Avoiding the “Stupid” New Year’s Impulses

Here we are the week before New Years and most of us want to, or feel the peer pressure, to start making resolutions for 2018.

Whatever yours may be, stop for a minute and make sure they’re not stupid or irrational things you do, or say to yourself.

The stupid things many people can do is to get super excited about getting fit in the coming year. The resolution is great – but signing a two-year fitness club contract falls under the category of stupid. If you can go for a two-month trial or on a month-to-month basis, it’s great. If you’re on a contract for a thousand bucks or more, it’s a really bad idea.

A second big one is doing serious damage to your credit score. If your mortgage is up for renewal, you’re looking to buy a home, or want to finally get your line of credit rate reduced, don’t borrow until that’s done. When you take on a new debt, the inquiry into your credit bureau can drop your score and your new debt will lower it in two other ways. Stay away from new debt if refinancing, a mortgage renewal or anything like that is on your radar within six months.

Under the category of stupid things we say to ourselves, the most common one I hear someone say is that “they got ripped off.” Sorry, there isn’t a sales person or retailer in the province who has a gun to your head. You didn’t get ripped off as much as did it to yourself. You shortcut getting another quote, you made an impulse buy with a finance contract, you didn’t shop around, etc. etc. But as long as you say to yourself and others that “you got ripped off” there’s no personal accountability. After all, if it was someone else’s fault – there’s no lesson for you to learn. If we change the wording to “I let myself get ripped off” that’s a powerful change in your thinking and in your actions the next time!

The second big way we sabotage ourselves is with the words “I can’t.” Of course you can. I can’t save, I can’t get my credit card balance down, etc. Yes you really can. But again, when you think like a victim – you’ll end up being right. If you stop using your credit card for a while, grade one math says your balance will drop with each monthly payment. So don’t sabotage yourself from the start and start thinking about how to turn the “I can’t” into “I’m going to.”

Gift Cards and Easing Into New Year’s Resolutions

There’s a good chance you were on the receiving end of some gift cards this Christmas. With billions of dollars sold,  you need to make sure you actually redeem them. Over 8% aren’t ever used – great for the merchant to get the free money – not so good for you.

The best tip is to get a felt pen and write the amount on them. Then tape them on the fridge, put them in your wallet, or any place prominent so you won’t forget. Remember that you have an IOU and that’s only good as long as the store or chain is still in business. If it’s Tim’s or Walmart – not a rush. But, the smaller the store, the quicker you want to use them up.

If you don’t use the full amount, write what’s left on the card as well. If it’s down to very little, do what I do: Just hand it to the person behind you in line and tell them what’s left on the card. That way they can redeem it right then and there.

Today and tomorrow, it’s likely everybody will make their New Year’s resolutions. But studies keep showing half of them are toast by the middle of January. News flash: You won’t run a marathon this summer, lose 60 pounds by April, or become debt free next Tuesday.

So perhaps you can resist the pressure to set New Year’s resolutions that are destined to fail. How about you do a two-month test drive on some smaller ones? If they’re specific, in writing, measurable and short-term, there’s a much better chance you’ll keep them.

Want to save some money? How about just taking the $200 or whatever you want to save each month and taking it right out of your ATM the 1st of January? Put it under your mattress or wherever. Do it for two months and you’ll see that you really won’t miss it. Good chance you’ll keep that two month trial going….

Can you take your smallest debt, perhaps one of your credit cards, and pay it off by March 31st? It’s the smallest, so no need to freak out or sell everything on Kajijji. If that worked out – great! That bill is now gone – permanently. Since your subconscious mind now knows you can do this, take the next smallest. It might take three or six months, but it’s just one debt, just one payment – you know you can do this, too.

Want to save some serious money for the next two months? Can you avoid restaurants or bars for 60 days? Of course you can – but will you? We average $190 on those each month. There’s around $400 or more by figuring out how stuff in your fridge turns into food, instead of having others make that happen for you.

