This is about green not green.

Starbucks recently rebranded or relogoed. If that's a  word. They're still very much the same brand.

Anyway, a re-logoing for any company means the added expense of all new logoed materials. For starbucks, I would think (perhaps naively) the brunt of this would come in the form of napkins and cups. I would be really interested to know how they dealt with that. That would be so cool, if they dwindled their inventory before the relaunch.

Speaking of paper cups, I've likely mentioned here before that we make 95% of the coffee I drink at our place and I often have a travel mug in my bag. It bears repeating, some chains give a dime discount when you bring your own cup (akin to certain grocery stores when you bring your own bags). However if you're forgetful, like me, and you think you'll lose your travel mug, as I have before, do NOT fret.

One of our friends bought a sleeve of paper cups and lids because he realized it was cheaper to make at home and take in that disposable cup than to buy a disposable cup at Starbucks.

So in short: If you don't trust yourself to not lose your travel mug but still want to enjoy something of the savings for home brewing, pick up a sleeve of the paper cups with lids. Its still likely cheaper than the coffee shop and you can "pitch in" when you're done. No travel mug to remember or lose.

free samples ...

We'd get little packets of cinnamon cream of wheat, or gum or instant coffee or this or that and my wife would ask where they came from.

They're everywhere and for everything, these free samples. The simplest aggregate listing of daily free samples, or at least my favorite, is posted daily on the gizmodo.com blog. Find "The Best Deal of the Day" entry and scroll to the bottom to find the Hobomodo heading for their list of free sample sites. On the scroll down, also enjoy some pretty sweet deals on home entertainment, electronics, computers, gaming and peripherals.

In short:

Gizmodo.com


and enter "dealzmodo" in the search field for their latest deals OR;

Like the Dealzmodo on the Facebook.

Good night.

Portable and cheap snack.

Don't want to buy a snack in the middle of the day but want something the slightest bit substantive?

Boil an egg. Keep it in the shell. Put it in your bag.

Why?

The shell is strong. The egg is reasonably priced as part of a dozen. The stomach is fed.

Keep a few little salt or pepper packets in the bag for seasoning.

Overdue fees ...

If you rent, borrow, or use something that's not yours, there is potential for you to return it later then you should.

For example, here in the NY Public Library, they have a wide selection of movies but if you keep them beyond their due date, you'll be dinged 3 dollars. So what was once free is now infinitely more expensive.

If you borrow, rent, or use something that is not yours, upon rental, put a reminder in your phone, day planner or email that will notify you in advance of it's due date so that you can enjoy your borrowed goods to their fullest and still return them to their rightful owner.

Late fees add up, don't think they don't.

But if you find yourself the recipient of a late fee, make sure when you pay it, you get a receipt acknowledging closure of that debt. I've heard of people paying their library fines (up to 8 or 10 dollars) not getting a receipt, only to find out payment wasn't recorded. Boo.

In short: Return things on time. But if you don't and you have to pay a fine, get a receipt. Everybody wins. The lending body gets theirs and you get record of your payment.

Fly me to the ... Gateway to the West!

Despite airline baggage increasing in price (very rarely and under certain conditions do you get free baggage; some even charge for carry-on.) people are turning to air travel more and more. Airlines are making profits again and know their services are in demand. So what is a cost concerned customer to do.

The cost of air travel and our current subjective and corporate economic status found us contemplating not flying to see family over Christmas. Tickets were 600-700 on a good day and often more, particularly as the season got close, prohibitively so.

What are a couple of newlyweds trying to be responsible in the face of high flight prices to do?

This instant, found us dabbling with Priceline. You know the ones where Bill Shatner goes to bat for you.

Actually, we had used other discount flight aggregators before but my wife was browsing around Priceline to see what it was about. She found flights for almost half of what they cost on other sites. The only cost, in my mind, was one of convenience. You wouldn't know when you were flying until you booked. Small price to pay to spend Christmas with part of the family.

The key; bid low. If your bid is rejected, they'll tell you and you can bid again. Simple as pie. Is that an expression?

In short: If you're flexible and like taking a chance, Priceline has saved us, and could save you, hundreds of dollars on flights.

