This Week in Your Wallet: Dodge These Holiday Budget Busters & Fill Up Your Gas Tank
Whether you’re celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanzaa, the National Retail Federation predicts the average person will spend around $800 this holiday season (that’s up 5 percent from last year). If the thought of spending that much money makes you tug at your collar, then try the savings tips I offered on Weekend Today. Because you certainly don’t have to spend a fortune to have it all over the holidays!
With gifts — for example — don’t make the mistake of adding too many people to your list (I’ve found it effective to agree with friends that we’ll celebrate together but don’t have to go the gift route), and/or allocating too much of your budget to one person. You can avoid these budget busters by buying in bulk. If you find something for a great price, buy multiples of it and consider it your signature gift. And if you have gift cards with remaining unspent value on them, or frequent flier miles you don’t plan on using to buy flights or hotel rooms, use them to supplement your shopping budget.
On the topic of gift cards, gifting them can be a budget buster too: you might feel pressured to spend more, because the recipient will know how much you spend. (That face value on the front of the card can make us feel inadequate.) If this sounds familiar, go the actual present route instead. Buy a little something personal…albeit less expensive.
Or, if you do want to go the gift card route – they are the most requested item for the 8th year in a row – you can try to get strategic.
Shelley Hunter, GiftCards.com’s “Gift Card Girlfriend,” says what’s most important is matching your spendable dollar amount with something your recipient can redeem without using his or her own money. In other words, know how much you want to spend, and where a person can spend that amount as a gift — not a coupon. For example, a $10-15 amount is perfect for Starbucks, but might not make a dent at Nordstrom (unless you enclose a note about buying a particular shade of lipstick).
Watch the full segment for more tips on holiday travel and entertaining.
In other news this week…
Why you gotta be so rude?
Ever wonder why some salespeople give you the cold shoulder? They could be having off days, or they could be trying to psychologically one up you. As MONEY reports, it’s a tactic that works. New research from the University of British Columbia’s Sauder School of Business says we’re more likely to buy expensive items when a sales associate is rude to us. They purposefully try to make us feel like we don’t belong, so that we’ll buy more in hopes of “fitting in.” (Note: The research only applies to high-end stores, not mass-market ones.) So the next time this happens to you, try not to take it personally — you might spend more if you do.
On the other hand, some salespeople, specifically women, try to approach you with a softer touch (figuratively and literally). Research published in the Journal of Psychological Science says a woman’s touch — not a man’s — makes both men and women more likely to spend. It can be as minimal as a woman guiding your shoulder to look at a product. Also, when a salesperson mimics your hand gestures, body language or tone, you’re more likely to buy whatever he or she is selling.
Along the same lines, when you handle the merchandise yourself, you’re more likely to spend more for it. For instance, according to research from Caltech, you’ll pay at least 40 percent more for coffee mugs and DVDs that are physically in front of you, versus ones displayed in photographs or described in text. And with food items, you’ll pay at least 60 percent more. Plus, the longer you’re holding onto something, the more likely you’ll buy it. So instead of carrying that shirt around the store — the one you can’t decide whether or not to buy — leave it on the rack and come back to it if you really want it.
Child care costs now exceed college
As CNNMoney reports, in 30 states and the District of Columbia, the average annual cost (for an infant) of center-based care exceeds a year’s tuition and fees at that state’s four-year public college. If you’re looking to bring your cost down, one way to make a significant dent is to be sure you’re taking advantage of a flexible spending account for dependent care. You can save thousands of dollars come tax time.
Gas prices hit four-year low
Finally, there’s more good news at the gas pumps this week: The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline has dropped 12 cents over the past two weeks to $2.72 — the lowest price we’ve seen since November 2010. (I have to say when I filled up my car in New Jersey over the weekend – where prices for regular were even lower – I thought the grand total had to be a mistake!) As TIME reports, we can thank an increase in crude-oil production in North America, an overall less demand for gas and a stronger dollar. Right now in the lower 48 states, San Francisco has the highest gas prices at $3.04 per gallon, and Albuquerque, N.M. has the lowest at $2.38. These prices are worth a trip to the station to fill up this week.
Have a great week,
Jean
