I drive about 50 miles a day to work and back, round trip. Since I drive a lot, last year, I bought a Prius using a couple useful websites and steps. I mentioned how to get the most mileage of your car in a previous post. Today I'd like to share with you my best way of finding the cheapest gas that goes with your car with a combustion engine.

It's not too hard to find the cheapest gas in your area with Internet at your fingertip. For example, websites like GasBuddy or GasPriceWatch simply shows you gas prices given a zip code. It's cool, it's convenient, but it could be better. How can it be easier?

Imagine you will be on a route and on the way you'd like to re-fuel your car. Don't you want to know whereabout is the best to make a stop at a gas station? FuelMyRoute can help. Instead of assuming you know the location around which you'd search for gas, FuelMyRoute helps you look for the cheapest gas price along a specified route with a start point and end point. It'll search for gas stations along your route for you within proximity.
Once searched, you'll easily see the lowest, average, highest gasoline price along with your driving direction. The lowest price is visualized on a map of driving direction as seen above. To give it a try you may go visit FuelMyRoute.com and see for yourself.

FuelMyRoute was created by Marcus Christie who thought of this idea in 2008 when he was planning a family vacation to Disney World in Orlando, FL.. Yesterday, I caught Marcus via email and asked him what's on his mind to make his free service even better. Apparently he's working on an Andoid version of the service these days. Here's what he said:

"Currently I'm working on an Android app that will provide the same functionality as the website.  I don't have any near term plans for improving the website, except that some of the things that I am planning on doing for the Android app will likely also benefit the website. For example, I'm planning on some performance improvements that will also benefit the website and I'm also looking into increasing the amount and quality of gas price data I have to search over."

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by Charles Gwa
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As more and more software moves to the cloud there are still software images that requires installation on your personal computer. For those kind of software titles, Giveawayoftheday.com is a website that nominates one software title a day to be a Giveaway title of that day. Totally free to you!

Every day, one software title is available for download for 24 hours (or more, if agreed with software publisher) and that software is absolutely free. Such a free software title is not a strip down trial version, nor is limited in functions in any way, but a registered, licensed and legal version of the software is completely free for users to keep and use, which sounds too good to be true.

Take today as an example, the following software title is the free giveaway of today that we dynamically pulled from Giveawayoftheday.com. Check this out:


What if you missed the free offer? Well, as far as we know, once the giveaway for a software product is over, they will continue to promote the software title with discounted purchase links or coupon so you can get some discount off the title. You can sure take your time to read through software reviews after the giveaway day for the given software product. It's a win-win situation for both software users and software publishers to promote their software.

For other discounted software offers, please see INAB software deals.

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by Charles Gwa
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Ever wonder if there's a way to save on prescription medicines?

We at INeedaBargain.com (INAB) has partnered with a non-profit advocacy group, NeedyMeds.org, to offer consumers an easy, free way - discount drug card - to save money on many prescription medications, over-the-counter medicines and medical supplies if written on a prescription blank, and pet prescription.

You can use the discount drug card regardless of your income or whether or not you have insurance. To use the card, there is no application fee or registration process, and you do not need to provide a medical history, social security number or other private information in order to receive the benefits. 

A few highlights about the card:
  • Free, no fees or registration
  • Use at over 62,000 pharmacies nationwide including all major chains
  • Share the care with friends andfamily
  • Use the card as often as needed
  • Never expires
The pharmacies in your neighborhood is pretty much covered. You can do a pharmacy search by entering your zip code below and click on 'search':

5 Digit Zip Code  Distance: ZIP Only   5 miles   10 miles   15 miles   20 miles

 


Have a prescription to fill? You may click here to learn more about the card and download your discount drug card.

If this all sounds too good to be true, see what the founder of NeedyMeds.org has to say about the program. I hope to hear back from you about your experiences using the cards so I can share your stories. Please comment on this post if you found the card useful or not. 
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Higher education should not be a privilege only to those who can afford to pay. Who can't use some free courses? These free courses are not some basic courses at the elementary or middle school level. They are high quality courses from the top universities, for free. Yes, you read me right, FREE! 

