We’re so money

MANILA, Philippines -It’s the typical conundrum of every fashion-obsessed twentysomething: How do I make more money so I can spend more of it? While we here at YStyle don’t have all the answers (far from it), what we can help you with is figuring out which wallet suits your style, determining what kind of spender you are, and just in case you’re harboring secret supermodel dreams, whether or not you can make money off that mug. The only actual financial advice we actually can give you? Put off getting a credit card for as long as you can and when you do, try to keep it in check. We’re not all crazy rich Asians.

source: philstar.com

6 Ways To Teach Your Kids All About Money

Kids are fast learners, and one of the best lessons that we can teach them is money management. However, money management is often hard for many adults to grasp, so how can we teach our kids about money in a way that is engaging?

First, we can realize that there are opportunities to teach children about money every single day. Whether we take them with us into the bank or let them push some buttons at the ATM, they can learn simply by doing. If you are looking for more ideas, check out the 6 below.

1. Talk About It All The Time

I don’t know why (because I’m not shy about it!) but money is a taboo topic. People don’t like talking about their budgets or their debt or what they paid for their house. While I am a private person and I don’t want my future kids to know my salary, I do think that it’s important to talk about money topics. Kids can learn about investing, interest rates, banks, checking accounts, and credit cards at a very young age. Having all of these topics open for discussion will make them comfortable with money. It will also put them way ahead of the curve when it comes time for them to grow their own nest egg.

2. Teach Them To Give

While it’s important to teach children how to save, it’s equally important to teach them how to give. Whether it’s splitting their allowance with a charity of their choice or having them drop change in a donation bucket, you can teach them how lucky they are and how the money they decide to donate can be used to help others.

3. Teach Them To Earn It

Instead of giving your kids an allowance just for being your kids, why not ask them to complete certain chores around the house? This will teach them that money doesn’t drop out the sky. You actually have to work hard in order to get it.

4. Teach Them To Organize It

When kids are young, many parents decide to have two or three piggy banks. You can have one for spending, one for saving, and if you want, one for giving too. That way, every time your child receives money, they can split it between their piggy banks. When they grow older, they can get their own checking and savings accounts.

5. Set An Example

Kids watch absolutely everything we do. I remember telling my mom to “just write a check for it.” However, I had no idea what writing a check meant at the time! Show your kids how you are paying for things. Explain to them different methods. Tell them that you are buying yourself a new dress because you worked hard, and you have money in your bank account because of it. You’d be surprised what they pick up! Kids are sponges!

6. Let Them Play Games

T.Rowe Price has a fun, interactive game called The Great Piggy Bank Adventures where you can “earn money and buy cool stuff.” Kids also learn about investing and saving up for goals through the game, so it’s a great resource!

source: everythingfinanceblog.com

Short on Money – Try These Drastic Savings Tips for the Month

When the budget is a little tight for the month, you may be wondering where in the world you can find extra money. These options can help you save money to meet your monthly budget. They are not fun, but if you are serious about making end’s meet, then these tips will help you survive.

Cut Back on What You Eat: I am not suggesting you starve yourself or your family, but instead to cut your grocery bill drastically. Our grocery budgets are easy to pull extra money from because we can be flexible with what we eat. Eat very simple and cheap food for a month to have more money for your budget. Please remember that highly processed foods or items on the dollar menu are neither simple nor cheap. They are actually more expensive. Instead, buy a few bags of beans, rice, and affordable produce. Skip on dairy and meat products if possible. Remember, it is only for a few weeks, and I suggest this step if you are in crucial need on money.

The best thing to do when you realize you are short on cash is to use anything and everything in the pantry. If you have baking essentials, then you have the ingredients for a lot of foods. Look up simple recipes to stretch your pantry staples into meals.

Cancel or Put Subscriptions on Hold: What I love about Hulu and Netflix is the option to put your subscription on hold. Yes, their monthly cost are small, such as $7.99 or $14.99 a month, but if you are in a pinch, every penny should be counted. Are there subscriptions that you can put on hold for a month or two to save some money?

If you are regularly short on money month after month, look further into your expenses to see what subscriptions and memberships can be cut out for good. Do you really need to pay that much for a gym membership or an online gaming program? Pick through all of your expenses with a fine toothcomb and ask yourself what you could do without for six months to get your budget back on track. Yes, cable or Internet or landlines are hard to get rid of, but if you are really hurting for money, see if you can cut it for six months (of course, this can vary depending on your service provider’s penalties).

Skip the Appointments: Usually if I need a little more money one month, I skip any unimportant appointments, such as getting my hair done, a check up at the doctor, or an adjustment with the chiropractor. In fact, I have gone almost a year without getting my hair done just to save a little bit of money. What appointments could you skip or post-phone until next month?

Stay Home and Be Boring: Again, this is another not very fun tip, but could be essential for those needing to find an extra $100-300 in their monthly budget. The best way to save money is to stay home and enjoy activities there. Obviously, you will still need to go to work and your children to school.

