how to save money

Five Ways to Take Advantage of Black Friday Deals

Black Friday has a reputation for being the best time of the year to score some serious deals, but according to the New York Times, "not every discounted TV is worth buying, and not every gadget on sale on Black Friday is at its best price." Retailers know that any sale on the day after Thanksgiving will draw crowds because of the days reputation, so they often hold off on offering their best prices until later in the year. But just because Black Friday isn't all it's cracked up to be doesn't mean you can't still find some great deals. Check out our tips below to make sure your Black Friday shopping is actually saving you money!

1. Review Price History

Business Insider

Sometimes retailers hike up prices in anticipation of Black Friday sales so that the discounts appear all the more drastic. To make sure you don't fall for this trick, start doing your research now on any products you may want to purchase on Friday. Compare the items price at various retailers to get an idea of what the product usually costs, and then keep that number in mind when looking at Black Friday deal options. You can also check websites like CamelCamelCamel and Invisible Hand to compare price trends.

2. The Best Discounts Tend to Be in Electronics

While you may be tempted to hit the mall on Black Friday and score some deals on clothes or home goods, the deals in these categories probably aren't worth the hassle. An editor at Wirecutter, Adam Burakowski, says, "For this year, I'd say take a good look at the small appliances (instant pot), smart home, and headphone categories. We've seen some really strong pricing in those areas already with some of the best pricing of the year."

3. Remember Black Friday Travel Deals

Evan Crawford, regional marketing director for San Antonio's Hotel Contessa, told Today, "Most consumers don't immediately connect travel deals with Black Friday, but some of the best savings during Black Friday through Cyber Monday actually come from the hotel and travel industry." For example, Hotels.com is offering a deal starting on Nov. 23rd that will allow people who visit the website to participate in a lottery for discounts on lodging. The discounts will range from as little as 7% to as much as a 99%.

4. Check the Model Number

Sometimes, even if the brand name is trustworthy, stores will offer deals on inferior makes and models that they haven't been able to move off their shelves. We recommend doing a Google or Amazon search on the brand and model number and reading the customer reviews. If the product is brand new to the website and doesn't have any reviews, it may be a product specifically made for Black Friday, and is likely low quality.

5. Check Out Small Business Saturday


Small Biz Daily

Head out to your local shops on Small Business Saturday and find deals that save you more money than the deals at big box stores. Small businesses recognize the importance of getting shoppers in the door on Black Friday in hopes that they'll earn some year long patrons, so are much more likely to offer serious savings. Plus, you can feel good that you're helping out a small business in a competitive landscape.

This Black Friday, make sure to shop smart and do your research to ensure you get the most out of America's biggest shopping day!

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How to Save $300 a Month Without Sacrificing What You Care About

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At the beginning of the month, it's easy to tell yourself that you'll cut back on eating out or swear you'll forgo Ubers and take public transport instead. But then, a friend asks you to grab drinks or you get caught in the rain walking home, and all those good intentions go out the window. Luckily, there are lots of great ways to save money and still allow yourself those little luxuries that are just so hard to say no to. Aiming to save an extra $300 a month is a great place to start. While that amount may sound insignificant, by depositing $300 a month in an average savings account with an interest of .06%, those savings add up to $18,027.58 in 5 years. Just like most things worth doing, saving money is about building good habits over time.

Paypath has compiled a list of helpful tips to get you started on your journey to a healthier bank account.

Use A Cash Back Reward Credit Card For All Spending

Money Crashers

A cash back credit card can be an easy way to make a little extra money each month. Cardholders can make a purchase knowing exactly how much they will earn back, and there's no complicated point systems to figure out either. By putting all your purchases on a rewards credit card, you save at least 2% of your monthly spending. If your average spending is $1,000 per month, you can save $20 per month with one of these cards.

Get Organized

Grammarly

It can be easy to spend unnecessarily when you can't find that extra jar of peanut butter you swear you had or can't quite remember if you paid the electric bill and end up with a late fee. An organized home can help you use what you already have, and an organized calendar or planner can help you pay bills on time. It's also important to come up with a system to help you keep track of your spending to help you avoid spending more than you planned to.

