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Fight for Your Money

1. There is no such thing as a free lunch. If a deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
2. Figure out the total cost. The price they advertise isnt necessarily what soething really
costs. Ma!e sure you !now what the advertisedprice covers, what it doesnt cover " and how
uch youll have to pay for the stuff youregoing to need that isnt included.
#. $ont ta!e anybodys word for anything. %uarantees and proises dont ean anything
unless they are in writing.
&. $o your hoewor!. 'oparison(shop, educate yourself about the product, and unless you
!now who youre dealing with, chec! the out before you send the a oney order or
sign a contract.
). *e careful what you sign. +ead allthe paperwor!, including the sall print, and a!e sure
you understand it.
,. +esist efforts to pressure or intiidate you. -ot every salesan who eploys the hard sell
is a croo!. *ut honest ones rarely do. .hen theybadger you to /0ct now12 thats a sure sign
you shouldnt. .hen they urge you not to tell anyone else about this /very special opportunity,2
you definitely should " preferably soeone who carries a badge.
3. If you thin! youve been scaed, report it to the appropriate authorities. 0s an official for
the -ation 'onsuers 4eague put it inan interview with consuer reporter *ob 5ullivan,
/'oplaining is to being a good consuerwhat voting is to being a good citi6en. If
there are no coplaints, theres no ipetus for legislative change and the enforceent officer
dont !now whats going on. If you only coplain to friends but dont report soething7then
nobody who can do soething about it !nows what happened to you.
8. There is no such thing as a set price. .ith ost services and any consuer goods 9cars,
cable T:, gy ebership; not everyone pays the sae price. <ow uch often depends on
when you signed up, what incentives you wereoffered, and how well you negotiated. 0s a
consuer, you have ore power than you thin!.
=. >ac!age deals are often not good deals. They ay sound great, but they typically re?uire
you to buy soething you dont really want or need.
1@. Money gives you control, so hold on to it as long as you can. Its easier to reverse an unfair
charge than to try to get a refund once youve paid out cash. 5o dont agree to autoatic
debits " use a credit card instead. 5iilarly, parcel out payents to repairen and contractors,
and avoid years(long service contracts.
11. >rotect your identity. >ersonal inforation, such as credit card and ban! account nubers,
should be shared only with salespeople and copanies you !now and trust " and never by
eail.
0dapted fro FI%<T FA+ YAB+ MA-CY by $avid *ach.
Fight For Your MoneyD *uying 0 'ar
If youre one of the 1) illion 0ericans who bought a car last year, you can be pretty sure that
you were ta!en on the deal. The fact is, even without tric!s or scas, buying a new car is
alost
always a bad investent. -ew cars lose 2) ( #@E oftheir value in the first year off the dealers
lot. 0 1 ( 2 year old low(ileage vehicle is alost always the right way to go. That said, if you
insist on buying a new car, heres what you need to !nowD
F Find a Trustworthy $ealer
.hen buying a car youre spending a lot of oney with a dealership. Itsnecessary to a!e
sure that the dealers a trustworthy person, and will give you the best deal possible. The best
way to gauge a dealers trustworthiness is by assessing his financial transparency. 0s! to see
their paperwor! showing the cars /actual cost2 including applicable rebates, holdbac!s, and
anufacturers incentives. 5ince this inforation is also available to you online, its a great way
to see if your dealer is a straight shooter. If the sales staff gives you the runaround, dont bother
with the. Gust leave.
F 0void the /Hero $own >ayent2 5ca
0 loan thats /Hero $own with Hero >ayents for Ane Year2 ay sound appealing, until a year
passes and you finally see what you owe. .hile youre not repaying your loan, interest rates still
accrue. Meanwhile, the value of your car depreciates, and you get hit with a double whay.
*y the tie you start repaying your loan, the aount you owe ight have increased by
hundreds
or even thousands of dollars, while your car is worth 2@ ( #@E of its original value. You pay
ore for less1 0nd reeber, your auto insurance only covers the actual value of the vehicle.
This eans that if the car is stolen or totaled, you will be copensated at an aount far less
than
the loan youre still stuc! with.
F $ont %et 5?uee6ed by $ealer Financing
The profit argin on a new car is very narrow for the dealer. .here they profit, and where you
lose, is by s?uee6ing out as uch as they can for financing, add(on options and servicing.
.atch
out1 If you need financing for your new car, borrow fro a ban!, not a dealer. 0ny interest rate
a car dealer ?uotes you is bound to behigher ( often uch higher ( than you should be able to
get
fro a ban!. 4oo! out for unnecessary add(ons li!e paint protection, rust proofing, undercoating
and fabric protection. The dealer will chargeyou I8@@ for soething that costs the Just I&@.
