Update on Swap.com Experiment

Earlier, I posted about my Swap.com experiment.

Almost a month later and I have earned $80 in profit.  I've sold about 18 items (a couple of which were sets).  The least expensive item I sold was $3.00.  The most expensive item I sold was $15.00.  Initially, the first week or so that my items were posted on the web site (they do the photographing and posting), I sold several items that were lower priced.  Then my selling rate slowed down and I sold an item here or there but the items were more expensive.  I have 8 items (include a couple of sets) posted and priced that have not sold.

I did much better selling maternity clothes that I did selling infant/baby items.  In fact, I have only sold one baby item thus far.

At present, I have another big box of mostly maternity items to send off now.  The items I am sending in this time are my high end, business and fashion maternity items.  I also had almost all of these items dry-cleaned so I will need to price the items high enough to recoup my dry-cleaning expenses.   These items will likely be priced at $30 or more to account for dry-cleaning costs of $10 and original prices of $80 - $130 per item (and many were only slightly worn).

Wish me luck.

Florida - Fraud Capital of the Country

Today I read a news article about scammers targeting Nordstrom computers in South Florida.  Scammers distract the Nordstrom employees and take apart the register/computer back panel and add a credit card skimmer.

Thankfully these bad guys were caught because of surveillance camera footage.  But, as a consumer you wouldn't even be able to be on the look out for this kind of skimmer because it is hidden.  So make sure you pay close attention to those credit card and debit card statements.

Pedi Toes Lead the Way

Pedicures certainly should be classified as a want when one is doing a budget or a spending plan.  But for a South Florida gal, like me, they nudge into the category of need since my toes are exposed on a regular basis.  I wear peep toe pumps at work and sandals and flip flops on the weekend so unsightly toes are something I "need" to avoid.

Over the last year or so, having a regular pedicure has turned into a regular habit for me.  While I strive to avoid lifestyle inflation, I have just worked this service into my regular expenses, as part of my allowance.  Said another way, while I am spending more on my toes I am not spending more in general.

I pay quite a bit to have my hair cut, I've got long hair complicated hair and this is an expense that has been part of my regular budget since college.  So the spa/salon where I get my hair cut offers a very nice pedicure service which I have used with some regularity over the last few years.  Basically, when I get my hair cut, every six weeks, I often get my toes done.  The cost at this location is $55 ($65 with tip).  A pedicure at this spot is a luxury experience, super nice massage chairs and thorough and pampered experience.  The pedicure lasts quite a long time, normally at least two and half weeks or so.

On the other end of the spectrum, there is a no-frills nail salon near my office which charges $22 for a pedicure ($27 with tip).  This spot is very convenient and has later hours so it is an easy stop after work. But, there are no massage chairs and I don't find it to be a relaxing experience.  The pedicure from this place lasts a week or so.

So recently, I bought a Groupon for a day spa located near my home (I had no idea it was there) and had a great pedi and mani for $30.  It is a great spa, new and well appointed (meaning that it had great massage chairs).  My Groupon pedi lasted for more than two weeks (really almost three weeks) and I was very happy with the quality of the services.  Even though I only had a classic pedi, the treatment and time almost reached spa level pedi in my mind.  So, the Groupon worked, and I went back for another pedi this past weekend.  The regular price for a classic pedicure is $40 ($50 with tip) so this spot falls in between the prices of the spa/salon where I get my hair cut and the convenient spot near work.  But, I would say that this new location provides similar quality and level of service as the $55 pedi.  The only down side is that this place is not open late so it has to be a Saturday stop for me and my Saturdays are always busy.

I've really found that paying a bit more for quality is saving me time (since I don't have to have a cheap pedi every week or so) and increasing my joy in that I really enjoy the experience.

When is a Sale Not a Sale?

Earlier, I wrote about the psychological impact of shopping without actually buying the product you are shopping for.

