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Discount Gift Cards: How Much Can You Save?

Finance

Assortment of gift cards
Assortment of gift cards (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Do you know where you shop regularly?

Would you be happy if the things you bought there were suddenly, magically discounted?

It could happen.

I don’t think the game store down the road is suddenly going to institute a “Jason Rocks” discount program, but some of the bigger chains I visit have an unofficial option that can save you money, and it’s not a five-finger discount.

You can buy discounted gift cards.   You can find a gift card exchange being run on a number of websites.  How does it work?

There are two kinds of card exchange.

The first simply connects buyers and sellers.    If you want to buy a gift card, you browse the list of available cards until you find something you like.   You place your order with the exchange, who then take a fee and pass the rest of the payment to the seller, who’s got the job of sending it to you.   When you get the card, you get to find out if the balance still exists or if it’s going to expire in the morning.   Most people don’t sell a lot of gift cards, so their reputation isn’t really at stake.  Avoid these, unless you like gambling.

The second kind of exchange actually buys the cards from the sellers and verifies the balance and expiration date before posting them for sale.   When you go shopping, you’re dealing with a company that is putting its reputation–both with its customers and its bank–on the line.  If there’s a problem, you’ve got someone to contact who probably isn’t going to vanish.

You visit the site, find a business you want to visit, and buy a card at a discount.   The discount ranges from around 3% up to around 30%, with most discounts hovering around 10%.    That means–depending on the store–you can get a $100 gift card for $90.   Not a bad deal, especially if it for a store you’d be visiting anyway.

Have you ever bought a second-hand gift card?  How did it work for you?

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Why I Hate Payday Loans

Finance

Payday Loans Neon Sign

I hate payday loans and payday lenders.

The way a way a payday loan works is that you go into a payday lender and you sign a check for the amount you want to borrow, plus their fee.  They give you money that you don’t have to pay back until payday.  It’s generally a two-week loan.

Now, this two week loan comes with a fee, so if you want to borrow $100, they’ll charge you a $25 fee, plus a percent of the total loan, so for that $100 loan, you’ll have to pay back $128.28.

That’s only 28% of actual interest; that’s not terrible.  However, if you prorate that to figure the APR, which is what everyone means when they say “I’ve got a 7% interest rate”, it comes out to 737%.  That’s nuts.

They are a very bad financial plan.

Those loans may save you from an overdraft fee, but they’ll cost almost as much as an overdraft fee, and the way they are rigged–with high fees, due on payday–you’re more likely to need another one soon.  They are structured to keep you from ever getting out from under the payday loan cycle.

For those reasons, I consider payday loan companies to be slimy.  Look at any of their sites.   Almost none are upfront about the total cost of the loan.

So I don’t take their ads.  When an advertiser contacts me, my rate sheet says very clealy that I will not take payday loan ads.  The reason for that is–in my mind–when I accept an advertiser, I am–in some form–endorsing that company, or at least, I am agreeing that they are a legitimate business and I am helping them conduct that business.

In all of the time I’ve been taking ads, I’ve made exactly one exception to that rule.   On the front page of that advertiser’s website, they had the prorated APR in bright, bold red letters.    It was still a really bad deal, but with that level of disclosure, I felt comfortable that nobody would click through and sign up without knowing what they were getting into.    That was a payday lender with integrity, as oxymoronic as that sounds.

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Carnival Roundup

Misc

Live Real, Now was included in two carnivals last week:

Carnival Masqueraders in Trinidad and Tobago
Image via Wikipedia

Carnival of Personal Finance #348 hosted by Money Qanda

and

Yakezie Carnival hosted by 101 Centavos

Thanks to all of the hosts for including my posts.

Get More Out of Live Real, Now

There are so many ways you can read and interact with this site.

You can subscribe by RSS and get the posts in your favorite news reader.  I prefer Google Reader.

You can subscribe by email and get, not only the posts delivered to your inbox, but occasional giveaways and tidbits not available elsewhere.

You can ‘Like’ LRN on Facebook.   Facebook gets more use than Google.  It can’t hurt to see what you want where you want.

You can follow LRN on Twitter.   This comes with some nearly-instant interaction.

You can send me an email, telling me what you liked, what you didn’t like, or what you’d like to see more(or less) of.   I promise to reply to any email that isn’t purely spam.

Have a great week!

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Carnivals This Week

Finance

I seem to be failing frugal parenting.  My son spent the entire week telling me how happy he’d be if we could go to the game store so he could spend some of his money.  Tying emotions to shopping is badbadbad.

Live Real, Now was included in four carnivals last week:

Carnival of Financial Planning – Edition #224 at AaronHung.com

Yakezie Carnival – Mardi Gras Edition at Young Adult Finances

Canadian Finance Carnival #76 at Canadian Finance Blog

Carnival of Financial Camaraderie – Rain Man Edition at Thirty Six Months

Thanks to all of the hosts for including my posts.

Get More Out of Live Real, Now

There are so many ways you can read and interact with this site.

You can subscribe by RSS and get the posts in your favorite news reader.  I prefer Google Reader.

You can subscribe by email and get, not only the posts delivered to your inbox, but occasional giveaways and tidbits not available elsewhere.

You can ‘Like’ LRN on Facebook.   Facebook gets more use than Google.  It can’t hurt to see what you want where you want.

You can follow LRN on Twitter.   This comes with some nearly-instant interaction.

You can send me an email, telling me what you liked, what you didn’t like, or what you’d like to see more(or less) of.   I promise to reply to any email that isn’t purely spam.

Have a great week!

Cut Your Business Costs with Eco-Friendly Energy

Business

This is a guest post.

