How Does Bail Work and Do You Get Bail Money Back?

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It is jaw-dropping when news announces So-And-So has been released on bail for $400,000. Many people have never been in that situation to know what is bail, how does bail work, and do you get bail money back. Here's a short recap on everything you need to know about bail and the money behind it. #funfacts #themoreyouknow It is jaw-dropping when the news announces So-And-So has been released on bail for $400,000. Many people have never been in that situation to know what is bail, how does bail work, and do you get bail money back. Here’s a short recap on everything you need to know about bail and the money behind it.

What Is Bail?

When someone is charged with a crime and booked by law enforcement. By default, those charged with a crime will be held in jail until their scheduled court date. Bail is an opportunity to allow a defendant to temporarily be released from jail until their trial.

Considering court dates often take weeks or months after the initial arrest, bail is often preferred to waiting in jail.

Cash Bail System

The United States is largely a Cash Bail system. Meaning you are required to stay in jail until all your scheduled court dates, that is unless you can pay the court money for bail.

In order to be granted bail, a defendant must pay the court in exchange for temporary release from jail until their scheduled court date. The amount of money paid is typically set at a base amount per alleged office, but judges have a large amount of discretion in raising it, lowering it, or completely waiving it at the preliminary bail hearing.

Many states are working to abolish cash bail. States including California, Alaska, Washington D.C., and New Jersey have completely abolished it or limited cash bail because it heavily favors the wealthy. Poorer individuals who don’t have money for bail are stuck in jail for weeks or months until trial. This leads to further financial hardships as they are forced to miss payments, miss work and potentially lose their job and go into debt before they can even attempt to prove their innocence.

How Does Bail Work?

So let’s say you’re arrested for a crime you may or may not have committed. Law enforcement is first going to take you to the local police station for booking. This entails providing general information (name, address, etc.), mug shots, fingerprints, and a criminal background check. After your booking process, and the well-known “one free call”, you are placed in a station jail cell with other recent suspects.

What happens next in the “how does bail work” process is the preliminary bail hearing. This occurs usually within 48 to 72 hours after the booking. The length depends on when you were arrested because courthouses are typically only open on weekdays.

The preliminary bail hearing is where a judge reviews the circumstances, makes official charges, and decides if a defendant is eligible for bail. If the defendant is eligible for bail, the judge decides the amount, if any.

When a judge sets a defendant’s bail amount, they are starting from a base amount according to the severity of the crime. Then they weigh additional considerations such as the defendant’s criminal record (if one exists), past experience showing up for court, flight risk, ties to the community, and whether they are a danger to themselves or others. These all factor into the judge’s consideration, who ultimately has the final say in the bail amount.

Not until a bail amount has been set in the preliminary bail hearing, can a defendant be released from jail on bail.

If you find yourself in this situation, consider having your lawyer present for the preliminary bail hearing to help plead with the judge and reduce any bail amount set.

How To Pay Bail

Once the preliminary bail hearing has set the bail amount, it can be paid in cash, money order, or cashier’s check to the Clerk of the Court.

If you do not have cash on hand or creative ways to make money, there are other options to help pay.

Bail Vs Bond

There is a lot of confusion about the terms bail vs bond, but they have two distinct meanings. Bail is the process that allows a defendant to temporarily be released from jail until their trial date. While the bond is what the defendant provides to the court in exchange for bail.

Bond is usually cash, property, or another one of the different types of bail listed below. Think of the phrase “A person’s word is their bond”, except most courts prefer money to be the bond.

Types of Bail Bonds

Since a bail bond is how a defendant affords bail, there are different types of bonds. Think back to our initial “how does bail work” example of So-And-So was released on a $400,000 bail. That doesn’t mean So-And-So had $400,000 in their bank account ready to hand over, although they may have it or used crowdfunding. Here are the different types of bail bonds that help people afford bail

Personal Recognizance – A judge can decide no bail money is necessary, and take the defendant’s word that they will show up for their court dates. In this case, a defendant needs to only sign a written promise that they’ll appear in court on their assigned date.

Cash Bond – This is where you pay the entire amount of the bail amount in cash. This can be done either by yourself or with a co-signer. The benefit of paying in cash is that your bail money is returned after your court appearance.

Property Bond – If you don’t have the cash available to pay bail, you can use your property as collateral. This usually isn’t the most popular option because it’s a long and complicated process involving lots of paperwork. Additionally, the property you use as collateral typically needs to have a value of 150% or more of the bail amount. Although that varies by state.

Surety Bond – If you don’t have the cash available, this is where Bail Bondsman comes in. This is often a popular option as people don’t typically have thousands of dollars around to post bail. In this case, you can enter a Surety Bond agreement with a Bail Bondsman to pay for bail.

What is a Bail Bondsman

A Bail Bondsman is a licensed agent who helps with Surety Bonds. This usually involves paying 10% of the total bail amount in cash to a Bail Bondsman, and the remaining amount can be personal collateral such as property, cars, jewelry, etc. Then the Bail Bondsman will pay the entire amount to the court (if necessary) for your release on bail.

The Surety Bond makes the Bail Bondsman responsible for the defendant showing up for their trail. If a defendant doesn’t show, the Bail Bondsman is left on the hook. The Bail Bondsman will lose all the money they paid for the defendant’s bail and thus will make every effort to track the fleeing defendant to recoup their losses. This is where you find popular tv shows like Dog The Bounty Hunter make a living chasing down people who broke their Bail Bondsman agreements.

