Frugality

The Cost of Free Tickets

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I received a couple of free tickets to see the Kansas City Chiefs preseason game last night.  This was because some friends that live out of state have season tickets. The preseason games are included in the season ticket package.  They decided that it wasn’t worth the expense of travel to see a preseason game and since preseason tickets are almost worthless I was able to score them for free.

There was a $22 charge for parking which I thought was awfully high.  It was split between me and my friend so that was $11 each.  It had been a long time since I’d been to a professional sports event.  I had forgotten how expensive concessions were.  It was $7.25 for a beer.  It may have been a preseason game but they were definitely charging regular season prices.  I opted to not have any concessions since I couldn’t justify paying such a high markup.  My total cost to attend was only $12 but if I would have had any concessions that total would have risen quickly.  Even when you receive somethng for free you have to consider the costs involved.

That being said I’m glad I went.  I’m a life long Chiefs fan but have never seen them play at Arrowhead.  I actually prefer to watch games on TV in the comfort of my own home.  It is nice to have had the stadium experience at least once just so I know what it is like.  And the Chiefs won which is something they probably won’t be doing a lot of this season.  Overall it was a good deal.

Five Free Frugal Resources

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When you’re trying to be frugal getting something for free is a big help. Here are some great free resources that won’t cost you a dime.

  1. The Public Library- You can get books free here and also music and movies. My local library charges a dollar for movies but the books are still a good deal.
  2. 1-800-Free-411- I just recently found about this.  I just avoided using directory assistance before but now take advantage of this free deal. You just have to listen to a short advertisement before you get your information.
  3. Mint,GnuCash,PearBudget,etc.- There is lots of free money management software out there. I use PearBudget right now since my finances are pretty simple. I’m thinking of upgrading to more detailed software though.
  4. Hulu.com,ABC.com,CBS.com,etc.- These are sites where you can legally watch TV shows and movies at your own convenience online. With these sites you really don’t need cable.
  5. BBC.co.uk/languages- At this site you can take language lessons online for free. There are many other free language learning sites out there.  I haven’t tried these yet but learning a foreign language is on my list of things to do someday.

Those are just a few of the free frugal resources available. There are lots of things you can do for free.

I Won’t Be Living In A Van

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At least not in the near future.  When I stated that I was going to be moving into a van this fall I had every intention of doing so and was looking forward to the prospect.  However, things have changed since then. My relationship with my GF has grown more serious and I’m spend almost every night at her house.  If I moved into a van I’d still be spending almost every night at her house.  That would end up being an unfair situation since I’d basically be living at her house but not sharing any of the living expenses.  Therefore when my lease is up I will be moving in with my GF. I’ll be contributing towards our living expenses an amount roughly equal to my current living expense. I’ll probably do a separate post about that.

I hope this isn’t too much of a disappointment to those who were looking forward to my posts about living in a van but moving in with my GF is the fair and practical thing to do.  Of course it also represents a step forward in our relationship and a further commitment to each other.

My new plan is to live in a car or van for a short time this fall as a sort of experiment.  I’ll post details and pics when this plan is finalized.

I Can Drive 55

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With apologies to Sammy Hagar I must say that I can drive 55. Maybe it is because when I was growing up and first started driving the national speed limit was 55 mph. I was used to going 55 mph and it seemed fast enough. Of course once the speed limit was lifted I started driving over 55 mph but now that gas is more expensive going back to 55 mph doesn’t seem like that bad of an idea. Slowing down to 55 mph does make a noticeable difference in you fuel efficiency.

There is even a national campaign to bring back the 55 mph speed limit. It isn’t likely to work and I’m not even sure it is a good idea. I regularly drive on a stretch of highway with a 55 mph speed limit and the average speed is about 70. Reducing the limit probably won’t slow people down it will just increase tickets. The current speed limits need to be enforced better before they lower them.

That being said I think people should voluntarily drive 55 mph. It not only saves gas it improves safety. Some dispute whether the 55 mph speed limit actually saved lives but it is clear that probability of injury and fatality increases with increasing speed. If you’re in a 70 mph zone you might need to go a little faster than 55 mph so that you’re not drastically slower than the other traffic. You should still try go as close to 55 mph as safely possible though.

I know most people aren’t going to voluntarily start driving 55 mph anytime soon. There are more willing to do it now that gas is more expensive though. Maybe if gas gets expensive enough more people will see the benefits of driving 55 mph. Or if that is too much maybe there can be a compromise at 60 mph.

Advanced Strategies for Saving on Law Books

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You should already be familiar with the triple-saving strategy. This is where you: 1. Buy your books used online from sites like Half.com or Amazon. 2. Visit these stores through a cashback shopping portal such as BigCrumbs or Ebates ($5 Sign-up Bonus). 3. Use a online coupon code from a site such as RetailMeNot.com for a further discount. If you make your purchases with a cashback rewards card than you can actually have quadruple savings.

It is actually possible to do even better than this though. You can save half off the price of a used textbook by sharing it with someone in your class. If you don’t feel like sharing you can buy a used textbook that is good for two courses. My real estate textbook for this semester is the same textbook I used for a different real estate class last semester. Since I’m getting double the use out of the book it is like getting it for half price.

Another strategy that should save you even more than 50% off a used textbook is to buy one edition back. I paid $5 for a book this semester that was available used in the new edition and would have cost me over $100 new. Glancing through the new textbook at the bookstore it appears there have been very minor changes between the editions. I probably wouldn’t have tried this strategy as a 1L but as a 3L I’m confident that it will work.

The best strategy is to take classes that don’t require a textbook at all. The clinic I’m taking this semester doesn’t require a textbook and I believe that is true for most other clinics as well. Or you can take a class where the professor has all the required reading material online. I’ve had a couple classes like this and there was an option to buy a printout for cheap at the university copy center but I found it unnecessary. Having my reading material on my computer was actually a benefit because it made it easy to copy and paste highlights to my notes.

Also consider how many credits the class you’re taking is. Buying a $100 textbook for a four credit class is a lot better deal than buying a $100 textbook for a one credit class. Sometimes you have to buy an expensive textbook for a one credit class but avoid it if you can.

These are several ways you can save money on your textbooks. This will save you a ton of money compared to what you would pay at the bookstore. All other things being equal when choosing a class take the one with the cheaper book, but don’t take a class just to save on the cost of a textbook.