Mother's Day gift from ole joyful: 28% - 42% return on some your money
HU-127064464
11 months ago
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How to make 35 - 40% on your money ... guaranteed!
Comments (22)Sorry sharon, but I guess I must be odd. First off, I hate the mall, it's about a mile away from me and I only go maybe one or twice a year usually to meet a friend for lunch. So, I don't window shop or shop for fun. I buy a lot of my Christmas presents on line throughout the year when items go on clearance and have free shipping. If I have something to get, I go out and buy it. If I don't, I don't. I use shopping lists but if something is very cheap that is not on my list that I would be buying soon anyway I will buy it rather than paying twice as much the next week for it. I think being able to do this actually saves me money in the long run. Almost all my McDonald type stops are planned. If not, it's because someone is in the hospital or something major has happened and I simply can't make dinner that night. Not having the charge card or cash at these times to do this, may lead me to go crazy! The only time lately I can recall having a lot of cash on me was when I went on vacation. I think I actually ended up spending more. I let my son get a few extra souvenirs because I had the cash and the stands didn't take charge cards. I also paid twice the amt. I should have for stamps from a machine because I had the cash (This was really a mistake on my part but would not have been made if I didn't have the cash). And, I know this may sound bad to say, but I tend to give more money away if I have the cash. Just yesterday someone was collecting at the stop light. I went to find my dollars for parking--none there--so didn't give any money. And when I picked up an order at Pasta House (yes, the stop was planned), I usually give a couple dollars...couldn't easily find any (and I was mad at them for forgetting an item) so I didn't give them anything. I'm just not thinking the cash route would save me money. I'm just not the type of person who buys things because I have the money. We have plenty in savings, but I don't dig into it just because I can. Plus, I would never think to buy a outfit I know I couldn't pay off that month. Maybe I am the odd one, or maybe I'm just a little more intelligent than most people in this matter. And you said: "If you get 1-3 cents back on every dollar you spend, you can bet that the card company is getting up to ten times that. They can't get interest from you, so they are making their money on your volume of business. Doing business for them in greater volume costs you". Can you explain how I this is specifically costing "me". I just don't see it....See MoreHow some people can make 35% on some of their money ...guaranteed
Comments (9)Learning how money works is an interesting hobby ... and it pays well. Learning how taxes work is an interesting hobby ... and can be profitable, as well. As a financial advisor, for most of those years selling no financial products, I learned a lot from my clients and passed on a number of useful ideas, as well. And, being frugal myself, didn't overcharge for my services. One person, earning about 50K a year, paid next to no income tax. S/he had a number of Canadian stocks, dividends on which are taxed at a low rate. S/he gave around 20% or sometimes more of income to churches and various charities and to support of a political party. The political deductions died with the year ... but charitable contribution credits could be carried over into another year (5 year max) and s/he almost always had enough credits to bring her/his tax load down to near zero. You may have seen my story over on "Money saving tips" or "Household finance" of how to get a dollar's worth of charitable value for about 50 - 60 cents (applicable mainly in Canada) and that assumes gifts originating from one's bank account ... which contains after-tax money. But ... when a Canadian "taxpayer" transfers stock or mutual funds which have increased in value to a charity ... there is no income tax levied against the capital gain. As for my situation this year, a couple of weeks ago I transferred some stock that I'd bought 47 years ago for $4.20 or so to a local charity for somewhere around $95.00 - 99.00 (haven't heard if it's been certified and sold). If it's $94.20, there'll be $90.00 of capital gain and in the ordinary course I'd have to pay tax at regular marginal (i.e. highest) rate on half of the capital gain, or $45.00. Avoiding tax on $45.00 suits me fine ... if I plan to make substantial gifts to charity, anyway. Should have made the transfer a couple of weeks before I did ... before the market drop: oh, well ... one wins a few ... and loses a few, in this life. ole joyfuelled ... with a dollar or so, here and there, to help - preferably pre-tax ones...See More28 Tips To Save Money
