The Federal Reserve, also known as the Fed, is raising interest rates to combat inflation, and that means that your credit card balances could be about to get more expensive.

On June 15, 2022, the Fed announced that it was raising interest rates by 0.75%, the largest rate increase since 1994. These increases are good news for savers, who should be able to expect higher returns on their savings. 

But for consumers who are currently carrying credit card debt, the news is less encouraging. The Fed’s interest rate hikes may result in higher interest charges on your credit card debt and, as a result, a more difficult time paying back what you owe.

Fortunately, there is a way to get around this potential increase in the cost of your debt: credit card consolidation. Read on to find out why consolidating your credit card debt might be a good idea in the current environment of rising interest rates.

How Do Rising Interest Rates Affect Credit Card Debt?

Many credit cards come with a variable interest rate. A variable interest rate means that the interest charged is pegged to the prime rate. The prime rate, in turn, is linked to the federal funds rate (which is what the Fed essentially increases when it raises the interest rate). 

In a nutshell, when the federal funds rate goes up, the prime rate tends to go up as well, with credit card interest rates often following suit.

Typically, you can expect to see a higher APR on your credit card statement within one or two billing cycles. According to Experian, the Fed’s recent 0.50% interest rate hike will likely lead to a 0.50% bump on your credit card’s APR. So, if your current APR is 16%, for example,  you can expect it to rise to 16.50% in one or two billing cycles. 

If you don’t carry a balance on your credit card, you don’t have to worry about any of this, of course.

What are the Benefits of Paying Down Credit Card Debt?

Simplifying and paying down your credit card debt can have a number of benefits. Here are several to consider:

If you have a good credit score, you may be able to get a lower interest rate with a personal  loan than the one you’re currently getting on your credit cards. This will reduce the overall amount you’ll pay in interest over the lifetime of the debt.

When the interest charges on your credit card increase (for example, as a result of a Fed interest rate hike), it means that a larger portion of your monthly payments will go towards interest rather than the principal. This may lengthen the time it takes you to get out of debt.

However, if you’re able to reduce your interest charges through a personal loan, it means that a larger portion of your payment will now go towards paying off the principal. This could help you pay off your debt more quickly.

You’ll have one monthly payment instead of multiple ones

Using a single low-interest personal loan to pay off high-interest debt can help you simplify your financial life. When you consolidate credit card debt, you'll only have one monthly payment and due date to keep track of.

You can then devote all of your time and attention to making that single payment on-time, counting down the days until your debt is completely paid off.

It can reduce your monthly payment amount

If you’re able to get a personal loan that has a longer repayment period, this can reduce your minimum monthly payment amounts, thus making them more manageable.

The downside? A longer repayment period may also increase the total amount of interest you pay over the term of the loan, even if you are able to get a lower interest rate. You can work around this, however, by paying more than the minimum monthly payment whenever possible.

A personal loan can help boost your credit score in a couple of ways.

First, paying off or reducing your credit card balance using a personal loan can lower your credit utilization ratio. A lower credit utilization ratio (ideally one below 30%) can significantly improve your credit score.

Second, if you keep making your loan payments on time, you’ll build up a good payment history, which will also help your credit score in the long run.

While consolidating credit card debt has several advantages, it is not without some potential drawbacks. Here are a few to look out for:

Potentially higher overall costs: using a loan to pay credit card debt might come with expensive hidden fees that could ultimately cancel out any potential interest savings on your credit card debt. Before you sign up for a loan product, read the fine print carefully to make sure you fully understand its true costs.

Potentially higher interest rates: If your credit score isn't in great shape, you might not be able to get the best interest rates. You may, in fact, end up getting a higher rate than the one you currently have on your credit card. A higher interest rate not only makes it more difficult to keep up with your payments, but it also means that you could end up paying more interest over the term of the loan.

Property loss: personal loans fall into two main categories: secured and unsecured. A secured loan is one where you pledge an asset or property, such as a car or house, as collateral. If you default on a secured loan, you could lose your home or car.  An unsecured loan, on the other hand, is not secured by any collateral. 

The potential for scams: As the demand for personal loans rises, scams are also becoming common. Do your due diligence. If an offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is.  

The Federal Reserve's recent interest rate hike coupled with rising inflation puts additional strain on consumers who are currently burdened by credit card debt.

If this sounds like you—and if you’re looking for help paying off and eliminating your credit card debt by using a single low-interest loan that can be paid off faster—Happy Money® may be able to help. Check out The Payoff Loan™ to learn more and check your rate—all without impacting your credit score. 

