July 2008

Here are this week’s school supply deals:

Office Depot

1 cent: Office Depot red eraser 12-pk, 6″ protractor, 2-pocket paper folder and acrylic ruler

Free After Rebate: TOPS® Colored Junior Size Writing Pads 6-pk

OfficeMax

1 cent: OfficeMax wood ruler
5 cents: OfficeMax compass, protractor
25 cents: UV Coated folders
30 cents: 12-pack colored pencils

Other Promotion: Free $10 gas card with purchase of one double pack or two single packs of HP ink.

RiteAid

25 cents: Elmers 4oz glue
44 cents: 24-pk Crayola crayons
50 cents: Mead 100 sheet composition book, PaperMate Grip Pens 8-pk and 22″ x 28″ posterboard

Wal-Mart

5 cents: 70-sheet spiral notebook
15 cents: Twin pocket folio with prongs
22 cents: 24-pk Crayola crayons, Elmer’s 4oz glue and Elmer’s 2-pk glue sticks

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My favorite time to buy cosmetics and get great gifts is during Nordstrom’s Annivesary Sale. This year the sale is from July 18th - August 4th. Lancome, Estee Lauder and Clinique all have nice free gifts with purchase planned. (I will put details on those cosmetic promotions on the Shopping Queen site when they become available.)

All the other major brands also have exclusive sets for this event. You can take a look at those items online at the Nordstrom website, however they won’t start shipping until July 18th.

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With the unveiling of the new iPhone, many are anxious to upgrade to this new must have gadget. I on the other hand am happy with a phone that is a phone. The Consumerist just posted a timely piece on how to avoid paying early termination fees in order to get the coveted iPhone. While I wouldn’t suggest this as a way to get an iPhone, I would recommend reading the post for those that are looking to get out of your contract for whatever reason.

The degree of success will vary depending on how assertive you are with the customer service representative as well as your luck of the draw of a helpful representative. What the post fails to mention is that while you may not be able to get out of a contract penalty free, you can decrease your penalty. Most cellphone companies now prorate early termination fees. So if you need to get out of you contract, you will only be responsible for paying the early termination fee based on the number of months left on your contract.

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Going green doesn’t mean you have to spend a lot of green. Here’s how to get started:

One simple tip to start off with is to get rid of one-time use items like plastic. When we pay attention to how much plastic and paper we use, we can easily see how much we waste. So here are some ways to cut plastic:

1. Purchase a lunch bag/box for you and your kids. Do not put your lunch in a bag you will throw away.

2. Buy small durable plastic containers. Don’t put food items for lunch in Ziploc bags. They are convenient but if you use multiple bags a day, they quickly begin to pose a problem.

3. Buy a water filtration pitcher or system and stop using bottled water. Water bottles are starting to clog up the landfills yet there is no evidence to support the quality of bottled water over filtered tap water. You can either get a simple Brita pitcher or go higher end and get a water filtration/treatment system like the one made by Lotus (I was personally a bottle water snob drinking only Aquafina water and now love the Tersano lotus Water Treatment System, I can taste the difference.)

For energy efficiency:

1. Buy a power strip for all your home electronics and turn it off at night. Today’s electronics can drain energy even when they are turned off or in Stand by mode. By turning off the electricity source you stop this drainage which can amount to about 10% of the usage over a year’s time.

2. Install a hot water recirculation system. It’s a relatively simple installation and costs around $200 but can save as much as 10,000 gallons a year in water for the typical family.

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Get your cow costumes ready! Friday is Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-fil-A. Dress up like a cow and you get a free meal. If you don’t have a complete costume, you can still get a free entree with you partial cow attire.

If you need some tips on how to create your own unique cow costume you can visit the Cow Appreciation Day website. Just remember to change your outfit before you head back to the office.

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I love seeing all the great school supply deals in July. I don’t have kids in school yet, but I always stock up and donate the school supplies to homeless shelters and other charities that serve needy children. The deals at Staples for this week are only through Wednesday, so don’t forget to check it out. Here are the items:

1. 2-pocket paper folders
2. Dixon® #2 yellow pencils
3. Purell® .05 oz. bottle

For 25 cents: simplyâ„¢ poly assorted binders, 1/2″ and 1″
Free after rebate: Pentel® Handy-lines™ retractable assorted highlighters

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Real Simple magazine’s June issue has a great Road Trip Guide. With the high price of gas these days, you really want to make sure your road trip is a pleasant experience and worth the hassle and expense. The guide includes tips on how to pack, where to eat and how to keep kids entertained. My favorite section is the website references. Definitely check out The Bathroom Diaries to map out where the cleanest and safest bathrooms are on your route.

Bon Voyage!

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Potty training has been a learning experience for my daughter and us. We have tried many different potties and training pants. We first tried two of the PRIMO Freedom Trainer toilet seats and stairs and was pretty disappointed when my daughter’s interest in potty training declined. So we then tried the classic Baby Bjorn Potty Chair White. Hooray it finally worked and we were all making progress.

But now I think my daughter has gotten to attached to the potty chair and is afraid to use the regular potty. So searching I went. I looked at a lot of products you can put on the toilet but wanted something permanent. So I have ordered the Kohler Transistions Toilet Seat. I am hopeful it will be the final solution in our potty training quest.

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Sitting on an airplane you find out the person next two you paid twice as much for their seat and the person behind paid 20% less than you. This variable pricing for the same service is nothing new in the airline industry or the travel industry as whole for that matter. However this variable pricing called price optimization by financial analysts may be coming to a bank near you.

Banks have lost a lot of money recently and they are looking for ways to make more money. One new way is variable pricing for loans. It used to be that a good credit score paired with a good debt ratio and job history meant X% rate.  The rate was the same for everyone with the same favorable characteristics. Now that is no longer the case. Banks are looking into price optimization scenarios on loans and other financial rates. So you can pay more than someone with a similar financial history.

Just like airlines getting more from business travelers than leisure travelers, banks are looking into ways to figure out which customer is willing to pay more for the same loan. If you already have a relationship with the bank, they might even use that against you. Smart Money magazine has a good article on this new pricing at banks and it is definitely worth a read. According to the article “Some banks are coming up with different rates for as many as 20,000 customer segments — defined by variables like location, loan type, transaction history and banking habits. Prefer to apply at your local branch? A computer may decide you’ll typically accept higher rates than those who apply online or by phone.”

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