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EPISODE 32 ~ SAVE MORE: Buy Gift Cards: Why Pay Cash When You Could Buy A Discounted Gift Card, Instead?

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Our save more topic for today, which may sound familiar if you’ve read the Make More blog post because now I want to talk about how you can SAVE money by BUYING People’s unwanted gift cards!

Yes!  Why pay cash at a store, when you could, instead, buy a discounted gift card to that store?

cardpool.com and raise.com are the 2 websites I mentioned earlier where people buy and sell gift cards.  Rest assured that both of them offer customer guarantees.  They vary but the essence of them is that the gift card you buy WILL be legit or your money back.

So knowing, that… Let me give you some ideas of the savings that are possible by buying gift cards.  I just went to these sites to look around and spotted the following offers:

Let’s start with some of the smaller savings because the stores are popular so their cards aren’t discounted much. 

—4 percent off a Home Depot gift card.

—2 percent off of Macy’s.

—3 percent at Dick’s sporting goods.

OK, so small savings there, but every bit helps.  Now some bigger discounts on gift cards:

—Fandango, the movie theaters, 12.5 percent off. And Regal Cinemas 14 percent off.

—Applebee’s restaurants 14 percent off.  CHili’s 16 percent off.

—Jiffy Lube 16 percent off. 

—and finally, Ikea, 10 percent off.

These are some solid deals.  And then, if you’re a super saver, you will also shop sales and use coupons to TRIPLE your savings!  Let me know how it goes!

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EPISODE 31 ~ SAVE MORE: Cheap Vacations: Check Out These Tips To Take Trips For A Fraction Of The Cost

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Whether you like to take lots of quick 3-day weekends or fewer but longer trips, there are clever, creative strategies for saving on travel.  My guest is Chrissy Pate, who runs the savings website BeCentsable.net and co-wrote the book of the same name.  Chrissy has been featured on Good Morning America, The Early Show, and many more and we’re lucky to have her here on Easy Money.  Welcome, Chrissy!

Let’s whet people’s appetites: what percentage would you say you save on your family’s travel with the tips we’re about to share?

It’s easy to save 50% with a little bit of planning!

Is it better to book early or book at the last minute to save money?

Booking early is usually a better way to save.  BUT if you wait to book until just 5-7 days before you plan to travel, that can yield big savings too, especially if airline seats are undersold.

Another timing question: why is it important to research the high and low seasons for places you want to go?

It’s common to save up to 50 percent by traveling in the off-season.  I’ve learned that THE cheapest air travel season is the two weeks after Thanksgiving, so if you can travel then, that’s great.

What are the cheapest days of the week to fly?

Typically, (though not always), mid-week is best.  So for example, departing on a Wednesday and returning on a Tuesday.

Do you find it useful to sign up for airline emails?  Or is it just more junk in your inbox?

I do find value in a few airlines’ emails because I get notice of fare specials and other offers.  Sometimes they will drop fares dramatically for a short period of time, so be on the look out.

You say you need to go beyond using big websites like Travelocity and Orbitz to book airline tickets.  Why?

Some regional airlines like Allegiant and Southwest don’t submit their fares to those sites.  And they can have great deals!  So you should check sites individually of any airline that flies to your destination. 

What’s your top tip for saving on rental cars?

My favorite tip is to use reward points to book rental cars.

And how about a good tip for saving on hotel rooms?

There are some many reward programs available. My best tip is to pick one and use it to get the most benefits! We like Hotels.com because it’s easy and confident when we are on road trips. 

And know the details of the program!

But maybe your favorite way of saving on a hotel room is not to book a hotel room, right?

Yes, we love booking rental houses for our vacations.  Here are some keys to getting the right keys:

—Book early —like 9m months early.

—In addition to sites like VRBO and AirBnB, try bidding on vacation rentals on eBay.

—Try to rent through an individual owner instead of an agency.  You can often negotiate with the owners.

—If you REALLY want to save: ask if they will waive the cleaning fee if you clean the property yourself.

Now let’s talk about saving on the activities you do on vacation.  Tell us about reciprocity programs.

If you are a member of your local zoo, art museum or other attraction, you may be able to get free passes to visit another city’s attraction.  These reciprocity programs exist for many:

—zoos and aquariums

—Children’s museums

—Science and technology centers

—Art museums

—And botanical gardens.

You also have a warning about deals on activities that aren’t really deals.

Find out what the regular price is before you book that “good deal.”  Many times companies will say ‘kids sail free or half off’ but then the regular price is marked up so you aren’t getting as good a deal as you thought. 

And, finally, souvenirs!  Kids, especially, always want souvenirs.  What’s your trick for those?