• Only enjoy activities that are in walking distance so that you can save money on gas.
• Forget the TV and the computers. Instead, play board games or catch up on reading and crafts.
• Make showers quick and shower children instead of giving them a bath (unless you have multiple children that take a bath at once).
• Wash only the clothing you need on a quick wash and in cold water.
• Keep lights off during the day, and at night, the family should be in one room sharing the light.

Like I said, these tips are not a fun way of life. Many of the tips sound like I am an advocate for an Amish lifestyle. It is just important to cut back on life’s little luxuries when we are in a financial crunch. Cutting back for a month can help us realize what is really important and what we should really spend our money on.

source: everythingfinanceblog.com

Bank of America's Newest Credit Card Pays You to Repay Them

A new credit card from Bank of America (BAC) will offer cash rewards up to $120 a year to cardholders who pay off more than the minimum balance every month.

The BankAmericard Better Balance Rewards card gives cardholders $25 per quarter as long as they always pay their bill on time and pay off more than their monthly minimum due amount. Cardholders who also have a Bank of America bank account get another $5 each quarter, bringing the total to $120 a year just for staying on top of their bills and making an effort to bringing down their debt. The rewards can be cashed out or put toward your credit card balance.




That's a very different rewards program than you see on standard rewards cards, which focus on getting cardholders to spend as much as possible to get cash back. And while those rewards cards tends to be geared toward people with excellent credit, the Los Angeles Times notes that this card is likely to be aimed at lower-income consumers with fair credit.

So is the card a good deal?

The rewards are certainly attractive. To get $120 in annual cash rewards on a standard rewards card with 1 percent cash-back, you'd need to spend $12,000 in a calendar year (though bonus categories with rewards of up to 5 percent can allow you to get there more quickly).

By contrast, you don't have to rack up a ton of spending on this card to get a comparable cash bonus. In fact, even if you have only a $15 minimum payment, you could put a measly $20 on the card every month, and as long as you're paying a little more than the minimum due amount, you'll reap the rewards. If you also have a bank account with Bank of America, that means you could wind up getting $120 in bonuses on $240 of spending, a tidy 50% cash-back rate.

But that same feature also means that the card doesn't necessarily encourage people to make a serious dent in their balances. Because the cardholder need only pay "any amount more than the monthly minimum due" to get the cash bonus, simply paying a dollar over the minimum would be sufficient to get the rewards. A better incentive to encourage responsible borrowing might be to require cardholders to pay a minimum percentage of their total balance.

Another issue is that the annual $20 perk for holding an account with Bank of America might backfire on some consumers. The card, after all, is aimed at lower-income customers, who may not be able to maintain the necessary minimum account balance to avoid Bank of America's monthly account fees. If you're considering this card and you're currently with a bank or credit union that doesn't charge a monthly maintenance fee, you should examine Bank of America's fee structure to make sure that switching banks won't cost you considerably more in the long run.

As with any other credit card, then, you'll need to examine your own personal finance habits to determine whether it's a good fit for you. Played the right way, the Better Balance Rewards card can help you make some easy money without significantly altering your spending. Just don't be fooled into thinking it's a magic bullet for eliminating your credit card debt.


source: dailyfinance.com

What's more fun in the Philippines? Foreign tourist spending says: Shopping

MANILA - What do foreign tourists spend their money on when they visit the Philippines?

According to the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB), shopping topped the agenda of foreign visitors to the Philippines, spending P35.49 billion on purchases in 2011, up by 14.9 percent from P30.89 billion in 2010.

This was followed by food and beverage serving services at P31.84 billion; accommodation, P30.44 billion; entertainment and recreation, P19.77 billion; and transport services, P4.62 billion.

The total inbound tourism expenditure, which refers to the expenditure of non-resident visitors within the Philippines, amounted to P124.46 billion, higher by 13 percent than the P109.2 billion in 2010.

The Department of Tourism reported that foreign tourist arrivals reached 3.92 million in 2011, up from 3.5 million in 2010. This means a foreign visitor spent an average of P31,750 last year.

The top sources of tourist arrivals were Korea, the US, Japan, China, Taiwan, Australia, Singapore, Canada, Hong Kong, United Kingdom, Malaysia and Germany.

Domestic tourist expenditures, which include expenditures of resident visitors on a domestic trip or as part of an international trip, grew by 27.1 percent to P995.7 billion last year from P783.4 billion in 2010.

Domestic tourists spent P447.88 billion on miscellaneous items, followed by accommodation, P156.09 billion; shopping, P150.45 billion; travel agencies and reservation services, P79.05 billion; food and beverages, P65.66 billion; transport and services, P60.47 billion; and entertainment and recreation, P36.12 billion.

The NSCB said the tourism industry contributed 5.9 percent to the economy in 2011 or a direct gross value added of P946.76 billion.

The tourism sector contributed an average of 5.8 percent to the economy during the years 2000-2010.

