Uncommon Cents

During my recent ten day work stretch I noticed that the drain for my shower was becoming more and more clogged as the days went on. When I finally had a day off, I was able to unclog it in less than ten minutes without using an additive (think Liquid-Plumr). I realized at that point that many people who face similar situations may resort to these less-than-ideal additives (they’re toxic and it’s possible they’ll damage your pipes) or given up and called a plumber at their very high prices. So, given that, I thought I’d give a quick synopsis of my do it yourself drain unclogging efforts (remember, however, that as much as I’ve done things like this, I am not a professional handyman or plumber, so take all of this with a grain of salt):

Simple Prevention: Use a strainer of some kind over your drains! This is a very simple, incredibly low cost way to prevent lots and lots of clogs. A strainer can keep the vast majority of foreign matter from ever entering your drain. This alone is an investment that will pay for itself many, many times over.

A Plunger (and Maybe an Auger) are Your Friends: The good old fashioned plumber’s helper, the plunger, is your first line of attack when you have some kind of clog of your drain or toilet. These are ridiculously inexpensive (we even have them in the local 99 cent store) and can handle lots and lots of clogs. Using them is, of course, very self-explanatory: try to make a tight seal around the drain and plunge away.

Less well known is the toilet auger. This device looks a bit complicated, and is a bit bulky to store considering you won’t need it (hopefully!) very often. However, it is really easy to operate and a huge help if you have something stuck in the toilet that a plunger won’t push through. It’s essentially a rather short plumber’s snake with a handle at the end of it which you use to turn. Putting one of these into a toilet is a little unnerving but once it’s in there, a few turns will typically remove whatever is blocking your toilet up. You can find these between $10 and $20 pretty easily, but you will need to go to a hardware store.

Drain King: King Unclogger: This is my secret weapon for clogs (although I don’t think it’s usable in a toilet). It’s an inexpensive little piece of rubber and metal that attaches onto the end of a garden hose and is then placed in the drain that requires unclogging. Once the Drain King is inserted, the water is turned on, the rubber section expands to fill the drain pipe and forces a large amount of water pressure down the drain, which clears the material clogging the drain. I have never had this one fail. I learned about this tool from my late father, and it was one of the best handyman tips I ever got. The last time I got a Drain King (when I couldn’t find the one I already had), it was about $12.

So, there are my tips for dealing with clogged drains. Hopefully, careful use of these tips can prevent a clog from occurring or at least prevent a huge plumbing bill the next time you have a stuck drain!

Welcome to your Link Payday for April 20, 2008, Hawai’i Geek Meet edition. I’m blogging from Magic Island this afternoon…

Kyle over at Rather-Be-Shopping hits a chord with this blogger who hates waste when he asks How Much Food Do You Throw Away? Yes, waste is the archenemy of frugality, and this blog believes that frugality is a great thing!

JLP over at All Financial Matters covers Morningstar’s Best and Worst 529 Plans. Given that we just covered these kinds of plans this morning, I thought that it would make a nice addition to this list.

Frugal Dad gives us a powerful does of reality when he discusses The Power of Contentment. Contentment can be a powerful ally when dealing with financial issues as well as health issues. I noticed not long ago that many personal finance bloggers also have weight issues–including myself–so realizing that sometimes we turn to excessive spending as well as excessive eating and how to combat those urges can make a huge difference.

One of my favorite bloggers, Mrs. Micah, departs from her usual manner by going on a Rant: We’re Going to Effing Stimulate the Economy, where she discusses Mr. Micah’s need for a new computer. Personally, I think that even if they have to spend some money that they would have liked to go elsewhere on it, given that he needs it to complete his dissertation, I think this is the best decision under the circumstances.

Finally, Lynnae at Being Frugal uses her daughter’s soccer experience as an example of The Importance of Tenacity. Staying on course is always difficult and sometimes children can give us a great example through their actions.

And that’s your Link Payday for April 20, 2008!

A tax is a fee imposed by the government on products, forms of income, or activities. In the United States we are very familiar with various taxes on products (such as a gasoline tax or tobacco tax), income (such as the federal income tax or state income tax–which is not in all states, Medicare tax, and Social Security tax), or activities (such as retail sales tax). Taxes fund public goods and services (think sewer services, trash pickup, and street lighting). In some cases taxes may also be used to try to discourage certain types of activity (such as cigarette smoking) and/or attempt to recoup public dollars spent dealing with that activity (such as Medicaid funds spent to deal with lung cancer).

