Updated June 26, 2015

Frequent-flyer programs are one of the best travel perks to come on the market in the past 30 years. I mean, who doesn’t love a free ticket? Even though nothing will rack up points as fast as a round-trip to Milan, there are plenty of wallet-friendly ways to pile up miles.

Here are my favorite tricks:

1. Will fly for food

Check to see if your grocery store has a rewards program and bank points just for buying stuff you would anyway.

Safeway and United Airline’s Grocery Miles program ended last year, but Continental and ShopRite have a partnership; you can earn 1 mile for every 2 dollars you spend.

2. Know your numbers

Every time you rent a car or stay in a hotel, check to see if you can earn miles with an airline.

Keep a list of all of your frequent flyer numbers so you can register right away. It’s much harder trying to collect miles after you’ve completed your trip.

3. Check in frequently

Check your main frequent flyer account’s website for partnership programs. Stop in on a regular basis because programs change and there are lots of limited-time offers.

For example, at the moment you can earn up to 2,200 miles on airlines like Delta when you see a Broadway show, or 1,000 miles on American every time you order through Teleflora.

4. Give yourself some credit

Use a miles-earning credit card, all the time. However, be careful of cards that charge annual fees or high interest rates.

By most estimates, one mile equals about one cent, so some cards may not be worth it. Check out nerdwallet.com for ratings and comparisons on a bunch of airline mile cards.

5. Go the extra mile

Don’t chuck your airline’s miles program newsletter. You can often find easy opportunities to earn miles, such 500 miles for signing up for e-mail alerts or for joining a hotel rewards program. For news about miles-earning opportunities on all the airlines, sign up for the FrequentFlier.com newsletter.

Yes, flying is expensive. But if you’ve got to do it, you might as well chip away at earning that free ticket — just by living your life.

When my husband and I moved back to the U.S. with two children, after living in Italy for four years, we needed a lot of stuff quickly: from mattresses to hairdryers, mops to CD players. My approach to shopping could unfortunately be best described as “stab in the dark.” Read more at Parentables…

Read more at Parentables…

Making friends and joining groups is one of my favorite ways to save money and boost happiness.

However, if you’re shy, new to a place, or work full-time, it’s not always so easy.

If you don’t already know Meagan Francis, author, columnist and blogger at The Happiest Mom, you should. A work-at-home mother of five, Meagan is wise beyond her years.  She’s also down-to-earth, funny and helpful.

After reading some excerpts from her upcoming book with Parenting magazine, I realized a few things about myself.   (Meagan often replaces vague notions with “aha!” moments.)

For example, she helped me articulate that I’m not the most gregarious person — I don’t go up to people and say, “What a cute baby!”  or “Hi, my name is Amy.  Do you live around here?” But I love it when someone else does.  (Thank you to all those gregarious souls!)  Another realization:  instead of flitting among people like a social butterfly, I thrive on one-on-one time with a few good friends.

As Meagan points out in Why is it so hard to make mom friends?, it feels really good to talk to other moms when there is a shared interest — beyond the fact that we all have procreated. Small talk stinks, as she puts it, and a good way to get beyond it is to seek out people who love what you love.

Perhaps that’s why I like joining or starting groups where a special interest unites.  For example:

• a PTA connects parents who have kids in the same school
• a book or craft group unites people who love reading or creating things
• a babysitting co-op unites parents who want to save money and meet people

Moms groups are great too. I used to be like Groucho Marx who didn’t want to join any club that would have him as a member.  But when we moved to Syracuse without knowing a soul, and I was too busy with a new baby and work to do the legwork myself, the local MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group saved me.

What do friends have to do with saving money again?

Friends help each other out — with favors and tips, hand-me-downs and childcare.  Want more?

1.  Talk therapy instead of retail therapy

If you’re bored and lonely, doesn’t Target look a lot more attractive?  When I get busy, it’s a chore. When I’m down in the dumps, it’s an exciting outing.

