Financial Friday: When Do I Buy Things?

For the past several years, I have read various articles in magazines and websites about when is the best time throughout the year to buy certain things. Today I ran across this blog, Budgets are Sexy.
They had an entry Friday January 22 called The Best Time To Buy Things. Budgets are Sexy had received the information from one of their readers. The story is from LifeHacker's post called The Best Times to Buy Anything, All Year Round. It even includes a chart for how long you can keep foods frozen and so forth. Apparently in the month of March is a great time to buy frozen foods! Guess we should all be looking for a freezer to stock up on the great sales on frozen foods. I also learned that March is a great time to purchase luggage. I will be purchasing some new luggage for the INA conference in May then.

Be sure to check out Budgets are Sexy. J. Money has some great info on her blog.
Don't forget to read in depth the Lifehacker article The Best Times to Buy Anything, All Year Round. Both proved to valuable to me. I printed out the chart for buying things.

Read more...

Financial Friday; Craigslist The Modern Day Yard Sale

Craigslist: The Modern Day Yard Sale by Jennifer Goin

There are some great deals to be found on Craigslist (CL). I outfitted my living room with furniture for around $100 I got 3 huge black & white framed prints, an ottoman, loveseat, chair, 2 lamps, a side table, a potted decorative ficus tree and the cost of a moving van. Even still in my experience, if it sounds too good to be true it is! (i.e. a brand new Canon DSLR $10). If you’re lucky enough to find a potential purchase you need to contact the seller to complete the transaction. If the ad mentions an email or a phone number use that, if not in the heading it will have a reply email hyperlink. Most transactions of CL are done via email, and that’s a great way to start. If you choose to call a seller, use a cell phone or dial*69 for anonymity. Phone numbers always have bills attached, and those bills have someone’s name. If you’re not careful a predator may find you an easy target. Don’t just assume you’re safe because you have the sellers email address. Emails can be hacked, spoofed, or generated and dumped easily. Pick up etiquette is simple. If at all possible meet at a public crowded place in daylight with a friend in tow. Don’t show up late without calling. Don’t stand your buyer or seller up, that’s just awful. Don’t worry about walking away from a bad deal. Finally on accepting and or making a payment, cash is king. If you’re a seller don’t accept cashier’s checks, personal checks or money orders, these are easily and often faked. Your bank will hold you accountable for the funds if you deposit a false check. Stay away from wire services, scammers are known to use wire services to commit fraud. Always print out the CL ad then get a written receipt as this will protect your innocence in the event the item is stolen or the seller reports that you stole it. I recommend this how to buy on CL link http://www.ehow.com/how_4721117_safely-buy-craigslist.html

Jennifer Goin is a professional nanny for 8 years. She currently resides in the Washington DC Metro area as a live in nanny. She is a board member of ADCAN and a member of the INA. She also has a website called Notable Nanny.

Read more...

Financial Friday: Let's Talk Credit Reports

Let's Talk Credit Reports
by NannyMall LLC
A St. Louis Nanny Agency


NannyMall.com - Let's talk credit reports!

While this truly isn't just a "Nanny topic" it certainly can affect your life as an individual. And while being a Nanny is one of the BEST professions, unfortunately not all Nannies are paid above board and wages aren't reported to be readily seen by say a car dealer or mortgage co, so a really good credit report is a MUST for Nannies.

• Credit reports are very important and should be checked at least once a year.
• You can receive your free online credit report here: Free Credit Info and Report

to read the rest of the article please visit:
NannyMall LLC:Let's Talk Credit Reports
and also found on Regarding Nannies

Read more...

Helping those in Haiti

As many of you know there was a large earthquake in Haiti on Tuesday January 12. Over 3 million people have been affected which is 1/3rd of the population in the country.

If you would like to donate money or supplies to help with the relief and rescue efforts in Haiti please make sure that you follow up with Snopes to make sure it is a legit business and not a scam. This is a perfect time for scam artists to take advantage of people who truly want to help those in Haiti.

For a listing of legit places you can donate to please visit the Ellen Degeneres website where she has listed Help Haiti Recover. There are 11 organizations listed.

If you can give $5 or $10 that would be wonderful. If you can ask 10 friends/co-workers to give the same amount, that is great! Every dollar counts.

