Swaptree

I signed up for a Swaptree beta invite bout a year ago (read about it in Business 2.0), and actually received my invitation about a month ago, pre-public release of the site. Swaptree.com went live to the public on July 4th 2007.

Here's how it works:

• List - Your stuff, and stuff you want.
• Relax - Swaptree finds people who want your stuff, and finds people who has stuff you want.
• Choose- Browse available swaps, everything is rated at equal value. Awesome factor? Swaps can involve up to eight people. That's one fancy algorithm.
• Swap - Print out pre-paid postage (charged to your credit card, really cheap), and swap.

There, you got something you wanted for free, and you gave up something you didn't want. You do pay postage, but it's minimal and since the other guy does it, I don't feel bad.

My Review: I swapped a DVD for a Book. My shipper was late shipping the book and didn't use the print out postage option, so I couldn't track the package (otherwise it's an awesome feature). There's no "mark as shipped" link for shippers, so that made me anxious as well. Finally I got the book and it was in crummier condition than listed, so I gave her a bad review.

Still, that could have happened on any site (Half.com, Amazon Marketplace).

I think Swaptree will work much better when there's more people on the site - Currently, unless you're posting a Sex in the City Season 6 DVD Set, your swaps are pretty limited. Best Sellers are good loot though - Easily swapped with other Best Sellers.

Overall Potential to be awesome, needs a very large community to work, and seems to be headed in that direction.

Bonus: Greasemonkey script that lives on Amazon.com pages, happily telling you if what you're searching for you can get for free on Swaptree, given your "I have" inventory.

Target Retirement Funds

I recently read a CNN Money Article talking about the 70 Best Mutual Funds. Vanguard reins across the board with regards expense ratios and returns. This article was a critical step in me moving my individual accounts from Schwab to Vanguard, where my employer retirement account already resides.

Without digging in too deeply to all the areas mentioned (Active Funds, Index Funds, ETFs, Target Retirement Funds), I'm going to focus on the Target Retirement Funds. I think that Target Retirement Funds are an exceptional option for those who are new to investing. They're a simple way to get on the right track with retirement, and require no balancing effort on your part.

These types of funds are special because they're an all-in-one balanced package, that will readjust with you (automatically) with every stage of retirement. When you're young, the fund is aggressive, and mostly allocated to the stock market. Around the time you turn 30, most target funds will begin to shift towards a larger bond load. This trend will continue into your 40's and so on, until you're retired, at which point you're almost entirely bonds and cash. Your money remains protected from risk at a time when you'll need to begin withdrawing.



Which Target Retirement Fund is right for you?

VFIFX - Vanguard Target Retirement 2050 has a .21% Expense Ratio, and the best returns of any funds listed here - granted we're looking at a very short history. $3000 Investment Minimum. No Load, No Fee.

SWERX - Schwab Target 2040 Fund has a .94% Expense Ratio, and a $100 Investment Minimum - a highly redeeming quality. No Load, No Fee.

TRRKX - T. Rowe Price 2045 has a .76% Expense Ratio, and a $1,000 Minimum to open an account, with a $50 investment minimum in this fund. No Load, No Fee.

I like Vanguard's the best - The expense ratio is very important, as it's the only annual price you pay for being in the fund. If you can't afford the $3000 Vanguard Minimum, go for Schwab's $100 entry fee (lowered from $500 earlier this year). Schwab is also very customer friendly and hands on. I had a good experience with them.

Long Beach Island - Weekend Getaway

Long Beach Island resides off the Jersey Shore, about a two hours away from Manhattan without traffic and a little bit of speeding. I'm a fan of heading down around 9PM. My boyfriend's parents have a house in Ship Bottom, on the bay side of the island, complete with boat, kayaks, hammocks, scrabble, chess, a ten minute walk to the beach, and a purposeful lack of electronics - no TV, no AC...

The town of Ship Bottom is reined by Mom and Pop shops of every beachy variety (mini golf, ice cream, snack shacks), you won't be at a loss for daily or nightly activities - be it for a weekend or for a summer. Ship Bottom also touts the best bagels I've ever (ever) had - Bageleddies (18th Street and Long Beach Boulevard). You have to get them before 12, when they're warm.

