I’ve been using Inksmile.com to buy toners for the laser printer that I use in my small business. Filling up all toners on my printer costs about $450 at Office Depot, so I’ve been searching for a better way.
Inksmile.com is doing the trick and I ordered three $144 toners the other day for $87 each.
Another added benefit–they ALWAYS have free shipping!
The 29th and 30th of June, you can use coupon code END061509 to save 15% off regular prices.
Today was my first TV appearance as a professional writer. I was interviewed about a story I wrote a while back for BusinessWeek.com. Here’s the program: http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=7865743.
If you’re interested in the original article, you can read more at www.jessicaward.me
Reducing our debts and refinancing into a shorter-term mortgage has really helped our credit score! My credit score is up 61 points in three months from 710 to 771. Almost maxed out the CreditKarma.com scale!
Soon to be debt-free and then that score will start going down again….. but that’s OK with me. Who needs credit when they live debt-free?
I don’t know about you, but medical bills have been hitting our house like no body’s business! I honestly can’t believe the rate they’re flocking in right now despite our relatively good health, and decent health insurance.
An ear infection here, a broken tooth there, and routine prescriptions are a truly massive part of our monthly budget.
Here are my tips for reining in your medical costs.
1. HAVE Insurance. Find a way. Consider groups that you could join that would allow you to access medical insurance, but just because you have medical insurance doesn’t mean you shouldn’t ask your provider if a cash price would be lower than your actual deductible. Investigate this possibility. I was surprised to receive a bill for insurance for my $80 co-pay for an outer-ear infection (a scratch on my ear that needed an antibiotic to heal). The cash price for the visit since it was just 3 minutes would have been $30. I said a bad word.
2. Understand your policy. Completely. Deductibles, co-pay, in-network and out. Use in-network when you can. Here’s a great resource for the National Endowment for Financial Education.
3. Use a health savings account or cafeteria plan if it’s available to you. These can save a bundle and be used to pay for all kinds of things!
4 Rx Tips are their own little post I think but I can sum it up below:
a: get a discount card. AAA has a great one, Rite-Aid and Walmart and Target all have cards/programs, but don’t give up on a quality pharmacist who’s going to check your meds vs your allergies and contradictions.
b. Use generics when you can.
c. Ask your doc for samples if you’re starting a new medication, esp for long term use. I had a doc give me antibiotic samples recently, which was wonderful, as it turned out I was allergic. I’m sure glad I didn’t buy a month’s supply!
d. There are many prescription assistance programs, including the Partnership for Prescription Assistance which you may be able to turn to depending on your condition.
5. Dental care: if you don’t have dental insurance, you should still get your cleanings–this little expense may save you a lot in expensive repairs later. You can do this at a dental school, but pack your patience. I have had this done once (in college) and got my teeth cleaned just before graduation for $15. What a steal! It took two hours though, and the hygienist in training used a purple dye, which she cleaned off. Simple enough, but as sweet as this lady was, she was extraordinarily clumsy, and dropped the dye–on my nose. The purple dye was guest of honor at graduation, but my teeth continue to serve me well and I’ve still never had a cavity.
6. Perfect time for a segue–preventative care will save you a bundle. When you have insurance, its usually covered. Get those annual exams, the tests, mammograms, paps, and shots. You need them and early detection will save you a fortune and provide peace of mind.
7. When was the last time you had an eye exam? I recently found this great source for Rx Glasses. I always have three pairs, which costs a pretty penny–so next time, I’m giving this site a try: http://www.clearlylenz.com/ They advertise a full set of glasses for $36, but you do need to have your Rx information.
8. If possible, use a nurse hot line, emergency appt at your regular doc or a urgent care center before opting for emergency room care. Deductibles are very high in the ER, and waits can be very long.
9. Eat out less, drink less alcohol, quit smoking and walk more. Your bottom line (and your bottom) will thank you.
10. If you can’t pay, and medical bills are threatening to push you into bankruptcy –first try negotiating with your provider for a write-off or a lower rate. I’ve working on a review over at ProsperLending Review of a company called “IOUSOS“, which facilitates negotiation and collection of medical debts between patients and providers. The National Endowment for Financial Literacy also offers a manual about managing medical debt here.
Bonus item: Don’t forget to save reciepts on all medical costs for tax time. Some are deductible! (Ask your tax-preparer for more info).
I don’t know if you’ve seen the art exhibit about e-waste recently, but it’s shocking how many electronic gadgets we “consume” worldwide in the form of mobile phones, batteries, cameras, etc. Some of these have lived beyond their usefulness. I have on my desk, and old mobile phone/PDA and a digital camera that no longer works, and I went looking for a savvy way to recycle them.
I found Gazelle, which will PAY ME for the gadgets, and also, they’ll manage the shipping, and even send me a box. (So I do NOTHING, Literally).
Oh, and I get $53 (varies depending on the make/model of your equipment. Give it a try–the link is below.
You’ve likely noticed that I run ads here on Pennywise Family. It’s how I keep my blog free (ofsetting server, time, etc.)
My committment to you is taht I only run ads for companies that *I* use adn taht I think are a good value.
