WOOLWORTHS is pinning its hopes on one key new strategy as it fights to win back more money from your weekly shop.
Source NEWS.com.au | Business http://ift.tt/1PVvWBv
الأحد، 29 نوفمبر 2015
The {Ultimate} Guide to Saving Money: 67 Money Saving Tips That Can Turn Into REAL Money
Everybody talks about saving money.
That’s a great idea – in theory.
But implementing the mechanics of it are another story.
To help you out, I’ve assembled a list of 67 money saving tips – some of them my own ideas, others provided by other bloggers.
Using just a few of these tips can turn into real money – like thousands of dollars each year.
In fact, by my rough calculations, I tallied that by using all of these money saving tips you should be able to add over $9,743 to your pocket.
Pick up the ones that will work well for you, and have at it!
1. Take Advantage of Priceline’s “Name Your Own Price” For Travel
This one is from Tom Nitzsche at ClearPoint Credit Counseling Solutions. Tom books most of his travel through Priceline’s “Name Your Own Price” feature.
With the help of a forum at BiddingForTravel.com he discovered bidding strategies and has saved an average of 60% vs. hotel direct rates, including 4-star hotels for as little as $45 a night and rented cars for as little as $9 a day.
2. Ask Yourself Did I need it yesterday?
Lena Gott at What Mommy Does recommends Five Words That Will Save You Thousands Every Year. The five words are “Did I need it yesterday?”. Think of it as a filtering question to keep you from spending money you don’t really need to.
3. Pay Yourself First
We’ve all heard this before, but Natalie Bacon The Finance Girl takes it a step further, recommending that you do it with your savings. You do this simply by setting up an automatic transfer from your paycheck to a designated account, so that the money will go into savings without you ever realizing that the money is missing.
4. Follow Through on Cash-back Rebates
Rebates are available with a lot of products, but especially with big-ticket purchases. Unfortunately, it’s easy to get lazy when it comes time to redeem those rebates. But don’t – you’re leaving easy money on the table if you do.
Make it a practice to redeem any rebates immediately after purchase. Usually, waiting just a few days is all it takes to forget about it completely.
5. Cook at Home
Kate Horrell recommends learning how to cook, then cooking at home as often as possible. The more meals that you could eat at home, the more you will save on restaurant meals. But the key is learning how to cook delicious meals, so that you won’t even want to go out to eat in the first place.
6. Get a Free Checking Account
Now that free checking is no longer automatic, many people just throw their hands up and accept a paid checking account as a fact of life. But it isn’t. Many credit unions offer free checking once you become a member.
A few banks do as well.
One example is TD Bank’s Convenience Checking account. You get free checking as long as you maintain a $100 minimum daily balance. If you now pay $10 per month for your checking account, this simple move will save you $120 per year.
7. Create a Compelling Savings Goal
Scott Maderer at Christian Stewardship Coaching recommends having a REASON to save. “You have to find your why, then set up systems to control behavior or you’ll never really save”, says Scott.
Create a valid reason to save, and you’ll probably have no trouble doing so going forward.
Need some financial goal examples? Here’s a comprehensive list of short-term goals and long-term goals.
8. Cut Back on Your Cable TV Service
Eliminating cable TV is a common money-saving suggestion. But it can backfire. Cable TV is an at-home source of entertainment, and it will keep you from seeking more expensive forms of entertainment outside the home.
So rather than eliminating your cable service entirely, cut back to the minimum service available.
Depending upon what kind of plan you have, the savings can be substantial.
9. Pay Your Credit Card Balances in Full Each Month
Nothing complicated here, but with most credit cards no interest is due as long as you pay within the grace period. By paying off your balance at the end of each month, you avoid adding interest expense to virtually everything you purchase with the card.
10. Cap Your Christmas Gift Giving
Depending upon how you celebrate Christmas, it could be a major annual expense. But Rosemarie Groner of The Busy Budgeter recommends celebrating an alternative Christmas, and has written an article to describe it, $10 Christmas.
It involves changing the familiar gifts-for-everyone holiday routine over to doing a family event or trip, or a secret Santa gift exchange, or doing a favor – instead of giving a gift to everyone in your universe.
11. Buy a Refurbished Computer
Instead of buying a brand-new computer – which can easily cost over $1,000 – instead consider buying a refurbished computer. You can pick one up for a fraction of the cost of a new computer.
It’s a perfect way to save money if you are looking for a second computer, or to buy a starter computer for one of your children.
12. Increase Your Insurance Deductibles
This is one of the best ways to save money on all kinds of insurance – health, homeowners, auto – you name it. And there’s a way to do this without increasing your risk. Simply make sure that you have enough additional money in your emergency fund to cover the higher deductible in the event that it’s needed.
For example, if you raise your car insurance from $500 to $1,000, you won’t be increasing your risk at all by adding an extra $1,000 to your emergency fund. Your deductible will be covered, and your premium will decrease.
13. Reduce Your Internet Speed
This depends upon what it is you use your Internet for. If you use it for business, and you work out of your home, it’s obviously not recommended.
But if you only use it for surfing, shopping, and social media, you can save a few dollars a month by reducing Internet speed. How much you can say will depend upon your carrier, and the kinds of plans that they offer.
14. Question All Price Increases
This tip comes from David Rubenstein’s post 13 Financial Habits That Can Change Your Life For the Better. David recommends questioning all price increases, regardless of the source. He’s had success doing this with his cable company, but admits that you may have to threaten to cancel service.
If you do that with enough services, you can save a nice chunk of money every year, and largely reverse the automatic price increase mechanism that so many providers use.
