wanted to do a background check on others? Or doing one on yourself?

LifeHacker has an excellent post, Doing A Total Background Check On Yourself, with links to all the reporting bureaus that track every aspect of a person's life.

It can be scary, yet enlightening experience to find out what others are tracking about you.

Link: Doing A Total Background Check On Yourself

Useful Real Estate Resources

Roundup of useful real estate resources:

Searches:

• Neighborhood Scout (good place to start for researching neighborhoods. Limited free service. Crime stats, etc are only available in the premium service).
  
• Trulia.com (useful free site to search for listings, comps, etc)

Advice:

• Set the stage for a top-dollar sale (Kiplinger)
• 10 things your architect won't tell you (Smart Money)
• The other real estate boom: scams (Money Magazine)

See also my previous blog postings:

• Seven New Rules For The First Time House Buyers

Resources For Calculating Cab Fares & Booking Cabs

Afraid of being cheated by cab drivers when you're traveling?

Here are useful resources for calculating cab fares and booking cabs in major US cities:

• Taxifarefinder.com
• TaxiWiz.com
• TaxiMagic.com

Online Coupon: 15% off 1 item at BarnesandNoble.com

15% off 1 item at BarnesandNoble.com.

Use Online Coupon Code: X4L9P7H

The Fine Print:

For each customer, this coupon can be redeemed once at online at BarnesandNoble.com

This coupon is valid from February 26, 2010 to March 1, 2010 at 2:59 a.m. Eastern Time.

The 15% discount will be applied to the most expensive eligible item in the order - not the entire purchase - and will be deducted after all other eligible discounts, including (if applicable) the standard Member discount, are applied.

Additional Rules Governing Use of this Coupon: This coupon is (i) not redeemable for cash or cash equivalents (including Gift Cards and online Gift Certificates); (ii) not valid on past purchases; (iii) not eligible for purchases of the following products and services: Barnes and Noble Memberships, Gift Cards, Gift Certificates, gift-wrapping, textbooks, digital content (including but not limited to digital books, magazines, and periodicals), nook(TM) and related accessories, other hardware and electronics, software, products available for pre-order, products from the Rosetta Stone Series, shipping or handling expenses, or products marked as not eligible for "coupons or promotional discounts;" (iv) not valid on purchases made from third parties accessible from the BarnesandNoble.com website (e.g., used books, PC and video games, etc.); (v) may not be combined with any other coupon; and (vi) may not be combined with the Educator program discount. This coupon is not valid at Barnes & Noble or Barnes & Noble College retail bookstore. Void where prohibited by law.

Resources For Monetizing Your Websites & Blogs

Roundup of resources for monetizing your websites and blogs:

• Using Google AdSense (MoolaDays.com)
  


• 9 great alternatives to Google AdSense (MoolaDays.com)
  


• Monetize Your Blog (MommySnacks.net)


• Seven Ways I Earn Money While Blogging (SingleMa)


• Monday Money (MyGoodCents.net)
  

My Frugal Living Tip #8: Useful Resources for the Frugal Consumer

Roundup of useful resources for the frugal consumer:

• Amazon.com's Textbooks Trade-In
  No-hassle way of unloading unwanted textbooks and getting some money for it.


• Freecycle.org
  The granddaddy of recycling stuff you no longer need by giving them away to others within your community. Read my earlier blog post about Freecycling.
  


• Kashless.org
  Takes the Freecycle idea one step further to provide a one-stop site for getting free stuff. Besides member submitted offerings, it also aggregates postings from the "free stuff" section of Craigslist and also partners with Recycle Bank to offer a rewards program.
  


• Measy.com
  Excellent one-stop online search tool for researching products before you buy. Allows you to limit by price, brands, needs, etc.
  


• Toolzdo.com
  Allows you to swap, exchange or give away stuff with other folks in your community.
  


• Groupon.com
  Social networking meets bargain hunting. Lets you hunt for deals with a twist: you must find enough friends/strangers to join you in order to meet the deal's minimum number of folks who sign up for it. Great way to make friends, renew friendship and save money in the process.
  

Read the other entries in my Frugal Living Tips Series.

Comparing Cell Phone Plans

Are you confused when you try to compare cell phone companies' plans and offerings? Then you would want to consult BillShrink's Ultimate Cell Phone Plans Comparison.

It's not perfect but it's a good start.

Link: Ultimate Cell Phone Plans Comparison

Consumer Action Website & Handbook

Funded by your tax dollars, the Consumer Action Website is filled with useful information on your rights as a consumer. It provides information and templates for filing reports of defective products, complaints of shoddy products or services, buying resources, etc., many of which are available for download as convenient PDF files.

You can also pre-order the 2010 Consumer Action Handbook, which is available for free and mailed to your house.

Links:

• Consumer Action Website
• Download Useful Guides/Templates/Forms in PDF format
  
• Pre-Oder the 2010 Consumer Action Handbook
  

Roundup: Interesting Financial Planning Articles

Roundup of interesting financial planning articles:

• Checking Your Free Consumer & Credit Reports (My Money Blog)
  


• Budget For Real Life (Money Magazine)
  


• 10 Things Your Funeral Director Won't Tell You (Smart Money)

When Is The Best Time To Buy Something You Want?

Want to know when is the best time to buy something you want?

Lifehacker has posted a helpful guide on the best times to buy anything: The Best Times to Buy Anything, All Year Round.

How to Search For Bargain Deals on Amazon

Amazon lists lots of deals every day. How do you find out what they are? Boston Gal has posted a helpful guide on searching for bargain deals on Amazon.

Happy bargain hunting!