Can you remember when you were a child and you got your first library card?  It was the key to a world of imagination where you could learn about anything you wanted!  You could go to the library and spend hours looking through pictures in books and reading about new, exciting topics; gaining knowledge on anything you wanted to.  As we have grown up we use the computer and internet to find answers to things that we would like to know.  Does that mean that the library is lost in the technical shuffle?  Not at all, but most people do not realize that their local libraries are up-to-date with the latest technology and provide much more than just books for their patrons!  Best of all, it’s FREE – unless you forget to return something and you are charged interest on it…

I’m not convinced that computers and the internet will ever replace the need for a library completely, but I do feel as if both have enhanced a library’s functionality.  In my own library, which is actually a network of libraries in the Boston area called the Minuteman Library Network, you can use the internet to access the Minuteman Network and search everything that is available in the network’s database – all 6.6 million items in the Minuteman Library Network.  You can do searches to find the book, periodical, audiovisual material or whatever else that you are looking for.  If your main library does not have the item that you are looking for available you can request that it be sent from another library in the network and they will email you when it is ready to be picked up.  How convenient is that?  Time is money in 2011!

So what does the library provide for services that you might not have thought about before?  You can borrow newly released books, DVDS, video games, CDs, and audio books.  Paying the price to purchase a desired item would be silly when you know you are only going to read the book once, watch the DVD one time or put the game on the shelf once you have beaten it.  Borrowing it from your local library can save you lots of money in the long run!  Especially if you have children – we all understand that children like to have new things every week and it is great to be able to keep them preoccupied while learning new things!  Besides, you can make an adventure out of a few hours at the library and you still do not have to spend a dime for it!

Here are some suggestions to inspire you to go and check out your local library:

1. Many people are using their ipods or other electronic devices to listen to music, watch videos or read books.  Did you know that the library has tons of CDs and books on tape?  I personally do not need to spend the extra money downloading songs from itunes when I can get the entire album of my favorite artist from the library and upload it to my ipod.  I also listen to music at my desk at work all day long, so when it comes time for my commute – I like a little break!  I enjoy being able to listen to an audio book to pass the commute through the streets of Boston.
2. Another popular trend in today’s society is e-readers – the Kindles, Nooks, iPads, etc. and my library’s network has a Digital Media Catalog service where you can download books for free to your e-reader.  Again, for FREE!
3. What about museum passes?  Yes!  My library’s network has free and/or discounted rates to local museums in the Boston area.  For instance, if you go to a specific library site like Watertown Library’s you can use your card to log in and see what museums that the library has passes to and what days that they are available.  For example, they have passes to the New England Aquarium that admits 4 people at $8/person or the Museum of Science in Boston that admits 4 people at $5/person.  That’s a great discount!

In an age when everyone is trying to cut back on their spending why not take advantage of some of the free/discounted services that are available to you locally where you live?  Do you own a library card?  If not, what is stopping you from getting one now?

Please share your thoughts with me in the comment section below.

Every time I drive through a toll in Massachusetts and see cars backed up on the highway, I think to myself – Why doesn’t everyone have a Fast Lane pass?  I’ve lived in Massachusetts my entire life and have always utilized the Mass Pike for getting myself in and out of the city.  It always boggles my mind that people line up in the “cash” line and wait to pay their toll.  I keep wondering if these people really have the extra 5, 10 or 20 minutes to sit and wait for the toll booth operator to collect their money?

It might take less time to go to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation website and click on the top link that says “Open A New Fast Lane Account” and sign up for a Fast Lane account, than to wait in line to pay cash for your toll.  Best of all its FREE to get a transponder … you don’t find too many things in this day and age that are FREE, totally FREE!

The benefits of having a Fast Lane pass are:

1. You never ever have to stop your car at a toll booth again:  As long as you reduce your speed to about 15 miles per hour, the toll booth transmitter will be able to read the transponder that is affixed to the windshield on your car and will automatically deduct the funds from your account.  The most popular account that is offered is a credit card system that is linked to the transponder.  You preload a specified amount of money into your account and when your balance dips below a predetermined amount, it automatically replenishes a specified amount from your credit card.

2. Additional discounts just for having a Fast Lane account:  You automatically receive a $0.25 cent toll discount at the Allston-Brighton tolls (Exit 17 outbound/Exit 20 inbound) and a $0.50 cent discount at the Sumner and Ted Williams tunnels.  Also if you are resident of Charlestown and/or Chelsea, look into the Tobin Bridge Resident Permit Discount Program for a discount on the tunnel.  Or a resident of East Boston, South Boston and/or the North End, look into the Annual Tunnel Communities Resident Program for discounted tolls on the Sumner/Callahan and Ted Williams Tunnels.  Certain restrictions may apply, but it would be worth your time to read through the policies if you are residents of those areas.

