According to ABC News, “the nation has 80,000 fewer workers on payrolls this month when compared to last . . .  This is the biggest one-month contradiction in job markets since March 2003.”  Many people are being laid off from their jobs and are having a hard time making ends meet. 

I was listening to The Cooper Lawrence Show podcast from Thursday night and one of the listeners called in with a credit card problem.  The caller is having a tough time right now making ends meet.  The credit card company keeps charging her late fees, which have caused her to go over her credit card limit, so in turn they’re charging her fees for being over the limit.  She can’t get ahead because of all the fees they’re charging her.  She has tried to call the company to work something out, but they keep saying like, “If you’d only give us $200.”  She told them she doesn’t have an extra $200, but the company just doesn’t seem to want to help her. 

Many people have found themselves in similar situations.  Here are some tips to help you handle your credit card debt:

1)  Ask for a one time courtesy waiver.  If you have been a good customer in the past, then there is no reason why they shouldn’t waive fees.

2)  Pay as frequently as you can.  Paying $25 a week is much better than paying $100 each month.  If you pay $25 a week, then that amount will be paid to the principal sooner and avoid more interest.

3)  Don’t ignore your debt.  Your debt is your ethical responsibility.  If you are having troubles paying your debt, then you should call the credit card company to see if they can work something out.  Ignoring the debt will only make things worse. 

3)  Don’t just speak to the first person.  The first person you talk to has been trained to tell you “no”.  Ask to speak to their supervisor.

4)  Document everything.  This includes every call you make to the credit card company, the date, time, person’s name that you spoke with, and what you were told.

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Thursday night I will be on The Cooper Lawrence Show again to discuss some thrifty tips.  Tune in at around 9:20 pm.  If you don’t get the show in your area, you can tune in via livestream.  Cooper Lawrence airs Monday thru Friday, 7-10 pm.

Here’s some of the tips that have been discussed on The Cooper Lawrence Show lately.  Seriously folks, if you haven’t listened to their show, you really ought to.  Cooper, Chad, and Anthony are hilarious!  You can click on their site and listen to old podcasts or listen via livestream each night (like I’m doing right now).

75 Ways to Save Money

20 Ways to Save Money on Your Wedding

10 Ways to Teach Your Children About Money

I am posting the Frugal Friday article tonight, as promised on The Cooper Lawrence Show. 

For many, Christmas is a favorite time of the year.  Unfortunately, many times it can be the most stressful.  Here are 30 ways to help you save time and money, and avoid unnecessary stress. 

Gift Giving and Shopping Tips: 

1.  Let friends and family know things you’re shopping for.  When I do this, other people let me know when they spot a good deal on something I need.

2.  Be specific in your requests.  If someone asks what to get your child, try to be as specific as possible.  Tell them the exact name of the toy or their specific pants size.

3.  Ask friends and family what they want.  Hopefully, this will avoid countless hours shopping, racking your brain, wasted gas, extra unwanted products in the environment, and the hassle of returns. 

4.  Try gift cards.  Some people may think this is inappropriate, but I think it’s a great solution.  Gift cards save time, wrapping paper, shipping expenses, and help avoid unwanted gifts.  Let the person buy what they want.

5.  Save your receipts.  Get an envelope for your purse or have a special file folder in your filing cabinet.  You never know when you’ll have bought the wrong size or something that didn’t work. 

6.  See if your store offers a gift receipt.  I think it’s nice when someone includes a gift receipt in the box.  This avoids the uncomfortable situation of asking where they bought it or if they still have the receipt.  I’ll admit that many times I’ve been left with things I couldn’t use or return.  Gift receipts are great!

7.  Consider drawing names with co-workers or family.  We did this with my husband’s family for several years.  To make it more fun, we kept the names we drew a secret and were surprised when we exchanged gifts.

8.  Buy just for the children.  This is becoming a common practice in our families.  We buy for our parents and the children.  This has really cut down on spending and getting unusable gifts.

9.  Consider playing a game instead.  Try a white elephant or dirty Santa game.  Some games involve bringing a nice gift or a funny joke-style gift.  It’s funny to see other’s reactions when they get the gift you brought and it’s interesting to see the things others chose.

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Tonight I will be on The Cooper Lawrence Show.  I’ll be discussing ways to save time and money on Christmas.  The Thrifty Mommy segment should begin at around 9:20 p.m.    You can also listen via livestream on her site.  Wish me luck!  

Most schools are back in session.  If you’re like me, then you’re trying to spend as little as possible to supply your child with their necessities.  Here are some tips to get your shopping done without needing to rack up credit card debt. 

1.  Take advantage of back to school prices on school supplies.  Get composition notebooks at 10 cents each, 2 glue sticks for 15 cents, a pack of pencils for 10 cents, folders for 10 cents.  My daughter’s pre-k class doesn’t have a mandatory supply list, but the teacher had some suggestions.  I bought 8 packs of glue sticks, 2 packs of pencils, and 2 packs of crayons for less than $3.  The savings are incredible.

2.  Buy enough school supplies for the entire year.  This is a big money saver that I learned from my mom.  At the beginning of the year, she would buy 20 packs of paper, many packs of pencils, etc.  We had a drawer in the house where we kept all the school supplies and when we needed more supplies, we would just go to that drawer to get it.  Why would you pay $1+ for paper later in the year, when you can get it for .25 now?  Spend the extra $25 and stock up now to save for later.

3.  Take advantage of tax-free weekend.  Many states now offer tax-free weekend good towards purchasing clothing, school supplies, and electronics.  Most stores have great sales going on during those weekends too.  You can really save a lot of money.

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Cooper Lawrence has invited me to be on her show again tomorrow night.  I’ll be talking about Back to School tips.  I’m nervous just thinking about it.   

If you can’t listen on the radio, then perhaps you can listen online.  Just go to Cooper’s website and click to listen via live stream.

The interview will be Thursday evening around 9:20 pm.  I hope you’ll be able to tune in. 

Just in case you missed The Cooper Lawrence Show on Thursday night, here are the articles discussed . . .

10 Ways to Get Chores Done While Hanging Out with the Kids (congratulations, Kelly!)

Ten Ways to Clean with Baking Soda

 If you missed my interview with Cooper Lawrence, you can still catch it on her site.  Here’s what you do:

• click here
• Go down to the bottom of the page under “How do I do it?”
• Under #2, click on the words “this link” to launch iTunes.  If you haven’t already, you can download iTunes (it’s safe).
• The iTunes screen will come up with a list of the Cooper shows.  Click on the show “8/2/07 Thursday Hour 3″.  Before me is “Bad Day Thursday”.  It’s about 15 minutes long and then I’m up.  My interview is about 20 minutes. 

If you don’t want to listen, you can just catch the grocery store tips here.  Rumor has it that I’ll be on the show again.  ;)  Stay tuned for more Thrifty Mommy tips.

Big news!  I’ve been asked to be on The Cooper Lawrence Show this Thursday during the weekly Thrifty Mommy segment.  If you can’t listen on the radio, then perhaps you can listen online.  Just go to Cooper’s website and click to listen via live stream.

The interview will be Thursday evening around 9:20 pm.  I hope you’ll be able to tune in.  I pray I don’t get nervous and sound like a babbling idiot.  lol