Sometimes you just have to ask!

Everybody knows that I'm a big fan of saving money by shopping through ebates.com.

Not everybody knows that if you don't find your store on Ebates.com, or if you think that the rebates or coupons might be better elsewhere, try qdeals.com as a secondary source of discounts.

The problem I have found wth qdeals is they don't always send the check. It may be that you haven't hit the minimum, or more likely, I've found that some of my rebates haven't gone through.

Case in point... I had a rebate from Blockbuster online from back in Jan that didn't go through. I sent an email to the cust svc. I didn't get a resonse, but... Voila... I just got my check. Qdeals has maintained a customer and my qualified recommendation as a secondary source behind ebates.

Sometimes you just have to ask!

A Day in the Life...

Ok, this might get a little embarrassing. I have decided to walk through one particular day in Dr. Doug's life to show how I am saving money. Once again, it's not necesarily what I am doing, but the consciousness of savings and energy I am created through my money-saving activities. Remember, saving money can set you free to do more things in your life.

8am: Espresso machine at home.

Espresso machines are not cheap. They can cost up to a couple of hundred dollars. However, if you are a robust coffee drinker, buying coffee and making espresso's at home is cheaper than starbucks.

9am; make calls on VOIP phone at home. Unlimited service with ATT is $27 per month, but I also pay for broadband cable.

10 am; return online movie to Blockbuster and pick in store rental. I pay for the $5.99 two movies delivered to home per month. Every movie returned in store gets you another store movie. Plus one e-coupon a month. That is 5 movies for $6.29 with tax per month.

11 am: Trip to Costco.

Costco can be a great store, but be careful. Mega-sizes that go to waste and ridiculous purchases are not money savings. I'm buying a box of organic salad; 18 organic, cage-free, Omega-3 eggs; frozen shrimp; veggie burers; Ibuprofen (generic advil); and razors. I'm also going to get some film developed. I may or may not buy gas as Costco gas prices have increased. Try cash prices at your area's cheapest Arco.

12pm; workout at home. I have a weight bench, jump rope, medicine ball, and dumbells. No need for an expensive gym membership. If you do join a gym never give them your credit card or sign-up for a contract. Gyms make money by hooking customers that never show up. Try the YMCA if you need a gym and a month to month contract.

2pm; do work at Starbucks. I know I already had coffee... but I keep this as a guilty pleasure, plus, working or studying in different environments improves your retention. I have money on my Starbuck's gift card from change brought into the Coin Counting machine at Albertson's. If you take a gift card the change counting is free instead of 8.9 cents per 10 cents deposited. Now to be a little frugal, bring your own cup. Order the Small size of coffee and they will knock off 10 cents ($1.45) where I live. Plus, my cup is extra large and they usually pour a large size for the price of a small.

5pm; pick up dinner for family tonight. We do go out, but I often use a coupon. Tonight it's a $10 off $30 from Boca di Bepo.

5:30pm; check in with wife on T-mobile cell phones. Two phones, with family plan 1000 minutes and unlimited texting less than $60 dollars per month. I've considered dropping these and going for emergency use only pay as you go phones or switching to long-distance radios, but wife won't do without. I could also drop the land lines and go for cell-phone only, but call quality is poor in hilly area around my house.

6pm: check mail and immediately pay bills through online bill pay. Bill pay is quick and easy and saves you the price of a stamp.

9pm; yoga and meditation prior to sleep. It's worth it to pay for a few yoga classes every month. Tapes are good, but you will need some personal instruction. Once you have some training, you can do most of your yoga and meditation at home with an occasional class from your Teacher to keep yourself on track. Try purchasing a package of ten classes with a long expiration date to save a little money.

Of course, this was not a traditional work-day. If you are going to work that day try bringing a lunch made the night before in a small ice-chest to protect any perishable foods. Also bring a small thermos of home-made coffee if you are a coffee drinker. Individual tea-bags are good, you can't drink enough green tea during the day. Don't forget snacks such as an apple or healthy bar. Leave for work a little early to get your cheap gas and try to go on a walk at lunch or bring rubber work-out bands to use during the day.