3. You may also be eligible for a credit on your Massachusetts individual tax return for a commuter deduction by using the Fast Lane service assuming that you are not reimbursed for your expenses through your employer.  If you are a single individual (or if your tax status is married filing separately or head of household), the maximum amount of the deduction is $750/year.  The way to calculate the commuter deduction credit is that you are responsible for the first $150 in tolls.  Anything that exceeds the $150 up to a maximum of $900 in tolls will give you the maximum deduction of $750 in a commuter deduction credit.  The credit is a dollar-for-dollar deduction (ie. $900-$150 = $750).  In addition, if you are a married and file a joint return with your spouse, you are both able to take the deduction up to the maximum of $750 each!  You will be able to print out the total amount of your commuter deduction off of the Fast Lane website as of the end of the year.

4. You can use your Fast Lane account in other states! Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maine, New Hampshire, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Rhode Island for now all accept the Fast Lane pass – do I sense a road trip in your future??  The thought of never having to scrape some change together to visit another state is exciting.  You never have to worry about carrying correct change on you again!

Whether you are from Massachusetts or not, I bet there is a sort of Fast Lane service that is provided by your state’s Department of Transportation.  Would you use the transponder system to virtually never have to stop at a toll again?  Please share your thoughts with me in the comment section below!

Remember when you were a child and you received your first piggy bank?  You probably thought that if you could save every last penny you would be rich when you finally smashed it!  It was a great feeling to think about how much you were actually going to save, but what happened to that inner child’s enthusiasm about saving money?  Now that you are older, why has it become so difficult to follow the same principles?

If I was to ask you to spend a month and take all your change (and $1 bills if you really wanted to make it build quickly) from each day and dump it into a piggy bank, would you do it?  Or would you tell me that you never use cash and always use a credit card to make purchases?  Would you tell me that you thought it was too difficult?  Or that you did not want to go to the bank and cash all the change in?  I’ve heard every excuse before, but bear with me… when you start looking for change, this can be fun and rewarding!

Let’s see if you can try that concept for a month or two and see how much you can save.  Then, conceptually let’s determine how you will use the change for your benefit:

1. You can start to actually use the change!  Many people overlook the types of things that you could use change for: vending machines, laundry, tip jars, newspapers, tolls booths, making a wish at a fountain, etc.  Start acknowledging that your change is REAL money and put it to good use!

2. You could roll up your change and bring it to the bank for dollar bills or deposit it right into your savings account.  Check your bank’s policy ahead of time to ensure that they accept rolls of change before you roll it.  (Do NOT forget that a quarter roll is $10, a dime roll is $5, a nickel roll is $2 and a penny roll is $0.50!)  Also, if you do not have the desire to count the change yourself, check out these nifty gadgets that could help you out: Electronic Money Jar or Money Machine.

3. To avoid having to manually roll your coins up you could use a service like Coinstar, which is a company that allows you to bring your loose change to one of their kiosks and it will count it for you.  Coinstar’s initial concept was to charge you a percentage of your change as a fee for the service, but now as an alternative you can go penny-for-penny with a gift card to an assortment of popular shops or take part in their Coins That Count donation program.  Check out the shops including Gap, Amazon.com, Starbucks, etc. at Coinstar gift cards and/or the donation program at  Coins That Count.

4. Bank of America’s Keep the Change program is also out there for all of you with the excuse that you only use your debit cards.  When using Bank of America’s Keep The Change program, Bank of America will match 100% of the first 3 months and then 5% after that up to $250 per year = FREE MONEY!  If you have a Bank of America account, you would be silly not to be enrolled in this plan!

Now, if I was to ask you to spend a month and take all your change from each day and dump it into a piggy bank would you do it?  How much do you think you could actually save in this time period?  Tell me your thoughts on this saving concept in the comment section below.

