Year: 2018

Charity overload.

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I’m drowning in end-of-the-year charity solicitations. Social causes, political action groups, health-care organizations, educational advocacy agencies…Some I’ve never heard of, some I’ve helped in the past. All of them worthy.

Thanks to texting, social media and e-mail lists, marketing departments have more ways than ever to reach out to us. “They know that we have a tendency toward (giving) at this time of year, and they really double down on it,” says behavioral finance expert Dr. Ted Klontz, co-author of books like Mind Over Money: Overcoming the Money Disorders That Threaten Our Financial Health.

You’re aware that need exists, and would like to help. But giving without a plan could potentially turn you into a charity case.

“If you harm yourself financially, you’re creating the same kind of problems you’re trying to solve,” says Manisha Thakor, vice president of financial education for Brighton Jones and author of On My Own Two Feet: A Modern Girl’s Guide to Personal Finance.

I talked with Manisha and several other money experts for an article on a new website, Considerable.com. All of them told me pretty much the same thing:

 

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Win a $500 Amazon gift card.

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Want a $500 Amazon gift card? You probably do.

Last week I posted several ways to win gift cards to boost your holiday shopping. A few more giveaways have popped up since then – and if I can’t win them, then I hope one of my readers will.

The big enchilada is that $500 Amazon card, which is being given away by a new site called Considerable.com. Its goal is to provide money and lifestyle information for people aged 45 and over. Give it a look – there’s some great reading here.

 

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3 ways to win a holiday shopping boost.

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If you’re in the market for some gift cards or extra money for your holiday shopping, read on.

Savings.com is giving away $500 worth of Walmart gift cards. Enter by using this link before 11:59 p.m. EST Friday, Dec. 7.

The site also has a discount code good for three free grocery deliveries in areas where Walmart delivers. Visit this link and use the code DISCOVER before Jan. 31, 2019.

Incidentally, grocery delivery may actually be a frugal thing. Learn more at my Money Talks News article, “How grocery delivery can save you money.”

 

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In which the earth moves.

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We get earthquakes fairly regularly* but not like this. Thanks to the instant news cycle, I’ve been getting calls and e-mails asking if we’re okay. Thus I figured I’d better post something.

I can say it was a big ’un. The local Tsunami Warning Center says it was 7.2 and followed almost immediately by another earthquake of 6.0.

It was loud, too. Rumble, rumble, rumble – a very locomotive-y noise, punctuated by the sound of falling books and breaking glassware.

DF immediately grabbed the piano – not to hold on for dear life, but to keep it from moving too far off the little blocks under its wheels. (Even so, it shifted about four inches to the west.)

I was on the phone with my daughter when it happened and kept asking her, “Can you hear this?” (meaning the rumble). Then I realized she was no longer on the line. When the shaking stopped, I was able to reach her and Abby calmly said, “Oh, good, you are okay.”

[Oh, boy: Another aftershock! That’s two in the past few minutes.]

 

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Getting ready for Black Friday.

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DF and I have a hot date early in the morning of Nov. 23: We’re heading to Fred Meyer for Black Friday. The store opens at 5 a.m. and the first 100 customers will get gift cards – and all customers will get free juice, coffee and doughnuts.

When I mentioned that I’d be going, he startled me by suggesting that he’d like to go, too. Apparently he’s never been out on a Black Friday. Or maybe it was the free coffee and doughnuts that got his motor running.

Black Friday isn’t as nutty as it once was, given how many people shop online. Still, every year we hear about some pushy-shovey behavior that results in screaming fights or physical injury. Anchorage seems to have escaped that level of consumer madness.

Me, I’m mostly looking for socks because they always get discounted at Fred’s on Black Friday. But tomorrow the two of us will pore over the ads in the fattest newspaper of the year – not for gifts, but to look for any screamin’ deals on things we need. For example, the off/on button on our toaster oven is balkier by the day.

That’s a tactic I suggest in a recent piece I did for The Simple Dollar. “Seven Ways Black Friday Can Save You Money All Year Long” notes that BF deals can be a great way to boost the budget beyond Hannukah, Christmas or Kwanzaa.

 

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Giveaway: “Sudsy Slim Rides Again.”

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Hello again, and sorry to have maintained radio silence for so long. Some day I’ll let you know what kept me elsewhere.

