Best things to Buy in December

Okay, so its December, and we are in the last month of the year or as most refer to as Holiday Season (Thanksgiving – Christmas)

And when the holidays come people tend to always spend more $ then planned because they didn’t stick to a list (for groceries, gifts, etc). Well, here’s the good news there are some items you should buy in December in order to get the best deals. I always recommend cleaning out your closets & home twice per year. If your debating what to get rid of here’s a simple guide:

1. If clothes don’t fit (too big/small) they must go – make sure they are clean & then fold them, either donate to a second hand store (Goodwill / Salvation Army), a homeless shelter, church or thrift store.
2. Get rid of duplicates (you do not need 3 weed whackers) & do NOT keep things that are broken & can’t be repaired.
3. Another reason to clean out twice per year is this will help you determine what you need/don’t need (in the winter if you realize you need a bathing suite for next summer its much cheaper to buy in December than June, same things in reverse for winter coats).

I was reading Yahoo Finance and found this article to share with you, also please read the comments as some people have posted great resources for items in the comments of the article.

 

 

Entertaining made Easy

  Photo Source

Here’s a list of ways to make entertaining more fun, easy, & cheaper on your wallet. Entertaining happens all year long, and you can save a lot of $ by entertaining at home. It will cost you and your friends a lot less money than eating out.

Decorating

1. Set your dining room table in advance (also, you could just leave it set regularly and then there’s no need to rush around right beforehand).
2. Place a candle in the table center (scented or unscented- your preference)
3. Use cloth napkins (they’re Eco-friendly, you can use them instead of paper napkins when not entertaining & saves $ on your grocery bills if you replace as I have talked previously about replacing paper napkins with cloth napkins)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo Source – Look over some sources here for Cloth Napkins

4. Make sure to place a pitcher on the table with beverages (ice tea, lemonade, water) That will enable you to spend more time with your guests & less time going back & forth to the kitchen

Food & Dining

1. Try a pot-luck (let everyone bring something so you do not have to do all the cooking ahead of time – and for those of you who don’t cook it will reduce your bill for prepared foods).
2. Try making foods that use several of the same ingredients to reduce your cost
3. Make easy to serve foods like cookies & salads so people can serve themselves

If you have any great tips for entertaining  please share

Awesome Calculator for Savings

This calculator is so easy to use (and it has a graph which helps you visualize your savings better). Click here

and start seeing how much money you could save just by making the savings adjustments.

FREEBIE from Jodie

Okay, so Jodie from The Frugallery is giving away a Freebie this month, she is looking to reach 100 Facebook Likes by the end of the month. Please Facebook Like The Frugallery and you will automatically be entered to win:

“The Game of Life: How to Succeed in Real Life No Matter Where You Land.” – Free to 1 Lucky Winner

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Frugallery/316984508316840

Also, don’t forget to subscribe to The Frugallery

5 DIY projects for < $6

Here, are some easy DIY solutions that don’t break the bank, yay!

If you have any great DIY projects please comment so other readers can share.

I hope these projects let you try some easy DIY projects while building the confidence to tackle more DIY tasks around your home and save on the labor costs.

Credit Score & Your Age

Okay, this is an excerpt from the same article as my prior post, but in case you didn’t read that one here is a chart correlating age with credit score.

Based on data compiled by Credit Karma, there is a correlation between age and average credit scores, with scores rising along with age. According to their data, the average credit score by age is as follows:

Age	Credit Score
18-24	638
25-34	652
35-44	659
45-54	685
55+	724

Factors affecting Your Credit Score

I was just reading a new article on Yahoo about credit scores & I wanted to share it with you. People are often mystified about what makes up that “number”. First of all, unfortunately one must establish credit and that takes time. That’s why I recommend for someone who turns 18 and has just graduated high school to sign up for 1 student credit card. You should never have a parent co-sign as you would never want the parent to be tied that credit card’s payment, debt, etc.

These cards will usually have a low credit line (shoot for something with < than $1,000 credit limit). Only charge things which you can pay in full, like gas for your car and then do this every month to establish credit. By the time you graduate college you will have several years of credit already working in your favor, as long as you make timely payments and pay in full.

Here’s a quick synopsis of the article, which you can read in its entirety here

Five factors are included and weighted to calculate a person’s FICO credit score:

• 35%: payment history
• 30%: amounts owed
• 15%: length of credit history
• 10%: new credit and recently opened accounts
• 10%: types of credit in use

HOA fees

HOA fees are not all comparable. They vary from neighborhood to neighborhood and from houses to condos. However, HOA fees do usually correlate to the amount of amenities covered by the HOA and provided to the homeowner.

Things to consider:

1. Is there a clubhouse or activities you seen when driving through the potential neighborhood you plan to buy in, if so there is probably an HOA fee
2. The more amenities the more costly (pool, tennis, golf course, gated neighborhood, grounds maintenance, etc)
3. Does the HOA cover any insurance?
4. Did you know NO HOA or homeowners insurance covers flood insurance (this is something you will need to purchase separately if you choose to do so).
5. Not all amenities are inclusive, some communities the golf course charges are an additional separate charge on top of the HOA fee  (this of-course does not affect those who do not play golf and plan on joining the golf course membership).
6. Make a priority list of the amenities you want (and not all things are cheaper, take for example a lower cost HOA with no gym and now you have a gym membership cost each month).

Pre- Qualified vs Pre-Approved

Okay, so here is a question a lot of people ask and are often left confused by what’s the difference. Make sure you know otherwise you could LOSE YOUR DREAM HOME!

These 2 terms often leave buyers confused so here is a quick breakdown:

Pre-Qualified means information supplied by you to a lender, no fees charged for a guesstimate on what you could potentially qualify for.

Pre-Approved means lenders require specific documents, delve deep into your personal fiances, debts, assets & determine a mortgage rate & amount they would lend you.  This is NOT FREE and each lender charges a different price, so call around if you like.

Here is a great resource to reference

Fixed is for Everyone

Fixed mortgages are much more simple, as your payment never varies unlike adjustable mortgages and it allows you to accurately budget for your payment everyone month. People argue the case of adjustable often have lower initial interest rates (think a 5/1 arm for example) 5 years will be fixed at a lower rate & then afterwards your rate will soar. This is an awful option because you will be stuck with a payment you probably can’t afford, unless your income has gone up significantly in the 5 years.

Fixed mortgages are the best option for everyone, honestly there is no reason to even consider these adjustable mortgages with today’s interest rates.

Also, remember to find a reputable lender and go read my post on pre-qualified versus pre-approved!

Take care,

Mae