Holidays & Giving Back

Monday, November 24th, 2008

Holidays during a recession are always tricky.  We don’t want to look cheap or uncaring, but cripes, everyone is struggling in this economy!  What are you doing to make this holiday season a less expensive but full of joy?  Here’s what I am up to:

 1. Paring down on exchanges.  I’ve contacted several family members and friends and asked if it would be okay to suspend exchanging gifts this year in light of the circumstances.  Reaching out in a kind way not only takes the stress off of me but them as well, with no one feeling slighted or bad or left out.  Other folks that we will exchange with I have already discussed with them that we can’t spend what we did in the past years and have agreed on limits together.  This alone has cut my holiday budget in half.

2. Shopping online with coupon codes as much as possible.  Personally, I hate stores during the holidays.  In CT, it’s super cold out and the malls are too warm and it’s even tougher with a 14-month old!  So I do about 90% of my shopping online.  Always remember to try www.ebates.com if you are in a hurry but still want great prices (I talk all about Ebates in an earlier post on my Top 10 favorites).  Also, www.retailmenot.com and www.flamingoworld.com are good places to go for real online coupon codes and not just store-sponsored links.

3. Making purchases count.  Each year, I purchase a portion of my gifts from http://www.greatergood.com/.  They have nifty, well-made items and a portion of every dollar spent goes to the cause of your choice (such as Child Health, Global Girlfriend, Animal Rescue, etc.).

Imported items, such as jewelry, handbags, and clothing, are made in a “fair trade” environment.  For those who aren’t familiar with the term “fair trade” means that the people making the goods are earning a living wage for their work and you are not supporting sweatshop labor. 

4. How to donate even if money is tight.  There are all sorts of ways to help even if you don’t have a lot of time or money to spare.  Each Greater Good website has a “Click Once a Day” feature by which if you visit the specific site and click on their icon, the site sponsors donate money to your particular cause.  You can even have a daily email reminder sent to you.  In about 15 seconds a day, you can help others for free!

Another way is to give one of their “Gifts that Give More”.  These are great for the person who has everything and doesn’t want “more stuff” or for your more civic-minded family and friends.  With these gifts, 100% of the profits go to the cause of choice.  And because each donation goes to a specific cause (examples: Feed a U.S. Family for 5 weeks, School Shoes for Girls in Rural Africa, etc.), you (and your recipient) have a better sense of where your money is going.  Each year, I purchase one of these for my sister as a gift and she loves it.

Happy shopping!

Copyright 2008-2009 Kristin Delfau, author of Turbo-Mom's Guide to Saving Money Without Wasting Time a womens' personal finance book, and Aji Publishing.

Tags: donating, gifts, greater good, online shopping, top 10
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Coupons and more coupons

Monday, November 17th, 2008

With the retail season looking rather dismal, there are tons of coupons out there, flooding our email addresses, our mailboxes, and buried in our newspapers.  And of course, we want to save money, so we end up with all of these little pieces of paper in our kitchens, in our coat pockets, shoved between the seats of our cars, etc.  And of course, when you are ready to use that coupon, sometimes you find it just expired!

So how do we keep them all straight?  It’s tough because traditional “coupon organizers” costing anywhere from $5 to $20 allow spaces for dairy, bakery, fruits, vegetables, etc.  But there is no tag for “department stores” nor “home improvement” nor “salon services”.  And it is near impossible to keep all of the expiration dates straight.

If you are like me and have gotten tired of wasted, expired coupons as well as the mess of little pieces of paper everywhere, try this:

• Get a check organizer from somewhere like Walmart (approx. cost: $4) that will fit in your purse or at least in the door of your car. 
• Instead of organizing coupons by category, try organizing them by month.  It’s much easier to vaguely remember that you have a coupon for Macy’s as well as some pasta sauce rather than to try to keep all of the items and expiration dates straight.  At the beginning of the month, flip through your coupons and see what is going to expire so that you can use them up.
• Only clip the coupons you really have a chance of using.  Remember, coupons are always marketing tools first.  If a brand or store can convince you to try something “new” or spend $50 to save $10, you could be spending a lot more money than you were planning to.
• When manufacturers’ coupons do expire, consider sending them to www.ocpnet.org.  This is a non-profit that helps military families living overseas by getting folks to send them coupons.  Manufacturers will accept coupons on a military base up to 6 months after the expiration date. 

