Crafting A Budget

 

By News 4 New York Reporter Roseanne Colletti

 

Pay yourself first! It’s the cardinal rule of creating a budget.

 

Before you factor in the mortgage or rent, car payment and insurance, food and entertainment and the rest, set aside a fixed amount of each paycheck for savings. This is above and beyond what may already go directly into your 401K pre-tax.

 

Depending on your income level, isolate $10, $20, $50 or $100 each week cash and periodically transfer into a savings account with the highest interest rate you can find. Can’t do it by the week, drop a dollar into a glass jar each and every day. Grow this into your emergency fund and try not to tap for at least a year. It seems like peanuts in the beginning, but $100 a week will grow to over $5,000 for the year, even $10 a week becomes $520 for the year, and that dollar a day adds up to $365 — make that $366 for leap years.

 

None of this is likely to make you a candidate for the “Fortune 500″ list, but it is money in the bank that can become a comfortable cushion.

 

Tips On Daily Ways To Save:

– Put all loose change in a large can or jar, once a month deposit in bank

– Take lunch to work two days each week and put cash in cookie jar. Once a month deposit the money in the bank

– Reduce your cell phone use and make non-emergency family calls at night.

– Give up extra phone service options on your house phone — use an inexpensive answering machine instead

– Turn off lights when they are not in use.

– Lower the temperature of the hot water heater

– Learn to do simple sewing repairs such as hems and buttons yourself

– Buy in bulk, but only when it makes sense.

– Avoid prepared foods, cook in quantity and freeze.

Finding The Right Apartment In Manhattan

By News 4 New York Reporter Roseanne Colletti

Are there any apartment bargains in Manhattan? Sure, but try to find them — there’s the rub.

First vacancies are miniscule. CitiHabitats reports the overall vacancy rate for Manhattan for May was 1.15 percent. The West Village had the lowest rate at .65 percent. Murray Hill had the highest rate at 1.39%.

Also, recession or not, rental prices climbed from April to May. Blame that on new college grads and summer interns looking for new digs.

Now take a breath and take in the sticker shock.

The average monthly rental price for a studio was $1,937, a one bedroom $2, 611, and a two bedroom averaged $3,953.

Chelsea was the highest for studios at $2,410, Washington Heights the lowest at $1,004. It also had the least expensive one-bedrooms at $1,285, while SoHo/Tribeca had the highest at $3, 538.

While CitiHabitats’ figures are discouraging, the persistent may prevail and luck into a “find.”

To do that, put on your walking shoes and knock on every door in the neighborhood you want.

Sometimes, you can get ahead of the Web lists by asking “what’s coming up?” as opposed to “what’s available right now?”

Face time is also a factor; people get to know you and may do you the favor of giving you a heads up before everyone else shows up.

Good luck, you’ll need that too.

Hidden Fees Travel

By News 4 New York Reporter Roseanne Colletti

Look before you book, if you want to make sure you don’t “get took” by hidden hotel fees.

Some properties now include a resort fee for use of a health club or exercise equipment — even if you don’t use them.

Unless you decline this add-on ahead of time, you will automatically be charged in some cases. The same frequently holds true for business centers available to hotel guests.

And before you reach into your wallet to tip the bellman for a room service delivery, make sure a gratuity is not already included in the charge — the same goes for housekeeping. Tipping is a time-honored custom, but you don’t need to do it twice.

I’ll share a few more travel secrets with you in my upcoming report on New York Nightly News at 7.

Happy trails!

Getting the Most Out Of Your Credit Cards

 

By Roseanne Colletti, Reporter

Know this going in: a credit card offering a reward program typically has a higher interest rate than cards not offering rewards. 

     So, if you carry a monthly balance, you could pay more in interest than you collect in reward points. On the other hand, if you do opt for a rewards program card, read the fine print to see just how expansive it is. It may have a cap on the amount you can collect or the time in which you may use your credits.  

     There could also be a spending requirement before you start accruing points. Also, watch out for the types of things offered. Sometimes, spending your hard-earned points is actually more expensive than just going out and paying for the items.

      As a practical matter, its better to have just one or two cards with a rewards program and then use them for everything, including bill-paying when you can. Your point repository will grow faster and fatter. Don’t forget to tune in to  ”Today in New York” on Monday, June 2nd, for my report on cards that give money back for gasoline.

Show Me The Money!

By Glenn Zimmerman, Reporter

A man walks into a local bank and opens an account. This may sound like the beginning of a joke, but I have a hard time laughing about losing money. The bank offered me an introductory rate that was well over 4 percent, but when it expired in a few months, I knew it was going to be ugly. The definition of ugly became .88 percent — just terrible! When I noticed how passively everything changed to that terrible rate, it made me wonder how many people have a lot of money tied up in accounts earning little to no interest. It turns out that lots of people face this dilemma. I spoke to “The Money Coach,” Lynnette Khalfani-Cox, who made some suggestions:

1) SHOP AROUND

Use Web sites such as bankrate.com and find the best rates out there. Play with the option of getting higher introductory rates, but remember to check back before they drop.

2) LOOK AT CREDIT UNIONS OR YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD BANK

Smaller facilities might be hungrier for your business and because of that offer better rates. Research credit unions at: cuna.org.

3) NEGOTIATE WITH YOUR BANK

Tell them you plan to move your money and see how they react.

4) TURBO CHARGE YOUR SAVINGS WITH AN IDA

Individual Development Accounts are set up to help lower-income families save, often adding $2 or even $3 for every dollar you add. I know this sounds too good to be true (200 to 300 percent interest), but IDAs are funded by corporate and government sponsors. The only catch is: the IDA will have to hold your money for a period of time (perhaps 12 months) before you can get to it. Entry into an IDA is based upon your income and is reserved for people (families) who are living just above the poverty line (i.e., for a single person you must earn approximately $20,800 or less to qualify). You can get more information about IDAs at idanetwork.org.

