I still wanted to give a tip for this Monday. If you’ve been heading out for the after Christmas sales, remember that it’s not a sale if you didn’t need the item in the first place! Already bought something you don’t need? It will be a lesson in being a grown up to take it back to the store and returning it! Make yourself proud! Don’t fall into your usual patterns! Save that money! Don’t spend it!
Posts Tagged ‘Spending Money’
We’re on vacation, but…
Monday, December 28th, 2009Lay-a-way…It’s back!
Wednesday, November 11th, 2009For 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!
Up close and personal…what’s happening in retail as the holiday season starts?
Wednesday, October 21st, 2009This 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!
Dry cleaning and seasonal shopping…
Monday, October 5th, 2009Today’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!
Keep your priorities in order…
Wednesday, September 30th, 2009In 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.
Why outlet malls part us from our money so easily…
Friday, September 18th, 2009Today’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.
How men and women see money… differently.
Wednesday, September 9th, 2009I find it interesting not only in our marriage, but in the relationships of friends, families and other acquaintances how men and women handle money. Or rather, how we handle it differently. There are so many differences that men and women make between what’s important when spending and saving it’s amazing we actually get it right on occasion.
In general, men and women shop differently. Men go into a store, go straight to the item they want to buy, and buy it. Sometimes, they haggle for a deal, sometimes they don’t. Once they make up their mind that they want something, often, they will buy it “on the spot” . Most women do not shop this way. When we go to the mall, we feel the need to hit every store in the joint to find the best deal. But make no mistake, we will find the best deal! We will hunt, dig and search through the entire building for what we want at the price we want. Where do we come together on this? The women usually find the deal and the men go close the deal/pick it up! There are those couples (us included) that are able to shop together. For our frequent readers, it will not surprise you that we have a system. We alternate between stores that he wants to check out and stores I want to check out. This way, we both are happy with the day’s activities! If you can’t shop with your partner, that’s o.k. Figure out a system that works for you and your spouse and go with it!
We’re different on savings too! We women, being the emotional creatures we are, we like…security. We like to have some savings, an emergency fund, in the bank. Savings for a rainy day, a sunny day or any other day that a problem comes up. It makes us a lot more comfortable as we go about our daily lives. Men, on the other hand, like to be a little more risky. They feel confident in their investments, even if those are in coffee bean futures or comic books (although some comics are worth quite a bit). They don’t feel the need to have a “safety net” in the bank, and don’t understand why it’s so important to us. Well, I’ve got news for all the men out there… just do the emergency fund. It will make your life happier, because it will make your wife happier! How did we solve this one? We have an emergency fund. 
It’s our suggestion that you sit down and discuss your spending and saving habits. Figure out what works and what doesn’t. Communicate. You’ve heard it a thousand times for a reason… it works! It’s the backbone of our relationship, and you should make it a part of yours. No couple can truly be happy with their financial situation if they don’t agree on how they do their finances. Talk about yours now, so that money problems don’t become a part of your future!
Friday’s Financial News! What are our children worth?
Friday, September 4th, 2009Today’s article is Assessing the net value of children, by Ben Stein. It’s a very interesting look into what it meant to have children long ago, and what it means today.
In the past, children were a wonderful help to their parents. They were an extra hunter, an extra pair of hands to help with littler children, helpful on the farm etc. These are not necessarily important to the modern day couple, when deciding whether or not to have children, and the factors that are important are what is probably keeping a lot of women from the path of motherhood.
The likely culprits, as the article points out, are things like private schools and their tuition, after school activities/lessons, “play dates”, college tuition etc. In other words, ch-ching, ch-ching ch-ching. So, as enlightened, educated people, we have to wiegh the benefits of children against the costs of them. Sounds terrible, but for many of us it’s what determines if, when and how many children we will have.
And if, after all of this, we still decide to have children, we have to hope and pray that the money we spent on fancy schools, lessons, extra curricular activities and college produce a well rounded, kind hearted-intelligent person who can spell the word “appreciation”, knows the meaning of the word and doesn’t expect you and everyone else in the world to hand them everything on a silver platter.
Personally, I have to admit that I worry about my future children (whenever I am fortunate enough to have them). I don’t worry much about their lack of appreciation or sense of entitlement, because I know that good parenting can go a long way in combating those problems. Societal influences, however, can be very strong, and as current or future parents, we have to strive hard every day to nurture good morals and values in our children, and not let them grow up over-valuing material things or idolizing celebrities over friend or familial connections.