The Fed Has Begun Raising Interest Rates: 5 Reasons to Consolidate Your Credit Card Debt Now

Need some extra cash? Check out these tips on how to sell old clothes for money.

If you’re looking for ways to make some extra money, consider cleaning out your closet. Just imagine: All those things you buy that you never get around to wearing could be turned into cash, not to mention free up precious closet space.

It’s true that compared to items like electronics clothes may have a relatively low resale value, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still make some decent cash. One thing to note is to not just think about selling old clothes. The following websites and stores are great places to look into if you want to sell old clothes.

With ThredUp, you can use their clothing calculator to determine how much the company might payout for your gently worn women’s, juniors’, or children’s clothes. You can also find out in advance which brands they do and don’t accept to minimize headaches during the selling process.

When you sell your old clothes with ThredUp, you’ll send them your clothes free via FedEx or UPS in a ThredUp Clean Out Bag and receive up to 80% of your clothing’s value (they take a 20% cut and do the selling work for you). Payouts are given in the form of shopping credits or PayPal payments. If an item is received but not accepted, you can either choose to have it given away to charity or pay a $12.99 shipping fee to get the item back.

Poshmark is an online marketplace where you take pictures of your clothes with their built-in filters then list them on their website. That’s it. Your clothes are then added to one of their “parties.” Here people can browse and buy different clothing options organized in themes, i.e. boots, Vera Wang, blouses, etc. If any of your stuff sells, then they provide the shipping labels and cover the cost of all boxes under 5 pounds.

Here’s Poshmark’s commission structure, straight from their website (as of March 2016): “For all sales under $15, Poshmark takes a flat commission of $2.95. You keep the rest. For sales of $15 or more, you keep 80% of your sale and Poshmark’s commission is 20%.”

At 9%, Tradesy deducts the lowest commission from a sale that we’ve found. But that’s only if you decide to keep your sale money on Tradesy. If you want the money in your pocket, there is a 2.9% PayPal transfer fee added to Tradesy’s 9% commission. But even with a total of 11.9% taken off of a sale, Tradesy still puts more money in your pocket than most other online options.

Using Tradesy is easy too. Just take a picture of the piece of clothing you’re looking to sell and click post. Tradesy will then propose a price for your item, or you can set the price point at whatever you’d like. Once you’ve set the price, they will remove the background from your photo within 24-hours. That way your bag, belt or sundress looks great.

eBay has fallen out of favor among some sellers in recent years due to seller fee hikes, but it’s still a great option for selling clothes, shoes, and accessories.

eBay’s price structure is favorable for clothing sellers because the first 100 auction-style listings you have are free and each additional item is $0.30 after that. Upon making a sale, you pay a 10% fee on the total price of the item, which is a considerably lower commission than many other clothing sales sites charge. For more advanced selling options, check out eBay’s selling policies.

Buffalo Exchange is mostly a brick-and-mortar based company with locations around the United States. Selling with them can be useful for people looking to profit from their old clothes or possibly trade in their old clothes in exchange for another outfit. Buffalo Exchange doesn’t accept everything, but many of their items sell for an average of $15 according to their website, so it’s a good place to make a little cash from your old clothes.

Do an internet search for stores in or near your city that buy and sell secondhand clothes. Sometimes these stores even have a considerable online presence, where they make more money than they do selling exclusively to local customers. So research different secondhand stores in your area and contact them regarding their rates and policies for the clothes you’re looking to sell.

Worst-case scenario: None of the aforementioned options worked for you. It may not be glamorous, but hosting a garage sale one weekend may be your best bet. Clothes aren’t usually popular items in comparison to used sports and electronic equipment, but if you manage to find some buyers, you could still make a couple bucks off your old wardrobe.

You may not get any cash for dropping off your clothes at the local Goodwill/Salvation Army, but your donations can be used as deductions come tax season, which can save you some dough and possibly get you a larger tax return.

If you’re tired of having an overflowing closet and an under flowing wallet, then by using some of these options you’ll be looking at a tidy closet and a flush bank account in no time.

Participation Pays Off: Did you ever try to sell old clothes? What worked for you?

How to Sell Old Clothes for Money

Plan to use a credit card to pay for your wedding? Getting married is expensive, so read this before you whip out the plastic for your big-day expenses.

I have a confession to make: We paid for our wedding with a credit card.

