The Super Bowl is just around the corner and if your house is about be invaded by party-goers, you might be worried about what hosting a huge party is going to cost you.

Potlucks and BYOB are always a good way to host a party on the cheap, but if you want to keep the burden off of your guests, here are a few way to keep the costs down on the food, decor and entertainment.

1. Food

A Super Bowl party is one event where you can get away with serving cheap food. Fact of the matter is, most people aren’t looking for prime rib. They want salty chips and cold beer.

Here are a few things that are easy to make and cost less than $5 each:

Deviled Eggs – Less than $3,00

Bag of Chips & Salsa – $4.00-$5.00

Vegetarian Chili – Around $5.00 for 8 servings (Add another $3.00 if you want the ground beef)

Carryout Pizza – $5.00 for a Large 1-Topping at places like Little Caesars & Hungry Howies

2. Decor

The elaborate, Martha Stewart-like decorations that adorn some football parties are fun, but truth be told, most folks won’t miss them. Save a few bucks and skip out on all of the team decor and football shaped piñatas.

If you’re insistent on decorating, a couple rolls of streamers in your favorite team’s color can go a long way to transforming a room. And if you’re feeling REALLY creative, decorating the party food can be a fun, cheap way to add some life to your party. Check out this massive football stadium we found made out of Doritos, Twinkies  and Guacamole. LOL! It’s brought to you by the fine folks over at HolyTaco.com and here are the step-by-step directions if you want to make your own.

Photo by HolyTaco.com

3. Entertainment

Once the game starts, all eyes will be on the TV, but try adding a little bit of entertainment to keep your guests engaged and socializing. Here are a couple of ideas…

• Start a friendly pool on which team will win how large the spread will be. I recommend setting a house maximum of $20 a person so that it doesn’t get out of control.
• Have all your guests guess how many beer commercials will air during the Super Bowl and send the winner home with a bottle of liquor.
• The folks over at HolidayCentral.com suggest putting together Superbowl Commercial Bingo. They advise you to “create or purchase 5 x 5 bingo cards. Each card must be unique for each player. Play the game like traditional bingo, but the squares on the bingo card will be based on things you will see in commercials during the Super Bowl. Some suggestions include:  Pizza Delivery Guy, Kick to the Groin, Soda Commercial, Talking Babies, Movie Trailer, GPS Commercial, or CarInsurance Commercial.  Any five squares in a row represent a Bingo win.”

Have fun everyone!!

*Superbowl party photo by jasonlam on flickr*

I don’t like cleaning; and I make no secret of that fact.  Dust can multiply for months, and I might notice that it is there, but I probably won’t clean it.  I do have the basics that I do every day—dishes, and general picking up.  I clean the bathrooms and sweep and mop the kitchen floor, so I am not a complete slob, but I hate deep cleaning.

A few years ago hiring a house cleaner seemed like a luxury I couldn’t afford.  However, my husband and I are in gazelle intense mode now that he has finished his Ph.D.  Simply put, we have a lot of debt to pay off from his many years in school.  I work from home and have recently come to the conclusion that I make more per hour than a housecleaner does.  I could justify the expense of a house cleaner coming in every two weeks to do more deep cleaning such as mopping the entire upstairs, dusting, cleaning blinds, etc. if I work during the time the housecleaner is there.

Many of us are conditioned to see outsourcing household chores as a luxury that we should not waste money on.  (At least that was the way I was raised.)  However, if you work a full-time job and have a side gig in the evenings and weekends, AND make more per hour than you would pay for the outsourcing, it may make sense to hire someone to do the tasks you don’t want to or don’t have the time to do.  I would much rather do my work than clean the house, and economically, it makes sense to outsource.

Of course, housecleaning isn’t the only chore you could outsource.   There is dry cleaning, lawn care, even meal planning.  (There are plenty of sites that offer meal plans at a reasonable cost.  Every week you login and they give you a list of meals, the recipes, and your grocery list.  All you have to do is the cooking and shopping.)  If you are thinking of outsourcing, choose tasks that you don’t like to do.  I happen to enjoy grocery shopping and cooking, so I don’t want to outsource that.  Cleaning?  That is a different story.

If you can easily afford to outsource, there may be no hesitation on your part.  However, if you are on a tight budget like we are or if you are trying to work as hard as you can to pay down debt as quickly as you can, you may feel that you cannot justify the expense of outsourcing.  Take the time to crunch the numbers.  If you can find someone in the neighborhood to mow your lawn at $20 per hour and you can make $40 per hour doing your own work, it makes sense to outsource because you still walk away with an extra $20 (the $40 you earned minus the $20 you paid to have someone mow).  If outsourcing gives you more hours to work and ultimately nets you more money, it may well be worth doing.

