Welcome to the 139th Edition of the Festival of Frugality! This week’s edition celebrates the sensational achievements of Michael Phelps, holder of 15 Olympic Gold Medals and 7 World Records in swimming, in the past week and a half at the 2008 Olympics with photos and inspirational quotes from the champion himself.

I am also hosting the Money Hacks Carnival tomorrow, so be sure and check back for more great reads! If this is your first time here, please look around and consider subscribing to our RSS feed. 

Now on with the carnival!

(AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Editor’s Picks

• Silicon Valley Blogger presents Lost Money: How Money Drains Add Up To $175,000 In 10 Years.
• MoneyNing presents Frugally and Happily Back to School 9 Different Ways.
• Kevin Brink presents “Sale” Can Sometimes be Just Another Four Letter Word.
• ISPF presents 10 Tips to Get Anyone into the Habit of Cooking at Home (Even if You Have Never Stepped into the Kitchen Before).
• Savingadvice presents Reached Financial Independence. Now What?

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Expansions Difficulty/Complexity: Easy

This is a cash-free version of the game wherein all transactions are handled through personal checking accounts and recorded in individual check registers. Each player is responsible for his own account and must record all transactions – payment and receipt of rent, taxes, bribes, etc. in his check register.

Objective

To teach children (and some adults) how to accurately record transactions and balance a check register.

How to Play

• Download and print the Bank of Monopoly Personal Check Register (includes rules)
• Instead of distributing cash at the beginning of the game, players record the opening balance at the top of the check register (in the right-hand column under $ Balance). If playing the original Atlantic City Monopoly game with the distribution of 2 x $500, 2 x $100, 2 x $50, 6 x $20, 5 x $10, 5 x $5 , and 5 x $1 bills, the opening balance is $1,500.
• Instead of using cash, all transactions are recorded in the check register under Deposit (+) and Payment (-), and all money belonging to the player is totaled in the $ Balance column.

Click on the image to view a sample check register

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These days, most companies (including banks and utility companies) have websites and online payment options. Those that don’t often accept payments by phone. If you are still using snail mail to pay your bills each month, you could be saving $60 or more, depending your number of bills, each year by switching to payments by internet or phone. Consider the following example:

Our monthly household bills look something like this: electric, gas, water & sanitation, 2 mortgages, cell phone, home insurance, auto insurance, 2 credit cards - an average of 10 bills per month. The cost of a first-class postage stamp is $0.41 ($0.42 starting May 12, 2008), and the cost of a personal check for us is about $0.07. (Since the companies usually provide the envelopes, we won’t count the cost of an envelope.) So the cost of mailing one bill is $0.48. At 10 bills a month, that amounts to $4.80 a month, and a total savings of $57.60 each year. A larger household with children and more bills could save even more than this.

If the company doesn’t have a website, it usually has a toll-free number you can call to pay by phone. Some companies allow you to set up automatic monthly charges to your credit card or withdrawals from your bank account, which could save you a lot of time.

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