15. Buy Your Next Cell Phone Through Amazon.com
You probably use Amazon.com for a lot of your purchases. But you can also use them to purchase your next cell phone. They offer virtually all of the top phones, that can be used with the major carriers.
But you can get them at a substantial discount over what you will pay to the major cell phone providers.
16. Improve Your FICO Score and Lower Your Interest Rates
This advice has so many applications, including saving money. After all, a better credit score translates to lower interest rates on all kinds of loans, including car loans and credit cards.
In addition, the better your FICO score is, the more opportunities you will have to refinance high interest rate debt into lower interest rate loans.
Set a course to increase your credit score by at least 50 points for the next 12 months – it will be well worth the invested time.
17. Target Student Loans With Your Pay Raises
Jeffrey Trull of Student Loan Hero recommends that you apply 50% of every pay raise you get towards repaying student loan debt, or any other debt if you have no student loans.
“When you get a raise, it’s easy to absorb 100% of the extra money into your normal budget”, says David.
“But if you’re already getting by or are comfortable on your current salary, taking just half of your raise and paying off student loan debt is reasonable and manageable for many borrowers. And of course, you still get to enjoy the other 50% of your raise!”
18. Pay Your Insurance Bills Annually
Most insurance companies give you several options when it comes to making payments. They can be monthly, quarterly, semiannually or annually. The more frequent the payments, the lower they are, which is easier on your budget.
However, they typically charge a few dollars extra for each payment, compared to what you would pay if you pay the entire bill on an annual basis. You can find yourself saving $60 or more by paying an insurance bill an annual basis, and eliminating the monthly service charges.
19. Cancel Memberships You Don’t Use, or Hardly Use
Do some serious soul-searching here – do you have any memberships that you either don’t use, or use only infrequently? If you do, getting rid of them is one of the easiest ways to save money.
Cutting an unused gym membership is high on this list. Many people decide to join a gym either on a dare or as a New Year’s resolution, use the service a few times then never come back. This is a complete waste of money, and one you can eliminate by terminating the service.
20. Shop with eBates
Look into eBates and you may find yourself saving money on purchases you never imagined. eBates is a website that helps you to earn cash back on your online purchases. You’re going to buy online anyway, so give eBates a try – it’s completely free to use.
21. No Spending Days
Jeff at Sustainable Life Blog recommends adding as many “no spending days” to your calendar as possible. A no spending day is a day where you don’t spend any money at all (other than required payments).
It means not going to the grocery store, not going to the mall, and not going on recreational shopping sprees. Several no spending days per month can literally save you hundreds of dollars on unnecessary spending.
22. Don’t Celebrate Holidays on the Actual Holiday
Kirk Chisholm of Innovative Wealth recommends celebrating holidays on some day other than the actual holiday. He said that Valentine’s Day is a prime example. On February 14th, the price of cards, gifts, flowers, and restaurant meals go up.
But by celebrating a couple of days before, or a couple of days after, you can save a lot of money.
23. Take Advantage of Health Savings Accounts
Coach Chad Carson strongly suggests using a Health Savings Account (HSAs) with a qualifying health insurance plan. “A contribution to an HSA is fully deductible, which saves you taxes now,” says Chad.
“But what few people realize is that you can invest the HSA funds and not spend them now. Instead you can save receipts for medical expenses and get reimbursed many years later. The growth in the meantime is all TAX FREE, just like an IRA or 401k.”
That’s some good advice!
24. Get Cheaper Cell Phone Service
John Schmoll at Frugal Rules suggests cutting your high cost cell phone bill by switching your service over to a different carrier. “The average monthly cell phone bill is $150 with the top carriers,” says John.
“You don’t need to spend that much, especially if you’re on WiFi most of the time! We recently left for a no-contract carrier and are saving $100 per month on what we had previously been paying with Verizon.”
It could work for you too.
25. Move Your Credit Card Balances to a 0% Card
There are plenty of credit card companies that are issuing 0% balance transfers. If you can qualify for one, you can eliminate interest on your current card for the length of the 0% period.
If you’re currently paying 14% on $10,000 in credit card debt, and can move the entire balance over to a 0% balance transfer card, you will save $1,400 in one year by making the switch.
26. Automate Your IRA Contributions
Robert Farrington recommends automating contributions to your IRA account. Most employers will allow you to make direct deposits into several accounts. Make one to your IRA, and your account will grow steadily without your ever seeing the money leave your paycheck.
27. Rent Movies Though Redbox
Redbox has thousands of kiosks all across the country, and probably several in your neighborhood. You can rent movies there for a dollar and change, which is even less expensive than many of the online rental services.
You can also use it to find movies that are not available from other sources. It’s like Blockbuster, but without the stores and without the high prices.
28. Prioritize – and Cut – Your Expenses
Joseph Hogue recommends prioritizing your expenses to help you cut them. He recommends listing your expenses by most important to least important – without listing the monthly cost. “The ones at the bottom will be first on the chopping block if you need to save money,” he says.
“When people list out the monthly cost of each expense, a lot of frivolous spending stays on the budget because, it’s ‘just a few bucks a month, no big deal’. But the problem is that the ‘little things’ can add up to big spending. Taking a first look without the cheap miscellany makes it easier to save all the money you can.”
29. Talk to Your Spouse Before Making a Major Spending Decision
Elle Martinez of Couple Money recommends talking with your spouse or making major purchases. The idea is to “update one another on purchases you’re thinking about,” she says. “Having that second opinion has been wonderful – not only do we stay on track for our goals, but we’re communicating more and that’s great in a marriage.”
