Create a Retirement Savings

Open up a retirement savings account earlier on in life and start saving right away. The more money that you are able to put in there, the more financial security you will have in the future. Your savings account will be a safe place for you to put away money whenever you have extra and are able to place it into your savings. The amount of money will only continue to grow, especially if you make sure not to use the money for any purpose other than retiring.

Make Calculations for Retirement

You will definitely need to make calculations to determine how much money you are going to need to be able to retire and live freely without the burden of financial woes. The best way to do this is to figure out the cost of living by adding in all of your utility bills and expenses, along with the necessities, such as groceries and household products. Figure out how much you will need and start saving accordingly. Even if you have to start saving small, dollar by dollar, it will add up to something much bigger in the future.

Open an Individual Retirement Account

Aside from a traditional savings account for your retirement, you can and should also open an individual retirement account, also known as an IRA. The problem with the individual retirement account is that many people do put money towards one but when they retire, they depend solely on this money, and it does not last their entire retirement. If you have both an IRA and a separate savings account for your retirement, you will be much better off financially. In other words, do not keep all your eggs in one basket. Instead, branch out with your savings so that you have money coming in from different accounts.

Social Security Benefits

You may be asking the very important question, “When should I take Social Security benefits?“ It is best to take your social security benefits when you reach full retirement age. Your full retirement age will depend on when you were born. If you opt to take it at 62, the earliest you can start taking Social Security, then you will lose out on benefits – as much as 25%. If you can stick with your job a bit longer, you can actually get more from your social security benefits in the long run.

Retiring gracefully is mainly about saving enough money to ensure that your transition from a worker to a retiree goes smoothly and without hassle. If you have enough money saved, you will be able to enjoy your retirement without having to stress constantly about your finances. If you don’t, you’ll have to work for a few more years to get that nest egg up to snuff.

Yet another brilliant guest post from APB

Something I have always struggled with, and I doubt I am alone – when and what NOT to buy instead of when and what TO buy.  It seems as though every time I leave the house I end up returning with a purchase I never intended to make.  If I go to the mall to make a return I end up with an exchange, if I go to the grocery store I see a new nail polish color that I can’t live without and so on, so forth.  I can’t help but feel like you all know exactly what I am talking about.  Then there is the whole other aspect to shopping – it’s just a hobby that I unabashedly love.  This year, my goal is to shop less, therefore spend less and save more.  Here’s my plan.

Spend Time, Not Money

No matter where you live, there are needy individuals that for one reason or another are unable to provide for themselves.  Replace some of your shopping mall time with a volunteer group to help out the needy.  Nothing will cure your desire to make frivolous purchases better than spending time with those that can’t even afford basic necessities.  It’s so easy to forget and distance yourself from what you learn after a couple of weeks, so try to set up a regular volunteer schedule.  Eventually you will see that you get the same warm and fuzzies helping others that you would if you were helping yourself and your shopping bags out to the car.

Accountability

Not that my mother and I have EVER or would ever do this, but I have heard that people sometimes hide their purchases from their significant others.  Think about it this way – even if your husband/wife (whoever) does not mind you buying things for yourself and you still feel the need to hide your new stuff, maybe you feel guilty because you know, deep down, you shouldn’t have bought it in the first place.  Ask the person in your life that you share money with to take an interest in your shopping trips, even if it is just showing them what you bought when you get home.  It is soooo much easier to justify the 85^th pair of shoes to yourself – when you start trying to explain the necessity to someone else you may realize how silly the purchase was and actually make a return.

Release Shopping, Relieve Stress

If you don’t have a budget that you stick to every month (big time shoppers usually don’t), take the time to sit down and make one.  I would advise that you also sit down with a highlighter and copies of your bank/credit card statements from the previous couple of months.  As painful as this may seem, seeing what you spent your money on in black and white may be just the shock you need to get yourself into remission – from your shopping addiction, that is.

• Add up money spent on shopping trips (not the ones where you bought toilet paper but the shoes/clothes/purse trips)
• Total up your utility bills for a month and compare the amount with what you spent shopping.  The first time I did this, I was shocked to see that I could have paid all of these smaller bills with the money I spent while shopping.  When you have changed your habits, you will see how nice it is to have that extra cash to put towards debt or as an addition to your monthly savings.