Test drive some small ideas for two month. It takes 21 days to form a new habit. 60 days is long enough to see if you’ll stick to it for longer. No pressure…it’s just you and your money, debts, and disposable income. Happy New Year!

PS: Just saw a great Facebook post: I’m opening a gym called “resolutions.” It’ll have fitness equipment for the first two weeks and then it’ll turn into a bar for the rest of the year.

 

 

 

Wishful thinking versus goal setting. One is a hope and a dream that someday, something will change. Goal setting is in writing, specific and measurable.

I love my GPS. I travel a lot and can’t imagine life without it. But I can punch in all the destinations in the world, it won’t work if I don’t first know where I’m at! That’s the same with your financial goals.

 

If you’re not willing to take the 20 minutes to write down…don’t bother – you’ll just be staying in “hope” land. It would be kind of like firing a gun into the air and hoping a duck will run into its path.

The (Now) Con Of Fuel Surcharges

When gas (and diesel) prices started going up a few years ago, almost every company starting adding so-called fuel surcharges. From airport shuttles to Canada Post and thousands of other companies in between, this became a major revenue (or expense reimbursement) stream.

Want to bet if this is ever going to go down or away? No chance. Yet, gas (sorry if you’re still in a high tax/high gas jurisdiction, is close to being back under a buck a litre. This was my price yesterday!

Yes, the fuel surcharges for deliveries to businesses is constantly adjusted. We’ll never find out or know if this significant saving is being passed onto us consumers. But don’t bet on it. If the retailers don’t have to pay it out and can keep their prices the same (or still raising them), that’s a massive source of new profits.

For us consumers paying them directly, I’m never a fan of more laws. However, when do we reach the point where we’re getting ripped off for fuel surcharges on gas that’s LESS than it was when these fees were invented? It’s not like we have a choice but to pay them and it’s so pervasive that they’re almost impossible to avoid by dealing elsewhere!

Christmas Weight, Bills, Spending, and “Stuff”

On average we gain seven pounds (three kg) between Halloween and New Years. I wonder if we don’t lose a thousand bucks on Christmas stuff. Then, according to fitness experts, it takes us an average of five months to lose that weight. Well, according to financial studies it takes even longer to get the Christmas spending paid back: It takes until June on average.

But every year I’m reminded that most of what we buy, not just at Christmas time, is just “stuff.” And that’s not what Christmas is, or should be all about.

A few years ago, after decades in our family home, my parents could no longer handle the physical upkeep of a large single family home. It turned out that the trauma of selling our family home wasn’t nearly as bad as what us “kids”, now middle aged ourselves, had to do in order to make it happen.

 One Friday we ordered one of the big commercial dumpster bins to be delivered to the house. After giving away stuff  that our family members, friends and neighbours wanted, we knew there’d still be a lot of things that had to be thrown out: From sleeping bags to tools, furniture to books, and extra dishes to everything else, none of these could go into a one bedroom nursing home unit. What we weren’t prepared for was the visual impact of a huge and full bin being hauled away, then a second bin, and even a third bin. In total, the stuff accumulated added up to over 14,000 pounds – in the dump. Few things in life have had such a powerful and visual impact on us.

 Literally hundreds of thousands of dollars of stuff, purchased one at a time, over a lifetime, ended up as 14,000 pounds of trash. It sure put things into perspective. You’ll now understand why I’m just not that excited about buying that newest whatever, the next model of some gadget or another, or running up my credit cards. (Money Tools & Rules excerpt page 216)

Shipping Parcels Reminder

If you’re shipping a bunch of boxes with Christmas presents, just a reminder of a story from some years ago: You’re going to want to check rates with netparcel.com

Just search my previous stories on the how/what/why. Suffice it to say their rates will almost always be significantly lower than the post office! Here’s one of my shipments from today. It’s a 5 pound 10x8x6 inch box.

Yes, 8 different courier options that are all less expensive than Canada Post! I don’t know about you, but I’d rather pay $13 than $23…and strange but true: Canada Post owns Purolator. Their own courier at around 60% of what the mailing rate would be…

When A Hundred Bucks Turns To Spending $2,000

Spend a hundred bucks today and then another $2,000 and more a few years down the road.

