JoeTaxpayer

In general, I like coupons. I’m sitting with coffee on a Sunday morning, first one up, and not ready to think to much. I flip through the coupon insert and find our brands of toothpaste, soap, bathroom tissue, etc. A few minutes time when I’m not ready to turn on the higher functions required to write or go into my workshop where a groggy Joe might just lose a finger. The key thing is to not let the coupon tail wag the purchasing decision.

I’ve known about Groupon for some time and a friend of ours was often mentioning dinners she and her husband had just had at some restaurant not too far away. Soon after, I started looking at the deals Groupon offered. Restaurants, jewelry, electronics, services. Lots of companies trying to sell me stuff. I thought about the things that were on my wish list. I am near the end of a long project finishing my basement and have a TV on a stand, but have wanted to wall-mount it for some time. No rush, so I added that to the list along with a few restaurants we’d been to already, and wouldn’t mind a return visit.

About 3 months went by and there was a wall mounting bracket for $25 including shipping. A week later, my TV was on the wall, and the stand was retired.

The restaurant? One of them offered a Groupon which I bought. For $74, a dinner for 4 which included 2 appetizers, 4 main courses, and 2 deserts. The check showed the bill started at $175, and a credit of $130 for the Groupon value, I tipped on the full bill, so another $35 there or a total paid at the table of $80.I spent $154 total for what I’d have paid $210 without the deal. The extra on the bill was for adult drinks, we could have just gotten water or a soda and that would have been less. As I mentioned, we had been to this restaurant before, and had planned to go another time.

I can see how when these deals come to your mailbox there’s a bit of impulse control required. Part of what’s happening for most people is that you see a “buy now, expires soon” warning and you don’t want to miss a good deal. For the gadgets, I’d first decide if you actually need them to separate the impulse factor. I had already looked around and saw wall mounts for TVs, all well over $50, so it was on my list, but I was ready to wait. For restaurants, I see many that offer “$15 for $30 voucher” or similar. Ask yourself – would you grab a “$15 off dinner” coupon and run to this restaurant with it? That $30 may be a small part of the bill and when the check comes, the $15 saved off a $100 bill may not feel like a deal. If you know the restaurant the deal is for, you have an advantage and can decide if a small savings is worth it. Also, the restaurant offers will lead you to the restaurant web site where you can see a menu, usually with the prices listed. If you’re following a budget, strategically using these deals may help stretch the restaurant money a bit further and get you that extra night away from the kitchen.

Now, I have to ask – Are these pendants pretty? I’ve seen Swarovski pieces, but not jewelry, usually it’s vases and drinking glasses. Whatever the case, they’re on sale for 5 more days, and Groupon will bonus me if you sign up through the link above (the ad image). That was my disclaimer, FTC.

Has it really been 520 years already? It seems like yesterday Columbus discovered America. Time waits for no one, and nothing, not even the weekly look back at the best PF reading this past week.

Neal Frankle wrote Why (almost) Every Life Insurance Policy With Cash Value Stinks. I agree with Neal on this one, keeping life insurance and investing separate, buying term and investing the difference. To offer an alternate view, my best man sells insurance and benefit packages to companies. When I asked him who these policies were best for, he responded that there are many who simply wouldn’t invest that difference, and 20 years hence would have nothing to show for themselves. So, forced savings. That’s the best I could find.

At Money Ning, Miranda asked Are You Average? Do You Even Want To Be? Both earnings and spending, we all want more and to be better that just average. An interesting spin on this topic.

PT Money asked his readers Should You Payoff the Mortgage(s) Early? In his case, we’re looking at a mortgage on a rental as well as his house. The best comment I saw on this article was a reminder that one can pay ahead on the mortgage all he wants, but the regular payment is still due next month. Great when it’s paid in full, but until then, no better cash flow for the sake of those extra payments.

At Planting Money Seeds, the 3 Questions to Ask When Determining What Something is Worth to YOU. Each of us has our way to value something. When the iPad first came out, I was happy to pay $730 for the mid-level model. Soon after, I started to see all kinds of comments telling why it was overpriced, and we who purchased one just threw away our money. On the other hand there are things I’d never spend money on. The high priced professional sport tickets, or most live concerts, for example. We make our choice, and this article might help teach you a good process to understand why.

The Mighty Bargain Hunter offered Seven tips for bargain beach vacationing with friends. This season is over, but this advice can save you some money next summer.

Let’s close the week with Volatility: Riding the Mechanical Bull at Young Finances. A non-technical discussion of Volatility and how it impacts you. I like the analogy.

The debate this week brought one important point to the public’s attention. That Romney would eliminate PBS funding. He made it clear, he’d fire Big Bird……

The tax code is complicated, and unfortunately, there are few changes that simplify the code. Instead, every change brings with it a series of unintended consequences. One of the changes in the tax code that will come under a Republican administration is the capping of the itemized deduction. For the most part, the itemized deductions include Mortgage Interest, Property Tax, Investment Interest, State Income Tax, and Charitable Donations. Before we continue, let me share the average itemized deduction across different income groups.

The proposal is to cap itemized deductions at $17,000. You can see, this won’t impact those with adjusted gross incomes under $60,000, which is certainly a good thing, but even those who are in the $60K-$200K family income range will get hit. The whole tax plan isn’t out yet, but it’s rumored to include an across the board rate cut. It remains to be seen what this combination will do to the tax bills overall. Aside from these specifics, we have no hint what the fate of the AMT will be or whether the taxation of Social Security will be adjusted to a more reasonable phase-in or even eliminated altogether. No judgement here, the plan may actually be a good thing, we just don’t have the full story yet.

Above graphic courtesy of The Tax Foundation.