Donna Freedman - Surviving and Thriving

Return of the three-conference swag box.

November 29, 2014 by Donna Freedman

A couple of weeks ago I gave away a box of swag obtained at conferences in New Orleans, Austin and Kansas City, Mo. At the time I promised a second giveaway of other such items.

I misspoke myself. But I did it for you!

Specifically, the folks at the Swagbucks rewards program stepped in and offered to give away a $50 e-gift card. Couldn’t down a chance for a reader to gain a $50 advantage on this year’s holiday shopping (or for a gift for themselves), so I put the second box on hold.

(The $50 prize is still up for grabs: You have until Dec. 5 to enter. Do it now, while you’re thinking about it.)

That second box o’ oddities is the subject of this week’s giveaway. Among the items included are:

Black Friday 2014, done very quickly.

November 28, 2014 by Donna Freedman

Our Black Friday has come and gone, a reprise of last year’s experience at the loneliest drugstore in the world: Two of the stores we visited were practically tomblike.

The third, Play It Again Sports, held the possibility of new skis for DF at 50 percent off. However, it also held googols of optimistic winter sports enthusiasts (we have maybe a quarter-inch of snow on the ground) and determined-looking hockey parents. We backed off quickly due to our shared Claus-trophobia.

But at the other two? We walked in, bought what we wanted and walked back out. No pushing and shoving, no pepper spray and no buying things we didn’t need.

(Well, I did buy one thing I don’t need. More on that in a minute.)

That’s the kind of Black Friday I prefer, especially since a study from NerdWallet bears out what a lot of us already suspected: that those BF “deals” often aren’t as good as they’re made out to be.

Whose Christmas costs more?

August 2, 2016November 23, 2014 by Donna Freedman

When it comes to paying off holiday debts, who finishes last? If you guessed “low-income shoppers,” you guessed wrong. According to a study from the NerdWallet personal finance site, the middle class takes longer than anyone else to finish paying off Christmas costs.

People who earn from $50k to $75k take an average of 2.6 months to cover holiday celebrations. Compare that to folks who earn $50k or less and take an average of two months.

“Those who spend more in an effort to ‘keep up’ end up paying the price later,” says Matthew Ong, senior retail analyst at NerdWallet.

“Middle-class households could end up in a risky position this holiday season if they have ample credit to make purchases but incomes too thin to comfortably pay the bills later.”

Giveaway: $50 gift card, sponsored by Swagbucks.

November 29, 2014November 21, 2014 by Donna Freedman

Fun fact: During the holiday season, the lowest price for toys is about 10 days before Christmas.

Funner fact: You can get a $50 head start on your toy-buying (or anything-else-buying) if you win this week’s giveaway.

The Swagbucks rewards site has offered to award one lucky reader his or her choice of a $50 e-gift card from the Rewards Store. It’s quite the lineup of cards for restaurants, electronics emporia, retaurants, entertainment and other categories (including my personal favorite, Amazon).

This giveaway is a little different: You must be a member of Swagbucks and earn at least 50 points between now and 7 p.m. PST Friday, Dec. 5. Instead of entering up to five different ways, leave one comment with your Swagbucks user name.

Are thieves targeting your new car?

November 19, 2014 by Donna Freedman

Probably not, according to Insure.com. Choosing a red car won’t mean higher insurance rates, either.

These are just two pervasive myths out there, according to the insurance-quote site. While new cars certainly do get stolen, professional thieves are much more likely to steal older models and part them out, and color is not considered when companies determine rates.

“I hope no one passed up the red Miata they really wanted because they thought the insurance would be more expensive,” says Amy Danise, editorial director of Insure.com.

How to spend less on Christmas 2014.

November 18, 2014 by Donna Freedman

Planning to do any Amazon shopping this holiday season? Have I got tips for you.

“10 Amazon Shopping Tricks to Save You Tons of Money,” over on the Grandparents.com page, actually features 10 categories, some of which have more than one tip involved. For example, did you know that Prime members get a half-hour head start on Lightning Deals?

That a tool called PriceJump will compare Amazon tags to those of 5,000 other online merchants? That Amazon-specific sites will do the best-price legwork for you? Or that if you haven’t spent quite enough to get free shipping a site like SlickFiller.net will find the 39-cent bolt or 79-cent cup hook that will push you over the $35 threshold?

Get free retirement info on Nov. 18.

November 17, 2014 by Donna Freedman

Just a heads-up to remind you about the that takes place tomorrow.

I’ll be one of the two dozen or so PF wonks involved in the hour-long event, which is being hosted by MoneyTips.com and certified financial planner Jeff Rose.

5 reasons procrastinators are screwed at Christmas.

November 15, 2014November 15, 2014 by Donna Freedman

Every year we see some kind of commercial about last-minute holiday shopping. Often it’s the stereotypical dude rushing through the store on Dec. 24 (because apparently all men are clueless bumblers when it comes to the holidays).

Oh, you’re all out of Appropriate Gifts? I’m sure my wife/kids/parents will LOVE a set of car air fresheners or this mega-hot salsa collection!

No doubt these commercials sell lot of, well, whatever the sponsor is trying to sell.

We also see humorous essays about parents trying to get that season’s Must-Have Toy, or folks scrambling to track down the one thing that spouse/partner truly wanted. Usually the item is found on eBay or Craigslist at a vastly inflated price – but hey, it’s Christmas, right?

The stress, disappointment and overpayment are so preventable. All it takes is just a little bit of planning. Just a tiny bit. Those who don’t plan are likely to have their pockets picked every 25th of December — and they may lose out in other ways, too.

Giveaway: The three-conference swag box.

November 14, 2014 by Donna Freedman

In the past few months I’ve attended conferences in New Orleans, Austin and Kansas City, Mo. If you’ve ever attended a conference you’ll know how many items are available from the expo hall, the conference rooms and the “Welcome!” bag.

Previous conference-swag giveaways have been popular, so I decided to do it again.

Twice.

That’s right: I brought home so many oddments that they wouldn’t all fit into a single Priority Mail flat-rate box. That means two giveaways rather than one.

What does it take to retire successfully?

November 12, 2014November 11, 2014 by Donna Freedman

Where I grew up, people worked for as long as possible and felt diminished by retirement. Now it’s seen as a second chance.

Some people still say they plan to spend their golden years improving their golf swings or lying around in hammocks, but increasingly retirement is becoming an opportunity to start over: trying a different type of work, learning a new skill, maybe even running off to join the Peace Corps.

If you’d like to learn more, tune in to the Retiree Next Door Tweetcast next Tuesday, Nov. 18. Co-hosted by MoneyTips.com and certified financial planner Jeff Rose, the one-hour event will answer common questions and any additional queries sent in by listeners.