The industry generated a total of 3.8 million jobs last year, up by 3.5 percent from 3.7 million in 2010.

source: interaksyon.com

Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping

Ready or not, the holidays are here and the shopping season is upon us. Although I wish I could convince you not to shop during November and December -- I'm a fan of Buy Nothing Day myself -- I realize I'm in the minority. It's Black Friday. It's Christmas. People are going to shop.

If you do choose to shop this time of year, be smart about it. Make no mistake: It's a war out there, my friends, and the merchants aren't on your side. They want your hard-earned money just as much as you do, and they've got all sorts of tricks to separate you from your cash.

You see, merchants are smart. They spend billions of dollars every year conducting research into what makes people like you and me buy things. And so they put the sweetened cereal at your six-year-old's eye level. They block the aisles with displays to create traffic jams in front of the things they want to sell. They'll even use scent to encourage spending!

In his 2000 book Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping, Paco Underhill — an environmental psychologist — described what he'd learn through years of research into consumer behavior and retail marketing. Some of this stuff is very subtle.

Take this anecdote, for instance:

I once heard a talk given by the vice president of merchandising from a national chain of young women's clothing stores in which she deconstructed a particular display of T-shirts. "We buy them in Sri Lanka for $3 each," she began.

"Then we bring them over here and sew in washing instructions, which are in French and English. Notice we don't say the shirts are made in France. But you can infer that if you like. Then we merchandise the hell out of them — we fold them just right on a tasteful tabletop display, and on the wall behind it we hang a huge, gorgeous photograph of a beautiful woman in an exotic locale wearing the shirt. We shoot it so it looks like a million bucks. Then we call it an Expedition T-shirt, and we sell it for $37. And we sell a lot of them, too."

It was the most depressing valuable lesson I've ever had.

Like it or not, you're manipulated all of the time while you're shopping, and in ways you don't even suspect. But by taking Underhill's lessons for marketers and flipping them around, you can make yourself immune to marketers' manipulations. (Well, maybe not immune, but less likely to succumb to their ploys, anyhow.)

Here are a few easy changes you can make to spend less while shopping:

• Spend less time in stores. Underhill writes, "The amount of time a shopper spends in a store (assuming he or she is shopping, not waiting in line) is perhaps the single most important factor in determining how much he or she will buy." Don't browse. Shop with a purpose.
• Don't use a basket. Only use a basket (or shopping cart) if it's absolutely necessary. Baskets induce people to buy more. And you know how the upscale places offer to place your items behind the counter to make it easier for you to shop? That leads you to buy more too.
• Only seek employee contact if you need help. Employee interaction also induces people to buy more. Underhill notes that "the more shopper-employee contacts that take place, the greater the average sale."
• Don't try samples. Research indicates that people are more likely to buy something if they can sample it first. Don't try the samples as you wheel around the giant warehouse store — or stand at the perfume counter. They're likely to make you want the product.
• Don't examine or handle things you don't need. The more you interact with something, the more likely you are to buy it. "Virtually all unplanned purchases — and many planned ones, too — come as a result of the shopper seeing, touching, smelling, or tasting something that promises pleasure, if not total fulfillment."
• Don't try on clothes you don't need. "Shopper conversion rates increase by half when there is a staff-initiated contact, and it jumps to 100 percent when there is staff-initiated contact and use of the dressing room. In other words, a shopper who talks to a salesperson and tries something on is twice as likely to buy as a shopper who does neither."
• Avoid advertising. Advertising exists for one purpose: to get you to buy things. If you don't want a closet full of clothes you never wear, reduce your exposure to advertising.
• Make a list and stick to it. The majority of supermarket purchases are unplanned. Underhill writes: "In one supermarket study, we counted how many shoppers came armed with lists. Almost all of the women had them. Less than a quarter of the men did. Any wife who's watching the family budget knows better than to send her husband to the supermarket unchaperoned."
• Ignore the racks of impulse items. Those things by the cash registers are high-margin products designed to make the retailer profit while parting you from your money. These are not things that you need.
• Don't go shopping. The number one way not to buy anything is not to go shopping. It's obvious, but true.

Many of you have probably read Malcolm Gladwell's best-selling Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking. That book, too, points out the power of marketing, emphasizing how shoppers are manipulated in lots of tiny ways. Even when we think we're immune to marketing, we're not.

Here's how Underhill sums up his own research:

Good stores perform a kind of retailing judo — they use the shopper's own momentum, her largely unspoken inclinations and desires, to get her to move in a direction unplanned, and often unaware. In the end, it's not enough that goods be within reach of the shopper — she must want to reach them. And having reached them, she must then wish to own them, or all this effort goes to nought. Amid so much science, we discover in the end it's love that makes the world of retailing go round.

So, be careful out there, folks. If you're going to shop on Black Friday — or at any other point during the holiday season — be smart about it. Go prepared. Stick to your budget. And, most of all, watch for the tricks that merchants use to lure you to buy.

source: savings.com