Loyalty programs ...

Loyalty is one of my favorite traits. I won't anthropomorphize corporations to suggest they exhibit something resembling human loyalty but they require our patronage and it would be an incredible adjustment to live without some of their services.

A lot of them will reward you (so to speak) for your patronage. I think this is likely because for these financial decisions, economy will often trump loyalty. Can you blame us?

One of those corporations that tries to reward you, I was happy to learn, is my bank.

Bank of America offers free admission to museums across the country. What this means is that if you are a holder of one of their debit or credit account and go to these museums on the first weekend of the month, POW! free.

What kind of perks do your cards and memberships have?

Here's one that was staring me in the desk the whole time ...

I'm not sure of the monetary savings (specifically) involved in this one but it is good for the pocket book and the earth.

At work or at home, it's likely you've begun recycling paper. Very often, that recycled paper only has print on one side. What about that other side? What about it indeed? For the last couple of years, we've been trying to use both sides of the paper, for writing and computer printing. Rather than putting a (half-used) piece of paper directly into the blue bin, begin a pile of the stuff to put that other side to good use.

I would not, however, use recycled paper for documents I need to mail to government or business offices, or for resumes. Maybe that's just me. But in general, you'll get twice as much use from a sheet of paper.

shed a little light . . .

Anything that doesn't need power over night or when you're away from your home, put on an easily accessible power bar and turn it off during those times. Or better yet, unplug it.

This is a pretty small idea but over time it can make a surprisingly big difference. I like how simple it is. I just have to remember to do it. I think we cut our monthly power by 5 or 10 bucks when I'm diligent about it. You never know when 60 or 120 bucks extra a year will come in handy.

I'll give you a good price ...

Some people are just down right dishonest in their attempt to take you money.

It was autumn 2004 and I had just moved here from Toronto. In the interest of convenience, I packed and travelled relatively light. I had my discman and earphones but no speakers. So one night, I was wandering around the area by the building where I worked and I walked into one of these no name or generically named camera, luggage, souvenir, electronics stores, kind of looking for a small set of speakers.

I'm browsing beneath the glass of the display cases and the man behind the counter strikes up a conversation with me about the upcoming election asking me who I would vote for. I explain I am not from here and, thus, cannot vote. So he asks, if I had to, who would I vote for. Maybe he was wondering, but I think he was just trying to put me into a comfort zone. He asked what I was looking for and I told him, a small set of speakers for my discman. He shows me this one set. I'd never heard of the brand before. He told me the price. I believe it was pushing 70 bucks but he said he'd give it to me for 40. Now that's a steal of a deal.

Well, after paying for them and taking them home I did a little online research. Those telescoping bass boosting speakers had a suggested retail price 12 dollars. Cue slide trombone.

Don't buy from these places, buy from stores, chains even, that you trust.

fin

take care, brush your hair ...

Here's one of the best parts with the way hair styles go these days. You just have to own it. And hairstyles are not as conservative or fastidious as they once were. So there should be a through line or some rhyme or reason to it but there's also a little more elbow room for creativity.

"Where's he going with this," you're probably asking yourself. You'd be right to ask that.

All this means is that if you're really looking for more ways to cut overhead expenses, save money and you think you're running out of options, try cutting your own hair.

My wife cuts both hers and mine. And she's getting better at it too. I was hesitant at first, I don't know that she's received professional training (though she does have math degree) so I reluctantly said, "what the hay?" And to be honest, it's good.

If this is something you want to do, here's a "training wheel" tip. Get a haircut at your regular place and just practice keeping it trimmed to get used to the idea and better at the actual cutting.

Buy our estimate, we can easily save between 1000 and 1500 dollars a year by doing this. Your savings may be more or less depending on hair length and city of residence but you get my drift.

"cut it out"

Hello, hello, hellooooooo..............