*Photo by Cole007*

It is not unusual for students to move several times over the course of their college career.  They may move from the dorm to an off campus apartment with friends and then to their own apartment.  However, before moving multiple times, think carefully about the expenses you will incur.

When I was in graduate school, I moved six times over the course of 2.5 years.  I had a nice apartment the first year, but it was small and a bit over my budget.  I thought the responsible thing to do would be to move to a cheaper apartment, but I ended up moving every few months after that for a number of different reasons.  However, in almost every apartment I moved to, the landlords never gave me back my security deposit, even though I had not caused any damage to the apartment.  I lost at least $1,000 over those moves in security deposits.  (I now know what they did was illegal and that I had rights as a tenant, but I didn’t know that then.)  Suddenly the savings I saw from moving to a different apartment evaporated.

When you move to the new apartment, you will have to pay a security deposit, typically 1 to 1.5x the amount of your monthly rent.  Some apartments also require that you pay first and last months’ rent also.  This can cost you several hundred to several thousand dollars upfront.

Then there is the expense of moving your belongings and furniture.  If you have to hire movers, this could run a couple of hundred dollars.  If you have friends that will help you move, buying them pizza is a nice gesture.  Depending on how many friends help, this could run you $50 to $75.  If you have large furniture to move, you will probably need to rent a moving truck for a day or two.

In addition to the larger expenses of possibly losing your security deposit from the old apartment, paying a security deposit and possible first and last months’ rent at the new apartment and the cost of the move itself, there are other smaller expenses.

-If your new apartment is not wired for the Internet service you prefer to use, you will need to pay for the installation.

-If you still use checks, you will need to pay for new checks with your new address on them.

-You may need to buy smaller items for the apartment such as new shower curtains, blinds, and other accessories.

There are many expenses that you will have to pay when in college.  While it may seem responsible to move to a cheaper apartment to save money on rent, make sure that you crunch the numbers to see if, after all of the associated moving costs, you are actually saving a significant amount of money.  Moving is not fun; why go through the hassle if your savings will be minimal?  The best bet is to choose a location you can live in for the majority, if not the entirety, of your college career and save yourself the expense and hassle of moving.

*Photo by Parvinder Singh*

I received the following email the other day. Here is the email below and my reply. What other stories / advice can you offer this reader. I asked her to check back here for more info from this great community!

I am currently taking the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University class that is being offered by FREE by my employer. At first I was excited but now it seems I have just fallen off. Since I have been taking the class I gotten a tax refund and money from a car accident.  I didn’t do the things I was suppose to,  not even start the $1000 emergency fund.  However, I did pay off a few bills.

I feel that I just wasted the money.   Let me add that I didn’t go out and splurge on things like new cars and flatscreen TVs.  I didn’t by anything come to think of it, but we did eat out more than we usually do but surely all of the money didn’t go to eating out. I was also going to ask what do you think of this.

My husband hurt his back and has been out of work for a year. My job alone can’t pay our normal household bills not to mention excess bills. I just got a part time job and if I take my entire check from my full time job it can pay all the bills and the part time we can use or gas, food, etc. What do you think?

- Sandra

My reply:

First I’d like to thank Sandra for reaching out and allowing me to publish her question and my response.  There are other readers who may have a similar situation and hopefully the responses from the community will be a benefit to others!

I see 3 issues and I’ll attempt to address each of them:

1. Financial Peace University ~ Don’t beat yourself up for not completing this.  I am a HUGE advocate of FPU and while it is a proven way to financial stability it is not the only way.  Dave Ramsey says that when it comes to finances it is 80% behavior and 20% head knowledge.  Ask yourself “why” you didn’t complete this task and address that.

2. It’s good that you paid off a few bills.  However you probably feel you’ve wasted it because you can’t account for a good chunk of it.  You’d be surprised how fast money flies when you are eating out.  Whatever your plan of attack, YOU NEED AN EMERGENCY FUND. I can’t stress the importance of this enough.  If $1,000 is out of reach right now, set a goal of $500.  Practice saving!

3.  I’m sorry to hear about your husband’s back injury.  It can be a drastic change to go from 2 incomes to 1.  I think your part-time job solution is a decent short term solution, but you need to think long term.  You need to immediately increase your cash flow.  A part-time job will do that, but how long do you think you can sustain 60 hr work weeks?  Are there expenses you can cut / decrease?  Cable?  Cell phone plans?  Insurance premiums?

