Every year, when Thanksgiving rolls around, I start thinking about the big spread my grandmother always put on. I want to be able to do something similar, but every time I sit down and start planning, I’m reminded that the budget she set for Thanksgiving was always more than I budget these days. So what should I do? The classic method most families use — the potluck — helps, but it wasn’t my grandmother’s favorite, especially since many family members drove over an hour on the day of Thanksgiving. Here are 5 ways I came up with:
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The recent recession has put a damper on charitable giving in many cases. Some charities have been reporting that donations have been down since the recession began, even with the tax deduction that can come with giving. However, even in good economic times, it seems as though there are always new charities vying for our attention — and our dollars. Many of us want to give, but we can’t give to every charity that comes along. How do you know who deserves your charity?
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Even if you have a small holiday shopping list and a small family, you can still wind up paying out a ton of cash for holiday gifts. In a perfect world, everyone would get exactly what they were wishing for this Christmas, and the government would pick up the bill. However, in today’s economy the average consumer is looking for ways to cut back on expenses at every corner- including holiday shopping. Here are a few ideas to help you save your budget and still satisfy all those outstretched hands this Christmas.
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So you had enough foresight to determine the price range for your new car before you started shopping in earnest. You did everything right: you calculated a maximum price you were willing to pay, and committed to it. You researched the Kelley Blue Book values, spent a Sunday looking at VINs on the lot (or online) and taking notes, and pitted multiple dealers against each other. Then, ideally, you made your final offer sometime in the early evening on the last day of the month – to a panicking salesman desperate to make his quota.
After all that, it’s still not over. Time and again I see people save money on big transactions, only to give back what they saved and then some on financing.
Why? Because financing is more complicated than pricing, and has multiple variables involved; not just a price, but an interest rate and a time period.
Given the choice, you should always take high-price/low-financing over low-price/high-financing. Or at least measure the difference between the two before deciding.
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When I was still working in Corporate America, one of the executives used to say that he looks to hire salespeople who are basically up to their eyeballs in debt. “The best sales reps are the ones with the biggest houses and the newest cars!” he used to say, meaning that, since salespeople are typically paid via commissions, the ones with the largest debt are the most motivated to make money and would therefore close more sales for the company.
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When you approach an employer about the idea of telecommuting, it’s not unusual that the employer in question can try to negotiate a lower salary in exchange for allowing you to telecommute. The theory behind this tactic is that it costs an employee less to telecommute than to come into the office on a daily basis. But the actual numbers may surprise you — it may not be worth it for you to take the pay cut.
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