How Do Bail Bondsman Make Money

When you enter a Surety Bond with Bail Bondsman, you typically pay 10% of the total bail amount in cash. This upfront cash is usually kept by the Bail Bondsman as their fee for the risk their taking. The total amount varies by state and even the individual Bail Bondsman. This hefty fee is the downside of using a Bail Bondsman.

How Does Back Work and Do You Get Bail Money Back Infographic

How Long Does It Take To Get Out of Jail After Posting Bail

Once the bail amount is paid and signed for, the paperwork usually takes 4-8 hours to be processed before you can leave. This is an average, but some cases can take up to 12 hours. There are a number of procedures the jail must ensure before releasing an inmate. It all depends on the jail and their current workload.

Bail Conditions

Once out on bail, there may be certain conditions you must follow. Each judge decides their own conditions at the preliminary bail hearing based on the particular case. You may have some, none, or all of these common bail conditions.

    • Travel Restrictions
    • Mandatory Check-in
    • Staying Alcohol & Drug-Free
    • No Weapon Possession
    • Employment Requirements
    • Mandatory Classes by the Court
    • No Contact / Stay Away Orders

How To Bail Someone Out Of Jail

If a friend was arrested and used their one-free-call to ask for help. Here are the steps on how to bail someone out of jail. First, identify where they’re located and when their preliminary bail hearing is scheduled. Second contact your friend’s lawyer or help get them a lawyer. The sooner you have a lawyer involved, the better.

Otherwise, there isn’t much you can do until the preliminary bail hearing within 48 to 72 hours after booking. Only then can you figure out how much it will cost to bail out your friend.

 

 

Do You Get Bail Money Back

You will receive your money back after the defendant attends all their scheduled court appearances. Regardless of whether the verdict is innocent or guilty, your bail money will be returned. However, some courts may take a fee for administrative court costs.

The entire bail process is simply the defendant promising to attend their scheduled court appearances. Money is provided to the court to ensure the defendant keeps their promise and once that promise is met, the money is returned. The only exception is if you did a Surety Bond with a Bail Bondsman, the upfront money you paid (usually 10%) is kept as their fee.

What Happens if You Don’t Show Up For Court

If you fail to keep your bail promise to attend your court date. Your initial bail money is forfeited to the court and a judge will issue a warrant for your arrest.

If you missed your trial, you may petition for a reinstatement of your bail instead of forfeiting it. However, it would have to be an incredibly good reason for missing your initial trial.

Wrap Up

Hopefully, this helps makes bail feel less scary and provide a better understanding of how does bail work.

Bail is simply the process of being temporarily released from prison until your court date. This happens through an exchange of money (the Bond) for the court to hold until your return. Once you return for all scheduled court dates, the court returns your money minus any court fees.

7 Good Reasons I Still Carry Cash, Please Don’t Rob Me

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7 Good Reasons I Still Carry Cash - Please Don't Rob Me. #Wallet #Cash #Money #Prepared #Rob How much cash do you keep in your wallet?

We are regularly becoming a cashless society with credit cards and digital transactions becoming the primary forms of money transfer. Even mega-company Starbucks continues to play with the idea of a completely cashless store, only accepting credit cards and mobile apps.

More and more people don’t carry cash anymore. When going out, we take our phone, ID, and credit card. With those, you can pretty much pay for anything. Even then, credit cards are becoming obsolete as phones nowadays can handle most payments.

As people continue their unknowing war on cash. The biggest winners are the four major financial institutions MasterCard, Visa, PayPal and Square. I find myself regularly reminding friends to continue to at least keep some cash on them for the following reasons.

FYI – I keep about $100 in my wallet at all times for these reasons. Again, please don’t rob me. I usually have (3) Twenty Dollar Bills, (2) Ten Dollar Bills, (1) Five Dollar Bill and the rest One Dollar Bills. Always stacked in order so I can quickly grab what I need.

In a cashless society, here’s why you still need cash

1. A Minimum Purchase on Cards – This is probably one of the biggest reasons why everyone should keep some extra cash on them. Most stores require a “minimum credit card amount” usually set at $5 to $10. This is because stores are forced to pay a 1.6% + $0.10 fee to process your credit card. The lower the price, the more it cuts into their profit.

If your store doesn’t have a “minimum credit card amount” it likely means they’re afraid to scare you away and prefer to absorb those extra costs for the extra convenience of their customers. If you don’t have cash, you’ll be required to buy extra things to surpass their minimum $5 or $10 credit card amount, and that’s not frugal.

2. Parking – If you’re frugal, you’re likely willing to park miles away to avoid paying for a parking spot. However, there are times that’s not an option. You’ll need to pay for a spot or worse a valet. If you’re stuck in a situation where a valet is your best option, it’s always easier to have the cash to hand over quickly.

3. When in a rush – There have been a couple of times I’m at a restaurant with coworkers and the server is swamped. The server is trying their best, but everyone is attempting to fit lunch in a 1-hour period. Rather than waiting for the server to process your credit card and return. It’s easier to lay down the cash and return to the office.

4. Soda Machines – It’s impressive to see the number of soda machines that now accept credit cards. However, it’s not yet universal implemented and many machines still only accept cash. In these moments when you absolutely need caffeine, carrying cash is handy!

5. Tipping – I’ve shared my thoughts on tipping before, and I now tip 20% for everything I do. Yet there are many situations, other than restaurants, that tipping is standard and credit card payments may not be an option.