Hope this helps!

Readers, it’s your turn!  What advice can you offer Sandra?  Leave your responses in the comments!

Last week I adopted a puppy from the Humane Society.  It’s no secret that any pet will cost money, so I figured it would be an interesting exercise to see how much the pup is costing per month.   This is what was spent in the month of Feb.  I adopted him on the last day of the month so it wasn’t much:

February 2011
Adoption fees: $90
This includes first set of shots, micro-chip, etc

Total for 2011:
$90

In March, I’ve already spent money on a Kennel crate, leashes and collars.  I still need to get dog food, dishes and a couple toys before I bring Otis home.  I also know that neutering will cost $25.

What about you?
I need your help dog lovers!  What is a good brand of Puppy food?   What other expenses will I encounter this first year?  In your opinion, what is frivolous and what is a necessity?

Yesterday I wrote about my encounter with an Internet scam artist.  Fortunately, I’ve didn’t fall for his ploy or countless other ones encountered in the past.  I’ve been shopping online for at least the last decade and don’t plan on slowing down.  It’s convenient and you can find some great deals.  While I’m certainly no less immune to hacks, attacks and scams than the next guy, developing online safety habits increase your chances of being compromised.

I’ve only recently started using Craigslist (within the past year).  Since then I have purchased:

• Dining room table set and baker’s rack
• Large dog crate / kennel
• Misc. puppy supplies
• Designer purse
• Electric Fireplace w/mantle and heater

Sold:

• Washer & Dryer Set

Gave Away / Curb Alert

• Entertainment Center

As you can see, I do more buying than selling.  My transactions have been pleasant exchanges.  Here are a few tips I follow for Craigslist transactions:

1. I use the Craigslist notification app for Android.  With this, I am able to set key words for items I am ready to buy and get a notification to my phone as soon as items matching my key words are posted.

2.  Before contacting someone about an item, I make sure I have a pickup strategy.  Many sellers are trying to unload items ASAP, so they aren’t going to be willing to hold items for 2-3 days while you arrange a pick up.

3.  Whenever possible, I meet in a public, well lit place for the exchange.  My latest transaction was in a Walgreen’s parking lot.

4. If going to someones home is unavoidable (such as larger items like the dining room set), then take someone with you.  Also, let someone else know where you are going.

5. When selling, I avoid pick-ups from my home at all costs.  With the washer / dryer set it was unavoidable, so I insisted on my husband being home.  In fact, I let him handle the transaction.

6.  When selling, do not publish your address in your listing.  A city is sufficient.  If you live in a larger city, you can be more specific or list the district.  Do not give out your address until you have spoken to potential sellers.

7.  If you schedule a meeting with someone, be on time.  Call in advance .

8.  I’ve found negotiations work best over phone / email.  Unless the item has an undisclosed flaw that merits a discount, the price is typically agreed before meeting.

9.  If posting an item for sell, include pictures.   I filter my searches by image only, I’m sure other potential buyers do the same thing.

10.  Don’t be THAT GUY:

• That guy who posts the same article all day to stay at the top
• That guy that doesn’t delete his listing or mark it as sold
• That guy with the embellished inaccurate condition description
• That guy that says he / she will hold an item only to have it sold by the time you arrive

I’ve been fortunate!  All my transactions have saved me time and / or money.  Like my entertainment center give away.  When I was ready to move, I already knew I wasn’t going to take it with me.  I set it by the dumpster in my old apartment complex and left.  I was contacted a couple days later by the rental agency and was told I would be fined for the removal fee.  I asked for a couple days to move the entertainment center myself.  I posted a *curb alert* on Craigslist that morning.  I went by my old apartment after work on the piece was gone!  Someone got a nice entertainment center and I didn’t have to pay a trash removal fee!

What about you?
Do you use Craigslist?  Why or why not?
If you have used the service, tell us about your experience in the comments!

The hubby and I decided we wanted a puppy!  Anyone that knows me knows I am a dog lover ~ always has been.  So I’m very excited about bringing a puppy home.  We knew we were going to get a dog once most of the major home renovations were out the way.  Now that’s done and we made the decision it’s time to begin shopping!

I appreciate all dogs so I’m not concerned with pedigrees or papers…in fact, all my past canines have been certified mutts!

