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Good news! Your turkey is cheaper this year!

Friday, November 20th, 2009

Today’s article is called It’s all gravy: Cost of Thanksgiving meal sees biggest drop since 2000, by Jonathan Berr.  I am happy to share that according to this article, the average cost for a Thanksgiving meal for 10 people dropped $1.70 this year.  Now, I know that you’re saying to yourself, so what, right?  Because it’s only a couple bucks, right?  Wrong!  Every little bit helps.  When you save $2 here and there, it adds up to movie tickets, dinner out or eventually, an extra % point added to your 401k. 

Let’s not forget, however, that when we save, someone else has to take the hit.  As the article points out, in this case, that would be farmers.  They are receiving less for their products, and so that means harder times in their households this year.  I am all about a deal, but I hate that it comes at the expense of others…keep this in mind when you go to buy your turkey this year.

On a personal note, I would like to take the time to ask our readers to have a generous heart and donate a couple of cans of food to a local charity this year to help feed families who are struggling.  With a lot of people out of work, food banks and pantries will be running low on their normal stock of goods, so we all need to chip in.  At Thanksgiving, I like to donate by giving food, and at Christmas, I like to donate by giving toys, coats and other goods to local charities.  If you have $5 to spare this year (skip a latte or brown bag a day?), buy some non perishable food items and donate them.   The Salvation Army website is a good place to start.  The main page has a place to enter your zip code and find your local donation center. 

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Lay-a-way…It’s back!

Wednesday, November 11th, 2009

For a very long time, I didn’t hear anything about lay-a-way.  The stores I visited didn’t seem to offer it, and the commercials on T.V. didn’t suggest it as a shopping method.  That has changed recently, and I am quite happy about it!

You see, it’s become part of our culture to shop-shop-shop.  Retail therapy, they call it.  Think about that statement.  They want you to come and spend money to make yourself feel better.  Is that the way we should be relieving stress/improving our mood?  I don’t think so.  It’s an instant gratification thing.  We are like children with a shiny new toy…retail therapy!  How ridiculous!  Sounds like we’re simply encouraging ourselves to act like children.  I think we should act like adults.  Adults save up for things.  They have delayed gratification.  They don’t get retail therapy, they relieve stress by being with friends and family (or getting a REAL therapist, not one that doubles as a satchel purse and is called Louis Vuitton).  This, is why I like lay-a-way.  It allows people who don’t have the cash to pay for something all at once an option that doesn’t charge high interest and isn’t a credit card.  As a bonus, you don’t get the merchandise until you pay for it in it’s entirety, so it teaches delayed gratification!

I should note that we don’t really use lay-a-way ourselves, because, as most of you know, we save up throughout the year to pay for the things we want.  We have a Christmas category in our budget, that receives money each and every week.  This ensures we will have the money that we have determined we want to spend on the holiday, in time for said holiday (and in case you’re wondering, we determine the amounts in all budget categories at our “new year new budget” committee meeting, held in January).  If however, you haven’t been keeping up with your budget (and I really hope you have), then lay-a-way is the way to go for you.  Just remember this phrase…I WILL NOT use credit cards on presents!

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Twitter for deals!

Monday, October 26th, 2009

While doing some research for Mucho Moolah topics, I ran across this topic and thought I’d pass it on.   A new trend has started to emerge on Twitter these days (when is there not a new trend on Twitter), where if you want to get discounts on things, you just need to follow certain twitterers!  Follow us at SCGuide and keep watch for upcoming products!

So, for those of you that don’t know, Twitter is a free social networking and micro blogging (normal posts aren’t longer
than 140 characters) service where users send and receive messages.  They are also able to read posts from anyone they are following (unless they have been removed from that persons’ followers list), and posts on particular trending topics.  If that didn’t make much sense to you, check out a tutorial for twitter here or read up on the service here.

So, how do you save money on Twitter? It’s simple…just follow certain users who post discount information for their
businesses!  Here are a few examples of users who disclose discounts:  @amazonmp3 for music, @JetBlueCheeps for travel discounts, @DealDivine for fashion and beauty deals and steals, @DealsPlus for general retail deals and @fstimes for giveaways and winning prizes.  Another good choice? @coupons…this could be hit or miss, but you might be able to print off some useful coupons for your weekly groceries!

So, check out these sections on Twitter if you want to save a little cash!  Good luck!

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Up close and personal…what’s happening in retail as the holiday season starts?

Wednesday, October 21st, 2009

This past weekend, since I had a couple of things to pick up, and it was the start of our Christmas shopping, your favorite southern couple went to the mall .  While we were out, we decided to do a little economic research that we are now going to share with you.  I won’t be sharing any names of stores or people, as I want to respect the privacy of these people, since they were only used for discovering general information.

