10 Money Moves To Make Before The End Of The Year
If you're worried about your end of the year finances, Time has 10 money moves that you'll want to make before Dec. 31. [Time]
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These are awesome tips, if you have money to play around with. How about some tips for middle and lower class people who live check to check?
My husband and I are fairly upper-middle in terms of income, and not a single one of these tips apply to us. What are average people supposed to do?
Yeah, with the exception of claiming the 6 month old stimulous check, if you can take advantage of those tips, then you don't have a problem.
@Optimistic Prime: I guess we just keep doing what we've been doing. There's not much that needs to be done specifically at the end of the year if you're an average W-2 earner, except try not to blow the Christmas budget.
@Optimistic Prime: 50 years ago people had one car, one television (no cable), no internet and no cell phones. Stop paying for that cable/phone/internet combo with extra movie channels and "on demand", also lose the second family car with associated insurance and repair costs. That ought to save four or five hundred bucks a month for anyone.
Most of the tips are based on the assumption that Obama is going to raise taxes. That would be a pretty dumb thing to do in this economy, but I wouldn't put it past him.
i'll make it to 2009 with 0 in the bank just like the past 6 years. i have no extras: no cable or big screen tv, no credit cards, no house, a junker 10 year old car and no assets to speak of. i've been in survival mode for a few years anyways thanks to a bitter divorce. i'm 'well trained' at this point to survive on nothing.
i've just been concentrating on the great stable job i'm lucky to have right now... and eating lots of tuna fish sandwiches.
ugly divorces are great poverty trainers.
Wow, none of those apply to anyone without a ton of money.
Since when was there a tax credit for buying a Ford Escort? WTF?
The breaks for buying the most popular hybrid cars like the Toyota Prius and Ford Escort have all but vanished. But next year there will be new tax credits for certain new plug-in hybrid vehicles.
Do they mean the Ford Escape, or maybe the Fusion? Because the rebates on those should still be pretty good.
The article's writer seems to be obsessed with saving money on taxes, but most of the advice is only sound for those individuals making over $250,000 per year. I guess that applies to some of you out there, but it sure doesn't to my friends or family. Or anyone I know for that matter.
@zarex42: Most of the tips are also based on the assumption that you're making $250K or more per year, in which case, yeah, he pretty much said he's planning on raising your taxes.
@DrMorison: That's only applicable if your middle class. Us lower class only have 1 car and even with low cost rent things can get close.
@se7a7n7:
Will the plates sit next to your Desert Storm trading cards? All I need is a "Stormin' Norman" card and my set is done.
You mean you haven't accelerated your deductible expenses? Oh, you are totally screwed!
@DrMorison: 50 years ago, most homes only had one breadwinner. now they almost always have 2. add in kids & all their activities & selling the grocery-getter may not be feasible. but if it is, it should certainly be looked at as a possibility.
i agree that catv & all the extras combo can often be axed. if that's too much, consider dropping to basic or switching to satellite (dishtv has packages starting at $20/mo.). also, look for areas where you're double-paying for the same service (e.g. -> home phone & cellphone. kill one, save $40+/mo).
if there's not much left to be axed, it's time to start looking for other sources of income & focusing that income on saving/paying off debt. or, focusing on education/certifications/skills to put yourself into a better financial position down the road.
there's a lot of great info out there (especially on this site), but you have to be willing to do something & you have to be prepared to sacrifice time/money/stuff at least for the short term.
@se7a7n7: dammit! i invested everything in non-negotiable commemorative 7th anniversary of 9-11 silver leaf $20 bills.
@Juliekins: Funny, I thought the most popular hybrids would have been the Prius and Honda Civic, or maybe the Camry, but that's just numbers. I'm sure Time meant ... um ... yeah.
I guess I didn't miss much from the article. I'm not a big fan of the magazine-on-the-web paradigm (Click here for page 2! and page 3 next!), especially without a single-page link, and when the Print button simply prints the page you're on ... wasn't there just a post on here about magazines dying?
