Monday, January 04, 2010
The Coupon Mom’s Guide to Cutting Your Grocery Bills in Half
By Sara Moore
Keep your New Year’s resolution to stay on track with your finances by learning how to save on your grocery bills. Stephanie Nelson, creator of CouponMom.com, is out with a new book The Coupon Mom’s Guide to Cutting Your Grocery Bills in Half to show us how we can save big. Here are some money saving tips from her book.
Pick a Day to Shop
Pick one day a week to shop. This will help you make a comprehensive shopping list to plan your week’s meals and snacks carefully. By planning ahead, you will save time and money by not taking unnecessary shopping trips mid-week.
Compare Prices
Compare prices for your common items at a few nearby stores and cherry-pick the deals if necessary. Nelson finds the lowest prices on fresh produce and pantry basics at local discount stores and buys the rest of her week’s groceries at a typical supermarket using sales, loss leaders, “Buy one, get one free” offers and doubled coupons.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
The time to buy a car is now!
In the market for a new car? Well, your timing couldn’t be better, Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve are two of the best days to purchase a new car at a great price. “December is the best month to buy a car this year and there are almost 60 vehicles with expected discounts over 15% off MSRP in December,” says analyst Jesse Toprak of TrueCar.com.
Hybrid cars such as the 2009 Saturn Aura Hybrid, 2009 Nissan Altima Hybrid, and the 2009 Saturn VUE Hybrid are all expected to sell 17% or more off the sticker price. Family cars like the 2009 Nissan Quest, 2009 Ford Explorer, 2009 Cadillac Escalade, and 2009 Lincoln Navigator L are expected to sell more than 15% off sticker. If you’re into big cars, the 2009 HUMMER H3 is expected to sell at 28% off MSRP.
Here is a full list of expected savings compiled by TrueCar.com (Year/Make/Model; MSRP; % Discount off MSRP):
2009 Saab 9-7X
$43,390
31%
2009 HUMMER H3
$34,170
28%
2009 Mitsubishi Raider
$21,875
27%
2009 Suzuki SX4
$13,994
26%
Wednesday, December 02, 2009
Easy holiday shopping with MasterCard Priceless Gift Finder
By Abbey Khan
Shopping for holiday gifts should be fun and stress free, and now it can be thanks to the MasterCard Priceless Gift Finder. Working mom and comedienne Heather McDonald of Chelsea Lately tells us how she’s been using the gift finder and what she’s getting for her family, friends, and famous co-workers. Hopefully, they won’t read this before the holidays, and if they do, they’ll act surprised when they get their gifts.
FUSN: The MasterCard Priceless Gift Finder is completely innovative, how does it work?
HM: It’s great if you have to buy for a child. My boy is seven, I know what he likes but I don’t know what a 16-year-old girl is into. You answer questions that describes their personality and it gives you potential gifts in your price range. They teamed up with Amazon.com so you can get real reviews from real people and decide if you want to get it or not. They also connect with your Facebook friends, so they know you’re on the site shopping for them. I’ve already done a ton of shopping on it and it’s come up with things I would never think of for people I normally just bring a bottle of wine to.
FUSN: Sound easy enough, but it’s also nice to shop at an actual physical location. Do you have any plans to go out to the mall to do any holiday shopping?
HM: If I go to the mall to buy for other people, I end up trying on clothes and buying stuff for myself, but if I’m doing the gift finder, I’m focused on buying for specific people.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Surviving Black Friday and Cyber Monday
By Sara Moore
The Friday and Monday after Thanksgiving mark the busiest days to shop, but these are also the best times to get great deals. The experts at PromotionalCodes.com and CouponWinner.com offer their tips on saving money and time when shopping on Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Make a list
By planning ahead and organizing a list of needs, you will shop more efficiently and save time.
Create a budget
When shopping for many items, figure out your finances so you’ll keep to a smart financial plan and stop yourself from overspending.
Shop online
Retailers have more flexibility to reduce prices and offer last minute deals online than at stores. Shopping online makes it easy to compare prices and products and search for special promotions among competitors without having to run from store to store.
Keep checking for savings
For Black Friday/Cyber Monday, most offers will be available for one day only. However, there are sales or discounts that may be limited to several hours. Therefore, check throughout the day to find a deal. Using websites such as PromotionalCodes.com and CouponWinner.com will ensure you don’t miss out on a single offer and save you time. Users can also search by specific category like clothing, accessories, travel, electronics, sporting goods and much more.
Black Friday or Cyber Monday
Cyber Monday is known to offer great deals. If you miss an offer on Black Friday, rest assured that you may find an equally amazing offer or an even better deal on Cyber Monday.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Cash strapped - sell your gold the right way!
By Sara Moore
It may not be your first choice, but one way to make money during these hard economic times is to sell your gold and silver jewelry. According to Dan Brauser, President and COO of Dollars4Gold.com, gold tends to do very well when our economy is doing poorly because investors flock to safe haven investments (gold is in this category), which drives up the cost per ounce and benefits those looking to sell. In fact, Dollars4Gold.com received gold, silver and platinum pieces from residents of all 50 states and the District of Columbia in just one month.
Don’t just sell your gold, do it the right way! Brauser shares his tips on getting the most money for your precious metals.
Sell online
Since local jewelers/pawn brokers use subcontractors to sell their gold items to metal refineries, customers get paid less because the jeweler/pawn broker compensates for the fees associated with their own re-selling process. Online outlets cut out the middle man by working directly with the refinery, which allows them to pass the savings onto the customer.
