It’s Halloween. That wonderful holiday that combines all of my least favorite things—candy, the outdoors, fun. Luckily, we’ve divvied up the parenting duties so my husband takes the kids around the neighborhood and I take … oh, you know, scheduling, homework, paperwork, birthday parties, lunch accounts, flu shots, teacher appreciation, seasonal clothing swaps, and college savings.
Sounds about right.
To celebrate, I put together a list of five favorite (sugar-free!) financial treats and one devilish financial trick …
TREATS
Free stuff
Forget sugar-free, how about just free free? Who loves free stuff? This gal. There’s no such thing as a free lunch? Debatable. Despite taking a couple of week-long family trips per year—trips, not vacations—I don’t think we’ve paid for a hotel room in years (thank you, American Express and Hilton). Go get yours!
Aldi
God bless those Germans. When I was a kid, generic grocery products got a bad rap. Mostly because they looked, well, generic:
These days, private label products or store brands are not the black and white cardboard boxes of yesteryear and even, dare I say it, have some cachet (thank you, Trader Joe’s). Aldi is one of those private label grocers. It’s a great chain. For those of you who can’t be bothered with clipping coupons or tracking sales or scouring the “we made too much!” shelf (and I occasionally do all of those things), I guarantee shopping there will save you money. Yay, money!
This
I told you I check the “scratch and dent” shelf (its got lots of different names). For the record, no scratches or dents.
Used clothes for kids (and mom)
Kids have no concept of hygiene or of personal space. Which is why I stopped buying new clothes long ago. Do you know my favorite place in Madison? It’s a local thrift store outlet called Dig & Save. A thrift store outlet? Yes, sister. Exactly what that sounds like. Stuff that the regular thrift store couldn’t sell. The place is magic. Granted, it’s not for everyone … say, people with allergies, but if you have time and a good eye, you can outfit your entire household (fashionably!) for pennies on the dollar. Man, I kinda want to go there right now.
Things in bulk
Bulk cooking—you cook dinner one night and have dinners for days! Bulk shopping—when non-perishable items you always need are on sale, stock up! Bulk car payments—pay for the vehicle upfront in cash and you save all the auto loan interest! Look for opportunities to leverage bulk.
ONE BIG FAT TRICK
Egg pricing
OK, maybe not egg pricing per se. But egg pricing as a proxy for all the things out there that confuse you or make it more difficult to make the right financial decision. I can’t tell you how long I spent at Target looking at the egg cooler:
A dozen large eggs … $2.79. A dozen extra large eggs (i.e. more egg matter) … $1.19? I’m thinking, what’s the catch? Of course, I’m going to buy the extra large eggs. In fact, I’m going to buy ALL the extra large eggs and then stand at the cooler and sell them for $1.99 to all the people who want large eggs.
By the way, Aldi? Just one egg size for sale.
If you’re confused or unsure about some financial matter, someone designed it as such and is likely profiting off that fact. And it’s not just eggs. It’s everything from is this bulk coffee a good deal per oz? to what kind of mortgage should I get? to where should I invest my IRA? If you’re confused or unsure, hit the pause button. Educate yourself. Ask lots of questions. Demand satisfaction.
Who’s scared? I’m not scared.
Love these all these treats and heads up on the trick. The price per oz, per sheet or sq ft, per unit, etc is the biggest mistake I see people make. Especially as orange juice has gone from half gallon to 59 oz or ice cream from gallon to 1.5 qts and many other examples like that.
One caveat on the bill auto loan payment! Especially as interest rates rise, if you can fined a better use for your money than the interest you’re paying that could be a better option. I bought a car two months ago, got a 2.49% interest rate for 5 years. Of course I can pay it off sooner if I want but I can take that cash and potentially find a 5 year interest bearing account or bind that earns more than that (after factoring in income tax) and voila I’m making money on my loan.
Trevor-a good point! Two comments: 1) that is a very low rate when the average auto loan rate right now is probably closer to 2x that … at 4 or 4.5%, I’m not sure I could find an equivalent investment from a tax / risk standpoint and 2) I hope you did not get your loan through the car dealer. Paying all cash gives you leverage when negotiating the sale price. If you’re using dealer financing, the dealer will likely take the profit of the whole transaction into account (sale + financing) when haggling, and at the end of the day, who knows what you’re really paying for each? (spoiler: they know)
Great point, Grace! I didn’t finance through the dealership. In true LBYM fashion I financed through a credit union that was offering 3.49% at the time but lowered my rate to 2.49% by opening a free checking account and no annual fee credit card, which I then get a 10k points bonus for a minimum spend in the first three months (which of course I pay off in full each month). I did this to gain leverage on the cash price in the dealership. Also in LBYM fashion, I bought I found a very slightly used 2018 Mazda CX-5 that was traded in at an Audi dealership by someone who decided they wanted to go fancier. So I got the car I’ve been wanting, actually a model year newer, but saved 30% on it because I was willing to get a “used” car. I HATE paying too much for depreciating assets so this was the perfect option for me, whether I keep the car and ride it out or sell it in a few years before the next big drop off in depreciation.
P.S. Apologies for all the autocorrect typos!
Ladies and gentlemen, presenting Trevor—available now to make large purchases on your behalf :-D!