We scoured the papers and found a lab mix pup that was being given away….by the time we called, the pup was gone.  DOG GONE IT!     The search continues….

I have no interest in breeding and as I already stated….I’m a mutt lover!  I would rather purchase a dog a little to no cost and use the money saved towards puppy-care.  With that in mind, I sorted the ads by price, lowest to highest. This little cutie caught my eye among the free ads:

Current on all shots as well as vaccines

Love to play and go for walks

Looking for a home wher they would be spoiled with love

Serious ontacts only please

Contact………… willanthony9@g***l.com

Wow, what a cute pet that would make I thought.  I didn’t notice the misspellings in the ad or become suspicious by the 10+ other identical ads by the same seller.  So I emailed the seller:

Do you have any lab pups still available?  I would be willing to pick up today.  My husband and I own a home with a huge basement and backyard.

Please let me know!

Lakita

A couple days later I received the following email reply:

Hi,
Thanks for your respond in regards to our puppies. Ricky (male) and
Lola(female) are the 2 available puppies awaiting a new home. They are
hand raised, hand fed, potty and home trained domestics. They have a
good relationship with other home pets, well socialized, pre-spoiled.
They are Vet checked with updated vet records, current on vaccines,
shots and wormed. They have an excellent temperament ,they have
wonderful and great personalities, exceptional champion bloodlines.
They are close ringed, closed bonded. They are kennel club registered,
tested and proven .Their nails are well trimmed . They have
crate equivalent toys ,a free bag of an organic
feed and food menu with other accessories .They are fast learners
,like playing ,full of fun and very sensitive. They are ready for
their new home and going out for an adoption,
they have adapted to the following:
-They eat 2 to 3 times daily and have adapted to that.
-They take to order like when you ask them to lie down.
We are giving them for adoption because we are being moved to lots of
different places due to the nature of our job which also requires a
lot of time. We realized they are going to be lonely and as you know
they are very delicate creatures and need a lot of care and devotion
and that is why we are looking and have decided to give them out to a
loving and caring home where they will be loved, cared for and will be
given all the time and attention that they need, maintained and brought
up, they will meet up with any requirements if need be. we are located
in HONOLULU in HAWAII
Do you have any puppy presently? What breed, Small Description?
-Are you taking both puppies? If not male or female.
-Do you have a large yard that they can play?
You will be paying but the  transportation fee to your home.We shall
be waiting to hear from you soon so that we can proceed with all
arrangements.

All we need for these lovely babies is love and care and if
you are willing to take very good care of these cute babies we will
let you have it OK.All you need to do is pay for the delivery fees
which is $250 for each of the puppies and $500 for both puppies so if
you are interested ,we will need your full delivery address so that we
can get these babies registered and delivered to you OK.so get back
with these information’s.
-your full names
-house address
-contact number
-state
-nearest airport to your home
with this address we will get these babies registered and delivered
to you and we hope you will take very good care of these babies as
part of your family.We will be shipping them from Honolulu
International Airport .We shall be using a reliable delivery agency
which offers home delivery services so the puppies will be delivered
at your door steps.They also have well trained vet specialist that
will take proper care of pets during flight.The shipping fee will be
paid directly to the shipping company.
Waiting to hear from you

STAY BLESSED

Attached were about 10 more pictures of “Lola” and “Ricky”  — these were like puppy models…taken with a backdrop.  Here are a couple more examples:

I highlighted the red flags!  It’s a shame the stunts people will pull to try to make a quick buck!  I sent the following reply:

I already adopted a pup from a local shelter.
Why are you posting in a St. Louis newspaper if you live in Hawaii?  Sounds fishy to me!

That was the last I heard from Will Anthony!
Until this morning…I got an identical reply from “Simson Hubber”.  Same pups, same name, from Hawaii.

I’m  not even going to reply this time, but I will be reporting this abuse / scam!
Buyers beware!

****************
As I made reference to above, we did adopt the cutest border collie / boxer mix from the humane society.  We pick him up next week, but here is a picture of Otis:

What about you?  Have you seen this online scam before?  What precautions to you take to stay safe shopping online?

Every once in a while I like to do a financial check-up to make sure I’m getting the best deal possible.  Sometimes, what was a good deal in the past is no longer a good deal.  As old habits die and new habits emerge it’s important to make sure you’re not paying for something you no longer need.

The Background:
Many readers may remember how I saved over $70/month by cutting the cable completely off.  That season lasted for 8 months and I was able to save money to put towards other things, including beefing up the emergency fund.

