You can get a pair of prescription eyeglasses including lenses for $6.95 at CoastalContacts.com. They have at least a few models on sale : Dockers 138 , Metalurgy 1003 Taupe , Nikon 6006 Gunmetal, and Savvy 263 Blue. Shipping costs will run you another $6.95 for priority USPS and there is a $0.48 handling/insurance fee. So you're looking at $14.38 total. You have to know your prescription when you order.
But you can also get discounts via Ebates. With the coupon code EBATESDEAL10 you can get 10% off the order. 10% off the product cost would be $0.70 off bringing the charge down to $13.68 PLUS... you can get 7% back on your CoastalContacts order via Ebates. That would be an additional $0.95 back.
After the Ebates discounts your cost would be $12.73.
So total cost you're looking at under $13 for a prescription pair of eyeglasses. Its hard to beat $13 bucks for a pair of eyeglasses. This would make a good way to get a pair of backup eyeglasses.
I found this deal on Fatwallet.
June 19, 2009
Eyeglasses for under $13
June 18, 2009
Gas Taxes By State
The TaxFoundation has a list of taxes by state. Below I broke out the gas tax per gallon as well as the 'typical' expense of gas tax per year for an average driver. The average driver figure is based on getting 20 mpg and driving 12,000 miles in a year.
| Tax / Gallon | Typical annual Cost | |
| Alabama | $0.21 | $125.40 |
| Alaska | $0.08 | $48.00 |
| Arizona | $0.19 | $114.00 |
| Arkansas | $0.22 | $130.80 |
| California | $0.35 | $211.80 |
| Colorado | $0.22 | $132.00 |
| Connecticut | $0.34 | $205.80 |
| Delaware | $0.23 | $138.00 |
| Florida | $0.35 | $207.00 |
| Georgia | $0.12 | $74.40 |
| Hawaii | $0.34 | $201.60 |
| Idaho | $0.25 | $150.00 |
| Illinois | $0.32 | $194.40 |
| Indiana | $0.29 | $175.20 |
| Iowa | $0.22 | $132.00 |
| Kansas | $0.25 | $150.00 |
| Kentucky | $0.23 | $135.00 |
| Louisiana | $0.20 | $120.00 |
| Maine | $0.30 | $179.40 |
| Maryland | $0.24 | $141.00 |
| Massachusetts | $0.24 | $141.00 |
| Michigan | $0.31 | $183.00 |
| Minnesota | $0.26 | $153.60 |
| Mississippi | $0.19 | $112.80 |
| Missouri | $0.17 | $103.80 |
| Montana | $0.28 | $166.80 |
| Nebraska | $0.27 | $163.80 |
| Nevada | $0.33 | $198.60 |
| New Hampshire | $0.20 | $117.60 |
| New Jersey | $0.15 | $87.00 |
| New Mexico | $0.19 | $112.80 |
| New York | $0.41 | $247.80 |
| N. Carolina | $0.30 | $181.20 |
| N. Dakota | $0.23 | $138.00 |
| Ohio | $0.28 | $168.00 |
| Oklahoma | $0.17 | $102.00 |
| Oregon | $0.25 | $150.00 |
| Pennsylvania | $0.32 | $193.80 |
| Rhode Island | $0.31 | $186.00 |
| S. Carolina | $0.17 | $100.80 |
| S. Dakota | $0.24 | $144.00 |
| Tennessee | $0.21 | $128.40 |
| Texas | $0.20 | $120.00 |
| Utah | $0.25 | $147.00 |
| Vermont | $0.20 | $120.00 |
| Virginia | $0.19 | $114.00 |
| Washington | $0.38 | $225.00 |
| West Virginia | $0.32 | $193.20 |
| Wisconsin | $0.33 | $197.40 |
| Wyoming | $0.14 | $84.00 |
| D.C. | $0.20 | $120.00 |
The lowest state gas tax is in Alaska at just $0.08 per gallon and the highest is New Yorks rate of $0.41 per gallon. The average among states is at $0.25 and the median is $0.24. An average driver is going to spend about $150 a year on state gas taxes. The range in typical state gas taxes per year is $48 in Alaska to $247.80 in New York.
The federal gas tax is 18.4¢ per gallon and thats in addition to the state gas taxes listed above.
This site API.org has a page with a map of the USA by state showing the total gas taxes per state including local, state and federal rates.
June 17, 2009
Auto License Fees By State
Did you know that if you move from South Dakota across the border into Minnesota that it could cost you an extra $450 a year to license your car? It can. This is a worst case scenario but every state has a different auto license fee system and the costs vary widely across the nation. The lowest rate is just $8 a year in Arizona and the maximum nationwide is $483.75 in Oklahoma. Most residents of OK won't pay that much however as their fee is based on a % of the price of the car and declining with age. So the more expensive the car the higher the fee.
