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4 ways a bad mattress costs you money

by Jana 8 Comments

Like most people, I treasure sleeping. Not just because it’s relaxing and fun and healthy and necessary but because it’s rare that I actually get a good night’s sleep.

It’s not that I have bad habits causing me to sleep poorly. I don’t watch TV before bed, I have a regular routine, my room is pretty much devoid of light, all my electronics are kept in another part of the house, and I try to keep a decent bedtime. My house is a comfortable temperature and I remember to bring my fuzzy blanket. The dogs even know their places in the bed!

So why do I sleep poorly?

This should be a source of comfort, not pain

My mattress is a piece of crap.

It didn’t start out that way when we bought it 8+ years ago. It was wonderful back then. But, as we know, mattresses wear out over time (which is probably why it’s suggested to flip them but we have a pillow top so that rules out that plan. Helpful hint: never buy a pillow top mattress. Just don’t) which can lead to a myriad of problems. Including financial ones.

Don’t believe me? Let’s look at a few ways a bad mattress can cost you money beyond forking over hundreds of dollars for a new one:

  1. Spending money on vices. If you’re like me, you have tendency to spend money when you’re tired. And not just on impulse purchases or unnecessary ones. You spend money on vices like junk food, caffeinated beverages, energy drinks…anything that’ll give you that quick pick-me-up to combat being tired. This happened to me more when I was working an office job. There was no time (or place) for a nap so I had to do whatever was necessary to get through the day. At the end of a week, it was conceivable that I spent around $10 ($2 per day) on junk just to keep me awake and functioning.
  2. Decreased productivity. Speaking of functioning, when I’m tired, I can barely do anything except the minimum that is required of me. And, some days, I can’t even form a coherent sentence in an email! So I do nothing. Then the unfinished projects start to mount and the ones that are finished are such shit that I can’t let them meet anyone else’s eyes. This is not a great way to earn a living, especially when you’re trying to building a business from the ground up. Poor productivity costs me money, time, and possible clients.
  3. Forgetfulness. I’ve talked before that I’ve had to automate a bunch of bills due to my mental health issues. And that’s been working out splendidly so far. Not only is it one less task to remember but it makes my life so much easier. Especially when you consider the fact that when I’m tired, I’m very forgetful. I forget to pay bills that are sitting on my desk, I forget to renew library books despite the email reminders, I forget to carefully menu plan and create a grocery list, and I forget to…well, I forget what else I forget. But these things all cost money in fines, late fees, and last minute trips to the store.
  4. Aches and pains. The worst part about a bad mattress is all the accompanying pain: headaches, back aches, shoulder pain, neck spasms. If you’re never experienced any of this, consider yourself lucky because they fucking hurt.  And the only way to manage them on a daily and affordable is to pop pain relievers like ibuprofen. But even that can start to add up if you’re going through a bottle a week. Then there’s the added bonus of needing to go to a chiropractor for adjustments, which comes with its own expenses like co-pays (or total out of pocket cost if your insurance doesn’t cover it), time off from work, gas or other transportation to get there, and any ancillary products you may need to buy (heating pad, etc). What should just be a minor inconvenience has now become a huge expense.

I wish I had a great solution for sleeping on a bad mattress. If you’re like us, you have to manage until you can afford to replace the horrendous one. But, if you’re smarter than us, you’ll do this: have a mattress replacement fund. We all remember to have travel funds, baby expense funds, car repair funds, pet emergency funds. Why not add a mattress replacement fund into the mix. A few dollars a month will ensure that by the time you need a new mattress, you’ll have the money to buy it.

And believe me when I say that the $10 or so a month you’ll put aside is way less expensive in the long run than dealing with the other consequences.

 

How This One Receipt Generated $75 Dollars in Savings in a Month.

by Jana 2 Comments

This is a guest post from Karen, a lifelong Money Saving Enthusiast with an MS in Education and a blackbelt in grocery shopping. She shares her knowledge on her blog and as a contributor to Mamiverse. She was recently featured on a Fox News Website. In her spare time, Karen enjoys travel, photography, and reading. For tips like this, check out her website, Money Saving Enthusiast. 