30. Control the Biggest Expenses
Julie Rains at Investing to Thrive recommends that you control your major fixed expenses. “Don’t buy the biggest and baddest big thing for which the bank will lend you money,” she advises.
“Be careful about the amount you pay for your home and your car and big ticket items like private-school tuition, boats, bicycles, and more…Put a lid of the big items and it’s very likely you’ll have money available for discretionary spending (like groceries), charitable giving, and retirement savings.”
Makes perfect sense!
31. Get Rid of Your Landline Telephone
Are you one of the last remaining holdouts on this transition? Unless you use your landline telephone for business purposes, it’s almost certainly time to get rid of it. In an age of cell phones with unlimited talk and text, a landline telephone is mostly a blatant waste of money.
And as the number of traditional landline phones declines, the plans are only getting more expensive. For most people, this is one of the easiest ways to save money.
32. Marry Someone With Compatible Money Goals
Kara Stevens recommends marrying a partner that is financially compatible with your life’s vision. If you’re both on the same page when it comes to money, it will be easier to accomplish all things financial.
33. Pay Small Car Insurance Claims Out of Pocket
Chris Long from Longevity Insurance Brokers explains that if an auto insurance claim is small – particularly if it’s less than your deductible – take care of it without involving the insurance company. If it is less than the deductible, the insurance company isn’t going to pay anything anyway. But they will likely raise your premium as a result.
You may even find that it’s your advantage to pay out-of-pocket even if damages exceed your deductible. You have to make that determination based on the amount that your insurance is likely to increase as a result of the claim.
34. Get Rid of Cell Phone Insurance Plans
Never assume that getting insurance for your cell phone is the right thing to do. If you crunch the numbers, you’re very likely to find that having the insurance will actually cost you more money in the event of a loss than doing without it. This is particularly true of higher end cell phones.
Calculate the cost of the coverage over the term of your contract, and add in an amount for the deductible. If that amount is comparable to the cost of replacing your phone, you can save money by doing without it, and taking the chance that you will never need to replace the phone.
35. Buy – Don’t Rent – Your Cable Modem
Jim Wang recommends you buy your cable modem rather than renting it from your cable company. This will not only give you ownership of your modem, but will also eliminate the monthly rental fee that you are currently paying your cable TV provider.
It is very likely that the cost of the modem will be recovered within the first year of ownership, as a result of the rental payments you will not need to make. He refers to this as the Upgrade & Save Strategy.
36. Avoid Paid Extended Warranties
Extended warranties can make you feel better about a major purchase, but they don’t usually save you money. Not only are they relatively expensive to purchase, but they often have a long list of exclusions in the fine print that will invalidate the coverage under common circumstances.
Most major purchases will be repaired by the manufacturer within the first year anyway, and it’s likely that any repair expense you encounter later will cost no more than price of the warranty.
37. Share Your Living Space
Elizabeth Colegrove at Reluctant Landlord recommends reducing your housing expense by renting out a room in your house. The income from that rental will reduce your monthly housing expense.
Also, if you are living in an area that is popular with tourists and travelers, check out Airbnb. It’s an online service that allows you to rent out part or all of your home to travelers, and can provide a nice extra income.
38. Buy Used Cars
Jacob Wade at I Heart Budgets recommends buying used cars, rather than new ones.
“The average new car loses about 60% of it’s value within the first 5 years. According to USA Today, the average new car costs about $33,000. After 5 years, that car is worth $13,200,” says Jacob.
“If you buy used, you can pick up that 5-year old car for almost $20,000 off. Do this every 10 years, and invest the $20,000 saved at 7% (in low cost index funds, of course), and you’ll have $29,500 after 10 years, $87,300 after 20 years, and $201,300 after 30 years.”
Do we have to say any more?
39. Invest Up to the Employer Match on Your 401(k)
An employer matching contribution on a 401(k) plan is like getting free money. If you’re not participating your company plan, you are virtually giving out free money. Contribute to your plan as much as it will take to max out the match.
If the company will pay a 50% match up to a 6% contribution by you, then make the 6% contribution each year. The company will match it with 3%. That’s a 50% return on your money – don’t let that get away!
40. Borrow Books and Movies from the Library
Steve Chou of My Wife Quit Her Job recommends using the local library as much as possible to get books, movies, music, and even e-books. You can save quite a bit of money this way if you have young children, who are in constant need of entertainment. “Our kids absolutely devour books and our library lets us check out up to 100 books at a time,” says Steve.
41. Ask Controlling Questions When You Spend Money
Todd Tresidder at Financial Mentor recommends that you ask two questions before each purchase:
- Is this taking me toward my goals or away from my goals?
- Is this getting me the highest and best value for my money?
“When you ask these two questions you’ll align your spending with your deepest values and goals,” says Todd, “which will automatically reduce how much you spend without any discipline or deprivation because you’re going toward what you want most.”
42. Buy Term and Invest the Difference
Term life insurance isn’t just cheaper than a whole life – it’s MUCH cheaper. We could be talking as much as 90% cheaper. If you can pay $500 for a term life insurance policy, rather than $5,000 for whole life, you’d save $4,500 per year.
Imagine what that will do to your investment portfolio if you decide to invest it, rather than putting it into a whole life policy?
43. Impose a Waiting Period for Major Purchases
Nick Loper at Side Hustle Nation recommends that you impose a waiting period for major purchases. “One of the most effective ways I have to curb impulse spending is called The 30-day Waiting Period,” says Nick.