The first bit of information I wanted to share is definitely exciting, and that is that more people are paying with cash!  According to certain retailers (these businesses do not sell luxury goods, just so you don’t think I’m speaking of $1,000 handbags or something), a significant number of their sales so far this year have been in cash, compared with last year, where there were more credit card sales.  This is a wonderful bit of information!  Now, it’s a small sample, and it’s in my local community, but hopefully it’s at least partially indicative of the way people are shopping this season.  I hope that it means more people have saved up for the holidays this year, and aren’t spending more than they make!

Another bit of information we ran across from a national retailer is that the sales are not going to be as good as they were last year (I know, bummed me out too)!  According to our source, last year, many of the typical stores you find in your local mall got caught with a ton of extra inventory and slashed prices to be able to move the inventory toward the end of the holiday season.  This was great for people, last year, but it also means that they learned their lesson, and this year, retailers won’t (or haven’t) have ordered as much inventory, so the deals that were there last year, won’t be there this year.  This is some really unfortunate information, but at least it will keep us focused on finding the best deals this season! 

All in all, I still think it is going to be a wonderful holiday season.  Just keep in mind that cash is the way to go.  Not only will it save you from being credit card poor in January and February (and March?), but it will keep you focused on getting the best possible price!   Look out for deals that aren’t deals.  Compare prices.  Use lay-a-way (making payments on an item that you will not be able to take home until the item is completely paid for) and just be sensible.  Remember how your parents and grandparents shopped for the holidays…they saved for it!

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Dry cleaning and seasonal shopping…

Monday, October 5th, 2009

Today’s money saving tips are something most of us know and usually forget!  Today, I’m telling you to cut back (drastically) on your dry cleaning and to shop seasonally!

According to the care tags on a lot of clothing (or household items), you should be dry cleaning most of what you own.  Well, I beg to differ!  Lots of things that say “dry clean only” are able to be hand washed or washed in a garment bag on the gentle cycle in your washer.  In fact, some of the new washers on the market even have a “hand wash” setting, where the agitator moves very slowly, simulating the act of hand washing.  Now, should you do this every time?  Well, that depends on the type of garment.  I wouldn’t, for example, recommend going against the care instructions on a garment that cost most of your paycheck, but on an everyday, regular shirt, skirt or pair of pants…absolutely.  This doesn’t mean you give it up completely either.  Maybe you have a suit, and you trust that you can hand wash the pants, but want the jacket professionally cleaned?  I’m okay with that, so long as you are smart about what you get dry cleaned, and how often you do it, since dry cleaning can be so costly.  A suit costs on average $10 (2 piece) around the country.  So, if you’re a man who wears suits everyday to work, you could be paying $50 a week in dry cleaning bills!  If you can get away with hand washing those every other week, you can save $100 a month!  That makes it worth trying in my book!

The other tip is to  buy seasonal items when they are on sale.  Okay, so what does that mean?  That means, that if you are going to buy a winter coat, you should buy it in March, when it is likely to be on sale.  Need a swimsuit?  Buy it in July or August.  I have personally seen bathing suit separates marked down to $3 a piece in these months!  Other things even surprise me.  For example, tires should be bought in July.  If I had to hazard a guess, I would say that it’s because there isn’t much inclement weather during the summer months in the U.S.  In addition, linens should be bought in January and kitchenwares should be bought in April and November (can we say Christmas presents?).

Good luck with the new tips!  I hope you find some deals and save some money!  And remember, if you don’t trust that the garment will hand wash (or wash in the washer on gentle) well, go with your gut, and take it to the cleaners.  I don’t want you ruining your clothes, just second guessing wether or not your 100% cotton tank tops need to be dry cleaned!

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Keep your priorities in order…

Wednesday, September 30th, 2009

In the last few years, people have gotten more and more interested in the lives of celebrities.  They want to know all about them, and this fascination with them, in my opinion, is destructive. 

Celebrities look like they lead a very glamorous life.  They have fancy clothes, nice cars and a whole host of other very expensive possessions.  They look like personal trainers and never seem to age.     That is their reality.  It is not, however, reality for the majority of us.  Some of us think we should have (or try to have) the same things/lifestyle as celebrities, but in my opinion, that is not the case.  These celebrities make hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars every year, and can afford fancy cars, mansions and expensive purses.  They can afford personal trainers for hours a day, five days a week.  They can afford all the expensive creams and lotions that keep you looking youthful (or the more expensive counterpart, plastic surgery).  They are not limited by an average salary, like we are.