I recently purchased my first car and the process was a bit overwhelming. I am quite shocked at how much everything costs and it made me think about what it really costs to operate the shiny status symbol sitting in my driveway? The answer might be comprised of: a car/lease payment, insurance, gas, tickets, parking, maintenance, etc. but have you ever actually sat down to budget out what the actual per month cost is for your own car? It might shock you when you think about the true, per month cost of that shiny status symbol! In reality, there are many other transportation options in Boston (bus, subway, commuter rail, walk, bike, rent, etc.) that might be a cost saver that you never thought about… For your own peace of mind, let’s tally up what your costs are on a yearly basis:

Car/lease payment: _______
Car Insurance: _______
Gas: _______
Tickets: _______
Parking: _______
Maintenance: _______
Other: _______

Take the total of the above costs and divide by 12 months to determine what your monthly rate is. If the monthly cost shocks you, check out some other options that might be a cheaper, more cost conscious way to get you from A to B, such as:

1. LinkedPass (subway and bus) for the MBTA – at about $59/month, in 30 trips, the pass has completely paid for itself. In my case, I take the bus to the T and then walk to my office building. The entire trip would cost be $1.70 + $.45 in transfer each way to work or $4.30/day times an average of 20 work days equals $86/month. That means that I would be roughly saving $27/month or $324/year just by having a LinkedPass. In addition, the MBTA also offers Commuter Rail and Commuter Boats depending on where you live and your commute to work; these might be beneficial options as well. Check out the MBTA rates on passes at MBTA and don’t forget to keep your receipts as you could be eligible for a Massachusetts Commuter Deduction on your individual income taxes!

2. Bike – depending on your location and where you intend to go, biking to get there could be a great alternative. I recently invested in a bike and absolutely love it – mind you, the winter months might be an issue in Boston due to inclement weather! Biking is quicker than walking and gives you more flexibility than the T or bus. An average bike can run you a few hundred dollars for the bike and the necessary gear (helmet, lock, etc.), but can save you money in the long run and think about the exercise! – I like to use my bike to meet friends for dinner, it saves me about $20 in cab fare. If you did that a few nights a month, you would have the price of the bike paid off in a short period of time! Check out local bike shops like Landry’s Bicycles and/or Back Bay Bicycles for gear.

3. Zipcar – give up owning a car all together and start “sharing” a car when you actually need it! You might have seen Zipcars invading Boston and the concept is fantastic. Only rent the car for however long you need it. Pick it up and drop it off in the same spot for a very reasonable hourly rate based on the type of car that you desire for your needs. Sign-up fee is minimal and so is the annual fee, I’d equate it to one ticket for forgetting that you parked your car in a street cleaning spot overnight! I actually signed up for Zipcar this past summer to merely move myself from one side of the city to another. My car was not big enough to cart all my possessions across town and it was easy to rent a pickup truck for a few short hours with Zipcar! Plus, you don’t have to worry about mileage or gas as it is all built in to the hourly rate. Think about all the fantastic trips you could take to IKEA to pick up furniture, a big trip to Target to stock up on some essentials or just to get yourself out of the city for the day! The possibilities are endless and so are the spots that you can pick up a Zipcar in Boston – check current rates here.

So, are you up for the challenge? Do you think owning a car in the city is worth the money? Tell me what you think by leaving a comment.

Many of us spend the last few days before a paycheck pondering how we will be able to make it to the next payday without overdrawing our bank accounts … the sick feeling that you know this entire paycheck is going to pay off all the stuff (that new pair of shoes, ipod and dinner out with friends) you just had to have last week … the thought that once this paycheck comes, you will still be broke. What a crappy feeling! BUT the truth is that most people live like this. Most people see the amount of money that is directly deposited into their coveted bank account and think about all the ways to spend that money or cover the expenses they have already incurred. Whether is $500 or $1500, your mind still spins on what you could buy/how are you ever going to pay your bills …

What if you wanted something really big/expensive/you cannot go another day without? Would you be able to buy it or would your first thought be to put it on a credit card? Credit cards aren’t bad – they are really helpful to cover expenses, assuming that you can pay them off quickly! Let’s decide what we want this really big/expensive/you cannot go another day without item to be? I recently bought a big screen television for my bedroom – you are probably thinking who really needs a big screen television in their bedroom, I know, but our bed is so far from the mantel that we could barely see the screen on our old television. So let’s deem our really big/expensive/you cannot go another day without item to be a big screen television.

I have two suggestions on how to purchase this big screen television:

1. The easiest way to save for our coveted big screen television may be to physically separate your savings from your checking account in order to put money aside for the purchase. If you don’t have a separate savings account right now, then let’s start by opening up another checking account. (Refer to blog post on new bank accounts) Then let’s determine how much you think you could safely live without each paycheck? $10, $20, $50?

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