One example was a Bike Bar I recently celebrated with friends (photo below of our Bike Bar). We paid the $234 through their online portal weeks in advance but that didn’t include the tip for our host. After a great trip, we tipped our tour guide with $40 because he went above and beyond. No one had a credit card processing machine on hand, and we didn’t want the extra hassle of finding our host on Venmo or PayPal. So we handed over cash, it’s still the easiest way to transfer money in person.

6. Special Discounts – This relates to #1 with the “minimum credit card purchase”. Many stores offer special discounts to people who pay with cash. This saves the store from paying a credit card processing fee and eating into their profits. Plus you save a few dollars when those savings are passed onto you.

7. When Your Credit Card Breaks – This is a thing. I’ve been at the grocery store many times with my credit card, and the “Chip” unexpectantly fails. Sometimes the card is dirty, sometimes the processing machine doesn’t like the angle of the card. Either way, it’s an embarrassing feeling to hold up a line while a tiny machine angrily honks at you. At times like these, having cash is a quick lifesaver and contingency plan to failing technology. It’s bound to happen, so being prepared helps!

Can you think of any other examples of when you might use cash over a credit card?

4 Reasons You Don’t Really Own Digital Movies You Buy on Amazon

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Let’s face it, we are in the age of digital media. Companies like Amazon and iTunes have made it so convenient for us to buy movies off their digital marketplace. We no longer need to go to the store to buy a physical DVD or Blu-Ray anymore. We can just buy a movie online and stream it instantly. However, do you actually own the digital movies you buy?

Let’s look at the most popular movie this year. Avengers Endgame is now available to purchase. You have the choice to buy the “digital movie” or a physical DVD/Blu-Ray. In both cases you’re actually buying a personal “license” to watch the movie, the difference is the format.

Yet, as you’ll learn, there’s a big difference between digital movies and the physical movies you’re used to buying.

4 Reasons you don’t really own digital movies you buy on Amazon

1. You can’t access your movie whenever you want

Whenever you want to watch a digital movie, you have two barriers to overcome. First, you need to have internet access on the device you want to watch, or thought ahead and have the movie downloaded to that particular device.

Then you also need to have Amazon’s proprietary software on that device to play the movie. Think app. Once you have those, you just need to pray your movie won’t be interrupted by constant buffering or their servers fail.

2. You can’t sell your movies or let friends borrow them

Ever been to a yard sale? You can usually find some awesome movie titles for sale. For the seller, it’s one of the easy ways to make money and you get an awesome movie to take home. Later, you can make a few dollars back when decided to sell it in the future.

However digital movies are now stopping this practice.

Your digital movie is directly tied to your account. You are not allowed to let friends borrow them or sell your movies once you’re done. Your movie is directly tied to your account. If a friend wants to watch a movie, they have to watch it on your account or buy the movie themselves.

3. Amazon can lose the movie rights or cancel your account at any time, and lose all your movies

If you read the long, lengthy Amazon agreement when you buy movies. They state that you can watch your digital movies as much as you want (subject to the limitations described in the Amazon Instant Video Terms of Use)

Those limitations stated in their agreement include “Amazon will not be liable to you if Purchased Digital Content becomes unavailable for further download or streaming.”. Meaning that Amazon isn’t responsible if the movies you bought suddenly and unexpectantly disappear. Doesn’t it feel like buying a digital movie is more like renting it for a long time until an unknown deadline when Amazon loses the rights? Something that doesn’t happen with an old DVD.

This has actually already happened to people. Consumer Reports found one such individual who purchased the animated film “Puss In Boots” from Amazon for $14.99 later to be told that due to “licensing restrictions, videos can become temporarily unavailable”. A situation where the typical movie lover can feel powerless.

Amazon can also cancel your account at any time with no warning, they’ve done it before. In April 2018 Fortune Magazine found hundreds of Amazon Prime account users had their accounts deactivated by Amazon for no reason.

All of those people’s movies and music which they “bought” were gone. They no longer had access to anything and with no warning. Amazon later said they removed people’s accounts for violating their return policy (returning items is a negative thing now?) and if people were accidentally removed, they were “encouraged” to contact Amazon to clear the matter.

So Amazon removed a bunch of people from their accounts and movies then informed them it was their responsibility to fix it. Ouch.

4. If Amazon goes out of business, you’re screwed

Remember when Myspace was a big deal? Tech companies like Amazon seem so large that they’ll be here forever but the fact is, they won’t. At least not as the same company they are now.

If Amazon does go out of business, everything you ever bought digitally is lost. Movies, Kindle books, the works.

The fact is, everything digital you buy from Amazon, technically remains theirs. When they’re gone, so is everything digital you bought.

Conclusion

Amazon and iTunes make purchasing digital movies incredibly easy, and at times even cheaper than actual Blu-Rays and DVDs. However, by giving up the physicality of a movie you can hold, you lose a certain amount of control of when and how you can watch digital movies.

You can’t sell them, lend them to friends, watch them without internet access (unless pre-downloaded) and you’re constantly at the mercy of Amazon and iTunes hoping they won’t deactivate your account, lose their movie licenses, crash their servers or go out of business.

That may be fine for most people, but it’s important to know digital movies work and how much control you have.

Personally, I always buy physical copies of movies becasue they typically come with a free digital code anyways. It’s the best of both worlds.

