Archive for the ‘Informational’ Category
Tuesday, June 9th, 2009 |
Retail prices are a lot more negotiable than you might think. But before you go out and try to play hardball to get a discount, learn the rules of the game.
This is a very long read but well worth it By Katherine Reynolds Lewis at MSN
You see an item you want in your local big-box store. The price seems too high. You ask for a discount — and you get it!
This scenario may seem far-fetched, but expert negotiators say it occurs every day in retail outlets across the U.S. With consumers restricting their spending, store owners need every sale they can close, even if it means accepting a smaller profit.
“Retailers, particularly a number of the high-end retailers, are in real trouble given the current recession, and they’re willing to bargain,” said Joel C. Huber, a marketing professor at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.
That’s not to say it’s easy to win unadvertised discounts. The art of the haggle is an intricate dance, and you must know the steps before you venture onto the dance floor.
And you have to be willing to ask.
“The thing people don’t understand about the retail industry, especially brick-and-mortar stores, is that prices aren’t fixed,” said Albert Ko, a co-founder of bargain-hunting site CheapCheapCheap.com. “With the economy, it’s all about the numbers and getting goods sold. . . . They’re willing to listen and work with you.”
Really, you have to ask
Americans are notoriously uncomfortable negotiating bargains, said Julie Parrish, the chief executive of Hot Coupon World.
“My dad’s from the Middle East, and they haggle for everything. You grow up knowing how to ask,” Parrish said. “People are scared. They view it as a confrontation, and it’s not. You’re simply asking. There is so much leverage in pricing other than the price of a gallon of gas.”
You may think you can’t negotiate with a mainstream retailer with fixed prices. But even discounters such as Kmart give their stores the leeway to cut a deal if you give them a good reason. That can be as simple as pointing out a scratch or flaw, or bringing in a flier advertising a lower price at a competitor.
Lila Delilah, the founder of Madison Avenue Spy, has found that boutiques offer discounts upon a hint. She was looking at a children’s coat that was 30% off and remarked that she saw it for 50% off the previous season. The owner immediately offered an additional break.
“I have a friend that’s been walking into every boutique she goes into and asking for the ‘recession price.’ Amazingly, she’s getting 25% to 30% off just by asking for it,” Delilah said.
When should you ask?
When you’re buying a lot. At Costco, Parrish saw a man taking dozens of packages of baby back ribs out of the display to put in his cart. The manager stopped him and asked how many he wanted. The man ended up buying six cases of ribs at a 10% discount.
Indeed, volume discounts are a key way to save in this economy. If a department manager can move a lot of inventory, he’ll be flexible on price.
“They’re happy to do it because they get bonuses tied to volume by department,” Parrish said.
When the product is on its way out. Stores also like to get rid of all units of a clearance item so the display can be used for another product. Using this knowledge at Walgreen’s, Parrish’s business partner got about 50 Burt’s Bees lip gloss tubes for 50 cents each, down from the clearance price of $1.59 and regular price of $3.99.
Consider the meat department of your local grocery store just before closing time. The manager might prefer to sell the entire display of ground beef and go home, rather than spend 45 minutes wrapping and storing the meat. If you can freeze the beef, either as patties or cooked taco meat, you can end up saving more than $1 per pound.
When you’re dropping a small fortune. At high-end department stores, if you spend more than $15,000 or $20,000 in a single visit, you can usually get 20% off the entire purchase, Delilah said.
“Stores that sell Christian Louboutin shoes, you can say, ‘These are very expensive. Is there any way you could give me something off?’” Delilah said. “In this economy, everybody’s looking to crack a deal. If you’re ’spending bank,’ there’s going to be more flexibility.”
When you pay cash. Because merchants can’t legally charge extra for credit card payments, the cost of the associated fees is built into every transaction. But they can offer a discount for cash. Ask.
First, do your homework
The seller is unlikely to accept a deal that leaves no profit. So before you enter the store, check out comparable items online or in the store’s competitors. That will give you the range of prices.