So, is it worth having children? You have to answer that question for yourself, but in my opinion, if you’re in a stable (preferably married) relationship, have graduated high school (college too, hopefully) and are earning a good income that can accommodate you, your spouse, your child and saving for retirement, then I say go ahead. If however, you aren’t in a committed relationship, can’t vote, can’t legally drink and can’t rent a car, you should probably think long and hard before entering the world of parenthood!
Way out weddings get brought back down to Earth…
Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009While reading an issue of Glamour Magazine (July 2009) on vacation, i ran across an article that I knew I had to write about. It was an editorial all about extravagant weddings, and how they are falling out of favor. I know most of you can guess that I was positively elated to read this.
While it’s true that I’m a “girly-girl”, and love pretty weddings and all that glitters, I do not believe that anyone should spend what they 1) don’t have and 2) haven’t budgeted for. So when I read that the average cost of a wedding in 2005 was a little over $26,000, I wanted to fall in the floor (or the sand, as in this case)! Are there people out there that can afford that? Absolutely. Can most of us? No way. The report went on to say that a research firm had concluded that spending is likely to drop as much as 30% this year, and that 3 out of 4 brides are scaling back their spending. Could it be that the recession has knocked some sense into some people? I hope so. It is our opinion that starting off a marriage in debt (especially for a wedding…double especially if either the bride or groom doesn’t want to spend that much) is a terrible idea. As a newlywed couple, you are getting used to each other, living together, each other’s habits, quirks etc. You don’t need debt and money problems to go along with that! It’s silly!
What’s the other reason to start off without debt? How about, that most new couples want to buy a house, or pay off school loans or start a family. There are lots of things you want to do when you get married, and ALL of them are easier if you don’t have any debt hanging over your head. Look at it this way: Do your guests need fancy seat covers at the reception, or do you need a washer and dryer?? Do I want ostrich feathers in my centerpieces, or do my husband to be and I want a nice honeymoon?? Come one people, it’s not brain surgery.
Weddings are supposed to be about 2 people in love. It’s not about the guests, or your family, or your friends, or how fancy it is or how rich you look. It’s about you and your spouse to be, celebrating how much you love each other and looking toward your future together. And that, my friends, is easier to do without a credit card bill!
Everybody Loves A Good Clips Episode…
Wednesday, August 26th, 2009This week I wanted to revisit some of my previous posts that I find to be worth repeating, because when it comes to money and relationships, lessons need to be reinforced. It’s the best way to stay focused! Below, you will find links to some of our previous and a description. We hope they keep you focused if you are doing well with your money and marriage (relationship) or get you back on track if you’ve lost your way.
- Can You Plan Spontaneity - This is a recent post, but it’s a good one, and it’s one of our trademark tips for a successful lifestyle . The post outlines how we have built spontaneity into our budget (which works quite well, I assure you), achieving both spontaneity (to have a little mystery about special outings, gifts etc.) and budget restraint (so you have so money to retire on one day).
- YOU are an emotional piggy bank - This post has generated a lotof talk of the last few weeks. You are an emotional piggy bank, taking in deposits and doling out payments from other people. Just like a bank account or a piggy bank, you need to have more deposits coming in than payments going out for the system (i.e. you) to function. People that drain too much from you, drain you, and you should spend time with them sparingly, if at all. This, of course, is opposed to emotional boosts, who make lotsof deposits into your piggy bank. You should spend as much time as possible around these special people.
- Never forget where you started… - This post is a reminder of why you got married or into a relationship with your spouse/significant other, and some tips on how to make it work better or keep it working wonderfully!
- Why your friends are costing you money, and what you can do to stop it! - This post is all about being friends with people who have a larger income than you and ways to avoid the pressure of spending too much money, or spending money that you don’t have when you hang out/spend time with them!
- So, going to the gym is like budgeting my finances? - This post draws parallels between going to the gym and budgeting your finances. Not only are there insights into better ways to budget your money, but there are also a few tips on going to the gym! You can’t beat that!
So, those are the blog posts that we’d like for you to go back and take a second look at! Hopefully, you will find some information that helps you along in your life, or reaffirms what you already have in practice!
“clips episode” of previous posts that are “must reads”
