Professional jewelers won't service anything they didn't make and the silver cloth, while effective, is no good if you have respiratory issues. Tried this on .925 silver ring from an that was a great resale find. It already had fine scratching , so what's the harm? In deference to the size difference I lined a large bowl with foil and poured from my water heater . Also substituted baking soda that's for odor control( different size granules). I recommend anyone who wants to preserve any detailing or small amount of patina pull the item out before it looks done and rub the rest off with cloth, as I took a little bit of character off my bargain find. Rinsed it and dipped it in bottom shelf vodka, an excellent disinfectant and jewelry cleaner. The antique earrings I found were vodka dip only, for instance. Thanks for posting!
The best way to eliminate holiday debt is to not have it. I am really crazy about not using credit cards during the holidays. When I was younger I always wanted to get the biggest and baddest gift for everyone - but that landed me thousands of dollars in debt. Now that I have grown up I learned that it's really not the value of the gift that matters, it's the pleasure that comes with finding the perfect gift. This year my boyfriend needs Long John's and he's also getting a bottle of Caramel Vodka...the perfect gifts - for under $50.
I found mystery shopping works well if (i) I can do more than one job on the one trip (ii) I can coincide it with something else.
At the moment, that involves teaching my son to drive. We drive somewhere (to get his hours up), I do the mystery shopper, fill in the survey on my laptop, then drive back. Two birds with one stone! : )
I like point number 4: "Start a Side Gig" - I think one of the most overlooked ways to pay off debt is to earn more! In fact, it's faster than going on a spending diet.
Bread is actually really bad to give to birds. It expands in their stomach and actually has no nutritional value, so a bird with a bread diet will inevitably wind up with malnutrition and die. Please, don't feed birds bread.
I never use a credit card to make holiday purchases, that way I am sure I won't have any holiday debt! I budget throughout the year and move that money to savings just for Christmas!
I tried depositing a bag of coins today at Chase and was told they did not have a change counter, nor did any local branch. "A bank w/o a means to count loose change?" That's an oxymoron. "You are a bank that handles currency whether it's cash or coin... correct? Then I should be able to deposit posse coins, no matter how many. Until coins are no longer an accepted means of currency, banks should be required to have the means to count change for it's customers". Period!
Bottom line is don't go into debt to pay for the Holidays. Spend what you can afford without debt, and no more. Create gifts or cards for people for next to nothing. People who care for you will know not to expect expensive gifts. Anyone who does expect a gift is not worth giving one to.
Seriously? "shop the specs and not the brand when buying your next machine"
This was obviously written by someone with very little experience using laptops. There is a huge difference in the quality of laptops. Spend a little time searching the web for "laptop reliability" before you blindly buy something based on specs.
Yes, Apple laptops cost more than others when you compare them based only on specs. The same way a Cadillac costs more than other cars when you compare based only on the engine. People don't buy Apple for the specs; they buy Apple for the impeccable design.
My favorite gifts this year (I think I already have them pegged from my mom and sister! ;) ) are a toaster oven, which will save us lots of money when reheating leftovers since we won't have to heat our large oven, and tickets to the movie we were already planning to see as a family as stocking stuffers. Movies are such a rare event anyway, and free tickets will make it that much sweeter! While it has been frustrating for my gift-loving family to try to accommodate our increasingly frugal tastes, they are amazing and truly care whether we will like and use their gifts or not. I really appreciate the time and effort they have put into thinking outside of the box for us!
Does anyone use pocket camcorders anymore? Even cell phones with cameras and the really inexpensive point-and-shoot cameras come with video. Perhaps you should give an upgraded storage card for their device (assuming storage can be added) instead.
How about proposing a charity swap to someone who would be open to it? You give to a charity they choose on their behalf and they do the same for you. That way the gift goes to charity, but not to a charity you or they wouldn't like, and neither of you get continual requests for more donations from a charity you would prefer not to support. Each individual has preferences, it would be better, in my opinion, to work with those preferences.
TLC made sure I wouldn't have a scrub (a guy who thinks he's fly, but is also known as a busta). I can't tell you how many times just repeating the lyrics in my head has gotten me out of trouble... or Jay-Z, who isn't a businessman, but a business, man.