Even if you have just a mild case of shopaholism and you just buy a thing or two that you shouldn’t, these things really add up.  Make a list before your trips to the store for basic needs and only buy what is on your list.  If you don’t believe how fast these things add up, write down the “extras” you would have thrown in the cart for an entire month, keep your lists and see what those things you didn’t buy added up to – I guarantee you’ll be surprised.

Refuse to Give Up?

For those of you that refuse to give up your shopping hobby – stay tuned, part 2 will be for those of us that just can’t quit and need to simply shop smarter.

photo by pawpaw67

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Guest post by APB Thanks girl

Every year I start planning for the holidays in advance because I want “this Christmas” to be the best one ever.  I start buying gifts months ahead of time to try to get the best prices and to give myself time to give gifts that the receiver will love and think “Wow! I’ve always wanted that!”  Maybe all of you are more lucky (ok, ok, more efficient) than I am, but every year, life happens and all of a sudden it is two weeks before Christmas.

So, instead of that great gift that is awesome because of how perfect it is, not how much it costs, I end up buying something that they’ll like because it’s expensive and anyone with any sense would never buy it for themselves.  Is it still going to be a good Christmas?  Of course – but I’ll be paying for it until August.  While once again vowing to change things and do Christmas right later this year, I have decided to do what I can to recoup some of my Christmas greenery – green money that is.

Make a List, Check it Twice

Actually returning things that need to be returned is a downfall of mine.  I will put the bag and the receipt in my trunk, with fabulous intentions of course, then drive around with it for six months by which point it is on clearance and worth about 20% of what I paid for it.  These post-Christmas returns may either be gifts that never were given out for some reason or things you received that you’re not crazy about.

This Year Will Be Different:

Returns

• Collect all of the returns, separate them by the store they need to go to and make a list so you can pre-plan your outing and ensure that you don’t miss a store.
• Make a second list of necessities , household items that you need and will have to buy no matter what, based on the store where you will have credit from your return.  Instead of exchanging for things you don’t need and wouldn’t have spent your own money on, give your wallet a break by getting things you and your family need.
• If you are making returns to a store that only sells things you want versus things you need, make a list of the birthdays coming up for friends and family that you always have to buy a gift for.  Simply exchange what you don’t want for gifts to give to others.

Gift Cards

Maybe you are someone that is impossible to buy for, maybe someone else in your family procrastinated like you did and had no time to think about what to get you – hence the gift card.  Retailers keep up with the sale of gift cards and according to several reports, since 2005, upwards of $40 billion worth of gift cards have never been redeemed, yet the sale of them is at an industry high.  Wow-o!  Let’s get something out of these gift cards people and USE them for something.

• Just like with your returns that you will promptly do, figure out who you need to buy for throughout the year and use your gift cards to buy great gifts for others – guilt free!  If you are a gift card giver yourself, use your gift card to buy more cards with smaller amounts on them.
• You have restaurant gift cards – somewhere you love?  Somewhere you hate?  If you can’t part with it and you want to treat yourself to a nice meal out, save it for a special occasion where you would probably dine out anyway and pre-plan what you’ll order based on the amount you have so that you don’t end up in the whole.   If it is for a place you will never eat at, re-gift the card.  Who’s going to know you didn’t pick it out yourself??
• If you are at a loss with what to do with your gift card, even with the stellar recommendations made above, there is a huge market online for selling these things at a price less than 100% of their value.  If you are a penny pincher and can’t stand to let it go for less than it’s absolute value, think of it this way:  if you end up never using it, what do you get out of it?  Not even a penny on the dollar.  If you use it for an item that you don’t need and never would have bought yourself, what do you get out of it?  Especially when next week that item goes on sale for 75% off…  Might as well have a little cash in your pocket.

Hopefully some of you guys will take this challenge with me!  It’s possible that I am the only procrastinator in the world that didn’t have a perfectly pre-planned and well budgeted holiday season – but I doubt it.  If nothing else, I will at least feel like I am taking a step in the right direction instead of allowing one day out of the year to cost me months of stress and financial recuperation.

