Money

Check multiple sites to find the best price. You might use a comparison sight such as Shopzilla.com, Froogle.com or Bizrate.com. These sites often offer reviews of items and merchants as well as prices. Also look for coupons at 247malls.com and MonkeyBargains.com.

If shopping through an auction vendor/merchant such as E-bay, always check their customer rating. Avoid any merchant with less than a 90% approval rating. Beware of merchants with bad reviews.

Use one specific credit card (your lowest interest rate card) for all online purchases so that if someone does get your card information, you will only have to replace one card. Internet purchases should be made using a credit card so that you can contest fraudulent charges or fees.

One exception to this rule is gift cards. Many stores allow you to shop online using gift cards that you purchase at their store. This will vastly reduce your identity theft risk but it commits you to shop in one place rather than hunt for the best price.

Only order through a secure (https://) server.

Order early so that you can take advantage of low-cost or free shipping.

Research a product before you buy it online. Know exactly what you are purchasing.

Check store websites for special promotions and coupons. Also, try www.fatwallet.com and www.techbargains.com to find out about upcoming sales.

Carry sale advertisements with you and find out if the stores you are visiting will match other store’s advertised prices.

If you will not be seeing a person until after Christmas, wait until the post-Christmas sales to buy their gifts.

Survey your shopping card a final time before getting in line. Put back any items you are not sure you want to get.

Take advantage of one-time discounts offered to people who open up a charge account with a store. You can get ten to fifteen percent off your whole purchase, even if everything is one sale. Just remember you have to pay for those items as soon as the bill comes or your savings will evaporate.

When you go to a store to buy a low-priced advertised item, stay focused on that item. Do not buy a bunch of merchandise that wasn’t on sale.

Choose Economy parking at airports.

Check baggage weight. Airlines charge extra if your luggage is over a certain weight limit.

Print your boarding pass online. This allows you to bypass long lines

Leave packages unwrapped. It is tempting to wrap Christmas presents in advance, but luggage screeners may unwrap them and waste all of your effort.

Buy your snacks. meals in advance. Many airlines have stopped serving snacks and drinks. Get them before you reach the airport and carry them onto the plane with you.

Always arrive early at the airport, generally at least an hour and a half in advance. Nothing ruins a trip more than a missed flight and your airline might charge you a fee to get onto the next flight.

If you are taking valuables or fragile items with you on a plane, pack them in your carry-on luggage to avoid damage or theft.

Overstuffed bags can be hard to repack if a luggage screener goes through them.

Always remove any electronic items from carrying cases to show to screeners.

Aways lock your checked luggage.

Never joke about bombs or hijacking

Excerpt of Article at Newsday.com

The nice thing about a Roth IRA is that since you’ve already paid taxes on the money you’re putting in, you generally won’t have to pay taxes on money taken out.

The money has to be in the Roth for at least five years (and to get the full tax- free benefit you must be 59½ or older). That means if you invest anytime this year, you can begin withdrawing as much as you want starting in 2009.

By the way, if your original investment declines in value, you can liquidate your Roth IRA (no matter how new) and not pay a tax or penalty on the withdrawal, Dianne Besunder, a spokeswoman for the Internal Revenue Service in New York, said. (Note: This rule does not apply to Roth IRAs created through conversion from regular IRAs.)

Excerpt:

You would be well advised to start taking your money out at 62 if the following reasons apply:

• You need the income your Social Security benefits would provide.
• Your health is poor.
• Your break-even point is a decade or more away.

On the other hand, you should wait until full retirement at age 65 (or later, if you were born after 1943) for the following reasons:

• You are healthy, or if your family has a history of longevity.
• Your break-even point is close enough that you could benefit from waiting.
• You are still employed.
• You’re counting on future benefits.

Read full article at Contra Costa Times

Excerpt:

• Do not open or reply to email or attachments that request personal or financial information.
• Legitimate organizations typically do not ask for confidential information via email.
• If you have a concern about your account, use a verified phone number to make inquiries.
• Never click on a link from within an email to access a site. Always type the URL in a new browser session.
• Never click on links in questionable messages as most phishing emails direct you to a fraudulent site.
• Check online statements frequently. Open your financial institutions website in a new browser session to review account statements. Check for unauthorised activity and report any inaccuracies immediately to your financial institution.
• Look for secure websites. Avoid sharing personal or financial information via email. Transactions with financial institutions, government agencies, and e-commerce sites should be conducted over secure websites. Look for URLs that begin with “https:” The “s” indicates a secure channel. Some secure sites are marked with a padlock icon, but be wary as some fraudulent emails have forged these security icons. Make sure that your organisation is a trusted provider.
• Report suspicious activity. Forward illegitimate emails to the spoofed organisation. Most companies have set up specific addresses to compile information on fraud attempts.
• Don’t buy “Spamvertised” holiday gifts. Spammers exist because of the one in a million chance that someone will buy their product or subscribe to their service. Remove the incentive and you’ll minimise spam’s effectiveness.
• Pay attention when filling out online forms. The holidays mean e-cards and online photo sharing. Even legitimate sites make it easy to inadvertently sign up for a mailing list.
• Be careful giving your email address to strangers. Use a disposable email address if you are unsure about the organisation and how the information will be used - many sites offer free ones. If the address is sold, you’ll know who did it and if the address is spammed, it can be quickly discarded.