I personally very much agree with No. 3. Working until your late years keeps your mind active and makes for a better quality of life for you and those around you.
You ignored the most important step in your plan. Call the biller, explain that you are being hit with a lot of bills - if that's true! - and ask for a discount.
Most of them will give a discount of some sort. I've had 20% discounts by agreeing to pay all at once. I then went out and put that on a 0% credit card.
The credit card thing is not the best idea, but sometimes there is no other option. Especially when your spouse gets two surgeries for cancer one year, and the next year while still paying on the previous year, you get hit with large hospital and chemo bills.
Also, read things over carefully. Insurers love to deny claims, saying it was coded incorrectly, and pass the cost on to you. You can resubmit the claim a special way, telling them to reassess it. I just did this and am being refunding $115.
Medical bills are the worst.
I regift ALL the time. One time I accidentally forgot and mentioned to someone that I had something just like that at home, only to remember I had given it to that person!
I regift if I know it's something the other person would like. I am opposed to keeping things just because it was given to me, so I won't keep things that I don't want or like. This applies to my stuff in general, not just gifts, and it really keeps down the clutter.
Thanks for your comment, Guest. You're absolutely right that this article is overdue for an update, especially after all the recent changes to tax law as a result of the ACA.
Please note, however, that employees are not in fact required to reimburse employers for FSA withdrawals in excess of their contributions. This is one result of the principle of "uniform coverage" which, according to the Society for Human Resource Management, "indicate[s] that the maximum amount of reimbursement from a health care FSA for medical expenses must be available at all times during the period of coverage. The uniform coverage rule prohibits an employer from tying the maximum amount of reimbursement at any particular time to the amount the employee has contributed... This restriction sometimes results in an employee leaving the organization with reimbursed expenses greater than the employee’s contributions."
Please also note that Obamacare imposed a ceiling on pre-tax FSA contributions of $2500. An employee could not elect to set aside $3000 in an FSA fund, as in your example.
Thanks for the comment! It's hard to keep up with all the recent tax changes, especially those as a result of ACA.
While the ACA did make changes to FSA and other pre-tax healthcare funding vehicles such as Health Savings Accounts, it did not make the change you note regarding taxes. Pre-tax contributions are not taxed when the funds are withdrawn and used to pay for qualified medical expenses.
The ACA does impose a ceiling on employee pre-tax contributions of $2,500 per year. This ceiling is designed as a mechanism to fund ACA -- fewer tax-free dollars = more taxable dollars.
None of these work for me. I have the light alarm clock, I have one across the room and I have one on my phone. I even tried to the iPhone shaking one which I realized I could just turn off. Getting up does not wake me up. I get up to pee but can fall right back asleep. If I don't "sleep", I just don't want to get up.
I just actually ordered smelling salts as a last resort since I'm close to losing a great job that supports my son and I. I don't know what else to do. I have been prescribed Adderall which I would take an hour before I needed to get up but I can even sleep through that. Don't tell me it's depression either because I'm on meds for that now too.
Good list of fees to watch out for. I hate that some brokerages charge to move or close an account, but it is still probably worth paying that cost if they are charging a monthly account fee.
A major wrong way is haphazardly, without a strategy.
Avoiding the ten approaches noted, you could still do a bad job of repaying credit card debt if you have no clear strategy in place for doing so. This is about efficiency and effectiveness.
In the case of multi-card debt repayments, for maximum efficiency follow a repayment strategy. Snowball, Avalanche and Snowflake or Micro Payment strategies should be understood.
The most effective pay off credit card debt strategy involves simultaneously addressing cause of debt. Specifically, this means overhauling your budget to cut back expenditure and cut down expenses. The goal is to 'release' monies for the purpose of making larger debt repayments.
Professional jewelers won't service anything they didn't make and the silver cloth, while effective, is no good if you have respiratory issues. Tried this on .925 silver ring from an that was a great resale find. It already had fine scratching , so what's the harm? In deference to the size difference I lined a large bowl with foil and poured from my water heater . Also substituted baking soda that's for odor control( different size granules). I recommend anyone who wants to preserve any detailing or small amount of patina pull the item out before it looks done and rub the rest off with cloth, as I took a little bit of character off my bargain find. Rinsed it and dipped it in bottom shelf vodka, an excellent disinfectant and jewelry cleaner. The antique earrings I found were vodka dip only, for instance. Thanks for posting!
