I heard on The Today Show this morning about a Christmas Savings Plan program being offered at Toys R Us. The hosts were going on and on about what a great idea it was. Here’s the scoop:

The Christmas Savers Club helps you start saving money now for the holidays. Sign up for a free Christmas Savers Club card (not a credit card). Then make regular deposits at the register. This helps you save up gradually for the holidays without breaking your budget. Best of all, a balance of 3% will be applied to your card automatically on October 16. Then beginning October 31, you can use your Christmas Savers Club card to shop at Toys R Us and Babies R Us instore or online.

In theory, this sounds like a great idea. Start setting aside money now. Get a 3% bonus. Get to shop the sales. Your card never expires. But is it really the best idea? A few drawbacks:

• You can only add money at Toys R Us stores which means you actually have to go there to make your deposits.
• The 3% bonus is added on Oct. 16 regardless of when or how often you deposit money.
• All the money you save has to be spent at Toys R Us and/or Babies R Us.
• Toys R Us gets to keep your money because you can’t use the card until Oct. 31. This is how they can afford to give you a 3% bonus. They will be investing your money in funds that yield greater than 3%.

An Alternative
If you are disciplined enough to start saving now for Christmas, there are lots of greater options available than the TRU Savers Club. I would strongly recommend sitting down now and deciding on a Christmas budget. Then figure out how you can get there.  For the sake of round numbers, let’s say you decide on a budget of $500 for Christmas this year. With 5 months until December, you’d need to save $100 a month. That’s $25 per week or $50 per paycheck if you are paid twice a month.

Instead of driving down to TRU and giving them the money, I would recommend looking for a no-fee, high-yield savings account. Stan and I prefer ING Direct because it’s free and easy to transfer money between them and our credit union. Plus you can set up as many accounts as you’d like. But find what works best for you.

Keep in mind interest rates in general are pretty low right now. You won’t earn a huge amount of interest in the course of 5 months but the money will be set aside. And out of sight = out of mind, right? This way, your money earns money for you and you have the option to spend it anywhere you’d like. Remember the killer Amazon toy deals last year? You might not want to have your money tied up at Toys R Us!

However, if you know you will be shopping at Toys R Us for many of your gifts, make a trip there on October 16. As long as you make a deposit by 11:59pm Eastern Time that day, you’ll be eligible for the 3% bonus. But keep in mind how little 3% really is: a $100 deposit would only earn you $3. It is worth the gas to get to TRU for an extra $3?

What are your money plans for Christmas? Have you started thinking about it yet?

For those of you just tuning in, it’s never too early to start thinking about how you will pay for Christmas. I’ve been sharing some ideas on ways you can earn a little extra money before Christmas comes around again.

The final installment in Helping Christmas Cost Less series is a guest post from my friend Nicole over at Nicole’s Nickels. Now, before you dive in, keep in mind this endeavor is only for the very organized and adventurous.

Shellie asked me to share some information with you all about online offers. What is an online offer? It’s something you have all probably seen – an ad saying you can win $500 and when you click to investigate you find out that it involves signing up for things to get your $500. You probably clicked out of the offer at that point thinking it will never work. Well, I am here to tell you it can!

I have successfully completed several of these online offers personally and post about offers each month on my blog, Nicole’s Nickels. It’s not hard to earn a $500 prize, you should expect to pay around $30-$50 out of pocket which is a pretty good return of your investment! Of course, the total amount spent will depend on if you keep items and how many you keep.

The two keys to succesful completion of an online offer is to follow directions and be organized! I have posted (here, here, and here) extensive and detailed directions on how to complete online offers – also read the comments left on those posts (as well as all the posts under the tag “online offers”) as those kind of serve as “frequently asked questions”.

I suggest starting out with a $500 Visa giftcard offer because it’s the most versatile to use. You could do this Top Notch offer or this Bullseye offer. What’s the difference? There isn’t any really. They are each for different sub-companies of Ideal, the umbrella site for these offers. You can only earn $1,000 in prizes per 6 months for each sub-company so keep that in mind if you intend to complete multiple offers. Neither of these offers requires referrals at the time of posting but terms can change so read everything carefully!

You can visit my January Online Offers post to see other current offers. Make sure to carve out enough time to complete all required offers in 1 sitting and do the necessary research to make sure offers aren’t related. With a little time (approximately 2-3 hours), some research, some reading, and some good organization, you’ll be $500 richer in no time!