It was the end of a beautiful evening. We exchanged vows, danced, ate ridiculously good food, and celebrated with our family. As we were preparing to head out, our venue asked us for the check. I turned to my new husband since the money we’d been saving to pay for the wedding was in his bank account.

“Um, it’s still in savings …” he admitted. “Also, I didn’t remember to bring my checkbook with me, and my wallet’s at home.”

We had a $900 bill to pay and zero money. As we scrambled to figure out what to do, our brother-in-law came over offering to put it on his credit card. After calming my insistent pleas that he didn’t have to do it, he went to the business office and settled our bill.

“It’s no big deal,” he said. “I know you’ll pay me back before interest is charged.”

He knows us ridiculously well. He picked us up from the airport when we got home from our honeymoon, and we wouldn’t let him leave until we had run upstairs to write the check in full.

THERE’S A RESPONSIBLE WAY TO CHARGE YOUR NUPTIALS

Our story of charging our wedding isn’t far from the norm. In fact, according to a recent study conducted by The Knot and PayPal, 36% of couples paid for at least part of their wedding with a credit card.

That’s not necessarily a terrible option, as long as you’re smart about it. Some couples pay off their balance before interest can accrue as we did, and others use the big wedding bills to earn rewards points, cashback, or miles that allow them to travel for free on their honeymoon.

What’s most important is that you and your bride- or groom-to-be agree on a strategy beforehand and have a plan in place to pay the balance in the timeframe you want, and at the interest rate (if applicable) you want.

Unfortunately, among those who charge part or all of their wedding, responsible use is not the norm. Twenty-one percent of all couples charge more than they can afford on the day meant to celebrate their love, a commodity which you ironically can’t buy. According to a survey conducted by The Knot, the average wedding costs $31,213. If that’s well above what you can afford, you have a recipe for debt disaster.

Let’s conservatively look at the numbers. Say you charged $10,000 for your wedding on a card that has a 21.99% interest rate. If you made only the minimum monthly payment of $400, you’d be paying that sucker off for 15 years and 4 months. Find out how much charging your wedding could cost you by using this calculator.

DON’T LET WEDDING DEBT SPOIL YOUR BIG DAY AND BEYOND

Four hundred dollars per month is a lot of money for most American households. Let’s say you miss a payment and fall behind. Delinquency as short as 30 days can leave a ding on your credit score, making it harder for you as a couple to obtain loans for things like cars and homeownership.

Even if you never miss a payment, creditors don’t just look at delinquency. They also look at your existing debt, especially if you’re applying for a mortgage. If you have a $400 payment every month, that’s $400 of your income that financial institutions can reasonably assume won’t be going toward your housing.

Your available credit is also taken into account when calculating your credit score. That means that if your credit limit was $10,000 to begin with, you’ll be starting your marriage with 100% credit utilization, leaving few lenders willing to loan you more money. Here’s a great article to read if you want to know more about mortgages and credit scoring issues.

SPEND WISELY TO ENJOY YOUR HAPPILY EVER AFTER

Before spending outside your budget on your big day, seriously consider the worthiness of each line item. Throwing an epic party for family and friends may be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but it could also be an experience you’ll be paying off for a good portion of your life.

If you and your spouse-to-be haven’t yet had a thoroughly transparent conversation about your respective finances, including debts either one of you brings into the marriage, consider getting all your money questions out in the open before walking down the aisle.

And while you don’t have to worry about your partner’s debts becoming your own once you’re married, debt can be a very real presence in marriage and something you definitely want to have a plan for how to tackle together.

Ask yourselves, “What does spending consciously on our big day look like to us?” to make sure you get that happily ever after in your new life together.

Written by Brynne Conroy, who blogs at Femme Frugality

Participation Pays Off: How did you pay for your wedding and did that work well for you?

How to Pay for Your Wedding With a Credit Card

Take your loved ones on the trip of a lifetime by following these ways to save on a family vacation and avoid emptying your entire bank account.

When I got my first Disneyland pass a few years ago, I was your stereotypical broke college student (not Top Ramen existence broke, but rather the penny-pinching, old car-driving, living-with-the-parents kind of broke). Making monthly payments on the lowest-tier Disneyland pass (less than $15 per month at the time) afforded me opportunities to socialize with friends instead of spending hundreds of dollars on going to concerts, clubs, and bars every weekend.

