The pain at the pump continues. Like everything else, gas is expensive, groceries are expensive, medical care is expensive...and...(phew)...I know there's more out there!!! Well, I'm on your side so you save money when you fill up your car or grocery cart. One this is for sure it's all about timing.
First things first, is there any way to get cheaper gas? Well, Gasbuddy.com ways buy mid-week, but not mid-day. Gas stations like to raise up their prices mid-morning or mid-afternoon so those are typically the worst times to buy gas.
What about groceries? Consumers' Checkbook says the trick is finding the cheapest store in your area. Even if it's out of the way, you'll likely save money. In some cases, there are some chains that will be at least 10-15 even 20% less expensive.
My favorite pass time...dining out. You'll find most deals on slow Mondays after the weekend rush. And this might sound strange but consider sitting at the bar. Consumer specialists say a lot of higher end restaurants are realizing the appeal of casual food so they're creating special areas inside their restaurant like a mini restaurant within a restaurant where the food is more casual and certainly cheaper.
What about big ticket items, like that flat screen t-v you've been eyeing? Believe it or not even major stores are willing to haggle these days... especially if you shop by phone. Stores really believe you will go some place else if all you have to do is hang up the phone and dial another number.
Same thing goes for hotels. Give 'em a call from the parking lot and ask for a better deal. You can even save thousands on a car.... if you know when and where to shop. Most times in car buying, the end of the month or end of a model year is the best time to catch a deal. And if at all possible, skip the sales floor. Usually, the Internet manager can off you a good price on a set of brand new wheels.
Consumer experts say the best way to get a good deal is to do your homework. Know what you're buying, what it costs at other stores, or whether it's a big seller.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Car Sale Scam
This email was provided to me by one of the thousands of 2news viewers out there that would like to alert you to watch out for scams. This one is typical of a scammer trying to separate you from your money:
Hello , Thank you for your interest in my vehicle as I know you have many choices . The 2005 Cadillac Escalade is in excellent condition, never damage or repair and with a clean title.Sale price is $9,900.00 USD which includes shipping costs anywhere in the US. I'm am right now in Glasgow Scotland i moved there because i have recently divorced with my wife and i come back to my home country. The vehicle will be shipped from Billings Montana. There are no other costs regarding this transaction. The price is low because i have some personal problems, if you are interested email me back and i will explain the process to get the vehicle. Thank You,
Hello, Before leaving US I had prearranged the deal with WorldPay so my presence in US isn't necessary. A few words about the process: - You need to send me your full name , full address and phone number you will make a deposit of $2500 to the WorldPay trust account. - In the same day when you will make the deposit i will ship the vehicle and i will give you the tracking number. - You will receive the vehicle and you have 5 days to inspect the vehicle ( mechanic, dealer and drive the vehicle). - If you will keep the vehicle then you will send the rest of the money if not then you will get your full amount back and the vehicle will be ship back. - The vehicle will come with the bill of sale , bill of lading , maintenance records , title ( signet by me and ready to be registered to your name) . If you want to buy the vehicle then email me back your info to start the process. The vehicle is not available to see there because the shipping company don't allow any visit or else, so you need to agree with the process. Regards! William
This email lets me know that William will never send the car. He just wants the initial payment up front and leave the consumer holding the bag...or the supposed keys! Big red flag, doing business with individual seller who's located overseas. You could probably find what you're looking for in your own city. NEVER send money upfront.
Beware of emails like this...solicited or unsolicited. If at all possible, buy a car that you can test drive on the spot. If you happen to buy a used vehicle, make sure you get a Carfax report from the dealer or run one yourself. Another good suggestion is to bring a mechanic you trust to look at the car. Used cars are sold "as-is" so once you drive it off the lot...it's yours. Thankfully, this viewer didn't fall for this trap.
Hello , Thank you for your interest in my vehicle as I know you have many choices . The 2005 Cadillac Escalade is in excellent condition, never damage or repair and with a clean title.Sale price is $9,900.00 USD which includes shipping costs anywhere in the US. I'm am right now in Glasgow Scotland i moved there because i have recently divorced with my wife and i come back to my home country. The vehicle will be shipped from Billings Montana. There are no other costs regarding this transaction. The price is low because i have some personal problems, if you are interested email me back and i will explain the process to get the vehicle. Thank You,
Hello, Before leaving US I had prearranged the deal with WorldPay so my presence in US isn't necessary. A few words about the process: - You need to send me your full name , full address and phone number you will make a deposit of $2500 to the WorldPay trust account. - In the same day when you will make the deposit i will ship the vehicle and i will give you the tracking number. - You will receive the vehicle and you have 5 days to inspect the vehicle ( mechanic, dealer and drive the vehicle). - If you will keep the vehicle then you will send the rest of the money if not then you will get your full amount back and the vehicle will be ship back. - The vehicle will come with the bill of sale , bill of lading , maintenance records , title ( signet by me and ready to be registered to your name) . If you want to buy the vehicle then email me back your info to start the process. The vehicle is not available to see there because the shipping company don't allow any visit or else, so you need to agree with the process. Regards! William
This email lets me know that William will never send the car. He just wants the initial payment up front and leave the consumer holding the bag...or the supposed keys! Big red flag, doing business with individual seller who's located overseas. You could probably find what you're looking for in your own city. NEVER send money upfront.
