May is case lot sales time at most military commissaries.  While I have missed some that happened a few days ago, most commissaries are still offering case lot sales at the end of this month.  Below is a list of case lot sale dates that can also be found on www.commissaries.com.  I don’t have to tell most of you that case lot sales are a great way to save a ton of money on groceries!

All dates are in May 2009:

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A friend of mine recently e-mailed me to let me know that there was some lost money in my name waiting to be claimed.  It was sitting idol in an insurance premium that had been refunded and never claimed.  I guess that she had been bored one day and just started searching for everyone’s name that she knew.

You can look for lost money in your own name as well at the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administration’s (NAUPA) website.  MissingMoney.com is NAUPA’s comprehensive national database that was established in 1999 to help the states inform citizens about unclaimed property. 

Some of the most common types of unclaimed property that can be lost and then found are bank accounts and safe deposit box contents, stock certificates, mutual funds, bonds, dividends, uncashed checks and wages, insurance policies, CD’s, trust funds, utility deposits, escrow accounts, and others.  Many people, especially professionals who move around from job to job every few years open bank accounts and conduct transactions throughout the country.  Do you have money in an old savings account that you might have forgotten about?

You can also check your state’s office of the state’s treasurer to find missing money that is owed to you.  The NAUPA has a link to most states’ offices directly on their website.  Check every state that you have lived in.  It could well be worth your time.  It was very quick and painless checking to see if I had any money left unclaimed in the six states that I have lived in throughout my life.

The money in question that my friend found in my name was actually my grandfather’s.  We share the same name, and the leftover money was for an insurance premium that was paid and eventually refunded the month that he died, over twelve years ago.  Thanks to my friends e-mail, my aunt (the actual next of kin) was able to retrieve her long lost $150, which was enough for a great night on the town.

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My wife and I only use dollar bills when we buy things.  We refuse to use any coins we may have in our pockets to make purchases even if the result is getting ninety-nine cents back.  Then, when we receive a pocket full of change after our purchase, we save it all in a piggybank at home.  After a year of doing this, we usually have saved over $500 each year.  That’s a very non-intrusive way to make yourself save when you think money is tight at the end of every month.

This is a lot like the new debit cards that are out there that will round up to the nearest dollar.  These are great savings devices especially if you think that you do not have enough money to save for a rainy day.  One of my former Soldiers told me that they use a jar method like this, similar to envelope budgeting, where they save all their change throughout the year in a Mason jar in order to pay for their 4^th of July fireworks.  He was also teaching his children to save for a goal.  The more they saved, the larger their firework display could be.

I have even heard of people doing this “save your change” trick with $5 bills.  Every time they received a $5 bill through making purchases, they would then set the $5 bills aside and collect them in a piggybank.  That seems a little extreme to me, but it would surely raise your savings rate dramatically in a very short amount of time.  I think that this same system will work wonders with $1 bills though.  Every time you make a cash purchase and receive a $1 bill as part of your change, save it.  Keep them at home in a piggybank until you get $100 or any nice round number and then deposit your spoils into your bank account.  Try it out for a month and see how it goes.  No cheating.

In fact, that’s a great idea.  I am going to start this plan today.  For the next thirty days, I’m going to save every $1 bill that I receive and put it aside.  I’ll keep you posted with a tracker here on the side bar of Military Money Might on how much I manage to save.

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In today’s financial crisis, stock market scams are alive and well.  Many of these schemes prey on citizens’ fears, and the increasing trend for these schemes are running wild with the current financial turmoil that is consuming America.  Below are a list of the most famous investment scams and tips on how to protect yourself from them.

Ponzi Scam.  During the Great Depression, Charles Ponzi promised to double investors’ money within 90 days.  He collected money from investors and paid them off with the proceeds from new investors who entered the scam.  Eventually, the last investors who piled in were left with nothing when Ponzi ran off with their money.  An off shoot of this scam is also when owners of a business sell off more than 100% of the business to investors in small bite sized pieces.  This was the plot of the Broadway musical, “The Producers”, who sold the rights to the show’s profits to investors hoping that the show would tank at the box office so they could pocket the money and not payout anything to the investors.

