Monthly Archives: December 2008

Author : Anjitha Sakthidharan

There are two big seasons for cookware and cookware promotions One is in the spring, in April and May, coinciding with the graduation and wedding season The other is in October and November, with promotions in regard to the holidays New furniture hits the showrooms after the holidays, in February, and again in August Hence, there are two times of the year for guaranteed low prices

After the holidays, in January, stores have clearance sales to make room for new inventory coming in February And in July, the same thing happens with fall inventory For instance, it may be the same wooden frame for sofas with different upholstery in new colors for fall

When it comes to gas barbeque grills, timing for the best deal is the same as shopping for air conditioners Most people buy in May, June and July for backyard barbecues This is the season when demand and prices are high Hence wait until winter comes to buy, when demand and prices are low For jewelry, avoid the holidays, Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day if you’re focused on getting the best deal possible

You’ will have to pay closer to full price around the holidays because most jewelers generate one-third of their annual revenues and almost 100% of their annual profits in those two months, You’re going to get great value the other eight months of the year In general, avoid the fourth quarter, that’s when most of jeweler’s yearly profits are made

Retailers open up the toy sales in October and November to kick-start their moneymaking season This is the time of year for games and puzzles Retailers will usually do a buy-one, get-one-free promotion If you’re buying a gift for someone, the important thing to consider is whether it’s appropriate for the recipient rather than its status as the hottest new item For home theater items, in general, the holidays are a good time

New TV models that were announced earlier in the year at the consumer-electronics show in January arrive in stores in August and September They drop in price a few months after their debut as well as knocking down the price on the older models Most new vacuum models come out in June, Ritchey says The prices on the older models start winding down as winter comes to an end, just in time for spring cleaning Also, getting married during the off-seasons period is also a good idea to save money as demand for wedding services wanes during the cold months in Europe and other cold places, and hot months in tropical climate

Anjitha Sakthidharan is a financial adviser and well known for his finance related articles . You can find more financial articles written by the author by visiting the following link .
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Author : Anjitha Sakthidharan

Many people end up buying more than they need or buying sizes that are useless Retailers use many techniques to make the customers buy more Here are some steps you can do to fight back against these techniques:

Don’t use a shopping cart unless you need it A cart, most of the time, is just a place to put stuff you don’t need If you’re carrying a product, you’re a lot more likely to consider whether it’s a worthwhile purchase Make a shopping list and stick to it A list makes you focus on the items you intended to buy Without it, you are much more prone to wandering and stumbling into supposedly great buys that you don’t really need

Look at nothing but the prices and sizes That’s all the information you really need, everything else is marketing Find the one that has the best price for its size, get that one, and move on Start at the back and work toward the front If this is an option at all for you based on the store layout, do it When you go in, head directly for the most distant item, then progress back toward the checkout aisles If you do it the other way, you’re prone to walk more slowly and tiredly toward the front after your shopping is done, leaving you open to lots of impulse buys on the way

Always look at the bottom shelf first If you’ve found the section you want, start looking at the bottom shelf first This is usually where the better per-unit deals are Don’t stop unless you’re actively selecting an item Displays are designed to attract you to stop for a moment and just look, which is often enough to get you to pick out the item Even if something looks interesting, keep walking You can study it as you go past and make up your mind later about the item

Never go by an item twice unless absolutely necessary If you go down an aisle, start at one end and continue all the way out the other Walking by an item once lets it sink into your short-term memory, giving just a hint of familiarity when you walk by it again, sometimes just enough to persuade you to buy it

Carry a pocket calculator, or know how to use the one on your cell phone Do the math yourself to find out what the best buy is because stores try to choose numbers that make drawing false conclusions quite easy If you don’t know for sure that it is a good deal, don’t buy because you think it is a good deal Stores use all kinds of visual cues to make you think something is a bargain when it’s not Don’t buy anything because it’s a “deal” unless you’re sure that it really is an excellent bargain

At the checkout, rethink everything you put in your cart, and don’t hesitate to hand an item to the cashier and say you’ve changed your mind Many people seem to have a guilt, or obligation, to buy an item that they’ve put into their cart You’re the customer, and you have the right to choose whether to buy

Anjitha Sakthidharan is a financial adviser and well known for his finance related articles . You can find more financial articles written by the author by visiting the following link .
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Author : Anjitha Sakthidharan

There are always shopping carts These have a huge bin compared with the size of most items for sale in the store, making it psychologically easy to toss in an item you don’t need Desirable departments are far away from the entrance Most of the items you go to a department store to buy, such as light bulbs and laundry detergent, are located many, many aisles from the entrance This means you spend your time walking by a lot of consumer goods on your way to find the item you want

