8 Ways to Save Money on Credit Cards

I've always followed the adage that if you need to pay for it with a credit card, you don't need it. (This was after I managed to dig myself into a credit hole during college. I've since wizened up.) That said, there are ways to use credit cards to your monetary benefit. Here are a few tips on how to save money (and even gain a bit of that money back, as well as other perks) if you choose to use credit cards:

1. Shop around. In order to get the best rate, the best rewards program, in short, the best card for you, shop around to sites like bankrate.com or creditorweb.com. MSN's Money Central also has a list of the credit cards with the best rates. Simply returning a pre-approval you received in the mail without doing any comparison shopping is not the best way to make your card work for you.
2. Look for no-fee credit cards.  You can often save between $25 and $50 a year by using a card that does not charge an annual fee. Be sure that the other terms and conditions are worth it, however; it would make no sense to have a card with a higher interest rate (that may end up costing you an extra $25 or $50 a month, or more) or shorter grace period just to save $25 a year.
3. Read the terms. Never sign anything, credit card applications included, without reading the fine print. Most credit cards do not include terms longer than a page, and since this is where every nitty gritty detail of how and when you will be charged is spelled out, well worth your time to read.
4. Negotiate the rate. Once you've been a good customer (read: no missed or late payments) for a few months, contact your creditor. Most will work with  you, potentially saving a point or two on your interest, which can spell big bucks in the long run.
5. Make payments on time. This is HUGE. Even one late payment can cause your interest rate to skyrocket (again, this is where reading and understanding the card's terms comes in handy). In your terms it will be detailed when payments are due, what your grace period is, and how much your interest rate can be affected by late or missed payments. Be sure to schedule payments or mail them in plenty of time, because credit card companies simply don't care if your payment was held up by the post office. Late is late (and missed is missed). It will also be noted on your credit report, making future lines of credit more difficult (and costly) to get.
6. Pay off higher interest cards first. If you have more than one credit card, pay as much as you can toward the one with the highest interest rate while making the minimum payment to the others.  Once the card with the highest rate has been paid off, do the same to the card with the next-highest interest rate, and so on. 
7. Pay your balance in full each month. Though most of us carry credit cards as insurance, a "just in case" solution, it is best to pay your balance in full each month. The interest charged on credit cards is higher than just about any other type of loan. If you know you will be making a large purchase, consider taking out a bank loan instead of charging it on your credit card.
8. Use rewards to your advantage. Rewards, well, reward you for using a particular card. Frequent flyer miles and cash back are two common rewards, and can be quite nice if you use the card correctly. First, scout out the card with the rewards programs that fits your needs (for example, if you rarely travel, frequent flyer miles most likely won't entice you). Second, understand that credit cards with rewards programs often have a higher interest rate than other cards (to offset the cost to the company of the rewards you are getting). Third, you might want to have a second credit card with a lower interest rate (and no rewards program) for larger purchases that you will not be able to pay off at the end of the month. That said, If you pay your balance in full at the end of each month and charge a lot, getting some of your hard-earned money back through rewards is a great boon. Cardweb.com is a great resource for researching cash-back cards.

Choosing to use credit cards is a personal choice, but one that many of us make at some point in our lives. Using credit cards wisely can help you save money on what are traditionally high-interest and expensive.

Make Your Own Entryway Table for $15

I think my husband and I are like most people in that, upon entering our house, we need a place to set things down. And, six months out of the year, our entryway floor is covered with melting snow, sand, and salt—in short, not a good place to set things down.

We can't afford, at this point in time, to replace our ancient kitchen table and the accompanying chairs that are ready to fall apart, let alone purchase a more "frivolous" piece of furniture. Since a new table for our entryway was out of our budget also, I decided to get creative in my creation.

A few summers ago, we found a wooden headboard for a full-size bed. We purchased it for $10, knowing that some day we wanted to put a bed in our guest room (when our budget permitted); it sat unattended for nearly two years in our garage. We have since put together our guest room (for mere pennies!—but I'll save that for a later post) but used a different headboard, so we still had a giant chunk of wood taking up space in our garage.

