Mortgage Blog

Black Friday has come and gone. But, if you’re like most people, you probably still have a little holiday shopping left to do. Whether you’re looking for small items like toys and clothing, big-ticket items like electronics or maybe a car, or even a plane ticket home to see the family, the following tips can help you save on your last-minute holiday purchases.

Toys, Electronics, Jewelry, and Even Groceries: Believe it or not, you can get the best deals on a wide variety of gift ideas without ever leaving your house. So whether you’re looking for toddler toys, a big screen TV, a diamond necklace or even the groceries you need for that holiday feast, you should start by shopping online. For example, websites like PriceGrabber.com allow you to compare prices at popular stores. You can also save by printing coupons on the items you want by visiting websites such as Coupons.com and CouponMom.com. Finally, consider visiting sites like RetailMeNot.com that allow people to share coupons for thousands of popular stores and items.

Clothing: If you still need to buy a gift for a teenager, then the clothing store may be a good place to start. This time of year, you’ll find tons of holiday specials that make last-minute shopping easy. But you’ll want to plan out and time your trip to the mall. That’s because when the weekend rolls around, just about every dressing room is filled…and the best deals have been picked over already. Why? It’s simple. With the large number of special promotions to be marked and shelves to be stocked, most clothing stores get started early. And savvy shoppers, like you, can get the best deals and the best selection by Thursday evenings. As an added bonus, the stores, dressing rooms, and checkout lines aren’t nearly as crowded – so you save on stress, too!

Cars: Perhaps you’re in the market for a big-ticket item this holiday season. Lots of automakers and dealers offer special financing or holiday specials to help increase sales near the end of the year. When it comes to buying a car, you may already know that your best chance to negotiate a better price is at the end of a month when car dealers need to make their monthly quotas. But did you know you can drive home a great deal early in the week, especially during the morning? At that time, the dealerships aren’t overflowing with shoppers like they are on the weekend, so you’ll get more personalized attention. Plus, salespeople are more likely to negotiate when they don’t have three or four other buyers waiting in the wings to pay full price.

Airplane Tickets: Still looking for a plane ticket to see friends and family members during the holiday season? In addition to looking for cheap airfare on sites like Priceline.com, Orbitz.com, and HotWire.com, remember to shop at the right times. For example, your best chance for saving is Wednesday morning. That’s because airlines introduce their savings over the weekend and during the first few days of the week, subtle price wars begin. By early Wednesday, the savings have usually hit their peak…and there are still plenty of seats left for you to capitalize on. And remember, the more flexible you can be on your travel dates, the better chance you have of grabbing a good deal.

The moral of the story is that with a little planning, you can still save big on large and small items on your holiday shopping list.

QUESTION: What can we learn from Europe’s financial crisis?

ANSWER: The takeaway from Europe is just how quickly things can – and probably will – change. Unless the US government does something meaningful to address our own debt problems, we will see a price adjustment in the Bond market sometime in the future. Lately, US Bonds have been benefiting from the problems in Europe…and since home loan rates are tied to Bonds, home loan rates have also benefited. But this won’t last forever. Somewhere down the road, something’s gotta give, which means the near historically low home loan rates may be living on borrowed time.

If you have any questions about how the US economy or crisis in Europe impacts the home loan rate you can get, please call or email today. It will only take a few moments to discuss what’s going on based on your unique goals and financial situation.

The holiday season is filled with food – from large family dinners to extra sweets and baked treats. But if you’re trying to watch what you eat over the next couple months, don’t just focus on the obvious holiday extras. Instead, take a look at those everyday meals that aren’t exactly what they appear to be – including foods that either misrepresent themselves or are somewhat misunderstood.