One of the best ways to help your investments is to take advantage of tax advantages. IRAs and 401(k)s offer ways to build your portfolio tax free and/or reduce or eliminate taxes in the end. There are certain government bonds and money market accounts that are tax free as well. Taxes are also one of the reasons why passively managed portfolios and mutual funds tend to outperform actively managed ones–when stocks or bonds within the portfolio or fund are sold, they typically trigger a capital gain, which is subject to tax. I suspect we will see some of this when I assist my friend with her portfolio makeover in coming posts!

I am personally not opposed to the idea of paying taxes because I like having paved roads and trash pickup; I do, however, want my tax dollars to be used wisely–which is an entirely different issue that we won’t get into on this blog. What do you think about your taxes?

Another week, another trip to the 99 cent store. I’m not an addict, trust me–I had some things I need around the house, and to some extent in this tough financial month (birthdays, funerals, and taxes are doing a number on this month’s budget!) it allows me to spend a little money to at least feel like I haven’t totally deprived myself of spending.

This week:

$.99 gets youme:

refillable spray bottle
heat shrink tubing (useful for those bicycle cable ends that fray if not tended to)
greeting cards (a 99 cent store favorite, this week two for funerals)
earbuds (since my sister’s dog ate my earbuds a few weeks back, I’m avoiding buying new pricey ones until the dog is older and hopefully better behaved!)

Things I was hoping to find (but didn’t) this time around include a chamois (fake of course) for washing the truck and some Dove dark chocolate (which they sometimes have post Easter, Halloween, or Christmas–but no such luck this time). Hopefully next week!

What have you found recently in your 99 cent store?

Our local 99 cent store has become more like a $1.49 store; more and more items in there are at the higher price. Still, there’s no question there are at least some bargains to be had even at the higher price.

This week’s trip brought forward the following:

$.99 gets you:

bicycle tube patch kit (when you’ve had as many flats as I have recently, this is a necessity!)
socks
cellular phone carrying case
jeweler’s screwdriver set
Two AA batteries from Panasonic
children’s sunscreen SPF 30 (used by this adult!)

$1.49 gets you:

compact fluorescent light bulbs
plastic document protector
pine powered degreaser in spray bottle (I also reuse the spray bottle)
umbrella (I use one of these myself and it’s lasted me three months so far)

There are many other items that can be had at the store at bargain prices; not every one of them works great, and some may be a total waste of money. But that said, I think the local dollar store (or even those a penny less) is worth investigating to see if you can find some items for less that can do the job as well as a more expensive alternative.

What are your best finds at a 99 cent store?

As established previously, one of the few places I’ll spend money to spend less later is Costco. Costco is a big box warehouse membership store where a yearly fee is paid and items tend to be sold in bulk. Occasionally (not every month, but many of them) they send out coupon books; I got my coupon book in the mail this week and just went through it.

Because of the quantity of the items purchased, I’ve always believed that the best items to purchase at Costco were non-perishables that you indeed use (if they’re things you don’t use, then they’re not a great buy even for a penny). So, with all of that said, here’s what I think are the best coupons in this Costco offering:

$2 off Charmin Ultra Bath Tissue
$2 off Bounty Roll Towels
$3.50 off Kleenex Ultra Soft Facial Tissue Uprights 12 boxes
$2.50 off Gain Detergent
$2 off Diet Pepsi 36 pack
$2 off Irish Spring Bar Soap 20 pack
$3 off Dial Antibacterial Liquid Soap 1 gallon
$8 off Mobil 1 Synthetic Motor Oil 6 quarts

Now, the one thing that this really does not take into account is what the base price of the item is; I believe that Costco does their coupon books this way because the base price fluctuates quite a bit from location to location. For instance, here in Honolulu, the base price of a 36 pack of Diet Pepsi is $8.99; I’m not sure how much it is at your closest Costco. That said, I have used Costco coupons (and my membership card) at Costcos all around the nation, so at least you’re not glued to one or two stores.

What are your best coupons from Costco?

One of the most incredible areas of technological advances has been in motor vehicles. Less than two hundred years ago there were no cars or trucks or busses and today today I can’t go 100 feet without seeing one.