F The *otto 4ineD
.hen buying a car, your best deal is often a well(aintained, used vehicle. That said, if you
ust buy a new one, educate yourself before you a!ethat final purchase. You wor! hard for
your oney, so Fight For It1
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Fight For Your MoneyD 'ell >hones
If youre an average 0erican, you tal! about 2#inutes a day tal!ing on your cell phone, and
youre spending around I)@ a onth for the privilege.That doesnt sound li!e uchKbut its a
lot ore than it should be1 .hyL *ecause ost of us have the wrong cell phone plan for our
needs. 'hances are youll be able to lower yourbill, and a!e considerable savings. ItMs tie
to fight for your oney.
F $ont %et Ta!en In *y CNcessive Monthly Minutes >lans
<ow long has it been since youMve used all your onthly inutesL ItMs li!ely that youMre aongst
the illions of 0ericans that regularly pay for phone services they donMt use. ItMs tie you ta!e
a
loo! at that onthly bill and figure out what you should really bepaying for. Figure out the si6e
of the plan thatMs right for you then coparison shop aongst the aJor providers. *e
conservative. .hen in doubt, go for the saller plan.
F 0void Autrageous /CarlyTerination2 Fees
ItMs possible that youMre coitted to a bad plan and need to get out. Bnfortunately, early
terination fees can run as high as I2@@ for canceling your contract before it eNpires. There are
now
soe resources in your favor. 0nytie your carrier adds an incorrect charge to your plan 9which
happens 044 the tie;, you have the right to cancelyour contract without penalty for 1& days.
This is called the /aterial adverse change2 clause. 'ob through your bill and loo! for errors
that can get you out of a bad relationship. 0lternatively, you can avoid the terination fee by
transferring your cell phone contract to soeone else. For a fee of about I2@, websites li!e
'ellswapper.co and 'elltrade.co will connect you with soeone who will ta!e your old plan
off your hands.
F .atch Aut for <idden 5ervice 'ontract CNtensions
The big carriers are notorious for eNtending service contracts, often without prior notification.
.atch out for Mandatory 'ontract CNtensions. Their ain tactic is to try to hoo! you by offering
a OfreeO new phone or a better data service. *uried in the fine print are provisions that say
your contract will autoatically eNtend if you ta!e the deal. Ance your initial contract ends, you
can continue service on a onth(by(onth basis. *ut watch outKthe copanies will do
everything they can to get you to sign a new contract. 5o be s!eptical aboutprootional coe(
ons
and /free2 deals. If youre not careful, you ightagree to an autoatic long(ter eNtension of
your contract.
F The *otto 4ineD
'ell phones are a *I% business and the providers are not always on our side. Its iportant to
ar yourself with inforation and ta!e charge. .ere now reaching a point where Just about
everyone who wants a cell phone has one. The ar!et for new cell phone users is pretty uch
tapped out, which eans that the only way a cell phone copany can grow is by stealing
business fro its copetitors. Thats great news for us, and a good tie to start trying out these
new
techni?ues. You wor! hard for your oney, so Fight For It.
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Fight For Your MoneyD 'redit 'ards
.hen used responsibly, credit cards are a good resource. Bnfortunately, any 0ericans fall
into bad borrowing habits encouraged by the aJor credit card copanies. ThatMs why roughly
)# illion 0erican households are carrying ore than I1 trillion in credit card debt. This
averages out to nearly I18,@@@ per household. $ont let your credit cards get the better of you.
<ere are soe of the dirty little secrets the creditcard industry can and will use against youD
F 0void the Miniu Monthly >ayent 5ca
*an!s and credit card copanies are in the business of lending oney. In order to !eep
custoers, they dont want you to pay off your credit debt in full. The lower the payents you
a!e, the
ore oney they earn in interest. Gust becausethereMs a OiniuO payent doesnMt ean
thatMs
the aount you should pay. 0lways pay oreKas uch as you can affordKthan the iniu
payent. If you dont, the ban!s will a!e a fortune off of you.
F .atch Aut for <idden /%otcha2 'lauses that Gac! Bp Your Interest +ate
.hen signing up for a new credit card, watch out for the ultiate /gotcha2 clause in your credit
card agreeentD a /universal default provisionO. 0 universal default provision gives the card
copany the right to Jac! up your interest rate if youre ore than #@ days late paying 0-Y bill
you owe to 0-YA-C. This includes a telephone or utility bill that has nothing to do with your
credit card. &@E of credit cardissuers apply the universal default provision. 5o before signing
up for a new card, chec! the fineprint of your agreeent.
F $ont Fall for the /$ouble('ycle2 *illing 5ca
If you usually pay your bill off in full each onth, and only occasionally carry over a credit card
balance fro onth to onth, watch out for $ouble('ycle *illing1 $ouble('ycle *illing is a
practice in which interestrates are calculated based on your average credit balance for the past
two onths, rather than on the eNisting balance due.This can be a huge rip(off and results in
you
being charged interest for balances youve already paid off. 'ob through your card
agreeent.
