We’ve been talking about ways to save money. Today we want to look at something that is top of mind for many of us – how to save money on gas. . . Follow the price of oil like a speculator Oil prices go up and down. If you knew the price of oil went up, you might want to hurry to fill up. If you knew it went down, maybe it would pay to wait a day or two. Now you can track the price of oil at Oil-Price.net. Large companies do it; why shouldn’t we? Time your purchase While we haven’t seen any research that proves this theory, it seems that gas prices often go up right before the weekend, especially long weekends. So test for yourself and, if you agree, try to buy your gas by the middle of the week. Serial rewards Some credit cards offer extra rebates (e.g. 5% instead of a normal 1% to 2%) on fuel purchases during an introductory period (e.g. six months). Consider this – if you have good credit, employ a strategy where you get a new card and use it through the ramped up reward period. Then move on to another one. Loyalty programs Our grocery store chain has opened convenience stores next to their main stores. To drive (pun intended) business to these new stores, they’re offering an incentive to their grocery store customers. For every $25 you spend on groceries, you get a 5 cent per gallon discount on gas at their convenience store. We saved 60 cents a gallon on a recent purchase. Shop before you shop Sites like Gas Buddy, Gas Price Watch, and Fuel Me Up help you find the gas stations with the cheapest fuel in your area. Gas Buddy seems best for our area; check them all out to see which is best for you. But before you do … Is it worth the drive to save money on gas? We know people who drive out of their way to go to the gas station with the cheapest fuel. It seems almost oxymoronic, doesn’t it? And aren’t you glad we got the “oxy” in there? It struck us as an interesting question to prove out – is it worth burning fuel to save money on fuel? Here’s our calculation … (click the image to enlarge) We found the prices for our area gas stations at Gas Buddy, as shown in the picture above. Using MapQuest, we determined that it would be a 3-mile round-trip from the Bigg Studio to the closest gas station, which charged $3.85 per gallon. This was the second highest priced gas in our area on that day. That figures! It’s an 8-mile round trip to the station with the cheapest gas – $3.66 gallon. Using our handy calculator (okay, we were able to calculate this in our head), we saw that we could save 19 cents per gallon by making the drive. That seems pretty significant. But here’s the rub … our car only has a 17.4 gallon gas tank. So if our tank was bone dry when we arrived at the gas station (a feat we probably come close to more often than we would like to think), the most we could save is $3.31. Suddenly it wasn’t as interesting for us. We often work from our house so we don’t really drive that much. But we have friends who drive a lot for work; they fill up their car as often as three times a week, so that would add up to over $500 for the year. Alright, it’s worth continuing. In order to get the cheapest fuel, we would have to drive 5 more miles. How much does that cost? The best source we could think of for that is the Internal Revenue Service. They allow a deduction of 50.5 cents for every mile driven for business. Since we figured the IRS wasn’t in the business of being generous with deductions, we figured if anything this might be a little on the low side. So we multiplied the 5 miles by the 50.5 cent cost per mile. It would cost us $2.53 to drive to the station to get the cheapest gas, where we would save $3.31 if our tank was completely empty. The most we could save by driving was 78 cents per fill-up. Even for our friends who fill up three times a week, this only translates into about $120 per year. It hardly seems worth it when you consider … We’ve assumed that our time isn’t worth anything. Because it’s going to take more time to drive out of our way for the cheaper gas. (Side note: Unless our tank was less than ¼ full, it would actually cost us money to get the cheaper fuel.) So here’s what we concluded: Driving to find the cheapest gas doesn’t really work for us. It might work for you, especially if you have a bigger gas tank. You can use the process we’ve mapped out to run your own numbers. But don’t forget to place some value on your time! However, in general, it’s probably a waste of time and money to drive out of your way for gas, unless you can … Combine that trip with other deals It just so happens that the gas station with the cheapest price in our area is in a retail zone. It may be the same for you. So if that area offers the best deals on the staples you need, and you combine that with coupons like the woman who feeds her family of five for as little as $10 a week, and fill up with the cheapest gas in your area while you’re there, paid for by your ramped up rewards credit card that you’ll pay off every month, now you have something going for you! Here’s one more thought on buying fuel. It’s a very simple one, but we recently got burned by NOT doing this. What does that say about us? Pay attention We pulled off the highway not long ago to fuel up. We turned right as we exited the off-ramp and turned right into the first gas station just off the highway. As we were filling up, we noticed the sign that showed the prices of gas. Then we noticed the sign at the gas station across the road. We could have bought gas for 20 cents a gallon less … had we just made a left turn!  Subscribe to The Bigg Success Show in iTunes.  Subscribe to the Bigg Success feed.   Related posts Don't Make This Costly Mistake Getting Aggressively Passive: Creating A Passive Income That Sets You Free How To Get Rich 6 Easy Steps To Financial Freedom  (Image by hugoslv) Less