Today is not that day, though. Today is the day for promoting Chad and Darin Carpenter’s second film, “Sudsy Slim Rides Again.” Specifically, it’s a day for giving away a copy of the DVD.

Their first film, “Moose: The Movie,” was shot entirely in Alaska, with a tight budget and a loose grip on reality. That one made me laugh like a loon, filled as it was with the type of goofy humor familiar to fans of Chad Carpenter’s “Tundra” comics.

Their sophomore effort is, frankly, less sophomoric than the first. Don’t get me wrong: It’s rife with humor, but is definitely more of a semi-serious attempt at movie-making.

Want to win a copy of this “spaghetti Northwestern”? Of course you do.

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Christmas creep.

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It begins. For the past couple of weeks, at least, I’ve seen lights and ornaments, singing holiday trees, and even a life-sized Santa Claus at a Home Depot entrance.

Yeah, it was kind of cute that he wore an orange HD apron over his red suit, and that the words “St. Nick” were written on the “Hi, I’m…” tag. But for heaven’s sake, it’s not even Halloween yet. What’s with the Christmas creep?

Rhetorical question. The “rush” is that retailers need to make a certain amount of money or they become ex-retailers.

An excellent way to do that is to get people thinking ahead to the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come. Specifically, to get people thinking about this way ahead of time.

I admit it: Although I’m mostly horrified by the specter of Christmas creep, part of me does derive a certain frisson from those blinky lights on the periphery of the store. Does that mean that dark marketing forces have trained me to think that way? Good grief, I hope not. I much prefer to think it’s because Christmas was quite wonderful when I was a kid.

 

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Three chances to win gift cards.

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These things would come in handy right before the holidays.

Who am I kidding? Gift cards come in handy any time.

Only one of the three opportunities requires any real time investment – and since that time would be spent carving a jack o’lantern, it’s hardly painful.

 

Well, except maybe to the pumpkin, if pumpkins were sentient. But they aren’t. Unless, that is, you believe the Arrogant Worms song “Carrot Juice Is Murder.”

Philosophical derail over. Time to win some cards.

 

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ICYMI: FinCon18 Virtual Pass now available.

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Here’s a second chance for anyone who wanted to attend the 2018 Financial Blogger Conference (aka FinCon18) but couldn’t: The FinCon18 Virtual Pass is now available.

I’m sorry you missed it. Attendees heard speakers like Rachel Cruze, Liz Weston, J.D. Roth, Jean Chatzky, Chris Hogan, Mr. Money Mustache and, ahem, me. They networked with other writers and podcasters, making guest-post and “wanna be on my podcast?” connections.

They checked out writing opportunities at the Freelancer Marketplace, and learned about the latest financial products and services from tons of vendors. Quite a few of them sat in a 16-foot inflatable flamingo that was set up in honor of the Orlando location (and which was rarely empty).

They met other people who also nerd out over personal finance, and to learn about aspects of blogging and podcasting: writing, creating a niche brand, financial independence, interviewing, creating great YouTube videos, writing and publishing books, affiliate marketing, social media, demystifying Google Analytics and many other topics.

It’s true that the FinCon18 Virtual Pass won’t get the in-person experience (or the 16-foot flamingo). But here’s what you will get:

 

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The dollar-an-hour rule.

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One of my blogging buddies, J. Money, recently published a post that bounced off a comment from yet another post.

(Blogging: Sometimes it’s a Ponzi scheme.)

That comment was from a guy who believes that entertainment should never cost more than a dollar an hour.

For example, a video game that costs $70 (!) needs to be played for at least 70 hours. A $60-a-month cable bill should mean your household watches a total of 60 hours of TV per month. And so on.

In “The ‘buck an hour’ rule,” J. Money noted that $1 was “a bit arbitrary and perhaps simplistic.” Just for fun, he took at look at some of his own ongoing expenses (only some of which were actual entertainment).

“It wasn’t pretty,” he admitted cheerfully.

Netflix yes, local newspaper no. Cellphone good, coffee not so much. Gasoline nope, currency collection nyet, historical society donation nein.

You never know when some “random thought” could affect a habit, J. Money concluded. So I decided to examine some of my own entertainment costs.

 

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