Over the years, I’ve learned Disney fans can enjoy visiting the parks even while on a shoestring budget. If you’re currently trying to save on a family vacation to Disneyland or Disney World, check out these tips for saving money while maximizing your fun at the Happiest Place on Earth:

Admission prices start at $95 per day for Disneyland and Disney World, but there are many ways to reduce this cost if you do some research beforehand. If you live in southern California or Florida, then be sure to snag resident discounts (about $10 off the ticket price). If you go more than 3 times per year, then investing in an annual pass might save you money as well!

If you’re visiting from out of the area, then check organizations you have a membership with — AARP or AAA– to see special discounts they have available for their members. Disney also offers discounts for military members, veterans, and their spouses! Also, children younger than age 3 do not require tickets, so you’re already saving when you bring the family!

If you want to visit multiple parks, you’re probably planning on buying tickets for multiple days. But if you really want to save on a family vacation, I think it’s a better move to buy a separate ticket for each of your first two days instead of dropping extra money on Park Hopper tickets. That way, you can spend an entire day in each park instead of running back and forth between the parks in an attempt to make the extra money you paid for a Park Hopper ticket package worth it.

Parking costs $18 per day at Disneyland and $20 per day at Disney World. Even if you’re staying for a single day this cost is exorbitant, so you can avoid this by either taking a free shuttle from your hotel (many off-resort hotels offer this service to their guests).

I’ve heard about people parking at local malls or neighborhoods and paying for an Uber to get there (probably not recommended but it’s worth mentioning). I can’t speak for Disney World, but if you only plan at being at Disneyland for a few hours, you can get two hours of free parking in Downtown Disney and buy lunch on your way out to get your parking validated for an additional three hours (giving you a total of five hours of free parking).

January, February, and September are generally “low season” months for the Disney parks, and just this year, Disney announced seasonal pricing on their 1-day tickets. This means that tickets in low traffic seasons will be more affordable, while tickets in peak traffic seasons (summer and December) will be more expensive.

According to The Huffington Post, Disneyland resort hotels cost an average of $532.08 per night and Disney World resort hotels cost an average of $348.30 per night. Can you imagine paying a whopping $1,396 to $2,128 just for four nights in a hotel? Even with the added perks of free parking and the Extra Magic Hour of admission thrown in, this cost is just too much for many families.

But did you know that off-site hotels near Disneyland cost just $161 per night and Disney World off-site hotels only cost $142 per night? This is more than 50% less than their Disney resort counterparts and with a free shuttle thrown in, you’ll save hundreds on accommodations and transportation by avoiding Disney hotels.

Disney allows outside water and food into their parks (as long as it’s non-alcoholic and not in a glass container). If park food is not absolutely crucial to your family’s Disney experience, then why not bring your own water bottles, sandwiches, and chips instead of paying $50+ for a lunch for a family of four and $4 for a single water bottle?

Use the money you save on lunch items to instead buy delicious desserts such as churros (my guilty pleasure at $3.75 a pop), Dole Whip, ice cream, or beignets.

Disney charges $15 per day for one stroller and $25 per day for two strollers. A simple way to save is by simply bringing your own stroller (as long as it’s not too wide, due to space limitations in lines).

7. BUY SOUVENIRS ONLINE INSTEAD OF IN THE PARKS

I’ll admit to impulse-buying a Flower stuffed animal and BB-8 toy at Disney souvenir stores before, but buying a bunch of souvenirs for yourself and the kids costs so much more at the park than online. Avoid paying the “tourist tax” for simply shopping at a Disney resort and get your t-shirts, toys, and other souvenirs on Amazon before or after your Disney vacation.

If you have good credit, love Disney, and are open to applying to a new card before your vacation, then why not get a Disney credit card? The card offers several perks including 0% APR financing while planning your Disney vacation, private meet and greets with characters, discounts on in-park dining, discounts on merchandise, and more.

As you can see, it’s completely possible to save on a family vacation. Disney vacations don’t have to eat up all the trip’s funds in the span of a couple of days. As long as you research frugal alternatives beforehand and bring your own items (souvenirs, food, water, stroller, etc.), then you’ll have a blast at the Happiest Place on Earth without breaking the bank.

Participation Pays Off: How do you like to save money when planning family vacations?

8 Ways to Save on a Family Vacation to a Disney Theme Park

Put these first class travel tips to work to make your next vacation affordable yet luxurious.

Sardines. Steerage. The wreck-it rocket. It’s hard to find positive descriptions of economy class air travel. And it’s no wonder why. Airlines are cutting services and slashing seat sizes, and passengers are feeling the pinch — often literally.