I challenge my readers to donate $10 to one of the 11 organizations listed at the Ellen page. If you can not donate money, then please look locally at the church and community groups collecting medical supplies, blankets, and clothes to send to Haiti.

Thank you. I have sent in my $10 to RedCross from my cell phone.

Read more...

Financial Friday: A Blog Review of Couponing to Disney

Blog Review: Couponing to Disney
by Alice Shaffer

I have been following Couponing to Disney for awhile now. I have been impressed how Kristin has saved $1900 since May 1 2009 for her family trip to Disney in June 2010 for 10 days!

Kristin combined her love of couponing and Disney World together. She shares with her readers how to make money by taking surveys, redeeming rebates, banking found money, using coupons and other ways.

On the left side of her blog you can find a drop down box that has her Previous Posts list. This is where you can find all kinds of helpful things from her 4 A Day (free samples) and a 5 A Day posts. The 5 A Day is a list of 5 companies you can write to and express your opinion-good or bad. Alot of the times they will send you coupons. Kristin has received many coupons for her letters.

There are several stores that she covers in their best shopping deals. (Amazon, CVS, Kmart, Publix, Rite Aid, Target, Walmart, Walgreens, Toys R Us/Babies R US.)

One of her secrets to saving money is to never pay full price for a meal. Here is a list of the current dining deals.

There are so many good things on this blog. You will just have to carve some time each day and read one of her sections. Then you can decide what you would like to use in your everyday life.

I have been inspired by Kristin and I will be tracking my coupons/rebates/found money for 2010 in preparing for my trip to the INA's 25th annual conference May 20-23, 2010.

What things will you be doing to save money in 2010?

Read more...

Financial Friday: 10 Things for 2010

10 things for 2010

By Alice Shaffer

We are fast approaching the end of 2009 and getting ready to welcome 2010. The economy for the past year or so has been such a roller coaster for us personally and the families we work for. This not only affects our wallets, but it affects our mental balance. I have put together a list of 10 things that you can work on for 2010. Wealth is not only defined by the money you have invested but by your personal, professional and physical growth as well. The following items cover financial, personal growth, professional & physical growth.

10 things for 2010

· Review your budget for the year of 2009.
o Has it been working for you?
o If yes, continue with the current budget
o If not, redo your budget
§ Visit The Financial Nanny to see the 3 part series on how to set up your budget.
§ Explore Dave Ramsey’s methods

· Lessen your load
o go through your closet and get rid of items you haven’t been using
o make sure your bills/statements for 2009 are in an envelope marked “2009”
o go through your magazines and recycle
o donate books you have already read
o Have you said yes to too many outside projects? If so take a step back from those commitments. There is nothing wrong in resigning or withdrawing from projects if you are stretched too thin.

· Look at your Personal Self
o How are your eating habits?
o Are you in need of cutting out some unhealthy items?
o How are your exercise habits?
o Are you in a Positive Space with your personal & professional environments?
o Have you wanted to learn a new hobby or skill?
o How are you doing with your personal growth as a professional?
o How are you doing with your personal emotional growth?

· How can you give back in 2010?
o Is there a charity you can give to throughout the year?
o Is there somewhere you have wanted to volunteer with, but haven’t?
o Can you work with your local or national nanny group in spreading the word about the group? Challenge yourself to get a new member each month.

· Start or Contribute to your IRA
o Make contributions to your 2009 tax year IRA
o Start a 2009 IRA by the time you file your taxes
§ Look at Fidelity Investments for an easy to start IRA

· Filing your taxes
o File your taxes by the end of February, get them done early

· Update or Start your Will and Living Trust
o Look at Suze Orman’s site for her online Will & Trust Kit

· Make your 2010 holiday & birthday shopping list by January 15.
o Buy one or two gifts a month for those on your list
o If you don’t buy a gift, then set aside $10-$20 for each gift into a Smarty Pig or ING Direct account, to gain some extra interest

· Plan a monthly outing
o Have a monthly get together with friends
§ Seeing a movie
§ Having brunch somewhere
§ Throwing a board game party
§ Taking a day road trip
Explore three goals you want to achieve in 2010
o Write down your goals in a small notebook
§ Explain what steps you can take in achieving these goals
§ Write down the dates you want each of these three goals to be accomplished by. Make sure to schedule them throughout the year.
§ Do a monthly check over your goals to make sure you on track for being successful in achieving them

Read more...