One of the great advances in motor vehicle technology that can save tremendous amounts of money is synthetic motor oil, yet not too many people use it. Synthetic motor oil can cost the same or even less than conventional motor oil (I got some on sale for a dollar a quart recently), require changing much less frequently (I change my oil every 20,000 miles, although I still change the oil filter every 3,000 miles), and have measurably better viscosity performance–synthetic oil is just plain better at lubricating your engine. If nothing else, spending $5 on oil for 20,000 miles sounds a heckuva lot better to me than spending $33.33 for oil changes over the same amount of miles–and that’s if I do the labor myself.

Fewer oil changes means less waste (and as you all know, I hate waste), and it appears to me (although there is, as always, controversy on any subject) that synthetic oil use can substantially increase the life of your engine, which is the big potential payoff. I’ve been using it in my Toyota Tacoma (over 80,000 miles) since my first oil change at 3,000 miles and the oil looks sludge free and clean–and that’s at 17,000 miles.

So consider synthetic oil the next time you do an oil change–20,000 miles vs. 3,000 miles, and careful shopping can bring the costs to about equal up front… so a per mile cost of six times less, and potentially far longer engine life, made switching easy for me.

One of the national discount chain stores, Ross Dress for Less, which is known to carry old stock from higher end stores, has been in Hawai’i for some time. It’s frequented by many (including myself) who are trying to find deals on clothing or other items (my favorites there are shoes or bags). I’ve even gotten iPod cases and computer keyboards there.

In addition to national stores like Ross, I imagine every big city has smaller discount stores (two on O’ahu are Stupid Prices in Waipahu and Saveco on Waiakamilo). These stores often get damaged or returned merchandise from large vendors (the Kirkland brand items are a Costco giveaway) and resell them at lower prices. I sometimes frequent these stores as well, looking for bargains. But do “bargains” equal spending less money?

The allure of these stores is somewhat lower quality or out of style items for a lower price. However, the purpose of that “allure” is to “lure” you into the store where you’ll spend money. Remember that the archenemy of frugality is waste, and if you go into one of these stores and buy things that you never intended to buy when you stepped foot in them because they seemed to be an unbeatable deal, it’s a sure sign you’ve succumbed to waste–wasting money on an item you didn’t really need and didn’t even want all that much until you saw it was a bargain.

However, if you go into one of these stores and get items that you were definitely going to buy anyway–just at a lower price–then you have indeed succeeded in getting a bargain. If I need a new shirt for a dinner with some friends, I’ll often stop by Ross and see what they have in my size, but if I exit with more than the shirt in hand I’ve probably succumbed too.

So in the end, do these “discount” stores really help you spend less money? It’s possible, but it all comes down to the same thing in the end: discipline. If you can avoid spending money on things that you weren’t planning to spend money on, you may indeed meet your goal of frugality, but if you purchase something because it was just too good a deal to pass up, check to see if you indeed met your goal of spending less.

I will admit that I do indulge in fast food at least weekly (Jack in the Box’s Chicken Club Salad with Grilled Chicken tends to be my primary choice), but is there really anything more wasteful–remember, waste is the archenemy of frugality–than a trip through the drive through at a busy fast food restaurant?

The first significant waste is time. My sister recently insisted on my taking her through a drive through; it took ten minutes for us to get her food, which is about triple the time I think it would have taken if she had instead gotten out of the truck, went into the restaurant, and purchased the food there. Long drive through lines have taken the fast out of fast food.

The second waste is gas. Ten minutes spent mostly idling is about the equivalent of ten miles of driving. Gas is not cheap right now, about $3.50 a gallon (less credit card rebates) here on island; considering I get about 24 miles to a gallon, that ten miles is equal to about $1.46.

The third is money. It’s not like the $7 spent on food for my sister couldn’t have been stretched double if not triple at home (which was only about two miles from the drive through).

The fourth is health. This wasn’t the most nutritious diet by any means, deep fried and processed. Granted, there are some healthier choices at some fast food restaurants, including my Chicken Club Salad. This was not among them.

The fifth waste can be the environment. Besides the excessive, non-reusable packaging, ten more minutes of gas fumes from a running gasoline engine can’t make things better anywhere, and the disposable packaging–much of which wasn’t recyclable–doesn’t help either.

Waste is the archenemy of frugality, and ten minutes in the drive through line at the fast food chain seemed to be a huge waste in more ways than one. I’m done with that exercise; for me, it’s park and go in from now on; not the best, but way less wasteful in terms of time and gas–and if I make better food choices, maybe it’ll even be healthy.