Improving your carbon footprint can fall low on the list of professional priorities for many business owners. Yet, as we all become increasingly aware of the implications of ecological practices, opting to go green is an appropriate business decision.

As suppliers and business to business contractors tailor their products in favour of conservational customs, it is likely that adopting eco-friendly operations within your company will benefit both your books as well as the environment.

By making small, uncomplicated steps, government research proposes that, together, UK businesses could save in the region of £23 billion per annum. This proposed figure suggests that snubbing sustainable efforts is at an economic cost to owners individually, in addition to any ecological expense.

As the importance of your carbon footprint is established, deciding which areas within your company can be conveniently ecologically enhanced is a simple way to get started.

Speak With Your Energy Provider

Many energy providers now offer guidance to their customers surrounding any eco-friendly improvements that could be made.

Business electricity from British Gas comes complete with free energy efficiency advice to help ‘cut down your energy consumption and reduce your electricity bill’. The advantages of this initial consultation are augmented by the ongoing provisions incorporated in all business electricity from British Gas packages.

Select a supplier who is willing to help you and your business reduce the impact of your Climate Change Levy (CCL) and is eager to invest in renewable energy resources.

Say ‘Goodbye’ to Guesstimates

According to research completed by British Gas in 2011 ‘companies typically spend as much as 46 per cent of their energy usage outside of business hours’.

Although it is relatively easy to predict the periods when your business’ energy usage is at its greatest, monitoring your actual consumption may highlight any unexpected wastage.

A facility such as Business Energy Insight™ – available with business electricity from British Gas – does exactly what it says on the tin, giving consumers an awareness of their confirmed energy consumption.

Combined with accurate meter readings from Smart Metering or similar, energy insights eliminate any estimation and uncertainty. Through this perceptiveness, business consumers are able to monitor, measure and model their energy utilisation, saving money and resources.

Don’t Go It Alone

Being unsure of how to go green is one of the reasons many businesses choose to linger with standard systems. As well as expert assistance from energy advisory services, schemes are in place which can structure your steps into the world of energy efficiency.

The IEMA Acorn Scheme presents a progressive profile of six stages for business owners to accomplish. These stages ensure that legal requirements are covered and can be completed over a phased period to fit with other business demands.

On completion of the scheme, an IEMA Acorn Certificate is attained to confirm your businesses compliance with British Standard (BS) 8555. Your details are also entered onto the IEMA Acorn Register.

Organically Positive PR

Every organisation needs their Unique Selling Points. Though your services, products or facilities may speak for themselves, going green is the current way to enrich your business.

Clients and customers want to buy from those they trust and often those who follow an ethical ethos. Choosing to ‘go green’ and consistently demonstrating and delivering ecological practises will verify the concerned culture of your company.

While investing your time into employing eco-friendly systems may not reap instant rewards, the positive connotations surrounding conservation will always ensure that you are ahead of the game when in competition with a company that doesn’t deliver on these principles.

Whether you choose to be officially certified via IEMA Acorn or you simply state your environmental policies on your website and company literature, being ecologically aware can cause an upturn in capital as well as cutting resource costs.

Taking Things Further

When you are hoping to tackle more than the basics and want to do more to aid our environment, there is a myriad of informational services willing to help.

Making this move doesn’t have to cost the earth, business grants are available to help you render these affirmative changes. Check online at www.grantsgreenmachine.com for any that may be applicable for your industry.

Locally, councils may be able to offer either erudition or funds specifically appropriate to your project within your region.

Conservation doesn’t have to be costly; check your books and you may find that going green could profit both your environment and your enterprise.

 

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Rental Property Update

Business

As I’ve mentioned before, we are fixing up the house we inherited in April to rent it out.

We already have renters lined up starting in February.  My wife has known the couple for several years, so we’re not worried about strangers wrecking the place.   We will be doing a lease, because skipping that is dumb, even if you know the tenants.  They will be paying $1200 per month, plus electric, water, and garbage.  We’ll be covering gas and–of course–property taxes.    We’re paying the gas bill because we’re going to have most of the appliances on the repair plan through the gas company so we won’t have to worry about appliances breaking.

Those expenses will run about $325 per month, leaving $875 as profit.   We’ll probably save another $200 of that to cover future vacancies and for property issues that I’m not foreseeing, leaving $675 to save and invest.

Over the summer, we have spent quite a bit of money fixing the place up.

  • Dumpsters x3, $1200.   Did I mention my mother-in-law was a hoarder?
  • New boiler, $4500.
  • Electrical repair, including running power to the garage, $1400.
  • Plumbing & gas repair, $900.
  • New stove & refrigerator, $1000.
  • Landscaping, $2500.
  • Other repairs, $8000.

So far, we have spent about $19,500 fixing this place up.   There is still a bit of work left to do.

Are we done?

Crap, no.

  • We have two rooms of stuff that we need to research and price individually before we sell.   This includes some old cameras, typewriters, and collectibles.
  • We need to buff and polish the hardwood floors that are in surprisingly good shape.
  • We have to scrub the entire house.    Cobwebs and mouse crap show up in interesting places when 90% of your house is buried for most of 30 years.
  • We have to clean the last of the debris out of the basement.  This, and some other stuff, will mean yet another dumpster.
  • We have to paint walls and ceilings all over the house and the basement floor.

The to-do list will come with a price tag somewhere between $1000 and $1500.

That comes out to about $21,000 spent to make $675 per month.   In just 3 years, the property will be turning a profit, then it becomes an actual profit center for us, hopefully forever.  The expenses are all tax deductible, but only as depreciation, which means the cost has to get deducted a bit at a time over the course of the next 5 to 30 years.

On the other hand, we could probably sell the place for $200,000.   It’s going to take 25 years of renting to make up that difference.

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