The fashion world has an agenda to make every American fashionable in the latest trends. They showcase their wares in department stores across the country vying for consumer’s attention. It isn’t until the next fashion season that they turn their nose up at the blouse, sweater, or skirt that was once the talk of the fashionistas. Its then shoppers should pounce on the deals. What’s it going to cost you - an American Top Model spot?

Buying clothing in the off-season gives many shoppers a good deal, while others prefer to buy secondhand or non-label articles. Secondhand clothing has a certain Indy rock appeal to it, and its especially good for kids who grow so quickly they’re in and out of their Osh Kosh in a heartbeat. I’ve known mothers to wake at six AM to find the perfect clothing spot at a garage sale. I’ve known others who waited in Black Friday lines for deals on jeans, sweatshirts, and t-shirts for their teens. There are plenty of ways to save money on clothing. We just need to find the right time of year, a good location, and quality material.

Factory Outlet stores offer the best deals on name brand clothing. Their deals are not as good as secondhand or anything, so don’t be fooled. Some articles of clothing will still cost considerable amounts in their stores. Shoes and some higher priced items like coats should see a considerable discount. Why not give them a try?

Take Care of Those Threads
It’s easy to keep buying new clothes, throwing out or donating the old. What should be a concern to many adults is the care of the article of clothing. We can ensure a long life by reading the label on the article of clothing. Dry clean only clothes mean just that. T-shirts that only last one wash are not a good investment. Take care of even the cheapest of the clothes and you’ll be saving money in the long run.

If you find a good deal this holiday season we hope you take advantage of it. Those who need to save money on clothing know they can search the circulars, search through online sources, and frequent the consignment shops in their community. Good luck and remember to buy quality clothing!

It’s the day after Thanksgiving in the US, and that means one thing, shopping! The Friday after Thanksgiving has been dubbed Black Friday. The day marks the official opening of Christmas season shopping for many customers. This is mainly due to a large portion of the population having the day off for shopping and relaxing after the large Thanksgiving meal. Many stores offer incentives for customers to come to their stores. These doorbusters offer low prices on many of the perfect Christmas gifts, like flat screen TVs, camcorders, toys, and clothing.

To save money, many people like to venture out on the morning after Thanksgiving and wait in line to pick up an amazing deal. The flyers and ads have been bombarding the neighborhoods days before Black Friday. Those consumers are not alone. The Christmas holiday definitely beats out other holidays when it comes to going off budget and spending more than we earn. Going on huge deal days like Black Friday can definitely help keep money in your pocket, but be sure to go with at least some sense of purpose; make a list of stores with the items you want to buy. If the store doesn’t have it in stock, then go to the next one on the list. This way you won’t be making impulsive purchases.

Black Friday got its name in 1960s Philadelphia, where store owners referred to the increase in traffic. Most know the name as a euphemism for retailers going into the black for the first time in the fiscal year. Although Black Friday is not the biggest shopping day of the year, it is definitely in the top five. Many choose to stay home rather than fare the crowds and crazy deals.

Black Friday has also moved online in recent years. Many may have noticed that their favorite online retailers offer amazing deals all through their online storefront. This makes it possible for those without the desire to brave the crowds to do a little bargain hunting from the comforts of their home. Why not save a little money from your desktop PC, if you haven’t gone out for the day?

Most of the time we venture off budget not at home but in stores. What better way to stay on budget while on the go than with a mobile application. You don’t have to own an iPhone to enjoy on-the-go budgeting too, but just a regular cell phone or handheld device.

Do you own a Pocket PC running Windows Mobile? You could download the Budget Diary freeware to keep track of your expenditures. To stay on budget you could also look at the Shop Man or Due Man projects as well. They’re freeware, so don’t expect a whole lot of support, but if they do what you need…

If you have a cell phone and an internet connection at home, then you’ve got enough tools to use the free financial software from Mint.com. The software gives you accessible budgeting tools that can help you keep pace with an active lifestyle. Not only that but they offer a SMS balance checking service. Users simply text Bal or Balance to MyMint (696468) and they’ll receive an automated reply with their checking or savings balance. How cool is that?

The innovations from free services like Mint.com make it so easy to start up a budget and stick to it. Like most financial software, you can see where your money has gone for the month and set goals for future spending. Those new to budgeting may try to do too much at once. The Mint.com budget helps set realistic goals based on where others traditionally overspend, and on your own patterns.

The iPhone should have some good options from these online developers soon. The Mint.coms, ChaChings, and other web developers will likely make the iPhone their next target. With SMS, Pocket PC, and mobile phone uses, the budget software of tomorrow just made it that much easier to keep track of finances.

