Save Money by taking the Subway

Here are two interesting facts that I found over the internet. Did you know an average individual spends $8,580 a year on his car. In addition, you can save $215 a year by using public transportation instead of a car for just one errand a week (if we all did this, we would collectively reduce carbon emissions by 149 million tons as well…go green then…). Thinking about it does it make sense to use the car every day???WHY NOT the SUBWAY?

I live in College Park, a suburb in Maryland and commute into Washington D.C. almost every second day. I actually have it comparatively easy since I don’t have to commute through the notoriously jammed packed Beltway every morning. With gas prices soaring and with more cars piling onto the roads than the day before, it just does not make sense to commute by car everyday anymore.

In the D.C. area we have an extensively used subway system, called Metro. Many commuters, particularly federal government workers who live in the Maryland and North Virginia suburbs commute into D.C. using the Metrorail system. I’ve also learned a few cost and time saving tips for commuting to work via subway:

Another attractive feature is that of Reduced fares. The D.C. Metro charges a reduced fare when you ride during off peak times. The D.C. Metro regular fare is in effect on weekdays from opening to 9:30 a.m., 3:00-7:00 p.m., and 2 a.m. to closing). All other times including weekends are reduced fares.

The fare that you are charged depends on the time that you cross the gate. I always keep the peak hour times in my mind when I plan my commute schedule. The one I am most cognizant about is 7:00 p.m., since this is when the evening off peak fare goes into effect. Because reduced fare starts at 7:00 p.m. sharp, if I arrive at the gate a bit early, I always wait for the clock to turn 7:00 p.m. before I cross the ticket gate. After all, why not wait a few more minutes and enjoy the reduced price? Sometimes I get there at 6:56 p.m. only to see people rushing past me through the gate and be charged the higher rate. If they waited a few more minutes, they could easily save upwards of $1.50. This may not seem like much but it does add up, particularly if you commute every weekday of the year.

Another advice I would give is to always Buy your subway pass denomination in bulk and pocket the savings. In D.C. we use SmarTrip magnetic cards to store our subway funds. Each card can hold upwards of $300 at a time. You can buy these cards on sites like eBay where they can be acquired at substantial discounts (SmarTrip deals). I usually can get a fully loaded $300 card for only $200. Generally, the higher the denomination you’re willing to buy, the greater the savings you’ll get.

So go ahead Plan your trip!!!

Facebook- Earn Easily with Ether

There’s hardly anyone who has not heard of Facebook. I first came into contact with Facebook last year (yeah…. that late!!!) and have been addicted to it ever since. Facebook is even better than ever with the addition of the market place and the application platform. You can actually leverage Facebook’s awesome social network to make and save you money. One application that I found of great interest is ETHER

Ether is a really cool Facebook application that allows you to charge people for giving advice or tutoring them over the phone. So if you’re an expert at Spanish, Chemistry or some other school subject, you can charge people for your tutoring services. You set your rates and Ether provides a number that individuals can call.

Ether provides you with a special phone number that people will use to make their calls. The calls will be forwarded to your personal phone number. Your consulting service or tutoring service will be displayed in your Facebook profile along with how much you charge by the hour or half hour. Facebook users who are interested in using your services can then call you after they pay.

The thing that I really liked about ether is the customizable hourly rates feature. You can set your own rates and get an easy way to earn cash. On the Down side, its set up is a bit complicated and I found some complains about the lack of support provided from the application developers.

But over all, Ether has lots of potential to be a very useful Facebook Application. If they creators could make it more user friendly it would be awesome. So, if you want to earn some extra cash, give the Ether Facebook Application a try.

Billmonk-(How much do I OWE U????)

I am penning this post on my way to New York to meet some friends. Everyone likes to go out have a good time. But if you are like me, the pain generally starts afterwards while asking the awkward question “How much does he owe me or I owe him”. Enter Billmonk!!! This smart web application keeps track of all your friends’ IOUs and debts so you don’t have to remind them that they owe you.