Good luck everyone!

Do you let Christmas slip up on you, too?  Do you always returns items promptly?

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Guest Post by:  APB

It seems like with each up and coming generation, Americans have fewer hobbies but more and more favorite television series, shows, and movies. So much of our time, money, and conversation is dedicated to the “lives” of the “people” we watch on television. Here’s a thought – set a goal for yourself and your family to significantly reduce the time spent in front of the TV because remember, time is money and building your wealth takes time. What does turning off the TV have to do with fattening your wallet? I’m going to tell you.

Advertisements

• Watching television shows also means watching commercials for all of the cool new things that you really need to spend your hard earned money on. Some of these things we would never even be aware of if we hadn’t seen the commercial air. You may think that you are immune to ads for products and maybe you really are, but what if you see a commercial letting you know that your favorite store is having their “best sale of the year”? Gotcha! Just remember that if you don’t know about it then you can’t waste your money on it.

Electricity

• Televisions increase your power bill every time they are on – significantly so if everyone in your household has one and they spend more time powered on than off. Not to mention the PS3, Xbox, cable receiver, dvr system and so on that are also drawing power…
• You may have also never considered how hot these machines get, and again, depending on how many you have, your air conditioning may be turning on more often due to the heat output.

Costly Cable

• If you can be included in the minority of Americans because you rarely, if ever, watch television – cancel your cable! Don’t just let your cable bill turn into one of those things that you keep paying every month because it’s easier to pay it than to call the 800 number and make it through the prompts necessary to cancel your subscription. Scary to think about not having cable at all, just in case something catches your interest? Don’t forget that almost all networks post everything they air on their websites for you to be able to watch, and guess what – most don’t have the commercials.
• Can’t really live without cable? At the very least, take a minute to check out your monthly bill. Look into any extra fees you may have (DVR, premium channels, etc.) and take the time to make some changes. If you got some fabulous deal when you signed up, chances are that it was a limited time promotional package, so it may be time to adjust everything. If you need to change companies, just do it! Telling your provider that you want to cancel everything is excellent motivation for them to work with you and give you what you want – if they won’t make your deal what you want, no worries, someone else would love to have your business.

Physical Health

• Most of us have some weight we need to lose and almost all of us aren’t as fit and healthy as we possibly could be. Have you ever noticed how easy it is to put a huge dent in your bag of potato chips while you are distracted by the television? Snacks and TV just go together too well, no one can deny that, so the more time you spend watching the more you are going to eat. Why is your TV snacking affecting your saving?
o Snacks cost money, duh!
o Poor diet and low activity level = poor health = increase in medical bills!

Step Up

Take the challenge and cut back on your television time and keep up with how much you are saving. You may be pleasantly surprised at how much it will affect your bank account as well as your life in general.

Try a few new things to do with your time, maybe you’ll even pick up a new hobby that is very low cost, more active, and allows you to spend more quality time with your friends and family.

Have you thought about not watching television?  Have you tired leaving it off for a week or so?  Come on, join the challenge, we’ll all be better for it!

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Guest post by APB

At the dawn of the New Year, we all vow to improve ourselves and our lives in one way or another throughout the upcoming 12 months.  Our spirits are renewed and we are encouraged by the thoughts of “this year will be different”.  What we may not consider are all the things that kept us from being successful at meeting our goals in years past – namely, financial obstacles that come with meeting any goal.  I have a few suggestions for what seem to be the most common New Year’s Resolutions, and how to keep them from cracking that cute little piggy bank.

Getting fit a.k.a. losing weight and spending more time with friends and family seem to consistently be at the top of everyone’s list.  There are so many ways to accomplish those goals with little thought and little effort – if you’ve got unlimited time and money – and let’s face it, most of us don’t.  Something that may help you save some coin is actually combining the weight loss and spending more time with friends and family.