I researched and read Nicole’s posts over and over for about 6 weeks before I was brave enough to dive in. I was so nervous but carefully followed all of Nicole’s instructions and did a $500 offer with my mother-in-law and her sister last August. I got the $500 gift card but they didn’t because they didn’t do one tiny step.

So I know from personal experience that you must follow the instructions exactly step-by-step. These companies aren’t understanding or helpful and will look for any excuse not to pay you. But if you are on top of things, this is a great way to make a little extra money to help with Christmas.

Amount Saved for Christmas: $900 (2 $500 offers less $50 out of pocket/offer)

You’ll find Nicole Wiseberg blogging every day at Nicole’s Nickels about the best money-savers (like free samples and coupons) and money-makers (like surveys, online offers, and mystery shopping).

There were several random odds and eddies that I did to accumulate money for Christmas this year. Some of these may work for you, some won’t but I hope they will get you thinking outside the box when it comes to ways to earn money.

:: Target Gift Cards
Almost every week Target offers gift card promotions. One of my favorites is the Kashi Cereal promo that came a few times last year. Buy 5 boxes of Kashi cereal, get a $5 Target gift card. When I list the scenario, I list the final price which factors in your receipt of  a $5 gift card. Most of the time, I have coupons which apply to these promos making them super cheap or free after I factor in the gift card price.

Well, if I’m getting the items super cheap or free already, paying the initial $5 out of pocket to get that first gift card isn’t going to break my budget. In fact, I factor it in when doing my own shopping. I repeat the scenario as many times as I like “rolling” the gift card into the next transaction to lower the out of pocket. Once I’m finished I’m left with a $5 gift card.

What do you do with yours? I bet you save it for next time to help lessen the initial out of pocket on the next super deal Target offers. Not me! I put the gift card in an envelope and save it. When the next super deal comes around, I just start from scratch. I typically am able to save one $5 gift card every month doing this. Then come Christmas I use them to buys gifts, wrapping paper, Christmas decorations or baking supplies. Target has so many options I can usually get a lot with those gift cards.

Amount Saved for Christmas: $50 ($5 x 10 Months (Feb – Nov)

:: Mail-In Rebates
Very often companies offer mail-in rebates when you purchase their products and almost always you can use coupons and still receive the full rebate. You’ll notice whenever there is a mail-in rebate available, I list it in below the final price as a “Note”.

Why don’t I factor this in to the final price? Well, because people are notorious for not submitting them. I myself am not very good at remembering unless I do it immediately after shopping. Since it is more likely than not that you won’t complete it, I don’t like to factor it in to the final price. That and sometimes it takes two months to get your money back.

About midway through last year I had a revelation. Since I’m not counting on this rebate money or factoring it into my budget in anyway, why don’t I save it for Christmas? So that’s what I do now. Anytime there is a mail-in rebate offer for a product I would normally purchase or can get for free, I submit for it. When the check comes I cash it and stick it in an envelope earmarked for Christmas.

Amount Saved for Christmas: $30 (Rebates vary greatly. This is just what my ballpark savings were last year.)

:: Free Magazine Subscriptions
Fairly often I post opportunities to get magazine subscriptions for free. I know this week you could get US News & World Report and Fitness for free. You usually have to jump on these quickly though because they go fast.

Last year I accidentally signed up for the same magazine twice, once in my husband’s name and once in mine so one month we got two of the same issue. I called the magazine and explained and they just extended my subscription. It was super easy and you know what else they told me? You can extend someone’s subscription at any point in the year!

This means that if someone’s subscription ends in November, you can sign them up now for another year. Find out what magazines your family members enjoy. Find out the exact address those are sent to and find out when their subscription expires. You may have to call the magazine company for that last one. Then if you find a free subscription for a magazine they enjoy, sign them up! Wait about 3 weeks from the signup date and call the magazine to confirm they extended the subscription instead of sending them concurrently. Make a card yourself letting them know what you’ve done and poof! You’ve got a free gift.

Depending on when their subscription runs out, this might work out better as a birthday, mother’s day or anniversary gift but still a free gift nonetheless.