The government has been ripe with bailout money lately, passing it out like candy to trick-or-treaters. The financial times have hit home in a big way. Wouldn’t it be great if you didn’t qualify for the stimulus check in 2007, if you could in 2008? According to a Yahoo.com article, that is the reality of the tax law.

Under the economic-stimulus law, which was enacted in February, eligibility for this tax break is based on your income and other factors, such as family size, as reported on your federal income-tax return for either 2007 or 2008, says Mark Luscombe, principal tax analyst at CCH, a Wolters Kluwers business. [Source: Yahoo]

Many have lost jobs this year due to the economic downturn. The reality is those people will probably benefit from the way the tax law was written for the stimulus check.

There are those too who maybe had a mistake on their 2007 tax returns, which caused them to lose their stimulus check. These types of problems were bound to happen. Unfortunately the IRS didn’t allow for amended returns to be considered for the stimulus check. Those who found they didn’t get a check will have to file a special form that should be available with all 1040s next year.

Congress has reportedly been considering another stimulus check. The economic crisis combined with a newly elected President make it all the more likely for this to happen. How much and how soon remains a mystery. We’ll be sure to update everyone as soon as we hear about it.  

So if unfortunate times have fallen on you and your family, you can at least find solace in the fact you might benefit from a stimulus check either from last year or the future one. This may not be the good news many Americans were hoping for, but at least it’s a start.

In a recent article, we talked about getting rid of cable TV as a possible solution to meeting a family budget. One commenter pointed out that using the internet as an alternative to cable TV also has its drawbacks. The internet costs in our household have become a necessity over the years, so we feel it would be the last utility to be cut in our budget. But the idea definitely brought up a few good questions. What service could you substitute with an alternative and still save money? Let’s take a look at a activities or subscriptions we could find elsewhere.

1. The internet. Can you do without it? I know I can’t. There’s always ways to get online without dishing out money to a big telecom company. You could package the internet with your cable TV, but those deals are often times gimmicks, not savings. There’s public hotspots, like coffeeshops, but you’ll likely pay for a month’s internet service in a week’s worth of lattes. Public libraries may be the only saving grace, unless you live in a community with wifi for everyone.
2. Can you do without a newspaper? In the electronic age it’s may seem like everyone has been done with newspapers. After all they’re made of paper and you can’t scroll up or down them. But newspapers still have a strong foothold in many households. They’re the purveyor of local news on a daily basis. The alternative? One could trim the subscription to weekends only or simply read the same material online.
3. Magazine subscriptions. These have got to be the most useless in this day and age. Unless you’re reading an academic journal, many magazine articles can be found online. The same goes for these as newspapers though. Some magazines were meant to be held and read, like the New Yorker or Harpers. A good short story, afterall, can help alleviate the day’s stresses.

I have been accused of being cheap. I admit to wanting to save money on different expenses I don’t deem necessary. I wonder if my neighbors would go along with a three way split of garbage service, but decided against it. Have you thought of any ways to cut costs on your home budget?

Can you believe how far gas prices have dropped? I know I can’t. The national average has sunk below $2.50 a gallon.  I say let it sink more! We’re continuing our $25 gas card giveaway for the month of November. The rules are simple, and you might come out on top like our many winners before you. Why not give it a shot?

Contest Rules:

The rules are simple. Each visitor has two ways of entering the contest.

1. 5 Entry Tickets: Link in a blog post on your site the words ’save gas articles’ with the following link: http://www.savemoney.com/transportation/gasoline.html. It should appear like this: save gas articles.
2. 1 Entry Ticket: Subscribe to the Save Money Blog’s RSS feed via email. The signup box on the right column makes this process very simple. Only verified emails count - so be sure to respond to the initial email.

Each person can gain up to 6 entry tickets!

On December 1st we will tabulate the contest entries, assign a number to each one, and visit the random.org number generator to select the winner. The winner will be mailed a gas card for $25 or given an equal amount via Paypal. Anyone in the world can win, just follow our easy steps to enter today!

We’ve come a long way since we began doing the gas card giveaway contest. We have grown to over 150 subscribers and the price of gas has dropped dramatically. In my area, the cost of gas has sunk to almost half its former price. What a great thing for us frugal minded individuals. Of course, this all came on the heels of the economic downturn. Needless to say, the $25 winnings should net some lucky subscriber more gas than months prior. So let’s see who it is!

In October we had 233 entries into our contest. As before, the winner can choose to receive a mailed gas card or $25 via Paypal. The choice is theirs. I went to random.org and submitted our 233 entries into their random number generator. And the winner is…

169

The lucky winner posted about the contest on their blog Getting Free From Debt

Congrats on your $25 gas card! Please contact me at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it to claim your prize.

Every email subscribers has a chance to win $25 every month! Stay tuned for more ways to save money and a load of great content coming your way in November. Congrats to our winner!