Entertainment Coupon books for $9.99 and 32% cashback at Ebates = Net $6.79

Entertainment.com has their coupon books on sale for $9.99 each with free shipping.

Ebates has 32% cash back for Entertainment.com right now.

After cash back the net cost on a book is just $6.79.

Thats a good price for Entertainment coupon books.  


You'll want to go look at the Entertainment.com site and review what deals are available in your city before buying one.   They've been fairly hit or miss with me.   Last time I got a couple books dirt cheap for around $5 each but there was only one really useful coupon in them and I think I just came out even.   YMMV.


Standard Ebates blurb:To get cash back from Ebates you need to be signed up with Ebates.  Then simply go to Ebates to get the referral to the store before you do your shopping.  I also get a referral bonus if you use my links to sign up with Ebates.  



--This article may contain referral links which pay this site a commission for purchases made at the sites.

16% Cash Back at Ebates

Right now Ebates is giving 16% cash back at many stores to celebrate their 16th anniversary.    The promotion runs May 11-18th 

The following shops all have 16% :

Macy's
Rite Aid
JCPenney
Livingsocial
Bloomingdales
American Eagle OUtfitter
Converse
GoDaddy
Adidas
Spa & Wellness Gift Cards

There are many more offering 16% as well.


Plus theres some at higher rates like : 

Magazines.com 48%
eHarmoney 32%




Standard Ebates blurb:To get cash back from Ebates you need to be signed up with Ebates.  Then simply go to Ebates to get the referral to the store before you do your shopping.  I also get a referral bonus if you use my links to sign up with Ebates.  



--This article may contain referral links which pay this site a commission for purchases made at the sites.

Wait Till You're 70 To Take Social Security

Lets say you're a single 65 years old right now and you make $60,000 a year.  If you retire at age 66 then your social security benefit would be about $1530.   If you wait until you're 70 to claim social security then you would get $2159 a month.    Now clearly you get a lot more money if you delay till you're 70.    But most people don't want to wait and want to start getting their money as soon as possible and $1530 is quite a bit of money.    

Even with a very simple comparison waiting to age 70 nets you more money.    If you're 66 years old you're likely to live another 17-19 years.    Lets just say 18 years for simplicity.   So claiming at age 66 and living 18 years would get you about $330,000 total without counting for cost of living adjustments (COLA).    Claiming at 70 and living 14 years after that would net you $362,000.      This is roughly 10% more total from delaying benefits till age 70 versus taking them at normal retirement age of 66.

Waiting an extra 4 years give or take to claim your social security may be easier said than done.   Most people want to retire earlier than 70 and want an income to support themselves.  If you're in this situation then drawing down your IRA funds for a few years till you hit 70 can make sense.   There are a couple articles discussing that strategy from Kiplingers and USNews.

If you're married then the equation gets a lot more complicated.    Choosing when to take social security will depend on the benefits for each spouse and their ages. 

If you're in poor health or have a history of low life expectancy in your family then taking social security earlier can make good sense.   That may seem morbid but it is what it is.

--

Best of Blogs for Week of May 8th

Every Friday afternoon I share some of the more interesting or notable posts that I have seen in the personal finance blogs and other sources for the past week

 DoughRoller lists 8 Ways to Avoid Emotional Investing

--