If it says /Two('ycle 0verage $aily *alance2,you are being screwed and you should switch to
another card.
0dapted fro FI%<T FA+ YAB+ MA-CY by $avid *ach.
Fight For Your MoneyD $ebit 'ards
.e 0ericans love our debit cards. In 2@@,, we used debit cards for ore than 2, billion
purchasesKnearly 2@E ore often than we used our credit cards. $ebit card purchases now
total
ore than I1 trillion a year. $ebit cards are popular and itMs obvious whyD theyMre easy to get,
siple to use, and !eep us fro running up credit card balances. *ut for all this benefit, debit
cards arenMt as good as they see. If youMre not careful, debit cards can wind up costing you big
tie.
F *eware Averdraft Fees on $ebit 'ard >urchases
$ebit cards are so popular because ban!s proote the aggressively, offering all sorts of
prootions and special offers. .hy are ban!s so interested in putting a debit cardin your
poc!etL ItMs
sipleD overdraft fees alone generate close to I= billion a year. Pnow what youre getting in to
when signing up for a debit card. Gust because its /free2 and doesnt have a onthly interest
rate doesnt ean its saving you oney. 0ccording to a study conducted by 'onsuer
+eports,
a typical overdraft fee on a debit card purchase translates to an annual interest rate of ore
than
1@@@E1
F $ont Fall for the False >roise of /Hero(liability2 $ebit 'ards
Many ban!s offer /6ero(liability2 debit cards. Typically with credit cards, this eans that youre
not responsible for unauthori6ed charges on your card. This is notoften the case with debit
fraud. $ont be fooled. This 6ero(liability policy applies only when you sign a transaction slipQ
not when you punch in your >I- at a cash registeror 0TM. This eans if soeone gets your
>I-, then theyMve got your oney, and the ban!Ms 6ero(liability policy wonMt cover it. YouMre
probably wondering how thatMs possible.... .ell, in contrast to credit cards, the 6ero(liability
>A4I'Y on your debit card is eNactly thatD 0 policy, not a federal law. 'all your ban! today to
find out what !ind of liability policy they offer for debit cardsQ your oney ight not be as safe
as you thin! it is. If you lose your >I- you ris!losing your oney. %uard it li!e you would
your wallet.
F The *otto 4ineD
$ebit cards see li!e a great deal but they introduce a lot of ris! into your financial lives. For a
/free2 service fro your ban!, they can end up costing you a lot of oney and hardship. Bse
your debit card only for sall, iediate transactions. You wor!hard for your oney, so Fight
For It.
0dapted fro FI%<T FA+ YAB+ MA-CY by $avid *ach.
Fight For Your MoneyD Faily Travel
0nyone who has to travel fre?uently will tell you that air travel has becoe a brutal, iserable
eNperience that gets worse with each passing day. 0nd ore eNpensive. -ot only do we pay the
airlines hundredsKsoeties thousandsKof dollars for a tic!et, theyre now charging us eNtra
for Just about everything eNcept wings and a seat belt.
.ant to a!e your reservation by telephoneL Thatll add I2).@@
>lanning to chec! luggageL I1) for the first bag and up to I8@ for the second.
0irlines are in a terrible s?uee6e right now. 5oeties it sees as if they are deliberately trying
to a!e the s!ies as unfriendly as possible. *ut if air travel is unavoidable, heres how to fight
your oney and get the best dealD
F 0lways %o Anline to Find the *est $eals
4oo! for airlines you wouldnt eNpect to service the destination youre heading for. %oing to
4ondonL 'hec! out airlines li!e 0ir India or 0ir -ew Healand. You can also save by landing in
saller, regional airports instead of big international hubs.
F *uy 0irline Tic!ets Individually
If youre traveling with your faily or a group, dont buy tic!ets in bunches. *uying one at a
tie can be a lot cheaper.
F 0lways +ead the Fine >rint
*efore you put down your oney, a!e sure you readthe fine print and understand the rules
and
fees about chec!ing luggage and other no(longer(free services.
Fight For Your MoneyD <ospitals and <ealth 'are
<ealth care costs are the single biggest source of financial isery in this country so it pays to
ar yourself with inforationKbecause if the worst happens, you need to be ready. This is
what you need to !nowD
F $ont *e 0fraid to <aggle with <ospitals to +educe Your <ealth 'are *ills
<ospitals charge the highest prices to those least able to pay. Medicare and the big insurance
copanies get charged the lowest prices. If you dont have insurance, or if you ista!enly use
an out(of(networ! provider, you could be charged ore than siN ties what Medicare gets
chargedKfor the eNact sae procedure. .hat to doL <aggle. +eeber Medicare is being
charged less than you. If the hospital reduces its rates for the big insurance copanies, they
can
afford to reduce their rate for you.