How to shop for a mortgage.

This post is based on my own experience. I've been successful at buying and refinancing mortgages by using a combinations of national providers, mostly Wells Fargo, and an internet bank. I cannot recommend any specific provider and you need to do due diligence before using any particular lender, but this might help.

I used to believe in the "referal system". Here a friend or colleague gives you the name of a broker and you are off. I used this once for a friend at work. My cousin, a budding real estate investor, reccomended "Frank". He's great, always the lowest rate and so profesional. I assured my co-worker that Frank was her man. About six months later she came to me with the lender story from hell how he had ruined her refinance and disappeared. I guess he happened to melt down right after I had recommended him.

When I buy a new house I usually go with the lender's financing which seems to be Wells. The problem is that there intial rate is so unbelievably high that it is an insult to your intelligence. The second thing I do is go to www.americaninterbanc.com. I have used this online company for several transactions and have always been happy. They have the lowest rates and close on time. The problem is they require a sizeable down payment, only accept full docs and pristine credit. Once again, you have to do due dilligence, but I have had a good experience.

Back to the techinique. After getting the builder's ridiculous rate, I check American Interbanc and then come back to the builder with that. They usually match the rate and add other incentives. Voila, a decent rate. But be careful... you can't trust these good faith statements. With almost every loan, at the final closing, they try and jack the rates and drop incentives. You must read every line of your closing statement and demand the rate you have been promised.

I suggest never giving points. I have used a "point down" which is refunded later deal. Be careful, as this can lock you into the lender.

Currently 5:1 ARMs and 3:1 ARMS are almost no better than 30-year loans. In this situation, its stupid not to take the 30-year.

Watch out for all of the fees. American Interbanc states their fees. Many brokers won't. I called a radio station mortgage banker once and in addition to alot of BS about costly "no-point" loans, they wanted to charge over $10,000 in closing costs. This is predatory.

Do not get any loan with a prepayment fee.

Refinancing is similiar to new home purchasing but it seems to go a little smoother and you don't have the pressure of closing. You can always pick another lender. Do not pay the appraisal up front. It is easy to get stuck with this if the lender or broker tries to change terms. Either pay it at closing or better, get them to pay it.

Home equities are a good short-term option. It's good to have them as a back-up in case of a rainy day, however, unused credit on a home equity can affect your credit and ability to get other loans. Pay no fees and watch out for prepayment. I have used wells which will waive the fee and although there is a $500 prepayment, it is waived after 3 years and they will refund it if you close and open another home equity either on the same house or another one within six months. Talk to you bank manager. Citibank sends me offers all the time for lower home equity rates/ no fees but I haven't personally used them.

"Liar loans" are stated income loans where you state income you don't have and don't admit to a investment property. It is a crime to lie on a loan application so don't do it. However, if you legitimately can claim income, for example from real estate investments and if you are buying a second home that later converts to an investment property, it is not a big deal. One problem are the inpound accounts. You will need to change insurance, so the lender will be tipped off, however, they usually don't care.

Things may be changing with all of these high-risk lender failures. It is probably harder to get financing now. I would recommend starting the process with two or three lenders at the same time. Figure out the best rates. Go ahead with all three until you get to a committment point, like paying for an appraisal. Go for the lowest rate, closing costs, and who you feel is on the ball and can close.

Final obstacles can be verifying your employment, lender asking you to cash out or close other loans, appraisal problems, etc.

Good luck on you loan!

Be well,

Dr. Doug

Where should I buy my computers and electronics?

Where to buy all of your stuff? Especially computers and electronics that tend to break, is a good question.

A few weeks ago, I would have recommended Costco. Costco had a liberal policy, practically unlimited if you kept the box and parts for consumer electronics, and a six month policy for computers. I don't encourage abuse of return policies, but I had frequently paid up to an extra $200 for a computer at Costco, for the benefit of knowing I could return when it started to crash or freeze after a few months.