Beware of emails like this...solicited or unsolicited. If at all possible, buy a car that you can test drive on the spot. If you happen to buy a used vehicle, make sure you get a Carfax report from the dealer or run one yourself. Another good suggestion is to bring a mechanic you trust to look at the car. Used cars are sold "as-is" so once you drive it off the lot...it's yours. Thankfully, this viewer didn't fall for this trap.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Flood Contractor Scams
A Germantown woman, swamped by last weeks flooding, narrowly escapes some scammers looking to make a quick buck off of her misery. So she turns to two with this warning for other homeowners who might run into high pressure salesmen.
"no uniforms, no business cards no...no nothing, no nothing."
Krystyne Edmondson says that was her first clue something was wrong. She tried calling two local companies -- but they were booked. So Krystyne logged on to the Internet to find help.
"they were like we can come out today and i was like oh, what luck! got somebody to come out right now in all this flooding."
Instead... she says she saw trouble pulling into her driveway.
"he's in a personal vehicle and he just has a not enclosed trailer on the back of his van and he had new york license plates so i thought that's kinda odd."
Krystyne says he gave her the song and dance and came up with a price.
"he said you know he's going to cut us a deal and the best he could do was 47-56, four thousand seven hundred fifty six dollars for this."
Minutes later, he took 500-dollars of the price and then the final offer.
"well then he comes back with well i tell you what, if you don't tell my boss, and this that and the other, I'll do it for three thousand."
Krystyne eventually got the contractor to leave. He left this card, with a 516 area code for a phone number that's linked to Long Island New York. Krystyne says the second contractor was from Massachusetts and had sang the same song as the new yorker.
"and he was like i can tell by looking at this job this is about 12 hundred, but i gotta be paid right now."
Krystyne says it was her gut that was telling her something wasn't right. Thankfully, she did not lose thousands of dollars to those fly by nighters. Before you hire a contractor, check with the better business bureau first, to get some company history. You should also ask to see some form of identification. Plus, ask for them to prove that they are licensed and bonded. If at all possible, pick a company that's in the Miami Valley. Your chances of getting the sham will decrease drastically.
"no uniforms, no business cards no...no nothing, no nothing."
Krystyne Edmondson says that was her first clue something was wrong. She tried calling two local companies -- but they were booked. So Krystyne logged on to the Internet to find help.
"they were like we can come out today and i was like oh, what luck! got somebody to come out right now in all this flooding."
Instead... she says she saw trouble pulling into her driveway.
"he's in a personal vehicle and he just has a not enclosed trailer on the back of his van and he had new york license plates so i thought that's kinda odd."
Krystyne says he gave her the song and dance and came up with a price.
"he said you know he's going to cut us a deal and the best he could do was 47-56, four thousand seven hundred fifty six dollars for this."
Minutes later, he took 500-dollars of the price and then the final offer.
"well then he comes back with well i tell you what, if you don't tell my boss, and this that and the other, I'll do it for three thousand."
Krystyne eventually got the contractor to leave. He left this card, with a 516 area code for a phone number that's linked to Long Island New York. Krystyne says the second contractor was from Massachusetts and had sang the same song as the new yorker.
"and he was like i can tell by looking at this job this is about 12 hundred, but i gotta be paid right now."
Krystyne says it was her gut that was telling her something wasn't right. Thankfully, she did not lose thousands of dollars to those fly by nighters. Before you hire a contractor, check with the better business bureau first, to get some company history. You should also ask to see some form of identification. Plus, ask for them to prove that they are licensed and bonded. If at all possible, pick a company that's in the Miami Valley. Your chances of getting the sham will decrease drastically.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Truckers Slowing Down?
That's right, truckers aren't driving as fast on the nation's highways. Fuel costs, not the highway patrol, have caused truckers to back off the gas and slow down. Trucking industry officials say slowing a truck down from 75 to 65 miles per hour saves them more than a mile a gallon. That's big when you realize most trucks average from five to eight miles a gallon on diesel fuel. Diesel's at a national average of almost four dollars a gallon, up from $2.74 a year ago.