Gym Memberships

• Gym Memberships – usually costly per month, especially when you give up around March and you’ve signed that darn 12 month membership…  A gym membership CAN be a beautiful thing for those of us not blessed with in-home fitness equipment or age/injury limitations that prevent us from just going for a daily run to stay in shape.  So – if you’ve gotta do it, here are some things to think about.
  • Get those family members and friends together that you resolved to spend more time with, approach a gym together and ask for a group discount.  If the gym tries to play hardball – stick to your guns.  They are not going to let a group of wallets and purses walk out, they will eventually give you what you want.  And what you want is:  No contract, No hidden fees, No automatic renewal and No early termination fees.
  • Working out in pairs or in groups with your family and friends accomplishes both resolutions and will also help you sustain them.  There is nothing like a little accountability (and not wanting to be the jerk to call and cancel) to keep that fire lit under your tush.

Diet Programs

Diet Programs – same spiel as a gym membership.  Great if you stick with it, even greater if you stick with it while not blowing your savings.  Most of us have been a part of a diet program or group with all of the great materials, flyers, recipe booklets, weight charts, etc.  Dig them out of the bottom of whatever you hid them in when you subconsciously quit doing it the last time, make copies of all of it, and make your own group!  Eating right is just like working out – it works much better when you have someone else to be accountable to – not to mention the encouragement you can get from your family and friends dieting group.

Spending Time with Friends and Family

• Try to get together once a week (there you go spending time with friends and family again, check check), swop recipes, weigh in, and talk about your slip-ups and accomplishments.  Meet at one of your homes instead of a restaurant…  Why not at a restaurant?  Because we are bucking the trend, people!  Not only are we keeping our resolutions all year long by spending more time with friends and family WHILE losing weight, we are saving money by eating out less.

Just like any goal you set for yourself, a little planning goes a long way.

Whatever your New Year’s resolutions may be, write them down – along with a plan of action.  Tracking your results so that you and your supporters can recognize your progress is important for continued success throughout the next year as you resolve to skinny up your jeans and fatten up your wallet.

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by Cil

There is so much about the Internet that we bloggers, and most of our readers,  take for granted.  On a daily basis, most of us:

• Power up
• Search around
• Ponder on
• Write some

More than once, the 366 days of 2012 brought the freedom of Internet use to a cliff’s edge.  Those very things we do without thought very nearly came to a halt.  So, ringing in 2013 free to do all the above, is more than a little thing. L. Gordon Crovitz, in a WSJ article, summed it up nicely.

When you spent time yesterday, last night, today, or not at all, contemplating the year just past, did you remember to say a little prayer for:

Uncensored Internet Use

When the UN’s International Telecommunications Union voted late one night, with 85 authoritarian regimes and 55 free countries, to allow the UN’s blessing to censor the Internet, monitor traffic and lock up online trouble-makers, the U.S walked out.  Private companies run the tens of thousands of networks that make up the Internet and an open Internet is more valuable than continuing any UN agency.

Modest Capital Gains Taxes

Entrepreneurial activity was fueled by these low capital gains rates on profits made from what are at times speculative ventures.  We’re all expecting higher tax rates next year leading to less capital to fund the next new innovation.  Entrepreneurs will continue on, but the funding will be more scarce and the window of opportunity smaller.  That’s a shame.

Federal Trade Commission Backed off Do-Not-Track Regulations

OK, so we have to give up on some of our privacy to use the sophisticated technology that gets us from point A to B and knows where we go on the Internet and on and on.  It seems the Administration had to rein in the FTC on this one or give up one of the most powerful re-election tools ever discovered.  Highly customized political pitches took 2012 politics to a whole new level of invasion.  Poly-Sc classes will never be the same.

“You didn’t build that”

Our President reminded us that government’s limited role in fueling that invention, now known as the Internet, was funding private companies that built the world wide web.  Thanks for reminding us, Pres, whether that was your intent or not.

So, here we are, bringing in 2013. It’s amazing how many personal freedoms are under attack daily.

May we remain free Internet users.

Ah, News Years Eve (NYE).  What a great time for a party.  It’s true that many of my NYE’s have slid in without so much as a glass of bubbly spilled in its honor.  But, oh, the fun we’ve had those years we did celebrate. It’s a celebration without a cause.  Just pure revelry.  I love it.