Take Disney for example: Many national chain stores like —Target, CVS and Walmart— will carry the SAME products sold at travel gift shops for half the price. You can buy the souvenirs before you leave home or once you get there.  Give the items to your kids as you enjoy your trip and they don’t even have to know you didn’t buy them at the pricy souvenir shop on the grounds of the attraction.

Chrissy Pate, author of Be Centsable and founder of the BeCentsable.net website, thank you so much for being my guest on Easy Money!

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EPISODE 30 ~ SAVE MORE: Buying A House: Spend More To Save More Longterm

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Believe it or not I’m going to encourage you to spend money to save money by buying a house, if you haven’t already.

Home-buying got a bad rap during the bubble years, but I am still a big believer for a very fundamental reason: it’s the one investment you can make with money you have to spend anyway. After all, you have to pay money to live somewhere.

If you currently rent, it’s your biggest expense, but you can make that money serve two purposes by buying a place instead. You get a nest and a nest egg. You can’t sleep in a stock and bonds don’t keep you warm in the winter —but a home takes care of both. Besides, many people can’t afford to pay their rent and buy stocks and bonds.  According to the Federal Reserve, the median net worth of homeowners is $234,000; while for renters its $5,100. Why?  Because buying a house is a forced savings plan where you can shelter your money and shelter your family. 

But wait, there’s more!  What other investment enables you to use somebody else’s money to make money? That’s exactly what happens when your house appreciates in value and you sell it for a profit. Even though you still owe money on your mortgage, the people at the mortgage company don’t make you share the proceeds with them, now do they?

You also get lucrative tax benefits, at least for now.  Congress is considering changing this.  Right now, as you probably know, the IRS allows you to deduct the interest you pay on your mortgage from your federal income taxes. It’s the government’s way of supporting home ownership.  Even on a 200-thousand dollar house or condo, you can save more than 2-thousand dollars a year thanks to this tax break.

Furthermore, by buying a house you are locking in your monthly housing payment. By contrast, rent is almost guaranteed to go up. Since 1990, rents have risen more than three percent a year, according to Reis, Inc., a real estate forecasting firm. If you buy a house and choose a 30-year fixed rate mortgage, your housing payment is set for decades.  Let’s do the math.  Say your rent is $1000 a month, but, remember, it goes up 3 percent a year, so over 10 years, you will spend $137,566 on rent.  But if you put that same thousand dollars toward a fixed rate mortgage payment, your cost over ten years would be $120,000 dollars.  That’s a savings of $17,566!   Sweet!

Rents go up by Here’s my final argument in favor of buying a house: property values have been going up an average of six percent a year since 1968.   So, I say, take a gamble on a possible gain. What’s the worst that could happen? You might lose money?  Go for the potential earnings instead of the sure loss.  Because, if you keep paying rent, you will definitely lose money.

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EPISODE 29 ~ SAVE MORE: 401K Plan: Check To See If Your Company Has An Automatic Plan For You

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Time to save more and you may not have a choice!  Some companies are automatically enrolling their employees in the 401k plan. 

Not only that, some are raising the amount of money you save in the plan each year!  According to Bloomberg News, 68 percent of large companies now do this.  And 75 percent oF THOSE take the second step, bumping up your savings rate each year. 

Now, the percentages they’re forcing workers to save aren’t that big: 3 percent and 6 percent are typical to start and some keep raising the rate until they get to 10 percent.  Experts say 12 to 15 percent of your earnings would be a better way of securing your future.

Other headlines:

•About a third of companies that make you sign up for the 401k, make their own stock one option for you to invest in.  That can be problematic when times are tough because it’s a single company and not diversified.

•75 percent of firms now offer their employees Roth IRAs, which is nice.  You probably remember that with Roths, you pay tax on the money before you put it in, but pay no tax when you take it out.   Assuming it’s grown, that can be a great benefit.

•More than half of employers now offer workers a chance to have an individually managed 401k account, instead of just generic options.  Unfortunately, this level of service comes with an extra fee.  Consequently, few employees are taking them up on it.

So there you have it, a fascinating trend in the world of saving more.  I like the fact that more people with have nest eggs because of this policy.  But I dislike the idea that employees are sheep and need herding.  What do you think?  Should employers automatically enroll their employees in 401k plans?  Leave me a voicemail at EasyMoneyShow.com and sound off.

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EPISODE 28 ~ SAVE MORE: Cash Apps: Find Out When You Deserve A Refund With Apps Like Earny

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One thing that drives shoppers crazy is when they buy something and then the price drops a week or two later and they could have gotten it for less.   Enter the “Earny” app, that’s E-A-R-N-Y.  Earny tracks price adjustments and automatically gets you your money back in these situations.  My guest is Dori Yona, co-founder & COO of Earny.