How to Get There: Car

Est. Time to Get There: 2 Hours

Highlights: Bageleddies

Pottery Barn Paint

No secret I'm pretty crazy about Pottery Barn. For all my musings about contemporary design, I can't help flipping through this catalogue and thinking "Ah, this is my living room." Still, I can't afford anything, so, there is no pottery barn in my apartment. Maybe one day. My boyfriend got the velvet curtains and hardware for his room and it's so serene - Pictured below.



To me, what really brings this room together is the paint. We used the (new since 2006) Pottery Barn paint line - Greenbrier Beige for the walls and Copley Gray for the trim. This was the first room I've done where I've used a darker shade for the trim (or, anything shy of white). The results were really wonderful. My local Ace Hardware worker Mark tells me that 95% of the paint he mixes is either white, or some very very light pastel. To me, why are you wasting your time and money (and effort) painting a room "almost" white. If you're painting, paint a color.
My living room is also painted in a Pottery Barn color - Wethersfield Moss, (I painted this before Pottery Barn had colors - they just so happen to include the green I used in their first paint collection...now, that's thinking alike.) Pictured below.

Since their first collection, they've come out with new colors every season. I'm not sure if I'm a fan of seasonal colors, since I'm not painting every six months, and I don't have seasonal houses - beach house, etc.

Overall, I don't think you can go wrong with the Pottery Barn Paint line, made by Benjamin Moore and sold at Ace Hardware.

Biore Daily Deep Cleaning Pore Cleansing Cloths

I've been hooked on these cleansing clothes since High School. This what I like about them:

• They're a fast, easy way to remove all of your make-up (eye make-up included).
• They remove dirt and oil.
• They're not cold water, scrubbing soap, dripping, where's my towel (that isn't clean) ah experience.

I know they're sterilized, and they don't hurt your eyes so you can really dig in there with your hands and get all that mascara off. Some brands have acne medicine in them too - I'm fine w/ those. I'm also on board with the drug store version of these, because they're relatively expensive.

The 2 Refill Pack at Drugstore.com is only $9.99 - If you can snag some free shipping, this is the way to go.

Victoria's Secret Foldover Yoga Pants

While we're on the theme of Yoga. I bought these Foldover Yoga Pants from Victoria's Secret (online) several months ago. They were "2 for $40" - Inexpensive, amazingly flattering, amazingly comfortable.

They're now my go-to pants for the beach, the I just got home from work, and the gym.

Also great that you can order them in one of three lengths (30" inseam, 32" inseam, 34" inseam). I'm 5'2" and consistently getting everything hemmed for another $20 - Not in this case! The 30" inseam fit perfectly.

When I bought them there were more color options available, but the standards are still there. Still, I highly recommend these.

Ordering Rx's Directly From Your Insurer

A major maven milestone the day I learned how much money I could save by ordering my Rx's directly from Cigna (my healthcare provider). My employer offered me three choices as far as health care providers - Blue Cross PPO, Cigna PPO, and Cigna HMO. To me they read $40 a Month / $40 a Month / $0 a Month...

I went with Cigna HMO, 0$ a Month. It was really an amazing stack up deal - I pay nothing for pretty much everything except regular check ups - which have 10$ co-pays, and must be with an in-network doctor. I pay either $10 / $20 / $35 at the local drugstore for my Rx's - Depending on if they're generic, brand name, or really special brand name.

I take two prescriptions - Seasonale (Birth Control) and Zyrtec (Allergies). My drug store was charging me $30 for a pack of Seasonale's generic (3 Mo. Supply), and $105 for a 90 day supply of Zyrtec - Which doesn't have a generic, and is in the $35 really special brand name bracket.

To make a long story short - Cigna.com quoted me $20 for 90 days of (Generic) Seasonale, and $20 for (Generic) Allegra - Almost Zyrtec. Free Shipping, No Sales Tax. They charge your credit card (oo, points!), and deliver your Rx's automatically. You can order refills online - Cigna will call your doctor to confirm.

Current Monthly Spend on Rx's - $45
New Monthly Spend on Rx's - $9

Yearly Savings - $432 + Saved Sales Tax

My Recommendation: If you're insured, look into this.