Amount Saved for Christmas: $30 (I found 3 magazines for friends and relatives this year that I was able to extend and give as a Christmas gift)

TOTAL AMOUNT OF ODDS & ENDS: $110

These are just three ways I saved. I’m sure if you are creative you can come up with some too. In two weeks, I’ll have a Mr. Linky at the bottom of my wrap up post. You’ll be able to link to some of your money saving ideas then. I’m excited to read what you come up with!

Happy Saving!

One great way to earn extra money is to complete online surveys. There are quite a few legitimate survey companies that will pay you to give your opinions about various products and services. It does take time to complete them but if you completed one or two a day you would be well on your way to making quite a bit for Christmas. Start out easy though so you don’t get burnt out. Maybe do one only three days a week at first.

Most survey companies will pay you anywhere between $1 and $5 to complete a survey. Many require a minimum account balance before they pay out so once you start, you’ll want to stick with it. In the “amount saved” section below, I opted to only record earnings through October because it might take 30 days for you to get your payment.

I rounded up a few companies to get you started.

• American Consumer Opinion
• ePoll
• Greenfield Online
• Inbox Dollars
• Lightspeed Research
• Live Wire
• Opinion Outpost
• Send Earnings
• Survey Savvy
• Survey Spot
• Survey Head
• Toluna

Amount Saved for Christmas: $135 (9 months (Feb-Oct) x $15)

A big thanks to Mommy Snacks for her help with this list.

Happy Saving!

I know we just finished Christmas and many of you haven’t even finished paying all your Christmas bills yet. But I urge you to start planning now for December. By using a few tricks, I was able to give very nice gifts this year and we spent 60% less than we did the year before.

Over the next few Fridays, I’m going to share some ideas that you can start now to help offset the cost of Christmas later.

First tip: Swagbucks

I was able to buy several people’s gifts this year by cashing in my Swagbucks for Amazon.com gift cards. Plus, many recipients received nicer gifts than I normally would have purchased.

What is Swagbucks?
Swagbucks is a search engine designed to help you earn digital dollars called Swagbucks. These bucks can be redeemed for merchandise and gift cards. They come in varying denominations, the most common being 1,2,3,4,5 and 10. Each time you search you have the opportunity to win one of these bucks. You won’t win one every time you search but you will win them fairly often.

The way to increase your earnings is to use Swagbucks every time you search. I downloaded the toolbar and use it as my primary resource. Also, Friday is MEGA Swagbucks day. This means your odds of winning a higher denomination buck are much higher. The most I’ve ever won was 5 in one search but my coworker won 20 once!

By using Swagbucks regularly you should easily win enough bucks to earn a $5 Amazon gift card each month.

Amount Saved for Christmas: $50 (10 months (Feb-Nov) x $5)

Sign up with Swagbucks here or read more about Swagbucks.

Happy Saving!

Since the Tuesday Tip is geared toward baby stuff, I thought I’d take the same route with Money Matters for the next two weeks. This week, I’m highlighting the benefits of Upromise.

What Is Upromise?
Upromise was founded to help people lessen the challenge of paying for college. Through thousands of retail partnerships you can make your everyday spending count towards money for college. The money you earn actually comes from Upromise partners, who are willing to give a percentage of whatever you spend with them back to you. 

The great thing about your Upromise earnings is that it’s real money that never expires. And there’s no limit to how much you can earn or save. Once you’ve accumulated at least $25 in earnings in your Upromise account, you can use this money in a variety of ways:

• Grow your earnings in a tax-free 529 account (Don’t know what this is? I’ll review 529 Plans next week)
• Pay down existing Sallie Mae student loans
• Collect a check for college expenses.

Plus, Did you know withdrawals from your Upromise account are tax-free?

How Does It Work
There are several ways you can earn money through Upromise:

• Shop Online – You’ll get 1%-25% back from eligible purchases at more than 600 online retailers when you shop through Upromise.com.
• Eat Out – You’ll get up to 8% back from more than 8,000 restaurants as a Preferred Diner when you pay with a registered credit or debit card.
• Buy Groceries – You’ll get 1-3% back on thousands of eligible items when you scan a Upromise registered grocery or drug store card at checkout.

