Archive for the ‘Finance’ Category

Black Friday 2009 – 5 Step Strategy to get ready

November 19th, 2009 Vijaianand

Yesterday, we started this Black Friday article series with an outlook from last year and what to expect for this year. Whether you are planning to hit the road on Black Friday or going to wait out to shop later, these things to do will come in handy. For easy purpose, it is categorized as Things to do before, on the day and after Black Friday. You should be able to apply these tips  for any shopping season.


1. List down


If you haven’t started already, start the list now. Jot down every shopping item in your mind to avoid forgetting them.  List all the needy and wanna items for you, your family or gifts to others. Whether it is an expensive Tool kit or wife’s big pan set or kid’s Wii game console or last year movie dvd’s, put them all down in one list. It is not your final list, so just don’t worry about scratching anything yet. One list helps you to avoid duplication and guides you to plan in order to accomodate under your budget.


2. Check and Track


“ON SALE” is a very tricky and tacky word and it is a powerful markeing tool especially in America. You can see big SALE sign everywhere during this holiday season. You would never know whether it is actually on sale unless you track the price for a period. Start tracking the prices of all items in your list  in the normal market which is few months early or atleast few weeks before black friday.  It helps you to avoid false marketing gimmicks and make a decision on the particular product to buy on sale or not. Let’s take an example, if an item’s actual price was $25 and they increased to $40 with 25% sales. You will end up paying($30) which is more than the actual price. If you don’t track the actual price and on sale price, you won’t find out the true savings. So don’t rush to buy anything just because they put a sale on an item. 


Few websites which can help you to list and track the items by creating your own shopping list and print them out before you head out.

blackfriday.info  – Need to register to create your shopping list


bfads.net – Don’t need to register. Start searching and add to the list.


theblackfriday.com

gottadeal.com/blackfriday

3. Compare


Now you have the of items you wanted and been tracking the actual price and current sale price. It’s time to compare the products and prices. Sometimes you might not find the exact item you are looking and similar item may be on sale in different stores. In that case, you need to compare their quality and price. For example, I want an external hard drive with storage capacity 500 GB – 1TB. I like to be slim and portable. I saw Seagate 1TB hard disk will be in sale for $69.99 in Staples. A similar product’s actual price currently is $114.99 in costco. I also saw 500GB western digital my passbook sleek harddriveone for $69.99 as well. Now I need to compare and see which one is better. You should do the same thing.



4. Shortlist and Finalize


You have the comparison of products but you have to make a decision which one to buy or whether to buy now.  It is totally a personal choice depending on your preference. Someone like to go for quality whereas other’s would like to opt for affordability and priority of the need. Be your own judge and make a decision. In the above example, I am thinking of going for Seagate 1TB from staples since it is from reliable company and I am getting more space for the price.


The websites listed above already started publishing black friday deals. It makes your life easier to compare the prices of the items now and on the sale date and make a decision where and when to buy them. It saves you lot of time and money on the day and protect you from making spot decisions.

5. Start Scrambling…


Alright now you gotta the narrowed down list of items, next comes the tough part. You need to fit them within your budget. You better set you budget and fit in your purchases by priortizing your list giving importance to your much needed items first than your wants.


It is not a good idea to scramble for money at the last minute and I am not a big proponet of it. Usually I recommend to save early for your needs and want. If you already budgeted and saved certain amount, that will come real handy. If you haven’t, there is no better choice than scrambling now from place than worrying later.

If you are planning to use your credit cards, think again. Many credit card companies have increased their rates in the wake of new credit card bill. If you can pay full within a month, go ahead and swipe otherwise think again. You better come up with the amount by slashing your monthly expenses like cutting starbucks coffee or daily expenses.. Try to pay by cash or debit card to avoid future interest charges.   


These 5 step strategy worked very well for me  all these years. I am sure it will help you to have relaxing Black Friday shopping. Come back tomorrow for the things to do on the day of Black friday.

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Blackfriday 2009 – Ready, Set & Go or wait…

November 18th, 2009 Vijaianand

Are you going to one among millions who is getting ready to beat the crowd and crab whatever you want on the Black Friday sale?

Or many who are planning to wait out and avoid the blackfriday sale this year?

Either way, you are thinking about Blackfriday sales like me, a 10 year veteran Blackfriday shopper. Black Friday is just less than a week away.


It is the biggest shopping event of the year happens next day after Thanksgiving.  Like Thanksgiving, Blackfriday shopping has became a tradition to many Americans and American families. It actually kick starts the Christmas shopping season for many and  serves has a good marketing platform for retailers and manufacturers to introduce new products, get rid off old ones through rebates and special deals so they can write it off from their balance sheet.

This year, it is going to be yet another different but dull year compared to past. 

Blackfriday 2008 – A look back


Last year, the recession just started and credit crunch was hitting the market as many big banks were going solvent. A quite lot of mergers were happening in all industries including many bankruptcies. Circuit city, one of the big electronic retailers filed bankruptcy and went away from the scene.

Many manufacturers and retailers faced a challenging shopping season as the economy was heading to wards worst recession. They don’t know what is in the stake for next year, so they slashed prices to get rid of their stock levels and reduced their inventory. It triggered more sales even after the Blackfriday event than usual.  Also there were not many attractive products in the market as manufacturers were cost cutting and waiting for the direction in the market. They just wanted to sell their old products with some improvements to retain their market cap.

From the consumers front, it was very cautious effort as many concerned about jobs and lot worried about the investments since the stock market was heading to wards downtrend starting to see the fall like deck of cards. All played it safe but still many consumers continued their shopping spree with their stashed away cash taking the rare opportunity and got things on heavy discount.


