Don’t Let Black Friday Put You In The Red

November 20, 2017

It’s official. The Holiday shopping season has begun. If you are like me and my family, spending for the holidays is one of the biggest budget busters you will face. Even if you have done a great job controlling your spending up until now (and I hope you have!), the desire to splurge during the holidays is all too real.

To help, I’ve put together some tips on how to manage your spending while keeping that holiday cheer:

Create and execute a detailed budget

I know, it sounds cliche, but it works. Start by breaking your spending down into categories. I suggest:

  • Gifts
  • Décor
  • Entertainment
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Last minute miscellaneous

Then, write down how much you are willing to spend in each category. Consider using a spreadsheet with a separate tab for each category or envelopes – the more detailed the better.

For every person you want to buy a gift for, record their name and the amount of money you want to spend on them. If you feel like it’s “you against the world” when you are budgeting, don’t create your budget in a bubble – include your significant other or a close friend to serve as both a reality check and an accountability partner.

Finally, beware the impulse buy – don’t make any holiday purchases before confirming that it fits in your budget or that it’s already in your plan.

Be careful of Black Friday and Cyber Monday

If you’re planning to be one of the over 154 million consumers expected to make a purchase on Black Friday, this one’s for you. The sales can be great, but don’t buy something unless it is specifically covered by your budget and in your plan. So, if you find that 70-inch TV at 50% off, but the price still exceeds your budget, consider not making the purchase – especially not for yourself.

If you feel like you spend more on yourself than other on Black Friday, you’re not alone. Studies show that 60% of the people who make purchases on Black Friday are “self-gifting.” If you can’t find the perfect sale on Black Friday to fit your budget, don’t worry – you still have about 4 weeks until the end of the holiday season and there will be other sales.

If you fall into the category of feeling obligated to shop on Black Friday because it is a family tradition or you like the rush, consider starting a new tradition such as volunteering in your community. Helping others while sticking to your budget sounds like a win/win situation to me.

Find creative ways to save money

If you are getting nickeled and dimed to death by buying a small gift for several people (teachers, neighbors, not-so-close friends, etc.), think of ways to spend less and still provide a personal gift.

If you are a baker, consider making a huge batch of your favorite cookies or pastries and pass them out (just don’t defeat the purpose by going crazy on cute packaging). A good sweet gift can go a long way toward putting a smile on someone’s face while keeping you on budget.

If you are hosting a family dinner for the holidays, consider baking a lasagna or using a more budget-friendly cut of meat, rather than prime rib, and ask your guests to bring their favorite beverage. You will still be serving a great meal and your guests will have the drink of their choice – that makes for a festive and affordable evening.

Managing your money effectively during the holidays does not mean you have to be a Grinch. Just sit with your accountability partner and write down a realistic budget that will still allow you to enjoy giving to others. Start some new traditions that are fun and affordable, and always remember that spending time with others is more valuable than spending money on others.

Happy holidays!

Want more helpful financial guidance, delivered every day? Sign up to receive the Financial Finesse Tip of the Day, written by financial planners who work with people like you every day. No sales pitch EVER (being unbiased is the foundation of what we do), just the best our awesome planners have to offer. Click here to join.

Winter Is Coming: How To Prepare For The Expenses

November 06, 2017

I woke up this morning realizing it was time to put snow tires back on my car. This does not thrill me. However, since we moved to NJ from Bermuda, I’ve learned the hard way that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure when it comes to winter. Making smart decisions before the season arrives can save you lots of money:

Prepare your home for cold weather

Simple steps can help you save on heating costs, and avoid expensive repairs like a burst pipe or fallen gutter:

  • Get a tune-up for your heating system and change the filters. Check with your utility company to see if they’ll send a technician for an energy audit.
  • Turn off the water that leads to the outside spigots so those pipes don’t freeze and burst. (Learned from experience!)
  • Install programmable thermostats. Ours are set to 65 at night and 68 during the hours when we are home. We’ve saved hundreds every season by doing this.
  • Clean your gutters in late fall. A gutter stuffed with leaves can freeze and fall, possibly damaging the house or roof. (Yes, that also happened to us, even though we had gutter leaf guards).
  • Check your windows. Are caulking, plastic covers or new energy efficient storm windows needed?
  • Call the tree company If you have a lot of mature trees on your property, have an arborist check them once a year. Trimming dead branches and cutting down deceased or dying trees can save you the thousands you would spend if something fell on your house (or the neighbor’s house).

