Beating Broke

Personal Finance from the Broke Perspective

How We Save Money With Ting as Our Cell Phone Provider

By Leave a Comment

For the longest time, my husband and I had simple Tracfone flip phones in case of emergency.  We mainly used them just to keep up with one another, if necessary.  We didn’t even have texting.  But then my husband found it necessary to have a cell phone for work.  We didn’t want to be strapped to a cell phone provider who would charge us a hundred dollars a month or more, so we decided to go with Ting, which has no contract requirement.  I love to share with people how we save money with Ting as our cell phone provider because it helps us maintain a modest budget.

How We Save Money with Ting as Our Cell Phone Provider

We’ve upgraded to smart phones.  We can now text, call, search the internet, etc. just like most people in the United States.  However, by using Ting, we’ve found several ways to cut our costs.

Basic Ting Services and Charges

Ting is a provider who charges based on your usage.

Phone Line Charge

Each line that you have on the plan costs $6 a month.  So, for my husband and I, there are two lines.  We pay $12 a month for these.

How We Save Money with Ting as Our Cell Phone Provider

Talk Minutes

There are also base rates for the minutes that you use to talk on your phone.

  • 1 to 100 minutes = $3,
  • 101 to 500 minutes = $9,
  • 501 to 1000 minutes = $18, etc.

Texts

And there are base rates for texts.

  • 1 to 100 texts = $3,
  • 101 to 1000 texts = $5,
  • 1001 to 2000 texts = $8, etc.

In addition, you will also pay taxes and regulatory fees monthly.

Limit Our Usage

Since Ting is basically a pay as you use provider, we try to limit our usage to keep our bills low.  From October 2019 to February 2020, our monthly bill averaged $63.  The highest bill was $84 in October when I was traveling, and the lowest was $46.

Once the pandemic hit and we began to stay home most of the time, our monthly bill dropped to $30.

If you want to focus on keeping your bill low, you can set up usage alerts, such as an email sent to you once you use 450 megabytes, so you don’t go over the 500 megabyte limit before moving into a different charge rate.

You can also enable settings that don’t allow you to make any more texts after a certain number, etc.  This is very helpful if you have teens on your plan.  This allows you to keep their usage within the confines of your budget.

Basic Phones

How We Save Money with Ting as Our Cell Phone Provider

Ting also sells phones.  My husband and I try to go with the most basic model available.  The current phones we use cost less than $200 apiece.  (We bought them during a sale Ting was having.)

We also use a cell phone case to keep our phones in good shape.  My husband and I have both dropped our phones, but they were not damaged thanks to the cases.

Final Thoughts

While we wanted more modern cell phones, we didn’t want to pay a lot for them every month.  The strategies given above are how we save money with Ting as our cell phone provider.  Ting is not in every area, but you can see if they’re in your area by entering your area code on their website.

Is A Costco Membership Worth It When Living Alone?

By 1 Comment

I have been a member of Costco for approximately 10 years, and I love it!  We typically recoup our membership cost within the first few months of our membership every year.  We have a family of five that can easily go through the many bulk items we buy.  However, if you’re single, is a Costco membership worth it when living alone?  The answer is a resounding yes for most people.  However, there is a small percentage who won’t benefit.

Is a Costco Membership Worth It When Living Alone?

Is a Costco Membership Worth It When Living Alone?

A Costco membership isn’t always worth it when you’re single, but for many, there are enough advantages that having a membership is worth the $60 a year.  Some of my favorite reasons why include:

Special Diet

If you have a special diet such as food intolerances or allergies or you prefer organic food, Costco is the place for you.  Our family has both dairy and gluten intolerances, and I can’t beat the price for almond milk or gluten free pancake mix at Costco.

If you prefer organic food, you’ll definitely want to check out Costco.  Over the years, Costco has added more and more organic selections.  You can buy a 6 pack of organic Romaine lettuce for less than a 3 pack of the same at a traditional grocery store.  Almost all of their organic fresh vegetable and fruit selections are markedly cheaper than a traditional grocery store.  In addition, they have large bags of organic frozen fruits and vegetables that are much cheaper than their counterparts at a traditional grocery store.