The financial news seems to be all gloom and doom these days. The reports are that we’re not in a recession, but times are tough for a lot of people. No matter how tight things get, we still have bills to pay. People are responding to this very intelligently. They’re turning to public transportation, eating out less, seeking cheaper forms of entertainment, and cutting back on unneeded items. But what do you do if that isn’t enough? .  .  Tapping your retirement plan … It’s tempting to pull money out of your retirement plan, like a 401(k), especially if you change jobs. In fact, about 40 percent of job changers in their twenties and thirties have done just that, according to a recent report by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). … could cost you $130,000 … If you’re under 59½, it’s usually not a good idea to cash out your retirement plan. Let’s look at the example that FINRA used: You’re 30-years old with $20,000 in your 401(k). If you earn just 6% on that money until you retire at 62, you’ll have nearly $130,000 in your account, without making any additional contributions. … and then some! Of course, you can start over. But you lose the power of money compounding on top of money on top of more money, all accumulating tax free until you take it out. So it’s like taking at least two steps backward. But that’s not all. Here are 4 other steps back: You’ll have to pay income taxes out of this money, since it was invested pre-tax. There’s also a 10 percent penalty for early withdrawal (unless you’re over 59½) Your employer is required to withhold 20 percent toward income taxes. If you owe money, your creditors can’t touch your 401(k) unless you cash it out. By the time you get a check, that $20,000 will probably be more like $14,000 net of everything. So cashing out of your retirement plan is a short-term solution with long-term consequences.  Subscribe to The Bigg Success Show in iTunes.  Subscribe to the Bigg Success feed. Related posts 63 Moves to Stop Living from Paycheck to Paycheck Don't Make This Costly Mistake  (Image by nighthawk7) ShareThis Less

http://live.pirillo.com - What do you do when you're stressed out? More importantly, what do you do when you know you have to do something that will stress you out. Here are my recommendations for dealing with stress in these situations... such as doing your taxes! Less

The airline industry has become a commodity business. For more of Mac, including important links, a full comments section, and a great price on his newest book BEAT THE SYSTEM: 11 SECRETS TO BUILDING AN ENTREPRENEURIAL CULTURE IN A BUREAUCRATIC WORLD visit www.BobMacOnBusiness.com. Less