“I see some item I’d like to buy. Instead of purchasing it right away, I set a calendar reminder for 30 days out that says, ‘Hey, remember that item you wanted? You should totally get it now.’ But now a month has passed and my attitude toward said item may have changed.”
You’ll probably side against a lot of purchases if you have enough time to think about it.
44. Embrace the Fine Art of Brown Bagging Your Lunch
A lot of people buy lunch out every workday. Even if you are buying lunch at fast food restaurants at “only” $6, that’s still $30 a week, and around $1,500 per year. But cut that in half – by bringing lunch from home – and you can save $750 per year.
45. Save Up Your Loose Change
Jessica Garbarino at Every Single Dollar recommends saving of your loose change. “Put all your loose change in a jar or cup,” she advises. “It’s an easy way to save for something without even thinking about it. When I was growing up, this was how our family of nine was able to pay to go to the Minnesota State Fair – parking, admission, food, and rides. We even came home with extra money!”
You could do the same, and it wouldn’t hurt a bit.
46. Quit Smoking!
Let’s say cigarettes are $6 a pack – that’s just a rough guess, hey, I’m not a smoker! But if you smoke a pack a day, that’s almost $2,200 a year. Quitting will not only save you that kind of money, but it will also improve your health and probably extend your lifespan. This means your life insurance premiums will also go down. This is because life insurance on a smoker is much more expensive than that for a non-smoker.
47. Buy Generic Medicines Whenever Possible
The difference in price between name brand medications and generics can be huge. Sometimes the cost of generics are even less than the copayments on a prescription drug plan. But going with generics is even more important you don’t have a prescription drug plan.
Ask your doctor to recommend a generic medication for any prescription. If you forget, ask the pharmacist to make a substitution, it’s the prescription permits it.
48. Never Assume that Buying Online is Always Cheaper
It’s often assumed that merchandise is cheaper when you purchase it online. That is true most of the time, but never assume that it’s always the case. Look for the best price you can find online, and then see what’s available from merchants in your area.
Always remember as well that you have to factor shipping into the cost of any item you purchase online. Sometimes buying local is actually less expensive.
49. Change the Air Filter in Your Furnace Regularly
It’s generally recommended that the air filter in your furnace is changed on a regular basis. But it’s also very easy to forget doing this. If you fail to do so, and the filter becomes clogged, air will have difficulty passing through the filter into the unit, forcing it to work harder and run longer. That will increase your heating (or electricity for air conditioning), often substantially. The filter can be changed out for a few dollars, resulting in big savings.
50. Become a Regular Thrift Shopper
If you add shopping trips to thrift stores once or twice a month, it’s likely that you’ll come up with needed items at deep discounts. Shopping in thrift stores has to be something of a habit. That’s because it’s generally not possible to go to a thrift store looking for something specific.
You should become a periodic shopper, that way you will find needed items as you go. And don’t be surprised if you’re saving $.90 on the dollar on the items that you do buy.
51. Buy Offseason
Whenever stores stock up for the upcoming season, prices will be at their peak. But if you can buy off-season, you can usually take advantage of closeout sales. For example, since very few people buy bathing suits in August or September, you’ll find the prices to be much lower than what they are in May and June.
52. Always Sell What You No Longer Need
Most people throw out items that they no longer need, and do so without much thought. But instead of throwing out those items, try selling them first. If it’s something that’s small and has a high dollar value, try to sell it on eBay. If it is a larger item, try selling on Craigslist. The idea is to try and get at least some money on everything that you are planning on getting rid of.
53. Make Having a Garage Sale an Annual Event (at a Minimum)
Having periodic garage sales will not only help you clear the clutter out of your home, but will also give you an opportunity to make some money in the process. Plan on having one or two sales per year, and whatever doesn’t sell, you can try to sell on either eBay or Craigslist.
54. Use the Mall for Window Shopping Only
It can be fun to shop at the mall, but it’s also ridiculously expensive. Retailers pay higher rents to be in the mall, and they will pass those costs on to you in the process. So use the mall only as a place to go window shopping, but make your actual purchases in non-mall stores.
55. Barter Services with Family, Friends, Neighbors and Co-workers
This is best explained as an example. Let’s say you have young children, and you need babysitting on occasion. Your neighbor – who is a perfectly suitable babysitter – has a small business, and needs help with bookkeeping. Since you have an accounting background, you can do her bookkeeping, and she can babysit your children. You both get what you want, and no money changes hands.
Work out similar arrangements with other people, and you can save thousands of dollars each year.
56. Buy Fuel Efficient Cars – No Matter How Cheap Gas Is
It’s common for people to drop their guard and buy gas guzzling premium vehicles when the price of gasoline is low. But when gas prices rise, you face two problems:
- You’re stuck paying high prices to keep your tank filled, and
- The value of your gas guzzler drops, while the price of fuel efficient subcompacts rises
No matter how low gas prices are, when you buy your next car, pretend that gas prices are at $5 a gallon. You can’t go wrong with that strategy.
57. Buy a Second Refrigerator – and Buy it Second Hand
One of the best ways to save money on your grocery bill is by buying in bulk and buying what items are on sale. But that will do you little good if you have nowhere to store perishable foods.
For that reason, you should have a second refrigerator or freezer to store the overflow. And when you buy one, buy it secondhand to save even more money.
58. Invest in No Load Funds Only
If a fund returns 10% in a year, but you have to pay a 2% load to buy into the fund, your actual return is just 8%. If there is a back load, you’ll pay twice. But by investing only in no load funds, you’ll eliminate loads, and improve your investment returns. That’s about saving money on your investments.