Read article at SourceWire

Writers, for some reason, are especially susceptible to scams. Perhaps this is because success in the writing field takes a great deal of hard work, and people are always looking for short cuts. Also, most writers want see their own name in print. Here are some scams to avoid:

Subsidized Publishing

Subsidized publishing, also known as vanity press, can be a legitimate way to publish small works of personal interest or for niche markets. You pay the publisher/printer a fee and they produce your book. This is a legitimate way to publish, but do not be fooled into thinking your work has been ‘accepted.’ by a reputable publisher. The company is publishing your work based on the money you will give them, not the quality or marketability of your writing.

Editor Fees

If a publisher recommends that you pay a particular editor before they consider your work, chances are that both the editor and the publisher are scamming you. There is nothing wrong with paying an outside editor to help you with your writing, but this should be your choice and you should research and choose who to have edit your work.

Agent Fees

Legitimate literary agents do not charge you a fee to either read your work or represent you. Finding a quality agent can be difficult, but do not settle for one that charges a fee. Chances are you’ll pay more than you’ll ever get.

Contests

Poetry and writing contests that sound too good to be true generally are. Be wary of any contest that charges a fee and do not pay to have your poetry published through these contests. For more information see Avoiding Poetry Contest Scams.

Anthologies

Poetry or writing anthologies are an offshoot of the poetry contest scam. Do not pay to have your book published as part of an anthology, and do not agree to purchase a copy. Any legitimate publisher will offer you at least one free copy.

Work From Home

You may or may not be able to make thousands as a freelance writer, but if somebody tries to get you to pay them to find out how, then chances are it’s a scam. There are plenty of books about freelance writing, invest in one of those.

Reviews / Polls

This is an offshoot of the work from home scam. Supposedly, you will get paid to review movies, books, web sites and such. Of course, to find out how to do this you just have to pay the advertiser a ‘small’ fee. There are far more people willing to write reviews than people who will pay for them. Chances are, you’re being scammed.

Avoiding Writing Scams

• If it sounds too good to be true, it is.
• Don’t pay a fee for what you can get for free.
• Always research any publisher, editor or agent you want to work with.
• Never be afraid to ask for references.
• If you are victimized by a scam, report it to the Better Business Bureau and the FTC.

There are many legitimate poetry contests in the world. Unfortunately, there are probably more scams out there than there are legitimate contests. Poetry contests scams prey on people who want to see their names in print. There are so many people in the world who write poetry, and who want to see their poems published.

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be published and recognized, but unfortunately the market for poetry is not very big. For every successful book of poetry, there are hundreds of successful novels. This doesn’t mean that you can’t find legitimate poetry publishers and contests, but it makes the task much harder.

Legitimate poetry contests are generally sponsored by newspapers, magazines and accredited schools (such as universities). They offer small prizes and frequently the opportunity to read your poetry at local gatherings or workshops. In a legitimate poetry contest, you will never be charged to be published, and generally you will receive at least one free copy of whatever the publication is that you appear in.

Here are some indicators that a contest is a scam:

Everyone’s a Winner!

Poetry contest scams often have a large number of ‘winners’. This is because they make money by publishing books of poetry that are bought almost exclusively by the ‘winners’. In other words, they publish you because they expect you to buy copies of the book. These books generally have thousands of poems in them so that they can charge as many people as possible. Besides the book, they may offer to put your poetry on a plaque, an audio CD or even a web site for a fee.

Big Prizes

Contests with unusually large prizes are very suspicious. If you can win a thousand dollars or more, chances are that you’ll be paying more money than you’ll be getting, often through…

Reading / Entry Fees

Many contests make money by charging you to enter or charging to ‘read’ your poems. Always avoid contests like these. Legitimate poetry contests generally have small prizes and no fees.

Travel Opportunities

While it is a great honor to be asked to read your poetry in front of a gathering of other poets, be careful if a contest selects you as a ‘winner’ and then tries to sell you a trip to a poet’s or writer’s workshop/symposium. If it is going to cost you several hundred dollars to go, and they’re the ones you’re giving the money to, then you’re probably being scammed.

Classes

One of the classic scams is that you will be selected for special poetry writing classes. These scams tell you that your poem is very good, but that you could benefit from one of their teachers. There is nothing wrong with taking poetry classes, but it is wrong to disguise advertisements for classes as a legitimate poetry contest.

Avoiding The Scams

1. Always research whatever organization is conducting a contest or offering to publish your poems.
2. Think carefully and investigate before you agree to pay a fee to enter a contest or to have your poems published.
3. Never agree to pay to have your winning poem published.
4. Avoid contests that sound too good to be true.
5. Get involved in the poetry community. The more you are involved in and understand the world of poetry, the less likely you’ll be taken in by the cons.

There are plenty of honest car dealers. There are also plenty of scam artists. Often dealers don’t even think they are pulling a scam. To them, it is just the way you do business. Like it or not, buying a car is usually an adversarial process, especially once you reach the financing part of the deal. Here are some scams to look for and some advice on how to make your best deal.

