I would like to start a discussion how we can save $$$ hear and there in current economic down term. I hope everyone can pitch in your ideas. Below are mine
1. Do not buy Intel but buy AMD based computer.
You are paying $50, $100 or more premiums for Intel bland name. If you buy an AMD based computer, then that means you are saving $50 or more vs same speed Intel based computer. If AMD go bankrupt, then there will be no more competition and you will see much more expensive CPUs. Some top of the line might be better to be Intel based CPU but those are high end spec gaming machine. Avoid monopoly and consider about healthy competitions. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/07/27/fina...
2. Unless you really need it don’t buy flash drive/memory card/etc now.
Yes, we see great sales deal once in a while, but those product prices never go up in a long run. I got several USB drives (1GB, 2GB, 4GB) I never used. I bought them when it was on sale. But now I am using 8GB or 16GB drives.
3. Buy online from out of state retailer to avoid Tax
4. Take advantage of rebate/coupon
5. Take advantage or double coupon
–certain grocery store got double coupon policy. If you bring 50 cent of coupon, they will double it and you will get $1 off.
6. Price Match – many retailers have price match (sometime 110% - Best Buy, Fry’s, etc) policy. Even the original advertise retailer have the sales item sold out, you might be able to get price watch with other retailer.
7. Buy soon to be sales item now and price match later, then you don’t need to wait worry about it might be sold out, etc.
I believe there are many more ways to SAVE $. I look forward this will be very popular discussion thread to save us $$$.
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I'll jump out there and start off the ideas of what 'we' should do.....
First rule is,practice discipline,discipline,and...did I say discipline...when using this site! Fatwallet,in it's original conception,was formulated to do just that...make your wallet FATTER by alerting you to great deals out there in the marketplace.However,Fatwallet is also a pretty good mirror of our society today,in that it seems lots of folks follow the mantra of Gordon Gekko that "greed is good". A perfect example is the propensity for folks to go 'hog wild' on certain deals;Deals soooo good that they think they just have to have two,or three,or five....When they really don't even need one to begin with. In short,the first thing a lot of folks will have to do,and it may be impossible for some,is change their mindset when it comes to wants and NEEDS. In today's vernacular,a "paradigm shift" in the way they look at money. Good idea to throw this thread out there. Maybe it will get some folks to thinking.
I see a recession as a cutback on consumer spending since US citizens are no longer that productive or reach that threshold of borrowing. So they simply buy less as the economy naturally shrink back to its natural state. DO NOT LIVE BEYOND YOUR MEAN. (most of you)
If you follow the GREEN initiative or Emergency plan while there are still time, it should alleviate some misery. I.e. cut back on energy usage ie instead of driving to a fun location, bike to your neighbors to spend time, take a bus with friends and mingle, or starting to build that solar/greenhouse projects you been holding off...so many things to do to prepare. No, oil is still high in demand and just not for fuel but for medicine and other things as well and OPEC can always reduce their output to maintain price.
octhriftboy said:I would like to start a discussion how we can save $$$ hear and there in current economic down term. I hope everyone can pitch in your ideas. Below are mine
1. Do not buy Intel but buy AMD based computer.
You are paying $50, $100 or more premiums for Intel bland name. If you buy an AMD based computer, then that means you are saving $50 or more vs same speed Intel based computer.Doesn't that depend on what Fry's as on sale that week?
octhriftboy said:2. Unless you really need it don’t buy flash drive/memory card/etc now.Should I have passed up on the 4-5 FAR 1GB Crucial/Lexar flash card offers from Fry's in the past month? My camera is old and won't work with bigger cards.
The best advice someone ever told me was "do not create a need"--as someone echoed above, you don't need 30 tubes of toothpaste--get by on what you can. I think some power shoppers almost become collectors of products like some people horde animals. They think that some day they will have the mother of all garage sales and rake in the bucks but that day never comes meanwhile you are having to store stuff.
As someone else said, "it's not what you gather but what you scatter"-- use it, give it away or recycle it.
I know I tend to buy things because I think it's too good to pass up but I save more money if I just say no to things that are really just luxury items no matter how good the deal.
Think before spending. Getting a great deal on a product you will never use is wasted money. The same is true for spending money on a product that you will never completely take advantage of. For instance, I know someone who got bought a quad core computer but all he does is word processing and web browsing. He spent $1,800 on a computer when he would have been just as well off on a $500 refurbished Dell.
The flip side of the coin is to spend the money on products that are important, and that you will use all the time. This extends to legal advice, doctor's visits, and accountants. I bought myself a 24" Dell Ultrasharp recently—for my office. This might seem dumb, but my company wouldn't put anything other than a 19" Planar display there, and I spend over 10 hours a day at my office mostly working on the computer. Some of the best money I ever spent. The same goes for my home office All-in-One that duplex prints and scans, and the business check binder that lets me track my purchases.
Build up your financial acumen. Subscribe to Fortune and Money and magazine such as those. The nickels and dimes you scrimp using Fatwallet Hot Deals will probably pale in comparison to the advice available at Fatwallet Finance. If you're in a mutual fund with a 2% expense ratio and a 5% backend load, you could save thousands by moving over to a comparable Vanguard index fund. Another example is when I consolidated my student loans in 2006 at 3.125% fixed. My sister didn't (despite multiple reminders from me and offers to do it for her) and she's paying more than double right now and cannot consolidate.
Entertainment expenses are the easiest to shave. There is no need to eat out once a week at some expensive restaurant, or to drink $7 beers. Invite people over for dinner or drinks. It's a lot more fun and makes for a better bonding experience. (This may not apply if you're single and on the prowl.)
Carefully read all statements from your banks. My parents tossed out some statements when I visited them Thanksgiving. I took the statements from the trash. Lo and behold, Wells Fargo hadn't credited a three-month old payment from Citibank online bill pay and was threatening to foreclose. Apparently, my parents just program the Bill Pay to make the Wells Fargo payment on the first of the month and don't read any bills from Wells Fargo. One phone call to Wells Fargo and everything was fine. If I hadn't picked up a suspiciously large letter from Wells Fargo from the trash, things would be a lot worse.
Budget your expenses, including "one off" expenses. It can be eye-opening how much you spend in a month. I fell into the trap of rationalizing expenses as being "one off" in nature. You know, I'd buy an iPod with Shure earphones and say that I can amortize the cost off over two years. But those purchases add up. Look back six months or so and see if these expenses really are one off, and if they're pushing you off your budget.
Look forward when you budget. Are there going to be future events that may influence your finances? Holiday gifts, car insurance, a new set of tires, etc.
This is a good thread, not sure why the OP got a large red rating, and that there aren't more reads/replies.
+1 to the advice of not creating need and of living within your means. Don't buy $1M houses and extravagant cars if your income doesn't allow it. Don't create debt; there's good debt (student loans and reasonable mortgages) and bad debt (credit cards). It's good to enjoy life, but your income not your desire dictates what you buy. It amazes me when I see people with $40k/yr incomes driving $30-40k cars.
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