With the real estate market being in a slump right now, buyers can take such advantage of their strong bargaining position! Trusting the broker can be the hardest part of buying a house. Being a prepared home shopper can be the best bargaining tool you have.
The most important thing you need to do as a buyer is hire a highly skilled inspector. Most homeowners in the state of Illinois require you to have an inspection within 10 days of signing the contract. This doesn’t give you a lot of time to find an inspector.
COMMON MISSTATEMENTS MADE BY REAL ESTATE BROKERS:
- “The mechanicals have all been recently replaced”,
- “This item was just repaired”,
- “The house is environmentally safe.”
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As you prepare for the tax and moving season, you probably aren’t thinking about writing off things around your house, but it pays to go through the clutter—especially this month. But before taking these write-offs, there are some things you need to know or else you can forget about saving tax dollars.
WRITING OFF FURNITURE DONATIONS—BEWARE OF ASSEMBLING!
If, in the past year, in the process of moving, clearing out the clutter or trading up, you have donated any furniture to a charity organization, you are entitled to the value of the furniture for a write off. For 2007, make sure you have a copy of the receipt and declare it. BEWARE: Some charities refuse to accept any goods that have been assembled. Make sure to leave unopened furniture in the box! Ex: Salvation Army won’t take IKEA furniture because of legal issues arising over assembly and the fragility of the piece. Assembled furniture, believe it or not, poses a legal risk.
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With the average price of staples going up now, like bread and flour, we’re all looking for ways to save money on the basics, like groceries, prescriptions and toiletries. Saving money can be challenging if you have a large family that uses up your stock.
Here’s some real ways you can start saving:
GROCERIES:
- Get coupons online instead of clipping coupons from the paper: will save you time. Great source is coupons.com or coupons.smartsource.com. Can get coupons for a variety of food all on one site.
- Lower the quantity you purchase. It is a fact that we waste 15% of all the food we buy, and we spend, on average, 15% of our salary on food.
- Shop in only one store. Temptations go up the more stores you shop at.
- For produce bargains, shop at the very end of the day.
- Stay away from wholesale clubs that charge a membership fee, and whose large supply of products will be wasted . . . instead, for the basics, try a discount grocery store like the Dollar Store or Aldi’s. Can even get toiletries and detergents cheaper those places.
- When spend $250 at Dominick’s, get 125 miles on United…really adds up to defray travel costs.
ORGANIC FOOD:
- Buy bulk only in peak season.
- Even Wal-Mart carries organic packaged foods—don’t have to go to higher priced stores to buy organic.
- Join local farmer coops—pay fee but get weekly deliveries. Go to the National Agricultural Library to find local farmers selling in your neighborhood.
- Organic companies now offering coupons: Stonyfield Farm and Cascadian Farm.
***Watch out for savings programs like Upromise. They may save a few percentage points on your purchases, but the interest rate on their cards is high.
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As featured on ABC7 Chicago.
As the vacation season heats up, we are all looking for a way to get a good deal on nice hotels. The larger hotel chains are offering perks not available at boutique hotels, like the ability to earn rewards and get upgrades at thousands of hotels across the world, and even points that can be used toward time shares, or time shares that can accrue hotel rewards points.
HOTTEST TREND IN HOTEL CHAINS: TIME SHARES
With the economy in a slump, time shares, popular at hotels since the mid-80’s, offer little “investment” for a return of possible luxury accommodations at first class hotel resorts. A few things to watch out for:
- Don’t think of as way to get a return on investment. Paying today for future vacations during the course of your life, and ability to stay at hundreds of different locations throughout the world. For however many weeks per year you want. The idea is to save money on future vacations.
- Annual fees add up.
- Black-out dates during peak season, (Saturday-Saturday rentals; weeks not split up to accommodate your preference), or difficulty getting into a resort you want to go to, without paying more money; book out only 12 months in advance at some resort properties.
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As featured on ABC7 Chicago 
If you’re shopping for airline tickets, thinking about Spring Break, or even figuring out which airlines to start flying frequently to rack up miles, there are some new frequent flier trends you need to know about!
3 OF THE LATEST FREQUENT FLIER PROGRAM TRENDS
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1/10 people purchase tickets with miles now—flights sell out quickly, causing blackout dates, or dates you can’t travel usually occur during peak travel seasons—airlines can charge double miles (instead of 25,000, i.e. 50,000 miles—United)
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Option to use miles now to buy things like electronics, flowers, hotels…
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Can buy miles now as “gift cards”, just like you would at a retail store for up to 250,000 miles! (costs around $6,000)
Also good to keep in mind:
Miles expire in 18 months.
If you are using your miles to buy things, know that the cost to redeem miles can be high ($25 or more!), and you will need to fill out and have a form approved before accruing miles at retailers.
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As featured on ABC7 Chicago. 