Photo taken from Karen’s website, MoneySavingEnthusiast.com

You’re about to see how Minha Boneca Doll owner, Melissa Scala used the Receipt Reference Technique™ to save 75 dollars a month in 3 easy steps. And then I’ll walk you through exactly how she did it, so that you can potentially get similar or better results.

1. Melissa put her grocery receipt on her fridge after going grocery shopping. Melissa explains “I used it to determine what I was wasting in an effort to spend less money on groceries.” After putting away items from the grocery store, put the receipt right on the fridge to use as an informal inventory like Melissa.

2. She then referred to the receipt before opening the fridge. “I used the receipt to figure out what my family and I were eating and what was ending up in the garbage can. I can’t believe how many bananas and tomatoes I was throwing out!” You too can look at the receipt to prioritize your meal planning.

3. After checking off items that she used, “I realized I wasn’t going to be able to use all of the groceries before they expired. I knew I had to plan my grocery trip better. I now buy fewer bananas and tomatoes. I spend less money and make sure I use what I purchase. It also made me more aware of the cost of groceries in general. I actively pay attention to where the better deals are on the items I buy. I shaved 75 dollars a month off of my grocery bill by using the receipt reference technique.” Checking off items helps you figure out what you used and what is still in the fridge. The date on the receipt helps you to remember when you purchased the items, so you can finish them before they expire in an effort to save money and not waste food.

Melissa shaved 75 dollars a month off of her grocery bill. That’s $900 a year. Here’s another person who had great results using this technique.

Jana’s note: I think this is an interesting idea. Most people use their receipts to see how much money they saved on a particular purchase, not on what’s being wasted when they clean out their fridge or notice that something has gone bad. At least that’s what I do. However, if you’re concerned with food waste or simply just spending money on food that your family doesn’t eat, this could be a beneficial technique. It makes you focus on what you’ve bought that’s been wasted and then you can use the receipt to see the money that literally goes in the trash. 

7 inexpensive ways to handle a hangover

by Jana 9 Comments

someecards.com - I consider myself a connoisseur on wine hangovers
I certainly do now.

If you learn nothing else from me, please learn this: 8 glasses of wine in one evening is 6 glasses too many.

I don’t want you to learn the hard way. Like I did. Last weekend.

I’d love to share all the details with you but I don’t remember most of them so I’ll tell you what I remember. I went out to dinner with some friends, then to a bar. I drank wine. A lot of wine, apparently. Then I got sick and when I woke up, I was only somewhat clothed, sprawled out on my living room floor, wrapped in a blanket. But my eye makeup still looked fabulous (major props to Urban Decay on that one). I noticed this when I woke up due to a compelling need to brush my teeth. At 6 AM. Then I went back to bed.

I’ll spare you the rest of what I learned by talking to my friends and my husband because I still want you to like me but suffice it to say, I woke up with a phenomenally bad hangover. Probably the worst one I’ve ever had. Ever. And that says a lot because I’ve had some bad hangovers.

After I finally woke up for the day (at 1:30 in the afternoon) and took a shower, that’s when all the bad stuff started happening. You know—the stomach problems, the shaking, the screaming headache. All the fun parts that you miss when you’re asleep. But I had things to do and couldn’t spend the entire day in bed so I forced myself awake. And I let the home remedies begin.

My remedies for dealing with a hangover are a combination of free and not so much pricey, but they do cost money. For instance, water and sleep? Free. And I consumed both of those in ways that are almost shameful. The Advil I took trying to kill the headache? Free, because we always have some in the house (thankfully).  Don’t get me wrong. These are great. And they are usually enough because I don’t normally consume a gallon of wine.

So I had to bring in the big guns. The stuff we had to purchase. Like greasy fast food (onion rings this time. Normally fries). Soda (for the caffeine. I loathe coffee) because apparently my husband forgot that Gatorade also does the trick. I also had some peppermint tea (for the nausea). It’s not that all of this cost a fortune (under $10, most likely) but it still bothers me that we had to spend money because of stupid choice I made.

