This Week in Your Wallet: November 13, 2012
With just nine days until Thanksgiving and ten days until the official start of the holiday season, my question to you today is: are you ready for some shopping?
(Pretend I just said that in a deep, Monday-night-football voice.)
If your first instinct was to say, “ugh, no!” I don’t blame you. Macy’s may be decorating its windows and the ice rink at Rockefeller Plaza may be humming, but despite these signs of the season I’m not sure I’m quite ready to be thinking about winter jackets and stocking stuffers. But perhaps we’ll all feel differently once we’re sitting down with our families and chowing down on turkey and cranberry sauce next week. So, to that end — and for those of you who might actually be excited to go shopping at 5am next Friday (or even sooner, since we’ve been informed that, to the chagrin of many of their employees, Target, Wal-Mart, Sears and other stores will again open Thanksgiving night) — I’ve assembled a sort of Black Friday survival guide for you.
First up on my list, a sales preview that came to me via dealnews. They did some digging, and it looks like several stores are offering early access to Black Friday sales — but only if you join that store’s loyalty program. The Lowe’s program is free to join, and just gets you an advanced look at the sales that will be happening. Sears, on the other hand, is letting its customers nab these sales before Black Friday even begins. Once you sign up for Sears’ Shop Your Way program, you can access its sales from Sunday, November 18 at 5pm CT and until Monday, November 19, at 11:59pm CT. (Note: the times and dates on the dealnews article seem to be incorrect – I checked in with Sears and they gave me this updated timeframe.)
Next up, and also courtesy of dealnews, a list of ten things NOT to buy on Black Friday. While you can find lots of stuff on sale on Black Friday, there are certain items that won’t come close to their lowest price next week. Among those items: toys (you’ll see better sales two weeks before Christmas), brand name HDTVs (check back in January and February, when retailers are trying to unload their stock) and the latest digital camera model (again, check back in February).
Finally, Bankrate just completed its annual survey of gift cards. I’ve said before that if you have old gift cards lying around the house, they can be a great way to help you save some money. However, it’s good to know exactly what terms and conditions you may be sitting on, which is why Bankrate’s comprehensive roundup and comparison tool is so helpful. Among the findings from their survey: store-branded gift cards charge fewer fees than the all-purpose versions issued by banks and credit card companies, and 75% of the gift cards offered by banks and credit card companies charge dormancy or maintenance fees if the card is unused for 12 or more months, versus 2% of store-branded gift cards.
And now…the other headlines for the week.
More on the gender pay gap
We’ve seen study after study tell us that women make less on the dollar than their male counterparts, and (tied to this) that women are less likely to negotiate their salary than men. Well, finally, there’s a bit of good news out of the gender-and-pay world (I dream of a day when I no longer have to report this story, by the way). According to a new National Bureau of Economic Research report, women are more likely to negotiate their salary when a job posting explicitly says that the salary is negotiable. Furthermore, the study found that clear instructions about wage negotiations cut the gender gap in applications by 45%.
The bottom line: Negotiating your salary — no matter what the job posting says — is a must. Do enough homework that you know what you should be paid, then start with my four magic words: “Can you do better?”
Have credit, will fly
In part because of my marathon training, I’ve tried to stick fairly close to home recently. As a result, I find that I’ve been bitten by the travel bug and have been thinking more and more about the places I want to go in 2013. Perhaps that is why a Credit.com article about the best credit cards for airline miles caught my attention recently. The winner, the article says, is the Chase Sapphire Preferred card. Customers can earn one point per dollar spent on most purchases, double points on travel and dining expenses, and triple points if you book your travel directly through Chase’s website. These points are then transferable to Southwest, United, Korean or British Airways — which are partners of Delta, US Airways and American (respectively), essentially giving you carte blanche to fly wherever and on whomever you want.
For the full list of credit cards that are great for travelers, check out the full Credit.com article, linked above. In the meantime, and before I sign off for the week, a few questions for you: What do you most want to know when it comes to travel info? What about the process is most confusing? Is it finding the best deals on hotels, or is it the rental car world? Or does budgeting around a currency exchange have you ready to throw up your hands in frustration? An upcoming episode of Money Matters is all about traveling in retirement. So, email me at jean@jeanchatzky.com with all your travel-related concerns.
Have a great week!
Jean