I know exactly how those passengers feel. I’ve flown business class exactly once (yes, it is awesome) but I’ve flown economy class over 100 times. Along the way and around the world I’ve learned how to make my experience a comfortable and classy one, all without blowing my budget. Here are my top travel tips for creating a first-class experience anyone can afford.

Where to Find a Killer Deal (and Maybe Free Lounge Visits)

Are you ready for a little research? The online community at FlyerTalk will absolutely revolutionize the way you think about travel (and will help you save a small fortune too!) This is where the most inspiring professional travelers and points collectors hang out to talk shop and swap tips. If you’ve ever heard about mythical business class flights that are cheaper than economy or sell-off flights that go for pennies on the dollar — FlyerTalk is where you’ll learn about it first.

Being part of this community is rewarding in many ways. It’s not unusual for the extremely generous members of the network to give away their extra airline lounge passes when the expiration dates are getting close. Think it sounds too good to be true? I’ve been on the receiving end of the passes myself on several occasions and, trust me, a few hours in the lounge goes a long way!

It is possible to beat first class at their own game when it comes to getting extra legroom. A tried-and-true tip is to book your seat in the emergency exit row. I can speak from firsthand experience that having up to 6 feet of extra legroom is amazing. My overnight flight from Istanbul to Bangkok could have been a cramped, miserable experience but instead I stretched out my legs and even sat on the floor for a bit of yoga!

You can also access seats with extra storage and side space. On larger aircraft, the rear body of the plane curves and rows of three seats become rows with two seats — with plenty of extra storage between the window seat and the wall of the cabin. This extra cubby of space saved my sanity on a long-haul flight from Sydney to San Francisco. I was able to stash all my creature comforts beside me and still enjoy my space, limited though it was.

To find these seats for yourself, check out the Seat Guru app by TripAdvisor. Seat Guru points out the pros and cons of every aircraft seat. Don’t be dissuaded if your airline charges a premium for these roomy seats. Arrive early, check in in person and ask nicely for an emergency row seat. Be sure to mention you’re willing to help in the unlikely event of an emergency — the odds of success are in your favor.

When to Exercise Your Right to a Walk of Fame

You don’t need to be a movie star or a first-class ticket holder to board the plane at leisure, leaving the crowds behind. Priority boarding is offered to a long list of passengers. This often includes loyalty members (including those in your airline’s points alliance family), military personnel, seniors, those with small children, those with unusual pieces of carry-on luggage (such as musical instruments or sports equipment) and anyone who needs extra time or assistance.

Obviously you don’t want to take time and resources away from those with serious medical conditions. But if the crowds in the line or the long periods of standing cause you pain or discomfort, you are within your rights to board early — simply let the staff know.

One of the best things I’ve ever eaten was an Air Canada salad of mixed spring greens accompanied by a tiny bottle of olive oil. After four months of living on a restricted diet in Malawi, the bitter savoriness of the greens and fruity warmth of the oil made for a sensational combination — and a memorable flight.

Describing airline food as delicious is a rarity but it’s possible to get a better-than-average meal for no extra cost. Whenever possible, request a vegetarian or other specialty meal. I know one traveler who asks for a low-sodium meal and brings along their own salt packets!

Specialty meals are prepared in smaller quantities and often with more attentive care than regular meals. And they’re the first to be served, giving you to have more time to rest and relax. Not sure which specialty meal to pick? Online travel communities like FlyerTalk will have the latest scoop on all the different specialty meals from the different airlines. There really are some tasty options out there.

Embracing frugal first-class travel is all about getting the best bang for your buck and having the best travel experience possible with the resources you have. While it’s not always — or ever — possible to fly first class, there’s a lot that the average traveler can do to make their experience a more comfortable, affordable and enjoyable one.

Written by Vanessa Chiasson, who blogs at TurnipSeed Travel

Participation Pays Off: What tricks do you use to make sure your trips are comfortable and go smoothly?

4 Travel Tips for an Afforable First-Class Experience

4 Travel Tips for an Affordable First-Class Experience

Don’t let retailers trick you into spending more of your hard-earned dough.

Stores and restaurants have a massive bag of tricks they use to get you to buy their stuff. But we’re going to tell you how you can avoid these traps and put that money toward more carefully planned purchases.

It’s like when a magician explains how he made his rabbit disappear. Once you know how it’s done, the magic is gone. We hope that by telling you about these spending tricks, you’ll be able to keep the magic where it belongs — in your wallet.