2.  A venue for organized sharing

Groups can take co-operating to the next level with toy or clothing swaps, neighborhood tool sheds, carpools or walking schoolbuses.

3.  Loneliness is bad for your health

Lonely people get sick more often.  The Economist just cited a study that found that “the effect on mortality of loneliness is comparable to that of smoking and drinking.”

4.  Happiness begets happiness

This is more nebulous but let me take a shot:   If you are happier, your partner is happier, your children are happier, and things just go better. When things go well, more good things happen. Like achieving your financial goals or realizing your career dreams.

Do you have the friends you need?

If your babysitter quit, or if it’s been raining for 3 days straight but you can’t face going to the children’s museum alone, or you’re thinking about messaging an old boyfriend, or if something major happened to you — do you have the friends you need?  Check out Meagan’s post Find Your Tribe as well as her other tips:

Five secrets to building a social life as a mom

Why is it so hard to make mom friends? Solutions to 2 common obstacles

Dealing with mom cliques? 5 ways to create your own “in-crowd”

If aren’t an extreme couponer, and you prefer not to stockpile, invest in industrial-sized jugs of ketchup, or drive to six different stores, don’t fret.

There is a quick and simple way for you to seriously cut your grocery bill and feed your family whole fresh foods. Read more at Parentables…

Read more at Parentables…

The average U.S. family spends $1,881 on clothing per year. With kids growing like sunflowers in August, many families are spending a lot more.

This week at Parentables, I share my favorite ways to spend no (or very little) money on clothing for kids. Head over there to read more.

Poor Starbucks.  It seems like every article, post and news story about budgeting attacks the luxury latte, as if it were the source of all evil.

It’s not evil, but let’s say the $4 coffee is just another curlicue on the gilded pillars of the last few decades.

And by the way — I’m not going to tell you to stop buying your cappuccino.  If you get great pleasure from it, you should buy it. Budgeting, after all, is about defining your priorities, loves and hopes, and then spending accordingly.

Protect Your Wallet, Feed Your Coffee-Loving Soul

Here are my weapons in this mission:

1. A Krups mini espresso machine, and
2. a can of Bustelo coffee.

OK, the machine you get, but Bustelo?

Mining the Black Gold Market

As I wrote in Explore the Ethnic Aisle to Save Money at the Supermarket,  I had a hard time finding a budget brand that compares with the chocolatey taste and aroma of pricey Italian coffee, until I tried Bustelo, a Cuban-style espresso.

Bustelo costs one-fourth as much as the upscale Illy, and you know what?  It tastes just as good.  And — in case this matters — it’s hip now too.  (The New York Times Style section reported that Bustelo, long a bohemian staple, has now made it into the young and trendy party scene.)

I was curious:  how much does making my coffee at home every day save me, over buying it at a place like Starbucks?

If you want to hash out with me all the nickels and dimes, see The Math, but here’s the kernel:

In Ten Years, Buy a Car with Coffee Money

Coffee made at home for my husband and me — a double-shot latte with no foam and an espresso macchiato — cost us $0.39.

We save $3.24 every day over buying similar drinks at Starbucks.

• One year savings = $1,183
• Ten year savings = $11,830

We just bought a used car for about that amount.  It’s amazing to think that, over the 10 years of our marriage, we paid for it by drinking homemade coffee.

Why I Love Making my Coffee at Home

Coffee shops are still a great place to hang out and meet up with friends.  But I’m going to stick with my daily grind.  Besides the savings, here are some more reasons why I love making my own coffee:

• The promise of drinking it helps me get out of bed in time.
• It’s less wasteful — no paper cups, sugar packets, stirrers, or plastic lids.
• Both my husband and I prefer the tactile pleasure of drinking out of ceramic cups.
• Did I already say I can drink it as soon as I get up?  In my pajamas.
• The aroma fills my house in the morning.
• I can make it in less time than it takes to order, wait and pay for a Tall Cafe’ Latte with Whole Milk.

