News

If you’re ordering anything that requires a delivery to your home or office, you should keep an eye out for extra charges to cover the cost of gas.

These extra charges are often referred to as a “fuel surcharge” or an “energy surcharge.” Other businesses may simple call it a “delivery fee.”

Whatever the fee is called, make sure you are aware of it before you order a product.

I first noticed a “delivery fee” attached to my pizza order nearly a year ago when the cost of gas first started to climb. While doing some research about the fee, I was told by one local pizza shop owner that it wasn’t just the cost of gas to get the pizza to my house. The cost to the restaurant to have the ingredients brought in was increasing, too.

And so it goes, the cost is passed down from one customer to the next until it ends up in your final tab for that pepperoni pizza.

A year later — with gas at $4 a gallon — more and more delivery fees, and costlier delivery fees, are being tacked on to a multitude of services including flower deliveries, food deliveries and the shipping of online orders.

In some cases the fees are not disclosed and can lead to sticker shock for an unsuspecting customer. Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett found this to be a large enough concern that he issued a warning for consumers to be on the lookout for undisclosed surcharges. You can read that warning here.

You can also read this Washington Post article which talks about the increase in delivery fees. The article also mentions some cruise lines that ended up refunding money to customers who were filled for fuel charges after booking their cruises.

The key is to be aware of what you’re paying and how much you’re paying for delivery charges so you can make an informed decision about whether or not the delivery price is worth the service you’re getting.

Tips

Have you ever been faced with having to entertain a group of children but didn’t have a big budget?

You can give kids big money fun on a dollar store budget. As I discussed in a previous post, you can get lots of great deals by dollar store shopping.

If you have an event where kids need to be entertained and remain seated, create gift bags for them. You can find coloring books, markers, Crayons, and little games all for a $1 a piece, or sometimes less. Package the items in a paper bag for each child. You could even personalize and decorate the bags if you’ve got the time. Or better yet, challenge the children to decorate their own bags with the materials you’ve given them inside.

This next idea was something my mom came up with for a family 4^th of July party one year. She purchased toys at the dollar store, like bug catching kits and games. My parents happen to have a sand volleyball court, so she buried the toys in the sand and gave each child a plastic bucket, a shovel, and a “treasure map” to the items they had to find. If you don’t have sand nearby, you could still hide the items around your home and give the kids clues to find their prizes.

Look for sidewalk chalk and bubbles. Just give the kids access to some concrete, chalk and a bottle of bubbles each (so no one fights over them), and they can entertain themselves for quite a long time. I was able to find packages of bubbles that were 3 for $1 at my local Dollar Tree.

If you’re looking for entertainment and education, look for flashcards, puzzles and workbooks. I’ve found lots of great things like this at the Dollar Tree, too. They are great for teaching kids and keeping them busy.

The key is to be creative. You don’t have to spend tons of money to entertain children.

We all want to save money on gas. There are some easy ways to do that. Then there are the more complicated ways.

First, some of the easy ways to make the most of every gallon of gas:

·        Drive the speed limit. Speeding is one of the fastest ways to cause your miles per gallon to plummet. (And yes, there was a pun intended.)

·        Keep up with the routine maintenance of your vehicle.

·        Make sure your tires are properly, but not overly, inflated.

·        Eliminate any unnecessary weight in your car.

·        When traveling below 40 miles per hour, turn off your air conditioner and open your windows. When you’re traveling over 40, it’s actually more efficient to run your air because of the drag the open windows will cause at higher speeds.

There are some drivers who have taken fuel conservation to a whole new level. They are known as “hypermilers.”

I have been reading a ton of stuff lately about “hypermiling,” which is basically a driving practice that is supposed to lead to maximum fuel efficiency for your vehicle.

There are people out there who are hypermiling experts. Then there are a whole lot of people who have jumped on the bandwagon in the wake of high fuel prices.

Hypermiling involves going beyond the obvious things we can all do and starts to get into some other practices. I read some blogs about hypermiling and thought, “Some of these things sound really unsafe?”

And apparently I’m right … and sort of wrong.

It turns out that some drivers who don’t really understand the principles of hypermiling have started using some techniques — like drafting, driving excessively slow or turning off their engine — that are hazardous on the roadway.

Check out this article that details some of the dangers. The hypermiling web sites do not advocate some of these practices.

Driving too slow can be dangerous on busy highways. Drafting, aka tailgating, behind big trucks is not safe because it reduces your ability to see ahead of you and increases your chances of rear-ending the vehicle ahead of you. And turning off your vehicle means you lose all of the power to your car including steering and brakes.