Brad's wife here - I decided to step in when I read his original post.  I'm the one who teaches finance classes around the city and teaches get out of debt workshops - so I want to address something here.  This suggestion is NOT something I teach or talk about when I'm giving workshops.  This is one of those EXTREME money saving tips - this is something I would share with friends and people who are DESPERATELY trying to find a way to have some extra cash and just cannot find any way to cut and snip any more than they already have.  Think of this tip as coming out of the Get of Debt Master Class.  It's one of the crazier, last suggestions I would give.  Here's why - It's difficult, it will mean experimenting for a while (unless you already know how to professionally cut hair)  It means watching those awesome youtube videos on style and haircut to get some tips.  It is not for the faint of heart.  I have definitely messed up both my and my husband's hair on MANY occasions.  And luckily, we sort of just laugh at it and then wait for it to grow back.  If it's important to you - your hair, your appearance - I would probably not embark on this journey.

But Brad's right - we do save quite a bit.  Not so much on his hair as we do on mine.  I've spent everywhere from $40 to $250 on haircuts.  And spending anything from $40 to $100 has always left me unpleased with my hair stylist and his/her happy scissors.  And this is not without me trying.  If you know me at all, you know my persistence.  I had spent the last 6 years trying to find a hair stylist I could be loyal to.  I found only 1 who could do my hair well, but unfortunately, she charges $250 for a cut.  So my options - spend upwards of $1500 on my hair a year, or learn to do it myself.  I obviously chose the latter.

As for my husband, I'll admit, it began as a fun little game on a Friday night.   'Let's cut your hair!'  and that first hair cut was pretty darn good.  Then a few cuts in, I lost my touch and left him with a not so good cut.  So he went to go get a professional cut - which he hadn't had to do in 5 years because he was consistently working a hosting job that had a stylist on site every month to touch up his hair (hard life for him, right?)  So off he went, spent $45 and came home with this.  

Yikes.  We let it grow out and then I recut it to look like this.

It's not perfect, but I'll keep working at it.

-VR

***** Phone Shot: self
----- Headshot: Peter Hurley peterhurley.com

I get around ...

sometimes for the sake of convenience (which almost always means more money) and time (which if the saying is correct is also money) you find yourself needing to get somewhere faster than public transportation can get you there. Bus and subway aren't going to cut the muster and you need the good old fashioned taxi cab.

Well, if you're using a taxi for speed, it's likely unbearably early in the morning or the same at night when your thoughts are most likely preoccupied with getting to wherever you're going and getting some shut eye. At least, that's my experience.

If the situation and destination is a normal conundrum for you, may I suggest this little chestnut. Know about the route you are likely to travel and/or the quickest way there. On accident or purpose of the driver, my wife and I have been in cabs that did not take the 'crow flies' route as it were and were able to suggest a preferable route for our driver.

If you are travelling on a route with which you are unfamiliar and your phone has GPS or a searchable map program, consider mapping it out. This way, you can bring any concerns about route to your driver and find out if there is reason or not to their navigating.

In short: when taking a cab, know the route you prefer to take by heart (or GPS) and if the route is avoided, politely ask why you're being taken for this ride. There may be a good reason (construction or reports of severe traffic) or there may not. It's simply good to be aware.

The price on the box ...

Something is wrong in the state of shopping, said Marcellus to Horatio, or something like that.

I have shopped at convenience stores, bodegas, those drug/convenience/groceries that a lot of places are changing into, and regular supermarkets. I have, in each of these styles of stores, experienced one thing that TOTALLY rankles me.

Ignorance might be bliss in this situation but it would eventually be a costly joy. You see, in each of these styles of stores, I have picked items off the shelves, mindful of their posted shelf price, went to the counter to purchase said items, only to find out when they are rung up by the cashier, they are "conveniently" more expensive.

Now if you don't notice, and they don't say anything, and you compound that .25 on your one item by the hundreds of other customers who will buy a little or a lot, well . . . the store is making a tidy little profit.

I am always hesitant to cast motives on other people's (or in this case, businesses') actions but it happens so often where we live that you really have to wonder if these are intentional decisions to price an item lower on the shelf and higher in the register.

That aside, I think it's not an unreasonable desire to want to pay the cashier the price on the shelf.

In short:

-keep in mind shelf prices (write them down if you're really worried) especially if part of your intent to buy was based on the lure of a low price.
-pay attention at the cash register, particularly to those items that show 'sale' shelf prices.
-hopefully, keep that money . . . for other things.

Dismissed.