Dori, how long has the Earny App been around and how did you come up with the idea for it?

Over a year.  We launched in 2016 and now we’re available on all platforms.  The reason we developed it is because of a real-life scenario: IN late 2015, my co-founders and I had recently moved to San Francisco and we were invited to a dinner.  We needed to go buy appropriate suits and business clothes.  I went to Zara and bought a blazer.  My business partner borrowed one from a friend.  They cost $130.  About 2 months later, while planning for another event, my partner found the exact same blazer for HALF off.  We remembered that credit cards often offer price protection plans.  That guarantees that if you buy an item and the price drops, your credit card will refund you that difference.  So I tried it.  I disappeared for a week and tried it.  And I got my  money back.  That made a lightbulb go off for us and Earny was born.

Give us the basics of how it works.  What do people do when they sign up and what does Earny do for them?

•You download the free app and link your email and sometimes credit cards to Earny.

•Earny tracks price adjustments, and when the price of an item you bought drops, the Earny bot emails customer service on your behalf to get back the difference.

People may be familiar with the price protection plans many credit cards offer.  So why would they need Earny too?

Although many credit cards offer price-protection policies, people rarely claim their refunds.  Earny makes it easy. For example, you can shop for the holidays anytime you want, instead of waiting for Black Friday and Earny will automatically get you money back on items that go on sale during Black Friday.

How does Earny know what I bought?

When you shop online or in certain stores, many merchants email you an electronic receipt.  Earny only recognizes the receipts that were sent to you by these specific merchants. He then analyzes the information to understand what you bought and starts searching for a better price.  When you first sign up with Earny, you give him permission to collect these specific receipts from the mailbox you signed up with.

I know some receipts, like for Amazon.com, don’t indicate what item you bought.  What then? 

Over a million price drops happen every day on Amazon, which means you are most likely owed money. Because Amazon doesn’t send an itemized description in its receipts, if you want Earny to protect your Amazon purchases, you have to link your Amazon account to Earny. Earny will then make sure you never overpay for an item on Amazon again.

You mentioned Amazon.  Does Earny work with any store?  Or do you have agreements with certain stores?

We currently cover the top 30 retailers, which account for 85% of purchases. 

For example, Amazon, Best Buy, Bloomingdale’s, Carter’s, Costco, the Gap Group including Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Athleta, and the factory stores. Also, JCrew, Jet, Kohl’s, Macy’s, Newegg, Nike, Nordstrom, Overstock, Sears, Staples, Target, Walmart and Zappos.  we are always expanding the list of retailers we cover, and we appreciate any tips sent our way! 

How much does it cost and how do you get paid??

Earny doesn’t take any money until he gets you back money. The app keeps 25% of the money it gets back for you. In other words, Earny is happy when you are!  We receive our 25 percent via the customer’s linked credit card.  We also have a referral program where we will give some of our 25% back to you if you invite a friend.  You can earn 5% of your friend’s refunds!

Give me a juicy example: what’s the most you’ve saved any one individual so far?

I know we’ve had individuals who we’ve saved thousands per year.  Many consumers have capped out at the $500 limit that stores allow in their price protection plans.  The Eclipse glasses story is a great example.  We had a user who bought 10 sets.  He paid about $110 for the ten.  The eclipse was over, life went back to normal, Earny continued to track the price of those glasses and it dropped down to about $20 for all ten!  Earny submitted a claim and got that consumer $90 back!

Dori and team have written a guest blog post that explains, step by step how to take advance of price protection offers.

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EPISODE 27 ~ SAVE MORE: Used Cars: Shop For Used Cars At New Car Price

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I want to encourage you to buy only used cars from now on.   Never new!

I know, I know, you don’t want to buy somebody else’s problem.  But cars these days are built to last a long time and I’m not suggesting you buy a car from the 80’s1  Instead, I’m gonna show you how to buy a used car at the exact moment that it’s lost the most value but is still a great vehicle.

I”m sure You know that cars go down in value, but did you know that a car’s steepest depreciation occurs between ages zero and three –an average of 45%?  That means buying used is not a bummer. It’s a benefit. It opens up a whole new range of vehicles to you.

For instance, which would you rather drive, a Lexus or a Taurus? Gosh, I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that the vast majority of you said a Lexus.  A brand new Lexus ES3350 costs about $47-thousand dollars.  Ouch.