Make sure you understand which items have a larger profit margin and which have a shorter shelf life, such as perishables, seasonal clothes and consumer electronics that become outdated. You’ll have better luck negotiating if the manager wants to clear the inventory out of the store, said Jim Crawford, the executive director of the Global Retail Executive Council.
At a Best Buy recently, Ko’s father wanted to buy a 42-inch LCD television. When they first spoke to the manager, he said he couldn’t give a discount. Ko then said he had seen the TV for less on the Internet but wanted to buy it in person and suggested a package deal.
They ended up getting $200 off the television, bringing it under the Internet price, by purchasing a warranty and accessories, both big-margin items.
Jewelry has one of the highest markups of any product category, said Kit Yarrow, a psychology and marketing professor at Golden Gate University.
“Even at mall jewelry stores you can negotiate,” Yarrow said. “I don’t think I’ve ever in my life purchased jewelry without getting a discount.”
Stick to your guns, but be flexible when you can
Before you get carried away with the power of haggling, an important note: You must keep your key criteria in mind when you’re negotiating and be willing to walk away if they’re not met.
The most important parameter is your top price. If you are bargaining and it becomes clear the seller can’t do better than your top price, thank him for his time and leave.
Also, be willing to give on features or criteria that don’t really matter to you.
For instance, Parrish wanted a new minivan that had sliding doors but didn’t care about the color or model. She walked into the dealer saying, “These are the must-have features, and this is the price I want to pay.”
Even if a retailer won’t cut the price, it might throw in some extras for free. If you’re making a major purchase, ask for complimentary delivery or installation. For clothes, suggest free alterations or cleaning and pressing.
Parrish recently walked into a Lowe’s store looking for a front-loading washer-dryer set. She didn’t care about the brand and noticed a Maytag floor model with a scratch on the dryer and only one display pedestal, for the washer. She asked to speak to the manager and negotiated a discount based on the scratch and it being a display model. Then she asked what they were going to do with the pedestal.
“Is somebody going to buy that sitting by itself?” she asked, mentioning that she’s a mom with three kids and couldn’t bring the set home in her vehicle. The manager threw in the pedestal and delivery as well. The entire transaction could’ve cost $2,100 but ended up being $1,100.
Haggling rules to live by
Make it personal. Try walking into a store with the best attitude possible. Be friendly, respectful and interested in developing a relationship with the sales staff. (See “Know thy enemy: Understanding the salesperson’s tactics.”)
“Introduce yourself with your name and a handshake so you take away the anonymity,” Parrish said. “Now I’m working with Bob the sales guy, and he’s working with Julie customer. You make it personal.”
Talk to the manager. As sugary sweet as you can be to the frontline sales clerk, you’ll never get a worthwhile discount. He simply doesn’t have the authority to offer one.
You have to speak with the manager, the person who has the power to negotiate. But when you ask, be nice, and offer to help that clerk who’s now your first-name buddy.
“You say, ‘John, I’m looking at this television,’ and I have a question about the pricing,” Ko said. After a friendly conversation, say: “You’ve been very good to me. I’d like to help you. Where’s your manager? Let me throw in a good word for you.”
Keep your word. Your career as a negotiator will be short-lived unless you follow the haggling protocols. If you tell a frontline clerk you’re going to put a good word in with her manager, do so.
“Always follow through; don’t say it and not do it. Execute on it and respectfully do what you say,” Ko said.
Don’t make them regret it. The last thing the retailer wants is to have 50 of your friends walk in and ask for the same deal. Stores don’t want it known that they will cut special deals. Few were even willing to talk for this story.
In an e-mail, Lowe’s spokeswoman Abby Buford said, “Managers do have the discretion to adjust prices if necessary to be competitive in the market.”
Costco generally offers volume discounts only when customers buy a product by the truckload, Chief Financial Officer Richard Galanti said in an interview.
“We sell at incredibly low prices every day,” Galanti said. “When someone wants a discount beyond that, it’s going to be at the discretion of the department manager. We don’t encourage or discourage it.”
