Mindful Money in Miami

Miami Seaquarium Free Annual Pass

2009-02-15T07:06:00.000-08:00

Whatever you do, don't pass on this one:

Miami Seaquarium is offering a FREE annual pass with every purchased entrance ticket from now until Marach 1st!!

Now that's a sweetheart of a deal!

Frugal Tax Filing--new free service!

2009-01-22T17:15:00.000-08:00

This year for the first time, you can file your taxes electronicaly for free, regardless of income! It's not the same as using a tax filing software program,
but you can access electronically fillable tax forms (only federal, not state) via FreeFile.

This is a great way to get your refund in a timely manner. I've been too cheap to file electronically since we exceeded the income requirements in the past. I'm glad to see this new service!

Free Miami!

2008-11-19T08:16:00.000-08:00

Looking for something to do for free in Miami?

Check out Free Miami. They list free events in the Miami area on a regular basis.

Gather your rewards while you may...

2008-11-03T05:56:00.000-08:00

I'm totally ignoring all the bad financial news (which is out of my control) and focusing on the small tidbits of good news that are.

For example, participating in FreeFromBroke's blog cash contest paid off nicely:
I won first prize, a $75 Amazon gift card!

Participating in the e-rewards system also paid off: I obtained six coupons from Blockbuster and $15 in Borders Bucks, which I then combined with a 40% coupon and ended up paying only $1.26 for a $26.00 book! (El Juego del Angel by Carlos Ruiz Zafon.)

My main problem now is trying to find a financial book worth reviewing that would still be relevant amidst all this turmoil. A lot of the old advice is sounding naive and stale right now! Like someone in the Miami Herald said, none of us are happy losing all that money from our 401ks, money that we could have used to pay off our mortgages! I calculated it and what we personally have contributed in the last four years to our various retirement programs would have almost exactly paid off our remaining mortgage! But since none of us are prescient, that's money under the bridge now!

Phrases like "never in my lifetime" "first time ever" and "unprecedented" are being thrown around--words that you never want to hear in connection with your finances!

Ok, so maybe I'm not ignoring things very effectively! But really, is it worth any further comment?

Like someone on CNBC or MSNBC said, "We're all screwed!" That sufficiently and succinctly summarizes the situation, I think! (Pardon the tendency toward alliteration!)

Free From Broke's Financial Plan for the Year Ahead Contest--win up to $300

2008-09-26T08:42:00.000-07:00

As the government tries to sort out the financial bailout, this is a good time to take stock of our personal financial plans, something that we at least have some control over!

Free From Broke is celebrating his blog's first year by hosting a contest What We're Looking to Do With Our Finances in the Next Year where you can win up to $300 in cash by participating in various ways.

My short term financial goals are simple:

1. Add to my ING emergency savings account

2. Save for a car

3. Continue to contribute to my IRA

4. Continue to prepay my mortgage*
(with the long-term goal of paying it off completely within the next five years)

5. Save even more on groceries (currently only saving between 10-15%)

6. Shop around for cheaper car insurance (already have my deductibles at max and already cancelled collision and comprehensive on both cars--they're old!)

7. Try to cut back on medical expenses

I'm hoping all these boring frugal activities pay off with more available fun money for future trips!

* I just read a chilling story in the Miami Herald that made me re-think this idea, about a woman who is losing her house despite having it paid off (in a condo association where most people are defaulting and abandoning their homes because they had little equity in them anyway). I live in a single family home but we do have a home association! More on this later...

Last chance for forgiveness--return your overdue books by Sept 30th!

2008-09-25T15:19:00.000-07:00

The Miami-Dade public library system has designated August and September 2008 as "amnesty months"
--any overdue materials you return during this time will not accrue a fine and all old fines accumulated will be forgiven.

Of course I don't speak from experience because, I, as a librarian, NEVER return things overdue! And if you believe that, I have some swampland for sale....

But if you want to save some moolah, bring back those books before Sept. 30th!

Free Admission on Museum Day, this Saturday!

2008-09-24T06:18:00.000-07:00

The Smithsonian is sponsoring Museum Day 2008 this Saturday, Sept. 27.
Many of your local museums are participating and offering one free admission per household.

