When we were building our current home, the builder had an allowance built into the negotiated price. We were free to spend more or less, as desired, on each of the categories. The total difference was used to adjust the final purchase price of our home.

After our first trip to the appliance store, we realized how small all of our allowances were. It wasn’t that we couldn’t outfit our home for the indicated prices, just that we didn’t have any choices if we wanted to stay within our allowance. As an example, consider our kitchen appliance allowance. This line item was intended to cover a refrigerator, range, dishwasher, and microwave/hood combination. The total allowance for all of those appliances was $350. The salesman was happy to show us the 4 items that fit within the allowance. As you might imagine, they were plain white, had only the most basic features, and looked rather cheap. Choosing the items that had the look and features we wanted resulted in a total appliance cost of about $3,500.

We faced similar experiences at the design center. There were carpeting, cabinets, and countertops available within our allowance, but they were certainly not what we would have chosen. By the time we made it to the plumbing and lighting stores, we expected overages there as well.

The allowances in our builder’s quoted price were all sufficient to obtain everything necessary to complete the house. In order to remain within that allowance, we would have had to settle for the cheapest and most plain items in every category. Part of the fun of building a new house is having the ability to customize it to your liking. In the end, we went with the basic items for things that were not important to us and exceeded our allowance for those that were.

We were making a large down payment on the house (about 40%), so we had some room to play with our financing to be able to handle the allowance overages. Anyone at his or her budget limit for new construction would not have such flexibility. So if you are having a new home built or remodeling, ask your builder if his allowances are consistent with what most of his clients end up paying or just barely enough to afford the least expensive of each item.

How much did you spend in overages on your construction project?

Last week, Google launched a Tip Jar, which is a collection of money-saving tips submitted and ranked by the web community. Users can submit tips in a variety of topics and vote tips from others up or down. The more positive votes a tip receives, the higher its ranking within a category.

After only one day in existence, 2,234 people had submitted 1,622 tips and cast 22,985 votes. By the time you read this, those numbers stand to be substantially higher. Tips are limited to 250 characters and can be submitted in the following categories: At Home, At Work, Finance, Kids & Family, Shopping, Food, Cars & Transit, Travel, Eco, Health, Tech, and Miscellaneous. One nice thing about the Google Tip Jar is that people can share ideas that might not warrant an entire blog post. Rather than not cover such topics, bloggers can simply submit a tip. Also, since anyone can share tips, the user base is much larger than just those people who have a blog or website.

Though poor tips may be voted down in ranking, it’s important to remember that Google doesn’t review tips for accuracy or usefulness. So be cautious before implementing those tips that seem risky. The majority of tips are also highly generalized, but even if they just inspire you to seek more information, they are certainly worth a look. Also, since many people who submit tips also list their blog or website, you can often find more detailed information by visiting the submitter’s site.

Many tips are very simple and probably suggest things you already know. A tip like “Pay bills online to save on postage” isn’t going to radically transform your finances, but still has its place on the site. With so many tips available, you can spend quite a while browsing and voting for your favorites. Not only is this a free form of entertainment, but you also stand to learn something in the process.

What’s your favorite tip, and have you submitted any of your own?

With unemployment significantly on the rise and many companies and local governments downsizing, one entity that seems to be heading in the opposite direction is the federal government.

Many people see the federal government as a solution to difficult economic times. If that’s the case, then expanding the number of federal employees could help to accelerate recovery. The rise in federal headcount can also be attributed, at least in part, to the transition from a Republican to Democratic administration. Democrats historically favor a larger government, which provides more services (at a higher cost to taxpayers), and thus needs more employees. Cutting the workforce deemed critical to aiding the general public seems counterproductive.

Even if the federal government were to hire at its normal pace, its ranks would likely swell. The security of a federal job seems rather valuable at this time. Voluntary attrition is also declining as fewer workers are leaving government service for a less receptive private sector, and those eligible for retirement are deciding to stay a while longer. According to USA Today, The Office of Personnel Management estimates that 58% of supervisory workers (as of Oct. 2004) will be eligible to retire by the end of next year. Hiring replacements for those workers has probably already begun, even though many may choose to wait before retiring.

