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Christmas Club

Remember Christmas Club accounts? The Clubs were popular during the Great Depression. The point of the account was to deposit money regularly throughout the year and then withdraw the funds before Christmas. The account earned interest and was probably set up like a CD. It was a great tool to take some of the stress out of Christmas shopping. It’s so much better to prepare for the event than to go into debt with spending. The end of November is the wrong time to start a Christmas Club for this Christmas, so what can you do to minimize the damage … Continue reading →

Ways to Save: Online Accounts

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be taking a look at ways to save your money. Back to school, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas all come in the fall and winter season, which means that saving is often the last thing on our minds. All the more reason to think about it! I’ll start with one of my personal simple favorites: the online savings account. An online account with ING or another bank is not necessarily your everyday banking solution. It’s connected to a bricks-and-mortar bank account in your own community, most likely. However, these accounts are generally no fee and … Continue reading →

Recovering from Christmas Spending

Christmas has come and gone, and you have spent all that you planned to. Did you stay in budget or did you go over? Did your expenses in other areas increase as you ran around to attend all the necessary holiday events? Have you already planned for your New Year’s Eve expenses? It is time to take a step back and evaluate what you can do better next year and to get your budget back on track. Here are four areas to consider. 1) Did you stay on budget for your Christmas presents? If you went over were there any … Continue reading →

How Will You Use Your Christmas Bonus?

It is the time of year when many people receive a Christmas bonus. This is a great perk that comes with many jobs. Unfortunately fewer and fewer companies are giving a Christmas bonus, and you may end up with a ham or a card. If you are one of the fortunate few, how are you going to use that bonus? You may be tempted to go and spend the entire amount on Christmas presents. In fact for many, this is the only way that they can afford to have a Christmas. It is important to not become reliant on a … Continue reading →

Balancing Christmas Spending and Giving

Christmas shopping is well under way. Black Friday has come and gone. It is interesting that the day that most stores finally make a profit is the day that many consumers begin to increase their debt through holiday spending. People crowd the stores intent on finding the deal that will allow them to purchase items they otherwise couldn’t afford. There is a pressure to spend money during the holiday season that doesn’t exist through the rest of the year. It is nice to be able to give to others and to provide your children with a nice Christmas. It is … Continue reading →

Living Longer … But Living Well?

We live in a day and age of miracles. Because of advances in modern health care, we are now able to prevent disease and treat it effectively if it does take place. Senior citizens can expect to live longer than ever before, which is wonderful news. There will be more time to spend with grandchildren, working on hobbies, finishing up those projects that never quite got done. A hundred and fifty years ago, living to the age of seventy was considered quite amazing. Today, seventy-year-olds are out on the golf course or in the swimming pool, putting the younger men … Continue reading →

Radical Money Idea: Spend Less Than You Earn

Imagine that it is a long, long time ago. Let’s roll the clock back to the early part of the last century. At that time, material wealth wasn’t nearly as great as it is today. There simply was not as much stuff available as there is now. Yet people did well. In fact, they saved a large portion of their income for a rainy day, anywhere from 10 to 20 percent of that income. They knew that they had to make it on their own, with perhaps a little bit of help from the community. That made this rainy day … Continue reading →

Creating Pockets of Money

Let me share with you what happens when I go to the bank. The tellers just love me. I stand there with my money or my request to withdraw some money. Then they scroll down through account after account, until finally they ask me where I’m depositing the money. Actually, I do most of my banking online now and I do take pity on the tellers and tell them about my various accounts. Most of them know me, anyway. But there are occasions when a new person is there and on these occasions, confusion ensues. Why am I so confusing? … Continue reading →

Do You Use Your Pockets?

I use mine. Yes, I use the pockets in my clothing, but I also use my financial pockets, and so can you. I read about this idea about ten years ago, and ever since then I’ve used it as a household financial organizing technique. It’s simple and effective. What is a pocket? Well, we have a single bank account. Underneath that account, we have at least eight sub-accounts for savings. I can go online and transfer money into any of the other accounts. These accounts are for things like bulk food purchases in the summer (we buy a lot of … Continue reading →

Free Amazon Prime Trail Membership

In a recent article, Tips for buying at Amazon.com, I mentioned that I sometimes purchase the Amazon Prime membership. Amazon Prime membership allows you to get free two day shipping, no matter how small your purchase is. Considering that the yearly subscription is $79.00, if you are a regular Amazon shopper and hate waiting for packages, it might be worth it to get the free trial. There freebies with Amazon Prime are: One day (overnight) shipping for $3.99 Free standard shipping No more worrying about shipping charges at all (unless you purchase from a private Amazon vendor) see the disclaimer … Continue reading →