59. Invest in Index-based Funds Whenever Possible
You can save even more money on your investments by putting your money into index-based funds. These funds have lower, lower investment expenses – and lower capital gains taxes – because they don’t trade as frequently as actively managed funds do. They change their stock portfolios only when the underlying index changes, and that doesn’t happen very often.
60. Minimize Your TV Viewing
When we watch TV, we think we’re doing it to be entertained. But the reality is that were being sold. That’s what advertising is all about. In a single half-hour TV program, you’ll watch eight minutes of commercials. Each one is an attempt to get you to spend your money on something that you wouldn’t otherwise buy. The process is very subliminal, but it’s also highly effective. The more time you spend watching TV, the more money you are likely to spend. That makes a strong financial case for spending as little time as possible watching.
61. Grow Your Own Food
Growing your own food enables you to eat organic food, without having to pay the premium prices that grocery stores charge. Unless you live on a farm, you won’t be able to grow all or even most of the food you eat. But you can save a substantial amount of money if you can produce at least 10%. For example, if you spend about $8,000 per year on food, you can save $800 by growing 10% of it yourself.
A relatively small patch your backyard is all the land that you will need. And if you live in a condominium or apartment, look into growing food at a local community garden. The food will be healthier, and you can save some money.
62. Buy Used Video Games
Most gamers play a game only until they master it – then it goes into storage for “later”. But as a rule games aren’t cheap, so look to buy them secondhand for a savings of 50% or more. You can do this through Gamestop, which has hundreds of stores across the country. Not only can you buy the games there for less than retail price, but you may be able to get some money selling your games to the company as well.
63. Payoff a Debt – Then Another…
One of the very best money-saving tips is paying off debt. If you owe $2,000 on a credit card, and pay a $40 per month minimum, you can save $40 per month – permanently – by paying off the debt. Payoff your smallest debt as soon as you can, and then go for the next smallest. You’ll save money with each debt that you eliminate.
64. Participate in Referral Programs at Work – It’s Easy Money
There is a very good chance that your employer has some kind of referral program in place. It could involve referring new customers, new employees, or even making valuable suggestions. Find out what they offer, and then participate whenever and wherever you can. If they pay $100 for a referral, try to make as many as you can in the course of the year – it’s easy money, and it can add up.
65. Buy Generic Brands Wherever Possible
If you’re addicted to name brand items, you’re spending a lot of money that you don’t need to. This is commonly when it comes to buying food, but it can also apply to other purchases, such as clothing, toys, and recreational equipment. Buy brand names only for very special – and limited – items. And buy generic for everything else.
66. Always Grocery Shop With a List
By using a grocery list when you shop, you’ll not only be aware of exactly what you need to buy, but you’ll also know what you don’t need to buy. That can be even more important. Not being sure if you need something can turn you into an impulse shopper. That will always cost you more. Make a list, and follow it religiously. You’ll almost certainly find your grocery bills going down as a result.
67. Cook Enough for at Least Two Meals
Many people go to fast food restaurants on those nights were they just don’t feel like cooking. But you can work around this by cooking at least enough for two meals when you do cook. That will provide you with quick meals that you can warm up in short order, rather than taking a run to a restaurant.
Not only will that save you money on restaurant meals, but it’s also likely that it’s less expensive when you cook in bulk. That’s a way to save money on two fronts.
Like I said at the beginning of this long-list post, if you implement just a few of these tips, you’ll save thousands of dollars every year. That’s worth changing a few habits – don’t you think?
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12 Must-Have Browser Extensions for Scoring Big Deals on Cyber Monday
Whereas many people shop on Black Friday for the experience, Cyber Monday is more of a purist’s shopping day: It’s about the deals, and the deals only.
You’ve probably made sure your computer and Internet connection are up to the task, but what about your web browser?
Did you know there are a whole slew of FREE tools that can help you browse — and let’s be honest, shop — more securely and efficiently? They’re called browser extensions (think of them like apps for Chrome, Firefox and Safari), and they can do everything from find the best price to count down the minutes until a sale starts.
Here are 12 browser extensions to keep you secure, sane and on budget this Cyber Monday.
Browser Extensions to Keep You More Secure
With cyber attacks and stolen identities proliferating in the news, it’s important to take your security seriously while shopping online. These browser extensions should help.
1. LastPass
Smart Cyber Monday shoppers have their information saved on their favorite websites so they won’t miss out on any hot deals… But that does mean a lot of login info to remember.
Stop using your pet’s name for every password (thereby leaving your billing information vulnerable), and, instead, use LastPass to create and save strong passwords for each retailer.
2. SiteJabber
So you’ve spotted an awesome deal online — but you’ve never heard of the website. How do you know if it’s safe to give it your credit card information?
SiteJabber to the rescue. Using an easy red-yellow-green light system, it quickly shows you a website’s trustworthiness and level of customer service, based on reviews from their 700,000 users.
3. HTTPS Everywhere
In case you didn’t know, you’re only supposed to shop at sites that start with “https://”; the “s” stands for secure. Sometimes, though, sites have both secure and unsecure versions — and who are we to keep track?
HTTPS Everywhere ensures you’re on the secure version of every site, which helps protect you against surveillance and account hijacking.
4. Panic Button
You’re shopping for a watch for your husband. You have a million tabs open while you decide on the perfect style and best price. Then, all of a sudden, he walks in. Ah! What do you do?
Instead of freaking out and spilling your coffee all over the keyboard, just press the Panic Button. It hides all of your tabs with a single click — and best of all, saves them for easy shopping once he leaves the room.
