This is a guest post by Kimberly Wilson.
Let’s face it. As we continue the holiday season, more consumers are piling on more debt that they are already having trouble paying. It can be a tough situation because you want to make your loved ones feel special, but sometimes the seemingly best gifts can come at a high cost. Fortunately, it is more than possible to save money over the holidays and make your loved ones feel appreciated; it won’t even have to take a Christmas miracle.
This is a guest post by Daniel who writes on behalf of Stannah Stairlifts
One of the biggest challenges for seniors comes from losing mobility. Aside from the personal challenges that come with losing mobility, it also poses some challenging financial issues. For example downsizing will save you money in the long term, but the costs of finding and moving into a smaller home can pose a significant initial barrier.
This is a guest post by Mike, the founder of CreditCardForum.
When you think of credit card rewards, the first thing that pops in your head is probably “cash back†or “airline miles.†But those are only a couple of the different types. These days you can find rewards programs for almost anything, including ones to boost your retirement savings.
Many Canadians don’t have an emergency fund according to a RBC survey. The RBC Index also showed a sharp drop in consumer confidence down to 70 against its baseline of 100 established in November 2009. That is a drop of 24 points in the last quarter. Clearly there is no umbrella for the possibly rainy days ahead.
This is a guest post by Patty Kleen.
One of the greatest benefits of being a ‘senior’ is the freedom to do more traveling, but whether you want to explore the United States or the world travel is not cheap. There are some ways you can cut expenses, though, and still thoroughly enjoy your journeys. Here are five steps to take that will let you stretch your travel dollar.
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There are a number of ways you can contribute financially to your grandchildren, from a cheque in a birthday card to a savings account. We’ll look at some of the ways you can contribute – with a few ideas to suit every budget.
This is a guest post by Chris Johnson.
Thanks to the rising costs of almost anything and the bad state of the economy in general, more and more people are finding it tough to pay their bills. That’s to say nothing of being able to save money for a “rainy dayâ€. Seniors are especially susceptible to those issues because most senior citizens are on a fixed income. Let’s face some facts. Costs are going up. However, the fixed income that seniors are receiving is not. So, whether you are a senior citizen yourself or you are just caring for one, you need to take action. Luckily, there are plenty of things that you can do to cut down your energy bills.
This is a guest post by Claire Bradshaw.
Seniors often find that the house seems to grow larger and become less manageable as they grow older. Advancing years can make tasks that once seemed easy much more difficult, and housework and home maintenance may eventually become a great stressor to elderly people. For these reasons people often begin to think of downsizing their homes in their later years.
This is a guest post by Mariana Ashley.
Assisted living facilities are designed for those who struggle maintaining their own homes and need regular assistance from professional caretakers. While many homeowners don’t ever really plan on relocating to an assisted living facility, there may come a time when this option seems ideal. In fact, according to the American Healthcare Association, about 1 million senior citizens choose to relocate to an assisted living facility to live out the rest of their Golden Years.
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If you’re interested in finding good deals as I am, then you should check out the latest trend in frugal shopping. It’s called group-buying, an activity that has been around for a while certainly, but which is now really popular due to social networking sites that focus especially on making deals available to many consumers at once.
These sites essentially use the leverage of lots of consumers to create good deals. The most popular site that uses the power of group-buying is called Groupon. To give you an idea as to how popular it is, consider this: Google just tried to buy Groupon for nearly 6 billion dollars, according to Forbes, but the Groupon folks turned down their offer! You know if Google is interested, then it’s big.
If you’re unfamiliar with Groupon, here’s how it works. The site contracts with businesses in cities to offer a special group discount to everyone who buys through Groupon. Groupon only offers one deal a day, so users have to wait for the next day if they don’t like the current deal. Also, Groupon uses a pledge system that essentially holds the discount coupon from consumers until a minimum number of people have pledged to purchase the product or service. Once that minimum is reached, the site charges its users and releases the coupon so everyone who purchased it can print it out. By having a required minimum number of sales, Groupon can protect retailers and businesses from losing money. Groupon earns income by taking a cut of the transaction.
So how does Groupon help you? Well, if you take a moment to browse the site, you’ll see that many of these deals are huge discounts. It’s common to see discounts for up to fifty percent off of a product or service. Also, Groupon can help you out because the site often partners with local businesses, so you can take advantage of great savings in your area. For how complicated the entire operation seems, the actual Groupon service itself is really simple: you decide if you want the discount, pledge your payment, then wait to print out the coupon.
Of course, there are a few disadvantages to the service that you’ll want to be aware of. For example, Groupon serves many cities; however, it might not serve your specific city. In that case, you could always look for competitor’s sites. But, with the recent move by Google, we might expect Groupon to significantly expand its area of operation. Another problem with Groupon is that it has been criticized for actually taking advantage of the power of group buying to negative effects on retailers. The Gap lost, according to Mashable, nearly $7.5 million during a nationwide promotional sale through Groupon. Other retailers, such as Posie’s Café in Oregon, have also reported losses, especially because Groupon does not put a cap on purchases.
Groupon is a great resource for frugal shoppers, certainly, but it can also have its problems. If you’re interested in the service, give it a try, but also do some more research to see if it’s right for you. Remember, frugal shoppers are still a part of a community, especially if they patronize local businesses. Spending your money wisely is the hallmark of a frugal shopper.
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This guest post is contributed by Barbara Jolie, who writes on the topics of online classes. She welcomes your comments at her email Id: [email protected]
