IF YOU HAVE TROUBLE STICKING TO A BUDGET DURING THE HOLIDAYS, YOU ARE NOT ALONE.

IN WALLET WATCH: HERE’S AN IDEA FROM BETTER BUDGETING DOT COM.

THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, BUY GIFT CARDS FOR STORES YOU KNOW YOU’LL BE SHOPPING IN FOR THE HOLIDAYS.
MAKE SURE THEY HAVE AT LEAST A YEAR BEFORE THEY EXPIRE. 

KEEP THEM IN AN ENVELOPE WITH RECEIPTS, IN CASE THERE’S A PROBLEM WITH THE CARD OR AMOUNT. 
WHEN IT’S TIME TO GO HOLIDAY SHOPPING, USE THE CARDS TO BUY GIFTS.
YOU’RE PUTTING MONEY AWAY FOR GIFTS, MAKING SURE YOU SPEND IT ON WHAT YOU SAVED IT FOR. 

IT’S NOT EVERY DAY THE I-R-S ASKS TO GIVE MONEY BACK.
IN WALLET WATCH:
200 - THOUSAND PEOPLE IN THE CAROLINAS HAVE NOT CLAIMED THEIR ECONOMIC STIMULUS CHECKS.

THEY’RE RETIREES AND DISABLED VETERANS, WHO HAVE THREE WEEKS LEFT TO FILE.
THEY DON’T FILE TAX RETURNS BECAUSE THEIR BENEFITS ARE NOT TAXABLE.
IF YOU GET SOCIAL SECURITY OR VETERANS BENEFITS, YOU HAVE TO FILE FOR YOUR REBATE, BY OCTOBER 15TH.
IT’S MONEY FROM THE STIMULUS PACKAGE CONGRESS APPROVED THIS YEAR: GIVING AMERICANS AS MUCH AS SIX HUNDRED DOLLARS PER PERSON.

ARE YOU WORRIED THIS HOLIDAY SEASON WILL RUN YOUR WALLET DRY?
IF SO, YOU’RE NOT ALONE - IN FACT RETAIL FORECASTERS ARE PREDICTING THIS SHOPPING SEASON WILL BE A ROUGH ONE.
RELAX!
NINE IS ON YOUR SIDE TO HELP YOU GET MORE FOR YOUR MONEY.
IN TONIGHT’S WALLET WATCH, WHILE THE HOLIDAYS MAY SEEM WAY IN THE FUTURE: - NOW IS THE TIME TO GET A HEAD START ON EXTRA SAVINGS.
LACK OF CONFIDENCE IN THE ECONOMY, THE STRUGGLING HOUSING MARKET AND RISING UNEMPLOYMENT: COULD ADD UP TO A MEAGER HOLIDAY SHOPPING SEASON.
BUT SALES WILL STILL RING: AND MANY WILL GO IN THE STORES AND ON LINE, LOOKING FOR DEALS.
HERE ARE A FEW IDEAS TO SAVE MONEY WITH HOLIDAY SHOPPING COURTESY OF MOOLANOMY DOT COM.
LOOK FOR DISCOUNTS AND REBATES.
FOR EXAMPLE: E BATES HAS DEALS WITH HUNDREDS OF MERCHANTS. 
CHECK YOUR CREDIT CARDS’ SHOPPING NETWORKS: MANY OFFER CASHBACK BONUSES AT MERCHANT PARTNERS,
YOUR PLACE OF WORK MAY HAVE AN EMPLOYEE DISCOUNTS PROGRAM - AND NOT JUST FOR ITEMS THAT YOUR COMPANY MAKES.
IT COULD BE WORTHWHILE TO ASK YOUR BOSS OR THE H-R MANAGER IF ONE IS AVAILABLE FOR YOU.
DEALSCANS - KEEPS TRACK OF THE BEST DEALS FROM MAJOR ONLINE RETAILERS. YOU CAN DO BASIC SEARCHES FOR HIGHEST RATED DEALS, AND BEST DEALS.
AND PRICEPROTECTR:
IF YOU BOUGHT SOMETHING ONLINE, ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS COPY AND PASTE THE U-R-L, AND GIVE THEM YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS. IF THEY NOTICE THE PRICE DROP ANY TIME WITHIN THE PRICE PROTECTION PERIOD, THEY’LL SEND AN EMAIL YOUR WAY.