I've definitely done it. But I won't do it if the gift is so terrible ... Unless it's for a white elephant gift exchange! :-)
The best way to eliminate holiday debt is to not have it. I am really crazy about not using credit cards during the holidays. When I was younger I always wanted to get the biggest and baddest gift for everyone - but that landed me thousands of dollars in debt. Now that I have grown up I learned that it's really not the value of the gift that matters, it's the pleasure that comes with finding the perfect gift. This year my boyfriend needs Long John's and he's also getting a bottle of Caramel Vodka...the perfect gifts - for under $50.
I found mystery shopping works well if (i) I can do more than one job on the one trip (ii) I can coincide it with something else.
At the moment, that involves teaching my son to drive. We drive somewhere (to get his hours up), I do the mystery shopper, fill in the survey on my laptop, then drive back. Two birds with one stone! : )
I like point number 4: "Start a Side Gig" - I think one of the most overlooked ways to pay off debt is to earn more! In fact, it's faster than going on a spending diet.
Bread is actually really bad to give to birds. It expands in their stomach and actually has no nutritional value, so a bird with a bread diet will inevitably wind up with malnutrition and die. Please, don't feed birds bread.
I never use a credit card to make holiday purchases, that way I am sure I won't have any holiday debt! I budget throughout the year and move that money to savings just for Christmas!
I tried depositing a bag of coins today at Chase and was told they did not have a change counter, nor did any local branch. "A bank w/o a means to count loose change?" That's an oxymoron. "You are a bank that handles currency whether it's cash or coin... correct? Then I should be able to deposit posse coins, no matter how many. Until coins are no longer an accepted means of currency, banks should be required to have the means to count change for it's customers". Period!
Bottom line is don't go into debt to pay for the Holidays. Spend what you can afford without debt, and no more. Create gifts or cards for people for next to nothing. People who care for you will know not to expect expensive gifts. Anyone who does expect a gift is not worth giving one to.
Just say no to debt, especially holiday debt.
Seriously? "shop the specs and not the brand when buying your next machine"
This was obviously written by someone with very little experience using laptops. There is a huge difference in the quality of laptops. Spend a little time searching the web for "laptop reliability" before you blindly buy something based on specs.
Yes, Apple laptops cost more than others when you compare them based only on specs. The same way a Cadillac costs more than other cars when you compare based only on the engine. People don't buy Apple for the specs; they buy Apple for the impeccable design.
My favorite gifts this year (I think I already have them pegged from my mom and sister! ;) ) are a toaster oven, which will save us lots of money when reheating leftovers since we won't have to heat our large oven, and tickets to the movie we were already planning to see as a family as stocking stuffers. Movies are such a rare event anyway, and free tickets will make it that much sweeter! While it has been frustrating for my gift-loving family to try to accommodate our increasingly frugal tastes, they are amazing and truly care whether we will like and use their gifts or not. I really appreciate the time and effort they have put into thinking outside of the box for us!
Does anyone use pocket camcorders anymore? Even cell phones with cameras and the really inexpensive point-and-shoot cameras come with video. Perhaps you should give an upgraded storage card for their device (assuming storage can be added) instead.
How about proposing a charity swap to someone who would be open to it? You give to a charity they choose on their behalf and they do the same for you. That way the gift goes to charity, but not to a charity you or they wouldn't like, and neither of you get continual requests for more donations from a charity you would prefer not to support. Each individual has preferences, it would be better, in my opinion, to work with those preferences.
TLC made sure I wouldn't have a scrub (a guy who thinks he's fly, but is also known as a busta). I can't tell you how many times just repeating the lyrics in my head has gotten me out of trouble... or Jay-Z, who isn't a businessman, but a business, man.
I personally very much agree with No. 3. Working until your late years keeps your mind active and makes for a better quality of life for you and those around you.
I've just been had by a four year old April fools joke!
You ignored the most important step in your plan. Call the biller, explain that you are being hit with a lot of bills - if that's true! - and ask for a discount.