Drinking Age Debate
Lawmakers in some states are considering the saying "If you're old enough to fight, you're old enough to drink." Several Legislatures, including Kentucky, South Carolina and Wisconsin are considering bills that would lower drinking ages for military personnel only. However, the move is facing a lot of opposition. A recent Gallup Poll shows 77% of Americans don't want to lower the drinking age from 21.
So, what do you think. At 18, young men enter the selective service and if need be, drafted to fight a war. They can cast their first official ballot at that time as well. Can 18 year olds have a legal drink too? I also ponder a report I heard (and I can't remember the network now) about how binge drinking is running rampant because 18 to 20 year olds are getting drunk, at home and before they go party, because they can't go to the bar and get served.
This is sure to raise some debate.
So, what do you think. At 18, young men enter the selective service and if need be, drafted to fight a war. They can cast their first official ballot at that time as well. Can 18 year olds have a legal drink too? I also ponder a report I heard (and I can't remember the network now) about how binge drinking is running rampant because 18 to 20 year olds are getting drunk, at home and before they go party, because they can't go to the bar and get served.
This is sure to raise some debate.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Teacher License Fee Fight
It wasn't in the lesson plan, but local teachers are digging deeper into their own pockets to teach. Most are having a hard time adding up their new licensing fees. According to the Dayton Education Association, the new teacher license fees are simply unfair and astronomical.
"You know, I wrote a little letter to the ode said that I thought that Ohio has become a hostile environment for teachers."
Pat Lynch says teachers are already under the gun to improve grades and test scores. However, before they can get into the classroom, they have to pay for their teachers license. It's something Lynch says used to be affordable.
"So over the five years it was 60 dollars, now it's five years 200 dollars, a 233% increase."
Lynch says the Ohio Department of Education didn't give teachers any notice the fees were going up so quickly.
"My biggest problem with it, first of all, it was a stealth deal. No one had heard anything about it, rates going up until close to the end of February and March first was the date that they were going up."
The main reason behind the increase -- background checks, performed by law enforcement for the ODE. Lynch believes, and Carl Wick from the ODE agrees, it's using the extra money to offset costs.
"I'm not happy about it either but we had no alternative because state laws require that we recover all operating expenses associated with a license granting agency."
Carl Wick, an at large member of the ODE says the state must process new licenses in a timely manner. Plus, it was forced to raise fees after Governor Ted Strickland asked them to cut 100-million dollars from their budget. Lynch wonders why the ODE couldn't wait until a later date to slap the increase on educators.
"And the problem was that if we delay it, all of their requests for new licenses or renewing licenses would be delayed because we wouldn't have had adequate resources and money to be able to process those."
The new license fees are for all Ohio teachers. Only three other states have higher licensing fees...New Jersey, Hawaii and New Hampshire. Turn To 2 has also found a new bill that was introduced in the Ohio house. It's House Bill 507. If passed, the legislation would allow teachers to pay license renewal fees in annual installments and to allow a refundable credit against the income tax for educator licensing fees and educator-paid criminal records check fees.
"You know, I wrote a little letter to the ode said that I thought that Ohio has become a hostile environment for teachers."
Pat Lynch says teachers are already under the gun to improve grades and test scores. However, before they can get into the classroom, they have to pay for their teachers license. It's something Lynch says used to be affordable.
"So over the five years it was 60 dollars, now it's five years 200 dollars, a 233% increase."
Lynch says the Ohio Department of Education didn't give teachers any notice the fees were going up so quickly.
"My biggest problem with it, first of all, it was a stealth deal. No one had heard anything about it, rates going up until close to the end of February and March first was the date that they were going up."
The main reason behind the increase -- background checks, performed by law enforcement for the ODE. Lynch believes, and Carl Wick from the ODE agrees, it's using the extra money to offset costs.
"I'm not happy about it either but we had no alternative because state laws require that we recover all operating expenses associated with a license granting agency."
Carl Wick, an at large member of the ODE says the state must process new licenses in a timely manner. Plus, it was forced to raise fees after Governor Ted Strickland asked them to cut 100-million dollars from their budget. Lynch wonders why the ODE couldn't wait until a later date to slap the increase on educators.
"And the problem was that if we delay it, all of their requests for new licenses or renewing licenses would be delayed because we wouldn't have had adequate resources and money to be able to process those."
The new license fees are for all Ohio teachers. Only three other states have higher licensing fees...New Jersey, Hawaii and New Hampshire. Turn To 2 has also found a new bill that was introduced in the Ohio house. It's House Bill 507. If passed, the legislation would allow teachers to pay license renewal fees in annual installments and to allow a refundable credit against the income tax for educator licensing fees and educator-paid criminal records check fees.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Taxation Frustration
I want to bring you the story of a viewer who got the runaround with the Ohio Department of Taxation. He shares the same name with his deceased father and that's where the problem started. He has a step you can take to get some assistance...his story is below.
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