Many thanks to GetRichSlowly.org for the heads up on this frugal and fun activity!

You can find venues in Florida and download an admission ticket.

Participating museums in the Miami area are:

The Vizcaya Museum

The Frost Art Museum at Florida International University

The Historical Museum of South Florida

Miami Metrozoo

Miami Science Museum

Miami Art Museum

and The Lowe Art Museum in the University of Miami, Coral Gables.

Too opinionated for your own good? E-rewards doesn't think so!

2008-09-23T08:40:00.000-07:00

I admit I'm opinionated and I feel my opinions are valuable, that's why programs that reward you for filling our surveys such as e-Rewards are like candy to me.

You can choose how many survey invitations you receive via email. I signed up for 5-7 a week but still only receive 3-4. You get "paid" anywhere from 50 cents for attempting to fill out a survey (you don't always qualify for all of them) up to $10 or more. I've accumulated $49.75 in a few weeks without even noticing!

The rewards differ by level, ranging from $10 to $100. At the lower levels you can get free magazine subscriptions or $10 off e-retailers such as Macys.com or Proflowers. At the $100 level you can get $100 off ebags.com or free airline miles from Delta, Continental, USAirways and others.

I signed up mainly for the Borders and Blockbusters rewards. For my present balance, I could choose either 12 free movie rentals or I could get $45 worth of Borders Bucks added to my Borders Reward card!

Meet the Mouse for free in 2009!

2008-09-22T07:02:00.000-07:00

Visit Disney for free on your birthday in 2009.

This Orlando Sentinel article explains the new promotion.

A potential $75 savings is nothing to sneeze at, particularly when the entrance tickets to the park are (besides the hotel) our largest expense while visiting Disney.

This means my husband and I can go for half-price, twice, next summer!

Other ways we save money at the parks: we pack a backpack with snacks and frozen water bottles, some of which we leave at the entrance lockers. When we do eat in the park, it's usually only lunch, then we might have dessert later before we head home. Sometimes we don't eat there at all, but head back to our hotel during the heat of the day and then come back to the park at night. That way, we take advantage of whatever we have stashed in the hotel in our cooler and we have a nice rest. We also get to take advantage of whatever freebies our hotel offers--popcorn, free cocktails, cookies.

We don't buy any souvenirs and if we do, we do it only near the end of our stay, so we know exactly how much money we can afford to spend.

We usually only go to one park (Epcot is our favorite because we spent our honeymoon there) and the other days we're there we take advantage of the hotel pool/hot tub, etc or we stroll around Downtown Disney, or the Boardwalk around the lagoon at Disney's Boardwalk Inn.

To Net worth or not to Net worth?

2008-09-15T09:25:00.001-07:00

There is some discussion in the personal finance world on whether calculating your net worth is helpful or simply irrelevant to your finances. I use Networth IQ as well as an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of my net worth.

NetworthIQ is an online net worth tracker that will graph your results and let you compare yourself to your peers. You have to register to use it but it's free. You can post your resulting graph on your blog or website, as you can see here on mine. You can choose to make your profile public or private.

I think it's a valuable tool because it demonstrates the impact that every little bit of debt you take on has immediately on your net worth. Otherwise, you can fool yourself: a little credit card debt here, a little Heloc there, and before you know it, you're back in the red again. In other words, it keeps you honest.

Some have the opinion that one shouldn't include the equity in your home as part of your net worth, because the home you live in is not technically an investment. I choose to include mine because I have very little left to pay on it and I like seeing that mortgage debt go down every month! (And my net worth go up!)

Review of The Ultimate Cheapskate's Road Map to True Riches by Jeff Yeager

2008-09-15T08:09:00.001-07:00

You'll find this book is a little gem among all the dry dusty doom-and-gloom personal finance books you may see in the bookstore. Yeager uses his personal brand of humor to enliven his message, which is still dead serious, that to live frugally is better for our own happiness and for the planet. Everything in this book is funny and entertaining, starting with the disclaimer on the publisher's credits page!

