Plan ahead to get the best shopping deals in 2018

This is a blog post I wrote for my client SelectQuote. I'm taking advice from the pro's on how to save money in 2018. 

Chances are you’re going to buy lots of stuff this year. Sometimes you have no choice about when to shop, like when the ‘fridge is running on empty, your microwave nukes its last leftover or your clothes washer gurgles a death rattle.

Many purchases, however – big and little – can wait until the time is optimal for getting the very best deals. So if you’re thinking of upgrading an item you currently own or adding something new to your inventory, mark your calendar now and then watch for deals from national and local retailers. Here are tips from consumer experts on the best months to target for shopping for specific items.

January

Fitness is a key component for this post-holiday period with elliptical bikes, treadmills and bathroom scales on sale. For tucking in comfortably on cold winter nights, bed linens are on sale, as are towels. New model office furniture debuts next month, so retailers put existing inventory on sale.

February

If high-end chocolates appeal to you, shop the sales immediately after Valentine’s Day, as you won’t find these premium products on sale often. Mattress sales are huge for Presidents’ Day in mid-month, and winter sports gear and coats are on season-end sales, even though winter will linger awhile. February is also a good time to shop for major appliances, housewares and cookware. To get a jump start on spring, look for bargains on running shoes.

March

This change-of-season month is a good time to shop for luggage, in preparation for spring and summer travel. You can find great deals on winter sports equipment and all winter clothing and cold-weather accessories. Digital cameras and humidifiers also go on sale in March. If you missed the January deals on fitness equipment, this is another good time to look for treadmills, ellipticals and small workout-at-home items like weights and fitness mats. March is frozen food month, so think about stocking your freezer with frozen veggies, fruits and prepared meals. Try out a new set of golf clubs on sale as spring begins.

April

New carpeting is a popular upgrade after winter and as spring sets in, deals abound. Desktop and laptop computer also go on sale and you can find great offers on jewelry. As thoughts turn to vacation time, cruise lines offer special rates through the entire season if you book now. Car auctions for dealers are plentiful in spring and they’re trying to move used cars quickly, so this is a good time to upgrade your ride. It’s also a good time to improve your old ride with new tires.

May

If a wedding is on the horizon, bridal gowns are on sale in May. Baby necessities like high chairs and strollers are on clearance, so plan ahead if a new arrival is expected in your family. You can find good buys on desktop and laptop computers and mattresses, if you missed February’s sales. If your home needs a bright new look, interior and exterior paints go on sale in May, as do wood stains.

June

As the 2018 hurricane season starts, you can get great rates on Caribbean cruises starting now. If a northern route is more appealing, it’s off season for Alaskan cruises, so you can find good packages for remaining sailings for 2018. To record your upcoming summer adventures, camcorders are on sale in June. Indoor furniture is on close-out prices, as much of the focus is now on outdoor living. To add to your outdoor fun, summer sports gear is on the seasonal promotion tables. With the focus on outdoor recreation, gym memberships are attractively priced in June.

July

Tools, barbecue grills and decking are big clearance items in July, as the outdoor season remains the main retail focus. As thoughts start to turn to back-to-school time, however, summer clothes end up on the sales racks and you can find good buys on computers. With no major gift season coming up, jewelry retailers are looking for customers and offer enticing specials.

August

The retail focus this month is on the end of summer and start of the school year. Look for bargains on air conditioners, outdoor furniture and dehumidifiers. Backpacks, school supplies and kids’ clothing are on sale, as retailers compete for traffic in stores and clicks online. As you shop for back-to-school season, watch for tax-free shopping days in your area on many essential items. If you like to plan way ahead, look for pre-season offers on snow blowers.

September

New cars debut in late September and October, so dealers need to clear their lots of the remaining 2018 inventory. This is also a good time to shop for major appliances and office supplies. If travel is on your holiday agenda, book now for the best rates on airfares, hotels and car rentals. In advance of the holiday entertaining season, look for sales on wine.

October

Summer is now truly history, so remaining bikes, barbecue grills, lawn mowers, tractors and camping gear are on clearance sales. If you’re looking for big-ticket items for holiday gifts, check out the offers on digital cameras and desktop computers.

November

For great buys on TVs, November is a good time to hunt. Electronics on sale this month include camcorders and GPS systems. If you want to spruce up your home for holiday entertaining, furniture is on sale in November, as are vacuum cleaners and tool kits. For the gamers on your shopping list, video games are on close-out special. And of course, check out the Black Friday offers, if you can deal with the strange shopping hours and the crowds; and Cyber Monday offers, for click-and-buy convenience.

