Debt Free

The holidays are coming! You probably gathered that from the way grocery stores started putting out plastic jack o’ lanterns and Frankenstein masks while it was still 95 degrees outside. How much earlier can retailers begin the holiday shopping season? Who really knows, but they sure push the envelope, don’t they?

It brings up a great point, and a fantastic way you can save money on your cable bill, and more, when you are participating in the festival of consumerism that many of our holidays have degenerated into. Don’t get me wrong, I’m as acquisitive as the next person out there and love a good sale. I mean check out those Fry’s circulars in the back of the sports pages; a 4GB flash drive for $29.97! But I digress.

There is a tremendous way to keep more of your hard earned money in your wallet, bank account, IRA, 401(k), etc., when doing your holiday shopping. You need to shop early. I mean really early, as in about 364 days early. My wife is great about stocking up on Easter and Halloween candy on the day immediately following, often at discounts of up to 70%. Obviously much of that never makes it to the following year’s holiday, but she’s similarly skilled at ferreting out deals on the days after Christmas, Halloween and other days that celebrate something that most people have forgotten, except the vice presidents of marketing at the local retail chains.

You should never buy any type of holiday specific decoration, packaging, or gift in the days preceding the holiday in question. Only on those days immediately after the holiday has past should you indulge your consumerist tendencies. When it comes to spending less money, timing is everything. Some families even celebrate holidays a few days late in order to allow members maximize the power of their dollars. A bit extreme, perhaps? Maybe, but when it comes to saving money, it definitely pays to be creative.

One more thing regarding saving yourself some cash – you should ask your cable or satellite provider for a discount every year or so. For maximum effectiveness, make the discount request in person. A few weeks ago I actually went in to the local Comcast office, instead of simply mailing a check. A profitable visit it was, too. With one simple question the nice lady at the counter kept me from indulging myself with a new Verizon FIOS account by giving me a 50% discount on cable broadband Internet for the next 6 months! But wait! There’s more! I also got out of there with a free HDTV DVR and expanded service for the same 6 month period without spending any more on cable TV service. That was definitely worth the 4 block trip from my office to Comcast, I’d say.

If you haven’t paid your local provider a personal visit, make the trip. It could not only save you some real money on your cable bill, but give you expanded HDTV service with a DVR (just in time for football season). A note on picture quality from your comcast-supplied motorola cable boxes: The picture quality can be pretty dramatically improved, for both HDTV and SD channels by using a TiVO (it must be a series 3, or TiVO HD) for your tuner and DVR instead of the Comcast cable box. It won't work for you if you use the video on demand features, but if you don't, you're in for a treat. This is especially true for those of you with 40" and larger screens, WOW!