Now Costco has a new policy of 90 returns. I hope they are lowering their prices, because there is no reason to pay more, pay sale tax, etc. in order to buy at Costco and not be able to return. They are offering a policy of extending manufacturers warranties. I'd encourage any comments from someone who knows the details or has used this policy. I have similar policy on my credit cards and I've found there are so many requirements to use one of these policies that it isn't worth it.

For now I'm going back to my old electronics computer plan. Go down to Best buy or CompUSA and try the product. If you like it, go online and find the absolute lowest price. Hopefully through ebates or qdeals.com where you can add a rebate and coupon. Order without sales tax and free shipping. Carefully check the consumer reviews if you haven't ordered from the store before, there should literally be thousands and read the most recent reviews. Since this is a product you will not likely be able to return, get it for the absolute lowest total price!

Also read reviews on the product. Be careful. Bloggers could receive incentives to pump up a new product, so read several reviews, check major publications, or at least go with a reviewer whose current and past reviews some credible. That's what I do.

Except for the gas, I have almost no reason to go back to Costco anymore. It was actually $3.11 the other day in the Simi Valley California, so Costco may be done as far as I'm concerned.

Be Well.

Dr. Doug

Quality of Life: What are you making per hour?

A lot of people in our soceity are most concerned with their salary. They use this number to gauge where they are in life and how successful they are in their jobs. The other day I saw a show about wall street investment analysts. These were just a bunch of guys in the 20's and they were dreaming about the ultimate life, they collectively agreed that $500,000 would make them ultimately successful.

These young men need to focus on what is really important. Life is not about money, it's more about happiness and fulfillment. What would you pay for your health? If you had a heart attack or terminal illness while still young. What would you trade to make this go away?

Many aspects of health relate to our happiness and well-being. To put things in perspective, I offer the concept of what you are making per hour and I will use a medical example.

In my profession, many physicians are making very high salaries, but may be working 80 hours a week to achieve this level of income. However, if you talk with many of these individuals they are overworked, stressed, and not getting enough sleep.

For example, the one physician could be working for a for a public health or government agency. Here, let's assume the physician is actually working 40 hours a week, all the holidays included, and making a decent salary of $150,000 per year. Specialists may work out simliar deals at an HMO and internists could get a similar deal as a physician just covering in hospital patients, for example.

The high-paid physician may have the highest status and an expensive house or care, but she may be trading her health for her work. Also, do the math. Take their yearly salaries, assume that each physician works 50 weeks per year x their hours per week and divide. Assume the specialist is making 300k per year for 80 hrs, and the public health physican 150k for 40 hrs. (300000/4000; 150000/2000). In both of these situations the physicans are making $75/hour.

The second physician here could always moonlight for extra money, but let's hope that this physician devotes some time to exercise, good eating, yoga/meditation, resistance training, and family to get more out of life.

Another example, how child care can relate to your hourly wage. If a parent goes back to work and makes $25 an hour and then spends $12 and hour on childcare, the parent is actually taking home $13 an hour. Nowsubtract the $6-8 bucks an hour for taxes and they are making $5-$7 an hour. Is the $5 an hour really contributing to their wealth and happiness? They could be home with their kids and doing stroller stride and improving their health at the same time.

This is food for thought. Consider your hourly rate. If you divide your actual hours by your yearly salary and bonus and you may be making less than you thought and it may be hurting your health!

LOOK for an HSA compatible health plan

Although I am a medical professional, I recently found myself in the position on needing to buy my own health insurance. First I considered the prospect of COBRAing the health plan I had. Not a bad idea, especially if you have a preexisting condition. However, at $800 per month the cost was too high. So I went out for a catastrophic plan with a deductible of $2400/$4800 for the individual and family deductible. Since I could afford having to pay the deductible and since I can basically self-diagnose and treat myself and know and emergency, not a bad idea for me. The plan I chose also covered my wife and pregnancy, it was the Blue Shield High deductible. As a bonus, it also covers 30% of meds from the start.