Buy Used, Sell What You Don't Need

Marriott Traveller

Vintage style is trendy right now; plus, shopping used can help save you money. Need a new pair of work pants? Head to your local Goodwill. While finding something you love might take a little more effort, the price tag will make it worth it. Additionally, we all have those items in our closet we haven't worn in years, and selling them to a vintage shop or an online thrift store can help you save a little extra each month.

Be Conscious of Your Utility Use

Amazon

A great place to start in ensuring that your electricity use isn't getting out of hand is by replacing all your light bulbs with LED light bulbs. This can provide substantial savings, since they use 90% less energy than standard light bulbs. Additionally, always remember to turn off your lights when you leave the room, and instead of using air conditioning when the weather starts to get warmer, try opening a window.

Be a Smarter Shopper

Take the time to compare prices before making a significant purchase, or even wait for annual sales. While convenience is great, waiting a little while to get the best price on something is worth it.

Give Up One Coffee per Week

Prexels

If one or two Starbucks runs are a part of your daily routine, you may not notice just how quickly those $4 coffees add up. Even just making coffee at home one morning a week can add up to significant savings. This can also apply to cutting one drink a week if you usually drink two cocktails every time you head to your neighborhood bar.

While major savings may require drastic lifestyle changes, an extra $300 a month is within anyone's reach!

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The #1 Way Americans Waste Money

We've all been there: wandering through the produce aisle at the grocery store, full of hope, certain this will be the week that everything changes and you start eating like a slender rabbit.You load your cart with leafy greens and Brussels sprouts, you avoid the ice cream aisle all together. You leave the store glowing with pride, excited to start your new life as a health-guru/yoga-master who does regular face masks and drinks 8 glasses of water a day.

Flash forward two days. It's 10:30 pm on a Tuesday. You would sacrifice your first born child for a Twinkie. You search your fridge desperately, finding nothing but the relics of a past self who didn't think broccoli was an abomination. Trembling from sugar withdrawal, you tearfully dial Domino's. Later on, you drift to sleep peacefully, among a pile of greasy cardboard and shame. In the morning, you discard the wilted vegetables in your fridge with remorse, and promise yourself that you'll try again next week.

Image result for crying with junk food

If any of this sounds familiar, you aren't alone. The Guardian recently reported that Americans waste 150,000 tons of food each day, the equivalent of one pound per American. Research has found that people with diets rich in fruit and vegetables are the most wasteful, as produce is most often thrown out (obviously), followed by dairy and then meat. This means that you may end up wasting thousands of dollars a year on uneaten food.

In fact, Americans throw away around $165 billion worth of food each year, which is about $2,200 per household on average, according to a recent study by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).

A lot of this waste is the result of Americans' infrequent grocery shopping. We tend to purchase a lot of food at once, and aren't able to consume it all before it goes bad. A sure fire way to avoid this is by shopping more often. By stopping by the grocery store every other day and just purchasing the necessary ingredients, you can ensure you won't buy in excess and end up wasting money.

Even more importantly, you can avoid wasting money on food by being realistic about what you buy. If you're a Kraft mac-n-cheese kind of person, don't let Whole Foods convince you that maybe this week you'll be a tilapia with roasted beets kind of person. Instead, buy foods you enjoy and throw in a few healthier ingredients to try, and then work the ones you like into your normal shopping rotation.

California Academy of Sciences

If you need a reason other than money to be more careful about wasting food, then you can always count on the environment for a guilt trip. The Guardian reports that the yearly volume of discarded food in America is equivalent to the yearly use of 30m acres of land, 780m pounds of pesticide and 4.2tn gallons of irrigated water. Additionally, rotting food clogs up landfills and releases methane into the atmosphere.

So, next time you're standing in Trader Joe's, sure that you'll finish that family size bag of spinach by yourself, consider the hole that spinach could burn in your wallet and the ozone layer.