Even though we know they are celebrities, and know they make many times more money than we do, we haven’t been able to separate in our mind that they have access to a lot more monetary funds than we do.  So we buy things.  Generally, we buy these things on credit, because as I’ve already stated, we don’t have the cash to pay for it ourselves.  This is how, one day, people wake up and find themselves thousands of dollars in debt, and on the verge of bankruptcy.

How do you avoid falling into debt?  Well, as we’ve always stated, you need a budget, a plan and the determination to stay within the limits of the budget you created.  If you just spend less than you make, you won’t go into debt (don’t forget to budget for savings, so you pay yourself later).  Do not think it’s normal to buy $10,000 purses and $200 an ounce face cream if you make $60,000 a year.  If you want a special, expensive handbag, save up and pay cash for it.  If you purchased it on a credit card, it doesn’t have the same status as the one on your favorite celeb’s arm, because they paid cash (or debit equivalent etc.), and therefore, actually earned the status that the bag is supposed to convey.  Live within your means and be happy with what you have.

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Ways to shop online and save some cash!

Monday, September 28th, 2009

While having dinner with some friends a couple of weeks ago, we were discussing money saving tricks (some of our friends are just as frugal, if not more so, than we are), and one of them shared a trick I hadn’t heard of, so today, I am sharing it with you! There are “money back websites”, where if you do a lot of online shopping, you can get rebates for purchasing products through their websites! Some examples of this are:

Ebates.com: This website is a good tool for those of you who do a lot of online shopping. The trick to Ebates.com is that you have to “shop through” their website, as in, you go to their website first, find the store where you want to make a purchase, click on the link, and shop. The site is useful because you can search for a store or a product, which means if you need a product, but don’t know where to get it, you can search for the item and shop that way. Cash back percentages vary from store to store and the site sends out the rebates to their users quarterly. Some good news is that if you shop at certain online stores, you can get the item shipped to the “bricks and mortar” location and get free shipping! Bigger purchases mean bigger rebates, so consider this site when you need to purchase big ticket items!

Mypoints.com: At Mypoints.com, you can make purchases or take surveys to earn points. They offer several ways to earn extra points. For example, in addition to making purchases and taking surveys to earn points, you can click through emails and subscribe to their elist. After accruing a certain number of points, you can exchange them for gift cards to stores and other locations, or donations to participating charities.

39dollarglasses.com: If you have the prescription for your glasses and want your glasses on the cheap, this is the place for you. Go somewhere you can try on glasses and figure out what kind of frames you like, then get on their website and find similar frames (or the exact same frames, if you can), and buy them, on the cheap. They aren’t the nicest frames (you wouldn’t expect that for the price though, would you?), but they are good for people who wear contacts and just need something occasionally. Bonus? This website is also on Ebates.com, so you can get cash back on them!

I would like to thank my friend Jodi for pointing these websites out, and tell our readers that I hope you find them useful! Happy shopping!

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It’s officially autumn! Are you getting ready for the holidays?

Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009

So, this might come as a big shock to some of you, but December 25th is only 3 months away!  I know, it’s surprising, but Christmas (or Hanukkah or Kwanzaa) comes around the same time every year, and many of you are, as usual, caught off guard!  This, frankly, blows my mind.  Every year, as the Christmas season draws near, I hear so many people talking about how they are buying Christmas presents on credit cards, or buying lesser things than they wanted etc. because they didn”t plan and budget for the holidays.  These problems can be alleviated very easily.  Like everything else we talk about on here, it just takes a little planning!

Your first option, of course, is to save up throughout the year (or what time you have remaining before the holidays).  It’s not that hard to amass a nice little sum to spend on your loved ones if you plan and budget.  Saving only $10 a week amounts up to $520 in a year…now, while that isn’t enough to buy everyone a new car, you can certainly do something nice with that amount.  Want to spend more?  Save more!  The trick is in deciding on what you usually spend and saving that amount throughout the year!  If you didn’t save up for it, and don’t have the disposable income, then you should look into other forms of gifts, because no one needs the stress of credit card debt, and the certainly don’t need to go into debt to buy presents for other people.  And, I’ll tell you a secret…your friends and family don’t want you to go into debt to buy them a present!

If the first option won’t work for you, you’re not out of luck, because you can always give the gift of your time or experience!  Granted, it’s not as glamorous as a new T.V., but giving the gift of your time is still special, ans still shows that you care enough (maybe more) to do something nice for your friends and relatives during the holidays.  Some good options?  Well, you could offer up babysitting services, cook dinner etc. for busy working parents.  That kind of stuff not your thing?  Well, figure out what you’re good at, or what your hobby is, and offer that service to your friends and family!  Let’s say you’re a masseuse…you could offer some of your friends and family a complimentary 30 minute massage as a gift!  No one would turn that down! You just need to be creative.