Letter To My Younger Self About Renting An Apartment

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Last week Adam shared what it’s like “owning” a home for 2 years, so I thought I’d compare that to my 5 years of lessons learned “renting” an apartment.

HA!

I laugh because I’m going to hit on some of the age-old “renting vs owning” debates, with these lessons learned, but I won’t say which is better. Although you can probably tell from my comments throughout my letter. There are some things I wish I’d known, ideas I learned from renting experts like RENTCafé, and things I learned the hard way.

What I Would Tell My Younger Self About Renting

Dear Younger Self,

I’m 31 and still have never “owned” a home, but I have rented the past 5 years as an adult and 3 years before that in college, learning A LOT! Please make better choices than I/You did.

1. Always ask if there is a better price on rent. Many times there are deal or specials going on in an apartment complex that the leasing team doesn’t necessarily offer up front. However, a simple question of “can you do better?” will produce AMAZING results. I’ve received some amazing deals on apartments just because I asked that one simple question.

Also never quit asking that question, even when renewing your lease ask if they can do better. Sometimes, just sometimes they’ll come back with “I went to ask my manager and we can lower your rent for $100”. It never hurts to ask.

2. Maintenance is included in your rent, don’t hesitate to ask for needed repairs. I used to be so nervous about submitting maintenance requests not wanting to be a problem tenant. Even the small things like a slow leaking drain. I would go to the store to buy Draino to fix the drain myself. However, that’s not your responsibility. Maintenance is there to supply their own Draino to fix their building, it’s not your responsibility. Take advantage of your maintenance team for all those concerns. When in doubt, just ask your maintenance team about something and 9 out of 10 times, they’ll fix it.

3. When looking for Apartments, Studio Apartments are pretty great. To save you a couple hundred dollars, absolutely go for a studio apartment. They save you money, easy to clean and force you to assess what’s important enough to keep and throw away.

4. Location is everything. Think about those Uber receipts, where will you go every weekend and what personality type are you. If you’re a social person, you will absolutely hate living in the suburbs with a cheaper apartment. It’ll take you forever to get downtown to meet people and you’ll likely cancel plans to just stay home and avoid traveling. The extra money is worth it to live where you want to be.

5. Higher views are nice, but they don’t matter. Lots of apartment complexes make you pay extra the higher your apartment is. So someone on the 8th floor will pay more than someone on the 3rd floor. It’s not worth it, lots of times your blinds will be closed to block the sunlight glare on the tv. A better view only matters 5% of the time you live in an apartment.

6. It’s OK you don’t remember your Leasing Agents name, they’ll be gone in 6 months. Every time I apartment shopped, I created a great relationship with the Leasing Agent for the building. However, every time I did, 6 months later someone new would replace them. All that goodwill built up is instantly gone. The turnover rate for these positions is incredibly high.

7. Roommates are amazing, but living on your own is way better. I spent 3 years living with 2 amazing roommates (one of them was Adam). It was great to come home every day and chat with each other about our day and hang out. So I thought about living by myself would be lonely, it wasn’t. Living on your own is awesome! Once you live on your own, you’ll never go back! Lol

8. Constantly call your utilities to ask for better deals, there usually are. Once a year I call Xfinity for my internet and ask for a better deal and every year they find me one. Again it never hurts to ask.

9. You’re not likely to get your entire deposit back no matter how well you clean. I’ve been in apartments where I kept it spotless and even my parents helped clean when I moved out. However, no matter how well you clean, some apartment inspector will ding you for the smallest things and keep all or part of your deposit. While it’s not worth the effort of cleaning, you should still do it. Just know your deposit is likely gone.

10. Neighbors suck, so invest in earplugs, eye masks, and moderately noised fan. No matter where you go, you’ll have neighbors that every once in a while play music too loud or launch laser lights into your apartment as an afterthought (it happens). Unless this happens all the time, a set of earbuds, eye mask, and a fan to help drown out the noise are essential and help you avoid confrontations while your neighbors are drunk. It’s much better to speak with them in the morning.

Please make good choices,
Andrew

To Refinance Our Mortgage or Not? That is the Question.

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So we refinance? Today we quickly look at our situation. Then I ask for your opinion.

Short one today. I mainly want to start a conversation in the comments section to see what you fellow Squirrelers think about refinancing a home loan.

Here is some background.

My wife and I purchased our home for $285,000 two years ago. We put down 5% on the house so we are required to pay private mortgage insurance (PMI) each month. Currently, we have $260,000 left on our home loan.

Lately, we have been getting estimates that our home is now worth $330,000! After looking around at what else is selling near us, this estimate seems fairly reasonable.

All of this information has me asking, would it be worth it to refinance?

Costs

Refinancing is not cheap. According to Trulia, there are a lot of costs that could be hidden in the process. Those include…

  • Mortgage application fee ($250-$500)
  • Appraisal ($300-$600)
  • Loan origination and document preparation fee (1% of the total value of your loan)
  • Title search and title insurance ($200-$800)

Doing the math, it will cost us about right around $4,000. That is a lot of money!

My Thoughts

If we refinance, there is a chance we will be able to drop the PMI insurance because we will be above the 20% threshold. This will save us just over $100 a month.

Then there is a chance we can lower our interest rate. Currently, I am getting offers to get our rate lowered below four percent. If these offers hold true, we could save another $150 a month.

So after spending $4,000 for the refinance, we would save about $250 (just an estimate). It would take us 16 months to recover that $4,000.

