Excel Templates

I just discovered a great way to have your own financial calculators that you can modify. For example, recently I have been struggling with the fact that I am paying off capitalized interest on my private student loan, which means that the whole payment is currently tax deductible. I had two options: pay off an extra $300/month on that loan or save that $300/month in a savings account.

Mathematically, it turns out that I should save $300/month in a savings account for the first 2 years and then pay off my student loan with those savings in the third year after I have paid off my capitalized interest. There is no way to run an amortization schedule where you can change the payment amount after 24 months and add a lump sump payment in the beginning of the third year. However, that and more can be done with Excel Templates.

I also like the fact that in an Excel template, you can save the worksheet and return to it when you feel like it. If you were to use the BankRate amortization schedule, for example, then you would have to reenter your data each time you wanted to change up your payment.

Excel templates offer amortization of payments, monthly and yearly budgets, expense trackers, net worth analyzers, gas and mileage logs, etc. New templates are added by users, so new ones can sprout up any time. Modify any of the templates to meet your specific needs.

Restaurant.com

If you ever go out to eat, one great way to do so is by buying gift certificates on Restaurant.com. Restaurant.com offers gift certificates to restaurants usually at a 50% discount. Although there is usually a clause about how much food you have to buy, it usually ends up the amount that you would spend anyway. Buying a $10 gift certificate for $5 to a burger joint is still a good deal if I have to spend a minimum of $20. Two burgers and two drinks is usually $20.

Many restaurants will automatically add tip on the pre-discounted amount. Usually the tip is 15-18%. However, there are many restaurants that do not have the tip included, just read the fine print. I don't like going to places where the tip will be automatically included, I feel I don't get as great of a service as the waiter already knows that I am forced to pay 15-18%. I'd rather pick my own tip amount and it will only be 15-18% on an exceptional service. I used to be a waitress too at one point in my life and I think the society has moved to accept tips as mandatory, but I think if the customer had to wait a long time, didn't get what he ordered or the waitress showed the customer attitude, minimal tip, if any, should be left. Therefore, I always seek the restaurants that do not automatically add tip to your bill.

Now, Restaurant.com seems to offer more than restaurants in some places as well. For example, in Miami, Restaurant.com is offering a sunset cruise at a 50% discount.

You can buy Restaurant.com gift certificated at the website itself. However, there are ways to get the gift certificates at deep discounts or free:

1. Most likely you have some miles that are expiring with an airliner that you do not fly often. Usually, you can trade in your expiring miles for Restaurant.com gift certificates in their miles mall. I received my first ones through United.
2. You could buy Restaurant.com gift certificates at a deep discount on eBay.
3. American Express usually has free 30-day trials of services that will give you Dining Dough certificates for free as an incentive. Just make sure to cancel the service that you are trying.
4. Some retailers will have special promotions for Restaurant.com. For example, I recently received $50 in Restaurant.com gift certificates for purchasing $50 worth of goods at Drugstore.com.
5. You could use coupon codes on Restaurant.com to get certificates for pennies. Google "Restaurant.com coupon codes."

E-Miles - Free Miles

Most airlines give away free miles through email subscriptions, a dining program, magazine subscriptions, etc. Another way to get miles is through looking at advertisements and possibly answering a few questions. e-Miles Miles for Minutes is a website that gives away miles or points for companies such as AirTran Airways, Alaska Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines, Hilton HHonors, etc. Check to see if your airline is there and fly sooner.