I resurrected this headboard and used a coat of Rustoleum black paint (it is my favorite, as you can use the same type of paint for anything, thereby saving money by not having to purchase different types of paint); no sanding was necessary, and a cursory clean up with a rag and some Windex removed all dust and cobwebs. Once dry, we moved it indoors, and added two screws to brace it into the wall (some headboards will be sturdy enough to stand alone).

Covered with personal photos, some dried flowers, and a reed diffuser (all of which we had), our table was finished.

We now have the perfect place to set mail, coffee mugs, and mittens upon entering our house, and shoes line up neatly underneath.

To make your own table for your home's entryway:

Items needed:

• Wooden headboard for a full-sized bed (these can be found for cheap at garage sales, rummage sales, thrift stores, and often at the curb waiting for the garbage man). Price we paid: $10
• Paint of your color and brand choice (again, I recommend Rustoleum, as it coats well with only one coat and is very multi-purpose). Price we paid: $5 (plus tax)
• Personal items for decoration, being sure to leave some space to use the table as intended. Price we paid: $0.

Total cost for our "new" entryway table: just over $15. We use it every day, and I think it turned out beautifully.

6 Ways to Save Money on Car Repairs

About a month ago, someone stole the lens cover off of the daytime running lamp of my 2002 Jetta. That's right, apparently when a car is sitting underneath a security light, far away from other cars, in a large parking lot with security cameras, that means, "Harvest my parts, please." We know it was stolen since the lens cover was completely MIA, with no scratches or broken pieces, and the light bulb (which plugs into the lens cover, mind you) was still dangling from the car. Security video confirmed our suspicions, but though we filed a report we were unable to find our thief or recoup our lens cover.

Which meant that my husband and I were now tasked with finding a replacement part for a make of automobile that is notorious for telling you to visit your (super expensive) dealership. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't trade my Volkswagen for the world, but I also won't be taken at the dealership, either.

So how does one save money on auto parts, which are notoriously expensive? Here are six practices that my husband and I have been doing for years, and which have saved us quite the pretty penny.

1. Visit junkyards. Junkyards are great repositories of car parts, but you do have to be willing to look. I recommend calling ahead to see if they have similar cars in their yard (knowing about your car helps, too; for example, our 2002 Jetta can use parts from VW Jettas between the model years of 2000 through mid-2005, since between those years no major changes were made to the body style). While many cars may be on the slightly smushy side, you can often find small pieces for only a few bucks (which is especially helpful when you are looking for something weird, like one of the plastic pieces that controls airflow from your heat/AC vents).
2. Purchase parts from discount stores and wholesalers. We found our lens cover at Bumper Warehouse out of St. Paul. Another store we frequent for mechanical parts is St. Paul Park Auto Parts. While you may not live near the frigid Minnesota tundra, chances are that your metropolitan area has a number of similar stores that carry discounted auto parts. If all else fails, there are several online dealers that can save you money and ship the part(s) right to your front door.
3. Do the dirty work yourself. Many people are afraid to work on their cars, and with today's highly-computerized vehicles, I often don't blame them. That said, there are often small things you can do yourself, from replacing light bulbs and lens covers to putting on a new muffler. Many vehicle repair guides can be found at your local library (free!) or for a nominal fee at your local parts store. If all else fails, a simple Web search will generally turn up tips from others who have performed the same task on the same car before.
4. Bring the parts to your mechanic. If you are unable to complete the work yourself, save yourself money by purchasing your part elsewhere (see numbers one and two above) and bringing it to your place of repair. Auto shops will generally tack on fees to the same parts, costing you at times twice as much, and you will save money on labor since the mechanic won't have to call around looking for a part if (s)he doesn't have it in stock.
5. Perform general maintenance. This seems like it would be a no-brainer, but I'm always surprised at the number of people who let oil changes slide and don't follow the preventative maintenance plan set forth by their owner's manual. By performing general care for your car (oil changes, checking fluid levels and tire pressure, having the car serviced at major mileage milestones) you can generally avoid more expensive repairs that will crop up if you don't.
6. Drive and park safely. This is my number one tip. By driving safely, you can avoid many accidents that may have occurred due to tailgating, inattentive driving, etc. It can be hard to drive defensively, but my big concern isn't my driving but the driving of others around me. And by parking at the end of lots and not next to other cars, I not only reduce my chance of door dings and scratches but I also get extra exercise (thus helping me work out and simultaneously save money on a gym membership). 

