Merchandising Tricks--Small print matters.

Beating the "Hard Times" in daily financial
affairs with Money Saving Tips are a positive
on folk's bank accounts, but not the ONLY
way to protect our money.

We encourage "Comparison Shopping" , learning patience, giving us the opportunity to exercise good judgment and time to study solid choices, are a good part of saving money.
At the same time we need to be aware of a few "tricks" or practices that trap consumers into making bad choices when buying.

Zero Interest Rate...is No Bargain if too much is paid for an item.
Research has shown when people are paying in Cash as opposed
to credit with zero interest rate they tend to spend less and are
more cautious of price.

Watch and be very careful of meeting all the terms of a zero
interest purchase or you will end up with a higher price and
penalties that are more than what the interest would have
been if purchased on credit.  It's like being late on a credit card
payment with a huge penalty and an increase in the interest
rate on the remaining balances.

Manufacturers' Rebates lure buyers to certain brands
and most often are the deciding factor in making purchases.  Studies show less than half of all rebates are successfully redeemed.

One clever little trick is manipulating redemption dates, "claiming the rebate 15 days or more after the purchase and then with a rebate window of 10-14 days".

Another method of creating "slippage" of rebate dollars is sending the rebate checks in envelopes specially designed to look like "junk mail". Many bulk pieces of advertising are discarded without opening.

E-Bay Auctions maybe a great place to find an
oddball or needed item, but auctions actually encourage overpayments.
Look for items to compare that quote a fixed price. If you do bid
don't exceed a fixed price. Forget the auction and buy at the
set price.