Most of them will give a discount of some sort. I've had 20% discounts by agreeing to pay all at once. I then went out and put that on a 0% credit card.
The credit card thing is not the best idea, but sometimes there is no other option. Especially when your spouse gets two surgeries for cancer one year, and the next year while still paying on the previous year, you get hit with large hospital and chemo bills.
Also, read things over carefully. Insurers love to deny claims, saying it was coded incorrectly, and pass the cost on to you. You can resubmit the claim a special way, telling them to reassess it. I just did this and am being refunding $115.
Medical bills are the worst.
I regift ALL the time. One time I accidentally forgot and mentioned to someone that I had something just like that at home, only to remember I had given it to that person!
I don't pay a single one of these fees. The only one - that I rarely pay - is .25 when I write a check off my otherwise free checking account!
I regift if I know it's something the other person would like. I am opposed to keeping things just because it was given to me, so I won't keep things that I don't want or like. This applies to my stuff in general, not just gifts, and it really keeps down the clutter.
No I haven't......If I receive something I don't want or use, I offer it to someone who can use it.
Thanks for your comment, Guest. You're absolutely right that this article is overdue for an update, especially after all the recent changes to tax law as a result of the ACA.
Please note, however, that employees are not in fact required to reimburse employers for FSA withdrawals in excess of their contributions. This is one result of the principle of "uniform coverage" which, according to the Society for Human Resource Management, "indicate[s] that the maximum amount of reimbursement from a health care FSA for medical expenses must be available at all times during the period of coverage. The uniform coverage rule prohibits an employer from tying the maximum amount of reimbursement at any particular time to the amount the employee has contributed... This restriction sometimes results in an employee leaving the organization with reimbursed expenses greater than the employee’s contributions."
For more details, see SHRM's guidance on this issue, here: http://www.shrm.org/TemplatesTools/hrqa/Pages/FSAmidyearbalance.aspx
Please also note that Obamacare imposed a ceiling on pre-tax FSA contributions of $2500. An employee could not elect to set aside $3000 in an FSA fund, as in your example.
Thanks again for your comment!
Thanks for the comment! It's hard to keep up with all the recent tax changes, especially those as a result of ACA.
While the ACA did make changes to FSA and other pre-tax healthcare funding vehicles such as Health Savings Accounts, it did not make the change you note regarding taxes. Pre-tax contributions are not taxed when the funds are withdrawn and used to pay for qualified medical expenses.
The ACA does impose a ceiling on employee pre-tax contributions of $2,500 per year. This ceiling is designed as a mechanism to fund ACA -- fewer tax-free dollars = more taxable dollars.
Details here: http://www.irs.gov/publications/p969/ar02.html#en_US_2012_publink1000204174
Note that the old "use or lose" rule no longer applies with respect to FSAs. Up to $500 may be carried over from year-to-year. (http://www.shrm.org/hrdisciplines/benefits/articles/pages/fsa-lose-it-ru...)
None of these work for me. I have the light alarm clock, I have one across the room and I have one on my phone. I even tried to the iPhone shaking one which I realized I could just turn off. Getting up does not wake me up. I get up to pee but can fall right back asleep. If I don't "sleep", I just don't want to get up.
I just actually ordered smelling salts as a last resort since I'm close to losing a great job that supports my son and I. I don't know what else to do. I have been prescribed Adderall which I would take an hour before I needed to get up but I can even sleep through that. Don't tell me it's depression either because I'm on meds for that now too.
Good list of fees to watch out for. I hate that some brokerages charge to move or close an account, but it is still probably worth paying that cost if they are charging a monthly account fee.
A major wrong way is haphazardly, without a strategy.
Avoiding the ten approaches noted, you could still do a bad job of repaying credit card debt if you have no clear strategy in place for doing so. This is about efficiency and effectiveness.
In the case of multi-card debt repayments, for maximum efficiency follow a repayment strategy. Snowball, Avalanche and Snowflake or Micro Payment strategies should be understood.
The most effective pay off credit card debt strategy involves simultaneously addressing cause of debt. Specifically, this means overhauling your budget to cut back expenditure and cut down expenses. The goal is to 'release' monies for the purpose of making larger debt repayments.