We’ll be visiting with friends and enjoying their party this year.  They’re a couple who enjoy entertaining and have some alcohol specialties they’re preparing even now.  It’ll be a large gathering with lots of people I really enjoy.  It’ll be a good time, for sure.

Planning a NYE celebration usually involves alcohol which also happens to be one of the most expensive items on a list of party supplies.  At a recent Christmas party, a friend and I were discussing our love of cheap wine and she told me how Costco was her new favorite place to buy wine.  I also just recently caught a few minutes of a documentary on television about Costco.  The short segment I saw discussed the impact this company has had on the wine industry.  The buyer for Costco wine is probably the most influential person in the wine industry.

That’s right, Costco’s wine buyer. She’s huge in the wine business.  Like gold and Fort Knox.  Like that.

So, that means, if you’re planning a NYE party, a visit to Costco might need to be on your to do list.

Alcohol may be one of the most expensive parts of a NYE party, but what does a smart shopper do to save on this expensive purchase?

How to save money on alcohol purchases:

Don’t limit yourself to Champagne.

This label can be placed only on bottles filled with wine from this region of France, making it rare.  Settle for cheaper alternatives like Italy’s Procecco or Spain’s Cava.

Warehouse stores.

Many states require that alcohol purchases not be limited to membership holders, meaning you don’t have to have a store membership card to enter the liquor section.  Costco has some of the best value on wine and alcohol available.  Their own Kirkland brand can be a steal.  I’ll leave the evaluation to the connoisseurs, but I know I’d love it as long as it was the best buy.

Rebates.

They’re often offered this time of year to attract shopper attention-don’t forget to redeem them.  Read the fine print, if you’re not going to meet the rebate guidelines, don’t let the amount of the rebate help you make the decision on which brand to buy.

Save on Brew

This is a search engine for more than 50,00 retail locations in the US.  Find the best advertised price near you by typing in your zip code and brand.  They’ll only have the advertised beers, so the selection may be limited, but it could be just the cold brew you need.  Every party needs a bit of the cold brew, even on NYE.

Second labels.

Even if you’re more particular than some of us about your wine selection, many big names have a cheaper label that can still be a good value.  Find out if your favorite wine maker has a less expensive version, you might find you could tolerate it, especially if the price is right.

So, as you head to the store to make your selections for the big party, remember there are ways to save, even on alcohol.  Even cheapo here might branch out a bit and look past the cheapest boxed wine.

It’s New Years Eve After all.

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pictures from freedigitalphotos.net

by Cil

We had a fabulous Christmas.  All the important things came together:

• Our family is well
• The children were not home but we were able to speak to one another on the phone
• The food was delicious and abundant
• The mood was jolly and full of great cheer
• The weather was pleasant
• Santa stopped by and left just the right amount under the tree

So, Christmas 2012 is now in the memory banks and will have a few firsts:

• The first time neither of our children were home
• The first time  I didn’t cook a turkey
• The first time I didn’t wrap a single gift

So, yes it was a different sort of season and my family and I were very distracted by other events taking place around us, but it was still a very good year.

As I talked with friends and family over the holiday, the discussion turned to gifts. Gifts given and gifts received.  As lazy conversations will do, we began to laugh about the crazy gifts that each of us have received over the years.  And there have been some nutty ones.

This leads to the obvious question:

What to do with unwanted gifts?

Here are some suggestions that I  found by asking around and by searching the internet:

• Donate that stuff you don’t want. A terrific organization, The Giving Effect, has partnered with 1,613 different organizations to distribute items to people in need.  You enter you zip code to find a charity near you that needs what you have.  Even left over party supplies can find a use as kennel bowls for rescue dogs.  Goodwill or the Salvation Army also accept donations of unwanted Christmas cheer.
• Return the gift.  You can try to find the store where the item was purchased, but if not, try to return it at a store where they carry that same item so that it can be resold.  If you’re working without a receipt, you’re at the mercy of the store’s return policy.  Keep your attitude pleasant and appeal to the employee’s sympathy and you’ll get points and certainly more help than if you’re belligerent and a bully about returning something that might not have even come from that store.  If one store won’t take the return, another might, so be persistent.
• Sell the gift.  If you’ve got a bunch of stuff to get rid of, Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) may be your best route.  All you have to do is get an FBA account and for a small fee, Amazon will sell your items, ship them and provide any necessary customer service.  The fees seem to be pretty reasonable but you can avoid them if you just sell through Amazon and ship them yourself.
• If you get a gift card you can’t use or don’t want, there are online sites like Plastic Jungle that provide a marketplace for those cards.  You’ll lose money, that’s the downside, but if the card was not going to be used anyway, then…