However, since then, I have bought a house, gotten married and turned the cable back on.  When choosing a service provider,  the cable bundle beat out satellite dish / DSL combos.  Also, I was going to install a land line phone, something I didn’t need in my apartment, solely to keep the alarm system activated.

Fast Forward 7 months….

I have a cable 3-in-1 bundle with a home phone that I rarely use.  But, I keep it around because I assume I need it for the security system to work.

There has to be a better way….the call….

I decide to call the security company to see if there is a way to keep the service without a land line phone.  It turns out, they can install a cellular \ wireless box with a one time installation fee of $250 and an additional $12/month.

Since my phone bill is $30, eventually this would pay for itself.  But it gets better….

I ask if they have any upcoming promotions with a lower priced installation fee.  The salesman tells me no.  I then ask if they offer military discounts.  Again, I am told no, but they do offer discounts for AARP and USAA members.  HEY, I’M A USAA MEMBER!

As a USAA member my installation fee is $230 plus $10/month.  Cha Ching!

Next, I ask him to help me get a Certificate of Installation, so I can get my insurance discount.  (Sidebar – This is something I should have done about 7 months ago!)

I was guided through how to print that from the website and immediately sent it to my home insurance representative.

Let’s Tally the Savings!

Phone bill ($30) – Cellular Backup ($10) = $20 saved / month
USAA discount = $2/month
Home Insurance discount = $5/month

Total savings ($27) * 12 months = $324/year

Not bad for a 5 minute phone call that is going to result in recurring savings.  Since I have to front the $230 for installation, I won’t start truly saving until around month 7.  But there will be an immediate extra $27/month that can be applied to building savings or paying off debts.

What about you? Do you have services or subscriptions you rarely or never use?  What would you do with an extra $324 / year?  Are these check-ups worth it?

I’m not a fan of Kim Kardashian.  In fact, I barely know who she is accept that she was featured in one of the challenges of this season’s Apprentice.  What I did find interesting is the controversy surrounding her debit card.

Even more interesting…and the point of this article, is the cancellation of the Kardashian Kard (yes, I know I spelled card wrong, but that is how it was marketed) after it came under fire.

It is was a pre-paid debit card designed to appeal to teens.  Nothing wrong with that on the surface.  In fact, it had the potential to be a great tool to teach youth about money matters such as budgeting, spending and planning.

Instead, the card gouges users with unprecedented fees.  To see how ridiculous these fees are, they are placed next to the Walmart pre-paid card:

“The Kardashians have worked extremely long and hard to create a positive public persona that appeals to everyone, particularly young adults,”

“Unfortunately, the negative spotlight turned on the Kardashians as a result of the Attorney General’s comments and actions threatens everything for which they have worked.”

I won’t be winning the crown for the “queen of frugality” this year!  There are areas where I still suffer from lifestyle inflation.  OK, maybe suffer is a bit extreme because I’m enjoying my new toy that I am about to disclose below.

When asked what frugality means to me for Almost Frugal This is What Frugal Looks Like Series, I defined frugality as a prioritized lifestyle.

Last year, when I cut off my cable for 8 months, some might consider that extreme frugality.  But cable wasn’t something that ranked high priority for me.

Now, on the other hand…for the last 8 years, I’ve upgraded my cell phone on average of every 2 years.  My latest phone is the HTC EVO 4G Android Phone (Sprint).  After rebate it comes with a $200 price tag and 2 year commitment.

I was reflecting, and my last 4 mobile devices were at or near the top of the line for their time:

• Motorola Razr
• MotoQ (affectionately nicknamed the RazrBerry)
• Palm Pre

So what does this mean?  Will I ever achieve the ranks of frugal guru?  Probably not!  But, that’s not my goal or destination either.

I can justify the purchase of smart phones because I am somewhat of a power user.  I will use the mobile banking, blogging apps, multiple calendars, Twitter, Facebook, GPS navigation etc, etc, etc

I don’t get a new phone every 2 years to “keep up with the joneses”, nor am I disillusioned enough to say “I need it” (it’s definitely a want!), but it is something that I can justify spending the money on.

Consequently, while honeymooning earlier this month, I stumbled upon a Coach outlet mall.  I thought I wanted a Coach handbag, but even the bags on clearance were over $150.  I couldn’t justify it in my head (I’m sure hubby was happy!)

And that is what makes personal finance so interesting to me…it’s personal!

So….what about you?
What areas are you “extremely frugal” contrasted with “liberal spending”.
What are your spending priorities?