Bait and Switch: Car Ads

Having bought a new to us used car this story caught my attention. Watch out for the fine print in these agreements. You are better off paying as much cash as you can for a used car. Who wants a $600 a month car payment. Buy a used car 2-3 years old, save up for a decent down payment and drive it into the ground. Most cars are going to go atleast 100k and many up to 200k miles today if you keep up with proper maintenance Buying a used car vs a new car is probably one of the biggest ways that you can save money over your lifetime.

________________________________________________
(CBS) Ryan Gutierrez is still haunted when he goes through the paperwork from a car he bought five years ago. He's still fighting in court over a purchase that started when he saw an ad on TV.

He recalls the infomercial: "Big, flashy number, $249, zero down, big letters, give us a call."

But, as CBS News Correspondent John Blackstone reports, in his lawsuit Gutierrez says he ended up getting caught in a bait-and-switch. It's a tactic long used by car dealers, says consumer advocate Ken McEldowney.

"What they want to do is get you inside the door because they know that when they get you inside the door they have a really good chance of you walking out with a car," he says.

Once Gutierrez was inside, the salesman told him the Dodge Durango he wanted, one that seats seven, would cost much more than advertised.

"He said it would be $589, I believe, a month" says Gutierrez.

It was far more than the $249 a month the ad promised.

"Yeah, well, they said that it would be another car without the third row seat and with nothing in it," he says.

And as for the zero down, well there was some fine print in that TV ad specifying a hefty "drive-off fee."

How can they say zero down then in the small print charge a $3,500 "drive-off fee?"

"Because no one monitors, no one enforces deceptive advertising claims," says McEldowney.

In an e-mail response, Auto West says it "acknowledges the challenges … in presenting advertised offers" in and industry where there can be "multiple options … as well as varied financing incentives."

Gutierrez says under the salesman's pressure he ended up leasing the Durango for $489 a month, nearly double the advertised price. He had second thoughts soon after and has been in litigation ever since.

"It's not a good feeling to know that someone knowingly took advantage of you and cheated you," says Gutierrez.

Gutierrez and his wife Jamie replaced the Durango with another car long ago but they are now better consumers, having learned that if the deal that brought you in the door isn't there, turn around and walk out the door.

Source: www.cbsnews.com

Need to keep DH out of the grocery store

Hubby went to the grocery store last week and bought an Entenanan's lemon cake with frosting and coconut on top. $4.29 for this little cake. I wanted to smack him (I'm pinching pennies and he is spending dollars )
If he wanted cake, I would have been more than happy to make him some. I had several cake mixes already bought and there was chocolate frosting as well. I could have made the cake basically for free from what was in the house and less than $3.00 if I went to the store to buy it for his cake craving. It would have been a bigger cake too!!

Free Thursday at 6 flags

there are several Thursdays listed...all you have to do is have a pentax camera to show! It's unclear how many admissions you get, but maybe you could beg and borrow friends & neighbors' cameras for the day to take full advantage of this deal!

http://www.pentaximaging.com/sixflags

Cooling down your air conditioning bill

Many people see their monthly electric bill double or even triple when the hot weather months arrive and they crank up the air conditioning.

You could be wasting power and money if your home's cooling system isn't working as efficiently as it could be.

The Alliance to Save Energy says your air conditioner needs regular tune-ups, just like your car. Call in a professional to make sure everything is working well, so the system doesn't strain and use more energy than necessary.

Don't forget to check your filter, or filters. The alliance says if they're dirty, clean them -- if they're the type that gets cleaned -- or replace them. Clogged filters can make the system work harder and not provide the cooling that you really want.

Finally, if your air conditioner is more than a dozen years old, consider replacing it with a new, more energy efficient model.

Strengthen your marriage by putting finances in order

Hello and Welcome!

In this week's issue Living on a Budget in a Non Budget World
Newsletter.

Money Saving Tips
Featured Article Strengthen Your Marriage by Putting Finances in Order
Top Conversations on the Money Saving Forums
Freebie, Contest, Coupon Exchange Alerts
The Frugal Five
Frugal Food Frugal Summer Dessert and Snacks



Read this issue at:
http://www.budgetdial.com/news-July0105.htm


Enjoy! Best of luck in your savings

Theresa

Don't save too much for retirement!

Expert: Don't Save Too Much for Retirement
Sunday June 26, 8:09 pm ET
Expert Suggests That Some People May Be Overestimating What They Need for Retirement


NEW YORK (AP) -- If you're tired of all the talk that you're not saving enough for retirement, you'll be happy to hear the latest: People may be overestimating what they need in their Golden Years.
People generally spend less in retirement as they age, regardless of income, according to a recently published research paper. It's one of those things that "everyone kind of knows" but that isn't reflected in traditional retirement-planning strategies, says Ty Bernicke, a financial planner with Bernicke & Associates in Eau Claire, Wis., who supports his theory with data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Continue reading

I am going to continue to save. I am not saving millions. We will be lucky if we have 1/2 million by the time we are in our 60s. I refuse to eat Alpo.

Your ZIP code matters more than your 401(k)

Where you buy and own a house can mean the difference between retiring rich and just getting by. Here's how homeownership -- in the right states -- is trumping 401(k) savings.


The biggest influence on our financial health isn't how much we save. Nor is it the funds we choose in our 401(k) plans. It is our ZIP code -- where we buy and own a house. Pick the right area, and your future is golden. Pick the wrong area, and you'll always be behind the folks who happened to buy in the right place. As you will soon see, no matter where you live, it is likely to be more important than your 401(k) plan.I've suspected this for years simply because the most valuable asset most of us own is our home. Check the net worth of different households, and you quickly learn that homeownership is more than important for most Americans. It's the whole ball game – 70%, 80%, 90% or 100% of net worth.One odd side effect is that people in some parts of the country are becoming much richer than people in other parts of the country not because of the work they do, the income they earn or the investments they make -- but because of where they live. As one Boston economist remarked to me several years ago, "You know, I've made more money on my houses than I have ever made as an economist." (The economist had owned homes in Wellesley, a Boston suburb, Beacon Hill and Washington, D.C.)"

Continue reading