FitSugar

Motivation to Workout: Cancellation Fees Apply

FitSugar — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 09:30:00 PDT

We have all had those appointments that if you don't show up, you will be charged a fee. While it can be annoying, I never miss an appointment with a cancellation fee. No matter what.

Why not think about treating your scheduled workout as an appointment with cancellation fees. You wouldn't miss if a personal trainer were there, so respect yourself as much as you would a trainer.

If you cancel a scheduled workout (in your mind or on paper), then penalize yourself with something. Nothing too big, because you don't want to be too hard on yourself (things happen), but perhaps something small such as no dessert after dinner or no TV.

My friend and her husband penalize each other with a 'cancel jar' and every time one of them doesn't work out when they said they would, the one who cancels has to put $5 in a jar. At the end of 6 months, the person who has canceled the fewest amount of times gets to spend the money however they wish.

Source

Savvy Tip: Keep Your Credit Card's Offer Letter

Leta Shy — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 07:52:07 PST

I'm usually wary about pre-approved credit offers and I take pains to opt out of the ones I receive in the mail. But every once in a while, for better or for worse, one slips through. I recently received one that caught my eye: 50,000 reward points for spending just $500 on American Express.

Since I pay off my credit card balances, hadn't applied for a credit card in a while, and am not applying for a loan anytime soon, I decided to open this one. After all, the annual fee is waived for the first year (and I can cancel at any time), and the amount of points offered is high - enough for round-trip airline tickets or $500 in gift cards.

I plan on using my card for some of my holiday shopping and then paying it off before the balance is due. Are you also in the market for a good rewards card to rack up points while buying all those gifts? Read on for my tip to make sure you get the points you deserve.

3 Places to Find Debit Cards That Won't Charge Usage Fees

Emily Co — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 05:00:16 PDT

Many are unhappy with the debit card fees introduced by banks that want to reap more profit from their customers. I'm sure by now you've heard about the $5 monthly fee Bank of America is planning on charging for debit card usage. Other banks plan to follow suit and consumers have been lashing back, threatening to cancel their accounts.

According to a SavvySugar poll, 91 percent of readers are unwilling to pay the extra debit card fees and will resort to methods such as using a credit card or cash. About 44 percent say they plan on switching banks to avoid paying fees.

If you're looking for a debit card that won't charge you for your swipes, here are three suggestions:

PayPal: If you already have a PayPal account, you might want to consider the PayPal Debit MasterCard. The debit card will tap into your funds in your account or the bank account that's synced with your PayPal. There are no fees when using this card with businesses that accept MasterCard. Keep in mind that there are fees for withdrawing money from ATMs, unless it's a Maestro or Cirrus ATM. You'll also be charged fees if you use the card when you're out of the country.

ING Direct: ING Direct customers not only get decent interest rates (0.3 to one percent for checking accounts, depending on the amount of money in the account), but they can also opt for a relatively fee-free debit card. You won't get charged when you use your debit card to purchase items and there are over 35,000 ATMs around the country that allow for fee-free withdrawals. To get the card, all you need to do is sign up for a checking account with ING. You'll also be charged foreign transaction fees with this card. If you're not an ING Direct account holder, be sure to check out other online banks - they will likely offer similar deals.

Read on to find out more.

Do One Thing: Consolidate Your Credit Card Debt Onto One Card

Bundle — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 13:15:17 PDT

We're thrilled to present this smart Bundle story here on Savvy!

Struggling under a pile of credit card bills? Reducing your multiple monthly payments to one may seem tempting. Just one payment to keep track of! Just one balance! If you're in the market for decluttering your finances, walk this way.

This is for you: If you're juggling multiple credit card payments every month and would rather make one payment on one large balance.

This isn't for you: If you don't have your spending under control. Consolidating your debt only makes sense if you have a sensible payoff plan. If you're still charging things to plastic and adding to your debt every month, moving your debt around won't make a bit of difference - and reducing your monthly payments could actually make you feel like you have the license to charge more. Get your spending under control before embarking on this plan.

Hands-on time: Less than two hours to research cards, apply for a card, and transfer your balances onto that card.

Total time: Up to a few weeks for the balances to transfer from your old cards to your new one.

