Holiday Savings: Thanksgiving

It snuck up on us, too, but Thanksgiving is only next week. In honor of the holidays, here's a short guide to some of the best stories out there regarding frugal spending for Thanksgiving.

The Reporter News says: Let's talk turkey: Tips on saving money at Thanksgiving

Lindsey and Crystal Tipton, who both cook at Ben Richey Boys Ranch, say it is best to do your shopping ahead of time. You get the best buys before the holiday, plus you are likely to spend more money if you go at the last minute.

“You can catch the sales,” Lindsey said. “Go ahead and buy your turkey — you can keep it frozen until a day or two before Thanksgiving.”

The Wallet Pop blog has some advice for traveling parents: Save money (and your sanity) by renting baby gear instead of schlepping

My husband and I utilized a service years ago when travel plans called for a transfer from one regular-sized plane onto an itty-bitty flying deathtrap. I'm not sure it would have gotten off the ground with us and the baby gear, but I digress ... Bottom line, renting the perfect stroller and a clean, brand new portable crib once we arrived at our destination was absolutely brilliant and it almost made me forget we had to get back on that plane to fly home...

Finally, the Herald Online remind us that Thanksgiving doesn't have to cost an arm and a turkey leg.

Save money by buying in bulk. If you're feeding a crowd, check out the prices at membership warehouse clubs.

Look for turkey sales. Many stores offer turkeys at discounted prices if you spend a certain amount. This year, Walmart stores with grocery sections are featuring turkeys at 40 cents a pound — which means a 12-pound bird will cost you less than $5.

Avoiding Overdraft Fees Before Regulations Set In

The fine More Money blog has some great tips to help you avoid overdraft fees before the new regulations go into effect:

Opt out. While the new regulations will require consumers to opt in, most banks will let you opt out now. You just have to call and ask. But remember, once you've opted out of overdraft protection, your card will be rejected if you try to spend more than you have.

The Los Angeles Times has more details on the regulations:

The new rules, which take effect July 1, mean that if you don't have overdraft protection, any debit card purchase or ATM cash withdrawal will be rejected if it exceeds the amount of money in your account.

And if you do want overdraft protection, your bank will have to give you a notice explaining the service and its fees before you can accept it.

Interest Rates in the News: November 9, 2009

There's been no shortage of news regarding interest rates: whether it's for certificates of deposit, mortgages, or credit cards. Here are some recent highlights:

SmartMoney asks: Is Now the Time to Jump Off Your CD Ladder?

Investors looking to maximize their yield in a low-rate environment could consider a “barbell” strategy, keeping half of their money in a savings or checking account and the other half in a five-year CD, Barrington says. “One and two year rates are not appreciably better than what you could get if you shop around for a savings account,” he says. The money in the savings account would be available to move immediately when rates pick up – and the average yield from a barbell would be higher than the average yield from a ladder under current conditions, Barrington says.

The Associated Press announces that Georgia has secured historic low interest rates on state bonds:

Georgia secures low interest rates on state bonds

Gov. Sonny Perdue said the cheap rates saved the state $35 million for fiscal year 2010, which began in July. That's good news for the state, which is struggling with sagging tax collections thanks to the recession.

TopNews reports on some possible changes to credit card rates:

Hike in Credit Card Interest Rates

With the expected moves, credit card companies will be going back to the basics. In the 90s, an annual fee for cards was common, but as the usage grew, more and more companies starting offering customers easier options. It seems that, in order to survive, credit card firms will have to take a cue from the times bygone.

Fed to Keep Rates Near Zero

The Federal Reserve kept its key interest rate near zero once again Wednesday. It released a statement saying that although the economy continues to improve, it intends to stay the current course.

The Fed's decision came just one week after the government reported that the economy grew in the third quarter, the first gain after declines over the previous four quarters.

While it was generally assumed that the central bank would leave its federal funds rate in a range of 0% to 0.25%, economists and investors were eager to see how the Fed described the economy in its statement.

Information courtesy of CNN

$1 Trillion in Bank Losses

Yes, one trillion dollars.