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How to Have a Social Life on a Budget

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You swear you are barely spending money, but somehow at the end of the month you have nothing to spare and possibly some damage to the credit score.

It seems simple to "cut back," but many people refuse to actually cut out most of their unnecessary spending, not for lack of common sense, but out of fear that their social lives will suffer. Our fear of loneliness means we don't want to be left out, but don't fall for the myth that socializing is "supposed to" cost money. Your finances can take an especially hard hit if your circle of friends include people with higher incomes than you.

These changes to your social life can save you hundreds of dollars from monthly expenses.

A Simple Night Out: Three obvious ways friends of varying ages and genders like to socialize would be to, "grab a drink", "grab a bite", or "see a show". Lets pick the seemingly cheapest of these options, 'grab a drink'. Friend A, lets call him Alan, is on a budget and thinks he is saving money by suggesting "just a drink." Friend B, lets call him Bryan, is not worried about money and is completely unaware that Alan is trying to save money. In addition, Alan didn't mention it because come on, it's completely unrealistic not to be able to afford to "grab a drink" right? Pay attention to the word "grab," it insinuates casual, low key, with cost-saving potential. Bryan suggests "a little hole in the wall" in a "chill" neighborhood. Alan is excited because it sounds like a cheep night, and he gets to see his friend.

Fast forward three hours, and Bryan's "hole in the wall" is a boutique whiskey lounge and the "low key" drink options range from $14-$17 and there is no way Alan can have just one drink if his friend has thrown back three already. So Alan starts the night $30 in the hole and now Alan and Bryan are both hungry, are out on the town surrounded by takeout options raging from $8-$18 and likely need to pay some amount to get home ranging from $3-$25 depending on mode of transport. Before he knows it, Alan's cheep night has turned into at least a $45 night and likely more like a $65 night. Lets say he only finds himself in this situation once or twice a week. That's a minimum of $180 a month and say max of $520. That could cost Alan anywhere from $2100-$6200 a year.

Low Key Nuptial Celebrations: This is likely inevitable. Your friend invites you to a bachelor/ette party. It's a good friend and you can't possibly say no. That would be "so rude". You were hoping to save some money this month but your friends assured you this is a "wicked cheep weekend". (Ok, just your friend from Boston said that). You are immediately stressed by the invite, but you don't even consider not going. You assure yourself you will do it "on the cheep." You book the cheapest airplane ticket you can find ($299), rent the cheapest room you can find ($87/night and you are only paying for one of the nights), and take a Lyft Ride Share from the airport ($15).

You chip in for beer and Pizza ($40) the first night, move on to a dive bar for "cheep" late night drinks ($20), grab a "cheep brunch" at a greasy spoon the next day ($22) and on your last night get some street tacos and beers ($15). Before you know it, you're taking another Lyft Share back the airport ($15) and are back home eating ramen, with over $500 on the credit card and that doesn't even include the upcoming wedding. How many bachelor parties, weddings, showers, elaborate birthday parties, ect do we attend each year? 2, 6, 10? And not all of them are on the cheep. That's anywhere from $1000-$4,000 annually and could of course be much much more.

A Simple night in: You plan a cheep night in, friends coming over to watch a game or movie, or whatever. You think that the night is basically going to be free, but realize you should probably get some pizza or takeout for your friends ($25) and some wine or beer ($20). You spend about $45. If you only do this once a month, that's around $540 a year. Twice a month, that's $1080.

Quick Lunch Out: You have been packing your lunch most of the week, but you are exhausted and you are meeting a friend for lunch out. She requests sushi, you rationalize that lunchtime sushi should be cheep. Your personal total comes to $28. If you eat out like this once a week, runs about $1,300 a year. Twice a week would be over $2600.

Just Coffee: You friend at work suggests you get out of the office for a late morning coffee. You love late morning coffee and you have been staying in, cooking meals, the least you can do is grab a coffee and get some air. You "snag" a latte for $4.50. If you buy coffee out just three times a week, it will run you about $576 a year. Do this once a day, and it will run you over $1300/year.