December

Not surprising, December is a good time to buy just about anything, as the make-or-break retail season rushes toward its conclusion. If your budget allows, put some cash aside for shopping for yourself, in addition to the family and friends on your holiday shopping list. Numerous items on sale now include camcorders, e-book readers, gas grills, GPS systems, headphones, kitchen cookware, major appliances, TVs and of course, toys. December is also a good time to shop for a new house, as the market is slow and sellers may be willing to lower their asking price considerably if they really need to move on. For New Year’s parties and stocking up for the coming months, champagne and other bubbly wines are on sale. Cheers to smart shopping in 2018!

The best shopping advice for year-round, of course, is to avoid an impulse purchase of any high-ticket item. Do your research, know the typical price, comparison shop, and if you can, wait for a great deal and then act before you miss it. Afterwards, feel satisfied that you’re a savvy shopper.

How to curb the growing hazards of distracted driving

This is a blog post I wrote for my client SelectQuote. I was inspired by my own experience in buying a new car for the first time in 8 years. My new car has all of the bells and whistles and I found myself strongly attracted to the computer screen in the center of my control panel. I realized I was driving while distracted, a very dangerous activity. 

If you’ve purchased a new car anytime in the past few years, you’re driving what amounts to a powerful motorized computer that can reach highway speeds in seconds. 

Beyond the many mechanical and electrical functions that your car’s computer systems control or monitor, are many helpful features as well as enticing distractions on that glowing computer screen that sits front and center in your dashboard.

Dangerous liaisons

You can select among hundreds of radio and satellite stations, browse for your favorite music on your iPod, change the temperature in the car, heat or reposition the steering wheel and the seats, adjust your mirrors, program your GPS to navigate to your next stop, make phone calls, send text messages, check the weather and road conditions, search for restaurants and much more. All of those activities fall under the heading of distracted driving and are extremely

dangerous.

Even if you don’t drive a car equipped with Bluetooth and a fancy computer screen, your cell phone is loaded with distractions that can easily lead to a serious accident. Distracted driving is a leading cause of accidents that killed nearly 3,500 drivers in 2015 and injured 391,000.

Anything that diverts your attention from safe driving – texting, talking on the phone, fiddling with the stereo, entertainment or navigation system – is distracted driving. You simply cannot drive safely unless the task of driving has your full attention. Any activity that takes your eyes off the road for even a few seconds is extremely risky. At 55 miles per hour, a 5-second lapse in attention is like driving the full length of a football field with your eyes closed.

Many states now have laws that prohibit texting, talking on a cell phone or other distractions while driving, but of course, laws are not enough to prevent those activities. But just like apps contribute to distracted driving, other free apps exist to limit or block activities that lead to inattentive driving. Check out some of these options:

Helpful apps  

LifeSaver

LifeSaver  uses GPS technology to block the ability to use your phone while driving. It can also notify your loved ones once you’ve arrived safely at your destination. Features include a “driver portal” for parents to set up rewards for their teen children when they demonstrate safe driving. But it’s not just helpful for young drivers and their parents. Commercial fleet managers can use it to monitor their drivers’ on-the-road behavior.

 

Mojo

Mojo runs in the background and tracks every mile you drive. You receive an overall Mojo score based on how many times you swipe, type and take calls on your cell phone. For every minute you drive without giving in to cell phone distractions, you earn one point. After 300 points (5 hours of undistracted driving) you earn a chance to win a $5 gift card. Ideal for teen drivers, users can compete with friends to determine who’s the safest driver.

 

TrueMotion Family

 

TrueMotion Family gives a “trip score” each time you’re behind the wheel, pinpointing exact moments when you may have been driving distracted. You can compare driving scores with family members, see a family member’s exact location on the road in real time and track their trip history. This is a helpful app for parents of newer teenage drivers. It’s also useful in encouraging every driver in the family to resist driving distractions, as the app can help drivers be accountable to each other.

 

AT&T DriveMode

 

If you have AT&T mobile service, AT&T's DriveMode app blocks any phone talking or texting while driving. The app can be set to automatically start when your speed reaches 15 miles per hour. The app can notify you if your teen driver deactivates the app, or if certain settings are changed.

Do Not Disturb for iPhone

New with iOS 11 for the iPhone, the Do Not Disturb app senses that you might be driving and prevents notifications. If you tap “Turn On While Driving,” the app will automatically start when your iPhone connects to your car via Bluetooth, or when your phone senses driving motion. To operate it manually, you turn on the function from the phone’s “control center.” Or you can swipe up from the bottom of the screen and tap the car icon to turn the feature on or off.

How to select a safe driving app

When choosing an app to help curb distracted driving, consider the following features:

·      Is the app compatible with your phone?

·      If you have an on-board computer screen, can the app sync via Bluetooth?

·      Can it block text messaging and phone calls?

·      Can it track the miles you’ve driven safely?

·      If you have teen drivers, will it send notifications from your teen’s car?

·      Does it offer rewards for distraction-free, safe driving?

·      Is the app from a reputable company and is it updated regularly?

