Food has gone viral.

The surge in mobile bistros has given rise to the digitization of eateries. Sure, plenty of savvy restaurants have had a virtual presence for years, with slick websites promoting their fabulous fare. But when the kitchen has wheels, the entire establishment becomes virtual – here one moment and gone the next. Connecting with repeat customers isn’t as “simple” as providing great service and offering outstanding value; that’s a given. An even more basic neccessity is providing would-be patrons a way to find them.

Enter social media. Facebook, Twitter, and dedicated web sites like DenverStreetFood.com have sprung up to aid in the daily Where’s Waldo’s Food Truck hunt. Social media creates a fixed storefront for the mobile business. Everyone knows where to find Bambu’s Facebook page even if they haven’t a clue where the truck is.

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Jonesing for some sweets after our heroic display of willpower the previous day, we hone in on Pinky the Cupcake Camper. What could be more fitting for us than a renovated RV hawking one of our favorite treats in the world?

Pulling up Pinky’s Facebook page we get the camper’s coordinates.

We’re off. 17th and Market is about 15 minutes from our current location. Fighting traffic we make it there in twenty only to find – nothing.

We park the car and look up Market and down 17th and discover the downside of rolling restaurants; they move. We also discover that stalking wily cupcakes is an underappreciated benefit of owning a smart phone.

We refresh Pinky’s Facebook page and see that it is still advertising their location as the same corner on which we’re standing. I’m in the process of posting the very articulate comment “Where you at?” on Pinky’s wall when the following scrolls on to my screen:

The words “Short Stop, Come Quick” loom large. We’re moments away from losing our quarry.

Fortunately, we know where the Denver Capitol is from our visit the other day. We’re only about a mile North. We can do this.

Tires squealing (not really, but it sounds good), we motor down 17th and turn on Grant. “I don’t see it,” Shannon says, moments before the boxy pink camper comes in to view.

I jump out of the car, grab my camera, and catch a perturbed look from Shannon as if to say, “Stop messing around. You’re letting it get away.”

Pinky didn’t get away. We’d won the chase. Our prize? One Black Forest and one Midnight Magic cupcake – to go, of course.

Our quarry, Pinky the Cupcake Camper, corralled in front of the Denver State Capitol dome

A beautifully gilded cage is no less confining.

After recommending two weeks ago that each of us should accumulate roughly 25 times our uncovered annual expenses in retirement savings, we felt obligated to offer up some money saving suggestions.

1. Downsize the house. Probably the worst financial advice I ever heard is the conventional wisdom to buy the largest house you can afford. Even before the housing market collapse, this was terrible advice. A larger house is more expensive in every way. Many of these expenses continue long after the mortgage is repaid. Property taxes, insurance, utilities, furnishings, maintenance, landscaping and possibly cleaning expenses are all higher with larger homes. Keeping housing modest can easily save you tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of dollars.
2. @$%# the Joneses. Wear your frugality with pride. Let the Jones’ spend their lives acquiring things. Be happy with the knowledge that you’re buying something far more important with your savings: Freedom.
3. Drop the insurance.There are only two reasons to have insurance: 1) It is legally required 2) The potential uninsured losses would be financially devastating. If you carry insurance that doesn’t fit in either of those two categories, it’s time to consider making a change.

   Every insurance company in the world charges a price equal to the amount it expects you to file in claims plus a premium. They’re exceptionally good at estimating your future claims, too. If they weren’t, they’d go out of business. Don’t expect to come out ahead on insurance.Our advice is to pocket the premium the insurance company collects and self insure most things. If you can afford a $200 car repair, for example, don’t pay an insurance company to cover that risk. Raise your deductible or, if you can manage the full cost of an accident, drop collision coverage all together. The same is true with every insurance policy on the market.

   Health insurance is a topic that requires its own article, but deserves a special mention. Health care costs in the U.S. can be so expensive that very few people are wealthy enough to self insure. Catastrophic coverage that maintains your HIPAA rights is an absolute necessity for U.S. Citizens. In our view, too many fulltime travelers take unacceptable risks by not having proper health insurance.