Browser Extensions to Keep You Organized
The key to a successful holiday shopping season isn’t insider knowledge or crazy couponing; it’s staying organized.
We found a bunch of browser extensions that will keep you sane on Cyber Monday — or, really, any time of the year.
5. The Great Suspender
Speaking of all those tabs, are they taking up valuable memory and slowing down your computer? The Great Suspender unloads, suspends or parks your unused tabs — essentially putting them to sleep while you’re not using them — which will keep your computer up to speed on the big day.
Though this specific app is only available in Chrome, Firefox users can try Suspend Tab.
6. Cool Clock
Want to check a site every hour for new deals? Know of a deal that’s going live at a specific time? Don’t rely on your memory; use Cool Clock to set alarms, countdowns or hourly notifications. In Firefox, use Simple Timer.
7. Smile Always
Have you heard of AmazonSmile before? It’s a program that allows you to donate .5% of your eligible Amazon purchases to the charity of your choice. Only problem? You have to remember to sign in through the special portal, and nobody has time for that — especially on Cyber Monday.
The Smile Always extension automatically redirects regular Amazon pages through the portal, allowing you to effortlessly support your favorite cause. For Firefox users, there’s Smile Redirect; for Safari, AlwaysSmile.
8. Better History
You found the perfect price on a new KitchenAid… Only, you can’t remember what site it was on. It happens to the best of us.
Better History presents a comprehensive way to search through your history — and it also allows for easy deletion, in case you don’t want your kids seeing what presents you were looking at. Norwell History Tools is a similar extension for Firefox, as is Fetching.io for Safari.
9. StandApp
Unlike Black Monday when you’re out fighting the crowds, Cyber Monday involves a lot of sitting and waiting. Though the anticipation might get your blood pumping, all that sitting isn’t good for your health.
StandApp is a great everyday extension that reminds you to stand up for two minutes every 20 minutes. Non-Chrome users can download similar apps for Mac or iPhone, or simply set a timer.
Browser Extensions for Saving Money
The whole point of Cyber Monday shopping is saving money, right? If you’re nodding your head, these three browser extensions are not-to-be missed.
10. Piggy
If you only download browser extension, make it this one. When you’re ready to check out, all you have to do is click on the Piggy button, and it finds and applies the coupon code that saves you the most money. Even better, you’ll also earn cash-back rewards at more than 1,400 stores.
11. Coupons at Checkout
If you want a little more control over your coupon codes, try Coupons at Checkout. When it comes time to complete your purchase, the coupon code box turns red if the extension has found available coupons. Once you click in the box, it displays them for easy picking.
12. InvisibleHand
Like its name suggests, InvisibleHand works in the background while you’re shopping, only appearing when it’s found a cheaper price on the item you’re looking at. Bonus feature: When you Google a product, it also shows you the lowest real-time prices.
Get ready for Cyber Monday by installing (and familiarizing yourself with!) these browser extensions now. We’re certain they’ll help you make the most of this digital shopping holiday.
Your Turn: Do you have a favorite browser extension? Any you planning on using any of these on Cyber Monday?
Susan Shain, senior writer for The Penny Hoarder, is always seeking adventure on a budget. Visit her blog at susanshain.com, or say hi on Twitter @susan_shain.
This post originally ran on our Cyber Monday blog.
The post 12 Must-Have Browser Extensions for Scoring Big Deals on Cyber Monday appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.
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Dick Smith shares take a dive
IF YOU have shares in Dick Smith, this is going to hurt. The retailer’s stock is now the second worst performing on the ASX.
Source NEWS.com.au | Business http://ift.tt/1Q74jns
Source NEWS.com.au | Business http://ift.tt/1Q74jns
Cyber Monday Deal-Stacking: Here’s Your Step-by-Step Guide
Cyber Monday, the Monday after Thanksgiving, turns the Black Friday shopping frenzy into a weekend-long affair.
Just as with the in-store deals on Black Friday, shop your favorite retailers online for limited-time discounts on November 30.
But even Cyber Monday deals can be better with some clever deal-stacking! We’d be remiss to let you go shopping without a few extra tips for saving the most money.
On top of already-enticing store discounts, save more money with coupons, rebates, free shipping and cash back on your online shopping.
Follow these steps to turn your Cyber Monday deals into savings only a true Penny Hoarder could achieve.
1. Decide What You Want to Buy
Start with knowing what’s worth buying on Cyber Monday. The online-only deals are often a way for smaller retailers, who can’t compete with the likes of Wal-Mart and Best Buy on Black Friday, to get in the game.
Get your electronics and small gadget purchases out of the way on Black Friday. The deals tend to be better then.
Save purchases of toys, clothing and travel for Cyber Monday. This is a great holiday for thrifty fashionistas!
2. Make a List — and Stick to It
Make a list before you start shopping.
Ads coming at you from all angles combined with the simplicity of clicking from store to store make overspending way too easy online.
Creating a shopping list gives you a game plan to follow so you can ignore distractions, stay on track and keep your spending under control.
Download our Holiday Shopping Worksheet to keep your shopping list, holiday budget and coupons organized in one place!
3. Find Deals and Compare Prices
Once you have your list, make sure you know the best place to buy everything on it. Planning ahead is key to getting the best deal.
Compare Prices
Before choosing a store, use PriceGrabber.com to compare prices on the items on your list.
The site will allow you to see a list of online retailers that carry an item. Prices are side-by-side, so you can quickly pick out which has the best offer.
Find Deals
Deals are tough to follow any time of the year — that’s why we love deal aggregators.
Follow our Cyber Monday Deals Site to keep track of deals throughout the day on November 30.