I’m sure I will revisit this topic as the holiday season draws near, because honestly, it irks my nerves that so many people cannot plan for the holiday season!  Whatever your financial situation is, it boils down to this: If you have the cash saved up or on hand, by all means, spend it on loved ones as you wish, but if you don’t have the cash, give the gift of your time or don’t buy gifts at all, since the last thing anyone needs is more credit card debt!

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Why outlet malls part us from our money so easily…

Friday, September 18th, 2009

Today’s article is called Are outlet malls for suckers? By: MP Dunleavey.  As you might’ve guessed, I am ecstatic that this article was written, that my friend Jodi shared it with me (thank you, Jodi) and that I get to share it/my opinions with you.

This article is a good look into outlet malls, outlet or “factory” stores and whether or not their discounts are really any good.   The main source sited is Ellen Ruppel Shell and her book  Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture.  One of the best points she makes (there are many) is that because these stores are billed as “designer quality and value price” people swallow their marketing hook, line and sinker.  They don’t question whether or not the prices are a deal, because they see a sale sign that says, for example, “30% off”, and assume that it’s a good deal.  Big mistake. Especially since, according to Shell, some stores (this is refuted by another source) raise the prices in the store so that they can mark them down, which after raising them makes them settle around regular price…wow, real savings.

Another lessen learned from this article, is that, much to my delight, and only slightly to my surprise, stores like Coach sell different products in their outlet stores as opposed to their standard retail stores.  This means that the majority (my opinion) of people who shop at these Coach outlet stores think they’re getting the same quality designer goods as the retail store, but to a trained “fashion eye”, stand out with their outlet items.  So, for a regular designer Coach bag, the price might be good, but since it’s made from lesser materials (not always) for their outlet stores only, the price might be “full price”, and you were just parted from your cash!  Something to keep in mind the next time you buy at an outlet store where the status of their brand is important…since to a trained eye, your item’s status doesn’t measure up.

Another little tip to note:   According to a recent “state of the industry” report by Retail Value News the average discount at the outlet stores is 37%.  We can do better than that on the sale and clearance racks at most retail stores.

The moral of this very interesting story is that it doesn’t matter whether or not the items in these stores are on sale, but whether or not they are a price you are willing to pay for the label and quality.

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Mucho Moolah! Monday’s Money Saving Tips…

Monday, July 27th, 2009

While thinking on what today’s post should be, I went looking through my notes and found a tip that I thought I had already covered. I was surprised. I looked back at my previous posts and realized that indeed, I had not written about it yet. This was shocking to me because it was one of my most useful tips! Therefore, without further adieu , the money saving tip that I thought I already covered: Shop for your groceries with a list! I know this seems silly, and you’re thinking to yourself “Duh! I know to do that”, but that doesn’t mean you ARE actually doing it! People regularly don’t do things they should do! We blow off yearly check-ups with our doctor, don’t get the tires on our vehicles rotated often enough and forget to call our loved ones. We know to do it, but often times we simply don’t, for any of a million different reasons.

The biggest reason to use a shopping list is to cut down on impulse buys. I’m not just talking about the silly impulse buys we make while standing/waiting in the cashier’s line, I’m talking about the impulse buys we make while walking up and down the aisles. Maybe you buy some cookies, or chips or candy that wasn’t on the list. Or maybe you purchase a couple of steaks, and didn’t need them. Then, you go home, and you’ve bought 10 days worth of food, when you go to the grocery every 7 days. Now you’ve bought too much food for 1 week, and not enough for 2 weeks!

Another good reason to make a list for the grocery? Pre-determined meals may help cut down portion sizes! What does this mean for you? Likely, a smaller waistline! When we plan out our meals for the week and shop for those meals from a list we generally try to avoid buying more food than we need, which keeps our portion sizes down. This, in turn, will keep you from “mindless eating” or eating when you’re bored.

Jerrill and I shop from a list every week. We plan out what meals we want for the week, including which meals we think will be a dine out meal. Usually our dine out meals are on Friday or Saturday. Taking the list with us keeps us focused on what we need for the week and keeps us from forgetting something we need. We rarely impulse buy (no one is perfect all the time) because when we see something we want (usually cookies) we are able to tell ourselves “this is not on the list”. In fact, I would’ve forgotten to post this tip if I didn’t have a list for SCG! Just something to think about when you are thinking of heading to the grocery.

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