For more home winter tips, see this Popular Mechanics article.

Winter-proof your car

Preventive maintenance now can prevent expensive repairs later and help keep you safe in a storm. For more details see 5 Steps to Preparing Your Car for Winter. Make sure you:

  • Put on snow tires and get the car realigned
  • Check the battery
  • Change the oil, refill the windshield wiper fluids and check engine coolant and antifreeze
  • Keep your fuel tank at least half full

Don’t forget to put a winter survival kit of emergency supplies in your trunk, in case you are stuck in a storm and need to wait it out.

Check your family’s winter gear

Make sure everyone tries on their winter coats and snow gear before it gets cold! Do the kids’ boots and coats still fit?

  • Stock up on extra gloves, scarves and hats – you know the kids are going to lose some of them.
  • Replace outgrown items at a discount. Check for Black Friday sales, coupons and discounts at your preferred department stores if you need to replace anything. I usually replace the kids’ snow boots and outerwear at sports consignment shops as they may grow out of them in less than one season.

You know winter is coming. Don’t wait to get ready. Depending on where you live, you may have 2-6 weekends left before the snow arrives! Use them wisely to save yourself money and hassles during the cold weather season.

Want more helpful financial guidance, delivered every day? Sign up to receive the Financial Finesse Tip of the Day, written by financial planners who work with people like you every day. No sales pitch EVER (being unbiased is the foundation of what we do), just the best our awesome planners have to offer. Click here to join.

Are You Ready For This Trifecta Of Budget Breakers?

August 29, 2017

As August winds down, we are entering what I call the “Superbowl” of budgeting season. This is the season where some of us will be victorious and have at least $1 left by 12/31 and others will have bank accounts on life support, crippled by the big three: Halloween, Thanksgiving and the granddaddy budget killer of them all, Christmas.

Worse still, once your bank account has made the final death spiral in the form of an American Girl doll purchase, you may be tempted to turn to credit, which ultimately extends the crippling. To increase the chances you’ll survive with your bank account intact, NOW is the time to start planning. Here’s how I get ahead of this trifecta of expensive holidays:

Halloween: Are you one who goes all out for Halloween by decorating your home and hosting a party in addition to buying everyone costumes for trick-or-treating? Then you need to start saving now. Log in to your account and add up your spending from October of last year — that amount is your Halloween budget. To make sure you have enough set aside, divide that total by how many paychecks you have between now and October 31st, then save it each paycheck until Halloween. I also start shopping online now for costumes on websites like Party City, SpiritHalloween, or Amazon for the best selection at the best prices.

Thanksgiving: Thanksgiving seems innocent enough, but it is crawling with budget busters. Daycare for kids on school break, travel and Thanksgiving Day meals can wreck havoc on your finances. Start asking around early to find a family member that may be able to watch your kids during Thanksgiving break. If you’re planning to travel via airplane, train or bus, buy your tickets at least one to two months in advance. I recall the year we hosted Thanksgiving when we were on a much tighter budget. To help, I made it more of a potluck by assigning dishes to everyone, then we just supplied the space, dishes, cutlery and turkey, saving us a lot of money.

Christmas: Start making your list now for who you are going to buy gifts for, along with your budget. After-Halloween sales are a great time to buy gifts for kids who like to dress up; costumes are up to 70% off. Start shopping high-end consignment shops now for kids’ toys. I found that new moms and newlyweds appreciate picture frames, which are an inexpensive and easy-to-find gift. Get creative — one of the best gifts I received when my daughter was younger was from another mother who gave me coupons for free babysitting. If everyone loves your chocolate chip cookies, consider baking a huge batch, then packing them in decorative tins from your local dollar store.

Now that school is back in session, the next couple months are going to fly by. You’ll be making New Year’s resolutions before you know it. Taking the time now to plan for the holiday trifecta will go a long way toward helping your budget (and your sanity) survive the holidays.

Want more helpful financial guidance, delivered every day? Sign up to receive the Financial Finesse Tip of the Day, written by financial planners who work with people like you every day. No sales pitch EVER (being unbiased is the foundation of what we do), just the best our awesome planners have to offer. Click here to join.

5 Back To School Things To Plan For Now

August 08, 2017

The first day of school — ready or not, here it comes. For kids, it’s a mixture of excitement to reconnect with friends and dread of going back to homework and early bedtimes. For parents, I’d have to say it’s mostly just relief — either because they are no longer having to spend an arm and a leg on summer camp or because they cannot possibly handle another day of having their kids home all day, every day, needing to be entertained, fed, refereed and cleaned up after.

