I unexpectedly viewed my retirement account balance and saw the fallout from the U.S. war with Iran.
I hadn’t planned to check — as I’ve advised before, it’s best to avoid fear-driven trades in a roller-coaster stock market. However, I noticed a significant decline while reviewing another account with the same financial institution.
Since President Donald Trump launched his attacks on Iran on Feb. 28, investors haven’t been able to catch a break. Every time it seems like there will be a market comeback, another development about the war or a jump in gas prices pulls it right back down. The S&P index has fallen by more than 4 percent in the past month.
However, a market that has been consistently down can still see some jumps up.
“The market performed a handbrake turn with juddering speed on Monday after President Trump suggested the U.S. and Iran were close to ‘total resolution’ on their weeks-long conflict,” Dan Coatsworth, AJ Bell’s head of markets, wrote in a post after the market closed on Tuesday. “However, significant uncertainties remain for investors.”
Coatsworth offered this advice for those of us uneasy about the recent wild ride: “Markets can turn on a sixpence, and that’s why time in the market rather than attempting to time the market is the best approach for most long-term investors.”
And then there are surging gas prices. How do we settle our stomachs about that?
Across the country, the average price for regular gas has risen to about $4 as of Tuesday, but many areas are experiencing prices significantly higher — California ($5.82), Washington ($5.29) and Hawaii ($5.28).
Even if we should hold tight when it comes to our retirement accounts, those rising gas prices are compounding the affordability challenges in the United States, and many people are going to want to reassess their budgets.
You can cut out nonessentials — eliminating streaming services, switching to store-brand grocery items. But how far is too far when it comes to cutting expenses?
There are hilarious frugal habits that even when times are hard might be too extreme.
In years past, I held a Penny Pincher of the Year Contest. Some of the greatest hits include the woman who washed paper vacuum bags to be reused and the woman who set her hair on empty toilet paper rolls. (I thought it was clever and environmentally friendly.)
Here are a few other penny-pinching favorites sent in by readers.
Double-dip tea bag: Dry out tea bags on a clothesline and then reuse. You can get three or more cups out of one bag. Eventually, it’s more like hot, discolored water.
Soap melt: Mash together bits of old soap to make a new bar. If that’s too much effort, you can buy a mesh bag designed to collect tiny soap slivers. The cost of the bag — between $3 and $6 — will save you money over time compared to buying a new soap bar.
Long game: To save on the floss typically wasted by wrapping it around your fingers, pull out a single three-foot strand and use it over several days, simply advancing to a fresh section once the previous day’s bit becomes frayed.
Skiplagging: As airfares increase due in part to rising fuel costs — another consequence of the Iran war — you might be tempted to try this trick. To secure a cheaper flight, you book one with a layover at your final destination and skip the last leg. Although it’s not illegal, it violates airline policies. You risk the carrier canceling your return flight or revoking your frequent-flier miles.
I’ll confess to a “frugal-to-a-fault” saving hack that, in retrospect, at least, makes me crack up.
Once, I passed several places to buy gas so that I could chase the savings of a station closer to my home, where gas was several cents cheaper per gallon.
The needle was way past “E.” But I thought I could make it.
I did not.
I got out of the car and tried to flag down someone to help me. (I didn’t have a mobile phone.) A young man dressed in a nice business suit stopped and offered to load me — and my baby — into his car and take us to a nearby station for a can of gas.
I thanked him and apologized, “I’m so sorry to delay you, because you must be going to work.”
“It’s okay,” he said. “I’m just on my way to see my probation officer. I have plenty of time.”
My husband was not amused when he heard the tale.
Later, after fussing about the danger I put myself and our child in, he asked, “Honey, why didn’t you stop and get just enough gas at one of the more expensive stations to get you to the cheaper one?”
That was definitely a “duh” moment.
I’ve admitted to my extreme frugality; now it’s your turn.
The past few weeks may have you feeling uneasy about your finances, so you’re considering all the ways you can save money. But there is such a thing as being too cheap! Tell me your wackiest money-saving story.
Send your most outlandish, extreme or quirky money-saving strategies to [email protected]. You may be featured in my next column or in a social media post.
The post The day I ran out of gas chasing a deal, and other extreme saving hacks appeared first on Washington Post.