BillMonk is a social money management tool that allows a group of friends to keep running tabs on who owes who how much and for what. BillMonk calculates how much you owe (or are owed) and then lets you pay online or by mobile phone through parent company obopay’s payment services. I have actually collaborated with my friends online on deciding how to split past and current bills such as taxi fares or restaurant bills. The bill monk account is really easy to set up and is pretty user friendly.

You can send a text message to record a bill you are paying and then fill in the details later. This feature is a must have for people like me who loose receipts or forget how much I owe even before the night is over.

Besides, BillMonk allows you to add regular expenses like rent or even paying the paper-boy so that on a weekly or monthly basis, the transaction will be added to your bill monk account as to how much do you owe someone or how much does someone owe you. In addition, a group of friends may have a number of IOU’s amongst them. Billmonk can do this math so as to automatically shuffle the debts between friends

Not only can you know how much you owe a person, you can actually settle the accounts online. With Obopay, BillMonk users can record bills on their account immediately after getting them by sending a text message to BillMonk. Mobile (and online) payment integration is the killer app and differentiating feature for BillMonk. So go ahead and try it out your self…Make your social life simpler

Mint - refreshing Money management

I am sure you will agree that having the right information at the right time is priceless. Today there are a number of web applications that provide you with just that...... INVALUABLE INFORMATION..and one of them is Mint

I first came across Mint when I had to search for a start-up company for a class project and have been using it ever since. It is basically Web Application for personal financial management.
The idea behind Mint is simple. You add your assets (credit cards and accounts) to Mint. It fetches data from those accounts, analyses it and and presents it to the user . So basically, you have an agglomeration of information in one screen.You can see your checking and saving account details, credit card transactions from all banks through the Mint interface. I find it pretty convinient compared to login in to my Bank of America account to get my account balance and credit card transaction details see the due dates for bills and so on...and repeat the entire procedure for the other banks....phew...

Mint also provides a trend analysis algorithm(although it cannot be called "perfect"...it categorized my shopping from Patel brothers,an Indian grocery store, as clothes and accessories) that automatically categorizes your expenses. You can ask yourself how much have I spent for Gas??...and see it your self through mint.

You can actually set a budget for a category that will give an alert when you go over board. Mint provides alert messages in the form of e-mails if a bill is due or if there is any unusual activity in any account.

The most important feature of Mint according to me is that you can actually save money using it. Mint will go through your transactions and bank details and suggest ways to save money like switching to a different credit card or a different savings or checking account.
Another attractive feature especially for personal financial benifits.... MINT is FREE!!!!!and really quick to set up...One thing that can be improved is that it does not take into account loans or debts incurred but that may change as it comes out of the Beta phase...

Always use a credit card!!!!

Being a student in the US, managing my personal finances seemed to be a daunting task but having vital information at the right time has really proven useful. I hope my blog will provide you some information to take decisions that will relieve the strain on your pockets.

I have been using credit cards for quite a while now (though dad used to pay every bill...really miss the old times). Since coming to America for my masters which has made me in-charge of my personal finances, I am really enlightened about this double edge sword.

No matter what any one says about the perils of using a credit card and the taxes behind it, the fact is, living in a country where carrying cash is Passé and not recommended for security reasons, you cannot live without a credit card.

The thing I like about my credit card is that it virtually gives you a 30-day interest free loan with more rewards as you spend more. The word virtually is important here though. The credit card also builds a credit history as you go along. It basically determines your credit worthiness by assigning a credit score to each individual. This Credit score is really vital for students as it will play an important role in the future in determining the interest rates when you apply for a loan for a car or a house and may even determine the acceptance or rejection of your loan application.

Another personal favorite reason for using credit cards is they will offer various Rewards. These range from airline miles to cash back to a general system of points that can be used for all kinds of purchases. Using my SBI (State Bank of India) card back in India, I used to get really cool discounts at gas stations (which is a considerable achievement given the rising gas prices). Basically, the more you spend the more you are rewarded.

The only thing I (and my dad too...) would advise you is MAKE SURE is that YOU PAY the full bill amount every month. So If you use your card wisely, the Money you have spent can work for you.

So I would advice any young adult to open a bank account, get a credit card and get the ball rolling....