8 phrases that win discounts
* Use “if . . . then” statements. For instance: “If I buy two of these Tiffany necklaces, then can you give me 25% off?” Or: “If I buy the entire rack of ground beef, then what’s the best price you can give me?”
* Begin by saying what you do like about the store, service or product. It establishes you as a loyal customer and a decent human being.
* To begin negotiations, say, “I’d like to pay X” or “My budget is Y.”
* Give them a reason to say yes, whether it’s a scratch on an appliance or a model from last year.
* When the seller turns down your offer, ask, “Is there a price you’d accept?”
* “I want to stay a loyal customer. But I’ll tell you the truth — it is tough to pay the bills.”
* “I’m not happy with the price I’m paying for this service.”
* “What’s the ‘recession price’ for this coat?”
Posted in Informational, Inspirational, purchases | 3 Comments »
Tuesday, May 19th, 2009 |
I’m constantly baffled by people that are the front man for credit card purchases.
You know the types… the people that have a credit card that fronts the purchase for someone without a credit card and will be reimbursed with cash?
For instance, I know someone (Person A) that bought plane tickets for someone (Person B) because they didn’t have a credit card. The Person B gave them the cash immediately, but instead of paying the credit card down the Person A will spend it elsewhere and continue paying on the payments.
It’s literally throwing money away. Lets say, the plane tickets cost $400. With interest and the continuouse minimum payments building up on the credit card, Person A might as well pay Person B $150 so they can front the $400 plane ticket purchase the non credit card user.
And that’s a low estimate since credit card interest rates are higher than normal. And considering that it could take YEARS to pay down a credit card on minimal payments, they could end up paying double.
It doesn’t add up nor make sense. You’d be better telling the person NO or telling them you don’t have a credit card if all you’re going to do is burying yourself deeper and DEEPER in debt.
Posted in Informational, purchases, relapses | No Comments »
Monday, May 18th, 2009 |
Found this gem by Rachel Zupek on cnn.com
With an abundance of job losses, salary cuts, eliminated bonuses and diminished 401(K) matching contributions, your income is shrinking — but the bills aren’t.
If your regular job isn’t earning you enough cash or you’ve lost your job altogether, these simple side gigs can help put some padding in your pockets until — maybe even after — you get back on your feet.
Here are 10 ways real people are creatively taking home some extra dough:
1. Do freelance work
Felice Premeau Devine left her lucrative, full-time job two years ago to raise her son. In the interim, she’s picked up writing and editing freelance work and started a blog, where she is able to earn a little cash from advertising.
Nowadays, almost any job can be done on a contract or freelance basis. Check out sites like Sologig, which lead job seekers to contract, consulting, freelance, temp-to-hire and part-time project opportunities in your field.
2. Sell your books
If you’re a college student or you hung on to your college textbooks thinking you might want to read them again somewhere down the line, select retailers like Barnes & Noble allow you to sell your textbooks for some quick cash. Or, take some classics from your personal library and sell them at a local second-hand bookstore.
3. Search circulating coinage
Susan Headley, the “guide to coins” on About.com, is a lifetime coin collector who has been boosting her income by searching through circulating coinage for the past six years. In 2008, she made about $2,500 and so far in 2009, she has earned approximately $500 from coins she’s found.
People who search circulating coinage successfully for a side income do so in very large numbers, she says. They buy rolls of coins from banks, typically in whole boxes, and sort through it to find stuff that just doesn’t belong, Headley says. Half dollars, for example, were no longer made from 90 percent silver after 1965, but they still had 40 percent silver in them until 1970; either of these turn a nice profit. Presidential dollar errors can be worth $50 to $5,000 each; uncirculated state quarters can sell from $10 to $50 per roll; and rare error coins can value up to $35,000.
4. Start a “business”
Turn your hobby, skills or expertise into a part-time business. Sites like Jobvana can help you do so by providing you with free tools to market your services and offer specialized skills to those looking for help.
