If you're like me, you often need to perform a calculation for something, but the mind (mine, at least!) being what it is, I often forget how to do it.
That's why I love online financial calculators. They not only save time, but they're fun to use to play "What If" games. As in, what if I quit smoking? How much money will I have saved (it's more than you think)? Or, how much will that $2,000 I invested in an IRA when I got my first job grow to when I'm 70 (again, it's more than you think)?
I've used quite a few online calculators in my day. One I came across recently is DollarTimes.com. It not only has the garden-variety Savings Calculator, Mortgage Calculator, and Car Loan Calculator, but it also has the afore-mentioned Cigarette Quitting Calculator, the Pack a Lunch Calculator, and the Millionaire Calculator (try it here).
Here are some more useful online calculators:
Bankrate.com
Washington Mutual Mortgage Calculator
Yahoo!
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Quick Post: I have a new link up there called Free Magazines! There are literally dozens of free magazines to choose from. I've subscribed to a lot of these over the years, both the free way and the paid way.
Let me tell you, free is better!
Some of the best:
UPDATE: This post was featured in the Carnival of Personal Finance #152
Last week's Two for Tuesdays edition was called the "Vice Edition" because it was about quitting bad habits. This week's edition is called "The Food-Poisoned Wife Edition" because, well, my wife was sick today with bad stomach monkeys and I stayed home to care for her and our 2 boys (a two-and-a-half and a 7 month-old). Wow. What she, and any mother goes through on a daily basis is more than I do in a week! High praise to all the people who are able and willing to raise children while the spouse goes off and "works."
We took an early-morning walk downtown, which was having an arts and wine festival. We walked around quite a bit and worked up a really big hunger. I hate paying for generally poor quality food at extremely high prices. Saving money is NOT something you do when you go to one of these things.
But we decided to take the plunge anyway. I got a ribeye sandwich, something I had never had before. My wife got a teriyaki bowl with rice and chicken. We found a place to sit down. Everything is going smoothly. My 7 month-old was asleep, his brother was hungry and we were ready. Except I forgot something. I went to go get it and then...
It happened.
My son took my sandwich out of its wrapper and dropped it meat-side down on the bus stop bench we were using for a picnic table.
Nice.
$8 down the drain. But me, being a frugal guy and all, decided to eat it anyway. And, boy, that was the best steak sandwich I'd ever had! So, in a sense I saved money by not buying a "clean" sandwich.
Now, on to the tips.
#1
Buy local. Not only is doing so supporting your local merchant, but it's also saving you gas. At nearly $4 (and already over in some places), you cannot afford to drive 20 miles to your favorite mall or super grocery store. Buy your staple goods once a month (or less) at Costco, Sam's or some other discount store, but buy your fresh veggies and fruit from a local merchant.
There is a third benefit. You're not only supporting your local farmers and other merchants, you're not just saving gas. You're doing more. By selling much of his inventory at the local grocer, your farmer is not having to ship his goods to farther-away locations. This is saving the planet.
Find a local farmers' market here. And if you shop carefully, you can also save money versus a big-box supermarket like Safeway or Albertsons.
#2
Buy an Entertainment Book. These things are terrific! You'll save the cost of the book the first or second time you use it. Seriously. They have coupons for everything from dining to shopping to travel plus movies and events. We buy one of these each year and save a TON of money above and beyond the cost of the book.
