An Interesting & More Real Christmas

If your local newspapers are correct, it would appear that the recent financial turmoil has changed the way in which many people have viewed Christmas in 2008. Everyone knows that Christmas is overly commercialized and it is difficult not to get caught up in the hype and frenzy. But recent reports appear to indicate that spending will be down this year, and that many people will be looking less at the material aspects that typically surrounds the holiday, and more toward the important aspects of Christmas such as spending time with family, giving gifts with meaning (i.e. making them) and still giving to those who are less fortunate as well as donating their time. Shelters and food banks in my hometown of Toronto have been turning volunteers away, as they already have more than they need. Some charities have noticed an increase of people making donations in others' names in lieu of giving them a Christmas gift.

Perhaps this year and possibly 2009 (if economic predictions hold true) will build the foundation away from rampant consumerism and materialism and with future holiday seasons remaining closer towards the true spirit of Christmas. That is my Christmas wish this year.

One Sector That's Thriving in These Thrifty Times

When bad news prevails throughout the economy, it's sometimes hard to find sectors that are thriving. The one I did find was the thrift store sector which encompasses those business that sell second-hand goods, sell items on consignment and even sell gently-used high-end, brand name clothing. I'm happy to see this sector thrive for a number of reasons:

1) It reduces waste by having more people recycle their unwanted clothing, and curbs rampant conspicuous consumption
2) Often donations and their subsequent sale of unwanted clothing helps support charities such as Goodwill and Salvation Army to provide important social programs in the community

3) More people start to realize that they can buy almost any type of item at far less than retail prices

4) It reduces the temptation to adopt a 'keeping up with the Jones' mentality

5) Greater adoption of buying used items, starts to change the stigma associated with thrift and second-hand stores

So, for me, there is a silver lining to the dark cloud sitting ominously over us.

10 Easy Ways to Save Money Right Away

The economic news continues to be bleak, with ongoing reports of job losses, gloomy forecasts and weaker economic numbers. Not even the euphoria of an Obama victory or aggressive rate cuts by numerous foreign central banks has been able to wash away the harsh realities of the current financial mess the world is in.

Now is the time to hunker down and tighten belts. While never easy to change one's long-standing habits, it can be easier than one thinks. Here are some easy ways to quickly (and somewhat painlessly) save some cash.
1. Lessen your debt by cutting up your credit cards, so that you don't spend as much

2. Reduce interest costs by paying off as much of your credit card debt as possible, or by consolidating your loans

3. Review all your insurance (car, home, life) and utility (cable, phone, cellphone, Internet) rates and change vendors

4. Cook rather than buy prepared foods (cheaper and healthier)

5. Cut out daily impulse purchases, such as candy, lattes, cosmetics, magazines etc.

6. Sell unused items - those items that you have purchased, but now languish in a closet, garage, attic or basement.

7. Use the library as your source for DVDs, books and magazines

8. Use coupons, and buy in bulk on staple items that are on sale
9. Comparison shop before actually buying

10. Dine in with friends, rather than dining out at expensive eateries

Sweetening the Deals in a Car Buyer's Market

With news that the Big Three Detroit automakers are flirting with bankruptcy, it is probably a great time to make a deal on a new car. While prices are rapidly falling through generous incentives and discounts, financing may still be expensive, but for anyone with cash, this is a particularly fruitful time to start shopping for a vehicle. I have noticed that prices have been dramatically lowered on cars that do not need to be financed through the dealership. In Canada, you can buy four cars for less than $10,000 if you pay for them in cash. These are the Hyundai Accent, Chev Aveo, Kia Rio and Pontiac Wave. I have recently seen the Kio Sportage SUV offered for less than $15,000 (cash price), a discount of $5,000. Or when I was in Vancouver last month, I saw a Honda dealership offering a brand new Honda Odyssey minivan for $24,000, an $8,000 discount on the $32,000 MSRP.