Founded in 2011 by two Standford professors - Andrew Ng and Daphne Koller - Coursera.org is based in Mountain View California. Coursera.org hosts professor-created courses and lectures from many top universities include Princeton University, Stanford University, University of California, Berkeley, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, and University of Pennsylvania. A couple of years from now these free high quality university-level courses may become a norm, but right now, Coursera.org is changing the face of education so you can learn at your own pace and work on your own schedule over the Internet.

Here's a partial list of courses currently available through Coursera in 6 major categories:
The course offerings by Coursera span a broad range of more advanced topics than those offered by Khan Academy (also a great online free education source), and the number of courses offered are growing too. If you can't find the course you'd like to take, you can sign up to be notified when there are more offerings.  

While I direct my kids to try out Khan Academy, I'm all in for trying out some courses on Coursera.

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by Charles Gwa
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The state I live in - California - is averaging the highest gas price per gallon in the continental U.S. these days, according to the Gas Price Chart available on GasBuddy.com where you can check out the average gas of your area down to the county level. As the price at the gas pump rises steadily exceeding $4.25 per gallon in my area as of May 2012, I'm all into knowing ways to save money on gas.

There are some general ways to save on gas usage - by driving less or carpooling more, whenever possible. To drive less, try to combine multiple grocery trips into one with better grocery shopping planning ahead so you don't waste gas by doing more in a single trip. When you carpool with someone else, you're also saving gas on a per person basis.

If you absolutely need to drive a car, consider to review your driving habit (I know it's kind of very hard) as it will affect your gas mileage per gallon. The optimized speed for the maximized highway MGP depends on the model of your car. However, in general, if you're on a highway going over speed limit, you're absolutely not getting the best MPG and may be off by five percentage, ten percentage, or even more. It might be too trivial to remember the exact speed to drive for getting the best MPG, but if you can reduce aggressive speeding and don't drive over highway speed limit, which you shouldn't anyway, you'll be stretching your gas mileage in the right direction.

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If you tend to do brisk acceleration, stop doing that. Some people say you may be able save a gallon of gas a week by not doing rapid acceleration on the road. A test shows the difference in fuel consumption between slow acceleration and brisk acceleration may not be that much unless you're driving a hybrid, but avoid the possibility that you will need to brake does help a lot in terms of saving gas.

Remember to keep tires properly inflated. If tires are under inflated, they may cost you up to 4% of fuel efficiency according to U.S. Department of Energy. On the other hand, over inflated tires may increase blow out risks. You want your tire pressure to just about the manufacture's suggested PSI (pound per square inch) which is available on the sticker on the driver's door side. I recommend using a non-digital air pressure gauge (e.g. a Handheld Dial Tire Air Pressure Gauge) for measuring tire pressure. A non-digital air pressure gauge does not require battery thus it is always ready for measuring tire pressure when you need it. Besides, non-digital air pressure gauges tend to cost less than the digital ones. American Tire has an online Tire Pressure Gas Mileage calculator that tells how much is low pressure tire costing you.w

Lastly, evan you can't possibly avoid using gas, consider this: When I pay at the pump, if I chose to pay with a credit card, I always opt for using the card that gives me some money back on gas purchase. For example, the AE card I have gives me 3% cash rebate on every dollar I spend at any gas pump. You may consider the same approach because every little bit of saving counts.

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by Charles Gwa
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If you do not have the means to splurge on decorating your living room, you can still make it the most beautiful room in your home. After you know exactly how much money you are willing to spend on improving your living room, you can begin to explore the options that can change this space for the better.

