Archive for the ‘Internet Shopping’ Category

5 Tales of Financial Horror

I know Halloween was last week, but let’s keep the fun alive with some financial horror stories. Didn’t you love horror stories as a kid? I liked them…until I tried to sleep. Then, more often then not, I spent the night staring at the ceiling, sure that at any minute some disconfigured arm would grab me from under the bed.

The bad news is that we all have friends who have real life financial horror stories. Their money problems make it difficult to sleep. Maybe you have those issues. There’s good news: many of these horrible stories we can fix simply by turning on the lights: if we know they’re out there, we can avoid them or find ways for them to vanish:

Horrible Story #1) There once was a man who paid an annual fee on his credit card! There’s no reason to pay annual fees for cards unless you’re a high-powered user. Too many cards are available with no fees that still give you a low interest rate and reward points. Only pay fees if you find a card which you are certain will be justified by the rewards that are unavailable from a non-fee card.

Tip: Use online comparison sites to determine which card best meets your needs without paying a fee. (more…)

Posted in budget, Credit Cards, Financial Planning, home ownership, Income/Expenses, Internet Shopping, money plan, Saving Money, Taxes | No Comments »
Posted by Miata | November 8th, 2012

Best Ways to Shop for Deals

Lately, as I’ve been working with clients, I’ve realized that there is a NEW spending category that is starting to have a negative effect on some of our bank accounts: Groupon, Living Social and other programs.

A friend recently started tracking a similar website called Woot. She told me that there were amazing deals on the site and couldn’t believe she’d discovered such a treasure.

A couple months later I asked how Woot was going. She sighed and said she didn’t visit it anymore. “I great-dealed myself until I was broke.”

That’s my feeling about Groupon, Living Social, coupon clipping and sales. Only buy items you were going to purchase anyway and they’re wonderful opportunities. Buy items you weren’t going to purchase and you may find yourself beyond your budget.

Personally, I rarely visit these sites because I know that presentation is the key to marketing. I can’t examine a deal until I see the deal. Once I’ve seen the amazingly low discounted price, I want the product! Even if I didn’t want it before, I find 101 uses for the three-armed chair leg counter and backscratcher (on sale today only).

Here’s a better way to shop for deals:

  • What do you want to buy? Use Google or Bing to search for the product. (I use Bing because they offer a search reward program. I do nothing out of the ordinary and earn free points, which I can convert to Amazon dollars.)
  • Read reviews on the product. Look for suitable alternatives (often an Amazon search on a product will bring up a list of similar items).
  • Use a search engine again with the name brand you’ve chosen + the word “discount.” You’ll find coupons, offers and lower cost alternatives.

Remember that low cost isn’t everything if the retailer doesn’t have a good return policy or customer satisfaction rating. Use the search engine a third time to find horror stories about a retailer if you’re unfamiliar with the name.

Posted in budget, Internet Shopping, Saving Money | No Comments »
Posted by Miata | May 14th, 2012

How to Keep your Online Identity Safe!

Identity Theft

Mommmm! I dropped my Social in the barbed wire again!

Today I read that the FBI reports internet crime more than doubled last year. People who normally lock their car doors buy frequently online, complete all their banking over the web and pay bills routinely using their keyboard. Internet transactions are an easy way for crooks to steal bank account numbers, credit card information and other personal data. Maybe it’s time to sit back and think for a moment about protecting yourself while you’re banking and shopping on the internet.

My goal isn’t to frighten anyone away from online transactions. Truthfully, in this busy world it would seem silly to avoid shopping or banking online. In many ways, online transactions help people with fiscal responsibility. It’s easier to stay within your spending plan. You have time to carefully consider transactions without a sales clerk pressuring you to purchase before “the sale ends.” You can easily monitor financial activities and spot trends. Working online isn’t the enemy. Completing financial transactions without thinking about protecting yourself is the problem. It’s like walking around the mall with a wad of cash hanging from your back pocket. There’s only a matter of time until someone steals from you.

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Posted in Credit Cards, Identity Theft, Internet Shopping | No Comments »
Posted by Miata | October 27th, 2010