Now comes news on something I've suspected for many years, at some stores sale prices are not really sale prices.  Rather, as Today News reports certain stores, including J.C. Penny, Kohl's and Macy's have been caught advertising and pricing items on sale when they are actually selling the product for the manufacturer's suggested price.

There are almost an unlimited number of techniques companies use to get us, the public, to part with our money either by increasing purchases and/or by increasing the purchase price.  A "sale" when its not really a sale is just another technique but one that the savvy customer should be aware of by comparison shopping and doing their own research.

Diamonds and Dollars - Update

Back in August of 2012, I wrote about a claim we had submitted in the DeBeers diamond price fixing case. Well, yesterday Mr. Sam received a $270 settlement check.

I have no idea if this is a fair or reasonable settlement for the damages suffered by the consumer class (I understand, from my research that the wholesaler class is getting much larger checks) since I never studied the claims or undertook any analysis as to Mr. Sam's damages.  I understand from the diamonds class action web site that "payments were calculated based on several factors, including how much you paid, the quantity and quality of the diamonds you purchased, the amount of money that is available for your Class or Sub-class, and how many Class Members filed claims."

Anyways, assuming we never would have thought to bring a claim related to the diamond in my engagement ring, we are happy to recover $270 and we are putting it into our vacation fund.

This is the second time I've recovered more than $200 in one of these class settlement scenarios, so I'll continue to fill out the paperwork.

Satisfy Your Shopping Itch Without Buying

I've used a little trick for years to satisfy my urge to shop while also keeping my spending in check.  I go to my favorite online stores, J. Crew, Amazon, Pottery Barn, etc.  For clothes, I pick out something, I take a look at colors, I pick out my size, etc.  I may shop for an entire outfit.  Then I put it into my shopping bag or my shopping cart and then I simply don't check out.  My Amazon.com cart has items that I picked out more than 2 or 3 years ago.  Sometimes I use this method because I'm following our rules on waiting a day for every $100 an item costs, meaning if I picked out a pair a shoes that exceeded a $100, I am required to wait before I purchase them.  But, just as often, I simply enjoy this process, the browsing, the effort of coordinating a skirt with a shirt, finding the perfect dress for an upcoming event or trip and then feel little to no need to complete the sale.

This morning I read an article on The Atlantic that seems to confirm that materialistic folks (perhaps I am one) receive a greater happiness boost from thinking about acquisitions than from the actual acquisition.

What do you think?  Do you ever engage in imaginary shopping to satisfy your shopping impulses?

Drinking and Shopping Don't Mix

I enjoyed this fun Atlantic Wire post on shopping under the influence.

 I have been to enough Palm Beach charity events over the years to understand the silent auction (and live auction) bidding dollars go way up the more people drink.

As such, I would add a section to the article that one should generally get a pass for shopping/bidding at charity auctions, since its for charity.

Otherwise, I thought the suggestions in this guide were great.  Definitely leave the credit cards at home if you are shopping after drinking and have a friend there to talk you out of bad ideas.

I often find myself in trouble when it comes to art, because (1) I love original art, (2) I'll spend good money for art, and (3) I'm often admiring art while holding a glass of wine.  So I stick to my rules and anything over a $100 requires a cooling off period.  I'll take a photo of the art with my iPhone, I'll take a business card, but I generally don't buy art on a first viewing.

Free Report or Free Snoop

You may have heard that public officials, like Hillary Clinton and Vice President Biden, as well as celebs, like  Beyonce and Jay-Z, were the victims of hacking and that their personal finance information was disclosed.

Well now, it sounds like, according to this report, that some of that information came from AnnualCreditReport.com.  AnnualCreditReport.com is the site which the three credit reporting agencies set up so consumers can gain free access to their credit reports.  Scary stuff to hear that, possible, hackers were able to defeat the security features of the site (which I've had trouble answer for myself).  But, I guess, now that I think about it, if your bio details are out in the public domain someone with time and energy could probably answer the questions posed by this site.