The Clutter Must Go

Before you even begin to clean, you must get rid of all of the clutter in your living room. First, remove anything that does not belong there. Toys, clothes, magazines and other items that do not add to the ambiance of the living room should be moved to another location. When all of the unnecessary miscellaneous items are removed, clean the space. After cleaning, you will able to notice what areas look dull, what touches need to be added and what items should remain the same.
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Gardening tends to be one of those hobbies that can go either way. Either you save yourself money by growing your own produce, making your own compost, and collecting your own seeds, or on the flip side, you can fall pretty deep into the money pit once you start looking around at all the beautiful plants and fun garden accessories you’d like to buy. Thankfully, a few creative tips can help you to beautify your garden on a budget in no time.

No matter if you enjoy flower gardening, vegetable gardening, or simply growing herbs and spices, you can find a wealth of ways to save money while also enhancing the look and function of your gardening spaces. Here are a few fun and clever ways to get the most out of your garden on a budget.

1. Try your luck with container gardening or raised beds. You can plant herbs, strawberries, and various veggies in containers that you already have, simply drilling holes in the bottoms for drainage. Set up your container garden on a patio or off to the side where you can arrange each pot how you like, paying attention to which plants need sun, shade, or a bit of both. If your soil is less than ideal, you can make your own garden beds using 2x4 lumber and a couple of nails or similar materials. Put some tarp underneath to prevent the weeds from coming up and fill each frame with soil. Have fun growing your favorite veggies!

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Saving money can sometimes be harder than it seems. Often times, the very things that you think are saving you money often come back to haunt you. Listed below are 15 common money saving mistakes that you should avoid if you want to really put cash back into your pocket. Use these tips to save money successfully.

  1. Going to the Dollar General. Some dollar stores stay true to their name by offering low priced items. Others, however, are simply using the name as a way to attract customers. Be cautious that the dollar store you visit isn’t actually marking up the price on some items in an effort to make a profit.
  2. Not paying attention to interest rates when borrowing money. From time to time you may need to borrow money or finance things like cars and furniture. To truly save money, you must ensure that the interest rate is as low as it can possibly be. Don’t accept loans with high interest rates or your will pay more than double what it is worth.
  3. Having a “general idea” of how much money you have in the bank. Do you know how much money you have in the bank? One money saving mistake that people make is assuming they have money in the bank when they really don’t.
  4. Buying poor quality products that you have to use more of. The quality of products does matter. Buying the cheaper option may not always be best.
  5. Making “saving” the focus of your life. While saving money should certainly be a part of life, it shouldn’t consume you. There are times to just sit back and enjoy life.
  6. Not having a savings plan. The other extreme is not saving any money at all. You will need to have money saved when you retire.
  7. Buying things on credit card with the intentions paying the card off.  While you may think you will pay it off when the bill comes in, this can quickly cause your debt to add up.
  8. Not searching for the best deals. When saving money, you should always shop around for the best deals before you make a large purchase such as a car. Shopping around can lead you to significant savings.
  9. Falling for gimmicky sales tricks. Sales trick such as buy one get one free often trick customers. This is the same as saying “we are selling for 50% off.” Watch catchy wording so that you can truly save money.
  10. Buying things just because they are on sale. Be sure that if you are going to buy something, you will use it. People tend to buy things just because they are “on sale.”
  11. Using coupons on things that you don’t really need. Similarly, people tend to buy things that they have coupons for when in reality the item is still more expensive than the competitor’s brand.
  12. Shopping without a list. A list can help you save money each and every time you go to the store. Make a list each time you go to the store and don’t waver from it.
  13. Opening lines of credit just to get a discount. Learn to say “no” when the cashier asks you to open a line of credit at the store. Not only does this encourage you to spend more money, opening a line of credit at every store you purchase from increases the likelihood that someone may steal your personal information.
  14. Not believing that you CAN save money. Have the attitude that you can save money and you will. Just like anyone else, you must believe that you have the ability to save.
  15. Having the “get it now” attitude. If you truly want to save money, you want to show patience. Many people fail in saving because they have the “get it now” attitude. Save and be patient for the things you want to buy. It will probably go on sale and you can save even more money.