Take it to the next level

If you feel strongly about distracted driving, you can do more than practice safe driving behind the wheel. You can be an advocate in your community by doing the following:

·      Support state and local safe driving laws.

·      Speak out about safe driving at community meetings.

·      Reach out to high schools to help teach and promote safe teen driving.

·      Highlight the dangers of distracted driving on social media.

Little changes in daily habits can produce big savings

Note: This is a blog post I wrote for my client SelectQuote and that published on Jan. 2, 2018.

You’ve survived the big spending season known as the holidays and may be dismayed at the state of your finances – credit card bills due, depleted funds in your savings account and a general feeling of being broke. Welcome to January. 

If you’re like many people who make New Year’s resolutions, you may be dreaming about ending the cycle of spending too much with a firm resolve to increase your savings. Take courage – it’s not as hard as you may think. Here are some practical tips on how to live on less and save more in 2018:

Sign Up for Free Customer Rewards Programs

Plenty of retailers, online as well as actual stores, offer rewards for shopping at their business. These are discounts, rebates and special sales just for members of the club. The down side is having your inbox filled with offers, sometimes several times a week or even daily, from a single retailer. There’s a way to control the influx of messages, however, if you create a special email address on Google or Yahoo just for these offers. 

Then when you need to purchase items, open your designated mailbox and look for deals. Resist browsing for sales when you don’t actually need to buy some random item offered at a great price. Impulse buying defeats the goal, which is purposeful saving. 

Pause for 24 Hours

When you do come across something you think you have to buy this very minute, resist the temptation to engage in retail therapy to give yourself an emotional boost. The lure of the merchandise – an electronic gadget, an article of clothing, a new CD – will produce only momentary joy. All you really buy is something you most likely don’t need and that will chip away at your cash or add to your credit card bill. 

Instead, wait for a day and think it over. If you still believe you need the item, instant gratification is probably not driving your decision. On day two, shop for the very best deal you can find on the item and go ahead and buy it. 

Control Your Grocery Shopping

Strongly consider using cash only when shopping for groceries. It’s a well-known retail fact that you’ll spend about 30 percent more when you’re in a store with a credit or debit card. Instead, do a little research on what you’ve spent over the past few months for groceries and set a weekly grocery budget. Then get that much cash and plan a weekly shopping trip. 

Check the ads for items on sale, plan your meals accordingly and make a list, following the layout of your grocery store. Then when filling up your basket, keep a mental tally – or use a calculator – to stay within your cash means. Stick to your list. Plan your grocery trips carefully to avoid times when you’re rushed and desperate for groceries – or worse, hungry –when the impulse purchases kick in. Use any leftover cash each week to roll over to the next week’s grocery shopping. If you still have a surplus at the end of the month, reward yourself with lunch or dinner out.   

Use the Library

If you’ve been a stranger to your local library in recent years, reacquaint yourself with all it offers. LIbraries have more than books – music CDs, movies and TV series on DVD, audio books, games, puzzles, computer games, toys, special interest clubs and even free classes. All paid for with your tax dollars, but at no cost when you walk in the door. 

You don’t even have to actually visit some libraries to take advantage of conveniences such as electronic books delivered right to your tablet or computer, or streaming music and movies. Stop in your local library, sign up for a card and discover all it has to offer, which is plenty of free entertainment and education.

Carry Your Lunch 

Spending $10 a couple of times a week on lunch doesn’t seem like much, but it does add up to a big chunk of money. Buying a $10 lunch once a week costs you about $490 a year, while a daily $10 lunch habit will add up to $2,450 per year, based on an average work year of 49 weeks. Add 50 percent more if you work in a metro area where lunch out averages $15. That equals $735 a year for a once-a-week lunch, or $3,675 a year for a daily restaurant habit. 

You can carry your lunch from home for a fraction of the cost, generally about $3 a day. Pack it the night before and vary the menu to avoid the same old, same old boredom. Rotate sandwiches with salads, soups and leftovers to keep your lunchbox more interesting and check cooking websites for brown-bag inspiration. 

Recommit to a Savings Plan

Maybe you’ve always had good intentions of saving X percent of your paycheck, but real life got in the way and it doesn’t happen on a regular basis. Start the New Year right by paying yourself first, which is classic sound financial advice. Automate a monthly transfer of funds from your checking account to a savings or investment account. 

If you’re saving for a specific purpose – a vacation, new furniture, a car – determine exactly how much you need to save each week to meet your goal. If you do get a pay raise this year, discipline yourself to increase your weekly savings to include half of your raise. Enjoy the rest of your pay hike, as you earned it, but keep focused on your goal and enjoy watching the results of your ongoing savings habit.  

Try a few of these tips and enjoy the benefits of spending less and saving more, without really feeling any pain. How many more ways can you discover to boost your bottom line?