As we start to close in on the big day, it’s time to start firing up your budget for the following five things, as well as some ways to save on them:

  1. School supply list — This is the infamous list of school items that parents are asked to buy for their kids’ classroom and use throughout the school year. It can get pricey, so you have to get creative. Instead of buying pre-sharpened pencils, I get unsharpened pencils for much less and give my kids the “fun” project of sharpening them (it’s all about the spin). If I had a school supply item at home, I re-purposed it rather than buying new. Dollar stores and thrift stores are awesome places to find things like binders, document protectors, dividers and other supplies on the cheap. Shop early though, it is tough to find school supplies a week before school starts pretty much anywhere.
  2. School activities — I will admit, I am guilty of forgetting that some activities require payment in advance. Start budgeting for after-school activities and the ancillary costs right now. Is your kid in dance? Then you know to start hitting up consignment shops for jazz shoes, ballet shoes, and leotards. Is your kid in track? Plan ahead to shop during your state’s Sales Tax Holiday weekend, and start collecting store coupons for running shoes. Add the monthly cost of the school activity to your monthly spending plan so that it doesn’t take you by surprise.
  3. School lunch — If your kid buys lunch at school, estimate the average monthly cost and include this amount in your monthly budget as well. I normally make my kids lunches to save money. Last year, after a few weeks of half eaten lunches and a lot of complaining, I decided to get my girls involved. I had them go on Pinterest and give me five breakfast, lunch and snack items they like, with parameters – for example, snacks had to be a fruit or veggie and the lunch had to have some nutritional value. I also got them involved in making the lunches. I found they were less likely to complain and more likely to eat their lunch once they were involved in its creation. Standardizing breakfast, lunch and snacks became a time saver but also helped me find deals on items we use often. I also learned it was much cheaper to buy snack items in bulk and bag them myself rather than buy items pre-bagged, such as baby carrots or apple slices.
  4. School breaks — School may just be getting started, but start planning ahead now for days or weeks where you may need babysitting so you can line up affordable options. This includes holidays, teacher workdays, fall break, Thanksgiving break and Winter break. Since you may be used to spending more right now on summer camp anyway, consider diverting that money once school starts to a separate “school break” account so it doesn’t eat into your holiday spending budget. Don’t forget to reference this budget during open enrollment season at work so you can sign up for the Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account and use pre-tax dollars to pay these expenses.
  5. Clothing — My kids have the gift of destroying or losing clothing within the first few weeks of school so I stopped buying new items. I typically go to the consignment shops in the wealthiest part of town to shop for clothes – oftentimes with the tags still on them. To take it even further, I wait for a sales tax holiday – just make sure you wake up early to shop for school items, it’s a jungle out there.

Back to school is expensive, even if your kids go to public school. By planning ahead, you can prevent your wallet from screaming for mercy as you prepare and instead just enjoy having some peace and quiet at home again for a little bit.

Want more helpful financial guidance, delivered every day? Sign up to receive the Financial Finesse Tip of the Day, written by financial planners who work with people like you every day. No sales pitch EVER (being unbiased is the foundation of what we do), just the best our awesome planners have to offer. Click here to join.

Three Things To Shop For During Summer For Year-Long Savings

July 11, 2017

Summer is a fun time. I love the warmer months and having a schedule that does not revolve around my kids’ school schedule. For me, summer is also prime-time for planning out my finances for the rest of the year. This is the season where I start planning for fall and even Christmas, by shopping for items most people are not thinking about such as:

  1.  School Uniforms In the south where we live, the public schools in our area require uniforms. I learned a few years ago that a lot of parents sell their kids’ school uniforms to consignment shops shortly after the last day of school. To score the best deals, I wait a few weeks then start scouring nearby consignment shops for gently used uniforms in my girls’ next size up for next year. (I stopped buying brand new uniforms after observing the wonderful “art projects” my messy kids’ clothes become by the end of the school year.) To save money, I much prefer to buy gently used clothes from parents with either unusually neat kids or with amazing stain-fighting skills. Visit your local consignment stores and make friends with the owners and sales people — many stores have “membership programs” with great sales and some stores will even call you if an item you are looking for becomes available.
  2. Gifts I take full advantage of summer holidays to shop for birthdays and even Christmas gifts. Summer is full of big sale days: 4th of July,  Amazon Prime Day, Labor Day and even Back to School can score you some early Christmas gifts for kids. I sign up for coupons at my favorite stores and can normally wrack up great discounts on potential gift items. I also use back to school sales to stock up on home office supplies like printer paper and cartridges. Consider striking up a conversation with the sales staff. You can get insider information about unadvertised sales as well as how to get extra coupons by doing things such as “liking” the store on Facebook, writing a favorable review on Yelp, etc.
  3. Food During the summer there are many local farmers markets that may shut down during the fall. If you are looking for inexpensive ways to eat healthier after the markets close down for the year, get to know your local farmers in the summer and find out which ones participate in Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs, which are food purchasing memberships that allow you to buy a “share” of veggies, sometimes meats or even dairy items from a regional farmer. The farmer typically drops your share off at a designated location and time for you to pick up during the program. The USDA can help you find a CSA near you. Look for farmers who participate in a local market so you can speak to them directly and even try some of their food before signing up.

Summer can be a lot fun, but it’s also a great time to start saving for the fall. With a little bit of planning, you can find some great buys.

Want more helpful financial guidance, delivered every day? Sign up to receive the Financial Finesse Tip of the Day, written by financial planners who work with people like you every day. No sales pitch EVER (being unbiased is the foundation of what we do), just the best our awesome planners have to offer. Click here to join.

This Easy Budget Hack Could Save You Hundreds Each Month

May 31, 2017

If you’ve ever taken the time to categorize your monthly spending, chances are you had a similar reaction that I did when I realized how much we spend on food each month – disbelief with a side of regret, anyone? It’s just the hubs and I for now, and we are pretty good about eating in, at least compared to a lot of our DINK (dual income, no kids) friends, so I’m always shocked when our grocery spending sometimes tops what I’d expect a family of four to spend.

Food is expensive…

The fact is, food is expensive and who wants to walk around the grocery store with a calculator? There are ways to counteract that by planning your menu around the grocery store sales, buying in bulk, etc., but sometimes life is just too busy, I know. So here’s an easy hack that I learned from my friends Jill and Andy:

The hack…

One week per month, skip the grocery store and instead eat what’s already on hand. Then take the money you don’t spend on groceries and transfer it to your savings account or use it to boost the payment on a high interest rate credit card. The only number you need to know is what you spend each week, on average.

The long-term effect…

This hack alone could boost your retirement savings by over $250,000 if you stick with it over the years or literally shave years off your debt payments if you use it to get out of credit card debt sooner. Plug your info into the Debt Blaster calculator to see the difference.

Get creative in the kitchen…

That’s it! No coupon clipping needed. It may require a little bit of creativity in the kitchen, but I always find it’s easier than it seems – digging out those jars of interesting sauces I impulse buy at Trader Joe’s or finally using that extra cooked orzo I froze feels so good and budget friendly. You can also use Supercook, a website that let’s you input ingredients you have hand, then suggests different recipes. Plus, it helps to clear your pantry, fridge and freezer of food that may otherwise end up in the trash – a double financial bonus!

Ways to Save a Little Here and There

July 20, 2011

If there is anything good that has come out of the recession, it’s that Americans seem to be more self conscious of their spending habits.  I hear from people everyday who espouse the virtues of living below their means, but despite the increase in desire to live a financially fit lifestyle, there are still households that are living paycheck to paycheck, and even after cutting out entertainment, dining out, and other non-essential expenses, are finding it hard to make ends meet.  Unusually high unemployment and expected increases in the cost of food, gas, and healthcare will only exacerbate the problem these households face.  For many, their lifestyles are about as frugal as they can possibly be, so what we need to do is think outside the proverbial box.  Here are some less popular, but potentially valuable, money saving tips you might want to consider: Continue reading “Ways to Save a Little Here and There”

Are Bundled Packages Really a Money Saver?

January 05, 2011
Photo: ShanMac / Flickr

Conventional wisdom suggests that buying things together in a prearranged package is better than buying items separately.  For example, if I’m hosting a super bowl party at my house, I could buy individual slices of meat, cheese, and vegetables, or I could just pick up a party tray.

If I’m tuning up my car I could buy the spark plugs, air filter, motor oil and everything else, or simply look for a tune-up kit.  The upside to the prearranged package is you generally get everything you need in a cost-effective way. On the downside, Continue reading “Are Bundled Packages Really a Money Saver?”