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A Souvenir-less Spring Break

It’s easy to go overboard on vacation. You’re only there once, so you feel the need to buy plenty of souvenirs, eat out for every meal, and try everything. But that sort of mentality can leave you paying off your vacation well after it’s ended; just watch this Spendster’s story.

To avoid coming home with an empty wallet and a suitcase full of junk, read these tips.

Save on Movies this Academy Award Season

Is anyone else rushing to see all the “Best Picture” nominated flicks before the Academy Awards in early March? If so, you’ll realize that with twice the nominees (there are 10 this year), you’ve got quite the expense in front of you.

In 2009, American film fanatics spent $9.87 billion at the box office. That’s a whole lot of ticket stubs, popcorn, and previews!

Before you open your wallet to see “Avatar” in 3-D, consider some tips for saving on cinema.

Cut out the pricey snacks. Resist the buttery goodness and refreshing sodas that accompany any theater experience by eating before the show or bringing your own drink or snack. If you must splurge, share the jumbo with your fellow movie-goers and score free refills.

Early bird gets the savings. Although many theaters have steadily jacked up their prices, most still offer matinee shows that can be several dollars cheaper.

Stick to the box office. Buying movie tickets from online sites such as Fandango is convenient-you can bypass the long lines and go straight to the good seats! But they often add a service fee of a dollar or two to your purchase, which can add up.

Discount or independent theaters. Many cities have discount theaters where new releases go to live out their final cinema days before heading to DVD. Independent theaters, which often house those overlooked Academy favorites, can also be cheaper than traditional big-box theaters.

Skip the IMAX. We know IMAX and 3-D make for a whole different viewing experience, but they can cost twice as much as a show on the plain old big screen.

Buy tickets in bulk. If you’re a real movie buff, you might consider buying tickets in bulk, which reduces the price of each movie you see. But be aware that movie passes bought ahead of time don’t always apply to the latest releases.

Tips for a Spendster Resolution

You spent the last of your 2009 dollars ringing in the New Year; now, it’s time to evaluate how you’ll treat your wallet during 2010. The start of a new year is the perfect time to admit to bad spending habits and turn them around for good. Making Spendster resolutions can be easy with the following tips:

1. Less equals more: Keep that spending in check, especially if you let your holiday good cheer get out of control! The less you spend, the more you’ll have to pay off that holiday credit card bill. And guess what, that applies to your spending throughout the rest of the year, too.

2. Stay away from sales: Avoid the “after-holiday” sales and New Year’s promotions! Perusing fashion Web sites and cruising the mall just leads to temptation, something Spendsters certainly don’t need more of! Keep this in mind during other seasonal spending times such as back-to-school, Halloween, and birthdays. They’ll tempt you into buying something you didn’t plan for or need.

3. Keep track: It works for your wallet and your New Year’s diet! Write down everything you buy for a couple of weeks; you might be surprised at how much you spend on vending machine snacks, movies, and going out. With everything written down and accounted for, it will be much easier to find simple ways to scale back and contribute to paying off any debt.

4. Put savings on auto-pilot: Arrange with your bank or another financial institution to have a set amount deducted from your checking account to a savings account every month. Have it withdrawn on payday, so you don’t even have a chance to spend it! It’s the easiest and fasted way to save.

5. Make “cash only” your 2010 motto: If you can’t pay for something in cash (or with money that is in your bank account), then you can’t afford it. “Cash only” is simple and easy to remember!

6. Find a buddy: Sharing your Spendster resolutions with friends and family will leave you less likely to renege on the deal. Recruit another Spendster for emotional support. Together, you can quit those bad habits for good!

Make the Nice List with your Holiday Spending

The holidays are a Spendster’s time of year. There are so many people to buy for, steals and deals around every shop corner, and best of all, everyone else is spending, too.

But it’s easy to go overboard and end up with a fat credit card bill come January. Follow these tips to keep your spending habits under control.

1. Stick to a budget. We know, Spendsters don’t like the word budget. But if you want to survive the holiday spending season, you’ve got to be Scrooge-like in your account of everything. List all the gifts and decorations you plan to buy, the parties you will attend, and the travel expenses you anticipate. Yes, even that role of wrapping paper.

2. Make a list and check it twice. List all family members, friends, and co-workers for whom you plan to buy gifts and set a spending limit for each. Holiday shoppers often throw caution to the wind when trying to find the “perfect gift,” but it’s important to stick to your limits. Once you have purchased a gift for someone, cross them off your list. Avoid adding last-minute impulse items just to make your gift more stellar.

3. Comparison shop. Exhaust all your spending urges online. It’s a great place to comparison shop and find the right price for that special gift. If you decide to buy the item online, remember to figure in shipping costs.