Also, check out these sites that keep an eye on daily deal companies like Groupon and LivingSocial, so you can see the best deals in one place:
4. Choose the Best Way to Pay
When you’re ready to check out, choose your method of payment carefully. It could be a valuable decision.
Store Credit Cards
This can factor into which store is the best deal for the items on your list. What kind of bonuses or rewards will you get if you pay with a store’s branded credit card?
Store credit cards can come with drawbacks — high interest rates, limited use — but here are a three Credit.com says are worth picking up before you begin holiday shopping:
You won’t collect points per purchase with this card, but you’ll get at least 12 coupons for discounts of 15-30% every year.
Choose between 5% cash back or promotional financing. Also receive free shipping on orders of $35 or more, plus exclusive discounts, special sales and members-only events.
While you’ll get no rewards and unremarkable discounts, this card can be useful if you’re working to build or fix your credit.
It’s one of the easiest store credit cards to be approved for, and comes with perks like receiving a free monthly FICO score and cash withdrawals in store with no fees or interest.
Discounted Gift Cards
Planning ahead can help you save tons of money shopping on Cyber Monday, because you can get your hands on some discounted gift cards.
Once you know what you want to buy and where you’ll buy it, visit Raise to purchase a gift card for that store. Sellers typically unload cards they got as gifts or ones they’re not interested in anymore, so you’ll pay less than the value of the card — an automatic discount on anything you buy with it!
If you’re a big shopper, you can load up on cards from popular stores like Target, Best Buy or Amazon. Keep them organized with Gyft, so they’re easily accessible when you’re ready to pay.
Use CostShredder to find which sites offer the best deal on gift cards for the store you want to shop.
Rewards Credit Card
Do you have a cash-back credit card? If you budget well and pay off your balance each month, these can be a smart way to earn rewards for things you’re going to buy anyway.
Compare the rewards you can earn by shopping on Cyber Monday with your cash-back credit card to savings from other payment methods. The credit card could be a better deal overall.
Or, maybe you’ve been trying to save points for a trip or other bonuses. Cyber Monday shopping could be the push you need!
If you don’t already have a card, we always recommend the Barclay Rewards MasterCard, because they offer 1% cash back on all purchases. But some credit cards can be more attractive at different times throughout the year because of rotating bonuses.
With the Chase Freedom card, for example, you can earn 5% cash back on up to $1,500 spent from October 1 to December 31 in these categories:
- Amazon.com
- Zappos.com
- Audible.com
- Diapers.com
- Discover
- Department Stores
- Clothing Stores
Stretch Your Money Further
If you pay with a credit or debit card, make your purchase do double duty by connecting the card with an auto-savings app — our favorite is Acorns.
When you make a purchase with a card connected to the app, Acorns will automatically round up to the next dollar and deposit the “digital change” into your Acorns account.
Then they invest the money into super-simple portfolios to help your money grow. It’s a cool way to make a little extra money while you shop — you probably won’t miss that loose change anyway, so why not put it to work?
5. Shop Through a Cash-Back Website
Anytime you shop online, you should take advantage of cash-back sites! Earn back some of the money you spend at every site — you’ll either earn direct cash or points to redeem for gift cards to top retailers.
Here are our favorite cash-back sites:
Even better, through Cashbackholic and CostShredder, you can find which rebate site is offering the best cash back for the store you’re shopping at.
As a bonus, after the shopping frenzy dies down, you can “recycle” your savings by using the gift cards you earn through these sites to purchase more items on your holiday gift list.
3. Look for Coupons
In addition to Cyber Monday discounts and killer rebates, you might be able to save even more by stacking coupons on top of deals.
Many coupons exclude items that are already discounted, or can’t be used with any other deals or specials. Make sure you read the fine print before you start shopping.
When you find a coupon that can be used regardless of other discounts, apply it at checkout to make Cyber Monday deals even better.
Deal aggregators often list coupons and rebates that can be stacked on top of deals. And you can find your own coupons through these sites:
6. Don’t Pay for Shipping
Online shopping can offer some killer deals — until you get hit with shipping costs. Tack on an extra $5 or $10 to get an item to your door, and you could negate everything you’ve just saved!
To avoid this extra expense, check out these 17 stores that offer free shipping — including some retail giants like Target, Dell and Nordstrom.
Also remember: If you buy individual small items on Amazon — fewer than 8 ounces, smaller than 9 x 6 x 2 inches and less than $10 — you can get free shipping, even without a Prime membership.
7. Use a Rebate App
One last step!
Once your shopping is done, open your Ibotta and Checkout51 apps to find additional rebates for anything you purchased.
These apps are popular for the incredible savings they offer on groceries, but you can find deals on other retail items, as well. Check for cash back on your Cyber Monday purchases, and remember to enter the items when they arrive.
Create Your Holiday Shopping Plan
You’re all set! Now that you know the steps to take for the best Cyber Monday deals, get organized.
Download our Holiday Shopping Worksheet to get started planning your budget now.
Your Turn: Do you know of an awesome Cyber Monday deal? Share it in the comments!
Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. We would have shared them with you anyway, but a true “penny hoarder” would be a fool not to take the company’s money.
Dana Sitar (@danasitar) is a Staff Writer at The Penny Hoarder. She’s written for Huffington Post, Entrepreneur, Writer’s Digest and more. She’ll probably spend Cyber Monday week working on an elusive novel and eating ALL the leftover green bean casserole.
This post originally ran on our Cyber Monday blog.
The post Cyber Monday Deal-Stacking: Here’s Your Step-by-Step Guide appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.