But all of this got me wondering: what do other people do to inexpensively cure a hangover? So I posed the question to my DMS Facebook family and got the following responses:

  1. Sleep. I totally agree with this one because it works. And I use it extensively.
  2. Water. Also agree. As I mentioned, I drank this in CostCo sized amounts from those giant sized souvenir cups you get at baseball games.
  3. Milk. Never heard of this one before. I suppose it would only work if you drank stuff that mixes well with milk unless the intent is to make you throw up in which case it probably works with everything.
  4. AlkaSeltzer. An old school remedy yet one I’ve never tried. I’m assuming it works or Pauline wouldn’t have mentioned it. The only reason I’ve never used it? The fizzing freaks me out. But she also mentioned sparkling water. I can probably get behind that one.
  5. Fountain sodas. The Debt Princess recommended this one. Although I prefer Gatorade when I’m hung over, soda does do the trick. The carbonation settles the stomach. I just recommend that you go with something bland like Coke or Ginger Ale. The syrups in the flavored sodas are too sweet and just gross when you’re battling a hangover.
  6. NUUN hydration tablets. This is a completely new product to me. My friend Jenniemarie at Another Housewife says they cost around $5 for 12 tablets, which isn’t too bad. I Googled them and they seem to be a tablet equivalent of Gatorade. Probably something to keep on hand.

But the best tip, tip #7, was from Ashley at Money Talks: avoidance. Avoiding a hangover is an excellent idea. To prevent a hangover, I usually drink plenty of water before bed, take some aspirin or Advil and stay awake until I feel sober enough to sleep (and get rid of the spins. Those? Are the worst).  It also helps to eat a meal with some form of protein in it as well as snack on things like veggies and dip while you’re drinking (if possible).  Or there’s always the option of not consuming any alcohol or consuming a reasonable amount.

Drinking like this is not a common activity for me (shut up, FinCon folks). I’m usually much more responsible than this and honestly, I’m a little ashamed that it got so bad. I don’t plan on letting that ever happen again but if it does, I can handle it inexpensively.

Investing basics, part 3

by Jana 1 Comment

This is the third post in the Investing Basics series, written by Jennifer from To My Girlfriends. I’m thrilled to have her guest posting here, particularly on this subject. It’s been quite informative!

Let’s talk about the S&P 500, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and the NASDAQ.  It is important to know the difference between the three and also what they represent.

The S&P 500 is an index of the top 500 publicly traded companies.  “The index does include a handful (15 as of May 8, 2012) of non-U.S. companies.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%26P_500)  There is a committee that selects which companies are allowed into the 500.  The S&P 500 is “representative of the industries in the United States economy.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%26P_500)  This is very simplistic. There are weightings of the different industries, but for our purposes we just need simplistic.

One of the things you may hear about or read about is an S&P 500 Index fund.  What that means is that the fund is attempting to mimic the returns of the S&P by having the same stocks in their portfolio.  There are a lot of brokerage firms that offer an S&P index fund.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average or the Dow is quoted all the time in regards to the market.   “It is an index that shows how 30 large publicly-owned companies based in the United States have traded during a standard trading session in the stock market.[1]”    (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dow_Jones_Industrial_Average)

The Dow Jones Industrial Average has very little resemblance to the Industrial in its name.  It was originally founded to measure the performance of heavy industry in America.  Now it is the go-to index to gauge how the stock market is doing even though it only follows 30 stocks, albeit large companies in their industries.  When I want to know how the market is REALLY doing I check the S&P 500 ticker.  The DJIA ticker is a good indicator of the stock market movements but 30 companies do not make a market, in my humble opinion.

The NASDAQ is also an indices like the S&P and the Dow.  Like both of them, the NASDAQ “is a statistical measure of a portion of the market.”  (http://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/03/072403.asp#axzz28COYuRP2)  As with the S&P, you can have a mutual fund that tracks the NASDAQ.