1. Cents Pricing: Believe it or not, the two digits after the decimal in an item’s price ($19.99) can influence your opinion.

2. 5 for $5: Stores create an urge to buy more by advertising 10 yogurts for $7. This is to make you think you get a deal by buying 10 instead of just getting one or two at the reduced price.

3. Anchor Pricing: Say you find a jacket you like but it costs $400, so you put it back. Then you see right next to it a similar jacket that’s only $100. Stores do this to make the less expensive jacket look like a steal.

4. Goldilocks Pricing: Similar products are grouped in 3’s — priced low, medium, and high — to make the medium-priced item seem like a deal compared to the more expensive one and better quality than the lowest-priced one.

Ending with a “9” or “8” ($5.98, $16.49): Makes it look like a good deal

Ending with “00” ($5.00, $16.00): Gives the impression of higher quality

Ending with random numbers ($5.87, $16.46): The price looks to be reduced as low as possible

5. The Dollar Sign: Research shows menus that include prices without dollar signs (Truffle Fries, 9) get you to spend more than menus with prices that include dollar signs (Truffle Fries, $9) or even menus with the prices written out in words (Truffle Fries, Nine Dollars).THEY APPEAL TO YOUR SENSES.

6. Sound: Slower or nostalgic songs are calming, which encourages lingering in grocery and clothing stores. While faster music speeds up your heart rate, so you eat faster in restaurants.

7. Sight: The red in restaurant logos triggers hunger and stores rose-tint the mirrors in their fitting rooms to make you look more attractive (like that’s even possible, though, right?). But red’s not the only color that can affect your spending, all colors affect you differently.

8. Taste: Stores give out free samples to trigger your appetite, which makes you shop hungry and buy food you don’t need.

9. Smell: The smell of cinnamon has been shown to make you want to buy. That’s why every candle shop always has its doors open and why you suddenly crave cinnamon buns when you walk through the mall.

10. Touch: No matter whether you’re male or female when a female salesperson invades your personal space and touches you, you’re more likely to buy. Plus if you touch something while shopping, you bond with it and are more likely to buy it.

11. Staples in the Back: Supermarkets put staples such as milk and eggs in the back of the store so you have to pass everything else to get to them.

12. Brand Names at Eye Level: Brand names often sit at eye level on shelves so you see the things you’re familiar with first.

13. Bargain Bins Near Entrances: Slashed prices and piles of sales are eye-grabbing and draw you into stores you had no intention of going into in the first place.

14. Going the Distance: Retailers like to place items you usually buy at the same time far apart from each other. This way, you stroll past other tempting purchases as you walk from the bread to the peanut butter.

15. Long Lines: Stores limit the number of cashiers to create longer lines. This has you waiting alongside impulse buys like gum, gift cards, and People magazines.

16. Counterclockwise Store Flow: Yep, the direction you walk in a store can make you spend more money. Merchants know that having their store flow counterclockwise puts you at ease, so you’re in less of a hurry to leave.

17. Per-Customer Limits: “Limit 3 per customer” is a trick retailers use to create the illusion of scarcity or crazy savings. Just because you can only buy 3 inexpensive power drills doesn’t mean you should.

18. Larger Shopping Carts: Having 1 or 2 items in a shopping cart that could fit a baby elephant can make you feel like you’re not buying enough. Try grabbing a handbasket instead and limiting what you buy to what you can carry.

19. “Free” Deals: We’re suckers for BOGO (buy one, get one) deals and “free shipping with purchases over $75” because free stuff is awesome but it’s still going to cost you.

20. Personalized Ads: Sites can personalize online shopping by tracking your cookies — information packets unique to every webpage. That’s why you’re only seeing ads for those shoes you looked at earlier on every website.

21. Loyalty Cards: Loyalty cards are great for deals and rewards at your favorite stores, but stores use them to more accurately send you deals and coupons for things you already buy so you’ll buy even more of those items.

22. Gender-Focused Merchandise: Marketing can target either men or women when it comes to razors, soaps, and even sodas, sometimes at higher prices. There is plenty of money-saving, gender-neutral alternatives no matter who you are.

23. Shopping Speed Bumps: Stores place actual speed bumps — changes in the height of the floor — to subconsciously slow you down so you’ll look around and linger more and, in turn, buy more things.

Now that you know more about the tricks retailers use to influence your spending, you can take away their magic. Become the wallet wizard you were always destined to be.

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