Our home value might jump up another $20,000 in that time. Interest rates most likely will go up by then too, which would probably knock the question of refinancing out of the picture.

Conclusion

Since I am by no means an expert, I should probably set up a meeting with one. As home prices continue to climb in Denver, it might be best to wait one more year though. It is a gamble as interest rates most likely will rise before then as well.

What do you think? What would you do?

What I Learned About Life & Finance After A Legit Fire Alarm

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I live in an 8 story apartment building located in downtown Denver, Colorado. I choose to live here because it’s within walking distance to work and I always wanted to try downtown living with quick access to restaurants, bars and the plethora of city activities. However, I quickly learned that apartment buildings as an adult are very similar to college dorms as a freshman.

Yes, some apartments are nice, expensive and selective, but I don’t live there. I live in a regular apartment building where people are loud on the weekends and like to pull the fire alarm. Ugh!

Fire Alarm goes off

Literally the first weekend I moved into this apartment building, the fire alarm went off at 11:20 pm (that should have been a sign), I was still up and I freaked out, like nearly had a panic attack. I was in a new environment I wasn’t yet comfortable in, full of flammable boxes and everything I owned was moments away from going up in flames, literally.

Initially, I thought it was just a joke someone pulled the alarm because I’ve never been in a real fire before, but this building’s alarm was screeching. Deaf people down the street could hear it. So I popped my head into the hallway and sure enough, I saw smoke.

Fudgsicle (I don’t cuss a lot). This building is going to burn.

What’s important enough in my life to save

In this moment, the fire alarm is blaring, I see smoke and I’m covering my ears, trying to think what I should take with me. What do I save?

It’s funny to think about, everything I own is in a 582 square foot studio apartment. So I went from one end of the apartment immediately assessing the value of everything in a snap judgment.

  • Bookcase (Let it Burn) – It only has books, movies, and expensive art supplies. I can rebuy those later. Bye, bye first edition of the Harry Potter books.
  • Bed (Let it Burn) – Beds cost a ridiculous amount of money and I don’t want to pay for another one but it’s crazy to try to save a bed, no matter how comfy. Bye, bye bed.
  • TV & Gaming System (Let it Burn) – Funny how important buying a big tv is or how much time you spend watching Netflix, but in a moment like this, you’re so easy to leave it behind. These are replaceable, you can always get a new one. Bye, bye Xbox One.
  • Clothes (Took 2 Pairs of Clothes) – If everything was going to burn down, I would need a few sets of clothes to get through the next couple of days. I literally pictured myself going through the insurance claims over following weeks, so I wanted some clothing I could get by in. I grabbed some shirts, socks, pants, boxers and a jacket.
  • Kitchen (Let it Burn) – Who am I kidding, I barely cook. There is absolutely no food or kitchen appliance/utensils that I would want to save. Sorry Chef Ramsay, bye, bye kitchen.
  • Computer (Take the Computer) – I pretty much live my life through my computer for both personal and work stuff. While you can always buy a new computer, it was the documents on it that held the importance. Since it’s such a big part of my life, plus I imagined I would need it for any paperwork I needed to submit to the insurance. So the computer came with me.
  • Golf Clubs (Let it Burn) – I wouldn’t have time to play while drowning in my tears over my burnt apartment. Goodbye putters.
  • Hiking Bag (Let it Burn) – I actually considered taking the hiking bag with me. It already had all my hiking gear in it. Like my tent, sleeping bag, supplies and even some MREs. Everything I figured I would need to live in the street for a bit. However, I decided against it because I would probably crash with a friend. I was really iffy on this, but the bag can burn.
  • Firebox of important documents (Took with me) – All my important documents like my car title, social security card, passport and everything are kept in a fireproof lockbox, a very heavy lockbox. So while I figured it would likely survive a fire, I was paranoid and threw it in my duffle bag.
  • Wallet, Keys, Phone (Took with me) – These were probably the most important because they were the first thing I thought of. Especially the wallet (ID, credit cards, cash). Anything I didn’t have I could bye. So these came with.

Lastly, since I knew everything in my apartment would burn, I snapped a few photos from different angles on my phone so I could show my renter’s insurance everything they needed to reimburse me more.

So in a span of 3 minutes, while the fire alarm was blaring, I assessed the entirety of my life assets and deemed them worth saving or not. Isn’t that crazy to think about?

When I left my apartment, the most important things I owned was a set of legal documents, a computer, my phone, 2 set of clothes and my wallet. That’s it. It really makes you wonder what’s important enough in your life.

How the night ended

I grabbed my duffle bag full of the most important “things” in my life and took off down the hallway. Since I was still new, I had no idea where the stairs were. Luckily building codes require them to be posted around the elevators. So taking the stairs, I excited outside along the sidewalk with the rest of my 200 apartment residents. Then the fire trucks came.

Fireman charged through the doors and disappeared leaving everyone moseying around and chatting amongst ourselves. Conversations could be overheard of “dumb drunk people” to “did you see smoke, I saw smoke”.

We were left on the sidewalk with no information for 20 minutes before we heard the fire alarm go off and the firemen exit the building. We were given the all clear and started to walk in. As I passed, I could hear the building manager speak to some other tenants explaining that someone on my floor came home drunk and attempted to cook on the stove, filling the apartment and our floor with smoke.

Silly drunk people.