Cost: $0 if you're really, really lucky, but probably 3 to 5 percent of the balances you're transferring-that's the average balance transfer fee being charged these days. As long as you're lowering the total interest rate on your debt by more than 3 to 5 percent, you're saving money in the end. (If you're moving the balance to a card with a similar interest rate, you won't save money. Consider how much you're paying for the convenience of one monthly payment.)

Read on to find out how to consolidate your credit card debt.

Dance Through Wedding Season on a Budget

LearnVest — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 00:15:00 PDT

We're thrilled to present this smart LearnVest story here on Savvy!

Flowers, dresses, friends, yummy food, cake, and dancing. What’s not to like about weddings? Well, just one little thing: its drain on our bank accounts.

Getting married is a big deal, and you want to be there to celebrate with your friends. But that often entails shelling out for an engagement gift, a shower present, the bachelorette party, the wedding gift, a dress to wear, the right shoes–plus, hotel and transportation if the wedding isn’t local.

Multiply that by the number of weddings you have in a year, and your friends’ nuptials can put you in the poorhouse.

Make your way through wedding season gracefully while going easy on your budget with these tips:

Gifts 1. Be The First Person On The Registry

“Get in on the registry early so you have the widest variety of price points available,” says Amy Eisinger, associate editor of WeddingChannel.com. This way you won’t be stuck with the $800 mixer or the $10 napkin holders.

2. Buy A Registry Item-From Another Site

One of our staffers loves this savvy tip. Registries are often just a representation of what the couple is in need of, and they may not be wedded to the exact version they selected. Search online for a gift from the registry to see if you can find the same or similar item for a lower price. After you’ve placed your order, go back to the registry and mark the item as fulfilled. Don’t use this tip for the patterned china, of course-stick with items that are likely to be more generic, like towels or kitchen appliances.

3. Go In On Group Gifts

Team up with a few friends to get a present beyond your budget. Perhaps each of you pitches in $100 to get them a few nights at a B&B for a getaway weekend, or you each drop $50 to get them a couples massage.

4. Buy In Bulk

This one is a bit trickier. There aren’t that many things you can buy in bulk that you’d actually give as a wedding gift, but we did think of one great wedding season standby: champagne. Get a discount case, and it can be your no-brainer go-to gift for showers, engagement parties, and other wedding events.

For more ways to save your bucks during this pricey wedding season, read on.

How-To: Continue Saving Travel Dollars After You've Booked and Paid

Emily Co — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 13:00:58 PDT

Scouring for deals before you make your purchase is always smart, but you can save even more if you go the extra mile and get some money back after you've booked. Here are some savvy tips to get you more savings after you've forked up cash:

Air Travel: You can save more money on air tickets if the price of the flight goes down. Get refunded the difference when you buy your ticket from airlines like JetBlue, Alaska Airlines, and Southwest. Some airlines will charge an extra fee because they will consider it to be changing reservations. AirTran and Virgin, for example, charge $75, and American and United charge $150. An easy way to keep track of the changing airline prices is to use online price tracker Yapta.com, which will do the work for you and send you refund alerts when your fare has gone down. Be sure to also check out Yapta's other cool feature that keeps track of the flights that you're interested in buying and sends you alerts when the price drops.
Rental Car: Although Yapta tracks rental-car fares, there is an even better site that will do most of the work for you. It's called autoslash.com; it basically books the car for you, checks around for a cheaper price, then emails you when it finds a lower rate. If you want to go with the lower rate, it will rebook it for you.
Hotels: Pick a hotel with a good refund policy or one that allows you to cancel without any penalties if you want to get your money back when you spot a lower rate on a hotel.Then use Yapta as a price-tracking system for hotels, which alerts you when the price of a hotel drops. If the rate does decrease, you can just cancel your reservation and make a new one. You can generally cancel your hotel booking if you don't pay up front for your reservation, but be sure to read the fine print because every hotel has different policy.
Bonus: Alternatively, if you book through travel sites, you can get some sort of price guarantee for your flight, hotel room, and rental car. Keep in mind that every site has different requirements. For hotel stays, Orbitz will refund you the difference and give you a $50 credit if you find the same room at the same hotel and dates at a cheaper price elsewhere. However, the claim has to be submitted before the hotel applies cancellation fees (which requires paying attention to hotel policies) and only works with rates that have the "Low Price Guarantee" or “Price Assurance.” Travelocity, Expedia, and Priceline all have some sort of price guarantee with some differences, so don't assume that the same policy will apply to the other sites.