Gift Cards Are Not Particularly Thoughtful, But They Are Convenient and Great Presents For Some

By MoneyBlueBook

I'm a lazy guy. I'm also not a very big shopper. This combination tends to work against me when I have to buy presents for others during the Christmas holiday shopping season. Some people are easy to shop for but for others, it's an ordeal trying to figure out what to give them.

Sometimes I just want to take the easy, effortless route by dolling out cash to the masses. But I think most people are still very traditional and find the idea of giving out plain old cash very distasteful. This is how the marketing braniacs came up with gift cards. The way these businesses promote gift cards is quite brilliant since they've managed to convince many that giving a gift card means something more than just giving out cash, and that somehow the gift cards can convey the message of "I love you" better than cash ever could. But essentially, they are the same as cash except they don't carry the same gifting stigma. I know some people find gift cards and gift certificates to be tacky and unoriginal, but the cards do serve a useful purpose and in fact, I myself sometimes prefer gift cards over receiving an actual present.

Cash Is Best, But Gift Cards and Gift Certificates Are The Next Best Thing

Who doesn't like cash? It's the most versatile gift since you can do whatever you want with it - use it, spend it, save it, hide it, earn interest on it. One of the problems with receiving regular conventional gifts

By MoneyBlueBook

If you're a frugal person and like to live a thrifty lifestyle, then I'm sure you might have done this before. Have you ever found yourself driving long distances or straying off your usual travel path to visit a more distant store or gas station just so you could save a few extra bucks? Or how about this one - have you waited outside an electronics store or mall entrance for hours or even days for the opportunity to catch a special limited bargain?

I used to be an extreme bargain hunter but now I'm trying to be more sensible about it. Although I still like to save, I realize now that sometimes the extra savings doesn't justify the extra effort and mileage required. But old frugality and bargain hunting habits are sometimes hard to break.

My Feeble Attempts At Saving Money

Case in point - when first I moved to my current neighborhood, I continued to visit the former Shopper's Food Warehouse near my old place because I found it to be cheaper than the closer alternative at the nearby Giant Food store. But over time I realized that this back and forth trip was an absolute waste of time and didn't justify the measly few dollars and cents I saved in grocery costs. Although I saved money by traveling to a more distant store, I was wasting even more on time and gas money unnecessarily. Sometimes it's easy to lose sight of the overall financial savings picture.

This is also the same reason why I ultimately decided

By MoneyBlueBook

I think you can ask anyone for advice about their personal top five ways to save money and you'll likely end up with a variety of suggestions. We all have different guilty pleasures and financial priorities so obviously the list would differ greatly from person to person. Some of these habits are hard to give up. For example earlier, I talked about the reasons why I chose to buck the conventional frugality wisdom of avoiding bottled water. For me, the health benefits and convenience outweighed the long terms costs.

Cutting back on purchases that you wouldn't miss or expenses that wouldn't cause too much discomfort or inconvenience are the easiest ways to save money. I'm offering a few suggestions that hopefully will get people thinking about some of the simple day to day expenses that we may have a tendency to overlook, but that may go a long way in helping us save money for the future:

1) Don't Pay Extra For Sodas During Lunch - Ask For a Free Cup Of Tap Water Instead.
This is probably one of the easiest habits to break. Did you know that most cafe lunch joints charge a premium for sodas and bottled drinks? These type of meal accessories are much easier to overcharge because lunch and meal patrons focus on the cost of the main dish, frequently overlooking the extra charges when they decide on where to eat out for lunch.

Besides, drinking water is much healthier than loading up on sugar-filled sodas or other bottled drinks. Even seemingly

By MoneyBlueBook

Review Of Rent.com and Ways To Make Money While Finding An Apartment

I've been renting for quite a long long while and have learned a thing or two about apartment hunting. Because of the bursting real estate bubble, I'm going to be continuing my long lasting rental streak for the foreseeable future. Renting is not so bad. You get to live somewhere different every few years and you don't need to worry about upkeep or maintenance because the landlord takes care of everything. For college or graduate students, it's usually the only option, aside from moving back home. Unless you want mommy and daddy to rule over your comings and goings though, I would highly recommend striking it out on your own. Of course, if financial independence is an issue, living with your parents will allow you to better conserve your financial resources until you can stand on your own two feet.

Get $100 For Using Rent.Com To Find Your Apartment

I always try to maximize my money and take advantage of money saving and money making opportunities whenever possible. On the subject of searching for an apartment rental, Rent.com offers a unique deal not offered by most other apartment search sites. This eBay owned company will hand you a cool $100 in the form of a pre-paid Visa debit card if you register with them and find an apartment to rent through their online listing. Their listing is quite comprehensive but only includes sites that have agreed to participate in their program. They have a

By MoneyBlueBook

The subject of whether having children is a financially smart decision is a sensitive one that touches many brainy issues, including the meaning and purpose of life. Frequently this discussion is moot since not all births were carefully planned and many were simply unexpected accidents. I'm sure parents have secretly pondered this question before but were afraid to speak too loudly on the subject. No one wants to doubt their decision to have children and everyone instinctively wants to convey the impression that children have brought them nothing but pure joy and lifetime fulfillment.

Since I am not yet married and don't have children of my own, perhaps I can comment on the issue from the perspective of someone who has not chucked the dice and thrown himself into this path of eternity, so to speak.

Having Children Is Extremely Expensive and Will Deprive You Of Some Of Life's Financial Enjoyments

Raising a life from scratch into full adulthood is a lengthy and expensive journey. No one can deny that it requires a substantial and personal willingness to sacrifice one's own personal wants for the betterment of another. Medical and educational costs bear the greatest financial brunt and some parents frequently have to work multiple jobs to provide financially.

I know couples who made the conscientious decision not to have children, but sometimes I wonder if they are happier as a result. I have an uncle and aunt who decided a long time that they were not going to have children. They never caved to family pressure and didn't

By MoneyBlueBook

I've written about trying to find ways to make free or cheap international phone calls to landlines in the past. There are numerous voice over IP services that allow users to make free PC to PC calls, but it's hard to find cheap and affordable ways to dial international landlines. After much searching, I think I've found an interesting lead. The service is called InternetCalls. It's not 100% free but it's very affordable, that is, if the terms stay the way they currently are. The site looks promising but I don't want to get my hopes up just yet. By the way, I'm not getting anything for plugging them.

Its Marketing Touts Its Free Features, But It's Not Really 100% Free

Like many of these voice over IP services, the company attempts to advertise and promote itself as a free internet phone provider. It does offer a 1 hour calling trial period (that times out every few minutes), but after that you'll have to pay a small periodic fee to continue using their service. The free calling plan is currently limited to only a select group of countries.

In order to make free phone calls you'll need to top off your account by making a small monetary deposit which can be done via payment methods like PayPal and credit cards. The credit deposit remains unused so long as you make your calls to free destinations. Each credit addition is 10 Euros, which is about $15 and needs to be replenished every 4 months. Essentially