Savings…Watch Out!
The current economy is meaning big savings for consumers. This has a lot of people watching the stores for ads and sale days, and waiting to buy the items they want on sale. This is a great idea, but watch out, because the stores know that you are looking to save money, and they are all juggling their sales so quickly, while altering their prices, that a savings may not really be a savings at all.
Let me sight an example. Recently I received an e-mail from a popular clothing store that usually charges a lot for their clothing. The sale e-mail said it was 30% off of everything, including clearance stuff, which we all know is unheard of. Also, shipping was free over $100.00 so I took advantage of the sale and placed an order for some great items. One of the things I bought was boys shirts, which were on sale for 2 for $30.00 and then I got an additional 30% off, which made these shirts about $10 a piece. I placed my order and not 24 hours later, I received an e-mail telling me that they now had everything 50% off, so I really thought I had been had. I went back online to look at these shirts that I had purchased the day before, and they were now priced at $34.50 per shirt and so with 50% they would cost me $17.25 per shirt, a good $7 more than I had spent. I was relieved, but this just goes to show you that a sale, may or may not really be a sale.
It is important to shop around and even re-shop the same stores over and over again to insure that the deal you are getting is really a deal. Realize the consumers are looking for the deals, and so the stores may make you think that you are getting one, even when you aren’t. Shop wisely and you will see that there really are some great deals out there, but don’t be fooled by the make-believe deals that some stores are putting out.
Car Company Bail Out…A Necessity?
There has been a lot of press given lately to the fact that the major auto manufacturers, General Motors, Ford and Chrysler are asking for a 34 Billion dollar bailout for their companies. As are many average Americans, I sit and wonder why it is the average American’s are struggling but the big companies can get help, and we sit completely helpless, waiting and hoping for things to turn around.
Unfortunately, I have learned that the main reasons that these bailouts are necessary is to save the overall economy of the country. I did see that with the banking and credit industry, however it didn’t make as much sense to me when it came to the auto industry. Sure, I could see that it was going to put the people in the auto industry out of work, which obviously would cause great economic hardship, especially in areas of the country like Michigan who rely on the auto industry to support most of the other businesses in the communities, however, I was really unaware of the ripple effect that the destruction of this industry would have across the country. The fact that I didn’t consider and really was completely unaware of, was the fact that the US auto manufacturers are the biggest purchasers of American-made steel, aluminum, iron, copper, electronics and plastics. The decline of the American auto companies is one of, if not the most important, areas where our economy is struggling.
Expert financial analysts predict that allowing the US Auto Industry to fold would be one of the biggest hits to this country’s financial state that has ever occurred. They feel that in order to keep the economy even remotely stable it is going to take a bail out of significant proportions of the US auto manufacturer’s.
Obama Economic Stimulus, Will It Work?
Most American’s are thinking that with a National Debt of over 10 Trillion dollars why is this guy already spending this much money when he hasn’t even taken office yet. Well, on some level, we all are aware that spending is actually what keeps the economy going, but let’s face it, we also know that we need our money right now, and most people are not running around spending all that they have. So why does Obama think that his stimulus package will work when Bush’s didn’t.
The answer to that is both complex and simple. When Bush set out to stimulate the economy, he did so by sending checks to individuals and families. Great in theory, however most American’s who were already struggling used those checks to pay bills or stashed it away for a rainy day. Therefore, we did not all run out and shop for new items and that in turn did not do for the economy what Bush had hoped.
In Obama’s plan, which does include checks to the American public, it however does not rely on them to be the stimulus. It is offering a much more comprehensive and multi faceted approach to stimulating the economy which includes sizable tax deductions for businesses for each new employee they hire on. This will help create jobs, which in the long term seems like it will have a bigger impact on people’s spending. After all, you can’t be out spending if you don’t have a job at which you can earn some money.
If you look over the plan you will in fact see that Obama’s plan will help stimulate the economy which will not only help the individuals but also the businesses and the unemployment rate. Overall, this plan is cheap compared to how much Bush has spent on bail outs in the last three months. At least the Obama plan stands a chance.