The last time I checked my credit report was right before our refinance.  This news story reminds me that it is probably time to check again.

Happy St. Valentine's Day - Part I

Happy St. Valentine's Day to you!

What are you doing to celebrate heart day?  Are you sending flowers, going out to dinner, buying gifts for your spouse, your children or your dog?  Do you boycott Valentine's Day as nothing more than a Hallmark holiday?

The Atlantic has a great series of charts showing how much is being spent for today and on who.  Not surprising to this dog owner, a lot of people buy gifts for their pooches.

Besides a few heart shaped dog treats for Snarfle I "spent" the following for Valentine's Day.  First, one of the organizations that I support has run a Valentine's Day fundraising event for the last few years.  Donate $20 and they'll send a Valentine's Day card to someone in your honor.  I did three of those cards, so that was a total of $60.

Then I sent my nephew, niece, god-daughter and her sister Valentine's Day cards which enclosed checks.  $50 each for my nephew and niece, and $30 each for my god-daughter and her sister, so that is a total of $160.  Then I send a few regular cards out to a few folks, so I'll say $5 in additional cards and postage.  That gives me a grand total of $225.

You'll probably notice that Mr. Sam is not on this list . . .    Like Christmas, we don't gift to each other on Valentine's Day either.

How about you, how much did you spend on St. Valentine's Day?  

January 2013 Spending Fast

We spent a ton of money in December and we also saved a ton of money in December in order to stretch to try and meet some of our 2012 savings goals.

December included two trips for me, one was solo and less expensive, but the other was with my husband and another couple and was pricey.  The solo trip was unplanned so that means unaccounted travel expenses in December.

And of course, the holidays always fall in December.  Despite the fact that we save and plan ahead for the holidays there are still always extra costs that pop up.  A new outfit here, an extra dinner out, drinks with friends, etc.

Finally, we do much of our charitable giving at the end of the year.  This year, we stretched and gave more than we normally do.  I also paid off a charitable pledge to my university two years early, so that was an extra $420 in charitable giving dollars.

Put that all together and I feel like we've been keeping the economy going just with our family's spending.  Add in the fact that we doubled down on our December savings to try and meet our 2012 goals and I feel like we have no money because we either saved it or spent it.  So, it is time for another January spending fast.

If you've never heard of a spending fast, pick a time period (if 30 days is too long, do a 7 day, a 5 day [work week fast] or a weekend fast) and then simply don't spend money on anything unnecessary.  So that means for January, you have got to avoid all the after holiday sales.  No eating out, no ordering in, but of course you can still hit the grocery store.

What is your financial plan for January?

Diamonds and Dollars

Have you ever received mail alerting you to the fact that you are a presumptive member of some class action lawsuit?  If yes, what did you do?  Did you ignore the mail, toss it, investigate and then toss, respond, file a claim, opt out?

Maybe you have heard news reports about the Nutella class action lawsuit (over the issue of whether chocolate nut spread is nutritious or not), wherein the settlement to the class was for coupons to buy more delicious, but not nutritious, Nutella.  In fact, many class action settlements involving retail wrong doing involve discounts or coupons for future services or products.  As a result, in some class action settlements, response rates are lower than 25%.

Yesterday, Mr. Sam received follow up mail from the Diamonds Claim Administrator for the DeBeers diamond price fixing settlement.  While neither of us have any recollection of submitting a claim, I assume I filled out the paperwork and submitted it back in 2008 (my research indicates that claims were due in 2008).  I have been prone to submit class claims ever since I received a check for almost $200 for a test prep class I took years ago in advance of professional school.

So, now the claims administrator is looking for actual proof of purchase for the engagement ring diamond that Mr. Sam purchased back in 2005.  Since my engagement ring is our most expensive piece of jewelry I do have a detailed file.  I have the GIA grading report and the Gemprint Certificate of Registration for the center diamond.  I also have the documentation regarding the wedding band and insurance paperwork, but nothing in my files that documents how much Mr. Sam paid for the main diamond.

