The Talk Money: Tax Withholding, Price Matching & Self-Checkout

The Talk Takeaway: Money

Do you want to save an extra $1,000? Financial professional Vera Gibbons was a guest on The Talk, with advice on how to come up with extra money in your budget. The tricks include tax withholding, price matching, and self-checkout to put more money back in your wallet.

The Talk: Tax Withholding

What could you do with a little extra spending money this summer? These timeless tips could help you get financially fit any time of year.

Gibbons said her first piece of advice is to adjust your tax withholdings. That could add up to $459 back in your pocket in just two months. That will affect the amount of your refund, but she said it’s better to get a bigger paycheck than to “give the government an interest-free loan.”

The Talk: Brown Bag Lunch

Take a brown bag lunch to work once a week. That could add up to a savings of around $86 in just a couple months. Stop eating out and start saving that money. Did you know that 66% of the population goes out to eat every day?

Sheryl Underwood said you can also lose weight by eating smaller portions and then taking leftovers to work.

The Talk: Unused Gift Cards

Do you have any unused gift cards laying around the house? An average household, according to Watkins, has $300 in gift cards they have forgotten about, just sitting there waiting to be spent.

Online websites allow you to swap them or sell them, sometimes getting up to 92% of the face value.

The Talk: Price Matching Policy

You can save up to $30 by using price matching policies when shopping at retail or grocery stores. Stores may match or beat advertised prices from competitors, sometimes even after you have made a purchase. Don’t forget to save your receipts!

The Talk: Self-Checkout Line

Did you know that using the self-checkout line means you are less likely to fall for impulse purchases? Watkins said that not being surrounded by snacks and spontaneous buys can help you hold onto as much as $80 over two months.

I prefer to use the self-checkout anyway, because I can scan at least as fast as the cashier and I just want to get out of there!

The Talk: Automated Savings Withdrawal

Vera Gibbons had one last trick to save money. She said this one is easy and anyone can do it. Her advice was to set up an automated withdrawal of around $26 per pay period into your savings account.

“You’re not going to miss money that you didn’t see,” and that adds up to $105 in just a couple months. If you followed all of Vera’s tips, you would save $1,000 in two months, just in time for that summer vacation.