Me either. I was thinking as I read, "Stocks??? Mutual funds??? WTF??"
I can't even pay my utility bill on time.
@Optimistic Prime: If you aren't earning a lot of money, you need to not just focus on ways to cut expenses but also ways to increase income. You can be a fantastic saver on a $900/mo paycheck but you're still only pulling in $900/mo which is not much to live on.
Be smart and patient in how you approach this though as there are plenty of snake-oil salesmen looking to make a quick buck by PROMISING a quick buck.
If you're web-savvy, look into selling stuff on eBay or Craigslist, if you have a blog look into monetizing it, etc.
If you make the kind of money that is required for all of these tips to be helpful, what are you doing on this site?
@KirbyWorm: And, I'm not clicking on 10 pages of ads to read 1 article. TIME = FAIL. The article "Print" button doesn't even work.
I sent a letter to their editors to the same effect.
@mac-phisto: I've been trying to convince my mom to drop the landline for years, but she doesn't think her cell phone will work to make calls more than once or twice a day.
@se7a7n7: I sure know that I'll prize a plate of the messiah, erm, Obama, as a family heirloom! I love how everyone looks at it and acts inspired, and how the middle-class white family that you know likely hated Obama looks at it with pride.
@mac-phisto: Yes, my friend, you just might be screwed on that investment. I did want to buy one to spend at Wal-Mart, though.
Here's part of my plan to save cash! Cancel any subscriptions to Time.
ludwigk, the "Print" link takes you to another page, On that page "Click to Print" button works in Firefox 3.x after temporarily allowing JavaScript from "time.com" & "timeinc.com" (using NoScript plug in here).
This works in the sense that the article can be printed to a printer or a file (PS or PDF). Even then, one does not get the whole article, only the small blurb.
I'll agree that this slideshow (bah) is probably not relevant to the average Consumerist reader, and that the author mentions tax increases under Obama a lot. Also, some of the tips contradict each other (don't buy stocks, but look for bargain stocks; accelerate income, but identify and defer hidden income)
One tip that I'll twist around may help fellow Consumerists.....claim your stimulus. Stimulus payments were based on 2008 taxes, but were estimated based on your 2007 tax return. Everybody got $300, and you could get another $300 as a percentage of income, and it phased out at high incomes. The article suggests that if your income dropped, you may now qualify for the stimulus.
My situation is the opposite: my income in 2007 (basis for the stimulus check) was very low, so I got $323. My 2008 income (basis for the actual stimulus payment you're entitled to) is higher, so I get the other $277. If you got less than $600 and your 2008 income is higher than your 2007 income, you've got extra money coming.
Some of the things I did was cut my cell phone and cable. I keep only a landline phone with DSL. I use the internet to download all my TV shows and movies and thats how I stay entertained.
I stopped eating out entirely and am learning to be a decent cook.
Self medicate with preventative medicine. YOu do not want to be wasting money on medical bills so now I only go when I absolutely have to. Colds and flu I just suffer through, besides there is no cure for either of them and all they give you is some meds to clear up congestion which you can do yourself by doubling doses of over the counter stuff.
Do "stuff" yourself. Like change your own oil, mow your own lawn, fix your own computer, etc. Being a jack of all trades can help save money.
I keep cash on hand at all times now. Its is just going to rot away in the market or whatever. It also keeps you from using credit cards.
@furseekr: I was claimed as a dependent last year, but this year I am not. Will I be receiving any stimulus checks?
okay, are you kidding me? the link at the bottom of the second page ([www.time.com]) is:
"See pictures of expensive things that money can buy."
& then it takes you to a slideshow of, like, yachts & things. that has got to be the most ridiculous link title I have ever read.
that's it? no "we here at consumerist agree with this suggestion, but suggestion 'x' really doesn't consider 'y', in which case you should 'z'...
if i want to read articles from TIME then i'll just go to their website. c'mon consumerist, i come to you for your intelligent insight, not to be passed off to someone else.