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After a long summer, Labor Day is finally here. You might have last minute vacation plans or plan to stay in town. If you are staying in town then you can take advantage of last minute deals. For retailers, Labor Day signals the change of the seasons. This seasonal change can mean big savings in your pocket. This is a good time to shop for many items.
Home
Labor Day is a big three day weekend and that means you have more time for home projects. Home improvement retailers know this and they offer many incentives for you to come and shop for all your project needs. Some of the notable deals will be:
Appliances – If you are in the market for new appliances Memorial Day and Labor Day are your best bets for appliance sales and deals. The sales typically start on the Thursday before the weekend and that is when you have the best selection and service. Don’t forget to check manufacturers’ websites to see if they have any special promotions or rebates in addition to the store sales.
Paint – Painting projects are also popular on three day weekends. So this weekend look for sales or rebates on paint. Both interior and exterior paint will be on sale. And if you haven’t painted in a while you will appreciate the new paints with low odor that go on with less coats.
Cars
If you have been looking for a new car, this is the time to buy. Dealers need to make room for all the new 2011 models so they will make you a deal on the new 2010 models. Not only can you expect good pricing, you can also expect a good selection. So you can get the car you want for the best price. If you wait later in the year, you will have to settle on whatever car is left.
Summer Items
Labor Day weekend is last call for anything summer. Stores are ready to bring in Halloween and Christmas items so summer needs to go.
Home Items – You can pick up summer décor and home items for rock bottom prices. And just because they are from a summer collection doesn’t mean they only have to be used in the summer. Linens and bedding in neutral colors can be used year round.
Clothing – It’s still hot, so don’t forget about swimwear and summer clothing. Whatever is left is heavily discounted. Shoes, handbags and accessories are also on sale. And with the mild Atlanta climate, you can wear many summer styles well into fall.
School Supplies
All the kids are back in school now. With Metro-Atlanta schools starting so early, most retailers had their back to school sales in July and August. They featured many deals on pens, glue and crayons. But if what you wanted wasn’t on their sale list, then this is the time for you to buy. Office supply and discount retailers are marking down and clearing out the remaining school supply items. You can take advantage of clearance sales with up to 75% off.
Coupons
With all the sales this weekend, retailers will also be featuring many coupons. You can buy sale items and then use a coupon to save even more. Check out TheShoppingQueen.com for all the coupons starting today and through the weekend.
These days everyone is looking to save money. Coupon clipping is becoming a very popular hobby. Getting a deal is a great idea but it shouldn’t be the main goal. Many times people hoping to save money end up being penny wise and dollar foolish. To really get the best bang for your buck you have to be strategic in where you invest your money and time.
Here are some common mistakes of penny savers and how to become a dollar saver instead.
Mistakes to Avoid
Chasing deals and missing deadlines – With family budgets shrinking, many parents, especially moms have turned to couponing and sale chasing to stretch their family budget. This is a smart idea; however, you can take it too far. Some get so involved in coupon clubs and chasing deals they start slacking on their other financial tasks such as bill paying. They are racking up $39 late fees and finance charges while they are saving $2 on toothpaste.
Not valuing your time – Most people don’t realize how much their time is worth. If you are an hourly worker, that’s easy. For most salary earners you can take however many thousands you earn in a year and divide by two. For example $40,000 is $20 an hour and $60,000 is $30 an hour. So now when you take on a task you can figure out if it really is worth your time. Suddenly driving half an hour to save 5cents on gas doesn’t sound that smart.
Not investing the savings – This is the most crucial part of saving money – investing the savings. When you save with coupons what do you do with the savings? Do you actually save it in the bank or do you end up spending it elsewhere. To really save money you must have a plan to do something with the savings; otherwise you are just wasting your time. Money magazine recently had an article on Super Savers and featured ordinary people saving 30% or more of their income and putting the money in the bank.
Take Advantage of the Internet
Pay your bills online – You can sign up for online payments and alerts with most companies today ranging from your power company to your department store credit card. They send you reminders of when your bill is due and then you simply pay online. This avoids postage, late fees and missed payments. If someplace doesn’t offer it, for example your child’s preschool, you can simply set up an automatic draft from your own online bank. Your bank will print and mail a check every month for you. Paying your bills on time is the single most important factor on your credit report.
Stay on top of your credit report – Your credit report can help you save thousands of dollars if you maintain it well. Your credit score is becoming a more important factor in all your financial matters. It can determine how expensive your home and car loans will be as well as how good of a salary you can get. Make sure you view your credit reports at least once a year for FREE via www.AnnualCreditReport.com.
Invest online – No matter how little or large you have to save consider opening an online savings account. Online banks typically offer higher interest rates. Even better they offer more online tools to help you save and plan. You can maintain your local bank and simply transfer money electronically between your online and local bank. ING Direct is an online bank that allows you to create several connected accounts so you can set up automatic savings and transfers in your vacation fund, Christmas shopping fund or any other savings goals. And saving money in a bank should be your ultimate savings goal.
Are you getting the most bang for your buck? Whether we are buying diapers, airline tickets or home services we can’t help but wonder, are we getting the best deal. These days the secret to getting the most out of your wallet is to get the most out of the resources online. There are so many websites devoted to helping you save time and money. You just have to know where to find them.
This week, I am sharing my favorite websites for saving money. These are my go-to sites for getting the best deal. I actually have so many to share that I will start a series of posts. So let’s get started.