Many of us think that the really good deals on our favorite items come after a holiday is over. But according to the National Retail Federation, the time leading right up to the holidays is when you can get the very best discounts…retailers want to create sales to generate revenue, and use targeted marketing campaigns to lure in shoppers. Many of us think, for example, the price of jewelry must go up before Valentine’s Day, but it’s just the opposite.
APPLIANCES/ELECTRONICS
Best time of year to get deepest discounts on electronics and appliances is when models change over—typically, every 6 months. When models change over you can get floor models deeply discounted or promotional pricing on new items. In July, big sales in refrigerators—more rebates, because more heat breaks down refrigeration that month. Save money year-round on energy-saving appliances that cut down on utility bills. Typically, in February, March and November there are promotions. But best day for discounts on electronics is the day after Thanksgiving.
MAKEUP/COSMETICS
For bargains, don’t shop department stores, except during the holiday season when packaging gets dated quickly. The specialty boutiques offer substantial discounts on discontinued products, particularly in July, when new colors introduced, but great time to look for the classics. Specialty stores (Ulta and Sephora) offer rewards programs for free makeup. You can save you a lot if you spend more than $50 on makeup.
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As featured on ABC7 Chicago. 
While you are resting up from the holiday festivities, you need to start thinking about how and when you will return those unwanted gifts. We’ve all received them. According to the NRF, 80% of all retailers are keeping their return policies from last year, but there are some important changes happening you need to know about when returning gifts or using those gift cards.
TRENDS IN RETURNS
RETAIL STORES:
Good news: Between this year and last year retailers have become more flexible, allowing you with items purchased online to return items directly to the stores. Gift returns are down because more than 75% of the population is giving gift cards. Most retail stores are being more lenient about expiration dates, and eliminating them.
Bad news:
- The store return lines may be a little long
- If you try to return your gift without a gift receipt you may not get to return or will only get a portion back
- Same goes for packaging-keep original packaging, and don’t open anything or else you may only get back 50% in some cases (Amazon and the electronics stores–$16 b in retail losses for one-time users, so very strict this year).
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Home shopping expert and Random House author Jennifer Litwin announced her favorite holiday gifts for every room in the house, including gifts for both the cost-conscious shopper and the deep pocket spender.
KITCHEN
Less Expensive: One of my favorite magazines is This Old House, which can give your recipient ideas for every room of the house, along with ideas and resources for shopping.
Only $16 for 10 issues.
More Expensive: Cupcakes have made a huge comeback (at least in our house), and I love the Cupcake Carrying Case by Oneida, a great case for transporting messy cupcakes.
$19.99 at Cooking.com.
Holds 24 cupcakes. Continue reading »
Home shopping expert and Random House author Jennifer Litwin announced five things consumers should consider when shopping for the holiday season. Litwin also researched name brand store credit/gift cards that achieve the biggest bang for the buck for the consumer.
“Holiday shoppers are always thinking about finishing their homes in time for the holidays, accommodating guests, and doing it all on a budget,” said Shop Cop and Random House author Jennifer Litwin.
“What consumers don’t realize when finishing their homes in time for the holidays is the varying degrees of ‘pay for play’ benefits each name brand store credit and gift card will offer when making purchases. Some holiday shoppers may spend just $100 to finish their home while others may spend $10,000; so knowing what store credit/gift cards can save them money and give them great deals can make all the difference in the world.”
THINGS TO CONSIDER WHEN SHOPPING THIS SEASON:
- If shopping online, look for free delivery. Many stores are offering free delivery as an incentive. Otherwise, there is typically a charge of about 10% for shipping big ticket items like furniture.
- Beware of store credit card rebate/savings programs because most only offer a 1-2% savings on the cost of your purchases, but you will still incur financing charges, just as with a typical credit card.
- If a price seems too good to be true, ask to see an assembly sheet to find out how difficult it will be to actually assemble the piece.
- Buy gift cards for your loved ones that can be used both in the store and online. Many egift cards can only be used for online purchases, and then merchandise needs to be returned to a non-store location.
- If making a lot of purchases, try to do it with a store credit card that offers good discounts for large purchases, or free, desirable gifts.
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Christmas is here again and it’s time to start thinking about how we are going to decorate our homes. Over the past five years the Christmas industry has seen a dramatic shift in what people are buying in the way of trees and lights.
More people shop on the internet today for Christmas trees, both fresh and artificial, because it saves time. Saving time is also a reason why more people today are buying artificial trees. When it comes to Christmas tree lights LED lights have paved the way for a more energy-efficient, longer-life bulb.
DECIDING BETWEEN ARTIFICIAL AND REAL TREES
According to the National Christmas Tree Association, the association that has given a tree annually to the President and first family since 1966, approximately half of all people buying trees are buying artificial trees. However, Rick Dungee from the NCTA (National Christmas Tree Association) says that the “traditionalists will always prefer a real tree, in its look, smell and touch, to an artificial tree.” Continue reading »