4. Shop the insurance. “15 minutes can save you 15% on car insurance” is a memorable tagline. It also happens to be true. If it’s been several years since you’ve gotten new insurance quotes from competing suppliers you’re likely spending too much on insurance. For any policy you don’t drop completely, call around for a better deal.
5. Fire your financial planner. Have you ever wondered why Wall Street executives are so rich? It’s because everyone overpays for financial services. Everyone! Most folks don’t even know what they’re paying because so many of the costs are buried in financial products. Our advice is to pick up a copy of William Bernstein’s great book, The Four Pillars of Investing, and learn to manage your own money.
6. Vanguard it. Taken as a whole, mutual funds with higher expenses (typically actively managed funds) do not outperform their lower cost competitors (typically index funds). In fact, over long periods of time the exact opposite has proven true. Swap out high cost funds for low cost ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds) and index fund, like those offered by Vanguard. This move could save you thousands of dollars per year that you may not even realize you’re spending. (Disclosure: We’re customers of Vanguard but have no other affiliation with the company.)
7. Catch the match. If your employer provides a matching contribution to your 401(k) take advantage of that free money. Foregoing the match is like turning down a pay raise. Who would do that? A surprisingly large number of people, that’s who.
8. Ask for a raise. Speaking of raises, ask for one! While this isn’t exactly a tip for saving money, it is a simple way to put more money in your pocket. Always remember that your employer’s objective isn’t to pay you what you’re worth, it’s to pay the minimum amount necessary to keep you on the job and productive. If they think you’re happy at your current salary, they have no incentive to give you more, even if you deserve it. (Use some judgment here. If your department is downsizing and five of your underworked colleagues can do your job, now is probably not the right time to ask for a raise. Focus instead on being one of those five who avoids the scrap heap.)
9. Know what you’re worth. You won’t earn what your worth if you don’t know what you’re worth. Even if you’re happy with your current job, explore alternatives and probe the job market. The easiest way to get a raise or promotion is to walk in to the boss’ office with a competing job offer.
10. Learn to cook. Eating in is better for both your personal and financial health. Shave some bucks and some pounds by preparing your own meals.
11. Pay off credit cards. Paying 19% or more in annual interest to borrow money is insane. High credit card interest rates can easily double the cost of items. Don’t do it.
12. Use up what you buy. If what you have still does the job, why replace it? This is especially true for big ticket items like automobiles, which some people churn every few years, but is also true for fashion, perishables and just about everything else. Wear the clothes in your closet and plan meals around what is already in the fridge. Waste not, want not.
13. Ditch the landline. I know you have a cell phone. Do you really need the landline too?
14. Junk the gym. Take up running, walking, calisthenics, or any number of other free exercise options. If you use the gym regularly, it can be a worthwhile personal investment. If you haven’t seen the inside of the health club this month, cut your losses and run.
15. Why so many channels? The average U.S. cable bill is $75 per month; mostly for channels we never watch. Meanwhile, high quality digital broadcast is available for free in many parts of the country (we know because we’ve been there). Shows airing on non-broadcast stations can often be streamed to your television for free from sites like Hulu (we use an HDMI cable to connect our computer and television). Supplement broadcast basics and streamed T.V. with an occasional $1 Redbox movie.
16. Buy Generic. The only difference we typically see between generic and name-brand products is the price.
17. Buy used. Save thousands on cars and RVs by choosing second hand vehicles.
18. It’s not really saving if you spent money. Getting a 50% discount on a $40 shirt you don’t need isn’t saving $20, it’s spending $20. It doesn’t matter how good the deal looks, if you don’t need it, don’t buy it.
19. Use the library. E-readers are cool and convenient but the library is still free. For us, free normally wins.
20. Use the 25x principal. It’s surprising how quickly the desire for things goes away when you multiply their annual cost by a factor of 25.

What did we forget? Let us know by sharing your best money saving tips.

They may not have originated in Denver, but gourmet food trucks have recently taken the city by storm. An order of magnitude better than the usual hot dog carts and far removed from the “roach coaches” of old, these former delivery vans and RVs have been remade with snazzy paint jobs, state of the art kitchens, and top notch chefs.

