We all spend money on things we do not really need. You frequently see lengthy articles in magazines and newspapers telling you ways to save money. Here are ten things you can easily do to waste your hard earned cash. They are certainly not in any particular order.
1. Buy a soda at a restaurant. Including the soda itself, the ice, and the salaries they pay for cleaning and serving, a typical 12-ounce soda costs under ten cents. What you are getting is 4 ounces of beverage and a lot of ice. If you must purchase soda, ask for it with no ice (or one cube at the most), or ask for a separate glass of ice and put it in as needed.
2. Buy something on impulse. Stores are set up so that you most readily see things that they want you to purchase. Today, in a Best Buy, I saw two end caps with their highest profit ear buds (for iPods) three aisles over were similar products, possibly better quality, and most at lower cost.
3. Believe an advertisement. Stop, go back to my Advertising Blog #1. Start reading.
4. Don’t bother reading contracts, bills or disclaimers. Who needs all that small print? You do. The typical person gets billed for almost $500 a year s/her did not purchase.
5. Accept what other people tell you. I have just the product for you. This natural remedy will cure your headaches, prevent cavities, and get rid of shoe odor.
6. Purchase nostrums, vitamins, and vanity items. Why not? In the United States alone people spend over $80 billion a year hiding wrinkles, dying hair, whitening teeth, and taking over-the-counter cures for things they might not even have.
7. Don’t bother checking store prices. What a pain. Just because something that’s marked “on sale” at $4.99 is more than twice what the supermarket down the street usually gets for the same product, and you’re going there anyway, believe them. Hey, if it’s on sale it must be a great price. They won’t lie, would they?
8. Pay in advance for a service. Everyone is honest. There is no need for contracts. They guy says he’ll surface your driveway for $80 – hey, believe him. Give him the money and … why is he driving away?
9. Accept products and services without asking questions. Get a free home alarm. Get pest control coverage for a year. Buy an extended warrantee. Besides the fact that more than 60% of such things are either scams or nearly useless, go ahead, get it.
10. Do not seek alternatives. See an item, like an item, buy it. There is never any need to check out reviews or look online to see what other stores are getting for the same product. Just because my wife found the same surge protector online at Amazon for $49.99, I might as well pick this one up at XYZ Electronics for $129.00.
This ends our lengthy run of advertising scams, but certainly not the end of the line for examining ways people cheat you. Next, we’ll look at education-related cons.
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