Salads: There is no question that a salad is wonderful when it comes to delivering a delicious and nutritious meal or serving as a side. The question is, are you eating it this way? One doesn’t have to go far to find a salad that includes ingredients like cheese, croutons, egg, fried chicken, etc. While all of these ingredients are delicious and can be enjoyed in moderation, they do nothing to help save on calories, carbs, or fat grams. One of the most popular salads in the USA is the Chicken Caesar. Did you know that the typical version of this salad has 700 calories with a whopping 46 grams of fat? Salads are at their nutritional best when they predominantly contain fresh, raw vegetables and lean protein. When adding any of the more highly caloric ingredients, do so in moderation, and try to add only one or two of them to your salad.

Rice Cakes: Rice cakes are tricky! Although they are the poster child for all things healthy, they contain a large amount of high glycemic index carbohydrates, known to cause a rise in blood sugar levels. Elevated blood sugar levels have been shown to slow down the body’s ability to burn fat.

Crackers: It’s a common perception that crackers are a good alternative to chips. Believe it or not, this isn’t always the case. Many crackers contain more calories and fat than natural corn chips, not to mention hydrogenated oils and sugar.

Fruit Juice: Regardless of whether it’s bottled or freshly squeezed, fruit juice is high in both sugar and calories. While natural and fresh-squeezed juices do contain some positive nutrients, they are not the best choice for consuming in large quantities. Quite often, an 8-ounce glass of juice has nearly the same calories and sugar content as the same amount of soda. When consuming fruit juice, do so in moderation and stick to either fresh-squeezed or natural juices containing 100% juice with no added sugar. One way to limit your fruit juice consumption is to dilute it with spring water.

Protein Bars: Protein bars are misleading. Many of these bars were designed with pro athletes in mind. When eating them as a between-meal snack, they can provide more protein than the average person needs, and more calories than the average person can burn off. For some bars, these amounts are so high they’re more of a meal replacement than a snack.

But here’s the good news…

Chili: This is a food that has received a bad rap – mainly because “restaurant chili” contains inordinate amounts of fat, sodium, and calories. But it doesn’t have to be this way, as chili doesn’t require large amounts of oil or meat to taste great. Lean ground turkey or chicken, or even various soy-based products can be used in place of beef and pork. The addition of various vegetables and legumes will add vitamins, minerals, and dietary fiber to your meal, thus making chili a nutrient-dense food.

Nuts: Nuts should be eaten in moderation by anyone counting fat grams, but that doesn’t mean they’re an unhealthy food. Actually, it’s quite the opposite. For starters, nuts are a fantastic source of low-carb protein. Due to their dietary fiber content, they also have the ability to curb hunger, making them a worthy between-meal snack. In the case of walnuts, they are also heart healthy as they contain Omega-3 fatty acids.

Salsa: Truth be told, most salsas are low in calories and fat. An added benefit to eating any salsa with tomatoes as an ingredient is that it contains the nutrient lycopene, which is a powerful antioxidant. Aside from promoting overall heart health, the body converts lycopene into vitamin A, which aids both vision and healthy skin.

Potatoes: Here’s something you may not know. Potatoes are high in antioxidants. In fact, a Department of Agriculture study that looked at the antioxidant levels of over 100 different foods ranked the potato 17th highest overall in antioxidants. Red-skinned potatoes and sweet potatoes also have high levels of nutritious carotenoids.

It’s important to know that we are not recommending nor discouraging the consumption of any of these foods. As a matter of fact, a well-rounded diet that includes controlled portions and concentrates mostly on whole foods is the best way to go. But this also includes an occasional splurge. After all, variety is the spice of life – especially during the holiday season!

Black Friday – the day after Thanksgiving that traditionally signals the beginning of the holiday shopping season because stores offer deep discounts that draw large, deal-hungry crowds – is just a couple of days away. Are you ready?

If you’re a Black Friday pro who lines up outside stores every year before the crack of dawn to nab bargains, you’re probably already planning your strategy – and we can help.

If you savor your sleep and sanity, you’re probably not even thinking about stepping in a store November 25. But keep in mind that you don’t have to brave the crowds to take advantage of Black Friday sales.