Nigerian 419.  Named after the section of the small African country’s criminal code that handles fraud, the internet scam artists offer would be investors a cut of money they are trying to smuggle out of the country for an upfront fee.  A couple of years ago, a U.S. navy officer used some of his ship’s petty cash fund to try and earn a quick profit with this scheme, but he was burned when the Nigerian money was never wired to him.  Cash Money Life, one of my favorite personal finance blogs, went into even more details about this scam in a recent posting.

Pump and Dump.  Investors in penny stocks sold on the over the counter (OTC) bulletin boards are often the victims of this scam.  Early investors in a cheap penny stock that is too small to trade on a regular New York stock exchange are touted through spam e-mails and internet discussion boards, which creates an artificial buzz about the stock encouraging novice investors to pile in.  The scam artists then dump their shares of the thinly traded securities which cause the newly inflated price to plummet for everyone else.  This scam was predominantly featured in the movie, “Boiler Room”.

Pyramid Scheme.  While not necessarily a stock scheme or scam, I cannot resist adding the pyramid scheme to the list here as well because of the prevalence on military bases.  Pyramid deals seem to attract many military spouses looking for a little extra income.  The sales force on the bottom of the pyramid does all of the heavy lifting and kicks up a portion of their sales to the top members of the pyramid who signed the bottom levels up.  How many military spouses have makeup, rubber plates and bowls, vitamins, or designer baskets hidden away in the closet unsold?

How to Protect Yourself.  All stock brokers and insurance agents have to be licensed to sell their products and services.  You can check to make sure that individuals that you are conducting business with are fully licensed at www.finra.org and www.nasaa.org.  Only about 10% of all investments scams and complaints involve licensed dealers.  So, checking these websites ahead of time can solve most of your potential problems.

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The United States military spent over $500 million in enlistment and reenlistment bonuses for its Servicemembers this past year. They ranged anywhere from a few thousand dollars to $150,000 for Special Forces Soldiers and linguists. The average bonus is between $10,000 and $20,000. Many members of the military also wait to re-enlist until they are in a combat zone, and the entire bonus is tax free. But, what should you do with your new found wealth? Many Soldiers spend their bonuses on frivolous consumer purchases like plasma televisions, a fancy new truck, etc. I even knew a Soldier who spent his reenlistment bonus on a sailboat. The sad truth of the matter is that a lot of Soldiers received their money, spend it, and then look back wondering where it all went. The same can be said for year ending bonuses in the private sector. What are some other uses for that money?

Better ideas for your bonus:

Save It. My wife and I saved every dime of my recent bonus to use as a down payment for our first home that we are buying this winter. It is a good thing that we saved it now that the mortgage credit market is becoming incredibly tight after the recent upheavals. The “no down payment” mortgages are few and far between now. Lenders want to see a down payment of at least 5 to 10% of the purchase price and a good FICO credit score.

Invest It. $10,000 invested in a good growth stock mutual fund over the next forty years will grow into $217,000 even if you never added another cent to the original $10,000 bonus (assuming that you earn the stock market’s historical rate of return, 8% annually). If you could squeak out a 10% annual return instead, your bonus would then grow into $452,000. Now that is the power of compounding interest! If you don’t believe me, feel free to check out the Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet.

Pay Down Debt with It. Paying $10,000 to reduce your debt, such as high interest credit card debt, could save you approximately $1,800 per year if you had an average annual percentage rate of 18%. That’s like a bonus that keeps on giving back to you year in and year out.

Many experts recommend that you spend 10% of a bonus or raise, no questions asked, on something that will bring you a lot of personal joy. It is your bonus after all. You earned it. You deserve to enjoy it. You should reward yourself, and 10% is a great guilt free figure. Take 10% and go an a little vacation that you have been putting off forever. Or, buy that used jet ski that you have been eyeing for such a long time. Just buy it with cash from the 10% of your bonus. While I write for a predominantly military audience and discuss military circumstances, personal finance is personal finance no matter what your chosen profession. These tips and ideas will work for anyone’s situation whether you are in the military or have a civilian job.

