Frugality Forever

Whoopee, people are finally saving again and they may - just may - keep saving even when the recession ends. Frugality may become the new fad, in particular among people who haven’t been hit hard by the recession, report Jeannine Aversa and Bernard Condon.

In an Associated Press survey, 44 leading economists were asked whether the recession created a “new frugality” and if that mindset will continue after the recession. A majority said saving is here to stay. At the height of the savings boom last year, people saved 6.4 percent of their disposable income compared with less than 1 percent before the recession hit.

“Consumers will not run up multiple credit cards to their limits, and when buying a house the objective will not be to get the maximum square footage for which they can afford the payment,” said Sean Snaith, an economics professor at the University of Central Florida. “A higher savings rate will be in place for several years.”

3-D Dollars

I enjoyed watching the movie “How To Train Your Dragon.” My kids liked the movie too. And we didn’t see it in 3-D. Nope, we saved the money and put it toward popcorn. (Yes, people as frugal as I am I do splurge on the movie popcorn, but I bring baggies so we take advantage of the free refills for the super tub.)

From HD to Blu-Ray, there’s a constant evolution of new technology that is supposed to provide a more lively and personal cinematic experience. But is that experience really worth the extra dollars?

Roger Ebert, a film critic for the Chicago Sun Times, doesn’t think so. In a Newsweek column, Why I Hate 3-D (And You Should Too), Ebert says, “It adds nothing essential to the moviegoing experience.”

I especially agree because of the added cost seeing movies in 3D. Ebert explains that the 3D craze is “driven largely to sell expensive projection equipment and add a $5 to $7.50 surcharge on already expensive movie tickets,” Ebert writes.

Online shopping fee

A new bill is looking to lay claim to the millions of dollars in online sales taxes, reports Ylan Q. Mui in Cash-strapped states go online, hoping to tax sales.

Are You Due For A Financial Tuneup?: Here is How To Do Your Own!

Last year, Ron Lieber of the New York Times devoted one entire weekday to tackling activities on his   financial checklist, like signing up for a higher-yield savings account and upgrading a cash-back credit  card. But I am advocating a set in stone one day a week solely dedicated to one financial matters, The Money Day!!

This day, preferably one outside your busy routine would serve to catch up on personal finances, maintenance, research, education, and more.  Mr. Lieber just introduced a new concept called Your Money: A Financial Tuneup, it contains a number of articles with practical advice for putting (and keeping) your financial life in order. (See all the articles here).

In “Take a Few Hours and Unlock Some Cash,” Mr. Lieber explains the basic idea of taking a financial health day, shares what he accomplished during his own financial tuneup this year and offers advice for how you might go about planning your own.

To help with the planning, they’ve created an interactive checklist, “31 Steps to a Financial Tuneup,” with a number of activities to consider. They range from saving another percentage point of your pay and automating your savings to finding a better bank.

You can customize the list based on your own needs and print it out as a guide for your own financial tuneup. The tool also includes video tips as well as a calculator showing how saving one more percentage point can impact your savings.

Other articles in the section cover topics including how to self-diagnose your financial health, why it’s important to review legal documents about your estate, new high-tech ways to track your spending to the penny, how a line-by-line scrutiny of your last tax return can help you formulate a better personal finance strategy and why you might want to switch banks.

For those who have lost jobs, homes, and saw their dreams turn into nightmares will never look at all things financial the same way again. And for the rest of us, the recession, Wall Street greed and vanishing investment portfolios have but awaken/created financial wizards.

So there is not better time than now to create a Money Day as boring as it sounds. The peace of mind, the knowledge and control of one personal financial matters are crucial to one overall well-being. Would’t you agree?