For many families, Target is the line item that shows up the most on credit cards. Whether it’s food, school supplies, or birthday presents, those superstores are a one-stop-shop. But they’re also a one-stop frustration if you’re trying to track spending. Who knows if the $100 went mostly to groceries or pet food or toothpaste? And by the time you find the time to figure it out, that receipt is long gone.

In recent months, I’ve been avoiding the big boxes. And I haven’t paid for toiletries in I can’t tell you how long.

Yes, I’m still showering and brushing my teeth. I’ve just been using up my travel-size toiletries collection. For years I’ve saved them from hotels and brought them home for camping trips or other times when small bottles are helpful. But lately, we stay with family or in hotels where we get new mini-bottles to use.

I’ve also been trying to master the CVS ExtraCare program.

1. Scour the weekly circular for items that are “free” after using your ExtraCare card. They are free because some deals will net you merchandise credit, called “Extra Bucks” equal to the purchase price you paid.
2. Save coupons to pair with those deals so you are essentially being paid to take an item away.

3. Keep those ExtraCare bucks that print out with your receipt in a safe place until next week and do it again.

Confused? Check out this overview from WayMore4WayLess.

I have enough free toothpaste, toothbrushes, razors, soap and bandaids to get us through many months. Off the top of my head, I can remember also netting free mascara, chocolate and antacids.

According to CVS, ExtraCare cardholders shopping the 33 CVS/pharmacy stores in Minneapolis received nearly $500,000 in Extra Bucks rewards in 2007.

Karena Nafstad found auto insurance for her 2002 Jeep Liberty at a rate $400 lower than she’s currently paying. But the 31-year-old from Minneapolis is not sold quite yet. It’s through warehouse club Costco. “Something about getting my insurance where I get my cheese in bulk doesn’t feel right to me,” she remarked via e-mail. She wants to know how to pick the best auto insurance for the money.

Insurance.com reports that auto insurance rates in Minnesota actually increased 2.9 percent in the second quarter compared to the first quarter, with the average lowest rate quote of $1,583.

Shopping for auto insurance is becoming more complex, with options such as pay as you drive entering the market. Here are some tips from St. Cloud independent insurance agent Shawn Wensel, president elect of the Minnesota Independent Insurance Brokers of America:

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Sorry I haven’t written lately. I’ve been dreaming about what to do with my stimulus check. I just received my letter from the IRS on Monday saying that the check should be in my mailbox by this Saturday. How time flies.

I’ve been thinking about what we should do with that $1,800 for months now and still haven’t made a decision. In fact, we have the rare occurrence of having an additional $10,000 burning a hole in my checking account from a finished a freelance gig.
And since the crystal ball is cloudy, keeping it liquid but away from evil Splurge’s reach (isn’t that a great name for some monster villain?) is my priority. ESPECIALLY after watching my parents’ flat screen TV for the first time yesterday. Golly is that nicer than my buzzing relic from the late-90s.

So I started to hunt for CD rates, beginning with bankrate.com. I picked a nine-month duration, just in case I owe Uncle Sam more than I expect.

Surprise! You are still not rewarded for locking your money away any more than you are for depositing it in a high-yield savings account earning around 3 percent online.

To be honest, I’m bored with high-yield savings accounts, though. I know that safe savings isn’t supposed to be exciting. But curious to see what other relatively risk-free options are out there, I hit the web.

I’ve mentioned Everbank’s world currency CDs before. And while I have enough money to invest in certain flavors, I could lose principal if the price of the currency I’m invested in takes a dive.

I could help finance someone’s business in a third-world country through Microplace, but nine-month terms yield less than 2 percent. Feeling good might be worth the 1 percent I give up, but if I needed the cash, I’d be out of luck.

So readers, the sum sits in my ING account, twiddling its thumbs at 3 percent. Any other ideas?

I diligently check the monthly Personal Income and Outlays report put out by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. It’s a poor measurement of true savings because it’s simply a snapshot at the end of the month of how much money you have lying around, but I look at it nonetheless because it’s the number people point to when they chide Americans for having a negative savings rate.

Well, ha!

Today, I saw an eye-rubbing, is-this-a-typo savings shift. Personal savings as a percentage of disposable income was 0.4 percent in April. In May it was a whopping 5.0 percent!

See for yourself.

Maybe it was that the economic stimulus checks or the tax rebates came in and Americans didn’t have time to spend them before the month was up. Maybe all the bad news has caused us to hunker down. Perhaps we’re beginning to realize that going to the mall every Saturday is not exactly living the good life.

Whatever the reason, I have to say it was a pleasant surprise, although surely we can save more. And I think accurate* reports of our negative savings rate are history.

* I’m sure misinformed people will still say we don’t save for months, if not years to come. Publicly challenge those people for me, would you? Especially financial planners doing seminars trying to convince you to give them your money by scaring the crap out of you.

I found a savings account that earns 3.90 percent APY. And the icon’s even better than ING’s orange orb.

It’s called SmartyPig. And besides having a slightly higher interest rate, the site helps you save for a specific goal and use peer pressure to stay on target. (more…)