Part of the problem is that Mr. Sam went through a diamond broker and bought the center diamond from a wholesaler and then had the engagement ring designed by a jeweler. As such, there is no receipt for the ring as a whole.  Thank goodness for Yahoo email, after I dug through our hard copy file and came up empty, he was able to go back to his 2005 e-mail records and find a receipt.  Hooray!!

Today, I will copy all of the diamond material and will send it off to the claims administrator.  Who knows how much we will get, but something is better than nothing.

Above and Beyond

Recently, I gave Nordstrom (and I really want to add an extra S on the end of its name) a hard time for stalking me  on the interwebs offering me products that are no longer available.  As an aside, they are still stalking me and still offering up that great tweed coat that isn't available.

As I mentioned in the stalking post, I recently purchased a number of items from Nordstom during their half yearly sale.  I normally have my online orders sent to my office, since  I know someone will always be available to sign for the package.  As such, I received two medium size boxes from Nordstrom this past week.  I promptly unpacked the boxes and repacked into one box for ease of transport.  When I got home, I was going through the packing invoice and the items received when I realized that three small fashion bracelets that I ordered for gifts were missing in action.

The next day I called Nordstrom and explained my problem to a very nice woman, not located on the other side of the world I might mention, and she asked whether I had checked the packing material, because they often tuck small items into the packing paper.  Uh oh, I thought, I promptly pulled all the packing material out and tossed it and since it was the next day the cleaning folks had already come and gone and emptied my office trash.  Being the honest person I am, I told the Nordstrom customer service rep exactly what I had done and further told her that I assumed I had tossed out the missing bracelets.  I wasn't too upset, these were fashion bracelets that had cost about $10 each that I had bought as gifts for my god-daughters and my niece, so if they were gone they were gone and I was out $30.

Well, imagine my surprise when Nancy told me they would send out three replacement bracelets and would send them second day so I'd have them sooner rather than later.  She told me it was always possible that they the bracelets, since they were small, had not made it into the box and since there was no way to check they would rather send me the replacements.

I say, such customer service is above and beyond and one of the reasons that Nordstrom is on my fave list.

You Are Doing it Wrong - Nordstrom Spying Addition

I am a fan of the Nordstrom stores.  Good quality products, friendly and helpful service and an unbeatable return policy.   As a result, it is one of my go to stores both as a brick and mortar store and for online shopping.  I recently bought a bunch of stuff during their half yearly sale.

After my post on Dynamic Pricing, I've been paying attention to what advertisements follow me around on the web.  And Nordstrom has been stalking me left and right throwing up photos of products it thinks I might like.  And they are getting the photos right, but why would they offer me something I like that is out of stock?  They keep throwing up this photo of this very cute Nanette Lepore tweed jacket, but it is completely out of stock.  I really can't figure out the point of this type of stalking.

The same thing happens on Amazon, if I buy an iPhone charger to leave in my car, Amazon then offers me more iPhone auto chargers.  How many cars does Amazon think I own?

A Few of My Favorite Blogs (not about money or personal finances)

I am a reader.  I read books, articles, blogs, etc.  I've gathered up a few of my favorite non-money blogs and sites for your enjoyment.

First off, marriage.  I'm married and I believe that marriage, like any friendship or relationship takes effort and work.  So when I feel like my marriage needs work or a boost or I just need a reminder as to why I got married in the first place I turn to:  Engaged Marriage and Assume Love.

Second, work.  When I'm struggling with getting my work done or focusing at work, I really enjoy Dumb Little Man.

Third, home life.  I like Lime in the Coconut for Florida decorating and home ideas.  I read Real Simple, both in magazine form and online, for decorating, organizing, meal planning, holiday, and for fashion.  I also read Fly Lady for cleaning and organizing tips.

And last, but certainly not least, I read the Happiness Project blog for tips on how to get the most joy out of life.  I also read the book and I highly recommend it.

