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Recession 2.0: Single Mom "Fears Future"
Tweet Share on Facebook November 20, 2008 Comment (1)This single mom from Colorado responds to the question: How has the financial crisis affected you?
The economy is affecting the non-profit where I work. Donations have dropped noticeably, and I assume this drop will continue and worsen. People who do give money in tough times tend to give more to organizations such as local food banks, Red Cross, Salvation Army, etc. The organization for which I work does great things around the world but not usually in humanitarian/relief areas.
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Podcast: Surviving on a Teacher's Salary
Tweet Share on Facebook November 19, 2008 Comment (6)For this week's Alpha Consumer Podcast, I interviewed Danny Kofke, author of How to Survive (and Perhaps Thrive) on a Teachers Salary. The concept appealed to me because so many people—including nonteachers—are trying to get by on less right now. Kofke's strategy includes saving up money in advance before big purchases. Before he and his wife purchased their first home, for example, they set aside money each month for years. The same goes for televisions.
Surviving on a Teacher's Salary
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Kofke also says no to things he can't afford, including things he'd like to buy, such as dance lessons for his young daughter. Part of his approach involves passing on the lessons of frugality and thrift to his kids.
You can also pick up the Alpha Consumer Tip of the Week on battling shopping addictions, which get worse around the holidays. The top suggestion: Ask friends for help, even it means admitting to some embarrassing behavior.
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Recession 2.0: No More Nights Out
Tweet Share on Facebook November 19, 2008 Comment (2)Jennifer, a writer for The Next Rich Girl who lives in Baltimore, responds to the question: How has the financial crisis affected you?
Recession 2.0 hit me hard and fast, long before news of foreclosures and bailouts started headlining the nightly news.
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Video: Get a Better Deal
Tweet Share on Facebook November 19, 2008 Comment (1)Here's the video segment from Channel 9 News in Washington, where I negotiated deals at the farmer's market as well as on a homeowners' insurance bill. It's often just as simple as asking for a discount.
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Fast Action Follows Recall
Tweet Share on Facebook November 18, 2008 Comment (3)According to the Agriculture Department, several types of Lean Cuisine meals may contain "foreign materials" that could be deadly. The recall applies to frozen chicken meals, including pesto chicken with bow tie pasta and chicken Mediterranean. At least one consumer has reported an injury from small pieces of plastic found in the meals.
One of my colleagues tells me that her grocery store, Harris Teeter, has already given her a call warning her about the recall since she has purchased Lean Cuisine meals recently. Giant Food has also issued a recall.
Curiously, I cannot find any reference to the recalls on Lean Cuisine's website. If your retailer acted quickly to warn you about the risk, please let us know.
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Recession 2.0: Living Within Means
Tweet Share on Facebook November 18, 2008 Comment (2)SVB from The Digerati Life responds to the question: How is the financial crisis affecting you?
So how are we coping during this recession? To be honest, we're much more affected by the slowdown than we'd like to be. Here's our situation: We're both self-employed—my spouse left his job two years ago to launch a start-up, while I quit my job around eight months ago to pursue a full-time career in "blogging" (or, as I would euphemistically call it, a stint as an accidental entrepreneur). Unfortunately, as we both work to build our incomes through our current endeavors, we're seeing ourselves caught in the grip of the economic slump.
Before we tried to strike off on our own a couple of years ago, we decided to give ourselves a year or two to get solvent through our businesses, and if we didn't make it work (have our cash flow equal what we were receiving as full-time employees), then we'd seriously consider returning to salaried jobs or finding additional ways to make money. Well, that two-year allowance has since past, and we're only halfway there. So we're definitely feeling the strain of being new business owners during this current economic period.
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Audio: Wealthy Brace for Obama Taxes
Tweet Share on Facebook November 18, 2008 Comment (1)LISTEN NOW: Wealthy Brace for Obama Taxes
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Over the weekend, I spoke with WTOP about how wealthy people can prepare for potential tax increases under the Obama administration. While President-elect Barack Obama has emphasized that he would not increase taxes for anyone earning less than $250,000, he has also said that he supports tax increases for the wealthiest 2 percent. Those increases would most likely come in the form of income taxes as well as capital-gains taxes.
If you're wealthy enough to fall into that 2 percent category, then you can try to protect your assets by pulling as much income as possible into 2008, which is governed by the current tax codes. Highly paid basketball stars, for example, may want to speed up their contract negotiations so they have those signing bonuses in hand by December 31.
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Beer Habits Go Upscale
Tweet Share on Facebook November 18, 2008 Comment (7)Today's interview with Amy Mittelman, author of Brewing Battles: A History of American Beer, continues the business-of-pleasure series, which explores industries that create products we enjoy. Not included in the published interview: Mittelman's own beverage habits. She says she regularly drinks beer, especially craft brews such as Smutty Nose and High and Mighty, which her friend makes.
Craft beer, made by small, independent brewers, has surged in popularity over the past few years. Do you have a favorite? Or are you sticking with cheaper brews in light of the economy?
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Asking for a Lower Price
Tweet Share on Facebook November 17, 2008 Comment (4)Last week, I spent the morning at a local farmer's market with a shopper working on her negotiating skills for a segment for Channel 9 News. To get the best deal possible, we followed the golden rule of negotiating: Just ask. Simply saying "Could you give me a discount on that?" knocked a couple dollars off each purchase, from jewelry to food.
After buying a salmon dinner and two pairs of earrings for a total of $20, the camera crew and I visited a woman who was trying to get a better deal on her homeowners' insurance. It had gone up by about $20 from the previous year and she wanted to see if she could persuade Allstate to lower the price. So, once again, we called, she asked, and they said yes—they knocked $12 off right away, and offered a bigger discount if she also purchased her auto insurance through the company.
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Twitter with Your Favorite Company
Tweet Share on Facebook November 14, 2008 Comment (4)Do you Twitter? The online tool lets you share your thoughts with the world in 140 characters or less, sort of like a mini-blog entry. And in addition to the social benefits -- you can let all your friends know how you spent your morning -- it may also be the best way to communicate with companies.
Starbucks, for example, updates its Twitter feed regularly, and even uses it to respond to customer questions. In the last day, it gave advice on brewing a proper cup of coffee, announced the company's new book club, and clarified the benefits of its new Gold card. The blogging company Six Apart and cable provider Comcast are also on Twitter. If you've found other companies, please let us know by commenting below.
You can find my own Twitter feed at www.twitter.com/alphaconsumer. Come Tweet with me!
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Alpha Consumer
Kimberly Palmer, senior editor for U.S. News & World Report, writes about making smarter financial decisions. She’s the author of Generation Earn: The Young Professional's Guide to Spending, Investing, and Giving Back.
Generation Earn
Senior editor Kimberly Palmer’s book, Generation Earn: The Young Professional's Guide to Spending, Investing, and Giving Back, is now available.
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