According to Howard Davidowitz, the worst is yet to come in the midst of the burst housing bubble, financial meltdown and unemployment. He believes America’s standard of living is undergoing a “permanent change”, and that the American rampant consumerism is ending as we know it.
Over the last 90 days America has seen:
- An $8 trillion negative wealth effect from declining home values.
- A $10 trillion negative wealth effect from weakened capital markets.
- A $14 trillion consumer debt load amid “exploding unemployment”, leading to “exploding bankruptcies.”
Over recent years American consumers were spending 6% more than they made! Over the last 90 days that trend has dramatically shifted to a 3.4% savings — a 9.4% swing! This number is estimated to increase to 6% to 7% and ultimately to 9% or more (Ronald Regan’s term the American’s were saving 9.4%).
Don’t panic, we’ve been through tough financial times before as American’s and get through this one as well. Save, save, save — and you’ll be fine.
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I think everyone is very familiar with the standard budget minded strategy of bringing food for lunch. Packing a 2 dollar frozen meal or sandwich made at home is a big money saver vs spending 6 bucks at McDonalds, 10 at a diner, or more at a place like Fridays. But lets be practical, it’s very hard to bring lunch every day. You could have a job where you work in the field and pretty much have to buy food on most days you are out. My strategy to save considerable money each day is to buy breakfast for lunch.
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I came across an article written today that talked about how internet providers are planning to charge you based on the amount of bandwidth you use. It’s nothing new for providers to have pricing tiers based on speed, especially the new Verizon FIOS plans. However, this is the first I have heard of tiers based on usage. The article focuses on bandwidth levels of 5 Gigabytes and 40 GB’s. To me it seems pretty easy to exceed the 5 GB limit. The breakout of 5GB’s of data is listed below:
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Smucker’s and Jif are combining with Disney for a promotion to give away a free scrapbook. The requirements are pretty easy, all you have to do is buy 2 Smuckers or Jif products and send away for the book. No need to rush, the promotion runs until the end of March. Also, it’s very nice that they do not charge you shipping for the scrapbook. I come across these kinds of promotions all the time and while the deal may be nice, they always hit you up for 6 bucks just to ship you your “free” item. At least in this case the products you buy shouldn’t cost more than 5 or 6 dollars and most likely we all keep a supply of PB & J on hand. Other than the free giveaway, this contest is actually for a much larger grand prize.
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While the staff here at Cheapiness is always about saving money and not spending in excess, we all need to buy things to live our lives, gain some sanity, and help us pass the time. So it is very important to us that when we do buy something, we get it for a low price. One of my favorite sites to visit is Woot.com. Woot has a very simple premise. Every day they list a new item at 1:00am EST. This item is listed for a very low price, usually lower than ebay price, and always comes with $5 shipping. You will even see plasma TV’s on the site for great deals, with $5 shipping. The item stays listed until it is sold out. Another nice bonus, is that as far as I know, they do not charge sales tax on orders unless you’re from their home state or one of those very few states that requires sales tax on all transactions like New York.
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Free is good. Free stuff on your birthday is even better. If you are a kid and can get free toys on your birthday…well….that’s just stellar!
Toys R Us has a free birthday club that kids up to 10 years of age can join. You can sign your child up in the store, or online. Every year, Geoffrey the Giraffe will send your child a special birthday card to start the celebration.
If you take your child to the store on his birthday, he can celebrate in style. Birthday children get a special crown, a Geoffrey balloon, and a free gift. The store will also make a special birthday announcement in celebration of your child’s birthday.
Pookie says, “It was an experience like no other. It was fun!”
What a great way to make fun birthday memories for your child. The best part is that it’s free!
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Let’s face it, no one wants to lose their job, particularly in a time like this. And if you have been unlucky enough to be affected by the current economic downturn, we feel for you. Whether your small business is closing or you became one of many packing up their desks at companies like eBay, GlaxoSmithKline and Ford, it probably wasn’t your fault — and it hurts. This November’s job losses cut across industries and states, adding to a total of nearly 1.2 million jobs lost this year according to CNN Money.
Now, get back on the horse that threw you.