With tax day upon us here in the United States, a lot of people will get a refund soon. So today, we’ll discuss how to turn that refund into riches. But this blog is really about “found” money – money you weren’t expecting. The average refund last year (paid in 2007 from 2006 tax returns) was $2,287, according to the IRS. That’s a nice down payment on a plasma TV! That’s what a lot of people do – spend their refunds on things that won’t be worth much in a few years. Instead of that, you could save and invest it. But isn’t that’s boring? Boring can be exciting when your money starts to compound! How to turn your $2,300 refund into $643,000! Say you’re 25 years old and you get a $2,300 refund every year until you retire at 65. We’ll assume that you earn 8% on that money, which may be a little conservative depending on what you invest in. Under these assumptions, that $2,300 a year invested will turn into a nest egg of over $643,000 when you retire! Now is that boring? Age makes a difference. Take the previous example for a 35-year old. Your nest egg is still significant – it’s over $281,000. But by waiting just ten years to start, it will be less than half as much! But even then, you still create a nest egg of nearly $300,000. 2 ways it can be even better #1 – Quit loaning the government money at 0%. That’s what you’re doing when you get a refund – you’re getting your money back, but you don’t earn any interest on it while they hold it. So redo your W-4 so you only withhold what you expect to owe. Then you won’t get a refund, but you’ll have more money in every paycheck. But here’s the key: You have to be disciplined enough to invest that money! Let’s say you do that – Invest your refund check this year, adjust your W-4, and then invest the extra money that shows up in your paycheck. You’re that 25-year old we talked about earlier. Only now … … you’ll have over $723,000, instead of $643,000. It makes an $80,000 difference! Doesn’t that open your eyes about the “cost” of a refund? #2 – Pay off debt that’s costing you more than 8%. We assumed an 8% return. If you have any debt that’s costing you more than 8%, pay it off first and your returns will be even higher! Once your debt is paid off, start investing to build your nest egg. Jake’s Take – Top 5 signs that you hired the wrong accountant #5 – He insists on filling out your return using only Roman Numerals. #4 – He offers to help you boost your deductions by renting you his wife and kids. #3 – He spends most of your consultation looking nervous and asking if you're wearing a wire.  #2 – He does all his calculations on an Etch-a-Sketch.  #1 – His client list includes Leona Helmsley, John Gotti, and the Unibomber. Our bigg quote today is a Proverb. “Money grows on the tree of patience.” So do you want to watch your new plasma TV or do you want to watch your money grow? The choice is yours! Click on our Comment link below to share your thoughts  Click on the Share This button below to Digg, Stumble, Mixx, etc. Next time, we’ll discuss why being imperfect is perfect. Until then, here’s to your bigg success!  Subscribe to the Bigg Success feed. Subscribe to The Bigg Success Show in iTunes.  Related posts  6 Easy Steps To Financial Freedom This Little Piggy Bank Review: The Richest Man In Babylon The Illusion Of Wealth Don't Make This Costly Mistake Getting Aggressively Passive: Creating A Passive Income That Sets You Free (Image by gossamerLL) ShareThis Less

FAP759: FAFSA, Returning Loan Money, Mail Bag Listen now: Student Financial Aid News + Inside Higher Ed: Two more colleges have joined the growing number pledging to eliminate student loans for low-income students. Claremont McKenna College announced Monday that it would eliminate loans from the aid packages of all current and new students, effective this coming fall. Lafayette College on Monday announced that it would eliminate loans in the packages of students from families with incomes of up to $50,000 and limit to $2,500 a year the loans in aid packages of families with incomes of between $50,000 and $100,000. Lafayette also announced plans to increase the size of its faculty by 35 positions (or about 20 percent) over five years, without increasing the size of the student body. + NASFAA: After the paper version of the FAFSA was published by the Department of Education (ED) and the FAFSA on the Web site went live on January 1, 2008, IRS changed the Form 4136 line item for reporting the credit for tax on special fuels from line 17 to line 18. + IRS Form 4136, line 18, is the correct line item to use for reporting the credit for tax on special fuels on Worksheet B for the 2008-09 award year. Scholarship Update + Sports Changed My Life Scholarship + STAR/PAL wants to hear about the positive impact sports has had on your life. Maybe it was a coach that believed in you, the camaraderie of being part of a team, having the opportunity to play or the outlet it provided that kept you from going down the wrong path. Tell us your unique story and you could win cash and autographed San Diego Chargers and San Diego Padres swag! Plus we’ll donate $500 and a KODAK EASYSHARE 5300 All-in-One printer in your name to STAR/PAL, a non-profit organization with a mission to inspire and aid the youth of greater San Diego to make positive life choices through active participation in educational, athletic and recreational activities. No purchase necessary. Open to anyone who is a resident of the 50 United States or the District of Columbia, has access to the Internet, and is 13 or older at the time of entry. + $300 scholarship + $500 charitable donation + Deadline May 9 + Details at our free college scholarship search site Mail Bag + Marshall wrote in: I just signed my MPN for a W.Ford Federal Direct Loan and I have some questions. Iv been a listener of your podcast for about 2 months (via itunes). + How often and in what months should I be reapplying for the FASFA? every semester? + File your FAFSA every year as close to January 1 as possible + How often should I be visiting my Financial Aid office and asking for more financial aid money? + How do I return unused money? I cant find links on this anywhere on the loan website. Thank you in advance! Did you enjoy today’s show? If so, please consider subscribing for free to get it delivered to you . Subscribing for free means you don’t have to remember to download it every day. + + + Direct MP3 file download: Click here to download the MP3 Reminders + + Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.com. + Free scholarship search secrets eBook at StudentScholarshipSearch.com/ebook + Private student loan consolidation at StudentLoanConsolidator.com + Private student loans available at any time - visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com + Student credit card information at StudentPlatinum.com + FAFSA form tutorials and free help at FAFSAonline.com + Grad student? Get graduate financial aid information at the GradLoans.com blog! + Stafford federal student loans at StaffordLoan.com + The Financial Aid Podcast is a publication of the Student Loan Network. I want to hear from you! Email me at financialaidpodcast {at} gmail {dot} com, visit http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com, or call 206-350-1208. Technorati Tags: financial aid financialaidpodcast ShareThis Less

