Dear Just Be: I'm interested in knowing more about Colorado- have any fun facts about the state?

Both Co-Owners of Just Be Personal Assistants, LLC are Colorado natives so we know a decent amount about our fine state. Below is a short list of ten tidbits and facts we though you might find interesting as well!

1. Colorado means "colored red".
2. Colorado's southwest corner borders Arizona, New Mexico and Utah, the only place in America where the corners of four states meet.
3. Colorado is the only state in history to turn down the Olympics. Denver was supposed to host the 1976 Olympics. 62% of all state voters chose at almost the last minute not to host the Olympics, because of the cost, pollution and population boom it would have on the State of Colorado and the City of Denver.
4. Colorado has more microbreweries per capita than any other state.
5. The world's largest flattop mountain is in Grand Mesa.
6. Leadville is the highest incorporated city in the United States at 10,430 ft. above sea level. Because there was lots of "silver" named towns at the time, the founding fathers suggested Leadville.
7. The 13th step of the state capital building in Denver is exactly 1 mile high above sea level.
8. The LoDo region of Denver stands for Lower Downtown.
9. Denver lays claim to the invention of the Cheeseburger. The trademark for the name Cheeseburger was awarded in 1935 to Louis Ballast.
10. Colfax Avenue in Denver is the longest continuous street in America.

Dear Just Be: I just moved here- any special tips for maintaining my car here?

Yes, living in Colorado can mean different car maintenance than you might be used to depending on where you have moved from. Though we are coming out of winter now, one thing to keep in mind for next winter is putting snow tires on your car, depending on where you live in Colorado, what type of vehicle you have, etc. We also do not have humidity nor do we typically have salt issues, so rust is not the same problem here as it is in other parts of the country.

If you do need to have your car serviced or repaired, it is important to know about the Colorado Motor Vehicle Repair Act (MVRA), which went into effect in May, 1997. In essence this law protects the consumer by requiring that the owner of the vehicle is made aware of information with regard to estimates, additional repair work, diagnostics, parts, etc. prior to work being done on their vehicle.

For example, NO repairs can be made to a vehicle without the written consent of the owner which includes an estimate of repairs.

The estimate MUST include:

• total cost of repairs (excluding sales tax and towing charges)
• completion date
• whether customer wants replaced parts returned
• cost of reassembly (if the customer chooses not to have the work done) and replacement of parts destroyed in disassembly.
  

For more detail information about this Act, please visit AAA Colorado.

Dear Just Be: My finances are tight and I need to figure out how to stretch my dollar. Help!

For many of us the recession has taught us we need to make our money last longer. There are several ways to stretch your money, but one way is with groceries. Groceries are a necessity, they aren’t one of those items you can stop purchasing or cancel your subscription/membership. So here are some steps in making your money go further when buying groceries.

1.) Make a list. It sounds simple, but this first step will go a long way. Take an inventory of what you have in home and mark down only what you need. When you just go in the store empty handed you are sure to buy more items than you need. This is what we call impulse buying.

2.) Shop around. What I mean by this is take the grocer’s circular/flyers you get every Tuesday in the mail and look to see who is having what deal. Then mark on your list where you are going to get that item. It might not sound convenient to go to multiple stores to get your groceries, but it can mean the difference of hundreds of dollars each year, which over time adds up to that shirt, skirt, dinner or electronic item you have wanted to purchase.

3.) Go in with coupons. Coupons can come from Valupacks, Sunday’s paper, you can even download them from your grocer’s website and have them on your loyalty card ready to use. Also, know when your local grocers have double discounts. For instance, when you go to Sunflower Market on Wednesday they honor discounts from the previous week’s circular as well as the current week’s circular. Talk about saving money!

4.) When you are in the store only shop the perimeter for food items. The food items in the middle of the store are not good for your wallet or waist line. Many think fruits and vegetables cost more than the processed food, but that is not true. Even if you can find an item or two in the processed food section that is less than the fresh items, know that you will be paying more for this item down the road through medical bills.

5.) Eat before you shop. Never shop when you are hungry. You are guaranteed to spend more when you are hungry because you are purchasing items that look and sound good rather than what you need.


6.) Shop once a week, or better yet every two weeks. Designate one day to go shopping and make it the only day you go shopping. This exercise will be hard to do at first, but over time you will see how it saves you money and time. It is estimated that changing your shopping schedule to once a week or once every two weeks will shave a minimum of $50 off your shopping bill.

7.) Watch the scanner. As you are standing at checkout or checking yourself out make sure the prices are coming up correctly.

For more information on saving money while you shop check out Grocery Coupon Guide