A word of warning. I was initially denied from the plan because my doctor had written a rule out shoulder injury in my chart. I have no shoulder problems. This is one of the HMO scams, they simply will not right for anyone with any kind of medical problem, pushing you into the high risk and very expensive state pools. Based on my relationship with my physician, I immediatley initiated an appeal and a personal letter from my physician explaining the error, and the decision was reversed. I'm not sure everyone is ready to do this, but i would encourage you to appeal. I also got a new year's present, a 20% increase in my rate as the HMO's prepare for state mandated health care premiums in my state.

One thing I didn't do is add my child. I got my child a separate, 30% copay plan directly from the same insurer. Why? Your kids are much more likely to get sick and they need regular Dr. visits. Also, it was cheaper to break out my child rather than do a family plan, pulling my child out only cost about $100, after the new year 20% price increase. A couple of more tips for kids, take your child to public health if you don't get free or $10 vaccinations from your health plan. It is usually cheaper. Also, if you make less than around $52,000 for a family of three, sign your kids up for healthy families. The plan is comprehensive and co-pays are very cheap. If you qualify, it's not a good idea to not take advantage. This year you may even be able to sign up as well as a parent even if you don't qualify for medicaid. Keep a look out for this.

If you actually use an HSA compatible plan you can also sign up for an HSA account. Look at Wells Fargo, they have a program now. You can put up over $5,000 a year in your HSA. However, don't use the money for healthcare unless you have to. It is more of an IRA type account. Save the money for when you are retired and need to supplement Medicare if it still exists or you can always pull the money out and pay taxes after a certain age.

Best regards and Keep well.

Dr. Doug

Use Rebates When You Shop On Line.. Here are two that work for me.

The most important thing you will ever learn about saving money is attitude.

It isn't really that $4 cappucino from Starbuck that ruins your budget (although spending over $1000 bucks a year on coffee is alot), it is your attitude towards saving money. If you think before you spend, even if you are only saving a few percent, in the end you will constantly be working towards saving money.

My first big tip has nothing to do with medicine, health insurance, or law (subjects I will be discussing in the future). My first tip is to use rebates when you shop on line. Why? Well if you do alot of shopping and you save from 1-5 percent or more on every purchase, your rebates will add up. Before you buy anything on line, always check at least two rebate sites. The two I use are Ebates, www.ebates.com and a secondary site. Qdeals, www.qdeals.com. I have had a better experience with Ebates, but both have paid out for the last few years.

I'm looking at my checks right here, one for $14.97 and the other for $18.74 for this quarter's purchases.

The other thing you want to do is to use the sites' coupons. If you use a coupon on the site, you should get both the coupon and the "ebate". I've been doing alot of shopping at Overstock, and besides the 4% rebates, I've been using coupons up to 10%. You should also google for a "discount coupon" at the store. If you have a 20% coupon it's better than using a 2% rebate.

Please also follow your common sense. Always check several review sites before you purchase from a new store. Make sure there are hundreds of reviews, a new store could post a few fake reviews of itself. I usually read some of the latest reviews to make sure they sound legit.

Have fun shopping and remember to shop safe and focus yourself on saving money and buying value.

Welcome to Frugal MD

This discussion will focus on frugal ideas that I have, things I'm doing to save money, or anything else that might be helpful in order to make ends meet.

I probably don't have any more insights on the topic of finances than any of you. However, I am a licensed physician with a board certification in Preventive Medicine and I do have a few insights into health care finances and some other areas of scientific or social interest.

I was inspired by some of the responses I have received from friends and colleagues who have noticed that I do things to save money. Why would I even waste my time saving some money, what is a few bucks worth anyway. Well, my key argument is not that budgeting or saving a dollar or two is going to make a huge difference in your life, however, it is the mindset that you are making intelligent choices in your life, in one area finance, in other areas it may be your work hours or travel, that result in an improve your quality of life. If you save a few bucks on coffee every week, and then you save tens of dollars shopping on the internet, you may end up saving tens of thousands of dollars buying (or not buying and renting) a house or having a 401k or Health Care Savings account to rely on in retirement.

Even if nobody reads this I will be able to look back and chronicle some of my ideas in the area of saving money.....

here goes.

Welcome to Frugal MD.