People are cutting back on expenses: even the normally recession proof medical care.
In wallet watch: Forbes says many folks are not taking advantage of one way to save on health costs: health savings accounts, or h-s-as.
They’ve been available since 2004.
h-s-as allow people to save pretax money, to pay for health expenses anytime for the rest of their lives.
The money can earn interest.
In 2009: the maximum contribution you can make will be three thousand dollars for individuals and $5950 for families.

http://www.9onyoursideblogs.com/images/nct/blogs/hdr_annettenewell_small.jpg” />As many parents know: the costs of college are soaring, twice as fast as inflation.
In tonight’s wallet watch: the A.R.A.G.law group’s newsletter says it’s important to have a college savings plan.  a few of the recommendations:  529 plans, Coverdell Education Savings Accounts, and Freshman Funds.  Your bank or cedit union may have savings plans as well.

You can get all kinds of freebees if you just look for them.

In wallet watch you can find a lot on the internet.
There are a number of websites that do the searching for you:

• http://www.welovefreebies.com has information on free stuff from clothing to perfume...the site is linked to the top 20 freebie sites on the net.
• for weekly updates on freebies try weekly-freebie dot com
• Or for daily updates try http://www.freebieoftheday.com
• Don’t forget to enter sweepstakes. Most are free, just go to http://www.online-sweepstakes.com. But, be sure to read the rules first.

For more on this, try this website:
http://www.savemoney.com/free-stuff/misc./freebies-%11-totally-free-stuff-on-the-internet.html

THE ECONOMY AND THE STOCK MARKET HAVE TAKEN A ROCKY TURN, SO HOW CAN YOU PROTECT YOUR MONEY?

IN WALLET WATCH: MONEY MAGAZINE OFFERS SOME DEFENSIVE MOVES.

IT SAYS THIS IS A GOOD TIME TO CONVERT AN OLD I-R-A TO A ROTH I-R-A, BECAUSE WHEN THE MARKET’S DOWN, YOU’LL PAY LESS TAXES NOW, AND NO TAXES ON EARNINGS ONCE YOU RETIRE.

KEEP EXPENSES LOW: PICK MUTUAL FUNDS WITH LOWER FEES.

AND TWEAK YOUR INVESTMENTS: SHIFT TO LESS RISKY TYPES OF STOCK FUNDS.

There are good things you can do to protect your money, in a down market.
In Wallet Watch, Money magazine offers lots of suggestions on how to make the best of a bad situation.
Harvest some tax write- offs.  You might try selling funds that are down so you can deduct the loss, and switching to ones that could do well once the market recovers.
Read a good book: about investing and saving for the future.
And watch out for scammers: especially con artists who might try to sell you oil and gas scams.

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We’re almost in the last quarter of the year: so it’s a good time to get those tax deductions in order.
In tonight’s Wallet Watch, The ARAG legal group recommends that people start gathering and filing their receipts for deductions now.
You may save lots of money on taxes with deductions for mortgage and student loan interest, moving expenses, and the costs of taking care of elderly family members.
Use a weekend to clear your closet of clothes you don’t want and donate them to a charity, get a receipt so you can deduct it.

You’ve probably heard tips about how to save money on gas.  But do they work?  In Wallet Watch: Consumer Reports has these myth busters.
1: Morning fill-ups.
The theory’s that cooler gas is denser, so you get more for your money.
But the temperature of gas coming out of the nozzle changes very little in a day.
2: Air conditioning vs. open windows. 
Tests show neither makes enough of a difference to worry about.
3: A dirty air filter.
Tests show driving with a dirty filter no longer has any impact on fuel economy, as it did with older cars. modern engines use computers to control the air/ fuel ratio.