These Black Friday do’s and don’ts will help you score the best deals – whether you want to shop from home in your pajamas or venture out to the stores (perhaps in something other than PJs).

DON’T rely solely on leaked ads to plan your Black Friday strategy. Plenty of Web sites specialize in publishing Black Friday ads before they appear on retailers’ Web sites or in newspapers. You can use these leaked ads as a starting point for planning your purchases, but realize that you’re reading gossip, says Dan de Grandpre, CEO of dealnews.com, one of our favorite deal sites. Inevitably, some of the information in leaked ads is wrong, he says. Most legitimate ads aren’t published until the Sunday before Black Friday.

DO expect some Black Friday sales to start on Thursday. Many retailers will start offering discounts online on Thanksgiving day. And some, such as Amazon, will offer Black Friday deals several days before November 25 — so hot items may sell out before the big shopping day after Thanksgiving.

DON’T assume the best deals are in the stores. It’s a tradition for a lot of people to get up at the crack of dawn and camp out in front of stores to scoop up deals. But de Grandpre says a lot of doorbusters (those deeply discounted items retailers use to get consumers in the door early Friday) will be available online, too — especially on big-ticket products. And if an Apple product is on your gift list, you’ll probably find it for less online (at Amazon.com, MacMall.com or McConnection.com) than at an Apple store — and you may escape sales tax on your purchase.

DO brave the crowds if you’re trying to snag an extremely limited item. You have a better chance of getting the deal if you go to the store – and are first in line. Keep in mind, though, that items that are marked down dramatically are cheap items to begin with – not top-selling, name-brand products, de Grandpre says.

DON’T do all your holiday shopping on Black Friday. Consider the Friday after Thanksgiving as one of several days to find deals. The best deals on apparel usually appear on Cyber Monday (November 28 this year), when retailers discount items online. Toys will be cheaper the first two weeks of December when Walmart and Amazon go to war with each other to offer the lowest prices and clear out inventory before Christmas, de Grandpre says. And the best deals on name-brand TVs and luxury items can be found in early December, too.

DO check return policies. Some retailers tighten their policies around the holidays. Some charge restocking fees if you bring an item back. And some won’t let you exchange items that were manufactured specifically for Black Friday (to be sold at a low price). So be sure to ask each store what its policy is, and hang on to your receipts.

DON’T spring for extended warranties on big-ticket items. There’s a good chance that a salesperson will try to talk you into paying extra for an extended warranty if you purchase a big-ticket item on Black Friday. That’s because revenue from extended warranties helps make up for lost profits on discounted items. Typically, you’ll pay 10% to 20% more for an item to extend a one-year manufacturer’s warranty through the fifth year of ownership. But most major appliances do not break down within the extended-warranty period. Plus, you might already be covered if you use your credit card to purchase an item (see What You Need to Know About Warranties).

AND FINALLY … DON’T wait until the week before Christmas to shop. Retailers often raise prices because supplies are limited and they know that last-minute shoppers will pay more to purchase all the items on their gift lists.

Reprinted with permission. All Contents ©2011 The Kiplinger Washington Editors. www.kiplinger.com.

QUESTION: What’s going on with inflation?

ANSWER: Contrary to what the Fed has said about inflation moderating, year-over-year inflation is on the rise. In fact, the headline Producer Price Index (PPI) was reported up again last month. In addition, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was reported last month at a year-over-year level of 3.9%, which is more than double from the 1.6% level in January.

Remember, inflation is the archenemy of Bonds and home loan rates. The concept is very simple: If inflation rises, investors in Bonds demand a higher yield to offset the lost buying power inflation imposes on a fixed payment. And as home loan rates are tied to Mortgage Bonds, this would mean home loan rates move higher.

If you have any questions about how inflation and economic news might impact the home loan rate you can get, please call or email today. It will only take a few moments to discuss what’s going on based on your unique goals and financial situation.