Seriously the fastest way to assess your life’s stuff

While I went back to my apartment a little angry for the whole ordeal. I was bewildered that I was currently holding everything important in my life.

Likewise I discovered what wasn’t important and how easily I thought “oh, I could always just buy another one”. All of my “stuff” had a price tag and was so easily replaced. It forced me to wonder what is actually important in my life. What can I get rid of and what do I actually need. Also what new stuff do I actually need to buy and would I actually save it in a fire? If not, do I really need it?

Of course, I don’t ever recommend you wait till your house/building is on fire to do a life assessment, but it is a challenging exercise to wonder what handful of your things you would save in a fire.

What would you save?

Summer Adventures Planned? Here is How You Can Save Money this All Summer Long!

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Have summer plans? Here is how you can save on your planned barbecues, traveling adventures, or celebrating the holidays. Don't let your fun weigh down your checking account. #traveling #summerfun #adventure #barbecue #savemoney #personalfinance

Happy Memorial Day everyone! This holiday is known for many different reasons, most importantly it is to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice to preserve the freedoms we often take for granted.

Andrew and I would like to say thank you to those soldiers who did make that sacrifice, including their families. It is because of their sacrifice we are able to freely blog about our crazy ideas. Many people around the world do not have the freedom to express their thoughts like we do here in the United States. We are very appreciative of what they have given so we can express ourselves freely.

Often we celebrate the freedom we have been gifted by spending our summer at barbecues, time outside, and traveling. Today I want to help give you ideas on how you can make your summer adventures better by saving money on these traditional activities.

To be honest, a lot of these saving tips can be used all summer long! Memorial Day weekend is the start of the summer celebrations.

BBQ

There are millions of barbeques that happen throughout the summer.

The grocery stores want to make sure you shop at their store instead of at their competitor’s store. To entice you to shop at their store and nowhere else they put on some amazing weekly deals. Make sure you take advantage of these deals by planning your event’s menu around the sales.

Also, download the Ibotta application. They will have additional deals going on that can help you can stack on top of the deals you already got at the grocery store.

Yard Games

A barbecue cannot be great without some backyard games.

There are so many yard games you could make yourself to save money on. Last year I built my own bags boards and saved us $100! It was very easy to do. They only took me about an hour to construct.

This does take some planning so I recommend you read my more detailed article about DIY backyard games.

Traveling

This summer (2018) is forecasted to be a horrible summer for traveling as gas prices inch higher and higher. Thankfully there are several ways for you to save on your travels.

Loyalty cards. My wife and I use the King Soopers loyalty card to help us save money at the pump. They even increase the number of points you earn from purchasing groceries over the summer months. We usually save 10 to 20 cents while fueling up because of this program.

Airbnb can be a great way to save on your accommodations especially if you are traveling with a group of people. Renting a house or condo that sleeps 8-10 people helps bring down the bill very easily. Also, you can cook your meals at the rental, saving you tons more money on food.

Lastly, there is nothing wrong with car camping. You can save a boatload of money by camping out. Typically a camping spot will only cost you $10 to $20! That sure beats the price of a hotel room by a long shot.

Shopping

Memorial Day weekend is one of the biggest sale weekends for retailers. If you are looking for a new mattress or outdoor clothing, this is the weekend to make your purchase.

I used to work at Dick’s Sporting Goods. They would put on some amazing sales over Memorial Day weekend. A lot of parents would take advantage of these sales to stock up on gear for the sports their kids are in.

If you miss out on this weekend’s sales, do not worry. The Fourth of July is right around the corner and there will be more great sales during that holiday as well.

Thinking Ahead

This is something I do for Christmas but really any holiday applies to this strategy.

Here is what you do. Go into the stores a day or two after the holiday has passed. All of the decorations will be on sale for you to use the following year.

I made a killing this past Christmas by going to Target a day or two afterward. I grabbed so many Christmas lights that were 50% off. Sure it sucks I couldn’t use them this year but I saved so much money by having some patience to wait.

Any Other Ideas?

These are just some of the ways on how you can save money this summer. They give you a wide variety of opportunities to keep money in your checking account.

What other ideas do you have to save money this summer?

How I Replaced Lunches With Meal Replacement Shakes To Save Money

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Looking to save some money on food? Andrew checked out the meal replacement shakes by Huel. Read his review to see what he thought. #savemoney #personalfinance #healthyeating

We’re all about trying new ways to save money (and time) on Wallet Squirrel. Here is one of my latest attempts to save both during my regular lunchtime meals. In short, this my story on how I replaced my lunches with a $2.36 Huel meal replacement shake for a week for a Huel Review.

First – What Is A Meal Replacement Shake?

These are shakes that contain all the nutrients you need in a meal. Everything we’re supposed to eat as humans to be healthy, but all contained in a shake. No more worrying if your meal is healthy or balanced, you have scientifically measured powder you mix with water and that is the meal of the future.

These really started to become more and more popular lately thanks to Gamers who didn’t want to waste time cooking. They wanted a fast and easy method to eat so they could get back to gaming with little effort. Plus if it was healthy, they would have more mental capacity and energy to continue gaming.

This movement resonated with a lot of people of today’s generation that also wanted an easy, ready-to-go meal replacement shake so they could continue their busy lives.

Are Meal Replacement Shakes Good?

Does it matter? If you’re drinking a nutritionally complete meal and for far cheaper ($2.36 per meal with Huel) than a regular meal. Does taste matter?

