Great money saving tips
July 29, 2009 | personal finance | Comments (0)Obviously not a lot of payday lending news today, but this is worth posting:
Caskets
The Rip-off: Upscale boxes, purchased by emotional families through funeral homes, can go for $20,000 — a mark-up of up to four times cost. “People end up paying giant premiums that they don’t have to,” says Joseph Conzevoy, owner of ABC Caskets Factory in Los Angeles.How To Avoid It: Plan ahead and buy direct. Make sure the funeral home doesn’t whack you with a penalty for going outside its supplier network. The savings can be huge: ABC Caskets’ Carved Mahogany model, which Conzevoy sells for $5,000, would fetch three times as much inside a funeral home showroom, he says. (While you’re at it, shop around for flowers, too.) — Christopher Steiner
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Ab-Slimming Gadgets
The Rip-Off: Thirty percent of American adults are obese. That’s one big pool of suckers looking for a way to remove inches with ease. Gadgets abound, costing $30 to $120. Some “ab belts” deliver an electric current that ostensibly shocks the wearer’s midsection into shape. (The implied message: kick back, drink beer and get ripped.) Never mind that there’s no proof these short cuts work. “That this stuff is a rip-off is pretty obvious,” says Laura Ries, an author and marketing consultant in Atlanta, Ga. “People want to believe, though.”How To Avoid It: Stop watching infomercials and eating too much. Better yet, craft a weekly workout regimen (including three sessions of cardio and two of strength training) that you can do on your own. — Christopher Steiner
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