Blackfriday 2009 – Dull  and Different

It is going to be totally a different year than past years and more importantly  than last year. It is the first Black Friday after a long recession. The nations unemployment rate is in the record high of 10.2% and economy is still dragging its feet waiting to make a turn towards an uptrend. 

At this time, shoppers are thinking about breaking their tradition by avoiding the Black friday sale altogether. The reason, they don’t want to go through the hassle of getting up early, standing in big line for hours or camp out if the same product will Be sold much cheaper after black friday like last year. In many blackfriday forums, they were discussions about missing this year’s fun sale event. This  change in mind set is happening with many Americans especially because of last year experience.

However, many veteran Blackfriday shoppers were saying, this year is different for many reasons and won’t be same as last year. Because of slow economy and less production which means less supply of products. Manufacturers don’t want to over produce and take the chance at this tough times. Also many consumers are in the saving mode after a long time. Americas saving rate has gone up in the past few months. Basicaly less supply and less demand so products might be limited on the stores shelf.  It is better to hurry up and get things instead of waiting because of the uncertainty. Check out this video from news channel which talks about this year scenario.

It is better sometimes to wait out for the right time and right price but it depends on the importance of your need. If you really need the item and been waiting for this sale event, you better plan to buy after researching the sale price. 

Ask yourself which camp you wannabe this year. Are you going to be in the blackfriday line  or just going sleep in?

On the other hand, if you are among many millions who don’t bother to even blink for the blackfriday, I would recommend to at least try out once for the sake of experience and fun.

Go ahead and share your Blackfriday experience. How long you been doing the Blackfriday shopping? Also come and check out tomorrow, I will be posting more tips, tricks, hot sale items, good websites and more things to do just before, after and on the day of Blackfriday.  

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Saving – It’s a habit, not a hobby

November 4th, 2009 Vijaianand

Personal savings rate is a key measurement of the amount of resources American household have available to contribute to the national saving.  A low personal saving rate limits how much the nation can invest and so ultimately limits future economic growth.


Bit of History


From 1960 until 1990, households socked away an average of about 9 percent of their after-tax income, government figures show. Americans got out of the habit in the 1990s as they saw their wealth build up in other ways, first through surging stock prices and then soaring home values.




The annual personal saving rate (effectively, income minus spending) averaged around 10% during the early 1980s, when the economy was in a severe double-dip recession. It then began to fall steadily, even as the economy weathered two more recessions, averaging about 7% around the time of the 1990-91 recession, then falling below 2% for the first time in 2001. It averaged about 0.6% from 2004-07. Americans also spent more than they earned in recent years which is another reason for pushing the personal saving rate below zero. Check out the link for a detailed clear picture.


Current Mindset

A change in money mindset has emerged again from this recession. That has resulted in a rise in the personal saving rate, which the government calculates as the difference between earnings and expenditures. Economists now expect the rate to rebound to 3% to 5%, or even higher, in 2009, among the sharpest reversals since World War II. Goldman Sachs last week predicted the 2009 saving rate could be as high as 6% to 10%. (Wallstreet Journal article – See “Hard-Hit Families Finally Start Saving, Aggravating Nation’s Economic Woes”.)


Many banks and financial institutions are sending out flyers and phamplets encouraging customers to save money. Actually they need deposits to increase their reserver which is different story. Money gurus recommend various methods and techniques which are hard to follow strategies. It doesn’t always fit all types of people and lifestyle. We need a simple, realistic, and ideal plan to reach the saving goal, whether it is short to long term.
 
Whether you are looking to save money for your first Ipod or little bit more for your first car or  bigger target to buy your first home. Just three simple steps to follow to create a good saving plan. Before that, you better set your mind set by realizing the truth.  “Saving is a habit and not a hobby.” It is hard to start saving and never easily comes off the cuff.  Many of you do not like to hear it, but that’s the fat.
 
How to Realize your goal?
 
Many of our habits are product of constant practice whether its from child hood or teens. If you don’t have that saving habit built in you, it is going to be take time start one so you better show some patience. Making something habitual needs determination and constant practice. 


I like to mention a quote by Frank Outlaw.


“Watch your thoughts; they become words.
Watch your words; they become actions.
Watch your actions; they become habits.
Watch your habits; they become character.
Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.”


You need to first cultivate thoughts about Savings. Keep thinking about saving money in different ways whether from your paycheck or reducing electricity bill or credit card bill. You just keep thinking about saving something every day or month. Next, talk to your spouse and friends about money saving ideas and plans. Finally, take action by following your own idea or any of three ways mentioned below.


1. Don’t spend your dimes and quarters. Start putting them in a piggy bank or digital money jar. Digital money jar will give your amount. Every month, take the change to nearby bank and deposit it in you savings account. You can Open a savings account either with Nationalized bank or local banks with just minimum deposit of $1. I would recommend Credit unions for small saving accounts. 
 
2. On every ATM withdrawal, take $10 out and put it away in the secret wallet/purse compartment. Don’t ever touch it whatever happens. At the end of the month, take it all out and deposit in your savings account. 


3. This one is the easiest of all, called Blind savings – Set up automatic withdrawal to put away a small amount from your paycheck as Payroll deduction or Auto deduction from your checking account to your CD or Savings account. You will never see this money and it is blindly saved.


Once you start taking action and sticking with it rain or shine. Everything will fall into picture automatically, transforming yourself. Your savings habit gets built into you slowly. Once you get into the habit, it just comes as a second nature. 

So do not procrastinate and think it is impossible. You already took your first step thinking about saving, you just need make an habit. Sart working towards your next step by talking, planning and taking action. Try it out and share your thoughts.
 

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