Alcohol

Is a Costco Membership Worth It When Living Alone?
Photo by Jack Ward on Unsplash

If you love to entertain, Costco is the place for you.  I don’t personally drink alcohol, so I don’t have exact prices on this.  However, I’ve been told that you can buy wine and hard liquor at Costco at a much lower price than anywhere else.  I know each time I go to Costco, I regularly see several customers who have their carts full of alcohol.

My husband does drink beer, and I can buy him a 24-pack of beer at Costco for just a few dollars more than a 12 pack costs at the grocery store.  Over a year, the savings really add up!

Electronics

The only place we buy our laptops now is at Costco.  Every laptop comes with a 2-year warranty—the first year from the manufacturer, the second year from Costco.

If you have a problem, simply call Costco’s concierge service, and they will assist.  I have had issues with my laptops both in the first and second year of owning them.  When it was during the first year and my laptop was still under manufacturer’s warranty, Costco acted as a bridge to help facilitate the interaction and repair, making for a seamless process.

During the second year, Costco does the repairs.  I almost prefer if something needs to be repaired on my computer during the second year because Costco is so efficient!  I always get my computer back quickly, and they do an excellent job keeping me updated on the repair process.

Gift Cards

Costco offers many gift cards at a significant discount.

If you love to dine out, you can get two $50 gift cards or four $25 gift cards to restaurants like Macaroni Grill, California Pizza Kitchen, and Smashburger, just to name a few of the many they offer.  These $100 gift cards are available for just $74.99 to $79.99!  You are immediately saving 20% or more.

In addition to restaurants, they also have gift cards for weight loss programs, the App store, and more.  If you love video games, you’ll find significant discounts for XBOX, PlayStation and others.

These gift cards are great for presents, but they’re also great for you to use for your regular expenditures.  If you spend just $300 a year dining out and always use your Costco bought gift cards, you will recoup your $60 membership fee right there!

Travel Benefits

Is a Costco Menbership Worth It When Living Alone?
Photo by Ross Parmly on Unsplash

Do you travel frequently?  If so, you may find this yet another way you can quickly recoup the price of your $60 membership.  Costco has many special package deals for travel.

While we haven’t yet used Costco for any package deals, we’ve used Costco to book our rental car whenever we travel.  By doing this, we easily save at least 10% off the price of booking without our Costco card.

Gas

One of the best perks of being a Costco member is the gas prices.  Whenever I’m near Costco, I fill up because gas is routinely 15 to 30 cents cheaper per gallon than anywhere else in town.  When you’re filling up your vehicle multiple times per month, that discount can have a real impact.

However, the Costco stations don’t have window cleaner solutions and squeegees.  (I wish they did!)  Also, because most members know about the bargain gas price, don’t be surprised if you have to wait in line a few minutes before you can pump your gas.

When Having a Costco Membership Isn’t Worthwhile for Singles

As wonderful as Costco is, for some people who are single, a membership just isn’t worthwhile.  My mom is one of those people.  She doesn’t have a specialty diet, and she doesn’t care about eating organic food.  She doesn’t drink alcohol, and she rarely travels.  Instead of having a Costco membership, she just asks her friend who does have one to pick her up any items she’d like at Costco.

Another reason why it might not be worthwhile to have a Costco membership is if you’re a bargain shopper who likes to go to a variety of stores to get the lowest prices.  While Costco can save many people a significant amount of money on groceries, generally, shopping at multiple stores for the lowest price will save even more.

Final Thoughts

Is a Costco membership worth it when living alone? For most singles, it is worthwhile.  If you have a special diet, like to socialize and throw parties, or like to travel, getting a Costco membership will be a smart move.  However, if you’re one of the few people who wouldn’t benefit from a membership, simply do what my mom does, and ask a friend with a membership to pick you up a few things.

8 Easy Low Cost Fixes to Help Your Home Sell Fast

By Leave a Comment

Selling a home is not fun.  You have to pack, clean, and list your home for sale.  This process can be more stressful if you have to sell your home quickly because you have a new job in another area of the country or you’re buying a new home and don’t want to pay two mortgages.  Thankfully, there are 8 easy low cost fixes to help your home sell fast.

8 Easy Low Cost Fixes to Help Your Home Sell Fast

Declutter

Before you do anything, declutter, declutter, declutter.  Kitchen counters should be bare.  You should put extra furniture in storage.  Make your home look like a minimalist lives there.  By doing this, your house will look bigger, which can help buyers feel that the house is big enough for them and their possessions.

