Platinum Money Talk

This article was posted a while ago about conversations to have before you get into marriage. In the most basic sense, it's all about communication (big surprise, right?) Relationships tend to live and die by people having a clear idea of what they are getting themselves into and how their interests mesh with their respective partner.

But lately I've been helping a couple of friends from various stripes with finances and I realized that these kinds of conversations are keys for any time we enter into financial relationships with anyone. The difference is that when we get a loan or save money at a bank, there are formal ways to give this information (and the bank requires it, for your and their protection). It's only in the private sphere that we don't have a formal mechanism for finding out this information, mainly because unlike market transactions, there are feelings involved and asking people about money is perceived as impolite.

I'm not saying that it's a bad thing that we don't ask people to fill out a form when we start dating or living together, I just mean that we're constantly looking for data to help us make better decisions. Yet (according to this article and my experiences) in the private sphere we seem to consistently be rationally ignorant when it comes to these kinds of transactions because there is a social cost associated with them that we're unsure how to broach. And while I now know what conversations to have before getting deeply involved monetarily with anyone privately, I'm not exactly looking forward to doing joint tax returns.

Platinum Promos and Programs

So it's getting around that time again to start shopping for holiday gifts. And I have to say, living on a limited budget begets some pretty creative ways to save money. I figured I'd share some of my discoveries with you as leaves turn their colors and thoughts turn to presents.

1) If you have a Bank of America account and you do most of your shopping online, then you're in luck with this tidbit. If you're not familiar already, I introduce the Add It Up program. Unless it's a very obscure website, chances are you'll find the website you want to shop at in their database. You simply pair a credit and/or debit card with the program, click through Bank of America's database to the website you intend to shop at, and go to town. To give you an example, the Add It Up program was advertising 11% cash back for Priceline.com for a limited time, so I purchased my ticket home for Thanksgiving there and will be receiving roughly $20 cash back in the near future.* I hear Discover and CitiBank also offer programs like this as well.

2) Google promo codes when you see the box to enter a promo code on the checkout screen. Usually websites like RetailMeNot.com and the like have some promotional codes for even the most obscure websites. I've saved and additional $5-10 on average from doing this.

3) If Add It Up doesn't have the website you wish to shop from, use your Frequent Flyer Miles for whatever reward program(s) you have. Getting miles like this is the easiest and free way to keep earning miles for travel, or at least to hold onto miles and prevent them from expiring if you're like me and don't fly often enough to actually garner enough frequent flyer miles for a whole round-trip ticket from flying alone.

4) This final one is a more generic tip, and I usually don't have time for it, but if triple coupon-value week at the Teeter gets you excited, then there are blogs out there that have grocery and drugstore coupons for you so that you don't have to invest $14 for a 6-month subscription to the Washington Post in the hope that you'll save more money in the value of coupons than the subscription is worth.

Happy shopping!


*(To make sure the program signature isn't lost while I'm browsing, I usually go through the Add It Up program again after I've added things to my cart, and they're still there after I go through it. This way I haven't had any problems with Bank of America not registering the cash back rewards.)

Elizabeth Lambert

... suddenly a fan of soccer again

Elizabeth Lambert is the hottest college soccer player ever.
Liz if you're reading this, look me up when you're in DC!!
Elizabeth = martial arts + soccer + platinum platinum rock 'n roll

Liz you let those girls know whats up!!!

Platinum Links: Be Careful Who You Mess With Edition

1. Part of me thinks that Michelle Rhee should be more cognizant of the limits of executive authority and respect the rules set down by the legislative branch. But the other part of me completely agrees with Kevin Carey and thinks that ruffling feathers in the education world is probably the greatest indicator that you are doing the right thing. Great blog post.

2. Awhile back, John Mackey, the CEO of Whole Foods, wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal about alternative ideas for health care reform. There was a bit of a response. Anyway, the folks over at Reason produced this video on the whole thing. I'm not sure what's less platinum; the activist calling Mackey racist for not supporting healthcare reform or the other activist assuming he knows more about the healthcare at Whole Foods than he actually does. (HT: D-Rock)



3. Fascinating article about the orthodox Jewish community reporting sexual abuse. Really. Several random thoughts. People tend to think I'm anti-government. I'm not. I like to consider myself more pro-openness. Generally, this means less government, but not always. What's truly interesting about the story is how it demonstrates how cloistered communities develop legal systems. Just because they do not exist as a top down legal authority does not mean they are just and does not mean that they are better than the alternatives. Kudos to the local prosecutors for handling a very difficult situation and encouraging a solution that works within the context of that specific culture.

4. Ummm....can we say, "Net neutrality has tradeoffs."

5. Office gossip is kind of rough. For the record, the article describes the politics of the elementary schools I taught at perfectly. Only I'm not so deft at disrupting it...mostly because for the first year and a quarter of teaching I was participating in it.