But guess what? You can drive a Lexus for the same price as a Taurus. (It’s just that it will be slightly used.)  I did a price comparison between a new Taurus and a used Lexus:

2017 Ford Taurus SEL sedan brand new:

$23,500

or

2014 Lexus ES350 sedan with 38,046 miles:

$23,500

Amazing. You can get a three year old Lexus with low mileage —37-thousand miles— for the same price as a brand new Taurus. That’s the story of vehicle depreciation. Dramatic, isn’t it?  The key is to get a used car that’s 2-4 years old.  That’s the sweet spot for scoring a deal based on the biggest period of depreciation.  Of course, if you REALLY want to save money, you’ll buy a used Taurus!  SO let’s do that math real quick.

Once again, I based this on a low mileage, 3-year old vehicle.  And 9-thousand in savings?  Fantastic!  My work here is done.

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EPISODE 26 ~ SAVE MORE: Shop Where You Sell: Buy Gorgeous Threads At The Consignment Stores Where You Sell

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Sandra Packwood, owner of Do You Deja Vous, already taught us how to sell at consignment shops. Now, she’s doing double duty by  teaching us how to “Save More” by consignment shopping, as well!   

So Sandra, the women who shop at your store, are their finances tight and they can’t afford to shop retail?  Or are they upscale but like a bargain?  What brings them in?

Both!  I get all kinds of women of all different ages and means.

Do you find that some people have to get over the idea of wearing someone else’s “used’ clothes?

Rarely.  Interestingly, the ones who are the most squeamish are teenage girls, perhaps because their parents have always bought them everything and they don’t understand the value of what they are getting.

What would you say to those folks to help them get over it?

Many of the clothes for sale in  my shop are brand new with tags on.  Others have been drycleaned.  Everything is in top condition.

Now let’s talk about the deals people get when they shop at a store like yours.,  Give me 2 or 3 examples of what things would cost new versus what you sell them for.

Gucci scarf: Original price $500.  Consignment Price: $222.

Kate Spade shoes: Original Price: $200.  Consignment price: $39.

Kate Spade Dress: Original Price: $350.  Consignment price: $129.

Would you say your shop is pretty typical as far as the percentage savings people can expect?

Yes, savings of 50-75%.

Do you think your customers wear your clothing on the down low and keep it a secret that they bought it at a consignment shop?  Or do they brag about it? 

Both!  Some women tell me they get so many compliments.  Some don’t tell because they don’t want their friends to come because they wear the same size and they don’t want the competition!

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EPISODE 25 ~ SAVE MORE: Activities For Kids: 10 More Ways To Save Money On Kids Classes

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Refer a friend.  Many children’s centers —especially newer ones looking to grow— rely on referrals and reward parents who make them.  If they don’t offer you a thank you discount, politely request one, and tell them there are more referrals to come.

Pay yearly. If you know your child is committed to an activity, paying the entire fee annually can net you a nice discount.  If they don’t offer, ask.

Package deals.  Some organizations offer package deals outright; Others will negotiate.  Ask for a discount on classes if you are enrolling multiple kids, or booking a birthday party or enrolling in camp.

Non-Profit organizations.  The YMCA offers financial aid and says it never turns away a family in need.  There are at least 4,000 Boys and Girls Clubs across America and some charge as little as $5 a year.

Internship programs. An older child may be able to get an unpaid internship.  The unpaid ones are required, by law, to be educational.  Sure your son or daughter won’t get paid, but you won’t have to pay either.

Groups that fundraise. Groups that actively engage children in raising funds for the group are sometimes more affordable.  For example, Girl Scouts sell cookies and Camp Fire Girls sell candy and the money they raise helps subsidize the group.

Free trials. Not sure a particular hobby is going to stick with your child?  Ask about free trials often available in hopes of getting you hooked.  You save money two ways: by starting out for free and by having the chance to bail, if your child loses interest. 

Coach the team.  If you’d like to volunteer to coach your child’s team, ask if their fee can be waived as informal compensation for your time.

City/County programs. Local governments sometimes offer surprisingly rich programming, often through their departments of parks and recreation.  For example, in addition to sports, Washington DC’s Department of Parks and Recreation has offered foreign languages, engineering and ballet to kids.

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EPISODE 24 ~ SAVE MORE: Travel Sites: The Best Websites For Cheap Airfare

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Let’s save some money now on one of my favorite things, travel.  If you’re frustrated because it seems like all of the travel websites quote the same prices, you’re right, many do.  And that’s because the mainstream websites are all owned by just a few companies. For example, Expedia owns hotels.com, Hotwire and Trip Advisor.  And Priceline owns Kayak and booking.com. 

So I want to share some off-the-beaten path travel websites where you really CAN find different —and often lower— prices.

