Black Friday - 5 Tips For Finding The Best Deals

Black Friday quickly approaches each year. It seems as though each store tries to add more items to its list of deals, but are you getting the best items available? There are some ways that you can find the best deals possible before they are sold out.

Newspaper Ads

This is the most common way to find Black Friday deals. Circulars are usually placed in the newspaper a few days before the big shopping day. Go through each of these ads to find the stores that you want to shop at, and tuck them away so you can thoroughly look through them. When you have the ads for the stores, circle the items that you want to get. This will make it easier because you will know what you want and the price of the item.

Internet

This is another way that you can find the best deals available. Some stores release their ads early. You have to be careful when looking at these because some of them are from the previous year. Pay attention to the online date that it was created. There are some deals that you can find online that are better than those in the store.

Word of Mouth

While your friends are out shopping early, call or text them to find out what the best deals are in the store. You can also ask them what is sold out and what items are still on the shelves. Make sure you get to the store in time because some stores only have sales for certain hours. Another technique is while you go to one store, your friend can go to a different one. Get the items from each store, like Vineland Electronics, that you both want so that you don’t have to stand in line at two places. Then you can separate everything later. 

Organize

Before you look at any kind of ad, you need to make a list of who to shop for and what they want. If you have a short list, then shopping will be easy. Make a budget for how much you want to spend as a total and how much you want to spend on each person.

Call the Store

If you have any questions about things that might be excluded on Black Friday, then call the store and ask someone. Some stores can’t reveal certain information, especially about larger items that will be on sale. However, you can usually get the basic information about times and prices.

Black Friday is a fun day if you know how to plan your trip. You can usually get the bulk of our shopping completed if you don’t waste time looking for things that you have no intention of buying. Make a plan, and stick to it so that you benefit from the amazing deals that this day holds.

Thrifty Tips For Those 50 Plus

Time and money seem to become more valuable as we mature. Many learn with age and experience that it’s never too late to try something new. With that in mind, enjoy these thrifty tips intended to help those of you who are 50 plus to shop smarter and save more money:

It doesn’t hurt to ask for a discount. While you are shopping in a store or placing an order over the phone, inquire about whether a senior discount is offered and ask what the age requirement is. Because there are so many definitions for “senior,” the threshold for receiving a discount can be as young as 50. 

It’s up to stores and companies to decide whether or not and what age they offer senior discounts to, but it can only benefit you to ask. Keep in mind that some chain retail stores’ and restaurants’ senior discounts can vary by region. You may be asked to provide identification to verify your age or show that you belong to a group such as AARP.

• Embrace online shopping. Sure, some say that computers should be left to the younger generations, but if you are ready this blog post, chances are you are pretty tech-savvy. For anyone who feels computer challenged, iPads and other similar devices make it very easy to use the Internet these days.
• Shopping online offers many big benefits over going to the store:

• Coupons. Search online to find them for free. You can get coupon codes online in just a few clicks.

• Cash Back. Shop through a savings website to earn a percentage of your purchase in a free account. You can often get this in addition to using a coupon. If you want even more savings, use a rewards credit card to accumulate points or earn more cash back.

• Convenience. For anyone experiencing difficulty with mobility or in need of assistance to go to drive, read labels or carry shopping bags, online shopping makes life easier. Even those who are perfectly spry can appreciate not needing to leave your home, lug your purchases to and from the store or be limited to a store’s location and hours, which may not necessarily work for you.

• Even if you do not plan to make your purchases online, you can still use the Internet to shop smarter. In addition to researching senior discounts, try:

• Looking at the weekly ads of stores near you to identify sales on what you need to buy. You can find ads online anytime, without needing the Sunday newspaper.

• Searching online for free printable coupons for retail, grocery and restaurants. You can print them out and leave them in your car so you are prepared.

By Jon Lal, founder of coupons & Cash Back website BeFrugal.com, which offers online coupons in addition to free Cash Back at 2000+ online stores. When you sign up for a free Cash Back account for a limited time you can get a $10 bonus in addition to great savings offers. Join now!

The Smart Way for Daily Deal Shopping

Image by Glikò via FlickrAuthor Bio: Kevin is the author of the DebtEye Blog. He is the co-founder of DebtEye and a certified credit counselor.

Daily deal websites have taken the web by storm over the past few years. I usually advised my readers to unsubscribe from the newsletters, but I soon came to realize that some of the deals can actually save you money.

At first, I was against subscribing to some of the daily deal sites because it created a lot of impulse shopping. I was buying “coupons” for items that I didn’t need, and a lot of these actually went unused. A prime example of this is when I bought a $25 Virgin America voucher which was valued at $100. I didn’t read the fine prints, and didn’t know I had to book a reservation within a certain date.

Budgeting is all about saving money right? When you come to think about it, this is what daily deal sites are trying to do. If you’re able to keep disciplined in purchasing the coupons, it can definitely make a difference. Here are some ways you can prevent yourself from going a bit too crazy with daily deals:

1) Spend money wisely – If you’re a fan of daily deal sites, make sure you include this in your budget. It can count towards your entertainment category or your food if you intend to only buy coupons for restaurants. Set a limit on how much you’re willing to spend on it every month. If you can stick to your budget, then it shouldn’t be a problem!

2) Take your time- If you see a deal that you like; take a second to really ask yourself if you really need it. Is it a necessity, or is it a luxury? The truth of the matter is that it’s not going to go way forever. There’s a high chance that a similar coupon will resurface. If you have regrets on not buying it the first time around, you’ll always have a second chance!