Wow! Money for Groceries?
In my opinion the buying groceries option a great one. Here’s how it works:

• Register your club cards at Upromise. (Safeway affiliates & CVS both qualify)
• Make your list and Go shopping.
• Buy participating products.
• Scan your club card at checkout to get your Upromise earnings automatically
• Pay for your items anyway you like.

Use eCoupons to Save More
You’ve heard of loading Cellfire and PG eSavercoupons onto your clubcard to save money at the store. Well, Upromise has a similar option. Every month Upromise offers a selection of eCoupons on everyday items such as toilet paper, laundry soap or light bulbs. But instead of the price coming off your total, the amount is deposited into your account.

Once your club card is registered, select the eCoupons you want and click to activate them. Then shop for your products. At check-out, scan your card like normal and your college savings will be automatically credited to your Upromise account. You can combine these with other ecoupons and manufacturer coupons. Then you can save on groceries and save for college in one fell swoop!

But I Don’t Have Any Kids
You don’t have to have kids to sign up. You can be a grandparent, aunt, cousin, friend or just saving for the day you do have kids. Chances are there will be some child in your life that you can give the Upromise funds to. If not, find a kid through Big Brothers Big Sisters.

It truly is a great program and is an easy first step to saving money for college. To sign up, go HERE.

Several weeks ago I did a post about High-Yield Savings Accounts. The post has been so popular that I thought I’d review High-Yield Checking accounts for Money Matters this week.

What is a High-Yield Checking Account?
This is an account that has the same benefits of a regular checking account except you earn interest while your money is sitting there. Most of these accounts get at least 3% and some as much as 6%. Unlike Money Market accounts, these funds are FDIC insured.

What’s the Catch?
If you remember my High-Yield Savings Account post I told you that the higher the interest rate, the higher the risk. Period. The risk here isn’t that you will lose your money, the risk is that you won’t earn the interest. These checking accounts have all kinds of requirements that must be met each month in order to receive the interest payment. Typically you much have a direct deposit set up to the account and use your debit card for a specified number of transactions per month. There are usually higher than normal initial deposit requirements and if your account balance reaches a certain limit, the interest rate drops to a much lower rate.

But, if it wouldn’t be a problem for you to meet all the requirements, you wouldn’t be tempted to spend all your money and you don’t have enough to bump you into the lower rate bracket, then this would be a great savings tool for you. To find a bank near you and/or with the highest rate, go HERE.

Do you use a High-Yield Checking Account?

I remember about a year ago before I started couponing. I know many of you have been in this same place too. You’re in the bathroom and you’re squeezing that last little bit out of the toothpaste tube. You thought you had gotten as much as you could last night but since you forgot to go to the store you’ve got to try to eek out just a little more out of that old tube.

Or you are doing laundry. You have a tiny bit left in your detergent bottle. You may turn it upside down or swish some water in it to get the last little bit out. You might be doing this because you don’t have another bottle. Or, if you were like me, you just couldn’t bring yourself to open the new bottle that you paid $8.99 for when there’s a tiny bit left in the old bottle that also cost a fortune.

Fast forward 9 months. I now find myself in a new dilemma. I have huge stockpiles of just about every toiletry imaginable. They are lined up on the shelves like at a grocery store. When I get down to the end of a tube of toothpaste, I don’t squeeze the last little bit out. I just go get a new tube from the stash. When I’m out of laundry soap or shampoo, I open a new bottle. After all, I only paid $1 for it.

Now that I want for nothing, at least nothing that you can find at Walgreens or CVS, I find myself wasting. Not huge waste but definitely more than is necessary. As I reflected back over this recent chapter in my life, I realized that I began couponing to cut back on one area of waste (money) and inadvertently have increased waste in another area. So last month I made a conscious effort to do better. I’m not doing this because I’m cheap or want to save even more money. I just feel that I shouldn’t just be a good steward of my money - I need to be a good steward of everything I’m given, no matter how small.

By not taking my stockpiles for granted, I might be able to help others even more. If I can get a little extra out of one tube of toothpaste, over a year or two, that might equate to a full tube of toothpaste. Then I’ll have an extra tube I can donate to a shelter or give to a friend in need. That might seem like a small contribution but I guarantee you that it isn’t a small gesture to the person receiving it.

I’ve been doing better these past two months. But I’ll be honest, it’s easy not to waste when you don’t have much but when you want for little, it’s a little more challenging.