FAP737: WSJ on Student Loan Availability, Free Stuff Friday Listen: Student Financial Aid News + I did some analysis on a recent Wall Street Journal article talking about how student lending for the fall semester could be in great danger if the credit crisis isn’t resolved by the summer Scholarship Update + University of Massachusetts Scholarship Search Engine + Hard to determine value, but a quick eyeball shows about $7 million + Deadlines vary but many are tied to the FAFSA + Details at our free college scholarship search site Free Stuff Friday + Free eBook from personal finance speaker Suze Orman + IRS Free File for AGI < $54,000 + Office productivity in Windows/Outlook with Fedex Quick Ship + iWebSaver for the iPod Touch/iPhone + Fill out any PDF online with PDFescape + Twitter user? Check out Commuter Feed! + StumbleUpon toolbar for any browser + Social wallpapering! + FFXporter for Flickr and iPhoto Free Song of the Week + I miss the music in the show sometimes, and Free Stuff Friday seems to be a good fit for a free song of the week, too. So this week we’ll bring podsafe music back on Fridays as the Free Song of the Week, especially since I really stink at doing a weekend show regularly. + Black Lab, See The Sun + From the Podsafe Music Network Did you enjoy today’s show? If so, please consider subscribing for free to get it delivered to you . Subscribing for free means you don’t have to remember to download it every day. + + + Direct MP3 file download: Click here to download the MP3 Reminders + Student Loan Network $10,000 Scholarship - Apply in 32 seconds or less! + Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.com. + Free scholarship search secrets eBook at StudentScholarshipSearch.com/ebook + FAFSA form tutorials and free help at FAFSAonline.com + Stafford federal student loans at StaffordLoan.com + Student loan consolidation at StudentLoanConsolidator.com + Private student loans available at any time - visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com + The Financial Aid Podcast is a publication of the Student Loan Network. I want to hear from you! Email me at financialaidpodcast {at} gmail {dot} com, visit http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com, or call 206-350-1208. Technorati Tags: financial aid financialaidpodcast ShareThis Less