Adult Birthday Parties: You know how this goes. You are invited to go to dinner to celebrate your friend's birthday. You don't know most of her other friends, but you don't want to be rude and say no. You found her something at a thrift store months ago, it was only $7 but you know she will love it. Birthday present is taken care of, and you write a really nice card. You plan ahead of time to not order allot, you even have some string cheese and wine at your apartment before you go. You get to the dinner, order one drink and a salad, about $18, plus the $7 birthday present, so your total cost that night, $28 with tip, or so you think. You finish your drink and just sip on water as you watch her friends order several more rounds of "tinis" and "ritas'. You are shocked that they are able to pay for multiple rounds of $14 drinks, but whatever. You know what happens next. Yup, your friend heads to the bathroom and all the other well-imbibed guests total the bill, divide by 9 and BOOM, you are struck with a $65 "chip in". Do this once a month, $780 a year.

I just identified $7000-$15,000 a year in social costs…and I was being reasonable. We all know this number could be close to $20k if not more.

You get my point. I also hear you screaming, SO AM I NOT SUPPOSED TO HAVE A LIFE!? 'You Are! You Are!' I shout back! BUT, you are not supposed to be able to afford everything the people you hang out with can afford. You are also not supposed to value the same things your friend's value.

That's the problem with middle class culture and spending habits. I haven't even touched on the overpriced apartments we rent, our clothing budgets, and our desire to travel far for "real experiences." I want to enjoy my money and I want you to as well, but I also loath the idea of spending money simply to adhere to social norms I don't actually value. I don't believe one should acquire debt for the sake of friendship. I don't think one should be guilted into a "fiscal norm."

I also question the depth of our friendships, if they require so much spending. So many of these costly events don't actually leave me feeling close and intimately connected to my friends. We often set out to fulfill our basic human need for social interaction and closeness, and instead are left feeling disconnected, not wealthy enough, and in debt.

Let me tell you a few examples of what I have said 'No Thank You' to recently:

1. No, I can't be in your wedding or attend your bachelorette ($300-$2500)

2. No I can't make your Birthday dinner ($50-$80)

3. No, I wont be able to meet you in NYC that weekend ($120-$800)

4. No, I can't meet for lunch ($12-$30)

5. No, I can't attend your fundraiser gala ($75-$600)

Let me tell you a few examples of what I have offered to do:

1.Would you like to stay with me when you are in town and catch up? ($Free)

2.Would you like to meet for a late morning hike? ($Free)

3.Can I take you to lunch for your birthday? ($35)

4.I have to do some grocery shopping, want to come along, we can tackle your list too? ($Free- Already in budget)

5.Would you like to cook together/Brew Beer and split the cost? ($Free- Already in Budget)

6.I already donate online to causes I really care about, but would be happy to share your fundraiser info with my friends ($Free)

7.Want to come watch a movie/eat popcorn/drink wine at my house? ($0-$12)

8.Want to meet at the gym and catch up on the treadmills? ($Free)

And before you tell me that those ideas are boring/silly/unrealistic, I am here to tell you that I have done every single one of them, and most of them a million times… but only with my REAL FRIENDS. And I promise you I have REAL friends. The kinds of friends that I don't have to get dressed up to see, the kinds of friends that I can cry in front of, or share my deepest darkest shit, and the kinds of friends who have tried on pants, at Cosco ,while I created a makeshift dressing room out of beach towels and tried not to pee my pants out of laughter. My cup runneth over with REAL FRIENDS.

There is nothing that makes a human feel closer to another human, than tackling the humanity of "just being" together. We can stop believing that the only way to find value in an experience is to pay for it. We can stop spending the money that we don't have and start spending time on the real friendships that we do have.

By Rachel Hall, Rachel has a Masters in Cultural Gender Studies, and a BA in Communication & Culture, is a Certified Life Coach, and can often be found hiding in her laundry room from her two children. More about her on her website.

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