Our car may not be the newest of the new, but we treat it like it is, and because of that our now-nine-year-old car would still be mistaken for new one had Volkswagen not changed the body style. When things do malfunction, as automobile parts are wont to do, we do save as much money as possible by employing the tips above.

Win Free Stuff by Entering Online Contests

Everything is better when it is free, and you would be surprised at what you can enter to win online. No matter what your interests are, chances are that the sites you visit daily offer some sort of contest.

Enjoy reading magazines? Many magazine sites offer various sweepstakes and contests:

• Better Homes and Gardens (http://www.bhg.com/free-stuff/) has a listing of several sweepstakes, including shopping sprees and home makeovers, that you can enter daily. They also include great deals and coupons from their sponsors on the same page.
• Likewise, Ladies Home Journal is part of the same publishing network, and offer many of the same sweepstakes. You can enter daily through this portal as well. (http://www.lhj.com/free-stuff/)
• Another one of my favorites is Allure, which, along with some great beauty and health tips and articles, has great offers to win free items. (http://www.allure.com/freestuff) 

Books more your thing? Many publishers likewise have contests to win their books, usually via Twitter:

• @fluxbooks generally does a contest once a month, where you can win one of their new releases. This publisher is great for bibliophiles in general, especially those with young adult readers.
• @chelseagreen used to do a contest a week via Twitter; I don't know if they still hold contests so frequently, but they are still a good publisher to keep an eye on (for nothing other than great books). 

Don't forget television networks!

• It seems like twice a year HGTV offers their Dream Home Sweepstakes, where they give away a fabulous new home, a new car, and $500,000 cash (which you will likely need to pay the energy bill for your ginormous new home, but still....). You can enter once daily on the HGTV site and once daily on FrontDoor. (http://www.hgtv.com/dream-home/index.html) 
• Recently (December 2010) Conan O'Brien gave away 20 pine-scented air fresheners...that happened to be attached to 20 Chevy Cruze cars. Don't be passive while watching TV—you never know what you might discover! (http://teamcoco.com/chevycruze) 

Even vacations can be won for free. Just yesterday I entered to win a weekend getaway for my husband and me from Cragun's Resort, and when I just navigated over to their site to get the URL for this post I found another contest to enter, this one for an iPad. (http://www.craguns.com/)

Moral of the story? Keep your eyes peeled. Many sites offer giveaways and sweepstakes as incentives to gain traffic, and it works. And after you enter their contest, you will likely find other fun and valuable info to keep you on the site. And be persistent; it takes but seconds each day to enter. Maybe choose one or two contests that you'd really like to win, and make a note on your calendar reminding you to enter daily. While your chances of winning may not be that great, your chances of winning the lottery are so slim as to be nearly nonexistent, and that rarely deters us from buying lottery tickets, now does it? Besides, how great would it be to explain to your neighbors that your new car cost you not a penny?

Workplace Free Tables

Prior to beginning work at my current company, I had never been introduced to the concept of the "Free Table." This is a great way to clean your house of any junk you might have lying around, while at the same time reusing and reducing waste that might otherwise have gone to landfills.

If your place of work does not already have one, institute one! The free table works like this: a spot is designated (for us, a table, in case you had not already guessed). If you have any items that you no longer have need for (anything—within reason—goes: books, movies, mittens, clothing, lotion, coffee mugs, vases, ornaments, a computer keyboard), bring them in and leave them. It is then first come, first serve for picking. Finder's keepers! Any items left on the table for a week or more are then donated to Goodwill (or another charity of your choice).

The beauty is that you've now created a giant swap meet—for free! Items are given new homes, you can pick up things that interest you for which you either didn't have the money or on which you did not want to spend the money, and not a dime leaves your pocket.

I will freely admit that I am a Free Table whore (I keep an eye on ours several times daily—you never know when that special item will appear!). My favorite finds so far have been winter boots that I've worn daily for two years now (I felt like Cinderella when I slipped them on, since I'd been looking for a pair and these fit like a glove) and the pink wireless mouse that I use every day at work.

My favorite Free Table finds (and yes, someone put an almost full 12-pack
of Diet Coke on the Free Table this morning—a fabulous find!)