Copyright 2008-2009 Kristin Delfau, author of Turbo-Mom's Guide to Saving Money Without Wasting Time a womens' personal finance book, and Aji Publishing.

Tags: coupons, military families
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Flex Health Accounts – Enrollment Season is Now

Monday, November 10th, 2008

For those of you (or your spouses) who have employers that offer health, dental and/or life insurance benefits, November & December are usually the “open enrollment” periods when you have to choose which benefits you would like to have for the following year.

For some, Flex Spending Accounts (aka FSAs) are also offered.  For those with children in daycare or after-school care, usually the FSA for Childcare is a no-brainer–you max it out and it gets used up in a few months.  But what about the Healthcare FSA?

Healthcare FSAs are used to pay for eligible medical expenses not covered by your health insurance.  Since these accounts are funded by you with your pre-tax dollars, you can essentially save anywhere from 10-33% on eligible out-of-pocket medical expenses, depending on your tax bracket.  Out-of-pocket items include things like co-pays for doctor visits and prescriptions, dental work, etc.

The downside is that FSAs have “use it or lose it” clauses–if you don’t use up your contributions during the year, the money is lost. So many people either avoid the FSA entirely or underfund them (missing out on tax benefits) or overfund them (and lose cash).

So how do you make FSAs work for you?  You can sit down with a pencil, paper and calculator to determine how many times you go to the doctor, need a prescription, etc. each year. If you like, contact me with your name & email address at kristin@turbo-mom.com and I will send you a free FSA worksheet that you can either print out and write in your info or simply type right on the form and it will calculate your totals for you!

Copyright 2008-2009 Kristin Delfau, author of Turbo-Mom's Guide to Saving Money Without Wasting Time a womens' personal finance book, and Aji Publishing.

Tags: FSA, health insurance, open enrollment
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Public Libraries: A great way to save money and time

Monday, November 3rd, 2008

I don’t know how many of you utilize your local libraries, but they can be a real time and money saver.

I admit, ever since I was 7 or 8, I’ve loved libraries.  I almost always took out the maximum amount of books—10—and loved going through them.  Even at that time, I loved the fact that you could have lots of books for free—as long as you returned them on time.

Nowadays, libraries have significantly evolved and they are a great place for free stuff.  Consider this: according to the American Library Association, almost 100% of libraries now have public internet access! 

Many libraries also have free adult education programs on everything from learning Microsoft Excel to how to sell your items on eBay.  I attended a talk on the latter and saved myself numerous hours trying to figure out the process myself.  And I actually managed to sell a few items lingering in my closet!

Here are a few other things that libraries are good for:

1. Saving you money on home decoration/renovation projects.  When we are getting ready for a home renovation, it can be our impulse to go to the book store and buy every book and magazine about decks or basements or kitchens.  Instead, why not go to the library, check out every book on the subject for free, and then go buy the book or two that ends up being your main inspiration?  Much cheaper.  Then you can put the money you saved on books and magazines toward your improvement.

2. Job search materials.  Of course, there is a usual selection of job search books in the stacks, but did you know that the librarians can help you research local companies that hire in your field?  Or, if you are starting your own business, to get you in touch with the proper state offices to get yourself registered correctly? Save time by learning what they already know. 

3. Movie rentals. Many libraries have movie rentals—which can save you a bunch in Netflix or Blockbuster fees.  Our library allows 5 movies for up to one week for free.  Also, your library may not only have the latest released blockbusters but also independent or foreign films that didn’t have the ad budget of a big studio but are nonetheless interesting.

So if you haven’t been in awhile, check out your local library and reap the savings!

Copyright 2008-2009 Kristin Delfau, author of Turbo-Mom's Guide to Saving Money Without Wasting Time a womens' personal finance book, and Aji Publishing.

Tags: free stuff, libraries
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