The Shopping Nazi

Saving Money One Product at a Time

If I Were Single Again

I want to start this post stating, by saying I do not wish to to be single again. I am perfectly happy being married. The whole reason for this title and this subject is what I have heard from young, middle aged. and older people who find themselves without a partner for one reason or the other. I have seen several single people with interesting attitudes toward money, and saving money. I thoug...

Valentine’s Day the Perfect Gift

Valentine's Day is one of those day's we must not forget, or else! Or else a loved one, or mother maybe hurt, disappointed or upset at the very least. We do have help in not forgetting. Television commercials, displays in stores, and email having been reminding me for almost a month. February 14th is Valentines Day, and we should get our loved one some gift. Now we know we got to get our wife...

Beetle or Cooper

This week we have heard reports about gas prices are going up. After hitting a low of close to $3 per gallon for most of January, we are expecting gas prices to start climbing again. With gas prices climbing, the cost of driving our vehicles one mile has started to increase. For those of you who commute any distant to and from work, it will be a big impact on your budget. Like through out mo...

Wonderful World of Trade Shows

Las Vegas is a great place to go for a getaway vacation. It is also know as one of the most popular places to hold a trade show. If you look at the Las Vegas Convention Convention Center there is back to back trade shows. Still for someone like me, who happens to love trade shows, it is not practical for me to spend so much time in Vegas. In fact there is another location where I can go to a tr...

Do I Need Fancy Cleaners?

It is SuperBowl Sunday! There are going to be a lot of living rooms filled with football fans enjoying the big game. There is going to be some emotional highs and lows through out the game. Drinks and food is going to get spilled. Afterwards there will be some cleaning that need to be done. Depending on wild the party gets will depend on how much cleaning will need to be done. In preparation fo...

Gas Mileage Lies

On morning news there was a sniped about a lady who sued Honda for misrepresentation of their gas mileage. It was in small claims court, but still won $10,000. Interesting! It has become pretty much accepted, by all of us, what the sticker gas mileage would be under ideal condition. I am glad someone has stepped up to say, "We are not going to take it anymore!" When I look at different makes...

Touch Screen Desktop Computers

I first saw touch screens computers in the food processing industry back in the late 90's. Since then the technology and the price has been slowly been dropping. As a result we now see more cell phones with touch screens than without. The overall adoption of a touch screen desktop computer has been slow mostly because of the cost. We are seeing the price going under the $1,000 mark. This makes ...

Social Responsible Buying

Last week the name Foxconn and Apple were in all the headlines. It was not about great profits, or some new electronic gadget. It was about the inhumane treatment of the workers in China. What is interesting to note is that Foxconn does not just manufacture electronics for Apple. Foxconn manufacture over 50% of the electronics sold in the United States. Mistreatment of works or labors misbeh...

Secrets of Shopping Wal Mart

Midday on any Saturday or Sunday, at Wal Mart, finds families and couples getting their weekly shopping done. We are at the end of January. People are starting to recover from the Christmas shopping madness. Walking we were greeted by a your 60 oriental lady. I think it is great that Wal Mart seek to find jobs for elderly on fixed incomes. After a quick stop by the cosmetic section for some...

Search for a Practical Usable Tablet

Since before Thanksgiving I have been slowing giving into the idea of getting a tablet. I have looked at all the major brands of tablets and eReaders. I have been trying to imagine how often I would use it. I watch how other people would use their tablets. While attending a local trade show I noticed a large majority of the vendors were using iPads. There were only a few who had other tablets....

Money Please

Posted By: The Shopping Nazi on July 30, 2009 in Budget, Home - Comments: Comments Off

I truly believe that everyone at some point in time, if not multiple points in time has needed to borrow money, currency, or just get resources that they currently do not have. “These are usually done in 12 easy payments that are hard to make”, say Doug Murren.

If I know that I am going to bounce a check, my bank will charge me $35. Then a payday loan of $16.50 on a $100 borrowed looks attractive.

Now my wife thinks that 10% off on a new dress is a great deal. She buys that dress and puts it on our credit card. The credit card company charges me 19% interest. Well, that dress is not such a great deal. I have lost money.

{+}

If you look around you will notice that a big reason for the current state of this world’s economy is the over, unnecessary use of credit. Or a least the unwise use of credit.

My resolution this years has been that I would not start any business venture, nor expand any unless the money was there to do so.

I have found that using cash will give me a better deal. The idea of fees for processing your credit card purchases eats into retailers bottom-line. Car dealers, hotels, and high-end electronics dealers are increasingly open to offering lower prices if a buyer pays with cash. Travel site offers more hotels and at better prices for customers who give up the greenbacks.

Paying your doctor bill with cash can save you money. A doctor’s offices does not like to have to wander through piles of paperwork just to get paid. Many will give you up to 20% discount just for a cash payment.

It is easier to track you spending and stay on budget if you use cash. People who pay bills with a credit card spend a lot of time keeping track of when that payment is going to come out of their bank account. They may even be sweating if they are going to have the money when that credit card bill comes due.

I get angry every time I see publish credit card rates, and then talk to people who are paying a much higher rate. It seems to be usually 5% to 10% higher.

I found one website that can help you, if you must, have a credit card. It is call Bankrate.com.