Twila Van Leer

Save Money At Costco

March 19, 2018 by Twila Van Leer

Large families have obvious advantages when they shop Costco. But if you are single and haven’t much living space to store your bulk purchases, is it worthwhile?

It can be if you share the advantage with a friend. Split up bulk packages of essentials such as toilet paper, paper towels, laundry products and other items that you buy routinely and you’ll both save money.

Costco Pricing Strategies

You can learn the Costco pricing codes that will tell you if an item is specially priced, discounted or not considered for restocking. In general, according to HubPages, the codes go like this:

Price Changes

• Prices that end in $0.97 have been marked down from their original price.
• Prices ending in $0.99 indicate the original price.
• Other odd pricing such as $0.49, $0.79 or 0.89, are generally attached to regular-priced items.
• If there is an asterisk (star) in the upper right corner of the price sign, that means the item will not be reordered. Stock up if it’s one of your favorites.
• If the store manager has marked an item down to move the product faster, the price will likely end in a combination such as $0.88 or $0.00.

Costco Coupons

Watch for Costco coupons. The store issues a monthly coupon book as well as the Costco mobile APP. Don’t bother clipping coupons. The cashier has copies at the register and will scan them when you purchase the discounted item.

End Of Season Sales

Buy seasonal items before the season is over. Costco makes massive markdowns on such things as patio furniture and pool toys to free up room for the next season’s specials. After Christmas is an especially good time to look for bargains.

Things You Can Buy Without A Membership

Even if you are not a card-carrying Costco member, you can buy alcohol at Costco stores in some states, and pharmacy and immunizations are available to you., as are eye and hearing exams. You can obtain a Cash Card without signing up for an annual membership. Such a card, however, must be obtained or reloaded by a member.

Aside from the bulk goods that you have in mind when you join Costco, there are deals that go beyond groceries, such as store and restaurant gift cards, movie tickets and local theme park tickets.

Eating out, especially with a family, is a budget-buster, but there are inexpensive alternatives at the Costco food court, such as the $1.50 hot-dog-and-soda specials or the $10 pizza

Kirkland products, the Costco store brand, offer great deals for quality food and grocery goods. Many of them come from the same name-brand sources as the items you’ll find at greater cost.
Make a list before shopping. Without one, you may be tempted to fill up the cart when you had just a few items in mind. And partake freely of free samples. The companies that made them want the store to pass out as many free samples as people will eat.

Are Cryptocurrencies Safe

March 12, 2018 by Twila Van Leer

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have been making headlines recently, mostly laced with warnings that they might be more conducive to fraud than regular currency.

They are scams just waiting to happen, according to some experts. Ponzi schemes and other frauds involving Bitcoin are being investigated across the country, some of them targeting retirement accounts.

The number of daily transactions have been falling in 2018, likely based on the concerns. As the year began, the number was at 421,000. By the end of February, they were down to 191,000, according to the Bitcoin.com website. The price at its peak was in December when it was $19,180.22 per share. Currently, it is worth $10, 869.77. The numbers indicate that a Crypto recession is brewing, experts say.

JPMorgan Chase experts says the possible results of the changing Bitcoin market are not clear, but “Increased competition also may require the bank to make additional capital investments in its businesses or to extend more of its capital on behalf of its clients to remain competitive.” In others words, the banks might have to join Crypto before they can beat Crypto.

Investors are being warned about promoters who promise high returns through Bitcoin arbitrage or trading strategies. Particularly, they should “think twice” before picking up an offer for a chance to get in on “initial coin offerings” in which the investor receives new cryptocurrencies in exchange for an investment of actual money.

People who are technology savvy and connected may be more vulnerable to the potential scams. Many fall for the internet hype without fully understanding the complexities of Bitcoin as mediums of exchange created and stored electronically in a process known as the “blockchain.”

They have no physical form and typically are not backed by tangible assets. Investments are not insured or controlled by a central bank or other governmental authority and cannot always be exchanged for other commodities. Cryptocurrency investments are vulnerable to computer hacking and subject to wild price fluctuations.

Bottom line: Beware of unsolicited sales pitches, guarantees of investment returns that seem too good to be true and pressure to complete transactions in a hurry.

Ways Seniors Can Save Money

March 9, 2018 by Twila Van Leer

Seniors Save Money — Millions of America’s senior citizens are looking for ways to save money now that they are living on retirement income.

Millions of America’s senior citizens are looking for ways to save money now that they are living on retirement income. There are things they can do, including:

• Cut the cord on monthly cable costs. You could save up to $100 per month or more by switching to Netflix or Amazon Prime Video subscriptions. But you can avoid even those fees by switching to an antenna that can relay news, weather, sitcoms, cooking shows, kid’s shows, sports and movies for free. Most broadcast stations offer additional regional programming free. The Clear View antenna, for example, is one that attaches to your current TV antenna jack. The new antennas are greatly improved from your old “rabbit ears.” Look at the option that will best serve you.
• If you are traveling, there are many discounts that will cut the costs. Many hotels and motels routinely offer discounts for seniors, usually in the range of 10 to 15 percent. Shop around a little before settling on away-from-home accommodations. Booking.com can help you find the most economical choices.
• If you own your home, investing in a home security system could save you money on insurance. Savings of 10 to 20 percent are offered by some insurance companies to clients who install a high-functioning home alarm system. Some alarm companies also offer perks for the purchase of their systems. An alarm system also has the benefit of putting seniors within easy reach of help in an emergency.
• Cruise lines provide a huge variety of discounts for seniors. Check and compare among the leading cruise providers to see where you can get the best deals. A little time spent researching could make your vacation funds go a lot further.
• A lot of the top retailers give senior discounts. Each store decides on when the discount kicks in, some setting the limit at 50 years old and others at 55 or 60. Some of the retailers have regular days on which seniors are treated to discounts. Don’t be shy about asking.