Please let me know if you have any favorite blogs that I need to read.

Dynamic Pricing

You, like me, have probably experienced dynamic pricing at some point in your life.  We all pay more for airline tickets during the holidays.  Concert tickets for the most popular bands are way more expensive.  And Ticketmaster and some sports teams are embracing the idea, also known as real time pricing, with new vigor.  So soon, if not now, you may pay more or less for a similar seat at the ball game based on when you buy.

But, you might be surprised to learn that dynamic pricing is being utilized across many type of regular consumer goods.  Online, if you click on a particular shirt, dress or shoes, or save something to your virtual shopping bag or basket (which I do all the time, virtual shopping helps to satisfy my shopping urges) you might end up paying more for that purchase.  And if you are willing to pay more for goods, or shop at pricier web stores, think Neiman Marcus and Saks 5th Ave., next time you want to buy that t-shirt on line at J. Crew you might be surprised that you'll pay more than someone whose online history shows that they shop at Target.  This Slate article describes the mysterious practice of online dynamic pricing.

I swear, I recently fell victim to this practice at least twice that I know of.  I was in the hunt for a doggy life jacket for our old dog Snarfle as I plan for a west coast fishing trip.  I did some research and found a highly rated life jacket available online at Amazon.  The price was $18 when I saved it to my Amazon shopping cart.  When I went back to purchase the life jacket the price had increased to $26.  I assume, in this instance, the price had gone up based on inventory, there was only one life jacket in size large in stock.

More nefarious, I recently purchased a cocktail dress at Neiman Marcus (online) and did so at work using my work computer.  As an aside, the dress was on super sale and it was for a charity, black-tie event.  I'm not in the habit of shopping at Neiman Marcus.  And as a further aside, I ended up returning the dress due to fit issues.

Thereafter, I was doing some online shopping at J. Crew, J. Crew is my go to place for casual clothes, and had looked at purchasing some items for said upcoming vacation.  I was interrupted and so picked up my online shopping at home and I swear the pricing was different between my home computer experience and my work computer experience. I had read the Slate article, linked above, so I wasn't sure if I was just being paranoid.  But today I am at work so I double checked and the pricing at J. Crew is different using my work computer vs. my home computer.  So, I cleared all my cookies on my work computer and I got, wait for it, a third price.  As an aside, my work computer is routed through a server located in a large city in the north east.  So, if J. Crew is trying to figure out who I am and what price I'll pay for something, before I log into my J. Crew account, it thinks I live in a pricey city.

I assume there are pricing differences in brick and mortar stores as well, so I guess I should not be surprised that on-line retailers will work to charge the most they can depending on where I am located, but pricing based on perceived tolerance is beyond annoying.

Not Lucky

I pay for one magazine subscription, for Real Simple, which corresponds to my efforts to clear clutter from life, appreciate the life I have, i.e. wear the clothes I own, decorate my home with items I already own, etc.  I buy Real Simple each year when my neighbor's kids run their magazine subscription fund raiser.

Recently, I started receiving Lucky Magazine. Lucky is basically a magazine for people who love to shop.  And while I love to shop and enjoy fashion, I don't love this magazine because it is filled with tempting items that I want to purchase. Basically it is a glorified catalog and I find it very tempting.  I am generally pretty good with recycling the catalogs the minute I go through the mail.  But last night, while I tossed the catalogs I found myself sitting down to flip through this "magazine" and also found myself thinking that I would like to purchase some of the items featured.

When I peruse a Vogue or something similar I never really get to the point of contemplating purchase as the items in Vogue are way out of my price range and frankly not practical for my life (way too runway).  But the items featured in Lucky are in my price range, fit my style and life and the mag gives the details on how to purchase (like a catalog).

After last night's tempting review, I have decided that I will recycle this magazine the second I receive same.  I didn't sign up for the magazine, I'm not obligated to read it and it would be better for my wallet if I avoided same.

