“Inflation is when you pay $15 for the $10 haircut you used to get for $5 when you had hair.” Credit former baseball player and humorist Sam Ewing for that pithy quote. Inflation is on the rise so you have to look for new ways to save money if you want to stay on budget. Rob shares some ideas. This is MoneyWise Live - biblical wisdom for your financial journey.<ul><li>1.) Child and Dependent Care Credit - Have you taken advantage of the Child and Dependent Care Credit? You have to earn less than $125,000 adjusted gross income but the credit could reimburse you for up to 50% of qualifying expenses or as much as $16,000 if you have two or more dependents.</li><li>Fill out Form 2441 for Child and Dependent Care Expenses and include it when you file your tax return. This credit is only good for the 2021 tax year.</li><li>2.) Cash for Gasoline - Prices at the pump have skyrocketed recently, so saving even a few pennies per gallon at the pump can add up. The National Association of Convenience Stores says that 75% of us use a credit or debit card but many places will give you a break for paying with cash in some locations up to 10-15¢ a gallon. Credit card companies like Visa and American Express charge gas stations about 25¢ whenever you use their card. Paying with cash also means you have to go inside to pay and you’re surrounded by convenience foods so just pay for your gas and leave.</li><li>3.) More Cash Savings - Use cash for all of your spending outside the house. Studies show you can save from 10-30% at the register when using cash only. It’s more difficult to part with real dollars than using plastic. </li><li>4.) Curtail Spending Day - Set aside one day a week when you don’t spend money by bringing leftovers to work instead of eating lunch out, not buying coffee at a convenience store that day, staying off Amazon or other retailers so you won’t be tempted to buy something on impulse.</li><li>5.) Fly Under the Radar - Use an incognito browser can save you money because it deletes your browsing history. The result is that companies can’t see what you’ve been looking for and then raise the price on you. </li><li>6.) Appliance Dickering - Ask the sales rep a simple question, “Is that the best you can do?” Our friend Dave Ramsey advises to always ask for a discount. You may not get it, but it doesn’t cost anything to ask. You can also ask for a discount if you’re paying with cash for a big ticket item. And if the item is on back order which many are these days due to interruptions in the supply pipeline again ask for a discount for having to wait. </li><li>7.) Local Store Haggling - If you see an item online for a certain price and a local retailer has it in stock at a higher price, ask if they’ll match the online price. Have the online offer on your smartphone ready to show the sales rep. Many stores have a policy that they will match a lower, bona fide offer.</li><li>8.) 30-day rule for anything over $100 - If you see something you want not need, but want wait 30 days before purchasing it. If you find that after that time you still want it go ahead and buy it. In many cases, you’ll discover that the urge to buy the item is gone that you really didn’t want it that bad and you’ve saved yourself some money.</li><li>9.) Save on Payday - There’s a tendency to spend freely on payday and later realizing you haven’t saved anything. Instead, put something into savings before you spend anything. You’ll know how much you really have in disposable income. Even better - make your savings automatic. Have your bank automatically put some of your paycheck into savings. Out of sight, out of mind.</li><li>10.) Sign up for paperless billing and auto pay with service providers like AT&amp;T and Xfinity and some utilities. Many offer discounts on your monthly bill for signing up. It also makes it easy to manage your account with your smartphone.</li><li>11.) Christmas in July - Start your Christmas shopping now. Start by making a list of everyone you’ll give a gift to at Christmas. Then set your total budget for gifts. There’s always a lot of hype about sales during the holiday shopping season but if you give yourself months and months to find an item odds are you’ll beat any price you’re likely to find during the Christmas crunch!</li></ul>Next, Rob answers these questions at 800-525-7000 or via email at Questions@MoneyWiseLive.org:<ul><li>If you have an $87,000 balance on your new 2%, 15 year mortgage and you have more than that saved in a money market account, would it be wise to pay off your mortgage since the money market is earning so little these days?</li><li>If you have a home that currently has about $700,000-$800,000 of equity, what factors should you consider to decide whether to rent it and stay in a smaller place or just sell the place outright?</li><li>If you haven't saved much for retirement, what should you consider when trying to decide when to draw Social Security?</li><li>If you're 40, have a little left over each month and have a $130,000 balance on a mortgage that has about 20 years left and have about $100,000 in savings, should you use the savings funds to pay the mortgage considering the current inflation and economic issues happening today?</li><li>If you started your family early and have some debt because of that, where do you start to get your finances on the right track?</li></ul>Be sure to check out the rest of MoneyWise.org to connect with a MoneyWise Coach or access our books and our many free helpful resources. You can also find us on Facebook (MoneyWise Media) and join the conversation. Thanks for your prayerful and financial support that helps keep MoneyWise on the air. And if you'd like to help, just click the Donate tab at the top of the page.

FaithFi

Listen to MoneyWise Live each weekday at 4pm EST on Moody Radio.

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“Inflation is when you pay $15 for the $10 haircut you used to get for $5 when you had hair.”  ﻿Inflation is on the rise so you have to look for new ways to save money if you want to stay on budget. Rob shares some ideas.

Money Saving Ideas

FaithFi | Apr 5, 2022

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Where Faith Meets Finance

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