What Do You Want For Retirement

February 26, 2018 by Twila Van Leer

How Much Cash Do You Want In Retirement?

Ever tried to calculate how much money you would like to have to live on in the way you want to in retirement? Fifty thousand a year? $150,000? Maybe $500,000?

If you want to try to figure it out, subtract out income you currently have from your job and any other income sources. Divide the figure by .04 to see what assets it would take to support that level of annual income. Many financial planners use the .04 figure based on experience that says you could withdraw 4 percent of your money each year and put it into an account that would generate enough, over time, to maintain its value after calculating for inflation.

For example, if you think you would need to make $80,000 per year to live as you like. In fact, you only work part-time and make $20,000 per year. You assume that you can expect about $15,000 per year in Social Security. Take the $80,000 and subtract $35,000 and you’ll have $45,000. Divide that by the .04 and you’ll have a figure of $1,125,000. That’s the amount you would need to earn the other $65,000 from your investments if you want never to run out of money.

The next factor you need to decide on is when you will be wanting the money. If you are 30 and want to retire at 65, you have 35 years to get the money lined up. Use an online calculator such as calculators online, to figure it out how much in monthly savings you will need to reach the goal. Such a calculator also can guide you in different scenarios, showing how long it will take to reach your goals under different savings and investing plans.

Assuming an 8 percent return on your investments, you’d have to set aside $754.85 per month until retirement. (If you had started at age 25, the amount would be only $322.26 per month. If you had begun at 18, the monthly cost would have been $181.09. That’s the power of compounding.)

If you aren’t expecting to leave anything to family or friends, a charitable remainder trust could be a great choice. The savings figure would be much lower because this model assumes that you would maintain the $1,125,000 fund in perpetuity.

Many financial planners will estimate your lifespan and create a program that will see your money run out at your 85th birthday, or longer.

You can expedite your goal by saving more each month. Say $300 per month extra could help you arrive at the goal much, much earlier, possibly decades. That may take some sacrifice – a used vehicle instead of new, fewer meals out, less expensive clothing, etc. Your priorities are your own and no one can make this decision except you. But as a rule of thumb, the more you are willing to give up early on, the fast your will reach the goal. Avoiding unnecessary debt is one of the objectives you should set early and stick with.

Try to look ahead as much as you can. If your part of the country appears to be headed for depressed conditions, move to a place where the economic picture is more rosy. If that seems drastic, consider: If you are not willing to be inconvenienced for the chance of a better life, then you must be content to live in poverty.

Making a good beginning toward your retirement goals is wise. Passing up car ownership into your 20s may save you the costs of upkeep, fuel and insurance. Instant gratification can be costly.

Take Dow Drops Seriously

February 13, 2018 by Twila Van Leer

In recent weeks, the Down Jones Industrial Average, one of the indicators of how well the country’s investing is going, has dropped twice by more than 1,000 points in a single week.

What should you, as an investor, do? It’s natural to be nervous when it is possible more dips are in store. Mistakes in this kind of market could lead to even bigger mistakes in the future.

Take a lead from multi-millionaire Warren Buffett, whose holdings have declined in value by an 11-figure amount over the past week. He isn’t unhappy about it and sees it as the normal rise and fall of the market. He anticipates more attractive entry points to stock investments and a better chance to find a reasonably priced acquisition, a “more palatable stock price to consider implementing a buyback.”

If you aren’t as knowledgeable as Buffett, rely on past history. Market corrections are common, healthy occurrences that should be embraced as long-term opportunities.

Here are three approaches that will keep your investments safe while the market readjusts:

Use dollar-cost averaging. Many people do this routinely. You invest a fixed amount of money on a regular basis into shares of stock or a mutual fund. Your 401(k) contributions, for instance, are an automatic form of dollar-cost averaging. Making regular deposits to a mutual fund or brokerage account is another way to dollar-cost average. Under this scenario, when stock prices fall, your fixed dollar amount buys more shares. It automatically helps you take greater advantage of corrections by purchasing more shares than you could have before the price drop.

Invest some now and some later. During the recent bull market, many people grew their amounts of cash. Not being able to predict if the current down-trend will than lead to a full bear market, be wary of investing everything now. You may get it wrong. One solution is to invest only a portion of your available money now, depending on your risk tolerance. Consider investing a third now, another third six months from now and retain the rest until you see how the market is trending by then.

Give your savings a bump. Though its emotionally easier to put your money to work in the market, it may pay during the term of a down-time to increase savings while stock prices are weakening so that you can begin to invest again when the time is right.

Market downturns can allow you to forget the reason you’re investing in the first place – to have enough money to meet long-term goals such as retirement. Get past the panic and stay focused on the future. Things will change.