For most people, it’s still an issue. To these people, no it does not taste good! These meal replacement shakes are far from tasting good. At best you get bland and yes, that is best!

What Type Of Meal Replacement Shakes Are Available?

For this, I had to do some research. Normally I’m all about Hot Pockets, Pizza Rolls, and Ramen Noodles, so basically anything else on the planet is more nutritious for me than these. However, if I was going to go all in with a meal replacement shake, I wanted the best. During my research, I looked at 2 different meal replacement shakes that came highly recommended.

Huel & Soylent

Each of them had a loyal fan base and both fairly nutritional shakes, but I leaned towards Huel because it had a bit more protein per meal. Here is my one week Huel Review.

Huel Review: Here’s My Story Trying It For A Week

Pre-Huel Review – I spent about a week and a half researching Huel, reading reviews and listening to YouTube testimonials. I finally decided on Huel (located in the UK) and ordered off their website. I ordered 2 bags (28 meals) of their vanilla flavor. This is their recommended amount to buy your first time. Since it was my first time ordering, they gave me a free shaker and t-shirt. In total, it was $66.00.

I receive them in the mail about 2-3 days later, it was really fast delivery! I assume they have a distribution center in the US somewhere, otherwise, that was very quickly delivered from the UK.

I read on many of the reviews that people went to the extreme and replaced all of their meals with Huel for a week. That’s intense! In doing this, it took some time for their body to adjust to the alternate food source. They described some very embarassing gassy situations.

Sorry guys, I’m not doing that. I’m only replacing my lunches. I walk home for lunch every day with limited time to eat. I thought I’d substitute my lunches for this meal replacement shake to save both money and importantly time (also dishes).

Day 1 (it was rough) – It was the weekend so I tried I decided to try Huel early. I read the brochure that says 3 scoops is equal to 1 meal. So I throw 3 scoops into one of the shaker containers I already have and fill it with water. I didn’t think it mattered. The shakers I’m talking about have a metal wire ball that sits in the bottom and bounces around when shaken to additionally stir more of the protein mix in the water. I shake for about 2 minutes and take a drink.

AHHHHHHH, it was the weirdest taste of my life!

My face scrunched into a ball, shrinking as small as possible to hid from the strange taste of the Huel. I sat there motionless hoping it would all go away. In doing so, I tried to realize what was so off about it.

It didn’t have ANY flavor, it was the blandest thing I ever tasted! However it was the chunks of congealed powder that was the grossest thing ever. The powder clumped together in the water forming dry chunks of grit that caused my throat to revolt.

I just couldn’t deal with the chunks. It was the texture that got to me, texture wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. I was determined to finish it though, it was only Day 1. I kept taking drink after drink while working on something else to take my mind off it. In the end, it took me 4 hours to finish my first shake because my sub conscience wanted to delay the inevitable as long as possible. I seriously considered quitting this entire Huel review.

Day 2 – (it got better) – The next day was a Monday, so I came home from work and knew I had to try again. This time I had to do something about the chunks, I couldn’t take them anymore (YUCK)! So I threw the 3 scoops of powder, added water and dumped ice into a blender. I read ice helped in some other reviews. Then I let that concoction blend for a full minute. I’m sure 15 seconds would have been fine, but I wanted revenge at this point.

I poured the blended goo into the shaker they gave me. This shaker didn’t have a metal mixing ball like my others, but it did have a plastic mesh to help capture the large chunks of the powder from being drank. I appreciated this….

It actually wasn’t bad at this point. There wasn’t much favor but a complete lack of chunks really won me over. At this point, I realized maybe I could make it.

Day 3-7 (easy peezy) – The following days were easy and time-saving. I came home, set up the blender, added ice/water/powder, and poured it into my Huel shaker to drink. I began to finish the drink under 30 minutes (while doing something else). It wasn’t too bad and I eventually got used to the odd taste.

It’s not the worst thing in the world.

Moving Forward

I will probably continue to use Huel as my backup lunch option, like Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches, when I have nothing else in my fridge after this Huel review, but it’s such a good option that’s quick and cheap. My only hang up is I regularly have to wash the blender and single Huel shaker after every use. My goal was to have zero dishes for the ultimate meal replacement.

Would you try this to save money?

The Ultimate Reason Why You Should Buy Used Instead of New

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Always buying new? Instead you should buy used items! Here is why. #frugalliving #savemoney #frugal #personalfinance

It is always tempting to buy the newest and latest. It makes total sense, we are constantly bombarded with fancy marketing that is scientifically engineered to entice us to go out and purchase the newest cars, electronics, clothes, bikes, furniture, and so on.

Frankly, the only thing in my house I would not buy second-hand is a mattress. Well, I guess there are other obvious things such as a toothbrush, bike shorts, and a toilet seat.

So Why Buy Used Instead of New?

The answer is pretty obvious here, to save money!

Here is an example of the money you can save by buying used.

A few years ago, my wife and I moved to Colorado with only one car. We needed another one as our jobs were too far apart to carpool. When making a big purchase like this I wanted to buy a brand that lasts a long time. This left us with either Toyota or Honda (personal preferences). As you might know, both brands are not cheap.

To be able to make the purchase happen, we bought a Toyota that just came off of two-year lease with only 40,000 miles on it. This saved us $10,000 compared to if we bought brand new!

I have been able to save big chunks of cash like this because I purchased second-hand time and time again. I bought my camera used, saved me $800. My computer monitor was a display model, saved me $100. Our washer and dryer were used, saved us $1,000.

