Holiday Shopping Tips That Go Beyond The Traditional Cliche Stuff You See Everywhere
Tip 1: Take an extra step when setting your holiday budget. Take actual cash and place the amount you plan to spend on everyone in individual envelopes with their names on it. Then when you’re out and thinking about overspending, you have to reach into someone else’s envelope instead of from your savings or putting more on your credit card. Cash helps you feel the pain now instead of delaying it
Tip 2: If you are going to use your credit card, know when your billing cycle starts. By waiting until after your billing cycle starts you’ll actually increase the amount of time by which you have to pay off your purchase by over 30 days.
Tip 3: Don’t push bad financial decisions into next year. One of the worst things you can do it set yourself up for another year of not keeping your new year financial solutions by ignoring the impact of overspending will have on you as you start 2010. Create some good Financial Karma right now
Bonus tip: Your not alone if money is tight this year. Ask your family to be creative in gift giving this year to save money. Pick names or agree to all go to the dollar store and find the funniest gift for someone. The holidays are about celebrating family and traditions, not stuff.
For Online Shoppers
Pay by Credit Card Rather than by Check or Debit Card:
Paying by Check and debit card uses funds available from your bank account. Credit cards, on the other hand do not, which offers greater protection against fraudulent purchases. If an unauthorized charge appears on your monthly credit card statement, it can be disputed without much effect on your bank account and financial life. Additionally, you reduce the risk of someone stealing your pin as they watch you type it in at a busy and crowded register.
Use one specific card for online purchases:
Use one credit card with a low credit limit (under $1,000) for your online purchases. This way, if your personal or credit card information is stolen it will limit the extent of the damage and save you months of financial repair.
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Bob Laura is a financial expert and partner with Synergos Financial Group. He is an accredited financial counselor, accredited asset management specialist, chartered mutual fund counselor, and chartered retirement planning specialist.
He is the author of The Five Most Important Financial Things They Don’t Teach You In School and creator of myFinancialReflection.com, the first financial software program that doesn’t use any numbers.
The Real Economic Picture: Think The Stock Market Is Getting Ready To Crash Again? Here’s What is Really Going On
What are people doing with their 401k’s when they lose their job, what does the foreclosure and unemployment pictures tell us about next year, and did congress extend the first time home buyers credit?
A recent survey by consulting firm Hewitt Associates shows that, layoff or no, nearly half of people with 401(k)s who leave their job take the money and run. Finance.Yahoo.com
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Forty-six percent of those leaving a job in 2008 tapped into their 401(k), maintaining an “alarmingly high” rate of people cashing in since 2005. Sixty-percent of those cashing in were in their 20s, and 33% were in their 50s. However, those with more money saved tended to appreciate the importance of its purpose, with only 8% of those with balances of $100,000 or more dipping into the pot, and 85% of those with balances of $1,000 or less running with the money. Financial-Planning.com
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The average U.S. home price nearly doubled between January 2000 and April 2006, according to the First American Loan Performance index. Since then, the average has fallen about 30%. The drop has been 53% in the Las Vegas metropolitan area and 39% in Miami, where about a quarter of all households with mortgages are behind on their payments or in foreclosure. But more than 6.7 million U.S. households with mortgages, or about 13%, are behind on their payments or are in the foreclosure process, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Finance.Yahoo.com
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Zandi anticipates there will be about 2.4 million homes lost next year through foreclosure, short sales and deeds in lieu of foreclosure. That compares with 2 million homes lost in 2009. Finance.Yahoo.com
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Bankruptcy has become a largely middle-class phenomenon led by filers who are college-educated and owners of homes. According to a new study more than 100,000 middle-class families filed for personal bankruptcy every month in 2007. Those who filed in 2007 were in worse financial shape than those who had filed in 2001. Furthermore, the proportion of bankruptcy filers who have been to college, whether they dropped out or graduated, increased from 46.5% in 1991 to 58.9% in 2007. USAToday.com
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Congress earlier this month did extend that tax credit, for up to $8,000, until April. Finance.Yahoo.com
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