3) Niche Markets- As I mentioned, the boom of this industry caused a handful of niche daily deal companies to emerge. Some of my favorite ones are (Aisle50 & CampusCred). Aisle50 focuses solely on grocery items, and have partnerships with some of the major grocery chains. You’ll end up buying items that you need, and they probably won’t go to waste (unless you don’t end up eating your food). CampusCred focuses on daily deals for college campuses which includes tons of restaurants. This is deal for college students who tend to eat out often.

4) Extreme Deals – Once in a while, a new daily deal sites will emerge and giveaway pretty useful coupons. Some of these include a $10 for $20 Amazon gift card or a $4 AMC movie ticket all in hopes to gain subscribers. Jump on these deals before it gets sold out, because these are items that you’re definitely going to use in the future.

5) Use Your Coupons – Lastly but not least, use your coupon! If you’re the type of person who forgot to use your coupon, that’s exactly the reason why a secondary market for unused coupons emerged. If you don’t think you can use your coupon within the expiration date, make sure you sell it to get something out of it at least.

So there you have it. I confess that I started to subscribe to some of the daily deal websites, but I’m definitely more cautious on what I purchase. Use common sense when purchasing coupons, and make sure it’s a necessity, not a luxury!

The New Google Advisor Is Your One-Stop Source For Financial Products.

Image via CrunchBaseGoogle has launched a website where you can get information on mortgage, credit card, CD, or checking and savings accounts. This type of information has been the life blood of many personal finance blogs for many years. Now here is a one stop place to get all types of financial products.

We’ve all experienced the hit and miss associated with comparing financial products such as mortgages or credit cards. Often information is presented in an incomplete or otherwise opaque manner, and comparison between businesses and offers is confusing. Google has taken up the challenge of simplifying the process by creating a new service, Google Advisor, that makes it easy for users to compare products side by side.

Quote from the Official Google Blog

Financial decisions may be some of the most difficult decisions we face—whether it’s finding the right credit card or understanding the impact of paying an extra point on a mortgage. And these days, it seems like we have more financial options than ever.To help solve these problems, we began testing a mortgage comparison tool in 2009 and have added other financial products such as credit cards, CDs, checking, and savings accounts. Today, we’re rolling these tools into one place: Google Advisor, a site designed to help you quickly find relevant financial products from many providers and compare them side-by-side. Google Advisor is currently only available in the U.S.

Mortgage Results Page

I tried out the Mortgage function by entering my information. I clicked on refinance. Then value of the home, mortgage balance, cash out, loan type, and points. My state, county, home type was already entered magically. I was given 21 results. The list consisted of mortgage lender, interest rate, APR, Fees, points, and Contact details. As I enter different details the page updated dynamically. If I found one I wanted to pursue the contact details had links to email or phone numbers, and hours of operation. Overall a very thorough and well laid out page.

Credit Card Results Page

The Credit Card section results was divided by balance transferred, Intro purchase APR, Cash back, Air Miles, And Points. There was a total of 87 credit cards offered on this page. It states on the page that Google receives no commission from when you click on an offer. Also that the credit card information is updated twice a week for accuracy. The credit card results page can be sorted by intro APR, Ongoing APR, Annual Fee, and Reward Type.

CD Results Page

The CD section results allows you to enter the amount to deposit, maximum term,and account type. Whether it's a regular account or an IRA. The results page is divided up into columns APY, Minimum Opening Balance, Term Length, Actual interest earned for the term, Early Withdrawal penalty, and Apply details. There is a link to apply online.

Savings Results Page

The Savings Section asks for savings amount, regular savings or money market, and zip code. The results are displayed by name of institution, APY, Minimum to open, Monthly fee, Interest earned, and details with a link to apply online.

Checking Results Page

The Checking Section wants your initial deposit, a check box for no monthly fee and interest checking, and zip code. There is a check box if you want to exclude Internet only banks. The results give you Bank name, APY, Minimum, monthly fee and details with an apply online link. In the checking and Savings account section you can also search by a specific bank.

Again, Google is saying they receive no compensation on the credit card, CD's, checking, and savings applications. But on the mortgage page, Google does admit they get paid when you contact a lender through the site.

I like the overall experience of Google Advisor. It's laid out well for navigation. The search results are many. I also especially like the link to apply for the products, it takes you to the actual site to make an online application, making the application progress almost painless.

The only other competition to Google Advisor is Bankrate.com. Bankrate.com has more bells and whistles than Google. But I'll have to give it to Google for an easier to navigate interface. Bankrate's interface is a little dated and could use a little modifying.

Give Google Advisor a try. advisor.google.com

Money Saving Deals For April, May and June

Image via Wikipedia

The new quarter is fast approaching. Taxes are due soon and the refund checks are in the mail. If you want to save some money, I have listed the best buys for the next three months. The list is courtesy of LifeHacker.com. Happy Shopping.

April

• Cruises: Cruise lines are moving ships around this month. You can even book and travel on short notice.
• Car accessories & parts
• Laptops
• Fabric: Craft stores are shifting from winter fabrics to lighter spring fabric.
• Cookware
• Vacuum cleaners: The new models arrive in June.
• Sneakers: Sneaker makers are targeting less serious runners.

May

• Patio furniture: New stuff hits the floor, old stuff needs to go. Also, check out garage sales for last year’s stuff.
• Party supplies
• Cookware
• Vacuum cleaners: Just like last month, clearing out old models.

June

• Gym memberships
• Tools (June 1-20)
• Suits (June 1-20)
• Dishware: Like May, June is a wedding month, so dishes are cheaper.
• Off-season sports gear

For their complete list go to: http://lifehacker.com/#!5736625/the-best-times-to-buy-anything-in-2011