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Shopping & Buying Tips

When cash is low, barter is better. 

More people are turning to online barter exchange these days in lieu of purchasing items with cash. 

When you barter, if you have something laying around you can get rid of (or perhaps a service you can perform), you simply do that in exchange for items you need. 

Here are the best bartering sites and a little about the basics of bartering for newbies...

There is a lot of talk in the news lately about credit card companies having unfair business practices.

Here's how to tell if your credit card company is unfair or not.

Now, consider this...

Can you imagine your children being overlooked for admission into a good college because other students who went to their high school did poorly at the school, even when your child's scores are superior to those other students?

Can you fathom a dentist drilling and filling teeth that don't need cavities just because your neighbors generally get cavities in the teeth they have targeted?

What if you were denied car insurance because you once visited a car wash that has a customer base of people who get into accidents. 

Well, if these scenarios sound a bit odd and unfair, imagine how Kevin Johnson of Atlanta (who has a near excellent credit score) felt when his credit card limit was dropped nearly $7,000 based on nothing more than a store he shopped at!

Never mind that his credit score was impeccable.  Never mind that he never carried a balance.  Never mind that he owned his own home and was a successful business man. 

One innocent stop at one store led to his account being flagged as a potential credit threat. 

I had a friend who did mystery shopping for a living. 

It seems every week she was visiting and "grading" a different place.  She got to check out hotel rooms.  She had free restaurant meals.  She also got to purchase a few cool things and she was reimbursed for them.

Over the years, I have tried mystery shopping a few times. My hope was that I would have the kind of success with mystery shopping as it seemed my friend enjoyed. 

Here's how mystery shopping went for me, plus some tips for making money as a mystery shopper...

While many retail giants have fallen by the wayside, it is no secret that thrift stores have flourished in these tough economic times. 

However, many thrift store owners are worrying that the new legislation that regulates lead content in clothing and toys could very well drive them out of business as well.

Thrift stores already are civilly liable if someone is injured by a product. But under the new law, selling any product containing lead becomes a criminal offense, making it virtually impossible to obtain insurance coverage and exposing resale businesses to unnecessary risks.  -- Salt Lake Tribune

Here's how the new lead laws will affect you as a thrift store shopper (or owner), or if you're a crafter who makes handmade items and sells them on places like eBay and Etsy...

I am one of those people who others call and ask, “How much should I pay for an oriental rug?”

Friends call and ask me if $1,500 is a good deal for a new leather sofa.  They ask me which store is having the best coat sale. 

While I cannot give that kind of advice to everyone, I can tell you where to find this information.   
 
CostHelper.com is a new website that tells you how much you should pay for what. 

The site consists of a database of hundreds of items, where you can investigate how much others are paying and find similar deals. 

Many of our grandparents were alive during the great depression.  Therefore, they have a great deal of knowledge about how to cut corners and save money. 

Here are some money savings tips from Grandma...

Everyone knows that the day after Christmas is when the really great sales are, right?

Yes, but the shopper who is not discriminating can end up with junk and/or stuff that they don't really need.

It's really important to plan ahead for your day after Christmas shopping trip, instead of going willy nilly to stores with their newspaper sales page in hand buying whatever strikes your fancy at the moment.

Keep in mind, stores use day after Christmas sales primarily to:

Unload overstock

Get rid of items that are soon to be on clearance

Sell old models that they've had on display

Re-sell returns and exchanges that have been opened (or not)

Now, in many cases, these items can be truly good buys. But it is still important to be discriminating when you shop.

Here's how you can best plan and prepare for your day after Christmas shopping trip...