4. Make concessions. If you have exceeded your holiday budget, fess up. Cut down on your list of gift recipients, be selective in choosing what parties to attend, or economize on the little costs such as sending holiday cards and buying decorations.

5. Begin again in 2010. Although it’s a little late this year, remember, holiday spending will come around again in 12 months. Make contributions to a savings account throughout they year, and you can look forward to the holidays because you’ll have a nice little spending fund waiting for you.

Say No to Refunds!

It’s that time of year again - TAX TIME. YEAY! You probably haven’t even looked at your taxes yet, have you?

If you’re banking on getting a refund, maybe it’s time to rethink that mentality. Here’s how I like to think of refunds. Basically, the government’s holding on to your money all year and then at the end of the year, says:

“Ok, here’s your money that we used this past year, but too bad for you, your cash didn’t earn you any interest back. Oh well, your loss.”

So, really, it sounds backwards, but you want to cheer when you don’t get a refund because that means you’ve kept your money and earned interest on it.

Sure, interest on most saving products right now is down, but still you could get 1-2 percent back on your investment. While it’s not a ton of money, it’s still better than the $0 extra the government will give you with your refund.

We all know the government could use some extra money right about now, but couldn’t you, too?

Now is as good a time as ever to go to your HR person and ask to adjust your tax withholding. It’s not hard to do. You just have to fill out a W-4 form. That way, next year, you can keep your money for yourself and even make some (from interest) on your own savings.

Contributed by: LitterLady

Cure Your Retail Hangover

We’ve all been there: gotten up in the morning and thought “What have I done?” But the excess that’s hurting you isn’t from drinking too much, it’s from spending too much.

If you find yourself suffering from a retail hangover, here are some Do’s and Don’ts to help you get back on track. Read more…

No Storybook Ending for Real-Life Shopaholics

If you’re heading out this weekend to watch the heroine of the feature film Confessions of a Shopaholic spend her way through life, it might remind you of some of your past or present purchases. These days, almost no one is free from regret about bad shopping purchases. With the economy as it is and rising unemployment, you’re probably feeling extra regretful.

If your spending mistakes are even nearly as bad as the fictitious Becky Bloomwood’s, you might have a serious shopping problem. Here are some warning signs:

Do you:

• buy things you want without thinking about whether you can afford them at the moment?
• buy things often to cheer yourself up or reward yourself?
• struggle paying your bills because you always seem to be living on the financial edge?
• tend to keep buying more of your favorite things even if you don’t have a specific need for them?
• feel intensely deprived, angry or upset if you have to put off buying something you really want?
• turn excessively to credit cards to buy wanted items?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, the National Endowment for Financial Education® (NEFE®) — the nonprofit foundation that brought you Spendster — suggests you start gaining control of obsessive spending immediately, either through professional help, group therapy like Debtors Anonymous, or on your own. Start with our 10 tips for maintaining constructive financial behaviors.

Contributed by: LitterLady

A Spendster Resolution

Happy New Year, Spendsters! (And you know who you are) It’s resolution time. To keep things easy, you just need one for 2009: Manage your finances! Read more…

Buying Gadgets and Doodads

Now’s a great time to get that gadget your boyfriend/girlfriend/significant other/cat Fluffy has been hinting at for months.

Of course, before you go on a spending spree because of the so-cheap-therefore- must-have-it sales, look at your income and expenses this month and see what you can afford to pay. It’ll be hard, but it’s better for your bank account if you stick to that amount. Read more…

The Present of Choice

What do you get for those hard-to-figure-out people, the ones who have everything they could possibly want and yet you have to think of something cool, thoughtful, and unique to give them? In the past, the easy answer was gift cards.

But, gift cards could become a Spendster’s nightmare. Read more…

Will that be Cash or Clutter?

Isn’t it fun when you pull out a pair of jeans you haven’t worn in a while and you find a few bucks tucked away in a pocket? Wouldn’t it be great if that could happen more often?

It can. Read more…

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Attention Shoppers!

(Don’t forget your checklist)

When I first took flying lessons, my instructor taught me about the pre-flight checklist. You check everything about your airplane before take-off. As my instructor pointed out, “When you get into trouble at 25,000 feet, you can’t pull over to the side of the road.”

Lesson learned. Read more…

Hey Big Spendster

Are you a Spendster? Maybe a definition is in order. A Spendster is someone, who in a moment of weakness buys something they think they really need and realize later they made a bad choice.

Don’t worry. There’s a little Spendster in all but the most frugal of people. Ebenezer Scrooge wasn’t a Spendster. And look at the tough lesson he learned. Read more…

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