Add to iTunes | Add to YouTube | Add to Google | RSS Feed It’s that time of year again… tax time. *GASP* Don’t pass out on me! I know that tax season is very stressful for many people. Here are some tips that can make this year much easier to get through. File early. Beat the rush and file your taxes as soon as you get your w2… or as early as possible. Make sure you have all of documentation in order: w2, donation receipts, intrest payments, educational costs, and what ever else you may need for itemized deductions. Decide if you’re going to prepare and file yourself, or if you will use a Tax Service… such as H&R Block. You also have the option of using an actual Accountant if you have difficult taxes or exemptions. If you aren’t 100% comfortable with what you’re doing, I highly recommend letting someone else take the load off your shoulders. Make sure you fill in all of the blanks, leaving some vital informaioin missing from your return can delay your refund, or worse… leave you with the IRS on your back. Lastly, and most inportant: DO NOT FORGET TO SIGN YOUR REFUND. Here is a bonus tip: go to irs.gov if your Adjusted Gross Income for the year is less than $53,000. Look for the free filing link on the left side of the page. You can efile your federal return for free, and if you are lucky to live in one of the 21 state that offer free efile you don’t have to pay anything. Just make sure you choose a site that you would trust with your information. EBiz Tax Tips. Ultimate Tax Reduction Guide. Domain Tax Guide. My Tax Tutor For Small Business Owners. Property Tax Appeals - Lower Your Property Taxes. How I Made Over $6 Million In The Stock Market - After Taxes. Tax Reduction Toolkit. EBook: Guide To The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act Scra. Property Tax Relief Kit. Want to embed this video on your own site, blog, or forum? Use this code or download the video: <object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/FlCmX_oKMag"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/FlCmX_oKMag" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object><br /><a href="http://chris.pirillo.com/">Chris</a> | <a href="http://live.pirillo.com/">Live Tech Support</a> | <a href="http://media.pirillo.com/">Video Help</a> | <a href="http://feeds.pirillo.com/ChrisPirilloShow">Add to iTunes</a> Related Content: Mad Lib + Blog = Blibs! I Tried To Change This Erin McGee of MyWireless.org Stop Paying Income Tax, America? Thanks For The Ping Less

Join me & Liberty Tax Service, with over 2400 offices across the USA, Liberty is a national leader in the industry! We will address the new year, tax planning, tax changes & tips to help you with your stress and concerns about your 2007 Tax Returns! Visit Liberty online http://www.libertytax.com, & enjoy the show! Call in with your tax questions 646-595-3665! Your Host, Brad Richard Less

Phillip Morris. A man who has no idea what the word “cool” means, in any sense other than temperature. A kinda’ nerdy lyricist with more twisted lines than a geriatric contortionist with varicose veins snorting cocaine off the underside of a moebius strip. Phillip Morris has been putting in work as a thinker, emcee, producer, and an all around friendly individual for years. (He’s also placed first in many a citywide Greco-Roman Mythology competition. True story.) What began as writing as series of short stories in grammar school had turned into a full blown obsession with writing rhymes by 1997 when he was a freshman at the University of Illinois in Urbana/Champaign. Returning to his hometown of Chicago in 1998, Mister Morris began teaching himself how to produce beats using early versions of ACID and Fruityloops. Originally intent with creating simple backdrops to write to, he soon became obsessed with the intricacies of digital music production and recording. After years of honing his rhyme skills, in 2004 he hit the scene, going to any open mic he could find, and in 2005 he began writing and recording his first album while still frequenting various open mics across Chicago. This led to Phillip receiving a hosting spot at Innjoy’s open mic alongside DJ Itch13 and fellow Chicago emcees Awdazcate and Readymade. He was first featured on Awdazcate’s “How Dare You!!!” album, on the tracks ‘Hustle’ and ‘Mic Sounds’, and later on the foreboding last track of Readymade’s album called ‘Dark Humor’. The mixture of Phillip’s unique voice, complex rhyme schemes, anomalous subject matter, coherent freestyles, and comprehensibility forced the underground hip-hop community to abruptly take notice. Released in early 2006, his debut album (the self-produced “Instrumentality”) featured a wide variety of styles and subject matter. It includes the sharp-tongued social commentary of “Divided States”, the widely felt ballad for the emotionally battered woman entitled “World of Deceit”, and the bewildering combination of lyrical acrobatics & borderline psychosis laced upon “Bittersweet Libations”. This timeless piece of art was eagerly received by fans, helping catapult Phillip into a steady cascade of live performances and various collaborations. Along the way, he began collaborating with violinist Hanna Rae (of the Tomorrow Music Orchestra) who provides a dynamic element to a live show, as well as lending her talents as the backdrop for upcoming projects. Always looking to the future, Phillip continues to make original music as far from the norm as possible, and constantly seek the next packed venue to rock. Both avid fans of hip-hop and skeptics alike have (or will soon) become addicted to the cancerous choice. Less