Close Call

I came very close today to breaching my 30 day spending fast  to purchase this  J. Crew polka dot skirt  that is on super sale, currently on sale plus 40% off (and today is the last day).

But I held out, put my J. Crew spendy certificate back in its drawer and closed out of the site and went back to work.

Store Debit Cards

I stay far, far away from most store branded credit cards because, more often than not, the terms of such cards are horrible.

But, did you know that Nordstrom and Target both offer a store branded debit card?

Nordstrom is one of my favorite stores, great quality merchandise and the best customer service.  I have friends who live by their Nordstrom credit cards, because the rewards are so great, but I have always said no, no, no to a Nordstrom credit card.  In fact on a recent girls trip, one of my friends paid for my Nordstrom purchases with her Nordstrom credit card because she wanted the points (I gave her a check).  I understand that the Nordstrom rewards program provides two points for every dollar spent, and when you hit 2000 points you get a $20 Nordstrom note.  So basically once you spend $1000 you get $20 back which doesn't seem that great.  But, and this is why my friend paid for my purchases, if you make your purchases during double or triple bonus point events they can add up quick.

The Target debit card provides 5% discounts (just like the Target credit card) on purchases.

So, how do these fancy new cards work?  First, you can only use the debit cards at the particular store.  With your debit application you supply a voided check our a routing number and the store submits a transaction, like if you use your debit card for an online purchase, utilizing same.

Upside for these types of cards? no debt and rewards galore.

Downside for store debit cards? possible overdraft charges and increased spending to obtain said rewards.

Other Goals from 2011 - Part Two

In addition to our 2011 savings goals and our other 2011 personal financial goals, I had a couple of other big projects on my list for 2011.

First, one of my big goals was to clean our my closet.  This goal is basically completed.  During the summer, I took everything out of my closet and spent a weekend trying everything on (except for clothes that were current - meaning I had worn them in the past few months).  It was an exhausting project, but I estimate that I got rid of 50% of my clothes/shoes/purses.  I got rid of clothes from high school and college, I got rid of clothes that no longer fit, that were not in style, that were poor quality, etc.  I even got rid of clothes that still had tags on them, meaning I never wore that particular piece.  

When I was done, I had two huge trash bags of clothes for Goodwill and another huge bag of purses and shoes that went to Goodwill.  I also had a huge trash bag of business attire which I still have as I'm trying to find a place to donate business clothes.  However, if I don't locate a proper charitable organization for my business clothes, I will drop this bag off at Goodwill as well.  In order to complete this goal I need to drop off this last bag.  

Mr. Sam also took all the racking out of my closet, painted and we put new, and better designed, racking back in.  I organized the remaining clothes into color, type, style (business or casual), and put it neatly back into my closet.  I still have too many shoes, but overall the closet project has held up well. 

Second, my other big goal was to get our office organized.  This goal is 75% completed.  I pulled a ton of paperwork out of three file drawers (I still have one left to do) and went through all of it.  I shredded hundreds of documents that were old and no longer needed.  I also implemented a new system for our filing.  Mr. Sam and I each have different color folders for our personal filing, we also have different color folders for each property and a different color folder for the dog too.  I also purchased a new two drawer file cabinet, as our filing was completely overstuffed in the original space, to keep all filing related to our real estate.  

I still have one file drawer to go through and I can't pretend I'm doing a good job at keeping up with day to day filing.  I'm trying to figure out a system that works for me, as I'm a fan of systems, to keep up with the filing.  I need to do 5 minutes a day or I need to do an hour a week or two hours a month or something.  At present, I have six months of filing waiting to be filed.

How do you keep your papers organized and how do you keep up with the inflow?

Travel/Vacay

I'm heading out of town for a long weekend trip with one of my girlfriends.  I have to post to say how much fun it is to plan a quick trip and to have travel and fun money in our ING accounts just sitting there waiting for me to spend it.

Travel is so much more fun when the trip is already paid for and I have "fun" money available for shopping, spa and eating out.