Peter Olson says he built a profile in September 2008 offering to teach guitar lessons. He has since gained two students, earning about $240 extra dollars per month and grossing around $1,000 since he started teaching.
5. Enter local and online sweepstakes
Wendy Limauge has been entering sweepstakes since 1993 and teaching others to win through her Web site, Sweeties Sweeps, since 2002. Though winning sweepstakes rarely provides actual cash, her winnings have consistently provided her and her family with 200 to 300 prizes a year, many of them large items she and her husband couldn’t afford on their incomes alone.
Prizes she has won include three TVs, two of which are flat-screens; a home theatre system; three dishwashers, each won on separate occasions; at least $1,500 in grocery gift certificates; an $18,000 voucher for the vehicle of her choice; a trip to France valued at $25,000; and, in March 2009, she won $5,000 in an instant-win game.
“The Internet has so many options for saving money, getting something for free, winning a prize or earning money from home,” Limauge says. “You just need to find those resources that offer helpful information and point you in the right direction to get you started and keep you motivated.”
6. Give your opinion — and get paid
Linda Childers, a California-based freelance writer, says many of her friends participate in focus groups. Contributing an hour of your time can earn you up to $100, sometimes more. Online surveys, phone surveys and product trials can also earn you anywhere from $5 to $150. Check out Free Paid Surveys or FindFocusGroups.
7. Sell your junk
Terri Jay earns $2,000 - $3,000 per month just by selling junk. On eBay, Jay not only sells stuff she isn’t using; she hits up local thrift stores on 99-cent days, garage sales and tack sales, looking for things of which she knows the value. She says her best sale was for a drink tray from the 70s: She paid 25 cents for it and it sold for $87.
“The trick is to [sell] what you know,” she advises. “Therefore you can list them [at correct prices] so they will get picked up in searches [on eBay].”
8. Join a direct selling company
Direct selling is one of the easiest ways to earn some extra cash, especially if you sell products you love. Avon, for example, allows you start your own business for $10 — your take home depends on your efforts. Some full-time representatives earn six-figure salaries, others own licensed Avon Beauty Centers and many just sell Avon part time around their families schedules.
Haizel MacIntyre started her Avon business in June of 2008 to earn supplemental income to her full-time job when her husband was laid off. Since joining Avon, MacIntyre averages $1,800 a month in sales and her husband is helping her run the business. Her Avon earnings help pay the bills, provide extras for her three kids and she is hoping to earn enough to put towards her college tuition when she goes back to school to get her Masters in Social Work.
9. Be a secret shopper
Keen eyes for detail as well as a good memory are really all that it takes to succeed as a secret shopper, says Zippy Sandler, who has been mystery shopping for about 13 years. After registering with a secret shopping company, you are paid to basically go undercover and report on a company’s operation from the customer point of view.
Sandler decided to start secret shopping not only to earn money eating, traveling and shopping, but also to learn customer service skills to pass along to the employees she managed at a retail store. Depending on the clients she is shopping for, Sandler says she has earned everywhere from $100 to $2,000 per month.
10. Sell your photos to stock agencies
It doesn’t matter if you’re a hobbyist, an amateur or a seasoned photographer - anyone can submit their photos to stock photo agencies like Shutterstock.com. If your images are accepted, they will be available for download by subscribers. Each time someone downloads your photos, you get 25 cents.
Posted in Generate income, Informational, Inspirational | No Comments »
Friday, May 8th, 2009 |
This is one of those days where I just start writing and write until stuff comes to mind. Having said that, I have no responsibility of what may be said and the order they’re presented.
I guess you can call it my “hmmmm” moment in RDL.
For starters, I’m currently wondering when will the tattooing thing going to take off like I want it to? I’ve been handing out business cards to at the oddest of places. Fast food drive thru attendants that have tattoos. Waitress’s that have tattoos. I’ve even posted my portfolio on a couple of message boards. I’ve since tattooed on one customer from a message board and none by manually handing out my cards. For some odd reason, I’m getting customers out of the blue through word of mouth though.