Do you find yourself in a similar situation? How do you keep from taking your stash for granted?

Stan and I often seek out new charities when we are donating in honor or memory of someone else. These charities are off the beaten path for us. We don’t know as much about them and aren’t familiar with their operations. I know many of you are saving money with the purpose of increasing your giving levels. I found this list of questions to ask a charity from Money Magazine and thought they might be useful for you too.

1. Does the IRS recognize you are a charity?
No: You won’t be able to deduct a donation from your taxes?
Yes: Ask #2

2. How long have you been around?
Less than 5 Years: There are plenty of other charities that have proven track records. This doesn’t necessarily mean that a charity isn’t a legitimate option. A young charity can in fact be fabulous. Just be prepared to do more research to ensure that your donation will be used in the best possible fashion.
More than 5 Years: Ask #3

3. What percentage of my donation will go to charitable works?
Less than 75%: The charity may be run inefficiently
More than 75%: Ask #4

4. Do you have a year’s worth of working capital?
No: The charity may not have enough liquid assets to withstand the downturn.
Yes: Ask #5

5. Are you slashing services this year?
Yes: The charity could be shaky due to uncertain times. This isn’t necessarily a reason to abandon them but definitely look twice at what programs they are slashing. You wouldn’t want them to have already cut the one you want to fund!
No: This is likely a great charity that is well managed and able to withstand the downturn and help others.

These are very basic questions when searching out a new charity. Just because someone gives you a wrong answer doesn’t mean you should discount them. You just might have to do more research but if you just want to do a quick donation to an organization with a proven track record, these are great questions to ask.

You can also get background info on many nonprofits at Charity Navigator and Guidestar.

Thank You for Giving!

I took advantage of a free subscription to Money magazine several months ago and I’m so glad I did. The magazine has lots of interesting articles and useful investing and money tips. This month they had their annual best list which features 100 of the safest investments, sharpest tax strategies, hottest job markets, smartest savings ideas and best deals.

I often get ideas for Money Matters in this and other similar magazines. Plus, I get great satisfaction when they publish a money tip that I already posted! Case in point, in this month’s best list Money suggests the best place to park your emergency fund is in a high-yield savings account. Great validation for my post HERE!

In their best list this week I saw something that was really intriguing to me. I don’t normally list investment advice because most people have varying strategies and acceptable risk levels. But I thought this particular item was very interesting and might be something you would want to research further.

Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS)
According to Money, the best protection against rising prices are Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS). You likely remember my posts on the economy (if not, start HERE). Due to all the stimulus programs, rampant government spending and low interest rates, inflation can be a real threat for our immediate future. Inflation effects and turnarounds can be sudden and are not a good thing for investments. TIPS are terrific insurance against that risk because their principal is pegged to consumer prices (CPI).

How They Work
Very simply speaking lets say you put $1000 in a 5-year CD. This CD earns 4%. Let’s say inflation this year is 3% but next year jumps to 5% and stays at 5% for the next 4 years. Your money is stuck and you won’t be making any money because the inflation rate jumped above the rate you are earning. Conversely, if you put $1000 in a TIPS and it only gets 2% interest, it might seem less enticing. But if you know that the principle would adjust with inflation so you would still be earning money even when inflation jumps it might make the investment a little more appealing. These would also be a great tool for retirees because inflation-protected investments can help fixed income keep up with inflation while still getting a small return on your investment.

The Fine Print
Because of the inflation protection, TIPS typically offer a lower rate of interest than other 10-year Treasury securities that don’t have the feature. TIPS pay interest twice a year, at a fixed rate. The rate is applied to the adjusted principal. So, like the principal, interest payments rise with inflation and fall with deflation. TIPS are subject to federal income tax, but not state or local taxes. You can buy them from the government at Treasury Direct or through a broker or bank. Based on my research I would recommend purchasing a individual TIPS instead of a TIPS Bond Fund. Remember, higher interest = higher risk. Period.

Now, I’m not saying that you should run out and buy these right now. I just wanted to give a brief overview because I wasn’t aware of the benefit to these types of investments. I encourage you to do more reseach and/or discuss with your financial advisor. Remember, investment options are not one size fits all. You need to find the ones that best fit your situation. It might be a TIPS but it might be something else too.

For more info, you can read in depth at Treasury Direct HERE.

Happy Investing!