Impulse-oriented items are near the checkouts Stores stock the latest DVD releases and glamour magazines there, along with overpriced beverages and candy Because people leaving the store are thirsty, and they’re going to be standing in line for a bit, which is the perfect place to entice them with some entertainment options

The most expensive versions of a product are the ones at eye level Take a look sometime at the arrangement of different choices for a particular product, such as laundry detergent Almost every time, the most expensive options per unit are placed at eye level, so you see them first when you enter an aisle The bulk options and better deals are usually on the bottom shelves Items that aren’t on sale are sometimes placed as though they are on sale, without using the word sale with a huge sign above them displaying the price, but it would be the same price you paid for them a week ago

Commodity items, such as socks, are surrounded by non-commodity items, such as shirts and jeans If you are looking to buy some socks, you have to traverse through a number of racks full of different types of clothing in the clothing section just to reach them

If your mind is already open to the idea of buying clothes, you would be more likely to look at other clothing items

Attractively packaged items are placed between less slickly packaged items Look carefully at an aisle of, say, potato chips The ones with the bright and slick packaging are generally more expensive, which isn’t surprising But notice that there usually isn’t a section of just inexpensive chips In most stores, they’re sandwiched between more expensive items If there is a section of just inexpensive items, they’re much below the rack Stores are designed to maximize the number of stops you have to make: aisles in which only two carts can fit, colorful and attractive layouts, escalators and, my favorite of all, sample vendors Even if it’s not conscious to you, every time you stop moving in a store, you increase your chances of putting something into your cart

Essential items are placed in the middle of aisles, nonessential and overpriced items near the end because if you enter an aisle to get a staple item, you have to go by the other items twice; once on the way in and once on the way out That gives these items two chances to be picked up by you Some items are kept in cheap bins to make them appear as bargain sales by emulating the bargains found at cheaper stores, but the prices are still quite high They just use the visual cue of a bargain store to make you think it is a bargain

High-markup items are made to look prestigious If you see something in a glass case that has lots of space around it, your gut reaction is to believe that it is valuable and prestigious to own, and for many people it can be as attractive as a light to a moth The truth is that these items put there to make them distinguished The most profitable department is usually the first one you run into, such as the cosmetic department is front and center That’s because it’s very profitable, and by putting it in a place where people walk by time and time again, customers are more prone to making a purchase on an item with a very big markup

Restrooms and customer services are usually right by the exit or as far from the exit as possible because if you need to use either one in the middle of a shopping journey, you have to walk by a lot of merchandise to reach the needed service, thus increasing your chances for an impulse buy

Anjitha Sakthidharan is a financial adviser and well known for his finance related articles . You can find more financial articles written by the author by visiting the following link .
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Author : Ranju Kumar

Whether you went to college or not you probably will have big plans for your children You may want to make it easy for them by providing them with the funds it will take to get their education If you are just making ends meet you might think you will not be able to start a college fund right now The truth is you probably just need a little help adjusting your budget

If you want to send your kids to college with ease, you really must first pay off your current debt You will be able to save more efficiently if you are not juggling savings and debt at the same time You may feel like it will take too long to pay off your debt but you will be surprised how quickly it will disappear once you have a plan in place

First stop over spending Make a list of the necessities that you buy each month and what they cost you Make sure it includes food, gas and bills Now create a budget that will allow you to get by without wasting any money You won’t have to live this frugally forever, just until the debt is gone

Now write a list of all of your debt Include the balance, interest rate and monthly payment Now go down the list Choose the one with the highest interest and pay as much extra on it as you can until it is paid off Then move on to the next one Remember to continue making the minimum monthly payments on all of your cards while you pay them off one by one

Once your credit cards are paid off you can start putting the money you were spending on payments into a savings account for your kid’s education You will find that after a few years you are debt free and have more in savings than you thought possible

In order to save up to the amount your children will need for college it is a good idea to find out what the average cost of a four year college degree will cost when they are ready Many schools will be able to give you a rough idea if you call the administration office and ask Once you have a goal calculate how much you need to put into each savings account every month so that each of your children will have enough money when the time comes

You don’t have to be rich to save for your children education You just have to be smart with your money and be strict with your budget If you are having trouble with all of the calculations you can find help on the internet Personal Finance Issues that have financial calculators that can help you with every step You can do it and your kids will thank you for it

Are you among those who are struggling to find out how long it will take to pay off your credit card debt? Just logon to to buy more than 35 online financial calculator to resolve your simple budgets, credit payoff, retirement and college savings. Continue reading →