Let's start the re-launch of my blog with a simple premise. If you are going to spend your hard-earned money, don't you want to do make sure you're always getting the best possible deal (i.e. - not wasting money)?
As many of you know, I've been a connoisseur of "good deals" for quite some time. And I love sharing these good deals with my friends, which is one of the purposes of this blog.
Whether it's "deals" or other personal finance (such as travel tips), that's what I intend to share here. So if you're interested, read on ...
Ultimately, to get the "best deal" all the time, I've found a few key items. I'll list and describe them briefly here, and then add links to deeper discussions of various topics - as I have time to add to each. I'll also link to other websites, as I am certainly NOT anywhere close to being the first person to tackle most of these topics. I'm just hoping that my "endorsement" and/or explanations of some of these topics might end up helping out some friends (or friends-of-friends!)**.
THE KEY COMPONENTS OF GETTING THE BEST DEAL:
A) Get the best possible price! Duh. I'll expand on some thoughts of how to do this later, but it goes without saying that any money you might be able to save is only the best possible deal if you start with the lowest possible price(s).
B) Price isn't always the only key factor. For now, an example will have to suffice. Take groceries. Is it really practical to only buy items at whatever grocery (or club) store that is currently selling each particular item at the lowest possible price (especially after taking sales and coupons into account)? Of course not, as convenience and the value of your time are important too! I'm sure other websites have strategies on this particular topic, and maybe I'll get around to it and/or link to one of those websites soon.
C) Other than saving money, don't change WHAT you buy. Said another way, you don't want to offset any benefit from savings by spending on things you wouldn't buy otherwise. If anything on this blog causes you to want to spend more money than you should be (especially on credit cards) ... then RUN AWAY!!
D) Have a CREDIT CARD STRATEGY! If you can handle buying with credit cards (you have good credit, you ALWAYS pay off your credit cards every month, and using cards don't tempt you to buy stuff you shouldn't - see "C" above), then you should make sure you're maximizing the rewards/benefits available to you. You can read more about this topic on my blog via THIS LINK.
E) Take advantage of credit card sign-up bonuses. This follows item "D" above. Credit cards (again - if you can handle them!!) can be a great source of not only savings on an ongoing basis (in the form of rewards or cash-back), but also can be VERY lucrative for the sign-up bonuses that banks and credit card companies hand out to new customers. Of course, there's all sorts of implications of things you need to think about (such as your credit score and annual fees on the cards), and I'll tackle those soon. But there are some GREAT deals out there for credit card signups (and occasionally some AMAZING limited-time sign-up deals that I will be sure to try to highlight).
F) Use "cash back" websites (in addition to credit card rewards) to maximize savings. Before you buy anything online, you should be aware of the many "cash back" websites. Almost all online retailers pay websites for directing traffic (potential buyers) to their websites. If you buy, the website that sent you (whether it's a search engine or a cash back website) usually gets a kick-back from the retailer for sending you. The beauty of the cash back websites is that they share the savings with you!! Why pass up on this free money. To read MUCH more about this topic, click THIS LINK.
**Full disclosure: Some things (or links) from this website have the potential to financially benefit me. I will always endeavor to only present you with the best possible deals and advice, and I will try to let you know when/where I stand to benefit (unless it is so small and innocuous that I don't want to waste either of our time). But the primary goal of this website will always be to save you money!! Please let me know if you ever have any feedback or concerns. Thanks!
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