The Key Scam

One of they ways dealers like to control the buyer is by taking away the keys to their old cars. They will ask you for them so that they can evaluate your car for its trade-in value. You never get good value for a trade-in anyway, so I would resist the urge and sell your car separately, but if you do want to use it as a trade-in, be careful with your keys. They won’t give them, or your car, back very easily until the deal is done. If you do give them a key to your car, give them only a SPARE key to your car and never your house or other keys. Make sure you still have a key so that, if they lose your keys, you can still drive home.

The Financing was Denied

If, after you buy a car and agree to financing, they contact you and tell you that it fell through, you’ve been scammed. Dealers know from your credit rating what you will qualify for, and they almost never make a genuine mistake in this area. Avoid this problem. Never finance through the dealer. Get pre-approved by an outside bank or credit union before you ever go to look for a car. Never take delivery on a car before the financing is secure, and never leave a check or cash deposit. Also, always get your credit score from Equifax or another agency before you shop for a car. Some financers will tell you that your credit score is lower than it is. Dealers will pull any trick to get you to finance through them instead of the bank. Gouging people with financing is where they make the most money. If for any reason a dealer won’t work with your pre-arranged financing, (Uhhh, yup, this bank bounces checks, we don’t work with them) walk out.

Fill Out a Credit Application Scam

If you have already lined up financing, or you have cash, do not fill out a credit application. It is NOT required and they can use it to lower your credit rating.

VIN Etching

Do not pay the car dealer a fee to have your VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) etched onto your car window. It is not required by any bank, and the service should never cost above thirty dollars. WIN etching can (but often doesn’t) lower your car theft insurance deductible, but it isn’t worth paying a large fee just to avoid a slightly larger (or even smaller) deductible. If you really want to get your VIN number etched, go to a car glass installer or buy the kit from caretch.com. Be careful, some dealers will try to hide this fee in your paperwork. Always avoid costly add-on services from dealers such as scotch guarding, desert/winter proofing, dealer prep or any other fancy term that means they sprayed something on your car or did something else just as silly. The price of the car should be the price of the car, period. If they try to convince you that these are fixed costs that can’t legally be removed (a lie), tell them to just add a credit on the next line for the amount. That’s legal!

Warranty Scams

Do not buy additional warranties from your car dealer. Be especially suspicious if they try to convince you that you need the additional warranty or the bank won’t finance the loan. Remember, you can avoid any questions like this if you secure your financing before you look for your car. If you want an additional warranty, talk to your insurance agent. They generally offer as good or better warranties on cars, and you can take it to whatever mechanic you choose, even the dealer. While you’re there, be sure to ask your agent about GAP insurance. This insurance kicks in if you’re in an accident and the car is totaled but you owe more on the car than it is worth. Never get this insurance through a dealer, your agent will be cheaper, and they are the ones you already trust with your insurance.

ADMs

If you see an ADM fee listed anywhere in your paperwork, immediately demand that it be removed and walk out if they won’t. ADM means additional dealer markup, in other words, it’s the additional price they’ve decided to charge above the manufacturer’s suggested retail price. Never pay it. Ever.

Pay Off Scams

Never go to a dealer who offers to pay off your old loan or lease, “no matter what the cost.” They aren’t paying it, you are. They just pack the amount onto your loan. The main problem with this is that there are generally penalties involved in breaking an old deal. You don’t save money by having car dealers do this for you. You lose money. Generally, any special deal advertised on the radio is some sort of scam. A car costs what it costs, you won’t magically get the car for less than it is worth. Avoid dealers who try to convince you otherwise.

How to Avoid Getting Taken

• Never finance your car through a car dealer
• Get pre-approved for a loan before you shop for a car
• Base decisions on price, not payments
• Never give up your only key to your car
• Never give up any keys besides your car keys
• Fight any fees above the actual price of the car
• Buy warranties through an insurance agent, not the dealer
• Avoid dealers who are always offering special deals such as pay offs
• If for any reason you are suspicious, do not take the deal. It is better to wait for a deal you are sure of
• Bring two friends with you, one who knows cars and another who understands money

A credit card is one of the most common types of loans. A lending firm extends you a line of credit that you can access using a plastic card, usually 3-1/8 inches by 2-1/8 inches in size. That card is your credit card. It comes with a number on the front and a magnetic band on the back. Merchants can charge debts to your account either by passing the numeric strip through a card reader or by manually typing in the number on the front. You can also charge debts over the Internet or by phone by giving the number on the front of the card along with the expiration date.

Credit card companies make money in many ways. First, they charge the merchant that processes your card. That merchant pays for the privilege of being able to access your money through a third party. The credit card company may also charge you in a variety of ways:

• Annual fees
• Interest on your debt
• Late fees
• Cash advance fees

You will generally receive a monthly bill that allows you to pay of the balance or pay them any amount equaling at leas their minimum finance charge. The minimum finance charge generally covers slightly more than whatever the interest on the debt for that month would be. If you pay only the minimum amount, it will take many years to pay off your debt.