8 Easy Low Cost Fixes to Help Your Home Sell Fast
Photo by Lindy Baker on Unsplash

Besides decluttering, you also want to remove personal photos and decorations.  Buyers have a hard time imagining the house as theirs if you have to many of your own personal items.  Plus, your home will be photographed and listed on the internet.  Do you really want all of your personal family photos on the internet for anyone to see?  I know I don’t!

Deep Clean

After you’ve decluttered, deep clean.  If you’re not going to repaint, take a Magic Eraser, and make sure all of the scuff marks are off the trim and walls.  Clean the grout, power wash the deck, wipe down all of the walls and cabinets.  Dust and wash light fixtures.  If you have a neat freak friend, now is the time to invite her over so she can point out all the areas that need to be cleaned that you don’t notice because you live in the house.  If you have the money, consider hiring a cleaning team to do a spring clean of your house so that it’s pristine when potential buyers walk through.

Get Advice from the Realtor First

After you’ve done the basics of decluttering and cleaning, consider getting advice from a realtor.  The realtor will know your local market and can help guide you in any minor and major changes that you should make.

Paint Walls a Neutral Color

If you are going to paint the walls, and I recommend it because it makes the whole house look fresh, consider going with neutral colors like egg shell, beige or light gray.  Avoid dark colors or unique designs.

When my husband and I were searching for homes online, I didn’t even want to go look at the house that we ended up buying because the living room looked like it had ugly, old fashioned wallpaper on it.  When we did look at the house, we discovered it wasn’t really wallpaper, but instead a bad sponge painting job using tan, orange and brown.  If the living room would have been painted a neutral color, it would have looked much better online.

Make Minor Repairs

If you’ve lived in your house long enough, you likely have several minor repairs that need to be made.  In our house, we have some dry wall that needs to be patched, places where the paint is coming off, a doorbell that doesn’t work, etc.  Take all of those small repairs and have them fixed.  Your home will look better when you list it, and potential buyers will feel that you’ve done a good job taking care of your home.

Buy a Home Warranty Now

If you don’t have a home warranty, consider buying one now.  Then, when you have a potential buyer and a home inspection, if anything major is found, you’ll be able to offset the cost to repair or fix with the home warranty.  When you close, the new homeowners can buy the warranty from you if they’d like.

Price to Sell

If you’re in a hurry to sell your home, make sure you price it competitively.  Now is not the time to price it a little bit high to see if you can get a greater profit.  If time is of the essence, price it around the same price of comparable properties in your area or even price it a little bit lower.  Sure, you won’t make as much money. However,  in the long run, you can save money overall because you won’t have to pay the mortgage for a house you no longer live in that is still on the market.

My husband and I were in the housing market about five years ago.  We saw many houses that were priced too high.  Those houses had had numerous price reductions.  I immediately thought the sellers were desperate and that I could negotiate with them even further.  Other buyers might think something is wrong with the property.

It is better to start with a competitive price and garner interest than to start too high and keep reducing the price. Alternatively, if speed is of the essence rather than getting the best price for your property, you could look into selling to a cash buyer like https://webuyhousesinatlanta.com/, who will be able to close the sale quickly and get your property off the market.

Allow All of the Showings

8 Easy Low Cost Fixes to Help You Sell Your House Fast
Photo by Artem Beliaikin on Unsplash

One of the most difficult parts of selling a house, especially if you have kids, is to leave your home so real estate agents can show it.  However, if you can try to keep your home show ready, you’ll be able to leave at a moment’s notice.  Try to be flexible and agree to showings with only an hour’s notice.  The more people you can get through your front door, the more potential buyers you have.

A family friend recently had to sell her home quickly because her husband had gotten a job in another state.  They only had one month to sell.  Even though they had three young children, they were determined to sell quickly.  They left the house sometimes two to four times a day for showings.  However, they sold the house in just two short weeks!

Final Thoughts

These 8 easy low cost fixes to help your home sell fast tasks don’t cost much money.  However, they can have a serious impact on how long your house is on the market and how much it will sell for.

If you’ve recently sold or bought your home, what else would you add to this list?