My review of The Ultimate Cheapskate's Road Map to True Riches.

The author's website:

Ultimate Cheapskate.

FREE Business Cards via VistaPrint

2008-09-12T10:53:00.000-07:00

Thanks to CouponMom.com for the referral to
VistaPrint's offer of 250 FREE business cards for shipping price only (in my case, only $5.95)!

I was very happy with mine, which arrived very quickly and look beautiful!

They also offer other free deals and products such as letterhead, return address labels, invitations, announcements, postcards, magnets, notecards, brochures, etc.

Go to the Vistaprint.com website and click on FREE PRODUCTS.

Don't forget to join CouponMom, too! It's free and they will email you links to coupons and free deals.

Urban picnics--another cheap date!

2008-09-10T06:22:00.001-07:00

Miami is woefully poor in terms of parks (apart from the beachfront, which is at least 45 minutes away from where I live) and the few there are aren't that attractive, but you can always find nice places to have picnics anyway.

We found a nice spot in a patio behind the new art museum at Florida International University that has stone steps and benches overlooking a lake with a fountain and waterfowl. A picturesque lakeside gazebo provided a seating alternative but we liked sitting in the dappled sunshine beneath palm trees.

On weekends, the campus is practically empty and bucolic peace reigns.

If you don't mind sharing your lunch with some ducks, this is a nice spot for an improvised picnic. We split a Subway foot-long sandwich($5) and bought two slices of rum cake from a nearby bakery, Divine Delicacies, (urban picnics have their plusses) for $4, making the total price of a romantic lakeside repast: $9.00

Another urban picnic plus: nearby air-conditioned bathrooms and water fountains at the museum!

Review of Confessions of a Butcher by John Smith

2008-09-09T07:43:00.000-07:00

Read my latest book review, Confessions of a Butcher by John Smith.

Lots of insider tips from a career butcher on how to save money on meat!

He also has a website,
All about Meat where you can ask a question.

ING DIRECT--$25.00 BONUS

2008-09-08T06:40:00.000-07:00

I just opened an ING Direct account with a $25 bonus. I highly recommend it. Opening and funding the account was very easy and I had no problem navigating their site once the account was opened. The $25 bonus has already been credited. They are paying 3.0% as of this moment. The initial deposit amount to qualify for the bonus was $150 for my offer, but it may have gone up by now. I signed up for an automatic montly deposit of $50 in addition--you can choose when the deposit takes place. I plan to park our emergency savings money here--I'm sick of getting 1.0% or less at my credit union.

Review of Living Fiscally Fit: 1000 Ways to Get Out of Debt & Build Financial Wealth

2008-08-13T12:51:00.001-07:00

My new review is posted on my Book Buzz blog.

Mary Hunt, known to all frugal readers as the author of many books on the subject, writes the foreword and contributes material to this great compilation of Woman's Days best and brightest tips on saving money.

Pricey Paradise? I just say NO!

2008-08-10T16:08:00.000-07:00

My husband and I managed to spend another day in paradise on the cheap; mainly due to the aforementioned free admission to Fairchild Tropical Botanic Gardens.
We did give a donation and had a snack while there;
Total Price: $7.00

After spending the morning in that Eden-like garden, communing with nature, art and resisting temptation in the gift shop, we ate at Subways on our way to Schnebly's Redland Winery to see Jennings and Keller one of our favorite acoustic folk music duos.
Lunch total: $7.50.

The winery is an amazing place; you drive along for what seems like eternity and suddenly it rises out of the farmlands like a mirage in the desert: a gorgeous building fronted by a large fountain houses the wine-tasting area and gift shop where the tours begin. But the true beauty is in the grounds; surrounded by one of the largest tiki huts in existence, an inner courtyard landscaped with tropical plants boasts twin waterfalls bisected by a stone bridge leading to the winery proper.

Under the tiki mansion, a corner stage where the wonderfully talented Jennings and Keller were playing, picnic tables and comfortable lawn furniture scattered throughout with fans to keep the mosquitos at bay.

We aren't wine drinkers but the prices are good: 5 wine tastings for $6 and tours of the winery for $7.

