Its always news when the price of gas goes up. Yet when gas drops in price it doesn't seem to generate front page headlines. The Energy Information Administration tracks gasoline prices weekly. As of 9/8 the national average is $3.534. Last year on 9/9 it was $3.658. Thats a drop of 3.4% in the past 12 months. OK thats not much of a drop but its a drop all the same.
--
September 10, 2014
Gasoline prices are down 3.4% in the past 12 months
September 9, 2014
Spending $7 a Year on a TV I Don't Use
About six years ago now I wrote about saving money with a smart power strip. One of the details in that article was "The 19" TV uses 8 watts while off." I've still got that 19" TV. We don't really use it. But its been moved to another location and is no longer plugged into that smart power strip. So it sits there doing nothing day after day collecting dust. Its almost always plugged in because .. well I'm just lazy or forgetful and don't remember to flip off the power strip on/off button. My wife occasionally watches DVDs on it as well so she might turn it on once in a great while. Though I can't recall when she watched one down on that TV. We've got a 55" TV in our media room so theres little reason for watching a movie on the 19" TV.
That 19" ancient CRT I've had for around 20 years now is costing me about $7 a year in electricity while its off. 8 watts power usage while off is going to add up to about $7 in electricity for a year.
8 watts x 24 hours in a day x 365 days = 70,080 Watt hrs x 10¢ per kWh = $7
I should really get rid of that old TV. Or at least unplug it.
--
September 7, 2014
Is the Disney Movie Club a Good Deal?
I saw a mailing the other day for a The Disney Movie Club. Its similar to the old Columbia movie club or BMC record clubs You get a bunch of discs for cheap up front then you're obligated to buy a few more at 'regular club prices' over a couple years. Then they also hook you in with the automatic mailings of future movies"If you want the featured title, do nothing - it will be sent to you automatically and your account will be charged." If you don't want it you have to send back a mailer to say you don't want it. The trick with these clubs is to buy the bare minimum and then quit. Otherwise you pay more per disc in the long run... probably.
Who doesn't love Disney movies? Communists and fascists? They probably love em too! But is the Disney Movie Club a good deal??
Note: I'm not a member (yet) and I don't have first hand experience with the club.
2nd Note : The deal in the mail was obligating you to buy 4 movies but if you just go to their website they say you have to buy 5 total. To get the better 4 movie deal you need a promo code included in the mailer. But you can also find those promo codes online at places like Retailmenot.com
They also throw in a free Frozen 36" x 50" blanket when you sign up for the current promo deal.
Their website has the full terms and conditions on the program.
The deal I saw was 5 movies for 99¢ each. You're obligated to buy 4 movies at 'regular club prices' But in your initial order you can buy your 1st movie of the 4 you're obligated to buy for $11.95 and then another 'bonus' movie for $8.95. The first shipment has free shipping. Then you'd have to buy 3 more movies for "as low as $19.95" for DVD or $29.95 for Blu-ray. $3.95 shipping each disc. That would be $25.85 for the first 7 movies. The 3 DVDs would be $23.90 each for a total of $71.70 more or for Blu-ray its $33.90 for 3 each or $101.70. If you pay with credit card for the initial order AND authorize them to bill your CC for additional orders they give you a $3.95 discount.
Total cost is :
DVD = $25.85 - 3.95 + 71.70 = $93.60
Blu-Ray = $25.85 - 3.95 + 101.70 = $123.60
So you're looking at $9.36 per DVD or $12.36 per Blu-ray.
Comparing that to the prices of individual movies on Amazon.com I find :
DVD prices on Amazon
Frozen
The Little Mermaid (Diamond Edition)
Toy Story
Brave
Tangled
= $99.80
Blu-Ray prices :
Frozen (Two-Disc Blu-ray / DVD + Digital Copy)
The Little Mermaid (Three-Disc Diamond Edition) (Blu-ray 3D / Blu-ray / DVD + Digital Copy + Music)
Toy Story (Two-Disc Special Edition Blu-ray/DVD Combo in Blu-ray Packaging)
Brave (Three-Disc Collector's Edition: Blu-ray / DVD)
Tangled (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo)
= $135.72
So you'd pay more for just 5 movies via Amazon than you pay for 10 movies through the Disney movie club.
But after you've bought the first 10 movies (7 initial order + 3 obligation) the prices on the Disney club end up higher than you'd get off Amazon generally assuming you can qualify for free shipping at Amazon.
Now you can probably find some of those Disney titles cheaper elsewhere. I did a couple quick searches and found a Toy Story DVD for $10 plus $3.95 shipping and The Little Mermaid DVD for $7.88 plus $3.95 and if you want to buy from Amazon Marketplace I can find Frozen 
Once you've met your obligation of movies to buy with the Disney Movie Club it is probably smartest to cancel your membership. However I don't know if they then start offering promotional discount deals, like buy 1 get 1 free type deals. If they do that then you'd have to decide if those kind of deals are worth it.
And this all assumes you want a bunch of Disney movies. Would you buy $100 worth of Disney movies if you didn't sign up for this club? If not then don't sign up for the club and just go buy your favorites. If you were going to buy half a dozen DVDs then it may be worth signing up since that would likely cost you north of $100 so the club will get you 10 movies for what you'd have paid for 6.
Bottom Line : Yes the Disney Movie club is a good deal. However you need to be careful to only buy the minimum obligation and make sure to decline the monthly selections assuming you dont' want them.
--
September 5, 2014
Best of Blogs for Week of September 5th
Every Friday afternoon I share some of the more interesting or notable posts that I have seen in the personal finance blogs and other sources for the past week
DQYDJ answers the question What is the Savings Rate in Other Countries?
Planet Money uses a graphic to tell us The Unemployment Rate In Every State, Before And After The Great Recession
--
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