Comments (5)On #s 15 & 16, I think it's important to point out that often the alternative to refi and the like is simply pay down the principle! Especially if you're early in the mortgage, every nickel you pay toward the principle means the balance of the loan's interest on that nickel goes into your pocket. Ol' Joyful, I'll need some of your expertise here, but could you figure a rough calculation of an average type house loan, average refi costs applied to the current loan and how that would compare in the end? I think it'd be interesting. Also, said before, but often people think they "need" a new car and don't consider if they put some money into the old one, it'd save in the long run. Remember, new cars have higher insurance and license costs so there's more than the initial price to consider. I would take a bit of issue too with the convenience store avoidance. You could actually save money if wise. Often, convenience stores sell eggs, milk, bread etc at very low prices, often far less than the markets. Plus it's not a special trip, saves time plus there can be (tho not guaranteed - it's up to you) fewer impulse buys. The longer you're in the grocery store, stats say you'll spend more. Again, it's how savvy you are, but be careful. #18 (Shudder) Buyer's Brokers are seldom a good thing. Let's face facts, no real estate agent/realtor or the like works FOR the buyer! Who pays them? The seller. How do they get paid more? By "benefitting" the seller. There's no way the buyer benefits from realtors. The fewer the better in most cases. Why? Because you can often negotiate the realtor fees. If you have one realtor taking the entire commission, it's far easier to negotiate them down than to negotiate with multiple agents and try to negotiate down when they're getting 1/4 or less of the commission. Beware of this statement and check into these claims. You're far better off to have a good real estate attorney on your side. S/He'll be working for YOUR benefit. Mine found problems in the paperwork and embarrassed the daylights out of the stack of realtors, closers and the like at my closing! It was hilarious! Now as for the inspector, yes, that can be worthwhile, but don't use one recommended by the realtor (kickbacks) and make sure you know what they're inspecting, their qualifications and the like. A good alternative can be a trusted friend with qualifications. Hire like any professional. Realize, though, that the inspectors DO NOT GUARANTEE the house! So if they overlook something, it's not their fault or responsibility and they won't be doing anything for you so know what you're getting. A title examination, especially of abstract properties, can be very important especially if you don't know how to read an abstract. Torrens is less problematic. Buying a home brings up a pandora's box of potential problems and far too many to go into here, but there's some things to be careful of. #21 Consumer Reports is a pet peeve of mine. They're often very biased in their reporting. Plus, keep in mind that they do not "test" ALL models and versions, even of similar products! Do you realize that the washer you buy at Home Depot is different than the one you buy at Best Buy and they're both different than the one you buy from a mom-n-pop dealer? That can have significant differences in the specs and needs. One can have cycles and features the other doesn't. Don't get caught up in the CR myth. Read their magazine with a shaker full of salt and do far more research than CR. You'll be doing yourself a favor. That's enough for now. There's more opinions coming, I'm sure! :) Happy saving all! Enjoy the frugal season!...See Moreole joyful's ... belated ... and (ahem!) retreaded Christmas gift
Comments (5)Hi sock-it-to-'em, You don't even need to put me on your list - if you come here and ask, and I feel that I have anything useful to offer (or just want to have some fun with it) ... no doubt you'll hear from me, anyway ... unless I don't show up for a while. I'll be happy to be on your list: my email address is on my profile - all that you need do is go there. You're the first person in about five years that has made that request, if I recall correctly. I've even offered my phone number to a few, and on a rare occasion, especially if someone seems rather hard up, or deeply distressed, have offered that if someone gives me their phone number, I'll call them. Will you be on my list? Tell me about your training, skills, interests, contacts, vacation destinations, hobbies, experience in maintaining various home, auto, computer, leisure, etc. issues. You've probably become fairly familiar with a number of my training, skills, interests, etc. so that you may have an idea of what kinds of concerns about which you might feel it relevant to contact me. Plus - your email address, if it isn't on your profile. Good wishes for a really fine New Year. ole joyful P.. My friend gave me 5 pair of white sport socks for Christmas ... but no one gave me any underpants: will have to buy some for myself, I guess (if I want to stop the binding-around-the-knees by the half-dozen or so lazy-elastic ones). o j...See Moreroxanna
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cyn427 (z. 7, N. VA)