The Shopping Nazi

Saving Money One Product at a Time

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....

Cruise or Not to Cruise

Here we are at the end of January 2012. Texas is getting heavy rains. Snow and Cold is covering most all of the northern hemisphere. I close my eyes and think of a hot summer day with the sun beating down on may face. Then in an instant, I jump into a nice cool swimming pool. Yes, what better time to plan a summer vacation than when the chilling cold is biting your bones, and the sky is all gloomy...

When Not to File an Insurance Claim

Have you been in an auto accident or had water damage from the washing machine over flowing? Then got on the phone calling your insurance company for a claim that was only for a few hundred dollars. Did you know you do not have to file an insurance claim every time you are eligible to file. If you read your insurance policy carefully, you will find you will be penalized if you file ...

Groupon Coupon Yollar Crazy

I a generally stay away from the whole cutting of coupons. The putting them into an organized folder, and taking this big folder to the grocery store. In addition I get frustrated when I have to look for the brand and size of soda matches my coupon. The few time I did take coupons, I found myself spending about the same amount of money, while getting stuff I would not normally get. It is one ...

Tax Season Cometh

From the end of January to April 15th is the traditional season for getting our taxes done. Some of us procrastinate so much we have to file an extension with the IRS. Accountants, bookkeepers, and those who do tax preparation are busy. In the grand scheme of things we need to pay taxes to we can get services from our government like fire, police, and military. Still we do not need to pay more t...

Are Bank Fees Fair?

Posted By: The Shopping Nazi on November 2, 2011 in Bargin Places, Budget - Comments: Comments Off

Are the fee that bank charges fair? Is it fair to pay the bank $40 for every bounced check? What about those ATM fees? I have seen some ATM’s charging close to $5 just to make a withdrawal.

A look at recent fee changes at major banks

Bank of America now charges a $5 fee to replace debit cards. Chase Bank has ended its debit rewards program in last July. Chase is also testing a $15 monthly fee for basic checking accounts in Georgia. Citi Bank customers will have to maintain a balance of at least $1,500 or sign up for direct deposit and online bill pay to avoid the fee. Wells Fargo plans to test a $3 monthly debit card fee starting Oct. 14. It is not just these banks, we have seen and will see more into next year.

I was reading a piece for Money.CNN.com which was titled, “Get a Fair Shake: Not a Shake Down“. ATM fees are rising. It is harder to get free checking. Banks are pushing it’s customers to use the online banking over going into their branches.

We All Need to Save

Posted By: The Shopping Nazi on October 4, 2011 in Bargin Places, Budget, Business, Home, Shopping with - Comments: Comments Off

Do you realize, in the United States, the average car repair is $1,500? Did you know the average vet bill is around $400 for a cat? Are you aware that most human health care insurance plans cover only a fraction of any major medical expenses? Considering the uncertainty of today’s job market, we need to some money in saving for those unexpected expenses.

Just a couple years ago, in 2009, the average savings account would not even cover the bills for a family for one month. According to all the numbers I can find it is not much better today. It is time to get our financial house in order and have a healthy savings account.

Saving is more than just putting money in the bank. Savings is putting the right amount of money in the right bank. Why? Savings account are not designed to store money up for a rainy day. An expected return is required. Neither do we need to have our money in a bank getting a high interest rate when that same bank is charging us all sorts of fees.

Big Bank, Little Bank

Posted By: TSN Boise on March 16, 2010 in Business, Finance, Home - Comments: Comments Off

There has been a lot of discussion about moving from large banks like Bank of America and Chase to smaller local banks and local credit unions. This has been the result of general frustration that a lot of people have had with their big banks. Now that frustration has reached the point of taking action.

In my travels, I see smaller local banks and credit unions courting the average depositor. They want people like you and me to move our money to their smaller bank, where we will be treated with more respect.

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