What does this mean for banking stocks and the economy? Money's Paul R. La Monica breaks it down.

What do you think?

CD Rates Continue to Trend Downward

The banking world continues to be plagued by anemic CD Rates, as this article over on Mainstreet attests:

You can’t really blame CD investors for seeing red this week. After all, a big reason why the Federal Reserve is sitting on interest rates is to boost the balance sheets of many of the same banks whose free-wheeling lending helped push the economy off a cliff. Rubbing more salt in the wound, bank investors have to abide by an economic policy created by the same Washington pols that encouraged banks to make those dubious loans in the first place.

Your best bet? Find the best deals out there, because only the top CD Rates are going to get you any kind of return if you're a CD investor. Current CD Rate trends can be bucked through methods like MoneyAisle's live reverse auctions. Many financial institutions bid against each other to give you great rates. Check it out here: http://www.moneyaisle.com/Verticals/CdC2b

Overdraft Fees vs. The Government: New Developments

On Monday, Sen. Chris Dodd unveiled legislation to rein in overdraft fees. On Thursday Reps. Carolyn Maloney and Barney Frank did the same. Here's how the bills are similar:

• Both bills would require banks to receive consent from customers before enrolling them in the overdraft protection program.
• Both bills would limit the number of overdraft fees to six per year.
• Both bills would require banks to notify customers beforehand when a purchase or ATM withdrawal would trigger an overdraft fee.
  
• Both bills would stop banks from re-ordering transactions for the purpose of maximizing the number of fees.

What about differences?

• The House proposal would also apply to written checks that overdraw an account.
• The Senate bill excludes checks as it applies to the opt-in provision.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

Is the Government Killing Your Savings with Low Interest Rates?

Very interesting article posted over at CNN Money about the federal government's suppression of interest rates in an effort to stimulate the economy and how that is punishing those of us who have been frugal, particularly retirees.

But until rates go up, Wall Street will be chowing down on essentially free money, while fixed-income people living off their investments will have to eat into their capital, take more risk, or reduce their standard of living. A nice reward from their government for a lifetime of saving. Thanks for nothing, guys.

There have been some encouraging signs lately that interest rates may go up, but until they do it's more important than ever to find the highest rates on your CDs and savings accounts. Tools like the interest rate auctions on our own MoneyAisle.com are more important than ever to ensure you get the most out of your savings.

National Save for Retirement Week

In honor of the upcoming National Save for Retirement Week (October 18-24), we thought it was a good time to inspire people to take a second look - a re-evaluation, if you will - at their current savings habits.

Too often we'll just tick a percentage on our 401k (if we're even doing that) and expect everything to work out. Recent economic news has proven this method of thinking wrong.

The best way to guard against losing your shirt in another stock market collapse (particularly if you're over 40) is to diversify your portfolio - on top of that 401k contribution, set aside a percentage of your paycheck (anything over a certain amount) to be shuttled directly into a high-yield savings account. For those of you who are still receiving cost-of-living raises (I know there aren't that many of you, but this trend could change once we emerge from current economic woes), you'll be putting more and more money away as time passes. This increased savings amount, coupled with compounding interest rates (that's when you start to earn interest on the interest you've already earned), in addition to 401k savings, can help ensure that you won't be caught too unawares as retirement approaches.

Another benefit is this account can double as an emergency savings account. Financial experts suggest keeping a cushion of 3-6 months of expenses in an easily accessible fund for emergency purposes. If you keep on this savings plan, eventually you'll have this recommended savings cushion and beyond.

It's been said that you should hope for the best in life and prepare for the worst. Increasing your savings rate allows you to do both simultaneously.

Overdraft Fees Gaining Attention in Washington

According to Money Magazine, political momentum in Washington is gaining behind a proposed crack down on overdraft fees -- the penalties banks charge when customers spend more than they have in their accounts.

"They clearly know something is coming," said Melissa Koide of the New America Foundation, a left-leaning Washington policy group. "It's a very big populist issue so these big banks and the regional ones are reacting in anticipation, and that isn't a bad thing."