Posted by admin on December 15, 2008 · Leave a Comment
The current economy is meaning big savings for consumers. This has a lot of people watching the stores for ads and sale days, and waiting to buy the items they want on sale. This is a great idea, but watch out, because the stores know that you are looking to save money, and they are all juggling their sales so quickly, while altering their prices, that a savings may not really be a savings at all.
Let me sight an example. Recently I received an e-mail from a popular clothing store that usually charges a lot for their clothing. The sale e-mail said it was 30% off of everything, including clearance stuff, which we all know is unheard of. Also, shipping was free over $100.00 so I took advantage of the sale and placed an order for some great items. One of the things I bought was boys shirts, which were on sale for 2 for $30.00 and then I got an additional 30% off, which made these shirts about $10 a piece. I placed my order and not 24 hours later, I received an e-mail telling me that they now had everything 50% off, so I really thought I had been had. I went back online to look at these shirts that I had purchased the day before, and they were now priced at $34.50 per shirt and so with 50% they would cost me $17.25 per shirt, a good $7 more than I had spent. I was relieved, but this just goes to show you that a sale, may or may not really be a sale.
It is important to shop around and even re-shop the same stores over and over again to insure that the deal you are getting is really a deal. Realize the consumers are looking for the deals, and so the stores may make you think that you are getting one, even when you aren’t. Shop wisely and you will see that there really are some great deals out there, but don’t be fooled by the make-believe deals that some stores are putting out.
Filed under spending · Tagged with big savings, consumers, current economy, deals, economy, on sale, prices, sale, sales, save money, savings, shop, shop around, shop wisely, stores
Posted by admin on November 13, 2008 · Leave a Comment
Candidate Obama promised to make changes to the financial structure of the country, and mostly as a pro-consumer advocate and financial analysts are saying that he may in fact institute a credit card bill of rights. What this basically means is that the industry has been ripping off people for years and they haven’t made us aware of any of the loopholes that they keep catching consumers in.
Obama, the candidate, put forth a pro-consumer platform that includes:
- Creating a credit card rating system similar to the five-star rating system used for other consumer products to assess card features. Issuers would be required to display the rating on all credit card applications and solicitation materials.
- Establishing a credit card bill of rights to ban universal default, prohibit unilateral changes to contracts and prohibit charging interest on fees.
- Reforming bankruptcy laws to allow families with huge medical bills to have their medical debts forgiven and allow homeowners filing for bankruptcy to adjust the terms of their mortgage so they can keep their homes.
- Capping interest rates on payday loans at 36 percent and requiring clear disclosure of loan terms.
Financial analysts, however, warn that these changes need to be made swiftly and in the beginning, as that is the platform that he ran on and that is what American’s are looking for. If he waits too long, the excitement for change may be gone, and then it will be too late. Many people believe that since this is what the people want Congress will probably try to get a consumer friendly bill signed by Bush before he leaves office, however there are others that think this is doubtful at best.
Honestly, we need something to help out the people in this country and although many people oppose Obama’s thoughts, especially those on finance, I think that overall we must do something to help the unemployed and the people who are losing their homes to foreclosure. Something must be done to stop the madness, and the truth is doing something is better than doing nothing, so I guess we will see how this all pans out. Things can’t get any worse than they are…or can they?
Filed under Financial Changes · Tagged with advocate, bankruptcy, bankruptcy laws, bill, bush, candidate, card, changes, charging interest, consumer friendly bill, consumer products, consumers, credit card, credit card applications, credit card bill of rights, default, disclosure, fees, financial, financial analysts, financial structure, foreclosure, loan terms, loans, loopholes, losing their homes, medical bills, mortgage, Obama, payday loans, platform, pro-consumer, rating, reforming bankruptcy laws, terms