I’ve recently found Inksmile.com and added their ads. In my small home Business (I have a mobile business services company), toner is my single greatest annual budget item.
A refill for my four-color lazer printer runs about $600 at Office Depot. Since I need a refill every six weeks, as you can imagine, things in the toner department get out of hand quickly!
I’ve started using Inksmile.com myself, and their HP lazer toners run about 30% less than the store. They provide free shipping and often have promo codes (if you’re thinking of placing an order, let me know and I can check cj.com for the latest promo codes to see if there’s a better deal). I used 5OFFSMILE on my $170 order yesterday (two black toners)but then saw them on Twitter promoting a one-day-only 15% off code. I emailed about it and they credited me back the $17.97 (how’s that for customer service?)
The toners always come within a day or two, so yesterday when I was printing 300 pages of legal documents and the printer flashed “order supplies” I was able to place my order and know it will be here in time for the end of the week rush.
I hope you’ll give them a try!
Thanks for sticking it out with me. I promise not to make this a huge long list of book and movie reviews, but I’ve found a few treasures recently that I just had to share.
“One Hen” is a story that I picked up at the library to read to my girls about microlending. It plays strongly on our family theme of using what we have to lift up others. My oldest daughter, Destiny, has been involved in making our Kiva loan to Isabelle in Peru to start her clothing store. Destiny has been watching her payments come in and seeing that we can use our small amount to build up Isabelle’s wealth and her children’s health, and her community’s well-being. That’s a huge influence for $25.
Likewise, I do similarly in my Lending Club accounts. While we prefer not to borrow money in our family, we don’t see harm in using what we have to lift others around us.
One Hen is a story of Kojo, a little boy who lives in Ghana. He borrows a tiny amount of money to buy a chicken and with that chicken he makes his family stronger by giving himself and his mother an egg every week. The chicken lays five eggs per week, so that leaves a few for Kojo to sell. Selling his eggs each week gives Kojo enough money to pay back his loan, and after a few more months of diligent savings he can buy some more hens, and then some more. Kojo’s microinvestments into his tiny egg business grow his community by leaps and bounds.
The story follows Kojo and his egg business and the many people it touches through until Kojo is teaching his grandchildren about stewardship of their resources.
It’s a delightful story and easy for all ages to understand, though it has a lot of words, so readers should be 3rd grade and up. I think it’s a great book for families to read and discuss together.
The illustrations are also beautiful in the book. The animals, and colorful market scenes and happy children. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.
I wish I could recall how I learned about this movie, but I heard it was a must-see indie film. Since my interest is in finance, and my family is following the “Total Money Makeover” plan to get out of debt and live life without it, I decided to take a look.
This independent documentary about the credit business knocked my socks off. It was amazing. I found it through the library, but it’s also available for purchase or via Netflix or Amazon video on Demand.
The film hit home in many ways–about how credit cards prey on people (in ways I’d never imagined) and about how people fall victim to various credit ploys. I’m not quite in the “all credit is evil” camp, because I choose to live without it, but certainly this painted some shocking pictures–including of one credit card company that was shredding checks upon receipt and then billing customers interest and late fees because their checks were lost in the mail.
It told the story of a woman who committed suicide after leading a double-life with a spending-addiction and of college students so maxed out on credit cards that they choose to end their lives over a $12,000 credit card balance.
After watching this film, I tracked down my high school civics teacher on Facebook and requested that he show this film to all of his students every year-I hope that he’ll consider if he hasn’t already. The stories of these college students, as told by their parents was heart-wrenching.
There’s a number of great guests on the documentary–from specialists in credit and bankruptcy statistics to Dave Ramsey himself, Jimmy Carter, and that guy from Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. Debt collectors and agents are also interviewed. All together it was a well-rounded and informative view of the industry. “Maxed Out” was passionate and informative and energetic and earns four stars from me.
If I were to offer any criticism at all, it would be my most common criticism of indie films–that the volume is inconsistent throughout the film, leaving me holding on to the remote for dear life to keep it somewhere between too loud and too quiet.
I got this great cost-savings tip today from my writer-friend Julie–who lives just 90 miles from me, but I actually met her in Ethiopia. (Go figure?)
Julie is a busy work-at-home mom with five delightful kiddos (mostly pre-teens the brave soul!).
Here’s her tip:
Here’s a budget conscious tid-bit we have done to save bucks…you can add it to your blog. We went back to bar soap instead of liquid. Not only is environmentally more friendly BUT you can buy 3 bar soaps @ Walgreens for $1.50 that will last 6 months) 10 liquid soaps for $10 that may last 2 months. This is what we have found in our house. We have transitioned back to the bar soaps all the way around. I wish Bath and Body Works would make bar soap instead of liquid. Anyhow…it’s worked for us.
Great tip Julie! Thanks for sharing it! Personally, I’m a big fan of pine-tar soap which is great for the shower and is also perfect for shampooing or shaving. (TMI perhaps?). The stuff is black-green in color and has an earthy-clean smell, but is really great for sensetive skin. Here’s a link for it at Amazon, but if you can’t find it in a store, the best place to look is a drugstore or a hardware store, like a country store. The kind the caters to old folks. (Ditto on the fels-namptha that I swear by).