Jill Russo Foster

Tips for Successful Personal Finances

Resources

         This Resource page is something that I have personally put together over the years and have either personally used the service or have been referred to by a trusted associate.  We have many requests for links to be added to this page and we do NOT accept them and will NOT respond to requests.

This page is for information purposes only. It is not meant to be legal, tax and/or financial advice and should NOT be relied upon or treated as legal, tax, and/or financial advice. Please consult your financial and/or legal advisors for specific information regarding your personal circumstances. All resources have been personally selected to support you.

**AFFILIATE LINK DISCLOSURE**
Many links used are for informational purposes only. Other links, Jill Russo Foster has an affiliate relationship with. If a link is an affiliate it will be clearly noted with ** so that you are aware that Jill Russo Foster may receive a percentage of the purchase price if you chose to buy the linked product. There is no difference in price to you.

Banking

Charities

  • Give.org There should be a larger percent going towards that cause than to the people running the charity.

Credit and Financial Information

Credit Report

  • AnnualCreditReport.com – The government has authorized you to receive one free credit report from each of the three credit reporting agencies.  Sign up for my newsletter Money Choices and receive a reminder three times per year to order your free credit report.

Credit Score

  • MyFico (your official score – you will be charged a fee)
  • CreditKarma (free close approximation of your official score)
  • CreditSesame (free close approximation of your official score)
  • Quizzle.com (free close approximation of your official score)

Financial Education

Medical Bills

Retirement

  • Ballpark Estimate Online – An easy-to-use, interactive tool that helps you quickly identify approximately how much you need to save to fund a comfortable retirement.

Student Loan Information

Declutter – Donation, Recycle and Sales Sites

There are many places in each and every community, think locally (local non-profits, schools, organizations and more in your community) in addition to these national suggestions.

Appliances

  • Renovation Angel accepts high end appliances and more.
  • Check with your local utility companies, ours will remove appliances for free.

Automobiles

  • Locally, contact your fire department or auto / technical schools; some will take cars for training purposes.  In addition, many charities will accept donation of cars for resale.

Blankets, Towels and Linens

  • Donate only if in good condition to local shelters for the homeless, battered women safe homes or to your local humane society / animal shelters.

Building Materials / Home / Household Items

Business Attire

Clothing / Shoes

  • Local consignment shops, thrift shops and charities
  • Retro / Vintage stores for vintage clothing typically more than 20 years old
  • Donate My Dress for Prom and Special Occasion Dresses and your local high school.  In addition, formal wear can also be donated to the theater department as costumes – think schools and local theater companies.
  • Suits both Men’s and Women’s
  • OneWarmCoat.org
  • Nike Re Use A Shoe Program to recycle your old athletic shoes.  Nike stores have a collection box.

Computers / Electronic Equipment / Cell Phones

Cork

Eyeglasses . Hearing Aids

Furniture

Luggage

Make Up

  • Saks Fifth Avenue In Store drop off or visit website for prepaid mailer. Empty packaging (from all brands) including plastic tubes, cream, pots, pumps sprays, jars, complex closures and empty glass packaging, lip balm tubes and caps, soap dispensers and tubes, body wash caps, lotion dispensers and caps, shampoo bottles, conditioner bottles, hair gel tubes, pumps, spray bottles, triggers and complex closures, lipstick cases, lip gloss tubes, mascara tubes, eye shadow cases, bronzer cases, foundation packaging, powder cases, eye shadow tubes, concealer pots and concealer.

Markers

Media: Books / Magazines / CD’s / DVD’s

  • PaperBackSwap.com to swap with others.
  • Better World Books to have them shipped to people around the world.
  • Second Spin to trade in your CD’s, DVD’s and more.
  • Discogs for music – vinyl, CD’s, cassettes and more.
  • Book Scouter for textbooks.
  • The Pinwheel Project – children books and candy.
  • Contact used book stores and libraries for what they accept.
  • Contact local schools and hospitals.
  • Nursing homes / Veterans services.
  • Some doctor’s offices and hair salon will take them.

Packing Foam or Peanuts

  • Local packing and shipping store or reuse the next time you ship a package.

Photos, Slides and Movies

  • Southtree great service for digitizing your family’s memories from all media types.

Stuffed Toys / Toys

  • Local firehouses sometimes accept donations of stuffed toys to give to children after fires / traumas.
  • Local animal shelter to comfort pets.
  • We also have a church thrift shop that will accept them and they sell them for pet toys.
  • Mattel will recycle old toys.

Sporting Equipment

Toys / Video Games

Declutter – Online and Resale Sites

Discounts & Rebates

Grocery Shopping

  • Coupons
  • CTSmartBuys (Connecticut only).
  • Your local stores website for their online coupons and discount programs.

Healthy Living

Food, Fitness and Personal Care

Organization

Recycling

There are many ways to recycle at home. We personally use a rain barrel to collect water for our garden and flower beds. We compost some of our waste, grass clippings and leaves. We carefully consider what to do with the rest of our trash.  Our town has a great recycling program. Newspapers, mixed paper, all plastics, metal,  glass and cardboard go to our transfer station in town.  We do this all the time.

We participate in several town and state “special day” programs, such as “hazardous waste day”, “prescription / over the counter medication disposal day”, “sneaker recycle day”, “America Recycles” and others. You can find information on special disposal days near you by going to your state or city website.  We are on the email list for our local politicians and receive announcements of these special events.

Electronic Trade In Programs at certain times of the year. Check the stores that sell electronics website for details. You might be able to earn money back.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) – Find your state on the  Environmental Protection agency website. Look for ReUse Centers and Material Exchanges. You should find a list of locations in your state where you can donate and/or buy reusable goods.

Grocery Stores – many stores will accept your plastic bags for recycle.  Paper bags can be giving to local organization that deliver food / meals.

Home Depot – has drop off boxes and accepts used light bulbs and old batteries at their stores.

Verizon Wireless Stores – electronic items. They  accept cell phones, tablets, netbooks and mobile hotspot devices from any carrier AND you may be eligible for a gift card. For every device recycled, they will also make a $1 contribution to HopeLine®. Learn more here: VerizonWireless.com

Retail Shopping

  • Billeo.com helps you to find the lowest price on the item you want to purchase online.
  • CarFax.com – you can check to see if a car you are buying is considered a lemon. This is listed under FREE services.
  • Consumer Action Handbook – helps consumers with making purchases and getting help with problems and complaints.  You can download your free copy at their website.
  • Price Grabber

Stopping Spam and Calls

Unwanted Mail – to reduce your unwanted mail www.DMAChoice.org, www.OptOutPrescreen.com  & www.CatalogChoice.org.

Unwanted Phone Books – to stop receiving paper copies of some phone books www.YellowPagesOptOut.com

Unwanted Phone Calls – The FDC offers www.DoNotCall.gov or 888-382-1222. Or, you can use a private service like NoMoRobo.com. It’s free for your landline and a small monthly fee for your cell.

Travel

Recommended Books

Cash, Credit and Your Finances: The Teen Years by Jill Russo Foster

Thrive In Five: Take Charge of Your Finances in 5 Minutes a Day by Jill Russo Foster

111 Ways To Save by Jill Russo Foster

The Complete Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczyn

Not Buying It: My Year Without Shopping by Judith Levine

Trash or Treasure: Guide To The Best Buyers by Tony Hyman

Living Large in Lean Times by Clark Howard

29 Gifts by Cami Walker

The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous and Broke by Suze Orman

The Law of Divine Compensation on Work, Money and Miracles by Marianne Williamson