As the holiday shopping season gets underway, there is giddy talk of how much money shoppers are saving this year.
Unfortunately, this is a mindset that is rather common among consumers. We have this idea that we are “saving” money when we get a good deal.
The reality, though, is that you aren’t actually saving money.
You are just spending less.
The words we use have a big impact on our behaviors.
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You’ve heard me talk about Groupon before. I’ve reviewed Groupon and I wrote about their Gap national deal a while back.
Truth is I don’t usually mention deals here on Free From Broke, but this deal was pretty popular last year and Groupon is running it again this year.
Here’s today’s deal:
American Apparel
or
Groupon deals tend to be for local stores and activities but occasionally they roll out a national deal. This particular deal is limited to one per person, for U.S. residents only. You can buy an additional Groupon as a gift.
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Black Friday isn’t just for retail stores.
ING Direct/Capital One 360 (Capital One 360 is their new name come February) is offering up their annual Black Friday specials this year from November 23rd through November 25th.
If you don’t feel like going out and spending your money you can check out what ING Direct will be offering for you to save.
You know I’ve been an ING Direct customer for years and think it’s a great place for online savings so I’m pretty excited to see what they are going to offer (we also use their online checking and their ShareBuilder investing site)!
When you do your Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping don’t just think of things for the upcoming holidays — think long-term!
Many sales are at their best on these days. It may be worth it for you to take advantage now and buy items for events and purposes throughout the year.
Many a time has passed where I thought I’d see an item on sale again but it ended up not being as good as the Black Friday or Cyber Monday price. Damn! Missed out.
Of course for this to work you have to have money in your budget to buy extra now for the rest of the year. It’s silly to put great deals on credit if you are going to end up paying credit card interest later on.
If you think out it and plan well, buying now can save you money, and time, for the upcoming year.
The changing of seasons is the perfect time to check your home’s energy efficiency, especially when much of the country will be facing cold temperatures in a few months (except for those lucky few living in warmer climates).
As temperatures cool, now is the time to make some updates to your home to save energy and efficiency and avoid costly repairs.
Roth IRAs are by far my favorite type of investment holding account available.
I love the idea of setting aside $5,000 in after-tax money in order to never pay taxes on the amount ever again.
There are other perks to using a Roth IRA besides never paying income tax on your nest egg. One of the most prominent: you can withdraw your contributions at any time, even before retirement. (This isn’t recommended, of course, but it is possible.) You won’t pay any penalty or taxes for withdrawing your contributions under normal situations. You will pay tax and penalties if you withdraw your investment earnings, so never do this.
This unique withdrawal capability has some people counting on their Roth IRAs as an emergency fund.
But is this a wise choice or a fool’s gamble?
Ten years ago the Internet used to be a luxury that wealthy families could afford, but now most have it.
According to Nielsen, of the 80% of American homes that have a computer, 92% of them have Internet access.
With this access, they also have a powerful tool to save money.
Sure, we have to pay monthly for our Internet service, but my guess is that people who use the Internet wisely save at least as much as they spend for Internet access, if not more.
Have you given thought lately to all of the ways the Internet saves you money?
Here are just a few I came up with:
When I went back to school some years ago I expected tuition to be higher, and it was. But I was shocked at how expensive textbooks had become!
I quickly realized I had to figure out how to get my textbooks for less!
There are many different savings vehicles to choose from, but two of the most common are money market accounts and savings accounts.
There are similarities between the two—both pay interest, have fixed balances, and are pretty easy to deposit money into or withdraw it out. Either account type could accomplish your savings goals.
But there are significant differences between them, and those differences could help you decide when one is more appropriate as a savings vehicle than the other.
For the last several years, companies have generously offered freebies as a way to get new customers in the door (and perhaps spend more money with the business offering the freebie). A wise consumer may choose to take advantage of the freebie and not necessarily buy more.