5) CONSIDER LONGER TERM CDs

This is for people not as worried about having immediate access to their cash. If you get terms of three years or more, there are rates available above 4 percent (yeah — you beat inflation). For research you can also check bankrate.com.

As for my account, I went back to the bank and did some negotiating. After only a few seconds, the bank guy increased my rate to 2 percent. Then the bank extended it another .35 percent. Clearly I can do better with another bank, and will be exploring some other options.

Pizza Could Cost More Dough

By Roseanne Colletti

 
Before you grab that next slice of pizza on the street, make sure you have a little extra change on you. Yep, many favorite New York City snacks are going to take a bigger bite out of you, or at least your wallet.

How much depends on what you buy, but figure 10 to 20 cents more for a bagel and maybe 50 cents more for a plain slice at your favorite pizzeria.

So, look for those lunch time special offers — you know two slices and a soda for a fixed price — and you may do better, but still no guarantee.

You might also consider buying bagels at your grocery store and brown-bagging in the morning.

Please don’t blame me, the bearer of these bad-tidings. Blame the craziness in the commodities markets that are sending the price of basic ingredients such as flour and sugar through the roof.

On the bright side, it might be a good time to start that diet you have been putting off. You can shrink your waistline and fatten your pocketbook.

Watch Roseanne Colletti’s piece on Today In New York this Monday, May 19. 

Food For A Dollar: Tasty, Cheap, But Healthy?

By Ida Siegal, Reporter

 

I was pleasantly surprised to find so many restaurants in Manhattan that offer items on the menu for a mere dollar. 

 

In the newsroom, we all joked ahead of time that I’d be sampling foods from who knows where that probably wouldn’t taste too good.

 

We were wrong. Everything I tried — from the pizza to the dumplings to the fried chicken — was fantastic. I probably would’ve paid more than a dollar.  But here’s the catch: It was almost all fried. 

 

The healthiest thing I ate Wednesday was probably the vegetables mixed in with potato in the fried Indian samosa. The grease soaked through the bag.

 

So, I didn’t have to sacrifice taste for a dollar, but I may have had to sacrifice a pant size!

Easy Money, Hard Decisions

By Ida Siegal, Reporter

Nothing in life is free, right? But that 401k sitting in your bank account kind of feels like it sometimes.

Most people don’t even notice the money that gets deducted from their paycheck and entered into an investment account. All of a sudden you get the statement at the end of year or quarterly, and low and behold there’s money! Like magic.

Now that you have this magic money, what to do? Now all the experts will say, “save, save, save!” And, of course, they are right.

Withdrawing your magic money is extremely costly. First you have to pay the 10 percent penalty. Then come tax time, suddenly Uncle Sam figures out you’ve come into money! Fantastic, we’ll take some more of it, thank you. And then of course there’s less money to retire with, and less money from which to accrue interest. By the time you’re done, that $10,000 withdrawal has cost a lot more.

So, fine you lose a lot of money. But aren’t some things worth the loss?

My producer was very interested in this story. She used 401k money to eliminate her credit card debt. She is very proud to say so. She avoided penalties because she took the money out after turning 59 and a half. That’s the age at which you escape penalties, but she still paid taxes on it.

She knows her peace of mind came with a price. But doesn’t everything? She’ll now have less money to retire. But couldn’t the argument be made that choosing to have less money at retirement is the same thing as choosing a career you know will pay less money, but will have other kinds of rewards? I don’t know. What do you think?

Be Wary Of Hidden Cell Phone Fees

By Roseanne Colletti, Reporter

You’ve got to love your cell phone. You can even use it to watch my television reports. But who is watching out for those hidden fees that sneak up on you?

Nobody, but you. So, take heed and take heart:

Before you sign up with a carrier, ask about the window for returns, just in case service is a bust in the locations you need.

Also inquire about fees for early termination and upgrades. Then, after you pick up your chin from the floor, remember you should try to negotiate a way out of these fees if ever hit with them.

If such diplomacy fails, consider doing an online cell phone swap with another consumer on sites such as CellTradeUSA.com and CellSwapper.com.

If you want to live on the edge, when your cell phone contract expires, don’t re-up or renew. Just continue paying each month. True, you no longer have the price locked in, but the competition is so great for cell customers, the carrier is not likely to run you off by raising your rate.

What You Don’t Really Need…

By Ida Siegal, Reporter

We all lament over having too much stuff and not enough room.

I can’t tell you how many times my husband and I have said we need to clean our closets, but never do. These days a lot of people are cleaning out their closets and you might not believe what they are getting rid of. I checked out one of those E-bay drop off stores.

This one was called iSold it on Ebay, on Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn.

People are selling big things. I’m talking about Chanel bags, Tiffany jewelry and Rolex watches. We saw an Ostrich coat by Louis Vuitton. Someone paid $28,500 for it retail. I kid you not — I doubled-checked the price tag! The list goes on.

All of these people need the cash. Mind you, they are not starving. Anyone who can shell out that kind of money on a coat is likely going to be OK.

These people have decided that while gas prices continue to soar, property values continue to drop and the dollar weakens every day they can do without.

It may sound frivolous to most people, but economists worry when the wealthy worry. If they are selling, it likely means they’re not buying. The ripple effects are obvious. The lesson? When women decide they no longer need $1,500 handbags, it doesn’t bode well for any of us.