Another thing that’s been on my mind is my income and outcome. For some reason, I have money even though I feel like I’m broke as hell. I’ve been spending a lot lately and it doesn’t seem to be catching up with me. Hopefully it’s all in my head.
Seems like I’ve inherited my middle daughter’s softball team. The head coach officially asked me when did I want to practice in front of the other parents. Kind of caught me off guard as I rambled while trying to think of the audacity. We all finally agreed on Saturday morning (tomorrow).
I’m at a cross roads with the wife and her job situation. It’s nice having her home taking care of the home but at the same time, it’d be nice to have another source of income coming in. To top it off, (not saying it’ll happen) I was reading about this guy that had a stay at home wife and as soon as the kids left, she got bored and wanted a divorce. A divorce I could handle (not want to but could deal with it), but she get’s half of his everything all because she was a stay at home mom. Oh well, I guess you can’t live thinking of the possibilities, or can you?
Now I’m left with wondering how much spending money I should take on the October cruise we’re going on? I did my first betting goal on my first cruise (bet $100) on one blackjack hand. Now I want to accomplish my next goal of placing $500 on one blackjack hand. By the way, I lost the $100 bet. Not only will there be gambling, we’re going to South beach the day before the cruise for a day of partying. I’m thinking $1000 should be enough for the entire trip.
We seem to be looking at some more money come in soon. My wife is getting a small settlement (under $5k) from when she got in a car accident last year. It’ll basically be money we spent on her medical expenses being reimbursed plus some small additions of pain and suffering of her sphincter or whatever.
I’m also wondering when will this egg sized hematoma inside my scrotem from vasectomy complications go away? The doctor says it may be a couple of months and it feels like it’s shrinking a little bit but I’m skeptical of doing anything active because I know it’s there. It’d be nice to play some softball or flag football (might even give it a shot at quarterbacking tomorrow)
Another thought is… when will the market be up to near it’s all time peak again? We’d tend to make a lot of money if that was the case since we currently have about $40k in the market at the moment. This weeks gain was nice but somewhere near it’s all time high would be GREAT!
There you have it… those are my most current random thoughts I decided to write about. What are some of yours?
Posted in Informational, Personal debt, goals, purchases, success | 1 Comment »
Monday, April 20th, 2009 |
This is where I’m at…
The wifey wanted to go to HR Block this year to get our taxes done because (in here words) we should be getting more back. We’ve had a 7 year history of getting at least $2k back in refund.
NOT THIS YEAR!
We earned approximately $40k more than last years income. This was do to me getting laid off and immediately finding a job while on severance. basically, there was a 6 month period where I was receiving 2 checks. There was also a 2 month period I was receiving my unemployment benefits (tax- free) while receiving my severance.
Then my wife got laid off with a 4 month severance. She was also receiving unemployment benefits (tax-free). To sum it up, we had $4k+ of unemployment benefits we hadn’t had the taxes taken out on. We also didn’t take out more taxes on the additionally income we made (which put us in another tax bracket).
I guess it’s a nice problem to have as we were really blessed in ‘08 and actually had about $80k more than last year (thanks to “the gift“).
So we’re in HR Block getting our taxes done. To make a long enthusiastic quickly turned downright ugly story short, we owed… $2850 in taxes and $750 in tax preparation fees.:oops:
Yep! $3600 WE OWE instead of getting back. Needless to say the Block lady was quickly rejected when she asked if we’d like to schedule next years appointment.
So here’s what wwere working with for the beginning of ‘09. We have some medical bills to take care of, which shouldn’t be more than $1k (freaking healthcare hustlers). The good news is we’re probably going to take advantage of the cheap travel deals go on a short 3 day family and friends cruise.
We’re expecting our 3rd child and the tattooing business will start to pick up soon. So all in all, if I wasn’t to make a dime outside of the normal paycheck, we wouldn’t have to touch savings until July. Hopefully the tattooing will pickup to where I don’t have to touch it at all.