While you won't find incentives for the most popular of the fuel efficient cars such a the Honda Fit or Toyota Yaris, it is the complete opposite for the (sometimes perceived to be) gas guzzling sectors such as trucks and SUVs.

Traditionally the best time to buy a new car in North America is at the end of summer (mid-September onwards) as dealers attempt to get rid of the current year's stock, and making space on showroom floors for next year's models. Models whose sales have been disappointing are also ripe for a great deal. These days, with sales of almost all vehicles falling (and therefore having disappointing numbers), most car manufacturers are offering deals, discounts, rebates and incentives on almost all models.

With Christmas looking bleak for many consumer-oriented sectors including retailers, look for December 2008 and January 2009 to be another opportunity to strike a good deal, as car dealers experience a quieter-than-normal new year lull. Certain cars have specific times of the year when it is best to buy them. For obvious reasons, autumn and winter is the best time to buy a convertible. Likewise, after the summer holiday driving season is over, the price of minivans start to fall.

For new car buyers with cash in hand, the next year or two will feel like Christmas all year round.

When Buying Domestic is Really Buying Import

In these days of sky-high gasoline prices, drivers are looking for alternatives to reduce their overall costs of ownership - including purchase price, fuel efficiency maintenance and depreciation. The days of gas-guzzling V8 engines may be over, spelling a radical shift in the thinking of US car makers. Isn't it ironic that hybrids and electric cars were slow to the market by the domestic car makers (because their gas guzzling SUVs and trucks were their highest margin vehicles), but they have been able to unveil the Escalade Hybrid and Volt electric car in mere months after crude oil spiked to record levels?

It was not that long ago that Japanese (let alone the Korean) automobiles were considered to be of low quality and unworthy of consideration by discerning buyers. Where the Asian automakers have been very good (as opposed to the Eastern European manufacturers such as Yugo and Lada) is that they have persevered over their initial poor decisions of bringing low-cost, low-quality cars (remember the Hyundai Pony) to North America, and took a long-term approach to building vehicles that emphasized reliability, quality and fuel-efficiency. This is also a very different approach to the Americans who focused on lots of gadgets and features, big engines but poor reliability and low quality vehicles. Granted, they have started to follow the Asian philosophy, more out of necessity, and started building better quality products. This has been so ever since the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord surpassed the Ford Taurus as America's best-selling car. In the more conservative Canada, the smaller Honda Civic has been the best-selling car in that country, surpassing the Chevrolet Cavalier/Pontiac Sunfire a few years back.

Which brings me to this post, and how smart consumers can buy import quality vehicles but pay domestic vehicle prices. I have been doing this for years and have been rewarded handsomely for paying next to nothing for used cars that lasted me a number of trouble-free years. There are a number of cars on the market that are Asian but are badged as domestic. This has been going on for years, as all the US car makers have used their partnerships and/or ownership of Asian car manufacturers to help them bring smaller cars to the local market. They called it badge engineering. In the 1990's, the Dodge Colt was really a Mitsubishi, the Geo Storm was really an Isuzu, the Geo Tracker was a Suzuki, and even the Geo Priszm was really a Toyota in disguise. Buying them on the used car market was an especially good buy (except perhaps the Ford Festiva which was a re-badged low-quality Kia), as the rate of depreciation on these 'domestic' vehicles was much faster was much faster than those for their imported cousins such as Honda, Toyota and Mazda.

These days, such badge engineering still exists, although perhaps not as frequently as in the past. But buying a new Chevrolet Optra or Aveo is really buying a Daewoo, and the Pontiac Vibe is mechanically identical to the Toyota Matrix. Many Ford vehicles share a platform with Mazda cars. The Saturn Astra and Aura are really award-winning, German engineered Opels. Even some recent large-sized Chevrolet models such as the Epica were really Suzuki cars.

Because the Big 3 domestic automakers are currently in financial difficulties, they are more likely to offer all sorts of incentives and discounts, and you are much more likely to be able to bargain for a rock-bottom price with them than the dealers of imports. So get the best of both worlds by doing some research on the exact origins of the vehicles you are considering, and go get the salesmen to sharpen their pencils and grab yourself a bargain.