An Interesting Question…Didn’t They See This Coming?
Our government is in high panic mode trying to fix the current financial crunch that we are in. I am just wondering why no one saw this coming. It only makes sense that we have been pouring out Trillions of dollars on fighting terrorism and the war and we have been doing this for the past 7 years. It only stands to reason that over time we are slowly but surely going broke. Honestly, if you look at things however, this really was coming to this point before September 11, 2001. If you look at the trends in banking and in the economy, you can honestly see that interest on bank accounts took a nose dive around the mid 90′s. Back in 1989, your interest on an average checking account was 5.14% and an average savings account was 5.5%. Money markets and CD’s went up to on the average about 8-9% depending of course on the term. Now you are lucky if you are getting about 1% interest on your savings. This decline started before all this terrorism stuff came to a head. Didn’t they see this was happening? Didn’t we? I guess I just think that better financial planning could have gone into this. It is like our government has bounced a million checks in the past week and they are scrambling to figure out where they are going to get the money from quickly. I just would like to think that our government had a better handle on their finances than this. It really just seems to me that they could have planned ahead and seen this coming. I guess with credit card companies charging exorbitant fees and banks charging equally exorbitant fees and interest rates, it seems to me that they would be doing well, but I guess not, which in essence means that the money that we think we have in the banks is really gone. I am sure in this financial whirlwind that we are in, if we all went to the banks and tried to get our money out, our government would be in quite a pickle. In any case, I really think that someone ought to be held accountable as this problem didn’t just happen over night, and it probably won’t be fixed over night either.
Feeling The Crunch??
If you are like most people you are probably starting to feel like the walls are closing in on you. For so many people, who in the past have been making just enough money to keep their heads above water, the tide has shifted and the heads are not having any room to come up for air. Well, everyone is feeling the pinch, some more than others, but instead of complaining about the issues, make a pact with yourself to take the necessary steps to give yourself some breathing room.
1. Watch your unnecessary spending. So many of us spend without really thinking about it. We are functioning on automatic pilot when we are out there in the world. Sometimes just cutting out that extra cup of coffee and donut on your way to work in the morning can be enough to ease a little bit of the pressure. Did you realize that if you buy one cup of coffee a day for a week that is the same amount of money that it would cost you to buy a coffee maker? Even with the price of coffee these days, you still save an enormous amount just by brewing your own. Not only that but invest in a plastic travel mug and clean it out. You will not only save on $$$ but also be helping out the environment.
2. You can do your own car repairs. Did you know that many of the instructions for performing an oil change or changing out filters can be found right online? You can even find a diagram of your car’s engine, so that you will easily be able to locate filters in the car more easily. This will take a little extra time, but it is a wise investment that will not only save you money, but will also take up some time in which you might otherwise be spending money.
3. Cut out your home phone bill. Did you realize that in addition to just functioning on cell phones, that you can also get cheap home phone service through your high speed internet connection? Not only that but you can reduce your bill from about $70.00 per month to about $20.00. These online phone services don’t charge you for long distance fees, and you can sign up right online and choose your own phone number. It is worth your time to look into this option.
4. If at all possible ride a bike to work or carpool. This will save you on fuel expenses and let you use the fuel you are buying for recreational purposes. Again another money saving tip that will also help the environment while also reducing the wear and tear on your car, which provides truly a double savings.
5. Save as much money as you can and put it aside. Hanging on to your money is definitely the way to go. Now more than ever, saving is important and needs to be looked at. When the economy goes through a rough spot companies will be cutting back, so unless you are in the food or fuel industry, your job could become an extra expenditure that your company doesn’t need. Being prepared by having a little nest egg tucked away just in case is definitely the way to go.
There are many things that we can do to help ourselves feel a little less out of control. We may not be able to control the economy, but we can control how we spend our money. We must use this ability to create a more powerful perspective on the situation.