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IGA takes a beating in price wars
IGA wholesaler Metcash has suffered a massive hit to its grocery earnings as the price war with the supermarkets takes its toll.
Source NEWS.com.au | Business http://ift.tt/1SqSkjO
Source NEWS.com.au | Business http://ift.tt/1SqSkjO
Welcome to the Cyber Monday Live Blog!
I’m Kyle Taylor, founder of The Penny Hoarder.
Today, we kick off Cyber Monday. Many companies will offer special online shopping deals, meaning even bigger savings for our Penny Hoarders everywhere.
If you’re here to learn how you can maximize your savings on Cyber Monday, you’re in the right place! We’re here to help you with your shopping strategy.
My team and I will be sharing deals, tips and hacks to Cyber Monday live on this blog. We will be online at the following times:
Sunday, Nov. 30 at 12 p.m. through Tuesday, Dec. 2 at 12 a.m.
We’ll also be available via live chat to answer any questions you may have about Cyber Monday shopping.
Enjoy the savings everyone!
Features
Here are a few tips and tricks to navigate our site most effectively:
Live chat: Our roster of employees will be available around the clock via live chat, Twitter and Facebook to answer reader questions about how to get the best deals.
Navigation tool: You can view “all feeds” or your feed of choice (e.g. the latest deals, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or YouTube updates).
Deals: Purple blog posts feature quick deals, while the hot pink blog posts are original articles about how to crush Cyber Monday.
This post originally appeared on our special Cyber Monday site.
The post Welcome to the Cyber Monday Live Blog! appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.
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The Best Investment Plan Is Part Science, Part Emotion
What’s the right way to invest?
Most people I talk to about money end up asking me some version of that question. Heck, I continue to ask it myself as I try to ensure that I’m always giving my clients the best advice possible.
The question comes from a good place. You work hard for your money and you want to make sure that your money is working hard for you. You have important goals to reach and your investment plan has to help you do it.
But there’s an assumption inherent in this question that can get you into trouble.
Because the truth is that there is no right way to invest. And the search for the right way to invest can actually lead to more problems than solutions if it causes you to continually change your investment plan in pursuit of the newest best idea.
Instead, I would encourage you to accept that the best investment plans are a mix of science and emotion, and incorporating both gives you the best chance at success.
The Science
The science of investing comes from decades of research and it can teach you some best practices.
It explains how different types of investments work, shows you some simple strategies that will improve your odds of success, and helps you create a “good enough” investment plan to help you reach your goals.
For example, here are a few things we believe to be true based on the best scientific research on investing we have to date:
- Stocks offer the greatest opportunity for big returns, but also the biggest risk that you won’t actually get those returns.
- Bonds provide a smaller return, but with more certainty that you will actually get it.
- The longer you stay invested in the stock market, the more likely it is that you’ll get a positive return.
- Regularly changing investment strategies or trying to move in and out of the stock market with the ups and downs is likely to lead to poor results.
- Factors like how much money you need and when you need it should influence your investment strategy.
- The less money you need, the more conservative (and therefore certain) you can be with your investment strategy.
- The longer you have until you need the money, the more aggressive you can afford to be (because you’ll have longer to ride out the down periods).
- If you’re investing for the long term (10+ years), some significant investment in the stock market is likely a good idea.
- Costs matter. A lot. The less you pay for your investments, the greater your chance of success.
None of these things are absolute. Nothing in the world of investing is. But these are best practices we’ve learned from the best scientific research we’ve been able to do. And they should serve as important guidelines as you create your investment plan.
The Emotion
All of that science is great, but it’s inexact. It gives you a range of possible strategies that could work, but it doesn’t provide one right answer.
And here’s the other thing: We know from decades of experience that one of the best things you can do is simply pick a plan and stick with it through thick and thin.
That consistency, almost more than anything else, is what really leads to success. And that’s where your emotions come in.
See, we aren’t robots. We can’t just input “optimal investment plan A” and expect to stick with it forever.
We are humans, and humans have emotions. And those emotions affect our decisions whether we like it or not.
If watching your portfolio rise and fall will make you too nervous to stick with your decisions, you should probably choose a more conservative investment plan. Photo by Thomas
For example, you may hear that you’re supposed to be heavily invested in stocks because you’re relatively young and have a long time before retirement. That’s the conventional wisdom and there are good reasons behind it.
But there’s also the fact that being heavily invested in the stock market means that your account balance will rise and fall dramatically with the ups and downs of the market.
Some people are comfortable with that. Some aren’t.
If you aren’t, it’s much better to acknowledge that ahead of time and choose to be a little more conservative.
That will increase your comfort level, which will increase the chance that you’ll actually stick to your plan, which will increase the chance that you’ll actually reach your goals.
And that’s just one example. As you do your research you’ll come across many other right ways to invest. And while some of them can absolutely serve as helpful guidelines, understand that they usually aren’t hard and fast rules.
So take stock of your emotions and include them in your decisions as well.
Science + Emotion = Best Chance of Success
The best investors use the science to understand best practices and determine the range of “good enough” investment strategies.
Then they use emotion to choose a strategy that not only fits within that range, but that they understand and feel comfortable with.
It’s the best of both worlds, and it’s the key to long-term success.
Matt Becker is a fee-only financial planner and the founder of Mom and Dad Money, where he helps new parents take control of their money so they can take care of their families. His book, The New Parents’ Guide to Financial Independence, shows you how to create an investment plan that helps you reach your biggest personal goals.
The post The Best Investment Plan Is Part Science, Part Emotion appeared first on The Simple Dollar.
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