At last count over eighty roving restaurants circled the city, with more joining their ranks everyday. Serving up everything from Mexican-Asian fusion at Mestizos, to artisan wood-fired pizza at 528˚ – that’s right, wood-fired pizza made in the back of a truck – the trendy street food craze is bringing a world of flavors curbside.

For the hungry tourist desiring high quality and relatively affordable meal options served fast, the up-scaling of street food is a fantastic development.

Alejandro Baca Certified Sous Chef, Mestizos

We were fortunate enough to encounter Civic Center Eats, a 2-year-old experiment that turns Denver’s Civic Center Park into a food truck court every Tuesday and Thursday from June to September. Within easy walking distance of the Denver State Capitol, the US Mint, and the city’s great Art Museum, Civic Center Eats was perfectly situated to accommodate an afternoon of sightseeing.

Our biggest challenge of the day was deciding which of the incredible-looking eateries to patronize. Should we sink our teeth into southern fried chicken and biscuit sandwiches or blackened mahi-mahi? More importantly, should we indulge in artisan cupcakes or hand made ice cream sandwiches for dessert? Fortunately, we had three hours to figure it out before these restaurants rolled away.

We eventually opted to dine at The Croc Spot truck, where I sampled curried lentils over jasmine fried rice topped with sriracha sour cream and Shannon had chimichurri shredded chicken. Both were delicious. Our favorite swapped back and forth between the lentils and the chimichurri depending on the bite. Who made the better choice was simply too close to call.

Summoning all of our willpower we resisted topping off with a treat, satisfied with a lunch far more indulgent than our usual fare. Instead, we vowed to return and track down a cupcake truck. But that’s a tale for another day.

Stay tuned.

Retail blowout is one way to describe our planned afternoon in Fort Collins, Colorado. We drove into town for the sole purpose of shopping at local stores, eating at local restaurants, and touring most of the city’s many local breweries. We ended up doing none of that. The City of Fort Collins is the reason why.

After a short stroll around the downtown area we returned to find our car adorned with a freshly printed parking ticket. I looked at the $75 ticket, and then up at the “3 Hour Parking” sign directly in front of my bumper; back at the ticket and again at the sign.

A quick conversation with the fine people at Fort Collins’ Parking Services revealed we were ticketed for having an unregistered vehicle. The only problem, our car is registered. It turns out I had forgotten to affix the new registration sticker.

“No problem,” I explained. “I have my registration information right here.”

“That’s great,” the surprisingly cheerful clerk responded. “I can void that $75 ticket for a $25 administration fee.”

“Really? I have to pay $25 for the privilege of legally parking my legally registered vehicle in your town?”

“You’d be surprised how many unregistered out-of-town vehicles we get through here.”

“But my vehicle is registered,” I protested in futility.

“Sorry.”

They got me. And that’s fair. I recognize towns try to fleece transients like us to lighten the cost of government for locals. We see it all the time; exorbitant car rental fees that are only levied at airports, hotel taxes many times higher than local sales taxes. It’s a racket.

But we’re not exactly powerless.

The way we approach spending is to consider all of the tradeoffs. If we spend $25 on something, that necessarily means we have $25 less to spend on something else. Normally everything we buy competes with everything else. We buy only those things that are worth more to us than all of the other possible alternatives. Buying nothing at all typically ranks highly among those alternatives. So that is what we did.

We skipped a planned meal at Ras-Ka’s Ethiopian restaurant. Sorry guys, the menu looked great and we love your lion logo, but the city took our lunch money. Maybe next time.

Wilbur’s Total Beverage probably would have taken us deep. This huge supermarket of booze reminded us of The Wine Library in New Jersey where we used to stock up. We easily could have filled the Jeep with a case of wine and a couple cases of Fort Collins’ local brews. Alas, we left empty handed.

Tours and tastings at Fort Collins Brewery, Odell, and New Belgium were all originally on our to-do list.

We even waited until we crossed city limits to fill our gas tank.

None of this includes the dozen or so places we would have popped in to at random.

In all, we probably saved ourselves several hundred dollars. That’s several hundred dollars not lining the pockets of local businesses and not subject to state and local sales taxes.

Shaking down tourists over incredibly minor infractions does have its downside.

Sylvan Lake, Custer State Park, South Dakota