My plan is to hold everything down until the beginning of ‘10. By that time, we’ll know if the wifey should be a fulltime mom or start seriously looking for employment. Only time will tell.
A side note: The picture is my latest and greatest.
Posted in Generate income, Informational, Personal debt | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, April 14th, 2009 |
A number of the people profiled in “Millionaires tell how they did it” made their millions as entrepreneurs. But working for the Man doesn’t mean you have to be a wage slave or resort to buying lottery tickets to strike it rich. The trick is to maximize your income on the job (and know when to move on), make the most of your employee benefits and tax breaks and use that extra money to start investing.
1. Keep your eyes peeled for better ways to do your job. Streamline a procedure, shave costs, create a new profit center, become an expert on a specific topic, volunteer for a company committee — anything that will make you stand out as a prime candidate for a promotion or a pay boost.
2. Don’t be afraid to negotiate. In a study of master’s degree graduates from her university, Carnegie Mellon economics professor Linda Babcock found that those who negotiated their first salary boosted their pay by 7.4% compared with those who didn’t bargain.
3. Get your ducks in a row and your numbers on paper. If possible, quantify how much your efforts add to the company’s bottom line. If that’s not feasible, spotlight your value with comparable salaries for workers in your position from a Web site, such as Salary.com, or from a professional association.
4. Plot your strategy when it’s time to move on. Create a professional-looking page on MySpace that tells prospective employers why you’re an exceptional candidate, recommends John Challenger of the outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. And don’t neglect more conventional networking: Join a professional association or show up at school reunions toting business cards.
Milk your benefits
5. Contribute as much as you can to your 401(k) and other tax-deferred retirement plans. You’ll not only build a bigger nest egg, but you’ll also cut your tax bill. In the 25% federal tax bracket, every $1,000 you contribute to a 401(k) trims your taxes by $250. And you’ll save on state income taxes, too.
6. Flex your tax-saving muscle. Contribute pretax dollars to a flexible spending account to pay for dependent care or out-of-pocket medical expenses. If you set aside $1,500 per year and you’re in the 25% bracket, avoiding federal income and Social Security taxes means Uncle Sam will subsidize almost $500 of your expenses.
7. Review your tax withholding. If you’re expecting a refund this spring, you’re having too much tax withheld from your paycheck — and making an interest-free loan to Uncle Sam. That’s no way to become a millionaire. Put more money in your pocket by using Kiplinger’s withholding calculator and then filling out a new Form W-4.
8. Stash savings in a Roth IRA if you’re eligible. Withdrawals in retirement, including decades of compounded earnings, will be tax-free. This year, income-eligibility limits for a Roth increase to $114,000 for individuals and $166,000 for married couples.
Invest like crazy
9. Don’t delay. The quicker you get a jump on putting money aside, the easier it will be to stuff a seven-figure cushion. If you start at age 25, for example, investing $286 per month will get you $1 million by age 65, assuming you earn 8% annually.
10. Invest automatically, either through your employer’s retirement plan or by setting up a regular deposit to a mutual fund or broker. You’ll never miss the money, and you’ll avoid two big mistakes: buying too much when stock prices are high and not buying at all when prices fall.
11. Watch for fund fees. The more you pay, the tougher it is to earn an above-average return. The typical hedge fund, for example, takes 20% of any gains, a huge hurdle to overcome. A better bet: no-load mutual funds with expense ratios of 1% or less. If you trade individual stocks, watch those commissions.
12. Keep it simple. Be wary of get-rich-quick schemes or sales pitches for complex investments, such as oil-and-gas partnerships, that trade on the millionaire cachet to lure investors into buying high-fee products they don’t understand. Most millionaire households accumulate their wealth over the long term by sticking to a regular investing plan in a balanced portfolio.
Posted in Informational, Inspirational, education, success | No Comments »
Tuesday, March 10th, 2009 |
If you are falling behind on your mortgage payments, do not hide from your lender. Instead, reach out to them for assistance. Your mortgage company would rather work with you than commence foreclosure proceedings, which can be quite costly for them.