It’s important to increase your fuel efficiency, but it’s even more important to stay safe.

If you’re interested in learning more about getting better fuel economy from your vehicle and being a safe driver visit:

www.hypermiling.com

www.cleanmpg.com

www.fueleconomy.gov

Debt Management

I did not realize how much is going on in the lives of many Americans regarding storage lockers. Not that I necessarily should have been thinking about storage lockers.

For a short time I rented a storage locker to house my possessions. The lease on one apartment was up. I was planning on moving out of the area and didn’t want to renew, so I temporarily moved back in with my parents. Once I got a new job and apartment I got my stuff and stopped paying for storage.

I had assumed this was how storage worked for most people. You’re in some sort of transition and need a temporary place to keep your essential possessions.

Apparently this isn’t always the case.

There are people out there who are paying for storage simply because they have so much “stuff” that they don’t know what to do with it all. I know one of these people. He’s in his 30s and hanging on to toys and art projects from elementary school — along with a ton of other stuff he’s collected over the years. Most of it could go to the Goodwill or the trash bin.

M.P. Dunleavy addresses this topic in her latest article. It’s interesting to look at some of the numbers she cites as far as how much the storage locker business has expanded in the past couple of decades. It seems apparent that many of us simply have too much stuff.

(I will admit that I have too much stuff, and I’m trying to reduce the amount of unnecessary things I’m cramming into my home. I’m also not spending money every month just to store my things, which is important to note in these tough economic times.)

Having too much isn’t the only reason people are turning to storage.

A while ago I wrote about people selling their possessions in order to pay the bills and put gas in their cars. Yet another trend is emerging from the subprime mortgage meltdown and all-around tougher financial times: Storage auctions.

The New York Times ran this story about the increasing frequency of auctions at storage facilities. The auctions are held by the facility after the unit’s renter is delinquent on his or her payments for a certain period of time.

Bidders get barely a glimpse into the storage unit before they place their bids. Only after someone wins the bid do they get to find out exactly what’s inside.

For people who put their items into storage after a foreclosure, I would imagine it would be particularly difficult to see what amounts to nearly all of your possessions auctioned off, often for a minimal price.

Some people have even been found illegally living in their self-storage units after losing their homes.

On the flip side, some people are turning another’s misfortune into profit. Many bidders wade through their new items and resell them at flea markets or on online auction sites.

Do you pay every month to store “stuff?” What do you think about self-storage auctions? Have you ever attended this type of an auction? Have you ever had your possessions sold?

Credit Counseling

I think most people would agree that there is a stigma attached to debt and spending problems.

People hide their debt from friends, co-workers, even family and spouses. It’s embarrassing to admit that you mismanaged your finances. But I have a theory: Hiding debt in some cases only adds to the problem.

The only way to reduce debt is to get on a spending plan and stick with it. Many times it can be a pretty restrictive plan that doesn’t leave a lot of room for “play” money.

If you are too afraid to tell your friends you can’t afford something and try to keep up with them, you’re going to quickly derail your budget.

I’ll use myself as an example. In my younger days I accumulated some debt. There was a combination of factors that led to my increasing credit card bills. But, one way that I continued to keep myself from getting ahead was trying to keep up a busy social (and therefore spending) life with my friends.

I was too embarrassed to say, “You know what, I can’t afford to go out tonight.” Or, “I really can’t afford a restaurant that expensive.”

Instead I would fork over the plastic and go out, all the while knowing I should be sitting at home.

Several years ago I realized that I had to do better with my money or I was going to be headed for some serious trouble. I took control of my financial situation and started making better choices.

I also started fessing up when I just didn’t have the money to do something. I was surprised to find out that I had other friends in the same situation or friends who understood.

The first time I bailed out on plans, I sent a text to my friend that said, “I’ve got to pass. I literally have like $15 to my name until payday.” I felt pathetic.

He responded with: “I’ve been there … I’ve been there.”

It was such a relief to read that simple message.

I recently read in a Wall Street Journal article that 11.8 million bank credit cards are delinquent. While it is a relief to know you’re not alone, I don’t find that number any kind of relief. It means there are a lot of people who need to take control of their finances.

That’s the important thing for those struggling under the weight of debt: Take responsibility and get help. Call a non-profit credit counseling agency, like Advantage CCS, and go through a comprehensive credit counseling session with a certified counselor. The counselor should help you create a budget and an action plan to help you manage your finances and reduce your debt.

Debt is not a problem that will go away if you ignore it, but you can take steps to better your situation.