All of this is very confusing to most people.  I have found one of the best places for no-nonsense definitions is here:  http://budgeting.about.com/od/budget_definitions/a/The-S-and-p-500-Nasdaq-Dow-Jones-market-index.htm  I know I am inserting a lot of links today, but that is because I am not as eloquent as a writer in defining the indexes.  I don’t want to give you the wrong information.  Besides, why re-invent the wheel.

I hope this brings a little more clarity to some more of those mysterious acronyms and words you hear bandied about.

 

 

 

 

Please, just write what you know

by Jana 14 Comments

You know the expression “write what you know”? I think it exists for a reason.

When you write what you know, you give the theoretical a real life application. It makes the information seem real and relatable rather than artificial and contrived. It gives your writing a tone of understanding and knowledge that can’t be acquired simply from reading a book or a news article. It makes me want to keep coming back and, even if I disagree with what you say or do, I have an appreciation for what you’re writing.

It’s a special kind of writer that can do research and write realistically about topics she knows nothing about (for instance, Jodi Picoult. I don’t know how that woman does it but she is good). Most of us can’t do that. Most of us have to write about our experiences and our knowledge because, well…that’s all we have.

I will tell you, though, that nothing makes me click away or not return to a website faster than the author or authors trying to dispense advice on topics they clearly know nothing about. With so many aspects of life to write about, why bother with stuff you don’t have a clue about? However, if that’s what you’re interested in and that’s what you like and you feel compelled to write about it, why not just turn the topics on their heads and present information in a different light?

For instance:

  • If you have never had kids, don’t tell me how to save money on kids’ clothes or how to keep them occupied for cheap or how to host an inexpensive birthday party. While I get what you’re trying to do, it’s a whole different experience when you’re actually a parent. And no, babysitting your nephew for a weekend does not count. It would be helpful to me, as a reader, to know what you’ve learned about money from your friends who are parents. Or how your parents handling of money affected you.
  • If you’ve never dealt with a hostile or unfriendly workplace, don’t tell me how to handle a boss who’s a bully or an obnoxious co-worker. What you would do if you ever encountered that is completely different than actually encountering that situation. Instead, talk to me about what your ideal workplace looks like or how you’ve become a better employee by working in a nurturing environment.
  • If you’ve never been in debt, don’t tell me what I should and shouldn’t be doing to get out of debt. And don’t tell me you understand what I’m going through. You don’t. You’d be more helpful if you told me what you’ve gained by living a debt free life. Do it without condescension, though. Because if you’re condescending, that would make me hate you more.
  • If you don’t cook, don’t write about saving money at the grocery store or cooking from scratch. How do you know? Instead, think about how your mealtime habits could present useful information. In fact, you know what would benefit your readers? Writing about how you go out to eat every day without going bankrupt.
  • If you’ve never planned a wedding, don’t tell me how to do it “on the cheap” (one of the many expressions I abhor). Don’t give me details on how to score a sweet deal on a dress or flowers or location. Instead, tell me why you don’t want to spend a lot of money on your wedding or other ways to use that money instead of on a fancy wedding.
  • If you’ve never dealt with financial or actual infidelity, don’t give me tips on what to do next or how to spot it. Just like the bad boss or workplace, what you’d actually do is entirely different than what you think you’d do. I have no positive suggestions for this one except just leave it alone. Don’t even broach the subject.

An exception to some of these: if you are a seasoned industry veteran (ex., wedding planner, therapist, HR rep, financial planner. etc), then feel free to write away. You have insider knowledge that could benefit readers from all sides.

There are plenty of ways to discuss financial evergreen and popular topics without a) sounding cliché; b) sounding like a know-it-all asshole when in fact you know nothing about the topic; and c) being boring. If you want to write about those aspects of personal finance, great. Fabulous! Just make sure that you’re drawing on what you know and your experiences in order to make it as authentic (and as useful) to your readers as possible.

Because that? Is good writing.

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