F .atch Aut for $uplicate *illing and Inaccurate 'harges
Ma!e sure you get what you pay for. Most of the tie, your hospital bill isnMt even accurate.
CNperts say =@E of all hospital bills contain ista!es, and they are -C:C+ in your favor. 5o
watch out, and always chec! your bill. $uplicate billing is the ost coon rip off. 0s! that
your bill is itei6ed before a!ing a payent and review each line ite. .atch out for I3@ or
I8@ charges for a bag of saline worth 1@ cents. It has happened. It could happen to you.
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Fight For Your MoneyD +etireent >lans
Ane of the ost iportant things you can do to ipact your wealth is enroll in a &@19!;
retireent savings plan. Theres no getting around itD contributing as uch as you can to your
&@19!;
is a no(brainer. *ut, that doesnt ean that once youve signed up you can stop thin!ing about
it. You should be aware that the big ban!s, bro!erage firs, and insurance copanies that
provide these plans are in the business for one reason onlyD to a!e oney. These big
copanies
siphon ore than I1) billion a year out of our &@19!; accounts. <eres what you need to !now
to Fight For Your MoneyD
F .atch Aut for CNcessive &@19!; Fees
Most people dont reali6e that the average plan costs its participants between #E and )E of
what
they invest each year. >aying an annual fee thats Just a single percentage point too high can
eventually shrin! your nest egg by as uch as 2@E. .hat to doL $ont be shy about as!ing
your copany or &@19!; provider for a brea!down offees in your plan. If youre paying ore
than #E, coplain about it to your eployer.
F -ever Invest Too <eavily in Your Awn 'opanys 5toc!
$ont invest too heavily in your own copanys stoc!. +eeber what happened at Cnron,
*ear 5tearns and 4ehan *rothers, where eployees who had invested all their retireent
savings in their own copanys stoc!, were wiped out financiallyL 4et those cases serve as a
cautionary tale. If ost of your oney is invested in your own copanys stoc! and the
copany
goes out of business, not only do you lose your Job, but you lose your retireent savings at the
sae tie. My rule of thubD $ont put ore than )(1@E of your net worth in one stoc!.
F 0void the Teptation to *orrow Money fro Your &@19!; +etireent 0ccount
0void borrowing oney fro your &@19!; account, and dont cash it out when you leave your
eployer1 Ane of the worst things ban!s have donein recent years is tointroduce a debit card
connected to your retireent account, allowing you to borrow against your &@19!; with a single
swipe. This basically aounts to predatory lending. 0void it at all costs. Invest in your &@19!;
and leave it alone.
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Fight For Your MoneyD TaNes
TaN preparation is huge business, with 0ericans spending about I11 billion on taN prep
services each year. 0re we getting our oneys worthL CNcept in 'alifornia and Aregon, where
taN preparers have to be licensed, pretty uch anyone can hang up a shingle and call
theselves
a taN preparer. <eres what you need to !now to find a good oneD
F .hen it 'oes to TaN >reparation,*igger $oesnt 0lways Mean *etter
*igger doesnt always ean better. -ational chains li!e <R+ *loc! and 4iberty TaN 5ervice
ay see li!e a good bet, but a!e sure you as! the who will actually be doing your return.
*ig firs often eploy high school graduates to process your return using software you could
buy yourself for I)@. .hat to doL 0s! and a!esure youre getting a properly ?ualified and
eNperienced person wor!ing on yourreturn. If you dont li!e the answer you get, loo! for another
taN service.
F Ma!e 5ure You 'hoose a >rofessional TaN >reparation 5ervice
.hen you select a taN preparer, youre basically choosing a business partner. Ta!e it seriously
and loo! for real professionals. >rofessional taN preparers are often ore eNpensive than the
chains, but spotting one issed opportunity could easily save you the difference. The best way
to locate a good preparer is fro soeone you trust. 0s! for referrals fro friends, relatives,
colleagues. Then, interview your taN preparer before signing up. Find out what protection youll
have if they a!e a ista!e, such as coverage offines, penalties and interest. Most iportantly,
find out how your personal inforation will be safeguarded.
F $ont Fall into the +efund 0nticipation 4oan Trap
+efund anticipation 4oans 9+04s; ay sound li!e a good deal, which is probably why = illion
of us sign up for the each year, but its really the ban!s and taN prep firs that benefitQ not
you.
<owL They ra!e in ore than I1 billion a yearproviding these low(ris! loans with eNorbitant
service fees and finance charges. These service fees and charges can produce 0>+s as high
as
1,2@@E or ore. 0t rates li!e that, youMre better off borrowing the oney on your credit card. If
you really need the refund in a hurry, even <R+ *loc! says the best option is to file your taNes
electronically and as! the governent to deposit your refund directly intoyour ban! account. ItMs
a uch better deal than an +04.

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