Instead of buying new, we should be breaking the habits of buying new and buy used instead. If the previous owner took care of them, a lot of the items listed above can easily last many more years resulting in major savings for your checking account.

Where to Buy Used?

There are plenty of resources to help you buy second-hand. These range from actual physical stores to online stores to mobile applications.

Physical Stores

  • Target, Best Buy, Home Depot, and so on: Yes, all of these are places you would typically buy first-hand but you can find items that were returned by people who just did not want the item. The items are perfectly good and are usually marked down 10%.
  • Goodwill: A great place to find used clothes, furniture, and other small household items.
  • ReStore: I love Habitat for Humanity ReStore. You can find used cabinets, tools, furniture, flooring, and so on. Not all of the items are second-hand but you get the second-hand pricing! In these cases, the items were donated brand new.

Online

  • Craigslist: If you do not know what Craigslist is, you have been living under a rock. But just in case that is you, Craigslist allows you to buy used items directly from other people in your city. They post, you contact, then go meet at a neutral meeting area and make the purchase. You can even sell the stuff you do not want anymore on the site.
  • eBay: Buy basically anything you wish from anyone around the world. Just like Craigslist, you can also sell unwanted items on the site.
  • Nextdoor: Very similar to Craigslist but a little more personable.

Mobile Apps

  • Letgo: Letgo also has an online web application as well but mainly markets its mobile application. The application is basically Craigslist but updated and more modern. Personally, I have never used this service but I have heard it is a nice service.

Conclusion

As we have learned, we should buy used instead of new (unless you are buying underwear) to help purchase needed items. This will help us buy those items while not breaking the bank.

If you are looking to increase your monthly income to help purchase necessities you should check out our Ways to Earn More Money page. Here Andrew and I personally review as many different ways to earn extra money as we can to help you decide if it is right for you.

I Just Got A Library Card and Quit Buying Amazon Audiobooks

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If you’re anything like me, you forgot entirely that libraries exist in our world of Amazon and Apple Books. These companies have made it so easy for us to instantly buy books & audiobooks that traveling to our local library doesn’t even cross our mind as an option.

I’m totally one of those people that bought books/audiobooks from Amazon and other stores. Honestly, it was fantastic and I would continue to do it if I had an infinite supply of money. However, like you, I don’t. Thinking about it, here are all the reasons I bought books/audiobooks in the past.

Reasons Why People Buy Books/Audiobooks

  • Owning a book is special – When you read a book that has a significant impact on you, it’s comforting knowing it’s always on hand to revisit again.
  • Never have to return a book you own – No late fees, ever.
  • You can lend it to others – Ever have a book that you want to share with others? Sharing books is a great feeling, letting others experience what you did.
  • Availability – Especially digital copies of books are always available for sale, you never have to wait till someone returns a book. The instant access to a book is very convenient.
  • Convenience – There are bookstores everywhere and online, they outnumber libraries. Although apps like “Overdrive” make it easier to borrow books from the library online, we’ll talk about that later.
  • Libraries are sometimes gross – I live downtown Denver, many of the city’s homeless utilize the library as shelter during the day. I think many libraries do around the country. People unfortunately often feel uncomfortable around these disadvantaged individuals and refuse to go to libraries for this reason.

Reasons Why People Borrow Books at the Library

  • It’s FREE to borrow books – This is a big freaking reason! People, like me, who want to save money should consider this reason as to why to give libraries a second look.

How Easy It Was To Get A Library Card Now-A-Days

I haven’t had a library card in years, I wasn’t even sure how hard it would be. Yet when I walked into our downtown library there was a large “Get A Library Card” sign, so I followed it.

I literally handed them my driver’s license, they copied the info and gave me a library card. The whole process took less than 5 minutes and I was told I could borrow up to 100 books at a time. 100 books seemed a bit much, I just needed one.

You Can Borrow Library Books/Audiobooks Online Now (It’s Called Overdrive)

The main reason I got a library card, and the reason you should too is the app “Overdrive”. Overdrive is an app on both the Apple App Store and Google Playstore that lets you connect you with your library’s online book collection. It allows you to borrow books & audiobooks online so you never have to visit a library. You’re just utilizing their online collection of books.

So Overdrive becomes a free Amazon where you can download books and audiobooks for free!

The only drawback is each library has a limited selection of books (still fairly big) and limited copies of those book licenses available. So your local library may have “Harry Potter & the Sorcerer’s Stone” but they may have only 5 copies. If those 5 copies are already “borrowed” you can be added to a waitlist and notified by email when it’s ready. Otherwise, if it’s available, you can download and listen immediately.

Cost Savings Over A Year

This is a significant re-discovery for me because I’ve been going through audiobooks like crazy lately at work. I put my headphones on and listen to some awesome books while working.

Recently I’ve been going through 2-3 books a month via audiobooks while working. Considering most Audiobooks on Amazon are around $25 (usually cost more than reading), those costs add up. If I were to listen to 3 books a month for a year, that would be $75 per month or $900 for the year. That’s crazy!

So now I use my library card and “overdrive” to listen for free. Sometimes they don’t have the books I’m craving at the moment, but I’m happy to find new ones in their collection. It makes me a bit more creative with my audiobook selections but I’m happy to be flexible in order to save money. Wouldn’t you? =)

Question: How Do You Get Your Books?