Here are the automotive license fees per state with the minimum, maximum and typical license fees given for every state:
| Minimum | Maximum | Typical | |
| Alabama | $ 24.25 | $ 24.25 | $ 24.25 |
| Alaska | $ 35.00 | $ 35.00 | $ 35.00 |
| Arizona | $ 8.00 | $ 8.00 | $ 8.00 |
| Arkansas | $ 17.00 | $ 25.00 | $ 17.00 |
| California | $ 28.00 | $ 28.00 | $ 28.00 |
| Colorado | $ 19.00 | $ 28.20 | $ 25.80 |
| Connecticut* | $ 70.00 | $ 70.00 | $ 70.00 |
| Delaware | $ 20.00 | $ 20.00 | $ 20.00 |
| DC | $ 55.00 | $ 88.00 | $ 55.00 |
| Florida | $ 27.10 | $ 45.10 | $ 35.10 |
| Georgia | $ 20.00 | $ 20.00 | $ 20.00 |
| Hawaii | $ 63.82 | $ 114.31 | $ 88.70 |
| Idaho | $ 25.25 | $ 49.25 | $ 37.25 |
| Illinois | $ 48.00 | $ 48.00 | $ 48.00 |
| Indiana | $ 12.75 | $ 12.75 | $ 12.75 |
| Iowa | $ 14.00 | $ 428.00 | $ 27.00 |
| Kansas | $ 27.25 | $ 37.25 | $ 27.25 |
| Kentucky | $ 14.50 | $ 14.50 | $ 14.50 |
| Louisiana | $ 10.00 | $ 41.00 | $ 15.00 |
| Maine | $ 23.00 | $ 23.00 | $ 23.00 |
| Maryland | $ 35.00 | $ 48.50 | $ 35.00 |
| Massachusetts | $ 30.00 | $ 30.00 | $ 30.00 |
| Michigan | $ 29.00 | $ 211.00 | $ 58.00 |
| Minnesota | $ 35.00 | $ 475.00 | $ 35.00 |
| Mississippi | $ 23.75 | $ 23.75 | $ 23.75 |
| Missouri | $ 45.00 | $ 51.00 | $ 51.00 |
| Montana | $ 10.25 | $ 15.25 | $ 15.25 |
| Nebraska | $ 21.50 | $ 21.50 | $ 21.50 |
| Nevada | $ 33.00 | $ 33.00 | $ 33.00 |
| New Hampshire | $ 19.20 | $ 31.20 | $ 31.50 |
| New Jersey | $ 25.00 | $ 50.00 | $ 25.00 |
| New Mexico | $ 23.00 | $ 42.00 | $ 23.00 |
| New York | $ 17.25 | $ 37.00 | $ 24.85 |
| North Carolina | $ 20.00 | $ 20.00 | $ 20.00 |
| North Dakota | $ 36.00 | $ 90.00 | $ 60.00 |
| Ohio | $ 21.50 | $ 21.50 | $ 21.50 |
| Oklahoma | $ 42.25 | $ 483.75 | $ 100.75 |
| Oregon* | $ 30.00 | $ 30.00 | $ 30.00 |
| Pennsylvania | $ 24.00 | $ 24.00 | $ 24.00 |
| Rhode Island | $ 30.00 | $ 30.00 | $ 30.00 |
| South Carolina* | $ 24.00 | $ 24.00 | $ 24.00 |
| South Dakota | $ 21.00 | $ 40.00 | $ 21.00 |
| Tennessee | $ 23.00 | $ 23.00 | $ 23.00 |
| Texas | $ 40.80 | $ 58.80 | $ 50.80 |
| Utah | $ 14.50 | $ 14.50 | $ 14.50 |
| Vermont | $ 42.00 | $ 42.00 | $ 42.00 |
| Virginia | $ 26.50 | $ 31.50 | $ 26.50 |
| Washington | $ 23.65 | $ 23.85 | $ 23.85 |
| West Virginia | $ 30.00 | $ 30.00 | $ 30.00 |
| Wisconsin | $ 40.00 | $ 40.00 | $ 40.00 |
| Wyoming | $ 15.00 | $ 15.00 | $ 15.00 |
* Connecticut, Oregon & South Carolina all issue licenses for 2 year periods.
I found the information in the Summary of State Motor-Vehicle Registration Fee Schedules document on the Federal Highway Administration site. For more detail on a specific state refer to the source.
June 16, 2009
The Cash Value of Misc Perks From Work
The other day I was getting a free lunch at work. I thought to myself that I get a few free 'perks'. I'm not thinking of my actual pay or benefits like medical insurance. The 'perks' I'm thinking of are just the various miscellaneous free things that I get from my place of work.
Free perks at my job include:
Free lunches : I get free lunches on occasion at work. Sometimes its just as a perk like we have a 'going away party' for someone retiring and other times it is because I'm in training all day and they feed us. I bring my lunches from home usually so they only cost me around $2 or less. I get free lunches probably around 10 times a year so this perk is worth around $20.
Rewards : We have a program at work were if you do something good then you can get nominated for a small recognition reward. The rewards are in the $10 to $100 range and come in the form of gift certificates. I usually get around $100-$200 in these rewards per year.
Printing: My employer is pretty giving with the printing services here at work. If you occasionally want to print out a webpage or something that is not work related then they don't care. Of course if you abused it then we'd lose the privilege. I might print 1 page a week so maybe 50 pages a year give or take. At 10¢ per page thats worth about $5.
Software: I get some software at work for free. They give us a free copy of virus scan and some other stuff. The software is worth over $20 a year. But I wouldn't necessarily pay for it if I didn't get it free.
Clothing: I occasionally get free clothing from work that has our company logo on it or I might get a free shirt from a customer on occasion. I don't really like being a walking billboard but if nothing else I can use the t-shirts under a sweater. While I might get 1-3 shirts a year they don't have a ton of value to me since I don't really use them. I could however donate them to charity and take a writeoff. I'd say I get $5 or more per year this way.
Total benefit I get in these misc. perks is in the $150-$250 range.
I doubt most people get all these kinds of benefits but on the other hand I'm sure many if not most employers have some sort of perks in this kind of category. Sure $5 here and $20 there over the course of the year may not seem like much but it adds up.
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