If you enjoyed this article, you might also like these:
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Like most military men, I love playing golf.  My wife and I are actually thinking about buying our next house in a neighborhood with a course.  No Credit Needed recently gave ten tips to save money on the golf course, and I just couldn’t resist sharing them with you.

1. Avoid weekend/holiday rates.
2. Share a bucket of range balls with your playing partner. 
3. Bring your own snacks / bottled water / sodas / etc.  Don’t forget the beer too.  My friends and I would always sneak a cooler onto the course.  I even went as far as to buy one of those fake cooler clubs with a nozzle.
4. Check out state owned and operated golf courses. 
5. Buy used golf clubs. I bought all my clubs, golf bag, etc. on eBay.
6. Pay for a few lessons. 
7. Skip the gimmicks and gadgets. 
8. Walk the course. 
9. Avoid the course all together.  I’m not really sure that I like this idea.
10. Play late in the evening. 

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The best piece of advice that I ever received was right before I graduated from college.  I was in my professor’s office talking to him when he told me . . .

“Spend your money doing things, not acquiring things.”

We spend our entire lifetime collecting “stuff”.  We have rooms and houses full of stuff.  Stuff we don’t even use anymore.  When we look back at the lives we’ve lived in retirement, it is our experiences that we will remember the most.  Spend your money traveling.  Spend your money going back to school and getting that degree you always wanted.  There will always be enough time to buy things.

What’s the best piece of advice (about personal finance or not) that you have received?  I’d love to hear it.

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I was proud of one of my Soldiers today.  He received an e-mail from his mother last night asking him and all of his other siblings to help bail out their youngest sister who is facing foreclosure after six months of delinquency on her mortgage. 

Like popular radio talk show host, Dave Ramsey, I am against loaning family members money.  It only leads to hurt feelings and resentment when the loan is not repaid.  I am in favor of helping family if you are able though.  If a family member is struggling financially and you can give them money, that is probably a better course of action that a loan.

Depending on the family member’s need, there are other non-monetary ways you can help in those situations, such as giving them a job, referring them for a job, getting them financial planning help, etc.  Even something as little as giving them a book can help.  For example, Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover changed my life.

No matter what you decide to do, make sure that your home is taken care of first.  You cannot help others until your financial wellbeing is secure.  Do not feel guilty if you cannot help because you are struggling to payoff your own debt or save for your 3-6 months emergency fund.  There will always be family emergencies that need our attention.  Set yourself up for success so that you are the helper and never have to be the helped.

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 The single best way for you to get promoted in your job is to stay current and up-to-date with the news and issues that occur in your chosen profession.  In order to be the best in your line of work, you have to know what is happening in your specific career field.  The same is true whether you are a member of the military or an executive in corporate America.

Become a subject matter expert in your field:

1. Join industry associations
2. Subscribe to trade journals
3. Attend conferences
4. Read and submit articles to industry journals
5. Read and subscribe to industry news media (newspapers, newsletters, blogs, etc.)
6. Read professional development books related to your job
7. Continue your formal education with a Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree in your field

   I am constantly amazed by how many young lieutenants enter the military who do not understand current events, issues, and trends that are happening in their particular branch of service and their military occupational specialty (MOS).  Not knowing about the latest techniques, tactics, and procedures will place leaders in a disadvantage that will affect them and affect their job performance.

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As smart consumers, we should always look for ways to save a litte money any way we can.  That is how you can find extra money to save and invest with despite a tight budget. 

Smart Money and Free Money Finance blog lists the five best coupon clipping websites:

1. Coupons.com
2. CouponCabin.com
3. CouponMom.com
4. RetailMeNot.com
5. SmartSource.com

My wife clips coupons religously for groceries, but I have never thought to clip them from the internet.  Has anyone else had luck with any of these websites or any others?

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