If you are interested in a federal job, expect significant competition for those positions that are available. The article cited above also reported that 350,000 people applied for the 3,000-4,000 political appointee positions within the Obama administration. Lower profile jobs many not see such astonishingly high demand, but will still be highly competitive. To search for federal jobs, you can use regular job search sites or the official federal job site, usajobs.gov.

Would you consider a federal job?

Getting pulled over for speeding is never fun, but where your offense occurs will have a lot to do with the cost incurred.

Using 2007 data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a useful state-by-state speeding ticket cost comparison table was generated. In addition to the maximum state speed and type of limit imposed, the maximum cost for a first-time offender is listed. While this information doesn’t tell you how much you can expect to pay for repeat offenses in your own state, it does give some indication of the relative cost from state to state.

The least expensive state for first-time speeders is North Dakota, which imposes a maximum fine of only $20. Illinois, Nevada, New Hampshire, and Vermont topped out the list at $1,000. The average fine was about $292, but only 17 states exceed that average.

It’s useful to know the maximum first-time fines when taking a road trip. I was once pulled over while driving through Connecticut and told that the ticket would have cost $250, but the officer had changed the speeding offense to a “Failure to Yield the Right of Way,” which only carried a $75 fine. While it may seem like the officer was doing a favor for an out-of-state driver, he was actually overcharging me since first-time speeding violations are capped at $50 in that state.

It is also important to remember that driving fast may save you time, but gas burns less efficiently at higher speeds, costing you more. Excessive speed may also wear out your car more quickly. Tickets also carry secondary costs such as higher insurance premiums or mandatory education programs for repeat offenders.

While you should always drive safely, you may choose to strictly follow the speed limits whenever the cost of a potential ticket is highest. Just as you would always slow down to the posted limit when entering a school zone (for the safety of the children as well as the higher fines for non-compliance), you may find yourself easing off the accelerator when crossing into a state with excessive costs for first-time offenders.

What’s the most expensive ticket you’ve ever received?

All of the big name financial gurus have their loyal followers. If you were to look at those who believe most reverently in a particular advisor’s philosophies, you’d see a trend emerge. Those readers who fit the author’s assumptions and model criteria most closely will likely have success with that particular author’s method. That means that the best source for financial advice is from someone who is most closely addressing your needs, concerns, and situation.

Take Dave Ramsey, for example. There’s been a huge buzz surrounding him in the past few years as his “Debt Snowball” approach sweeps through the personal finance community. With the level of debt in our country, it’s no surprise that an advisor with a practical debt reduction strategy is finding such success. I have nothing against Dave Ramsey or the advice he’s giving, but I also haven’t taken the time to investigate his debt reduction methods for the simple reason that I have no outstanding debt other than my mortgage. Even my mortgage debt is quickly being paid down. So the best debt reduction advice in the world isn’t going to help me, since it simply doesn’t apply to my situation.

One of the marvelous features of the blogosphere is that so many niche topics can be covered. As noted in The Long Tail, it isn’t that these topics are uninteresting or lacking in demand, just that coverage isn’t viable through traditional media. The low cost and diverse nature of blogs has changed the paradigm. Even within the realm of personal finance, thousands of niches have emerged. From coverage of P2P lending to budgeting for stay at home moms, alternative income streams to complex tax matters, and of course the Debt Snowball philosophy, there are blogs dedicated to these topics and many more.

I’m not suggesting that advice from blogs is better than that found through traditional media or a face-to-face meeting with a financial advisor. But even average advice from a community dedicated to your particular situation or interest is probably better than great advice from a trusted and reviewed source that doesn’t apply. As I said in The One Personal Finance Book You Need to Read, unless you’ve found the advisor that seems to be speaking directly to you and whose assumptions match your situation perfectly, a combination of sources to address all of your concerns is the most prudent strategy.

Do you live and die by the financial advice of a single financial guru, or do you rely on a combination of sources to guide you?