Are We Crazy or Is Everyone Else Lazy?

I recently wrote a post about the use of time, and as I am headed for a two-week vacation to the west coast (Seattle & Vancouver), I thought I would write a post about vacation time. This topic has always intrigued me, as people often tend to complain about a lack of personal time, and a need to find time to escape from the stresses of the rat race. Throw in the piddly amount of vacation time given to North American employers, and it becomes even more baffling that the average American and Canadian worker fails to use up all their allotted vacation days. Huh?

This anomaly has existed for many years. According to the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation & Development), recent stats show that Americans put in 15% more hours than their European Union counterparts, with Koreans putting in the most hours. At the same time,the average amount of vacation time for North Americans is two weeks while in Europe it is around four weeks.

And yet, according to Expedia's 2008 International Vacation Deprivation Survey, 31% of Americans do not take advantage of their full vacation allocation, leaving an average of 3 unused vacation days, compared to only 1 in Canada. This translates to employees giving away $65 billion of earned money back to their employers.

To me unused vacation is like throwing away money. Anyone trying to maximize their dollars would make sure they take their full allotment of vacation days, if not for monetary purposes, at least for their own health, sanity and overall well-being. By the way, according to the Expedia survey, the average French worker gets 37 days vacation.

Thinking About Time

Today is Thanksgiving Day in Canada, and a well-deserved respite for the workforce. I'm sure that everyone relishes the day off to relax, but also worry about maximizing their free time to 'get things done'. Since I quit working, I have had lots of time on my hands, and sometimes the things that I said I would get done "when I had more free", still haven't been done. Most are mundane tasks such as sorting out my old financial statements, cleaning out closets, wash the car etc. Sometimes, no matter how much time we have, we will still procrastinate because no-one really likes to do the small and often dull stuff.

I am a great proponent of making 'To Do Lists' as it prioritizes the day's activities and gives me direction. When I have completed the list of tasks, I also gain satisfaction in accomplishing things I probably would not have done if I had just been left to my own devices. My biggest problem, as is for most others, is that I often tackle the easy tasks on the list first, and carry over the hard ones to the next day (indefinitely). I know that I should be doing it the other way, but humans tend to look for the easy way out first.

This got me thinking about how I use my time, and how many people seem to be so time-stressed these days. Rushing around like crazy, not enough sleep, not taking their full allotment of vacation days are all symptoms. We often spend inordinate amounts of time doing unproductive things, e.g. watching re-runs on TV, standing in line-ups, window-shopping etc., instead of more important things like connecting with friends and loved ones. I remember when I was working 60 hour weeks, my Mom would often ask why I hadn't called or visited for a long time, and my excuse was always that I was too busy at work and ran out of time. I had broken one of my own rules that I had demonstrated in an exercises used in seminars and workshops that I had delivered. The exercise was simple: Fold a sheet in half, and on the left side of the paper, write down the 10 areas where you spend the most time every day. On the other side of the piece of paper, write down the 10 most important things in your life (that you value or are passionate about). More often than not, this simple exercise demonstrates that incongruency between where we spend the majority of time (work, shopping, commuting) versus what's most important to us (family, friends, travel, reading, hobbies etc.)
I came across a little note that I had cut out many years ago, and every now and then I use it to remind me of the value of time. I'm not sure who the author is, but it has meaningful lessons that we can all use in our daily lives. Here it is:

Some Thoughts on Time

- How you spend your time is how you spend your life

- Each hour you spend is a piece of your life that is gone forever

- Spend your time on those things that matter to you most

- How you spend your time is a matter of choice

- Time, like money, is a resource. But you can't steal it, borrow it or save it for a rainy day. You must use it or lose it

- You can make time work for you or against you

- Where you are in your life right now is a result of your past choices you have made about how to spend your time.

I hope this post helps you to make better use of your time or help prioritize where you spend your time. And Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Canadian citizens.