Everyday Savings
DealSeekingMom.com – This blog is updated frequently with free to nearly free grocery and drugstore items. The site walks you through which coupons to use at which stores to get the best savings. It takes a while to get the hang of all the acronyms and lingo, but once you get it, it can become quite addictive.
BabyCheapskate.com – Babies and kids may be small in size, but their costs are pretty big. Diapers, formula, clothes and baby gear can easily eat up a household budget. BabyCheapskate.com offers a weekly roundup of the best deals for diapers and formula. In addition the site features discounts on everything else you could need for your kids.
CitiesOnTheCheap.com – Finding entertainment or having fun on a budget seems tough, but CitiesOnTheCheap.com makes it easy for you. The site features all kinds of discounts on attractions and events around your city. It is updated regularly. Just click on the icon on the right to find your city. For example, recent events featured in Atlanta were Kids Night at Mary Poppins at the Fox with free kids activities and Buy One Get One Free tickets.
Facebook.com – Yes, the same facebook.com that helps you waste time looking at your great aunt’s vacation pictures can help you save money. More and more companies and stores are offering exclusive facebook discounts and offers. If there are certain brands, stores or shopping centers that you regularly visit or purchase from consider “Liking” their facebook page. Some offer more promotions than others, so you can “Unlike” any that don’t seem to offer much.
Travel
Kayak.com – There are so many travel booking websites ranging from Delta.com to orbitz.com to hotwire.com. Instead of taking the time to visit all these different sites to find the best deal, you can visit Kayak.com and it will search all airline, hotel and travel booking sites for you. Then you can quickly see where to book.
Airfarewatchdog.com – If you are just looking for airline tickets to a specific destination, airfarewatchdog.com helps hound the best deals for you. What is great about airfarewatchdog.com is that they go the extra step. They don’t just list teaser airfares that have little seat availability. They actually try to book seats with the special rates to make sure there is enough availability. They also list fares for all airlines including discount airlines like Southwest which most other sites ignore.
Seatguru.com – Not all airplane seats are created equal. Before you choose your seat on a flight, check out Seatguru.com for a diagram of the best and worst seats on the plane. The diagram shows which seats have better legroom or which ones suffer from loud engine noise. This is especially helpful on long flights. In addition to just seat information, the site also features other kinds of useful information such as baggage fees and limits.
TripAdvisor.com – Once you have booked the best seat on the flight, you want to book the best hotel room. Tripadvisor.com has the most extensive hotel reviews online, including destinations around the world. You can read how other travelers have liked the hotel and find insider info on where the best rooms may be.
Make sure to come back to learn the rest of her go-to websites for saving time and money.
Spring is around the corner. After all this cold and dry weather our skin is ready for a change, not to mention our hair. What do you have planned for a fresh spring look? Bangs or no bangs, what color highlights? So many choices, not to mention costs. A trip to the salon every six weeks can certainly add up. And trying all the season’s new eye and lip colors certainly isn’t cheap either. So what’s a girl to do?
Her is how to look fabulous for less and where to find beauty on a budget.
Hair
Your current salon – Ask about specials and get on the email list. Many salons have specials they run depending on the day and time. They offer discounted rates when you book your appointment during a slow day or time. Sometimes they run promotions based on the season. The key is to be in the know. So continuously ask about special promotions and check your emails.
New stylists – New stylists learn the latest cutting and color techniques and many join nice salons once they graduate. While they build their clientele at these salons, their services are offered at a nicely discounted rate. For example in metro Atlanta, Van Michael Salons have their New Talents program and 124 Salons have their Genesis program .
Stylists in Training – For free or nearly free hair services you can visit cosmetology schools. The services are performed by students in training that are closely supervised by their professional instructors. The cost of the service is based on the student’s level of training. The most notable programs available across the country is the Aveda Institute.
Nails
Trips to the hair salon every six weeks is one thing, but trips to the nail salon every two weeks can certainly affect your budget. So if you want pretty nails that don’t cost a pretty penny try the services of the International School of Skin and Nailcare based in Atlanta. The services are provided by students supervised by their instructors. And they offer quite a range of services to choose from.
Face
Just like fashion, makeup changes every season. Keeping up with the latest colors and trends can be expensive, but here is how to save.
Drugstore – Drugstore brands are very popular these days. Not only do they cost less than department store brands but they can work as well and sometimes better than their more expensive cousins. Even Oprah has taken notice; highlighting many brands in her O Magazine and Oprah’s Favorite Things program. Combine store sales, store coupons and manufacturer coupons and you can end up with a makeup bag full of product with little money out of your money bag.
Department Store Brands
Go High End – I will be the first to admit that while you can pick up a great mascara at a drugstore, there are still some products you want to buy from a department store. And this will shock some people when I say to save money by going high end. Buy your products from high end department stores like Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus when they are running gift promotions and semi-annual beauty events. The free gifts with purchase at the higher end department stores are bigger and better than at the lower end stores, so you get more bang for your buck.
Buy Online – Department store and prestige cosmetic brands heavily regulate their prices and require all authorized retailers to charge the same price. You are not going to see discounted products at your local department store, but you can find them online. Beauty.com and Sephora.com periodically offer 20% off promo codes. These are reputable websites you can trust to sell the real product. Buy during their promotion periods, and you can beat the prestige brand price lock. They usually throw in some free samples too.