Three Lessons Learned

1.  Black coffee drinkers are frugal.

Milk costs more than coffee!  (See The Math.)

2.  Small changes make a difference.

As J.D. Roth of Get Rich Slowly explains in his core tenets, big changes are not the only answer.  Small amounts matter.

3.  Start doing it for money.  Keep doing it for love.

So many of our family’s habits have been shaped by our tight budget.  But over time, I’ve realized that they’ve made us happy, and who we are.

Photo credits:  cappuccino, smiley coffee, glass cup.

We all face obstacles when it comes to reigning in spending. But there are ways to climb over these hurdles — or at least make peace with them. Do you recognize your life here?  More at Parentables…

More at Parentables…

If you are feeling nerded-out by all this tax talk, here is a little antidote:

The Birds and Bees Talk Too Soon?  I told my 5-year-old how babies are made, an essay of mine that Babble published last week.

Being featured by my favorite parenting web magazine has been one of my dreams, so pardon me if I scream. Ahhhh!

And perhaps an even greater compliment was this spin-off essay from one of Babble’s Strollerderby bloggers, John Cave Osborne:  When and How to Discuss the Birds and the Bees? (Remember the book, Where Did I Come From? That’s how I was educated by brave old Dad, but Osborne quotes a passage in his piece that I must have blocked out.  Yikes.)

Recently I wrote about how I wanted to make blogging pay off by getting writing assignments, and how I hoped that going for what I loved would bring success.

So with this article in Babble, an upcoming piece in Family Times magazine, and a few other exciting projects in the pipeline, I’m definitely moving in the right direction.

Even though I’m not sure if my checks will cover a cart of groceries, maybe there is some truth to that point in Pretty Neat: Get Organized and Let Go of Perfection:  people who regularly write down their goals earn nine times as much over their lifetimes as people who don’t.

What do you think?  Or more importantly, how did you learn about the birds and the bees?

These days an accountant charges about $300 to prepare an itemized tax return, and a walk-in service averages about $200.  While I am so thankful these services are there for when things get complicated, I am equally grateful for the budget choices. (As I explained recently I started taking the route of tax prep websites and software once my taxes got simpler.)

Web-Based Tax Prep Software:  Free and Pretty Cheap

Most people with typical situations, such as a mortgage, two incomes, investments, charitable gifts, even self-employment income, can use tax prep software.  The New York Times this week road-tested the most popular tax prep software programs — TurboTax, H&R Block at Home, and TaxACT.

Unless you have multiple returns to complete, you’ll save money by doing your taxes online, as opposed to downloading the software to your computer or buying it in a boxed CD.

You’ll score the ultimate discount — i.e. get your taxes done for no cost — if you use one of these brand’s free federal versions.  You’ll probably get bugged a bunch of times to upgrade to “make sure you get the biggest refund,” but if you don’t mind the noise, your taxes are fairly simple, and you don’t need a lot of hand-holding, this is a great option.

Unfortunately the free versions do not include state returns.  You can still make it free if you wing it on your own, or pay an additional fee to get help with filing.

If you used any of these web services last year, you’ll probably fall for the ploy (as I did) that the “deluxe” version is best for returning customers.

Here is what you’ll pay for the deluxe versions of both the federal and state returns completed online:

• TurboTax:  $66.90 (see below for discount information)
• H&R Block at Home:   $64.90
• TaxACT:  $17.95

I used TurboTax again this year, because I thought it would be speedier to use the same program, but I’m totally going to try one of these free versions next year.  As long as I don’t do something crazy like earn income from farming.

Finally, I love that all the above programs will allow you to try any of their paid versions online for free.  You pay only when it comes time to file, so it’s easy to test out different brands risk-free.

TurboTax

TurboTax is the favorite among testers.  It is also the most expensive.  However, as Oneida mom Jen from JenSpends.com pointed out in my last post about taxes, most people can get a 15% to 35% discount through their financial institution.