We were listening to Jennings and Keller so we spent only on the tip and snacks:
Total cost here: $9

Grand Total enjoyable day out: $23.50

(Again, this is excluding filling the tank with gas for the week.)

Free Fairchild on Sundays!

2008-08-08T13:48:00.001-07:00

Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden
(pictured at right) offers FREE admission every Sunday in August and September 2008 except for Sept. 14th.

Don't miss what the Miami Herald readers voted the "Top Wonder of Florida!"

If you aren't local, check with your local museums or botanical gardens and ask if they offer discounted days or free admission days. You can use the money you save in admission on that day to become a member and enjoy a discount every time!

Review of Easy Money by Liz Pulliam Weston

2008-08-08T09:37:00.000-07:00

My latest book review is posted on my Book Buzz blog via
The Dollar Stretcher, one of the best-known, most respected frugal websites since 1996!

(I'm not biased; I was a big fan many years before I started writing for them!)

Frugal Fridge--replacement debacle

2008-08-08T08:53:00.000-07:00

Here's a good example of mindless spending: our fridge broke down the other day--or I should say blew up rather spectacularly, smoke billowing, sparks flying, the whole deal--and I immediately and mindlessly starting looking at replacements that were similar to what I had: a side-by-side two door with indoor water/ice dispenser.

Never mind that we never liked that fridge anyway since we could barely open the refrigerator side as it banged on the wall and the freezer part was always empty because it was too big for our needs AND the ice/water dispenser hadn't worked in ages!

I automatically assumed I was going to have to spend ~$1200 on it since that's what those models were going for at my local stores.

As I seethed over the extra expense, suddenly a light bulb came on--what if I bought a SMALLER fridge--one that would fit with room to spare (and open the door) giving me valuable storage space for the broom/mop, etc, and would be CHEAPER and maybe would even be less costly to run? Duh!

We ended up buying the smallest model we could find, an energy-efficient top freezer model which costs MUCH less to run and has served our needs perfectly. Best of all: it only cost $399!

My electric bill has gone down noticeably since, also!

Frugal evening out--total cost: $12

2008-08-08T08:50:00.000-07:00

My husband and I just spent our cheapest night out ever--$12! (Excluding a stop for gas--$40--but that's gas for the whole week--we filled the tank.)

We still have some gift cards left over from Christmas, so we first stopped by the bookstore, which is one of our favorite pastimes. We bought five items (three books, a writing journal and a magazine) from the bargain table for $30, used a 20% off one item coupon (which we printed out before we left) and our $25 gift card and paid a total of $4 out of pocket.

This particular bookstore is in a nice outdoor restaurant area with live music, outdoor bar, etc, so we hung out for a while, looked for a place to have dessert, (we had eaten earlier at home) didn't find what we wanted, so we left.
We headed toward McDonalds for two hot fudge sundaes--on their dollar menu now, total cost: $2.

Then we went to drop off a rented video and browsed around the store (another favorite activity) I bought a special two-disc version of a favorite old movie for $3.99 (less than the cost of renting it) and we rented another new movie with a $1.99 coupon. Total cost there: $6.

Then we came home to watch a concert we had taped while we were out, so the rented and purchased movies will provide entertainment for yet another evening.

All in all, a totally enjoyable evening for $12!

Miami can be murder on your finances

2008-08-08T08:36:00.000-07:00

Frugal in Florida? It's almost an oxymoron. Sure, there are all those frugal retirees in the middle parts of the state where there not much to spend money on anyway and the land is cheap. But here, on the coast, where home insurance premiums cost more than your mortgage and your mortgage payments are murder as it is...not to mention property taxes skyrocketing, car insurance prices rising through the roof...there's not much wiggle room in your budget. As it is, most people in Miami are working overtime or two jobs to make ends meet.

The weather doesn't cooperate; there's never any downtime in Miami due to snow, hail or sleet--there are always places to go, places to spend money. The heat does drive you indoors sometimes--to the malls!

That said, I think there is frugal fun to be found in Florida and Miami in particular, so I'm determined to live a frugal life here, in this pricey paradise.