Ignoring the Fine Print Can Cost You (Big Time)
Thanks to the Credit CARD Act, consumers are supposed to be more protected when using their credit cards. Part of the legislation included provisions for more disclosure, and therefore notification, of any changes. Since the bill was approved, you’ve probably seen a lot more letters in the mail from your credit card companies.
Keeping up with the fine print can be tedious (and boring), but something that requires your attention. While expenses and fees have been curtailed in some regards, banks have been using creative means to make up those “losses” in other areas.
One of my credit cards recently sent a letter notifying me an annual fee was being introduced based on the average spending. If you balance exceeded $1K you’d only have to pay $35/year and if it was under – $55/year. Considering how I barely use this card because of the other reward credit cards, I was quite upset. Cancelling the card wasn’t an option since it’s my oldest account – so I decided to call customer service.
Explaining the situation, they generously offered to only charge me the $35 instead of the $55. Sorry, no thanks. After a brief hold, they came back and said they would waive the fee indefinitely as long as I kept the account opened. That was easy enough! The entire conversation took around 7 minutes and saved me $55.
What was so interesting was how easy and quickly it was resolved, seems like there’s been a shift in the customer service mentality. Gone are the days of yelling and threatening Better Business Bureau complaints (to an extent). Of course, if this conversation took more than an hour as I was transferred between managers maybe it wouldn’t have been worth the time. But $55 in 7 minutes equates to a billing rate of $385/hour – much more than I actually make.
So next time you think of trashing that credit card notice before reading it, take the time to review the details and see how it will affect you. A minor tweak could end up meaning big savings on your part!
Spring Clean Your Finances
As the cold weather starts to leave us it means that spring has finally arrived. Some people see this as an ideal time of the year to give your finances a good old spring clean, especially if you’re still struggling from a start of the year hangover.
The start of the year is notorious for leaving you with a financial headache, the holidays have passed and money has inevitably been spent, but as we approach the months ahead you should be aiming to do something about it.
A financial spring clean is all about making your money work better for you, and you can do this by reviewing all aspects of personal finance, from your debts to your spending and saving until you can make your money go that extra yard. Continue reading “Spring Clean Your Finances” »
Negotiating Your New Car Purchase
According to AAA, the Sticker Price (MSRP) is marked up by an average of 13.5% from what the dealer actually paid for the vehicle.
What scares us about car negotiations? Our preconceived notions of “not getting a good deal” or being subjected to “slimy dealer tactics”? Could it be how infrequently we make large purchases and the costs associated with them? With double-digit markups, it seems like new car buyers would be more more diligent in their research and more aggressive with their negotiations.
Mrs. FinEngr and I first started talking about the idea of a new car back in August of 2009. Not really entering the market until early September of 2010, we worked with Geoff, the Car Negotiation Coach, on strategies to secure the best possible price.
New Year’s Eve Day, we purchased a 2011 Hyundai Sonata.
Based on checked and re-checked calculations we negotiated:
- 19% below MSRP, over $3,000
- 14% below Factory Invoice, over $2,000
- 3.5% below Dealer Cost (averaged*)
*It’s hard for me to believe the dealer actually took a loss on our sale. At a minimum I know they got very little to no profit off us. Different sources and price profiles came back with savings from 0.5% to 6.0% under Dealer Cost.
As for the back story, here’s our situation…
Forget 2011, Go Back to 2010
A time to look forward, New Years gives us the opportunity to better ourselves. We set resolutions raising the bar where we’ve fallen short before. As we focus on our new goals, the old year is soon forgotten along with all that happened in the past.
Being a nut about advanced planning, we make a lot of headway financially in the month of January. Our portfolios are rebalanced, insurances are reviewed and updated, and our Roth IRAs are fully-funded (read why I’m a fan of “front-loading”) for 2011. Okay so what about the remaining 300+ days?
Being well-prepared not only keeps you ahead of the game, it also allows for more reflection. Knowing what you did well gives a strong sense of satisfaction and knowing what you did wrong helps you improve going forward.
Gift Card Arbitrage: New Way to Save More
Skimming through Jan-Feb issue of Money, one snippet caught my attention:
“Swap that Gift Card for Cash”.
The write-up focused on two sites – PlasticJungle and GiftCardRescue. Both are services for offloading unwanted gift cards. While the article seemed only to consider the selling opportunities I was amazed they didn’t bring up the BUYING potential of these sites. Sure gift cards are limited to specific stores, but these cards are being sold for less than what’s on them – that’s an immediate discount!
Continue reading “Gift Card Arbitrage: New Way to Save More” »
Personal Finance Things to do Before You’re 30
Turning 30 can be a scary, confronting and sometimes even depressing time for many people, as they realise that the carefree days of their 20s are behind them, and ahead lies responsibility and a lot of hard work. It can also be a confronting realisation to suddenly find yourself ‘old’ and this feeling can be compounded when you realise you haven’t achieved all the things you wanted to do before you did get old.
Therefore, to help make sure your 30th birthday is a time for celebration of your achievements, you need to start thinking about your personal finances before you’re 30 years old. In taking control of your finances and putting plans in place for your future, you can be more successful that you could have imaged by the time you’re 30.
Continue reading “Personal Finance Things to do Before You’re 30” »