No, we mean it! After you’ve figured out the status of medical coverage, filed for unemployment and finished exit interviews, you need to get down to the business at hand. Your new job is finding a job, and even in this economy, they’re out there. The good news is, you don’t need to buy a Giorgio Armani suit or wine and dine your cousin Bob the Billionaire to do it. (Although a few strategic purchases can go a long way — check out I Will Teach You To Be Rich’s post on spending money to make money.)
What you need is a good old to-do list. After a friend of Hannah and Jon at Monogamoney was laid off, he took a few days to clear his head and then made a list — of who could help him and how, of the companies he might contact about picking up work and the recruiters who might be the most useful to him. Looking at his list on Monogamoney now that he has a new job (after just 2 months out of the workforce), it’s a pretty simple affair — no flash, no fuss. But the point isn’t making a list that looks great or that you need to justify to someone else, it’s a document that will motivate you to get back to your goals. One list to rule them all!
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According to a recent AP article, JPMorgan Chase spokesman Thomas Kelly declined to share what his bank is doing with the recently received bailout money. In fact, the major recipients of the money haven’t specified where it is being used.
Imagine walking into your bank, asking for a loan and then refusing to answer how you will use it. Although all banks that received funds have to report their use of the funds to the SEC by April 2009, there is still a measure of accountability missing.
“We’ve lent some of it. We’ve not lent some of it. We’ve not given any accounting of, ‘Here’s how we’re doing it,”‘ said Thomas Kelly, a spokesman for JPMorgan Chase, which received $25 billion in emergency bailout money. “We have not disclosed that to the public. We’re declining to.”
Over 21 banks were contacted by members of the Associated Press and they all basically had the same answer.
Since it’s government money, our taxpayer money, it makes sense that the public should know how the money is being spent. Although the lawmakers implored bank executives to spend the money to stimulate the economy and not use it on corporate bonuses and other in-business expenses, there is nothing set in place to insure that this happens.
Instead, the banking industry has been given what seems like a blank check. It remains to be seen if the $700 billion distributed to various banks will actually do what it was supposed to.
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Have you started saving for your children’s college education expenses yet? It’s hard to find the extra money in the budget to do this, isn’t it? By using programs like Upromise, you can save for those expenses without any effort or strain on your budget. As Rachel R says, “it’s like money for free!”
All you have to do is join the program and create an account. After that, you can start saving just by shopping! You can start earning money for the account by shopping online at participating websites. You can also save money for the account by eating at participating restaurants, or shopping at participating stores. You can even ask family and friends to sign up and request that their earnings go towards your account.
Let’s say that you want to buy some books online at Barnes and Noble. If you purchase $50 worth of books, Barnes and Noble will contribute 3% of that total to your account. You’ve already saved $1.50! Join now, and you’ll get a $10 gift certificate to Restaurant.com!
Cherie C points out, “It’s so easy! We consult the Upromise site before shopping or dining. If it’s convenient and doesn’t cost us extra, we go with a Upromise vendor.” I like easy, and I like free. I also like the fact that this will make a huge positive difference in my children’s lives.
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How do you really know that you are getting the best deal on that laptop or plasma TV? Compare Everywhere, a software application, can tell you just that.
Compare Everywhere can be used with a Google Android based phone. Simply scan the bar code into the phone. After a few seconds, the software will let you know which stores in your area carry that product. The software will also tell you the price of the item in those stores. In addition, you can access product reviews too!
Natesh says, “I’m not that big of a shopper, but when I buy something big such as a TV, laptop, or a MP3 player, I like to compare the prices to find out where I can get the best deal. Sometimes, I am already out looking for something I really need, and I don’t have the time to research to find the best prices, and here is where Compare Everywhere would come in handy.”
Another way this product is handy is that it allows you to price match very conveniently. GasBot explains “For example, my girlfriend and I went to Kohl’s last weekend looking for a stainless steel pressure cooker. We found one but it was like $60, so I scanned it and it showed Walmart as having it for $42.22. So we just went up to the Kohl’s register and asked if they price matched. They looked at the Walmart price and price matched it right there!
Just think of the time and money you can save by using this software!
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