Many thanks to ThePointsGuy.com, which did a great roundup of lesser-known airfare sites. Nobody knows more about travel deals than Brian Kelly and his team.  Here are some of their favorite websites for REALLY finding airfare deals:

First up is ITA Matrix, whose software is utilized by many airline and travel agency websites.  Maybe the reason it’s for real is that you can’t actually buy flights on ITA Matrix.  You just find the lowest option there and then book on the airline’s own site.

Number 2: Airfare Watchdog has several cool features, including showing you the top 50 fares all over the world each day.

Third, Google Flights is worth your time because it automatically shows you whether you can get a better price if you change your dates slightly or fly into or out of a different nearby airport.

Next, Momondo, is great for showing you deals where you fly one airline on your way and another on your the way back.

And finally, after you’ve booked, Yapta keeps track of price drops and lets you know if the price has gone down so much that you can save money by re-booking, despite the change fee.

Safe travels!

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EPISODE 23 ~ SAVE MORE: Buying A Car: Do Your Research And Haggle Your Prices Down To Save 15% On Your Next Vehicle

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Auto website Edmunds.com says skilled negotiators can save as much as 15 percent when they buy a car.  Here’s how to haggle for a car in12-steps.

1. Get outside financing first: Car dealers don’t make money just by selling cars. They make money selling financing. That complicates your negotiation. So get pre-approved for a loan at a bank or credit union before you ever talk to dealerships.

 

2. Choose either in-person or online: You know what it’s like to visit the dealership. But there is another way.  Most car dealers have “internet departments” that interact with customers via phone and email.  They’re often quicker to reveal their best price, which can make for a lower-pressure experience.

 

3.  Know what to pay: One way to set a fair opening offer and maximum offer is to use Edmunds.com‘s “True Market Value” pricing tool. It’s free, available for new and used cars, and is based on actual prices people in your area are paying for the same car.  For example, with a used car, Edmunds gives you four levels of TMV pricing:

-Certified Used, the most expensive

-then Dealer Retail-

-followed by Private party

-and, TradeIn, the least expensive.

Find the level that matches the vehicle you’re looking at. Is it Certified? Dealer Retail?  If you’re negotiating for a very popular vehicle, make your opening offer one pricing level below that, for a less popular car, two levels below.

 

For your final offer, since TMV prices are averages of what other people are paying, and you want to be better than average, try to pay less than the price listed for the vehicle’s category.  I will link you to the True Market Value pricing tool from EasyMoneyShow.com/23.

 

4.  Talk price, not payment: Many car salespeople like to talk about the monthly payment instead of the vehicle price. That’s a mistake because auto loans can be strung out over many years to manipulate the size of the monthly payment. You could end up owing more on the car than it’s worth because vehicles depreciate so fast.

 

5. Get the salesman to go first: There’s an old adage about negotiating that “whoever speaks first, loses.” Why? Because once you name a dollar figure, you can’t go any lower than that.

 

6.  Name your price and shut up: When it IS time for you to name a number, state your reasons, spit out the number -then SHUT UP.  You WANT that pregnant pause, that awkward quiet, because often the salesperson will fill it with concessions!

 

7.  Express your pain: When the salesperson makes a counteroffer, visibly wince as if the amount is painful to you.  Hey, if you save money thanks to your negotiating, that makes you a paid actor!

 

8. Counter with a smaller increment: To demonstrate your mental toughness to the the sales staff, make the increments of your counteroffers smaller than theirs. If they come down a thousand dollars, you will only go up by, say, $500.

 

9.  Leave or hang up:  Never purchase a car without leaving the dealership at least once!  Politely let your salesperson know the numbers aren’t where you need them to be, and you’re leaving -or hanging up- to shop around elsewhere.  Chances are you’ll soon get a call —and some concessions.

 

10. Shop multiple dealerships: Always shop more than one dealership and – without naming names – make sure they know about each other. “Execute the squeeze” by saying that you can get a better deal down the street —and ask them to beat it.

 

11. Ask for upgrades: If you’re very close but can’t quite get the price where you want it, instead of trying to get the car for less money, you can try to get the money to buy more car. Ask for extras like an extended warranty, better tires or a fancy stereo, if you really do want them.

 

12.  Mention your trade-in at the end: Negotiate the entire deal, then reveal that you have a car available to trade. If you mention it at the beginning, it’s one more number they can use to make the transaction confusing. You can get a good idea of your old vehicle’s value using the same Edmunds TMV pricing you worked with before.

So, does it work?   I once did a project for the Katie Couric show where we sent 2 customers into a dealership on the same day to negotiate for the same car.  One was armed with my tips.  The other was not.  The newly educated car consumer negotiated a price that was $7,000 less!

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