Hundreds of banks and investment companies — such as Bank of America, Alliance, M&T, Chase, and USAA — have partnered with TurboTax to offer discounts to their clients.  Keep in mind that you must initiate every TurboTax session through your bank’s website.

To make sure you get the discount, follow these steps:

1. Log into your financial institution’s website
2. Search for TurboTax
3. Click on the bank’s discount program link to enter the TurboTax site (the first time and every time you work on your taxes)

These programs are great, but beware of hidden charges. For example, TurboTax tried to get me to sign up for extra services, such as deducting their fee from my refund (instead of paying with a credit card) — without telling me upfront that it would cost an additional $39.95.

H&R Block at Home (formerly Tax Cut)

The reporter found that Block at Home works as well as TurboTax.  He did complain that it wasn’t able to pull information from his financial institutions, even though it should be able to, but I found the same glitch with TurboTax.

(I personally don’t find this feature to be that helpful:  by the time I’ve entered all my personal and bank information and passwords, I could have just typed in the numbers myself.)

H&R Block at Home does offer some free extra insurance:  if you are audited, a Block agent will help you out, and even go with you if you have to appear at the IRS.  This benefit is even offered with the free version of their website.

TaxACT

Referred to as the Wal-Mart of tax prep software, TaxACT‘s most obvious asset is its price.  At $17.95 for the online deluxe version of both federal and state, TaxACT is one-third the price of TurboTax.

ConsumerSearch, a website that collects and analyzes reviews, says that TaxACT “is quick and accurate, according to reviewers, but it isn’t as sophisticated as more expensive tax software like TurboTax Deluxe… However, if you have a fairly straightforward tax return or don’t require much handholding, reviewers say TaxACT is an incredible bargain.”

Face-to-Face and Online Help:  All Completely Free

If you’re fine about filling out your taxes on your own, you deserve an award — for your smarts and your thrift.  But here are a bunch of ways to get some hand-holding, all for free.

If You Are a Self-Starter

Here is a way to patch together an online system that looks similar to one of these tax prep websites, at completely no cost.

Check out H&R Block’s Get It Right.com, where you can ask tax questions and get free answers from H&R Block tax professionals.

Then open another window and pull up Free Fillable Forms, an IRS-sponsored program that offers electronic versions of paper IRS forms.  Here’s how it works:

• Create a password so you can sign in and out of your return
• Choose your form: 1040A, 1040, or 1040 EZ
• Use the internal calculator to do the math
• E-file for free or print and mail your return

If You Earn $58,000 or Less and You Like Working Online

The silver lining of having a “low to moderate income” is that you’ll find lots of free tax assistance.

For example, hundreds of brand-name tax prep companies, including TurboTax and H&R Block, offer gratis assistance to low-income filers. Check out the IRS’s FreeFile for more on this program and a list of companies that offer this free service.

While FreeFile is a federal program, many states (including New York) participate in a State Free File program that allows you to prepare and e-file your state taxes for free (usually for low- to moderate-income filers).  To see if you can use this service, just go to your state’s webpage for taxation and search for “FreeFile.”

If You Are 60 Years Old or Have a Moderate Income, and Like People

Tax-Aide is an in-person tax preparation service provided free by the AARP to taxpayers with low and moderate incomes, with special attention to those 60 and older. To find an AARP Tax-Aide location near you, search their database.  Often tax help requires an appointment to use the service.  Spots fill up fast, so sign up soon.

If Your Taxes are Easy

Through the end of February, H&R Block offers free assistance with 1040EZ returns at any of their retail offices nationwide.  (The cost to file a state return in an office is $39, but that might be something you could do on your own, especially if your taxes are EZ.)

If You Don’t Fit Into Any of These Categories

Public libraries often provide tax help at this time of year.  The assistance is usually catered to lower income and older individuals, but contact your local system to see if you qualify.  Or just stop by and beg.  If they’re not busy, I’m sure they’d have pity.  Another good reason to get on those taxes…now.