There are some pretty good options for those unwanted gifts.  Who knows, maybe there really is someone who would be a good fit for some of the crazy stuff that seemed like a good idea at the time.

What about you, was Santa good to you?  Do you have gifts you’d like to move along to someone else?

Photo by Jessica Watkins DeWinter

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The Holiday season is in full swing, uplifting carols are playing everywhere you go and I often hear “Merry Christmas” exchanges.  I love this season and all the joy that goes with it.  So, it gave me pause when I ran across an article that seemed to say being negative is better than being upbeat and positive.

No way.

Or, could there be a case to be made for the down beat, sour point of view? Are there times when this is good?

Negativity?

The author of the article gives some provocative examples for possibilities:

• Citizens of economically insecure countries often report greater happiness than those of more stable countries.
• When companies set big, audacious goals, they’re encouraging unethical corner cutting.  Several corporate examples come to mind here.
• Goals can lead to underachievement. For example, New York cab drivers quit early on rainy days as soon as they meet their goal, they expect to make less, so they quit trying.
• Visualizing a worst case scenario and deciding that it’s tolerable can lead to feeling free to continue on an unknown path and potential success.

Reports are that holiday spending will be greater this year than last, and yet I see few reasons to support feeling more secure.  Could that be it?  Could it be that a bunch of us have been to what feels like the bottom and we’ve decided it’s tolerable?  This is the new normal, lackluster economy and fewer jobs?  So, why not spend away?  Is it the negative thinking that has spending on the increase?  Think about it.

Negativism is the path to realism.

This Steve Jobs quote sort of sums it all up:

“Remembering that you are going to die is the best way that I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose.”

So, go ahead be negative and realistic.  It’s the holidays.  We made it through the last several years and we’ll make it through the next few.  Just be careful with the spending.  It’ll come back to bite you.

How about you, are you negative?  Do you keep expectations low?

It’s hard to have time to reflect on what this season brings to you but have you done that lately?  In our family we have certain traditions that have developed over the years:

• The tree.  It’s not so much where or when, but that it’s up.  We use the same two strands of colored lights with the same repeating pattern.
• The ornaments.  In the last decade, a few new ones have made their way onto the tree, but mostly they are gifts from many years and Christmas parties gone by.  Hanging the ornament usually brings a smile and a memory.
• The tree stand.  I love our stand.  It’s not easy to use or attractive but we’ve not had a downed tree since we bought the thing.  I have the frustrating memories of the few years before we got this tree stand that cycle through my mind every time we haul this big old clunky thing out of the attic.  Yep. It does the job.
• Mr. Grinch.  He’s a stuffed version.  As I’ve always related to his personality, this 3-D replica found  a special place in my heart.  For a number of years he had a permanent  year round perch on the den sofa.  Small green fluffy guys in Santa suits are less obtrusive than you’d think.
• The Music.  It couldn’t possibly be Christmas without the music.  Maybe it starts too early at the departments stores or is it possible to tire of the jingle and jangle by the big day?  Whatever.  At home, those old tunes on the newish CDs warm my heart.  I love singing the carols at church and wish we sang more of the old ones.
• The Hand Soap.  I don’t think this is weird, though it might be.  For years I was too frugal to spring for the Bath and Body Works seasonal soaps, but my daughter gave me some a couple of years ago and I love it.  The Peppermint they come out with every year is my favorite with the Tree scented ones a close second.
• Santa Booties.  When my children were toddlers, my Mother-in-Law painted small ceramic Santa stockings and put the kid’s names on them.  Every year as I get those out, I cherish the memories I have of her and our Christmases together.

There are so many more.  What are your favorite memories as you drag out all the seasonal decorations?

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