Negotiating a Loan Modification
Step1
Make sure to know the state of your finances before contacting your lender. Determine how much income you’re bringing in each month, how much you’re paying in bills and where you can cut costs. Ask a nonprofit counseling service to help you put together this financial analysis for free. The counselor will also help to negotiate with your lender. Consumer Credit Counseling is a good place to start.
Step2
Next, contact your lender and have an idea what you need. Tell them what your situation is and what you can offer to help your situation.
Step3
Come up with some kind of an answer to the lender’s question of how you propose to pay off the loan eventually. You’re better off submitting an initial proposal. At least you’ve opened the door in the negotiation
Step4
If you think that your financial strain won’t last long, ask the lender for forbearance, or postponement of payments, for a couple of months until your finances recover.
Step5
If you have an adjustable rate mortgage that reset and you cannot meet the higher monthly payments, request a loan modification from the lender. They will request a complete financial history from you, detailing your income and monthly expenses. Ideally, you should have some cushion in your income to justify a loan modification, if they switched your mortgage to a fixed-rate mortgage. Show them that you can comfortably pay a fixed rate mortgage through extra income from a second job, and you are more likely to get a modification.
- If you are strapped for cash, find a part-time job;
- Call your lender as soon as you discover you will experience some hardship in making your monthly payments.
- Once you have received a modification, make your payments on time to improve your credit.
- If your credit is shaky, do some rebuilding before you refinance your loan.
- If your loan is modified, your interest rate may be a little higher due to your shaky credit.
Posted in Generate income, Informational, Personal debt | 2 Comments »
Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009 |
In light of our strained economy, how can you keep your love life intact and still scale back on spending?
Remember that money isn’t everything. The most important thing is that you’re together.
Whether playing the field or in a couple, there are a number of free (or cheap) ways to mind your wallet without sacrificing your dating life. After all, a recession won’t keep you from finding love, it’ll just make you more creative!
For those playing the field
1. Dinner and a movie DIY-style: Instead of going to a restaurant and theater, grab a Netflix and cook your date dinner.
2. Have a picnic: Grab a picnic basket with some home-made goodies, a comfy blanket and spend a romantic day in the park.
3. Free wine-tasting: Most wine shops feature free promotional wine-tasting events, a perfect (and educational) date!
4. Your own personal sunset: Take a stroll and let the sunset be the destination for your date — pretty and, more importantly, free!
5. Get sporty!: How about getting a little down and dirty with your date? No, not that way — participate in a local or city-wide recreational sporting event: how about a game of ultimate Frisbee or touch football?
6. Free culture: Most art galleries and/or museums that normally charge entry fees, usually have at least one “free night” a week — take advantage!
For couples
1. Lather up!: Light a few candles, maybe turn on your favorite music and take a romantic bubble bath together.
2. Eat in, but make it fun: Instead of spending cash on eating out, cook at home together — try new recipes and new foods — for cheap!
3. See the sites: No matter what city, most residents rarely do the typical “tourist activities.” Why not take the opportunity to do some local site-seeing —- most tourist attractions are relatively cheap and monuments or scenic sites are usually free (and only cost a guidebook!)
4. Volunteer together: Nothing’s sexier than doing good.
5. Take in some flea market finds: Peruse local flea markets/garage sales with your significant other — if you do buy something you know it will be cheap and even if you don’t, flea markets are always a fun excursion.
6. Start a photo blog: Why not create something with your partner? Spend some time out and about taking photos. You can even start a photo blog that your friends and family can follow and you can update together. It’s free and you’ll always have something cool to look back on!
And remember that money isn’t everything. The most important thing is that you’re together and you’re having a good time. If your date doesn’t appreciate spending time with you without spending a lot of cash, then you probably shouldn’t be with her/him.
Regardless of your funds, each of these ideas can be an exciting change of pace. You may be feeling financial strain — but you don’t have to feel it alone!
Posted in Informational, purchases | No Comments »