A few weeks ago I saw my neighbor with a bandage on her wrist. When I asked if she was OK, she shared the story: A $100 tattoo a decade ago and now she’s spent over $2,000 already to get it removed – and she’s not done yet! YIKES! She told me that there are cheaper places, but she had heard enough bad stories and lack of results and went to a dermatologist to have it done properly and professionally.

It seemed like a good idea at the time… That’s not just a tattoo, it’s a lot of our impulse spending if we were to be honest with ourselves!

My Annual Free $1,500 Has Arrived

This is my third year of taking every toonie and loonie and throwing it into a jar for the year as my coin-savings account.

This year, it added up to $1,512! That’s entirely free money. It kept my pockets from sagging, my cup hold in the car empty and I never missed any of it. Yes, I find ways to “get” coins. I’ll go buy a coffee and use a five dollar bill knowing it’ll get me a toonie and a loonie. Any little trick to grow the pot with money I never miss!

If you didn’t know how well this works: You do now. Give it a try for a year. But making it smaller coin won’t work. You can search the stories back a few years to find it. I took a big pop bottle and filled it with small coin once. Turns out that was barely a hundred bucks if I remember correctly.

If $1000 to $1500 isn’t a big incentive for you: Congrats! Your financial world is different than the majority of the population.

If you pay mostly by credit or debit card: Sorry. Studies show you overspend 12 to 18% total. I know, you’re not going to admit that – but it’s true. There’s no direct association with money when you just pull out your plastic. McDonalds sales on credit or debit are 70+% higher, vending machines over 100% and there are tons of other examples. Try switching (back?) to real money. You may end up with a free thousand bucks or more and will definitely spend less. After all, when you’re out of real money you’ll need to leave the store!

A 60% Discount So You Can Pay 400% More – Seriously

We’ve talked a number of times about the games retailers play on discounts.
If you search my stories you’ll find a number of them that are quite
eye-opening.

This one is another perfect example. I am trying to get a custom canvas
print of 12×54 inches and re-ordering some client gifts, which are standard
12×12 inch. The custom one is tricky to price out – the standard 12×12 is a
no-brainer: It should be around $14.

Here is the canvas champ shopping cart where they’re currently parked
because the price isn’t what I’m willing to pay:

 

$18 for each, then a 15% discount and free shipping. I’ve paid from $11 to
$16 over the past few years and multiple orders…so I’ll wait for a while.

Here is the other company called canvas pop out of Ontario. Their Black
Friday promotion is a 60% discount. Wow – who wouldn’t be excited by that! But
their business model is to use insane pretend retail prices and then apply the
discount that’s totally useless. After all, it’s not the discount. It’s what
you end up paying!!

$181 for the same $14 canvas! Then the 60% discount and STILL a net price of $72!

In other words: Do you want a huge 60% discount and still end up paying FOUR TIMES MORE? Why do they do it? Because very few people do the math or the comparison shopping. That has to be true or they would immediately change their pricing got-ya!

The Worst Sales to Avoid!

The most misleading pricing or “sales” to be very careful with are the “weekly” or “bi-monthly” payments, any vehicle lease and “percentage off” if you buy one at regular price, etc.

Add to that a lot more frequent ads that promote a discount but do not list a price in the first place! 25% off WHAT?

Since you have no idea of the sticker price, you have no idea what you’ll be paying. This ad, from this chain, is likely to be legit as this chain wouldn’t play games by raising the retail price, then giving a percentage discount. But lots do…

Setting aside the obvious that you’re spending and not saving – this isn’t a deal anyway, irrespective of price. Tires almost always have a sale of buy three get the fourth free. Since you need four tires on a vehicle, that’s a 25% discount pretty much year round at one place or another.

Yes, I’ve got my winter tires on. I do need to replace them, but I’ll wait until the rush season of October/November is over with and there are real sales before I’ll replace mine. As always – buyer…or shopper beware!