Are you falling victim to any of the mistakes listed above? Do your best to save money without
falling into these traps.

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by Sarah Wood

Sarah Wood writes for JuteRugShop.com an online store that offers a large range of high quality and
eco-friendly jute rug.
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Yes, Eneloop rechargeable batteries are worth it.

Today, I'd like to take a look at three different types of AAA size battery - non-rechargeable, NiMH rechargeable, and Sanyo Eneloop NiMH rechargeable - to see how Eneloop stands out and why it is the bargain among the three.

I did some searches on INeedABargain.com (INAB) using keyword 'AAA.' I also used keyword 'eneloop' to search and spot eneloop battery offers. Among all battery deals, I was able to find one deal in each of the three categories:
  • 20 Duracell non-rechargeable AAA $7 shipped ($0.35/cell)
  • 4 Duracell Rechargeable AAA $7.97 shipped ($1.99/cell)
  • 4 Sanyo Eneloop Rechargeable AAA $9 shipped ($2.25/cell)
Although non-rechargeable AAA has the best unit price of $0.35 per cell, the disadvantage is that it is not rechargeable for reuse. By comparison, Duracell rechargeable is about $1.99 per cell, which means that after you reuse each AAA cell for roughly 5 times, the total cost will then be lower than using a non-rechargeable battery.

Using regular NiHM rechargeable might lower your cost, by a lot, especially after 5 times of recharges. However, the biggest obstacle you may have experienced using regular rechargeable is its high self-discharge. The experience of installing a rechargeable battery that you charged up a month ago may not be too pleasant because of it's likely to run low pretty soon. Why? Because regular NiHM battery self-discharges over time.  But how fast does it self-discharge? According to this excellent review, the charge loss is about 83.8% after six months. In other words, a Duracell NiHM battery has a mere 16.2% charge retention rate six months after it sits on the shelf. No wonder many users are disappointed and dislike rechargeable batteries and switch back to regular batteries after trying NiHM rechargeables.

Before you totally give up on rechargeable batteries, you must try Sanyo Eneloop. Eneloop is only 15% more expensive than other types of NiHM rechargeable batteries (e.g. Duracell, Energizer, Gold Peak). But there's a big difference in charge retention rate as Eneloop is claimed by SANYO to keep 85% of their charge after sitting on a shelf for one year. In the same 3rd party review I mentioned earlier, Eneloop has charge loss of only 29.8% (vs. 83.8% of other NiMH) about after six months sitting on a shelf. Even after one year, the Eneloops would still have half their capacity, whereas a regular NiMH battery would be virtually dead.

I conclude that SANYO Eneloop cells are worth every penny. The cost benefit exceeds non-rechargeable batteries after you reuse a Eneloop 6 times or more. Besides, SANYO Eneloop can be charged in any normal slow or fast charger designed for regular NiMH cells.


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by Charles Gwa
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Cook and Charge 03/16/2012
 
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How does cooking and charging go together? A small company, BioLite, has been working on a small and durable camp stove that combines cooking with charging. 

The most impressive feature of this cooking device is that it can cut the emissions by 90%, compared to you burn woods directly. By cutting emissions, it also cuts down the threat from the emissions thus saves lives by being eco friendly. It also has the ability to convert a fraction of the excess heat into electricity to charge your gadgets (mobile phones, LED lights, GPS, etc.) via one USB port. Thus, similar to solar powered devices, the StoveCamp saves energy.

BioLite team explains:

"Half the planet cooks on open fires, leading to 2 million premature deaths each year and contributing to global warming. We're using the same technology inside the CampStove to bring clean, safe energy access to families across the developing world."

BioLIte CampStove is now in manufacture and is ready to go to the market. It is expected to hit the market this summer (2012 camp season). It uses nothing else but woods. Campers and hikers can reserve one at BioLiteStove.com today.
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by Charles Gwa
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