Archive for the ‘Saving’ Category

Texas Trade Up Appliance Rebates – Starts April 7th

April 6th, 2010 Vijaianand

Hello fellow Texans,

Are you looking to replace your old air conditioner?

Are you shopping for a energy efficient Refrigerator or washer replacement to save some bucks?

You are in luck.


You heard it right! Texans can  now get hundreds, even thousands of dollars in rebates by applying for Trade up rebate program. But you gotta hurry when the reservation period starts tomorrow Apr 7th.

Who are qualified?

Every Texas residents with a valid Texas residential address qualify for a rebate if they follow all program rules.
No Post office boxes.


Why they are giving away money?

It is part of federal program to support energy efficiency and renewable energy initiatives. Thanks to $23 million in federal stimulus funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 received by Texas state which is available to be handed out through the State Energy Conservation Office. The caveat to the program, rebates can only be applied to new purchases of appliances with the EnergyStar label or CEE qualified models between April 16 and April 25.

What appliances are covered?

Starting from the  dishwasher to cloth washer to furance to Refrigerators to big A/c’s, most of the home appliances are covered. You can see types of appliances covered at state website. These energy efficient appliances might cost big money. If you already decided to buy it, then its worth to get the rebate. Question is, are you willing to spend extra dollars to save save few on rebate and more in long run? Then go ahead and reserve it.

Rebate amounts, purchase timeline information and a detailed list of qualifying appliances are also available on the site. 


How to get the rebates?

You need to reserve for the rebates. It is not pay first and apply later like mail in rebates type. It is reserve first and buy and apply for the rebates type because of the limited amount of funds. The state anticipates high interest in this program because of lot of advertising and rebate reservations will go quickly.


Reservations for a rebate will have to be made by calling a toll-free number or by registering on the Web site. Keep checking the site, http://www.texaspowerfulsmart.org/rebate/

Any limitations or restrictions?


You can qualify for one rebate per appliance category, two appliance rebates per household and two $75 recycling bonus rebates per household. The appliances must be bought from a Texas retailer or contractor.


I have heard many of my friends and neighbors are waiting for Apr 7th to reserve the rebates. Expect slowness and delays but don’t give up. It’s lot of money free from government. So just set your clock up for tomorrow to reserve for the big bucks. There will be a waiting list, but it’s no guarantee that you’ve successfully reserved a rebate.

You can read more about it at chron.com

Posted in Deals & Special Offers, Frugal, Saving Tags: , , No Comments »
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Money Smartness – Do’s and Don’ts for any year

January 27th, 2010 Vijaianand

This year just started off and half of January is almost over now. Days are moving fast so you better focus on things you want to get accomplished.

Do a quick check on your goals or Resolutions for this year. Did you ever get started with any of them? If you did, how far along are you? Do you think you are moving along as planned or just dragging yourself, waiting to quit? If you never got started, you still got till 31st to do something about it so you can atleast brag that you started something new this year. If you are chucking along, good job and keep it going!!


Moving on to Money smartness, it is not only about making and saving money right. It is also about doing things which could help to manage and preserve the wealth you earned. It is about getting ready for emergency situations and planning for proper wealth distribution when you are gone. In this post, I like to share and remind few Don’t and Do’s which most of us take it for granted in our everyday busy life. We don’t consider them serious enough until it hits us hard.


Don’ts

Don’t lose your 401 (K) contributions


I called my friend who lives in East coast to wish him Happy newyear. During our conversation he was mentioning about his 401k from his previous employer. It has been almost 2 years, he still not moved his funds over to new account. He don’t know where to start because his previous company had gone through few mergers after he quit and don’t know how much the account worth now and where exactly the funds are held.

I strongly urged him to get on it, start working first thing otherwise he might lose his hard earned money. Many of us fail to roll over my 401 (K) when change jobs. We forget about it, while we struggle to find a new job. With some many job losses last year, I am sure money of you aren’t thinking about 401K accounts yet. If you get a chance, do take time and start working on rolling over to Roth IRA account or mutual fund.

Don’t be a Identify Theft/Scam/fraud Victim


Identity theft, Ponzi schemes and scams are the talks all over the internet last year. Many millions of people get affected by identify theft every year especially via phishing over Internet. Whether you use online banking to check your account or make your credit cart payment, be careful in protecting your identity by protecting your computer from getting hijacked by the hackers. There is more to avoiding a identify theft than just virus protecting your computer and will talk more about it in my later posts.

Avoid Impulse buying


Beware of persuasive or forceful sales pitches. If it seems too good to be true, it might very well be, so avoid taking action at the spur of the moment. Try to be wise by not paying more for what it’s worth and always do comparison shopping. There is a reason why Milk cans are stored way back in any grocery store! Try to always compare different offers whether you are on the street shopping for car or expensive items.

DO’s


Pay yourself First


That’s the mantra of many Money Guru these days. First take out some money from your pay check for yourself and put it away in a saving account before it disappears. Start small and stretch it out slowly. With automatic saving with online banking, you can do it easily in minutes. By saving periodically, you are also taking advantage of time to work for you. Magic of compounding is the be8th wonder invented by Einstein..  I like to say, Saving is an habit not an hobby, so start a habit this year. Once you get started with saving, you can expand to invest the savings for future purpose like kids education or retirement.


Plan to be Debt free


Are you debt free? I would be surprised if you were. Everybody has debt in  some sort or other whether it is home mortgage or just credit card debt. But you can plan to be debt free and try to get out deep debts avoid paying high interest rates charges.  Don’t let your revolving debt to shift as long time debt. That will reckon your financial wealth. If you are in deep credit card debt, try to contact national credit counseling agency and work out a plan to get out of debt and shift to revolving debt situation.


Prepare a WILL


Last but not the least item in the list, Estate planning. Do not think estate planning is only for wealthy individuals. Estate planning is all about preparing for unexpected. It is just about preparing Will/Testament or Trust for the benefit of your dependents.These paper works are very important especially if you are married and have kids. You can make a will in just few minutes using Willmaker by Quicken and execute according to your state law. It is a cost efficient solution compared to Trust but not cost saving solution if you have big estate. Consult your CFP for more details.

I hope these Do’s and Don’ts help you to start thinking about few things which are important always not just in a new year. I am planning to touch upon these topic in more elaborate manner in my future posts. Please check back periodically.

Posted in Financial Literacy, Frugal, money really matters, Saving Tags: , No Comments »
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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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